Day 3821

What a difference a day makes. The weather this morning was beautiful. A rare Summer cold front swept away yesterday's dust and cooled things down significantly. It was only 68 degrees when we woke up. Needless to say, Dawn loved her walk today. I felt pretty good myself. The sky was clear and the air even felt fresher. My seasonal allergies are finally gone. It's kind of amazing how little it takes to put me in a better mood. A nice day isn't going to change the world, but I'll take what I can get.

The day got even better when I checked my e-mail after breakfast. I finally heard from the Air Force. They said they were beginning my credentialing process this week and that they would let me know when I was good to go for 2020. I haven't actually received media clearance yet, but the upbeat tone of the letter made it seem like this was only a formality. I've also applied for NASA media accreditation, but I'm not as optimistic about this route to attending the Mars 2020 launch. NASA has already said that they are still limiting the number of journalists that can attend launch events because of the coronavirus.

I hope there isn't a huge spike in virus outbreaks in the weeks ahead. I'm OK with traveling now, but things could change quickly. The virus definitely isn't under control yet and both Florida and Texas seem to be heading in the wrong direction. I could easily change my mind about attending the launch if things start heading downhill. I'm eager to return to being a space journalist, but I'm not stupid. You've got to be careful where you go these days. I'm not planning any trips to Seattle either.

The weather was so nice today that I thought I'd better mow the grass while I had a chance. This might be the last 70 degree day we have for quite a while. The yard looks a lot better now and I managed to accumulate 23,000 steps today as a bonus. My day was so productive that I even managed to fix the carport security light. It doesn't work quite as well as it used to but if a moose or large cow walked by it would probably trigger the sensor. I probably should have just bought a new motion detector, but I still feel compelled to fix things.

My dentist called today and finally wants to reschedule my appointment. My gym said it is reopening next week as well. Everyone is starting to seem almost desperate to return to some form of normalcy, but the virus doesn't appear to care. Protesters don't appear to care either. I really hope we don't have a second wave of outbreaks in the Fall because that might be the last straw that brings everything crumbling down. We're only holding on to sanity by a thread right now. It wouldn't take that much to push civil society right over the edge. Hopefully the world can get its act together. There are still things I want to do. I definitely don't want to spend my old age living in a dystopian nightmare.

Escher is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3820

The weather was full of surprises today. I was expecting our morning walk to be hot, but there was a nice breeze. Actually it was quite windy. With the wind in our face, the walk was actually quite enjoyable. We had been thinking about shortening the walk for Dawn, but we easily completed our five miles this morning. Probably the wind and cooler temperatures were just a fluke. It's still Summer. We might have to shorten the walk tomorrow.

By mid-afternoon there was evidence that this morning's breeze might have stirred up more than I thought. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but everything looked weird. There were hard shadows on the ground, but the sky wasn't blue. It had a strange grey tint and everything looked less bright than usual. It almost reminded me of the way the sky looks during a partial eclipse. When I got home I looked up the weather conditions and discovered that the air quality was very poor. Evidently there was a lot of particulate matter in the air. Was this a dust storm where the particles were so small that they didn't look dusty? I don't know. There were some high winds to the west of us earlier in the day.

When I was getting dressed this morning I noticed that the carport security light was on. Had it managed to fix itself overnight? The light went out after about five minutes just like it is supposed to do. Later, I went outside and waved my hands in front of the sensor trying to get the light to come on again. Nothing happened. I tried again this evening and the light was still dead. Things like this frustrate me. It this thing broken or not?

Today was really slow. I did a little correspondence in the morning, but that was about it. I need a new project that doesn't involve fixing things. There are certainly enough things that need fixing around the house. Broken things are discouraging though. I feel like the house has let me down. Couldn't the place just keep its act together for a few more years? I don't even know how to find good help anymore. All my favorite carpenters, plumbers, and craftsmen have either retired or died. No wonder traveling seems so appealing these days. You are quite literally just running away from your problems.

It still seems weird that everything is opening up while coronavirus cases still keep climbing in Texas. I read that Dallas is considered a hot spot now. It's almost like everyone collectively got tired of the whole thing and just decided to ignore it. I think masks will eventually just become fashion statements. There will be little sections in clothing stores selling them right next to the socks.

I've given up on life ever returning to normal. Actually, life probably never was normal. Weird stuff just keeps happening in endlessly repeating cycles because we never learn from our mistakes.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3724

I managed to fix the furnace by myself and didn't need the HVAC guys after all. I did need an electrician though. I bought a new security light yesterday, but didn't have the nerve to install it myself. The light is on a pole where the electricity comes into the house. I'm clumsy enough that I don't want to get anywhere near a high voltage electric line. It's worth the money to have an electrician do the foolish, risky stuff. Luckily, the electrician was able to come out this morning and when he finished installing the new security light, I asked if he had time to do a little more electrical work. I had him rewire a few things so I can now turn on the roof pumps from inside the house. This will be a huge improvement. I've grown to hate going out in the rain just to turn the pumps on and off.

I got a haircut today and now feel ready for my trip to West Texas. I asked the folks at the observatory if they were considering canceling their Spring Break activities because of the coronavirus. Nope. The show will go on, but they did say they bought some extra hand sanitizer. It looks like I will be very busy, conducting tours during the day and helping with star parties at night. I hope I enjoy this unique experience. As a rule, I don't enjoy driving long distances. Jeez. I don't even enjoy working. The people at the observatory are extremely nice though and the dark night skies on Mount Locke are hard to beat. Hey, I may even learn a little about astronomy.

