Day 4401

The days just blur together lately. Is it Sunday or Tuesday? Often it's hard to tell. I get up at the same time and do the same things day after day. I'm not complaining, because nothing is preventing me from doing something different. What would I do differently though? That is the big question.

Today I wrote a letter to my sister and sent a couple of query letters off to editors. I kind of wish my sister would get on the Internet. This is the only physical letter I write anymore and the only reason I have to go to the post office. It does save on stamps though. A roll of stamps lasts me a really long time now.

Now that I've figured out how to use the star tracker, it just sits in the box. I really should take this thing outside and put it to the test. Too bad that West Texas is so far away. I miss my time at the observatory. Astrophotography in Dallas certainly has its limitations. Our back yard is way too bright with streetlights in the alley plus our own bright security lights. Exposures in the front yard would be ruined by the headlights of passing cars on our busy street. 

I always worry that a drunk driver will come crashing through our front yard as well. It has happened before. Would you believe it has happened three times before. If the world was a nicer place the obvious solution would be to just drive to a nice dark area and set everything up. I've lost my nerve for that sort of activity though. The local news provides plenty of valid reasons to just stay home at night.

Luckily, I still feel safe when the sun is up. Long walks give a nice structure to my life. It's hard to fault walking. It's great exercise and provides plenty of time for reflective thinking. I often do my best thinking on my daily walks. Only a small percentage of my ideas ever turn into anything tangible, but I can tell that my mind is still working. It's hard to tell if your mind is working when you're home and the television is on.

I'm thinking that my experiences with the star tracker would make a nice, humorous article for Sky and Telescope. There aren't many humorous articles in the magazine though and anything I'd write would probably just make me look stupid. All I'm saying is that some of the other Kickstarter backers figured this thing out a lot faster than I did. Hey, I gave the idea a try though. We'll see what my editor thinks.

I really need to order the Hoka boots. They might not cure my foot pain, but they probably won't make it any worse. I've pretty much concluded that these boots aren't going to be available in local stores. I probably haven't done anything yet because I'm irritated at the Hoka company. Now that I've visited their website and looked at shoes they send me mail every day trying to get me to buy something else. Why won't companies just leave you alone?  They are never satisfied and are relentless about trying to sell you more. I get mail from Samsung now after we bought the new TV. Hey guys, I'm never going to buy an Android phone. Every new purchase adds to the continual barrage of promotional mail you get every day. How did we get here? I've spent most of my working life in advertising and I was never this relentless.

I used to look forward to the future, but now I'm nostalgic about the past. I'm convinced that we are headed in the wrong direction. Maybe I should write a book about how civilization is going to end in 300 years. It would never get published though. I'm not a historian. I'm not an economist. I'm not even a pundit. You've got to have credentials these days.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4380 - Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year. I can't wait for the days to get longer again. I've never been a fan of Winter, so I'll look forward to getting a little more daylight each day, even though there are many cold mornings yet to come. It was near freezing again this morning but the sky was clear and the temperature warmed up rapidly. I wore two coats on our sunrise walk, was able to shed one of these coats when I took my long walk after breakfast, and when when we took Dawn on her second walk later in the afternoon, I only need a very light jacket. A second walk for Dawn has been added to our daily routine on days when Janet is home. Dawn definitely enjoys the extra activity. For an older dog, she has a lot more energy than we initially thought.

My Fedex package has still not been delivered. Absolutely nothing happened today. The package still appears to be sitting at a distribution warehouse in a nearby town. I tried without any success to contact the Fedex case manager investigating my misplaced package and got nowhere. These people are supposed to contact you within 24 hours, but it's been five days now. I would drive over to the distribution center myself and pick up the package if I could, but these facilities are off limits. I have been told several times that I would not be allowed inside. It's all very frustrating. The only good news is that I have finally been able to contact the Chinese manufacturer and they are going to investigate the lost shipment from their end.

I really need to find something to do other than walking and obsessing over lost packages. These days are getting really monotonous. Unfortunately there just isn't much that interests me at the moment. I don't really feel like I'm a part of the space community since my trips to Kennedy Space Center are so infrequent. I envy the local Florida space photographers who seem to be on site almost every single week. I'm not really part of an astronomy community either. I still like to volunteer at McDonald Observatory, but it is a long and tiring drive to West Texas and the observatory only needs me about once a year. There are local astronomy clubs in the area, but I have become reluctant to drive at night. Almost every single day I read about someone randomly getting shot on a Dallas freeway. It is not a good time to be driving around very late at night.

It's too bad I don't enjoy watching TV more. There are more movies available for streaming than I could watch in a lifetime. Unfortunately, very few of them have any interest to me. I did notice that Season Six of The Expanse has started. The first two episodes are already available on Amazon Prime. Even this simple pleasure seems difficult. For some inexplicable reason Amazon Prime movies won't run if you are using Safari. You keep getting an "incompatible plug in" message. I was finally able to access the new season by using Firefox, but quickly discovered that my computer couldn't keep up with the high resolution stream. I eventually discovered how to lower the data transfer rate, but by then it was time for dinner. Oh, well. At least I"ll have something to do tomorrow.

