Day 2128

The vet said she thought Dash was walking better this week. I was thinking the same thing. He's not limping as much now and seems a little stronger with each passing day. It's clear that he does have a floating kneecap on his right rear leg. It's just not very clear how severe his luxating patella is. We did some tests and agreed to evaluate him again next week. Hopefully, Dash will continue to improve. If not, we can always make an appointment to see the orthopedic specialist. We'll do what needs to be done, but I'd like to avoid surgery if at all possible.

The watch winder company told me to return the defective winder in its original box, so I went to the storage warehouse to look for the box. I save a lot of boxes for precisely this reason. It took a while, but I eventually found the box and it still had the instructions and warranty card inside. I'll pack the thing up and take it to FedEx tomorrow. I'm hoping they'll just send me a new unit, instead of trying to repair the old one. Only one of the three winder motors is bad, but with my luck, one of the other motors will quit working as soon as they returned the repaired unit. I'm not sure how the watch winder company will handle this, but at least they were helpful and responsive. Some companies aren't.

I got my October invoices posted and in the mail today. It's a bit unsettling that my billings continue to decline, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. My business is slower because my client's businesses are slower. The whole economy sucks. Hopefully, things will pick up again before Christmas. Fall and Winter used to be one of my busiest times, but I don't have as many retail clients as I once did. One project a day is all I want. Any more and I'll be too busy. Any less and I'll start to go broke.

Someone will have to explain the Democratic debate to me. It didn't really seem like a debate at all. Every time someone said something, the rest of the candidates chimed in and essentially said "That's a good idea, but I'll do even more." Nobody criticized each other. It was just an odd love fest. Say what you will about the Republicans, but at least they dusted it up and got their hands dirty. Donald Trump was right. The debate was boring. I didn't learn anything new. That being said, Bernie Sanders was the most genuine. He may be an angry old man, but he's an honest angry old man. You can't say that about many of the others in either party.

There are no vet visits for either dog tomorrow. Actually, there's not much of anything scheduled for tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2127

I was industrious today. I found someone in Los Angeles who can repair my broken watch winder and I found someone right in my own neighborhood who can repair my multi-track tape recorders. The broken recorder is housed in a five foot tall 19" equipment rack that served as my recording studio for many years. I thought it would be an easy job to unscrew the recorder and pull it out of the rack, but I was wrong. When I removed the screws from the front panel, the recorder wouldn't budge. I pulled the heavy metal cabinet away from the wall and looked behind it. It was only then that I remembered the countless hours I spent carefully bundling the maze of interconnected wires and cables together and securing them in place with zip ties. The installation looked neat and tidy, but it had been built for permanence, not convenience. I had to carefully cut the plastic zip ties and remove all the wires connected to the recorder before I could extract the machine from the rack. The whole process took two hours.

I looked on Google to see if I could still find instruction manuals for the equipment in the audio rack and was surprised to discover that some of it had acquired vintage status over the years and was quite desirable. This gave me an added incentive to fix the broken stuff, but I still don't know if restoring the studio will be worth the time, effort and money it is going to take. All this equipment represents a moment in time that has passed. I probably wrote and recorded at least a hundred songs using the equipment I was disassembling today. The last tape I worked on was still in the machine. It was dated February 17, 1986. The label on the tape was printed using a dot matrix printer. The Internet, blogging, and almost everything I do today didn't even exist back then. Maybe all I'm trying to save are the memories.

I feel the same way about film. I used to love taking pictures on film. There was an art to getting the exposure just right. You couldn't fix things in Photoshop. The whole process of going into a darkroom and coming out hours later with wonderful images was absolute magic to me. I never felt the same when I made the inevitable transition to the digital world. I use Pro Tools and Avid Media Composer to put commercials and videos together now. I'm a wizard with Photoshop. There is no magic in these digital tools though. Elvis has left the building. I have a few friends who have embraced this brave new world, but it's not for me. Give me an analog tape recorder, a 4x5 Sinar camera, and an IBM Selectric typewriter and I'm a happy camper.

Actually this is a lie. Give me these old things and I'm not happy at all. There's nobody left to fix them. Keeping vintage equipment running and properly maintained is a giant hassle. I used to know lots of camera repairmen, watch repairmen, and tape machine technicians. For the most part, they're all gone. I bet it will take over a month just to find the rubber parts to fix my tape machine. I have friends who used to collect vintage watches who have given up the hobby for these reasons. If it takes two years to get a watch fixed, what's the point in even having it?

