Day 3872

We tried an experiment this morning. I attempted to walk Dawn by myself. She started out confidently enough, but quickly became apprehensive and nervous. Where was Janet? I walked confidently and was very encouraging but Dawn kept looking back toward the house. After we had gone about a quarter of a mile, she stopped completely and wouldn't go any further. "Do you want to go home," I said. Immediately, she turned and started walking confidently toward the house.

We knew Dawn still wanted a walk, so Janet put on some shoes and off we went again. Everything was fine now. Dawn just wanted to make sure that Janet was with us. We'll have to keep working on this. Actually, I was encouraged that Dawn made it down to the edge of the lake with me. We've never made it this far before. Dawn has always seemed frightened when Janet isn't nearby. When Janet first began fostering Dawn, I was in Florida attending a launch. Maybe that had something to do with her uncertainty toward me. I was the stranger who just appeared about five days later. It's weird. Dawn is super friendly with me when Janet is around. It's only when she and I are alone that she gets nervous. I keep thinking that she was treated badly by the puppy mill breeders who kept her before she entered the rescue program. We'll never know everything about Dawn's former life, but she clearly prefers women.

I was back up on the roof this morning. The rain we got last night didn't last long, but it was heavy. There was a lot of water on the roof. At least it was a little cooler today. The rain brought a cold front with it. A cold front in July doesn't mean much, but it was definitely a little cooler than yesterday. I'm starting to see a little deterioration in the silicon coating. At some point I'm going to have to start making repairs again if I want to keep the roof from leaking this winter.

I made another appointment to get a haircut toward the end of next week. We'll see how this goes. I'm still not completely comfortable being out and about, but you can't put everything on hold forever. I have a feeling that this virus is going to be with us for a long, long time. I'm careful, but you've still got to get groceries and eventually you're going to need a haircut.

I'm still getting 20,000 steps a day, but that's about it. I'd like to think I'm in between avocations, but who knows. I certainly don't want to become a collector again. That was a giant waste of time and money. I don't want to be a fine art photographer either. Been there, done that. After spending years getting to the point where I could have my own gallery shows, I discovered that being around other artists irritated me. The art world turned out to be just as phony as the advertising world. These days I prefer the company of scientists. I'm sure this is an illusion as well, but the people I've met in the space and astronomy communities have seemed really interesting. Unlike ad folks, they all appear to be doing something of substance.

Hard to believe it's going to be August tomorrow. Where has this year gone? It's time to make a grocery list again. I wonder if I'm ever going to find Clorox Wipes? I have a feeling that when Clorox Wipes are readily available again, the pandemic is officially over.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3871

We knew it was going to be a hot day so we got an extra early start on this morning's walk. You could still see a few stars and several planets as we left the house. Mars was almost directly overhead, reminding me that the Mars 2020 launch would take place while we were walking. I watched it all on video later after I finished my breakfast. Watching a launch on the computer makes it seem kind of weird that I used to travel so far to see these launches in person. The entire event was over in just a few minutes.

Our timing was good this morning. We reached the halfway point in our walk before the sun rose and there was a nice gentle breeze the entire way. Things heat up quickly once the sun is above the horizon unfortunately. It quickly became warm enough for Dawn to choose the shorter route home.

When I was watching the launch coverage on my computer this morning I looked for familiar faces in my Facebook feed. I recognized a couple of launch photographers I'd met earlier who still seemed to have media credentials. There always seems to be a race to see who can get their pictures on the Internet first. These guys were definitely fast. I wonder who you have to know to maintain media accreditation these days? I'm definitely not in the loop. Oh, well. Maybe some day things will return to normal.

After breakfast I decided to go up on the roof and remove the standing water from the rain we got a few days ago. It was so hot that I was surprised that the water hadn't evaporated yet. The metal handle of the push broom I keep on the roof was almost too hot to touch. The white surface of the roof itself was hot enough to burn your hands. I had to bring a wet rag with me to place on the edge of the roof that I use to steady myself when I lower myself down after I'm done. There was no rain in the forecast when I cleared the water away this morning, but ironically there is a thunderstorm headed our way right now. This always happens. We'll have rain again before I go to bed tonight.

It doesn't look like I'll be getting a Bronco any time soon. I read an article today that Ford already has well over 200,000 reservations for the new 4x4 and the entire 2021 production run is sold out. Seems weird that so many people would decide to buy a car based entirely on pictures and reviews they see on the Internet. What happened to kicking the tires? It's probably just as well that there will be nothing to tempt me at a dealership for a while. At the rate I'm driving these days, my current car will last forever. Eventually, I'd still like something reliable and easy to service for trips to West Texas. Hey, a guy can dream.

My days are still extremely slow. I've got to think of a project for now instead of for later. Right now I occupy a lot of my time thinking about telescopes I might buy for future dark skies, cars I might buy for future travels, and future launches I'd like to attend when I can get my media credentials restored. Nothing wrong with this of course. I guess it just tells me that there is very little about Dallas that intrigues me anymore.

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3870

It's been exactly one year since I received the press proofs of my first article for SpaceFlight Magazine. A second article was published about six months later and a third is still scheduled for publication in September. It was a good beginning, but I thought my budding career as a space journalist be a lot further along by now. I certainly thought I'd be down at Kennedy Space Center tomorrow morning for the launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission. Oh, well. It wasn't meant to be. Little did I know back then that the world was about to change. I keep trying to get media accreditation again, but it might be a while. In a post-covid world, newcomers go to the back of the line.

