Day 4362

It was foggy and humid this morning. I'm always surprised at the weather when we wake up. It's never the same. We passed some neighbors walking their dogs when we were leaving the house with Dawn this morning and they advised us to "watch out for the Bobcat." Apparently there are Bobcats everywhere now. We didn't see the cat. We actually didn't see much of anything because it was so foggy.

I thought about going out for breakfast this morning, but I wasn't very hungry. I don't know if I could eat a restaurant breakfast anymore. The portions are huge. I had my regular small bowl of shredded wheat and got ready to take my long walk. By the time I left the house, the fog had lifted and it was even warmer. I was able to wear shorts today. It seemed strange that it is already snowing in other parts of the country. I read something today that it's even snowing in Hawaii now. Strange weather all over.

I brought a very old computer back to life today. I have an ancient Apple laptop that still runs System 9 and after completely forgetting about it for two or three months I discovered that the battery was completely dead. It wouldn't take a charge from the charger and wouldn't even run under AC power. I thought the trusty old machine had finally died, but I left it plugged into the charger just in case. After several days I noticed that the charging light had come on. I waited another day and the battery slowly recharged. This was kind of amazing to me because the battery was almost twenty years old. It is impossible to replace. When I started the computer up this morning, everything worked fine. They don't make things like this anymore. This computer always went with me when I used to work in Europe and it was responsible for many ad campaigns. It's hopelessly slow by today's standards, but I'm glad it still works.

I washed the new photo backdrop to get the wrinkles out and was pleased at the quality of the fabric and the printed Christmas themed design. These new backdrops are so much better than the old hand painted ones. If a dog pees or throws up on one of these, you can just throw it in the wash and you're back in business. It's a shame that innovative products like this are almost always made in China. The computerized star tracker I backed on Kickstarter is also made in China. Many of the best new camera lenses come from China as well. No wonder everyone is so upset about all those container ships stacked up off the West Coast. We don't make anything here anymore. Even iconic brands like Fender guitars and Levis are manufactured in other countries now.

I found some small hand weights lying around the house and reluctantly started working with them today. I find little joy in working out, but I've got to do something. Walking is good for my heart and maybe for my leg muscles but it does nothing for my upper body. My arms seem weak now. It's a shame that it's so much harder to gain muscle mass as you grow older. Gaining weight is easy. Adding muscle, not so much. 

Time to make a grocery list again. When Janet went shopping this week she said prices had gone up again.      You wonder where this is going to end. I don't think the earth will end up becoming the apocalyptic place depicted in The Expanse. It probably won't be like Mad Max at Thunderdome either. It's isn't going to be pretty though. I'm glad I grew up in the 1950's. The Atomic Age was good.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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