Day 3932

Dawn must wonder about us sometimes. When we were walking this morning she abruptly sat down and then started eratically kicking with one of her rear legs. We thought she was having another seizure and slowly and carefully guided her back home. When we were back at the house we discovered she had a burr stuck in one of her paw pads. As soon as we removed the burr, everything was fine. I don't know why I didn't think to look at Dawn's paws immediately. Dot and Dash were always getting burrs and thorns stuck in their paws. They would also step on bees and get stung. We were so worried about seizures that we failed to recognize the obvious. Sorry Dawn. We're old and do the best we can.

Our beautiful fall weather continues. Dawn isn't walking far these days, but I've returned to taking long walks by myself. Today I took a camera with me and took pictures of birds. There are at least ten American White Pelicans at the lake now along with quite a few Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. I found the missing Muscovy Ducks as well. I don't even like birds that much, but they are much easier to find and photograph than the other critters that inhabit the park. We have bobcats, river otters, foxes, mink,   coyotes and more but it's rare to see some of these guys. A lot of the animals hide when you have a dog with you.

The Delta IV Heavy launch got scrubbed again. They must be trying to set a record for canceled launches. I guess they're going to try again tomorrow. I'm so glad I didn't try to attend this launch. The weather has been terrible and the rocket has had one problem after another. I would like to see this rocket before it is officially retired but I probably will have to wait until 2022. The way things are going, I might have to wait until 2022 to do much of anything.

Our furnace came on for the first time last night. Every Winter I'm always a little apprehensive about whether the furnace will start. This year it did just fine. Since it's Texas, the air conditioner also came on later in the day. There was something for everyone today. I was even able to leave the windows open for a while today. I love Fall weather. It just doesn't last long enough.

I didn't watch tonight's debate. Why bother. When I turn on the television while I'm eating breakfast tomorrow, that's all I'll hear about. I'm already hearing about it on Facebook. Over and over again. I doubt that either man did themselves any favors. This is what you get when you nominate two old fools for president. I wouldn't be surprised if Kanye West gained a few votes tonight. 

I hope our nice weather continues. I really need to use this time to complete my repairs on the roof. Maybe tomorrow. There are other chores around the house that need attention as well. It's just hard to get motivated. It's a lot easier to take long walks and snap a few pictures of birds.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3843

The combination of bad weather and bad news is starting to get me down. We didn't get rained on during our walk this morning, but it was so humid that it was hard to tell the difference. I still had to change my clothes when we returned. Without a breeze to cool us down, it was pretty obvious that we'd have to cut things short today. Dawn was happy though. She saw another rabbit. For some reason, Dawn has no interest in squirrels but she goes nuts when she sees a bunny. I hope the park rabbits still know to steer clear of our yard. Dawn is fast. She'd probably catch one.

I was planning to go up on the roof today, but I'm glad I didn't. There was nothing on the radar when I woke up, but an intense little storm passed overhead right after lunch. I wasn't expecting this at all. At least both pumps are still working and there are still no leaks. It's so hot now that any water that is still remaining after the pumps do their job will probably evaporate in a day or two.

Dallas keeps setting new records for coronavirus infections. I really didn't think it was going to get this bad here. Despite the dismal news, businesses and restaurants seem really reluctant to close again. I have a feeling that they will continue to stay open unless there is a new mandate shutting everything down. I have a lot of sympathy for small businesses in our neighborhood, but I don't really think they are going to have a lot of customers in the next few weeks. Everyone is suspicious now and there is very little trust. I don't think it helped matters that for months there has been massive media criticism of anyone who wanted to go back to church or get a haircut and then there were these huge street protests and the media seemed to imply that these events were OK or even necessary. Even now, there are a lot of people who refuse to acknowledge that the protests had anything to do with the spike in new cases.

It's all people going to parties or refusing to wear masks they say. Are protesters packed shoulder to shoulder on city streets immune to this disease? I seriously doubt it. A lot of things don't add up. I've wondered myself why there hasn't been another big spike in the Northeast, and then it occurred to me that most of the really vulnerable people up there are already dead. This virus is like a forest fire and it is going to keep burning through the population until everyone has been exposed. I'm good at keeping my distance, but every time I have a scratchy throat or need to cough, I wonder if my luck has run out. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. I don't think we can live like this indefinitely.

