Day 1868

I'm glad I don't live on the East Coast right now. Blizzard conditions have closed all the airports, making travel to Vandenberg Air Force Base impossible for a couple of people from New York and Boston who were planning on attending the SMAP launch this week. The weather is much better in Dallas, so my only problem will be getting up at 4 AM to go to the airport.

I'm a terrible travel planner, but I knew if I didn't get started today, I would run out of time. I always run into something unexpected when I'm packing. Today, I couldn't find a small tube of toothpaste that the TSA wouldn't confiscate. I couldn't get my laptop to boot up either. It turns out that I forgot to power the computer down several weeks ago and the battery ran out while the computer was still on. When I got this issue resolved, I had trouble setting the second time zone on a radio controlled watch I was planning to wear on the trip. The watch is supposed to set itself using a radio time signal, but somehow I screwed up and ended up with the dial showing the time in London. I probably should take a simpler watch with me. I packed some socks and then noticed that most of them had holes in them. I still can't figure out how to get the WiFi feature working on my new little point and shoot camera. If I can get the WiFi working, I'll be able to send pictures directly from the camera to Facebook and Twitter. Travel never used to involve so much technology. My boarding pass is on my phone. I sure hope this works, because sometimes it doesn't.

One way or another, everything will get done. It always does. I got all my meds packed away in one of those plastic pill containers that old people use. Oh wait, I am one of those old people. I super-glued my comfortable tennis shoes back together and packed a second nicer pair of shoes just in case I decide not to embarrass myself. I still don't know what kind of coat to take. I never get coats right and am always either too hot or too cold.

I did manage to get the camera equipment from yesterday's video shoot put away, but I haven't finished all of my website updates yet. I've got one more to go, which I should be able to finish before bedtime. I thought I'd be able to get caught up on things with time to spare, but I never dreamed that I'd waste an entire hour trying to set a weird Japanese watch and another hour simply trying to turn on my laptop. You might be wondering why I didn't finish my work first. I guess it was a matter of priorities. I'm always confident about meeting my work deadlines. Not so much with technology. Inexplicable software glitches, poorly written instructions, and the occasional catastrophic failure all drive me nuts. I depend on my high-tech tools, but I often hate them as well.

The dogs loved today's unseasonably warm weather. We took a long walk before breakfast and another toward the end of the day. In between, Dot and Dash sunned themselves in the back yard while I struggled to get organized. I wish I didn't wait until the last minute with everything I do, but it's in my blood. I've always been this way. Perhaps it's for the best. If I knew what I was doing ahead of time, I'd probably just worry more.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1738

Very little went as planned today. A persistent telemarketer called over and over again at ten minute intervals until I finally figured out how to block the call. I got a past due notice from a vendor I had parted company with and paid in full over two years ago. I also almost threw away a check from a client because the envelope looked like it contained junk mail.

That was just the beginning. All the links suddenly went dead on a website I had just uploaded a few days ago and thought I was finished with. I have no idea what went wrong, but it took me quite a while to fix the mess. The only thing I can think of is that the server reverted to an older backup copy of the site which contained code that I had subsequently changed. Another client gave me the name of a new product they wanted me to write something uplifting about. I did a little research and discovered that they had named their product after an aircraft that had crashed, killing 73 of the 76 passengers on board. Somebody didn't do their homework.

Dot had a small accident last night because we went to bed late and forgot to take her water bowl up. She tanked up on water around 11 PM and just couldn't hold it. I still think her Incurin pills are working. This was our fault. If I drank a ton of water just before I went to bed, I couldn't hold it all night either. 

Dot is still a little sore from the rabies and leptospirosis injections she got on Tuesday, but she still did very well during her physical therapy session. She was able to go fifteen minutes on the underwater treadmill, which was much better than I expected. The only downside to today's visit was that the vet found several fleas on her. Fleas are always a problem, since we live so close to a large park filled with feral cats and other critters. Both dog have sensitive skin, so we can't use Frontline or other topical products. I actually thought her heartworm pills would guard against fleas, but the vet said they only prevented the fleas from reproducing and didn't kill live ones.

It looks like the city is going to tear up one of the trails the dogs and I like to use and replace it with a much wider concrete walkway designed for bicycles and joggers. I'm not looking forward to this. I liked the park a lot better when it was largely abandoned. Now that the park department considers the place an entertainment destination and keeps adding new things to attract more people, the place is turning into a zoo. There's not much I can do about this though. It's not my park. I guess I was lucky that the place lay dormant and unused for so long.

I'm really glad that tomorrow is Friday. From the way things looked today, this week couldn't be over soon enough.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day