Day 1395

With life returning to normal, I decided to use some of my free time to get a haircut. I should have gotten a haircut over a month ago, since I was starting to look like Albert Einstein on a bad hair day. It just wasn't worth the effort on most days though. The only time I go to the mall lately is when I'm getting a haircut at Toni & Guy or shopping for a birthday present for Janet. Although I noticed a number of new stores and tons of new Fall merchandise, I still didn't feel compelled to buy anything. The haircut was all I needed today. 

There were some interesting sculptures in the mall made using canned vegetables as the primary building block. This was probably some sort of fundraiser, but I didn't look to see who the cans benefited. I'd never noticed before that Trader Joe's canned corn is quite colorful.

I turned in another article today and got my October invoices in the mail as well. Things were slow this month. Looking at the bills I sent out today, it doesn't look like there's going to be a lot of money coming in next month. At least the stock market had a good day. Any day the DOW decides to go up 300 points is just fine as far as I'm concerned. Evidently, investors were heartened by news that Congress was finally getting around to doing something. I think everyone must have been listening to a different newscast than I was. Sure, some folks got together in the White House and talked for a while, but unless I'm missing something here, they didn't actually agree on anything. Nothing has really changed.

The dogs were both in good spirits today. When they're having a good day, it's easy to forget that they are both prone to seizures. So far, nobody has been able to pinpoint the cause of the seizures or tell me when they are going to happen next. All I know is that when the dogs do have seizures, they are pretty severe. My own condition is equally mysterious. I really feel pretty good these days, but my blood work tells a different tale. I really don't like all the uncertainty, but what are you going to do?

I know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'm already looking forward to a delicious breakfast. I might even have a side of bacon with my omelet. I know I've got one more article to write tomorrow morning, but if that turns out to be it for the day, I'm going to try to get to the gym as well. One day a week really isn't doing me that much good.

Neo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1394

Wednesdays are tiring. I'm up before dawn to drive to my business networking breakfast and can't call the day officially finished until we return from dog training class well after sunset. In between these two activities, a lot of typing takes place, along with a two hour trip downtown for Dot's weekly acupuncture and physical therapy session.

During today's visit with Dot's physical therapy vet, we made arrangements for her to get an MRI scan of her brain sometime next week. I've had a scan of my own brain and I can see why they want the dog anesthetized for this procedure. Being stuffed inside a narrow tube and listening to what sounds like a jackhammer pounding right next to your head is probably enough to freak any dog out. Hopefully, Dot does not have a brain tumor. The other likely causes of her seizures are much easier to deal with.

The traffic was terrible today. I can't imagine driving around in Dallas traffic on a daily basis. You never know what to expect. Usually, the trip to see Dot's acupuncture vet isn't that bad, but today it was bumper-to-bumper all the way. Bad traffic is usually the first topic of conversation during the Wednesday breakfast meetings too. Most of the folks in the group seem to drive continually. I don't know how they stand it. I would go stark raving mad, if I had to deal with rush hour traffic every day.

Writing in a quiet room with a dog under your desk is so much better than getting up and fighting traffic every day, just to arrive at an office where you probably don't want to be anyway. If you can tolerate the insecurity of never knowing where your next meal is coming from, the writer's life isn't bad at all. I finished two more articles today. There's plenty to do tomorrow as well. The best thing is that I seldom have to talk to anyone.

I fell asleep last night watching an old episode of Perry Mason. When I woke up, I thought I was still watching Perry Mason, but it was actually a very similar looking black and white show called the Untouchables. I couldn't figure out why Perry Mason was defending Al Capone. Then I went back to sleep again. I hope I sleep well tonight. It's been a very long day.

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1393

I barely left the house today. Don't worry, the dogs still got their morning and evening walks, but that was about it. The rest of the day I spent staring at the computer. It's no surprise that carpel tunnel has taken its toll on my wrists. My main exercise today was pushing the mouse around on my desk.

Not that it matters, but I did get quite a bit done. Three more websites are up to date again, an article is on its way to be published, and a new print ad is looking pretty good in Quark Express. Sometimes I think I ought to teach my clients to update their own websites, but that would be shooting myself in the foot. I'm fully aware that my client's don't hire me for my wisdom. They hire me because I'm willing to do tiresome, mindless things that they don't feel like doing.

