Day 1014

People must have spent the weekend thinking of things they wanted me to do. Usually Mondays are completely dead, but today there were a ton of little projects that needed to be dealt with. There were new things that needed to be written. Old things that needed to be revised. And of course, there were confusing things that made no sense at all. As I methodically worked my way through this lengthy to-do list, I kept wondering when the fun was going to start. It never did.

I learned a bit about steam turbines today as well. Steam turbines are pretty dull. Even though these complicated and very expensive pieces of machinery are essential for everything from making electricity to making paper, they are only slightly more exciting than a farmer's windmill. Actually, a farmer's windmill is a type of turbine.

Our backyard armadillo has been joined by a backyard raccoon. I saw the raccoon on the porch this morning when I woke up early and went out to the kitchen for a glass of water. I don't know if the raccoon has joined forces with the armadillo to tear up the yard, but it is stealing things off the porch. Raccoons will steal virtually anything. They are also carriers of rabies and will attack dogs and cats. I've got to get rid of this raccoon.

I missed last Saturday's episode of Dr. Who, so I thought I'd record it on the U-verse DVR so I could watch it later. I've never used the DVR, but it couldn't be that hard, could it? I set the DVR to record the show when it was replayed at 2AM this morning. I must have done something wrong though, because when I got ready to watch the episode this morning, I discovered that nothing had been recorded at all. Oh, well. My Instagram photos aren't being recorded to the Camera Roll on my new phone either. That's the trouble with technology. You've got to learn how to use it.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1013

I can't believe I spent such a beautiful Fall day doing a laundry list of disagreeable tasks. They had to be done though, and today was as good a day as any. I finally took off all the switch plates and outlet covers and applied the bait that is supposed to rid our house of bugs. It's been dry for over a week, so I also went up on the roof to look for tiny cracks that might let water in and patch them with Henry 209. I mowed the grass. I patiently talked with tech support until I finally got the voicemail working on my new phone. Of course, it wouldn't have been a laundry list without doing a couple of loads of laundry as well.

Before I started my chore marathon, we took the dogs to the dog park. Dot and Dash both had brand new harnesses that we were trying out for the first time. We were hoping that this new style would work better with Dash. I call Dash the Harness Houdini because he manages to effortlessly slip out of every harness we have ever put on him. This new model didn't fare better than any of the rest. Somehow, he managed to slip out of his harness sitting in the back seat of the car before we even arrived at the dog park. Oh, well. At least we tried.

My input material for the new steam turbine project arrived today. It took about 20 minutes just to download it all. Now I've got to digest over 600 MB of facts about the turbines in the next several days. I know nothing about these things now, but I have a feeling that by the end of the week, I'll be a walking encyclopedia.

It's hard to believe that it's almost the end of September already. This month just zipped by. Actually, this entire year has just zipped by. Next week is the Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament. This is the eleventh year we've done the tournament! After that, it will be time to make the dog's new costumes for the annual dog training class Halloween Party. There's an election in November, and then it will be time to hunt for the Christmas decorations in the storage warehouse again. At some point between now and then, the skies will get very pretty on our evening walks and I'll start taking more sunset pictures. It doesn't sound all that exciting when I describe things this way, but I'm sure I'll have something new to tell you each and every day.

Sage is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1009

Don't let me near an electronics store when I'm bored. I stopped by AT&T on the way back from the post office and let the sales guy give me the pitch on the new iPhone 5. I really don't need one of these things, but I'll probably end up getting one anyway. The phone store guy tried to convince me that I needed their new Mobile Share plan. He said it was a great plan and would save the normal user a lot of money. The only problem was that I'm not a normal user.

I already have a gazillion rollover minutes. Last month I think I sent one text message. Why would I want a plan where the key feature is unlimited voice and text? The guy said "You're definitely going to want our protection plan, in case you drop your phone in the water, or break the glass." I never get these type of plans. The stores push them so hard because they are very profitable for them. My experience is that if your gizmo breaks right away, the factory warranty is pretty good, and if it lasts longer than a year it will probably run forever. I find all these calling plans confusing. Generally, when I add up the numbers, most of these money saving plans end up costing me more than what I'm already paying. I wish AT&T had a calling plan for someone who just wanted a pretty phone, but rarely used it.

I got a new writing assignment from one of my European clients. I'm supposed to write several articles about steam turbines. Do I know anything about steam turbines? Nope. This isn't as much of a problem as you might think. New subjects are usually more interesting than things you've done hundreds of times already. I guess I'll be learning a lot about steam turbines in the next several weeks.

I wish Dash would learn to go through the tunnel at training class. Dogs who have already had some agility training zip through the cloth tunnel, but Dash won't get anywhere near it. I wonder if he'd even go through a doggie door? He really doesn't like to go through anything small. Last year at training class, I couldn't even get Dash to jump through a hula hoop. Dot loves this sort of stuff. She sailed right through the tunnel tonight.

Do any of you other bloggers know if Entrecard is down again? I haven't been able to access the site for several days now. If I haven't visited your blog today, that's probably why.

Rhett is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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