Day 1879

Today was consumed with the minutiae of everyday life. Everywhere I turned there were nagging little details that refused to be resolved. There were medical bills that were sent directly to me instead of my insurance provider. Nobody knew why. There was a glaring imbalance when I tried to reconcile my bank account. Did I forget to record a check? Were there electronic transfers that I didn't remember? The difference between the bank statement and the checkbook weren't large, but what was causing things to add up differently? I still don't know.

I did finish an article today, but even that was harder than I anticipated. Sometimes it can be quite difficult to write 500 words when 50 would suffice. I'm used to writing about nothing, but occasionally I run out of adjectives. How many times can you say exceptional, superlative, exquisite, and iconic? These words are almost mandatory when you are writing about luxury goods however. It can get boring.

The best thing about today was breakfast. Now that she has retired, Janet has started joining me on my Friday morning breakfast outings. She likes the food too, but I don't think this is the high point of her day. Actually she'd rather be working. I don't think retirement suits her. She's already looking for another job. Not me. I'd love to officially retire. Freelancers and small business owners never retire though. I don't have much of a retirement plan, so I just keep working and hope that the stock market  eventually turns around. My holy grail is a booming stock market, $100 a barrel oil, and high interest rates. That's the only way I'll ever make any money.

The weather was weird today. It was in the low thirties when we got up this morning, but by mid-afternoon it was almost Springlike. By the time I took the dogs on their evening walk it was 70 degrees. I'm not complaining. I hope it is 70 degrees again tomorrow. If it stays warm, maybe I'll wash the car. It seems pointless to wash the car when it's cold and wet. Even more pointless when the water hose is frozen.

I'm trying to decide whether cleaning up dog poop in the back yard or cleaning my office is more onerous. Both jobs seem pretty unpleasant at the moment. My office has really gotten out of hand. Every available surface is covered with clutter. Most of the clutter is old mail that has been put in various "I'll deal with this later" stacks. In addition to the mountains of junk mail, healthcare notices, and bills, there are the Anton Bauer camera batteries that won't re-charge anymore, the large printer that still clogs every two days, and a leaking shower pan in the second bathroom. At least there is no water on the roof today.

I need to get back to the gym this weekend. It's been several weeks since I've had a serious workout and that's not good. Even though I'd rather sleep in late, eat a big mid-morning plate of waffles and bacon, and watch movies for the rest of the day, there are things that need to be done. Discipline can be a real bitch sometimes.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1849

I got on the phone this morning and literally begged the appliance repair folks to expedite the shipment of the part needed to get my washing machine working again. In an era when you can get literally anything overnight using FedEx or UPS, it just doesn't make sense to wait a week for a washing machine part. After making my case, the company agreed to fix my machine on Friday. I still don't understand why they couldn't have fixed it today. Delays like this are one more reason I hate the whole concept of just-in-time sourcing. Nobody inventories anything anymore. Repair shops used to have huge warehouses full of parts. They don't want the expense of maintaining an inventory these days and prefer to just order things as needed. It's another sign of the apocalypse as far as I'm concerned.

When I went to my physical therapy appointment today I asked the therapist if everybody's shoulder made loud cracking and popping sounds like mine does when I'm doing the stretching exercises. "No, you're the worst I've ever seen," she told me. She also added that the next time I had a shoulder problem, I definitely shouldn't wait five years to look for a solution. The dentists I've been seeing have been basically telling me the same thing. What can I say? I'm great at taking care of the dogs. Not so good at taking care of myself.

I'm ready for Summer. I don't know how you Northerners can stand these frigid temperatures. One week of sub-freezing weather has just about brought me to my knees. The temperatures are still in the high twenties, but when you factor in the wind chill it feels closer to zero. I still don't understand why the dogs appear to like this weather. They get cold on longer walks, but when we follow our normal route, the seem to take the chilly weather in stride.

Work is getting busy again. I had several writing assignments today, along with one big website revision. This work, along with my physical therapy appointment and two dog walks completely used up my day. I was trying to explain to my physical therapist that it was difficult to find time for all the stretching exercises and she seemed perplexed. Most people think that if you work out of your house, you have an almost unlimited amount of free time. Not true! I had a lot more free time when I worked in an office. You really have to manage your time wisely if you want to make a decent living while still being a world class dog butler to two demanding Dalmatians.

