Day 3132

It was 111 degrees at our house today. Yikes. That's only two degrees away from the all time record for Dallas. Any way you look at it, the weather is brutally hot. Lately, our entire day revolves around surviving the heat. There were still a few stars in the sky when we got up this morning. There wasn't much of a breeze, but the temperature was only 85 degrees. Dash seemed to appreciate our attempts to protect him from the heat. He was enthusiastic about his early walk this morning and for the first time in over a month wanted to explore the shoreline. This was actually very encouraging. Dash has so many medical problems that it's nice to see that he can still enjoy some of the things he loved to do when he was younger.

I'm not sure the backyard plants are going to make it, but we're trying our best to keep them alive. The water from the sprinklers probably benefits the squirrels and birds as much as it helps the yard. There were dozens of squirrels enjoying the water while we were eating breakfast. You'd think with a large lake nearby, these critters would migrate to the shoreline, but they seem to prefer their favorite trees.

I went to the gym right after breakfast. Why not. The gym has a better air conditioning system than we do and the place is nice and cool. Only the regulars were exercising this morning. The park wasn't very crowded either. The longer the heat continues, the less you want to do. After a while, the only thing that seems appealing is eating a big bowl of ice cream.

Janet's laptop had a weird problem today. The trackpad popped out and the case wouldn't close. I've had lots of Macs, but had never heard of this happening before. I did a little research and discovered that this was actually a very common problem. When Macintosh laptop batteries get old they have a tendency to swell, and this can cause the trackpad, which sits directly above the battery, to pop out. Luckily, the fix is pretty easy. The computer just needs a new battery.

One day next week is going to be battery day. I promised Janet I'd get the laptop fixed and I still need to replace the backup batteries in my uninterruptible power supply as well. Since batteries were on my mind, I recharged my own laptop and replaced the batteries in the wireless mics for the video camera as well. I haven't used the microphones for a while, but you never know.

Since Janet is leaving to visit her family soon, she's been trying to teach me the routine she uses for giving Dash his daily meds. It's a complex system since Dash hates taking pills and we never know what he will eat from day to day. On good days we can still hide the pills in a meatball of Hills ID dog food. When that doesn't work, we have to resort to more exotic treats. Sometimes peanut butter works. Other times we've tried to hide the pills in angel food cake. When nothing else works, we always keep some fresh steak in the refrigerator. When I master Dash's meds, I've still got to figure out how to get his protective boots on by myself.

The security light went out again last night. Jeez. This thing was fixed for the second time just last week. The light comes on normally at dusk and then shuts itself off around 1 AM. The circuit breaker is not tripped and the light comes on normally again the next evening. I have no idea what is going on. The electrician doesn't have a clue either. The only thing I can think of is that the special LED bulb is not compatible with the photocell. Who knows. Maybe the light just won't work during a heat wave.

Since it's not getting any cooler tomorrow, I'm going to have to try getting Dash to take a walk while Janet is getting ready for work. Usually he won't walk until after she leaves the house, but it will be too hot by then. Dash is a stubborn dog, but maybe he'll listen to reason. Leaving early is for his own good. We'll see.

Pongo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3131

People are adjusting their schedules to beat the heat. We set an alarm this morning so we could walk Dash before the weather became unbearable. The sun wasn't even up yet and the park was already full of joggers, cyclists, and people walking their dogs. I can't recall seeing so many people out so early. I'm sure everyone had the same idea we did. If we'd waited even one more hour to walk, the temperature would have been ten degrees higher.

Once the sun came up, I had no desire to leave the house. There were the usual Saturday errands unfortunately, so I tried to get them finished as soon as I could. I thought I'd drop off an uninterruptible power supply at the battery store while I went grocery shopping. After disconnecting the heavy box and lugging it to the car, I discovered that the battery store is no longer open on Saturday. Bummer. I've gone to this place on Saturday morning many times before. Why do people keep changing things? Now I'll have to go back during the week to get the UPS repaired. We're prone to power spikes and surges in our neighborhood, so I definitely need this thing.

It's like Russian Roulette when I get gas at Sam's Club now. They never tell you when they run out of premium gas. You have to run your credit card and select the grade you want. If no gas comes out of the pump, you're out of luck. Even worse, you're still charged one dollar for every attempt you make. I have several of these one dollar charges on my latest statement. It's irritating, but not worth the trouble to protest. Luckily, there was plenty of premium this morning. I guess I could just get gas somewhere else, but I'm a creature of habit.

When I turn the sprinklers on in the morning, a wide variety of birds, squirrels, and even bugs come out of their hiding places to enjoy the water. There were tons of birds using the birdbath this morning. I feel sorry for the critters in the park. This weather must be tough on them. We don't see many animals when we take our morning walks now. I hope they survive. I have a feeling that even the ducks are getting hot.

Every once and a while I still wonder if there still are any uses for my old video equipment. I did a Google search this afternoon and discovered that nobody is even talking about BetaSP anymore. Crickets. Some of the last entries about how obsolete this stuff is were made in 2012. It's weird how $20,000 cameras can be worth absolutely nothing literally overnight when the technology changes. You can't even give this stuff to schools anymore. Nobody wants it. The only articles I could find at all were about the importance of transferring old archive material to a digital format before all the tape machines disappeared. I have a feeling that ship has already sailed. Jeez. I still have a couple of old 2" master tapes from my documentary series. I bet there aren't any working Quad machines left in the entire country.

