Day 1312

Sometime I wonder how people with small children cope with all the uncertainties that come along with the inevitable childhood illnesses and injuries. Just dealing with one sick dog is more than enough for me. I had a lot of errands to run today and I was still worried that Dash might have another seizure. I found myself checking the nanny cam feed on my phone every five minutes or so. Dash was fine. The only thing I observed was that he is a very lazy dog. He didn't move an inch the entire time I was away. I wish I could say the same thing for Dot. There were scattered showers again today and Dot was a nervous nellie. Even though I was watching the camera to check on Dash, it was Dot who forced me to return home. At some point during the afternoon, I could tell she was going into her storm phobia mode. I looked at the weather radar app on my phone and sure enough, there was a storm directly over our house. I knew what to do. I curtailed a trip to the gym and came home. The dogs spent the rest of the afternoon huddled under my desk until the rain stopped.

It would have been nice to go to the gym, but I probably got enough exercise today anyway. I swept the water off the roof again this morning after another overnight rain. So far, the new roof is exactly like the old roof except that it doesn't leak. I'm surprised at how much rain we're getting in July. Most of my efforts to get the standing water off the roof have been an exercise in futility. Usually it is dry as a bone at this time of year. Since the roof doesn't leak anymore, I'm actually kind of happy to have the rain. It keeps the temperature lower, which means that Dot can still take her walks.

The garbage disposal quit working this morning. It didn't get stuck or jammed. It just won't turn on anymore. I can't find a circuit breaker on the disposal either. Do I call a plumber, an electrician, or an appliance repairman?  It could be a mechanical problem with the disposal itself. It could be an electrical problem. Or maybe there's some sort of internal fuse that burned out. The only thing I'm certain of is that I'm not going to try to fix the garbage disposal myself. Years ago, I tried to fix one of these things and ended up with such a bad leak under the sink that I had to call a plumber anyway.

I still haven't picked a recipe to send to the film festival recipe book. I think the deadline is tomorrow. My few original recipes are so simple and boring that a child could make them. I asked Janet what I should do and she told me to just pick something I liked out of one of our many recipe books and change it up a little. Wouldn't that be cheating I asked? She said that most recipes originate from other recipes anyway. This is probably true. There are literally thousands of recipes for lasagna, but they are all just different kinds of stuff layered between lasagna noodles and cooked in a baking dish. Omelets are all pretty much the same too. Beat some eggs, pour them into a skillet, and fold in whatever you want. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a cook. I'd still like to be featured in that cookbook though.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1311

Dash had another seizure this morning. A bad one. I had almost convinced myself that these seizures were a thing of the past. Until today, Dash hadn't suffered from a seizure in over four years. We were so confident about his recovery that we were able to lower his Phenobarbital dosage and eventually eliminate it completely. Dash has been completely free of Phenobarbital now for almost two full years with no adverse effects.

Epileptic seizures can be quite alarming. At first your dog goes into convulsions, typically falling to the ground, gasping for air and twitching wildly like it has been electrocuted. There is not much you can do at this point. Vets tell me that once you make sure the airway is clear and the dog had not swallowed its tongue, to just leave it alone until the seizure subsides. When the convulsions stop and the dog tries to get up, it will often appear unsteady and even fall over like it is experiencing severe vertigo. This disorientation often causes the dog to become fearful and aggressive, and it will growl or even bite if you try to approach. Usually, after about twenty minutes, some sense of normalcy returns and you can take the dog to the vet to check all the vital signs. If you're lucky, there will just be the single seizure, but often they come in clusters.

Nobody at the veterinary hospital could tell me why Dash had a seizure today after so many years with no problems whatsoever. The violent seizure fell into the category of unexplained mysteries, just like my own elevated liver enzyme levels. It makes me nervous though. I have no idea when or where a seizure will happen again. I don't want to put Dash back on a powerful sedative like Phenobarbital again unless it is absolutely necessary. I don't want to become fearful to leave the house either. Life must go on. To add to the complexity, Dot has had her own problems with seizures. Either one of the dogs could have another seizure at almost any point. On the other hand, neither of them may ever have a seizure again. 

Since I was more or less confined to the house today while I kept an eye on Dash, I was able to get all my work finished with time to spare. Dash is back to normal now and there were no further incidents. If I didn't see the seizure with my own eyes, it would be easy to imagine it never even happened.

Since I didn't make it to the store today as I had planned, there wasn't much in the house for dinner. I found a can of Wolf Brand Chili in the pantry and heated it up. Although my nutritionist would have frowned on this meal, it tasted surprisingly good. It's probably back to Kale salads tomorrow though.

