Day 2047

Breakfast was the high point of the day. I like predictable, consistent things and this place doesn't let me down. I always order the Amigas plate with Chorizo and tell the barista that I want three cups of coffee. Since I've never varied my order in over two years, I don't even have to say anything when I walk up to the counter. They start cooking my breakfast when I walk in the door. Amigas is basically a plate of scrambled eggs, tortilla strips, Chorizo, cheese, onions, and a very spicy tomatillo sauce. It is served with three flour tortillas and pan fried potatoes. It's a hearty meal, so it takes me three cups of coffee to finish it.

I'd like it if the rest of my day was as relaxing as breakfast, but it seldom is. Apparently, Friday is stressful for a lot of people. I couldn't even get anyone to return my calls today. They were all in meetings or in crisis mode. I kept getting put on hold or dumped to voicemail. I always think my calls are important, but to a lot of people I'm just an old man who asks way too many questions. People prefer to send three word text messages these days. They don't want to spend fifteen minutes going over things in detail. I often realize when people ask me a question they don't really want an explanation at all, they just want me to say yes or no. At any rate, when people say "please call us if you have any questions," and then they won't take your call when you actually do have a question, you can start to feel irrelevant.

Dot ran out of Palladia pills today. This was one of the many questions I was calling about. "What do I do now," I wanted to ask? How can a major cancer center run out of one of their most frequently used medications? When one of the nurses finally returned my call, I was told that all they had left were the 10 mg Palladia pills. The 50mg and 15mg pills were unavailable anywhere. At any rate, next week I will be giving Dot six small pills three times a week instead of two larger ones. The total dose will be 60 mg each day, instead of her usual 65 mg. The oncologist said that this would be fine. I don't know what was wrong at some of the places I called today, but I'm sure the Palladia shortage contributed to the stress at the cancer center.

The temperature continues to get hotter and hotter. I'm impressed with how smart Dash is. He instinctively knows not to walk on pavement now and always chooses to walk on the grass at the side of the road. He never used to do this when the weather was cooler. Even the mornings are getting warmer now and I've had to delay our evening walk until the temperature starts to drop a bit as the sun nears the horizon. My water bill has certainly gone up. It was almost twice as much as it was last month. August will probably be even worse. We've still got grass though. That's a plus. By this time last year, the grass was gone.

It looks like it's going to be a slow weekend. I've got to pick up Dot's Palladia pills in the morning and get a few groceries, but that's about it. Work has slowed down. The dogs have slowed down. There's really no reason for me not to slow down as well.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2046

We had to decrease the amount of time that Dot spent in the underwater treadmill today. She just didn't have the same amount of energy that she did last week. The vet confirmed what I've been observing all week. Dot's left rear leg is definitely growing weaker. Why? We don't really know for sure. The problem could be caused by the Palladia medication. The vet suspects that the weakness is a neurological problem caused by another shifting disc in her spine. It could be something else entirely. The only way to know for sure will be to systematically eliminate each possible cause. After her next Ultrasound scan, we will stop the Palladia for a while and see if her condition improves. If discontinuing the Palladia makes no difference, we can have another MRI done to see if one of the other discs in her spine has slipped or ruptured. If we can find out what is going on, there may be something we can do to reduce any discomfort Dot may be feeling. I don't think further surgery is an option though. Dot is too old and has been through too many major surgeries already.

I feel kind of helpless at this point. Dot still has the desire to be active. She just doesn't have the strength. It's hard not to feel that I'm letting her down in some way. I had the same feelings during my Dad's last days. I knew he wanted to get out of the critical care facility and go home. The doctors wouldn't release him though. Once certain things have been set in motion, they can end up being almost impossible to reverse. At least Dot is still happy and in good spirits. She may never walk unassisted again, but I'm happy to assist her for as long as she's willing to continue this journey we've embarked on.

The Summer has returned with a vengeance. The air conditioner runs pretty much non-stop now and I'm having to run the sprinklers in the yard almost every morning to keep things from drying out. Friends who spend time on the water say lake levels are still high for July, but other than that our wonderfully wet Spring is becoming a distant memory. Just about everybody was complaining about the rain in April and May, but a lot of people, including myself, would like to see some of that rain return. The only real reminder of the massive Spring rains are all the potholes in the city streets. It will probably take several year to fix all these potholes. My roofer tells me that one of the reasons he hasn't been out to fix the defective elastomer coating on my roof is that his company had an unprecedented number of leaks to fix this Spring. I'm just glad that my own roof wasn't one of them.

I remembered to take the trash out to the curb this evening, but it's hard to remember everything. I forgot that the brush and bulky trash truck was coming last Wednesday and I continually keep forgetting to wear my retainer at night. I never forget the dogs pills or my own meds. I never forget my keys when I leave the house. And I never forget a work deadline. I think my brain is too crowed with routines and details though. For everything I do remember, there's something else I forget.

I'll definitely remember to go out for breakfast tomorrow. My Friday breakfast outings are often the high point of my week. I was excited to learn that one of my favorite downtown restaurants will soon be adding a second location in my neighborhood. By Fall I may have two restaurants to tempt me.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2045

It was an exceptionally slow day. Now that we're getting up early to walk the dogs before sunrise, the days seem even longer. Sometimes they're too long. After I spent as much time as I could watering the lawn, eating breakfast, checking my stocks, and making sure Dot was comfortable, I realized I still had to get to work. I got on the Internet and reviewed how to install and configure Chromecast. I promised a client that I would set up Chromecast to play videos and slide shows in their lobby tomorrow and I've already forgotten how. I just added Chromecast to my own office network a few weeks ago, but since I was alone at the time, I didn't need to act like I knew what I was doing. It's weird how quickly I forget things. The online instructions were clear, so I think I've got my ducks in a row. You never know though; I could forget a lot by tomorrow morning.

