Day 3537

As we were driving between Midland and Odessa on Monday, it never crossed my mind that this long, flat stretch of highway would become the site of a mass shooting. What a difference a few days makes. Of course, when I was at Kennedy Space Center earlier this Summer I wasn't thinking about being in the path of a hurricane either. You never know what is going to happen these days. Maybe this is why I seldom listen to the local news. It is just too alarming.

I find enough uncertainty just dealing with the weather. It's a good thing I didn't bother to clear the water off the roof yesterday because we got some more heavy rain this morning. I waited for a break in the rain to do my Saturday grocery shopping and then the rain started again. So much for my forecasting skills. At least the pumps on the roof were working today. I think the water needs to reach a certain depth to prime them.

The good thing about today's rain was that it really cooled things down. When I took my walk after I finished shopping today it was only seventy five degrees. It was still very humid, but I'll take what I can get. Since it was much cooler today, I just kept walking after my first three miles. I wanted to see how far I could go before I got tired. After five miles I wasn't all that tired but I had other things to do. Five miles is plenty for one day.

I had to go to the bank today and ended up standing in line behind an older lady who clearly had no idea what was in her account. She seemed apprehensive and confused despite the teller's best attempts to help her. When she eventually walked away with an envelope full of cash, I hoped she was doing the right thing. Maybe she was just giving money to a granddaughter but maybe she was the victim of a scam. It happened to my Dad. I sincerely hope I never become senile. It's a sad thing when the mind begins to go.

I'm hoping that reading and writing will keep my mind functioning. That's my plan anyway. I bought some books on local history when we were out in West Texas and I started reading one today. It's a sure sign you are getting older when you become interested in history. I was never interested in history when I was younger which might explain why I am interested today. Reading about the past helps me fill in some gaps in my own history. I read a lot about the Apollo program during the Fiftieth Anniversary moon landing celebrations and was surprised at how much I'd forgotten or never knew in the first place. When we were visiting the The National Museum of the Pacific War I realized that I actually knew very few details about World War II. I certainly wasn't thinking about little towns in West Texas when I was younger but their story is fascinating. I guess I'll keep reading.

It's hard to believe that it's almost September. Where has this Summer gone? I'll go to the gym and try to get my 20,000 steps. If I can bring myself to go up on the roof I might get a few more. No wonder reading seems appealing at times. You just lie in bed and take the steps in your mind.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3376

It has become so obvious Dash is old and tired that people are stopping me on our walks to tell me stories about their old dogs. Every week I hear about dogs that have recently passed away or are having difficulty walking. Despite all the stories, we see very few other older dogs on our walks. When the weather is bad, Dash is often the only dog walking at all. I feel sorry for the old dogs who just get a towel under their belly occasionally to help them go out in the yard and pee. With a little help, a lot of these dogs could still lead a relatively normal life.

I don't think Dash even realizes that I am helping him walk. He can still move his legs. He just isn't strong enough to fully support his own weight. I can feel his legs moving through the leash. I provide just enough support to keep him from sinking, while letting his legs move naturally. It took three dogs to perfect the technique, but I think I've gotten pretty good at walking disabled dogs.

One thing I can't do is give Dash more energy or help him think clearly. He's starting to become senile and sometimes appears lost or confused on our walks. You wonder when senility becomes dementia and if dementia can turn into Alzheimer's? When Dash's mind goes blank, you've just got to be patient. Eventually he clicks into gear again and off we go. I think being outside helps. Dogs have such an amazing sense of smell that the abundant smells in the park reconnect him to the world. I think he could take his walks blindfolded because he's really just moving from one smell to the next. The smells are a trail of breadcrumbs that take him away and then bring him back home.

My accountant called today to let me know that he had some preliminary results on my taxes. I was really disappointed to learn that despite my paltry earnings this year, I still owed money to the IRS. I think old people get screwed. Your social security gets taxed as income. Required distributions from your IRA account are taxed as income. If you planned ahead and managed to save something, your dividends and interest are taxed as well. It's ironic that when my business was booming I paid less in taxes than I do now. When you have lots of clients, there are lots of business expenses you can deduct. It goes without saying that without clients or business activity, there are very few expenses  either.

It rained again today. I'm glad that Dash still got to take his walks. I'm not so glad about going up on the roof again. I'll wait until the forecast clears, but the key to keeping the leaks at bay is getting the standing water removed as soon as possible. The pumps help, but I've always got to go up on the roof and finish the job. I'm surprised that I still haven't gotten any bids to replace the roof.  Apparently I'm not a priority. The same thing happened the first time I put a new roof on the house. Since the house is small, roofers are always more interested in larger and more lucrative projects.

