Day 3443

It rained a lot today. I thought I was pretty clever though. I know how long it takes me to walk specific distances and I know there are a lot of little gazebo like structures scattered throughout the park so picnickers can get out of the sun. I looked at the weather radar and plotted a path that would hopefully have me arriving at one of of these covered structures every time a storm cloud was overhead. Amazingly, the plan worked. When a rain cloud arrived I was sitting under a gazebo and staying dry. One of these covered structures was up on a hill where I could see the storm approaching from a distance. You could clearly see streaks of rain falling from a big dark cloud that was getting closer and closer. As the rain approached I could hear the raindrops falling on the water in the lake while the meadow in front of me was still dry. Then thirty seconds later, the rain was overhead. Each storm cell was small and there was lots of space in-between each downpour. I still managed to cover three miles and I didn't get wet. My walk took a little longer this morning, but I wasn't in a hurry. Actually watching the rain from a dry vantage point was quite enjoyable. While I was out today I encountered a beautiful Canada Goose. I wanted a picture, but unfortunately didn't have a telephoto lens with me. I thought about trying to get close to the goose with my phone, but geese can be nasty. I wasn't really in the mood to get attacked by a goose.

I got a welcome letter from the NASA folks today and now I finally feel comfortable that my acceptance of their invitation was received. NASA is a very bureaucratic organization and there will be further correspondence and forms to fill out before I can actually set foot inside their secure facilities. The trip is officially confirmed though and I'm definitely going. Hopefully, this will be the start of a very interesting summer.

I went with Janet this afternoon to help transport one of our rescue dogs from the veterinary surgery center to another vet where she will recuperate. While we were on our way we got a call saying that there were complications and the dog needed to stay at the hospital under observation for an additional day. Actually, this was good news to me. I always worry about taking a dog home that has just had surgery. Dogs aren't always good patients and there are so many things that can go wrong. Hopefully when we do pick this girl up, her condition will be stable and she'll already be on the mend.

Not a lot happened today but it still felt like a good day. I'm getting a lot of sleep now and am slowly becoming comfortable with the idea of living without deadlines or responsibilities. Janet has always been more involved with rescue than me, but there is nothing wrong with helping her out when I can. Hey, I may become a space and astronomy blogger yet. It must mean something that NASA has invited me to three different events. Things can change quickly, but at least for today, life is good.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3302

What a busy day. The roofing crew arrived early. It took a while to explain what was going on, but once we were all on the same page, the guys found two additional leaks. Since these leaks corresponded to areas inside the house where water was getting in, I felt like we were making progress. When I asked whether they felt confident that the had discovered all the potential leaks, they just shrugged. "We'd have to tear up the entire roof to do that," one guy said. At least the guys made an honest effort to patch the leak. We'll have to see what happens when it rains again.

I got a quote on fixing my office chair. It's going to cost more than it cost to fix the dryer. How can that be? It's only a chair. Reluctantly, I told the guys to go ahead and order the parts. The repairs will still cost considerably less than buying a new chair. Janet suggested just going out and buy a cheap chair at Office Depot, but I like my Aeron Chair. It has served me well and even though I don't spend a lot of time designing websites or editing videos these days, I still like to be comfortable when I'm writing the blog.

Since I was making progress on the roof and the chair, I decided to tackle the driveway as well. I went out and bought a hundred pounds of river rocks at Home Depot and dumped them in the pothole. It wasn't an elegant solution, but it just might work. At this point I just want to stop getting mud all over my car every time I back out of the driveway. Before filling the hole with rocks, I checked to make sure there wasn't a water pipe underneath. Nope. The ground is just saturated with all the rain we've had lately.

The last thing on my list today was an attempt to fix the weird French toilet in one of the bathrooms. This seldom works, but since I can't get parts for the toilet anyway what do I have to lose? Basically I just shut the water off, clean off the parts as best I can and them put the flushing mechanism back together again. This is the most complicated toilet I've ever seen. It was probably designed by the same person who designed Citroën automobiles. Rube Goldberg would be proud.

Dash is still slipping on the bricks, so I went to the storage warehouse and brought back a few more rugs. I've already brought quite a few of these rugs home, but I was surprised at how many still remained. We must have covered our entire house with cheap rugs when Dot was sick. The rugs do make a difference. They help Dash get up when he's been sleeping on the floor and they help him stay upright when he's awake.

Towards the end of the day I got a call from the guy who is restoring my Sequential Circuits synthesizers. He said that one of the synthesizers was as good as new now and that he was making progress on the other two. These synthesizers have been in the shop for over three months now. I didn't even want to ask what this was going to cost me. I still don't feel bad about restoring this stuff. Vintage Sequential Circuits gear is very desirable. When everything is finished, I'll either start playing the keyboards again, or someone will want to buy them.

All in all, it was a good day. I like making progress even if the progress is small. The weather should be nice tomorrow as well, so today's roof repairs should have plenty of time to dry before rain puts them to the test again. Fingers crossed. For some reason I'm slightly optimistic today.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3264

One down, one to go. Today's photo shoot went well. All the dogs were friendly. The owners were happy with their pictures. And nobody peed on the set. One dog threw up on Santa, but it was a minor mishap. Basically, everything went like clockwork today. We were busy all day long, but I don't think the crowds were as big as they were last year. Maybe we were just better organized this year. We never got behind schedule. No equipment malfunctioned. And we even had time to eat lunch.

