Day 4981

Another triple digit day. They say we've broken an all time record for consecutive days above 80 degrees. I wouldn't be surprised if we've broken records for days above 100 degrees as well. Hey, we're supposed to get a break tomorrow. A cold front is on the way and it's only supposed to reach 95 degrees.

The day started normally with Dawn's sunrise walk. There wasn't much of a breeze this morning. Even before sunrise you could tell it was going to be a hot one. I had my breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit and then did a load of laundry. When the first load was in the dryer I changed the sheets on the bed and washed them as well. Changing the bed upset Dawn for obvious reasons. I was messing with her throne. I had to lead her out to the living room on a leash and then gate her out of the bedroom until I finished. She was not a happy dog.

Changing a fitted sheet sure seems harder than it used to be. Bad knees and a dislocated shoulder make this simple task a bit of a struggle. I got the job done though. I even washed all the bed coverings because they routinely get filled with dog hair. I remember when my Dad got older he started sleeping on top of his bed because he got tired of making it every day. Makes sense to me.

When I finished with the household chores, I went to the gym again. No matter what the weather is doing outside, I'm going to continue to get my steps. Traffic seemed worse than usual today and then I remembered that school is in session again. I need to remember where all the school zones are. It's an easy way to get a ticket if you aren't careful. There are more people using the gym than you typically see in August. I think this heat is driving everyone indoors. I did my three mile walk on the indoor track, completed ten free throws on the basketball court, and lifted weights for a while. Even though I completed my routine, it wasn't a great day. I was slower doing everything today.

Since I went to the gym a lot later today, I didn't return home until mid afternoon. This was probably a good thing because I was out of the way when Janet did her housecleaning. I often run out of things to do in the afternoon which makes me wonder what I'm going to do with myself when I reach my blogging goal. I've genuinely grown tired of writing these daily posts, but I like a life with structure. I've been spending my evenings blogging for so long that it's going to seem strange doing anything else. I don't watch much TV and reading tires my eyes now. I imagine I'll think of something though. Nature abhors a vacuum.

I'm looking forward to a break in the hot weather. They say the temperature will only be in the mid 70's when we take our sunrise walk tomorrow. Sadly this respite from triple digit temperatures isn't going to last. On Thursday the heat wave returns and temperatures are supposed to reach 108 degrees. I have no idea how long this is supposed to last, but it's definitely been long enough. Cooler Fall weather can't come soon enough.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4966

Another insanely hot day. This is getting old. At least our sunrise walks are tolerable. It's never really cool though. Even when we leave before sunrise it already feels like the high for the day in a normal world. Oh, well. At least our air conditioner still works well.

No big weekend breakfast today. Janet had a meeting to go to, so I had my shredded wheat and fruit again. The hydroponically grown strawberries are actually quite good. I'll have to get these again. I'm going mall walking earlier now. The mall opens for walkers at 9 AM and there is no reason to sit around the house. There was nothing new this week, but the place was pleasantly cool and it's still more enjoyable to walk there than at the gym. The hotter is gets outside, the more people I see mall walking. There are very few middle aged people mall walking. It's mostly young couples pushing kids in strollers and old people like me. Some of the restaurants open early for the walkers, but the stores don't open until noon. I'm gone by then. I like going to the mall, but have no interest in doing any real shopping.

Dawn was eager to go on her Sunday outing as soon as I returned home. We let her get outside a bit at her Sunday park, but it is too hot now for much of a walk. After she pees and does a little sniffing, we return to the car and head for the ice cream store. Sometimes our cones are piled high with ice cream and other times we feel cheated.  It just depends on who is serving. Dawn loves ice cream but she is a messy eater. She always seems to spill some of her cone on the back seat.

