Day 3236

Nothing unusual happened today. That's always a good thing. Dash slept well and there were no further seizures. He got me up once during the night, but we were all able to get back to sleep. No rain either. I really can't complain.

Dash was very slow on his walk this morning, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong. He was just slow. I was slow too. There was no reason to hurry. After breakfast, I ran my usual Saturday errands. When I went to the vet to pick up meds for Dash, a family was surrendering their dog. It was sad. The kids wanted to keep the dog, but the Mom didn't. I got the impression that a divorce was involved. Dogs get caught in the middle of a lot of bad situations. I hope this one does better next time.

There were no strawberries at the grocery store this week. This wasn't good. Strawberries are a major ingredient in my morning smoothies. Situations like these are the only times I send text messages. I asked Janet to see if she could find some.

I'm determined to go to the storage warehouse at least once a day. If I don't, I'll never be able to complete my move before the middle of the month when my lease runs out. I was planning to see how long it would take me to disassemble one of the metal shelves today, but when I was actually standing in front of the shelf, it seemed like way too much effort. I just moved a few more things instead. In today's load was an old Singer sewing machine that I repaired at considerable expense instead of throwing it away the last time it broke. Janet has a much better machine now, but I still like this simple one. There was an old lie detector machine that I picked up at an estate sale once. The machine actually worked ten or fifteen years ago. Lord knows if it works anymore. I lost the instructions years ago. There were some die cast model cars that should have gone with the model trains, but the train guy didn't know what to do with them. He said his customers only bought trains. There was a down sleeping bag that I actually sewed myself from a Frostline Kit back in college. Amazingly, the bag is still in good shape. I didn't attempt to lift anything heavy today. I'm not ready for heavy yet.

Janet brought home take out from one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. We don't cook much anymore. Cooking these days is mostly just heating things up in the microwave. I don't think anybody cooks as much as they used to. Fixing food has become more of a hobby than a necessity. Nobody becomes a foodie out of necessity. I have vague, somewhat fuzzy memories of my grandmother's kitchen. She was always baking something. I just go to Panera Bread.

I bought Dash a new pair of boots yesterday and all it took was a single walk to tear a hole in the nylon top. I think these boots are designed for healthy dogs who don't turn their paws under with every step they take. I went back to the hardware store to buy some more Shoe Goo. I wasn't expecting to be repairing these boots for a while, but Dash is full of surprises.

I tried to balance my checkbook this afternoon, but I couldn't get the figures to match the bank statement. Every once in a while this happens. Did I forget something last week or six months ago? Who knows. After a while I just gave up and made an entry that just said "reconcile with bank"

Time to go to the gym again. Wish there was something I could do to strengthen my shoulders and knees. This storage warehouse move is killing me.

Wolfgang is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3225

I voted today. The lines were not as bad as I expected, although I did have trouble finding a parking place. As usual, I was the only one standing in line who wasn't looking at their cell phone. I continue to be amazed by how much time some people spend texting. It's rare if I send one text message a month. The lady ahead of me in line never stopped texting. I can't even imagine texting continuously for 30 to 45 minutes. My fingers would hurt. Since I wasn't using my phone, I had plenty of time to look at people's shoes. Nobody wears decent shoes anymore. Young and old alike were all wearing ugly running shoes. I don't know what this means, but the old people were definitely winning in my precinct. There were at least ten old people in line for every young person.

I wonder why early voting has become so popular? Evidently there were huge lines yesterday when early voting started. It's not like an early vote counts any more than a late vote. I actually prefer to wait until election day because our precinct still uses paper ballots on election day. It also rains a lot on election day, which is why I voted today. Our early voting locations all use electronic voting machines. I guess these things are legit, but they don't inspire confidence. How do you know if your vote is even counted? I often wonder if my voting machine is even hooked up to anything.

I'm sure the country is as divided as everyone says we are, but you'd never know it from standing in line at my polling place. Everyone was very friendly. It felt like people were neighbors first and voters second. Neighbors can be sneaky though. Probably a lot of people were actually voting to cancel out the vote of another neighbor. I know I was.