I have to remind myself not to join the fray and start arguing about politics on the blog. It's tempting, but just because everyone else is doing this doesn't mean it is right for me. I do have opinions but I don't think I'm going to be able to convince you to change yours. We have all dug in our heels. I've never seen the country so divided. Sadly, I don't realistically see us coming together on anything important in my lifetime. I find myself increasingly nostalgic about my childhood. The period of time between the end of World War II and the beginning of the Vietnam Way was pretty darn good.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4232

The heat is getting serious. The temperature topped 100 degrees for the second day in a row. Everywhere I went today it felt like the air conditioners were struggling to keep up. Even our sunrise walk this morning felt considerably warmer than usual. I can't wait for Fall to arrive. The sad thing is that we aren't even getting the worst of the summer heat. Many other parts of the country have it worse than we do.

Luckily, the kennel was still keeping Charlie and Cooper nice and cool. The boys are alone again, since Daisy went to her forever home this week. Not surprisingly, the dogs didn't want to go outside today. Cooper really didn't want to go outside and decided to poop in the indoor play area instead. We left the possum toy home today because it seemed to be making Charlie sad. We brought two new toys that didn't look like animals and both dogs had fun thrashing them around and trying to get the squeakers out. Both dogs have gotten extremely good at catching toys when we throw them in the air. They know all the basic commands and enjoy showing off. The kennel staff agrees that these two boys are happy dogs. They seem to think that the kennel is their home. Maybe it is. Charlie has sure been there for a very long time. I still hope they can find a real home. For the right person, each of these dogs would make a great companion.

It was so hot when we returned from the kennel that I didn't even consider walking in the park. Even though it was late in the day, I went to the gym instead. The gym wasn't ice cold for the first time I can remember. Even their massive air conditioners were having trouble coping with the heat. Evidently they are still having problems finding a technician to repair the treadmills. Even more were broken today. In fact, one treadmill died while I was using it. I had to search all over the floor to find another that still functioned properly.

More people are wearing masks at the gym again. I have a feeling that it won't be long before there is a mask mandate again. I always keep one in my pocket just in case I'm asked to wear it. Hospitalization rates in Dallas are quite low, but media stories about the Delta variant have gotten a lot of people worried again. You can't say they aren't trying to get everyone vaccinated. I had to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy and the pharmacist asked if I'd had my Covid shots yet. There were big banners on the store advertising free Covid shots inside with no waiting or appointment needed. I don't really understand the reluctance to take this shot. I've been vaccinated against virtually everything over the years and am still doing well. Nobody questions their vet when it's time for a rabies shot. When I was a kid getting vaccinated for everything from polio to measles, there weren't any anti-vaxers. There wasn't any social media either. Social media is at the root of so many of today's problems. It is an addiction every bit as serious as alcoholism or drug abuse. If we could somehow just make Facebook, Twitter, Tik-Tok, and all the other media distractions disappear, the world would be a better place. Medical decisions should be between you and your doctor. They shouldn't be between you and a million other people on Facebook.

I'm glad I'm old. I think future historians will write about this period of time the way we write about the fall of Rome. Civil society is crumbling and we are slowly forgetting that it wasn't always this way. I grew up in a time where my family took vacations all over the United States in a car without seat belts. We played on rusty jungle gyms and swing sets, swam in creeks, and went unsupervised at night on Halloween all over town. There wasn't a single murder in our town during the entire time I was growing up. We rode our bicycles to school and our parents never worried that we'd be involved in a mass shooting. I grew up confident that the world was full of opportunities and never missed not having a phone in my pocket. I'm glad to have experienced this moment in time because it's gone now.

Smokey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4033

Dawn seems to be responding well to rest and Rimadyl. She isn't limping anymore and isn't having the problems getting up and down that she was a few days ago. We took her in a field behind the house for a few minutes, but didn't attempt to walk her. If one day of rest is good, two or three days is probably even better.

I continued walking by myself. The skies were clear, but it was still pretty chilly. I follow the same paths that we walk with Dawn, but the distance seem longer and a bit more tiring without a dog. This doesn't really make sense, but it's how my body feels. Maybe I'm walking a bit faster without Dawn. Just like yesterday, there were lots of interesting birds I could have photographed, but I didn't have a camera with me. When I got home I discovered that you can't watch Amazon Prime movies using Safari. You have to use Firefox instead. You'd think that Apple and Amazon would be more compatible, but maybe not. Apple probably wants you to watch their movies instead. Facebook doesn't work very well with Safari either. It's kind of a nuisance. All these companies are optimizing their applications and systems for use on phones. They seem to have forgotten that a few old geezers like me still like to use older computers and never bother to upgrade their operating system.

I eventually did figure out how to watch Amazon Prime movies on Firefox, but by then I'd lost interest in watching Season 5 of The Expanse. I've forgotten what the first four seasons were about anyway. I guess I'll wait until I'm really, really bored to watch this show. I'm not quite there yet.

I'm still finding mistakes in my company website update. It's embarrassing. I made a few more tweaks today when I discovered that the site didn't look like I expected when I looked at it on a laptop. Life was so much easier when everyone looked at websites on CRT screens that were all more or less the same size.   Now you've got to design sites that look good on a huge variety of different smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. I don't know why I'm concerned. Even fewer people visit my company website than read this blog.

I didn't sent my outline to Sky & Telescope today after all. When I looked at the outline this morning, I realized that I forgot a few important elements. I'll rework things and send it to my editor sometime next week. The magazine has already told me that there is no hurry on this. This probably means that it will take me another year to get something published again.

