Day 4895

I made it to Florida. It's been a long day. We got up early and took Dawn on her sunrise walk. While I was eating breakfast, the roofers came over again to clean up and load their remaining supplies. I continue to be impressed by these guys. The roof is finished, but they didn't forget about cleaning up the job site. They did such a good job this morning  that you'd never know that they'd spent the past three days making the yard look like a tornado hit it. The roof itself looks great. We got some rain last night and there are no signs of any leaks. I really hope that I can put all my roof problems behind me now. If I never have to climb up on the roof again, that would be fine by me.

After breakfast I packed my bags. I think I could do this in my sleep by now. Every time I make these trips to Kennedy Space Center I take exactly the same things. I have a small bag full of connecting cables for computers and cameras. I have another small bag full of pills and toiletries. I take enough clothes for an extra day or two. Launches get postponed so often that you have to plan for contingencies. Everything fits in a small carry-on bag and the camera bag fits under my seat. Packing is easy. Trying to remember if I forgot anything is a little harder. It's easy to forget essential things like reading glasses and toothpaste. I always take a raincoat now after getting caught out in the rain without one once. I don't think I forgot anything this trip, but I never know for sure until I can't find something I really need.

Airports are weird. Spend several hours in an airport and you've got a pretty good bird's eye view of what's going on in society. Today I saw pilots with red hang tags on their luggage saying "We're ready to strike," I saw a small crowd surrounding a group of police officers trying to arrest someone. The crowd was shouting "Don't touch him" over and over again. I couldn't figure out who's side the crowd was on. Were they worried that the man being arrested would get injured, or were the worried that the officers might get dragged into a protracted lawsuit if they touched the guy. It could go either way. People are constantly eating at the airport even though the food is ridiculously expensive. I was kind of hungry, but I didn't feel like buying a nineteen dollar hamburger or a six dollar bag of chips. 

I think Love Field in Dallas is the best airport in the country for going through security. You don't have to take anything out of your bag anymore. Even computers stay inside your bag while they are being scanned. You still have to empty your pockets, but you can leave your watch and Fitbit on your wrist. Everyone reminds me that my driver's license is about to expire. Thanks guys but I can still remember a few things. Actually, I've got an appointment to renew my license next week.

It's going to be a long day tomorrow. I have to pick up my press credentials at 5:45 AM. This means that I have to get up even earlier so I can drive to the press office. We get to go out to the launch pad at 7:30 AM to set remote cameras and take pictures of the rocket. The afternoon is filled with interview opportunities and the launch itself is supposed to take place at 5:37 PM. If the weather holds up, this will be a beautiful launch. Sunset launches are the best.

I'd better get some sleep and make sure I set several wake up calls. It's a shame that Axiom has such a small window for picking up credentials. If you're late or miss the window, you are out of luck. Hopefully everything stays on schedule. The weather looks promising and I haven't heard about any problems with the rocket. We'll see what happens.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4890

Today was busy. I talked with the roofers and made sure they still wanted to start tomorrow, even though there was rain in the forecast today. They assured me that the weather would be fine and so far the weather apps on my phone seem to agree. It did rain today, but the thunderstorm was very brief. Dawn and I both got our walks completed without getting wet.

After breakfast I wrote a letter to my sister and took it to the post office. I didn't have a lot to say, but I'm always good at answering mail. Somehow after all these years, a letter received in the mail still seems more real and important than e-mail. I'll often ignore the e-mail I receive, but I rarely ignore a letter.

I got my press credential notice from Axiom Space today, so I'll be attending the AX-2 launch on Sunday. I still have mixed feelings about going to this launch since prices for everything keep going up. There aren't many things that still capture my interest, so I think it's worth the effort to hang on to the few things I still enjoy. The magazine I write for seems very interested in this launch and wants me to try to get interviews while I'm down at the space center. I'll give it a try, but it's not that easy to secure interviews with astronauts. I did sign up for a media teleconference tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll ask a question, I also finished making all my reservations for the trip this afternoon and now I feel poor again. 