I finally assembled all my tax records and took them to the accountant. I always burn a copy of my Quickbooks Pro files to a CD and give this to the accountant as well. It turns out that they had just updated their office computers and none of the new workstations had a CD drive. It made me feel old.  Apparently nobody uses CD's and DVD's anymore. "Why don't you just e-mail us the files," the office manager told me. Duh. Why didn't I think of that?

It doesn't look like this blog is coming back to Facebook any time soon. They have never responded to my inquiries.  It remains a mystery why I have been banished from their platform. How can a blog about rescuing dogs and attending rocket launches be considered offensive by anyone? And why did it take them ten years to decide I was violating their community standards? What are these community standards anyway? I see absolute crap on Facebook every day. I'm kind of the Mr. Rogers of the blog world. Why pick on me? Not that is really matters. I survived the collapse of Klout, Google+, and MySpace. People are still reading the blog. Surprisingly, blog traffic hasn't diminished all that much. A year from now, I'll still be writing and probably won't be thinking about Facebook at all.

When I went up on the roof this afternoon to clear away the water, everything looked pretty good. My patches were solid and so far there have been no leaks, even though we got a lot of rain. It's too early to do a victory lap, but I'm feeling pretty good. Hopefully, the repairs I've made will prevent further leaks until the weather gets warmer and I can power wash the roof and apply the rest of the silicon coating.

The April issue of Spaceflight magazine is out and my article looks good. This is a good reminder that I don't really need Facebook. There are lots of places to share my story. The important thing is just to keep writing.

Rory is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3723

Talk about irony. The last sentence of last night's blog post read "Life is full of surprises." Two minutes after I added that post to my Facebook timeline, all my Facebook posts disappeared. This was a huge surprise. Facebook had nuked my entire blog, telling me that it was violating their community standards. WTF? I was stunned. With all the crap on Facebook, they picked my simple little blog about rescuing dogs and repairing my roof to ban.

The blog still exists and I still make a new entry every single day. Facebook readers may have to try a little harder to find it though. Some readers have always had the blog sent to their e-mail account every evening. Others find it on Twitter. I'm going to try to get Facebook to reinstate the blog because banning me has got to be a mistake. There is nothing offensive about this blog. I miss the old days when tons of people used to follow the blog directly on Blogger. Blog hopping has fallen out of fashion though. Today you've got to have a podcast.

Losing my Facebook blog readers wasn't the only disaster I had to deal with today. The furnace broke too. The furnace repair guys were out at the house less than a month ago, so the furnace should be working fine. Obviously these guys missed something. I called them to come out again. Hopefully they can quickly find what's wrong with the furnace  quickly. We've still got some cold nights ahead. I didn't even try to fix things myself tonight. I'm tired.

The security light in the back yard has quit working too. I've decide to quit trying to repair this thing and just buy a new fixture. I wanted to buy a sodium vapor lamp like I used to have, but all the stores have quit selling them. Is it against the law to sell incandescent lights anymore? You don't see any in Lowes or Home Depot these days. I ended up up buying another LED light because that was all that was available. These LED fixtures aren't as bright as sodium vapor or metal halide bulbs, but what are you going to do? You can't buy if nobody is selling.

About the only good thing that happened today was that I finally figured out how to enable WiFi Calling on my phone. The reason the feature wasn't working was that the phone company still thought I had an iPhone 5. Older iPhones aren't cmpatible with WiFi calling. As soon as they reconfigured my service for an iPhone SE, everything worked as it should. I wonder why nobody at the AT&T retail stores knew about this? I've spent hours following false leads and blind alleys.

I tried to fill out the accountant's tax questionnaire so I could get my materials to him. I ended up with more questions than answers. I couldn't even figure out my return from last year. I guess I'll do what I always do: dump everything in a big manilla envelope and hand it to the accountant.

I hope my Facebook readers are able to find this post. If you do wind up reading this somehow, leave a comment on the blog and let me know you're still here. The blog isn't going away. I hope you aren't either.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3569

I used to go for years without seeing the dentist. Now, I never miss an appointment. Every six months a dental hygienist cleans my teeth and once a year I get new x-rays and the dentist gives me an exam. I've always had good teeth, but it's not worth tempting fate anymore. Life is full of problems as it is. I don't need to add dental work to the list.

There were no problems today. The dentist thinks I'm doing a good job of taking care of my teeth. I use a Sonicare toothbrush and a Waterpik everyday and do my best to avoid sugar. The only thing that needed attention today was the retainer I wear at night. I broke it in half about a year ago and have just been wearing each half at night. The dentist said this was fine, but I think my teeth are shifting a bit. Getting a new retainer was more reasonable than I thought, so I'm going to go ahead and have them make me a new one.

There was no time for a morning walk today. As soon as I finished breakfast it was time to go to the dentist. This didn't mean I skipped the walk. It just meant I was outside during the hottest part of the day. Jeez. When are we going to get some Fall weather? It was really hot this afternoon. Temperature really does make a difference. These walks are much easier when it's cooler.

I can't figure out what is going on with the security light in the back yard. This weekend the light stayed on all night. Yesterday it didn't work at all. Now it's back on again. I've had this problem before and every time the light eventually seemed to fix itself. I'm hoping that it will start to work normally again. The light itself is inexpensive, but I always have to call an electrician when there is a problem. In theory I could easily install a new light myself, but it is located very near our power line and I'm clumsy at times. I don't want to get myself electrocuted. I'm trying to convince myself that it's easier to look at the stars at night when the yard is dark, but I like a little light coming in through the windows at night. Somehow it is easier to sleep when the security light is working.

