Day 4132

We watched Prince Phillip's funeral while we were eating breakfast this morning. It felt like the end of an era. Phillip was the last of my Dad's generation. He was one of the very last World War II vets. He certainly was among the last to place any value on dignity and tradition. It was nice to see a nation that still reveres its history and traditions rather than try to tear them down and erase them. The monarchy may be a relic of a bygone era, but so am I. God save the Queen.

Phillip certainly had good taste in cars. This is the first and probably last time I will ever see a Land Rover Defender used as a hearse. They say Phillip chose the Defender because it was practical and unassuming. Of course he had the vehicle custom made to his own specifications and it was probably much more expensive than any ordinary hearse. Royal prerogative I guess. I was amused that at one point during a solemn and silent part of the ceremony all I could hear was the noisy motor of the Defender. I miss my old Defender and I miss the bygone era it represents. What comes next is anybody's guess, but I suspect that it is going to be a dystopian horror show.

It took me several stores to find my favorite beer while I was grocery shopping this morning. I've gotten hooked on small batch craft beers, but unfortunately some of them don't stay on the shelves with any regularity. I hope they are still brewing this beer. I went for years with having any alcohol at all when I had Hepatitis-C, but now having a single beer with dinner each night has become one of my daily pleasures. 

My back is still giving me problems. Janet has had back problems for years and tells me that I have to be patient and continue doing stretching exercises. It's hell getting old. You are supposed to lift things using your knees instead of bending over and lifting with your back. Easier said than done for a person with bad knees. One of my knees is so bad that I can't put much weight on it at all. There is definitely not a spring in my step anymore. If you see an old man shuffling slowly through the park, it is probably me.

I'm not going to let a few aches and pains stop me from walking. I've noticed that the walks don't actually make anything worse, so I'm assuming that staying active is helpful. There are dozens of commercials on TV for products that eliminate the aches and pains of aging. Many of them seem to have terrible side effects. I manage my blood pressure and control my cholesterol and A1C, but that's where the pills stop. If your joints are wearing out, there is going to be some discomfort. I'd rather live with it than get a knee or hip replacement. Eating healthy food and staying active still seems like a good plan to me.

I went and got Chinese take out for dinner again tonight. Why are there so many cars on the road at 6PM? Every time I go out it seems like rush hour. I suspect that this is only going to get worse. I've never seen so many out of state plates on cars. People are moving here in droves from failing cities in other parts of the country. I hate to see all the congestion, but it's still better to live in a successful, vibrant city than in a failing, crumbling one. 

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4131

I'm falling apart. I threw out my back last night when I was emptying the dehumidifier water bucket. I thought I'd feel better in the morning, but I woke up with one more in a long list of aches and pains. I'm sure many people have a lot more serious back problems, but this was a new one for me. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of things to come. 

It was raining hard when I woke up this morning. I turned on the pumps and nothing happened. I could hear the pumps running on the roof, but no water was coming out of the hose. This was unfortunate because it meant I needed to climb up on the roof and investigate. I finished my breakfast and waited for the rain to subside a bit before attempting to fix the pumps. I already knew what had happened. Every Spring, tons of catkins fall from our Oak trees and cover the roof. These catkins get sucked into the pumps and clog them. It's an easy fix, but you have to go up on the roof first. 

For the first time I can remember I had a difficult time scaling the rock wall leading to the roof. My back hurt. My arms felt weak. I got the distinct feeling that my roof climbing days were coming to a close. I unclogged both pumps, got the water running again, and went back inside. There was no point in doing anything further until the rain completely subsided. Maybe it will get hot again and the standing water will just evaporate. At any rate, I have no desire to go up on the roof anymore. The water can wait.

There isn't much to do on a rainy day. I don't like watching television and I don't like driving in the rain. Work used to keep me busy on rainy days, but work projects are few and far between these days. I have mixed feelings about getting shut out of the Crew-2 launch. Planning for a launch would definitely give me something to do, but I can't really afford a trip right now anyway. Realistically, I should be glad that I didn't get credentialed this time. I have time to work on getting back to Kennedy Space Center and hopefully the next time I get approved, travel won't be an issue.

I was glad when the rain finally stopped because Dawn clearly didn't want to take a nap with me. When Janet returned home we took Dawn on her short daily walk and then I continued onward. I knew today was going to be slow and didn't even bother to track my time. I don't know why I even bothered walking today. The weather was chilly and I felt stiff and painful. Right or wrong, it's important for me to keep moving. I eventually completed my route and returned home. This time I did take a nap.

We didn't get any mail today. Somehow this always seems to happen when the weather is nasty. The Postal Service Creed doesn't seem to mean much anymore. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" Nope. I don't think that's the creed anymore. I do a better job of completing my appointed rounds than our mail carrier.

