Day 3773

I did it. I successfully installed a new solid state drive in my main work computer. Not surprisingly, the upgrade process was a lot harder than I expected. I had practically memorized the install video, but when I removed the glass in front of the screen and started to remove the eight T-10 screws that held it in place, I could only find five. Did the last guy who serviced this computer lose three of the screws? Probably. They are pretty small and hard to reach. After I removed the remaining screws, I put on gloves and carefully extracted the delicate 27" screen from the case. That's when things really got strange. The computer logic board I was looking at was different from the pictures I"d been seeing on the install video. Where were the wires I was supposed to detach from the screen? Nothing looked familiar. I had a real sinking feeling at a this point. I got a bright light and a magnifying glass and finally found what looked like the appropriate connections. Here goes nothing, I thought.

The damaged hard drive wasn't attached to the logic board with the proper screws, so it was difficult to reattach the new solid state drive. This was supposed to be a plug and play installation, but nothing was fitting correctly. Why did I trust that install video? Luckily, after rummaging around in the office for a while I managed to find some longer Torx screws with the same pitch as the new drive adapter.

I was apprehensive when I put everything back together. Did I attach all the loose wires to the right connectors on the logic board? It was hard to tell. To get the wires to reach their connection points, I had to partially reinstall the screen and then reach my hand behind it to push each cord into its socket. I couldn't see what I was doing, but eventually I managed to get each cord connected. I was hoping that I didn't manage to attach any of the cords upside down. Some of the connectors were easy to install backwards.

I was actually amazed when I reassembled the computer and plugged it in that it still worked. I had to boot from an external drive and format the new solid state drive before I could begin restoring everything, but everything seemed to be working normally. The new drive showed up on the desktop and appeared ready to go. I just had to figure out how to add a system. I wanted to install a fresh copy of Sierra but Apple wouldn't let me download anything that old. My only other option was to chain my Time Machine drive to the external boot drive and restore everything that way. Restoring everything from two external Firewire drives to a blank internal drive is very slow. It looks like I've only got twelve hours to go.

I guess I'll find out in the morning if this marathon upgrade session worked. Since the computer is out of commission until the restore process is finished, I'm writing the blog on a laptop tonight. I don't think I"d want to do this again. Several times this afternoon I was convinced that I'd destroyed the computer. Everything ended well, but there were some stressful moments. I see a few dog hairs sandwiched between the screen and the protective cover glass. The dog hairs will have to stay. I'm not taking this thing apart again.

Basically, this extended exercise was my entire day. We did take Dawn on a nice walk early this morning before it got hot. The weather has turned warm again. That's fine by me. We managed to escape the storms that caused a lot of damage south of us. The roof has had a chance to dry again. All is well. I don't think Dawn is going to like Texas summers. Even today seemed a little hot for her.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3745

Dawn gave me a scare today. She got spooked by something in the park and pulled out of her collar. It all happened very fast. Luckily, she stayed put when I told her to stay and I was quickly able to put her collar back on. She will be wearing a harness from now on. Dogs are full of surprises. You really can't ever take anything for granted.

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of exponential growth. I'm starting to believe the people who say that eventually we will all get the virus. The number of people who are testing positive in Dallas is certainly increasing at an alarming rate. Interestingly, the wealthiest parts of town are getting sick the fastest. I guess this makes sense because these would be the people who travel the most.

I'm certainly not going anywhere these days. If we use our food wisely, we won't have to go to the grocery store for a long time. I have no desire to go to a grocery store. This is the one place where people still gather in crowds. I still feel good about going on long walks. People are keeping their distance in the park. There were fewer people today as well. There aren't many families walking with kids anymore. I think a lot of folks quickly discovered that it was a lot easier to park the kids in front of the TV or a Playstation.

I watched the Atlas 5 AEHF-6 launch on YouTube this afternoon. Some of my Florida friends were placing remote cameras near the launch pad. I wish I was there. I might not be going back to Florida anytime soon though. Many states including Florida are now starting to restrict incoming travel from other states. Southwest Airlines has already canceled 1500 flights. I saw a picture yesterday of a plane going to Houston with only one passenger. These are definitely strange times.

The Bluebonnets are here. Usually this is a photo opportunity with vast fields of the flowers within an easy drive. I'll have to remain content with the flowers I see in the park this year. The park is filled with wildflowers in the Spring, but Bluebonnets aren't as common as you might think. Spring has definitely arrived. The trees are green now and I'm seeing new varieties of flowers every week. What I'm not seeing anymore is the baby owl. The young owl has definitely flown the nest.

