Day 3903

These weeks go quickly. It's already Dalmatian Day again. There are still only three dogs at the kennel and it looks like very soon there will only be one. Hank and Luckie will be going to their forever homes soon. This pair gets along well and will be adopted together. After playing with the dogs this afternoon, we took Luckie to the vet to get spayed. Ordinarily the rescue group does this when a dog enters the program, but we needed to wait until Luckie's blood work looked good and it was safe for surgery. We may see Hank and Luckie one more time, but it looks like they will go to their new home soon. I'm glad things ended well for these two dogs. Now we've got to find a home for Charlie.

The weather was terrible today. It didn't cool down much overnight and it was oppressively humid when we left for our morning walk. There was no breeze, but at least it was cloudy. We didn't go as far today, so Dawn would't get overheated. I could tell she was glad to get back to the house. So was I. Enough of this weather. Fall can't come soon enough for me.

We might not get to walk at all tomorrow. It's supposed to start raining again around 8 AM. The forecast doesn't look good for the week. Right now it looks like the rain will continue until Saturday. I hope the pumps work this time. It's a lot easier to get the water off the roof if the pumps are helping me a bit. I'm still waiting for some cool dry weather so I can finish my repairs on the roof. It might not happen though. Fall is very unpredictable.

I really need to find something interesting to do that doesn't depend on getting approval from NASA. Writing jobs and website design used to keep me busy almost 100% of the time. Now I find myself spending way too much time on Facebook and living vicariously through the few people I know who are still actually doing something. There are a small group of people who are still photographing launches at Kennedy Space Center and an even smaller group that seems to spend their days trying to guess what Elon is doing at Boca Chica. My astronomer friends are still using the telescopes at McDonald Observatory. I'm not an astronomer though. I'm sitting here keeping the batteries charged on my laptop.

I got a business card from some tree trimmers who were removing one of my neighbor's trees. It's a start. They seemed very organized and methodical. I'll give them a call and get an estimate for removing the damaged Oak tree in the back yard. Every time there is a big storm I'm afraid this tree will fall. It's just a matter of time. We saw a large tree that had fallen across a road in the park this morning. These old growth trees seem to fall all the time. I hate to deal with this stuff, but you can't ignore it forever.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. It's a new month, but I suspect that September will be more of the same. One of these days life will return to normal, but it certainly won't be tomorrow.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3493

I'm starting to get estimates in for fixing things around the house. The estimates seem high, but I guess they're realistic. My reference points are costs from twenty or thirty years ago. Everything is much more expensive now. A lot of the repairs are really necessary but there is no joy in doing them. I've lost interest in the house. Like most old things, it has become a money pit. I don't talk about the architecture anymore. The mid-century design used to seem cool to me but now it is just a place to live. I definitely can't see moving anymore. The house is paid for.

The roofer has promised to bring me some more of the special silicon coating so I can patch some new small tears in the elastomer myself. I'm OK with this. I don't want to push my luck and demand that he bring a crew out to the house again. He's been out here a lot over the years. I just hope he brings the silicon stuff before it rains again.

My sculptor friend said she'd see about fixing the broken sculpture. It's really a bird bath, but it is very artistic. I need to bring the broken pieces to a school where she is teaching tomorrow. Maybe she will weld the thing back together on the spot. She is teaching a welding class.

Although the magazine won't be published until early August I keep hoping to find an advance copy of Spaceflight Magazine in the morning mail. Even a PDF file of the layout in my inbox would be welcome news. I won't be a pest and bother the editor, but it's hard to wait. I really want to see this. Maybe seeing the article in print will inspire me to do something even better in the future.

I certainly need some inspiration at this point. The dog days of summer are wearing me down. The weather is too hot. I feel too poor. Nothing seems exciting at all. I continue to spend my days taking long walks and sweating profusely. I don't read a lot anymore and I've already seen the two summer movies that seemed halfway interesting. I've had a gift card in my wallet for months now and I can't even think of anything to spend it on. The card expires at the end of the month so I guess I'll have to think of something.

