Day 3908

No rain today. Luckily, it was still cloudy and cool. We had a nice walk before breakfast this morning, although the park was already filled with weekend athletes. I don't know if there is an increased interest in fitness or if people just haven't returned to the gym yet. Janet says her gym is still pretty empty. I've never seen so many people jogging and cycling in the park before. Maybe one hidden benefit of the pandemic is that people are finally starting to realize that it's a good idea to be healthy.

I found almost everything on my grocery list this morning. They even had rubbing alcohol today. Strangely, peaches have returned to the produce section less than a week after I received that notice from the store to throw mine away. Maybe they realized what I've known all along. There's nothing wrong with most of these peaches.

It was long past time for some serious house cleaning. I hate changing the sheets now because it hurts my dislocated shoulder to remove and replace the fitted bottom sheet. Like getting up on the roof, this is something that still needs to be done unfortunately. I also washed the comforter and all the dog blankets. Dawn sheds a lot. Actually all Dalmatians shed a lot.

Dog hair means I need to vacuum more often than I'd like as well. I did a lot of vacuuming today. My part of the cleaning duties are done for a while. I try to do my share, but Janet actually does a lot more cleaning than I do. She still cares about a clean house.

I didn't bother to take an afternoon walk today. Even though it never rained, I kept hearing thunder in the distance. We were able to complete our full five miles this morning and I got plenty of exercise cleaning the house this afternoon. I still haven't removed the standing water from the roof. No sense in overdoing things. Maybe I'll take care of the roof tomorrow. It looks like we've got several days of clear weather ahead and I still don't feel like going back to the gym.

When I looked at the Boca Chica cameras today there was a torrential rainstorm going on. The rain knocked out several of the remote cameras but it didn't seems to stop work at the facility. Nothing seems to stop these guys. It's fascinating to watch how quickly this brand new spaceport is developing. They're still making the rockets in tents, but that's about to change. By the time the real Starship makes it's debut next year, this place will look a lot different. I've got to figure out a way to get down there and do a story. This dusty little strip of land is definitely where the future is happening.

There's not much happening here. Whenever I venture out on my shopping day, I'm appalled at how everyone seems to be totally ignoring the virus. Restaurants are full. Masks are required everywhere, but nobody wears them correctly. Almost half the people I saw today were wearing their mask below their nose. A lot of people take their mask off to talk to store employees too. It must be frustrating to be a store employee. I'm still doing my part, but it's mostly because I don't like people anyways. It's easy to stay six feet away. I'll be keeping my distance long after this is over.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3877

Wednesday has turned into house cleaning day. Don't look at me. I have lost all interest in cleaning, but I don't want to be a slacker. I still try to do my part. Today I vacuumed the house. I used to think the Dyson was amazing because it appeared to pick up so much dust. Now I suspect that the clear plastic cylinder is just a marketing gimmick to make you notice the dirt. The house doesn't seem any cleaner than it did with our old fashioned vacuum. It certainly was easier to empty a paper vacuum cleaner bag than it is to clean the Dyson. I have to go outside and use a leaf blower to get all the residual dust out of the canister after I empty it. Oh, well. The carpets and the Dyson are clean again until I have to repeat this exercise next Wednesday.

We got a later start on our morning walk today, but we got lucky with the weather. There was heavy overcast and a nice breeze that kept things cool. It didn't seem as humid today either. If you can manage to avoid the sun and the humidity, even August isn't quite so bad. We must be having a hot summer though. Our August electric bill hit an all time high. Something was fishy about that bill though. I know we have had hotter summers. I think the electric company just raised our rates.

At first it was baffling to me why the stock market was doing so well at the same time there was record unemployment and well known companies were going bankrupt every day. Now the answer is becoming clearer. The economy didn't shut down at all. It just changed. Some companies lost, but other companies were big winners and are doing better than ever. It seems like the pandemic just accelerated the rate of change that was happening anyway. Even Luddites like me have gone digital now. A wide varieties of companies have been urging me to use their mobile app, go paperless, and try online payments for years. All it took was a global pandemic to get me to change my ways.

I'm always curious about long-term trends. I think it will be five years before we realize how much has changed. I used to think everyone would revert to their old ways as soon as the lockdown was lifted. New habits are emerging though. We aren't going to be comfortable around strangers for a long time. Nobody even wants to ride in an elevator with me anymore. Handshakes are no longer going to be a common ritual. Ghost kitchens will become more popular than restaurants. Sports fans are going to have problems with the new normal, but ticket prices were becoming exorbitant anyway. Fewer and fewer people could even afford to go to a professional football game. Maybe fans will learn to love players in empty stadiums. I guess the big question is whether schools can safely reopen. If the kids have to stay home indefinitely, we are in for a world of hurt.

I guess we're just going to have to learn to live with the changes. Some of these changes were going to happen anyway. Just not as fast. Change is never easy and it is seldom fair. I'm certainly having problems dealing with all this. I need to remember the importance of staying flexible. Youth was all about staying flexible and seizing opportunities. It was only when I became older that I became set in my ways. We'll see how it goes. There will be winners and losers in the days and months ahead. It would be nice to be a winner.

Tomorrow we're going to try to get up early again. The flashlights are ready. I don't know how ready I'll be. I was never a morning person and it's not easy to change old habits. I'm convinced that the future will be all about changing old habits. I might as well get good at it.

Morgan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3778

20,000 step days are normal now. What else is there to do? I just keep walking. My plans to clean out the office are on hold for a while, since there is no place to donate the stuff. I can't even throw the stuff away. There's not another bulky trash day until next month. It's not a problem though. It's amazingly easy to talk myself out of doing things I don't like to do anyway. I've waited a long time to clean out this room. I can certainly wait a little longer.

