Day 3683

Everybody seems to hate paper these days. When I went to breakfast this morning, I didn't get a bill like I normally do. The waitress brought a little portable terminal to the table and asked me to insert my card. When the total came up on the screen, the tip was already included. I think I tip fairly, but I'd like to have a choice. I guess this must be the future. When I got a haircut recently, they had the same type of arrangement. Call me old school, but were those old paper bills really all that bad? I didn't even get a receipt because I declined to leave my e-mail address. Been there, done that. If you leave your e-mail address when you are buying something, you will get spam messages from the company until the end of time.

I picked up some things for dinner tonight on my way home from breakfast and was surprised at how expensive my small purchase turned out to be. It was the crab cakes. They were double what they usually cost. I asked Janet whether the price of crab cakes had gone up and she immediately told me that these weren't what we usually buy. "These crab cakes are huge," she told me. "Of course they're going to cost more." OK. I'll admit that I'm not very observant when I shop. I usually get the right category of thing, but nuances like this often escape me.

This was the first completely cloudless day we've had in a while. It would have been a good day to do yard work, but it was too cold. I got some bleach and a ladder and cleaned away the ugly stains in the sheetrock caused by the recent roof leak instead. The ceiling looks much better now. This would also be a good day to get the telescope out. There's a new moon tonight and the sky is as dark as it's going to get. Maybe I'll still do this, but usually I'm tired and ready for bed as soon as I finish the blog. Like I mentioned earlier, it's cold outside as well. Will I be a wimp or will I start getting in shape for my trip to Mount Locke? I'm not sure yet. The night is young.

The Atlas V rocket passed it's dress rehearsal test today for the upcoming Solar Orbiter launch. So far, it's looks like the launch is still on schedule. That's a good thing since I've already made all my reservations. I'm always afraid that something will change at the last minute and I'll have to rebook everything. I still need to decide what equipment to take. I always like to travel light, but since I will be taking pictures for a magazine, I might need to abandon this strategy.

It was a nice day for a walk. I dressed warmly and enjoyed my time outside. A clear, sunny day always seems to make a big difference. It looks like I'm going to need some new walking shoes soon. The Nike Air shoes I've been wearing are pretty comfortable, but they sure don't last long. I don't know what to wear anymore. The sturdy hiking boots I used to wear seem too heavy now and running shoes are too flimsy. There's a store in town that specialized in walking shoes. Maybe it's time to pay them a visit.

I need to remember that tomorrow is Saturday and I've got a lot of errands to run. For a few hours this morning I thought today was Saturday.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day