We had chili and cornbread for dinner. Chili gives me heartburn but it seemed like the perfect meal for a cold, rainy day. It's a shame that the body refuses to cooperate as you get older. I used to have an iron stomach and could walk for days. I guess I should be glad that anything still works at all. By any objective standards, I'm still pretty healthy. It just doesn't feel that way sometimes.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2453

We have become the bad back family. It goes without saying that Dot has the worst problems. Neurological damage resulting from a ruptured disc in her spine has nearly crippled her. Last week Dash's vet said that his stiff awkward walk may be caused by a bulging disc in his spine as well. Janet has had lower back problems for years, and this morning I woke up with a bad back for the second day in a row. It's kind of hard to have a normal day when your back hurts. Hopefully, a little extra rest and avoiding heavy lifting for a while will get me back to normal. Several years ago I had a pinched nerve in my neck and I discovered how debilitating spinal problems can be. To this day, I have no idea what I did to cause my neck injury. I don't have a clue why I woke up with a bad back yesterday either.

I activated my free satellite radio trial today and of course it didn't work. I remember that I had the same problem connecting to the satellite the last time I took advantage of one of these free trial offers. Last year it took three or four phone calls and fifteen minutes of sitting in the car with the motor running before Sirius XM finally found my car.  I never bothered subscribing to the service before and I probably won't this time either. I never listen to music in the car anyway, so all I wanted were some extra news and weather channels. The sound quality of these voice only channels was terrible. Everything was severely compressed to save bandwidth. It wasn't what I was expecting. Probably the only reason I signed up for the trial again was the message that said "absolutely no obligation. no credit card required." I'll eventually get the car paired with the satellite, listen to a few programs, and then receive six months worth of junk mail asking me why I didn't subscribe.

I got another writing assignment today, but there wasn't enough input to actually start writing. I asked some questions, received a few vague answers, and decided to postpone this project until tomorrow. I often receive very little input on my writing assignments. I think people hire me because I'm pretty good at just making stuff up. Show me a picture and I'll invent a plausible story. I'm surprised that I never got into writing political speeches. Making absolutely nothing sound good has always been a specialty of mine.

I did write a letter to my Luddite sister. Since she lives directly in the path of that hurricane heading for the Florida coast, there's a chance that my letter will never arrive. Maybe the mailbox will just float away. I wonder why people live in hurricane zones? Hurricanes seem to hit the same places again and again. Of course, I live in what many would call a tornado zone, so you could say the same thing about me.

I got my electric bill today and it was even higher than it was last August. I could have sworn that last August was a lot hotter than it was this year, but maybe I was wrong. I have a feeling that the bill increased because of the dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers use a lot of electricity. I guess a large electric bill is better than mold in the closets though. The house seems a lot more livable since we've got the humidity under control.

I'll write my article tomorrow and see whether I can convince Dash to get back to his regular walking schedule. I'm debating whether to drive a little further and look for a new breakfast restaurant. It kind of bothers me that I don't have a favorite place anymore.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2452

I hurt my back lifting Dot into the car today. I don't think I did any serious damage, but it was a reminder that I'm not getting any younger. Just about everybody I know has some sort of lower back problem. Some go to chiropractors. Others prefer massage. I tend to do nothing. Usually the problem goes away on its own in a day or two if I don't do anything further to make the problem worse. Lifting Dot is becoming problematic. She's fairly heavy and if I don't lift her just right, she whines and complains. I blame today's mishap on somebody parking too close to me at the vet. I couldn't get the door to open fully and had trouble getting the leverage to lift Dot properly. It's hell getting old. It's too bad I can't get a two for one deal and get the vet to give me acupuncture at the same time she's treating Dot.

Most of today's mishaps were caused by me. I was still half asleep when I got up to take Dot outside to pee. Instead of hurrying her right out the back door, I stopped to adjust her harness and she promptly peed on the living room rug. I should have remembered that she didn't pee before she went to bed last night and this was going to be one of those mornings where I had less than twenty seconds to get her outside. I'm still not sure what to do about the rug. This is one of the large rugs that is difficult to take outside and clean. Dot also pooped in her bed this afternoon, but that's hardly worth mentioning. It happens all the time.

Dash has decided to create his own set of problems. He won't take his long walk before breakfast anymore. This is the best time of day, because it is still cool outside. I can't convince him of that though. Our new routine is for me to finish my breakfast, feed him his banana, do the dishes, and then give him a walk. For some reason, it seems to take longer to do things this way. The temperature heats up quickly too. I was sweating when we finished our walk this morning.

