Day 4305

Dawn surprised us this morning. She walked twice as far as she usually does on her sunrise walk and had lots of energy the entire way. Of course she slept for the rest of the day, but you never know with this dog. Maybe she knows like I do that this beautiful Fall weather isn't going to last forever. We might as well take advantage of it while we can.

I don't spent nearly as much time at breakfast now since I'm just having a bowl of shredded wheat instead of making my elaborate and very large smoothie. You'd think I'd find something productive to do with this extra time, but I still seem to do exactly the same things in the same order.

Maybe Dawn's energetic early walk wore me out. I felt good this morning, but my pace on my long walk was a lot slower than usual. After a while, my foot started to hurt again too. By the time I returned home I was beat. It seemed weird that Dawn had more energy today and I had less. I certainly had plenty of time to recover. There was nothing at all on the agenda.

I got a second bill from the plumber this morning. I already paid the bill, but this makes me wonder whether they ever received it. The business reply envelope they sent with the bill was much smaller than usual and I remember thinking "this is going to get lost in the mail." I have no faith in the post office anymore. Of course, I don't have much faith in anything else either, but just adds one more thing to my list of things to sort out later.

The hospital is already sending me instructions for my upcoming endoscopy/colonoscopy. It's a little early guys. Why don't you wait until a few day ahead of time so I won't forget. My brain is like a sieve now. If you tell me something I need to know a month from now I will have totally forgotten about it when the time comes. 

The new editor at SpaceFlight sent me a style guide for writing for the magazine. It was just your ordinary run-of-the-mill style guide, but I felt a bit disappointed receiving it. The old editor would never have done something like this. He never tried to box me in with a pedantic set of rules. If anything, I always felt like he was encouraging me to be expansive and break the rules if possible. Maybe I'll still have a good relationship with the magazine, but this style guide wasn't a good omen. Why take the fun out of things. Maybe the editor doesn't realize that "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" is still my favorite line of dialogue from any movie ever made.

I wonder how long Fall allergy season will last this year? My allergies were terrible today. It seemed like I was blowing my nose all day. The ants are back too. The weird thing is that most of them appear to be dying. There were a ton of dead ants in the atrium this morning and we keep seeing them from time to time in both our bathrooms. I wonder where these guys are coming from? At least they aren't termites. 

Cupcake is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4222

Dawn chewed up one of her socks today, so getting her paws to heal is going to be an uphill battle. I expected the socks to fall off frequently, but I never thought she'd chew them off. Dawn is not a destructive dog. Janet and I both think we are putting the socks on securely. When I put them on I'm convinced that they'll stay on her feet all day. An hour later they are lying on the floor somewhere. The vet gave us a special spray that is supposed to be soothing and prevent itching and discomfort. When Dawn sees the bottle she runs away and won't let us get anywhere near her. The weirdest thing is that this behavior is new. We've had her for over a year and never thought she was allergic to anything. She never used to bite at her paws and all of the sudden it has become an obsession. I have no idea what has changed. Very little changes in our life these days, but maybe I'm not looking at things from a dog's point of view.

Fridays aren't much different than any other day of the week. I need to remember to retrieve the trash can from the curb and bring it back to the house. The trash truck comes later now, but usually the trash still gets picked up. The city has postponed picking up the blue recycling bins because they don't have enough drivers. We don't have a lot of glass bottles, tin cans, or cardboard so this change doesn't affect us much. Most of our trash is plain old garbage. Dawn contributes a lot of dog poop as well.

I've gotten pretty good at predicting what the weather is going to be like later in the day while we take our sunrise walk. You can tell by how the clouds are moving and what the humidity feels like. Even though we had a very pleasant sunrise walk, it didn't seem like an auspicious day for a walk in the park. When I went out to check the mail after I finished breakfast, my suspicions were confirmed. Today was too hot and humid. I was going to the gym again.

I still turn on the computer as if I was going to work, but my computer time is mostly just looking at Facebook these days. It's a mystery what Facebook chooses for me to see. For a while I'll get a lot of posts about old forgotten rock groups. Then I'll get a bunch of pictures of abandoned houses. I'm getting a lot of pictures of National Parks now. If you are not an active user, I think Facebook just throws stuff at you randomly to see if you'll click on anything. If you do, you'll get more of the same. Curiously, I see very few sponsored posts about things I am actually interested in. You'd think I'd get a ton of posts about dog food and telescopes. Nope. They still seem to think I'm interested in Dr. Who cosplay and buying a Tesla. At least my feed is still filled with pictures of Dalmatians. I love the Dalmatian pictures. If it weren't for the Dalmatian pictures I wouldn't bother with Facebook at all.

