Day 2557

Sometimes it's embarrassing to explain how I spend my day. Even the big events can be kind of trivial. Spelling errors always bother me. Especially when I make them myself. This morning I noticed a glaring spelling error in yesterday's blog post and I wasted hours trying to correct it. You'd think it would be easy to just correct the error and update the blog. Well, nothing is easy with me. Every time I publish a post, it is time stamped and syndicated to my various social media accounts. Correcting the blog itself would not correct the way it looks on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else. I had to figure out a way to erase all those links and then publish a new version with yesterday evening's date. Heaven forbid that it looked like I skipped a day. Does any of this even matter? Of course not. Does it matter to me. Apparently so. I finally got everything looking exactly the way it should and now the unfortunate spelling error never even existed. Morning wasted.

I've definitely got a cold now.  Once you catch a cold there isn't a lot you can do. There are hundreds of cold remedies on the market, but I find that very few of them help at all. You've just got to let the cold run its course. A lot of people take antihistamines, but I hate the way they make me feel. My head feels like it is going to explode after I've taken antihistamine pills. Cough drops provide mild relief from a sore throat, but if the sore throat is bad, you can go through a bag of cough drops in a day. That's a lot of sugar and menthol. I don't have a fever, so I'm hoping this cold won't be too bad. The weather certainly isn't helping. It was nasty again today.

I got a package from B&H this morning. Last week I'd ordered two small items that could have easily fit in the same envelope. Only one of the items arrived. The other is being shipped separately and apparently I have to sign for it. Why? It would have been so easy to dump both items in the same envelope. Since I hate waiting around all day for the UPS guy, now I've got to drive down to the UPS service center and pick up the shipment myself. UPS drivers rarely leave packages at the front door anymore, since there are people who follow the brown trucks around and then steal the packages. I'll be glad when Amazon perfects drone delivery. Maybe they can use military grade drones and just shoot the package thieves. I don't think anyone would mind.

I thought I'd have Pad Thai for dinner tonight. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I had enough reward points at Pei Wei to get a free meal. When I went to pick up my dinner, I discovered that my points had expired. Damn. I must have looked really disappointed because the guy at the register looked up my account on the computer and told me he'd give me the Pad Thai for free anyway because my points had only expired a few days ago. What a nice surprise. For a few short moments I felt like humanity wasn't doomed after all.

Dot had lots of accidents today. I always thought that poop was the big problem, but now I'm discovering that pee is actually harder to clean up. When Dot pees inside, it soaks through everything it touches almost instantly. I did a lot of laundry today and spent some time scrubbing the floor as well. I'm hoping that Dot's oncologist can give me some advice on controlling incontinence when we go for our cancer recheck on Friday.

Maybe a good night's sleep will conquer this cold. It's not very likely, but I can always hope.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2551

Remind me to never move up north. We woke up to temperatures in the low 30's with a brisk wind. It might as well have been 40 below zero to me. Even though I went to high school in Alaska and have spent a Winter in Idaho, I have completely lost my tolerance for cold. We put Dash's quilted fleece coat on before we walked this morning, but couldn't figure out how to put a coat over Dot's bulky harness. Neither dog seemed to mind the cold. Actually, they seemed to enjoy it. I quickly learned to keep a warm coat next to the door in case Dot needed to go outside. She spent just as much time wandering around aimlessly as she does in warmer weather. I followed dutifully behind, holding up her rear legs, while whispering "for the love of god, please hurry up and pee," to myself.

Dash had a vet appointment this morning. He's starting to have trouble hopping in the car, so it's only a matter of time before his legs start to go out as well. All Dalmatians seem to have this problem as they get older. This wasn't what we went the the vet for, however. All Dash needed today was to get his anal glands expressed. We need to do this at least once a month. Nobody knows why his glands fill up so quickly, but he's had this problem all his life. I'm getting better at scheduling. I made an early appointment so we'd be away while Dot was sleeping. It worked well. She was still asleep when we returned.