Since there wasn't much work on the agenda today, I though I'd play my guitar for a while. I always play through a preamp using headphones, so I won't disturb the dogs. Unfortunately, when I'm wearing earphones, I can't hear what the dogs are doing. I would periodically get up, take the headphones off and check on Dot and Dash, just to make sure they were both still sleeping. It's hard for me to relax anymore. I seldom play entire songs. I usually just noodle around, playing random blues scales and riffs. I find this relaxing. I used to write songs this way. I would just aimlessly play random things until something melodic struck my ear. Sometimes it would take hours of aimless playing, but a song would eventually appear. I would then sit down and write lyrics to this scrap of a melody by hand on a big yellow tablet. If the tune still seemed like a song a couple of days later, I would call some friends and we would record it. I haven't written a song in a long time. I wrote sad songs mostly and I'm not sad anymore. I'm just tired.

I buy most of my camera gear from B&H in New York. Unlike most spam, I love getting e-mail from companies like B&H and Sweetwater. Every once in a while B&H sends me an e-mail with a Daily Deal that is impossible to resist. Today, they tried to tempt me with an HDMI field monitor at a ridiculously low price. It was a good brand too. I realize that most deals like this are for merchandise that will soon be discontinued, but what do I care. I still work with a lot of equipment that is thirty years old. When I realized that I could get the monitor for almost nothing if I used an B&H gift card that was lying around in my desk to lower the price even further, I was hooked. Lord knows when I will actually use this cool little field monitor.  I've only been asked to produce a single corporate video this entire year.

I'm worried about Dot. If she sleeps well, she's usually pretty good early in the morning. She still really enjoys her pre-dawn walks, but she tires quickly. After she and Dash have had their breakfast and morning walk, they basically just sleep for the rest of the day. As the day progresses, Dot goes downhill. By dinner time she has a pronounced limp and often can barely walk. We're trying to use acupuncture to stimulate her weak leg at our Thursday therapy sessions, but it doesn't seem to be working very well. The leg has a constant tremor now. It's almost like she has Parkinson's Disease. I really don't know what to do. Dot has a fabulous medical team and is receiving the best possible care, but sometimes you just run out of options.

I always look forward to the Thursday physical therapy sessions. The acupuncture really does make Dot feel better for a few days and I think the muscle atrophy in her rear legs would be even worse if she didn't use the underwater treadmill. We're just slowing down the inevitable though. I wish there was more I could do.

Pongo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2044

Dash's blood pressure medication isn't working. When we tested him today, his blood pressure was just as high as it has always been. The vet asked me if I'd like to borrow the blood pressure cuff and take another reading at home when Dash was calm. "He is calm," I said. "This is the way he always is." We're going to have to try a different blood pressure medication. It will probably take just as long to find something effective for Dash as it did for me. I've tried three different blood pressure medications, and none of them is perfect. The reason I took Dash to the vet in the first place was to see if his treatment for Lyme Disease worked. It turns out that that there is no reliable way to test whether the antibiotics worked. We'll just have to have a urinalysis done frequent to make sure there is no kidney damage. I suspect the treatment worked though. Dash shows no symptoms of Lyme Disease whatsoever.

My new website project is finished. I was told today that the design was approved and to go ahead and bill the project. This is good news, but now I'm going to have to find something else to do. Web projects are nice because they keep me occupied longer than writing. I can usually finish my writing assignments in a single day, but it usually takes me at least a week to design a new website from scratch. It's hard to find the right balance of work. I like to be busy enough so I'm not bored, but I don't want to be so busy that I'm stressed out all the time. There's enough stress just dealing with the dogs. I don't need work related stress in my life anymore. Been there, done that.

I guess whatever the U-verse technician did yesterday worked. I've had no problems with my connection all day. Actually, my download speed seem faster, which is almost unheard of with U-verse. They rarely make anything faster. I wish the service was reliable enough that I could just drop my backup T-Mobile broadband account. Every time I think I don't need the T-Mobile hotspot though, our power goes out, or the U-verse Internet gets flaky. I've posted by blog entry quite a few times using the little T-Mobile  4-G hotspot. When it works, U-verse is fabulous. I just don't think it's ready for prime time yet.

I was editing pictures today and came across some old photos I'd taken of Dot and Dash when they were young and active. It was startling to see the differences between then and now. Both dogs were racing around in an open field at full speed. I had forgotten how fast and graceful Dot used to be. She absolutely loved to run. It was sad to see these pictures of her flying through the air and realize that she will never run again. We will be lucky if she can even continue walking using the Help 'Em Up Harness. Dash is still as healthy as a cancer survivor can be, but he's slowed down quite a bit too. I suppose from the right vantage point, Janet and I have slowed down as well. I prefer not to think about that though. The dogs are lucky in a way. When my own legs begin to get wobbly, I'm not sure who's going to be there to keep me moving.

That's all in the future though. I'll still be moving tomorrow. There are dogs to take care of and assignments to finish. It's going to be another hot July day. I wish it was Friday tomorrow, but I can always pretend it's Friday. All these days are more or less the same.

