Day 750

The last of my stop loss orders kicked in today and I'm finally rid of all the ridiculous volatility index funds and inverse shares that were supposed to protect me from a double dip in the stock market. Even though my broker loves this stuff, I've never made a dime on these complicated schemes to outwit the market. What has worked? Buying good solid companies like McDonalds and Apple has worked pretty well. If I didn't have a broker and a financial adviser, I'd probably have bought a lot more good solid companies like these.

Now that I've started taking pictures every day for Instagram, I'm starting to realize that I do the same things over and over again. At first I was proud of all the interesting little things I was able to observe, but now that I've seen each of these things twenty times, they don't seem quite so amazing anymore. I'm going to have to figure out how to insert some variety into my daily routine before my life turns into a real world version of Ground Hog Day. There are probably only so many over-easy eggs you can eat for breakfast and so many sunsets you can photograph before you go certifiably crazy.

Dash was amazingly good at training class tonight. I don't know what came over him. He would have won a ribbon if one of the trainers hadn't been a little too picky about the way he was sitting. Nevertheless, it was his best performance in months. The moody little dog made me proud. Dash is one of the smartest dogs I've ever seen, but if he's not in the mood, you're just wasting your time. This morning it was cold outside, so I put the dogs Winter coats on before their morning walk. Dash was having no part of this. He went right back to bed wearing his coat and did his best to burrow under a blanket. If I was a dog, I probably would have behaved exactly the same way.

Hunter is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 749

A lot of odds and ends today. I guess odds and ends count for something. I went up to Imaging Spectrum and bought enough ink to finish the half done cleaning cycle I'd started earlier. After I finished cleaning the printer, I made a couple of large prints, just to make sure it worked. These prints immediately went in a folio with a lot of other test prints. Since each of the 4880's eight ink cartridges costs $55 and half the ink gets used up unclogging the printer, these prints wind up being a bit pricey. A few years ago, I was able to justify the cost of maintaining this large printer, because several of my retail clients used me to create window displays for them. Now, just about every form of printing can be done online for far cheaper than it costs me to do the same thing. It's that old "economy of scale" thing.

These days I only use my large printer to make free posters for animal rescue groups. Nothing wrong with that, mind you. I just wish the whole process wasn't so expensive or time consuming. With my printer working again, I went over to my pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions and ended up standing in line forever behind some old people who seemed to have much more complicated needs than my own. I kept thinking that these people in the line might be me someday. I certainly hope not. I take way too many pills as it is.

My German client accepted my European style invoice. My watch client has started feeding me regular jobs again, now that the writing marathon appears to be over. I'm still removing employees from websites at a faster pace than adding them. I guess 2012 has started. I need to set aside some time to get my car safety inspected before the sticker on my windshield expires. Each year this process seems to get a little more difficult. Last year a young technician refused to believe that the Defender was a full time four wheel vehicle and attempted to put it on the dynamometer. That was a big mistake. Luckily I was able to get the kid to stop the test before he ruined my car.

The dogs still seem to think we're on holiday time. I had a devil of a time getting them out of bed this morning. You'd think they'd be eager to go on their morning walk, but lately snoozing under a blanket seems more appealing to them. Staying under the covers seems more appealing to me as well, but I'd never get anything done that way.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 748

Today was just like last Monday: a day that didn't know whether it was a holiday or not. We thought the Dalmatian Rescue boarding kennel would be open today, so we drove up there to photograph one of the new dogs. A sign on the door informed us that the kennel was indeed open, but only between 4:30 and 5:30 PM, so people could pick up dogs that had been boarding over the holidays. The printing and photography stores were all closed, so I couldn't buy ink and finish unclogging my large printer. I was left with few choices, so I continued to clean up my office. Today, I made enough progress that the place is actually starting to look presentable. Mostly all I've been doing for the past two days is throwing away useless piles of paper and putting everything else back in its proper drawer or shelf. Yes, I'll admit it: tidy is better.

I finally got my German client's invoice figured out in Euros and sent it off this afternoon. I probably got it wrong again. I almost always do. Seems like it would be easier to just pay me in dollars, but I guess these currency conversion jobs are worth the trouble, since I always end up getting a little more than I thought I would. Too bad I didn't do this job last January. The Euro was worth a lot more back then.

