Day 4933

I got a new phone today. I'm already wishing I had the old phone back. In theory transfering everything from the old phone to the new phone was supposed to be a no brainer. In practice it was a little more difficult. Most things downloaded smoothly from my iCloud account. Everything connected using Bluetooth became unpaired though. The new phone wouldn't recognize my Apple Watch at all and I had to erase it and start over. I'm still trying to reconnect Bluetooth devices like my Fitbit and the petcam monitor. I'm sure I'll have to reconnect the new phone to my car as well. Was this worth it? Time will tell I guess. At least I'll be able to run a current operating system on my phone and Apple Watch again.

I should have just let the Apple Store people configure the phone for me. I had to learn the hard way that you have to unpair things from the old phone before you can pair them again with the new phone. There are no warning messages saying "still connected to your old phone" You just get a failure notice and a button that asks you to try again. I hit that try again button quite a few times before I realized that it wasn't going to work. I hope the iCloud saved all my passwords. This is going to get really tedious if I have to manually reenter passwords for all my apps.

I did do a few other things today. We took Dawn on a nice early morning walk and then I made the bed and ate my breakfast. It was even hotter today than yesterday. Usually the sun comes up on the final leg of our sunrise walk and you can instantly feel the temperature start to rise. It's still very humid outside too. Until this heat wave ends, I'm going to try my best to avoid outdoor chores and activities.

Heat wave or not, I'm still determined to get my steps. This probably means a daily trip to the gym. Today I walked three miles on the indoor track and shot free throws on the basketball court. I probably had the energy to do more, but I got a late start today and still needed to go purchase the new phone before I headed home again. I need to quit worrying about Fitbit steps so much and concentrate on rebuilding my upper body strength. All the tools are there. I just need to use them. Maybe I can force myself to be a little more organized tomorrow. Unless a miracle happens with the weather, I'm sure I'll be back at the gym every day this week.

There are so many things I need to do around the house, but it's just too hot outside to deal with most of them. I'm sure I could repaint the trim around the edge of the roof myself, but I don't want to attempt this in triple digit temperatures. I don't wand to put a new screen on the screen door either. Lets face it, I don't really want to go outside again until Fall. Our sunrise walks with Dawn are still enjoyable, but we're probably going to have to start a little earlier on those as well. 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. With my luck I'll probably still be trying to reconnect apps on the new phone. When I eventually complete updating my phone and watch, the main computer is going to seem even slower. I don't even want to think about getting a new desktop computer though. Enough is enough. I can't afford any more big purchases anyway.

I'm hoping for an uneventful day tomorrow. It would be nice if it was a little cooler as well, but that's probably too much to hope for.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4720

This is how people go insane. I had just finished cleaning up the house and the last leak had finally stopped when another storm came though town while we were sleeping. There was a massive amount of rain and the leaks started all over again. I realized that something was wrong when I stepped in water on my way to the bathroom. Not exactly the way I wanted to wake up, but I got out the buckets and towels again and started round two of leak patrol.

I didn't bother going up on the roof today. Trying to sweep the water away in the rain didn't stop the leaks last time and I knew it wouldn't this time either. The pumps weren't working initially, but I did get them to work on my third try after we finished breakfast. I think each pump has to be submerged in a certain amount of standing water before it starts pumping. 

There was a break in the rain around 8 AM, so Dawn got her sunrise walk after all. She wasn't wild about getting her paws wet, but she did her business and completed the walk. Once we got off the wet grass and started walking on roads again Dawn was a happy camper and started enjoying her walk. I know she would have preferred waiting until the sun came out, but that wasn't going to happen today.

After our big weekend breakfast I went out to do my grocery shopping. There was a light drizzle, but it really wasn't all that bad. The stores weren't crowded today at all. I guess everyone was eating Thanksgiving leftovers. I filled the car with gas, found everything on my list and came home again. 

I kept hoping that the rain would stop, but that wasn't in the cards today. This was definitely an all day rain. Since the rain during the day was nothing like last night's downpour, the leaks inside the house gradually began to diminish. Most of the leaks have stopped by now, but there is still the one troublesome leak in the office. The water is leaking through a can light in the ceiling. Since this doesn't seem terribly safe, I am leaving the light off until things dry out. Lord knows how long that is going to take. This is the worst roof leak we have had in years.

It would have been miserable walking in the park today, so I went to the gym instead. It doesn't matter when I go, the same twelve people always seem to be there. I'm beginning to think they live there. I did pretty well on the basketball court today. At least I did well by my low standards. I'm glad I finished my thirty free throws and was off the court before some real basketball players appeared. I would have embarrassed myself if they has seen my pitiful efforts. I was pretty slow on the indoor track as well. I completed my two miles, but I always seems to be a lot faster when I'm walking outdoors.

When I returned from the gym, Dawn was sleeping comfortably on the bed, so I took a nap on the living room couch instead. It hurts my feelings when Dawn leaves the room every time I try to join her on the bed, but it is what it is. Dawn had a hard life at the puppy mill kennel and I don't think she is ever going to trust men.

The weather is looking much better tomorrow. According to the forecast we will have clear skies and mild temperatures. This sounds like a good day for Dawn's Sunday outing. I'll probably go mall walking as well. Mall walking is a nice change of pace from my regular walks.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4713

Another cold day. I think today was even colder than yesterday. The cold didn't stop us though. We took our sunrise walk with Dawn, returned home, ate a big breakfast, and got ready for another day. I didn't have a big grocery list today, but shopping still took me a while. 