The day started early. Dash got me up at 4 AM, but he managed to make it outside and there was no poop to clean up. I actually got more sleep than usual last night since I went to bed early and Dash slept soundly until he needed to go outside. I wish he would do this every night. There was actually plenty of time to take a shower and complete our morning walk before I had to leave for the photo shoot.

There were no exotic animals today. We did photograph two cats, but today's event seemed tame compared to several weeks ago when I spent the day photographing children holding snakes. I wonder why Santa pictures are important to people? Some folks come every year and have entire albums devoted to these pictures. Our own dogs would never sit still for Santa pictures, but I'm glad that other people's dogs do. Santa Paws has always been a good fundraiser for Dalmatian Rescue.

We've got another Santa Paws event scheduled for tomorrow and then we're done for the year. This is much easier than when we used to do these events every weekend during the holiday season. I keep saying that I'm too old for pet photography and this will be the last year, but I always reconsider. It's such a good cause and I enjoy working with our team. Even though I'm a grumpy person with bad knees, it's nice to know you can still do something useful.

Dash did fine today. He got his morning and evening walks and all of his regular meals. Janet came home at noon to check on him and take him outside to pee. He spent most of the day sleeping, just like he usually does. I always worry about leaving Dash alone, since he is so unpredictable these days. We did fine though. We'll repeat this routine tomorrow and then it's back to drinking smoothies for the rest of the year.

Every year I photograph a few dogs who are nearing the end of their life. I always wonder if I'll see them again next year. Pet owners almost universally agree that dogs don't live long enough. They become indispensable members of the family and then they're gone. Maybe this is why the photographs are so important. I try to give people good memories. That's kind of what it's all about.

The weather was beautiful this morning. I was inside most of the day, but I got to watch the sunrise as Venus gradually disappeared in the Eastern sky. There was a thin crescent moon overhead, a gentle breeze, and not a cloud in the sky. Dash was steady on his feet and was enjoying himself. I had a feeling that it was going to be a good day.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3222

I had lots of errands today. Everywhere I went, I was faced with rising prices. I bought some Salicylic Acid at the drug store and and the price had increased by $2 a bottle. I bought some halogen bulbs at the hardware store and the price had increased by $3 a bulb. The grocery store is always full of price increases. I've been buying those blue paper shop towels for years and the price has almost doubled. Laundry detergent has gone way up . Strawberries are still cheap though. Go figure.

I stopped by the storage warehouse to see when my annual rent was due. Naturally, next year's rent is more than this year's. I've been a loyal customer for decades and yet my rent keeps increasing every single year. It would be a lot of work, but I'm really tempted to move everything to a new storage warehouse so I can take advantage of the new customer discounts. Every time I hear that inflation isn't a problem, I shake my head in disbelief. Maybe big screen TV's are cheaper than they used to be, but the cost of almost everything else has gone up.

For the first time in weeks, I saw blue sky. Amazingly, it was a beautiful Fall day. The performers at the little circus in the park seemed almost giddy with excitement. They were selling tickets, stringing lights, and getting ready for a show this evening. The park was full of people riding bicycles, sitting in hammocks, and throwing frisbees. I had to keep an eye out for loose dogs. There are always loose dogs on a nice day. I saw two dogs get in a fight off in the distance. Luckily they were nowhere near Dash and I.

There were no accidents today. Not yet anyway. Miraculously, Dash slept through the night and walked outside the next morning and pooped in the yard. He took his meds without incident, ate all his breakfast, and was enthusiastic about his walks. For most of the day, he seemed like a normal dog.

I should have vacuumed this afternoon, but I watched cooking shows on PBS instead. It's hard to get motivated. The combination of roof leaks, poop on the floor, and worn out appliances has taken it's toll. I look around and keep thinking "what's the point."

Another watch winder broke today. Back when I was really interested in watches, I bought winders for the watches I regularly wore. One by one, the motors in these winders have started failing. Nobody seems to be able to repair these things either. You'd think a simple electric motor would run forever. Nope. About twelve years seems to be the limit.

We had fried chicken tonight. Sometimes I forget how good simple southern food can be. Hey, blue skies, fried chicken, and no poop on the floor. That's a good day in my book.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3206

It was a good day. It could have been a great day, but I'll settle for good. I was expecting the worst when we took Dash to the vet this morning, especially since his condition has been declining for several months. Surprisingly, his lab work looked better than at his last exam and the doctors could find no evidence of a blood clot on his echocardiogram. This was great news, but it was tempered a bit by the admission that the clot might have been missed this time, since Dash was squirming a lot when they did the test.

