Day 2873

Our dogs have never understood Daylight Saving Time and I'll have to admit that I don't understand it either. There must have been a reason for these arbitrary time changes. I always though it had something to do with farming or children walking to school. Whatever the reason, it probably doesn't apply anymore. We're back to standard time now. All that means to me is that I'm going to have to convince Dash to take his evening walk earlier or walk him in the dark. I used to walk our first Dalmatian in the dark, but the city seemed safer then. There weren't any urban coyotes either.

I'm not as obsessive as I used to be. There was a time when I felt compelled to reset every clock and watch in the house when the time changed. When I was collecting watches, this could take me hours. There was little point to this bi-annual ritual because many of the watches didn't keep good time anyway. I re-set a few wall clocks today, but that was about it. Only one watch got any attention at all. It was a radio controlled watch that didn't re-set itself automatically. This puzzled me, since this watch receives a signal every night from the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. I couldn't even remember how to set this watch manually, so I had to find a manual online. Eventually, I determined that the radio signal is weak in the office. Who knows. Maybe the high-tech stuff I'm putting on the roof blocks radio waves.

The gym was really empty today, so maybe there were other people who were confused about the time change. Dash seemed to remember when he was fed in the morning, even though Janet and I were still asleep. I wonder how long it will take him to adjust to the time change? Since I ended up going to the gym very early today, I still had time to do all my Sunday chores when I got home. This wasn't really the plan, but that's how it worked out.

It was warm and clear today, so it seemed like a good idea to continue patching the roof. I prepared a small area that I thought would be easy to fix. Unfortunately, when I removed the torn coating, I discovered more moisture hidden underneath. The damaged area was only six inches in diameter, but by the time I had ripped up enough elastomer to find dry asphalt at the edges, I has exposed a six foot circle that will have to be re-coated. I didn't end up applying any coating today. After the wet area dries, I'll try again.

Dash seemed very agitated tonight. I don't know what was bothering him. He'd had his walk. He'd eaten his dinner. We'd taken him outside to pee several times and fed him some treats. This wasn't enough apparently. He barked at Janet and I for almost half an hour before he finally settled down and went to sleep. I hate when he gets agitated like this because he's got a bad heart and a weak rear leg. Telling him to calm down because he's going to hurt himself doesn't seem to have much of an effect.

I was going to make a list of all my prescriptions so my new doctor could renew them tomorrow at my exam. It's a lengthy list and I'm tired now, so maybe I'll just throw the pills in a sack and take them with me. I do need to remember to call the appliance repair shop first thing in the morning. One way or another, these guys need to fix my refrigerator.

Coach is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2872

My life is starting to resemble Ground Hog Day. I feel like I am doomed to repeat certain things over and over again until I finally get them right. Today I defrosted the evaporator coil on the refrigerator for the fourth or fifth time. The latest visit by that appliance repairman apparently accomplished nothing. The coil is frozen again. I can always tell that the evaporator coil is completely frozen when the temperature rises in the refrigerator compartment by ten degrees. So far, I replaced three expensive components, but I've always suspected that there's just a loose wire somewhere. At any rate, the appliance repair shop is going to get another irate call from me on Monday morning. I'm really getting tired of this. You'd think the repairmen would have a way to test their work before they leave. Nope. They always just say they think they've solved the problem and tell me to call them again if something goes wrong.

I let the refrigerator cool down again while I went to the grocery store and then I prepared to tackle the roof. Fall is not a good time to be applying a sticky liquid to the roof. The leaves will continue falling until the middle of January and I can' afford to wait until them. It was a nice warm day, but it was windy. By the time I finished my repairs today, dozens of falling oak and elm leaves had already become stuck in the wet elastomer. Too bad it takes twelve hours for this stuff to completely dry.

I quit trying to peel off more of the old coating material because I'm beginning to think that the thin film of water I'm finding between the silicon coating and the asphalt substrate covers the entire roof. From now on I'll limit my repairs to plugging holes. At least I applied the material with the right consistency today. It helped a lot using the stirring attachment I attached to a power drill. I tried really hard to be neat today, but when I was finished I noticed that I'd spilled the elastomer coating all over my leg. If I'd bothered read all the fine print on the bucket, I'm sure I'd learn that this stuff is hazardous to your health. At least it comes off with soap and water. When I return to the roof tomorrow to inspect my work, I'm sure I'll find a carpet of dead leaves glued to the cured silicon.

My repairs were ultimately futile today, but I did accomplish something. The refrigerator will work fine for at least two weeks, whether the repairman returns or not. Also, the next time if rains, I have greatly reduced the chances of a major roof leak. Maybe there will always be a thin film of water between the silicon and asphalt layers, but at least I've sealed the obvious holes.

I had to use the wet/dry vacuum to extract water from under the shower tiles again, but that's hardly worth mentioning anymore. I think I may have found how the water is getting under the tiles, but I can't stand going without a shower for the amount of time it would take to fix it. For the moment, it's easier just to suck the water out with a vacuum every four days.

Janet found some socks for Dash that should prevent the rubber boots from rubbing against his paws. Now it takes even longer to get him ready for a walk. First we fit his regular harness. Then the knee brace attaches to the harness. Next we put on the cotton socks and then finally we put on his boots. It is not surprising that sometimes he has lost interest in walking by the time we get him dressed. I guess it's all worth it though. The nails on his rear paws are starting to grow again and the raw areas have healed.

I should continue repairing the roof tomorrow, but I've had enough for a while. I'll probably just go to the gym and take a long nap.

Ginger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2871

There were several hundred people standing in front of the Apple Store this morning, all waiting for a chance to buy the new iPhone X. I used to stand in these kind of lines, but it's hard to get that excited about a phone anymore. I did go in the store and took a look at the new phone, but I didn't feel compelled to buy one. After a few minutes I continued on my way. There was only one reason I came to the mall this morning. I needed a haircut.