The laundry is already stacking up. I'll readily admit that I'm obsessed with doing laundry. I hate seeing dirty laundry lying around the house. I can't stand a dirty car either and am always washing mine. Oddly, a dirty house doesn't bother me at all. Go figure.

Vegas is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1755

Yay! We've got power again. The repair crew arrived in the neighborhood while Janet and I were returning from our Sunday morning walk with Dot and Dash. The five large trucks and twelve man repair crew were greeted like a liberating army. Some neighbors offered the men coffee and others brought donuts. Everybody said a sincere thank you to the crew for not forgetting about us. After we saw the big trucks, we all knew we would have power by the end of the day.

I had no idea how long it would actually take to get power restored, so I drove up the street to pick up a take-out breakfast and some coffee. By the time I returned with the food, the lights were on again and our ordeal was over. You realize very quickly in situations like these that modern society is completely dependent on electricity. Things go downhill very quickly without power. People get grumpy. Store shelves quickly empty of essential items like batteries and food that does not require refrigeration. Knowledge workers are dead in the water without the computers, servers and phone systems they depend on. I'm still wondering what happened on Saturday's new Dr. Who episode. I can't tell you how many people I saw using their cars to recharge their cell phones during the outage. Most people would readily burn several gallons of gas while their car was idling in the driveway than risk their phone going dead. Without our phones, we are lost.

I remember reading once that during the cold war, Russia hardened most of its power grid by burying the electric cables underground. For some reason the United States didn't bother to do the same and now we are paying the price. Our entire power grid is an aging, very insecure, mess. If electric cars like the Tesla ever become popular, there will probably be brownouts every night as the population recharges their cars for the next day. I hope someone in Washington realizes the importance of improving the power grid. ISIS doesn't need to go around chopping off people's heads. All they need to bring the country to its knees is turn off the electricity for a month.

Having power again inspired Janet and I to try to get a grip on the mess that was engulfing the house. We cleaned the refrigerator and started over with fresh food. I bought some new bath towels to replace the old dingy ones that were an embarrassment to take to the laundromat yesterday. I got out the big step ladder and finally summoned the energy to get the big heavy flight case for my synthesizer off a high shelf so I could pack it up and take it to the storage warehouse. The Beta-SP video equipment went to the storage warehouse as well. As important as this stuff was to my business at one time, I know it will never be used again.

I've still got a ton of work to catch up on, but it looks like Monday will just be another normal work day. If you were expecting something from me last Friday, I'm still working on it. I work pretty fast, so with any luck, the backlog will be gone by Wednesday. It's definitely back to oatmeal tomorrow. I think I've gained five pounds by eating out every single day since last Thursday. I really hope that we don't have a repeat of this mess later this Winter. I don't think the nice, dog friendly hotel where we sought refuge during a power outage last Winter will be an option any longer. Dog friendly hotels are usually very clear that if your dog destroys anything, you pay for it. I don't think they would welcome an old dog who has a tendency to pee on the bed.

Lightning is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1357 - Labor Day

I usually get things backwards on Labor Day. Instead of a day of rest, it's usually a day of labor for me. Since there was a huge downpour last night, I started the day by getting the standing water off the roof. Since the neighbor's pecan tree is already raining down a bumper crop of nuts that the squirrels immediately crack open, the standing water was stained a dark brown by the broken pecan shells. Tannin stains from nuts and leaves have already discolored my pretty white energy efficient roof. As the roof grows darker, it will eventually start absorbing the sun's energy instead of reflecting them the way it is supposed to. This type of roof probably works great in barren warehouse districts where there are no trees. Unfortunately, I have an abundance of large oak trees that are already trying to make a mockery of my new roof.

I had to pick up some prescriptions at the pharmacy this afternoon, so I thought I'd look for a restaurant supply store on the way home and get a small colendar for my cutting board project. I should have known that all the restaurant supply stores would be closed today. Since Walmart, Home Depot, and the shopping malls are all open today, I keep forgetting that the whole point of Labor Day is to give working folks the day off. I came home and started looking for colendars and wire mesh baskets on the Internet instead. Although I found dozens of colendars, I couldn't find one in the size I needed. They were all too big. Then, I thought I might be able to use one those wire mesh baskets that are used in ultrasonic parts cleaners. I found plenty of these things as well, but they were all too small. While I was looking, I also discovered that there were already plenty of ready-made over-the-sink cutting boards with built-in colendars that looked much better than the one I was trying to build. Maybe it would be much simpler to just buy one of these.

