Day 3515

Hank is a 50 pound puppy. You couldn't find a sweeter dog if you tried, but he knows nothing and tries to eat everything. We thought we'd dog proofed the house pretty well before we brought him home last night. Within a matter of minutes Hank had found things we didn't even know we had and was carrying them around in his mouth. After we retrieved a ball of lip balm, a rubber door stopper, and several shoes Hank had snatched, we methodically went room to room and placed everything loose on a high shelf. We had forgotten the primary rule of puppyhood: if you can chew it, you will chew it.

We don't know much about Hank's background. He's probably around two years old. He was picked up as a stray and clearly whoever owned him first never bothered to provide even the most rudimentary training or socialization. It's a shame that a beautiful, sweet dog like this has gotten off to such a bad start. Despite his lack of manners, Hank was good around the house. We weren't well prepared with gates and crates, so we just let him sleep on the bed with us. He did pretty well. For the most part he slept soundly, although he did wake me up once trying to pull the Fitbit off my arm and had an episode of the zoomies, chasing a rubber ball around the house at 3 AM. He also tried to drag the blanket off our bed. All of this was pretty normal for a young dog. We've had old, sick dogs for so long that we'd almost forgotten what a young Dalmatian is like.

Hank seemed healthy and happy while he was at our house, but after we took him up to the vet for evaluation, they reported a few hours later that he'd had bloody diarrhea again. He wasn't throwing up blood after all. The blood was in his stools. This will help the vet diagnose the problem, but we're still not sure what is going on. His blood work and lab tests look normal and an x-ray showed no obstructions in his stomach or intestines. There are many things that can cause bloody diarrhea. The fact that the blood is still red would indicate that the problem is probably in his colon instead of his stomach or upper intestines, but he will need further tests to determine what is wrong. Hank is still at the vet. He is eating a bland diet and taking medication that will help with any irritation he might have in his digestive system. Hopefully nothing is serious. Hank is young and deserves a long and healthy life.

I took Janet to one of my breakfast restaurants on the way home from the vet and then we both resumed our daily routines. It took a long time to get the dog hair out of the car. Hank sheds even more than Dot and Dash did. The cable guy came and hooked up the new buried fiber optic cable this afternoon, although I never saw him. When I came home from my morning walk, the old temporary cable was still attached. The next time I left the house, everything had been fixed. I never heard a thing. The technician must have come while I was taking a shower.

Taking Hank to the vet in rush hour traffic made me glad that I am retired. Drive time traffic in Dallas is horrible now. I don't know how people can stand to do this everyday. It's been so long since I've driven to work on a regular basis that I forget how much Dallas has grown. It feels like I'm driving in Los Angeles now. I'm glad I was able to work out of my house while I had my own company. It kept me sane.

If we have another dog emergency, we're going to have to assemble a dog emergency kit. It would have been good to be able to gate off a few rooms last night. We definitely need to retrieve some water and food bowls from the storage warehouse. Leashes, a sturdy harness, poop bags, a first aid kit, and a few indestructible Kongs are all necessities. I'm glad we were able to help Hank last night. It was nice to have a dog around the house again.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3513

I got my car safety inspected for another year. There is no window sticker anymore, but you still need to have the inspection done before you can buy the annual registration sticker at your local grocery store. Why do I need the registration sticker? Rules. There used to be a little sticker you put on your license plate as well. Those disappeared a long time ago. I'm old enough to remember having to go downtown to the department of motor vehicles for a new plate every year. You rarely get a new plate anymore. All these physical ways of identifying you are gradually going away. I used to have a Toll Tag in my front window but you don't need the tag anymore. Sensors just know when you are driving on a toll road. It probably won't be long before there aren't any stickers or tags on your car at all. The car will just broadcast everything about you to the state as soon as you turn on the ignition.

For now these annual safety inspections are still part of my routine. I could get everything done a lot quicker at a local garage, but I continue to drive up to the dealership and waste half the morning. The time goes quickly. I had a long conversation about cars with a sales guy I know. He shared some new information with me about the new Land Rover Defender that is being introduced this Fall and we traded stories about various exotic cars we'd seen about town. I looked at all the new cars on the show room floor and lamented the high prices for Range Rovers these days. Pretty soon my car was done. My day hadn't really changed at all. I still had a morning smoothie and I still had a morning walk. My trip to the dealership just made my morning walk even hotter because I got a late start.