The weather was quite warm today. The air conditioner is coming on more often now. One benefit of warmer weather is that it's easier to remove rain water from the roof. When I went up on the roof this morning to clear away standing water I was surprised at how little water remained from our recent rain. The water evaporates quickly on a hot day. A dry roof is a small thing, but you've got to start somewhere.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3434

It looks like the bad weather everybody was predicting is well to the North of us. We might not get any rain at all until the whole severe weather scenario repeats itself tomorrow. It's easy to forget that this always happens in the Spring. We get all our rain for the year in one or two months. At least we don't live in the Tornado Alley corridor where the bad storms are headed tonight. When the weather is bad in Dallas, it always seems to be worse in Oklahoma.

It's amazing how different the park is on a weekday. Yesterday the place seemed like a carnival. Today it was just me and a few ducks. I like quiet, overcast days like today. I keep my eye out for interesting animals and new flowers although very little changes from day to day. I did see something new today. The Texas Thistle is starting to bloom. When you start seeing thistles you know that Spring is ending. These drought tolerant plants seems to thrive during the Summer.

I don't know if I'm going to thrive during the Summer. It's already starting to seem too hot and humid for me. Long walks aren't nearly as enjoyable when you're sweaty and sunburned. When Dot and Dash were young there was an indoor dog park where we used to take the dogs on hot days. The place was huge and it was air conditioned. People with active dogs loved the place. We were regulars. Dot and Dash even had special electronic tags on their collars that let them inside. Unfortunately the fancy indoor park didn't stay in business all that long. The city uses the building to park school busses now.

Dallas is a thriving, successful city but nothing I really like seems to do well here. My favorite restaurants, furniture stores, camera shops, and art galleries have all gone out of business. I was convinced that the indoor dog park would be a huge success. The facility was well thought out and dogs loved it. Apparently their owners liked free dog parks better.

I've been thinking about emergency power lately since I put most of my devices to good use during our recent power outage. I've been thinking about buying more Goal Zero generators since you can easily chain the smaller 400 watt units together to achieve higher output. Do I actually need a higher output solar generator? Probably not. If I ever get the urge, there are plenty of YouTube videos showing me how to hook everything up. I'm amazed that there are YouTube videos explaining how to fix or install just about anything. Who makes these things? Some of the subjects are so strange and esoteric that you wonder if anybody actually watches them. Hmmm. I guess I answered my own question. I watched a bunch of these videos this morning.

The drip in the shower is getting worse. Do I call a plumber or try to fix things myself? I'm almost certain that the faucets for the shower just need new washers, but I'm equally certain the I tend to screw things up when attempting plumbing repairs. I hate to pay a plumber $100 to replace a fifty cent washer, but on the other hand I hate to break a pipe trying to remove a rusty frozen bolt. Decisions, decisions.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3288 - Christmas

Christmas is a mishmash of fading memories. I vaguely remember going to Christmas Eve services with my parents. I was raised a Lutheran, but haven't been inside a church in years. At one point I was Joseph in the annual church production of the nativity story. That was embarrassing. When I was nine or ten, I remember getting a red rocket for Christmas that was powered by a mixture of baking soda and water. I would shoot the thing off on a vacant football practice field used by the Arkansas Razorbacks and it would travel hundreds of feet in the air before a little parachute brought it back to earth. I'm surprised that I remember all this, because many later celebrations have vanished from my memory.

I wonder if I celebrated Christmas at all when I lived in Seattle. I lived there six of seven years and don't remember a single Christmas. I must have done something although I'm pretty sure I never put up a tree. We visited Janet's relatives in Pennsylvania for a while. I remember a lot of snow. Christmas didn't seem like I was a kid again until we got a dog.

All dogs seem to love Christmas. Ours have always loved to unwrap squeaky toys and treats under the tree. They always seem to know which presents are for them. For many years we used to go to the kennel and walk the rescue Dalmatians at Christmas. Before their Christmas walk we would feed each dog a large boiled chicken breast. They loved their Christmas meal. Those memories are among the most vivid that remain.

Christmas is much quieter now. Dash is old and sleeps most of the time. He still enjoys a tasty treat though and he definitely got his share today. Our treat was a delicious Christmas dinner. The smoked ham was great. So were the candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and cherry pie.

It never rained today but there is still rain in the forecast. I'm hoping we can postpone the rain a little longer. The longer the silicon coating on the roof has to dry, the more likely it is to work. I bleached the stained ceilings today, so I will have an easier time seeing if the leak is starting to return. Let's hope the roofers did as good a job as the appliance repairman did. The dryer works like a charm now.