I keep wondering what is going to be the next shoe to drop. Will Ghislaine Maxwell implicate the world's entire ruling elite as a bunch of pedophiles? It could happen unless she commits suicide soon. Will those infected pigs in China start another pandemic before we manage to get a handle on our current mess? It doesn't look like we will have football this Fall, but we will have the presidential debates. That ought to be entertaining. Already both Biden and Trump seem determined to prove how sharp their brains are. Neither of these old fools are willing to admit that their best days are behind them. These debates are going to be a dementia derby. Cue the astroid strike. I think it's time.

I still have enough fresh fruit to have another smoothie tomorrow. I have no interest in going out for breakfast on Friday mornings anymore. I don't even have much interest in changing the breakfast menu. It's all smoothies all the time now. It hasn't been a great day, but at least I managed to take the week's trash out to the curb. As far as I'm concerned, this day is done.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2501

Another loose dog came after Dash today. I managed to stop the dog before any damage was done, but the incident made me mad. It's amazing how often this happens. It's almost always a young person who isn't paying attention that causes the problem. They're doing yoga in the park, or listening to music with earbuds in their ears while their dog is roaming around nearby looking for something more interesting to do. Luckily this large Lab was dragging his leash behind him and I managed to grab the leash before the dog could get to Dash. Dash was terrified though. He's been attacked before and hasn't forgotten. Loose dogs are a pet peeve of mine. Take your dog to a dogpark if you want to let them off leash. Don't let them loose in an area where there are signs all over the place saying "All dogs must be leashed."

The last presidential debate is taking place right now. I have a live stream of the debate running in a window on my browser. I'll listen for about thirty seconds at a time and then I feel compelled to turn the sound off for a while. I just can't stand listening to these guys. I still don't understand how two of the most unlikable candidates in modern history could have been nominated and think the country deserves a do-over. If either of these folks gets elected, the gridlock we're experiencing in Washington DC just gets worse. Would it really be that hard to find someone the country actually likes? I can't think of a name at the moment, but there's got to be someone.

I never cared much about politics when I was younger. I can recall telling someone when I was in my twenties that I wouldn't mind having a king as long as I was part of the aristocracy. This was flippant, of course, but I just didn't think that voting even mattered. I think I finally registered to vote because my mother kept bugging me mercilessly about becoming a responsible citizen. I became a voter, but always was a bit skeptical about the whole process of arriving at a consensus. I've seen homeowner's associations and condo boards do nothing but bicker for years at a time. I played a very minor role in city government at one point and saw nothing but bickering. I think things might be a little better if lawyers weren't allowed to become politicians, but maybe that wouldn't help either.

If there was a political party that advocated giving the earth back to the dolphins and the whales, I think I'd be for them. Humans have become an invasive species, just like kudzu vines. We can't agree about anything. We eat all the fish out of the oceans. We cut down the rain forests for firewood. If we continue at this rate, we'll be extinct in 30,000 years. I hear a lot of politicians talk about climate change, but none of them even mention controlling the world's population as a solution. There are too many of us already and globalization is only making matters worse.

I don't think I'm going to change things. Somebody is going to get elected. Hopefully, I will continue to get my social security check and be able to live out the rest of my life without the rancor I am witnessing becoming even worse. I don't think the apocalypse is just around the corner, but I do think today's millennials are going to have a tough time turning this ship around. I wish them luck.

Diva is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2491

Once again Sunday turned into a marathon. I woke up earlier than I should have, trying to anticipate when I'd need to make a mad dash to the back door with Dot. I was successful at getting her outside to pee, but was less successful at convincing her to go back to bed for a while. She and Dash didn't want to sleep in. They wanted their breakfast. There's no point to arguing with a dog, so we all got up.

After breakfast and a walk with Dash, I went back to the grocery store to pick up all the things I forgot yesterday. There was another website update to make when I returned home. This update was a bit more extensive than the one I completed yesterday, so I got to postpone the onerous job of vacuuming the house for a couple of hours. Vacuuming is harder on my wrists and shoulder than going to the gym. I've grown to hate vacuuming, but it can't be avoided. The house simply gets too dirty.