I'm hoping that the clot actually did disappear again. It disappeared once before. The vets at the cancer center are very good and they seldom make mistakes in their diagnosis. Even if the blood clot problem has been resolved, Dash still isn't out of the woods. He has an enlarged heart with a leaking mitral valve. The vestibular disease isn't going away either. When we described Dash's current symptoms, the doctor was initially worried about kidney failure. His blood work turned out relatively normal fortunately, so we won't have to add that worry to our list. Everything we learned this morning was good, but I still wish that the results had been better.

I was a little disappointed with the auction results as well. My art sold for a good price, but it didn't live up to the auction house estimates. They were so excited to acquire these items back in June that I became convinced that the sky was the limit. I shouldn't have set my expectations so high. Truthfully, my lot did just as well as other works by the same artist, but we definitely didn't set any records today. It's weird. Once you start watching auctions, you start thinking that whatever you are selling will set a new record. It doesn't work that way. A lot of things don't sell at all.

There is still one auction to go, but this was the big one. It's time to move one. I guess I am actually really lucky. With all the trouble I've had with my roof over the years, it would have been so easy for the art to be ruined by water. The roof would have just had to start leaking in a slightly different place.

Actually, the roofers did call today. They left me a message while we were at the vet with Dash saying they were in the neighborhood. By the time I was able to call them back, they were gone. It's back to playing phone tag again.

My heart rate is subsiding again. I don't know why, but I'll take it as a good sign. I can't believe I'm already thinking about where to go for breakfast tomorrow. These weeks go by so fast now. I've taken the trash out to the curb. Dash has finished his dinner and is resting calmly. Oh, I almost forgot. I sold some art today.

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3165

There was something for everybody at the restaurant this morning. As I was being seated, four policemen in tactical gear were paying their bill and leaving. Shortly after that, two open carry guys with side arms strapped to their waist took a seat. There was a large extended family with everyone from the grandmother to small babies gathered around a table. There were two Hispanic guys in starched white shirts with cufflinks who looked like they had gotten halfway dressed for a wedding before deciding they were hungry. There were young couples and retirees, along with several people who were conducting a business meeting. It was a diverse group and I appeared to be the only person eating alone. If you wanted to sample the mood of America, this would have been the place. I'm not sure if this was the place to sample a really great breakfast, but everyone seemed happy.

Maybe it was just a happy day. Dash certainly woke up in a good mood. He slept all night and managed to make it outside the next morning to poop. We took a nice walk before it became too hot and although he wasn't very hungry, Dash did manage to eat his breakfast later in the day. You can't ask for more than that from a tired old dog.

My wrist didn't hurt this morning, so I decided to go up on the roof. Much to my surprise, it was dry. Although we've had quite a bit of rain recently, it has been hot and dry this week. Apparently it takes about five days for the standing water to evaporate in the Summer. I need to remember this, because I'm not going to be able to continue climbing up on this roof forever. Unfortunately, the water will never evaporate in the Winter.

Janet didn't work today, so I started thinking it was Saturday again. I'm going to be really confused when she stops working completely. Who knows when that will happen though. Although she has officially retired, her company continues to bring her in on a consulting basis when they've got a tough problem. I tell Janet that it must be nice to be wanted. Whenever I used to leave a job, they usually never wanted to see me again.

The real estate market is heating up in our neighborhood. It happens from time to time. There seems to be lots of houses on the market right now. Whenever this happens, people get real interested in what their own house is worth. I used to feel this way until our house started falling apart. Now, I think it will just get torn down if we ever leave. But will we ever leave? Somehow, I doubt it.

Hero is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3080

We had a good day. Dash seemed to have a lot of energy this morning. We had a nice morning walk. He ate all his meals and took his pills without incident. He had enough energy left over to pester me as I tried to watch the new episode of The Expanse after breakfast. I'm glad the DVR has a pause button, because every five minutes Dash wanted to go outside. I was glad to see Dash in good spirits. Maybe someday he'll start wagging his tail again.

This week's episode of The Expanse captured my interest again. I still think there's way too much going on with three different sub-plots on three different ships, but I'll definitely keep watching. This is probably the best science fiction series since Farscape. Firefly was really good too, but the show got canceled way too soon. I think The Expanse could easily run for four or five seasons. Here's hoping anyway.

Janet took Dash on his evening walk because I had to go to an evening meeting. Meetings of any sort seem weird to me now. It rare for anything to be accomplished in your average meeting, but they are still an essential part of keeping a group together. It's the intangible things that are important in meetings. If the group feels good about working together, the details can usually be worked out later. Hopefully, I'm still in good graces with this group. I don't get out much, but I still care a lot about helping dogs.

Now that I'm in the process of selling one collection, I've started to think about getting rid of other things as well. I discovered the Artsy website today. I don't know why I never noticed this sooner. It's a great idea, connecting buyers, sellers, and other interested parties with great galleries and auction houses around the world. Instead of buying or selling art directly, you are dealing with very reputable galleries. The website is just a facilitator, bringing people together. I need to learn more about this concept. It might be exactly what I've been looking for.

The tree trimmers are supposed to come over tomorrow. I wonder how long this is going to take? There's really only one big branch that might be dangerous to leave as is, but I'm sure the tree guys will find more dead wood when they arrive. The last time they came to the house they took down twice as much as I had anticipated. I hope this all goes smoothly. I'd hate for one of these limbs to fall on the roof while they are cutting it down.

