Day 4939

It was a little cooler today. It's surprising what a difference a few degrees can make. We had a very pleasant sunrise walk with Dawn this morning. For the first time in weeks we even saw a bunny again. Dawn loves these early walks but is not a very active dog. After we return home she usually spends the rest of the day sleeping.

After finishing breakfast I thought I'd take advantage of the slightly cooler weather and mow the grass. After mowing the front yard I realized that the temperature was a bit warmer than I'd thought. I was hot and tired. The back yard will have to wait. As long as this hot weather continues, I'll probably be limited to one outdoor task a day. Early mornings are OK, but it warms up quickly.

Janet had volunteer work today so we got an early start. When I finished mowing the grass after breakfast it still wasn't even 9 AM. I answered a letter from my editor at Spaceflight, paid a few bills, and then got ready to go to the gym. I haven't been to the gym this early before and it was probably a mistake. There must have been classes or meetings going on because the parking garage was completely full. I had to park outside which guaranteed a very hot car on the drive home.

For the third day in a row I did exactly the same things at the gym. I walked three miles on the indoor track and shot free throws on the basketball court for fifteen minutes. I could have stayed a lot longer because I had no plans for the afternoon. I just didn't feel like doing anything else. Fitbit is getting on my case, telling me that I'm not exercising as much as I used to. Sorry. Three miles just isn't the same as six miles. I can't imagine walking six miles on that indoor track. Even three miles is incredibly boring. My pace was slower today. I guess mowing the grass tired me out more than I thought. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow. The gym will be open on Independence Day and I'm almost certain I'll be back. It's still way too hot for a daytime walk through the park.

I don't think I'll go to the gym this early again. It leaves too much of the day to fill when I return home. I've started eating lunch again just to kill time. There are definitely things that need attention around the house, but I loathe doing sheetrock repairs and I'm kind of afraid the screen door will fall apart if I attempt to put on a new screen. I have a feeling that my desire to avoid difficult tasks is why I do the laundry so often. Doing the laundry is marginally useful and it is very easy.

The July issue of SpaceFlight with my article about the Viasat 3 launch came in the mail today. The article about the Axiom 2 Mission will be in the August issue. Writing these articles is something I actually do enjoy doing. I've always enjoyed writing. I used to have a ton of writing jobs when print magazines were still popular. Most of these magazines and the ads they used to contain are gone now. Somebody still creates advertising but I'm definitely out of the loop. Most of the ads I see these days are absolutely terrible and the millennials who create them would never hire their grandfather anyway.

I don't know what I'll be doing tomorrow but it definitely won't include watching fireworks. We have no interest in fireworks anymore. Fireworks are just something that needlessly frightens dogs. I probably will go to the gym. Hey, you've got to do something.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3841

I finally got the grass mowed. I thought about waiting until the weather was cooler, but I'd probably be waiting until Fall. Temperatures are expected to be in the 90's for the rest of the week with a few triple digit days thrown in for good measure. The Saharan dust cloud appears to have returned as well. It definitely wasn't a great day to be outside. At any rate, the yard looks better now and I got some exercise. I'm glad we have a small yard.

We got our earliest start yet on Dawn's morning walk, but we still had to cut things short today. Instead of our usual five mile walk, we only walked four miles. Since at least half of our walk was completed before sunrise, Dawn was fine. Dawn still loves these morning walks, but we have to be careful that she doesn't become overheated. I have a feeling that our walks are going to become even shorter in the weeks ahead.

I watched a Space X military launch on my computer this afternoon. Some of my Florida photographer friends were there, setting up cameras right next to the launch pad. I wonder whether I'll ever be able to do this again. I was just getting started as a space journalist and then the pandemic happened. Since both Florida and Texas are hotspots now, I'm not anticipating getting clearance to return to Kennedy Space Center any time soon. I shouldn't complain though. There are worse places to be quarantined than where I live. Even though the vegetation is starting to dry out, the park is still a beautiful place. There are fewer flowers now, but I enjoy listening to the birds and trying to identify them.

