Day 3449

I noticed that the sole was coming off one of my most comfortable boots this morning. This eventually happens to all boots where the sole is just cemented on instead of stitched. I got the tube of Shoe Goo that I'd been using to repair Dash's protective boots and attempted to reattach the sole but I doubt if the repair will last very long. I wish all work boots had a proper stitched Goodyear Welt, but I guess it's more expensive to make shoes this way. Everything is just glued together these days.

When I talk about repairing things with Shoe Goo, you know it's been an uneventful day. Everything I did today I've done many times before. My morning walk has become so familiar that I'm able to preview the entire route in my mind down to the last detail. I know where the pelican lives, where to look for raptors, egrets, and ducks, and when most of the flowers will bloom. Often I will test my memory to see if I've remembered details I've seen previously. Was there a turtle on that log yesterday? Is that a scissor-tailed flycatcher? I know when I pass a a certain tree, I'm halfway home. Observing little details helps to pass the time. I rarely have deep thoughts when I walk.

When I was going to the bank this morning, I noticed that someone had put one of those big political signs in my front yard. I hate those giant political signs but my neighbors seem to love them. I have a feeling that whoever delivered the sign meant to place it in my neighbor's yard but just got it on the wrong side of the lot line. When I got home I tried to remove the sign, but the poles were too deep in the ground. Oh, well. This election is over soon. It's no big deal. I voted for this guy anyway.

I wonder what it's going to take to start fixing things around the house. I'm just not motivated anymore. Taking long walks is a very effective way to kill time. After fixing my meals, taking several walks, and running an errand or two, the day is gone. I really wonder how I was ever able to accomplish so much when I was younger? When Dot and Dash were young, I took them on long walks almost every day. I also drove all over town going to meetings, took business trips, and spent a lot of time writing and building websites. It's a different world now. It doesn't really feel like I've slowed down, but I guess I have.

I need to mow the grass pretty soon. At least I've got an excuse now. I definitely can't mow with that awful sign in my front yard. There is no excuse for not making a service appointment for my car today. If I don't do this soon, I might not be able to get an appointment before I need to go to Florida. I bet there's still water on the roof too. I haven't even checked this week. We'll see if I can be more productive tomorrow. The odds aren't good

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3323

I forgot what day is was again. It's easy to do. Every day begins the same way. I wake up at some point to take Dash outside or clean up poop. If the cleanup is easy, I go back to bed for a while. If it is more extensive, I just stay up. Dash always gets a walk before breakfast. When we return, I pop a Community Coffee Dark Roast pod in the Keurig and start making my smoothie. Turning on the television seldom gives me a clue about what day it is. It's always just something about the ongoing Russia Probe. Enough already. Dash usually poops again just as I am getting ready to eat. Today he made a mess in the office. I wish he'd stay on the bricks, but the bricks are slippery. I can't really blame him for preferring the carpets.

Not that it mattered, but I eventually figured out it was Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I called in some prescriptions for Dash and when they were ready to pick up, I stopped by the hardware store on the way to the vet and got another tube of Shoe Goo. I think I'm keeping the Shoe Goo company in business. The stuff really does help to extend the life of Dash's protective boots.

I guess I'll go ahead and renew my web hosting account, even though it has become too expensive. Truthfully, I don't even know why I have a website anymore. If I shut everything down, I doubt that anyone would notice. There are a few animal rescue sites on the server that are important, but I could care less about my own site. I haven't updated anything in years.

I didn't always feel this way. There was a time when I had a really high Klout score and lots of Twitter followers. I was even listed as one of the top photographers on Google+ for a while. I'll miss Google+ when it disappears in a couple of months. This was the only social media network I actually liked. Too late now. Google+ is going the way of AOL and floppy discs. It's a shame. Back in the day, it was so much better than Facebook. Sadly Google+ never became popular which it probably exactly why it was so good.

The gas company repair crews are still in the neighborhood, but they've moved further away from the house. I'm curious about what they are doing, but not curious enough to go up and ask them. I'll wonder for a while until Spring growth in the park covers all the backhoe tracks in the dirt. Eventually, a neighbor will tell me what has happened long after I've forgotten the entire incident.

I've got to stop taking pictures of Pansies at the hardware store. I can do better. Unfortunately, these are the only flowers I've seen lately. It's Winter and wildflowers won't start appearing in the park again until late March or early April. How did I used to take interesting pictures every single day? It's a mystery now. Maybe I was just more interested in my surroundings.

