Day 3854

Today was Dalmatian day. We got to know our newest member of the rescue program a little better this afternoon. Lucky is a shy girl who is still getting used to life at the kennel. She was a little nervous around us at first and didn't want to play, but was very comfortable riding in the car when we took her to the vet later for an exam. This beautiful dog is going to make a wonderful companion for some lucky person. Hank and Charlie are still doing well. We think someone is coming to look at Hank later this week. Maybe he will find his forever home soon.

We had to cut our walk short this morning because of the heat. Even though we got an early start, we could tell that today wasn't the time to do our full five miles. Dawn lets us know how far she wants to go and when she selects the shorter route home, we know she's had enough. I'm not looking forward to another two months of this heat. The air conditioner never stopped running today. It's nice and cool inside, but you quickly realize you are at the mercy of these machines in the summer.

When I took my afternoon walk after we returned from the kennel, it was well over one hundred degrees. I should have stayed inside, but I was bored. These walks provide a structure to the day and save me from starting household projects that I will regret later.

I got a message from my editor at SpaceFlight Magazine saying that the article I wrote about my Artemis Day visit to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans last December is still going to be published in the magazine's upcoming September issue. It was supposed to be published months ago, but things change. That trip to the NASA facility seems like a lifetime ago now. I hadn't even heard of the coronavirus yet. I wonder when I'm going to get an opportunity to write about space and rockets again? The editor told me that the Air Force hasn't even contacted him yet about covering the Mars 2020 launch for the magazine. In a way, that's probably for the best. I don't even want to be tempted to fly to Florida right now. Until we can get a handle on this virus, I'd better hunker down and stay home. I'm not an optimistic person by nature, but I do hope that when the Artemis 1 rocket that I went to see in New Orleans has completed its tests at the Stennis Space Center and is ready to fly, I'll be attending the launch.

I missed my chance to see the comet Neowise in the morning skies. The comet appears in the evening skies right after sunset very soon. Maybe my luck will be better at night after sunset. We never did get clear skies on the horizon before sunrise. We'll see. I was going to go look tonight, but it was cloudy again.

I'm trying not to talk about the coronavirus or social unrest anymore. I've got my opinions, but opinions just start arguments these days. It's sad we have become so divided. What I will do tomorrow is get Lucky's new picture up on the Dalmatian Rescue website. I think she's a good looking dog. Website updates don't take that long, so I'll need to think of something else to do. I might finish mowing the grass, but I have a feeling that it will already be too hot by the time we finish walking Dawn and eating breakfast. Hey, that new Ford Bronco looks pretty nice. It's much cheaper than the new Defender too. Something to think about.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3637

The Michoud Assembly Facility is amazing. The building itself is enormous. This is where they built the Saturn V rockets for the Apollo program. It is also where the large orange external fuel tanks for the Space Shuttle were made. Today this historic building is being used to assemble a new generation of rockets that will take the United States back to the moon. Artemis Day is a celebration that the first of these Artemis rockets has finally been completed. It will soon go to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for testing. In a little more than a year from now it will take an unmanned trip around the moon.

When you see the size and complexity of these rockets, you begin to realize why the project is already over budget and behind schedule. The Apollo program basically had an unlimited budget. The object was simply to beat the Russians to the moon at all costs. Things are different now. The NASA folks are trying to do something equally as complicated on a much smaller budget. I hope they succeed. You get the impression that everyone at this factory realizes that the entire program could come to a grinding halt at any moment. The program is expensive and the politicians who approve things like this have been known to change their minds on a dime.

I think NASA invites me to events like this because they know that for space exploration to continue, people need to be enthusiastic about returning to the moon. They're not satisfied with news reports anymore. They want people talking about what they are doing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok, and anywhere else they might reach a new audience. If nobody is interested, the program will die.

Most of the people I met today weren't even born when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. This seems weird to me. I remember the moon landings vividly, but it is just something in a history book to a growing percentage of the population.

I have a feeling that most of these younger folks had an easier time getting to the Michoud Assembly Facility this morning than I did. I got lost several times. Even the GPS in my rental car failed me, taking me to a dead end street on the edge of a bayou. I followed the printed instructions from NASA to the letter and ended up at the wrong Michoud building. This time NASA was wrong. They sent out incorrect direction on how to reach our bus. Luckily someone was able to direct me to the right parking lot before the bus left without me.

Everybody loves to eat in New Orleans. Even the staff cafeteria at Michoud had some delicious creole food. People must live on red beans and rice down here. It's everywhere. It's the same way with Gumbo. Everywhere I've been had a pot of Gumbo cooking. They probably eat this stuff for breakfast. I love the flavors, but I have a feeling I'm going to have heartburn tonight.