Since I'd wasted most of the day already, I decided to waste the rest of it by cleaning my office. The office never seems to get much cleaner after my attempts to straighten, arrange, and declutter, but it still seems important to make an effort. Since I could write my name in the dust that has accumulated on the top of my desk, I thought it might be a good day to do a little dusting. I don't know where all this dust comes from. I never open the windows and I always use the highest rated furnace filters I can find. The dust still finds a way inside though. I might as well be living in a tent.

Janet was a lot more productive than I was today. She set up a sewing factory in the living room and made dozens of fancy dog bandanas for the upcoming Dalmatian Rescue golf tournament. Maybe I'll be more productive tomorrow. It's a work day, whatever that is.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1293

I washed the windows today. This wouldn't be a big deal if the house wasn't made almost entirely of glass. There are large windows everywhere. I remember when we first moved here I would wash all the windows every few weeks. I also washed the car a lot and frequently cleaned the brick patio with a pressure washer. It didn't take me long to realize that no matter how often I did these things, the dirt, spiderwebs, and mud dauber nests would quickly return. I initially thought I was in charge, but really it was mother nature who was in charge. With each passing year, I cleaned the windows less frequently. I could never ignore them completely though. There would always be days like today when I would look outside and realize the spiderwebs were so thick that it looked like I lived in a haunted house. Yes, I can still be shamed into honest work.

The windows sparkle now. The grass has been mowed front and back. I even took the leaf blower and blew all the leaves and dirt off the porch. This is what happens when you get up too early on a Sunday. You can end up with more time for chores than you really want.

One of the reasons we got up early was so we could take the dogs to the dog park before it got hot. This worked out well. The temperature was in the low 80's and there was a nice breeze. I think Dot might have had too much activity today though. She seemed fine at the dog park, but later in the day, she was walking with a slight limp. I think the limp started right after lunch when she was chasing some squirrels in the back yard. Dot just doesn't know how to pace herself. I walked Dash separately this evening in hopes that Dot would rest. She has had a limp before, but problems with her legs are becoming more frequent now. It's sad to see an active dog grow old.

The grass seed I planted last week still hasn't sprouted yet. I definitely don't have a green thumb. I've been watering every day, but I think all that has accomplished it to guarantee that I'll have a big water bill next month. The grass may not be growing, but my hair is. It's time for a haircut again. Maybe I'll make an appointment with Betty next week and check out the new, larger Apple store while I'm at the mall. Apple and Ann Taylor have traded places at the mall. Apple now has a huge new store, while Ann Taylor has a tiny little space. You think that a clothing store would need more space than a company that basically only has thirteen things to sell. What do I know though? The Apple store is certainly more crowded than the Ann Taylor store.

I don't think next week will be very busy. With the Fourth of July falling on a Thursday, the temptation is going to be high for a lot of folks to take Friday off as well and make it a long weekend. Whatever happens, I'm sure there will still be articles to write and websites to fix. There always is.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1132

It was one of those prematurely early Spring days that brought everyone outside. The dog park was absolutely packed. Dash was intimidated by all the people and dogs at first, but he adjusted quickly. Everyone was in a good mood. I rarely see this many people in the park and quickly noticed that everyone looked kind of similar. Virtually the entire crown consisted of singles or young couples without children. All were Caucasian. You would never have seen a crown like this twenty years ago. Some of these people will have children later, but others never will. For a variety of reasons, they have decided that dogs are a much easier kind of family.

Later in the day, the dogs and I see tons of families with children at the large city park where we take our daily walks. Virtually all of these people are Hispanic. The adults are fixing picnic dinners while the kids play soccer and other games. The demographics of the city and probably of the entire country are changing dramatically. One group is marrying young and having large families while the other postpones families and pursues careers until they eventually start to worry about down syndrome babies and cogitative disorders. The future is all in the demographics. Immigration reform is a big issue now, but eventually it won't even matter. In less than a hundred years, I am convinced that this country will simply become an extension of Mexico.

