Day 3472

I finished my new article this morning and sent it off to several publications that I thought might be interested. I think the chances of getting this article published are close to zero. Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad article at all, but the response time for unsolicited submissions at many publications can be as long as three months. Since I am basically writing about the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing which takes place next month, the event will be over before they even get around to reading my story. I guess I can always put the story up on my website. My writing always gets accepted there.

Researching and writing this story was actually kind of fun. I've been doing this sort of thing for most of my adult life. I've been writing ads and marketing materials since the mid 1970's. Until recently I frequently wrote about the watch industry. This is one reason why you see so many watches on my blog. The whole concept of writing for free is foreign to me though. I firmly believe that writers and photographers should get paid.

As I was sending off my submissions this morning, it became apparent that this was somewhat of a quixotic quest. There just aren't that many printed magazines left. If I want to write about space, the smart thing to do would be to make myself known to existing space related websites and try to become a regular contributor. That's how I ended up doing a lot of writing about dogs and watches. Can I muster up enough energy to do this sort of thing all over again? Only time will tell.

Since there's a good chance that my initial effort to become a space journalist will just wind up gathering dust on my website, I spent the afternoon experimenting with a few ideas for creating my own space related site. In theory, this should be pretty easy. Just buy a interesting sounding domain, do a little coding, and put a few pages together that you can upload to the same webserver where all your other stuff resides.

There's one little fly in the ointment. I can't actually remember how to do what I was envisioning on my walk this morning. How frustrating. I know I've done this before. I'm going to have to do some research tomorrow since I apparently can't count on my memory anymore. Use it or lose it they say. I guess I've lost it.

I finally got my last piece of art re-scheduled for a new auction. I had to agree to lower the reserve and estimated hammer price, but it's not a big deal. The whole idea is to get this stuff sold. Inch by inch I am making progress toward my downsizing goals. I got a message from my train dealer recently that he had an offer on one of my better trains. Good news. If the sale goes through, it just might pay for my trip to Florida.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's very hot outside. I live in Texas and it's almost July. What am I doing walking outside in the sun? It's insane.  If I want exercise, I should be swimming at an indoor pool.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2895

I should have quit while I was ahead. I finished my writing assignment this morning and delivered it to the client. So far so good. Next, I started to work on my website assignment. This was supposed to be easy, but I couldn't get the Wordpress template to do what I wanted. I floundered around for hours experimenting and reading tutorials on the theme the client selected. So far, I still haven't found what I need.

Templates drive me nuts. They work pretty well if you don't try to change the default settings. Once you start creating your own settings, you've gone down a rabbit hole. If I was creating this site using HTML and Javascript, I'd be done by now. I'm pretty confident I'll master this eventually. "It's just a template," I keep telling myself. Hey, I went down so many blind alleys today that tomorrow should be easy. I've already eliminated a ton of things that don't work.

I didn't even attempt to work on the roof today. Messy manual labor and messy website development don't mix very well. I was hoping I'd get the website finished today so I could concentrate on the roof tomorrow. That's not going to happen. I guess the weather will determine what I do next. I don't have a firm deadline on the website, but I know I'd got to get the roof finished before it rains.

I also know I've only got a few days to test my lights and cameras for the upcoming Santa Paws photo shoot this weekend. Everything should work, but will it? I haven't used most of this stuff since last years holiday pet photos. I've got an extra Norman power pack, and extra strobe, and an extra camera body in case something breaks. This still leaves a fairly small margin of error. If one light burns out I'm fine. If two lights burn out, I'm screwed. My equipment has worked perfectly for decades, but eventually my luck will run out. Nothing lasts forever.

I wish I didn't worry so much. Every time Dash jumps on the bed, I worry that he's going to tear his ACL. Every time I go in the utility room, I worry that the water heater is going to develop a leak and flood the house. I worry that my car is going to break down every time I leave the house and I worry that we'll be attacked by an aggressive dog every time Dash and I go on a walk. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about Kim Jong-un or rising sea levels. Some things are out of my control. It's the little things right here at home that bother me most.

Maybe tomorrow will go smoothly. If I take care of the easy things first, I should be fine. I need to balance my checkbook. It's time to order more printer ink. I need to re-glue one of Dash's protective boots. I'll do the laundry. When I take care of those things, I'll think about battling Wordpress again.

Spots is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2838

I think we've found Dash's Halloween costume. He looks like a pirate wearing his new knee brace. Hopefully, the brace will help prevent his partial ACL tear from becoming worse while we are dealing with his heart issues. The last thing we want right now is a situation that might require emergency surgery. Dash seems to walk fairly normally wearing the brace. The rubber boots on his rear legs still fall off, but we've got some better ones ordered.

Dash has finished his first week of anti-nausea pills. We are supposed to go without the pills for a while and see if the nausea returns. Although this makes sense and is something we need to do, it makes me nervous to go without the pills. They did seem to make a difference. Dash's appetite still isn't good, but at least he's eating now. I'd hate to be back to square one again. I guess we can always restart the Cerenia if the nausea returns. Both of his vets say it is very safe.

