Day 919

Like many of you, I missed the Summer Solstice this year. It was yesterday. How did that happen? I thought the longest day of the year was always on June 21. Today still seemed pretty long and very hot anyway. I'm afraid that Summer has arrived in earnest.

During breakfast, I watched the "Girl in the Fireplace" episode of Dr. Who for probably the fourth time. This is one of my favorite episodes, surpassed only by "Vincent and the Doctor." What's the connecting link? Maybe it's just that both of these episodes take place in France. Paris is my favorite city. For many years a Citroën was my automobile of choice. I drove a Citroën in Seattle, and against all logic, I drove a Citroën when I first moved to Dallas. In a world of Ford F-150 pickups, this car definitely didn't blend in.

I don't know what it is about France. I'm drawn to Philippe Stark furniture, even though it is wildly impractical. I even have a French Porcher toilet. I wouldn't recommend French plumbing products however. When they start to leak, it is almost impossible to find replacement parts. It's pretty hard to find parts for Citroën automobiles in Texas as well. That's why I switched to Land Rovers.

I found myself thinking about guitars again today. I've got a birthday gift card that's burning a hole in my pocket. Maybe I can find myself a nice used Les Paul. A real Les Paul is probably too expensive. I'd likely have to settle for the less expensive Epiphone version. I'm getting way ahead of myself though. I need to go to a guitar store, sit down with a guitar, and see if I can still play. My carpel tunnel is getting pretty bad in my left hand. If it hurts to squeeze a tennis ball, I have a feeling that playing a guitar might not feel so good either. We'll see.

Barley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 553

Although today was the longest day of the year, it actually went by pretty quickly. I spent most of the day writing press releases and trying to figure out how to create a forum that would do all the things one of my clients requested. For the life of me, I don't know why any company would want a forum on their website. It seems like an open invitation for disgruntled employees to say nasty things and for competitors to try to steal your business. People still like forums though. I actually participate in a few forums myself, but I certainly wouldn't really want to moderate one. I guess the interactivity is a plus for certain kinds of business, but life was a lot easier back in the days when you could get away with putting a few fake testimonials up on your site and be done with customer opinions.

It's not hard to tell that Summer is here to stay. When I went up on the roof this morning to sweep away the water from last night's heavy rains, I could see little puddles of water literally evaporating right in front of my eyes. The heat does make the job of sweeping away rain water a bit easier, but I have to be careful not to step in puddles of melted tar. There are also lots of ants up on the roof in the Summer. As I was hooking up the sump pump this morning, a ton of little ants came crawling out of the hose.

I have a hearing scheduled later this week with the Appraisal Review Board. I am appealing the property tax valuation of my rental property. I'm thinking that my appeal will probably be granted this year, especially since all my neighbors got their own property taxes lowered last year. By the time I thought about making an appeal last year, the deadline had already passed. The same thing happened the year before. This year, I am determined to get at least the same rate as my next door neighbors already have. It's funny. When property values are going up, the city never hesitates to raise your property taxes immediately. When real estate values are going down, however, they do absolutely nothing. Real estate values have been going down in Dallas for three years in a row and the city has never lowered my property tax.

I got an e-mail saying that Dash's painting was finished and could be shipped to us as soon as the oil paint dries. I can't wait to see it.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day