Old dogs are hard to fix too, but at least they provide companionship. I was happy to see that Dash was steadier on his feet today. I don't know why today was a good day and yesterday was a bad day, but I'll take any good day I can get. Maybe Dash is learning to pace himself better. He walked slower today and didn't limp nearly as much. I'm doing a better job of keeping him from scratching the ground after he pees too.  Tomorrow we go back to the vet for another evaluation. I have a feeling that we're going to have to see an orthopedic specialist, but we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Kuuipo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2125

Dash woke up limping this morning. I don't know what happened during the night, but he is definitely having more trouble with his leg than he was yesterday. Maybe he landed hard when he jumped off the bed this morning. Maybe his knee went out of joint while he was sleeping. I'll never know. I've discovered that a lot of weird things happen to the dogs while we're asleep. So now we have two dogs with a total of six good legs between them. This is going to make life difficult. I suspect the only thing worse than having one lame Dalmatian is having two lame Dalmatians.

Dash makes things worse by being so stubborn. He won't poop in the yard, so I have to walk him really slow to his regular place in the park. He'd be just fine if he understood the concept of walking slow, but he'd rather hop on three legs really fast. I still hope he doesn't need surgery, but I suspect that there will be a visit to an orthopedic specialist next week.

I happened to turn on one of my old multi-track tape recorders this afternoon and discovered that the transport mechanism was broken. Damn! I suspect that the rubber belts and capstan wheels have gone bad, but I'd have to completely disassemble the complex recorder to know for sure. Since the rubber belts were suspect, I turned on an equally old mastering deck and it didn't work either. I did a quick Google search for old analog tape machines with the same problem I was experiencing and discovered dozens of people around the world with the same dilemma. In almost every case, their rubber tape transport belts had become brittle, gummy, or simply disintegrated. It was a sad story on Google. Replacement parts were hard to find and in many cases were just as old and brittle as the belts that needed replacing. Oh, all the repair shops that worked on these old analog tapes machines had gone out of business too. I'm fucked.

It's a familiar story. Sometimes it's an old camera. Other times it's a piece of electronic equipment, or even an old car. Rubber is always the enemy. Rubber hoses become brittle and break in old cars. Rubber light seals deteriorate in old film cameras. Rubber drive belts always break or disintegrate in old video and audio recorders. I spent a ton of money replacing all the rubber transport belts in my Beta SP camera and then I had to reluctantly conclude that the equipment was obsolete anyway. Will I go to an extraordinary amount of trouble to preserve a piece of equipment that saw its best days in the mid 1980's? Or will I just walk away? I think you know the answer.

Old dogs. Old tape machines. Old memories. I do my best to keep them alive. It's just the way I'm wired. Maybe walking away is better, but I don't see the point. I like my world to be comfortable and familiar. I wrote and recorded many, many songs using my old 4-track studio. Who cares if I can now buy a much more advanced 48-track recorder for half the price. The old equipment served me well and it was all I ever needed.

I watched a new episode of Dr. Who tonight. Maybe the reason I like this show so much is that it is old and familiar as well. The show has been on the air for more than 50 years. The special effects are better now, but the Daleks and the Cybermen are basically just the same as they've always been. Tonight's show attempted to explain the Bootstrap Paradox where a future event is the cause of an earlier event that happens in the past. The past event then becomes the cause of the future event, which is the past event's cause. Cause and effect become so hopelessly tangled that nobody can determine what caused the event to happen in the first place. It was too complicated for me to wrap my head around, but it was still a good episode.

Dash is sleeping now. He's a bit of a paradox as well. He needs to walk to keep his muscles strong, but when he walks, he limps, causing his muscles to get weak. Do I rest him or keep him walking slowly? It's confusing.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2123

Everyone seemed tired today. Dash wasn't eager to leave the house and just slept on the bed for most of the day. Dot was slow on her morning walk and even slower in the underwater treadmill later in the day. I was tired too, mostly because I didn't sleep well last night. Dot had an accident in her bed during the night, but that wasn't really what kept me awake. Occasionally, I just don't sleep well.

There was a medical emergency when we went to the vet for Dot's physical therapy session and we had to wait a while to get started. It was OK though. We sat in a quiet room on Dot's acupuncture mat and I almost fell asleep. We had to slow the treadmill down a bit today, which was a bit of a disappointment. Dot did so well last week that I was hoping her improvement would continue. You've got to take things one day at a time with an old dog though. Some days are better than others.

