Day 3325

I think we're well on our way to becoming a surveillance society. Companies know so much about us already, but they still want to know more. I called my insurance agent today to ask about a low mileage discount. I hardly drive at all anymore, so I thought if these things exist, maybe I could lower my bill. The reason I wanted to lower my bill was that I'd just received it and of course, it was higher than it was before. "Sure, we can lower your bill," the agent told me. "Let me send you a small tracker you can install in your car and then all you have to do is download our Safe Driver app on your phone." "How big a discount will I get," I asked. "We can't tell you right away," the agent said. "After we've been able to analyze your driving habits for about six months, we'll revise your premium." "So what you're telling me is that my premium could actually go up after six months," I said. The agent was silent.

My insurance company is becoming just like the phone company, the cable company, Facebook, and everybody else. These companies want to learn your habits, get all your data, and then sell it to third parties who will bombard you with targeted advertising and telemarketing calls. I would have preferred to give the agent two service reports from the Land Rover dealer spaced one year apart that would validate the actual mileage I drove in a year. Apparently, that wasn't an option.

I guess I'm on the wrong side of history. After dealing with the insurance agent, I called another company who wanted me to start paying them electronically. I didn't want to do this. After a long conversation where I explained to them that it was still perfectly legal to pay with a check, they finally relented and let me keep things as the are. I'm sure in about six months I'll get another letter saying that as a "courtesy" my account has been converted to electronic payments.

I've definitely reached the "get off my lawn" stage of life. These companies are just going to have to deal with me for another twenty years. I still like paper. I write letters. I save receipts. And I see no point in talking with Siri or Alexa. As far as I'm concerned the world was a better place when phones were dumb and people were smart. In case you've forgotten, we went to the moon fifty years ago. Have we really advanced that much since then? I don't really thing having my insurance company tracking my trips to the post office and the pharmacy is going to make the world a better place.

Doesn't it seem odd that our society has become obsessed with efficiency and yet nothing actually works. Maybe we should all slow down for a while. We might discover that inefficiency is actually better. Personally, I have lost all interest in speed. Whenever I see someone in a hurry it reminds me of the treadmill at the gym. Sure, you're moving but you're not actually going anywhere.

Today, I made the bed, walked Dash, cleaned up poop several times, fixed a dog boot, did a load of laundry, and took the trash out to the curb. I probably accomplished just as much as all the self-important movers and shakers I saw on TV while I was drinking my morning smoothie.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3324

Sometimes I turn on the news and I feel like I'm living inside a dystopian science fiction novel. It was colder in Chicago today than it was in Antarctica. Is that even possible? Chicago shouldn't be that cold. When I was young I once thought about taking an ad agency job in Chicago. I visited the place in January and all it took was a brief walk down Michigan Avenue to convince me that Chicago was far too cold for me. I wasn't dealing with a polar vortex. I just wasn't wearing a warm enough jacket. I decided then and there that I was meant to live down South.

As far as I'm concerned, Dallas winters are bad enough. I wear my warmest clothes when we take our morning walks. Even though it is running fine, I always worry that the furnace is going to break on a cold winter evening. I worry about frozen pipes too. It seldom gets cold enough for the pipes to freeze, but it has happened. The lake behind our house completely froze over once as well. The fact that there is no ice on the lake at all this Winter just shows that I am getting older and the planet is getting warmer. I doubt that the lake will ever freeze again. It hardly even snows anymore.

It's gotten to the point where I need to make sure exactly where Dash is and what he is doing before I let him out of my sight. He falls so easily now that it's easy for him to get in trouble. I make sure he is gated in a safe place before I take a shower and try not to leave the house unless he is sleeping. Dash's naps last for hours at a time, so it is usually safe to run errands while he is asleep.

I don't even worry about poop anymore. As those old bumper stickers used to say: shit happens. I do wish that Dash would work on his timing. He inevitably poops in the house right when I'm starting to relax with my first cup of coffee. I always jump up immediately and clean things up. I've learned from experience that if I don't act fast, Dash will step in the poop and track the mess all over the house. Also, I enjoy the smell of coffee in the morning. I can't say the same for the smell of poop.

I wrote a letter to a sick friend today and realized that I have no natural empathy at all. I kept having to rewrite portions of the letter when I noticed that I was just making sarcastic comments about the unfairness of life instead of being warm and sympathetic. By the time I sealed the envelope I think I got things right, but it didn't come naturally.

Aging doesn't seem to come naturally either. They say you're officially old when you start having trouble putting on your socks or clipping your toenails. I think the moment has arrived. I feel like a rusty old machine this Winter. Maybe when the weather warms up, I'll feel younger.

Malcolm is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3323

I forgot what day is was again. It's easy to do. Every day begins the same way. I wake up at some point to take Dash outside or clean up poop. If the cleanup is easy, I go back to bed for a while. If it is more extensive, I just stay up. Dash always gets a walk before breakfast. When we return, I pop a Community Coffee Dark Roast pod in the Keurig and start making my smoothie. Turning on the television seldom gives me a clue about what day it is. It's always just something about the ongoing Russia Probe. Enough already. Dash usually poops again just as I am getting ready to eat. Today he made a mess in the office. I wish he'd stay on the bricks, but the bricks are slippery. I can't really blame him for preferring the carpets.

