Day 3651

I got my shingles shot today. Well, I got the first of two shots anyway. I really wasn't planning to do this now, but my pharmacy had the vaccine available and I knew I'd feel foolish if I went back next month and they were out of the stuff again. It's a mystery to me why the vaccine has been in short supply for over a year. It's somewhat of a mystery why I even need these shots. When I got the older Zostavax shingles vaccine a few years ago, that was supposed to be effective too. I'm pretty good about following doctor's orders though. I think it's one reason why I'm still reasonably healthy today.

On the way home from the pharmacy I picked up some more LED bulbs to replace the ones that are burning out. I think the reason these bulbs are failing is that I was a very early adopter of this technology. Today's bulbs are less expensive and last longer than the first generation bulbs I bought. Most of them even have a ten year guarantee now. This is the curse of the early adopter. I'm ofter the first to buy a new type of computer or camera. It's been irritating to realize that if I just had the patience to wait a few years, I could have gotten something that was much better, often for a lot less. I'm glad I wasn't the first to buy a flat screen TV. The early models used to cost over $5000. Now you can get something much better for a few hundred bucks.

I finally got my tree guy to commit to removing one of the remaining Oak trees in the back yard. I like the trees, but they are all getting very old and part of this tree has already fallen. I definitely don't want to have the rest of this large tree falling on my house or the neighbor's cars. I'm also thinking of relocating my driveway to the back yard. The traffic on the street in front of our house keeps getting worse and worse. During rush hour it is almost impossible to get out of the driveway. As luck would have it, the big Oak tree is right where a potential driveway might go. This is kind of an ambitious project, so it may never happen. A lot of my ambitious projects don't.

I'm continuing to watch Series Four of The Expanse. I still don't think the new series is as good as the shows first three years, but it's good enough to get me hooked. It's a good thing to watch during this holiday week. There isn't much else to do anyway.

I've noticed that some of the White Pelicans wintering at our lake are wearing little leg bands. You can see a band on the leg of the bird in today's picture. Who put these on and why? A little research revealed that ornithologists have been banding pelicans and other migratory birds for a long time to study their migration patterns. A lot of White Pelicans were initially banded at Marsh Lake, Minnesota between 1972 and 1998. Evidently Dallas is right on the migration route between Minnesota and Mexico. One question remains. How do you catch a pelican? These are large, powerful birds. They don't even want you to get close to them.

I started washing the windows on the house this afternoon. I'd like to show Janet that I made at least a minimal effort to straighten things up while she was gone. It's hard to do more though. The house has a lot more problems than I have energy.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3649 - Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year. Even though the day was overcast and short, it was pleasant. We had an early Christmas dinner this evening, since Janet will be leaving to visit relatives soon. The meal was delicious and reminded me that the year is almost over. Where did the time go? It seems like time speeds up as you grow older.

When I did my grocery shopping today I noticed that the app I use to bypass the checkout line lets me buy alcohol now. I wonder why it took the technology gods this long to realize I was old enough to buy beer? I've assumed all along that they knew everything about me anyway. At any rate, this added convenience means that I'll never have to go through the checkout line again. I don't know why some people hate self-checkout. Self-checkout is great and no checkout at all is even better.

I applied for real NASA press credentials this morning. The editor of SpaceFlight Magazine said he would verify and approve my application. We'll see if that actually happens. Maybe the next time I go to Kennedy Space Center, I'll be a working journalist. I suspect that I have a very long road ahead, but I've made a start. Two published articles in less than six months is actually better than I expected.

I wanted to see the pelicans, so I walked all the way to the other side of the lake. This was a much longer walk than usual, but I was feeling good and didn't have much else to do. I wish the birds made their winter home on my side of the lake because I'm definitely not going to do this every day. The mystery of where all the birds went was finally answered. There weren't just pelicans at Pelican Bay. There were lots of ducks, geese, coots, and cormorants as well. I don't know what makes this particular place so attractive to waterfowl, but I'll know where to go for pictures now.

I've been writing this blog for so long that I forgot my Blogiversary this year. I just noticed on the calendar that it was last Sunday. Jeez. How many years does this make? I can't even remember off hand. Janet and I were trying to remember how many year we had been doing Santa Paws pictures. We couldn't remember that either. I'll have to go back and amend the header of last Sunday's post. It seemed like such a big deal when I had posted for 500 days. Now, after writing this thing for well over ten years, the blog just seems like it was always here. Like Winter Solstice and Christmas, I don't question it. Writing in the evening is just something I do.

I'll go to the gym tomorrow morning. That's just something I do as well. I find comfort in my structured routines. Hopefully, I'll add a few things to them in the year ahead. Will I make it as a space reporter? Will I enjoy my time at the observatory? Will we ever get a dog again. You'll just have to keep reading to find out.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3629

Another active Sunday. I managed to put 22,000 steps under my belt today. It didn't hurt that it was a clear, sunny Fall day. Janet and I took turns being away from the house, so someone was always home with Ginny. When I returned from the gym this morning she gave me one of those Dalmatian smiles. This was the first time we'd seen Ginny smile. I think she likes me.

