Day 3476

We spent the afternoon getting to know some of the new arrivals in the Dalmatian Rescue program. Hank and Pongo were both handsome, friendly young males. One was a stray and the other was an owner surrender. It always amazes me that wonderful dogs like these wind up being abandoned. They should have been valued members of someone's family since they were small puppies. We'll make sure they get better homes next time.

Pongo has heartworms and Hank is still a little nervous about his new surroundings. I'm convinced that they'll both be healthy and happy in the near future. These boys are so friendly that I'm sure they'll find their forever home very soon. After we finished photographing the new dogs for the website, we spent some time playing ball with the other dogs in the program. This is a great group of Dalmatians. Janet and I enjoyed our time at the kennel just as much as the dogs did.

All the dogs preferred to stay in the air conditioned play area today. Who could blame them. It was very hot today. I guess this is to be expected for the first of July. You can tell that people are already getting ready for the Fourth of July holiday. Unfortunately this means fireworks. Our dogs never liked fireworks. I'm sure that most of the dogs at the kennel don't either. They will all be safe inside their kennel runs, but hopefully there will be no loud displays nearby. People are already shooting off fireworks at the lake in the evenings. It doesn't matter that the city doesn't allow this. People do it anyway.

It took a lot of willpower to go on my long walk after we returned from the Dalmatian kennels. I should have done this early this morning when it was cooler, but there were other chores that needed to be attended to. It's hard to skip these walks entirely now. I've become a slave to the Fitbit.

I'm apparently not a slave to anything else. I can't get motivated to do yard work in this heat and starting a new personal project seems out of the question. Every once in a while I think it's time to completely redesign my company website. Then I realize I'm retired. The old website will do just fine.

There's another launch at Kennedy Space Center early tomorrow morning and two members of our group stayed in Florida so they could see both. I don't know how they managed to get credentials for back to back launches, but the rest of us were envious. Realistically, I can probably only afford one of these trips a year. That's assuming that I even get accepted again. Hey, at least I know what to save my money for now.

Maybe I'll go up on the roof tomorrow and try to patch a few areas with the Liquid Rubber in a Can that I bought at Costco. It might not work, but what do I have to lose. On the other hand, it might be better to forget the roof and go see a movie instead. Yesterday is still playing in Dallas. The movie has gotten mixed reviews, but I still think I'd probably like it.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3048

It was a nice, uneventful day. Everyone got enough sleep. Dash seemed in good spirits. And the weather was wonderful. I had no plans for the day and was determined to keep things that way. I went to the gym right after walking Dash and eating breakfast. It was the path of least resistance. You don't have to think at the gym. You just follow routines.

There were plenty of things that needed to be done around the house when I returned, but I watched another episode of The Expanse instead. Now I'm all caught up on Season 3 and will have to start watching the show on Wednesday evenings. I can see the appeal of binge watching on Netflix now. A lot of current season shows are available for streaming on the SyFi Channel, but all the commercials are there. To avoid the commercials, you have to wait until you can find what you're looking for on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or iTunes. It's probably worth the wait.

I probably should have a little more respect for commercials. They did provide me with a pretty good income for decades. In retrospect, I wish I'd worked for Space X. Going to Mars seems like a worthy goal. Getting someone to eat a taco, not so much.

The world of The Expanse is pretty bleak. Apparently, 200 years from now we are still involved in continual wars and are on the verge of annihilating ourselves as a species. Personally, I don't think humanity will have spread across the solar system in 200 years. It's been almost 50 years since we went to the moon and we haven't been able to get back there yet. Maybe I'm wrong. Medicine and technology are advancing faster than I ever imagined. I could never have predicted that I'd be walking around with a little phone in my pocket that was so powerful it has basically replaced my camera, my computer, the weatherman on TV, my rolodex, and most of my friends.