Dash woke me up several times last night. Once I had to catch him before he fell off the bed and the other times I had to take him outside. I thought we were safe when I saw him squat in the yard, but then I turned around and realized he'd left a trail of poop all the way from the bedroom to the back door. It's so hard to get back to sleep after you've spent fifteen minutes cleaning up poop.

I got caught up with some correspondence today. I'm not nearly as good about answering letters as I used to be. After I get finished writing the blog, there just isn't that much to say. I guess there's nothing wrong with repeating myself. The few people I still write never read the blog anyway.

I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. I'm long overdue. Under normal circumstances I might stop by the Apple Store on the way home and get the new Series 4 Apple watch. I'm feeling poor though. The stock market is doing terrible and my storage warehouse rent is due next week. The watch will have to wait.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3200

I got a text message this morning saying "Busy now. Please text me." I was immediately suspicious, since nobody sends me texts like this. I think Apple has patched the IOS, but I knew it was possible at one time or another for hackers to install malicious malware on your phone if you replied to the wrong text. I looked up the number in my contact list and since it didn't correspond to any known contact, I immediately blocked the sender and deleted the message. I shouldn't have to do this. Most of my land line calls are from spammers and telemarketers. I used to think my cell phone was safe, but increasingly mobile phones have become targets too.

I never though the world would get to a point where I was reluctant to pick up my phone or answer the front door. That's were we are, unfortunately. You have to be suspicious of everyone. I would even be reluctant to open my door to someone in uniform. There are too many documented cases of people buying a police or fireman's uniform at a uniform store and then staging a home invasion if you open the door. I would never even think of picking up a hitchhiker even though I used to hitchhike myself in college.

Even though I don't trust much these days, I thought there'd be a good chance that I'd get a decent breakfast if I went back to the hotel and ordered the same thing I had last week. I don't know how many weeks I can continue these unadventurous outings, but as I've told you many times before, I like consistency.

I like French Toast, but I definitely don't like dealing with family problems. I'm not close to my family. I go to great lengths to avoid most of them, but occasionally our paths still cross. It always seems to blow up in my face. I made a small effort to resolve a few things today, but it won't amount to much. I think I'd be better off thinking I was raised by wolves.

I had to go to the storage warehouse and bring home some more rugs for Dash. The bricks have become too slippery for him. Dash is so shaky on his feet that you could knock him over with a feather these days. Hopefully, the additional rugs will help him maintain his footing. There are still more rugs in the warehouse, but I hesitate to bring them all home yet. Dash is far worse about pooping in the house than Dot was. Pooping on the bricks is bad enough, but it is going to be a real mess when he starts pooping on rugs.

I'm dozing off at the computer again. I guess it's time to get ready for bed. I hope I get more sleep than I did last night. Dash got me up again at 3 AM. By the time I cleaned up all the poop, I was wide awake and couldn't get back to sleep. Hate when that happens.

Spanky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3126

I'm slowly discovering that if you want results you have to use the right form of communication. If you send a voicemail to someone who prefers to text, nothing will happen. If you send an e-mail to someone who prefers to talk, nothing will happen. It's complicated. The electrician prefers to talk on the phone. The roofer and the landscaper would rather text. The art galleries and auction houses communicate almost exclusively via e-mail. So far, only the art conservator and the vintage guitar guy want to talk face-to-face. Maybe that's why I like those old Perry Mason shows. There was no voicemail or texting. The internet didn't even exist. People just called Perry on the phone and he picked it up and answered it.

I never used to think of myself as a nostalgic person, but I'm definitely nostalgic now. Forty nine years ago today, Apollo 11 left this earth on a journey to the moon. I remember that time well. A few days later we would hear that "the Eagle has landed" and the world would rejoice. I wish that same spirit prevailed today. It's not surprising that we've never been back. We don't have shared dreams anymore. Maybe you have a dream, and I have a dream, and the neighbor down the street has a dream, but they are definitely not shared dreams.