Since my computer repair went so smoothly, I did a little research on converting all my computers to solid state drives. It turns out I did the hardest computer first. Upgrading the laptops looks relatively easy. There's no hurry to do this either. I mostly use the laptop when I travel and it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.

There's one other use for the laptop of course. It comes in handy when the power goes out. I hope that doesn't happen later tonight. We've had severe weather warnings all day now and I can see the storm system on the weather radar now. We still haven't gotten everything cleaned up from the last bad storm last June. We certainly don't need another tree to fall. I'm hoping that the storm will dissipate a bit before it rolls through town.

Janet is trying to get Dawn used to riding in the car. Every afternoon they take a short ride to another nearby park and have a little picnic with cheese. We've got so much time on our hands now that Dawn is going to be totally spoiled by the time this pandemic is over. That's OK I guess. Spoiling a dog seems a lot better way to spend the day than watching the news.

I still haven't heard anything from NASA. I'm growing less confident of getting press credentials for the Crew Dragon launch. Florida friends tell me that NASA plans to grant access to a bare minimum of journalists this time. I'm still hopeful though. The new normal seems to change from day to day.

You'd think I could continue writing about astronomy and space from my office here in Dallas, but it doesn't seem to work that sway. You really have to be there. I have no real desire to research things on Google and then repackage the information with my own personal slant. Been there, done that.  Advertising and technical writing is a lot like this. I spent years writing about watches that were never on my wrist and even longer writing about oil drilling equipment that was located at the bottom of the sea. I know I can throw words together. The fun thing about writing about rocket launches and astronomical observatories is the experience of actually being there. The trips I take are basically a big adventure for a very non-adventurous person.

They say we're going to run out of bacon soon because the food supply is being disrupted. This is getting to look more like a Steven King novel every day.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3776

We walked five miles before breakfast this morning. The weather was beautiful and the park wasn't crowded yet. I kind of like this new routine. It sure helps build an appetite. Breakfast was delicious, but by 9 AM we both wondered what we were going to do next. We'd used up our day's activities too early.

I continued my house cleaning efforts today. I filled a large trash bag with clothing I knew I'd never wear again. Some of the clothes I'd never even worn once. I certainly threw away a lot of socks. I seem to have a habit of buying socks that don't fit. I'd buy a package of six, wear one pair, and after discovering that the socks didn't fit, never bother to wear the rest. From the number of unworn socks I found, I must have done this over and over again. I also threw away some short sleeve dress shirts. Whatever possessed me to buy these? They look ridiculous. All the clothes were clean and in good shape, so I bagged them up and drove them over to one of those little kiosks where you can donate clothing. There are lots of these places all over town and some of them benefit animal rescue groups. Much to my surprise the dropbox was closed and there was a sign saying that due to Covid-19 they could not accept clothing at this time. My guess is that someone thought people were sneezing on clothing before they donated it. Not me. My clothes were clean and had been safely stashed away in a dresser drawer for years.

Now that my computer is fixed and my upcoming trips are in limbo, I'm not sure what to do next. Cleaning is sort of a last resort. I really don't enjoy cleaning at all. I was so bored today that I took a second walk in the park. The place sure looked a lot different this afternoon. Early this morning there weren't many folks out and about. This afternoon, the place was filled with people. It looked exactly like any normal Spring Sunday afternoon. The city seems to have had a change of heart about closing the park. Basically the closure lasted one day and the place has been gradually reopening ever since. Today I didn't see any police at all. People were having barbecues, throwing frisbees, and hanging hammocks between trees. Even the ice cream truck was back. I think the city realized that people need an outlet during a lockdown and going to the park was a lot safer than having everyone turn up at Home Depot.

I've been noticing something kind of weird lately. You don't have to tell me to stay away from other people. I do this naturally. I'm really an expert at social distancing and know some tricks most of you won't learn until you take the advanced course. You'd think I'd be happy to see other people get on the social distancing bandwagon. Nope. When I hear someone preaching to me about staying indoors and accusing others of being selfish for wanting to walk their dog, it just pisses me off. Just shut up already. Moralistic preaching is not helping anything. It just further polarizes an already polarized population and brings out the "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges" in me. I'm going to lay low and mind my own business. If you want to have a party, it's fine by me. I'm pretty sure that Darwin will take care of things in the long run.

And don't you guys get all moralistic on me. If humans had a shred of morality, we wouldn't have been having pointless wars since the dawn of time. We wouldn't have bioweapons labs either, which is probably where this virus originated in the first place.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3775

We're having a nice Spring. So far we've avoided any of the severe weather that has caused so much damage in other parts of the South. It's hard to complain about sixty-five degree days and clear skies. We've started walking Dawn early in the morning to avoid the crowds at the park. The park is pretty busy because what else are you going to do during a lockdown? We see lots of families walking with their kids now. I'm glad that Dallas hasn't closed down their parks like some cities. Fresh air and sunlight are good for you. So is exercise. I'm convinced that the people I see walking in the park are going to be ahead of the game when the pandemic is over.

