Day 4646

I surprised myself today. I actually got a lot done. The day started normally enough with Dawn's sunrise walk and my go-to breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit. After breakfast I picked up the pace a bit. I completely rewrote my article for SpaceFlight Magazine, edited the accompanying pictures in Photoshop and submitted the package to my editor, all before a scheduled 10:45 appointment with the dermatologist.

The drive to the dermatologist's office took longer than my exam. I'm told that I need these periodic exams to make sure my actinic keratosis hasn't morphed into squamous cell carcinoma. All was good today, as it always had been in previous exams. The doctor zapped the small keratosis growths on my face and scalp with his trusty blue can of liquid nitrogen and sent me on my way. "See me again in six months," he said. "I thought it was once a year," I replied. I think I see doctors far too often for seemingly needless reasons, but what do I know. One of these days the dermatologist might actually find something important.

On the way home I mailed the letter I wrote to my sister yesterday and then stopped at a plumbing supply store to get some parts for my troublesome toilet. I doubt that the problem is fixable now, but it's worth a try. Every plumber that comes to the house says I ought to just replace the toilet, but I hate to give up on things. Right now I'm just turning off the supply line after every flush. I turn on the supply line and fill the tank again whenever I need to use the toilet. This actually seems to be a simple and effective way to keep the toilet from running. I wonder why I didn't think of this sooner?

Although it was a bit chilly on our sunrise walk with Dawn, it was quite warm by the time I finished running all my errands. It definitely felt too hot for a walk in the park. After a quick lunch I went to the gym again. There was someone on the basketball court when I arrived, so I did my two mile walk on the indoor track first. Surprisingly, I managed to match my outdoor walking pace today. Maybe I should always take my walk before shooting baskets. I doubt that this increase in speed really matters. I'm still painfully slow, indoors or out.

When I returned home there was a two word message from my editor. All it said was "great stuff." I'm glad he liked the hastily written article I sent, but still would have liked more time to write a proper article that included the launch. Maybe the editor, like myself, suspected that the Artemis launch might never happen and just wanted something for the November issue. At any rate, I've got one more article under my belt and can feel like a legitimate space journalist for a while longer. 

As usual, I have no plans for tomorrow. Writing my article under severe time constraints this morning made me realize that I can still be professional when I need to. My hasty article was actually pretty good. There isn't much need for my services these days, so I'll probably just take another walk in the park. I might as well take advantage of these nice cool mornings while I can. Good weather in Texas is a rare commodity.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4622

Just a normal Saturday. We got up early and took our sunrise walk with Dawn. The park was even busier than usual. We must have caught the tail end of a 5K race because we saw lots of people walking rather than running with race numbers attached to their clothing. I don't know how early you'd have to get up to beat the crowds on weekends, but it's probably too early for us.

When we returned home we had our usual weekend breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. You can't eat shredded wheat all the time. I did a few small chores around the house after breakfast and then did my grocery shopping and went to the gym. I briefly thought about walking in the park again, but it was too humid today. 

The stores weren't crowded today because I remembered to go shopping early. I went to the gym earlier as well. Nobody seems to go to the gym on weekends. The place was practically empty this morning. Often this seems like a private gym for twelve people. Since this place is run by a large hospital they probably don't need the LA Fitness customers. I'm sure they do just fine with all their physical therapy patients.

I think I figured out why I don't get the same Fitbit results walking indoors as I do outdoors. I noticed today that I take shorter steps when I'm walking on the indoor track. Fitbit doesn't count the length of your stride, just the number of steps. This probably explains why I can accumulate 10,000 steps in a shorter distance at the gym than I do when walking in the park. Why do I have a longer stride when I'm walking outdoors? One of life's mysteries.

I looked at the long range weather and there appears to be a good chance of rain while I'm in Florida. It actually always rains at some point during the day in Titusville, so this doesn't actually mean much. The passing showers usually don't last long. I've seen thunderstorms at 5 PM and then watched a launch take place right on schedule at 8 PM the same day. That being said, I'd still rather see a forecast of clear skies for the entire week. There's already enough that could go wrong with the rocket. We don't need bad weather to screw things up even further.

I had a long list of things to do this afternoon and didn't do any of them. I did do a load of laundry. Laundry is my go-to activity when I don't feel like doing anything. Janet dusts, I do laundry. I'm trying to adjust my schedule so I get to bed and get up earlier. So far, this effort has been a total failure. I never seem to be able to get to bed before midnight. With a very early flight and an early launch next week, I need to do something. I'm usually so tired on these trips because I never get any sleep.

