Day 2795

With each passing year, birthday celebrations become a little more subdued. Janet and I both accept the fact that we are aging, but I can't say that we welcome it. Birthdays just remind us how old we actually are. That being said, it was a nice day. We slept in late, ate a rare breakfast together and walked Dash before it became too hot. Basically, it was just a regular Saturday, full of errands and chores.

I was glad that Janet liked the gifts I got her. You  can tell the difference between when someone really likes something and when they are just being polite. I looked for things that she would like and use, but would never buy for herself. The Dyson Hair Dryer was a hit. Everybody thinks this thing is ridiculously overpriced until they actually use it. It's just as revolutionary as the Dyson vacuum cleaners. Janet is far too practical to buy something like this, but she knew all about it as was happy to receive it. I think the only thing Janet uses more than a hair dryer is her phone.

I was looking for something very different today. I though I'd buy some welding glasses to view the eclipse on Monday. It turns out that very few welding supply stores are open on Saturday. I also discovered that very few welders actually use the shade 14 glasses that are considered safe for viewing the sun. The typical welding glasses you'd find at a Home Depot or Lowes are usually only shade 5, which won't protect you from anything. Oh, well. I gave it a try. I guess I'm back to making a pin hole projector out of a cereal box.

A website I built several years ago vanished when the web server crashed last week and took all the files with it. Luckily, I still had all the original files on a backup drive, so it didn't take long to rebuild the site on a new server. Time and time again, I'm reminded that electronic records aren't very permanent at all. Hard drives crash. Files get corrupted. Software becomes obsolete. I have paper records that go back to when I was in college. My electronic files aren't nearly as robust. Even though I back stuff up regularly and save almost everything, I've lost a surprising amount of information over the years. I began using computers in the early 1980's, but very little survives from that era. I wonder how long my digital photography will last. Probably not nearly as long as some of my old film negatives.

I don't know what I'm going to do about the shower. I took a good look at my handiwork today and I can't see where the water is getting in. The joints and cracks I sealed look good. Obviously, water is still seeping through small cracks in the tiles somewhere, but I can't find the crack. It's looking more and more like the only solution is to have a good tile guy come over and re-do everything.

I started hearing the low battery beep on the smoke alarm this afternoon. I went to replace the battery, but was surprised to discover that none of the replacement batteries worked. This didn't make sense. The batteries were brand new. In fact, I had just opened a fresh box. Eventually, I noticed a message on the box that said, "Use before 2014." I must have actually bought the box of batteries a few years before that. Everything in the house is like this: unused, yet so old that it has become obsolete. The challenge for Janet and I moving forward is to avoid becoming like that box of batteries.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2446

I ran a bunch of small errands today. Nothing I did was absolutely necessary, but it gave me something to do. I got some astringent at the pharmacy, because after all these years, I still have oily skin. I stopped by the storage warehouse to see when my yearly rent was actually due. I got gas for the car, even though it only needed a few gallons. I picked up some more CoQ10 because my doctor thinks I need to take it. I stopped by the vegan take out place to see if the menu had changed yet. It hadn't. Basically, I was just kind of bored.

The weather has gotten really hot again. The cool, rainy days we had a few weeks ago seem like a fluke now. I wonder if I just imagined them. It's weird how the days seem to suddenly get shorter around this time of year. We're taking our early morning walk in the dark again now. Last year at this time, the walks were kind of interesting because there were lots of planets in the pre-dawn sky. Now, there appears to be nothing. I'll have to check a star atlas to see if there's anything to keep my eye on. I wonder why Daylight Saving Time doesn't end until November 6? This seems later than usual. Morning sunlight will return for a while after the time changes, but then it will be dark on our evening walks. You can't win.

Dash had a burst of energy this morning, so his walk was twice as long as it normally is. I watched him, looking for any signs of stumbling and didn't see any. Everything seemed fine. This was so different from yesterday that it seemed puzzling. Something is wrong with Dash, but I just can't figure out what it is. I did make an appointment for his neurological exam, so maybe I'll find some answers then. For the moment, it was nice to take a long walk again. It gave me a chance to see if anything had changed in the neighborhood. There were a few houses up for sale and a few more under construction. Dash was relaxed today because we didn't encounter many other dogs. We basically had the park to ourselves.

I keep getting e-mail messages from one of my doctors, urging me to sign up for their Patient Portal. I dutifully followed their instructions today and created an account. These electronic records systems are touted as being great for patients, but I'd really rather just have a piece of paper that I could put in a ring binder. A ring binder lets you keep all the information in one place and you don't need to remember any passwords. When I went to my new Patient Portal page, I was surprised to see that there was absolutely nothing in my file. What is the point of a record keeping system with no records?  I have three or four of these Patient Portal accounts with different doctors. I can't remember the password to most of them. Technology marches on, I guess.

I can't decide where to eat breakfast tomorrow. Sometimes when I'm in an indecisive mood, I check the Yelp reviews for restaurants in the neighborhood. I've noticed a general trend. It doesn't matter which restaurant you pick. The majority of the reviews tend to say things like "This place used to be a favorite of mine, but it has really declined lately." That's the way I feel and I'm surprised that so many other people tend to feel the same way. Has quality universally declined, or has everybody just gotten picky and judgemental? I don't know. I think the quality of life in general has gone downhill. Restaurants are just a small part of the problem.

Pinky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day