I shouldn't complain though. My problems are small compared with what other people are going through. I was going to get a haircut later in the week, but my stylist got laid off at the salon. Another covid casualty. I know someone locally who got infected now. He's OK, but it makes me realize that the disease is all around us. Most of my friends are healthy and continue to lead normal lives. A few seem to have flipped out and are way too angry for their own good.

Sometimes when my day is uneventful it is tempting to go on an angry rant myself. It would certainly be an easy way to fill up space. The problem is that I'm not really angry. I'm still very detached. I think this is the secret to social distancing. I look at the world like it is an episode of Black Mirror or the Twilight Zone. It is not my world though. I try to navigate the pandemic and the social unrest like everything is covered in a sticky glue that you can't let touch you. You have to plan your moves very carefully.

I have a few farmer and rancher friends that I envy. I keep thinking that their farms are so remote that they are completely unaffected by all this turmoil. This probably isn't true though. Farmers and ranchers might not have to worry about riots in the city or getting killed by a random cough at a grocery store, but some of them are probably having big problems selling their cattle or their crops. The whole supply chain is screwed up now. We are in the middle of a global mess that affects all of us.

You'd think we could all rally together to find a solution. That's what my parents did during World War II. It's not happening though. I have never seen so much anger and division. Much of the rancor takes place on Facebook. I look at what some of my friends say online and think "Do I even know you." I think there are going to be articles in prestigious medical journals for years to come about how social media causes mental illness.

The solution for some of us has always been dogs. It's hard to be angry when you've got a good dog. Dawn continues to be a joy. She certainly came into our lives at exactly the right time.

Tink is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3869

All day rain. We really needed the rain, but it presented all the usual frustrations. It didn't take me long to realize that the pumps weren't working this morning. When I went up on the roof to investigate, I discovered that a tree limb had fallen and knocked over one of the pumps. This must have tripped a circuit breaker that shut off the other pump as well. It was a simple fix to get things running again, but I did get wet.

Luckily, we had already walked Dawn before I had to deal with the pump problem. We're getting better about using weather radar apps to avoid getting wet on our morning walks. Staying dry this morning involved getting a very early start. It was pretty dark when we left the house but as the sky lightened we were treated to a beautiful sunrise and a brief rainbow. We had to cut things a little short this morning, but we were still able to cover four miles.

There is even less to do on a rainy day than a dry day during a pandemic. As I slowly drank my morning smoothie, I kept flipping channels on the kitchen TV. I didn't feel like watching endless congressional hearings and I didn't feel like watching reporters standing in front of hospitals talking about the virus either. I used to watch the BBC in the mornings, but inexplicably my cable provider took it away. My plan never changes, but the channels come and go. No wonder so many people watch those home improvement shows or Christmas movies in July on the Hallmark Channel. Everything else has become hopelessly politicized.

Once I turned on my computer I watched the roll out of the Atlas V-541 with the Mars Perseverance rover attached to the top. Whenever I see these shots from Kennedy Space Center my first reaction is "Hey, I've been there." Since the launch takes place at Launch Complex 41, everything looked very familiar. This is where I was for the ESA Solar Orbiter launch earlier this year. I watched that roll out from the same little hill where the cameras were this morning.

It never did stop raining but late in the day I decided to take another walk anyway. There was a very light drizzle, but it cooled things down and was actually kind of pleasant. The park was finally completely empty again. Even though I got wet, I enjoyed this walk. I listened to bird sounds and looked for new flowers to photograph. I enjoy the sound of silence. There's just not enough of it these days.

Who knows what I'll end up doing tomorrow. It will probably involve eating, walking, and sleeping. These are strange times. I've completely internalized the whole notion of social distancing. Six feet apart isn't nearly far enough. I don't know why we are arguing about masks. We just need to stay completely away from each other. If everyone would turn off their phones and take a vow of silence for 30 days the virus would probably just go away. A lot of our political problems would go away as well. It's the compulsion to talk to each other that makes social distancing so difficult. I wonder what would happen if everyone could just stay alone with their thoughts for a month? No TV. No Internet. No Happy Hour. No Zoom meetings. Just your thoughts. Hey, that's my solution.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3868

It's Dalmatian Day again. We have a new boy named Marshall on the way, but for now there are still just three dogs at the kennel. Luckie is really making progress. She trusts the kennel staff now and didn't seem nearly as shy as she did last week. She loves treats and Janet and I were both able to get her to come over to us for a cookie. Luckie might even have a forever home in the near future. We learned today that someone is looking at her this week. Charlie and Hank seemed quieter than usual. Maybe it was the heat. They played with their toys for a little bit, but mostly they just wanted to sit next to us. Not surprisingly, the two boys were just as interested in treats as Luckie. Hank has learned to sit for a treat and Charlie has a whole repertoire of tricks to impress us with.

We managed to get an early start on our walk with Dawn this morning and it was definitely worth the effort. The combination of an overcast sky with a nice breeze made the walk fairly pleasant for late July. Dawn seemed to agree. She had lots of energy today and we completed our full five miles. The park is much less busy on a weekday, but we still encounter a lot more people than we would have at this time last year. I used to remember the park being completely empty on a Monday morning. Those days are gone. There are too many folks who are still out of work and looking for something to do.