I found a few YouTube videos about repairing Aeron chairs this afternoon. The procedure seemed straightforward, so I thought I'd give it a try. Not so fast. I never got past step one. I was supposed to remove four large screws attaching the chair's seat to the frame so I could reach the mechanism under the seat that controlled the chair's height and tilt. The screws were so tight that I couldn't get them to budge. I also found out that the Herman Miller warranty still exists, but that it is only good for a maximum of twelve years. I've had this chair a lot longer than twelve years. It was one of the first things I bought when I started the company.

There's a lot of leftover ham in the refrigerator. That's fine with me. I love ham and cheese sandwiches. I guess this means that Christmas is over for another year. It's going to seem weird without all those Lifetime Christmas Movies on the TV. It was a quiet and enjoyable day. As an added bonus, I just discovered that if I put the office trash can under my chair, I can keep the back from tilting back. Hey, there's always a solution if you look hard enough.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3042

The appliance repairman said that there was nothing wrong with the stove. He agreed that the stainless steel countertop got pretty darn hot when the burners were on high for a while, but could find nothing wrong with the wiring. He suggested that we stop boiling large pots of water on the stovetop, but I don't think Janet is going to like this idea. Sadly, the stove repair was a failure, but I was able to get the washing machine fixed.

All front loader washing machines have a thick rubber gasket that seals the door when you are doing a load of wash. Unfortunately this gasket retains water after you've finished doing a load and since it never gets dry, eventually the rubber starts to mold. Almost all front loader washing machines do this, which is why they are not as popular anymore. A YouTube video showed me how I could replace this gasket myself, but I'm glad I didn't try. The repairman had to to use a special tool to unlock the clamp that held the gasket in place. The YouTube video never mentioned this tool. He also had to remove a large and very heavy concrete counterweight that keeps the metal drum in balance while it is rotating. You basically had to take the machine apart to remove the thick rubber sleeve. I guess the effort was worth it though. I now have a brand new door gasket that probably won't begin to mold for another three years.

Dash slept through the entire two hours the repairman was here. Actually, he continued sleeping for an additional hour after the guy left. Dot would have spent the entire time barking. I don't know if Dash is really tired or he just doesn't care. Either way, repairmen just don't seem to bother him.

I was surprised to get a call about a very old invoice that I'd almost given up on. Apparently, the bookkeeper quit and nobody was aware of the invoice. The owner's wife was doing the books now and asked if I took credit cards. None of this sounded normal, but at least this February invoice might finally get paid. I wonder if I'll ever get any more work from this company? They used to keep me pretty busy, but these days they seem in worse shape than I am.

I got a post card from my sister thanking me for a voicemail message I'd left on her birthday. She never returned the call, but the cryptic message on the postcard was reassuring. I'm not terribly close with family, but when someone has cancer you start to worry if they disappear for a while. I guess we can go back to sending letters back and forth every few months.

I wore the silicon fitness tracker band I repaired today and it didn't immediately fall apart. In my book, that's a success. So far, there's no skin irritation either. I'm already looking for more broken silicon stuff to repair. I'm sure the Jawbone tracker will break again eventually. It might break tomorrow. For now, I am satisfied that both the tracker and the front loader washing machine will live to see another day.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2532

My Waterpik broke last night. I was curious about whether it was possible to fix this thing and quickly found a YouTube video explaining the entire process. These guys who make YouTube videos about how to repair even the most obscure appliances and machinery are the unsung heroes of the modern age. It doesn't matter if it is a broken electric shaver or a crashed computer, there's always someone out there willing to tell you how to fix it. I've been able to fix lots of things I might have thrown in the trash as a result of these videos. Most of these self-help tutorials are not professionally made. They are quirky labors of love. Occasionally, the instructions are misguided and will get you electrocuted, but generally the information is helpful. I appreciate the people who take the time to make these videos. I mean, who would take the time to tell you how to take apart a Waterpik, of all things?

Since the Waterpik was held together with glue instead of screws, you basically had to break the thing and then carefully Superglue it back together after you made the repairs. I should have known that I was in for trouble when I learned that Superglue was involved, but I went ahead with the repair anyway. An hour later, everything looked pretty good, except that it was harder to insert the attachments now. Hmm. What did I do wrong? It the attachments couldn't be secured properly, all I had was a high pressure hose that would spray water all over the bathroom. I didn't have a lot of faith in my repair, so went out and bought a new Waterpik anyway.