Luckily, the furnace is working great this year. Even though it was near freezing outside, the house was toasty warm. I stayed inside as much as I could. There were several website updates that needed attention today, but there was nothing very demanding. I slowly and methodically worked my way through each update and found that I still had time to install the Pro Tools software I downloaded yesterday when I was done.

Avid software updates are always a nightmare. You have to make sure to delete all previous software versions before you start, including lots of pesky little invisible files. Avid has their own uninstaller program, but it doesn't work half the time and you have to do a Google search and discover how other people have learned to delete the files manually. There is also Avid's complex licensing procedure. My iLok dongle often says I don't have the proper software license, even though I really do. When you jump through all the hoops and finally get the software installed and running, you often get a warning message saying that you don't have enough computer memory to actually use it. My Pro Tools 12 installation was a success, but somehow I lost all the plugins from my previous version. Oh, well. I'll deal with that problem later.

I found an old B&H gift card that was going to expire next week and used it to buy another UP3 fitness tracker. The price of these things has dropped dramatically, so that probably means Jawbone is going to discontinue them soon. It's a shame that Jawbone can't seem to make a durable product. The UP3 gets terrible reviews because the clasp is poorly designed and the band inevitably falls off and gets lost. I'm definitely not the only one this has happened to.

I was sad to hear that John Glenn died today. It was hard to believe he was 95. He looked so young when I watched Friendship Seven rocket into orbit in 1962. This was only five years after the Russians launched Sputnik 1 in 1957. I remember that too. Things happened quickly when going into space was a priority. Now we're moving at a snail's pace. I wonder if I'll still be alive when we finally make it to Mars?

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2303

Why is it so hard to find a birthday card? I had to get a card today, so I stopped at the Hallmark store on the way home from the post office. As always, none of the thousands of cards in the store seemed remotely appropriate. The humorous cards didn't seem funny. The emotional cards expressed the wrong emotion. I found one card that had the kind of picture I was looking for, but the message said Happy Birthday from your Grandmother. These cards all must be designed for a reason, so maybe I'm just not their target audience. After spending way too much time looking at cards I hated, I did what I always do. I got a blank card with a picture of a dog on the front.

I followed the landscapers instructions and watered the new grass for several hours this morning. Maybe this is why the grass always dies. If I water enough to get a root system established, the yard is a soggy mess and I'm constantly having to clean the dogs paws every time they go outside. If I don't water enough, the grass never has a chance. If I'm lucky, the Spring rainy season isn't quite over yet, and I won't have to worry about watering schedules at all. That's what happened last year. We had weeks and weeks of rain right after the grass was installed and although I hated the rain just as much as I usually do, the grass looked great.

I just noticed a new feature on my Apple Watch.  When you are using the maps app, you can quickly find nearby restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores and gas stations with a tap of your finger and then get turn-by-turn directions to the place from wherever you happen to be. This would be real handy if I ever left the neighborhood. As it is, I already know where all these places are. I'm not sure how useful turn-by-turn directions are on a tiny one inch square map, but you never know.  If I can't figure out where to go for breakfast this Friday, I'll ask the watch.

I'm getting tired of all these presidential primaries. There was another one tonight. Can't we just go ahead and have the election now and get this over with? I can't get very excited about anyone. I saw a yard sign the other day that said "Everybody Sucks 2016." Maybe I'll get one of those signs. It pretty well sums up my sentiment.

I noticed that Dot only has three more Palladia pills left when I gave her the chemotherapy meds this evening. So far, she's handling the pills pretty well. There are days when it even seems like she's getting stronger. It's probably just an illusion though. I wouldn't be surprised if Dot's staying the same and I'm getting weaker. After she takes the remaining Palladia pills, we'll do another ultrasound scan and see whether the tumor is getting smaller. As long as it isn't getting much bigger, we're OK.

I got an e-mail from B&H today notifying me that a camera I've had my eye on for some time is on sale. Hmm. I definitely don't need another camera. I can't even afford another camera. Why am I even thinking about this? I'm always seeing these memes on Facebook saying that memories and experiences are far more important than stuff. I don't believe them. Maybe dogs are more important than cameras, but for the most part, stuff still does it for me.