I'm still eating leftover sandwiches from the golf tournament for dinner. If I'd thought to take a few more, I wouldn't have to go to the store at all this week. I ate the last sandwich tonight, but I doubt that I'll be very hungry tomorrow anyway. We're planning on going to the fair on Thursday. There's so much junk food at the fair that you seldom want to eat when you get home. You can get virtually anything deep fried on on a stick at the fair. I know it's not good for you but that's why the fair is only once a year. Whatever I eat tomorrow, there's a virtual certainty that it will give me heartburn.

I recharged my laptop batteries and applied a security patch this afternoon. With all the power outages we have around here, you never know when I'm going to need this thing. I used to ignore the security updates but you can't really do that anymore. Apple is no longer immune from hackers and malware. My laptop seems very slow, but that's probably just because it's old. I hate to retire this thing. It's the last laptop Apple made that came with a CD/DVD drive and full size USB ports. There's a slot for camera cards too. New laptops don't have any of this stuff.

Last year at this time, Dash was having seizures and I was getting nervous about an upcoming art auction in New York. That all seems so long time ago now. The only thing that hasn't changed are the telemarketing calls. We're still getting a ton of telemarketing calls.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3557

Every once in a while I go to a restaurant that I thought was terrible just to see if it got any better. Today I went to a place that I remembered as being dirty with rude waiters. The place was very clean and everyone was extremely friendly. I ordered the one thing on the menu that I used to like and it was terrible. What was going on here? Did this place get bought by someone else? It was all very disorienting.

It rained a lot last night, but the rain didn't cool things down. It was still hot and muggy. I knew I would need to go up on the roof and clear the standing water away, but I decided to get my morning walk out of the way first. By the time I returned, I was too tired to go up on the roof and took a nap instead. I kept trying to postpone this task by taking some mail to the post office and updating my phone to IOS 13. Eventually, I turned on both pumps and water came gushing out of the attached hoses. Damn. There was a lot of water up there. I had to deal with it.

I hate going up on the roof these days. It seems like I've been clearing away water forever. Every time it rains, the damaged areas get a little worse. There really isn't a good solution. Since the house is old and has settled, there would still be standing water even with a new roof. To reengineer the roof so it still looked the same but had just enough of a pitch to reliably drain water away is ridiculously expensive. I guess I'll just keep patching things. I'll probably have to go buy a five gallon can of the silicon coating material myself since the roofer still hasn't brought me the coating he promised. Residential roofers don't know how to do a flat roof and commercial roofers aren't interested in doing small jobs like this. They'd rather do a shopping center instead. It's all very tiring. I've gotten bids on a new roof, but nothing seems realistic. This is why I hate rain. If it would just quit raining, I wouldn't have a problem.

Every time I update my phone I get all these messages asking if various apps can connect to Bluetooth or operate in the background. My instinct is always to say no to everything and then the apps quit working. I think I've got everything I use working again, but I keep wishing that people would quit constantly updating everything. I was happy with the way my computer and phone worked five years ago. I really don't care about Dark Mode or a host of new Emojis. As long as I can check the weather and take pictures on my walks, I'm good.

With my five mile walk, a trip to the post office and grocery store, and a lot of manual labor on the roof, I got in quite a few steps today. It will be interesting to see what my regular doctor thinks when I go in for my annual physical soon. I feel healthier than I did last year. I also feel older. Maybe I'm just treading water. Janet and I both think it's important to keep moving. It's amazing how sedentary some people our age have become. It would be nice if I actually liked exercising like Janet does, but I can't complain. Staying active keeps me from wondering about my purpose in life. You don't need a purpose when you are walking. You just walk.

The backyard security light stayed on twice as long as it usually does last night. It was a lot cooler yesterday. Maybe the problem with the photoelectric sensor is temperature related. Maybe the rain washed away some of the spider webs. Who knows. If we still had dogs, I would have replaced this light by now. Some things just don't seem to matter as much anymore.

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3510

24,000 steps today. Part of this total was spent up on the roof unclogging the pumps and clearing the water away. July was dry, but so far August has been pretty wet. I was surprised at how much higher the lake was this morning. Just two decent rains and the water level had risen over a foot. As always, the rain is a giant nuisance for me, but we certainly needed it. The grass in the back yard is already looking greener.

After all this activity I am pretty tired. I don't think I could have done this two months ago though. Walking is good for you. I'm starting to feel stronger and my legs definitely feel firmer. My average resting heart rate has decreased as well. I wish I enjoyed exercising since it occupies a lot of my day now. Walking is not really a joyful experience but it's not depressing either. All in all, it's probably a much better way to spend time than sitting at the computer.

I went back and got strawberries today. A shipment must have just arrived because the berries looked really fresh. The fruit always seems to look better on Sunday. Of course if I switched shopping days, the fruit would look better on Saturday. At any rate, I'm all set for another week of smoothies.

AT&T was supposed to come out and bury the new fiber optic cable this morning, but nobody showed up. Am I surprised? Not really. Since there is no easy way to check on scheduling, I will have to call the irritating offshore customer service line again and spend a long time on the phone with someone who doesn't have a clue about what is going on. Maybe I'll just do nothing. Everything works fine with the cable laying on top of the ground.