I probably should stay home and have my regular smoothie tomorrow. I have no idea when the tree guys are going to arrive, so it wouldn't be a good idea to go out for breakfast. Of course if I do stay home, they won't arrive until after lunch. That's just the way it goes.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2763

Things are looking up. Dash got a good report at his semi-annual cancer review. He is still cancer free and his doctor saw no reason to worry about his enlarged heart or vestibular disease. We learned what to look for in case his heart condition becomes worse and we pretty much already knew what to look for with his ongoing vestibular disease. For an old dog who has had many problems, Dash is looking pretty good.

The yard looks pretty good too. The landscapers arrived early this morning and spent the day removing a year's worth of dead leaves and small sticks before installing a brand St. Augustine turf. Janet and I realize by now that because of our soil and the four large trees in our back yard, that the grass won't last forever. It never does. The yard sure looks pretty now though. It should be a lot easier to keep the house clean too, since Dash won't be tracking mud inside every time there is a rainy day.

The landscapers probably think we are nuts to keep replacing our back yard every year, but there really isn't an alternative. A lot of large trees in the park don't have much grass under them either. The tree roots cover the yard like a canopy and suck up all the water. There is almost no way to provide the grass with an adequate amount of water during a hot Summer. We'll do the best we can. One thing is certain. Our water bill is going to go up next month.

I took my first walk since the dog bite this morning. My leg didn't swell appreciably afterwards and there was very little pain, so I think it will be OK to return to a more active life. The July heat will prevent me from over doing things. Early mornings are really the only time when it is cool enough outside to safely walk a dog. I'm going to continue sleeping with my feet elevated for a while. That seems to be the key to keeping my ankles from swelling.

The combination of good news at the vet and a pretty yard spurred me on to tackle some other ongoing problems. I contacted the roofers and asked them to come out again and make a few more patches. I have't received a response yet, but I seldom do. I also contacted the Land Rover dealer and asked them to apply my discount coupon to yesterday's bill. They gave me some sort of weird answer, saying that it was difficult to apply a credit to a job that was already closed. Come on guys. I'm a good customer. If you keep treating me this way, I might buy an Audi next time.

Dot was really loved within the veterinary community. When we had Dash up at the cancer center today, her medical team came out and gave Janet and I a hug, telling us what a special girl she was to them. Her oncologist said she would never forget her. This meant a lot to me, since I will never forget her either. I will remember when Dot and Dash were young and healthy as the best of times. I like having dogs around, but we're not thinking of getting a companion for Dash. He's adjusting well to being an only dog and he's getting older too. I'm a realist. Taking care of Dot was exhausting and taking care of Dash will be equally exhausting when he starts to fall apart. Dash will always get the love and care he deserves, but I don't have the energy to start over with a puppy again.

Janet has started talking about going back to work. Her recovery is really going well and if she gets a good report from her oncologist later this week, Dash and I might be on our own again sooner than we expected. It's been a really tough Summer, but I think we have weathered the storm. Although I'm a glass is half empty kind of guy, today the glass actually seemed half full.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2714

There were plumbers at the house today. The slow drains in the kitchen finally reached a point of no return and I had to do something about it. Plumbers and dogs aren't usually a good combination, but I was happy to have them over today. Dot hasn't paid much attention to strangers lately. She used to bark at the neighbors, people we encountered on our walks, and any and all service people. She's been pretty quiet lately, but somehow the sight of two plumbers in the house caused her protective instincts to kick into gear and she began her "stranger danger" bark. I haven't heard this bark in months.

The more Dot barked, the more she began to remember she was a dog again. I could tell she was enjoying herself. Maybe it was a jolt of adrenaline. Maybe it was some vivid old memories she managed to resurrect. I don't know. Something happened though. Protecting me from the plumbers stimulated her appetite and as soon as the plumbers left, she ate a full cup of her dry kibble. Later, she ate a grilled chicken breast while Janet was having dinner and then we took a nice walk. It was almost worth the $237 bill the plumbers left me with.

I thought snaking out the pipes would be an easy and inexpensive job. Unfortunately, nothing is easy at our house. It turned out that the problem wasn't in the main drain lines. The clog was in a hard to access line in the brick wall behind the kitchen sink. The plumbers has to remove the garbage disposal and several supply lines in order to reach the line they needed to clear. Everything works fine now, but the two plumbers were here almost three hours.

I wonder why there are always two plumbers now? One plumber used to be enough. The same thing happens with electricians and HVAC repairmen. There are always at least two people on any service call. I'm sure this is a big reason why most home repairs now cost twice as much. I wasn't going to quibble about the price though. I was delighted that the plumbers arrived so quickly. In a house where the washing machine is running constantly, I can't afford to have clogged drain lines.

I know there are people who think I'm not being realistic about Dot. They worry about her quality of life. I know life isn't what it used to be, but days like today make me realize that Dot still has the capacity to enjoy being the family dog. Yes, I know yesterday was a bad day, but that's how it goes. I saw this with my Dad as well toward the end. Things fade in and things fade out. You've got to give the memories a chance. There will be other bad days and sometime in the not too distant future, we will run out of time. All I know is that I'm not forcing Dot to stay with us. She wants to stay with us. At least for a while today, she was a very happy dog.

