Day 3855

We got up early enough this morning to see the comet if it hadn't been cloudy again. Cloudy was good though. It kept our morning walk nice and cool. We keep leaving earlier and earlier in an attempt to avoid the heat. I used to think 7 AM was early. Now our goal is to be out of the house before 6 AM. The extra hour makes a big difference. There are fewer people on the trails and the weather is noticeably cooler.

Dawn did well today, but it is still the middle of July. It's going to be a long march to September. Dawn has the right idea about surviving summer. She went back to sleep on the bed while I had my breakfast. I usually watch TV while I'm eating breakfast. The news is still dismal, but the stock market was having a good day. It's kind of a mystery to me why the stock market has made such a dramatic recovery in recent weeks. What do other investors know that I don't. People are even starting to buy cruise line stocks again. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking a cruise for a long, long time.

I got Luckie up on the Dalmatian Rescue website after breakfast. I'm glad the rescue websites I work on are fairly simple. I've lost some of my skills. I haven't created a complex website in quite a while now and it shows. Use it or lose it has been my motto for many years. When it comes to web design, I think I've lost it.

I mowed the grass in the front yard this afternoon. It was too hot to be outside, but if I keep waiting for cooler weather, the yard is going to look like a jungle. Since I survived this task, I decided to go ahead and take my afternoon walk to get my 20,000 steps. It's a simple and at times mindless life, but I do have goals.

I went out and looked for the comet again a few minutes ago, but there were thick clouds on the horizon to the Northwest. I'm still not sure how the comet can be visible in both the morning and evening skies for the next several days, but that's what I keep hearing. Pretty soon it will be evening skies only. I think the best viewing opportunities will last for about a week. I'm hoping that we'll get clear skies on at least one of these days. I keep seeing cool pictures of the comet all over the Internet and I haven't been able to see it at all.

It looks like the new Ford Bronco is going to be incredibly popular. They are taking reservations online like Elon Musk now, and one model sold out in a single day. They say dealers are going to be charging a premium for the Bronco for at least a year. I don't know why I'm even interested. My car is running fine. It still looks almost new. I guess planning to buy a new car is just so much easier than planning to move to a new state.

I've already decided that it would be stupid to travel to Florida right now but I'm still wondering why I haven't heard anything about media accreditation for the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover launch. Usually when a launch is only several weeks away, all these details have been worked out. You'd think I would have at least received a rejection notice by now. Who knows. Maybe I'll hear something tomorrow. Otherwise, the big event of the day might be looking for blueberries.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3487

Some days are very uneventful. I had a different type of omelet this morning when I went out for breakfast at the new place in the neighborhood. For the second week in a row they gave me free juice. I like this place. There are lots of things to try on the menu, so this will probably be my go-to place for the rest of the summer. You can tell this is a neighborhood restaurant. There are lots of older customers and lots of young families. No singles at all.

I tried to take my first walk of the day before things got too hot. I guess I failed because I still came home drenched in sweat. There are sailing classes for kids on the lake during the summer. This morning I saw a small sailboat tipped over with other boats nearby. At first I thought this was an emergency, but several minutes later the boat was upright again. Then another boat tipped over and this one quickly became upright again as well. It finally dawned on me that the kids were being taught what to do in case their boat capsized when they were the only one on board. This would definitely be a good skill to learn.

The White Pelican has disappeared again, but I'm seeing a lot of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers lately. These birds are amazing to watch, making abrupt turns in the sky and even hovering like helicopters at times. When I see these birds I think I need to bring a better camera with me, but it is too hot for that. A heavy camera would just be an encumbrance. Did I tell you that I take most of my wildlife pictures in the winter.

The stock market set an all time high today. All three major indices closed at record levels. This is good news but it makes me a little nervous. Too many times in the past I have witnessed the market set a new record and then immediately go into a slump. I hope this won't happen again but I wouldn't be terribly surprised. It's all about fear and greed. If enough people get nervous they will take their money off the table.

On day like these when nothing is happening I charge batteries. It doesn't take long to find a piece of equipment with a dead battery in the office. I try to keep everything charged, but it's easy to forget about things. If you leave a battery uncharged for long enough it becomes useless and impossible to charge. It's a constant struggle. I thought I'd reached the end of the line with an old laptop I hadn't used in a while, but the battery light finally started glowing and by the end of the day the computer was fully charged again. I've given up on watch batteries. It's just too much trouble to keep a stock of weird little batteries and taking the back off some of these watches has become a giant pain. The watches need to go to auction. All you really need these days is a Fitbit.

I guess I'm not as patient as I thought I was. I keep wondering what my article will look like in the magazine, but I'm going to have to wait until mid-August to find out. Such a long time.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3337

I had trouble getting back to sleep after I took Dash outside last night, so instead of counting sheep, I tried to remember all the ad agencies I'd worked at in the correct order. This was surprisingly difficult. The first three agencies were easy. So were the last four. The ones in the middle were a muddled mess though. I guess my memory lapse is understandable. I worked at seventeen ad agencies before starting my own company. I eventually fell asleep, but I still have no idea where I worked before I went to Popejoy & Fischel. I can't remember who Popejoy was either.

It was nice to see the sun again. The temperature was warmer too. Dash thought is was a nice day as well. For the first time since his severe diarrhea episode, we were able to take two walks again. Dash still isn't walking normally and probably never will, but he has quickly learned how to use the Help 'Em Up Harness. I basically provide just enough support to keep him from slipping. Dash is still moving his legs on his own. If you have a dog with mobility problems I can't recommend these harnesses enough. They really help.