Dot made a horrible mess last night. When she woke up and tried to change position around 3 AM, she strained too much trying to move and ended up pooping on herself. This poop was runny and she smeared it all over herself as she twisted around in her dog bed. By the time I woke up to help her, it was too late. It was also too cold outside to take her out and hose her off. After considerable effort Janet and I got her cleaned up so we could all go back to bed. While I was outside hosing off the soiled bedding so I could throw it in the wishing machine, I realized that I had forgotten to remove the lawn mower battery for the winter and bring it inside. The unexpected cold front totally caught me by surprise. If last night is what we are going to be dealing with in the months ahead, I'm not looking forward to Winter at all.

A couple of days ago I stopped taking the proton pump inhibitor I've been taking for years to treat an acid reflux problem. My doctor told me that Protonix could interfere with the way the body absorbed calcium and lead to bone loss and even increase the risk of stroke. I guess it made sense to quit taking the stuff, but last night my heartburn returned. Prescription medications are a bitch. You've always got to decide if the side effects are worse than the cure. I tinkered with my diet for years before deciding to take the Protonix. The drug worked like a charm, but now it appears that it is a false friend and I've got to come up with another solution. I had the same problem with Benicar a couple of years ago. Sure wish the pharmaceutical companies could come up with pills that didn't have dangerous side effects. That would be nice.

I'm thinking about upgrading all my computers to Sierra. Since this is a major move, I need to do a lot of research first. Today I tried to find out if my aging hardware would even run the new system. Next, I've got to find out how many of my applications will be broken by the upgrade. Finally, I've got to figure out how to do the upgrade when some of my hard drives are nearly full. I'm not sure if this effort is worth the trouble, but it would be nice to be current again. Each year, the software on my desktop computer gets further and further out of date. The software works fine, but the world has changed. Who knows. Maybe if I wasn't such a dinosaur, I'd start getting good assignments again.

I hope the dogs sleep well tonight. I tried to find the rest of the dead bird in the yard this afternoon, but came up with nothing. Dash has a much better nose than I do, so if it's out there, he's going to find it and get sick again. I hope that Dot doesn't have another accident like the one she had last night. She hates to soil herself, and I'm not wild about the cleanup operation either. Just sleep until morning dogs. That's all I ask.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2185

I had one of my periodic meetings with my financial adviser today. Usually we just chit-chat about the market a bit and he makes a few recommendations that I almost always go along with. Today was not going to be one of those days. When he asked how I was doing, I told him as politely as I could that I was not a happy camper. We've been working together for almost five years and my account hasn't really grown very much. Actually, performance has been pitiful. Sure, the market has been extremely volatile and a lot of things haven't gone as expected, but that's what you pay these guys for. I honestly expected that my adviser could do a much better job of growing my portfolio than I could, but so far that hasn't been the case. I actually did a pretty respectible job of managing my own investments, but it was very stressful for me. I don't like dealing with money. I did my research, but I got tired of fretting about whether I did the right thing. Eventually, I hired a financial adviser. The guy I chose was highly recommended by people I respect, but I'm beginning to think I made the wrong decision. I know hindsight is always 20/20, but there are just too many common sense things that should have been done differently.

I caught Dash drinking out of the toilet again and when I yelled at him to stop, it must have startled him. He jumped backward and ended up flipping over the water bowl on the floor that he should have been drinking out of. The spilled water soaked a large rug in the bathroom and generally made a mess everywhere. When I was mopping up the water, I got a call from Janet telling me her car had died. She mentioned yesterday that she was hearing a funny noise but didn't think it was serious. I guess it was serious after all. I told Dot not to poop all over the place while I went to pick her up Janet, but I didn't have high hopes.

It was just one of those days. I went to Home Depot earlier in the day to look for a replacement for the mini-blinds  I'd singed with the ceramic heater and discovered that they no longer made the size I needed. I was told to buy a larger blind and then cut it to the proper size myself. The sales associate who helped me said there were videos on YouTube that would show me how to do this. This wasn't what I expected, but I bought the blinds anyway. How hard could it be to watch a YouTube video?

I'll probably regret my decision tomorrow. Everything is harder than expected these days. I haven't had much luck sealing the tile floor in the shower and didn't do a very good job at cleaning the muslin photo backdrop that got peed on this weekend. Actually, the only success I've had this week was figuring out where to place the rubber snakes to scare the evil bird who's been pooping on my car away.

Tomorrow will be busy. As soon as we finish taking the dogs on their morning walk, I need to take Janet up to the Land Rover dealership so she can pick up her loaner car. Dot has another morning physical therapy session, so it will be a quick turnaround when I get home again. Hopefully, I will still have time for breakfast. I never do well when I don't have time to fix my smoothie and drink some strong coffee while I watch the latest bad news on TV.