I was bragging about Sam's Club last week. This week there was a line to enter the store, just like many other grocery stores. I don't know what the line proved. They were letting people in as fast as they could grab a buggy and once inside there were no rules at all. Toilet paper was still in short supply, but the fresh fruit has never looked better. Evidently growers are having difficulty finding an outlet for all their fruit without institutional and restaurant customers. There was an abundance of really fresh looking strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries today. I can't believe people are stocking up on canned food when there is so much nice looking fresh fruit and vegetables available. If you're worried, just wash the stuff when you get home. We've been washing fruits and vegetables for years, mostly because of pesticides. I'm not much of a cook, but I do know that canned food is full of salt. Fresh food is just better in every way.

I'm rooting for Sweden to win the lockdown sweepstakes. I'm convinced that if everyone used a little common sense, you wouldn't need draconian rules. I'm really getting tired of people using the pandemic to score political points as well. Good grief. Trump didn't actually tell people to drink bleach. He was just wondering if there was a way to flush the virus out of the lungs the way you would clean a countertop. I've wondered the same thing. Doctors actually do wash people's lungs occasionally. Large volume pulmonary lavage has been used by physicians for quite some time when certain types of lung disease disease cause the lungs to fill with lipoproteinaceous fluid. Several quarts of saline solution are placed into the lungs through a breathing tube to wash the lungs while the patient is sedated and then the liquid is suctioned away. It's kind of a radical procedure but patients typically improve rapidly after this is done. And if you don't think doctors routinely inject poison into patients veins, you haven't had chemo or know someone who has. Chemotherapy drugs are extremely poisonous, You typically have to sign a waiver saying that you understand the treatment might kill you before chemotherapy can begin. Doctors just hope that the drugs kill the cancer before they kill you.

I'd hate to be a doctor right now. They are under tremendous pressure and they still don't know how this virus works. They are learning things quickly but treatment is still basically an experiment. We are learning that ventilators can do more harm than good. Blood clots are a much bigger problem than originally anticipated. Nothing is behaving in the way it should. So far, your best friend is a strong immune system and a healthy lifestyle. Hopefully people will learn this lesson when the current crisis has passed. Is it really that hard to eat healthy food, manage your weight, and only put air into your lungs?

I started cleaning my office today. I filled a large trash bag with old magazines, empty boxes, and other stuff I couldn't even identify. Sadly, the office still looks the same. I think I'll have to fill twenty large trash bags before I start making any real progress. Hey, if this plague lasts long enough I'll eventually have a clean office.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3774

We walked Dawn before breakfast this morning. The weather was cool and the walk was enjoyable. As we begin to enter the Summer months, I think our walks are going to get earlier and earlier. It's the only way to beat the heat. The walks will probably get shorter too. You got to be careful with dogs during Texas summers. Dogs can't sweat and can easily succumb to heatstroke. Dawn does pretty well now, but she's not a young dog. We don't want to push her too hard.

My computer upgrade went perfectly. All the data transferred to the new drive overnight and my applications seem to work. I did have to register Microsoft Office again, but I've done that so many times that it wasn't a big deal. Everything works now and I don't have to subscribe to Office 365. It's weird that the computer is silent. I've gotten used to the noise over the years. There is no whirring noise from the hard drive anymore and since the computer runs cooler with the solid state drive, I rarely hear the fan. I was pleased that I was able to complete this complicated repair. I saved over $200 as well. Replacing a hard drive is no big deal, but taking the entire computer apart to get to the hard drive is. Since I was able to do all this without breaking anything, I might try putting a solid state drive in my laptop too. These SSD drives are really fast.

The city is running behind on picking up bulky trash in our neighborhood, so I thought I'd add a little more to our pile on the curb while I had the chance. I resumed cleaning out the tool shed this afternoon and managed to find quite a few things I didn't need. I seem to have a terrible habit of buying supplies for repairs I never end up making. I found a lot of tile grout and sheetrock mud today along with about a dozen tubes of various kinds of caulking. All this stuff had gone bad from sitting on a shelf in the damp tool shed for many years. I must have been much more ambitious about fixing things back in the day. I wouldn't even bother buying this stuff today.

I found a canister of helium for blowing up party balloons and wondered why I bought it. We never have parties. It must have been for some Dalmatian adoption event. I thought about keeping the helium because it is a rare commodity these days. In the spirit of practicality, I threw it away. I have no need for helium.

I still haven't gotten my stimulus money. It's not a big deal, but I wonder who decides when the payments get made. 80 million people got their money on the first day, but it's crickets for a lot of the rest of us. I've heard that some people who are eligible might have to wait months. With my luck, the country will be up and running again before my turn comes and they'll just cancel the program. I'm never very optimistic about getting anything from the government.

It's time to get supplies again. I basically use the car just once a week now. The grocery trips aren't long now. We've basically got plenty of everything. I go to the store mostly for fresh fruits and vegetables now. We've got enough paper towels, toilet paper, bottled water, and soap to last us until next winter. I don't think I'll need gas this week either. A tank of gas lasts a long time now.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3770

It's a shame that it took a plague to get me to clean out the house. Janet likes to clean and I have absolutely no excuse not to help her now. We continued our efforts to clean out the tool shed today. There were so many things we had completely forgotten about. Most of the stuff was worthless. There were a few keepers though. I found a strange looking brass humidor that looked like it was made from an artillery shell. When I looked at the engraving on the side I realized it was my grandfather's. He was the commander of a tank company in Northern Africa during World War II and the humidor was presented to him by his men in 1943. It was made from a tank shell and hand engraved with an eagle on one side and my grandfather's name, rank and presentation date on the other. Pretty cool piece of history.