Not that it mattered, but I eventually figured out it was Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I called in some prescriptions for Dash and when they were ready to pick up, I stopped by the hardware store on the way to the vet and got another tube of Shoe Goo. I think I'm keeping the Shoe Goo company in business. The stuff really does help to extend the life of Dash's protective boots.

I guess I'll go ahead and renew my web hosting account, even though it has become too expensive. Truthfully, I don't even know why I have a website anymore. If I shut everything down, I doubt that anyone would notice. There are a few animal rescue sites on the server that are important, but I could care less about my own site. I haven't updated anything in years.

I didn't always feel this way. There was a time when I had a really high Klout score and lots of Twitter followers. I was even listed as one of the top photographers on Google+ for a while. I'll miss Google+ when it disappears in a couple of months. This was the only social media network I actually liked. Too late now. Google+ is going the way of AOL and floppy discs. It's a shame. Back in the day, it was so much better than Facebook. Sadly Google+ never became popular which it probably exactly why it was so good.

The gas company repair crews are still in the neighborhood, but they've moved further away from the house. I'm curious about what they are doing, but not curious enough to go up and ask them. I'll wonder for a while until Spring growth in the park covers all the backhoe tracks in the dirt. Eventually, a neighbor will tell me what has happened long after I've forgotten the entire incident.

I've got to stop taking pictures of Pansies at the hardware store. I can do better. Unfortunately, these are the only flowers I've seen lately. It's Winter and wildflowers won't start appearing in the park again until late March or early April. How did I used to take interesting pictures every single day? It's a mystery now. Maybe I was just more interested in my surroundings.

Tomorrow actually is Wednesday. I'll keep that in mind as I follow a routine that is almost guaranteed to be remarkably similar to today's. Venus, the Moon, and Jupiter will be grouped together in the morning sky tomorrow. If Dash gets me up early, maybe I'll take a look.

Spirit is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3322

There appears to be a gas leak in the neighborhood. You could have fooled me, since we walk by the area where all the digging is going on every morning and I've never smelled gas. I have smelled a skunk in the vicinity recently, but I don't think that's what everybody's looking for. Finding the leak must be a high priority since the crews have set up lights and look like they are ready to continue digging throughout the night. Hopefully, they'll find what they're looking for. The gas company has had some highly publicized problems with leaks in other parts of the city that have resulted in fires and explosions.

I called my web hosting company this morning to ask about the huge increase in my bill. The customer service representative I talked to explained that my last bill included a generous sign up bonus that would never be repeated. They set the trap and lured me in. Now, I've got to pay full price. This scenario was exactly what I was dealing with a few months ago when it came time to renew my storage warehouse lease. The customer service representative was sympathetic. She said the same thing happened to her recently with her phone bill. Her Verizon bill tripled as soon as the special promotional offer expired. I'm a small business owner and an unabashed capitalist but I do think a lot of companies are greedy bastards. Couldn't you guys just charge a fair price in the beginning and stop all the confusing bait and switch trickery?

The increase in web hosting fees wasn't the only dismal financial news today. Apparently I'm going to  need to wait until mid February for my next payment from a very tardy auction buyer. This buyer must be special. There was nothing in the contract that said it was OK to pay a month and a half late. Somehow, I don't think the auction house would be nearly as lenient with me if I was a month and a half late. It looks like I'm going to need the money because apparently even though I made virtually nothing last year, I still need to pay taxes. That's what my accountant tells me anyway.

Dash doesn't have money problems but he definitely has pooping problems. The bed escaped unscathed last night but I had to watch my step around the house. I don't think Dash even realizes he is pooping any more. He just walks around the house and poop falls out. Getting up after a nap is especially hazardous. The extra effort he has to make to stand up these days often causes him to poop.

The weather changes so frequently now that I never know what to wear. I always look at my phone or the thermostat before we go on a walk but I don't think the temperature readings are up to date. This afternoon the thermostat said the outside temperature was 65 degrees so I just wore a light jacket. I just about froze. A rapidly moving cold front had just blown through and the real temperature was much colder. The temperature is still continuing to get colder, so I really hope that those gas company repairmen don't shut off our gas during the night.

I had some left over pizza for dinner. I hope it doesn't give me heartburn. I could have eaten something bland, but I hate to let food go to waste. We'll see what happens. My chances of getting heartburn are about the same as the chances of Dash waking me up during the night.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3321

I got a bill from my web hosting company today. I've been a good customer. So why was my bill 30% higher than it was three years ago? This happens again and again. Companies continue to screw their best customers while simultaneously offering special deals to attract new customers. It doesn't make sense. The storage warehouse, the phone company, the cable company, and even my gym tend to raise prices annually for existing customers while at the same time offering special promotional prices to new customers. This is backwards. I've always thought the most loyal customers should get the best rates.

I play by the rules. I always pay my bills on time. I watch my weight. I monitor my blood pressure and cholesterol levels and do what it takes to stay within acceptable guidelines. I even make my bed every morning. Maybe this is why it seems normal to me that the Chinese government wants to surveil and classify every one of it's billions of citizens. Wouldn't you want to know who the good people are so you could reward them? Our country tends to do the opposite. We romanticize bad behavior, making heroes out of everyone from Bonnie and Clyde to Walter White. Hey, what could be more American than a high school chemistry teacher who turns himself into a drug kingpin.