I'm starting to think about renting a car for the trip to McDonald Observatory. This isn't really rational thinking because I've already got a perfectly nice car that has just been serviced. I just got new tires too. The problem is that I don't really trust the car. Things have gone wrong for no reason at all when I least expected it. I hate surprises. Memories never fade either. Once on a road trip I threw a rod in rural Oklahoma and had to have an earlier car towed all the way back to Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was there over a month getting the engine completely rebuilt. When the repairs were finally finished I had to drive up from Dallas during an ice storm to retrieve it. Of course rental cars aren't free from problems. When I went out to Vandenberg Air Force Base to watch a launch a few years ago somebody hit the rental car and it took months to get all the insurance issues resolved.

There's a new Dalmatian up at the boarding kennels so Janet and I are going up for a visit tomorrow. I'll take some pictures of this liver spotted boy for the website and we'll spend time playing with all the dogs. Visiting the dogs on Mondays has become a regular part of our week. Truthfully, these visits are just as important as my daily walks.

I can't figure out what is wrong with the security light. It comes on every evening around sunset, but shuts off again around 10 PM. This doesn't make sense because the photo cell is obviously working. The light will come back on again tomorrow evening. The bulb is fine too. I could turn it on again right now by going out and flipping the breaker switch. It isn't worth the trouble to go outside and do this but I'm still wondering about this very odd behavior.

It looks like another hot and humid day tomorrow. At least the rain is over for a while. I'm done with Summer. Bring on the cooler weather.

Pebbles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3509

I predicted this would happen. We had a brief heavy rain this morning and the roof is wet again. After weeks of pleading, the roofer still hasn't brought over the special silicon product I need to make repairs. It's been so dry in July that almost any day would have been a good time to patch the tears in the elastomer material. Now I need to clear the water off the roof, dry everything off and start all over again. The main problem is that commonly available patch materials available at Home Depot and Lowes won't stick to the silicon that's already on the roof and the commercial product I need is only available to the trade in very large drums. It's quite expensive too. Jeez. I don't need much of this stuff. I'm sure the roofer is waiting till he has a small amount of silicon left over from another job, but this isn't helping me any.

The rain cooled the temperature a bit, but it's still as muggy as ever outside. I thought I'd have a pleasant walk this morning, but I might as well have just walked the rain. I was still drenched in sweat by the time I returned. While I was in the park, I saw a guy pick one of the yellow berries on a Horse Nettle plant and eat it. Dude, don't you know these plants are poisonous? Apparently he thought it was a wild cherry tomato. Close but not close enough. Horse Nettle and Tomatoes are both members of the Nightshade family. Tomatoes happen to be one of a very few Nightshade varieties that are edible. I don't think Horse Nettle is nearly as dangerous as Belladonna, commonly called the Deadly Nightshade, but I'm not going to try eating any Nightshade berries. I don't even like tomatoes that much.

There are still a lot of Herons and Egrets at the lake. I finally got close enough to photograph one of the Great Egrets today. What a strange looking bird. With a long yellow bill and an even longer neck, you'd think this bird would have trouble eating. Nope. They seem to be designed to catch small fish. I see Egrets catching and eating fish all the time.

The security light in the back yard came on normally this evening. Maybe the problem was temperature related. It is cooler today. Maybe the rain washed spider webs off the light sensor. Actually, I have no idea what is going on. I suspect that just when I begin to think that the problem has fixed itself, the light will go dark again. I spend way too much time thinking about obscure problems like this and not enough time dealing with problems I can actually solve.

There were no strawberries at the store today. I asked the produce guy when a new shipment would arrive. "Maybe tomorrow, maybe Monday, or maybe Tuesday," he said. I guess that means he didn't know. I'll go check again on my way home from the gym tomorrow. I need strawberries for my smoothie.

Am I ready for another 20,000 step day tomorrow? I'm not sure. Surely there is a better way to spend my time. I keep thinking that all this activity is keeping me healthy, but maybe I'm wrong. I'm wrong about a lot of things.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3508

The September issue of Spaceflight Magazine has finally arrived. Since I doubt if many of you subscribe to this British publication, I thought I'd just upload a PDF copy of my article to Facebook. Oops. You can't upload PDF files to Facebook. Weird. Why didn't I know this already? I guess I never tried to post a PDF file. There's always a solution though. I just put the file on my website and made a link. If anyone's interested in reading the article, just click here or on the picture to your left.

The good news about all this is that the magazine is interested in having me cover future launches for them and can even get me a press pass. I might have found my calling. I doubt if I can do this sort of thing all that often because it can get expensive. Nevertheless, the road ahead is something to look forward to.

When I went to the new neighborhood restaurant for breakfast this morning, I was surprised to see that it was completely full. There was even a small line out front. How did this happen? I've been going to this place fairly frequently on Friday mornings and it's never been full before. Oh, well. I'm not big on standing in line, so I got back in my car and drove to the hotel instead. The restaurant at the hotel never seems to be full. I ordered the French Toast like I always do at the hotel and daydreamed about traveling to rocket launches. The hotel reminds me of the old days when I used to do a lot of business travel. How did I transition from a road warrior to a person who rarely leaves the house? Life is strange. I don't even question a lot of things like this. We all go through stages.

