Day 3502

I did more grocery shopping than usual today. First I got the things I usually get on Saturdays and then I went to the stores where Janet shops and got the things she usually gets. I think I have the easier job, since I typically only go to one store. Janet always goes to several different stores. It's weird to me that with so many things on grocery store shelves, you still can't get the same things in all stores. Some stores have better produce. Other stores have better meat. I don't even bother to look for bargains, but they are out there if you want to take the time to look. It's amazing how much price and variety actually vary.

I had breakfast and all my shopping done by 10 AM, but my efficiency wasn't rewarded with cooler weather. Apparently yesterday was an anomaly. By the time I started my first walk of the day, it was already too hot. I didn't bother to carry an extra camera today. The animals were all in hiding anyway.

Since I finished my chores earlier than expected, I decided to watch a movie on Netflix. The first thing I noticed when I logged on was a notice saying that the price was going up next month. Weren't higher subscription prices one of the reasons their stock took a big hit last week? People don't like higher prices.

I watched a Chinese science fiction movie called The Wandering Earth. I was expecting to hear the actors speaking Chinese with English subtitles, but they had dubbed the entire movie in English. I generally don't like overdubs, but since weren't a lot of close up scenes, you really didn't notice any lip-sync problems. This movie has gotten good reviews and was a big hit in China. It was interesting how the Chinese see an apocalyptic future. There were no aliens popping out of people's chests. There was no breakdown of civil society. Instead, humanity managed to pull itself together to save the planet from being swallowed up by an exploding sun. The premise of the movie was that to escape the sun turning into a red giant, we could stop the earth's rotation, attach 10,000 giant fusion rockets to one side of the planet and propel it out of the solar system on a 2,500 year journey to another star. The movie was well done with special effects equal to anything Ridley Scott or James Cameron could come up with. I'll admit I've been intrigued with stories of the Earth leaving the solar system ever since I read A Pail of Air by Fritz Lieber when I was a kid. I don't think the sun is going to blow up in 2061 though. A little too soon.

I've been eating Cadence Kitchen flash frozen meals all week. These flash frozen dinners are delicious and I've had no heartburn problems at all. I think these meals contain too much salt though. That's probably one reason they taste so good. Restaurant chefs always use too much salt as well. I've been on a low sodium diet for a long time and can really feel the effects of too much salt. I guess it's back to a more bland diet when Janet returns.

The AT&T service technician is supposed to come out to the house tomorrow morning. Coincidently, the Internet has been working fine today. There was one little glitch early this morning, but mostly it's been smooth sailing. I hope this guy can find a problem even when it's not very evident. I hate dealing with intermittent problems. This is like when you hear a funny noise in your car and the noise goes away as soon as you take it in for repairs. We'll see how the service call goes. Hopefully, I'll still be able to go to the gym.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3501

Maybe I'm getting too much sleep. I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. Since I wasn't tired, I took this as a sign that I should walk early. Not that it made any difference but it was surprisingly cool outside. The air quality was terrible though. My new watch told me so.

I had thought the water level at the lake was so low because of the Summer heat. I guess I was wrong. I saw something on the news today that said a piece of the dam that regulated water level had broken. The dam had sprung a leak. This wasn't a piece of high-tech equipment that broke. It was just a big piece of wood. That doesn't seem hard to replace. Maybe I'll see the water level rising again soon.

I didn't see much on my walk today. I took a better camera with me to photograph Egrets but they were too far away. Yesterday they were close to shore. Birds are unpredictable. Today the only thing I could find to photograph was a small lizard.

Instead of going out for breakfast this morning I stayed home and finished off the fresh fruit. I should have gone out. I think the breakfast restaurant tradition started in the first place because four smoothies in a row was all I could handle. While I was eating I tried to figure out some of the new functions of my watch. In addition to providing air quality warnings and electrocardiograms, it also did a lot of other cool stuff. Maybe it wasn't such a bad purchase after all.

I noticed that some new viewing dates have opened up at McDonald Observatory, so I started investigating a trip out there in more detail. Planning a trip was more complicated than I anticipated. Special viewing nights at the big telescopes are limited to eight people and even thought viewing dates for the Fall were just announced a few days ago, they were already filling up fast. Since astronomy trips are fairly worthless unless you have clear skies, I tried to see if there were special long range weather forecasts for astronomers. Surprise. Actually there are. I looked at several potential observing dates in September at the 82" telescope and there was a high probability of thunderstorms. Not good. It looked like there was going to be a clear day in August when there was an opportunity to visit the smaller 36" telescope, but there was only one opening left. I think Janet wants to go on this trip, so that wasn't good.

Were all these forecasts event even remotely realistic? Usually the weather forecasts for tomorrow are wrong in Dallas. How can you accurately predict the weather for September? It's a mystery to me. Every day in September had a specific prediction though. Forecasts for August were even more specific. Can I trust these forecasts? I'd hate to drive all the way out to Alpine, Texas and have it rain on my viewing night.

Planing the trip was so complicated that I decided to think about it for a while. Do I drive or take Amtrak? Oddly, you can take the train to this small Texas town. Which telescope is the best? There are three to choose from: the 102", the 82", and the 36". At first glance you'd think that the biggest one would be the best, but that isn't always the case. Viewing nights for the 102" inch telescope are only offered when there is a full moon. The smaller 36" telescope is available on a few select nights where there are dark skies. Also, tickets are not refundable if it rains at the last minute. You just go listen to an astronomer talk instead of looking through the telescope. It's all kind of a crap shoot. You just have to pick a day and hope you get lucky.