My performance is improving a little when I go to the gym. I shaved over a minute off my time for completing three miles around the indoor track. I can do more repetitions on the abdominal crunch machine and I'm working with ten pound hand weights now instead of five pound weights. The whole process is still very boring, but it beats being out in the heat. The air conditioning bill for this gym must be enormous. They keep the place really cold. It still seems strange to see so many people with personal trainers. I think some people hire a personal trainer just to have someone to talk to. Everyone seems to be having a non-stop conversation with their trainer. It's mostly gossip and small talk. The job description for these trainers must include being a good conversationalist.

I've already got a long grocery list for tomorrow. I hope I'm able to get an early start, because I'm going to have to walk in the park whether it's hot or not. Sure wish the gym would open on weekends again.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4181

Today was busy. Shopping is interesting now that Texas has rescinded the mask mandate. At Home Depot, half the people were wearing a mask and the other half weren't. At Sam's Club, everyone was still wearing a mask. Later at Tom Thumb, nobody was wearing a mask. Clearly the mask has outlived it's original purpose and just become another symbol. Some people can't wait to get rid of these things while others will continue to wear them forever. I was never a fan of the mask, but I'll probably keep one in my back pocket for quite a while. If I go into a store full of masked people, I'll put it on. Whatever it takes to stay invisible. I don't think there ever was a problem with shoppers. Other shoppers don't want to interact with you. I'll continue to avoid weddings, family gatherings and sporting events, just like I did before the pandemic.

Now that I've had time to inspect the Redcat 51 that arrived yesterday, I think I made a good purchase. It may be a while before I have an opportunity to attach this to the star tracker and try my hand at photographing nebulas and galaxies, but I'll definitely use it. The little telescope is extremely well made, small enough to travel with, and will last a lifetime. 

There was a spot of blood on the bedspread this morning, so the cortisone shot Dawn got the other day wasn't a magic bullet. The shot helped, but Dawn is still licking her paws excessively. Janet and I think this is a nervous habit, but this is probably because Dawn already has so many other nervous habits. We're just guessing here. If she is allergic to something, it's not going to be easy to determine what it is. She'll probably need to have an allergy skin test, but that's not an exact science either. Hopefully we can find an answer without a huge amount of trial and error. Nervous habits are OK, but self harm isn't.

I'm not looking forward to Summer. Today was hot and muggy, but it is going to be so much worse in July. I could tell that Dawn was getting hot on her walk today. We might have to start taking sunrise walks again like we did with our other dogs. I was OK on my long walk today, but if it gets much warmer I'm going to have to return to the gym. I'm not really worried about Covid anymore, it's just inconvenient to drive to the gym. At a certain point air conditioning trumps convenience though. That indoor track at the gym is looking better all the time.

I can't believe that it's already time to mow the grass again. Everything grows quickly when the ground is wet. Luckily, it's still a little too wet outside to mow. My electric mower just isn't strong enough to cut through wet grass. The grass is going to be even taller next week, but I don't feel like mowing anyway. I don't feel like cutting down any more dead Photinia trees either, even though I got a new blade for my saw with carbide teeth that are supposed to be ten times better than an ordinary blade. The grass and the trees can wait until next week.

It's hard to say whether Dawn will get her Sunday outing tomorrow. There is rain in the forecast again, but  it never seems to rain all day. With any luck we'll be able to find a little dry time for a Sunday walk. Janet wants to work on Dawn's training exercises a bit. Dawn and I just want the ice cream cone on the way home.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4177

We had to take Dawn to the vet today. She's been licking her paws so bad at night that we often see blood on the bedspread in the mornings. This behavior is relitively new and we're trying to figure out whether she has a medical problem or a behavior issue. The vet gave her a cortisone shot tonight. If this stops the licking, he says that there's a good chance the problem is allergies. If the cortisone shot works, we then need to figure out what she is allergic to. Is is a food allergy, an environmental allergy, or something else? Of course, the problem might have nothing to do with allergies. She might have a yeast infection under her nails. She might have severe anxiety problems. Too bad that dogs can't talk. This is going to be a long process to figure this out.

It didn't rain today, but that doesn't mean it was a nice day. It was overcast and cold for most of the day. There were ominous dark clouds that made it look like it could rain at any time. The grey day actually made it more pleasant to walk. I'll take a windy, overcast day over a hot, sweaty day anytime. Dawn seemed to like the weather. She's been much more adventurous lately. We went off in an entirely new direction today. Dawn seems to know her way around the neighborhood. Even thought the route we took today was new to her, she seemed to know the way home. It's good to see her confidence grow. It's too bad she wasn't as confident at the vet.

