Day 4826

It seemed strange that it was still dark when I woke up this morning. I looked at my watch and it was after 7 AM. Were we about to get another thunderstorm? Nope. I forgot that the time changed last night. Now we are living under Daylight Savings Time again. Some people actually prefer Daylight Savings Time, but I'd rather have sunlight early in the morning and dark skies at night. I see no benefit in having the sun still up at 9 PM. Oh, well. We're stuck with this until next Fall.

Dawn was a handful today. She's feeling better and if I let her out of my sight for one minute she'll try to jump off the bed. I could tell Dawn was mad because whenever I come home from mall walking she knows that it's time for her Sunday outing. Dawn has a good sense of time and Sunday is her day. She became very restless when we didn't go anywhere this afternoon. There was no ice cream either. I took her out in the back yard numerous times but that wasn't good enough. Maybe next week, girl. We're going to try a short walk in the park tomorrow.

Mall walking does nothing to restore my faith in humanity. The mall walkers seem strange compared to the people I see walking in the park. The store displays seem even stranger. Fashion these days seems to be a celebration of ugliness. The winter coats are gone from the windows now and have been replaced by colorful Spring styles. Some stores seem to cater to older people getting ready to go on a cruise ship, while others seem to be trying to attract the impossibly thin. The high end European boutiques all have unrealistically thin mannequins in their windows, while a few stores actually feature fat mannequins. Lifelike mannequins have apparently gone out of style. They all look like stylized android robots now. It's a strange world out there and it appears to be getting stranger every week.

Since Dawn was restless today and I couldn't trust her, I tried to update the Polaris star tracker in the bedroom with her. That didn't work. I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing and Dawn managed to jump off the bed while I was actually sitting on it. I spent so much time taking Dawn outside that the star tracker shut itself off and I had trouble restarting it. Maybe I just don't multitask well, but I won't be trying this again. 

Since we still aren't taking Dawn on a sunrise walk, I didn't get my steps at the mall and needed to take a walk in the park later in the afternoon to meet my goal. It was an exceptionally nice day today and that meant the park was even more crowded than usual. I need to remember to avoid the park on weekends. I think I prefer cool overcast days when there is a light mist. On days like these I have the park to myself.

Maybe I do wobble when I walk. When I was at the mall this morning I tried several times to walk in a straight line. There are many places where you can follow a straight line scored on the concrete floor. I could follow this line when I concentrated, but whenever I started to daydream or look in store windows I started to drift away. I'd look up and I was two or three feet away from the line. I'm never conscious of doing this, but maybe it looks weird to others. Truthfully, I think Dawn is steadier on her feet than I am these days.

I'll be glad when Dawn has finished with her meds. I shouldn't be critical since I take meds for blood pressure, cholesterol and a variety of other ailments myself. I think Dawn's meds have changed her personality though. It bothers me that there is no way to ask her how she really feels. I guess the vet is probably right. Without a lot of bed rest and inactivity Dawn might never get better. We'll see how tomorrow goes. As always, I hope there are no surprises.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4750

I got a message this morning saying that there had been an emergency at Janet's storage warehouse and that I should return the call immediately. The number I was given wasn't the number of the storage warehouse so I was suspicious. Everything seems like a scam these days. I called the real number of the storage warehouse and it turned out there actually had been an emergency. A pipe had burst on Christmas Day and flooded the place. I called Janet to see if she had an extra key to her unit around the house and then drove over to investigate.

There was some water on the floor of her unit, but the location of the burst pipe was in another part of the building, so she didn't get the brunt of the damage. Almost everything in the room was in big plastic tubs with lids. The only things that got wet were some blankets and throw rugs that were on the floor. I took these home to wash and was glad that the damage wasn't any worse. A few of the storage units had significant water damage. It just goes to show that you can't take anything for granted. I've been worried about roof leaks at the house for years, but it never occurred to me that our storage units could get flooded too.

Dawn hasn't warmed up to me yet, but we are getting things done. She eats her breakfast in the bedroom, but comes out to eat her dinner and late night snack in the kitchen. She goes down to the meadow behind our house every morning with me to poop and pee and then immediately wants to return to the house. It's clear that she's not going to venture very far from home until Janet returns. Luckily, she has no problem going out in the back yard when she needs to pee. I wish she was interested in getting a little exercise, but I'm not going to push my luck. I just want her to feel safe and not have any panic attacks.

After I cleaned the things that got wet in Janet's storage unit, I went on my long walk. It was a little chilly, but was actually a nice day for walking. It's too bad that I have so many problems with my feet. I'm constantly battling foot pain, but walking still seems like the best exercise for me. Walking doesn't build muscle, but it's great for cardio. Walking is also relaxing for me, which is something I can't say about going to the gym.

There were a lot of people out in the park today. That probably means that most people got Monday off as a holiday. A lot of folks must have got new bicycles for Christmas, because there were a ton of bicycles on the trails. There were a lot of people walking dogs too. I bet a few of those dogs were Christmas presents. It was clear that some needed a little leash training. I didn't see any eagles today. I didn't see many pelicans either. I'm still wondering where all the white pelicans went. They usually don't leave the lake until April or May.

My cold is getting better. My sore throat is almost gone, although I still have a cough. I can seen how Janet might have thought I had Covid. Some of my symptoms are very similar. I'm pretty sure this is just a Winter cold. I've never had a fever and both Covid tests I took turned up negative. The only good thing about having this now, is that I'll have it all behind me by the time I'm ready to travel again.

