Day 4152

I started assembling the gear I want to take to the astrophotography workshop this morning. Hmmm. Why so much? I may need to rethink this. It's not like I'm going to the South Pole or anything. Somehow there seemed to be twice as much stuff as I took out to the observatory the last time. That's the trouble with road trips. You aren't limited by what will fit in a carry-on bag. Maybe I can get by with less, but this is an advanced class and there are a lot of new things I would like to try.

The star tracker is going to be a problem. It has to be assembled on-site and there are a lot of pieces that can fall off and get lost in the dark. I practiced putting the thing together today and it took me a lot longer than I thought. I wish everyone would use the same type of batteries. Quite a bit of space in my bag has to be devoted to various types of chargers. I am making progress though. Give me a few more days and I'll have this down to a science.

I watch the business channels while I eat breakfast and it seems like there is a lot of weird stuff going on. Small businesses can't find enough workers because people are making more money on unemployment now. Large businesses don't need as many workers because they have become much more efficient during the pandemic. I'm glad the world of work is mostly in the rear view mirror now. I did pretty well over the years, but today's environment is a brave new world that I don't fully understand. I don't think it would be possible to duplicate what I did in the 70's and 80's today.

Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I think Dawn is finally starting to warm up to me. She's comfortable spending time on the bed with me now. When I take a nap, she doesn't run away anymore. She likes to sit outside on a sunny day and I spent about 45 minutes sitting in the back yard with her today. She still doesn't like me in the kitchen, but she races out to eat after I fix her meals and come to the back of the house to tell her that dinner is ready.

Maybe I'm fooling myself with my long walks as well. One of the fitness apps on my phone got an upgrade and it says that my overall fitness level is low. The app now measures VO2max which represents the heart and muscles ability to convert oxygen into energy during physical exercise. I probably just walk too slow, because the fitness level is calculated by comparing my heart rate with GPS data that shows my walking or running pace. My VO2max levels would improve if I went back to the gym and exercised enough to get my heart rate up. I like my slow walks though. It's very peaceful.

Time goes so quickly now. It's already time to make a grocery list again. I'll probably have to do some yard work this weekend because the weather is too nice to ignore the yard. A lot of things need attention and it's going to be even worse if I wait until the weather gets even warmer. I wonder how long it will be before I hire a yard service like the rest of the neighbors?

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day