It's almost impossible to avoid today's presidential debate, but I'm going to try. I just don't want to hear any more from either candidate. The reporters can't seem to get enough of this stuff though. The salacious nature of tonight's debate has whipped them all into a frenzy. They are acting like a pack of wolves ready to go for the kill tonight. We'll see what happens. I won't be watching. I'll finish writing the blog, see if I can finish re-grouting the leaking parts of the shower stall, and go to bed. When I turn on the television tomorrow morning, I'll sure someone will immediately tell me who won.

I wish I could get Dash to remember what I worked so hard to teach him during all those years of taking him to obedience classes on Wednesday evenings. He used to heal like a champ, but I'm having real trouble getting him to follow my lead these days. There is one alley he likes to go down on our way home that I call the alley of death. There are three very aggressive dogs that would tear Dash to pieces if they ever managed to jump over their fence. Of these dogs is getting closer and closer to getting over the top, but Dash seems to be oblivious to the danger. I tried to get Dash to take an alternate safe route home today, but he stubbornly dug his heals in and refused to take my suggestion. He even barked at the aggressive dogs as we walked down the alley. You're living dangerously Dash.

Have you noticed that the stores are already filled with Christmas merchandise? It isn't even Halloween yet. Janet reminded me to make our Thanksgiving dinner reservations this week. I waited too long last year. If I'm too late with over a month to go before Thanksgiving gets her, I give up. This year is just barreling along like a freight train. I wish everything would slow down a bit.

Dot actually did pretty well this week. I think the cooler weather is her friend. She stumbled a few times during the week, but today she was eager to go on a walk. I hope this cool weather continues. Dot is always my priority. I've also got to get my October invoices out next week. Maybe I'll bill out enough to pay my electric bill. Next week might be a good time to try some more vegetarian dinners at the vegan take out place. I'll try my best to keep Dash from going down the alley of death. I'll get some silly requests from clients and I'll wonder why I'm still in business at all. The dogs will bark at me while I try to enjoy my banana and strawberry smoothie. It's probably going to be a pretty normal week

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2478

Dot woke me up last night making that familiar sound that dogs make before they throw up. I got her to drink some water, which calmed her down and then she went back to sleep. Oddly, it was me who ended up throwing up a few hours later. I still don't know what was wrong. I usually have a cast iron stomach, but I must have eaten something that didn't agree with me. After spending fifteen minutes in the bathroom, I finally felt good enough to go back to sleep. An hour later, Dot woke me again when she pooped in her bed. Needless to say, I was tired this morning.

It was raining pretty hard when we woke up. I thought that Dot would just pee on the porch to avoid getting wet, but she dragged me out to the middle of the yard where we both got soaked. This was as close to a morning walk as we got. I knew the rain would quit eventually, but I resigned myself to a morning of dealing with restless, housebound dogs.

I noticed that the air felt different while I was eating breakfast and then I realized that the furnace was on. I guess Fall is really here. It hasn't been cold enough to need the furnace since late last Spring. Hey, at least the furnace works this year. There have been many years when I wanted a little extra warmth on these cool Fall days and couldn't get the furnace to light. Unfortunately, not all the machines loved me this morning. The furnace burners may have worked like a charm, but the security light in the back yard has gone out again. Do I call the electrician, or just wait for the lamp to dry out? The light sensor seems to work much better in dry weather.

One of my clients called today asking me to recommend a hosting company. Like most of us, he wanted a place that was inexpensive, completely reliable, and staffed by a knowledgeable, friendly technical support team. It would have been easier to tell this guy where he could ride a Unicorn. If you're looking for a trouble free Internet experience, I'm not going to be much help. I'm still looking for this mythical place myself. If you're online, your e-mail will quit working occasionally. You might get hacked. If you have a problem, it will be answered inconclusively by someone on the other side of the world who you have trouble understanding. That's just the way it is.

