Sunday, June 30, 2019

Day 3475

Another 20,000 step day. This isn't much by historic standards, but it's about all I can manage these days. Multi-day backpacking trips didn't used to faze me when I was younger. Times have changed. I don't think I could make it all the way around the lake today. I'm not winded or even that tired. It's my joints. My knees, shoulders, and elbows have all seen better days. Sometimes it feels like all the cartilage is gone. I take glucosamine and chondroitin but I'm not sure how effective this is at rebuilding cartilage. I certainly don't see much difference after years of taking these pills.

Although it felt like I spent the day walking, I did manage to get a few other things done. I went back to the store and got strawberries. I should have looked in the refrigerator first. Janet had already gotten strawberries when she went to the store a little earlier. I  also got some more peaches. I guess I didn't realize that there are almost as many varieties of peaches are there are apples. The Earth Rich peaches I got yesterday tasted mushy and fibrous. Today I got a different variety called Sierra Rich which tasted much better.  Needless to say, there is plenty of fruit in the house now.

I was terrible on the basketball court this morning. Maybe skipping a week at the gym made a difference. Hand/eye coordination is a curious thing. You'd think that after all this time I would have perfected the free throw. Nope. Some days I can sink quite a few shots in a row and other days I'm all over the place. Even though my coordination wasn't up to par today, I still enjoyed my time on the court more than the treadmill and hand bicycle. I see a lot of people walking and jogging on the indoor track in the Summer. It would make sense for me to do this as well. For some perverse reason, I still prefer to walk outdoors, even though it's getting pretty hot outside.

Walking outdoors is very conducive to daydreaming. Walking indoors is just exercise. I enjoy trying to identify plants and animals, along with observing what has changed in the neighborhood. There's something new to think about every day. Even cloud formations can be interesting on a hot summer afternoon. There were sailboat races on the lake today. I also noticed that the wild fennel is in bloom. I've often thought about taking sailing lessons, but since I don't even use my kayak anymore, I doubt that I'd go sailing very often. It is not an activity that is usually done alone. The boats are still fun to watch though. There are lots of little Sunfish and Lasers at the lake, along with a variety of larger craft. I think that one of the local sailing clubs must have been having a regatta today. The lake was a busy place.

Now that I've become a slave to my Fitbit, I'm not doing as many household chores. There only so much time in a day. Without a dog, the house stays cleaner now. It's amazing how much hair a Dalmatian can shed. They shed constantly. We were sweeping up big piles of dog hair every week with Dot and Dash and yet each dog always had a full, healthy coat. Where all that hair came from will remain one of life's enduring mysteries.

Not surprisingly, we miss all the dog hair. I think Janet and I will be going to go visit the rescue dogs again tomorrow. There are several new dogs in the program that need to be photographed for the website. That's not the real reason we're going though. We just need our weekly Dalmatian fix.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Saturday, June 29, 2019

Day 3474

OK. I hear you. You guys like positive thoughts and accomplishments more than cynicism and despair. That's normal. You seem to appreciate a little emotion as well. Hey, if you keep reading long enough I'm sure you'll find both, but sometimes there are long dry spells. That's life. Truthfully, the only times you'll see any real emotion from me is when a dog dies or something life changing happens. Mostly life is about the little things. I go grocery shopping. I pay bills. I cope with the weather. And I wonder why the White Pelican got lost at our lake. It's all good. Little things matter. That being said, I do appreciate your approval when something big happens. I'm glad so many of you recognized that yesterday was a big day.

Today was a bit more subdued. There were no strawberries when I did my weekend grocery shopping and I had to stand in the checkout line again because the convenient little app on my phone doesn't seems to recognize that I'm old enough to buy beer. I picked up some toiletries at CVS and when the woman at the register asked if I had a rewards card I said no. "Why didn't I get my discount," I asked. "You need a reward card to get the discounts," the woman said. OK. I lied. I actually do have a rewards card but I always say no because I don't like getting that mile long CVS receipt. I gave her my number and she rang up my purchase again, tearing off the long roll of useless coupons on the receipt and throwing them in the trash.

I wonder when the city is going to haul away the debris from the wind storm. I see the trucks in other parts of town, but not ours. All the grass in our front yard is going to die because it has been covered up with brush for so long. I still need to get the tree guy to come back and remove what is left of the big Elm tree too. I haven't even begun to get estimates for replacing the green house. I have a feeling that I'll still be thinking about some of these tasks this Fall.

The only thing I've been doing consistently this Summer is walking. I've been walking at least five miles a day even on very hot days like today. One of these days I need to weigh myself before and after one of these walks. I feel like I'm sweating away about a pound of water every time I go outside. At least I'm always wearing a hat now. I discovered today that if I soak the hat in water before I leave, I'm a lot cooler.

The weather is so weird at this time of year. The sky was blue and full of puffy clouds when I began my evening walk. It looked like a nice Summer day. By the time I returned I was hearing thunder and there were ominous dark clouds everywhere. We were under a severe weather alert for a while, but didn't actually get much rain. I'm glad that the worst of the storm passed to the east of us. I'm not ready to go up on the roof again.

