Day 3742

If we all die it will be because of a basic lack of common sense instead of the coronavirus. I really wonder about people. We are not running out of food. If we all just started shopping normally again, there wouldn't be shortages of anything. You don't have to stay indoors either. Just stay away from other people. I could be wrong, but I still think outdoor air and lots of exercise is good for you. And couldn't the people we elected just quit fighting for a while? Is it really that hard to pass a bill that would give hospitals and first responders what they need without trying to pack it with a long wish list of pet projects? Democrats and Republicans are equally guilty of this. I don't understand why quarantined senators and representatives aren't allowed to vote. Do you really have to physically be on the floor of the senate to vote? This is silly. It is just political gamesmanship with one side trying to gain an advantage over the other. There ought to be a way to test for antibodies, so people who have developed an immunity to the virus can get back to work. A complete shutdown just isn't sustainable for very long. The deaths ought to be put in context too. I suspect that a lot more people are still dying from auto accidents and gunshot wounds than from the virus here in the United States.

I went to the audio repair shop to pick up my Sequential Circuits synthesizers this morning. The employees were all wondering how long they could stay in business without musicians. Live music venues throughout Texas are all closed. There are no concerts either. Working musicians aren't thinking about repairing their equipment these days. They are more likely to be thinking about pawning something.

The head electrician who owns the company came over to look at my switch today. He said a lot of his younger employees didn't want to go into people's homes anymore because they had young children at home. I guess that's understandable. I have no desire to go into other people's homes these days either. The electrician did figure out what was wrong with my switch and said he could order a part to fix it. You can always depend on the old guys to actually fix things.

The baby owl has been gone from its nest for several days now. I'm thinking now that I may have seen the owl on the day it finally decided to fly. It was tentatively flexing its wings when I was photographing it. I suspect that both baby owls are still in the area. I hope they stick around. Since owls have taken up residence in our neighborhood, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of mice and rats we see in the yard.

I finished my article about McDonald Observatory and sent it to the editor at Sky and Telescope. Now I wait. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to wait a long time. This magazine is not terrible responsive. I often wait weeks, wondering whether my e-mail has wound up in someone's spam folder. Since this has happened before, it is a concern. I think my article turned out pretty well. I hope the editors agree.

Dawn got another long walk today. Luckily, walking your dog is still acceptable under the new citywide lockdown. I see more people in the park lately, but social distancing isn't a problem. Most of the people we saw today were several hundred yards away.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3741

It was almost inevitable. Dallas, like many other large cities, is now under a lockdown. The new "Shelter in Place" rules go into effect tomorrow. I'm not sure if there will be many changes for Janet and I. We can still go to the grocery store and we can still take walks in the park as long as we stay at least six feet away from other people. It's a big park and other people are usually at least 300 yards away. I don't think this is going to be a problem. Maybe the new rules will make a difference. I hope so. There are already a lot of people testing positive in Dallas County and we aren't even testing many people yet.

So far, life seems normal until I turn on the television. Apparently, the world is ending but I just keep on having my morning smoothie, taking long walks in the park, and minding my own business. I never realized it before, but I've been sheltering in place for years. When this is all over, maybe introverts will finally get the respect they deserve.

I saw a meme this morning that said that people with seasonal allergies have become the new Salem Witches. It certainly feels that way. Every Spring my eyes start watering and I find myself sneezing a lot. I'm glad that most of this sneezing takes place when I'm alone in my office at home. It wouldn't go over very well in an office cube environment. You feel very self conscious when sneezing becomes unacceptable behavior. When I felt a sneeze coming on at mealtime at the Astronomers Lodge last week, I would excuse myself and go back to my room to sneeze. Sneezing and coughing was starting to be unacceptable even then. I'm sure things have gotten much worse.

The park was pretty empty today because it was a rainy day.  There were still plenty of people walking their dogs though. I've noticed that people do keep their distance when they pass on the trails. Generally the people I see in the park are much more polite than the people I encounter at the grocery store. If this virus really gets out of hand, it will be because of all the people hoarding toilet paper.

