Day 3562

I tried to tie up a few loose ends today. I called a roofer who promised me a bid back in March. He said he was still interested but was so busy that he probably wouldn't even have time to think about my roof until after the first of the year. This guy disagrees with another roofer who has already given me a bid about the best way to fix my roof. Probably my current roofer disagrees with both of these guys. It doesn't give you a lot of confidence when nobody can find a common solution to your problems.

I called about my unsold guitars and synthesizers. Just as I expected, they are still unsold. Evidently, people are interested but nothing has resulted in a sale. I'm not ready to give up yet. If I took these things back, they would just wind up in my storage warehouse again. At least a few of my guitars have already sold. I have an offer on one synthesizer, but it is ridiculously low. I've been a pack rat all my life and I thought that parting with this stuff would be hard. That turned out to be the easy part. Actually selling the stuff is the hard part.

Earlier this summer I noticed that McDonald Observatory always seems to be looking for retirees with an interest in astronomy to help conduct their weekly star parties. Since the observatory is so isolated, they specifically look for people who own an RV and can stay for several weeks at a time. It's a volunteer job, but the observatory provides a place to park the RV, electricity, and access to the observatory's facilities. This sounds like fun to a person like me. If you stayed at the observatory long enough, you are bound to have a few clear nights. Unfortunately, I don't have an RV. I'm not sure I'd like to drive one either. I was in a daydreaming mood this afternoon, so I started looking at RV's on the Internet. Jeez. These things are expensive. You could buy almost any luxury car for a lot less. A Porsche 911 and a well appointed Sprinter conversion van are about the same price. You could buy a decent house for less than some of those huge Type A motorhomes. So much for thoughts of living on the road.

I need to find a way to make my walks more interesting. The benefits of this type of exercise are obvious, but the walks are becoming boring. I guess I keep walking because being outdoors is still a lot more interesting than walking on a treadmill at the gym. The best thing about walking is the solitude. The worst thing is being drenched in sweat with sore feet. Maybe I'll enjoy things more in the Winter.

I noticed that the tree guys dumped all their lunch trash in my garbage can. Most people wouldn't be bothered by this, but I'm obsessive. I hate loose trash. I always bag and seal everything. I emptied out the can and put all the loose stuff in a big black leaf bag. I was surprised at how much food the tree guys eat on the job. I don't eat lunch at all. Falling branches and logs also damaged a few things in the yard. I expected that though. At least they didn't drop anything heavy on the roof while they were removing the tree.

I guess I'll watch the final episode of the Ken Burns documentary later this evening. I don't ever listen to country music, but I know a lot more about it now. I'm always fascinated watching the credits at the end of a Ken Burns movie. Hundreds and hundreds of people seem to work on these things. I wonder what Ken Burns actually does? I made a few documentaries back in the early 1970's. There wasn't much need for credits. It was just me and a sound man.

I got caught up on a lot of things today. That doesn't leave much for tomorrow. I'm sure I'll think of something though. I've got an entire day to fill.

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3371

I hate it when I fail to notice that there are no more refills available on a prescription. You call in the refill and the pharmacist tells you that you'll need to get your doctor to renew the prescription. You call the doctor and he's always out of the office or busy with something else. Little things like these can eat up your entire day. I eventually got Dash's Plavix prescription renewed before he took his last pill, but I really need to remember to look at these pill bottles more carefully.

I finally got around to getting my faulty power supply fixed today. I'm methodical to a fault, so I keep doing the same things over and over again. The last time I needed to get these batteries replaced, they cost $60. That was two years ago. Today the same batteries cost $100. It's irritating how the price of ordinary things keeps going up and up. Sure, big screen TV's are cheaper than they used to be, but most things aren't. It would cost quite a bit more to replace my car with the same model I'm currently driving. Airfares are higher. Movies cost more. It would even cost more to replace my Apple Watch and Apple isn't known for raising prices.