The stores were really crowded this morning. I guess everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving. For once the shelves were fully stocked. There seemed to be an abundance of everything. Prices were still high, but it was nice to have a feeling of normalcy again. I don't like seeing empty shelves.

I didn't even think seriously about walking in the park today. Our sunrise walk with Dawn convinced me that it was too cold and windy. I went to the gym, feeling thankful for the car's heated seats and steering wheel. When I arrived, I couldn't shoot baskets because there was a game in progress on the court. I got my steps on the indoor track, making fairly decent time. There were more people on the floor today than a typical Saturday. Probably most of them decided like I did that it was just too cold to do anything outside.

The pick up game on the court concluded as I reached the two mile mark on the track, so I got to shoot some baskets anyway. I was terrible today. I guess I should shoot baskets before I walk. It usually takes me about fifteen minutes to reach my goal. Today it took over thirty. Eventually I completed thirty free throws and headed home. I wanted to take a nap, but Dawn looked peaceful on the bed and I didn't want to disturb her. I've been tired ever since I returned from Florida. I'm not sick; just tired.

I started the car and warmed up the engine after dinner tonight to make sure it will start tomorrow. It is supposed to get below freezing tonight. I'll go mall walking in the morning and then we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. Dawn seems to like the cooler weather, so a cold day tomorrow isn't going to stop her. I'm sure I'll get used to the colder weather. I'm just not there yet.

I've dozed off twice writing this post. I wish I'd gotten more done today, but some days are like this. Maybe I'll have more energy tomorrow. I've got a doctor's appointment for a physical exam on Tuesday and I'm still trying to decide whether to get a flu shot and Covid booster. I don't think I need either, but I'm sure my doctor will try to insist on both. I still think too many meds and you begin to lose your natural immunity to things.  I'm not a fool though. I already take meds to control blood pressure, cholesterol, and a few other things. I didn't initially think I needed this stuff either. I'll probably end up listening to the doctor and then being mad at myself for not following my instincts. I still think the best way to avoid Covid is to just stay away from other people.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4676

It's feeling like Ground Hog Day again. Every day seems exactly the same. I have no one to blame but myself since I have no real desire to change. I did try to change things up a bit by going back to the gym this morning instead of walking in the park again. The gym is pretty much the same as well. I always have the same routine even if there are dozens of machines I have never tried. All I can say is that it's a good thing I handle boredom well.

The park was quiet this morning. There seems to be a lot more activity on the weekends. I'm always surprised that so many people do things together before the sun comes up. Some run in groups and cyclists often ride in groups. I have trouble just getting up in the morning. I'd never be organized enough to join a group activity before I've had breakfast. All this is just idle speculation though. I tend to avoid group activities at any time of day.

I've been wondering why the grass and other plants have been so sticky this Fall. Even the roads under trees are getting sticky. It turns out that we have an infestation of aphids in Dallas. The clear, sticky liquid if basically aphid poop. I wish I hadn't learned this because it is kind of gross. The stuff is not harmful to dogs or humans, but it can kill plants. The plants are having a tough time this Fall. First it was the little green web worms and now it's the aphids.

I was terrible on the basketball court when I was at the gym this morning. I wonder why I am so inconsistent? I've been shooting free throws at this gym for so many years now that I should have perfected the process by now. Shooting baskets is basically just hand eye coordination. I must not be terribly coordinated because I'm all over the place. On a good day I can sink seven or eight baskets in a row. On a bad day all I do is embarrass myself. I used the vibration plate again today. It doesn't even seem like exercise, but if it can help improve my bone density, it's worth spending ten minutes on the machine. I still don't like the drive, but going to the gym was a nice change of pace. I didn't have to walk through any aphid poop either.

It's surprising how many launches I get approved for at Kennedy Space Center. I got invited to another launch today. Some of the approvals are automatic and I don't have to apply for credentials. The Space Force is usually a lot more consistent with approvals than NASA. I'm glad they don't check and see whether I actually show up for the launch. If they checked I'd have been crossed off the list by now. I'd really like to go to all of these launches, but I can only afford several trips a year. I'm already looking forward to my next trip. I still feel like a pretend journalist, but I do enjoy the experience.

Dawn's been avoiding me all evening because Janet is out of the house. It's disappointing that we haven't become buddies, but there isn't a lot I can do about the situation. It seems like she ought to be able to tell that I really like dogs. Maybe I look or smell like one of the men who mistreated her. Dawn is probably glad when I go to Florida.

Puppies are today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4612

We got rain again. This time it was a real soaker. We had a heavy downpour that lasted almost three hours. I think things will look a lot greener next week. Today's rain ended 67 days of drought. This might not be enough to end our dry spell, but it will certainly help. I'd almost forgotten about the pumps on the roof. Of course they didn't work. It wasn't surprising since I haven't checked them in months. So far, no roof leaks though. Fingers crossed.

The rain didn't start until later this afternoon, so the morning was just another hot summer day. We took our sunrise walk with Dawn and wondered if the weather was going to change. There were clouds on the horizon and a nice breeze, but we weren't expecting much. After breakfast I checked my messages and there was still nothing from NASA. I guess there is no point in worrying about this. The launch schedule will either work out or it won't.

I got to the gym a little later today because I am slow about everything these days. I thought I'd change things up and shot baskets on the south goal instead of the north goal. My accuracy was pretty good today.  I was a little slower on the indoor track, but not by much. Since I had absolutely nothing to do this afternoon, I stayed a little longer and worked on some machines designed to strengthen my shoulders. I seriously considered walking in the park today but wisely decided that it was still too hot. I definitely don't have to worry about the heat at the gym. They keep the place super cold.