I should go to the gym tomorrow since I missed my workout last week. I'm not getting much exercise walking Dash. I guess my arms are getting stronger but the walks certainly don't provide much of a cardio workout. We move at a snail's pace these days. I doubt that my heart rate changes at all.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3168

Things got off to a slow start today. When we woke up there was poop everywhere. Dash woke me up around 2 AM when he needed to go out and pee. Jeez. Why didn't he wake me up again when he needed to do this? This morning, Dash was sleeping beside me on the bed. Nothing seemed wrong at all. This brown trail leading to the back door was particularly hard to clean up. When the liquid mess dried it seemed to turn to concrete. To make matters worse, some of the poop had gone down one of the furnace floor vents. Yuck. We didn't notice until we cleaned up everything on the bricks and still smelled poop.

Sadly, this is just the new normal. Dash can't help himself. I can tell he tries because he is always heading toward the back door when the explosion happens. Senility and incontinence are a bad combination. By the time Dash remembers he needs to poop, it is almost always too late.

The city finally mowed the meadow behind our house today. If they'd been one day earlier, we might have avoided yesterday's unfortunate encounter with the bees. Dash and I took a different route on our morning walk, but we'll return to our regular route tomorrow. There's no point in being superstitious. The bees are everywhere. Dash has actually been stung at several other locations in the park, so it's just luck when we manage to avoid the bees. I just hope we never encounter a snake.

By the time I'd finished cleaning the house, I almost didn't feel like having breakfast. The smell of poop does that to me. I persevered though, because without a decent breakfast I knew I'd just snack on crackers all day. I wish I still got excited about food. As other activities have gradually faded, a really good meal had always been one of my few remaining pleasures.

After breakfast, I picked up some more Phenobarbital for Dash at the vet. There aren't many reasons to leave the house anymore. Even though I did nothing of consequence, the day still seemed busy. In addition to cleaning the floors and furnace vents, I also had to wash the comforter on the bed. Unfortunately, Dash doesn't do a very good job of wiping his butt.

I called the auction house this afternoon to make sure they got the information they requested this weekend. Their e-mail said "please confirm by Monday, August 27" and I didn't want to do anything wrong. The two auctions in October are starting to make me nervous. Everyone seems excited and optimistic, but what if nobody bids?

I have about a week to decide whether I want to apply for the NASA trip. I looked up airfares and hotel rates in Pasadena today. Why are flights to Burbank so much more expensive than flights to LAX? The Burbank airport is much closer to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. At first glance, it looks like a three day trip will be fairly expensive. One good thing is that unlike launches, the date for a spacecraft landing is fixed. The InSight lander will reach Mars on November 26. At least I could save some money on a plan-ahead airfare. I'm getting ahead of myself though. There's no guarantee that NASA would even accept my application and even less of a guarantee that Dash will be healthy enough for me to leave for a few days.

At least the market was good today. If I'm going to have a future as a space launch groupie, this bull run is going to have to continue for a while.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3154

I spent some time talking with auction houses today. I've got to finish consigning things before I totally lose interest in this downsizing venture. I wish I'd methodically inventoried everything when I was younger. It would make life a little easier if I actually knew what I had. It's probably just as well that my younger self wasn't this obsessive. I'm obsessive enough as it is. Maybe I will regain my enthusiasm if the first batch of auctions go well. Right now, downsizing seems very tiring.

The weather hasn't gotten much better. The sound of raindrops on the roof woke me up again last night. The showers were sporadic today, but it's still pretty dark and dismal outside. I'm amazed that I've still been able to give Dash a walk every day. I don't know how I survived before I had weather radar on my phone. We go outside when it's dry and stay inside when it's wet. Usually it works out pretty well.

I had to pick up some meds for Dash at the vet this morning, but that was the extent of my travels. I really don't put many miles on the car anymore. According to my Fitbit, I walk about as much in any given week as I drive. I drive so little now that I wonder if I'd save on car insurance if I put one of those little tracking devices the insurance companies are pushing in my car. I hate the idea of being tracked by an insurance company, but anyone who uses less than a quarter of a tank of gas a week is bound to get a discount.