It was time to vacuum again. Actually it was long past time. There has always been a ton of dog hair in the house, but lately I'm finding Dash's food all over the place. He's having trouble chewing now and food just falls out of his mouth. There are dog biscuit crumbs and little bits of chicken and rice all over the place. Dash's teeth and gums are terrible now, but it is not safe to anesthetize him anymore, so a regular dental cleaning is impossible. I swab his mouth every day with an oral dental rinse and we try to brush his teeth, but it's a losing battle.

Since it was clear and warm this afternoon, I went up on the roof and removed the remaining water. The pumps actually did a pretty good job during the rain. There wasn't as much standing water as I anticipated. I had the entire job finished in less than thirty minutes. The forecast looks good for the immediate future, so maybe I can stay off the roof for a while.

I was happy to see the stock market rebound today. It's unsettling at times that I need to depend on this increasingly volatile market. When I was younger I never gave the stock market a lot of thought. If I needed money, I knew I could always go earn more. Not so easy these days. My skill set has become largely irrelevant. At least I believed in saving when I was younger. Some of my friends didn't. We'll see what the future brings. Somehow I don't think it's going to bring a guaranteed return on my investments. I see a very bumpy road ahead.

A roof panel blew off the greenhouse again last night. Jeez. I thought I'd already fixed that. Apparently, I'm not a very good carpenter.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3203

Another month has come and gone. It's getting harder and harder to give Dash his monthly heartworm pill. The pills are large and it is difficult to hide them. When we finished the morning meds and cleaned up the poop on the floor, the first of October was pretty much the same as the end of September.

I saw some people setting up what appeared to be a small circus while Dash and I were out walking this morning. The circus folks better hope it doesn't rain. They were putting their tent in an area that routinely floods. October is packed with outdoor events. The State Fair has already started and in addition to the small circus, there was an Octoberfest celebration going on in another section of the park. I studiously avoid all these events. I don't like crowds. When the dogs were young, we took them to a few outdoor events. They usually had fun because there was almost always food involved. I don't know when the circus starts, but we'll probably change our route for a few days. It's a lot easier to deal with a dog who can barely walk and is likely to poop on your shoe in an area devoid of other people.

I was disappointed to learn that none of my trains sold in September. I was getting used to consistent sales and a check at the first of the month. Maybe October will be better. These trains would make a great gift for a railfan. Hopefully, my friend can sell quite a few during the holiday season.

I had to go to the storage warehouse and bring home another rug for Dash. Pretty soon all Dot's rugs are going to be back in the house. They're ugly, but if they help keep Dash standing, they're worth it. I took some little rugs back when I picked up the bigger ones to avoid unnecessary clutter. I got ahead of myself though. I had to go back to the storage warehouse and retrieve the little rug to fill a slippery place in the kitchen. Hopefully all is well for at least a few more weeks.

Dash has another big exam at the cancer center later this week. I wish there was something they could do that would actually make him better, rather than just monitor his decline. I hope Dash doesn't suffer from Peripheral Neuropathy in addition to all his other ailments. He's certainly starting to exhibit a lot of the classic symptoms. He definitely has a problem with his mouth. If it's an abscess or a decayed tooth, I don't know what we are going to do. Most of his doctors don't think he could survive anesthesia.

I applied for the NASA event in Houston later this month and paid a few of the early October bills. There was some last minute paperwork I needed to sign with the auction house and some routine correspondence that needed to be answered. I didn't have the energy to fight with the roofers again. I'll grit my teeth and try to do that tomorrow.

I'm glad they got a trade deal settled today. It was certainly good for the market. I'm glad Elon Musk got his problems resolved as well. I don't think he was treated fairly by the SEC at all. Few people noticed these events because everyone was fighting about other things. So far the confirmation circus has only succeeded in raising my resting heart rate. I can't think of anything else that might have caused this.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3193

I was so tired this morning. Dash got me up three or four times last night. As soon as I got him outside, he seemed to forget why he was out there and just wandered around aimlessly. As soon as I brought him in again, he would remember he needed to do something and head for the back door again. We did this over and over. Eventually he pooped and we went back to bed. About thirty minutes later, we woke me up again. This time he needed to pee. He wouldn't pee right away though. We had to leave the house three more times before he got the urge. This has to be some form of dementia. Sometimes he goes outside and has no idea why he's out there. This is one of the reasons why he frequently poops in the house. When Dash's brain finally kicks into gear and gets the message that it's time to go, it's often too late.

By the time I got back to sleep again, it was already time for Dash's morning walk. Janet got me up and we got Dash ready. I thought it was early, but I obviously wasn't thinking clearly. By the time we returned home it was almost too late to go out for breakfast. I was hungry though, so I drove to the hotel anyway. I made it a few minutes before they closed the kitchen.

I've been thinking that I'd found my new favorite place, but service was slow this morning and the place was crowded. The food was still good though, so I'll give Knife the benefit of the doubt. It was British Month at Central Market so I stopped by on the way home from breakfast and picked up some Steak and Stout pies, Celeriac Slaw, and Cumberland Sauce for dinner. Maybe next time I'll try a Scotch Egg and some Tikka Masala. When life is dull, something interesting to eat always does the trick.

