Day 2317

There was a pile of mail on our doorstep early this morning. It obviously didn't come from the post office, so I will have to assume that it was another batch of misdirected mail that our mail carrier left at a neighbor's house instead. This has happened before. Luckily, our neighbors are usually more reliable about returning the mail than the post office is in delivering it. We used to have a fabulous mail carrier, but things have gone downhill in recent years. I suspect that the post office has become mired in bureaucracy, just like the veterans administration and other government agencies. It's hard to fire bad mail carriers too. They probably have a job for life.

It was difficult to focus on anything today. I had some websites to update, but there wasn't enough work to keep me occupied for long. I kind of drifted aimlessly through the day. I paid some bills, took a small check to the bank, picked up a prescription, and bought a big bag of Cheetos. I really try to eat healthy, but I've become addicted to Flaming Hot Crunchy Cheetos. I hope the red dye in these things doesn't give you cancer, because it sure stains your hands when you eat them. I don't know what happened to the guy who studiously avoided wheat products and dined on Kale and Quinoa for over two years. I hate to admit it, but I've become a culinary backslider, trading fish and fresh veggies for bacon cheeseburgers whenever I can.

My big production printer is out of ink again. Do I buy eight more expensive cartridges, or do I just give up on the thing? The printer is a relic from another era. I used to make beautiful very large Giclée prints. I sold the prints and had several gallery shows. After a while I lost interest. Now, I just make a small test print every evening to keep the printer from clogging. I've run through two complete sets of ink cartridges making the same test print over and over again. The printer is ready if I need it, but I doubt that I will ever need it again. I haven't made a large exhibition quality print in three years.

I don't take as many photos as I used to either, although I keep checking the B&H website every few days to see if the camera I want is still on sale. The camera has been discounted quite a bit, so I suspect that it is being discontinued. That doesn't matter to me. Practically everything I own has been discontinued. Truthfully, I don't need a new camera any more than I need a huge commercial ink jet printer. It's frustrating. I'm just as addicted to gear as I am to Flaming Hot Crunchy Cheetos, but the cameras and computers are much more expensive. There was a time when these things were just normal business expenses, but that ship has sailed. I'm going to have to come up with a less expensive way to spend my remaining years.

I've got lots to remember tomorrow. It's time for Dot to take her next batch of Palladia pills. Our physical therapy session is also tomorrow, even though I still keep thinking it's on Thursday. My leather jacket is ready to pick up at the tailor shop. I'm sure there are other things as well. I'll try not to take the trash out a day early like I did last week. It's hard to remember what day it is when you keep track by how many bananas are left in the kitchen. If it's four bananas, it must be Wednesday.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1561

There are too many things to remember. Did I take my pills this morning? Have I watered the new grass? Did I make a test print to keep the large printer from clogging? Is it the right day for Dash's chemo pills? Have I answered all my e-mail? Have I folded the clothes in the dryer? Did I pay the utility bills? Are there any clean towels left? Are my camera batteries charged? Where are my reading glasses? Is there enough gas in the car? The list goes on and on. I would like to have a day, or a month, or even a year with nothing to remember at all. That's not going to happen though.

On busy work days, I forget a lot of routine things. On slower days, I try to catch up. I never remember everything though. Try as I may, there are still days when we're completely out of garbage bags, or the milk in the refrigerator has gone bad. It's easier to remember things that happen every day. I never forget breakfast and always make the bed in the morning. Things that only happen periodically are more problematic. I really have to keep my wits about me to avoid giving Dash his cancer medicine on the wrong day. Taking my own pills at the right time can be a problem as well. I write all important things down in an online calendar, but frequently forget to check the calendar. Clients that feed me work every day usually get great service, but clients who only need things every month or so occasionally get forgotten about.

I do best on simple days like today. Several clients asked me direct questions and I answered them on the spot. I got a request for an article and I wrote it immediately. Why not? I wasn't doing anything else at the time. I paid a small stack of bills, went to the post office, and took the dogs on a long walk. I did remember to water the new grass and even cooked an omelet using up some leftover sausage and spicy vegetables from the weekend. This seemed like plenty to do for one day.