I took the dogs on their evening walk immediately after a short, but intense thunderstorm passed through the area. The air was much cooler, but the ground was still hot, creating a layer of ground fog that hovered above the roads and pathways in the park. The effect was surreal and beautiful, but it didn't last long.

Before I forget, thanks to Joan and Lynne for helping me identify the mystery plant I saw the other day as a Passionflower. I always enjoy learning something new. I now know that these beautiful vines have been used for hundreds of years by Native Americans for medicinal purposes and that they got their name because people thought that the different parts of the flower represented the Christian crucifixion story. The recent heavy rains flattened the plant I saw the other day, but I'm sure the Passionflowers will be back. I haven't seen a wildflower yet that didn't return the next year.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1310

I had to give Dot the Heimlich maneuver today. She eats her food so fast that she occasionally chokes on it. This has happened before and I'm not really sure how to prevent it. I've tried putting some of her food inside a big rubber Kong to slow her down. I've tried putting a couple of rubber balls in her bowl so she has to push them around with her nose to get at the food. Nothing works very well. She always eats as if it was her last meal. Dash, on the other hand, it a very slow eater. This is probably one reason why Dot is in such a hurry. I'm sure she'd like to eat Dash's food as well.

There were still a few scattered showers today, but the weather is definitely improving. We were lucky and were able to get to Dot's acupuncture appointment and back without getting wet. Dot likes her acupuncture treatments now. I think she even looks forward to them.

Next week we're going to start alternating water therapy with the acupuncture treatments. This type of physical therapy is great for older dogs that are starting to experience some muscle atrophy. The dog is placed in a special harness and walks on a treadmill submerged in a tank of water. This low impact stress resistance helps to build the dog's leg muscles back without causing additional joint problems. Dot doesn't like water, but we'll give it a try and see how things go. I didn't think she'd like acupuncture either and that's worked out quite well.

I wish somebody would pay me. Bills are stacking up and way too many  invoices are past due. If you get a regular paycheck every two weeks, consider yourself lucky. Wild fluctuations in cash flow are all a normal part of owning your own business, but it's not a part that I particularly enjoy. I put up with the hills and valleys though, because it's still a lot better than having a boss.

The dogs did a good job of putting up with training class tonight. They actually did quite well this evening. I was proud of them. With nothing on the agenda tomorrow, I'm sure they'll quickly revert back to their stubborn ways, but they seemed like well trained dogs tonight.

I just noticed that I'm out of oatmeal. I could either go to the store after I walk the dogs tomorrow morning and get some more, or I could just go out to eat instead. Hmm. Tasty veggie omelet or oatmeal? You can probably guess what I'm going to do.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1309

I'm starting to realize why I enjoy going to the gym. My body gets the activity it needs without the irritation that typically comes with household chores and yard work. Instead of going to the gym today, I got my exercise the old fashioned way. I swept standing water off the roof. Sweeping hundreds of pounds of water off the roof with a push broom is fairly strenuous activity, but there is no satisfaction in it. Today when I climbed up on the roof, I was met with the sight of a dead squirrel rotting in a puddle of water. Disgusting! Lord knows how long the squirrel had been on the roof. I haven't been up there for several weeks. With two dogs, I'm always apprehensive about dead animals in the yard. Was the squirrel poisoned? Did it have rabies? At least it died up on the roof where Dot and Dash couldn't get at it.

Does anyone know what today's flower is? I very rarely see these things. They are about two inches in diameter and usually only appear right after a heavy rain. The flowers bloom in the mornings for a few days and then disappear. The unusual delicate bloom reminds me more of a sea creature than a plant. I have no idea what it is.

It's a good thing I didn't have much writing work today because I was swamped with website updates. It seems like I spent the better part of the day adding and deleting text and resizing images in Photoshop to fit the layout. I finally got everything finished and uploaded to the server, but it definitely took a while. One of today's updates will only last about a week before it needs to be updated again. In that regard, it is much like the roof. It is raining again as I sit here typing, so all of my efforts to clear the roof of water earlier today are being erased.

A lot of yesterday's gains in the stock market are being erased today as well. I guess that's just the way the world is. Almost every week when we walk in the park, I'll see a large tree that has toppled to the ground. The large old Oak trees seem permanent and eternal until the day they fall and then they just slowly begin to rot away. As much as I want permanence, there just isn't any. If you pick the right vantage point, just about everything in this world turns into castles made of sand.

To continue this theme, I received an e-mail today announcing the debut of Apple Logic Pro X. The Apple Logic software I purchased last year as a potential alternative to Pro Tools is now officially obsolete. Jeez! I haven't even used the previous version yet, and now there's a brand new version to learn and grow frustrated with.