Dawn has her first appointment with our regular vet on Tuesday. I'm not sure how the new lockdown rules affect veterinarians. I'll have to call and see if we need to reschedule. If the vet still feels comfortable seeing us, we'll probably still go. I'm also supposed to get my second shingles shot tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that this will be classified as an unnecessary visit and will need to be postponed. No a problem really. There is a pretty wide window to get this second shot. Any time within the next three or four months is OK.

I told the audio repair shop that I would pick up my Sequential Circuits synthesizers tomorrow. It is becoming clear that they aren't going to sell and they want them out of the shop. Since all local businesses are supposed to remain closed during the lockdown, the synthesizers might need to stay a while longer though. One more thing to check tomorrow.

I still don't know anyone personally who has become sick. Friends of friends have become sick though. The disease is getting closer. A friend who lives in rural Kentucky and likes to hunt and fish has invited us to come and stay if all hell breaks loose. "We're all hillbillies up here, but we've already got a six month supply of food," he told me. I'm still hoping for the best, but the offer might sound pretty good a few months from now.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3407

I've been looking for some better shoes to wear on my longer walks. I didn't need to look far. There are enough shoes in my closet to start a shoe store. Today I wore an old pair of hand made Pivetta boots that belonged to my Dad. He wore them frequently while we lived in Alaska during the 1960's. Amazingly, these 50 year old hiking boots were still in better condition than shoes I bought last year. They just don't make things like this anymore. The boots are much sturdier and more comfortable than my regular dog walking shoes. I'm torn between wearing these shoes on a regular basis and preserving them for posterity. I've typically only worn these boots on snow days to preserve the soles. The boots still have the original soles and they show minimal wear. Pivetta is still considered the holy grail by some serious hikers. Colin Fletcher considered them to be the best boots you could buy. Should I save these things or wear them out? This is always my dilemma. I have a reverence for well made objects and often don't use things that were clearly meant to be used.

I went up to the audio repair shop this afternoon and paid the remainder of my bill. I didn't take the Sequential Circuits synthesizers home with with me however. I asked the technician who restored the gear for me if he'd be interested in helping me sell it for a commission. It's worth a shot. This guy knows musicians and collectors all over the country. I don't know anybody who's looking for a vintage synthesizer. We'll see what happens. I'm certainly in no hurry. The last time I actually used these synthesizers was in 1982.

On my way home I dropped off some more things at the storage warehouse. At least I don't have to store the synthesizers yet. I should have rented a larger unit because I've almost filled up my storage space. This wasn't supposed to happen so quickly. In theory there are still lots of things I can get rid of, but it's so much trouble to sort through all the boxes. I've started storing the new stuff in large clear plastic tubs so I can see what's inside. I don't have a clue what is inside some of the older cardboard boxes. Janet is well on her way to cleaning out her storage warehouse. She wants to move out before her next renewal date. I don't even understand this concept. To me a storage warehouse is like purgatory for stuff. You put stuff in there and maybe later it goes to heaven or hell. Storage warehouses are a great way to avoid making decisions. If I had an unlimited amount of money, I'd just buy an entire storage building.

It's started to rain again. I hope I didn't bleach the ceiling in vain. I'm still waiting for one more bid to replace the roof, but I'm not liking what I've seen so far. The cost is way too high. Jeez. I bought my first house for less than the highest estimate. I may be doomed to using the sump pumps and sweeping away the standing water forever. I hate viewing every rainstorm as a potential roof leak however. It gets old fast.

It's supposed to continue raining all day tomorrow. That's the main reason I ran most of my errands earlier today. I hate to drive in the rain. Sometimes I fantasize about living in the desert but I don't like rattlesnakes and scorpions either. I'd better get used to this because the rainy season could last another month. I'll need to turn the pumps on soon. Hope I can remember to turn them off again.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3406

Eventually there will be nothing left to clean. Housecleaning seems kind of pointless to me, but it does occupy time. Today I brought a tall stepladder in the house and applied bleach to the stained areas on the ceiling. I've done this once before but the roof leak returned and stained the sheetrock all over again. Not surprisingly, I ruined a shirt while I was applying the bleach. While I was making a mess, Janet took a large comforter and other bedding that won't fit in our washing machine to the laundromat. The white comforter needed some bleach as well.

