Day 1494

I returned to a restaurant I hadn't visited in about three months and was surprised to discover that the entire staff had changed. All the waiters were new. Even the chef was new. The new staff was almost painfully friendly, continually smiling and making sure that they told you their name. When my order arrived, my suspicions were confirmed. This place had hired a restaurant consultant. I ordered the same thing I always order at this place. The portions were slightly smaller, but everything was exceptionally pretty on the plate. The restaurant consultant had probably given the new staff a seminar about interacting with customers and plating food.

I found all the changes a bit sad, since there was nothing wrong with the restaurant in the first place. I actually preferred the slightly grumpy original waiters to the forced cheeriness of this new batch. I'm sure the restaurant was profitable, since it was almost always full, but I'll bet the owners weren't satisfied and wanted to make even more money. I don't know why people are always compelled to change things. My motto has always been "if it's not broke, don't fix it."

My haircut later in the day was equally interesting. It's easy to get the pulse of the nation if you listen to what people are talking about in a barber shop or hair salon. The woman getting her hair done next to me was telling her stylist that she wanted to take her vacation in Marfa or Area 51, so she could look for aliens. My own stylist was telling me how she likes to take her cats on car rides, so they can watch birds through the sun roof. Lately, I've noticed that hair salons try to shame you into leaving a tip. When you hand them your credit card, they look you in the eye and ask if you'd like some cash back for a tip. Like $75 for a simple haircut isn't enough? Jeez! Today, all the people in line ahead of me were leaving lavish tips, so I guess the shaming worked. I left a tip as well.

I've got to do something about my work load. One of my clients has already doubled the number of pictures they want to change out on their website every week, and another wants to double the amount of writing assignments they give me each month. So far, I'm keeping up but the house is sure getting dirty. I really don't have time for anything other than working and walking the dogs these days. Sadly, nobody seems to think that writing the blog every day is important but me.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1493

I had one of my periodic meetings with my financial adviser today. 2013 was a good year for investors, but we didn't spend much time patting ourselves on the back. Since everything that goes up must inevitably come down, we spent most of our time trying to formulate an exit strategy for the big correction that is sure to come. Investing is frustrating and requires a lot of patience. On a good day, you're on top of the world. Good days can be followed by bad days where your gains can be erased in an instant, unfortunately. Several of my positions had 100% gains this year, while others suffered huge losses. As someone who has always appreciated a sure thing, these ups and downs can be nerve wracking. What's the alternative though? I know I'm not going to write the next Harry Potter blockbuster, or come up with an alternative to the iPhone.

I'm certainly not going to get rich writing ads, or providing clients with content marketing canon fodder. That's what I did today. My financial adviser always asks me how my business is doing. It's a rhetorical question and I don't think he really wants to know the answer. He makes his money taking a few percent off the top of every portfolio under management. When printing budgets were high and elaborate annual report were in fashion, I did essentially the same thing. You can do quite well taking a small percentage of a large budget. The best thing is that nobody really cares what you make as long as your piece of the pie remains small. All that has changed, unfortunately. At least it has for me. Printing budgets are small and creative services are a la carte now. That's why I depend on equities. I think the chances of a writer hitting the big time are just about the same as a journeyman club musician winning American Idol. Sure, it happens, but not very often.

Some of the neighbors are trying to get streets closed in the neighborhood. They think it will cut down on traffic. I don't know what all the fuss is about, since I already live on the busiest street in the neighborhood. Compared to my own problems of getting out of my driveway during rush hour, these other people's streets are a cakewalk. I'm not really a fan of street closures anyway. The whole idea of streets is to make it easier to get from point to point. When you start closing some streets off, you create bottlenecks. I'd rather leave all the streets open, but just not let anybody use them.

