Day 4105

I think I accidentally threw away an important part of my video kit while I was attempting to clean up the office a few weeks ago. I threw away some empty boxes but neglected to check and see if they were really empty. I was pretty sure the boxes were all empty because I knew what used to be in them and they all felt really light. Now, I remember that I kept this component in one of the boxes. The component was really light too. All this makes me mad because there is nobody to blame but myself. It just goes to show that you should never throw anything away. It's always possible that the missing component is in the storage warehouse, but that doesn't help much. I have no idea what is in the storage warehouse anymore.

I vacuumed the house today and I couldn't figure out why the vacuum wasn't picking up much dust. It turns out that Janet had already vacuumed the house a few days ago and I didn't even notice. Oh, well. The house is even cleaner now. It won't stay that way long though. If you have a Dalmatian there is always an enormous amount of dog hair. I don't know how these dogs manage to keep such a nice looking coat because they are constantly shedding.

The weather continues to be almost perfect. Dawn is enjoying spending more time outdoors. She took two short walks today, but we still can't get her to take a longer one. I continue to take my long daily walk although my feet are screaming at me to quit. I don't know if it would prove anything to go to the gym instead of taking these daily walks. If I did more upper body exercises, it would be my shoulders and wrists screaming at me to quit. I walked a lot slower today, but I did manage to complete five miles.

I watched a few more instructional videos about my new camera this afternoon. I'm finding that I learn a lot more watching YouTube videos that reading the instruction manual. Instruction manuals for Japanese cameras have always left a lot to be desired. One of these days I'm going to have to actually take some pictures with this camera. I've basically just been using my phone for photography all winter. I'm planning on taking the new camera to the astrophotography workshop, so I'd better become proficient in using all the fancy new features. I thought I knew everything there was to know about cameras, but that was before they all turned into computers. I think this new camera is a lot smarter than I am.

I promised Janet I'd get some bids for taking down the damaged Oak tree in the back yard. I should have done this months ago, but I hate to lose these old trees. This tree does need to come down, because it probably won't survive another really bad storm. It's such a hassle though. The tree is near power lines and has branches that extend over the neighbor's yard. Oh, well. It needs to be done. Dealing with an old house is discouraging. It always seems like a losing battle. I remember how nice things looked forty years ago. I probably looked better forty years ago myself.

I'm not sure if Spring Break is over yet, but we'll probably go visit the rescue Dalmatians again tomorrow. I think we've skipped two weeks now and Charlie probably misses us.  

Big Boy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2532

My Waterpik broke last night. I was curious about whether it was possible to fix this thing and quickly found a YouTube video explaining the entire process. These guys who make YouTube videos about how to repair even the most obscure appliances and machinery are the unsung heroes of the modern age. It doesn't matter if it is a broken electric shaver or a crashed computer, there's always someone out there willing to tell you how to fix it. I've been able to fix lots of things I might have thrown in the trash as a result of these videos. Most of these self-help tutorials are not professionally made. They are quirky labors of love. Occasionally, the instructions are misguided and will get you electrocuted, but generally the information is helpful. I appreciate the people who take the time to make these videos. I mean, who would take the time to tell you how to take apart a Waterpik, of all things?

Since the Waterpik was held together with glue instead of screws, you basically had to break the thing and then carefully Superglue it back together after you made the repairs. I should have known that I was in for trouble when I learned that Superglue was involved, but I went ahead with the repair anyway. An hour later, everything looked pretty good, except that it was harder to insert the attachments now. Hmm. What did I do wrong? It the attachments couldn't be secured properly, all I had was a high pressure hose that would spray water all over the bathroom. I didn't have a lot of faith in my repair, so went out and bought a new Waterpik anyway.

Dot made a horrible mess last night. When she woke up and tried to change position around 3 AM, she strained too much trying to move and ended up pooping on herself. This poop was runny and she smeared it all over herself as she twisted around in her dog bed. By the time I woke up to help her, it was too late. It was also too cold outside to take her out and hose her off. After considerable effort Janet and I got her cleaned up so we could all go back to bed. While I was outside hosing off the soiled bedding so I could throw it in the wishing machine, I realized that I had forgotten to remove the lawn mower battery for the winter and bring it inside. The unexpected cold front totally caught me by surprise. If last night is what we are going to be dealing with in the months ahead, I'm not looking forward to Winter at all.

A couple of days ago I stopped taking the proton pump inhibitor I've been taking for years to treat an acid reflux problem. My doctor told me that Protonix could interfere with the way the body absorbed calcium and lead to bone loss and even increase the risk of stroke. I guess it made sense to quit taking the stuff, but last night my heartburn returned. Prescription medications are a bitch. You've always got to decide if the side effects are worse than the cure. I tinkered with my diet for years before deciding to take the Protonix. The drug worked like a charm, but now it appears that it is a false friend and I've got to come up with another solution. I had the same problem with Benicar a couple of years ago. Sure wish the pharmaceutical companies could come up with pills that didn't have dangerous side effects. That would be nice.

I'm thinking about upgrading all my computers to Sierra. Since this is a major move, I need to do a lot of research first. Today I tried to find out if my aging hardware would even run the new system. Next, I've got to find out how many of my applications will be broken by the upgrade. Finally, I've got to figure out how to do the upgrade when some of my hard drives are nearly full. I'm not sure if this effort is worth the trouble, but it would be nice to be current again. Each year, the software on my desktop computer gets further and further out of date. The software works fine, but the world has changed. Who knows. Maybe if I wasn't such a dinosaur, I'd start getting good assignments again.

I hope the dogs sleep well tonight. I tried to find the rest of the dead bird in the yard this afternoon, but came up with nothing. Dash has a much better nose than I do, so if it's out there, he's going to find it and get sick again. I hope that Dot doesn't have another accident like the one she had last night. She hates to soil herself, and I'm not wild about the cleanup operation either. Just sleep until morning dogs. That's all I ask.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day