Some days it's hard to take my five mile walk after I've been to the gym, but today I seemed to have more energy than usual. I even managed to clear the water off the roof as well. When I was walking, I saw my first Kestrel of the season. You never see these birds in the summer, but the American Kestrel is a frequent visitor to the park during the winter months. These small falcons always seem to be looking for food. I also saw a formation of White Pelicans returning to their winter home on Pelican Bay. They approached at a high altitude and then descended in a concentric circle. They almost looked like little airplanes on final approach.

I've decided that I like walking toward the end of the day. As the shadows grow longer and twilight approaches, everything changes quickly. If I start my walk at 4 PM, I can go from full sunlight to darkness in less than two hours. Sunsets are always beautiful on the lake on a clear day. As I approached home in late twilight, I was able to see Venus and Jupiter again. Venus was higher in the sky while Jupiter had moved lower. I was surprised at how much their positions had changed since the last time I saw them.

I was also surprised at how well my roof repairs have held up. We have had a significant amount of rain since I made the repairs and so far there have been no leaks. When I cleared the remaining standing water away this afternoon, everything looked pretty solid. I think my technique in applying the silicon material has improved. This stuff is very expensive and I used to apply a thin coat to cover a wider area. That was a bad idea. You need a thick coat to be effective. It's almost best if you just pour the stuff on the roof and let is flow, rather than try to spread it thinly using a paint roller. I'm learning. I have about a gallon to the silicon material left. I'll try to use if wisely the next time we have a really warm day.

We got another pet monitor to replace the one that broke recently. This probably means that we will be fostering more dogs in the future. Ginny needs to return to the kennel tomorrow afternoon. We've really enjoyed having her as a house guest, but she needs to go to her forever home soon. I used to think that it would be impossible for me to foster dogs because I would want to keep them all. Ginny is near perfect, but I am glad she has already found a good home. I don't know what has caused me to become a little less possessive but it's probably a good thing. Maybe we helped prepare Ginny for the journey she has ahead. On the other hand, maybe we just spoiled her. Either way, it was a very pleasant week. I'm going to miss this girl.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3628

I'll never get used to Texas weather. It was so warm today that our air conditioner came on again. It was actually a very nice day; just a little unexpected. I should have taken advantage of the situation because warm weather like this won't last long. Another cold front is probably already on the way.

I got my grocery shopping done right after breakfast so I could be home again when Janet needed to leave. Ginny did well when we were away for Thanksgiving dinner, but we hate to leave her penned up. This is her vacation and we'd like it to be enjoyable. By all indications, Ginny is having a very good time. She is totally relaxed now and like many female Dalmatians is showing us her bossy side. She reminds us a lot of Dot. She is very gentle and well behaved, but isn't shy about letting you know when it's time to get up, when it's time to go to bed, and when it's time for dinner.

I should have made my travel arrangements today, but I never got around to it. I didn't go up on the roof either. Basically all I did was fill the car with gas, get a few groceries, and take my walk when Janet got back home again. Looking after Ginny gave me a good excuse to sit around the house and be lazy. Ginny is definitely a good dog to take a nap with.

The park was packed with people this afternoon. I guess everybody knew that a seventy-five degree day on the last day of November shouldn't be wasted. It's weird that even Mom's pushing strollers are faster than me in the park, but I'm still pretty speedy at my gym. It's all relative I guess. Twenty-five year olds move faster than seventy-five year olds.

The Pelicans were gone today. This happens from time to time. I wonder where they go? They never seem to do anything individually. It's all or nothing with these birds. They probably just get bored swimming around Pelican Bay all day. They'll probably all be back tomorrow. All this group activity makes the one Pelican who stayed behind last Summer seem even stranger.

I still haven't fixed the big divot in the front yard made by the speeding car a few weeks ago. My neighbor hasn't fixed her yard damage either. I wonder how long it would take for nature to just fix the problem naturally? The missing grass would eventually fill in. Erosion would round out the sharp gouge. In five years everything would probably look fine again. I probably can't get away with ignoring this for five years though.

It's back to the gym tomorrow. I'd better get the water off the roof too. There's no point in tempting fate. If I keep up my part of the bargain, maybe we can avoid further roof leaks for another year or two.

Belle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3610

It was so cold today. I felt like staying under a warm blanket all day, but knew that I had to face facts and admit that it was winter. I took my time eating breakfast in hopes that it would get warmer. Maybe the temperature rose a few degrees, but it wasn't enough to notice.

I wasn't surprised that the park was empty today. It was just me and an insane jogger who wasn't even wearing a jacket or a hat. I was warm enough. I looked like the Michelin Man, wearing a puffy outer down coat over a lighter inner down jacket. Add a pair of compression pants under my jeans. a wool hat, and some heavy insulated boots and it was a miracle I could even move.

I finished the entire five miles. There were a few spots where the wind was pretty nasty, but for the most part it was a beautiful winter day. I'm glad I dressed warmly. Anything lighter and I would have froze. When I passed the area where the Pelicans spend the winter, they were all huddled together in a big clump. Maybe this was their way of staying warm. What do I know though. If I was a cold Pelican, the first thing I would do was get out of the water.