When I mentioned Dash's recent problems with his rear legs to Dot's vet, she thought it might be more serious than I was initially led to believe. Of course, Dash wasn't even there, so this diagnosis didn't really mean much. I might not have even been describing his condition accurately. It was good to learn more about a luxating patella however. This floating kneecap condition can result in temporary lameness when the kneecap slips laterally out of position. The condition is often self correcting and the kneecap snaps back into position in a matter of seconds, but in severe cases it can get stuck out of joint and surgery may be required. If your dog has a floating kneecap, it is important to keep them moving, because strong leg muscles help keep the kneecap in place. Glucosamine and Fatty Acids can help lubricate the joint. Sometimes Adequan injections help as well. Dash has another appointment next week to see if the inflammation has subsided. Like everything else in our life, we'll just take this one day at a time as well.

The days go by so quickly now. Each day has a little ritual that acts like a placeholder. Today it was taking Dot to physical therapy and getting the week's trash hauled out to the curb. Tomorrow I have my breakfast outing and Saturday I stock up on groceries. There are monthly rituals as well. Pretty soon it will be time to sent out my October invoices. Every night before I brush my teeth I run a test print to keep the large printer from clogging. My morning smoothies have become a ritual and unfortunately, so has cleaning up dog poop in the house. People have learned that it's usually not a good conversation starter to ask me what I'm doing this weekend. Usually, they already know.

I hope Dash's condition improves. One lame Dalmatian is enough for anyone. It's good that slow walks are actually beneficial for dogs with a floating kneecap. Dot enjoys having a companion to walk with and slow walks are all she's got left. The walks are definitely a ritual. The dogs keep their noses to the ground looking for interesting things to smell, while I keep my nose in the air, looking toward the sky. Today the Moon, Venus, and Mars formed a tight little triangle in the eastern sky. I'm still hoping to catch a glimpse of Mercury.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2122

I had an actual deadline today, so things were a little busier than usual. I met the deadline and even had time for a revision. We'll see if the deadline was real when I find out whether there are further revisions tomorrow. I've learned from experience that a lot of deadlines are imaginary. I'm not complaining though. It was actually a good thing that I had something to keep me busy while I waited for the guy from Dent Zone to come out to the house and fix the dent on my car.

The technician from Dent Zone arrived right on time and in less than ten minutes the dent was gone. I'm always amazed at how this process works. I used to think that they used some sort of vacuum process to suck the dent out from the outside of the car. They actually push the dent out from the inside. There's definitely an art to removing dents this way. The guy had some special tools that he inserted through the rear door window and gently pushed the metal back in place. I asked him how long it took him to learn this odd skill and he told me it took him three years. The guy was good though. There is absolutely no sign that a loose shopping cart ever hit my car.

Dash is still having problems with his leg. The limp is very sporadic and there's no telling when it is going to occur. Today he walked absolutely normally for about fifteen minutes, hopped on one foot for about five steps, and then resumed walking normally the rest of the way home. The more I watch Dash walk, the more I'm convinced that the vet was right. I think he did strain a ligament and the knee is loose right now. I know from experience how easy it is for a knee or shoulder to go out of joint. I injured my knee in college, and even after surgery, it still occasionally goes out of joint today. I've learned to anticipate many of the things that cause my knee to go out of joint, and for the most part, it doesn't cause me a lot of problems. This is probably harder for a dog. I'm sure Dash doesn't know what is going on when his knee pops out of joint and just starts hopping as a reflex. The vet says the ligament is not torn and should heal by itself. I hope she's right.

I got an e-mail from Jawbone today telling me that there was a new firmware update for my fitness band that would double the battery life. I wonder how they managed that? The UP band still has the same battery and I would assume that the capacity is the same as well. It's quite a trick to extend the battery life from seven days to fourteen days with a software patch. I downloaded the update because I appreciate longer battery life as much as the next guy. I still wonder what they did though. Maybe they just turn the band off periodically and use an algorithm to estimate what I'm doing while it's off. I'm not sure how accurate these things are anyway. The UP band and my Apple Watch never agree about the number of steps I take during the day.

I wish I could go back to afternoons for Dot's Thursday physical therapy appointment. Believe it or not, I'm having trouble getting out of the house in time to make an 11 AM appointment. My simple routines apparently take an enormous amount of time. I'll have to make sure to keep things moving along tomorrow. I can always save some time by not dawdling over breakfast. We bought too many bananas this week, so this morning I put an extra one in my smoothie. I won't do that again. Two bananas is definitely one too many. I'm going back to my original recipe tomorrow.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2119

It takes forever to clean a house filled with inexpensive throw rugs. Some rugs can be vacuumed. Others must be thrown in the washing machine, because they tend to get sucked into the Dyson. A few rugs don't seem to do well with either the vacuum cleaner or the washing machine and must be taken outside and shaken. The rubber backed rugs that go in the washing machine must be dried at a very low temperature, so the rubber doesn't burn up in the dryer. To clean the larger rugs; furniture, dog beds, feeding bowls, and a variety of other stuff must be moved. When I'm finally finished, nothing looks very different at all. I must have accomplished something though, since the Dyson canister is always filled with dirt, small leaves, and lots of dog hair.

