Day 3279

I don't actually know anybody at the gym. There are a lot of familiar faces though. I see the same people almost every week. They are persistent. I am too. It's easy to imagine that the people I see at the gym try a little harder than everybody else. Some are young, many are old, but they all seem to have one thing in common: they don't give up. I've always admired persistence, so maybe I'm just imagining things. I don't think so though. Nobody is forcing these Sunday warriors to go to the gym. Maybe, like me, they all realize that you've just got to keep moving.

I can't even remember who let Dash outside last night. I woke up several times, but I don't recall Dash going to the back door. Janet doesn't remember getting up either. If nobody let Dash outside, why was there a trail of poop on the back porch? Maybe the poop was from yesterday, but I doubt it. I probably did get up. After you become significantly sleep deprived, everything just blurs together. Whatever happened last night, Dash didn't poop in the bed. That's probably all that matters.

Since my Avid subscriptions are about to expire, I decided that I'd better upgrade everything to the current version while I still had the chance. Upgrading Avid products is always time consuming and it  made me realize that I hadn't used Pro Tools or Media Composer at all this year. I went through the same upgrade exercise last December when I was faced with the same decision. Jeez. How long do you need the latest business software when you don't even have a business? This should be an easy decision, but it isn't.

What happened to yesterday's clear blue skies? It was cloudy and much colder today. Now, I'm worried that it will rain again before the roofers return again to complete their repairs. There is still no rain in the forecast, but I quit believing weather forecasts a long time ago. Texas weather is just too unpredictable. I definitely missed the Geminid Meteor Shower again this year. It's been cloudy for several years on the day the meteors arrive. It was also cloudy on the day the Neptune was so close to Mars that I may have been able to spot the distant planet for the first time. Oh, well. We've had a lot of nasty weather this December. Let's just hope it stays dry until the repair crew finishes their work on the roof. I'm sick of water dripping from the ceiling.

I repaired more of Dash's Ultra-Paws protective boots this afternoon. I can't decide whether Dash is dragging his rear legs more than he used to or if Ultra-Paws has started selling a lower quality boot. Maybe they switched to a different Chinese manufacturer. Last year Dash could wear these boots for several months before they began to show significant wear. Now, I see wear after a single use. I'm definitely using a lot of Shoe Goo these days. I wish it weren't so difficult to keep Dash moving but I'm glad that he still enjoys his daily walks. Dash would fit right in at my gym. He's pretty persistent too.

I've got a big stack of bills to pay tomorrow. December always seems like the most expensive month.  There are a lot of things that seem to come due at the end of the year. If I start fixing the house, there will be even more bills. Where is the Santa Claus Rally this year? So far, the market hasn't been very encouraging. We're looking forward to a nice Christmas, but I don't expect to find a new roof, reliable major appliances, and market stability under the tree. Even Santa has his limits.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2912

I'm done with the roof for a while. I applied the last of the elastomer coating this morning. I've applied twelve gallons of the stuff so far. I'm guessing that it would take about thirty gallons to cover the entire roof. I've sure I'll end up buying more of the stuff at some point, but now isn't the time. You're not supposed to apply the coating in cold weather and the stuff is very expensive. Whatever I've done so far is going to have to survive until Spring.

If I knew what I know now, I would never have selected this type of roof. It was designed for commercial and warehouse buildings. Old houses in an area filled with large trees are much different. My house has settled over the years and the roof is no longer completely level. Whenever it rains, the low spots fill with standing water. In the Fall, Oak leaves from the backyard trees fall into this water and stain it a dark brown. I'm convinced that the tannin in the leaves causes some sort of chemical reaction that causes the elastomer material to break down and eventually disintegrate. There was a reason that the house originally had a tar and gravel roof. The old tar and gravel performed much better than the new high tech roof solutions people recommend now. Unfortunately, very few people know how to do a tar and gravel roof anymore. They might not even be allowed these days. The tar might be a fire or environmental hazard and the gravel that covers the tar and provides extra insulation adds a lot of extra weight to the top of the house. Tar and gravel roofs, like asbestos, have fallen out of favor.