Dawn enjoys the wildlife too. She saw her first rabbit up close this morning. I'm glad she was on a leash. She was a little too interested in this bunny. A lot of Dalmatians have a strong prey drive. Spot and Dot would chase squirrels for hours. Dot even caught one once. Greta went after birds. I have a feeling that Dawn would have gone after this rabbit. I guess it's not as bad as having a cat. We've never had a Dalmatian try to bring a dead mouse into the house.

I wish I'd gotten a haircut when the stores first opened. Now I'm becoming reluctant to go out in public again. Dallas has been setting new records for Covid-19 infections every day for the past week. Twenty people died yesterday. We're still doing a lot better than Houston or Austin, but the trend isn't your friend here. I'm sure the park will be full of people barbecuing and having parties on July 4. It's no problem staying away from these people since the park is huge, but it's still a little sad to see so many folks ignoring everything.

The dermatologist must have known what he was doing. The scabs on my face are starting to peel away and my skin looks clear again. Like many things involving medicine, I should have done this procedure earlier. Hey, better late than never. I'm glad I don't have to return to a hospital any time soon. I don't want to go anywhere near a hospital right now.

I need to think of something to do around the house that doesn't involve cleaning tomorrow. I'm the expert at isolation, but I'm becoming bored. I'm realizing now that working saved me from cabin fever for many years. Staring at a computer when you are working and making money is one thing. Staring at the same computer when you are retired is something else entirely. I don't recommend it.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2347

It has been unseasonably cold this month. When I wake up on a damp, grey day like today, it's easy to imagine that I'm still living in Seattle. I'm not a fan of dreary, wet weather, but the cool mornings have definitely been beneficial for Dot. It's easier to take our limited walks in the morning when we don't have to worry about the heat. Dot seems to be getting back to normal, but each new normal plateau is a little slower and more debilitating than the one before. Maybe next week we'll try water therapy again. It would be easy to just give up at this point, but I think we've got to try.

I rescheduled the plumber to come out and fix the leaking faucets and made a mental note to take my car in for service tomorrow morning. Oddly, on this day last year I was also planning to take my car in for service in the morning and thinking that Dot was getting back to normal even though she was already in decline. I need to be careful about reading old blog posts. It can be unsettling to realize how completely monotonous and repetitious my life has become.

Since it was a slow day and I wasn't in a very good mood, I wrote a long letter to my financial adviser detailing why I was so unhappy with my portfolio's performance. It was pointless to write this letter, since my broker is who he is and isn't going to change just because I don't agree with his investment strategy. A normal person would just quietly find a new broker, but I'm not a normal person. I'm a writer. In almost every aspect of my life, I feel compelled to have the last word.

Dot was always an independent dog, but she is becoming increasingly needy. At certain times during the day she will whine or bark if I don't come and sit next to her until she goes to sleep. I guess this is inevitable. The dogs have always depended on us for food and shelter, but now Dot depends on Janet and I for everything. She can't even get up or walk without our help. I try to be as unobtrusive as possible when assisting her. I remember during my Dad's final days, the thing he hated losing the most was his independence. I'm probably not the world's best caregiver, but I think that everybody should be able to keep their dignity as they age. Some day I'm going to be in the same situation as Dot. It can 't be easy when you are pooping all over yourself and can't even get out of bed in the morning.

I'm starting to see fresh peaches in the stores again. This is always a good sign. When I first started making smoothies for breakfast, peaches were my favorite ingredient. I've been having smoothies for breakfast for over a year now and it's important to have a little variety without deviating too much from the basic concept. When I started writing the blog, I was making elaborate and very creative omelettes each morning. Then, when I was being treated for Hepatitis C, I switched to hot oatmeal for a year or so. After I was cured, I went back to bacon and eggs for a while and then realized I had grown tired of cooking. I started eating granola with fresh fruit, but never really liked to idea of cold cereal for breakfast. The smoothies started shortly after we got the Vitamix machine. Fruit smoothies with a real breakfast on Friday has worked for quite a while now.

