Day 4366

I ordered some Christmas gifts on Amazon this morning and within a few seconds after placing my order everything connected with Amazon crashed. Amazon Prime deliveries, Disney+, and the Amazon.com website were all down. This must have been a big service outage because it made the national news. I spent the rest of the day wondering whether my order actually went through, but eventually the problem got solved. All is well and my Christmas shopping is done for the year.

It was really cold when we got up this morning. I had to add a few extra layers before we took our sunrise walk with Dawn. At least the furnace is still working well. I'm thinking of cleaning the flame sensor before it goes bad this year. The furnace always seems to go out on a particularly cold morning when the last thing I want to do is crouch down in the tiny utility room and attempt to fix things before I've even had breakfast. Although it was near freezing before sunrise, things warmed up surprisingly quickly. By the time I finished breakfast and was ready to take my long walk, it was already warm enough so that I could shed a few layers. On the home stretch, I was even able to take my jacket off.

I got a notice today that the Kickstarter project I backed has finally shipped. It was supposed to ship in June, but I suspected it would be late. I'm still wondering whether this advanced computerized astro tracker is going to work. Communications from the Chinese manufacturer have been vague at best. One of the recent messages said to be sure to check my junk mail and answer all phone calls until the package is delivered. Hmm. I can tell you right now that's not going to happen. Evidently I will still need to pay import duties before the package can be delivered. FedEx is delivering the package. I wish it was DHL, but I'm sure it will eventually get here.

The mosquitos in the house are driving me nuts. If I have any exposed skin showing, they will bite me. Most of the time I don't even see the mosquitos until it's too late. These are smaller than usual and very stealthy. Oh, well. At least we don't have problems with ants or roaches this year.

A lot of people I've met on my NASA trips seem to have applied to become astronauts. At least three people I know posted their rejection letters today on Facebook. These people were all really talented, so the criteria for getting selected to join the latest class of astronaut candidates must have been really stringent. Even if I were much younger I don't think I would have applied. My stomach feels a lot more comfortable when it's on the ground. I took flying lessons once a long time ago and spent a lot of time throwing up in the plane. I passed ground school easily, but flunked out of flight school. None of the instructors wanted to go near me.

The sunset was beautiful tonight. I really ought to spend more time out photographing things. At the very least I should get a better phone. There's a lot of beauty out in the park, but most of the time all I am thinking about is how much my feet hurt. I don't think my photography days are over, but it's a lot harder to get interested. If I see something interesting I'll pull my phone out of my pocket, but that's about it. If it weren't for the Santa Paws dogs I'd probably forget that I used to do this for a living.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4352

Very little happened today. I got up when I heard Dawn barking in the back yard. Dawn and Janet always get up earlier than me. I got dressed and we went on our sunrise walk. The weather was crisp and cool but Dawn wasn't interested in walking very far. Before eating breakfast I changed the sheets and began a load of laundry. All the bed coverings got cleaned today and Dawn spent the day sleeping on an old worn out blanket I've had since my days in Seattle. There were several holes in the blanket, but I can't remember which dog chewed them. Eventually, everything was cleaned and dried and I put the bed back together while Janet and Dawn were eating lunch. Making the bed seems complicated now. There are all these layers and lots of pillows. Was it always this way? It seems like changing the bed used to be much easier, but everything is easier when you are younger. A word of advice. Don't get a low platform bed if you have bad knees.

I read an article today that the city wants to pass an ordinance that bans loud leaf blowers. Seems like a weird thing for the city to be spending their time on, but I'm in favor of this one. When I take my long walk in the morning all I hear is the sound of leaf blowers. Some of the yard crews bag the leaves and take them away, but mostly they just blow them in the street and the wind immediately blows them back in the yard. What is the point of all this? Nobody blows the leaves away in the park, but by Spring they are always gone. 

My new Fitbit still doesn't count steps the same way as my Apple Watch. At the end of the day there is quite a difference in the step count. I don't know why this bothers me, but clearly one of these devices is wrong. After many years of wearing a tracker, I still don't know which device is right. Maybe they are both wrong. The new Fitbit adds quite a bit of new information, but as you might expect, most of it is useless. I pride myself on not being addicted to my phone, however I'm the weird one with a different tracker on each wrist.

I'm amused at all the birders I see out in the park lately. They usually have huge telephoto lenses that I don't know how they can hold steady without a tripod. There are always a lot more nature photographers on bright sunny days. Don't these guys realize that this is when the light is at its worst. An overcast day without any hard shadows usually leads to much more pleasing pictures. At least these folks are taking pictures though. My cameras are still sitting in a bag at the house. If I didn't have a phone in my pocket I wouldn't be taking any pictures at all.

The phone in my pocket has a new case again. I bought the case about three months ago but never got around to using it. Finally my old case broke and I realized that I already had a spare. When I bought this thing I wondered why it was more expensive. It was exactly the same as the other two Lunatik cases I've used in the past. Turns out that this case wasn't the same. This one was made of metal. I'm glad they finally thought of this. Maybe this one will last a little longer than the other two.