I did pretty well at the gym today. I'm burning more calories now and I may even extend my workout a bit next week. Physically, I don't think it would be that difficult to go to the gym three times a week. I just don't have the time. I wonder how people who go to the gym on a regular basis find the time. It's weird that even though my writing and website work has slowed down to a crawl, I'm still constantly busy. I've probably just slowed down a lot. I think it takes me twice as long to do just about everything.

I get twice as tired on active days too. Today, in addition to going to the gym, I cleaned the house, changed the sheets, and washed the dog beds. I was going to use some epoxy stuff I found at Home Depot to seal the leaky shower drain, but when I got my other chores sone, I just didn't feel like it. I hate working with epoxy, silicon, tile grout, and other messy products. No matter how hard I try, I always end up spilling something on my skin or clothing. I have a bad feeling about this epoxy. If it doesn't work as intended, it's going to be hard to remove.

I did finish my article today and shipped it off to the client. I wish I had more writing jobs. Writing is a great way to earn money when you're taking care of a sick dog. There are seldom any meetings, no fancy equipment is required, and it is a very quiet, peaceful activity. Writing was one of the few things I could do well while Dot was sick. I can leave Dash for short periods of time, but I wouldn't feel comfortable being away on an all day photo shoot anymore. If I leave the cone on Dash for more than a few hours at a time, he's going to get himself in trouble. We don't need the cone when I'm here. Dash usually just goes to sleep under my desk while I'm working.

It's hard to believe it's October already. It's been a rough year, but I guess there are still three more months for something fun to happen.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2487

Today was busier than I expected. As usual, it took forever to take care of my morning chores and get the dogs situated, but when I eventually got around to turning on the computer, there was lots of work waiting for me. I saw that I now had the information I needed for a long overdue website update, as well as a request for a new article. When I started working on the website, I saw a notice that there was a software update that would allow my responsive, mobile ready websites to load up to ten times faster. The good news was that all my clients would love for their websites to load faster. The bad news was that I now had to learn something new. Oh, well. Progress marches on, I guess. When I finished my update, the site actually did load faster. It certainly wasn't ten times faster, but maybe the modest speed increase was worth forcing my tired brain to remember even more complex code that I can barely understand.

Most of the articles I write are for products that I would never use myself. It can be challenging to make overpriced junk seem like something everyone needs to have, but I do the best I can. I've done this for years and years and I'm pretty good at it. Maybe this is why I'm somewhat amused when politicians call each other liars. Of course they're liars. Our whole society is based on lying. How long would you last at work if you told your boss or supervisor what you really thought? Do you actually believe everything you hear on the news these days? I didn't think so. So, maybe I embellished things a little when I wrote my article. No real harm was done. Hey, maybe somebody really loves this product. I can say nice things about almost anything. I'll leave the disparaging comments to those folks who write restaurant reviews on Yelp.

Dot is really getting weaker. I don't know what to do. She desperately needs daily exercise to keep her leg muscles from atrophying further, but she's not strong enough now to walk as far as she used to. It's a vicious circle. A lack of exercise makes her weaker, which forces us to decrease her exercise even further. In theory, the underwater treadmill can still help Dot, but she needs to be relaxed for the therapy to do any good. Riding in the car causes a lot of stress for Dot, so it negates most of the benefits of the therapy. We hesitate to extend her short walk around the block, since it's clear that this is about all she can handle. Maybe this is as good as it gets.

Dash has his own problems too, but they are completely overshadowed by Dot's deteriorating condition. It's hard to remain upbeat when your dogs are fading away in front of your eyes and your business is fading away at an equally alarming rate.  Everything, including my own health, appears to be headed downhill. I imagine that the blog was more fun to read when it was more about beginnings than about endings. That's not the way life is, unfortunately. We all reach the end of the line eventually. For now, the challenge is finding beauty in a life of diminished expectations. I complain a lot, but I actually am extremely grateful for each additional day we are given. Dot is still here. Dash is still here. Janet and I are still here. Tonight we'll get some sleep and tomorrow we'll start over again.

Lightning is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2473

The trouble with credit cards is that a month or so after you buy something, you actually have to pay for it. I feel poor today, because in addition to the usual charges for gasoline, groceries, prescription medicine, and miscellaneous junk I thought I needed at Home Depot, there was the humongous yearly rent for my storage warehouse on the latest credit card bill. So why didn't I write a check for the rent when it was due? Well, it was just easier to postpone the pain until next month. It can be confusing paying for things that you've already forgotten about buying using money that you've already forgotten about earning. I delay paying my bills as long as I can and my clients delay paying me as long as they can. The net result is that there is no cause and effect anymore. It just feels like I'm broke all the time.

I watched a crew pouring concrete in the park while I was walking Dash this morning. I've been watching this sidewalk being constructed for three months now. The crew would grade a path with a bulldozer and then put wooden forms and re-bar in place so the concrete could be poured. They did this three separate times this Summer until they were apparently satisfied with their work this morning. I asked one of the guys whey they kept tearing up their work and starting over? They said their previous efforts weren't up to code because the grade was too steep. This was a bike path, mind you. The city could have saved a ton of money if they just let the cyclists pedal a little harder. The city probably had some rule that said that no bike path could have more than a ten percent grade. If someone created a path with a twelve percent grade, they had to start over. It all seems silly to me.