I'm going to have to start getting up earlier. It's so hot now that even our morning walks are uncomfortable. Dash still enjoys his walks, but I worry about him becoming overheated. Although I've tried to teach him to drink from a water bottle, he always waits till we come home to drink. Nothing is easy with this dog. Today one of his boots fell off and I had a hard time getting in on again. I've got to get better at this pretty quickly. When Janet visits her family, I'm going to have to get Dash dressed for walks by myself.

The roofers didn't show up today, but I'm still confident that I'll be seeing them later in the week. There is no reason to delay these repairs any longer. Everybody has finally agreed that the repairs are necessary and the weather is perfect. There is no point in spoiling the moment by continuing to complain. This thing is going to get done. Anyway, there's plenty of time to complain next week if the guys don't show up.

I wonder what I used to do in July? I probably just worked. Without a deadline to keep me busy, it's hard to get motivated. When the steering wheel is to hot to touch, you certainly don't want to drive anywhere. There's no point buying anything while I'm still actively trying to get rid of things. There's no point in watching TV, because at soon as I turn the set on, I immediately want to turn it off again.

Maybe I'll think of something to do tomorrow. I didn't do that well today. I picked up a prescription, paid a few bills and the day was over. I probably should have done some cleaning, but I didn't. Dash doesn't seem to worry about being productive. After a walk and a meal, he is content to sleep. I think that dog has the right idea.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2586

I discovered something today. I like rice noodles better than wheat noodles, but whenever I order something online from Pei Wei, there is only a single item on the menu made with rice noodles. Hey, I like Pad Thai, but it always seemed to me that some of the other dinners would taste good with rice noodles too. Today, instead of ordering online, I called the restaurant and asked if I could substitute rice noodles for wheat noodles. "Sure," the guy told me. "You can substitute anything you want." "But it's not an option on the website," I said. Well, yes," the guy told me, "but you can still do it. Do you want to order something right now?" Such a simple solution. Once again, the old fashioned telephone proved to be a better solution than the latest technology.

I think people have forgotten that conversation can solve a myriad of problems. When I have a tech support problem, I always call someone on the phone. Those chat windows that appear on your browser never seem to provide the solution I need. e-mail is frustrating too. You just spend a lot of time typing. Text messages are even worse. I hate it when someone sends me a two word text message and I have to spent ten minutes composing a multi-paragraph reply on a tiny phone keyboard. I don't understand why people don't like the telephone anymore. When the answer is anything other than yes or no, you still need to talk with someone.

I'm kind of a paradox. The telephone is still my preferred method of communication, but I rarely answer my phone. I used to always answer the phone until telemarketers spoiled everything. Now, there's a 98% chance you'll be talking to a telemarketer if you don't recognize the number on your caller ID. The phone is a one way device for me. I only use it for outbound calls. Even outbound calls can test my patience. I hate waiting while listening to a recorded message saying "please stay on the line for the next available agent."

Maybe when you reach the "get off my lawn" stage of life, everything becomes a frustration. I've certainly noticed that more things irritate me than they used to. I was such an easy going person for most of my life and now every day is a series of irritating events. Today, I was furious when I finally got Dash in the mood to walk this afternoon, only to run into a young couple with four large loose dogs as soon as we arrived at the park. It was obvious that the couple couldn't control the dogs, because they were yelling at them to come back while the dogs were racing all over the place. I quickly turned around and went the other way. A pack of dogs coming after Dash was not something I wanted to deal with. I'm seeing more and more loose dogs in the park, even though there are signs all over the place saying that this is illegal. The owners of these dogs are almost always young millennials who are having a picnic, sitting in a hammock, smoking a joint, or doing everything except watching their dogs. I loved the park when it was just empty, undeveloped land. Now that the city has spent a lot of money making the park a recreational destination, I'm always having to deal with my fellow citizens. Dealing with other people is almost always frustrating.

I got a writing assignment today that I'm almost certain that I already wrote in 2013. That's how long I've been working with some of my writing clients. Was this a case of everything old is new again, or did they just forget that I'd already written the article?  I showed the guys the article I was talking about, but haven't received an answer on how to proceed. Maybe after writing over 700 articles, you eventually just run out of new things to talk about.