Afternoons are always slow. I seem to have run out of energy and enthusiasm. There are so many things that I could be doing and probably should be doing, but I do my best to avoid starting something that will be difficult to finish. I'm not going to paint the house and probably won't fix the sheetrock either. I could hire someone to do these things, but I hate having strangers around the house. I used to spend time writing and recording songs but I haven't picked up a guitar in over a year. After several gallery shows I totally lost interest in making fine art prints. What does this all mean? It probably means I should go to Florida more. I still have more than a passing interest in chasing rockets.

It's getting to be where I hate to look at Facebook anymore. There is an endless parade of people trying to re-home their dogs, along with desperate pleas from other people to save dogs that will be euthanized at the pound tomorrow. I don't understand animal control. Why don't they just stop intake until they can find homes for their current dogs. They keep taking in more and just killing them. Jeez. What is wrong with people? Why get a dog if you aren't willing to treat it as a member of the family for as long as it lives. The older I get, the less tolerance I have. I guess there are still good people out there, but there seems to be a huge number of totally worthless people.

It's going to be a long summer. There is no rain in sight and a seemingly endless string of triple digit days. I'm sure I'll be back at the gym tomorrow. It gets me out of the house and it's a lot cheaper than a trip to Florida.

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4929

It's going to be a long summer. It's only June and I don't think the temperature is going to get any cooler in July and August. The heat makes it even harder to stay optimistic. Every time I turn on the television I feel like I'm watching society crumble around me. There seems to be this desire to deconstruct everything that has worked in the past and start over. Lots of luck with that. I'm not inherently against change, but I think we are headed in the wrong direction. Western Civilization wasn't all that bad. So, are these the end times we are living in? I'm not a terribly religious person, but it certainly feels that way.

To stay sane I just focus on day-to-day life. I don't get involved in politics or grand causes. I do read history though. Humans seem to make the same mistakes over and over again. I think it's a safe bet that we won't be here nearly as long as the dinosaurs were. It may seem simplistic, but I think the world would be a better place if we all just minded our own business.

I try my best to mind my own business. When I was renewing my gym membership yesterday they seemed surprised that I wasn't interested in having a personal trainer. That's the last thing I'd want. One of the reasons I go to the gym is that it is very peaceful to walk around the indoor track in silence. I feel the same way about my walks in the parks. I almost never talk to anyone but I am very observant. Over the years I've learned the names and characteristics of virtually all the plants and animals in the park. Almost anything can be an educational experience. I have no interest in taking classes, but I'm always downloading instruction manuals and trying to figure things out on my own. Trial and error is often the best teacher.

I can't say that I've learned anything today, but you've got to play the long game. I did learn a few new things yesterday. Today started out as it always does with a sunrise walk with Dawn. We always look for bunnies, but we didn't see any today. We often see a mother duck taking her ducklings down to the lake from where they spend the night in the tall prairie grass. Less than a month ago the ducklings were tiny. Now they are almost full grown. They still follow the mother duck down to the water though.

The temperature was in the eighties this morning but I still went to the gym because it was humid outside. I didn't shoot baskets today because people were playing pickleball on the basketball court. I don't understand the fascination with pickleball. It seems like a cross between tennis and ping pong, played with a green plastic wiffleball. I did walk three miles on the indoor track. I am able to walk faster on the indoor track than I do in the park and my speed is more or less constant. This was initially surprising to me, but I guess it makes sense. I'm not fighting steep hills and humidity. The track is even cushioned against impact so it is easy on your feet. The only downside to going to the gym is that I'm driving a lot more. My car gets terrible gas mileage.

I've started eating lunch again and fixed myself a ham and cheese sandwich when I returned from the gym while Dawn waited for Janet to return with the groceries. Dawn gets very excited on grocery day and is always nearby when Janet is putting away the groceries. I just try to stay out of the way.

I do my own grocery shopping tomorrow. I'll probably go back to the gym as well. It's certainly not getting any cooler outside.