On slow days like this I sometimes think about filling a few paragraphs with political or social commentary. I really try to avoid this. Everybody's got an opinion these days, but very few have the facts. I don't even know how you find facts anymore. It seems like we live in a world with multiple realities. When I'm channel surfing cable news while eating breakfast I realize that there are just a bunch of competing narratives out there trying to convince you that your own preconceived conclusions are right. Are any of these narratives even close to the truth? I doubt it.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4182

Dawn is a smart dog. She knows we sleep in late on Sunday and stays in bed with us at least an hour longer than her usual breakfast time. I don't know if she is being patient or lazy. Maybe she would sleep in late every day if Janet didn't get up early on weekdays. Dawn also seems to know that she gets a special outing on Sundays. As the time for our departure approaches she starts pacing around, whining and barking. I think we've overcome her fear of the car. Dawn is eager to hop in the car on Sunday morning. Maybe she never was fearful of the car; just fearful of where the car might be going. Dawn still doesn't like to get in the car if we are going to the vet or to get a bath. I think she knows.

We had a nice walk this morning. We had a lot of rain last night, but it was over by morning. The ground was still wet but the grass is thick everywhere now and it is easy to avoid getting muddy. Dawn seems to listen to me outside when I am holding her leash. She never listens to me inside the house. This is a very strange dog. I think I am slowly beginning to understand her. After our regular walk, Janet worked on a few training exercises. Dawn wasn't very interested. I think she knew it was time for ice cream cones. We always get ice cream at Andy's on the way home They call their ice cream frozen custard, but it tastes like Dairy Queen to me. I"m not particular about ice cream. I like all ice cream.

I wasn't that eager to go on my long walk today because I knew it would get hot quickly as soon as the sun came out. I decided to walk earlier than usual in hopes that the skies would stay cloudy. I almost got my wish. It stayed overcast with a little breeze until I was almost home. I was slow today but I wasn't in a hurry. I'm trying to not be such a slave to my Fitbit. I really ought to stop wearing the Fitbit on walks and start carrying a small camera again. I used to take better pictures in the park. Now I mostly just depend on my phone. Sometimes I'll just use an old picture for the blog. I've photographed everything there is to photograph in the park by now. If I see something interesting on my walks, I can almost always find an old photograph of exactly the same thing.

I'm beginning to hate taking a shower after I walk. The shower drains slowly if any hair gets in the drain and water alway seems to get under the tile floor through various small cracks in the tile grout. I usually end up having to snake out the drain and use the wet/dry vac to extract the water that has gotten under the ceramic tiles. This is a huge pain and it almost make staying hot and sweaty a viable option. Old houses are an endless problem and so is finding knowledgable and dependable repair people. You learn to live with the problems. I've already learned that a small bag of party ice will last almost three weeks in the freezer. I could buy party ice forever for a lot less than the cost of having an appliance repairman install a new ice maker.

I thought about watching some more tutorials about PixInsight this afternoon but my heart wasn't in it. I have to admit that I'm just not very interested in the technical aspects of astrophotography processing. I can get fairly decent looking photographs just using Photoshop. Maybe I'll just stick with what I know. I read an article today where various amateur astronomers were recounting stories about being stalked by mountain lions, bears, and coyotes while observing in remote wooded locations. These stories were a little sobering and took some of the fun out of staying at the Astronomer's Lodge. I can't be fearful of everything though or I'd never leave the house.

We'll probably go see the rescue Dalmatians tomorrow. I'm curious to see who's still there. Charlie is a safe bet, but the others might all be adopted by now.

Wendy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3402

Godspeed Dash. I'll see you on the other side. As Janet and I prepared to say our final goodbyes, I couldn't help but think that we'd done this way too often. We got up early this morning and prepared to make the long drive to the crematorium. These places all seem to be located in little rural communities, far from the city. It was still raining when we left the house and I was hoping that we wouldn't encounter a hailstorm. Our first stop was to pick up Dash at the cancer center. Two of his favorite nurses helped us place him in the car. They'd been with him through thyroid cancer, vestibular disease, a blood clot in the heart, and much more. We all knew this was the end of an era.

I wish pets didn't have to be placed in a freezer after they died. It must be a health regulation. Dash's fur was still soft and silky, but he was very cold. Death still seems strange and mysterious to me. The body looks exactly the same. It seems natural to want to talk to the dead, but you never get an answer. I read an article recently saying scientists now think that the brain lives on for a short time after death. I'm not sure if I like this. If Dash was still aware for a few additional moments, I hope he was comforted knowing that the two people who loved him most were still right there with him.

When we arrived at The Pet Loss Center, we wrapped Dash in his favorite blanket and sat quietly in a dimly lit room with him for a while. We remembered the good times and the bad. We probably only remembered a very small fraction of our time together. The other memories will come and go for the rest of our lives. Life with Dot and Dash was unique and special. Although both Dot and Dash were sick toward the end of their lives, they were basically very healthy dogs. We did so much together.

Since we didn't want to make the long drive to the crematorium twice, we stayed in the area while Dash was being cremated. After watching as Dash's body was placed in the retort, we had lunch in a small country restaurant the crematorium staff recommended. While we waited to pick up Dash's ashes, we enjoyed one of the best meals we've had in a long time. This family restaurant has been in the same location under the same management since 1956. The menu and prices were like traveling back to our childhood in a time machine. Our Moms made this kind of food.

There are now six little urns on our coffee table. Each dog had their own personality, but they were all definitely Dalmatians. There's something special about a Dalmatian that you're not going to understand until one of these dogs joins your family. Fun times. I just wish dogs lived longer.

I took a long walk after we returned to Dallas. I need to get some better walking shoes, but I think I'm going to be doing a lot of walking this year. While I was out today I met a photographer who was taking pictures of owls. There were two large owls, a Mom and a Dad, who were keeping guard over a nest with two baby owls. The guy said the babies weren't ready to fly yet, but that occasionally they  would stick their heads out of the hole in a dead tree where they were living. We traded stories about animals we'd seen in the park and then I continued on my way. Maybe I'll come back and take pictures of these owls someday.

