Day 4298

I got the car back. It runs fine, but it seemed to run fine before I took it in for the scheduled service. I assume that the mechanics did everything on the lengthy receipt I received, but when I leave the dealership it always feels like I just paid for the world's most expensive carwash. The car never seems any different than it did before. I won't be going back to the dealership any time soon. The prices they charge are ridiculous and they don't even try to be competitive.

As I was leaving, the young service advisor implored me to give him a good rating on the survey I knew would be coming. "My job depends on this," he told me. "I know," I told him. "All your predecessors have told me the same thing." I didn't tell him that none of his predecessors were still working at the dealership. I'll give the guy a good score, even though he basically knew nothing. It wasn't his fault that the dealership charged insanely high prices. It's too bad that the survey doesn't rank the dealership itself instead of a low level employee who had no control over anything.

When I returned home, there was a bill from the plumber in the mailbox. This bill was quite high as well but I didn't feel quite as bad about it. The two plumbers had spent the better part of a day trying to retrofit a 2021 restaurant faucet to a quirky 1950's mid-century modern GE kitchen unit. These two large bills pretty much insure that I won't be going anywhere in October. I'm tapped out and the month hasn't even started yet.

I took my long walk early today because I thought I was supposed to pick my car up at 10 AM. As it turned out, the car wasn't ready until very late in the day, but it was still nice to be walking while the weather was cool. While I was walking I saw park department mowers approaching the meadow behind our house. This was good news. The grass has grown very tall in the meadow and it's full of sticky pollen. Every time we return home from Dawn's sunrise walk we have to get wet rags and clean Dawn's legs and paws. They always let the grass grow longer in the Fall so that it has time to re-seed. I'm pretty sure that this native grass will be back next Spring.

I forgot to mark Cooper as adopted on the Dalmatian Rescue website when I was updating things yesterday. I took care of that this afternoon while I was waiting for the call to pick up my car. It still surprises me that my website development skills have seemingly evaporated. I used to be so good at this stuff. I guess the old adage "use it or lose it" still applies. When you do something every day you're going to be a lot better at it than when you do the same thing once a month.

My Fall allergies are back with a vengeance. I'm always blowing my nose and wiping my watering eyes while I walk. It seems like every year the space between when the Spring allergies end and the Fall allergies begin grows shorter and shorter. I'll be so glad when all the Covid fears are over. I'm always checking Google to make sure my allergy symptoms aren't a sign of Covid instead. I've had seasonal allergies for so long that I ought to know the difference. Unfortunately you don't hear much about seasonal allergies in the news and we are constantly bombarded with Covid news. 

It looks like we are finally going to get some rain tonight. All three weather apps on my phone show a band of rain headed towards us. The yard is dry and we really do need the rain, but all I can think of is roof leaks.

Thelma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4297

As expected, they didn't finish working on my car today. I knew they wouldn't and it's not even a big deal. I think I am finished with the dealership. This whole experience was the last straw. I looked on the Internet and discovered two places in the Dallas area that exclusively work on Land Rovers. Both had excellent reviews along with much lower prices than the dealership. I don't know why I haven't looked for something like this earlier. I just got in the habit of going to the dealership. I liked the free loaner cars and the place wasn't far from my house. Now that the loaners cars aren't a sure thing and prices have gone through the roof, it looks like my loyalty to the dealership was a bad decision. It would be smarter to just pay for a rent car myself and take advantages of the lower prices at other repair shops.

The rain I was expecting last night never arrived. It was still dry this morning when we took our sunrise walk with Dawn. We have to leave later now because the days are getting shorter. I wish they would make the change back to Standard Time a little sooner. I don't care when it gets dark at night because I do almost everything in the morning now. It would be nice to wake up to sunlight again though.

My pace is improving on my long walks. I've lost weight, but I feel like I'm back to normal now. I'm probably ready to start lifting weights again. Truthfully, I was probably ready a week ago, but I just haven't felt like going to the gym. Something needs to be done about muscle atrophy, so I can't avoid the gym forever. I'll probably return as soon as the weather turns bad. Our beautiful Fall weather isn't going to last forever, so I might as well take advantage of it while it's here.

I still haven't heard anything from the observatory, but it might be best if I postponed any travel plans for a while. October is going to be an expensive month with car repairs, plumbing bills, along with various doctor and dental bills all coming due at the same time. Living on a fixed income is fine when nothing goes wrong, but you can start to feel poor pretty quickly when you are hit with surprises. I never liked surprises even when I was younger. Now I hate them.

I finally found something to enter in the Olympus photo contest. The theme for the contest was "Into the forest" and I had to go all the way back to 2004 to find a wildlife photo shot with an Olympus camera. This certainly wan't one of my best, but it will have to do. I'm glad the rules didn't stipulate a new Olympus camera. My photo of a male and female Mallard duck sitting on a log together was shot with one of the first serious digital cameras available. It took pictures natively in tiff format at 300 DPI. Even my current cameras don't do that anymore.

Janet said that Dawn did really well in training class tonight. Apparently, she's ready to graduate to a more advanced class starting next week. Progress with Dawn has been slow, but she is definitely becoming more comfortable with her new life. Dawn seems confident now and a lot of the fear she had initially is gone. When I fixed her dinner tonight, she was right there beside me and eager to eat. Six months ago this would have seemed impossible.

Sweetpea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4296

Today's service appointment was a mess. After making the service appointment over a month ago to ensure that I'd get a loaner car and then calling yesterday evening just to make sure that a loaner car would be waiting for me this morning, it get to the dealership this morning and you guessed it: no car.