Ollie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2689

I didn't get any sleep last night, but today went reasonably well. I actually had time to run down to the hipster restaurant and pick up some breakfast to go before Janet left for work. I gave Dot her morning pills and then sat down to enjoy some delicious cinnamon pancakes. Dot didn't eat her own breakfast until almost 11 AM, but who care about timing anymore. She ate pretty well and wanted to eat out of her bowl again instead of being hand fed.

The reason I didn't get much sleep last night is that Dot can't seem to sleep all the way through the night anymore. She peed in her bed around 3 AM and while I was cleaning her up, she decided to poop as well. It was a mess. By the time I took her blankets and harness outside to rinse off with the garden hose before throwing everything in the washing machine, I was wide awake. Maybe I went back to sleep and maybe I didn't. It's hard to tell.

The only benefit to this nocturnal mishap was that it was pretty easy to get her outside again when I woke her up around sunrise. There were no leaks on the way to the back door at all. Usually Dot sleeps for hours after breakfast, but she remained active today for some reason. Maybe she's starting to feel a little better. She certainly kept me busy. I could tell that all this activity was making it hard for her to stand, so we used the wheelchair for our evening walk. I wasn't sure if she'd ever be strong enough to use the wheelchair again, but she did pretty well today. I continue to be amazed at how easily Dot is able to walk using this contraption.

I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. I'm way overdue, but it's been hard to get out of the house this Spring. Today I made a ten minute trip to pick up breakfast and another ten minute trip to pay the phone bill, but that was it. The rest of the day was non-stop dog wrangling.

My new driver's license arrived today. That was quick. I was convinced that the process would take months. I probably should start doing more things online like this. The whole world is optimized for online transactions these days. Nobody wants you to go to the post office or the bank anymore.  I'm afraid I'm becoming a Luddite just like my sister. I'm just more comfortable doing things the way I've done them for most of my life.

I'm curious to see if Dot's blood work and vital signs have improved the next time we take her to the cancer center. She was genuinely close to death for almost a week and now she seems to be slowly improving. Dot is still very week and has a lot of trouble swallowing, but the fact that she is trying to eat on her own again and still wants her daily walks is pretty amazing. I'm not going to get my hopes up, but it would be really nice if she could make it to her seventeenth birthday. Hey, it's possible. Her birthday is this summer.

It took about five tiny meals, but Dot ate her full two cups of food today. I had a decent breakfast for a change and Janet and I had a nice dinner. Even Dash acted pretty normally. Not a bad way to end the week.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2659

Lord knows what I do in my sleep. I woke up this morning without my fitness tracker on my wrist. I couldn't find it anywhere. Did it fall off when I got up to go to the bathroom? Did it fall off when I cleaned up Dot's poop at 2 AM? I didn't want to lose the tracker for three months like my other UP band, so I looked everywhere. Eventually, I found it under the sheets at the foot of the bed. How on earth did it get there?

While I was searching for the illusive UP band, Dot was slowly waking up. Every morning I have to make a quick decision. When Dot lifts her head and acknowledges that she is awake I have to decide whether to lift her up and let her pee in place on her bed, or quickly walk her down the hall and out the back door. If she pees in place, there is a small well contained mess. If we can make it outside, there is no mess at all. If I guess wrong, there is a trail of pee all the way to the back door and a lot of rugs to wash. I guessed wrong this morning. I really thought she could make it, but when she didn't pee immediately when we got outside I knew there was a trail of pee behind me

It was unusually cold this morning. It felt strange to wear a winter parka in April, but that's Texas weather for you. This was another one of those days where we had the furnace running in the morning and the air conditioner in the afternoon. At least the humidity was low. It will help the rugs dry on the line in the back yard. I've stopped drying the rugs in the dryer, because the rubber backing would always flake off and make a big mess. I've got a fairly efficient system for keeping things clean now, but it sure would be nice if I knew what Dot was going to do in the morning.

I decided to upgrade my IOS devices to the latest system and as usual, Apple hit me with a surprise. They have a two step authentication process now that seems unusually complicated, even for Apple. When you log on with one device, Apple sends an authentication code to a second device. You have to copy this code back to the first device before you can continue. I guess this is an effective way to keep an unauthorized person from using your phone, but it is very inconvenient. I'm not sure what you would do if you only owned one Apple product. I'm going to have to figure out how to disable this feature, because I definitely don't want to keep an iPad nearby every time I use my phone.

I actually had work to do this morning. It was only a routine website update, but it kept me busy for a while. I need to think seriously about uploading a massive amount of photos to Shutterstock. I make a little money every month from stock photo websites, but I don't have enough photos on file to generate any real income. When my few remaining clients eventually disappear, passive income websites like Shutterstock and iStockphoto might be all I have left. In theory, you could make a living selling stock photos, but you'd have to have thousands available. So far, I only have ten.