My stylist usually talks about her cats, but today she wanted to tell me all about Live PD. I've never seen this show, but couldn't help wondering whether reality TV shows like Live PD and Cops are real or staged. Who knows? It's kind of ironic that shows like these are considered real while the evening news is considered fake. It's hard for me to tell what's real these days. Often nothing seems real.

I look presentable now, but few people will notice. The only interaction I've had with other people lately has been with repairmen and doctors. Sadly, I think that I may be talking with one of these repairmen again soon. The refrigerator seems to be getting warmer again. Maybe this is just part of the automatic defrost cycle and everything is normal. I'll wait until Monday to call the appliance repair shop. I'm hoping that I don't have to disassemble the freezer again to defrost the evaporator coil.

The refrigerator wasn't my only disappointment today. I thought I was going to be able to repair the damaged areas on the roof, but there was still water seeping out from under the elastomer coating, so I ended up having to remove more of the old coating instead. Luckily, the weather is supposed to remain clear through the weekend. If I can ever get the damaged areas to dry out, the repairs should go quickly.

I'm trying to get Dash prepared for the end of Daylight Saving Time. When we go back to standard time, it will be dark when we normally take our evening walk. It's hard to get all his protective gear on by myself, but I was able to get him outside for a mid-afternoon walk by waiting to suit him up until I knew he needed to pee. Instead of stopping so he could pee in the yard, we headed straight for the back gate. This worked pretty well, and as soon as we got to the park, we had a nice normal walk. I hope I can get him used to this new schedule, because we're not going to be able to wait for Janet to come home from work after the time changes.

Dash is walking very slowly. He seems to enjoy stopping and smelling things every ten feet, but I worry that his heart might be giving him problems again. I never rush Dash these days. If he wants to take an hour to walk around the block, that's fine. I've certainly got no place to go. The only things on my schedule are a seemingly endless list of broken things to fix around the house.

It would be nice if the refrigerator cools down again on it's own tonight. It would be even nicer if I can complete all my roof repairs tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be nice, but I don't really trust    weather forecasts anymore. If water gets under the bare areas I've exposed, I'm really in trouble.

Wolfgang is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2870

I left the house early this morning so I could get my lab work done before I ate breakfast. Like I always do, I asked these new guys if they could tell me my blood type. I think it's ridiculous that I'm almost 70 years old and don't even know my blood type. I've literally had hundreds of blood tests, but this is one test that nobody wants to do. "Insurance won't pay for it," they tell me. Why not? It seems like useful information that everyone should have. Apparently, the normal way to find out your blood type is to donate blood at a blood bank. This won't work for me. Nobody wanted my blood for decades because I had Hepatitis C. Blood banks probably still don't want my blood. The nurse said it would cost me $100 extra to run the blood type test. "Never mind," I told her. I don't know why this irritates me so much, but the fact that doctors have taken gallons of my blood to run complicated tests and refuse to do this simple one represents everything wrong with modern medicine to me.

While I was walking toward the elevator in the parking garage, I passed a section where every single car was a Porsche. This seemed odd. The place looked like a dealership. There were several Panamera's, a bunch of 911's, a Macan, and two Cayene's. I looked a little closer and wasn't entirely surprised to discover that this was the reserved parking area for doctors. Even my old doctor in the hood drives a Porsche. I'm amazed that it hasn't been stolen yet.

It's still hard to get used to a medical facility where the lobby isn't crowded and everyone is polite to me. I only had to wait a few minutes before they took me back to the lab for blood work. I have to drive a little further, but I think I'm going to like this place.

I fixed my regular breakfast smoothie when I got home, but it was more like lunch than breakfast. Since it was a warm, clear day, I had planned to spend the afternoon repairing the roof. I don't know why I thought I could do this quickly. Nothing happens quickly on the roof. I started by cutting out the section that had gotten ruined by the rain. When I cleared away the debris, I noticed that there was water seeping out around the edges of the square hole I had made in the coating. I'm beginning to think that there is a thin layer of water under the entire roof. I removed some more of the rubbery material, hoping that I would find the end of the water, but the asphalt under the elastomer coating was damp everywhere I looked. I gave up and went back inside. It was clear that I wasn't going to be able to re-coat this damaged area today. Luckily, there is no rain in the forecast. I'll let things dry out for a few days and try again.

I had a lot more success with the large format printer in my office. I finally managed to get the thing unclogged and running normally again. This is a pointless exercise since I don't make large prints anymore, but I can't stand the idea of having a large nonfunctioning piece of equipment taking up space in the office. The printer will clog again, but if I get the urge to make a huge print within the next two weeks, everything should be fine.

The gift card people finally refunded our money. It took four months and they were rude the entire time. They lost our documentation twice and basically treated us like we were the scammers. All I've got to say is don't ever buy a gift card at a grocery store. This scam is well documented on the Consumer Reports website. It is apparently not that hard for someone to get your information before you even buy the card and when you go to use it for the first time, the money is already gone.

I'm going to get a haircut tomorrow. This is the only time I go to the mall. I"ll probably stop at the Tesla store for a few minutes and look enviously at the Model X. Maybe I'll stop at the Apple Store to and see if I'm tempted by the iPhone X. In both cases, I'm guessing the X stands for x-pensive.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2869

I thought I'd fix breakfast early this morning, so I could finish eating before Dash wanted to walk. All this accomplished was that Dash decided to walk earlier than usual. Apparently, it is not the time of day that motivates our boy. It is how much he can disrupt my schedule. Truthfully, it doesn't really matter when I eat breakfast or run my errands. I'm just happy that Dash is walking again. We were out for over an hour this morning. Dash was slow, but he was walking normally and seemed comfortable. I'm always worried that something will happen with Dash's heart when we're far from home, but the only alternative is to do nothing. Doing nothing would frustrate Dash and a frustrated Dalmatian is not good for anyone's health.

