Day 4351

It appears that people have forgotten about John Kennedy. November 22 used to get a lot of news coverage, especially locally. Tons of people used to converge on Dealey Plaza on this day, either to pay their respects to Kennedy or to trade the latest conspiracy theories. Back when I first moved here, I visited Dealey Plaza several times on November 22. I haven't been down there in years, but at the time it seemed like an interesting event to photograph. There were still a lot of old timers who had actually been there on that fateful day. Some of them had little booths selling pamphlets claiming to tell you what really happened. There was always a lot of talk about the Grassy Knoll and the mysterious second gunman. I imagine that most of these people are dead now. I also imagine that there weren't nearly as many people at Dealey Plaza today. A new generation of conspiracy theorists have bigger fish to fry these days.

We didn't visit the Dalmatians today. The holiday week has already started for many and that means a lot more people are boarding their dogs while they travel to visit relatives for Thanksgiving. The room where we typically play with the dogs is transformed into additional boarding space during the holidays and we would just get in the way. We'll be back as soon as things quiet down a bit. We'll be visiting the kennel a lot during the holidays anyway. It's also the location of our Santa Paws Christmas photo events.

With the Santa Paws events in mind, I went to REI today and got a trekking pole. Trekking poles are just a fancy high tech version of a cane. Usually they are collapsible so they will fit in a backpack when you aren't using them. I thought one of these poles in the collapsed position would be perfect for helping me get off the floor when I'm down on my knees photographing small dogs. We'll see how this works. It may turn out to be another stupid idea.

While I was at REI I saw a Fitfit on sale and got that as well. So much for yesterday's post bragging about no longer having a desire to buy things. Oh, well. I did need the Fitbit though. I'm hooked on tracking my activity and my old Fitbit is ready to give up the ghost. The battery is just about gone and I have to charge it every day now. One disappointing thing about the new Fitbit is that it expects me to be even more active than the old one. Give me a break. I move slow. I don't think I'll ever get my heart rate up to 180 BPM.

Today was another nice day, but it is very hard to dress for this type of weather. Typically it is quite chilly when we take Dawn on her sunrise walk. I always wear a ski jacket and a wool hat for this walk. It warms up quickly after the sun comes up, so I only need a very light jacket on my long walk. Usually after I've completed a few miles, I get hot and have to take the jacket off and tie it around my waist. It was easier to dress in the summer when I just wore a t-shirt and shorts, but of course then I was always hot.

I'm looking forward to going out for dinner on Thanksgiving. Covid put an end to the extravagant buffet/brunches that some restaurants and hotels served on Thanksgiving. We were actually surprised to find that a few places that have have resumed the tradition this season. It's about time. We've been to this place before but it's been a while. Hopefully the food is still good.

I keep hoping that Dawn will bond with me soon. Janet is going on a cruise with her relatives in about six months. Dawn and I need to be best buddies by then. We've still got a ways to go.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3495

There have been so many documentaries about Apollo 11 this week that I feel I know more about the space program now than I did when all this was actually happening. Looking back, it is amazing that John Kennedy's promise to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the decade was actually fulfilled. Kennedy himself was starting to have second thoughts about the huge expense of the program just before he was assassinated in Dallas. I don't think we could do something like this today. Can you imagine today's politically correct politicians putting Wernher von Braun in charge of the space program? During the 60's Americans hadn't become tribal yet. Despite all the unrest surrounding the Vietnam War, most Americans still had a lot of national pride. They really wanted to beat the Russians to the moon. I can't even imagine 400,000 people working toward a common goal anymore. That's how many people the Apollo program employed at its peak. Just about everyone my age knows someone who had a connection to the Apollo program.

I'm glad we persevered and kept going despite all the initial failures. It proved that you can do just about anything if you stay focused and put your mind to it. Many of those early space pioneers genuinely believed we would be living in cities on Mars by now. It was definitely possible. They didn't realize how fickle politicians can be and how quickly dreams can fade. When I was a kid I thought we'd be living on Mars by now too. I remember reading articles about space travel in my Dad's copies of Scientific American. We were already designing atomic powered rockets in Nevada during the late 1950's. Project Orion was going to take us to Mars using a rocket powered by firing a series of nuclear bombs. What could possibly go wrong?

