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 2924

I kept thinking that it was exceptionally cold today until I turned on the television and realized that Dallas was actually one of the warmer places in the country. When I looked at all the snow that got dumped on Erie, Pennsylvania, this morning's cold drizzle didn't seem so bad. Dash got both his walks today, but it took us a while to warm up afterwards.

I think I'll spend the rest of the winter worrying about the furnace. I hate it when the furnace goes out. This usually happens at least once a winter and it always comes as a complete surprise. The problems vary. Sometimes a component needs to be replaced, but often the furnace is just dirty. I've learned to fix a few things myself, although I prefer to call the HVAC repairmen. I still have a healthy respect for anything hooked up to the gas line.

So far, so good this winter. The car seems reliable. My winter coats are keeping me warm. Dash has gotten used to wearing his protective boots. All is good. Lets just hope the furnace continues to keep the house nice and warm. The dehumidifier has made a big difference. Our windows used to be dripping with condensation at this time of year. Now the only signs of moisture in the house are in the shower.

I found it hard to get back to work today. I tried to do some website updates, but I kept finding myself looking at warm clothing on outdoor equipment websites instead. It didn't help matters that I got a letter from one of my last writing clients saying that he was leaving his job in marketing and starting a new career in accounting instead. I'll miss the guy since we've been working together for many years, but you've got to do what you've got to do. I always understand when someone quits their job. Hey, I'm the guy who's worked at seventeen different ad agencies.

I wish I could control the way the preview picture looked when the blog appears on Facebook or Google+. I like this picture of a Comorant on a rainy day, but I'm almost certain that the head of the bird will be cropped off on the Facebook preview. Why can't they just use the full frame image for the preview photo? Actually, a few years ago the thumbnail images weren't cropped, but then the algorithm got changed. Jeez, a square image looks good. Why do you guys have to force it to become a rectangular image? These are the trivial things I fret about on cold, wet days.

I need to decide whether to renew my Avid Media Composer subscription. I keep getting messages saying that the subscription is about to run out. I did end up renewing Pro Tools, but Media Composer is much more expensive. Do I really need this? Truthfully, I probably don't even remember how to use the software anymore. I keep installing the latest version, but it's been quite a few years since I've used Media Composer to edit projects for a client. For some reason it's proving very hard to walk away from all this.

I certainly won't be using Media Composer tomorrow. If it's as cold as it was today, I won't be doing much of anything. As long as it isn't raining, Dash will get his morning walk. It's good exercise for both of us. I wish I had Dash's ability to sleep for eighteen hours a day. That would make the day go faster. Hey, I have good dreams. I think my dreams are more interesting than watching television.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day