Day 3719

Having an extra day in February always seems kind of weird. Of course, February is a weird month anyway since it is so short. I kind of wish every month has twenty eight days. Four complete weeks each month would make things easier to remember. Unfortunately, the Earth's orbit doesn't work out that way. I'm always impressed that our ancestors were able to divide up the year so accurately even back in Roman times. Caesar's calendar wasn't all that different than ours.

Breakfast was interrupted this morning by a visit from the roofer I met yesterday. He seemed very knowledgable and his company had good credentials. Not surprisingly, his bid was just as high as the other reputable roofers I've talked with. There are no bargains here. Basically a flat roof is always going to cost about three times more than a shingle roof.

While I was up on the roof this morning I was pleased to see the the silicon patches I applied yesterday had cured properly and looked ready for the next rain. I was a little worried about this batch of silicon because it didn't seem quite as thick as the previous batch. Probably I just didn't stir the stuff enough. Silicon is a lot harder to mix than paint because it is so thick. You can't shake the bucket either because it is too heavy. Probably I should have bought one of those paint mixers you attach to a power drill. I just stirred the stuff with an old drumstick I found in the storage warehouse. I guess mixing the silicon coating isn't rocket science, because the batch I applied yesterday dried just fine.

Janet walked Dawn by herself today to see whether her nervousness was because of me or if she just always want both of us to accompany her. Evidently, Dawn was still a little apprehensive, but they completed their walk successfully. Probably it is just a matter of getting used to new situations. We try to introduce Dawn to new experiences and it seems to be working. She seems more relaxed with each passing day.

Something is wrong with Facebook again. For the past several weeks I've been having problems uploading the preview picture that accompanies my daily blog post. When you post a link, the preview pictures are supposed to be uploaded automatically. It usually takes several tries now to get a preview picture to load with the link. I guess it wouldn't matter if I wasn't such a stickler for consistency. I had to try twelve times last night before I could get Facebook to find the preview picture. Hopefully, things will be easier tonight.

I wish the media would quit talking about the coronavirus. I've always been a bit of a hypochondriac and all it takes is a ten minute Google search to convince me that something is terrible wrong and I'm going to die. That's the trouble with having an imagination. It's easy for it to run wild. Now, every ten minutes I'm hearing that I should never touch my face and eyes with my hands. Jeez. I've got terrible seasonal allergies and I'm always rubbing my eyes. Visine doesn't really help that much and my eyes are always watering on walks. I probably don't wash my hands enough either. I hate that Purell stuff.

Should I apply more silicon to the roof tomorrow, or have I done enough? It's impossible to know. I wish I could get over my obsession with taking at least 20,000 steps on Sundays. It would be much more enjoyable to just stay home and take a long nap with Dawn.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2417

It's hard to differentiate between one day and another. For several hours today, I was convinced that it was Tuesday. Nope. We did that yesterday. I should have known the difference immediately. Yesterday, I went to the post office and today I didn't.

I spent most of my time today writing. I made good progress on my new writing project and might have even finished it if the rain hadn't interrupted things. Any major rainstorm throws the dogs into panic mode. I have to stop what I'm doing and calm them down. This usually involves placing them in a room where they can't see the lightning and sitting with them until the thunder subsides. I'm usually so tired that I welcome these opportunities to take a short nap. We huddle together until the thunder subsides and then I take them outside so they can smell the air and make sure the coast is clear. I'm convinced that Dot and Dash just think I'm another dog and they want to make sure that the pack stays together whenever there is danger. It's a good thing that the roofers didn't make their repairs yesterday because their work would have been ruined. We got a lot of rain.

I wonder if other people are as burned out on politics as I am. You can't turn on the TV without being inundated with political punditry. Sometimes I think that the media has created much of today's unrest by continually stirring the pot whenever they find a story. Between friends fighting on Facebook and dueling cable news channels, I've had about as much as I can take. I'm going to vote, but unlike some of my friends, I don't think my vote is going to save the world or end the world. Sadly, we have been a divided country throughout much of our history. There is no reason to believe that we won't remain a divided country. Our finest hour was during World War II when the entire country came together to destroy a common enemy. During peaceful times, this unity dissolves and we just end up fighting with each other. Humans are an angry species. Truthfully, I think the only thing that would bring us all together on a global basis would be if a fleet of alien spaceships appeared overhead and threatened to destroy the earth. Now, that would bring us together. I don't think peace and prosperity ever will.

