Day 4991

Dawn had to go to the vet for her dental cleaning today. She got her regular sunrise walk, but couldn't eat breakfast this morning. You aren't supposed to eat prior to having anesthesia. Dawn is always excited to ride in the car, but is so disappointed when we wind up at the vet instead of the ice cream store. She was not a happy camper when we dropped her off this morning.

The house was pretty quiet without Dawn today, but actually it is pretty quiet with Dawn as well. I ate my breakfast, took care of some correspondence, and then went to the gym.  It's still way too hot to do any outdoor chores and I don't feel up to fixing the cracks in the ceiling yet. My daily trip to the gym remains my only consistent activity.

I think these trips to the gym are starting to produce results. I'm faster on the indoor track now. It used to take me around 23 minutes to complete a mile. Now it only takes me 20 minutes. I'm gradually adding weights to my strength exercises and doing more repetitions as well. My biggest improvement is on the basketball court. I'm getting much more consistent about completing free throws. I'm certainly not bragging. Fat people still pass me occasionally on the indoor track and almost everyone can lift more than me in the weight room. I think I'm making progress though. My Fitbit agrees.

I have mixed feeling about missing tonight's Crew 7 launch. I didn't apply for credentials after the magazine told me that one of their staffers wanted to attend. Crewed launches are always a big deal down at the space center, but I'm not terribly sorry that I'm missing this one. It's still very hot in Titusville and the launch isn't until 3 AM. I've never been a fan of these late launches. It's very hard to get good pictures and 3 AM is way past my bedtime. I've been to several late night, or technically early morning, launches and I'm always very, very sleepy. I bumped the lens on one of these night launches and all my pictures were out of focus. I'm not even going to stay up and watch this launch on the Space X live feed. I'll be asleep by then.

We weren't able to pick Dawn up at the vet until very late in the day. She was there for most of the day. The dental cleaning didn't take that long, but she needed some x-rays as well. The vet always wants to keep dogs for observation at least two hours after having anesthesia as well to make sure they are stable. Dawn got a good report. There were no cavities and no teeth needed to be pulled. There were no longer signs of gingivitis either. We try our best to keep her teeth clean, but it's hard with a dog that doesn't like you messing with her mouth.

This week has gone quickly. I've taken this week's trash out to the curb and have finished watering the lawn. It would be nice if tomorrow were cooler, but the temperature is supposed to reach 107 degrees. That doesn't sound better to me.

Hero is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4263

The surgery team gets up early. By 7:30 AM they had me wheeled down to the surgical suite. First they took me to a waiting room where a variety of people came in and introduced themselves. Then I went to anesthesia prep, where various tubes were prepared and inserted. Finally, I was wheeled to the operating room itself. The room was big and very bright. There were four large very bright movable lights on the ceiling and lots of sophisticated looking machines. It looked serious. Everyone was very nice and surprisingly casual. I guess it was just another day at the office for these guys.

I got into a conversation with one of the anesthesia techs about the food I would have to give up after having may gallbladder removed. The tech said she loved nuts too, but loves chips even more. This started a general conversation about munchies, and pretty soon the anesthesia team started talking about how they hoped Texas would legalize marijuana soon. Jeez. I was about the be anesthetized by a bunch of stoners. No criticism here. These kids were young, but they were all very professional. When the head anesthesiologist entered the room they all got very serious and quickly quit talking about munchies.

Being anesthetized is weird. You talk to people about what's about to happen, they put you to sleep, and then it seems like you wake up an instant later and it's all over. Pain medicine is so good now that you feel no pain at all. The surgeon told me that if the procedure went well I would have four very small incisions on my belly. If there were complications, there would be one very large incision that stretched across my belly. When I woke up there were four very small incisions and I was happy. This type of surgery is done using a procedure called laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A small camera is inserted through one incision. Instruments that cut the gallbladder from the body are inserted through a second incision. The gallbladder is pulled out through a third slightly larger incision near the belly button. I have no idea what the fourth incision is for. All my surgeons have been women. I've heard that this is because they are generally more dexterous with the very delicate instruments that are used for laparoscopic surgery. The surgery evidently went perfectly. I feel about the same as I do after a strenuous day at the gym. There is a tightness in my belly that feels like I've done a hundred crunches, but that's about all.

