Day 890

Politicians, are you listening? Please stop making those robo-calls to my house every five minutes.You guys are relentless this year. I must get ten calls a day. Day in and day out the calls continue. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican. Your incessant badgering is irritating and the more I hear your message on my phone, the less likely it is that I will ever vote for you. Personally, I think if they played these robo-calls over and over again at Gitmo, they would be more effective than waterboarding.

One problem with managing dozens of websites is that occasionally everyone wants something at the same time. Today was one of those days. As soon as I finished making a change on one client's website, I got a request to change another. The website change requests today were almost as frequent as the political robo-calls.

At least the weather was nice today. I had a great walk with the dogs this morning. The temperature was mild. There was a nice breeze. Best of all, there was no pollen in the air and my allergies didn't bother me. I wish every day was like this, but I'm lucky if I get to enjoy three or four days a month without allergy related sneezing and wheezing. I'll take what I can get though. Today was perfect.

When I finished my webmaster and writing assignments for the day, I went over to the storage warehouse and started assembling another section of poorly made Chinese industrial shelving. I can't believe how flimsy these things are. The brand on the box says Gorilla or Rhinoceros or something. The blurb on the side of the box brags that the shelves are rated for commercial use and that each individual deck can hold over 200 pounds. That would mean that the six tier section I put together today should hold up to 1,200 pounds. Not very likely. The thing would crumple like tin foil if I loaded it with 1,200 pounds of stuff.

I don't know why poor quality bothers me so much, but it does.  Power tools are made of plastic these days. The bodywork on your car is half as thick as it used to be, and to add insult to injury, you are charged more for the flimsy material. Energy efficiency, they call it. All cameras should be made like Leicas and Hasselblads. All cars should be as durable as the old Saabs they used to make from Swedish steel. Who needs Wal-Mart at all? My problem is that I think my toaster should be just as good as my iPhone.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 515

What a beautiful day. You can't beat clear blue skies and 65 to 70 degree temperatures. No pollen either. My allergies didn't bother me all day. This was a good day to do yard work, so that's what I did. I mowed the grass, trimmed bushes and watered. After I put the lawn mower away, the dogs supervised the rest. They liked the nice day too. I hope this weather lasts a while, but it can't last long. It's often 100 degrees outside by early June.

I can't stop writing watch articles. I even wrote one this morning. Writing about watches is making me want to start buying them again. I really shouldn't. It's kind of an addiction. Watch collecting will suck money out of your wallet faster than having a problem with alcohol or drugs. I couldn't afford some of the watches I've been writing about anyway. The ones I like the best cost between $15,000 and $20,000 each.

Oh, well. I'll just stick with what I've got. I've got so many watches already that a battery seems to goes dead on one just about every day. I put a battery in one of Janet's after breakfast this morning. I'll probably put another battery in something else tomorrow.

I've got enough done today that I might even be able to catch one of the new episodes of Dr. Who this evening. I haven't seen any of the new 2011 episodes yet and I'm curious whether the show holds together now that it's being shot here in the United States. I'll let you know. So far, I still think that the first series with Billie Piper playing the doctor's companion Rose Tyler is the best.

Dot and Dash get to go on an outing tomorrow. A local winery has invited Dalmatian Rescue to an animal friendly event at their vineyard. Maybe if we give Dash a little wine at the event, he'll be quiet in the car on the way home.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 433

Oops. I was supposed to launch my new website next Sunday instead of yesterday. Now, my client knows, like everybody else, that I typically don't have a clue what day, or even month it is. On the plus side of things however, we were able to resolve the little hiccups surrounding a site launch a full week ahead of schedule. I guess if you've lost track of the time, it's always better to be early than late.

Our yard looks 100% better now. The leaves are bagged and sitting out on the street, waiting for the trash truck to pick them up tomorrow. Dead limbs littering the ground have been removed. Bushes have been pruned and trimmed. We'll wait until it gets a little warmer and then I'll till the soil and put in a new turf of St. Augustine Grass. If experience is any guide, this will look great for a month or two and then the dogs will tear it up again.

In the course of this afternoon's cleanup activities I discovered why so many birds have been coming over to the office window. There were hundreds of spiderwebs, each full of dead bugs. The birds must have thought that this side of the house was a supermarket. There was all the food they could have ever wanted, just waiting for them in the webs. I went over to this largely inaccessible side of the house to get rid of any remaining bees nests before the bees returned, but I ended up getting rid of spiders instead. We are inundated with all manner of critters trying to find a way inside the house. Sometimes I win and other times the critters do. I do envy those who live in spotless 17th floor high-rise apartments with great views and no critters though.

The dogs really enjoyed today. It was one of those rare days where the temperature was absolutely perfect. We just left the back door open while we worked in the yard. Dot and Dash wandered in and out all afternoon. I'm sure they think that this is how it should be every day.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day