Day 3524

I saw three fire trucks, an ambulance, and the fire department rescue boat converge on the lake as I was walking today. Someone must have drowned again. This never used to happen, but now it's almost a weekly occurrence. There are too many people out on the water who can't swim. The weird thing was that without all the emergency vehicles, you never would have known anything was wrong. The sailing club was having a regatta and no boats were attempting a rescue. All the people in kayaks and stand up paddle boards were acting normally. Nobody even seemed aware that something was wrong. I watched as the rescue boat sped off in the distance and disappeared. I still don't know what was going on. Whatever happened didn't make the evening news. Just another Sunday in the park.

I'm glad they fixed the air conditioning at the gym. It was nice and cool inside this week. Maybe this is why I was more accurate on the basketball court today. Probably it was just random luck. I couldn't think of a reason why my shots were connecting. Some days I'm good and other days I'm terrible. I'll have to accept the fact that there isn't always a logical explanation for everything. I'm a model of consistency, yet I never know how long I'm going to sleep. My appetite varies from day to day. Some days I wake up tired and other days I'm ready to go. There has to be a reason, but the only answer I can think of is that life is complicated.

On my way home from the gym I stopped at a neighborhood hardware store to get an extension cord and some plug adapters so we could use Janet's new toaster oven. I appeared to be the only person in the store who wasn't buying something for a chicken. I guess backyard chickens are still a thing in Dallas. I see them in people's yards occasionally while I walk and when Dash was alive I used to see people bring roosters to the vet. I like cage-free eggs from pasture raised chickens as much as the next guy, but it is so much easier to just buy them at the grocery store. I probably wouldn't make a very good farmer.

Now that peaches are in season, Janet has been making peach cobbler a lot. I love peach cobbler for dessert. This week she tried cutting the amount of sugar in the recipe in half. The cobbler tastes even better. Who knew. I suspect that almost all recipes contain way too much salt and sugar. Chefs seem to love salt and sugar. It should be easier to avoid sugar, but the stuff is everywhere. If you eat processed food at all, you're probably consuming a lot more sugar than you should.

I was going to try to disassemble the old dehumidifier today, but not surprisingly making sure that I got my requisite 20,000 steps seemed more important. I'll eventually tackle this project, but there's no need to hurry. The new dehumidifier is working great. It is extracting three time as much water from the air as the old machine. Performance on the old machine probably deteriorated so slowly that I never even noticed. The two machines are absolutely identical with the exception of six small horizontal slots on the back of the new dehumidifier. There must be a reason for those additional slots. They aren't mentioned in the instruction manual at all.

Tomorrow we visit the rescue Dalmatians again. It is also Janet's birthday. Birthday's are pretty low key these days. They only remind us of how old we've become.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3523

All the grocery stores seem to be replacing cashiers with self-checkout stations. When I was shopping this morning there were only two cashiers and a long row of brand new automated stations. I've read that people don't like these things, but why not? Self-checkout is faster and you don't have to interact with anyone. I've already gone one step beyond self-checkout. Whenever I can, I buy things using an app on my phone. I scan the items as I find them and when I'm finished I just walk out of the store and leave. Like it or not, this is the future. Cashiers, bank tellers, and even waiters at restaurants are going away. Probably a lot of manufacturing jobs I don't see are going away too. Many already have. The simple truth is that companies prefer robots. Robots don't complain. They don't need health insurance. And they never go on strike. The little kids who are growing up now playing games on their iPads instead of going to a playground with their friends will probably prefer robots as well. Why not. They grew up with them.

I'm glad I grew up before all this happened. I did well in an old fashioned analog world. I'm not sure how well I'd thrive in a world where the best jobs went to the people who design and program the robots. Maybe I could repair them though. There will always be a need for people who can fix machines.

I was going to try and fix the old dehumidifier today, but I never got around to it. By the time I finished my Saturday shopping and took my long walks the day was almost over. There are YouTube videos that show you how to fix almost anything, but I can't find one about my particular brand of dehumidifier. I won't let this deter me though. Eventually I'll figure out how to take the thing apart, clean it, and put it back together again. There's no hurry though. We've got a new dehumidifier now that seems to work perfectly.

We've also got a new toaster oven. Janet bought one while she was doing her shopping today. She said she was tired of using the big oven just to make cinnamon toast. Works for me. The little oven is probably great for cooking a pizza too. We ran out of space for new appliances long ago, so we just set the toaster oven on top of the little emergency refrigerator. It's not actually in the kitchen, but it's close.

When I was walking this afternoon, I saw a guy with a guitar and a microphone on a stand singing to no one at all. He had a little battery powered amplifier and his voice was quite nice. Nobody was listening though. Not even the ducks were listening. I wondered what this was all about. Was he trying to attract an audience, or did he prefer putting on a little concert for himself? It was very hot outside too. There are certainly better places to practice on an August afternoon. I'll probably never know what the guy was doing. I see a lot of strange things in the park.

I slept better last night. I have no idea why. All the variables are always the same. I go to bed at the same time. The temperature in the house is the same. There is very little stress in my life. My sleep should be very consistent, but it's not. One of life's mysteries I guess. I go to sleep quickly, but I wake up too soon. Maybe this means that I'm actually getting all the sleep I need. Old people always seem to wake up early.