Dash was super slow today. I couldn't tell whether he was having trouble walking, or if he just wanted to spend extra time smelling things. This should have been a good day for him, since the weather was perfect. Eventually we made it home this morning and then Dash was equally slow eating his breakfast. Every time I started my own breakfast, Dash would come out to his bowl and just stare at it. I finally realized that he wanted me to hand feed him. After Dash finished eating and pooping on the floor, he took a nap. I felt like taking a nap too, but I had my own breakfast to finish.

I spent a few hours this afternoon getting my taxes organized. I think I found everything my accountant needs, but I'll take another look tomorrow. Why do old people even need to pay taxes? You should be exempt after you reach the age of 70, just like you are exempt from jury duty. I still don't think it's fair that I'm forced to take a distribution from my IRA account now. I'd just as soon leave the money untouched until I really need it. These distributions are classified as ordinary income too. That sucks.

With any luck I can finish my tax preparation tomorrow and get that chore out of the way. Then I'll turn my attention to more important matters, like buying more rocks for the potholes in the driveway. I'm glad I never called the plumber to come out and search for a sewer leak. The puddle in the back yard has dried up. I'll probably never know what caused the puddle. Who knows. I might have just left a hose on for a week.

After seeing Apollo 11, I've discovered that there were other documentaries about the Apollo program. I started watching one called For All Mankind that was made in 1989 using some of the same NASA footage. Again, the things that really caught my attention were the details. The astronauts shaved in space using a Gillette razor and shaving cream. They brought bread with them and made sandwiches. They took a Sony walkman along for the ride with cassettes of their favorite music. Did I forget this stuff, or was I never even aware of it?

I forget a lot these days. Hopefully I won't forget to finish my taxes. I need to remember not to let my prescription expire either. Dash is resting with Janet now. I hope he gets a good night's sleep so he has lots of energy tomorrow for his walks. This nice weather won't last forever. We need to make the most of it.

Nick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3069

Today was dominated by the weather. We watched as a surprise storm approached from the West as we were walking Dash this morning. Dash doesn't have a high gear anymore, so we kept inching along as the rain got closer and closer. We almost made it. The rain arrived when we were about 200 yards from the house. We all got wet, but it wasn't so bad. Now that the temperature and humidity have increased, a little cool rain felt kind of nice.

I went to the gym, even though I knew the car would get muddy. There is very little to do around the house on a rainy day. I'm sure there were things to be done, but my brain goes into hibernation when it rains. I didn't feel like thinking today. Exercise is a good substitute for thinking, so off to the gym I went. I was a little disappointed that there was a basketball game underway when I got there, but the game concluded by the time I was ready to shoot free throws, so all was well.

I stopped at the REI store on the way home to look at activity trackers. Should I get a Fitbit or a Garmin?  I'm still irritated that I can't glue my Jawbone UP3 band back together, but I've just about concluded that repairing this thing is a lost cause. Maybe I should just calibrate my Apple Watch. I learned you can do this today by syncing your watch to your phone's GPS for 20 minutes using the workout app. Who knew? It's weird that I'm so interested in activity trackers since I'm not much of an athlete. I guess I just like to track things.

I watched a documentary called Elizabeth at 90 while Janet was fixing dinner this evening. It was basically watching 50 years of the queen's private home movies. What a fascinating life the royals lead. They aren't like ordinary rich people. Unlike typical people of privilege, the royal family seemed very disciplined, polite, and in private led unassuming, seemingly normal lives. Maybe we need more people like the queen and fewer people like our own celebrity royalty.

I need to call the electrician. Every evening I wade through the thick ground cover in the back yard to turn on the security light manually and in the process get eaten alive by mosquitoes and chiggers. It's going to be a bad mosquito season this year. I am convinced that there are snakes hiding in the Asian Jasmine too. I definitely don't want to run into a snake at night.