Although I've never liked the randomness of Texas weather, I find the changing of the seasons comforting. As Fall continues its approach, I see familiar signs that I know I've seen before. The leaves on certain trees are starting to turn yellow and orange. The Coots have returned to the lake and the Cormorants aren't far behind. As the days grow shorter, the dogs and I cast long shadows on our morning and evening walks. I'm certainly no Henry David Thoreau, but I've documented these seasonal transformations so thoroughly over the years, that I can tell you exactly what is going to happen next, just by looking at the photos I took in previous years. Maybe the ice is melting and the oceans are rising in other parts of the world, but nothing is changing here. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter are as regular as clockwork.

I am baffled by all the bickering in Congress. Sometimes I don't think anyone understands the healthcare industry at all. First of all, there is nothing new about Obamacare. Most states have had high risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions for decades. I should know, because I have some serious pre-existing conditions myself. It's not that people with pre-existing conditions can't get insurance, they just don't want to pay for it. Anyone with a pre-existing condition could always get health insurance the same way I did. For over a decade my company has leased my own services through an employee leasing company, just so I could get on the employee leasing company's group health insurance plan. This was always an expensive solution, but the insurance was quite good.

I have a feeling that I made the transition to the world of Medicare at precisely the right time. I noticed recently that the employee leasing company I was affiliated with has quietly dropped the gold plan I was using and is now advising customers to use one of the new private health care exchanges instead. The irony of this whole healthcare mess is that the people who hate the Affordable Care Act the most will probably benefit from it by being able to drop their company insurance programs entirely. On the other hand, the people who love the Affordable Care Act now, will probably hate it several years from now when they discover how much they will actually have to pay.

Noting is as it seems. I discovered that a long time ago.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1392

This is the only time of the year when we don't need either the furnace or the air conditioner. For a few weeks, a rare condition exists where you can actually open the windows. I've learned to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts, because it certainly doesn't last long. Sometime later this month, I'll wake up freezing cold, turn on the furnace again, and discover that it is broken. Fixing the furnace is a Fall ritual at our house. It's hard to imagine the arrival of Winter without the furnace repairman arriving first.

I finally made it to the gym today. I'd like to go  more often and haven't yet figured out how others manage to go everyday. I was surprised at how full the place was today. With today's near perfect weather, I would have thought everyone would have been outside.

Since work was slow today, I used the opportunity to run some errands. I took some letters to the post office, picked up a prescription at the pharmacy, and got some new shoelaces for my dog walking boots. On the way back home, I stopped by Fry's to pick up more ink for Janet's printer. I've never seen the place so empty before. Many of the shelves were virtually bare and only four of the store's over fifty check-out registers were actually open. The place looked like a ghost town. I bet on-line retailers are killing this place. I used to buy a ton of electronic gear at Fry's myself, but it's easier and cheaper to buy online these days. Shipping is usually free, there is no sales tax, and everything is delivered right to your door.

I may have to get another nanny cam. When I set up the camera to monitor Dash while I'm away, I can't see Dot. If I point the camera at Dot, I can't see Dash. Apparently the dogs don't want to have anything to do with each other while I'm gone. Dash seems to favor the bedroom and Dot usually stays in the office. This is curious to me, since the dogs usually sleep right together while I'm in the house with them. Have I ever told you that Dalmatians are moody? They act just like people sometimes.

All my work assignments came in toward the end of the day. I may not have had much to do today, but it looks like tomorrow will be very busy. Almost everyone wants some sort of change to their website and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a new article to write as well. Wednesday is always a lost cause, so it looks like I won't be able to get back to the gym until Thursday.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1391

It was a beautiful day to do things that I didn't really want to do. Although the skies were clear and blue this morning, the dog park apparently still hadn't dried out from yesterday's rain and was closed for maintenance. Dot and Dash were disappointed and so was I. Without an outing to the far away dog park to divert me, I had no real excuse to avoid mowing the grass, cleaning the roof, and cleaning up the clutter in my office.