Dot has her acupuncture appointment tomorrow. The acupuncture treatments are simple and immediate. We spend an hour with the vet and Dot walks away feeling better. I wish everything in life were this simple.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1308

It's been raining for two solid days and I haven't gone up on the roof once. There's still a lot of water up there, but I'm not nearly as worried about it because there are no longer any leaks. Any regular reader will quickly realize that two days of standing water on the roof with no attempt to remove it is nothing short of astonishing. Even without troublesome roof leaks, rain can still be problematic though. It's hard to walk the dogs. Today was a waiting game. The rain was fairly steady throughout the day, but I discovered if I kept an eye on the iPad weather radar, I could still manage to find little pockets of relative dryness when the rain would slow to a trickle and the dogs became brave enough to venture outside. It was one of those days where I used up a lot of towels. We would get wet. Then I would dry everyone off. And then we would repeat the process again.

I was invited today to send a recipe to be included in the 2014 SXSW Interactive Cookbook. It was quite an honor, since my recipe will apparently be included with other recipes from luminaries like Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, Zappos founder Tony Hsieh, and BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti. This invitation just shows how far I have fallen in recent years. Yes, I not only used to attend SXSW on a regular basis, I used to be a speaker there as well in the early years. There's only one problem with submitting a recipe of mine to this cookbook. I don't have any. I can only think of two original recipes I have created in the past twenty-five years and I can no longer eat either of them.

These days I hardly cook at all. I've succumbed to stopping by Central Market several times a week and picking up some tasty, semi-healthy items from the Chef Prepared section. It's kind of like eating out, except that I can eat at home with the dogs and there are no waiters to tip.  Today, I picked up a container of Kale, Chard, and Orange salad and another container with Walnut, Grape and Blue Cheese salad on the way home from the gym.

The gym is already starting to feel like a familiar place. I'm starting to establish a routine that suits me. I stay about an hour or so and work mostly on exercises designed to build up my upper body and core strength. A lot of people at the gym seem to be doing cardio workouts using treadmills and elliptical machines. I don't think I need this type of workout quite as much, since I spend so much time walking the dogs. Maybe I do though. I'm just making this up as I go along.

Even though it was a slow day, I still managed to get a few writing assignments finished. I have a feeling that tomorrow will be busier.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1307

Rain isn't nearly as frustrating when your roof doesn't leak. Although it rained most of the day, I was no longer filled with my usual apprehensions. It was actually kind of enjoyable to have a damp, overcast day with a temperature 25 degrees lower it normally is in the middle of July.  Our rain phobic dogs seemed to approve of today's showers as well. Dot was eager to take a walk in the cooler weather, even though she got wet in the process. I guess dogs, just like people, are able to prioritize things. Today, rain was definitely the lesser of two evils.

The day-long rain turned out to be the perfect time to try out Janet's new Vitamix blender. Foodies and fans of programs like Top Chef are probably already familiar with these amazing machines. I'd never even heard of a Vitamix until fairly recently, but I'm definitely a fan now.

We experimented and made some fresh juice and smoothies with the machine in a fraction of the time it used to take using the juice extractor. There was no pulpy mess to clean up either. The pulp that was discarded using the juice extractor was completely liquified and actually became part of the juice using the Vitamix. The resulting beverage was absolutely delicious and the machine could be cleaned in thirty seconds using a special cleaning cycle. I love this thing. After making about a gallon of juice, we tried our hand at making peanut butter. Nut butters were equally easy to make.

The dog park was closed today due to the inclement weather, but I don't think Dot and Dash missed much. They like anything that involves food and seemed to enjoy hanging out with us as we learned to use the Vitamix machine. They were both pretty muddy at the end of their evening walk, but cleaning them up was a small price to pay for an enjoyable day.

I noticed something on social media today that mentioned one of my clients was considering utilizing new resources to augment its existing suppliers. Since I'm currently one of those existing suppliers, this short article caught my attention. I wonder what this means?  Maybe I won't get any more work from these guys. Maybe it won't affect me at all. I could ask, but I'm superstitious about such things. I'll just pretend I never saw the article and see what happens.

Next week looks busy. Now that I've added semi-regular trips to the gym to my weekly routine, I'm going to have even more trouble completing my endless to-do list. I did manage to cross one thing off the list today. I tried the egg and avocado recipe for breakfast. An egg poached inside half an avocado is quite tasty.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1306

I'm a little apprehensive about flying into the San Francisco airport these days. I'm even more apprehensive about being selected for jury duty. I'd hate to be selected as a juror in a high profile trial. These things have turned into gladiator events with the media whipping the proponents for both sides into a frenzy. In today's increasingly polarized society, it wouldn't matter whether you reached a verdict of guilty or innocent. Whatever you decided, half of the country would hate you. The courts don't make much of an effort to protect their juries either. Once the trial is over, everybody knows who you are.

