Day 4084

My allergies are driving me crazy this year. Every Spring my seasonal allergies seem to get worse and there doesn't seem to be much I can do. Antihistamines seem to be what most people recommend for allergies and they do nothing to stop my continual runny nose and itching eyes. Even so called modern antihistamines like Allegra don't deliver any relief. I'm sick of this. My nose is red and raw and I rub my eyes so often that Dr. Fauci would be appalled. This eventually goes away, but if experience is any guide, I  think I've got another month of misery.

I've been getting unexplained bug bites and I think I now know the cause. Ants. Little sweet ants invade the house every Spring and I think they're getting into my clothes. I was watching TV this afternoon and I watches an ant crawl out of my pants pocket and continue walking down my pants leg. The ants are just as hard to get rid of as the seasonal allergies. You can spray, but they always seem to find a new way to get inside. The ants disappear after a while too, but right now they're everywhere.

The temperature continues to fluctuate wildly. Yesterday it got up to 80 degrees, but today was much cooler. Yesterday I wore shorts and a t-shirt. Today, I had to wear a jacket again. I was actually glad to see the cooler weather. 80 degrees in February is a bit much. It's hard to believe that the temperature two weeks ago was near zero. To say the weather has been strange this year would be an understatement.

The rain was always nearby today, but we never got wet. Actually I hear thunder right now, but I think the rain is to the north of us. Janet and I must have been confident that it was going to stay dry for a while because we both washed our cars today.

I managed to get a lot of walking in today. I was lucky that my foot didn't hurt much. It's rare that I can have a 20,000 step day without a lot of foot pain. I wish I could pin down the cause for all these things that are bothering me. I've done everything my doctors have recommended for allergies and foot pain and nothing fundamentally seems to change. Things just seem to ebb and flow. I haven't even asked my doctor about the ants. He would just laugh.

When I wasn't walking today, I watched several videos about my new camera. There are some advanced features I'd like to use, but they aren't intuitive at all. It's much easier to watch someone explain them in a video than to read the instruction manual. YouTube videos have changed the whole world of do-it-yourself. I've learned how to repair appliances and upgrade computers watching YouTube videos. It looks like this will be how I master this complicated new camera as well.

We visit the rescue Dalmatians again tomorrow. It seems like a long drive to see two dogs, but Charlie and Cooper enjoy the visit and so do we. I really need to start working on my taxes tomorrow.  That's not something I enjoy, but I'm running out of time. I think there are all kinds of extensions available this year because of Covid, but I'm still going to file at the regular time. Why change now? I always file on April 15. What I'm really wondering is whether I'll be attending the Boeing Starliner launch on April 2.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4083

I woke up early this morning, which meant I got even less sleep than usual. It was damp and foggy outside and I was convinced that it would start raining any minute. As soon as we finished breakfast we took Dawn on her short walk and then I went and got my grocery shopping done. There wasn't much on my list this week and I was home before I typically even start my Saturday errands.

It still looked like the rain would start any minute, so I thought I'd see how far I could get on my long walk. I knew I'd probably get wet, but it didn't really matter. I needed those steps and I wasn't going to get them staring at this computer. I did get a little wet, but the rain mostly bypassed us today. This happens surprisingly often. People living to the North and South of us seem to get a lot more rain than we do.

The afternoon was uneventful. I practiced processing some pictures of the Andromeda galaxy that I'd taken last October out at McDonald Observatory. The pictures weren't that good and I've been looking forward to returning to the observatory to improve on my technique. Sadly, that's not going to happen this Spring. A lot has changed in a year, and I doubt that they'll be needing volunteers for quite a while.

One year ago today, I was visiting a small private observatory north of Dallas to prepare myself to a two week stay out at the observatory. I didn't know it at the time, but this was the beginning of a year long adventure that resulted in a growing interest in astrophotography and a cover story in Sky & Telescope. I'm having trouble planning future adventures now. Covid has taken the wind out of my sails. Maybe after Janet and I complete our second vaccinations next week, I'll feel confident enough to start making plans again.

There are certainly some things worth exploring. I'd like to go down to Boca Chica and do a story on Starship and all the Space X activities there. I have to figure out how to get myself invited though. That might take a while. I definitely want to be down at Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis 1 launch. The launch is still supposed to happen this year, but I have a feeling it will be postponed. I've heard rumors that there will be a follow up to the astrophotography workshop I took last October. That sounds interesting as well. I need to remember that there are always things to do, but nothing is going to happen if I just sit here.

I went out and picked up a pizza for dinner tonight and almost immediately got a bad case of heartburn. It's a shame that many of my favorite foods give me heartburn. I love spaghetti, chili, ribs, fried chicken, and pizza. They all give me heartburn. It's kind of a shame that most of my favorite activities all involve trips to places thousands of miles away as well. Wouldn't it be easier if I enjoyed bland foods and doing things right here in Dallas? Maybe that's not the point though. At least I have interests.

I hope the weather is better tomorrow. A gloomy day usually results in a gloomy me. The forecast says it will be raining in the morning, but it might be clear. Texas weather is full of surprises.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4082

I got a haircut today. Haircuts have been few and far between since Covid arrived on the scene, but eventually you look in the mirror and realize it's time. I never really thought that getting a haircut was dangerous. With little to do and no place to go, it just doesn't seem worth the trouble. I look more presentable now, but there's still little to do and no place to go. Hopefully, that will change in the near future. Whenever I've been out in public lately, the topic of conversation seems to be the vaccine. Everyone asks whether you've gotten your shot yet. A surprising number of people have. I know quite a few people who have already finished with their second vaccination. My stylist and I compared notes about getting vaccinated. I had no reaction whatsoever and she felt sick for a day. Both of us hoped that after our second shot that we could begin to return to a more normal life.