I ordered the little telescope I've had my eye on. Redcat 51 if you're interested. I'm determined to become a better astrophotographer. I've definitely got a long way to go. The main problem I'm facing is a lack of dark skies. The light pollution in Dallas is terrible and I don't feel safe out at night in the city anyway. This means I will probably continue making the long trip out to McDonald Observatory several times a year. Mount Locke is hard to beat. The skies are some of the darkest in the entire country and the Astronomer's Lodge is essentially a great little invitation only hotel with a fabulous chef right at the top of the mountain.

My walks are starting to get boring. I do them purely for exercise now. I guess I could add a little variety by walking on the other side of the lake, but it's hardly worth the trouble. The other side of the lake is familiar territory too. There must be a lot of people who do the same thing I do. I recognize a lot of dogs now and I've noticed that certain cars seem to be parked along the side of the road every single day. The ducks and geese always hang out together in small little groups. The Muscovy Ducks never mingle with the other ducks. The geese stick to themselves as well. The domesticated geese don't even mingle with the Canada Geese.

Dawn certainly seems calm now. I think she wore herself out at the vet. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.  I hope the cortisone shot works. I think allergies would be a little easier to deal with than anxiety. Hard to believe it is June already. Where has this year gone? I'll fix another smoothie tomorrow morning and take another long walk. I'm trying to think of another writing project, but I'm not having a lot of luck with the magazines right now. There's always bills to pay I guess. I paid a few more today.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3675

What a difference a day makes. It was 85 degrees yesterday and 45 with rain and wind today. A line of thunderstorms rolled through town and woke me up around 5 AM. The rain slowed to a drizzle at times, but it was basically a very cold, wet day.

So much for raking more leaves before bulky trash pickup day. The remaining leaves are all wet and soggy now. I did get the pumps running when I got up this morning, but one of them doesn't seem to be pumping well. It's probably clogged again. At least the leak hasn't returned. I think we're doing a lot better than we were this time last year.

I took my walk after breakfast when I saw a break between the moving line of showers on the weather radar. I got a little wet, but it was a lot better than sitting in the house doing nothing. Yesterday, the park was full of people. Today it was just me. Spontaneous people will go to the park on a nice day. People like me who depend on a regular routine go everyday. The only people I ever see in the park on nasty days like today are really disciplined joggers and people who know their dog will poop in the house if they don't take them on their daily walk. Dogs like a routine. I'm sure this is one of the reasons I like dogs so much. We think alike.

I don't know whether I have allergies or a low grade cold. I've had a runny nose for the past two days and am sneezing a lot. The constantly changing weather probably has something to do with this. I wish the runny nose would stop. I don't like to take antihistamines but I don't like to pack my pockets with paper towels before I go anywhere either. Being outside in the damp weather seems to make things worse. I ran through quite a few paper towels on my walk today. I hope this clears up quickly. I read an article recently that if you cough or sneeze on a plane, the whole plane instantly hates you.

I need to quit fretting about my upcoming trips. There are still a lot of little details to work out, but I've got plenty of time. I hate surprises and try to avoid them whenever I can. The problem is that any type of travel is full of unknowns and surprises. Some people find this exhilarating. Not me. I like to know the outcome ahead of time. Sadly, you can't avoid surprises even if you stay home and do nothing. The roof could start leaking five minutes from now.

I've taken this week's trash out to the curb, which is always the symbolic end of the week for me. Now I've got to decide whether to go out for breakfast tomorrow. I guess it depends on the weather. There isn't a lot of food in the refrigerator, but there is always a box of cold cereal for emergencies. Rain or shine, there's still stuff I need to do tomorrow. I need to reschedule with the tree guy. Who knows when it will be dry enough to cut down a tree though? I'm also waiting on my final paperwork from NASA. Hope they don't wait until the last minute again. It always makes me nervous.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3342

Apparently, there are younger people who belong to my gym after all. When I arrived this morning, there were about fifty people I'd never seen before participating in some kind of fitness event. It looked like some sort of an indoor triathlon. I couldn't shoot baskets because the court was filled with stationary bicycles. They were actually real bicycles with their rear wheels raised off the ground. It looked like participants started in the gym's pool, then went to the bicycles, and then finished on the running track. I don't know how you could determine a winner because the bicycles definitely weren't going anywhere. Maybe it wasn't a race. There was a guy wearing a wireless microphone delivering some sort of motivational message as the crowd peddled away on the bicycles. Maybe this was a class. It all seemed pretty strange to me. I'll have to check and see if this is going to be a regular thing now. If it is, I might need to change the day I exercise.