I took the trash out to the curb tonight. It was the only thing that seemed normal about today.

Mattie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3331

We had a bit of a setback today. Dash woke up with no energy at all. He stumbled around, took his morning pills, and went back to sleep without touching his breakfast. He's done this before, but we had such a good day yesterday that we thought we'd turned over a new leaf. After sleeping a few hours, we tried to interest him in a walk, but he wasn't going anywhere. It was clear that today was going to be a day of rest.

Dash has good days and bad days, so it's best to let him determine the schedule. He got plenty of rest today, occasionally getting up to pee. I had to keep an eye on him because wanting to get up and being able to get up are two different things these days. Luckily, Dash is learning to accept help. He still likes to sleep on the bed, but I need to help him navigate his steps now. He falls too easily.

Eventually Dash realized he was hungry and finished his breakfast. I was encouraged that when he noticed Janet had gone, he was able to walk around the house on his own looking for her. He became stronger and more confident toward the end of the day and we were able to take him on a very short walk just before sunset. Even though we only walked to the end of our street and back, Dash seemed happy to get outside and smell things.

I have a feeling that shorter walks and longer naps are going to become the new normal. This is not a problem that can be fixed. Dash is very old and is dealing with an enlarged heart, neurological problems, and vestibular disease. I'm amazed that he still does as well as he's been doing.

Since Dash has become less mobile, I'm not getting enough exercise myself. When Janet returned to watch Dash, I grabbed a camera and took a photo walk around the shoreline. It was a dismal, gray day but there were still plenty of birds. I saw several Great Egrets, some Double-crested Cormorants, a few Coots, and a gull catching a fish.

There may be no real solution to my allergy problems. Second-generation antihistamines like Allegra are much better than first-generation antihistamines like Chlor-Trimeton and Benadryl. They aren't perfect though. When I was taking photos this afternoon I noticed that my eyes seemed unusually sensitive to light and I felt slightly dizzy. My nose wasn't running though. I wish I wasn't sensitive to antihistamines, but it's always been a problem.

There is rain in the forecast again. Damn. I wonder if I'm ever going to be able to quit fretting about rain? The roof hasn't leaked since the guys came out and made their repairs, but I still keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don't trust this roof anymore. Rain also makes it difficult to get Dash outdoors. He has trouble enough on dry ground. Wet weather just makes things even more slippery. Unfortunately, the rainy season is far from over. I'm tired of this. I used to think that Seasonal Affective Disorder was a myth, but I sure seem to have most of the common symptoms.

Hey, maybe I'll see the sun tomorrow. Maybe Dash will get up on his own and we'll be able to take a longer walk. Anything is possible. I've just got to take things one day at a time.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3323

I forgot what day is was again. It's easy to do. Every day begins the same way. I wake up at some point to take Dash outside or clean up poop. If the cleanup is easy, I go back to bed for a while. If it is more extensive, I just stay up. Dash always gets a walk before breakfast. When we return, I pop a Community Coffee Dark Roast pod in the Keurig and start making my smoothie. Turning on the television seldom gives me a clue about what day it is. It's always just something about the ongoing Russia Probe. Enough already. Dash usually poops again just as I am getting ready to eat. Today he made a mess in the office. I wish he'd stay on the bricks, but the bricks are slippery. I can't really blame him for preferring the carpets.

Not that it mattered, but I eventually figured out it was Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I called in some prescriptions for Dash and when they were ready to pick up, I stopped by the hardware store on the way to the vet and got another tube of Shoe Goo. I think I'm keeping the Shoe Goo company in business. The stuff really does help to extend the life of Dash's protective boots.

I guess I'll go ahead and renew my web hosting account, even though it has become too expensive. Truthfully, I don't even know why I have a website anymore. If I shut everything down, I doubt that anyone would notice. There are a few animal rescue sites on the server that are important, but I could care less about my own site. I haven't updated anything in years.

I didn't always feel this way. There was a time when I had a really high Klout score and lots of Twitter followers. I was even listed as one of the top photographers on Google+ for a while. I'll miss Google+ when it disappears in a couple of months. This was the only social media network I actually liked. Too late now. Google+ is going the way of AOL and floppy discs. It's a shame. Back in the day, it was so much better than Facebook. Sadly Google+ never became popular which it probably exactly why it was so good.

The gas company repair crews are still in the neighborhood, but they've moved further away from the house. I'm curious about what they are doing, but not curious enough to go up and ask them. I'll wonder for a while until Spring growth in the park covers all the backhoe tracks in the dirt. Eventually, a neighbor will tell me what has happened long after I've forgotten the entire incident.

I've got to stop taking pictures of Pansies at the hardware store. I can do better. Unfortunately, these are the only flowers I've seen lately. It's Winter and wildflowers won't start appearing in the park again until late March or early April. How did I used to take interesting pictures every single day? It's a mystery now. Maybe I was just more interested in my surroundings.

Tomorrow actually is Wednesday. I'll keep that in mind as I follow a routine that is almost guaranteed to be remarkably similar to today's. Venus, the Moon, and Jupiter will be grouped together in the morning sky tomorrow. If Dash gets me up early, maybe I'll take a look.