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4590

It's going to be a very long summer. Every day seems the same. The relentless heat takes away my desire to do anything. Our sunrise walk with Dawn feels like what you'd expect at noon in a normal year. This is the only walk that Dawn gets now. It's far too hot for an afternoon walk. It's too hot for anything. I eat my breakfast, check my messages on the computer, and then wonder what to do next.

This morning I went to the gym fairly early. I have no burning desire to exercise, but it is something to do.  I'm getting better on the basketball court, but I'm not very athletic. All I do is shoot free throws. I'm not very fast on the indoor track either, but my Fitbit doesn't care. I make sure to walk at least 10,000 steps and close all the activity rings on my Apple Watch. I've actually learned a lot watching other people's personal trainers. Maybe someday I'll put these fitness tips to good use. I think I'm in reasonably good shape but older, heavier people often pass me on the track. Usually after about an hour and a half I've had enough and I head back home again.

My phone said that there was a new version of the Polaris app available, so I downloaded it. Strangely, it was exactly the same as the version I downloaded last week. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I set the star tracker up again and put it through it's paces. I had better luck today and the camera only disconnected from the tracker once. I have a feeling that some of the problems I've been having might be user error. It's hard to tell though, since there has never been an instruction manual for this thing. Most of what I've learned comes from the Facebook user group and the majority of these other users don't know any more than I do. 

I wish it were easier to keep our house cool. We have a ton of single pane windows that act just like radiators in the summer. When you stand near them you can feel the heat. The roof isn't insulated well either. Originally, the house had a thick tar and gravel roof that provided excellent insulation. When it came time to replace this roof, we discovered that nobody does tar and gravel roofs anymore. The thinner roofing materials that replaced the tar and gravel don't provide much insulation at all. I have a feeling that the weather was cooler fifty years ago as well. There were also more large Oak trees that provided a lot of shade. Several of these trees have died and the remaining ones are not in great shape. It all adds up to a house that isn't that comfortable in triple digit weather. Our air conditioning system is doing all it can. Most AC systems will only lower the temperature about twenty degrees. This means when the temperature is over 100 degrees outside, it can still approach 80 degrees inside.

I still wish I could hibernate like a bear. Napping is the next best thing though. Dawn has finally realized that nothing bad happens when we share the bed for an afternoon nap. We're actually getting along pretty well now. Maybe those nine days we spent together while Janet was on vacation helped. It's a good thing we can nap together. What else is there to do on a hot July day.

I'll probably go back to the gym tomorrow morning. I need to mow the grass but I'd rather wait for a cloudy day. It's time to get a haircut again too. Maybe I'll make an appointment tomorrow. I'm sure there are all sorts of things I could do if I was more industrious. We'll wait until it's cooler for that. This heat has killed my motivation.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3133

It's going to be a long Summer. I tried to get up early this morning, but Dash and I didn't make it out the door until 7 AM. This was about a half hour later than yesterday, giving the sun just enough time to creep above the horizon before we returned home. It's amazing how quickly things start heating up once the sun is up. I feel like I'm in some dystopian science fiction movie where the mole people only come out at night to avoid  a malevolent sun that is starting to go supernova.

I think the new coating on the roof has had plenty of time to dry. Maybe it's time for a little rain. Unfortunately, there is no rain in the forecast. I think we'll have triple digit temperatures for the rest of the week. Dash did OK on his walk, although he did get a little hot. I'm glad we didn't wait until 7:30 to get started.

The battery store was open this morning, so I got the uninterruptible power supply for my computer repaired. Damn, this thing is heavy. I've got another uninterruptible power supply that needs new batteries as well, but I'll save that for another day. While the technician was replacing the batteries, he told me that the store no longer replaced laptop and iPhone batteries. This was disappointing news. This place only used to charge half as much as the Apple Store. I asked the guy why they decided to quit offering this service. He said Apple products were difficult to work on and they weren't making enough money.