I wonder if the world will ever feel normal again? I'm tired of feeling like I'm living in a Steven King novel. I still watch the business channels, but I've pretty much abandoned watching the news. We watched an old black and white rerun of the Andy Griffith Show during dinner this evening and the world seemed so much more peaceful back then. I'm glad that this world was my childhood instead of the world we live in now.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3864

I'm a firm believer that there should be something interesting in every day, but it's been slim pickings lately. I kind of wish I'd chosen to write the blog once a week instead of every day. I've never liked the summer heat and the hotter it gets, the more I just feel like sleeping all day. The pandemic doesn't help either. After a while you just get tired of looking at stuff on the computer.

I miss the days when there were lots of odd little shops that catered to my eclectic interests. There used to be three stores in Dallas that just sold model trains. There were two stores that just sold telescopes. There used to be half a dozen interesting little camera stores. All these stores are gone. They just couldn't survive in a world of online commerce. On days where nothing was happening, I used to like to hang out at my favorite little shops. I would talk to people and get ideas. I would usually buy stuff as well. That's why my office is so full of crap.

I guess walking has become a substitute for many of the things I used to do. We've been taking our morning walks for long enough now that we're starting to recognize the other people on the trails. The same people seem to be out there every day. We wave or sometimes say hi as we pass each other. It's amazing how predictable everyone is. We pass some of the same people at almost exactly the same locations every day. Most people, including ourselves, even wear the same clothes every day.

The animals in the park actually seem less predicable than the people. There is a large flock of geese that move to a new location every day. Some days they will be on the left hand side of the road and other days they will be on the right. The only time I've seen the cyclists stop is when the geese decide to cross the road. Today they was all in the water. Most of the ducks are back in the water as well. During the nesting season, a lot of ducks move onshore. Probably the animals are just as predictable as the people. I just haven't figured out all their habits yet.

I haven't completely given up on the comet. I'm continuing to look through the office for suitable equipment to photograph it better. I opened an old aluminum camera case this afternoon and discovered that all the foam inserts had gone bad. I hate when that happens. I hadn't looked at these old Nikon lenses in a long time, but I must have anticipated that the foam would eventually disintegrate because I had carefully wrapped each lens in paper towels. I'll add replacing the foam inserts to my growing list of broken stuff to fix. If there were still little camera stores in town, I could have run out this afternoon and got some replacement foam inserts. Nope. I'll have to buy the stuff online instead.

Dawn seems to be warming up to me. She comes when I call most of the time now and even curls up next to me on the bed. She doesn't like people to stare at her directly and still occasionally gets frightened when we make sudden movements. Gaining Dawn's trust is still a work in progress, but I'm starting to see big improvements. Hopefully, when the pandemic is over and Janet starts traveling again, Dawn and I will be best buddies.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3567

Treasure was mad that she couldn't play today. It has only been a few days since her surgery and she's not ready to have her stitches removed yet. Treasure can play rough when she gets excited. We didn't want to risk having her incisions come open. It's hard to tell a dog that there'll be plenty of time to play later, but Treasure will just have to wait. After her stitches come out, she can show us how well she knows how to roll over again.

Hank is still too thin but he is eating well and his gastrointestinal problems seem to have gone away. The vet says he should start gaining weight in a week or so. He certainly has plenty of energy. Hank could play ball for hours. Sock isn't interested in playing but loves the attention. He has a new soft bed now and would probably rather have us take a nap with him than play ball. Jasmine and Jelly Bean, our two new girls, have really come out of their shell. It's quite a transformation. They seems to become friendlier and more trusting with each passing week. They are both eager to see us now. Rolly might be getting a home soon. He's such a friendly, easy-going dog that we're going to miss seeing him. Charlie is almost ready for a home as well. He's come a long way. He still needs to learn how to relax but he seems to trust me now and enjoys getting belly rubs.

Poor Jasmine starts her heartworm treatment tomorrow. The treatment can be hard on the dogs, but it needs to be done. Heartworms will kill a dog if left untreated. It's still hard for me to believe that so many people don't give their dogs the preventative medicine. It's easy and it works. So many of the dogs we rescue end up having heartworms. Jasmine has become comfortable with life at the kennel, but she still doesn't like riding in a car. She drooled a lot on the way to the vet this afternoon. Maybe she gets motion sickness. At least she didn't throw up in the car. When I see a dog drool a lot, they are either looking at a piece of cheese or getting ready to throw up.

A morning walk in the park and an afternoon with the Dalmatians basically took up the entire day. That's OK. I don't really make plans anymore. There is very little these days that can't wait until tomorrow. I've got a dental appointment later this week, but that's about it. Sometimes when I walk in the park, I daydream about what I'd like to do next. I can't think of anything I'd like to do here in town. The idea of traveling around in a little van looking for dark skies and bright stars sounds appealing. I don't know if I'd feel safe on the road though. Truthfully, I'm not sure I feel safe anywhere these days. The world I grew up with is crumbling.

Maybe I should start looking for places like Fort Davis. There are probably lots of little towns like this scattered around the country. Maybe not though. When I was a kid, my family used to spend summers in Colorado. Towns like Crested Butte and Telluride were a lot like Fort Davis back then. Then rich people discovered them and ruined everything. I used to love Crested Butte when it was almost a ghost town. I don't even recognize the place anymore.

I'll save these thoughts for another day. I don't have a time machine. Basically, it doesn't matter if you are living in a little hamlet or a big city. It's still 2019 everywhere.