It's kind of irritating that I'm having problems with acid reflux again. I thought I'd put this all behind me. After taking Pantoprazole for ten years, my doctor convinced me to stop and I was actually doing very well without the proton pump inhibitor for at least three years. I'm almost certain the problem is just a lack of discipline on my part. When I was being treated for Hepatitis C, I completely changed my diet. For the first time ever, I was really eating healthy meals. It made a difference. After I was cured, I gradually began backsliding. I still don't drink and try to eat healthy meals, but I am eating red meat and pasta again. I've resumed eating bread and occasionally enjoy a pizza. Sadly, I can't handle Italian food anymore. Even a cheeseburger is risky these days. A mostly vegetarian diet completely eliminated the acid reflux, but it was so boring. There's always a price to pay for pleasure.

It's hard to believe that it's almost May. It's been such a chilly Spring that the furnace is still coming on at night. I should enjoy these cool mornings, because they won't be around much longer. The temperature will be over 100 soon and I'll be turning 70. I'm not looking forward to either event, although my advanced age will get me out of jury duty.

Parker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2275

As expected, we got lots of rain today. It was a good day to spend on the phone with tech support. For the second time in as many months, I found myself locked out of some of the websites I manage. In cases like this, the problem is usually the password. I didn't change the password. The client couldn't remember the password. And tech support wouldn't talk to me unless I had the password. I finally had to ask the client to ask for a password reset, so I could access the server. This didn't work either. After lots of back and forth, we finally discovered that the hosting company had changed the user ID for the site. Everything is fine now, but it won't be long before there is another password issue on another server. It's frustrating. I wish people would just quit trying to hack into things. Hacking forces hosting companies to continually keep changing their security protocols and it forces people like me to have to remember way too many complicated passwords.

The rain was pretty steady for most of the day. I had the pump on the roof running, the dehumidifier running, and the dryer all running at the same time. My clothes always get wet on rainy days, so I just throw them in the dryer as soon as I get back inside. With all three of these noisy machines running at the same time it felt like I was in the engine room of a ship. The rain eventually stopped, but it looks like tomorrow is going to be more of the same. People who like gardening love these Spring rains, but people with dogs usually don't. Dash is a magnet for mud on rainy days and Dot is difficult to dry off once she gets wet. Needless to say, even though work has slowed down, I still have plenty to do.

I'm enjoying the chaotic political primary season. The leadership of the Democratic party can't seem to put Bernie away and the Republican leadership is doing even worse with Donald Trump. I was pleased to see how well Bernie is doing in Michigan and equally pleased to see that the Republican leadership's efforts to destroy Donald Trump have seemingly backfired. I wonder if many people have noticed that these two very different outsiders have several important things in common. Both think that disastrous trade deals have decimated American manufacturing and destroyed millions of good jobs. Both also think it was a huge mistake to get involved in pointless wars in the middle east. As somewhat of an isolationist who has never been a big fan of globalization, I find it refreshing that so many people seem to agree with me. I think this is an important election. We will see once and for all just how much influence that the lobbyists and giant corporations have over our lives.

I think my efforts to eliminate wheat and sugar from my diet have failed. I did so well for almost three years eating Kale salads and avoiding bread. Now the kitchen is filled with all kinds of crackers again and I'm having ice cream for dessert. Why does unhealthy food taste so good? I still avoid fast food restaurants and try to always include a green vegetable with my dinner, but I'm slipping. I love cheeseburgers, pork ribs, and French toast. Broccoli and Kale, not so much.

Hopefully Dot's Wednesday therapy session will go better than it did last week. Last week she pooped in the car and got very tired in the underwater treadmill. Maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow.

Bacardi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1566

Today was a catch up day. I went up on the roof and swept away the remains of last week's thunderstorm. I charged camera batteries and updated software. I did some cleaning. I even made it back to the gym. Since it was such a nice day outside, the gym was practically empty. Between walking the dogs, cleaning standing water off the roof, and my first full workout in several weeks, I was pretty tired.