I wrote one of my Air Force contacts today to ask about the status of my media accreditation request for upcoming military launches at Kennedy Space Center. I imagine that everything has been delayed because of the coronavirus, but I would have thought I'd have an answer by now. I submitted my application months ago. It's hard for me to be patient when so many things have been put on hold. I'm very polite because I don't want to burn any bridges, but I wish I could figure out a way to move the ball forward. I'm ready to resume writing about rockets and astronomy.

I'm doing a better job of maintaining contacts with my friends out at the observatory. I got a letter from one of the astronomers today. I'm pretty sure that I'll be welcome back as soon as the place opens up again. Lord knows when that will be though. There are certainly no plans at the moment. I don't think anyone is welcoming visitors now. Even the National Parks are starting to regret opening up again. I imagine Disneyland is having second thoughts as well. Until the situation changes, I'll have to be content with making travel plans in my head while I watch the ducks and geese at the park.

I wonder if anyone realizes the true extent of the mess we have managed to create? Some say that at least half the jobs lost during the pandemic will never return. People are leaving big cities in droves. Why live in a city when the stores are boarded up and you've lost faith in public transportation. Now that they're saying the virus can be transmitted through air conditioning systems, is anyone ever going to want to come back to work in a high rise? I doubt it.

With bad news everywhere you look, this is starting to look a lot like the fall of the Roman Empire. Civilizations come and go but I never thought I'd witness something like this during my lifetime. It's easy to focus on what is happening in the United States, but the changes I'm seeing are global. I sure hope the world can manage to get it's act together. When Rome fell, it wasn't followed by the Renaissance. The Middle Ages lasted for a very long time.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3867

I guess I should look out the window more. I kept seeing all these pictures of a large rainbow by the lake on the Internet. I didn't even know it had rained. The rain couldn't have lasted long, but the yard is wet. It's weird. I've been waiting for rain for weeks and I missed it. I doubt that I would have made an effort to take a picture of the rainbow anyway. I hate to get wet.

Without my regular trip to the gym, Sundays are more uneventful than ever. We got another late start on our walk this morning but it was OK. The sky was cloudy and there was a breeze. The ducks and geese have all returned to the water. Why? As recently as a week ago they were all on the shoreline. One thing about ducks and geese, they do everything together.

I thought the wildflower season was over, but I keep finding new ones. The other day I found the Buttonbush flowers. Today it was a Rose Mallow. I think they call these big blooms Hardy Hibiscus as well. Janet and I are trying to identify a tree that looks like it is full of little plumbs. The park does have plumb trees, but this fruit looks a bit too small. I don't understand why so many people seem to spend their entire time in the park looking at their phones. There is so much to see out here.

It was hard to get up this morning. It's difficult to get up early when you go to bed late. It's taking me longer and longer to write the blog in the evening because I have so little to say. I stare at the screen waiting for a thought, but often nothing comes. Sometimes I'll take a break and do laundry, but that's not very inspirational. I need to go back to the observatory. I felt safe up on the mountain and I felt inspired looking at the night sky. The whole experience was the exact opposite of life in the city during a pandemic.

I keep seeing all these amazing pictures of comet Neowise on the Internet. I'm impressed, but lot of these people are just showing off. The images have clearly been manipulated using compositing and other advanced image stacking techniques. Sky replacement seems to be a popular technique these days. I kind of admire the people who just go take a picture of the comet in their back yard with their phone. It doesn't look like much, but for most of us the comet doesn't look like much in real life either.

I'm fascinated by the popularity of manipulated images that are presented as real. Somebody ought to do a serious article about this. Real isn't good enough anymore. People want better than real. Most selfies aren't real. There are so many filters out there that make it easy to bump things up a notch. I've met people at NASA events that I'd only seen on the Internet before. I didn't even recognize many of them. My photos may not be great, but they are definitely real. I'm too damn lazy to manipulate images.

I wish Dawn would warm up to me. She's pretty good most of the time, but I can tell she is still frightened at times when Janet is gone. Dawn tolerates me, but she's clearly Janet's dog. Oh, well. We've got plenty of time to bond and work on things. I'm not going anywhere. This pandemic has ruined most of my plans.

Smokey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3866

We were looking for a place to photograph Dawn this morning and I discovered some Buttonbush trees. Buttonbush flowers have always seemed strange to me, but now they remind me of the coronavirus. I guess there is good reason to be cautious of this plant. It's poisonous. Native people have used the Buttonbush tree for medicinal purposes for centuries, but don't let your dog get near it. One of the only reasons I started learning about Texas plants was to keep our dogs away from the poisonous ones. There's quite a few around here.

We got a late start on our walk this morning, but at least it was overcast so the heat wasn't so bad. It was very muggy though. Sometimes I think Dawn wishes we were lazier and just slept in on weekends. There are always a lot more people out walking on Saturday morning. The coronavirus had definitely gotten more people interested in exercising. We see a lot more joggers and cyclists in the park than we did this time last year. I preferred things when the park was empty, but I guess it's a good thing that people are finally starting to take fitness seriously.

I never can find everything on my shopping list anymore. There were plenty of blueberries today, but I couldn't find raspberries. I finally remembered to get air filters for the furnace and was surprised to see that the new ones were much more expensive. When I looked at the label when I got home I noticed that these filters had a fancy new layer that trapped even microscopic particles. I guess with all the interest in air conditioning systems and clean air these days, the store thought people would go for a more expensive filter. It might help if I looked at labels before I bought things.