Ants have invaded the house again. I've noticed that they are falling out of the can lights in the bathroom ceiling. Most of the ants are dead. I guess the heat from the light bulbs kills them. I wish the ants would move on. It's way too late in the season for an ant invasion. At least it's just ants living above the sheet rock in the ceiling. Once we had a colony of bees up there and had to get a beekeeper to come remove them. The beekeeper didn't kill the bees. He just found where they were entering the house and put something with a smell the bees didn't like at the entrance to the hive. The entire colony of bees left and moved somewhere else the same evening.

There is rain in the forecast for tomorrow, but Dawn will get her Sunday outing rain or shine. We can still go for ice cream cones in the rain. I can go mall walking in the rain as well. It doesn't matter what the weather's like when you're walking in an indoor mall. I'd probably enjoy walking at the mall every day if it weren't for all the shoppers. The mall is much more enjoyable for me when the stores are closed.

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4487

Today was busy. After beakfast this morning I joined the other rocket photographers at the NASA Press Site to set remote cameras at the launch pad. I don't set remote cameras myself, but I like to ride on the bus with to other photographers. This is the only time the press is allowed to get close to the pad, so it's a great opportunity to get pictures. I can't believe that some of these guys continue to set remote cameras after all the tales I've heard about ruined cameras and lenses. 

You usually set remote cameras the day before the launch, so there's always a chance that it will rain overnight. Even with protective enclosures, many cameras have been ruined with water damage. If you get lucky and manage to avoid the rain, there's always a chance that your camera will get ruined by rocket fuel or flying debris. The remote cameras are set very close to the launch pad and are triggered to start shooting by the noise of the launch. There are no guarantees that your camera won't get destroyed. Sometimes I wish I had the nerve to try this, but I don't have any cameras I can afford to lose.

Today there was a certain amount of nervousness among even the more experienced photographers because as the morning progressed, we kept hearing news about a major thunderstorm headed our way. This was the same storm system that caused multiple tornados in Georgia last night, so it was something to be taken seriously. Several guys decided not to place their cameras after all. Somehow we managed to set up cameras at all four remote locations before the rain started. The timing was perfect for people like me, but it was little comfort to the photographers who knew their cameras were already getting wet.

I thought I could make it back to Titusville before the weather got really bad and I almost made it. The deluge started right as I was going over the NASA Causeway Bridge. Not the best place to be in a blinding rainstorm. I made it over the bridge and then cautiously made my way back to the hotel. The rain is over now, but it lasted quite a while. I was stuck in the hotel for most of the afternoon. Actually, this wasn't a bad thing because it gave me a chance to get started on my SpaceFlight Magazine article.

I have a hard time getting 10,000 steps a day when I'm traveling. I end up standing a lot, but that doesn't count to my Fitbit. The Fitbit wants me to be moving and burning calories. I usually walk up and down the little street where the hotel is located after dinner. It's kind of boring and there is nothing to see except for other hotels, but it gets the job done. You' think with all the walking I do that I'd feel really fit. Nope. I still spend most of my time feeling old and tired.

I really hope that the launch takes place as planned tomorrow. The weather forecast actually looks pretty good, but there is still a chance of high winds. With Space X launches you've got to worry about the weather at sea too. Even if the booster makes it safely of the pad, it still needs a place to land on the drone ship waiting out at sea. If Axiom-1 can't launch tomorrow, there are all sorts of scheduling problems. The Artemis-1 rocket on the next pad still needs to complete its wet dress rehearsal and the NASA Crew-4 launch is coming up very soon. Crew-4 needs to stay on schedule because the Crew-3 astronauts are waiting to come home. We'll set how it goes. I'd really hate to miss the launch, but any least I've already got a lot of great pictures.

Tomorrow is launch day. I need to get some sleep because it's going to be a very busy day.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4346

I think I've caught up on my to-do list. I've made my remaining medical appointments, paid my mid-month bills, and did some small chores around the house. There is a much longer list of things I'm trying to avoid. I don't think I'll ever complete that list because I'm better at avoiding things than I am at actually doing them.

Today's big event was taking Dawn to the vet. It was a short visit but it didn't feel that way. Dawn hates riding in the car. She's not wild about being at the vet either. All we had to do today was check her urine to see if she was developing crystals or bladder stones again. 

We don't have the test results yet, but hopefully the results will be good. Dawn certainly looks and feels healthier than she was before the stones were removed. The vet said that Dawn needed to lose some weight and he and Janet discussed meds to control her anxiety. I'm not a big fan of these type of meds, but you can't tell a dog to "just get over it," so I'll go along with what the vet recommends. Dawn definitely is a very anxious dog.