I may go to a different restaurant tomorrow. If I keep eating my favorite Friday eggs over and over again for months at a time, they're not likely to remain a favorite for much longer. It's time for a change. It's time for a haircut too. Maybe I'll try something new for breakfast and then go get a haircut in the afternoon. That sounds like a plan.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1492

When Dot was in the water treadmill this afternoon, she momentarily seemed to become disoriented and forgot where she was. Even though the water level was not very high, she seemed to panic and started swimming instead of walking normally on the treadmill. We stopped the treadmill and let her calm down as I told her that everything was OK. After a few minutes, we slowly started the treadmill again and everything was completely normal. Dot seemed to forget the whole episode. Although I'm not really sure what happened, I can certainly relate to losing your bearings. Sometimes I'll be driving along and realize that I have absolutely no idea where I'm going. Usually, these moments pass very quickly and by the time I arrive at the next stoplight, I'm back on track again. Maybe this is what happen to Dot today. I think for a brief moment, she forgot where she was and thought the rising water in the tank was going to drown her.

I inadvertently ended up being the Debbie Downer of the lightning round session at this morning's networking breakfast. Instead of brashly proclaiming that my business was going to double in 2014, as the others all appeared to be doing, I patiently explained why my entire industry is fucked and told the group that my goal for the year was just to get back to billing out what I was ten years ago. Although everything I said about the current state of the ad industry is true, I don't think it was what these folks wanted to hear. I should have known better than to share breakfast with a group of people who are always convinced that the glass is half full. Sorry guys, I seem to have lost my rose colored glasses. I think the glass is empty. I'll probably keep going to this group though, because I do love bacon.

I think I've lost the battle with the bird who poops on my car every morning. I've placed little paper hats and other wobbly things on my mirrors to deter the bird, but it seems to know how to remove them. For reasons that other birds will only know, this bird loves to sit on my rear view mirrors and drop a load. Even though Janet's car is only twelve feet away, the bird only shits on mine. It leaves her car untouched. I hope the bird doesn't start building a nest. Once a bird actually built a nest in my mailbox and I had to ask the mailman to leave my mail somewhere else for a while so magazines or packages dropped in the box wouldn't kill the baby birds. The mailman and I became quite interested in the birds progress. We watched them grow, until one day they just disappeared. I still don't know whether they learned to fly, or whether a cat got them all.

I hope my financial adviser has some good ideas for me at our meeting tomorrow. 3-D Printing turned out to be a great idea last year. Gold? Well, gold wasn't so good. That's the trouble with investing. It's hard to be right all the time.

Betty 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

Watch of the Day

Day 1490

There was so much to do today that it was hard to believe it was only Monday. There were photos to reformat and transform in Photoshop. There were websites to update. And of course, there were the inevitable articles to write. None of these tasks were particularly challenging on their own, but collectively they just about wore me out.

I've got a meeting with my financial adviser later in the week. I wish I could get the guy to give me an honest answer about my remaining resources. If I can continue my current lifestyle without jumping through all these hoops, there is little point in continuing doing a multitude of things I don't really enjoy. I know we wants me to keep working though. He and I both know that there is no reliable way to predict the future. If you stay in the game, at least you have the reassurance that your fate won't be determined by the fickle nature of corporate dividends or government programs. I don't mind working, mind you. I just wish it was fun like it used to be when I was the Wizard of Oz.

Have any of you seen that show called Sherlock on the BBC? I don't know why I'd never seen it before, but I watched my first episode last night and it is brilliant. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that I liked the show, since it was written by Steven Moffat of Dr. Who fame. I really liked the idea of taking Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective stories and re-interpreting them for the 21 Century. I've never been a huge fan of mysteries or crime fiction, but I found this show mesmerizing. I'm sure I'll watch it again.

The dogs were bored today. They don't like it when I spend all my time working at the computer. In their minds, I'm just some sort of a dog butler who is here to keep them entertained whenever they're not sleeping. When they're bored, the dogs bark a lot and try to slap things off my desk with their paws to catch my attention. We has some nice, long walks today, but apparently that wasn't enough. Maybe they were just trying to tell me that the work I was doing was pointless. Of course, I know that already.