I spent the afternoon looking at the weather radar and wondering when the rain was going to arrive. I still waste too much time looking at Facebook although I wonder why I bother. I rarely see posts from friends anymore. It's all sponsored posts now, curated by Facebook's demented algorithm. I don't know how they decide what I'd like to see. I think they're just blindly guessing. My feed is filled with posts about battle tanks, pictures of the SR-71 spy plane, obscure blues musicians, news articles that are hidden behind a paywall, old pictures of the Beatles, blatant clickbait, and information about state parks in places I'll never visit. Facebook doesn't know me at all. Luckily I still see lots of pictures of Dalmatians. Without the dog pictures there would be no reason to visit at all.

I think I should delete some of my other social media accounts. I'm convinced that a lot of the e-mail spam I get, as well as some of the telemarketing calls originate from my LinkedIn account. You can tell from a lot of the message headers that they grabbed my contact information from LinkedIn. Years ago I thought that LinkedIn would help me get business. I don't think it ever did. Almost all my clients came from word of mouth recommendations. While I'm thinking about it, I should probably delete my Instagram account as well. I used to love Instagram back in the early days when it was a place for photographers to showcase their work. I haven't visited Instagram in years. I grew to hate the place when it was taken over by videos and influencers.

There is no rain in the forecast for tomorrow, so I'll be returning to my regular hot and dry schedule. It was a shame that Dawn didn't get to go to her dog training class tonight because of the rain. Dawn really likes that class.

J-Lo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4601

There have been rain clouds around us all day. I even heard thunder at one point. We didn't get a single drop of rain. This was the one day where we might have had a chance. It didn't even get up to a hundred degrees today. Now we return to another never ending string of triple digit days in the weeks ahead.

I got the electric bill today. It was literally double what it was this time last year. Last month was high. This month was a lot higher. This is not good. The cost of everything has gone through the roof. Grocery bills are ridiculous now. So are utility bills, insurance bills, gasoline, and just about everything else. It makes you wonder where all this is going to end. It doesn't help that we are in the middle of an almost unprecedented heat wave. I'm just waiting for water shortages.

Our sunrise walks with Dawn are getting uncomfortably warm. The temperature was in the high eighties this morning and the sun wasn't even up yet. Dawn was panting when we returned home and I was starting to sweat. You really don't expect this before breakfast. I keep hoping that nothing goes wrong with the air conditioner. It could get dangerously hot very quickly.

We had a nice weekend breakfast and then I went to the gym again. More people are wearing masks on the gym floor now. Sign of the times I suspect. I'm getting a lot better on the basketball court. I'd probably get some real exercise if I'd start dribbling and shooting from other points on the court. So far, all I'm doing is shooting free throws from the free throw line. I've got really bad knees though. The last thing I want to do is screw up my knees running around on the basketball court.

I'm walking at a faster pace on the indoor track as well. Practice makes perfect I guess. This is a lot better than walking in the park. They keep my gym really cold. Sometimes I feel like I need a jacket. I won't be able to go to the gym tomorrow since it is closed on Sunday, but I will be busy anyway. Tomorrow is the day we move the rescue Dalmatians to the new kennel. Hopefully the dogs will like their new home. I haven't seen the place yet, but I hear it is a little smaller than the current kennel.

I'm beginning to get apprehensive about my trip to Florida. I'm hearing that up to a million people might converge on Titusville for the Artemis launch. This can't possibly be true, but locals say that this many people used to come to watch the Apollo launches. I am told to expect huge traffic jams on the roads leading to the space center on launch day. Yikes. Maybe I should have gone out to the observatory instead. There certainly aren't many people out there.

I did my grocery shopping earlier today. I should do this more often. There really aren't a lot of people in the stores before 10 AM. There seemed to be a better selection of fruit as well. I don't know how I got such an early start today since I think we actually got up later. Gasoline was the only thing that was less expensive this week. The price drop was probably temporary, but I'll take what I can get. 

I don't know how long it will take us to move the dogs tomorrow, but hopefully Dawn will still get her Sunday outing. There won't be a walk, but there will be ice cream. I'm not sure how I will get my steps tomorrow. I definitely don't want to walk in the park, so I'll probably try mall walking. I always thought that this was something only old people did, but I guess I'm an old person now.

I wish life didn't feel so apocalyptic. I'd like things to return to normal before I completely forget what normal looks like. Tomorrow will be normal though. Dalmatians and ice cream are always good.

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4599

I took care of a lot of little odds and ends today. Nothing important was accomplished but it was good to cross a few things off my list. The remote for the kitchen TV has been broken for a while. A few weeks ago I found a new unused remote in a box in my office but I couldn't get it to work. Today I remembered that you have to program the thing. This took a while since the cable remote and the kitchen television were old and there were no instruction manuals. I finally got the remote to turn on and off, but then I screwed up the TV and it wasn't picking up the signal from the cable box. It seemed like this whole process was easy when I initially installed everything years ago. I tried looking up information on the Internet but the results were inconclusive. Eventually I got everything working again through trial and error. Hopefully this remote control will last for another ten years. I'm tired of messing with this thing.

I did some laundry, cleaned some stains on the bricks in the kitchen, looked up how to change a few setting on my star tracker camera, and changed the head on my electric toothbrush. I was going to practice with the star tracker again, but decided to wait when I received an e-mail saying that another update would be available this Saturday. I wonder if they are ever going to stop upgrading this thing. I've lost track of how many firmware updates I've already installed.

The day itself was pretty much like yesterday. The sky was clear. The temperature was hot. And I followed the same routine I've been following all summer. We got started a little later on our sunrise walk this morning and you could immediately feel the difference in temperature. We should have started thirty minutes earlier because Dawn wasn't quite as eager to walk. We carry dog treats in our pockets now to get her moving again when she gets stubborn and refuses to move. 