I'm getting tired of walking six miles every day. I'm actually getting tired of writing the blog too, but I've got to do something to keep the body and mind active. Most people would probably take a class at the gym, do some volunteer work, or join a group of like-minded people. Not for me. Walking in the woods and writing late at night when the house is quiet are perfect activities for a loner like me.

I have thought about walking on the other side of the lake for a little variety. There are different types of trees and different species of ducks over there. I've actually tried this several times and always return to my tried and true paths. My side of the lake is better. I think the eagles probably agree. I don't know exactly where their nest is, but it's definitely on this side of the lake. The White Pelicans always return to this side of the lake too. It's those obnoxious green Monk Parakeets who make their home on the other side of the lake.

I got a notice today that NASA is inviting journalists to apply to attend the Artemis 1 roll out in December. Should I do this? The rocket isn't actually going to launch in December, but seeing it moved out to the launch pad for final tests should be pretty spectacular. The Artemis rocket and mobile launcher are huge. I think the media is going to be allowed to get pretty close as Artemis is slowly moved to Pad 39B by the same giant crawlers that moved the Saturn V moon rockets to the pad. I have a feeling that I'll apply, now that I've convinced SpaceFlight that I'm their launch reporter for the Artemis program. Too bad these trips are so expensive. If I were rich, I'd be down there every month.

When I was channel surfing while eating breakfast this morning I noticed that there were two different trials being broadcast live on two different channels. I don't think trials should be broadcast at all. It just turns the whole thing into a circus. A lot of people love a circus though, so the practice will probably continue. I'm sure the broadcast networks have focus grouped live trials and realized that they get much better ratings than most daytime fare. Wouldn't you rather watch a murder trial than The Price Is Right? To me live trials are just one more reason to quit watching TV.

It's hard to believe that it's going to be Thanksgiving next week. Where has this year gone? It's kind of like 2021 never happened and 2020 was just an extra long year. Hopefully Covid won't still be a hot topic in 2022. I don't think the virus will ever go away, but maybe as hospitalizations continue to decline and the virus starts competing for attention with heart attacks, strokes, and Fentanyl deaths, people will just forget about it. 

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4050

These weeks go quickly. It's Dalmatian day at the kennel again. Cooper was much more relaxed this week. He has started playing with toys and we discovered that he already knows several commands. If you have a treat in your hand he will sit, lie down, stay, and come. Clyde is still pretty shy, but he will sit and extend a paw for a treat. Charlie is still a crazy nut. He loves the new toy we bought him last week. It is shaped like an octopus with tough webbing tentacles and a head made of a rope that has been knotted into a ball. The toy is virtually indestructible, but give Charlie enough time and he will figure out a way to "kill" it. He loves to take the toy and vigorously shake it back and forth. I'm surprised he hasn't knocked himself out. 

Dawn walked two miles today. We discovered that after she walks her mile in the morning, she will walk the same route all over again later in the day. She might not do this every day, but she seemed to enjoy a double walk today. The weather was so nice this afternoon that we all enjoyed a second walk.

I continued walking again after Dawn and Janet returned to the house. I probably should have gone home with them. For some reason my foot pain returned with a vengeance this afternoon. I was still wearing the special shoes the foot doctor recommended, but there was no magic today. My left foot hurt so bad after I had gone five miles that I could barely make it home. Oddly, my wrist hurt more than usual today as well. Maybe my aches and pains are weather related. The weather was really nice this afternoon, but there were severe thunderstorms and a lot of rain overnight. Truthfully, I have no idea why my joint pain varies from day to day. I understand what is going on with the loss of cartilage, but logically it seems like the discomfort would be constant.

I bought some more N-95 masks today. I have a feeling that we're going to be wearing these things for a while. It's odd that N-95 masks are still hard to find. I have to order them from a specialty medical supply company in New York. You'd think that after companies have had almost a full year to ramp up production, these things would be everywhere.

I'm still thinking about buying a new lens for my camera. I probably will. There's nothing like a new lens to get me photographing things again. I don't have a lot of natural curiosity about the world around me, but I do like to test equipment. I"m much better at preparing for things than I am at actually doing them. Hey, what's to lose? If I ever get to attend rocket launches again or spend time at observatories, I'll be ready.

Janet and I are still trying to figure out Dawn's odd reaction to me. She is very friendly when we are resting on the bed together. She is very nervous when I'm out in the kitchen. She loves to eat, but sometimes she won't even leave the bedroom when I'm fixing her meals. I've learned to never make sudden moves. If I move suddenly, she panics and runs away. She likes me to walk her though and is very good on a leash with me. This inconsistent behavior doesn't make a lot of sense. Dawn has spent her entire life in a kennel. Maybe she just thinks I'm a kennel attendant.