It must have rained a lot last night because the water level in the lake appeared to be almost a foot higher than it was yesterday. The rain was largely over by the time we got up this morning, so we were able to take our walks as usual. I got the pumps running before breakfast and was glad I had removed all those leaves yesterday. Dawn was eager for her walk, but didn't feel like going the extra mile today. I didn't really feel like going the extra mile either, but I continued walking. Walking eats up a lot of time and that's good.

When I was driving home from my hair appointment today I noticed a mobile document shredding truck next to me at a stop light. This reminded me that I really need to get serious about getting rid of old documents at my storage warehouse. I should have taken a picture of the truck with my phone, because I've already forgotten the name of the company. If I could get rid of all the useless documents I've saved, I could probably get by with a storage warehouse half the size of my current one. I need to do this because the storage warehouse keeps raising my rates every year. If it wasn't so much trouble, I could probably go back to my old storage warehouse as a new customer and get a great rate again. That's how storage warehouses work. You start out with a decent rate and then it goes up dramatically year after year. 

I can't believe there are still people in the Dallas area without running water. Evidently there were so many  broken pipes during the big freeze that plumbers haven't been able to catch up yet. Apparently apartment buildings fared worse than single family homes. I'm so glad that we didn't have water problems during the storm. We've had serious water problems before and they are the worst. You really feel helpless when water is seeping out of a wall and you're not even sure what is behind the sheetrock. Let's hope that Spring is just around the corner. I think everyone in town is tired of Winter by now.

Janet and I got a reminder that our second Covid shots are next week. I'll be glad when I can put this all behind me. Somehow, I have a feeling that we'll be taking Covid shots every year for the rest of our lives. That's OK if everything just opens up again. I haven't really minded the isolation, but I would like to travel. When you travel, you don't have to think about storage warehouses and water leaks. I'm hoping that by late April I'll be able to start attending launches again.

That's all in the future though. Tomorrow is just another grocery day. The stores are well stocked now, but I need to stop thinking about food. Even with my long walks I'm starting to gain weight.

Bingo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4081

I managed to get most of the leaves bagged and out of the yard before it started raining. This was quite an accomplishment, since there were a lot of leaves. I'm starting to understand why there are so many ads on TV for products claiming to reduce arthritis pain. You've seen the ads: Voltaren, Australian Dream, Blue-Emu, Capsaicin, Infrared light therapy, Salonpas, the list goes on and on. The sad fact is that at a certain age, your joints start acting like a rusty hinge. I can't recall raking and bagging leaves ever being this troublesome before. My shoulder bothered me. My wrists bothered me. My knees bothered me. Of course, my foot wasn't going to get left out of the pain parade either. Maybe that lawn care service actually was worth the money.

I was pleased to see a package from England in this morning's mail. Inside were two copies of the October 2020 issue of SpaceFlight with my article about the Artemis program. It's been a long wait. I wrote the article a year ago last February after a visit to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. My joy was short lived unfortunately. Where was the February 2021 issue with my article about the Space X Crew 1 mission? The magazine forgot to send the second article. This means that I'm going to have to ask them again, which I hate to do since everyone at the magazine is working from home and dealing with all sorts of Covid problems. I'm determined to get a copy of the Crew 1 article though, even if it takes me another year to do it.

Dawn really surprised us today. When she finished her one mile loop, she just kept walking. She wasn't reluctant at all and seemed to be really enjoying herself. Maybe it was the weather. It was a lot cooler this morning, but the rain hadn't arrived yet and it was still dry. There were lots of new smells as well, because the city workers had just mowed the grass along our trail. By the time Dawn decided that she'd had enough and headed for home, she'd walked over two miles.

By the time I'd finished my longer walk, I'd gone over five miles. I wasn't trying for distance today. I was just trying to beat the rain without destroying my feet. I've developed a peculiar flat footed style of walking that seems to work. Flexing the foot causes the most discomfort. If I can just lift the left foot up and down without a lot of heal and toe flex, I'm usually OK. Janet says I should go back to the gym and try exercises that don't involve walking. She's probably right.

My seasonal allergies started early this year. I've had a runny nose for weeks now. It got so bad today that I took an Allegra. Of course this pill did nothing. It never does. I hate adding a mask to seasonal allergies. Sneezing and blowing your nose constantly just doesn't work very well. I've ruined more than one mask by sneezing into it. I can't really recall when the seasonal allergies go away, but May comes to mind. It's going to be a long Spring.

I've got an appointment for a haircut tomorrow morning. I won't have time for my regular huge smoothie, so I'll just have a bagel and a cup of coffee instead. I'm sure it will still be raining in the morning. It's supposed to rain all the way through the weekend. I'm glad I took care of the leaves before the rain started. I'll be glad to get a haircut too. I'm long overdue.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4080

I had a rare Zoom meeting today. I still don't understand people's fascination with Zoom. In most cases, a simple phone call would suffice. I've participated in a multitude of conference calls during my working years and I can't ever remember a need to actually see the other people. I somehow lost the shared screen during today's call, but I pretended to follow along. I guess my main problem with Zoom is that I can't slouch and stare off into space. I have to look at the camera and appear interested. I guess this is kind of like a real meeting around a conference table. I didn't like those either.

Since rain is in the forecast for tomorrow,  I reluctantly started raking leaves today. I didn't actually spend a lot of time raking. Most of my time was spent with the leaf blower, trying to get all the leaves out of the Liriope and Asian Jasmine ground cover. I thought all the leaves were dry, but there were many layers and the bottom layers were still soggy and wet. When we were younger, cleaning up the yard in the Spring was a routine event. Then for a while, we had a lawn care service do this chore for us. After we retired, we started pinching pennies and returned to doing the annual cleanup ourselves.  I doubt that all the leaves will be gone before it rains again, but at least we've started. For me at least, starting a chore is always the hardest part.

I'm still wondering what has happened to our mail. Deliveries have resumed, but we certainly haven't received a week's worth of accumulated mail. I have a feeling that some of this mail is gone forever. Most of the junk we get I would never miss, but I do hope that my copies of SpaceFlight Magazine turn up eventually. I'm old school. It doesn't really feel like I've been published unless I can hold the magazine in my hand.