Everybody here has been extremely nice and very professional. I still believe Baylor is the best hospital in Dallas. I changed my primary care physical several years ago to make sure that all my doctors were in the Baylor system and have never regretted my decision. I still hate going to the hospital and think most doctors over prescribe prescription medicine, but you've got to take care of yourself.

Hopefully, I will be out of here tomorrow. Basically being in a hospital for a long time is like being in a very nice prison. You do what they tell you. You eat what they tell you. You take lots of pills that you know in your heart are very dubious value. I take the pills though. I tend to trust the experts. I actually like talking to doctors. They are very smart and most lead interesting lives. Doctors are much nicer than advertising executives and not as arrogant as airline pilots. My little room is actually quite peaceful. I don't like being hooked up to tubes, but I'm getting used to it. Hospital beds are fabulous. I wish I could take one home with me because you can easily move them to a comfortable sleeping position without monkeying around with a bunch of pillows.

I've heard they won't release me tomorrow until I poop. That might be a problem. So far I'm feeling pretty good. Things go wrong as you grow older, but I'm trying my best to keep my ailments to a minimum.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4257

Dawn is fine. The vet was able to flush a large number of stones from her bladder and no surgery was needed. I was a little worried when the vet called while I was fixing breakfast and told me that Dawn's bladder was empty. He wondered if we had let her go pee before we brought her over. Nope. We did everything exactly as we were instructed. It turned out that Dawn had peed in her kennel run while they were getting ready to do the procedure. Plan B was to give her intravenous fluids and let her bladder fill again. This worked and a few hours later the stones were removed. Her teeth were cleaned as well while she was under anesthesia so she wouldn't have to be anesthetized again a few months later for her scheduled annual teeth cleaning. A sonogram after the procedure confirmed that all the stones are gone and Dawn was able to come home early this afternoon. The vet told us to expect blood in her urine for a day of two, but that the procedure had gone very well.

I'm sure today's events won't do much to alleviate Dawn's fear of riding in the car. Is she going for an ice cream cone at Andy's, or a trip to the vet? Both destinations are in the same general direction. Being anesthetized today certainly didn't ruin her appetite. Dawn was really hungry this evening and I had to feed her a little early.

I was planning to get my car safety inspected today, but the two places I tried both had long wait times and wanted me to leave the car. I used to be able to go to the Land Rover dealer and get an inspection done in fifteen minutes. Those days are gone. When I called Land Rover today they told me that a state inspection would take at least five hours. What this really means is that the dealership is short handed and there aren't enough mechanics. Apparently, nothing works smoothly in a post Covid world. So many things I used to take for granted just don't function the way they used to.

This morning was pleasant, but by the time Dawn was safely home again and sleeping on the bed it had become far too hot for a walk in the park. I went to the gym and discovered that even more treadmills had broken since my last visit. Another example of a dysfunctional world. Why is it proving so hard to fix these machines? There must be over a dozen broken treadmills now. Since we didn't take a sunrise walk with Dawn this morning, I had to work a little longer to get today's steps. Three miles inside always seems a lot longer than three miles outside.

Now that school is back in session, I've had to change my route to a number of locations. You definitely don't want to get stuck in a line of cars waiting to pick their kids up from school. If you are near a school zone, the right hand line is often completely blocked with cars and the other lanes become even more crowded. Drivers in Dallas are rude on a nice day. When school is in session they become even worse.

It would be hard to find someone less interested in politics than I am, but I'm horrified at what's happening in Afghanistan. Why won't Biden just admit that he screwed up royally? It was his decision alone to remove the military before protecting the civilians. He keeps doubling down, blaming everyone else, and looking befuddled and senile while he's doing it. If this is what 'having an adult in charge' looks like, we're all in big trouble.

It's time to make a grocery list again. Whenever I'm out and about, it's become increasingly apparent that merchants and their customers have grown sick of all the conflicting social distancing and mask mandates. It's a free for all now and everyone is just doing what they want. 

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4044

Dawn has clean, white teeth again. She had quite a bit of tartar build-up and really needed a cleaning. Dawn of course had other ideas. She always goes into panic mode when we take her to the vet. She was so upset this morning that she had an irregular heart beat when they tried to sedate her. The vet took things slowly and gave her a mild sedative and waited for her to calm down before giving her anesthesia for the cleaning procedure. 