When I wasn't ruminating about the future, I spent my time doing an assortment of odd little tasks. Since my car was clean again, I got a bottle of Meguiar's Fine Cut Cleaner and polished out a couple of scratches in the paint. I also glued a wooden chopping block that had become de-laminated back together. Finally, I tried to clean up the little Japanese Garden in our atrium. When we first bought the house, Janet and I made a huge effort to make this little area pretty and green. We bought Japanese Maples, ferns and ivy plants. When the plants died, we bought replacements and continued our efforts to have a delightful little green spot in the center of the house. It was a futile effort. There wasn't enough light in the atrium and every two or three years there would be a big freeze that would kill everything anyway. At some point I made a rock garden because I figured nothing could hurt the rocks. The garden is a failure, but it still looks nicer when I clean it up.

I have an appointment with my financial adviser tomorrow. I'll ask him if Apple has dropped enough to consider buying some shares again. I'll ask him why my natural gas investments are doing so terribly if natural gas is still what is supposed to make us energy independent. We won't watch the inauguration, but I'll ask him how to make the next four years work in my favor. I doubt if he'll have a good answer.

April is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1131

I took my car to the car wash today. Janet likes clean dogs, but it's a clean car that does it for me. The old Defender looks almost new when it is sparkling clean. The only problem I had was setting the side mirrors again. The side mirrors on the Defender are so tiny that unless they are positioned perfectly, you can't see anything at all. I need the side mirrors because a big metal dog crate obscures my vision from the rear view mirror on the windshield. There are no electric buttons to move these mirrors. You have to get out of the car, monkey around with the mirror, then get get back in the car and see if you'd adjusted things properly. After three of four tries, I could see the road behind me again and I was on my way. A clean car didn't make the grocery shopping go any faster, but I did feel better.

I got another gift card in the mail from Klout this morning. This time it was from McDonalds. I own some McDonalds stock, but I can't say that I eat at the place very often. A Big Mac isn't exactly my idea of a healthy meal. Hey, I'll eat anywhere if it's free though. Maybe I'll go have an Egg McMuffin for breakfast some day.

I watched a few old Top Gear episodes on TV while I was cleaning the house this afternoon. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are my heroes. They've managed to make a great living bumbling about, playing tricks on each other, and driving fast cars. Given a choice between being an accountant, a civil servant, or driving around in the latest Ferrari, I think most guys would choose to be James May. I probably shouldn't make such a sweeping statement though. Guys who drive a Prius probably don't like Top Gear at all. Most of them would probably rather be Al Gore than Richard Hammond.

The days are already starting to get longer. Since we tend to walk around sunset at this time of year, I can see small differences almost every day. Less than a month ago the sun was starting to set when the dogs and I started our evening walk. Now, the sun doesn't reach the horizon until we are almost home again. Lots of people were out in the park today. I heard a woman scream when I was watching the sunset today. It wasn't what I thought though. Somebody's radio controlled model aircraft had run out of gas and almost hit the woman when it unexpectedly fell out of the sky. You never know what to expect in the city. I'm glad the model plane didn't hit the dogs.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1104

I am finding it much more difficult to de-construct a life than it was to construct it in the first place. I've been trying, with some degree of difficulty, to fill the packing boxes I bought a few days ago and cart them over to the storage warehouse. When I discovered that the small book boxes I had bought were perfectly sized to hold vinyl record albums, I decided to retire my record collection. I should have done this several years ago, since I no longer have a turntable and couldn't even play these records if I tried.

Sometimes I wish I had Janet's ability to simply throw things away. I continue to make excuses and invent reasons why I need to keep everything a little while longer. Hey, I'll sell it on e-Bay someday, I tell myself. This brings back good memories, I'll think. Hey, what's wrong with good memories? Occasionally when I'm cleaning out the office, I'll become so enthralled with some old treasure I've retrieved that I'll actually start using it again.

I doubt that I'll be playing these vinyl records that I boxed up today anytime soon. It's much easier to listen to digital versions of the same songs on my computer or phone. One thing I noticed while I was boxing things up was that I used to have a very eclectic and extremely wide ranging taste in music during the days of vinyl. I sorted through hundreds and hundreds of records in every genre imaginable. Steve Reich's process music epic "Come Out" sat next to vintage Aerosmith, which in turn sat on top of a hodge-podge of Dave Brubeck, Paul Simon, The Doors, and Bedrich Smetana's The Moldau. There was a little bit of everything. Some of the albums I'm boxing up are quite rare, since DJ friends used to give me promotional copies of albums they received at the radio station from unknown musicians that didn't get any airplay. Like my watch collection, my record collection mostly consists of stuff that nobody has ever heard of.