Tomorrow will be busier, since it's another radiation treatment day for Dash. Wednesday used to be Dot's acupuncture and water therapy day, but I've moved that to Thursday, since it's about the only free day left. The HVAC guys are coming out Friday to rewire the connection to the air conditioner compressor in the back yard. The Summer Texas sun is murder on exposed wiring and the existing wiring doesn't look like it will last another season. I definitely don't want to have to deal with a broken AC this Summer. Too bad the HVAC guys couldn't fix the blinking LED can lights in the bathroom as well. It would be nice to kill two birds with one stone.

This afternoon, I noticed a squirrel digging up one of the new Liriope plants I planted this weekend. Why do these critters continue to torment me? On one of our recent walks, a large possum refused to give ground on the trail and the dogs got way too interested. I thought we were going to have an epic possum battle. Pretty soon it will be warm enough for the snakes to reappear. I think in my next life, I'll live in a downtown high-rise.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1540

Has anybody else completely burned out on social media? I used to post something new and original to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Instagram every single day. This was in addition to writing my daily blog post. After about a year of this, I realized that I had completely run out of ideas. I had nothing to say. I had already shared every story I had ever written, uploaded every picture I had ever snapped, and dug up a lot of old stuff that probably should have remained buried. Social media is insatiable. No matter how much you feed it, it always wants more.

Clients sometimes ask me what they can do to maximize their social media efforts. I feel like telling them to just forget about it. For most people it isn't worth the effort. Unless you are Ellen DeGeneres at the Oscars, your photos are never going to be re-tweeted millions of times. Your earnest efforts to promote your business on Facebook are never going to garner one tenth the attention of a single cute cat photo. No matter how exciting you think your company is, there is only so much you can say about it. After you've said your piece, you just become another spammer.

It's kind of a shame that nobody really cares all that much. I know dozens of bloggers and photographers who pour their heart and soul into elaborate online creations that might have 25 genuine fans worldwide. I have a lot of followers, but that doesn't mean they actually read anything. I bet I don't have more than 25 people who actually read everything I write. It probably wasn't that different in the analog era. Back when I played in a band, they used to say that only one in a thousand good bands ever got signed to a record deal. A similar percentage of writers and poets ever saw their books in print. Most people were just throwing notes out to sea in glass bottles.

Andy Warhol was right. Today everybody actually is a star for thirty minutes. What happens after your thirty minutes is over though? The media machine still expects to be fed. I don't think it matters whether you're a guy with two Dalmatians like me, or a giant corporation; eventually you get to a point where there's nothing more to say.

I've totally run out of coherent things to say on Twitter and Facebook. Luckily, this blog has a format that I can sustain forever. I just tell you what I did today. Tomorrow I'll do the same thing all over again. Reading this is probably an acquired taste. Maybe it's a bit like watching an Andy Warhol movie. Very little happens. Things do change over time though. You can call the changes growth, decay, or whatever you want.

Today, Dash's regular vet was very impressed with his progress. It was the first time she'd seen him since his surgery and she agreed with the other vets that we were very lucky to have detected the cancer so early. We still haven't received the pathology report, but we should know whether Dash will require further treatment by the end of the week.

Work was slow today. Ordinarily, that would have been a good thing, but Tuesdays are usually busy and I was prepared to put my nose to the grindstone. It threw my schedule off when things didn't turn out as I expected. This is when people say it's good to be spontaneous. I'm not spontaneous though. Never have been and never will be. When I'm off my schedule, I usually just drift aimlessly.

Tomorrow should be focused. Dot has her weekly physical therapy session and will get in the underwater treadmill again. There are bills to be paid, so a trip to the post office is on tap as well. I need to renew a prescription and I suspect that there will be things to write as well. The day will be just like a hundred other Wednesdays I have already told you about, but I still hope you find it interesting.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1499

I skipped the networking breakfast this morning. Maybe I'm growing tired of bacon, or maybe I just didn't have any interest in learning about how to retain good sales managers. That's the trouble with these networking breakfasts. The food is good, but the speakers very seldom deal with anything I'm remotely interested in. These aren't exactly Ted Talks here. Since I have to give one of these talks myself later this Spring, I shouldn't be too disparaging. I still don't know what I'm going to talk about, but I bet it will be a little different than what these folks are used to.