It's been two weeks since I've been to the gym. What I was doing last Sunday was certainly a lot more exciting than shooting hoops on the basketball court. I need to start planning a new trip. Maybe a dark sky trip to McDonald Observatory is next.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Friday, June 28, 2019

Day 3473

I found out this morning that the article I finished yesterday about my trip to Kennedy Space Center has already been accepted for publication in the August issue of Spaceflight Magazine. I was stunned. All I could think was wow, that didn't take long. It isn't every day that you can write an article on Thursday, send it off, and get it accepted by an internationally recognized magazine on Friday. Some of you may never have heard of Spaceflight Magazine, but it's a big deal for people who follow astronomy and space. This well respected British publication has been around since 1956 and is still considered by many to be the authoritative reference for information about international space programs and commercial space exploration. It's not the New York Times, but for a space geek like me, it's exactly where I wanted to be.

This new development gave me hope that I may become a space journalist yet. Hey, it could happen. There was a time when I wrote so much about Dalmatians that I ended up becoming a contributing editor for The Dalmatian Quarterly. I loved that little magazine. Much later I became fascinated by watches and ended up writing frequently about the watch industry. I wrote hundreds and hundreds of articles about watches until that ship finally sailed. I haven't written much lately, but the blog keeps me in practice.

I've kind of been on Cloud 9 all day thinking about what might lie ahead. I may never be published again, but that's not what typically happens. One thing very often leads to another. I learned long ago that if something falls in your lap, you must seize the opportunity and run with it. I'm definitely going to apply to attend more of these NASA events in the future. I won't get accepted for all of them, but persistence does pay off. One of these days I'll be watching a launch again and I'll write about that one too.

I was excited to find a brand new breakfast restaurant this morning right in my own neighborhood. I noticed this place while I was driving toward the once trendy restaurant that has fallen off the map lately. I immediately turned around to try the new place, but unfortunately it wasn't open yet. The reason it looked open was that there was a training meeting for new employees going on. The manager told me that the restaurant will be opening for business on Monday. Guess where I'll be going next Friday morning?

Has anyone seen that new movie Yesterday? Some people love it and others hate it, but this sounds like something that I might actually go see in a theater. I love the unlikely premise that after a freak bus accident during a strange and largely unexplained global blackout, a struggling singer/songwriter wakes up to discover that The Beatles have never existed. For some reason this guy still remembers, starts singing their songs to a world that has never heard of The Beatles and becomes an overnight success. Kind of a wacky little fantasy film, but I've always loved the music. I think I'll go see this film.

Another hot day. Another sweaty walk. Another uneventful breakfast away from home. Life is good though. I'm a happy camper today.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Thursday, June 27, 2019

Day 3472

I finished my new article this morning and sent it off to several publications that I thought might be interested. I think the chances of getting this article published are close to zero. Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad article at all, but the response time for unsolicited submissions at many publications can be as long as three months. Since I am basically writing about the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing which takes place next month, the event will be over before they even get around to reading my story. I guess I can always put the story up on my website. My writing always gets accepted there.

Researching and writing this story was actually kind of fun. I've been doing this sort of thing for most of my adult life. I've been writing ads and marketing materials since the mid 1970's. Until recently I frequently wrote about the watch industry. This is one reason why you see so many watches on my blog. The whole concept of writing for free is foreign to me though. I firmly believe that writers and photographers should get paid.

As I was sending off my submissions this morning, it became apparent that this was somewhat of a quixotic quest. There just aren't that many printed magazines left. If I want to write about space, the smart thing to do would be to make myself known to existing space related websites and try to become a regular contributor. That's how I ended up doing a lot of writing about dogs and watches. Can I muster up enough energy to do this sort of thing all over again? Only time will tell.

Since there's a good chance that my initial effort to become a space journalist will just wind up gathering dust on my website, I spent the afternoon experimenting with a few ideas for creating my own space related site. In theory, this should be pretty easy. Just buy a interesting sounding domain, do a little coding, and put a few pages together that you can upload to the same webserver where all your other stuff resides.

There's one little fly in the ointment. I can't actually remember how to do what I was envisioning on my walk this morning. How frustrating. I know I've done this before. I'm going to have to do some research tomorrow since I apparently can't count on my memory anymore. Use it or lose it they say. I guess I've lost it.

I finally got my last piece of art re-scheduled for a new auction. I had to agree to lower the reserve and estimated hammer price, but it's not a big deal. The whole idea is to get this stuff sold. Inch by inch I am making progress toward my downsizing goals. I got a message from my train dealer recently that he had an offer on one of my better trains. Good news. If the sale goes through, it just might pay for my trip to Florida.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's very hot outside. I live in Texas and it's almost July. What am I doing walking outside in the sun? It's insane.  If I want exercise, I should be swimming at an indoor pool.

Dalmatian of the Day
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Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Day 3471

I'm back on Dallas time. Not surprisingly, I'm back on my regular schedule as well. I made my signature smoothie with a big bowl full of peaches, strawberries and blueberries, a banana, two raw eggs, 1/4 cup of Quaker Oats, a pinch of Cinnamon, and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. I know it's not rocket science, but the Vitamix is a wonderful machine. On my morning walk I noticed that the wayward White Pelican that refuses to migrate was still sitting on its favorite log at the lake. I wanted to tell the bird that I'd seen several endangered Brown Pelicans while I was in Florida. Not that the Pelican would care, but I also saw a Bald Eagle, lots of Ibis and Egrets, and some of the largest insects I'd encountered in a while. Florida has even more critters than Texas.