I had to take an Uber home, but that wasn't nearly as frustrating as discovering that prices had nearly doubled for a major scheduled service. Everything I had done today was something I'd had dealt with before and it was unbelievable how much prices have gone up. I've driven a Land Rover since 1995 but maybe it's time to just get a cheap American car and say to hell with it all.

I'm not sure when I'll get my car back, but it probably won't be when it was promised. I don't know why I'm bothered about all this since I don't drive much anyway. I guess I'm just sick of the rising cost of everything. 

I got up early this morning to arrive for my service appointment on time. I shouldn't have bothered. Absolutely nothing happened with the car until around noon. It turned out that they wouldn't start the repairs until I approved each line item in an online service form. I ended up declining a lot of things because I knew I could get them done at just about any garage in town for a fraction of the price. I finally did get a loaner car just before the dealership closed this evening. This is pretty much an admission that the repairs will take longer than they initially claimed.

The temperature wasn't hot today but it was extremely humid. Sadly, my morning walk wasn't that pleasant today. When I looked at the forecast, it was pretty clear that rain was on the way. We need the rain, but I never did get up on the roof to clear away falling leaves and pecan shells. I usually check the pumps if a rainy spell is expected. I haven't done that either. Hopefully everything still works. I'm really not in the mood to deal with a roof leak again.

I got an e-mail today advertising a new Olympus photo contest. I knew I had some very good photos in the categories they were looking for so I thought about entering.  After I found the photos I was looking for in my files, I read the entry form again and discovered that the photos had to be taken with an Olympus camera. Never mind. It appears that most of my good photos were taken with a different brand of camera. It's hard to cheat these days because the make and model of the camera is always listed in the photo's Metadata.

The next thing on my agenda is an appointment with the digestive specialists who removed the stones from my bile duct. They apparently discovered that I have Barrett's esophagus when they were inserting their scope into my intestines. I'm not sure what they want to do next, since I've already read the lab reports saying that the cells they removed to test turned out to be normal. I bet they want to do another endoscopy to confirm their earlier results. Since these guys are also who my doctor recommended to do my next colonoscopy I wonder If I could get them to do both procedures at the same time. It would save me a second trip to the hospital and I'd only have to be anesthetized once. Makes sense to me anyway.

Hopefully, there are no surprises from the dealership tomorrow. I've already resigned myself to a big bill. I just don't want it to get any larger. It looks like it is going to start raining soon. Let's hope there are no roof leaks tonight. I've already had a bad day. There's no need to make things worse.

Spanky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3884

Another starlit start to our morning walk. You can tell what kind of day it's going to be the moment you step out the back door. When the air is stifling and you can smell the humidity, you know it's not a good sign. It was a pretty morning though. I could still see the constellation Orion just below Venus. I kept hoping to see a few meteors, since the Perseid meteor shower was supposed to peak this morning. No such luck. The sky wasn't dark enough.

We've decided that the ducks and geese stay on the water at night to stay safe from the coyotes. They are always out in the lake on the outbound leg of our walk and have returned to the shore when we see them again on the way home. All the animals we see are very predictable. I guess they probably think the same thing about us.

After breakfast I went to the Land Rover dealer so I could get my car safety inspected for another year. The state sets the price for these inspections, so this is just about the only time I can escape a huge bill when I take my car to the dealership. Safety inspections are a bargain at Land Rover. One of the sales guys I know keeps trying to get me interested in buying a new Defender. I have to admit that I like the car, but I bet I could get a pretty nice Bronco for half the price. There is going to be lots to choose from in the next year or two. A Bronco with the Sasquatch package sounds intriguing. If I really want my old Defender back, there's the new INEOS Grenadier. This new 4x4 is almost a direct copy of the Defender design with a BMW engine. There's always the Tesla Cybertruck too. For someone who doesn't really like to drive and seldom ventures off of paved roads, I'm way too interested in rugged four wheel drive vehicles. Maybe I just want to get ready for the apocalypse.

I don't know how I got started watching the 24/7 Boca Chica cam, but I look at it every day now. It's amazing how quickly things change at this Space X facility in South Texas. They've already got a new Starship prototype on the launch pad and are are preparing for another hop test. These guys are working 24 hours a day. I still have a feeling that they are going to beat NASA to Mars. At the rate they are going, they might even beat them back to the moon. I keep wondering how hard it would be to get access to this facility? This would make a good story for SpaceFlight Magazine. Unfortunately, Covid is spreading like wildfire near the border in South Texas. Maybe I ought to wait a while.

Now that I've gotten my car inspected, I can go get the new window sticker. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. You used to need two stickers on your windshield, but the state scrapped the inspection sticker a few years ago. When you go to get your registration sticker, they already know whether you've had the car inspected. There is no need to take care of this immediately, but I do need something to do.

I'm sure we'll get up early again tomorrow. The temperature is supposed to reach 103 degrees. We've already shortened Dawn's walks. I have a feeling that we'll need to shorten them even further. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Fall.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3883

I made an appointment to get my car safety inspected today. I didn't used to need an appointment for this sort of thing. I just drove up to the dealership and was in and out in a few minutes. A lot has changed. I used to have the same service adviser for five or six years at a time. Everyone knew me and was familiar with my car. Now staff turnover is much higher and there seems to be an entirely new crew every time I visit the dealership. The dealership seems to have replaced people with technology. Any time I contact these guys, I immediately start receiving a barrage of text messages, e-mails, and reminders on my Apple calendar. As soon as I finish with my appointment tomorrow, I will get multiple requests to take a survey. Employees seem desperate to get good marks on these surveys. Some have specifically asked me to give them high satisfaction scores because their salary or bonus depends on it. Oddly, there is never a question on these surveys that allows me to tell the dealership how much I hate surveys.