Somehow, Dash slipped off his puppy training pad last night and I woke up to a larger than expected mess. I thought I had this incontinence down to a science, but life is full of surprises. So much for sleeping in this morning. I hosed off the soiled bedding, started a load of wash and got ready for our morning walk. Dash and I have been walking on our own this week, but this morning he wouldn't leave the house without Janet leading the way. We waited for her to get dressed and get the walk started. Then, just like that, everything was back to normal again. I often wonder what Dash is thinking. He seems to have a plan, but he rarely shares it with me. Every day is full of surprises.

It must have rained last night, since the ground was wet and muddy. Dash doesn't seem to mind the damp weather, but it's hard on his protective boots. You'd think that since the outer layer is rubber, the inner layers would stay dry. Nope. The special fitted bandage and cotton sock he wears under the rubber outer boot are always soaking wet on damp days. The lightweight outer boots we are using now tear easily too. The system we have devised is far from perfect, but at least his paws aren't getting bloody anymore. Maybe this is as good as it's going to get. Heavier, more durable boots make it difficult for Dash to walk and anything lighter would provide no protection at all.

I should have done some cleaning this afternoon, but I was too tired. After I got home from the gym, I took a shower and then I took a nap. When Dash is restless, a nap is always the best way to calm him down. Dash gets tired easily, but he doesn't like to be alone. Janet often watches Netflix movies with him, while I prefer to just curl up and do nothing. My theory is that lots of naps will eventually add up to a good night's sleep.

It's hard to believe that it's the middle of February already. I wish it were the middle of April. The days are getting longer now, but it's still wet and cold. There's still a lot of Winter ahead of us. The good news is that I've seen no signs of a roof leak after several heavy rains. There are no signs that my allergies are going away either. I'm still taking the antihistamines. The only place I can breathe freely is in the car. I've always wondered why the cabin air filter was so expensive to replace. Now I know. This filter is really good. When I drive somewhere, I'm in a hermetically sealed little capsule.

I wonder why Monday still feels like a work day? I haven't done any real work in months, but I still dread Monday mornings.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3316

It's going to be a long Winter. It was warmer today, but the wind picked up again and I still felt cold. I packed some cotton balls between Dash's toes in an attempt to keep his paws from bleeding this morning but his socks and boots still got wet. My jacket was kind of damp when we returned as well. There is no way around it. Walking in the Winter is just messy.

There was lots of laundry to do this morning. Dash pooped in his dog bed while he was waiting for his breakfast. The dog bed cover was washable, but I had a hard time putting the bed back together after the cover was clean. The foam structure had gotten old and mushy and it was difficult to pull the cloth cover back over it without destroying the foam. Why isn't foam rubber more durable? I've had the foam inserts inside of camera cases become soft and sticky several times. I'll have to admit that putting the dog bed back together was easier than cleaning old sticky foam off of my Nikon cameras.

It was a slow day, but at least the banks and post office were open. I took a check from one of the auction houses to the bank and paid my January gas and electric bills at the post office. Just about broke even on these transactions. Oh, well. So much for getting rich selling art.

Dash was still shaky in the house today, but at least he got a lot of rest. He does a lot better after a long nap. I try to keep Dash moving while he's awake, because he slips and falls if he stands in one place for too long. Usually he will follow me around because he always thinks I am headed towards food. Actually, I am headed towards food quite often. What else is there to do on a cold rainy day.

So far, the rain we've been having for the past several days has just been periodic light showers. I don't think we've really put the roof repairs to the test yet. There is still room for optimism though. There have been no additional leaks so far. I'm not expecting miracles anymore. I'm just hoping that we can remain free of further leaks until warmer weather returns. I'd much rather put on a new roof in the Summer than in the Winter.

Sometimes I can't tell the difference between allergies and a cold. I've had a runny nose for weeks now, but there is no fever or sore throat. Do I have a cold? Who knows. It probably doesn't even matter. It is irritating to have to blow my nose every five minutes day in and day out, but if that's as bad as it gets I can live with it. I bet if we could get a week of sunny, warm weather I'd be fine again.

I don't expect tomorrow to be very different than today. Janet has plans, so we'll need to walk Dash a little earlier than usual. I have no plans, so when we return I'll slowly drink my morning smoothie while I contemplate the day ahead. There are lots of things I need to do but it it doubtful that I will do any of them.

Raider is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1749

I wish there was a longer gap between the end of Spring allergies and the beginning of Fall allergies. Fall allergies are back with a vengeance and it seems like I only had a single month of relatively pollen-free peace. With literally hundreds of different plants continually shedding their seeds and spores in the park behind our house, I've just about resigned myself to a lifetime runny nose.

