Day 2822

I'm getting so tired of telemarketers, Caller ID spoofing, Phishing attempts, and data breaches that it seems like it would be easier to be off the grid entirely. I just don't understand why some people go to such extraordinary lengths to make life difficult for others. It's only going to get worse. After the whole Equifax debacle, I think it's just a matter of time before 100% of the population has their personal information compromised.

The older I get, the more scammers I seems to attract. It's irritating. My Dad was the victim of a telephone scam. That was back in the day when people were trusting and just picked up the phone whenever it rang. Now, even with Nomorobo and assorted call blocking apps provided by the phone companies, the telemarketers still manage to break through. I'm beginning to understand why people prefer to send text messages. Answering your phone has become a liability. I don't even trust my Caller ID anymore. You never know who is on the other end of the line.

Today I had to block my own phone number. Apparently it is pretty easy for spoofers to makes calls seem like they are originating from your own phone. They can also make them appear to be coming from someone in your own neighborhood. I don't understand why the phone companies can't get a handle on these scams. Probably for the same reason that Facebook can't seem to get a handle on fake news. Perhaps humans are just too inherently evil to be trusted with technology. When I was a kid, people even trusted door-to-door salesmen. The Fuller Brush Man was a well respected member of the community. What have we become? My mailbox is filled with junk mail. I'm inundated with telemarketing calls, and I never open my front door to a stranger.

Almost lost in today's batch of junk mail was a letter from my sister telling me that she has stage three cancer. She seemed upbeat and pretty matter of fact about her prognosis, but I was stunned by the news. Way too many people I know are dealing with cancer. It hits pets pretty hard too. Dot and Dash were both diagnosed with cancer and so was Spot, our very first Dalmatian. I'm kind of nervous about going in for my own annual physical. I feel healthy, but lord knows what the doctors might discover this time.

I really shouldn't postpone my physical, but I've been postponing everything lately. My excuse for postponing my physical is that I'm thinking of switching doctors soon. Maybe that's a good excuse. I have no real excuse for postponing jury duty. I just don't want to serve on a jury. A lot of small home repairs have been postponed because I don't have the money to pay for them now. I'd postpone tomorrow if I could, but time just keeps marching on.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2572

Why have the Russians suddenly become this huge problem? Something seems fishy to me. Let's say that the WikiLeaks information originally did come from the Russians, even though Julian Assange denies this. The WikiLeaks information was all true. Even the Democrats acknowledge that John Podesta's e-mails were authentic. So, are we supposed to believe that our democratic process was compromised by revealing information that was actually true? Heaven forbid. This just seems like a lot of sour grapes. Whatever the Russians are doing, they've been doing it all along. We do the same thing to them. It's called spying. This manufactured crisis didn't happen overnight. Personally, I don't think Obama cares what the Russians are doing. He just wants to create havoc for Donald Trump by pitting hard-line republicans like John McCain against him and making it as difficult as possible for the new administration to conduct foreign policy. This would certainly explain throwing Israel under the bus at the United Nations too. People should be outraged at the way we threw Israel under the bus, but they are too busy being outraged about a bunch of things that don't even matter. Grow up people and quit being such sore losers. Instead of pardoning a bunch of criminals and thugs during his last days in office, Obama should pardon Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. I learned more factual information from these two guys than I have from any politician.

As you can see, I need to get out more and quit watching so much television. I'm dangerously close to talking back to the television like my Dad used to do. Is is a bit distressing that there is almost nothing to unite us anymore. There is no objective truth either. All the recent furor about fake news has made me realize that most of what I've been listening to for the past fifteen years has been fake news. It's all fake news. I don't trust Fox. I don't trust MSNBC. I don't trust any of it. It's sad that we have become so tribal. Worst of all, Facebook has ruined everything. Now that I know what my friends really think, I don't trust them either.

It should come as no surprise that caring for an old, sick dog has become my solution. I don't have time to argue about politics. Each morning I try to gather my wits about me and get ready for a day of cleaning up poop, helping Dot walk, and keeping her from injuring herself. I try to keep Dash engaged too, so he doesn't feel left out. Dot did very well today. Maybe it was the cool temperatures and low humidity. She walked with confidence and for the most part, was able to move her rear legs without my help. Dot did poop on the floor, but I was able to make a dramatic save and quickly place a nearby piece of paper under her before the poop hit a rug. Little things like this make my day.

An old college friend called the other day and wants to have lunch when he is in town next week. This shouldn't be a dilemma, but of course it is. For starters, I don't eat lunch anymore. I don't feel comfortable leaving the house for very long either. I wouldn't mind seeing the guy though. I wonder if I'm starting to use Dot as an excuse when I actually could go somewhere. It's complicated.

