Day 1539

My life is starting to resemble Groundhog Day again. The same health insurance claims get filed incorrectly over and over again. The large printer keeps clogging. My UP fitness band keeps breaking right after Jawbone sends me a patch that they claim will fix the problem. The insane redbird keeps pecking at my office window and pooping on my car. The same telemarketers and politicians relentlessly robo-dial my phone. I eat the same oatmeal and do the same work assignments over and over and over again.

I need to ask the dogs how they cope with bone crushing monotony. They both seem to have adjusted pretty well to doing the same things over and over again. Of course all Dot and Dash really do is sleep and pester me to entertain them when they wake up and realize they're hungry or need to pee. I'm sure I'd do better myself if I spent my entire day sleeping. It's much more frustrating when you have spend your day going through the motions of resolving problems that never seem to get resolved.

At least I saw the sun today. It was still cold as hell, but the blue sky looked promising. Today was certainly better than the relentlessly grey skies and sleet we had yesterday. I think the temperatures are supposed to climb back into the mid-sixties before the end of the week, when the whole cycle will begin again. I thought it would be too cold for the dogs this morning, but they seemed invigorated by the frigid air and wanted to walk longer than I had in mind. Dash still needs to take short walks and can't even wear his winter coat, since it attaches around his neck where his surgery incision is. Dot is just too old for long jaunts in icy weather. I'm always worried that she's going to fall.

I'm going to have to call an electrician soon. I can't even finish brushing my teeth before the LED lights in the bathroom ceiling start blinking on and off and driving me crazy. It would be nice to go ahead and fix the leaking shower pan and reinstall a large mirror that has come loose at the same time, but that would involve either finding a contractor who would inflate the price, or using a jack-of-all-trades handyman who would do all three jobs poorly. I've already mentioned that the dogs don't like workmen in the house either. All these problems will eventually get solved. It just won't be very satisfying.

Tomorrow, Dash resumes his regular bi-weekly antigen shots. I know he'd like to resume the rest of his regular schedule as well. All in good time. He should be pleased that he's doing as well as he is. I only wish my dislocated shoulder would heal as quickly as he seems to be recovering from his thyroid surgery. I'm going to remain hopeful that something interesting will happen tomorrow.

Maggie 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

Day 1470

Today was good. I slept in a bit later than usual. I fixed myself a leisurely breakfast. I finished up some writing work in the morning, but I wasn't in a hurry. By noon I was done with everything I usually do on a Tuesday. Since I felt I had the afternoon free, I decided to finish up my Christmas shopping and go to the gym. Unfortunately, since Janet was off work today and it felt like a holiday, I completely forgot that Dash was due for his antigen shot. Now, I'm going to have to reschedule his appointment ASAP before his skin starts to get irritated again.

My mind is a sieve. When anything deviates from my normal schedule, I completely forget what I'm doing. Sadly, I didn't remember that I'd forgotten Dash's vet appointment until I started writing tonight's blog post.

As I expected, the gym was empty and the stores were full this afternoon. Surprisingly, my doctor's office was still open today, so I stopped by on the way home from the gym to make them aware that they still weren't submitting my insurance claims properly. I don't expect anything to be resolved, but at least I made an effort. I got my workout and shopping done so efficiently this afternoon that I would have had time to take Dash to the vet, if I had only remembered. Oh, well. I'll try to get him rescheduled for Thursday or Friday.

Since Janet is traveling to visit relatives tomorrow, we had our Christmas celebration today. We enjoyed a fantastic traditional dinner of baked ham, whipped sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and Brussels sprouts. After dinner, we opened presents under the tree and Dash got so excited while opening one of his presents that he ate some wrapping paper. Luckily it was a small piece, and I think it will pass without incident. Leave it to Dash to do something like this though. Dot was a model of decorum opening her own presents.