I found myself falling asleep during the day. I really didn't get much sleep last night. I guess it didn't really matter if I wasn't very productive today. It's hard to get behind when there's nothing to do. I eventually made the bed, did some laundry, and repaired a pair of Dash's protective boots. I switched on the TV several times, but quickly turned it off again. I'm sick of politics.

It's nice that the market is at an all time high again. I think the last time was back in January. Why is it that every time the market is at a high point, my own stocks are actually lower than they were at the last market top? This happens frequently. I'd complain to my broker if it weren't for the fact that I've agreed with every trade we've made this year. You just can't predict the future.

I wish Dash was stronger, but I think he's doing the best he can. Getting old is a bitch. His overall weakness is caused by his heart disease and the shaky stance and vertigo are caused by the Vestibular Disease. There is no cure for either. I try my best to keep Dash as comfortable as possible. I know this is my own fate someday. I often wonder who will take care of me.

Rowe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3014

Near the top of my to-do list today was a trip to the store to get more dog treats for Dash. You don't ever want to run out of dog treats in this house. Since Dash is a picky eater, there is a particular brand of treats he likes. Of course you can't find this brand at the neighborhood pet store. I drive further to find things for Dash than I do for myself.

While I was out, I returned to the plumbing supply store. Surprisingly, they actually did have some of the parts I was looking for. I bought some of the easy to replace parts, but the water control assembly, which was the main thing I was trying to replace didn't look quite the same. The parts guy said to bring the old fill valve in and it would be easy to tell whether the two parts were the same. My idea was just to buy the part now in case it was unavailable in the future. I didn't actually have the nerve to try to remove the old part yet. It has frozen in place and there's a good chance I could break something trying to remove it. The guy who was helping me couldn't figure out why I wanted to buy the part if I wasn't going to use it. "If this part doesn't fit, you're going to have to buy a new toilet anyway," he told me. The guy had a point. "Just leave the part here until you really think you need it," He said. "Nobody else is going to buy this thing."

I decided to leave well enough alone. It would be nice to have all new parts, but the toilet is actually working now. There's a good chance I could break it again if I keep monkeying around. I should have thanked the parts guy. He saved me $75.

It was a pleasant surprise to see the stock market go up almost 700 points today. We're still down for the month, but they say this was the third largest gain in history. These wild market swings make me nervous. There was no fundamental reason for last weeks huge loss and no reason for today's big gain. I'm going to have to learn to live with this volatility though. I think it's here to stay. Computerized trading platforms make it possible to buy and sell huge quantities of stock in a fraction of a second. Humans like me are just along for the ride.

It was kind of hot this afternoon, so I wasn't entirely surprised that Dash refused to take his afternoon walk. I dutifully suited him up anyway, just in case. I still think that Dash needs a little more exercise, but like they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

Since we had a mild Winter, I'm already starting to see a lot of bugs. A lot of these bugs seem to find their way inside. When I'm out in the back yard it looks like an invading army is preparing to strike. There are cockroaches in the trees, ants crawling on the bricks, and crane flies hovering around the back door. The spiders haven't returned yet, but it won't be long. I hate the crane flies because every time I let Dash out, a few of them fly in the house. It's going to be an uphill battle to keep these critters outside this Summer.

I shouldn't complain about Spring, because Summer is so much worse. It was actually a beautiful day today. It's too bad that Dash thought it was too hot.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2946

Today was so similar to yesterday that I briefly wondered if anyone would notice if I just copied a few paragraphs from my previous post. Believe it or not, it's much harder to write about days where nothing happens. The arctic weather continues and Dash and I have had enough of it. It's still too cold to take Dash on a morning walk and this change in our routine makes us both a little restless. Without a walk, Dash slaps at the back door every five minutes and then wants to come right back in again as soon as I let him out. I don't know what to do with the extra time either. Long walks give us both something to do.

I did finally make an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow and to take Dash to the vet next week. Dash is so difficult to transport in the car now that we have to schedule vet visits when Janet can get away from work for a while. I wish I knew what was going on in Dash's mind. It used to be so easy to take him to the vet myself. I hate to wait until next week, but luckily there is nothing seriously wrong. We just need to take care of some routine things that the specialists at the cancer center don't normally do.

I should have waited to pay bills yesterday, because I got some more in the mail today. I used to let the bills stack up and pay them all once a month. Then I started getting late charges. Companies have shortened the due date. They all want you to pay online now and if you pay by mail, you have to be quick. I don't know why I am so resistant to paying online. Sending and receiving mail is just a part of normal daily life that I don't want to give up yet.

When the temperature climbed to the low 30's, I took Dash on an afternoon walk. The sun was out and Dash was enjoying smelling things. I thought we were going to have a nice long walk, but a loose dog spooked Dash and made him want to come home early. I've seen this guy and his dog before. The man thinks he's trained his dog so well that he doesn't need a leash. I was amused when the dog wandered off pursuing a scent and didn't follow his owner home. I don't know why Dash was upset, because this dog was no threat to anyone while she was off chasing rabbits. I had to show the guy where his dog had gone. Why don't people understand that a leash makes everything so much easier? A leash is safer too. The small dog was chasing rabbits but it could have found coyotes instead.

I balanced my checkbook a few weeks ago. Today it was time to balance the credit card purchases. I added everything up and was one dollar off. Why are these mistakes so hard to find? I must have looked at the figures three or four times before I found the missing dollar. Online banking would eliminate these chores, but I just can't bring myself to give up paper. Things just don't seem entirely real unless I can see them on paper.

