Day 3617

I didn't really expect that it would be 75 degrees today. Just a few weeks ago I could have sworn that winter had arrived. I doubt that this unseasonably warm weather will last very long, but I was happy for the reprieve. I'll take a beautiful Indian Summer day any time I can get one.

The nice weather certainly didn't inspire me to do anything useful. I fixed my morning smoothie, checked my e-mail, made a few minor updates to an animal rescue website, and took my walk. That was about it for the day.

It wasn't surprising that there were a lot of people out in the park. There were no jackets and wool hats today. Everybody was wearing shorts. I wish days like this were more common in Dallas. I finished my entire walk without freezing or sweating. This is the way is should be. Unfortunately, there is rain in the forecast for later in the week.

The spare bulbs for my Norman strobes arrived this morning. We still can't decide whether to buy a new backdrop for this years Santa Paws photos. I have a ton of Christmas themed muslin backdrops from previous years, but since we get a lot of the same customers year after year, it's always nice to have something new. There used to be an abundance of hand painted muslin photo backdrops available, but that's not the case anymore. More and more photographers just use a green screen and insert a backdrop electronically using compositing software. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer a real hand painted backdrop. I guess it's time to go to the storage warehouse and see what I have. We've been doing the Santa Paws pictures for a long time and there are a lot of old backdrops to choose from. Janet and I only found one interesting new pattern this year and after looking at it for a while, realized that we already had it. Like I said, nobody makes these things anymore.

I keep hoping to hear something from NASA, Sky and Telescope, or McDonald Observatory. I have lots of travel plans floating around in my head, but so far everything is still in limbo. I guess it's OK that things are moving slowly. It gives me something to think about on my walks. I still don't know where I'd live if I get approved to stay at the observatory this Spring. I'm not sure what I'd write about if I attend the Starliner launch either. Is there a story here? I guess I can't call myself a space journalist unless I can prove that there is.

I still can't figure out where the ants are coming from. These little sweet ants are so small you can barely see them, but there are everywhere. I've been bitten at night while I sleep and I found one inside my sock today. It really doesn't do much good to use bug spray if you don't know where they are coming from. You can't kill ants one at a time.

I hope that the weather stays nice tomorrow. One more dry day and I'll feel a lot more confident that my roof patches have fully cured. A dry day won't make me confident about anything else, but you've got to take what you can get.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3612

Ginny has completed her heartworm treatment. We picked her up at the vet this morning and took her back to the boarding kennel. She rides well in the car now, immediately hopping in the back seat and waiting for me to join her. Ginny is much less fearful now. Maybe she knows that she will have a home soon. I think she will be the next to be adopted.

The kennel was too busy for us to play with the dogs today, but we made sure to say hello to each of them and give them a treat. This is a great group of Dalmatians. It's not surprising that they are finding homes quickly. We spent some time with each of them in their kennel runs before we left. The dogs were so friendly. It was like they were inviting us into their homes for tea.

Not much else happened today. We stopped at CostCo on the way home and then I took my walk. Winter has made a temporary retreat. Today was just what you'd expect a Fall day to be. The sky was clear. The leaves are turning beautiful shades of red and gold. There are already more leaves on the ground than on the trees. On a nice day they crunch under your feet as you walk through them.

I made another attempt at contacting McDonald Observatory today but couldn't reach the person I was looking for. I ended up just leaving a message. I'll quit bothering these people for a while. They're busy. I'm not. I still can't decide whether to try and attend Artemis Day at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Opportunities to tour this facility are rare and it would be quite interesting. On the other hand, I've heard rumors that NASA is starting to frown on people who try to attend all of their events. They don't want the same people attending over and over again. Would it hurt my chances of going to the Starliner launch if I try to go to Artemis Day too? Who knows. It's all out of my hands anyway.

I did find the modeling light bulbs I need for my Norman strobe lights and ordered two of them. Twenty dollars a bulb seems a bit steep for a simple halogen bulb, but what are you going to do. At least I don't need a new flash tube. Those cost several hundred dollars. Here's hoping that nothing breaks during this year's Santa photo season. I hate replacing this stuff.

I'm a little disappointed that I'm not getting any stronger even though I've been walking five miles a day for quite a while now. The walks are still tiring and I always feel like taking a nap when I return home. I have to remember that all the people passing me on the trails are in their twenties. I haven't seen a lot of walkers in their seventies.