I didn't feel like fixing our usual Saturday breakfast. I didn't watch old Have Gun Will Travel episodes while I was eating either. I found some granola that was still sitting in a box in the kitchen that I'd bought over a year ago. It tasted fine. Apparently granola lasts forever. I went shopping for fresh fruit early today, hoping to get my morning walk in before it got too hot. Once again I failed. I think it was too hot before I woke up this morning. At least there was a breeze. It was a warm breeze but it was better than nothing.

My feeble attempts at being useful today were limited to defrosting the small refrigerator and washing the car. I don't count the long walks as being useful. I'm not even sure they are healthy in all this heat. It's something to do though. I do feel like I'm starting to get some muscle tone back. In the Winter these walks might even be enjoyable.

It's time to go to the gym again. It would make sense to use the indoor track for walks but I'm reluctant to do this. I like my rituals. I've convinced myself that memorizing all the details of my route will keep my memory sharp. I make a point to look for specific objects every several hundred yards. So far, I'm memorized a lot of signage, know where to look for Egrets and turtles, and am slowly learning the names of all the plants I see. I imagine I'll take 20,000 steps tomorrow. That's what I do on Sundays.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3255 - Thanksgiving

Even when the world is sliding toward the abyss there is always plenty to be thankful for. Dash is still with us and still appears to be enjoying life despite his many problems. Janet and I have both successfully navigated the world of work and arrived at retirement in one piece. Knock on wood, but my doctors still think I'm relatively healthy. Janet has survived cancer. We're not rich, but we're not going to starve. Basically, life is pretty good.

I hope I can remember this in the years ahead. It's not always easy for a grumpy curmudgeon to be thankful. Complaining is easy. Realizing that you are surrounded by good things takes a little practice. Sometimes it takes a relaxing day like today to put things in perspective.

The weather was beautiful today and Dash was in good spirits. His paws are finally starting to heal. The combination of special slip-in bandages and some medication recommended by a Facebook friend is helping us turn the corner. I'm sure there will be more bleeding as long as Dash is taking Plavix, but we know what we need to do now.

We went out for Thanksgiving Dinner again. We found a place that has a wonderful Thanksgiving  Brunch several years ago and have been going back ever since. As usual, I ate way too much. I think it's just fine to drink champagne and eat too much food ocassionally. I'll get back to normal tomorrow. Over indulging is always part of the fun on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving doesn't typically fall on November 22, but when it does I always remember where I was when Kennedy was shot. It seems such a long time ago now. I was in high school in Alaska at the time. There was no live network television in Alaska in 1963, so we didn't see the tapes of Kennedy's funeral until several weeks later. I never thought I'd end up living in Dallas back then, but here I am. I've visited Dealey Plaza several times on November 22 but I didn't go today. There used to be large crowds, but the day is slowly being forgotten. I didn't hear a single thing about Kennedy on the news today. Someday 9/11 will be the same way. You only remember history if you've lived it.

I don't think I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. I'm way too full. Right now, a piece of toast and a cup of coffee seems like all I'll need. I will need a walk in the morning. So will Dash. I can't imagine living in a place where you can't walk along the shoreline of a pretty lake every day. This is one more thing to be thankful for.

I hope I get some sleep tonight, but if I don't I can always take naps. Dash sleeps right next to me and when he moves I wake up. It's OK. I'm glad the little guy is still with us even if he does poop in the bed. I'm hoping that he'll still be here with us next Thanksgiving, although I know that's a long way away. We can't make long range plans anymore, but each additional day is something to be thankful for.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2890

Ignorance is bliss, I guess. When I went in for my Calcium Score Screening today, I was expecting a good report. I've worried about my liver for years, but never about my heart. Why should I worry? I'm active. I'm not fat. I try to avoid salt and sugar and eat a healthy diet. Not good enough apparently. My Agatston Score indicates that I already have some atherosclerosis.

When I was younger and underwent any sort of diagnostic testing, the technicians usually gave me a high five. "You're looking good," they'd say. Now when I ask whether the results are good or bad, the response is more like "Considering your age, you're probably OK." It's probably all downhill from here.

I'm not exactly in the danger zone yet, but I imagine that my doctor will want to make some changes. I hope he doesn't want me to take stronger statins. I already don't like statins. I don't like niacin either.  I know dark green leafy vegetables are good, but I'm not wild about eating more broccoli. Maybe there are other ways of getting extra vitamin K in my diet. Truthfully, I never even considered that calcium could be bad for you. I've been taking calcium pills for years to increase bone density. Maybe this isn't such a good idea.