I'm still a bit surprised that the trip went so smoothly. I'm used to getting lost, sick, or stressed while I'm away from home. This little journey was a welcome change of pace. Travel is so easy these days. I made all the arrangements on my phone. Airline, hotel, and rental car reservations were all made in a matter of minutes on an app with a few easy clicks. Travel agents and paperwork seem to be a thing of the past. I made the entire trip without using any cash. Cash seems to be a thing of the past as well.

Meeting so many clever people at the Space Center inspired me to make an attempt to up my game a bit. I decided to write an extended article about what it meant to be standing on the same launch pad that sent astronauts to the moon fifty years after the Apollo 11 landing. I will submit the article to several magazines for publication if I ever finish it. I started writing this afternoon after I returned from my walk. Lord knows if the article will ever get published but at least I'm making an effort. I've written a shitload of ads and TV commercials but I haven't gotten anything published in a magazine since I used to be a contributing editor for The Dalmatian Quarterly many years ago.

I'm always humbled by the people I meet at these NASA events. On previous trips I met Bobak Ferdowsi, the talented JPL systems engineer who gained a bit of fame by wearing a mohawk haircut with stars shaved in his head during the televised Mars Curiosity landing. Scott Manley, the talkative Scottish YouTube personality and Kerbal Space Program expert was on the bus with me during a memorable launch at Vandenberg Airforce Base. This time my group included an actress who has appeared on Star Trek and the guy who invented the Fidget Spinner. Somehow, I'm always the oldest guy in the room.

This morning while I was walking I saw several large trucks in the neighborhood that were clearly intended for picking up brush and debris. I was hoping that these trucks would stop on my street and pick up the huge pile of brush and logs that is currently covering my front lawn. Nope. The trucks didn't pick up anything in the neighborhood. They were just passing through. I wonder how long it's going to take to clear away all the debris from our recent wind storm. The park department is doing a good job of cleaning up the damage in the park, but nothing has happened on the streets. There are still huge stacks of brush and logs piled up along every street in our neighborhood.

I thought I managed to escape the mosquitoes while I was in Florida, but several suspicious red welts appeared on my neck and face this morning. It seems that the mosquitoes got me anyway. What's with the time delay? Mosquito bites appear immediately in Texas.

Derrick is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Day 3470

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful place on a clear night. When we arrived at our destination on the shores of the Banana River around 1 AM, a copper colored moon was just starting to rise on the Eastern Horizon. Behind us, Jupiter was shining brightly just above the constellation of Scorpio. The sky was dark enough that I could actually see the Milky Way for the first time in years. Directly ahead, something else was shining brightly on the horizon. It was the Falcon Heavy rocket bathed in searchlights at launch pad 39A.

The launch was supposed to take place at 11:30 PM yesterday evening, but got delayed for three hours because of a minor technical problem on the pad. There was a lot of nervousness within our group as we began to hear rumors of the delay. When the countdown clock stopped and went dark, we were afraid that the launch might be canceled. When the rumors began circulating, we were scattered between Cocoa Beach and Titusville eating dinner before returning to meet the bus that would take us to our viewing location.  Lots of messages went back and forth before a new plan was announced. The launch would still take place and had been rescheduled for 2:30 AM this morning.

We were prepared for something dramatic, but the launch exceeded everyone's expectations. When the countdown clock reached zero, there was an intense flash of light on the horizon. An enormous trail of fire rose quickly into the sky, followed about ten seconds later by the thundering sound of 27 Merlin engines. Literally in a matter of seconds, darkness was turned into day.

Night launches are spectacular because you can see the rocket much longer. As the Falcon Heavy climbed in a graceful arc toward orbit, we could clearly follow the rocket all the way through stage separation and second stage ignition. The return of the two side boosters to Space X Landing Zones 1 and 2 was amazing. The two side boosters began their boostback burn almost directly over our heads.  Less than a minute later we saw the second stage engine start. The side boosters continued to fall rapidly as the second stage slowly faded from sight. About seven minutes after liftoff, the two side boosters simultaneously began their entry burn and started to slow down rapidly as they approached the landing zone. We saw puffs of smoke from the rockets exhausts rising from the landing zone indicating a successful landing and less than a second later heard two incredibly loud sonic booms. Sound travels slowly and the sonic booms arrived at our location after the boosters had actually landed.

Although the center core failed to land on a drone ship positioned over 1,000 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean, the mission was a huge success. The side boosters which had already been used before on a previous Falcon Heavy mission proved their worth again. All of the 24 satellites were deployed successfully. The brilliant people we talked to during the past two days who had spent years and years developing these payloads must have been very happy this morning.

Our little group of social media mavens were happy too. For many of us this was a dream come true. We had been up for over 24 hours, but I'm sure that some of us were already making plans in our mind to do this again. It is inspiring to see people succeed at doing something so complicated. As I returned to my hotel to pack my bags and return to Dallas, I felt like I had made some new friends and witnessed something important. I'm not always a positive person, but I felt good as I was flying home today. If humans can do something this complicated just by working together, we can do anything.