I wasted most of the day trying to fix little things around the house. Janet had a battery powered fan that had sat around so long that the batteries had corroded and started leaking. I thought I could clean up the battery mess and fix the fan, but I failed. The fan motor had gone bad as well. There was a flickering light in the bedroom and I couldn't figure out whether the problem was the bulb or the fixture. Something was causing the LED bulbs to get too hot and they would shut off for a while and then come back on after they had cooled. Why now? This lamp has worked perfectly for years. There was also a clogged drain in the shower. Yuk. I hate pulling hair out of clogged drains.

Dawn seems really tired after our morning walks. I hope we aren't pushing her too hard. She is always eager to walk and never shows any of the warning signs of heat exhaustion. She kept up a good pace this morning and wasn't even panting, but as soon as we got home she went straight for her dog bed. Maybe this is normal. I kind of felt like going back to bed myself.

I doubt hat I'll do anything productive tomorrow. I don't feel like going back to the gym yet. Actually, I'm amazed that the gyms are still open. Things look like they are finally starting to improve in Texas but I don't put a lot of faith in these charts anymore. Some of the tests are notoriously inaccurate and it takes so long to get results that you could be negative when you take the test and positive by the time you get the results. Everyone measures things differently as well. Each country, each state, and even each city has a different method of keeping track of things. It would be nice if there was a little consistency.

No comet tonight. Our skies are very cloudy. Even if we do get clear skies in the next few days, the comet is going to be very hard to find. It's getting fainter every day. It still makes me mad that the one clear day I had, all my pictures were slightly out of focus. Hey, that Buttonbush flower is nice and sharp though.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3865

I wrote some letters today and took them to the post office. I still like the slower pace of letter writing. Too bad other people don't feel the same way. Very few people I know will actually reply to a letter with another letter. I keep thinking that the world would be a better place if we all just slowed down a bit. Writing letters is a good way to slow down. I initially thought that the pandemic might be the reset button we all needed and life would resume at slower pace. Nope. I was wrong about that. The minute that businesses started to reopen, everyone rushed to get back to their old ways. Traffic is back to normal here in Dallas and shopping center parking lots are full. This is one reason why we are seeing a spike in new coronavirus cases now. I don't get it, but then I don't get a lot of things about modern life.

We got started on our walk so early this morning that I was able to see several planets in the morning sky. In addition to Venus to the East, Mars was directly overhead. I should have been able to see Jupiter and Saturn as well, but they were hidden my clouds along the Western horizon. There always seem to be clouds along the Western horizon these days. I wish they would go away. They've certainly spoiled my chances for getting a good view of the rapidly fading comet.

Wildflower season is over for the year, but there are still a few surprises. After Halloween there are people in the neighborhood who dump their old pumpkins in the park for animals to eat. Many of these discarded pumpkins have taken root and started to grow. About this time of year, the vines start to flower. I spotted my first pumpkin vine this morning. It wasn't that exciting, but it was something new.

I was supposed to get a haircut today, but my appointment got canceled. Scheduling things in the coronavirus era is complicated. No great loss. I've gotten used to looking scruffy. I'm sure I'll get a haircut eventually, but it's probably best to wait a little while anyway. Dallas needs to get its act together again. We were doing so well and now we've become a hotspot.

I was missing a few ingredients for my smoothie this morning, but it still tasted the same. Sometimes I think it doesn't even matter what I dump in the blender. These smoothies always taste pretty much the same. The news on the TV while I'm eating breakfast is always the same as well. Life really is starting to feel like that Ground Hog Day movie.

Hard to believe it's already time to venture out for groceries again. Time flies when you are doing nothing. I'll be glad when the supply chain completely returns to normal. Every time I go to the store there are always one or two very common items that have completely disappeared. I hope my favorite coffee is there tomorrow. I'm set in my ways. I don't know if I can handle a new type of coffee.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3864

I'm a firm believer that there should be something interesting in every day, but it's been slim pickings lately. I kind of wish I'd chosen to write the blog once a week instead of every day. I've never liked the summer heat and the hotter it gets, the more I just feel like sleeping all day. The pandemic doesn't help either. After a while you just get tired of looking at stuff on the computer.

I miss the days when there were lots of odd little shops that catered to my eclectic interests. There used to be three stores in Dallas that just sold model trains. There were two stores that just sold telescopes. There used to be half a dozen interesting little camera stores. All these stores are gone. They just couldn't survive in a world of online commerce. On days where nothing was happening, I used to like to hang out at my favorite little shops. I would talk to people and get ideas. I would usually buy stuff as well. That's why my office is so full of crap.

I guess walking has become a substitute for many of the things I used to do. We've been taking our morning walks for long enough now that we're starting to recognize the other people on the trails. The same people seem to be out there every day. We wave or sometimes say hi as we pass each other. It's amazing how predictable everyone is. We pass some of the same people at almost exactly the same locations every day. Most people, including ourselves, even wear the same clothes every day.

The animals in the park actually seem less predicable than the people. There is a large flock of geese that move to a new location every day. Some days they will be on the left hand side of the road and other days they will be on the right. The only time I've seen the cyclists stop is when the geese decide to cross the road. Today they was all in the water. Most of the ducks are back in the water as well. During the nesting season, a lot of ducks move onshore. Probably the animals are just as predictable as the people. I just haven't figured out all their habits yet.