I guess it's back to work tomorrow. The holidays didn't seem nearly long enough this year, probably since both Christmas and New Year's came on a Sunday. January means it's time to get another safety inspection sticker for my car. That's something that's always easy to forget. I'd better not forget that quarterly estimated taxes are due in January too, especially since I completely forgot about them in September. Will my tenant stay in the rent house another year? Will I get any more new clients? Will I be forced to get my wisdom teeth removed? Will the stock market finally go up enough for me to get back to where I was before the big crash? Stay tuned, and we'll all find out together.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 747 - New Year's Day

The dogs had fun today. There were lots of walks, a trip to the dog park, and several tasty holiday plates to lick. I'm sure they'd prefer to live like this everyday, but on most days Janet and I work while the dogs spend their time sleeping. Nobody did much sleeping today. After staying up way too late last night watching a Top Gear marathon on TV, we all got up surprisingly early.

The smell of cooking permeated the air for most of the day. While Janet cooked, I attacked a large pile of papers that has been accumulating in one corner of the office since late May. Most of these papers were old insurance and financial statements that I kept because I didn't really understand them when they first arrived. If I get a bill in the mail, I'll pay it right away. If I get a spreadsheet or financial chart in the mail however, I'll usually just throw it in a big box to deal with later. I guess later came today.

Most of the paper ended up going straight into the paper shredder, but a few documents ended up being transferred to another brown box because they still seemed important enough to deal with later. I didn't really deal with any of the paper today. What would be the point, since most of it was mailed to me last Summer. I really should check the "I'd like to go paperless" box on some of these things. Maybe this year I"ll stop saving the paper entirely. I used to be so meticulous about saving everything for my accountant, until he revealed to me last year that he didn't even read it. "If I actually looked at all those ring binders you send me," he said. "I'd have to charge you a lot more." OK. I think I'm getting the picture now. All my accountant wants is a disc with my Quickbooks files. My stockbroker doesn't like to send me paper because when I actually do look at it, it usually makes me mad. And what about all those things from the health insurance company that say "this is not a bill" even though they look like a bill. What's that all about. Maybe I will go paperless this year.

I tried to unclog my big printer today and ran out of ink before the cleaning process could be completed. I probably shouldn't have even bought a new large format printer. Making huge prints used to seem real important to me when I was interested in doing gallery shows. I don't think gallery shows are worth the trouble anymore. It usually costs more to frame a large show than you make in sales. The more shows you have, the more money you lose. After a while you end up with a storage warehouse full of unsold pictures. I've loaned pictures to clients and friends all over town, and I still have a storage warehouse full of unsold photos.

I wonder what surprises 2012 has in store for me? Even though I think I know it all, there is always something major that totally catches me by surprise. I hope my health holds out for a few more years. It was kind of touch and go this year. I guess I ought to count my blessings though. I'm actually more active than I was ten years ago. I can still fit into the same size jeans I wore in college. Even though my liver is a bit dodgy and I'm a bit too close to becoming a diabetic for my comfort zone, everything still basically works. We'll just take things a year at a time.

I'm not even going to wish for any more work this year. I've got all the work I can handle. I do wish all my clients the best though. Maybe if their business improves in 2012, they can afford to pay me a bit more.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 746

Another year sails off into the sunset. I've still got things on my to-do list from last July that I haven't finished yet. I guess it doesn't really matter. There's always next year. I saw something on the Internet the other day that showed a copy of an old New Year's resolution list made by singer Woody Guthrie. The list contained items like "Remember to brush your teeth" and "wear clean clothes every day." The list was all pretty basic, with the exception of one item that said "Write a new song every day," I think Woody had it right. A lot of grandiose plans never materialize. When you concentrate on the little things, however, and keep plugging away day after day, the result can be grander than you ever imagined. Life is just a collection of a million little details. I don't think anything life changing can happen until you take of the little things first.

