Day 3747

Finally, something has taken my attention away from the coronavirus. My main computer crashed late last night. What a giant pain. I'm having an almost impossible time salvaging 4 terabytes worth of data. Often you can restore a corrupted hard drive with special utility software, but this time I'm out of luck. The large hard drive is mechanically damaged and none of my disc utility software can save it. The computer won't boot up at all. It gets about halfway through the process and shuts off. To make matters even worse, all the Apple Stores in the country are closed right now. Who knows when stores will open again. Even smaller computer repair shops in Dallas are closed indefinitely.

I was finally able to copy some of the files on my damaged hard drive using an an emergency external start up disc. It's hard to copy 4 terabytes  of files though when you don't have another 4 terabyte drive. I think I managed to salvage my financial records and most of my photos and business files. A lot is lost forever though. I've still got my laptop, but it is only meant for travel and has a very small hard drive. I've lost most of my e-mail messages and a lot of my contacts. I shouldn't have any problems writing the blog, since I can post from both my laptop and my iPad. I imagine I could post from my phone as well, if the tiny virtual keyboard didn't drive me insane.

I was able to find fresh fruit at the grocery store. Actually, I was able to find just about everything on my list. The stores have done a pretty good job of restocking things, although there is still no toilet paper. There weren't a lot of people in the store when I went shopping this morning. I guess everyone has finally filled their homes with enough food and paper products to last until the next ice age. Not touching things is next to impossible. I wore some disposable latex gloves to get gas this morning because I've been reading that gas pumps are virus hotspots. I had to take the gloves off in the store though. The iPhone app I use to avoid the checkout line wouldn't work with the gloves on. When I finished shopping I completely forgot about the gloves and pushed my buggy out to the car with my bare hands. Lord knows how many times I've touched my face today.

I've seen a lot of couples where one person is wearing a mask and the other isn't. I see this in the park as well. Usually it is the wife that is wearing the mask. Nobody is sneezing though. I haven't heard anyone sneeze all week. This is a terrible time to have seasonal allergies. I'm always afraid I'm going to have to sneeze and I'll be thrown out of the store. So far, so good though. I haven't sneezed in public yet.

I finally know someone personally who has the virus. That didn't take long. This was a guy I met at a NASA event last year. He thinks he became infected at a business meeting a few weeks ago when he inadvertently shook the hand of a potential client who had flown in from out of town. The guy's wife has the virus too. Both are young and fairly healthy.

The park was full of people today. Everyone was keeping their distance, but it was clear that people were getting cabin fever. You can only stay inside for so long. It was a nice day and what else can you do when all the stores are closed? I hope things never get bad enough to require restricting outdoor movement. Some countries won't even let you walk your dog now. The people I see outdoors are doing the right thing. They are keeping their distance, while getting some much needed exercise.

Tomorrow, I'll return to salvaging as many files as I can before the damaged hard drive becomes completely inaccessible. I found a replacement drive on Amazon, but I don't know if I can install it myself. Fixing things on older Apple towers was easy. The new iMac models are much more difficult. Everything on my computer is crammed in a small space behind the 27" screen and is almost impossible to access or remove. Some parts are even glued together so you can't remove them. The last time I replaced a hard drive I had the folks at Experimac do the work. They've gone out of business though. All stores I like eventually go out of business.

So far, Janet and I are feeling fine. Hope that all of you are as well.

Doc is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3579

When I was buying groceries this morning, the produce guy was putting out new strawberries. "These look terrible," I said. "Are you going to sell these?" The guy laughed. "They come from the grower like this," he told me. "Sometimes they're so bad we throw them away. Sometimes we use them for pies. People still buy these things though." At least the guy was honest. He helped me find a few good packages of berries and I continued my shopping.

You've got to be careful what you buy these days. Janet has taught me to always look at the expiration date. The freshest milk is often at the back of the display. I often buy stuff from the deli case because I don't like to cook. A lot of these easy to prepare items are made from things near their expiration date. Supermarkets hate to waste food.

It was a beautiful day but the roof still isn't dry enough to apply the coating that the roofers left me. I guess there's no hurry. I still can't figure out how to transfer the silicon from the big drum to small containers that I can carry to the roof. They make pump lids for five gallon containers, but these things are meant to pump liquids like motor oil and paint. The silicon liquid is so thick that it would quickly clog most of these pumps. I've started reading roofers forums on the Internet, hoping to get a few pointers. When roofers talk to other roofers most of them say that working with silicon is a disaster. Silicon is a natural release agent and won't adhere to anything except silicon. This is the problem I've been having since the beginning. The silicon won't stick to the roof.

It was cold last night. I slept under a blanket for the first time since last winter. Surprisingly, I slept very well. Maybe having the extra weight of a cover over you helps you sleep. Who knows. Cold weather changes a lot of things. The security light in the back yard stays on all night now. Apparently the light sensor doesn't work when temperatures are really high. It's weird hearing the furnace come on at night. It's also weird wearing a coat on my morning walks. I definitely need a coat when I left the house this morning, but after a few miles I felt warmer and tied the coat around my waist.