A firetruck went by with sirens blazing while we were walking today. Joining the siren was a cacophony of howling coming from a thicket of trees about a quarter of a mile away. I knew this sound well. We have a den of coyotes in the neighborhood again. From the sound of the howling, the pups are still very young. This Winter, they'll be old enough to hunt though. I wish I could warn the bunnies and the ducks. I made a mental note not to let Dash get too close to the coyote's den. I don't really trust urban coyotes. They have lost their fear of people.

The weather was nice today, but there was still water on the roof from yesterday's rain. As I expected, the patches I applied yesterday were ruined. I swept the water away and hopefully the roof will dry in time for me to make my repairs before it rains again. I had trouble mixing the viscous liquid yesterday, so I went to a hardware store and bought a paint stirring tool that I can attach to a power drill. I don't think I mixed the coating completely when I opened the bucket because it didn't have the same consistency as the first batch I used. The silicon compound is much thicker than paint, so it is hard to mix. I also got a ladle so I could transfer the coating from the large heavy bucket to a smaller can without making a huge mess. Hopefully, if I'm better prepared, I'll have a greater chance of success the next time I try this.

I had some website revisions to make today. The jobs are so few and far between now that it almost seems like I've gotten the assignments by mistake. Today's revisions took a couple of hours, but it certainly wasn't enough to fill the day. Recently, I was listening to NPR in the car and an author was being interviewed about a book they'd written about aging. Part of the conversation was about finding fulfillment by continuing to work. Website design was mentioned as one of the jobs that old people are well suited for. I had to laugh. The only way old website designers are going to find work is if their clients are even older.

The refrigerator is working great now. Too bad it is almost empty. I didn't feel like grocery shopping, so I picked up some Thai take-out again. I thought I had enough reward points for a free meal, but the    lady at the check out counter said that you have to use the points within thirty days or they expire. This happens to me all the time. I'm always throwing away Bed Bath and Beyond coupons and forgetting that I have accumulated reward points somewhere. Everyone has some sort of loyalty program these days. I'm a very loyal person, but these programs don't seem to benefit me.

I need to remember to get the lab work for my annual physical done tomorrow morning. I won't be able to have breakfast before I leave the house. Hopefully, this temporary change of schedule won't throw Dash off his game. I wonder if he'll still walk if there isn't a meal he can interrupt?

Jeda is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2868 - Halloween

When did Halloween become an adult holiday? I remember trick-or-treating as a kid, but cosplay, elaborate costumes, and role playing must have come much later. It was all about the candy for me. My little friends and I would wander around our neighborhood in the dark for hours, unaccompanied by adults, filling our bags with as many treats as we could. It was a different world then. Nobody worried about being abducted and a Halloween terrorist attack was beyond comprehension. I miss those days.

You'd never know it was Halloween at our house. A few people in the neighborhood have decorated their yards, but there aren't many children anymore. We haven't had trick-or-treaters in years. When the dogs went to obedience class we would make costumes for them. There was an annual Halloween costume party and once Dash won first place. That was quite a while ago. Now we don't even put a pumpkin on the porch.

The only thing that was scary today was the threat of rain. I was determined to get the roof fixed before it rained, so I drove 30 miles to a roofing supply store and bought a bucket of the special elastometric coating. I would have preferred that the roofers had taken care of this, but they never showed up. I drove very slowly on the way home, because I didn't want the top-heavy bucket of silicon liquid to tip over and spill. The messy stuff would have ruined my car.

I really thought I had enough time to make a quick repair of the damaged area, but the weather forecast was wrong. Shortly after I finished re-coating the hole in the elastomer, it started to rain. The coating didn't have time to dry and my repair quickly washed away in the rain. Now, I'll have to wait until the roof completely dries out again and start over. It's frustrating. I'm still hoping that the roofers will eventually show up and take care of this for me.

I made a reservation for Thanksgiving dinner at the same restaurant that double charged us last year. Janet says the billing error was just an accident, but it did take forever to resolve. I guess a double charge on your credit card is better than food poisoning, but I hope there won't be any problems this year. It's hard to find a good place for Thanksgiving dinner. I wonder why we ever bothered to cook a big turkey? Eating out is so much easier.

I made an appointment with my new doctor for my annual physical. I feel healthy, but you never know. Like everyone else, they want me to fast before I have my lab work. Since I can't go very long without eating, I always schedule blood work for early in the morning and then find a restaurant for breakfast on the way home. I'll get the blood tests done later this week and go see the doctor next week to go over the results. I'm curious whether this new guy will want me to continue all my meds. I'd love to cut back on the pills I take. A second opinion is always good. I've been taking some of these pills for so long, I can't even remember why I take them.

The refrigerator is empty, so I'm going to have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. At least the refrigerator is cold. I think the latest repair actually worked.

Roxy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2867

I don't watch baseball very often, but I'll have to admit that last night's World Series game was pretty darn good. It certainly beat watching another Perry Mason rerun that I'd seen five times already. I've been trying to get to sleep a little earlier, but Dash has other ideas. He's usually fast asleep when I go to bed, but just when I get comfortable, he wakes up, drinks a lot of water, and than goes to the back door, waiting for me to let him out to pee. I have to get dressed and go outside with him, so he won't eat cat poop. By the time I lock up and go back to bed again, Dash has already returned to bed and stolen my place. This happens every night.

This morning, I was determined to do something productive. I turned on the large format printer for the first time in over a month and ran the cleaning cycle. As I expected, the printer was hopelessly clogged. I ran the cleaning cycle three times and just as the lines were starting to clear, I ran out of ink. I called my supplier and ordered some more ink. It's insanity to keep this printer running when I no longer use it, but it is a perfectly good machine. I can't bring myself to toss it.