I decided it was finally time to throw away my original advertising portfolio from the 1970's. I've carried the big black art case around with me since I started my career, but I haven't taken good care of it in recent years. Actually, I completely forgot that I still had it. It's a shame I didn't put this in the storage warehouse decades ago. When I unzipped the case to take a look inside, the smell of mold and mildew was overwhelming. All the paper ad samples were ruined by moisture. I didn't even bother to sort through the mess. It was time for this part of my past to go.

Actually, throwing away the portfolio was a bit of a breakthrough. There is no need to hang on to this stuff. Nothing is permanent anyway. During the entire time I operated my own company, I never showed those samples to anyone. They were already old and obsolete when I started the company in 1990. Maybe now it will be a little easier for me to throw away a lot of other obsolete things that are gathering dust in my office. I need to start looking ahead instead of backwards. Hey, I'm not an ad guy anymore. I'm a space journalist.

The weather forecast looked good when I cleared the water off the roof again this morning. Unfortunately, later in the day the forecast changed and now it looks like rain tomorrow. Keeping the roof clear of water is an endless battle. I'm really thinking now that I need to find a contractor who can build a completely new roof with a pitch so water will drain quickly. This is beyond the scope of most roofing companies. They all just want to recover the flat roof. The only way to get rid of this problem forever is to totally eliminate the flat roof. Maybe if I can get rid of this troublesome roof along with the damaged, aging trees in the back yard, I can cover the new roof with solar panels and get rid of the power company as well.

Janet bought Dawn a big piece of astroturf so she can lie in the backyard and sun herself without getting muddy. Dawn loves to sit out in the back yard. Unfortunately, she also loves to roll on her back in the dirt and the run back into the house and hop on the bed. The experiment seemed to work. Dot likes the big astroturf rug and didn't get muddy at all today. I was surprised that Janet was able to get this big outdoor rug delivered. I guess you can get anything on Amazon these days.

I wish people would just admit that they know nothing about this virus yet. Opinions change wildly from day to day. Millions are going to die. Nevermind, we meant to say thousands are going to die. We desperately need ventilators. Everybody needs to make ventilators. Oops. Now we have too many ventilators. Maybe we can give them to Italy. You remain infectious for 14 days. No, that's 27 days or 35 days. Maybe you stay infectious forever. On and on it goes. Could everybody just shut up for a few days.

Life goes on. I certainly haven't changed much. If anything, I'm more optimistic and productive than I used to be. Go figure.

Wilson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3260

It must have gotten below freezing last night because there was frost everywhere on our morning walk. It's hard enough to keep Dash upright on dry ground and the frost on the grass made things slippery in places. My rubber boots weren't getting much traction and neither were Dash's. We made it home in one piece but I'm already looking forward to Summer.

Dash's paw started to bleed again today. Luckily, this was a very minor cut. I wish he didn't have to take blood thinners. It's so easy for him to get scraped up. At least I know how to get the bleeding controlled now. Dash drags his feet and bumps into things a lot, so rehabilitation is a slow process. We're getting there though. His paws look a lot better than they did two weeks ago.

I wish I could say the same for my office. I tried to do some cleaning this afternoon, but I can't see much difference. I threw away a lot of old magazines and catalogs and went through a huge stack of unopened mail. I hate to deal with mail these days. The vast majority of it is junk. Medicare generates  a lot of junk mail. So do banks and brokerage houses. I should bite the bullet and go paperless because when I eventually do open these letters, I already know the contents. Everybody has a website and anything important is usually on it.

I could get more enthusiastic about cleaning if it made a difference. I threw away a big black trash bag full of paper today and nothing looks different at all. The office is still a mess. Jeez. I'd have to do this every day for a year to make any real progress. At least I've stopped buying things. When you don't have any business you definitely don't need additional business equipment.

I wish I could find some shoes that met my needs. I've been wearing these rubber slip on rain shoes when I walk Dash now but I've already worn out three pair. Sure, the shoes are cheap and made in China, but they should last longer than this. I need something that I can slip on instantly, lasts forever, has good arch support, and doesn't have those Vibram soles that instantly become caked in mud. I can see this shoe clearly in my mind, but nobody makes it. Story of my life. Nobody ever makes the things I'm looking for.

I hope Dash's exam goes well tomorrow. Mostly we need to get his dew claws trimmed before he rips them out again, but I'd really like to know what is causing all the shivering at night. The doctors at the cancer center don't seem to have an answer. Maybe his regular vet can tell us something. We'll be wearing protective boots to the vet this time. I won't make that mistake twice.

The Insight Mars Lander appears to be working perfectly this morning. Wouldn't it be nice if everything worked perfectly.

Spots is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3252

I think bulky trash pickup is tomorrow, so I thought I'd join my other neighbors in piling old junk on the curb. I certainly have enough junk. Hmm. Should I start in the back yard, the greenhouse, or the utility room? There was a heavy steel cargo carrier I used to use with the Defender that I wanted to get rid of, so I thought I'd start with the utility room. This thing attached to the trailer hitch receiver on the Defender, so there was no way Janet or I could use it with our current cars. Neither of us has a trailer hitch installed. I can't believe I used to haul heavy St. Augustine sod and buckets of river rocks with this carrier in an attempt to do my own landscaping. I remember spending three days a long time ago transporting tons of smooth river rocks to create decorative areas around the base of our Oak trees. How did I manage to do something like this? Now, even the empty steel carrier seemed almost too heavy to drag to the curb.

I managed to get rid of quite a few totally useless things, but the utility room still seems full. Where did this stuff even come from? There were bags that attached to the lawn mower to catch grass clippings. I never used those things even when new. The lawn mower they belonged to is long gone anyway. There was a huge sacks of old towels that must have had something to do with animal rescue at some point. Why didn't I throw these away years ago? There were lots of disintegrating canvas tote bags and old paint cans. Eventually I gave up. There was just too much junk. Hey, I made a start. If I do this every month before bulky trash pickup, someday it will all be gone.

