Day 3691

How can it be February already? It seems like I was trying to stay awake until midnight on New Year's Eve just a few days ago. Time flies. Tomorrow, we'll be watching the Superbowl again. I guess I'm for Kansas City although I don't know why. I haven't really followed either team this season. I hope the ads are better this year. I think Superbowl advertising has been going downhill for quite some time. I'm pretty old school. I still want to see a Budweiser ad with Clydesdales and a Dalmatian. I used to always go to a special game day Superbowl Sale at a clothing store that was once a client of mine. They had some great bargains, but I think the sale has been discontinued. Like almost everything else in life, Superbowl Sunday doesn't seem as familiar anymore.

When I was running errands this morning, I noticed that a little neighborhood watch repair shop I used for many years had gone out of business. The building was empty. Even the sign was gone. This made me a little sad. The owner was a nice guy but he was in poor health. The last time I saw him, he told me that he had to go in for dialysis three times a week. I wouldn't be surprised if he died. I wish I'd gone in to visit a few more times while the store was still open. I'm not all that interested in watches anymore, but I still could have stopped to say hello. Now the store is empty and I'll never know what happened. I can't even remember the guy's name.

I guess the press office folks at Kennedy Space Center don't work on weekends. I still had some questions on Friday but haven't received any answers yet. The schedule has changed so much that I'm not sure what to do now. Some of the most interesting parts of the event have been canceled and now there is a down day with nothing to do between all the briefings and the actual launch. I'd like to find out if I have the option to go to some of the events, but not all. Maybe I'll find out something on Monday. I'm reluctant to add another day to this already lengthy  trip, but I might have to.

This has been one weird winter. For now, I'm not complaining though. Today was beautiful. The sky was clear and it felt like an early spring day. I should have gone up on the roof this afternoon and maybe even washed my car, but I'm too slow for this many activities in a single day. After I ran my usual Saturday errands and took my walk, the day was essentially over. I'll probably regret not getting more done today because I just noticed that it might snow next Wednesday.

The building where Dot and Dash got cancer treatments was badly damaged by the tornado we had several months ago. I just learned that they decided not to rebuild and permanently closed the office instead. Now dogs will have to go to the clinic's Fort Worth office for treatment. I can't help but think how bad this would be if your dog was in the middle of treatment when the tornado hit. Dot and Dash had to go to the cancer center several times a week for radiation and chemotherapy treatments. It was hard enough to transport them to the nearby clinic when they were sick. Taking them to an entirely different city three times a week would have been a full time job.

No more Superbowl Sale. No more neighborhood watch repairman. No more convenient cancer center. And a whole new schedule for the Solar Orbiter launch. Why does everything have to keep changing?

Myles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3327- Groundhog Day

I've always associated Groundhog Day with the Bill Murray movie instead of Punxsutawney Phil, It seems somehow appropriate that Groundhog Day takes place on Superbowl weekend this year. The Patriots keep playing in the Superbowl over and over again. A lot of things in my life seem to take place over and over again as well. Recurring events aren't necessarily bad but they do make you wonder. Is Tom Brady playing in the Superbowl again because he's the best quarterback in the league? Is there some luck involved? Why do I have a fruit smoothie for breakfast every morning when it would be easy to eat just about anything? I'd never order a fruit smoothie at a restaurant, even if it were on the menu. I've come to realize that a lot of repetition is pure laziness. Sometimes it takes a lot of dedication and practice though. I'm still trying to learn the difference.

Apparently, not everything happens over and over again. For many years, I've been going to a Superbowl Sale at a clothing store that used to be a client of mine. This was a fabulous once a year sale and it was generally the only time I could afford these type of clothes. Even though I have little need for work clothes anymore, I've continued going to this sale. Today I learned that the Superbowl Sale is gone. It has been discontinued. I don't know why I thought this would never happen. Nothing else lasts very long in today's world. Why should this odd three hour 75% off sale be any different.

Dash seemed a little better today. There was no diarrhea last night. Maybe the Metronidazole worked or maybe there was so much diarrhea yesterday that his entire digestive tract is empty. I guess we'll know when Dash poops again. That hasn't happened yet. Unfortunately, some common side effects of Metronidazole include lethargy, confusion, and loss of appetite. Dash is already dealing with these problems so it is hard to tell if Dash's difficulty in walking this morning was caused by the pills or was just something he would have experienced anyway. Later in the day he seemed fine and the diarrhea hasn't returned, so I've got to assume that the medication is working.

