Day 4516

The star tracker is driving me crazy. It kind of worked out at the observatory, but there were a few serious problems. I had high hopes that the latest upgrades would resolve these issues and I would be good-to-go. I installed the new app on my phone and downloaded the latest firmware to the Polaris after breakfast this morning. Did this help? Nope. Now my camera won't connect to the tracker at all. I wasted an inordinate amount of time trying to get the camera to connect, but it was all for nothing. I'm going backwards now. The camera would never stay connected for long, but it always worked before. Now what? I sent my Chinese contact a message. Maybe they'll come up with another update that can turn this brick back into a star tracker.

The weather was great today. No threat of rain at all. Dawn seemed to approve. She was so eager to walk this morning that she added another half mile to her regular route. I never know what to expect when we leave the house in the morning. Sometimes she isn't interested in walking at all and other times she acts like a young pup. Today she really enjoyed her walk and just kept walking.

After I gave up on the star tracker this morning, I decided to defrost the little refrigerator. We got this thing years ago during a major power outage but we still use it today. It's small enough to be powered by a small generator and serves as an overflow fridge when the big one gets full. I wish I'd looked around for self-defrosting mini-fridge now. This one needs to be defrosted every few months. It's easy to forget that all refrigerators needed to be defrosted not that long ago. At any rate, I'm good-to-go for another few months and I didn't make too big of a mess.

My long walk wasn't so long today. My feet weren't the problem this time. It was the heat. It really felt like Summer today. I'm not ready for this yet. With the temperature near 90 degrees, I just didn't feel like walking my full six mile route. I'd better get used to warmer days because they're coming soon. Last Summer I used to soak my hat and shirt in water before I left the house and they would be completely dry before I returned. Maybe the heat will drive me back to the gym again. I prefer walking outside, but the gym is air conditioned.

I keep getting messages that it's time to apply for credentials for a variety of upcoming launches. Things are hopping down at Kennedy Space Center. It's a shame that I can't get down there more often, but it's just too expensive. I wonder if prices will ever go down again? I doubt it. I'll have to choose my launches wisely. I can probably afford one more trip to Florida this year and maybe one more trip out to the observatory as well. It's a shame that there's nothing I like to do in Dallas.

Time to make a grocery list again. The stuff I buy every week isn't a huge expense, but a trip to the grocery store certainly makes inflation seem real. Certain things seem to go up in price every single week. If this is the future I may need to think about working again.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day