I finished writing my latest article and once again had difficulty sending it to my client. It appears that their IT department wasn't able to Whitelist me after all. I keep getting identified as a spammer, even though I've never sent spam in my life. These difficulties make me wish I had my old private ISP back. I never used to have these problems until I moved to a large ISP with thousands of servers. My little local ISP stayed under the radar until the owner retired and shut down the company, forcing me to go somewhere else. Once again, the old days were better.

My bananas were still green this morning, so I went to the store and got some ripe ones. I never realized that bananas were so cheap, since Janet usually picks them up. I got a pound of bananas for fifty cents. On the way home I stopped to pick up some Chinese take-out for dinner and they said they were out of the Thai noodle dish I had ordered online. I'm easy. I just asked what they had that was real spicy and substituted something else. Anything to avoid cooking is fine by me.

Dot seemed to enjoy not having to go to physical therapy. Her limp is a little better, but she is still pretty shaky. For the second day in a row, she made a mess and pooped all over her special harness. We have a spare harness now for these occasions. I felt like taking her outside and cleaning her with the garden hose, but she hates this, so I cleaned her up with warm wet towels instead. Dot is as sweet as she can be, but she wears me out.

Tomorrow is the first day of Fall. It certainly doesn't feel like Fall yet. It has been unseasonably hot all week. I can tell the seasons are changing though, because the days are getting shorter. I saw Orion in the pre-dawn sky as we walked Dot and Dash around the block this morning. Pretty soon it will be even darker. I won't miss the hot weather as Winter approaches, but I will miss the sunlight. I do better with lots of sunlight.

Rowe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2460

I finished one of my articles today and when I started on the second, something seemed very familiar. I looked through my files and discovered that I'd already written this article last November. How quickly they forget. As much as I hate to turn down work, I told my client that this ship had already sailed. I wonder whether they completely forgot about the first article I wrote, or if something minor had changed about the product. I compared the pictures and the product looked identical. I'm an honest guy, but I wonder whether I could have just copied the original article and turned it in again.

I called the roofer and he wants me to draw a circle around all the bad spots on the roof, so his crew won't miss them when they return to patch the areas they forgot. Sounds fine by me. I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of little circles up on the roof. I'd better use a laundry marker, so my identifying marks won't just wash away the next time it rains. So many areas have been patched by now that I keep thinking that it would have been easier to just re-coat my entire roof. It's pretty obvious by now that the first material they applied was defective.

We've had to change the route of our short morning walk because we've noticed that one of the more aggressive dogs in the neighborhood has almost learned how to jump over it's fence. Yesterday, I saw the dog leap at the ten foot wooden fence and manage to get his paws over the top. The dog fell back to the ground, but it's only a matter of time before he learns to pull the rest of his body over the fence. There would be no way to protect Dot from this dog. Actually, there would be no way to protect Dash either. Why can't people spent more time training and socializing their dogs? There is no good reason why anyone should have an aggressive dog. They're everywhere though. I'm always on the lookout for loose, aggressive dogs. I've been bitten before and I hope I'm never bitten again.

I ordered some more expensive ink for the large production printer. I just can't bring myself to abandon this thing. I doubt highly that I'll ever be making beautiful, oversize Giclée prints again, but the printer still seems cool to me. It's too bad it's such a pain in the ass to keep it running. I guess I could say the same for the two multi-track tape recorders I recently restored. They're still sitting on the floor in a corner of the office. I haven't even bothered to hook them up again. It goes without saying that downsizing doesn't come easy to me.

Maybe nothing comes easy anymore. I can't even decide where to have breakfast tomorrow. Do I feel like pancakes, eggs benedict, biscuits and gravy, or breakfast tacos? I don't have a clue. Hopefully, my trash can will be emptied properly tomorrow morning. At least that will get the day off to a good start.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2458

Today was busy. By the time I finished breakfast and our two regular morning dog walks, it was almost time for my dental appointment. I took a quick shower and headed up to North Dallas to get my teeth cleaned. I do this every six months now, which I guess is a lot better than once every ten years. The dental hygienist said that other than a moderate amount of plaque, my teeth looked pretty good. How could I have any plaque at all? I use one of those sonic toothbrushes every day and then follow up with a water pik. I still wish that I never had to have one of my wisdom teeth removed. I'm such a symmetrical person that it bothers me to have an asymmetrical number of teeth.

When I got home, I got started writing a new article. Some of my writing assignments don't really provide much input. I had to do some serious Google searching to find enough information for today's subject. It's all OK though. This is one of the few ways I can make money while keeping an eye on Dot to make sure she doesn't get stuck in a corner or poop all over herself.

I used to go to animal rescue meetings quite a bit. I'm still a member of several groups, but I seldom go to the meetings anymore. I just don't have the time. For some reason I thought I'd go to one of these meetings this evening. The meeting started a little later than usual and Janet was going to be home with Dot, so I thought everything would be fine. I'd forgotten that any sort of meeting takes longer when wine is served. By the time I thought the meeting would be over, it was actually just getting started. I stayed as long as I could, but evidently I was the only one who had a blog to write. I felt bad about leaving early, since I don't go to many of these meetings anyway, but I could either finish my article and write the blog or stay and chat. I'm not very good at chatting anyway.