I don't have any plans for tomorrow. I didn't have any plans for today either, but I was actually pretty busy.  Let's hope that if there are surprises tomorrow, they are pleasant ones.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4274 - Labor Day

I'm making progress. I completed my full six mile walk in the park this morning. I was pretty slow, but who's counting. It helped that the weather was nice. For most of the walk it was overcast with a nice breeze. When I returned home, I felt no different than any other day. I'm still not supposed to lift anything heavy, but I think my recovery is progressing nicely. The big black and blue blotch on my belly is even starting to fade. When that disappears, I'll consider myself back to normal again.

The park was really busy today. I guess Labor Day is a real holiday after all. There were even a lot of people on the trails when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk. When I took my long walk right after breakfast it felt like the Fourth of July. I wouldn't mind seeing a lot fewer people in the park, but it's still nice to have a huge wooded area right outside your back door. When we moved here many years ago I didn't realize that we'd accidentally picked the best part of the entire city.

When I left on my walk this morning. I had to put Dawn's cone on because Janet hadn't returned from the gym yet. Dawn was totally disgusted. Dawn hates the cone, but her paws are looking so good now that I'd hate to see all this progress go down the drain. Dawn could still do a lot of damage if she started licking and biting at herself again. Luckily, I'm never gone for long. I don't think Dawn has it too bad.

I need to find some new ways to occupy myself. For the past several years most of my activities have been centered around trips to McDonald Observatory and Kennedy Space Center. I've learned a lot about astrophotography and made some valuable contacts at the space center. I wrote quite a few articles and many of them got published. Somehow, that all seems to have disappeared. Many of my contacts have retired and Covid restrictions have changed everything. I kind of feel like I'm back to square one and I'm not all that excited about starting over.

It's way too easy to spend the day sleeping. You'd think that if I slept during the day I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. This doesn't seem to be a problem. I've been getting a lot of sleep lately. I've been able to convince myself that all this rest is helping my recovery, but I won't be able to get away with this excuse much longer. I'm either going to have to find a new project or just admit that I'm lazy.

Dawn and I should be soulmates. She likes to walk and she likes to sleep. This sounds pretty good to me as well. Dawn still seems a little miffed that she has to share the bed with me, but she's learning. The room is quiet and I never watch television. Dawn usually falls asleep before I do. It bothers her if I'm staring at her so I usually turn away. We coexist pretty well, although she still hops off the bed and races to the front door as soon as she hears Janet's car in the driveway.

I've got a pile of bills I need to pay tomorrow. I find no joy in paying utility bills. The gas bill is lower in the summer, but the water and electric bills are much higher. You've got to water the grass in the summer and the air conditioner is running non stop. At least the air conditioner is working. The house is nice and cool.

Tomorrow will be much like today. Probably the entire week will be much like today. You realize that it's been a slow summer when the only excitement is a trip to the hospital.

April is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4271

Back to the gym again. I'm still not very active, but I'm trying. With each passing day I feel a little better, but I still have no desire to do anything. I'm trying to force myself to go to the gym everyday because otherwise I'd just spend the day sleeping. I'm actually surprised that I can still sleep at night. With all the naps I've been taking, my Fitbit has been registering more than 8 hours of sleep each day for the first time I can remember.

We still start our day with a sunrise walk with Dawn. If there happens to be a breeze, these walks are enjoyable but you can feel the heat as soon as the sun clears the horizon. Dawn still enjoys these morning walks but she has no desire to go any further than her standard one mile loop. I can't say that I blame her. Lately, I'm ready to return home after one mile myself.

I'm still having shredded wheat for breakfast. What happened to my smoothie? I have no desire for a smoothie anymore. This is one of the oddest side effects of my illness. How can a mealtime favorite for many years suddenly turn your stomach? I imagine that I'll return to having smoothies at some point, but for now this remains a mystery.

NASA keeps sending me invitations to apply for credentials, but always adds a disclaimer saying that due to Covid restrictions, almost nobody will be accepted. Why not just reach out directly to the ten people you want to cover your events. I have no plans to return to Florida anyway, but it is frustrating that it appears to be coming much more difficult to cover launches at Kennedy Space Center. I'm not even sure that I have a media sponsor anymore since my editor is no longer working at Spaceflight Magazine. I wonder how long it will take me to get to know the new editor?

I walked several miles at the gym today, but my pace was so slow that it hardly registered on my Fitbit. I was so cold today that I wished I'd worn a jacket to the gym. This is another odd side effect of my hospitalization and surgeries. I'm perpetually cold now. The temperatures outside are near 100 degrees but I'm wearing a jacket around the house. I guess I could turn the thermostat up, but Janet and Dawn wouldn't approve. The house isn't really that cold. It's just me.

I guess I'll go to the grocery store tomorrow. There are no restrictions on shopping, just on lifting heavy objects. I'm pretty sure I can still pick up a box of strawberries. Do I even need strawberries and blueberries if I'm not fixing a smoothie every morning? Who knows. I just wish that I'd get back to my old schedule.

I've got no real plans for tomorrow. I suspect that life without a gallbladder will be exactly the same as life with a gallbladder. Maybe one of these days I'll be enthusiastic about something again. I'm not feeling it now though.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4268

I really miss my long walks in the park. These walks provided a much needed sense of purpose. Sure, I was really just killing time, but it was easy to convince myself that I was doing something important. Hey, as you grow older, staying active and healthy actually is important. Sadly, I'm going to have to wait a while until I can get back on the trails. I can take short walks for now, but my doctors say it will be at least three weeks before I'll be able to resume any semblance of my normal activities.