Toby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3522

I see a lot of families at the new neighborhood restaurant. I'm amazed that even little babies seem to know how to use iPhones and tablets. It appears that they become familiar with these devices even before they can talk. When a kid starts to act up in public, Mom just pulls a phone out of her purse and the kid become mesmerized. It's going to be a different world when these children grow up. I forget the first thing I learned when I was small, but it certainly wasn't to swipe right.

I made a point to get an early start this morning because I wanted to mow the grass before the heat became unbearable. I was back from the restaurant before 9 AM, but there was no avoiding the heat today. This was going to be another triple digit day. By the time I finished the front yard, I was drenched in sweat. I had thought that the dead patch caused by the June brush pile was filling in nicely, but on closer examination, the new green areas were just weeds. Oh, well. The weeds are nicely trimmed now.

I'm impressed at how much more water the new dehumidifier is collecting. The bucket was almost full when I woke up this morning. I have to empty the bucket several time a day now. It makes me wonder what it is that makes performance gradually deteriorate on these things. Probably the condenser coils that aren't readily accessible get really dirty. It could be something else though. I doubt that it's worth the trouble to find out. You can buy a new dehumidifier for less than it would cost to repair one.

I rested for a while and changed my clothes after I finished mowing the grass and then I got started on my first walk of the day. The long walks are starting to become boring, but I still think the effort is worth it. The changes to my body have been gradual, but I can tell that I am in better shape than when I started these forced marches. I'm surprised that so many people run because walking provides most of the same benefits with a lot less wear and tear on the knees.

I'm still not sleeping as well as I was last month. There must be a reason. Is the temperature too warm? Has our mattress become too soft? Maybe I need the glow from the security light coming through the bedroom window? I wonder a lot about any inconsistency in life. Why is the stock market so volatile? Why aren't cars more reliable? Why does the Internet go down for no reason at all?

Actually the Internet was down when I woke up to drink some water last night. I only noticed because I saw a message on the thermostat on my way to the refrigerator. I reset the router and brought everything back online before I returned to bed. This is probably why I had trouble getting back to sleep. I knew that if I ignored the problem until morning I would just lie in bed thinking about it. It's better for me to take care of these things immediately.

Maybe I'll sleep well tonight. I've had lots of activity today. I can't say that I accomplished much, but I'm certainly tired.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3521

The new dehumidifier arrived today. It seems to be working fine although the humidity is about the same as it was before. We'll see how much water is in the bucket tonight. The defrost function isn't coming on, so that's a good sign. I'd feel stupid if the new dehumidifier was exactly the same as the old one. Instead of immediately throwing the old machine away, I'm going to make more of an effort to disassemble and fix it. What have I got to lose? If I fail, it will just go out to the curb in pieces. Hey, if I succeed we've got two dehumidifiers. In my world, two is always better than one.

It must have rained a lot harder than I thought a few days ago. When I went up on the roof to check on things there was a lot more water than I expected. It took almost an hour to clear the standing water away. I was hot and sweaty before I even began my morning walk. I sent the roofer another e-mail explaining how some of the damaged areas appeared to be getting worse. It seems like I was doing exactly the same thing last year at the time. Probably the year before as well.

As I was finishing breakfast this morning the tree guy arrived and wanted to look at what remained of the Elm tree again. He gave me a bid on removing the tree and hauling it away. I can get on his schedule in early September so it won't be that long before I can check this item off my to-do list. The stump will be too close to the house to use a stump grinder, but that is the least of my worries now.

If you look closely at the yellow coreopsis flower I photographed today you can see one of the milkweed assassin bugs that bit me. They're quite common and feed mostly on other insects. I'm adding these critters to a long list of things I avoid. The bite appears to be getting better, but it is still quite noticeable. I wonder now why one of these thing has never bit me before? They're everywhere in Dallas.

I'm encountering fewer people on my walks these days. People are finally getting the message that it is hot outside. The joggers are gone, but the cyclists remain. Many of these people I see everyday. They are probably just as locked into their routines as I am. There is one group of men who ride recumbent bicycles together every morning. They are all older and most have little white goatees. They all wear long pants and long sleeve shirts too. Must be hot. I wonder why younger people never ride recumbent bicycles? I've never seen anyone under fifty on one of these things.

I saw a ton of Egrets and Blue Herons today but I haven't seen an owl in months. The lone White Pelican is still there though. The bird never ventures far from the small bay where it calls home. Counting and trying to identify birds helps me pass the time. I can't wait for cooler weather to arrive. I enjoy walking, but I hate this heat.

The trash has been taken to the curb and I'm already thinking about where to eat breakfast tomorrow. These weeks go surprisingly fast considering that nothing really happens.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3520

It rained this morning. The temperature was noticeably cooler and I should have taken my morning walk as soon as I got up, but of course I didn't. I slowly drank my smoothie as I always do while watching the morning news. The news was pretty dismal. The stock market was crashing. Police were in the streets in Hong Kong. And there were predictions that a recession was on the way. None of this was all that surprising, but it would be nice to have some good news for a change.

There was a light rain when I started my walk. It was actually kind of pleasant. Instead of being drenched in sweat, I was covered in rainwater. The morning shower didn't last long. As soon as the sun peeked from behind a cloud the water turned to steam. For the rest of the day it was extremely humid.

There were a ton of things I needed to do today, but I had an excuse for most of them. It was too wet to mow the grass. There wasn't much point in going up on the roof, since there was still rain in the forecast. I finally ended up vacuuming the house because I felt guilty for doing nothing. The carpets were certainly dirty. I haven't vacuumed in a while.