Shiner is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Monday, June 24, 2019

Day 3469

The weather looks beautiful and the launch is still on for tonight. Amazingly, we were granted direct access to Pad 39A today and got a close up look at the Falcon Heavy rocket during final preparations for launch. To get this close we went through laver after layer of security. When our group got off the bus, everyone was astonished. Nobody gets this close. We were all very careful to follow instructions. When we were told not to cross certain lines, nobody did. 39A is the same launch pad where dozens of space shuttle flights began their journey. Numerous Apollo missions were launched here as well. Now, Space X has a long term lease on the pad and many future missions will begin here. There is a lot of history in this place and a lot of history yet to be made.

Launch Complex 39 was built during the Apollo era. Pads 39A and 39B were originally identical and were meant to be used for the Saturn 5 program. After the Apollo program ended, the facilities were modified to be used for the Space Shuttle. Every shuttle launch began their journey here. Now these historic launch facilities are being modified again. 39A has been reconfigured by Space X to be used for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches and 39B is currently being refurbished to be used by the new Space Launch System that will take us back to the moon.

We got very close to 39A when we were looking at the Falcon Heavy rocket on the pad. We got even closer to 39B. The director of the launch complex took us right up on the pad itself and we got to walk around on it. The size and scope of both these facilities is impressive. There are huge round tanks for liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel. Some of the steel used in the facility is three inches thick. Each pad has a large water tower that is completely emptied during each launch to cool the pad and provide noise suppression. At one point we found ourselves standing in the blast pit where flames from the Saturn 5 booster were directed during liftoff.  If you saw the movie Apollo 11, you know how intense these flames were. We were standing right there.

It was a very busy day. There were other presentations by payload specialists. Many of them started making preparations for tonight's launch over ten years ago. It takes a long time to turn a dream into a reality. 24 different satellites will be along for the ride tonight. An amazing amount of work and effort went into each of them.

We also got to see the astronaut crew quarters where every astronaut stayed prior to launch. Some people took videos of themselves walking out the famous doors where we used to see astronauts in space suits get in their Airstream van for the short ride out to the pad. We also got to meet the folks who recover the capsules after splashdown and provide emergency medical services if necessary. The complexity and number of people required to get a rocket to it's destination and back again is almost unbelievable. The space program we know today is only here because of the commitment of thousands and thousands of talented and extremely dedicated people with almost unlimited resources.  Every one of them were determined to beat the Russians to the moon. I don't think something like this could happen today.

I'll be heading out to view the launch in about an hour. We won't get back to town until well after midnight, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if the launch was a success. I don't usually stay up this late, but today I think I'll make an exception.

Dalmatian of the Day
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Sunday, June 23, 2019

Day 3468

Today was amazing. We started the day by attending a press conference that was broadcast on NASA TV. We got to ask the payload specialists questions about the satellites that will be launched tomorrow. These were the people who actually designed the satellites, so the presentation was very interesting. I got to ask one question about the Deep Space Atomic Clock myself. I'm always amazed that many of the people working on these missions seem so young. They look like they just got out of high school but they have PhD's from prestigious universities and are already doing cutting edge research. When I think what I was doing at that age, I can't help but be very impressed. I think our future is in good hands.

After the press conference, we were taken out to the famous countdown clock near the Vertical Assembly Building. I've seen this clock in many memorable news broadcasts, but I never thought I'd be standing next to it. Traditionally, this is where the press watches important launches. Nobody will be there tomorrow though. The Falcon Heavy is still considered experimental by the Air Force and they still feel this location too close in case the rocket explodes. Our group, along with other members of the press, will be viewing the launch from a location near the Banana River.

I got to spend the afternoon at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The new Atlantis exhibit is fantastic. The Space Shuttle Atlantis and a full size replica of the Hubble Space Telescope are displayed as if they were floating in space. When you see a space shuttle up close like this, it is astonishing how big it is. I had no idea. The Hubble Space Telescope is pretty huge too. It's about twice the size that I thought is was.

There is a space shuttle simulator as part of the Atlantis exhibit that lets you experience what it is like to be launched into space on one of these things. Astronauts who have ridden in the simulator say it is remarkably realistic. I'm not a big fan of roller coasters and tend to get seasick, so I was a bit wary of the ride. What the heck. I knew I might not get this chance again, so I grabbed a seat on the simulator. It was quite an experience. The whole simulator tilts vertical and you are lying on your back during the launch phase of the ride. There is lots of noise and vibration and somehow they have even managed to created the illusion of G-forces. I enjoyed myself. As I was leaving this afternoon, I even got a space shuttle astronaut named Sam Durrance to sign my launch credentials.

Today was just a prelude to the main event. The weather still looks good, so everyone seems to think that the launch will take place tomorrow as planned. During the day, we may even get to go out to the launch pad and see the rocket up close. I'm not quite sure where we'll be going tomorrow, but it will definitely be someplace I've never been before. The launch is at night, so we were warned several times to wear a hat, long pants, and apply plenty of bug spray. The mosquitoes are supposed to be horrendous. We were also told that if we were late for the credential check tomorrow morning, the bus would leave without us. I don't take chances. I was early this morning and I'm sure I'll be early tomorrow as well. I hope the launch goes smoothly. I don't have a bucket list, but this is definitely a bucket list item.