I'd love to have our pretty brick floors back, but it will probably never happen. I'm already starting to see signs that Dash is beginning to have problems with his rear legs as well. Dash is already having trouble jumping in the car and doesn't leap up on the bed like he used to. Occasionally, I notice a slight limp on our walks. I always worry that he may have torn a cruciate ligament. This happens quite often with older Dalmatians. Today, he had a brief spasm in his left rear leg that caused it to shoot backward. He seemed startled and uncomfortable. I quickly examined him and could find nothing wrong. About a minute later, he was fine again. This strange behavior worries me, so it's time to go to the vet again. I'll schedule an appointment this week.

I was already tired from cleaning the house, but decided to go to the gym anyway. Sunday is really the only day with no conflicts. When I arrived, there was a work crew boarding up a section of the building. Apparently one of the geezer customers had driven their car straight into the building when they were trying to park. One of the main reasons I go to the gym is to avoid winding up like these people. It is clear that many of them waited far to long to get on the straight and narrow path. I had a good workout, but was terrible on the basketball court for some reason. It always seems strange to me that some days I can sink a long string of free throws in a row, and other days I can't find the basket at all. I've done this for so long, that you'd think that I'd be more consistent by now. I know what I need to do. It's all hand/eye coordination. You'd think I could eventually learn to replicate the perfect shot.

Dot seemed restless this weekend. That's actually a good thing. I'm always encouraged when she has enough energy to roam around the house on her own. When she's feeling bad, she just sleeps in her dog bed. Today was a good day. She wandered freely around the house without her harness. She had good energy on her two walks. And best of all, there were no accidents in the house. There have been days when she pooped in the house right after I finished cleaning it. This wasn't going to be one of those days.

I hope I get a few checks in the mail this week. There are already October bills to pay and a couple of clients are way behind on their invoices. I wish there was a life beyond working to pay bills, but I haven't found it yet. I suppose I could just live off my investments, but the market is so volatile and flaky that I have no faith that the investments will last. It's easier to just keep on working. I try to keep Dot's brain from turning to mush by keeping her active and engaged. It seems to be working. It doesn't take a genius to realize that I've got to stay active and engaged as well. Writing helps. Working helps. Walking helps. That's what we'll be doing tomorrow.

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1960

I think the antibiotics are working. Dash did a lot better at keeping all four paws on the ground today. He still limped a little when he tried to walk too fast, but his condition was visibly better than yesterday. It wasn't all smooth sailing though. Dash woke me up twice during the middle of the night to go outside. He raced around the yard on three legs like he was possessed. Dash acted like he had an upset stomach and needed to poop. After several tries, he eventually did. It could have been the Clavamox. On the other hand, it could have been something bad he ate in the park. The important thing was that Dash eventually did his business and we finally got some sleep.

I made some website revisions today and after I uploaded the new content, the client sent me an e-mail saying that nothing had changed. This happens all the time. Am I the only one who regularly clears my browser cache? I patiently explained that he was looking at an old version of the site and that if he re-loaded the page, cleared his browser cache in the preference menu, or just restarted the browser he would probably see the new changes. Since I never heard back from him, I guess one of those remedies worked.

I had some writing jobs today, but I got side-tracked experimenting with my mobile friendly test site. Today I learned how to create drop down menus that automatically re-size for different devices. Life was so much easier when everyone was looking at the same 17" CRT display and used their phones for making phone calls. I'm slowly getting comfortable working in this new responsive design environment, but I'm also getting bored with it. It's a race against time to see if I can learn enough to be useful before I get sick of the whole thing. It's getting harder to find a reason to stay on the cutting edge of anything anymore.