My Dad would have been 98 years old today if he were still alive. He died quite a while ago though.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2054

I repaired something fairly complex today by watching a YouTube video. I set my laptop next to the project and every time the guy on the tape said to unscrew a certain bolt or grab a wrench, I would pause the video and do that step exactly the way he said. The whole process took about 45 minutes and worked like a charm. I'm going to start looking for YouTube videos every time I need to fix something. Watching someone else repair the exact same thing you're trying to fix is so much easier to understand than reading poorly written instruction manuals, or my time honored method, taking something apart without following any instructions at all. I think Ikea should include an assembly video with everything they sell. Trying to assemble something using those cryptic numbered drawings Ikea uses to avoid translating the instructions into forty different languages can be maddening. At any rate, YouTube has become my go-to source for learning things these days. I've managed to find detailed instructions on everything from designing mobile websites to fixing the refrigerator.

As I suspected, it was a slow day, so I went out and bought a pair of shorts and some new shoes at an end-of-Sumner sale. I didn't really need any new clothes, but 70% off is hard to resist. I don't think Summer is ending any time soon in Dallas, so I ought to get a lot of use out of these bargains. I also picked up some groceries for the weekend while I was out and about. No bargains here, but I always find it easy to rationalize purchasing the tasty things I find at Whole Foods and Central Market.

Maybe I'm watering the lawn too much, because I'm starting to see mushrooms growing in the back yard again. I always try to remove these as soon as possible, since I don't know my mushrooms well enough to recognize the ones that could be harmful to the dogs. Dot probably wouldn't eat mushrooms, but Dash would. He'll eat just about anything under the right circumstances. If mushrooms are an indication that the yard is too wet, the frogs that appeared out of nowhere to get under the sprinkler while I was watering shrubs this morning, are an indication that things are too dry. I'm never sure what to do about the lawn. I try, but I definitely don't have a green thumb.

Dot pooped in her bed again. There is no rhyme or reason to these accidents. Today's accident happened right after I'd taken her outside, so it caught me by surprise. I need to get one of those "Shit Happens" bumper stickers. This is quite literally what happens in our house these days. I try my best to be patient when Dot has an accident. She can't help it. I just hope the same thing doesn't start happening with me a few more years down the road. Getting old basically sucks, no matter who you are.

The weather forecast said there was a 20% chance of rain this afternoon. No such luck. After all the complaining I've done about rain over the years, you wouldn't think I'd be wishing for a downpour, but I was. It's gotten way too dry. The dogs hate the heat. The plants are dying. I'm ready for some rain.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1894

I went to Home Depot while Janet was watching Dot to stock up on furnace filters, drain cleaners, plungers, light bulbs and other mundane items that never seem to be there when you need them. On the way home, I paid another visit to the storage warehouse and resumed my search for the Anton Bauer battery charger. This time I found the elusive gadget, although it remains to be seen whether this charger is any better than the other one at home which appears to be worthless. I'll give the batteries 24 hours on the charger before I declare the entire effort a lost cause.

Dot seems to have reached some sort of plateau. She's not getting better and not getting worse. When I lift her up with the harness, she will move her legs but they will not support any weight. I try to hold her at just the right height, so her legs just touch the ground and she can simulate walking. Nobody's fooling anyone though. She and I both know that this is not really walking. For those of you who have asked, Dot's surgery is scheduled for next Thursday.

Since life is kind of hectic right now, I didn't finish all my assignments before the weekend rolled around. Watching over Dot this afternoon gave me an opportunity to catch up on everything. I wrote another article and shipped it off to its destination. I completed the updates on two more websites and looked at a video link that a client sent me. When people e-mail me YouTube links with a subject line saying "beautiful example," it usually means that they'd like to do something similar. I guess if we need to copy something, this would be a good place to start. The video was quite nice.

I'm grateful that we don't have to deal with all the snow that people on the East Coast are getting, but our Winter has still been a bit strange. One day it will be freezing cold and the next day it will seem like Spring. The plants are getting very confused. I have already seen daffodils blooming in the park and some trees are starting to bud. This is unfortunate, because there is more cold weather on the way. We are supposed to have freezing rain and sleet on Monday and Tuesday. Freezing rain is just a code word for power outage to me. I hate freezing rain.