I haven't completely given up on the comet. I'm continuing to look through the office for suitable equipment to photograph it better. I opened an old aluminum camera case this afternoon and discovered that all the foam inserts had gone bad. I hate when that happens. I hadn't looked at these old Nikon lenses in a long time, but I must have anticipated that the foam would eventually disintegrate because I had carefully wrapped each lens in paper towels. I'll add replacing the foam inserts to my growing list of broken stuff to fix. If there were still little camera stores in town, I could have run out this afternoon and got some replacement foam inserts. Nope. I'll have to buy the stuff online instead.

Dawn seems to be warming up to me. She comes when I call most of the time now and even curls up next to me on the bed. She doesn't like people to stare at her directly and still occasionally gets frightened when we make sudden movements. Gaining Dawn's trust is still a work in progress, but I'm starting to see big improvements. Hopefully, when the pandemic is over and Janet starts traveling again, Dawn and I will be best buddies.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3863

Dawn is getting better at riding in the car, but she definitely doesn't like going to the vet. She was shivering and shaking during our entire visit this morning. There was certainly nothing to be afraid of. She just got a Bordetella shot and we took in a urine sample for analysis. We were in and out in fifteen minutes. Dawn certainly has some bad memories about going to the vet. We'll never know what they are unfortunately. Some things about a rescue dog's past are never known.

Since Dawn had a traumatic morning, we stopped and got ice cream cones on the way home. That seemed to do the trick. Like most dogs, she loves ice cream. By the time we returned home, our little prima donna was completely back to normal.

There was rain in the forecast again today, but for the second day in a row it never appeared. There was a lot of cloud cover, which helped keep things bearable on our walk this morning. It also helped that we got an early start. We were able to complete our full five miles and even finish breakfast before our vet appointment.

For a while this afternoon I thought the skies might clear. I began making plans to search for the comet again tonight, but before I could even decide on what gear to take, the clouds returned. Time is running out to photograph this comet. It's getting a little dimmer every day. If I was braver, I would have planned a camping trip to an area with dark skies. Unfortunately, I don't like to camp and I'm wary about spending the night alone in the middle of nowhere. I have a real fear of snakes. Under normal circumstances a lot of local astronomy groups would have planned star parties to view the comet under favorable dark sky conditions. Star parties appear to be out for the rest of the year however. They are being canceled left and right.

I just applied for press credentials to attend the second crewed mission to the International Space Station in September. I don't think my chances are good however. The application form stated that Covid-19 rules were still in effect at Kennedy Space Center and that press participation would be extremely limited. I don't think the little British magazine I write for is even on NASA's radar these days. You've got to keep trying though. I keep applying for every launch opportunity. Who knows. Maybe the virus will have started to die out by September.

I'm trying to think of something interesting to do tomorrow. My options appear to be limited. I don't feel like cleaning and straightening things around the house. It's too hot for yard work. There seems to be little point in making travel plans. I don't even feel like buying new gear. Maybe I'm just making excuses, but I think the pandemic is wearing me down. If an antisocial person like me is starting to feel hemmed in, I can only imagine what social people are feeling. This is not the way the world is supposed to work.

Maybe if I go to bed early, it will be easier to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Got to keep walking. I think I'll go outside one last time tonight and see if the clouds have cleared. Oddly, I still believe that things can change.

Pongo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3862

One of my credit cards got updated recently with a new contactless version that you don't need to insert in a terminal. For some reason the bank decided to change the number on the card, so I thought I would have to update all my online accounts. Much to my surprise, most of the websites where I had an account on file already had the new credit card number before I even had a chance to tell them about the changes. Weird. I've long suspected that privacy is just an illusion and that all our secrets are out there in the cloud already. I was initially surprised when I started using online banking services to pay bills. The whole process was so easy. It's all starting to make sense now. The banks and financial institutions already know everything about you.

It was supposed to rain today, but it never did. All we got was a lot of humidity. We took a shorter walk this morning just to get back inside where it was air conditioned. Our clothes were so damp from the humidity that it might as well have rained. At least rain would have been cooler.

I don't think I did anything productive today. I continued to sort thorough old photo gear, looking for the perfect lens to take a picture of the comet. I was looking for a fast manual telephoto with clear distance markings on the lens so I could focus easily in the dark. All my new digital cameras have lenses that focus electronically. You can set them to manual mode, but the focusing is still done electronically. This makes it hard to focus when you turn autofocus off and can't see anything through the viewfinder. Some of my best comet pictures the other day were ruined because the lens wasn't exactly set on infinity. If I want to use these new lenses for astrophotography, I guess I need to focus on a distant object in the daytime and then tape the lens barrel in place. It probably doesn't matter anyway. There are lots of clouds on the horizon tonight. Time is running out. I might not see the comet ever again.

Dawn has another vet appointment in the morning to recheck for crystals in her urine. Hopefully, she will cooperate and give us a sample before we go to the vet. I think Janet has perfected a method of getting a urine sample from Dawn, but it still doesn't work every time. If you don't place the ladle just right when she starts to pee, you are out of luck. I think the vet is still under Covid protocol. You can't actually go in the exam room with the vet. A vet tech just takes your dog to the back and then you wait for the results. It's weird that everyone seems to have different rules for dealing with the virus. I haven't gone out much, but the dermatologist, dentist, and hair salon all clearly had very different rules. The restaurant where we went for my birthday dinner didn't seem to have any rules at all.

The longer this pandemic goes on, the more envious I am of my friends out at McDonald Observatory. They were socially distanced before the pandemic even began. When the observatory closed to the public, they didn't have to worry about people at all. This sounds perfect to me. What could be better than getting paid for doing something interesting without any of the craziness that the rest of us are dealing with. I worry that they might start to like the isolation and never open the observatory again.