Dash did a lot of pooping in the house today. Some days are better than others. Dash tries to head for the back door, but I don't even think he's even aware that he needs to poop until about two seconds before everything comes out. I try to be optimistic. At least he didn't poop in the bed last night.

Since I'd already started the day by cleaning up poop, I thought I'd tackle a few other loathsome tasks as well. I cleared out a slow shower drain and cleaned the filters on the bathroom sink faucets. A few weeks ago, I listened to a program on NPR about all the microscopic creatures that live in our houses and cleaning suddenly seemed prudent. Evidently tiny creatures live in our water pipes, our air vents, and even our hot water heaters. The scum that forms on your shower head and tiles is called a biofilm and it provides nutrients for the little critters. Our house must be a luxury hotel for these organisms. because there are biofilms everywhere.

I'm almost caught up watching the National Geographic Channel show about Mars. The show has become a little preachy for my taste, but it is still very interesting. I wonder if we'll ever get to Mars? It's so easy to get distracted by problems right here on Earth. I hope I live to see the first humans on Mars. It's a long shot though. At the rate we're going, we might not even make it back to the moon.

I did my best to apply a disinfectant to Dash's gums today. His teeth are terrible and I worry that he's going to get periodontal disease. Dash hates the medication, so it is very difficult to do this everyday. Janet distracted him with a cookie while I cleaned his mouth. I need to do this every day. I need to clear away a little junk everyday too. There are so many things that need to be done and none of them are particularly pleasant.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3103

When I took Dash outside to pee last night, the yard was uncharacteristically dark. The security light had gone out again. Jeez. I just had the electrician fix this thing less than a month ago. Dash pooped somewhere, but I couldn't see anything. The yard was too dark. Little things like this drive me nuts. Why is it so hard to get things fixed these days? For what I paid the electrician, that light should have stayed working for years.

When I went to get groceries this morning, I couldn't find any Swiss cheese. The cheese aisle must have had fifty different varieties of cheese, but no Swiss. It wasn't like I was trying to find anything exotic. I was under the impression that Swiss was a very common cheese, but from the looks of the cheese aisle, Irish cheese and Greek cheese are more popular. In case you were thinking that the store was just out of stock, it's been this way for almost three months. The absence of my favorite cheese was just as frustrating as the faulty security light in the back yard. In both cases, I don't know what is going on. Who knows? Maybe there is a tariff on cheese.

I keep looking around the office and wondering if I still need all the stuff surrounding me. Probably not. I'd be more amenable to a major housecleaning, if it wasn't so much trouble. Books are heavy. Obsolete tape recorders and computers are even heavier. It's much easier to just let everything collect dust a little longer. There needs to be a painless way to downsize without dealing with yard sales or Craigslist. I used to be a big fan of eBay, but that seems almost as bad as Craigslist these days. Lets face it. I've become so adverse to dealing with strangers that I'll probably just do nothing.

It's getting harder to find things to photograph on our walks now. The Spring wildflowers are starting to disappear and the animals stay hidden during the hot Summer days. We got up extra early this morning in an attempt to avoid the heat, but it was still uncomfortable. It's going to be a long, hot Summer.  I think Dash had more energy this morning than I did.

I hope I have more energy tomorrow, because it's time to go to the gym again. I wonder what it's going to take to step up my game and go several times a week. It's easy to convince myself that I already get enough exercise walking Dash. It's even easier to convince myself that the traffic is too bad to leave the house. Hey, if I was really concerned about exercise, I could just do planks on the office floor. It's actually pretty amazing that I even go to the gym at all.

The landscaper still hadn't replaced the dead grass. I wonder who I'm going to see first: the roofer or the landscaper?

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3102

We had our first 100 degree day of the year. I'm sure it won't be our last. It seemed ridiculously hot today. I kept thinking that we don't usually get this kind of weather until July. Then I realized that it is actually pretty close to July. Needless to say, Dash didn't get an afternoon walk. He had trouble yesterday when it was ten degrees cooler. We're just going to stay inside and hope the air conditioner keeps working.

I've started ordering breakfast from the side dish menu. These little plates with a single sausage link or a few pieces of toast seem just about right. The waiters don't seem happy. I think they want me to order a much larger meal. Not to worry. I'm still going to leave a good tip. I'm just not very hungry these days.

The art shippers called this afternoon. They're on their way. It's going to seem weird not to have these pictures on my walls any more. They've followed me around to two different states and three different houses. It's time to say goodbye though. Possessions can be an anchor around your neck. It might be more enjoyable to travel than to worry about whether a roof leak is going to ruin a painting.

I was going to clean the atrium today and I couldn't get the sliding glass door to open. Jeez. I was going to fix this thing last year, but never got around to it. Now, I've got one more thing on my to-do list. The list just keeps getting longer. Yesterday, I added a whistling toilet in Janet's bathroom. The toilet still works fine, but loud noises are usually a good indication that something bad is about to happen.

Anyone my age has probably watched the Carpool Karaoke episode with Paul McCartney by now. The video was plastered all over my Facebook wall this morning. This touching tribute to Paul's Liverpool roots brought back a flood of memories that had nothing to do with Liverpool. I grew up with the Beatles. It's amazing that after all these years, the Beatles and the Stones are still relevant. I was lucky to come of age in the golden age of music. The 60's and the 70's were a high water mark. Listening to a new album by The Lumineers just doesen't compare to hearing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon for the first time.