Tomorrow is Dash's birthday. We need to do something really nice for him.  He's such a great dog. For most of his life, tasty food gifts were the preferred choice around our house, but I'm not so sure this year. You never know what Dash is going to eat on any given day. He might even turn up his nose at a doggie birthday cake. Who knows? Maybe we'll have a good day tomorrow. Today was certainly encouraging. Everything went well with Dash today.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2828

I'm going to have to start writing earlier so I can watch the new Ken Burns documentary in the evening. Maybe The Vietnam War is more memorable for me than some of Burns other films because everyone my age grew up right in the middle of that moment in history. This film makes you realize that there is nothing new under the sun. All the turmoil that is going on in today's society was going on in the mid-60's too. Listening to the Lyndon Johnson tapes is amazing. Nobody really knew what they were doing. I guess it is not surprising that no president made tapes in the Oval Office after Richard Nixon. Ineptness sounds so much worse when you hear it on tape.

I'm going to have to go back and watch this entire series on Netflix sometime later. It is an eye opener. Jeez. If I ever get hooked on history and stop watching science fiction, it will be all the confirmation you need that I've become an old man. Children love Dr. Who. Old men read history. My Dad was a voracious reader and always had a tall stack of history books on his bedside table as he grew older. I'm sure you can learn a lot from history, but I'd like to think you can learn from fantasy too. I guess I can be a fan of Ken Burns and still be looking forward to Season Three of The Expanse.

I can't say that Dash loves his new soft cone, but he tolerates it. I think it is much more comfortable for him while he is sleeping. The one good thing about the old plastic cone was that it was transparent. This new one restricts his vision a bit more. He has a little trouble eating out of his bowl with it on, so I make sure to remove it whenever he is eating. The one thing I can't do is forget about him for any length of time while the cone is off. It doesn't take him long to rediscover the dewclaw injury.

The shoe repairman did a great job on my boots. They look as good as new. The only problem is that I know I'll be reluctant to wear them for a little while because they look too nice. I have plenty of clothes, but I tend to wear the same things over and over again. The things I actually wear are incredibly beat up. Maybe the worn clothing is more comfortable, or maybe I don't want to ruin the nice looking stuff. I don't know. I'll probably start wearing the boots again regardless of how I feel. They are the only comfortable off-pavement shoes I have. I'm sure it won't take long to return them to their beat up status.

I've figured out that it takes three days for water to start leaking out of the crack in the shower tiles. A little water must seep under the tiles every time I take a shower and on the third day, enough has accumulated to reach the level of the crack. I sucked the water away again with the wet/dry vacuum but am still unsure how to repair things. Is this a job for a plumber or a tile guy? I think the leak is in the drain itself, but I'm not sure. If I hire a tile guy, it will turn out that I needed a plumber. If I get a plumber, it will turn out that it was just bad grout in the tiles. That's just the way it goes.

I can't decide what I want for breakfast tomorrow. I make a lot of substitutions now. Some of the things I'm hungry for aren't on any menu. Maybe if I'm nice, someone will cook them for me anyway.

Rowe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1645

I've got to come up with a new game plan. Much of what I do these days doesn't even matter. I still like to think that I'm clever and essential, but I've become much more of a convenience than a necessity. If I didn't get out of bed tomorrow, few people would even notice. This bothers me. Shouldn't I be following my dream? I don't know. Following dreams has become a tricky business in a world where dreams and passions have become synonymous. I am a dispassionate person. I like to do useful things. Appealing to your emotions? Not so much. Unfortunately, advertising is all about appealing to your emotions. I probably should have been a physicist or a mathematician instead. Years ago, I used to be a good documentary filmmaker. I didn't have an agenda. I just took pictures of what I saw. Documentaries have changed like everything else though. Most current documentaries are all about emotion. The filmmaker wants to win you over to a certain point of view. Even street photography has an agenda now. I find the only thing that's safe to photograph these days are flowers. Ironically, people seem to like these photographs because they evoke some sort of emotion in them.