I've got everything I need now to unclog the slow bathroom drain, so I guess that's what I'll do tomorrow. Maybe something more exciting will intervene and allow me to postpone this loathsome task. I certainly hope so. I need to get the water off the roof too, but I'm a bit wary about climbing up on the roof these days. Seeing Dot's condition reminds me that these things can happen to people as well. The last thing I need right now are back problems.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1611

It was a quiet day. Since I haven't run out of food yet and had no appointments, I basically just stayed around the house all day. The dogs got their walks, but the car never left the driveway. It was good that there were no writing assignments today, because the website revisions I needed to complete just about overwhelmed me. I have a couple of clients who only seem to look at their website twice a year and then make a ton of changes all at once. I'd rather make small incremental changes every week than do a huge makeover twice a year, but I don't get to make the rules. Let's just say that I had a lot of changes to make today.

It was also time to get the water off the roof again. It was a good day to do this, since the weather was nice and there is no more rain in the forecast for the rest of the week. I need to get the roofers to come out and inspect the roof this Spring, while it is still under warranty. There are no leaks, but there are a few spots that are already starting to show significant wear. With my luck, the roof will start leaking again the day after the warranty runs out, so I'd better get this issue addressed while I still have a chance.

I need to remember to call my insurance agent and take the Citroën SM off my policy, since I no longer own the car. I tend to forget things like this. When I quit using the fax machine and removed it from my office, I forgot to remove the fax line from my phone bill and kept paying for it for another year. I paid the cable company for HD channels for quite a while too, before I finally realized that Janet and I never watched things in HD. Standard definition is just fine if your eyes are bad. I always forget to file a protest about real estate tax increases, even though some of my neighbors do this every year. There's just too much to remember. It's hard enough to remember the dog's pills everyday and taking out the garbage on Thursday night.

Some of the videos on my YouTube channel have arbitrarily been set to private. I never changed any of my settings, so I wonder what this is all about. Since I mostly use my YouTube channel as a place to store videos for clients who don't have their own YouTube acount, this has already created problems. A number of embedded videos have already gone dead. When I went to my account to fix things, I discovered that the whole interface had changed. Why does Google love to continually change things? It drives me nuts. It much harder to embed videos in websites in custom sizes now because Google seems to have taken away the scaling tool. I eventually got all the client website videos working again, but I never did figure out why they had been marked private in the first place.

I haven't made the bed all week. I haven't unmade it either. I just sleep on top with the dogs. They seem to like things this way, and it's easier for me as well, since I don't have to make the bed every morning. If Janet ever took a really long trip, things would probably slide downhill in a hurry.

Maybe I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. I know it's not Friday yet, but I'm really getting tired of oatmeal.

Lady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1424

There's got to be some correlation between how much sunlight I receive and how much work I get done. It didn't rain today, but the sky was so dark and overcast that the streetlights stayed on all day. I didn't get much done at all. If the sun was shining, lord knows what I might have accomplished.

I got a utility bill in the mail for a service I canceled six months ago. This has happened before. More and more companies sign you up for automatic renewal by default and it's becoming next to impossible to actually cancel your service. Services you signed up for on the Internet are the worst. They all seems to have some sort of automatic renewal enabled. Service is so terrible these days that I seldom want to renew anything. It's frustrating.

I did have a nice breakfast, but you probably know that already. It's Friday, isn't it? I almost posted a picture of my eggs, until I remembered that this is what I did last Friday. Hey, if I can't inject some variety in my life, at least I need to create the illusion of variety. That's why you get an out-of-focus picture of my grey, gloomy day instead.

I actually had time to go to the gym this afternoon, but I was still sore from yesterday's workout. I did a load of laundry and tried to unclog my printer instead. The printer was quite clogged this time, so I did a Google search to see what other people were doing. The best advice I could find was to unlock the 4880 print head and squirt some distilled water on the capping station. We'll give that a try. I wonder what people did before there was a YouTube answer for every question in the universe. Where do people find the time to make all these YouTube instructional videos? I haven't had a question in a long time where I couldn't immediately find the answer on YouTube or Wikipedia. The answer might not have been correct, but does it even matter these days?

