Day 1834

I received a letter from NASA today saying that I'd been accepted to cover the launch of the SMAP satellite at Vandenberg Air Force Base early next year. Now, I need to figure out where Lompoc, California is and how to get there. I was really kind of surprised that my application for NASA press credentials was accepted. NASA only invites a small number of social media correspondents to these launch events and I wasn't really sure whether a blog about a guy and his two Dalmatians was what they were looking for. Apparently this is as good a place as any to talk about space travel, so I'm glad that NASA likes the blog.

I'm a bit apprehensive about this upcoming adventure, but I really think I need to do this. I've always thought that if you don't keep trying to expand your horizons, you slowly whither and die. I haven't done anything really new in quite a while, so maybe it's time. This really isn't as implausible as it sounds. I'm a good writer and I've been a huge fan of the space program for most of my adult life. This could be the start of something. Just having the opportunity to interview NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers and take photos at Vandenberg Air Force Base is quite an honor. I just hope the launch doesn't get delayed by bad weather or something, since I have to pay for travel and lodging myself. A delay in the launch could get expensive. The SMAP satellite is actually pretty significant, since it will map soil moisture over the entire planet, helping to predict droughts, provide an early warning for floods and landslides, improve weather forecasting, and help farmers improve crop yields. I'm looking forward to this as only a slightly reclusive science nerd can.

It rained this morning, so I wasn't able to get my Christmas shopping completed before the crowds descended on the shopping malls. The dogs come first, so I patiently waited for a break in the rain to get them outside to poop and take their morning walk before I went shopping. Despite the late start, I was still able to find a parking place at Northpark, so everything ended well. Hopefully I won't need to go shopping again for a long time.

I've been worried about Dot's increasingly shaky rear legs, so our vet gave her a thorough examination today when we went for our physical therapy appointment. Dot's mobility has decreased since her last exam, and she appears to be experiencing some sort of neurological damage. The vet said that we could get an MRI of her spine to see if we could isolate what was causing the problem, but that an MRI or CAT scan wouldn't really give us more options. Dot is too old and frail for spinal surgery and this type of surgery is risky even for a young dog. Probably some sort of pain management program is the best we can expect at this point. The good thing is that the acupuncture and water therapy that we are already doing has been very beneficial and has significantly slowed down her inevitable decline. We've just got to come up with a way to keep her active without causing her any more pain.

The only thing I wasn't able to do today was get the nail removed from my tire. Luckily, the tire is still holding air and shows no sign of leaking. I was able to make an appointment to get the tire fixed at the dealership early tomorrow morning before the place closes early for Christmas Eve. You'd think I could just go to a nearby gas station to get the tire fixed, but my tires are filled with nitrogen instead of air. I always have a way of making even simple things difficult.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1655

When I was leaving the doctor's office today, I noticed a little piece of metal sticking out of my tire. This looked like something superficial that I could pull out with a pair of pliers myself, but since I was near the Land Rover dealer anyway I decided to drive over and let them get the piece of metal out of the tread. As soon as the technician began prying the little piece of metal out of the tire, I began to hear air escaping. I quickly learned that the tire was a total loss, due to the location of the puncture, and that I need a brand new tire. Yikes! This wasn't what I expected at all.

I sure was glad the dealer convinced me to purchase tire and wheel protection coverage when I purchased the car. I thought it was a big waste of money at the time, but in retrospect it turned out to be quite a bargain. It turns out that my fancy low profile nitrogen filled tires are quite a bit more expensive than the old truck tires I had on the Defender. I never dreamed a tire could be this expensive. I didn't have to pay for this one though, and I will always make sure I have tire and wheel protection coverage in the future.

My doctor visit was a bit disappointing. I thought I'd be able to convince the doc to discontinue a few medications, but instead he wanted to put me back on statin drugs to improve my cholesterol levels. My liver doctors had taken me off the statin drugs during my Hepatitis C treatment and I thought I was done with them forever. When I asked the doctor why he wanted to try statins and niacin again he told me that my new liver wouldn't help me that much if I had a heart attack. He also told me that my Cortisol levels were too high. "What causes that," I asked? "Stress." the doctor said. "You need to get rid of the stress in your life." "Well, how do you expect me to do that," I asked incredulously. "I don't know," the doctor said. "My Cortisol levels are even higher than yours." This made me smile. It almost made me laugh out loud.

I've always thought that I led a relatively stress-free life. Truthfully, it's just about impossible to avoid stress entirely in today's fast paced world. Prices of just about everything have increased a lot faster than wages. Everyone I know seems to expect more, while at the same time having less patience. Even the dogs seem to expect more. When I checked the baby monitor while I was at the car dealer, I discovered that they were both barking loudly. I laughed. Dot and Dash weren't alarmed about anything. It was their dinner time and they knew I was late.