We were afraid that she might need some teeth extracted because she'd spent so many years biting at the bars of her crate when she was used as a breeding dog. Her front teeth have been worn down, but luckily what remains is still strong and she has no cavities. No teeth needed to be removed today and her gums are in good condition too. Dawn didn't enjoy her day at the vet, but we feel better knowing that her teeth are healthy and in good condition.

The forecast called for rain today, but predictably it was wrong again. I was able to take my long walk after all. I haven't gone anywhere new for a while and continue to follow the same well-worn paths. I feel like I should name the ducks I see along the way because most of them have become quite familiar by now. Apparently ducks are no more adventurous than I am. My walks may be boring, but I still occasionally see something new and I'm definitely getting more exercise than I'd get staring at this computer for an additional two hours every day.

The replacement dehumidifier has started rattling again and it's driving me nuts. I know the manufacturer sent me a refurbished model even though I can't get them to admit it. The customer support folks won't even answer my questions now. This is a bit baffling to me, since they were so responsive when I was initially trying to get a warranty replacement. It kind of feels like they have a policy that if the manufacturer sends you a replacement, they can never talk to you again.

As I continue to learn more about astrophotography, I'm becoming increasingly tempted to buy a tracking mount. This is the only way I'll be able to take longer exposures of the stars. There is no need to rush things though. A tracker would be a total waste of money until I can start visiting dark sky sites again. Even the best tracking mount wouldn't help me much out in my back yard. I keep hoping that eventually Covid will be over and I can pick up where I left off at the astrophotography workshop last October. It would be nice to start visiting Kennedy Space Center again too. When is this all going to happen? I have no earthly idea.

I keep getting messages from my doctor encouraging me to get vaccinated at one of those mega-sites where you have to stand in line all day. Don't think I'm going to do that. I'd rather just stay away from other people for a while longer. Apparently my doctor's office gets a small supply of the vaccine every month, but so far it's being used on patients who are in a lot worse shape than I am. I'm in the 1B priority group, but so are millions of other people. I'm sure I'll get a call one of these days telling me that it's my turn. Take your time guys. I still have lingering fears that this vaccine will turn out to be a horrible mistake like Thalidomide and other drugs where the side effects weren't discovered until years later.

Dawn is unusually quiet tonight. I don't think the drugs have worn off yet. When she came home, she immediately drank a ton of water and then threw up on the bed. We're still washing all the bedding. Hopefully, life will be back to normal in the morning. 

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2289

Dash survived his dental exam. You'd think having your dog's teeth cleaned would be easy, but nothing is easy with Dash. He has a history of waking up hard after anesthesia, so the vet has a special way to sedate him so he won't be frantic when he wakes up. She was really pleased at how calm Dash was today. When I drove him home I was thinking that we'd dodged a bullet this time, but less than an hour later he was racing around the house in a panic and drooling profusely. I had to put him on a leash when I took him outside so he wouldn't eat grass and leaves. I occasionally get nauseous when I am recovering from anesthesia, so this must have been what Dash was feeling. Things are better now, but it was a three ring circus for a while.

At one point, both dogs wanted to go outside at the same time and I just couldn't manage it.  If I was holding up Dot's rear legs, I couldn't keep Dash from eating leaves. If I was attending to Dash, Dot couldn't even get up. It was a mess. Eventually, Dash calmed down and Dot pooped, but there were some very unhappy dogs for a while. I just couldn't explain to them that I had to deal with them one at a time.

It's sad to see Europe descending into chaos. I used to spend a lot of time in Europe, but I wouldn't feel entirely comfortable there now. I'm glad I saw Greece before it went bankrupt. I'm glad I visited Turkey while it was still a secular country. I'm especially glad I got to spend time in Paris before you had to be careful which arrondissement you were traveling in. Most of my travels took place before the European Union even existed. I bet some of my European friends wish they could go back to those days. Open borders seems to have created more problems than they solved.

I hope Dot's vet can explain why she became lame earlier this week. The leg was completely limp and useless and yet she recovered the next day. Maybe the Palladia pills are making her stumble and fall, but I suspect that another disc in her spine has become compromised. Dot has so many neurological issues that I forget she has cancer sometimes. Hopefully we'll find some answers at our physical therapy session tomorrow. It's hard to accept that nothing can be done at this point, but maybe that is the answer.

