Day 3957

Dawn loves cold weather. She was eager to walk this morning and we ended up completing our full five miles for the first time in quite a while. If she continues to act this way, I'm going to really need to find some better shoes. My feet were killing me by the time we returned home. Even though I have my share of aches and pains, it was a very nice walk this morning. We're having an exceptionally nice Fall this year. 

My grocery list was small this week and I had no problems finding everything. I saw disinfecting wipes on the shelves for the first time in quite a while, but they weren't the brand I like so I didn't get any. Even though the infection rate is going up again, I refuse to succumb to panic buying. Been there, done that. We've still got some of the stuff we bought last April.

Dawn is acting weird again. Janet was gone this afternoon, and when it came time to fix Dawn's dinner, she refused to leave the bedroom. I could tell she was hungry and she knew I was fixing her dinner, but she wouldn't get off the bed. I tried staying in the office for a while, but that didn't work. When I went outside to check the mail, Dawn finally ventured into the kitchen. As soon as I came back inside the house though, she ran back into the bedroom and abandoned her food. I had to go pick up take-out for dinner anyway, so I left the house again. I guess she ate as soon as I was gone. Janet said her bowl was empty when she returned. Clearly, the breeders who owned Dawn previously punished her for doing things that Janet and I consider normal. It's sad. We hope she will eventually forget her past life.

I'd like to forget this entire year. It's pretty clear to me that we are going to be just as divided after the election as we are now. The virus isn't going away any time soon. When a vaccine finally does appear, a sizable percentage of the population will refuse to take it. That's how we are. A lot of jobs that were lost in the pandemic will never come back. Business has discovered that they can operate even more efficiently without a bunch of pesky workers. It has become a very weird world. Many companies are making record profits at the same time most of us have discovered we are non-essential. Everyone is upset about the wrong things and nobody is looking at the big picture.

Every Saturday I think about going back to the gym. I wonder why I am still reluctant to go when I have just completed a 1500 mile trip to and from West Texas. I'm still planning to attend the Crew-1 launch in Florida next month as well. Clearly I am not thinking rationally. A workout at a gym owned by a major hospital is probably a lot safer than a Southwest Airlines flight to Orlando. Maybe going to the gym was never really a high priority of mine. I'm sure that's why the virus is still with us. We all have our own priorities. For me it might be rocket launches. For you it might be weddings and family gatherings. Thanksgiving is going to cause a big spike in infections, but it won't stop Thanksgiving dinners. Human nature is what it is.

Today was a bad allergy day. It's too bad distancing and masks don't work for allergies. Staying away from other people is a pieces of cake. Staying away from ragweed pollen in another matter entirely.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3920

I guess it was inevitable. I can no longer use the old Blogger layout to write the blog. I kept switching back to the original legacy version of Blogger for as long as I could, but today that option disappeared. I don't know why this is a big deal to me. I guess I just hate needless change. My familiar Facebook timeline is going away as well. I keep pressing the "return to legacy view" button, but I've been warned that this option will disappear in September. Hmm. I guess it already is September. I'm even reluctant to install IOS 14 on my phone because I've heard that Apple is changing the way the screen looks. I'm used to the way my phone screens look. I don't want anything new.

I don't have to worry about change on our morning walks. These walks are remarkably consistent. The seasons and the weather change of course, but natural changes are much easier to deal with. The seasons are actually very consistent. I'm not surprised by Fall weather. It is supposed to be cooler at this time of year. The motion of the moon and planets is extremely consistent. You can plot their positions for years in advance. Even the ducks and geese at the lake are fairly consistent. They are always in the water at night and routinely come ashore right around daybreak. 

I'm very comfortable with nature. It's people who are inconsistent. People get bored easily and like to change the way they dress and the types of cars they drive for no reason at all. All this needless change drives me nuts. As soon as I manage to find something I really like, it's gone. Maybe this is why I keep trying to fix old things. I guess I'm supposed to throw away my old computers, printers, and cars after three of four years. It is probably actually cheaper to toss things when they become obsolete. I keep trying to patch them back together. Old things are familiar and comfortable. Who really needs a faster computer or a car with LED headlights? I'm tired of all these needless changes.