So here I am. By rejecting the world of emotional persuasion, I am left with some pretty boring tasks. I don't have to do these things, but I like to stay busy. When I'm busy, I don't have time to think about the nature of existence. I hate questions like "Why am I here" and "What was I meant to do." Maybe that's why Andy Warhol was one of the heroes of my youth. Andy wanted to be a machine. He approached things very mechanically, yet he managed to have a rich and interesting life in the process.

If you have read this far, you already know that I wasn't busy enough today. I didn't question my existence though. I went to the gym. I still can't figure out why the gym is so much busier on weekdays than on weekends. It is counterintuitive. The weights and machines I like were still open though, so I had a good workout. On the way home, I went to the grocery store instead of the guitar store as I had planned. That's where my head is at these days. I can't think much further than dinner.

Dash goes back to the cancer center for a monthly checkup tomorrow. He's just getting some routine blood tests and possibly a chest x-ray, but I'm worried about his tail. Dash got his bloody tail at the cancer center in the first place. He is so happy to see the other dogs that he wags his tail constantly in the doggie day care area where he stays until the staff is ready for him. Since the area is relatively small, he is always banging the tail against a wall or a door.  Now that I'm finally getting his "happy tail" injury to heal, I'd hate to start all over again. Hopefully, he'll be a bit calmer when we drop him off for his exam tomorow.

I could probably go to the gym every day this week if I wanted. That's how slow it has been.

Bali is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1313

It's hard to believe that it's been 44 years since we landed on the moon. I still remember those grainy pictures of Neil Armstrong slowly exiting the Lunar Excursion Module like it was yesterday. I was in college at the time and watched the landing in the ballroom of the university student union because I didn't have a TV of my own in the rooming house where I lived while going to architecture school. Those were good times. The Summer of 69 was a magical period in history when anything was possible. A month after the moon landing was Woodstock. Jimi Hendrix and Neil Armstrong defined my world. A few years later I graduated, completely convinced that both the moon landings and the spirit of Woodstock would last indefinitely.

I was wrong of course, but I'm certain that the optimism I felt during the Summer of 69 contributed to my early success. It was easy to get a job back then. I was hired as a junior designer by a well known architect in Seattle. I was given an opportunity to make documentary films. Nothing really seemed like a struggle. I don't think I would have fared nearly as well in today's world.

I still can't really tell you how the kid who thought he was going to be the next Richard Avedon wound up taking pictures of Dalmatians instead. It's been quite a ride though and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Actually, taking pictures of Dalmatians is quite enjoyable. Janet and I photographed one of our new rescue dogs today. Sterling is a young guy who seems to be filled with the same exuberant optimism I felt in 1969. It was hard to get a good picture though, because Sterling wouldn't stay still. Hopefully, I captured the happy boy that he is. He should find a home quickly.

Later in the afternoon when I took Dot and Dash on their afternoon walk they both heard a loud thunderclap off in the distance. The noise triggered their storm phobia and I could barely hold on to them as they tried to make a hasty retreat back to the house. I tried my best to get the dogs to slow down, since this was exactly how Dot lost a nail last year. It never did rain very much, but the thunder alone was enough to convince Dot and Dash that the sky was falling. I got under a blanket with them and watched a cooking show on PBS until they calmed down.

I made another attempt to figure out what was wrong with the garbage disposal today. I took the faceplate off the control panel for the oven and other kitchen gadgets and tried to trace the wiring for the disposal. No loose or burned wire found. Everything seems completely normal. The disposal still doesn't work though. I added making an appointment with an appliance repairman to next week's to-do list.

It's hard to say whether the dogs will get their Sunday trip to the dog park tomorrow. The mornings start out clear and sunny and then by mid-afternoon little thunderstorms start springing up all over town. We'll see what happens. So far, it's been a nice weekend.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1037

I was somewhat reassured after visiting with my financial advisor this afternoon. When I backed off and took a longer view of things, I realized that I wasn't in that bad shape after all. What the hell. I don't have any debts and I still make enough to pay the bills. I really shouldn't complain. The hard thing for me to deal with is that I've always been a saver and it used to be so much easier to tuck a little away for a rainy day. I miss the 1980's when 10-year Treasury yields were over 12% and the conventional wisdom was that the value of your house would go up forever.