Katie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2043

Having the cable guy in the house with a dog who can't walk and is suspicious of strangers, along with a friendly escape artist who will dart through any open gate or door and disappear, was not an experience I'd want to repeat any time soon. I'm sure the service technician would agree. Dot barked incessantly the whole time, causing Dash to race excitedly around the house. I couldn't keep the dogs safely corralled in one room because the technician needed to check the entire network. I had to keep moving the dogs from room to room. I had a hard time hearing what the technician was telling me above all the commotion, but it appeared that the router had gone bad. I really didn't want to replace this piece of equipment, because then I would have had to reconnect everything in the house with the WiFi network all over again. There's a lot of stuff on the network. I've done this before and it's a pain. The technician told me that she might be able to configure the new router from a backup copy of the old router's settings and save me the trouble of starting over, but that this procedure only worked 50% of the time. This seemed strange to me, but I told her to go for it. What did I have to lose? All I was really worried about at that point was Dot pooping in the house.

Amazingly, the backup proceedure worked. Even the WiFi thermostat and the weird WiFi Skype phone stayed connected. The technician was somehow able to trick new router into thinking it was the old router, so nothing had to be reconfigured or paired with the network. I'm a happy camper. I need to be real careful never to press the red re-set button on the back of the new router though. If I ever mistakenly restore the thing to its factory settings, it will forget everything and ask me for a different password while everything on the network becomes disconnected.

Once the technician packed up and left, the dogs calmed down and life returned to normal. Amazingly, Dot didn't poop in the house, although she was so upset that I thought she was going to have a stroke at some point. Dash didn't escape and run off, although I could tell that he was looking to see if the technician inadvertently left the front door open while she was working. It was hard to keep Dot and Dash in the same room while I was holding Dot's harness to keep her from falling while Dash was racing around, looking for opportunities to be bad. This would have been so much easier if the problem was with the outside line. I apologized to the technician about the dogs behavior, but I think she could tell that I had my hands full.

It's hard to believe that it's been 46 years since we landed on the moon. July 20 will always be etched in my memory because of what happened 46 years ago today. I thought I was an adult back then when I watched the landing on an old black and white Magnavox TV. What did I know? I was only 21. So much has changed and yet we still haven't returned to the moon. I was excited to see the first pictures of Pluto a few days ago, but I'd be even more excited if we had a colony on Mars. In 1969, most people were convinced that we'd have planted flags on several planets by now. When Stanley Kubrick made 2001, A Space Odyssey, he never would have dreamed that 2001 would actually end up being remembered for the attacks on the World Trade Center instead. I have a feeling that we'll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing without ever returning to the moon.

It's Dash's turn to go to the vet tomorrow. We need to do a test to make sure he's been cured of Lyme Disease. At least I think it was Lyme Disease he was exposed to. When I called the vet to make the appointment, I couldn't remember whether he'd been treated for Lyme or West Nile. Hopefully, nothing else will break in the house for the rest of the Summer. I don't know if I could handle another day like today.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2042

We took Dash to a dog park for small dogs this morning in hopes that the little dogs wouldn't scare him and he would have more fun. Since Dash isn't that small, we were a bit worried that somebody might object to him being there. Nobody had a problem with Dash. It quickly became apparent that he was the most timid dog in the park. Pretty soon a bunch of Yorkies were chasing him around with his tail tucked between his legs. It's a shame that Dash has lost his nerve. He used to love going to the dog park and would frequently find other timid dogs to play with. I think Dot gave him confidence. They always used to do everything together and as long as she was around to protect him, he had a lot more confidence. Sadly, Dot's dog park days are over. Dash will have to find another way to build his confidence back. It's not going to be easy. Dash was attacked by an aggressive dog when he was young and almost died. I don't think he will ever forget the experience.

I took some more stuff to the storage warehouse on my way to the gym this afternoon. Most of the stuff that gets relegated to storage these days are things that Janet wants out of the house. She is trying to declutter. I have little interest in decluttering. I just fantasize about having a huge place where I could spread out and never have to put things away. There would be a big room for music and another even bigger room for photography. I would have a quiet room for writing, a room with powerful computers for developing websites, and a huge kitchen with lots of shelves for pots and pans. We don't have any of these things, so I am constantly taking things out of closets and putting them away again when I'm done. I don't understand the tiny house movement at all. I want lots and lots of space.

My Sunday workouts must be doing me a little bit of good, because they don't seem quite as onerous  as they did a month ago. I still feel like packing up and going home during the first ten minutes, but then my heart rate starts to increase, I begin to sweat, and everything settles into a rhythm. After about an hour, I begin to think that just maybe, going to the gym isn't as bad as I thought it was.

Our U-verse service has gotten flaky again, so I'm going to need to have a service technician come over and check things out tomorrow. I hate it when the cable guy comes over. When I have plumbing or HVAC problems, the repair people usually stick to one room. The cable folks are all over the place though, and the dogs hate it. Now that Dot is weak and has trouble walking, having service technicians of any kind at the house is an even bigger problem than it used to be. When Dot gets upset, she poops. I'm sure she's going to poop in the house tomorrow.

When we were walking the dogs this morning, I noticed that all the neighbors had stacks of brush and trash stacked near the curb in their front yards. It must be time for big trash day again. If I've got time tomorrow, I need to gather up the fallen tree branches, dead bedding plants, and other junk that has accumulated in the yard since the last big trash day and take them out to the curb myself. With only one bulky trash pickup a month, it can be easy for things to get out of control. Monday's aren't usually very busy, so I should have plenty of time to do this. Oh wait, the cable guy is coming over. I won't have any time at all.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2041

People give me Starbucks gift cards from time to time. I always used to use these cards for having coffee with friends. Today I used my gift card  to get more Keurig pods. I had no desire to chat with anyone over coffee. That pretty much says it all. I've gone from drinking alcohol alone to drinking coffee alone.

Dot still does OK on her early morning assisted walks. She's not getting any stronger though and it worries me. It's going to be a really tough choice if it comes down to continuing her chemotherapy and facing increasing lameness, or stopping it and watching the cancer become more aggressive. I have to remember that the Palladia may have nothing to do with Dot's recent difficulties, but my gut feeling is that there is a connection. She started having problems with her legs again about the same time she started chemotherapy.