I'll be glad when the new dehumidifier arrives. For a while last night I thought that the old dehumidifier had turned into a humidifier. I turned it off for a few hours and watched the humidity in the house actually become lower. The only thing that I can think of is since the defrost circuit is coming on frequently now, the dehumidifier must be blowing moist air back into the room.

I took another bill to the post office today. Seems like I just did this yesterday. I could easily save these bills and pay them once a week, but going to the post office gives me something to do between my walks. I've lost interest in shopping and I don't eat lunch anymore. I guess this is all the reason I need to go to the post office.

I should be getting more sleep. In theory I could sleep till noon, but I keep waking up early. Maybe it's the weird dreams. I woke up last night when I found myself being chased by the neighbor's dog. I went back to sleep and woke up again when I found myself lost in a huge hotel again. When I eventually found my room, it was filled with strangers. Somehow in a dream this all seems normal.

I was hoping for some cooler weather for tomorrow, but it looks like we're going to have triple digit temperatures for the foreseeable future. Oh, well. At least the water on the roof will evaporate.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3519

When I was walking this morning an old guy on a bicycle pulled over and started giving me advice on being out in the sun. His advice basically consisted of putting your head under the water every time you passed a water fountain or a hose and sitting under a tree frequently. As he was talking, two older woman passed us on the trail and he wondered if I should accompany them home in case they might fall. "They just live around the corner," I told him. As we parted ways, I kept thinking that those who think they are invulnerable are usually the first to fall. This dude was older than me, wasn't wearing a hat or a bicycle helmet, and has a badly sunburned head. I suspect that he had been out in the sun a little too long himself.

There is rain in the forecast again and the roofer still hasn't delivered the can of silicon material he promised. I'm not terribly worried because it is so hot outside that the water on the roof evaporates quickly. Who knows, maybe it just boils away. If I run the pumps, the residual water shouldn't be a problem. I'll send the roofer another e-mail. Eventually, he'll drop off the product. I definitely don't feel like buying an industrial sized drum of this stuff myself.

Truthfully, I haven't been thinking about the roof much lately. I've totally forgotten about keeping my big printer unclogged. I haven't bought ink in months and the printer is probably ruined. I can only think about a few broken things at a time. Now I wonder why the security light in the back yard comes on normally every evening at sundown, but shuts off again at 10 PM. The bulb is good and the photocell works. What is wrong with this thing? The dehumidifier isn't working properly either, but we've already ordered a new one. There's no sense wondering about the machine's inability to bring the humidity below 45%.

A word of warning. Don't ever let an assassin bug bite you. These things are nasty. I thought I was out of the woods when the pain of the sting and the hard welt the bite produced started to subside. I guess that was just stage one. This morning my arm was itching like crazy and there was a large soft swelling where the bug had bitten me. Nothing serious, but an itch that won't go away is irritating. I tried some Hydrocortisone Cream but it didn't do anything. The weird thing about these bugs is that I've seen them outside on our window screens for ages. I always thought they were harmless.

The big event of the day was taking a phone bill to the post office. Every time I get in the car I debate whether to take it to McDonald Observatory or not. The car runs well and I haven't had any problems in quite a while, but I don't trust it. The problem is that I don't really trust anything. Would a rental car really be any better? Maybe my initial idea of taking the train wasn't such a bad plan anyway. I've got some time to think about this but there doesn't appear to be an easy answer.

I can't believe that I still see people letting their dogs swim in the lake. Don't these people listen to the news? Dogs are dying all over the country because of blue-green algae in lakes. There have already been problems in other Texas lakes and our lake isn't looking all that clean. I wouldn't go near the water right now. If it isn't blue-green algae, it's flesh eating bacteria, rotting seaweed, or sharks. When I was a kid in Colorado, rivers were so clean you could drink out of them. I'm afraid those days are gone forever.

Emma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3518

All the Dalmatians seemed happy today. Hank was his usual exuberant self, chasing a red rubber ball around the room, but it was hard to tell whether his problems are over. He's still taking a lot of meds and he's only been on his new diet a few days. So far, so good though. The kennel staff have seen no evidence of further bleeding.

Rolly seemed more relaxed than he was last week and seems to be gaining a little weight. He will be ready to start his heartworm treatment soon. Treasure and Charlie continue to show improvements. Charlie even walks well on a leash now. I am amazed at the progress he's made since he initially entered the rescue program. The kennel is kind of a halfway house where these guys can safely make the transition from street dogs to family dogs. I look forward to seeing each of them find their forever homes.

Just before I shut the computer off last night I felt something crawling on my arm. As I reached to brush the intruder away, it bit me. What the hell was this thing? The bite stung like a wasp, but the bug had no wings and didn't fly. I looked it up on the Internet and discovered that it was called a milkweed assassin bug. Their prey usually includes other small bugs, bees, flies, and caterpillars that they immobilize with a paralyzing toxin. These insects, which are also called Wheel Bugs  don't typically bite humans, but when they do they can leave a nasty welt. I was glad to discover that the painful bites weren't really harmful. By morning the welt had gone away.

I received my author copies of Spaceflight Magazine today. The magazine wasn't really a surprise since I'd already gotten a PDF copy of the September issue. It was nice to receive some printed copies though. I added the magazines to a small stack of Dalmatian Quarterly magazines on a shelf in my office. For someone who has been a writer for as long as I have, my published works are few and far between. I guess I haven't tried very hard. I've never had any desire to write the great American Novel. Writing ads and TV commercials was fine by me. The pay was good and for the most part the job was fun. I'll probably never know whether I could have succeeded as another type of writer. Could I have become a syndicated humor columnist like Dave Barry? I always enjoyed reading his columns back when people still read newspapers. Who am I kidding. I'm a blogger. I like being a blogger.