Today wasn't half bad. Dot was calm and stress free for most of the day. Dash was eager to walk for a change. I had some work to do and the weather was crisp and cool. I didn't even leave the house today, but that was OK. On days like these, I don't feel a need to escape.

Angel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2490

Forget what I said about wishing I could remember my dreams. I actually remembered a dream pretty clearly when I woke up this morning and it was pathetic. Somehow when I went outside to check the mail, I discovered a man building an elaborate rock garden in my front yard. I asked the man what he was doing and he told me that the yard needed something extra and that he would send me a bill. I argued with him for a while and then went back inside to discover that I wasn't in my own home anymore, but was at a housewarming party at the home of Dot's veterinarian. Dot wasn't at the party, but I did remember seeing a large Persian rug under the dining room table with a woven Dalmatian pattern. I asked if I could have the rug and then I woke up. This was nothing like the dreams I used to have many years ago where I had the ability to fly.

I always make a grocery list when I go to the store, but when I got home today, I noticed that I failed to buy several items that were clearly marked on my list. It wasn't like these items were out of stock.  I just completely forgot about them, even though I looked at the list at the store. This isn't like me. I'm usually very methodical. Is this how Alzheimer's begins? If I got Alzheimer's, probably nobody would know the difference. I don't remember much anyway.

Dot seemed was a bit stronger today. I don't know causes her dramatic change in energy levels from one day to the next, but I'm always glad when she has a good day. Maybe it's as simple as a change in temperature. Fall is definitely here and Dot loves the cooler weather. I had to wear a jacket for the first time on our morning walk. I think the temperature was in the low fifties when I woke up. I bought several Winter jackets at dirt cheap prices when the sporting goods store was going out of business earlier this Summer. I wasn't sure if I'd actually wear these coats then, but it turned out to be a good purchase. The feather light insulated jacket was perfect for mornings like this.

Couldn't we just have a do-over on this presidential election? Both candidates keep getting worse and worse. Even the two independent candidates are embarrassingly bad. I bet if there was a way to vote on just canceling the election and starting over, the measure would pass overwhelmingly. I don't buy the argument that you've got to vote for one of these candidates because the other one is worse. I think we need to admit that we have failed miserably as a country and just start over.

I got my first payment from Shutterstock today. Hey, it only took me a year. I guess this isn't so bad, considering that I only uploaded about ten photos to the stock library. I wish I could get motivated to upload hundreds, or even thousands of pictures. If I had more pictures available, this might end up being a decent form of passive income. Unfortunately, I lost interest in Shutterstock about two weeks after I joined. I got tired of having to extensively tag each photo with a long list of keywords before it was even approved. It was also pretty irritating when many of my favorite images got rejected for poor focus or excessive grain. I love shallow depth of field where only a small part of the image is in sharp focus and grainy images never bothered me at all. What do I know though? It is nice getting a check, so maybe I'll upload some more pictures.

Today wasn't a bad day at all. The weather was perfect. Even though Dot pooped in the house, she managed to avoid making a mess. For my part, I managed to get caught up on all my web assignments. Janet even fixed some delicious trout for dinner. I will have to go back to the grocery store tomorrow to pick up the items that mysteriously vanished from my memory today, but this is no big deal. A few more days like this would be just fine.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2382

It doesn't really take that much to turn a bad day into a good day. Basically, I was faced with the same old grind, but Dot had more energy today and I was able to solve a perplexing website problem for one of my clients. I was really pleased with how well Dot did during her water therapy session. We were able to increase the speed a bit and she didn't stumble at all. The vet paid extra attention to her shoulders during her acupuncture therapy and tried to relieve some of the stress that was causing her muscles to cramp. Her rear legs are so weak now that she basically shifts most of her weight to her front two legs which causes a lot of stress. The combination of water therapy and acupuncture seemed to work, and Dot felt better for the rest of the day.

Much of my website work is so mechanical now that I often feel like a code monkey. Occasionally though, I have to really think things through and today was one of those days. I've never really liked interactive forms, especially when they don't work. I had to do a lot of troubleshooting today to figure out why something that should be working actually wasn't. It would have been easy to blame the hosting company or gremlins for the problem, but I was determined to find the answer myself. After a couple of hours of experimentation, I figured out what was going on and explained everything to the client. I think they understood, but there's always a chance that they weren't listening.

I've got to find something better to watch on TV while I eat breakfast. I used to watch Dr. Who re-runs on the BBC channel but they quit running them. Now there's nothing but endless political and financial news, which are both equally depressing. I'm totally tired of the non-stop political news. Do we really have to listen to this for six more months? I wish that Bernie and Trump would have a secret meeting and both agree to run as independents. Bernie could call Trump a narcissistic fascist and Trump could call Bernie an dangerous socialist and almost instantly the traditional political establishment would be irrelevant. In a four person race, either Bernie or Trump would win. Hillary and whatever tired old retread that the Republicans trotted out wouldn't have a chance. All this would be fine by me. I think just about anyone would be better than more of the same. It's time to re-shuffle the deck and start over. Of course there's always a chance that I'm just another nihilistic anarchist. I'm really hoping that the UK leaves the European Union tomorrow too.