Today was tiring. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be uneventful and calm. It would be nice if Dot does well in the underwater treadmill. It would be nice if I can eat my breakfast without both dogs barking at me. We'll see what happens. If tomorrow is tiring too, I'll just take a nice nap.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1679

Dot is going in for surgery tomorrow morning. When we visited her early this morning, there was a lot to be encouraged about. Her temperature had remained stable. Her white blood cell count was slowly returning to normal. She even wagged her tail when we arrived. The doctors were still worried though. Dot hasn't eaten since last Thursday and was still refusing to eat this morning. The specialist wanted to do a CAT scan, and told us that based on Dot's vital signs she could safely handle the anesthesia. I was worried about the anesthesia required for a CAT scan, but everyone assured me that Dot's vitals signs looked very good. We gave the OK for the CAT scan and Janet and I went back to work.

Later in the day, we got a call with the results. The doctors had found a golf ball sized growth in her small intestine and wanted to do surgery tomorrow morning. They were confident that this growth was the source of her problems. Janet and I are both reluctant to subject an older dog to surgery, but we listened to what the internal medicine specialist had to say. She told us that since the growth had not yet become large enough to perforate the intestinal wall and cause systematic infection, the chances for a successful outcome were excellent. She didn't call the growth a tumor because, as she explained, there were literally dozens of benign growths or lesions that could attach to the intestinal wall. She said that surgery on the small intestine was routine these days and that Dot would have the same surgeon that performed the thyroid surgery on Dash earlier this year.

If we did nothing and Dot still refused to eat, she would die. Even if she did start to eat, the growth in her intestine would continue to grow larger, until it eventually caused the intestinal walls to burst. Dot was still weak when we visited her this morning, but her eyes were bright, her tail was wagging, and there was no question that she wanted to go on living. As frightened as Janet and I are of major surgery, we decided to give her that chance.

I think we made the right decision. The surgeon who will be operating on her is superb and was largely responsible for saving Dash's life. The specialist took the time to explain exactly why it was so important to remove the growth now, before it grew even further and caused her intestines to rupture. When I talked to the specialist on the phone earlier in the day, I imagined that the growth she was talking about was the size of a grape. When we heard that it was already the size of a golf ball, Janet and I became convinced that we had no choice.

There are no promises when you are wheeled into a surgery suite. It doesn't matter if you are a dog or a person, there are literally hundreds of things that could go wrong. We have been through this before and it never gets easier. We made the right decision with Dash. We made the right decision with Spot. And we made the wrong decision with Greta. The key thing with any serious medical condition is that you've got to be able to make a decision. You've also got to be able to live with the consequences, even if something goes wrong. Hiding from problems and pretending that they doesn't exist is almost always the worst decision you can make.

When we came back at the end of the day to visit again, Dot greeted us warmly. I walked her outside in the grass in front of the hospital and she squatted and peed normally. We brought her favorite blanket and let her rest with us in an exam room while waiting to see the specialist again. Her doctors wanted to see if Janet and I could get her to eat something. It is apparently important to preserve normal Peristaltic movement in the intestinal tract prior to surgery. Without any food to process, there is a danger that Peristalsis could stop. Dot wasn't interested in dog food, but when we opened a small jar of baby food, she eagerly ate the entire thing. This was a very good sign. It was almost as if Dot was telling us that the surgery was OK and that she definitely wanted to live.

Tomorrow is going to be a rough day. Not only is Dot having surgery, Janet is having a Colonoscopy on the same day. Neither of these things could be postponed or avoided. I hope we made the right decision with Dot. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but I do know what would happen if we did nothing. Dot deserves better than that.

The thought of having two dogs with cancer at the same time is both emotionally and financially draining. It's hard to believe this is even happening. It goes without saying that this has been a very tough year. Many people think of me as a negative person, but I am totally positive when it comes to the dogs. I believe in them. Dot is incredibly strong willed and tenacious. She may be old, but she loves her life and wants to keep on living. Our efforts may not succeed, but we're going to give her the best chance she's got. When she ate the baby food out of my hand this evening, I think she gave me her blessing.

