Day 4882

We got quite a bit of rain last night, but I think I slept through most of the storm. An app on my phone said there had been a power outage, but I slept through that as well. The ground was surprisingly dry when we took Dawn on her early walk, although there was a lot of water on the roof, judging by how long it took the pumps to clear the standing water away. I thought there would be leaks with this much water, but so far there hasn't been a problem. Any rain without a roof leak is fine by me.

Janet had to leave right after we walked Dawn this morning, so I had my shredded wheat and fruit instead of our usual weekend breakfast. I checked my messages and then headed for the mall. Very little had changed since last week. One new store had opened, but most of the window displays were the same. I've walked past these stores so many times now that I've got my favorites. John Varvatos has the best looking men's clothing and Scanlan Theodore has the best looking women's clothes. Gucci seems to have the ugliest clothes. If the stores were actually open when I walked, I would probably enjoy visiting Williams Sonoma the most. I'm not much of a cook, but I do enjoy nice cooking utensils.

Dawn was ready for the Sunday outing when I returned from the mall. As usual she was excited when we got ready to go and immediately panicked as soon as the car started. This Sunday walk is about the same distance as our regular sunrise walk, but we complete it two minutes faster. This is probably because Dawn spends more time smelling things on our early morning walks. I tried my best to keep up with Dawn and Janet today. I need to work on elevating my heart rate on these walks. Elevating my heart rate is probably a lost cause though because the Carvedilol I take slows down my heart.

Dawn doesn't really calm down on her Sunday outing until we go to the ice cream store. Dawn loves ice cream. The ice cream is good, but it is certainly no bargain. They've raised their prices twice since we started getting cones on Sunday and they don't even bother to fill the bottom of the cone. They basically just put a big scoop of ice cream on top on an empty cone. I can't really complain though. Ice cream is an indulgence, not a necessity.

I updated the Dalmatian Rescue website this afternoon. I'm not very involved with website design and maintenance anymore, so I'm getting a little rusty. The updates to the Dalmatian site are very easy, but sometimes it takes me a while to remember how to modify the code. Part of the problem I'm having lately is that I use a browser based design tool and my Safari browser is woefully out of date. Apple won't update Safari unless the operating system is updated as well. I can't update the OS any more because my computer is too old. The old computer does everything I need though, so I'll probably be using Sierra forever. I can use High Sierra on the laptop, but that's still a very old operating system.

It was a busy day in the park, but I missed most of the activities. There was a charity dog walk that the vet we used with Dot and Dash was involved with. We probably would have taken Dot and Dash on something like this, but Dawn is unpredictable around other dogs. There was also an annual car show in the park that I like to go to, but I forgot the date and it was already over by the time we got back from our Sunday outing with Dawn. I could have gone to the car show instead of mall walking this morning, but it never even occurred to me. I'm a creature of habit.

I guess I'll send my article about the Viasat-3 launch to SpaceFlight Magazine tomorrow. I still can't decide whether to go to the AX-2 launch at the end of the month. I'll probably get credentials for this one, but these trips are getting way too expensive. 

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3419

The goal these days is to keep moving. I went to the gym much earlier than usual. The place was surprisingly busy. Who knew that so many people liked to exercise early on a Sunday morning. I did my usual workout fully intending to take a nap when I got home. It wasn't meant to be. It was such a nice day that I decided to go ahead and take my usual three mile walk anyway. I really need to find something I enjoy doing or I'll be walking all day by the end of the Summer.

I keep waiting for something to find me. Today it was an auto show. I'd completely forgotten about this annual British and European Car Show. It is often held during the Spring in the park when the weather is nice. I used to go frequently when I had a cool car myself, but I haven't been in years. There is was today, right in front of me on my regular path. I enjoy looking at cars, so this was an unexpected treat.

I ended up talking with the owner of a Noble M400. I'd never seen one of these cars in person before. Only about 200 of them were ever imported into the United States. I remember a review once that said "Don't buy this car to impress girls. Only guys are impressed." The car certainly impressed me. The spectacular mid-engined supercar was lighter than a Mazda Miata and faster than a Ferrari Enzo. The owner was only 22 years old. Somebody asked the guy how much it cost to insure a car like this. "Nobody will insure this thing," the owner said. "I had to get my Dad to put it on his homeowners insurance." Then he smiled and added, "Technically, I'm not allowed to drive it."