Tomorrow is the big day. I can't eat anything after 10 PM tonight and Janet has to drive me to the dentist tomorrow. I'm supposed to take an antibiotic and a pain killer one hour before surgery. There is a nice steak in the refrigerator, but Janet froze it, saying that I'll probably be eating soup for the rest of the week. The procedure is only supposed to take an hour or so, but somehow I think I'll be dealing with the aftermath for a lot longer. I just hope when I wake up from surgery that only one tooth is missing. I still have a fear than more than one will be removed if the oral surgeon decides that some other teeth can't be saved either. I know that the tooth right next to the impacted wisdom tooth has been damaged, but I'm hoping that all it will need is a filling. If the second tooth has to be removed, I will need an implant. Dental implants are a long, expensive process. Let's keep it simple. Just remove tooth number 32 and be done with it.

Tomorrow will be interesting. I've got lots of writing and website work that needs to get finished. The dogs still need their walks. Tomorrow's blog post needs to be written and published as well. I hope the anesthesia wears off in a hurry. I don't have time to be loopy all day.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1959

When Dash woke up this morning, his limp was much worse. This was an unexpected surprise, since for several days his condition had been getting better. Dash refused to put any weight on the leg with the cut paw pad today and hopped around on three legs. This was not good. He could easily tear his cruciate on the remaining good rear leg if he continues to walk this way. It was clear that Dash needed immediate medical attention and I was lucky to be able to get him in to see Dot's vet today on very short notice. My initial worry was that he had torn a cruciate ligament, but the vet said that he was beginning to get an infection under his paw pad instead. It happens. We left with prescriptions for Clavamox, Rimadyl, and Tramadol, along with instructions to return for another exam if his condition hasn't started to improve within 72 hours. It's hard to imagine that a little cut could cause so many problems, but the vet said to imagine a paper cut on your finger, only ten times worse. There are lots of nerve endings in a dog's paw and this type of injury can be very painful.

Dealing with two dogs who are having trouble walking at the same time isn't quite as difficult as it was dealing with Dot and Dash when they both had cancer at the same time, but it definitely is tiring. Whenever you're trying to help one dog go outside, you're always wondering what the other dog is doing inside. When there's time, I always try to pen the dog I leave behind in a safe secure place. When either of these dogs has to poop though, you have to act fast. Neither one can hold it very long and there have already been a few accidents. Even the vet agrees that I have two very high maintenance Dalmatians right now.

Lately, every day of nice weather seems to be followed by a day of terrible weather. Today was grey and stormy again. Yesterday's nice weather didn't even last 24 hours. Luckily, it didn't rain while I was driving Dash to the vet. He doesn't ride well in the car even on a sunny day. Since he wouldn't go near the hammock contraption I use for Dot, I had to completely reconfigure the car and make the rear section flat again. Dash usually hops in the back when I open the tailgate, but since he can't hop anymore, I have to lift him up to get him inside. Did I mention that Dash hates to be picked up. He squirms around and squeals like something terrible is about to happen. I had a hard time even getting him in the car today. As I said, I have two very high maintenance dogs.

I hope the antibiotics kick in soon. Dash really needs to start getting better in a hurry. I have a feeling that I'll be having my own problems after the dreaded dental surgery. Maybe the dental work will go smoothly and there won't be painful side effects. I hope! I'm not expecting miracles though. Nothing else has gone smoothly this month. Why should my luck change now? It's weird that Dot was actually walking better than Dash today. It just goes to show that you should never take anything for granted.

Needless to say, work hasn't been going terribly smoothly either. There have been some miscommunication here and there this week and several things have had to be done over. I blame it on the weather. When is this rain ever going to stop? It's certainly not the end of the world, but a few days of sunshine and a little luck would definitely improve my mood.

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1958

We went on a home tour this afternoon. Every year a local school PTA sponsors a tour of mid-century modern homes in the neighborhood and it's always fun to compare our house with similar houses that have been kept in much better condition. Seeing these cool houses used to be inspiring. Now it's a little depressing. Our house will never look this way. It seemed pretty obvious that none of the homeowners on today's tour had dogs. Well, they didn't have large dogs anyway. The hardwood floors were scratch free. The windows weren't caked with dog slobber. And the furniture wasn't coated with dog hair. Several of the homes had dangerous open stairwells where there weren't any risers between the treads to keep a smaller dog from falling through the opening. I sure have changed. I used to measure a home purely on design esthetics. Now, my prime concern is whether it is convenient and safe for dogs. Practical or not, it was fun seeing these immaculately preserved examples of 1950's architecture. With an unlimited pile of money and a year's worth of rehab work, our house could look just the same.

I never did make it to the gym today, but I did get the grass mowed in the front yard. It's kind of an unwritten rule that when all your neighbors mow their grass, you have to mow yours too. It's been so wet this Spring that the grass has been growing unusually fast. I thought I could wait to mow until next week, but the fast growing grass makes the yard stand out like a sore thumb. On close inspection, a lot of the greenery in the front yard turned out to be Chickweed and Henbit, but I'm not particular anymore. As long as it still looks green after its mowed, I'm fine.