I probably don't have much to worry about though. Although I have sat reading magazines in the jury pool room more times than I can remember, I've never been selected for a jury panel. Usually, as soon as I declare my occupation as "writer," I am dismissed. Twice, I made it as far as the Voir dire process, but the lawyers on both sides didn't like the way I answered their questions. I'm not exactly sure what most lawyers are looking for in a jury, but I'm definitely not it.

Even more worrisome than being selected for a jury is the thought of being tried by one. It's a sobering experience to walk into a Walmart and realize that the motley crew of shoppers inside might someday constitute a jury of your peers. This frightening thought has been more than enough to keep me on the straight and narrow.

The dogs hogged so much of the bed last night that I found it difficult to sleep. I had so little room that I might as well have been sleeping on a 2x4 plank. When Dot and Dash were younger, they would curl up in tight little balls when they slept. Now they stretch their legs out as far as they can. It doesn't leave much room for the people. I probably didn't need a lot of sleep last night though. I certainly didn't do much today. It was way too hot. I made juice out of the remaining supply of tangerines. I put clean sheets on the bed. I went to the store and got another month's supply of trash bags and paper towels. The dogs got a short walk too. When the temperature is 102, you try to keep everything you do outside on the short side.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1305

Timing is everything. The best time to eat breakfast at my favorite restaurant is 9 AM. All the work slaves have left for the office and the people with nothing better to do haven't even gotten up yet. I practically have the place to myself.  The best time to walk the dogs is 6:30 AM. This is not the best time for me, mind you. It is the best time for the dogs, and you should know by now that dogs rule. The best time to go grocery shopping is 10:30 AM. This is when I see the produce managers putting out fresh produce and most importantly, when the Chef Prepared section is being filled with fresh tasty dinner items. By the end of the day, everything is picked over, but not at 10:30 AM. The best time to go to the gym is at 2 PM. None of the Type-A fitness fanatics are here then. They all arrive either at the crack of dawn, before they go to work, or later in the evening on their way home. At 2 PM, it's just me and the cardiac rehab patients. You're probably seeing a pattern here.

Maybe I've grown too comfortable working in my quiet little room with a dog under my desk. Occasionally, I think I'd like something more exciting, but when I try to think of something specific, nothing comes to mind. I have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Apple computers, but I don't think I'd last long working at the Genius Bar. The Apple stores are just too busy and chaotic. I don't think I'd make a good film producer anymore, even though I spent the early part of my career doing precisely this. I just don't have the patience to hire and manage a film crew these days. I don't even think I could work at an ad agency. Agency life used to be fun, but whenever I visit an ad agency these days, you can smell the stress in the air. It's a dying industry and everyone is treading water, just trying to hold on to what they've got. I suspect than in ten years, the ad agencies I remember will all be gone.

I do like blogging. I keep hoping that if I keep stirring this pot, it will eventually start to boil. Who knows. Maybe people will eventually want to pay me for writing about nothing. Hey, it worked for Dave Barry and Seinfeld. In the long run, it doesn't really matter, but I learned long ago not to rule anything out. The world is a strange place and almost anything can happen.

I can't figure the dogs out. They absolutely hate to take a walk in this hot weather we're having lately, but they seem to love to lie out in the back yard under the same hot sun. Often, they lie on their backs with their paws in the air. I guess it's not that surprising that a Dalmatian would rather sunbathe than exercise. I've got to keep an eye on them though. They sunburn easily.

A new spare tire cover for the Defender 90 came in the mail today. After ten years, the old tire cover had pretty much succumbed to the elements. It was tattered and torn and tended to fall off every time I went through a car wash. As I was putting on the new tire cover, I realized that it was the high point of my day. It was just that kind of a day.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1304

Dot's weather predicting nose told her that there was rain in the vicinity today and she made sure that I was properly warned. It never did rain in our neighborhood, but that didn't stop Dot from barking. The girl is loud. I feel like I've been sitting in the front row at a rock concert. Although I'm never a big fan of rain, I'll admit that we could have used a little moisture. It's been hot and dry for several weeks now and the plants in the back yard are starting to droop and wither.