I've had my new storage warehouse almost a year now. The annual rent is due again in November. My plan was to get rid of a lot of stuff during the year so I could get a smaller space when it was time to renew. That didn't happen. My room is full and I really need a larger space. None of this stuff is all that important. I wish storage warehouses provide easy assess to a large dumpster. None of them do. They don't even let you use a trash can these days. It makes it hard to get rid of stuff.

I've looked at enough motorhome websites to realize that it will always be less expensive to just rent these things when I need them. Actually, I'd save money by renting everything. I just don't do that much. I'd even save money renting things I consider tools of the trade. How often do I actually use my cameras these days? Not that much. How often do I use my recording gear. Never. I just like gadgets. I like the idea of having something when I need it. Most stuff just gathers dust though. I do need a computer. That's something I use everyday. I'm using it right now.

Kuuipo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3509

I predicted this would happen. We had a brief heavy rain this morning and the roof is wet again. After weeks of pleading, the roofer still hasn't brought over the special silicon product I need to make repairs. It's been so dry in July that almost any day would have been a good time to patch the tears in the elastomer material. Now I need to clear the water off the roof, dry everything off and start all over again. The main problem is that commonly available patch materials available at Home Depot and Lowes won't stick to the silicon that's already on the roof and the commercial product I need is only available to the trade in very large drums. It's quite expensive too. Jeez. I don't need much of this stuff. I'm sure the roofer is waiting till he has a small amount of silicon left over from another job, but this isn't helping me any.

The rain cooled the temperature a bit, but it's still as muggy as ever outside. I thought I'd have a pleasant walk this morning, but I might as well have just walked the rain. I was still drenched in sweat by the time I returned. While I was in the park, I saw a guy pick one of the yellow berries on a Horse Nettle plant and eat it. Dude, don't you know these plants are poisonous? Apparently he thought it was a wild cherry tomato. Close but not close enough. Horse Nettle and Tomatoes are both members of the Nightshade family. Tomatoes happen to be one of a very few Nightshade varieties that are edible. I don't think Horse Nettle is nearly as dangerous as Belladonna, commonly called the Deadly Nightshade, but I'm not going to try eating any Nightshade berries. I don't even like tomatoes that much.

There are still a lot of Herons and Egrets at the lake. I finally got close enough to photograph one of the Great Egrets today. What a strange looking bird. With a long yellow bill and an even longer neck, you'd think this bird would have trouble eating. Nope. They seem to be designed to catch small fish. I see Egrets catching and eating fish all the time.

The security light in the back yard came on normally this evening. Maybe the problem was temperature related. It is cooler today. Maybe the rain washed spider webs off the light sensor. Actually, I have no idea what is going on. I suspect that just when I begin to think that the problem has fixed itself, the light will go dark again. I spend way too much time thinking about obscure problems like this and not enough time dealing with problems I can actually solve.

There were no strawberries at the store today. I asked the produce guy when a new shipment would arrive. "Maybe tomorrow, maybe Monday, or maybe Tuesday," he said. I guess that means he didn't know. I'll go check again on my way home from the gym tomorrow. I need strawberries for my smoothie.

Am I ready for another 20,000 step day tomorrow? I'm not sure. Surely there is a better way to spend my time. I keep thinking that all this activity is keeping me healthy, but maybe I'm wrong. I'm wrong about a lot of things.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3500

The Internet keeps going out. It's on for a while and then it's off for a while. After spending an hour on the phone with tech support last night, the best they could come up with was "turn it off and then turn it on again." I had a hard time explaining to then that resetting the router and fiber optic box might restore things for a little while but it wasn't really fixing anything. I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is. A couple of days ago the U-Verse guys were installing new service for one of my neighbors. I'm pretty sure that when they attached the neighbor's fiber optic cable to the junction box at the end of the street they screwed up my cable. Hard to explain this to a guy halfway around the world who is just trying to run a diagnostic program. Intermittent connections caused by loose wires can be very difficult to diagnose remotely.

I replaced my Apple Watch with a new model today. I'll be the first to admit that this was a ridiculous way to use my gift card from the electric company since it basically only covered the sales tax. What can I say. I was bored and I hadn't bought anything form the Apple Store in a long time. Did I need a new watch? The old Apple Watch worked fine. You couldn't update the system anymore and it didn't do fancy things like create electrocardiograms, but it did everything I needed. I doubt that I'll even activate the built in phone on the new watch. My phone bill is high enough as it is.

It took me a while to figure out how to pair the watch with my phone. I'd done this before but it seemed easier last time. I finally learned after a few Google searches that it is best to pair a new watch in a dark room. Who knew? There was certainly no mention of a dark room on the minuscule piece of paper that served as instructions. I finally got the watch paired and it works fine. It's basically just like my old watch.

I don't know if I have the patience to call AT&T tech support again tonight. They're going to need to send a technician out to the house but I know I'll have to do all the same stupid diagnostic tests I did last night before they'll schedule a visit. I hope they don't have to install a new router because then I'll have to reprogram every single WiFi device in the house. Been there, done that.

My walks are starting to get boring. I'm getting tired of counting Egrets and memorizing silly objects I see along the way. I am starting to feel like I'm in better shape, but walking takes up a lot of time. So far, this isn't really a problem because I have more time than I know what to do with. I just need to find a better way to waste my time. Before you suggest taking a class, binge watching movies on Netflix, traveling, or volunteering, I've already considered those things. I'm looking for something else.

