Day 2310

Yay. I fixed yesterday's website problem using a single line of code. I was pretty pleased with myself, even though I had a little help from an Apache Server user group. By modifying some code I saw on the forum, I was able to solve a problem that had my web hosting tech support folks stumped. The problem was so minor that most people would never have noticed, but it still felt gratifying to be able to put two and two together and come up with a solution. Don't count me out yet folks.

I replaced my defective activity tracker with a more advanced model that I found for half price at a sporting goods store that was going out of business. I had gone to the store to look for a cheap fleece jacket, but came away with the activity tracker instead. The best thing about this new model is that you don't have to manually put it into sleep mode every night. The thing just knows when you are sleeping automatically. I doubt that the new tracker will last any longer than any of the others that have fallen apart on my wrist, but I got it at half price. It's hard to resist half price.

I took my jacket back to the tailor today and was pleased to discover that she could fix the lining for a very reasonable price. I'm always impressed with people who can fix things. This tailor does beautiful work and has extended the life of many of my favorite things. The jacket is old and worn, but I still like it. Old leather coats have a lot of character. I'd keep fixing everything if I could, but people who take pride in fixing things are getting harder to find. Like it or not, we live in a throw away society.

Fixing a difficult website problem myself and getting a new lining for an old jacket made me feel good. I even anticipated that Dot needed to poop last night and we managed to get her up and outside at 3 AM just in the nick of time. There were no accidents in the house today. People sometimes think I'm a gloomy person, but it really doesn't take that much to cheer me up. A few things going right will usually do the trick.

I need to ask Dot's vet if I could change her physical therapy appointment back to mornings instead of afternoons. Dot is less likely to poop in the car in the morning and traffic is not nearly as bad. The clinic seems a lot busier in the afternoons too. What was meant to be convenient is actually taking me more time than before. I have a feeling that the vet likes this new time better though, so I may be stuck with it. You have to be careful what you wish for. It is not always what you expect.

I've noticed that since I've moved my e-mail account to the new server, I'm not getting any more spam. The spam must be going somewhere. I don't think anyone's invented a perfect spam filter yet. I need to figure out where the spam is going, because it's probably just sitting in a folder somewhere on the server eating up my hosting space. On the old server there were always important messages mixed in with the spam. I had to check my junk mail folder every day. So, there's my to-do list for tomorrow. Take Dot to the vet and find out where all my missing junk mail is accumulating. Who knows. Maybe hidden away in all the spam is a letter from someone who would like to hire me.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2309

I spent the morning trying to learning how to create rewrite rules within my website's .htaccess file. On the old web server I had somebody who could do this for me, but apparently now I have to do it myself. Why is this important? Well, part of my website isn't working correctly and the hosting company says it isn't their responsibility to fix it. This is usually how I learn to write code. Sheer necessity is always a good incentive to learn new things. That being said, using PHP, Perl, Javascript, or in this case, writing instructions for the Apache web server, has never come naturally to me. By lunchtime, I had a headache and still didn't really understand what I was doing.

This afternoon, I tackled a much easier task. I prepared my April invoices. Sending out monthly invoices used to take me the better part of a day, but now I can do everything in less than an hour. When you don't have many clients, you don't have many invoices. I took the invoices to the post office, hoping that Dot wouldn't poop in her bed while I was gone.  On the way home I stopped at a little tailor shop in the neighborhood to ask whether they could put a new lining in an old leather jacket I like. I should have picked a better day. The tailor wasn't open on Mondays.

I'm still having to water the lawn every day, so the new St. Augustine grass will establish roots. The soggy lawn wouldn't be a problem if the dogs would stay on the grass. Inevitably, they head straight for the ground cover though and end up getting their paws muddy. Since I have to follow Dot around, holding up her rear legs, I get my shoes muddy as well. In and out we go over and over again. It's amazing how simple things like this can eat up your day.

The little LED lights on my activity tracker have quit working. I like these little Jawbone UP bands, but they sure don't last very long. The band still works and will sync with my phone, but I can't tell if it is in normal or sleep mode. I no longer get any warning when the battery is low either. The two little indicator lights don't work at all. I wonder if it is even worth the trouble to get another of these fitness bands. I've had three already and they all seem to last about a year.

My holy grail is something that will last forever. I haven't found it yet. I did find a place in Florida that still sells parts for my troublesome French toilet. Unfortunately, they don't sell fully assembled fill mechanisms. They just sell the component parts, which must be assembled. Since all these little threaded parts can leak water if they aren't assembled properly, this seems like a recipe for disaster. Maybe I could just buy the parts and have a plumber assemble them for me. I'll have to find a new plumber though. My current plumber hates these toilets and refuses to work on them.

I'd like to do something interesting tomorrow. I could learn a new song on the guitar. I could get out the sewing machine and try to fix the lining on my jacket myself. I could submit some more photos to my stock agency. None of these things seem all that interesting though. They just seem like chores. I
really don't know where the magic is anymore.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day