This week went quickly. Not a lot was accomplished, but nothing went wrong. The trash has been taken to the curb and I'm trying to decide what to do about breakfast tomorrow. I guess I'll need to go out to eat. No smoothie tomorrow. All the fresh fruit is gone.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2897

I haven't tested the cameras yet, but at least the strobe lights and power packs work. Janet and I picked out a backdrop too. One way or another, I'll be ready for this weekend's photo shoot. When we were looking at backdrops this evening it became obvious that my wrist is in worse shape than it was last year. I had difficulty folding the bulky muslin cloth. Every time I managed to fold the heavy 10' by 20' sheet into a square, it was too big to fit in its carrying sack. Eventually I folded each backdrop tightly enough to fit, but my wrists weren't happy. Testing the lights was much easier. I plugged  each lamp into the power pack one at a time and hit the test button. If the strobe fired, it was good.

I was glad to work on the website today, because there was no physical labor involved. I'm not finished yet, but things are looking good. I'm sure the client will want to change some of the photos, but the structure is in place. The Wordpress template is no longer a mystery. Basically, you can change anything you want on the dashboard if you are willing to wade through layer after layer of ambiguous menus. I still don't like Wordpress though. To make the design process easier, these templates severely restrict your options.

I got an e-mail from my new doctor today reminding me to complete the registration process for their patient portal. A lot of doctors use these type of websites now so patients can see their medical records online. For the most part I find these patient portals irritating because each doctor or hospital has their own and there is no way to consolidate your information. This patient portal was different though. Most of these websites allow you to view information provided by your doctor. This one let me send information to the doctor. I could link the bluetooth medical devices I have at home and the information is automatically sent to the doctor. This is the future. Right now I can send weight, pulse rate, blood pressure, pulse wave velocity and body mass information directly to the doctor. There are already inexpensive wireless devices for do-it-yourself electrocardiograms and blood sugar measurements if I feel the need for more information. What's next? Someday, people will probably have inexpensive MRI machines build into their beds that send the doctor a scan while you sleep.  For the most part, I'm all for this intrusive technology. The sooner the doctor knows that something is wrong, the sooner I can take corrective action.

Dash didn't want to walk today. Actually, we did take our two walks, but it was not on my schedule. When it was convenient for me to take a walk, Dash refused to budge. When I had other things to do, Dash would suddenly decide he was ready. This stubborn behavior wouldn't be a big deal if Dash didn't have to wear his protective gear. It's frustrating to put on his socks, shoes, and knee brace and then have to take them off again a few minutes later because Dash won't go outside. Eventually everything gets done but it makes for a very long day.

I was going to pick up some Thai food for dinner, but I ran out of time and ate a very old slice of ham and a few beans instead. That's all I could find in the refrigerator. I did pick up Dash's phenobarbital though. I don't have time for everything, but I do have my priorities straight. If I want to eat dinner tomorrow, I'll definitely need to do some grocery shopping. I've got a lot more work to do on the website tomorrow, but there's always time for food. I think Dash would agree.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1432

It's that time of year again. We did our first Santa Paws photo shoot of the season today. At first I thought it was a little early for Christmas pictures, but so many people make elaborate holiday cards these days that this actually is when you need to get started. We had a good day. Photo sessions were booked solid from 10 AM through 3 PM. Only one dog peed on Santa. One more peed on the set. There were no dog fights or ugly incidents. When you're photographing dogs, you can't ask for more than this.

Since we were photographing city dogs today, our subjects tended to be smaller and a bit more upscale than their suburban cousins. Since most of today's dogs were small enough to sit on Santa's lap, we didn't have to worry as much about a dog inadvertently destroying the set. A single Yorkie is a lot easier to photograph than three full grown Rottweilers.

Somebody told me this afternoon that we've been doing these Christmas pet photos for seven years now. You couldn't prove it by me, but it does seem like we've been doing this for a very long time. I'm amazed that all the equipment still works. I hope that nothing self-destructs this season. We've got four more of these events to do before Christmas. My old Norman studio strobes are kind of like vintage Fender tube amplifiers. They just don't make them like this anymore. Hopefully, these trusty tools will keep working forever. I certainly don't want to invest in new studio lighting. I don't even have a studio anymore.

I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be even busier than today. Since the photo shoot took the entire day, all my normal Saturday errands got postponed. That means there's a lot of shopping that still needs to be done. The dogs are still going to expect a trip to the dog park as well. If there's time, I'd like to get to the gym, even though I feel like I've already been to the gym after a long day of alternately standing and kneeling to find the best angle for the perfect pet portrait.

