Day 4716

Another physical exam is in the books. The doctor agreed that I appear to be in pretty good health. Hopefully today's blood test results won't prove him wrong. I've been debating for weeks about whether to get another Covid booster. I told the doctor that if I haven't gotten Covid by now, I probably wasn't going to get it. I've flown on lots of completely full planes and attended crowded events at the space center during the past several years and never caught Covid. 

When the whole pandemic started I was out at a McDonald Observatory star party where hundreds of strangers came up to look through my telescope. Little kids would cough on me as I attempted to explain what they were looking at. "Hey, I'm good," I told myself. The doctor told me that he felt exactly the same way until he finally caught Covid himself last month. He now feels like everyone in the world is eventually going to catch the disease.

I got the shot. I got a flu shot in one arm and the Covid booster in the other. Piece of cake I thought for most of the day, since I initially felt nothing. Now the arm with the flu shot is starting to hurt. I think I remember the same thing happening last year. At any rate, I'm done fretting about this for the moment. I've done what I could.

On November 22 I always used to go down to Dealey Plaza and listen to all the conspiracy theories about a second gunman on the grassy knoll. The place was a circus with lots of old timers who witnessed the event first hand hawking weird little self published books and pamphlets espousing their own personal theories. Most of these people are dead now. I don't think many people come down to Dealey Plaza anymore. For most younger people, November 22 is just something in a history book. Some of them don't even know who Kennedy was. I still remember the day vividly. I was going to high school in Alaska at the time. Someone came into my English class and told the teacher what had just happened. We were all stunned. Since there was no Internet or satellite broadcasts at the time, we didn't see video tapes of what had occurred until several weeks later.

Other than today's physical exam, it was just a normal day. I even ate my regular breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit when I returned from the doctor's office. I took another long walk in the park because I was too lazy to get in the car and go to the gym. I could do this walk in my sleep by now. Every day is exactly the same. I usually do pretty well for the first several miles and then my feet start to hurt. By the time I return home I'm wondering what I was thinking to attempt such a long walk. My doctor thinks walking is great exercise though and encourages me to keep it up.

I tried one more time to see if there had been any Thanksgiving cancellations at our favorite restaurant. No luck. They aren't even answering their phone anymore. Oh, well. We've still got a place to go that has decent reviews. I hope the weather isn't terrible. Now there are thunderstorms in the Thanksgiving forecast.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4351

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3255 - Thanksgiving

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2535

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2168

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1803

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1438

What a miserable grey day. A cold, penetrating rain kept threatening to turn into sleet, while a brisk wind made the Wintery mix even more uncomfortable. With this kind of weather, it's easy to see why so many people decide to retire to Florida or Arizona. Tired old bones and damp, frigid days just aren't a good mix.

The conditions have to be pretty bad before the dogs prefer to stay inside, and they definitely didn't feel like going out today. Even though I warmed up their Winter coats in the dryer before I put them on, they made sure to let me know they were ready to go home again as soon as they has done their business.

As you might expect, I didn't attend the Dealey Plaza ceremonies today. I didn't have a ticket anyway, but I'm not sure if I would have attended even if the weather was warm and attendance was open to everybody. I've gone down to Dealey Plaza quite a few times on November 22, just to see the interesting crowd that gathers there. All these people were banned this year. The city fathers wanted a dignified ceremony for the 50th Anniversary. The aging eye-witnesses to the event, the protesters, and the conspiracy theory nuts hawking their self published books weren't invited to today's event. I'm sure they'll be back next year though. I"ll probably go back next year myself.

I went to the Land Rover dealer today instead. There was nothing wrong with my car. I just missed seeing everybody. There were so many things wrong with the Defender 90 in its later years that a trip to the dealership was just about as common as a trip to the grocery store. I knew everybody at that place. Repairs to the Defender grew quite expensive once the warranty ran out, but the service folks were always as nice as they could be. They were still nice today and gave my car a quick check to make sure it was ready for tomorrow's freezing weather.

The thought of doing pet photography during a sleet storm isn't the most appealing thing in the world, but what are you doing to do? You can't take Santa pictures in the Summer. We always get some bad weather during the Santa Paws photo season. I just hope that tomorrow turns out to be a little better than the weather forecasters are predicting.