When I go to the gym, I'm pretty sure that the other customers play by the rules, just like me. I see the same people over and over again. They are so dutiful, striding purposefully on their treadmills and stairmasters. I don't know who any of these people are, but we definitely need more of them. I'll take someone on a treadmill any day over someone riding around on a motorized shopping cart stocking up on Cheetos.

Dash got me up early enough this morning to see Venus and Jupiter close together in the predawn sky. Dash has been so good recently that I'd almost forgotten that every night is a potential disaster. He woke up as he was pooping in bed this morning and tried to get off the bed. This was a mistake. Since he wasn't fully awake, he stumbled and fell in the poop. Instead of an easily contained mess on a puppy pad, there was poop everywhere. I had to go outside and hose off the soiled bedding before it could go in the washing machine. While I was doing this, Janet was cleaning Dash. By the time we got everything cleaned up, it wasn't worth going back to bed again. So much for sleeping in late on Sunday morning.

I was going to clean the house today, but it took too much time to clean and dry all the laundry. Vacuuming can wait. Hey, Dash got two walks and all the poop is gone. That should be enough for one day. I still can't tell if the new My Pillow I got is helping me sleep because Dash keeps waking me up all the time. I don't think those happy people in the My Pillow commercials spend all their time cleaning up dog poop.

The weekend went quickly. It always does. Now it's back to five more days of fruit smoothies. At least the park will be empty again. It was super crowded today because the weather was so nice. Lots of people ask about Dash's red boots when the park is busy. I usually just tell them that Dash is old. I've learned that very few people are interested in a long winded explanation involving neurological disorders, heart problems, Plavix, and bleeding risks.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3320

The original Bladerunner took place in 2019. We don't have replicants or flying cars yet, but in many ways we are already living in a dystopian world. The pumps are falling apart at the place where I regularly get gas. I have to stick my credit card in the slot four or five times before it registers and activates the pump. The thing that prints your receipt is perpetually out of paper and sometimes the switch that selects premium gas doesn't work. I could go somewhere else, but this place is convenient. I've learned to adapt to the dilapidated machinery.

When I go to the grocery store, I rarely get a cart where all four wheels work. Usually at least one wheel is stuck, twirls around aimlessly, or doesn't even touch the ground. Again, I've learned to adapt to pushing a three wheeled cart around the store. Slowly but surely we are getting used to living in a world where nothing works. I don't pick up the phone anymore because it is just an automated voice trying to sell me something. When the cable TV stops working, which it does almost every day, I just turn it off, wait thirty seconds and then turn it on again. Sometimes this works, but nobody knows why. Going to the airport is a nightmare. So is driving in rush hour traffic. This isn't going to end well. Not only have we lost the ability to build a better world, we can't even cope with living in the world we've got.

I certainly don't have any answers, I can barely cope with an old house and a sick dog. Dash wouldn't poop before he went to bed last night, so I knew I wouldn't get much sleep. At around 3 AM, he had to go. He pooped on his puppy training pad, got up, pooped again in the hallway, and then about thirty minutes later, pooped a third time on a fresh puppy pad as we were trying to get back to sleep.

I've been trying to trim Dash's nails while he takes his morning nap. I can usually only trim one or two nails at a time, but he takes a lot of naps, so it's worth a try. Today I managed to trim both his dewclaws. Then I hit the quick on one of the nails on a rear paw which quickly ended today's grooming session. The all black nails are hard to trim because you don't really know where the quick is. It took a while to stop the bleeding. Amazingly, Dash never woke up during this entire process. It was a blessing that he stayed sleeping, because otherwise there would have been blood all over the house.

I think we may have found something that will work to protect the bed at night. It is a rubberized canvas mat that we used to use when we took the dogs in the car. I originally thought that this would be too heavy and awkward on the bed, but it seems to stay in place. Our motto these days is "whatever works."

I read an article today that said gum disease can contribute to the development of Alzheimer's Disease. Maybe this is what is happening with Dash. He does have gum disease and his cognitive abilities have certainly declined. It's really a shame that you can't effectively clean a dog's teeth without anesthesia. We brush his teeth and use an oral rinse to keep his mouth clean, but it is an uphill battle. I wish the vet had cleaned his teeth one more time before everybody decided that Dash wasn't a candidate for anesthesia anymore. They don't think he would wake up if he was anesthetized again. I feel bad that we can't do a better job of keeping Dash's teeth and gums healthy, but we're doing the best we can.

Tomorrow it's time for the gym again. I'd really rather just sleep, but something tells me that in a dystopian world you've got to keep moving.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3319

I thought a place that could make delicious Shrimp Grits would be even better at making Eggs Benedict. Wrong. I was disappointed this morning. Damn. I should have had the Shrimp Grits again. This is the problem with being adventurous. Often things don't turn out as planned.

I'm not that interested in being adventurous, but I do realize that you can't spend your entire life doing the same thing over and over again. I'll admit that I come closer to monotony than most people, but everyone needs a little variety. I once found a restaurant that served absolutely perfect Migas. I ordered this dish for breakfast every Friday for three years. One day my breakfast tasted terrible and two months later the restaurant went out of business. I never really discovered what happened, but I've been looking for perfection ever since.

I do think I've found the perfect French Toast, but I don't always feel like something sweet. Oh, well. I guess the search for perfection continues. This odd quest does make Friday a little different than the other days of the week, so I guess all is good. I have a feeling that I'll go back to having French Toast at the hotel next week.