Since I wasn't stuffing myself with bacon and sausages, I walked the dogs and had my usual bowl of oatmeal and fruit. It was really cold on our walk this morning. All the vegetation was covered with frost. I'm sure glad the furnace is working again. This ongoing tug of war between heat and cold will continue through April. Then it will just be hot all the time. Basically, Texas weather is hopeless.

Since Dot had an acupuncture treatment on Monday when we took her to the vet for her spinal X-Ray, she didn't go for her usual Wednesday therapy today. This made the entire day sort of topsy-turvy. When I finished my work for the day, I used Dot's time slot to go to the gym. I frequently go to the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but have never gone on a Wednesday before. Much to my surprise the place was crowded. What would make a Wednesday afternoon different than a Tuesday afternoon? Both are workdays. At any rate, I think I'll go back to working out on Tuesdays. You should know my style by now. When I go out in public, I like my destination to be empty.

I had a lot of work to do today, and none of it was very interesting. I won't bore you with the details. Tomorrow should be interesting though. I have an appointment with my hepatologist to discuss, and perhaps even begin, my new Hepatitis-C treatment. I still don't have any idea what this new treatment involves, but I've heard that it is much more effective than the old interferon and ribavirin combo. I'm looking forward to finally putting all this behind me. If the new medicine works, I should be completely virus free in six months. I still find it ironic that I am being treated at the very same hospital that gave me the transfusion of bad blood that started this whole mess over 30 years ago.

I watched a fascinating documentary about J.D. Salinger last night on PBS. I never realized that Salinger kept writing prolifically right up until his death in 2010. He supposedly wrote dozens of unpublished novels and kept the manuscripts in a safe at his New Hampshire home, stipulating in his will that they weren't to be published until 50 years after his death. I don't think J.D. Salinger would have liked the Internet.

Raider is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1484

Dot and Dash don't like the new cold weather schedule. Instead of walking them right after I get up in the morning like I usually do, I've started eating breakfast first to allow things to warm up a bit before we venture outside. To me, this is an excellent plan, since the temperature warms up quickly once the sun is up and starts to thaw things out. The dogs don't like this additional wait however, and bark at me as I do my best to eat my oatmeal in peace. They don't seem to realize that I'm doing all this for their own good. As far as I can tell, the extra hour I spend eating breakfast usually results in a five degree increase in temperature. This is only when the sun is shining, of course, but so far we've been lucky and it's been sunny all week. Once we're underway, all is forgiven. The dogs love to walk and maybe they realized that as a result of their short wait this morning, they only had to wear one coat instead of the two they wore yesterday.

I'm hoping the year will grow more exciting in the ensuing months. I've got plenty of work to do but it's all pretty dismal so far. I need more time with absolutely nothing to do, so I start inventing my own personal projects again. I don't think I've done anything that didn't involve clients, the dogs, or my own health in months. I wonder now how I ever found the time to play in a band, plan elaborate photo exhibitions, and even take cooking classes. The irony is that when I was doing all those things, I was actually making more money than I am now. At least the market was up today. When the stock market is up, it helps to compensate for all the boring, low paying advertising jobs. I keep telling these kids I compete with these days that they've got to raise their rates and quit living with their parents. They don't listen though. They don't even believe how good it used to be before they ruined everything by undercutting the prices of old dogs like me.

Dash had some lab work done while he was at the vet today to make sure his kidneys are still working properly. We'll have to wait for the results, but his veterinarian seemed to think he was doing very well. I was glad to hear that his teeth aren't in as bad shape as I thought. His gums are still healthy and it looks like a simple cleaning procedure to remove the plaque will be all he needs. I made an appointment to get his dental work done next week. When Dash's teeth are gleaming again, we'll deal with Dot's teeth. Maybe, when both of the dogs get their dental work done, I'll go see the dentist myself. I probably need to see a dentist a lot more than the dogs.