I keep getting these little blotches on my arms when I walk in the sun. The blotches are clearly tiny little pools of blood. Maybe this is what age spots actually are. I need to ask my doctor whether I should stop taking low dose aspirin and fish oil. These are mild blood thinners that can help prevent heart attacks, but they probably make it easier to bleed when you are sweating profusely. The blotches disappear after about three weeks, so I don't think they are harmful, but maybe I ought to get a second opinion. Unnecessary bleeding can't be a good thing.

It looks like it's going to be another hot day tomorrow. I know we have had hotter Summers in the past, but memories fade quickly. In my mind, this seems like the hottest Summer ever. I'm ready for Winter. I'm even ready for rain.

Ellis is topday's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3517

It's time to retire the dehumidifier. It has been running almost continuously since we got it after we had the water leak under our foundation quite a few years ago. This has been one of our most reliable appliances, but nothing lasts forever. The trusty little machine just doesn't remove much moisture anymore. Since this unit is still available, we ordered an identical dehumidifier to replace it. If the new one will run continuously for five years as well, it's hard to complain. Janet wants me to haul the old dehumidifier out to the curb on the next big trash day. I'm more inclined to try to fix it. I will probably fail since I've already tried to fix the machine several times. It's probably just worn out.

I feel pretty worn out today as well. There was no air conditioning at the gym this morning. I'm glad this doesn't happen very often. The place felt like a sauna. I found a brand new basketball when I went on the court today. I was curious whether I'd shoot any better with a new ball. Nope. I was also curious whether I'd burn more calories when the gym was hotter. Nope again. I'm not even sure my Fitbit is working correctly. Maybe it wasn't measuring calories right. It tracked five minutes of "aerobic activity" while I was sleeping last night. I remember sleeping peacefully, but maybe I had a weird dream.

I did manage to get my 20,000 steps today, but if there was anything interesting to watch on Netflix I might have just stayed inside. We are in the middle of a major heat wave. I think it was 105 degrees when I took my long walk this afternoon. I guess the only reason I continuing doing this is to see if I can. I like to have a routine as well. If you have a fixed routine you don't need to think of what to do next.

I'm beginning to wonder whether I should have waited until late Fall or Winter to visit the observatory. Unless it starts to cool down quickly, it's going to be a very hot trip. The weather in the Davis Mountains will be a lot cooler than it is here, but it is a long drive to get there. A rental car is looking better and better. If the rental car breaks down, they'll just get us a replacement. Maybe my next car won't be a Land Rover after all. If reliability issues make me nervous about leaving the city, what's the point of having one?

Janet and I will be going up to visit the Dalmatians tomorrow. That's what we do on Monday's now. Hank is back at the kennel again and they say that the bleeding has stopped and his stools are normal. Hopefully, all he needed was a change in diet. Hank is going to have to be monitored carefully for the next several weeks, but it is encouraging that he appears to be getting better. At least all his vital signs are good. He's been tested for just about everything.

I guess I'm ready to start another week. The laundry is all done and I've got a new supply of fresh fruit for my smoothie. Maybe something exciting will happen this week, but I hope not. All I want at this point is cooler weather.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3516

I just noticed that the cicadas are gone. I don't hear them anymore on my daily walks. When did this happen? I'm trying to be more observant, but there are so many things to notice in our daily lives that a lot of things fall under the radar. I heard a few individual bugs chirping when I took out the trash this evening but the constant buzz appears to be over. I wonder why these bugs do everything together. It's all or nothing with them. I doubt that the cicadas stopped singing today. I have been hearing a lot of other birds lately, but I failed to notice that this was because it was quieter outside. It's interesting how the brain works. I'm finally starting to notice things that I've actually been seeing for years. When I was walking dogs, I was always focused on them. I was looking ahead for other dogs. Especially loose ones. I kept an eye out for critters the dogs might go after. Was someone limping? Were the dogs too hot? I was busy and totally ignored a lot of other things in the park. The only time I noticed cicadas when I was walking Dot and Dash was when one of the dogs was trying to eat them.

There was no blood in Hank's stools today. We've changed his diet and this seems to be helping. It would be convenient if all the dogs in the rescue program could eat the same thing, but they can't. Some Dalmatians tend to develop crystals in their urine and there is a special diet for that. There are diets for kidney problems and even diets for cancer patients. Dot could eat anything, but Dash was on a special diet for most of his life. Hopefully adjusting Hank's diet will prevent the bloody diarrhea from reappearing.

The grocery store is playing hide and seek with the strawberries again. They hide the boxes of good berries underneath boxes of berries approaching their expiration date in hopes that people will buy the bad berries first. I had to sort through a lot of berries this morning to find two boxes of fresh, bright red strawberries. Who is the produce manager trying to fool? Everybody knows the good berries are on the bottom. I always see other people doing the same thing I am. They ought to sell the older berries separately at a lower price? People always buy cheap stuff. They could even make juice out of the darker berries. You'd never know the difference if you were looking at a bottle of juice.

I stopped at a rental car place on the way to the grocery store to ask about renting a car for our trip to McDonald Observatory. I thought all locations for a particular brand would be the same, but they're not. You can get a lot better selection of cars at the airport than you can in town. The lady I talked to basically encouraged me to just go to the airport. She said that they would probably never have the car I wanted. "Couldn't you just get the airport location to sent one over," I asked. "That's not the way it works," she told me. Apparently very few things work the way they should.

