Day 1154

I forgot to send in my quarterly estimated taxes again. This wasn't the first time I forgot, and it probably won't be the last. I have gotten so accustomed to e-mail reminders and smartphone messages that I've almost lost the ability to remember anything on my own. You'd think the government would have the resources to send a little reminder to my phone like everybody else, but apparently not. At any rate, I mailed in a check today and I'm up to speed again, but I wouldn't be surprised if I forget again in April.

After I finished my website work for the day, I paid a visit to a nearby exterminator to get some advice about getting rid of bugs. I learned that cockroaches seek out both moisture and heat, which might explain why I see them in the bathroom and near the furnace. If you don't like chasing after them with a paper towel, you can just spray them with rubbing alcohol or a mixture of soapy water. Both elixirs will apparently kill the bugs quickly. After talking with the bug man for about twenty minutes I came home with some stuff that your spray on your exterior walls using a pressure sprayer and some encapsulated powder that you squirt into cracks and crevices inside your house. Poison is surprisingly expensive. I hope this stuff works.

Did you watch the Grammys last night?  Some of the awards were baffling, but the all-star tribute performances were great. The tribute to Bob Marley with Bruno Mars, Sting, Rihanna and several Marleys showed considerable musicianship, but was an odd sort of tribute since they didn't play any Bob Marley songs. Much better was the tribute to Levon Helm. I always liked Helm's "The Weight" and it was fun to listen to Elton John, Mavis Staples, Brittany Howard and members of Mumford & Sons and The Zac Brown Band trade verses. I guess it made sense for Fun to win with We Are Young, but Frank Ocean's odd performance of the odd song Forest Gump made no sense at all. I wish I still had the HD channels on my TV. It would have been fun to watch the Grammys in HD. I learned on Facebook this morning that the now full grown son of one of my Seattle advertising friends produced the Grammy nominated album by the Lumineers. Jeez, how time flies. The kid was a baby when I lived in Seattle.

I keep waiting for a Dalmatian to win the Westminster dog show. At least last year, the Dalmatian won the non-sporting category and got to compete for best of show. This year, the Dalmatian wasn't so lucky. The non-sporting title reverted to one of those little white Bichons that look like a child's stuffed animal. Oh well. I thought the Dalmatian was the best tonight. I changed the channel as soon as the Dalmatian lost.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1007

I went to the pest control store and got some more roach bait to replace the tube of gel that had gone bad. Hopefully, I won't wait seven years to use the stuff this time. I find bug guys oddly comforting. There are very few ambiguities about professional exterminators. They don't salt and pepper their conversations with words like sustainability or multiculturalism. Ask these guys about getting rid of pests though and they'll pragmatically tell you the best way to kill virtually anything. I've always thought if we were in a war we really needed to win, it wouldn't hurt to put a few bug guys in charge of things. They'd get the job done.

When I'm working up on the roof, I can see over the neighbor's fence. Today, I noticed a very brown and very dead Christmas tree tossed right outside the neighbor's back door. It was obvious that when they took the tree down after Christmas, this was as far as they got. I guess I find this comforting as well. It's nice to know that as disorganized as I've become, the neighbors are even in worse shape than I am. Since it's September, I don't know why I never noticed the dead Christmas tree before. I'm sure it's been out in their back yard for a long time. Probably the tree escaped my attention in exactly the same way as that tube of roach bait that expired in 2003.

The FedEx guy delivered some business cards I'd designed this morning. It continues to amaze me how easy and inexpensive printing has become. There really isn't much need for people like me anymore. When online printing first arrived on the scene, I would carefully prepare Quark Express files to upload, just like I would for a traditional printer. This time, I was in a hurry and used the handy online design wizard on the printing company website instead. I had everything completed in a matter of minutes and the results were just as good as if I had done everything by hand.

It's starting to get cool in the mornings now. It isn't exactly jacket weather yet, but it won't be long. This leaves me wondering what to do about the furnace. As some of you may remember, my furnace is kaput. I either need a brand new furnace or some very expensive repairs. Last Spring when the furnace broke, I decided to postpone making any sort of decision until it got cold again. Pretty soon, I'm going to wake up shivering and realize that once again, my chickens have come home to roost.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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