It's amazing how quickly the soil dries out after a few days of Texas heat. Our yard was a mud pit just a few weeks ago and now it is almost bone dry. I'm going to have to start watering again or everything will die. Our water bill triples during the Summer months. I hate to think how much people with really big yards and fancy sprinkler systems pay for water each month. We have a very small yard and our water bill goes through the roof in July and August.

There was only a small Internet outage today and I didn't even bother to call technical support. Sometimes calling AT&T actually makes things worse. That's the way modern life is today. You have to decide whether random sporadic problems are worse than the problems you go out and create for yourself.

Kirby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2361

Everyone was glad to see Dot back on the treadmill today. We resumed her water therapy and acupuncture sessions and I was pleased at how well she did. Her vet did an evaluation and thinks it's OK to continue her therapy. The only snag in Dot's therapy plan is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to transport her in the car. Even when I drive slowly and make no sudden moves, the ride is uncomfortable and stressful for her. She almost always poops in the car now. Today she made a huge mess and even though I had planned for this eventually, it was difficult to get the car cleaned up for the return trip home. Dot's vet still thinks that water therapy is very beneficial, but says I'll have to decide whether the stress of riding in the car, erases a lot of the benefits she gets from therapy. It's a tough call. Dot hates riding in the car now. Once we arrive, she's fine. I think she really enjoys the acupuncture. It relaxes her.

Dot had a very busy day. Before our physical therapy session, we met the dog walker who will be helping us while Janet is on vacation. This encounter went better than I expected. Dot initially barked a lot and appeared nervous, but she calmed down within a matter of minutes. I think this is going to work out OK. Dash didn't have any problems at all. He just wanted the dog walker's undivided attention.

My Internet connection hasn't worked this well in months and my new router is still sitting unopened in the box. I wonder what AT&T did? They claim they just set up my account for the new equipment they sent me,  but I'm not even using the new equipment yet. Somehow they managed to clear up all my connection problems without even realizing it. I wish I knew what they did, so I can ask them to do the same thing the next time U-Verse goes down. I don't even think they know. I don't know how long this is going to last, but I don't want to mess with anything now. Almost accidently, I finally have the system I was promised several years ago.

When is this rain going to stop? I just looked at the forecast and it looks like we'll be having daily thunderstorms all the way through the weekend. The only silver lining to this nasty weather is that the temperature has cooled enough for Dot to feel comfortable on her morning walks again. It's been a little problematic to find a thirty minute dry spell to actually take a walk, but so far we've been relatively lucky. There's only been one day where the rain never stopped at all.

Hopefully, I'll get lucky when I take the trash out tomorrow evening. I'm not surprised that the city never did answer my request to come back and get the trash they failed to pick up. There's a fancy website where you can request all types of city services, but the city never responds. I'll take my two week's worth of accumulated trash out to the curb tomorrow, but I wouldn't be surprised it it gets ignored again.

Despite the lousy weather, the poop filled car, and the lack of work, I consider today a success. It is encouraging that Dot is making progress again. She did well today. Dealing with the dogs next week doesn't seem quite as daunting either, now that I have some help. Who knows what will happen tomorrow. It might be a little presumptuous, but I'm hoping for two good days in a row.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2242

We actually got to Dot's physical therapy appointment on time today. I wasn't really any more organized. The vet just called while I was eating breakfast and asked if I could come earlier this morning. "Sure," I said. "We're on our way." Dot didn't have time for her morning nap. I didn't have time to take a shower and answer e-mail. I didn't even turn on the computer before we left. It all worked out pretty well and ended up being the first time in several months that I wasn't late.

I think I've figured out how to keep Dot calm in the car. She isn't really anxious of fearful, she just needs to be in a comfortable position before we start our journey. Since I wasn't in a rush today, I waited a while before we left the driveway. When Dot started squirming, I re-positioned her before we got underway. As soon as she was calm for a few minutes, I started the car and she didn't move again until we arrived at the vet. This plan may not work next time, but I thought it was pretty clever. It was certainly better than drugging her with Xanax.

Today was surprisingly busy. When we got home, I fed the dogs their lunch and spent the rest of the day updating several websites. It wasn't a bad day at all. Dot did exceptionally well on the treadmill this morning. She walked for a full twenty minutes and didn't appear overly tired. Like I've said many times, Dot has good days and bad days. This was a good one. It was good having some work to do as well. I like that sweet spot that's somewhere between being bored out of my mind and totally stressed out by impossible deadlines. Finding this balance is hard though. In my business, you work when the client wants you to work.

I'm having increasing problems accessing my various Google accounts. Sometimes Google Drive quits working. Other times I have trouble logging into Blogger. Today I couldn't even access my Google+ account. Usually the outages are temporary, but I'm afraid that someday I'll sit down to write the blog and won't be able to go to my Blogger account at all. I just got a notice that Google Chrome won't be supporting anything earlier than OS 9.0 on the Mac starting in April. Maybe this is where my problems start. I like older browsers and operating systems. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google almost insist that you use their latest offering. I heard that Windows is going to start automatically updating itself to Windows 10 in the near future. One more reason I'm glad I'm still on a Mac. I wish people would just slow down and leave things alone for a while.