I was pleased to see the DOW sail through 26,000 today. It has definitely been a good year for stocks. I watch the market the same way some might watch a NASCAR race. I've got my favorites and I check their positions with every lap. Unfortunately there is no finish line. I wish there was a finish line with investments when you could just relax with the knowledge that you had won. You can always get out of the market if you're feeling nervous, but you hate to get out too soon. I think the economy is good and the upward trend will continue for a while. I could be wrong.

I could be wrong about everything. It's kind up humbling to realize what a guessing game life actually is. Maybe it's good that we don't know what's in our future. I think it's uncertainty that allows us to hope.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2939

I had a surprisingly enjoyable meeting with my financial adviser today. I basically quit going to meetings when Dot got sick, so this was the first time I'd actually seen the guy in person in several years. It's much easier to talk about your financial future when the stock market continues to set new records. We did make some contingency plans today, but both of us agreed that the business climate was still fundamentally sound. Hey, I heard Warren Buffett say basically the same thing on TV this morning, so I don't think we're out on a limb here. As long as Kim Jong Un doesn't decide to nuke somebody, the near-term future looks relatively bright.

We spent a little time talking about estate planning today. It's not a subject I like to think about, but I've seen the estates of several people I know turn into a horrible mess after they died. At least I have a will. I can't believe how many people my age don't even have a will. You're never going to see "Brought to you by the Sealander Foundation" at the end of your favorite PBS program, but maybe there'll be enough left over to rescue a few dogs after I'm gone. Nobody can predict the future, but it never hurts to anticipate the future. Hey, at least I've started the conversation.

I got caught up in rush hour traffic on the way home from my meeting and started worrying about Dash. He can't hold his bladder very well anymore and sometimes he has a vestibular incident when he wakes up from a sound sleep. Dash was asleep when I left and was asleep when I returned. I have no idea what happened in between. I used to obsessively check the baby monitor when I was away, but if you're 45 minutes away from home, it's sometimes better not to look. At any rate, everything was fine today.

I didn't get started on my second writing assignment until I'd finished feeding Dash and taking him on an afternoon walk. This didn't give me enough time to finish the article, but I needed something to do tomorrow anyway. I wish I had an article a day to write indefinitely. Writing is much less stressful than website design or film production. Even commercial copywriting is strangely relaxing. I'm not sure how to get good writing jobs anymore though. Nobody reads. I find it ironic and a bit humorous that Facebook and Instagram "stories" don't really involve writing. Nowadays, what people call stories are really just little videos.

I've got to make an appointment to see a podiatrist soon. My left foot is really starting to hurt and I don't know why. I suspect that it has something to with this summer's dog bite. There was internal bleeding when I got bitten and my foot became swollen. Even though I slept with my feet elevated and used icepacks to reduce the swelling, a hematoma formed in my leg. Maybe there is still a small hematoma in my foot that is causing the discomfort. Or maybe there is something else going on. That is why I need to see a podiatrist.

The refrigerator is getting kind of bare, so I'm going to need to pick up something for dinner tomorrow. Do I go to the smoked meat store and get something delicious and unhealthy, or go to the vegan store and get something healthy and a little bland? It shouldn't be so easy to do the wrong thing.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2938

Today was surprisingly normal. As a result, I got quite a bit done. We got started with a walk through the fog. I love foggy mornings. The world seems very private and intimate in the fog. Dash didn't feel like going down by the water, so I didn't photograph sailboats obscured by the mist. There were plenty of other ghostly shapes however, and no loose dogs or bicycles. It was a very enjoyable walk.

After breakfast, I took a check to the bank, picked up some more enalapril for Dash at the vet, and returned home to get started on a new writing project. The word count on the e-mails concerning this project are already equal to the length of a normal finished article. I've done these type of things many times before, but I have a new contact now and we're off to a rocky start. I hope that things improve because I don't have a lot of patience for quibbling about prices. News flash. If you think I'm too expensive, you don't have to use me.

It was such a relief that Dash wasn't acting weird today. He ate normally, took nice long naps when I needed to work, and didn't have any stressful temper tantrums. Dash needs to be calm and relaxed because of his heart problems, but he seldom is. I'm always afraid when he's agitated and barking a lot that one of the blood clots in his heart will break apart and it will all be over. Dash is literally a ticking time bomb, but he doesn't know it. From his point of view, he's just acting like a normal high strung Dalmatian should.

I have several articles to write, but I though one was enough for today. I finished the day revising websites. I was working on an old school static site, so I used Dreamweaver for the first time in months. Much to my chagrin, I had already forgotten some of the menu shortcuts I used to use everyday and had to re-learn how to do simple things like change font sizes. I've always been a believer in the well known "use it or lose it" adage, but I'm just starting to realize that it's much easier to "lose it" as you grow older. It's becoming harder and harder to remember things that I don't do every day.

I have an appointment scheduled with my financial adviser tomorrow. For the first time in years, I don't have any complaints. A rising market lifts all boats and I've finally recovered most of the losses I sustained in the big crash of 2008. The goal now is just to avoid losing everything in the next big crash. I don't think I'll live long enough to recover from another market crash like we had in 2008. Realistically, I don't think the current rally could possibly last another ten years, but I sure wish it would. It would certainly make my life a little easier.