Since antihistamines leave me loopy, I've resorted to using those big, blue rolls of shop towels like Kleenex. It's good that I work alone, because it seems like I spend the entire day blowing my nose. I think the dogs are having seasonal allergy problems too. They've certainly been licking  their coats a lot lately. Allergies usually affect a dog's skin instead of their nasal passages, but I'm sure it is equally irritating. I've got my own skin irritations this week as well. I thought yesterday's fire ant bites would have gone away by now. Instead, the red puffiness around my knee has resolved into dozens and dozens of hard red little bumps. It kind of looks like I have chicken pox. I don't know how long it will take for this mess to go away, but at least the ant bites don't itch as much as chigger bites.

I only had one thing to do today, but the task proved so difficult that I still haven't finished everything. I'm not sure I even want to be a website designer anymore. I initially got interested in doing this type of work because it seemed well suited for a solitary guy like me. I could sit at my computer and create beautiful things without having to deal with printing companies and production managers like my print-based contemporaries. This business model worked for a long time, but lately I find myself spending very little time actually doing graphic design. It's all about Javascript, PHP, and SEO these days. The thrill is definitely gone. I don't like modifying other people's Wordpress themes either. That's what I was doing today.

I often envy the dogs. We like a lot of the same things. They like to eat. So do I. They like to smell every bush while we take our walks. I like to photograph every bush. It works out nicely. When we come home, the dogs go to sleep. I wouldn't mind going back to sleep either, but unlike Dot and Dash, I've got bills to pay. I wonder if they realize how lucky they are.

I hope I can get my website project finished quickly tomorrow, because some new writing assignments came in late in the day. Tuesday is usually when I have to update one of my animal rescue websites as well. No rest for the weary. I'm already looking forward to Friday.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1615

The gym is always empty on nice sunny days. I guess most active people prefer to be outside on days like this. Inside is fine by me. The temperature is a constant 72 degrees, the air is filtered, and the lighting is subdued. I don't have any problems with Spring allergies when I go to the gym. Outdoors it's a completely different story.

I spent quite a while outdoors this morning, sneezing and wiping my watering eyes the entire time. I got a long pole saw and decided to remove the remaining dead limbs on the two Live Oak trees in the back yard myself. I thought the tree guys would have taken care of this when they came over a couple of months ago, but apparently these smaller dead limbs weren't in their bid. The landscape guys could have taken care of this too, but it wasn't in their bid either. Heaven forbid that anyone might decide to be proactive and do something extra. I guess that just isn't done these days.

It took quite a while to remove all the small dead limbs the power company guys left up in the trees when they were restoring power after last Winter's ice storm. They made sure that the trees weren't touching the power lines, but they couldn't be bothered to remove the branches they cut. At any rate, the work I did today was probably worth the effort. I bet if I called the tree guys to come back and do this job, they would have charged me $300.

I stopped by Central Market on the way home from the gym. I never used to go to the store this often. Everything changed when I stopped eating out of cans and started eating something fresh every evening. Things don't stay fresh all that long, so I go to the store frequently. I still think that improving my diet has done more to improve my health than anything else I've done. It's definitely been worth the effort.

Dash's health seems to be improving even more dramatically than mine. The skin on his neck is a healthy pink color now and you can barely see the incision scar from the initial surgery. He goes back to the cancer center tomorrow for a post-radiation follow up visit. I hope his doctors think he's doing as well as I think he's doing. After all he's been through this Spring, Dash is making an amazingly recovery.

Next week looks like it's going to be busy. Dash goes to the cancer center on Monday. Dot gets her acupuncture and water therapy on Tuesday. I've got a location photo shoot planned, and there are sure to be the usual writing assignments and website revisions as well. Pretty soon it will be June. Since I'm a Gemini, June is a birthday month. I'd like to say I'm getting wiser, but I'm afraid I'm just getting older.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1295

I love my new gym. It's amazing how easy it is to exercise when you're at a place where exercise is the only thing you can do. I've never been a self motivated person. If you put a stack of work in front of me, I'll always do it and never miss a deadline. If you don't put a stack of work in front of me, I'm perfectly content to do nothing at all. It's pretty much the same with exercise. I think this new gym will work out well. It provides the ideal environment to do things I wouldn't naturally do.

I picked this gym, because I was once hired to make a video about it. I guess the place stuck in my memory. I remember thinking at the time that everyone using the facility was pretty old. Ironically, I am now older than anyone I included in the film. I like this place because it's not your typical LA Fitness full of buff looking young people with washboard abs. This is a dedicated cardiovascular center full of people recovering from heart attacks. Even with a dislocated shoulder and no upper body strength, I can hold my own with these folks.