We had a brief but very intense storm this afternoon. I'm getting sick of all this rain. I was going to remove the pumps from the roof today, but I ended up needing them. Hopefully with the new roof in place, I will never have to use these pumps again. Since the roof hasn't leaked during the most recent storms, I'm beginning to question my decision to get a new roof. Replacing a flat roof is a lot more expensive than putting on new shingles. I guess I made the right decision. I've had problems with this roof for many years and they aren't magically going to disappear just because I don't want to spend the money.

The new printer we got recently won't stay connected to our WiFi network. It's getting irritating. Every time there is a power outage the printer loses it's settings and I have to reprogram it again. Somehow a whole house WiFi network is a lot more trouble than just plugging things into an Ethernet cable. My computer is starting to feel sluggish as well. I really don't feel like upgrading equipment at this stage of my life, but everything I use is starting to feel obsolete. Truthfully, I've grown tired of being online. Maybe when I complete my 5000 day blogging goal, I'll pull the plug on everything and just disappear. I think I could live without computers fairly easily.

The roofers are supposed to begin work early tomorrow morning. The last I heard they are supposed to arrive around 7 AM. I hope all the noise up on the roof doesn't freak Dawn out. She's scared of enough things as it is. We won't be able to let her outside in the yard without a leash for a few days. Construction crews are notorious about leaving gates open. I hope this goes well. I'd really like to get this house in shape again and then never have to think about it anymore for the rest of my life.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4486

It's been a long day, but I made it to the airport on time, had a smooth flight to Orlando, drove to Cocoa Beach to pick up my press credentials, and then checked into my hotel in Titusville. I wasn't able to get a rent car with GPS this time, but luckily I know my way around the area by now.

I ran into several people I know while I was being credentialed and they suggested that I go to Playlinda Beach this evening to get some good pictures of the Artemis-1 rocket while it was sitting on the pad. It sounded like a good idea to me, especially since I didn't have anything else to do this afternoon. I had to renew my annual pass to get into the Canaveral National Seashore, but they have a special senior rate that is quite reasonable. The National Seashore is beautiful and I always enjoy visiting there. There were several areas near the water that had a clear view of launch pads 39a and 39b. It was amazing how much bigger the SLS rocket was on 39B than the Falcon-9 on the nearby 38A. The Artemis rocket is huge. Hopefully, I will get some better pictures tomorrow, but at least I got something today.

Since I don't go to concerts or sporting events, airports are about the only place where I see a lot of people.  I'm not a big fan of crowds and seeing a cross section of humanity like this is kind of frightening. It makes me appreciate my solitary existence. There's certainly nothing glamorous about flying anymore. It's kind of like taking the bus. Now that everyone has decided that Covid is over, airplanes are full. I enjoyed it more when the airlines blocked off the center seats in early 2020, but those days are over. Flying is a zoo again.

The clerk at the Hertz counter told me that none of their cars have in-dash GPS anymore. Evidently it is no longer a desired feature, since most people use their phones for everything. I ended up using Google Maps on my phone to find where I needed to pick up my credentials. It worked surprisingly well, although you can't really see your phone while you are driving. I still like an in-dash GPS system a lot better. Who would have thought that a GPS in your car would end up being old-school and only appreciated by old farts like me.

Tomorrow looks like a busy day. We get to go out to the launch pad and take some close up pictures of the Falcon-9 rocket. I think that Axiom Space is having a press conference in the afternoon as well. A lot of the space photographers set up remote cameras near the launch pad, but I've never had the nerve to do this myself. I've heard too many tales of cameras getting ruined by everything from rain to rocket exhaust. Some photographers build special enclosures to protect their cameras, but these tend to be heavy and bulky. It's not something you'd want to fly with.

I did pretty well at remembering what to pack, but I really should have brought a pair of shorts. When I was out at Playlinda Beach this afternoon it got pretty hot. It's hard to think of every contingency, especially if you like to travel light. I did bring a raincoat which will come in handy if it rains tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be nice for the launch on Friday though. I'm hoping that the forecast is accurate this time.

I wonder if Dawn will miss me while I'm gone. I suspect not. I bet she's already claimed my spot on the bed.

Paxton is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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