I hope my foot feels better tomorrow. I don't think I'm walking too much, but maybe I am. If I had to give up walking, I'm not sure what I'd do. So much is on hold until the pandemic is over that walking has become the perfect placeholder for meaningful activity. Nobody questions walking. If I sat in my room for months and did nothing, people might become alarmed. If I say I'm going on a walk, everything is fine. 

Bones is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3696

I made it to Titusville. Kennedy Space Center is only a few miles away. Travel days are always tiring. It's windy and raining now, but the forecast looks a lot better tomorrow. By launch day it should be clear again. I hope I can depend on this somewhat optimistic forecast. It's a long way to come to get rained out.

I don't think I forgot anything. At least I remembered the important stuff. I've got my cameras, clean socks and underwear, my reading glasses, and directions to the Space Center. I took better cameras this time. Foolish pride mostly. My little pocket camera takes great pictures, but I certainly don't look like a journalist when I'm using it. We'll see if the pictures are better this time. It probably doesn't even matter if I can't manage to get access to the launch pad for close ups.

Only one person on the plane was wearing a mask today. Actually, I only saw three people in the entire Dallas airport wearing masks. Lots of old people were coughing though. Old people always cough. Luckily, I managed to get through the flight without having a coughing fit myself. Usually I'm the one who coughs and sneezes.

I even managed to get my 10,000 steps today. Instead of having a burger while I waited for my flight, I just walked around the terminal until it was time to board. I hope I can always fly Southwest. They always seem to be on time. The TSA folks are pretty fast, and if you pay a little extra you can board first and always get a good seat. Even though I changed my reservation over and over again, I was still the fifth person on the plane.

My rent car was so high-tech that it was kind of freaky. The steering wheel became very stiff if you got too close to the center line and it tried to nudge me back to the center of my lane. What kind of black magic is this? At first I thought the power steering was broken, but eventually I figured out that this was a feature, not a fault. The GPS was pretty complicated too. I'll get up early and figure it out in the morning.

This trip should be interesting. I'm a member of the press this time. It's still hard to think of myself as a journalist, but maybe it will be a little easier in the future if this trip goes well. I have a feeling that I'm a pretty junior journalist, but it's still a big step. Truthfully, I have no idea what to expect. I've never done this sort of thing before. I probably shouldn't be so apprehensive. I've been writing and taking pictures for a long, long time. How could working for a magazine be that much different?

It's been a long day. I'm going to try to get some sleep before the big adventure begins.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3402

Godspeed Dash. I'll see you on the other side. As Janet and I prepared to say our final goodbyes, I couldn't help but think that we'd done this way too often. We got up early this morning and prepared to make the long drive to the crematorium. These places all seem to be located in little rural communities, far from the city. It was still raining when we left the house and I was hoping that we wouldn't encounter a hailstorm. Our first stop was to pick up Dash at the cancer center. Two of his favorite nurses helped us place him in the car. They'd been with him through thyroid cancer, vestibular disease, a blood clot in the heart, and much more. We all knew this was the end of an era.

I wish pets didn't have to be placed in a freezer after they died. It must be a health regulation. Dash's fur was still soft and silky, but he was very cold. Death still seems strange and mysterious to me. The body looks exactly the same. It seems natural to want to talk to the dead, but you never get an answer. I read an article recently saying scientists now think that the brain lives on for a short time after death. I'm not sure if I like this. If Dash was still aware for a few additional moments, I hope he was comforted knowing that the two people who loved him most were still right there with him.

When we arrived at The Pet Loss Center, we wrapped Dash in his favorite blanket and sat quietly in a dimly lit room with him for a while. We remembered the good times and the bad. We probably only remembered a very small fraction of our time together. The other memories will come and go for the rest of our lives. Life with Dot and Dash was unique and special. Although both Dot and Dash were sick toward the end of their lives, they were basically very healthy dogs. We did so much together.

Since we didn't want to make the long drive to the crematorium twice, we stayed in the area while Dash was being cremated. After watching as Dash's body was placed in the retort, we had lunch in a small country restaurant the crematorium staff recommended. While we waited to pick up Dash's ashes, we enjoyed one of the best meals we've had in a long time. This family restaurant has been in the same location under the same management since 1956. The menu and prices were like traveling back to our childhood in a time machine. Our Moms made this kind of food.

There are now six little urns on our coffee table. Each dog had their own personality, but they were all definitely Dalmatians. There's something special about a Dalmatian that you're not going to understand until one of these dogs joins your family. Fun times. I just wish dogs lived longer.