It wasn't a very productive day, but I did make a little forward progress. I won't have to go back to the doctor again for a while, and I avoided a potentially dangerous flat tire on a Dallas freeway this weekend. I'm sure that's worth something. The dogs should actually be proud of me.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1287

I went to the tire store today to get a nail removed from my left rear tire and returned a few hours later with five brand new tires. Yes, I even had to get a new spare tire. This definitely wasn't what I expected, since my tires still have plenty of tread on them. I have a warranty on my tires that gives me free lifetime repairs and I have used it many times to get flats fixed and nails removed. This time I was told that the life of a normal tire was about six years and that I had outlived my lifetime warranty. The tire guy showed me several places where the rubber on my twelve year old tires was starting to crack and told me that the tires could explode at any moment. Since the tire guys refused to work on my old tires, and I didn't really want them to explode at any moment, what choice did I have?  I got new tires.

Tires are a lot more expensive than they were the last time I bought some. Of course that was in 2002. Everything was less expensive in 2002. All in all, my tires have served me well. I have traveled well over 100,000 miles in the Defender on only two sets of tires. With any luck, this new set should last me as long as I still have the vehicle.

It's taking me too long to make fresh juice. If I had anything better to do, I would have stopped this time consuming practice already. Juicing does save money though. Especially when the alternative is freshly squeezed juice at the Central Market juice bar. I just wish Navel Oranges were quicker to peel and that the juicing machine was easier to clean. Apples and pineapples are much quicker to juice, but I've always liked the taste of orange juice. At any rate, I made enough juice today for the rest of the week, so I won't need to complain about juicing for a while.

I think I may have bought the wrong kind of grass seed to fill in the patchy areas in the back yard. I was initially pleased to find seed that was encapsulated in a mix of mulch and fertilizer. This stuff is pretty fool proof to grow. I forgot that the dogs like to lie in the grass though, and the fertilizer component of the mix may be irritating Dash's skin. He sure is itching a lot today anyway. On the other hand, he is always itchy after a bath, so maybe it's that.

I thought I got a call from a client a few minutes ago. Much to my surprise, when I picked up the phone, there was a telemarketer on the line. I looked at the Caller-ID again and realized that I'd transposed the letters of the first and last name in my mind. The call was clearly from someone else entirely. I've always suspected that I have dyslexia and I guess things like this more or less prove it.

Rio is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1286

I discovered why there were all the warnings about wearing gloves and protective eye wear on the can of expanding foam insulation I used to fill cracks in the house this morning. The stuff is nasty. Since I am growing increasingly clumsy, I followed all the directions on the can and dressed accordingly. I hate working with this stuff, but it's still the best way I know to fill the cracks and crevices where bugs can get into your house.

After sealing several dozen potential entry points, I accidentally discovered where the bees were coming from and successfully removed the small but growing hive.  It was a tiring, but successful morning.  I didn't get stung and only managed to get a small amount of the gooey foam on my arm.  The instructions said to let the foam dry on your skin and it would wear off.

The dogs loved their trip to the dog park, since they hadn't been in several weeks. The fun was short lived though, because it was just too hot outside. Even though we brought our own water with us, we only ended up staying about half as long as we usually do. The heat made the bath that came afterwards somewhat of a welcome relief. Dot and Dash usually hate getting a bath, but today they seemed to welcome the cool water flowing over them.

I waited to take my own shower until later, because there was still work to be done. I mowed the grass and sowed some new "deep shade" seed in an effort to fill the patchy areas are are already starting to appear in the grass we put in this Spring. When I had the landscape guys over last week to remove the large limb that had fallen, I asked them why the grass was looking so patchy. They looked genuinely puzzled. The grass should be growing well. The soil was prepared properly. The grass was watered and fertilized properly. There are no insects in the soil as of yet. It's just not growing well. I'm beginning to think that our yard is some kind of Bermuda triangle for horticulture.

This weekend really went quickly. Tomorrow, I'll go back with a serrated knife and cut the rough edges off the expanding foam after it has fully cured. Then, after I paint the stuff, you won't even know it was there. If I don't have a lot of writing work on Monday, I might go out and price some new tires for the Defender. I've started noticing that the slow leak in the rear tire is getting worse, and it's time for new tires anyway. Buying tires is right up there with putting on a new roof when it comes to satisfying ways to spend money. Oh, well. As Mick Jagger says, "You can't always get what you want..."

Dot and Dash have the right idea. They certainly didn't try to turn this weekend into a chore marathon. Right now, they're both taking a snooze on top of the bed's freshly laundered comforter. I'll think I'll join them.

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1110

I thought I'd go look for a lamp today. I've been so pleased with the LED bulbs in the ceiling can lights that I thought I'd find a nice looking floor lamp that used these high tech bulbs as well. The floor lamps in the living room and bedroom are the only lights in the entire house now that haven't been converted to LED bulbs. I went to a lighting studio that I remembered from the days when I was obsessed by furniture and was astonished at how expensive nice looking lamps had become. I found a lamp that would look quite nice in the house, but I wasn't about to pay more for a lamp than I paid for my laptop computer. A floor lamp is not a complex object. It's basically just a bulb at the end of a pole. How something so simple could get so expensive is beyond me. Maybe I should have gone to Ikea instead of a fancy contract lighting studio.

Although I failed to come home with a lamp, I did get a few things done today. I found the air compressor and my tires are now all at the correct inflation pressure again.  I got Janet some fresh blueberries at the grocery store. I got Dash's antihistamine prescription renewed at the vet. I even found a little time to practice my guitar.