I finally got around to sanding last week's Sheetrock repairs. The ceiling looks pretty smooth now, so I might just skip the subsequent steps and paint it now. The older I become, the less of a perfectionist I am

Dash's Allopurinol finally arrived this morning, so I made a trip to the vet to pick it up. Since I was already out and about, I drove over to Culwell & Son afterwards and picked out a new pair of Hiltl jeans for myself. I've lost enough weight recently that most of my existing pants are starting to look a little baggy. I'm not getting rid of the old pants though. I have a feeling that my waistline could easily revert to its old dimensions the next time I'm invited to a good barbecue.

One of the things on today's to-do list was fixing one of Janet's watches. A few years ago, I convinced myself that I'd make a good watch repairman and bought some watchmaking tools. It didn't take long to discover that I wasn't cut out to be a watch repairman. I'm just too clumsy. Watch parts are extremely tiny and delicate. All it takes is a random sneeze to scatter tiny screws everywhere. I pretty much limit myself to replacing batteries now. Even something as simple as changing batteries has its perils though. Once you take the back off a watch, all sorts of small things can fall out and disappear forever.

I've found that writing about watches is a lot easier than repairing them, so that's what I did today. I used to write a whole lot about the oil and gas industry and very little about luxury items. Now, its the other way around. As long as the writing jobs keep coming, I don't really care what I write about. I need to do something and I think I proved today that I'm not really cut out for tape and bed work or watch repair.

I feel like today went well. Everything on the to-do list got done. The lawn has been watered. Even the trash has been taken out to the curb for tomorrow's weekly garbage pickup. It's time to start daydreaming about what to have for breakfast tomorrow. I'm in an adventurous mood. Maybe I'll even look for a new restaurant.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1303

It's a good thing that most of my chores were inside today, because it was way too hot outdoors. Even though we got started at 7 AM, the dogs and I were drooping by the time we finished our morning walk. Dot and Dash sprawled out on the brick floor to cool off, while I made myself a pot of coffee and some breakfast.

Under the protection of the air conditioner, I actually managed to get quite a bit done. I managed to get all my July invoices posted and in the mail. I changed some contact information on a website. And I finished another article.

Since my to-do list went so smoothly, I went to the gym after I mailed my invoices. It's still a little disconcerting to see people ten years older than me with more stamina than I have, but I'm making progress already. I have a feeling that this is one lifestyle change that's going to stick.

I don't know why we bothered to go to dog training class tonight. The dogs were hot. The people were hot. And there were little flying insects biting everyone. Everyone brought buckets of water for their dogs to drink. We brought water too, but Dash seemed to think all the other dogs water tasted better. Somebody brought a kiddie pool and it was amusing to watch Dash try to work up his nerve to get in the water. You could tell he wanted to, but he is timid about everything. He would put one paw in the water and then another, but never two paws at once. When Dash finally got the nerve to put all four paws in the water, a big Labrador Retriever took over the pool and splashed all the water out.

When I was driving around today, I saw a Fedex truck flashing its lights behind me. When the truck pulled alongside, the driver waved at me and I recognized him as my regular delivery guy. You know you're buying too much stuff online when the FedEx guy recognizes you in traffic.

Who knows. Maybe the FedEx guy will bring me something tomorrow. I could use a diversion. It looks like all I've got to look forward to is a lot of work. I wish it was Friday tomorrow, but I've got to wait another day. I'm bored with the oatmeal already. I saw a recipe online where you take half of a fresh avocado and poach an egg in the center after you remove the seed. I think you just bake the avocado in the oven until the egg cooks. The picture showed the avocado with some cheddar cheese melted over the top. It looks good. Maybe I'll make this tomorrow.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1302

Times have certainly changed. I can remember when an oil change meant thumbing through dog-eared car magazines in the the threadbare lobby of an old garage, waiting while a grease stained mechanic did his best to leave your car smelling like motor oil for the rest of the day. Not anymore. The Land Rover dealer serves you snacks and beverages in air conditioned comfort while they work, and then they wash and detail your car before they return it to you. Of course the oil change itself costs four times more than it should.

I used to scoff at the notion that the middle class in America was being systematically eliminated, but I'm beginning to believe that this is actually the case. As a member of the vanishing middle class, I find this discouraging. I don't need tasty snacks and a car wash when I get my oil changed, but I don't want to change it myself in the parking lot of an Autozone store like the Walmart people either. The gap between the rich and the poor is definitely widening and the territory in the middle is nothing but quicksand.

Another sign that times are changing is that my website clients increasingly ask me to do things that they think are trivial no-brainers, not realizing that these things are actually quite difficult for me. People see things that they like on Facebook or Pinterest and then they ask me to put the same sort of thing on their own websites. I've given up trying to explain that sites like Amazon and Facebook have huge development teams to do all the fancy stuff. I've already learned the hard way that if I protest too much, the client will just take their business to GoDaddy or some other template site and get what they want for free. So guess what I did today? I did some difficult stuff and pretended like it was easy.