Angel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2218

Are there song lyrics that seem to stick in your head forever? The words "Ground Control to Major Tom. Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong." have been rattling around in my head for decades. Now, David Bowie is dead. I was surprised to hear the news, but I shouldn't have been. A steady stream of my contemporaries are now departing this earth. It used to be when they played the annual "People We Lost" tribute during the Oscars, it was usually people much older than me that were remembered. Now the dearly departed are my age. It's sobering to realize how little time we have on this planet. I'll miss David Bowie. He was a tremendously talented person. After all these years, The Man Who Fell To Earth is still one of my favorite movies. Space Oddity has always been among my favorite songs. If you haven't already watched the video of Lazarus, Bowie's final song, I would encourage you to do so. It's hard to believe that this song was released just two days before his death. Now there's another song that will be rattling around in my head for decades. Well, maybe at least one decade. I'm optimistic.

Not much happened today. I talked to my financial adviser about the stock market meltdown. I'm glad I sold a bunch of stuff before the end of last year, because it would have just gone down further if I'd held on to it. This definitely isn't the time to be buying stocks. So, how do you make money when the sky is falling? I guess you'd have to win the lottery.

Dot has gone several days without any accidents, but my luck came to an end today. She pooped in the house twice. The second time was while she was eating her dinner. Food was going in one end and coming out the other at the same time. Luckily the area around the dogs food bowls is well protected now, so the cleanup was relatively easy. This has all just become part of daily life. I continually walk around with poop bags in all my pockets now, because you never know when or where she's going to go next.

I'm trying to get the watch winder company to replace my remaining defective watch winders. They're not as responsive as they were the first time. I think when they discovered how many watch winders I had, they got cold feet about sending me a replacement for each of them. I'm going to be persistent though. If they replaced one winder because of a defective Chinese motor, they should replace them all. We'll see what happens. Watch winders are simple little machines. They should really last as long as the watch they're keeping wound.

On slow days like this I amuse myself by looking through the B&H catalog and fantasizing about photo equipment I think I need. I really don't need anything, but it's fun to imagine how new gear would change everything. Today I discovered the Metabones Speed Booster. This clever adapter lets you pair full frame lenses with a micro 4/3 camera and gain a full stop of speed while reducing the crop factor. If this all sounds like Mumbo-Jumbo to you, you'll have to trust me that it's a big deal. If I got one of these gadgets, I could use some of my old Nikon-F lenses on my current digital cameras and they'd be faster than they were originally.

Janet was watching the Alabama vs Clemson game this evening on TV, so I started watching too. Pretty exciting game. Why can't the Dallas Cowboys play this way?

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2205

It was nice to see a little patch of blue sky for a change. It was still cold and damp, but things are definitely improving. The White Pelicans have returned to the lake, which is a sure sign that Winter is here. These large birds return year after year and stay in the vicinity until Spring. The Pelican sighting was probably the high point of the day. There certainly wasn't much else going on.

Today was really uneventful. I got so bored at one point that I got in the car and got gas. I didn't really need any gas, but it was something to do. I also got a bag of Fritos, because that's what you do when you're bored. When I was fixing breakfast this morning, I dropped one of my pills on the floor and couldn't find it. I didn't want one of the dogs to eat the pill, so I stopped everything, got a flashlight and made a major search. What I discovered was a kitchen floor that was covered with dog hair, dirt, and food crumbs that Dot had dropped out of her mouth. One thing let to another and pretty soon I had the vacuum cleaner out and was cleaning the vent registers. Eventually, I found the missing pill and went back to preparing breakfast.

When I turned on the computer there was a request to make a small website update. This task only took about twenty minutes, so there was still a large chunk of time to fill. Most of my e-mail is junk, but occasionally there are great deals. The B&H Deal of the Day was a nice LED film lighting fixture that I had been thinking about getting at full price. When they knocked $300 off the retail price, it was very hard to resist. I did some quick research on Google, discovered that filmmakers generally thought this was a high quality product, and bought the light 30 minutes before the one day deal expired.