I wish someone could explain to me what is is going on in Dash's head. It's easy to say he's becoming senile, but I'd like to know exactly what is going on. I'm not sure there's much we could do at this point, but it's sad to see him so disoriented. He'll stand at the back door forever before making a decision to go outside and pee. Sometimes he'll aimlessly walk in circles while we're at the park, and occasionally he seems to get lost in the house. There are still plenty of times when Dash seems completely lucid, but the moments when he appears totally out of it can be pretty scary.

I have a meeting scheduled with my financial advisor tomorrow. I used to be very interested in the stock market and we would have some lively discussions. Not anymore. I've done the best I can to prepare for the future, but the future seems to be growing more uncertain every day. It would be a miracle if I have thirty years left. Sometimes I think it would be even more of a miracle if civilization has thirty years left. There are way too many potential disasters on the horizon.

The one good thing about aging is that the older you get, the less impending doom matters. Hey, I'm already a survivor. I could be wrong too. Maybe the glass is actually half full. I could be more optimistic, but it would be even better to be more like Dash. I doubt that he spends a lot of time thinking about the future. For a dog, the future is always tomorrow morning.

Emma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2678

Dot got her wheels today. We really didn't know what to expect. Some dogs are baffled by these contraptions and others start walking almost immediately. Dot was a natural. It only took her a few minutes to discover that the wheelchair provided some much needed stability and allowed her to walk without struggling to stay upright. For the first time in months, she seemed to relax.

The key to success with a doggie wheelchair is making sure you've got the height adjusted properly. You want all four of the dogs paws to touch the ground and encourage a natural stride. If the chair is too high, the dogs can't get any tactile feedback from the pavement and probably won't walk at all. If the chair is too low, it won't provide the necessary support, placing too much weight on the legs. If you get the chair adjusted just right, the injured dog will feel like it is walking normally, without the burden of supporting its own weight.

I was pleased with how quickly Dot seemed to adapt to walking with wheels. It probably helps that we've been helping her walk with the Help 'Em Up Harness for over a year now. She's used to having some sort of assistance. Dot knows she can't walk on her own anymore and seems to appreciate anything that will help her keep moving. The vet said that most dogs take a lot longer to adjust to walking with wheels. Dot seemed to get the hang of things in a matter on minutes. Maybe she's not as senile as we think she is.

Sadly, I think I'm the senile one in the family. I took my jacket off at the vet because it was hot in the exam room and then promptly forgot about it. I didn't even think about the jacket until about three in the afternoon when I looked in a mirror and realized that I'd put my shirt on inside out this morning. I'd been wearing it inside out all day and didn't even notice. Damn. Now, I've got to drive all the way downtown again to retrieve the jacket and it's not even jacket weather anymore.

I was pleasantly surprised today to get a letter from the State of Texas saying that I was eligible to renew my driver's license online. This was great news, because nothing is worse than standing in line at the DMV, except maybe being called for jury duty. I renewed my license immediately, just in case the state decided to change their mind later. I wish I could renew my passport online. I think you need a new photo every time you renew your passport, so I'll need to take care of this chore in person. Oddly, the driver's license folks don't seem to care how old their photo is. My photo is out of date already. Lord knows how different I'll look five years from now.

My morning smoothie tastes normal again. I still have no idea what caused things to go terribly wrong last week. The ingredients I use are always the same. One of life's many mysteries, I guess. Another mystery is why Dot has trouble swallowing her pills in the morning, but does just fine in the evening. I'm determined to solved the mystery of the bug bite on my leg that refuses to heal, so I finally made a doctor's appointment. The vet suggested trying Velveeta cheese to get Dot to take her pills. I wonder what the doctor will suggest for me. I bet it's a pill.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2515

Today was so disorganized that it was almost time for lunch by the time I finally finished breakfast. I wasn't able to get Dot outside in time this morning, so we started the day with lots of rugs to wash. I can't decide whether cleaning up pee or poop is worse. When Dot looses bladder control on the way out the door, the mess certainly covers a wider swath of territory. Dash decided to take a fairly long walk this morning, but that only put me further behind. Dot was sleeping peacefully when I started breakfast, but Dash decided that he wasn't getting enough bananas and began barking loudly enough to wake her up. Since Dot is almost deaf, it takes a pretty loud bark to get her riled up. Basically, this morning was a three ring circus.

My watch keeps telling me to stop and take a deep breath. This is so irritating that I almost feel like learning how to use Siri, just so I can tell the watch to shut up. I'm tired of the continual barrage of software upgrades from Apple. Most are designed for newer hardware and tend to make older equipment like mine run worse. This fact doesn't keep Apple from annoying me with upgrade notices though. I'm still running Mountain Lion on my office computers. I think this was the last good system they made. I wish I'd stopped upgrading my phone. It hasn't been stable and reliable since IOS 7.