So far, I haven't been very lucky with my U-Verse service. The fiber optic line still goes down periodically throughout the day. A technician is coming over on Sunday, but I bet he isn't going to have the patience to diagnose an intermittent problem like this. I bet he just replaces all the equipment instead.

Smokey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3500

The Internet keeps going out. It's on for a while and then it's off for a while. After spending an hour on the phone with tech support last night, the best they could come up with was "turn it off and then turn it on again." I had a hard time explaining to then that resetting the router and fiber optic box might restore things for a little while but it wasn't really fixing anything. I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is. A couple of days ago the U-Verse guys were installing new service for one of my neighbors. I'm pretty sure that when they attached the neighbor's fiber optic cable to the junction box at the end of the street they screwed up my cable. Hard to explain this to a guy halfway around the world who is just trying to run a diagnostic program. Intermittent connections caused by loose wires can be very difficult to diagnose remotely.

I replaced my Apple Watch with a new model today. I'll be the first to admit that this was a ridiculous way to use my gift card from the electric company since it basically only covered the sales tax. What can I say. I was bored and I hadn't bought anything form the Apple Store in a long time. Did I need a new watch? The old Apple Watch worked fine. You couldn't update the system anymore and it didn't do fancy things like create electrocardiograms, but it did everything I needed. I doubt that I'll even activate the built in phone on the new watch. My phone bill is high enough as it is.

It took me a while to figure out how to pair the watch with my phone. I'd done this before but it seemed easier last time. I finally learned after a few Google searches that it is best to pair a new watch in a dark room. Who knew? There was certainly no mention of a dark room on the minuscule piece of paper that served as instructions. I finally got the watch paired and it works fine. It's basically just like my old watch.

I don't know if I have the patience to call AT&T tech support again tonight. They're going to need to send a technician out to the house but I know I'll have to do all the same stupid diagnostic tests I did last night before they'll schedule a visit. I hope they don't have to install a new router because then I'll have to reprogram every single WiFi device in the house. Been there, done that.

My walks are starting to get boring. I'm getting tired of counting Egrets and memorizing silly objects I see along the way. I am starting to feel like I'm in better shape, but walking takes up a lot of time. So far, this isn't really a problem because I have more time than I know what to do with. I just need to find a better way to waste my time. Before you suggest taking a class, binge watching movies on Netflix, traveling, or volunteering, I've already considered those things. I'm looking for something else.

There wasn't much trash in the bin when I took it out to the curb tonight. Janet must generate more trash than I do. I don't think I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. I bought too much fruit this week. Actually, I bought exactly the same amount that I bought last week but forgot that Janet wasn't here to eat hers. I am such a creature of habit. I guess I'll make one more smoothie before the fruit goes bad.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3499

It's weird to go this long without talking to anyone. I don't spend a huge amount of time talking with Janet but I rarely talk to anyone else. Usually there isn't a need. After I finish the blog each evening there is nothing more to say. I guess I must have talked to the dogs in the past when Janet was traveling. The house is strangely silent now.

It is particularly quiet right now because U-Verse is down again. Usually this is our most expensive utility bill but the service is not particularly reliable. I'd switch to another provider, but Spectrum is even worse. The worst thing about U-Verse is that when you do have a problem you have to talk with an offshore customer service representative who can barely speak English. It's very frustrating to talk with someone on the other side of the world when you know there's probably just a problem with the line a few blocks away. I try to avoid calling these people because the problem sometimes fixes itself in a couple of hours. I always have an alternate way to get on the Internet. AT&T disappoints me frequently but my trusty little T-Mobile WiFi hotspot hasn't failed me yet.

The water level in the lake has been slowly dropping all month. It's been very dry. Today I noticed that one of the shallow bays had completely dried up. Like the age spot on my arm, this also seemed to happen overnight. I haven't seen the water level this low in many years. I guess we need some rain.  The odd thing was that it wasn't particularly hot today. On the news they even said we were having a cold wave. It's strange to think of 80 degree temperatures as a cold wave, but this is Texas.

I was happy to see the cooler temperatures. I knew they wouldn't last long so I made a point to mow the grass this afternoon. There is still a big dead spot where the huge pile of brush used to be but maybe it will fill in if we ever get some rain. This is the perfect time to make repairs to the roof, but I haven't received any of the silicon coating the roofer promised yet. Probably there will be a can of the stuff on my doorstep on the day it rains.

It's hard to find anything to photograph in the middle of July. The meadows in the park are becoming brown and dry. Most of the wildflowers are gone now except for the Firewheel plants and a few Morning Glories. I did find a Buttonbush that had seen better days. The spherical flowers would have been much more impressive if I'd found them a month ago.

I hate how clumsy I've become. I cut my finger with a kitchen knife while I was slicing a watermelon this afternoon. I rarely even eat watermelon but I had to go slicing one today. I guess I learned my lesson. This wasn't a bad cut but it feels like a paper cut right on the tip of my index finger. Irritating. I'm feeling this thing every time I type.