I'm starting to see more birds at the lake. I wonder what this means? August doesn't seem like a time for migrations. I've seen a lot of Great Egrets lately as well as a few Great Blue Herons. I've seen smaller Cattle Egrets as well. I need to get some pictures of these birds because I don't know how long they will stay. This might be a project for the weekend. It will probably be easier to find the birds than to carry the camera on hot days like this. I sure wish Apple would invent an iPhone with a telephoto lens. Putting a phone in your pocket is a lot easier than carrying a big camera on long walks.

Janet has convinced me to try wearing ankle socks on my walks. The combination of long shorts and equally long wool socks has given me a very weird tan. Basically, it's just a dark stripe on my legs. I tried the shorter socks that everybody else seems to be wearing but I didn't like them. I came home with a blister on my heel. The Nike Air shoes I'm wearing now are fairly comfortable, but I guess I need the extra cushion of the thick wool socks as well. Who cares if I look ridiculous. Most old men look ridiculous anyway.

The security light in the back yard has started acting up again. It will come on around sunset but will go off again a few hours later. The lamp hasn't burned out or anything, but I have to go behind the greenhouse and flip a switch on the breaker box to get the light to tun on again. This involves walking through spider webs in the dark and getting bitten by chiggers. It's irritating. When this used to happen I had the electrician come out several times and they could never find anything wrong. They replaced the photocell twice and it didn't make any difference. Even though the dogs are gone and we don't really need the light anymore, this flaky fixture still bothers me. Why do things break so often? I want a world where everything is dependable.

One thing I can depend on is more hot weather tomorrow. I'm ready for winter.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3218

I was determined to give Dash a walk this morning. I kept watching the weather radar and eventually I saw what looked like a temporary break in the weather. I got Dash suited up in his protective gear as quickly as I could and off we went. We got lucky this time. Even though it rained most of the day, we managed to find 45 minutes when it was relatively dry.

Members of the little circus were trying to reposition their tent when we passed them this morning. They seemed determined as well. Despite the rain, it looked like they were trying to get ready for a show tonight. Lots of luck with that. It think it's time to build an ark. The bad weather going to continue for the rest of the week.

Just before I went to bed last night, our Internet and TV service was restored. Oddly at about exactly the same time the TV started working again, the security light in the back yard went out. The light has been working well for several months now, so I'd almost forgotten that it used to be a big problem. Hopefully the photo cell in the security light and our U-verse service will not be a problem tonight. I need the light so I can see where Dash poops at night and I need the TV so I can watch Perry Mason as I go to sleep.

The leak in the living roof stopped dripping around noon. The fact that this is a small leak will probably make it even harder to find. I keep trying to look at the bright side. I guess a small leak is better than a large leak. It's had to find a bright side to incontinence. Even though Dash got a nice walk today, it didn't prevent him from pooping in the house. Once this morning, he walked toward the open back door, sniffed the air for a while, and then turned around and immediately pooped in the kitchen.

I meant to pay bills today, but yesterday's soggy letters still weren't dry yet. You'd think soggy mail would give me the final push I need to start paying bills online, but for some reason I still prefer going to the post office. Since I couldn't pay bills, I wrote my Luddite sister and told her that I'd become a Luddite too.

I hope my auction goes well tomorrow. There's another auction in December and a final one next Spring. I had hoped that auctioning most of the art would make it easier for me to get rid of other things, but decluttering still seems like a monumental job. We'll see how much progress I've made this time next year.

It was nice to see the market rebound today. I'm glad I didn't panic and sell everything last week. I'm probably just going to have to learn to live with uncertainty. The world isn't going to return to normal any time soon. Sadly, the only thing that seems normal anymore are those old TV shows from the 50's and 60's I watch while I'm going to sleep. It's weird that those old Twilight Zone shows that used to scare me as a kid, seem naively simple now. Rod Serling's little morality plays almost seem like Sunday School stories. Call me crazy, but I still prefer the Twilight Zone to Black Mirror. The Eisenhower years are looking better and better.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3138

The weather has cooled down a bit. The small difference in temperature made a big difference for Dash and I. There was a nice breeze and for the first time in weeks, Dash was able to take two walks. It's amazing now nice ninety degrees feels when you've gotten used to one hundred and ten.

I stayed busy today. I looked for a new and more reliable back yard security light. I bought some bug spray specifically designed to kill spiders. I went to the grocery store and got some of the things Janet usually gets on Saturday. These errands didn't really complete my list, but I didn't want to leave Dash too long.

When I got home, I defrosted the little emergency refrigerator we got when our kitchen refrigerator was broken. This little fridge was just supposed to be temporary, but it's become a necessity. Dash has so many things that need to be refrigerated now that he needs a refrigerator of his own. It's too bad that these little dorm room refrigerators aren't self defrosting. I guess that why they are so cheap.

Since the weather wasn't too oppressive, I mowed the grass and sprayed the Asian Jasmine ground cover in an attempt to get rid of the chiggers and mosquitoes. I hope this works. Until I get the security light issue resolved, I'm going to have to wade through this thick ground cover every night to flip the breaker switch and turn the light back on after it shuts itself off.

I think the SAMe pills are making Dash a little friskier. I'm not sure this is a good thing. He got excited about taking an evening walk today and tried to run to the back door. Dash's legs aren't steady enough to run anymore and he immediately fell over. When he falls on the slippery brick floors, he struggles to get up. If he would relax and let me help him up, everything would be fine. Unfortunately, Dash almost always chooses to panic rather than relax. We'll have to see how this goes. I like seeing Dash in better spirits, but I don't want him to injure himself.