There were no French cars at this years event. I used to enjoy looking at well preserved Citroëns. I've owned several, including a beautiful silver 1972 Citroën Maserati. I had to sell the car when I ran out of mechanics who could work on it. Body parts were in extremely short supply as well. As the car got older and older I began to realize that keeping a rare old car on the road was a rich man's pursuit. Buying vintage cars is one thing. Restoring them and keeping them running is another thing altogether.

My Fitbit was impressed with me today. I can't say the same for my feet. I shouldn't have changed shoes when I went walking in the park. My feet had swollen and the boots didn't fit like they usually do. By the time I returned home, I could barely walk. I have some excellent shoes I wear when I'm at the gym. I don't like to get them muddy though, so I changed into a pair of boots before I went on my walk. Bad move. I guess I'll know better the next time I do something foolish like this.

I probably should have gone outside and looked for meteors last night. I woke up to go to the bathroom right about the time when the Eta Aquariid meteor shower was supposed to be at its peak. I thought briefly about going outside and then went back to bed. I've seen meteors before. A short little trail of light across the sky wasn't enough of a temptation to lose any sleep over.

Bunny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3055

The trains are gone. My friend and I loaded box after box full of memories in his SUV and then he drove away. Admittedly, some of the memories are fading, but I enjoyed acquiring these things. Back in the day, my friend owned one of three train stores in Dallas and I was one of his best customers. Twenty-five years later, he owns one of the few remaining train stores in the entire country and I'm just a guy trying to downsize.

As I loaded the models onto a wheeled cart, I was surprised at how many I had. I'd totally forgotten about a lot of them. Actually, we couldn't fit everything into the car, but I made a sizable dent in the collection. My business must have been doing really well back them. I couldn't afford to buy this much useless stuff today. Actually, the models probably got me some business. I used to hang out at train stores a lot and met some interesting people. The owner of Cessna collected model trains. So did a lot of other rich old men. Most of these people are dead now. I don't know what people collect these days, but it certainly isn't trains.

I passed a classic car show in the park on my way to the storage warehouse. Back when I was collecting trains, I would have stopped at this car show. Old European sports cars were almost as interesting as trains. I drove a Citroën SM in those days. I thought my next car would be a Ferrari, but of course that never happened. Over time, my interest in cars, model trains, and even watches waned. I don't collect anything now.

Probably as my interest in dogs increased, my interest in other stuff decreased. I still like tools, however. That's something I share with my Dad. My Dad was surrounded by his tools until the day he died. If you're going to acquire something, you might as well make it a tool. Tools can be used to make a career. My tools of choice have always been cameras and recording equipment. Unlike model trains, these tools have always paid for themselves.

It was a beautiful day today. It's time to start wearing shorts again. Pretty soon it's going to be time to stay indoors. The furnace doesn't come on any more in the morning. I think another Texas Summer is on the way. I hope Dash can handle the heat this summer. He does fine on his morning walks, but he's already starting to get tired when it warms up in the afternoon. It's only going to get worse. We may have to scale back to one walk a day.

The gym was virtually empty when I went this morning. You have to be careful what you wish for. I enjoy going to the gym when it isn't crowded, but it's been so empty lately that I'm starting to worry that it might close. I don't want to look for a new gym. I like being surrounded by old familiar things. That's probably why it was so hard to get rid of the trains.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1965

The dogs don't frequently decide to sleep in late, but when they do, it is always appreciated. The whole family finally got a good night's sleep for a change. When she finally did wake up, Dot was ready for a walk. She's kind of reached a plateau where her strength isn't increasing as quickly as it initially did, but these morning exercise walks are still doing her a lot of good. We're walking the dogs together now, but since Dash needs a much longer walk, he continues on with Janet after I return to the house with Dot. This works out pretty well. Both dogs get to smell things together along the trail for a while which makes them happy, and then when Dot gets tired, Dash can continue for as long as he wants.

After breakfast, I organized a big stack old old bank statements and brokerage reports. I don't know why I save these things so long, but it's a habit. After I got everything in the proper manila envelope, I turned my attention to a smaller stack of unopened mail. Whenever I sort through the junk mail pile, I inevitably find a few unpaid bills. Usually these are medical bills and most of the time they are a mistake. My secondary insurance is supposed to pick up the charges that my primary insurance doesn't pay, but frequently things aren't submitted correctly. Usually a few phone calls takes care of the problem. The reason that these bills wind up in the junk mail pile in the first place is that the healthcare industry is a huge source of junk mail. The older you get, the more of this type of mail you get.