Every year I get this small gift card from the electric company. It's some kind of rebate for being a good customer. I wish they would just lower my bill a little instead. I almost always buy stuff online now, so I never know what to do with this card. To make matters worse, the card always expires a few months after the electric company sends it out. It's about to expire now so I need to go out and buy something I don't need before it becomes useless like it did last year. Maybe I'll do this tomorrow. Hey, I already mowed the grass. I need something to do.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3498

I noticed a big brown blotch on my arm today that wasn't there yesterday. It didn't hurt and it didn't look like a bite or infection. At first I thought the blotch was just grease but it didn't wash off. Was this an age spot? I recall that my Dad had blotches like this all over his arms and face when he got old. Was it melanoma? I doubt it, but melanoma is very common. Was it just some minor internal bleeding? Maybe I shouldn't be taking low-dose aspirin anymore. The weird thing is that this just happened overnight. I swear the blotch wasn't there yesterday. Getting old is full of surprises.

I kept switching between the morning news and an old rerun of Independence Day on TV as I was eating breakfast this morning. It became apparent after just a few minutes that just about the only thing that could ever unite humanity would be aliens. Humans have been fighting each other over ridiculous differences for centuries. It's impossible to turn on the TV these days without being bombarded with news about some sort of conflict. If only aliens would invade us. That would probably be the only thing that might actually bring people together.

To be fair, I don't think animals are much nicer than we are. Mockingbirds are horrible. They are always fighting with other birds. I've been dive bombed by angry Mockingbirds several times and poor Dash suffered a direct hit once. Raptors and Owls look magnificent but whenever I see them they always seem to be grabbing smaller animals with their talons and eating them. Don't even get me started about ducks. I've seen ducks do things during nesting season that should land them in jail.

Today was pretty uneventful. I paid a few bills and wrote a letter to my sister. While I was at the post office I asked the postmaster if they had any of the new Apollo 11 commemorative stamps. He said that local post offices didn't sell commemorative stamps anymore. You had to buy them online. This kind of sucks. I'm not a stamp collector, but I always liked to pick up some interesting new stamps while I was at the post office.

I sent friendly reminder messages to several of the repair people who have been ignoring me. So far none of them have replied. I don't know why this always has to be a battle. The first battle is finding someone good in the first place. The second battle is getting them to show up. And the third battle is getting them to come back when you discover that they didn't do the job properly.

I'll bug a few more people tomorrow but I don't really expect anything dramatic to happen. These are the dog days of summer. Nobody wants to deal with problems. I don't want to deal with problems either but I sure would like to get the torn spots in the roof fixed before it rains again.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3497

I think Jenga is going to get a very good home. I went up to the boarding kennel today and met the young couple who wants to adopt him. I liked them. They were both very nice and much more conscientious than I was at their age. For what it's worth, I gave them my blessing. I doubt that I will see Jenga again. He will be in his forever home later this week.

I thought it was hot today, but it was much worse last year at this time. 111 degrees makes today's high in the mid-nineties seem mild by comparison. The truth is that late July is always bad in Dallas. I don't know how we survived last summer with Dash being sick. We certainly took our walks much earlier in the day. I got to know the morning stars pretty well last summer. Walking this early is actually enjoyable if you don't mind the lack of sleep. I'm enjoying getting a good night's sleep these days, so I deal with the heat.

I also need to deal with the people who were going to help me with the house. The tree guy still hasn't returned to remove what is left of the big Elm tree that fell on June 10. My roofer hasn't brought over the silicon material he promised me. I haven't got a bid to fix the greenhouse yet either. Come to think of it, there is still one roofer who hasn't sent me the bid for replacing the roof he promised me back in February. Most repair people seem to operate on the squeaky wheel principle. If you aren't hounding them constantly, they just forget about you.

It took me a little longer to make my smoothie this morning. I've been spoiled for a long time. Janet likes fresh fruit in the morning too, so she always fixed mine while she was cleaning hers just before she went to bed. Every morning there was just the right amount of fruit in a big aluminum bowl waiting for me in the refrigerator. I don't think I got the proportions quite right this morning. I'll add a few more strawberries to the mix tomorrow morning.

All I seem to think about these days is walking and eating. It's amazing that I can stretch these simple activities out to fill an entire day. It was a nice change of pace to go see Jenga this afternoon. The only thing I didn't enjoy was driving on the freeway. I hate being sandwiched between speeding eighteen wheelers so much that it's just a matter of time before I start taking back roads to local appointments. I don't know if the traffic is really worse or if I just have a lower tolerance for bad drivers. It's probably a little bit of both.

Instead of watching Perry Mason last night I watched part of Alien: Covenant on the FX channel. Jeez. How many of these Alien movies are there? I've lost count. It didn't really matter that I tuned in in the middle of the movie. Just like Mad Max and Terminator sequels it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on. There seems to be a formula for these type of scripts. Of course there is a formula for Perry Mason scripts too. A very rigid formula. Probably being a Hollywood script writer isn't that different from being an advertising writer except that more money and even bigger egos are involved.

I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. There are bills to be paid, so I guess I'll start with that.

Pongo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3496

I think I've reached my limit. It basically takes me all day to take 20,000 steps. I'm certainly not walking all day, but I don't think I could go much further. I need to eat. I need to rest my feet. It doesn't hurt to take a nap between trips outside either. I see people at the gym and on my walks who are doing much more than I am, put most of them appear much younger. According to Mr. Fitbit 20,000 steps translates to over 9 miles. This isn't half bad for a 71 year old. I bet my Dad would have lived a few years longer if he'd done the same.