I tried listening to the presidential debate tonight, but all I heard was blah, blah, blah. I would wander into the room with the TV on, but couldn't listen for more than thirty seconds at a time. I don't believe either one of these guys. It's sad that our political system has come to this, but again, that's just the way it is. Most of the things that Bush promised during his presidential debates never came true. Most of the things Obama promised during his presidential debates never came true. What makes you think any of the promises you heard tonight will ever come true?

I hope the rain stops tomorrow. I need some time to clean things up. Rain was a problem even when the dogs were young and healthy, Now it seems even worse. We'll do the best we can. I guess a little mud won't kill us. If you want to look on the bright side, the roof isn't leaking and I did manage to find some of that powdered graphite I've been looking for.

Suki is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2477

The weather was terrible today. We'd been warned to expect rain, but the warning didn't sink in until we were halfway around the block with the dogs this morning. The overcast skies suddenly opened up and we got drenched. Poor Dot. There was no way she could walk any faster, so we slowly made our way home in the rain and immediately changed all our clothes. Eventually, we got both dogs dried out and continued our day.

I stayed home all day because it was hard to anticipate when the rain would turn to high winds and thunderstorms. I've learned from experience that it isn't a good idea to leave Dot and Dash alone in a thunderstorm.

I should have gotten more done today, but it was so nasty outside that there was little motivation to clean. Every time we took the dogs out to pee, we ended up tracking in wet leaves and dirt. There was little point in vacuuming, even though the house needed it. I concentrated on little things like cleaning toilets and shining shoes. We seemed to have used up all our towels drying the dogs off after we got caught in the downpour, so there was lots of laundry to do. This would have been a good day to binge watch something on Netflix, but I don't have the patience for that sort of thing. I have trouble watching TV for more than five minutes at a time. I'll usually just turn on the news, read the captions scrolling across the bottom of the screen and then turn the TV off again.

I used to just have trouble with seasonal allergies in the Spring, but now it seems that they are worse in the Fall. There must have been lots of pollen in the air today because I was sneezing and putting Visine in my eyes all day. I hope the allergy season is over soon because my nose is getting to look like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

I finally managed to get Dash out for a short afternoon walk when there was a break in the rain. I've started noticing that some of the flowers that bloom in the Spring return briefly in the Fall. Maybe it isn't the time of year that causes them to bloom, but just a certain length of day or amount of sunlight. In many ways Spring and Fall are very similar. I am glad to be leaving Summer behind, but I sure hope the roofers can get out to make the rest of the repairs I need before the rainy season starts in earnest next month.

They say that 100 million people are going to watch the presidential debates tomorrow. Somehow, I doubt this. There just isn't that much new to learn. At this point, most people have already made up their minds and just want this election to be over. The media loves a circus though, so they are going to hype this event as much as they possible can. Am I going to watch? Probably not. I'll end up seeing it next week anyway as the pundits endlessly rehash the all the high and low points on dozens of news and commentary shows. I'm sure there will be plenty of debate memes on Facebook too. I'd probably watch if they let Gary Johnson and Jill Stein participate. I've heard more than enough from Trump and Hillary already.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2475

I believe in redemption. Every month or two I return to my original breakfast restaurant to see if they've finally got their shit together. I'm rooting for them, but so far they haven't made much progress. It's kind of sad, because you can tell they are trying. The staff is really friendly now. Portions are bigger. There are even some new items on the menu. Unfortunately, these guys don't realize what they lost. I don't know what happened, but the restaurant lost it's authenticity.

Authenticity is hard to define, but is very easy to see. The hipster restaurant that opened across the street is authentic. The place has its flaws and I deplore their use of paper plates and plastic silverware, but you can't question their authenticity. I can tell the owners really believe in what they are doing and it makes a big difference. The restaurant where I'm eating today used to be authentic. I could feel it. Now, it appears they are just trying to stay in business. Instead of using fresh potatoes for their hash browns, they are now using frozen prepackaged potatoes straight off the Sysco Food Service truck. There were canned tomatoes in my Migas too. People notice these things.

