Day 1669

Today was one small problem after another. My phone battery inexplicably went dead when it was supposedly fully charged. Unfortunately, this didn't prevent me from having irritating phone calls. I was on the phone with technical support at GoDaddy for over an hour, trying to resolve a client's website problem. The tech support guy kept insisting that the problem was on my end and that everything was working perfectly for him. I tried half a dozen "fixes" that the GoDaddy guy suggested, all to no avail. After spending an inordinate amount of time rebooting my computer and trying different browsers, the guys finally says, "Oh wait a minute. I just noticed that we have a job ticket open for a problem just like the one you are describing." Yup. The problem was with the GoDaddy servers after all.

Later in the day, a client called me and told me he was being audited. He said he wanted to give me a heads up, because the auditor told him that his suppliers could end up being audited as well. Great! That's just what I need. I was audited once. It wasn't fun. After three days of going over my life with a fine toothed comb, the auditors found that I'd done everything correctly. My tax returns were perfect and I owed the IRS absolutely nothing. The experience certainly wasn't free though. My accountant sent me a big bill for handling the audit.

When I went out to water the lawn this morning, I noticed that someone had unhooked my sprinkler from the garden hose and thrown it across the yard. Was this petty vandalism, or just code enforcement trying to send me a warning? I'll probably never know the answer. There are water restrictions in place this Summer, but I don't think they prevent you from watering before 10 AM. I'll have to get on the web and check the regulations. If it was code enforcement who unhooked my sprinkler, they'll be back.

The restaurant was really crowded when I went out for breakfast. Friday's always seem to be crowded these days. I think this just proves that we have already made the transition to a four day work week. It's amazing how much more congested everything is on a Friday. The roads are crowded. The stores are crowded. And lots of people are still eating breakfast at 10 AM when they should have been at work. I'm not sure what is going on, but Dallas certainly wasn't working very hard today.

Dash has discovered June Bugs. Luckily, Dot has never been interested in eating bugs, but Spot and Petey were obsessed with them. This is the time of year when June Bugs and Cicadas are everywhere.You can't go outside without hearing the characteristic "song" of these tasty dog treats. Now, when I let Dash out in the evening to pee, all he wants to do is hunt for Cicadas. He hasn't caught many so far, but he has definitely developed a taste for the bugs.

I hope this weekend is quiet and uneventful, with cooler temperatures than we had today. I'm probably just dreaming. Especially about the cooler temperatures.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 468

Well, my oscillating sprinkler lasted exactly one day after I started watering the new grass. I can't even begin to count all the sprinklers I've bought over the years. It doesn't matter what brand they are. All of them seem to last one or two years and then begin to disintegrate. I don't have much better luck with cordless electric drills, leaf blowers, or lawn mowers. Truthfully, the only tools I can really depend on are some sturdy looking fifty year old hand tools given to me by my Dad. None of these hefty steel tools uses batteries and all of them are stamped Made in the USA. It's kind of sad. The once proud companies in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio that made the tools don't even exist anymore, but the tools themselves are still giving good service.

I needed to ask one of my clients a question today. The e-mail reply came from Abu Dhabi. He said he wasn't sure about my question, but he'd ask his boss as soon as he got back from China. Jeez. How did I ever get these jet setting clients? Other than the one trip I made to pick Janet up at the airport, I haven't ventured more than five miles away from my house in over two months.

I finally seem to have acquired a respectable number of Twitter followers. What do you do with Twitter followers anyway? They all seem to have gone to Barnes & Noble and bought a book of aphorisms so they can Tweet quotes day and night. I'm not much better though. All I do on Twitter these days is flog old stories that I've written on my website. Maybe it would be better if I just went back to telling people what I ate for lunch.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day