I didn't make it to the gym today because I managed to think of three or four good excuses why I didn't need to go. My jaw continues to hurt, so I didn't want to do any cardio exercises that would raise my heart rate and cause me to start bleeding again. I had to burn some CD's for a client which took a lot longer than it should have, mostly because I had a bad batch of blank discs. I even considered going to a local car show that was being held down in the park today, but decided to just wash my own car instead. I used to love going to this annual British car show, but like the home tour a few weeks ago, seeing immaculately restored and preserved things just depresses me now. How do these people find the time to keep all their stuff so nice and pretty when my own stuff is falling apart?

I've got another photo shoot tomorrow. It's not actually a new job, just a continuation of the assignment I started last week. I think I'll take a different camera this time. The camera I took last week got confused by the mixture of incandescent, fluorescent, and LED lights. I never could get the white balance quite right. I could have took strobes for more consistent lighting, but it would have taken away from the spontaneity. Maybe all I need is a different camera.

I should probably call the dentist tomorrow. I've just about finished all my meds and my jaw still hurts. I don't know whether I've got a dry socket, or whether I'm just being a big baby. I kind of thought the pain would have completely gone away by now, but it hasn't. This is what happen when you only go to the dentist once a decade. I just don't know what to expect.

Milo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 873

Yay! We finished landscaping the backyard today. Well, we almost finished anyway. All the grass is in now, but we still need to get several flats of Asian Jasmine and plant the hardy ground cover in areas that are so shady that grass will never grow. The yard look much, much better after all our efforts. The view out the living room window almost makes all the manual labor worthwhile.

Since we got up early today to buy enough sod to complete the yard before the grass company ran out for the day, there was still plenty of time to take Dot and Dash to the dog park after we got finished. The dogs got a real treat, because we took them the the brand new NorthBark dog park in Far North Dallas. This place was palatial. There were 22 acres of nicely landscaped and fenced grounds, complete with a pond for dogs who liked the water.

I was impressed, and apparently so were Dot and Dash. This place was so clean and well landscaped it was unbelievable. If the city put something this nice in our part of town, street people would be living in it. A lady lost her car keys in the park today and the other people who were there with their dogs helped her find them. If someone lost a set of BMW keys in our local dog park, someone would have probably just stolen the car.

The annual British Car Show was being held in the park today. I usually love to go to this show. As I was driving over to the grass store to pick up the St. Augustine sod, I saw lots of old Austin Healeys, MG's, Morgans and Rolls Royce's driving toward the show. This is a fun show, because it is not fancy at all. People drive their own cars to the show and then drive them home again when it's over. No eighteen wheelers bringing high dollar collectibles to this show. No roped off exhibits or guards either. You're far more likely to run into a neighbor who just happened to still have an old MG. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to the British Car Show this afternoon. After this morning's landscaping marathon, a trip to a far away dog park, and the obligatory trip to buy groceries that I didn't have time to do yesterday, the day was over. It's nice to be somewhat caught up again though. And the dogs are going to love their green new yard.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 523

The Wagging Tail dog park was practically empty today. There must have been a Mavericks game going on or something. Sporting events are the only thing that will keep people in Dallas inside on a nice day like this. The dogs certainly didn't care if the park was empty. They actually seem to have more fun on days like this than when the park is full of other dogs. They certainly had a good time today. Dash even rode well in the car on the way home today. He's such a mature dog now that he's six.

When we got home from the dog park, I walked down to the lake behind our house to take a look at the annual British/Italian car show. I'm always amazed at the variety of weird and wonderful cars that show up at this quirky, little show. Today there was a beautiful old Rolls Royce from the early 1900's, a Ferrari so rare that there are probably only 50 of them in the entire world, and a 1967 British NATO armored personnel carrier with a six cylinder Rolls Royce engine. Where do people get these things? This isn't a big, huge event either. It's just a little neighborhood car show.

I don't know why I even bothered to take a shower today. It was so hot and muggy outside that after back-to-back visits to the dog park and the car show, my clothes were dripping wet. It felt like I'd spent a month in the jungle. It's not even June yet either. Dot and Dash don't enjoy our hot Texas Summers and I can certainly understand why. What we need now is for another indoor dog park to come along. It's really a shame that Unleashed went out of business.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day