I took a long walk after we returned to Dallas. I need to get some better walking shoes, but I think I'm going to be doing a lot of walking this year. While I was out today I met a photographer who was taking pictures of owls. There were two large owls, a Mom and a Dad, who were keeping guard over a nest with two baby owls. The guy said the babies weren't ready to fly yet, but that occasionally they  would stick their heads out of the hole in a dead tree where they were living. We traded stories about animals we'd seen in the park and then I continued on my way. Maybe I'll come back and take pictures of these owls someday.

I took the trash out to the curb tonight. It was the only thing that seemed normal about today.

Mattie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3400

I like round numbers. 3400 seems reasonably close to 3500 and 3500 makes 4000 seem possible. I still don't know if I can reach my goal of writing something every evening for 5000 consecutive days, but I haven't given up yet. The thing that keeps me going is that I really don't know what is going to happen in the future. Anything could happen. Maybe the future will be worth reading about. I certainly hope something interesting occurs in the days ahead. Right now there isn't much of a story line. The blog has always been the story of two special dogs. Now that Dot and Dash are gone, so has a lot of my reasons for blogging.

We'll see what happens. Right now, I'm just trying to clean up the house. I took another load to the storage warehouse today. With Dash's support system gone, the house is stating to look bigger. I kind of miss the dog beds and kiddie gates, but there's far too much clutter around here already. It's time to restore some order to the place.

Janet brought an old computer home and wanted me to remove the hard drive so she could donate it. Nobody really wants old computers, but we've found a place that will take them. This was one of those Apple computers that looks like half of a bowling ball with a screen on a swinging chrome arm protruding from the top. I thought it would be easy to remove the hard drive, but apparently Apple didn't think this was a good idea. I had to disassemble the entire machine to access the cleverly hidden drive. It's a good thing I had a complete set of Torx screwdrivers. You couldn't even open the case with regular screwdrivers. Eventually, I finished the task, but I'm still wondering if it was worth the effort.

I got a voice message from the crematorium saying that they were unable to meet our request for a Saturday cremation. WTF? Dash's cremation is scheduled for Thursday morning. When I called to find out what was going on, the receptionist apologized immediately and told me she has been trying to reach someone else named John and had called me by mistake. "I'm so sorry," she said. "We'll see you tomorrow morning." "Tomorrow is Wednesday," I told her. "Our appointment is for Thursday morning." "Oh, I'm so sorry," she told me again. "I don't know why I even said that. Your appointment is definitely scheduled for Thursday." Somewhat reassured, I hung up the phone and continued my housecleaning.

I'm continuing my efforts to keep walking. Walking without a dog is just exercise, but at least Mr. Fitbit is happy. Somehow I've convinced myself that I need to take at least ten thousand steps a day. Ten thousand steps is easy with a dog. It's a little harder when you're just wandering around the house.

This is going to take a while. Dogs of ours have gone to the Rainbow Bridge before, but there was always another dog waiting to greet us when we returned to pick up the pieces. This is the first time there have been no dogs in the house for a very long time. It's awfully quiet around here.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3399

Watching Notre Dame burn left me with an uneasy feeling that civilization itself was coming to an end. Paris has always been my favorite city. Every time I've been there, it seemed to represent what a great civilization could become. The place was magic. I'm not sure I'd feel the same way if I returned today. Terrorist attacks, civil unrest, squalid homeless camps, and this horrendous fire have changed the place. I don't know if the fire was caused by simple carelessness or malicious intent, but it shouldn't have happened. We can do better. This building was constructed during the Middle Ages. It survived the French Revolution and two World Wars. The cathedral was a vibrant and important part of European life long before the United States even existed. The fact that it burned today just seems like a bad omen to me.

I've always loved great cathedrals. Janet and I have climbed to the top of St. Peter's and looked out over the Roman skyline. We've stood in awe in front of Gaudi's Sagrada Família in Barcelona. We visited Salisbury Cathedral on our way to Stonehenge. Once, my German hosts took me on a special private tour of The Cathedral of Saint Lorenz at the end of a business trip to Nuremberg. These places were all amazing to me, but probably Notre Dame was the best of them all. It was very sad to see it burn today.

This morning I made arrangements for Dash's funeral. It isn't really a funeral I guess. Just a private cremation. It will seem like a funeral to us. We will spend some time with Dash in a quiet room with candles and say our final goodbyes. The staff will make a paw print and we will wrap him in his favorite blanket. Then I will carry him to the crematory and we will leave. All this ceremony may seem silly to some, but it brings us closure. We have done this for all our dogs. There are five little cedar boxes on our coffee table. Soon there will be six.