The vet always asks whether I think Dot is getting better or worse when we go for our Wednesday therapy sessions. I honestly don't know anymore. Some days she genuinely seems to be improving. Other days it seems like the end is near. Often it seems like we were in exactly this same place last year at this time. She was already incontinent last August. She couldn't walk far without assistance. I guess the amazing thing is that despite her age and many injuries, Dot really hasn't gotten much worse during the past year. She is remarkably tenacious. On days like today, I think she is going to outlast me.

At least the marathon of vet appointments is over for a while. Tomorrow ought to be a quiet day. It's hard to believe it's September already. If the weather is nice I should go up on the roof and see how many pecans are up there. I hear them dropping on the roof from the big pecan tree all day long. I should have removed these nuts already, because they create a huge mess when it rains. The tannin in the pecan shells turns the standing water on the roof into a chocolate colored mess that quickly stains the white roof. This natural dye seems indelible, so each year the roof gets a little darker. I wouldn't be surprised if the brand new patched areas are already turning brown.

I hope my back feels better tomorrow. If it doesn't, I won't be going up on the roof at all.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2269

Well, lifting Dot in and out of the car definitely isn't good for a bad back. Yikes! Maybe this is how I messed up my back in the first place. I was literally begging Dot to work with me today, but she was just dead weight. I don't think she wanted to go to her physical therapy session in the first place. I'm not so sure about our new schedule. It is certainly easier to get Dot ready in the afternoon, but the traffic is much worse. As a result, my overall level of irritation is exactly the same. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. No matter what I do these days, my overall level of irritation is exactly the same.

Dot pooped in the car on the way to the vet, but at least she was feeling better today. I described Dot's symptoms to the vet the best I could, but didn't get must closer to figuring out what was going on. Something that only happens once a month is hard to pin down. Although Dot is still holding down her food and seems more or less back to normal, she still seemed a little tired today. There was no sense in pushing her too hard, so we shortened her time in the underwater treadmill and spent a little extra time with her acupuncture.

I wrote my new article this morning before we went to the vet. This gave me one more reason why Dot's old therapy schedule might have been better. It's always best to start writing when there is nothing on the back end of your day. I never know how long writing these articles will take and it's easier if I'm not interrupted. I guess I wasn't fast enough today, because I had to pick up where I left off when we returned. The article did get finished and the change of schedule wasn't really a big deal. It just illustrates how reluctant I have become to changing anything in my life.

It's time to start working on my tax returns again. I don't do my taxes myself anymore, but I still have to gather all the information together and take it over to my accountant. It's depressing that it costs just as much to do my taxes in a bad year as it does in a good year. I have a feeling that 2015 was a very bad year. The only saving grace was that I sold most of my oil and gas stocks at the end of the year. I thought I was just taking a tax loss at the time, but as it turned out, I was actually saving money. All these stocks continued to drop further in January and February. It was a good thing I got rid of them when I did. The market is just a crap shoot these days, but every once in a while you still get lucky.

I've got to figure out a better way to sleep. I usually sleep on my side, but my spine doesn't seem to like this. Ditto for sleeping on my stomach. The only position that seems comfortable is on my back and that keeps me awake longer. I was tempted to sleep on the floor with Dot last night, but that would just be an invitation to get pooped on. I've also noticed that the stretching exercises I do for my shoulder seem to aggravate my back pain as well. At least I'm over the flu. One of these mornings, I'll wake up, my spine will be back in place, and everything will be fine. I hope that morning is tomorrow.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2268

Dot got sick during the night and threw up. By morning, she'd thrown up three times, although it was mostly just bile and water. This happened about a month ago as well. The first time she threw up like this, I was convinced that she drank too much water while she was walking in the underwater treadmill. She hasn't been to water therapy this week though, so something else is going on. We didn't feed Dot any breakfast this morning, but by noon she seemed back to normal again. So far, she has held down her dinner and doesn't appear to be uncomfortable. We didn't give Dot her monthly heartworm pill today because I was afraid she'd throw it up. I'm sure waiting a few days until she's back to normal again won't hurt.

Somehow while I was lifting Dot up last night and changing her bedding I managed to throw my back out. I'm not sure what I did, but I've been in pain ever since. I've done this before and it's usually because I don't lift things properly using my knees. Jeez, my knees are in worse shape than my back. By the time I'd washed all the rugs and blankets that Dot had soiled and finished my morning smoothie, I was ready to go back to bed. My back still hurts, but hopefully if I can avoid lifting things and manage to get a good night's sleep, I'll feel better tomorrow.

When it looked like Dot was stable and wasn't going to throw up any more, I went to the bank and stopped on the way home to pick up another bottle of laundry detergent. The big bottles of Tide aren't lasting nearly as long as they used to with the washing machine in constant use. Today I washed four large blankets and two medium sized rugs. It never ends.