There wasn't much trash in the bin when I took it out to the curb tonight. Janet must generate more trash than I do. I don't think I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. I bought too much fruit this week. Actually, I bought exactly the same amount that I bought last week but forgot that Janet wasn't here to eat hers. I am such a creature of habit. I guess I'll make one more smoothie before the fruit goes bad.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3495

There have been so many documentaries about Apollo 11 this week that I feel I know more about the space program now than I did when all this was actually happening. Looking back, it is amazing that John Kennedy's promise to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the decade was actually fulfilled. Kennedy himself was starting to have second thoughts about the huge expense of the program just before he was assassinated in Dallas. I don't think we could do something like this today. Can you imagine today's politically correct politicians putting Wernher von Braun in charge of the space program? During the 60's Americans hadn't become tribal yet. Despite all the unrest surrounding the Vietnam War, most Americans still had a lot of national pride. They really wanted to beat the Russians to the moon. I can't even imagine 400,000 people working toward a common goal anymore. That's how many people the Apollo program employed at its peak. Just about everyone my age knows someone who had a connection to the Apollo program.

I'm glad we persevered and kept going despite all the initial failures. It proved that you can do just about anything if you stay focused and put your mind to it. Many of those early space pioneers genuinely believed we would be living in cities on Mars by now. It was definitely possible. They didn't realize how fickle politicians can be and how quickly dreams can fade. When I was a kid I thought we'd be living on Mars by now too. I remember reading articles about space travel in my Dad's copies of Scientific American. We were already designing atomic powered rockets in Nevada during the late 1950's. Project Orion was going to take us to Mars using a rocket powered by firing a series of nuclear bombs. What could possibly go wrong?

I didn't feel like fixing our usual Saturday breakfast. I didn't watch old Have Gun Will Travel episodes while I was eating either. I found some granola that was still sitting in a box in the kitchen that I'd bought over a year ago. It tasted fine. Apparently granola lasts forever. I went shopping for fresh fruit early today, hoping to get my morning walk in before it got too hot. Once again I failed. I think it was too hot before I woke up this morning. At least there was a breeze. It was a warm breeze but it was better than nothing.

My feeble attempts at being useful today were limited to defrosting the small refrigerator and washing the car. I don't count the long walks as being useful. I'm not even sure they are healthy in all this heat. It's something to do though. I do feel like I'm starting to get some muscle tone back. In the Winter these walks might even be enjoyable.

It's time to go to the gym again. It would make sense to use the indoor track for walks but I'm reluctant to do this. I like my rituals. I've convinced myself that memorizing all the details of my route will keep my memory sharp. I make a point to look for specific objects every several hundred yards. So far, I'm memorized a lot of signage, know where to look for Egrets and turtles, and am slowly learning the names of all the plants I see. I imagine I'll take 20,000 steps tomorrow. That's what I do on Sundays.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3488

It's been three months since Dash died. There are new routines now. I can't say that life has returned to normal because it still seems normal to have dogs in the house. There was at least one Dalmatian in our home for over 30 years. Dogs still matter to us but I have to admit that it's nice to not have huge vet bills or the responsibility of deciding what is right for your best friend when the end is approaching. Janet volunteers with a local rescue group now. We both enjoy visiting the Dalmatians once a week. For now this is enough. We're traveling more now and doing things that weren't possible when caring for sick dogs was a 24/7 responsibility. Although it is sometimes tempting to take a dog home with us when we visit the Dalmatians at the boarding kennel, I realize that these dogs are finding fabulous homes. That's all that matters. If and when we're ready for a dog again, I'm sure there will be a dog that's ready for us.

I'm trying to do everything earlier now since it is so hot. I thought I'd find fresher fruit at the grocery store if I shopped early, but it doesn't seem to matter. Often stores get fresh deliveries daily, but you can't depend on it. I've noticed that the best strawberries are usually in the bottom boxes. Produce managers put the older fruit on top, hoping that people will buy it first. I sort through all the boxes, trying to find the best. Peaches are weird. Specific varieties are usually in the store for only a month and then you'll find a new variety. Not that it matters, but I'm gradually learning which varieties I like best. I eat a lot of peaches in the summer because they aren't even available in the winter. Most of you know that a fungal disease is gradually destroying the Cavendish banana around the world and this fruit might not be available soon. What am I going to do without my favorite bananas? You'd think that someone who was so interested in fruit would be equally interested in vegetables. Nope. I usually skip the vegetable aisle.

I'm conflicted about food. I really like pork, but feel guilty eating it since pigs are nice, exceptionally smart animals. I'm not sure that vegans are doing themselves any favors. I've known some very unhealthy vegans. I've known some very healthy vegans too, but I do believe that humans are basically carnivorous animals. So are dogs. Dogs seem to thrive on a raw diet. I've often wondered if the high incidence of cancer in dogs is because of the heavily processed food most of them eat.

I was amused to learn that the basic ingredients used to make Beyond Meat and those Impossible Burgers is very similar to the ingredients found in high end dog food. The only real difference is the spices used to make these products taste like meat. These meat substitutes have become very popular recently but they're basically just dog food. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I always thought our dogs ate better than we did.

