Day 3363

I set up an Uber account today. I'll have to admit that there are a lot of things I like about this new form of travel. You don't pay with cash for starters. You also get an accurate estimate of what the charges will be before you even get in the car. If the price seems too high, you don't have to ask for the ride. I would imagine that all this would be welcome news to anyone who has spent a lot of time in cabs. I have lots of memories of riding in cabs in a strange city and watching the meter go higher and higher, not really knowing where my destination actually was. The Uber system removes some of this uncertainty. We'll have to see how well this works in real life. I've never used Uber before. I've never used Lyft either.

There's a reason I'm somewhat unfamiliar with ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft. I don't really go anywhere. I spend more time walking than driving these days. If Dash is feeling good and the weather is cooperating, we take two walks each day. Dash is very slow and likes to smell things, so these walks can take a while. For the past several days, Dash has been taking a longer route than usual. Sometimes he overdoes it, but usually longer walks are a good sign. We had a long walk this morning. Maybe that's why his outer boot tore. Without the outer rubber boot for protection, the middle layer sock got ripped as well. Luckily the inner fitted bandage was unharmed and there was no bleeding or damage to his paws. I hate when there's a problem with the boots when we're on the road. Boot or no boot, we've still got to get home. I may need to start carrying a spare pair of outer boots with me.

I've noticed that my gym is offering more classes this Spring. Janet loves classes. Maybe I should take a class as well. Perhaps a more structured setting would help me reach my goals. Oh, wait. I don't have any goals. I'm not even sure why I go to the gym. I think I started going because gym membership was a free perk with my supplemental health insurance. Eventually, I had to start paying for the membership myself, but by then it had become a habit. You need good habits to offset the bad habits. When I go to the gym on Sunday I don't feel so bad about having French Toast smothered in Maple Syrup on Friday.

I learned a few things about Uber this afternoon. Apparently it costs more to ride in a nice car. There is a sliding price scale, based on the type of car you order. Leather seats cost more. Another article said that drivers who live in their cars often sleep in the airport cue areas because it is safe and they will be first in line for early morning flights. The strange thing about this story is that there are apparently homeless Uber drivers who live in their cars. Doesn't this job pay enough to rent an apartment? I thought this was supposed to be a good way to make money. Maybe I was wrong.

I also learned that those power banks that people often use to recharge their phones and tablets are frequently banned on airplanes. So are loose lithium ion batteries. They say these things are fire hazards. I have a power bank. No wonder I got such a good deal at REI. The model I bought has been recalled for spontaneously catching on fire. In fairness, I have a newer serial number than the faulty product mentioned in the article, but it is the same brand. I guess I'd better not try to take this thing on a plane.

They say we're going to get a lot of rain this week. When will this end? I have no idea where the leak in the sewer line is now because the entire yard is wet and muddy. I have no idea when the roof is going to start leaking again either. I'm trying to control the standing water, but it's an uphill battle. I could care less about Daylight Savings Time. What I'm looking for is some dry time.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2167

I never should have let my doctor convince me that I needed flu and pneumonia shots this year. I typically never get these shots, but they really push them as you get older. I reluctantly agreed to get the shots yesterday and asked the nurse to put the mildest one in my left arm because I'm left handed. This turned out to be a terrible plan, because I woke up this morning with a very sore left arm. The right arm is a bit sore as well. I think the nurse got things backwards. I should have had my pneumonia shot in the right arm.

Lots of laundry today. Dot woke up during the night and proceeded to poop in the bedroom before I could get out of bed and guide her toward the back door. I stepped in the poop because it was dark, making it even more difficult that usual to clean things up. By the time we had finished taking the dogs outside and cleaned up the mess, I was fully awake. I would have just gotten up and started breakfast if it wasn't still the middle of the night.

It wasn't until daylight finally arrived that I noticed how cold it was. Winter has arrived. I think it is supposed to dip below freezing tomorrow. It is encouraging that there is still no condensation on the windows, even though the temperature has been fluctuating wildly. It is becoming apparent that the big dehumidifiers removed a lot of moisture when we were drying the house last week during the pipe leak. I'm still looking for a portable dehumidifier, but I'm not having much luck. Today I thought I'd see what Fry's Electronics had. There was a nice looking brand I'd never heard of, so I looked it up on Google when I finished running my errands. It turned out that this particular brand had been involved in a big product recall after it had a tendency to catch on fire. Over 200 house fires resulting in over $2 million dollars of damage havell been caused by this machine. Nope. We won't be buying this one.

I hooked up a wet/dry vacuum with a special attachment to see if I could extract any water from a crack in the floor of the shower stall. After running the vacuum for about an hour I removed over a gallon of water. That's a lot of water under something I had previously thought was dry. I'll fill the crack with caulk now and see if this takes care of the problem. It probably won't. We need to re-tile the entire bathroom.

I haven't even bothered to watch Dr. Who for two weeks in a row. I don't seem to have time for the show anymore. I'm not all that wild about the direction the Steven Moffat had been taking the series anyway. I stayed with Peter Capaldi as long as I could, but the show seems like a waste of a valuable hour now. I need all the time I can get. The days continue to get shorter and by the time I've walked both dogs and eaten dinner, there's barely enough time to write the blog. Dot is taking longer an longer to do her business in the evening now. She seems to forget where she is. It's important to be patient and give her plenty of time to poop though. That's the only way to avoid unfortunate accidents like we had last night.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. There are still plenty of chores that need attention around the house. I should start going back to the gym as well. I guess it will all depend on how my arms feel tomorrow. Today, I couldn't have gone two minutes on the arm bicycle. I don't know why I let them talk me into those shots. I'm never around children these days, so I seldom get colds or flu. I'm not even sure how you get pneumonia.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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