Day 2947

I got a haircut today, so I'm probably good until March. Maybe by March I'll have enough money to get a new iPhone X. I only visit the mall when it's time for a haircut, so I'm always curious to see what's new at the Apple Store. I wish I actually need a new iPhone or one of the grossly overpriced new iMac Pro desktop computers. Sadly, my old iPhone 5 and 2010 vintage iMac work just fine. It's hard to justify buying these gadgets for the company anymore. There just isn't that much work these days.

It's becoming equally hard to justify an expensive haircut. What's left of my hair doesn't grow very fast and during the Winter it's usually hidden under an ugly wool hat anyway. Maybe I just enjoy familiar routines. I've been getting my hair cut by the same stylist for over fifteen years and have been using Apple products for much longer than that. It's reassuring to visit the mall every once in a while and realize that it really hasn't changed all that much since I moved here in the mid 1970's.

When I returned home, Dash was still asleep in exactly the same place on the bed where I left him several hours earlier. Sometimes it worries me that he spends so much time sleeping, but even healthy dogs sleep a lot. He must be a light sleeper, because as soon as I opened the refrigerator door, he woke up and came out to the kitchen. I think Dash likes familiar routines even more than I do. Now that he's become a picky eater, I make a big show out of fixing his meals. I wash his bowl and carefully spoon out his food in precise little patterns. It takes three times as long, but Dash gets all excited while I'm fixing things and almost always eats everything. I know this silly little ritual makes a difference, because occasionally when I'm in a hurry I just quickly dump the food in his bowl and he gets mad and won't touch it.

The weather was weird today. When I was driving to Northpark this morning the sky was clearing and the temperature was rising. I thought is was going to be a nice day. It was still pretty nice when I took a walk with Dash after lunch, although I noticed some clouds on the horizon. Everything changed around 3 PM. By the time I gave Dash his evening walk, the sky was dark, the wind was blowing, and the temperature had dropped twenty degrees. It's hard to get used to these sudden changes. In my mind I was already anticipating a pleasant Friday, and then seemingly out of nowhere, Winter returned.

I can't decide whether to go out for breakfast tomorrow. The pancakes I fixed at home last Friday were pretty good. When I enjoyed going out, I never thought about the cost. Now that I don't look forward to these outings as much, the restaurant meals seem like a waste of money. Skipping one breakfast a month would pay for the increase in my gym membership. Skipping the entire month would buy me a new pair of hiking boots. If I skipped the entire year, I could probably get that iPhone I've been thinking about.

Dash's schedule has changed. He doesn't poop on his walks any more and has decided that he prefers to do his business in the middle of the night while I'm asleep. I took him outside twice last night and probably will do the same tonight. I thought I was going to get a lot more sleep after Dot passed away, but it hasn't worked out that way.

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2913 - Blogiversary

I have no idea why I sat down on this day in 2009 and started a blog. On my very first post, I promised to write something new everyday for at least six months. That initial six months came and went and I just kept on writing. I can't imagine stopping now. So far, I haven't missed a single day. Blogging for 3000 consecutive days now seems within reach and if I'm lucky enough to live that long, I still hope that I'll have something to say on Day 5000. It's been a long journey. Priorities have changed. Aches and pains have increased. Several beloved dogs have gone to the Rainbow Bridge. There are fewer observations about work and more ruminations about social security. I'm growing older, but unfortunately I don't feel any wiser. We all learn from our experiences, but few of us learn enough.

Dot and Dash were young and healthy when I started writing. Now only Dash remains and he is quickly becoming old and frail. Surprisingly, my own health is actually better. I had Hepatitis C when I started blogging and now I don't. Sovaldi wasn't even invented yet in 2009, so occasionally waiting for a cure is the right thing to do. I no longer travel to Europe to work on ad campaigns for international corporations. Truthfully, I no longer work on much of anything. Blogging isn't popular anymore, but that doesn't seem to matter. I'm sure I'll keep on writing even if nobody is reading.

Today was a typical Friday. I took Dash for a walk after Janet left for work and had to change course on the way home after another encounter with a loose dog. Why are there so many loose dogs now? This dog might have been friendly but I wasn't going to take any chances. I've been bitten too many times. So has Dash. I still go out for breakfast on Friday mornings, but I've never found a replacement for the now defunct restaurant that got me started on this ritual. My appetite isn't what it used to be. The first few bites this morning were delicious, but I couldn't finish my meal. I need to find a place that will let me order from the children's menu.