Since I didn't want to go outside any more than the dogs did, I managed to get quite a bit of work done. The stock market went up today, which helped to compensate for the miserable weather. The house was toasty warm and the furnace appears to be working flawlessly this season. We had a delicious dinner this evening as well. I guess it wasn't such a bad day after all.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1437

I'm sure that a lot of you have already seen the new Bob Dylan video. I'm usually not that impressed by music videos, but this one totally blew me away. The song was Dylan's classic Like a Rolling Stone and the format was an interactive TV set where you could change the channels and see people from real shows like The Price is Right, Pawn Stars, and The Property Brothers, lip syncing the lyrics to the song in perfect sync. There were dozens of channels to choose from and as you changed the channels, you essentially created your own private version of the video. I played the song three times and never saw the same sequences twice. I've been producing videos for decades and have made a few music videos myself, but it never occurred to me that you could do something like this. It was inspirational and somewhat humbling to see something this imaginative and fresh. It makes me realize that most of what I do is pure crap.

I prepared for bad weather today, but the rain never arrived. You'd think since I got all my out-of-the-office chores done early, well before the rain was supposed to arrive, that I could have used the afternoon to get caught up the rest of my work. It didn't work out that way. I ended up getting less done today than on a normal day. I did make it to the gym though. Since I went in the morning this time, I was surprised to see many of the same people I typically see later in the afternoon. I'm convinced that some of these people must live at the place. They're always there.

Janet showed me a new app on her phone that lets you quickly and easily animate a still picture of your pet and make it talk. The results are surprisingly realistic and totally cute. I predict that in a week or so, there will be talking dogs and cats all over Facebook.

I'm having second thoughts about going down to Dealey Plaza tomorrow. I had wanted to see the fiftieth anniversary observances, but from what I hear on the local news the place is going be a media circus. All the major networks are going to be doing live broadcasts from Dealey Plaza tomorrow. The city is already blocking off streets around the Book Depository and parking is going to be impossible. Somebody told me that you're going to need tickets to get in. What's that all about? You've never needed tickets before. Maybe I'll just wait until the fifty-first anniversary when things settle down to normal again.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1366 - 9/11

I wonder how long it will be before the "We will never forget" tributes that honor this day are forgotten themselves. I'm already seeing fewer flags flying at half mast and the once ubiquitous wall-to-wall remembrances on the major news networks have been replaced with a few short feature stories that are interspersed between segments about Syria, forest fires in California, and the upcoming Floyd Mayweather-Canelo Alverez fight. Sadly, a quick Google search will garner just as many conspiracy theories about 9/11 these days as thoughtful tributes.

The events that shaped my life are slowly being forgotten. Do a search for November 22 and you will find more articles about the upcoming Xbox One launch than about the Kennedy assassination. Even though I remember the day well, it is ancient history to a majority of the population. The last time I visited Dealey Plaza on November 22, I noticed that the conspiracy nuts selling books about what really happened were growing very old and the crowds were quite sparse.  Jeez, the Apollo astronauts are senior citizens now and Woodstock memories have been replaced by Burning Man memories. It is almost inevitable that 9/11 will eventually be forgotten as well.

I don't think I'll ever forget that fateful morning when the towers fell twelve years ago, but it could happen. I've certainly forgotten plenty of other important things already. I can't even remember close friends birthdays anymore without the help of Facebook. I did remember to go to the Dallas Business Alliance breakfast meeting this morning. I still find it difficult to get up this early, but I'm already finding these meetings interesting.

Wednesday is quickly turning into the busiest day of the week. With a breakfast networking meeting in the morning, Dot's physical therapy sessions in the afternoon, and dog training classes in the evening, it's hard to find time to do anything else. Not surprisingly, I didn't finish any of my writing assignments today, but I did find time to set up a test Wordpress site on my local server. So far, configuring the server correctly has been a lot more difficult than working in the Wordpress environment. Wordpress is a lot different than building a site in Dreamweaver, but I'll figure it out eventually. Since this is probably the only new thing I'll have to learn this year, it would be embarrassing if I can't master things fairly quickly.

I just got my car back and now Janet's Land Rover has to go to the shop for repairs. The air conditioning abruptly quit working today and it's still pretty hot outside. With such terrible repair histories, you might wonder why we're so fond of these cars. Sometimes I wonder myself.

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day