I haven't tired of the new neighborhood restaurant yet, so I'll probably go back there again tomorrow morning. Pancakes or omelets? Such big decisions. I learned that my favorite clothing store is having their big end of summer sale, but who needs new clothes to walk in the park? It's weird to have no desire to buy things anymore. Buying things sustained me for years.

I guess writing sustains me now. The desire to have something to share will eventually force me to do interesting things again. It's kind of embarrassing to write about nothing.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3360

Dash got a good report today. His blood pressure is normal. His liver enzyme levels have improved. Actually, his entire CBC blood panel looked pretty good. Best of all, there was still no sign of a blood clot in his heart. There isn't a lot we can do about the neurological damage that is causing the incontinence and weakness in his rear legs, but Dash is still doing better than anyone thought possible this time last year.

I got up early this morning to give Dash a walk before we went to the vet. I wanted to give him every opportunity to do his business before putting him in the car. It was a wasted effort. Dash still pooped in the car. Then he had a panic attack before we reached our destination and I had to stop the car and let him out for a while. I thought he might have needed to pee, but he just didn't want to be in the car. Needless to say, I'm pleased that the vet said he doesn't need another echocardiogram until May.

As soon as we got home, Dash peed in the house. The vet said that there were pills he could give him that might help with the incontinence, but he was reluctant to prescribe them because they would raise Dash's blood pressure. When you're taking blood thinners, you definitely don't want high blood pressure. The good news is that we're learning to deal with the incontinence. There wasn't even a big mess when Dash pooped in the car this morning because we were well prepared.

I was just starting a very late breakfast when the roofer knocked on the door. I went up on the roof with him to show him around. As I listened to the solution he proposed, I became disappointed. I have heard this story before. There are several ways to get the roof to drain properly, but apparently there is no way to bring the house back to the condition it was in when it was constructed in 1953. "Roofers can't do what you want," the guy told me today. "You're going to need carpenters, framers, and a whole lot of money," he said. After explaining that I essentially wanted to rebuild the house,  the roofer tried to sell me on the merits of an engineered roof. I've gotten bids on engineered roofs before. They are very expensive and when all is said and done they are still just a layer of tapered foam placed on top of the existing decking. There's got to be a better way to add a small slope to a flat roof. Couldn't roofers remove the plywood decking, place some shims underneath to create the necessary 1/4" per foot slope, and then replace the decking? It seems like tapered foam panels placed on top on an uneven roof would still be uneven. What do I know though. I'm no roofer. I'm just a guy who has lived under a flat roof for over forty years. Yes, my previous house also had a flat roof.

I made my reservations to go to the Johnson Space Center and then I looked at the long range weather forecast. There are supposed to be thunderstorms on my departure date. It's always something, isn't it.    I don't like driving in thunderstorms but flying in thunderstorms is even worse. Been there, done that. There is a ray of hope though. Long range forecasts in Texas are next to worthless. Who knows what the weather will be really like. It could just as easily be clear and sunny.

I'm not sure if I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. Right now I'm feeling really tired. Sleeping till noon sounds a lot better than French Toast or Shrimp Grits. Sleeping late is probably just wishful thinking though. If the weather is even halfway nice, Dash is going to want his morning walk.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3359

I started making arrangements to go to Johnson Space Center. Where did I get the idea I could fly to Houston for around $100? Seems like I've flown there for less than $100 before. Oh, well. I guess it's been a while. Uber and Lyft didn't even exist the last time I took a trip. I probably need to get with the times and download the Uber app. Janet likes Uber. I've never tried ride sharing. It's probably been five years since I hailed a cab. There just isn't much need for such things when you're going to the post office.

I wasn't always reluctant to travel. I used to travel frequently on business and even had clients in Europe. Jeez. I think I still have over 150,000 unused AAdvantage miles. Something has changed. Janet and I have enjoyed spending time in Athens, Paris, and Barcelona but now Fort Worth seems like the other side of the world. I just don't want to go anywhere. Maybe this little trip to Houston will break the travel curse. Maybe it will make me even more reclusive. Who knows. At least I'm still game to try things.

