Day 2432

Today was quiet. I spent most of the day finishing my remaining writing assignments. In theory, I could make a good living this way, but the assignments aren't consistent enough. I miss the days when reading was considered mandatory. Back in the day, I used to write lots of annual reports for large corporations. These jobs always paid well and weren't much harder than the lower paying online work I do today. Everything is visual these days. I was curious when I heard about Instagram Stories recently. Finally, an Instagram feature designed for people like me. Not really. I was very disappointed when I discovered that these "stories" were just meant to be collections of short videos. In a world where people increasingly communicate using emojis, I'm lucky to have any writing jobs at all.

Since Dot keeps me housebound most of the time, I watch way more TV than I should. I never actually watch entire shows, but the TV in the kitchen is always on and I'll glance at it as I'm doing my daily chores. Donald Trump is increasingly portrayed as an unbalanced Dr. Strangelove. Hillary Clinton is portrayed as an evil mafia boss who is above the law. Since there is a basis for both of these portrayals, why are we being asked to vote for either of these people? The main message of both campaigns is that the other guy is even worse than they are. It's pathetic. You'd think the third party candidates would get a little more traction in this toxic environment, but nobody even bothers to interview Gary Johnson. The media treats him like someone who was born with six toes. He's just a curiosity. I'm pretty burned out on political news, but it's still more interesting than cooking shows or The View. Why do the networks even bother with daytime programming? I think the only people watching are me and a bunch of people sitting in doctor's waiting rooms.

I'm still trying to figure out how to reconfigure my network router so I can use my pet cam again. I guess I could just go buy a different pet cam, but I am determined to get the existing one working. I've given up on AT&T and have started talking with the people who make the software that the camera uses. So far, they're just asking me a lot of questions, but the questions are very specific, so I think we might be getting somewhere.

Janet and I found a lost dog while we were walking Dot and Dash this evening. The little dog was friendly, but was hard to catch since we couldn't move very fast with Dot. Luckily, a neighbor driving down the street saw us and stopped to help. We found a phone number on the dog's collar and he said he would try to reunite the dog with its owner. Hopefully, they are back together now.

Tomorrow I have an appointment for my annual safety inspection. I've tried to schedule this excursion so that Dot will be asleep while I'm gone, but I have little control over what Dot actually does. Just because she's usually asleep at 10 AM, doesn't mean that she's going to be sleeping tomorrow. Whenever I go out these days, I tend to come home to find a dog who has pooped all over the place.

At least it's Friday tomorrow. This has been a long, very hot week. The trash has been taken out to the curb and I'm almost ready for bed. I'm hoping that the safety inspection doesn't take very long, so I still have time to go out for breakfast. I'd definitely like to end the week with a good breakfast.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2270

Dot seemed tired today. I wish I knew how the Palladia worked. The pills seem to be gradually taking a toll on her, but her decline could be just as easily caused by something else. Maybe the pills aren't working as promised and her weakness is really caused by the cancer's growth. Maybe all this has nothing to do with the cancer at all and I'm just witnessing the inevitable decline associated with old age. Something is happening, but it's almost impossible to know where to place the blame. Dot's blood chemistry and vital signs are remarkably good for a very old dog. Her appetite is excellent and she appears happy. She does have cancer though and the tumor is growing. I gave Dot her Palladia pills today. It's going to be hard to continue the chemotherapy through the trial period, but I know this is the best thing to do. I hate to see Dot get weaker, but if the pills stop the cancer's growth I think Dot would agree that it's a fair trade off. The important thing is that she is still happy and genuinely seems more eager to start each day than I am.

Today was slow. We don't see the stars as much on our morning walks because the days are getting longer. I did very briefly notice Venus very low on the Eastern horizon and Jupiter equally low on the Western horizon. This shows me how long we've been on this journey. When we started these morning exercise walks, both planets were very close together. It has been over a year since Dot's spinal surgery. I remember thinking last February that if the surgery gave Dot one more year it would be worth it. A year later, we're still here. The seasons slowly change and Dot and I are both getting older. Maybe we've got another year. Who knows. I think the only way to deal with these things is to take things one day at a time.

