Day 3667

Things are starting to come together. I heard from the observatory today and they told me that I'll be able to stay at the Astronomer's Lodge this Spring. This is pretty cool. A long list of well known astronomers have stayed here while they were using one of the big telescopes on Mount Locke. I'm relieved that I won't have to worry about renting an RV any longer. I also won't have to worry about food. Apparently, there is a cook on the mountain and two hot meals a day are included with my stay. It looks like I will be very busy as an on-site volunteer, but I'm really looking forward to this. It will definitely be something that few non-astronomers get to experience.

I still haven't heard whether I'll be attending the upcoming Solar Orbiter launch at Kennedy Space Center. SpaceFlight Magazine has told me that they'll verify my application to be a photographer for their publication. What remains to be seen is whether NASA will approve their request to cover the launch. It looks like getting a press pass is more complicated than I anticipated. There is still time for all this to be resolved, so there is no reason not to be optimistic. Even if a trip to Kennedy Space Center isn't in the cards, I've still got plenty on my plate with a trip to McDonald Observatory in the planning stages.

I had a meeting with my financial adviser this afternoon. I've been doing these periodic meetings over the phone for the past several years because I had sick dogs to take care of. I couldn't think of a good reason not to visit in person today. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly, because I should have stayed home. When I arrived at the guy's office he told me that he was recovering from the flu. He looked terrible. Yikes. I've always had a terrible phobia about being around people with colds. I seldom get sick, but I think the main reason is that I spend very little time around other people. I get nervous when I'm around someone with a cold. Oh, well. I did get my flu shot this year.

It's getting harder and harder to do more than one thing a day. When I got home from my meeting there was barely time to take my long walk. I initially thought I might be able to increase the distance I walk after a few months. I'm not so sure now. I've probably got the energy to go another mile on most days, but it just takes too long. Walking is a fairly time consuming way to get your exercise, but it still seems like a good idea. I don't think I'd want to spend this much time at the gym every day.

It looks like it's going to rain tomorrow. It may rain Friday as well. I wonder if I'll ever become comfortable with the idea of rain. Even though I've done a good job of patching the roof, I'm convinced that it is going to start leaking again. I need to make a decision about replacing the roof, but I haven't been happy with any of the bids so far. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a new roof and still be dealing with standing water after I'm done. Adding a slight pitch to the roof so that it will drain properly seems to double the price. I don't care how much you might love mid-century modern homes, don't ever buy a house with a flat roof. They are nothing but trouble.

I've wondered for a while why I wasn't able to enable WiFi calling on my phone. It turns out that my SIM card is too old. Usually when I get a new phone I just take the SIM card out of the old phone and put it in the new one. Looks like I can't do this any longer. If I want to be able to make WiFi calls on my current phone, I'll need to exchange the card for a current model. Who knew that these little chips had changed over the years. One more thing to add to my to-do list.

I hope I don't get the flu. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow either. I probably should just hope I can eventually learn to quit fretting about stupid things I have no control over.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3366

Our power went out before dawn this morning. I knew a storm with straight line winds was headed our way, but I wasn't expecting a citywide power outage. I think over 100,000 customers were affected. Needless to say, it took a while to get the lights back on again. The Oncor outage reporting system was overwhelmed for a while. Initially, the system didn't even recognize me when I called in our location.  When Dash started pooping in the dark, I knew it was going to be a long day.

My initial worry was the heavy rain. With no electricity, the pumps weren't working. I knew that water would accumulate quickly on the roof, but there was very little I could do. I found a portable camping light, cleaned up Dash's poop, and convinced him to come back to bed for a while. There certainly wasn't much point to getting up early this morning. There wasn't going to be a morning walk.

I thought the high winds would blow the roof off the greenhouse again, but luckily it stayed in place. Power outages are not uncommon in our part of town. Sitting in the dark wondering if Dash is going to freak out and if my phone battery is going to die is a very familiar feeling. These outages make me realize how dependent we've become on electricity. You can't do much in our house without electricity.

Eventually the power returned and I began the time consuming process of resetting clocks and timers. The washer and dryer turn on automatically after a power outage. This shouldn't be happening, but it does. Everything has a clock in it these days. The land line phones, the WiFI thermostat,  the Keurig coffee maker, and the timers on the living room lights all need to be reset. The furnace wouldn't even work until I reset its internal calendar. It didn't know whether it was supposed to be on the day or nighttime settings. It's always a pain to get the WiFi network and U-Verse TV up and running again. The router for the network is supposed to reboot automatically after an outage, but it seldom does. If you turn things on and off again enough times, they usually start to work though. By the time Janet returned from the gym, I had everything working again.

The day turned out surprisingly nice despite its rocky beginnings. After the storm blew through and headed East, the skies cleared and by early afternoon the temperature was up to 75 degrees. Dash eventually got a nice walk. It was just a little late. I hope I got the water off the roof in time. That seems to be the key to preventing a leak. I turned the pumps on as soon as the power was restored and by the time I climbed up on the roof to finish the job, the water level was actually pretty low.

I was supposed to have a meeting with my financial adviser this afternoon but I didn't feel like driving to his office. We just talked on the phone instead. I'm glad I don't own any Boeing stock. Boeing is getting hammered because of worries about the 737. I flew home in a 737 on Monday and everything seemed fine. The company says pilots just aren't reading the instruction manual, but some pilots say otherwise. The problem is that modern planes are just a giant computer. You don't fly them manually anymore. It's usually not a problem if you need to reboot your computer at the office. If you need to reboot your plane's computer during takeoff, you've got a big problem. This is why I'm not very optimistic about self-driving cars. Can you imagine millions of cars with wonky computers on the road. It's not going to end well.