Stormy weather seems to accentuate Dot's incontinence problems. This afternoon, I just got finished cleaning up Dot's mess when she pooped all over again. When I'm able to quickly pull a rug out of the way, so she poops on the bricks, or manage to have a disposable pad strategically placed under her when she has an accident in her sleep, I felt like a baseball player who has made a diving catch and prevented a runner from scoring. You have to be alert with an incontinent dog. There is always an accident just waiting to happen.

With any luck, I'll be able to finish my writing assignment tomorrow. I wish I was doing the design work on this project as well. Website designers are usually better paid than the content providers. I can't complain though. Neither of us is getting rich. Those days are gone. When I finish my writing, I'll go up on the roof again and clear away the standing water. The next time I see the roofers, I want that roof to be dry.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1788

I suppose that in some sort of peripheral way, I am part of the media. I'm a writer and I have readers anyway. One thing I've noticed is whenever something alarming happens in my life, I get more readers. When things calm down and life becomes predictable again, readers drift away. I suspect this happens with the mainstream media as well. This would certainly explain why we are continually bombarded with stories about terrorism, Ebola, and celebrity meltdowns. People love a good disaster. In fairness, most people love stories about overcoming adversity too. They just don't like watching paint dry.

I hope my rather tame Friday adventures haven't become like watching paint dry for you. There is no need to show you another picture of my breakfast, because you've seen it already. My routine has remained unchanged for well over a year. I wake up, walk the dogs, take my morning meds, and go out to breakfast. On the way home, I pick up groceries for the weekend. I retrieve the garbage can from the curb when I hear the trash truck drive by, and finally I turn on the computer and see if there's any work I need to do.

I did mix things up a tiny bit this morning. On my way to the breakfast restaurant, I stopped by my general practitioner's office and had my lab work done in preparation for an annual physical exam later this month. They always want me to fast for these periodic blood tests, so getting the lab work done on the way to breakfast is perfect. With any luck, my physical will be the last doctor visit I make this year.

When I was walking the dogs this evening I saw a fire truck, a police car, and a cop on a bicycle all converge on the workers building the new concrete bike path in the park. Even though the lights were flashing on the emergency vehicles, there was no sign of a fire or altercation. Nobody was arrested or carried away on a stretcher. After about ten minutes everybody returned to their vehicles and drove away. I have absolutely no idea what was going on.

Dot appears to be back to normal. She was active and energetic today, with none of the reflux or heartburn problems she had yesterday. I probably worry about her too much, but once you've dealt with cancer, almost anything can seem like a precursor to the cancer's return. Let's hope that Dot and Dash can lead a normal, uneventful life for years to come. In my world, normal is good, even though it can seem like watching paint dry for some of you.

Chase is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1123

I got a flu shot today. I'm not a big fan of flu shots and seldom get them. I think the reason I got one this year was that I didn't want people saying "I told you so" if I actually came down with the flu. Everybody I know has already gotten their shot and they keep asking me if I've had mine yet. I figured it was just easier to get the shot than explain my theory that the whole flu panic this year had been created by a 24-hour news cycle that continually needs something to scare us with. Remember the bird flu? Whatever happened with that one? Wasn't the bird flu supposed to wipe out civilization as we know it? I think you have to take all media scares with a grain of salt. I can bore you with pictures of pancakes, but the cable news channels can't get away with this kind of behavior. They're determined to scare us into watching more often.

If you want to avoid the flu, I've got a tip for you. Just stay away from little children. Little kids are always sick. Pretty soon their parents get sick. Then their teachers at school get sick and finally I get sick. As long as I avoid kids, I stay pretty healthy. I guess this advice doesn't work if you actually have kids though.

I discovered why my Lombard laptop can't connect to the Internet.  The short answer: it's too old. The slightly longer answer: First generation WiFi networks used WEP encryption which was supported by the Apple Airport card. Modern WiFi networks now use sophisticated WPA encryption, which although it is much more secure, isn't recognized at all by older computers like the Lombard. I guess I could just plug the old laptop straight into the U-verse hub using an Ethernet cable, but what's the point.

I got an e-mail today telling me that I was as "Class Member" in a class action suit against Facebook for improperly using people's identities for their own purposes. I wonder if everyone on the planet is a "Class Member" in this lawsuit? I just always assumed that invading people's privacy was what Facebook was all about anyway. Personally, I don't think this lawsuit will go anywhere. I'm sure that when we all signed up for Facebook in the first place, there was some very tiny legal type somewhere that said by signing up for the service, we gave Facebook the right to do whatever it damn well pleased for all eternity.

For future reference. If all I've got to show you is a picture of pancakes, chances are it was a very boring day.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day