After breakfast I went back to the gym. There weren't many people on the floor today, but the parking garage was still full. I had a good day on the basketball court. I think my hand eye coordination is getting better. I was slower on the indoor track though. Go figure. I am always surprised by exercise inconsistency. My routines are almost always the same, but the results are frequently very different. I didn't feel more tired this morning, but I guess I was. I'll have to check my Fitbit and see how I slept last night.

One of my contacts at Kennedy Space Center said that they expect over 10,000 people to descend on the area for the Artemis launch. The space center will need to charter over 70 busses to move people around. No wonder all the hotels were full. Why am I even going to this launch? I've never liked crowds or complicated logistics. Getting through the checkpoints on launch day is going to be a nightmare. I hope I get a schedule from NASA soon. At this point I don't even know if I made airline reservations for the right days. I always try to minimize my stay to save money, but it would be easier if you had an unlimited budget and arrived early and just stayed until the launch finally took place. I can't do that, so I just cross my fingers and hope that I've picked the right days for my stay.

I keep hoping for rain but the forecast doesn't look promising. It still looks like an endless string of hundred degree days as far as the eye can see. The sad thing is that August is usually even hotter than July here in Dallas. Oh, well. It's not going to be a fun summer. I just hope the air conditioner keeps working. This week has gone quickly. I've watered the back yard and taken this weeks trash to the curb. Tomorrow will probably be a repeat of today.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4598

Another day just like all the other days. If we haven't already set a record for consecutive one hundred degree days, we will soon. We see lots of people in the park on our sunrise walks now. The runners and cyclists have realized that this is the only time during the day when it is still enjoyable to be outdoors. The temperatures don't stay in the mid-80's for long. As soon as the sun comes up, it's off to the races.

I had my usual breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit and then headed straight for the gym. I went earlier than usual today because I knew we were going to visit the rescue Dalmatians in the afternoon. I'm getting better on the basketball court and occasionally can sink five or six baskets in a row. I'm worthless shooting from anywhere other than the free throw line though. No three point shots for me. Maybe I should broaden my horizons and try something new. Never mind. I'm content just shooting free throws.

I tried walking faster on the indoor track today and managed to match my outdoor speed. This was encouraging because I felt exactly the same after walking two miles as I did when walking slower. After getting my Fitbit steps, I spent a little time trying to strengthen my shoulder. Regaining any sort of flexibility won't be easy but it's worth a try. I really want to avoid any type of surgery. There are lots of older people at my gym and I frequently see them going through physical therapy after a knee replacement. No thank you. I'd rather keep the aging joints I already have.

The Dalmatians enjoyed seeing us today. None of them seemed to have their usual energy, but it was understandable since it was so hot. The kennel has air conditioning, but just about everybody's AC system is having trouble keeping things cool in these insanely high temperatures. I'm sure we'll see the dogs again, but this was the last time at this particular kennel. I'm sorry to see things change, but I shouldn't have been surprised. Things always change. You've just got to adapt and move on.

I noticed that Twitter doesn't work on my computer anymore. It now requires a newer browser than I use. I don't really care about Twitter and seldom use it, but this is still a somewhat troubling turn of events. All my computers run older operating systems so I can continue to use my legacy software. I hate the subscription services that Microsoft and Adobe use now and refuse to use them. My older versions of Microsoft Word and Photoshop work just fine. They don't expire or require a subscription either. Now that malware, computer viruses, and hacking has become such a problem, manufactures just don't like dealing with older software. Increasingly, they are refusing to support anything other than their latest releases. This is not good news for me. I have no interest in upgrading my computers, software, or phone again. 

I found a giant spider in the office this evening. I hope it wasn't poisonous. I managed to kill the thing with a fly swatter, but it was troubling to see something like this inside. Where there is one bug there are usually more. I'm seeing more bugs inside this summer. I'm sure it has something to do with the heat. There have even been a few wasps in the living room. They fly in the back door when we let Dawn out. We've got bug spray for every type of bug now. There's one can for ants. Another for spiders. And a third for wasps and hornets. I'd like to live someplace where there were no bugs. I don't know where that would be though. Bugs are everywhere.

Dawn did well at training class tonight and won a ribbon again. I thought it would be to hot for her class, but Janet says it cools down after sunset and there is usually a breeze. All the dogs were fine. Dawn has finally learned to drink water from a water bottle too. Dawn really enjoys this class but I bet she'll enjoy it even more when the weather gets nicer.

I'm sure tomorrow will be very similar to today. I'm surprised that I can find enough to say for a blog post these days.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4541

I didn't feel like fighting the heat today so I went to the gym. I might have to do this more often. Everything seems to be back to pre-Covid days. The water cooler is operational again. Most of the machines have been fixed. And even the basketball court is open. I shot free throws for the first time since early 2020 and not surprisingly I was terrible. It took a while to get into the rhythm of things but eventually I started hitting baskets. Walking three miles around the indoor track is kind of boring, but it's easy on your feet. The track surface feels somewhat cushioned. It's not like walking on concrete at all. I like that they keep the building really cold. I had a good workout without the heat and humidity of a walk through the park. If it weren't for the fact that I hate driving in city traffic I might go to the gym every day this summer. I'll certainly try to go a couple of times a week.