I seemed really busy today, but as usual I didn't get much accomplished. Dash got his walks and took all his meds. I fixed my morning smoothie, and all the electronic gizmos in the house are working again. As power outages go, this one wasn't too bad. I didn't need to go buy bags of ice to save the food in the refrigerator and I didn't have to call AT&T to come out and fix the U-Verse. The only challenge was cleaning up poop in the dark. Hopefully, tomorrow will go smoothly.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3155

I checked on things today. It was basically a status update day. I signed off on an estimate to repair one of the broken synthesizers. I found out that a long awaited watch repair was finished. I hesitated to call the electrician again because the light in the back yard has mysteriously started working this week. During my meeting this afternoon with my financial advisor, I got a ton of information that went in one ear and out the other. It gives me a headache to make financial decisions. Whatever you do, you can't predict the future.

One thing I learned today was that I've got to start withdrawing money from my IRA soon. It's the law. Apparently I'd forgotten over the years that money coming out of an IRA or SEP account is taxed as ordinary income. Bummer. Why had I been thinking that future withdrawals would be taxed as capital gains or losses just like any other investment? At any rate, this kind of sucks.

Dash is really rough on his special boots. The new boots I bought recently are already in need of repairs. These protective boots would probably last forever on a young healthy dog, but Dash's legs are weak and he drags his rear feet. This is why he wears the boots in the first place. Every time he drags his rear legs the top side of the boot rubs against the ground or pavement. It doesn't take long for the fabric to rip and the rubber to tear. I've been repairing these things using Shoe Goo and thin rubber inner tube patches. I've got three different brands of dog boots in rotation now, but they still wear out pretty quickly. I didn't think I'd need to repair the new boots so soon, but that's what I did this afternoon. I guess I'll go buy another pair just like them later this week. This brand fits very well. They're pretty expensive to be a disposable item, but Dash couldn't keep walking without them.

I thought the rain was going to stop today, but it kept on raining. The showers are becoming more sporadic, so maybe the rain will end for good by tomorrow. I still don't see any signs of a roof leak. That's good news. I haven't actually been up on the roof though. It may be a disaster when I finally get around to taking a look. I wish I could rig a series of automatic pumps to remove all the water for me, but it just doesn't work. I've tried pumps before and they always end up getting clogged with debris that falls from the trees. Once the pumps become clogged, they burn up fairly quickly. Jeez. I never dreamed I'd be seventy years old and still climbing up on my roof every week, but here I am.

I may go pick up the watch from my watchmaker tomorrow. Watches are small, so there's always room for them. I don't know what I'm going to do when the synthesizer repair is finished. I can't take it back to the storage warehouse, because that's how it became damaged in the first place. There's really no room for the thing in the house either. I'm hoping I can convince the vintage guitar store to take it. Unfortunately, it's not as desirable as my other synthesizers. At any rate, I hope the repair technician is really slow. Maybe I'll think of something by the time he gets finished.

Dash ate well today and seemed happy enough. He stumbled badly on his walks though. It's almost time to fit him for a Help 'Em Up Harness like Dot used to wear.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3154

I spent some time talking with auction houses today. I've got to finish consigning things before I totally lose interest in this downsizing venture. I wish I'd methodically inventoried everything when I was younger. It would make life a little easier if I actually knew what I had. It's probably just as well that my younger self wasn't this obsessive. I'm obsessive enough as it is. Maybe I will regain my enthusiasm if the first batch of auctions go well. Right now, downsizing seems very tiring.

The weather hasn't gotten much better. The sound of raindrops on the roof woke me up again last night. The showers were sporadic today, but it's still pretty dark and dismal outside. I'm amazed that I've still been able to give Dash a walk every day. I don't know how I survived before I had weather radar on my phone. We go outside when it's dry and stay inside when it's wet. Usually it works out pretty well.

I had to pick up some meds for Dash at the vet this morning, but that was the extent of my travels. I really don't put many miles on the car anymore. According to my Fitbit, I walk about as much in any given week as I drive. I drive so little now that I wonder if I'd save on car insurance if I put one of those little tracking devices the insurance companies are pushing in my car. I hate the idea of being tracked by an insurance company, but anyone who uses less than a quarter of a tank of gas a week is bound to get a discount.

I wish someone could explain to me what is is going on in Dash's head. It's easy to say he's becoming senile, but I'd like to know exactly what is going on. I'm not sure there's much we could do at this point, but it's sad to see him so disoriented. He'll stand at the back door forever before making a decision to go outside and pee. Sometimes he'll aimlessly walk in circles while we're at the park, and occasionally he seems to get lost in the house. There are still plenty of times when Dash seems completely lucid, but the moments when he appears totally out of it can be pretty scary.

I have a meeting scheduled with my financial advisor tomorrow. I used to be very interested in the stock market and we would have some lively discussions. Not anymore. I've done the best I can to prepare for the future, but the future seems to be growing more uncertain every day. It would be a miracle if I have thirty years left. Sometimes I think it would be even more of a miracle if civilization has thirty years left. There are way too many potential disasters on the horizon.