Getting old sucks. My Dad was unstoppable until he turned 70 and then he started going downhill so rapidly it was scary. I don't know why I've always thought I was immune from the same sort of decline. I need to learn from my Dad's mistakes. He never really ate all that well. As a result he had several heart attacks and a quadruple bypass. It's a shame that staying healthy involves giving up so many enjoyable things. I gave up alcohol when I had Hepatitis-C and never started drinking again after I was cured. I've made a real effort to reduce salt and sugar in my diet. I rarely eat bread or pasta anymore and only have bacon as a weekend treat now. What's next? If calcium is a problem, I imagine dairy products are next. I love cheese and sweeten my coffee with whipped cream.  I'd hate to give those up.

It's kind of sad that I got this bad news the day before Thanksgiving. I'm still going to pig out tomorrow, but I'll be even more aware that a huge plate piled with prime rib and mashed potatoes followed by a giant slice of pecan pie topped with whipped cream has to be the exception rather than the rule. Hell, I might even have a glass of wine tomorrow. If you can't loosen your belt and enjoy yourself once a year, what is the point of it all?

It's strange that I've heard absolutely nothing about John Kennedy today. Usually, the Kennedy assassination is the lead on the local news every November 22. I've even made the annual visit to Dealey Plaza myself in prior years. I don't think anyone cares anymore. There are so many other juicy conspiracy theories these days than the debate about whether there was a second gunman on the Grassy Knoll seems insignificant. Memories fade, I guess. I was a freshman in high school when Kennedy was killed. A lot of you weren't even born yet.

I had to pick up some more Plavix for Dash today. There a good chance he'll have to keep taking the blood thinner forever. Increasingly, Dash and I seem to share a lot of the same ailments. We both have heart problems, bad knees, and a grumpy disposition. We'll continue walking and taking naps together and hope for the best.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2535

When I first moved to Dallas, I used to like to go down to Dealey Plaza on November 22. Selling conspiracy theories has always been a cottage industry here, and in the early years there were still plenty of people alive who had witnessed the event themselves. Every year on this day they would gather in the Plaza, selling self published books and pamphlets detailing what really happened. It was a fascinating spectacle, but I don't think the crowds are as big anymore. People forget. I didn't even hear anything about John Kennedy on the news this year. The media's attention has turned to the 45th president. The 35th president is just a distant memory.

The weather seemed to change every ten minutes today. I witnessed a beautiful sunrise as I walked Dash this morning. A little later, the skies turned darker and it was raining by the time I finished breakfast. It was windy for a while and then it was calm. Throughout the day, patches of blue sky would alternate with dark storm clouds. It was all fine by me. I had nowhere to go and stayed home all day.

My project for the day was upgrading my laptop to Sierra. I don't use the laptop much anymore, so I figured that there wasn't much to lose. The laptop used to be my constant companion on business trips, but I haven't traveled anywhere on business in over three years. I'd be surprised if I ever take a business trip again. Installing the new operating system took forever, since software upgrades generally take place over WiFi these days. The process seemed so much faster when you just slapped a DVD in the optical drive and hit the install button. Eventually, the new software was installed, and surprisingly it appeared to work perfectly. A lot of the old applications didn't launch anymore, but I expected that. Gradually replacing these broken applications with modern alternatives will give me something to do this Winter. When I get everything working properly, I'll go ahead and update the desktop computer too. It's weird. As much as I hate change,  usually end up making necessary changes anyway. Like it or not, staying current in a digital world is necessary.

I didn't have much luck with Dot today. While I was working at my desk updating a website, I noticed that Dot had just pooped in her bed. I quickly extricated myself from the Aeron Chair and hurried over to clean up the mess. Before I could make it to Dot's bed, she quickly turned around and ate the poop. Why do dogs do this? It's disgusting. I went ahead and cleaned her up, but wiping her butt made her pee for some reason, so now I had a rug to clean as well as Dot's bedding. Sadly, this was just a normal day. Dot's incontinence is not going away. I suspect that things will even get worse in the days ahead.

I need to start to get ready to take Santa Paws pictures for Dalmatian Rescue. Our first event is only a few weeks away. I can't even remember how many years I've been shooting pet pictures with Santa, but it's been a long time. We have a reduced schedule this year, partially because I just don't have the stamina to do as many of these events as I used to. The rest of the pet picture team is getting older too. I wonder how many years we can continue doing this. It's a good fund raiser for the rescue group, but it is very tiring.