I did a lot of little things today. In that regard it was just like any other day. Although I've made a lifestyle out of doing the laundry, photographing inconsequential things within a mile of my house and writing stories about my dogs, I will admit that there are times when my obsession with minutia goes too far. Today, I found myself obsessing about why the trash guys only took half my trash on Friday. They literally emptied exactly half of my trash container and left the rest of the trash untouched. Why? Is there some weird union rule about the number of black bags they can put in the truck? Were they being lazy? Or maybe they got distracted by my neighbor's trash. Of course there's always the possibility that they took all the trash and some some late rising neighbor dumped their trash into my container after the truck had already left. I'll never know.

Before I stop obsessing about little things that don't matter, have you ever noticed that when you start reading the instruction manual for that new electronic gizmo you just got, the first thing you are instructed to do is "Set the Clock?" Everything seems to have a clock in it nowadays. When I got a new TV, the first thing I was instructed to do was set the clock. The same thing happened with every new camera I've bought in the last five years. My phone has a clock. My computer has a clock. Today I was testing a new audio mixer, and sure enough, the first thing the instructions told me to do was set the clock. What on earth does an audio mixer need a clock for? Pretty soon I'll be setting the clock on my electric toothbrush.

I hope all you guys have a very Happy New Year. I'll probably watch a little football and I'm sure a trip to the dog park is in the cards as well.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 745

I think I'm ready to start 2012 with a clean slate. I've got the new orphans added to the animal rescue sites I manage. I've completed my watch articles. I've sent all the content for my oil and gas project off to Germany. I've even finished most of my bookkeeping and accounting for the year.

Now it's on to projects of a more personal nature. I discovered that nobody's referring me for a MRI because my doctor is on a skiing vacation. Still have to resolve that one. I need to get the furnace folks out to the house again too. The furnace is actually behaving worse after its Winter service than before. I have a feeling that I'm going to have a major problem unclogging my large format printer soon, because I haven't turned it on in over three weeks. I've just been too busy.

Janet wants to see the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the DMA while it's still in town, so we may do that this weekend. We'll certainly go to a dog park. Since it's a holiday, we may even go twice. New Year's Eve itself will probably be pretty quiet. After years of playing noisy New Year's Eve parties in a rock band, I much prefer to just stay at home and watch old Dr. Who movies these days. I'm certainly looking forward to having some good champagne tomorrow evening. Although I can't drink anymore, I grant myself an exception on holidays.

I noticed that all the Adgitize widgets have disappeared on my blog today. I guess that means that Adgitize is gone for good. I'm still a bit sad to see this venture fail. I've seen so many good ideas fail over the years and so many bad ideas succeed. There's just no justice in the world sometimes.

Puppies are our Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 744

I think I achieved a weird personal best today. I managed to write six watch articles in a single day. Admittedly, most of these articles are just cannon fodder for an insatiable RSS feed, but they're still not that easy to write. Usually my input is just a photograph of the watch and I have to ferret out the rest of the information by searching the Internet. It usually takes me longer to find the information I need than it does to write the article.

I also finished the last component of my oil and gas project and sent it off to Germany. I got an "out of office" message in return, which indicates that my client is on vacation. Maybe I didn't need to be in such a hurry on this project. At any rate, I'm slowly but surely getting caught up. Maybe I'll be able to start 2012 with a clean slate.

I should have waited a little longer to do that little video about opening the B&H box. I got a better box in the mail today. I'm slowly and methodically making an investment that will allow me to do better and more elaborate live streaming videos like I did last May for Siemens. This was probably my best job of the year and I'd like to do more of these things in the future. Back when the stock market was more rational, investing in myself might have seemed risky to me. Now, with the market a schizophrenic mess, investing in my own company seems like the safest bet around.

Tomorrow is the last working day of the year. I've got three more watch articles to write and a couple of websites to update. That's about it. Hopefully I'll get finished in time to go harangue my doctors, who seem to be ignoring the fact that I need a MRI done by the end of the year. I think my chances of getting in for a MRI tomorrow are about the same as they are for the market going up 300 points. Not very likely!