There seem to be an abundance of opportunities to attend NASA events in December. After I got rejected to attend the Space X ISS resupply launch, I applied to attend the first Boeing Starliner launch a few weeks later. Now there's an opportunity to tour the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. I'm not a huge fan of New Orleans but it would be cool to see the Artemis moon rocket being assembled. Should I apply for this event too? I'm not even sure if I could afford to do both.

I did try to contact the volunteer director at McDonald Observatory today. I haven't heard anything about my application yet. The director wasn't in, so I sent him an e-mail. It would be nice to know if these thoughts I've been having about spending time on Mount Locke this Spring are real or just a fantasy. Sometimes I think all my travel plans are just a fantasy. It's not like I actually need to do any of this.

We'll see what happens. I might be very busy toward the end of the year, or I could just be sitting here wondering if the roof was going to leak. I wish that getting selected to attend rocket launches wasn't so competitive, but that's just the way it is. When something is desirable, there are usually lot of people who want to take advantage of the opportunity. I suspect that being an on-site volunteer at the observatory is the same way. I know for a fact that there are a ton of amateur astronomers who are way more dedicated than me. A lot of them would probably love to spend time at McDonald Observatory. Hey, I rarely even look through a telescope. The only thing that works in my favor is that I'm a pretty decent writer. Sometimes a story needs to be told.

We have a rare adoption event to attend this weekend. Janet and I still can't decide which dog to take. Some aren't quite ready to be around a crowd yet and others might end up being adopted before the event. With the weather we've been having, it might even be too cold for the dogs to be outside. No sense in fretting yet. If I've learned anything it's that a lot can change in a week.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3600

There was very little to complain about today. It was a beautiful Fall day. I filled the car with gas, did my Saturday shopping, and took a long walk. Life seems less stressful than it did last year at this time. I was moving into a new storage warehouse, Dash was having alarming vestibular seizures, and the roof was leaking. The roof is still leaking of course, but some things never change.

I've been following the progress of Union Pacific's Big Boy 4014 as it makes a commemorative journey through the western United States to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The Big Boy was the largest steam locomotive ever made and number 4014 is the last one still running. I was hoping that this journey would take the train through Dallas, but the closest it's going to get will be when it arrives in Palestine, Texas next week. Is it worth a trip to Palestine to see this impressive old steam locomotive? I'm still trying to decide. I guess I'd still consider myself a railfan, but trains aren't nearly as important to me as they used to be. I suspect I could say the same about a lot of things.

If the weather stays nice tomorrow I might go up on the roof and see if I can find the source of the current leak. Since the leak is small and the area directly above it appears solid, this task may prove impossible. I've still got some of the silicon material and I might as well use it. Once you open the container, the material won't stay liquid forever. I'm not sure what will happen to the stuff after our first freeze either. Since the water is coming through a can light in the ceiling, it is probably following the metal electrical conduit lines. The actual source of the leak could be anywhere.

Yesterday, all the White Pelicans were gone. Today, they were back again. I wonder where these birds go when they are not at the lake? The Double-crested Cormorants seem to do everything together as well. Sometimes I see huge groups of these birds leave the lake to go somewhere else. I rarely see Cormorants fly anywhere alone. The Raptors in the area always fly alone. I saw a nice looking Red-shouldered Hawk today. It's easy to see why small animals are wary of hawks. They are always looking for food. Although the birds in the park are interesting, I'd never make a proper birder. I see lots of birders with their long telephoto lenses, binoculars and note pads. I'm just not that obsessive about counting things.

Truthfully, I'm probably the wrong person to be calling anyone else obsessive. I've been making a blog entry every day for 3600 consecutive days. Why? I complete my five mile walk even when the weather is terrible. I'll go to the gym tomorrow as well, even though I don't really enjoy exercise. It's probably best that I don't question these things. There doesn't have to be a reason for everything.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3584

When I was walking today, I encountered a Red-shouldered Hawk at the edge of the path. The bird stood its ground as I approached. This was odd. Usually when I see Raptors, they are either flying overhead or sitting on the top branch of a nearby tree. I'd never seen one so close before. When I got within three feet of the bird I could see what it was doing. The Hawk had just caught a lizard and seemed to be finishing it off with its talons. It was actually hopping up and down on the hapless lizard. I didn't have a good camera with me today, but was close enough to take a few pictures with my phone. I didn't scare this Hawk at all. I thought about getting a little closer so I could get a better picture but thought better of the idea. The Hawk really wanted that lizard and didn't want me to get closer. I definitely didn't want the bird attacking me. Those talons could do some damage. If I'd had a decent camera with me today, I could have gotten some amazing pictures. Oh, well. I've got the memories.

The Hawk wasn't the only bird I noticed today. The rest of the American White Pelicans have arrived.    There must have been fifty Pelicans swimming in the lake this morning. The birds weren't here yesterday. They seems to have followed the cold front to Dallas, just like the previous batch of Pelicans did last week. If I knew more about birds or the weather, all this strange avian behavior might make sense to me. I don't know when I'll see a Red-shouldered Hawk stomping a lizard to death again, but I'll be seeing the Pelicans for the rest of the winter. I think they are here to stay.