I think I've dealt with Dot's decline pretty well, but I wonder sometimes how well I'll deal with my own decline. There's this old man I see occasionally on our morning walks. I see him in the distance, pushing his walker inch by inch, taking impossible slow steps to reach his morning paper. When we moved to the neighborhood, he was in great shape and I would often see him working on his house. Time passes so quickly. I hate to think of myself pushing a walker to reach the morning paper. Well, that's not going to happen. I don't even read the paper anymore.

I do watch the news and was surprised to learn that oil executive Aubrey McClendon was killed in a car crash that some say was a suicide. I remember interviewing this guy about ten years ago when I did a documentary on the shale oil boom in Texas. Aubrey seemed to have it all. I remember being very impressed. Later his company failed and the board of directors removed him as president. I think he was under indictment for fraud as well. It's weird how things can change so dramatically. When I made the documentary I never would have dreamed that the price of oil would drop to twenty dollars a barrel and that Aubrey's high flying company would end up in ruins.

This cautionary tale reminds me that we live in a very strange world. I find myself repelled and strangely fascinated by the current political landscape. On one side, you've got a candidate who is on the verge of being indited for compromising national secrets. And on the other side, you've got a candidate that has been endorsed by both David Duke and Louis Farrakhan. You can't make this stuff up. If you're looking for a sign of the apocalypse, just keep watching your TV. I don't know what will happen, but I think I have been vindicated for preferring dogs over people.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2258

I'm still under the weather. My nose is red. I've got a persistent cough. My fever has subsided, but I've added a bad headache to my laundry list of symptoms. All I really wanted to do today was sleep, but when I lie down, sinus drainage quickly clogs my nasal passages and fills my throat with phlegm. Basically, I'm a mess. I still don't know how I managed to come down with the flu, since I avoid crowds at all costs and can't think of anyone in my small circle of friends who is sick. It's a mystery.

I'm so tired that I haven't been waking up when Dot has to poop at night. Even in the best of times, I had to be very quick to get her outside before she made a mess. Last night I didn't even notice when Dot struggled to change position during the night and ended up pooping in her bed. By morning, there was almost nothing left, because Dot had eaten the poop. I find this disgusting, but Dot's vet says it is completely normal. Mother dogs routinely eat the poop of their puppies to keep their bedding and immediate surroundings clean. Dot has always been a clean, tidy dog. I'm sure she just thinks she's doing the right thing.

I need to let Dot's oncologist know about this situation. I know that you've not even supposed to get anywhere near a dogs poop during their chemotherapy treatments. The poop turns toxic. I guess when your dog has cancer, you don't want it to be incontinent as well. There's not much I can do about the situation. I'm pretty sure that the oncologist will tell me that while picking up poison poop is not ideal, to just live with it and do the best I can. What else could I do anyway.

This flu has killed my appetite. I just ate a tiny amount for breakfast and didn't feel like eating much for dinner either. My stomach still feels kind of queasy, so there's no point in eating a lot and just throwing it up again. Hey, maybe I'll lose some weight. The most foolproof way to lose a lot of weight in a hurry is to get real sick. The only times I can remember losing ten pounds in less than a week was when I had a horrible cold.

I was sorry to see Bernie Sanders lose the Nevada Caucus. A lot of Bernie's economic plans seem like rainbows and unicorns fantasies to me, but at least the guy is honest and sincere. I can't say the same for Hillary. Hillary and Ted Cruz are my least favorite candidates. Actually, I don't like any of the candidates very much. Where is this generation's John Kennedy? Sadly, I don't think we could elect Kennedy today. We've become too polarized and politically correct.

Jeez, Dot just pooped in her bed again. I've washed her favorite blanket three times today and her schedule is completely out of sync. Why is this happening? I'm very, very tired. It's time to give Dot and Dash their nighttime meds and call it a day. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Odie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2239

It doesn't look like I'll be going to the NASA event in Houston next week. I forgot that my car insurance is due this month, so there isn't any extra travel money anyway. More importantly, Dot is growing weaker. Maybe the setback is temporary, but I'm having to support her rear legs even in the house now. She needs a lot of attention and I just don't feel comfortable leaving her alone for any length of time. I'd feel terrible if Dot took a turn for the worse while I was away on a pleasure trip. There will be plenty of opportunities to travel in the future, but for now I think I've got my priorities straight.

