Day 3795

The lights are flickering and a big storm is headed our way. I hope the power doesn't go out before I can finish this post. It has certainly happened before. It's giant pain to have to start over using battery power, a laptop, and an alternate Internet source. At time like these I wish I could write faster, but I'm pretty slow.

Other than the bad weather, it has been a pretty good day. We had a nice walk with Dawn this morning before the weather turned bad.  My Friday morning omelette was tasty. It wasn't a busy day, but it wasn't a bad day either.

I'm gradually becoming more familiar with online banking, but I think I still prefer writing checks and going to the post office. Somehow checking a few boxes on a website doesn't seem real. I keep checking the website every few days to make sure the transaction has actually gone through. I don't know why I trust the post office so much. The post office has lost my mail several times. So far, the bank's website has worked perfectly.

I'm going to have to get used to doing as much as I can online. New regulations have made doing almost anything in person a totally frustrating experience. Texas is technically open again but you'd never know it if you have to go shopping. With each passing week going to the grocery store becomes more complicated. The new trend is to put lots of arrows on the floor and establish a one way traffic pattern throughout the store. This is not the way most people shop. If you are going to have one way aisles, you definitely need a few passing lanes. It is almost inevitable that you will end up stuck behind someone who can't decide what they want to put in their buggy and they just stand there blocking everyone behind them. Some stores have even blocked entrances, leaving only a single door to enter and exit the store. Not only is this a potential fire hazard, it also creates even more traffic jams. Keep in  mind that I didn't even go shopping today. I'm just remembering this madness from last week. I have a feeling that things will be even worse when I make my weekly shopping run tomorrow.

A Florida friend told me that I might have better luck obtaining access to Kennedy Space Center through the military than with NASA. I didn't even know that this was an option. I found out how to contact media relations for the Air Force and I think I'm going to apply. The forms I need to fill out are lengthy and a magazine needs to sponsor me but what have I got to lose. Evidently this is how some photographers are still managing to get launch access. It's easy to forget that Cape Canaveral is still an active military base.

The virtual NASA Social event for the upcoming Crew Dragon launch is actually more interesting than I'd thought it would be. I find myself posting to the group frequently. Admittedly this is mostly because there isn't much else to do these days. Hey, if I'm going to do something online, I think I'd rather talk about rockets than complain about masks.

I continue to be amazed that Dawn seems to have no fear of storms. All our other Dalmatians had pretty severe storm phobias. This evening while the lights were flickering and thunder was rumbling, Dawn was just calmly lying on the bed as if nothing was happening.

I may get gas tomorrow when I make my weekly shopping run. It's been well over a month since I filled my tank. The new normal isn't normal at all.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day