The small compact camera I always carry while walking the dogs broke today. This was frustrating because there are no camera repair stores in Dallas anymore and I knew that sending the camera back to the manufacturer for repair would cost more than buying a new camera. I had nothing to lose, so I tried to fix the camera myself. I carefully disassembled as much as I could and looked inside with a watchmakers loupe. I saw a tiny sliver of plastic that seemed to be blocking an electrical connection. Using the smallest pair of watch repair tweezers I could find, I carefully removed the plastic and put the camera back together again. Amazingly, it works.

Dash is still doing well. He has more energy now and has even started getting me up in the morning like he used to. I don't think we'll ever be able to get him to eat dry food again, but that's OK. We've found a way to keep him eating and that's all that counts. He hasn't thrown up recently and there seems to be fewer vestibular incidents. Let's hope this trend continues.

I haven't been to the gym recently, but maybe I'll find time this weekend. This time of year is always pretty hectic.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2344

I was listening to the TED Radio Hour on the way to the gym this afternoon and the topic was Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs. The theory is that there is a hierarchy of human needs and that the most basic needs must be satisfied before you can move up the pyramid to the next level. I forget who was talking on the TED stage, but he caught my attention when he said that the foundation of all human needs was a need for sleep, illustrating his premise with all sorts of bad things that happen to people who don't get enough sleep. Next up the list was a basic need for safety and security. When these needs were satisfied, the next level included a need to belong and share a sense of community. This was as far as I got before I arrived at the gym, but the talk was a little unsettling. If the foundation of a satisfied life was getting enough sleep, feeling secure, and having a sense of belonging to something larger than myself, I was screwed. I never get enough sleep, so maybe the illusive self-actualization at the top of the pyramid isn't in the cards for me.

I don't know if there is a hierarchy of dog needs, but Dot and Dash must be doing pretty well. Both of them get an enormous amount of sleep and must feel pretty secure since we take care of all their needs. Maybe this is why Dot still seems happy despite her many disabilities. On any given day, the dogs do seem happier than I am. They also seem to have a unique ability to live in the moment. I don't think that living in the moment was listed on Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. but it does seem pretty important.

We are nearing the peak of the wildflower season now. Almost every day when I take Dash on his longer "boy's walk," I see something new. Today I noticed that the Purple Leatherflowers have returned. This is a type of Clematis that looks like a small purple bell. I've always enjoyed seeing these flowers, but they don't last very long. It's too bad that Dot can't take these longer walks anymore. They are almost always the best part of my day.

Going to the gym will never be the best part of my day, but the experience is strangely satisfying for a guy that hates to exercise. When I'm on the treadmill, I gradually increase the angle of the machine, so that the end of my one mile walk, there is a neat little ascending ramp graphic displayed in LED lights on the treadmill's dashboard. I always turn the crank on the hand bicycle forward for one minute and then backwards for one minute until I've finished a mile on this machine too. It usually takes exactly twenty minutes. I try to shoot five baskets in a row from the free throw line on the basketball court. I've almost never done this, but sometimes I get pretty close. I never shoot until I hear a dull thud from dribbling the ball on a small dead spot on the floor. This invisible spot marks the perfect distance for me. All the machines have similar rituals. You get the idea. I like repetition and am a bit superstitious.

I did no vacuuming or yard work today. There's plenty of time for that during the week now. I did make some small website updates and added a third camera to the list that can now be controlled by a tablet or smart phone. There's actually a reason for adding WiFi capability to these cameras. At some point, I want to place a camera on a tripod in a corner of the yard near the bird bath were small animals congregate, so I can take pictures of them without scaring them away.

I have a meeting with my financial adviser tomorrow. I'm going to try to listen with an open mind, but I'm not a happy camper. Even in today's volatile and unpredictable market, I should be doing a lot better.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1989

The bad weather continues. Last night our power went out twice and strong straight line winds blew part of the roof off the greenhouse. This is the second time that winds have blown part of the roof off the greenhouse, so I'm not sure if the problem is strong winds or a weak greenhouse. Dash was upset by the thunder and lightning last night, but Dot slept through the entire thing. Even the beeping noises from the electronic devices when the power went out didn't wake her up. One of the blessings of old age is that Dot sleeps very soundly now. She needs her rest, so I'm glad the storms didn't send her into a panic like they used to.