I was a lot better on the basketball court this morning. I still wonder about consistency, but I guess I am fairly consistent. Without a dog to wake me, I almost always get six and a half hours of sleep. I eat breakfast at 7:30 AM and dinner at 6:30 PM. I never eat lunch. I go out to eat on Friday mornings and to the gym on Sundays. If I could think of something unique to do on each day of the week, I probably would. It's nice to have a routine. The routine couldn't involve doing things with other people though. That would be way too complicated.

I went back to the grocery store on the way home from the gym. Even though I'd already stocked up for the week on Friday, there were still a few things I needed. The way Janet and I divide up shopping chores is that she always gets certain things and I get others. This never varies. I completely forget about Janet's groceries until they're gone. I imagine that I'll be going back to the store again.

When I was flipping through channels on the TV this morning, I noticed that CBS was gone. This is a big, basic channel to disappear, so I was wondering what was going on. It turns out that CBS is having a fight with AT&T about payment and decided to pull all their content off U-Verse until they get what they want. This seems kind of nasty but it makes you realize what a tangled web of conflicting interests the business world is. A lot of shows have disappeared from Netflix too because the owners of the shows decided to start their own streaming channels. It's a good thing I don't watch television very much or I would be mad.

When I was walking today, I noticed a Facebook friend sailing on the lake. I only recognized this guy because he is always posting pictures of his boat. An orange boat is easy to recognize. A lot of people take pictures in the park. I take pictures of flowers. Almost everybody else takes selfies. I still don't understand the whole concept of selfies. Why would you want to take a picture of yourself?

I'm going to miss all the space news now that the Apollo 11 celebrations are over. For a space geek like me it was kind of nice to have non-stop coverage of space related events. It was hard to go online or turn on the TV without discovering some new bit of trivia I didn't know before. I wish people would stay interested. I'm really hoping that someone will land on Mars while I'm still alive.

I'm going up to the Dalmatian kennels tomorrow to meet with some people who are thinking of adopting Jenga. Pongo got adopted today. I'm delighted that these dogs are finding homes so quickly but I'm going to miss them. There's already a new boy getting checked out at the vet. I don't even know what his name is yet, but I'm sure I'll be photographing him soon.

Katie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3495

There have been so many documentaries about Apollo 11 this week that I feel I know more about the space program now than I did when all this was actually happening. Looking back, it is amazing that John Kennedy's promise to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the decade was actually fulfilled. Kennedy himself was starting to have second thoughts about the huge expense of the program just before he was assassinated in Dallas. I don't think we could do something like this today. Can you imagine today's politically correct politicians putting Wernher von Braun in charge of the space program? During the 60's Americans hadn't become tribal yet. Despite all the unrest surrounding the Vietnam War, most Americans still had a lot of national pride. They really wanted to beat the Russians to the moon. I can't even imagine 400,000 people working toward a common goal anymore. That's how many people the Apollo program employed at its peak. Just about everyone my age knows someone who had a connection to the Apollo program.

I'm glad we persevered and kept going despite all the initial failures. It proved that you can do just about anything if you stay focused and put your mind to it. Many of those early space pioneers genuinely believed we would be living in cities on Mars by now. It was definitely possible. They didn't realize how fickle politicians can be and how quickly dreams can fade. When I was a kid I thought we'd be living on Mars by now too. I remember reading articles about space travel in my Dad's copies of Scientific American. We were already designing atomic powered rockets in Nevada during the late 1950's. Project Orion was going to take us to Mars using a rocket powered by firing a series of nuclear bombs. What could possibly go wrong?

I didn't feel like fixing our usual Saturday breakfast. I didn't watch old Have Gun Will Travel episodes while I was eating either. I found some granola that was still sitting in a box in the kitchen that I'd bought over a year ago. It tasted fine. Apparently granola lasts forever. I went shopping for fresh fruit early today, hoping to get my morning walk in before it got too hot. Once again I failed. I think it was too hot before I woke up this morning. At least there was a breeze. It was a warm breeze but it was better than nothing.

My feeble attempts at being useful today were limited to defrosting the small refrigerator and washing the car. I don't count the long walks as being useful. I'm not even sure they are healthy in all this heat. It's something to do though. I do feel like I'm starting to get some muscle tone back. In the Winter these walks might even be enjoyable.

It's time to go to the gym again. It would make sense to use the indoor track for walks but I'm reluctant to do this. I like my rituals. I've convinced myself that memorizing all the details of my route will keep my memory sharp. I make a point to look for specific objects every several hundred yards. So far, I'm memorized a lot of signage, know where to look for Egrets and turtles, and am slowly learning the names of all the plants I see. I imagine I'll take 20,000 steps tomorrow. That's what I do on Sundays.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3494

After breakfast this morning, I went and got groceries for the week. Usually Janet cooks on the weekends and I eat leftovers during the week. No leftovers this week. Janet is on vacation with her sister and the refrigerator is empty. I'm not much of a cook so I got some more of those Cadence Kitchen flash frozen meals. I was real excited when this concept was initially introduced, but I'd almost forgotten about the stuff. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the company had added a bunch of new dishes to their repertoire. I will be eating Pesto Shrimp, Creamy Arbol Chicken, and Pulled Pork with Pineapple this week. Did I fix any of these things tonight? Nope. I just had a hot dog.