I thought that an AT&T technician would come back today and hook up the cable that was buried in my yard yesterday. I guess I'll have to call about this tomorrow. I can't remember whether I need to be here or not when this happens. I've finally figured out why AT&T installs these temporary cables. If you had to wait and wait without any service at all until the technicians eventually showed up, customers would be pretty mad. They probably figured out quickly that throwing away a lot of fiber optic wire was easier than dealing with irate customers.

Even though I complain about sweating a lot, I still like walking outside better than walking at the gym. There is more visual stimulus outside. I certainly wouldn't see many Great Egrets at the gym. If I just wanted to avoid the heat, I could go to the gym every day. I'd have to drive to my gym though and I don't like driving. I do like talking about cars however. It's complicated. I don't really mind the heat, but my skin is taking a beating. I don't remember my skin looking this bad during previous summers. Do I need to use sunblock? It would be so much easier if I just stayed home and got fat watching Netflix.

I've been hearing cars running through water all evening. I thought it had started raining for a while. When I went outside to investigate I discovered that the neighbor's sprinkler system had broken. There were big fountains of water spewing out into the street. What a waste. I wish one of those nozzles was pointed over at my yard. I could use the water. I guess everyone has problems during the summer. I just hope my air conditioner keeps working.

Lou is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3512

I guess we're making progress. I got a bid on repairing the greenhouse today. The price seems reasonable, so we'll move ahead with this project. The carpenter doesn't want to begin work until the weather gets cooler. Makes sense to me. It's too damn hot to do anything. The heat didn't stop the AT&T crew from burying my fiber optic cable though. The "crew" was really just a man and his wife who spoke no English. When I asked a question, the wife got out her iPhone and pointed for me to speak into it. She had a translation app that worked surprisingly well. It answered all my questions anyway. The young couple was very nice and I kind of felt sorry that AT&T was making them work in this heat. The technician that diagnosed my problem a few weeks ago told me that the company always hires the lowest bidders to bury the lines. They probably get no benefits.

Right now I've got two lines. A nicely buried line that isn't hooked up to anything and the temporary line that is still providing my connection. Another technician will have to come back and connect the new buried line. This procedure of installing temporary lines and then coming back later with a second buried line line that needs to be installed all over again seems terribly inefficient. So, far I've had six lines pulled to my house from the street since I signed up for U-verse. Half of this fiber optic cable was temporary and was eventually just thrown away. There are probably several buried lines still under my lawn as well. Nobody bothers to pull up the old cable when they install a new one.

Coincidently, I paid my cable bill today. All these service calls explain why my bill is so high. I should call AT&T and demand that they deduct a week's service from my bill for the time the Internet was out while Janet was away. I probably won't bother though. It's like pulling teeth to make a complaint to customer service.

I'm still walking, but the weather is pretty brutal. There aren't as many joggers now, but the cyclists are still out in force. Maybe it's cooler when you are moving faster, but I suspect that the cyclists just love punishment. I keep walking because I've learned that sweating is actually good for you. Sweating can strengthen your immune system, improve circulation, lower the risk of kidney stones, unclog pores, and help fight viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Walking is also one of the best ways to keep bones strong and prevent osteoporosis too. I guess I'll keep walking. It's a slow summer and there isn't much better to do anyway.

The next thing on my list is getting my car safety inspected. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I could go anywhere but I usually just go to the dealership. They have free snacks and I like to look at new cars I'll never be able to afford. I've been waiting for years for the new Land Rover Defenders to arrive, but there are very few reasons to drive a rugged go anywhere vehicle anymore. Those new mid-engine Corvettes are looking pretty nice.

Janet is making me another Peach Cobbler tonight. I've been eating a lot of peaches lately. It's going to be rough when they go out of season again. Fresh peaches are one of the few good things about Summer.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3511

We went and met the new boy today. Rolly is a sweet four year old male who seemed like he'd been living on the streets for a while. He was skinny and has heartworms. If you made any sudden movements he flinched and moved away from you. Once he decided that we were OK and didn't want to hurt him, he was extremely gentle and friendly. Rolly wasn't interested in chasing a ball, but he loves treats. As soon as he puts on a few pounds and we treat his heartworms, this dog is going to make a wonderful companion for some lucky family.

The rest of the crew was in fine form. Treasure has perfected her roll over trick. Charlie can now catch his treats in mid air. And Hank wanted to make sure we knew he was the fastest. The kennel staff treats our dogs really well. They are all more relaxed than when they initially arrived. You can tell with each passing week that they are becoming well socialized canine citizens.