When I was growing up in Alaska, everybody hunted. People has big freezers in their garages and neighbors traded game with each other. Dad was more of a fisherman, but he often traded salmon and trout he'd caught for Moose steaks or ducks. There was an honest simplicity to all this. It was the complete opposite of factory farming. We try to buy cage free eggs and grass fed beef but it's probably just a token gesture. The world has changed. We're not that far away from Soylent Green.

If you're wondering why I'm talking about food today it is because I didn't really do anything. I could have summed up today in a single sentence: Ate breakfast, bought groceries, walked, and blogged.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3475

Another 20,000 step day. This isn't much by historic standards, but it's about all I can manage these days. Multi-day backpacking trips didn't used to faze me when I was younger. Times have changed. I don't think I could make it all the way around the lake today. I'm not winded or even that tired. It's my joints. My knees, shoulders, and elbows have all seen better days. Sometimes it feels like all the cartilage is gone. I take glucosamine and chondroitin but I'm not sure how effective this is at rebuilding cartilage. I certainly don't see much difference after years of taking these pills.

Although it felt like I spent the day walking, I did manage to get a few other things done. I went back to the store and got strawberries. I should have looked in the refrigerator first. Janet had already gotten strawberries when she went to the store a little earlier. I  also got some more peaches. I guess I didn't realize that there are almost as many varieties of peaches are there are apples. The Earth Rich peaches I got yesterday tasted mushy and fibrous. Today I got a different variety called Sierra Rich which tasted much better.  Needless to say, there is plenty of fruit in the house now.

I was terrible on the basketball court this morning. Maybe skipping a week at the gym made a difference. Hand/eye coordination is a curious thing. You'd think that after all this time I would have perfected the free throw. Nope. Some days I can sink quite a few shots in a row and other days I'm all over the place. Even though my coordination wasn't up to par today, I still enjoyed my time on the court more than the treadmill and hand bicycle. I see a lot of people walking and jogging on the indoor track in the Summer. It would make sense for me to do this as well. For some perverse reason, I still prefer to walk outdoors, even though it's getting pretty hot outside.

Walking outdoors is very conducive to daydreaming. Walking indoors is just exercise. I enjoy trying to identify plants and animals, along with observing what has changed in the neighborhood. There's something new to think about every day. Even cloud formations can be interesting on a hot summer afternoon. There were sailboat races on the lake today. I also noticed that the wild fennel is in bloom. I've often thought about taking sailing lessons, but since I don't even use my kayak anymore, I doubt that I'd go sailing very often. It is not an activity that is usually done alone. The boats are still fun to watch though. There are lots of little Sunfish and Lasers at the lake, along with a variety of larger craft. I think that one of the local sailing clubs must have been having a regatta today. The lake was a busy place.

Now that I've become a slave to my Fitbit, I'm not doing as many household chores. There only so much time in a day. Without a dog, the house stays cleaner now. It's amazing how much hair a Dalmatian can shed. They shed constantly. We were sweeping up big piles of dog hair every week with Dot and Dash and yet each dog always had a full, healthy coat. Where all that hair came from will remain one of life's enduring mysteries.

Not surprisingly, we miss all the dog hair. I think Janet and I will be going to go visit the rescue dogs again tomorrow. There are several new dogs in the program that need to be photographed for the website. That's not the real reason we're going though. We just need our weekly Dalmatian fix.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3465

It was so hot today that all I really wanted to do was drink cold beverages. I need to start taking water with me on my walks. You sweat so much in this hot, humid weather that I've started to think that dehydration might be a risk. I always made sure that the dogs had water when we walked in the Summer, but I was never that concerned about myself. Maybe you sweat more when you get older, or maybe this is just a particularly bad summer.

It looks like the Falcon Heavy launch is actually going to happen. The rocket had a successful static fire late last night and the weather in Florida seems to be improving. I think some of the other social media folks attending this event have already started their journey. The people NASA selects tend to come from all over the place. Several people are traveling from Seattle. At least one person is coming from San Diego. More people are making a very long drive than I expected. I'm still glad I decided to fly. I don't think I have the stamina for a long drive anymore. I'm just hoping that I don't throw my back out while I'm there.

The little baby monitor that we always used to keep an eye on Dot and Dash while we were away broke during the power outage. There are no dogs to watch now, but it still bothers me to have broken things around the house. I contacted the manufacturer and they told me that the unit will not function without a working backup battery. I know the lithium ion battery is bad, but replacing it won't be easy. After making a few calls I learned that the battery isn't being made anymore. They probably make much better and cheaper webcams these days, but I am determined to fix this thing. I'll add it to my list of broken things that need fixing.

I got an e-mail today that began with "I understand that you developed our website. We need to make some changes..." Wrong. I'm the guy you fired after the client decide to put one of his lazy kids in charge of the marketing department. The kids friends build a brand new website and then probably disappeared. The guy who wrote me sounded desperate, but I told him that the company's website wasn't mine and that I didn't even know how to access it. If there is a lesson in all this it is that you should never hire your kids to take over the marketing department. It seldom turns out well.

