Day 3322

There appears to be a gas leak in the neighborhood. You could have fooled me, since we walk by the area where all the digging is going on every morning and I've never smelled gas. I have smelled a skunk in the vicinity recently, but I don't think that's what everybody's looking for. Finding the leak must be a high priority since the crews have set up lights and look like they are ready to continue digging throughout the night. Hopefully, they'll find what they're looking for. The gas company has had some highly publicized problems with leaks in other parts of the city that have resulted in fires and explosions.

I called my web hosting company this morning to ask about the huge increase in my bill. The customer service representative I talked to explained that my last bill included a generous sign up bonus that would never be repeated. They set the trap and lured me in. Now, I've got to pay full price. This scenario was exactly what I was dealing with a few months ago when it came time to renew my storage warehouse lease. The customer service representative was sympathetic. She said the same thing happened to her recently with her phone bill. Her Verizon bill tripled as soon as the special promotional offer expired. I'm a small business owner and an unabashed capitalist but I do think a lot of companies are greedy bastards. Couldn't you guys just charge a fair price in the beginning and stop all the confusing bait and switch trickery?

The increase in web hosting fees wasn't the only dismal financial news today. Apparently I'm going to  need to wait until mid February for my next payment from a very tardy auction buyer. This buyer must be special. There was nothing in the contract that said it was OK to pay a month and a half late. Somehow, I don't think the auction house would be nearly as lenient with me if I was a month and a half late. It looks like I'm going to need the money because apparently even though I made virtually nothing last year, I still need to pay taxes. That's what my accountant tells me anyway.

Dash doesn't have money problems but he definitely has pooping problems. The bed escaped unscathed last night but I had to watch my step around the house. I don't think Dash even realizes he is pooping any more. He just walks around the house and poop falls out. Getting up after a nap is especially hazardous. The extra effort he has to make to stand up these days often causes him to poop.

The weather changes so frequently now that I never know what to wear. I always look at my phone or the thermostat before we go on a walk but I don't think the temperature readings are up to date. This afternoon the thermostat said the outside temperature was 65 degrees so I just wore a light jacket. I just about froze. A rapidly moving cold front had just blown through and the real temperature was much colder. The temperature is still continuing to get colder, so I really hope that those gas company repairmen don't shut off our gas during the night.

I had some left over pizza for dinner. I hope it doesn't give me heartburn. I could have eaten something bland, but I hate to let food go to waste. We'll see what happens. My chances of getting heartburn are about the same as the chances of Dash waking me up during the night.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3155

I checked on things today. It was basically a status update day. I signed off on an estimate to repair one of the broken synthesizers. I found out that a long awaited watch repair was finished. I hesitated to call the electrician again because the light in the back yard has mysteriously started working this week. During my meeting this afternoon with my financial advisor, I got a ton of information that went in one ear and out the other. It gives me a headache to make financial decisions. Whatever you do, you can't predict the future.

One thing I learned today was that I've got to start withdrawing money from my IRA soon. It's the law. Apparently I'd forgotten over the years that money coming out of an IRA or SEP account is taxed as ordinary income. Bummer. Why had I been thinking that future withdrawals would be taxed as capital gains or losses just like any other investment? At any rate, this kind of sucks.

Dash is really rough on his special boots. The new boots I bought recently are already in need of repairs. These protective boots would probably last forever on a young healthy dog, but Dash's legs are weak and he drags his rear feet. This is why he wears the boots in the first place. Every time he drags his rear legs the top side of the boot rubs against the ground or pavement. It doesn't take long for the fabric to rip and the rubber to tear. I've been repairing these things using Shoe Goo and thin rubber inner tube patches. I've got three different brands of dog boots in rotation now, but they still wear out pretty quickly. I didn't think I'd need to repair the new boots so soon, but that's what I did this afternoon. I guess I'll go buy another pair just like them later this week. This brand fits very well. They're pretty expensive to be a disposable item, but Dash couldn't keep walking without them.