I don't know how long I'll continue taking a three mile walk in the morning, but for now it seems to be the most convenient way to get my 10,000 steps a day. Usually I see ducks nesting at this time of year, but they are strangely absent. Maybe the ducks have moved to the other side of the lake. I did see some Black Swallowtail butterflies and a few Red Wing Blackbirds. A couple of meadows are covered with small Huisache Daisies now. The season is still early, but it looks like it's going to be a good year for wildflowers.

I say all this but I'm really not much of a naturalist. I only took these long walks for the dogs. The jury is still out on whether I'll continue walking indefinitely. Walking is good exercise, but I'm just killing time. I've photographed all these flowers before. I've counted the ducks and learned how to avoid the poison ivy. I've seen rainbows and spectacular sunsets, but without a dog it's hard to see the point of it all. For now the Fitbit will keep me going. I've become a slave to the Fitbit.

Janet thinks I should volunteer for something. I try to explain that it's hard to avoid other people when you're volunteering. I guess I miss my old life. Writing and website development jobs kept me very busy. Clients paid my bills and the dogs kept me company. I sat in a little room in front of a large computer monitor and solved problems. I worked largely unsupervised and avoided meetings at all costs. The money was good and I had little to complain about. I think the dogs liked the arrangement too. I was always around and they became very spoiled. Basically, for many years I was just a well paid dog butler.

I was supposed to pick up the Sequential Circuits synthesizers today. The repairs have been finished for at least a week, but I've been avoiding picking them up. What am I going to do with these things? There is no room to bring them back to the office and I don't want to take them to the storage warehouse. The synthesizers need to be in a climate controlled environment. Keeping them in the storage warehouse for too many years was how they became damaged in the first place. The guitars were easier to deal with since there are plenty of vintage guitar dealers. Vintage analog synthesizer dealers are a little harder to find.

If you are a decisive person I'm probably going to drive you crazy as I slowly inch my way toward whatever comes next. I'm very patient and have a high tolerance for boredom. Don't expect any big changes in the next few weeks or months. I realize it's time for a change. I just don't know what the next chapter will be. Some people search for things. I have better luck just waiting for something to find me.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3386

And just like that, Google+ was gone. I thought the last day was going to be today, but I guess it was actually yesterday. Everything I posted to Google+ over the years has simply disappeared. I was going to write a goodbye post like everybody else, encouraging people to follow me somewhere else. Too late now. I still think Google+ was the best social network. The whole idea of circles was so much better than friends or followers. I'm going to miss this place. It was definitely an idea worth keeping.

My teeth are still in good condition. The dental hygienist cleaned my teeth and I got new x-rays, but that was it. When I was younger I was lucky if I went to the dentist every ten years. Now I go every six months and do everything the dentist recommends. Eventually, you realize that you've only got one body and it's up to you to take care of it. Surprisingly, my dentist said it was just fine to continue wearing my broken Essix retainer. "It still fits perfectly," He told me as he inserted the left side and then the right side. I was worried that my teeth might have shifted, but the dentist said I was imagining things. "This retainer is a very tight fit," he told me. "If your teeth had shifted, you wouldn't be able to put it on." Works for me. I'm always happy when someone wants to save me a little money.

I got some bad news from the synthesizer repairman today. One of the Sequential Circuits synthesizers I've having restored can't be fixed. A critical custom voice chip is no longer available. Two of the three synthesizers are working perfectly now, but this one will only be good for parts. The technician has already spent a lot of time trying to repair this thing. I hate paying for something that will never work, but the technician has spent months working on these ancient analog synthesizers. He did the best he could. You win some. You lose some.

I wish Dash's appetite would return. He's gone through at least two episodes before where he was an extremely picky eater and it is always frustrating. In the past, his appetite has always returned after a few weeks. Hopefully, it will this time too. Usually by the end of the day we manage to get him to eat something. A lot of food gets wasted and he's still not eating enough. We're constantly changing things to find something he likes. It's hard to tell if this is a physical or a mental problem. We've got a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning to examine his mouth. There's a good chance that his gum infection could be part of the problem.