I got a letter from my sister today. I'm glad she's feeling well enough to write again. Her cancer is not in remission, but she seems in much better spirits. We followed dramatically different paths in life, but some things seem to be converging as we grow older. We both share the same distain for Uber and Airbnb. It's pretty obvious that we have joined the "Get off my Lawn" crowd.

When Dash woke me up last night to go outside, he ended up giving me a scare. He had a mild case of diarrhea and wandered all over the yard in a squatting position. When he was finished, he had trouble resuming an upright position. He seemed stuck in his pooping posture. I had to help him up and gently walk him around the yard a bit to get him moving again. When he came inside, he wasn't able to climb up on the bed and went to sleep on the floor. Luckily, he was walking fine this morning. Dash's rear legs are getting weaker and weaker. I hope he can make it through the Summer.

I hope I can make it through the Summer too. Right now, living in Iceland seems pretty appealing.

Kirby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3077 - Memorial Day

Both of my parents served in the Navy during World War II. Most of their neighbors, their congregation, and their co-workers were veterans as well. I think this was the last generation where military service was actually a common bond that tied people together. Only two of my high school friends joined the military. One became a Marine and the other became an Air Force fighter pilot. Most of the others had some sort of student deferment. It was pretty easy to get a deferment if you were actually going to school. We all hoped the Vietnam War would be over by the time we graduated.

I have tremendous respect for anyone who has served in the military. At the same time, I think our country has gotten involved in far too many senseless wars. The Vietnam War proved nothing. Twenty Five years of war in the Middle East have proved nothing. I've never understood why we are so quick to get involved in other people's business. Some of these people have been fighting for thousands of years. Our involvement is not going to stop them. In some cases, I think we are just fanning the flames.

It didn't really seem like a holiday today. I kept thinking it was Sunday. We should have gotten up earlier, because it was already hot by the time we walked Dash. Sleeping in is a tradition on holidays though. We always sleep in when we get a chance.

I saw a roach crawl under the bed just before we went to sleep last night. I got a flashlight and looked under the bed, but the bug had disappeared. I kept thinking that it was going to crawl over me as I slept. This morning, I pulled all the photo equipment and unused dog beds out from under the bed and cleaned all the dust away with the vacuum. The bedroom is cleaner than it's been in a long time, but I still can't find the bug. The critters are fast. It's probably in the kitchen by now.

Since I had the vacuum out, I cleaned the rest of the house as well. Then I did a load of laundry and took a nap with Dash. That's about as exciting as it got today. It was way too hot to mow the grass or go up on the roof. The only good thing about the Summer heat is that the standing water on the roof evaporates quickly.

Janet and I think the Movoflex we're giving Dash is working. The change has been gradual, but he seems to have more energy now and isn't stumbling as much when he walks. I'm not expecting miracles, but I hope he can keep walking on his own for a while longer. We've already purchased a Help 'Em Up Harness for Dash like Dot used to wear, but I'm not looking forward to the day when we have to start using it. Dash enjoys his independence.

Summer is here to stay. We're supposed to get our first triple digit temperatures later this week. I hope the air conditioner keeps working. I change the filters right on schedule, but I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3033

I took Dash outside several times last night and each time it was ten degrees cooler than the time before. The temperature was in the seventies when we went to bed and in the forties the next morning. I don't think Winter is ready to relinquish it's grip on us. I'm glad I haven't put away my Winter clothes yet. I still wear them several times a week. It felt like we experienced all four seasons today. The clear skies looked like Summer. The cold temperatures felt like Winter. The blooming flowers reminded me that it was actually Spring. And the blustery wind felt like Fall. It isn't usually this cold in mid-April, but then there is nothing "usual" about Texas weather at any time of the year.

Janet went to pick up a dog for Dalmatian Rescue this morning, but we got Dash to take his regular morning walk by pretending that she was just going to work again. On weekends Dash typically insists that we all walk together. I wanted to stay home with Dash because he was so shaky yesterday. He was still very wobbly when I took him out to pee during the night, but he began to improve as the day progressed. By the end of the day he was walking normally again. This kind of confirmed my suspicion that the gabapentin was causing his problems. It's a shame that there are so few pain pills without serious side effects. Cortisone and other steroids can weaken your immune system. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Rimadyl can damage the liver and kidneys. Gabapentin tends to cause sedation and weakness. Tramadol and other opioids have their own serious problems. There is not really a good solution. You use these drugs when the pain becomes worse than the side effects.

I got tired of looking at the rust colored stain in the living room ceiling, so I got out a ladder and cleaned the area with a bleach soaked rag. The sheet rock is still damaged, but it looks much better now. I was pleased to discover that the sheet rock felt pretty dry. This means that the leak we experienced recently wasn't very bad. After the cosmetic improvements I made to the living room, I decided to tackle the bathroom. Mildew is a continual problem in the shower. I took the handles off the faucets and scrubbed them inside and out. Then I did the same thing to the shower nozzle. I'm not sure if the shower nozzle works better after I took it apart and cleaned it, but it certainly looks better.

I couldn't figure out why I've been unable to repair the silicon band on my fitness tracker. I finally did some research today and discovered that it is almost impossible to glue two pieces of silicon together. The stuff just doesn't stick to anything. I learned that there is a special industrial adhesive specifically designed to attach silicon to silicon, but it costs $30 for a small 3 oz. tube. Jeez. I could just buy a new fitness band for about the same price. I still like these UP3 bands, despite their many problems. The company is bankrupt but you can still find the trackers at companies that specialize in selling discontinued merchandise. I should buy a few spares before they're all gone.