I received a message from my new Air Force contact saying that I would soon be receiving instructions on the re-credentialing process and that I should be good to go well before the upcoming Starliner launch. I took this as a good sign that life will eventually return to normal. It's important to me to start covering launches again. In the grand scheme of things, whatever I write is not very important, but it does make me feel like I've got a job. I'd like to feel like I'm entirely self-motivated, but having deadlines and an editor does make me a lot more productive.

Janet was gone this afternoon, so I tried to see if Dawn would do some simple things with me. She likes to lie in the sun on nice days, but she wouldn't leave the bedroom on her own. Oddly, she's happy to follow me outdoors on a leash. When I take the leash off, she will go lie in the grass like she normally does. We did this several times this afternoon. She didn't appear scared when I led her outside on a leash. She just wouldn't leave the bedroom on her own. It's all very weird. Maybe Dawn thinks I'm a kennel attendant.

My foot hurt again today on my long walk. It's baffling why this varies from day to day. Actually, my foot hurt when I woke up this morning, so maybe I'm doing something wrong when I sleep. I'm tired of seeing doctors. I've seen four doctors about this over the years and nothing has changed. There are no fractures or bone damage. Other than some obvious arthritis, the foot is fine. I don't want to take strong pain medication, so I guess I'm stuck. I've seen people get addicted to pain pills and it's not a pretty sight. I'm a born complainer, so I'll live with the discomfort and just complain a lot.

The forecast says that it should start raining tomorrow afternoon. It looks like I'll be bagging leaves as fast as I can tomorrow morning.

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4079

I tried to get organized today. I applied for press credentials to attend the Boeing Starliner launch in April. I made an appointment to get a haircut. I wrote the Air Force, asking how to renew my 45th Space Wing credentials when they expire in March. Amazingly, I was finally able to reach a real person at the dehumidifier company and asked if they could send me the part I need to get my replacement machine working properly. I thought this would be easy since I was talking directely to the manufacturer. Apparently, nothing is easy. 

I learned that I had reached the corporate headquarters here in the United States, but that the dehumidifiers were actually made in Mexico and that it was impossible to get the part I needed. "We can prorate your machine based on use and give you a refund," the technical support guy told me. This made no sense to me because the machine was brand new and I had paid nothing for it in the first place. "Wouldn't it be easier to just send me the inexpensive part I need," I asked? Nope. I guess if they want to send me money for a machine they just gave me, I'll take their money. I just need to remember to empty the collection bucket more often because this dehumidifier will overflow if it gets too full.

I hope that I haven't fallen out of the loop with NASA and the Air Force. It wasn't easy to get credentials to cover launches in the first place, and now it appears I will have to start all over again. Covid changed everything and there are new rules and restrictions now. Oh, well. It will give me something to do this Spring. It is frustrating how rare it is to be able to do something once and be done with it. People change jobs frequently. Rules change. I guess it has always been this way. I had to make new contacts frequently during my working days, but I was younger then and had more patience for this sort of thing.

Dawn is eager to go on her walks again. She seemed so happy to be outside this morning that we thought we'd see if she'd walk in a different direction. Nope. Every time we tried to get her to turn left, she insisted on turning right. The one mile loop she has chosen as her daily walk consists of a series of right turns. Dawn knows exactly where she wants to go and won't turn left at all. While I took my longer walk, Janet took Dawn in the car to a different park to get her used to different surroundings. As usual, she hated the car ride but was happy enough to walk around and smell things at the new location. I don't think we will ever know what is going through Dawn's head. She's made it pretty clear what she wants though, so we'll just go with that.

My feet didn't hurt as much today on my long walk. I walked the same distance at my usual pace, but it wasn't nearly as much of a struggle today. I didn't use any of the anti-inflammatory gel on my foot either. One more mystery to think about. I have no idea why the foot pain varies from day to day. I am very consistent about my activities. The weather has been pretty consistent for the past several days as well.

The weather has definitely not been consistent for the past several weeks. The temperature got up to 80 degrees this afternoon. At some point during the day, our air conditioner came on. It's pretty weird to go from -2 degrees to 80 degrees in less than a week, but that's what happened today. Texas weather is full of surprises. I guess I should have learned that by now.

I need to start raking leaves tomorrow. The leaves are dry again and we've got plenty of large leaf bags to put them in. Since we're looking at a solid week of rain on the horizon, tomorrow might be the best day to start this odious chore. I wish the leaves would just disappear on their own, but that's not going to happen.

Joey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4078

Clyde got adopted this week, so only Cooper and Charlie remain at the kennel. We weren't able to visit the dogs last week because of the snow and ice, but they survived the cold pretty well. The kennel never lost power, but they were well prepared in case they did. One of the kennel managers stayed overnight with the dogs on the coldest days to make sure they were OK and plenty of water was set aside in case the kennel lost running water. There still seems to be no rhyme or reason to who had electricity during the storm and who didn't. There were people near us who lost power and there were people near the kennel who lost power. I guess the Dalmatians got lucky, just like we did.

The temperature got up to seventy degrees again today. If you didn't have a plumbing problem, there is very little evidence that the storm even existed. The snow and ice are completely gone and it feels like Spring is around the corner. I hope that last week was our Winter. Enough is enough. We really don't need any more cold weather this year.

I went up to the post office to see if I could pick up our accumulated mail this morning and the postmaster said that most of the mail for our area hadn't even arrived yet. Evidently, many post offices in the vicinity were without power during the storm, including the main Dallas sorting facility. Mail is still scattered all over the place and could take up to a week to arrive. We did get a little mail today at the house, but it was all junk.

I looked up what bills usually arrive around this time of the month and paid them online. I think we're good, although I do hope that my copies of SpaceFlight Magazine don't get lost. Trash service has resumed in our neighborhood and hopefully vaccine distribution will get back on schedule as well. We've got another week before we're due for our second shot, so everything should be back to normal by then.