I should have taken a camera down to the lake and photographed sailboats before the fog lifted. Oh, well. You can't do everything. I also missed the conjunction of Jupiter and Mars on January 7 because of rain, but the two planets were still pretty close together when Dash needed to go out and poop around 3 AM this morning. It's almost worth getting up in the middle of the night for your dog when you can see something interesting in the sky.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2934

I tried to get caught up on things today, but had a hard time staying focused. For the first time in weeks I made some real progress on my new website project. I came up with a very practical, but somewhat ugly solution. I can't decide whether to present it to the client or delete it and start over. I'll look at the files again on Monday and decide.

It was cold this morning, but the temperature warmed up considerably later in the day. All in all, it was a very nice day. In my little world that meant it was time to go up on the roof. I don't know what I expected, but I certainly didn't expect ice. The small amount of ice I'd seen in the yard and on our walks had long since disappeared. It figures that the last place I'd still find ice was on the roof.

The roof wasn't the only place I discovered ice today. The little emergency refrigerator we got when our kitchen refrigerator was broken doesn't defrost automatically. I assumed it would defrost automatically like any modern refrigerator, but I guess not. As always, you get what you pay for. When I went to get some cream for my coffee this morning, I noticed that ice was building up in the tiny freezer compartment. It was time to defrost. I didn't think we'd keep using this refrigerator after the big refrigerator got repaired, but it turned out to be the perfect place for dairy products. It's kind of handy to have two refrigerators you can keep at different temperatures. At any rate, I put the milk, eggs, and butter in the main refrigerator, unplugged the little one, and let the ice melt.

The vet didn't want to trim Dash's nails yesterday because Dash was being a being a little shit about the procedure. He said that things were so fragile with his heart that he didn't want to do anything that would make Dash agitated. I wanted to explain that Dash is always agitated, but we left with untrimmed nails. The vet suggested that I walk Dash without the rubber boots for a while and let the nails wear down naturally. I tried this today and it was a little alarming. Dash's rear legs have grown weak and his feet drag when he walks now. With every step he took, I would hear his rear nails clicking and dragging on the pavement. At this rate, it won't take long at all to grind down the nails. I think I'll go back to the rubber boots tomorrow. It's clear that his feet need to be protected.

I got some breakfast tacos this morning at a little place that was more of a sports bar than a restaurant.  The sound on the big screen TV's was turned down, but the closed captioning was still on. When you read what some of these morning show hosts are saying, it seems even more ridiculous than hearing the words. We are doomed. I'm beginning to think that just about everybody is an idiot. I will say that TV without sound is not that bad. Maybe I'll turn on the closed captioning on my own TV. Although the ambience was terrible, the cheap tacos were pretty good. Maybe I'll go back to this place.

It's nice to see the DOW over 25,000. Let's keep this rally going for a few more years so I can actually retire. When I bought my first stock in the early 1980's the DOW was still under 1,000. This is why equities are still the best long term investment you can make. The periodic market crashes are painful, but inevitably the market starts going up again. I can't figure out why young people don't like stocks. It's certainly doesn't take much money to get started. Young people think stocks are too risky, but they love Bitcoin. Go figure.

Thanks to everyone for showing so much concern for Dash. It means a lot. We don't know how much time he has left, but we're doing our best to minimize the risks he faces and make his remaining time as enjoyable as possible.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2898

This was a good day to test a solar panel I'd purchased earlier this year. It was bright and sunny, so maybe this thing would generate a little electricity. Do I need a solar panel? Of course not. I"m fascinated by survival gear though, so the solar cell fits right in with the various small generators, camping lights, freeze dried food, and hand cranked radios that have caught my attention in the past. The solar panel didn't really generate much electricity. It would probably be great for camping if I liked to camp. I prefer nice, dog friendly luxury hotels, but I do like to be ready for the zombie apocalypse. Maybe I'm just a prepper at heart. After I determined that the solar panel worked, I put it away again. There were more important things to do, like walk the dog and eat breakfast.

I guess I'm done with my website project for a while. After doing some more work this morning, I've now got a working site that the client could go live with if they want. It took me two days to master the Wordpress template. Most of the things that puzzled me in the beginning were just because I couldn't find the right menu. This really makes me wonder about those people who call themselves "professional" Wordpress developers. What do they really do? I still find it hard to believe that my elegant custom sites are being replaced by these templates. Oh, well. It's a little late to complain now. The world has changed. It makes sense that templates would be popular in a world where customers expect things to be easy and free,

Today would have been a good day to work on the roof, but I'm finding it difficult to do more than one thing a day. I wasted a lot of time fiddling around with the solar panel this morning and then I wasted even more time looking for the hidden code that displayed the name of the template company in the footer of every website page I've been building. I didn't want that name there and was very pleased when I managed to find the Wordpress code that generated the company's name automatically on every new page. I deleted the code without destroying anything else. Don't mess with me Wordpress.

The Dow closed over 24,000 today. That's the good news. The bad news is that if the tax bill that precipitated today market rally passes, small companies like mine are going to be in a world of hurt. I've heard that most of the Schedule C deductions freelancers take are going away. I don't know if my business would have survived if I hadn't been able to deduct for having an office in my home and a host of other commonplace deductions. I'm glad I'm nearing retirement. It's a different world out there now. I'm not sure I'd do nearly as well starting today as I did twenty years ago. Hell, even ten years ago things were a lot easier.