I need to decide what to take on my trip. Mostly this just involves finding some comfortable shoes. If you're on your feet all day, good shoes are critical. NASA has a dress code, but it shouldn't be a problem for a guy like me. I wouldn't be wearing shorts, open toed shoes, or tank tops anyway. Sometimes they encourage you to bring your own food. There aren't any restaurants out at the launch pad. I actually wish I had brought my own food while I was in Houston. I went all day without eating anything.

I don't want to go all day without eating anything tomorrow, but I don't really feel like going out for breakfast. Maybe I'll just stay home and finish what's left of the fresh fruit. A peach and a banana sounds fine when you're not that hungry.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3384

I went to get some beer on the way to the gym this morning and when I got to the register, the clerk said "We can't sell you that yet." I must have had a puzzled look on my face because he quickly added "It's Sunday and we can't sell beer and wine until noon." The time was 11:50 AM. Jeez. I'd totally forgotten about Blue Laws. Do these things still exist? I guess they do. This little encounter in the grocery store is a perfect example of how government works. Laws get created. Over time, people forget why the laws were passed in the first place, but they are still enforced. It's all very arbitrary. If I'd had the patience to wait ten more minutes, everything would have been fine.

I felt tired and overweight at the gym today. I must not have been that tired because I completed my workout in one hour and four minutes, just like I always do. I probably wasn't overweight either. This was just a day when I would have preferred to sleep until noon. Sleeping until noon, or even until 8 AM isn't an option anymore. I need to walk Dash when he is awake and active. This is usually right after he's taken his morning meds. I've learned that if I miss this opportunity, it can be very difficult to get him moving again.

Dash has a good walk this morning, but he seems to be dragging his right rear leg more. He's been going through the disposable rubber boots at a rapid clip this week. Sometimes he tears a hole in the cotton sock as well. So far, the base layer bandage has remained unharmed. I think the reason the boots are getting torn up is that we are walking on pavement more. Dash likes variety and seems to get bored easily. We are always changing our route as we make our way through the park. I'd like a little more consistency, but it's Dash's walk, not mine. If I can keep him happy and engaged, he's going to keep moving. Muscle atrophy is real. I'm trying to keep those muscles from deteriorating even further.

When I went back to Kroger to get the peaches I forgot yesterday there was only one peach left. I bought the peach along with a few nectarines, wondering why peaches are so hard to find at this time of year. The produce aisles at Whole Foods and Central Market are overflowing with fruit from all over the world, but there are no peaches. There are plenty of pears, plums, oranges, mangoes, and kiwis, along with an enormous variety of apples, but no peaches. One of life's mysteries, I guess.

It's hard to believe it's going to be April tomorrow. This year is really going fast. It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between real stories and April Fool's jokes on social media. Modern life has become so bizarre that real life often appears to be an April Fool's joke. Last year it was Easter on April 1. That was real. I think it was cold last year too.

It's almost time to start mowing the grass again. I wonder if I'll have the strength to push the mower this year. It seems to get harder and harder with each passing year.

Smiley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3355

We went and photographed the new dogs in the Dalmatian Rescue program today. I haven't been to the kennel for a while, so there were quite a few faces I hadn't seen before. It's easy to forget how strong and active young Dalmatians are. Dot and Dash were this way once. You think they'll be able to run and jump forever, but the years go by quickly. These new dogs were a lot of fun. I'm sure they'll all find great homes soon.

As expected, it was another rainy day. The gentle showers came and went throughout the day, so I was still able to walk Dash and do my grocery shopping without much trouble. Dash only got one walk today, but that was plenty. The rain picked up toward the end of the day and neither of us was in the mood to get wet.

Apparently, I still don't know how to tell time. I was going to stay up late and watch the Space X Crew Dragon launch tonight. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the launch was yesterday. Hmm. 2 AM on Saturday is not very late at night. It is actually very early in the morning. No great loss. Everything is recorded these days. I watched the launch this evening and pretended it was live.

My source for peaches has disappeared. I don't know where Kroger was finding peaches at this time of year anyway, but there were only four left when I went shopping this morning. The display was gone too, so I don't think the peaches are coming back soon. Oh, well. It's back to strawberries for the rest of the Winter. You can almost always find strawberries. When I was a kid, fruit really was seasonal. Nobody flew in berries from South America. Actually, fresh fruit of any kind was kind of a rarity. I mostly remember canned fruit.

Since it was cold and rainy this evening, we had chili for dinner. I love a good bowl of chili, but it doesn't always love me. I took my heartburn medicine ahead of time and had a beer with dinner as well. My doctor says it's fine to take a proton pump inhibitor like Protonix occasionally. It's not a good idea to take these drugs for years at a time though, since they can cause bone loss and osteoporosis-related fractures. It's always something, isn't it. For a long time I thought Protonix was a miracle drug, since it allowed me to eat anything. I guess there is no free lunch when it comes to heartburn.

I've got the pumps on the roof running now, but the rain is stopping and won't begin again until almost morning. Do I leave the pumps running and risk burning them out, or do I turn them off and risk a leak if the rain is heavy and the water levels build quickly? It's a tough choice. I wish I could find a pump that was safe to run dry for extended periods of time. It would make life easier. I guess I'll play it safe and turn the pumps off and place a bucket under the spot that usually leaks. I've had enough of this lousy weather, but there is no sign that it will end soon. March is often just as wet as February in Dallas.