I went back to the dentist this afternoon and got new impressions made. The putty the dental assistant squirts in your mouth with a syringe is called Vinyl Polysiloxane. It's definitely not something you'd want to swallow. A metal plate is placed in your mouth and pressed firmly against the putty which hardens in a minute or two. I'm always afraid that when the hardened impression is removed it will take a few teeth with it. The stuff pulls away cleanly though. Hopefully the mold won't break this time. I don't want to go back and do this again.

I thought about going up on the roof when I returned home, but washed the car instead. It looks like we are going to have at least six days of clear dry weather before it rains again. I'm going to give the roof as much time to dry as I can. If I make the repairs on a completely dry roof they are a lot more likely to succeed.  When I was at the dentist today, I kept wondering how similar the roof coating is to the putty the dentist used to make my impressions. They both contain silicon.

I read an article today that said excessive brain activity has been linked to a shorter lifespan. If this is true I should live forever. I kind of like this idea that a quiet brain is good for you. I'd like to think I've got a quiet brain. I can go for long periods of time without thinking about anything. Actually, I guess I do think about things. I just don't fret about them.

Maybe I'll take a good camera with me tomorrow. Maybe I'll have pancakes for breakfast. Actually, I have no idea what I'll be doing in the morning. My brain is quiet.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3559

It's not even October yet and Halloween is already in full swing. People are buying pumpkins. The stores are full of Halloween candy and pumpkin spice flavors. Costume ideas are being shared on Facebook. I wonder why this holiday has become so popular. I used to go trick or treating as a kid, but I never remember preparing for the day a month in advance. I guess what I remember most is that our parents let us wander around the neighborhood for hours at night with no supervision whatsoever. It's kind of ironic. The scariest day of the year used to be completely safe.

I got my 20,000 steps today. There really isn't time for much else on these high activity days. My heart rate was higher than usual at the gym. Why? I certainly wasn't exercising any harder. Even the smallest inconsistency in my life catches my attention these days. There was something different in the park as well. The first of the Winter White Pelicans have arrived. There are four birds at the lake now. Since the pelican that never migrated disappeared a week before these new birds arrived, I don't know whether he left to get the others or left because he knew they would be arriving soon. Is the pelican I watched all Summer one of the four birds I'm seeing now? I'll probably never know because all pelicans look the same to me.

I downloaded the latest system for my Apple watch today. Apple really wants to monitor your health. Now, in addition to monitoring for signs of Atrial fibrillation and sending out an alert if you take a hard fall, the watch will warn you if your are around a noise loud enough to cause hearing damage. They could probably add blood pressure measurement to the list with a watch band that would expand like a blood pressure cuff. I don't know how they'll be able to monitor blood sugar levels, but I hear they're working on it. The new health and safety features are cool, but I like the new California watch face. This face was popularized by Panerai and other watch makers back in the 1930's and I've always liked the look of it. I'd like to see Apple add more well known watch faces.

The Ken Burns documentary about Country Music resumed tonight and I guess I'm hooked for the entire series. As the show slowly crawls its way toward modern times, some of the history is starting to seem familiar. Back in my ad agency days I used to record jingles and commercials in Nashville. Some of the session musicians featured on tonight's show were used on these commercials. During this time, I remember seeing a young Dolly Parton singing with Porter Wagoner during a taping of their popular TV show. Much later I think several members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were session musicians on some other commercials I recorded in Nashville. Nashville always had an allure for anyone who fancied themselves as a songwriter. I never moved to Nashville but I did think about it briefly for a while.

Tomorrow it's back to drinking fruit smoothies again. Since it's Monday, we'll probably visit the Dalmatians as well. The tree guys are scheduled to return on Tuesday to remove the rest of the big Elm tree that fell in June. The yard is going to seem strange without this familiar tree. I wish the roofers would return with a big can of silicon coating. Of course it would seem really strange if they actually did.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3551

I got asked to reprint a business card I'd designed years and years ago. I couldn't even remember doing the card, but it seemed like something I might have done. I looked through my files and couldn't find anything. I did find hundreds of projects I'd completely forgotten about. I tried to remember printers I used to use and looked up my account on several that still had websites. Nothing again. One printer I've used dozens of times had purged all my files. My folder of old jobs was completely empty. This was a weird feeling. When you retire, it doesn't take long for you to be forgotten. Jeez. It hasn't been that long. Is it that weird to want to reprint a twelve year old business card? I could have recreated the card from scratch in less time than I took looking for the missing file tonight. I should have been able to find the file though. I keep good records. I always thought printers kept old jobs too. Live and learn. I guess I'll have to recreate the business card from scratch.

As I expected, our road was a mess when the highway department finally closed it to demolish the bridge. There were long lines of cars trying to exit to the poorly planned detour routes. It's going to be a pain to travel North now. I guess I'm going to have to just head South for a while. I was able to get gas, do my grocery shopping, pick up a prescription, and go to the post office by heading in a Southerly direction. Eventually I'll have to go North though.