I thought the rain was going to stop today, but it kept on raining. The showers are becoming more sporadic, so maybe the rain will end for good by tomorrow. I still don't see any signs of a roof leak. That's good news. I haven't actually been up on the roof though. It may be a disaster when I finally get around to taking a look. I wish I could rig a series of automatic pumps to remove all the water for me, but it just doesn't work. I've tried pumps before and they always end up getting clogged with debris that falls from the trees. Once the pumps become clogged, they burn up fairly quickly. Jeez. I never dreamed I'd be seventy years old and still climbing up on my roof every week, but here I am.

I may go pick up the watch from my watchmaker tomorrow. Watches are small, so there's always room for them. I don't know what I'm going to do when the synthesizer repair is finished. I can't take it back to the storage warehouse, because that's how it became damaged in the first place. There's really no room for the thing in the house either. I'm hoping I can convince the vintage guitar store to take it. Unfortunately, it's not as desirable as my other synthesizers. At any rate, I hope the repair technician is really slow. Maybe I'll think of something by the time he gets finished.

Dash ate well today and seemed happy enough. He stumbled badly on his walks though. It's almost time to fit him for a Help 'Em Up Harness like Dot used to wear.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2191 - Blogiversary

I'm beginning my seventh year as a blogger. Seven years is a long time. When I started this journey in December of 2009, I never dreamed that it would become such a marathon. I remember that people were amazed when I posted for five hundred consecutive days without missing a day. That was nothing. Tornadoes, power outages, computer crashes, Internet problems, illness, business travel, and a simple lack of anything to say haven't stopped me yet. At two thousand one hundred ninety one days and counting this blog has acquired a life of it's own. What started as a simple daily journal has slowly evolved into a chronicle of the aging process. I'm not the same person I was seven years ago. If I can manage to continue for another seven years, I'm sure there will be further changes that I couldn't possibly anticipate. I know blogging isn't as popular as it once was, but I hope that some of you will stay for the journey.

The journey is certainly a slow one at times. I inch along trying to keep my head above water while still making a little forward progress. Today, I picked up where I left off yesterday. I climbed up on the roof and got all the water off. It's a good thing I did because the roof was covered in a thick blanket of wet leaves. The leaves had to go. They're heavy and the roof has enough problems as it is. I finally replaced the mini-blinds that I burned with the ceramic heater. The new blinds look good, but cutting them to length wasn't nearly as easy as the instructions said it would be. The process involved tying precise little knots in the string that connected the blinds together. I'm evidently not very good at tying tiny knots.

While I was trying to put the blinds together, Dot woke up from a nap and pooped in her bed. I didn't notice this right away, but I did notice something brown on her paw when she came over to watch me work. Hmm. I've got to quickly get the poop off her paw, so she doesn't track the mess all over the house. She doesn't have her harness on, so it's going to be a bit difficult to lift the paw without causing her to fall. And where is the wet rag when I really need it?  This happens almost every day. I cleaned Dot up. I retraced her path back to the source of the poop. I cleaned everything up using a couple of doggie poop bags. I put the soiled blanket and a small rug in the washer and went back to assembling the mini-blinds.

While all this was happening, I got a call from someone wanting some website changes. I listened to what was needed, asked for some files, and never mentioned that I was cleaning up dog poop while we were talking. When I was younger, the work project might have assumed a higher priority. Now, I know better. Getting rid of the smell of poop in the house as quickly as possible trumps everything.

I foolishly thought I might have a little money left over this month. What was I thinking. I forgot that my property taxes are due this month. It's always something. Inside my tax envelope was a little note saying that my bill was $150 lower because of some referendum that voters passed earlier this year. My first thought was that this was a pretty pitiful savings. Then, I looked up last years bill in Quickbooks and just as I thought, my new bill was actually larger than last year's. Yup. Taxes never really go down.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1181

The day started well, but ended with a mishap. Dot's rear legs gave out on her evening walk and she couldn't get up again. I've been afraid this was going to happen for a long time now. Dot is getting old. I knew she could never make it home, so I called Janet to come pick us up in the car. Dot is resting comfortably now at home, but she'll need to go to the vet tomorrow. Hopefully, she just overexerted herself today and maybe sprained something. There's a good chance she tore her anterior cruciate ligament though. ACL injuries are very common with older Dalmatians. Usually when an ACL injury happens, the dog isn't doing anything strenuous. Today, Dot was just walking slowly on level ground. That's the way it happens though. The ligament tears unexpectedly, just like an old rubber band breaking. I'm going to hope for the best and not even think about surgery at this point. We've done the TPLO surgery with other dogs, and it's pretty major. We'll know more tomorrow.