Tomorrow, Dash goes to the vet to have his teeth cleaned. We've done this before, but I always get nervous. Basically, I just don't like anesthesia. I worry when I have to be under anesthesia myself, and I worry even more when the dogs need anesthesia. I've heard all the arguments about the safety of Isoflurane and Propofol when administered by a trained anesthesiologist, but these are still strong and dangerous drugs. It's too bad it is so difficult to properly brush a dog teeth. Every two or three years the risk of periodontal disease overcomes my fear of anesthesia, and I schedule the dogs for a dental cleaning. Tomorrow is the day for Dash. If all goes well, Dot will get her teeth cleaned a few weeks later.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1489

According to my Jawbone UP band, I got a full eight hours sleep last night for the first time in months. It's nice to sleep in late and even nicer to have nothing to do once you finally do get up. The only things on the agenda today were a leisurely breakfast, a trip to the dog park, and a visit to the gym. There was a time when I would have been restless without a big personal project to sink my teeth in on weekends. The office is still filled with the tools I used to create these projects, along with remnants of the projects themselves. The desire just isn't there anymore, however. Sleeping in late seems much more fulfilling at this point. It's only a matter of time before this creeping sense of ennui invades my work world as well. I still do my best to accommodate everyone, but secretly I wish they would all just go away.

I amuse myself these days by taking pictures of impossibly long shadows, just before the sun goes down. This is as close to a selfie as you'll ever get from me. I think pictures like these pretty much say it all. I've done a lot over the years and some say I've managed to cast a long shadow. Nevertheless, it's hard to deny that the sun is setting on just about everything. In a very young profession, I've become one of those dinosaurs who talks back to the television and is convinced that the current generation of children are a sign of the apocalypse.

There's no need to be morose when you've got Dalmatians though. Dot and Dash never fail to make me smile. They are my constant companions and always keep me pointed in the right direction. Almost half of my clients are veterinarians, largely as a result my desire to provide these dogs with the best possible care. I know far more veterinarians than I do human doctors and that's as it should be. My own health leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm positive that it would be a lot worse if I didn't walk Dot and Dash five miles each and every day. I walk them because I know Dalmatians need lots of exercise, not because I need the exercise myself. Hey, I still get the benefit of all this activity though. That's the beauty of dogs.

It was certainly pleasant to take the dogs to the dog park today. The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and all the other dogs were all friendly. Dot was strong and steady today, with few signs of the tremor in her rear leg that has become a telling sign of tiredness and advancing age. When we returned home, the house was filled with the aroma of a roast that Janet had started in the slow cooker early this morning. It was a nice day. If nothing happens tomorrow, Monday might be a nice day as well.

Suzie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1488

I woke up with a nosebleed this morning. For most of my life I wouldn't have given something like this a second thought. Now that half my friends have had heard attacks and I have a primary care physician who is obsessed with heart attacks, it's hard not to be a hypochondriac. It seems like there's always something that isn't working the way it should. I try not to worry about my health though. After all, there are other things to worry about, like water on the roof, clogged printers, and unexplained engine noises.

Janet likes to walk the dogs on weekends, so I went up on the roof to inspect the downed tree while everyone was away.  The tree is still there of course, but I'll have to give the roofers credit. There doesn't appear to be any damage to the roof at all. Despite some nasty icy weather and  falling tree limbs, the new roof has held up pretty well.

It's really hard to anticipate what the weather is going to be like in January here in Texas. Although we had temperatures in the single digits last week, it was in the mid-sixties today. It was nice to be able to go outside without bundling up, but the ground was still muddy. It remains to be seen whether the dog park will be open tomorrow. Sometimes they close the park even on nice days when the ground is muddy. If the dogs have any say in this, it will definitely be open.

I went to Home Depot and got a new furnace filter today. It irritates me to pay $19 for a furnace filter, but I guess it's my fault. I'm always compelled to buy the best instead of the cheapest. I could have gotten a filter for $4, but it looked completely worthless. I used to have some great electrostatic filters for the old furnace. They were made from sturdy aluminum and I would wash them out every month and use them again and again. With today's practice of only keeping the most popular items in inventory, I just can't find these things anymore. I'm sure I could find something on the Internet, but I still like the idea of a hardware store that has everything. Trust me on this. Home Depot does not have everything. They don't even come close.

There was nothing very eventful about today. That's a good thing though. There are clean sheets on the bed. A big pile of towels has been washed. All the weekend errands are done. The printer is even working. Dot and Dash are happy and full of energy today. What more could you ask for?