Dot is definitely not leaking as much. If I take her outside at least once every three hours, she is more or less peeing normally again. I'm surprised that the Incurin is working, since it is primarily prescribed for hormone-responsive urinary incontinence in younger dogs. Dot's problem is severe nerve damage from a spinal injury. She can't even wag her tail anymore.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow. I hope the rain isn't severe, because I'll have to cancel going out for breakfast. The dogs still freak out in a thunderstorm. Hey, there's a loaf of bread in the refrigerator. If it rains, I'll make French Toast. That's almost as good as going out.

Suzie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2321

I thought Dot would get stronger when we discontinued her chemotherapy, but she appears to be getting weaker. Maybe she just had a bad day. Sometimes if her bad leg gets in the wrong position while she's asleep, she has trouble getting it moving again the next day. Maybe the weather is bothering her. It certainly is bothering me. The humidity is bouncing up and down like a boomerang with all the Spring storms moving in and out of the area. Allergies are terrible this Spring too. My eyes are watering constantly and I'm sneezing most of the day. Hopefully, Dot will feel better tomorrow. We've still got a few more days of nice weather before the next wave of thunderstorms is due.

I was surprised to get a text message from an old friend of mine who I hadn't heard from in years. I think the last time we talked, texting hadn't even been invented yet. I still don't understand the fascination with texting. Everybody I know seems to love texting. I still prefer to use the telephone. Of course, I don't answer the phone much anymore. Maybe that's why people text me. The way we communicate has gotten so complicated. I have a sister who refuses to use the Internet, so I write her old fashioned letters in longhand. Some friends only communicate using that message thing on Facebook. Others prefer e-mail. Janet is the only person I text regularly and usually it's just about whether to pick up strawberries at the store. Life was much simpler when we all talked to each other on the phone. That was the only option we had. Increasingly, I don't think a wealth of options makes life better. It's just makes life confusing.

I didn't accomplish much today, but somehow the day went quickly anyway. I need to change the alarm setting on my activity tracker because I'm always up well before the alarm goes off each morning. What was I thinking when I thought I needed an alarm at 7 AM? I'm lucky if I sleep until 5 AM anymore. Dot was restless this morning and got us all up early. When she appears restless, we try to get her outside as soon as possible, so she won't poop in the house. We were successful this morning, but of course she pooped in the house later in the day anyway. Several walks for Dot and Dash, a few loads of laundry, breakfast, dinner, and a trip to the grocery store seemed to consume the entire day. I did complete one small website update, but it was so minor that I almost forgot about it.

My Facebook feed is still inundated with tributes to Prince.  I always liked his music, but never realized what a big deal he was to a generation slightly younger than me. Prince had a huge influence on this generation, just like The Beatles, The Stones, and Pink Floyd had on me. Ever since I was a sophomore in high school, I've been able to measure time by which Rolling Stones song was popular at the time. Truthfully, Prince was a better musician than any of my rock heroes, but he wasn't around when I became fascinated with music. I was preoccupied trying to learn Jimi Hendrix songs.

It looks like it's time to mow the grass again. I never notice until the neighbors mow theirs, and then almost instantly my yard looks like shit. Hopefully, after I mow the grass I'll still have energy to go to the gym. Shooting baskets in a climate controlled gym seems far more appealing than working outside where the air is filled with ragweed and pollen.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2132

Yay! I got a surprise check in the mail this morning from a client who is habitually late. Now I can pay my Visa bill. It's like this every month. I make just enough to get by, but there's never very much left at the end of the month. I suppose I could dip into savings when things get tight, but an odd stubborn pride compels me to leave the investment account alone unless it's absolutely necessary. The salad days are over, but I'd still like to think I can pay my bills using money I actually earn.

We'll see how long this little game lasts. It was frightening to see how quickly my parents savings became depleted when they both became sick. I'm healthy now, but I won't always be. I need to stay prepared. I don't want to become senile and fall prey to Nigerian scammers like my Dad. I don't want to be possessed by manic/depressive demons like my Mom. This makes me overly cautious.