The backyard birdbath sculpture is back together. I took the pieces over to the Creative Arts Center where my friend is teaching a metal arts class. I thought it would take weeks to fix the sculpture, but she welded it back together on her lunch break. I was surprised that the Creative Arts Center has been around since 1966 and I'd never even heard of it. It wasn't that far away either. There was some really impressive work on display and a ton of interesting classes that were open to anyone. Maybe I should take a class. Or maybe not. I am very ambivalent these days. It's nice to know that a place like this exists. At any rate, if I ever feel the urge to carve stone, fuse glass, throw pots, or learn to weave I'll know where to go.

There is so much information online about the Apollo Fiftieth Anniversary that I have become overwhelmed with facts and figures. I read the articles and watch the YouTube videos wondering why it took fifty years for the world to become interested in this stuff. Probably as soon as the anniversary is over people will forget about the moon again. When I read some of the biographies of people who worked on the Apollo program, I'm amazed at how young many of them were at the time. Some of the engineers manning the consoles at mission control weren't much older than I was. I never realized when I was in architecture school that there were people my own age working on the space program. Of course there were many people my own age fighting in Vietnam as well. All these programs about the Apollo 11 Anniversary are making me realize that 1969 was a long time ago.

I took my morning walk an hour earlier than usual today. It didn't make any difference. It was still way too hot. If I was smart, I'd get up really early like I used to when I walked Dot and Dash. Unfortunately, I'm still enjoying getting a good night's sleep. You can't really walk and sleep at the same time. I'm trying to convince myself that sweating profusely is good for you. Who knows. Maybe it is. I do drink lots of water when I return home, and I always wear a hat now, so I'm probably OK.

I wonder how long I can avoid mowing the grass. It's starting to get long again. I'm ready to patch the tears in the roof coating but the roofer hasn't delivered the silicon yet. There's a new Dalmatian that needs to be photographed too. I guess I'll start by getting more fresh fruit tomorrow morning. I'll eat a peach and then decide what to do next.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3493

I'm starting to get estimates in for fixing things around the house. The estimates seem high, but I guess they're realistic. My reference points are costs from twenty or thirty years ago. Everything is much more expensive now. A lot of the repairs are really necessary but there is no joy in doing them. I've lost interest in the house. Like most old things, it has become a money pit. I don't talk about the architecture anymore. The mid-century design used to seem cool to me but now it is just a place to live. I definitely can't see moving anymore. The house is paid for.

The roofer has promised to bring me some more of the special silicon coating so I can patch some new small tears in the elastomer myself. I'm OK with this. I don't want to push my luck and demand that he bring a crew out to the house again. He's been out here a lot over the years. I just hope he brings the silicon stuff before it rains again.

My sculptor friend said she'd see about fixing the broken sculpture. It's really a bird bath, but it is very artistic. I need to bring the broken pieces to a school where she is teaching tomorrow. Maybe she will weld the thing back together on the spot. She is teaching a welding class.

Although the magazine won't be published until early August I keep hoping to find an advance copy of Spaceflight Magazine in the morning mail. Even a PDF file of the layout in my inbox would be welcome news. I won't be a pest and bother the editor, but it's hard to wait. I really want to see this. Maybe seeing the article in print will inspire me to do something even better in the future.

I certainly need some inspiration at this point. The dog days of summer are wearing me down. The weather is too hot. I feel too poor. Nothing seems exciting at all. I continue to spend my days taking long walks and sweating profusely. I don't read a lot anymore and I've already seen the two summer movies that seemed halfway interesting. I've had a gift card in my wallet for months now and I can't even think of anything to spend it on. The card expires at the end of the month so I guess I'll have to think of something.

I haven't tired of the new neighborhood restaurant yet, so I'll probably go back there again tomorrow morning. Pancakes or omelets? Such big decisions. I learned that my favorite clothing store is having their big end of summer sale, but who needs new clothes to walk in the park? It's weird to have no desire to buy things anymore. Buying things sustained me for years.

I guess writing sustains me now. The desire to have something to share will eventually force me to do interesting things again. It's kind of embarrassing to write about nothing.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3492

Occasionally I look back at old posts to see if anything has changed. I'd almost forgotten that on this day in 2014 Dot became very sick and had to go to the emergency vet. A few days later we learned that she had a golf ball sized tumor in her intestines and needed emergency surgery. The tumor turned out to be cancerous and we spent the rest of the year nursing her back to health. Dash was still recovering from cancer at that point as well. I guess things have changed a bit.

I don't miss all the medical emergencies, but I do miss the dogs. Life is very quiet now. I'm getting plenty of sleep these days but it's harder to find a reason to get up in the mornings. Keeping the dogs healthy and happy gave me a purpose, but it also wore me out. Maybe I'll discover a new purpose, but it may take a while. I'm in no hurry at this point.

Hot summer days have always had a slow monotony to them. When you wake up hot, all you really want to do is get through the day. This year I seem to be able to get through the day without really doing anything. Making the bed and fixing and drinking a rather large and somewhat complex fruit smoothie usually takes me to 10 AM. After checking my e-mail I take my first walk of the day. In theory I walk early to avoid the heat of the day. The problem is that I'm so slow that I'm never early. Usually by the time I've finished my three mile morning trek, it is almost noon.