Dash threw up again last night, which seems to prove that the antihistamines the vet prescribed aren't doing any good. Once again, after he woke everyone up at 4 AM, he was completely fine for the rest of the day. I don't know what is wrong with the dog. Maybe nothing is wrong with him. Dash has always been a very sensitive animal and manages to get himself worked up over nothing time and time again. Maybe he just got upset that Dot stole his place on the bed last night. If Dash could talk, I'm sure we'd get to the bottom of things in just a few minutes.

It's hard to believe that it's Christmas Eve tomorrow. Somehow it seems like we should still be getting ready for Thanksgiving. Things just move too fast these days. While those Mayans were predicting the end of the world, I wonder if anyone else was predicting that time would actually speed up some day and entire years would zip by before you could get anything accomplished. I think it's already happening.

Katy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1097

I was watching PBS while eating breakfast this morning and happened to catch this program about how eating the right foods could prevent and even reverse the effects of everything from rheumatoid arthritis, to lupus, and even type 2 diabetes. I've heard this argument before, especially from the guy who owns the neighborhood health food store down the street from us. This presentation on TV was so clear and logical however, that I wanted to change my diet immediately. In short, eating the right amount of foods like beans, onions, mushrooms, raw nuts, kale, broccoli, and cabbage, while simultaneously limiting your intake of red meat, processed flour, and sugar can significantly boost your immune system and prevent disease. I wonder why more doctors don't tell you this? Probably because prescribing pharmaceuticals is a multi-billion dollar industry.

The only problem with eating lots of salads and fresh vegetables is that they don't stay fresh all week. With only two of us, it's hard to eat up lots of fresh produce before it goes bad. It's equally hard to find time to go to the grocery store more than once a week. It would certainly make more sense to go to the store once a day though and get a small amount of really fresh healthy food, than to continue to taking a mountain of pills for the rest of my life. I'm supposed to see my hepatoligist tomorrow. I'll ask him about rejuvenating my liver with a better diet. I bet he just prescribes another pill though.

Dot and Dash had a great time at the dog park today. The temperature was almost 70 degrees and all the dogs were friendly. We stayed about an hour and then returned home to finish our weekend errands. Janet went off in one direction, while I went off in the other. I wanted to find a high capacity USB-2 hub, so I wouldn't have to keep plugging and unplugging things from the main computer. I finally found a hub that would let me plug in seven different things. It wasn't enough, but it will have to do.

After a weekend of trying diligently to clear out my office, the room looks pretty much the same. There are lots of things in different places now, but the office looks just as cluttered as ever. I distinctly remember taking a big pile of stuff to the storage warehouse, but I still don't see any empty shelves or tabletops. How can this be? I was supposed to end up with a clean desk.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 859

The Casino Party went well last night. Sometimes we get a crowd that seems very reticent about gambling. They'll bet one chip at a time and seem to forget that they're gambling with play money. Last night's crowd wasn't like this. They bet with wild abandon, filling the entire board with huge piles of chips. Everybody seemed to be having fun. We didn't get home until well after midnight, but the time goes quickly with a good crowd like this.

I can't say that today was all that fun. The weather was beautiful, but I spent most of the day working. After taking Dot and Dash to the dog park this morning, I went down to the rent property and spent the afternoon trying to get the place cleaned up enough to put it on the market. The inside was clean already, but the windows needed washing and the patio area was full of leaves from last Winter.

The place looks pretty nice now. To get things looking even better, I would have to start spending some serious money for things that might not mean much to a potential buyer anyway. With any luck, I'll sign a contract with the real estate agent and have the place on the market next week.  I guess I am what you would call a motivated seller. I really don't want to be a landlord anymore.

Big sections of the park where I walk the dogs are native prairie. In the Spring these grasslands are filled with wildflowers. In the Winter, I'm the only photographer in the park, but this time of year I share the space with hundreds of other shutterbugs. We saw a ton of people with cameras today wading through the tall grass to take macro shots of flowers. I felt like telling these people that they were walking through areas filled with snakes and poison ivy, but I guess they'll figure things out for themselves soon enough.

