Day 1131

I took my car to the car wash today. Janet likes clean dogs, but it's a clean car that does it for me. The old Defender looks almost new when it is sparkling clean. The only problem I had was setting the side mirrors again. The side mirrors on the Defender are so tiny that unless they are positioned perfectly, you can't see anything at all. I need the side mirrors because a big metal dog crate obscures my vision from the rear view mirror on the windshield. There are no electric buttons to move these mirrors. You have to get out of the car, monkey around with the mirror, then get get back in the car and see if you'd adjusted things properly. After three of four tries, I could see the road behind me again and I was on my way. A clean car didn't make the grocery shopping go any faster, but I did feel better.

I got another gift card in the mail from Klout this morning. This time it was from McDonalds. I own some McDonalds stock, but I can't say that I eat at the place very often. A Big Mac isn't exactly my idea of a healthy meal. Hey, I'll eat anywhere if it's free though. Maybe I'll go have an Egg McMuffin for breakfast some day.

I watched a few old Top Gear episodes on TV while I was cleaning the house this afternoon. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are my heroes. They've managed to make a great living bumbling about, playing tricks on each other, and driving fast cars. Given a choice between being an accountant, a civil servant, or driving around in the latest Ferrari, I think most guys would choose to be James May. I probably shouldn't make such a sweeping statement though. Guys who drive a Prius probably don't like Top Gear at all. Most of them would probably rather be Al Gore than Richard Hammond.

The days are already starting to get longer. Since we tend to walk around sunset at this time of year, I can see small differences almost every day. Less than a month ago the sun was starting to set when the dogs and I started our evening walk. Now, the sun doesn't reach the horizon until we are almost home again. Lots of people were out in the park today. I heard a woman scream when I was watching the sunset today. It wasn't what I thought though. Somebody's radio controlled model aircraft had run out of gas and almost hit the woman when it unexpectedly fell out of the sky. You never know what to expect in the city. I'm glad the model plane didn't hit the dogs.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 619

It must have been hot today, because Dash decided to turn around and go home when we got to Erykah Badu's house again. He stopped just long enough for an impromptu portrait in front of her iridescent Smart Car. Erykah used to drive a silver Mercedes Geländewagen, but I haven't seen the pricey Jeep around the neighborhood for a while.

Dot could have walked further today, but she is patient with Dash. Maybe it's because of the perfectly shaped heart on her left rear leg. She's the only Dalmatian I've known who has heart shaped spots.

Several weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Klout that said my Klout score qualified me for a free gift. I forgot all about this e-mail until the FedEx man dropped an unexplained box at my front door this morning. It was my free gift: a seemingly lifetime supply of protein powder. This odd gift is probably a much most accurate measure of my true Klout on the Internet than my score on the website. Probably people with real Klout get iPhones and airline tickets as gifts. I get a big jar of protein powder.

Do you ever see a picture that you just can't get out of your mind. I happened to see a very recent picture of Steve Jobs on the Internet today. It was a little frightening and put a lot of things in perspective. It reminded me that all the money in the world can't guarantee that you'll live any longer, and more importantly, that if you still have your health, you really don't have much to complain about. It would be easy to think that Steve got a raw deal, but we all die sometime and death is never pleasant. At least the guy did something with his life and not all of us can say that.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day