The one good thing about aging is that the older you get, the less impending doom matters. Hey, I'm already a survivor. I could be wrong too. Maybe the glass is actually half full. I could be more optimistic, but it would be even better to be more like Dash. I doubt that he spends a lot of time thinking about the future. For a dog, the future is always tomorrow morning.

Emma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2939

I had a surprisingly enjoyable meeting with my financial adviser today. I basically quit going to meetings when Dot got sick, so this was the first time I'd actually seen the guy in person in several years. It's much easier to talk about your financial future when the stock market continues to set new records. We did make some contingency plans today, but both of us agreed that the business climate was still fundamentally sound. Hey, I heard Warren Buffett say basically the same thing on TV this morning, so I don't think we're out on a limb here. As long as Kim Jong Un doesn't decide to nuke somebody, the near-term future looks relatively bright.

We spent a little time talking about estate planning today. It's not a subject I like to think about, but I've seen the estates of several people I know turn into a horrible mess after they died. At least I have a will. I can't believe how many people my age don't even have a will. You're never going to see "Brought to you by the Sealander Foundation" at the end of your favorite PBS program, but maybe there'll be enough left over to rescue a few dogs after I'm gone. Nobody can predict the future, but it never hurts to anticipate the future. Hey, at least I've started the conversation.

I got caught up in rush hour traffic on the way home from my meeting and started worrying about Dash. He can't hold his bladder very well anymore and sometimes he has a vestibular incident when he wakes up from a sound sleep. Dash was asleep when I left and was asleep when I returned. I have no idea what happened in between. I used to obsessively check the baby monitor when I was away, but if you're 45 minutes away from home, it's sometimes better not to look. At any rate, everything was fine today.

I didn't get started on my second writing assignment until I'd finished feeding Dash and taking him on an afternoon walk. This didn't give me enough time to finish the article, but I needed something to do tomorrow anyway. I wish I had an article a day to write indefinitely. Writing is much less stressful than website design or film production. Even commercial copywriting is strangely relaxing. I'm not sure how to get good writing jobs anymore though. Nobody reads. I find it ironic and a bit humorous that Facebook and Instagram "stories" don't really involve writing. Nowadays, what people call stories are really just little videos.

I've got to make an appointment to see a podiatrist soon. My left foot is really starting to hurt and I don't know why. I suspect that it has something to with this summer's dog bite. There was internal bleeding when I got bitten and my foot became swollen. Even though I slept with my feet elevated and used icepacks to reduce the swelling, a hematoma formed in my leg. Maybe there is still a small hematoma in my foot that is causing the discomfort. Or maybe there is something else going on. That is why I need to see a podiatrist.

The refrigerator is getting kind of bare, so I'm going to need to pick up something for dinner tomorrow. Do I go to the smoked meat store and get something delicious and unhealthy, or go to the vegan store and get something healthy and a little bland? It shouldn't be so easy to do the wrong thing.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2938

Today was surprisingly normal. As a result, I got quite a bit done. We got started with a walk through the fog. I love foggy mornings. The world seems very private and intimate in the fog. Dash didn't feel like going down by the water, so I didn't photograph sailboats obscured by the mist. There were plenty of other ghostly shapes however, and no loose dogs or bicycles. It was a very enjoyable walk.

After breakfast, I took a check to the bank, picked up some more enalapril for Dash at the vet, and returned home to get started on a new writing project. The word count on the e-mails concerning this project are already equal to the length of a normal finished article. I've done these type of things many times before, but I have a new contact now and we're off to a rocky start. I hope that things improve because I don't have a lot of patience for quibbling about prices. News flash. If you think I'm too expensive, you don't have to use me.

It was such a relief that Dash wasn't acting weird today. He ate normally, took nice long naps when I needed to work, and didn't have any stressful temper tantrums. Dash needs to be calm and relaxed because of his heart problems, but he seldom is. I'm always afraid when he's agitated and barking a lot that one of the blood clots in his heart will break apart and it will all be over. Dash is literally a ticking time bomb, but he doesn't know it. From his point of view, he's just acting like a normal high strung Dalmatian should.

I have several articles to write, but I though one was enough for today. I finished the day revising websites. I was working on an old school static site, so I used Dreamweaver for the first time in months. Much to my chagrin, I had already forgotten some of the menu shortcuts I used to use everyday and had to re-learn how to do simple things like change font sizes. I've always been a believer in the well known "use it or lose it" adage, but I'm just starting to realize that it's much easier to "lose it" as you grow older. It's becoming harder and harder to remember things that I don't do every day.

I have an appointment scheduled with my financial adviser tomorrow. For the first time in years, I don't have any complaints. A rising market lifts all boats and I've finally recovered most of the losses I sustained in the big crash of 2008. The goal now is just to avoid losing everything in the next big crash. I don't think I'll live long enough to recover from another market crash like we had in 2008. Realistically, I don't think the current rally could possibly last another ten years, but I sure wish it would. It would certainly make my life a little easier.