I can't figure out why Dash is reluctant to take an afternoon walk again. This has happened before and it just doesn't make sense. Dash is usually eager to take his morning walk, but lately he'll stand at the back door for a long time sniffing the air in the afternoon and then turn around and go back inside. He isn't tired and appears to have plenty of energy. There is just something about the afternoon air that bothers him. If I can manage to get him to the park, he's fine. It's just those first 50 yards that are difficult.

Tomorrow I need to pack up all my equipment for Saturday's photo shoot. I think everything works. If I don't drop something and break it, I'll probably be fine. Every year I think this is the last year I'm going to be doing these Christmas pictures. Then another year goes by and I'm doing them again. I'm still a good photographer, but I'm older and crankier. If I want to do this again next year, I'm going to have to start going to the gym more often.

Belle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2634

I rescheduled my dental appointment so I could go early in the morning. I need to remember to schedule everything for early in the morning. There are a few hours between 9 AM and noon that it's still safe to assume that Dot will be sleeping. Any other time of day and all bets are off. I used my discretionary time today to go to the bank. That was about it. The rest of the day I just stayed around the house.

I've learned that the dogs are quieter when I stay in the office, but when work is slow that's hard to do. If I make the mistake of going to the kitchen, Dash is instantly right there with me. He can be sound asleep and some kind of infallible internal radar always tells him when I'm headed for the kitchen. When Dash starts barking for food, it usually wakes up Dot, who starts barking too. Dot can't follow me anywhere, but when I lift her up, she follows Dash and I follow her, holding up her rear legs.

I'm glad that Dot has learned to depend on me, but it sure keeps me busy. Half the time I don't think she knows what she wants to do, but maybe walking around aimlessly is good exercise. I wish Dot's vets could come up with a solution that would reduce the signs of senility I've been seeing. We've tried several supplements that are supposed to improve cognitive function in dogs, but they seem to do nothing. Several people have told me that SAM-e can be beneficial for dogs with cognitive issues. I took SAM-e for a while myself after friends told me how wonderful it was. I couldn't tell that it did anything though, and quit using it after a few months. Maybe it works better for dogs.

When I took Dot out to pee before I went to bed last night it was warm and very muggy outside. This morning the clouds and humidity were gone and it was 30 degrees colder. I really can't keep up with the weather this year. Every day is a surprise. As soon as I'm reasonably sure that there won't be another freeze, I need to call the landscaper. It would be nice to have grass in the back yard again. I've just about destroyed all the ground cover by trampling on it as I walk Dot around in the yard. The same thing happened when our first Dalmatian got old and had trouble walking. It took two or three years for the Asian Jasmine to grow back again.

I went out with binoculars this evening to look for Uranus. It's located right below Mars now and should be easy to find. Unfortunately the 6th magnitude planet is very dim. I've always had trouble finding it with the light pollution we have in Dallas. At any rate, I think I saw something below Mars tonight, but I'm not sure it was Uranus.

I wonder how long this stock market rally is going to last. Today's 300 point gain was pretty impressive. I've made some nice gains during this rally, but they could evaporate overnight if the tax cuts everyone is excited about don't materialize. It's always hard to tell when to enter and exit the market. I think the rally will last a while, so I'm not going to sell yet. I could be wrong. I've definitely been wrong before.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2620

Today was the opposite of yesterday. The sky was clear and there was hardly any wind at all. Even though Dot seemed weak when she woke up, she enjoyed her walk this morning. As far as I can tell, Dash seems back to normal. The only reminder of his scary seizure episode is a huge vet bill.

Since the weather was so nice today, I went up on the roof to assess the situation. It's much easier to remove the standing water now that all the leaves are gone. It didn't take long to figure out why my pump wasn't working yesterday. It had gotten tipped over and was just pumping air. After I removed the water, I noticed a few new areas where the elastomer coating had peeled away. It looks like I'm going to have this problem forever. It's time to call the roofer again.

It's time to call the tree guy too. He promised to have my trees trimmed this month and the month is already halfway over. Hey, maybe he's planning on getting started tomorrow. I just don't have a lot of faith in work crews. A big chunk of my life is spent reminding people about things they forgot. In fairness, people spend a lot of time reminding me of thing I've forgotten too. Life has just become too complicated to remember everything.

Yesterday I sent out invoices. Today I paid bills. I wish the money coming in equaled the money going out, but it never does. This month was even worse than usual because my car insurance was due and Dash ran up a big bill at the cancer center. At least the stock market is still going up. I hope investors don't become discouraged and sell everything when the tax cuts they are anticipating don't materialize as quickly as they hoped. I'd like to think that the market sees prosperity ahead, but I'm cynical enough to realize that traders are probably just taking advantage of a short term opportunity. This rally kind of feels like a bubble that's about to burst.

I spent more time than usual cleaning up poop today.  It's much easier to clean up the mess when Dot is asleep. You just quietly slide out the disposable puppy training pad she's sleeping on, roll it up, and put it in a plastic bag. Usually I can lift her hips a bit and slide in a new pad without even waking her up. When Dot's awake, it's a whole different story. She panics and tries to get up, typically smearing the poop all over the place. We had two accidents today when Dot was waking up. I spent a lot of time doing laundry.