Tomorrow actually is Wednesday. I'll keep that in mind as I follow a routine that is almost guaranteed to be remarkably similar to today's. Venus, the Moon, and Jupiter will be grouped together in the morning sky tomorrow. If Dash gets me up early, maybe I'll take a look.

Spirit is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3298

While I was eating breakfast this morning, a man walked over to the chef after paying his bill and shook his hand. I heard him say, "I travel all over the world and I want to tell you that this is the best French Toast I've ever had in my life." I smiled and gave the chef a big thumbs up. So did several other people in the restaurant. The chef pointed over at me and said, "He agrees. He eats these every day." The encounter was over quickly, but the chef was smiling as he went back to work. I love little moments like this. The chef wasn't invisible as he quietly worked behind his counter and apparently neither was I. I don't know who the world traveler was, but he did have an eye for quality.

It was nice to see the sun again. A sunny day can dramatically improve my mood. I thought Dash would enjoy the nice weather too, but he seemed sluggish and disoriented on his walk this morning. Maybe the additional pain pill his doctor recommended was too much for him. We've seen this reaction before when we tried giving Dash Gabapentin. We're going to try going back to the original dose for a few days and see if Dash returns to normal. "Back to normal" is a strange concept with Dash because there is absolutely nothing normal about him. Too much pain medication makes me feel terrible. Maybe dogs can have the same reaction.

I wish I knew more about medicine. I think some of my own meds are unnecessary but I've learned not to self medicate. There is too much I don't know. For a long time I thought that Adequan might help Dash because it helped Spot when his rear legs got weak. Then I did some research and discovered that Adequan injections can inhibit blood clotting and should not be administered to dogs with a history of bleeding abnormalities. I'm sure the vets probably knew this all along.

I was really surprised when the roof started leaking again early this afternoon. The last time I looked the roof was dry. The leak was small this time but there was definitely a slow drip. The roof was still dry when I went up to investigate but I could tell that there was still some residual water trapped under the silicon coating in a few places. This water was probably still looking for a way out. Strangely, this mysterious leak only lasted a few hours during the warmest period of the day.

I had to use some of Dash's Shoe Goo to repair my own boots this afternoon. The soles are starting to come apart. I'm really hard on shoes but I was hoping that these boots would last forever. I've been wearing them for about five years and they are finally comfortable now.

I think I'll take the Christmas tree down tomorrow. The holidays are over. I wish it were Winter that was over. I'm afraid we've got a lot more rain to look forward to and maybe even some snow. One way or another, the leak will eventually get fixed. I just hope it doesn't take as long as it took to fix the refrigerator. With a little luck I can postpone putting on a new roof until Spring when the weather is nicer, but we'll have to see what happens. In my world it is best to take things one day at a time.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3279

I don't actually know anybody at the gym. There are a lot of familiar faces though. I see the same people almost every week. They are persistent. I am too. It's easy to imagine that the people I see at the gym try a little harder than everybody else. Some are young, many are old, but they all seem to have one thing in common: they don't give up. I've always admired persistence, so maybe I'm just imagining things. I don't think so though. Nobody is forcing these Sunday warriors to go to the gym. Maybe, like me, they all realize that you've just got to keep moving.

I can't even remember who let Dash outside last night. I woke up several times, but I don't recall Dash going to the back door. Janet doesn't remember getting up either. If nobody let Dash outside, why was there a trail of poop on the back porch? Maybe the poop was from yesterday, but I doubt it. I probably did get up. After you become significantly sleep deprived, everything just blurs together. Whatever happened last night, Dash didn't poop in the bed. That's probably all that matters.

Since my Avid subscriptions are about to expire, I decided that I'd better upgrade everything to the current version while I still had the chance. Upgrading Avid products is always time consuming and it  made me realize that I hadn't used Pro Tools or Media Composer at all this year. I went through the same upgrade exercise last December when I was faced with the same decision. Jeez. How long do you need the latest business software when you don't even have a business? This should be an easy decision, but it isn't.

What happened to yesterday's clear blue skies? It was cloudy and much colder today. Now, I'm worried that it will rain again before the roofers return again to complete their repairs. There is still no rain in the forecast, but I quit believing weather forecasts a long time ago. Texas weather is just too unpredictable. I definitely missed the Geminid Meteor Shower again this year. It's been cloudy for several years on the day the meteors arrive. It was also cloudy on the day the Neptune was so close to Mars that I may have been able to spot the distant planet for the first time. Oh, well. We've had a lot of nasty weather this December. Let's just hope it stays dry until the repair crew finishes their work on the roof. I'm sick of water dripping from the ceiling.