My Wednesday morning networking breakfasts resume tomorrow. We haven't had these early morning meetings during the holiday season and three weeks of sleeping in on Wednesdays has reconfirmed that I'm never going to be a morning person. Most of the other people still appear to go to these meetings to make contacts and pass out business cards. That's fine by me, but I'm still going for the bacon.

Misty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1464

Neither of the dogs seemed very excited about going to training class tonight. They gave us these looks that clearly said "What is the point of all this?" I certainly didn't have the answer. I couldn't tell you what the point is of much of what I do. We went to class anyway of course, because that is what we do on Wednesday evenings.

I've been noticing big piles of branches starting to appear along the curb on our street. Coincidentally,  I've noticed that nobody has returned to pick up the huge pile of branches the power crews left in the alley after the ice storm. Putting two and two together, I finally realized that the only way these branches were going to get picked up was if I dragged them all out to the street myself and piled them with the other branches for bulky trash day. So, when is bulky trash day? I've forgotten again. It must be soon though, since there is a lot of trash piled outside the neighbor's houses.

It took me more than an hour to drag most of the tree limbs out to the street. When I was finished, I noticed that one of my hip joints felt loose and wobbly, just like my shoulder typically feels. I hate growing old. After a while you began to feel like you are the caretaker of a rusty old machine that has seen better days.

I think Dot is doing better than I am about keeping in shape. She's doing great with her weekly water therapy sessions. It's interesting that she seems to like the underwater treadmill, but has become disinterested in the Wednesday evening training class. Probably the therapy session is just more enjoyable. The water is nice and warm and she gets tons of attention and positive reinforcement from the vet and nurses. Physical therapy is kind of like a spa day for Dot, while training class is more like military boot camp.

Somebody left a note on my windshield saying that they wished they'd known I was selling the Defender 90 because they wanted to buy it, and then going on to ask if I was planning to sell my house anytime soon. Maybe I should save the letter, since I will be selling the house when Janet and I retire. Then again, maybe I should just throw the letter away. Business propositions made to strangers that are written on a page torn from a children's Big Chief school tablet usually aren't very reliable.

Alvin is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1436

I woke up late and barely made it to my breakfast meeting. Wednesdays aren't my favorite day anymore. There's just too much going on. I usually change three times on Wednesdays. I wear a suit to the networking breakfast. I change into raggedy dog walking clothes and work boots when I return. Then later in the day, I put on some respectable casual clothes to take Dot for her weekly physical therapy session. I try to complete at least one writing assignment between the dog's morning walk and Dot's vet appointment. Then when I'm back to the office for good, I tackle the day's website revisions.

I'm sure that many of you have much more hectic days than this, but I don't do hectic anymore. If I did, I'd still be sitting in a status meeting at a big ad agency somewhere, instead of working in a quite room with a dog under my desk.

I'm still having problems with my large printer. I guess I waited too long between cleaning cycles. Since I no longer have a need for large museum quality prints, maintaining this complicated printer has become a giant nuisance. The printer is so heavy that I can't even move it by myself, so taking it to a repair center is problematic at best. I had to have a friend help me install the thing years ago and it's sat in the same dusty office corner ever since. Remind me to never buy anything that uses ink ever again.

One of my doctors wants me to take a pill that he says will improve my cognitive abilities. I scoffed at the idea at first and was actually a bit insulted. Hey, my business is thinking up solutions for people and I feel at times that my life is like doing a complex Sudoku puzzle that never ends. Maybe the Doc is right though. Janet changed the dog's food recently and now I can't seem to remember which dog eats which bag of kibble. I have a feeling that I've been feeding Dot's food to Dash for several weeks now.