I do still eat breakfast, so I'm looking forward to going out for a tasty meal tomorrow morning. My breakfast excursions are perfect. The dogs are sleeping after their morning walk. My favorite place is nearby, so I'm rarely gone much more than an hour. I don't have to talk to anyone, but I like the other customers and feel vaguely connected anyway. It's just what I need.

Petey & Greta are our Dalmatians of the Day

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Day 1530

Where did today go? It seems like I got up and all of the sudden, it's time to go to bed again. I certainly didn't do that much. The big event of the day was giving the dogs a bath. The neighborhood dog washing place that lost its lease several months ago has reopened in a new location. We always like to support neighborhood businesses, but I sure wish this place was back at its old location. I don't think I'd visit this new place after dark. We encountered some pretty strange people wandering around in the parking lot.

The dogs are nice and clean again though. That's good. They are about the only thing in the house that's clean. I changed the sheets on the bed and did a load of towels, but that's as close to cleaning as I got. The house is still a mess.

My worries about Dash have distracted me. It's hard to believe that he could actually be sick, especially since he looks and acts completely normal. Cancer can be that way. One of my neighbors was playing golf and working in his garden one week, and the next week he was dead. Lots of Dalmatians in the rescue program have had cancer over the years. Few beat the disease entirely, but many were able to live many more happy and active years after treatment.

I've reluctantly learned to trust doctors as a result of my own liver problems. Hepatitis C has few if any symptoms until the very end. It is easy to lull yourself into a sense of false security, since you still feel good as the disease progresses. Hepatitis C is serious though, just like cancer. I've learned now, that if my doctor is worried, I need to be worried too. That's why Dash is going to get the best possible care, starting immediately. Most people and pets don't die from cancer. They die from waiting too long to diagnose and start treating it.

I thought I'd do my monthly assignment for my writer's group this afternoon, but the writing took a different direction than I expected and it surprised me. Oops. I'll finish the piece tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Well, that's when it's due. I procrastinate about everything except my pets.

I noticed that my next door neighbor hired somebody to rake up all their leaves this weekend. Now, they'll probably be mad when my own leaves start blowing back into their yard, as they inevitably will. I hate to rake up all my leaves just yet though. They've been a great way to cover up all the dirt in the back yard and keep the dogs from getting too muddy when they run outside on a rainy day. As soon as the leaves are raked up, I'll need to re-landscape again, since the grass is all dead.

I'm staring at a growing pile of tax documents sitting on the corner of my desk. Is it that time of year again already? I procrastinate with taxes too. I quit doing them myself years ago, but now I find it hard to even gather up all the information for my accountant. There is just no satisfaction in giving the government money it is sure to waste.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1012

The Dalmatian Rescue group has another casino party today. We use these casino parties as fundraisers to help the dogs. Often the people who hire us to put these events together are other charities conducting their own fundraisers. I've worked with animal rescue organizations for a long time and it seems like most of what we do involves raising money. Money is the gasoline that fuels practically everything we do in society. If you start looking at things this way, you'll soon start seeing your own job as just another fundraiser with you and your family as the beneficiaries. You just can't do much without money these days.

I have traded services with one client of mine for over a decade. There are no invoices or bills. No money is involved whatsoever. I just do what they want. And they do what I want. This odd arrangement works because we are lucky enough to trust each other and we have mutually beneficial skills. I often think it would be nice if everything in life worked this way. It would be nice to just walk up to a gas pump and fill my tank, confident that I was doing something equally beneficial for the oil companies in return. One of the great things about the Internet is that at least conceptually, the whole thing is free. Since the ability to connect people together has real tangible value, you and I have access to an enormous wealth of knowledge for free. I don't really know how a world without money would work however. First of all, everyone would have to be totally trustworthy and they would have to have real useful skills.

I'm not sure I have any useful skills myself. I'm an advertising man. The only way I could repay the world for my free gas, electricity and food would be to use my communication skills to convince others to use real money to buy things they don't really need. Oh well, it was a nice thought. Until utopia arrives, I'll just continue helping with fundraisers and trying my best to earn a living.

It was a beautiful day. As I was doing my weekly shopping, I was struck by the fact that the year is already winding down. There are already Halloween items for sale all over town. In one store, I even saw a stack of Christmas lights. By the time I hang my own Christmas lights, the election frenzy will be over. I don't know who's going to win, but I have a feeling that when I wake up on Christmas morning, the world is going to look pretty much the same.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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