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Saturday, June 22, 2019

Day 3467

I made it to Florida. It was a long day but everything went relatively smoothly. Going through the TSA line didn't go smoothly, but it never does. The scanner broke down so the entire line had to move to another scanner. They didn't believe my phone was a real phone because it was in a weird looking case. As always, my bag had to be opened because my little container full of computer connecting cables, WiFi hotspots, and camera batteries looked suspicious. I got picked for a random security check too, but somehow the agent forgot to check me when she was inspecting my phone. All is well that ends well though. After this short delay I put my shoes back on, and headed for my gate.

I like flying Southwest because they don't have nearly as many delays as American Airlines. Most flights leave right on time. If you pay a little more, you can board the plane first so you can be sure there is still space in the overhead bins for your bag. I don't know where the people who board last put their bags. These planes are always full. There were a lot of kids on today's flight. I guess that makes sense. We were headed for Disneyland after all.

The rental car folks at the airport talked me into upgrading to a car that had GPS navigation. It wasn't a hard sell, because I'm totally lost without GPS. It was an easy drive to Titusville, which happens to be the closest town to the space center. My first impression of Florida was that basically the entire state is a giant swamp. A little girl in the seat ahead of me on the plane asked her dad if she was going to see any alligators. "I'm sure you will," he said.

My plane got in early enough that I was able to have dinner with several of the other people who will be attending the launch. As always, NASA assembled a very interesting group of folks. I met a guy who ran an independent radio station in Nashville, several entrepreneurs who started their own software companies, a retired physics teacher, a photographer, and several other writers.  Everyone was curious about what was going to happen tomorrow, but nobody knew for sure. Nobody, including myself, knew exactly why they were selected to attend this event, but we were all glad to be here.

It's just as hot and humid in Florida as it is in Texas. After sitting outside for several hours at a local brewpub, I'm glad to be back in an air conditioned building. I think I'll go to bed early tonight. It's going to be a very busy day tomorrow.

Kirby is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Friday, June 21, 2019

Day 3466 - Summer Solstice

Today was the longest day of the year. It wasn't long enough however. I've felt way behind all day. I'm trying to get ready for my trip to Florida and as I often do, I didn't leave myself enough time. I did a bunch of stuff today that I should have done last week. I decided at the last minute that I needed to get a haircut. Then I decided that I needed a small backup battery I could use to recharge my phone. I already have something like this but it is too big to carry around with me all day. I wanted something I could put in my pocket. After getting a haircut, I found a slim phone recharger at REI that would fit in my pocket. Unfortunately, when I returned home I couldn't figure out how to hook the thing up to my phone. Back to the store. This time I picked up a pizza for dinner on my way home. I also paid a few bills and took them to the post office. There were no long walks today. There just wasn't enough time.

I still haven't packed my bags or decided what shoes to wear. This shouldn't be much of a problem. Some clean underwear, clean socks, black t-shirts, and an extra pair of jeans ought to do it. I need to remember to take a very small tube of toothpaste and little bottles of other liquids. I forgot last time and had to throw some stuff away. I need to take some slip on shoes too. Lace up boots are way too much trouble to take off for the TSA folks.

My exercise today was running errands and getting the remaining water off the roof. It's been so hot lately that most of the water from recent rains had already evaporated. I don't want to take any chances though. Last week I bought some of that Liquid Rubber in a Can that you always see advertised on TV.  Maybe this will work for sealing small tears in the elastomer material. If it works, it would sure beat calling the roofers over and over again and begging them to come out.

I didn't bother to go our for breakfast this morning. I just had a peach, a banana, and a cup of coffee. I thought this would save me some time, but it really didn't. You have to have a plan before time management actually means anything. Inch by inch I'm getting things done, but it's almost a certainty that I will forget something important. I always do.

Tonight I will put my meds in one of those flat plastic boxes with little bins for each day of the week. My parents used these pill containers when they traveled. I never thought I'd be doing the same thing. The little compartmented container certainly beats carrying a big sack filled with prescription bottles though. The compartments make it easier to remember if I've taken my pills too. Are there still pills in the Tuesday compartment? Oops. I'd better take them.

I wish I was a better traveler. I like being there. I just don't like getting there. I guess I've accomplished something. I've got new tires even though I'm not going to drive to Florida after all. I finally know my sister's phone number. I got a haircut. I've got a clever little gizmo that will let me recharge my phone in the field. Now all I need to do is pack my bags.

Barley is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Thursday, June 20, 2019

Day 3465

It was so hot today that all I really wanted to do was drink cold beverages. I need to start taking water with me on my walks. You sweat so much in this hot, humid weather that I've started to think that dehydration might be a risk. I always made sure that the dogs had water when we walked in the Summer, but I was never that concerned about myself. Maybe you sweat more when you get older, or maybe this is just a particularly bad summer.

It looks like the Falcon Heavy launch is actually going to happen. The rocket had a successful static fire late last night and the weather in Florida seems to be improving. I think some of the other social media folks attending this event have already started their journey. The people NASA selects tend to come from all over the place. Several people are traveling from Seattle. At least one person is coming from San Diego. More people are making a very long drive than I expected. I'm still glad I decided to fly. I don't think I have the stamina for a long drive anymore. I'm just hoping that I don't throw my back out while I'm there.