I usually have no trouble sleeping, but last night I was wide awake. I had to take Dash outside to pee around 2 AM and I had to wait so long for him to do his business that I couldn't get back to sleep again when we finally came back inside. It would be terrible to have insomnia all the time. I'm usually so tired when I go to bed that I'm asleep almost instantly.

Should I go to the gym tomorrow? Probably. Will I go to the gym tomorrow? Probably not. This week has been tiring. At the moment, a long nap seems a lot more appealing than exercise.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3134

I think I'm getting used to the heat. The temperature was only 95 degrees today and it actually seemed cool. Janet didn't have to work this morning, so she got me up early and we were able to give Dash a nice morning walk before the sun ruined everything. Walking before sunrise really makes a big difference.

I'm still wondering how I'm going to maintain this routine while Janet is gone. It takes two of us to get his boots and leg brace on in the morning. One person holds Dash still and lifts his legs one at a time while the other person puts on the socks and protective boots. I've been able to get Dash dressed alone before, but it continues to get harder as he gradually becomes weaker. We'll do the best we can. I know Dash loves his walks, so maybe he'll be cooperative.

I finally went up on the roof and inspected the repairs this morning. Generally, the workmanship looked pretty good, but there were a few glaring errors. There are several telephones lines on the roof. A series of wood blocks elevates these lines, keeping them about five inches above the roof's surface. The roofers removed the blocks and poured the elastomer material directly over the lines. Now, they have become embedded in the roof. There is no way I can remove these wires without ripping a hole in the silicon coating. There is also a mysterious air bubble in one section of the new coating. Where did that come from? I hesitate to complain about these things. All in all, the roofers did a pretty good job and I know they don't want to hear from me again.

The large production printer ran out of ink today while I was trying to clear the clogged lines. Against my better judgement, I called my supplier and ordered some more of the expensive ink. It's doubtful that I'll ever be making large Giclée prints again. I hate to give up on the aging printer though. Unlike some of my obsolete equipment, this thing still works as long as I keep it clean.

The light in the back yard stayed on all night and automatically shut off at sunrise. Weird. There is no rhyme or reason to this thing. Some days it works and other days it doesn't. I like things orderly and predictable, so this stupid light is driving me nuts. If I was a superstitious person, I'd have to conclude that the light was haunted. We'll see what it does tonight. I hate to keep bugging the electrician if the thing is actually working.

I think I've got Dash's complex diet and pill routines memorized. If not, Janet has written everything out for me. She, more than anyone, knows how forgetful I am. All Dash's daily pills are neatly packaged in sandwich bags, labeled with the appropriate day of the week. There is a bag for morning meds and a different bag for evening mets. The refrigerator is filled with tasty things to make improvised pill pockets out of. If Dash isn't eating chicken, there is steak. I think we'll be OK.

I wish I wasn't such a nervous person, but I've spent the past three years caring for sick dogs. There are so many things that can go wrong.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3133

It's going to be a long Summer. I tried to get up early this morning, but Dash and I didn't make it out the door until 7 AM. This was about a half hour later than yesterday, giving the sun just enough time to creep above the horizon before we returned home. It's amazing how quickly things start heating up once the sun is up. I feel like I'm in some dystopian science fiction movie where the mole people only come out at night to avoid  a malevolent sun that is starting to go supernova.

I think the new coating on the roof has had plenty of time to dry. Maybe it's time for a little rain. Unfortunately, there is no rain in the forecast. I think we'll have triple digit temperatures for the rest of the week. Dash did OK on his walk, although he did get a little hot. I'm glad we didn't wait until 7:30 to get started.

The battery store was open this morning, so I got the uninterruptible power supply for my computer repaired. Damn, this thing is heavy. I've got another uninterruptible power supply that needs new batteries as well, but I'll save that for another day. While the technician was replacing the batteries, he told me that the store no longer replaced laptop and iPhone batteries. This was disappointing news. This place only used to charge half as much as the Apple Store. I asked the guy why they decided to quit offering this service. He said Apple products were difficult to work on and they weren't making enough money.

Since the battery store wouldn't replace the battery in Janet's laptop, I had to take it to a more expensive computer repair shop. They said the computer was old and they would have to special order a replacement battery. I kind of expected this, but I didn't expect them to make me come down to the store and give them a deposit. I still don't know why they wouldn't take a credit number over the phone. While I was at the store, I noticed some old Apple towers on display like I used to use. "Do people still buy these," I asked? The store manager laughed. "No, she said. A customer brought these in for recycling and I thought they would make an interesting history lesson." Oh, well. So much for the computers in the storage warehouse. I told the manager that if she wanted a history lesson, I could bring her enough old Macs to start a museum.

I had a conversation with the electrician this afternoon about the light in my backyard. He can't figure out what is going on either. There is no logical reason why the light would come on normally at dusk every evening and then arbitrarily shut off again around midnight. I asked the electrician whether he could just hard wire the light so I could turn it on and off with a switch in the house. He said yes and then added that I probably wouldn't like the expense. Instead of running a wire to the house, he recommended a WiFi switch on the pole, so I could turn on the light with my phone. Jeez. Whenever I'm looking for a simple solution, people inevitably recommend something complicated instead.