I certainly didn't go far today. The car never left the driveway. Dash did get two walks though and I managed to put 10,000 steps on the Fitbit. It was still below freezing on our morning walk and there was frost on all the vegetation. I was surprised at how quickly things warmed up. By the time we took our evening walk, the temperature was almost 60 degrees. I think it's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. That's fine by me. Daylight Savings Time starts this Sunday. This seems like a good time to start Spring as well.

Dash has a big exam tomorrow morning. He's due for a complete blood panel and an echocardiogram. Fingers crossed. I really hope the vet notices the improvements we've been seeing lately. It really seems like Dash is feeling a little better but it certainly would be nice to get some medical confirmation of what Janet and I have been seeing. It's easy to imagine things that aren't really there. Wishful thinking can be a very powerful thing.

I'm supposed to get another roofing estimate tomorrow. I don't look forward to anything connected with this roof. I wish I could just limp along with the current roof for another ten years, but it isn't going to happen. I've already spent a huge amount of time and effort trying to patch this thing and it just isn't working. One way or another, a new roof is in my future. I still wish it was a new car instead.

Wow. Two things on the calendar for tomorrow. By my standards, that's a very busy day. I wish I could convince Dash not to poop in the car on the way to the vet. We haven't been very lucky recently. The last time we went to the cancer center we barely made it out of the driveway before he pooped. Maybe things will go well. A good report from the vet and a low estimate from the roofer would be appreciated.

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3353

Dash seems to have a new schedule. He gets up early to go outside and pee. If we're lucky, he poops as well. Instead of taking his morning meds like he usually does at this time of day, he stumbles back to the bedroom and goes to sleep on the floor. He seems exhausted and is often shivering like he used to do in the middle of the night. I'll wrap him in a blanket and about two hours later he will wake up again. If I'm lucky I can get him to take his pills at this time. He'll pee once more and go back to sleep without touching his breakfast.

These two hour naps will often continue until noon when he seems to get a burst of energy and wants a walk. When we return from our walk, he'll usually eat his breakfast. I'm all about consistency, so I don't really understand these changes. I go along with the new schedule though. Dash body is telling him something. He's probably trying to conserve what little energy he has left.

It's just as well that we didn't take an early walk this morning. It was below freezing outside when I woke up this morning. It had warmed up a little by the time I walked Dash around noon, but it was still really cold. I should have worn a sweater under my jacket because I was freezing by the time we returned home. I need to remember that this is Texas and I always need to check the weather before I leave the house. I was in a hurry today because I could see that Dash was in the mood to go and I wanted to get him down to the park before he changed his mind.

I talked to the roofer that my architect friend recommended today. He seemed very knowledgable and we had a long conversation about the pitfalls of homes with a flat roof. He seemed to know a lot about my house just by looking at Google maps. Apparently he had a software program that could provide a rough cost estimate just by looking at the satellite view of the house. The estimate was horrendously high, but the guy said if would probably be lower when he actually came out and measured things. The other roofer who took a look at the house last month said the cost would be high as well. The cost of installing a flat roof has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. It doesn't help that I need an engineered roof with a consistent slope of 1/4" per foot either. The roof will still look flat with this type of slope, but the water will drain and there will be no standing water. I'm not getting any younger and I'm not going to be able to climb up on the roof forever. Getting a roof that drains properly is imperative.

It's a shame that there are so many large expenses like this in my future. We need numerous repairs inside the house as well. Oh, well. That's life I guess. I think I know where my new car fund is going. Maybe it won't be so bad. I like to stay dry and I don't really like to drive all that much anyway.

I certainly didn't drive much today. I had to pick up some Enalapril for Dash at the vet and some dinner for myself at a nearby barbecue place. In retrospect, I should have had something bland for dinner. The ribs and brisket were delicious, but I've got heartburn again. Damn. I wish I enjoyed eating sensibly. All-in-all, I do a pretty good job of staying healthy, but unfortunately everything I really enjoy is bad for you. I kind of envy people who really enjoy eating vegetables. Discipline and restraint keep me healthy. I'd much rather just eat cheese.