I need to remember that morning walks are for Dash and not for me. It takes a lot of patience to walk Dash these days. It's difficult to take photographs along the way like I used to because I'm spending all my time making sure that Dash stays upright. A small twig can make him stumble and fall. He can't seem to walk in a straight line anymore. We meander all over the place. Dash will often backtrack and return to smell something he forgot. Sometimes he refuses to leave a smell and starts sneezing when the odor becomes too strong. It's almost like he is getting high on the things he smells. I wonder how well he can see, because it seems like he is just traveling from one smell to the next without really looking where he is going. I have to be real careful when we come to gullies and ravines. Dash seems to have no depth perception anymore. If I wasn't holding tightly to his harness today, he would have fallen into a gully. All he cared about was a smell right on the edge.

The buyer for one of the items I auctioned in New York has missed their payment deadline. The payment is not just a few days late, it's almost a full month late. Unfortunately, I don't get paid until the auction house get paid so I'm starting to get frustrated. Auction houses never provide personal information about buyers. I'm starting to have fears that the buyer is a Russian oligarch who just had all his funds frozen. My contact at the auction house says not to worry. Easy for her to say.

The weather is still very cold, but the skies are clear and the humidity is low. Everything is starting to dry out again. I was going to get up early and look for Jupiter and Venus in the predawn sky. When the time arrived, I chose to sleep for another twenty minutes instead. Dash was restless last night and I didn't get much sleep. Janet thinks the new waterproof dropcloth I got recently is making the bed too slippery for him. Who knows. Maybe it is. I guess I'll be looking for another bed protection alternative this weekend.

We had pizza for dinner tonight. A good New York style thin crust pizza is hard to beat. I'm almost certain that this meal will give me heartburn, but somehow a little heartburn seems a fitting way to end a less than perfect day.

Bones is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3318

If there is one recurring theme in my dreams, it is that I'm usually lost. I've been wandering around searching for things in dreamland for most of my life. Last night I was with a group of people and we were trying to return to our hotel. I could see the hotel in the distance, but the road I was on twisted and turned and eventually arrived at a dead end. I climbed over fences, avoided rivers and finally reached the hotel. By this time, all my companions had disappeared. When I went inside, the interior of the hotel looked unfamiliar. I was still lost. I wondered if I was in the wrong hotel. Then I woke up.

I have so many of these type of dreams that I wonder if they mean I am lost in real life. Sometimes I feel that way. Of course, there are other times when I feel like I'm the only sensible person in the room and that everyone else is lost. Maybe dreams mean nothing at all. I sure wish I'd find what I was looking for though. This is getting old.

On cold days like this, I feel like I am part reptile. My entire metabolism slows down. It takes forever to make the bed and to fix breakfast. Morning walks take forever too, but that is Dash's problem, not mine. At least the weather is cooperating. The ground is almost dry again and today my boots weren't even muddy when we returned.

The guy who is fixing my Sequential Circuits synthesizers called me today with another progress report. It is amazing how much can go wrong when you leave something in a storage warehouse for fifteen years. The repair guy is still convinced that he can bring all three synthesizers back to life, but it sounds like he is completely rebuilding them from scratch. He needed me to authorize a new parts list today. I've already reached the point where I'll probably never make a profit if I sell the synthesizers later. I wish I wasn't compelled to always fix and repair things. This has turned into a major and probably very expensive project. The sad thing is that I can't even play the piano very well anymore.

The week has gone quickly. It's already time to take the trash out to the curb again. It's amazing how much trash that two people can generate in a week. Of course a lot of ours is just bagged up dog poop. We're pretty frugal compared to some of our neighbors. The curb is piled with Amazon Prime boxes every Friday morning.

Dash had a good day. We haven't had a medical emergency in quite a while. He is eating well now and seems happy. It's sad that his rear legs have become so weak, but adversity doesn't seem to slow Dash down. He stumbles around, seemingly oblivious to his many problems. I hope that I have the same determination when I start to fall apart.

I'm going to return to last week's new discovery for breakfast tomorrow. There's a huge new menu to try.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3317

I didn't want to get up this morning. It's probably good that I don't set the schedule around here because I'd end up sleeping till noon every day. Dash always likes to walk right after he takes his morning meds and Janet likes to take early classes at the gym, so we get an early start on Wednesdays. Today, the temperature was below freezing when we woke up, so Dash needed his full Winter outfit. It takes a while to get all his gear on, but it's worth the effort. Dash moves so slow now that he'd freeze on cold mornings without a warm sweater and paw protection.

The sky was clear today, so the temperature did eventually warm up as the day progressed. When the thermometer hit 40 degrees, I figured it was warm enough to go up on the roof again. There wasn't a lot of standing water today, but I don't want to take any chances. So far there haven't been any additional leaks. One of the pumps had tipped over again. Maybe it was that windy day when the greenhouse roof blew off. No wonder no water was coming out of the hose yesterday when it rained. I had to watch my step because there was still some ice on the roof. It took me about an hour to get things cleaned up. Hopefully I won't need to go up on the roof again for another week or so. The forecast looks pretty good for the rest of the month.

It was a sad state of affairs that clearing the water off the roof was the big event of the day. Things have been extremely uneventful lately. I spent some time after breakfast cleaning up a small cut on Dash's leg. He bleeds so easily now. He must have scratched his leg against a twig or some brush on our morning walk. I'm always careful where we walk, but it is impossible to prevent these accidents. Dash is a dog and he loves to smell things. The small cuts don't freak me out anymore. I've gotten much better at stopping the bleeding.