Thelma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3485

Janet and I went an saw Yesterday at a matinee this afternoon. We are both retired, but it still seems weird that we can just go see a movie whenever we feel like it. I liked the film. It was basically a romcom with a happy ending and lots of great music. I grew up with The Beatles and they were one of the main reasons I learned to play the guitar and was in lots of enthusiastic but inept bands during high school and college. Despite this background, I had forgotten just how many amazing songs The Beatles actually wrote. There are literally hundreds of great Beatles songs. For someone who was a freshman in high school when I Want to Hold Your Hand hit the airwaves, Yesterday was a pleasant trip down memory lane. I completely forgot that the whole premise of the movie was ridiculous.

I like going to movies in the afternoon. The theater is usually empty and you can sit anywhere you want. Ticket prices are a little lower, although they still seem high to me. We got the discounted daytime, senior citizen rate and still paid about $10 a ticket. I remember paying $5 not that long ago. OK. Maybe it was a long time ago. I wonder how movie theaters survive. Why go to a theater when you can watch the same thing on iTunes for half the price?

It is still ridiculously hot. I wear twice as much clothing now because I have to change every time I take a walk. Sweating has become a way of life. I think we have had worse heat waves in the past, but it is so humid this year that it feels even hotter than it actually is. I thought we were going to get some rain today, but one big storm system went to the West of us and then a little while later another one went to the East. Normally this would be great news. Now I'm not so sure. A nice gentle rain would cool things down. Let's not go crazy though. No more downed trees or power outages. We've had enough of those.

I watched the last episode of Chasing the Moon tonight. Seeing this back-to-back with Yesterday made me nostalgic for a time in history that I don't expect to see again any time soon. Sure, there was a lot of social unrest in the sixties. This was the era of Vietnam and campus protests as much as it was  a time of moon landings and the Beatles. The jarring memories have faded away though. I think this is human nature. We like to remember the positive things. The space program faltered for a while after the Apollo program ended and of course The Beatles broke up. These things existed though. They happened. I like to think that if we could do something once, we can do it again.

I often wonder how you keep dreams alive. I've certainly had plenty of big dreams that have faded away. Probably everybody has. It's easy for the problems of daily life to slowly grind you down one inch at a time. I mostly think about paying bills, high cholesterol, rush hour traffic, and roof leaks. Every once in a while when it is very late and very quiet, I still have dreams though. Can I reach them? Do they even matter? I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3418

I'm no expert, but the Kentucky Derby results seemed all wrong. Maximum Security was clearly the best horse on the track. When a puddle on the muddy track forced him out of his lane momentarily, he didn't interfere with the performance of Country House at all. The only horse that was conceivably interfered with was War of Will who wasn't a contender anyway. This just seemed like another case of political correctness run amok. I'm sure that the stewards knew that Maximum Security was the best horse. They just didn't want to get mired in controversy by not following the letter of the law. Oh, well. That's life. I didn't like how the Super Bowl turned out either.

I've started watching old Westerns on TV while we eat breakfast on Saturday morning. My favorites are usually Maverick and Have Gun Will Travel. All these old shows seem like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood compared to the shows that are popular now. Even shows like The Twilight Zone, which was scary when I was a kid, were just simple morality plays about good and evil. Good usually won in these shows. Now, evil seems to win most of the time. The scripts for these old shows were surprisingly good. I'm sure the fact that everybody still read books back then had something to do with it. It's too bad that just about the only way you can re-visit the past is by watching an oldies channel on TV. I wish you could still visit grocery stores and car dealers from the 1950's and 60's. I miss model train stores too. Every city had them. Dallas had three stores devoted to model trains as recently as the 1970's. They are all gone now.

I walked 4.5 miles today. I wasn't tired after my three mile morning walk, so I took another shorter walk later in the day. I could have walked further, but it was late in the day and I wanted to get home before dark. If I learn to schedule things better, it wouldn't be that hard to walk six miles every day. Three miles in the morning and another three miles in the evening sounds like a plan. It won't happen tomorrow though. When I get home from the gym, I don't feel like walking at all.

I didn't stay up last night to watch the rescheduled Space X launch, but I did watch the replay on my computer this morning. I never tire of watching the Falcon 9 booster make a precision landing on the drone ship. Space X seems to have perfected so many aspects of space flight that they must be terribly disappointed that their Crew Dragon capsule exploded during a test recently. I wonder how long that's going to set them back?

It looks like we're going to have nice weather tomorrow. We got a little rain last night but it was all over before I woke up. Still no leaks in the roof. Knock on wood. There's a meteor shower in the early morning hours tomorrow. Shall I get up and watch it? I had no problem getting up at 3 AM when Dash was around. Now it's a little harder. We'll see. A good night's sleep is probably more important than seeing a few meteors.

Crosby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3303

Filling the pothole in the driveway with rocks actually worked. The surface is stable now and it's easy to get the car in and out. The toilet is still working as well. That's a minor miracle. Let's hope that the roof repairs were successful as well. I went up to check on things this morning and it looks like the guys did a good job. I don't see how water could possibly get inside the house now. Of course, I've said this many times before. Somehow water always seems to win this perpetual battle. I'm definitely not going to attempt to repair the damaged sheetrock in the ceiling until we've survived a few heavy rains.