I think my dehumidifier has broken. It was leaking water this afternoon. The dehumidifier is meant to run continuously, but it has been running for about three years so I guess problems are inevitable. I wonder if my appliance repair guy can fix dehumidifiers? This dehumidifier has made a real difference in keeping the house livable, so I may need to buy a new one. I've discovered that the leak stops when I tilt the dehumidifier to one side. I've propped a book under one corner of the machine so it runs at an angle now. This is a temporary solution at best. It's weird that almost every single problem I've had with the house involves water. Water has become the enemy around here.

Janet has a meeting tonight so it's up to me to give Dash his evening meds. You'd think this would be easy but Dash has become very particular. Some days he will take his pills in canned dog food. Other days the pills need to be rolled up in a small strip of delicatessen turkey. Occasionally I have to use a little piece of Angle Food Cake. One way or another he always takes his pills though.

I'm sure we'll watch the Superbowl tomorrow, even though the Pats and the Rams aren't our favorite teams. The Pats are probably my least favorite team. My favorite commercial of course is the Budweiser spot featuring a Dalmatian with its ears blowing in the wind.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2964 - Super Bowl Sunday

I've never been a fan of the Patriots or the Eagles, but I'll have to admit that today's game was great. I didn't know who was going to win until the very last play, but I'm glad the Eagles pulled off the upset. They might have been the underdog, but they certainly deserved this win. The commercials weren't nearly as good as the game. Most of the ads sucked. Ad agency creative types seem to have lost their sense of humor. Some of the commercials didn't even make sense. To make matters worse, the Budweiser Clydesdales didn't make an appearance at all. I guess Justin Timberlake was OK, but he didn't even come close to the epic performances of Michael Jackson and Prince.

Even though Janet and I aren't huge football fans, we always have a Super Bowl dinner worthy of the game. I went out and got several pounds of ribs from our favorite barbecue place and we enjoyed them with potato salad and baked beans. I even had beer with my dinner, which is extremely rare for me considering that I don't drink anymore. Dash got to enjoy a little barbecue, but we didn't let him get anywhere near the bones. Years ago, one of our dogs grabbed a pork rib off the table and swallowed the entire thing including the bone. We thought Spot was going to need emergency surgery, but the vet said to wait. The bone slowly dissolved and after a week or so it was soft enough to pass through his system. We were very lucky and made sure that our dogs never got near rib bones again.

For the first time in years I didn't buy a thing at my favorite Super Bowl Sale. Today's styles seem just as weird to me as today's Super Bowl commercials. Jeez. When did skinny jeans get to be a regular item in a clothing store that caters to grown ups? I'm thin enough that I can wear these pants, but they look ridiculous. The narrow legs don't cover your shoes like a normal pair of pants. They just bunch up on top of the shoes. Are you supposed to buy a shorter length or just let the fabric bunch up? I hate stretch fabric too. Men shouldn't wear stretch denim. I guess I can avoid these issues by continuing to buy regular old fashioned boot cut jeans at a western store.

Dash's appetite still hasn't returned to normal, but at least he seems better than he was yesterday. He had no interest in food when he woke up this morning, but after his walk he ate a little. He would return to his bowl and take a few bites throughout the morning and by noon, he had almost finished his breakfast. We gave him another Cerenia pill this morning and hopefully this will help stabilize his system.

I thought the gym would be empty today since it was Super Bowl Sunday, but it was surprisingly full. I had to wait to use the basketball court because there was a full court game going on when I arrived. These guys were burning way more energy than I do shooting a few baskets. The more I looked, the more I realized that everybody at the gym was working up a sweat except for me. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

I'll probably have heartburn tonight after eating a big plate of barbecued ribs, but the meal was worth it. The game was worth it too. All in all, it was a pretty nice day. Tomorrow it's back to wondering where the next job is coming from and looking for a replacement refrigerator. If I'm lucky, the stock market sell off will stop and Dash will start eating normally again.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day