I did manage to get the trash out to the curb this evening, but I have no idea whether I'll go out for breakfast in the morning. A lot depends on Dash and the weather.

Connor os today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3038

The tree trimmer came over today to give me an estimate. The dead limb I was worried about hangs directly over the house and it seems like it would be difficult to gently lower it down with a rope. No problem, the guy told me. I'll take his word for it. This is something I would never attempt by myself. I need to schedule this work before the roofers come over, but that shouldn't be a problem. I'll be lucky if I can get the roofers over here by June.

I was reading the instructions for the special glue I bought to repair my fitness band and I noticed something in the fine print that said "Do not let this product come in contact with skin." WTF? How can I repair a wrist band if the repair can't come in contact with my skin? I need to contact the manufacturer about this. Silicon is used in all sorts of medical products. Silicon masks are also common in film and the theater. Why would anyone make a repair product that couldn't be used in these situations? Maybe the glue just can't come near skin until it has fully cured. I'll be real disappointed if I can't use this glue. Basically, if I can't glue the fitness tracker back together, it goes in the trash.

Dash seems to be slowly inching back to a more regular schedule. He got me up at midnight and again just before sunrise. While this may seem inconvenient, it is much better than getting up at 3 AM. I was hoping that Dash would sleep through the night like he did yesterday, but no such luck. At least he is eating normally again.

It was a nice day to be outside, so I tried to repair some of the roof panels on the greenhouse. It's been really windy this Spring and these panels keep coming loose. I definitely should have worn a long sleeve shirt. The translucent panels are made of fiberglass and my arms were itching for the rest of the day. Fiberglass is terrible stuff. It looks solid but there are always sharp little fibers that come off when you touch it. It's ironic that I was worried about the silicon glue today when I really should have been worried about the fiberglass.

I'm dreading going over to the storage warehouse and taking an inventory of my collection before my friend from Kentucky arrives in town to pick it up. This is going to take a long time and I'm sure I'll have misgivings about liquidating a bunch of stuff it took me so many years to accumulate. If I could go back in time, the first thing I'd do is tell my younger self not to bother with collecting things. The older you get, the less collections matter. In the long run, it is a lot better to have the cash than a bunch of dusty stuff in a storage warehouse.

This week has gone quickly. It is already time to take the trash to the curb again. On Thursday evenings I often read Yelp reviews about restaurants I'm thinking about visiting the next morning. Usually I just end up confused. There will almost always be great reviews right next to terrible reviews. It must be hard to run a restaurant. It's probably just about impossible to please everybody.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1857

I saw the sun today. It's amazing what a little sunlight and blue skies can do. It was still cold outside and I had way too much work to do, but today was much more satisfying than yesterday. Let's hope the clear skies continue for long enough for the ground to dry up. Although the sun made me happy today, cleaning my muddy boots didn't. I don't know how Northerners keep their houses clean. It all seems pretty hopeless to me.

I've heard that tonight is an ideal time to try and see Comet Lovejoy. I doubt that I'll be able to see the comet with all the city lights, but since I didn't even think I'd have the opportunity, I'm going to go out with a pair of binoculars and give it a try. The comet is located near the constellation Orion. This is something even I can find in the night sky, so maybe there's hope.

I called the oral surgeon's office today to confirm my surgery appointment and discovered that the estimate they gave me was for having all four wisdom teeth removed. Whoa! I thought that estimate was too high. The last thing I want is to go to the dentist thinking I'm having one tooth removed and wake up to discover that four are gone. The receptionist explained that almost everybody has all four wisdom teeth removed at the same time, so they just assumed I was going to do this too. "That's not what the dentist and I talked about," I said. Jeez. If I ever have to have all my wisdom teeth removed, I prefer to have them removed one at a time at ten year intervals.