Dash was alert and full of energy this morning, but his legs still aren't working very well. He stumbles frequently now and is unable to get up. I've started leaving his harness on in the house so it is easier to lift him up after a fall. We've repositioned the rugs so he has better traction in strategic places, but there isn't much we can do medically. I guess we could give him steroid shots to reduce inflammation in his spine, but we're not even sure there is any inflammation. Steroids are not a good long-term solution anyway and neither of his vets have recommended them. Dash could be suffering from degenerative myelopathy, a ruptured or slipped disc in his spine, arthritis, or the weakness could still be a symptom of his vestibular disease. He still enjoys his daily walks, but they are becoming progressively slower. One of these days we'll have to see if he can learn to use Dot's doggie wheelchair.

I wrote another letter to my Luddite sister today. Every time I do something the old fashioned way, it makes me realize that I'm not really that dependent on the Internet and technology. I could go back to living like I did in the 1970's rather easily. Life was good then. I had an IBM Selectric typewriter and a little Sony Trinitron TV that received about eight channels using a built in antenna. I played my music on a reel-to-reel tape recorder and shot most of my pictures with a Nikon-F on Kodachrome film. We still picked up the phone when it rang. There were no telemarketers. I think even answering machines came a bit later. Has life really improved that much since then? I don't think so. We'd already been to the moon in the early 1970's. Houses were affordable. Music was great. People trusted each other more. What's not to like? I'd go back in a minute if I could.

I've had a low grade cold all week. It's not the flu, but it's still a nuisance. My nose is constantly dripping and I wake up with a sore throat. Nothing really seems to make a cold go away quickly. You've just got to let it run its course. Decongestants and antihistamines don't work well with me. I hate the way they make me feel, so I don't take them. As a result I'm blowing my nose all the time. Hopefully I'll be back to normal in a few days. I look like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer now.

There was a beautiful sunrise this morning. It was almost worth getting up early. I think we have to get up early tomorrow as well. Janet has plans and Dash won't walk anymore without both of us nearby. Hopefully Dash will be a little steadier on his feet for tomorrow's walk. I don't have any plans at all, but I'm sure that something will happen. It always does.as

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3130

Persistence pays off. The roof has finally been repaired. Lord knows how long I've been complaining about this roof. I'm sure the time is measured in years, not months. I'll have to wait until the elastomer coating dries completely before I can inspect things, but at first glance, it looks like the guys did a good job. I really hope that these repairs work. I'm tired of having problems with the roof. I'm tired of complaining too. Truthfully, I'd like to forget about the roof for a while. In retrospect, I wish the roofers had told me in the beginning that the high-tech membrane roof wasn't appropriate for my type of building. An old fashioned tar and gravel roof would have worked much better. That's ancient history now. The roof is what it is.

Every year on this date I grow nostalgic about the moon landing. I feel really old when I hear adults who aren't that young themselves talk about viewing the landing with their parents when they were seven. I was in college at the time. 1969 was a great year. The moon landing and Woodstock both happened during the same summer. I miss those times. There was a spirit of optimism that had nothing to do with political parties. We were a country then. Now we're just a bunch of warring tribes.

We had our second consecutive day of record heat with temperatures topping out at 108 degrees. They say the heat wave should peak tomorrow when temperatures could reach 110 degrees. We're also setting new records for electricity and water usage. I hope the power company can meet the demand. I'm not sure that Dash could handle a power outage. We were without electricity for four days in July when we first moved here. It was miserable. Even without a power outage, I worry about the air conditioner. It's been running non-stop for several days now. I had an HVAC company as a client once and they told me that there were an unbelievably number of air conditioner failures during Summer heat waves. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This oppressive heat can't last forever.

Our morning walk went well this morning. We got started before sunrise and there was a nice breeze. I shortened our route and we only walked about half the distance we usually do. This seemed to do the trick. Dash was normal when we returned home. The roofers got started early too. They were up on the roof before I left for breakfast. It was smart to get started early. The temperature was only 87 degrees at sunrise but quickly rose to triple digits within a matter of hours.

It goes without saying that I stayed inside most of the day. I did go out for breakfast and got some groceries on the way home, but that was about it. I ordered the same meal I had last Friday, but it tasted different. There must have been a different chef this morning. I don't know why consistency is so important to me. Breakfast was actually fine. I just wish it was exactly the same as last week.

We're setting the alarm to get up extra early tomorrow. It's going to be the only way to give Dash a decent walk.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3126

I'm slowly discovering that if you want results you have to use the right form of communication. If you send a voicemail to someone who prefers to text, nothing will happen. If you send an e-mail to someone who prefers to talk, nothing will happen. It's complicated. The electrician prefers to talk on the phone. The roofer and the landscaper would rather text. The art galleries and auction houses communicate almost exclusively via e-mail. So far, only the art conservator and the vintage guitar guy want to talk face-to-face. Maybe that's why I like those old Perry Mason shows. There was no voicemail or texting. The internet didn't even exist. People just called Perry on the phone and he picked it up and answered it.

I never used to think of myself as a nostalgic person, but I'm definitely nostalgic now. Forty nine years ago today, Apollo 11 left this earth on a journey to the moon. I remember that time well. A few days later we would hear that "the Eagle has landed" and the world would rejoice. I wish that same spirit prevailed today. It's not surprising that we've never been back. We don't have shared dreams anymore. Maybe you have a dream, and I have a dream, and the neighbor down the street has a dream, but they are definitely not shared dreams.