With each passing day I continue to feel a little better. I think I can attribute most of the weirdness I'm feeling now to the Cipro I have to continue taking. Cipro has a number of unfortunate side effects and I seem to be affected by several of them. Cipro is known to cause peripheral neuropathy and I am feeling an odd tingling sensation in my fingers and legs when I am inactive. This may also be caused by poor circulation, since my resting heart rate is curently much lower than normal. I'm blaming the Cipro though. Cipro also causes headaches and I have one right now. Luckily, I was prescribed a short course of this drug. I only have three pills left and I'll be done tomorrow evening.

We are having a mild heat wave. The temperature got up to 97 degrees today. Our sunrise walk with Dawn was fairly normal, but you could tell it was going to be hot later in the day. We didn't take Dawn on a sunset walk because we were afraid the pavement was too hot for her paws. Dawn certainly didn't seem to mind staying inside. I should have stayed home as well, but I felt like I needed to move. I hate being cooped up all day. I waited until it was just about dark and then took a short one mile walk. I was a little tired when I returned home, but I got to see a pretty sunset. I definitely needed the exercise.

Today wasn't very productive. I watered a few plants, wrote a letter to my sister, and made an appointment for later in September to see my gastrointestinal doctor. They want to review their Barrett's esophagus diagnosis with me. I think they'll want to do some biopsies of the esophagus to check for precancerous cells. Unfortunately, this means another hospital visit, but I think the dreaded event is at least three months away.

I wonder where people find the strength to deal with serious illness? My Dad dealt with Parkinson's disease for decades and my sister has been in and out of hospitals for years. I've generally been the healthy one in the family. I did have Hepatitis C but that was the hospital's fault. It's hard to believe now, but hospitals used to routinely buy blood from winos on the street. It's amazing we all lived through the 60's and 70's. In the grand scheme of things, my surgery last week was minor. It has redoubled my resolve to stay healthy though. I don't have that much time left and I want to enjoy it.

Hard to believe that tomorrow will be September. Where did this year go? 2020 and 2021 have all just blurred together. I wonder if things will ever return to normal? Covid boosters will probably be just like flu shots in the future. The work world will never be the same. I never thought I'd see the day when companies of all sizes were begging for workers and the unemployed still didn't want to work. There is a tendency to blame someone else for everything now. Nobody wants to take personal responsibility for their own lives any more. It's all pretty sad. I'm convinced that the country will remain permanently divided and this won't be good for anyone. We live in strange times. I'm just glad I had a chance to grow up in world that was a much better place.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4178

Janet took Dawn to her first training class this evening. I didn't go, because there isn't much point in going to a dog training class without a dog. Hopefully, Dawn will do well and enjoy the class. Some of our dogs loved the training classes and others didn't. Dash did very well at first and then grew bored with the class and became a poor student. Some of the exercises are done off leash and I was always nervous that Dash would run away. He was unpredictible that way. Dawn likes being around other dogs, so hopefully she will have a lot of fun.

Today might have been eventful for Dawn, but it was uneventful for me. Not a lot happened. It didn't rain today, but I didn't take advantage of the dry weather to do anything special. I fixed my smoothie while I watched the morning news. I checked my e-mail, hoping that there might be a message from NASA or the magazine I write for in London. Janet and I walked Dawn after she returned from the gym. And then I took my longer walk later in the day. I do these things every day. I really need to add a little variety to my routine.

One thing I didn't do today was practice using PixInsight or any of the other astrophotography processing software I'm trying to learn. I don't want to get burned out before I even get started on this somewhat difficult hobby. When I was working, I was reluctant to call things like writing, photography, and graphic design hobbies because I made money doing these things. Astronomy is clearly a hobby. I will never be an astronomer. I don't even understand what a lot of them do.

I think the cortisone shot the vet gave Dawn yesterday is working. She didn't lick or bite at her paws nearly as much today. I wish the cortisone shot would solve the problem, but it will only point us in the right direction. If allergies are the problem, we need to find out what Dawn is allergic to. We had Spot, our first Dalmatian, tested for allergies and it was a long, complicated process. It turned out he was allergic to almost everything.

I made good time on my long walk today. I can't figure out why I feel so different from one day to the next. Yesterday I could barely make it home. Today I actually had a spring in my step. Inconsistency bothers me. I would like everything to be consistent and predictable even though it never is. In an inconsistent world, I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have a feeling that Dawn feels the same way. We should be best buddies. We share many of the same fears and are alike in many ways.

The little telescope I ordered has shipped and is on its way. When it arrives I will probably spend the day testing and learning how to use it. Then it will go back in a box until my next trip out to McDonald Observatory. I still haven't really mastered the star tracker I got for my last trip to the observatory. That's sitting in a box too. One problem is that you have to align the tracker with Polaris before it will track anything and you can't see the North Star from our house because there are too many trees in the way. This is just an excuse, but it's good enough for me. I'm definitely not dragging my equipment out into the park at night. 

This week has gone quickly. Pretty soon it will be my birthday again. Last year on my birthday we were right in the middle of a global pandemic. I guess we still are.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4135

I slept well last night and my back is feeling better. This should have been enough to motivate me to get out of the house, but the car never left the driveway. Hey, I can always go vote and run my errands later. Oddly, my daily walks don't seem to count as "getting out of the house" anymore. These walks have become as firmly entrenched in an inflexible daily routine as the morning smoothie and the nightly blog post.