I'll do some experimenting with the laptop tomorrow to see whether today's upgrade was worth all the trouble. I imagine that I'll have plenty of time to experiment. It is rare to get any new assignments on the day before Thanksgiving. We changed Dot's food today, but it's too early to tell whether it will make a difference. Hopefully, the new diet won't make Dot's poop taste better. I've got enough problems as it is.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2410

Go outside and take a look at the moon. 47 years ago today Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the lunar surface with less than a minutes worth of fuel left. They navigated their way from the earth to the moon using a computer that was less powerful than the one you currently have in your phone. More than half a billion people watched live as Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module and said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” For one short moment in time, the world was united and the world was proud.

I was one of those proud people.  I was still in architecture school and had my entire life ahead of me. I never would have dreamed that almost half a century later we would leave the moon behind and never return. What happened? I think we were at our best when we were explorers and adventurers. We are at our worst right now. Nothing unites us the way Apollo 11 did. No politician is bold enough to commit the nation to accomplish the impossible in less than ten years. John Kennedy was my favorite president. Sadly, I don't think his own party would elect him today. He wasn't politically correct. He was an unabashed nationalist. I think John Kennedy would be appalled that we never returned to the moon.

The dogs got a little excitement today. The electric company arrived at the house around mid-afternoon and informed me that my electric meter had gone bad. I asked the guy at the front door how they knew the meter had gone bad and they told me that the meter sent them a fault warning. There aren't any meter readers anymore. The meter sits quietly behind my house, electronically informing the power company whenever I turn on the television, or cool down the house. The meter knows too much, so I hope nobody ever gets elected who decides I'm an energy waster and rations my power. It's already happening with water. I thanked the electric company guy for installing the new meter and apologized for the barking dogs. Somehow I think that this new meter isn't going to lower my electric bill at all.

I had some website updates to complete today, but I have a feeling that the slowdown in my business is permanent. As I watch Dot's slow decline, I am simultaneously witnessing my own decline. I hope I'm not witnessing the decline of my country as well. All I know is that July 20, 1969 was a much better time than July 20, 2016. I know you can't turn back time, but maybe you can change direction.

I canceled Dot's physical therapy session again today. We did increase the length of her walk a little though. So far, she's doing well. This is the kind of progress I understand. Tomorrow, we'll repeat the process and start all over again. In 1969 I was convinced that we'd have colonies on Mars by now. What I didn't know is that 47 years later, my life would be focused around Dalmatians and that the moon would just be a soft light shining through my window.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2168

It's November 22 and I haven't heard a single thing about John F. Kennedy on TV today. That's odd for Dallas, because there's almost always a local feature about Dealey Plaza.

It was just an ordinary chore day for us. We are determined to regain control of the house. I finally got out the leaf blower and cleared all the leaves off the front and back porch. Maybe for a day or two we won't track in enormous amounts of dead leaves every time we take the dogs outside. Like all tasks, this one took longer than expected because I couldn't find a long, heavy duty extension cord to run the blower. I used to clear away leaves every week during the Fall when we first moved here. Now, once a year seems fine.

Janet cleared out the liquor cabinet to make room for several laptop computers that had been sitting on a living room chair for six months. We got rid of an unopened bottle of Baileys that said "best used before 2002.' There were several bottles of Scotch with duty free stickers. Neither of us could even remember the last time we traveled out of the country. We tasted several things to see if they were still any good. Scotch and Bourbon hold their own pretty well. Any flavored liqueur completely loses its infused fruity taste after ten or fifteen years. I think vodka just evaporates. So, why was there so much old booze in the liquor cabinet? Probably because I quit drinking entirely after I discovered that I had Hepatitis C and Janet prefers wine now. We kept some of the stuff though. You never know when a well prepared cocktail might brighten your day.

I continue to be amazed at how much dirt and dust the Dyson picks up. I would think that after the first good house cleaning, each subsequent vacuuming effort would yield less and less dirt. That hasn't been the case. Every single week there is an enormous amount of dirt and dog hair in the clear Dyson canister. It seems almost impossible that we could be tracking in this much dirt. I always feel better after I vacuum the house. The feeling doesn't last long though. Usually it rains the next day and the rugs and carpets get dirty all over again.