Katie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1574

I got a call from my hepatologist today. He told me that on my latest round of blood tests, my viral load numbers had gone to zero. This meant that for the first time in almost thirty years, the Hepatitis C virus was completely undetectable in my body. I continue my treatment for three more weeks and I'm done. The treatment worked! My doctor wasn't quite willing to officially declare me cured yet, but he did say that these were the results they'd been looking for. I still find it ironic that the very same hospital that gave me a transfusion of contaminated blood back in the 1970's was now home to the world renowned liver clinic that cured my disease. Life is funny that way. Everything eventually comes full circle.

My quest to lower my cable bill today was a dismal failure. I hate cable companies. They lure you in with a low price and a two year contract. The initial two year contract is essential because they know in advance that it will take almost two years to get all the kinks out of your system and ensure that everything is running smoothly. Once you are happy and everything is operating the way it should have in the beginning, your contract runs out and the price goes up. If you are willing to upgrade to a more expensive plan when your contract runs out, they will often give you a artificially discounted rate for three to six months, so your bill doesn't seem like it's going up so dramatically. Eventually, you've taken advantage of all the special upgrade offers and the deals run out. Then your bill can double almost overnight. When you try to downgrade your service, you get no deals at all. The cable companies know how much trouble it was to wire your house and get the WiFi running smoothly. They know you don't really want to start over and go through this instillation hell again with another company, so they stick it to you. It's hard to unbundle services too. I really need the Internet portion of my bundle. Without the TV and phone, the Internet component would be much more expensive though. The worst thing is that the cable company isn't even embarrassed to charge you double for the same services they lured you in with in the beginning. It's just their business model. They know exactly what they're doing. They make a calculated bet that your will just shut up and pay more, because it's so much trouble to rip out the wires and start over with a different company.

I'm still amazed that Dash actually likes going to his cancer treatments. He thinks he's going to doggie day care. These guys are so good at giving anesthesia that I don't think Dash even realizes that he's out cold three times a week. He's not even groggy when I go to pick him up in the afternoon. I used to panic when Dash needed anesthesia, because he was what was known as a "hard wake up" dog at my local vet. I didn't realize then that all anesthesia isn't the same. A wide variety of drugs can be used and patients can have a different reaction to all of them. I'm really happy that the folks at the cancer center have managed to reduce the anxiety and risk associated with anesthesia to an absolute minimum. These guys are pros!

It looks like the rain is ending. It should be a nice day tomorrow, even though I'll be inside working on websites most of the day. Maybe I'll take a break and go up and get all the water from this week's rain off the roof. That's probably as close as I'm going to get to going to the gym for a while.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1512

You learn something new every day. While Dash was at the vet today, I discovered that a side effect of anesthesia is that it tends to kill off the good bacteria in the gut. In most dogs, and probably people as well, this flora quickly reestablishes itself and life returns to normal. In highly stressed dogs, these beneficial bacteria don't return and digestive problems result. This could very easy be Dash's problem. He is definitely not a calm dog, and he has had anesthesia recently. We'll put him on a probiotic for a while and see if his 3 AM wake up calls disappear.

If the probiotics don't work, there's also a chance that he has a vitamin-B deficiency. Evidently, low levels of vitamin-B can cause all sorts of problems, including the same sort of digestive issues Dash is experiencing now. We need another blood test to determine if his vitamin-B and folic acid levels are low. I couldn't get that test done today, since fasting is required, but we'll get our boy tested soon. I can tell Dash is uncomfortable. Hopefully one of these very plausible scenarios it what is causing his problems.

Another thing I discovered today is that the dogs don't tug and pull nearly as much when I walk them separately. When I walk Dot and Dash together, they are constantly competing for what they perceive as the best side of the road, or the most pungent smell. They criss-cross themselves so frequently that I spend half my time untangling their leashes. Left to themselves, they both walk quite nicely, occasionally even seeming to remember the long forgotten "heal" command. So far, I have only discovered one problem with walking each dog separately: it takes twice as long.

It was still cold and wet this morning, but as the day progressed it gradually grew warmer. By the time I took the mail to the post office later in the afternoon, I could actually see a small patch of blue sky. I had high hopes for the rest of the week, until I looked at the weather channel and noticed that it will only be 30 degrees tomorrow morning.

I'm encouraged by the progress I'm making with my shoulder. The cortisone shot is mostly out of my system by now, and the pain isn't that bad unless I do something stupid. Walking the dogs isn't a problem, if I walk them separately. It's the little things that creep up and surprise me. I have to be careful about putting on a heavy coat, or even folding a blanket. I was wondering why I was told not to raise my hand above my line of sight until I tried it. Every time I raised my right hand above my head, I would hear a popping sound in my shoulder. It needs more time. I'm feeling better, but the shoulder is still very weak.