Don't think I wasn't busy however. Today was a day to pay bills. There were lots of them. I paid the bills online and then entered all the information in Quickbooks. Credit card bills take the longest, because I enter all the individual transactions as well. I don't know what it proves, but I think I've always been meticulous about keeping records. The Quickbooks files, the blog, the Fitbit statistics: they are all just records.

I also reserved a rent car for my trip to McDonald Observatory. The trip isn't that soon, but I keep reading articles about how rental cars are in short supply now. Even the rental car website urged me to make my reservation immediately, so I wouldn't be disappointed. I guess new cars at dealerships are in short supply as well. Blame the pandemic. Our supply chain apparently doesn't deal well with disruptions. Toilet paper, computer chips, my favorite cheese, Clorox wipes, and rental cars: it appears we are running out of everything.

I thought I'd take advantage of a free upgrade offer when I was reserving my car. Nope. The car I wanted doesn't qualify for an upgrade. The same thing happened a few weeks ago when I saw my running shoes on sale. Nope again. The brand was on sale, but not the particular shoe I wear for foot pain. This always happens. The things I like are never on sale. There's always some kind of camera equipment on sale, but I think I've paid full price for every lens I own.

Dawn was in a good mood today. We walked her early because Janet had things to do in the afternoon. She took the change of schedule well and didn't balk or freeze at all. I even thought she was going to walk longer for a while, but at the very end of her one mile loop, she turned and headed for home. Later in the day, Dawn sat out in the back yard with me for at least thirty minutes with no fear or hesitation whatsoever. She still won't eat her dinner if I'm out in the kitchen with her, but it's easy enough to go back to the office until she's finished. Whatever works is my motto. We all have issues and I really don't want to make life difficult for Dawn.

I spend enough time making life difficult for myself. Lately, I've been bothered that nobody is replying to my e-mails. NASA has never responded to my questions about accreditation. The magazines I write for haven't responded to queries about new articles. I haven't heard from my sister in several months. The computer memory I ordered is still lost as well. I probably just have too much time on my hands. Busy people don't spend nearly as much time writing as I do.

I'm glad I fixed the furnace. It's supposed to get down to near freezing tonight. What's that all about? All the plants that have been trying to recover from our big Winter freeze are now going to be hit with a late Spring frost. I could tell that a front was moving in when I took my long walk this afternoon. It was chilly, even thought the sky was clear and blue. With a light jacket, it was still an enjoyable walk. I picked up the pace quite a bit today and had very little foot pain. Not a bad day. Theres nothing big going on at the moment, but sometimes the little things are enough.

Wilson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3943

Dawn had a great day. For the first time since she became sick, we were able to complete our regular five mile morning walk. The nice weather helped, but Dawn seems to be getting better as well. When we returned, she still had plenty of energy and was eager to beg for treats while we ate breakfast. I hope this continues. Dawn is almost finished with her meds, so we should get a better idea soon if her condition is stable.

I had a lot of items on my shopping list today and ended up having to go to several stores. I'm still a bit surprised at how crowded stores have become. Why are we worrying about restaurants and churches when the grocery stores are jam packed? People wear their masks, but nobody pays any attention to distancing. All those little X marks and circles on the floor appear to mean nothing. I've heard all the arguments about air flow in restaurants and singing in churches. I guess they make sense until you realize that airlines are still filling their planes to capacity and people are mingling and talking as loudly in public as they ever did. Rules are rules, but a lot of them are completely arbitrary.

I found out today that the Space X Crew-1 launch has been postponed until sometime in November. Good thing I haven't started making travel arrangements for that trip yet. It's amazing how many launches have been canceled or scrubbed this Fall. Maybe this is a good thing for me though. Creating more distance between the trips to West Texas and Florida makes it a little easier for me to pay for them. Hopefully, later in the year there will be fewer bugs in Florida as well.

I'm trying to decide when the lines at the polls will be shortest. Do I go early, before everyone knows that early voting has started? Or do I wait until the initial rush is over? It's hard to say. Sometimes it just depends on which polling location you choose. Early voting is still the best though. The lines are always longer everywhere on election day.

I still haven't made it up on the roof. I guess it just shows how much I hate this job. I keep checking the weather every day because I know that I'm going to regret it if I slip up and let it rain again before I make any repairs. Everything still looks good, but the weather app on my phone is remarkably unreliable. Will I get the job done tomorrow? Who knows. They say that Sunday is a day of rest.

I'm wondering what I'm going to eat in West Texas. There were never many restaurants to begin with, and most of them are closed now. I thought about bringing food from home, but there's no way to heat it up out at my spartan ranch cabin. I was looking for ideas when I was shopping today, but all I could come up with was granola bars. Oh, well. I've still got a few days to think about this.

One of these days I need to start going back to the gym. My gym is bound to be cleaner and safer than the grocery stores I visited today. Walking is good exercise, but it doesn't do much for my arms. While I'm walking it's easy to ignore the fact that I'm lazy. I don't know why Dawn and I haven't become instant soul mates. Both of us love to sleep.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3164

A small stray dog ran past us while we were walking this morning. The dog looked scared but appeared healthy. I was simultaneously happy that the dog wasn't going to cause trouble for Dash and sad that I was unable to help. It wouldn't approach us and quickly disappeared down by the shoreline. Did someone dump this dog? Did it escape from someone's yard? It didn't look familiar, but that doesn't prove anything. There are a lot of new people in the neighborhood.