It's too bad I can't bring Dot with me. She needs physical therapy even worse than I do. I've been thinking of taking her to one of those low impact water treadmills to build up her leg strength again. We've taken some of the rescue Dalmatians to these water therapy facilities and they work great. Since my gym is virtually empty during the afternoon when everyone is at work, maybe I could propose a "bring your dog" day to the management. Dot would love the place. It's air conditioned to just the right temperature and there is no irritating pollen in the air to cause allergies.

I've got a lot more writing work this week than I anticipated. You'd never know it was a holiday week at all. Wouldn't it be weird if I started looking at the gym as a place to get away from the writing and relax for a while? It could happen. I found the facility surprisingly quiet and peaceful. It was just me, a handful of heart attack rehab patients and a couple of off-season athletes working out with free weights.

I don't like my Klout perks anymore. I used to get nice things like dog blankets and magazine subscriptions. Now I get tickets to vampire movies. Who do they think I am?  I have absolutely no interest in vampires, unless they happen to be part of a Dr. Who episode.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1254

I called the Land Rover dealer about my car this morning and they seemed genuinely surprised that they'd had the Defender over a month now. When I asked what was wrong with the car, they didn't know. The guy I talked to said he'd check and get right back to me. I haven't heard from him since.

I had a hard time concentrating today. There was a noisy road crew re-paving the street in front of our house and of course the roofers were still banging around up on the roof. Dot has an odd reaction to the roofers. No matter how much noise the roofers make, she seems oblivious to them when she's in the house. Outside, it's a totally different story. If she actually happens to see someone up on the roof, she goes nuts barking. I've never seen a clearer case of "out of sight, out of mind." If I didn't know better, I'd think Dot might be going deaf. I know she can hear quite well though. All I have to do is whisper the word "cookie" and she comes running.

One of my clients called today and said they wanted to send me to Las Vegas to cover the upcoming Couture watch and jewelry show. It ought to be an interesting assignment, but I still can't figure out why they waited so long to make a decision. This has been an off again, on again project for almost a month now. If I knew about this earlier, I'm sure I could have gotten a much better deal on hotel and airfare. The closer you get to a departure date, the more expensive the plane ticket and hotel room are going to be.

Janet and I didn't have to wear jackets to dog training class for the first time this season. It was actually quite warm tonight. Dot and Dash seemed to enjoy the nice weather, but they were both pretty stubborn in class. Dot didn't want to lie down and Dash didn't want to stay still. I completed the motley crew by blowing my nose every few minutes. Yes, Spring allergies are back with a vengeance.

After listening to all the experts on TV talk about what to do in case a tornado is headed your way, I realize that our house has no safe room whatsoever. The architect may have though the design was cool, but he should have added a few interior rooms. Even the closets and bathrooms are on exterior walls. There is a ton of glass too. Probably the only thing that would keep the entire house from blowing away would be if one of our big oak trees fell on top  of it.

Rosco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1240

I got one of those birthday reminder messages on Facebook this morning. I'm sure you all get them too. The birthday boy used to be my boss many years ago when I worked in the ad agency world. When I went to my friend's page to wish him a happy birthday, I discovered that he had passed away last June. Oops. I'm sure glad I read the page before I left my "have a great day" message. That would have been embarrassing. The whole incident leaves me wondering if any of my other Facebook friends are dead. I know a lot of my Facebook friends are actually Dalmatians, but it never occurred that the human friends might not even be alive.

Dot did great at her acupuncture session today. She seems much more relaxed now that she is getting used to the routine. The only thing that seemed to upset her today was the vet's cat. When the cat wandered into the room, Dot curled up her lip and started to growl. The vet laughed and told Dot not to mess with the cat, because the cat would probably win. I was a little embarrassed by Dot's behavior and explained to the vet that this was why we don't have a cat. As least Dash wasn't there. Dash would have gone nuts with a cat in the house.

My seasonal allergies have returned with a vengeance. I was sneezing and blowing my nose so much at dog training class tonight that I became more of a distraction to the class than Dash's incessant barking. The dogs both did well in class this evening. I think all the dogs are doing better, now that the weather is warmer and sunlight has returned. I need to remember that there is no need for a warm coat anymore. I was a little out of place in my winter jacket tonight.

I managed to get caught up with all my writing assignments this afternoon, so I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorow. I'm long overdue for a haircut, but nobody sees me anymore, so I guess it doesn't really matter. Maybe I'll stop by the Apple Store on the way home. I always stop by the Apple Store after a haircut. I certainly don't need anything. It's just a habit.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1016

I promised Janet I'd print something for her today. Somehow, to make a single 8x10 print, I ended up running an hour-long cleaning cycle, replacing three $55 ink cartridges and putting in a new maintenance tank. When I finally got the image printed, I found out it was the wrong size.