Why do people cut corners? When your first concern is quality, the bottom line usually takes care of itself. I would much rather have smaller portions made with fresh ingredients than larger portions that were sitting in a freezer yesterday. My concerns about quality may be misplaced though. Many of the companies I've grown to love over the years have gone out of business. This is troubling, because if I really like something, I know it isn't going to last. The little vegan take out place in the neighborhood is completely authentic. I'd better start eating more of their food, so I can get healthy before they go out of business.

Dot threw up today, which was odd, since Dash is the one who's been eating crap lately. Dash seemed fine. We're very careful what we feed Dot and she isn't mobile enough to find dead things in the park on her own. Hopefully, this is just an anomaly. If I have to start watching both ends of this dog, it's going to make life even more difficult.  I have a feeling that Dot will feel better in the morning. She's sleeping peacefully now.

Not a lot happened today. The trash got picked up, I answered a few questions, and did some minor maintenance of a couple of websites. The dogs couldn't be bothered to look busy and spent most of the day sleeping. I should have done the same. From listening to the pundits on TV, you'd think that the Superbowl was approaching. Somehow, I don't think the debates are going to be as exciting as everyone anticipates. I still think they should have let Gary Johnson and Jill Stein join the fray.

Sage is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2244

The stores were filled with people getting ready for Superbowl parties today. Everybody seemed to be looking for Velveeta cheese. I grew up thinking that Velveeta actually was cheese, but thankfully I've learned to appreciate Parmigiano-Reggiano, Stilton, Feta, and aged Cheddar. I'm no food snob, but somehow I don't think I'll be having Velveeta and hot wings tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be having more than I had today. I woke up with a stomach ache and didn't feel like eating much all day.

I probably just need to get a good night's sleep. Dot woke me up with another middle of the night accident. I don't know whether Janet and Dash were pretending to be asleep or whether I'm the only one that wakes up now. Even Dot didn't seem very awake. I carefully picked up the poop on her bed and she went back to sleep. When all this started, I would have gotten her up to go outside, changed her bedding, and immediately started a load of wash. Now, if the smell is gone and everything looks reasonably clean, I just let Dot go back to sleep and wail till morning to start the laundry. Firm poop is a blessing. Soft runny poop is a nightmare.

I went to the Superbowl Sale a day early and came home with a few great deals. I went early partially because it beat vacuuming the house and also because I knew that everything had already been priced for tomorrow's sale. 75% off without all the crowds. That sounds like a winner to me. I didn't really need another pair of pants, but I tried not to let that stop me. It was something to do on a very uneventful day.

I keep telling people that I'm not interested in the presidential debates, but I keep listening to them. I never listen to the entire debate; just bits and pieces. Tonight, I must have missed the parts where they asked Ben Carson questions, because it seemed like he didn't get any questions at all. I don't know why they didn't invite Carly Fiorina to the debate either. She isn't doing well in the polls, but neither were several of the people on stage. Everybody seems to say the same thing over and over again. It's kind of like watching Denver and Carolina play each other over and over again for the month leading up to the Superbowl. Everybody keeps talking about the undecided voter, but I think most Democrats and Republicans have already decided who they like best.

I hope the game is good tomorrow. It's one of the few times during the entire year where I watch an entire football game from start to finish. I typically tune in during the fourth quarter and watch the last ten minutes of the game. I hope that Budweiser runs an ad with Clydesdales and a Dalmatian in it. So far, that Heinz ad with the dachshunds is the gold standard. I'd like to see a few others with this kind of imagination. I don't know what we'll have for dinner during the game, but I can guarantee that it won't have Velveeta cheese in it.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2235

It's taking longer and longer to get Dot ready for physical therapy. You can't rush an old dog. She likes to sleep in the morning, so it's hard to get her out of bed and put her harness on in the first place. When I take her out to pee before we get in the car, she wanders around forever, smelling everything in the yard before she finally does her business. At this point we're already five minutes late. I try my best to get her positioned comfortably, but inevitably she tries to creep towards the side window and ends up getting one of her front paws stuck in the little space between the edge of the seat and the door. When she does this I have to stop the car and re-position her before she panics and starts to struggle. At this point we're usually ten minutes late. Sometimes we avoid construction zones and traffic jams. Sometimes we don't. I wish Dot's vet made house calls. She suggested giving Dot a low dose of Xanax to reduce Dot's anxiety before we get in the car, but that would make me more anxious. I have an irrational fear of drugs like Xanax and Prozac. When I was asking the vet what Xanax does and how it would make Dot feel, the vet gave me a puzzled look and said "You've never taken a Xanax, have you?" Nope. I wish I could ask Dot what she thought about the whole thing.