One of the reasons I didn't feel like walking in the park today was that I attempted to mow the grass this morning. I did this right after breakfast while it was still relatively cool outside, but it was still unpleasant. The lawn mower wasn't working well either. The battery won't hold a charge very long and I was only able to complete the small back yard area before the battery died. The front yard will have to wait until later. It looks like I will have to return to the battery store and get new batteries for the mower as well. If memory serves, these batteries are even more expensive than the ones I recently replaced in my computer UPS. Why has everything gotten so expensive? It's a never ending battle.

Before I completely gave up on the outdoors, I tried to clean all the spiderwebs off the living room windows. I don't know where all these spiders come from, but there are hundreds of them. I think they are attracted to the lights in the living room at night. Actually, it's probably other insects that are attracted to the lights and the spiders just build webs to catch them. I always need to remember to wear a hat while I am cleaning out the spiderwebs. I hate it when spiders fall in my hair.

At least Dawn was in a good mood this morning. She was enthusiastic on her sunrise walk without any of her recent balking or hesitation. We were hoping that she would want to walk longer this morning since it was still nice outside and we knew it would be too hot for a second walk later in the day. Dawn wasn't interested. She just wanted to do her regular one mile loop. There's no sense fighting with a dog on their walk. When Dawn wants to walk further, she'll definitely let us know.

I should have made more of an effort to see last night's meteor shower. I've seen a number of nice pictures on the Internet this morning. I did go outside before I went to bed last night, but I could tell right away that I wasn't going to see much. The sky was a light grey and I could only see a few bright stars. Most meteors are fairly faint and it is doubtful that I would have seen any no matter how long I kept looking with all the city light pollution. I would have gotten bitten by tons of mosquitos though. You really have to make an effort to observe the night sky in Dallas. Basically you have to have a friend who lives out in the country.

It's hard to believe it will be June tomorrow. Half the year is already over. It still feels like I just took the Christmas tree down. Oh, well. I guess I've managed to do a few things this year. I've been to a rocket launch and spent some time at the observatory. This is exactly what I did last year and probably the year before. I think it's OK to do the same things over and over again as long as you enjoy what you're doing. I'm glad I had the nerve to do adventurous things when I was younger, because most adventurous things just seem dangerous now.

Dawn has her training class tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll go back to the gym again. We'll see what the weather looks like.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3678

Another 20,000 step Sunday. Before starting a long day on the move, I sat still for a while and watched the Space X Crew Dragon launch abort test on my computer. Everything went well on the test and it looks like the next time the Crew Dragon capsule launches, there'll be astronauts onboard.

When I went to the gym a few hours later, things didn't go quite so well on the basketball court. I was terrible today. I can't figure out why I'm not completely consistent by now. I've been shooting free throws on this court for years. Some days I sink baskets routinely and other days I can't seem to hit anything. I'm not very consistent about sleep either. You'd think I'd be able to sleep eight hours every night. My days aren't very stressful and I have no reason to get up early. Sleep is very inconsistent though. Some days are good and other days aren't for reasons that are still unknown to me. Have I mentioned that I like consistency?

I definitely wish that cars were consistently reliable. It doesn't matter what kind of car you have. Things always break when you least expect it. I still can't decide whether to take my own car to the Davis Mountains this Spring. It would be more convenient and less expensive than renting a car as long as nothing breaks. If something does go wrong, it will be a nightmare. There is no Land Rover service for hundreds of miles. I thought that there might be some independent garages in the area who could work on my car. A Google search today didn't do much to fill me with confidence. Mostly what I found were horror stories from people who had car problems while on vacation in Big Bend. I guess there's a reason I saw very few imported cars while Janet and I were out at the observatory last Fall.

I think everyone in town was walking their dog today. There must have been hundreds of dogs in the park this afternoon. It was still chilly outside, but it was a perfect day for a walk. Most of the dogs were very well behaved. I think they appreciated the chance to be outside on a crisp, clear January afternoon. I can remember so many times when the weather was much worse than this in January. It's kind of nice to have a mild winter.

I did go to REI today but wasn't very impressed by the stuff on clearance. I guess there's a reason why things wind up on the clearance racks. Coats just aren't as well made as they used to be. I think my best bet is just to have my old Eddie Bauer Alaska coat dry cleaned and wear that on the mountain. I could wear that coat at the South Pole. I might not be able to move, but I definitely will be warm.

Tomorrow we visit the Dalmatians again. When I was working, I always used to hate Mondays. Now, this has turned out to be my favorite day of the week. These are all such great dogs. It's nice to have a chance to get to know each of them a little better.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3580

I needed to install a copy of Microsoft Office on a different laptop today. Luckily, I still had the install disk. The last version of this software I bought was in 2011. The install went smoothly enough, but it took me forever to activate. The install wizard kept saying I wasn't connected to the Internet when I knew I was connected. I tried AT&T and T-Mobile but neither worked. Then I noticed a button that said activate by phone. I pressed the button and called the number expecting to be talking to a customer service representative. Nope. I was talking to a robot. I was asked to read a long list of numbers I saw on my screen. The robot couldn't understand my voice, so I had to enter the numbers using the keypad on my phone instead. This took a while. When I had completed this task, the robot voice read me a huge fifty digit number that I was supposed to type into a box on the install wizard. The voice read the numbers too fast and I couldn't keep up with it. I had to ask the robotic voice to repeat the number fifteen times before I finally had it typed it correctly. Eventually the software was officially authorized and it now works correctly. Why does Microsoft even care about ancient versions of Office? Unfortunately, I have to remember to never upgrade the system on this computer. Old versions of Microsoft Office are not compatible with Catalina.