It keeps getting hotter. We're supposed to have triple digit temperatures for another week. When cooler weather returns it will still be in the nineties. Personally, I'm ready for sweater weather. I've got lots of sweaters but only one skin. Sweating might be good for you but I doubt that tanning has the same benefits.

It's funny that absolutely nobody seems to believe that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. Some people even think he faked his own death and is already in the witness protection program. The rest seem to think Hillary did it. This is the world we live in. When the conspiracy theories start to seem more plausible than the "factual" information, you are already living in the Twilight Zone.

J-Lo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3515

Hank is a 50 pound puppy. You couldn't find a sweeter dog if you tried, but he knows nothing and tries to eat everything. We thought we'd dog proofed the house pretty well before we brought him home last night. Within a matter of minutes Hank had found things we didn't even know we had and was carrying them around in his mouth. After we retrieved a ball of lip balm, a rubber door stopper, and several shoes Hank had snatched, we methodically went room to room and placed everything loose on a high shelf. We had forgotten the primary rule of puppyhood: if you can chew it, you will chew it.

We don't know much about Hank's background. He's probably around two years old. He was picked up as a stray and clearly whoever owned him first never bothered to provide even the most rudimentary training or socialization. It's a shame that a beautiful, sweet dog like this has gotten off to such a bad start. Despite his lack of manners, Hank was good around the house. We weren't well prepared with gates and crates, so we just let him sleep on the bed with us. He did pretty well. For the most part he slept soundly, although he did wake me up once trying to pull the Fitbit off my arm and had an episode of the zoomies, chasing a rubber ball around the house at 3 AM. He also tried to drag the blanket off our bed. All of this was pretty normal for a young dog. We've had old, sick dogs for so long that we'd almost forgotten what a young Dalmatian is like.

Hank seemed healthy and happy while he was at our house, but after we took him up to the vet for evaluation, they reported a few hours later that he'd had bloody diarrhea again. He wasn't throwing up blood after all. The blood was in his stools. This will help the vet diagnose the problem, but we're still not sure what is going on. His blood work and lab tests look normal and an x-ray showed no obstructions in his stomach or intestines. There are many things that can cause bloody diarrhea. The fact that the blood is still red would indicate that the problem is probably in his colon instead of his stomach or upper intestines, but he will need further tests to determine what is wrong. Hank is still at the vet. He is eating a bland diet and taking medication that will help with any irritation he might have in his digestive system. Hopefully nothing is serious. Hank is young and deserves a long and healthy life.

I took Janet to one of my breakfast restaurants on the way home from the vet and then we both resumed our daily routines. It took a long time to get the dog hair out of the car. Hank sheds even more than Dot and Dash did. The cable guy came and hooked up the new buried fiber optic cable this afternoon, although I never saw him. When I came home from my morning walk, the old temporary cable was still attached. The next time I left the house, everything had been fixed. I never heard a thing. The technician must have come while I was taking a shower.

Taking Hank to the vet in rush hour traffic made me glad that I am retired. Drive time traffic in Dallas is horrible now. I don't know how people can stand to do this everyday. It's been so long since I've driven to work on a regular basis that I forget how much Dallas has grown. It feels like I'm driving in Los Angeles now. I'm glad I was able to work out of my house while I had my own company. It kept me sane.

If we have another dog emergency, we're going to have to assemble a dog emergency kit. It would have been good to be able to gate off a few rooms last night. We definitely need to retrieve some water and food bowls from the storage warehouse. Leashes, a sturdy harness, poop bags, a first aid kit, and a few indestructible Kongs are all necessities. I'm glad we were able to help Hank last night. It was nice to have a dog around the house again.

Nautica is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3514

Today was not your typical day. We went downtown to see the Dior show this afternoon. It's been a long time since either of us has been downtown. The retrospective exhibit was enormous, taking over the entire Dallas Museum of Art with over 500 items on display. I guess fashion exhibits are popular with art museums now. This one has been sold out for months. The show is closing soon which is why we went to see what all the fuss was about. I'll have to admit that the show was very interesting. A lot has changed since the House of Dior was established in 1946, but a lot has stayed the same. Was this art or a cultural history? Probably both.

There was a big crowd this afternoon, but I only saw three other men. There were a lot of well dressed older women, including many using canes and walkers. This is probably why one of the docents kept telling people to be careful not to fall. Sure enough, within fifteen minutes one of the ladies tripped and fell into one of the exhibits. I remember that the museum had another exhibit featuring the work of Jean Paul Gaultier a few years ago. We went to that show too. Janet likes fashion and I used to be a fashion photographer, so it was an enjoyable afternoon.

When we got home I took my morning walk late in the afternoon. I just couldn't bring myself to skip walking altogether. I had to get at least 10,000 steps. After dinner we got an emergency call saying that Hank had been throwing up blood at the boarding kennel. Since Janet and I don't have other dogs now, it was decided that we would be best to watch him overnight and then take him to our vet first thing in the morning. Hank seemed perfectly normal when we arrived at the kennel, but it definitely looked like blood he'd thrown up earlier.