Dot did great at her physical therapy session today. I'm amazed at how much stronger she seems than last January. Since a large part of the year was spent recovering from cancer, her new found strength and stamina seems even more remarkable. I keep thinking that if Dot can do this, maybe I can too. Hopefully, after a year or so, my own physical therapy efforts will start paying dividends as well. I've got to remember that nothing dramatic ever happened during Dot's therapy. There were no decisive moments. She just very slowly began to improve over a long period of time.

There are articles to write tomorrow, broken websites to fix, photo shoots to schedule, and a pile of bills to pay. I'm still going to have a nice breakfast at my favorite restaurant though. I deserve it.

Betty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1556

Such a busy day. It wasn't a bad day though. Even though I had way too much to do, the day was full of encouraging signs. I was happy to see that Dash seems to tolerate his chemotherapy medicine. So far, I've seen none of the possible side effects that the oncologist warned me about. Dash didn't start vomiting today. He doesn't have diarrhea. And he doesn't appear overly tired. A bad reaction could still appear over time, but at least we're off to a good start. If Dash was going to have an immediate adverse reaction to the drugs, I would have seen something by now.

My own Hepatitis C treatment seems to be going equally well. I learned today that my viral load numbers have decreased from a baseline of over 5 million IU/ML in January to just 18 IU/ML today. This sounds pretty dramatic, but the numbers have to go all the way to zero and stay there for two months before I am considered cured. If even a small amount of the virus remains, it will eventually start replicating again and I'll be right back to where I was when I started. Considering that I'm only halfway through my treatment, I'm very encouraged though. I have every reason to believe that my numbers eventually will go to zero

The back yard looks much better now. The landscapers spent most of the day planting new grass, putting fresh gravel on the paths, and removing all the Winter leaves. Just getting rid of all the leaves made a huge improvement. The landscapers are pretty good about sticking to their estimate, but I've got to remember that everything is à la carte. If you think of something extra you want them to do once they're here, you're going to get charged for it. Needless to say, as the yard starts to take shape, I always think of additional things that need to be done. So, the job went over budget today, but I guess it was my fault. A least the yard looks nice for a change.

I wish work wasn't keeping me so busy this Spring, but I'm definitely not turning any jobs down. I need the money. Now, when a check comes in, I think "this will help pay for Dash's surgery," or "hey, here's a month of pills." With Dot's carpet eating incident and Dash's cancer, the vet bills are pretty staggering. As high as the costs are, I'm still amazed at how reasonable they are compared to what the same procedure would cost for a human. The veterinary specialists Dot and Dash see are every bit as good as any human doctor I've seen, and their equipment is even better. The difference in cost can all be attributed to health insurance and malpractice insurance. Everything about human medicine is hugely inflated to cover these costs.

Dash resumes his radiation treatment tomorrow. I think he enjoyed his day off. I know I enjoyed the day off. A trip back and forth to the cancer center can make a busy day much busier. I picked up Janet at the airport this evening, so life should return to a semblance of normalcy. When you've got problems, it's always good to have two people to solve them.

Baxter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1551

The landscaping guy came over this morning and gave me an estimate for cleaning up the back yard. The price seemed reasonable, so I told him to go ahead. The inside of our house is still messy, but as least the outside will look nice for a few months. I don't know why grass dies so quickly in our yard. We care for it well and it gets plenty of water. I think we just don't get enough direct sun. I should have planted the entire yard in Liriope. We call the stuff Monkey Grass, and it's just about the only thing that grows well in our yard.

As soon as the landscaping guys left, the rain started. It was one of those all-day rains. As the day progressed, the air continued to get colder and the skies got greyer. The dogs hate this kind of weather. They want to go outside, but they hate to get wet. They won't even go off the porch when it's actually raining. To get them to do their business, I have to constantly watch the weather radar and look for little windows where the rain stops for a few minutes. I did manage to find a couple of five minute windows so Dot and Dash could take a short walk behind the house and pee and poop, but that was about it. For the most part, it just rained and rained.

