Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Day 3926

I've been going back and forth all day about going to Florida. The indulgent side of my brain would like to go, but the practical side thinks the trip is a stupid idea. The weather doesn't look good on launch day, there are still pretty severe Covid restrictions in place at Cape Canaveral, and I don't think the magazine is interested in a story about this particular rocket anyway. On the other side of the coin, I'm eager to try out my newly acquired press credentials. We'll see. I'd better decide soon though. The launch is Saturday. I have a feeling that my practical side is going to win this battle. It almost always does.

We had to delay our walk again because of the weather. The weather is cool enough now that there is no need to start early anymore. We left the house around 11 AM this morning and the temperature was still only 70 degrees. These few weeks of Fall weather are really nice. I wish this pleasant season would last a little longer. We couldn't find the ducklings this morning. The mother Muscovy duck really hides them well. No rabbits today either. It was just a pleasant walk in an empty park. One good thing about rainy days is that it really limits the number of cyclists on the trails.

I got a lot done today. I went to the storage warehouse and retrieved a few things that Janet wanted me to get. I went up on the roof and removed all the standing water as well. Cooler weather makes removing the water more difficult. Nothing evaporates when the temperatures start to fall. There was no need for an afternoon walk today. I got all the exercise I needed pushing the water off the roof. It's disappointing to see that parts of the silicon coating are starting to deteriorate. It's a never ending task to keep the roof sealed properly, but making these repairs is a lot cheaper than a new roof. I'm not even sure a new roof would end my problems because nobody will give me a bid on adding a pitch to the roof without changing the house's appearance. I know this can be done, but it must be more complicated than I imagine.

Even though chores kept me busy today, I still wasted a lot of time checking out airfares, hotel rates, and rental cars. There are a lot fewer flights to Orlando than the last time I went to Kennedy Space Center. I understand why the airlines are doing this, but it's not a good way to build confidence in flying. I wouldn't have any problem flying on an empty plane in a pandemic. A full plane might be a problem. I can't recall flying anywhere where I didn't hear someone on the plane coughing every five minutes. Even if the airline doesn't sell the middle row of seats, you're still not six feet apart. Basically an airliner is just a sardine can filled with people.

I hate that I'm even thinking this way, but that's the world we live in. You shouldn't have to worry about catching a deadly disease just by hopping on a plane. You shouldn't have to worry about getting trapped in a downtown riot when you are driving home late at night. I don't have kids, but you shouldn't have to worry about school shootings either. We've let our world fall apart. I don't know how to fix things. I don't think the politicians do either.