Work is still keeping me extremely busy, but I'm starting to get a rhythm established. As long as nobody throws me a curve, I'll be fine. People always throw you a cure though. It's just a law of nature.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1490

There was so much to do today that it was hard to believe it was only Monday. There were photos to reformat and transform in Photoshop. There were websites to update. And of course, there were the inevitable articles to write. None of these tasks were particularly challenging on their own, but collectively they just about wore me out.

I've got a meeting with my financial adviser later in the week. I wish I could get the guy to give me an honest answer about my remaining resources. If I can continue my current lifestyle without jumping through all these hoops, there is little point in continuing doing a multitude of things I don't really enjoy. I know we wants me to keep working though. He and I both know that there is no reliable way to predict the future. If you stay in the game, at least you have the reassurance that your fate won't be determined by the fickle nature of corporate dividends or government programs. I don't mind working, mind you. I just wish it was fun like it used to be when I was the Wizard of Oz.

Have any of you seen that show called Sherlock on the BBC? I don't know why I'd never seen it before, but I watched my first episode last night and it is brilliant. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that I liked the show, since it was written by Steven Moffat of Dr. Who fame. I really liked the idea of taking Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective stories and re-interpreting them for the 21 Century. I've never been a huge fan of mysteries or crime fiction, but I found this show mesmerizing. I'm sure I'll watch it again.

The dogs were bored today. They don't like it when I spend all my time working at the computer. In their minds, I'm just some sort of a dog butler who is here to keep them entertained whenever they're not sleeping. When they're bored, the dogs bark a lot and try to slap things off my desk with their paws to catch my attention. We has some nice, long walks today, but apparently that wasn't enough. Maybe they were just trying to tell me that the work I was doing was pointless. Of course, I know that already.

Tomorrow, Dash goes to the vet to have his teeth cleaned. We've done this before, but I always get nervous. Basically, I just don't like anesthesia. I worry when I have to be under anesthesia myself, and I worry even more when the dogs need anesthesia. I've heard all the arguments about the safety of Isoflurane and Propofol when administered by a trained anesthesiologist, but these are still strong and dangerous drugs. It's too bad it is so difficult to properly brush a dog teeth. Every two or three years the risk of periodontal disease overcomes my fear of anesthesia, and I schedule the dogs for a dental cleaning. Tomorrow is the day for Dash. If all goes well, Dot will get her teeth cleaned a few weeks later.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1483

It was cold enough to dress in layers this morning. I wore two warm coats, and so did Dot and Dash. One coat is usually plenty for the dogs, but when the temperature is in the single digits, you don't want to take chances. It's still hard for me to believe that Dallas is actually warm, compared with other parts of the country, but that's what I'm hearing on the news.

I've experienced much colder temperatures in my lifetime. I went to high school in Fairbanks, Alaska where it would often remain twenty degrees below zero for weeks at a time. It didn't seem colder though, because everyone was prepared. The windows in our house were all double glazed and there was a huge coal-fired furnace in the basement that kept the house toasty warm even in a blizzard. The cars all had electric crankcase heaters that you plugged into parking meters whenever you went out. When I went to school, I wore an Eddie Bauer parka that looked like it would keep you warm at the South Pole. The lesson I learned was that if you took the cold seriously, you were almost always warm. It's hard to take the cold seriously in Texas. As a result, I've experienced more dead batteries on cold mornings and more malfunctioning furnaces here in Dallas than my parents ever did in Alaska.

Today was one of those doctor appointment days that makes it difficult to get anything done. By the time you drive to the appointment, find a parking place, sit in the waiting room for an interminable amount of time, and take all the tests the doctor wants, you've wasted half the day. Luckily, today's tests went well, and this particular doctor gave me the green light for another six months.

Tomorrow, it's Dash's turn to go to the doctor. I'm worried that something might be wrong with his kidneys, since he's peeing all the time now. I've seen a noticeable change in the past six months. He also has some bad looking rear molars and his teeth need to be cleaned. I worry about this too, since Dash doesn't react well to anesthesia. The vets call his response "waking up hard" and it doesn't sound pretty. I'm hoping that his vet can come up with a more gentle way to bring him out of the anesthesia after his dental procedure is complete.