Changes like these are happening in every industry. It would be so much nicer if companies would just forget the technology and hire more people. Back in the day when there were lots of employees, the phones were answered on the first ring. You didn't need online surveys to tell you what was going on. Companies knew their customers. There used to be so many companies where someone knew me personally. They didn't need a survey to know what I liked or needed. It didn't matter whether it was a car dealer, a clothing store, or a camera shop, the sales people who waited on me looked at their jobs as a career. I often dealt with the same people for decades. It's hard to even explain how different things used to be to younger people. They don't believe me when I tell them that life was better with less technology. I guess you had to be there.

We got another early start this morning. There were still stars in the sky when we left the house, but I've learned not to look up too often while I'm walking Dawn. She has not learned to heal and is constantly crisscrossing from my left side to my right. She also speeds up and slows down rather abruptly. If I'm not watching her carefully, it's easy to trip over her. I also need to make sure that she stays well out of the way of bicycles and other dogs we encounter while walking. Maybe she'll learn to heal one of these days, but until then I can't be daydreaming and looking up at the stars.

I still have a hard time dealing with how much the temperature changes on an average August day. Sometimes there is a forty degree difference between the pre-dawn hours when we take our walks and late afternoons when things are hottest. Mornings are pleasant. Afternoons are torture. I still do both walks because there isn't much else to do, but I definitely prefer pre-dawn mornings.

I got some embroidered mission patches from the Mars 2020 and DM-2 missions in the mail today. I always made sure to get a mission patch for every launch that I attended. It was nice to have something tangible to remember. Now I've started collecting these patches from launches I haven't been to at all. Yikes. This is getting dangerously close to being a collector again. I guess it's a harmless activity. The patches are small and don't take up much space.

I hope they don't keep me waiting around at the dealership forever tomorrow. A safety inspection shouldn't take any longer than fifteen minutes. Maybe I'll tell them that if they can get me in and out in a hurry, I'll take their silly survey.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3808

I got the oil changed in my car today. I basically just wanted to get the irritating "service required" light on the dash turned off, but the oil hasn't been changed in over a year so it was probably time. The dealership said that an oil change didn't count as "service" so they couldn't turn the light off. I told them that at the prices they were charging, it damn well better count as service. I got my way. I've been a customer of this dealership for long enough to know that service representatives come and go, but in the end the customer is always right.

While I was waiting for the service to be completed, I took a look at the new Defender that had just arrived at the dealership. I've been waiting to see these ever since I sold my Defender 90 quite a few years ago. This iconic model got delayed again and again and went through many design changes along the way. I was disappointed that the new Defender has lost the boxy, hand assembled look of my former car, but I had to admit that the updated version looked a lot better than the pictures I'd seen on the Internet.

Will I get another Land Rover after being overcharged for service for over twenty years? Who knows. The car I was looking at wasn't even for sale. It was just a dealership demo and there won't be any Defenders available for sale until later in the year. The short wheelbase model like my former Defender won't make it's debut until 2021. There's certainly no hurry to get another car. I can't think of many reasons to buy another Land Rover either. If I wanted a practical car for West Texas I should just buy a Ford. That's about all I saw when I was out at the observatory. If I want to be really practical, I don't need a new car at all. It seems to work pretty well to just rent cars when I travel.

Dawn's new collar came today. We got her a hand beaded collar made by the Maasai tribe in Kenya, just like the ones Dot and Dash used to wear. When one of our dogs goes to the Rainbow Bridge, their collar is retired and placed in the cedar box with their ashes. Hey, everyone has traditions with their pets and this is one of ours. The Maasai collars are works of art and last a lifetime. Dawn seemed to know hers was special. She was excited and kept wagging her tail while we were fitting her tags to the new collar and seemed proud to wear it. Who knows what dogs really think though. She probably just liked all the attention.

I think my Spring allergies are finally coming to an end. I can take a walk without watering eyes or constant sneezing again. This was one of the longest allergy seasons on record. It's also one of the wettest Springs I can remember. Hopefully the seasonal allergies don't return until next year. They've really been a nuisance. This is definitely not a time when you want to be sneezing constantly.

I'm beginning to think that my application for media accreditation from the Air Force got lost, just like the manuscripts that I used to send to Sky and Telescope. I still haven't heard from them. For some reason mail coming from my hosting account occasionally gets classified as spam by other mail servers and never gets delivered. It's weird that a big company like Bluehost gets classified as a spammer, but it happens occasionally. I have to use an alternate e-mail account to communicate with the University of Texas and with Sky and Telescope. Maybe this has happened with the Air Force as well. I should have heard something from them by now.

Now that I've gotten my oil changed, the only thing left on my list is getting a haircut. The salons are open again so maybe I'll make an appointment. I can't live under a rock forever.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3548 - 9/11

I'm still living in the same house, sitting at the same kitchen table, watching the same TV at breakfast as I was on this day eighteen years ago. I haven't forgotten. Memories fade though. With each passing year, more and more people will never remember this day as I do. They weren't here. There are young men and women serving in the military right now who weren't even born when the twin towers fell. I don't think these people and those who come after them will ever realize how much has changed.