I picked up some Thai food on the way back from the post office today, but forgot we still had a pork roast in the refrigerator. I wish I was organized enough to label all the leftovers. I hate for food to go to waste, but I often forget about stuff that gets pushed to the back. I also sometimes forget to eat the oldest food first. I need a few big Tupperware containers with the day of the week on them. If there was something in the refrigerator that said Thursday on it, I would eat it tomorrow. I wouldn't care what was in the container.

Maybe we'll get two clear days in a row. The dogs are always easier to deal with on a clear, sunny day. I'm easier to deal with too. If I can't see my shadow, it's not a good day.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2619 - Valentine's Day

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the roof. It was raining quite hard, so walking the dogs was out of the question. Apparently, Dot and Dash thought going out in the yard was out of the question too. Dot peed on the porch and Dash wouldn't go outside at all. I don't blame them. It was wet and very cold.

I was hoping that the rain would quit before I made my annual trip to Sprinkles to get Valentine's cupcakes, but it never did. Actually, the rain turned out to be a good thing this year, because there wasn't a line. There is almost always a long line at this place. I can't even remember how long Valentine's Day cupcakes have been a tradition at our house, but it's been a long time. On the way home I stopped at Central Market and got an orchid in a pot. I joined a long line of tired looking men holding flowers and chocolates. The men were from all walks of life, but they all had that slightly confused look in their eye that told me they weren't sure if they got the right thing. Of course we did the right thing. We didn't forget.

Sick dogs and an all day rain aren't a good combination. Dot seemed totally unaware of the rain and took just as long looking for the right place to pee as she does on a warm sunny day. I just about froze taking her outside today. Dash did his business quickly, but always managed to find the muddiest part of the yard before he came inside again. I was constantly cleaning dogs, floors, and rugs today. This weather certainly isn't doing me any favors. My cold seems to be getting worse.

Work continues to be slow, but I did manage to get my February invoices in the mail today. It occurred to me this weekend that I'd be a lot busier if I actually started looking for work. Like that's ever going to happen. I hate cold calling. Most of my friends and contemporaries have retired. And millennials irritate me. I don't think websites really matter anymore either. When everybody has one, they just become a contemporary version of a Yellow Pages ad. People are spending all their time on Facebook anyway. I mostly visit websites to find an address or a phone number these days. The design of the website doesn't matter nearly as much as how easy it is to navigate. Like it or not, what I do has become a commodity.

The stock market hit another all time high today. I hope this rally continues, but I suspect that it won't. It's always hard to know when to sell. You want to ride a rally as long as you can, but you don't want to be the last one to leave a sinking ship. My opinion changes from day to day. Tax cuts and deregulation will definitely be good for business, but chaos isn't good for anyone. Maybe I should sell a few things just in case.

I sure hope it warms up tomorrow. The combination of dark gray skies, wet dogs, and a bitterly cold wind do nothing to improve my mood. The cupcakes sure were delicious though, and I think Janet liked the flower.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2599

I was pleased to see the Dow close above 20,000 for the first time ever. I still believe in the market. I've had a few very bad years, but I'm doing better than when the Dow closed above 10,000 for the first time in March of 1999. You have to be patient. If I'm still alive when the Dow hits 30,000, as it inevitably will, there should be even more cause for celebration. I have friends who totally distrust the stock market, but I still think it's the only game in town for the long haul. When I started investing many, many years ago, the Dow was at 850. There is a lot of room to make mistakes when you go from 850 to 20,000. That being said, I hope that there's never another year like 2008. I'm still trying to recover from that disaster.

Real estate seems to be the investment vehicle of choice in Dallas. When you go to a restaurant, inevitably all the people at the other tables are talking about real estate. They are buying homes, selling homes, remodeling homes, and dreaming about making big profits from homes. Sometimes I think I'm the only person in town who isn't interested in real estate. There was a time when I owned rental property. Forget that. I can't think of anything worse than being a landlord. Renters are nothing but trouble. I've had renters who repainted the living room with bright orange enamel, burned holes in the bedroom carpet with cigarettes, invited friends to live with them without telling me, and stole the refrigerator when they moved out. You couldn't pay me to be a landlord again. I wouldn't want to be a renter again either. Renters have their own set of problems.

If you think your own home is an investment, think again. The value of real estate goes up and down just like the stock market. If you have to sell your home at a bad time, where are you going to live? With all its faults, I still prefer the stock market. At least when the market has a bad year, I still have a place to live.

Much to my surprise, I spotted Mercury this morning. I got up a little late and Janet was telling me to hurry up and get dressed so we could walk the dogs. I noticed that it was still dark, so the first thing I did was run outside with my binoculars. The sky was partly cloudy, but there was a clear patch near the eastern horizon that allowed me to see Mercury directly below a very thin crescent moon. I also spotted Saturn and Jupiter. For a person like me, it wasn't a bad way to start the day.

The dogs were a handful today. Dash was in a weird mood and refused to take a walk in the afternoon. I tried walking him before Dot, and then again after Dot, but he refused to leave the back yard. Occasionally he's like this for no apparent reason. Tomorrow, he'll probably want to walk three miles. Dot surprised me by pooping in the house when I wasn't ready for her, so I had a big mess to clean up. Later in the day, she was very restless and kept wanting me to take her outside, only to immediately want to come back in again. We went back and forth like this for most of the afternoon. I really need to learn how to calm my mind, or the dogs will eventually drive me crazy.