There are thunderstorms in the forecast for tomorrow. I hope the forecast is wrong. Rain slows me down tremendously. I think I'm only half as productive on a stormy day. The dogs are terrified of thunder and lightning. I don't like to drive in the rain. And even though I put an entirely new roof on the house this year, I still worry about leaks.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1422

The speaker at today's breakfast meeting was a financial planner who talked about how an increasingly global economy will affect your investments in the years ahead. I happen to agree with his somewhat gloomy assessment that printing money only postpones problems and that in the long run, our current economic situation is unsustainable. We have opened a Pandora's Box that can't be closed and there are many economic bubbles out there that will eventually burst. I just hope that that it will take at least forty years for the world to start looking like a scene from Mad Max at Thunderdome. I'll be gone by then. Ten years, or even twenty years, is a little too soon to return to the Middle Ages for me. I'd just as soon continue to live in denial and pretend that everything's fine.

Dot was certainly in fine form today. She was strong and steady on her morning and evening walks and did exceptionally well at her physical therapy sessions. Just about every Dalmatian I've gotten to know seems to prefer cooler weather and Dot and Dash are no exception. Temperatures in the mid-50's, like we had today, invigorate them. Personally, I'd prefer the temperature to be about 20 degrees higher, but I'm not going to be picky about these things. I'll be the first to admit that it was a beautiful day.

I got several new assignments today. This should keep me busy through the end of the week. If there's time left over, I'll sweep the standing water off the roof and wash the car. I won't wash the car with water from the roof though. It is already stained a tobacco brown from all the pecan shells. I'm going to try to get back to the gym tomorrow. I got the results from one of my recent blood tests in today's mail and for the first time in about six months, they are looking good again. That's really all the encouragement I need to continue with my diet and exercise regime. I just like to know that something is working.

Sunsets are back again. The dogs and I had a pleasant sunset walk along the shoreline this evening. I enjoy this time of day, but it's a moving target. I'll need to remember to walk the dogs a little earlier each day as the days grow shorter. You've got to time these excursions right, because the difference between dusk and complete darkness is only about thirty minutes.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1415

Wednesdays are busy enough when it's dry. When it rains on Wednesday, all bets are off. Today's unrelenting rain ensured that traffic would be congested wherever I drove, that Dot and Dash would be muddy wherever I walked them, and that virtually nothing I started today would be completed on time.

In wet days I wonder why I even go to these Wednesday morning networking breakfasts. I'm easily the least businesslike person in the room.  They'll probably kick me out of the group when they discover that I'm just going to these early morning meetings to eat bacon and see if my old dress suits still fit.

I had lots of writing to do today, but I managed to complete all my assignments. Hey, what else can you do on a rainy day? While I was writing, I kept the washing machine running with load after load of rain soaked clothing and muddy dog towels. The dogs still insist on a walk on rainy days. They don't like the rain, but they absolutely refuse to poop in the yard.

We kept our acupuncture appointment this afternoon, despite the rain. I would have preferred to stay home, but I think it's rude to cancel an appointment at the last minute. Dot did well in the underwater treadmill, but when the vet tried to test her balance and coordination by having her balance on a large rubber ball, she was pretty shaky. I wasn't really surprised. Dot is frequently shaky on flat, level ground these days. Nothing is going to turn Dot into a young dog again, but I still think that the physical therapy is helpful. She seems to enjoy the activity and maybe we can slow down the inevitable a bit.

Since it rained all day, they moved the dog training class Halloween party indoors this evening. Try to imagine fifty dogs in costumes inside a small room and you've got a pretty good idea what the party was like. I was amazed that there weren't more skirmishes between the dogs. It wasn't surprising that most people left as soon as the costume contest was over. With fifty dogs in a small room, you don't want to push your luck.

I'm hoping that things return to normal tomorrow. A little sunlight always puts me and the dogs in a much better mood.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1408

I've been pleased to discover that most of my old dress suits still fit perfectly. I haven't worn some of these suits for decades. When I put my phone in the pocket of a grey Armani suit this morning, I realized that the last time I wore this suit, the iPhone hadn't even been invented yet. I guess the suit hadn't gone out of style though, since one of the sharp dressed lawyers at this morning's breakfast meeting shook my hand to say hello and said "nice suit."

I had to answer several complicated questions via e-mail after I returned from the meeting and began to long for the day's when  my clients preferred to talk on the telephone. A wide variety of things that you could explain in five minutes over the phone seem to inevitably take thirty minutes of typing to get the same point across.