Since the battery store wouldn't replace the battery in Janet's laptop, I had to take it to a more expensive computer repair shop. They said the computer was old and they would have to special order a replacement battery. I kind of expected this, but I didn't expect them to make me come down to the store and give them a deposit. I still don't know why they wouldn't take a credit number over the phone. While I was at the store, I noticed some old Apple towers on display like I used to use. "Do people still buy these," I asked? The store manager laughed. "No, she said. A customer brought these in for recycling and I thought they would make an interesting history lesson." Oh, well. So much for the computers in the storage warehouse. I told the manager that if she wanted a history lesson, I could bring her enough old Macs to start a museum.

I had a conversation with the electrician this afternoon about the light in my backyard. He can't figure out what is going on either. There is no logical reason why the light would come on normally at dusk every evening and then arbitrarily shut off again around midnight. I asked the electrician whether he could just hard wire the light so I could turn it on and off with a switch in the house. He said yes and then added that I probably wouldn't like the expense. Instead of running a wire to the house, he recommended a WiFi switch on the pole, so I could turn on the light with my phone. Jeez. Whenever I'm looking for a simple solution, people inevitably recommend something complicated instead.

I think I know why I'm gaining weight. When there's nothing to do, I tend to find myself in the kitchen eating crackers. I'll check the stock market on TV and then grab a few crackers. I seem to do this on an hourly basis. To avoid boredom and reduce the risk of getting fat, I took a nap with Dash this afternoon. I think this confused my Fitbit. It doesn't seem to be used to people who sleep during the day.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3120

The weather isn't cooperating. I spent two hours up on the roof clearing away all the standing water so the roofers could make their repairs tomorrow. Everything looked perfect and then later in the day we had an unexpected afternoon thunderstorm and the roof is all wet again. I'm beginning to think that all my efforts are hopeless.

I did manage to find someone to repair my Sequential Circuits synthesizers. I don't know if the guy is any good, but he does claim to have worked on them before. I kind of hope that the guitar store has managed to find someone better. I have a feeling that the guy I found will just take the synthesizers apart and then tell me that he can't find parts. Parts are always the problem for old electronic gear. Even though the chances of success are far from guaranteed, I'll probably still try to get these things repaired. If I do nothing, I might as well throw them in a dumpster.

The auction house called me today and said they want to lower the estimate on one of the pieces I sent them. I suspected this might happen. On further inspection, they said they discovered minor handling damage. These guys are pretty picky, so it was probably just a fingerprint in the wrong place. Hey, it wasn't me. I've never even taken any of these things out of the original frames. I'm still happy with the revised estimate, but the original price they mentioned would have made me even happier. Auctions are weird. We talk about these estimates as if they are real, but there is no guarantee that the art will sell at all.

Dash was kind of shaky this morning. He stumbled more than usual on his morning walk and seemed unusually tired when we returned home. I don't know why. The weather was actually quite nice. I always worry that Dash will collapse when we are alone in the park and I'll have difficulty getting him back to a vet in time. I can't let this fear deter me from walks altogether though. Walks are important. Without these slow daily walks, Dash's mobility would decrease dramatically. I do try to watch him carefully when we get up in the morning and make sure he's not having a vestibular event or problems moving around. A misplaced pebble in his path can cause Dash to fall these days, but we've got to keep moving. I've brought some more rugs home from the storage warehouse to keep him from slipping inside the house. Things are not getting better, but I think we're all doing the best we can.

I hope Dash does well at his exam tomorrow. He needs his anal glands expressed and a nail trim, but there's always a chance that he'll surprise us with more bad news. There are so many things wrong with this dog that it's hard to remember them all. The important things at this point are the blood clot in his heart and the internal bleeding. I've almost forgotten about the vestibular disease and thyroid cancer.

It's going to be a long Summer. Janet is visiting family soon, so I'll be taking care of Dash by myself for a while. I hope I can remember how to get his boots on without assistance. I've done it before, but it isn't easy. Getting him to take his pills in the morning isn't easy either. I have a feeling that we'll be taking a lot of naps. That's one thing we do well together.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day