I don't know what I'm going to do about my foot. I used the Voltaren gel today, but my foot was still very painful after about four miles. I'm probably not using enough of the gel to be effective, but I've always been a little suspicious of NSAID anti-inflammatory medicine. This stuff is probably safer than Ibuprofen, but long term use of any NSAID is not recommended. I wonder why the shoes don't work anymore. They really helped a lot for the first three weeks.

I'm thinking about applying for press credentials to attend the Boeing Starliner launch in April. This launch takes place almost a month after my second Covid vaccination, so I should have as much immunity as I'm going to get. At some point we all need to pick up where we left off in life last March. Lockdowns weren't meant to become a way of life or a permanent condition. I"m not even sure I can get NASA accreditation again. Somehow, I got lucky with the Crew 1 launch, but I have a feeling that I have fallen to the back of the line again. It's really hard to get established when your magazine isn't widely known and you can only afford several trips a year.

Dawn took two walks again today, but she is still nervous around me when Janet is away from the house. I don't know if this is ever going to change. Dawn is nervous about many things. I'm just one of a long list of phobias she has. Hopefully, we can work this out in the next several months, because Janet is even more eager to travel than I am.

The weather has been so nice for the past two days that I almost failed to notice that there is an entire week of rain in the forecast starting this Thursday. Oh, well. Rain isn't great, but it's a lot better than ice. Maybe if it rains a lot, I will be forced to stay inside and my foot will finally heal.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4077

I hate getting old. It was a lot warmer today, so I thought I'd inflate my tires and get rid of the annoying warning light on my dash. I struggled to get the heavy air compressor out of the storage shed next to the carport. I'd put the compressor up on a shelf when I was younger and much stronger. Why didn't I put this thing on the floor like a sensible person? When I got the machine going and sat on the pavement to inflate the first tire, I realized that it was very hard to get up again. I went to the kitchen and brought out a chair to sit in while I was checking the tire pressure and inflating it to to proper specifications. I don't know why I never thought of this before. It's much easier to inflate tires sitting in a chair. These tires are supposed to be inflated with nitrogen, but who cares anymore. I'm tired of going to the Land Rover dealer and waiting around for an hour just to get my tires checked. All is well now. The tires were pretty low and they never would have inflated themselves.

The temperature got up to 70 degrees today which just shows you how weird Texas weather is. I thought for a while this afternoon that the air conditioner was going to come on in the house. I'm glad to have the warmer weather back. No more worries about frozen pipes and setting all the faucets to drip before I go to bed at night. I was expecting a lot of mud after the snow melted, but it seems to have just evaporated. The ground was surprisingly dry today.

The roads and trails were dry too, which allowed me to wear my good shoes on my walk today. The shoes made a big difference. My feet still began to hurt after about four miles, but I felt so much better than yesterday. Janet joined me today as well, which helped me to pick up my pace. She tends to walk a lot faster than I do. I'm sure this is because she is in better shape than I am.

I saw a huge possum on the back porch before I went to bed last night. This explains why Dawn has been so interested in smelling things in the yard lately.  We had to watch her carefully when she went out to pee this morning. Possums are beneficial animals, but I don't want our dogs to tangle with one. I have a feeling that the possum is probably living in our damaged greenhouse. There are probably a lot of critters living in that greenhouse.

Dawn is back to taking two walks a day again. She seems happy taking these two short walks. Maybe that all she ever wanted to do. She enjoys smelling things in the park and occasionally gets to greet another dog. She is very particular about other dogs. Some she clearly likes and others she tends to avoid. I'm always careful when we approach another dog, because it's hard to predict how she's going to react.

I wonder if we're ever going to get mail again? We haven't had any deliveries in over a week. Ordinarily, I wouldn't care, but I'm waiting for some copies of SpaceFlight Magazine to arrive from England. These copies with my articles in the October and February issues were mailed just before the big storm hit. I know there are sitting in a bin at the post office somewhere, or maybe in a mail carrier's trunk. I hope they arrive eventually because I know the magazine is getting tired of me asking about the October issue. At least I don't worry about bills getting lost anymore. It's so much easier to just pay everything online.

I'm running out of time to get my tax material prepared for the accountant. I have no interest in doing this anymore. You know what they say about death and taxes though. I'd better get busy. I was always very meticulous about keeping accurate records when I was working. With each passing year I care less and less. I know there have been a lot of tax law changes because of Covid. I hope my accountant knows what they are, because I certainly don't. I still think old people should be exempt from all this stuff. It's hard enough to remember to take my pills every day.

It looks like everything will be back to normal tomorrow. I've got fresh fruit ready for my morning smoothie. The only thing on my calendar is my second Covid shot.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4076

Things got done today. We had a hearty breakfast and then I chopped the ice out of the driveway so we could get the cars out. I was expecting empty grocery stores from what I'd been hearing on the news, but it looked like most stores spent the night restocking things. The shelves were full and I found everything on my list. Even bottled water was abundant which might be because Dallas wasn't one of the cities with a "boil water" notice. For the most part, the roads were completely clear. I thought that my tire pressure would increase because it was warmer today, but that didn't appear to be the case. I'm still getting a warning light on the dash. The tires didn't look or feel low, so I'll deal with pumping them up later.

Amazingly, the pumps on the roof still worked and I was able to pump away a lot of very cold water. I won't attempt to climb up on the roof and remove the rest of the water until all the ice is gone. I'm not that stupid. We've had no problems with frozen pipes. Even the outdoor faucets seem OK. I think the outdoor faucets survived because they're so old that they all drip naturally. Most of them I can't turn completely off anymore.