I took a walk by myself this morning. I followed one of the trails the dogs used to love when they were young and active. Jeez. We used to walk a long way. I was winded by the time I returned home. Dot and Dash's decline has been so slow and gradual that I never really realized that our walks were getting shorter and shorter. I forget sometimes that I have been walking dogs in this park for thirty years. I know every inch of this place. We are lucky to live near the largest urban lake in the country. Our park is larger than Central Park in New York. It is very pretty. If you were a dog, this is definitely where you would want to live.

I took some more of Dash's things to the storage warehouse this afternoon. The warehouse is getting full again. Sometimes the whole idea of downsizing seems futile. There are always things you want to keep. I have things of my Dad's that I will never use but it seems disrespectful to throw them away. It's easy to throw away an old computer. It's much harder to throw away dog blankets. You should never throw away your dog's collar. We've accumulated a huge collection of dog collars.

I'm still not used to getting enough sleep. It almost seems unnatural.

Krissy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3154

I spent some time talking with auction houses today. I've got to finish consigning things before I totally lose interest in this downsizing venture. I wish I'd methodically inventoried everything when I was younger. It would make life a little easier if I actually knew what I had. It's probably just as well that my younger self wasn't this obsessive. I'm obsessive enough as it is. Maybe I will regain my enthusiasm if the first batch of auctions go well. Right now, downsizing seems very tiring.

The weather hasn't gotten much better. The sound of raindrops on the roof woke me up again last night. The showers were sporadic today, but it's still pretty dark and dismal outside. I'm amazed that I've still been able to give Dash a walk every day. I don't know how I survived before I had weather radar on my phone. We go outside when it's dry and stay inside when it's wet. Usually it works out pretty well.

I had to pick up some meds for Dash at the vet this morning, but that was the extent of my travels. I really don't put many miles on the car anymore. According to my Fitbit, I walk about as much in any given week as I drive. I drive so little now that I wonder if I'd save on car insurance if I put one of those little tracking devices the insurance companies are pushing in my car. I hate the idea of being tracked by an insurance company, but anyone who uses less than a quarter of a tank of gas a week is bound to get a discount.

I wish someone could explain to me what is is going on in Dash's head. It's easy to say he's becoming senile, but I'd like to know exactly what is going on. I'm not sure there's much we could do at this point, but it's sad to see him so disoriented. He'll stand at the back door forever before making a decision to go outside and pee. Sometimes he'll aimlessly walk in circles while we're at the park, and occasionally he seems to get lost in the house. There are still plenty of times when Dash seems completely lucid, but the moments when he appears totally out of it can be pretty scary.

I have a meeting scheduled with my financial advisor tomorrow. I used to be very interested in the stock market and we would have some lively discussions. Not anymore. I've done the best I can to prepare for the future, but the future seems to be growing more uncertain every day. It would be a miracle if I have thirty years left. Sometimes I think it would be even more of a miracle if civilization has thirty years left. There are way too many potential disasters on the horizon.

The one good thing about aging is that the older you get, the less impending doom matters. Hey, I'm already a survivor. I could be wrong too. Maybe the glass is actually half full. I could be more optimistic, but it would be even better to be more like Dash. I doubt that he spends a lot of time thinking about the future. For a dog, the future is always tomorrow morning.

Emma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2223

Dot had a bit of a setback today. She was perfectly normal on her morning walk, but later in the day we noticed that something was wrong with her left front leg. She was having a lot of trouble standing and walking. Keep in mind that her left rear leg is already very weak. Having both left legs lame made it very difficult for her to keep her balance. I figured out a way to rig her harness so I could support her both in the front and in the back, but I still don't know what is wrong. It could be anything. Her neurological problems could be spreading. She could have injured the front leg somehow. It's even possible that she was having a mild vestibular stroke. What I'm hoping is that she just slept on the leg wrong and it felt numb when she woke up. This happens to me occasionally. If you fall asleep on top of your arm, it often feels numb or prickly for a while when you first wake up. Dot is resting now. Hopefully her condition improves after she's had some rest.

It was a cold, grey day. It still might snow this evening, but I kind of doubt it. I think the worst of the weather is North of us. French Toast and sausages always seems like a good idea on a nasty day, but our delicious breakfast did little to improve the weather. I updated a website while waiting for the weather to improve a bit, but eventually I gave up and went grocery shopping in the rain. While I was out today I picked up one of those digital TV antennas that let you watch over the air broadcast stations without a cable subscription. I haven't installed the antenna yet, but it would be weird if it worked. When I was growing up, we had a TV antenna that let us watch a total of thirteen channels. That's exactly what the digital antenna promises. It's kind of a back to the future kind of thing. If the antenna works, I'd be real temped to drop the U-Verse TV. It's expensive and goes out all the time. Local over the air stations and Netflix is probably all you need anyway.