Tomorrow we go to Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. It's further away than I thought, but I still think I'll have plenty of time to get back to the airport and catch my flight to Dallas. I hope it doesn't rain. The plan was to be outdoors at Stennis tomorrow and I didn't bring a raincoat. I don't think anyone else did either, so maybe the NASA folks are coming up with a Plan B this evening.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

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Day 3632

I got detailed instructions for the Artemis Day event today. The instructions covered what to wear, when to arrive, and how to find the place. Among the detailed instructions was a disconcerting note that said "Your GPS may try to route you onto Chef Highway or Almonaster Blvd. These routes should be avoided." Jeez. I depend on GPS. If I'm told to ignore it, I'm lost. I also learned that it will probably rain when I'm in New Orleans. Should I take a raincoat? Do I even have a raincoat?  I got the impression that umbrellas aren't allowed in the building. Evidently food will be available at the Michoud Assembly Facility, but you must bring cash. No credit cards accepted. The instructions were much more detailed and complicated than the ones I received before going to Vandenberg Air Force Base and Kennedy Space Center. I'm a little apprehensive, but this should be interesting.

I couldn't remember whether I took my evening meds last night. I never forget my morning meds, but  sometimes I forget what I'm doing in the evening. I guess my morning routine is much more regimented. There's a difference between forgetting to take a pill and forgetting whether you took a pill. I figured that it's better to skip a day than to take a double dose by mistake. No harm was done but it is frustrating to have these memory lapses. I still don't know if I took the pills last night. Don't worry. I'll remember tonight.

I took my walk a little earlier today. I like seeing the stars start to appear as the sky grows darker, but I think that I'd rather have my dinner at a decent time. I wish I could think of a more compelling reason for taking these walks. I'm sure that walking is good for my health, but I mostly do this just to make the days seem shorter. With no work deadlines and few strong desires, uneventful days can seem really long.

The photo backdrop has almost completed its long journey from China. It is in the DFW area now and I think it will be delivered tomorrow. DHL doesn't seem to have a "signature required" policy like UPS and FedEx. I don't know whether I need to stay around and wait for the package or not. I hate signature required packages. You wait around all day and then the package isn't delivered until 8 PM.

I hope your favorite charity did well during yesterday's Giving Day. I'm still not sure how these Giving Days work. Does everybody get matching money, or are only some groups eligible? I think Dalmatian Rescue did well. I hope we got the matching money. We certainly could use it. There are more dogs in the program right now than we've had in a long time. I just heard that six more Dalmatians will be coming to us soon as well.

Our first Santa Paws photo shoot is this Saturday. It's time to start charging batteries and checking the cameras. Maybe if I get more sleep for the rest of the week, I'll have lots of energy on Saturday. Sure. That's going to happen. Maybe I'll win the lottery too. I have a feeling I'd better get used to being perpetually tired.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3622

It was a typical busy Sunday. I got my 20,000 steps with a few extra to spare. It was a nice day so I went to the gym early to give myself time to make some more roof repairs when I returned. Sometimes I wonder if going to the gym on Sunday does me any good at all. I've noticed that walking for an hour and a half burns more calories than an hour and a half at the gym. I guess a little variety doesn't hurt. My workout at the gym is certainly different than a long walk.

It took a while to find additional worn spots on the roof. I'm gradually getting them all repaired. I didn't apply a lot of silicon today, but hopefully the strategic small repairs I made will help. I don't think I will ever have faith in this roof, but if I can keep it from leaking until I can find a reasonable bid from a reputable roofer, that's good enough for me. It looks like I have a little less than a gallon of the silicon material left. I'll save the rest for emergencies. Hopefully, there won't be any.

I sent my acceptance letter to NASA today, so I will definitely be attending the Artemis Day event at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. I've seen pictures of this enormous rocket factory and it will be interesting to see the next moon rockets being assembled. The first one is almost ready to be shipped to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for live fire tests. Hopefully, I will find a way to see it again when it eventually launches from pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center sometime in 2021.

Our road is open again. I was amazed at how much the construction crews were able to accomplish in a single day. All the beams that will support the roadway on the first half of the bridge are in place now. It looks like there will be no support columns between the Northbound and Southbound lanes anymore. The long steel beams span the entire length of the bridge. There must have been a huge crane to lift these beams in place but I didn't see it. I was asleep. Most of the work must have taken place last night.

It looks like we will be keeping one of the rescue dogs over the Thanksgiving holiday. Boarding kennels are typically booked to capacity over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays so we are trying to find temporary short-term fosters for some of the Dalmatian Rescue dogs. Hopefully, this new experience will be good for the dogs. I'll have to go pick up kiddie gates, dog beds, water and food bowls, and other paraphernalia from the storage warehouse tomorrow.

I'm kind of dreading my appointment with the eye doctor. My doctor is kind of old school and doesn't have an Optomap camera to take pictures of the retina. He still dilates my eyes which I hate. It takes me about six hours for the effects of the eye drops to wear off. They give you a pair of paper sun glasses but they don't help much. I never enjoy driving home after an eye exam.

McDonald Observatory has scheduled a Special Viewing Night for the 82" Otto Struve Telescope on December 16. It's tempting. That's when the Starliner launch is supposed to happen at Kennedy Space Center too. What are my chances of getting off the wait list and invited to the launch? Honestly, chances are slim but it could easily happen. It also snows in West Texas in December. There's that too. I'll probably just fret and end up doing nothing.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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