The dogs never like it when Janet is away, but they'll have to buck up and get used to it. This happens almost every year. I'm sure they'll be fine when they realize they still get fed and that there's extra room in the bed. Maybe they'll even enjoy watching the Dr. Who Christmas Special with me.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1442

UPS lost another package today. In the misplaced delivery derby, UPS is definitely ahead of FedEx. This isn't the first time that UPS has claimed they delivered something that I never received. At least with FedEx, you have the ability to contact the driver directly and find out exactly what happened. When something goes wrong with your UPS order, they initiate this convoluted investigative process that takes weeks. I have a feeling that I'm never going to get this package. Too bad I already paid for this stuff.

With the exception of my lost order, it wasn't really a bad day. The sun came out around lunchtime and seeing our shadows again did wonders for me and the dogs. If I was the analytical type, I'm convinced that I could track my moods pretty accurately using a light meter. The greater the number of Footcandles the meter showed, the happier I'd be.

When I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot this afternoon, they said he had no appointment scheduled for today. He probably didn't. Even though Dash will be going to the vet for this routine shot every two weeks for the rest of his life, there doesn't seem to be a way to enter these ongoing appointments into the vet's computer. I often forget to remind them to renew the appointments for another month when I tear off a new calendar page. All's well that ends well though. The clinic was nice enough to work Dash in and he got his shot anyway.

It's difficult to make it to the gym on these vet appointment Tuesdays. I did manage to make it today, but I had to cut my workout short in order to get home again in time to walk the dogs before sunset. With such a simple life, you'd think I'd have plenty of time for everything. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. I never seem to have enough time. I did manage to get most of the things on my list finished today, but that was only because of the sun. Without a patch of bright sunlight to spur me onward, I probably would have been hopelessly behind.

Tomorrow will probably be a day in customer service hell. I need to find out where my UPS package went and why I received an erroneous "final bill" for a service I discontinued long ago. There will be more articles to write and Dot needs to go to her acupuncture appointment as well. I'm glad it's a short week.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1414

I noticed today that I've already made 25 cents from Shutterstock. Hey, it's only a matter of time before the money starts rolling in. It's kind of sad that people's creative efforts have so little value on the Internet, but that's just the way it is. Today's art directors routinely purchase fantastic stock images for just a few dollars that used to cost them thousands. At least photographers can upload a ton of images to a stock photography site and forget about them. Internet writers don't have that luxury. Writers are faced with coming up with custom solutions for pennies.

A certain amount of the writing I do is Internet-based. I'm always complaining about how low the pay scale is, but I have it so much better than some Internet writers. Some of these sites that pay for content advertise that writers can make as much as $3 to $10 dollars an article. Give me a break! This is no way to make money. I went through most of my career thinking that commercial writers should make a minimum of a dollar a word or $100 an hour. All I've got to say is that times have certainly changed.

Today was certainly a lot busier than yesterday. The dogs seemed to have regained their energy and wanted to go on a long walk. There were phone calls to answer and deadlines to meet. I paid some bills, updated a few websites, and finished another article.

I worked fast, because I was determined to get to the gym today. Working out three days a week seems just about right. Unfortunately, all it takes are a few snags in my schedule and those three days can easily turn into zero days. I lucked out today and everything clicked into place. I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot, picked up some dry cleaning, went to the post office, and still made it to the gym before 4 PM.

I'm going to need some more good luck to make it through tomorrow. All the local weather forecasts are predicting severe weather tomorrow. I dread taking Dot to her acupuncture appointment during a thunderstorm. She gets so stressed out during storms that it would defeat the whole purpose of the acupuncture. The acupuncture session is supposed to relax you and thunderstorms have exactly the opposite effect on Dot. If the weather is bad enough, I'm just going to cancel tomorrow's appointment. If there is hail in the forecast, I'm not leaving the house at all. After Janet's car was severely damaged in a hailstorm several years ago, I've become very wary about driving in bad weather. We'll see what happens. Texas weather is very unpredictable. I could wake up to clear skies tomorrow.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1400

The rainy season has officially started. It is often this way in late October. It will rain for days at a time. This is typically not good for The State Fair of Texas, which occupies this rainy time slot. I remember going to a Rolling Stones concert at the Cotton Bowl late in October and it poured throughout the entire concert. I thought that Keith Richards was going to get electrocuted playing out in the rain, but the weather didn't seem to faze the band. They were all much younger then, of course.

