Thursday, January 27, 2022

Day 4417

My teeth are in good shape. My dental hygienist always complements me on how well I take care of my teeth and gums. I try. The last thing I want at this stage of my life are implants or more crowns. I kind of wish that I'd had braces when I was younger, but that ship has sailed. My teeth are a little crooked but I have very few fillings. I still have three of my four wisdom teeth, with none of the dental problems that both of my parents endured. Hopefully I'm done with medical and dental appointments for a while. I think I've had more than my share this Winter.

When I returned from the dentist, I went to the good plumbing supply store and got the parts I needed to repair both toilets. I got high quality parts with brass fittings instead of the plastic stuff you find at Home Depot. I hate masquerading as a plumber so maybe this will help minimize future repairs. You never know though. Something else may break tomorrow. 

I'd never make a good plumber. The work is way too messy for me. I'm always very methodical and careful, but somehow I always end up making a mess. It's almost impossible to disconnect the supply lines to a toilet and remove all the internal parts without spilling a little water. At least I didn't try to remove the supply line without turning off the water to the house at the meter. I think I learned that lesson on a previous repair. The shut off valve on one of the toilets doesn't completely close and water sprays everywhere if you don't shut off water to the house first. The good news is that my first repair worked perfectly. The bad news is that I got tired of being a plumber and I still have to fix the other toilet. At least Janet's toilet is fixed. I'll deal with mine later.

I could tell on our sunrise walk with Dawn that this wasn't going to be a good day for my feet. I still can't figure out why some days are relatively pain free and other days are terrible. It doesn't seem to be the humidity because I've had good and bad days when the weather was exactly the same. It doesn't seem to be the result of too much exercise either. I've been able to go on long walks multiple days in a row without a problem. On a bad day I have trouble just walking around the house. I probably need to make another appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. I need to make sure that I'm not inadvertently damaging my feet. If walking doesn't really make things any worse, I can probably live with the pain.

The park has been virtually empty for the past several days. There hasn't been as much traffic on the roads either. Is something going on that I don't know about? I don't have a clue. Maybe it's just the weather. It has been cold and nasty lately. Maybe it's Covid. There are a ton of people who've gotten the virus recently. I can't says that I don't know anyone who's caught Covid anymore. I know quite a few people who've come down with it. It's kind of amazing that Janet and I haven't caught the virus. The test Janet had to take to see her doctor was negative and I've had several negative tests recently. So far, so good anyway.

There is new firmware available for the Polaris star tracker. I'm kind of nervous to install it though. It's always a mixed bag whenever there's an upgrade. Some people on the user forum report better results after an upgrade while others report that their tracker doesn't work anymore. I'm tempted not to bother with every upgrade and just keep watching the user forum until everyone seems happy. I think that day is still a long way away. I'm not sure I would have backed this project if I knew I was going to be a Beta tester. I just want things to work when I turn them on. Finding bugs and solving problems isn't exactly my cup of tea. Being a Beta tester isn't as messy as being a plumber, but it's almost as bad.

It seemed really cold when I took the trash out to the curb this evening. That means it will be even colder in the morning. If Dawn could overcome her fears and learn to walk with me without Janet nearby, we could do her morning walk a lot later. I have no schedule and actually like to sleep in. Dawn doesn't know what she's missing.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day