Day 4556

Today was busier than usual for me. I actually got a few things done. After our sunrise walk with Dawn and my usual bowl of shredded wheat for breakfast, I decided to mow the grass instead of taking a long walk. I still need to replace the batteries in the electric mower because a charge only lasts long enough to mow half the yard. No problem though. I find that I need to recharge myself as well these days. I mowed the back yard and then checked my e-mail while the mower was charging before I went back outside and mowed the front. I don't know why I keep doing this. I've found someone who will do the mowing for me, but old habits die hard.

The new dishwasher is a success. Janet likes it anyway. I didn't have much faith in the unusual drying system when I started an overnight cycle before I went to bed last night, but all the dishes were clean and dry when we woke up this morning. The tub was dry as well. I think this machine takes longer to dry things than our old dishwasher, but it isn't a problem since I only run the machine once a day before I go to bed. This thing sure is quiet. I can't even tell it is on when it is running. 

Since I used up the cooler part of the day mowing the grass, I went to the gym this afternoon to get my steps. I stopped at the pharmacy on the way to pick up a prescription and discovered once again that GoodRx had a much better price than my Part-D prescription drug plan. The pharmacist said my Part-D rates would get better once I met my yearly deductible, but why bother. The GoodRx price is so much better.

I'm glad they opened up the basketball court again at my gym. Shooting baskets is one of the few things I actually enjoy while I'm there. They closed the court for a long time because I guess they thought people might catch Covid by touching basketballs. Sadly, now that things are finally returning to normal at the gym, they are crazier than ever everywhere else. Gas is expensive, food is expensive, the stock market is tanking, and everyone seems angry.

It was still pretty early when I finished my workout and returned home, so I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade the star tracker again. I wish they'd decide that this thing was ready for production and stop the almost weekly upgrades. Some of the upgrades make things better and others make things worse. Every time I do an upgrade, I'm afraid my Polaris will stop working again. Actually I'm surprised that the Benro folks have done as well as they have. They're attempting to create a product that can be controlled by hundreds of different cameras that all work a little bit differently. Luckily, this upgrade went smoothly. Everything still works. I took a few test shots and put the contraption back in its box. I"m sure there will be at least ten more firmware upgrades before I get a chance to take this thing back to the observatory again.

It was one of those rare days when everything went right. I didn't kill myself mowing the grass. The new dishwasher works like a charm. And the star tracker still provides me with an odd amount of pleasure every time I can get it to work. Dawn was even a bit friendlier with me today. All in all, I'd call today a win.

Shadow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day