It was a busy day. I took a small check to the bank and then paid the utility and cable company bills for July. A lot more money went out the door than came in. I picked up some more prescriptions on my way back from the post office. It's seems like I am always renewing prescriptions. All of the pharmacists know me by name. I filled the car up with gas, got Stevia at the health food store, and picked up trash bags and other staples at Sam's Club. Instead of mowing the grass, I watered it. Things are starting to look pretty dry.

There wasn't much point in doing yard work today. It was just too hot. After finishing my Saturday errands, I spent the rest of the afternoon inside. There are always websites to update, so I added some new dogs and cats to a rescue website I manage and then took a short nap with the dogs. I should have taken a much longer nap, because I've not been sleeping well lately. My Jawbone UP band says I'm only getting about five hours a night. Most of this isn't deep sleep either. If Dot starts breathing irregularly, I wake up. If her leg gets stuck, I get up and reposition her. If the temperature goes up two degrees, I wake up. Sometimes I wake up remembering that I forgot to wear my Essix retainer before I went to bed and I get up and put in in my mouth. I often wake up with a dry mouth and go to the kitchen for a drink of water. Sometimes I wonder why I bother to sleep at all.

We had Cowboy Burgers from Central Market again tonight. If you haven't tried these, they are the best hamburger patties ever. I don't know what kind of beef or spices they use, but to me, this is what a burger was meant to be. It doesn't matter whether you grill them or pan fry them on the stove, they always come out great. Having a big meal like this tonight almost guarantees that I will have to go to the gym tomorrow. With the complexities of my current life, I think once a week on Sunday afternoon is the only workout I'm going to be able to manage. It's hard to get Dash to the dog park too, but that's on the schedule for tomorrow as well. For now, it's about time go call it a day. Everyone else in the house has already gone to bed. I've still got to brush my teeth and take my evening meds, but I'll be joining them soon. Maybe watching some really old Dr. Who episodes on TV will help me get to sleep.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2040

I think we've got a plan for Dot. The oncologist agrees that the Palladia could be causing Dot's recent lameness. The only way to know for sure would be to stop the chemotherapy entirely and see if her condition improves. The oncologist and I agreed to continue the Palladia for another three weeks and then take another Ultrasound scan to measure the tumor again. Comparing the results of this scan with the initial scan we made at the beginning of her treatment should give us a baseline that can help determine how quickly the tumor is growing, or hopefully shrinking. Once we have this information, we can then stop the chemotherapy for a few weeks to see if her rear legs start to get stronger again. Palladia may not be the problem, but at least a test like this would help eliminate the drug from a long list of possible suspects. Maybe by the end of August, we'll know what is actually going on.

Breakfast was enjoyable this morning, but the rest of the day was kind of stressful. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get Dot back and forth between her various vet appointments. She knows where she is going now, and when she decides she doesn't want to get in the car, even a short journey seems to take forever. Before we begin, I've got to get her harness on and take her out in the back yard to see if she'll poop. Then I need to get Dash situated in the room with the pet cam while simultaneously leading Dot toward the front door while I'm holding on to a short least attached to the rear of her harness. Getting both dogs in the right place requires lots of dog treats. If Dot poops in the car, it can get really messy, so I always make sure to line her space with protective mats first. When my shoulder is acting up, it can difficult to even lift her up and get her in the rear door. If I don't get get her positioned just right, her rear legs can get tangled up when I'm going around a curve, so occasionally  I have to pull over to the side of the road and reposition her again. I try to allow plenty of time, but it goes without saying that I am frequently late for my appointments.

I managed to finish my third article this afternoon, so I'm good to go for the weekend. Our wet, mild Spring is starting to seem like a distant memory. July is always hot in Texas and this July is no exception. The grass is starting to dry out and the dogs are no longer eager to go outside in the afternoons. Water restrictions are in place, so if I want to water the grass I need to remember to turn the sprinklers on first thing in the morning or late at night. Our air conditioner still seems to be working fine, but the electric bill is going to be much larger next month. I couldn't wait for the endless days of rain to stop last May, but now I'd welcome an occasional downpour as long as it wasn't accompanied by thunder and lightning. I've got enough problems with the dogs already without throwing thunder and lightning into the mix.

I keep seeing workshops and seminars on the Internet that I'd like to attend. Most of these involve film-making or audio production. This is a bit strange, since I'm not very involved in either of these areas anymore. Even though an interesting workshop has always been my idea of a vacation, I'm never very interested in in attending the many web design workshop that are out there. Web design is what occupies most of my time these days, but I never have fantasies about coding. It's curious that although I'll probably never make another documentary film again, I'm still fascinated by almost every aspect of film-making. I don't like setting up all the equipment any more, I don't have the patience to deal with hiring crews, and I hate all the travel I used to do, but there's still something that attracts me like a moth to a flame.

I doubt that I'll be thinking much about making films this weekend. Weekends are for mowing grass and picking up dog hair with the Dyson. If I'm lucky, I'll get to catch up on some sleep as well.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2039

I had way too much on my plate today. The dogs were unusually restless and a lot of my time was consumed just taking them in and out of the house over and over again. Dash just wants to eat June Bugs when I let him out and Dot has to get suited up in her special harness before she can even make it out the back door. I must have taken her harness on and off ten times today. She can't rest comfortably when the harness is on, so I always take it off while she is sleeping. Every time she wants to go outside, I have to put it back on again. Since she is shaky to begin with, getting the harness on and off is not as easy as it might seem.