Since rain is in the forecast this week, I redoubled my efforts to get the roof fixed. I called the roofer again, and then I found a commercial supplier who carries the special coating material used on the roof. Ouch. The stuff is expensive. I ordered a five gallon can, because what choice do I have? After I committed to buying the material, the roofer finally returned my call and told me that he'd have his foreman drop some elastomer product by the house. It's probably just as well that I bought my own elastomer. The roofer didn't exactly say when he was going to come by. Given his track record, it could easily be Christmas before I see him again.

I noticed a raw spot on one of Dash's paws where the hair was starting to wear thin. It looks like the boots might be rubbing against his paw while he walks. Good grief. Now I'm going to have to make socks to go with the boots. I thought the insides of the boots felt soft and smooth, but something must not fit as well as I thought. This is getting complicated. If I have to put on socks, and shoes, and the knee brace, along with his regular harness, it's going to take forever to get him out the door in the morning.

Since I wasn't able to obtain any of the roof coating today, I turned my attention to the shower drain. I thought if I cleaned out the inside of the drain, I might be able to see a crack that was allowing water to seep under the tiles. It was a messy job. I sure wish soap manufacturers would invent a soap that didn't leave a film of soap scum behind. I thought the soap scum was bad on the tiles, but it was even worse on the inside of the drain. I did find one area that might be leaking, but it's in an awkward place and I don't know how to seal it. The best solution would be to have a plumber replace the entire drain and then get a tile guy to repair the damage the plumber made. I don't even want to think about something this drastic yet. Maybe I can just use some of the roof coating material that I'll hopefully receive tomorrow to seal the small crack.

I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. It sure would be nice to repair the hole in the elastomer before the rain turns it into an even larger hole. With my luck, I'll have everything I need to make the repair the day after it rains.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2866

For months now, I've been sleeping on top of the bed. I think I started this when Dot was sick. I'd just take my shoes off and lay down next to Dash. This way, I was always ready to help Dot go outside at night. I'm a lazy person, and after a while it just seemed easier to sleep this way. I'm always the last one to go to bed and it wasn't worth waking Dash up after he was already asleep. No matter what time it was, he would think it was morning and go to the kitchen and bark for food. I was happy enough sleeping this way, but last night it got very cold and I got under the sheets again. I was surprised at the difference. I think I slept a lot better last night.

Although I'm a creature of habit, I can make changes. In addition to sleeping under the sheets, I've started going to the gym a lot earlier. I used to go in the afternoons on Sunday and now I go right after breakfast. I don't know why, but I seem to have more energy when I exercise early in the day. I get more done too, since I have the afternoon to clean and do projects around the house.

Since I've finished repairing all three sets of Dash's protective boots, I thought I'd try my hand at repairing my own shoes. I used to wear heavy duty leather hiking boots when I walked the dogs, but since Dash has been so flaky about walks lately I've had to wear something I could put on quickly before he got out of the mood. I had a pair of pull on rubber rain shoes that fit the bill, but I've worn them out in less than a month. Tire patches seemed perfect for reinforcing these things. I glued three large patches in strategic places on each shoe. I'll let the rubber cure for 48 hours and then I'll put them through their paces. These shoes are incredibly ugly and Janet is embarrassed when I wear them in public but they may turn out to be the perfect dog walking shoe. After I added some orthotics for arch support, they are quite comfortable. They are completely waterproof and I can put them on in seconds. The soft rubber didn't hold up very well on the trails, but maybe my tire patches will solve that problem.

When I went to the gym today, there was an open newspaper next to one of the machines I use. I noticed a headline that said "In the future people are going to need bigger brains to survive." This sounded intriguing, so I read the article before I started my workout. The premise was that advances in artificial intelligence and robotics are occurring more rapidly than our own ability to deal with the changes they are causing. Apparently it is just a matter of time before artificial intelligence is smarter than we are. I can believe this. Robots are designing other robots now. Our entire society moves around with their faces glued to their phones. Who is the master and who is the slave? I think I share Elon Musk's worries about AI. In less than fifty years it is going to change everything.

My machines are simple. I can take most of them apart and put them back together again. I actually understand how a lot of them work. This is changing rapidly unfortunately. I remember modifying my first computer by soldering new stuff to the motherboard. I couldn't begin to do that anymore. I have no idea how WiFi works and I kind of think the cloud is evil. I think I am more comfortable in a world where I can fix a pair of shoes with tire patches and get a refrigerator running again by defrosting the evaporator coil with a hair dryer.

Dash had a good week. I hope next week is even better. I still don't really know what has changed. We've basically have let him choose his own food and are dressing him up in rubber boots. That's not enough to cause the changes we've seen. He's still got the two large blood clots in his heart and is dealing with vestibular disease. Even with the best doctors, health often remains a mystery. I guess the best thing is just to be happy for the good days and be prepared for the bad days.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2865

There was frost on the ground this morning. That's close enough to Winter for me. I was cold when I woke up this morning, but was happy to hear the furnace running. Cold weather brings back memories of recurring furnace problems, ice storms, and power outages. My memories of snow are fading. It just doesn't snow down here anymore.

We got an early start this morning. Even though Janet got up extra early to go to this year's Race For The Cure, Dash still wanted her to feed him breakfast before she left. Since Dash was wide awake, I ate breakfast early as well. We were both ready to walk before the sun came up. Dash has a coat he usually wears in the Winter. So far, I can't figure out how to put it on over all his other gear. Luckily, it wasn't that cold this morning. I did wear a down ski jacket and wool hat though. I like to stay warm.

When I took an Instagram picture this morning, I noticed that something had changed. The format of the pictures was different. Why do people keep changing things? The old Instagram pictures were the perfect size for the blog. These new ones looked like they would have to be cropped and enlarged. After I thought about it a bit, I realized what Instagram had done. They'd changed their latest app update to optimize pictures for the newest iPhones. Since I have an older phone, I got left in the dust.

There were more app update surprises when I checked my blood pressure later in the day. The Withings app on my phone now had a Nokia brand. Didn't Nokia used to make phones? When I put the wireless blood pressure cuff on my arm, I got a message saying that I need to update my hardware before I could proceed. If I knew it was going to be this much trouble, I would have waited until next month to take my blood pressure.

