Day 2648

Janet went downtown to the auto show today to look at new cars. It seemed like a smart idea to me. It would take forever to go from dealership to dealership, especially if you had to listen to a sales pitch from each one. I asked her if she'd found a favorite when she returned and she told me that most of the cars in her price range just looked the same. I'd have to agree. Most cars look like they were designed by a focus group these days. I remember when cars had a distinct personality. It was easy to identify each brand from a great distance. One of my favorite games on childhood car trips was to identify as many different cars as I could. It was easy to tell the difference between a Plymouth and a Chevy. They don't even make a Plymouth anymore and I couldn't even begin to tell you what a modern Chevy looks like. Sure, cars can drive themselves these days, but I still don't think they are fun anymore.

Dot had diarrhea last night. Lord knows why. She wasn't sick and nothing has changed in her diet. At any rate, it was a mess. Diarrhea makes normal incontinence seem like child's play. We cleaned everything up and hoped that this was just an isolated event. So far, so good. We made it through the day without further incident. I even managed to get my Saturday errands done without a mess to clean up when I returned.

Last week I made a mental note to start doing my grocery shopping on Sunday because the produce looked so much better. Of course, mental notes are worthless with me. I completely forgot about the nicer looking fresh fruit and went shopping on Saturday just like I have for years. As soon as I arrived at the store, I realized my mistake. There were no blueberries again.

Janet brought home one of those one-bowl meals I was telling you about yesterday. I still think these things are a bit overpriced, but they are actually delicious. The version we tried today was called Soy braised beef with Kale. There were also lots of mushrooms, barley, cucumbers and other unidentified stuff. Nice presentation too. I'll have to try some of the other varieties when I run out of food during the week. An interesting meal is usually the high point of my day.

Somebody is spreading nails on certain streets in our neighborhood. These don't seems to be nails that fell off a roofer's truck. They seem to be placed on purpose to puncture tires. WTF? Who would do something like this. Now, in addition to coyotes, loose dogs, and snakes, I've got to worry about nails in the street.

I was daydreaming about Questar telescopes today. Several times in my life I almost bought one of these things. I did a Google search and discovered that a fifty year old Questar costs more today on eBay than a brand new model did when I was in college. Of course, I could say the same thing for a vintage Ferrari or a 1963 Stratocaster. Even if I had the money, I'm not sure that I'd buy a vintage Questar. My experience with vintage watches is that old stuff is nothing but trouble.

The only old stuff I'll be worrying about tomorrow is me. I'll eat a healthy breakfast and go to the gym. The grass looks like it's time to mow again, but I think I'll wait until next week. Enough is enough. Maybe I'll just be lazy. I heard about a new Sci-Fi show called The Expanse that I might like. Maybe it's streaming on Netflix or Hulu. The show is already in Season 2, so I wonder why I only heard about it today?

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2508

I discovered some old birthday and Christmas gift cards in a drawer that I'd almost forgotten about and decided that this would be as good a time as any to get that iPad I've been wanting. There was also a gift card from the electric company in the drawer. I guess it was some sort of customer appreciation gift. When I called the number on the card to activate it, I was told that the card had already expired and was worth nothing. Jeez, the card wasn't that old. Thanks for nothing electric company.

There are all kinds of ways I could rationalize this purchase. The iPad will make a great teleprompter when I do corporate videos. It will let me sit down next to Dot in the evening while I write the blog. I could go on and on. The truth is that there aren't any good reasons why I need a new iPad. I just wanted to do something frivolous for a change. It's been a long time since I did something fun and frivolous.

I don't think Dot is ever going to poop outside again. For the past week she has almost exclusively done her business while she's asleep. If I prepare things right, this new schedule makes for a relatively easy cleanup, but it also has me worried. Is the Tramadol causing this change of behavior or is this just another aspect of the aging process. Dot's vets don't have a definitive answer. The older she gets, the more we are in uncharted territory.

I've started seeing screws and nails in our street again. This seems to happen whenever someone is remodeling their house and it drives me nuts. Can't contractors clean up after themselves? I've ended up getting so many nails in my tires over the years that it isn't even funny. It's not just me either. Just about everybody I know in Dallas routinely gets nails in their tires.

I'll be glad when the time changes next week. Not only will it be easier to see debris in the street, it will also be easier to walk the dogs. It's pretty dark when we take our morning walk now. On clear days the skies lighten quickly, but on overcast days it seems to stay dark for the duration of our walk. Dash is scared of the dark and just about anything spooks him on these pre-dawn mornings. Personally, I enjoy watching the stars gradually fade out as dawn approaches. Dash has other ideas though. It's going to be easier to walk him after the time changes.

This week would be an ideal time for the roofers to come out and make their repairs. The skies are clear. The roof is dry. What's not to like? Have I heard from the roofers lately? Of course not. I'll call them again tomorrow. Like everything in my life, the roof requires patience.