Finding strays in the park is all too common. It appears to be a dumping ground for people from all parts of town. Occasionally I've been able to catch these dogs and take them to a rescue organization.  Once, a long time ago, I was even able to find the dog's owner. Now, I've got my hands full with my own dog. Walking a dog like Dash is a full time job. I just wish that the owners of these strays I keep seeing would take their job as pet owners a little more seriously.

Dash seemed to rebound a bit today. He slept well last night and was eager to walk this morning. He wanted to go down to the shoreline which is always a good sign. Often he doesn't have the energy to take this more adventurous route. We stumbled slowly along the shore for over 45 minutes and even though he was tired when we returned home, he ate his breakfast.

It's weird how every day is different. Dash still seemed exhausted at times and had his forgetful moments, but I could tell that he was having a good day. I didn't even care that he pooped on the floor again. It's nice to see that there are still moments when there is a sparkle in Dash's eye and it's clear that he still enjoys being a dog.

I have good days and bad days too. Like Dash, my good days are rarely dramatic. To me, a good day is just when nothing bad happens. I guess today was a good day because very little happened at all. I paid my Mastercard bill and picked up a frozen pizza on the way home from the post office. I should never eat pizza because it always gives me heartburn. That doesn't stop me unfortunately. A frozen pizza is often the perfect solution when you've eaten all the leftovers and you don't feel like cooking. The pizza was tasty, but I'll pay for this tonight.

I haven't done a major website in so long that I think I'm starting to forget how to code. The same thing happened when I stopped playing the piano. Oh, well. I think we spend the first half of our lives learning things and the second half slowly forgetting them. I've learned a lot over the years, so I've still got a lot to forget. Something to look forward to, I guess.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3027

Dash seems to be feeling much better. He's eager to eat again and took two nice walks. I'm not surprised that he's eager to eat. Each time he has had a serious vestibular episode, we have to up the ante to get him to eat anything. After his last seizures, he refused to touch any of the many varieties of dog food we had on hand. In desperation, we boiled a chicken breast and tried feeding him that. He ate the chicken, but now he insists on having the chicken for breakfast every morning. I don't know what we've got left the next time this happens. He's probably going to want Eggs Benedict for breakfast.

When I went to the gym this morning I noticed that the workout app on my watch had changed. Now, instead of a simple heart rate and calorie counter, they had a separate routine for every machine in the  gym. Interval training, running, and even basketball were covered as well. I guess instead of just logging your time at the gym, you're supposed to log each activity and then arrive at a grand total when you're finished. This is probably more accurate, but it sure seems like a lot of trouble. Were people actually asking for this? Maybe. I suspect that some app developer just thought it would be cool and never considered how much of a nuisance this would be to use if you were actually exercising.

I went to the REI store to use my 20% off coupon and discovered that I no longer wear the same size pants. For years I have worn a 32x32 but now this size seems too long. Have I shrunk? It's certainly possible, although I'd hope that I'm still a bit too young for a shrinking stature. Clothing and shoe sizes are somewhat meaningless these days, so I'm not going to worry about turning into my Dad quite yet. The shorter inseam still seems strange though. Is it me or the pants?

I'm thinking about getting a new MIDI keyboard controller so I don't have to reboot the computer every time I want to practice the piano. I looked in the Sweetwater catalog and was surprised at how inexpensive these things have become. Full fledged synthesizers are still pretty pricy, but you can get a decent keyboard controller you hook up to your computer for under $100. The only problem is where to put the thing. There's a coat rack full of Winter coats where the old keyboard used to be. I always wanted to live in a huge loft where I would have room for everything. That's never going to happen though. Urban environments freak me out. My dream house lives on 40 acres of land without a neighbor in sight.

While I was driving to the gym, I listened to a program on the radio about how Adobe was developing advanced software for dialog replacement in movies that will let you just type in the new words you wanted the actor to say and the dialog will immediately be updated in the actor's real voice without recording anything new. This process was described as Photoshop for words. I'm sure production studios will love this. So will purveyors of fake news. Somewhere in Seattle a lab is developing something even more advanced for video. You will be able to take a video clip of anybody and make the face convincingly say completely different words. The lines between fantasy and reality are becoming hopelessly blurred. Can you imagine what the evening news will look like twenty years from now? Maybe these revelations seemed startling to me because I've worked in film and video for so long. I think it's time to stop tinkering around with reality. One day we'll look back and realize we've gone too far.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3024

Dash seems stable enough now to leave alone for a while, so it seemed like a good time to get a haircut. My hair isn't as thick as it used to be, but it still seems to grow pretty fast. Haircuts are the only time I go to the mall these days. Every time I visit, I notice that stores have disappeared. A lot of the high end watch boutiques are gone. So is the Pirch store. I never had the money to buy anything in these expensive stores, but they were fun to visit. Every big name clothing designer still has a store these days, but very few of these ritzy boutiques seem to have any customers. They're empty most of the time. How do they stay in business?

I wonder about these things while I'm having my hair cut, but the stylist and I mostly just talk about our pets. She has cats and I have dogs. The common bond is that we both prefer animals to people. Actually, just about everybody I know prefers animals to people. When you look at how people behave, how could you think otherwise?

I stopped at the Apple Store after my haircut and looked at phones. I played around with the iPhone X for a while and really wished it had a home button. It seemed too big to fit comfortably in my pocket as well. Maybe I'd better buy an iPhone SE before Apple discontinues this sensibly sized model. It doesn't have a fancy camera like the iPhone X, but it's still twice as fast as my current phone.