Dot seems stronger today. It's a mystery why her condition seems to change so much from day to day, but I suspect that this is just a part of the aging process. I have good days and bad days too. Maybe the extra rest she got yesterday helped. At any rate, Dot didn't stumble as much today and felt like moving around more than she did yesterday. Hopefully, her renewed energy will continue thru tomorrow, when she had another appointment with the underwater treadmill.

I'm still not finished with my article, but I'm getting close. I'll definitely be able to turn it in tomorrow. I don't think I'll be going to any evening meetings for a while. I'm just too slow and have lost most of the flexibility I once had. I made it through the day though and everything got done. Well, almost everything. I still have to take Dot outside to pee. Lord knows how long that will take.

April is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2430

I took Dash back to his regular vet today. Dash is not a good patient. By the time he gets to the vet, he is barking, his adrenaline is pumping, and he is so wound up that it is often difficult to diagnose anything. The vet agreed that he was walking a bit oddly, but when she took x-rays, there seemed to be no basis for his stiff, almost robotic gait. She told me that there were no obvious signs of arthritis or hip dysplasia. There were no signs of soft tissue injuries either. Dash was quite limber and was able to extend his legs through a full range of motion. As always, the dog continues to remain a mystery. Since dogs are often very good at hiding pain, the vet suggested that I give him Rimadyl for 14 days and watch to see if he changes the way he walks. If the stiffness disappears, something is causing him pain. It's worth a try. Of course, the Rimadyl won't tell us where the pain is coming from. Since the x-rays don't tell us much, he might need to have a MRI. There's always a chance that there is nothing wrong at all and this is just the way Dash normally walks.

Tomorrow, it's Dot's turn. I'm taking her back to her physical therapy vet to see if she's strong enough to resume using the treadmill. I have my doubts, since she appears to be growing weaker. There's always the chance that she's becoming weaker because we stopped the therapy. I'd hate to think I stopped the therapy just because of all the poop in the car. At any rate, we are going to evaluate her tomorrow and then we'll decide what to do next. Even if she's not strong enough for the underwater treadmill, she could still probably benefit from acupuncture.

I received some new writing assignments today. These ought to keep me busy for the rest of the week. It's time to send out August invoices, but I think I'll wait until I finish these new jobs. Maybe I'm just robbing from September to make August look a little better, but every dollar counts. I wish I could think of something lucrative to do that would boost my billings. It's getting harder and harder to compete with large high volume solutions.

Today, when I was waiting in the lobby with Dash to see the vet, I noticed a cool looking application that was running on a large flat screen TV which displayed the clinic's Instagram and Facebook posts in real time. This looked interesting and I started wondering if I could create something like this for my clients. I did some research when I got back home and discovered that the clinic had just bought a prepackaged solution from a large national digital signage company. They didn't have to hire a programmer at all. All they did was pay a monthly fee, plug a special box into the back of their TV, and they were done. It wouldn't matter if I learned how to do this. I could never compete with the signage company's prices.

Our yard squirrels seem to hate the August heat as much as I do. They don't even move around anymore. They'll find a place in the shade and just sit there, waiting patiently for sunset. I can walk right up to them and they don't even bother to move. I feel the same way and I have the luxury of air conditioning. I think we're all ready for Winter.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2418

I finished my writing assignment and got a thumbs up from the client shortly after I submitted it. By the time I get paid a few months from now, I'm sure that I'll have completely forgotten about this project. Such is the nature of my work. I've written a staggering amount of words over the years, and very few of them are of any consequence. I keep hoping that this blog has meaning, but maybe it is just like all the forgettable ads. They say that writing keeps the mind agile, but it certainly doesn't do much for my long term memory. Occasionally, I'll pull out an old portfolio from the 1970's and it will seem like the ads were written by someone else. Did I really do these things? Old award show books have my name on them, so I guess I did.

I'm sure I'll read something one of these days where researchers prove that a lack of sleep causes memory loss. I'm still not doing very well in the sleep department. It takes longer to write the blog than it used to, so I rarely get to bed before midnight. Dot wakes me up at 3 AM almost every night when she poops. And Janet gets us all up very early, so we can walk and feed the dogs before she leaves for work at 7 AM. I guess I could go back to sleep after I eat my breakfast, but I'm wide awake by then.

Dot has added a new wrinkle to our daily routine. Se has decided that she doesn't like me putting the disposable pad under her butt while she is resting in her bed. When I try to position the pad, it makes her mad and she gets up and wanders around aimlessly for a while. I have to follow her around while she does this, because she can't walk ten feet without my assistance. After we have repeated this process three or four times, she finally settles down and goes to sleep. I try my best to accommodate Dot's moods, because stress is not good for her. Actually, most of the time she is very relaxed. It is me who is under a lot of stress.