I'm going to have to start getting up earlier. It's so hot now that even our morning walks are uncomfortable. Dash still enjoys his walks, but I worry about him becoming overheated. Although I've tried to teach him to drink from a water bottle, he always waits till we come home to drink. Nothing is easy with this dog. Today one of his boots fell off and I had a hard time getting in on again. I've got to get better at this pretty quickly. When Janet visits her family, I'm going to have to get Dash dressed for walks by myself.

The roofers didn't show up today, but I'm still confident that I'll be seeing them later in the week. There is no reason to delay these repairs any longer. Everybody has finally agreed that the repairs are necessary and the weather is perfect. There is no point in spoiling the moment by continuing to complain. This thing is going to get done. Anyway, there's plenty of time to complain next week if the guys don't show up.

I wonder what I used to do in July? I probably just worked. Without a deadline to keep me busy, it's hard to get motivated. When the steering wheel is to hot to touch, you certainly don't want to drive anywhere. There's no point buying anything while I'm still actively trying to get rid of things. There's no point in watching TV, because at soon as I turn the set on, I immediately want to turn it off again.

Maybe I'll think of something to do tomorrow. I didn't do that well today. I picked up a prescription, paid a few bills and the day was over. I probably should have done some cleaning, but I didn't. Dash doesn't seem to worry about being productive. After a walk and a meal, he is content to sleep. I think that dog has the right idea.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3108

Just heard that a million gallons of raw sewage is headed toward our lake. Evidently a construction crew ruptured a sewer line in a suburb North of here and the sewage flowed into a creek that feeds the lake. Life in the city I guess. We never let our dogs swim in the lake anyway because of an abundance of snakes and the ongoing threat of Leptospirosis. Lots of people do let their dogs swim in the lake though. Maybe when they start seeing dead fish, they'll know something is wrong.

It's going to be a long, hot Summer. The temperature routinely gets above one hundred degrees during the day now. It's still cool enough for Dash if we begin our morning walk at sunrise. Later in the day it gets pretty dicy. Even though Dash still wants to walk in the evening, it isn't safe to go very far. We barely made it to the end of the block this evening.

I'm going to miss watching The Expanse after breakfast on Thursdays. Season Three is over now. I watched the season finale today and although a few major issues were resolved, I was still left wondering what was going to happen next. Since we'll probably have to wait at least a year or two before the series reappears on Amazon Prime, I may have to start reading the James S.A. Corey books. The story The Expanse is based on is an eight book series. The TV show has only made it as far as book three. There's a long way to go before this saga is complete.

I barely got started on the new website project and the client already wants to go in a different direction. It's not even worth the trouble to get upset. Few people are interested in my ideas anymore and I'm not interest in arguing. I'll see if I can figure out how to do what these guys want. If not, it's no great loss. I'm more or less retired anyway.

I keep wondering what is happening with my train collection and whether my artwork has made it safely to New York yet. Why am I still thinking about these things? I'll never see this stuff again. I need to move on and start thinking about the next things I need to part with. I'm nostalgic by nature. Looking back isn't always good though. Instead of focusing on old memories, it would probably be better to start making new ones.

It's been a long week, but at least it's Friday tomorrow. Maybe we'll see another Scissor Tailed Flycatcher on our walk. These birds are always interesting to watch. Maybe the electrician will show up and fix the light in the back yard. Maybe I'll be inspired to find an interesting place to eat in the morning. Hey, Dash's poop still looks normal. That's encouraging. When a dog's poop is more encouraging than the evening news, you know we live in a world that has gone wrong.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3026

Mother Nature apparently didn't get the memo that Winter is over. The temperature was in the thirties when I woke up this morning. It didn't get much warmer as the day progressed either. Jeez. The Bluebonnets are in bloom. We've already had our air conditioner running. This just isn't supposed to happen in Texas.

I wasn't happy about the weather, but I definitely was happy to see Dash feeling better. After a rough day yesterday, he was almost back to his old self. Even though it was very cold, he seemed eager to walk this morning. A stiff wind made it feel like the temperature was in the teens, but Dash didn't seem to mind. I can't say the same for myself.

I didn't spend much time outside today. After going to the grocery store and running my Saturday errands, I got the urge to hook up a MIDI keyboard to the computer. I hadn't done this in years, and not surprisingly the keyboard didn't work. After doing some research on Google, I discovered that the keyboard was no longer supported by Apple. I still didn't know whether the old equipment worked, so I restarted the computer using an external drive with an old system on it. I found a driver for the keyboard online and installed it. Suddenly I had gone back in time. Everything worked perfectly. I wish I'd never upgraded my system. My computer and my own brain seem to work better using Mountain Lion. Once Apple stopped naming their operating systems after cats, everything began to go downhill.

I played the little keyboard for a while and was surprised that I still remembered quite a few chord progressions. I had a bit of trouble getting my left hand and right hand working together, but with a little practice I could probably play piano again. Unfortunately, I had to put the keyboard away and restart the computer under Sierra again. Spending time in the past may be pleasant, but I can only make money in the present.

If I had a ton of space and nothing better to do, I'd keep a separate computer running for each decade I've been using one. I really liked my original Osborne 1. I hauled the heavy sewing machine shaped machine to user groups once a month where I would trade software on floppy disks with other geeks. Affordable hard drives hadn't even been invented yet. I got my first Macintosh in 1984 and have owned at least eight Macs since then. I edited video on machines that would be considered dinosaurs today. Everything worked though and I never missed a deadline. I miss those days.