It became obvious as soon as I looked out the living room window that one of today's chores was going to be putting the greenhouse back together again. The structure is so old and rickety now, that it's hardly worth the effort. Rain gets inside with or without the roof, since two of the roof vents blew away three years ago and a couple of panes of glass are broken. I gave up raising plants in the greenhouse decades ago, since all the local critters just looked at the place as a convenient place to have lunch. Rabbits, squirrels, rats, and possums all managed to get inside. They all seemed to love tomato plants. Now the place just houses the lawn mower.

When I was testing one of my mobile sites this morning I kept getting an error message from the phone company when I tried to make a call directly from the website. I thought I had made a coding error and wasted about an hour trying to research the problem. It was a mystery. I marked up the code exactly the same way I did on another site where everything worked successfully. Why wasn't this working? Finally I noticed that I had the wrong area code in the phone number. The number I was trying to dial didn't even exist. When I corrected the phone number in the HTML document, everything worked perfectly. Sometimes obvious mistakes aren't so obvious after all.

I hope the power doesn't go out again tonight. There's more rain on the way and I need to get some sleep. Whenever the power goes out I have to immediatly disconnect the Uninterrupted Power Supplies for the computers to save the batteries and make them stop beeping. Then I have to call in the outage report from my mobile phone and hope the battery will last long enough to navigate my way through the power company's lengthy automated messaging system. When the power finally does come back on again, I have to go to the utility room and quickly turn off the washer and dryer. They always turn themselves on automatically when power is restored. The printer beeps when it tried to reconnect to the WiFi and the thermostat has to manually be rebooted before it will reconnect to anything. The two clock radios and even the clock that turns the coffee maker on every morning all need to be reset. I try to do all this without waking the dogs, because if they see I'm up they will think it's time for breakfast even if it's three in the morning.

I'm not even going to bother with the water on the roof. What's the point if it's just going to continue to rain.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1720

We went out to dinner tonight. This wouldn't have been a big deal if it weren't for the fact that it's been almost a year since Janet and I have gone to a restaurant together. This year has been so filled with work related stress and dog emergencies that going out to eat has been the last thing on our minds. On most evenings, all we really wanted was a good night's sleep. Since we have a three day weekend and both dogs are much better now, it was a good night to get out for a while. We went to P.F. Chang's using a gift card that had been sitting around the house for ages and had a very enjoyable evening. Since everything was just fine when we returned, it's probably time we got out more.

Actually, everything was just fine for the entire day. There was a hint of Fall in the air when we took the dogs on their morning walk. Although it warmed up later in the day, this morning was just about perfect. Dot has a good night and didn't pee in her sleep. When this happens, Janet and I get a better night's sleep as well. Since I slept well, I was surprised to wake up with a painful foot. At first I though I needed new walking shoes, or at least a new set of orthotics. Then I notice a big bruise on the arch of my left foot. It looked like I had dropped something heavy on my foot. How could I have dropped something on my foot yesterday and not even remember it? I have no memory of dropping a heavy object on my foot yesterday, but the foot tells a different tale. Maybe I dropped a tool on my foot while I was fixing the screen door. Maybe the picture frame I broke hit my foot before it hit the floor and shattered. You'd think I would remember something like this, but my mind is a blank.

The pain in my foot gradually subsided as the day progressed, so I went ahead and went to the gym as I had planned. I still need to go workout more than once a week, but all things considered, I'm doing pretty well. Probably walking the dogs several miles each day and doing chores around the house that most people reserve for their yard guy helps keep me in shape more than these weekly gym visits. I still need to start going to the gym at least twice a week though.

Janet sewed another waterproof pad for Dot to sleep on this afternoon. We have three of these over-sized absorbent pads now and there are better than anything available commercially. The front is a soft, absorbent terry cloth fabric and the back is a waterproof oilcloth like you would use for a tablecloth. We have already washed these things at least a dozen times and they work great. This wouldn't be the first time we've invented a product when none was available that met our needs. We'll never get rich from these endeavors though. When you design something for an audience of one, that's usually as far as it goes.