I should have taken a camera down to the lake and photographed sailboats before the fog lifted. Oh, well. You can't do everything. I also missed the conjunction of Jupiter and Mars on January 7 because of rain, but the two planets were still pretty close together when Dash needed to go out and poop around 3 AM this morning. It's almost worth getting up in the middle of the night for your dog when you can see something interesting in the sky.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2720

The rat has vanished. When I went to set the rodent free this morning, it wasn't in the trap. How could this be? The trap was still closed and locked. There were no signs that the rat had tried to chew its way through the heavy wire mesh. The trap looked exactly like it did last night, except there was no rat inside and all the cheese was gone. I was dumbfounded. I still have no idea how the rat escaped, but if it was smart enough to get out of a closed and sealed Havahart trap, it will probably never go near one again. This is very irritating. Now, how am I going to catch this rat?

This morning was way too quiet. This was the first time since Dot passed away that Dash and I were alone in the house, resuming our solitary weekday routine. The house seemed empty and so did I. For the past two years, everything I've done has been centered around Dot. I kept thinking "what do I do now." There was no bucket list and few pent up desires. I tried to take Dash on an extra long walk, but he seemed lost as well. Dot's oncologist had warned me that something like this might happen. "When you invest as much of your time as you have," she told me, "you aren't going to get over this quickly."

Life will never return to normal, because it was never really normal in the first place. I'll adapt though and find new priorities. I always do. I don't think there's any rush. A little floundering around never hurt anybody. I can certainly stay busy cleaning the house for a while. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. I'd like to make sure that Dash feels comfortable. He's a nervous dog who always depended on Dot. It's going to take him a while to regain his confidence. Probably the best thing I could do for Dash is to regain my own confidence as well.

I had one of my periodic meeting with my financial adviser today. For the first time in a long time I wasn't mad at him. We seem to be on the same page again, but I'll be the first to admit that this is always easier to do in a rising market. I've already lived through too many market crashes and feel that I might not have time to recover from another one. We mostly talked about how to preserve what I've got in the event that Armageddon is on the horizon. I don't have a lot of faith in the future, but I still want to beat the odds.

I wish this rain would stop. We've been having thunderstorms almost every day. Dash hates the thunder and lightning and I hate all the mud in the yard. Ordinarily, the landscapers would have replaced all the backyard grass by now, but there are a lot of bills this month, so I'm not in a big hurry to incur any more expenses. I paid my annual homeowners insurance, so that's out of the way, but ever time I start up the car, I see that irritating "Service Required" warning on the dash. How much is that going to cost?

It's a shame that my main writing client has gone dormant. Writing is always a good way to stay busy. Now, the most important thing on my calendar is catching a large rat.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2528

I had one of my periodic meetings with my financial advisor today. We had a nice conversation about how the world has gone to hell in a handbasket. As usual, I wasn't terribly happy about my portfolio's performance. Why had my own stocks gone down during a large post-election rally? Evidently, defense, energy, and pharmaceutical stocks went up, but nothing else did. What killed me was the surge in US Treasury yields which decimated bond prices and stocks that paid big dividends. If you guessed the outcome of the election correctly, you could have made some money last week. Few people did. I suspect that most investors were like me. They hedged their bets so they wouldn't get ruined if either candidate won.

I used to enjoy investing in the stock market. I thought I was pretty good at it, but really I was just the beneficiary of a stable, relatively sane economy. All that has changed now. I see little difference between investing and gambling these days. Actually, if you followed the NFL closely, it would probably be safer to bet on football than to invest in the stock market. The are just too many variables in a global economy. If somebody sneezes in China, you can catch a cold in Texas. At any rate, my advisor and I tried to make some choices for the year ahead. We will probably be wrong.

I did some research today to see if I could upgrade my office computers without having to replace all my software. What I learned wasn't very promising. It would be nice to have Sierra running on everything so I could share information between the computers and my phone and tablet. The main problem is that the minute I upgrade, some of my most important software instantly becomes obsolete. You can't even buy Adobe Creative Suite anymore. It's is all subscription based. Even something as basic as Microsoft Word would need a subscription to Office 365. Avid Media Composer has gone to a subscription based model too. Basically, you just rent software now. Call me a dinosaur, but I may just keep running Mountain Lion forever.

So, what's worse than a dog with fecal and urinary incontinence? Maybe it's when your other dog has diarrhea at the same time. Today was a three ring circus trying to keep the house and yard clean. I don't think Dash is sick. He just has a bad habit of eating disgusting things that the neighborhood cats drag in the yard. If history is any guide, he should be back to normal in a day or two. Dash has a vet appointment tomorrow anyway for his thyroid test, so I'll see what his vet thinks.

Janet had to work late today, so I thought I'd try to walk Dot by myself. Dot really seems to need another dog to follow, so I wasn't expecting this to go well without Dash in the lead. It took us a long time, but eventually we made it around the block on our own. I wish I could still walk both dogs together like I used to, but that is impossible. Just keeping Dot on her feet is a full time job.

Tomorrow will be busy with a vet appointment for Dash and a doctor's appointment for me. It definitely isn't life in the fast lane anymore, but I do stay busy. Hard to believe that it's the middle of November already. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it.

Honey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2352

There have been better days. The suspension problems on my car that I was almost certain would be a warranty repair are not a covered item. "I'm not believing this," I said. "You fixed the suspension problems on the right hand side of the car under warranty a few months ago, and now you not going to fix the left hand side when it's exactly the same problem?" "We only replaced the air bladder last time," my service guy said.  "Now, we've got to replace the air bladder and the strut." "So," I said. "The strut is a regular maintenance item like wiper blades and brake pads," the service guy said. "It's not covered." "You're telling me that a $1,200 part that is an integral part of the car is just a disposable item," I said incredulously. To make matters worse, the strut is only available as a kit with the accompanying air bladder, which I had gotten free last time. Apparently, you can get an air bladder without a strut, but you cannot get a strut without an air bladder. "Well, if this repair is going to be this expensive, don't do the regular maintenance check. I'll save that until next time," I said. "Oh, we did the maintenance check first," the service guy told me. "It's already done." Oh, did I mention that my homeowners insurance is due in a few weeks as well. June hasn't even arrived yet and I'm already broke for the month.

