I'm still frustrated that there appears to be no way I can add old software to my old computers. Auto manufacturers are required to have parts available for any model they sell for a minimum of ten years. Most manufacturers keep parts in stock for much longer than this. Software publishers don't seem to follow these rules. As soon as they develop a new version of their software, they pull the old versions off the shelves. Old versions of popular software are seldom supported and after a while you can't even find them to download. Old software just disappears. Hardware manufacturers are pretty much the same. If you want to install an older operating system on your computer, you are out of luck.
All this makes life difficult for a person like me who wants to keep things frozen in time. I remember a time when everything worked perfectly and I want to keep it that way. I like old cars because you could fix them yourself. I can't remember my parents refrigerator ever breaking. Appliances used to last forever back in the day. There was a golden age for computers and electronics, but I think we are long past it now. I had a lot more interesting software to choose from back in the ancient days of Apple's System Nine than I do now. The little niche players have all disappeared. If you can't find what you want in the App Store, you are out of luck.
It's not really worth fretting about things you can't change, so I just drink my smoothie and walk. There were times when I was much, much busier, but maybe there is no longer a need for that. Before I took my long walk today I continued experimenting with the images I took out at the observatory last October. There's an art to squeezing every last bit on information out of astro photos. I'm learning a lot more about image processing and I've discovered that the photos I used to be pleased with can look much better after I align the red, green, and blue layers and stretch the histogram. I'm starting to understand why a lot of astrophotographers call their individual images data. There is a lot of information hidden in every photo. Processing is just learning how to extract it.
Dawn really looks forward to her walks now. She knows when we are getting ready to go and her tail starts wagging. I think she expects these walks now. Occasionally we are late and she starts barking at the door. I hope she continues to enjoy walking as the weather become warmer. We were near the limits for an enjoyable walk today. The temperature was in the low 80's and as we neared the end of Dawn's short one mile loop, I noticed that her tongue was hanging out. We'll need to start taking water with us soon. Summer can be brutal in Texas.
At this time of year the furnace comes on early in the morning and then the air conditioner comes on around mid afternoon. This morning the furnace refused to light again while I was eating breakfast. I got out my tools and was prepared to disassemble things so I could clean the flame sensor. Just as I was getting ready to turn the unit off and take the cover off, the furnace lit and everything was fine again. The flame sensor must be dirty, but not hopelessly dirty. Maybe I'll still have to fix it this Spring, or maybe I can wait until next Fall. I'm in no hurry to fix this thing. Working in the tiny utility room is hard on my wrists and knees.
I've taken this week's trash out to the curb and am ready to declare the week officially over. I slept better last night and my Fitbit actually worked. Go figure.
Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day |
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