There is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow. I'll probably go to the gym anyway. Hopefully, Dash will sleep through the night. If he goes outside to pee while it's raining, he'll get wet and dirty and by the time I dry him off and clean him up, I'll be wide awake. I'll bet those young Dalmatians at the kennel won't have any problems sleeping tonight. Young dogs and young people seldom do.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3141

There is a suspicious rust colored stain on the living room ceiling that wasn't there a few days ago. I think the roof is leaking again. This really isn't supposed to be happening. I actually thought the roofers did a pretty good job when they made their repairs recently. I went up on the roof to remove the standing water from yesterday's surprise rain and look for signs of a leak. I couldn't find anything. Where is this water coming from? I'm about ready to give up. This house is a series of never ending problems. Maybe all old houses are this way, but I'm beginning to think that it would be a lot easier to just live in a hotel.

The weather was nice this morning. The temperature was only in the high seventies when I woke up. Dash could smell the difference in the air. He was ready to walk as soon as he'd finished taking his morning meds. I was surprised at how eager he was this morning. He didn't even want to wait until Janet had left for work. We had a nice walk and then he went back to sleep. That's what he does these days. He eats and sleeps and occasionally poops in the house.

There has been a campaign to save some historic trees in an older shopping center near my post office. When I went to the post office today, I noticed that the developer had chopped down the trees anyway. So much for listening to the customers. I think most of the neighborhood wanted to keep the trees. I'm not even sure what the developer was trying to prove. I think all they are are going to do is add a few more parking places. What was that old Joni Mitchel song? "You don't know what you've got till it's gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

Now that Janet has returned, it is time to stock up on groceries again. I went to the store after breakfast this morning and bought a bunch of fresh fruit. Janet thought I might have got too much, but it all looked so good. The strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and peaches were all really fresh today. I should go shopping on Tuesday more often. All the produce looked much better than it does on Saturday.

I wish I could teach Dash to sleep on the floor. He's really having trouble climbing on the bed now. The special step we built at the base of the bed helped for quite a while, but now he's having trouble even getting on the step. He's so stubborn about trying to do things that were easy when he was younger that I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself.

Dash goes to the cancer center tomorrow morning for another series of tests. We're hoping that his blood clot hasn't gotten worse after we were forced to discontinue one of his blood thinners due to internal bleeding. The internal bleeding problem seems to be gone, but we're still worried about the blood clot in Dash's heart. My sister is undergoing a similar series of tests to see how she's responding to a new cancer treatment. I hope everyone's test results are good. There's way too much illness in my little corner of the world.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2977

Dash didn't want to go outside when we woke up this morning. He shouldn't have been so indecisive. Ten minutes later it was pouring rain. The rain didn't last long, but there was plenty of time for Dash to get soaking wet. We dried him off and ate our breakfast. The morning walk could wait until later.

According to the weather forecast, this is the beginning of an entire week of wet weather. I'd better hurry up and find something I want to watch on Netflix. Without any deadlines to keep me busy, I'm going to have a severe case of cabin fever.

Dash did get his walk when the rain stopped and then I got started on my Saturday errands. I picked up some Phenobarbital for Dash and got Carvedilol for myself. For some reason the pharmacist wouldn't renew the Carvedilol prescription until today, even though I ran out of pills on Thursday. Medicare is very inflexible. It didn't matter that I didn't have any pills. What mattered is that they thought I should still have some. Once again, veterinary medicine is so much more straightforward.

I still haven't bought a new refrigerator. The big President's Day sales are a joke. Not a single refrigerator I've looked at during the past three months has seen a price reduction. They're all exactly the same price as they were before. I'm really tempted to buy a supply of spare parts and just attempt to repair my current refrigerator myself if it breaks again.

When I went to the grocery store today I noticed that strawberries have gone down in price. I wonder why fresh fruit prices fluctuate so wildly? There always seems to be a steady supply of strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries, but the price is always different.  Fruit that grows on vines seems to be available year round, but fruit that grows on trees is very seasonal. I'll be glad when peaches are available again. My morning smoothies always taste better with peaches.

I should have cleaned the house this afternoon, but I didn't feel like it. I must not have felt like doing much, because very little was accomplished today. Some days are like this. At the end of the day you wonder if anything happened at all. At least Dash got a nice afternoon walk before the weather turned cold again.

I finally got the nerve to look at my brokerage account. I'm still down quite a bit, but last week's mini-rebound certainly helped. I've learned over the years that's it's best to ignore a sell off. When you panic, you always end up selling too late and then buying again too soon. I'm hoping that sanity will return to the market soon. The economy is still good.

The United States doesn't seem to be doing so well in the Olympics. I may be wrong, but didn't we used to win more medals?  The Japanese own figure skating now. I watched Yuzuru Hanyu win the gold while I was going to sleep last night and he was amazing. I guess it's been a long time since Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding.

It's time to go the the gym again tomorrow. I've really got to start going twice a week.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2669

I found out this morning that the guy who played lead guitar in my old band is dead. I was going to wish him Happy Birthday on Facebook and when I went to his page I discovered that he had passed away last September. I'm so out of touch these days that this isn't the first time this has happened. I'm kind of wary about wishing someone my age Happy Birthday now without checking to make sure they're alive first. I'm not sure about the etiquette of these things, but it seems disrespectful to send a Facebook greeting to a dead person. Although it's a little late now to pay my respects, I was really sorry to learn about my old friend. He was a good guy. The years I spent playing in a band with him were some of the best.