Today would have been a good day to clean the house or watch a movie, but I wasn't that ambitious. Mostly I just took naps with the dogs. I did change the sheets, pay some bills, do a couple of loads of laundry, and make a call to find out why the NTTA had charged me too much for toll-road usage. Then I ran out of energy. I could have done a lot more today.

I'm not at my best during cold rainy days. I definitely grateful that the roof doesn't leak anymore though. At least the house was warm and dry. The weather report says that the rain will continue through tomorrow, so I need to come with a way to avoid cabin fever. I'm not one one of those folks who can watch an entire season of Breaking Bad in one sitting, so I tend to go stir-crazy. Dot and Dash certainly don't help matters during long downpours. They both think that I somehow can control the rain. I'm continually letting them in and out, but they are convinced that I can make the rain stop the same way I can open refrigerator doors and fill their food bowls. They keep giving me this "make it stop" look. Dalmatians are not very patient.

You'd think that there would be tons of room in the bed when Janet is gone, but the dogs always discover ways to stretch out even further than usual to soak up the extra space. I had no room at all last night. Maybe nature will surprise me with a nice day in the morning. Maybe I'll surprise myself and cook a fancy breakfast. Who knows? Dash seems to like his new "rescue dog" harness and wants to wear it around the house. That certainly surprised me. Maybe it makes him feel secure.

Carmine is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1192

The landscapers finished their work this afternoon and the yard now looks nicer than I've seen it in years. The design looks good and the plants look healthy. My only gripe is that the price ended up being a bit more than the estimate. I shouldn't have been surprised. Everyone's price, with the lone exception of my own, always ends up being more than expected.

At least the landscapers didn't gouge me as much as the Land Rover dealer. They called today to tell me that they'd discovered my problem. It was exactly as I expected. I need a new fuel pump. As you might expect, Land Rover is rather fond of their fuel pumps. The pump for my Defender 90 is about four times as expensive as a similar pump for a Ford F-150 pickup.

The second day of Spring wasn't nearly as nice as the first one. It's gotten cold again. There's supposed to be rain either tomorrow or Saturday and for once, I'm looking forward to it. It would be nice to give the new vegetation a good soaking before I have to start watering every day. It will take about a month for the new sod to start establishing a root system, so I'm going to have to keep everything wet for quite a while. Talk to me again about how much I like the new yard after the dogs start coming inside with muddy paws every evening.

The insurance agent didn't end up coming over to the house today after all. He called and told me that he had to wait for some new forms before he could sign me up. "Does this mean that rates are going up," I asked. Of course the answer was yes. Rates are going up.

I finished two articles and modified two websites today. That's pretty good for me. Hopefully, tomorrow won't be so busy. I'd like to look for a new breakfast restaurant. The holy grail now is a tasty, and a bit spicy, breakfast meal that contains no eggs or dairy products, no meat, and no wheat. I'm not sure what this would be at this point, but I'm convinced that this illusive dish has got to be out there somewhere.

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1187

I bought a juicer today. When I got home, Janet reminded me that we already had a juicer. Oops! Now, I remember. The old juicer never seemed to extract much juice out of anything. It was also impossible to clean. The juicer quickly got demoted from the kitchen counter to the top of the refrigerator, and subsequently to somewhere else where I completely forgot about it. Hopefully, this new juicer will work better than the old one. If this new juicer is not easy to use and easy to clean, I suspect it will suffer the same fate as the other one. I thought it would be neat to make a fresh version of V8 juice, but when I looked up the recipe on the Internet, I discovered we had none of the ingredients. Maybe I'll start with fresh orange juice. We do have some oranges.

I did my best to avoid the annual St. Patrick's Day parade today. After being stuck in the aftermath of this parade several times, I've learned to stay as far away as possible. In certain parts of town, traffic grinds to a halt for hours as huge throngs of drunken revelers parade from bar to bar. What started as a humble neighborhood event with a few kids waving at people from the backs of pickup trucks has evolved into a huge spectacle with hundreds of floats and well over a hundred thousand spectators. My favorite grocery store is located right at ground zero on the parade route. I wisely decided to do my shopping somewhere else today.