When I was clearing out my spam folder on the mail server this afternoon, I became alarmed at the enormous amount of phishing attacks that were headed my way. I called tech support and asked if this was normal. "Sadly yes," the technician told me. "These people are relentless." I never could have predicted thirty years ago that most of the messages I receive would be attempts to scam me. My hosting company has an excellent spam filter and Nomorobo catches most of the telemarketing spam on my phone. It's still irritating though. You shouldn't have to feel like you're constantly under siege.

Hopefully we can get Dash's gingivitis under control when we visit the vet tomorrow. It would be so much easier if a dog's dental exam was as simple as the one I had today. When it became unsafe to anesthetize Dash for routine dental cleanings, his mouth began to go downhill. Maybe if we can find the right antibiotic we can still clear this problem up.

I'm still not getting enough sleep, but what else is new.

Miracle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3367

I got a call saying that the Sequential Circuits synthesizers I am restoring are finished. I was kind of hoping that they wouldn't be done until this Summer. Jeez. What am I going to do with these things? I haven't even managed to sell my guitars yet. I certainly don't want to put the synthesizers back in the storage warehouse. That's how they became damaged in the first place. Everybody says these old analog electronic synthesizers are very collectible. We'll see. Having something that is 'collectible' is very subjective. First, you've got to find another collector. I guess I got spoiled by the auction houses. They made the whole process of unloading stuff easy. It would appear that art is still more desirable than model trains or old musical instruments.

I've been seeing old World War II bombers flying overhead while I've been walking Dash for the past several days. It's looks like the Wings of Freedom tour is back in town. It's doesn't seem like it's been a year since Janet and I took a tour of these planes the last time they came to Dallas. Time goes by so quickly. I remember that there was a B-17. a B-24, a B-25, and a P-51 Mustang on display that you could go aboard and even take a flight in if you wanted. The demonstration flights were pretty expensive, but it was fun to walk around inside these restored old bombers. I love old mechanical things. I was amazed by the Saturn V rocket in Houston. I was fascinated by the B-17 bomber. And I've always loved old steam trains. I guess I'm just an analog kind of guy. That's probably why I'm still fond of the Sequential Circuits synthesizers. There's something about the sound of a vintage analog synthesizer that current digital models just can't duplicate.

The weather was beautiful today. I've certainly been enjoying seeing the sun again, but I think Dash is enjoying things even more than I am. He's been really eager to walk lately. Today he didn't even need Janet to guide him down to the park. He was ready to go on his own. He was no stronger than he usually is, but he was definitely more enthusiastic. It's hard to keeping him from slipping and falling when he feels like this. He doesn't really realize his limitations until he's flat on the ground. We did OK today. There were no mishaps. I was even able to get his rubber boots and special socks on by myself. This is much harder than it might seem. I think my arthritis is getting worse.

I can't believe that it's the middle of March already. I haven't even started on my taxes yet. I do this every year. I keep procrastinating and then end up spending an entire weekend scrambling to meet the deadline. I never seem to have extra time anymore. The simple things consume my entire day. Today I made the bed, walked Dash twice, made my morning smoothie, wrote a letter to my sister, paid a few bills, and took the trash out to the curb. Sadly, these meager activities ate up the entire day.

I started going out for breakfast on Fridays to keep things from getting too monotonous. Now, these restaurant outings have become one more item on the to-do list. If I don't go out for breakfast, I feel like I'm becoming a slacker. I will admit that a continuous diet of smoothies does get old after a while. I'm thinking that Shrimp Grits would be a nice change of pace.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3318

If there is one recurring theme in my dreams, it is that I'm usually lost. I've been wandering around searching for things in dreamland for most of my life. Last night I was with a group of people and we were trying to return to our hotel. I could see the hotel in the distance, but the road I was on twisted and turned and eventually arrived at a dead end. I climbed over fences, avoided rivers and finally reached the hotel. By this time, all my companions had disappeared. When I went inside, the interior of the hotel looked unfamiliar. I was still lost. I wondered if I was in the wrong hotel. Then I woke up.