Spirit is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3169

I've stopped going to the library, but I certainly haven't stopped reading. I think one reason my head is filled with useless information is that on slow days like this, I can spend hours reading odd little articles I find on Google. When I click on the Google Discover tab, I'm always amazed that there seems to be an endless supply of things I've never heard about before. I'll read almost anything about astronomy and space. I like reading articles about how the human race is doomed and headed toward extinction. Most articles about Elon Musk catch my attention. I always read articles about the best diet to feed your dog. Sometimes I'll read articles about the pills I'm taking or the stocks my broker recommends. I like articles about exotic cars and vintage guitars. I'm not interested in politics at all, so I skip over a lot of stuff. Apparently, a lot of people are only interested in politics.

Today I read articles about what might have existed in the universe before the big bang, learned about a new mass extinction theory that says the dinosaurs all died in a single day, read about a Ferrari prototype that uses a "virtual" windshield made out of air, and did some research on several stocks my broker wants me to buy.

My broker and I don't agree on much. I like to contemplate large scale trends like young people preferring pets to children and ordering meal kits from Hello Fresh rather than going to the grocery store. I'm bored by technical analysis and usually could care less when a stock dips below its two hundred day moving average. My broker thinks Gilead Sciences is a good buy right now. What? I hate that company. They're the ones who charged me $1000 a pill for Sovaldi. OK. It is a revolutionary drug that cured my Hepatitis C, but $1000 a pill still seems a bit steep. I wish I'd just kept the first three stocks I'd ever bought: Apple, Boeing, and Southwest Airlines. If I'd kept adding to those positions over the years, I'd have done a lot better than decades of hit and miss trading.

Forget about stocks. What I should be researching is what's causing Dash's loose stools. According to everything we've read, what we're feeding Dash now should be very easy to digest and contribute to firm stools. It's just not happening. It's hard to get a definitive answer from the vets either. The older your dog gets, the more "old age" seems to be the cause of everything. I doubt that I'm going to find a cure for Dash's incontinence, but it does get tiring having a world centered around poop.

I've stopped carrying a camera on our walks because I really need to concentrate on keeping Dash upright. It's kind of a shame. This morning I missed a spectacular shot of a Great Egret. Yesterday evening the setting sun reflecting off the downtown skyscrapers was equally spectacular. I still carry my phone in my pocket, but I would have needed a telephoto lens to capture these images. It probably doesn't even matter. Everything I see in the park, I've already photographed dozens of times before. Just to prove my point, I took another picture of Jimson Weed flowers with my phone this morning.

Dash had a good day, but he still hasn't pooped yet. I'm nervous. I still can't decide whether to apply to join the Jet Propulsion Lab team for the InSight landing either. I guess I'm nervous about that too.

Mandy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3103

When I took Dash outside to pee last night, the yard was uncharacteristically dark. The security light had gone out again. Jeez. I just had the electrician fix this thing less than a month ago. Dash pooped somewhere, but I couldn't see anything. The yard was too dark. Little things like this drive me nuts. Why is it so hard to get things fixed these days? For what I paid the electrician, that light should have stayed working for years.

When I went to get groceries this morning, I couldn't find any Swiss cheese. The cheese aisle must have had fifty different varieties of cheese, but no Swiss. It wasn't like I was trying to find anything exotic. I was under the impression that Swiss was a very common cheese, but from the looks of the cheese aisle, Irish cheese and Greek cheese are more popular. In case you were thinking that the store was just out of stock, it's been this way for almost three months. The absence of my favorite cheese was just as frustrating as the faulty security light in the back yard. In both cases, I don't know what is going on. Who knows? Maybe there is a tariff on cheese.

I keep looking around the office and wondering if I still need all the stuff surrounding me. Probably not. I'd be more amenable to a major housecleaning, if it wasn't so much trouble. Books are heavy. Obsolete tape recorders and computers are even heavier. It's much easier to just let everything collect dust a little longer. There needs to be a painless way to downsize without dealing with yard sales or Craigslist. I used to be a big fan of eBay, but that seems almost as bad as Craigslist these days. Lets face it. I've become so adverse to dealing with strangers that I'll probably just do nothing.

It's getting harder to find things to photograph on our walks now. The Spring wildflowers are starting to disappear and the animals stay hidden during the hot Summer days. We got up extra early this morning in an attempt to avoid the heat, but it was still uncomfortable. It's going to be a long, hot Summer.  I think Dash had more energy this morning than I did.

I hope I have more energy tomorrow, because it's time to go to the gym again. I wonder what it's going to take to step up my game and go several times a week. It's easy to convince myself that I already get enough exercise walking Dash. It's even easier to convince myself that the traffic is too bad to leave the house. Hey, if I was really concerned about exercise, I could just do planks on the office floor. It's actually pretty amazing that I even go to the gym at all.

The landscaper still hadn't replaced the dead grass. I wonder who I'm going to see first: the roofer or the landscaper?

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3079

Our power went out again today. Once again there was no wind or rain. It was pretty hot though. Since the outage occurred around the evening rush hour, I suspect that everybody just came home from work and turned on their air conditioner at the same time. The power grid in our part of town is pretty old. I don't think it's up to the job anymore. When the newcomers start tearing down all the 2000 square foot homes and replacing them with 5000 square foot homes, something's got to give.

My doctor seems to think I'm in pretty good shape. I'm a borderline diabetic who needs to take statins, but other than that I'm good to go. The heart is good, there are no signs of cancer, my weight and blood pressure are under control. I just need to keep exercising and eating right. I got a pneumonia shot today and will probably get the new shingles vaccine at my next exam. Apparently, you can't take these two vaccines together. I was relieved to learn that I don't have peripheral neuropathy. The reason my fingers and toes sometimes feel numb right after I wake up is due to the way I sleep. There's a name for the condition, but basically it's just a pinched nerve.