I also pretended that it didn't really matter when Dash didn't get his regular nurse at the vet today. I'm equally frustrated when I go to my own doctors and don't get the lab tech or nurse I want. It is often difficult to tell whether a doctor is any good, but at the lower levels of medicine, it is quite easy. Some technicians can draw blood painlessly and others can't. Once I even had an absent minded tech inject me with the wrong shot. Dash had to have his anal glands expressed today and memories of my own colonoscopies made me wish he had the best nurse in the building. Of course like the song says, you can't always get what you want.

I've got to get my July invoices out tomorrow so I'll have some money coming my way in August. Among other things, there's a ritzy oil change that needs to be paid for. Just so you know, today's Dalmatian is a special one. She was one of ours. Greta went to the Rainbow Bridge nine years ago tomorrow.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1301

I've already learned a few things by going to the gym. Most importantly, I've learned that I'm not in nearly as good shape as I thought I was. For years, I've been telling myself that I got all the exercise I needed by taking the dogs on long walks. Maybe this was true at some point, but the dogs are getting older now and don't walk as far or as fast as they used to. I still spend quite a bit of time walking the dogs, but a lot of this activity consists of Dot and Dash looking for new places to pee while I look for flowers to photograph. We may be on the trail for an hour, but when we return, we usually aren't even breathing hard.

I am winded when I leave the gym, and I guess that's as it should be. So far, my exercise strategy is to watch the people who come with their own personal trainers and just do the same things they do. I don't even attempt to copy the true fitness fanatics though. I saw someone today going full speed on a stair climbing machine for 45 minutes without stopping. My legs would have turned to jelly within fifteen minutes. I do think I'll be able to incorporate a trip to the gym into my regular routine though. I'm going to try to go a minimum of two days a week, and hopefully I'll find time for three.

One nice thing about the gym is that I never have to make an appointment. I can just go whenever I feel like it. Everything else in life seems to require elaborate planning, with appointments made weeks in advance. Haircuts require appointments. Doctors require appointments. I even had to make an appointment to get my oil changed. I used to just show up at the dealership with the Defender and enjoy a cup of coffee while they serviced my car. Evidently those days are long gone. I was able to make an appointment for tomorrow however. The oil change is two hours earlier than Dash's vet appointment. It's going to be a busy day.

Every time I get interested in one of the many new services AT&T offers, one of my existing services crashes or breaks and I'm thrown back into the land of reality. Today I kept getting notices on my computer that I had new voicemail messages waiting, but whenever I tried to access them, I was locked out. I tried to listen to the messages using both the phone and the computer, but neither of them would accept my password. By the time I finished dinner, the system was back to normal. As usual, all the messages were from telemarketers.

I didn't get around to working on the Sheetrock today. I had the time, but it never occurred to me because I didn't look up at the ceiling much today. I did find some more bees however. Just as I thought I was winning the battle with the critters outside, I spotted another hornet's nest on the back porch. Although I managed to get rid of the nest without getting stung, I'm sure this wasn't the last of the bees and hornets I'll be seeing this Summer.

I need to get to bed earlier. I'm a habitual night-owl, but this doesn't lend itself to early dog walks. I have no desire to rise with the sun, but it's becoming increasingly necessary to give the dogs a chance to enjoy themselves before the weather becomes unbearable. We got started at 8 AM this morning and it was already too late. Maybe 6:30 AM would be better. Janet says the weather is quite nice at that time of day. I wouldn't know anything about that.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1300

I woke up this morning to a quiet house. Janet likes to walk the dogs on weekends and she had taken them on a morning walk before I'd even gotten out of bed. I don't know how the rest of the family can get by on so little sleep. No matter what's going on, I always feel like I could sleep a few hours more.

Once I did get out of bed, I tried to make myself useful by watering the lawn, making the bed, and doing some laundry. This was just the warm up act for the task I'd been dreading: repairing the Sheetrock in the living room. It's a shame that most of the drywall mud I applied today will just be sanded off a few days from now. It will probably take about three coats of the compound, each sanded smooth after it dries, before the repair starts to look decent. I'll be glad when I'm done. I'm not fond of messy work, and doing anything with Sheetrock is definitely messy.