When we were visiting The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg recently, I remember thinking how little I really knew about World War II. This is understandable because I wasn't born until three years after the war ended. I never learned about all the sacrifices my Mom and Dad made. They didn't talk about those days much and high school history classes gloss over a lot of things. My Dad would have experienced this museum much differently. He was a Navy man and served in the Pacific during World War II.

I only have one picture of the World Trade Center. It was taken out of my hotel window at the UN Plaza. I used to stay at this hotel when I worked in New York. Although I have never lived in Manhattan, the city was frequently a destination during my ad agency days. I've walked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. I've taken the express elevator to the top of the South Tower and looked out over the city from the rooftop observation deck. When I watched the towers fall while eating breakfast at our kitchen table I felt like the world I was familiar with was ending. In retrospect, this feeling was surprisingly accurate. The world hasn't been the same since.

I'd like to see a day when the country is unified again the way we were the day after September 11. We're a long way away from that now. When you look at the divided country we've become, it almost seems like the terrorists won. Hopefully, we will find our way again and discover a way to come together. Tribalism and petty bickering is slowly destroying us.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the state of the world. Day to day life is challenging enough for me. Today, Janet and I started to clean out the greenhouse so repairs can begin. What a lot of broken stuff I've managed to accumulate. Instead of fixing old lawn mowers, it was easier to just buy new ones. I kept the old mowers though, thinking that some day I might get the urge to fix them. This same perverse logic is why my storage warehouse is still full of old, obsolete computers. If I lived in the country and had a lot of acreage, there's a good chance that every old car I ever owned would be covered in rust out in the front yard.

The long awaited successor to the Land Rover Defender has finally arrived. What were they thinking? After Toyota completely botched the reintroduction of the iconic FJ40, its almost like Land Rover couldn't wait to say "hold my beer." I loved my old Defender. Not so sure about this complex, high-tech replacement.

I doubt that it matters. After we finish fixing up the house and yard, I won't be able to afford a new car anyway. At any rate, life goes on. I did my five mile walk this morning. I drank my fruit smoothie while watching TV pundits talk about 9/11 and then wrote a letter to my sister. Next year I'll probably do exactly the same thing.

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3513

I got my car safety inspected for another year. There is no window sticker anymore, but you still need to have the inspection done before you can buy the annual registration sticker at your local grocery store. Why do I need the registration sticker? Rules. There used to be a little sticker you put on your license plate as well. Those disappeared a long time ago. I'm old enough to remember having to go downtown to the department of motor vehicles for a new plate every year. You rarely get a new plate anymore. All these physical ways of identifying you are gradually going away. I used to have a Toll Tag in my front window but you don't need the tag anymore. Sensors just know when you are driving on a toll road. It probably won't be long before there aren't any stickers or tags on your car at all. The car will just broadcast everything about you to the state as soon as you turn on the ignition.

For now these annual safety inspections are still part of my routine. I could get everything done a lot quicker at a local garage, but I continue to drive up to the dealership and waste half the morning. The time goes quickly. I had a long conversation about cars with a sales guy I know. He shared some new information with me about the new Land Rover Defender that is being introduced this Fall and we traded stories about various exotic cars we'd seen about town. I looked at all the new cars on the show room floor and lamented the high prices for Range Rovers these days. Pretty soon my car was done. My day hadn't really changed at all. I still had a morning smoothie and I still had a morning walk. My trip to the dealership just made my morning walk even hotter because I got a late start.

I thought that an AT&T technician would come back today and hook up the cable that was buried in my yard yesterday. I guess I'll have to call about this tomorrow. I can't remember whether I need to be here or not when this happens. I've finally figured out why AT&T installs these temporary cables. If you had to wait and wait without any service at all until the technicians eventually showed up, customers would be pretty mad. They probably figured out quickly that throwing away a lot of fiber optic wire was easier than dealing with irate customers.

Even though I complain about sweating a lot, I still like walking outside better than walking at the gym. There is more visual stimulus outside. I certainly wouldn't see many Great Egrets at the gym. If I just wanted to avoid the heat, I could go to the gym every day. I'd have to drive to my gym though and I don't like driving. I do like talking about cars however. It's complicated. I don't really mind the heat, but my skin is taking a beating. I don't remember my skin looking this bad during previous summers. Do I need to use sunblock? It would be so much easier if I just stayed home and got fat watching Netflix.

I've been hearing cars running through water all evening. I thought it had started raining for a while. When I went outside to investigate I discovered that the neighbor's sprinkler system had broken. There were big fountains of water spewing out into the street. What a waste. I wish one of those nozzles was pointed over at my yard. I could use the water. I guess everyone has problems during the summer. I just hope my air conditioner keeps working.

Lou is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3512

I guess we're making progress. I got a bid on repairing the greenhouse today. The price seems reasonable, so we'll move ahead with this project. The carpenter doesn't want to begin work until the weather gets cooler. Makes sense to me. It's too damn hot to do anything. The heat didn't stop the AT&T crew from burying my fiber optic cable though. The "crew" was really just a man and his wife who spoke no English. When I asked a question, the wife got out her iPhone and pointed for me to speak into it. She had a translation app that worked surprisingly well. It answered all my questions anyway. The young couple was very nice and I kind of felt sorry that AT&T was making them work in this heat. The technician that diagnosed my problem a few weeks ago told me that the company always hires the lowest bidders to bury the lines. They probably get no benefits.

