Day 2417

It's hard to differentiate between one day and another. For several hours today, I was convinced that it was Tuesday. Nope. We did that yesterday. I should have known the difference immediately. Yesterday, I went to the post office and today I didn't.

I spent most of my time today writing. I made good progress on my new writing project and might have even finished it if the rain hadn't interrupted things. Any major rainstorm throws the dogs into panic mode. I have to stop what I'm doing and calm them down. This usually involves placing them in a room where they can't see the lightning and sitting with them until the thunder subsides. I'm usually so tired that I welcome these opportunities to take a short nap. We huddle together until the thunder subsides and then I take them outside so they can smell the air and make sure the coast is clear. I'm convinced that Dot and Dash just think I'm another dog and they want to make sure that the pack stays together whenever there is danger. It's a good thing that the roofers didn't make their repairs yesterday because their work would have been ruined. We got a lot of rain.

I wonder if other people are as burned out on politics as I am. You can't turn on the TV without being inundated with political punditry. Sometimes I think that the media has created much of today's unrest by continually stirring the pot whenever they find a story. Between friends fighting on Facebook and dueling cable news channels, I've had about as much as I can take. I'm going to vote, but unlike some of my friends, I don't think my vote is going to save the world or end the world. Sadly, we have been a divided country throughout much of our history. There is no reason to believe that we won't remain a divided country. Our finest hour was during World War II when the entire country came together to destroy a common enemy. During peaceful times, this unity dissolves and we just end up fighting with each other. Humans are an angry species. Truthfully, I think the only thing that would bring us all together on a global basis would be if a fleet of alien spaceships appeared overhead and threatened to destroy the earth. Now, that would bring us together. I don't think peace and prosperity ever will.

Stormy weather seems to accentuate Dot's incontinence problems. This afternoon, I just got finished cleaning up Dot's mess when she pooped all over again. When I'm able to quickly pull a rug out of the way, so she poops on the bricks, or manage to have a disposable pad strategically placed under her when she has an accident in her sleep, I felt like a baseball player who has made a diving catch and prevented a runner from scoring. You have to be alert with an incontinent dog. There is always an accident just waiting to happen.

With any luck, I'll be able to finish my writing assignment tomorrow. I wish I was doing the design work on this project as well. Website designers are usually better paid than the content providers. I can't complain though. Neither of us is getting rich. Those days are gone. When I finish my writing, I'll go up on the roof again and clear away the standing water. The next time I see the roofers, I want that roof to be dry.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2416

There was a knock at the door while I was eating breakfast and after I got the dogs calmed down, I greeted a supervisor from the roofing company. We went up on the roof together and looked at the damage. He agreed that the roof definitely shouldn't look like this. It was product failure, he said. Finally. Of course, the roof couldn't be repaired today, because it rained last night and the roof was still wet. At least we're making progress. I told him I didn't want to wait another three months and he said the repairs would be made next week as long as it was dry.

I actually had a telephone conversation with a client today. This just doesn't happen anymore. I get my marching orders almost exclusively through e-mail these days. I wish more people would use the phone. It's so much easier when you can ask questions without having to type. After a ten minute conversation, I knew exactly what I needed to do. It probably would have taken days to arrive at the same conclusion using a chain of e-mail messages.

I talked to Dot's vet on the phone today as well. I described her symptoms and she said we might be dealing with canine dementia, along with Dot's many other problems. She wants me to bring Dot in next week so she can evaluate her again. She also wanted me to consider giving Dot a low dose of Trazodone before transporting her in the car. This drug is commonly used in dogs to reduce anxiety and is generally well tolerated. It is also used as a human antidepressant and I have an almost irrational fear of all antidepressants. I said I'd do a little research and think about it. Whenever I research drugs, it usually makes me fear them even more, so I end up just asking Janet what she'd do.

I have a new writing project that should keep me busy through the end of the week. Busy is good. The days don't seem nearly as long when I'm working. I used to have an endless stream of projects and was booked months in advance. Not anymore. These days, I hope I just have enough work coming in to pay the monthly bills. July is taken care of now, but just like June, there isn't a lot left over. I anticipated some of the changes that take place as you grow older, but I didn't really anticipate missing work. I thought I'd love having nothing to do, but that's not the way it turned out.