When I was walking today, I noticed that the little circus has returned to the park. Almost one year ago to the day, this same little circus was underwater after an unusually heavy rainfall caused lake levels to rise near their tent. These guys must either be fools or incredibly optimistic. They were setting up their tent in exactly the same place where they got flooded out last year. Sure, it was a beautiful, clear day today, but if memory serves, it was a nice day when they were setting up last year as well. I guess they haven't learned that the weather can change quickly in Texas.

The weather was perfect today. Unfortunately, I still wasn't able to patch the roof. Most of the roof was dry, but the damaged areas were still damp. Water had seeped under the coating where the silicon had been damaged and it was still seeping back out again. I've been through this before. At least the roof isn't leaking. Last year when the little circus was underwater, I was having some serious roof leak problems as well.

Shooting baskets at the gym is humbling. You'd think that after all these years I would have perfected the process. Nope. Sometimes I can sink five or six free throws in a row, but all it takes is the slightest deviation and the ball won't go through the basket. I love consistency, but it is so elusive. I never get the same amount of sleep on successive nights. Some days I'm hungrier than others. For the most part I do the same things every day, but I always get different results.

I doubt if I'm going to get the roof patched tomorrow. It's supposed to start raining again in the  afternoon. I need at least 48 hours for the silicon to cure after the roof is completely dry. Lord knows when that is going to happen. We've entered the rainy season. I'm not making a lot of progress with the house, but at least we will see the Dalmatians again tomorrow. Visiting these dogs always brightens my day.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3524

I saw three fire trucks, an ambulance, and the fire department rescue boat converge on the lake as I was walking today. Someone must have drowned again. This never used to happen, but now it's almost a weekly occurrence. There are too many people out on the water who can't swim. The weird thing was that without all the emergency vehicles, you never would have known anything was wrong. The sailing club was having a regatta and no boats were attempting a rescue. All the people in kayaks and stand up paddle boards were acting normally. Nobody even seemed aware that something was wrong. I watched as the rescue boat sped off in the distance and disappeared. I still don't know what was going on. Whatever happened didn't make the evening news. Just another Sunday in the park.

I'm glad they fixed the air conditioning at the gym. It was nice and cool inside this week. Maybe this is why I was more accurate on the basketball court today. Probably it was just random luck. I couldn't think of a reason why my shots were connecting. Some days I'm good and other days I'm terrible. I'll have to accept the fact that there isn't always a logical explanation for everything. I'm a model of consistency, yet I never know how long I'm going to sleep. My appetite varies from day to day. Some days I wake up tired and other days I'm ready to go. There has to be a reason, but the only answer I can think of is that life is complicated.

On my way home from the gym I stopped at a neighborhood hardware store to get an extension cord and some plug adapters so we could use Janet's new toaster oven. I appeared to be the only person in the store who wasn't buying something for a chicken. I guess backyard chickens are still a thing in Dallas. I see them in people's yards occasionally while I walk and when Dash was alive I used to see people bring roosters to the vet. I like cage-free eggs from pasture raised chickens as much as the next guy, but it is so much easier to just buy them at the grocery store. I probably wouldn't make a very good farmer.

Now that peaches are in season, Janet has been making peach cobbler a lot. I love peach cobbler for dessert. This week she tried cutting the amount of sugar in the recipe in half. The cobbler tastes even better. Who knew. I suspect that almost all recipes contain way too much salt and sugar. Chefs seem to love salt and sugar. It should be easier to avoid sugar, but the stuff is everywhere. If you eat processed food at all, you're probably consuming a lot more sugar than you should.

I was going to try to disassemble the old dehumidifier today, but not surprisingly making sure that I got my requisite 20,000 steps seemed more important. I'll eventually tackle this project, but there's no need to hurry. The new dehumidifier is working great. It is extracting three time as much water from the air as the old machine. Performance on the old machine probably deteriorated so slowly that I never even noticed. The two machines are absolutely identical with the exception of six small horizontal slots on the back of the new dehumidifier. There must be a reason for those additional slots. They aren't mentioned in the instruction manual at all.

Tomorrow we visit the rescue Dalmatians again. It is also Janet's birthday. Birthday's are pretty low key these days. They only remind us of how old we've become.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3489

I was terrible on the basketball court this morning. I wonder a lot about consistency. Why can I sink free throws like clockwork on some days and am all over the place on others? You'd think that over time I'd become more and more consistent. Why don't I sleep the same length every night. If my days are consistent, why aren't my nights? I like consistency. I eat the same things and wear the same things over and over. Apparently nature likes a little variety though. Every day seems to have at least one surprise.

There's a sound system at the gym and I always try to remember who is singing the songs. My memory fails me at times. When I heard Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, it took me a little while to remember that Annie Lennox was singing. It took me a little longer to remember that Dave Stewart was her partner. I never could remember the name of the band. I had to look it up when I got home. Jeez. How could I forget the Eurythmics.

Memories are weird. I read an article recently that said that forgetting things was good for the brain and might actually make you smarter. If that's the case I must be a genius. I forget a lot. It's amazing how many memories remain though. One memory often triggers another and all of the sudden you are remembering something that happened fifty years ago in vivid detail. Researchers now say that people who tend to forget unnecessary information are better at problem solving and less prone to depression. I wish I'd heard about this theory years ago. I used to think my forgetfulness was a curse rather than a blessing. I've described my brain to others as a tape loop like those flight recorders in airplanes. After a while new information overwrites the old and you start fresh again. This probably saved me in advertising. I used to do a lot of bank advertising. Basically all bank advertising is the same. If I wasn't continuously reinventing the wheel and starting over, I probably would have gone nuts.