Somebody already took the two lawn mowers I took out to the curb the other day. That didn't take long. If they were just trying to sell scrap metal, they're probably happy with their find. If they were planning to get the mowers working again and actually use them, there's going to be some frustration. You can't even get parts for one of these old mowers and the other one needs a lot of work. I'm glad the mowers got picked up though. The city might not have even taken them on bulky trash day because there was still a little gas in the tanks.

The White Pelican has been gone for a week. If he's gone for good, the bird sure picked a weird time to migrate. His buddies will be returning for the Winter soon. Maybe the bird knew this. I wonder if birds can be antisocial? Maybe this Pelican just wants to be left alone.

I definitely paid a price for the barbecue I ate last night. I woke up with heartburn several times during the night. Was the tasty meal worth it? Who knows. I know exactly what to eat to avoid acid reflux, but it gets boring. It's a shame that the things that bring the most pleasure usually cause the most trouble. I'll definitely be eating barbecue, chili, and pizza again, but I'll give it a rest for a while. When I eat healthy, I sleep better. A good night's sleep trumps just about anything these days.

It's back to the gym tomorrow. This week sure went quickly. I never did get my 20,000 steps yesterday. I fell asleep 37 steps short.

Nicholas is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3490

I finally got some better pictures of Charlie when we visited the Dalmatian Rescue kennels today. He's a hard boy to photograph because he never stays still. I wanted a picture where his ears looked nice, his tongue wasn't hanging out, and there wasn't a ball in his mouth. Eventually I got one.

All the dogs have adjusted well to being in the kennel. They get a lot of attention, are well fed, and are recovering from the medical problems many of them had when they entered the program. They all seem so normal now that I don't think any of them will have any problems adjusting to life in the forever homes each of them will find soon.

We spend a lot of time at the boarding kennel so I don't take a morning walk on Monday's anymore. I still had time for a leisurely breakfast and a few errands before we left for the kennel, but that was about it. I had just enough time to pay some bills, go to the post office, and pick up a few things at Home Depot before we left.

I still had to take some sort of walk when we returned late in the afternoon. This was probably a mistake, but I'm addicted to those Fitbit steps. It was really hot and humid today. I had to stop several times to wet down my shirt and hat in a nearby water fountain. The Pelican has returned but the Egrets are gone. I guess these birds don't like to share the same water. There were water turtles basking on several semi-submerged logs. I guess they liked the sun better than I did.

I'm finally starting to get some bids for the last piece of art I put up for auction. I guess lowering the reserve made a difference. This is just an online auction so there is no drama. Maybe that's for the best. This piece got no attention at all when it was offered at a big auction in New York several months ago. I wish I had more art to unload. The bills for my trip to Florida are starting to come in and it is obvious that travel can be just as expensive as collecting things. I think travel is the way to go now though. When you collect memories they don't take up a lot of space.

I wish I didn't have problems with heartburn. I had some leftover pizza for dinner and I can already tell that it's going to be a long night. Pizza, spaghetti, and chili are just about the only things that give me problems. It's a shame because I love these things. We had steaks last night and a chicken casserole over the weekend and I had no problems at all. Whenever I eat vegetarian meals I don't have any problems either. It's clear that I shouldn't eat pizza, but I hate to give it up entirely. Every once in a while I just resign myself to heartburn.

A carpenter is coming over tomorrow to give me an estimate on repairing the greenhouse. If I like the guy I may get some bids on fixing other things around the house as well. There's certainly plenty of things that need to be fixed. It's hard to find an experienced carpenter who will work on small jobs. I don't know if this guy's any good, but one of my neighbors likes him a lot. I finally called the carpenter because I kept seeing his truck in front of the neighbor's house.

I'll add Charlie's new picture to the Dalmatian website tomorrow. I hope the carpenter shows up. You never know with these guys.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3487

Some days are very uneventful. I had a different type of omelet this morning when I went out for breakfast at the new place in the neighborhood. For the second week in a row they gave me free juice. I like this place. There are lots of things to try on the menu, so this will probably be my go-to place for the rest of the summer. You can tell this is a neighborhood restaurant. There are lots of older customers and lots of young families. No singles at all.

I tried to take my first walk of the day before things got too hot. I guess I failed because I still came home drenched in sweat. There are sailing classes for kids on the lake during the summer. This morning I saw a small sailboat tipped over with other boats nearby. At first I thought this was an emergency, but several minutes later the boat was upright again. Then another boat tipped over and this one quickly became upright again as well. It finally dawned on me that the kids were being taught what to do in case their boat capsized when they were the only one on board. This would definitely be a good skill to learn.

The White Pelican has disappeared again, but I'm seeing a lot of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers lately. These birds are amazing to watch, making abrupt turns in the sky and even hovering like helicopters at times. When I see these birds I think I need to bring a better camera with me, but it is too hot for that. A heavy camera would just be an encumbrance. Did I tell you that I take most of my wildlife pictures in the winter.