We get to try out our "put the spots on the Dalmatian" game at a rescue event this weekend. Janet and I haven't actually cut out the spots for the children to apply yet, but I guess that's what we will do tomorrow evening. There isn't much to watch on TV anyway.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1245

I'm not usually blown away by YouTube videos, but when I saw a weightless Chris Hadfield singing his own adaptation of David Bowie's classic Space Oddity directly from the International Space Station, it brought tears to my eyes. I've always been a big fan of David Bowie. I've been interested in space travel since I was a child. And I continue to think that Chris Hadfield has done more to interest a new generation about the importance of traveling beyond the confines of our blue planet than any astronaut since Neil Armstrong. The guy can sing too. The video was astounding. No special effects. He really was weightless and that really was the earth spinning majestically through the circular window over his head. Cudos to Hadfield's Canadian friends Emm Gryner and Joe Corcoran who did a fabulous job of building a beautiful full arrangement around the space station commander's vocals from space. I think this song should win some sort of special Grammy award for its sheer audaciousness alone.

My day, in stark contrast to this inspiring video, was pretty down-to-earth. I got up early, but it was still 10 AM before I finished walking the dogs and making myself a big bowl of oatmeal with fresh fruit. Things take a bit longer since I'm fixing the dogs their breakfast, giving them their daily meds, and washing and slicing the fruit for the day. Janet usually does these things before she leaves for work and I need to remember to thank her for taking care of these morning necessities as soon as she gets home.

A friend from the ad agency days called this morning while I was washing dishes. We used to spend our time talking about bold and audacious dreams and schemes. Now we mostly talk about our doctors and the mechanics of staying alive. My friend had a heart attack recently and you guys already know about my dodgy liver. It's funny how your focus shifts a bit once your health starts to deteriorate and a significant number of your friends and peers have passed away. You instinctively start to notice the things your other friends have done wrong and resolve to avoid making the same mistakes yourself. It's kind of sad, but kind of inspiring too. The survival instinct is strong. My friend and I made plans to have lunch at a new gluten free restaurant later in the week. I'm sure our conversation will include a few choice words about doctors, but at least we aren't as pitiful as another friend and I who typically spend our time talking about how long we can strap on our Fender guitars before recurring hand and back pain forces us to quit.

I was going to award the contract for the new roof today, but I got behind on my writing work and ran out of time. There's always tomorrow. Or maybe the day after tomorrow. This roof is so old and leaky now that I don't think a few days one way or the other is going to make any difference at all.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1045

I enjoyed going to the video production seminar today. They didn't have barbecue after all, but the catered tex/mex lunch was quite tasty. I can't say that I learned anything that would benefit me personally, but I continue to be fascinated by how much the industry has changed. Production equipment that used to be reserved for Hollywood directors and million dollar edit suites is now affordable and readily available to all. If you have your heart set on making a feature film, access to professional equipment is no longer a limiting factor. All you really need now is a great idea and the discipline to put a film together.

I'd love to have one of those new Canon EOS C500 Cinema cameras. I can't say that I need one though. The only video I shoot these days could easily be captured with a cell phone. All my clients want is something quick and easy that they can slap up on YouTube. Low resolution and out of focus seems just fine to them. I'm sure people are still doing high end video somewhere, but it's definitely a different group of people. I see folks who work for professional sports teams and houses of worship at these seminar events, but very few of my old buddies who used to churn out corporate videos. The corporate world has moved on and left the old video guys behind.

Maybe Winter is on its way. A cold front blew through from the North late today and the temperature dropped more than twenty degrees in just a few hours. I have a feeling that I'll finally get to use the new furnace this weekend. The dogs always seem to enjoy the cooler weather. The cool air gives them extra energy. I had someplace to go this evening, so I was trying to hurry them along on their evening walk. Dot and Dash had other plans. They were both determined to have a walk that was long enough to make me late. They succeeded.

If it gets colder tonight, I might have to put a little more thought into where I have breakfast tomorrow. There's nothing better than a good hot breakfast on a cold morning.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1034

Today was such a beautiful day that my grumpy side didn't stand a chance. I was in an uncharacteristically good mood all day long. The dogs had a great time at the dog park. There was a nice breeze and temperatures were in the seventies. When Dot and Dash were finished with their off leash outing, I got busy on a few things I'd been putting off for months. I washed the car for the first time since my birthday and even used some rubbing compound to polish out a few scratches on the door. I cleaned the toilets, put a fresh bag in the vacuum cleaner, and got all the water from yesterday's rain off the roof. Since the roof has survived two major rain storms without leaking, I also started preparing the damaged areas on the ceiling to tape and bed and paint again. It was a day of making things look nice.

It wasn't all work today, however. I also watched Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic parachute jump from 128,000 feet over Roswell, New Mexico live on the Internet. If you ask me, this is the future of marketing. Why even bother with broadcasting something on television if you can get eight million live viewers on YouTube. There weren't any commercials, or maybe the whole thing was just one big commercial for Red Bull. At any rate, it was a whole new way to look at advertising. If Red Bull can underwrite a supersonic parachute jump, and Virgin America can build the world's first commercial spaceport, maybe Apple can take us back to the moon. Apple's probably got enough money to finance the entire journey themselves.