Dot seemed slow and stiff on her morning walk. I don't think she has arthritis, since the stiffness comes and goes. She doesn't limp or have an ACL tear either. Some days she has lots of energy and still seems like a young dog. On other days, she can barely walk from one end of the house to the other. By noon, Dot was completely back to normal, so we went ahead with her scheduled water therapy session. The short movie we made today shows how well she extends her legs underwater. Since the water makes her buoyant and takes a lot of the weight off her legs, it gives her a much wider range of motion than she would normally have. The video is in slow motion so we could study her gait.



Dot and I both had a very a busy day. Dot not only did well at her therapy session, she did equally well at dog training class this evening. For my part, I managed to answer all the questions I was asked in several lengthy e-mails, as well as make some website updates that were long overdue. Tomorrow is another day. I've got a several writing assignments tomorrow and a pile of bills to pay, but at least I won't have to get up early.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1401

I continue to be surprised at how much I'm enjoying these Wednesday morning networking breakfasts. By all rights, I shouldn't be enjoying them at all. I'm not a morning person. I'm not very businesslike. And I'm definitely not very good at small talk. Perhaps I just enjoy breakfast in all of its myriad forms.

Today's presentation was from a trial lawyer member of the group about how to prepare yourself to give a deposition. This seemed to be useful information for almost everybody in the room, which just goes to show you what a litigious society we live in today. I found the entire presentation fascinating and wish I knew this information six months ago when I actually might have needed it.

Dot did very well at her physical therapy session today. She was strong enough to start using the underwater treadmill again and seemed to enjoy the exercise. She had an acupuncture session as well. I can't imagine being as relaxed as Dot with several dozen needles in me, but the treatment seems to be effective. I never though I'd see the day when Dot looked forward to a vet appointment, but she likes her physical therapy vet. On these Wednesday trips, I don't have to coerce her to get in the car at all.

The weather is still cold and rainy. So far, I've avoided turning on the furnace, mostly because it would be nice to have at least one month with reasonable utility bills. The day to inaugurate the furnace is coming soon though. I may turn it on tomorrow if it's as cold as it was this morning. Hopefully the furnace still works. Sometimes it fires right up and other times it needs a little help.

A cold house does keep me wide awake though. I didn't even come close to falling asleep at the computer and breezed right through my website and writing assignments. I noticed that the clouds seemed to be lifting a bit towards the end of the day. If it clears up tomorrow, I'll need to go up on the roof again and clear the water away. I'd rather go to the gym again instead of just pushing the big broom around on the roof, but we'll see how the day goes.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1394

Wednesdays are tiring. I'm up before dawn to drive to my business networking breakfast and can't call the day officially finished until we return from dog training class well after sunset. In between these two activities, a lot of typing takes place, along with a two hour trip downtown for Dot's weekly acupuncture and physical therapy session.

During today's visit with Dot's physical therapy vet, we made arrangements for her to get an MRI scan of her brain sometime next week. I've had a scan of my own brain and I can see why they want the dog anesthetized for this procedure. Being stuffed inside a narrow tube and listening to what sounds like a jackhammer pounding right next to your head is probably enough to freak any dog out. Hopefully, Dot does not have a brain tumor. The other likely causes of her seizures are much easier to deal with.

The traffic was terrible today. I can't imagine driving around in Dallas traffic on a daily basis. You never know what to expect. Usually, the trip to see Dot's acupuncture vet isn't that bad, but today it was bumper-to-bumper all the way. Bad traffic is usually the first topic of conversation during the Wednesday breakfast meetings too. Most of the folks in the group seem to drive continually. I don't know how they stand it. I would go stark raving mad, if I had to deal with rush hour traffic every day.

Writing in a quiet room with a dog under your desk is so much better than getting up and fighting traffic every day, just to arrive at an office where you probably don't want to be anyway. If you can tolerate the insecurity of never knowing where your next meal is coming from, the writer's life isn't bad at all. I finished two more articles today. There's plenty to do tomorrow as well. The best thing is that I seldom have to talk to anyone.