I saw lots of people lounging around today. Several people hung hammocks between trees in the park. When I went downtown to clean the rent house, I saw tons of people having cocktails at sidewalk cafes. I wish my clients would do a little more lounging. They tend to send me work on Sundays. The last thing I wanted today was more work. I'm tired. I'd like to do a little lounging myself.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 838

The dogs got a nice outing at the dog park this morning. When we returned home, I settled down for a long afternoon of chores. I'm so far behind in getting the rental property ready to show again that I decided to spend the entire afternoon cleaning the place up.

I re-hung the closet doors so the handles were facing outward again. I removed mountains of cable that had been stapled to the walls by the Direct TV and U-verse guys. I vacuumed all the floors. All these tasks were just a sideshow though. The main event was painting. I painted over all the dings, dents and wall anchor holes that I had Spackled during my previous visit. I thought I was doing a pretty good job until the first coat of paint dried and I realized that my touch up paint wasn't quite the same color as the rest of the wall. Damn!

The paint was actually the very same paint that I had used to paint the walls three or four years ago before my renter moved in. Unfortunately, the paint on the walls had aged and darkened a bit over the years. Now, instead of just touching up around the nail holes and miscellaneous scrapes, I'm going to have to entirely repaint the walls. This is why renters are so frustrating. They think they deserve a medal for cleaning the oven before they leave, while at the same time they're creating a host of new problems that they aren't even aware of.

When I was walking the dogs this evening, we passed a local rock band playing in the park. These guys had a full kit with a good PA system and everything. They were playing to an audience of five people. I think there were six people in the band. The odd thing was they actually sounded pretty good. These guys were mostly just playing old Eagles songs, but any cover band who can do a credible job playing Hotel California in a public park is OK with me. I still don't know what they were doing out there. The dogs weren't very interested in hanging around to find out.

Tomorrow's going to be a busy day. I've got to re-schedule the appointment with the electrician, I've got to make a new appointment with Dot's vet to see if they can determine why she's so tired and shaky on her legs. I've got to see if I can get the washing machine repairman to commit to finishing the job he started over a week ago. We've been without a washing machine for quite a while now. If I've got time, I need to go to the one paint store in town that can still mix the proper color of paint for my rental property. A couple of gallons should do. Oh, and I need to set up a meeting with that guy who wants a new website for his company. I guess that's enough for one day.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 831

Our weekly trip to the dog park was the high point of the day. After we returned and had a little lunch, it was non-stop chores. I went to Home Depot first, to try to get a battery for my lawn mower before the grass in the front yard gets two feet tall. Although the store was still selling my model of mower, they had no replacement batteries. "We used to have batteries for these." was the best response I could get out of anyone. The salespeople couldn't even point me to a service center. Everyone seemed totally dependent on the Home Depot website. I already knew what the website said however. It said that this battery was out of stock online. Oh, well. Too much grass up front. Not enough grass out back. What are you going to do? Maybe I can get the battery rebuilt where I buy my watch batteries.

Later in the afternoon, I kept the promise I made yesterday and went down to clean my rental property. I'm happy to say that the Goo-be-Gone stuff actually worked and most of the candle wax and sticky stuff on the stone floors is gone. Now I've got to figure out how to get the Goo-be-Gone off the floors. It's some kind of petroleum based product and it doesn't seem to evaborate.

The big Molly Bolt wall anchors in the living room were a lot harder to remove than the sticky stuff on the floors. I managed to get most of them out, but I've got to go back and plaster over the holes. Now, the living room looks like someone used the walls for target practice. Renters are a complete mystery to me. I just don't understand why they do some of the things they do. In one of the bedrooms, someone took off the four sliding closet doors and put them on again backwards. Why? I just don't know what this proves. I've still got a lot of work to do, but I ought to have the place presentable enough to show a real estate agent in a week or two.