Dot pooped in her bed again last night. She soiled two blankets and I accidentally soiled another two trying to clean up the mess. I wonder how long the washing machine is going to last. We've been using the washer and dryer like a laundromat for the past several months. Dot's incontinence is so predictable that you'd think I would have come up with a solution by now. I don't think there is one. Doggie diapers don't work. They fall off and if you secure them tight enough so that they won't fall off, then Dot can't sleep comfortably. Creating a penned-in safe area doesn't work either. Dot likes to sleep right next to me and if we put her in the X-Pen at night, she just barks until one of us lets her out again. For a lot of reasons, it's easier to just spread blankets around the area where she likes to sleep, clean up the mess the best we can using doggie poop bags, spray any remaining stain with Nature's Miracle enzyme and throw the blankets in the wash. This system works pretty well unless I inadvertently step in the poop while I'm trying to turn the light on so I can assess the situation.

The weather was beautiful today. It was cold in the morning, but warmed up to "brisk" later in the day. I didn't even have to wear a jacket when I raked and cleared away leaves this afternoon. The dogs love the cooler weather and we were able to give them two good walks today instead of the single walk they typically get on weekdays. I'll be glad when the days start getting longer again. Now, it is completely dark before Janet gets home from work, so we've had to curtail Dot's evening walk.

I noticed that Google+ has changed its format again. Why do Facebook and Google keep changing their format and features all the time? It's irritating. One thing I like about Twitter is that it never changes. The new Google format features little square boxes right at the top of your profile page that showcase the Collections you've made and the Communities you've joined. I don't like this because I haven't made any Collections or joined any Communities. Because part of my job is helping my clients with their Social Media efforts, I can't ignore these things. I grudgingly made a couple of Collections this afternoon and added them to my profile. Google says Collections are the next big thing, but I think they're just a big nuisance. I've got two more Collections to make to fill up the empty boxes on my profile and then I'm done with Collections forever. The ironic thing is that I actually like to collect things in real life. It just seems silly to put something on my Google page that is a blatant copy of Pinterest.

It's going to be a short week, since most people get Thursday and Friday off. I don't know if this is good or bad at this point. I've already had to change Dot's physical therapy appointment. I'm sure there will be other changes to come.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1803

It's hard to believe that it has already been 51 years since John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. I was already in high school at the time, so this makes me feel really old. I didn't realize it then, but 1963 was an eventful year. The Beatles made their debut in 1963. Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech. And the very first episode of Dr. Who was aired by the BBC.

I used to go down to Dealey Plaza on November 22, just to watch everyone with a conspiracy theory have their moment in the sun. Dealey Plaza used to be a zoo on November 22, but it's pretty quiet these days. Most of the eyewitnesses are very old now and some of the more vocal ones have died. I guess if we haven't discovered what really happened by now, we never will.

I don't know what caused me to look up on a shelf this afternoon, see a dusty Diskwarrior software box and decide to see it it still worked. It didn't. I used to defragment my hard drives frequently and run Diskwarrior to rebuild the directories. It was all part of owning a Mac. Nobody seems to do that stuff anymore. If your computer is running slow, you just buy a new computer. I really thought I could get Diskwarrior to work. I downloaded the latest update, burned a new start up CD and looked up the installation instructions on Google. I should have been suspicious when I noticed that the last update occurred in 2011. Apparently Diskwarrior just doesn't matter anymore. Probably 95% of the software titles sitting on shelves in my office don't matter anymore. Times have changed.

The last thing I'd ever do on the day after Thanksgiving is go to a Black Friday sale, but I'll have to admit that I was tempted when I saw a flyer in today's mail saying that the Black Friday price for a Dyson vacuum cleaner was $199. These things are usually well over $500. I'm not going to go to Walmart and fight a mob of crazy people for a vacuum cleaner though. No thank you. We'll just use our old Hoover for a few more years.

The dogs and I got wet on our evening walk. The skies had been grey and cloudy all day, but unfortunately the overcast day turned into a very rainy day while we were out in the park. I kept thinking if we walked a little further that Dash would finally poop. He never did. All I got for my efforts were two very wet dogs. Now Dash will probably wake up me in the middle of the night frantically wanting to go outside. This always happens when he doesn't poop on his walk.