With Dot's physical therapy, Dash's seizures, and my own multiple medical problems, it often seems like life is just one extended doctor visit. If you count the trips to the gym and the pharmacy as health related outings, there is something medical going on just about every day. I guess it's worth the effort though. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and I'm all about prevention these days. The dogs are both still very active, and when I'm sitting in the doctor's waiting room, I still seem to be in a lot better shape than most of the other patients. I must be doing something right.

That stupid bird is still pooping on my car every night. I wish there was an accessory I could buy that would electrify the entire car whenever I turned on the car alarm. Birds that used the car as a pooping post would get fried. Of  course, knowing me, I'd probably forget to turn the thing off one morning and fry myself instead. Better leave things the way they are.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1403

Dot does not have a brain tumor. This is very good news. She still has seizures, of course, and we're not quite sure what's causing them, but seizures can be controlled. Although there's still something very wrong, it's reassuring to know that Dot's brain is as normal as a Dalmatian's brain can be. I'm always fascinated with MRI images. They're so clear and detailed. The imaging technicians took hundreds of images of Dot and if you put them together in sequence, you would have a detailed movie of what's going on inside her head. Some of these images show the eyes and the optic nerve. Others show the tongue and the esophagus. This slice seems to be centered in the middle of her head and shows the spinal cord attaching to the base of the brain. It was a stressful day, but everything is back to normal now. Dot recovered so quickly that she even wanted to take her evening walk.

Since the Animal Imaging Center isn't located nearby, I spent quite a while transporting Dot to and from her MRI appointment. The scan itself took less than an hour, but since she had to be anesthetized for the procedure, she was at the imaging center for most of the day. The place is pretty amazing. They have one of the most advanced MRI machines in the entire country. It is one of a small handful of MRI machines in the world that is large enough to accommodate horses. The facility is located in an equestrian center because most of the clients are horse owners. Lots of top race and show horses come to the facility to have injuries evaluated. Under ordinary circumstances Dot likes being around horses. Today was different though. She had no interest in horses. All she wanted to do was come home again.

Anesthesia often causes nausea in both people and animals. Dot woke up feeling a little under the weather and the trip back home during rush hour traffic didn't make things any better. She threw up in the car and seemed to feel better afterwards. I guess it was only a matter of time before one of the dogs threw up in the new car. If you have a dog and you have a car, the dog is going to vomit in it sooner or later.

The artwork of the Dalmatian without any spots came out very nice. I picked up the life-size image at the printer today and I think this will make a cute game at the children's carnival. We'll make the spots out of peel and stick black vinyl and let the kids choose where to place them on the dog. I guess we need to name the dog too.

I was lucky that there were no pressing deadlines today. I certainly didn't have a lot of time to write or make website revisions. I know that some of my clients read the blog, so maybe they just cut me some slack today. I'm hoping for an uneventful weekend. We all need a little rest around here.

Little Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1402

Today was an odd assortment of obscure tasks. Since the skies finally turned blue again, I went up on the roof and swept away a slurry of decaying leaves, pecan shells, and brownish water. I keep thinking that if I can keep the Fall leaves from turning into a big compost pile, the new roof will last longer. I could be wrong though.

Later in the day I found myself taking all the spots off of a vector art illustration of a Dalmatian. I needed to create a large image of a Dalmatian without any spots, so children at a Fall carnival could add the spots back one at a time and create their own Dalmatian. I sent the outline of the dog off to be printed on a 36" square sheet of plastic. Small kids should have fun putting the spots on a Dalmatian, shouldn't they? Hey, maybe it's a silly game, but it was all I could think of for our booth at this event.

Since work was unusually slow today, I found time to go back to the gym again. Three visits in one week is pretty good for me. I am still baffled by people who love to exercise. I don't find my workouts any different than vacuuming the floors, or mowing the grass. There's no endorphin rush for me. It's just another kind of work. I will admit that I enjoy shooting baskets on the gym's basketball court. Who would have thought? My Dad would have been pleased to see me pick up a basketball. It was his favorite game.