Petey & Greta are Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 743

The year is definitely winding to a close. Nothing new has crossed my desk all week, but there are still plenty of ongoing jobs I need to finish. Just three more days and the year will be over. I can't say that I've really accomplished a lot this year. My business is a little better than it was last year, but my health is a little worse. Nobody I know seems immune to the bad economy you keep hearing about on TV. Most of my clients have a smaller staff than they did last year and I am definitely working with lower budgets than previous years. My rental property is harder to lease than it used to be and my investments aren't even worth talking about. In spite of all that, I'm still in business, I have no debt, and I'm still healthy enough to walk the dogs five miles a day. I probably ought to be counting my blessings.

The watch article marathon apparently isn't over yet. I thought everyone would want to call it quits after Christmas, but it seems that I still have nine articles to go to meet my quota. That's three a day for the next three days. Piece of cake!

Another photographer came up to me today while I was walking Dot and Dash and asked me what kind of camera I was using. The little Panasonic GF3 did look a bit odd with a big telephoto lens attached. The whole thing looks kind of like a lens with a package of cigarettes taped to the back. It works pretty good for dog walking though. I can quickly focus just by tapping on the LCD screen on the back and even with a zoom lens attached, it will still easily fit in a coat pocket. I'd never use this thing for a paying job, but it's certainly expanded my horizons while walking the dogs. I told the other photographer it was a dog walking camera and demonstrated its capabilities by taking a picture while both dogs were lunging at a nearby duck.

I noticed that Janet put some champagne in the refrigerator. Even though I'm not supposed to drink anymore, I'm going to be joining her in celebrating the end of a long and difficult year. Frankly, I'm glad this year is about over. Hopefully, next year will be better for all of us.

Dot & Petey are Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 742

I guess it's back to the old grind again. I spent the day trying to resolve an assortment of small problems that never should have become problematic in the first place. I tried to get an erroneous charge erased from my credit card statement. I tried to figure out which of three different doctors is responsible for referring me for the MRI that I supposedly need. I tried to figure out how to bill a European client in Euros, even though my accounting software only recognizes dollars. I tried to make an eye doctor appointment for Dash, even though the animal ophthalmologist kept thinking he was Petey, who has already died. Absolutely nothing seemed easy today, which I guess was to be expected on the first day after a major holiday. Maybe tomorrow I'll actually get some real work done.

At least the weather was nice today. I'm still trying to take a camera with me when I walk Dot and Dash, but getting decent pictures has proved to be quite a learning experience. The dogs aren't very good as photo assistants. I can't let loose of the leash, or they'll run off chasing ducks and other critters. When I hold on to the leash with one hand though, it's hard to keep the camera steady and take the shot with the other. Today I got better results than usual. I managed to get half a dozen sharp hand-held shots of today's sunset with a long telephoto lens. It's hard enough to get sharp telephoto shots without putting the camera on a tripod. When you're trying to hold onto two Dalmatians who have their hearts set on chasing nearby ducks, it's just about impossible. My technique is gradually getting better though. Maybe someday I'll write a book about how to take good pictures while taking Dalmatians on a walk.

I hope I can get this whole MRI issue resolved tomorrow. I've already met my deductible on my health insurance this year, and if they can't schedule me for the scan until next year, I know I'll end up paying a lot more. With my luck, I'll probably end up being scheduled on the same day I've got to take Dash to the eye specialist.

I know that some of you who read this blog also participate in Adgitize like I do. I was sad to receive an e-mail from Ken Brown this morning informing me that Adgitize was shutting down, because the blog advertising service wasn't making any money. I always liked Adgitize and certainly respected the way Ken Brown ran his company. This isn't the first blog advertising site to go bust and it probably won't be the last. Blogging just doesn't seem quite a popular as it was a few years ago. I'll certainly continue blogging though, even if all the widgets on my blog disappear. I enjoy blogging and I appreciate each and every one of you who have decided to make the journey with me.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 741

Today was one of those days that just couldn't decide what it wanted to be. I'd look out the window one minute and see sunshine and then an hour or so later, I'd look out the same window and it would be pouring rain. It went back and forth like this all day. The day couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a holiday or not either. Janet got the day off, but it was apparently business as usual for many people. Just about all the stores were open, but the post office was closed. Unfortunately, I didn't discover that the post office was closed until I went there with a pile of December bills to pay and saw the sign on the door that said they'd be open for business again on Tuesday.