At least nothing has changed with the refrigerator. It still appears to be keeping food cold. Based on the last tike I defrosted the evaporator coil, the temperature should be warming up again if there was still a problem. The temperature in the refrigerator is still 40 degrees and there is no visible ice on the back side of the freezer compartment, so maybe everything is working properly again. I hope so. There are plenty of other problems to solve.

We forgot that today was National Drug Take Back Day. There was a pile of expired meds that we wanted to get rid of and the collection location was near our house. It's too bad we forgot. Everybody probably has expired meds in their medicine cabinet. You usually end up taking all the antibiotics you were prescribed, because doctors make a point of telling you to take them all. Pain pills are different. They usually just say "take as needed" on the bottle. Dentists are notorious for prescribing too many pain pills. You don't tend to throw these pills away when you quit taking them. Instinctively, you keep them in the medicine cabinet, thinking "Well, what if I'm in pain again. I may need them." Usually you forget about them after a while and they go bad.

I looked on the DEA website to see if there was another collection location and it just said to throw the unused pills down the toilet. What? I thought the whole point of the take back program was to keep you from throwing pills down the toilet. I've always thought throwing pills down the toilet could pollute the water supply. Shows what I know. It turns out that the real pollution problem comes from people peeing. I guess this makes sense. Millions of people are taking millions of meds and their bodies aren't processing everything. Neither is the sewage system. One more reason there are to many people in the world.

On that happy note, I'll call it a day. I got one more pair of rubber dog boots repaired today and found everything on my grocery list. not bad. It was a little cold, but I'm not complaining. The furnace still works.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2864

I went to an old school roadside diner for breakfast this morning. People were reading newspapers. Old men sitting at the counter were talking about guns and cars. I really wanted to like the food because everyone was so friendly. Alas, my search for the perfect breakfast continues. I just don't think my stomach can handle gut buster meals anymore.

I was prepared to stay home and eat oatmeal, but Dash was very cooperative this morning. As soon as I put his gear on, he was ready to walk. We still haven't pinned down what the problem was a few weeks ago, but Dash definitely seems to feel better now. His appetite has improved. He seems interested in walking again. He still sleeps a lot during the day, but he has more energy. At any rate, we took a nice morning walk, Dash enjoyed the cool Fall weather, and I still had plenty of time to go out for breakfast when we returned.

I've become addicted to my fitness tracker, so I started looking for a replacement for my defective UP band on the Internet. Everything seemed too big, too expensive, or didn't track things the way I liked. I was surprised at how frequently Fitbit discontinues things. One of the smaller Fitbit trackers I had my eye on has already been discontinued. Other models I'd seen in stores recently were gone too. As it turned out, I didn't need a new tracker after all. About 5 PM this afternoon my old UP band started working again.

Since it was a slow day, I repaired another set of Dash's rubber boots. Basically, I'm creating an entirely new pair of custom boots by adding new rubber in strategic areas. I think I could manufacture these things now, but I bet the market is very small. The augmented boots seem to be holding up well. They are very light and Dash walks normally while wearing them. These boots don't fall off like the original designs we tried. Most importantly, Dash's rear paws aren't scraped and damaged anymore. I'd like to think that the knee brace and the protective boots are one of the reasons that Dash is interested in walking again.

I'm a grumpy person, but sometimes I'm surprised at how little it takes to make me happy. I'm glad that Dash is feeling better. Even though my breakfast wasn't very good, I'm glad I ventured out and tried a new restaurant. I was pleased that I don't have to go looking for a new fitness tracker. I liked my old one anyway. Even though Dash's rubber boots initially seemed like a waste of money, I have managed to bring them back from the grave and they appear useful now. These are little things, but they were enough to make it a good day.

Tomorrow, we'll be getting up really early. Janet is participating in this year's Race For The Cure and will be wearing a pink Survivor shirt. It's been a tumultuous and at times difficult year, but this is really something to be happy about.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2863

I think Jawbone has pulled the plug on my fitness tracker. It hasn't been saving steps or heart rate data for the past several days. I guess I should have expected this. The company is going bankrupt. They stopped manufacturing fitness trackers over a year ago and don't even answer their phone anymore. Customer service is non-existant. I guess it was only a matter of time before they decided to shut down the servers that sync your data.

It's a shame I'll have to quit using my latest UP band. It hasn't even broken yet. The product quality for these things has always been terrible, but I really like the little tracker. I've had numerous Jawbone trackers, mostly because they inevitably quit working after a year or so. Jawbone used to be really good about replacing defective trackers, but I think they became overwhelmed when their entire customer base started demanding replacement bands. The UP3 is still one of the smallest, least obtrusive activity trackers you can buy. It's easy for me to wear one on my right hand and still wear a watch on my left. I'm going to miss this worthless product.

I used to jokingly tell friends that I should become a product tester for manufacturers. If I really like something it is almost guaranteed to fail. It I hate it, there's a good chance it will become a runaway success. I'm the guy who used to own two Citroën automobiles. Back in the tape era, I used to favor Betamax. Every store I've bought furniture from has gone out of business. While other professional photographers use Nikon and Canon, I have stubbornly stuck with Olympus. It's uncanny how consistently I become fond of unpopular products.

Sadly, my taste for unpopular things even extends to restaurant menus. I stopped to pick up some Thai food for dinner on my way home from the post office this afternoon and discovered that my favorite go-to meal had been removed from the menu. This happens surprisingly often. One of the reasons I don't enjoy my Friday morning breakfast outings as much anymore is that I've never been able to find anything as good as the Migas the little neighborhood restaurant that went out of business made.