Most of the rest of the day was spent writing. Writing is a fairly peaceful activity. When I'm writing a longer piece, I usually compose all the headlines and sub-heads first and then use these as an outline to fill in the text. I never try to do anything in a single draft. The first draft is just to get something down on paper. The second is to correct major contextual errors and logical flaws. All the other drafts are just nit-picking to refine sentence structure and bring things in at the required work count. I enjoy this part of the process. The inevitable revisions that come after the piece is submitted aren't nearly as much fun.

My eyes were watering so badly from Fall allergies that I could hardly tell what the dogs were doing at training class this evening. Once the Spring allergy season is behind me, I completely forget that there is also a Fall allergy season. Everything is fine during the Summer, but it is usually way too hot to really enjoy the relief from my perpetual sneezing and wheezing. It's a shame that the nicest weather usually coincides with the worst times for seasonal allergies. Maybe allergies just get worse with age, but I don't remember having these problems before I moved to Texas. Colorado air was crisp and clear. Seattle was damp and rainy, but I still didn't suffer from seasonal allergies. The dogs have allergy problems too. They don't sneeze or have watering eyes, but their skin itches. I don't know which is worse. When I see them scratching and rolling on their backs on the carpet, I sympathize. I know exactly what they are going through.

The holiday pet photo season will be here before you know it. I'm gradually replacing faulty equipment and getting ready for this year's events. Since many of the same people come year-after-year with their pets, it's time for a new set as well. The pets are the same, so you've got to do something to make each year's pictures a little different. While I'm shopping for a new backdrop, I should shop for a comfortable chair to sit in as well. Yeah, I know you can't really take pictures sitting in a chair, but it would be nice if you could. These events are murder on my knees.

Suki is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 914

I think we are transitioning from the allergy season to the bug bite season. My allergies don't bother me nearly as much when I'm working outside now. It's a small consolation however, since I'm being eaten alive by mosquitoes. The chiggers and mosquitoes are terrible this year. It's been years since they've been this bad. Probably the moist, rainy Spring has created just the right conditions for bugs of all kinds. I wish they'd go away. I had to mow the grass today, and by the time I finished, I must have gotten a hundred mosquito bites.

One reason that my allergies aren't bothering me as much is that I've started eating local raw honey. I've heard that since bees pollinate many of the same plants that cause Spring allergies, you can build up an immunity to these allergies by eating several tablespoons a day of local, raw, unfiltered honey. It's seems to work. Then again, maybe the allergy season is over anyway. I guess I won't know for sure until next Spring.

I'm still seeing cars with broken windshields and dented hoods all over town. Janet finally got an insurance adjustor to look at her car today. She said it took forever, since the adjustor insisted on counting every single dent. This ferocious hailstorm leaves me more nervous about rain than ever. It seems like nothing good happens when it rains. The roof leaks. The power goes out frequently during storms. The dogs panic and occasionally have seizures. Now, I have to add the total destruction of your car as yet another rainy day hazard. I guess a dry climate isn't much better though. Look at all those forest fires they're having out west right now.

When I was walking the dogs this afternoon, it looked like a good day to take the kayak out. I saw lots of kayaks out on the lake. I wish it wasn't so hard to get my kayak down to the water. I have two choices. I can strap some little wheels to the boat and drag it down the hill to the water. Alternately, I can bolt a roof rack to the car and drive the kayak down to the water. Neither of these alternatives are great. Since the hill is steep, it can be quite tiring to pull the boat back up the slope to the house when you're finished. Going to the lake by car seems like a good alternative until you realize that there aren't many entrances to the park by road. I can see the water from my house, but I have to drive quite a ways to get to the same place. The roof rack won't fit on the loaner car anyway, so this is all a mute point. Needless to say, the kayak doesn't leave the backyard very often

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 898

Some days I think a robot could do my job. Other days I think I am the robot. How may days can you do the same thing over and over again before going quietly insane? I wonder about these things.

Today certainly wasn't the day to break free. I took some checks to the bank. I took some bills to the post office. I took some dogs on a walk. There was water on the roof. Dishes in the sink. And a load of dirty clothes in the washing machine. It was just an ordinary day.

My work assignment for today was doing a little Father's Day marketing for one of my clients. They want Mom and the kids to buy something expensive for Dad. Not very likely. Dads never get anything good on Father's Day. Since my birthday always fell fairly close to Father's Day, my Mom never got Dad anything at all. She claimed that I was his Father's Day gift. I think this always made my Dad mad. He would much rather have received tickets to a good basketball game, or at least a nice fishing rod.