I try to do a few chores during the middle of the day. Usually this just amounts to paying bills, doing laundry, picking up prescriptions, and going to the post office. Every once in a while I vacuum or go up on the roof, but not very often. Today I wrote a letter to my sister because I knew I had to go to the post office anyway. My second walk of the day is always shorter than the first. By the time 4 PM arrives I realize that there is no point in killing yourself.

I was a little disappointed with today's auction results, but at least my lot sold. I think I'm done with auctions for a while. I wish I could stay interested in downsizing because I've got a long way to go. Unfortunately, acquiring things is much more interesting to me than disposing of them. Some people seem to find real joy in lightening their load, but I'll probably always remain a pack rat at heart. It would be nice to clean out my office and start fresh, but when I look around it seems impossible. Probably the best I can do is just try to restrain myself from buying new useless stuff I don't really need.

Maybe I should go to Adult Space Camp after all. Some of the activities make me nervous, but that could be exactly what I need. It would certainly give me something interesting to write about. New experiences are easy to write about. It's much harder to write about nothing. I think I proved that again today.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3491

I guess I was surprised that the carpenter actually showed up. My expectations are pretty low these days. I liked the guy. His life seemed like the carpenter's version of mine. He'd worked for a number of large construction companies and employed other people himself before concluding that he was happiest working alone. He asked all the right questions and seemed knowledgable. If his bid seems reasonable, he'll be the guy I use to rebuild the greenhouse. Hopefully, by the end of the Summer I can cross this task off my list.

I also called a sculptor friend to see if she could repair a backyard sculpture that got broken during the same June storm that destroyed the greenhouse. Since I was feeling industrious, I climbed up on the roof to see if I could patch some small tears in the elastomer coating using the Liquid Rubber in a Can that I bought at Costco a few weeks ago. After examining the area carefully, I chickened out and begged the roofer who's trying to avoid me to bring me a new supply of the Armor Flex silicon material instead. If I use anything else, I think the repair will fail because silicon only sticks to silicon. The Liquid Rubber in a Can also had all sorts of danger warnings in very small print in the can. I don't have a good feeling about this stuff.

I was a little envious to learn that several of the folks I went to Kennedy Space Center with were participating in Apollo 11 50th Anniversary events today. One got invited to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama to hear Buzz Aldrin and other Apollo era astronauts speak at a special 50th Anniversary Dinner. Another was at the Smithsonian in Washington DC for the unveiling of the restored spacesuit that Neil Armstrong wore on the moon. A third was taking his wife to see a Duran Duran concert in the Rocket Garden at the Space Center. There wasn't much on my agenda. After talking with the carpenter, I just took another very hot walk in the park.

I don't know why this summer seems like the hottest ever. Last year it was well over 100 degrees at this time. I remember a year that was so hot that the lake started to dry up. So far this year it is only in the 90's. It still seems miserable to me though. Maybe I'm just getting old. I need to start watering the grass more often. Everything is turning brown and going to die soon. I hate the thought of humongous water bills though. I find myself wishing for rain and hating rain at the same time. Basically, I'm ready for Summer to be over.

Fifty years ago this morning Apollo 11 started its journey to the moon. There certainly wasn't anything momentous going on today. As I channel hopped while I was drinking my smoothie for breakfast the only things on the news was more of the endless bickering you see in Washington DC these days. I'm enjoying all the documentaries about the Apollo 11 Anniversary, but I wish something equally exciting was going on now.

In lieu of excitement, I picked up a prescription at the pharmacy and finished updating the Dalmatian Rescue website. At least I did something today.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3490

I finally got some better pictures of Charlie when we visited the Dalmatian Rescue kennels today. He's a hard boy to photograph because he never stays still. I wanted a picture where his ears looked nice, his tongue wasn't hanging out, and there wasn't a ball in his mouth. Eventually I got one.

All the dogs have adjusted well to being in the kennel. They get a lot of attention, are well fed, and are recovering from the medical problems many of them had when they entered the program. They all seem so normal now that I don't think any of them will have any problems adjusting to life in the forever homes each of them will find soon.

We spend a lot of time at the boarding kennel so I don't take a morning walk on Monday's anymore. I still had time for a leisurely breakfast and a few errands before we left for the kennel, but that was about it. I had just enough time to pay some bills, go to the post office, and pick up a few things at Home Depot before we left.

I still had to take some sort of walk when we returned late in the afternoon. This was probably a mistake, but I'm addicted to those Fitbit steps. It was really hot and humid today. I had to stop several times to wet down my shirt and hat in a nearby water fountain. The Pelican has returned but the Egrets are gone. I guess these birds don't like to share the same water. There were water turtles basking on several semi-submerged logs. I guess they liked the sun better than I did.

I'm finally starting to get some bids for the last piece of art I put up for auction. I guess lowering the reserve made a difference. This is just an online auction so there is no drama. Maybe that's for the best. This piece got no attention at all when it was offered at a big auction in New York several months ago. I wish I had more art to unload. The bills for my trip to Florida are starting to come in and it is obvious that travel can be just as expensive as collecting things. I think travel is the way to go now though. When you collect memories they don't take up a lot of space.

I wish I didn't have problems with heartburn. I had some leftover pizza for dinner and I can already tell that it's going to be a long night. Pizza, spaghetti, and chili are just about the only things that give me problems. It's a shame because I love these things. We had steaks last night and a chicken casserole over the weekend and I had no problems at all. Whenever I eat vegetarian meals I don't have any problems either. It's clear that I shouldn't eat pizza, but I hate to give it up entirely. Every once in a while I just resign myself to heartburn.