When I did finally get around to turning on my computer today, I was greeted with a complicated website update request. I dread updating this particular website, because I didn't design it and still can't really figure out how it works. The client should have kept the original designer, because every time I look at this site, it gives me a headache. I think I made most of the changes correctly, but one or two things still have be puzzled.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow. I always worry about the first rain after a roof repair. Will the repair survive?  Will it perform well?  You never know. I really hope that everything holds up as promised, because Lord knows when I'll be able to get these roofers to come out again.

I can't figure out whether Dot is feeling better or worse. She's more active than she was a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure what this means. She wants to move around more often, but she isn't any stronger. Sometimes when I take her outside, she just stares off into space and doesn't seem to know where she is. There are other times when her brain appears to be working just fine. It's pretty obvious that she's beginning to show some signs of senility. I try to be kind and patient with Dot and hope that someone will return the favor when I become senile. Losing your mind is a terrible thing.

I wonder why my appetite keeps decreasing?  I'm just not as hungry as I used to be. It's easy to eat less for dinner, but I'm having a hard time with my breakfast smoothie. After months of experimenting, I finally got the taste just right. Now I have to figure out how to adjust the ingredients without changing the taste. It's harder than it seems. If I stop using a whole banana, what do I do with the leftover part? The easy answer would be to just eat it, but that would defeat the whole purpose. I'm trying to eat less.

Leftover bananas and dog poop are what I worry about these days. You guys can worry about who's going to start World War III. 

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2102

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to stay connected. 95% of all the phone calls I receive are telemarketers. Nomorobo takes care of a lot of the nuisance calls, but I continue to be amazed at how persistent some people are. Some telemarketers still continue to call several times a day. Do these people really think I'm an idiot? My e-mail is just as bad. There are industrial strength spam filters on both the server and my local e-mail client and still a lot of the spam manages to get through. I never even open these messages, but some of the headers are so preposterous that it makes you wonder what the spammers were thinking. Are there really that many people out there who are dumb as rocks and would fall for these schemes? Maybe there are. I don't think these guys would be so persistent if people weren't falling onto their traps.

I've noticed that the daily bombardment of e-mail spam and telemarketing messages has steadily increased as I grow older. I'm sure they're thinking that if they keep trying, eventually I'll become senile and pick up the phone. It happened to my Dad. He was a brilliant scientist, but when senility began to cloud his brain, he fell for one of those Nigerian scams where someone will tell you that they won the Canadian lottery, but can't claim the prize because they can't afford to pay the tax. They offer to share the lottery winnings with their unsuspecting victim, if he or she will help them pay the tax. I don't know how my Dad fell for such a preposterous scheme, but he was living alone and couldn't resist picking up the phone. He lost everything he made selling his house a few years earlier. If the FBI hadn't stepped in and warned his bank to block large withdrawals, he would have lost even more.

It's sad that the world has come to this. Instead of being open and inclusive, you are forced to put up barriers. I find it hard to trust anyone in today's world. When I'm driving I feel like everyone else on the road is driving without a license or insurance. In Dallas I have good reason to feel this way. I wasn't happy when the Ebola outbreak hit our city a few years ago, because it seemed like someone let down their guard. When I watch the current European refugee crisis on TV, I am convinced that there are ISIS members cleverly mixed in with the hordes of people who are just trying to escape some very horrible conditions. Sometimes I'm envious of friends who go out to Burning Man for a week and manage to convince themselves that the world is full of rainbows and unicorns. I'm pretty observant and I just don't see much to be encouraged about.

Dot certainly didn't provide a lot of encouragement today. She seemed tired. We had to slow down the treadmill a bit during her physical therapy session because she just didn't have the energy. She was only able to go fifteen minutes this week. It's hard to keep the balance of exercise and rest just right. Maybe it was just the weather. It was warmer today and Dot had gotten used to the cooler weather we were having earlier in the week. We'll rest tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll rest tonight as well.

We'll see how tomorrow goes. Dash has a cancer re-check in the morning and I'm not anticipating any problems. He certainly seems healthy now. I've already taken this week's trash out to the curb and am hoping that the truck empties my entire can this time. Friday's are usually good. No matter what happens, I know I can depend on a good breakfast.
 

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day