After I became completely depressed about being surrounded by ancient, obsolete equipment, I got started on my weekly routine of recharging batteries. Batteries are such a pain. While the batteries were recharging, I watched cooking shows on PBS. Why am I fascinated by cooking shows when I don't like to cook? Probably for the same reason I'm fascinated by owning a Tesla while I hate batteries.

Dash seemed like a happy camper today. He's been doing surprisingly well this week, considering that it feels like a furnace outside.

Katie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3130

Persistence pays off. The roof has finally been repaired. Lord knows how long I've been complaining about this roof. I'm sure the time is measured in years, not months. I'll have to wait until the elastomer coating dries completely before I can inspect things, but at first glance, it looks like the guys did a good job. I really hope that these repairs work. I'm tired of having problems with the roof. I'm tired of complaining too. Truthfully, I'd like to forget about the roof for a while. In retrospect, I wish the roofers had told me in the beginning that the high-tech membrane roof wasn't appropriate for my type of building. An old fashioned tar and gravel roof would have worked much better. That's ancient history now. The roof is what it is.

Every year on this date I grow nostalgic about the moon landing. I feel really old when I hear adults who aren't that young themselves talk about viewing the landing with their parents when they were seven. I was in college at the time. 1969 was a great year. The moon landing and Woodstock both happened during the same summer. I miss those times. There was a spirit of optimism that had nothing to do with political parties. We were a country then. Now we're just a bunch of warring tribes.

We had our second consecutive day of record heat with temperatures topping out at 108 degrees. They say the heat wave should peak tomorrow when temperatures could reach 110 degrees. We're also setting new records for electricity and water usage. I hope the power company can meet the demand. I'm not sure that Dash could handle a power outage. We were without electricity for four days in July when we first moved here. It was miserable. Even without a power outage, I worry about the air conditioner. It's been running non-stop for several days now. I had an HVAC company as a client once and they told me that there were an unbelievably number of air conditioner failures during Summer heat waves. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This oppressive heat can't last forever.

Our morning walk went well this morning. We got started before sunrise and there was a nice breeze. I shortened our route and we only walked about half the distance we usually do. This seemed to do the trick. Dash was normal when we returned home. The roofers got started early too. They were up on the roof before I left for breakfast. It was smart to get started early. The temperature was only 87 degrees at sunrise but quickly rose to triple digits within a matter of hours.

It goes without saying that I stayed inside most of the day. I did go out for breakfast and got some groceries on the way home, but that was about it. I ordered the same meal I had last Friday, but it tasted different. There must have been a different chef this morning. I don't know why consistency is so important to me. Breakfast was actually fine. I just wish it was exactly the same as last week.

We're setting the alarm to get up extra early tomorrow. It's going to be the only way to give Dash a decent walk.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3129

We broke a 93 year old record. The temperature was 108 today, making this the hottest day of the year as well as the warmest July 19th on record. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. They say it is going to be even hotter. I walked Dash really early this morning, but we should have stayed inside. The temperature was already above 90 degrees at sunrise. Even though we walked slowly, Dash became overheated. I was worried about him when we came home. I found him panting in the bedroom with his tongue hanging out. I covered him with a cool damp towel and watched him until his breathing became normal again. He seemed fine while we were walking, but this heat can be deceptive. I shouldn't have taken him out this morning. We'll either take a very short walk tomorrow, or no walk at all.

Our air conditioning system is struggling. It does fine when the exterior  temperatures are in the low 90's, but we were way above that today. Realistically, you can only expect an air conditioner to lower the temperature by twenty degrees. When the temperature is 108, it is difficult to keep things at 75 degrees inside. I'm worried that there will be a power outage. Our power grid is old and everyone is using their air conditioners at once. It's not a good combination.

I was surprised that the roofers even showed up today. The crew power washed the roof to prepare the surface for a new elastomer coating. The roof does look clean, but unfortunately it's wet again. Now, even more of the old coating is peeling away. I guess it doesn't matter since all the damaged areas will be recoated tomorrow. I wish the guys would just replace the entire roof, but that's not going to happen. If I can get them to repair all the bad spots, this is probably as good as it's going to get. I hope the guys get started early. If they wait until the afternoon to begin, it is going to be unbearably hot.

Dash is fine now, but he really gave me a scare this morning. With his bad heart, we really can't take chances. As much as he enjoys his walks, I think we're going to have to stay inside until the weather cools down a bit. I wonder how long that will take? The ten day forecast shows triple digit temperatures as far as the eye can see.

Texas weather is basically horrible. Every Summer I can't wait until Winter arrives and every Winter I can't wait until Summer. Spring and Fall only seem to last around two days. Every time I start to get complacent, there's a tornado warning to remind me that things can get even worse. I wonder where the good weather is hiding? I used to think I'd like to live in Colorado, but that part of the country is having terrible wild fires now. Hurricanes, tornados, floods, wildfires, and drought. There always seems to be something just beyond the horizon waiting to spoil the party.

I actually enjoyed my breakfast last Friday. Maybe I'll go back to the same restaurant again tomorrow. It all depends on when the roofers arrive and whether Dash remains calm without his morning walk.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3128

I guess I don't watch local news enough. I just discovered today that the hazy skies we've been experiencing lately are caused by dust from the Sahara Desert. When I first noticed the haze, I thought something was wrong with my eyes. Then I thought there was a big forest fire somewhere. When I walked Dash in the morning it seemed like I was looking at the world through a pair of dirty reading glasses. I use this analogy because I often have the same hazy view when I look at my computer screen. I need to clean my glasses more often. How could a cloud of dust travel 5000 miles and then just stop when it arrived in Texas? I hope the weather changes and the cloud starts to blow westward again. They say the dust contains diatomaceous earth. Not good. Silica is not very healthy for dogs or people to breathe.