I fell asleep last night watching an old episode of Perry Mason. When I woke up, I thought I was still watching Perry Mason, but it was actually a very similar looking black and white show called the Untouchables. I couldn't figure out why Perry Mason was defending Al Capone. Then I went back to sleep again. I hope I sleep well tonight. It's been a very long day.

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1386

Today didn't get of to a good start. I got up late. The dogs were exceptionally slow on their morning walk. Even though I rushed through my normally tranquil breakfast, I felt like the day was half over before I began to immerse myself in a long list of projects with immediate deadlines. It might have been brain fog, but the articles on my plate today seemed more difficult than usual. Then there was that troublesome Wordpress site I'm developing. Even though I'm learning more and more about Wordpress with each passing day, it is still a thorn in my side. Today, I learned that my favorite Javascript applets don't work in Wordpress. I haven't really mastered the art of editing Wordpress themes in Dreamweaver either. I guess you're just supposed to buy a theme and leave it alone.

I got so tangled up with work problems today that I almost forgot about Dash's vet appointment. Luckily the vet was flexible and I was able to re-schedule his regular 2 PM appointment for 3:30 PM. Sometimes I feel like a full-time dog nanny. Dot has her own vet appointment tomorrow.  Taking care of the dogs takes a lot of time, but it's still the only thing that seems genuinely important. Everything else is basically BS.

Are you guys as tired of Congress as I am? This whole attempt to shut down the government to protest Obamacare is absurd. Hey guys, just leave things alone. If Obamacare works and people end up liking it, so be it. If Obamacare doesn't work and people end up hating it, it's not going to last very long. I've been in business long enough to realize that sometimes things just sink under their own weight. You don't even have to try to sink them.

Tomorrow looks like it will live up to its reputation as the busiest day of the week. I've got my 7 AM business networking breakfast to attend. Dot has her afternoon water therapy appointment. And it looks like I've got at least two new articles to finish. Hopefully, I won't even think about Wordpress tomorrow. At least the weather is nice. October is typically the prettiest month of the year here in Texas and if today is any indication, the month is getting off to a great start.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1380

Even though I'm never going to like getting up early in the morning, I'm starting to enjoy the Wednesday business breakfast group. The food is great and I always learn something new. Today I listened to a presentation by the CEO of the city's largest public hospital. What an eye opener. Now I know where all my tax money is going. This hospital is huge. There are 57 operating rooms and over 900 people are admitted to the ER every day. I think the hospital has a larger budget than the rest of Dallas county combined. The really amazing thing is that only 8% of the hospital's patients are covered by normal employer health insurance plans. Almost 50% are indigent and never pay at all.

I sincerely hope I never wind up at this hospital. It all seems pretty grim to me. I'd much rather stick with private hospitals like Baylor and Methodist. Actually, I think my dogs receive better health care than most of the people I know. Dot and Dash have fabulous, extremely knowledgeable vets who always seem to have the latest techniques and equipment. My vets converted to electronic records way before my human doctors. They were the first to get advanced digital x-ray and diagnostic equipment. Now, they are already offering sophisticated stem cell therapy, while my human doctors continue to promise similar services sometime in the distant future.

Dot did quite well during her physical therapy session today. The combination of acupuncture and water therapy seems to be working. She has more energy now and for the past several days, she has actually seemed stronger than Dash. I wonder how Dash would do using the water treadmill? He might freak out when the treadmill started moving. On the other hand, he might think that the whole thing was a game and have a lot of fun. Maybe I'll bring the boy to the clinic someday just to see how he does.

I got quite a few of my writing assignments completed today. If I could convince even a few of those guys at the breakfast meetings that what I do could be valuable to them, I would have more business than I'd know how to handle. I've started calling what I do "content creation" instead of "copywriting." Nothing has really changed, but it sounds better to a world obsessed with social media and the cloud.

Wednesday has definitely turned into my busiest day of the week. Now that we have returned from our evening dog training class and the day is winding down, all I really want to do is get a good night's sleep.

Zorro 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