Thursday, January 6, 2022

Day 4396

I now have a camera that connects to the star tracker. It's almost identical to a camera I already have, but for some reason this one works. I'm not home free yet, but I'm getting closer. The software for the phone app that controls the camera and tracker is still a little wonky. I don't think this will be a problem. I'm sure the app will have been updated at least five times before I get a chance to use this combo under dark skies. 

I went down to a local camera store after breakfast this morning and tried cameras until I found one that worked. I went through a period when I ordered almost everything online. That's over. Real stores have their advantages. If I ordered online, there's a good chance I would have bought the wrong camera and would have had to send it back. Seeing and touching things before you buy definitely beats reading a bunch of bullet points on a web page. More importantly, after my recent experiences with Fedex I'm not sure I ever want to deal with delivery services again.

Tomorrow I'll see if I can conquer some of the software issues that still remain with the iPhone app. There is already new firmware to install. Maybe that will fix some of the problems I had today. This is still a work in progress, but it definitely gives me something to do. Luckily, I was able to find the camera I needed used. It looks new and has seen very little use, but I was able to get it for basically half price. Hey, it doesn't hurt anything to have one more camera.

I wasn't very surprised that it was cold this morning. The surprising thing was that it never warmed up. I waited until almost noon to take my long walk and it was still only a few degrees above freezing. I worry that Dawn is getting cold. Some dogs love the cold weather but Dawn isn't one of them. I'm with her. I don't like cold weather either. At least I have plenty of warm coats. I still need to order some waterproof Hoka boots. The boots should have really been a higher priority than the camera, but it's always been hard for me to make clothing a priority.

My foot pain was worse today. The humidity was still low, so there goes my humidity theory. It still baffles me why my feet feel different from one day to the next. Logically, things should be a lot more constant. I wear the same shoes and basically walk the same distance every day. My comfort level varies wildly though. I guess I should just be glad for the good days. I'm well aware that this could be a lot worse.

Dawn had diarrhea today. She must have eaten something bad in the yard because she doesn't seem sick and still has a good appetite. We always watch carefully to make sure she doesn't get into anything in the park. Dogs are sneaky though. You think they are just smelling something and then all of the sudden they snarf something down. All of our dogs have had diarrhea at one time of another. Mostly it was because they ate something bad. We'll keep an eye on Dawn. I have a feeling that we might need to take her outside in the middle of the night as well. Brrr. It's going to be very cold tonight.

I'm glad I did a good job of fixing the furnace the other day. This is no time to have a cold house. No time for a cold car either. It was nice to have heated seats and a heated steering wheel while I was driving down to the camera store this morning. I don't think I'll ever really get used to Winter. At least the days are starting to get longer though.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day