I cut myself again today and didn't even notice until hours later. This is the second time I've done this recently. I have a feeling that I'm scraping my arms on branches in the yard when I'm holding Dot up when I take her outside to pee. I have to really concentrate when I'm walking her around like a marionette. I used to be able to just walk behind Dot, holding up her rear end as she walked. Now, her front legs are starting to become weak as well, so I need to provide support for both the front and rear. It's kind of awkward and hard on the back, so I have to be careful that I don't trip. It's not really surprising at all that I don't notice when I've bumped into a tree.

Blueberries are back. There was a big supply today, but they had doubled in price. I wonder sometimes how stores keep a steady supply of seasonal items. These berries probably came from South America instead of California or Mexico. Somewhere there's a guy who's job it is to source berries from all over the world, so people like me can enjoy them in their smoothie all year long. I'm always impressed that things like this work so smoothly. Maybe I'm not as much of an isolationist as I think I am. I enjoy having access to fresh fruit all year long. I routinely buy coffee from Ethiopia and Sumatra. And I'm continually amazed that you can get good sushi in Dallas.

The indestructible pants I bought at REI last year are already falling apart. I'm disappointed, but Janet tells me that you're not supposed to wear the same pair of pants every day. The knees of these pants tore first, which isn't surprising since I spend half my day on my knees cleaning up poop, or trying to get Dot back in an upright position. If lifting weights is supposed to build muscle, I don't understand why I'm still having trouble with muscle atrophy. After two years of lifting a fifty pound dog, I should look like the incredible hulk by now. Sadly, my muscle mass hasn't increased at all and all I've done is tear up both shoulders.

It looks like we got a bumper crop of wildflowers this year. The fields and meadows around our house are in full bloom now. I'm seeing new varieties almost everyday. Some flowers only bloom for a few days and others stick around for months. Some bloom very early in the morning and disappear by midday. It's fascinating to watch this pageant of color unfold. I spotted some Lazy Daisies this morning. I wonder who names these things.

I'm going to have to be careful when I walk the dogs in the park tomorrow. Every year, hundreds of families have their Easter Egg hunts here. Nobody seems to hide real eggs anymore. They hide plastic eggs filled with candy and chocolate. The kids never seem to find all the eggs, but the dogs do.  Since chocolate is poisonous to dogs, I definitely don't want Dot and Dash to go snooping around in the grass for stuff the kids left behind. It's amazing how much litter appears every Easter. Nobody even tries to pick up their mess.

It's been a long day. Two rugs and a blanket got soiled, but it could have been a lot worse. Dot is tired now and so am I. Hopefully we'll get some decent sleep before we start all over again tomorrow.

Krissy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2660

I think the phone companies have finally figured out that we are addicted to smartphones and have started pricing things accordingly. I used to be able to get a new phone for almost nothing. I would get a generous trade-in on my old phone and then the phone company would give me a deeply discounted new phone in exchange for signing a two year contract. All that is gone now. There are no subsidized phones anymore. AT&T prefers to rent you a phone by the month. If you actually want to own the phone, you pay full retail. When I explored my options this morning at the AT&T store, it made me think I should just keep my old phone a while longer.

I've given up on blueberries. They must be out of season. I've almost forgotten that fruit and vegetables are seasonal items. You can get virtually everything all year round now. Sometimes the price goes up for a while when the distributor is switching to a supplier in a different country. Sometimes fruit disappears for a few weeks, but there is a remarkably steady supply of strawberries and blueberries. Peaches seem to disappear the longest, but even they are generally available. I'll probably be seeing blueberries again pretty soon. Even though I'm not a big fan of globalization, I'll have to admit that I do like being able to enjoy fresh fruit all year long.

I hate to leave the house without accomplishing anything, so I stopped at Home Depot and got two light bulbs and a garden hose. When I returned home from my errands, Dot was still asleep. I'd like to think that I'm getting better at anticipating Dot's next move, but truthfully I just got lucky. The key to success is not being gone too long. I made it to the grocery store, the AT&T store, and Home Depot in less than an hour. That's pretty good.

Work was slow today, but that's not surprising. The surprise these days is when I actually do get a new project. It's amazing how busy I stay even when nothing is happening. I made sure all the rugs were dry and then brought them back inside. I cleaned the blankets that Dot peed on this morning when she couldn't make it outside. I experimented with my morning smoothie recipe now that there aren't any blueberries. After breakfast, I got online and learned a little more about DirectTV Now. I saw a flyer about this streaming service while I was at the AT&T store and it seemed a lot less expensive than my current cable package. I think that traditional cable TV is going away in a few years. I just need to decide where to go next.

I feel like pancakes tomorrow, but everyone makes their pancakes too thick. I wish I could find a restaurant that served nice thin pancakes. I guess I could just order crepes, but usually crepes are filled with jelly or have half a pound of powered sugar on the top. I just want a stack of simple thin pancakes served with real maple syrup. Is that too much to ask?