I don't think I'll be having any more furnace problems this year. Now, it's time for air conditioner problems. I bought some new filters at Home Depot and officially turned on the AC today. The temperature got up to 85 degrees and the dogs loved it. Dot spent some quality time outside this afternoon sunning herself on a big pile of leaves. Dash spent his time looking for stuff to eat under the leaves.

Neither of the two roofing companies that stopped by to bid on replacing my roof has given me an estimate yet. I can't believe my roof is all that complicated. It would seem like two weeks was plenty of time to pull some numbers together. Maybe they just don't want to do the job. That wouldn't surprise me at all.

Tomorrow looks like it's going to be a great day to go to the dog park. Clear skies. 85 degrees. What's not to like? It's hard to stay in a bad mood for long when Spring has arrived.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1182

It looks like my car is going to be in the shop for a long time. How do I know? Well, the Land Rover dealer called this morning and offered to exchange my Toyota loaner car for a brand new Evoque. I took them up on their offer, of course. The Evoque is closer to a space age Jetsons car than anything I've ever driven. The entire roof is glass. It is a small car with a huge moon roof. There are no ignition or door keys whatsoever. You just put a small gizmo about the size of an iPod nano in your pocket and the car senses you. As you approach, the doors unlock and you just push a button on the dash and the car starts. Your seat automatically adjusts to the best driving position and off you go.

Hey, what could possibly go wrong?  I could just imagine going somewhere in this car and then being unable to get home again because the little gizmo in your pocket broke and you couldn't get the doors to open. I don't know how well this particular Land Rover would do off road either. It's pretty low to the ground. My simple, completely mechanical, all aluminum Defender is still basically the better car.

Dot rested well last night and was able to stand on all fours again this morning. She's still pretty shaky, but she appears much better than she did last night. When I went to make a vet appointment for her, I discovered that her regular vet is on vacation. I made an appointment with another vet for tomorrow and kept her resting most of the day. The only time she wasn't resting was when some landscaping people came over to give me an estimate on re-doing the back yard. Even though I kept Dot penned in my office, she got so upset at the strangers in her yard that she pooped all over the office floor. What a mess. I had tried to get her to go before the landscaping people arrived, but she was so stubborn about not getting her regular walk, that she refused to do anything.

There was very little writing going on today. I spent most of my time updating websites and getting the rest of my March invoices out. I had to attach past due notices to several of the invoices. That's never a good sign. I bet the mechanic working on my Defender and the landscaper looking at my yard today are both doing better than I am. It's hard to live without a car and it's irritating to live with a mud pit in your back yard. I'm probably not the only one who would pay whatever it takes to alleviate these sorts of problems. Unfortunately, the problems I solve in my own business aren't nearly as essential as having a car that runs. I'm learning that people can go a long time without changing their websites at all.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1177

When the estimator came over this morning to look at my roof, I was pleasantly surprised at how knowledgeable he was. He seemed familiar with all the options available and I am confident that he can give me an accurate price. I'm not so confident that he'll be able to give me a price I can afford, however. I don't have any numbers yet, but when we were talking about what was needed to prevent my roof problems from reoccurring in the future, it became apparent that the new roof was going to be expensive. I am going to get several estimates, but the chances of getting a bargain and a good roof at the same time are slim.

My car started acting up again today. I called the Land Rover dealer and asked if I could bring it in for service tomorrow morning. Nope. They're all booked up for the next several days. It's just my luck that I have a doctor's appointment that is very difficult to reschedule tomorrow. If the car won't start, I'm really out of luck. It would take me half a day to get to the hospital by bus, and I don't really trust taxis around here either. Hopefully, the Defender will decide to work properly tomorrow.