The presidential race is starting to look a lot like the Texas senate races. Everyone is apparently a big fat liar. Both sides make reasonably convincing cases that the other side is lying. Then the "fact checkers" come along a few days later and people accuse them of lying too. It's probably a good thing that everybody's made up their mind about this election anyway. You certainly couldn't learn much from all the dueling "liar, liar" claims. I'm disgusted by the whole circus. I don't want to throw my vote away, but apparently it doesn't matter anyway. According to all the pundits, the whole election will be decided by the swing voters of Ohio.

We haven't used the new furnace since it was installed. The air conditioner certainly seems to be working well though. I think this is what they call an Indian Summer. I'm enjoying these unseasonably warm Fall days. I do hope we have a hard freeze this Winter though. Another warm Winter like we had last year and the bugs will overrun us.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 592

I was doing some video editing today and discovered, much to my chagrin, that my little laptop is much better suited for this task than my large, and very well equipped desktop machine. I kind of suspected as much when I was editing YouTube videos on the fly in Houston last May, but I never had anything convenient to compare. The desktop is only a few years older than the notebook, but the difference in processor speed apparently makes a huge difference. It's things like this that force me to buy new equipment a lot more often than I'd like. Once you've experienced faster, it's real hard to go back to slower again.

The dogs got their trip to the dog park today, instead of on Sunday as they usually do. Tomorrow, I need to take Janet to the airport and it's just going to be too busy. I don't think the dogs care what day they go to the dog park. They just like the attention. Dash was much better behaved today. We placed a spray bottle filled with water in one of the cup holders in the console between the front seats. We didn't even need to squirt Dash with the water. He just looked at the bottle and kept his mouth shut. I may be wrong, but I think this would tend to indicate that Dash doesn't have any underlying fear of cars. He's just being a bad dog.

I couldn't turn on the television today without landing on a channel that was showing live coverage of the debt ceiling debate in congress. I wonder if these guys have any idea how irritating their actions are to their constituents? The house wastes a lot of time passing a bill that they know in advance will never get though the senate. Then the senate turn around and does exactly the same thing in reverse. Two or three week ago I asked my broker if he had a contingency plan if the country defaulted. He brushed the whole thing off and said nobody would ever be stupid enough to let this happen. I wonder what he's thinking now? I think the odds are about 50/50 now that the country actually will default.

Two weeks ago I had three pair of those little Apple ear buds sitting on my desk. Now, I can't find any of them. I've looked everywhere and they've just disappeared. I think somewhere in my office there's a tiny black hole that just sucks things into it.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 421

I learned all sorts of little tidbits today. Did you know that anyone can accept credit card payments now just using their cell phone? No contracts. No expensive equipment required. All you do is download a free app at the app store and the software company sends you a little card swiping gizmo that plugs into the earphone jack of your iPhone. It's all free and the transaction charges are way cheaper than what I'd typically pay for a merchant account at my bank. I immediately signed up for this service. I haven't lost many jobs because I couldn't accept credit card payments, but why lose any? I never bothered to get a merchant account for my company because clients only want to pay by credit card once in a blue moon. Now I can accept charge cards on my phone when I need to and never worry about monthly charges when I'm not using the service.

I also learned that YouTube is getting a lot more sophisticated about music licensing. One of my clients wanted me to take a video off their YouTube page and embed it in their company website. I've done this dozens of times, but this time after I embedded the video on the client's site, I got a message saying that EMI Publishing had restricted it to playing on the YouTube site. YouTube must now have some sort of synchronization licensing agreement with music publishers just like radio stations do. I'm going to have to learn more about this, because YouTube used to just pull videos with unlicensed music off their site. I've had problems with this for years, because clients always seem to insist that they can use the Beatles, or Pink Floyd, or the score from an academy award winning film in their corporate videos without paying for it. I don't know whether this new direction YouTube is taking will make things easier or worse for me. It's never been easy to explain music licensing anyway. I anticipate a lot of "if it's playing on YouTube, why can't you make it play on my website" type of questions.

My roof is covered with ice again. I thought that this time I could limit the water damage by sweeping off all the snow covering the ice first. If there is less frozen stuff to melt, there will be less water to leak inside when the weather warms up. I spent several hours getting rid of the snow, but the ice itself is still up there. I'm going to be real glad when Spring arrives sometime in April.

Dalmatian of the Day

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