Every time I mow the grass in October, I keep hoping I'm done for the year. I've mowed as late as December, unfortunately. You never know what Mother Nature has in store for you here in Texas. When I was up on the roof today, I noticed that the section under the Elm tree was relatively clean. There was some staining under the two Oak trees, but the the real damage was being caused by the Pecan tree. It wasn't even my tree either. It was the neighbor's Pecan tree that was causing all the problems. One of my fantasies has always been to have no neighbors whatsoever. This will probably never happen though. I like having a vet that's only a mile away and restaurants I can walk to. Actually, the only thing I don't like about urban living is all the people.

It is getting harder and harder to walk Dot and Dash together. Dash is a bundle of energy, while Dot is growing increasing frail. If I walk slow enough for Dot, Dash grows impatient and if I walk fast enough for Dash, then Dot can't keep up. Today, I gave Dash a brisk, long walk near the shoreline he loves to smell and then returned to the house to give Dot a much shorter, slow walk behind the house. I wish I had time to do this during the week, but often it's hard to find time to walk the dogs at all on weekdays. I guess we'll just do the best we can.

I'm increasingly tempted to click on the "go paperless" option that banks, merchants, and health care providers continue to send me. I've actually needed paper back up for record-keeping in the past, but I feel I'm being overwhelmed by paper these days. I get so much junk mail that I hate to even open it and end up throwing most of the mail into a big box and save it for days like today when I reluctantly sort through the mess. Most of this mail is totally unnecessary, but at least with printed information, you don't need to remember a dozen different passwords. Passwords and computer crashes are the main reason that paper isn't dead yet.

I finally got a good night's sleep last night. Both dogs slept soundly and nobody threw up. Sleep is good! Hopefully, tonight will bring more of the same. Dot did have a bit of a limp when the got out of bed this morning, but I think it was just her arthritis. She frequently wakes up with some stiffness in her legs these days. So do I, actually. None of us are getting any younger.

Cassie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1390

Dot was back at the vet this morning. She started vomiting during the night and continued throwing up until well after sunrise. If Dash throws up, it's generally safe to assume that he ate something he shouldn't have. Dot is a proper lady though. She almost never eats other dog's poop, garbage, or dead things in the park. When Dot gets sick, you've got to take it serious. I kept thinking that her vomiting might have something to do with her recent seizure, so we got her to the vet as soon as possible. We ran another battery of tests, but the results were largely inconclusive. All I can say for sure is that something is wrong.

I was still half asleep the first time Dot threw up. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get her out of the bed in time, so I cupped my hands into a bowl and used them to catch the first round of vomit. Unfortunately, I didn't know what to do with it after that. I couldn't open the toilet seat, since both of my hands were occupied. I ended up throwing the mess in the bathroom sink, which resulting in clogging it. It wasn't a good night.

Dot seems fine now, but to play it safe, I canceled going to the Dalmatian Rescue fundraiser and stayed home to watch over the dogs instead. It's a good thing I did. We're riding out an unexpected  thunderstorm right now, and leaving two seizure prone, storm phobic dogs home alone in this kind of weather is not a good idea.

In between today's rain and unexpected dog emergencies, I managed to get some grocery shopping done and did my best to get caught up with yesterday's unfinished website updates. There was a lot of laundry to do as well. There always is when a dog throws up in the bed. I re-washed all the blankets, comforters and sheets I had just cleaned a few days ago.

Who knows what tomorrow has in store for us. I sincerely hope nothing at all. It would be nice to get a good night's sleep tonight as well. Maybe if the rain clears up, we can all go to the dog park and enjoy the cooler weather in the morning. I think Fall is officially here. The leaves are all dropping off the trees and the temperature dropped 25 degrees today. Even though she is old and tired, Dot still loves the cooler weather. It makes smelling things off-leash at the dog park even better.

Lightning is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1389

I only made it to the gym one day this week. I just didn't have the time. It's not that I have any new clients or anything. I'm busy because my old clients keep asking me to do harder and harder things. I feel like a guy who owns a kite shop and has been making beautiful kites for all these years. All of the sudden, people come in the store and start asking me to make remote control helicopters instead. Hey guys, I'm trying to keep up, but just because you see something cool that you like on Facebook, doesn't mean I can instantly add the same thing to your own website.