I don't think I'll have any problems going to sleep tonight. These marathon photo shoots are tiring. The fingers and joints aren't as flexible as they used to be and I don't believe in pain pills. The arthritis isn't going away, but staying active is probably still the best medicine. You've got to keep moving.

Alvin is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1088

I found a brand new breakfast restaurant today. The place has only been open for a couple of days. With its trendy industrial chic decor, inexpensive prices, and fast service, I have a feeling that this place will be a success. I'm not a good judge of success in the business world however. Most places I like go out of business quickly. Maybe it was just because the place was new, but I couldn't really tell who this restaurant would appeal to. The people sitting at nearby tables looked like a convention of the dispossessed. Although I have lived in the neighborhood for years, I didn't recognize anyone.

An overheard customer/cashier conversation: "I like your logo. What is it?" "Umm, it's the devil." "Oh, dear. Well, it certainly is a cute little devil." Although the food was pretty good, I think this place is actually a bar that just happens to open early and serve food. If you ever feel like having your bacon and eggs with Tequila, this would be the place.

Since tomorrow is another Santa Paws photo day, I tried to get some of my weekend errands done after breakfast. While driving around in the car, I listened to a fascinating interview with Dave Brubeck that was initially recorded in 1999. I guess the station was replaying the interview today because Dave died recently. I never realized that Brubeck grew up on a ranch, studied veterinary medicine in college, and initially wanted to be a cowboy like his Dad. The older I get, the more it becomes obvious that I don't know nearly as much as I thought I knew.

Those discount coupons and gift cards you get from merchants during the holidays can be dangerous. I got a $50 gift card from my favorite clothing store the other day. The only catch was that you had to buy something worth more than $100 to be able to use it. The card was burning a hole in my pocket, so I ended up going over to the store and buying something I didn't even need, just so the card wouldn't go to waste.

I hope my back-up Norman power pack holds up tomorrow. I was so busy this week that I never found the time to take the overheating power pack in for service. If I can make it through tomorrow's photo shoot though, I'll be fine. I probably won't be doing another marathon like this for another year.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1085

Things certainly didn't go according to plan today. Janet got food poisoning at an awards dinner she went to last night, and I needed to take her to the doctor this morning. As we sat in the crowded waiting room, it made me realize that my strategy of only making doctors appointments at 2:15 PM was a pretty good one.  We got to the doctor's office around 11 AM and I'm sure everyone there was trying to cram in a quick visit on their lunch hour. 2:15 PM is a great time to go to the doctor, since all the working people are back at work and the doctor is just back from his own lunch and hasn't had time to get behind with other patients yet. Considering that Janet didn't have an appointment at all, she actually got in to see the Doc fairly quickly. We were home again by 2:15 PM.

With Janet's emergency taken care of, I drove to the FedEx office to pick up the replacement for the guitar amp that arrived broken last week. I didn't want to risk another delivery to the house, because I thought the driver would just drop the heavy package again. When I got the big box home and unwrapped I was happy to see that this time the case was in perfect condition. I wasn't so happy when I turned the amp on and discovered that the volume potentiometer on both channels made a loud crackling noise whenever I turned the control knobs. I've seen very old and dirty amps make this sort of crackling noise, but never a brand new one. Oddly, the electronics on the broken amp sounded much better than on the brand new one.

After another call to my sales rep, the music store finally decided that it would be OK if I took the electronics from the broken cabinet and switched them with the electronics from the new cabinet. I think they were willing to do anything to avoid sending me a third amp. As long as I sent them back something resembling a guitar amp, they seemed to be happy. It will take me a couple of hours tomorrow to take the internal parts out of the broken cabinet and install them in the good cabinet, but after I do that, I think everything will be OK.

With all this going on, I didn't have enough time to take the Norman strobes to the repair shop. Hopefully, I can do this tomorrow, because there are still some more Santa Paws events for me to shoot. Somehow, amid all this confusion, I still found time to write an article and make some website revisions. Today's updates involved changing several women's names after they had gotten married. I should know better than to embed names in JPEG images. The young ones always get married right after I get their profile pictures finished.