I finally got a decent picture of a scissor-tailed-flycatcher. These birds are amazing to watch, but hard to photograph. They catch insects in mid air and can use their long forked tail to make abrupt turns and even hover like a helicopter. They are very territorial and will chase away larger hawks and other birds that invade their space. I don't know why this one was so still this morning, but now you know what they look like.

My doctor said the pneumonia shot might cause some soreness. He was right. My arm feels like someone hit me with a hammer. Oh, well. If I never get pneumonia, it was worth it. The soreness in my arm is nothing compared to all the chigger bites I've got anyway. These bites are driving me crazy. Chiggers are so small that you usually can't even see them. The bites pack a wallop though. They itch much worse than mosquito bites. The only thing worse are fire ants. We have those too. It's only a matter of time before I start getting fire ant bites.

When the power went out, I noticed that the UPS for my computer only had four minutes of back up power. It's supposed to have over an hour. I've already replaced the batteries on this uninterrupted power source once. It looks like I'm going to have to replace them again. Gasoline seems so reliable compared to batteries. I'm always replacing batteries. I've been fascinated with Tesla ever since they first appeared on the market. I don't think I'd ever have the nerve to buy one though. The car is basically a giant lithium-ion battery. What could possibly go wrong?

I hope we don't have another power outage tomorrow. It's going to be very hot. When the power went out this afternoon, the inside temperature went up ten degrees in less than an hour. A full day without power would be very hard on Dash. Years ago, we were without power for four days in the middle of July. We're all too old for that now. If it ever happened again, we'd have to move to a dog-friendly hotel.

Ollie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2924

I kept thinking that it was exceptionally cold today until I turned on the television and realized that Dallas was actually one of the warmer places in the country. When I looked at all the snow that got dumped on Erie, Pennsylvania, this morning's cold drizzle didn't seem so bad. Dash got both his walks today, but it took us a while to warm up afterwards.

I think I'll spend the rest of the winter worrying about the furnace. I hate it when the furnace goes out. This usually happens at least once a winter and it always comes as a complete surprise. The problems vary. Sometimes a component needs to be replaced, but often the furnace is just dirty. I've learned to fix a few things myself, although I prefer to call the HVAC repairmen. I still have a healthy respect for anything hooked up to the gas line.

So far, so good this winter. The car seems reliable. My winter coats are keeping me warm. Dash has gotten used to wearing his protective boots. All is good. Lets just hope the furnace continues to keep the house nice and warm. The dehumidifier has made a big difference. Our windows used to be dripping with condensation at this time of year. Now the only signs of moisture in the house are in the shower.

I found it hard to get back to work today. I tried to do some website updates, but I kept finding myself looking at warm clothing on outdoor equipment websites instead. It didn't help matters that I got a letter from one of my last writing clients saying that he was leaving his job in marketing and starting a new career in accounting instead. I'll miss the guy since we've been working together for many years, but you've got to do what you've got to do. I always understand when someone quits their job. Hey, I'm the guy who's worked at seventeen different ad agencies.

I wish I could control the way the preview picture looked when the blog appears on Facebook or Google+. I like this picture of a Comorant on a rainy day, but I'm almost certain that the head of the bird will be cropped off on the Facebook preview. Why can't they just use the full frame image for the preview photo? Actually, a few years ago the thumbnail images weren't cropped, but then the algorithm got changed. Jeez, a square image looks good. Why do you guys have to force it to become a rectangular image? These are the trivial things I fret about on cold, wet days.

I need to decide whether to renew my Avid Media Composer subscription. I keep getting messages saying that the subscription is about to run out. I did end up renewing Pro Tools, but Media Composer is much more expensive. Do I really need this? Truthfully, I probably don't even remember how to use the software anymore. I keep installing the latest version, but it's been quite a few years since I've used Media Composer to edit projects for a client. For some reason it's proving very hard to walk away from all this.

I certainly won't be using Media Composer tomorrow. If it's as cold as it was today, I won't be doing much of anything. As long as it isn't raining, Dash will get his morning walk. It's good exercise for both of us. I wish I had Dash's ability to sleep for eighteen hours a day. That would make the day go faster. Hey, I have good dreams. I think my dreams are more interesting than watching television.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2922

When I went to the gym this morning, it was closed. Weird. I can remember going to the gym on Christmas Eve before. I guess I should have checked to see if there were holiday hours this year. Since this was the only thing I had planned today, I came home and wondered what to do next.

I decided to take a camera and photograph wildlife in the park. I hadn't done that in a long time. The weather was cold and windy, but the light was perfect so I decided to go anyway. Typically, I would see a lot of small animals on a day like this, but all I saw were birds. I think things have changed since the coyotes returned. The rabbits are probably wary now. We frequently see carcasses on our morning walks. Dash is a little too interested in these dead rabbits, but they make me feel sad. The bunnies don't really have a chance against the coyotes.

One thing you notice about wild animals is that they're always eating. Looking for food appears to be a full time job. This was certainly true today. The ducks, the cormorants, the pelicans, and even the little sandpipers were all looking for their next meal.

I used to take longer walks in search of a good photograph, but it was very cold, the camera was heavy, and my foot hurt. I'm getting old. Today's excursion definitely burned just as many calories as I normally expend at the gym and the pictures I came home with were more interesting than the basketballs I photograph at the gym. I should do this more often.

The house smelled good this afternoon. Janet was baking a pie to have with our Christmas dinner tomorrow. When the baking was finished, we gave Dash an afternoon walk. All in all, it was a very quiet day. We used to wrap packages at local bookstores on Christmas Eve, but I don't think Dalmatian Rescue does these type of fundraisers anymore. Once or twice, I remember being caught in nasty snow or ice storms coming home from these Christmas Eve events. Luckily, we don't seem to have this type of weather anymore. The world does seem to be getting warmer. Just not today.