Pearl is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2253

I wasted most of the morning getting my tire fixed. I can't complain though, because I didn't have an appointment and the dealership was nice enough to work me in on a busy day. There was plenty of time to drink too much coffee and look at cars on the showroom floor that I can no longer afford. I probably could have left the nail in my tire for quite a while, since it wasn't leaking. I didn't want to take a chance though. I have to take Dot to two different vet appointments tomorrow and a flat tire along the way would really make a mess of things. I guess it was worth the wait. I wasn't charged for the repair and they filled my tire with nitrogen, which no garage in the neighborhood would have been able to do. The unfortunate thing is that I could run over another nail tomorrow. Dallas streets are full of nails and sharp debris.

Some days I get lucky with Dot. Other days, not so much. I did a lot of laundry today. I took Dot outside again and again, but it was only after I brought her back inside and got her settled in her bed that she decided to poop. This happened several times. It takes a lot of patience to deal with an incontinent dog. Dash is testing my patience as well. He is eating something in the yard that is giving him diarrhea. I saw him eating bark the other day and he's been known to eat cat poop. I've got to find what he's been getting into soon. It won't be easy to find since his disgusting treasure is probably hidden under a huge pile of leaves.

I was hoping that I could stream the Grammy's tonight on my computer while I was writing the blog, but it was just too much trouble. I found a live stream of the red carpet before the show which I wasn't interested in. I found backstage interviews during the show. I found selected clips from the show. I found everything except the broadcast itself. Never mind that the show was already playing on a TV in another room. With all the time I wasted trying to find a free streaming broadcast, I could have just walked across the house and watched the show on TV. I did see bits and pieces of the show. I had looked forward to Lady Gaga's tribute to Davie Bowie, but the whole thing seemed overproduced and a bit weird. Adele seemed to hit a few flat notes during her performance. How could that happen? I forgot that Don Henley played drums with the Eagles. Hey, it's been a long time. Why did I think he played guitar? I did like the tribute to BB King. Bonnie Raitt was fabulous. I guess I liked most of what I saw except for Justin Bieber. Alice Cooper probably should have stayed in retirement too.

We ordered takeout from Chili's tonight because neither of us felt like cooking. This is becoming increasingly common. I think that the older you get, the less appealing cooking becomes. It just isn't worth the trouble on a regular basis. Truthfully, a lot of things aren't worth the trouble on a regular basis. I try not to let that stop me though. If I only did what was appealing, I wouldn't do much at all.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2252 - Valentine's Day

We got to sleep in until almost 8 AM this morning, which is almost unheard of. Both dogs slept soundly. There were no accidents during the night. And best of all, after our morning walk, we had bacon for breakfast. Who could ask for more. I didn't make it to the gym today because I had to catch up on a lot of Saturday errands that got postponed by yesterday's photoshoot. It was no great loss though. I didn't really feel like going to the gym anyway.

When I was out running errands this afternoon I noticed that I had another nail in one of my tires. Damn. It's almost impossible to avoid getting nails and screws in your tires in Dallas. Janet has had three nails in her tires during the past year and I've had two. I don't know where these nails come from, but they're everywhere. The situation has gotten so bad that I've even thought of investing in a set of run-flat tires. I can't imagine changing a tire on the side of the road in this city. The traffic is so bad that you'd probably get killed. The tire is still holding air, but getting it fixed is the first thing on my to-do list for tomorrow.

I'm apparently not the only one who has made Sprinkles Cupcakes a Valentine's Day tradition. Every time I go to the store on this day there is a huge line out front waiting to place their order. The wait wasn't so bad today, because it looked like it was going to rain any minute and even though the cupcakes are delicious, they are not worth getting wet for. I didn't even have to pay for the cupcakes today because Janet discovered a gift certificate she won in a charity silent auction quite some time ago. I thought the certificate had probably expired, but the store honored it and even told me that I could redeem the gift certificate a little bit at a time since I really only wanted four cupcakes today, plus another two small ones for the dogs.

I received an e-mail from a veterinarian this afternoon asking if I was still interested in designing a website for him. I had initially contacted this guy over two years ago and then just assumed he wasn't interested because I never heard back from him. This just goes to show that some things take time. I'm always delighted when these sleeper cell jobs come back to life. I've made tons of contacts over the years, but I just don't have the energy or inclination to make cold calls anymore. There are certainly a lot more people out there that I haven't heard from in a long time. If even half of them still remembered me, I could be busy for a long, long time.

Dot is ageless. I took this Valentine's Day portrait of her quite a few years ago, but she still looks absolutely the same today. Dash looks pretty young too, but that's probably because he actually is a lot younger than Dot. We're all getting older though. Now Janet is the only one in hte family who isn't taking blood pressure medication.