The article I had scheduled to write today took a lot longer than I expected. I worked on it off and on all day and didn't finish the thing until just before dinner time. One of the reasons the article took so long was that I kept getting interrupted by website emergencies. There were lots of little things that needed to be fixed today. There was also a website so unremarkable that both the client and I had completely forgotten about it for two years. The client finally remembered the website today and asked me why he couldn't find it on the Internet. Hmm. It turned out that he couldn't find the site because it wasn't on the Internet at all. We had forgotten to move it to the new server over two years ago. When you forget about a website for two years, chances are that you don't really need it.

Dot did great during her physical therapy session.  Physical therapy Thursdays are another reason why I was so busy today. I was a little worried about Dot's weak rear leg, but she had one of her best days in several months. She went seventeen minutes on the underwater treadmill, which she hasn't been able to do for a long time. The fact that she seems reasonably strong during therapy and on her morning walks, while still having increasing difficulties around the house is a mystery to me. I wish I knew what was causing the sporadic lameness and leg tremors. Maybe I'll find some answers tomorrow when I take her back to the cancer center for another periodic re-check.

The refrigerator is getting pretty bare, so I ended up making breakfast again for dinner. There are always more breakfast items around the house, since I am more or less fixated on breakfast. Biscuits and gravy with a little breakfast ham actually makes a pretty good dinner. We bought too many bananas this week, so Janet is making banana bread with the rotten ones. I love the smell of fresh baked banana bread. It almost makes me forget what a hectic day it's been.

Tomorrow will probably be more of the same. I've got another long article to complete and Dot has another vet appointment at the cancer center. Maybe the dogs will be calmer tomorrow. That would be nice. At least it's Friday. I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing breakfast with no barking dogs at my feet. Maybe when I get home from the restaurant, there will be new pictures from Pluto to see on the Internet. I complain a lot, but actually I'm pretty easy to please.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2038

I got a lot done today. I finished my new website project and loaded it to the server. Yes, I did finally manage to find out where I was supposed to upload things. I'm sure there will be changes, but the client seems to like it. I'm always pleased when things go relatively smoothly. After finishing the website, I still had enough time left to write a new article and send it off to be published. There are two more articles in the queue, so I should have work for the rest of the week.

Instead of fixing my regular banana smoothie, I decided to make biscuits and gravy this morning. It was actually surprisingly easy, so I will probably do this again. Everything would have come out perfectly if Dash hadn't started barking at a critical moment, causing Dot to get excited and fall over. Janet suggested gating the dogs in the back of the house while I ate my breakfast, but that didn't work very well. They still barked and when I rushed back to help Dot get up, my gravy burned. The commotion also caused me to get things out of sequence with the Keurig and it brewed too much, spilling coffee all over the counter-top. I think tomorrow, I'll just keep the dogs by my side. They're loud, but much easier to control that way.

Even though I had a lot of work to do today, I found time to watch the New Horizons press conference on NASA TV. I'm a bit envious of the New Horizons science team. They're all doing something that actually matters. Occasionally I do something that matters, but not very often. Designing websites is not quite like discovering giant ice mountains on Pluto. I wonder what these guys did during the nine years New Horizons was traveling to Pluto. I'm sure that most of the team had jobs while the spacecraft was silent, but there couldn't have been much to do but just wait until it arrived.

Dot pooped in her bed again last night. There doesn't seem to be any way to predict when this is going to happen. I was pretty sure that last night would be accident free, since she had pooped before we went to bed. It wasn't meant to be unfortunately. Dot is such a clean, fastidious dog that she would never do this if she had any control over the situation. It's just kind of sad to watch age take its toll on her. The good news is that we are all learning to cope. Dot still loves her meals and her early morning walks. I've gotten much better at quickly and efficiently cleaning up her occasional accidents. I'm also getting better at anticipating when she might fall, so I can be there to support her and keep her upright. I'll ask again tomorrow at her physical therapy session if there is anything else we can do to improve her chances for a full recovery. I think I already know the answer though. We are already doing everything we can.

This week has gone quickly. I need to start looking for another new website project. It's always nice to have something new to work on. The articles I write are not new anymore. I appreciate the work, but I could write most of them in my sleep by now. The same goes for the bread and butter website updates I do every day. I'm not complaining though. I know it's not rocket science, but this quiet life of mine has paid the bills for a long, long time.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2037

I had a fairly useless doctor's appointment today. The doctor I meant to see canceled on me at the last minute because he was going to be in surgery. When I tried to reschedule, I was informed that my doctor was closing his practice to become a hospital administrator and that there were no more openings available until his last day at the clinic toward the end of this month. This was surprising news, mostly because why would a doctor want to become a hospital administrator anyway? I was encouraged to see one of the doctor's colleagues instead. When I arrived today, the new doctor was clearly overworked. He must have taken over the other doctor's entire case load. Instead of answering a lot of questions and running a lot of tests like the other doctor did, this guy rushed through his exam and quickly pronounced me good to go for another year. Usually a quick exam is exactly what I'm looking for, but this time I felt shortchanged. I may need to find a new doctor.

I'm havin an odd problem with my new website project. The client gave me an FTP address where I could upload the new site, but when I went there, there was nothing on the server. Where was the existing site? I contacted the client's IT guy and asked where the site actually was and he didn't know. The old site is active, but it isn't where it is supposed to be. I used the correct domain name to login to the server and everything. The whole thing is a mystery to me. This is getting to be a case of all dressed up and no place to go. The new site is just about finished, but I've got no place to put it.