Dash was still sleeping when I got home. He really sleeps a lot now. This is one of the reasons I think it is so important to continue our walks. If Dash stops moving, his muscles are going to atrophy very quickly. The vestibular disease and a bulging disc in his spine have already made his rear legs very weak. He doesn't need the Help Em Up Harness yet, but I'm going to have to bring some rugs home from the storage warehouse this weekend. We're starting to have mobility issues. Dash seems much steadier on the carpet. The bricks are becoming treacherous.

The stock market had another good day, but it didn't leave me feeling all that comfortable. The analysts say that extreme volatility is the new normal. Volatility will never seem normal to me. I long for a world where the pace is slower and most things are predictable. I don't think that's where we're headed, unfortunately. The future is going to be more like a Mad Max movie than Leave it to Beaver.

They say there will be thunderstorms tomorrow. I hope the forecast is wrong. I haven't been able to patch the leak in the roof yet. Actually, I haven't even been able to find the leak. I haven't been able to find the roofer either. A short rain shouldn't be a problem, but if we get a soaker there is going to be water on the living room floor again. Oh, well. I did buy a new bucket.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. If it doesn't rain and Dash eats his breakfast, we're off to a good start.

Angel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3023

Dash is finally starting to stabilize. He's still weak, but his eyes are bright and he's showing an interest in his surroundings again. It's weird how vestibular disease works. Even severe episodes seem to subside over time. I'm sorry that Dash has to go through all this, but it would be much worse if lost his ability to bounce back.

We took it easy today while gently trying to reestablish some of our regular routines. Dash is still eating boiled chicken breasts, but his appetite is improving. We were even able to take a walk this morning. Our progress was slow, but I could tell that Dash enjoyed being outdoors again. He wasn't panting or in any kind of distress, so I was happy to let him inch along, smelling every bush along the way.

After I finished my breakfast, I picked up some more Cerenia at the vet so we'd be ready for the next vestibular episode. A four day course of this anti-nausea drug really seems to help combat the vertigo and unsteadiness associated with vestibular disease. I wish there was something I could do about the weakness in his rear legs. That's a symptom that doesn't seem to be going away.

While I was out this morning I picked up my tax documents at the accountant and signed my return. I don't know why I bother to keep all these documents. I've got decades of files in the storage warehouse that I know I'll never need again. Even if I did need them, I probably couldn't find them.

I'm still eating Easter leftovers for dinner. Even though the ham wasn't too salty, I'm starting to feel like I've reached my yearly quota of salt. I've been watching my salt intake for years now and I don't have much of a tolerance for the stuff anymore. I wish that food wouldn't go bad in the refrigerator. A couple of slices of ham every month wouldn't hurt anything. I'm pushing my luck though eating it every day.

I don't understand the stock market at all anymore. This morning everyone was in a panic about tariffs. By mid afternoon, the crisis was forgotten. Oops. Never mind. Nothing had changed, but that didn't prevent a 700 point swing during the day. All this insane volatility makes me want to go out and buy something tangible that I can hold in my hand. Maybe I should get that iPhone after all.

Two of our friends in the neighborhood lost their dog to meningitis recently. I know how they feel, but I don't really know how to express it. I've felt this way ever since we lost Dot. It's so terribly sad to lose a pet after you've done everything you possibly can to save them. You just feel helpless. Enjoy every day you have with your pet. They aren't with us nearly long enough. Rest in peace Bizzy. Everybody loved you.

Dottie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2999

The wind woke us up this morning. It was fairly dramatic. The windows rattled. Small branches broke loose and landed on the roof. There was no rain, but inexplicably the fiber optic cable went dead. How was this even possible? The cable is buried underground. When the wind subsided, I went outside  to see if the greenhouse was still there. The yard was littered with branches, but everything was intact.

I was baffled by the broadband outage. Wasn't the underground cable supposed to prevent this sort of thing? I called AT&T tech support, and as usual, wound up talking with someone who could barely speak English. As I was trying to explain my situation to someone half a world away, I noticed that the fiber optic line was trying to reconnect. The line re-booted several times and eventually became stable. Then the router and the DVR went through their own reboot cycle. The system was trying to repair itself. Before the tech support person could run her tests and figure out what was going on, everything was back to normal. This is why we won't have jobs in the future. The minute the line went dead, artificial intelligence algorithms kicked in and were already beginning to diagnose the problem. I never could explain the problem to the tech support person but the robots knew. The robots fixed everything.

I thought that Dash was going to get us up early, but he was oblivious to the time change. The wind storm didn't even wake him up. Eventually, he yawned and got up around 8 AM, with was really 7 AM to him. He wasn't the least bit upset about the lack of Internet, so we all went on a walk. We didn't feed Dash right away because we were still a little apprehensive about last night's vomiting episode. Everything was fine though. Dash took a nice walk, ate a normal breakfast, and then went back to sleep.

I was wide awake, so I went to the gym. I think everyone must have forgot to set their clocks forward, because the gym was virtually empty. Even the basketball court was empty. I quickly took advantage of the situation and shot some hoops. By the time I finished my workout, I was tired. My cold isn't completely gone, but I'm feeling better. There was a sign at the gym saying that if you had the flu it would be best to stay away for a while. I definitely don't have the flu. I never had a fever or any of the other symptoms associated with the flu. I just had a lot of nasal congestion and some weird night sweats. Hey, I slept well last night and my nose isn't running today. Maybe I'm better.