When I was paying bills, I discovered an erroneous charge on my Mastercard statement. One of those companies that let people see their credit report online had charged me for something, even though I had never even heard of them before. When I called the company to see what was going on, they tried to sell me on the idea that their services would prevent this sort of thing. Huh? Not the best sales pitch in the world in my humble opinion. If this company can't even find its own billing errors, how is it going to police the rest of the world's fraud and incompetence?

Dot seems much better today. Her leg appears to be pretty much back to normal and we were able to return to our regular walks. I'm really glad that her limp was nothing serious. She's an older dog now, and I know we don't have an unlimited amount of time. Almost all Dalmatians develop weakness in their legs if they live long enough. She's still healthy now though, and I guess that's all that matters. We try to feed both dogs a very healthy diet and take them to the vet whenever anything appears abnormal. What more can you do? We certainly can't make them any younger.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 740 - Christmas

Dot woke up this morning limping on her left front leg. I'm not sure what's wrong, since she seemed fine when she went to bed last night. I think she just over exerted herself at our gift wrapping event yesterday. It's easy to forget she's getting older now. She spent most of the afternoon standing, instead of sleeping like she usually does. Maybe it was too much for her.

The furnace didn't come on this morning either, but by the end of the day we had heat again and Dot seemed to be walking more normally. It was a simple, but satisfying Christmas. I often feel lonely on Christmas. I don't have a lot of friends and am more or less estranged from family. I probably don't show my appreciation often enough, but I'm very grateful to have Janet and the dogs. They keep life normal.

It didn't snow this Christmas, but it certainly felt like Winter. I couldn't walk the dogs together this evening because of Dot's limp, but as Dash and I tramped through the woods, it was easy to imagine a coating of snow on everything. We returned to the smell of holiday cooking and an hour or so later everyone sat down to enjoy a delicious Christmas dinner. We had ham, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and a spicy stuffing. There weren't a lot of presents under the tree, but we don't need much at this point in our lives. I'm content.

I even managed to complete a few watch articles today. The month long writing marathon is almost over and it's not going to seem the same in January. I'll have to admit that I've learned a few things about watches and about writing this month. If I could only be this disciplined about personal projects. If I could work at the same pace on personal projects, I could have easily completed a novel by now. Personal projects are tough though. There just isn't a strong enough sense of desire pushing me onward. Maybe that's what I should have asked Santa for this year: a stronger sense of desire.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 739

We spent the afternoon wrapping gifts at the Barnes and Noble store in Plano, like we usually do on Christmas Eve. For the past several years, we've been bringing Dot and Dash with us to these events and I'm always amazed at how well behaved they are. I think the dogs are actually better in public than they are at home. They're both good little ambassadors for Dalmatian Rescue. We always do better with donations when the dogs are with us.

It's funny how much you can tell about the economy and the general state of the nation by watching people shop on Christmas Eve. People aren't buying as much as they were four or five years ago, and they certainly aren't buying as many books. We wrapped almost as many Nook eReaders today as we did books.

There were definitely fewer people in the store this year than last year. The real surprise was the absence of last minute male shoppers. Usually over two thirds of the people who come to our gift wrapping counter are men who've put off their Christmas shopping to the last possible minute. They were gone this year. I don't think all these men suddenly decided to get their shopping done early. I just think they aren't buying books anymore. I don't know what these procrastinators are shopping for these days though. Your guess is as good as mine.

I woke up this morning fulling intending to get a little work done today as well. That certainly never happened. After the time we spent getting Dot and Dash ready for their package wrapping duties and the additional time we spent at the Barnes and Noble store, the day was pretty much gone. We all had a nice dinner when we got home and the dogs are already nestled all snug in their beds. I'm not sure if visions of sugar-plums are dancing through their heads, but they do seem to be dreaming about something.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 738

The week is over, but somehow it feels like the entire year is over. Most of my clients have already left for the holiday. I still have some unresolved issues with several jobs, but I have a feeling that it's going to be hard to get an answer to my e-mails until the first of the year. None of this slowed me down today, however. I kept right on writing watch articles and I think I'm finally up-to-date on most of my website revisions.