I was going to cut the tree limb that fell yesterday into manageable pieces that I could take to the curb for big trash day, but it was too cold. I'll take care of this task on a warmer day. I had my hands full taking care of Dot anyway. Why do bad things with the dogs always happen on weekends and holidays? I'm not sure a vet could tell me all that much anyway. This kind of lameness has happened before. It just seems to take longer to recover each time it happens.

I was thinking of going to bed early tonight, but it's already late. Hopefully, we'll all sleep soundly tonight. I need some catch-up sleep. I need a lot of things. I need to go to the gym tomorrow. I need to clean the house too. It's been two weeks since I vacuumed all Dot's rugs and they're getting filthy. At least it's a three day weekend. At my current speed it will probably take two days to get my Sunday chores done. What happens tomorrow will depend largely on how Dot feels in the morning. I hope she's walking again.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 636

Today it was back to basics. There's always a lot to catch up on after a week away. I answered phone messages from clients who apparently still don't believe in e-mail. It seems a bit odd to deal with website changes over the phone, but on the other hand, the people who prefer the telephone save me a lot of time typing. Whatever they want to do is OK with me.

The dogs got a nice long morning walk and then I spent the rest of the day making website changes and getting my September invoices in the mail. Invoicing would go a little quicker if I could just sent PDF files, but most people still want two copies on paper mailed to them. The second copy gets mailed back to me with the payment. I've done things this way for years, but still don't really understand why.

Dalmatian Rescue is going to have a booth at Wags and Waves this weekend. Every year when the area waterparks close for the season, they set aside their final weekend just for dogs. We took Dot and Dash to the Hawaiian Falls event last year and they both had a great time. Dot rode down the lazy river in a tube and Dash chased balls in the wave pool. We didn't even think our dogs liked water, so they sure fooled us. These Wags and Waves events attract thousands of dogs and their owners, so we're hoping we'll be able to raise a little money for the Dalmatians at our booth. Probably a lot of other area rescue groups will be there as well.

I did several loads of laundry today and picked up some clothes from the dry cleaner. Tomorrow, it may be time to get myself cleaned up as well. I think it's time for a haircut.

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 622

We didn't get very far on our morning walk today. Dot saw a lightning bolt way off in the distance and decided that the walk was over. Dot makes all the weather decisions, so we turned around and went home. Since our walk was cut short, I had a lot more time for breakfast this morning. After all Dot's drama, we never did get any rain. It's still dry as a bone. By afternoon, it was just as hot as usual and the dogs made up for lost time by taking a much longer walk than they normally do in the afternoons.

I got listed on Robert Scoble's photographers to follow list today and all the sudden I'm a lot more popular on Google+. It's funny how these things work. The photographs had been there all along, but nobody had told people to look at them yet. I'm certainly not complaining though. This is just the way life works. Just about every good job I got in my life was because somebody noticed that I worked at a well known ad agency and decided they wanted to hire me away. If I had been unemployed and tried to get a job at the very same agency, I doubt that the people who hired me would have even given me an interview.

I spent the afternoon writing an ad for a $995 fountain pen. I don't think I'm really the target audience for this pricey pen. Those free plastic pens you pick up at trade shows work just fine for me. I'm terrible about losing pens too. Pens and umbrellas don't seem to last very long with me. Luxury goods are fascinating though. I've done a lot of advertising for luxury manufacturers over the years and most of these items are just ordinary things that have magically acquired status. People want these things because other people already have them. The ironic thing is that the famous people who give luxury goods their allure, usually never pay for them in the first place. The next time you see somebody looking fabulous on the red carpet, just remember that they never paid a dime for their outfit.

Dash goes to the vet again tomorrow for his antigen shot. I wonder if anyone spends more time in veterinarian's offices than I do. If my dogs don't need something, then my clients do.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 619

It must have been hot today, because Dash decided to turn around and go home when we got to Erykah Badu's house again. He stopped just long enough for an impromptu portrait in front of her iridescent Smart Car. Erykah used to drive a silver Mercedes Geländewagen, but I haven't seen the pricey Jeep around the neighborhood for a while.

Dot could have walked further today, but she is patient with Dash. Maybe it's because of the perfectly shaped heart on her left rear leg. She's the only Dalmatian I've known who has heart shaped spots.