I just saw on NASA TV that the New Horizons team has received a signal from the spacecraft that the Pluto flyby was successful and the memory banks are full of pictures. I'm sure we'll see something pretty impressive tomorrow, but it will take over a year to transmit all of today's images and observation data back to earth. Pluto is so far away and data transmission rates are so slow that it makes old dial up modems seem super fast by comparison. It is just amazing to me that the little spacecraft can do all this using technology that is a decade old and already obsolete. I'm sure you know by now that your phone has a more powerful computer than the ones aboard Apollo 11, but did your know that the Voyager spacecraft that took the first photos of Neptune actually saved the images to a tape recorder. That's all they had back then. If an old analog tape recorder can work billions of miles away in space, why doesn't the ice maker in my refrigerator work? These audacious space missions have confirmed what I have long suspected. We know how to do things the right way. We just don't bother most of the time.

Dot is still having problems with her left rear leg. I wish there was a way to make her youthful and strong again, but realistically what I am doing is managing an inevitable slow decline. Dot seems comfortable and happy, but she's having a harder time getting up than she was even a month ago. Hopefully, we can figure out the reason for this setback and get Dot back on course for a full recovery. I still think it might be the Palladia pills that are causing this recent weakness, but it's going to be a tough choice if chemotherapy is causing the problem. What do you do if you have to choose between cancer and walking?

I can't wait to see the Pluto close up pictures tomorrow. My own day won't be nearly as exciting. There will be barking dogs during my breakfast. I will see if I can find the real location of the mystery website so I can exchange the old for something new. I updated an animal rescue website today, but there may be more new dogs and cats to add tomorrow. I wish it was cooler outside, but hey, it's July in Texas. What else can you expect.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2036

I started on my new website project today. I thought that this one would be a piece of cake, but I almost immediately ran into a couple of snags. Absolutely nothing is a piece of cake anymore. In my experience, everything from getting a prescription filled to changing a light bulb can quickly turn into an unintended learning experience. Website design is always full of surprises. It didn't take me long this morning to learn that Plan-A just wasn't going to work. That's why I always make sure there's a Plan-B.

The New Horizons spacecraft will reach Pluto tomorrow. I continue to be amazed by the audacity of this incredible journey. It takes Pluto 248 years to orbit the Sun. The last time Pluto was in it's current position in space, the United States wasn't even a country yet and nobody on Earth was aware of its existence. Pluto wasn't even discovered until 1930. A lot can change in a single orbit. The technology that sent New Horizons on its three billion mile trip is over a decade old. The iPhone wasn't even invented when the spacecraft was launched. The fact that everything still works after this nine year journey is a testament to what we can do when we really put our mind to it. Sadly, this golden age of exploration that began with Sputnik is drawing to a close. Enjoy the moment tomorrow, because you won't see anything like this again in your lifetime. We have lost the will to explore. Maybe Elon Musk will eventually figure out a way to get to Mars, but we won't get another first look at a new planet for a long, long time.

The dogs are driving me nuts at mealtimes. The barking has become a permanent part of the mealtime ritual. As soon as I start preparing breakfast or dinner, they start to bark. I'm not exactly sure when this started, but it didn't used to be this way. They don't bark when Janet eats either. It's just me. To keep them quiet, I fill a coffee cup with dry dog food and feed them one kibble at a time. I feed them slightly less at their own dinner time, so they won't get fat from this additional food. Dot and Dash are far more tenacious than I am. Maybe they would eventually quit barking if I ignored them, but I don't have time to find out. Instead of training them, they always end up training me. It all works out OK, I guess. They are still eating exactly the same amount of food as they always were; just in an irritating, unconventional way.

One of my cousins recently sent me a copy of a family history her mother had written for her before she died. I started reading the history today and was totally amazed at how richly detailed my aunt's recollections were. The history was 75 pages long and described a way of life that no longer exists. There were generations of Sealanders that I'd never even heard of. Families were closer then. I'd be lucky if a were able to write a single Tweet about each of my family members. I've just never kept up with anybody. It was fascinating to read about my Swedish and Norwegian ancestors, but it left me wondering if the story ends with me. I won't be taking this family history and passing it down to my children. There are no children, and my own family memories are fuzzy. I can tell you plenty of stories about dogs though.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2035

I should sleep well tonight. For one reason or another, I managed to keep moving all day long. We got up early because Dot had another accident in bed. She managed to get herself stuck in an awkward position when she repositioned herself during the night and I think struggling to stand up caused her to poop. There is no real way to prevent this. Like most dogs, Dot gets up, circles around, and then lies down in a different position several times a night. Sometimes she doesn't land quite where she expected to. Since she only pooped a little bit, we got up early and took the dogs on a walk so she could finish the job outside.

When we returned, I threw the dog blankets in the washer and we sat down for breakfast. It was actually a fairly normal morning. After breakfast, I went to the gym. I usually don't go this early, but why not? If I had stayed home, all I would have done was vacuum or work on another website. I can do those things any day of the week. I think all the activity trackers I'm using now are shaming me into having a more effective workout.

I really like the Apple Health app. It aggregates information it receives from my watch and the Jawbone UP band and presents it all on an easy to read dashboard. Even though I'm basically a lazy person, I got my heart pumping this morning and burned a respectable number of calories. I'm thinking of adding a WiFi scale to the mix. It certainly isn't necessary, but I just like tracking things.

On the way home from the gym I stopped at a nearby nursery and bought some Liriope plants to replace the ones that had died in the back yard. When I was replanting the Monkey Grass, it became clear why the plants had died. The soil in this part of the yard was just too dry. Actually, we should have planted grass instead of ground cover in this section of the yard, because it is one of the few areas that receives direct sunlight during the day. The combination of sunlight and tons of small roots from a nearby Oak tree had caused the ground to dry out twice as fast as the rest of the yard. Large, mature trees can really suck the water out of the soil. I love the trees though, so it will always be difficult to keep the grass and landscaping looking nice. It looks nice again now though. We'll see how long this lasts.