Dot and Dash hate the rain. It messes with their doggy instincts. If they were practical dogs, they would just go out in the back yard and poop quickly on rainy days. Nope. They can't do this. They have to go on their regular walk, where they get wet and muddy. Light rain makes them mad and heavy rain sends them into a panic. You just can't win on rainy days.

Everything got dirty today. The dogs got dirty, The car got dirty. The floors got dirty. I felt like I spent half the day doing laundry and drying the dogs off. I did manage to get some articles written and got caught up on correspondence, but personally, I would have much rather just taken a long nap. I know there is a ton of standing water up on the roof, but I'm not even going to bother to go up there until I see the sun again.

When I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot today, he took an unhealthy interest in some guinea pigs that were up for adoption in the lobby. I don't know whether he thought the guinea pigs were small cats or large squirrels, but he definitely though they were meant to be chased and barked at. Sometimes Dash can be embarrassing.

It would be nice if I woke up to a crisp and clear Fall morning tomorrow, but I'm expecting more rain. Although driving in the rain is one of my least favorite things, there are lots of places to go tomorrow. I'll start the day with a tasty omelet at the Wednesday business breakfast meeting. Then I've got to demonstrate a website prototype, and take Dot downtown for her acupuncture session. I have a feeling I'll be wishing I could take a long nap tomorrow as well.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1386

Today didn't get of to a good start. I got up late. The dogs were exceptionally slow on their morning walk. Even though I rushed through my normally tranquil breakfast, I felt like the day was half over before I began to immerse myself in a long list of projects with immediate deadlines. It might have been brain fog, but the articles on my plate today seemed more difficult than usual. Then there was that troublesome Wordpress site I'm developing. Even though I'm learning more and more about Wordpress with each passing day, it is still a thorn in my side. Today, I learned that my favorite Javascript applets don't work in Wordpress. I haven't really mastered the art of editing Wordpress themes in Dreamweaver either. I guess you're just supposed to buy a theme and leave it alone.

I got so tangled up with work problems today that I almost forgot about Dash's vet appointment. Luckily the vet was flexible and I was able to re-schedule his regular 2 PM appointment for 3:30 PM. Sometimes I feel like a full-time dog nanny. Dot has her own vet appointment tomorrow.  Taking care of the dogs takes a lot of time, but it's still the only thing that seems genuinely important. Everything else is basically BS.

Are you guys as tired of Congress as I am? This whole attempt to shut down the government to protest Obamacare is absurd. Hey guys, just leave things alone. If Obamacare works and people end up liking it, so be it. If Obamacare doesn't work and people end up hating it, it's not going to last very long. I've been in business long enough to realize that sometimes things just sink under their own weight. You don't even have to try to sink them.

Tomorrow looks like it will live up to its reputation as the busiest day of the week. I've got my 7 AM business networking breakfast to attend. Dot has her afternoon water therapy appointment. And it looks like I've got at least two new articles to finish. Hopefully, I won't even think about Wordpress tomorrow. At least the weather is nice. October is typically the prettiest month of the year here in Texas and if today is any indication, the month is getting off to a great start.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1358

Yeah, I know it is Tuesday, but it sure seemed like a Monday to me. Everything started off slow today. I managed to get everything done on my list, but I certainly didn't set any speed records. Our morning walk was slow. Breakfast took forever. Even my writing assignments felt like I was wading through molasses. The only upside to all this is that it is a four day week and I'm already that much closer to Friday.

Have I told you how I feel about Texas weather? It's always too something: too hot, too wet, too humid, too dry. You get the picture. Today there were too many horse flies. I assume these pesky critters were horse flies, because, unlike common house flies, these flies would bite you. The flies weren't very interested in Dot, but they went after me and Dash with a vengeance. I tried to keep the flies off the dogs, but it was virtually impossible. Eventually, we had to curtail our evening walk and head for home. The flies were everywhere.