I send my last file out about 3 PM today and then went over to Culwell & Son to get that pair of shoes I've had my eye on. I really don't buy many clothes anymore, but when I do, I almost always go to this store. Most of the salespeople have been working here for twenty years or more, and they remember everything about you. I almost always walk away with something nice, because these guys won't let you leave the store wearing something that makes you look stupid. Since I often make bad sartorial choices, this second opinion is often invaluable.

I went ahead and made the little contest video about opening a B&H package. It took me longer to submit my entry on the B&H website than it took to make the video. Once I submitted my entry, I realized that I didn't have a ghost of a chance of winning. It turns out that this was another of those contests where the winner is determined by who gets the most votes online. Dalmatian Rescue has entered some of these type of contests in the past to win pet food or money to help the dogs, and it's just about impossible to win. You need to find thousands of friends to vote for you. At any rate, I've embedded the video below in case you want to hear what my voice sounds like. The rules for the contest were simple enough: just make a short video of a package you received from B&H being opened. Since you can only open a package once, the video is a one take wonder. Feel free to leave comments. I don't have any YouTube comments yet.



We gave Dot and Dash a bath this evening. They're both getting pretty savvy about baths now. Dot refuses to even get out of the car and Dash starts howling loudly as soon as he's in the stall. They're both clean now and ready for their role as Christmas Eve ambassadors tomorrow. For quite a few years, Dalmatian Rescue has done gift wrapping at Barnes and Noble stores during the holiday season as a fundraiser. We've discovered that if you bring real Dalmatians with you to the gift wrapping event, people are much more generous with their donations. We took Dot and Dash with us last Christmas Eve and they were actually quite well behaved. Of course, we took a big bag of dog treats with us to bribe them with.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 737

Where has this year gone? Each holiday seems to arrive quicker than the last. By the time I'm ready for Halloween, it's already time for Christmas. It's been that way all year. I have a feeling that by the time my Christmas spirit kicks in, it will be New Year's Eve. It just doesn't feel like Christmas yet, and it's only three days away.

I sent my oil and gas article to Germany today for approval. I hope they like it, because I'm already on to other things. The watch article marathon continues. I try to write three articles a day, but I have a feeling that I won't need to keep up this pace much longer. Watches are popular holiday gifts. I bet when Christmas is over and Hanukkah is over a few days later, the need for a continual stream of social media watch articles will diminish considerably.

I still can't decide whether to make the little video about opening the B&H box. The box arrived today and I still haven't opened it, so I guess there's at least a part of me that wants to go ahead and shoot the video. I never win these kind of contests, so I'm sure it would be a waste of time. On the other hand, what have I got to lose? I could make a funny little video about how the dogs always get upset every time the UPS man comes to the door with a package and then I get upset a little while later when I discover that what's inside is broken. I don't think this would win the contest though.

I got a gift card in the mail today from one of my old retail clients. I guess it's not really a gift card, since I have to spend at least a $100 to get $50 off. Nevertheless, this seems like a real good discount. Maybe I'll go out tomorrow and buy myself a new pair of shoes.

Sisters are our Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 736

I got an early start today, since I needed to take Janet to the dentist for dental surgery. Somehow, by the end of the day, my extra hour totally disappeared. For a change of pace, I spent the day writing about process safety engineering in the oil and gas industry instead of writing about watches. A little different to say the least, but it still just comes down to putting words on a page.

I got an e-mail from B&H Photo today. It said they were having a contest to see who could make the best video of a B&H package being opened. Hmm. I ordered something from B&H recently and will be getting a package soon. I make videos for a living. Maybe I could win this contest. The prize is certainly pretty good: a Canon 5D Mark III. There's only one problem. I absolutely hate competitions and contests. This is a tough one.

I wasn't sure if Janet would want to go to dog class tonight, since she just returned from dental surgery a few hours ago. Apparently nothing can keep her away from training class though, so we all bundled up and went through the exercises in the cold, damp December air. I'm ready for Spring and Winter hasn't even officially started.