I'm seeing so many bunnies in the park this Spring. The coyotes in the neighborhood must have moved on, because I've never seen this many rabbits before. Like the peaches I'm starting to see, this is another good sign. I'd much rather have bunnies for neighbors than coyotes.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2293

In theory, today would have been a good day to sleep in. Unfortunately, lazy mornings are only a theoretical concept at our house. Dash ensured that we got up early as we always do. I thought he needed to go outside, but the little shit just wanted his breakfast. I know Dot would have been happy to sleep a bit longer, since she and I had already been up twice during the night cleaning up another mess in her bed. Basically, it was just a regular Saturday morning.

I'm making progress getting everything to work on the new server. It really doesn't matter whether my website works perfectly or not, but I still find a small amount of pleasure in learning how things work. The new server is different than the old server and I'm slowly learning why. It's unlikely that you'd know the difference if I corrected all the small errors I'm finding or not, but I'm correcting them anyway, mostly because I can.

I decided to go to the gym today because it is going to be closed for Easter Sunday. I also had some errands to run that I was planning to take care of on the way home. Trying to cram all these activities into a single afternoon was a mistake, because I ended up leaving Dot alone too long. When I returned, I discovered that she'd pooped in the small protected area where I'd left her. She must have slipped in the poop because her leg was dirty, along with three small rugs and all her blankets. I think she ate the poop too. I hate when this happens. If I was there, I could have helped her. She hates to make a mess in her pen and I could tell she had struggled to get away from it. It's hard to live your life where you can never leave the house though. I try to make sure everything goes smoothly, but sometimes it doesn't.

I still haven't gotten around to preparing my tax materials for the accountant, but at least I've cleared the deck so I can concentrate on that tomorrow. There are so many things I need to do that it feels a bit overwhelming. The grass is getting long in the front yard and I still haven't checked to see if the mower works. I know there's water on the roof, but it seems like a huge waste of time to remove it, since it's going to rain again in a few days anyway. I did put clean sheets on the bed and did several loads of laundry. It's important to make an effort.

Tomorrow, the park will be littered with colored eggs and candy. The place is a popular spot for family egg hunts and the children never come close to finding everything their parents have hidden. Dot and Dash find all this stuff the next day and I have to be careful that they don't eat the candy and other trash left behind by the Easter crowds. If anyone has their egg hunt early tomorrow morning thay are sure to see real Easter Bunnies. This seems to be a good year for rabbits. We see dozens every morning on our walks. Maybe the coyotes have moved on the greener pastures. In prior years coyotes have eaten a lot of the bunnies, but this year they appear to be thriving.

It's already time for bed again. The kitchen selves are stocked with food. Dot's blankets and the hallway rugs have been cleaned. I learned a few things about writing Perl scripts. I even had a pretty good workout at the gym. Although I did quite a bit today, I feel like I've accomplished nothing.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2084

When I arrived for my photoshoot today, I was greeted by two kids, a cockatiel, several parrots, a rabbit, a Labrador retriever, a basset hound mix, a large iguana, a lizard, a box of puppies and kittens, and two very large snakes. Through a process of elimination, we selected five animals that seemed to get along well with the children and each other. Amazingly, the children weren't afraid of the snakes, but I got a little nervous myself when a large yellow python wound up in my lap while I was looking through the viewfinder.

These type of photos aren't easy. Is everybody looking at the camera? Is the cat going to go after the bird? Will the snake eat a puppy? We had wranglers for each animal to keep things safe, but still there were a lot of surprises. The seventy pound snake moved pretty fast and always seemed to slither out of the frame. The bird flew away several times. The iguana was getting old and occasionally fell off its perch and landed on the floor with a thud. I was amazed that the rabbit was so calm. Most rabbits wouldn't want anything to do with a situation like this, but our bunny was calm and collected and stayed with us for the entire shoot. I think the photo came out great. I'm not sure what the snake thought.