It's a pretty safe bet that the gym will be closed tomorrow too. I'm not sure what we'll do on Christmas Day since we can't spent the entire day eating. Sometimes Janet likes to go to a movie on Christmas. She's mentioned wanting to see Murder on the Orient Express. A lot depends on how Dash is doing tomorrow. A movie seems more interesting than the Dr. Who Christmas Special. Who would have thought that I'd totally lose interest in Dr. Who. Things change I guess.

Whatever we end up doing, I hope that each of you has a very Merry Christmas.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2724

I got up early this morning to take Janet down to Baylor for some tests. Every time I step inside a hospital, I realize why our health care system is so hard to change. Hospitals are the size of city blocks now. They employ thousands of people. Health care is the biggest industry we have these days. It's no surprise that almost all the young people moving into our neighborhood recently are doctors, dentists, and anesthesiologists. That's where the future is. I'm sure most of these people have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are. Truthfully, I can't blame them. Health care has a lot more job security than advertising.

While I was waiting for the call to come pick up Janet again, I fed Dash his breakfast and fixed myself some pancakes and sausages. I thought about going out to eat, but it was starting to rain and most of the restaurants I go to weren't even open yet. I'm starting to think that my own breakfasts are tastier than the ones I used to rave about at my favorite restaurants too.

Dash hates the rain and I couldn't even get him to go outside to pee. We waited and waited and eventually I saw a break in the rain on the radar and convinced Dash to go outside. I don't know how that dog can hold his bladder so long. Once the rain stopped and I got Dash to take his morning walk, I realized that this was a perfect day to take a camera down to the lake. I certainly didn't have anything better to do today.

I always take better pictures when I don't have a dog with me. Dot and Dash always used to scare all the animals away. I saw some Wood Ducks and Great Egrets today. I also saw a Red Tailed Hawk swoop down and grab a mouse with its claws, but I wasn't quick enough to capture a picture. It's relaxing to take pictures of wildlife. I should do this more often.

While I was checking on the rat traps last night, I noticed that there was also a large toad in the atrium. How are all these animals getting inside? Basically the atrium is a screened in porch enclosed on three sides by the house. There shouldn't be any critters getting inside. The rat has discovered how to remove the cheese from the two Havahart traps without setting them off. He stays away from the kill trap. I don't think I'm ever going to catch this rat.

It seemed more like Saturday than Friday. Janet couldn't go back to work until the anesthesia wore off, so she watched movies with Dash for most of the afternoon. I haven't had any work to do for several days. Maybe this is what retirement is going to be like. I'm still not comfortable with the whole idea of retirement. Where is the money going to come from to pay for all the gear I crave?

I hope the rain stops tomorrow. I've got a lot of errands to do and I'd prefer to be dry.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2676

I was unlocking the back door and getting ready to take Dot outside this morning when much to my surprise I see her walking toward me. She had gotten up all by herself and was headed toward the door on her own. I was amazed. She hasn't done this for months. It was as if she was telling us "don't count me out yet." Her surprising show of strength continued for most of the day. Dot ate all her food today and had two good walks.

Dash was in good spirits as well. I think the dogs liked the cooler weather. The weather was a surprise as well. A cold front rolled in overnight and the temperature was in the low 50's when we woke up. The severe weather the bank teller was warning me about yesterday finally arrived late last night, but all we got was a lot of rain. Luckily, the hail storms and tornado warnings were to the North of us.

I spent most of the day doing mindless chores, but I did find time to take a camera down to the lake without the dogs. Cool overcast days are perfect photography weather. I was hoping to capture a Great Blue Heron or some Great Egrets, but they were nowhere to be found today. I did see a mother Wood Duck with three little ducklings, so my excursion wasn't entirely in vain. There are an abundance of animals in the park, but I don't see as many when I walk Dash these days. He's not as adventurous as he used to be, so we seldom venture off one well worn path. I've given up trying to get Dash to do something new. He is very stubborn.

I noticed today that the camera I am using now was only saving images at 180 DPI. I did a Google search to learn how to change the setting to 300 DPI like I was used to and discovered that dots per inch was no longer considered a meaningful number. For the most part, camera manufacturers had just abandoned it, just like depth of field scales and aperture rings on the lens. None of this makes sense to me. What if you wanted to print a picture straight from your camera without processing it in Photoshop? Wouldn't it would be handy to have a 300 DPI image then? Nope. I was wrong about that as well. Evidently modern printers automatically scale the image to the paper size you have selected and all of the processing I've learned to do over the years is no longer necessary. It's weird to feel so out of date. It's even weirder to still like the old way of doing things better.

We've had a lot of rain lately and I hope that the new patches on the roof are doing well. I haven't even been up to check on them yet. I haven't done a lot of things that I used to do routinely because I seem to be perpetually tired. Janet seems to feel the same way. When the chores are finished and the dogs have been taken care of, we fall asleep instantly.

It's too wet to mow the grass and too muddy to spend much effort cleaning the house. I guess I'll just go to the gym tomorrow. Maybe I need a personal trainer or at least a class or two. I walk constantly and am very active when I go to the gym, but I'm still losing muscle mass. I've gone from feeling pleased that I could still wear the same sizes I wore in college to being slightly alarmed. I definitely don't want to wind up like Dot. It's harder to build muscle as you age, but it is not impossible. I used to blame muscle atrophy on the statin drugs I was taking, but it's entirely possible that I'm just not working out hard enough.