The dogs had a great time at the dog park today. Dot had plenty of energy for a change and Dash even managed to find a playmate. I don't know how Dash chooses the dogs he wants to play with. He often rejects shy, gentle dogs like himself in favor of larger breeds that end up scaring him. Today, he found a young Irish Setter that he took a fancy to and the two dogs had a great time racing up and down the park. By the time we got home again, Dot and Dash were content to snooze for the rest of the afternoon.

I spent some of my afternoon re-learning how to use the WiFi function on one of my cameras. I like the idea of being about to completely control the camera with my phone, but I can never remember how to create a ad hoc network linking the phone with the camera. I need to remember how to do this, because I'll never be able to impress clients with my remote control camera skills if can't even remember how to sync the camera with the phone. When I finally figured out how to tap my phone and take a picture, it was time for dinner.

The day ended pretty much as it began; with a nap. I probably could have done more today, but Sunday is best enjoyed as a day of rest. Janet fixed a great dinner tonight. The dogs are happy. All is well with the world. Too bad tomorrow is Monday.

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1299

Today evaporated in a sea of small chores. I didn't do anything important, but whatever I did seemed to occupy the entire day. As proof that all tasks get completed eventually, I hooked up a mechanical timer to the sprinkler in the front yard. I bought the timer over a year ago and promptly forgot about it. I like the idea of a clockwork mechanical water timer, because water and batteries don't seem to go together well. The first of these timers I bought broke immediately, but this one appears to be working. I bought some clear nail polish for my Chigger bites and some Visine for my eyes while I was at the pharmacy. I picked up a sack of Tangerines at the grocery store while I was stocking up on vitamins. Tangerines are so much easier to peel than large Oranges that I thought they would be a quick and easy way to make juice.

When I was putting away the groceries at home, I turned on the television and heard that a plane had crashed in San Francisco. I've flown into that airport a number of times and it always seemed strange to be over open water until the last possible second. Now I'll be even more nervous if I fly there again. I need to remind myself to actually listen to those safety instructions the flight attendants give right before you take off. It's weird. I'm very conscious of the dangers of driving on Dallas freeways, but I tend to just take flying for granted. It's kind of like riding in elevators. They're very safe, but every once in a while they break.

There's something dead in the back yard, but we can't find it. The smell leads us directly to a patch of ground cover, but after inspecting things with a fine tooth comb, there was not a mouse, or rat, or even a bird to be found. Even the dogs couldn't find the source of the offending smell, and they're the experts about rotten things. I suspect one of the feral cats in the neighborhood has the answer to this mystery, but they're not talking.

I had the best of intentions to start on the Sheetrock repairs today, but too many trivial things got in the way. One of these days I'll get the damaged ceiling fixed, just like I finally got the mechanical water timer working. It's a good thing I bought the clear nail polish today. I got a host of new Chigger bites looking for the illusive dead thing in our yard. All is not lost however. I noticed that Red Dwarf has returned to TV this evening. Lister, Rimmer, and Kryten were some of my favorite oddball TV characters from the 1980's. Re-watching an old episode of Red Dwarf seems like a good way to end the day.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1298

If there's a fancy looking egg on my plate, it must be Friday. I'm simple minded this way. I'd like some clearly defined event to differentiate each day of the week. Friday is the day I can stray from my diet a bit. Sunday is the day we go to the dog park. Now what am I going to do with all those other days?

Today, my plan was to get a haircut and an oil change for the Defender. The haircut went smoothly enough, but it looks like I'm going to have to come back another day for the oil change. Oddly, the price for both of these services is exactly the same.

While I was at the mall, I stopped by the new, much larger Apple store. The place was huge. There were no new products in the new store. Just more tables filled with the same iPhones, iPads, laptops, and desktops. I guess there is only one reason to have a huge store to sell four things. They probably couldn't fit all the customers in their old store.

I don't even have to open my eyes to know what time of year it is. You can hear it is July. In the morning, the dominant sound is the lawn mowers and leaf blowers of the landscapers and yard crews. As the day progresses, the raucous sounds of lawn care diminish and are replaced by the song of the Cicadas. How these small bugs can make such a loud noise is a mystery to me. The hotter it gets, the louder the Cicadas seem to sing. It is kind of the quintessential sound of Summer here in Texas.

I'm going to have to go look for something to get rid of Chigger bites tomorrow. There used to be a product called Chigarid that worked great, but I don't think they make it anymore. Maybe the reason they don't make Chigarid anymore is that it was basically just clear nail polish in a different bottle. Probably the only people who bought the stuff were people like me who didn't like to buy their insect repellants in the cosmetics department. Clear nail polish works though, so maybe I'll have to get some.

I hope it cools down a bit this weekend. We'll go to the dog park whatever the weather, but it would be so much more enjoyable if it wasn't like a furnace outside.