It's still extremely hot and humid. With the exception of Rolly who actually seemed to enjoy being outdoors, all the Dalmatians wanted to stay inside. Who could blame them. I should have stayed inside myself today. I probably keep walking because I can't think of anything better to do. I'm hooked on getting as many steps as I can too. It's weird that a little band on my wrist controls my day.

My memory is better than I thought it was. I've been trying to memorize things I see on my daily walks and I'm surprised at the level of detail I've been able to retain. I know what signs say now before I approach them. I remember the street numbers on people's houses. When little things change, I notice now. It's just a silly game, but maybe it will prevent me from getting Alzheimer's someday.

The AT&T crew still hasn't showed up to bury my fiber optic cable. The roofer hasn't showed up with his long promised bucket of silicon material either. For the moment I don't feel like adding to this list of suppliers who are ignoring me by calling the electrician. I may have to though. The security light in the back yard still won't stay on all night. All these things are irritating, but none of them really matter. Maybe things don't get done because I seldom get mad. It's a waste of energy to get mad about most things.

Tomorrow I'll update the Dalmatian Rescue website, adding Rolly and marking several other dogs as adopted. I guess I could do this tonight, but it's getting late and I'm ready for bed. I need something to do tomorrow anyway. I don't think I'll be watching the business channel during breakfast. I'd rather enjoy my meal. Something tells me that today's nasty selloff is going to continue. It's probably best not to turn on the TV at all. There's no good news anywhere these days.

Morgan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3510

24,000 steps today. Part of this total was spent up on the roof unclogging the pumps and clearing the water away. July was dry, but so far August has been pretty wet. I was surprised at how much higher the lake was this morning. Just two decent rains and the water level had risen over a foot. As always, the rain is a giant nuisance for me, but we certainly needed it. The grass in the back yard is already looking greener.

After all this activity I am pretty tired. I don't think I could have done this two months ago though. Walking is good for you. I'm starting to feel stronger and my legs definitely feel firmer. My average resting heart rate has decreased as well. I wish I enjoyed exercising since it occupies a lot of my day now. Walking is not really a joyful experience but it's not depressing either. All in all, it's probably a much better way to spend time than sitting at the computer.

I went back and got strawberries today. A shipment must have just arrived because the berries looked really fresh. The fruit always seems to look better on Sunday. Of course if I switched shopping days, the fruit would look better on Saturday. At any rate, I'm all set for another week of smoothies.

AT&T was supposed to come out and bury the new fiber optic cable this morning, but nobody showed up. Am I surprised? Not really. Since there is no easy way to check on scheduling, I will have to call the irritating offshore customer service line again and spend a long time on the phone with someone who doesn't have a clue about what is going on. Maybe I'll just do nothing. Everything works fine with the cable laying on top of the ground.

I'm starting to think about renting a car for the trip to McDonald Observatory. This isn't really rational thinking because I've already got a perfectly nice car that has just been serviced. I just got new tires too. The problem is that I don't really trust the car. Things have gone wrong for no reason at all when I least expected it. I hate surprises. Memories never fade either. Once on a road trip I threw a rod in rural Oklahoma and had to have an earlier car towed all the way back to Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was there over a month getting the engine completely rebuilt. When the repairs were finally finished I had to drive up from Dallas during an ice storm to retrieve it. Of course rental cars aren't free from problems. When I went out to Vandenberg Air Force Base to watch a launch a few years ago somebody hit the rental car and it took months to get all the insurance issues resolved.

There's a new Dalmatian up at the boarding kennels so Janet and I are going up for a visit tomorrow. I'll take some pictures of this liver spotted boy for the website and we'll spend time playing with all the dogs. Visiting the dogs on Mondays has become a regular part of our week. Truthfully, these visits are just as important as my daily walks.

I can't figure out what is wrong with the security light. It comes on every evening around sunset, but shuts off again around 10 PM. This doesn't make sense because the photo cell is obviously working. The light will come back on again tomorrow evening. The bulb is fine too. I could turn it on again right now by going out and flipping the breaker switch. It isn't worth the trouble to go outside and do this but I'm still wondering about this very odd behavior.

It looks like another hot and humid day tomorrow. At least the rain is over for a while. I'm done with Summer. Bring on the cooler weather.