I send the low resolution pictures to Sky & Telescope this morning even though they probably won't be needed for several months. I also wrote some people in Florida to find out more about upcoming launches. There are several interesting events occurring in the next several months, but I can only really afford to go to one. It's hard to decide, especially when Covid restrictions reduce access to everything. 

It's weird. Smoke from the West Coast wildfires is dramatically reducing visibility at dark sky areas all over the country. The Rio Grande valley, where the Boca Chica Space X facility is located, currently has the highest rate of Covid infections in the country. Florida and the Gulf Coast is having an unusually heavy hurricane season. It's almost like the universe is telling me to just stay home and wait until all this is over.

It probably would be wise to hunker down and forget about travel plans for a while. I've already been doing that for most of the year however. Eventually boredom and cabin fever become a significant part of your decision making process. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's decided that 2020 totally sucks. Unfortunately nobody has figured out how to hit the fast forward button and move on to something better.

I doubt that tomorrow will be better, but it probably won't be worse either. The weather still looks good and I bought some fresh strawberries for my smoothie. I just finished taking this weeks trash to the curb. I'm done for the day. I think it's time to hit the new orange "publish" button on my Blogger layout and see what happens.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3838

The Saharan Dust Cloud has arrived in Dallas. The sky has looked gray and hazy all day. No spectacular sunsets here. The dust was so thick that I kept thinking I could smell it. This dismal science fiction sky seemed the perfect companion for a world ravaged by disease and riots. The Saharan Dust plume is a yearly event, but they say that this year's cloud is the thickest ever recorded. There have been air quality alerts all over Texas today. Hey, it's 2020. What else would you expect.

I wonder when grocery stores will get back to normal. The stores aren't crowded anymore but there seem to be too many of some items and not enough of others. There is an enormous amount of bottled water and toilet paper in some stores now, but I haven't been able to find blueberries for two weeks. Still can't find Clorox Wipes. Sooner or later there will be a huge end aisle display of those too. It will probably be right next to the towering piles of toilet paper.

Texas is a virus hot-spot now, but businesses seem very reluctant to close again. There seems to be a strong desire to ignore the latest news even though area hospitals are quietly reaching capacity. Dallas had the states very first pop-up emergency hospital back in April, but it was never used. The hospital was dismantled and there appears to be no plan to bring it back. It's all very weird. Everyone was very good about preparing for the virus when it was still in the Northeast. Now that it's actually here, people have grown tired of the whole mess.

There are lots more walkers in the park than there used to be. Maybe I'm not the only one who thinks staying healthy is your only real defense. They say bicycle sales have skyrocketed. It sure seems that way. I wish we didn't share the same trails with these cyclists. You have to be careful when you are walking your dog. Cyclists won't slow down for anything.

We got take-out for dinner this evening and I used one of those curbside pick up arrangements for the first time to get our food. Everything was very efficient. You called your order in and when you arrived, they brought it out to your car in a big bag and swiped your credit card with a mobile terminal. I didn't have to wait long at all. The restaurant seemed to be doing a very good business. There was a steady stream of people bringing bags out to cars. I have a feeling that this particular restaurant is doing just fine. Some businesses will learn to adapt to this new environment and others will disappear.

I'm not sure how adaptable I am at this point. I'm envious of my friends out in the Davis Mountains. They seem insulated from all the urban problems we are facing now. I hope the virus and civil unrest never reaches these remote rural areas. When this is all over, we need some reminder of what life was like before.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3809

I started looking for new walking shoes today. There are so many choices. I probably have enough shoes already, but none of them are comfortable on long distance walks. Should I wear a boot or a light weight running shoe? Maybe something in between? Do I need a custom orthotic? Maybe the shoe isn't even the problem. Do I have a hairline fracture? I went to a podiatrist once who x-rayed my foot and just said I had an unusually high arch. He prescribed an orthotic that looked just like the kind you get at the drug store except it cost ten times as much. I think it was made of carbon fiber. Shoes are irritating to me. I've tried all kinds and have occasionally listened to experts. Most shoes are comfortable for three or four miles and then all bets are off. Now that I'm walking more, I can't wait to take off my shoes when I return to the house. I guess I'll try again, but the effort seems futile. Maybe I should just try swimming.