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1297 - Independence Day

The best Fourth of July I can remember was in 1976. This was the year we celebrated the country's Bicentennial. I was returning from Victoria, British Columbia to Seattle by boat and just as we entered the harbor, a massive fireworks display began directly overhead. The celebration was beautiful and serene as the boat glided slowly towards the shore. There were no ants or mosquitoes and the crowds of revelers were far away on shore. At the opposite end of the scale was a celebration in Dallas where I was right in the middle of thousands of drunk revelers, trying to sell glow-in-the-dark necklaces to raise money for animal rescue. Ever since that event, I have had no desire to be in a large crowd again.

There was certainly a respectable crowd of people in the park behind our house today. Early in the morning, there were hundreds of runners completing a 10K race while I walked the dogs. Later in the day, the park was filled with picnickers, cyclists, and boaters. The smell of barbecue permeated the air, but even the delicious smell of burgers and brisket cooking wasn't enough to make me want to have a picnic myself.

I kept to myself as I worked my way through a list of chores. I made another week's supply of juice with the juicer. I did several loads of laundry. I even tried to fix a leak in the problematic French Porcher toilet. It is impossible to find parts for the thing, but I do the best I can. When all my chores were done, I thought I'd go work out at the gym, but when I got there it was closed for the holiday. On the way home, I stopped at Central Market and got something that we already had in the refrigerator.  My memory is shot.

Dot has an amazing ability to sense changes in the weather. She was was acting like she usually does when it's about to rain this afternoon. I was initially confused, because there was no rain in the forecast and the sky was clear. As her behavior continued, I turned on the weather channel and learned that a cold front had just passed through town. It is easy to miss a cold front in the Summer. I think the temperature just went down from 95 to 85. Dot knew though. She knew way before I did.

I tried to do a little research in the Internet today and see if I could discover why my liver enzyme levels were continuing to fluctuate. There were so many potential reasons that I just gave up. Even trained hepatologists seem to have trouble coming to a consensus about liver enzyme levels. Oddly, exercise can actually cause liver enzyme levels to rise. I can't imagine that I've been doing enough exercise to move the needle though.

At least tomorrow is Friday. Friday is my favorite day. I like things to be finished, and they very seldom are. At least Friday creates the illusion that you've crossed some sort of imaginary finish line.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1296

There was a package of socks on my front porch this morning. It says a lot that I'd rather buy something as utilitarian and easy to find as socks online instead of going to a store. I don't know how local merchants survive when everything from digital cameras to dog food is easy to find online. It's so painless to buy things this way. A few mouse clicks and the FedEx guy brings it to your door a few days later. The allure of online shopping is even stronger in the Summer. Who wants to park your car at the mall and return an hour later to find your steering wheel too hot to touch? People don't seem as patient in the Summer either. More cars cut you off on the highway and you'll get honked at or worse if you don't make those left turns at stoplights quickly enough. I think the entire city is in a bad mood on hot days like today.

I probably notice the traffic more on Wednesdays, because that's when Dot has her acupuncture appointment. Traffic slowed to a crawl on Central Expressway this afternoon when a wreck blocked traffic. As we inched along toward the vet, I kept wondering what would happen if our own car stalled out. I try to stay in the right lane, so at least I could get off the road if I had car trouble, but sometime that's impossible. Maybe I worry too much about driving around in the Summer with a dog in the dog, but there's so much that could go wrong when you're driving an eighteen year old Defender 90. If I had to get a tow, I'm not even sure the tow truck driver would let Dot ride in the truck with him.

Luckily, we made it to and from our acupuncture appointment without a hitch. Dot seems to like her treatments now. Even though her legs still seem weaker than they should be, I have to assume that the treatments are doing her some good. I wish I could say the same for myself. I got the results from last Saturday's blood tests back today and my liver enzymes are elevated again. I'm not sure what to do now. I'm already taking the recommend medications, eating the recommended food, and doing the recommended exercise.

Although tomorrow is a holiday, it's going to seem pretty much like a regular Thursday around our house. Janet has to work tomorrow and if the weather remains as hot as it was today, the dogs aren't going to want to go out of the house anyway. I'm pretty much caught up on my writing work. If nothing new comes in tomorrow, it might be time to watch another movie on Hulu.

Dash didn't do well in training class tonight. Actually, none of the dogs did. There was something smelly in the grass that the dogs wanted to eat. I couldn't tell what they were interested in, but there must have been something. Every ten feet or so, Dash had his nose in the grass, looking for some illusive treasure. No illusive treasures for me today. The high point of my day was getting a package of socks.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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