I almost forgot to take the trash out tonight until Janet reminded me it was Thursday. That's what got me thinking about pancakes. Everything is done for the day except for one last trip outside with Dot. The day has to end with Dot peeing outside or nobody sleeps very well.

Paxton is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2378

According to the news, we're having a heat wave. It kind of seems like a normal June to me, but I'll be the first to admit that it's pretty darn hot. I mowed the grass early this morning in attempt to avoid the worst of the heat, but I wasn't very successful. If I was looking for comfortable temperatures, I would have had to mow in the middle of the night. I don't know how long I can continue to mow my own grass. Pushing the lawnmower gets more exhausting with each passing year. Most of my neighbors have a yard service by now, but I stubbornly continue to do things the old fashioned way. When the temperatures start to approach 100 degrees, I begin to question my own sanity.

The dogs don't like the Summer heat any more than I do. Sometimes there's a breeze on our early morning walk. Today the air was still and it made the heat seem even more oppressive. We should have gotten an earlier start this morning, but it was Saturday and everyone was sleeping peacefully. I hated to wake Janet and the dogs up. There was telltale evidence that Dot had pooped during the night when I woke up this morning, but I don't remember getting up during the night. It turned out that Janet woke up and cleaned things up. Sometimes I wake up and sometimes she does. All this proves I guess is that we both sleep erratically.

Mowing the grass wore me out, so I wisely decided to curtail any further yard work. Since it was nice and cool inside, I thought I'd finish a few writing assignments. I completed a press release that had an impending deadline and sent it off to the client. I tried to get some clarification on a website issue I'm working on and eventually remembered that the client wasn't in the office on Saturday. Hopefully, I'll be able to remember my question until Monday.

When I went to the store, I was disappointed to see that they no longer carried the hot and spicy Cheetos I like. This is probably for the best, since there were so many artificial ingredients in the things that they were sure to give me cancer. I struck out buying healthier items too. The peaches were soft and looked like they'd go bad in a day or two. I didn't buy them. It floors me that stores continue to sell bad produce, but maybe everyone isn't as picky as me. I saw other people buying the peaches. Strawberries are the worst. They must train the produce guys to hide bad strawberries inside the clear plastic containers. The strawberries always look great on the top and bottom of the packaging, but there are always some bad ones hidden away in the middle where you can't see them. I can't really blame the stores for doing things this way. If they sold strawberries loose, customers would rummage around and pick only the very best ones, leaving all the rest behind.

I think the mosquito treatment is working. I still got bitten when I was cleaning my boots on the porch after our morning walk but the bites were definitely less frequent. The next test will be to see whether the treatment still works after I resume watering the grass. I'm surprised that the city hasn't started spraying yet. Usually they are spraying for mosquitoes at night by now. Maybe people are protesting the spraying program again. The city can't win on issues like this. Whatever they do, somebody is going to complain.

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. There won't be any big celebrations tomorrow, but I'm glad the journey has lasted as long as it has. With luck, there will be many more birthdays to celebrate, but I'm beginning to wonder whether my goal of posting for 5000 consecutive days was a bit too ambitious. I'm not even halfway there yet.

Rugby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1147

My learning journey continues. Oatmeal mixed with fresh blueberries and strawberries and sweetened with a little Stevia is actually delicious. Who would have thought? Maybe I can live without bacon after all. I also learned that the Kale I'm eating in my salad is actually the very same purple plant that I used to buy in pots at the garden store to put on the front porch during the Winter. I always thought these ornamental plants were pretty, but never knew you could eat them. I certainly had no idea they were healthy.

I wish I would discover some equally enlightening things about my chosen profession. I'm really starting to get burned out with what advertising has become in recent years. The stuff I write never was intended to be Anna Karenina or Moby Dick. It's depressing how mindless advertising messaging has become however. For the past three or four years I keep thinking that the Super Bowl ads keep getting worse with each succeeding year. There is no subtlety anymore. It's all rudeness and explosions these days. Coke, GoDaddy, Priceline... there wasn't a coherent idea between them. I didn't even like a lot of the commercials that the young bloggers gave rave reviews on their websites. I thought the Taco Bell spot with the old people escaping the retirement home was kind of insulting and even though I thought the Tide "Stain" spot was clever, it wasn't that great. On the other hand I did like some of the commercials that the young folk thought were insulting. The Volkswagen spot featuring white people talking like Jamaicans was panned by many reviewers who said the spot was racially insensitive. What a bunch of politically correct nonsense. That Volkswagen commercial was one of the few genuinely funny spots I saw all night.

Like many of you, I loved the Paul Harvey "Farmer" spot for Dodge Ram. I was terribly disappointed however to discover that the Dodge Ram ad agency didn't actually come up with this idea. A much smaller Chicago agency had already used the exact same Paul Harvey dialog in another commercial earlier. This is sad to me. Copying has become so mainstream that people don't even think it is wrong anymore. Most of my clients would actually rather copy or emulate something that already exists than to take a chance on something genuinely original. I haven't been asked to do anything genuinely original in years.

I was really busy today, but like I've already mentioned, I wasn't doing much original thinking. That monkey the Iranians sent into space recently could have taken my place today. I changed out pictures on websites. I paraphrased things I found on Wikipedia. I replied to mindless questions with equally mindless answers. Maybe something original will happen tomorrow.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day