We were worried that Dawn wouldn't want to go outside, but she seemed eager for a walk. She hopped and jumped through the remaining snow and had a great time smelling everything. She remembered her old route and was ready to return home after she completed her short one mile journey. Since it was a nice day, I continued walking and though I would attempt my old six mile route. This was a mistake without my good shoes. This was the slowest six miles I've ever walked and my feet started hurting almost immediately. I needed the heavy boots because there were still a lot of slushy areas, but I don't think my feet will ever forgive me.

The lake has already thawed quite a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if all the ice was gone tomorrow. Pretty soon this cold spell will just be a memory. In a few years I'll wonder whether this was worse than other big storms we've had in the past. We've certainly had more snow, but I don't ever remember it being so cold for this long. I'm so glad we didn't lose power. We lost power for five days during an ice storm a decade ago and it was miserable. You should never take electricity for granted. I have a feeling that there are a lot of people who are going to be looking into whole home generators after all this is over. Every time we've had a sustained power outage, I've thought about a whole home generator. We still don't have one because they can be quite expensive and to be practical, you'd need one that runs on natural gas and can be easily isolated from the grid for safety reasons.

The reason we don't have a whole home generator is probably the same reason the Texas power grid hasn't been winterized properly. It's expensive and complicated to do things right. It's much easier to just kick the can down the road and hope for the best. If we did things right, I should have cut down the aging large Oak trees in the back yard, moved our driveway and entrance to the back, and put a sloping roof on the house. Sadly, it would be easier to just move.

I wonder how long it will be before the next catastrophe makes us forget about the big freeze of 2021? Jeez. 2021 is already worse than 2020 and it's only February. I'd like to be optimistic, but I'm not. We live in an interdependent world where everything has become too big to fail. Someone eats the wrong bat in China and the entire world faces a deadly pandemic. Someone fails to anticipate a cold winter and the entire power grid almost goes down. You really wonder what is going to happen next. 

Odie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4075

It's still cold, but the snow is melting rapidly. ERCOT says that operations have returned to normal and that the crisis is over. Plumbers, on the other hand, say the worst is yet to come. I'm surprised at how many people have had their pipes burst. Even brand new buildings have had frozen pipes. I don't know if we did everything right or just got lucky, but our water is still flowing. 

It finally got above freezing today, but only for a little while. That was enough to get a lot of the ice off the roads though. The road in front of our house is almost clear. I don't think we'll have any problem going grocery shopping tomorrow. The problem will be finding food. A lot of the grocery stores in town have been emptied out and I'm not sure how quickly they can be restocked.

It got warm enough today that we were able to do a load of laundry and take showers. The blame game will go on for months, but I think the worst is over for this storm. With the temperature expected to reach fifty degrees this weekend, I think everyone can finally begin to relax. It's ironic that this is the time of year when retailers have their big winter sales. There were some great bargains on gloves and coats, but it was almost impossible to get to the stores.

We're going to try to give Dawn a walk tomorrow. During the cold spell she had become increasingly reluctant to leave the bedroom. This is not a good sign. Hopefully with warmer temperatures she will enjoy being outdoors again. Dawn needs some variety in her life and she could certainly use a little exercise.

Janet and I are definitely getting our exercise. It's surprising how much more strenuous it is to walk in the snow. We've been pretty tired after our walks this week. Oddly, Fitbit doesn't give me any extra credit for these cold Winter walks. I feel tired, but my heart rate is actually lower for some reason.

I've always thought the slogan of the Post Office was "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Apparently this isn't true anymore because we haven't gotten any mail all week. I can understand curtailing deliveries during the worst of the storm, but there was no reason that mail couldn't be delivered today. As far as I could tell, the roads were clear. The trash folks seemed to have mixed feelings about picking things up today.  The recycling folks emptied all the blue cans, but the regular trash pick up trucks were nowhere to be seen. I put out the trash anyway last night because I knew that if I didn't it would almost guarantee that the trucks would arrive on schedule.

I don't think it was really necessary to start the car today but I did it anyway out of habit. Sitting in the car this week while waiting for it to warm up has reminded me of the Groundhog Day movie. It was the same thing over and over again twice every day. I've never claimed to get good gas mileage, but I was surprised that I used up an 1/8th of a tank of gas just sitting in the driveway.

It's been a long week, but we really didn't suffer much. We had electricity. We had water. We had WiFi. And we had food. What more do you need? I do think we've had enough of winter though. Let's move on to Spring.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4074

Somehow they can flawlessly land a rover on Mars, but they can't keep the lights on in Texas. I watched the Perseverance landing today and I'll have to admit that I was impressed. After traveling almost 300 million miles, the spacecraft landed within 115 feet of it's target. I can't say that I'm very impressed with Texas. Other states seem to be able to cope with winter. Why can't we? Not planning for a storm like this is like not putting antifreeze in your car because you don't think it's going to be cold. Jeez. I can't predict the future. Can you? I'd like to see a little contingency planning. If the utility company's were cutting corners to save money, then why is my electric bill always so high? Something seems fishy to me. At the rates most utilities charge, there should have been plenty of money to winterize everything.

It still hasn't gotten above freezing, but it was a little warmer today. Maybe tomorrow will be the magic day when everything starts to thaw. We still have power and no pipes have frozen. I'm glad that our water pipes are buried under the slab. Most of the burst pipes in town seem to be located in exterior walls or uninsulated attics. For once the design of our house is working to our advantage. Even the snow on the flat roof is providing extra insulation. This is no time to let down your guard though. I think we'll leave our faucets dripping until it's t-shirt weather again.

I hope we don't have problems getting Dawn to walk again when this cold spell is over. She seems awfully comfortable sitting on the bed and doing nothing. Most dogs would be upset if you left them behind on a walk. Dawn doesn't even leave the bed. She just gives us this look that says "Bye you crazy fools. I'll keep the bed warm for you." 