No roofers today. Honestly, I don't blame them for not showing up. It is beastly hot. In some parts of town the temperature hovered around 110 degrees. The only way the roofers could work comfortably would be to get started very early and leave before 10 AM. It's not going to get any cooler tomorrow, so we'll have to see what happens. I'd really like to get this roof fixed, but you could fry an egg on it right now.

Dash got cheated out of his morning walk. We were doing just fine until he saw a loose dog. The dog was well behaved and was sitting next to his owner at a picnic table near the lake, but I couldn't convince Dash that everything was OK. He is terrified of unleashed dogs. The dog was at least fifty yards away when he spotted it, but that was enough. He immediately turned around and headed for home.

A small business I used to work with recently became part of a large national chain. The website they replaced mine with didn't even last a year. Now, there's a third design that follows the corporate style manual. It must be getting harder and harder for a small business to thrive. I see so many places either go out of business or sell to someone larger. It's a shame. I almost always like the small businesses better. Camera stores, veterinarians, ad agencies, hobby shops, and plumbers are all forced to grow or die. My own business probably died because I chose not to grow at a critical point in time. It's OK though. I had some very good years and I could never work for someone else.

I must spend more time outdoors than I realize. When the weather becomes oppressively hot, I start to get cabin fever. Dash sleeps all day. I can't stand what's on daytime TV. And cleaning the house gets old pretty fast. What's a guy to do? I guess I never realized how much time I used to spent working. It's basically always been boring around the house, but I had so many deadlines to meet, I never noticed.

I wonder what happens when my downsizing quest is complete. Will life be any different when the storage warehouse is empty and the house is tidy again? Probably not.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3127

I think the gods of keeping things too long are punishing me. When I went to the storage warehouse to pick up some more things to sell, I got a nasty surprise. The protective foam inside a mixing board's flight case had completely disintegrated, turning the inside of the case into a sticky mess. Even worse, when I finally found a guitar that had been hidden behind several large boxes the last time I looked, I discovered that the neck had cracked. It's not uncommon for a guitar neck to warp, but I'd never seen one with a large crack like this. I managed to get the vintage mixing board cleaned up, but the guitar was hopeless. I took it to the vintage guitar guys anyway, in hopes that it could be fixed. They just looked at it in dismay. They said the best I could hope for was that a British theme restaurant or sports bar would buy it as a decoration to hang on their wall. The guitar was not playable.

No wonder antiques are often so expensive. It's really hard to keep something old in new condition. If it's made of cloth, it will get eaten by moths. It is is made of metal, it will rust. If it's made of glass, you will probably end up breaking it. I'm not exactly batting 1000 in my attempt to downsize. Some things survived the ravages of time and others didn't. Now I know what the phrase 'use it or lose it" really means.

Retrieving things from the storage warehouse and cleaning them up took a lot of time, so I didn't get much done today. It could take months to clean out the warehouse. So far, it's been discouraging work. Nothing looks better than when I stored it away. Where did I ever get the idea that I could unpack this stuff decades later and it would still be as good as new? I'm still determined to unload some of this stuff, but I'm not going to get rich doing it. A lot of things need to go straight in the dumpster.

I feel sorry for the roofers if they still have to work in this weather. It's really hot. I think we set a new temperature record today. I wouldn't be surprised if the roofers canceled the repairs because of the heat, but if they do come out this week, the roof is definitely dry.

Dash and I walked around sunrise again today. I think everyone with dogs in the neighborhood had the same idea. The park was surprisingly crowded this morning, but luckily all the dogs we encountered were friendly. You almost have to walk early these days. Once the sun is high in the sky, the heat is brutal. Several people asked me about Dash's boots this morning. Their dogs weren't sick. They just wanted something to protect their dogs feet from the hot pavement. I should carry business cards for Ultra Paws with me. I'm sure I've brought them some business this Summer.

My water bill is going to be huge this month. I'm having to water the grass and shrubs almost every day. Even though it's hard to keep things green, I hope that things stay hot and dry until the roof gets fixed. As soon as the roofers get finished though,  I'm going to join the rest of Dallas and pray for rain.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3126

I'm slowly discovering that if you want results you have to use the right form of communication. If you send a voicemail to someone who prefers to text, nothing will happen. If you send an e-mail to someone who prefers to talk, nothing will happen. It's complicated. The electrician prefers to talk on the phone. The roofer and the landscaper would rather text. The art galleries and auction houses communicate almost exclusively via e-mail. So far, only the art conservator and the vintage guitar guy want to talk face-to-face. Maybe that's why I like those old Perry Mason shows. There was no voicemail or texting. The internet didn't even exist. People just called Perry on the phone and he picked it up and answered it.

I never used to think of myself as a nostalgic person, but I'm definitely nostalgic now. Forty nine years ago today, Apollo 11 left this earth on a journey to the moon. I remember that time well. A few days later we would hear that "the Eagle has landed" and the world would rejoice. I wish that same spirit prevailed today. It's not surprising that we've never been back. We don't have shared dreams anymore. Maybe you have a dream, and I have a dream, and the neighbor down the street has a dream, but they are definitely not shared dreams.