I actually got a lot done today. I doubt that it matters though, because I left an even longer list of things undone. Maybe I'll get caught up this weekend. On the other hand, I might never get caught up. Since I was sitting at the computer all day, I paid special attention to how Dot was acting. Something wasn't right today. She seemed excessively needy and would occasionally stare off into space for long periods of time. When we went outside, she snapped right back to normal though, so maybe nothing was wrong.

This is the problem with trying to diagnose the dogs or my own condition over the Internet. There is such an abundance of conflicting opinions that after a while, you start to see almost everything as a sign that something dire is about to happen.  It is obvious that something is wrong with Dot, but there's a good chance that simple old age has as much to do with her condition as anything.

When I was eating breakfast this morning, I overheard the restaurant manager explain to a new hire how to up-sell the breakfast menu to customers. I suspected that this was what was going on when waiters asked me if I wanted orange juice, a side of bacon, or fresh fruit with my order. I always gave them the benefit of the doubt though. Hey, maybe they were just being nice. What happens, according to my overheard conversation, is that the core menu items are low priced loss leaders designed to be paired with more profitable appetizers and add-ons. The theory is that when the customer orders the extra items the waiter recommends, they are happy with their meal, but still remember the low price of the initial core item they ordered. I guess this theory works, because when a waiter ask me if I want toast, juice, or fruit with my order, I just say yes or no and never even look at the price.

There's another Dalmatian Rescue fundraiser tomorrow night, but I'm nervous about leaving Dot alone for so long. Of course, if I skip the fundraiser and stay home with Dot, I'd be nervous about Janet driving on the freeways late at night. I'm just nervous about everything these days.

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1388

Dot is much better today. With both dogs, if you didn't actually see the seizures, you'd never believe they actually happened. When the dogs have recovered from the seizure, they are completely normal again. Even though I have experienced multiple seizure episodes with both Dot and Dash, it is still hard to know what to do while the seizure is happening. It is important to leave the dog alone during the seizure, but equally important to get them to the vet immediately if the seizure lasts too long. Where do you draw the line? I guess the next step with Dot is to schedule an MRI scan of her brain. It would be nice to be able to rule out a brain tumor as the cause of these seizures. Of course, if she does have a brain tumor, what do you do then? I'm not sure subjecting a very old dog to aggressive chemotherapy is the answer either.

It's a good thing I don't fret about my own health as much as I worry about the dogs. There's so much wrong with me that I'd probably be totally dysfunctional if I worried at all. The dogs are different though. I feel like I'm their protector. You want to do everything you can to keep them healthy, but there's only so much you can do. Unfortunately, life is just as unpredictable for dogs as it is for people. The pretty little flowers I photographed today are called Crow Poison. They are toxic and should never be eaten. Of course, these little flowers bloom everywhere in the park right after a rain. One more hazard, in a long list, to watch out for.

Recent events have made me realize that life is chock full of unexpected hazards. You shouldn't have to worry about being attacked by a motorcycle gang while you are minding your own business driving home with your wife and two year old child. You probably shouldn't be shot and killed either, just because you forgot to take your meds and happen to drive your car into the White House gate. I was really surprised today to discover that the cause of all the panic in Washington DC was a 34 year old dental hygienist driving alone with a small child. She didn't even have a gun. Couldn't the police have just shot out her tires?

It's probably a good thing that I spend most of my time sitting at a computer and writing. If I knew what was really going on around me in Dallas everyday, I would probably be appalled. Janet and I hope to retire to an idyllic, small town with no crime someday. The only problem will be in finding such a place.

Until then, I'll just keep on working. I did some major website updates today and then wrote an article that will have to be completely re-written tomorrow because I managed to get all my facts wrong. Oh, well. At least I have something to do tomorrow. I had an out-of-the-office meeting this afternoon where I found myself actually recommending Wordpress as a solution to the client's problem. I was astounded and somewhat mortified to hear the words come out of my mouth. Was I possessed by the devil? Jeez, I hate Wordpress. Too bad it works so well

Hobbs is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1387

Dot had another seizure this morning. This one was more severe than her previous seizures and exhibited some of the symptoms commonly associated with a stroke. I was worried. It was very discouraging to realize that our theory that her previous seizures were caused by taking Trifexis were probably wrong. Dot hasn't been taking the Trifexis heartworm medication since we switched her back to Sentinel over four months ago.