Our shorter walks seem much more tiring than the longer ones we used to take when the weather was warmer. It's hard to walk on crusty snow and icy roads. Neither of us wants to fall. Your bone density gets worse as you age and I don't think a bad fall would be very forgiving. My boots aren't very forgiving either. I don't think the orthopedic surgeon who looked at my feet would approve of these boots, but they are waterproof and keep my feet warm. I'll go back to wearing the special running shoes when all the snow melts.

They say that most grocery stores are running out of food because trucks can't get in to restock them. I hope that changes in the next day or two. We've got enough food left for a couple more days, but the refrigerator is starting to look a little bare. I'm glad we stocked up on grocery day last Saturday. People who didn't plan ahead are living on Cheetos now.

While I was watching the Perseverance landing on NASA TV today I kept thinking how ironic it was that I abandoned my attempts to go out to JPL in California because of Covid. It never even occurred to me that if I had managed to get press accreditation, I wouldn't be able to go anyway because a winter storm had closed all the airports. It just goes to show that it doesn't pay to predict the future.

I"m not going to predict what will happen tomorrow. I do hope it gets above freezing though. This winter storm has worn out it's welcome. It's time to go back to regular weird weather.

Bailey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4073

The storm of the century continues. It was a little warmer today, but still well below freezing. We got more snow overnight and nothing is melting. I think just about everyone has had enough of this. The power company is still unable to say when power will be fully restored and if you lose power, you are out of luck. When the electricity goes out, your house cools rapidly, greatly increasing the danger of burst pipes. I had a Zoom call scheduled this afternoon and it was abruptly canceled when one of the participants learned that a pipe had just broken in his home. This is what everyone dreads. Broken pipes, flooded homes, and not a plumber in sight. Now that everyone had learned to put their faucets on drip, some municipalities are telling residents not to do this because it is causing dangerously low water pressure levels. Warmer weather can't come soon enough.

When Janet and I went walking today, we couldn't believe some of the things we saw. There was a guy using an ATV to pull a kid on a sled around on city streets. I cringed just looking at this. If a car was to start sliding toward them, it would be very hard for the sled to get out of the way. When we arrived at the lake we saw several people attempting to walk on the ice. On person was way out on the edge of the ice where it met the remaining open water. Didn't this guy know that the lake ice was still very thin? If he fell through the ice, he would probably freeze before the fire and rescue folks could get to him. Of course there were plenty of cars driving too fast on the frozen roads. The cold weather definitely isn't making people smarter.

We still have power, which is kind of amazing since our electricity is usually the first to go when a bad storm hits us. I think power is slowly being restored in the city, but there are still a lot of people in the dark. I see tons of posts on Facebook from folks who have been without electricity for hours or even days. Things are even worse for my friends out at McDonald Observatory. They have been stranded up on the mountain without electricity for days and fuel for the emergency generators is running low. It's hard to believe that an entire state has been crippled by this storm. Hurricanes and tornadoes are bad, but they are very localized. This is the entire state.

There is still conflicting information on almost everything. AAA says to start your car for a short time and then immediately turn it off again. Others say to bring. the engine up to normal operating temperatures before turning it off. Janet is doing the former and I'm doing the latter. Neither of us knows who's right. I'm just glad the cars still start. I'm definitely going to have to add some air to my tires before I go anywhere. All four are very low.

When the snow first arrived, Dawn would race around the yard for a while after she went outside to pee. Now she does her business as fast as she can and immediately heads for the back door. Dawn is a smart dog and I think the novelty of snow wore off very quickly. Several of the neighborhood dogs seem to love the snow, but these all seem to be Huskies or Labs with thick heavy coats. I'm not surprised that Dawn gets cold quickly. So do I.

We have one more day of sub-freezing weather before things start to thaw. Late next week the temperature is supposed to be in the sixties again. Warmer weather can't come soon enough when you are faced with the possibility of a power outage or broken plumbing pipe at any moment. I"m wondering if we'll have to reschedule our second dose of the vaccine. They say the vaccination process is a mess now, since most vaccination sites have been closed all week. We'll see what happens. I'm sure February still has a few surprises for us.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4072

Another ridiculously cold day. It's weird to be in the middle of a story that's become national news. Predictibly, everyone seems to be looking for someone to blame for this mess. Are frozen wind turbines the problem? Is poor statewide planning the problem? Is the fact that it's just not supposed to get this cold in Texas the problem? I'm sure that there is plenty of blame to spread around, but that's not going to make it any warmer. 

So many people are without power and the outages haven't been caused by ice covered power lines or falling trees. They've been caused by power companies shutting people off to prevent the entire power grid from collapsing. I never even realized that Texas wasn't even part of a national power grid. We're stuck when something like this happens because we can't buy extra electricity from warmer parts of the country. Usually this isn't a problem, but when the entire state is under a winter weather advisory, there just isn't enough energy to go around. I really wasn't expecting this, but I wasn't expecting Covid either. It makes you wonder what is going to happen next.

We still have power and I don't think any pipes have frozen, so we are among the lucky ones. Things can change quickly though, so I don't think anyone is taking their situation for granted. There's another storm headed our way that could be even worse than the first one. This time sleet and freezing rain are in the forecast and that is often a lot worse than snow. Most of our Winter power outages in the past have been caused by ice covered trees and power lines. That could easily happen again. 

There is so much conflicting information about how to cope with cold weather. Some say both the hot and cold water lines should be set on drip. Others say the hot water should be shut off entirely. There is a controversy about a drip versus a thin continuous stream of water too. I keep hearing that it takes a lot more energy to raise the temperature on cold days than to cool the temperature in hot days. This doesn't make sense. Our gas furnace uses way less electricity than the big air conditioner compressor out in the back yard. All I know is that my electric bill is way higher in July than it ever is in February.

We're setting our thermostat lower and turning off lights when we leave the room. I'm not sure how much this helps though. We have a very small house and use much less energy than most of this extravagant city.   Probably the biggest culprits are the huge office towers downtown that light up the sky every night from miles away. 