Hank has already been to the vet earlier this month with vomiting issues. It looks like we'll need to do more tests to see what is going on. On the ride home we quickly discovered that Hank doesn't like to ride in the car. He barked the entire way home. Once we got back to the house he calmed down quickly though. He's definitely a Dalmatian. It didn't take him five minutes to decide he wanted to sleep on the bed. That's fine with us. All our dogs have slept on the bed.

Hopefully, there's nothing seriously wrong with Hank. He is a very sweet dog. I think he's tired now because he's resting calmly on the bed with Janet. We'll keep an eye on him this evening and take him up to the Dalmatian Rescue vet in the morning. If something happens tonight, there a very good emergency vet nearby. We've been there often.

Neither of us expected to have a dog in the house again so soon. We're good with sick dogs though and know what to do. So far Hank seems fine. He probably enjoys being out of the kennel. If he throws up tonight it won't be the first time. We've had every type of dog mishap in this house that you can imagine.

Maybe this is our role for now. To just be there when a dog needs us. Hank is definitely a keeper, but we won't be keeping him. We just want to make sure he gets healthy and finds a good home. If he stays with us for a while, that's fine too.

Lilly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3513

I got my car safety inspected for another year. There is no window sticker anymore, but you still need to have the inspection done before you can buy the annual registration sticker at your local grocery store. Why do I need the registration sticker? Rules. There used to be a little sticker you put on your license plate as well. Those disappeared a long time ago. I'm old enough to remember having to go downtown to the department of motor vehicles for a new plate every year. You rarely get a new plate anymore. All these physical ways of identifying you are gradually going away. I used to have a Toll Tag in my front window but you don't need the tag anymore. Sensors just know when you are driving on a toll road. It probably won't be long before there aren't any stickers or tags on your car at all. The car will just broadcast everything about you to the state as soon as you turn on the ignition.

For now these annual safety inspections are still part of my routine. I could get everything done a lot quicker at a local garage, but I continue to drive up to the dealership and waste half the morning. The time goes quickly. I had a long conversation about cars with a sales guy I know. He shared some new information with me about the new Land Rover Defender that is being introduced this Fall and we traded stories about various exotic cars we'd seen about town. I looked at all the new cars on the show room floor and lamented the high prices for Range Rovers these days. Pretty soon my car was done. My day hadn't really changed at all. I still had a morning smoothie and I still had a morning walk. My trip to the dealership just made my morning walk even hotter because I got a late start.

I thought that an AT&T technician would come back today and hook up the cable that was buried in my yard yesterday. I guess I'll have to call about this tomorrow. I can't remember whether I need to be here or not when this happens. I've finally figured out why AT&T installs these temporary cables. If you had to wait and wait without any service at all until the technicians eventually showed up, customers would be pretty mad. They probably figured out quickly that throwing away a lot of fiber optic wire was easier than dealing with irate customers.

Even though I complain about sweating a lot, I still like walking outside better than walking at the gym. There is more visual stimulus outside. I certainly wouldn't see many Great Egrets at the gym. If I just wanted to avoid the heat, I could go to the gym every day. I'd have to drive to my gym though and I don't like driving. I do like talking about cars however. It's complicated. I don't really mind the heat, but my skin is taking a beating. I don't remember my skin looking this bad during previous summers. Do I need to use sunblock? It would be so much easier if I just stayed home and got fat watching Netflix.

I've been hearing cars running through water all evening. I thought it had started raining for a while. When I went outside to investigate I discovered that the neighbor's sprinkler system had broken. There were big fountains of water spewing out into the street. What a waste. I wish one of those nozzles was pointed over at my yard. I could use the water. I guess everyone has problems during the summer. I just hope my air conditioner keeps working.

Lou is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3512

I guess we're making progress. I got a bid on repairing the greenhouse today. The price seems reasonable, so we'll move ahead with this project. The carpenter doesn't want to begin work until the weather gets cooler. Makes sense to me. It's too damn hot to do anything. The heat didn't stop the AT&T crew from burying my fiber optic cable though. The "crew" was really just a man and his wife who spoke no English. When I asked a question, the wife got out her iPhone and pointed for me to speak into it. She had a translation app that worked surprisingly well. It answered all my questions anyway. The young couple was very nice and I kind of felt sorry that AT&T was making them work in this heat. The technician that diagnosed my problem a few weeks ago told me that the company always hires the lowest bidders to bury the lines. They probably get no benefits.

Right now I've got two lines. A nicely buried line that isn't hooked up to anything and the temporary line that is still providing my connection. Another technician will have to come back and connect the new buried line. This procedure of installing temporary lines and then coming back later with a second buried line line that needs to be installed all over again seems terribly inefficient. So, far I've had six lines pulled to my house from the street since I signed up for U-verse. Half of this fiber optic cable was temporary and was eventually just thrown away. There are probably several buried lines still under my lawn as well. Nobody bothers to pull up the old cable when they install a new one.

Coincidently, I paid my cable bill today. All these service calls explain why my bill is so high. I should call AT&T and demand that they deduct a week's service from my bill for the time the Internet was out while Janet was away. I probably won't bother though. It's like pulling teeth to make a complaint to customer service.

I'm still walking, but the weather is pretty brutal. There aren't as many joggers now, but the cyclists are still out in force. Maybe it's cooler when you are moving faster, but I suspect that the cyclists just love punishment. I keep walking because I've learned that sweating is actually good for you. Sweating can strengthen your immune system, improve circulation, lower the risk of kidney stones, unclog pores, and help fight viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Walking is also one of the best ways to keep bones strong and prevent osteoporosis too. I guess I'll keep walking. It's a slow summer and there isn't much better to do anyway.