I got a message from Herman Miller that the replacement part for my Aeron Chair has been shipped from Michigan. That certainly took a while. I'd almost forgotten about the chair, since the loaner chair they gave me is pretty comfortable. As far as I'm concerned they can take their time with the repairs. It's just one more bill I'll have to pay when they're done.

Maybe I'll use the gift card the electric company sent me recently when the chair is ready for me to pick up. The electric company sends me a gift card every year to "thank" me for being a customer. Wouldn't it be easier to just lower my rate a bit? The gift card is always small and sometimes I forget about it until after it has expired. Maybe the electric company's marketing department has determined that customers like these little gift cards. They seem silly to me. Nobody gives you anything for free. I'd just like a lower bill every month.

I'm already thinking about breakfast on Friday. I'll probably go back to the same restaurant I tried last Friday, since there were so many things on the menu. Those shrimp grits sure were good. Maybe I need something special to do each day of the week. I've got the breakfast restaurants on Friday and the gym on Sunday. Tomorrow is trash day, but that doesn't sound very special. I'll have to think about this.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3316

It's going to be a long Winter. It was warmer today, but the wind picked up again and I still felt cold. I packed some cotton balls between Dash's toes in an attempt to keep his paws from bleeding this morning but his socks and boots still got wet. My jacket was kind of damp when we returned as well. There is no way around it. Walking in the Winter is just messy.

There was lots of laundry to do this morning. Dash pooped in his dog bed while he was waiting for his breakfast. The dog bed cover was washable, but I had a hard time putting the bed back together after the cover was clean. The foam structure had gotten old and mushy and it was difficult to pull the cloth cover back over it without destroying the foam. Why isn't foam rubber more durable? I've had the foam inserts inside of camera cases become soft and sticky several times. I'll have to admit that putting the dog bed back together was easier than cleaning old sticky foam off of my Nikon cameras.

It was a slow day, but at least the banks and post office were open. I took a check from one of the auction houses to the bank and paid my January gas and electric bills at the post office. Just about broke even on these transactions. Oh, well. So much for getting rich selling art.

Dash was still shaky in the house today, but at least he got a lot of rest. He does a lot better after a long nap. I try to keep Dash moving while he's awake, because he slips and falls if he stands in one place for too long. Usually he will follow me around because he always thinks I am headed towards food. Actually, I am headed towards food quite often. What else is there to do on a cold rainy day.

So far, the rain we've been having for the past several days has just been periodic light showers. I don't think we've really put the roof repairs to the test yet. There is still room for optimism though. There have been no additional leaks so far. I'm not expecting miracles anymore. I'm just hoping that we can remain free of further leaks until warmer weather returns. I'd much rather put on a new roof in the Summer than in the Winter.

Sometimes I can't tell the difference between allergies and a cold. I've had a runny nose for weeks now, but there is no fever or sore throat. Do I have a cold? Who knows. It probably doesn't even matter. It is irritating to have to blow my nose every five minutes day in and day out, but if that's as bad as it gets I can live with it. I bet if we could get a week of sunny, warm weather I'd be fine again.

I don't expect tomorrow to be very different than today. Janet has plans, so we'll need to walk Dash a little earlier than usual. I have no plans, so when we return I'll slowly drink my morning smoothie while I contemplate the day ahead. There are lots of things I need to do but it it doubtful that I will do any of them.

Raider is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3315

I must have slept better last night because I didn't wake up when Dash pooped in the bed. Luckily, one of us usually wakes up when this happens. These nightly accidents aren't as much of a problem now because we always make sure there's a puppy pad under Dash's butt before we go to bed. We've almost used up the carton of training pads that were left over when Dot died. Pretty soon they're going to be back on the shopping list again.

It's still bitterly cold on our morning walk. Dash's paws have started bleeding again. The bleeding is minimal, but it shouldn't be happening at all. His rear paws are very well protected now. I wish his boots were waterproof. On damp mornings, all three layers of foot protection are wet when we return. Part of the problem is that Dash makes no effort whatsoever to avoid mud puddles. He just goes wherever the smells are the strongest.

The only thing more uneventful than a regular Monday is a holiday Monday. Part of my morning routine is waiting for the mail to arrive and listening to the market reports on the business channels. No mail today and the stock market was closed. I pretty much just drank my smoothie in silence, wondering how I could improve Dash's footwear.

With every passing day, I'm spending more time picking Dash up off the floor. He seldom falls hard. He'll just be standing somewhere with a vacant look on his face and slowly sink to the floor. I leave his harness on in the house now because the handle on the top makes it much easier to get him upright again. It still seems strange that our house has become treacherous for Dash. He still does fine when he is moving forward on our walks. I think the walks are good for him because he has less muscle atrophy than Dot did when her legs began to fail. Dash even has enough strength to walk up reasonably steep hills. It's just standing still that's becoming a problem. I kind of wish I could find a small ottoman or big pillow to place under his belly while he was drinking from his water bowl. He drinks very slowly and usually starts sinking to the floor before he has quenched his thirst. If I could just find something appropriate to place under his belly to prop him up while he drinks, I wouldn't have to spend so much time holding up his rear legs.