Personally, I don't think drugs are a good solution for anything. Maybe this is hypocritical, since I do take meds to control blood pressure and cholesterol. These seem different than antidepressants, sedatives, and anxiety medications though. I've noticed that sedatives sometime have the opposite effect on Dash. They make him hyper and anxious. My Mom experienced terrible side effects from the antidepressants she took. I'd rather just learn to become comfortable with being depressed. Who knows. Maybe Dot does need a Xanax, but there's got to be a better way to keep her calm in the car.

The weather was nice again, but the day didn't leave much of an impression on me. I must have done something other than take Dot back and forth to the vet and clean up poop, but I be hard pressed to describe it now. Walk, eat, clean up poop, repeat. That was about it. It's anybody's guess whether trash will be picked up tomorrow after the mystery trash pickup on Wednesday. I took my can out to the street anyway, just in case. The neighbors seemed as confused as I am. There were other cans on the street, but only about half as many as usual. Probably my can will end up being run over and squashed by a piece of road paving equipment.

I didn't bother watching the presidential debate tonight. Been there, done that. Why do we need so many of these debates? Jeez, if you don't know what these guys think by now, you probably never will.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2128

The vet said she thought Dash was walking better this week. I was thinking the same thing. He's not limping as much now and seems a little stronger with each passing day. It's clear that he does have a floating kneecap on his right rear leg. It's just not very clear how severe his luxating patella is. We did some tests and agreed to evaluate him again next week. Hopefully, Dash will continue to improve. If not, we can always make an appointment to see the orthopedic specialist. We'll do what needs to be done, but I'd like to avoid surgery if at all possible.

The watch winder company told me to return the defective winder in its original box, so I went to the storage warehouse to look for the box. I save a lot of boxes for precisely this reason. It took a while, but I eventually found the box and it still had the instructions and warranty card inside. I'll pack the thing up and take it to FedEx tomorrow. I'm hoping they'll just send me a new unit, instead of trying to repair the old one. Only one of the three winder motors is bad, but with my luck, one of the other motors will quit working as soon as they returned the repaired unit. I'm not sure how the watch winder company will handle this, but at least they were helpful and responsive. Some companies aren't.

I got my October invoices posted and in the mail today. It's a bit unsettling that my billings continue to decline, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. My business is slower because my client's businesses are slower. The whole economy sucks. Hopefully, things will pick up again before Christmas. Fall and Winter used to be one of my busiest times, but I don't have as many retail clients as I once did. One project a day is all I want. Any more and I'll be too busy. Any less and I'll start to go broke.

Someone will have to explain the Democratic debate to me. It didn't really seem like a debate at all. Every time someone said something, the rest of the candidates chimed in and essentially said "That's a good idea, but I'll do even more." Nobody criticized each other. It was just an odd love fest. Say what you will about the Republicans, but at least they dusted it up and got their hands dirty. Donald Trump was right. The debate was boring. I didn't learn anything new. That being said, Bernie Sanders was the most genuine. He may be an angry old man, but he's an honest angry old man. You can't say that about many of the others in either party.

There are no vet visits for either dog tomorrow. Actually, there's not much of anything scheduled for tomorrow. We'll see what happens.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2060

I wake up every morning with a logical, well thought out schedule that everyone completely ignores. Clients could care less about my plans. The dogs don't care either, even though most of what I do has been designed with them in mind. The city of Dallas always thumbs its nose at my plans. It is almost impossible to leave the house without encountering an accident, a construction crew, or a broken stop light that brings traffic to a standstill and makes me late.