A carpenter is coming over tomorrow to give me an estimate on repairing the greenhouse. If I like the guy I may get some bids on fixing other things around the house as well. There's certainly plenty of things that need to be fixed. It's hard to find an experienced carpenter who will work on small jobs. I don't know if this guy's any good, but one of my neighbors likes him a lot. I finally called the carpenter because I kept seeing his truck in front of the neighbor's house.

I'll add Charlie's new picture to the Dalmatian website tomorrow. I hope the carpenter shows up. You never know with these guys.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3489

I was terrible on the basketball court this morning. I wonder a lot about consistency. Why can I sink free throws like clockwork on some days and am all over the place on others? You'd think that over time I'd become more and more consistent. Why don't I sleep the same length every night. If my days are consistent, why aren't my nights? I like consistency. I eat the same things and wear the same things over and over. Apparently nature likes a little variety though. Every day seems to have at least one surprise.

There's a sound system at the gym and I always try to remember who is singing the songs. My memory fails me at times. When I heard Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, it took me a little while to remember that Annie Lennox was singing. It took me a little longer to remember that Dave Stewart was her partner. I never could remember the name of the band. I had to look it up when I got home. Jeez. How could I forget the Eurythmics.

Memories are weird. I read an article recently that said that forgetting things was good for the brain and might actually make you smarter. If that's the case I must be a genius. I forget a lot. It's amazing how many memories remain though. One memory often triggers another and all of the sudden you are remembering something that happened fifty years ago in vivid detail. Researchers now say that people who tend to forget unnecessary information are better at problem solving and less prone to depression. I wish I'd heard about this theory years ago. I used to think my forgetfulness was a curse rather than a blessing. I've described my brain to others as a tape loop like those flight recorders in airplanes. After a while new information overwrites the old and you start fresh again. This probably saved me in advertising. I used to do a lot of bank advertising. Basically all bank advertising is the same. If I wasn't continuously reinventing the wheel and starting over, I probably would have gone nuts.

It seemed harder to get my requisite 20,000 steps today. This was puzzling too. I should have had more energy because the weather was cooler and it wasn't miserable outside. It was actually a pretty nice day. Why was I tired today? I certainly got plenty of sleep. I think about these things while I walk. I don't really dwell on them though. I probably spend more time counting ducks than I do having deep thoughts.

Someone asked me recently whether I'd ever considered going to Adult Space Camp in Alabama. Actually, yes. I looked at their web site once and immediately noticed that training involved spending time in a multi-axis simulator and scuba diving in the underwater neutral buoyancy trainer. For someone who routinely gets sick on cruise ships and had difficulty flying a Cessna 152 in a straight line without throwing up, this might not be for me. Maybe spending an evening with an astronomer during a special viewing night at McDonald Observatory's 82-inch Otto Struve Telescope is more my speed.  Janet and most of my friends like to visit new places. I seem to like learning new things instead.

I doubt that I'll be learning anything new tomorrow. We'll probably visit the Dalmatians again though. Monday seems the best day to go to the kennel. Charlie needs a better picture. Now that he's learned to sit still for a treat, maybe I can finally get a decent portrait.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3488

It's been three months since Dash died. There are new routines now. I can't say that life has returned to normal because it still seems normal to have dogs in the house. There was at least one Dalmatian in our home for over 30 years. Dogs still matter to us but I have to admit that it's nice to not have huge vet bills or the responsibility of deciding what is right for your best friend when the end is approaching. Janet volunteers with a local rescue group now. We both enjoy visiting the Dalmatians once a week. For now this is enough. We're traveling more now and doing things that weren't possible when caring for sick dogs was a 24/7 responsibility. Although it is sometimes tempting to take a dog home with us when we visit the Dalmatians at the boarding kennel, I realize that these dogs are finding fabulous homes. That's all that matters. If and when we're ready for a dog again, I'm sure there will be a dog that's ready for us.

I'm trying to do everything earlier now since it is so hot. I thought I'd find fresher fruit at the grocery store if I shopped early, but it doesn't seem to matter. Often stores get fresh deliveries daily, but you can't depend on it. I've noticed that the best strawberries are usually in the bottom boxes. Produce managers put the older fruit on top, hoping that people will buy it first. I sort through all the boxes, trying to find the best. Peaches are weird. Specific varieties are usually in the store for only a month and then you'll find a new variety. Not that it matters, but I'm gradually learning which varieties I like best. I eat a lot of peaches in the summer because they aren't even available in the winter. Most of you know that a fungal disease is gradually destroying the Cavendish banana around the world and this fruit might not be available soon. What am I going to do without my favorite bananas? You'd think that someone who was so interested in fruit would be equally interested in vegetables. Nope. I usually skip the vegetable aisle.

I'm conflicted about food. I really like pork, but feel guilty eating it since pigs are nice, exceptionally smart animals. I'm not sure that vegans are doing themselves any favors. I've known some very unhealthy vegans. I've known some very healthy vegans too, but I do believe that humans are basically carnivorous animals. So are dogs. Dogs seem to thrive on a raw diet. I've often wondered if the high incidence of cancer in dogs is because of the heavily processed food most of them eat.

I was amused to learn that the basic ingredients used to make Beyond Meat and those Impossible Burgers is very similar to the ingredients found in high end dog food. The only real difference is the spices used to make these products taste like meat. These meat substitutes have become very popular recently but they're basically just dog food. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I always thought our dogs ate better than we did.