I never would have dreamed that this would end up being a traumatic day. The morning was uneventful, and so was the trip to the dog park a little later. Dot even seemed playful at the dog park. Maybe she was a bit too playful.

I started getting my tax records organized to take to my accountant this afternoon. It's always disappointing to see how much money just evaporates in a normal year with very little to show for it. The gas and electric bills looked pretty normal, but the cost of phone, cable, WiFi, and Internet services has grown exponentially. Health care is even worse. You don't even want to know what I have to pay for health insurance these days. Oh, I sold a house in 2012 too. Uncle Sam is already waiting for his share of that sale. When I look at the numbers, it's hard to feel like I'm doing well. It's hard to feel like the whole country is doing well. I think we are all just treading water.

I'm doing my best to keep the economy alive though. The Land Rover folks should be doing well after they get finished taking my engine apart. Whoever wins the bid to put on my new roof should be doing pretty well to. I certainly haven't gotten any low bids on the roof yet. I've got to hire a landscaper later this Spring as well. I could always do things myself again, but that would just be throwing good money after bad. Everything I've planted in the past three years has died.

Send your prayers to Dot. She's going to need all the help she can get.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1054

For the second time in two years, I received a letter from the Missouri Department of Revenue telling me that I was behind on paying my Missouri state taxes. WTF? I have never lived or worked in Missouri in my life. I thought I had this whole thing resolved last year when I finally managed to talk to someone in the Missouri tax department who told me the whole thing was a bureaucratic mistake. The person I talked to must not have told anyone else though, because I got exactly the same letter again this year. And you still wonder why I don't have a lot of faith in government agencies? I only know what I see, and I see a lot of incompetence in government agencies at all levels. Of course, I see a lot of incompetence in the private sector as well. There is more than enough incompetence to spread around these days.

The time changes tonight. I used to be so obsessive that I'd reset all my watches whenever there was a time change. Now, I don't even bother. There's always something lying around that shows more or less the right time, whatever the season happens to be. For someone who likes watches, I have very little interest in what time it is anyway. A couple of hours one way or the other isn't going to change my life very much.

Janet finally got her car back from the body shop today. There were so many cars damaged in the big hailstorm last June, that it has taken until now for many cars to get repaired. Janet's car was literally in the shop for three months. This was only a hailstorm too. I can only imagine how long it is going to take before people in New York and New Jersey get their lives back to normal after the hurricane. Sadly, some of them never will. After Katrina, a lot of people in New Orleans just gave up and moved to Dallas and Houston. They're still here.

Janet volunteered me to take a mother/daughter portrait of one of her friends tomorrow. The lady wants to have her picture taken at our lake, paddling in a kayak with her daughter. I asked her if she'd ever been in a kayak before and she said no. Hey, what could possible go wrong? Oh, did I mention that her dogs were supposed to be in this picture as well.

Wolfgang is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 833

I got a message this morning that one of my college classmates had died after a long battle with cancer. Spending as much time with dogs as I do, I'm all too familiar with the cycle of life. Some of my very best friends are sitting in little urns on our coffee table. It's different though when someone passes away who is exactly the same age as you are. It makes you realize just how fragile and short life can be. Whenever a friend dies, I resolve to make the most of the rest of my life. This resolve seldom lasts long however. The simple mechanics of daily living seem increasingly complex and any grand plans I once had continue to fade away. My college friend accomplished a lot during his short time on earth. Sometimes I wonder whether I've done anything at all. Maybe being an observer is not enough.

The mower charged up just fine last night, so right after I finished walking the dogs, I mowed the grass for the first time in 2012. If the front yard was filled with Bluebells like the ones that are starting to appear in the fields behind our house, I wouldn't bother to mow at all. Unfortunately, there are no wildflowers in our yard; just a lot of wildly growing weeds.

