Day 3286

There were only two people at the gym when I arrived this morning. This is a huge facility with a basketball court, a running track, and an Olympic sized swimming pool, so it's always weird to see the place so empty. Maybe everybody had Christmas plans. My own plans seldom change, so I hope this gym is still around five years from now. The giant hospital chain that owns the place could easily decide that it wasn't worth keeping the lights on for two people.

The weather was clear and cold today. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. There wasn't even much dew on the ground when we walked Dash this morning, so I felt like the the silicon coating on the roof might actually have a chance to dry properly. After breakfast, I went up and took a look and was mildly disappointed that falling leaves had become stuck in the elastomer as it was drying. The crew also missed a spot, but it wasn't in a critical location. Hopefully, we'll be ready for the next band of thunderstorms that are headed our way.

A spring broke in my Aeron Chair today and the back no longer stays upright. Damn. When I bought this chair many years ago, they were guaranteed for life. I've had the chair repaired twice by Herman Miller, but the last time was well over ten years ago. Even back then, the lifetime guarantee was becoming the stuff of myth. It was kind of like the legendary JC Penny battery. A few people knew of the guarantee, but nobody had actually seen a chair that qualified. I think my serial number is low enough, but I lost my purchase receipt long ago since I bought the chair right after it was introduced in the early 1990's. I wonder if it is even worth the effort to try and get another free repair?

Dash's poop stayed on the puppy training pads last night, but then later in the day he pooped on the carpet in my office. I don't know why it never even occurred to me that the danger of an accident was just as real during the day. I guess I'm going to need to place a puppy pad under him at all times now. When he wakes up from a nap, it seems to take a lot more effort for him to get up. Sometimes this extra effort causes him to poop. There are different techniques to cleaning the bricks, the carpet, and the bedding. I'm becoming an expert at all three.

I listened to a show about big data on the way to the way to the gym where a researcher had compared the results of large scale surveys with Google searches during the same period of time. His conclusion was that everyone lies when taking a survey because we lie all the time. Even though the surveys were anonymous, people want others to think well of them. We tend to say we voted even when we didn't and tend to say we care even when we don't. Conversely, there is no incentive to lie when you are looking for something on Google. If you lie, you won't find what you were looking for. So, I guess Google knows what we are really thinking, but the politicians don't. Sounds about right to me.

I felt like taking a nap when I came home from the gym, but I vacuumed the house instead. Hey, I put a few more steps on the Fitbit that way. Sundays are often 20,000 step days. I wonder if staying active just to get a higher Fitbit number is a subtle form of lying? Who am I kidding? Everybody knows I prefer napping to vacuuming.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1860

We started out the day by moving some stuff from Janet's storage warehouse to my storage warehouse. I'm not sure what this accomplished, but it did keep Janet from throwing a few things away. She is trying to de-clutter, while I have apparently still failed to grasp the meaning of the word.

Today was even nicer than yesterday.  We were graced with another day of clear blue skies and 70 degree temperatures.The park is a mine field on days like this. The dogs amuse themselves by trying to grab all the chicken bones and barbecued ribs that picnickers throw on the ground. They can smell food scraps from fifty feet away. They can smell horse poop from even further, and there's plenty of that as well. There are stables in the area and a nice Sunday afternoon ways brings out plenty of riders. Somehow, we managed to negotiate all these pungent smells without Dot and Dash eating a bunch of crap. Although I enjoy walking a lot more on days when the park is empty, I don't think the dogs agree. They see days like today as a treasure hunt.

Since it was a pretty day, there was nobody at the gym. I counted only five people in the huge building, which was fine by me. I almost always prefer to do things when other people are doing something else. Maybe this is why I tend to prefer a matinee to an evening movie. In an empty movie theater you can always find the perfect seat. I hate rush hour traffic and always try to schedule meetings at either 10:30 AM or 2:30 PM. I studiously avoid trendy restaurants. I discovered long ago that the food is just as good after the bloom is off the rose and the trend-setters have moved elsewhere.

Since I feel so comfortable going against the grain, I spent a portion of this warm and sunny afternoon sitting in my office catching up on writing assignments. Why not? I'd already had a nice early morning walk before the rest of the world got out of bed. I had a good workout in an empty gym. I even organized my storage warehouse a bit and Janet fixed steaks for dinner. It was a good day.

Tomorrow is a holiday, but I bet I'll have work to do anyway. Banks are closed and government workers get the day off, but almost everything else seems to continue as normal. I'm not sure about my schedule, but I know I still have a physical therapy appointment. If the rest of the day turns out to be just like today, that would be fine by me. I'm not a huge football fan, but I still can't figure out how Green Bay lost that playoff game today. They were ahead the entire game and all of the sudden they inexplicably lost. That's life, I guess.

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day