I listened to another piano lesson on my computer this afternoon and realized that my fingers are going to be a problem. I have trouble playing the guitar for any length of time because of the arthritis in my hands. I thought that the piano wouldn't be a problem, but I'm having trouble with the correct fingering on chords. My fingers just don't move the way they used to. The pain isn't bad, but it's a nuisance. Maybe this is why Dash and I do so well on our long, slow walks. We're both falling apart at just about the same rate. I don't know how Janet puts up with us. We're both grumpy old men.

Flash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2908

The Christmas tree is up. It's a small tree and all the ornaments are Dalmatians. Periodically new ornaments are added and occasionally ornaments are removed. Most of the Dalmatians with angel wings are now sitting on top of the little urns on the coffee table that contain the ashes of Spot, Petey, Greta, Mindy, and Dot. We don't put presents under the tree anymore. Once the dogs realized that many of them contained treats for them, they wouldn't leave the packages alone.

Before I could deal with the Christmas tree, I had to remove all the equipment from yesterday's photo shoot. I put away the things that had a place in the office and took the rest of the stuff to the storage warehouse. Every time I visit my storage space, I  realize that the day is coming when I'll have to come to terms with all this clutter. The warehouse has become a black hole that sucks up everything I can't figure out what to do with. There are a few treasures here and there, but most of the stuff is old equipment that isn't useful anymore, but will never be collectible either. It will take an enormous amount of energy to clean this place up and I'm not sure I'm up to the task.

With all the Santa Paws gear out of the way and the Christmas tree in place, I realized that the house was very dirty. I spent the rest of the day vacuuming, changing sheets, and cleaning dog blankets. Dash's protective boots were starting to look threadbare, so I repaired them too. The house doesn't really look much better, but at least I tried.

When we took Dash on his morning walk, there were lots of people preparing for the BMW Dallas Marathon. This used to be called the White Rock Marathon, but I guess everything has a corporate sponsor now. I'm not a runner, but this was definitely a beautiful day for a race. It is almost a tradition to have terrible weather for this marathon. Our house is fairly close to the course and we've watched runners compete in pouring rain many times.

When I returned to the park for Dash's afternoon walk, the same crews that were setting up things things this morning were tearing everything down again. By tomorrow morning, all the signage, rest stations, and temporary parking will be gone. I like the park best when nothing is happening and all I hear are ducks quacking. Our walks are really the only time when Winter weather is welcome. Our dogs have always liked cooler weather and I like the fact that the bicycles virtually disappear. On nice days there are bicycles everywhere and I have to be careful that we don't get run over. On chilly days, Dash and I have the park to ourselves.

Dash didn't have a Cerenia pill yesterday and he still seemed completely normal today. This is good news. I'm sure that Dash will have a vestibular episode again, but maybe he can catch a break and enjoy a few months as a normal dog. This disease never really goes away, but the symptoms can subside for months at a time. Dash is lucky that he still seems to be able to recover from these periodic episodes. Some dogs don't.

I'm not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow. There are lots of things around the house that still need attention and I'm not finished with my website project either. There are fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and bananas for my morning smoothie, so I guess we'll start there.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2845

Dash's new boots are doing a good job of protecting his feet, but they're already starting to wear out. This is probably because we're using the indoor version of the boots while we walk him outdoors. The outdoor boots are stronger, but they are so stiff that Dash can't walk while wearing them. Maybe they work for some dogs, but I don't know how. I'm going to have to go looking for some of that rubbery stuff that you can use to repair running shoes. I could probably patch the worn spots in these boots for a long time if I could find another can of this stuff. Nobody is very interested in stocking things that can be used to repair shoes. They'd much rather just sell you a new pair of shoes. The dog boot folks would probably love to sell me a pair every week, but they are much too expensive for that.

I stopped at REI on my way to the gym to look for the rubber sole repair goop, but of course they didn't have any. There were hundreds of shoes to choose from, but nothing to repair them with. They did have orthotic inserts, which I was also looking for, but they seemed way too expensive. $50 for a little extra arch support? I don't think so. One of the orthotic insert brands said it was made from recycled wine corks, as if this would justify the price. Jeez. These are just cheap house shoes I'm trying to fix. I refuse to pay more for the insole than I did for the shoe.

I've been doing better at the gym lately. I don't know what this means, but I'll take it. I'm still not any closer to my goal of three trips to the gym a week. Dash has a major vet appointment this week where  we will recheck his heart to see if the blood clots are becoming smaller. The refrigerator repairmen are scheduled to come out again and install the new mother board that is supposed to fix all my problems. I need to go buy some St. Augustine grass to fix the front yard. That pretty much takes care of the week. On the odd chance I get some work, I'll really be busy.

Janet cleaned the brick floors yesterday, so I finished the job by cleaning the carpeted rooms today. It's amazing how dirty our house gets, considering how careful we are not to track mud and dirt inside. Dash is pretty clean too, although he does shed a lot. Dalmatians actually shed more than long haired breeds. If you have a Dalmatian, you'll find dog hair everywhere. I've found it inside my computer, inside the refrigerator, and once an appliance repairmen told us that the reason our dryer had quit working was that dog hair had gotten into the main bearing of the dryer drum.