When I was growing up in Alaska, everybody hunted. People has big freezers in their garages and neighbors traded game with each other. Dad was more of a fisherman, but he often traded salmon and trout he'd caught for Moose steaks or ducks. There was an honest simplicity to all this. It was the complete opposite of factory farming. We try to buy cage free eggs and grass fed beef but it's probably just a token gesture. The world has changed. We're not that far away from Soylent Green.

If you're wondering why I'm talking about food today it is because I didn't really do anything. I could have summed up today in a single sentence: Ate breakfast, bought groceries, walked, and blogged.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3487

Some days are very uneventful. I had a different type of omelet this morning when I went out for breakfast at the new place in the neighborhood. For the second week in a row they gave me free juice. I like this place. There are lots of things to try on the menu, so this will probably be my go-to place for the rest of the summer. You can tell this is a neighborhood restaurant. There are lots of older customers and lots of young families. No singles at all.

I tried to take my first walk of the day before things got too hot. I guess I failed because I still came home drenched in sweat. There are sailing classes for kids on the lake during the summer. This morning I saw a small sailboat tipped over with other boats nearby. At first I thought this was an emergency, but several minutes later the boat was upright again. Then another boat tipped over and this one quickly became upright again as well. It finally dawned on me that the kids were being taught what to do in case their boat capsized when they were the only one on board. This would definitely be a good skill to learn.

The White Pelican has disappeared again, but I'm seeing a lot of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers lately. These birds are amazing to watch, making abrupt turns in the sky and even hovering like helicopters at times. When I see these birds I think I need to bring a better camera with me, but it is too hot for that. A heavy camera would just be an encumbrance. Did I tell you that I take most of my wildlife pictures in the winter.

The stock market set an all time high today. All three major indices closed at record levels. This is good news but it makes me a little nervous. Too many times in the past I have witnessed the market set a new record and then immediately go into a slump. I hope this won't happen again but I wouldn't be terribly surprised. It's all about fear and greed. If enough people get nervous they will take their money off the table.

On day like these when nothing is happening I charge batteries. It doesn't take long to find a piece of equipment with a dead battery in the office. I try to keep everything charged, but it's easy to forget about things. If you leave a battery uncharged for long enough it becomes useless and impossible to charge. It's a constant struggle. I thought I'd reached the end of the line with an old laptop I hadn't used in a while, but the battery light finally started glowing and by the end of the day the computer was fully charged again. I've given up on watch batteries. It's just too much trouble to keep a stock of weird little batteries and taking the back off some of these watches has become a giant pain. The watches need to go to auction. All you really need these days is a Fitbit.

I guess I'm not as patient as I thought I was. I keep wondering what my article will look like in the magazine, but I'm going to have to wait until mid-August to find out. Such a long time.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3486

Cicadas are the quintessential sound of summer in Texas. They are loud and the sound never seems to go away. I hear these insects when I wake up, during the heat of the day, and well into the night. You hear that Cicadas only appear every 17 years, but I hear them every summer. It took me a while to learn that there are two types of these insects. Annual Cicadas come out every year in July and August and Periodic Cicadas are the ones that periodically appear in massive numbers all at once. Sometimes the 17 year Cicadas appear after 21 years instead. It's confusing. I think we must have both types this year. They're everywhere. Our first Dalmatian, Spot, loved to eat these bugs. He would catch the insects while they were flying and race around the yard with them buzzing in his mouth. Luckily Dot and Dash never acquired this disgusting habit.

The Dog Days of Summer are here. Traditionally, these are the forty days beginning July 3 and ending August 11 when hot, sultry weather is at its worst. I always used to think this term had something to do with dogs panting on a hot day, but it's been around since the early Greeks who used the rising of the dog star Sirius at sunrise as a warning that drought, disease, and discomfort were on the way. For me this time of year is always when the meadows in the park turn yellow, the flowers disappear, and my electric bills go through the roof. It's not a good time to leave your dog outside either. I never seems to be happy with the weather. In the Summer I can't wait for Winter and in the Winter I can't wait for Summer.

I learned recently that the highway department is replacing a bridge near us that I use almost every day. I guess that's a bit of an exaggeration since I don't even leave the house every day, but I do use this bridge a lot. I'm dreading this. Highway construction projects take so long. I suspect there will be detours, traffic delays, and general inconvenience for several years. I wonder why they are replacing this bridge? It seems fine to me and doesn't even get all that much traffic. Nobody ever tells you the truth though. The bridge could be structurally unsound and might collapse the next time I drive over it.

It's time to take the trash out to the curb again, but where do I put it? For some reason there are lots of cars parked on the street that never used to be there. Are these visiting relative or are the neighbors just not using their driveways this summer. There is a particular spot where I always place my can and it was occupied by a car tonight. The fact that this bothered me at all must mean that I have OCD pretty bad.

I'm a little disappointed that the Chasing the Moon series is already over. I've enjoyed watching this show for the past three evenings. Now it's back to old Perry Mason episodes that I've seen three times already. I already know where I'm going to breakfast tomorrow. I liked the new breakfast place I discovered last Friday. There are a lot of tasty things on the menu that I haven 't tried yet. I'm sure I'll eventually get tired of this place too, but it ought to be a welcome diversion during the Dog Days of Summer.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day