I'm going to have to start getting up earlier. It's so hot now that even our morning walks are uncomfortable. Dash still enjoys his walks, but I worry about him becoming overheated. Although I've tried to teach him to drink from a water bottle, he always waits till we come home to drink. Nothing is easy with this dog. Today one of his boots fell off and I had a hard time getting in on again. I've got to get better at this pretty quickly. When Janet visits her family, I'm going to have to get Dash dressed for walks by myself.

The roofers didn't show up today, but I'm still confident that I'll be seeing them later in the week. There is no reason to delay these repairs any longer. Everybody has finally agreed that the repairs are necessary and the weather is perfect. There is no point in spoiling the moment by continuing to complain. This thing is going to get done. Anyway, there's plenty of time to complain next week if the guys don't show up.

I wonder what I used to do in July? I probably just worked. Without a deadline to keep me busy, it's hard to get motivated. When the steering wheel is to hot to touch, you certainly don't want to drive anywhere. There's no point buying anything while I'm still actively trying to get rid of things. There's no point in watching TV, because at soon as I turn the set on, I immediately want to turn it off again.

Maybe I'll think of something to do tomorrow. I didn't do that well today. I picked up a prescription, paid a few bills and the day was over. I probably should have done some cleaning, but I didn't. Dash doesn't seem to worry about being productive. After a walk and a meal, he is content to sleep. I think that dog has the right idea.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3125

There are two types of people who go to the gym. There are the ones who spend half their time obsessively cleaning the equipment with disinfectant rags and there are the ones who don't. I find myself in the latter category. I've always found that the kids who ate dirt and food they'd dropped on the floor tended to be a little healthier. You need to build up your resistance to things. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm still alive. Some of my friends aren't.

I wonder when we started to worry about germs on treadmills? It wasn't always this way. Autism was almost unheard of when I was a kid. So were peanut allergies. If peanut allergies were a big deal in the 1950's, half my childhood friends would be dead. Every Mom in creation fed their kids peanut butter and jelly sandwiches constantly. Times are changing though. Southwest Airlines recently discontinued serving peanuts on flights. This was their signature item for decades. Who knows. Maybe peanuts weren't a big deal when I was a kid because everyone was still worried about polio and nuclear war.

Maybe germs and peanut allergies were always a problem, but we just didn't understand what was going on. I was listening to NPR on my way to the gym and there was a guy talking about how we have it all wrong about how the dinosaurs died. Conventional wisdom says a giant asteroid hit the earth, kicking up a huge cloud of dust that cooled the planet for centuries. The colder weather slowly killed the dinosaurs and lots of other things too. Not so fast, says this guy. New science says that when the asteroid hit, the impact sent a column of super heated gas, 100 times hotter than the sun, out past the moon. When the gas was pulled back to earth by gravity, it heated the atmosphere to almost 1000 degrees for several days, killing everything instantly that wasn't living in a cave. Which of these conflicting ideas is true? Probably neither. Humans don't really know all that much. We just like to think we do. If there are aliens out there, they might look at us the same way we view ants.

Personally I'm not very worried about germs or aliens this Summer. Spiders have got me bothered though. We've been invaded by spiders this year. I can't remember them ever being this bad. They're inside. They're outside. They're everywhere. I cleaned the webs from the house with the pressure washer less than a month ago, and the webs are all back. When I let Dash out to pee late at night, I always have to be wary of spiders building webs across the doorway. I've gotten them in my hair more than once. Most of the spiders are harmless, but we do have Brown Recluse Spiders in the area. Our first Dalmatian got bit by a spider and had a terrible allergic reaction. I don't want that to happen again.

Dash was much better today. He pooped on his walk like a normal dog and ate all his meals without throwing up. It was too hot to take much of an evening walk, but we're doing the best we can. If you get out early in the morning before the sun comes up, it is actually pretty nice.

I spent most of my time inside today. When I returned from the gym, I cleaned the house and watched a little TV. For some reason I've become fond of The Great British Baking Show. This is odd, because I don't really like to cook. I was pretty good at decorating cakes once. Back when Janet and I had more energy and time, we used to make the dogs some pretty amazing cakes on their birthdays.

I wonder whether the roofers will show up this week? They promised, but you know how that goes. Hopefully, they will realize that the weather is perfect for making repairs and that it will be easier to just get the job done than have me pestering them for the rest of the Summer

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3124

Friday the 13th. arrived a day late. Dash woke me up around 5 AM heading for the back door. He didn't make it and pooped all over the living room. After breakfast, he drank too much water, started coughing, and ended up throwing up everything he ate on the bedroom carpet. We were out of Nature's Miracle, so I went to the pet store to get some more to help clean up the mess. The bottle leaked in my car. That was enough bad luck for me, but later when I went to get groceries, the lids to both the blueberry and strawberry containers popped open, spilling the fruit all over the back of my car. All this happened before noon. The afternoon was actually pretty normal.

I don't think it was the vestibular disease that made Dash throw up today. He wasn't disoriented and didn't seem to have vertigo. He just burped and all his food came out. Accidents like these are becoming our new normal. Often, I will take him outside to pee and after wandering around aimlessly for a while, he will come back inside and immediately poop on the floor. Actually, he did this right after dinner this evening, making it two for two in the indoor pooping sweepstakes. It's hard to be mad at the little guy. He's trying his best to be a normal dog. Age is a bitch though. The body just doesn't cooperate anymore.

I definitely sympathize with Dash. Age hasn't been kind to me either. I went up on the roof this afternoon to prepare things for the roofers and my shoulder hurt for the rest of the day. An hour of pushing water off the roof with a push broom was all it took. I was going to mow the grass today as well, but I'll save that for another time. Enough is enough.