My only outing today was taking Dash to see the vet for his antigen shot. I renewed his phenobarbital prescription while I was there. I hate the thought of having him take this powerful sedative for long periods of time, but it seems to be working. Dash hasn't had another seizure since he resumed taking the drug. Since long-term use of phenobarbital can damage the liver, we are going to work with our vet to slowly transition Dash to potassium bromide instead. Potassium bromide has its own set of problems, but it does appear safer than phenobarbital. So, why didn't we put Dash on potassium bromide in the first place? Well, for starters it can take up to four months of continued use before it starts to become effective at controlling seizures. Have I told you how I feel about pharmaceuticals? I'm sure I have.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I've got a new business meeting in the morning and Dot's physical therapy session in the afternoon. In between, I've got to find time to complete my regular allotment of writing and website assignments. The dogs have their weekly training class in the evening as well. Maybe with so much going on, I might actually have something interesting to write about for a change.

Are you as confused about politics as I am? The Democrats want to bomb someone because they are using weapons of mass destruction and the Republicans are against it. The last time I heard the words "weapons of mass destruction" mentioned in the news, it was the Republicans who wanted to bomb somebody and the Democrats were against it. Personally, I think we ought to mind our own business and mend our own fences instead. We've got enough problems right over here.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1344

If you didn't know any better, you'd probably think I operated a pet taxi service. The day was spent carting Dot and Dash back and forth to various vet appointments. I'm happy to report that Dot's condition continues to improve. She's moving around fairly well now, and although the Rimadyl she's currently taking to reduce inflammation in her leg might be partially responsible for her seemingly overnight recovery, it does appear that she suffered no serious damage last weekend. All Dot's vital signs looked good at her annual physical today. If I can keep her calm for a few more days while her leg continues to heal, I think she'll be walking normally again.

When I got Dot back home again, it was time to take Dash to the vet.  Nothing was really wrong with Dash this time. He just needed his bi-weekly antigen shot. There's one more vet appointment with Dot tomorrow, and then it's time for me to go back to the doctor again. A new ultrasound test one of my doctors wanted me to take got approved by insurance today, and I made an appointment to get the test done on Thursday.

The touch screen display quit working on the Evoque loaner car this afternoon. Now, when you touch the on-screen buttons, nothing happens. I can't believe that so many things are broken on a car with only 6,000 miles on the odometer. Of course there is always a chance that the odometer is broken too. I may be driving an older car than I think. I'm definitely never going to buy one of these things. The entire car is just a giant electrical problem waiting to happen.

Even though I was continually driving around, running errands, getting prescriptions filled, and taking dogs to the vet, I still managed to get quite a bit done today. The web-servers that were down for repairs yesterday were running normally again, so I was able to upload quite a bit of new material to client websites. There was a rush article that needed to be written in a hurry, as well as some pictures that still needed to be edited in Photoshop. I may have forgotten one or two things, but I think I did pretty well for a Monday.

I didn't have time to go to the gym today, which meant I didn't have time to stop at the grocery store on the way home either. Although there was nothing to eat for dinner in the refrigerator, there was plenty of soup in the cupboard. Janet loves soup. No matter how forgetful I am about grocery shopping, there is always plenty of soup to eat.

I'm hopeful that Dot's condition will continue to improve and that after tomorrow's vet appointment, life will return to some semblance of normality. If two dogs leave me with a feeling that I have a full plate, I wonder how people with small children and busy lives manage at all. Maybe they all have nannies.

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1343

One good thing about having so many veterinarians as clients and friends is that Dot and Dash always get excellent medical care. Dot went to her emergency vet today to get X-rays and make sure she hadn't seriously injured her leg. Tomorrow she goes to her regular vet for her annual physical exam. Then, on Wednesday she goes to see her physical therapy vet. I'm hoping that seeing three different vets on three consecutive days will help us find a conclusive answer to the problems she's been having with her rear legs. Today's visit was encouraging. Her spine and hips look remarkably good for a dog of her age. There were no visible signs of Spondylosis or pinched nerves on the X-rays either. She still might have a partial tear of her anterior cruciate ligament, but it doesn't look like she suffered a full tear, which is much more serious.