Everyone must have been looking at the moon last night. My Facebook timeline was filled with pictures of the eclipse. Some of these pictures were great and others were terrible.You could tell how much people knew about astronomy by what they posted. Quite a few folks took a picture of the moon before the eclipse even started. Others used their phone and the moon was only a very bright dot. A lot of pictures were excellent though. Many were better than mine. Some of the best pictures were from folks I met at Vandenburg Air Force Base when I was there for the SMAP launch. I was glad to see that these people were still interested in space and astronomy several years later.

It's supposed to start raining again tonight. Tomorrow doesn't look good either. I'm tired of looking at the damaged sheetrock in the ceiling and wondering when the roof is going to start leaking again. Sooner or later it will. I don't want to replace the roof while it is raining every few days, but I think it's going to be a long wait until it's warm and dry again.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3314

If you have trouble sleeping, it's just a matter of time before you eventually end up buying one of those My Pillows. The commercials are relentless. I can't turn on the TV anymore without seeing the My Pillow guy. Sooner or later you think "What have I got to lose," and you buy one. I wasn't looking for a pillow today, but ended up getting one when I saw it on sale. We'll see if it makes any difference. If I get even a single additional hour of sleep a night, it would be well worth the price. I'll have to say I'm a bit skeptical though. Shredded foam pillows aren't exactly rocket science. I think my parents used these type of pillows when I was a kid.

What I was really looking for today was a better way to waterproof the bed than the shower curtain we're currently using. I think I found that too. I ended up getting a tent footprint, which is a piece of waterproof fabric that campers put under their tent to protect the floor from damage. These footprints tended to be smaller than your typical tarp and fit nicely under Dash's blankets on the bed. Like my new pillow, we'll see how it works tonight.

Today was even colder than yesterday. There was no wind though, so it was reasonably pleasant to go outside. Yesterday's thirty mile per hour winds were pretty brutal. We still dressed very warmly today, but compared to yesterday, our morning walk was a piece of cake. Dash still does well on these walks, even though he's having increasing trouble walking around in the house. We keep bringing home more rugs, but I don't know if they're doing a lot of good. It's so easy for Dash to lose his balance and fall.

Sunday has turned into the busiest day of the week. Our walks tend to be longer on Sunday. I almost always go to the gym and then come home and vacuum the house. Sometimes I do other chores as well. My Fitbit loves days like these, but I find them tiring. I could clean the house or go to the gym any day, but old habits die hard. I still do things almost exactly the same as I did while I was working.

I was hoping to see the Saints and the Chiefs in the Superbowl but it wasn't meant to be. The Saints lost after officials clearly missed calling pass interference late in the game. The Chiefs basically lost when they didn't win the overtime coin toss. What does this prove? I guess it proves that life isn't fair.  These were both exciting, well played games, but I'm tired of seeing the Patriots in the Superbowl.

The lunar eclipse has started. It's a little cloudy, but the moon is clearly visible. The moon is so high in the sky that I don't see any dramatic photo opportunities. I'll take a few shots anyway. I'm sure I'll be asleep before the eclipse is over. The days when I'd sit in a lawn chair and watch things like this for hours at a time are long gone. It's way too cold outside and I've seen the moon before. It's always worth another look though. Just before I went to bed I went outside again and the sky had completely cleared. There it was in all its glory: the Super Blood Wolf Moon. Now I think I'll go try out my new pillow.

April is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3313

First it was the rain and now it is the wind. The weather is not my friend in the Winter. A cold front swept through town last night, bringing sustained thirty mile per hour winds along with it. The high winds continued for most of the night and blew the roof off the greenhouse again. The old greenhouse was built in 1955 and is pretty frail by now. It doesn't take much to bring it crashing down.

I've fixed the greenhouse roof before, but it's hardly worth the effort. When a stiff wind catches the edges of the translucent fiberglass roof panels, they just blow off again. Unfortunately, I couldn't ignore the roof panels all over the yard, so I got a hammer, some nails, and a ladder and put the dilapidated greenhouse back together again. It's anybody's guess which will last longer: my greenhouse repairs or the roofers efforts from last week.

It was so cold this morning that we all had to wear our warmest clothes. Getting Dash dressed on a cold morning is quite an effort. First we put on his sweater. Over that goes his Ruffwear harness. Then we attach the leg brace and put on a fitted bandage, a pair of socks, and the Ultra Paws boots on his rear paws. Since it was extra cold this morning, he also wore a hat to keep his ears warm.

If Dash didn't love his walks so much, we wouldn't go to this effort. I'd just as soon sleep in a little longer on cold mornings like this. Walks are still Dash's favorite part of the day. He is transformed from a dog who falls down every five minutes in the house to a dog who strides purposely through the wet grass in the park, smelling every bush and tree along the way. It's kind of amazing that he gains stability if he is moving forward. If he is standing still, his rear legs start to sink fairly quickly. I often have to hold him up now while he is eating or drinking water from his bowl. Even smelling things along the way can be hazardous. If he gets too interested in the scent of another dog who has peed on a tree, he will lose control of his rear legs and stumble.

My attempt to repair the greenhouse made me pretty late this morning, but I still had lots of errands to run. When I'm shopping on Saturday, I buy the same staples over and over again. It's amazing how much the price of things like paper towels, toilet paper, and laundry detergent have gone up over the years. How can people continue to say that inflation isn't a problem when the cost of many ordinary things has doubled?