The stock market set an all time high today. All three major indices closed at record levels. This is good news but it makes me a little nervous. Too many times in the past I have witnessed the market set a new record and then immediately go into a slump. I hope this won't happen again but I wouldn't be terribly surprised. It's all about fear and greed. If enough people get nervous they will take their money off the table.

On day like these when nothing is happening I charge batteries. It doesn't take long to find a piece of equipment with a dead battery in the office. I try to keep everything charged, but it's easy to forget about things. If you leave a battery uncharged for long enough it becomes useless and impossible to charge. It's a constant struggle. I thought I'd reached the end of the line with an old laptop I hadn't used in a while, but the battery light finally started glowing and by the end of the day the computer was fully charged again. I've given up on watch batteries. It's just too much trouble to keep a stock of weird little batteries and taking the back off some of these watches has become a giant pain. The watches need to go to auction. All you really need these days is a Fitbit.

I guess I'm not as patient as I thought I was. I keep wondering what my article will look like in the magazine, but I'm going to have to wait until mid-August to find out. Such a long time.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3484

I spent my day thinking about small things. I noticed that a group of about twelve Great Egrets have taken over the small corner of the lake where the wayward Pelican resides. When the new birds arrived, the Pelican disappeared. I wonder why? Are birds this territorial? Did the two camps refuse to share fish? Where did all these Egrets come from anyway? I thought the Pelican was gone for good and then today it reappeared after being gone for a week. All my theories are out the window now.

I also wonder why almost all the fishermen at the lake use bank poles. It's very rare to see anyone spincasting. The people with bank poles usually just sit in a lawn chair and watch their poles. Is there method to this madness or are these fishermen just lazy. Why would anyone even want to eat the fish in this lake anyway? The water is polluted. Who am I to judge though? I bet a lot of the fresh fish you see in the seafood section at your local supermarket have spent time in polluted water. I don't trust farm raised fish at all after what I've read about Tilapia.

I'm starting to see a lot of Onewheel boards and electric scooters at the park. Why did these things catch on and Segways didn't? Maybe it was the price. Maybe nobody thought Segways were cool. I never see these things anymore. I don't understand this need for speed at all. When I walk through the park there is plenty of time to wonder where the Pelican went or why the Passionflower vines I see along the path bloom so infrequently. If I was speeding around on a Onewheel or even a bicycle, I'd never see anything. I'd just be worrying about killing myself.

I heard that Ross Perot died today. Electronic Data Systems was one of my first clients when I started my company. Ross is still the reason that there are a lot of suits in my closet. He ran a tight ship in the early days. Even creative people like me had to wear a suit when you called on the company. I never dressed better. Male employees had to wear a tie just to eat in the company cafeteria. I enjoyed working for EDS and later Siemens in Germany though. These conservative companies made me feel like a wild and crazy guy.

I enjoyed watching the first segment of Chasing the Moon on PBS last night. I'm going to watch the next segment tonight even though it will keep me up past my bedtime. I guess it doesn't matter how late I stay up. The blog will still get posted before midnight and there are no real plans for tomorrow. I did manage to find somebody who will give me a bid on replacing the greenhouse today. It might be months before any work begins but at least I'm making progress. I've set a pretty low bar for myself. As long as I do something every day, I'm good.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3471

I'm back on Dallas time. Not surprisingly, I'm back on my regular schedule as well. I made my signature smoothie with a big bowl full of peaches, strawberries and blueberries, a banana, two raw eggs, 1/4 cup of Quaker Oats, a pinch of Cinnamon, and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. I know it's not rocket science, but the Vitamix is a wonderful machine. On my morning walk I noticed that the wayward White Pelican that refuses to migrate was still sitting on its favorite log at the lake. I wanted to tell the bird that I'd seen several endangered Brown Pelicans while I was in Florida. Not that the Pelican would care, but I also saw a Bald Eagle, lots of Ibis and Egrets, and some of the largest insects I'd encountered in a while. Florida has even more critters than Texas.

I'm still a bit surprised that the trip went so smoothly. I'm used to getting lost, sick, or stressed while I'm away from home. This little journey was a welcome change of pace. Travel is so easy these days. I made all the arrangements on my phone. Airline, hotel, and rental car reservations were all made in a matter of minutes on an app with a few easy clicks. Travel agents and paperwork seem to be a thing of the past. I made the entire trip without using any cash. Cash seems to be a thing of the past as well.

Meeting so many clever people at the Space Center inspired me to make an attempt to up my game a bit. I decided to write an extended article about what it meant to be standing on the same launch pad that sent astronauts to the moon fifty years after the Apollo 11 landing. I will submit the article to several magazines for publication if I ever finish it. I started writing this afternoon after I returned from my walk. Lord knows if the article will ever get published but at least I'm making an effort. I've written a shitload of ads and TV commercials but I haven't gotten anything published in a magazine since I used to be a contributing editor for The Dalmatian Quarterly many years ago.

I'm always humbled by the people I meet at these NASA events. On previous trips I met Bobak Ferdowsi, the talented JPL systems engineer who gained a bit of fame by wearing a mohawk haircut with stars shaved in his head during the televised Mars Curiosity landing. Scott Manley, the talkative Scottish YouTube personality and Kerbal Space Program expert was on the bus with me during a memorable launch at Vandenberg Airforce Base. This time my group included an actress who has appeared on Star Trek and the guy who invented the Fidget Spinner. Somehow, I'm always the oldest guy in the room.