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1487

One of my regular readers suggested that I should quit complaining about the weather and just read a book on rainy days. That's easy for her to say. She's retired. When I retire, I'll probably do a lot of reading. Since I'm still working, I deal with problems like losing clients instead. Another website client went bye-bye today. I've gained a few website clients this year as well, so I'm basically even for the year, but this slow erosion of my online business is still troubling. I lose a lot of these jobs when my client's kids graduate with their worthless marketing degrees and want to do the website themselves. Yes, parents don't just let the kids continue to live at home until they are 27, they give them jobs when they graduate as well.

For those of you who are wondering, I chose to ignore the rain and go out for a decent Friday morning breakfast anyway. The dogs pretty much made the decision for me. They were so dirty at the end of their morning walk, that I decided a little more dirt wouldn't make one bit of difference. I cleaned the mud off the dogs and then proceeded to get mud all over the freshly washed car. The eggs were sure good though.

I finally managed to talk to my neighbors about the tree on my roof. They are nice people and appear to still be making an effort to get the tree people to come out and remove the tree. I can't really complain. I've been having my own problems with one of the oak trees in the back yard. My own tree guy promised me that he'd come out before Christmas and clean up the mess made by the power company guys during they ice storm. It seems like it's been quite a while since Christmas now, and he's still not here.

Although it wasn't a terribly productive day, I still managed to make it to the grocery store and get my January invoices in the mail. I'll have to remember to take the newly departed client off my monthly invoice list. It would be embarrassing to keep billing them after they fired me. Hey, at least it's Friday. I have no idea what the weekend has in store for me. It probably depends entirely on the weather.

Murphy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1486

It was a long day. The weather was damp and foggy, and as I worked, it seemed like the fog was creeping indoors as well. Everything was a foggy, unresolved issue today. There were websites that kept changing before I could finish the previous changes. There were budgets that couldn't be resolved. There were lots of things that made me wish I'd never gotten out of bed, but of course that was never really an option.

At least the dogs didn't need their winter coats today. They seem to hate wearing their coats, even though they get cold without them. I can relate. I hate writing sometimes, even though I know I'll go broke if I quit. Without their protective coats, the dogs got even dirtier than they did yesterday. That's what towels are for though. I did a lot of laundry today as well.

I though I'd be writing most of the day, but there were so many unresolved issues that I went to the gym instead. I cut my workout a bit short so I could make it to a 6 PM client meeting. The meeting ended up getting canceled, because not enough people could make it. I have a feeling that a lot of people had a foggy, unresolved day today. Even the people at the gym seemed to have lost their focus. A woman on a treadmill next to me was moving so slow that I wondered why she even bothered. I did make an effort to burn off some calories, but I didn't have time to shoot hoops on the basketball court, so maybe I shouldn't have bothered either. Shooting baskets is the only part of my workout that is any fun.

I saw my neighbor's car in the driveway on the way home, so I knocked on her door to ask about the tree on my roof. Nobody answered the door. I don't know why the car was in the driveway if nobody was home. She should have been home. Sadly, I know nothing about my neighbors. I know some of you guys better.

I hope it quits raining tomorrow. If if doesn't, I've got a tough choice to make. Do I go out in the rain and get my car muddy, just so I can have poached eggs and pulled pork? Or do I stay home and eat oatmeal in a warm house while watching Dr. Who re-runs?  As I said, it's a tough choice.

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1485

I wish I had the nerve to tell people that I didn't work when it rains. Better yet, I'd love to be able to say that I don't do anything when it rains. Yes, it rained all day today. The dogs got wet and needed to be cleaned up several times. Everything got muddy. And of course, the Dallas traffic was terrible. As you might expect, I can't get away with refusing to work on a rainy day, because it rains far too often.

I went about my day as if everything was normal.  I ate breakfast with the business networking group. I drove downtown with Dot for her water therapy session. I did a lot of laundry. And I updated a few websites. Through it all, the rain never stopped.

I'm not certain, but I'm getting this feeling that the business networking group is on the opposite side of the political fence than me. We don't talk about politics and the group is supposedly apolitical, but you can kind of tell which way the wind is blowing. This new insight is disappointing to me. I don't want to know anything about your politics. Political rants from people I know in real life has just about ruined Facebook for me. Go ahead and vote for whoever you want. I just don't want to hear about it.