The skies are starting to clear, so I might actually be able to see tomorrow's blood moon lunar eclipse.  I've tried to photograph these things before, but our yard doesn't provide a very scenic backdrop. A red blood moon always looks good when it is near the horizon in a national park. Not so much in my yard. I think the moon will be more or less directly overhead at totality, so a scenic backdrop probably doesn't even matter. I'm only going to be outside for a few minutes anyway. It's not worth getting cold just to see a red looking moon.

I go to the gym again tomorrow. I think putting the greenhouse back together this morning provided more of a workout than going to the gym ever does. Actually, just putting on Dash's winter clothes today was quite a workout.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3312

I let Facebook pick the restaurant this morning. Maybe privacy is overrated. The food was delicious. I had Shrimp Grits with andouille sausage, peppers and leeks. All things considered, it was one of the best meals I've had in quite a while. I never would have known about this place if Facebook hadn't been snooping about my likes and dislikes. They've actually done a pretty decent job of helping me find a new pair of work boots and giving me a heads up about upcoming lunar eclipses and satellite launches.

I wish Facebook would fine tune their algorithm a bit more. With a bit of tweaking they may be able to find me the perfect restaurant. The only thing wrong with this morning's meal was that the place was crowded and a bit noisy. I guess that's to be expected when you're popular. I'm not used to popular. Most of the places I frequent for breakfast are half empty. I don't know how they stay in business.

I seldom see a lot of people together in the same place. Breakfast gave me an opportunity to see how society has changed. A lot more young people wear glasses now. Has staring at cell phones made people's eyes worse, or are contact lenses just out of fashion? I don't know. Apparently, nobody works on a fixed schedule anymore. I typically eat late and when I went to breakfast this morning, everybody should have been at work. The place was packed.  It was clear that most of these folks had a job. They just didn't work 9 to 5.

Some things were unexplainable. While I was waiting to be seated, I noticed that the woman ahead of me was wearing Louboutin stilettos at nine in the morning. A guy at a table next to me pulled a Ziploc bag full of credit cards out of his pocket when he was ready to pay his bill. Are plastic bag wallets a thing now? I'm clearly too old to know. Even though this new restaurant was a bit too trendy for my taste, I'm sure I'll be back. There were too many things on the menu that I'd like to try.

It was supposed to rain today but it never did. The forecast kept changing by the hour. Something is clearly happening. The wind has picked up and the temperature is supposed to be below freezing tomorrow. Hey, I'll take what I can get. I don't like the cold but if I've got to endure freezing weather I prefer that it be dry.

One of Dash's paws was bleeding a bit when we returned from our morning walk. It looked a nail was scraping against the adjacent skin. It's about time for a nail trim again. I'm trying to learn to do this myself while Dash is asleep. In theory this sounds like a good idea, but I can usually one clip a single nail before Dash wakes up. I've got a good pair of clippers, but so far I've only been trimming a tiny bit off each nail. Maybe if I get better at this, we can avoid the trauma of going to the vet for a nail trim. I'm also trying to rinse Dash's mouth with Dentahex while he's asleep. Dash hates the oral rinse but it's necessary to keep his Periodontal Disease from getting worse. Since Dash is no longer a candidate for anesthesia, it's been really hard to keep his teeth clean and his gums healthy.

All in all it's been a good day. I did something new. It didn't rain. And nothing terrible happened. I hope it stays dry this weekend. I've got a ton of errands to run tomorrow and there's a total lunar eclipse on Sunday. We'll see how it goes.

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3311

Every once in a while I look at posts from previous years. Apparently not much changes on January 17. It's usually cold and rainy. I've either just gotten or am about to get a haircut. Maybe the dogs were healthy at some point, but not in recent years. It was obvious from a quick glance at my past that Dot and Dash have been sick for a very long time. I wonder how long it's been since I was genuinely excited about something. I couldn't find anything. Read in sequential order, each day just seemed like I was living in an endless boot camp.

Hey, I'm always the one who says he loves consistency. I guess I shouldn't complain. Life has been consistent. Today was certainly a typical January day. It was cold and damp, but that didn't keep us from walking. Dash was even slower than usual because Janet had an appointment this morning and he had no one to follow. When we walk alone it often feels like we just walk in circles. Eventually, we made it home. Dash is forgetful now but he still remembers the way home.

Dash wasn't on a puppy pad when he pooped in the bed last night, so there was lots of laundry this morning. I wish he'd learn to sleep in the center of the bed. It would make life so much easier if he'd just stay on his protective bedding. Whatever we do, he always ends up right on the edge of his blanket. At least I've got cleanup down to a science. Janet and I have become quite efficient when an accident happens at night. Out with the soiled stuff. In with pre-positioned replacement bedding. And back to sleep we go. Oddly, it all seems normal now.

Actually, all the chaos in the world just seems normal now. It's hard to get alarmed when the same old shit keeps happening over and over again. Maybe I'll get used to stock market volatility someday. Political volatility is here to stay as well. If Trump eventually gets his wall, the next administration will just tear it down again. I see an endless series of eight year cycles where each incoming president is determined to erase the accomplishments of the previous one. Maybe China has the answer. Their plan seems to be totalitarian rule but still let people have nice stuff.