Times sure have changed. Treasury yields are at a 112 year low and I don't even want to talk about the housing market. You can't give up though. My advisor and I put stop loss orders on several positions that have done well this year to lock in gains. We talked about what to do if Obama won. And what to do if Romney won. In either case, there would definitely be things to take advantage of and other things to avoid. I like to be prepared. What I don't like is living in a world of diminished expectations for the foreseeable future. I would love to see a return to the overwhelming feeling of optimism that prevailed when John F. Kennedy was president. We need grand dreams like we had back then. It doesn't need to be going to the moon, but it needs to be something equally grand. I think those kind of dreams died when Kennedy was shot in Dealey Plaza and never returned again.

I used to have grand dreams. My grandest dreams actually took place while I was asleep. I could fly and travel through time long before I even heard of Dr. Who. Now my dreams are pathetic. I'm usually just lost in a hotel somewhere, looking for my luggage. I wouldn't call my waking hours pathetic, but there are definitely on the dull side. I take pictures of flowers. I walk dogs. I make a little money to pay the bills. There are no more plans to win an Oscar for best documentary anymore. There are no plans to make any films at all. When conversations veer off into one of those "what are you passionate about" discussions, I don't even feel like talking.

Maybe if I were passionate about dog training like some folks in our Wednesday evening class, Dash might be winning ribbons again. I'm not very competitive, or very passionate. I just go to these classes because it's good for Dot and Dash to be around other dogs. Socializing with other dogs helps keep ours happy and well adjusted. The training exercises themselves are silly though. A lot of things in life are just silly.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 921

I finished this month's assignment for my writer's group this morning and turned it in. I've written some good things, as well as some not so good things, for this group, but I don't think I would have written anything at all without the discipline of an assignment and a deadline. Sometimes I wonder if there's anything I still do for the sheer pleasure of it. There certainly isn't much. In the early 1980's I loved to write songs. I wrote and recorded tons of original songs during this period. There were some who said I had a promising career ahead of me in Nashville. I signed several publishing contracts with obscure record labels, but never made a dime from my music. There was one fatal flaw in my plan to become a famous songwriter. I couldn't sing. Labels were looking for promising singer/songwriters, not the next Bernie Taupin.

Several years later I became very excited about becoming a fashion photographer. I left the advertising world and spent two years putting together a portfolio. My work was good enough to land me a job at a leading photo studio. I didn't become the next Richard Avedon however. I shot catalogs. Catalogs were boring and mundane. I quickly returned to advertising where there was at least a thin patina of glamor.

The last time I was really excited about something was during the mid-1990's, when I convinced myself that I wanted to make another documentary film. I started going to film festivals and was even asked to be a speaker at SXSW in 1997. The film never got made. I had already made several extremely low budget documentaries in the 1970's, but by 1990 I had grown too practical. Documentaries don't make money and I wasn't willing to risk my life savings on a project that didn't even matter anyway.

When I hear people on television self-help shows tell their audience that the key to success is to follow your passion, I just don't buy it. Anything that I was even mildly passionate about ended up costing me a fortune. I never made a dime by following my heart. Fortunately, I've done extremely well doing things I hate. I've done so well doing things I hate that it's made the world topsy-turvy for me. When I meet someone who tells me that they love what they do, I generally don't believe them.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, I visited another guitar store today. I actually took a couple of guitars off the wall and started playing them. I can't play well anymore. If you heard me this afternoon, you'd probably agree that I suck. Holding the guitar in my hands brought back memories though. There was a time when my chops were pretty good. I miss those days. When I was a good guitar player, I never thought about the staggering cost of health care. I never worried about whether I'd have enough money to retire comfortably. I didn't really worry about anything. I just played.

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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