Continuing the theme of broken things that I've established this Spring, a mercury vapor lamp in the back yard burned out last night. I called an electrician to replace the lamp, since it is located right next to where the power comes in from the utility pole. I'm so clumsy that I'd probably electrocute myself if I tried to change the lamp myself. We installed the lamp for security years ago, but in recent years it has become more of a nightlight for me and the dogs. Dash seemed restless last night without the soft light streaming in the windows and it seemed a bit too dark to me as well. It's weird that everyone at our house sleeps better with light streaming in the window, but that's just the way it is.

I returned to the rental property this afternoon to continue my cleaning efforts. I patched the holes in the Sheetrock and started to clean the floors. A word to the wise: don't ever put slate floors in a rental property. The dark floors hide the dirt so well that nobody bothers to clean them. When I got out my wet mop to clean the floors, I discovered they were filthy. I don't think any renter has bothered to clean them since they were installed. Although it's often hard work, I don't mind cleaning up the rent house. It's peaceful down there. No phones or Internet to interrupt me. As I slowly and methodically bring the place back to the way it was when I used to live there, I have many fond memories of the good times I had there. Life was simpler then. Much simpler!

I took the last of the K-1 forms that have been arriving in the mail to the accountant today. I think I'm finally good to go. Taxes are another thing that have become more complex over the years. You'd think with such a complex tax return, I'd be making a lot of money. Sadly, this is not the case. It's all just a lot of bad investments.

Chloe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 823 - St. Patrick's Day

Dot is doing a lot better today. Since she doesn't have a limp or any lingering effects from yesterday's trauma, I'm inclined to think she really did have a seizure. We'll never know for sure though, since I wasn't there when it happened. The important thing is that Dot is more or less back to normal.

Health is so important, for people and animals. I got two e-mails today from the families of friends who are losing their battle with cancer. One friend was a college classmate and the other an animal rescue volunteer. It's sobering to realize how tenuous our hold on health can be. One minute you're fine and the next minute, you're facing the battle of your life. I saw both my parents lose their grip on good health, and I'm sure my day will come as well. We all need to learn not to waste the good years we are given.

I seldom edit this blog, but I realized this morning that today was actually St. Patrick's Day and not yesterday. I don't know what made me think that the holiday was yesterday. Probably I just saw some news anchors on TV wearing green ties and didn't think any further about the subject. At any rate, I moved the St. Patrick's Day header from yesterday's post to today's. I'd hate for people to think that I'm so out of touch that I don't even know when I am experiencing a holiday.

I was going to bag up the leaves in the back yard this afternoon, mostly because I've been seeing my neighbors bag up their leaves. This means that the trash people will probably be picking up leaves this week. It wouldn't have been good to bag up the leaves today though. It rained last night and each bag would have been twice as heavy as it should be. Maybe if the weather is nice tomorrow, I can still get everything bagged up in time. I think there is only one leaf pick-up day all year, so I'd better not miss this one.

I got another letter from the Missouri Department of Revenue today. I was shocked. They actually admitted that I was right and that I didn't owe any Missouri State Tax after all. They thanked me for my input and said they would close out all my tax files. I guess this is good news, but it still doesn't answer the question of why I had a Missouri tax file in the first place. Like I said earlier, I've never lived in Missouri.

Tomorrow looks like a good day to go to the dog park. It also looks like a good day to do yard work. We'll go to the dog park first, and hopefully there won't be much time left to do yard work when we return.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 804

So, I get this letter in the mail today from the Missouri Department of Revenue. It says I haven't paid my taxes for 2007 and 2008. What the Hell? I've never lived in the state of Missouri in my life. I always pay my taxes. I don't have any clients in Missouri either. I have no connection with Missouri whatsoever. Eventually, this will all get sorted out, but I don't look forward to the process. Every time I've had to deal with the government on any level, it has turned into a giant hassle. There is just no easy way to deal with a bureaucracy. My accountant will probably be happy enough if I can't get this mess sorted out at all. I'm confident that he can get to the bottom of things, but it will cost me. Jeez, I hate dealing with government officials. It doesn't matter whether you're trying to get your drivers license renewed or your property taxes reviewed, it's a big hassle.