To add to my financial woes, my financial adviser called today in response to the letter I'd sent him last week. I think he is genuinely trying to resolve our problems, but we just aren't on the same page. When I told him that I would have been better off if I'd just put my money in a boring index fund and forgotten about it, he reminded me that it was me who wanted to buy individual stocks to try to get a better yield. There have been so many bad decisions over the years. Some of the decisions are mine. Some of them are the brokers. All I wanted to do was get back to even after the huge market meltdown in 2008. I've been trying to claw my way back at a time when the market has been more volatile than at any point in recent memory. I have friends who gave up on stocks after the crash of 2008 and put their money into gold, only to watch gold prices tumble. I know other people who put their faith in real estate, only to discover that real estate wasn't a sure thing either. We live in a world where there are no sure things anymore and I only think it's going to get worse.

Dot had quite a few accidents today. Most were easy to clean up, but the incontinence is really getting me down. There is no cause and effect anymore between when I take Dot outside and when she actually poops. Her digestive system still works as it should, but she has little control over it anymore. It doesn't matter where she is. When something reaches the end of the line, out it comes.

I'm still having Internet connection problems. I never would have dreamed that I would look back at my old slow Mac tower, my friend's simple web server, and a single DSL line as the best of times. Things were so reliable in the beginning. I could often go a year without any problems at all.  Now it seems like I re-boot the U-verse router and call tech support at Bluehost almost every day. Nothing is reliable these days and it's wearing me out.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow. Somehow, I doubt it. The rain is supposed to continue through the end of the week. I'm not sure when my car will be ready now. I'm not sure whether to resume Dot's physical therapy either. One day she seems better and then the next day she's weak and tired again. We'll stick to the simple things tomorrow. If I can manage to get out of bed in the morning, we'll take it from there.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2345

I find dealing with money very frustrating these days. People want to pay me less than they did ten or fifteen years ago, while the cost of everything I use in my daily life is going through the roof. Everything is topsy turvy. Interest rates are near all time lows, but the the purchase price of a home has gone through the roof. Interest rates were over 14% when I bought my first home, but it wasn't a problem because the homes themselves were quite affordable. Cars were a bargain. I remember when you could buy a new Porsche 911 for under $8000 and a cool looking Jaguar E-Type was even less. The stock market was kind to me when the Dow was under 8,000. Not anymore. This is why I hate meeting with my financial adviser. I don't want to listen to complicated schemes to tame today's increasingly volatile market. All I want to do is go back to the early 1970's when I was a young copywriter making a paltry salary but still seemed to have more left over at the end of the month than I do today.

I didn't feel very comfortable taking any of my broker's suggestions this afternoon. I have a gut feeling that things are going to get a lot worse no matter who wins the election. We are in uncharted territory. People are voting for Hillary because they hate Trump and voting for Trump because they hate Hillary. Nobody actually likes either candidate. I think the political system has failed us if the best we can come up with for presidential candidates are two of the most disliked people in history. Can't we do  better than this? Maybe not. We complain that all the jobs have disappeared, but we still want cheap stuff made in China. People in Dallas complain about illegal immigration but still want to keep their gardeners and yard guys. You can't have it both ways. I didn't have an iPhone in the 1970's, but I had a Walkman and everything was fine. Maybe you like the way things are today, but I'd prefer to go back to the days when you could buy a new Porsche for $8000 and the most expensive house in town was less than $50,000.  I'm sure my attitude is infuriating to stockbrokers and financial advisers who are trying to get me excited about today's latest rabbet hole to jump down. I'm sorry guys. Today's investment opportunities suck.

I broke down and called a plumber today. The leak under the bathroom sink has gotten worse and I'm not ready to remodel the entire bathroom just to fix it. I'm prepared to hear that the fixtures in the sink are too old and that it's a waste of money to repair them, but what are my alternatives? Modern faucets won't fit in the old sink and a new sink won't fit in the old bathroom. The plumbers will complain, but I'm confident that they will be able to fix the leak. That's what plumbers do, isn't it?

I think I'm going to skip Dot's physical therapy for an additional week. She seems to be enjoying her lighter schedule and is slowly regaining some strength. Maybe we were just pushing her too hard. She's probably not walking enough right now, but the goal will be to slowly get her back to where she was before. I wish the underwater treadmill wasn't so far away. The water therapy is good for her, but a long ride in the car isn't. I have a feeling that transporting her to and from the vet canceled out some of the benefits of the therapy. We'll be back though. Dot's not a quitter and neither am I.