We put on Dash's knee brace and protective boots before Janet left for work again. He doesn't seem to want to walk early in the morning anymore, but if I let him wander around the house for a while while I'm eating breakfast, he eventually gets in the mood. When I see him head toward the back door, I'm ready. My coat and Dash's leash are on a chair near the door. I already have my dog walking shoes on, so it only takes a few seconds to hook him up and go. Usually Dash feels like walking while I'm in the middle of breakfast, but that's OK. I just finish my meal when we get back.

I'm not sure if Dash's heart condition is improving, but he certainly is happier now. He gets a can of Castor and Pollux stew in the morning and a can of Hills ID in the evening. We usually walk about 10 AM and he gets a snack early in the afternoon. He still sleeps a lot and doesn't play much anymore, but that's OK too. He's getting old.

There was no work today, so I wrote a letter to my sister. If more people started writing letters and quit depending on their phone, many of the problems we have with hacking and identity fraud would simply go away. A connected world creates a lot of problems. I'm sure my little fitness tracker would still be working fine if it was self contained and didn't have to store all it's information in the cloud. I don't like to depend on a server in California or India. I wish the strawberries I like were raised locally. I wish my clothing was made in a local factory. I'm not a fan of globalism at all. With my track record, this means that globalism is exactly what we'll get.

Pearl is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2862

Janet helped me get Dash's orthopedic and protective gear on before she left for work this morning. I let him wander around the house while I was fixing breakfast, hoping that he'd forget he had it on. This plan seemed to work. He quickly became far more interested in begging for treats from me than in obsessing about his knee brace. About halfway through breakfast, Dash headed toward the back door and I knew he was ready. I was ready too. I put my smoothie in the refrigerator, grabbed a leash, and off we went. Could it be that Dash just wants to walk a little later in the day? Who knows. We took a nice long walk and then I finished my breakfast.

Since this little excursion went well, I decided to take him to the vet to get his anal glands expressed. As usual, he was terrible in the car, but at least I didn't have to worry about poop. He'd already taken care of that on our walk. While we were at the vet, I had the nurse trim his remaining dew claw. Since he tore the first dewclaw riding in the car, I'll always be apprehensive that this type of accident will happen again.

By the time I got Dash home and finished washing the breakfast dishes, it was almost noon. I'd already spent almost half a day dealing with a lovable but very stubborn dog. I fired up the computer to see if there was anything important that I needed to deal with. Of course there wasn't. It was time to get ready for the refrigerator repairman.

I was planning to have the repairman install the new temperature sensor I bought, so I watched a YouTube video to locate where the old sensor was. Locating and installing the sensor seemed simple enough, but after watching the video, I learned that the repairman was right. This particular sensor had nothing to do with my problem.

When the repairman arrived, he had the correct part this time and it only took him about thirty minutes to install it. We didn't bother to defrost the evaporator coil this time, because I'd already done this less than two days ago. The repairman said he was confident that the refrigerator would work this time, since we'd replaced all the parts connected with controlling the defrost cycle. I hope he's right. Having to deal with food that could spoil and go bad is almost as irritating as having to go to the laundromat when your washer breaks. When the repairman left, he told me not to worry. The parts are guaranteed for a year and if the evaporator coil still keeps freezing, he'll keep coming out until the problem is resolved. I thanked the guy and told him I hoped I wouldn't see him again for a long time.

A stray cat has been pooping in our yard and Dash is obsessed with finding and eating the stuff. Now, I've got to shadow him every time he goes outside to pee, so he won't sneak off and eat cat poop. The elusive poop is very hard for me to find, but apparently very easy for Dash to smell. I don't know how I'm going to put an end to this nuisance. The smell will go away eventually, unless the cat keeps coming back. Feral cats should know better than to hang around this neighborhood. There aren't many mice anymore and some of the cats routinely get eaten by coyotes.

I contacted the roofer again and tried without much success to get him to commit to finishing the repairs. This is the only major issue left on my Fall to-do list. There are a couple of holes that need to be patched immediately. I'd much rather have the roofing crew repair the damage, but I'd settle with another five gallon drum of the elastomer material at this point.

If I wasn't so apprehensive about leaving Dash, I'd go see Bladerunner 2049 tomorrow. I'm not very busy. This would be a good time to go. The film has done so poorly at the box office that it probably won't be around much longer. There are even matinee showings now. It won't be long before it will be at the dollar theaters.

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2861

I love my new doctor. It was refreshing to make an appointment and actually see the doctor at the scheduled time. I'm used to sitting in the waiting room for hours, then waiting some more in the exam room, only to end up seeing the doctor for a few minutes. The waiting room at my old doctor's office seems like a scene from The Walking Dead. This new place was quiet and sedate. Everyone was friendly and there was even valet parking. Best of all, this new doctor took the time to listen to me, instead of rushing around trying to see five patients at once. Janet told me that concierge medicine was a completely different experience. She was right.

After three unsuccessful attempts to get Dash walking this morning, I decided to leave his harness on, just in case he felt like going out again later. I finished my breakfast and when I was doing the dishes, I saw him scratching at the back door. I was ready to go, so I quickly grabbed a leash and off we went. This time I didn't waste time putting the knee brace or the protective rubber boots on. This seemed to do the trick. Maybe Dash just hates all the protective gear. I made sure that we walked on grass, so he wouldn't injure his paws and kept the pace slow, trying to avoid a knee injury. We had a nice slow walk along the shoreline. Dash seemed to be enjoying himself and walked very normally. This evening when Janet came home, we put the protective gear back on for our evening walk. He still walked normally. I just need to get him used to wearing the protective gear in the morning. Based on my experience so far, this may take a while.

I had trouble sleeping last night. This is so rare that it was kind of alarming. I'd hate to have insomnia  on any kind of a regular basis. When you're lying in bed and can't get to sleep, time seems to move much slower than usual. I occasionally had insomnia many years ago when my company was busy. I would just get up, turn on the computer and go to work. There's little point in doing that now. There's no work to do. I think I'd rather lie in bed and listen to my dog snore than look at Facebook at 3 AM.