I think I know why I'm gaining weight. When there's nothing to do, I tend to find myself in the kitchen eating crackers. I'll check the stock market on TV and then grab a few crackers. I seem to do this on an hourly basis. To avoid boredom and reduce the risk of getting fat, I took a nap with Dash this afternoon. I think this confused my Fitbit. It doesn't seem to be used to people who sleep during the day.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3132

It was 111 degrees at our house today. Yikes. That's only two degrees away from the all time record for Dallas. Any way you look at it, the weather is brutally hot. Lately, our entire day revolves around surviving the heat. There were still a few stars in the sky when we got up this morning. There wasn't much of a breeze, but the temperature was only 85 degrees. Dash seemed to appreciate our attempts to protect him from the heat. He was enthusiastic about his early walk this morning and for the first time in over a month wanted to explore the shoreline. This was actually very encouraging. Dash has so many medical problems that it's nice to see that he can still enjoy some of the things he loved to do when he was younger.

I'm not sure the backyard plants are going to make it, but we're trying our best to keep them alive. The water from the sprinklers probably benefits the squirrels and birds as much as it helps the yard. There were dozens of squirrels enjoying the water while we were eating breakfast. You'd think with a large lake nearby, these critters would migrate to the shoreline, but they seem to prefer their favorite trees.

I went to the gym right after breakfast. Why not. The gym has a better air conditioning system than we do and the place is nice and cool. Only the regulars were exercising this morning. The park wasn't very crowded either. The longer the heat continues, the less you want to do. After a while, the only thing that seems appealing is eating a big bowl of ice cream.

Janet's laptop had a weird problem today. The trackpad popped out and the case wouldn't close. I've had lots of Macs, but had never heard of this happening before. I did a little research and discovered that this was actually a very common problem. When Macintosh laptop batteries get old they have a tendency to swell, and this can cause the trackpad, which sits directly above the battery, to pop out. Luckily, the fix is pretty easy. The computer just needs a new battery.

One day next week is going to be battery day. I promised Janet I'd get the laptop fixed and I still need to replace the backup batteries in my uninterruptible power supply as well. Since batteries were on my mind, I recharged my own laptop and replaced the batteries in the wireless mics for the video camera as well. I haven't used the microphones for a while, but you never know.

Since Janet is leaving to visit her family soon, she's been trying to teach me the routine she uses for giving Dash his daily meds. It's a complex system since Dash hates taking pills and we never know what he will eat from day to day. On good days we can still hide the pills in a meatball of Hills ID dog food. When that doesn't work, we have to resort to more exotic treats. Sometimes peanut butter works. Other times we've tried to hide the pills in angel food cake. When nothing else works, we always keep some fresh steak in the refrigerator. When I master Dash's meds, I've still got to figure out how to get his protective boots on by myself.

The security light went out again last night. Jeez. This thing was fixed for the second time just last week. The light comes on normally at dusk and then shuts itself off around 1 AM. The circuit breaker is not tripped and the light comes on normally again the next evening. I have no idea what is going on. The electrician doesn't have a clue either. The only thing I can think of is that the special LED bulb is not compatible with the photocell. Who knows. Maybe the light just won't work during a heat wave.

Since it's not getting any cooler tomorrow, I'm going to have to try getting Dash to take a walk while Janet is getting ready for work. Usually he won't walk until after she leaves the house, but it will be too hot by then. Dash is a stubborn dog, but maybe he'll listen to reason. Leaving early is for his own good. We'll see.

Pongo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3121

I didn't see the roofer today, but I did get a visit from the electrician. I'd almost forgotten that I'd called the electrician. When I originally called weeks ago, the photocell that controlled the security light in the back yard wasn't working correctly. The light would come on at dusk, but it would shut off about three hours later. To get the light to turn on again, I would have to go to the breaker box and turn the circuit breaker for the light off and on manually. It was irritating to go out at midnight and do this, but it certainly wasn't an emergency. Somehow during the ensuing weeks, the light seems to have fixed itself. It's been working perfectly for over a week now. The electrician replaced the photocell with a new one anyway. I thanked the guys, but was kind of embarrassed to have them replace something that seemed to be working fine. Hopefully, there won't be any problems with this new photocell. These guys could get tired of me real quickly.

Dash did very well at the vet. I was proud of him. He didn't struggle or snap at anyone while his nails were being trimmed. He didn't poop in the lobby either. Amazingly, he even rode quietly in the car. I think he was just tired. We had a rough night. He woke up in the middle of the night and seemed to forget where he was. He just stood frozen in place in the living room with a vacant look on his face for the longest time. He wouldn't go outside and he wouldn't come back to bed. This didn't seem like a vestibular seizure. It was something else. I'm starting to worry about dementia now. This isn't the first time Dash has seemed totally confused. The vet recommended some things that might help with dementia at his exam today and checked his heart. There is no quick fix for anything anymore.

This morning when we got Dash suited up for his morning walk, he seemed frozen in place again. Usually, he heads straight for the back door as soon as Janet leaves for work, but this morning he refused to move. He had the same confused look that he had last night. Eventually, I took his harness and leg brace off and he immediately went to sleep. Later in the day, he woke up and seemed somewhat normal again. We took a short walk, but it was too hot to go very far.

Dash seems fine now. He had a good appetite at dinner. We took a normal evening walk and he's barking at Janet for treats now. There are so many surprises these days. Almost every day something happens that I don't expect. I try my best to keep Dash calm, keep him eating regularly, and make sure he moves around enough so his muscles don't atrophy. There is very little we can do about the vestibular disease or the blood clot in his heart.