Pebbles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3503

The Internet is working again. I wasn't imagining things. There really was a problem. It turns out that the last time the fiber optic cable was attached to the box on my house, they did a sloppy job and the end of the glass fiber was a little dirty. There was also a splice in the cable that made the situation worse. Evidently, there are always small errors in the data coming through the fiber, but the second box on the wall inside the house is designed to compensate for the errors. If the end of the cable isn't perfectly clean, it can cause reflections in the light coming through the cable and confuse the box that is trying to correct the data errors. This is why my system had to be constantly reset. The technician told me that the cable was too short to cut the end off and make a better connection, so he installed a completely new cable out to the street.

This is the third time AT&T has had to do this. Like all the other installations, today's new above ground cable is only temporary. Another crew will come out next week and bury the cable. You'd think they'd just bury the cable the technician installed today, but typically they just throw this cable away and bury an all new cable instead which also needs a special technician to hook it up. "Is this why my bill is so high," I asked the technician? He just laughed. These fiber optic technicians are the first to admit that the crews who bury the cables underground usually screw up all their work. "Why don't the guys who bury the cable come out with you, so you can do everything at the same time," I asked. "That would make too much sense," the technician told me. AT&T hires third party contractors to bury the cables because they want to do this process as cheaply as they can. The people who dig the holes know nothing about fiber optics and how fragile the cables are. Most of the time they are putting in sprinkler systems. I don't think they are saving any money at all. This is the third time I've had to have the fiber optic line installed and they still can't get it right. Everything is working now though. Janet probably picked a good week to be away.

I still had time to go to the gym after the technician completed his work. I basically spent the rest of the day exercising and walking and might have set a new Fitbit record. 22,000 steps today. Needless to say, it was very hot outside. One of the many indicators on my new watch is a daily UV Index. Along with the air quality reading, this basically tells me whether I should just stay inside. The Ultraviolet Index is usually very high toward the middle of the day when the sky is clear. I guess I should be wearing sunblock even when I'm walking. No wonder my skin is starting to look like a lizard.

I got some pictures of Jenga and Pongo in their new homes this afternoon. They looked happy. It was amazing how relaxed they both seemed. You could tell that they had settled in to their new surroundings very quickly. Dogs know when they have found a home. I predict that they'll be sleeping on the bed in a matter of days.

The carpenter told me he needed to come back to the house and look at the greenhouse again before he could give me a firm estimate. The tree guy forgot where I live. The roofer told me that he would bring me some of the silicon product "soon." I don't know whether this means tomorrow or next month. The fact that I'm still communicating with these people is progress though. Eventually everything will get done.

I have no idea what will get done tomorrow. It's hard to get motivated in this heat.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3435

I was pleased to see the guys who arrived this morning to bury the new fiber optic cable that AT&T installed last week. I wasn't so pleased when one of the guys digging the trench broke the new cable and I was back to square one again. If there is a lesson to be learned from this, I guess it would be to never let anyone with a shovel get anywhere near a fiber optic cable. Murphy's Law always prevails. Needless to say, the crew with the shovels had no idea how to fix the cable. I had to make an appointment with a fiber optic technician to come out and install the cable all over again.

Amazingly, the technician actually did come out today. I was impressed. The guy told me that even though it was company policy to bury these cables so that they would remain undisturbed, quite a few got damaged anyway. If they would just dig the trench a little deeper I don't think they'd have this problem. Most of these cables that run from the distribution box to the house are only a few inches underground.

It took quite a while to get me back online again but hopefully there won't be any more problems for a while. My neighbor has finished messing around with her fence and I'm certainly not going to be doing any digging. I asked the technician when 5G was coming to Dallas and he told me that it was already here. The super high speed service hasn't arrived in our neighborhood yet, but I'm sure it will.  I'll be getting messages from Apple urging me to upgrade my phone and messages from AT&T urging me to upgrade my network. Personally, I don't think I need a faster connection. Who really needs to download a movie in two seconds anyway? What I need is a connection that doesn't go down every time we have a heavy rain.

I still haven't heard from NASA. I haven't heard from a roofer who still owes me a bid and one of the auction houses I've been dealing with either. Sometimes I worry that important messages are being quarantined or deleted by the industrial strength spam filter on my web server. You never know what winds up in the spam folder. I seldom look at these messages because they don't even come to my computer. I can log into the server and inspect the quarantine folder if I want, but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are thousands of spam messages. It's easier to pretend that these messages don't exist.

