Day 1358

Yeah, I know it is Tuesday, but it sure seemed like a Monday to me. Everything started off slow today. I managed to get everything done on my list, but I certainly didn't set any speed records. Our morning walk was slow. Breakfast took forever. Even my writing assignments felt like I was wading through molasses. The only upside to all this is that it is a four day week and I'm already that much closer to Friday.

Have I told you how I feel about Texas weather? It's always too something: too hot, too wet, too humid, too dry. You get the picture. Today there were too many horse flies. I assume these pesky critters were horse flies, because, unlike common house flies, these flies would bite you. The flies weren't very interested in Dot, but they went after me and Dash with a vengeance. I tried to keep the flies off the dogs, but it was virtually impossible. Eventually, we had to curtail our evening walk and head for home. The flies were everywhere.

My only outing today was taking Dash to see the vet for his antigen shot. I renewed his phenobarbital prescription while I was there. I hate the thought of having him take this powerful sedative for long periods of time, but it seems to be working. Dash hasn't had another seizure since he resumed taking the drug. Since long-term use of phenobarbital can damage the liver, we are going to work with our vet to slowly transition Dash to potassium bromide instead. Potassium bromide has its own set of problems, but it does appear safer than phenobarbital. So, why didn't we put Dash on potassium bromide in the first place? Well, for starters it can take up to four months of continued use before it starts to become effective at controlling seizures. Have I told you how I feel about pharmaceuticals? I'm sure I have.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I've got a new business meeting in the morning and Dot's physical therapy session in the afternoon. In between, I've got to find time to complete my regular allotment of writing and website assignments. The dogs have their weekly training class in the evening as well. Maybe with so much going on, I might actually have something interesting to write about for a change.

Are you as confused about politics as I am? The Democrats want to bomb someone because they are using weapons of mass destruction and the Republicans are against it. The last time I heard the words "weapons of mass destruction" mentioned in the news, it was the Republicans who wanted to bomb somebody and the Democrats were against it. Personally, I think we ought to mind our own business and mend our own fences instead. We've got enough problems right over here.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1335

Now I remember why we tried so hard to wean Dash off of phenobarbital the first time he had seizures. The drug seems to make our excitable boy even more hyper and agitated than normal. Dash never could ride calmly in a car when he was on phenobarbital before, and it appears like this behavior has returned. It's weird that a barbiturate would make a dog agitated and wild, but that's what happens with Dash. When phenobarbital was given more commonly to humans, a paradoxical reaction was sometimes observed in children. This is where the drug causes the opposite effect of what you would normally expected. Makes sense in a way. Dash certainly acts like a child.

It was a nerve wracking trip to the dog park this morning, but once we got there, Dash seemed fine. After they had a chance to play in the park for a while, we took the dogs to the Dalmatian Rescue "meet and greet" event. Dot and Dash were both polite and well behaved. I was surprised at how many people came up and told us that they had never seen a real Dalmatian before. The breed is becoming increasingly rare and that's a good thing. When the "101 Dalmatians" Disney movies were popular, everybody wanted a Dalmatian and puppy mills began breeding them. Now, the dogs are harder to find and most people who have a Dalmatian understand the breed and really want one.

I think I determined the problem with my old Apple laptop myself. All it took was thirty minutes of searching on Google and I discovered that if I took the keyboard off and disconnected the PRAM battery underneath, the computer would probably start up and began to recharge. Sure enough, when I did this, it worked like a charm. I bet this is exactly what the technician did when I took the computer in for repair last year. Just like the electrician who charged me $100 to fix a switch, the computer technician probably charged me $100 to disconnect a wire, recharge the battery, and then connect the same wire up again.

So many things in life seem easy once the mystery has been revealed. I am continually amazed at how easy some plumbing, automotive, and household repairs turn out to be when you actually watch the repairman at work. Of course charging a lot for intrinsically easy things is a double edged sword. Some of my best clients have discovered how easy it is to design websites and decided to do it themselves.

Next week looks busy already. There are client meetings on the calender, I've got to take my car in for repairs again, and then there's the vexing question of phenobarbital vs potassium bromide. I've read everything I can find about both meds and still don't know which is the best way to control seizures.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1316

Sometimes dealing with tech support is like Chinese water torture. I found myself locked out of my voicemail this morning and ended up spending hours talking to three different levels of tech support. When one technician couldn't solve my problem, they would escalate my call to the next level. I don't know why turning on my voicemail account again was so complicated, but it apparently was. At one point I was talking to one person on my cell phone, another person on the land line and had to put both phones on speakerphone and set them next to each other so the technicians could hear each other. Most of these folks spoke English as a second language, so I was constantly saying "Could you repeat that please." I did manage to talk to one native English speaker, but he had a terrible stutter, so I couldn't understand him either.

When the problem was eventually resolved, I listened to my new voicemail messages and they were all from telemarketers. Jeez! Why did I spend hours trying to listen to messages I didn't want to receive in the first place? On days like this technology hardly seems worth the effort. Everything seems to work for the moment though, so if an important call comes in tomorrow, I'm right on top of it.

While Dash was getting his antigen shot today, I talked to the vet about alternatives to Phenobarbital in case his seizures returned. She mentioned that she had success using Potassium Bromide and thought it was safer than Phenobarbital. I looked up the drug on the Internet when we got home and discovered that possible side effects include ataxia, increased urination, skin disorders, nausea and vomiting. Doesn't sound very safe to me. Potassium Bromide won't damage the liver like Phenobarbital though. Of course, the alternative I like best is not to put Dash on any drugs at all.

I routinely experience the same frustrations with my own meds. The devil is always in the details. I've been wondering why I've had this strong metallic taste in my mouth for the past several months. A quick Internet search revealed that the metallic taste was probably caused by the Metformin I take to control blood sugar levels. I have a feeling that my doctor didn't mention the metallic aftertaste because he was afraid I wouldn't take the drug if I knew about this common side effect.

After making a trip to the post office to pay some bills, I stopped by Home Depot to get some wasp spray to combat the growing number of wasps and hornets building nests near the house. After I got out my reading glasses and read the warning label on the side of the can, I took the spray back and exchanged it for a much milder organic product. It was amazing to me than anyone would even sell a product with so many potentially toxic side effects. I guess a bug spray that will kill a snake is too strong for normal use.

Getting to the gym several times a week is proving to be harder than I thought it would be. I only made it once last week and it looks like this week will be just as busy. Tomorrow Dot starts her water therapy and Thursday is when the garbage disposal gets repaired. Throw in an article or two each day, along with the usual website revisions and a dog walk and my day is gone. Maybe I can find some free time on Friday.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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