Dot's seizure began before she even got out of bed this morning. I was getting dressed to go to my Wednesday morning business networking meeting, but quickly changed my plans. Since our veterinarian's office opens at 7 AM, I immediately put Dot in the car and took her over to see the vet. They took some X-rays and kept her the rest of the morning for evaluation. By the time I returned to pick her up at noon, she was completely back to normal.

I have no idea what is causing these seizures. Dot's seizures are very different from the more violent epileptic seizures Dash has. Dot sits quietly and appears to be suffering from a severe case of motion sickness or vertigo. Since there is no longer a strong case that her seizures are caused by Trifexis, there are now more serious things to rule out. She probably needs an MRI to determine if she might have a brain tumor. I have my suspicions that today's seizure might have been caused by the herbicides I saw park workers spraying around the park last week. Seizures can be caused by exposure to the Organophosphate herbicides that are commonly used to control weeds in public parks and recreation areas. It would be hard to prove that herbicides caused Dot's seizure and even harder to avoid them. The park grounds crews sprayed the stuff with such reckless abandon last week that it is almost impossible to avoid.

We skipped Dot's acupuncture session today as well. I called her physical therapy vet right after the seizure happened and she said it would be best to give Dot a rest this week. With no place to go, I stayed in the office and kept a watchful eye on Dot for the rest of the day while I got caught up on my writing assignments. The only other thing I did today was lots of laundry. Dogs frequently lose control of their bowels during seizures, so there were lots of sheets and blankets to wash.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a normal, uneventful day with no further medical issues. Today didn't start normally and it didn't end normally. We thought we'd go ahead and take the dogs to training class tonight, but just have them do the easy exercises. Unfortunately, our regular teacher was gone and his replacement was a maniacal drill Sargent type who aggressively put the dogs through their paces and stressed most of them out. When a fight broke out between two stressed dogs, Janet and I decided that our dogs didn't need any more of this and we left the class early.

Oh well, the worst is over and tomorrow is another day. I say this hopefully at the end of every day.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1386

Today didn't get of to a good start. I got up late. The dogs were exceptionally slow on their morning walk. Even though I rushed through my normally tranquil breakfast, I felt like the day was half over before I began to immerse myself in a long list of projects with immediate deadlines. It might have been brain fog, but the articles on my plate today seemed more difficult than usual. Then there was that troublesome Wordpress site I'm developing. Even though I'm learning more and more about Wordpress with each passing day, it is still a thorn in my side. Today, I learned that my favorite Javascript applets don't work in Wordpress. I haven't really mastered the art of editing Wordpress themes in Dreamweaver either. I guess you're just supposed to buy a theme and leave it alone.

I got so tangled up with work problems today that I almost forgot about Dash's vet appointment. Luckily the vet was flexible and I was able to re-schedule his regular 2 PM appointment for 3:30 PM. Sometimes I feel like a full-time dog nanny. Dot has her own vet appointment tomorrow.  Taking care of the dogs takes a lot of time, but it's still the only thing that seems genuinely important. Everything else is basically BS.

Are you guys as tired of Congress as I am? This whole attempt to shut down the government to protest Obamacare is absurd. Hey guys, just leave things alone. If Obamacare works and people end up liking it, so be it. If Obamacare doesn't work and people end up hating it, it's not going to last very long. I've been in business long enough to realize that sometimes things just sink under their own weight. You don't even have to try to sink them.

Tomorrow looks like it will live up to its reputation as the busiest day of the week. I've got my 7 AM business networking breakfast to attend. Dot has her afternoon water therapy appointment. And it looks like I've got at least two new articles to finish. Hopefully, I won't even think about Wordpress tomorrow. At least the weather is nice. October is typically the prettiest month of the year here in Texas and if today is any indication, the month is getting off to a great start.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1385

I finally upgraded to IOS 7 today. Janet kind of shamed me into the upgrade, since she already upgraded her own phone a few days ago and experienced no problems. I used to be the first to adopt any new technology, but lately I've been dragging my feet. When I get familiar with something now, I'd just as soon keep it forever. Now that IOS 7 is up and running however, I'm wondering what all the fuss was about. I don't particularly like the new flat page layout, or the way apps open and close, but other than that, everything seems to work just as before. They say that Siri works a lot better with the new operating system. I wouldn't know. I never talk to my phone.