We must have got a lot or rain last week. The water level in the lake was about two feet lower than usual earlier this month, but this morning I noticed that everything was back to normal. Flowers have started blooming again as well. I spotted some Jimson Weed this morning. The blooms are pretty, but they are poisonous. I never want to let the dogs get too close to these plants.

I went to pick up a prescription yesterday and the pharmacist told me it wouldn't be ready until Monday. This morning, the same pharmacy called me and asked why I hadn't picked the pills up yet. Go figure. I suspect the pills were actually there yesterday but just didn't show up in the computer. It's getting harder to have faith in the pharmacy. Like anyone else these days, they make mistakes from time to time. I'm always looking up pills on Pill Finder to make sure I'm taking the right drug. Same thing for Dash. There are so many generic versions of most drugs that the pills often don't look the same. Dash had some odd looking Enalapril today. The pills were oval instead of round. They turned out to be the correct medication. These just happened to come from a different manufacturer.

I wish life hadn't become so complex. I didn't used to look up all my meds on Pill Finder to make sure I wasn't taking something that was going to kill me. I didn't used to look suspiciously at the Caller ID every time the phone rang. I remember when it was still OK to click on the links that appeared in e-mail messages and open your door when someone knocked. Not anymore.

I've decided that the best thing to do in a dystopian world is mind your own business. There is craziness everywhere, but you don't have to go looking for it. I try to walk Dash when the park is empty. I do most of my shopping when other people are at work. I never talk about politics with anyone.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3123

Not a bad day for Friday the 13th. I had a nice breakfast. Dash seemed in good spirits. Even the weather improved. You'd think with such an auspicious start, I might have done something amazing. Nope. It was Friday, after all. On Friday, I'm happy enough to just make it through the day.

Today, I had an appointment to take my damaged lithograph to the art conservator. I wonder how someone becomes an art conservator? It's a strange occupation. You learn intricate details about how paper and fiber behave and are somehow able to turn back time and make something old look new again with damaging it in the process. These people are often hired by museums to restore old maps and documents. In my case, I needed someone to take some art that has become wrinkled by humidity and make it flat again.

The whole process seems like a black art to me, but the conservator came highly recommended. I learned something during my visit today. Evidently the reason that my lithograph had become damaged has a lot to do with the way it was originally framed. Paper and even the metal frame itself naturally expand and contract over time. Art it supposed to be framed to allow the paper to breathe. The frame didn't allow this to happen. Evidently, the paper and the aluminum frame expanded at different rates, causing the paper to curl and wrinkle when it pushed against the edge of the frame. The whole process took decades, so it was very hard to notice at first. It didn't help that I bought the art in Seattle and it is now in Dallas. These are two very different climates.

The good news is that the Ellsworth Kelly can be restored to it's original condition. the bad news is that the restoration process is very slow, expensive, and when everything is finished, I will need a new and different type of frame. Oh, well. My bad. I never should have stored art in a storage warehouse for twenty years. I shouldn't have stored my guitars in the warehouse either. Three of the four guitars are fine, but one is in even worse shape than the damaged lithograph. The finish has cracked and some of the hardware has rusted.

The ironic thing is that I placed a lot of things in the warehouse because I was worried about humidity and water damage in the house. We have had water problems in the house for as long as I can remember. It questionable whether everything would have fared better if I'd left it at home. I guess I'll never know. A lot can happen in forty years. I guess it could have been worse. My sister's house burned down once and she lost a library of books she had spent a lifetime collecting.

The auction house in New York is already featuring one of my photos on their website. I guess this means they like it. Hopefully, it will do well at auction. It's weird that as objects continue to disappear from my life, absolutely nothing has changed. I don't miss these things. My life has been focused around dogs for many, many years. Dogs still matter. The art, model trains, and guitars seem like they were from a parallel universe that doesn't even exist anymore. I kind of wish I'd discovered this a long time ago.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3122

I'm getting closer to getting the roof repaired. I talked to the job foreman today and discovered that the crews weren't always being paid when they came out to make repairs. That certainly explains why this job has been slow walked for several years. After more conversations with everyone involved I tried to make it clear that problems between the contractor and subcontractors weren't really my concern. I just want a roof that doesn't leak. Hopefully, this issue is finally resolved. All we need now is for the rain to stop. I got a verbal promise that the repairs will be made as soon as we get some dry weather.

Jeez. Why am I dealing with all this during the wettest July I can remember? It is usually bone dry in July. It seems like I'm always talking to the roofers during the middle of a thunderstorm. It certainly rained a lot today, even though is was sunny this morning. I even got soaking wet taking the trash out to the curb. Dash didn't get his evening walk either. I doubt that he minded. He was busy hiding under my desk.

I rescheduled my service appointment with Land Rover today. They kept trying to explain that no loaner cars were available because people weren't returning them. How was this even possible? You have to return the loaner car to get your own car back. Janet, who still works, explained what was going on. "People take the loaner car to the airport when they go on business trips," she said. "Their own car gets fixed before they return and the dealership thinks the loaner is missing." I guess this makes sense. I haven't taken a business trip in so long that this is a whole different universe to me. I always take the loaner car back as soon as the repair is finished.

I noticed today that I forgot to bill a client several months ago. This client used to keep me busy but there has been so little work in the past year that I almost forgot they were on the roster. I wrote them a letter asking if they wanted to terminate my services. It seemed like the right thing to do. Years ago I would have worked hard to restore the relationship, but the effort seems futile. These guys don't even use their website anymore. They might have forgotten they even have one.