I can't believe it's almost February. It seems like New Year's Eve was only a few days ago. Time goes by so quickly now that I need to make the most of the time I have left. I'm not a spontaneous person, so living in the moment is a foreign concept to me. It seems like a worthy goal though. I should savor the time I still have with Dot. I should try to maximize the time I remain healthy. It's probably a good idea to rediscover what fun is. I think I've forgotten.

Bones is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2580

It snowed today. The snowfall was short lived and there were barely enough flakes to cover the ground, but my reaction was still "what new kind of hell is this." Jeez. Dot has trouble standing up on a rubber safety mat, so you can imagine what snow is like. Oddly, she still wanted to walk, so I did my best to guide her down our slick, snow covered street this afternoon. The temperature barely topped twenty degrees all day, so I would have preferred staying inside. Dash seemed to agree. I couldn't get him to go on a walk at all.

The snow caught me by surprise. I knew it was going to be cold, but I wasn't expecting a wet mess. I was glad I was able to go out for breakfast and run a few errands before the weather got bad. Traffic slows to a crawl in Dallas whenever there is snow or ice. I really like my breakfast restaurant. I'm a solitary person and some places make me feel lonely or uneasy. Other places make me irritable. For some reason I feel like I belong in this place, even though I seldom talk to anyone.

Dot's urinary incontinence continues to get worse, so I reached out to several of my veterinarian friends today to find out what to do next. There are several options, but the general consensus is that we should start over with the Incurin she's been taking. The way Incurin works is that you take a loading dose of two tablets a day for two weeks. If you see an improvement, you can reduce the dose to one tablet a day. You continue reducing the dose each week for as long as you can. We did this two years ago and eventually got to the point where Dot only needed to take half a tablet every other week. If starting the process over again works, Dot will probably need to take a larger dose than she did before, but that will be much better than continually leaking on her bedding.

I was surprisingly busy today, which is usually good when I am house bound. In between taking the dogs outside every fifteen minutes, I managed to complete two website projects and upload the revisions to the server. Against my better judgement, I ordered some more ink for my large production printer. For the past year, I have done nothing but print small daily test pages to keep the printer from getting hopelessly clogged. I keep this printer working just in case. This is why I renewed my Avid Media Composer subscription too. I could save a lot of money if I could just accept the fact that my career is basically over.

I thought the stock market might top 20,000 today, so I turned on the business channel to watch the market close. Instead of a big celebration, I saw another mass shooting at an airport instead. The shooter turned out to be a guy who actually walked into an FBI office less than a year ago and told the agents that voices were forcing him to watch ISIS videos. Jeez, that would have been a warning sign to me. Why was this guy still allowed to own a gun or even fly on a plane? If ISIS can recruit crazy people, we're in big trouble. We've got an entire country full of crazy people.

It's still going to be cold tomorrow, but I looked at a long range forecast and it's supposed to be back over seventy degrees by next Tuesday. Texas weather is insane. You can get Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter all in the same week. I'll be happy when it warms up though. Dealing with Dot in the snow is a major problem.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2564 - Winter Solstice

Today was the shortest day of the year, but it sure seemed long to me. I've just about given up hope of ever getting anything but the bare necessities done. I wonder sometimes when I ever had time to run a busy and successful company. I have to remember that the dogs were young and healthy then. Back in the day, I even had time to play in a rock band, compose and record songs in a home studio, and spend weekends building a fashion photography portfolio that would end up launching me on a whole new career. In those days I had no dogs at all. When I'm feeling sorry for myself, I sometimes miss the freedom I once had, but I wouldn't trade my life with Dalmatians for anything. Dot and Dash are my best friends. My purpose in life is to keep them as safe and healthy as I can. They don't know it, but their purpose in life has been to save me. Let's just say that life was kind of shallow before I was introduced to the joys and sorrows of sharing life with a dog.

The days will start getting longer now, but I don't think I'll notice anything for a while. If I remember correctly, sunsets will continue getting shorter for a while and daylight will slowly increase with an earlier sunrise. The only thing I like about the short days is that it's easy to capture some nice sunset shots. Dash hates walking in the dark though, so he's not happy. I have to walk Dot first, so she'll be tired and sleep when it's time to walk Dash. If I reverse the order of things, Dot tends to get anxious and there's a good chance she'll poop all over the place. I feel bad that Dash gets short changed sometimes, but what are you going to do? We're all doing the best we can.

I paid my property taxes today. I think that's the last big bill of the year, so I guess I survived 2016. I hate that expenses keep going up, while my income keeps going down. It kind of takes a lot of the fun out of getting old. My only hope for 2017 is that the stock market rally will continue. Events can easily change things, but there's a good chance that the rally could continue. I think lower tax rates and fewer regulations will help businesses of almost any size.

I think the bird that poops on my car every Winter has returned with several friends. There is more bird poop on the car in the mornings now than there ever was before. These birds don't seem to be frightened of my rubber snake either. There's not much you can do about pooping birds. You can't catch them. In the city, you can't shoot them. I don't think you can reason with them either. I'd build these guys a nice birdhouse if they'd just leave my car alone.

I may have to write my blog in the mornings while Janet is away for the holidays. Evenings are Dot's active time and she hates being left alone. Sometimes Janet sits next to her on the floor and watches movies on her iPad. Other times she walks her up and down the hall while I'm writing. Janet had to work real late tonight and it was kind of a preview of what's to come. Dot didn't like me being in another room and writing at all. We'll figure out a solution. There's always a solution.

At least it was warmer today. We didn't have to bother with all the cumbersome dog coats.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day