Dash and I walked past a big patch of wild ornamental onions today. I don't think these are the type of onions you eat, but the bees seem to like them. Some people call these flowers Allium. Others call them chives. I've been walking past this patch of wild onions for many years and watching them bloom every May. I wish the stock market were this reliable.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2308

I discovered today that one of my best friends from college was just diagnosed with lung cancer. The guy didn't even smoke. Life can be very unfair sometimes. I've reached the age where people post good news about their grandchildren and bad news about themselves. Sadly, almost everybody I know is falling apart. That's why I go to the gym on Sunday and feel vaguely guilty that I don't go everyday. Even in the best of circumstances, it is an uphill battle to stay healthy. Some things we have control over, but a lot of things we don't. If there was anybody I thought could have avoided cancer, it would have been my clean living college friend. It just wasn't in the cards.

My accountant called this afternoon to tell me that he'd finished my taxes. In the course of our conversation, he asked me if I was happy with my broker. I asked why and he said that the management fees on my account seemed pretty high when you looked at the rather dismal performance of my portfolio. He said I'd probably do better if I just put everything in a boring index fund that mirrored the S&P and forget about it. I've thought the same thing for quite a while, but have never been sure what to do next. I've asked friends if they liked their broker or financial advisor and most of them were just as disgusted as I am. Nobody seems to want to recommend anybody. Very few small investors are doing well these days. Increasingly, I think the whole system is rigged to benefit the rich and powerful. In the not too distant past, you used to be able to go to your bank and get a 5 year Certificate of Deposit that provided a nice monthly return with no risk at all. US Treasury Bonds also provided a very nice return with little to no risk. Now, anything with any promise of a decent return comes with quite a bit of risk. Investing has become synonymous with gambling. In this kind of environment I can see why Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have become popular. I don't think either of these men can reverse the tide of globalism and corporate greed that created this mess, but at least they have identified the problem.

I tried to fix the odd French made toilet in one of the bathrooms today with little success. They stopped selling these things quite some time ago when plumbers refused to repair them. Parts are impossible to find and plumbers just tell me to buy a new toilet. Instead of a simple fill valve and float that you could buy at Home Depot, this toilet uses a proprietary French fill mechanism that looks like it was designed by Rube Goldberg. I've been using super glue and epoxy to patch the thing back together for years, but it's leaking again. One more frustration in a very frustrating month.

I had another website to update this afternoon, so I barely had time to go to the gym. I did have a good workout, but vacuuming the house and cleaning the rugs will have to wait. While I was at the gym I noticed that I was the only one holding on to the handrails while I was using the treadmill. I must have a terrible sense of balance. Everyone else seemed to be walking just fine without using the rails. It's been a busy day and I'm glad it's over. It's weird to have most of your work on the weekend. I bet there will be nothing for me to do tomorrow. Monday's are like that. Don't get me wrong. There's always something to do if you count doing laundry and cleaning up poop. I just wish there was something exciting to do.

Apollo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2185

I had one of my periodic meetings with my financial adviser today. Usually we just chit-chat about the market a bit and he makes a few recommendations that I almost always go along with. Today was not going to be one of those days. When he asked how I was doing, I told him as politely as I could that I was not a happy camper. We've been working together for almost five years and my account hasn't really grown very much. Actually, performance has been pitiful. Sure, the market has been extremely volatile and a lot of things haven't gone as expected, but that's what you pay these guys for. I honestly expected that my adviser could do a much better job of growing my portfolio than I could, but so far that hasn't been the case. I actually did a pretty respectible job of managing my own investments, but it was very stressful for me. I don't like dealing with money. I did my research, but I got tired of fretting about whether I did the right thing. Eventually, I hired a financial adviser. The guy I chose was highly recommended by people I respect, but I'm beginning to think I made the wrong decision. I know hindsight is always 20/20, but there are just too many common sense things that should have been done differently.

I caught Dash drinking out of the toilet again and when I yelled at him to stop, it must have startled him. He jumped backward and ended up flipping over the water bowl on the floor that he should have been drinking out of. The spilled water soaked a large rug in the bathroom and generally made a mess everywhere. When I was mopping up the water, I got a call from Janet telling me her car had died. She mentioned yesterday that she was hearing a funny noise but didn't think it was serious. I guess it was serious after all. I told Dot not to poop all over the place while I went to pick her up Janet, but I didn't have high hopes.

It was just one of those days. I went to Home Depot earlier in the day to look for a replacement for the mini-blinds  I'd singed with the ceramic heater and discovered that they no longer made the size I needed. I was told to buy a larger blind and then cut it to the proper size myself. The sales associate who helped me said there were videos on YouTube that would show me how to do this. This wasn't what I expected, but I bought the blinds anyway. How hard could it be to watch a YouTube video?

I'll probably regret my decision tomorrow. Everything is harder than expected these days. I haven't had much luck sealing the tile floor in the shower and didn't do a very good job at cleaning the muslin photo backdrop that got peed on this weekend. Actually, the only success I've had this week was figuring out where to place the rubber snakes to scare the evil bird who's been pooping on my car away.

Tomorrow will be busy. As soon as we finish taking the dogs on their morning walk, I need to take Janet up to the Land Rover dealership so she can pick up her loaner car. Dot has another morning physical therapy session, so it will be a quick turnaround when I get home again. Hopefully, I will still have time for breakfast. I never do well when I don't have time to fix my smoothie and drink some strong coffee while I watch the latest bad news on TV.

My Dad would have been 98 years old today if he were still alive. He died quite a while ago though.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1667

After bragging about how great Dot was doing with her physical therapy yesterday, she ended up getting sick last night and threw up all over the place. She does this periodically, and we have never been able to figure out why. From the looks of the things she threw up, she had eaten a lot of leaves and grass sometime yesterday evening. Both dogs get frantic whenever their stomach is upset and tend to eat grass as a remedy. Unfortunately, it only makes things worse. At least she didn't try to eat the carpet this time.