The little baby monitor that we always used to keep an eye on Dot and Dash while we were away broke during the power outage. There are no dogs to watch now, but it still bothers me to have broken things around the house. I contacted the manufacturer and they told me that the unit will not function without a working backup battery. I know the lithium ion battery is bad, but replacing it won't be easy. After making a few calls I learned that the battery isn't being made anymore. They probably make much better and cheaper webcams these days, but I am determined to fix this thing. I'll add it to my list of broken things that need fixing.

I got an e-mail today that began with "I understand that you developed our website. We need to make some changes..." Wrong. I'm the guy you fired after the client decide to put one of his lazy kids in charge of the marketing department. The kids friends build a brand new website and then probably disappeared. The guy who wrote me sounded desperate, but I told him that the company's website wasn't mine and that I didn't even know how to access it. If there is a lesson in all this it is that you should never hire your kids to take over the marketing department. It seldom turns out well.

I need to decide what to take on my trip. Mostly this just involves finding some comfortable shoes. If you're on your feet all day, good shoes are critical. NASA has a dress code, but it shouldn't be a problem for a guy like me. I wouldn't be wearing shorts, open toed shoes, or tank tops anyway. Sometimes they encourage you to bring your own food. There aren't any restaurants out at the launch pad. I actually wish I had brought my own food while I was in Houston. I went all day without eating anything.

I don't want to go all day without eating anything tomorrow, but I don't really feel like going out for breakfast. Maybe I'll just stay home and finish what's left of the fresh fruit. A peach and a banana sounds fine when you're not that hungry.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Day 3464 - My Birthday

Another trip around the sun has been completed. Last year at this time I felt old. This year I feel like each additional year is a bonus. Janet and I are reasonably healthy. I don't have much of a bucket list or any grand plans, but there is nothing stopping me from pursuing anything that capture my fancy. I have no idea what the future holds for me, but at this age it's good to still be among the living.

Birthday's are pretty subdued when you're 71. I had my smoothie, took my morning walk and picked up a prescription at the pharmacy. It was very hot today, so one walk was plenty. Janet and I went out for a birthday dinner tonight. I love barbecue, so we tried out a new smokehouse in the neighborhood.  I had burnt ends, fried okra, and cilantro coleslaw. It was delicious.

We always have Sprinkles cupcakes on birthdays, but it was weird not having any special doggie cupcakes for the dogs. For years and years we always got doggie cupcakes for Dot and Dash. They were always more excited about our little birthday celebrations than we were. It was pretty quiet this year. Even the dog's bowls are gone; carefully stored away in my storage warehouse.

I'm still waiting to see it the static fire test of the Falcon Heavy rocket takes place tonight. This is a key step along the way to a successful launch. There were thunderstorms and lightning warnings at the space center earlier today. Hopefully things will clear up so the test can take place. I'm really glad I decided not to drive to Florida. We would have been leaving tomorrow with no idea whether the launch would actually take place. As things stand now, I don't have to make a decision about my travel plans until late Friday night. Lets hope the weather clears up.

I think it's raining everywhere. There are thunderstorms this evening at Kennedy Space Center. It's raining where my sister lives. And North Texas has severe weather warnings for the third night in a row. Thunder and lightning woke me up again last night. It was probably a good thing because while I was awake I remembered I had forgotten to take my evening meds. If you wonder what it's like to be 71, all I can say is that you'll probably become more forgetful. We got a lot of rain last night, but at least we didn't lose power again.

Hopefully, it will be quiet tonight. I'm getting behind on sleep again. There's something about severe weather that makes sleep difficult. I'm always worried about roof leaks and power outages. I'd much rather be having mildly pleasant dreams about being lost somewhere. Maybe the launch date will be finalized tomorrow. I'd like to cross this uncertainty off my perpetual worry list.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Day 3463

We spent the afternoon with the rescue Dalmatians again. All the dogs love to have visitors. There were fewer dogs this week because Xander, Chloe, and Little Penny all found their forever homes recently. We're hoping that the remaining dogs will find homes soon as well. Each of them has their own unique personality, but they all would make a wonderful companion. We always spend some time trying to teach them basic commands like sit and stay, but mostly we just feed them treats, pet them, and throw the ball. These dogs love to chase a ball.

It's really starting to get hot outside. I may have to start walking on the indoor track at the gym soon. When I  took my regular morning and evening walks today, I was drenched in sweat by the time I returned home. I guess I could always start walking before sunrise like I used to do with the dogs, but I'm enjoying getting enough sleep. It's a new experience getting to sleep as long as I want. I don't think I'm going to get tired of this any time soon.

I'm glad I abandoned my plan to drive to Florida. Based on current forecasts, I would have been driving most of the way in heavy rain. There is so much rain in the long range forecast that I keep waiting for NASA to postpone the launch. We should find out more this week when they finish the static fire test of the rocket. If that goes OK, they only thing that can delay the launch is bad weather. I guess I'm ready when they are. All my travel plans are flexible now and can be changed with little notice.

I hope my sister isn't disappointed that I won't be visiting after all. I wrote her a 'change of plans' letter two days after the letter where I said I'd be passing through her town on my way home from the space center. I wish I was more decisive about these type of things. If I knew I wasn't going to drive, I could have saved some of the money I spent getting the car ready for the trip. I don't really think I needed new tires to go to the post office.