The next thing on my list is getting my car safety inspected. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I could go anywhere but I usually just go to the dealership. They have free snacks and I like to look at new cars I'll never be able to afford. I've been waiting for years for the new Land Rover Defenders to arrive, but there are very few reasons to drive a rugged go anywhere vehicle anymore. Those new mid-engine Corvettes are looking pretty nice.

Janet is making me another Peach Cobbler tonight. I've been eating a lot of peaches lately. It's going to be rough when they go out of season again. Fresh peaches are one of the few good things about Summer.

Margo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3511

We went and met the new boy today. Rolly is a sweet four year old male who seemed like he'd been living on the streets for a while. He was skinny and has heartworms. If you made any sudden movements he flinched and moved away from you. Once he decided that we were OK and didn't want to hurt him, he was extremely gentle and friendly. Rolly wasn't interested in chasing a ball, but he loves treats. As soon as he puts on a few pounds and we treat his heartworms, this dog is going to make a wonderful companion for some lucky family.

The rest of the crew was in fine form. Treasure has perfected her roll over trick. Charlie can now catch his treats in mid air. And Hank wanted to make sure we knew he was the fastest. The kennel staff treats our dogs really well. They are all more relaxed than when they initially arrived. You can tell with each passing week that they are becoming well socialized canine citizens.

It's still extremely hot and humid. With the exception of Rolly who actually seemed to enjoy being outdoors, all the Dalmatians wanted to stay inside. Who could blame them. I should have stayed inside myself today. I probably keep walking because I can't think of anything better to do. I'm hooked on getting as many steps as I can too. It's weird that a little band on my wrist controls my day.

My memory is better than I thought it was. I've been trying to memorize things I see on my daily walks and I'm surprised at the level of detail I've been able to retain. I know what signs say now before I approach them. I remember the street numbers on people's houses. When little things change, I notice now. It's just a silly game, but maybe it will prevent me from getting Alzheimer's someday.

The AT&T crew still hasn't showed up to bury my fiber optic cable. The roofer hasn't showed up with his long promised bucket of silicon material either. For the moment I don't feel like adding to this list of suppliers who are ignoring me by calling the electrician. I may have to though. The security light in the back yard still won't stay on all night. All these things are irritating, but none of them really matter. Maybe things don't get done because I seldom get mad. It's a waste of energy to get mad about most things.

Tomorrow I'll update the Dalmatian Rescue website, adding Rolly and marking several other dogs as adopted. I guess I could do this tonight, but it's getting late and I'm ready for bed. I need something to do tomorrow anyway. I don't think I'll be watching the business channel during breakfast. I'd rather enjoy my meal. Something tells me that today's nasty selloff is going to continue. It's probably best not to turn on the TV at all. There's no good news anywhere these days.

Morgan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3510

24,000 steps today. Part of this total was spent up on the roof unclogging the pumps and clearing the water away. July was dry, but so far August has been pretty wet. I was surprised at how much higher the lake was this morning. Just two decent rains and the water level had risen over a foot. As always, the rain is a giant nuisance for me, but we certainly needed it. The grass in the back yard is already looking greener.

After all this activity I am pretty tired. I don't think I could have done this two months ago though. Walking is good for you. I'm starting to feel stronger and my legs definitely feel firmer. My average resting heart rate has decreased as well. I wish I enjoyed exercising since it occupies a lot of my day now. Walking is not really a joyful experience but it's not depressing either. All in all, it's probably a much better way to spend time than sitting at the computer.

I went back and got strawberries today. A shipment must have just arrived because the berries looked really fresh. The fruit always seems to look better on Sunday. Of course if I switched shopping days, the fruit would look better on Saturday. At any rate, I'm all set for another week of smoothies.

AT&T was supposed to come out and bury the new fiber optic cable this morning, but nobody showed up. Am I surprised? Not really. Since there is no easy way to check on scheduling, I will have to call the irritating offshore customer service line again and spend a long time on the phone with someone who doesn't have a clue about what is going on. Maybe I'll just do nothing. Everything works fine with the cable laying on top of the ground.

I'm starting to think about renting a car for the trip to McDonald Observatory. This isn't really rational thinking because I've already got a perfectly nice car that has just been serviced. I just got new tires too. The problem is that I don't really trust the car. Things have gone wrong for no reason at all when I least expected it. I hate surprises. Memories never fade either. Once on a road trip I threw a rod in rural Oklahoma and had to have an earlier car towed all the way back to Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was there over a month getting the engine completely rebuilt. When the repairs were finally finished I had to drive up from Dallas during an ice storm to retrieve it. Of course rental cars aren't free from problems. When I went out to Vandenberg Air Force Base to watch a launch a few years ago somebody hit the rental car and it took months to get all the insurance issues resolved.

There's a new Dalmatian up at the boarding kennels so Janet and I are going up for a visit tomorrow. I'll take some pictures of this liver spotted boy for the website and we'll spend time playing with all the dogs. Visiting the dogs on Mondays has become a regular part of our week. Truthfully, these visits are just as important as my daily walks.

I can't figure out what is wrong with the security light. It comes on every evening around sunset, but shuts off again around 10 PM. This doesn't make sense because the photo cell is obviously working. The light will come back on again tomorrow evening. The bulb is fine too. I could turn it on again right now by going out and flipping the breaker switch. It isn't worth the trouble to go outside and do this but I'm still wondering about this very odd behavior.