I just remembered that I left six of my favorite CDs in the Defender 90's CD changer when I sold the car. If the car is still up at the dealership, I should go up and get the discs while I can. You may wonder why it took me three weeks to remember that I'd misplaced my favorite CDs. I guess I don't listen to music much anymore. I certainly don't play CDs very often. Music is just files on an iPhone now.

I have to take Dot to the imaging center for her MRI first thing tomorrow morning. She's not going to be a happy camper when she discovers that she can't eat breakfast. Dogs live to eat and missing a meal is a big deal to them. She has to fast though, since they will be giving her anesthesia for her brain scan. I'll be glad when this is over with. I don't like to be anesthetized myself, but at least I know what's happening. The dogs have no idea what is going to happen to them, but I'm sure they blame me when they wake up again. They always give me one of those "how could you" looks when I pick them up after the procedure. This needs to be done though, so I hope Dot will be safe.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 903

It was unnaturally quiet this morning. Dash was at the vet, getting his teeth cleaned. The television and the Internet were silent, because my U-verse account was still offline. Breakfast went quickly because there wasn't an old episode of Top Gear or Dr. Who to watch on TV. Even Dot went back to sleep, because there was no Dash for her to boss around. I thought I'd get a lot done with no distractions, but I was wrong. It was too quiet.

The unusual silence didn't last long. Around 10:30 AM, there was a knock on the door that got Dot barking again. It was the U-verse technician. He didn't think the problem was in the house, but he wanted to check anyway. Dot definitely did think there was a problem in the house. There was a stranger inside. I kept telling the technician that she wouldn't bite, but I don't think he believed me. As expected, the problem wasn't in the house, so the technician packed up his tools and left to trace the problem to its source. About two hours later he returned. He said somebody had disconnected my line at a junction box while they were connecting another customer. Some things never change I guess. This used to happen frequently when I had my plain old twisted pair phone line.

Like most problems, the U-verse outage turned out to be simple human error. I don't think my car problems are caused by human error, however. Things break on this car even when it's sitting in the driveway. Granted, the Defender is old and has quite a few miles on it, but I still wish it were more reliable. Once, I looked at a printout of all the things that had gone wrong with the car at the dealership and the document looked like a book. There were literally hundreds of things that had broken of gone wrong over the years. I'm still loyal to the Defender though. Parts are easy to obtain. The car is fun to drive. Best of all, I can fit a large dog crate in the back.

When I went to pick up Dash around 4 PM, I noticed he was walking a bit funny. I asked the vet what was wrong, and she said he was probably a little sore. Since he went in for a dental procedure, I was wondering why he was sore at the other end. The vet said they put the anesthesia and heartbeat monitors up his butt, so that his mouth would be unobstructed. Whoa!  I sure hope they don't start doing that when I go to the dentist.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 679

I was pretty much just a pet taxi today. I took Dot to the vet this morning for her dental exam. A while later, I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot and exam. Then I went back to the vet again and picked up Dot and took her home. In between, I went to a meeting with a printer about an upcoming print job and stopped by the Land Rover dealer to get them to turn my catalytic converter warning light off again.

Dot spent most of the day at the vet, because dogs have to have anesthesia for dental work. I always worry about anesthesia, since year's ago, a friend's dog died after having a bad reaction to the anesthesia after a simple teeth cleaning. I don't know all that much about anesthesia, but I used to feel comfortable knowing that most veterinarians use Isoflurane gas. An animal wakes up almost immediately after the gas is removed with very few side effects. Lately, I've learned that Isoflurane gas is usually used in conjunction with Propofol. Yep, that's the same drug that killed Michael Jackson. My vet assures me that Propofol is quite safe if administered correctly and adds that I've probably been given the drug myself if I've ever been anesthetized at a hospital. At any rate, Dot is fine. I still need to take her IV drip bandage off though.

I made some website revisions today, but I'm still not quite up to speed this week. I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a busy day. One of my clients wants to change their online forms, and I always have problems with forms. It's hard enough to get them to work correctly in the first place, and sometimes "fixing" the form only makes things worse. The problem is that most online forms return their results in e-mail and often lose all their formatting in the process. Clients are always telling me that their form results look "messy." You get what you pay for I guess. Most people still tend to use the basic form-mail scripts that their web host offers for free.

Tomorrow is the annual dog training school Halloween party. We're a little behind on the dog's costumes this year. I guess we're actually way behind. Janet is still sewing Dot's costume right now. I think she is going as a cat.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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