It seemed harder to get my requisite 20,000 steps today. This was puzzling too. I should have had more energy because the weather was cooler and it wasn't miserable outside. It was actually a pretty nice day. Why was I tired today? I certainly got plenty of sleep. I think about these things while I walk. I don't really dwell on them though. I probably spend more time counting ducks than I do having deep thoughts.

Someone asked me recently whether I'd ever considered going to Adult Space Camp in Alabama. Actually, yes. I looked at their web site once and immediately noticed that training involved spending time in a multi-axis simulator and scuba diving in the underwater neutral buoyancy trainer. For someone who routinely gets sick on cruise ships and had difficulty flying a Cessna 152 in a straight line without throwing up, this might not be for me. Maybe spending an evening with an astronomer during a special viewing night at McDonald Observatory's 82-inch Otto Struve Telescope is more my speed.  Janet and most of my friends like to visit new places. I seem to like learning new things instead.

I doubt that I'll be learning anything new tomorrow. We'll probably visit the Dalmatians again though. Monday seems the best day to go to the kennel. Charlie needs a better picture. Now that he's learned to sit still for a treat, maybe I can finally get a decent portrait.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3482

Sunday is all about taking 20,000 steps. I have to stay pretty active to do this, but I've reached my goal for over a month now. Fitbit says I've walked 2,500 miles since I began wearing their bracelet. I haven't even been wearing the Fitbit that long. I wore a succession of Jawbone UP bands before buying the Fitbit. I wonder how many miles those bands accumulated? When Dot and Dash were young we walked long distances every day without bothering to keep track of anything. I had nothing to prove in those days and the walks were probably more enjoyable as a result.

I'm not sure I'm trying to prove anything now. It just seems prudent to keep moving. A lot of my friends are still reasonably healthy, but whenever someone falls by the wayside it is alarming. This is the age when people around you start to drop like flies. I've already outlived a number of friends I went to college with. You hate to think that you only have a limited amount of time left, but that's just the reality of things. Ten to twenty more years at best. Jeez. I've lived in this house longer than that.

It seems much hotter than it did last summer. It's probably just my perception of things. As Dash got older and became less mobile, we never went out during the heat of the day. We would take our short walks before sunrise when the air was still cool. Back when my company was busy I didn't have time to worry about how many steps I was taking anyway. I had ads to write and websites to design. Back in the day I spent a lot more time at this computer than I ever did walking.

I feel bad for all the dogs I see being walked in the park this summer. It is too hot for many of them. Dogs don't sweat like we do and they are wearing a fur coat. If you feel compelled to walk your dog in 100 degree weather, please take water with you and if your dog gets tired go sit under a tree for a while. Whatever you do, don't walk on hot pavement. Paws get burned in this weather. I'm sure people get heatstroke too, but I mostly just worry about the dogs. Today I saw a dog standing on one of those stand up paddle boards way out in the middle of the lake. If the dog fell off the board it probably wouldn't be able to climb back on and it was too far to swim to shore. Why do people do things like this?

I had a good day at the gym. I think I set an all time record for the number of baskets I sunk in a row. I don't think my skills have actually improved though. It was just blind luck. When my streak was eventually broken, I went right back to the same mediocre performance I usually show on the court.

I need to go fix the pump on the roof tomorrow morning. It's bound to rain again soon. I should try that Liquid Rubber in a Can stuff too and see if it works. It it's too hot tomorrow, I can always wait until Tuesday. There's really nothing that's all that urgent anymore. I'm just counting steps these days.

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3475

Another 20,000 step day. This isn't much by historic standards, but it's about all I can manage these days. Multi-day backpacking trips didn't used to faze me when I was younger. Times have changed. I don't think I could make it all the way around the lake today. I'm not winded or even that tired. It's my joints. My knees, shoulders, and elbows have all seen better days. Sometimes it feels like all the cartilage is gone. I take glucosamine and chondroitin but I'm not sure how effective this is at rebuilding cartilage. I certainly don't see much difference after years of taking these pills.

Although it felt like I spent the day walking, I did manage to get a few other things done. I went back to the store and got strawberries. I should have looked in the refrigerator first. Janet had already gotten strawberries when she went to the store a little earlier. I  also got some more peaches. I guess I didn't realize that there are almost as many varieties of peaches are there are apples. The Earth Rich peaches I got yesterday tasted mushy and fibrous. Today I got a different variety called Sierra Rich which tasted much better.  Needless to say, there is plenty of fruit in the house now.

I was terrible on the basketball court this morning. Maybe skipping a week at the gym made a difference. Hand/eye coordination is a curious thing. You'd think that after all this time I would have perfected the free throw. Nope. Some days I can sink quite a few shots in a row and other days I'm all over the place. Even though my coordination wasn't up to par today, I still enjoyed my time on the court more than the treadmill and hand bicycle. I see a lot of people walking and jogging on the indoor track in the Summer. It would make sense for me to do this as well. For some perverse reason, I still prefer to walk outdoors, even though it's getting pretty hot outside.

Walking outdoors is very conducive to daydreaming. Walking indoors is just exercise. I enjoy trying to identify plants and animals, along with observing what has changed in the neighborhood. There's something new to think about every day. Even cloud formations can be interesting on a hot summer afternoon. There were sailboat races on the lake today. I also noticed that the wild fennel is in bloom. I've often thought about taking sailing lessons, but since I don't even use my kayak anymore, I doubt that I'd go sailing very often. It is not an activity that is usually done alone. The boats are still fun to watch though. There are lots of little Sunfish and Lasers at the lake, along with a variety of larger craft. I think that one of the local sailing clubs must have been having a regatta today. The lake was a busy place.