Right now I've got two lines. A nicely buried line that isn't hooked up to anything and the temporary line that is still providing my connection. Another technician will have to come back and connect the new buried line. This procedure of installing temporary lines and then coming back later with a second buried line line that needs to be installed all over again seems terribly inefficient. So, far I've had six lines pulled to my house from the street since I signed up for U-verse. Half of this fiber optic cable was temporary and was eventually just thrown away. There are probably several buried lines still under my lawn as well. Nobody bothers to pull up the old cable when they install a new one.

Coincidently, I paid my cable bill today. All these service calls explain why my bill is so high. I should call AT&T and demand that they deduct a week's service from my bill for the time the Internet was out while Janet was away. I probably won't bother though. It's like pulling teeth to make a complaint to customer service.

I'm still walking, but the weather is pretty brutal. There aren't as many joggers now, but the cyclists are still out in force. Maybe it's cooler when you are moving faster, but I suspect that the cyclists just love punishment. I keep walking because I've learned that sweating is actually good for you. Sweating can strengthen your immune system, improve circulation, lower the risk of kidney stones, unclog pores, and help fight viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Walking is also one of the best ways to keep bones strong and prevent osteoporosis too. I guess I'll keep walking. It's a slow summer and there isn't much better to do anyway.

The next thing on my list is getting my car safety inspected. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I could go anywhere but I usually just go to the dealership. They have free snacks and I like to look at new cars I'll never be able to afford. I've been waiting for years for the new Land Rover Defenders to arrive, but there are very few reasons to drive a rugged go anywhere vehicle anymore. Those new mid-engine Corvettes are looking pretty nice.

Janet is making me another Peach Cobbler tonight. I've been eating a lot of peaches lately. It's going to be rough when they go out of season again. Fresh peaches are one of the few good things about Summer.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3460

I've been going back and forth all day about whether to fly or drive to Florida. Surprisingly, the cost is about the same either way. My car gets atrociously poor gas mileage and I'm not much of a long distance driver anymore, so there would be more stops along the way than you might expect. Airfare isn't exactly a bargain either since I need to have the flexibility to change my schedule at the last minute. It's hard to decide. I don't like to drive, but I don't like to fly either.

If I do decide to drive, my car is ready. The dealership called me this morning and said the service department was slow today. If I wanted, they could put on my new tires and do the other maintenance I need now instead of waiting until next week. Why not. I drove up to the dealership and picked up a loaner for the day. They gave me a Jaguar SUV. New cars are so totally electronic that they are confusing to me. I had to get someone to come show me how to get the car out of park. It wasn't intuitive at all. I also had them show me where the little button was that keeps the motor from shutting off every time you stop at a traffic light. Having your car die every time you pull up to a traffic light is unnerving. What if it won't start again? Does this feature really save energy or just cause road rage when the gizmo fails in heavy traffic?

When I was taking my walk today, I saw some guys from a local work-working store loading hardwood logs from somebody's front yard into their trailer. This never even occurred to me before. Neighbors are selling their downed trees to woodworking shops. My Dad was a wood carver and would frequently pay what I though was a lot of money for choice blocks of Walnut or Cherry wood. Since our part of town is full of old hardwood trees, there's probably a lot of valuable wood. Some people will throw this wood away. Others will use if for firewood. A few have wood stoves or like to grill using wood. The city seems to prefer to grind the wood up and use it for mulch. All I really wanted was to get the wood out of my yard. I don't think Elm is a very desirable carving wood anyway. People use Mesquite and Hickory for their smokers, but I'm never heard of anyone using Elm to smoke their meat. I've heard of Elm being used for furniture, but my tree wouldn't make many chairs. The wind turned it into a bunch of jagged splinters.

I've been really tired lately. This isn't new, but I thought my energy would return when I started getting more sleep. It isn't happening. Everybody slows down as they grow older, but it's hard to find a reference point. I know people my age who have a lot more energy than me, but I know other people my age who are dead. I'm doing better than either of my parents were at this age, but I can't keep up with Janet. I guess this isn't a big deal. Very few people can keep up with Janet.

It's off to the gym again tomorrow. Going to the gym is good. The active people I know seem to live much longer than the sedentary ones. Maybe a good workout will make me more decisive. I'm going to have to make the fly or drive decision soon. The whole country seems to be on the move. It won't be long before the planes fill up the same way the hotels in Florida did.

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3458

Janet and I temperament tested a dog this afternoon. I think I've already told you about Xander. He's got a good home if he gets along with other dogs. With the help of the kennel staff we introduced him to a variety of different dogs and he passed his test with flying colors. Some dogs tolerate other animals. Xander really seems to like them. He was curious, playful, and gentle with everyone we introduced him to. Now we just need to see if his potential companion is equally friendly. Xander is not dog aggressive. He doesn't appear to be food aggressive either. Somebody is going to get a wonderful companion and friend.

I went ahead and ordered tires today. The good news is that they will be here tomorrow. The bad news is that since they were a special order, I had to pay for them in advance. At least these tires weren't as expensive as the OEM tires that came with the car. I was glad to hear that they'd been discontinued and replaced with a more reasonably priced tire. Keep in mind that 'reasonably priced' is a relative term when it comes to Land Rover parts. In my experience absolutely nothing has been reasonably priced.

It was weird to be working again. I finished my client's website updates this morning and uploaded the changes to the server. Amazingly, I remembered the client's old passwords and remembered most of the HTML code I needed. It takes a little longer to do this stuff if you don't do it every day, but I guess I passed my temperament test as well. Could it be that coding is like riding a bicycle? I might remember some of what I know forever. At any rate, I think I did a good job. Hopefully, the client will agree.