Tomorrow is the first of September. The dogs get their monthly heartworm pills and we get a rare Monday without the usual getting ready for work rituals. By the end of the month the worst of the Summer heat will be over for another year. The days will get shorter and I will start photographing sunsets again instead of wildflowers. I like these repeating rituals. This year certainly hasn't been what I expected, but it still feels familiar.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1277

Fridays are somewhat ritualized. After I walk the dogs, I go out for breakfast and order something more interesting than oatmeal. This is usually a high cholesterol meal with several eggs, but I figure that one day out of seven with too much cholesterol is a lot better than the seven days out of seven that used to be the norm for me. After breakfast, I go to the grocery store and buy groceries for the weekend. Then I come home and try to finish the week's work so I can start my weekend free and clear of obligations.

I woke up this morning with a throbbing pain in my right leg. I momentarily thought I might have deep vein thrombosis or something equally foreboding. Then I remembered that I was stung by bees yesterday. I seem to be a lot more sensitive to bee stings than I used to be. This was one heck of a sting. Maybe the dreaded killer bees have finally arrived in Dallas.

It keeps getting hotter. The temperature was over 100 degrees at some point this afternoon. Maybe I'll finally get a tan this Summer. I've lost to much weight recently that I finally don't feel bad about walking the dogs without a shirt in the Summer. I certainly don't look like a young lifeguard, but it's better than it used to be.

I never like driving in Dallas in the Summer. The old Defender has a tendency to overheat and when I'm stuck in rush hour traffic I can literally see the temperature gauge on the dash inch upwards as I sit stranded at a traffic light. I've had to pull over to let the engine cool before, and it will probably happen again. It certainly takes the fun out of driving when every drive is a race against the clock to get home again before the engine overheats. Today, I needed to get some more ink for my large format printer. I did the smart thing. I just had my ink vendor drop ship the ink to me via UPS. I never though I'd use UPS to send things across town, but sometimes it makes sense.

I took Janet to the airport again this afternoon in 99 degree weather. It definitely made sense to take her car. No matter which Land Rover I drive, the airport is about as far as I ever go these days.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1246

I'm fond of rituals. Every morning, I get up and make the bed with military precision. I switch out the backup hard drive on my computer with an identical second drive, so I always have two copies of all my files. I grind some locally roasted Monsooned Malabar coffee beans and make myself a fresh pot of coffee. Then I walk the dogs. I've been following these same morning rituals for so long now that I don't even question them. Probably the only real change I've made in quite a few years is substituting a bowl of oatmeal and fresh fruit for my over-easy eggs, toast, and sausages.

I think the dogs like my steady hand at the helm. They know I'm always going to get them fresh water every morning, fix their breakfast, and take them on a nice long walk. I think like a dog.

Occasionally, I wish that my rituals wouldn't take so long, so I'd have time for something new. It seldom works out that way though, since work is a big part of the ritual. After I eat my breakfast and take a shower, I start to write. Writing always eats up a big chunk of the day and then there are the perpetual website revisions that pay the bills. When something new and different does occur, I seldom rejoice, because it always throws me off schedule.

Tonight, there was a wrap-up party for a big charity event I participated in. During the entire party, I kept thinking that the dogs needed to go outside and pee and I needed to get started writing today's blog entry. Even though it was a very nice party, I couldn't wait to get home again. My entire life is choreographed this way, right down to brushing my teeth at night and falling to sleep watching an old black and white episode of Perry Mason. If I was a child, some might think I was mildly autistic. Luckily, I'm older and can get away with simply being classified as eccentric.

I finally got around to selecting a roofing company today. I went with the company my architect friend recommended and they said they could get started next week. It will be nice to be able to take cleaning up after water leaks off my list of regular rituals. I hope I picked the right company. You can never be entirely sure with roofers. Even my friend made his recommendation with a caveat. "Hey, these guys have always done a good job for me," he said. "But they still might put on a terrible roof on your house." We'll see how it goes. All I know is that I've got to do something.

Dot has her weekly acupuncture session tomorrow. Dash had his antigen shot today. I'm starting to feel like a soccer Mom for Dalmatians.

Lady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day