I think I'm getting too old to be cleaning sticky stuff off floors on my hands and knees. All I know it that every bone in my body was sore when I arrived home for dinner. I hate to pay someone to do this stuff however. It's simple mindless work. I used to be able to do this type of cleaning all day long. Unfortunately, the operating word in this case is "used to." If my hands rebel at scrubbing a floor, Lord help me when I pick up a guitar again.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 825

Everything seems to be falling apart lately. Today I discovered that the final spin cycle on the washing machine doesn't work anymore. A washing machine without a spin cycle is just a lot of wet soggy clothes, so I spent some time today looking for a repairman. The current front loader is the first washing machine we've had that didn't come from Sears. It used to be that just about everyone bought their major appliances from Sears. It was hard to go into anyone's kitchen without seeing the word Kenmore somewhere. Those days are long gone. We got the current washer and dryer from Lowes, who unlike Sears, doesn't service what they sell. I looked on the Internet for someone who repaired our brand of washing machine and found three names. I called the name with the best looking website and still haven't heard anything back. Maybe the guys with ugly websites are more responsive. I'll keep looking. I hope I can find someone soon. I certainly don't want to resort to going to laundromats again.

I've been waiting all day for the big storm all the TV weathermen have been telling me about. This is the storm that is supposed to bring eight inches of rain and maybe a tornado our way. Luckily, I was able to get both the morning and evening walks for Dot and Dash completed before the rains actually started. It's raining right now. I wouldn't call this a giant storm, but there is definitely enough water coming down to create a giant pond on the roof. We'll see tomorrow whether all the patching I did yesterday did any good.

My renter has finally moved out. I always hope the place will be spotless when a tenant leaves and am usually disappointed. The kitchen was pretty clean this time, which is always a good sign. Unfortunately, there were large metal wall anchors everywhere where pictures and shelves used to be. If you just paint over the wall anchors, it looks ugly and it you remove them completely from the sheetrock, there is usually some major patching to do. The stone floor is a mess too. Lots of candle wax spilled on the floor and a couple of big sticky spots where it looks like someone was using spray adhesive for craft projects. I could spend a couple of days down at the rent house and get everything looking shipshape again. Alternately, I could hire a handyman to fix things for me and probably not be happy with the results. I seldom have two days of free time and even less frequently have a good handyman at my beck and call. This is why it usually takes me forever to get the rent house ready to rent again.

Tomorrow, I'm a medical taxi. I take Janet in for dental surgery in the morning and Dash over to the vet for his antigen shot in the afternoon. I'm sure there will be some work to do as well.

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 614

Last night's Casino Party went well. We were able to raise some money to help the Dalmatians and everybody had a good time. The most surprising thing about the evening was that the restaurant seemed to completely change character as the evening progressed. When we arrived, the place was a nice family oriented sports bar where you might go to watch a baseball game with friends. With each passing hour, the music got a notch louder, and the customers got a bit younger. By the time we were ready to leave, the restaurant had transformed itself into a dance club with a deafening sound system, bouncers at the door, police checking ID's, and tons of kids looking for a good time. I was curious about the strange popularity of this seemingly average sports bar and then I discovered that the place still allowed smoking. The kids loved to smoke.

Today was much quieter. The theme for the day was washing. We washed the bedspread to get rid of all the dog hair. Then we washed the dogs, so they wouldn't immediately get the bedspread dirty again. The dogs looked so clean and pretty that it inspired me to go and get the car washed as well. I haven't washed the Defender all Summer because it was hard to see the point of doing anything unnecessary in this heat. Janet finally convinced me to spend $15 and let the attendants at one of those drive through car wash places clean it for me. This was a good suggestion. The car looks better now than it ever did when I washed it myself. Even the muddy wheels were sparkling.

I'm ready for another week. The Dalmatian Rescue event banners and signs are back at the storage warehouse again. The house is clean. The website updates seem under control. I'm wondering if the events in Libya today will make the market go up or down tomorrow. On one hand, the end of another dictator is positive news that should make the market go up. On the other hand, uncertainty about oil might make it go down. Maybe nothing will happen. Uncertainly seems to be baked into the cake these days.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 600

Our Casino Party last night was held at a restaurant called Seňor Jalapeño. I'd never heard of this restaurant before and probably won't be back again, but it certainly caught my attention. The place was located in a nondescript strip center in a marginal neighborhood. It wasn't what you'd expect though. When you went inside, the place was spotlessly clean and was exceptionally well designed for a hole-in-the-wall cafe. The decor was all clean lines and Mediterranean colors. There was definitely an architect involved somewhere. On the walls were a series of framed drawings of various architectural projects. They kind of looked like student projects but I wasn't sure. I liked the designs. Before I got a change to ask questions, the party started and I spent the rest of the evening spinning the roulette wheel. I still wonder who built this restaurant and why? The food wasn't particularly good, but the place looked wonderful.