It looks like another hot and humid day tomorrow. At least the rain is over for a while. I'm done with Summer. Bring on the cooler weather.

Pebbles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3509

I predicted this would happen. We had a brief heavy rain this morning and the roof is wet again. After weeks of pleading, the roofer still hasn't brought over the special silicon product I need to make repairs. It's been so dry in July that almost any day would have been a good time to patch the tears in the elastomer material. Now I need to clear the water off the roof, dry everything off and start all over again. The main problem is that commonly available patch materials available at Home Depot and Lowes won't stick to the silicon that's already on the roof and the commercial product I need is only available to the trade in very large drums. It's quite expensive too. Jeez. I don't need much of this stuff. I'm sure the roofer is waiting till he has a small amount of silicon left over from another job, but this isn't helping me any.

The rain cooled the temperature a bit, but it's still as muggy as ever outside. I thought I'd have a pleasant walk this morning, but I might as well have just walked the rain. I was still drenched in sweat by the time I returned. While I was in the park, I saw a guy pick one of the yellow berries on a Horse Nettle plant and eat it. Dude, don't you know these plants are poisonous? Apparently he thought it was a wild cherry tomato. Close but not close enough. Horse Nettle and Tomatoes are both members of the Nightshade family. Tomatoes happen to be one of a very few Nightshade varieties that are edible. I don't think Horse Nettle is nearly as dangerous as Belladonna, commonly called the Deadly Nightshade, but I'm not going to try eating any Nightshade berries. I don't even like tomatoes that much.

There are still a lot of Herons and Egrets at the lake. I finally got close enough to photograph one of the Great Egrets today. What a strange looking bird. With a long yellow bill and an even longer neck, you'd think this bird would have trouble eating. Nope. They seem to be designed to catch small fish. I see Egrets catching and eating fish all the time.

The security light in the back yard came on normally this evening. Maybe the problem was temperature related. It is cooler today. Maybe the rain washed spider webs off the light sensor. Actually, I have no idea what is going on. I suspect that just when I begin to think that the problem has fixed itself, the light will go dark again. I spend way too much time thinking about obscure problems like this and not enough time dealing with problems I can actually solve.

There were no strawberries at the store today. I asked the produce guy when a new shipment would arrive. "Maybe tomorrow, maybe Monday, or maybe Tuesday," he said. I guess that means he didn't know. I'll go check again on my way home from the gym tomorrow. I need strawberries for my smoothie.

Am I ready for another 20,000 step day tomorrow? I'm not sure. Surely there is a better way to spend my time. I keep thinking that all this activity is keeping me healthy, but maybe I'm wrong. I'm wrong about a lot of things.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3508

The September issue of Spaceflight Magazine has finally arrived. Since I doubt if many of you subscribe to this British publication, I thought I'd just upload a PDF copy of my article to Facebook. Oops. You can't upload PDF files to Facebook. Weird. Why didn't I know this already? I guess I never tried to post a PDF file. There's always a solution though. I just put the file on my website and made a link. If anyone's interested in reading the article, just click here or on the picture to your left.

The good news about all this is that the magazine is interested in having me cover future launches for them and can even get me a press pass. I might have found my calling. I doubt if I can do this sort of thing all that often because it can get expensive. Nevertheless, the road ahead is something to look forward to.

When I went to the new neighborhood restaurant for breakfast this morning, I was surprised to see that it was completely full. There was even a small line out front. How did this happen? I've been going to this place fairly frequently on Friday mornings and it's never been full before. Oh, well. I'm not big on standing in line, so I got back in my car and drove to the hotel instead. The restaurant at the hotel never seems to be full. I ordered the French Toast like I always do at the hotel and daydreamed about traveling to rocket launches. The hotel reminds me of the old days when I used to do a lot of business travel. How did I transition from a road warrior to a person who rarely leaves the house? Life is strange. I don't even question a lot of things like this. We all go through stages.

I'm starting to see more birds at the lake. I wonder what this means? August doesn't seem like a time for migrations. I've seen a lot of Great Egrets lately as well as a few Great Blue Herons. I've seen smaller Cattle Egrets as well. I need to get some pictures of these birds because I don't know how long they will stay. This might be a project for the weekend. It will probably be easier to find the birds than to carry the camera on hot days like this. I sure wish Apple would invent an iPhone with a telephoto lens. Putting a phone in your pocket is a lot easier than carrying a big camera on long walks.

Janet has convinced me to try wearing ankle socks on my walks. The combination of long shorts and equally long wool socks has given me a very weird tan. Basically, it's just a dark stripe on my legs. I tried the shorter socks that everybody else seems to be wearing but I didn't like them. I came home with a blister on my heel. The Nike Air shoes I'm wearing now are fairly comfortable, but I guess I need the extra cushion of the thick wool socks as well. Who cares if I look ridiculous. Most old men look ridiculous anyway.

The security light in the back yard has started acting up again. It will come on around sunset but will go off again a few hours later. The lamp hasn't burned out or anything, but I have to go behind the greenhouse and flip a switch on the breaker box to get the light to tun on again. This involves walking through spider webs in the dark and getting bitten by chiggers. It's irritating. When this used to happen I had the electrician come out several times and they could never find anything wrong. They replaced the photocell twice and it didn't make any difference. Even though the dogs are gone and we don't really need the light anymore, this flaky fixture still bothers me. Why do things break so often? I want a world where everything is dependable.

One thing I can depend on is more hot weather tomorrow. I'm ready for winter.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day