Day 3778

20,000 step days are normal now. What else is there to do? I just keep walking. My plans to clean out the office are on hold for a while, since there is no place to donate the stuff. I can't even throw the stuff away. There's not another bulky trash day until next month. It's not a problem though. It's amazingly easy to talk myself out of doing things I don't like to do anyway. I've waited a long time to clean out this room. I can certainly wait a little longer.

Since my computer repair went so smoothly, I did a little research on converting all my computers to solid state drives. It turns out I did the hardest computer first. Upgrading the laptops looks relatively easy. There's no hurry to do this either. I mostly use the laptop when I travel and it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.

There's one other use for the laptop of course. It comes in handy when the power goes out. I hope that doesn't happen later tonight. We've had severe weather warnings all day now and I can see the storm system on the weather radar now. We still haven't gotten everything cleaned up from the last bad storm last June. We certainly don't need another tree to fall. I'm hoping that the storm will dissipate a bit before it rolls through town.

Janet is trying to get Dawn used to riding in the car. Every afternoon they take a short ride to another nearby park and have a little picnic with cheese. We've got so much time on our hands now that Dawn is going to be totally spoiled by the time this pandemic is over. That's OK I guess. Spoiling a dog seems a lot better way to spend the day than watching the news.

I still haven't heard anything from NASA. I'm growing less confident of getting press credentials for the Crew Dragon launch. Florida friends tell me that NASA plans to grant access to a bare minimum of journalists this time. I'm still hopeful though. The new normal seems to change from day to day.

You'd think I could continue writing about astronomy and space from my office here in Dallas, but it doesn't seem to work that sway. You really have to be there. I have no real desire to research things on Google and then repackage the information with my own personal slant. Been there, done that.  Advertising and technical writing is a lot like this. I spent years writing about watches that were never on my wrist and even longer writing about oil drilling equipment that was located at the bottom of the sea. I know I can throw words together. The fun thing about writing about rocket launches and astronomical observatories is the experience of actually being there. The trips I take are basically a big adventure for a very non-adventurous person.

They say we're going to run out of bacon soon because the food supply is being disrupted. This is getting to look more like a Steven King novel every day.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3768

And just like that, everybody was wearing a mask. I'm amazed at how quickly we're all adapting to this new world. Life goes on. I made my weekly supply run today. Doggie poop bags are an easy way to avoid touching the pump handle when you get gas. It's been almost a month since I filled my tank. I still only added three gallons. I always bring a few Clorox wipes with me to wipe down the steering wheel and door handle after I finish touching grocery cart handles and all the packages I put into my cart. I'm adapting. So is everyone else.

I like the Sam's Club where I shop. The customers are mostly Hispanic small business owners. I'm a business member myself. There are no lines and almost 100% of the shoppers wear a mask. The store does a good job of resupplying all the essential things and customers do an equally good job of staying out of each other's way. If you use the shopping app on your phone like I do, you don't even have to stand in a check out line. You just quickly pick up your stuff and go home. Unlike some of the affluent suburbs where people are standing in long lines at trendy grocery stores and freaking out, things seem more or less normal here. It's almost as if everyone realizes that it's just another fucked-up day.

I got a letter from NASA today. It was addressed to members of the press and said that they were still working out the details for press coverage of the Crew Dragon launch on May 27. A limited number of photographers and reporters will be allowed at the launch site, but they will have to follow a strict set of social distancing rules that are still being developed. There were hundreds of reporters at the Solar Orbiter launch. I imagine that the list will be much smaller for this one. I probably won't know if I make the cut for several weeks but was very happy that NASA officially considers me a member of the press now. I'm just guessing but I actually might have a better chance of covering the launch than I think. The London magazine I represent probably won't be able to send anyone from the UK this time. I'm hoping they like my writing enough to assign me the lead story.