I stopped at Whole Foods to pick up something for dinner on my way home from the doctor's office. I used to think that all grocery stores were basically the same, but they definitely cater to specific audiences these days. Whole Foods seems to be for upscale vegans. Central Market is for upscale meat eaters. Sprouts is for people who like the idea of a small neighborhood market. I guess Albertsons and Kroger are for older people who haven't realized that shopping has changed. I have no idea who Walmart is for and I don't intend to find out.

It's time to clip Dash's nails again. It's weird that something so simple can be such a problem. I hate taking Dash in the car, but I'm terrible at clipping his nails myself, so he always has to go to the vet. Sometimes the techs clip his nails too short and they bleed. This happen more often than you'd think with Dalmatians, since some nails are black and you can't see the quick. Bleeding of any sort is not good, since Dash is taking Plavix. I can't ignore his nails though, since he might pull out a dewclaw again. This whole procedure only takes a few minutes, but I've already spent hours thinking about it. I worry too much.

I'm really hoping that tomorrow will be the end of the refrigerator repair saga. I need to get this thing fixed before something else breaks.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2860

The refrigerator repairman arrived right on time. The first words out of his mouth were "We've got a problem." He showed me the box with the part I've been waiting for. "This control board is for a Bosch refrigerator," he said. "You've got a GE." Good grief. The part arrived last Thursday. They had four days to notice that it was the wrong part. They even put the wrong part on the truck and nobody noticed.

I'd already taken all the food out of the freezer and put it in an ice chest before the repairman arrived. I'd even taken all the shelves out of the freezer so the guy could get started right away. I really wasn't expecting him to arrive with the wrong part. I told the repairman I was getting tired of this. I showed him the parts I had ordered myself and said I could have a control board shipped to the house overnight if I need to. There was just no excuse for this level of ineptness. The guy went back to his truck and called his supervisor. He came back a while later and said his company could have a new part shipped overnight as well. He could come back Wednesday and install it. I didn't believe him, but I said "Sure, go ahead."

The repairman left to go to his next job and I took the freezer apart and defrosted the evaporator coil with a hair dryer again. I also installed one of the parts I bought. The other part was more difficult to install, so I'm going to have the repairman replace it when he returns on Wednesday. Why do I think I'm going to get a call on Wednesday morning saying that the control board hasn't arrived yet.

Dash wouldn't walk again this morning. Maybe if Janet hadn't had to go to work early, we could have tricked him into leaving the house, but it wasn't meant to be. I really don't understand this new aversion to leaving the house in the morning. When Janet returned this evening, Dash was eager to walk. I wish this dog could tell me what's wrong. The vets can't explain his behavior, but something has definitely changed.

I had an animal rescue meeting tonight. I thought I wouldn't be able to attend because of the refrigerator repair, but since the repairman didn't actually do anything, I had plenty of time. Not much was accomplished at the meeting, but at least I made an effort to show up. Janet was able to come home early, so Dash got an evening walk as well. It wasn't the kind of day I expected, but I really can't complain. The refrigerator will be fine for another week after I defrosted the coil. Dash ate his dinner and seems happy. I even have plenty of time to finish tonight's blog entry.

I meet my new doctor tomorrow. At least I assume he'll be my new doctor. Who knows. Maybe I won't like the guy. I hope this transition goes smoothly. The last thing I need right now is one more unexpected hassle. I've been postponing my annual physical since last Summer in anticipation of this switch. If I become a patient of this new clinic, I'm going to be immediately due for a lot of tests.

I need to figure out how to get the roofer out here before it rains again. There's an alarmingly large hole in the elastomer that needs to be patched. The house is wearing me out. The roof needs attention, the shower still leaks, and the refrigerator is driving me crazy. I wish everything would return to normal, but does normal even exist these days? I don't think so.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2859

It rained a lot last night. Even though it was a beautiful day, the yard was muddy and the roof was filled with standing water. Dash didn't waste any time finding the mud and immediately tracked it inside when he went out to pee before breakfast. He also discovered where a stray cat had been pooping near the back fence and tried to eat the stuff. Yuck. These events set the tone for the day and I didn't even notice how pretty it was outside until much later.

Since water was still spilling over the eaves when I got up, I knew I wasn't going to be able to escape climbing up on the roof and removing the standing water. Fall is the worst season for the roof. The standing water doesn't evaporate like it does in the Summer, and falling leaves often block the water from spilling over the edge of the roof. The only alternative is to remove as much as I can with the sump pump and push the rest over the edge with a big push broom.

It was cold this morning, so I waited until later in  the day to remove the water. That gave me a chance to go to the gym like I usually do on Sunday. I've been going to this gym for over four years now and I still haven't seen a huge improvement. On the other hand, I'm four years older and I haven't gotten any worse. I guess you could call that progress. I've thought about hiring a personal trainer for a month or two, just to see if I've been doing everything wrong. How would I know? I never asked anyone about my exercise routine. I'm the only one that seems to use the hand bicycle, even though it provides a great upper body workout and elevates my heart rate just as much as the treadmill. Shooting baskets probably doesn't provide any benefits at all, but it's the one thing I actually enjoy.

There is absolutely nothing I enjoy about getting up on the roof. It is my own private version of Dante's Inferno. Every time it rains, I find new holes that need to be repaired. Today I found two new bad spots that should be covered with the elastomer material as soon as the roof dries, but unfortunately I've already used the five gallon drum the roofers gave me. I'm been corresponding with the roofers and they promise they are going to come back and fix things, but that could be weeks or even months away. Several people have suggested that I add a pitch to the roof, so the water would drain. These people haven't seen the house. It would be easier to start over and build a new house.

The next time the roofers supply me with a container of the silicon product they use to seal the roof, I'm going to try dipping a pair of Dash's protective boots in the stuff. The material is very flexible when it dries and is completely waterproof. The elastomer might work better to reinforce the boots than the tire patch material I'm using now. Actually, the repairs I've made to Dash's shoes so far are very durable. It just takes a lot of time to shape the patching material so that the boots still fit properly.