I have so many of these type of dreams that I wonder if they mean I am lost in real life. Sometimes I feel that way. Of course, there are other times when I feel like I'm the only sensible person in the room and that everyone else is lost. Maybe dreams mean nothing at all. I sure wish I'd find what I was looking for though. This is getting old.

On cold days like this, I feel like I am part reptile. My entire metabolism slows down. It takes forever to make the bed and to fix breakfast. Morning walks take forever too, but that is Dash's problem, not mine. At least the weather is cooperating. The ground is almost dry again and today my boots weren't even muddy when we returned.

The guy who is fixing my Sequential Circuits synthesizers called me today with another progress report. It is amazing how much can go wrong when you leave something in a storage warehouse for fifteen years. The repair guy is still convinced that he can bring all three synthesizers back to life, but it sounds like he is completely rebuilding them from scratch. He needed me to authorize a new parts list today. I've already reached the point where I'll probably never make a profit if I sell the synthesizers later. I wish I wasn't compelled to always fix and repair things. This has turned into a major and probably very expensive project. The sad thing is that I can't even play the piano very well anymore.

The week has gone quickly. It's already time to take the trash out to the curb again. It's amazing how much trash that two people can generate in a week. Of course a lot of ours is just bagged up dog poop. We're pretty frugal compared to some of our neighbors. The curb is piled with Amazon Prime boxes every Friday morning.

Dash had a good day. We haven't had a medical emergency in quite a while. He is eating well now and seems happy. It's sad that his rear legs have become so weak, but adversity doesn't seem to slow Dash down. He stumbles around, seemingly oblivious to his many problems. I hope that I have the same determination when I start to fall apart.

I'm going to return to last week's new discovery for breakfast tomorrow. There's a huge new menu to try.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3302

What a busy day. The roofing crew arrived early. It took a while to explain what was going on, but once we were all on the same page, the guys found two additional leaks. Since these leaks corresponded to areas inside the house where water was getting in, I felt like we were making progress. When I asked whether they felt confident that the had discovered all the potential leaks, they just shrugged. "We'd have to tear up the entire roof to do that," one guy said. At least the guys made an honest effort to patch the leak. We'll have to see what happens when it rains again.

I got a quote on fixing my office chair. It's going to cost more than it cost to fix the dryer. How can that be? It's only a chair. Reluctantly, I told the guys to go ahead and order the parts. The repairs will still cost considerably less than buying a new chair. Janet suggested just going out and buy a cheap chair at Office Depot, but I like my Aeron Chair. It has served me well and even though I don't spend a lot of time designing websites or editing videos these days, I still like to be comfortable when I'm writing the blog.

Since I was making progress on the roof and the chair, I decided to tackle the driveway as well. I went out and bought a hundred pounds of river rocks at Home Depot and dumped them in the pothole. It wasn't an elegant solution, but it just might work. At this point I just want to stop getting mud all over my car every time I back out of the driveway. Before filling the hole with rocks, I checked to make sure there wasn't a water pipe underneath. Nope. The ground is just saturated with all the rain we've had lately.

The last thing on my list today was an attempt to fix the weird French toilet in one of the bathrooms. This seldom works, but since I can't get parts for the toilet anyway what do I have to lose? Basically I just shut the water off, clean off the parts as best I can and them put the flushing mechanism back together again. This is the most complicated toilet I've ever seen. It was probably designed by the same person who designed Citroën automobiles. Rube Goldberg would be proud.

Dash is still slipping on the bricks, so I went to the storage warehouse and brought back a few more rugs. I've already brought quite a few of these rugs home, but I was surprised at how many still remained. We must have covered our entire house with cheap rugs when Dot was sick. The rugs do make a difference. They help Dash get up when he's been sleeping on the floor and they help him stay upright when he's awake.

Towards the end of the day I got a call from the guy who is restoring my Sequential Circuits synthesizers. He said that one of the synthesizers was as good as new now and that he was making progress on the other two. These synthesizers have been in the shop for over three months now. I didn't even want to ask what this was going to cost me. I still don't feel bad about restoring this stuff. Vintage Sequential Circuits gear is very desirable. When everything is finished, I'll either start playing the keyboards again, or someone will want to buy them.