Monday seems to be the one day I can always make it to the gym. I can tell that I'm getting stronger, since I can do more repetitions on the resistance machines now. There are still no signs of increased muscle mass however. If anything, I seem even thinner than before. Several people at the golf tournament yesterday said I looked way too thin. Who knows? For the most part, my doctors have applauded my weight loss, because it reduces the risk of diabetes, but maybe I've gone too far.

I continue to experiment with a variety of cloud based widgets and apps to improve the websites I manage. Today, I replaced several manually created calendars with Google calendars. I don't know why I never tried this before. Now I've got self updating calenders that I don't have to mess with. For years, one of the first things I did every month was go and create new HTML code for the sites that had calendars. These Google calendars are so much easier. I can even designate someone else to update them and add upcoming events.

It's hard to believe that it's October already. Where has this year gone? Now, there's just Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in quick succession and the year will be over. Time goes by so quickly now. There have been a lot of superficial changes this year, but it doesn't feel like anything has changed. I still get up every morning and do exactly the same things as I did last year. Hey, the dogs are still healthy. That's the important thing.

Friends are telling me that I've become way too negative. It's weird that my own perception is so different. I just like to think that I have an perversely ironic sense of humor.

Thelma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1384

What a busy day! I removed yesterday's rain water from the roof as soon as I got up this morning. When the roof was dry, we ate breakfast, and then it was off to the Dalmatian Rescue golf tournament. This year's tournament was held at a course where every hole was a replica of some famous golf course in Scotland. The clubhouse was supposed to be a replica of a famous Scottish clubhouse as well. You certainly couldn't have proved it by me. The golf course looked just like every other North Dallas golf course to me. There must be hundreds of golf courses scattered throughout the Dallas suburbs. They all are designed so that people can buy homes overlooking the course. Why anyone would want to live in a gated community overlooking a golf course in the middle of nowhere is a mystery to me. The club we played at today was so far away, it seemed like we were halfway to the moon.

I don't play golf myself. My job at these events is to take pictures of all the golfers and put together a slide show that the players can watch during the dinner and awards ceremony that takes place after the tournament. I get in a cart and drive from hole to hole until I have captured all the golfers doing something that looks like they know what they're doing. Some of the golfers are quite good. Others, not so much. Everyone seems to have fun at these charity tournaments though.

A lot of people bring their dogs to the Dalmatian Rescue golf tournament. The dogs are initially excited by the fresh air and large expanses of green grass. They think they are going to a dog park. When nobody will let them off leash to race around the golf course, the dogs turn their attention to the buffet table. Dot and Dash got to eat all sorts of things that aren't on their regular menu today, but they still got bored quickly. Golf tournaments last a lot longer than a dog's attention span. By the time the day was over, Dot and Dash were so tired that they slept all the way home in the car.

Occasionally, I think it might be interesting to learn to play golf, but I don't really think it's my game. I'm a lefty for one thing, and can't even hit the ball off the tee with right handed clubs. It's an expensive game as well. I can think of dozens of things I'd rather do with my money. It's definitely a game of skill, but I get bored spending an afternoon on a golf course. Even taking pictures of golfers gets boring after eighteen holes.

I'm glad today's tournament was a success. The weather was perfect. All the golfers seemed to enjoy themselves and many of them said they'd return again next year. Most of the silent auction items got bids. This is Dalmatian Rescue's big fundraiser of the year and when the event is a success, it goes a long way toward helping the group continue to rescue dogs like Dot and Dash.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1383

I knew we were inviting trouble when we took the dogs for a bath this morning. There was rain in the forecast. A few hours after we took the clean dogs home, the downpour started. The dogs got dirty. The new car got dirty. And there is probably 800 pounds of water sitting up on the roof again. At least the roof doesn't leak anymore. That certainly makes life easier.

I doubt that the rain wouldn't even matter anymore if the dogs didn't panic at the sound of thunder. The storm got so bad this afternoon after I returned from grocery shopping that I was forced to get under a blanket with the two dogs and wait the weather out. This seems to be the only thing that works during stormy weather. Under the blanket, Dot and Dash almost immediately stop shaking and shivering. I actually welcomed a nap with the dogs today, since the only other things on my agenda involved work.

