Day 2084

When I arrived for my photoshoot today, I was greeted by two kids, a cockatiel, several parrots, a rabbit, a Labrador retriever, a basset hound mix, a large iguana, a lizard, a box of puppies and kittens, and two very large snakes. Through a process of elimination, we selected five animals that seemed to get along well with the children and each other. Amazingly, the children weren't afraid of the snakes, but I got a little nervous myself when a large yellow python wound up in my lap while I was looking through the viewfinder.

These type of photos aren't easy. Is everybody looking at the camera? Is the cat going to go after the bird? Will the snake eat a puppy? We had wranglers for each animal to keep things safe, but still there were a lot of surprises. The seventy pound snake moved pretty fast and always seemed to slither out of the frame. The bird flew away several times. The iguana was getting old and occasionally fell off its perch and landed on the floor with a thud. I was amazed that the rabbit was so calm. Most rabbits wouldn't want anything to do with a situation like this, but our bunny was calm and collected and stayed with us for the entire shoot. I think the photo came out great. I'm not sure what the snake thought.

I thought Dash was sick this morning. He got us up early, went outside, immediately pooped in the yard, and then wouldn't eat his breakfast. This had me worried. Dash always eats his meals. He seemed perfectly normal on our morning walk and as soon as we got home again I figured out what was going on. There was a smell of brisket in the air when I opened the back door. Janet was fixing a slow cook meal in the crockpot and the smell of the meat simmering overnight must have driven Dash wild. He's a very stubborn dog and he woke up wanting brisket for breakfast instead of his dog food. As soon as we gave the dogs a little taste of the brisket, they both were happy and spent the rest of the morning sleeping quietly on their dog beds. This evening when the meat was safely in the refrigerator, Dash thought his dog food was just fine and ate it eagerly.

With a concert and a photoshoot on the agenda, this turned out to be a very busy weekend. There was no time to mow the lawn or go to the gym, but I'm surprised that we got as much done as we did. The dogs still got their walks. The dog's bedding got washed. Dot only pooped inside once this weekend, but that still required a full load of laundry. The house could be a little cleaner, but I did manage to get all the photo equipment packed up and back to the storage warehouse. Tomorrow, I'll need to burn some DVD's so the client can sort through the hundreds of images I took today. I think there are still some website revisions I need to make as well. Oh, in case you're wondering, the brisket was deliciou.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1616

Today was a typical Monday. Everything was disorganized. Things got delayed, or in many cases, they never happened at all. Dash's routine exam at the cancer center ended up taking most of the day, mostly because there were a lot of unexpected emergencies with other dogs. Dash seemed happy about the situation though. He got to play with the other dogs at the cancer center while he was waiting to see the doctor, instead of spending another boring day at home with Dot and I. When I did go to pick him up later this afternoon, I received a glowing progress report from the oncologist. Dash is doing great! We don't have to go back for another exam until the middle of June. Dash can have a bath again now, which is very good news because he is getting filthy.

I was a bit worried that the chemo pills might be causing the diarrhea Dash was having this weekend. The nurse said that this was possible, but not very likely, since he's been taking the pills for over three months now with no adverse effects. She said it was much more likely that he ate a small lizard. Apparently a lot of dogs have been finding lizards in the yard this Spring. Sounds about right. Actually I did see Dash chasing a lizard in the yard last week. It wouldn't have been hard for him to catch one without us noticing.

Not only have real estate taxes gone up this year, our homeowners insurance rates just went up as well. When real estate values dropped significantly after the big market crash in 2008, real estate taxes and insurance rates didn't go down at all. They just held steady for a few years. Every time the real estate market rebounds however, taxes and insurance rates immediately go up. This is what is happening this year. We've had a little rebound and the city and county can't wait to get their hands on this new source of revenue. Somehow this doesn't seem very fair, but as we all know, taxes almost never go down.

I fell asleep briefly at the computer a few minutes ago. This is the second time this month this has happened. Jeez, if I can't even stay awake writing the blog, lord knows how you guys feel reading it every day. You never know though. Things still happen. Just not every day.  Maybe tomorrow will be exciting. It certainly should be busier. Dot has her weekly acupuncture and water therapy session, and I have a photo shoot. Dash has nothing planned, but he had a big day today.