I had trouble picking up Dash's phenobarbital today. There was a new pharmacist and apparently his records were out of date. I'm glad we got everything straightened out, because Dash was completely out of pills and it's not a good idea to skip medications that are designed to control seizures. I have these type of problems with my own prescriptions as well. I have a few medications that I know I'll need to take for the rest of my life. Why do I constantly have to renew these things or get a new prescription from my doctor every six months? It would be so much easier if they'd just give me a giant bottle of pills that would last the rest of my life.

Maybe I'll ask for a giant bottle of pills when I go to review my blood test results tomorrow. I hope that none of my test results have deteriorated because I'm in no mood to change my diet and lifestyle again. I'll be really mad if my doctor asks me to give up sugar to prevent diabetes. I went without sugar for over two years and it wasn't very fun. There are days when you really need a bowl of ice cream. I think today was one of those days.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2409

As a writer, I find all the talk about Melania's speech interesting. I don't doubt that there was plagiarism involved. Plagiarism is endemic is today's society. If you're a musician, you might call your plagiarism sampling, or perhaps a remix. If you're an artist, you might say you're paying homage to someone. Like it or not, there is very little original thought in this world.

I've been accused of plagiarism myself. Ironically, I wasn't plagiarizing others, I was plagiarizing myself. If you're an advertising writer, you write the same shit over and over again for different people. How many ways can you tell someone that a bank offers friendly service or a hamburger is juicy? Sometimes I like the way I've described something and I'll use it again. I'm not even aware of doing this, but apparently clients aren't very happy if you use the same words more than once. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry," I'll say and quickly substitute some other adjectives that say exactly the same thing. I guess I'm not surprised that several people might say that if you work hard you can achieve anything you want in exactly the same way. How else would you express this thought? That being said, someone should have run the speech through one of those plagiarism checker websites that teachers routinely use with students papers. As a lazy person myself, I can tell you that there is no real excuse for being lazy. There's no excuse for trying to destroy someone for a few lines of identical text either.

I don't think I was lazy today, but I certainly didn't accomplish anything significant. I did get out of the house at least. I  found a $20 REI coupon in my wallet, so I went to the store and bought another pair of cargo shorts with huge pockets that could hold my cameras when I walked the dogs. T-shirts and cargo shorts has become my new Summer uniform. I'll probably continue wearing a longer version of these things next Winter. Lots of pockets are great.

Dot is still pretty weak, so I canceled her therapy appointment for the second week in a row. We're still just going around the block in the morning. It's not very far, but it seems to be the right balance between getting no exercise at all and becoming exhausted. I wish I knew what I know now when my first Dalmatian was getting old. It takes a long time to learn what dogs are trying to tell you. I think I'm getting pretty good at interpreting Dot's moods and desires, but I've still got a lot to learn. I hope she manages to teach me the wisdom of dogs before Dash gets old. Dash is going to be hard to handle.

I spent quite a while trying to remove some sticky road tar from my car this afternoon. Tar is much more difficult to deal with than dog poop. I don't think I need to worry about anyone plagiarizing me. I've pretty much cornered the market on writing about dog poop. Why would anyone else even want to copy this.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2298

Maybe I ought to complain more often. After mentioning the dearth of writing assignments yesterday, I opened my mail this morning and discovered that I have four new articles to write. I wrote one of the articles today and will save the other three for later. I need to figure out how to get more writing clients, because it's the perfect activity while taking care of sick dogs. I've had difficulty going to meetings and have avoided taking jobs that involve travel since Dot has gotten sick, but writing doesn't disrupt anything. I just sit at the computer with the dogs at my side and if they need anything, I'm right here. I'm glad there is still something I can do that doesn't involve meetings and supervision. When I started my company, I was more of a traditional ad agency. I did pretty well for quite a few years, but eventually burn out set in. Now, I prefer solitude. I look for clients who appreciate what I do, but basically leave me alone. They're out there, but they're definitely getting harder to find.

Dot is becoming more dependent as she grows weaker. She barks when she wants me to help her up and whines when she's not getting enough attention. This isn't a good thing. I'd like her to feel independent as long as she can. I can't ignore her though. She has difficulty walking without assistance now. Her rear legs often get stuck in an awkward position while she's sleeping, and when she's restless, it's often a sign that she needs to pee or poop. I've made the transition to full time dog butler so smoothly that Dot still leads a happy, relatively normal life. I can't say the same for myself. I'm not sure I even know what normal is anymore.

It looks like it's going to be a good year for wildflowers. I see new blooms every day and pretty soon the meadows and open fields in the park are going to be an explosion of color. Since the same flowers appear year after year, I've gradually learned their names. Learning about your surroundings can make almost anything interesting. I can identify at least a dozen species of birds by their song and can name the constellations in the pre-dawn sky on our morning walks. My powers of observations are still very selective, unfortunately. After all these years, I still don't know the names of most of my neighbors.

I didn't mow the grass today, but I did charge up the heavy 24 volt lawn mower battery. After charging the thing for about eight hours, a green light came on and the battery appears to be OK. Tomorrow, I'll install it in the lawn mower again and see if I have the energy to mow the front yard. When I moved to the neighborhood, everybody mowed their own yard. Now, I'm the last one left. Everyone else has a lawn crew that comes once a week during the Summer. I used to think this was a big waste of money, but every time I push the mower up a hill, having someone else take care of the lawn starts to make a lot of sense.