Believe it or not, I managed to sell one of my trains in the middle of a plague. My dealer in Kentucky said his store is closed like most small business and he is trying to sell his inventory on eBay now. He hoped I wasn't mad that the collectible train model sold for less than he thought it was worth. I'm just happy that the guy is still managing to stay in business. I told him that this wasn't the time to complain about prices and that I hoped his store will reopen soon. It's really a cool little store. I've been a small business owner for a long, long time and I really feel sorry for those who are trying everything they can to keep their dreams alive. The nationwide lockdown has decimated small business.

As many of you know, I could care less about politics. It makes me sad though that not even a plague of biblical proportions could bring our country together. The divide is bigger than it ever was. My Democratic friends would probably be dancing in the streets if the pandemic only killed Republicans. My Republican friends are all out buying guns and ammo. I'd like to think I'm more pragmatic. When this is all over I might go take an EMT course and get certified. It would be nice to be able to handle minor medical emergencies myself. When the trees in the backyard come down, I might consider putting solar panels on the roof. I need to build up my stock photo library to provide some sort of a passive income. You can't trust the stock market. I've always been resourceful and self-reliant but probably this experience will make me even more so in the future. I've seen nothing so far that increases my faith in government or makes me want to open the window and start singing "We are the World..."

Stay strong my friends. This is one fucked up mess, but at least we've still got dogs. Dogs rule.

Mattie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3767

I woke up early this morning. The last thing I needed was an extra two hours in an already eventless day. I remembered that Jupiter, Saturn and Mars were all located very close to the moon this morning. and went outside to take a look. Sadly, it was cloudy and I saw nothing. I did notice a surprising amount of early morning traffic though. I think the natives are getting restless.

I was even more surprised to learn today that NASA has set a launch date of May 27 for the Crew Dragon mission. I was almost certain that this would get postponed because of the virus. I wonder if my press credentials will get approved. I've already passed the security verification stage of the approval process, but that's only half the battle. I bet that NASA is still trying to decide how many members of the press corps to invite since everything is still so restricted at Kennedy Space Center. Hopefully, I'll hear something soon. I'm definitely going to go to the launch if I get media accreditation.

I bit the bullet and ordered everything I need to upgrade my computer with a super fast two terabyte solid state drive. I've watched the installation video three times now and think I can do this upgrade myself. I'm a bit clumsy, but I'm also slow and methodical and follow directions well. At any rate, doing this myself seems a lot easier than dealing with a computer repair shop during the lockdown. I've called several repair shops and I got the impression that my computer might sit there for weeks. Things aren't running very smoothly in the retail world right now.

We have a new rule in Dallas that everyone must wear a mask when they are out in public. It was cold today, so when I went to the post office with a stack of bills and letters, I wore a black wool skull cap and leather gloves with my new black mask. I looked exactly like a bank robber. I think the city finally realized that if they were demanding us to wear masks when none were available, they would have to open the fabric stores they closed last week. I heard on the news this afternoon that fabric stores are back open again. Janet has some nice Dalmatian print fabric she was going to use to make dog scarves. All we need is some Pellon from the fabric store for the middle layer of the mask and we'll be sporting some spiffy Dalmatian themed masks next week.

I think seniors aren't getting their stimulus money until May. I guess that makes sense. There are a lot of people who need the money a lot faster than we do. I still really feel sorry for the restaurant owners. The really got screwed. All the yard maintenance crews, tree trimmers, and roofers in our part of town seem busier than ever. Restaurant are dead in the water though. They all have signs saying they still do take-out, but they aren't very busy. A lot of local restaurants aren't going to survive. I wonder who decides what is essential and what isn't. I'm still amazed at how many new television commercials I'm seeing. Advertising agencies must be adding a third shift.

I'm glad that Dawn enjoys our long walks. Walking is the high point in our day. There certainly isn't much else to do. Walking is healthy and is usually a solitary experience. I can't believe a number of states have banned taking walks outside. Some states won't even let you walk your dog. As far as I'm concerned this is a good time to be a Texan. We're doing a good job of containing the virus without going batshit crazy. I never realized all those years ago what a smart move it was to leave Seattle.

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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