I'm tempted to stop people I see walking dogs so I can pet them. I haven't done this because I remember when people would stop me when I was walking Dot and Dash. I always tried to give the dogs long enjoyable walks even when I was busy working. Not surprisingly, they always had a way of making me late. It's hard to let your dog smell every tree when you're on a schedule and you definitely don't want to stop and chat when you've got a conference call in thirty minutes. I can tell that a lot of the younger people walking dogs are on a schedule. You can see it in their eyes. I'll sometimes talk to older retired people I know in the neighborhood. I leave the younger working people alone. They've got enough on their plate already.

Janet and I were talking about working the other day. We miss working in a lot of ways. We both enjoyed our jobs but don't want to deal with rush hour traffic anymore or trying to please a much younger boss who knows far less than we do. I'd love to find someone who will give me challenging things to do, pay me well, and then just leave me alone. No meetings and no big collaborative group efforts. Lots of luck with that. Hard to believe now that I actually had this type of arrangement for many, many years. I guess I was lucky.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3428

For better or worse, I've settled into a routine. I make the bed, I eat breakfast, I take a long morning walk, I take care of the day's unavoidable necessities, I eat dinner, I take an evening walk, I write the blog, and I go to bed. It fills up the day pretty well. I've been doing this over and over again for several weeks. I'd like to think that I'll expand my horizons after a while, but who knows.

Today's unavoidable necessities were mowing the grass and removing the remaining water from the roof. Every time I mow the grass I think I ought to just hire a yard guy like all the other neighbors, but then I realize that mowing is really just walking and it doesn't seem so bad. Keeping the roof dry is a little easier now that it's warmer outside. A lot of last week's rain had already evaporated, so I was able to clear the remaining water in less than twenty minutes. Running the two pumps religiously whenever it rains helps as well. I must be doing something right since we've had a lot of rain this Spring and the roof hasn't leaked for quite a while.

I also took some things to the storage warehouse that Janet was about to throw away and paid my mid-month bills. All in all it was a pretty busy day. I managed to rack up over 18,000 steps without even going to the gym.

The guys who fixed my fiber optic cable told me that they'd take care of canceling the Wednesday appointment I'd made earlier. Today I got a phone message from AT&T saying that a repair crew would be out tomorrow. I didn't even bother calling back since I would probably just complicate matters further. This is probably why my U-Verse bill is so high. Every time I've had a repair, there seems to be confusion like this. I wouldn't be surprised if a crew comes out tomorrow and installs the same line all over again.

If I had more faith in my car, the weather, and the other drivers on the road I might start taking some road trips. When I was in college I had an International Harvester Metro Mite Van. I drove all over America and from one end of Canada to the other. The truck wasn't very reliable, but it wasn't a problem. There were International Harvester dealers with excellent mechanics in every little town. These guys mostly worked on tractors, but my little truck never presented a problem for them. Somehow I don't think I'd have the same success driving a Land Rover through rural America. It's kind of ironic. Land Rovers are supposed to go anywhere but you never see them outside of big cities.

I'll probably end up going nowhere, but at least I'm thinking about traveling. Thinking about something is always a good starting point. I hope I make the cut and get selected to go to the Falcon Heavy launch this summer. Going to Kennedy Space Center could be the catalyst I need to do many other things. With any luck I should find out by the end of the month.

Lady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3427

Some workmen digging in the alley behind our house cut our fiber optic cable today. This was inconvenient because all of the sudden our phones, television, and internet were gone. AT&T told us that they buried the cables these days so they would be maintenance free. Good luck with that. I called the customer service number and waited forever to talk with a real person. An automated mechanical voice kept telling me to stay on the line while they ran some tests. I would wait and then a while later the mechanical voice would say that they were experiencing technical difficulties and to call back later. If I could have talked with a real person I could have told them immediately that the tests would never work because the line wasn't connected to anything. The workmen had cut it in half. Eventually I was able to schedule a service call by calling a different number. I certainly wasn't expecting anyone to cut through my buried fiber line, but this is why I still keep the little T-Mobile WiFi hotspot that I used to use on business trips. It's slow, but it usually works.

It's been a month to the day since Dash passed away. Since we no longer have a Dalmatian of our own, Janet and I have been visiting the rescue kennel when we have time. We went up this afternoon to play with the dogs. I was hoping to see the quiet little girl who crawled in my lap the last time we visited, but she already has a foster to adopt. I didn't think this girl would stay at the kennel long. She was adorable. We played ball with the remaining dogs who were anything but quiet. They were full of energy and loved the attention. The kennel staff told us that we were welcome to visit and play with the dogs any time we wanted. They said that they were usually too busy to spend this much individual time with the dogs and that it was good for them to get the extra attention. Over time we will learn more about each dog's personality and it might help them find a good home.