I have no idea what I'm going to do for breakfast tomorrow. I feel like I don't have a home anymore. My favorite restaurant has changed and I need something new. Maybe I'll just drive around aimlessly until I see something that looks appealing. There are lots of restaurants in the vicinity. I just haven't been to most of them for quite a while.

Smiley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2193

Dot was tired today. So was I. We soldiered on however and did our Thursday routine. I try not to push Dot too hard, but you've got to keep moving. When you quit moving, it's all over. We slowed down the treadmill a bit and Dot did just fine. Dot's vet spent a little extra time with her acupuncture session, trying to ease the tension in her back. I think it worked, because Dot was more relaxed when we got home again.I wish I could think of a better way to transport her to physical therapy. It's becoming routine to stop along the way, so I can re-position her. If she doesn't stay still during the trip downtown, she can get her rear legs twisted in an awkward position. If she struggles to re-position herself while the car is moving, sometimes it just makes the situation worse. The physical therapy is beneficial though, so we do the best we can.

I did the best I could with my assignments today.  Sometimes it's harder to write about nothing than to write something of substance. I've been doing a lot of writing about nothing lately. Hey, it's the Christmas season and that's what marketing is all about. I've developed a pretty vocabulary of superlative adjectives. Everything I write about is a marvelous, must have item, even if it was made in China. Personally, I don't think many people even read the ad copy. It's all about Instagram and images these days. Whenever I see someone send a Tweet or text message using nothing but emojis, I think the language is reverting to Hieroglyphics.

I had to unclog a bathroom sink today. Unclogging a sink or shower drain is even more unpleasant than removing wet leaves from the roof. I remember when taking care of a house was mostly just arranging furniture. Now, taking care of a house is almost entirely about fixing broken things. The older the house gets, the more things break. My next task is finding somebody to fix an oversize sliding glass door. The sliding part of the door is about twelve feet long and quite heavy. I had the rollers on the bottom of this door replaced once before, but apparently they need to be replaced again. The door is very hard to open now.

I ran out of laundry detergent this evening. This is a dangerous thing to do when you've got a dog who poops in the house. I'll need to remember to stop by a grocery store and pick up a big bottle of Tide on my way home from breakfast tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly we go through laundry detergent now. I'm washing something all the time now.

It's hard to believe it's going to be Christmas next week. This entire year has gone by in a blur. If this year was one of those word clouds you often see on people's blogs, the words that would stand out most prominently would be cancer, surgery, neuropathy, physical therapy, and incontinence. Sick dogs and our ongoing efforts to rehabilitate them have definitely defined the year. At least my own health hasn't been much of a problem this year. It's nice to have my Hepatitis C problems behind me so I can concentrate on the dogs. Maybe next year will be easier. I doubt it. The dogs will continue getting older and so will I. As hard as you try, you can't cheat time.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2143

I went and got the blood tests that my doctor needed right after we walked the dogs this morning. They always want you to fast before these tests, so it's easier to do them first thing in the morning and eat breakfast afterwards. A lady I'd never seen before approached me with a pile of forms to sign before they drew my blood. She said she was a representative of the lab that did the testing. I read page one of the forms and they basically said that I had to pay for anything that insurance didn't cover. What was this all about? Insurance has always covered everything before. I told the woman with all the forms that it was my doctor who insisted on all these tests and it was his job to get them paid for. The whole incident was irritating. Maybe I'll eventually get a bill and maybe I won't. That's not the point. The whole process of navigating the healthcare system is kind of like being lost in a corn maze. It's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Today was a writing day. I didn't think my writing assignments would take me as long as they did, but sometimes the muse just isn't with you. I struggled today. I often find that the "no-brainer" jobs are the hardest, because it can be very difficult to write something compelling when there is nothing to say. Really innovative products sell themselves. The rest provide job opportunities for people like me. I'm not complaining, mind you. I'll write about virtually anything if you pay me.

Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my defective watch winder was being replaced for free with a brand new model. Today, I was disappointed to discover that it will cost three times as much as I originally anticipated to fix my old multi-track tape recorder. These two different approaches to a repair problem illustrate perfectly how we have become a throw away society. The watch winder was made in China and it was actually less expensive to throw the old unit away and replace it with a new one than it would have been to ship the winder back to the Chinese manufacturer. The tape recorder had to be repaired because it was no longer in production. Most of the repair cost was labor. The cost of the parts themselves was minimal. In the future I don't think anything will be repaired. It will all be replaced. It's so much easier to throw the old stuff away and let the robots build more.

While I was on the phone trying to get some medical records this afternoon, Dot had a major accident in the house. I smelled it before I saw it. It was like a poop explosion. She pooped all over the carpet in my office and then stumbled and fell in the poop. First I had to clean Dot up. Then I had to take her harness off and hose it off before I put it in the washing machine. Then I had to do my best to clean the carpet itself. It sure would have been nice if Dot had pooped on one of the dozens of small rugs we've spread around the house to help her walk. I can take the rugs to the laundromat or hose them off outside. The carpet is more of a challenge.