I thought Dash was sick this morning. He got us up early, went outside, immediately pooped in the yard, and then wouldn't eat his breakfast. This had me worried. Dash always eats his meals. He seemed perfectly normal on our morning walk and as soon as we got home again I figured out what was going on. There was a smell of brisket in the air when I opened the back door. Janet was fixing a slow cook meal in the crockpot and the smell of the meat simmering overnight must have driven Dash wild. He's a very stubborn dog and he woke up wanting brisket for breakfast instead of his dog food. As soon as we gave the dogs a little taste of the brisket, they both were happy and spent the rest of the morning sleeping quietly on their dog beds. This evening when the meat was safely in the refrigerator, Dash thought his dog food was just fine and ate it eagerly.

With a concert and a photoshoot on the agenda, this turned out to be a very busy weekend. There was no time to mow the lawn or go to the gym, but I'm surprised that we got as much done as we did. The dogs still got their walks. The dog's bedding got washed. Dot only pooped inside once this weekend, but that still required a full load of laundry. The house could be a little cleaner, but I did manage to get all the photo equipment packed up and back to the storage warehouse. Tomorrow, I'll need to burn some DVD's so the client can sort through the hundreds of images I took today. I think there are still some website revisions I need to make as well. Oh, in case you're wondering, the brisket was deliciou.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1995

Today was busy. As soon as we finished our morning walk, I took Dash to the vet and dropped him off. Then I came home so Dot and I could eat our breakfast. Then I went back to the vet, with a brief stop at the bank along the way, and met with the vet for Dash's 9:30 appointment. We won't get the lab work back for about a week, but everything looks good so far. Hopefully, this visit will take care of Dash for the rest of the year.

When we got back home again, Dash was eager to have his breakfast, which meant that Dot wanted her breakfast all over again. I put a little bit of kibble in her bowl while Dash was eating, so she wouldn't feel left out and then I had another cup of coffee and a somewhat stale doughnut I found in the refrigerator.

I was feeling confident enough about my latest mobile website experiment to give my client an opportunity to exchange his old static site for this new mobile friendly version I've been working on. How could he refuse. I was offering him the new site for free. When the client accepted my offer a few hours later, I began completing the site I had started a few days ago. By the end of the day I had something that looked pretty nice. I'll probably launch the new site on Thursday. I've eventually start charging for these things, but for right now this is a good way to learn.

I wonder when the city is going to start spraying for mosquitoes? Every Summer people get in a panic about West Nile Virus and the city starts a massive spraying program to eradicate the mosquitoes. Then a different group of people get upset about the spraying and make the city stop. I'm sure these two factions will be at each others throats again this year. Due to all the rain we've had recently, the mosquitoes are worse than I've ever seen. They're everywhere. By the time I've let the dogs out the back door to pee, ten mosquitoes have flown inside. There's one buzzing around my head right now. I hope the city starts spraying soon.

I still can't decide whether to get an Apple Watch. There are few things that I need less than an Apple Watch, but I still find shiny things like this mighty tempting. It's probably a good thing that I can't afford a watch right now. When I get finished paying for dental bills, next year's homeowners insurance, and Dot's next round of scans, there might already be a second generation watch with better battery life and more robust software. Too many times I've been an early adopter of Apple products, only to get left in the dust when they inevitably improve the product and lower the price. I've already got what some might call a first generation Apple Watch anyway. It's a square iPod Mini in an aluminum LunaTik case. I wore this watch for about a month before I got bored with it.

I think the coyotes that used to live in our section of the park have moved on. I'm seeing tons of bunnies this Spring. For a while there were very few rabbits to be found because the coyotes ate them all. It's nice to see that the bunnies are back. There are a lot more baby ducks this season as well. The city was always trying to encourage people to co-exist with the coyotes, but few people in the neighborhood liked them. Personally, I'm glad they've moved elsewhere.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1627

The day started out well. We had a nice walk this morning and there were even patches of blue sky, instead of the predicted rain. I had a fabulous breakfast at my favorite restaurant, got groceries for the weekend, and then returned home to begin the day's work. I made surprisingly good progress on several writing assignment and even thought I might have time to go to the gym this afternoon. Then I hit the save button in my open Microsoft Word document and nothing happened. I kept getting a message saying that I didn't have the right permissions to save anything to my own hard drive.