I'm probably a terrible voter. As soon as the Democratic Convention appeared to settle down and function normally again, I quit watching. I did the same thing with the Republican Convention. Apparently, it takes a circus to get me engaged. I don't like either one of these candidates, but I don't think the world is going to end when one of them gets elected. We are still going to be a divided nation and we are still going to keep kicking the can down the road.

The dogs have added a new twist to my already busy day. Now, when it is time for them to go to bed at night, one of them will get restless and start barking as soon as the other one is settled down. This gets them both active again and I'll have to take them outside to make sure they don't need to pee. I've done this three times already. Dot still doesn't look very tired. Of course, she's been sleeping all day.

Smokey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2415

What happens to all the information I provide for my doctors? It seems like every time I have a doctor's appointment, I have to fill out pages and pages of personal information that I have already given them during an earlier visit. I've gotten so used to this that I always bring a pair of reading glasses and a pre-printed list of the meds I take to my appointment. They always try to cram way too much information on a single page, so you have to write really small. I can never fit the lengthy and often bizarre names of the pills I take into the small boxes provided. Almost every other industry has moved on to electronic records, but doctors seem to still like to put everything on paper. I don't get it. Today, I spent more time filling out the forms than I did talking with the doctor.

Today's visit was with a urologist. I'm old enough that I need to have a prostate exam at least once a year. The doctors at this clinic always seem to have a sad look on their face. I can see it in their eyes. You can tell that they wish they had become cardiologists instead. I guess I'd feel the same was if I spent my entire day giving prostate exams. I'd seen today's doctor before, but this was my first visit to his new clinic. Doctors seem to move around a lot. I didn't like this new clinic very much because they seemed to rush patients through in a hurry, and they wouldn't validate my parking. Would you choose a doctor based on free parking? It seems as good a reason as any.

I should have seen this coming. The roofers promised to fix my roof tomorrow, so of course it started to rain this afternoon. Storms are forecast for tomorrow as well. Now, I'll have to reschedule everything after the roof is dry again. It doesn't seem fair. I've been waiting for months to get this roof patched and it's been hot and dry for a long time. Now, when it's finally my turn for the repair crew, it has to rain. This will eventually get done, but it is testing my patience.

The rain made the dogs restless today. When Dot gets upset, she poops even more than usual, so I had quite a mess to clean up today. When I turned on the TV, it appeared that the Democrats has quite a mess to clean up as well. Wasn't it just last week that they were calling the Republican Convention a disorganized mess? I guess this is Karma in action. What goes around comes around. This was definitely a self-inflicted wound. The Democrats deserve the hot mess they created. It's still hard to believe that they so blatantly tried to rig an election.

I canceled Dot's physical therapy appointment again. I"m going to try to talk with Dot's vet tomorrow and see if there is any basis to continue. I think the therapy helps, but Dot seems happier without it. Janet keeps trying to tell me that I can't keep her alive forever and I should just let her rest for the remaining time she has with us. I hate to give up, but maybe she's right.

Puppies are today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2414

Sometimes I think I'm mildly autistic. I fixate on minuscule details that others don't even think about. When I shoot baskets at the gym, there are eight basketballs to choose from. Only one of them is properly inflated. It bewilders me that after three years, nobody has bothered to pump up the other seven basketballs. The one good ball looks scuffed and worn, because I'm probably not the only one who has noticed that the other balls are worthless. Why has nobody fixed this?

When I'm using the treadmill I don't try to achieve a targeted heart-rate. I don't necessarily try to walk a certain distance either. I just try to create a perfect triangle on the LED display by increasing the inclination and speed every time the blinking light moves to a new row. I don't even know what this means, but the display looks very pretty by the time I'm finished.