Now that I've become a slave to my Fitbit, I'm not doing as many household chores. There only so much time in a day. Without a dog, the house stays cleaner now. It's amazing how much hair a Dalmatian can shed. They shed constantly. We were sweeping up big piles of dog hair every week with Dot and Dash and yet each dog always had a full, healthy coat. Where all that hair came from will remain one of life's enduring mysteries.

Not surprisingly, we miss all the dog hair. I think Janet and I will be going to go visit the rescue dogs again tomorrow. There are several new dogs in the program that need to be photographed for the website. That's not the real reason we're going though. We just need our weekly Dalmatian fix.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3404

Maybe getting enough sleep is overrated. I've been getting almost eight hours of sleep a night for the past several days and I still feel tired. I get up, make the bed, and follow my routine, but it feels like I'm sleepwalking. It's hard to find a reason to do anything. Time fixes these things. It has in the past and it will now. Time moves very slowly though. It's going to be a long Summer.

I don't know why I thought the gym would be crowded today. It wasn't. There were even fewer people on the floor than there are on Sundays. The younger people were probably doing something outside today because the weather was beautiful. I probably should have been doing something outside too. When my workout was finished I felt like I'd actually gotten more exercise on yesterday's three mile walk. The walk felt more strenuous anyway. I guess the trip to the gym was worthwhile. I was very coordinated on the basketball court this afternoon. I wonder why some days I can sink baskets like clockwork and other days I can't hit anything? Try as I may to be consistent, it doesn't always happen.

I bought some socks on the way home from the gym. Socks don't last very long with me. Pants will last several years and shirts will last forever, but socks don't hold up well. They all develop holes in the heel very quickly. It probably doesn't help that I never wear shoes in the house. I wear socks like slippers. They're comfortable and keep my feet from getting cold on the brick floors. I don't understand the whole concept of sandals. I want my feet to stay warm.

I finished cleaning the car today. Cleaning the car is so much easier than cleaning the house. A car is small and manageable. The house just seems like a bottomless pit. I cleaned all the black gunk off the wheels with soap and water. Land Rover wheels always seem to be dirtier than other cars. Older Mercedes seem to have this problem as well. I don't drive much, but I can never seem to keep these wheels clean. I think as the brake pads wear down, they deposit a thin film of black residue on the wheels. I may be wrong though.

I'm getting tired of the huge sizes at Sam's Club and Costco. Buying in bulk saves money, but where do you put the stuff? I think I've reached the point where I'm willing to pay more for smaller packages of paper towels and toilet paper. We just don't have room for 45 rolls of toilet paper. I don't need a gallon of Windex either. A little bottle will do just fine.

Passover and Easter coincide this year. It has always seemed curious to me that these holidays don't always coincide. Occasionally Passover and Easter are a month apart. It's all the Moon's fault. The date for Passover is determined by the Hebrew Calendar and the date for Easter is determined by the Gregorian calendar. Both holidays are supposed to fall on or near a full moon in early Spring, but a lunar month isn't exactly 28 days and a solar year isn't exactly 365 days. It can get complicated. You'd think that after all these years we could have come up with a better way to measure time.

It seemed like Sunday today because I went to the gym and Janet fixed a special meal. I'm confused. I wonder what it will seem like tomorrow?

Wilson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3307

It was hard for me to get up this morning. Once again I didn't get enough sleep. I'd stayed up too late late watching an old black and white Dr. Who episode and wondering which Doctor it was. If you were wondering too, it was Patrick Troughton and his companions were Jamie and Zoe. The show was eventually over, but a crinkling noise from the shower curtain I'd bought to protect the bed woke me up more than Dash did. He rarely gets up at night anymore. He just poops in the bed in his sleep. That's OK though. I always make sure that there's a puppy training pad placed under his butt. Whenever I wake up, which is often, I check to see if he's pooped and when necessary change the puppy pad for a fresh one.

I probably would have slept until ten this morning if Janet and Dash hadn't already been ready to walk. I quickly got dressed and off we went. It's still very cold. I'm surprised at how many joggers we see on days like this. They dress lightly, but seem to be enjoying themselves. I, on the other hand, dress like a polar explorer. I wear more layers than I used to, but I still can't stay warm.

Cold day always reminds me of a story I'd read as a kid called "A Pail of Air." The story was about the last four people on earth, who stayed alive after the earth got pulled out of its orbit by a passing dark star. They stayed alive by heating frozen air they scooped up in buckets and let it turn back into oxygen by placing it in front of a perpetual fire they could never let go out. How can I remember this old science fiction story sixty years later? It must have made an impression.

They keep the gym colder than I'd like, but about halfway through my workout I'm usually feeling fine. Maybe this is how those joggers feel. I probably just don't move around enough in the Winter. I'm too tired to move more. My Fitbit says I take between 10,000 and 15,000 steps a day. That's plenty for me.

I couldn't postpone vacuuming any longer because the floors were getting filthy. Most dogs are scared of vacuum cleaners but Dash likes to follow ours around. It never was a problem when he was younger, but now Dash can barely stand up and keeps getting tangled up in the cord and falling over. After extricating him a few times this afternoon, I finally had to pen him in another room until I finished cleaning.

Maybe that old Fritz Leiber science fiction story from 1951 stuck with me all these years because life has always been about survival to me. You do simple things over and over again to stay alive, to stay sane, and to keep moving forward. Hey, it's working. I'm still here. I don't get bored doing the same things at the gym every Sunday. I'm finally starting to understand how to shoot free throws. I don't get bored eating the same thing for breakfast over and over again. Actually I think I have perfected breakfast. I don't even get bored with writing about nothing every evening for thousands of days. Writing is good. It keeps you thinking.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day