One of my clients wants to start sending me more work. This a mixed blessing at best. More work means more money, but it also means more time spent working. I think I already spend far too much time working. In the best of possible worlds, I will learn to become faster and more efficient and still have a little time for myself at the end of the day. On the other hand, I could just as easily go stark raving mad.

Maybe the rain will stop tomorrow. I still need to get the tree off my roof that fell during last month's ice storm. The neighbor who owns the tree seems to have been out of town ever since the tree fell. She told me that she had already contacted a tree service to remove the tree, but three weeks later they have never arrived. I suspect that they won't come out unless she is home to pay them. If things go as they usually do, I will eventually get frustrated and hire my own tree people to remove the tree. Then the neighbor will never repay me. That's just the way neighbors are these days.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1484

Dot and Dash don't like the new cold weather schedule. Instead of walking them right after I get up in the morning like I usually do, I've started eating breakfast first to allow things to warm up a bit before we venture outside. To me, this is an excellent plan, since the temperature warms up quickly once the sun is up and starts to thaw things out. The dogs don't like this additional wait however, and bark at me as I do my best to eat my oatmeal in peace. They don't seem to realize that I'm doing all this for their own good. As far as I can tell, the extra hour I spend eating breakfast usually results in a five degree increase in temperature. This is only when the sun is shining, of course, but so far we've been lucky and it's been sunny all week. Once we're underway, all is forgiven. The dogs love to walk and maybe they realized that as a result of their short wait this morning, they only had to wear one coat instead of the two they wore yesterday.

I'm hoping the year will grow more exciting in the ensuing months. I've got plenty of work to do but it's all pretty dismal so far. I need more time with absolutely nothing to do, so I start inventing my own personal projects again. I don't think I've done anything that didn't involve clients, the dogs, or my own health in months. I wonder now how I ever found the time to play in a band, plan elaborate photo exhibitions, and even take cooking classes. The irony is that when I was doing all those things, I was actually making more money than I am now. At least the market was up today. When the stock market is up, it helps to compensate for all the boring, low paying advertising jobs. I keep telling these kids I compete with these days that they've got to raise their rates and quit living with their parents. They don't listen though. They don't even believe how good it used to be before they ruined everything by undercutting the prices of old dogs like me.

Dash had some lab work done while he was at the vet today to make sure his kidneys are still working properly. We'll have to wait for the results, but his veterinarian seemed to think he was doing very well. I was glad to hear that his teeth aren't in as bad shape as I thought. His gums are still healthy and it looks like a simple cleaning procedure to remove the plaque will be all he needs. I made an appointment to get his dental work done next week. When Dash's teeth are gleaming again, we'll deal with Dot's teeth. Maybe, when both of the dogs get their dental work done, I'll go see the dentist myself. I probably need to see a dentist a lot more than the dogs.

My Wednesday morning networking breakfasts resume tomorrow. We haven't had these early morning meetings during the holiday season and three weeks of sleeping in on Wednesdays has reconfirmed that I'm never going to be a morning person. Most of the other people still appear to go to these meetings to make contacts and pass out business cards. That's fine by me, but I'm still going for the bacon.

Misty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1483

It was cold enough to dress in layers this morning. I wore two warm coats, and so did Dot and Dash. One coat is usually plenty for the dogs, but when the temperature is in the single digits, you don't want to take chances. It's still hard for me to believe that Dallas is actually warm, compared with other parts of the country, but that's what I'm hearing on the news.

I've experienced much colder temperatures in my lifetime. I went to high school in Fairbanks, Alaska where it would often remain twenty degrees below zero for weeks at a time. It didn't seem colder though, because everyone was prepared. The windows in our house were all double glazed and there was a huge coal-fired furnace in the basement that kept the house toasty warm even in a blizzard. The cars all had electric crankcase heaters that you plugged into parking meters whenever you went out. When I went to school, I wore an Eddie Bauer parka that looked like it would keep you warm at the South Pole. The lesson I learned was that if you took the cold seriously, you were almost always warm. It's hard to take the cold seriously in Texas. As a result, I've experienced more dead batteries on cold mornings and more malfunctioning furnaces here in Dallas than my parents ever did in Alaska.