I repaired more of Dash's Ultra-Paws protective boots this afternoon. I can't decide whether Dash is dragging his rear legs more than he used to or if Ultra-Paws has started selling a lower quality boot. Maybe they switched to a different Chinese manufacturer. Last year Dash could wear these boots for several months before they began to show significant wear. Now, I see wear after a single use. I'm definitely using a lot of Shoe Goo these days. I wish it weren't so difficult to keep Dash moving but I'm glad that he still enjoys his daily walks. Dash would fit right in at my gym. He's pretty persistent too.

I've got a big stack of bills to pay tomorrow. December always seems like the most expensive month.  There are a lot of things that seem to come due at the end of the year. If I start fixing the house, there will be even more bills. Where is the Santa Claus Rally this year? So far, the market hasn't been very encouraging. We're looking forward to a nice Christmas, but I don't expect to find a new roof, reliable major appliances, and market stability under the tree. Even Santa has his limits.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3223

Surprisingly, nothing went wrong today. Dash slept through the night for the second day in a row. There were no accidents and when I took Dash outside when I woke up, he pooped and peed like any normal dog. We took a nice walk while Janet was fixing breakfast and enjoyed a brisk Fall morning.

I think this was the last day for the State Fair of Texas. It appeared to be the last day for the little circus in the park as well. There was a performance today, but there was also a large truck getting ready to pack everything up and travel to their next destination. The little circus has been here almost a month and during that time they've only had three clear days. Hopefully they'll have better luck in California.

I don't know why I keep stopping at REI on the way to the gym. There is nothing that interests me anymore. It's disappointing. For years this has been the place where I've found sturdy shoes and durable pants for walking Dash. The place is full of clever solar powered gizmos, binoculars, satellite phones, freeze dried gourmet food, and other gear that satisfy my prepper fantasies. I just walk away without buying anything now. The store is still full of cool things. I guess I just have everything I need.

I still can't figure out how my gym can stay in business when there are so few customers. For over a month the place has been virtually empty on Sunday. Maybe it is crowded at other times of the week. I'd never know. I wasn't shooting very well on the basketball court today. This is a mystery as well. Some days I do really well and other days I suck. You'd think there'd be more consistency. I'm really a very consistent person.

I was going to vacuum this afternoon, but I got sidetracked repairing Dash's protective boots. He drags his feet so much when he walks that the boots get destroyed pretty quickly. It would be impossible to walk without these things. They do a good job of protecting his feet. They just don't last long enough. I've used almost three tubes of Shoe Goo trying to keep these boots operational. We've got four pairs that we rotate, but I probably need a few more. Too bad these little shoes are so expensive. I've spent less on my own shoes.

I think I'll go look for a new storage warehouse tomorrow. If I can find a better price, this might be the incentive I need to actually start throwing things away. There's nothing like being forced to move something to make you realize that you don't really need it. Where do I throw stuff away though. The storage warehouse won't let me use their dumpster anymore. Actually nobody will let you use their dumpster these days. Most businesses keep them locked up behind chain link fences now. The city ought to have a lot of big communal dumpsters strategically located throughout the city but I think they spent all their money building bike paths.

I hope that Dash has turned over a new leaf and continues sleeping normally for a while. When Dash sleeps normally, I sleep normally. It was such a weird sensation to wake up rested this morning. I need more days like this.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3094

I turned on the TV twice today. Once to watch latest episode of The Expanse and later to listen to the results of the IG Report. The Expanse was much more enjoyable. Predictably, everybody used the IG Report to vindicate what they already believed. The supposedly "objective" report seemed to prove nothing. One side said it proved that the FBI was out to get their man, while the other side said it proved that the FBI cost their candidate the election. Nothing will change. I think that we are so hopelessly divided that we'll never see a consensus again. It's like we are right in the middle of a weird, bloodless civil war.

Of course everyone is fighting in The Expanse as well. This is supposed to be 250 years in the future, so maybe humans will never learn to get along. At least there are space ships in The Expanse. Spaceships make everything better. So many science fiction shows like The Expanse explore what happens when humans make contact with extraterrestrials. I wonder if we ever will? I kind of like the theory that nobody has contacted us yet because when civilizations reach a certain level of sophistication, they blow themselves up, destroy their planets, and become extinct. When you look at what's happening with our world, it certainly makes sense.

