Day 3827

I always used to think I was an early adopter. My first computer was an Osborne 1. I was online way before browsers and the World Wide Web even existed. I had a home office long before it became a fad. What a surprise to discover that I'm actually pretty old school. In my own way, I'm probably just as bad as my Dad who steadfastly refused to use a computer at all. I'm still having a hard time adapting to online banking. I've made the switch, but it still seems easier to write a paper check and take it to the post office. I rarely made mistakes when writing checks, but I always have to check for typos now. It's easy to void a paper check, but a lot harder to undo an online mistake after you've hit send. At any rate, I did manage to get the bills paid today.

I'm becoming increasingly skeptical about modern life. What does all this technology really prove? I don't answer my phone anymore because I know I will be talking to a telemarketer. I seldom even make a call because it is so irritating to connect with an automated call center. I carefully delete cookies and the browser cache every evening before I shut off my computer. Almost nothing is trustworthy or reliable anymore. Maybe that's why I like those old Perry Mason shows. When somebody wanted to talk to Perry, they just called him up and he always picked up the phone. Nobody would ever send Perry a text message in the courtroom. I miss the days when I had a list of dependable suppliers and vendors and I could call each of them directly whenever I had a problem. All bets are off these days. Do you really trust Angie's List or Yelp. I don't.

Even writing the blog was easier when it was just a daily journal entry written by hand in a little leather bound book. Maybe I should go back to those simple journals. I was never writing for an audience. The blog and the yearly journals that preceded it were always just a way for me to keep track of my life when my memory begins to fail. My memory is still pretty sharp, but it is interesting to go back occasionally and see what I was doing five years ago. If I ever get Alzheimer's, having a detailed record like this might help.

I always wanted to keep this narrative going for 5000 consecutive days. Maybe 4000 is enough. I'm having second thoughts about all this. The world has changed a lot since I started the blog over ten years ago. People seem more argumentative now. I remember flame wars on those old Usenet News Groups but it never seemed personal. There is an angry vibe online these days and I've never been interested in arguing. I'm not even interested in having a dialog. Whenever I see one of those "If you blah, blah, blah, just unfriend me now" messages I feel like unfriending the person even if I happen agree with them. All the raw emotion and endless memes are becoming tedious. I think I was more comfortable with the Internet back when it was just a few nerdy electrical engineering majors struggling to send simple messages over a 300 baud modem.

Tomorrow I go back to the dermatologist. I've already gotten half a dozen text messages reminding me to wear a mask. I imagine that they'll do something, since my face hasn't completely cleared up. Will the doctor cut me or give me another liquid nitrogen treatment? Will I even have time to walk Dawn and finish my breakfast smoothie before my appointment? When you are used to doing nothing, even having one thing to do can seem complex.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2385

Janet asked me whether I'd ever heard of GoPro cameras the other day and of course I answered "Oh sure, I've had one for years." When I said this, I realized that I hadn't actually used the camera in years either. Today, I found the thing gathering dust in a drawer and fired it up to see if it still worked. Since I tend to be an early adopter, this was one of the first GoPro's ever made. There was no WiFi, it had a cryptic menu, and I'd lost the software for it a long time ago. Getting this ancient thing going again was a natural weekend project.

You may wonder why I bought the GoPro in the first place, since I don't snowboard, water ski, or ride bicycles down mountains. I think my original intent was to mount the camera on one of the dogs and film them while they were running around at the dog park. The dog camera never happened. There were a few ugly dog fights at the park we usually went to and we quit taking our dogs to public dog parks. Then both dogs got cancer and our lives changed dramatically. GoPro cameras are still a cool concept though. If they had been invented thirty years ago, I would have used them a lot.

Do you ever think about all the repetitive things you do everyday? Every time I brush my teeth, make the bed, clean out the lint trap in the dryer, tie my shoes, check to make sure I have my keys before I leave the house, and turn off the computer each night, some kind of muscle memory kicks in and I realize that I have done these things exactly the same way thousands and thousands of times. Weekend chores are repetitive by nature and I sometimes think that I go through entire days repeating actions I have done for so long that I don't even think about them. I don't decide to brush my teeth or make the bed each day. It just happens.

Cleaning up Dot's poop is rapidly becoming one more of those automatic muscle memory things I do everyday without even thinking. I've gotten so much better at dealing with the mess since her incontinence started. Now, there are poop bags, enzyme cleaners, and disposable pads pre-positoned everywhere. I've learned to recognized the breathing changes and telltale motion in her tail that indicates an accident is about to happen. I don't have to do nearly as much laundry as I did in the beginning, because I've learned what to expect. It's kind of amazing how adaptable people can be when it is necessary. This is why I continue to faithfully do the shoulder strengthening exercises my physical therapist recommended several years ago. I understand how easy it would be to get lazy and just adapt to using one arm instead.

I don't want to get lazy. That's why I'm going to the gym tomorrow, even though I'd probably rather just read a book. I don't want to get sick either. I saw something on TV today that said the third leading case of death in the United States is medical mistakes. I'm sure this is true. Questionable medical procedures killed my Mom. I had a close call myself when I was given two medications that should have never been taken together. How was I to know. You trust that your doctor knows what they are prescribing. We live in a world where we don't trust our politicians, have lost faith in our drinking water, and worry that our doctor is going to replace the wrong knee. I'm not sure there is a solution for this, but it does explain why some people smoke a lot of weed.

Shiner is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day