Since Dot was in no immediate danger and Dash's condition seems to have stabilized, I was able to take care of some of my own medical needs. I took copies of some new blood work over to my Hepatologist. I guess I could have just faxed the records, but there were so many that it seemed easier to drive them over to the hospital. Next, I got another doctor to approve a new cholesterol medication that a third doctor wanted me to start taking. My own medical team might not be as friendly and accommodating as Dot's, but dealing with them is just as complex. I've discovered that getting three or more doctors to agree on anything is next to impossible.

Today was Janet's birthday. We didn't have a huge party with an open bar and a rock band, but we did have some delicious Sprinkles cupcakes. Dot and Dash got to enjoy some Sprinkles doggie cupcakes as well. My favorite new Sprinkles flavor is S'mores. Somehow, they taste exactly like the Graham crackers with melted marshmallows and chocolate that are mandatory on any camping trip. Yes, I know that I'm not supposed to eat any sugar, but I probably won't eat another cupcake until the next birthday party. I think I'm OK.

It's a good thing that work was slow today, because I doubt that I could have met any deadlines today anyway. After I got all my medical errands out of the way, I did have time to update a couple of websites. I couldn't upload the changes though, since one of the sites was moving to a new server. With Dot's annual exam and Dash's antigen shot tomorrow, I hope my workload continues to be slow. After Wednesday is over, you guys can start piling it on again, but let's hold off for a little while. I've got sick dogs to deal with.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1330

While I was sitting in the lobby waiting for Dash to get his antigen shot this afternoon, a guy came in and told the receptionist at the clinic that he had an emergency. He said his dog had collapsed and was unresponsive after only five minutes of playing at the dog park. What was this guy thinking? It was 106 degrees outside! Dogs don't handle extreme heat well anyway. The last thing you want to do with your dog when it is 106 degrees outside is keep throwing the ball for him at a dog park. Luckily, the dog was OK after some rest and a bowl of water, but I still think his owner was an idiot.

I feel like I spent the entire day trying, without much success, to schedule a variety of things. An imaging lab wanted to schedule an MRI for me, but they needed insurance approval first and apparently the insurance and imaging sides of the equation weren't communicating well. No resolution here. A client wanted a travel estimate, but wasn't sure when they wanted me to travel. Not much success here either, especially since hotels and airlines seem to charge different rates for each day of the week. Don't ever try to make travel arrangements when you don't know when you're going. I wasted even more time trying to track down a missing Fedex package that mysteriously disappeared and then just as mysteriously reappeared about six hours later. I would like to tell you about a day where everything went smoothly, but don't hold your breath. Very few aspects of life go smoothly anymore.

A website project that had been dormant for over two years roared back to life today. I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. It has taken me over two years to decide on certain things. I have a feeling that people who are slow to make decisions are a lot more common than you might think. I'm happy to move this project back to the front burner though. It was getting pretty cold sitting on the back burner for so long. Although I'm not sure that the terms I agreed to several years ago are even relevant anymore, I'm probably stuck with them. That's usually the way it works.

I'm praying that it will be a little cooler tomorrow. I don't know how many 106 degree days I can take. I've got to drive Dot across town for her water therapy treatment tomorrow and taking the Defender out in this kind of weather is never something that inspires confidence. Janet says I can use her car to transport Dot if I get up extra early and drive her to work. I'm not surprised that she doesn't want to trade cars and take my car to work. Driving an unreliable car without a synchromesh transmission is definitely an acquired taste.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1316

Sometimes dealing with tech support is like Chinese water torture. I found myself locked out of my voicemail this morning and ended up spending hours talking to three different levels of tech support. When one technician couldn't solve my problem, they would escalate my call to the next level. I don't know why turning on my voicemail account again was so complicated, but it apparently was. At one point I was talking to one person on my cell phone, another person on the land line and had to put both phones on speakerphone and set them next to each other so the technicians could hear each other. Most of these folks spoke English as a second language, so I was constantly saying "Could you repeat that please." I did manage to talk to one native English speaker, but he had a terrible stutter, so I couldn't understand him either.