The Spring allergy season seems to be waning. It's great not to go through an entire package of Kleenex every time I walk the dogs. The only problem is that the allergy season is always followed by the muggy season. Each day, within an hour after the rain quits, it becomes a steam-bath outdoors. During the muggy season I have to put on a new shirt every time I walk the dogs, because the shirt I was wearing is soaked. There are tons of mosquitoes during the muggy season as well. I really shouldn't complain about the weather we're having though. The muggy season is always followed by the impossibly hot season. During July and August in Texas, it feels like you are living on the surface of Mercury. I don't look forward to this heat. I don't think Dot can handle the heat anymore either. Her tongue is hanging out right now after our walks, and Summer hasn't even arrived yet.

Friday has arrived though. Almost anyway. I've taken this week's trash out to the curb for tomorrow morning's pickup and I'm already wondering what I'm going to have for breakfast on my weekly restaurant excursion. TGIF.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 890

Politicians, are you listening? Please stop making those robo-calls to my house every five minutes.You guys are relentless this year. I must get ten calls a day. Day in and day out the calls continue. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican. Your incessant badgering is irritating and the more I hear your message on my phone, the less likely it is that I will ever vote for you. Personally, I think if they played these robo-calls over and over again at Gitmo, they would be more effective than waterboarding.

One problem with managing dozens of websites is that occasionally everyone wants something at the same time. Today was one of those days. As soon as I finished making a change on one client's website, I got a request to change another. The website change requests today were almost as frequent as the political robo-calls.

At least the weather was nice today. I had a great walk with the dogs this morning. The temperature was mild. There was a nice breeze. Best of all, there was no pollen in the air and my allergies didn't bother me. I wish every day was like this, but I'm lucky if I get to enjoy three or four days a month without allergy related sneezing and wheezing. I'll take what I can get though. Today was perfect.

When I finished my webmaster and writing assignments for the day, I went over to the storage warehouse and started assembling another section of poorly made Chinese industrial shelving. I can't believe how flimsy these things are. The brand on the box says Gorilla or Rhinoceros or something. The blurb on the side of the box brags that the shelves are rated for commercial use and that each individual deck can hold over 200 pounds. That would mean that the six tier section I put together today should hold up to 1,200 pounds. Not very likely. The thing would crumple like tin foil if I loaded it with 1,200 pounds of stuff.

I don't know why poor quality bothers me so much, but it does.  Power tools are made of plastic these days. The bodywork on your car is half as thick as it used to be, and to add insult to injury, you are charged more for the flimsy material. Energy efficiency, they call it. All cameras should be made like Leicas and Hasselblads. All cars should be as durable as the old Saabs they used to make from Swedish steel. Who needs Wal-Mart at all? My problem is that I think my toaster should be just as good as my iPhone.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 863

It's a shame that allergy season coincides with the nicest weather we have all year in Texas. The temperature is perfect, but I can't go outside for more than ten minutes before my eyes are burning and my nose is dripping like a faucet. I have to carry a pack of Kleenex wherever I go and my nose is starting to look like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. The seasonal grass seed allergies that bother me the most usually subside by late June, but by then Summer has arrived and it's too hot to spend much time outside anyway. I used to live in Seattle where it rained continually. I think I prefer the rain to this hodgepodge of dust storms, tornadoes, droughts, and wind blown pollen that we have here. Of course I didn't own a house with a flat roof that leaks all the time when I lived in Seattle. I probably wouldn't think so fondly of the place with memories of a leaky roof.

I got the second of three large shelves disassembled and moved over to the larger storage space today. I'm glad now that I kept both storage rooms rented for the entire month. I never could have moved everything in a single day. I've been down to the storage warehouse at least five times now and I've still only gotten about 2/3 of the stuff moved. This little project is turning out to be hard work. I should just throw away stuff I don't need as I go, but I don't have time to think about which things are keepers or not, so everything gets moved. I'll have plenty of time later to throw away all the old computers, scanners, and printers from the 1980's later.

Janet wants to plant the new grass this weekend. That means I'll need to till the soil tomorrow. I'm fairly sure the little tiller I keep in the greenhouse won't start using the two year old container of gas I keep for the lawnmower I no longer use. That gas wouldn't work anyway, since the tiller uses a gas and oil mixture like you use for a chain saw. I'll need to go to Home Depot and buy a little gas can and some of that two stroke oil you mix in with it. Finding all this stuff will take longer than actually tilling the soil. Hopefully, the tiller will start after I've found the proper fuel for it, or I've really wasted a lot of time.

I never have enough time anymore. I had to go to a planning meeting for one of the animal rescue groups I work with this evening and didn't have time to eat dinner until I got home. Hmm. Do I fix myself a nice dinner, or do I write this blog? I heated up a pizza that was in the freezer because the box said it would cook in 11 minutes.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day