Tomorrow is another day. I'm hoping that Dot does well at her physical therapy session. I'm hoping that it doesn't rain. I"m hoping that the carpet still smells clean after it dries out tomorrow.

Abi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2002

I spent most of the day staring at a computer screen. There was a long article with a very short deadline to finish and then there was a seemingly endless series of HTML documents to convert to a mobile friendly format. The website I'm working on now is a labyrinth. It took years to create and there are literally hundreds of pages that are largely forgotten about. I have no idea which of these many pages is still important to someone, so I am slowly recreating them all.

There is always a feeling of accomplishment when I finish something. I like being done with things. This makes longer projects difficult for me. Where do you stop? My current web project is going to take weeks to finish and it's already driving me nuts. I prefer things I can finish in a day or less so I can go to sleep with absolutely nothing on my mind. Now, I'll wake up in the middle of the night with a better way to tackle a problem I was struggling with hours earlier. It makes for a long day.

I got a call from the cancer center reminding me of Dot's appointment tomorrow. Since her mini-biopsy isn't until 2:30 PM, she can eat breakfast normally in the morning, but isn't supposed to eat anything else after 8 AM. Her stomach is supposed to be empty when she goes for her test. This means that I am going to have to go out for breakfast tomorrow. The dogs always eat early when Janet gets up. Typically, this is around 6 AM. We walk the dogs after the early risers in the house have finished breakfast and then I eat later after Janet has gone to work. Both dogs have grown to expect that I'll share my breakfast with them, so trying to eat something tomorrow morning without feeding Dot and Dash their prized slices of banana would not be a pleasant experience. They get tired after their morning walk anyway. It will be much easier to just let them take a nap while I go out to eat.

I thought the Spring rain was over with, but a sudden thunderstorm caught us by surprise this afternoon. The storm just appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't even on the forecast this morning. For thirty minutes rain pounded on the roof while bursts of thunder and lightning scared the dogs into moving to their safety zone under my desk. There was lots of wind and my phone even beeped with a flood alert warning. An hour later the skies had cleared again. By the time I took the dogs on their evening walks, all that was left of the brief storm was a damp, muggy feeling in the air. I'm slowly learning to appreciate the rain. I won't have to water the grass today and the storm cooled the air enough so that Dash was comfortable on his evening walk again. Rain is good as long as your roof doesn't leak.

Today was boring, but very productive. I know I won't get as much done tomorrow. I'm going to stay with Dot during her lab tests instead of leaving her as a drop off at the cancer center. It's the least I can do. Vet appointments always take longer than expected, but at least I'll be there with her and she won't have to be waiting in a cage all day for her thirty minute procedure.

Let's hope the lab reports are positive. I'm really tired of bad news.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1892

The days are starting to run together. I get up at 4 AM to take Dot out to pee. I go back to sleep again for a few hours. I walk Dash. Janet and I figure out a schedule for who is going to monitor Dot during the day. I do some writing. I work on a few websites. I take a shower. I worry about Dot some more. Now, what day is it today?

During one of the periods where it was Janet's turn to watch Dot, I went to the storage warehouse to look for my Anton Bauer Quad charger. I couldn't find it anywhere. Did I throw the charger away years ago because it was defective? Is it really at home somewhere? Is it hidden away behind a cardboard box in the storeroom somewhere? I don't have a clue. What is the use of having a storage warehouse if I can't find anything anymore?

On my way home, I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. I was surprised to see that the price had doubled. "Has my coverage changed," I asked the pharmacist? It was a legitimate question, since insurance coverage is constantly changing. "No, your coverage is the same," the pharmacist said. "We just raised our prices."

I finished my component of the new business proposal that my friend and I are working on. He thought it looked good, but wondered whether we could deliver something so ambitious. I think this is doable, but we'll never know till we try. If we get this business, I'll be even busier than I am now. A lot busier. Busy is good though. At least I won't worry about vet bills so much. It's amazing how much better I've become as a writer since I've been forced to totally depend on this skill for a living. What I accomplish in an hour these days used to take me an entire day at the ad agencies. That being said, I had a lot more fun as a young ad agency creative. Work has been more of a chore than an adventure lately. That's what I like about this new proposal. If we get this gig, it is entirely possible that the adventure may return.

When my vet came over this afternoon to give Dot acupuncture and cold laser therapy, I asked her what she would do about surgery if Dot was her dog. "I'd probably go for it," she said, and then quickly added, "but only because I'm a vet." I wanted to ask "But what would you do if you were me," but of course she isn't me. This is a very rough surgery for a dog as old as Dot, and I don't have the knowledge or the resources that a good vet has. When she's having a good day I want to leave Dot alone. If she's only got a year left anyway, why make six months of that year an arduous recovery from major surgery? When Dot is having a bad day, I want to pull out all the stops and do everything possible. I need to remember that this go for broke attitude doesn't always work.

I still regret trying to intervene when we discovered Greta had liver cancer. The surgeon was very good, but the cancer had already metastasized and Greta was too old and weak to survive. She never even made it out of the hospital. Spot's second TPLO surgery was a mistake. The surgery on his left knew was so successful that we thought it would succeed equally well on the other knee when he tore a second anterior cruciate ligament. The second surgery failed. Spot was a lot older by then and even though the surgery was technically a success, Spot never walked again. It's hard to forget these things, even though many other surgeries succeeded brilliantly.