Today was one of those doctor appointment days that makes it difficult to get anything done. By the time you drive to the appointment, find a parking place, sit in the waiting room for an interminable amount of time, and take all the tests the doctor wants, you've wasted half the day. Luckily, today's tests went well, and this particular doctor gave me the green light for another six months.

Tomorrow, it's Dash's turn to go to the doctor. I'm worried that something might be wrong with his kidneys, since he's peeing all the time now. I've seen a noticeable change in the past six months. He also has some bad looking rear molars and his teeth need to be cleaned. I worry about this too, since Dash doesn't react well to anesthesia. The vets call his response "waking up hard" and it doesn't sound pretty. I'm hoping that his vet can come up with a more gentle way to bring him out of the anesthesia after his dental procedure is complete.

With Dot's physical therapy, Dash's seizures, and my own multiple medical problems, it often seems like life is just one extended doctor visit. If you count the trips to the gym and the pharmacy as health related outings, there is something medical going on just about every day. I guess it's worth the effort though. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and I'm all about prevention these days. The dogs are both still very active, and when I'm sitting in the doctor's waiting room, I still seem to be in a lot better shape than most of the other patients. I must be doing something right.

That stupid bird is still pooping on my car every night. I wish there was an accessory I could buy that would electrify the entire car whenever I turned on the car alarm. Birds that used the car as a pooping post would get fried. Of  course, knowing me, I'd probably forget to turn the thing off one morning and fry myself instead. Better leave things the way they are.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1482

There were a lot of people at the gym today. Most of them were walking or running around the large, oval indoor track. It certainly made sense to me. Dallas has a lot of joggers and it was very cold today. If I were a runner, I'd certainly rather run indoors on a day like this. I still saw a few outdoor runners when I walked the dogs, but these were the masochists. There are those who think they aren't getting a good workout unless they are putting their body through some kind of hell. I'm not one of those people. There will be no Ironman marathons for me.

There were some rather large people working out near me today. Sometimes I'm amazed at how strong fat people can be. They may have a heart attack at any minute, but they can certainly bench press more than me. Lifting weights isn't one of my strong points. I've got good core strength though. I can do a plank forever.

As might be expected, the dogs weren't all that excited about going outside today. Who could blame them? Did I mention it was cold? We didn't bother to go to the dog park today and Dot and Dash were content to nap on their dog beds, conveniently located near a warm heater vent. I don't like the cold much more than I like the rain. I'd like a climate like Hawaii where it was mild all year long with no obvious seasons. In my Hawaii there'd be no hurricanes though, and nobody would have discovered the place yet, so property values would be low. A lot of things I like only exist in my mind.

Janet got a crock pot for Christmas and she decided to try it out today. I don't think either of us realized just how slow a slow cooker actually is. Five hours wasn't nearly enough. Tonight's dinner will end up being tomorrow's dinner instead. That's OK. While we're waiting, the house sure smells good. I've always liked the idea of one pot meals. Make something good in a big pot and then eat the leftovers for the rest of the week. It's tasty, it's easy, and there aren't many dishes to wash.

My workload has been pretty light for the past several weeks, but I'm afraid things will be returning to normal tomorrow. By tomorrow, just about all the holiday travelers will have returned to their cubicles. Maybe some of my clients in the Northern states will still be snowed in though. No hurry guys. You can wait till Summer to start sending me stuff if you'd like.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1481

I took the Christmas tree down today. The dogs got their first bath of the year as well. I guess 2014 has officially started. We didn't make it to the dog park after all. There were simply too many errands to run. We may not make it tomorrow either. According to the latest weather reports, it is supposed to be very cold tomorrow. I don't expect much sympathy from my friends up North however. Even though it is expected to be well below freezing tomorrow morning, we are still one of the warmer places in the country. I'm just glad I don't live in Minnesota right now.

The large printer is clogged again. This printer is so frustrating. It is too heavy for me to get it out to the car alone, so taking the thing to a repair shop is problematic at best. There is little point to having one of those repair people who come out to your office take a look. These guys have no magic bullet. They'll just say that I need a new print head and charge me $1500. What I really need is someone who will just change out all the ink lines. Unfortunately, this seemingly simple task is virtual impossible due to the way Epson designed the printer. I've really grown to hate this printer, but I still want it to work properly.