I hope Dawn's exam goes well tomorrow. I'm not ready for any sort of doggie medical problems. Been there and done that way too many times.

Katie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3861

Time flies. It's already Dalmatian Day again. There are still only three dogs at the kennel. Luckie, Hank, and Charlie are all doing well. Luckie is still very sky and apprehensive, but she seems to be relaxing a little. Someone came and looked at Hank during the week, but thought he was too active for them. Hmm. All Dalmatians are pretty active. I'd be more worried if a Dalmatian wasn't active. At any rate, we had a good time playing ball with Hank and Charlie and Luckie came over to us and let us pet her this week. We're making progress. Charlie is amazing. He knows how to sit, stay, lie down, and come on command now. I think he would enjoy doing agility work.

We got an early start on our walk this morning, but there wasn't much of a breeze today. Monday mornings are very quiet. We had the park to ourselves for a while. More people must be returning to work now. I'm starting to see a difference between weekends and weekdays again. It started to get hot as soon as the sun came up, so we had to cut the walk short a bit to keep Dawn from overheating. She almost always picks the best route home now on her own, depending on the weather.

Fifty one years ago today Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. A little over one year ago I was standing on the same launch pad the astronauts used, getting ready to watch a Falcon Heavy launch. I had no idea back then then that just one year later the entire world would have changed. Who knew? I keep wondering how long it's going to be before I can return to Kennedy Space Center and start covering launches again? It certainly doesn't look good this week. Florida and Texas have both become virus hotspots.

I went ahead and made an appointment to get a haircut. I'm perfectly OK with looking shabby, but I want to help my stylist stay in business. She said that if I made an early appointment, I'd be the only one in the salon. Sounds good to me. The last time I got a haircut was just before I went out to McDonald Observatory for a week. Early March was when all this mess with the virus started. I remember the discussions we had about whether the observatory was going to shut down. Nobody would have believed that we would still be talking about the same thing in late July.

I'm glad I got to see the comet again last night. No comet tonight. The last time I looked, there were thick clouds building toward the Northwest. I think it is going to rain tomorrow. Hopefully we will get at least one more clear night before the comet disappears from view. I think I know how to take a better picture now. It's not going to look like those fabulous pictures I keep seeing on social media, but I'm learning. Some of these people are just showing off with their pictures. I've seen the comet and the International Space Station flying overhead in the same picture. I've seen the comet in the same frame with an aurora, with meteors, with noctilucent clouds, and even a picture of the comet with red sprites in the background. Most of the good pictures were taken in remote areas with very dark skies. I'm lucky if I can see the comet at all through our light pollution and perpetually hazy skies.

Hopefully we can get Dawn walked tomorrow before the rain starts. I'd welcome a little rain at this point. It might cool things down a bit.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3860

I've got a lot to learn about taking comet pictures. I went back to the same hill where I went last night, but this time I took a telephoto lens. This was probably a mistake. The comet was still lost in the haze around the horizon and you couldn't see it with the naked eye. I found it easily enough with binoculars, but I couldn't see it with the camera viewfinder. You had to point the camera in the general direction of the comet, take an exposure, and see what you got.

The lens I took didn't have a hard stop at infinity either. You could focus past infinity which made it even harder to focus on something you couldn't see. I finally found the comet but it didn't look like those pretty pictures I've been seeing on the internet. There was too much light pollution from the city and too much haze along the horizon. If the comet would stick around for another month or so, I might finally get this right.

My hilltop vantage point seemed kind of weird tonight as well. There were lots of kids milling around in the dark. Several hundred yards away from me, there was a group having a DJ party in the dark with a portable sound system and a lot of people were dancing around waving glow sticks. Cars would drive by from time to time and their headlights would ruin my long time exposure shot. I wonder if this goes on every night? You certainly wouldn't know there was a pandemic going on. Have I mentioned that I miss the quiet solitude of the David Mountains.

We got an early start on our walk this morning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and as soon as the sun came up you could feel the heat. All the early morning exercisers must start at 7 AM. When we leave the house a little before 6, we have the park to ourselves. By 7 the trails start to fill with joggers and dog walkers. Sundays aren't as busy as Saturdays, but I'm still surprised at how many people are out this early. We saw the green parrots again this morning. All the baby ducks we began noticing last month are growing up fast. I enjoy watching the birds and animals on our walks. I think Dawn does too, but she didn't see any rabbits today.

I thought about taking a telescope when I went looking for the comet tonight, but decided against it. I got out the telescope during the afternoon and reviewed putting it together and aligning it. I think I'm missing a few parts. I have so many things that I have forgotten how to use and the telescope is one of them. It's a shame that there are so many lights in our neighborhood at night. The telescope is virtually useless in the back yard unless I wanted to look at the moon. I didn't know what to expect at my hilltop location tonight, so I wanted to be able to hop in the car and leave quickly if I had too. The telescope was just too cumbersome. Oh, well. I did get to see the comet again and take some mediocre pictures.