I hope I come up with something more useful to do tomorrow than wasting hours trying to get obsolete software to work and spending even more time cleaning up wet, dirty dogs. I had a much smaller slice of cake for desert tonight in an effort to curtail my sugar intake. Hmm. Rain and no cake. That's the kind of day it was.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1612

Buzz Aldrin couldn't have said it better. "You promised me Mars colonies. Instead, I got Facebook." When I saw this quote today, it summed up the last several decades for me. There are no large dreams that capture the imagination of entire countries anymore. Instead, we have become a fractured, totally divided world that agrees on nothing and can't get behind anything of consequence. When I was growing up, the best and the brightest went to work in places like Los Alamos and Oak Ridge. Today they work for Google. I was an Oak Ridge kid myself for a while, since my Dad was doing something secret at one of the labs. My young friends and I were science nerds before the term was even invented. We were convinced that we'd be traveling among the stars by now. None of us ever dreamed we'd be downloading funny cat pictures instead.

Not only has the world become trivial, I have become trivial as well. When I was a young kid in Oak Ridge, I thought I'd be an astronomer when I grew up. I actually ended up becoming an architect. Then in my mid 20's I had an epiphany. I realized that I was a fairly shallow person and became an ad man instead. I thrived in advertising, largely because my shallow nature fit me like a glove. I thought having a few people like me made the world a more interesting place. It probably did. The entire equation changed when everyone decided to get a degree in marketing. You don't really need that many people like me. There is a reason why big companies hire most of their advanced technical talent from India and China. American college grads no longer want to split the atom and go to the moon. They'd rather have their own reality show.

I don't know where we go from here, but I do know that people like John Kennedy and Buzz Aldrin don't resonate with today's young people like they did with me. Going to the moon in ten years from a standing start was a ridiculously ambitious goal and we did it. These days it would take ten years just to agree on what we wanted to do.

I certainly didn't do much today. I went to my breakfast restaurant a day early, because I'm going to be busy tomorrow. The first thing I noticed was that the restaurant, which is typically packed on Friday mornings, was virtually empty. Could this mean that we already have a de facto four day work week? All my clients seem to have flex-time employees these days and I know quite a few people who don't work on Friday already. What's going to happen when the robots get really good?

Maybe some of my clients have started taking Thursday off as well. It was certainly slow today. The dogs got two nice walks, including one in the morning where the temperature was brisk and cool. Dot and Dash love the cooler weather. Later in the day, I filled the car with gas, went to the bank, and paid a quick visit to a Fry's electronics store in the neighborhood. The store was almost as empty as the restaurant was this morning. Sign of the times, I guess.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1440

One of the overhead lights in my office keeps blinking on and off. It's one of those new LED bulbs that are supposed to last forever and it's driving me nuts. I get out the ladder and climb up and tighten the bulb in it's socket, thinking I've solved the problem. About twenty minutes later, the light starts blinking again. It is a bad bulb? A bad fixture? Or bad wiring? It could be all three, but I hate to call an electrician just to have him tell me to screw the bulb in tighter.

At least this problem is indoors where it's warm. Earlier in the day I was up on the roof trying to remove the standing water before it all turned into ice. I was a little late, since a lot of the water had already frozen. I can tell you from experience that it's a lot harder to remove ice from the roof than water. When the water and the falling leaves freeze together, you've got a real mess on your hands.

It's hard to stay a fan of mother nature when the elements are relentlessly trying their best to destroy your house. Hopefully, the new roof is genuinely waterproof, since ice brings out the worst in a leak. Heat from the house melts the bottom of the ice and the cold keeps the surface frozen. As a result, it is nearly impossible to remove the water from the roof until the weather gets above freezing again. Indoors, water condenses on the inside of large expanses of single pane glass. This water drips to the sill below where it soaks through tiny cracks in the paint and rots the wood. Water pipes freeze. Rats and squirrels aggressively invade the greenhouse, looking for someplace warm. All in all, life is much easier in the Summer.

I  watched the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Awards ceremony on TV this evening where they honored Carol Burnett. Maybe I'm showing my age, but those old sketch comedy segments are still funnier today that almost anything I've seen on SNL lately. Granted, Saturday Night Live was fabulous in it's day too, but those days are long gone. I occasionally see a funny episode of Modern Family, but it's nothing like vintage Sienfeld or All in the Family. I think we've collectively lost our sense of humor and just like to make fun of people instead. Don't even get me started on music or reality shows. The world has changed. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone like John Kennedy again who could actually keep a promise to send men to the moon, invent the Peace Corps, and still be tough enough to put Khrushchev in his place. We have iPhones now, but we are a pale shadow of our former selves.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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