When the problem was eventually resolved, I listened to my new voicemail messages and they were all from telemarketers. Jeez! Why did I spend hours trying to listen to messages I didn't want to receive in the first place? On days like this technology hardly seems worth the effort. Everything seems to work for the moment though, so if an important call comes in tomorrow, I'm right on top of it.

While Dash was getting his antigen shot today, I talked to the vet about alternatives to Phenobarbital in case his seizures returned. She mentioned that she had success using Potassium Bromide and thought it was safer than Phenobarbital. I looked up the drug on the Internet when we got home and discovered that possible side effects include ataxia, increased urination, skin disorders, nausea and vomiting. Doesn't sound very safe to me. Potassium Bromide won't damage the liver like Phenobarbital though. Of course, the alternative I like best is not to put Dash on any drugs at all.

I routinely experience the same frustrations with my own meds. The devil is always in the details. I've been wondering why I've had this strong metallic taste in my mouth for the past several months. A quick Internet search revealed that the metallic taste was probably caused by the Metformin I take to control blood sugar levels. I have a feeling that my doctor didn't mention the metallic aftertaste because he was afraid I wouldn't take the drug if I knew about this common side effect.

After making a trip to the post office to pay some bills, I stopped by Home Depot to get some wasp spray to combat the growing number of wasps and hornets building nests near the house. After I got out my reading glasses and read the warning label on the side of the can, I took the spray back and exchanged it for a much milder organic product. It was amazing to me than anyone would even sell a product with so many potentially toxic side effects. I guess a bug spray that will kill a snake is too strong for normal use.

Getting to the gym several times a week is proving to be harder than I thought it would be. I only made it once last week and it looks like this week will be just as busy. Tomorrow Dot starts her water therapy and Thursday is when the garbage disposal gets repaired. Throw in an article or two each day, along with the usual website revisions and a dog walk and my day is gone. Maybe I can find some free time on Friday.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1260

I woke up this morning to an entirely different kind of noise. There was a giant piece of construction equipment on the road in front of our house methodically grinding up the asphalt surface and spitting it out into waiting trucks. I looked at the slow moving convoy and was glad I didn't need to go anywhere. Oops! What was I thinking? I actually did need to go somewhere. The Land Rover dealer had called and told me my car was finally finished and I needed to come pick it up. About three hours later, when the road crew had finally moved a few blocks further down the road, I was finally able to get out of the driveway and retrieve the Defender 90. As I was writing a check for the repairs, someone said "you must be really glad to have your car back." I wouldn't go that far. In truth, I was growing to like the fancy LR4 loaner car. Now, it's back to basics with the old Defender.

There was lots of activity up on the roof this morning as well, but it was hard to hear the roofers over the cacophony of road machinery noise. Things are finally starting to look organized on the roof. Maybe this story will have a happy ending after all. I'm glad I followed Janet's advice and kept my mouth shut. Well, I did write those letters to the contractor, but they were very polite. If I'd actually gone up on the roof and started screaming at people, I don't think it would have ended well.

I went online today and got a UPS package re-routed to a Customer Service Center, so I won't have to wait around all day tomorrow for the delivery. A few minutes later when I looked up the address of the Service Center, I read a bunch of reviews on Yelp telling me to never go to this Service Center because the staff was disorganized and there was always a long line. We'll see. It couldn't be any worse than waiting around all day for the package. Well, it actually could be worse. What if I get down to the Service Center and discover that the package is already on a truck headed to my house? The lady I talked to on the phone today assured me that this wouldn't happen, but you know how good those kind of promises are.

I went and renewed my storage room contract for another year. Every year, I tell myself that I'm going to start thinning things out, so I can fit everything into a smaller storage room that isn't so expensive. Not surprisingly, this never seems to happen. The storage room is kind of like a black hole. Once something goes in the room, it never seems to come out.

With all the commotion today, I almost forgot it was Dash's antigen shot day. Well, I did forget, but I was able to get him rescheduled again for later in the afternoon. How people manage to combine a busy career with ferrying kids all over the place is beyond me. Just managing the activities of these two dogs keeps me busy enough.