The weather was nice today, but it doesn't look like it's going to last. I'm already tracking a bad storm on the weather radar that looks like it's going to arrive here about 11 PM. Tornadoes have already touched down west of Fort Worth and large hail has been reported in several places. I hope the storm dissipates before it arrives in Dallas. I'm really tired of the volatile and exceptional wet weather we've been having this Spring. I'm sure in July I'm be begging for rain again, but right now, enough is enough.

We finally found a sock that will stay on Dash's leg. We've got a whole pile of baby and dog socks that didn't work, but he managed to keep the latest pair we bought on his feet for his entire evening walk. It's not a big breakthrough in the whole scheme of things, but it does make life a little easier. I still keep thinking that it shouldn't take this long for his foot to get back to normal, but since three different vets have told me that Dash's limp could persist for up to two weeks, I guess I'll take their word for it. He does seem a little better today though. That's a good sign.

It looks like I've got a ton of work to do next week, but it's hard for me to focus on it. All I can think about is my upcoming dental surgery. I'll sure be glad when that's over with.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1956

Good grief. We're under a tornado warning again. As soon as I heard the news, I began recharging my phone, laptop, and tablet. Strong storms and power outages go hand in hand in this part of the country. I'm slowly learning to stay prepared. We're eating dinner in a hurry too, in case the oven goes out. I wish the dogs had taken my advice and taken an early walk. They just stuck their nose out the door and didn't even go outside. I guess they could smell what was coming.

I feel better about Dash's limp. I called his oncologist today and asked about the possibility of bone cancer. He told me that it was very unlikely that Dash's type of cancer would ever spread to the bone. He also said it was unlikely that Dash would succumb to a completely different type of cancer at this point in time. It seems increasingly likely that the limp is caused entirely by the torn paw pad. The oncologist said that his own dog had injured a paw pad once and that it took several weeks to heal. "Give it time," he told me and asked me to call him again in several weeks if Dash's condition didn't improve. This specialist is always very busy. I was amazed that he spent ten minutes talking with me. Dot and Dash have some great doctors. I"m convinced that they get far better medical care than I do myself.

I spent most of the day designing a supposedly simple brochure for a client. They want to print the brochure using Vistaprint, but for some inexplicable reason Vistaprint won't accept Quark Express files. Why? I've been using Quark for decades. This venerable software used to be the gold standard for print designers. Apparently the software has fallen out of favor. I had to design the whole thing in Photoshop instead, which certainly wouldn't have been my first choice. It is cumbersome to have all these layers. The original brochure I was updating was done in PowerPoint and a lot of the images were created in Adobe Illustrator, but saved as a PDF. It was a mess. The actual design was pretty simple, but converting all the files to the proper size and format and remembering what layer they were on took forever. I hope everyone likes what I did today, because I definitely don't want to spend tomorrow doing everything over again.

I reluctantly confirmed my appointment for dental surgery next week. I was very tempted to postpone the surgery again, but I've got to get this done sometime. Since I was originally scheduled to have the wisdom teeth removed in late January, I guess I've delayed things long enough. I hope having this tooth removed solves the problems I've been having, but somehow I doubt that it will. Once you start going to the dentist, you have to keep going to the dentist.

While I was eating breakfast this morning, a group of guys at a nearby table were arguing about whether the original Star Wars trilogy should be viewed before or after the three prequel movies. There was a heated  discussion about whether the movies should be viewed in chronological order or in the order they were shot. Some said four, five, six, one, two, three. While others said, one, two, three four, five, six. They were serious. At another table, a group of older guys were talking about man caves. This pretty well summed up the state of the world today for me. It's hopeless.

I had weird dreams last night and woke up in the middle of the night worrying about Dash's leg. I hope I sleep better tonight. Actually, I'd like to sleep the entire weekend.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1953

It's been a long day. Dash woke up limping and he's still limping this evening. I was hoping our vet could come up with a quick fix during his annual exam this morning, but a torn paw pad is painful and Dash will probably continue limping until the pain goes away. The vet cleaned the wound and then glued the split pad back together with medical suture glue. This will keep the cut from getting dirty or infected, but it will still be painful for a while. It's going to be tough on the little guy. He loves to walk and can't seem to keep his protective sock on for more than a minute. The rest of Dash's exam went well, although he does have high blood pressure and is going to have to start taking more or less the same blood pressure medication that I take.