Am I the only one who's getting completely sick of hearing about the fiscal cliff every time I turn on the television? If congress does nothing, very little will change in our day-to-day lives. Conversely, if they get their act together and pass some sort of legislation before the end of the year, very little will change either. The country will still be in debt and most of us will still personally be in debt. No matter what happens, we will continue to get up in the morning and plod along the best we can. Some things will get better and other things will get worse. The world will change and the next generation will still think all the changes are completely normal. What's not normal is listening to some of the local news anchors continue to call this year-end financial mess the "physical cliff."  Don't they know? The physical cliff has nothing to do with spending and taxes. The physical cliff was what Thelma and Louise drove their car over at the end of the movie.

I hope Dash's sinus problems clear up soon. I'm getting tired of getting up at 4 AM every morning to let him outside to throw up. Even though he's a lot lighter on his feet than Dot, he still tracks in a lot of mud too. I've got to get better at cleaning muddy paws when I'm half asleep. The bed was covered with paw prints when I woke up this morning.

Alle is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1109

It must have rained last night. I slept through the shower, but there was ample evidence that a storm had passed through. The paths through the park were all muddy and the plants were covered with dew. There wasn't much evidence remaining that it had ever snowed however. That's the way the weather is in Texas. Easy come. Easy go. I was disappointed to see this new rain because it meant all my efforts to clear the ice off the roof yesterday were wasted. Of course, I didn't even have to look to know that the roof was now covered with two inches of standing water all over again. I really think I know how Sisyphus felt, pushing his immense boulder up that hill for eternity.

I got off to such a slow start this morning that I might as well just have ordered lunch when I finally arrived at my designated breakfast restaurant. Since I'm a stickler for ritual, I went ahead and ordered a big breakfast anyway. After I finished eating, I took my warm goose down jacket to a little neighborhood tailor to get a new zipper sewn in. The tailor said he could put a new elastic drawstring at the bottom of the coat as well. I'm glad there are still a few people like this around. I'd hate to throw away a perfectly good coat, just because the zipper was broken.

On cold, damp days like this I tend to get a lot of writing done. What else is there to do anyway? I wasn't under any deadline pressure, but I pretty much got caught up on things for the year today. I probably should have saved a few of these assignments for a rainy day, but hey, it was a rainy day.

I'm tempted to go buy a couple of bales of hay to spread around the back yard. It's going to be impossible to grow new grass until Spring anyway and the mud in the yard is getting worse and worse. I'm not really sure where you buy bales of hay in the city though. Some garden stores carry hay bales around Halloween to set your pumpkins on top of, but that's about it.

When I went to the grocery store today I noticed that my tires looked low again. It makes sense, I guess. Hot air expands and cold air contracts. I suppose I'll have to drag out the air compressor tomorrow and pump the tires up again. I can tell by looking that they only have about 20 pounds of pressure in them now.

I was looking forward to watching a new Dr. Who episode tomorrow, since I enjoyed seeing "The Snowmen" episode last week so much. Wouldn't you know. There isn't going to be another new episode until April. Didn't Series 7 begin last September? Jeez, I've never seen a show take so long to air 14 episodes.

Lou is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 866

I'm increasingly feeling like the captain of a sinking ship. Everything is broken. Lately, when I embark on a repair project around the house, I find myself having to repair my tools before I begin. When I retrieved the handy aluminum garden cart from the greenhouse this morning to begin installing the St. Augustine sod, I discovered that both tires were flat. No problem, I thought. I got the air compressor out of the utility shed and began pumping them up. Neither tire would hold air. The rubber was so dry and brittle that the tires wouldn't make an airtight seal around the rim. Oh, well. I tried. While I had the air compressor out, I decided to check the tires on the Defender. One rear tire was inflated to 40 PSI, while the other was only inflated to 17 PSI. I could understand the low, leaky tire, but how did the other tire get more air in it? A mystery for sure. I never inflate tires to more than 32 PSI.

After two trips to the grass store and many more trips transferring the grass sod from my car to the back yard using my broken garden cart, I was ready to begin. Janet bought some top soil in big bags yesterday. We spread the top soil on the tilled soil to smooth it out and then put the squares of St. Augustine sod on top. The grass looks good, but after we installed all the sod I bought today, only 1/3 of the yard was actually covered. Either the yard had gotten bigger, or the squares of sod had gotten smaller. By my rough calculations, this means at least four more trips to the grass store and 100 more squares of sod before the job is complete.

Our regular Sunday trip to the dog park was the most relaxing thing we did all day. The city could stand to plant some new grass too, because the park is starting to look just as bare as our back yard. The dogs didn't seem to mind the lack of grass. There seems to be an unwritten rule among dogs that the dirtier you are, the more status you have. All the dogs in the park today seemed perfectly content digging holes and rolling around in the dust.

It's hard to believe that it's almost May already. April just zipped by. With tax season out of the way and a real estate agent trying to sell my rent property, there is nowhere to go but up. Hey, I may even try to make some new business calls next week.  That would be a first for a year that is now almost half over.

Parker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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