I couldn't figure out why the park was so crowded today. I don't think it is a holiday. Maybe virtual school is over for the kids. There were a ton of children in the park this morning with there parents. I thought it was Saturday for a while, but it is just a regular Friday. Maybe everybody else is having trouble keeping track of the days too. They all seem the same. I had to check a couple of times today just to make sure it wasn't Saturday.

I'm kind of glad I didn't go to Florida now. There is so much unrest in the country and the weather isn't very cooperative either. It seems like a good time to just stay home an mind your own business. It does seem weird that just a few days ago we were all talking about staying six feet apart and now there are massive protests with thousands of people packed tightly together. Just like that, everyone forgot about the virus. It's hurricane season too. How long before a giant hurricane sweeps up the East Coast? 2020 definitely isn't shaping up to be a good year.

The liquid nitrogen treatments on my skin are finally showing results. I thought something would happen right away, but apparently that's not how it works. I can feel skin dying on my face and the splotchy appearance the doctor promised is starting to appear. I'd glad he told me not to worry about this, because it definitely feels odd. Hope the freezing treatment works. It is definitely preferable to cutting.

My train dealer sold another model train to someone in Belgium today. I think we were both surprised. Inch by inch, the collection slowly continues to sell. Sales are at a snails pace though. I don't think the entire collection will sell in my lifetime. Maybe I'll have to leave the rest of it to the Dalmatians. At least the artwork sold quickly. I think I've already lost interest in downsizing.

Dawn is slowly getting used to being in the car. Janet continues to practice with her every day. Who knows. Maybe there's a car trip in her future after all.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3657

A loud thunderclap woke me up this morning. I looked outside and it wasn't raining. Weird. Something had changed though. It had gotten very cold again. These rapid weather changes are driving me crazy. You never know what to wear. Maybe we always had a succession of cold fronts sweeping away the warm weather every winter. I don't remember it this way though. Something seems different this year.

Janet returned home today. We'll resume our regular schedule and go visit the Dalmatians tomorrow. I'm not sure whether the five new dogs are at the kennel yet. They always spend at least a week at the vet after we pick them up to make sure that they don't have any hidden health issues. I think this group is relatively healthy. None of them have heartworms. Some do have intestinal worms though. Luckily, these are easy to treat.

It wasn't easy to get my 20,000 steps today. I was already tired when I returned from the gym. The gym was as piece of cake compared to my long walk though. The wind was brutal. The wind chill made the temperature seem much colder than it actually was. Whenever the wind stopped blowing, I felt overdressed. When it started up again, I was cold. I couldn't believe that I saw a few runners this afternoon wearing shorts and t-shirts. What planet do these people live on? I was wearing two coats and I was still cold.

I received a reply from a magazine I sent a query to last month. The e-mail was dated 2:37AM, which seemed a bit strange in itself. Basically, it was just a form letter saying the magazine always welcomes new submissions but that it was difficult to get published. OK. They said the article I submitted was not appropriate for the magazine. Of course it wasn't. I never submitted anything. I just attached a writing sample to my query as the magazine requested. This magazine goes to the bottom of my list. I have a feeling that it is going to be next to impossible to connect with these people.

If it warms up a bit, I'll definitely have to go up on the roof tomorrow. It rained a lot yesterday and there is bound to be a lot of residual water on the roof. When the pumps quit pumping, it doesn't mean that the roof is dry. There are far too many low spots for the two pumps to remove everything. No wonder I spend so much time daydreaming about traveling to space launches. Keeping this house from crumbling around me is a never ending chore.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Dalmatians again. I didn't visit the kennel while Janet was away because it was filled to capacity with Christmas boarders. When the kennel is full, we're just in the way. Most of the holiday boarders should be gone when we go up tomorrow. Hopefully, the dogs will be as glad to see us as we will be to see them.

The year is rapidly drawing to a close. I wonder if 2020 will be any different? It was really sad losing Dash this year, but there were some good things as well. Every year is this way. You've got to learn to take the bad with the good.

Petey & Greta are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day