I don't really have a horse in the race, but I find myself being drawn to the ongoing political debate like a mosquito to a bug light. Maybe I'm just watching the conventions because I like a circus. So far, I haven't been disappointed. Ted Cruz gives a lengthy speech were he fails to endorse the nominee and is booed off the stage. Melania decides she likes some of Michelle's words better than her own and the resulting plagiarism controversy just causes everyone to comment on how beautiful she is and compare her to Jackie Kennedy. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is forced to resign in disgrace after leaked e-mails reveal that Bernie was right all along. The system was rigged. Instead of apologizing immediately for trying to use the fact that Bernie is a Jew to undermine his support in the South, party leaders immediately try to blame the Russians for the leaked e-mails, claiming that Putin is trying to get Trump elected. You really can't make this stuff up. Then, Obama's own brother joins the fray, saying that he is going to vote for Trump because he's mad that Obama killed his friend Muammar Gaddafi. And of course you can't forget that Nordstrom sold out of the dress Ivanka was wearing in just a matter of hours when the Instagram girls all decided they had to have it. In a country where people obsess over the Kardashians and Kanye West and can't even name all fifty states, I guess this is all pretty normal.

I am cursed to have an almost equal number of friends on both sides of the political fence. All of these people are freaking out about the Supreme Court. I find this troubling. I'm convinced that politicians and their followers are obsessed with the Supreme Court because they basically don't trust the voters. If you can pack the Supreme Court with people who agree with you, you don't have to worry about the fickle voters anymore. I really think that all these politicians should pay a lot more attention to voters. They should learn from history. There are consequences when you go around saying "Let them eat cake."

I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow. It is one of those routine annual exams where they make you wait in the lobby for an hour and spend five minutes with you when you finally get in to see them. I'm not going to the doctor as much as I used to. Maybe I'm actually healthier, or maybe I've just grown tired of doctors. It's hard to tell. Dash got a bath today, but I didn't bother vacuuming. At least something is a little cleaner.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2411

Live streaming has revolutionized the way I watch television. I rarely watch the TV in the kitchen or the bedroom anymore. And I rarely watch the same things I used to. Now, whenever a space geek friend gives me a heads up about an upcoming launch, I watch it live on my computer. I'm somewhat of a news junky, so I'll often keep a window open in the right side of my screen, just in case something interesting happens. I usually keep the sound muted, because I can't multi-task. Every once in a while I'll turn the sound up for a few minutes and then get back to work.

I'm not really a political person, but I do find political conventions interesting. One of the first things that caught my eye this week was G.E. Smith. I've watched this guy play guitar for decades in the David Letterman Band. When did he start a house band for the Republican Party? Maybe they decided to have their own house band because they grew tired of musicians saying that they weren't authorized to use their music. I find this amusing. Don't these musicians understand how their own music licensing agreements work. If you want to play Queen's music for example, you don't need to ask Queen personally. Anyone, including both political parties, can secure the necessary rights through one of the three major performing rights organizations. If you run a concert venue, a restaurant, a bar, or an ad agency you can pay a flat fee to these to a licensing agency like BMI which allows you to play any music you want. Queen’s "We Are the Champions" is part of the BMI catalog. A performer doesn't have the option of restricting their music to certain radio stations or political parties. That's just how it works. Back in my agency days I've licensed well known songs for ridiculous advertising campaigns. The musicians might have been embarrassed, but I guarantee that they kept the money.

So did anything catch my eye this evening. Well, Peter Thiel certainly did. Peter is right up there with Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Tim Cook. I wonder what my Silicon Valley friends think about that endorsement. The sound is muted now on my computer, but I wouldn't be surprised if something catches my attention later.

I picked up a prescription today, but that was the only time I left the house. I spent the rest of the day wondering when Dot was going to poop. She has an uncanny ability to have her accidents when I'm in the shower or on the phone. The bed where she sleeps most of the day is in plain sight when I'm working at the computer, but she still manages to surprise me.

This week has gone quickly. I haven't heard anything from the roofers yet, so I have my doubts that they'll show up tomorrow as promised. Dot has done well this week. Her legs are still weak, but she isn't limping now. If she continues to improve, we might go back to physical therapy next Wednesday. The trash has been taken out to the curb and it's almost time for bed. I'm looking forward to having a delicious breakfast tomorrow morning. Eggs Benedict sounds good.

Katie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2409

As a writer, I find all the talk about Melania's speech interesting. I don't doubt that there was plagiarism involved. Plagiarism is endemic is today's society. If you're a musician, you might call your plagiarism sampling, or perhaps a remix. If you're an artist, you might say you're paying homage to someone. Like it or not, there is very little original thought in this world.