I took the money I made selling the guitars to the bank. It won't stay there long. My homeowner's insurance is due, I just had a large tree removed, and then there are those pesky Land Rover tires. Everything is so expensive now. I still have prices in my head from the 1970's. Unfortunately those days are gone. I think my favorite year was 1969. It definitely isn't 2019.

I saw a Purple Passionflower today. I haven't seen one of these bloom in years because they grow in a section of the park that wasn't accessible to Dot and Dash after they became sick. As the dogs became older and less mobile, we had to limit our walks to safe, relatively flat areas where they wouldn't fall. Walking was more difficult for me as well, since I was holding up their rear legs using the Help 'Em Up Harness. I've started walking the old trails again. They bring back memories. We'll see how long this lasts. My feet are telling me that I'm going to need a Help 'Em Up Harness myself some day.

This week went amazingly fast, considering that we spent most of it without electricity. Janet and I stayed surprisingly busy during the power outage. Even though we both seem to have good survival skills, I'm glad the power is back. I'm certainly sleeping better now. Everything is more or less back on schedule. I just finished taking the week's trash out to the curb. I hope the trash truck can find everybody's cans. They look insignificant next to the huge piles of tree branches and logs stacked along the street.

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3452

I decided to get my car serviced today. This was a minor service, so I just stayed at the dealership while the work was being done. As I wandered around looking at cars, it became painfully obvious that I can't really afford to be a Land Rover customer anymore. Prices have really increased since I got my first Land Rover in the early 1990's. I've bought houses for less than the sticker price on some of these cars. Maintenance costs a lot more too. Truthfully, the cost of an oil change seems to double every time I visit the dealership. It's a shame because I've always liked Land Rovers. I still think the British build the best looking cars.

I had breakfast on the way to the dealership and was disappointed that my Shrimp and Grits weren't as good today. The grits were terrible and I think they just used Jimmy Dean sausage in the sauce instead of Andouille sausage. It seemed clear that there was a new chef today. I don't know why turnover is so high in the restaurant business. Nobody stays for very long anywhere. Even the restaurants themselves don't stay around very long. Three or four years is a good run for some. I need to find a family restaurant where the entire staff has been around for decades. You find those places in little towns, but they're few and far between in a big city.

I got a message from my dealer that some of my model trains had sold. He seemed excited by the sale. I was too until I noticed that one of the items had been mispriced. It's hard to complain though. A sale is a sale and at this point I'd just like to sell the entire collection while I'm still alive. I started consigning things over a year ago and there is still a ton of stuff that hasn't sold. My friend selling the trains told me that it could take three years to sell the entire collection. Lord knows how long it will take to sell the guitars. I guess I've just got to be patient.

It looks I'm going to have to be patient with the Falcon Heavy launch as well. I got a letter from NASA today. I thought this was going to be the letter with a firm itinerary for the launch and instructions for picking up my press credentials. Nope. It was a letter explaining the complexities of scheduling a launch with a promise of more information next week. There was a reminder again to be sure to make flexible travel arrangements. I've definitely been warned.

Hey, I'll be ready to go when they are. I feel more confident about my car now. I still need new tires but I probably won't buy them from the dealership. There are too many tire dealers where you can get get exactly the same tires for considerably less. The dealership doesn't even try to be competitive. Most of their customers are rich and don't even care what things cost.

All in all, it wasn't a bad day. The weather was mild. It didn't rain. Even the stock market continued to rally. My feet still hurt after my longer walks, but you can't have everything.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3450

I didn't plan well today. I knew that there was rain in the forecast, but thought I'd go from gazebo to gazebo on my morning walk like I had done on earlier rainy days. It didn't work. When I arrived at the shelters it wasn't raining. I impatiently thought I could make it to the next shelter before the rain started again, but I almost always got wet. Strangely, it didn't even seem to matter. It was a gentle rain and being wet seemed better than being hot and sweaty.

I tried to make an appointment to take my car in for service when I got home, but my service adviser said I'd driven the car so little since my last service that it was unnecessary. I should have been glad to hear this, but it left me a little uneasy. I basically wanted the guy to bless the car and promise that nothing expensive would fall off or break during a trip to Florida. No Land Rover dealer in their right mind would ever promise anything like that. Stuff always breaks on these cars. "Don't I even need an oil change," I asked? The guy basically said that I could bring the car in if it made me feel better. I still can't get used to the longer oil change intervals with modern synthetic engine oil. I'm still used to getting the oil changed every 3,000 miles. I always did this with the Defender. Apparently nobody does this with modern cars.

I finally got in touch with my contact at the auction house and made arrangements to re-offer my last piece of unsold art at a lower price. At this point I just want all the things I've consigned to sell. If this stuff comes back to me, I'll have to get a bigger storage warehouse. That would defeat the whole purpose of moving to a smaller storage warehouse. I guess I'm in no hurry, but it would be nice to put this chapter behind me. The guitars still haven't sold and I haven't sold anything from the model train collection in several months. Maybe things will pick up this summer.

I noticed a new flower this morning. I've seen this one before, but I don't see it every year. I'm having trouble identifying this one. It kind of looks like a Blazing Star, but I'm not sure. Ironweed looks a bit like this as well. The weird looking plant seems like a cross between a Dahlia and a Texas Thistle. I'll figure out what it is eventually.