I'm beginning to wonder why I ever got AT&T U-Verse service. In theory, there are several hundred channels, but on closer inspection there is never anything worth watching. They play the same movies over and over again, so it doesn't take long before you've seen all the ones you like. My favorite stations are the same way. I used to like watching the NASA Channel until I discovered that they have a very small inventory of broadcast material that they play over and over and over again. All they want to do is put something on so they don't have dead air. I hate all the reality shows like Storage Wars, Duck Dynasty and Pawn Stars. There are literally dozens of channels filled with this crap. Even the oldies channels that play black and white episodes from The Twilight Zone and Perry Mason have run their course. I'm beginning to realize that I've seen all these shows before. It's almost as bad as when I used to watch Fawlty Towers on PBS and realized that I'd seen Basil try to catch Manuel's pet rat before the hotel inspectors could find it at least ten times. Maybe I ought to just read a book.

The leaves have all fallen off the Oak trees in the back yard by now. The thick carpet of brown leaves is actually kind of pretty and effectively covers all the dead grass. On the down side, it also covers the dog poop, which is much harder to find now. I stepped in some today and will probably continue to step in poo until Spring. I used to spend endless hours raking leaves, but I think I'll just leave them all on the ground until Spring and then hire someone to haul them away. I've finally decided that life is too short for raking leaves.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1480

My biological clock finally seems to have reset itself. It's a Friday and is actually feels like a Friday. The guys at my favorite restaurant know me so well now that I don't have to say a word when I arrive for my Friday breakfast. The barista has my coffee waiting for me and my order is on it's way to the kitchen before I even arrive at the register to pay for it. Consistency can be boring, but it does have its benefits. I like consistency.

My liver doctor called today and told me that the newly FDA approved medication for Hepatitis C is available now and they want to get my treatment started this month. Finally! I've been waiting several years to hear this news. The new treatment is supposedly much more effective than the traditional Interferon and Ribavirin combo, with far fewer serious side effects. I've really been trying to avoid the Interferon and Ribavirin treatment because it is horrendously expensive, makes you feel like you've got the flu for a year, and can cause serious problems with anemia. I was also never wild about injecting myself with the Interferon. Hopefully, this new medication is a pill.

I made it back to the gym this afternoon, but I didn't have time to complete my entire workout. Several tight deadlines really chopped up my day. I'm having increasing difficulty completing all my assignments. Either the work I'm getting now is more difficult, or I'm getting slower. Maybe it's a little bit of both, but I certainly don't have much free time anymore. Free time is good. If I had more free time, I'd probably be a lot more interesting person.

It's getting to be an effort to maintain my healthy diet. When I started eating healthy six or eight months ago, I scoffed at people who didn't have the willpower to maintain their diets. Dieting is easy, I thought. I did really well for a long time, but now I'm starting to have a little more sympathy for friends who find it difficult to diet. My enemy is boredom. I was eating all the right foods, but now I'm bored with them. I'm tired of Kale, and those evil twins, sugar and wheat are tempting me again. I'd love to have French Toast for breakfast tomorrow, but I won't. I think I can keep fighting the good fight, but it does leave me wondering why the fun things in life are almost universally bad for you.

Janet tells me that there are some new rescue Dalmatians to photograph, so maybe we'll do that in the morning. It might be a good day to go to the dog park too, especially since it is supposed to get up to 65 degrees tomorrow, before dipping below freezing again on Sunday. Did I mention I like consistency?  This inconsistent weather is driving me crazy.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1479

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, it was almost seventy degrees outside. Today it was below freezing with a fierce wind that made the temperature feel much lower. At least we didn't have snow like a lot of folks in the East. I put two sweaters on each of the dogs this morning, but they didn't act like they needed them. I always think Dalmatians are going to freeze in cold weather, since they are short haired dogs. Dot and Dash seem to relish the cold however. They were certainly perky on their walks today.