Tomorrow will be another busy day of writing. With any luck, I'll be able to finish the first draft of my oil and gas article and get back to my marathon of watch articles again. I know there are probably a bunch of little errands I need to do between now and Christmas, but if they involve fighting the holiday traffic, I'm probably just going to forget about them. Hey, the Christmas tree is up. The Santa Paws pictures are done. I've ordered gifts from Amazon.com. Maybe it's time to relax.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 735

The pelicans returned to the lake today. I'm always amazed at how graceful these ungainly birds seem in-flight. They glide effortlessly through the air, hardly moving their wings. On the ground, it's an entirely different story. Their beak is so large that it's surprising they can fly at all. If I kept better records, I wouldn't be surprised to discover that the pelicans return on the same day every year. It certainly seems like a year since I saw them arrive the last time.

I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot today. For a young, active dog, he certainly has more than his share of problems. The antigen shots are definitely working at clearing up his skin condition, but they are also causing him to develop big lumps under his skin whenever he receives an injection. This happened once before when there was a bad batch of the antigen, so I'm wondering if it has happened again. Dash has such sensitive skin that it appears that the antigen has to be perfect before it works at all.

I wish there was a market for dead leaves. Every year I'm amazed at how many leaves fall off our four large Oak trees. This year I'm trying to get the leaves off the roof as they fall. If I wait until they collect into a foot thick soggy mess, I'm really in trouble. These wet leaves probably weigh more than an equivalent amount of snow. They retain water like a sponge and once wet, the roof never seems to dry out. Only time will tell if my efforts to control the leaves will help reduce water damage this Winter. So far, the only thing I've noticed is that my neck is hurting again.

Now that I'm cooped up writing every day, I find myself fighting the urge to buy stuff I don't need online. I've succumbed to this urge before, mostly because it's quite enjoyable to get packages in the mail. There's nothing really wrong with this little diversion, but I'm going to have to find something less expensive to buy than camera gear. I could go broke buying camera gear just to get a package in the mail. It would be a lot cheaper to just go have a cup of coffee with someone at Starbucks whenever I began to go stir crazy. This takes too long though. Opening a package is much more efficient. It only takes a minute and it gives me a nice little lift. Then I go back to work.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 734

All day I've been hearing that a major storm was headed our way. The storm had already caused blizzard conditions in New Mexico and West Texas, but here in Dallas it was just supposed to be a lot of heavy wind and rain. At any rate, when it was time to take the dogs on their evening walk, I thought I'd have plenty of time to get back before the rain started. The sky was dark, but there was almost no wind and the approaching front didn't appear to be moving fast. The dogs weren't acting like a storm was approaching either, so off we went. Oops. We all made a serious miscalculation. About a mile from home the wind picked up suddenly and within minutes it was raining cats and dogs. We headed for home immediately, but we all got soaked anyway. All my clothes were sopping wet. Even the iPhone in one of my pockets was wet. I was amazed that it still worked. It took several bath towels to get the dogs dry again and then it took several more to mop up the wet floor. At least we didn't get struck by lightning. We saw plenty of lightning on our exceedingly wet retreat back to the house.

I'm sure that Dot didn't have a great day. She had to endure two of her least favorite things today: rain and the furnace repairman. Prior to our evening walk, she barked herself into a frenzy when the HVAC guy came to the house to give our furnace its Winter service check. I'm amazed that repair people even bother to come to the house anymore. I try my best to keep Dot quiet, but it is of little avail. She has made it her mission to keep strangers at bay. I always pen the dogs in the office with me while repair folk are in the house, but that does little to alleviate the noise. If someone needs to tell me something, we generally have to go outside to talk.

Since it was a dismal day, I spent most of my time writing again. I finished a lengthy watch article and got started on my oil and gas project. If this bad weather continues, I may even get caught up with everything before the end of the year. If you happen to be suffering from writer's block, I can report with some authority that the more you write, the easier it gets. I've undertaken a lot more writing projects this year than I did the previous year, and I'm finding that the whole process of being a wordsmith is much more straightforward than it used to be. Writing has become a routine. It's just something I do everyday now, like making the bed every morning or brewing a pot of coffee.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day