There are plenty of good reasons why I'd like to get out of town for a while. Work has become oppressively slow. I remain disciplined and try to maintain the enthusiasm I had during my salad days, but I think this ship has sailed. When you start to see more obituaries on Facebook than new business opportunities, someone is trying to send you a message. I can't really complain about my situation because I've made no effort whatsoever to make new friends or set new priorities. I don't want something new. I was happy with the way things were ten years ago. I was even happier with the way things were twenty years ago. Maybe I just want to slow down time. Watching life go by in dog year's really puts things in perspective. Those days when you thought you had all the time in the world were just an illusion.

The dogs got their heartworm pills this morning and I went to the post office and paid the first of the February bills. FedEx found my package and we're back on some sort of schedule for delivery again. Dot didn't poop in the house today, but I don't think this means much. I need to get one of those Shit Happens bumper stickers. Those two words pretty much say it all these days. There is no way to predict when Dot is going to have an accident and I'm beginning to think that the humidity level in the house is equally unpredictable. The new dehumidifier does make a difference, but the elephant in the room is always the weather. When the humidity is oppressively high outside, it rises on the inside as well. So, what have we learned here? You can't slow down time and you can't fight mother nature.

I'm no political junkie, but I was curious enough this evening to turn on the TV and see the results of the Iowa Caucus. I was surprised. I guess the pollsters aren't always right. The polls predicted that Trump and Hillary would win. Maybe Hillary still wins, but if she does it will only be by six or seven votes. Bernie was very strong and so was Rubio, who almost overtook Trump for the number two spot. I think I would have preferred that Bernie and Trump both had decisive wins, just to send the middle finger to the political establishment. I have a feeling that a year from now it's going to be Hillary against Rubio.

Tomorrow is another day. Unfortunately it is only Tuesday. I'm still watching the slow dance of the five visible planets when the sky is clear before sunrise. I'm still making breakfast smoothies using my secret recipe of eggs, half-and-half, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, oatmeal, and ice cream. Occasionally, there are things to write and websites to update. I keep the dogs happy and try not to make myself sad. I found a fat squirrel to photograph today. We'll see what turns up in my lens tomorrow.

Myles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2238

My fitness tracker has decided that I'm sleep deprived and has started sending me all sorts of friendly tips on how to get more sleep. Leave me alone fitness band. You should be happy that I'm still getting in a lot of steps. I don't need to know when to eat my dinner or how to relax. I'd sleep like a baby if I didn't have to clean up dog poop in the middle of the night. I've gotten so good at predicting when Dot is going to have an accident that last night I got up to check on her and was pleased to see that it was just a false alarm. I went to the bathroom, and on my way back to bed, I smelled a familiar smell. Yep. She pooped while I was in the bathroom. Dot was still asleep in exactly the same position as she was thirty seconds earlier, but there was a little dark pile about six inches away from her on the rug. How did she even do this. I cleaned up the mess and went back to bed.

My favorite machines were broken when I went to the gym today. I substituted twenty minutes on the rowing machine for the hand bicycle and discovered further evidence that my shoulder injury is getting worse. I used to be able to stay on the rowing machine forever without much discomfort. Not anymore. Ouch! I did another obligatory twenty minutes on the treadmill with the elevation set as high as I could. That was it. My heart wasn't really in it today. I didn't use any of the other machines at all and spent the rest of my time shooting baskets. I always wonder about consistency when I'm shooting free throws. My hands and body know what to do by now, but still it's is very hard to get more than five baskets in a row. Hey, even NBA players miss a free throw now and then. It would seem like it wouldn't be that hard to lift your arms and constantly push a ball the thirteen feet it needs to travel to reach the eighteen inch hole above the basket. Apparently, getting hand-eye coordination and muscle memory all working together is much harder than it seems. I am getting better though. Consistency is a worthy goal.