I can't say I actually enjoyed any of this activity, but it all needed to be done.  Although I do spend a lot of time staring aimlessly into a computer screen, I'm not a lazy person. I continue to push myself, and am determined to never become an overweight Walmart shopper or a professional victim. I remain convinced that we all determine our own destiny. Each and every one of us.

I'm starting to worry about Dot again. I've noticed that her stools have been darker than normal this week. It's not the dreaded tarry black that indicates internal bleeding, but still it's not normal. I'll get a lab test done to make sure nothing's wrong. Dot is so absolutely consistent about everything, that anything abnormal stands out like a sore thumb. Now that Dash is sick, I depend on Dot more than ever as a source of stability. Luckily she is.

It's hard to believe that April is just around the corner. So far, 2014 has zipped by amazingly fast. We seemed to have survived the Winter. The trees in the back yard are turning green again. Most of the shrubs and ground cover survived. The roof shows no signs of leaking and I'm beginning to think that the roofers did a better job than I initially thought they did. If Dash and I can just put our health problems behind us, it might turn out to be a very good year.

Right now, I'll just settle for another good week. Dash resumes his radiation treatments tomorrow.  While he's away, the HVAC guys will be getting the AC ready for Summer. I need to see if I can get Dot's vet appointment rescheduled for Tuesday. And then on Thursday, I've got a doctor's appointment of my own. I'm sure that in between all this, there will be articles to write and websites to revise. It will definitely be a busy week, but it will be April. April is always one of my favorite times of year in Texas.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1491

I don't have a lot of stress in my life. What little stress I do feel is usually caused by the dogs. They both worry me at times. Dash woke us up three times last night to go outside. He apparently had diarrhea. When I asked the vet today if we should cancel his dental procedure because of his upset stomach, she said no. When I came to pick him up this afternoon after the anesthesia had worn off, his nurse asked me if he might have eaten some blueberries recently. Apparently, he pooped what appeared to be blueberries along with a little blood while he was at the vet. Maybe he did get into some blueberries. I don't know. Both dogs are counter surfers and if you turn away for an instant, they'll eat whatever is on the table. We certainly do have blueberries around the house. I eat them almost every morning with my oatmeal. I guess blueberries aren't toxic to dogs, but they can irritate their digestive system. 

Dot causes a different type of worry. I'm fairly confident that she won't poison herself by eating strange crap she finds in the park, but she's old and very fragile now. Every time I take her on a walk, I wonder if it will be her last. Her physical therapy vet says that the walks are important and that gentle walks will help keep her muscles from atrophying. I believe this, but she still gives me a scare now and then. Today, she squatted to pee on our evening walk and couldn't get up again. Instead of panicking, or trying to carry her home, I just sat with her for about five minutes. When she was ready, she got up on her own and walked the rest of the way home as if nothing had happened. Something did happen of course, and I can't ignore it. Dot and I have an understanding. She wants to keep going and I'll do my best to help her. I've never seen a dog with so much willpower. If I had Dot's determination, I'd probably live to be 100.

I had a lot to do today, but it wasn't overwhelming. I answered e-mailed questions, updated websites, and wrote two articles. Those simple tasks, along with transporting Dash to and from the vet, took up the entire day. I continue to wish that I had more time to aimlessly pursue personal projects, but maybe that's not in the cards for the moment. 

At tomorrow's business networking breakfast we are each supposed to describe our biggest business problem in two minutes or less and let the group propose a solution. It won't take me long to describe my problem. I'm spending way too much time doing low paying jobs. I'm not sure what the solution is though, since my entire industry has radically changed in the last ten years. Nobody wants to pay for copywriting anymore because it's way too easy to steal somebody else's writing on the Internet. A lot of people actually actually seem to prefer cheap template websites and even cheaper stock photography. I'm screwed. I have a feeling that if the folks in this networking group needed my services, they'd want to pay even less than my current clients. Maybe I should take a welding course.

Kasey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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