Day 2309

I spent the morning trying to learning how to create rewrite rules within my website's .htaccess file. On the old web server I had somebody who could do this for me, but apparently now I have to do it myself. Why is this important? Well, part of my website isn't working correctly and the hosting company says it isn't their responsibility to fix it. This is usually how I learn to write code. Sheer necessity is always a good incentive to learn new things. That being said, using PHP, Perl, Javascript, or in this case, writing instructions for the Apache web server, has never come naturally to me. By lunchtime, I had a headache and still didn't really understand what I was doing.

This afternoon, I tackled a much easier task. I prepared my April invoices. Sending out monthly invoices used to take me the better part of a day, but now I can do everything in less than an hour. When you don't have many clients, you don't have many invoices. I took the invoices to the post office, hoping that Dot wouldn't poop in her bed while I was gone.  On the way home I stopped at a little tailor shop in the neighborhood to ask whether they could put a new lining in an old leather jacket I like. I should have picked a better day. The tailor wasn't open on Mondays.

I'm still having to water the lawn every day, so the new St. Augustine grass will establish roots. The soggy lawn wouldn't be a problem if the dogs would stay on the grass. Inevitably, they head straight for the ground cover though and end up getting their paws muddy. Since I have to follow Dot around, holding up her rear legs, I get my shoes muddy as well. In and out we go over and over again. It's amazing how simple things like this can eat up your day.

The little LED lights on my activity tracker have quit working. I like these little Jawbone UP bands, but they sure don't last very long. The band still works and will sync with my phone, but I can't tell if it is in normal or sleep mode. I no longer get any warning when the battery is low either. The two little indicator lights don't work at all. I wonder if it is even worth the trouble to get another of these fitness bands. I've had three already and they all seem to last about a year.

My holy grail is something that will last forever. I haven't found it yet. I did find a place in Florida that still sells parts for my troublesome French toilet. Unfortunately, they don't sell fully assembled fill mechanisms. They just sell the component parts, which must be assembled. Since all these little threaded parts can leak water if they aren't assembled properly, this seems like a recipe for disaster. Maybe I could just buy the parts and have a plumber assemble them for me. I'll have to find a new plumber though. My current plumber hates these toilets and refuses to work on them.

I'd like to do something interesting tomorrow. I could learn a new song on the guitar. I could get out the sewing machine and try to fix the lining on my jacket myself. I could submit some more photos to my stock agency. None of these things seem all that interesting though. They just seem like chores. I
really don't know where the magic is anymore.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1834

I received a letter from NASA today saying that I'd been accepted to cover the launch of the SMAP satellite at Vandenberg Air Force Base early next year. Now, I need to figure out where Lompoc, California is and how to get there. I was really kind of surprised that my application for NASA press credentials was accepted. NASA only invites a small number of social media correspondents to these launch events and I wasn't really sure whether a blog about a guy and his two Dalmatians was what they were looking for. Apparently this is as good a place as any to talk about space travel, so I'm glad that NASA likes the blog.

I'm a bit apprehensive about this upcoming adventure, but I really think I need to do this. I've always thought that if you don't keep trying to expand your horizons, you slowly whither and die. I haven't done anything really new in quite a while, so maybe it's time. This really isn't as implausible as it sounds. I'm a good writer and I've been a huge fan of the space program for most of my adult life. This could be the start of something. Just having the opportunity to interview NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers and take photos at Vandenberg Air Force Base is quite an honor. I just hope the launch doesn't get delayed by bad weather or something, since I have to pay for travel and lodging myself. A delay in the launch could get expensive. The SMAP satellite is actually pretty significant, since it will map soil moisture over the entire planet, helping to predict droughts, provide an early warning for floods and landslides, improve weather forecasting, and help farmers improve crop yields. I'm looking forward to this as only a slightly reclusive science nerd can.

It rained this morning, so I wasn't able to get my Christmas shopping completed before the crowds descended on the shopping malls. The dogs come first, so I patiently waited for a break in the rain to get them outside to poop and take their morning walk before I went shopping. Despite the late start, I was still able to find a parking place at Northpark, so everything ended well. Hopefully I won't need to go shopping again for a long time.

I've been worried about Dot's increasingly shaky rear legs, so our vet gave her a thorough examination today when we went for our physical therapy appointment. Dot's mobility has decreased since her last exam, and she appears to be experiencing some sort of neurological damage. The vet said that we could get an MRI of her spine to see if we could isolate what was causing the problem, but that an MRI or CAT scan wouldn't really give us more options. Dot is too old and frail for spinal surgery and this type of surgery is risky even for a young dog. Probably some sort of pain management program is the best we can expect at this point. The good thing is that the acupuncture and water therapy that we are already doing has been very beneficial and has significantly slowed down her inevitable decline. We've just got to come up with a way to keep her active without causing her any more pain.