Although I managed to patch a few more marginal areas on the roof without ruining my clothes, that was about all I accomplished today. I did a little research on my next website project, but I'm not ready to commit to a design. This new project makes me nervous because I think the client is expecting too much. Websites can make it easier for customers to find you or learn about your products, but they can never fix a flawed business plan.

Dash has had several good days in a row. This often lulls me into thinking that he's cured. I know that the vertigo and nausea associated with vestibular disease will return at some point, but for the moment everything is normal again. Dash has a good appetite and isn't as picky about his food. He seems to enjoy taking walks again. This is all good. I have no idea what is happening with the blood clots inside his heart, but at least he's breathing normally at night again. I'm sure that the partial tear in his cruciate hasn't completely healed, but the knee brace seems to help. There are so many things to worry about with Dash that it's no surprise that one of my favorite things is to just take a nap with him and forget about all the medical issues for a while.

I did see some meteors last night. I didn't have the patience to sit out in the cold for long enough to see many, but the meteors I did observe were quite bright. They were also quite fast. If I blinked, I might have missed them. They always say to observe meteor showers you should find a place where the sky is very dark and there are no street lights or passing cars. Then you should let your eyes adjust to the darkness for twenty or thirty minutes before you begin observing. Like that's ever going to happen. If I sat out in the park for thirty minutes at night, I'd probably be eaten by coyotes. I usually run out in the back yard for five minutes and if I don't see anything, I give up.

I've take the trash out to the curb and give Dash his evening pills. Usually Janet gives Dash his meds, but she's at an office Christmas party tonight. My little office doesn't have parties, but I did have an extra cookie for dessert tonight.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2911

I spend way too much time dealing with some minuscule website problems just to avoid going up on the roof. The weather was perfect. I just didn't feel like dealing with the messy elastomer today. I'll probably regret this later because we don't get that many really warm days in December. Maybe I'll deal with the roof tomorrow, or maybe I'll just decide that it's already good enough to survive the winter.

Dash had a great day. His appetite was good. He was eager to go on a walk. And there were no signs of vertigo or dizziness. You never know from day to day how he's going to feel, but I'm always happy when he has a good day. The only problem we encountered today was another loose dog we saw on our walk. Dash usually notices these dogs before I do and we change our route to avoid them. It's a shame that so many people refuse to keep their dog on a leash. You can't even talk to most of them. They're convinced that they are doing the right thing.

I can't decide whether to go out and look for meteors tonight. This is supposed to be the best night for viewing the annual Geminid Meteor Shower. If I lived in a place with dark skies, the Geminids would probably be spectacular this year. I live in Dallas though and the light pollution in town is terrible. I've only seen one or two meteors the entire time I've lived here. You never know though. Maybe I'll see something when I take Dash out to pee just before we all go to bed.

Today was so uneventful that I looked forward to taking the water bill to the post office. I could pay almost all my bills online, but I still like going to the post office. I haven't even started shopping yet, but there was already a long line of people waiting to mail their Christmas packages. I dropped my envelope in a mail slot and left. I may enjoy mindless trips to the bank and post office, but I hate standing in lines.

I couldn't find anyone to talk about my newly completed website project, so I just went ahead and launched it. I've done this before and it usually takes clients at least a week to even notice that something has changed. Sadly, websites aren't a big deal anymore. They're kind of like Yellow Pages ads used to be. Eventually I'll get some feedback on the site. Hopefully, everyone will like it. It's always nice when people appreciate something you've spent weeks putting together. So, what happens if people hate the new site? Who knows. I guess I could always put the old site back up.

I tried to think what to get people for Christmas this year and I'm coming up with nothing. My mind's a blank. It's too bad that I have no faith in gift cards anymore. Gift cards used to be such an easy solution but I don't think I'll ever buy one again after we got scammed last summer. I asked Janet what she wanted for Christmas and she said she'd like me to clean out my office. That's about like asking me to grow wings and fly.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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