Space X still hasn't finalized a launch date for the Falcon Heavy rocket. I knew this would happen, but I still wish I could start making travel plans. Basically at this point, the launch could be any time this summer. I guess I've just got to be patient. Alternately, I could get so involved with something else that I forget about the launch. That's not going to happen. I'll just be patient.

It looks like there is no rain in the forecast for the rest of the week. I may be forced to mow the grass after all. As the weather grows warmer, I prefer little tasks I can do indoors. I took some satisfaction that the repairs I made to my boots worked. I wore them this morning and the soles are still firmly attached. Maybe I can find something equally insignificant to do tomorrow.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3448

Janet and I picked up Xander at the vet today and took him back to the rescue kennel. He wasn't very enthusiastic about wearing a cone, but it couldn't be helped. We took the cone off briefly to take a picture, but he's going to have to wear it for a while. Xander has just been neutered. I think this was the largest dog I've ever had in my car. It was hard to believe he was only one year old. He's a good looking boy who is very strong. I'm glad there weren't any squirrels nearby.

While we were at the kennel, we spent some quality time with each of the other dogs in the program. They are all getting to know us now. Some like to chase a ball. Others are like velcro and follow you everywhere. A few seem very receptive to training and we've already taught them to sit and stay. We even taught one dog to roll over. Nobody is shy anymore. They all look forward to seeing us.

I'm glad the kennel has large air conditioned play rooms. It was too hot to be outside for very long. The dogs would go outside to pee, but quickly returned to the cooler inside rooms to play and beg for treats. The dogs were a lot smarter than I was today, since I continued to ignore the weather and took my regular walks anyway. When I returned this morning, I was drenched in sweat and had to change my clothes. Even my hat was wet today. The weird thing is that summer is just getting started. There are going to be many days where the temperature is much hotter than this.

I did manage to go to the bank and take a few letters to the post office, but most of the day was consumed with walking in the park and visiting the rescue Dalmatians. I still find it strange that doing so little can take up the entire day. I guess this is what retirement is all about. Whatever you are doing expands to fill the time you have available.

I got a check from one of the auction houses today. I think this means that all the auctions are over. Everything sold with the exception of one piece of art that I'll need to get returned. The whole process was surprisingly easy and I don't miss anything. It was time to say goodbye to these things. I wish old electronic gear was as easy to sell as artwork and antiques. There's not much of a market for old, obsolete gear. Even the vintage guitars are taking a long time to sell. I have a feeling that not as many kids want to be rock stars anymore. Maybe they want to be DJ's or rappers, but not many seem to want to form a band like The Eagles or Pink Floyd.

The next thing on my list is to get the car serviced and buy new tires. NASA still hasn't set a firm launch date for the Falcon Heavy mission, but it can't be that far away. I'm still thinking that it makes more sense to drive. I have no schedule and can take as long as I want to make the trip. I can't say that I enjoy driving, but I don't really enjoy flying either. We'll see how this goes. I definitely would like to become a space blogger and get invited to more launches like this in the future.

There's nothing exotic planned for tomorrow. I'll drink my smoothie, take my walk, and probably turn off the TV in disgust after watching the morning news. I'm never happy with the weather. It won't take many more hot days before I'll be begging for rain.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3243

Winter is here. We woke up to near freezing temperatures this morning. We found our Winter coats and took Dash on his morning walk. When we returned, we discovered that our power had gone out. Why would the power go out on a completely clear day? I suspect that everyone woke up and turned on their furnace at the same time. Since nothing was working, we went out for breakfast. Restaurants in the neighborhood were out of power too. This was worse than I expected. We drove a little further and ate breakfast at my favorite restaurant in the hotel. Janet liked the place too.

Power was restored later in the morning, but that wasn't the end of today's mishaps. When I left to run my Saturday errands, the first thing I did was get gas. After I filled my tank, the car wouldn't start. It was completely dead and there were all kind of warning lights on the dash. I called AAA and they got me to the dealership, where I discovered that I not only had a dead battery, I also had a broken water pump. Damn. Another expensive repair. My service adviser got me a loaner car and said that he might be able to complete the repairs by the end of the day. Land Rover prices are ridiculous, but at least they have good service.

I continued my Saturday errands in the loaner car, hoping that I never have to buy a car where the engine automatically shuts off when you stop at a traffic light. This "feature" is included on almost every new car these days and it is terribly annoying. After a lifetime of worrying that my car is going to die in heavy traffic, the last thing I want is a car that does this on purpose.

I should have checked the weather last night. I forgot to bring the lawnmower battery inside, so last night's cold weather probably ruined it. I'll see if it still works the next time we get some warm weather. This may be tomorrow, or next Spring. You never know with Texas weather. I suspect that the cold weather might have had something to do with my car's bad battery as well. Why did the car start when I left the house with a cold engine, but refused to start after I got gas and the engine was warm? Why did the car work at all with a broken water pump? Some things will always remain a mystery. I suspect that any car can be on the verge of breaking down for quite a while before it actually does.

I found another pair of dog boots that seemed softer than the ones we've been using. Neither Janet or I could remember where these boots came from. Perhaps they were Dot's. Dash's paws didn't bleed today, so these boots are a winner. I don't think they'll last long though, since the rubber on the outside is thin and soft. Maybe I'll just have to buy new boots every few weeks. Repairing torn areas with Shoe Goo tends to make the boots harder and more abrasive on the inside. I guess I shouldn't worry about what the boots cost. They're cheap compared to his veterinary bills.