Several weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Klout that said my Klout score qualified me for a free gift. I forgot all about this e-mail until the FedEx man dropped an unexplained box at my front door this morning. It was my free gift: a seemingly lifetime supply of protein powder. This odd gift is probably a much most accurate measure of my true Klout on the Internet than my score on the website. Probably people with real Klout get iPhones and airline tickets as gifts. I get a big jar of protein powder.

Do you ever see a picture that you just can't get out of your mind. I happened to see a very recent picture of Steve Jobs on the Internet today. It was a little frightening and put a lot of things in perspective. It reminded me that all the money in the world can't guarantee that you'll live any longer, and more importantly, that if you still have your health, you really don't have much to complain about. It would be easy to think that Steve got a raw deal, but we all die sometime and death is never pleasant. At least the guy did something with his life and not all of us can say that.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 618

What a difference a little rain makes. We had an early morning shower and even though the rain didn't last long, everything looked a lot greener on our morning walk. The few remaining flowers didn't look quite so wilted, and if you looked closely, the yellowed prairie grass in the meadows had already grown some tiny green shoots. From a distance, these patches of native grass had an odd yellow/green color that reminded me of vintage bathroom tiles. The temperature was only 85 degrees this morning, but this pleasant interlude didn't last long. By the time our evening walk rolled around, it was back up over 100 again.

Today was a day to deliver things. Somehow, it is a lot more satisfying to deliver a large framed photo to a client than it is to simply attach a Microsoft Word file to an e-mail. When I deliver a physical object I have created, it feels like I've accomplished something. The things I attach to e-mail seem to disappear from my memory the minute I hit the send button. The next day, I wonder if I've actually done anything at all. Maybe there's a lesson in all this, but probably not. Even most of my photo jobs are delivered electronically these days. It was nice to get out of the office, but I probably won't have any more large physical objects to deliver again for quite a while.

I'm trying to decide whether to buy Avid Media Composer. On one hand, Avid has a fabulous special price right now for Final Cut Pro users, trying to lure them into the fold. On the other hand, the price after the special discount is still pretty expensive and I'm not actually editing anything right now. My logic for buying something that I don't really need is usually if I don't buy it, the money will just disappear in the stock market anyway. It's hard to tell these days though. Who knows what the market is going to do? At one point today, the market was way up because Warren Buffett bought a bunch of Bank of America stock. Then it was way down again just a few hours later because of something that happened in Germany. With this kind of sea-saw action, Avid Media Composer probably is a much better investment. Hey, if I could just teach my dogs a few tricks, I could make wildly popular YouTube videos. The dogs would rather sleep than learn silly tricks though. Truthfully, I'd rather sleep as well.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 483

Yay! I got the big trade show job in Houston next month. The project has already changed shape several times since I submitted my initial bid, but it's still a fabulous project for a very large company. I'll need to buy some new equipment to do the job properly, but I needed some new equipment anyway. It's a good investment. When friends ask why I've been spending so much time on blogs and Facebook and other social media destinations lately, this is probably the reason. Two years ago I didn't even know what social media was. Now, I'm getting hired to provide social media coverage of events. This seems like a good investment too.

The Wine on the Roof poster is finally done. Yay again. If you've been following this story, you'll notice that this thing has changed shape a few times as well. Now, it's a much more literal interpretation of the original Gone with the Wind movie poster. I had my doubts that I'd even get the three foot long poster printed today, because my printer is genuinely on its last legs. All's well that ends well though. In the process of printing the poster today, I finally found out what is wrong with my printer. Evidently the print head overheats and shuts the printer down with an error message when there is no ink inside the head. Ink serves a dual purpose of coloring the picture and cooling the print head. The fix for this problem? Well, it's either a simple $150 service call to reattach some loose wires, or $1100 and up for a brand new print head and pump. Unfortunately, the repairman has to come out and take the printer apart to see whether I got lucky or not. The printer is so old that I don't think it's worth it to spend a fortune replacing all the internal parts. Jeez, I've already done that with the Defender 90 and that's enough. I'm always up for reattaching loose wires though, so I'll probably have the guy come out and take a look. I wish someone would invent a small, cheap printer that would make very large, expensive looking prints. In my experience, almost all current large format printers are way more trouble than they're worth.

I saw an amphibious car when I was walking the dogs at the lake today. It's really strange to be walking along and see a half submerged convertible glide by you on the water. I don't remember the brand of the car, but I recall seeing pictures of one that looked like this. They were made in the 1960's and look kind of like a bathtub with wheels. A mile or so down the trail I saw something even stranger. It was a big two foot square sign featuring one of those square bar code thingies that are starting to pop up everywhere. All the sign said was "scan this for more information." I didn't scan the sign. Actually, I didn't even bring my phone with me. I hate to get calls when I'm walking.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day