I couldn't really figure out who was at the party either. I knew it was a political action committee that hired Dalmatian Rescue for the event, but the people attending certainly didn't seem like political operatives. Each table was sponsored by a different local judge or state representative, but none of the sponsors seemed to be in attendance. The people who were at the party did like to gamble though and everyone appeared to have a good time. Who knows. Maybe these folks will hire us again and I'll be able to learn who is behind the mysterious Seňor Jalapeño.

There was nothing mysterious about today. It was just another hot August Sunday. We took the dogs to the dog park early to avoid as much of the heat as we could and then went about our Sunday chores. Dot and Dash got a bath today, which they hate, but it was definitely time. Dogs get dirty quickly in the Summer. I gave the shrubs in the back yard a bath too. It's probably hopeless keeping the yard looking green. The water coming out of the garden hose this afternoon was actually hot.

I was still in a cleaning mood when I finished the yard chores, so I took some more stuff down to the storage warehouse. Even though I've given myself an entire year to get my office cleaned up, I still don't know whether I'll be able to meet my self-imposed deadline. It's August already and at best, I'm only about halfway to the finish line. It's discouraging to spend time at the storage room too. The place is a museum of failed projects and unrealized dreams. Other people build relationships. I buy tools. I've got a tool to start just about any project imaginable, but only about 10% of these projects ever get finished.

All is not lost however. It's Day 600 today. This humble blog appears to be a project I haven't given up on yet. Writing for 600 straight days without missing a single post has got to be an achievement of sorts. If I can make it to Day 1000, I'll either get a book deal or carpel tunnel.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 558

On Sundays I try to attack the big pile of unopened mail and useless paper that still clutters my office. Once again, I managed to fill one of those big black plastic trash bags without the room looking any tidier at all. I really need to look at my mail more often. When the mail arrives each day, I quickly scan for bills and checks and then leave the rest unopened for months at a time. The only thing I hate worse than getting mountains of junk mail each month is receiving important mail in envelopes that look exactly like there's junk inside. Every month or so, I need to look through all the junk, just to make sure there's not a past due bill tucked in between all the advertising messages.

I sort the paper into different piles. There's stuff I don't understand, but save anyway because maybe I will understand it sometime on the future. Most of this paper is from my financial advisor. There are bank and brokerage statements that I put in a big ring binder. There are lots of expired coupons that go straight in the trash. There are handwritten notes that I make when I am on the phone with clients. Most of these make no sense to me within a week after I write them, so they go in the trash too. I always find a few surprising things that I wish I'd noticed earlier. Today I found two new credit cards that I still needed to activate and a letter from a bank saying that an account had gone dormant because I hadn't used it in a year and a half. There was also a galley proof of my Who's Who in America bio that I should have approved months ago and a discount offer from Facebook offering me from $25 to $500 if I would try running a Facebook ad for my company.

When I gave up on the pile of useless paper, I tried printing some old poster files on my new printer. Last week I told one of my clients that I would reprint some of their old posters that I produced five years ago. I thought this would be easy, but of course it isn't easy at all. I found the old files in Quark Express easy enough, but when I clicked the print button, a dialog box appeared that said media assets were missing and that I needed to relink them. Damn. Since I switched from my old computer with four hard drives to this new computer with a single humongous drive, all my photo and font files are in a different location. After manually re-linking a few files, I realized that I didn't even have some of the old photos anymore. Maybe I won't be able to reprint these old posters after all.

After last weeks rains, the grass needed mowing again. When I was mowing the front yard, I noticed that the leak in the water main had been fixed. I had been meaning to call the city about this leak for months, but it wasn't a high priority, especially since the leak was on the city side of the meter. I was wondering how the city even knew about this leak, but then Janet told me that the meter reader had probably turned in a report after he opened the lid to the water main and noticed that the meter was buried under a foot of water. At any rate, the grass is easier to mow now without the big patch of wet grass on the downhill side of the water main.

We're going to the dog park earlier on Sunday's now to try and beat the heat. This morning, there was a light breeze and it was actually pleasant outside. The dogs seemed to enjoy the cooler weather too. They both wanted to stay a lot longer than they did last week.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day