Janet asked where I wanted to go to dinner on my birthday and my immediate response was "Where do you want to go?" "It's your birthday," she said. Jeez. I have no favorite restaurant anymore. I looked up a few place I'd heard about recently and was totally confused by the reviews. People seem to either love a place or hate it these days. I kept seeing one star reviews followed by five star reviews. It was hard to believe that people were even talking about the same place.

The dog in the picture above is Jenga. He's deaf, but you'd never know it. This well adjusted, happy boy was a pleasure to visit with today. Actually, all the dogs were a pleasure to visit with. We'll be back soon.

Rugby is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Monday, June 17, 2019

Day 3462

By my low standards it was a very busy day. I made my travel arrangements for the Florida trip. In the end, flying turned out to be the better alternative. I'd hate to be driving along the Gulf Coast and learn that the Falcon Heavy launch had been postponed until the middle of July. If I had to turn around and come home when I was halfway there, it would be a long trip for nothing. At least if fly Southwest I can reschedule things at the last minute if necessary. Looking at the weather forecast, there's a good chance I would be driving in the rain as well. Jeez. I don't even like to drive to the post office in the rain. Spending hours on freeways in heavy rain seems like a miserable idea.

After breakfast this morning I fixed the pumps and cleared all the water off the roof. Luckily, I saw the FedEx guy arrive when I was up on the roof. I had one of those 'signature required' deliveries today and I was sure I was going to miss it. FedEx and UPS used to seem so convenient but now getting a package is frustrating because almost everything seems to require a signature. I never seem to be home when FedEx arrives. I guess getting a signature makes sense since there seems to be an epidemic of people stealing packages off porches. It's a shame though. One more reason why people can't have nice things anymore.

I hope the roof stays dry for a while. This is one chore I've grown to hate. So far, I've been able to prevent the leak from reappearing, but keeping the roof clear of water is a lot of work. This loathsome chore had to substitute for my morning walk today. Pushing the big broom was definitely good exercise, but walking is a lot more relaxing.

I paid the stack of bills that has been accumulating on my desk and took them to the post office. Everyone seems to want me to set up my accounts to autopay every month, but that seems like a bad idea. I would quickly lose track of things. Paying bills on time and always balancing my checkbook is a discipline I learned long ago. Living on a fixed income is something I'm still learning. Retirement is somewhat of a paradox. When you've got the time, you don't always have the money. Working is just the opposite. When you've got the money, you seldom have the time.

Xander, Little Penny, and Chloe all got adopted recently. This is great news. Most of our dogs seems to get adopted quickly. I need to remember to update the rescue website. Maybe I'll have time to do this later tonight. Otherwise, it's on my list for tomorrow.

Now that I'm more or less caught up on things, I'm not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow. I hope sleeping in late is part of the plan. Bad weather and power outages have really disrupted my sleep. I need to start looking for a carpenter to rebuild the greenhouse. I used to know several excellent carpenters, but they have all either retired or died. I guess there's no hurry. There is nothing growing in the greenhouse anyway.

Bali is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Sunday, June 16, 2019

Day 3461 - Father's Day

Good grief. Our power went out again last night. As I was calling in the outage report, I had visions of ice cream melting in the freezer and an immediate need for large quantities of ice. Jeez. We'd just finished returning the ice chests to the storage warehouse and replacing the spoiled food in the refrigerator. Enough is enough. Luckily, this appeared to be an isolated outage and power was restored early this morning.

Unfortunately, the bad weather wasn't over when the electricity was restored. We had sporadic severe weather warnings for the rest of the day. There was lots of rain accompanied by loud thunder. At one point we were even under a tornado warning. The worst is over now, but the forecast still shows we are in store for more thunderstorms tomorrow.

The weather doesn't look so good in Florida either. Launch day still look good on the long range forecast, but the entire week leading up to the launch shows rain. A weather cancelation is certainly a possibility. Flying to Florida is starting to look a lot more attractive than driving. The thought of being on a freeway all day with eighteen wheelers on either side of me throwing up rooster-tails of water on my windshield doesn't sound fun at all. There are already flooding problems in Mississippi. With more rain, it could get worse. If I fly, I'm going to book something that allows same day flight changes. I have a feeling that schedules are going to change several times between now and the Falcon Heavy launch.

The weather was terrible today but at least I got to go to the gym before the severe weather warnings started appearing on my phone. There were no walks today and Janet and I had to curtail other activities because of the tornado warning. I really shouldn't complain. The roof isn't leaking and we've still got power. Only one of the pumps on the roof isn't working, but at least the other one is. We're on high ground, so there is little risk of flooding no matter what the weather decides to do. All that being said, I'm still sick of all this rain. We deserve some nice weather before the Summer heat returns to stay.

I still hear thunder off in the distance. I hope the bad weather keeps moving to the East. It was a loud thunderclap and bolt of lightning that woke me up last night. About ten seconds later the power went out. It was hard to get back to sleep. I kept thinking about what I would need to do the next morning if the power failed to return. I could feel my resting heart rate start to rise as I lay in bed listening to the rain pound in the roof. Maybe I require more calm than most people.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. No thoughts about Father's Day this year. I'm not a father myself and my own Dad has been gone so long that memories are starting to fade. When Father's Day arrives, my birthday is usually not far behind. Occasionally these two events happen on the same day. Mom always used to tell me that I was her Father's Day gift to Dad. I'm not sure Dad would agree.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Saturday, June 15, 2019

Day 3460

I've been going back and forth all day about whether to fly or drive to Florida. Surprisingly, the cost is about the same either way. My car gets atrociously poor gas mileage and I'm not much of a long distance driver anymore, so there would be more stops along the way than you might expect. Airfare isn't exactly a bargain either since I need to have the flexibility to change my schedule at the last minute. It's hard to decide. I don't like to drive, but I don't like to fly either.