I was planning to take my car in for service tomorrow, but the dealer called this evening and said they weren't going to have any loaner cars tomorrow. That seemed weird, since everything was fine when I called to confirm the appointment this morning. They asked if I wanted to go ahead with the service and use their shuttle instead. No thank you. These guys are so slow, that I'd probably be without a car for a week. Maybe I'll just wait until August to schedule the service again. Then I could get my state inspection at the same time.

I cleared the water off the roof again. I knew this was a waste of time, but I wanted to be ready just in case the roofers decided to come over anyway. They didn't. I'm aiming for next week now. The weather app on my phone shows a lot of sunny days next week. Every time it rains, the roof problems seem to get worse. We've really got to get this fixed.

I'm not sure what we're going to do tomorrow. I'm getting used to slow, uneventful days. As long as Dash is acting normally and eating his meals, I'm fine.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3109

The "Service Required" light has come on in my car again. There's nothing wrong with the car. It runs fine. The light is programmed to come on whenever the dealer wants you to come in for required maintenance. They know that if you see the warning light every morning, you are eventually going to make an appointment for the expensive service. The trick works every time. Even if the car is working perfectly, I eventually begin to worry that something "might" go wrong. The service light didn't bother me much when the car was under warranty. Now that the service costs an arm and a leg, I'd rather just keep driving until I hear a funny noise. I'll go ahead and make an appointment though. You win, expensive dealership. I'm superstitious.

I talked to the owner of a vintage guitar store today. A friend recommended this place, and sure enough these guys knew their stuff. Sadly, my guitars aren't particularly special. They are old though. The store was interested enough to want to take a look at them. I made an appointment to get an appraisal and hopefully I can move some of these things from the storage warehouse to a consignment agreement. I've decided that it makes sense to consign as much stuff as possible. Climate control isn't very good in the storage warehouse and for the most part, the stores provide much better insurance. You've got to do your homework though. There are good dealers and shady dealers for almost everything.

I couldn't decide where to go for breakfast this morning, so I went nowhere. While I was getting groceries for the weekend, I picked up a pathetic looking breakfast taco to eat. By the time I got home, I wasn't even hungry for that. It's a shame that I've lost my interest in going out for breakfast on Fridays. I can think of an excuse to avoid every restaurant within a ten mile radius these days. Maybe I've just become too picky, but I think something has fundamentally changed. I don't have much of an appetite anymore.

The security light in the back yard has started to work again. I don't know what is going on. Some days it works perfectly and other days it turns itself on and off randomly. The electrician hasn't come out to replace the photocell yet, so I've probably got a few more days to ponder this mystery. I still think a big spider is causing the problems. Since bugs are attracted to light and spiders are attracted to bugs, it makes sense that a lot of spiders are living near the light. The only problem with this theory is that if a big spider were sitting on the photocell, the light should come on. It goes off instead. I don't know what would cause the lamp to randomly go dark in the middle of the night, especially if it still returns to normal the next evening.

Janet and I are going to go photograph new rescue dogs this weekend. That still seems like a useful thing to do. So many things I do these days have no purpose whatsoever.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3105

The walls are looking pretty bare. The art shippers arrived today, packed up the pictures, and took them away. I hope I don't regret this decision. I've had these pictures on the wall for a long time and some of them have become old friends. I think it's time though. If Janet and I ever want to move somewhere else in the future, we certainly don't want to haul a bunch of stuff we don't need to a new location. Downsizing isn't easy, but I think it's necessary. I've seen many people wait too long and leave a horrible mess for relatives to clean up later.

I've always been a collector and somewhat of a packrat. I never thought I'd reach a point in my life where I could willingly part with stuff. Surprisingly, it's not that hard. The older you get, the less meaning a lot of your possessions have. A lot of stuff, especially clothing and old computers, I should have gotten rid of years ago. Right now, living minimally again seems like a worthy goal. I'm sure Janet will be encouraging me to continue this quest. She's been wanting me to get rid of stuff for as long as I can remember.

I took a sample of Dash's poop to the vet today so they could test for occult blood. Hopefully, the lab will have the results tomorrow. Something isn't right and I hope it isn't internal bleeding. Bleeding isn't uncommon when you are taking blood thinners. It could be something else though. There are dozens of reasons that dogs could have occult blood in their stool. I wish there was a simple explanation for the dark stools. I'd much rather learn that we were feeding Dash the wrong food than learn that he has a tumor.

I didn't get a lot accomplished today because I spent most of the day waiting for the shippers to arrive. The whole process took longer than I thought because the two guys that came to the house had to create a special package for each picture. I was impressed. The guys definitely knew what they were doing. I looked up the shipping company on the Internet and these are the same guys that move presidents out of the White House on inauguration day. A little different than sending something by UPS. When the truck left, the guys said they were headed to Fort Worth to pick up another shipment. "Lots of luck," I said. I don't think they realized how bad Dallas traffic gets during rush hour.

The security light in the back yard is working again. I didn't even have to call the electrician. After about 48 hours, the light seemed to fix itself. I'm not sure what happened, but I suspect that a rat or a squirrel fell asleep on top of the photocell. It could have been a giant spider too. We've got some pretty big spiders. Since the light and the sensor are on top of a tall pole, I never really know what is going on at the top. Hopefully, this thing will keep working for the rest of the Summer. Electricians are expensive.

I'm going to have to go to the storage warehouse and look for something to hang on the bare walls. There's plenty to choose from. I still have quite a few of my own photos that never sold at my last gallery show. I think that show was twelve years ago.

Shiner is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day