Day 4064

We spent some extra time with Clyde at the kennel today. He's still very shy but he is making progress. Since he has already bonded with one of the kennel attendants, I think he's going to be OK. Charlie and Cooper have no problem with shyness. They both love to play and are very motivated by food. Cooper likes to chase a ball and Charlie prefers his octopus toy. Both dogs got a good workout today and were ready to go back to their kennel runs for a long nap by the time we left.

Even though Dawn prefers Janet, there are certain things she expects me to do. I always feed her dinner and I usually hold the leash when we take our walks. Today I was having trouble with my foot and wanted Janet to hold the leash while we went down a steep hill. Dawn wasn't having any part of this. She let us know that she wanted things the way they usually are. As soon as Janet returned the leash to me, Dawn immediately resumed walking normally. 

I don't know what is wrong with my foot. It feels almost as bad as it used to be before I started wearing the special supportive running shoes. I still walked another five miles after Janet and Dawn returned to the house, but the last mile was a struggle. I may have to put a temporary hold on these long walks while I give my foot a chance to rest for a while. Things could be a lot worse, but I hate to give up walking, even temporarily. This is the one thing that gives some structure to my day.

My editor at Sky & Telescope told me that he is looking for more of a nuts and bolts type of article than the one I proposed. Interesting. I was initially going to write a basic "how to" article about astrophotography back in the beginning. Then I started reading other articles about the subject and realized pretty quickly that this territory was pretty well covered. The article I was thinking about writing had already been written quite a few times. I thought my chances might improve if I wrote something original and different. Apparently not. I guess I could still write a "how to" article, but I don't think it would come out well. I would feel compelled to celebrate the weird and quirky ways I tend to do things rather than clearly and concisely articulating how everybody else could accomplish the same thing. Somehow it's always all about me. With the exception of the many advertising messages I was paid for, virtually everything I have ever written has been some sort of personal narrative.

Apparently bad weather is headed our way. It is supposed to get very, very cold later this week. We are definitely going to get some rain and there might even be snow. Yikes. All I can think of is that I hope the furnace  keeps working normally and the roof doesn't start leaking again. Household problems always seem to happen at the worst possible time. I don't know how Northerners can stand this type of weather. Every time I see someone celebrating snow, I wonder what is wrong with them. Snow and freezing weather are just a big nuisance.

Maybe I just like to complain. Later this Summer I'm sure I'll be complaining about how hot it is and how much I hate all the Texas bugs. If you ever find me writing about the pure joy of doing something, bookmark it. I'm sure this happens occasionally, but it is a very rare occurrence. In my world, complaining is perfectly OK as long as you keep slogging forward through the mud. In the words of Larry the Cable Guy, Git-R-Done.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1096 - Blogiversary

Today I begin my fourth full year as a blogger. Maybe if I had all my ducks in row when I started this venture, I would have waited a few weeks and commenced my blogging adventure on January 1. It sure would have made keeping track of things a bit easier. One day is as good as the next, I guess. I suppose the middle of December just seemed like a good time to begin a blog. I wish I could tell you that I had discovered something profound about either myself or the world in general during the past three years. I haven't. I'm no closer to having all the answers today than I was then.

Regular readers may have discovered a few things about me, however. I'm persistent and tenacious. How else could you explain 1096 consecutive posts without missing a single day? I'm also completely self-absorbed. After all this time, I still have no desire to blog about politics, or music, or animal rescue, or even watches. I'm perfectly content to just continue telling you what I did today. I think writing on such a regular basis has actually helped me a bit with my work assignments. I don't worry so much about deadlines anymore. It's just words. Put a blank page in front of me and give me a topic. I'll fill that page fairly quickly.

I think I've become more candid than I was when I started blogging. You guys probably know me as well as anybody by now. Candor doesn't always equal adventure though. There are very few wild rides and even fewer epiphanies here. Basically, nothing happens. I'm amazed that so many of you have continued reading. I certainly hope you stick around. If I can keep this thing going for three years, I can probably keep it going for ten. I appreciate that the blog is very gradually growing more popular, but I don't expect anything dramatic to happen for quite a while. Maybe when Day 5000 rolls around, morbid curiosity will kick in and people will start speculating about how long I can continue. They might even be taking bets in Vegas about what day is going to be the very last post.

If today wasn't such a momentous anniversary, I might have told you about last night's sudden rainstorm and all the water that accumulated on the roof. I might have told you about taking another batch of aging computers to the storage warehouse, so I could find room to plug in Janet's printer and keep it running until the next Dalmatian Rescue event. I might have told you about walking the dogs and enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Hmm. I've already told you about those things though. Many, many times. Hey, if you guys can stand all the excitement, I'll see you again tomorrow.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 966

I read an article in the current issue of Advertising Age saying that digital media creatives got paid less than half what their traditional creative brethren were used to making. Having played on both sides of this fence, I can attest to the fact that this article speaks the truth. This doesn't bode well for future graphic designers, writers, and photographers. Occasionally, I still wonder where the glamorous world of Mad Men went, but I think I know.

Back when I was a kid, I was usually the odd duck in school. Being totally self absorbed wasn't just unusual, it was strongly frowned upon. This has all changed. After several generations of teachers telling their pupils that they all were special and that everyone was creative, people began to believe this was true. "It's all about me" went from being a lonely cry of defiance to becoming the mantra of an entire generation. Suddenly anyone who had ever designed their own online Christmas card began to think of themselves as graphic designers and people like me weren't nearly as unique as they used to be.

It's all supply and demand. When everybody wants to do something cool and fun, those jobs  aren't going to be worth as much. I remember years ago having a conversation in a bar with a group of photographer friends. Everyone was complaining about the intense competition and wondering how we were going to make any money. A more practical friend joined the conversation and said we all should go buy a big garbage truck and start hauling hazardous waste. "You'll be rich in less than a year," he said. "Because nobody wants to do jobs like that."  So true!

Occasionally, I still work on fun things, but like the Ad Age article said, the money isn't what it used to be. I wouldn't encourage a kid to get into advertising these days. I wouldn't even encourage them to invent video games or become a social media expert. I think the only salvation is to learn to do something that is really hard. Learn math. Discover the next Higgs boson. Do something that most of your friends aren't even capable of doing. I'm sure that many of you noticed that guy with the purple mohawk in the control room during the Curiosity landing. That guy was the mission flight director. I'm sure that NASA or JPL could have cared less if this guy wore a mohawk. They probably wouldn't have cared if he came to work naked, because he was really good at what he did.

So, what did I do today after all this lofty talk? Well, I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot. I took out the garbage. I wrote a few things that will be billed at today's pitifully low rates. That was about it.

Lou is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day