The only thing I wasn't able to do today was get the nail removed from my tire. Luckily, the tire is still holding air and shows no sign of leaking. I was able to make an appointment to get the tire fixed at the dealership early tomorrow morning before the place closes early for Christmas Eve. You'd think I could just go to a nearby gas station to get the tire fixed, but my tires are filled with nitrogen instead of air. I always have a way of making even simple things difficult.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1249

It was a busy day. The roofers woke us up with a lot of banging and pounding over our head. It's clear that roofers get off to an earlier start than I do. The dogs have kind of an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude about all the activity. As long as they can't actually see the roofers, they don't bark all that much. I guess they're pretty used to noise on the roof. Quite a few tree limbs have fallen on the roof over the years and of course, I'm up there myself quite a bit getting the water off.

I had lunch with my ad agency friend today. I'll have to admit I was a bit envious of my friend. He drove up in a brand new Lexus IS convertible and proceed to tell me about the fantastic vacation in Rome he just returned from. My friend has never looked healthier or happier. He's on permanent disability. Nice work if you can get it is all I've got to say.

After an unusually healthy lunch, considering the way we both used to eat, I went grocery shopping at Central Market and then returned home to finish my work for the week. I was glad to see the roofers leaving for the day when I arrived. I had put up with all the noise I could handle this morning.

I went to the airport this evening to pick up Janet. I checked the American Airlines website just before I left, to make sure that the arrival time or the gate hadn't changed. They're always changing gate assignments at the last minute. The gate was the same, but the website said that the flight was going to be early. While I was driving to the airport, they must have changed their mind. When I arrived at the designated baggage claim area, I discovered that the flight in question was actually going to be late. This happens all the time. No wonder this company went bankrupt.

Dot and Dash were delighted to see Janet again. Dash got so excited that he started jumping straight up in the air. When he makes these vertical leaps, he can get three feet off the ground. All this activity would have been fine, except he was doing his wild leaping around in the living roof. I'm always scared he'll land right on top of the glass coffee table and cut himself. Once we let the dogs outside to blow off steam, they both quieted down and were calm again. They must have known what was coming next: some tasty dog treats from one of the suitcases in the hall.

I think the roofers said they were coming back tomorrow. Oh, well. We certainly won't need an alarm clock in the morning.

Susie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 991

How do you keep a Dalmatian completely calm? I think it's impossible. Dot woke up sick this morning. She seemed to be having some trouble breathing and was coughing a lot. When she was completely calm, she appeared just fine, but as soon as she got excited about anything, she started coughing, gagging, and throwing up what looked like mucus. I made an appointment to take her to the vet right away, but it wasn't easy to keep her calm until her appointment. It just isn't in Dot's nature to be calm. When she looked out the living room window, she got excited and started choking. When she thought she was getting breakfast, she started coughing. Of course, she still wanted her walk too, even though she really needed to be sleeping.

The vet agreed that Dot had a nasty cough, but didn't think it was anything serious. She didn't have bordetella. She didn't even have a fever. It appears that she severely irritated her throat last week while the dogs were being boarded. I think she just barked all the time at the kennel. We left the vet with some antibiotics and a cough suppressant. Hopefully, she will get better soon. I tried my best to be a good nurse today, but Dot is not a very good patient.

While I was trying to keep Dot calm this afternoon, I did get a chance to watch a couple of Dr. Who episodes I hadn't seen before. The new season premiers later this evening and there was an all day Dr. Who marathon on the BBC Channel leading up to the big season opener. I wonder how I completely missed two of last season's shows. I've seen virtually ever episode of Dr. Who at least five or six times. At any rate, as soon as I post tonight's blog entry, you know what I'm going to be doing.

It doesn't look like Dot will get to go to tomorrow's rescue event. She needs the rest anyway, but we couldn't take her to a public event when she was coughing like crazy. People would think she had kennel cough and probably wouldn't even come near our both. Dash will probably be happy that he'll have all the attention to himself while I stay home and nurse Dot.

At least all the dog activities today allowed me to postpone mowing the grass a for a whole. The grass in the front yard is getting pretty long after last week's rain. I guess I get a reprieve. Nobody expects you to mow the grass when a you've got a sick dog around the house.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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