Dawn has sensibly decided to stay inside, but Janet and I are still taking daily walks. Each day the walks get a little shorter. We only walked 3 1/2 miles today, but that was plenty. The terrain seemed icier today since a lot of the dry power snow on top of everything has blown away. Underneath this snow is ice and it's pretty slick. I'm still amazed at how many people are out driving. Some of these people are probably essential workers, but others are just fools who are going to wind up in a ditch soon enough. Our own cars aren't going anywhere. We start then every day to keep things working properly, but they never leave the driveway.

I hope the sleet and ice forecasters are predicting tonight doesn't amount to much. After tomorrow, things will start to get better. They say by Saturday the temperature might even climb above freezing.

Joshua is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4071

It's pretty darn cold down here. It's ten degrees right now and the temperature has been in the single digits for most of the day. Amazingly, we still have power. There have been rolling power outages throughout the state all day long, including in many parts of Dallas. So far, so good. Our furnace is still running. The dehumidifiers are pulling moisture out of the air and keeping the windows from fogging. And we haven't had any problems with frozen pipes.

I hope the power company doesn't cut power to our neighborhood. They've had trouble turning the power back on in some areas and planned 15 minute to 2 hour outages have turned into eight hour nightmares. We're trying to conserve energy, but when the temperature is 5 degrees outside, turning down the thermostat to 68 degrees doesn't seem to make much of a difference. The furnace still runs all the time.

Dawn loves to race around in the snow for about two minutes and then run back inside to get warm. She definitely doesn't feel like taking a walk. Janet and I didn't think we'd take another walk after yesterday's experience, but we got bored sitting around the house and we went walking again. I was surprised at how much snow we got overnight. I was even more surprised at how many people were out on the roads. Today was a federal holiday and there weren't a lot of compelling reasons to drive anywhere. That certainly didn't stop anyone. Everyone with a Jeep seemed determined to see how it handled in the snow. There were almost as many cars in the park as there are on a nice day. 

We didn't walk nearly as far today, so we made it home without getting wet and cold. It was actually beautiful outside. The sky was clear and the snow was a light powder that still looked clean and pristine. The only problem was the wind. There were wind chill warnings in effect for most of the day which made the single digit temperatures feel like it was 15 degrees below zero. I'm glad I have warm clothes.

The snow is gone for the moment, but they say that it's going to be even colder tomorrow. Then another storm system arrives on Wednesday, bringing even more snow and ice. I don't think that the temperature is expected to climb above the freezing mark until this weekend. All this makes me continue to worry about power outages. We'll be extremely lucky if we manage to make it through this cold spell without an outage.

I continue to start my car twice a day to keep the battery charged. I've been surprised at how long it takes for the engine to warm up to normal operating temperatures. All four tires are low, which shows that air pressure and temperature are related. I have an air compressor, but I'm not about to sit out in the cold and pump up my tires. When it warms up, the tire pressure should go back to normal.

Ice is starting to form all over the lake now, but I wouldn't walk on it yet. The ice still looks extremely thin. Someone will try to walk on it soon. It will probably be the same people who were convinced that they could drive their cars on icy roads. Janet and I wondered where all the ducks were today. There were none to be seen. The white Pelicans have disappeared as well. These birds probably haven't gone far. There is lots of undergrowth near the shoreline that probably gives the birds some protection. 

I'm surprised that Dawn hasn't tried to get under the covers yet. Most Dalmatians seem to learn how to do this very quickly. She doesn't even seem to like having a blanket over her. We've been covering her with a light blanket before we go to bed and it's always off when we wake up in the morning. I don't seem to have this problem. The more blankets I have on top of me, the better I sleep.

I hope we wake up in the morning with heat. As long as we have electricity, gas, and running water, the weather can do whatever it wants. Even today's wind has been kind to us because it's been blowing a lot of the powder snow off the roof. I think we're reasonably well prepared, but a lot of surviving a storm like this depends on luck. So far, we've been lucky.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4070 - Valentines Day

Brr. It's 12 degrees now and the temperature is falling. The roads were coated with ice this morning with a light dusting of snow on top. The snowfall was never heavy during the day but it is starting to accumulate this evening. This is exactly what the forecast predicted, but it's still hard to believe. This is not a normal Texas winter.

Needless to say, neither of our cars left the driveway today. We've gone out to start them several times to keep the batteries charged, but that's about it. I'd like the house a little warmer, but we followed the power company's instructions and lowered the temperature. The last thing we want now is a power outage.

Dawn has no interest in going outside. She will run out in the backyard quickly to pee and poop, but I've never seen her do her business so quickly before. I'm sure Dawn thought we were crazy when Janet and I decided to see how far we could walk this morning. We made it four miles, but I don't think we'll be doing this again tomorrow. The first half of our walk was brisk and enjoyable, but we were both really cold by the time we returned home. We had to walk carefully to avoid slipping on icy ground. I wore heavy hiking boots so my feet were warm, but the soles flexed too much which caused my foot pain to return. I really can't win with my feet. Today I wore a lightweight cloth mask which made breathing easier, but what I really need is one of those wool Balaclava head coverings that mountaineers use. Of course by the time I can get the car out of the driveway to get one at REI, the worse of this weather will be over.

When Janet and I were out walking we saw several power company trucks in the neighborhood. Some people must have lost power overnight, but luckily there have been no widespread outages. This is what everyone fears. There have been several ice storms here in Dallas that have knocked the power out for days during the middle of winter. We have so much glass in our house that the temperature drops quickly. An extended power outage in this house isn't fun. I don't think that ice is going to bring down power lines this time, but it definitely is sticking to the roads. I won't be driving anywhere tomorrow. My rear view mirrors have frozen and are stuck in the retracted position anyway, so that's not good. 

Janet made a pot roast in the slow cooker today and the smell made staying inside a lot more pleasant. A good pot roast is almost the perfect meal for a cold winter day. The wind chill is already below zero and the actual temperature will be close to zero by tomorrow morning. I've done everything I can to keep the pipes from freezing, but when it gets this cold they just might freeze anyway. Got my fingers crossed that everything will be fine. They say it's going to be real hard to find a plumber when all this is over.