I listened to some of the Peter Strzok testimony today. Sad. This country has become so divided that we are never coming together again. This is a Humpty Dumpty scenario. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put the country together again. I think we should face facts and just split the country in two. Give everyone a moving allowance so they could move to the country of their choice and then build a wall between the red country and the blue country. Everyone would probably get behind that wall.

I tried to tie up some loose ends this week, but I'm not sure what I accomplished. The roof still isn't fixed. My car repair has been pushed back to August. The security light in the back yard has been "fixed" but I'm not sure if it was ever broken. Probably the most important thing that happened this week was that Dash's dewclaws got trimmed.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3121

I didn't see the roofer today, but I did get a visit from the electrician. I'd almost forgotten that I'd called the electrician. When I originally called weeks ago, the photocell that controlled the security light in the back yard wasn't working correctly. The light would come on at dusk, but it would shut off about three hours later. To get the light to turn on again, I would have to go to the breaker box and turn the circuit breaker for the light off and on manually. It was irritating to go out at midnight and do this, but it certainly wasn't an emergency. Somehow during the ensuing weeks, the light seems to have fixed itself. It's been working perfectly for over a week now. The electrician replaced the photocell with a new one anyway. I thanked the guys, but was kind of embarrassed to have them replace something that seemed to be working fine. Hopefully, there won't be any problems with this new photocell. These guys could get tired of me real quickly.

Dash did very well at the vet. I was proud of him. He didn't struggle or snap at anyone while his nails were being trimmed. He didn't poop in the lobby either. Amazingly, he even rode quietly in the car. I think he was just tired. We had a rough night. He woke up in the middle of the night and seemed to forget where he was. He just stood frozen in place in the living room with a vacant look on his face for the longest time. He wouldn't go outside and he wouldn't come back to bed. This didn't seem like a vestibular seizure. It was something else. I'm starting to worry about dementia now. This isn't the first time Dash has seemed totally confused. The vet recommended some things that might help with dementia at his exam today and checked his heart. There is no quick fix for anything anymore.

This morning when we got Dash suited up for his morning walk, he seemed frozen in place again. Usually, he heads straight for the back door as soon as Janet leaves for work, but this morning he refused to move. He had the same confused look that he had last night. Eventually, I took his harness and leg brace off and he immediately went to sleep. Later in the day, he woke up and seemed somewhat normal again. We took a short walk, but it was too hot to go very far.

Dash seems fine now. He had a good appetite at dinner. We took a normal evening walk and he's barking at Janet for treats now. There are so many surprises these days. Almost every day something happens that I don't expect. I try my best to keep Dash calm, keep him eating regularly, and make sure he moves around enough so his muscles don't atrophy. There is very little we can do about the vestibular disease or the blood clot in his heart.

I was planning to take my car in for service tomorrow, but the dealer called this evening and said they weren't going to have any loaner cars tomorrow. That seemed weird, since everything was fine when I called to confirm the appointment this morning. They asked if I wanted to go ahead with the service and use their shuttle instead. No thank you. These guys are so slow, that I'd probably be without a car for a week. Maybe I'll just wait until August to schedule the service again. Then I could get my state inspection at the same time.

I cleared the water off the roof again. I knew this was a waste of time, but I wanted to be ready just in case the roofers decided to come over anyway. They didn't. I'm aiming for next week now. The weather app on my phone shows a lot of sunny days next week. Every time it rains, the roof problems seem to get worse. We've really got to get this fixed.

I'm not sure what we're going to do tomorrow. I'm getting used to slow, uneventful days. As long as Dash is acting normally and eating his meals, I'm fine.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3120

The weather isn't cooperating. I spent two hours up on the roof clearing away all the standing water so the roofers could make their repairs tomorrow. Everything looked perfect and then later in the day we had an unexpected afternoon thunderstorm and the roof is all wet again. I'm beginning to think that all my efforts are hopeless.

I did manage to find someone to repair my Sequential Circuits synthesizers. I don't know if the guy is any good, but he does claim to have worked on them before. I kind of hope that the guitar store has managed to find someone better. I have a feeling that the guy I found will just take the synthesizers apart and then tell me that he can't find parts. Parts are always the problem for old electronic gear. Even though the chances of success are far from guaranteed, I'll probably still try to get these things repaired. If I do nothing, I might as well throw them in a dumpster.

The auction house called me today and said they want to lower the estimate on one of the pieces I sent them. I suspected this might happen. On further inspection, they said they discovered minor handling damage. These guys are pretty picky, so it was probably just a fingerprint in the wrong place. Hey, it wasn't me. I've never even taken any of these things out of the original frames. I'm still happy with the revised estimate, but the original price they mentioned would have made me even happier. Auctions are weird. We talk about these estimates as if they are real, but there is no guarantee that the art will sell at all.

Dash was kind of shaky this morning. He stumbled more than usual on his morning walk and seemed unusually tired when we returned home. I don't know why. The weather was actually quite nice. I always worry that Dash will collapse when we are alone in the park and I'll have difficulty getting him back to a vet in time. I can't let this fear deter me from walks altogether though. Walks are important. Without these slow daily walks, Dash's mobility would decrease dramatically. I do try to watch him carefully when we get up in the morning and make sure he's not having a vestibular event or problems moving around. A misplaced pebble in his path can cause Dash to fall these days, but we've got to keep moving. I've brought some more rugs home from the storage warehouse to keep him from slipping inside the house. Things are not getting better, but I think we're all doing the best we can.

