Day 1910

I only need three words to describe this day. All day rain. Today's rain wasn't just a light shower either. It was a genuine soaker. Rain is the last thing I need right now. It's hard enough getting Dot outside to pee on a dry day in her current condition. Add a downpour to the mix and it's a real mess. After we come back inside, I have to carefully clean her paws while holding her up with the harness so she won't get all her bedding muddy. Then I have to make sure the area around her incision is clean and dry. When we're done with all that, I have to throw whatever I'm wearing in the dryer, so I don't spend the day wet myself. Then, two hours later, we repeat the whole process all over again.

Oddly, Dot wasn't the real problem today. It was Dash. He steadfastly refused to go outside and pee no matter how many times I opened the back door for him. Dash thinks he's going to melt in the rain and it's almost impossible to get him to do his business on a rainy day. Usually, I can find a break in the rain using the weather radar app on my iPad, but today we were out of luck. It rained continuously from sunrise to sunset. Eventually, when Janet and I thought he was going to explode, Janet put a leash on the stubborn dog and took him on a walk in the rain to relieve his bladder. Ten minutes later, they both returned soaked to the bone and Dash looked much happier. Yes, he walked all the way to the spot where he usually pees, despite the fact that he was soaking wet. Sometimes it is hard to understand what goes through dogs minds.

Since I was housebound today, I watched some of Tim Cook's Apple Watch Event on my computer. I always knew that this watch would be expensive but I wasn't really prepared for the cost of the stainless steel model with a matching stainless steel bracelet. $1,100 seems a bit high even if the watch is a technical marvel. Granted, a basic stainless steel Rolex Submariner, Omega Speedmaster, Panerai Luminor, or Bell & Ross BR-1 will cost you five times as much, but these high-end timepieces won't be obsolete in three years. You can hand a Rolex down to your grandchildren. Apple products, not so much. I've never owned an Apple product that wasn't obsolete in three years. I doubt that the watch will be any different. The watch is cool though. Even if you do have to plug it in every night to recharge.

I'm hoping that this rain will be over with by tomorrow. I can't really go anywhere anyway, but at least seeing a little sunlight out the office window fills me with hope that I could leave the house if I really wanted. The "safe area" we've constructed for Dot seems to be working very well so far. In a few days, I'll go to the post office, or somewhere nearby and check her on the baby monitor to make sure she's still calm and resting while I'm away. I'm fully aware that taking care of Dot will become much more difficult once Janet returns to the world of the fully employed. When Dot gets strong enough to stand up on her own, her rehabilitation will become easier. Right now, she's pretty fragile and I have to watch her like a hawk.

I'm trying to see the silver lining in all these dark clouds. Dot's vet bills will keep me from wasting money on things like Apple watches. Being housebound will keep me focused on work. Even working on things I don't particularly enjoy beats being bored out of my mind. Seeing Dot get a little bit better with each passing day is really its own reward. This resilient girl is really a remarkable dog.

Val is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 510

After a week out of the office, you might expect that today would be a mess. I thought the same thing, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. I started the day out by discovering why one of the YouTube videos I uploaded last week mysteriously disappeared about an hour after it started running. You guessed it. The problem was me. I had made a typo in the video's title that led people to believe they were watching next year's trade show. Nope. I'm not Dr. Who. I just typed 2012 instead of 2011 on one of the supers. I'm surprised that I didn't notice this at the time. I'm even more surprised that nobody in the elaborate approval chain noticed it either. Luckily the problem was easy to fix. I re-edited the video right after breakfast and uploaded it again. Now, all the YouTube videos are up and running smoothly.

My first watch article is up and running on Larry Brauner's Luxury Watches blog as well. When Larry contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in blogging about watches for his growing empire of watch blogs, I was excited. Hey, I'm a pro. I'll write about anything, but getting a chance to write about something I am actually interested in is much more fun. I plan to write a new watch article every day for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, some of Larry's considerable social media expertise will rub off on me while we're working together. I'm really looking forward to working on this watch blog project in the months ahead.

I got an assignment today to design a website for the company that installed the new heat pump at my rent property last month. Too bad I didn't get the job a little earlier or I might have been able to negotiate some sort of trade-out for the expensive roof top unit that unfortunately I've already paid for. I'm always happy to get a new job however, no matter when it arrives. This is a new industry for me too. That's good! I'm really trying to expand my horizons this year, so I won't be totally dependent on veterinarians in the future.

I'm still not sure how I'm going to get paid for my week in Houston, but I'm feeling a lot more confident that I actually will get paid someday. People on two continents are looking into the matter.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day