If I do decide to drive, my car is ready. The dealership called me this morning and said the service department was slow today. If I wanted, they could put on my new tires and do the other maintenance I need now instead of waiting until next week. Why not. I drove up to the dealership and picked up a loaner for the day. They gave me a Jaguar SUV. New cars are so totally electronic that they are confusing to me. I had to get someone to come show me how to get the car out of park. It wasn't intuitive at all. I also had them show me where the little button was that keeps the motor from shutting off every time you stop at a traffic light. Having your car die every time you pull up to a traffic light is unnerving. What if it won't start again? Does this feature really save energy or just cause road rage when the gizmo fails in heavy traffic?

When I was taking my walk today, I saw some guys from a local work-working store loading hardwood logs from somebody's front yard into their trailer. This never even occurred to me before. Neighbors are selling their downed trees to woodworking shops. My Dad was a wood carver and would frequently pay what I though was a lot of money for choice blocks of Walnut or Cherry wood. Since our part of town is full of old hardwood trees, there's probably a lot of valuable wood. Some people will throw this wood away. Others will use if for firewood. A few have wood stoves or like to grill using wood. The city seems to prefer to grind the wood up and use it for mulch. All I really wanted was to get the wood out of my yard. I don't think Elm is a very desirable carving wood anyway. People use Mesquite and Hickory for their smokers, but I'm never heard of anyone using Elm to smoke their meat. I've heard of Elm being used for furniture, but my tree wouldn't make many chairs. The wind turned it into a bunch of jagged splinters.

I've been really tired lately. This isn't new, but I thought my energy would return when I started getting more sleep. It isn't happening. Everybody slows down as they grow older, but it's hard to find a reference point. I know people my age who have a lot more energy than me, but I know other people my age who are dead. I'm doing better than either of my parents were at this age, but I can't keep up with Janet. I guess this isn't a big deal. Very few people can keep up with Janet.

It's off to the gym again tomorrow. Going to the gym is good. The active people I know seem to live much longer than the sedentary ones. Maybe a good workout will make me more decisive. I'm going to have to make the fly or drive decision soon. The whole country seems to be on the move. It won't be long before the planes fill up the same way the hotels in Florida did.

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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Friday, June 14, 2019

Day 3459

Travel is stressful. NASA finally confirmed a launch date for the Falcon Heavy, so I started looking for a hotel. Literally as I was looking online, I started seeing hotels disappear from the availability list. In less than four hours half of the hotels were already gone. I guess everybody else attending the launch was looking at the same time I was. I'm not good making quick decisions and hotel prices can be confusing. The price you see online is usually meaningless because most hotels change their prices everyday based on demand and availability. I picked a few places that looked nice and called the front desk, even though the website showed no availability. I ended up getting one of the last two rooms available at a nice hotel very near the space center. I felt like the clock was ticking the entire time I was making the reservations. The whole experience confirmed my opinion that it is always better to talk with a real person. You can make changes and compromises when you are talking to a real person. Websites aren't flexible at all.

I went back to the hotel with the good French Toast for breakfast this morning. Breakfast was delicious as always, but my appetite keeps shrinking. I could barely finish my meal. Even though I'm a creature of habit, I need to eat less. During the power outage Janet and I just has some fresh fruit for breakfast that didn't need to be refrigerated. A small bowl of peaches, strawberries, and blueberries was just about perfect. Maybe I need to make this my regular morning meal. Even my smoothie is starting to seem too complicated now.

I'm so glad the weather was cooler during our power outage. It's starting to warm up again and we would have been miserable without power with temperatures in the nineties. We were really lucky that temperatures were in the seventies while we had no electricity. Although life is getting back to normal in Dallas, I'm still hearing the sound of chain saws everywhere. The storm must be a bonanza for tree services and lawn care companies. I had no idea there were so many tree trimming services in Dallas. They're everywhere in our neighborhood. So far, the city's Park and Recreation Department seems to be doing the best job of tree removal. City workers were out in force in the park today, sawing up downed trees with chain saws and hauling away the debris in large trucks.

I wrote a letter to my sister asking if she'd like us to stop and visit when we return from Florida. It might be difficult to coordinate a visit with someone who only communicates through the U.S. mail, but we'll see what happens. I mentioned in my letter that a visit might be easier if she started using her phone.

I guess the week starts on Monday, but it always seems to start on Friday for me. Friday's have seemed like Saturday to me for years. I guess that an empty trash can and breakfast at a nearby restaurant signals a new start. It certainly seemed like Saturday today. I almost started to run my regular weekend errands, but then I finally remembered. I hope my memory doesn't become even worse in the years ahead. I forgot to wear my hat again on my morning walk. I guess a sunburned head will eventually jog my memory.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day
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