I hope Dot has another good day tomorrow. There is really no explanation for the burst of energy she had today. A good day is a gift. I can't think of anything we did differently today, but it sure would be nice if our luck continues tomorrow.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2590

I've grown to hate vacuuming. There are fifteen rugs that continually get sucked into the vacuum cleaner brush. There are foam pads covered with blankets for Dot to rest in almost every room. There is an X Pen in the dining room, so Dot can be part of the family while we are eating without falling over every ten seconds. All these things need to be moved whenever I clean. It used to be so easy to clean the house before the brick floors were covered with rugs and dog blankets. All it took was a few minutes with a wet mop and the place was spotless. If you wanted the floors to look really nice, a coat of wax would have them shining for six months.

Unfortunately, bricks are about the worst thing imaginable for a dog that has trouble standing. Dot couldn't walk around the house at all without the rugs that give her a little traction. The rugs help give Dot some mobility and I appreciate how they have improved her quality of life. They sure are ugly though. All this clutter is almost impossible to clean. Dirt gets under the rugs. They seem to attract leaves and debris like a magnet. Dot has trouble chewing now and bits of food fall out of her mouth long after she has finished eating. Frequently, a rug will get peed on, and occasionally pooped on as well. We picked sizes that will fit in the washing machine when necessary, but it is still difficult to keep the place from looking like a barn.

I did my best to clean the house today. The dogs followed me around and got in the way. They both used to be scared of the vacuum cleaner, but now they are strangely attracted to it. Since this is the season where the dogs track leaves into the house from the back yard, I pulled the covers off the air conditioner vents and cleaned all the leaves and dog hair out of the vent registers. What should have been a fifteen minute job took well over two hours. The sad thing was that I didn't have anything better to do anyway. There is still a writing assignment that I haven't finished yet, but I can do that tomorrow.

I kept thinking it was Sunday. I guess if I spend the day doing Sunday chores, it's going to seem like Sunday. I knew that I had some prescription to pick up at the pharmacy on Monday, but of course I'll be picking them up tomorrow, when I will resume my weekday writing assignment as well. I'll probably be confused about what day it is for the rest of the week.

At this time of year it's hard to find something interesting to photograph every day. The trees are bare. Most of the small animals we encounter on our walks are in hiding. There won't be any wildflowers until April. Even sunsets are hard to capture because Dash doesn't like to walk by the shoreline anymore. I think I've photographed every square inch of the park by now, but occasionally there are still surprises. I haven't photographed a coyote yet, even though I have seen them from time to time. When I'm with the dogs, flowers and sunsets are much easier to deal with.

Tomorrow, it's back to work. There are articles to write and a meeting I need to attend. Meetings, especially long ones, are especially difficult for me now, but I think Janet will be able to come home from work early. I continue to take things one day at a time. I just don't know what day it is.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2455

It's weird. Last year on September 3rd, I took a picture of a dragonfly. I haven't been able to capture one since. These critters are hard to photograph, since they move so fast and seldom perch on anything for very long. Imagine my surprise when I got my second picture of a dragonfly on September 3rd again. This must be a good day for dragonflies. I was waiting for the sun to set down by the lake and a dragonfly landed right in front of me. It's pretty safe to say that I won't photograph another one until next year at this time. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at this strange coincidence. I've been blogging long enough to realize that a lot of things happen the same way year after year.

If I go back and read a post from exactly one year earlier, I'll often find that I ate the same thing for breakfast, dealt with exactly the same dog problems, and worked on virtually identical projects.  Often when it rains, I'll discover that it rained on the same day one or two years earlier as well. Am I living some sort of real life version of Ground Hog Day? It's hard to tell sometimes.

Today was one of those day where it seemed like I was busy all day long, and yet at the end of the day I had trouble thinking of anything I actually did. Weekends are like this a lot. There are so many mindless little chores to do that a whole day can go by and you don't think you've accomplished much of anything. Hey, the toilets are clean again. There are clean sheets on the bed. We have a fresh supply of groceries. There were other chores as well, but you get the idea.

The reason I was down at the lake at sunset was that today provided a good opportunity to see a thin crescent moon and three planets grouped together low in the Western sky right after sunset. I did manage to find the moon, but there was far too much ground haze to see Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury. Finding a day with really clear skies all the way to the horizon is even rarer than photographing a dragonfly. I read somewhere recently that one third of the entire world can no longer see the milky way at night because of urban light pollution. I can believe it. I haven't been able to see the milky way or any of the fainter viable stars for decades. If you like astronomy, it's probably a good idea not to live in a large city.

Dot seemed tired today. Maybe it was just me who was tired. Dash kept waking me up last night when he started squirming around during a dog dream and ended up pushing me off the bed with his feet. I sleep a lot better when both dogs sleep well. I didn't do so well getting Dot outside to pee in the morning either. She ended up peeing on her blankets before I could get the harness on her. No harm done though. The blankets needed to be washed anyway and now everything is clean again.