Janet is going to stay with Dot tomorrow morning so I can go enjoy my favorite breakfast. She goes to the gym almost every day now to stay sane. I depend on a great breakfast at least once a week.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1859

It felt like the day before Superbowl Sunday today, but of course it wasn't. The stores were probably just crowded because it was the first weekend after a payday. Everywhere I went, I was greeted with full parking lots and long checkout lines. This congestion is becoming normal and I find it kind of sad. I still prefer the city as it was in 1977 when I initially moved here from Seattle. Truthfully, I'd probably prefer any city as it was in 1977. Technology has advanced a lot in thirty years, but manners and basic civility have actually gone backwards. I don't think many people realize how much more relaxing it was to live in a world without the Internet, smartphones, and a 24-hour news cycle.

A few days ago, I was bundling up in coats and sweaters to cope with sub-freezing temperatures. Today it was 70 degrees outside and I was considering wearing shorts. I don't know how long this unseasonal warmth will last, but people were certainly taking advantage of it today. Joggers and cyclists returned to the park in droves. There were lots of families having picnics while other people were walking their dogs. The park was almost as busy as the grocery store. It was all good though. For the first time in weeks, I didn't have to clean a lot of mud off my boots.

I did have to clean the bedding though. When I let Dot out to pee after I woke up this morning, I discovered that she'd left a little trail of poop pellets that led all the way from the back of the bed to the back door. It wasn't her fault. We've been adding pumpkin to her diet to soften her stools a bit so she doesn't have to strain as much when she squats with her weak back legs. It's difficult to get the recipe just right though. Too little pumpkin and her poop is too hard. Too much pumpkin and it just falls out of her as she's heading for the door to do her business.

I was planning on writing today, but I got sidetracked by weekend chores instead. By the time I'd finished fighting the crowds at the pharmacy, post office, grocery store and bank, I didn't feel like writing anymore. Luckily, you don't need a lot of brainpower to use the washing machine, so I got all the laundry done instead. I suppose I could catch up on writing assignments tomorrow, but I'll probably just wait until Monday. Monday is a holiday. Work holidays are always a good time to catch up on things.

I need to go to the gym tomorrow to spread the soreness equally around my body. Right now, just my right shoulder is sore from all the physical therapy. I like symmetry. Maybe I would feel better if the soreness was spread around equally. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? I don't have a plan yet. The dogs need a bath, but they'd much rather go to the dog park. The weather should be nice for a trip to the dog park, but the last two times we've been, there have been bad encounters with aggressive dogs. I need to take some stuff to the storage warehouse too, but I'd really rather have a long leisurely breakfast with lots of bacon.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1822

I finally went to the doctor today. I apparently don't have a high enough fever to have the flu, so the nurse told me I just had a nasty cold. I always feel slightly embarrassed when I go to the doctor with cold symptoms. Many of the nurses I deal with have young children and they are around sick people all day. It's not surprising that many of them seem to have perpetual colds themselves. When I come to them complaining about feeling lousy, I'm sure they just think I'm being a big baby. I still think people should stay out of circulation when they have a cold however. It would sure help keep me from getting one.

I asked the nurse if I could spread my cold to others when I do Santa photos this weekend.  Apparently not. I am already out of the infectious phase, although the feeling miserable phase could last for over a week. They said a steroid shot would make me feel better, but the cold itself would last just as long. I didn't take them up on their offer. There's no reason to take steroids unless it is absolutely necessary. I feel the same way about the dogs. Steroids are a powerful anti-inflammatory, but they are still basically bad news. I stay away from them.

Since I have my initial consultation with my new physical therapist tomorrow morning, I decided to go out for breakfast today. For the rest of the day, it seemed like Friday. I almost forgot about Dot's Thursday therapy session, but Dot seemed to remember. At the appointed time, she was standing by the door. Both dogs seem to have remarkably good biological clocks. They always seem to know when it's time to do something that involves them. They are especially accurate around dinner time. If I'm even five minutes late with their dinner, I never hear the end of it.

Dot did really well on the treadmill today. Hopefully, I will do equally well with my own therapy tomorrow. I've had physical therapy for my bad shoulder before. The therapy definitely helped, but it was quite uncomfortable. Basically, the whole idea is to slowly stretch the shoulder muscles until you eventually have a full range of motion again. It takes a long time, but I still prefer this option to rotator cuff surgery.

I had to re-write an instruction manual for one of my client's products today. They thought the manual was poorly written. I thought the product itself was poorly designed. I did the best I could to clarify things, but I don't think anybody is going to find this product easy to use. That's the way it goes in my business. You really don't get to pick your battles. Sometimes I wished that I did something genuinely useful like my veterinarian friends. Veterinarians have a lot of stress in their lives though. They deal with life and death issues almost every single day. My life is almost exactly the opposite. I just do silly, useless shit, but at least it isn't stressful. Wondering when this cold is going to end is about as stressful as it gets around here.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day