On our way back to town we stopped at Costco so I could get my membership card. Evidently I can get a card because Janet is a member. Janet likes this enormous store but I usually stick to places closer to home. It doesn't hurt to have the card though. Who knows. There might be a bargain some day that I just can't pass up.

When we got back to the house there was an AT&T technician waiting for us on the front porch. "But our service appointment isn't until Wednesday," I told the guy. "I wouldn't know about that," the technician said. Then he added "If you can give me access to your back yard, I can fix your cable today." This was a baffling, but welcome surprise. It looks like I can watch Perry Mason tonight after all.

I'm still taking long walks every day. I wonder if I can keep this up during the Summer. It was warmer today and I could definitely feel the heat. I don't think these walks will be nearly as enjoyable when the temperature is over 100 degrees. I need to make the most of this limited window of opportunity. Spring is beautiful in Texas, but it doesn't last long.

I need to quit checking the stock market on days like today. The market was a disaster. I have no control over the market whatsoever. I need to stick to photographing butterflies and petting Dalmatians and hopefully everything will be fine.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3333

I've been wondering why the cable bill went up recently. Then I remembered that it's been exactly one year since we upgraded to a fiber optic network. There must have been a special introductory price that expired. Of course we're not going to take the fiber optic connection out now. We've become used to the speed. That's how they suck you in to just about everything these days. I've learned to ignore the "free for 90 days" offers, but you can't ignore everything. My storage warehouse rent went up so much that I had to move to a new less expensive storage space. The cost of web hosting is about to go up as well. I'll just pay the extra fees on this one. It's too much trouble to move all the websites. There aren't a lot of options with the cable company. I've moved back and forth between AT&T and Spectrum for years. Both companies are terrible.

The temperature was in the low twenties this morning. There was ice in the backyard bird bath, so that meant that there was probably ice up on the roof as well. I certainly wasn't going to go up and investigate. It was way too cold and slippery. Dash wasn't even interested in getting out of bed, but eventually he followed Janet out to the kitchen to take his morning pills. It was pretty clear that a morning walk was out of the question. Dash was shaky and having trouble walking and I'm not sure the more complicated Help 'Em Up Harness will fit over his Winter sweater anyway.

Since Dash just wanted to sleep this morning, I felt pretty safe in going out to breakfast. I went back to the hotel today. This place is almost the exact opposite of the trendy restaurant I've been visiting recently. There are only a few items on the menu and the place is never full. The waiters treat me like a regular now and already know what I'm going to order. I like the quiet formalness of the place. It's just too bad that they don't know how to make shrimp grits.

We have a new routine with Dash now. The morning walks seem to be a thing of the past. We don't know why he is so unsteady when he wakes up. You'd think he'd be rested, since he's sleeping well now. Mornings have become a struggle unfortunately. Typically, Dash will perk up a bit around 10:30 or 11 AM and eat his breakfast. By early afternoon, he has returned to his old self. We took another walk this afternoon and Dash did very well. He didn't stumble and even wanted to go on one of our longer routes. It's a mystery how the morning dog and the afternoon dog can be so different, but I'm happy that Dash still has his moments. He likes the cold too. I was freezing on our walk this afternoon, but Dash was enjoying himself, stopping every few minutes to smell something.

A couple of times every year I think about uploading more photos to the stock photo site. Some of my photos are selling. I've just never submitted very many. You'd think that with thousands of good photos in my files, I could scrape together a nice little passive income. I know a few people that make a decent income on Shutterstock. Why not me? I examined about twenty of my favorite images this afternoon and found at least one good reason why none of them could be submitted. Some were too grainy. On others, the focus was off just a bit. In many cases I had failed to obtain a model release. I ended up submitting nothing today. I'm sure I'll revisit all this six months from now, but in a lot of ways it seems pointless. The secret to success in the stock photo market is to have a huge catalog of images available. Adding twenty images to my meager collection would only increase my income by a few dollars a year.

We had chili for dinner tonight. A steaming bowl of chili is the perfect meal for a cold Winter night. Unfortunately chili always gives me heartburn. Story of my life. Everything pleasant has an unpleasant side effect.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

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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