It was a long day. I shuffled around from room to room, trying not to aggravate whatever I'd done to my back. Strangely, the only time my back didn't hurt was when I took Dash on his evening walk. Sitting in a chair at the computer was the worst. My Aeron Chair is usually quite comfortable, but not today. Luckily, there wasn't that much to do. I had some minor website updates to make, but that was about it. There's a new article to write, but I don't need to start on that until tomorrow.

The road construction in the neighborhood is finished and everything is quiet again. All the construction equipment has disappeared and the road looks pretty much like it did before, except that there are no potholes anymore. I'm still surprised that it took over a month to fix this short stretch of road, but have to admit that the end result looks pretty nice.

Dot's physical therapy moves to a new day tomorrow. From now on out, we'll be doing our acupuncture and water therapy sessions on Wednesday afternoon instead of Thursday morning. I didn't suggest this change, but I welcome it. It should be easier to get Dot ready right after lunch rather than in the morning when she naturally likes to sleep. Hopefully, she'll sleep well tonight. We definitely don't need another night like last night.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 531 - Memorial Day

Holidays aren't a good time for dogs to go stray. We found out yesterday that there is a Dalmatian at the City of Garland animal shelter, but it was a bit complicated to figure out how to pick him up before his time expires. We always try to get these dogs as quickly as we can, because the shelters put them down quickly too. A lot of time you only have a 72 hour window of time to save the dog. At any rate, the shelter was closed today for the Memorial Day holiday. The vets where we take the rescue dogs were closed as well. Even if we could find a vet who would give the dog its shots, all the boarding kennels were full for the holidays as well.

Janet and Pat sent out lots of e-mails and finally managed to contact someone who could get directly in touch with the shelter. The dog was tagged for rescue and I will go to the shelter as soon as it opens tomorrow morning to pick him up. Hopefully this will be a healthy dog who doesn't have heartworms or Ehrlichia, but you never know until the vet looks him over.

I installed the printer drivers in my new printer today and tried to get it up and running. Easier said than done. These printers are meant to connect to your network using a Cat-5 Ethernet cable. I don't use a wired office network anymore though and the printer is located too far away from the computer to connect it using USB. I went to Fry's and bought a wireless print server. I couldn't get it to work though, because the installation CD was only for Windows computers. Never mind that it said right on the box that the thing was compatible with Macintosh. Who knows. Maybe the print server will work with my Mac. I don't think it is going to be easy though. When I went on the web and looked up a list of compatible printers for my little print server, the results came back in Japanese.

My back hasn't gotten any better. When I went to Fry's this afternoon, I shuffled around like an old man pushing a walker. I probably need to go to the doctor tomorrow. I don't know if that's going to prove anything however. The last time this happened, my doctor just gave me a list of exercises to do to build up my lower back muscles. I forget why he wouldn't give me meds, but I think the logic was that I needed to feel the pain so I wouldn't go do something else stupid and make the problem even worse.

Tomorrow it's back to work. It's not like I actually stopped working or anything. It's just a figure of speech.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 529

The charity that I gave my old large-format printer to came by with their van and picked it up today. I threw in another unused printer for good measure, and now finally I've got a little room in the office again. I wonder if these guys will ever actually use the printer? It still can make great looking prints and posters, but it is a royal pain to use. I think they like the idea of being able to print their own marketing materials, but I bet they'll probably keep taking things to Kinkos. That's what I'd do anyway. It's much easier to have someone else do the printing.

If any of you have lower back pain, you have my sympathies. I don't usually have back problems, unless I happen to do something really stupid like finding myself locked in a small fenced in area when I've got a swarm of bees coming after me. I'm pretty sure I threw my back out when I was trying to get away from the bees I was trying to kill last week. I've been hobbling around and feeling like I was 100 years old ever since. Usually when I do this, my back is back to normal in three or four days. If I felt this way all the time, I would be miserable. Again, if you have back pain, I hope you have a good chiropractor or at least some good meds.

My plan of cleaning up the house while I watched the Dr. Who marathon didn't work out all that well. I can't even multi-task well enough to watch TV and clean at the same time. I found myself lying down on the bed with the dogs and watching long segments of the show and then realizing that I wasn't getting anything done and turning the TV off entirely. Luckily, I had seem most of these shows before, so it didn't really matter. My office still isn't very clean though. It was kind of a wasted day.

We'll probably take Dot and Dash to the dog park tomorrow. The weather is already too hot for Dot, but the dogs still like to be off leash and walk around the park smelling things. If today was any indication, it looks like it's going to be a long hot Summer.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day