The rain eventually quit. Dot and Dash got their evening walk. I got some writing finished that I'd been meaning to do earlier. After cleaning the dogs up again, putting clean sheets on the bed, putting the groceries away, and hosing the road mud off the car, it was time for dinner.

The golf tournament is still on for tomorrow. Hopefully we will wake up to clear skies and cool breezes in the morning. You can't tell what will be happening from listening to the weather reports. Some stations say the rain will linger, while others predict cleaning skies and nice weather. We're certainly hoping for the latter.

It looks like I'm going to be paying more for gas and car insurance in the future. I got an amended bill from my insurance agent today and it seemed to take a lot more gas to fill my tank when I was running errands this afternoon. None of this came as a surprise. It was expecting the damage to be worse. Actually, there was nothing surprising about the entire day. It was just a regular rainy day with two dogs.

Spanky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1382

I fired up Quark Express today to put together a print ad. It's hard to believe that I used to use this application almost every single day. Now, I can go months without using Quark or InDesign. Print may not be completely dead, but it certainly appears that way. Client meetings revolve around social media now and I can't even remember the last time someone I know actually ran an ad in a newspaper. Although it was kind of enjoyable to have total control over fonts and image placement again, I don't think I'll upgrade to Quark 10. What would be the point? I doubt that I'll be asked to design many print ads in the foreseeable future.

I don't know what the dogs were thinking today. They started barking for their dinner around 2:30 this afternoon, and kept bothering me until I finally relented and fed them early a few hours later. I would have appreciated a little quiet this afternoon, because I was still trying to figure out the mysteries of Wordpress. So far, I'm not a huge fan of this popular blogging platform. It's super easy to throw something together using the hundreds of readily available themes. When you try to modify those themes in Dreamweaver though, you're dealing with an entirely different animal. I haven't even tried to create my own themes yet. The frustrating thing for me is that most Wordpress files reside on the server. It's hard to show a client a local, in-progress version of a site without actually putting it online.

Whenever I try to make thing easier on myself, I usually end up making things worse. Now, I've got to go up on the roof before it rains and get rid of all the accumulated pecan shells so they won't stain the puddles of standing water that still accumulate when the roof gets wet. I've already lost the battle to keep the new roof sparkling white. Just about any form of tannin stains the white coating an ugly brown. Since dead leaves, pecan shells, and tree bark usually litter the roof, there's quite a bit of ugly brown already.

Janet wants to give the dogs a bath tomorrow, so they'll be clean for the Dalmatian Rescue golf tournament. They probably won't stay clean for long, since it's supposed to rain tomorrow. I hope the rain moves on and the skies are clear again on Sunday. We've managed to avoid rain on tournament day for over a decade. Last year, it was raining when we left the house, but by the time we actually arrived at the golf course. the skies had cleared and it ended up being a beautiful day. We need this kind of luck again this year.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1381

I spent most of the day wishing I could take a long nap. It wasn't excessive activity that was so tiring, it was quite the opposite. There are times when boredom can be exhausting. It certainly wasn't that there was nothing to do. I had plenty to do. Unfortunately, my to-do list was exactly the same as it is everyday.

I got caught up on all my writing assignments. I made some cosmetic website changes for clients. I did a load of laundry. The dogs got walked. I had my bowl of steel cut oats and fresh fruit and did the dishes. I tried to stretch these things out, but there was still plenty of time left over.

Instead of using my left-over time to do something new and adventurous, I went to the gym. Going to the gym usually consists of twenty minutes on the hand bicycle, twenty minutes working through the line of resistance machines, ten minutes on one of the rowing machines, and a few minutes on the court shooting baskets. I always do the same things over and over. I haven't talked to anyone at the gym yet. Maybe I will someday, but there's no hurry. According to my doctors, I should continue a regular exercise regime for the rest of my life.

I should have finished painting the Sheetrock repairs in the living room today, but I cleaned up dog poop in the back yard instead. This gives you a good idea of how much I like painting. Sadly, there are probably a lot of repairs like this that will continue to languish on the back burner until it's time to sell the house. I tell myself that I could finish all these repairs at any time, but this is a lot like the alcoholic who tells himself that he could quit drinking at any time. Truth be known, I have simply lost interest in the house.