I hope Dash does well at his exam tomorrow. He needs his anal glands expressed and a nail trim, but there's always a chance that he'll surprise us with more bad news. There are so many things wrong with this dog that it's hard to remember them all. The important things at this point are the blood clot in his heart and the internal bleeding. I've almost forgotten about the vestibular disease and thyroid cancer.

It's going to be a long Summer. Janet is visiting family soon, so I'll be taking care of Dash by myself for a while. I hope I can remember how to get his boots on without assistance. I've done it before, but it isn't easy. Getting him to take his pills in the morning isn't easy either. I have a feeling that we'll be taking a lot of naps. That's one thing we do well together.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3119

About thirty minutes after the roofer made a firm commitment to come out and repair the roof tomorrow, it started to rain. It rained quite a bit, so I doubt that the roof will be dry any time soon. I'm probably back to square one. I wonder if this promise to fix things on a rainy day was on purpose? I'll never know for sure. It is hard to predict the weather here in Texas. The forecast changes every day. I check the weather all the time and today's rain even caught me by surprise.

Whether the roofer comes out or not, it looks like it's going to be a busy week. Dash has a vet appointment on Wednesday, I need to take my car in for an annual required maintenance on Thursday, and I have an appointment with an art conservator on Friday to see if an Ellsworth Kelly that has been damaged by humidity can be saved.

I dread taking Dash to the vet. He's terrible riding in the car. He often poops in the lobby while we are waiting for our appointment. And he's going to need his nails trimmed again. Dash won't let anyone near his feet, but there is one vet who seems to have the magic touch. If she ever gives up on us, we're doomed. I wish Dash's nails didn't grow so fast. They seem to grow even faster now, since we are protecting his feet on walks. It's really important to keep the nails short, since he is taking Plavix. If Dash ever ripped out a nail again, it would be very hard to stop the bleeding.

I didn't accomplish much today, so I guess it was a pretty normal day. I repaired another pair of Dash's protective boots. Dash is pretty hard on these boots, so I always have to keep several pairs in rotation. I fixed a Waterpik that has been leaking for about a month. The leak wasn't bad, so it was easy to ignore. I got the pump started on the roof, but it won't be enough to get things dried out by tomorrow. It probably doesn't even matter. I think it's supposed to rain again tomorrow anyway.

I wonder if people realize that all the turmoil about the Supreme Court nomination isn't exactly new. If memory serves, there was a similar uproar when Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas were nominated. Thomas survived and Bork didn't. I suspect that Brett Kavanaugh will survive, but what do I know. This is basically a fight between people who think the Constitution is the law of the land and people who think the Constitution has become outdated and needs to change. I hate to see Americans fighting like this, but I don't think it's going to stop any time soon.

I wish we had the ability to blend our opinions together the same way I make my morning smoothie. American politics needs a Vitamix. I don't even taste the bananas, strawberries, peaches, eggs, oatmeal, blueberries, cinnamon, and ice cream anymore. My creation is much better than these ingredients. Blending is good. It would be hard to convince me that polarization is equally good.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3118

Often when I'm at the gym, I'm reminded of Andy Warhol's desire to be a machine. I feel like a machine sometime. So many aspects of my life are repetitive in nature. It's not just my time on the treadmill that is entirely predictable. Almost everything is entirely predictable. It wasn't always this way, but increasingly I find familiarity comforting. I like knowing what is going to happen before it happens. The good thing about this kind of life is that you really start to notice little things. If there is any change at all in Dash's behavior, I'm instantly aware of it. I can tell if this week's peaches and strawberries are different than last week's, and can feel if the temperature in the house is one degree warmer than is was yesterday.

The bad thing about predictability is that anything new seems ominous. I will stare at a menu forever before ordering something new for breakfast. I almost never take a new route to a destination. Forget about new friends. If I haven't known you for thirty years, I probably never will. I think about these things while I'm on the treadmill. Exercise is so predictable. That's the one thing I like about going to the gym. I can tell you what my heart rate is going to be at any given time and can predict within ten seconds how long it takes to walk a mile. I still don't know how long it will take to shoot ten free throws on the basketball court, but I'm working on it.

Maybe weather forecasts are frustrating to me because they aren't predictable at all. Yesterday, I thought it was going to rain all next week. Today the forecast has changed. I think it is only supposed to rain on Tuesday. I wish I really knew for certain when we were going to have seven days of clear, dry weather, so I could insist that the roofers come out and finish their repairs. The roofers know that the weather is their friend. The threat of rain is always a good excuse to postpone things.

It's amazing that they are actually getting those boys trapped in that cave in Thailand out alive. The threat of rain is really serious there. I can think of few things worse than being trapped in a flooded cave. Why do people even go in caves? My Dad was a zoologist who studied bats and he would take me in caves occasionally. Caves are wet and claustrophobic. I was always worried that a rock was going to fall and trap us inside. I frequently have dreams that involve being lost. When I was a child, I was usually crawling endlessly through a cave in these dreams. Now, I seem to be lost in a huge hotel. I guess that's progress. Hopefully, all the Thai boys will be extricated safely. I bet it will be a long time before any of them go inside a cave again.

Our house is becoming filled with cheap throw rugs again. Dash's rear legs keep getting weaker and I keep having to bring additional rugs home from the storage warehouse to keep him from slipping. The kitchen and dining areas are filled with rugs now, so Dash won't fall while he is eating. There are carpets in the bedrooms, so he is OK there. I hope we can keep the area where he typically poops on the floor free of rugs for as long as we can. It's a lot easier to clean up poop when it lands on the bricks.