After cleaning up vomit several times during the night, we were all finally able to get back to sleep again. I had out of the office meetings today and didn't want to leave Dot alone while I was gone, so I drove her downtown to the vet for observation before my first meeting. She seemed absolutely normal during her stay at the vet and at the end of the day, I drove her home again without incident. It was the leaves she ate that made her sick, but I still don't know why she ate the leaves and grass in the first place. It's a shame that I can't even leave the dogs unsupervised in the back yard, but they both can get in trouble so quickly. It probably took Dot less than a minute to eat the grass and leaves that caused all the trouble.

I had one of my periodic meetings with my financial adviser this afternoon. I used to enjoy these strategy sessions, but lately I find that planning my financial future is becoming increasingly discouraging. With interest rates as low as they've been lately, it's hard to earn anything significant from interest and dividends alone. Globalization hasn't helped either. If somebody sneezes in China it can affect your entire portfolio. A global market does create lots of opportunities too, but it definitely makes everything more volatile. I've grown weary of volatility. A little stability would be nice at this point.

By the end of the day, Dot was completely back to normal, so we decided to take the dogs to training class. Even after sunset it was still hot, so all the dogs in class were a bit subdued. We brought a big cooler of water so Dot and Dash would have plenty to drink, but after greeting the other dogs in the class, they were ready to go home again. The only command they seemed to enjoy was the extended down, where they got to lie down in the grass and do nothing for ten minutes.

I have no idea what today's flower is. Anyone? This is the first time I've seen something like this. It grows near the water and is just starting to come into bloom. It's amazing that after all these years of walking in the park, I still see something new from time to time.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1664

I thought I'd do some painting preparation today by starting to scrape the loose paint off the exterior windows and trim. I should have done this a year ago, so today's prep work probably means that I'll actually start painting about this time next year. Progress is progress though and I was feeling good about what I'd accomplished. I decided to do a little more and remembered that there was still a light fixture on the back porch that needed to be re-wired. Unfortunately, when I got the ladder out and climbed up to dismantle the broken can light, I disturbed a hidden hornet's nest. So much for that little project. I went inside to get a can of Raid and decided I was finished with home improvements for the day.

The onslaught of mosquitoes this year is definitely starting to bug me, so I went to Home Depot looking for a solution. All I came home with were a couple of citronella candles. I don't even think these candles work, but they were all I could find that wasn't full of insecticide. There was an intriguing looking portable fogger, but the box was full of safety warning labels, so I took a pass on this potentially lethal solution. I've already established in previous years that bug zappers don't work and neither do those strange propane powered devices that pump a cloud of carbon dioxide over your yard. I think the only thing that works is just staying inside. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes are inside too. One flew out of the refrigerator yesterday.

I could have done some website maintenance work this afternoon, but I decided to go to the gym again instead. This makes two days in a row, which is almost unheard of for me. I used a different group of machines today, but I'll probably still be sore tomorrow. I've been trying to find some exercises that will strengthen my shoulder, but anything that significantly increases my range of motion just pulls the shoulder out of joint again. I've already decided that I don't want surgery, so I guess I'm just going to have to live with what I've got.

I noticed that Dash was trying to get Dot to play with him this afternoon. When the dogs were younger they used to play in the yard a lot. Dot has lost all interest in playing now that she's older though, and Dash gets frustrated. Maybe I need to start taking him to doggie day care a few times a week. Finding the right place will be difficult though. Dash is still terrified of larger dogs and doesn't like to play rough. The cancer center was perfect, because all the dogs in treatment there were very gentle. I think he misses the cancer center.

I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I've had to reschedule Dot's acupuncture and physical therapy session again. Later in the week I have my quarterly meeting with my financial adviser. Hopefully, he'll have some good news to offset the total loss of one of my now defunct oil and gas investments. Janet fixed a great dinner tonight. Maybe if I keep going to the gym every day, I could eat more without gaining any weight.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1493

I had one of my periodic meetings with my financial adviser today. 2013 was a good year for investors, but we didn't spend much time patting ourselves on the back. Since everything that goes up must inevitably come down, we spent most of our time trying to formulate an exit strategy for the big correction that is sure to come. Investing is frustrating and requires a lot of patience. On a good day, you're on top of the world. Good days can be followed by bad days where your gains can be erased in an instant, unfortunately. Several of my positions had 100% gains this year, while others suffered huge losses. As someone who has always appreciated a sure thing, these ups and downs can be nerve wracking. What's the alternative though? I know I'm not going to write the next Harry Potter blockbuster, or come up with an alternative to the iPhone.

I'm certainly not going to get rich writing ads, or providing clients with content marketing canon fodder. That's what I did today. My financial adviser always asks me how my business is doing. It's a rhetorical question and I don't think he really wants to know the answer. He makes his money taking a few percent off the top of every portfolio under management. When printing budgets were high and elaborate annual report were in fashion, I did essentially the same thing. You can do quite well taking a small percentage of a large budget. The best thing is that nobody really cares what you make as long as your piece of the pie remains small. All that has changed, unfortunately. At least it has for me. Printing budgets are small and creative services are a la carte now. That's why I depend on equities. I think the chances of a writer hitting the big time are just about the same as a journeyman club musician winning American Idol. Sure, it happens, but not very often.