This morning while I was walking I saw several large trucks in the neighborhood that were clearly intended for picking up brush and debris. I was hoping that these trucks would stop on my street and pick up the huge pile of brush and logs that is currently covering my front lawn. Nope. The trucks didn't pick up anything in the neighborhood. They were just passing through. I wonder how long it's going to take to clear away all the debris from our recent wind storm. The park department is doing a good job of cleaning up the damage in the park, but nothing has happened on the streets. There are still huge stacks of brush and logs piled up along every street in our neighborhood.

I thought I managed to escape the mosquitoes while I was in Florida, but several suspicious red welts appeared on my neck and face this morning. It seems that the mosquitoes got me anyway. What's with the time delay? Mosquito bites appear immediately in Texas.

Derrick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3436

I need to call the plumber. The leaking shower head is getting worse. I put a bucket under the drip after I took a shower today and it only took a couple of hours for the bucket to become full. I was surprised. It just seems like a little drip, but it is relentless. I don't think I can fix the faucets myself. I took the handles off today to look at the mechanism and it looked unfamiliar. I'd better leave this alone.

Since I couldn't fix the leak, I defrosted the little refrigerator instead. Melting ice is more my speed. I don't know why we even use the little refrigerator anymore. There's plenty of space in the big refrigerator. I guess I just like to be prepared. The little refrigerator can run off a generator. We may need it someday.

I keep wondering about the White Pelican I see on my walks. It is apparently never going to migrate. The bird seems content to live by itself on a quiet little bay at the lake. There are probably no other Pelicans within 1000 miles right now but the bird seems happy enough. It catches fish in the lake, sits on logs for hours at a time observing things and occasionally flaps its wings and flies. Maybe this is my spirit animal.

I tried out some different shoes today with thinner socks. Maybe this combination is better. I had very little foot pain on today's walks. The Vibram soles get caked with mud easily, but that's a small problem. Muddy boots clean up easily with a garden hose. I'll wear these for a while and see if they encourage me to walk longer.

I wrote a letter to my sister this afternoon and paid a credit card bill. Credit card bills are frustrating because they are always larger than I expect. It's amazing what you can forget during a month. My Webflow account auto renewed this month. I forgot about that one. I wonder if I even still need this? I subscribed to this advanced web development tool so I could build mobile ready websites for my clients. They all got really nice sites, but eventually left anyway. I haven't built a new website in almost a year.

I wish my plumbing problem would magically go away overnight. I hate dealing with plumbers. Somehow, little problems always end up turning into big problems. In theory, fixing some leaky faucets shouldn't be a big deal, but I've been wrong before. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I have a feeling that it's going to be a lot like today.

Rosco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3422

An all day rain really tests my patience. I kept looking at the weather radar over and over again this morning, hoping that the storm would move faster. No such luck. Since I couldn't walk and didn't feel like driving in the rain, I was left with tending to the pumps on the roof and trying to stay out of Janet's way while she cleaned. I think the weather radar is more interesting than TV these days. At least there's something different every time I look. I forget what day it is when I look at the TV news. It is always the same.

Eventually the storm line moved to the East and the rain finally stopped. I immediately put on my boots and took a walk. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that my waterproof boots were no longer waterproof. They do pretty well walking through wet grass, but I had to navigate some deep puddles today. Maybe this will be the incentive I need to go out and find some high quality boots that really fit. Chances are that the ground will dry out soon enough and I'll just continue wearing the old boots. Given a chance to be decisive, I'll almost always procrastinate.

The park is interesting after a rain. You tend to see birds and animals that remain hidden otherwise. The ducks were everywhere. They were in the sky, on the water, and wandering around in the meadows looking for a place to nest. I saw a Great Egret catching a fish and I even found the White Pelican again. It was a long way away, but it was definitely the same bird. As long as I'm not actually getting wet, I love cold damp days. I'm usually the only one in the park and the soft light on cloudy days is great for photography.

I don't think our mail carrier delivered the mail today. That old adage "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night..." must not mean much anymore. Mail delivery used to be as regular as clockwork back in the days when the entire neighborhood knew their mail carrier by name. Times have changed. Every time I see our mail carrier now, it's a different person. It's probably just as well that our carrier doesn't bother to deliver the mail on rainy days. Whenever these guys do come out in the rain, the mail is a soggy mess.

I'm really becoming a Luddite. Not only am I nostalgic about reliable mail service, I've become very interested in the Transcontinental Railroad's 150th anniversary celebration. Union Pacific has restored one of the last remaining Big Boy locomotives to service and it's back on the rails right now headed toward Ogden, Utah where the golden spike was driven. The last time one of these trains ran was back in 1962. A Dallas rail museum has a non-working example of the Big Boy on display, but I had no idea that one was being restored to service. The Big Boy weighs more than a fully loaded 747 and is considered one of the most complex purely mechanical machines ever built. Kuddos to the folks who got it running again. I'd love to see this thing if it ever comes through Texas on its year long commemorative tour. I've ridden on several steam trains before, but nothing like this.