Amazingly, the dealership did finish my car today. Everything works great now. I hope I can rely on the car for the rest of the Winter now. After switching storage warehouses and hiring movers, I think I've had enough large expenses for the rest of the year. Dash pooped on the bed again last night. I've had enough of that as well. At least we're getting better at cleaning up the mess. In less than fifteen minutes, everything was clean, in the wash, and we all went back to sleep again.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3240

So I get in my car this morning to go to my doctor's appointment. I'm late as usual. I press the ignition button and immediately get a Low Coolant warning light on my dash. Do I ignore the warning and proceed to the doctor's office, or cancel my appointment and go looking for some antifreeze? This is how people wind up getting towed to the dealership. I decided to keep going and just make sure that the car didn't overheat. Everything turned out OK, but I hate situations like these.

As far as I can tell, my physical exam went OK. There were no surprises anyway. The phlebotomist was great today. I didn't feel a thing. It's still surprising that my new doctor and my old doctor seem so different. Each has their own priorities. Some tests that my old doctor routinely preformed are considered unnecessary by the new doctor. He's added some new tests that the old doctor never bothered with however. Who is right? I guess it's all a matter of who you trust. I'm screwed because I basically don't trust anybody.

After my appointment, I immediately drove to the Land Rover dealer to ask them about the coolest level. The warning light actually went out after the engine warmed up, so I didn't think the problem was serious. My service adviser topped up the reservoir with antifreeze and told me to give him a call if the warning light came on again. He said the sometimes an air bubble gets trapped in the cooling system and causes a false reading. He also said the coolant level actually was pretty low, so who knows what is going on. I'll keep an eye on things in case I have a leak. At any rate it was certainly easier to have the dealership take care of this for me than to go to Auto Zone and wonder which of twelve brands of antifreeze to buy.

I never ate breakfast at all today. By the time I returned home, it was way too late and I wasn't very hungry anyway. I'll return to my smoothie tomorrow. Dash did get a walk this morning, but he seemed kind of lost as soon as we got to the park. I had to return to the house and get Janet to walk with us so he'd have someone to follow. Lately, he's been very tentative about walking unless he has someone to follow. I think his vision has gotten much worse in the past several months.

Evidently, I need to worry about my own vision as well. My doctor made an appointment for me to see an ophthalmologist. He said it was important to see an eye doctor at least once a year since I was being treated for diabetes. I've always thought I was pre-diabetic but my doctor said to stop kidding myself. "If you're taking Metformin," he said. "you've got some form of diabetes." I'm a long, long way from needing to take insulin, but I do need to be careful. I probably need to go back to my rigorous, no sugar, no wheat diet too, but I do love bread, pasta, and dessert.

I'm glad I'm moving to the new storage warehouse. When I went back to the old warehouse today, the entry doors at the back of the building wouldn't accept my code and the manager didn't know when they'd be able to get things fixed. I had to carry my stuff all the way to the other side of the building to load the car. I hope the get the door fixed before the movers arrive. My move is going to be more expensive if the guys can't park their truck near my unit.

Dash had a cut on one of his paws this morning. Even though he wears a special sock under his protective rubber boots, his feet still manage to get scraped up. It's frustrating. He needs to stay active, but he also needs to stay protected. Any type of bleeding is not good at all.

It was really a long day. I should have no problem sleeping tonight. I hope that Dash feels the same way.

Chase is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3144

We had a power outage last night. It only took three hours for the electric company to restore the power, but that was enough for me to see the perils of losing electricity during a heat wave. I could feel the house growing warmer almost immediately. After about an hour, I began feeling hot and stuffy. This was at night too, when the air was cooler. I imagine that things would have been even worse if we lost power during the day.

I could tell that Dash wasn't comfortable. He got off the bed and went looking for a cooler place to sleep. Dash can't tolerate heat at all anymore. I keep the house as cool as I can for him, but it has made our electric bill go through the roof. Fall weather can't come soon enough for me.

By morning, everything was back to normal. Dash took his morning meds and we began our slow journey through the park. We tried out the new boots I bought recently. They are smaller and lighter than his regular boots, so maybe he won't drag his feet so much. They passed their first test this morning. The boots stayed on his feet during the entire walk.

On my way to breakfast this morning I put the top down on the loaner convertible. I can't remember ever driving a convertible before and the experience was kind of fun. Visibility is great in a convertible. You don't really have to worry about blind spots. The roads can be pretty noisy though. Big trucks can be intimidating too. I'm not sure I'd want to drive on Dallas freeways with the top down. The most surprising thing was that if you turn on the car's air conditioner with the top down, it creates a pretty convincing illusion that the outside air is actually cooler.

I didn't get to keep the convertible for very long. As I was finishing breakfast, I got a call from the dealership saying that my car was ready. When I picked it up, I noticed that they had one of the new all electric Jaguar iPace models on display. Tesla is going to face some really tough competition as the major manufacturers all begin introducing their own versions of an all electric car. The iPace is pretty cool. I'd certainly be tempted the next time I'm car shopping.

Even though the power was only off for a short time, there were a ton of things that needed to be reset. It seems like everything has a built-in clock these days. The thermostat has a clock. The land line phone has a clock. Even the coffee maker has a clock. I think I reset everything, but knowing me, there will be something I forgot and it will start beeping while I'm sleeping tonight.

It seemed like Saturday today. I wonder if it will feel like Sunday tomorrow. When Janet fully retires, it's going to be impossible to tell what day it is. I guess it doesn't really matter. The sun keeps coming up every morning and the blog keeps getting posted every night. If I need to know the details, I can check my Fitbit.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day