Day 4130

I took my long walk right after breakfast this morning because the forecast predicted rain in the afternoon. The forecast wasn't totally wrong, because it is raining now. The pumps on the roof aren't working well, but I'll worry about that later. For now I'm hoping that the rain will help rejuvenate all the dead plants in our backyard.

The replacement for the video component I inadvertently threw away arrived this afternoon. I have no idea whether I will actually use this since my video production days are effectively over, but I feel like I have rectified my mistake. This thing has been out off production for years and I might have found one of the last remaining examples. Janet tells me not to store it in a box on a shelf. I'll start throwing away boxes again some day and that's how the last one met its demise.

I discovered that you can now watch your UPS truck on a map as it slowly makes it's way toward your house. This is mesmerizing if you haven't got anything better to do, but it is frustrating as well. I watched the truck drive in circles around my neighborhood several times, always turning away just before it reached my house. Somehow I am always at the very end of the delivery run. I'm not sure why UPS put GPS trackers in all their trucks. Probably just because they can.

Dallas has a glut of vaccine now. There are more shots available than there are people wanting to take them. Just a few weeks ago people were clamoring for appointments and now there are big banners in grocery stores advertising "free shots, no appointments necessary." Things change quickly in the modern world. I don't think life will ever return to normal however. There will be more Zoom calls and fewer people working in offices. Curbside pickup will be permanent for some people just because it is easier. A lot of businesses will never return, including some of my favorite restaurants. I'll probably never go to the post office like I used to. Even UPS delivery has changed. I used to drive to the main distribution center to get my packages. It was easy and I got my items one day earlier. Now you don't have a choice. The truck comes to your house whether you like it or not. You can reroute your delivery to one of those little UPS stores scattered around town, but it costs extra and adds another day to your delivery time.

I got a notice that Feedburner is going to discontinue sending the blog to e-mail subscribers on July1. I'm not certain how many read the blog this way, but I'm sure there are still some. Little by little a lot of tools bloggers used to use are going away. My fear is that one day Google will decide to discontinue hosting blogs entirely and blogspot.com will just disappear. It could happen. Google pulled the plug on Google+ and it abruptly disappeared. Blogs just aren't popular now. I hope Google keeps blogspot alive. It would be just my luck that they would pull the plug on Day 4995 and I would never reach my goal.

I paid a bunch of online bills this afternoon and managed to get everything entered into Quickbooks without making a mistake. I wish I didn't feel compelled to keep track of everything. It takes a lot of time. I've been entering information into Quickbooks for fifteen to twenty years and I'm not even sure how to access the early years. Is the information even still there? There are mountains of paper records in the storage warehouse. It would take me weeks to find anything specific, if I could find it at all. This blog is a pretty detailed record of my daily life. Why do I record and document everything? I'll probably never know.

I used to envy dogs because I thought they lived in the moment. Dawn is haunted by memories though. There is no other way to explain her behavior. Maybe I record things because I don't have many memories. Sometimes the past floats by as I'm going to sleep, but it seems like a dream. Did it even really happen?

Krissy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2793

It's unusual to have this much rain in August. Usually it is bone dry. The good news is that our yard still looks nice and green. The bad news is that I'm starting to worry about the roof leaking again and Dash is spending way too much time hiding under my desk. Dash slept through the overnight storms, but he definitely didn't like the thunder and lightning that greeted us around sunrise. I had to delay feeding him breakfast, because I was afraid that he might throw up if he ate when he was agitated.

Eventually the rain stopped and she took our morning walk. When I finished my morning smoothie, I got a surprising amount done for such a wet, gray day. I went to the bank, got my new vehicle registration sticker, and went searching for a silicon case for Janet's new iPad. Apple discontinued these cases, so they are in very short supply. I don't know why they quit making them, because they are a perfect match for the new keyboard cover. The Apple Store and all the phone stores have stopped selling these cases, but I found what I was looking for at a Target Superstore. It makes sense. People go to Target to save money. They don't go there to buy overpriced Apple products. There is usually a good supply of Apple stuff at Target because the Apple section of the store gets ignored.

The price of Texas registration stickers keeps going up, while the quality of the stickers themselves keeps going down. It looks like they just print these things out on demand using an ink jet printer now. I always have trouble getting these stickers positioned properly on my windshield. I like them very low, so they won't block my view, but I also like them straight, so they are parallel to the ground.  It's a good thing I have nothing better to do. It took me forever to attach my 2018 sticker to the windshield this afternoon.

It's so disappointing that my shower repairs didn't work. I did a good job of sealing the corners where the shower walls meet the floor. Water is still finding it's way under the tiles unfortunately and now it's harder for this water to get out. I think I've actually made the situation worse. I think my only alternative now is to rip out all the silicon caulk and use traditional tile grout instead. The problem with this is that we'll have to take a bath in the other bathroom for at least a week while the grout dries. I hate washing my hair in a bathtub. The shower is much better.

Dash has seemed pretty healthy this week. His appetite is good and he hasn't thrown up at all. We're not doing anything different, but are making an effort to keep him calm. I think sometimes he gets himself so worked up that he gives himself an upset stomach. The key to keeping Dash calm is just doing whatever he wants. I"m really just a dog butler these days. Actually, I've always kind of been a dog butler.

I hope I don't have as much trouble publishing today's blog entry as I did yesterday. Feedburner wasn't working and I had a lot of problems getting the feed to syndicate to Facebook and Twitter.  We'll see how it goes. I'm not sure I'll be going out to breakfast tomorrow morning. If the rain continues, I"ll just stay home and do my best to keep Dash calm.

Toby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day