Monday, January 3, 2022

Day 4393

Thankfully it was a little warmer today. The day still started below freezing, but it warmed up quickly. I don't think Dawn likes the cold. She isn't quite as eager to take her walks on cold mornings, even though we got her a nice warm sweater. I guess I feel the same way. I've never been a big fan of Winter.

After breakfast I thought I'd go to Target and the Apple Store to get some additional cables that would allow me to test several more cameras with my new start tracker. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a mask with me. This wouldn't have been a problem last week, but the Omicron variant has thrown everyone into a panic again. When I entered the Target store, there were big "mask required" signs at the entrance and the PA system was even broadcasting that if you didn't feel like wearing a mask inside the store, you should try online shopping instead. I went home. I figured that if Target was being this strict, the Apple Store would be even worse. Maybe I'll just buy the cables I need on Amazon. That would be easier.

By the time I took my long walk, the weather was actually quite nice. It was still chilly, but it wasn't freezing like yesterday. My only problem today was my feet. It's hard to tell if my feet are actually getting worse or I just need new shoes. Maybe I'm just walking further. It's quite common for me to get 20,000 steps these days. For me, that's about 10 miles. It seems like I used to walk a lot less. At any rate, my feet were quite painful today. I hate to use the Voltaren cream, because of the internal bleeding risk side effects listed on the tube. I've tried Biofreeze too, but that doesn't seems to do anything. I guess I should just go ahead and order some new Hoka shoes while I'm ordering camera connection cables.  Finding the stuff I need locally is proving to be an exercise in frustration.

Getting the Polaris star tracker to work is an even bigger exercise in frustration. Some of the other Kickstarter backers are already out in the field taking pictures and I can't even get my cameras to connect to the tracker. I suspect that I just have the wrong cameras. I've always been a fan of Olympus and Panasonic cameras even though the rest of the photographers are always using Nikon and Canon. Most of the people who are having success with their star trackers appear to be using Canon cameras. When I'm photographing launches down at Kennedy Space Center, I'm almost always the only one not shooting with a Nikon or Canon. Oh, well. I've never followed the crowd.

We didn't visit Charlie and Oliver today because the kennel is still on a holiday schedule. Maybe next week. I guess it's about time to take down the Christmas tree. The Christmas holidays seemed to go by awfully fast this year. Wasn't it just Thanksgiving a few days ago? I still don't have any trips planned for the coming year. Last year I was a lot more industrious. Maybe I just don't care as much about writing articles anymore. It's hard for me to do anything for the pure pleasure of it. Writing for magazines gave me a reason to travel. 

Maybe I'll watch another episode of The Expanse tomorrow. It's time to write another letter to my sister as well. I need to do some touch up painting on the trim around the house, but I hate to paint. I always manage to spill something and make a mess. I'll probably just continue to monkey around with the star tracker and try to get it to work with a camera it wasn't designed for. If I have a choice between a useful activity and a useless one, I'll always choose the most useless activity I can find.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day


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