All in all, it was a good day. I like making progress even if the progress is small. The weather should be nice tomorrow as well, so today's roof repairs should have plenty of time to dry before rain puts them to the test again. Fingers crossed. For some reason I'm slightly optimistic today.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3120

The weather isn't cooperating. I spent two hours up on the roof clearing away all the standing water so the roofers could make their repairs tomorrow. Everything looked perfect and then later in the day we had an unexpected afternoon thunderstorm and the roof is all wet again. I'm beginning to think that all my efforts are hopeless.

I did manage to find someone to repair my Sequential Circuits synthesizers. I don't know if the guy is any good, but he does claim to have worked on them before. I kind of hope that the guitar store has managed to find someone better. I have a feeling that the guy I found will just take the synthesizers apart and then tell me that he can't find parts. Parts are always the problem for old electronic gear. Even though the chances of success are far from guaranteed, I'll probably still try to get these things repaired. If I do nothing, I might as well throw them in a dumpster.

The auction house called me today and said they want to lower the estimate on one of the pieces I sent them. I suspected this might happen. On further inspection, they said they discovered minor handling damage. These guys are pretty picky, so it was probably just a fingerprint in the wrong place. Hey, it wasn't me. I've never even taken any of these things out of the original frames. I'm still happy with the revised estimate, but the original price they mentioned would have made me even happier. Auctions are weird. We talk about these estimates as if they are real, but there is no guarantee that the art will sell at all.

Dash was kind of shaky this morning. He stumbled more than usual on his morning walk and seemed unusually tired when we returned home. I don't know why. The weather was actually quite nice. I always worry that Dash will collapse when we are alone in the park and I'll have difficulty getting him back to a vet in time. I can't let this fear deter me from walks altogether though. Walks are important. Without these slow daily walks, Dash's mobility would decrease dramatically. I do try to watch him carefully when we get up in the morning and make sure he's not having a vestibular event or problems moving around. A misplaced pebble in his path can cause Dash to fall these days, but we've got to keep moving. I've brought some more rugs home from the storage warehouse to keep him from slipping inside the house. Things are not getting better, but I think we're all doing the best we can.

I hope Dash does well at his exam tomorrow. He needs his anal glands expressed and a nail trim, but there's always a chance that he'll surprise us with more bad news. There are so many things wrong with this dog that it's hard to remember them all. The important things at this point are the blood clot in his heart and the internal bleeding. I've almost forgotten about the vestibular disease and thyroid cancer.

It's going to be a long Summer. Janet is visiting family soon, so I'll be taking care of Dash by myself for a while. I hope I can remember how to get his boots on without assistance. I've done it before, but it isn't easy. Getting him to take his pills in the morning isn't easy either. I have a feeling that we'll be taking a lot of naps. That's one thing we do well together.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3115

I'm going to have heartburn tonight. The refrigerator was kind of empty, so I picked up a frozen pizza on the way home from the post office. I was only going to eat two slices, but ended up eating the whole thing. Why do I do this? I wasn't even that hungry.

I still haven't painted the wall. Every time I get ready to start, I realize that I've got the wrong kind of paint brush. I made my third trip to Home Depot and this time I got a small four inch roller. The first time I got a regular bristle brush. The second time I got a handful of those cheap foam brushes. Maybe the third time is the charm. It probably won't make any difference, because I'm the one doing the painting. I want a smooth enamel finish with no streaks. I always seem to leave brush marks.

A few days ago, It looked like we were going to have clear weather for most of July. Now, the forecast shows thunderstorms all next week. I know what's going to happen. The next time I contact the roofers, they will tell me that were scheduled to fix my roof, but the rain made them change their plans. They've got this down to a science. It's never going to be clear long enough so they have no excuses.

Dash has me confused. He's not hungry in the morning anymore. His appetite doesn't seem to kick in until early evening, when he becomes ravenous. He still eats the same amount he always has, but this new schedule complicates things. It's hard to give him his morning pills, because most of them have to be taken with food. His late night meals also just about guarantee that he's going to wake me up at 3 AM to go outside and poop. Oh, well. At least he's still eating and seems pretty healthy.