I've grown comfortable with caution, but I think it makes others uncomfortable. People like a little spontaneity in their friends. I guess they'll have to wait. I've convinced myself that if I continue doing exactly what I'm doing, the dogs will live longer, I'll stay sane, and everything will turn out fine. I'm probably fooling myself. Every time I turn on the TV, I realize that I'm living inside a self-created quiet little bubble and the rest of the world is random and insane.

I wish I was a little more like Dr. Who. I think the show is so popular because everyone wishes they were a little more like Dr. Who. In tonight's episode, Peter Capaldi brings Maisie Williams back to life, breaking all his own rules about changing the future and fixed moments in time. I wouldn't need a super power nearly this extravagant, but it would be nice to be able to keep dogs from dying. It would be nice to be able to understand what they are thinking too, just like Dr. Who was able to understand what the babies in the Viking village were thinking by hearing them cry. I wish I knew if Dash was really feeling better. He seems better today, but what do I know. Dogs are often very good at hiding pain.

Janet likes to text a lot more than I do. When we were texting back and forth this afternoon about what to buy at the grocery store, it occurred to me that it would have been a lot easier if we were just talking on the phone. We got it sorted out though. She got the peaches. I got the pumpkin bread and blueberries. I just got another text from her saying that she'll be later than she thought coming home tonight. I probably ought to text back and confirm which bedtime meds to give Dash. I hate texting long words like phenobarbital on my phone though, so I'll just go look at the pill bottles and sort it out myself.

So far, there have been no accidents in the house today. This is a little bonus, just like getting the surprise check this morning. We've still got an hour to go before bedtime though, so anything could happen.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1942

When I went to breakfast this morning, there was a group of older men sitting at the next table. Judging from their shirts and caps, they were all mechanics at a nearby neighborhood garage. Nobody in this group was looking at a cell phone. They didn't even seem to have phones. The men just talked and laughed and told jokes. Everybody used to be this way. Now, these guys seemed like the last practitioners of the art of conversation. I looked around and everyone else in the restaurant was texting or checking their Facebook feed. It's kind of sad that this is what the world has become. I don't think there's any turning back though. We have forgotten how to have a decent conversation.

When I was walking Dash this morning, we met Janet and Dot on the way home. Dot was walking up a small hill and doing great. She's so much happier now that she's starting to get her life back. These short walks are tiring for Dot, but you can tell that she enjoys them. The exercise is making a difference. The atrophy in her rear legs was so severe right after her surgery that her legs just seemed like skin and bones. Now she's starting to get some muscle back. I can already feel the difference.

I was unusually busy today. Usually Friday's are slow, but not today. In addition to my dog wrangling duties, I finished writing several new articles and managed to get my April invoices ready to mail. I've been hearing that Google is going to start penalizing websites that aren't mobile friendly later this month, so I did a little research to see how hard it would be to convert some of my older legacy sites. My own company website is probably one of the worst offenders. I haven't changed it much since the mid-1990's. As it turns out, older table-based static sites like these are some of the hardest to make mobile friendly. I never should of made my sites look like multi-column magazines. One of the reasons why single column sites and sites without navigation buttons are all the rage now is that they are so much easier to re-size.

It's hard to believe that the Apple Watch sold out in just a few hours on the very first pre-order day. It's just as well. I can't afford one now anyway. I bet a lot of companies wish they had Apple's mojo. You come out with an overpriced product with a battery that doesn't even last 24 hours and you still manage to sell more watches in a single day than Android does in a year. Maybe by the time I get one of these gadgets, Apple will have figured out how to improve the battery life.

I don't know what I want to do this weekend. Sleep would be nice. I haven't been getting much sleep lately. My UP band log says that I average 5 to 6 hours a night. Much of that is light sleep too. Since I occasionally fall asleep writing this blog, 5 hours clearly isn't enough. Light sleep is probably why I have all these weird dreams about losing things too. Who cares about a goal of 12,000 steps a day? I think my goal should be 8 hours of sleep every night.

Apollo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day