This weekend has gone quickly. The monotony of pandemic life is starting to get to me. I don't miss talking to people all that much, but I do miss being able to make plans. You really can't go anywhere now. Janet and I talk about taking a car trip, but where would you go? Neither of us like camping. Flying is out of the question now and even staying in a hotel seems questionable. I don't think anyone wants visitors from Texas or Florida anyway. I may try to get a better picture of the comet tomorrow. Who knows when I'll get a chance to see another one.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3859

I found most of the items on my grocery list this morning. It remains to be seen whether I'll find the comet tonight. While I was out grocery shopping and running errands today, I scouted some more promising locations. Everyone says you have to be at least ten miles away from the city to see this thing with the naked eye. I'm not going that far, but I did find a little hill that might be better than down by the lake. We'll see. I hate driving at night. I might not even have the nerve to leave the house tonight.

We got a late start on our morning walk, but at least we had a breeze this morning. Saturday morning is always busier than other days of the week. We see the same people in the park day after day. At first I thought it was curious that everyone seemed to always wear the same clothes when they walk or jog. Then I realized that Janet and I do the same thing. I guess there is no sense in changing outfits on pre-dawn walks. We know the names of a few other dogs now. People are always curious about Dawn. We trade names and ages of our dogs as we pass on the trails. We keep our distance, but early morning walkers seem like a nice group of people.

I found blueberries again at the store, but I don't think I'll ever find Clorox Wipes. Now that conditions are getting worse in Texas, I hope people don't go back in hoarding mode. Shopping was just starting to feel normal again with most items back on the shelves. People do seem a bit nervous now. I know I am. When I was getting gas this morning I noticed two ladies sitting in their car at the next pump. They were both wearing gas masks that covered their entire face and purple rubber gloves inside their car. I haven't seen that before. I still wear the old drywall masks I bought at a hardware store a long time ago. I'm not sure how good they are, but they seem to last a long time.

Days are still extremely uneventful. I easily got my 20,000 steps today after two walks and a little grocery shopping. I'm working on getting Dawn to trust me more. She's still more comfortable around women, since the breeders who mistreated her were both men. I've learned never to make any sudden moves when I'm around her. She walks well on a leash with me and relaxes when we are both on the bed together. She's still a little wary when I'm doing something unfamiliar though. I'm fairly predictable. Eventually everything will become familiar. You just have to be patient with rescue dogs.

I think I'm going to go ahead and get a haircut. My stylist really needs the work. Since I'm retired, it's easy for me to forget how hard the pandemic has been on people who have a small business. Gig workers have it the worst I think. My stylist is very careful and I have an N-95 mask. I don't think I can wait until this is over anyway. Covid is going to be with us for a very long time.

You didn't know I was gone, but I took a break from writing for a couple of hours and went looking for the comet. Found it. I went to the only hill I could find in Dallas and discovered that there were other people looking as well. One couple I spoke with had even been out to a special observing night at McDonald Observatory. The comet was almost impossible to see with the naked eye, but looked spectacular in my image stabilized binoculars. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out very well. The sky just wasn't dark enough. I did see a pretty bright meteor though. Too bad my camera was pointed in the other direction at the comet. It was surprising to meet random astronomy people on a hill in the dark in the middle of a pandemic. They were nice people though. Maybe a comet brings out the best in us.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3858

I can't decide whether to go looking for the comet again tonight. The sky is relatively clear. I know exactly where to look now. I also know that the perpetual haze on the horizon will prevent me from seeing anything. I still have some mosquito bites from my previous comet search as well. It's a tough choice. I'd like to see this thing, but I also like staying inside where it is air conditioned and bug free. Why don't I live in the mountains where I could just walk out on the front porch and enjoy a cool breeze and a beautiful dark sky?

Today was exceptionally uneventful. I got out some older digital cameras and tried to relearn the menu structure. I discovered the other day that my best camera doesn't have a camera raw profile in Photoshop. This is because I refuse to buy a new copy of Adobe Creative Suite. My old Photoshop works best with my older cameras. Usually this isn't a problem, but I'm going to need the camera raw format to get a decent picture of the comet.

I typically spend my days learning new things on the Internet and then promptly forgetting them again. Today I tried to relearn everything about my old Olympus cameras. I feel sorry for kids if they don't get to go back to school this Fall. Online learning has its limits. I learn best by actually doing something  wrong and then doing it again and again until I finally get it right. Somehow, watching a YouTube video just doesn't do the trick for me. If we have enough clear days I'll eventually get a good picture of the comet. I'm sure there will be a lot of trial and error involved.

We had a nice walk this morning, but had to cut things short on the way home. The skies were clear  and as soon as the sun rose, the temperature began to climb immediately. I wasn't surprised that Dawn chose the short route home. Starting these walks before sunrise is the only way to go. I still take an afternoon walk without Dawn, but it is only because I'm a creature of habit. There is no joy in the afternoon sun.

Tomorrow it's time to get groceries again. Who ever thought that getting groceries would feel like a dangerous activity. I"m more aware of other people now and not in a good way. You have to wonder if some of our "new normal" behavior will become permanent? It probably will. Nothing is casual anymore. Did I remember to bring several masks and some cleaning wipes. I usually need a spare mask because I'm always breaking the elastic straps on the cheap paper kind. I try to remember to bring a doggie poop bag as well in case I need to pump gas. I used to bring some Clorox Wipes with me but we used those up a long time ago. My sense of smell is still good and I've become aware of how far away you can smell someone's perfume or cologne. I keep thinking that if virus droplets travel that far, we're all doomed.