I wish I could predict what was going to happen next with Dash. This is the one area of my life where I've got to stay flexible. He's getting old and frail, but so far, we've been able to adjust so that his life remains enjoyable. All that being said, I hope he lets me get some sleep tonight. I'm getting older too.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3117

I couldn't figure out why I was having trouble getting gas this morning. The pump would accept my credit card and tell me that it was ready to start pumping, but no gas would come out. I tried three different pumps and I couldn't get any gas out of any of them. The strange thing was that other people were filling their cars normally. I seemed to be the only one who was having a problem. I went over and talked to the manager, who didn't know anything but said he'd talk to another employee. The second employee said "Oh, we're out of Premium today." Jeez. Would it have been that hard to put a sign on the pump? It would seem like the pump itself would show some kind of indication that it was empty. Nope. The pump preferred to run up a zero dollar credit card transaction. Needless to say, I got gas somewhere else.

The lake is starting to look a little low. This is usually one of the first signs that we are having a drought. The city has also started to mow all the areas they have designated as "native prairie" in the park. I'm pretty sure this is to reduce the danger of brush fires. Actually, the area looks a lot nicer now. The native prairie grasses have been overrun by Johnson Grass in recent years. The fields and meadows that used to be pretty, now just look like acres and acres of weeds.

Even though things are becoming ominously dry, I still have mixed feelings about rain. The roof isn't fixed yet. The roofers keep saying they are coming over "soon," but soon might mean Christmas to them. I'm tempted to go buy some of the elastomer material and patch the damaged areas myself. The last time I tried this, it didn't work out so well. Some of my patches are already starting to delaminate. Something needs to be done, but I still think this mess is the roofers responsibility.

Now that I've fixed the crack in the wall, I'm tempted to fix the ceiling. There's been damaged sheetrock in the living room for years, but I hate to go to the trouble of fixing it if the roof is still going to leak. I've got all the materials now and I could probably fix the area in an afternoon, but this would almost guarantee that there would be a giant rainstorm and the roof would start leaking again. It's easier to just ignore things for a while longer and hope the roofers eventually do what they've promised.

Dash pooped on the bed last night. I don't think he even woke up. I was thinking that we were getting a handle on his digestive problems, but maybe not. There doesn't appear to be blood in his stools anymore, but I sure wish that the poop would stay outdoors. Incontinence is just a fact of life with old dogs. I don't think I'm going to stop cleaning up poop any time soon.

It's hard to get motivated when the temperature is so hot. All I really wanted to do today was take a nap. Dash makes this easy, since he sleeps most of the time anyway. I used to think that I wasn't getting nearly enough sleep. If I start counting naps though, I'm probably doing just fine.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow. Will this be enough to prevent me from going to the gym? It won't take much. I'm not feeling very energetic this week.

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3116

Little things have become way too complicated. When I got in the car this morning, there was a warning light on the dash that said my left rear tire was low. In the past I would have gotten the compressor out of the garage and added a little air. Can't do that anymore. These tires are filled with nitrogen which forces me to go to the dealer every time a tire is low. The service tech added some nitrogen to the low tire and said everything was fine. On the way back home, the warning light came on again, so I returned to the dealership a second time. I told them to check the tire again and this time they found a nail. Jeez. Why didn't they notice the nail the first time?

While I was waiting for the tire to be fixed, I looked at new cars. I don't think I'll be getting a Land Rover again. Not only have these cars become way too expensive, I don't like the current styling. None of the rear seats fold flat anymore. The seats in my current car fold completely flat, making it much easier to carry dogs. The nice boxy shape of my car is gone too. Everything on the showroom floor was curvy and sleek. I loved my old Defender, but the new Discovery and Range Rover models aren't even remotely like this amazing go anywhere, carry anything truck. Nobody makes anything like the Defender anymore. It had no airbags and hand cranked windows, but it did have a big V-8 engine and enough room in the back for an extra large dog crate. My current car is much fancier, but I always liked the Defender best.

I probably got the nail in my tire while I was eating breakfast. There was some construction going on nearby, and I should have just driven to another restaurant. I seem to get nails and screws in my tires every time I go near a construction site. My Eggs Benedict were fine, but this meal certainly wasn't worth spending half the day at a car dealership. I wasn't even that hungry. The day would have been much more productive if I'd just stayed home.

The wall I've been repairing is painted now, but the house smells terrible. I'd forgotten that oil base enamel has a much stronger smell to it than latex paint. I would have left the doors and windows open for a while, but the house would have instantly been filled with bugs and it was way too hot and humid anyway. Hopefully, as the paint dries the smell will go away.

It rained while I was at the Land Rover dealer. The rain didn't last long, but there was quite a downpour for about thirty minutes. When I returned home, there was some evidence that there had been a short power outage. The computer was off and several of the uninterrupted power supplies were beeping. Dash was waiting at the door too. He's usually asleep while I'm gone. I have no idea how bad things were, but I hope that Dash didn't freak out. The only saving grace was that this wasn't a thunderstorm. It was just a heavy rain.

It's too bad the roofers didn't come over while we were having two weeks of bone dry weather. It would have been an ideal time to finish their repairs. We're back to square one again. I've got to remove all the standing water from the roof, start checking for leaks again, and resume pestering the roofers to finish what they started.

Wendy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day