Dot and Dash were good little nurses today. They seem to sense whenever either of us get sick and become very attentive. Both dogs were very gentle today and spent most of their time sleeping right next to Janet.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1084

Today was all about repairing things. I managed to find a place to take both the Epson printer and the Norman strobes for repairs. Even though both places were factory authorized service centers, they were quite small and seemed to be on the verge of going out of business. To me, this was just another sad statement about our throwaway society. People don't find value in fixing things anymore, and as a result good repair people are having a harder and harder time making a living. When I drove the Epson printer over to the repair facility, I had a hard time even finding it. The small building was so nondescript that it was almost invisible. An older man and his wife ran the place and did all the work themselves. They seemed very knowledgeable and their business had received rave reviews on the Internet. You'd think their business would be doing great with so many people having printer problems. Unfortunately, it is usually cheaper to buy a new printer than to repair an old one. Most broken printers just get tossed.

The Norman repair shop was a different story. The man I remembered from my studio days had retired to Mississippi and sold his business to another younger repairman. I talked to this new guy on the phone today and he was a treasure trove of knowledge with over forty years of experience repairing studio photo strobe lights. Unfortunately, changes in the photography business had forced him to move to a succession of smaller locations, ending with a small shop in his home where he works now. He no longer sells parts, because his customers can buy them directly for less at big warehouse photo emporiums like B&H in New York. Eddie can still fix my power pack though. These old Norman power packs were built like tanks. One more refurbishment and the thing ought to outlast me.

I just don't understand a throwaway society. Fixing things is good. When you fix something, you develop a better understanding for how it works and what you can do with it. It's hard to respect something you just throw away every few years. I believe that tools and automobiles and clothing and even relationships need to be fixed when they are broken. Fixing things builds character. Not many people think this way unfortunately. Disposable is just easier. Use it. Toss it. Get something better. That's the way people think now. It's sad. I can't even get the case off most things I buy these days.

I fix things too. Most of the website maintenance work I do involves changing and modifying websites to meet new needs and requirements. There are no templates. I do all the coding by hand. It all works pretty well until my clients happen to see a GoDaddy ad on TV that promises them a brand new website for only $9.95 a month. I can really appreciate the difficulties the Epson repairman and the Norman repairman are having. I'm having the same problems myself.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1083

I burned up one of my power supplies this afternoon. It happens. We had such a steady stream of dogs to photograph at today's Santa Paws event that I must not have allowed enough time between shots for the heat to dissipate. I turned the power supply off and switched to a back up unit as soon as I smelled burning insulation, but it was probably too late. The trusty old Norman power pack will be making a trip to the Flash Clinic next week. I hate that I think this way, but my first thought as I smelled the burning insulation was "Gee, I wonder if that guy who owns the Flash Clinic is even still alive." Back when I used to shoot fashion, he used to service my equipment frequently. It's been a while!

Equipment failure notwithstanding, we had a good day. Our team was able to handle a large volume of customers, while keeping everyone happy. The Santa Paws events have been very successful for us. Nobody got bit today and the set survived several dogs that looked like small horses. One nervous woman told us she chose us for pictures this year because the last Santa dropped her dog. Santa told the woman that her pup was safe with him. From the looks of the pampered pooch, I had a pretty good idea what happened last year. I have a feeling that Santa dropped the dog after it bit him and then peed on his lap. As I've mentioned before, I have the easy job. Santa gets all the abuse.

Our own dogs did well in front of the camera and Janet seemed happy with the results. I'm not sure that Dot and Dash were very happy though. They would have much rather gone to the dog park today than spend the day in a boarding kennel waiting for their turn with the bearded one. Maybe now they won't be quite so eager to go with us on these photo events. I think they finally realize that it's much more pleasant to stay home and sleep on the bed while we are away at these fundraisers.

I'm going to be busy next week. In addition to taking the power pack to the Flash Clinic for repairs, I've also got to find someone to repair Janet's printer. Lot's of luck with that. Nobody likes to repair Epson printers. They are difficult to work on because the print heads can't be easily removed or cleaned. Epson prints always look better than prints coming out of other photo printers until the day the printer begins to malfunction. Then it's all over. These things are so difficult to repair that it's often cheaper to just toss the broken printer in the trash and buy a new one.  Oh, I've got to get the broken guitar amp boxed up and returned to the music store as well.  I think the replacement amp is already on its way.

I've already got some website revisions on tap for Monday, but I hope it's not going to be a really busy week. I need a little rest. I feel like I've put in a full week's work already just in the past two days

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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