I stopped by the Unrefined Bakery today to get a loaf of Paleo Bread. I wanted to see what the wheat free bread tasted like, because I really like my eggs on toast. The bread, which is baked using almond flour and flax seeds, was actually quite tasty. The small, freshly baked loaf cost me $13 however. A bit pricy for morning toast, I think. We'll see if there's any more Paleo Bread in my future. Maybe I'll save enough by keeping my liver healthy and diabetes at bay that I can afford little extravagances like this.

I figured out how to hook up one of my cameras to a WiFi network today. Pretty cool. Now, I can control the camera and take pictures using my iPhone and send the pictures directly back to my computer, or even to the web. The installation was far from intuitive, but eventually I got everything working. Unfortunately, this geeky task put me behind on everything else. I wasn't able to finish all my writing assignments today, which is a rarity for me.

No dog training class tonight. It's still pretty chilly outside and Janet had to work late anyway. Dot and Dash don't seem to mind that this is the third week in a row we've skipped class. They'd throw a fit if we ever skipped going to the dog park on Sunday, but missing training class is just fine.  I think I know exactly how they feel.

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1175

I got the indestructible TakTik Extreme iPhone case I ordered a while back in the mail today. It should come as no surprise that my Jawbone activity tracking wristlet won't fit in the earphone jack slot, so I can't sync it to the phone anymore. Why is this so common these days. Nobody even seems to care about compatibility. I've got a whole shoebox full of weird little adapters designed to hook incompatible devices together again after the manufacturers failed to standardize their connections. Now, I've got to find yet another adapter that will let me use this new case, or I'll have to send it back.

The inability of manufacturers to standardize electronic connections is just one tiny example of a world where virtually nothing is compatible anymore.  Congress and the president aren't compatible. Workers and their employers aren't compatible. There are literally hundreds of different sizes of watch batteries, when one would have done just fine if the manufacturers could have ever reached an agreement on battery sizes.

I finally got around to calling for bids on replacing my roof. I'm hoping that the two roofers I'm getting estimates from will at least agree on what type of roof I need. There are so many alternatives, and all of them have their supporters and detractors. Asphalt, coal tar, sprayed on foam, EPDM synthetic rubber membrane, PVC membrane, modified bitumen? I have no idea which is best, because there are so many conflicting opinions. Once again, it would be nice if people could agree on things.

The bugs are returning again. I thought I put out enough poison to take care of the problem for at lest a year, but apparently not. I applied more poison and bait in areas that are not accessible to the dogs, but I'm not sure that this will solve the problem. These bugs are smart. I think they'll just move to other parts of the house that are accessible to the dogs.

I got a notice that I'll have to sign for a FedEx package tomorrow. This will be another wasted day. It is totally impossible to predict when the FedEx guy will show up. I can sit waiting for nine hours and then leave for five minutes to run to the post office. That five minute interval will inevitably be when the guy shows up for the signature.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 458

I went to the doctor to have my blood work done this morning right after I walked the dogs. They always want you to fast before taking blood samples, so I figured if I got everything done early, I'd still have time for a big breakfast later. I was kind of amazed to see that the nurse filled twelve vials with blood. Either there is something terribly wrong with my blood, or I'm the one person keeping LabCorp in business.

I did keep my promise and got my estimate for the oil and gas trade show completed and mailed off this afternoon. I hate doing complicated estimates. If your prices are too high, you won't get the job. If your prices are too low and something goes wrong, you could actually end up losing money on the job. Something always does go wrong too. It's just hard to guess what it's going to be this time. I think I turned in a very competitive bid. Actually, I think I bid the job a little too low, but it's too late to change things now. I should find out sometime later next week if I get the project.

I spend some time cleaning the house today as well. Janet returns from Las Vegas this evening and I wouldn't want her to think that I was doing nothing but taking naps with the dogs and watching Dr. Who on TV all week. I'm normally a very neat and tidy person, but when it's just me and the dogs, sometimes the bed doesn't get made and the floors start looking pretty shabby. It's pretty obvious that Dot and Dash could care less whether the house is clean. As long as they get their dinner and walks on time, they are both happy campers.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day