When I was debating whether to give Dot Xanax yesterday, it occurred to me that most anxiety is caused by two things. Running out of time makes you anxious and running out of money makes you anxious. If you have control over just these two things, a whole lot of problems simply disappear. It's hard to have both things simultaneously though. Whenever I've had plenty of money, I've had no time. Conversely, when I have plenty of time, I seldom have any money. Hmm. I wonder how you get both?

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2194

I spent most of the day replacing my computer's obsolete operating system with another obsolete operating system. The move from Lion to Mountain Lion was much more complex than simply downloading the current operating system, which is what most people would do. I'm very wary of new Apple operating systems. All too often when you install a new system, you have to update half your software as well. I'm happy with my old software and the last thing I want to do is buy it all over again.

Eventually, even people like me are forced to upgrade though. It's almost a law of nature. I picked Mountain Lion because it was old enough to support most of my existing software and still new enough to support Pro Tools 12. The problem with installing something so old and using it as a new system is that there are a lot of dependencies that need to be resolved. X Code wouldn't work anymore which meant I could no longer run Unix programs on my Mac. I couldn't just install the new X Code, because it was too new. I had to find am old copy of version 5.1.1 which Apple no longer supported. Some of my security software wouldn't work either. It could have been worse, but I ended up spending most of the afternoon testing each of the applications I use and making upgrades when necessary. The important things all work now, but it was a monumental effort for a system that is already obsolete. I've still got Mavericks, Yosemite, and El Capitan to go.

I built some online forms for a client today. I made sure to do this before I attempted to upgrade my system. You never know what is going to be broken after the upgrade. It could easily have been Dreamweaver. Luckily Dreamweaver, Photoshop. Microsoft Office, Colorburst, Final Cut Pro, and Quickbooks Pro still work. That's all I really use these days anyway. I thought about upgrading my phone as well, but that would just be asking for trouble. One major upgrade a day is plenty. I'm sure IOS 9.2 can wait. I still don't know why I bothered to upgrade to IOS 9.1. Basically all these software upgrades are a giant pain.

Breakfast was good today. Actually, everything was pretty good today. The weather was nice, the humidity was low, there were very few surprises, and the bird didn't poop on my car. Dot didn't have any accidents today either. As far as I'm concerned, a day without poop is always a good day.

I don't have any big plans for this weekend, but I'm sure I'll be busy. There are leaves to rake, software to debug, rugs to clean, and dogs to walk. I need to remember to turn the outdoor faucets on just a bit so they drip a little. I don't want frozen pipes, especially in the greenhouse. If it doesn't get down to freezing tonight, it will soon. It's weird. Even though I accomplished virtually nothing today, I felt oddly energized. Trading one obsolete operating system for another equally obsolete system is fairly complex. My brain got a little exercise today. Sadly, that's somewhat of a rarity. Most of my daily activities require no thought at all.

Alvin is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2073

Since it is Janet's birthday today, I did my usual last minute shopping and event planning. I can't say that either of us looks forward to birthdays anymore. We're old enough already. Birthdays are still special though. Each year is another milestone in a long and complicated journey. It's hard to buy gifts for each other anymore. We both have everything we need. Long ago we stopped having birthday cakes. A cake was too big and most of it ended up growing stale in the refrigerator. Now, we each just have a cupcake. Tonight we had a little champagne with our cupcake. I don't drink anymore, but I'm not completely rigid about it. Having a drink on birthdays and holidays is just fine.

It actually did rain today. It rained just enough to get the car dirty when I was out birthday shopping, but not enough to do the yard any good. The rain only lasted about fifteen minutes and by mid-afternoon the ground was bone dry again. There's a chance that we'll get a little more rain early tomorrow morning. That would be nice. A little rain before our morning walk might help cool things down a bit.

Dot seemed to have a burst of energy today. She seemed strong and confident on her morning walk and walked around the house unassisted much more than I expected. Her left rear leg is still extremely weak, but she seems to be learning to distribute her weight and balance herself better. I'm always happy when Dot has a good day, but have learned not to become overconfident. Tomorrow Dot could be stumbling around like a drunken sailor again. There is no real consistency in Dot's condition. She has good days and bad days. I'm just happy when she has a good day.

I got quite a bit done today. In addition to birthday shopping, I did some writing and website work. Of course I washed the car again as soon as the rain stopped. I can't stand a dirty car. I didn't even bother to go up on the roof after today's rain. It has been so hot lately that I'm sure the water has already evaporated anyway. Today was nice. We had a nice birthday celebration after dinner. I was busy all day, but not rushed. That's the way it should be. Dot had a good day too. We should do this more often.

I hope that Dot still feels good tomorrow when we go for our physical therapy session. I'm proud of Dot's amazing tenacity and like to brag about how well she's doing. It's always disappointing when she takes a turn for the worse. We have to temper the good with the bad unfortunately. That's what life is all about. Sometimes I think Dot understands this basic truth far better than I do.

Next week is Dot's birthday. We'll probably celebrate exactly the same way we did today.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day