Friday, July 23, 2021

Day 4229

I got a message from Patrick Air Force Base today saying that due to the increased threat from Covid, new protocols would be going into effect immediately. In a long list of new restrictions, one thing stood out to me: no more on base launch viewing. What a shame that things are going backwards. I was hoping to resume attending launches soon. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to hear that McDonald Observatory is reconsidering its plan to resume pre-Covid operations in September. Very little surprises me anymore. I'm beginning to think that this virus might be with us forever. People overestimate their ability to control things. Do you really think we can stop floods, wildfires, and deadly new diseases? We can't even control overpopulation which is causing many of these problems in the first place.

There is no point in being gloomy though. Dawn had a good day and I actually got quite a bit done. Maybe Dawn didn't lick her paws because she wasn't left alone today. I made sure to wait until Janet returned from grocery shopping before I went to the gym. We had a nice sunrise walk and are continuing to explore new locations in the park. Dawn seems curious and increasingly confident. When it was time for me to take her outside to pee around lunchtime, I didn't even need to put her on a leash. I just told her it was time to go pee and she followed me out to the back door. This may seem like a small thing, but it's been months since she has followed me on her own. Maybe Dawn is starting to like me.

I think the camera case foam inserts I ordered over a month ago are finally on their way. I thought I was dealing with a large organization, but apparently the company is just a single guy who cuts the foam to order. He wrote me today saying that he'd been sick lately and was way behind on orders. I was promised that my order would be in the mail tonight. I kind of feel bad now that I've been pestering this guy. Keeping a small business alive is never easy and I imagine that there isn't a lot of demand to refurbish old camera cases.

When I went to the gym this afternoon I was surprised to discover that half of the treadmills weren't working. I usually use the same treadmill, so I've never really paid much attention to all the others. Today someone else was using my regular treadmill, so I was going to use one of the many others on the floor. It took quite a while to find one that would work. What happened to the repairman who used to regularly service these machines. I used to see him frequently at the gym. Did the guy get Covid? Did he retire? People who make or fix things are in short supply these days. One by one, many of the craftsmen and repair people I used to depend on have simply disappeared.

I paid a bunch of July bills today and continue to be amazed at how much more expensive everything is getting. Inflation is real. Utility bills are higher. Insurance is higher. Not only are prices going up in stores, quantities are getting smaller. I've been using those blue Scott shop towels for years and the price has literally doubled. To add insult to injury, I noticed last week that the size of the rolls is smaller and they decreased the size of each sheet to maintain the same sheet count per roll. Who do these guys think they're fooling? When we started buying wet food for Dawn, we've noticed that many brands have smaller cans now. The cans were larger when we bought for Dot and Dash. The prices haven't come down though. The prices never come down.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I will have to buy some more party ice tomorrow because I still haven't gotten the ice maker in the refrigerator fixed. I haven't made a service appointment for my car either, or scheduled two upcoming doctor's appointments. I'd just as soon postpone everything this summer. The dentist did pin me down though. Got to go to the dentist next week.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day


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