It was obvious that I needed to clean today. The house was a mess. I vacuumed, cleaned the front porch, and used the leaf blower in the back yard. Pretty soon it will be time to call the landscape guy again and have him remove all the leaves in the yard and plant new grass. The grass lasted a little longer this year, but not long enough. We're still going to have to put new sod in the back yard this Spring.

I'm going to take my big envelope of tax materials to the accountant tomorrow and then that chore will be out of the way. Looking for toilet parts is on my list for next week. There's one place in town that may have some. Dash needs his nails clipped too. I'll try to make an 8 AM appointment, so Janet can go with me. I hope something nice happens tomorrow. I'd like Day 3000 to be memorable.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2995

I felt productive today, but it was just an illusion. I knew I was filling my day with the same mindless stuff I always do. I wasn't expecting to defrost the refrigerator until this weekend, but I recognize the signs of a frozen evaporator coil by now. It was time. It was also time to deal with the roof. There wasn't as much standing water as I expected. I don't know whether the water evaporated or if it is starting to seep through the roof. I cleaned up the remaining water and sent an e-mail to the roofers, reminding them of their promise to come out and fix this mess.

When I had the refrigerator apart this morning, I looked for loose wires while I was defrosting the coil. I'm convinced that something very minor is causing all the problems, but I can't seem to locate a defective connection or faulty part. I sure wish this refrigerator had a diagnostic function like our washer and dryer. These newer appliances have a special circuit that allows technicians to quickly locate the source of the problem. My car has the same sort of feature. I think modern service technicians have become so dependent on these advanced diagnostic boards that they no longer know how to fix things the old fashioned way. Unfortunately, I don't really know how to do this either. The inside of the refrigerator is a spaghetti maze of wire. If I were to disconnect each component and test it for continuity using a multimeter, I would probably just make matters worse.

It's really frustrating to be faced with spending thousands of dollars on a new appliance when you know in your heart that a ten dollar part is probably causing the problem. To make matters worse, I just got a notice about a nifty new portable multi-track recorder that costs about exactly the same as a new refrigerator. You can guess which of these things I'd rather have.

At least I got Dash to take two walks today. I still don't understand why he acts so differently in the afternoon. It makes no sense. Today I could tell that he was eager to go outside this afternoon, but he froze when he got to the alley, just like he usually does. I practically had to carry him down the alley to reach the park, but as soon as we were in the grassy meadow behind our house, Dash was fine. We had a nice walk. There is something about the alley that frightens Dash in the afternoon. Maybe it's a smell. Your guess is as good as mine.

I picked up a generic version of an expensive prescription I take this afternoon. My doctor said to try both and just keep taking the one I thought worked best. You'd think there'd be a more scientific way to do this, but maybe not. I still don't understand why brand name drugs are so much more expensive than their generic equivalents, especially if they are chemically the same. With my luck, I'll probably like the expensive drug better. I always seem to be drawn to expensive things.

I saw a hawk today with the moon setting behind him. I wanted to get a shot with the moon directly behind the hawk's body, but Dash wanted to go home and was tugging on his leash. I would have had to move backwards about ten feet to frame the shot properly and Dash doesn't do backwards. Sometimes I'm amazed that I get any shots of wildlife at all. I just set the camera on auto exposure and hope for the best. Dash is not very patient. When he wants to move, we move.

This week has gone quickly, especially considering that I haven't been feeling my best. My cold seems to be gradually getting better. I should be back to normal by this weekend if there is such a thing.

Connor os today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2962 - Ground Hog Day

I felt better this morning, but I still didn't go out for breakfast. A bowl of oatmeal seemed just fine. After breakfast, Dash and I had a nice long walk before I got started on an equally long day.

I called the vet who prescribed Carprofen for Dash and expressed my concerns. He said that there was another nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory that didn't have Carprofen's side effects, but that he wasn't very familiar with it. We decided to just discontinue the drug until next month's exam and then see what our options were. Since the Carprofen has very little to do with Dash's heart condition, this seemed like a good plan to me. Next, I talked to a different vet to ask some questions about Dash's eye infection. It's getting better, but we ran out of eye drops before the infection cleared up. She said to continue the drops until the infection goes away and renewed his prescription.

I felt a little more comfortable about Dash's health, so it was time to deal with the refrigerator again. I called the sales guy at Nebraska Furniture Mart to see if the model we are currently looking at is really out of stock until the middle of March. It was. Since this same model is also for sale at Home Depot, I drove over to our neighborhood store to check on its availability. I didn't get any answers because there was no one available in the appliance department to answer my questions. Somebody in the plumbing department told me to come back tomorrow.

Even though I was busy today, it's doesn't seem like I accomplished much. The vet convinced me yesterday that Dash was uncomfortable, probably as a result of arthritis. Since his solution to the problem was Rimadyl, I still don't know what to do. I really don't think Rimadyl is a safe drug. Janet seemed surprised that I haven't bought a refrigerator yet. I tried to explain that it wasn't that easy, but I don't think she liked my answer.

I'm really disappointed that the stock market dropped 666 points today, although I don't think this inauspicious number is a sign of the beast. I just think a lot of people are nervous and wanted to take some profits while the market was near an all time high. Jeez, I'm nervous myself, but I can't think of any rational reason to sell. The business climate is good around the world and most companies are optimistic about the year ahead. That being said, I still wish that the stock market wasn't ruled by fear and greed. Irrational fear is at the root of most market sell offs.

