Day 3651

I got my shingles shot today. Well, I got the first of two shots anyway. I really wasn't planning to do this now, but my pharmacy had the vaccine available and I knew I'd feel foolish if I went back next month and they were out of the stuff again. It's a mystery to me why the vaccine has been in short supply for over a year. It's somewhat of a mystery why I even need these shots. When I got the older Zostavax shingles vaccine a few years ago, that was supposed to be effective too. I'm pretty good about following doctor's orders though. I think it's one reason why I'm still reasonably healthy today.

On the way home from the pharmacy I picked up some more LED bulbs to replace the ones that are burning out. I think the reason these bulbs are failing is that I was a very early adopter of this technology. Today's bulbs are less expensive and last longer than the first generation bulbs I bought. Most of them even have a ten year guarantee now. This is the curse of the early adopter. I'm ofter the first to buy a new type of computer or camera. It's been irritating to realize that if I just had the patience to wait a few years, I could have gotten something that was much better, often for a lot less. I'm glad I wasn't the first to buy a flat screen TV. The early models used to cost over $5000. Now you can get something much better for a few hundred bucks.

I finally got my tree guy to commit to removing one of the remaining Oak trees in the back yard. I like the trees, but they are all getting very old and part of this tree has already fallen. I definitely don't want to have the rest of this large tree falling on my house or the neighbor's cars. I'm also thinking of relocating my driveway to the back yard. The traffic on the street in front of our house keeps getting worse and worse. During rush hour it is almost impossible to get out of the driveway. As luck would have it, the big Oak tree is right where a potential driveway might go. This is kind of an ambitious project, so it may never happen. A lot of my ambitious projects don't.

I'm continuing to watch Series Four of The Expanse. I still don't think the new series is as good as the shows first three years, but it's good enough to get me hooked. It's a good thing to watch during this holiday week. There isn't much else to do anyway.

I've noticed that some of the White Pelicans wintering at our lake are wearing little leg bands. You can see a band on the leg of the bird in today's picture. Who put these on and why? A little research revealed that ornithologists have been banding pelicans and other migratory birds for a long time to study their migration patterns. A lot of White Pelicans were initially banded at Marsh Lake, Minnesota between 1972 and 1998. Evidently Dallas is right on the migration route between Minnesota and Mexico. One question remains. How do you catch a pelican? These are large, powerful birds. They don't even want you to get close to them.

I started washing the windows on the house this afternoon. I'd like to show Janet that I made at least a minimal effort to straighten things up while she was gone. It's hard to do more though. The house has a lot more problems than I have energy.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1472

Today I served as a pet taxi, taking Dot, and then Dash to two different vet appointments in different parts of town. Thursday isn't usually our day to go to the vet, but both of these appointments had been re-scheduled due to the holidays. Dot got to experience something new today. She's has had some stiffness in one of her legs ever since she slipped on the ice a few weeks ago, so the vet thought she might respond to cold laser therapy. I'd heard of using low level lasers to treat treat dogs with arthritis and soft tissue injuries, but this was the first time I'd actually seen one of these lasers in use. Dot seemed to respond well to the treatment and I could tell she was feeling a bit better on her evening walk.

Dash's visit to the vet later the same afternoon was a little more prosaic. Instead of a soothing laser or water treadmill session, he got his anal glands cleaned. With a clean butt and his bi-weekly antigen shot, he was good to go. Dash shouldn't complain though. He's basically still a young, strong, and very healthy dog.

Work was slow today, so the two vet visits were the main events of the day. I did get a couple of new assignments, so there will be plenty to do tomorrow. I guess I could have started on some of the website revisions today, but the client said there was no rush. Even the writing assignments aren't due until next week. The year is definitely winding down. Nobody is thinking of anything new quite yet, and that's fine with me. There will be plenty of time for ambitious new plans in the Spring.

I need to make some ambitious new plans myself. I haven't made a film or done any video projects for a while and it's time that I do a little marketing again. I always like to do two or three video projects every year to keep the bread and butter website revisions and writing assignments from getting too boring. My veterinary and medical clients all seem to like video, so maybe I'll propose something to one of them. I need to be careful not to bite off more than I can chew with video however. I like to work alone, and after a certain point, you always end up having to hire a crew to deliver what you promised. Little video projects without tight deadlines are perfect for me. I can shoot and edit these things myself for a very reasonable budget when someone isn't in a hurry.

I called the Land Rover dealer today and asked about adding a towing package to my car. No problem, said my service representative. The price was way more than I expected though. I guess some things never change.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day