I should have no trouble walking tomorrow. I think we're going to get some sunshine. It won't last long though. Another storm system is supposed to arrive on Friday. I'm really getting tired of this extended rainy season. I keep forgetting that this happens every year. I think we get our entire year's quota of rain in May.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3416

I was wrong about the weather yesterday. We were in the path of a big storm after all. It just arrived a little later than I expected. I can't relax during storms anymore. I keep expecting a leak to appear in the living room, the power to go out, the greenhouse roof to blow away, or a large tree to fall on the house. All these things have happened in the past. I went outside and started the two sump pumps. I moved some of the furniture in the living room. And I tried to go to sleep. It was really all I could do.

The pumps ran all night and they were still pumping water off the roof early this morning. We got a lot of rain but we didn't lose power and the roof didn't leak. I wish I could say that the rain was over but I think we're going to get a repeat performance tonight. By the time I finished breakfast, the last of today's bad weather had moved to the East and I was able to take my morning walk. I saw the pelican flying low over the lake this morning. It was looking for a fish to eat. I'm glad the bird isn't injured, but I'm still puzzled why it didn't join the other pelicans on their annual Spring migration.

I got my phone bill today and was surprised to see that it had gone up. At first I though I had been charged extra for using the phone while I was in Houston, but there are no roaming charges anymore. My bill has been exactly the same for several years now. When I looked for an explanation for the increase I saw a small item in fine print that just said "service changes." I certainly haven't made any changes, so I called customer service to see what was going on. "Oh, AT&T raised your rates," the lady told me. "We grandfathered your plan for as long as we could, but we needed to bring you into line with current rates." I was irritated, but I wasn't really surprised. This was exactly what the storage warehouse people did to me. Why should the phone company be any different.

I'm not a big fan of the subscription economy. I think the whole idea is to get you hooked on something and then continuously raise your rates. Netflix does this. Microsoft does this. It looks like the phone company does it too. The world was much simpler when you could watch TV over the air for free and actually owned the software and entertainment you bought. I'm still using a fifteen year old version of Microsoft Word because I just don't feel like paying over and over again for Office 365.

You'd think I'd be getting a lot more done without a dog to take care of, but actually I'm doing less. I've lost my focus. I'm sure this will change. I'm just not clear what comes next. Walking is good. I've started fixing myself more interesting things for dinner. I'm going to continue photographing plants and animals in the park even though I've already documented everything ten times over. Janet wants to travel. Somehow I don't think going to the post office counts as travel.

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3415

For almost as long as I can remember, the first of the month was the day we gave the dogs their heartworm pill. We've seen so many heartworm positive dogs in the rescue program over the years that we knew how important it was to treat our own dogs. It felt weird to skip this monthly ritual today. After thirty two years it was almost the way we measured time. Eventually I'll get used to a life without dogs. Not today though.

I hear thunder, but we still haven't seen much rain. There appears to be a huge storm to the North of us but it looks like we'll get lucky again. Unless the wind changes, the storm will be in Oklahoma soon. At the most, we'll just get a few showers. I hope this trend continues. I've been able to take my morning walk and run my errands without incident. I haven't even had to turn on the pumps yet.

Today's errands were minor. I had to go to the bank and then I took a thank you letter to the post office. Janet and I debated about who would write the letter since our handwriting skills have become so bad.  My handwriting turned out to be marginally better than hers, so I ended up writing the letter. There are very few occasions to write in cursive anymore. You kind of forget how to do it. My writing is still readable, but it certainly isn't very pretty. My sister has written the first draft for several books completely in longhand. Not me. It's so much easier to use the computer.

I'm trying to do at least one useful thing every day. Today I sorted through a huge pile of socks and threw away all the ones with a hole in the heel. When I was done I had filled a kitchen trash sack with socks, but I still had way too many. A lot of the remaining socks are brand new but I doubt that I'll wear them. I have trouble finding the right size. Medium adult socks often feel too small and large socks are almost always too big. My foot must be somewhere in between. It ought to be easier to find perfectly fitting shoes and socks. Why aren't all shoes available in different widths? A wide shoe is much more comfortable to me. You can't always find wide shoes. I don't like to shop either. I often just buy stuff without trying it on. I don't think you even can try on socks before you buy. No wonder I have so much stuff that doesn't fit.

The last White Pelican is still at the lake. The bird was sitting on a different log today, so at least it can move. I kind of identify with this straggler. All the other pelicans are probably in North Dakota by now. Did they leave this guy behind on purpose?  Birds can be pretty mean.  Maybe the pelican just felt no desire to migrate. It is a long way to fly and the lake is pretty nice. Who knows. A group of Quaker parrots decide to make the lake their permanent home a few years ago. Maybe this pelican will too.

I wonder if I can find something useful to do tomorrow. It definitely won't be counting socks. A two hour task sounds about right. Anything longer could seriously cut into a day of doing nothing.

Betsy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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