Day 3790 - Mother's Day

My Mom's been gone for so long that I can't even remember what we used to do on Mother's Day. I'd like to think we did something special, but maybe we didn't. I still have a few childhood Christmas memories along with a fuzzy recollection of Sunrise Services at Easter, but I'm drawing a blank on Mother's Day. No memories of Father's Day either.

I thought the park would be really crowded since it was a holiday, but there were fewer people than I thought. It was a nice cool day and we had another pleasant walk with Dawn before breakfast. Dawn seems to like this new routine. Of course she'd already eaten her own breakfast before we left the house. People can postpone their breakfast. Dogs want to eat as soon as they wake up.

The new battery for my laptop arrived this morning. I was surprised that FedEx delivers on Sunday now. I wasn't expecting the battery until tomorrow. I was glad to see the package at the door. It gave me something to do today. There are always surprises with computer upgrades. I ordered the correct battery but for some reason it wouldn't fix in the enclosure. It seemed to be exactly the same size as the dead battery I was replacing, but there must have been a tiny difference. I thought about sending the battery back, but decided to file off one of the edges instead. It looked like if I rounded one of the corners just a bit, the battery should fit. I found a special file in my old watch repair toolkit and carefully shaved away some of the plastic case. After I rounded one of the corners, the battery fit perfectly. I still can't figure out why the battery didn't fit right out of the box. It looks identical to the OEM battery.

After I reattached all the loose cables and put the computer back together, I nervously pressed the power button. The computer started and booted up normally. I wasn't done though. I had to calibrate the power management system. This involved charging the battery and then discharging it completely, waiting five hours, and then recharging the battery again. I'm still not done with that process.

One of the downsides to this whole upgrade process is that my Microsoft Office 2011 no longer works. It is no longer supported by Microsoft either. Buried in the license agreement is a short paragraph that says you can't move the software to a different machine without voiding your license. Why? This makes no sense, since computers crash all the time. I'm sure I'm not the first person who installed a new hard drive in their computer. I guess a new hard drive counts as a new computer to Microsoft. They were no help at all when I called them this afternoon. They just want me to subscribe to Office 365.

I think we're going to start visiting the rescue dogs again. We haven't been to the kennel since the pandemic started. There is a new dog that needs to be photographed for the website and we miss seeing the Dalmatians. The place should be safe enough. It's mostly just dogs.

I have my annual physical exam later this week. Looks like my doctor is seeing regular patients again, since I got a reminder about the appointment today. I've got all sorts of questions for the doc. What do you think about hydroxychloroquine? How about vitamin D? What is an ideal pulse oximeter reading? He'll probably just ask me about my trip to the Davis Mountains. We both love West Texas.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3135

As expected, Dash is a handful. So much of his care is a team effort these days. The day started out normally enough since Janet didn't leave for the airport until after Dash had taken his morning meds and finished his sunrise walk. It was only after Dash discovered that his friend wasn't coming home from work at the regular time that things became more complicated.

Dash lives according to a very rigid schedule. He usually finishes his dinner while Janet is eating hers. Since he couldn't do this tonight, a large part of his dinner is still untouched. I did get him to take his evening meds, but it required putting the pills in a little ball of white angel food cake and then coating the whole thing with peanut butter. To be fair, Janet often has to do this too. It just isn't easy to get the little guy to take his meds.

I thought a short evening walk might get his appetite going. After struggling to get his protective gear on by myself, he refused to leave the house. This wasn't entirely surprising either. He's gotten in the habit of wanting someone to follow on his walks. Either Janet or I will walk ahead and the other person will hold the leash. This usually works pretty well. It might have just been too hot this afternoon, but we walked yesterday at this same temperature without any problems. Hopefully, Dash will finish his dinner later this evening. I'm trying to keep an eye on him, but there's a good chance that he'll poop in the house while I'm finishing tonight's blog post.

I got a call from the computer repair shop saying that the battery I'd ordered had arrived, so I took Janet's laptop in to get it installed. I hope this little repair shop does well. It's not too far from the house and the staff are friendly and knowledgable. Unlike the Apple Store, these guys are actually interested in keeping my older computers running. While the battery was being installed, I went next door to a hiking and camping store and looked at overpriced gear. I happened to see a new brand of dog boots that actually looked quite sturdy. I would have bought some, but I couldn't remember Dash's shoe size. I'll have to measure his paws again.

When I was taking Dash out for one of his middle of the night bathroom breaks last night, I noticed how bright Mars had become. The planet is close to opposition now and is making its closest approach to Earth in fifteen years. I went back in the house, got my binoculars, and was amazed to see a red disc about the size of Jupiter. I've never seen Mars this large before. Sometimes you can't see a disc at all. It might be worth actually setting up the telescope for this. The only problem is that the only time I can get a clear view of the planet through the thick tree canopy in the back yard is about 3 AM. Personally, I'd rather sleep at this hour, but Dash will probably get me up anyway.

