Day 4415

Some days are eventful. Other days nothing happens at all. One of the downsides of writing a daily blog is that you have to account for all the days. I wouldn't be offended if you just skipped today's post. The big event of the day was driving a few miles to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions. Some days I wonder how the days go so quickly even when nothing happens. You'd think I'd feel bored or fidgety when nothing happens, but it just seemed like a normal day to me.

Time goes by quickly when you are naturally slow. I spend a lot of time eating breakfast, switching back and forth between the news and business channels on TV as I sip my coffee. I spent more time with breakfast when I drank my enormous smoothie, but it still shouldn't take hours to eat a bowl of shredded wheat. I've grown to depend on our sunrise walk with Dawn to wake up in the morning. When I hear Janet say "we're leaving in ten minutes," I get out of bed and get dressed. Janet and Dawn are faster than me and the brisk morning walk ensures that I'm wide awake when we return and I don't just go back to bed again.

I used to spend a lot of time answering work related e-mail after breakfast, but now I just wade through a mountain of spam. It's rare that anything in my inbox even needs a response. Old habits die hard though. Without a lot of writing and editing jobs to keep me busy, I just waste time on Facebook and bookmark various camera and astronomy sites for future reading. I'm so used to sitting in front of a computer that I don't know what I'd do without it.

The weather was beautiful today. Yesterday's dismal drizzle turned into clear blue skies and nice moderate temperatures. One of the reasons I take my long walk every day is that it is an excellent way to kill time. I purposely walked slower than usual today and it seemed to help my foot pain. I think I saw one of the eagles sitting atop a distant tree but it was too far aways to be certain. Usually I know the eagle is around when I see a bunch of photographers with long telephoto lenses all pointed in a specific direction. I did see all the resident ducks and geese. There are way too many White Pelicans, Mallards, Coots, and Double Crested Cormorants to count, but I always look for the ten Domestic Geese, the two Canadian Geese, and the two Muscovy Ducks.

I've temporarily lost interest in the star tracker. I've already determined that the product kind of works and I don't think there are going to be any improvements until the next firmware upgrade. It seems pointless to take the Polaris out in our yard. The front yard isn't level and I'm always scared that a speeding car or truck is going to come careening through the yard again. It's happened before. There is a slight bend in the road just before it reaches our house and people, especially drunk people, have been known to miss the turn. The back yard is safe from traffic, but it is too hard to turn off all the security lights. There are nearby streetlights as well. Basically the neighborhood isn't very conducive to astronomy.

I paid the rest of the January bills today and noticed that these recurring expenses keep going up as well. It's a shame that the stock market us headed down again. I was feeling good for a while. Hey, at least I didn't succumb to buying Bitcoin. Crypto is taking a tumble as well. When I was working I was never concerned about fluctuations in the market. I always knew it was easy enough to earn more money. Retirement is a bit different. No matter what you've managed to save, it never seems like enough. 

Bones is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day