I haven't looked at my stock portfolio in a long time, because it was just too discouraging. I looked today for some reason and was pleasantly surprised to discover that things are actually looking up again. The past three months have been great. We haven't completely erased last year's carnage, but some of the decisions made earlier this year turned out to be good ones. If this proves anything it is that I should quit fretting about everything on a day-to-day basis. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen anyway.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2344

I was listening to the TED Radio Hour on the way to the gym this afternoon and the topic was Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs. The theory is that there is a hierarchy of human needs and that the most basic needs must be satisfied before you can move up the pyramid to the next level. I forget who was talking on the TED stage, but he caught my attention when he said that the foundation of all human needs was a need for sleep, illustrating his premise with all sorts of bad things that happen to people who don't get enough sleep. Next up the list was a basic need for safety and security. When these needs were satisfied, the next level included a need to belong and share a sense of community. This was as far as I got before I arrived at the gym, but the talk was a little unsettling. If the foundation of a satisfied life was getting enough sleep, feeling secure, and having a sense of belonging to something larger than myself, I was screwed. I never get enough sleep, so maybe the illusive self-actualization at the top of the pyramid isn't in the cards for me.

I don't know if there is a hierarchy of dog needs, but Dot and Dash must be doing pretty well. Both of them get an enormous amount of sleep and must feel pretty secure since we take care of all their needs. Maybe this is why Dot still seems happy despite her many disabilities. On any given day, the dogs do seem happier than I am. They also seem to have a unique ability to live in the moment. I don't think that living in the moment was listed on Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. but it does seem pretty important.

We are nearing the peak of the wildflower season now. Almost every day when I take Dash on his longer "boy's walk," I see something new. Today I noticed that the Purple Leatherflowers have returned. This is a type of Clematis that looks like a small purple bell. I've always enjoyed seeing these flowers, but they don't last very long. It's too bad that Dot can't take these longer walks anymore. They are almost always the best part of my day.

Going to the gym will never be the best part of my day, but the experience is strangely satisfying for a guy that hates to exercise. When I'm on the treadmill, I gradually increase the angle of the machine, so that the end of my one mile walk, there is a neat little ascending ramp graphic displayed in LED lights on the treadmill's dashboard. I always turn the crank on the hand bicycle forward for one minute and then backwards for one minute until I've finished a mile on this machine too. It usually takes exactly twenty minutes. I try to shoot five baskets in a row from the free throw line on the basketball court. I've almost never done this, but sometimes I get pretty close. I never shoot until I hear a dull thud from dribbling the ball on a small dead spot on the floor. This invisible spot marks the perfect distance for me. All the machines have similar rituals. You get the idea. I like repetition and am a bit superstitious.

I did no vacuuming or yard work today. There's plenty of time for that during the week now. I did make some small website updates and added a third camera to the list that can now be controlled by a tablet or smart phone. There's actually a reason for adding WiFi capability to these cameras. At some point, I want to place a camera on a tripod in a corner of the yard near the bird bath were small animals congregate, so I can take pictures of them without scaring them away.

I have a meeting with my financial adviser tomorrow. I'm going to try to listen with an open mind, but I'm not a happy camper. Even in today's volatile and unpredictable market, I should be doing a lot better.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2271

My breakfast restaurant seems different now. The food is still good, but something has changed. Maybe it's just that the coffee is served in paper cups now. The old baristas who jumped ship and moved across the street used real coffee cups. The music has changed too. The place used to play Austin indie rock. Now I hear 70's anthems by Journey and Foreigner. I'm a loyal person, but maybe I'll have to try out the new place across the street as well.

I might not be being fair to the restaurant though. For the past month or so, I just haven't been that interested in food. I initially thought this was because of the flu, but I'm better now and I'm still not very hungry. I typically go to the grocery store to pick up food for the weekend after breakfast and today I found myself just wandering aimlessly from aisle to aisle. Nothing seemed appealing.

Actually, the entire day was kind of aimless. I tried to glue a variety of broken things back together and then I took a watch to the watch repairman to get fixed. There was no real need to do this, since I still wear the Apple Watch all the time. Nevertheless, it seemed like a productive thing to do. I hadn't seen this watch repairman in almost two years and was a bit surprised to see that prices had doubled. Oh, well. I guess you've got to do what you've got to do to stay in business. The last time we talked, we both agreed that our respective businesses were going downhill. Today, when we were catching up on things, we both agreed that things had gotten even worse. Maybe fixing my watch will keep the guy in business a while longer.

Dot seemed stronger today. She slept well and was much more energetic and engaged on her walk this morning. I initially would have thought that she'd feel bad right after taking the Palladia pills. This doesn't seem to be the case. It almost seems like she's at her worst two days after she's taken the chemotherapy pills. I could just be imagining things though. I like to have an exact, very predictable reason for everything and sometimes there isn't one. I might just have to live with the reality that Dot has good days and bad days.

I saw my first wild iris of the season today. I've been taking pictures of plants and animals in the park for so long now, that seasonal changes have become very predictable. I could almost tell you to the day when certain flowers will bloom. I find this predictability comforting. I keep thinking that if I were just more observant, I could predict everything. That's not going to happen though. Real life is pretty random.

I can't decide whether the political events that are currently unfolding are random or completely predictable. It seems implausible that a 74 year old socialist is a serious candidate for president. It seems ironic that Bernie could actually win if he just realized that he was in a win or lose contest with a woman who wants to win at all costs. If Bernie was as passionate about pointing out Hillary's rather obvious flaws as he is about the evils of the big banks, Hillary wouldn't have a chance. It seems equally implausible that the Republicans are spending all their energy trying to destroy the own front runner. The ironic thing is that if the Republicans had super delegates like the Democrats do, they wouldn't even have to worry about Donald Trump. Oh, it's ironic too that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump share pretty much the same views on trade deals that destroy jobs and opportunistic foreign wars. No wonder that the establishment hates both of these guys. My only prediction is that whoever wins won't be able to fix anything.

I really need to go to the gym this weekend. No predictions on whether I actually will.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day