Tomorrow is President's Day. Is this a holiday for all the presidents, or just the ones like Washington and Lincoln who used to have their own holidays? It's a weird holiday. The post office is closed, but FedEx and UPS are still making deliveries. Some banks are closed, but others remain open. Mattress stores seem to love this day, because they always seem to have huge President's Day sales. For me, it's just another day, I hope I can get my tire fixed.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1834

I received a letter from NASA today saying that I'd been accepted to cover the launch of the SMAP satellite at Vandenberg Air Force Base early next year. Now, I need to figure out where Lompoc, California is and how to get there. I was really kind of surprised that my application for NASA press credentials was accepted. NASA only invites a small number of social media correspondents to these launch events and I wasn't really sure whether a blog about a guy and his two Dalmatians was what they were looking for. Apparently this is as good a place as any to talk about space travel, so I'm glad that NASA likes the blog.

I'm a bit apprehensive about this upcoming adventure, but I really think I need to do this. I've always thought that if you don't keep trying to expand your horizons, you slowly whither and die. I haven't done anything really new in quite a while, so maybe it's time. This really isn't as implausible as it sounds. I'm a good writer and I've been a huge fan of the space program for most of my adult life. This could be the start of something. Just having the opportunity to interview NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers and take photos at Vandenberg Air Force Base is quite an honor. I just hope the launch doesn't get delayed by bad weather or something, since I have to pay for travel and lodging myself. A delay in the launch could get expensive. The SMAP satellite is actually pretty significant, since it will map soil moisture over the entire planet, helping to predict droughts, provide an early warning for floods and landslides, improve weather forecasting, and help farmers improve crop yields. I'm looking forward to this as only a slightly reclusive science nerd can.

It rained this morning, so I wasn't able to get my Christmas shopping completed before the crowds descended on the shopping malls. The dogs come first, so I patiently waited for a break in the rain to get them outside to poop and take their morning walk before I went shopping. Despite the late start, I was still able to find a parking place at Northpark, so everything ended well. Hopefully I won't need to go shopping again for a long time.

I've been worried about Dot's increasingly shaky rear legs, so our vet gave her a thorough examination today when we went for our physical therapy appointment. Dot's mobility has decreased since her last exam, and she appears to be experiencing some sort of neurological damage. The vet said that we could get an MRI of her spine to see if we could isolate what was causing the problem, but that an MRI or CAT scan wouldn't really give us more options. Dot is too old and frail for spinal surgery and this type of surgery is risky even for a young dog. Probably some sort of pain management program is the best we can expect at this point. The good thing is that the acupuncture and water therapy that we are already doing has been very beneficial and has significantly slowed down her inevitable decline. We've just got to come up with a way to keep her active without causing her any more pain.

The only thing I wasn't able to do today was get the nail removed from my tire. Luckily, the tire is still holding air and shows no sign of leaking. I was able to make an appointment to get the tire fixed at the dealership early tomorrow morning before the place closes early for Christmas Eve. You'd think I could just go to a nearby gas station to get the tire fixed, but my tires are filled with nitrogen instead of air. I always have a way of making even simple things difficult.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1833

I drove down to the UPS Customer Service Center this morning to pick up a package. It's odd that I find this the most convenient way to pick up a shipment, since Fedex and UPS will both deliver right to my door. It's just another case where a modern convenience has turned into a modern nuisance. More and more merchants are requiring a direct signature on deliveries, since there has been an increase in people stealing packages off of front porches. If you have to sign for the delivery, you have to be home. I could be home twenty-tree hours a day and it's almost inevitable that the one hour I was gone would be when the UPS guy shows up. It's just easier to drive to Mesquite.

I think I got another nail in my tire when I was out today. I heard a clicking sound when I was driving and when I stopped to investigate, I saw what appeared to be a small nail or screw protruding from one of the rear tires. When I got home, I looked again, but couldn't find the object anymore. I'm sure it's still there though. I probably just broke the head off the screw while I was driving. The tire still holds air and doesn't appear to be leaking, but I better get it fixed tomorrow. The last time this happened, my warranty got me a free tire. I don't think I'll be so lucky this time.

It was time for another visit with my physical therapist today. This session was for me. Dot's physical therapy is tomorrow. It appears that I have made some progress. I was able to extend my arm further behind my head than I was last week and the manipulations of my arm by the therapist weren't so painful. I got some new exercises to practice at home this week including one called Spider Crawls. For Spider Crawls, you stand near a vertical wall and use your fingers to move or elevate your bad arm as far up the wall as you can. I've been doing this for months to reach the soap in a high shelf in the bathroom. I just didn't know there was a name for this odd activity. My bad arm is still about fifty percent weaker than my good arm, so I've got a long way to go.

Dot seemed stronger today. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to how she feels. She just has good days and bad days. I guess I could say the same for myself. Some days I feel great and other days I can barely move. Today feels like one of the barely move days, but that is probably just because of all the tugging and pulling the physical therapist did on my arm.

Tomorrow is going to be busy. I plan on making one final, and possible futile, attempt to get my Christmas shopping finished before Christmas Eve. Dot has her appointment with the underwater treadmill tomorrow afternoon instead of her regular Thursday appointment because of the holiday schedule. There's that pesky tire to deal with as well.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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