If it weren't for my Spring allergies, I'd have no complaints about the weather at all. There's been enough rain to keep things green, and enough sunlight and cool breezes to keep the dogs and I happy. Today was absolutely beautiful.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 774

Some of you might remember me talking about the house lizard that I occasionally see darting around the house. Lizards are pretty agile and I've never been able to catch this guy. Until now, that is. This morning when I went out to the kitchen to make my morning coffee, I saw the lizard right in the middle of Dash's dog bed. It looked like he was sleeping on the bed, and maybe he was. At any rate, I seized the opportunity and carefully scooped him up in a dish towel and took him outside where he belongs. Don't get me wrong. I've got nothing against lizards. The little guy was a well mannered house guest, but he was all over the place and I really didn't want to wake up some morning and see him next to me in bed.

I had to get another credit card to replace the one I canceled last week and when I went to activate it this morning, I got a surprise. Usually when you activate a new credit card they ask you for a password or some secret word you gave them in the past. This time the security folks at the bank had a whole new way to determine if I was who I said I was. Instead of asking me questions based on information I had given them, they asked me questions based on information they had found on their own. They said all the information they had was in the public record, but the information was very personal. I don't know how they found this stuff. I was given lists of things that might have happened to me but only one of the things was actually true and I had to correctly identify the event. This kind of questioning would be much harder to hack than a simple password. I still don't know how they knew all this stuff though. It's kind of spooky. There is no privacy anymore. Anybody who still thinks their secrets are safe is just living in a dream world.

Janet and I went and walked some of the rescue Dalmatians this morning. It's nice to see these dogs improve week by week. Some of the ones who looked pretty scruffy when we picked them up just a month ago now look sleek and beautiful. It's amazing what a good diet and a little veterinary care can do.

I upgraded my Avid Media Composer application to the new 6.0 version last night. If any of you out there edit video for a living, this upgrade is well worth the money. I've not always been happy with Avid in the past, but this is the best iteration of Media Composer the company has ever introduced. It's more powerful, easier to use, and comes packed with all the things I felt were missing. I was very impressed. Now I just need to get some video production jobs that are worthy of this fabulous new software. Most of the videos I edited last year were so simple that I could have edited them using iMovie.

Tomorrow it's time to go to the dog park again. The dogs have grown to love these weekly outings. I wish there was a human equivalent of going to a dog park. It would be nice to feel as exuberant and happy as Dash looks when he's racing around with his ears flapping in the wind.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 688

When I was washing the breakfast dishes this morning, a rather large lizard walked across the kitchen counter and headed straight toward the pile of plates I had just cleaned. I tried, and ultimately failed, to catch the lizard. It's still around the house somewhere. There was a time when this would have really bothered me and I would have spent the rest of the day trying to find the little reptile. I just don't care anymore. We live near a large wooded area and every time it gets cold, critters somehow manage to find a way inside. I guess a house lizard isn't so bad. At least it isn't a mouse or a rat.

As much as I hate going to the dentist, I think I'm going to have to go back again very soon. During my last visit, the dentist told me that one of my wisdom teeth was crowding the rest of my teeth so badly that it simply had to go. Oddly, it's the wisdom tooth on the other side of my mouth that is bothering me now. Nevertheless, I'm starting to agree with the dentist's assessment. Something has to be done. I'm dreading this, but I'll make an appointment to see an oral surgeon next week.

I had to go to a lighting store today to look for a halogen bulb to replace a burned out bulb in one of the living room lamps. While I was there, I noticed that LED bulbs were finally getting bright enough to be a viable replacement for the remaining incandescent lights in the house. There were lots of LED bulbs that claimed to be as bright as a seventy-five watt incandescent light bulb. There was even one large and very expensive LED that claimed to be as bright as a 150 watt bulb. These LED bulbs still have a way to go however. The big fifty dollar LED was rated at an output of 1200 lumens, while the little halogen bulb I needed for the living room lamp output a commanding 2800 lumens. Hmmm. $7.95 vs. $49.95. You can guess which bulb I went home with.

When I woke up this morning, I was convinced that this was going to be the day I got caught up with everything. Nope. It didn't happen. Just about the time I finished my daily watch article, I got a bunch of emergency web updates that needed attention. The big brown Panasonic box near my desk is still unopened.

Wolfgang is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day