I've been accused of plagiarism myself. Ironically, I wasn't plagiarizing others, I was plagiarizing myself. If you're an advertising writer, you write the same shit over and over again for different people. How many ways can you tell someone that a bank offers friendly service or a hamburger is juicy? Sometimes I like the way I've described something and I'll use it again. I'm not even aware of doing this, but apparently clients aren't very happy if you use the same words more than once. "Oh, jeez, I'm sorry," I'll say and quickly substitute some other adjectives that say exactly the same thing. I guess I'm not surprised that several people might say that if you work hard you can achieve anything you want in exactly the same way. How else would you express this thought? That being said, someone should have run the speech through one of those plagiarism checker websites that teachers routinely use with students papers. As a lazy person myself, I can tell you that there is no real excuse for being lazy. There's no excuse for trying to destroy someone for a few lines of identical text either.

I don't think I was lazy today, but I certainly didn't accomplish anything significant. I did get out of the house at least. I  found a $20 REI coupon in my wallet, so I went to the store and bought another pair of cargo shorts with huge pockets that could hold my cameras when I walked the dogs. T-shirts and cargo shorts has become my new Summer uniform. I'll probably continue wearing a longer version of these things next Winter. Lots of pockets are great.

Dot is still pretty weak, so I canceled her therapy appointment for the second week in a row. We're still just going around the block in the morning. It's not very far, but it seems to be the right balance between getting no exercise at all and becoming exhausted. I wish I knew what I know now when my first Dalmatian was getting old. It takes a long time to learn what dogs are trying to tell you. I think I'm getting pretty good at interpreting Dot's moods and desires, but I've still got a lot to learn. I hope she manages to teach me the wisdom of dogs before Dash gets old. Dash is going to be hard to handle.

I spent quite a while trying to remove some sticky road tar from my car this afternoon. Tar is much more difficult to deal with than dog poop. I don't think I need to worry about anyone plagiarizing me. I've pretty much cornered the market on writing about dog poop. Why would anyone else even want to copy this.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2408

I've been walking more lately. We get up early and take Dot on a walk around the block. Leading Dot on this short, slow journey isn't enough for Dash, so after we return, we feed both dogs their breakfast and then I take Dash on a second much longer walk. We call this our boy's walk. By the time I return from my walk with Dash, Janet has already left for work and Dot is sleeping in her bed.

This is how I start my day. It may not be all that exciting, but it has it's moments. I'm encouraged to see that Dot isn't wobbling as much on our short walks. Maybe, when the weather gets cooler and Dot gets stronger, we can do something a little more ambitious. Until then, I'll continue to daydream as I walk Dash, occasionally noting a strange new bird or a pretty flower. I'll dawdle over my own breakfast when we return, feeding Dot and Dash slices of banana as I drink my morning smoothy. There's no reason to hurry. Life has slowed down for me as well.

I made sure the roof was clear of water this morning because the roofers promised me that they'd come out later this week and patch the bad spots. Will they actually show up? Who knows. They've been making promises for a long time now. Eventually, everything will get fixed. Dealing with roofers teaches you patience. So does dealing with old dogs. I think that I've got a lot of patience, but probably not enough. It's probably only a matter of time before I start saying "get off my lawn" to neighbors.

I watched bits and pieces of the Republican Convention today. What else was there to do? I don't know about you, but I thought Melania was fabulous. She was calm, poised, and reminded me of Jackie Kennedy. The guy who followed her on stage reminded me more of Dr. Strangelove, but I guess everybody can't be a supermodel. Like the Oscars and the Grammys, political conventions are way too long. By the end of the evening, most of the older folks in the audience were falling asleep.

I'm probably putting you to sleep myself, because as you can tell, not a lot happened today. Dealing with what comes after a life of work and meetings is still a mystery to me. Taking care of Dot is tough at times, but it has provided me with a purpose. Tomorrow, I'll keep working on keeping her legs moving, clean up her poop, and probably watch more political speeches while she's asleep. I think they ought to hold both political conventions at the same time so you could just channel surf back and forth between them. As patient as I am, I think watching eight solid days of this stuff would drive anybody crazy.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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