Dash got a trip to the dog park as a reward for helping Dot with her walks all week. He has become timid again after we quit going to training class when Dot had her spinal injury. Now, just about anything scares him. Today, a basically friendly dog wanted to play a little too rough and it spooked Dash. He was ready to go home way earlier than he should have. It's a shame that dogs are scaring him again, because going to the dog park used to be one of his favorite things. Dot used to love the dog park too. She will probably never go again though. She is just too fragile.

Since it was such a hot day, we had a great  dinner of sushi and cold salads. Cold food on a hot day is really satisfying to me. The only thing that would have made the meal better would have been a couple of glasses of wine. I can probably drink wine again in moderation, but I an scared to tempt fate after making such tremendous progress recovering from Hepatitis C. I feel extremely lucky to have a fully functioning liver again and foregoing alcohol seems a very small price to pay for staying healthy. That being said, I still think a good wine makes a great meal even better.

It has been a pleasant weekend, but it's back to work tomorrow. I will begin development on my latest website project and I expect the flow of writing assignments to begin again soon. Hopefully, I can find the right balance of exercise and rest with Dot. The Summer heat is tough on her, but she still needs to keep active to prevent her leg muscles from atrophying further. One way or another we'll all make it though the remainder of the Summer and then you can listen to me complain about Winter again.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2034

I'm glad I mowed the grass yesterday, because it was even hotter outside today. The temperature is still tolerable when we walk the dogs just before sunrise, but the comfortable predawn breezes don't last long. I'm going to have to start watering the lawn again, because things are drying up fast. I guess this had to happen. It is almost the middle of July. I feel lucky that our unusually mild Spring and Summer lasted as long as it did.

Today was a day to stock up on things.  I got furnace filters again. The filters are supposed to last 90 days, but they never do. Our house is amazingly dusty and always full of dog hair. I'm lucky if the filters last a month. I got halogen bulbs for the floor lamps in the living room. I've switched all the other light fixtures in the house to LED bulbs that will outlast me, but the bulbs in the floor lamps burn out continually. I got a dozen blue shop towels, some astringent for my oily skin, and a box of large trash bags, It's amazing how two people can generate so much trash. I think most of it is just the junk mail we throw away each day. The post office does a good business delivering junk mail. That's all we get these days.

At this time of year, I often run out of things to photograph. The wildflowers are just about gone by now. Some of the Firewheels remain, along with a few Horsemint and Purple Verbena plants. The meadows are no longer a blaze of color though. Everything has gone to seed. The spectacular sunsets don't begin to appear until October. Even the animals have disappeared. They have all taken shelter in brushy areas to beat the heat. You'll have to live with a picture of crows on telephone wires today. That's the only thing that caught my eye.

I got my first door ding in the new car today. I guess the car isn't really new any more, since I've had it almost two years, but it still seems new compared to the Defender that I drove for over fifteen years. I hate door dings because they are so inevitable. It's only a matter of time before an errant shopping cart comes to a stop against the side of your car, or somebody parking next to you swings their door wide open quickly without realizing the the parking places aren't wide enough for this sort of thing. The Defender was covered with small door dings by the time I sold it. Look at the cars surrounding you the next time you're in a large parking lot. Almost every one of them will have a dent in it somewhere.

I need to make a point of going to the gym tomorrow. The slow walks we take with Dot each day aren't burning up many calories and I'm eating more than I was during my Kale salad days. That's the trouble with staying in shape. You just can't ignore it.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2033

I got the go ahead to begin another new website project. It is a small project, but aren't they all these days. I'm just happy to have the work. I'm not motivated enough to look for challenges outside of work, so I depend on new projects to keep my brain in gear. This project will keep me thinking for a little while, and then I'll have to find another one.

Without projects and deadlines, I tend to obsess about little things around the house. I wonder why the ice-maker is filling up with ice too fast. Is it broken, or are we just not putting ice in our drinks anymore? Where do all the little ants in the bathroom come from?  I spray and plug up all the cracks that might let them in from the outside, but they are always there. Lately, I've been spending way too much time wondering when Dot is going to poop next. She doesn't give you much warning anymore and if you don't read the tea leaves exactly right, there's a mess to clean up in the house. I think I'm getting better at reading the subtle signs. I've gotten her outside just in time for three days in a row.

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and noticed that I could only see out of one eye. The sensation only lasted a moment or two, but it was very odd and a bit alarming. It was almost as if one eye had see a very bright light, causing the pupil to contract. By morning, I was wondering if I had dreamed the whole thing, because my vision was completely normal. Assuming the momentary blindness was real and not a dream, I'm wondering if it was caused by the Apple Watch. The display turns on and off when you look at it and it is fairly bright. This feature works great when you are awake and standing up, but I've noticed that the display seems to flash on and off randomly when you are tossing and turning in bed at night. Often my hands wind up near my face when I'm asleep and maybe the watch was directly in front of my eye while the display was on in my sleep. Just a thought. I'm beginning to think this was just a dream though. If it happens again, I'll need to see an eye doctor.

I mowed the grass this afternoon. I usually do this on Saturday, but I thought I'd get the chore out of the way early and save Saturday for other things. I have no idea what I'm actually saving the time for, because I certainly don't have any plans for the weekend. The time will get used up though. It always does. Maybe I ought to go out and buy a flat of Monkey Grass at a garden store. The Liriope in one section of the back yard is starting to die. You'd think that with all the rain we've had this year that all the plants would be doing wonderfully, but that's not the case. Janet and I apparently do not have a green thumb. It is a constant struggle to keep the yard looking nice.

