Day 3089

What a race. Justify is simply a spectacular horse. It isn't often you get to see a triple crown winner. Well, we did see one just three years ago, but it's still pretty rare. Hey, I'll admit it. I like horse racing. It's a simple sport. The fastest horse wins. Baseball games are too long for me. I enjoy a good football game if the right teams are playing, but I rapidly lose interest in basketball and soccer. Horse racing is just right. After an intense couple of minutes, it is all over. I wonder if Justify will retire after today's race? Whatever the future has in store for this horse, he certainly deserved today's win.

Janet discovered that you get 10% off on anything you buy at Whole Foods if you're an Amazon Prime member. That almost pays for the membership right there. I always thought Amazon Prime was pretty expensive, but a lot of people I know are believers. I'll probably become a believer next year as well. The Expanse is moving to Amazon after SyFy failed to renew the show for another season. It's weird. We've got so many different ways to watch TV now, and I spend my time watching old black and white Perry Mason shows I've already seen.

I've got to keep reminding myself that an offer from an auction house isn't exactly a sale. If no one bids on your item, you can actually end up owing the auction house money. There are no guarantees, but at least there is a market for art and collectibles. Try selling an old computer. Nobody wants an old, slow computer. You can't even give an old computer to schools. I've come to realize that there is a sweet spot for selling everything. I waited too long to sell my Citroën SM. I probably won't live long enough for my odd collection of calculator watches to become valuable. Lets hope the things I'm consigning now are right in the sweet spot.

There's a lot of talk about suicide right now. I wonder if anything can really be done about it. Suicidal people seldom reach out for help and are often very good at hiding their feelings. My mom had several suicidal episodes during her life, but if you didn't know her extremely well, you never would have known anything was wrong. I'm no expert, but maybe suicidal people just care too much. People who don't give a shit are rarely suicidal. They just drive other people crazy. Have you ever heard of a self absorbed person who spends all day talking about themselves committing suicide? Me neither.

Dash is doing better than I expected this Summer. It's getting really hot, but as long as we confine our walks to sunrise and sunset, we're fine. Lately, there's even been a nice breeze when we walk. The key is to stay inside the during the middle of the day. The sun shows no mercy at noon in Texas. Dash likes to naps during the middle of the day anyway. I should probably just nap with him. There isn't much on my schedule.

One of the few things that's always on my schedule s going to the gym on Sunday. That's where I'll be tomorrow. It sure beats mowing the grass on a hot Summer day.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2861

I love my new doctor. It was refreshing to make an appointment and actually see the doctor at the scheduled time. I'm used to sitting in the waiting room for hours, then waiting some more in the exam room, only to end up seeing the doctor for a few minutes. The waiting room at my old doctor's office seems like a scene from The Walking Dead. This new place was quiet and sedate. Everyone was friendly and there was even valet parking. Best of all, this new doctor took the time to listen to me, instead of rushing around trying to see five patients at once. Janet told me that concierge medicine was a completely different experience. She was right.

After three unsuccessful attempts to get Dash walking this morning, I decided to leave his harness on, just in case he felt like going out again later. I finished my breakfast and when I was doing the dishes, I saw him scratching at the back door. I was ready to go, so I quickly grabbed a leash and off we went. This time I didn't waste time putting the knee brace or the protective rubber boots on. This seemed to do the trick. Maybe Dash just hates all the protective gear. I made sure that we walked on grass, so he wouldn't injure his paws and kept the pace slow, trying to avoid a knee injury. We had a nice slow walk along the shoreline. Dash seemed to be enjoying himself and walked very normally. This evening when Janet came home, we put the protective gear back on for our evening walk. He still walked normally. I just need to get him used to wearing the protective gear in the morning. Based on my experience so far, this may take a while.

I had trouble sleeping last night. This is so rare that it was kind of alarming. I'd hate to have insomnia  on any kind of a regular basis. When you're lying in bed and can't get to sleep, time seems to move much slower than usual. I occasionally had insomnia many years ago when my company was busy. I would just get up, turn on the computer and go to work. There's little point in doing that now. There's no work to do. I think I'd rather lie in bed and listen to my dog snore than look at Facebook at 3 AM.

I stopped at Whole Foods to pick up something for dinner on my way home from the doctor's office. I used to think that all grocery stores were basically the same, but they definitely cater to specific audiences these days. Whole Foods seems to be for upscale vegans. Central Market is for upscale meat eaters. Sprouts is for people who like the idea of a small neighborhood market. I guess Albertsons and Kroger are for older people who haven't realized that shopping has changed. I have no idea who Walmart is for and I don't intend to find out.

It's time to clip Dash's nails again. It's weird that something so simple can be such a problem. I hate taking Dash in the car, but I'm terrible at clipping his nails myself, so he always has to go to the vet. Sometimes the techs clip his nails too short and they bleed. This happen more often than you'd think with Dalmatians, since some nails are black and you can't see the quick. Bleeding of any sort is not good, since Dash is taking Plavix. I can't ignore his nails though, since he might pull out a dewclaw again. This whole procedure only takes a few minutes, but I've already spent hours thinking about it. I worry too much.

I'm really hoping that tomorrow will be the end of the refrigerator repair saga. I need to get this thing fixed before something else breaks.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1324

I'm always relieved when Dot and I return from her weekly therapy appointments. Driving an old, frail dog around in 102 degree heat in a less than reliable car is never something I look forward to. There are so many things that could go wrong. The car could overheat. The air conditioning could go out. The vibration damper I have on order from England could get worse and throw the fan belt off. Even a flat tire would be disastrous, since Dot's crate would quickly become too hot inside a stationary car. There isn't even a safe way to get Dot out of the car if the Defender broke down on a busy freeway.

At times like these, I wish I lived in a tiny little village that still offered big city services. Do places like this even exist? I'm kind of hooked on taking the dogs to big, full service veterinary hospitals. I like Central Market and Whole Foods for groceries. I enjoy having lots of interesting restaurants nearby and it's always handy to have a Guitar Center in the neighborhood. Everything else, I could live without.

I could certainly continue working from a small town. I never see my clients anymore. Even the folks that are right here in town find it easier to just send me an e-mail. My e-mail assignments kept me pretty busy today. Once Dot's vet appointment was out of the way, the day was virtually identical to yesterday. There was another website to update and three more articles to write. I didn't pay any bills today though.

I'm surprised that the dogs did as well as they did at training class this evening. It was really hot. Dash did a good job with the exercises that didn't involve moving, but I could tell that he would much rather have been at home, sitting near an air conditioning vent. I was so hot that I was very tempted to drink the dog's water. Luckily, the class only lasted an hour.

We start another new month tomorrow. It's hard to believe it's August already. The days are already starting to get shorter. We watched the sun set during training class this evening. Pretty soon the leaves will start to turn and before you know it, we'll be having class in the dark again. These cycles come and go so quickly now. I wish I could slow the clock down a bit. I find I still have time to make plans, but seldom have the time to act on them.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day