I hope things calm down a bit tomorrow. Today was tiring. I thought I'd rest on the bed for a few minutes with the dogs right after dinner and immediately fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again, it was three hours later. So much for keeping on schedule.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1246

I'm fond of rituals. Every morning, I get up and make the bed with military precision. I switch out the backup hard drive on my computer with an identical second drive, so I always have two copies of all my files. I grind some locally roasted Monsooned Malabar coffee beans and make myself a fresh pot of coffee. Then I walk the dogs. I've been following these same morning rituals for so long now that I don't even question them. Probably the only real change I've made in quite a few years is substituting a bowl of oatmeal and fresh fruit for my over-easy eggs, toast, and sausages.

I think the dogs like my steady hand at the helm. They know I'm always going to get them fresh water every morning, fix their breakfast, and take them on a nice long walk. I think like a dog.

Occasionally, I wish that my rituals wouldn't take so long, so I'd have time for something new. It seldom works out that way though, since work is a big part of the ritual. After I eat my breakfast and take a shower, I start to write. Writing always eats up a big chunk of the day and then there are the perpetual website revisions that pay the bills. When something new and different does occur, I seldom rejoice, because it always throws me off schedule.

Tonight, there was a wrap-up party for a big charity event I participated in. During the entire party, I kept thinking that the dogs needed to go outside and pee and I needed to get started writing today's blog entry. Even though it was a very nice party, I couldn't wait to get home again. My entire life is choreographed this way, right down to brushing my teeth at night and falling to sleep watching an old black and white episode of Perry Mason. If I was a child, some might think I was mildly autistic. Luckily, I'm older and can get away with simply being classified as eccentric.

I finally got around to selecting a roofing company today. I went with the company my architect friend recommended and they said they could get started next week. It will be nice to be able to take cleaning up after water leaks off my list of regular rituals. I hope I picked the right company. You can never be entirely sure with roofers. Even my friend made his recommendation with a caveat. "Hey, these guys have always done a good job for me," he said. "But they still might put on a terrible roof on your house." We'll see how it goes. All I know is that I've got to do something.

Dot has her weekly acupuncture session tomorrow. Dash had his antigen shot today. I'm starting to feel like a soccer Mom for Dalmatians.

Lady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1232

I took Dash to the vet today for his antigen shot. He seemed puzzled by the loaner car. Dash is very agile and usually has no trouble leaping into the back seat. The LR4 has a large rear door and plenty of room, but Dash didn't think he could get inside. We tried one door and then the other, but just before he would get to the open door, he would abort his leap and skid to a halt. After four or five tries, he finally realized that this car was just like any other car, and off we went. It is funny to see a dog do this, but I know I'm exactly the same way. I am very reticent to try something new. Once I work up my nerve though, I'm usually just fine. Dash and I are alike in many ways.

I talked to a friend today who is also in the market for a new flat roof. I was hoping that he'd have the answer to all my problems, but it doesn't look that way. My friend is having just as much trouble finding the holy grail as I am. I'm beginning to feel a bit like Don Quixote and have come to the conclusion that the illusive, affordable flat roof we all are searching for just doesn't exist.

I'm trying to decide whether I'd ever wear Google Glass or not. On one hand, I'm a huge fan of technology and a wearable heads-up virtual reality display certainly would be cool. On the other hand, I've never liked wearing glasses and don't even wear sunglasses in the summer. I think these things are going to catch on and will sell like hotcakes in a few years. I hear lots of talk about privacy issues with Google Glass, but I don't think privacy issues will derail this project. Privacy is still an issue with some people my age, but it's a completely foreign concept to many young people. Young people seems to want the world to know what they're doing at all times.

Privacy doesn't matter to me much one way or the other since I don't do much. Other than the trip to the vet with Dash, the only thing I did today was write several short articles. I do manage to crank out a lot of words. If I knew how to put these words together in the right order, I might be the next Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. Unfortunately, as it stands now, my words are just cannon fodder for SEO experts. Sometimes I wonder if anyone even reads the corporate stuff I write for a living.