Dot's limp is a little better today. I still haven't heard anything from the oncologist at the cancer center, but since Dot has an appointment next week for a re-check, maybe I'll just ask all my questions again in person. I wonder if the receptionist didn't relay my message to the doctor. They are usually very good about returning my calls. Hopefully, Dot's condition will continue to improve. We need to keep her strong, but it's getting harder and harder.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2032

Dot did well during her physical therapy session today. We talked about what was causing her to limp and came to no firm conclusions. The vet agreed that the limp could be caused by a wide variety of things, including an underlying neurological problem, too much exercise, or the Palladia pills she's taking. I'm going to ask Dot's oncologist if it would be OK to discontinue the pills for a month after her next ultrasound scan. If there are no adverse effects from postponing the chemotherapy for a while, at least we could determine if this was the cause of her lameness. For the time being, we will decrease the distance she walks slightly, while still having her climb small hills each morning to strengthen her leg muscles.

I finally finished editing all the images for my client's multi-media project. We've got enough pictures now for a nice slide show or a short Ken Burns style movie. If they want a slide show, I'm going to try to convince them to get one of those little Chromecast streaming sticks and just link it to pictures in a Google album. I've tried this and it's a super easy way to make a quick, professional looking slide show. When you select the Chromecast stick as the input source on your TV, the Google photo album you select will end up being the default screen saver. I used to spend days creating lobby presentations for clients and the first time I tried using Chromecast, I had a great looking presentation up and running in less than five minutes. I never thought it would happen, but I'm I'm finally willing to admit that I don't really need a DVD drive anymore. Netflix, Chromecast, Apple Music, and a host of other cloud based solutions are just so much better.

I traded my Apple Watch for the larger model. Why? Who knows. Truthfully, probably the only reason I exchanged the watch was because I could. I was perfectly happy with the smaller watch, but I like this slightly larger version too. Really, they're both pretty much the same. Hey, it gave me something to do after I brought Dot home this afternoon, it didn't cost very much to upgrade, and now I've got a bigger watch. I'll have to figure out something else to occupy my time tomorrow.

The reason it's been a slow week is that my writing assignments have dwindled to almost nothing. I finally discovered why today. The person who sends me most of the writing assignments is on jury duty. She must have gotten selected for a trial because she's been out of the office for quite a while. At any rate, when I resume cranking out articles, I'm be just as busy as I ever was. I actually ought to be grateful for the opportunity to take a breather. It's been nice not having much to do for a while.

This week has gone really quickly. I'm looking forward to going out for breakfast tomorrow. It will be nice to eat in peace without two barking dogs on either side of me. I created a monster when I started feeding Dot and Dash a banana while I ate my breakfast. Now, if the don't get their banana, they bark and howl until I peel and slice one up for them. Are these dogs spoiled? Of course they are. I've got to figure out another way to deal with this breakfast commotion though. Dot is gaining weight again. With her weak rear lags, we've got to be especially careful about her weight. She really doesn't need to be eating bananas and extra kibble after she's finished her regular breakfast. I've thought about solving the problem by just going out for breakfast every morning, but then I'd be the one gaining weight.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2031

Have you ever noticed that when you see something sad on Facebook, it usually involves someone you know. When you see something happy, it is usually just a Meme that has already been re-posted thousands of times. Where do these Memes come from? They could come from outer space for all I know. I don't know anyone who ever started a Meme, yet they are everywhere. Lately, my feed has been filled with a combination of Memes and personal sadness. There seems to be an overwhelming number of dogs that have passed away or need a medical miracle to save them. People post poignant accounts of losing a job or dealing with illness, but only post cat videos and pictures of dogs misbehaving when things are going well. I don't get it. Maybe it's just me. I even find Throwback Thursday sad these days. My old co-workers post pictures of cool things they did thirty years ago. This probably just means that nothing very exciting is happening right now. So far, I have resisted the urge to share animal Memes or add my own ancient war stories to the Throwback Thursday clutter. I keep thinking that there is still something new and original to discover, but maybe I'm wrong.

Today was weird. The entire United Airlines fleet was grounded due to a computer glitch and a little while later, the New York Stock Exchange ground to a complete halt due to another computer problem. Nobody seemed to care. I think people would be more upset if Facebook was down for ten minutes than if the stock market quit working and planes weren't able to fly. We definitely live in very strange times.

Dot woke up feeling much better this morning, so we decided to let her take her regular morning walk. She did very well and I could tell she was enjoying herself, but unfortunately she started limping again shortly after we returned to the house. Maybe we did the wrong thing. I felt guilty as I watched her grow progressively weaker throughout the day, but she seem so strong this morning. It's hard to know what to do. With no exercise at all, Dot will become paralyzed again. With too much exercise she can easily injure herself. What I'm really worried about is that this setback might be caused by the Palladia pills. One of the side effects of taking Palladia can be lameness. I need to call Dot's oncologist tomorrow and see what she thinks. Lameness or having difficulty moving is a rare side effect and usually temporary, but it does happen. Everything we have done for Dot is to give her a better quality of life. If chemotherapy impairs her already limited ability to walk, it may not be worth it.

It looks like this entire week is going to be slow. I made some minor website updates this morning and got my July invoices out and in the mail this afternoon, but that was about it.  Tomorrow is Dot's physical therapy day, so she's going to stay home and rest while I walk Dash in the morning. There's no point in doing the therapy if she's already too tired. I hope that Dot's vet and her oncologist can reassure me tomorrow. She was doing so well. I really hate to see her starting to go downhill again.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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