Dash went outside and started eating grass right after we gave him his evening  meds. This always makes us nervous because the medicine he is taking now is very important and we don't want him throwing up before the meds have a chance to work. We brought him inside and have been trying to keep him calm. It is not an easy task. For the past thirty minutes or so the house has been very quiet. I think this means Dash is asleep. I don't want to wander out to the front of the house and check though, because I might wake him up and start him barking again. He needs to stay calm for at least another hour.

Let's hope we make it through the night without an incident. I'd actually like to make it all the way through next week without an incident. Especially Friday the 13.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2796

Janet goes back for more surgery tomorrow, so today was another huge cleaning day. I'm not sure whether the kind of cleaning we do disinfects the house at all, but it does make Janet feel better. This surgery is supposed to be the final step in the reconstruction process. Recovery is supposed to be faster this time, but Janet will still have to take another leave of absence from work. I'm sure she hopes this is the last surgery she'll ever have to have.

I was going to go to the gym today, but while I was running a few errands on the way, I couldn't remember whether I'd turned the dryer off before I left the house. I skipped the gym and drove back home to check. Actually, the dryer was off, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Janet and I both worry about dryer fires, so the dryer is never on when we leave the house. I don't leave the washer running either, because once it overflowed into the utility room and made a huge mess. I don't know why I feel safe leaving the dehumidifier running constantly. There's probably something that could go wrong with that thing too.

When I returned home, I realized that I had so many things to do that I never should have planned on going to the gym in the first place. I vacuumed the house, washed the sheets and made the bed, and mowed the grass in the front and the back. I'm not sure how much longer I can continue mowing the grass myself. Every time I take the mower out it seems a little harder to push it up our sloping front yard. I was very tired today. When you get older it's really hard to tell whether you've got some strange disease that is sapping all your energy, or if you're actually doing quite well and just getting older. There's no real benchmark for this sort of thing. Some of my aging friends still run marathons. Others have trouble getting off the couch.

One of our neighbors is having an eclipse watching party in their front yard tomorrow. I'm not sure how long I'll need to be at the hospital in the morning, but if I have time I'll go take a look at the sun through the neighbor's telescope around noon. This guy is a real astronomy buff and has all the right solar filters. We'll only see about 75% totality here in Dallas, but the view still ought to be interesting.  I'm a little envious of all the people I know who are actually making the trip to the totality zone. There have been quite a few status updates on Facebook from people leaving for their eclipse destinations over the weekend. A lot of them ought to get a good view. The weather actually seems to be improving across much of the country.

We're going to have to get up really early tomorrow morning. Janet needs to be admitted to the hospital at 5:30 AM. I'll come home to feed and walk Dash and then wait for the call that everything went OK. I don't know how you can be casual about surgery. Even minor surgery seems drastic to me. The dogs have had every type of surgery imaginable and my sister had to endure an eight hour spinal fusion surgery. I've been pretty lucky. I had knee surgery back in college and then went almost forty years before I needed a lithotripsy procedure a few years ago to remove some bladder stones. Janet has a great team of doctors, but they don't make surgery any less frightening. I hope this is the last surgery she's going to need for a long, long time. I also hope she's not going to be driving me to the hospital any time soon.

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2774

The only thing memorable about today was the heat. I was hot when we woke up. It was even hotter when I began running my weekend errands after breakfast. It was so hot that even our sunrise walk with Dash was uncomfortable. On days like these I'm really thankful that we have a working air conditioner. I've gotten used to the heat over the years, but I still remember the day I stepped off a plane arriving in Dallas from Seattle for the first time in the mid 1970's. I was interviewing for a job that I subsequently took, but as I stood in front of the Dallas airport waiting for a taxi to take me into town, I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake.

We are totally at the mercy of the weather in the summer. Cars seem to break down more frequently in the summer. I see them on the side of the road all the time in July. I don't even care about the huge electric bills. All I want is for the air conditioner to keep running. Once, a summer thunderstorm knocked our power out for almost five days in July and it was like camping out in hell.

Luckily, everything is working like a charm this year. The car has just been serviced and seems reliable. The air conditioner has a fresh filter and can still keep things twenty degrees cooler than the outside air. The dehumidifier faithfully sucks the moisture our of the air. We are all pretty comfortable as long as we stay inside.

To stay cool, I ran my errands right after breakfast this morning and then came home and vacuumed the house. This was the first time I'd touched the vacuum cleaner since the dog bite and the house was definitely dusty. By the time I'd finished cleaning both bedrooms, the canister on the Dyson was completely full. Janet had already mopped the brick floors in the living room yesterday, so the house is probably as clean as it's going to get.

I was pleased that pushing the heavy Dyson around didn't seem to bother either my wrist or my legs. There will be some scars on my legs for a long time, but I think I'm getting back to normal. Normally, I would have mowed the grass today, but it was just too hot. Hey, the house was clean and I felt like I'd accomplished something. It was a good time to binge watch a few more episodes of The Expanse.

So, how does this show compare with Babylon 5, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, Lexx, Dr. Who, or Firefly? Most of these shows are kind of like Westerns with space ships, but I enjoy them. Somehow, when the future arrives, I doubt that it will be like Dodge City on a different planet, but it does make a good story. I think Firefly was my favorite sci-fi series because it really was a true space Western. Star Trek never appealed to me because the writers made it a morality play. Hey, don't preach to me when I'm trying to be entertained. Just show me cowboys in space.

The neighbors brought over a gift basket this afternoon. I know they are trying to be nice, but it made me a little uncomfortable. They didn't need to do anything. I'm not mad at them and certainly don't blame them for anything. The whole thing was just an unfortunate accident. If anything, the dog bite was my fault. I should have just minded why own business and left that credit card in the alley.

Think is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day