This has happened before. For a computer system that is supposed to be as effortless and trouble free as a Mac, permissions problems are surprisingly frequent. It's a lot harder to repair a drive or a volume than it used to be too. Life was so much easier when you could just slap the appropriate CD in a slot and repair your drive locally. Now you have to re-boot your computer holding the option key down and select a special online disk repair utility. When you re-boot this way, the computer doesn't recognize any of your stored passwords, so I had to search all over the office for my WiFi password before I could even access the handy fix-it tools hidden away in the cloud. It took me forever to find this unnecessarily long and extremely easy to forget password, but eventually I was able to get online, find the repair utility and repair my hard drive. I never did figure out why my disk permissions had gone bad in the first place, but I wouldn't be surprised if Google or Amazon had something to do with it. According to my Little Snitch application,  these two snoopy companies are constantly trying to access my data. By the time I finally managed to repair and save my hastily written Microsoft Word file, it was pointless to go to the gym. It was almost time to feed the dogs again.

I'm seeing a lot more bunnies and baby ducks this Spring. I suspect this means that the neighborhood coyote pack has moved on to greener pastures. One year the coyotes had their den in a dense grove of trees near our house and they decimated the small animal population in the park. I would see duck and bunny carcasses almost every morning. Sometimes the pack would wake me up in the middle of the night when they were making a kill. It was kind of spooky. I like that the owls and hawks feed on the ubiquitous mice and rats in the park, but I would just as soon see the coyotes go elsewhere. If the new neighborhood cat knew about the coyotes, it would definitely want to be an indoor cat.

It seems like it should be a holiday weekend since is so near the end of the month, but I guess that was last weekend. I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. I could always clean the house, pull weeds, or stock up on toilet paper at Sam's Club, but I hope I find something more exciting to do.

Ollie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1334

When we took Dot and Dash to our favorite dog washing emporium this morning, we discovered much to our surprise that it was no longer there. The building was empty with a "For Lease" sign on the door. There wasn't an explanation for the abrupt departure. Not even a "We've Moved" message or phone number. Something must have gone terribly wrong. Established businesses don't typically disappear overnight.

We managed to find an alternate place to wash the dogs, but it was a shame to see another neighborhood business bite the dust. Businesses I like seem to have a habit of going bust. I could make a long list of beloved restaurants, furniture stores, camera stores, indoor dog parks, old fashioned hardware stores, and esoteric hobby shops that are no longer around to amuse me.

I've often thought I ought to hire myself out as a new business consultant. In an odd way, my judgement is almost infallible. If I love your business idea, it's going to fail. If I hate your idea, you'll probably make millions. Time after time, businesses that I thought were tailor made for people like me just couldn't make it in Dallas. Businesses I'm not so fond of, on the other hand, seem to thrive. As evidence, there are Wal-Marts, McDonalds, and Payday Loan stores on every corner in this town.

I thought it would be a good day to recharge batteries today and discovered that an old Macintosh laptop that I had spent a considerable amount of money repairing not so long ago, wouldn't boot up anymore. I think I've only started up the old laptop three times since I had it repaired and now it's broken again. If my luck holds true to form, my warranty on the repair probably ran out two weeks ago. That's usually what happens. I don't need this computer at all, but I hate to throw it away. I need to join some sort of twelve step program for people who can't throw things away. I continually fix and repair old things I don't need and seldom use, "just in case" I might need them someday.

Dot and Dash are going to be doggie ambassadors for Dalmatian Rescue tomorrow. That's one reason we gave them a bath today. The dogs are usually quite well behaved at these pet store events. I seem to remember that this particular store has a big glass case filled with rabbits and ferrets however. Show me a dog that isn't interested in rabbits and I can almost guarantee it isn't a Dalmatian

J-Lo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day