Some of the neighbors are trying to get streets closed in the neighborhood. They think it will cut down on traffic. I don't know what all the fuss is about, since I already live on the busiest street in the neighborhood. Compared to my own problems of getting out of my driveway during rush hour, these other people's streets are a cakewalk. I'm not really a fan of street closures anyway. The whole idea of streets is to make it easier to get from point to point. When you start closing some streets off, you create bottlenecks. I'd rather leave all the streets open, but just not let anybody use them.

I may go to a different restaurant tomorrow. If I keep eating my favorite Friday eggs over and over again for months at a time, they're not likely to remain a favorite for much longer. It's time for a change. It's time for a haircut too. Maybe I'll try something new for breakfast and then go get a haircut in the afternoon. That sounds like a plan.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1492

When Dot was in the water treadmill this afternoon, she momentarily seemed to become disoriented and forgot where she was. Even though the water level was not very high, she seemed to panic and started swimming instead of walking normally on the treadmill. We stopped the treadmill and let her calm down as I told her that everything was OK. After a few minutes, we slowly started the treadmill again and everything was completely normal. Dot seemed to forget the whole episode. Although I'm not really sure what happened, I can certainly relate to losing your bearings. Sometimes I'll be driving along and realize that I have absolutely no idea where I'm going. Usually, these moments pass very quickly and by the time I arrive at the next stoplight, I'm back on track again. Maybe this is what happen to Dot today. I think for a brief moment, she forgot where she was and thought the rising water in the tank was going to drown her.

I inadvertently ended up being the Debbie Downer of the lightning round session at this morning's networking breakfast. Instead of brashly proclaiming that my business was going to double in 2014, as the others all appeared to be doing, I patiently explained why my entire industry is fucked and told the group that my goal for the year was just to get back to billing out what I was ten years ago. Although everything I said about the current state of the ad industry is true, I don't think it was what these folks wanted to hear. I should have known better than to share breakfast with a group of people who are always convinced that the glass is half full. Sorry guys, I seem to have lost my rose colored glasses. I think the glass is empty. I'll probably keep going to this group though, because I do love bacon.

I think I've lost the battle with the bird who poops on my car every morning. I've placed little paper hats and other wobbly things on my mirrors to deter the bird, but it seems to know how to remove them. For reasons that other birds will only know, this bird loves to sit on my rear view mirrors and drop a load. Even though Janet's car is only twelve feet away, the bird only shits on mine. It leaves her car untouched. I hope the bird doesn't start building a nest. Once a bird actually built a nest in my mailbox and I had to ask the mailman to leave my mail somewhere else for a while so magazines or packages dropped in the box wouldn't kill the baby birds. The mailman and I became quite interested in the birds progress. We watched them grow, until one day they just disappeared. I still don't know whether they learned to fly, or whether a cat got them all.

I hope my financial adviser has some good ideas for me at our meeting tomorrow. 3-D Printing turned out to be a great idea last year. Gold? Well, gold wasn't so good. That's the trouble with investing. It's hard to be right all the time.

Betty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1490

There was so much to do today that it was hard to believe it was only Monday. There were photos to reformat and transform in Photoshop. There were websites to update. And of course, there were the inevitable articles to write. None of these tasks were particularly challenging on their own, but collectively they just about wore me out.

I've got a meeting with my financial adviser later in the week. I wish I could get the guy to give me an honest answer about my remaining resources. If I can continue my current lifestyle without jumping through all these hoops, there is little point in continuing doing a multitude of things I don't really enjoy. I know we wants me to keep working though. He and I both know that there is no reliable way to predict the future. If you stay in the game, at least you have the reassurance that your fate won't be determined by the fickle nature of corporate dividends or government programs. I don't mind working, mind you. I just wish it was fun like it used to be when I was the Wizard of Oz.

Have any of you seen that show called Sherlock on the BBC? I don't know why I'd never seen it before, but I watched my first episode last night and it is brilliant. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that I liked the show, since it was written by Steven Moffat of Dr. Who fame. I really liked the idea of taking Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective stories and re-interpreting them for the 21 Century. I've never been a huge fan of mysteries or crime fiction, but I found this show mesmerizing. I'm sure I'll watch it again.

The dogs were bored today. They don't like it when I spend all my time working at the computer. In their minds, I'm just some sort of a dog butler who is here to keep them entertained whenever they're not sleeping. When they're bored, the dogs bark a lot and try to slap things off my desk with their paws to catch my attention. We has some nice, long walks today, but apparently that wasn't enough. Maybe they were just trying to tell me that the work I was doing was pointless. Of course, I know that already.

Tomorrow, Dash goes to the vet to have his teeth cleaned. We've done this before, but I always get nervous. Basically, I just don't like anesthesia. I worry when I have to be under anesthesia myself, and I worry even more when the dogs need anesthesia. I've heard all the arguments about the safety of Isoflurane and Propofol when administered by a trained anesthesiologist, but these are still strong and dangerous drugs. It's too bad it is so difficult to properly brush a dog teeth. Every two or three years the risk of periodontal disease overcomes my fear of anesthesia, and I schedule the dogs for a dental cleaning. Tomorrow is the day for Dash. If all goes well, Dot will get her teeth cleaned a few weeks later.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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