Dot had her weekly acupuncture session today, but will return to her regular Wednesday schedule next week. Hopefully, I'll return to my regular schedule as well. This mid-week holiday season has left me totally confused. Most of the time, I don't know what day it is.

All in all, it was a pretty boring day. I got some writing work done, went to the bank, and attended to Dot on her spa day. That was about it. The day was so boring that I found myself wondering about trivial things. Janet got a different brand of oatmeal at the store last week and it said on the box that the cooking time was twice as long as my regular oatmeal. I set the timer for the recommended time, and stirred the mixture like I normally do. I was surprised to discover that this new oatmeal took exactly the same amount of time to cook as the regular "quick" oatmeal I normally eat. I'd never timed this meal before. Why bother? It's so simple that Dash could prepare it. I guess I never realized I was cooking my "three minute" oatmeal for eight minutes. I just keep the pot on the stove until the coffee is ready.

There's a little bird that's driving me crazy by pooping on my car every single day. It's an evil bird. I can see it doing its business through my office window, but I can't make it stop. I don't know why people keep birds as pets. They are filthy creatures. Even if you love birds, it makes little sense to keep one in a cage. When you clip a bird's wings, you are basically crippling it so it can no longer do the one thing that makes birds unique: fly. If I were a bird, I would despise the person who kept me in their living room in a cage. Oddly, the people I know who have birds, also seem to inevitably have a cat. The cat is always trying to get the bird.

I continue to find it amusing that friends of mine who thought ObamaCare was a wonderful idea are now shocked to discover they have policies with ridiculously high deductibles that cost even more than they were paying before. I used to tell these people that if the government can't make the post office work, it certainly couldn't make the healthcare system work. I think I'm going to have the last laugh on this one.

I know that I've already had my weekly poached egg and pulled pork combo, but maybe if I go back to my breakfast restaurant again tomorrow, it will get me back on schedule again. It certainly doesn't seem like tomorrow is Friday. I did remember to take the trash out tonight though. I wrote myself a note.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1478 - New Year's Day

Some people think that what you do on New Year's Day foretells what you'll be doing for the rest of the year. I certainly hope that isn't the case. I thought I'd organize a growing pile of healthcare records in a ring binder this afternoon. It took a lot longer that I thought to decide which records to keep and which I could throw away. When I started to shred the throw away pile, I realized that the paper shredder was jammed and completely full. I took the machine apart and cleaned it out, which took longer than I thought as well. When I got this task finished, I got out the vacuum cleaner to clean up my mess and discovered that the bag was completely full. I knew I had more vacuum cleaner bags somewhere, but once again it took a lot longer than I thought to find them. This was kind of how the entire day went, as one easy task after another morphed into something more difficult than I anticipated.

The dogs, on the other hand, might have a great year to look forward to in 2014. The first thing they did on New Year's Day was go to the dog park. The weather was perfect, there were no aggressive dogs in the park, and Dot and Dash both had a great time. They've been waiting for this outing since November, so we spent a long time at the park, letting them both get a lot of pent up energy out of their system. Dot was surprisingly strong today. Even though we take things one day at a time with Dot, it is always gratifying to see her defy the odds and act like a much younger dog.

Eating pork on New Year's Day is supposed to bring you luck. We had pork ribs for dinner, so who knows. I'm not superstitious, but I do love ribs. I'll take good luck whenever I can get it. I didn't have any chicken today either. They say eating poultry on New Year's Day will bring poverty in the year ahead. You're not supposed to wash clothes today either, but that's going a bit too far.

Maybe in a week or two, I'll get back on schedule again. It's seems like Sunday evening, but it's really just hump day and we've got two more work days before the weekend. Dot has her acupuncture session tomorrow, although it is usually today. On Friday, I usually go out for breakfast, but I already did that on Tuesday. It's all very confusing. I wonder if 2014 will be a good year. 2013 was a mess, although the stock market did surprisingly well. If we learned anything last year, it would be that it is totally pointless to try to predict the future.

I wonder if the weather on New Year's Day is a harbinger of what's to come as well. It would be nice if that were the case. The weather was fantastic today. The sky was clear, there was no wind, and the temperature got up to 70 degrees. Pretty nice for a Winter's day.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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