On the way home from the vet, Dash peed in the car. He's never had an accident in the car before. I was really surprised, since he had already peed on his morning walk and again while he was at the vet. Oh, well. I reminded Dash that he and his sister were the reason I can't have nice things anymore, and then proceeded to clean up the mess when we got home. This wouldn't have been a big deal if Dash hadn't lifted his leg and made a direct hit on one of the speakers mounted in the rear door. Since the grill cover won't come off, I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to clean the speaker enclosure. The car will probably smell for a long time.

As I updated websites today, I kept wondering how much trouble it will be to convert these sites into mobile friendly versions. It's almost inevitable that I've have to convert all the sites I manage at some point. I"m not looking forward to this. Many of my clients are fond of their old designs and they're not going to be happy that these familiar workhorses will eventually have to be retired. I worked on my own test site a bit more today, but it was slow going. Just because something looks easy on the tutorial video, doesn't mean that it actually is easy. I learned some new things and made a few refinements today, but I'm still not ready for prime time.

Dot was really good while I was at the vet with Dash, This is the first time I've left her alone for any length of time and she did fine. I checked her on the baby monitor and she was just sleeping calmly on her dog bed. Actually, she seemed better behaved while I was away than when I'm home. When I'm here, she's either barking or getting herself stuck in tight places. I could just keep her penned while I'm working, but she's much happier being able to move from room to room. The bedroom and the office are pretty safe, but if she heads for the kitchen, I make sure to follow her. That's where she always seems to get stuck.

Dash's bad leg certainly complicates things. It took me forever to get both dogs walked today. Dot walks very, very slow and Dash seemed to lose his protective sock about every twenty yards. The dogs still want to walk, but they're not at the top of their game right now. If something happens to my own leg, we're really going to be in trouble.

I hope the dogs are walking well tomorrow. I hope I sleep well tonight. Neither of these things happened today. That's probably why everyone is so tired.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1952

Jeez. Just as Dot is starting to walk again, Dash developed a limp. I noticed that something was wrong on his morning walk. Dozens of things can cause a dog to limp, so I was hoping that he just stepped on a thorn or something. The limp got worse as the day progressed unfortunately, so I began to get worried. I checked to see if he'd torn a cruciate. I felt his spine to see if there were any sensitive areas. I massaged his leg to see if anything made him flinch. Everything seemed normal. I always worry about dogs developing hip dysplasia as they get older. Dalmatians frequently tear cruciate ligaments as they grow older as well. I was expecting the worst, and then while he was sleeping, I noticed that Dash had cut one of his paw pads on the leg he was favoring. A cut or torn paw pad is not something to be taken lightly, but I was very relieved when I saw this cut. I'm almost certain that this is what was causing him to limp. Like many male dogs, Dash scratches the ground with his rear paws after peeing. He does this quite vigorously and he must have encountered a sharp rock or piece of glass. We'll find out how to fix the cut paw tomorrow when Dash has his annual exam. For the time being, I'm having him wear one of Dot's traction socks to keep the cut clean.

I made a breakthrough today in my ongoing effort to understand responsive web design. I've been using my own company site as the guinea pig to test out new ideas. It's been a slow process. I'll break part of the site and have to undo everything so the site works again before I try another idea. If I didn't take these slow painstaking steps, my errors would start to compound and pretty soon it would be impossible to get the site back to it's original state. I must be learning something, because I was finally able to put up a landing page that didn't look like shit. After several hours of tweaks and refinements, I actually got the page to function. By the end of the day, I had a site that passed Google's "mobile friendly" tester.  I've still got a long way to go before I'm ready to do this for clients, but "mobile friendly" is not a word I fear anymore. I can do this.

I wish I had my old mail carrier back. I used to have a fabulous mail carrier, but the post office changed her route and gave our neighborhood to someone else. I am not impressed. I've been waiting for a signature required package and it was supposed to arrive today. I don't like signature required packages because they always arrive when I'm taking a shower or am out in the back yard with the dogs. Today's mail carriers don't try very hard to find you. They leave a form telling you to go pick up your package at the post office. I left a note for the mail carrier saying she should call my cell phone if I didn't answer the door and to be sure to knock, because the doorbell isn't very loud. I needn't have bothered. While I was updating websites this morning, I saw the mail carrier out the office window just throw the package on the ground below the mailbox. She didn't even bother to get a signature. Little things like this drive me nuts.