I really only had two things to do today, but keeping these simple tasks on schedule was next to impossible. The package I needed to pick up at the UPS will-call counter wasn't there, even though I received an e-mail saying it was ready to pick up. I eventually got things sorted out, but by the time I got home it was already time to take Dot downtown to her physical therapy session. I got the car ready for Dot, but she was on an entirely different schedule and was in no hurry to leave the house. It took a while to get her hooked up in her harness and then she didn't want to poop in the yard, so I knew there was a 50/50 chance she'd poop in the car. It was late, so we had to go anyway. On the way to the vet we got stuck at a malfunctioning stop light that was only letting three cars get through before it turned red again. The light changed five times before we made it through the intersection. The trip downtown took twice as long as it normally should. Luckily, our vet is always late too, so we were both back in sync when we arrived.

Dot did pretty well today. She actually seemed to have more energy than I did. This heat is becoming unbearable. October can't come soon enough. Even though I water the shrubs every day, the yard is still drying out. The house isn't insulated well enough to stay cool in the Summer, so the air conditioner has to work extra hard. Even the tap water is warm now when you turn on the cold water tap. The ground is so warm that it actually warms up the water as it it goes through the underground copper pipes to the house. I'm not surprised that Dot actually seems to like using the underwater treadmill these days. The water is nice and cool.

I watched bits and pieces of the presidential debate this evening. My initial impression was that each of the candidates did reasonably well. It often seemed like they were debating with the three moderators instead of with each other. The moderators seemed to have gotten some sort of directive from the network to make the show provocative. They kept trying to ask gotcha questions that would make them seem tough and probing to their news anchor peers. I'm not really a careful listener to these type of things, but my gut feeling was that the 10 candidates were more or less united on many issues and the moderators were just doing their best to stir things up. This was a little disappointing. I really didn't learn anything new tonight, but then I'm not a big fan of either politicians or news anchors. I would have rather watched a new episode of Dr. Who.

Dot gets an ultrasound scan tomorrow to see whether her tumor has grown. Hopefully it has stayed the same or even shrunk a bit. I'm always a bit nervous about these scans because they place Dot on her back in a cradle to do the imaging. With all the problems she's had with her spine, there's always a danger that a nerve could get pinched again. She needs the test though. All I can do it tell them to be extra careful with her. At least it's Friday tomorrow. The trash has been taken to the curb and I'm ready for the week to be over.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1042

It was quiet when I woke up this morning. Janet had already left for work and both dogs had returned to the bed after they finished their breakfast. I must have been quite tired last night. I didn't hear any of the normal Monday morning activities. There wasn't much reason to get up early anyway. I've got a couple of projects on deck for tomorrow, but today was very slow.

Since there wasn't anything better to do, I decided to watch the Prometheus DVD I got this weekend. I'll have to say that I was a bit disappointed when the whole thing turned out to be sort of a prequel to the Alien series of films. I would think that there will be a sequel to this film as well. Everything is left pretty open ended with the one surviving character sailing off to continue her quest in a recovered alien spacecraft.

Even though I tried, I couldn't kill the entire day doing nothing. I answered the weekend's e-mail messages, did some minor website revisions for one of my clients, and did a little research for tomorrow's projects. This week could actually turn out to be a busy one.

Now that I've been looking at the park with a critical eye for over a year with my camera, I've noticed that plants aren't the only things that follow seasonal cycles. Not only are the trees starting to turn color at exactly the same time as they did last year, the animals are starting to behave the same way as well. The squirrels have started gathering nuts for the winter again and are much easier to photograph. When these squirrels are focused on a nut, even the dogs don't distract them. Huge flocks of starlings are beginning to roost in trees again every evening around sunset. The only thing that has changed since last year, was that a year ago I thought these birds were crows. I'm not exactly James Audubon, but I do learn a few things here and there.