Janet fixed chili tonight. A bowl of chili has always been our go-to meal on really cold days. As tasty as the chili was, I hope it is warmer tomorrow. I've had to plug in the little ceramic heater to keep the office warm and I'm wearing a sweater as I write. I'm not looking forward to going out in the middle of the night with Dash tonight. I wouldn't be surprised to see snow.

I was going to get a birthday card for my Luddite sister and I discovered that the Hallmark store in our neighborhood had gone out of business. I think the store has been gone for a while, but I don't buy cards very often. This isn't really a sign of the apocalypse, but it is discouraging that greeting cards are a thing of the past. I guess everybody just clicks the birthday button on Facebook now.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2481

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to accomplish more than one or two things a day. Today I got a haircut. That was about it. The rest of the day was spent walking the dogs, holding up Dot's rear legs, and cleaning up poop. Typically, when I get a haircut I wander around the mall for a while and see what's new. Not today. I skipped the Tesla store because I'll never be able to afford a Tesla. I skipped the Apple store because I've seen everything in that store a million times already. I skipped all the watch boutiques because I'm losing interest in watches. I avoided all the clothing stores because I've got enough brand new clothes to last a lifetime. I'll probably lose interest in getting a haircut soon.

The hair stylist and I mostly talked about what picky eaters our pets have become. She told me about feeding cats and I told her about feeding dogs. I did get a good haircut, but I doubt that it matters as much as it used to. I don't see anybody anymore. I'm starting to see why some older men shave their heads and others just give up and start wearing a Willie Nelson style ponytail. I still have a little pride though. The Dalmatians always look tidy and I like to look at least as good as they do.

You can tell that Halloween is just around the corner. There are pumpkins and gourds everywhere. I used to love pumpkin soup, served inside a small pumpkin. I have no idea how to make this anymore, but I have vague memories of something thick, creamy, and very satisfying. I wish I could find a restaurant that just served things that I used to be fond of. I have little interest in cooking anymore, but it would be nice to be able to revisit the comfort food of my past. Actually, it would be nice to be able to revisit anything comforting.

The weather was absolutely beautiful today. The air was clear and free of pollen, there was a nice breeze, and the temperature never got above 72 degrees. I think the dogs enjoyed the nice weather as much as I did, because I must have taken them outside a half a dozen times this afternoon. Dash likes rolling around on what remains of the grass and Dot mostly just smells things. I wish Dot could walk around on her own, because I'm sure she'd have more fun if I wasn't constantly following her around, holding up her rear legs. We do the best we can though. I'm convinced that these little excursions are much more satisfying than just sitting in her dog bed all day.

I'm spending way too much time wondering what to eat on Friday mornings. Life was much easier when I went to the same place and ordered the same breakfast for three years in a row. I really liked the absolute consistency of this meal. Now that I've diversified, I have some meals that are good and others that are awful. I guess this is adventurous and fun to some, but I prefer consistency. So far, I haven't been able to replicate the satisfaction I got from eating something wonderful over and over again. If I don't find a new favorite restaurant soon, I may have to start cooking again.

The trash has been taken out to the curb and the dogs are not so patiently waiting for their evening meds. I didn't accomplish much today, but I did get a haircut. It might be hard to top that tomorrow.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2474 - Autumnal Equinox

I used to love going to hardware stores. Old fashioned hardware stores had everything from invisible brass cabinet hinges to appliance parts and nails by the pound. I would wander from aisle to aisle, getting ideas for future projects and lusting after exotic tools. Very few of these Mom and Pop hardware stores even exist anymore. They've been replaced by huge Home Depot and Lowes superstores, which despite their size, never seem to have anything I need. I went to Home Depot this afternoon with a small, very basic list. I needed some black silicon caulk to fix a leak in the shower stall and some powdered graphite to lubricate some locks around the house. Home Depot had neither of these items. Jeez, all hardware stores should have powdered graphite. Once again, I'll have to find these things online. Home Depot can't be bothered to stock things like this that don't have mass appeal. They'd rather sell you a new lock than help you lubricate an old one.

I liked buying nails by the pound, screen wire in narrow widths that actually fit my doors, and high quality hand tools that were made in America. Everything is from China these days. Even the expensive power tools are made in China. Instead of reaching in a bin and getting the five screws you actually need, you are forced to buy a plastic blister pack with a hundred of them. I don't like any of this, but I still go to hardware stores out of habit. I could save a lot of time by just ordering everything I need on Amazon.

Dot has turned into a night owl. She sleeps most of the evening while I'm writing the blog, but as soon as I'm finished and start getting ready for bed, she gets a second wind and begins following me around. Wandering around the house would be great if she could stand on her own, but she can't. I'm discovering that it's hard to brush your teeth when you are holding up a dog's rear legs. Dash is usually in bed at this point, but if he wakes up and discovers that Dot is in the kitchen, all bets are off. Both of these dogs live to eat. Eventually, I get everybody situated and we all go to bed.

I had a few minor website updates to complete and I cleaned up Dot's bedding once, but basically it was a slow day. It's hard to find the energy to start anything new. When I finish my chores and work assignments, all I really want to do is sleep. Dealing with the dogs is exhausting. Dot didn't stumble on her walk this morning, but Dash did. He's too young to stumble like this. I keep feeling that something is fundamentally wrong, but two different vets keep telling me that he's OK. Maybe I worry too much, but I'm pretty observant. Something has changed.