Dot had one of her best days in a long time. She was strong and confident around the house and when we took our daily walk she didn't want to turn around. It probably helped that the weather was nice and cool today, but it wasn't just the weather. Dot is feeling better these days. Janet and I walked both dogs together this evening since Dash needed to take a short walk because of his inured paw. Dash walked slower than normal because of the sock he was wearing on his rear leg and Dot seemed visably pleased that she could keep up with him. She was even walking faster than Dash at several points. There was this look in her eye that clearly said "I'm back."

Wilson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1379

I thought I'd catch up on my bookkeeping today. I was sure that this little task would only take about thirty minutes, but it took hours. Oops! I had mistakenly entered a few items incorrectly in Quickbooks this month and I couldn't remember what they were. Eventually, I discovered my mistakes and got everything to balance again, but the whole process was a lot harder than it should have been. I sure hope that this isn't how Alzheimer's begins.

I have a new theory about how Dash injured his leg yesterday. I watched him closely on our morning walk to see if there was still any sign of a limp. The thing that struck me was how hard Dash scratches the ground after he lifts his leg and pees. A lot of male dogs scratch the ground with their rear legs. Dash does this ritual with all four legs. Dot and I have to make sure we're out of the way, or we'll get sprayed with dirt and grass. Sometimes he hits a hard patch of ground and one of his legs gets momentarily stuck. Watching him in action this morning, it seemed like he could have easily strained or sprained a muscle yesterday. Just a theory anyway.

My phone is starting to ask me to update to IOS 7. I don't really want to upgrade, since I'm perfectly happy with IOS 6. I'm probably out of luck though. I noticed this morning that IOS 7 had already downloaded itself through the cloud to my phone and is just waiting for me to install it. Sooner or later, I'll click on the wrong thing by mistake and IOS 7 will start installing itself whether I like it or not. That's kind of the way Apple is these days. You get accustomed to doing things Apple's way, or else.

The members of this business networking group I've started going to on Wednesday mornings encourage you to wear "Business attire" to meetings. For me, that would be a bathrobe, but to fit in, I've started digging my old suits and dress slacks out of the closet. Since I've lost so much weight this year, almost none of these clothes fit anymore. They're all too big. After a lifetime of seeing my clothes gradually become too small, I never anticipated something like this happening. I guess I could take some of the nicer clothes to the tailor and get them altered, but I'm not sure if there would be any point to this. As soon as I got the suits taken in, I'd start gaining weight again.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1378

We got off to a late start this morning, but it didn't really matter since the temperature has cooled down quite a bit. You never know what is going to happen with the dogs. Dash started limping today on the way home. At first I thought he had stepped on a thorn or a burr, but I could find nothing when I examined his paw. Since he was limping on his left front paw, I knew he hadn't torn his anterior cruciate ligament. Something was really bothering him though. We would walk about ten steps and the stop for a while to rest. It took forever to get home again. I thought about trying to carry him home, but he's too heavy to carry very far. Since Dot was with me too, carrying Dash was pretty much out of the question. Eventually we made it home and I gave Dash a Benadryl and called the vet. After a two hour nap, Dash got up and started walking normally again. I still don't know what was wrong. Maybe he got stung by a bee.

On the way to the gym this afternoon, I stopped by the dealership and got some rubber mats for the new car. Hopefully, this will make it a little easier to clean up the mountains of dog hair. Dog hair was never much of a problem when Dot and Dash rode in the Defender, since they always rode in the large dog crate I kept in the back. While I was getting the rubber mats, I discovered that I'm supposed to put nitrogen in my tires instead of air and that there is a special button that will lower the car two inches closer to the ground to make it easier to load packages, or large dogs.

So many people I know tell me how much they enjoy things like running, cycling, zumba, and weight lifting. I have yet to discover the allure of these sweaty activities. I think I have been successful at incorporating a regular exercise regime into my weekly activities. I just don't enjoy it. I'm still waiting for the endorphins to kick in and I suspect they never will. So far, going to the gym seems a lot like mowing the grass indoors. Don't get me wrong. I thing the exercise is good for my health and I'm going to stick with it. It's just no substitute for photography or playing the guitar.

Other than Dash's unexplained limping, it was a fairly normal day. I went to the bank and the grocery store. I got some website work finished that I should have done over the weekend. Tomorrow looks like it's going to be a busy day, so I guess I can postpone painting the ceiling a little longer. Every time I look up, I realize that the Sheetrock repairs I made a month or so ago won't be complete until I re-paint the ceiling. Since painting is right up there with exercise on my list of things I could do without, finishing this little chore could take a while.

Sage is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day