I don't know why cold bothers me so much. I went to high school in Alaska where the temperatures got down to -40 during the winter. It was common to see kids with bandaged ears at school. The cool kids never dressed warmly enough and their ears would get frostbitten if their cars stalled out on the way to class. Dad made sure that we dressed like we were making a trek toward the South Pole. I was always warm. Our large coal fired furnace ran constantly during the winter. Every Fall a large dump truck would come to the house and fill an entire room in the basement with coal. The house was well insulated and there was double pane glass everywhere. Oddly, I was warmer in Alaska than I am now.

The snow is supposed to stop later tonight, although tomorrow is going to be our coldest day. I feel sorry for folks who had an appointment to be vaccinated tomorrow. It's going to be a mess. At least there won't be quite as many bugs next Spring. This hard freeze should kill most of them.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4069

So far, so good. The car started easily this morning. The roads are still dry and I managed to get all my shopping done. The house is toasty warm and there is plenty of food for the rest of the week. That's the good news. The bad news is that there is a 100% chance of snow tomorrow. Forecasts are often wrong, but I have a feeling that it is going to snow.

Dawn wants nothing to do with this cold spell. She still doesn't want to take a walk and races out to the back yard to pee and runs right back to the house again. She's just being practical and smart. Only a fool would want to spend time outside in this weather.

The cold didn't stop Janet and I. We dressed warmly and took our regular long walk. I wore a mask again to keep my face warm, but discovered that it had limitations. When you're cold and walking briskly, you breathe faster. It didn't take long for the inside of my mask to get damp from my breath. As the mask got damp, it became harder to breathe through it. I eventually gave up and took it off. Janet wore a wool scarf and that worked much better.

The lake is already starting to freeze. Several of the small creeks feeding the lake have already frozen. I wonder how long it will take for the entire lake to freeze over? During the entire time we've lived here, the lake has only frozen over once. It was a long time ago, but I distinctly remember people walking out on the lake. The media is calling this a cold wave of historic proportions, but I remember times when things seemed a lot worse. We've had lots of snow, terrible ice storms, and a couple of periods when the entire city shut down. Our own pipes burst once and I think my problems with the roof actually started after a particularly heavy snowfall. Lets hope we don't set any new records. What we've been through in the past was bad enough.

I didn't do much today. A long walk and the usual Saturday errands. That was about it. I'm having a hard time getting motivated these days. My office is littered with the debris from past endeavors, but none of these things interest me anymore. Why do I have all these watch repair tools and books?  What are these dusty model trains? I know there's a guitar here somewhere, but it's buried under other stuff. I'm still interested in rockets, but I'm not going anywhere until Covid is behind us. I'm kind of superstitious and feel like I've used up most of my luck. I've hate to catch the virus now when we are so close to the finish line. There's always the night sky, but I think I'm a fair weather astronomer. On cold, clear nights, the last thing I want to do is go outside.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. According to my phone, it's supposed to start snowing overnight. Estimates range from 3 to 11 inches over the next several days. That's a lot of snow for Dallas. I'd prefer that we get no snow at all, but I don't think I get to choose. Some of our dogs have loved snow, but Dawn doesn't seem to be a fan of winter weather. It will be interesting to see how she reacts to snow. 

We already know how I react to snow. I fantasize about a place where it it is 70 degrees year round and there are no hurricanes, tornados, or snakes. I suspect this place only exists in my dreams. 

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4068

The weather keeps getting colder. I had trouble starting my car for the first time in ages. I need to remember to start it every day now until the weather gets warmer. I had a couple of errands to run and the stores were packed. People were buying groceries like the end of the world was coming. There were so many posts about frozen water pipes on Facebook that I got worried and put new insulation foam around all the outdoor faucets.

Dawn refused to walk this morning. There wasn't anything wrong. She was just being smart. She knew almost instantly that it was way too cold for a walk. I didn't have the good sense to come back inside with her and took my six mile walk anyway. I discovered a new use for my N95 masks. The close fitting mask really helped keep my face warm. My coat and gloves kept me pretty warm yesterday, but my exposed face was freezing. With the hood of my jacket up and my mask on, only my eyes were exposed today. I completed my walk, but was happy to return to a warm house. I know people who love Winter weather. I think they're all nuts. When I was young, I read a story by Fritz Leiber called A Pail of Air. It was about how the earth got pulled out of its orbit by a passing dark star and how one family survived by melting oxygen from the frozen atmosphere that had settled over the earth like a thick snow. I always think of this story on very cold days.

We got a notice from the electric company that we all need to conserve electricity during the freeze by  turning our heat down and using as few appliances as possible. I doubt that that's going to happen. When people are cold, their first instinct is to turn up the heat. I really hope we don't have an ice storm. Whenever there's an ice storm there are power outages all over town. Trees fall. Power lines break. It's a big mess. Hopefully, the weather won't be as bad as people are predicting. They say we may see a new record low temperature early next week. Zero degrees in Dallas is very, very rare.

For now everything is fine. The furnace is working well. The two dehumidifiers are keeping condensation away from the windows. We've got plenty of warm clothing. I'm still nervous about this kind of weather though. Things can go downhill quickly when the roads get icy and the power goes out. I still don't understand how northerners can take this kind of weather for granted. Zero degrees is even worse than 100 degrees to me.

If the roads are dry in the morning I need to remember to get my grocery shopping done early. Janet got her shopping done today, so we should have plenty of food. If we get snow or ice, I'm not driving at all. The problem with slick roads here in Texas isn't the ice, it's the other drivers. Nobody knows how to drive on ice here. 

I have a feeling that we're going to be spending a lot of time indoors for the next few days. I should start a new project that will keep me busy, but I'll probably just fret about the furnace instead.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day