I'm way overdue for a haircut, but I don't feel like going to the mall. I'm becoming so adverse to crowds that I'm even starting to have second thoughts about going out for breakfast on Fridays. Maybe I'll get a haircut next week. My hair used to be thick and curly and now it's completely straight and very fine. I wonder what that means? Oh, well. At least I still have hair.

The trash has been taken out to the curb and Dot is starting to get restless again. I'm wondering whether breakfast tacos or pancakes sounds better tomorrow. Such big decisions. It would be nice it I could enjoy the last few hours of the day in peace and quiet, but I don't think that's in the cards. Both dogs are barking now.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2403

Pokémon GO must really be a thing. I've started seeing a huge increase in the number of kids wandering aimlessly around the park while staring at their phones. I don't understand this phenomenon at all, but then I haven't played video games since Pong first arrived on the scene in 1972. The wireless carriers must love this new game. I have a feeling that a lot of these very rare Pokémon's are located well out of WiFi range.

Dot is improving. With a little assistance, she can walk slowly around the back yard now. I still have to guide her and provide some support, but I can tell that her coordination is starting to improve and she can take steps without trying to hop on one leg. It's a long, slow process to provide the rest she needs without causing her muscles to atrophy further. Like almost everything we do these days, we're taking baby steps.

I spent most of the day writing. I continue to send the completed articles to the same address that has been blocking me. I think the block has been lifted, because my mail is no longer bouncing back to me. Unfortunately, my client still can't find my messages. I think they are getting through, but are probably being quarantined in a spam folder somewhere. I send duplicate files for the time being, using both my regular account and an alternate Gmail account. I kind of wish I still had my old fax machine. It would be quicker to just fax the completed articles.

Dot's injured leg has actually provided some good news for Dash. Since Dot can't walk now, I'm taking Dash on much longer morning walks after Dot goes back to sleep after breakfast. We don't spend any more time away from home, but we walk twice as fast and cover a lot of ground. Dot's decline has taken place over such an extended length of time that I didn't really realize how much shorter our walks have become. Dash enjoys the exercise, but I'm arriving home a bit more winded than I expected. We really walked a long way when the dogs were young. I have no idea how many steps we used to take however. This was long before fitness trackers were invented.

My life is calm and steady, but every time I turn on the TV it appears like the world is in chaos. I would love to return to the days of looking forward to watching The Twilight Zone on a black and white TV with rabbit ears. I grew up in an era when nobody locked their doors at night, never wore seat belts, and thought that TV Dinners were just fine to serve company for dinner. Everybody smoked and we were only vaguely aware of cancer and the dangers of high cholesterol. We build nuclear weapons with reckless abandon and even thought we could build nuclear powered airplanes and cars. I miss those days. In an attempt to make the world a better, more rational place, we only managed to make things worse. That's the way it is with Pandora's box. You can open it, but you can never close it again.

Maybe my e-mail problems will be resolved tomorrow. If Dot continues to improve, we might try taking her on a very short walk down the alley behind our house. Baby steps.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2319

When I looked at Facebook this morning my feed was completely filled with tributes to Prince. This has definitely not been a good year for rock icons. When a musician dies, it seems to trigger far more shared memories and tributes than a comparable politician, actor, or athlete. There is something universal about music. We all know where we were when a certain song became stuck in our head. I'll never forget Prince playing Purple Rain during a driving rainstorm at the Superbowl. There was something almost magical about how the whole thing came together. There was also his amazing guitar solo during his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 while playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, and George Harrison's son Dhani. If you've seen the video, the look on Dhani Harrison's face while Prince played says is all. So many music greats are dying this year that it's kind of alarming. It is really the end of an era.

Dot was weak again today and had trouble standing. I need to make some sort of a chart and track her energy levels. I keep thinking that the Palladia pills are causing the weakness, but since her chemotherapy schedule is so complicated, it is hard for me to determine if the drugs are to blame. All I know is that she has good days and bad days that loosely correspond to when I give her the pills. There are so many other things that could be contributing to her gradually deteriorating condition that the chemotherapy might not be the culprit at all. We are scheduled to have our monthly Ultrasound scan at the cancer center tomorrow and hopefully Dot's oncologist will be able to shed some light on this mystery.

It rained again last night, but during the day the skies cleared and we ended up having a warm and somewhat windy Spring afternoon. I was hoping that Dash would take advantage of the nice weather and take a long walk, but something spooked him in the park and he wanted to come home almost immediately. Dot's illness seems to have changed Dash as well. He is not as confident anymore. Dot was always the Alpha dog and Dash seems a bit lost right now. I think they are both frustrated that they can't take long, brisk walks together like they used to. I'd like to go back to the old days too, but that isn't possible. We're just trying to make the best of a bad situation.

I paid the last of the April bills and took them to the post office. There's still a little money left in the bank, but there will be another big bill from the cancer center tomorrow and we'll start the never ending cycle all over again. I hate budgeting and curtailing indulgences. I guess I should be happy that I can still pay the bills as an aging writer and web designer, but I can see the writing on the wall. One of these days the only money coming in will be a social security check. I hope to avoid that day as long as possible.

Maybe I'll go back to my original breakfast restaurant tomorrow. Having all these new choices has disoriented me. It's sad that something as simple as breakfast can make me nostalgic about the old days. Everywhere I look, I keep wanting to turn back time. If this gets worse, I'll just go back to fixing myself French Toast with the leftover bread in the refrigerator. That's what I used to do on Friday.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day