Lately I have been seeing a lot of ads for breakfast restaurants on my Facebook feed. This is odd. I talk a lot about breakfast on my blog, but I never post anything directly on Facebook. How do they know? All there is on my timeline is a daily link to my latest blog post. Does a Facebook robot follow each link and try to figure out your personality? I wouldn't doubt it. If they do figure something out, I wish they'd let me know. I  could use the information. Actually some of the restaurants that have been turning up in my feed look interesting. Maybe I'll go try one out tomorrow.

Hard to believe it's almost Friday again. The trash has been taken out to the curb. I'm getting a grocery list together for Saturday. Dash has already taken his evening meds. I should just look at last years post to see what I need to do tomorrow.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3310

I try to leave myself plenty of time whenever I make an appointment. Let's face it, I'm slow and Dash is even slower. You'd think an appointment at noon wouldn't present a problem. Wrong. I actually got up early this morning, but by the time I'd walked Dash, made the bed, cleaned up dog poop on the living room floor, fixed breakfast, and taken a shower, I was already late.

I get my hair cut every couple of months. I've been going to the same stylist for decades and see no reason to change now. This periodic trip to the mall gives me an opportunity to see if the outside world has changed. It seldom does. There was a new Model 3 on display at the Tesla store and I noticed that a new KAWS Companion sculpture had been added to the Mall's art collection. Everything else was the same. I was surprised at how nice the low cost Tesla looked considering the bad press it has been getting. I'm always surprised at the popularity of Brian Donnelly's art. I guess I'm getting old. I don't understand the popularity of Banksy either.

I didn't linger at the Mall today. I skipped the usual window shopping at the Apple Store and watch boutiques. There is just no desire to buy stuff anymore. It was good to get a haircut though. I always feel better after a haircut. My hair is almost white now, but at least I still have hair. I'm looking more and more like my Dad every year.

I finished the day by paying a few bills and picking up a new supply of Plavix for Dash at the pharmacy on my way home from the post office. It seemed like a very busy day, but as usual I didn't get much done. Janet and I both wonder how we used to get so much done when we were younger. Now, just taking care of the bare necessities can eat up an entire day.

It was a little warmer today, but the weather is still damp and nasty. This type of weather must accentuate smells, because Dash spends even more time than usual smelling things on damp days. Smell is everything to him lately and he will frequently walk straight through muddy areas to get to a smell he likes. I've always got to have a spare set of footwear for him because his boots and socks usually need to go in the laundry after a walk. My own boots are usually muddy as well. Sometimes I feel like I spend half my day cleaning stuff. When Dash poops in the bed, I might spend the entire day.

After today's excursion, I see no need to leave the house tomorrow. The outside world just isn't that enticing. I still enjoy walking through the park, but I don't take many photos anymore. I have to concentrate on keeping Dash from falling. I didn't realize how good I had it when Dot and Dash were young and healthy. Walks were a joy back then. We walked a lot further, but it was relaxing. Relaxing isn't a word I use very often anymore.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3309

It's come to this. Dash can't remember where to pee anymore and I can't remember what day it is. When I let Dash outside to pee while I was fixing breakfast, he wandered around for a while and then came back inside after doing nothing. This is common with Dash, so I didn't think anything of it. Almost immediately after returning to the house he peed all over the floor. He kept walking while he was peeing, so there was a long wet trail of pee all over the place. Why would he do this? He had plenty of time to do his business outside. It took quite a while to clean up the mess. Actually, cleaning up poop is a lot easier.

At times like this I'm convinced that Dash is suffering from dementia. I may not be far behind him. I was getting ready to leave for my haircut today when I looked at my phone and realized that it was Tuesday. Hmm. My appointment is actually on Wednesday. Why did I think it was Tuesday yesterday? Usually Mondays are quite distinctive, as any working person can attest. Maybe the problem is that I'm not a working person anymore. All days seem the same.


No harm done. I'll still get a haircut and I'm sure that Dash will continue peeing wherever he pleases. The accident this morning reminded me that I needed to find a quieter way to protect the bed. The loud crackling sound the plastic shower curtain I bought makes is making it even harder than usual to get to sleep. I'm not quite ready to buy an expensive high tech nylon backpacking tarp from REI, so I thought I'd try a lighter, thinner shower curtain first. I found something very light and flexible, but Dash will probably destroy it. We'll give it a try tonight.

While I was out, I got another hundred pounds of rocks for the driveway. The first pile of rocks I got were actually pretty effective, so I thought that a few more would help smooth out some remaining low spots in the driveway. The river rocks are actually very attractive. Maybe I should keep buying rocks and resurface the entire driveway. I bet it would be a lot less expensive than asphalt. There is something satisfying about fixing things with rocks. A rock is about as low tech as you can get. Filling a hole with rocks is much simpler than repairing a French toilet or figuring out why my computer is running slow.

I've really got to watch Dash carefully now. He falls so frequently that I've got to plan ahead and make sure he is secure in a safe place before I leave him unattended. Today, I had to pen him in the bedroom while I took a shower. If he wakes up and I'm not nearby, he comes looking for me. There are lots of rugs in the kitchen but the bathroom tiles are off limits now. It's too easy to fall on the slippery surface.

There are no wildflowers in the park now. Hey, it's Winter. The flowers you've been seeing lately are just part of a sad little display of bedding plants at the Home Depot where I bought my pile of rocks. I guess I could have showed you a big puddle of pee on the floor today, but I still prefer a pretty theme picture. I'll be getting a haircut tomorrow, but I guess you know that already. I told you yesterday.

Betty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day