Day 2828

I'm going to have to start writing earlier so I can watch the new Ken Burns documentary in the evening. Maybe The Vietnam War is more memorable for me than some of Burns other films because everyone my age grew up right in the middle of that moment in history. This film makes you realize that there is nothing new under the sun. All the turmoil that is going on in today's society was going on in the mid-60's too. Listening to the Lyndon Johnson tapes is amazing. Nobody really knew what they were doing. I guess it is not surprising that no president made tapes in the Oval Office after Richard Nixon. Ineptness sounds so much worse when you hear it on tape.

I'm going to have to go back and watch this entire series on Netflix sometime later. It is an eye opener. Jeez. If I ever get hooked on history and stop watching science fiction, it will be all the confirmation you need that I've become an old man. Children love Dr. Who. Old men read history. My Dad was a voracious reader and always had a tall stack of history books on his bedside table as he grew older. I'm sure you can learn a lot from history, but I'd like to think you can learn from fantasy too. I guess I can be a fan of Ken Burns and still be looking forward to Season Three of The Expanse.

I can't say that Dash loves his new soft cone, but he tolerates it. I think it is much more comfortable for him while he is sleeping. The one good thing about the old plastic cone was that it was transparent. This new one restricts his vision a bit more. He has a little trouble eating out of his bowl with it on, so I make sure to remove it whenever he is eating. The one thing I can't do is forget about him for any length of time while the cone is off. It doesn't take him long to rediscover the dewclaw injury.

The shoe repairman did a great job on my boots. They look as good as new. The only problem is that I know I'll be reluctant to wear them for a little while because they look too nice. I have plenty of clothes, but I tend to wear the same things over and over again. The things I actually wear are incredibly beat up. Maybe the worn clothing is more comfortable, or maybe I don't want to ruin the nice looking stuff. I don't know. I'll probably start wearing the boots again regardless of how I feel. They are the only comfortable off-pavement shoes I have. I'm sure it won't take long to return them to their beat up status.

I've figured out that it takes three days for water to start leaking out of the crack in the shower tiles. A little water must seep under the tiles every time I take a shower and on the third day, enough has accumulated to reach the level of the crack. I sucked the water away again with the wet/dry vacuum but am still unsure how to repair things. Is this a job for a plumber or a tile guy? I think the leak is in the drain itself, but I'm not sure. If I hire a tile guy, it will turn out that I needed a plumber. If I get a plumber, it will turn out that it was just bad grout in the tiles. That's just the way it goes.

I can't decide what I want for breakfast tomorrow. I make a lot of substitutions now. Some of the things I'm hungry for aren't on any menu. Maybe if I'm nice, someone will cook them for me anyway.

Rowe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2653

I cleaned the roof this morning. There was still a lot of standing water from yesterday's storm. Even with the help of a sump pump, it almost always takes me at least an hour to remove all the water. While I'm pushing the water off the edge of the roof with a big push broom, I fantasize about living on the eighteenth floor of a luxurious high rise condo. It would be nice not to have to worry about water on the roof, trees falling in the back yard, cracks in the Sheetrock, or ants crawling into the bathroom.

Of course this will never happen. I lived in a condo once when I was younger and when I finally sold the place, I swore I would never live in a place with a condo board or neighborhood association again. People should never live this close together. All I remember from those years were the continual fights between neighbors. It wouldn't be practical to have large dogs in a high rise either. Dash is scared of elevators and panics when he has to ride in one. Dot would get us kicked out of the building. An incontinent dog that can't walk and poops and pees all over the place would make high rise living very difficult.

When I was sitting in the park with Dot this afternoon, a guy on a bicycle stopped and asked if I was John Sealander. I didn't recognize the guy, but it turned out he was a co-worker from a long, long time ago. I asked him if he was retired and he said he was still doing a little consulting. When old men tell you that they are doing a little consulting it usually means they are doing nothing at all. I remembered that this guy started his own agency once. I think he even hired me a couple of times when my own company was getting started. He's probably in the same boat that I am now. At any rate, he couldn't be that busy or he wouldn't be riding his bicycle around the lake in the middle of the afternoon. We had a nice conversation and didn't mention advertising at all.

When I called in the power outage a few days ago I noticed that the automated system recognized my cell phone number and associated it with my street address. This is new. I used to have to call in outage reports from a land line. This worked great in the old days because analog phones were powered by the phone line. You could still use your phone when the power was out. Since most land line phones are voice over IP now, your phone goes out when the power goes down. I still like the old system better when you could talk to a real person who could tell you when the repair crews would be in your neighborhood. I'll have to admit that the automated system works pretty well though. The power company even sent me a text when my power was restored. I probably don't even need the land line anymore. The only people who use it are scammers and telemarketers. I routinely block these people, so I'm actually paying for a service I don't want people to use.

I'm going to have heartburn tonight. I didn't even feel like looking in the refrigerator, so I stopped at a taco place next to the post office after I paid some bills this afternoon. Yesterday's Buddha Bowl was much, much healthier, but the greasy taco was pretty good. I can see a day when I'll never use our oven at all. It's just so much easier to pick up a take out meal than it is too cook.

I certainly won't be cooking anything tomorrow morning. I've been looking forward to my Friday breakfast outing all week.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2649

It's that time of year. There are tornado warnings in the area and the weather radar shows a storm is headed our way. I think the really bad weather will pass to the north of us, but you never know here in Texas. One way or another, we're due for thunderstorms this evening and that's never good with two storm phobic dogs.

I was actually surprised to hear all the storm warnings on the evening news because, for the most part, it was a nice Spring day. The park was full of people today, including several weird ones. While I was walking Dash this morning we encountered a couple walking their miniature donkeys. They had the donkeys on leashes, just like dogs. Later in the day when I was returning from the gym, I noticed a group of men in another section of the park dressed in suits of armor, apparently reenacting medieval battles. At least there were no loose dogs today, although I was followed by a drone for a while.

The people in my gym keep getting older and older. I'm beginning to feel out of place. When I was on the treadmill this afternoon there was a group of old men next to me complaining about their doctors. One of them didn't want to have a biopsy done and thought he could resolve his problems through the power of prayer. Good grief. Just get the biopsy done. I didn't join the conversation though. It was none of my business. I wish a few younger people would join this gym, although I do tend to have the basketball court to myself.

Dot woke up in the middle of the night and I decided to take her outside. It was a good move, because she went right back to sleep after she peed and I was able to sleep in until almost 8:30 this morning. I wouldn't mind taking Dot outside every night, but it doesn't work very well unless she wakes up on her own. If she's sleeping, you want to let her sleep.

I forgot to go to the grocery store and look for blueberries this morning. I also forgot to go to REI on the way to the gym and use a coupon I got in the mail. Basically all I did today was take a nap and go to the gym. I did do the laundry, but when I washed the sheets, the bottom fitted sheet tore in the washer. Damn. I love bamboo sheets, but I wish they weren't so expensive. Bamboo sheets are more comfortable than cotton, but they don't last any longer. I guess it's time to look for some more.

It's hard to believe it's almost April. Pretty soon I'm going to to have to renew my driver's license and my passport. I hope I can just mail in my driver's license renewal. Spending time at the DMV is even worse than jury duty. I think when they take my passport picture this time, I'll finally look exactly like my Dad. I sure wish I still looked like I did in my first passport picture. Time definitely isn't kind.

I guess I'll have to make my morning smoothie with blackberries this week. Oh, well. Blackberries are pretty tasty too.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day