The UPS guy delivered the new printer ink this evening. There's no point in installing the cartridges yet. I don't have anything to print. I think I could put my time to better use looking for the telescope. Where did I put that thing?

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2094

We had to work around the rain today. Although the rainfall was sporadic, it was surprisingly heavy. The storm cells were so small and sprang up so quickly that the weather radar let me down. I thought we were in the clear when I saw a break in the weather around 10 AM, but about halfway through our walk, Dash and I got soaked. At least there wasn't much thunder and lightning. When we got home, Dot was still fast asleep on her dog bed.

I started to see patches of blue sky around lunch time, so I decided to drive up to the repair shop in Plano and get my laptop battery replaced. For a brief moment, I thought I was going to get a completely new computer, because one of the technicians said that my particular model was on a recall list. They had to do a test to see whether my machine qualified for a complete motherboard replacement. I was hoping the computer would fail the test, but it passed with flying colors. After looking at the serial number, they said that my computer was late in the production run for the recalled model and that Apple had already corrected the problem. Too bad. I did walk away with a new battery though, so the aging MacBook Pro will probably continue to serve me well until laptops are completely obsolete.

The sporadic storms made it difficult to take Dot outside at the appropriate times and consequently she pooped in the house twice. It's hard enough to time things right when the weather is perfect. Today it was impossible. All it takes is a few seconds of sustained barking to cause Dot to have an accident. There was plenty to bark about today. Thunder made the dogs bark. So did the sound of rain on the roof. When they weren't barking at the storm, they were barking at me. Neither of them seemed to realize that there was no reason to hurry through breakfast this morning. I had to wait until the rain stopped to walk them anyway. Needless to say, I did a lot of laundry today.

I'm enough of a geek that it was hard to ignore today's Apple Event. The last thing I need is one more thing with an Apple logo on it, but I was somewhat intrigued by the new larger iPad. I seldom use my iPad anymore, but this new larger model seemed like it could easily replace a laptop. With a large touch screen, and the ability to use a keyboard and pencil with it as well, why would you even need a laptop? Oops. I forgot that the iPad is just another IOS device and won't run any of the software I depend on for work. I guess I'm going to need that laptop with the brand new battery after all.

Work is still slow. It's time to send out my September invoices but I didn't feel my usual sense of urgency to get them in the mail. Billings are so low this month that it hardly seems worth the effort. I need to keep a positive attitude though. I remember when I got initially the laptop in 2010 I was going through a similar dry period and then out of the blue I got a huge job that doubled my income. I'm not sure a new battery will have the same effect, but one can always hope.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2093

I was happy to see a long overdue check arrive in today's mail. Now I can finish paying my August bills. Of course it is September already, so the whole process will begin all over again soon. Vet appointments. Trips to the pharmacy. Writing checks and taking them to the post office. Sometimes entire months go by this way. It wasn't always like this. For many years the only things that mattered were having a cool job and a cool car. I didn't even bother to balance my checkbook. Karma took care of that. I'm mature and responsible now, but there are times when I think maturity is overrated.

I called the Apple Store and tried to find out what the procedure was for getting the battery replaced in my laptop. Apple service sucks. After spending forever talking to an automated computer that insisted it understood complete sentences, I finally ended up talking to a real person who knew nothing. She told me that I would have to come to the store and talk to a technician. "That's why I'm calling you now, " I told her. "I was hoping to talk to a technician on the phone, so I won't have to make two trips to the store." When I asked her if the store even had the battery I needed in stock, she told me she wasn't allowed to discuss the store's inventory over the phone. I finally gave up in disgust and called a third-party repair service that I always use when I'm frustrated with Apple. They told me to bring the laptop in tomorrow morning and they'd have me ready to go in thirty minutes. The price for this speedy service was exactly the same as the Apple Store price.

Dot pooped in the house again. I thought she was asleep and was surprised to see her standing by my desk. Thinking she might need to go outside, I got up and we went to the back door. It didn't take long to notice the little trail of poop leading to the door. She did need to go outside. About five minutes before she walked into my office. I wish Dot had a way of warning me. If she would just bark or scratch the floor when she needed to go, I'd come running.

Dash still likes his new food. Now, we need to find out whether this diet is a short or long term solution. Dash has a sensitive stomach and is prone to get crystals in his urine, so it took us a long time to find a brand that was nutritious, made in America, and didn't cause him to gain weight or form crystals. He seemed to love his food for several years, but maybe he's like me. I can eat the same thing for months at a time and then one morning I'll wake up and never want to see it again. I hope I don't sour on my fruit smoothies anytime soon. They are delicious and very easy to make. One day I'll wake up and they'll seem disgusting though. It always happens eventually.

I"ll probably go ahead and get the laptop battery replaced tomorrow. It would be nice to have a computer that didn't instantly die on me the next time the power goes out. I need to get a haircut soon, but that will probably have to wait. Thursday is reserved for Dot's physical therapy and Friday she has another Ultrasound scan at the cancer center. It's going to be a busy week.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day