I'm still wondering what happened to the Sequential Circuits synthesizers. How can something go bad just sitting in a box? It's probably just as well that this problem is out of my hands now. Maybe the guys at the guitar store can find a good repair technician. If the synthesizers were sitting here in the office, I'd spend the rest of the Summer fiddling with them and trying to diagnose the problem myself. I'd probably just make the situation worse. I have a modest amount of electronic knowledge, but it's usually just enough to get me in trouble.

It's almost Friday and I still don't know what to do for breakfast tomorrow. I've got to do better than the pitiful, stale breakfast taco I brought home from the grocery store last week. Maybe I should just go buy a box of Lucky Charms or Cap'n Crunch and a pint of milk. Lord knows, I've tried everything else. If Eggs Benedict and Belgian Waffles don't appeal to me anymore, I don't know what's wrong.

At any rate, I've grown to understand Dash's picky eating habits. I've become a picky eater myself.

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3113

The guitars are gone. They will be joining some pretty amazing instruments in a little store I only discovered a few weeks ago. The owner appraises guitars for Antiques Roadshow and is on the advisory board of the Modern Guitar Museum in Los Angeles. The customers of this odd little place include rock and roll royalty. I was admiring a particularly nice bass and one of the guys casually mentioned that Nate Mendel from Foo Fighters had been in the store recently to look at it. I'm glad that little stores like this still exist in a world dominated by Amazon and Walmart. The three guys who run the place were incredibly nice and extremely knowledgable. This store seemed like the guitar equivalent of the place in Kentucky that is selling my model trains. I'm kind of envious of the owners of these places. They are both successful because they gained a reputation for knowing more than anyone else about a particular subject. Hey, what could be better than being a world class expert on model trains or electric guitars.

My vintage guitars found a home, but my vintage synthesizers didn't do so well. I had several old Sequential Circuits synthesizers that I thought would be very desirable. They looked brand new and still had their original shipping boxes. Everyone was real excited to see these things until one of the guys called a collector in Chicago who advised them to plug them in and see if they still worked. It never occurred to me that they wouldn't. Hey, they both worked perfectly when I boxed them up fifteen years ago. Evidently, Sequential Circuits electronics have a reputation for going kaput if they have been sitting around for extremely long periods of time. I was dismayed when we fired the beasts up and all that came out of them were some strange screeching sounds. We're going to see about repairing the synthesizers if someone is still alive who is familiar with them. They're either worth a lot of money, or absolutely nothing.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust. Going through my old stuff made me think of this biblical phrase. If you keep something too long, it rusts, decomposes, and turns to dust. I've kept a lot of things well past their expiration date just because I liked the memories they evoked. I should have sold my Citroën SM sooner. When I finally did sell, all the rubber parts had gone bad and then engine wouldn't turn over. I should have sold the synthesizers the moment I removed them from the studio. They worked perfectly then and lots of people would have wanted them. I should have sold my BetaSP video equipment before analog video become obsolete. The stuff is worthless now. Live and learn.

At least the art I sent to New York is still desirable. I got a message from the auction house today saying that the shipment had arrived in good condition. What what I can tell, everyone seems real excited about these pieces. I think they want to reframe some of them, but that's OK. I'm still a bit nervous about the auction, but the appraisers are convinced that everything will sell.

I sanded the sheetrock today and it still isn't perfect. I applied a little bit more mud and will sand everything again tomorrow. Hopefully, I've got the energy to get this place looking nice again. The house is the best example of Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust I can think of. It looked beautiful when we bought the place years ago, but now it is starting to look like Grey Gardens. Jeez. I used to be an architect. I never thought I'd live in a place as cluttered and crumbling as my parents final home. Age catches up with you though. Eventually you reach a point where you just don't care what the furniture looks like.

Janet just asked me what I wanted to do for the Fourth of July. I have no idea. Certainly nothing that has anything to do with fireworks. I'm not looking forward to even going outside tomorrow. It's way too hot.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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