Tomorrow we start another month. Dot and Dash will begin taking a new type of heartworm medication that hopefully is going to put an end to Dot's seizures. I'm hoping that the old medication was the problem. It certainly a lot easier to change a prescription than to deal with the possibility of mini-strokes and brain tumors.

Bea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1134

I eliminated one of the two rattles I've been hearing in my car by stopping by an Autozone store and adding a couple of quarts of oil to the engine. Now, I've just got to figure out where the missing oil went. There were no drips or oily puddles under the car. I don't think it was leaking. There was no blue smoke coming out of the tail pipe either. I have no idea where the missing oil went, but I had to add a lot more than I thought I would to get the dipstick back in the safe zone. Although the mystery of the disappearing oil wasn't solved, the mystery of my expensive oil changes was. I had no idea that fully synthetic oil cost as much as it does. I used to think Land Rover was ripping me off when I went in for an oil change. Now that I know how much the oil itself costs, their price for the service is actually pretty reasonable.

I had a lot of website work today. Since there wasn't much else to do, I managed to get all of it done. Most of my remaining clients seem to like the time consuming custom work I do. I have a feeling that it's just a matter of time before they succumb to the lure of lower cost mass produced alternatives though. I wish I could get excited about cranking out template sites myself. I can't though. I'd rather create five totally unique sites than five hundred copies.

I took Dash to the vet today. Sometimes I think he doesn't even realize he's going there to get a shot. He's a social dog and just likes all the attention he gets during these bi-weekly visits. Dash's skin condition continues to improve, so we cut him back to a half dose of his medication this week. It's amazing how directly a dog's health correlates to a good diet. Once we got Dash on the right diet, his health improved dramatically. I'm sure the same thing is true with humans. If I ate a carefully formulated bowl of dry kibble every day, I'd probably be healthier too.

The monthly big trash truck comes tomorrow. I looked around the yard for fallen limbs and other debris to drag out to the street. I couldn't find much this month. I think most of the loose limbs have fallen off our trees already. I'd bag up some of this season's leaves and haul them out to the street too, if they weren't currently being used as a mud barrier to keep the dogs paws clean.

Raider is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 994

I'm finished with my WWD Magic assignment. All my articles have been submitted. The videos have been edited and shipped off to their final destinations. I'm sure I was the oldest blogger at this prestigious show. The halls were filled with young girls who had their own fashion blog. Out of curiosity, I visited a few of these blogs and they all had a much larger audience than a certain blogger who writes about Dalmatians all the time. These kids were the new media you hear people talking about all the time. I was impressed. They each had a large, attentive audience. They had good connections within their industry. They were re-writing the rules of journalism. Every time I hear people whining about high unemployment and lack of opportunities for young people I just shake my head and wonder. There are literally tons of opportunities for young people, and these ambitious, very successful fashion bloggers were living proof.

I was a dinosaur by comparison. While I was at the show, I wandered through Avril Lavigne’s Abbey Dawn booth and didn't even recognize Avril Lavigne. I didn't even know that Avril Lavigne had a clothing line until later when I saw something on Joan River's Fashion Police show about how trashy Avril looked at WWD Magic. In my defense, I did recognize Betsy Johnson though. As Dr. Who would probably have said, Besty Johnson is cool.

I took Dash to the vet today for his regular antigen shot. His nurse was all excited about her upcoming wedding later this month. She and her husband to be are going to Tahiti for their honeymoon. They started saving for the trip over a year ago and are paying for the whole thing themselves. Is this a great country or what? Teenage fashion bloggers are rewriting the rules of journalism and young vet techs are vacationing in Tahiti. I don't care what people say. This is still the land of opportunity. The fact that I'm still making a decent living is practically an economic miracle in itself.

The dogs and I will have another opportunity to deal with a repairman in the house tomorrow. The U-verse technician is coming over to see if he can get our broadband service working properly again. I guess there's no three strikes and you're out rule in the telecom business. All of these companies continue to sign up new customers as fast as they can, while simultaneously doing their best to drive their existing customers crazy. Probably people like me are part of the problem. I used to be happy with a simple 300 baud modem. Now, I'm pissed if I can't upload a 10 MB file in two seconds.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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