I got a call from someone who was trying to move their domain registration from Network Solutions to somewhere else. They couldn't remember their Network Solutions password, so they couldn't access their dashboard to initiate the move. I said I'd help, but much to my chagrin, I couldn't remember my own Network Solutions password either. I wish everyone still used the passwords they had in 1995. Everything was so much easier then. Nobody can remember all their passwords anymore. They'll write them down on a sticky note and forget everything a few months later. I had a special application that saved all my passwords in an encrypted form, but after a system upgrade rendered the application inoperable, I lost everything. I routinely ask for a password reset every time I visit certain sites.

Dash pooped in the house again this morning. He was trying to go outside, but he was so quiet about heading for the door that I didn't hear him even though I was nearby. I smelled what was going on before I saw it. I don't know why Dash is on the verge of incontinence, because in many ways he seems to be getting better. He's eating well now and seems to enjoy walking again. The most alarming thing now is that he often wakes up coughing during the night. The cough goes away after he's been awake for a while, but this shouldn't be happening. The cough probably has something to do with his ongoing heart problems, mostly because everything seems to be connected to his heart problems.

I found some Shoe Goo today but I ran out of time and never got around to fixing Dash's boots. Maybe Tomorrow. I was going to make an appointment for a haircut tomorrow, but I never got around to that either. Jeez. What did I actually do today? Maybe those two TV shows were it.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3090

When I woke up this morning, I distinctly remember taking Dash outside in the middle of the night. Something was odd though. Were there really three cats, two rabbits and a raccoon in the yard? I remember seeing these critters when I waved my flashlight around. That's when I knew this was a dream. I never take a flashlight outside with Dash at night. It's weird that I would have such a realistic dream about something I do anyway. My dreams used to be much more exciting than this. When I was young I used to dream that I could fly. Now I dream about taking my dog out to poop.

That wasn't the only thing strange that happened last night. At some point I woke up to hear my watch beeping. I looked at the screen and there was a countdown saying that in ten seconds the watch was automatically going to dial an emergency number. I managed to abort the countdown in less than ten seconds and the next day went online to learn more about this strange function. Apparently, the Apple Watch has an emergency mode that will automatically dial 911 and leave a message with your GPS location if you press and hold one of the side buttons. I must have inadvertently pressed this button in my sleep. I certainly don't want to end up calling 911 in my sleep, so the first thing I did this morning was learn how to disable this function.

Although it was a strange night, it was a pretty normal day. We had a nice walk this morning before the temperature started to rise. Dash did well today. He loves cool morning with a nice breeze. Since we got an early start today, I managed to get to the gym early as well. I should do this more often. I seem to have more energy early in the morning. I've started going on the basketball court as soon as I arrive. This way I have a chance to shoot free throws for a while before those guys arrive for their regular Sunday pick-up game.

There was plenty of time to do Sunday chores when I returned home, but I didn't accomplish much. I sucked out the water that had seeped under the tiles in the shower with the wet/dry vacuum and then I made some repairs on another pair of Dash's protective boots. I've found that I can double the life of these boots by gluing on strips of tire repair rubber when the boot material starts to wear thin. I've repaired three pairs of boots so far and I'm getting better at it. Shoe Goo holds the patches on better than rubber cement, but it is very messy to work with. Shoe Goo is not my friend.

On my way to the gym I listened to an episode of Freakonomics where scientists are starting to reevaluate what separates humans from animals. Apparently very little distinguishes us from other animals. Over 98% of our DNA is identical to monkeys. Monkeys have been taught to use money and tend to follow some of the same basic economic rules that we do. According to this show, even fish share some of the qualities that we've long thought were reserved exclusively for humans. I've always felt this way. This doesn't mean that animals are perfect. Nature can be very cruel. Dolphins are known to murder their own kind. Many animals are carnivores. Nevertheless, animals are sentient creatures and we should start treating them that way. Many species have developed complex language and communicate with each other. They think and have feelings. This is all very clear. So, why do I still like bacon?

Escher is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3018

The house was cold this morning when I woke up. The thermostat said the heat was on, but no air was blowing through the vents. Yep. On probably the last cool day of the year, the furnace broke. I was actually surprised that we made it through the winter with no problems. I looked at the furnace and the fault alert LED was blinking seven times. Hmm. I think I've seen this before. I unplugged the furnace and laid out my tools on the kitchen counter. When I returned from breakfast, I would have one more thing to fix.