Apparently ground hogs are just as divided on the issues as humans. Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of Winter, but Staten Island Chuck predicted an early Spring. I wasn't aware that there were so many of these prognosticating rodents. Six predicted a longer winter, and four predicted an early spring. One of the prognosticating ground hogs isn't even alive. Washington, D.C. relies on Potomac Phil, who was taxidermied quite a while ago. Why am I not surprised that Washington, D.C.  would use a dead ground hog for this all important task?

I don't think our neighborhood squirrels could predict anything. Their only interests are tearing up the yard and pestering the dogs.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2935

We didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Dash had diarrhea and kept wanting to go outside on an hourly basis. I don't think this had anything to do with his heart or vestibular disease. He's become such a picky eater that we have to keep changing what we feed him just to keep him interested. Occasionally we pick something that doesn't agree with him. I'm not at my best in the middle of the night. Once I couldn't get my shoes on in time and Dash pooped in the living room. Sorry buddy, that was my fault. Around 4 AM, Dash's stomach settled down and we all went back to sleep,

Not surprisingly, we got off to a late start this morning. By the time we were ready to take Dash on his morning walk, the sun was already high in the sky. We didn't even need our Winter coats today. The weather was actually quite nice. It's a lot easier to get Dash ready, now that he isn't wearing the rubber boots. This isn't going to last long though. He drags his feet to much.

My day was filled with small errands. I went to my gym to find out more about their new membership plans. My old plan expired on New Year's Day and now my only choices are more expensive. I got all the details on the available plans, but didn't sign up for anything. Maybe it would be better to just go to a different gym.

On the way home I stopped at a fabric store and looked for material to fix my old down booties. Maybe I can fix these things myself. The store didn't have what I needed, but I was pleased that they treated me like I knew what I was doing. I used to be quite good at sewing things, although I still can't figure out Janet's fancy new machine. To me a fabric store is very much like a hardware store. They both have tools and materials to make things.

I discovered where all the missing movies went in my iTunes application. They aren't stored on your computer anymore. All the movies and songs are off in the cloud somewhere. If you aren't logged into your iCloud account, you don't see the purchases. This kind of irritated me and I decided to download the movies to my computer. Almost immediately, I discovered why Apple keeps these things stored in the cloud. HD movies take a long time to download. The movies that I used to buy were recorded at a lower resolution and were much smaller files. After downloading two HD movies and crashing my WiFi several times, I decided that storing the movies in the cloud was a better idea after all. Younger people probably don't have a problem with all this, but I was having trouble with the idea of purchases that weren't physically in my possession. I stubbornly wanted the files on my own computer. Oh, well. Live and learn. The cloud actually is better for some things.

When I was out this afternoon, I saw a huge line of cars in front of a neighborhood car wash. Don't these people know that it is going to rain tomorrow? I would never wash my car the day before it was expected to rain. Maybe these people aren't as obsessed with weather as I am. I am constantly checking the weather on my phone, computer, and even on the thermostat in the hallway. I hate being caught by surprise, although despite my best efforts I find myself caught out in the rain with Dash surprisingly frequently.

Dash seems better today. He is eating normally and his poop is slowly becoming firm again. I wish simple things like meals weren't so complicated, but I guess everything is complicated these days.

Alle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2911

I spend way too much time dealing with some minuscule website problems just to avoid going up on the roof. The weather was perfect. I just didn't feel like dealing with the messy elastomer today. I'll probably regret this later because we don't get that many really warm days in December. Maybe I'll deal with the roof tomorrow, or maybe I'll just decide that it's already good enough to survive the winter.

Dash had a great day. His appetite was good. He was eager to go on a walk. And there were no signs of vertigo or dizziness. You never know from day to day how he's going to feel, but I'm always happy when he has a good day. The only problem we encountered today was another loose dog we saw on our walk. Dash usually notices these dogs before I do and we change our route to avoid them. It's a shame that so many people refuse to keep their dog on a leash. You can't even talk to most of them. They're convinced that they are doing the right thing.

I can't decide whether to go out and look for meteors tonight. This is supposed to be the best night for viewing the annual Geminid Meteor Shower. If I lived in a place with dark skies, the Geminids would probably be spectacular this year. I live in Dallas though and the light pollution in town is terrible. I've only seen one or two meteors the entire time I've lived here. You never know though. Maybe I'll see something when I take Dash out to pee just before we all go to bed.

Today was so uneventful that I looked forward to taking the water bill to the post office. I could pay almost all my bills online, but I still like going to the post office. I haven't even started shopping yet, but there was already a long line of people waiting to mail their Christmas packages. I dropped my envelope in a mail slot and left. I may enjoy mindless trips to the bank and post office, but I hate standing in lines.

I couldn't find anyone to talk about my newly completed website project, so I just went ahead and launched it. I've done this before and it usually takes clients at least a week to even notice that something has changed. Sadly, websites aren't a big deal anymore. They're kind of like Yellow Pages ads used to be. Eventually I'll get some feedback on the site. Hopefully, everyone will like it. It's always nice when people appreciate something you've spent weeks putting together. So, what happens if people hate the new site? Who knows. I guess I could always put the old site back up.

I tried to think what to get people for Christmas this year and I'm coming up with nothing. My mind's a blank. It's too bad that I have no faith in gift cards anymore. Gift cards used to be such an easy solution but I don't think I'll ever buy one again after we got scammed last summer. I asked Janet what she wanted for Christmas and she said she'd like me to clean out my office. That's about like asking me to grow wings and fly.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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