I didn't even bother to vacuum the house when I got home from the gym. The dogs were sleeping peacefully and Janet was already cooking dinner. Vacuuming would have disrupted things. I have the entire upcoming week to vacuum the house. I'm sure I'll be able to find a time when the noise won't bother anybody.

When I checked on my missing package on the FedEx website, I noticed that the delivery date had changed from yesterday to "pending." There wasn't a delivery date listed at all. I guess this either means that the package is lost or that the Fedex employees have lost interest in continually scanning the bar codes of everything they touch. It must get old to have millions of things to deliver and all the recipients want to know exactly where these package is at any given moment in time. Maybe it was better in the old days when the postman just left packages randomly next to your front door whether you were expecting them or not. I need to find a twelve step program for people who track things too much. I track everything from the positions of the planets in the sky to the number of calories I burn each day. I know it doesn't matter, but I'm curious about these things.

I'm not very curious about politics. I'll be very glad when the Iowa Caucuses are over tomorrow night. I can't even turn on the TV anymore without hearing endless commentary and speculation about the Iowa Caucuses. Do these things even matter? I don't think the Iowa Caucuses have actually predicted a winner for a long, long time. Maybe all the candidates from both parties should just put their name in a hat and let a blindfolded Kim Kardashian pick the winner. I guess the real question is in a field that includes an avowed socialist, a guy who is best know for telling people "you're fired," two Cubans, a heart surgeon with no political experience, and a woman who could be indited at any minute for playing fast and loose with national secrets, what the word winning really means. If any of these folks win, we all lose.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2081

Today is Dot's birthday. No, it's not the day she was actually born, it's the day we adopted her. Dot was a stray and we'll never know for sure what her history was before she found us. She was definitely a young dog, perhaps two or three years old. That would make her fourteen or fifteen years old today. I'd like to think she's fifteen, because I want her to have lived a long and happy life. When we were younger, we used to make elaborate birthday cakes for our dogs. I even took a cake decorating class once. The little dog cakes were gorgeous, but neither of us have the energy to make them anymore. We take the easy route now. I went to Sprinkles and got exactly the same thing I got for Janet's birthday: chocolate marshmallow cupcakes for the people and dog cupcakes for the dogs.

There's been a huge film crew in the park for the past several days and I've been curious to find out what's going on. I thought someone must be filming a big budget feature, since there was a forty person crew and a huge eighteen wheeler full of equipment. Today when I was taking Dash on his evening walk, I asked one of the crew members what they were doing. It turns out they were filming a brand new show on the Food Network channel called BBQ Blitz. There's currently a show called Food Network Stars and the winner gets their own show as the grand prize. This year's winner was an ex NFL football payer named Eddie Jackson who loves barbecue. They were filming the first episode of his new show, which will air sometime in October. I guess it's kind of like Top Chef, except that everyone makes barbecued food. Lord knows why they picked our park to film the first episode, but it will be interesting to see the show.

Dot did really well during her physical therapy session today. I do think she's getting stronger since we stopped her chemotherapy. Everybody, including Dot's vet, seems to agree that quality of life is more important to an old dog than the actual amount of time they live.  Nevertheless, it will be a really hard decision to make if we discover that the cancer has grown when she has her next Ultrasound scan in September. I'm hoping that the tumor has not grown at all or is growing very, very slowly. I'd hate to start the chemotherapy again, now that I know it was making her uncomfortable.

This is the weirdest political season I can ever remember. The only authentic candidates in the race are Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Everyone else has already been bought and paid for by special interests and huge corporations. Sanders and Trump couldn't be more different if they tried, but they both resonate with people because they just say what they think instead of having a focus group or talking to their pollsters every time they open their mouth. It's kind of refreshing to see the political insiders in both parties get their feathers ruffled by these two. I don't know about you, but I'm sick of professional politicians.

I noticed that another neighborhood restaurant has started serving breakfast and I was going to try it tomorrow until I read the Yelp reviews. Most of the reviews were from people in the area and said things like "I was so hoping to like this place, but the food just isn't that good." Without Yelp, I probably would have tried the place and might have even liked it. No wonder most of my local retail clients hate Yelp. It really changes things. I guess I'll just go back to my regular restaurant. Since I only go out once a week, it would be a shame to be disappointed.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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