Maybe I'll find blueberries tomorrow. My smoothie always tastes better with blueberries. The little things matter when you can't do the big things. Hmm. I think it's time to get gas again. I used to do this once a week. Now once a month is plenty. I doubt that I'll go to the gym this weekend. I haven't even gotten a haircut yet. Basically, the "new normal" means doing nothing at all.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3857

After I processed some of the pictures I took last night in Photoshop, I discovered that the comet was there after all. It was exactly where I had been looking, but was too dim to see even with binoculars. So much for astronomy in the city. It's hard to see anything through the perpetual haze. I was a little surprised that my camera captured something I couldn't see with my own eyes, but my eyes can't seem to manage an eight second exposure. This comet is pretty dim. It makes me miss those dark skies of West Texas.

I looked for the comet again tonight but the sky was cloudy toward the Northwest. No luck today.  I did manage to see the ISS as it flew overhead around 9 PM. Unlike comet Neowise, the space station is bright enough to cut through patchy clouds. Every time I see the station it is coming from a different direction. I still have this simpleminded notion that the space station should travel in a predictable path like the planets. Nope. The ISS definitely is predictable because I have an app on my phone that shows where it is at any given time. I just can't wrap my head around orbital mechanics. Maybe that's why I went into advertising.

We got started on our morning walk before daylight again. Today there was no breeze though. Even though it was cloudy, we all got hot fairly quickly. Dawn got excited when she spotted a rabbit, but after that she let us know that she wanted to take the short route home and we were happy to comply. I'll be glad when Summer is over. Every day seems like Ground Hog Day. We just do the same things over and over again.

I think I missed my chance to finish the roof repairs. It's way too hot to go up on the roof these days. I hope my expensive bucket of silicon material stays good until the weather cools down again. I hate to waste this stuff. There are so many things that need attention around the house, but it's almost impossible to get motivated. Covid life is basically just walking and fixing meals.

I find myself looking at telescopes on the Internet a lot now. Buying a nice telescope is tempting, but somewhat foolish at this point. Where would I use it? Light pollution in Dallas is terrible and I hate the idea of a long drive out to the country every time I want to look at the stars. An astronomy club here in Dallas owns some land up in Oklahoma where there are dark skies. Members can use the site for observing, but that's a really long drive. Probably going to Mcdonald Observatory several times a year is a better plan. Oops, I forgot. The observatory is closed.

Clearly I'm not the only person interested in the new Ford Bronco. My newsfeed is filled with articles now. It's weird that Ford seemed to get this retro 4x4 thing right, while Land Rover missed with their new Defender. I waited for years for the new Defender to arrive and now I don't want one. It's too expensive for a utility vehicle and I don't like the styling. So far I like almost everything about the Bronco.

When New York was having a lot of problems with the virus, I kept thinking that Texas had dodged a bullet. Apparently it just wasn't our turn yet. Florida is even in worse shape than we are. I wonder if I'm ever going to get to return to Kennedy Space Center. It's a waiting game now. Janet and I sit here and make plans for things that just aren't going to happen for quite a while.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3856

I received a notice this morning that NASA rejected my request for media accreditation for the July 30th Mars 2020 launch. The language in the notice was exactly the same as it was for the DM-2 launch last month.  "Due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic, we had to limit the number of media permitted on site, etc..." I wasn't going to go to Florida anyway, since it has become one of the world's leading virus hotspots, but this was still sad news. How long is this going to go on? I'm sure there are many people who have had more important plans interrupted, but this is very frustrating. I haven't heard from the Air Force yet, but I doubt that they are credentialing out of state visitors right now either. Florida is struggling. So is Texas for that matter. Maybe 2021 will be better.

The skies have been clearing this afternoon and I decided to try and find the comet this evening. I scouted out a few locations on my afternoon walk and thought if the skies remained clear, I might finally be able to see it. The best location I found still has some trees on the horizon, so wasn't sure if the comet would clear them. I wasn't sure if sunset haze would obscure things either. Hey, what did I have to lose.

It was another hot day. Getting started on our morning walk before 6 AM really helps. It is noticeably cooler before the sun rises. Today we had a nice breeze and lots of cloud cover too. We had a nice walk and were able to complete our full five miles. Dawn seems to be an early bird. She likes these early walks as long as she gets her breakfast first. Dogs have their priorities. I'm content to wait for breakfast until we finish our walk, but Dawn wants to eat as soon as she gets out of bed in the morning.

If I'm able to find the comet tonight, I'll want to take a picture of it as well. Hmm. How do I take long time exposures with my good camera? Seems like I've done this before, but it's been a while. I looked up directions on the Internet and the procedure was a little more complicated than I anticipated. With old mechanical cameras you just set the shutter on bulb and used a locking cable release to activate the shutter. With modern digital cameras you have to disable a lot of automatic functions before you can use the camera manually.

After spending an hour looking for the comet, I finally had to admit defeat. I saw nothing. The sky was pretty clear, but there was haze on the horizon. Actually, there is always a thin haze on the horizon down by the lake. If I really want to see this comet, I'm going to have to get in the car and look for a higher elevation. It's possible that I was just looking in the wrong place, but I don't think so. There were many maps on the Internet showing just where to look.

I've never been wild about venturing into the park at night. It's dark, there are coyotes, and there are always the voices. I can always hear people off in the distance that I can't see. What are these people doing? Every time I've gone into the park to look at stars at night, I hear these hidden voices. It's kind of creepy.

When I returned to the house from my futile comet hunting excursion Dawn didn't initially recognize me and started barking like crazy. She's a good little watch dog. I wish she'd watch things a little more carefully though and realize that it's me coming in the house. Don't bite me girl. I'm friendly.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day