As if it wasn't already enough trouble when Dot poops in the house, she has added something new to the mix. Now, if I don't catch her quickly right after she goes, she will eat the poop. Not good. I don't know why she is doing this now, because she has never eaten poop in her life. Maybe this is just something that happens when you get old and a bit senile. On the other hand, she may have noticed all the commotion around her whenever Janet and I try to clean up her mess and she might just be trying to help.

Last year at this time I was going to physical therapy for my dislocated shoulder. The shoulder still hurts. I was taking Dot to physical therapy too, but it seems like she was a lot stronger a year ago. Maybe this is what entropy is all about. There seems to be a slow, inevitable decline to almost everything. Some days I accept this decline as gracefully as I can. Other days I wish I were 25 again.

Alle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2045

It was an exceptionally slow day. Now that we're getting up early to walk the dogs before sunrise, the days seem even longer. Sometimes they're too long. After I spent as much time as I could watering the lawn, eating breakfast, checking my stocks, and making sure Dot was comfortable, I realized I still had to get to work. I got on the Internet and reviewed how to install and configure Chromecast. I promised a client that I would set up Chromecast to play videos and slide shows in their lobby tomorrow and I've already forgotten how. I just added Chromecast to my own office network a few weeks ago, but since I was alone at the time, I didn't need to act like I knew what I was doing. It's weird how quickly I forget things. The online instructions were clear, so I think I've got my ducks in a row. You never know though; I could forget a lot by tomorrow morning.

Since there wasn't much work on the agenda today, I though I'd play my guitar for a while. I always play through a preamp using headphones, so I won't disturb the dogs. Unfortunately, when I'm wearing earphones, I can't hear what the dogs are doing. I would periodically get up, take the headphones off and check on Dot and Dash, just to make sure they were both still sleeping. It's hard for me to relax anymore. I seldom play entire songs. I usually just noodle around, playing random blues scales and riffs. I find this relaxing. I used to write songs this way. I would just aimlessly play random things until something melodic struck my ear. Sometimes it would take hours of aimless playing, but a song would eventually appear. I would then sit down and write lyrics to this scrap of a melody by hand on a big yellow tablet. If the tune still seemed like a song a couple of days later, I would call some friends and we would record it. I haven't written a song in a long time. I wrote sad songs mostly and I'm not sad anymore. I'm just tired.

I buy most of my camera gear from B&H in New York. Unlike most spam, I love getting e-mail from companies like B&H and Sweetwater. Every once in a while B&H sends me an e-mail with a Daily Deal that is impossible to resist. Today, they tried to tempt me with an HDMI field monitor at a ridiculously low price. It was a good brand too. I realize that most deals like this are for merchandise that will soon be discontinued, but what do I care. I still work with a lot of equipment that is thirty years old. When I realized that I could get the monitor for almost nothing if I used an B&H gift card that was lying around in my desk to lower the price even further, I was hooked. Lord knows when I will actually use this cool little field monitor.  I've only been asked to produce a single corporate video this entire year.

I'm worried about Dot. If she sleeps well, she's usually pretty good early in the morning. She still really enjoys her pre-dawn walks, but she tires quickly. After she and Dash have had their breakfast and morning walk, they basically just sleep for the rest of the day. As the day progresses, Dot goes downhill. By dinner time she has a pronounced limp and often can barely walk. We're trying to use acupuncture to stimulate her weak leg at our Thursday therapy sessions, but it doesn't seem to be working very well. The leg has a constant tremor now. It's almost like she has Parkinson's Disease. I really don't know what to do. Dot has a fabulous medical team and is receiving the best possible care, but sometimes you just run out of options.

I always look forward to the Thursday physical therapy sessions. The acupuncture really does make Dot feel better for a few days and I think the muscle atrophy in her rear legs would be even worse if she didn't use the underwater treadmill. We're just slowing down the inevitable though. I wish there was more I could do.

Pongo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day