Breakfast was actually pretty decent this morning. I gambled on Eggs Benedict and for once it was prepared correctly. I was surprised at how crowded the restaurant was today. I guess a lot of people had the day off. I picked up groceries after breakfast and the store was even more crowded than the restaurant. The deli section featured braised brisket, matzo-ball soup, kugel, and other Passover favorites. I still wanted an Easter ham, but I wasn't going to get it here. There is a great little store in our neighborhood that smokes their own meat.

When I returned home I disassembled the furnace to gain access to the flame sensor. I suspected that this was the problem. I've spent a fortune on furnace repairs over the years before a friendly technician took pity on me and showed me how to clean the flame sensor myself. If the flame sensor is not very clean, it will not send the signal to turn the main burners on after the pilot light ignites. Occasionally components break or wear out, but most furnace problems have something to do with the flame sensor. Sure enough, when I cleaned the sensor with fine grit sandpaper and reassembled everything, the furnace worked perfectly. Let's hope the air conditioner works as well, because we're going to be using it very soon.

Dash's new boots arrived today. Janet and I had been looking at this well known Dalmatian on Facebook wearing these fancy Ultra-Paws boots all winter and finally decided to try a pair ourselves. The boots were a little pricy, but they do seem to work. I can get them on myself and Dash doesn't seem to mind them at all. He's been test driving them all evening.

I think I've found a new use for Shoe Goo. After Superglue failed several times, I used the Shoe Goo to repair the silicon strap on my fitness tracker. I let the repair dry for 24 hours and so far it's been holding up pretty well. Ordinarily, I would have just bought a new fitness tracker, but the Jawbone company has gone out of business. I think my choices are Shoe Goo or nothing.

Dash got me up twice last night to go outside and poop. I try my best to get Dash to do his business before we all go to bed, but Dash just thinks I'm crazy. He's just not going to go before he's ready. Things were easier when Dash ate dry food and didn't take so many pills. I'm not sure what to do at this point, but naps during the day are certainly an option. I'm definitely not very busy anymore.

The roof is drying out, but there's an ugly rust colored stain in the sheetrock. I've left several messages for the roofer, but I'm sure he's got his hands full with bigger leaks than mine. I hope I don't have to go buy more of the messy elastomer material myself, but it may come to that. I'm always fixing something.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2848

The refrigerator part that was supposed to arrive today won't be here until next Monday. Am I surprised? Not really. Am I disappointed? Of course. It takes a lot of patience to get something repaired these days. No wonder so many people just download a YouTube video and try to do things themselves.

In an attempt to keep the refrigerator working until the repairmen arrive, I pulled it out from its cubby hole in the kitchen, removed the back panel, and tried to clean the condenser coil. You're supposed to do this once a year, but it's just too difficult. I'm not even sure that I found the condenser coil, but I cleaned something that was very dirty and looked like a coil. After working in the cramped space behind the refrigerator for an hour, I found it difficult to extricate myself. The knee joints just aren't that flexible anymore. I have a feeling that I'll have to defrost the evaporator coil with a hair dryer later this week. I've done this several times already. If I keep this up, I could probably become a refrigerator repairman myself.

The cancer center called and rescheduled Dash's appointment several times today. The first schedule change was because the technician doing the echocardiogram wasn't going to be at the clinic in the afternoon. The second schedule change was because there was an out of town emergency appointment that required an ultrasound scan as soon as the dog arrived. We're still going tomorrow, but our appointment is a lot earlier than it originally was. My biggest concern is getting Dash to poop before we put him in the car. Since there won't be time for a morning walk, this might be a problem. We really hope that the echocardiogram shows some improvement in Dash's heart. He does seem to have more energy and is eating better, so maybe the Plavix pills are working.

I found some stuff that is supposed to be good for repairing shoes. It's called Shoe Goo. I was going to attempt to repair Dash's protective booties today, but I discovered that a seam had torn and needed to be sewed back together first. I wish I knew how to use Janet's fancy new sewing machine. I used to use the old Singer machine to make small repairs all the time, but this new machine seems very unfamiliar. I just don't want to risk breaking it. Dash's boots will still get repaired. It just might take a little longer.

It's getting to the point where I am reluctant to even turn on the television. The news has become an endless parade of disasters. Where is the good news? All I see are floods, hurricanes, massive wildfires, mass shootings, and threats of nuclear war. It almost feels like we are living in some dystopian science fiction novel. There is no real solution to this mess, so perhaps the best thing is to turn off the TV and concentrate on things that are closer to home.

Dash's health is certainly close to home. I really hope we get a good report tomorrow.

Kuuipo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day