At least I haven't lost interest in breakfast. I'm already looking forward to my regular Friday breakfast outing tomorrow morning. I still don't know if tomorrow will be a busy day, but if I have time left over tomorrow, I need to start getting my camera gear ready for this weekend's Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament. It's hard to believe we have been doing these tournaments for twelve years now. Of course, there's very little that I haven't been doing for at least twelve years now.

Suki is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1380

Even though I'm never going to like getting up early in the morning, I'm starting to enjoy the Wednesday business breakfast group. The food is great and I always learn something new. Today I listened to a presentation by the CEO of the city's largest public hospital. What an eye opener. Now I know where all my tax money is going. This hospital is huge. There are 57 operating rooms and over 900 people are admitted to the ER every day. I think the hospital has a larger budget than the rest of Dallas county combined. The really amazing thing is that only 8% of the hospital's patients are covered by normal employer health insurance plans. Almost 50% are indigent and never pay at all.

I sincerely hope I never wind up at this hospital. It all seems pretty grim to me. I'd much rather stick with private hospitals like Baylor and Methodist. Actually, I think my dogs receive better health care than most of the people I know. Dot and Dash have fabulous, extremely knowledgeable vets who always seem to have the latest techniques and equipment. My vets converted to electronic records way before my human doctors. They were the first to get advanced digital x-ray and diagnostic equipment. Now, they are already offering sophisticated stem cell therapy, while my human doctors continue to promise similar services sometime in the distant future.

Dot did quite well during her physical therapy session today. The combination of acupuncture and water therapy seems to be working. She has more energy now and for the past several days, she has actually seemed stronger than Dash. I wonder how Dash would do using the water treadmill? He might freak out when the treadmill started moving. On the other hand, he might think that the whole thing was a game and have a lot of fun. Maybe I'll bring the boy to the clinic someday just to see how he does.

I got quite a few of my writing assignments completed today. If I could convince even a few of those guys at the breakfast meetings that what I do could be valuable to them, I would have more business than I'd know how to handle. I've started calling what I do "content creation" instead of "copywriting." Nothing has really changed, but it sounds better to a world obsessed with social media and the cloud.

Wednesday has definitely turned into my busiest day of the week. Now that we have returned from our evening dog training class and the day is winding down, all I really want to do is get a good night's sleep.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1379

I thought I'd catch up on my bookkeeping today. I was sure that this little task would only take about thirty minutes, but it took hours. Oops! I had mistakenly entered a few items incorrectly in Quickbooks this month and I couldn't remember what they were. Eventually, I discovered my mistakes and got everything to balance again, but the whole process was a lot harder than it should have been. I sure hope that this isn't how Alzheimer's begins.

I have a new theory about how Dash injured his leg yesterday. I watched him closely on our morning walk to see if there was still any sign of a limp. The thing that struck me was how hard Dash scratches the ground after he lifts his leg and pees. A lot of male dogs scratch the ground with their rear legs. Dash does this ritual with all four legs. Dot and I have to make sure we're out of the way, or we'll get sprayed with dirt and grass. Sometimes he hits a hard patch of ground and one of his legs gets momentarily stuck. Watching him in action this morning, it seemed like he could have easily strained or sprained a muscle yesterday. Just a theory anyway.

My phone is starting to ask me to update to IOS 7. I don't really want to upgrade, since I'm perfectly happy with IOS 6. I'm probably out of luck though. I noticed this morning that IOS 7 had already downloaded itself through the cloud to my phone and is just waiting for me to install it. Sooner or later, I'll click on the wrong thing by mistake and IOS 7 will start installing itself whether I like it or not. That's kind of the way Apple is these days. You get accustomed to doing things Apple's way, or else.

The members of this business networking group I've started going to on Wednesday mornings encourage you to wear "Business attire" to meetings. For me, that would be a bathrobe, but to fit in, I've started digging my old suits and dress slacks out of the closet. Since I've lost so much weight this year, almost none of these clothes fit anymore. They're all too big. After a lifetime of seeing my clothes gradually become too small, I never anticipated something like this happening. I guess I could take some of the nicer clothes to the tailor and get them altered, but I'm not sure if there would be any point to this. As soon as I got the suits taken in, I'd start gaining weight again.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day