Like many of you, I will watch the final presidential debate this evening. I don't expect to learn anything new. One side will be saying bin Laden, bin Laden, bin Laden, while the other side will be saying bin Ghazi, bin Ghazi, bin Ghazi. Maybe they'll be some talk about China as well. China is really the elephant in the room when it comes to world affairs. Nobody seems happy that China makes all our stuff and owns most of our debt. I don't know what any politician can do about the situation though. Politicians don't understand the nature of a Pandora's Box. Once you open the box, you can't close it again.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1036

I'm trying to think of some intelligent questions to ask my financial advisor tomorrow when we have our quarterly meeting. I'm sure he's sick of me asking him why I'm still not back to even after the 2008 crash. I'm sure he's sick of me asking why stocks tend to go down after we buy them, rather than before. In fairness, my advisor keeps reminding me that my portfolio would look a little more solid if I wasn't continually taking money out to buy stuff. He thinks we are still doing pretty good, considering how the economy is doing both here and elsewhere. Maybe. I just remember a time when I was doing much, much better. It is simply irritating that a strategy that has worked for me for much of my adult life doesn't appear to work anymore. We'll see how tomorrow's meeting goes. Personally, I think investing has become almost indistinguishable from gambling.

I got my wish for another slow day. OK guys, that's enough. I was just kidding. You can start sending me work again. Why is it that freelancing or running a small business is always feast or famine? I am continually either too busy or not busy enough. I wish I knew how to strike a balance, but so far having just the right amount of work has eluded me. Even using the slow times to market myself has its perils. Usually there is such a time lag between marketing and actually seeing new assignments that the marketing efforts just create sharper peaks and valleys down the road somewhere.

I like stability and predictability. I know, for example, that today is the day for Dash's antigen shot. We do this every other Tuesday at 2 PM, year in and year out. Dash enjoys his trip to the vet and I"m never in a panic to get him there, because I know exactly what to expect. I wouldn't mind a bit if everything were this predictable. Maybe I would work on oil and gas projects on Mondays, design some websites on Tuesdays, do a little photography on Wednesdays, and so on. Life isn't like this though. In the real world, work is just moments of boredom, punctuated by moments of stress and panic.

I guess I'll watch the presidential debates this evening. All the pundits tend to describe these debates as if they were a wrestling match. You almost expect Michael Buffer to come out right before the debate begins and deliver his famous catchphrase Let's get ready to rumble. I expect that both sides will say that their man won right after the debate is over. That's the way these things work.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1023

When I go to the post office, I park at a nearby strip mall and walk the final 100 yards to mail my letters. I do this because there is a traffic light at the intersection leading to the neighborhood shops. There is no light at the post office and it is much easier to go home again when I can turn left. I've been parking at this strip mall for years now and continue to be amazed at how quickly the shops change hands. A theater where I once saw 101 Dalmatians is now a small grocery store. A pizza place is now an MRI imaging center. Most of the retail stores have been replaced by restaurants. The restaurants themselves get replaced by other restaurants with disturbing regularity. The video rental store on the corner is just empty. I guess nobody rents video tapes anymore. I can't help thinking that each of these stores was somebody's dream. So many broken dreams, and this is just one little neighborhood strip mall. I'd like to see a little more permanance in this world, but I'm not holding my breath anymore.

I finally managed to get Linux running on my computer this morning. I now have access to thousands of open source programs that I'll never ever use. The problem yesterday was all my fault. I just wasn't typing things correctly in the terminal command line. Now that I've solved this mystery and have Linux running side by side with my Mac OS, I'll probably just forget about it. That's what I did last time anyway. I'm sure I'll use Gimp from time to time, but since I know Photoshop so much better, it's hard to see the point. Basically, it was just a slow day yesterday and installing Linux gave me something to do.

We missed most of the presidential debates this evening because we were at dog training class with Dot and Dash. That's just as well. I have a hard time even listening to politicians anymore. Everybody is saying what that they think people want to hear, instead of what they need to hear. I'm getting tired of the whole charade. When the majority of the population is spending more than they earn, it's no surprise that the entire country is in trouble. A little restraint on everybody's part would do wonders. It doesn't matter is you are an individual, a family, a city, or a country. You just shouldn't spend what you don't have.

I hope I feel better tomorrow. I've been dragging around all day with no energy whatsoever. I almost feel like I've got the flu or something, but it's not even flu season. Maybe I just didn't get a good night's sleep last night. Dot and Dash are active dreamers and their paw slapping dog dreams woke me up at two hour intervals. I'm hoping things will be a little calmer tonight.

Hobbs is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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