Sometimes I think my clients have no idea what they're paying me for. I get calls all the time from clients asking me why their internet is slow, or what their e-mail password is. I don't know these things. I don't even want to know these things. Today, I spent quite a while on the phone trying to explain why I didn't have administrative access to a Facebook page I never created in the first place. Somehow these folks thought that because I was their webmaster, I also knew everything about their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Nope! The ironic thing is that the people who called me probably created the Facebook page themselves and just forgot their own user ID and password.

Where is the big job I've been waiting for? Every year there is usually one big job that pays for the whole year. In good years, there are two or three of these lucrative assignments. So far this year? Nada. Zip. Nothing. I'm certainly busy enough, but I feel like I'm being nibbled to death by ants.

I need to find something interesting to do on Mondays. On Tuesdays, I almost always take a dog to the vet. On Wednesdays there's dog training class. Not much on Thursdays, but Fridays have become more interesting just by the simple act of going out for breakfast. I need an equally simple diversion for Monday and Thursday. You may wonder why Saturday and Sunday aren't on my list. That's simple. Any day where I don't have to work is automatically interesting.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 762

I had another quarterly review with my financial adviser today. These periodic reviews have been pretty depressing for the past several years. I'm a conservative investor by nature, and for many years my portfolio had a solid foundation of municipal bonds, treasury bills, and very predictable equities. All that is out the window now. The interest rate on treasuries is near zero. Municipalities are defaulting on their debts. Even the best blue chips can drop ten percent in a day if somebody sneezes in Europe. What's a guy to do? We ended 2011 right where we started, even though there were innumerable ups and downs along the way. People like me don't make money in the market anymore. There are very few attractive options. Day traders make money. Day traders lose a lot of money too. That's why I'm not a big fan of short-term trades. It's all a big gamble now.

I finally got the Dalmatian Rescue website updated today. I found time to write another watch article as well. Since it was a holiday, there weren't as many messages from clients. There was a message from the Shop NBC folks though. It said to hurry up and finish the demo I promised them. I've been avoiding doing this demo because I know I don't have the time to do it right. It's going to be a one take wonder when the time comes. Apparently that time is coming very soon. I had to promise them something by tomorrow. What the hell. Tomorrow doesn't look like a very busy day. I'm definitely not an on-air talent, but most of the people on these shopping channel shows aren't either. I just need to remember that they were the one to ask me to be on the show. I certainly didn't ask them. My goal is just not to embarrass myself too badly.

Quarterly estimated taxes are due tomorrow. I need to remember to send mine in this time, especially since I completely forgot about the last quarter. Oh well. I'll catch up on things tomorrow. It's not like I owe the government a lot of money or anything. I just didn't make that much last year. Maybe this year will be better. It would be nice to make enough to offset the loses my financial adviser told me about today.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 380

There must be a 12-step program somewhere for people like me who have trouble throwing things away. It's painfully obvious that I need to start tossing some things in the office, but it's not nearly as easy as it should be. Today I needed to find a place for the new computer. You'd think I could just set it down somewhere, but every square inch of available real estate was already covered with something. There was literally no room for the computer in the entire office. I finally decided that since I hadn't recorded any songs in almost five years, some of the recording gear could go to the storage warehouse. This carved out enough desk space to set the computer down, but it also made me a little sad. Why haven't I written any new songs lately? Songwriting used to be one of my favorite things. I think there's a part of my brain that just like my storage room. I store away old interests in hopes that they will be rekindled sometay. You never know. I might have a song or two left in me.

It was unbelievably warm today for the end of December. When I walked the dogs this afternoon, I didn't even need a jacket. I don't know long this T-shirt weather is going to last, but I'm certainly enjoying it. The park is really pretty in an austere kind of way in December. All the native prairie grass has turned dry and golden. It almost looks like wheat waiting to be harvested. The leaves on the ground still have their Fall color and the dogs love to run through big piles of them. In another month or so, everything will start looking soggy and bedraggled, but right now there's a picture waiting to be taken around every corner.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. I used to always buy something for the company at the end of the year to take advantage of Section 179 expensing, but I think that's how the office got so cluttered. I don't think I'll buy anything tomorrow. Lowering your tax liability isn't quite as big of an issue when you aren't making any money.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day