I can't say it was an exciting day, but I did get a lot done. If I'm lucky the refrigerator will get repaired tomorrow. I'm hoping that the repairman will get tired of coming out to the house again and again and finally do the job right. It's rare when this happens. The roofers never should have coated the roof with a material that wouldn't hold up under standing water. The plumbers who repaired the water leak under our foundation shouldn't have dumped all the dirt they couldn't fit back in the tunnel they dug under the Photinia bushes along the edge of the yard. That's where all the mud is coming from. The tile guys the contractor hired for our bathroom remodel should have known how to set tile so water wouldn't leak at the corner of the shower. I even showed them little curved tile pieces that made a better transition between horizontal and vertical surfaces. They said these weren't necessary. I could go on and on.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2858

It doesn't look like I'll have to take the refrigerator apart this weekend after all. The temperature is holding steady. I have no idea why the temperature is getting cooler again, but I'll take it. I think we're probably good until the repairmen shows up Monday afternoon.

Dash let us sleep in until about seven-thirty this morning. He ate a good breakfast and then took a surprisingly long walk. This improvement is as much of a mystery as the refrigerator, but I'm happy to see our guy in good spirits again. I know he isn't entirely happy about the protective gear he has to wear. It's helping though. He doesn't lift one of his rear legs very well when he walks and he had ground down several of his nails all the way to the quick. Two of them were even starting to bleed. The protective boots keep his paws safe and the nails are starting to grow back again. I hope the knee brace is equally effective. Dash walks a little stiffly wearing the brace, but I think this is what is supposed to happen. By restricting his range of motion a bit, his knee will have a chance to heal.

I guess fresh peaches are finally out of season. I've been enjoying them in my morning smoothie, but they're getting harder to find at the grocery store. Peaches are more expensive now and are starting to taste mushy. I guess peaches are harder to grow in a greenhouse. Strawberries and blueberries are available all year long. I know there is a season for those berries as well, but it doesn't seem to matter.  You can almost always find good strawberries.

I upgraded the newer iPad to IOS 11. I kind of hope that I don't like the new operating system. If I do, I will be forced to get a new phone. My old phone can't be upgraded anymore and is stuck forever at IOS 10.3.3. My old original iPad is stuck way back at IOS 5.1.1. Apple used to be much better at making sure that their software worked with older products. Like most manufacturers, they've discovered that planned obsolescence is much more profitable. Computers are one of the few tools that become obsolete even when they are still working perfectly. I still have some hand tools that my Dad got from his father. A good hammer will last for a hundred years. A good computer probably won't last for five.

When I was recording some purchases in Quickbooks this afternoon, I noticed an entry from 12/10/17. That hasn't even happened yet. It took me quite a while to figure out where this entry actually belonged. We've all gotten so used to spellcheck that we become complacent and don't think we make mistakes anymore. I'm amazed at how many mistakes I make. I'm a typo factory these days. I wonder how many other undiscovered errors are hidden away in Quickbooks, Word, and Excel? I've even gotten the day count wrong on the blog and I don't have a clue where the error is.

A storm is headed our way. We really need the rain, but I'm always apprehensive about bad weather. I've been watching the storm approach on the weather radar and hope that nothing bad happens. I think the cold front and accompanying rain are supposed to arrive around 2 AM. Maybe we'll just sleep through it. That would certainly be better than having Dash freak out when he hears thunder. I don't want any more large branches falling on the roof either. Let's not even think about a power outage.

The good thing about the rain is that it's supposed to be clear and much cooler by morning. That would be nice. A clear Fall morning is exactly what I need.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2857

When I was at breakfast this morning, I heard people at two different tables arguing about politics. This isn't a good sign. People should be talking about Halloween costumes and home improvements at breakfast. Football and Fall weather are OK, but it's way too early to talk about politics. I guess it's a sign of the times. I didn't hear the entire conversations, but these didn't seem to be Democrat vs Republican arguments. I got the impression that everyone was disgusted with both sides and thought that the entire system was broken. Actually, most people would probably agree that the system is broken. They just can't agree on how to fix it.

I tried to order something off the menu again with very limited success. I wasn't asking for anything exotic, but my request seemed to confuse the waiter. I should have stuck to the menu. I probably should have just stayed home. I wasn't even hungry this morning.

Our plan to get Dash walking again didn't work today. We should have headed toward the park where the smells were stronger, but we headed down the street instead. Janet was able to turn around and go home, but Dash didn't walk much further after that. When I stopped to clean up his poop about halfway down the street, he used the opportunity to turn around and head for home again. I tried to get him turned around so we could continue our walk, but his will was stronger than mine.

This evening, we tried an experiment. Janet tried to walk Dash by herself to see if he just liked to walk with her better. He refused to leave the yard. I watched her try several times to get Dash moving before I joined them. As soon as Dash saw the whole family was together, he headed for the back gate and we took a very normal walk. I can't really explain this behavior, but I can't seem to change it either.

It was a very slow day. I had to go to the grocery store twice, because part of the store was closed when I went after breakfast. Come back after 10:30 AM the sign said. I had a coupon Janet wanted me to use, but I probably didn't save any money, since my car gets such poor gas mileage.

I repaired another pair of Dash's protective boots this afternoon. This has turned out to be a very messy job. The Shoe Goo I'm using to repair things seems to be fairly durable, but it's hard to apply neatly. Someone needs to invent a better way to bond rubber to rubber. Rubber cement might work if the surfaces were smooth, but they're not. I guess it doesn't really matter if my repairs aren't pretty. The boots just need to stay together.

The refrigerator isn't warming up as quickly as I thought it would. Should I take things apart and defrost the coil this weekend, or just let the food get a little warmer and wait for the repairman on Monday afternoon? Those are the kind of decisions I make these days.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day