Day 4915

When we walked Dawn this morning I could tell it was going to be a hot day. Our early morning walk was pleasant, but you could feel that the heat was coming. I should have just kept walking while the temperatures were still relatively cool, but I felt compelled to follow my regular routine. I came home, made the bed, ate my breakfast, washed the dishes, and then turned on the computer and checked my messages. By the time I was ready to walk again, it was already quite warm.

I tried wetting down my hat before I left the house, but that didn't help for long. The hat was dry again in thirty minutes. I wasn't very fast today, although my second mile was faster than my first. My last mile is always very slow. There are still a few ducks around Sunset Bay, but most have migrated north for the summer. I guess the city has finally realized that the bald eagles have gone because they took down the protective fencing that used to surround a long abandoned nest. While I'm walking I always wonder why I'm not at my air conditioned gym instead. Old habits die hard I guess.

I think I've figured out why AT&T was trying to get me to switch from U-Verse to a less expensive streaming plan. They've certainly never tried to save me money before. I did a little more research on streaming services today and discovered that their pricing structure is much like what I've experienced with my storage warehouse. They lure you in with a low initial price which usually goes away within three to six months. When you read the fine print you quickly realize that the regular price is much higher, and that pricing can change on a monthly basis. Eventually you will end up paying just as much for the streaming service as you do for traditional cable TV. Streaming services don't require a lot of service technicians and additional equipment either. I'm sure the phone company loves that. I've had U-Verse technicians out to the house many times to fix the system. All that goes away with a streaming service. As always, it comes down to money. The phone company makes more money selling you a streaming service. They can fire a lot of their service technicians and get rid of all the set-top boxes.

I tried the free trials for YouTube TV and Hulu to see if I might like streaming better than cable. Not so much. It's a lot easier to use the U-Verse TV remote than to navigate the convoluted on-screen menus of streaming TV. The bottom line is that U-Verse is definitely too expensive, but it's more convenient than the streaming services I tried. It's more convenient for me anyway. I guess I'll just forget about this for a while. I don't watch TV that much anyway. If Janet would rather have a streaming service, we can always switch later.

Dawn was predictably excited when Janet came home with the groceries this afternoon. She was disappointed that she didn't get an afternoon walk though. It was too hot. I don't think she would have enjoyed the walk. She didn't even want to stay outside very long when I took her out to pee. The sad thing is that Summer is just beginning. It's going to get a lot hotter pretty soon. There is good news though. I think the insulation we added with the new roof is already helping. It seems easier to keep the house cool than it did in previous years.

These weeks go by so quickly now. It's already time to make another grocery list. I need to get my shopping done early because there are thunderstorms in the forecast again. We'll see what happens tomorrow. The weather forecast is wrong at least half the time.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4600

Only 400 days to go. Kind of a strange goal to write something for 5000 consecutive days, but I'm thinking I'm going to be able to do this. We're getting close now. Maybe a few more interesting and unexpected things will happen along the way, but probably not today. I got excited when it looked like we might get some rain this evening, but it missed us again. Still bone dry.

Today really was a lot like yesterday. Our sunrise walk with Dawn was warm but tolerable. My breakfast was boring but easy to fix. I made the bed, checked my messages and headed for the gym. I'm glad I have this option. It's been way too hot lately to take my normal walk in the park. 

Fridays are Dawn's favorite day. Janet does her grocery shopping on Friday morning and Dawn loves to watch as the food is being put away. She's not nearly as interested when I return from the store because I tend to buy the bulk items like laundry detergent and trash bags. Janet buys the sliced turkey which Dawn dearly loves.

I probably should stay at the gym longer. I always walk two or three miles on the indoor track and shoot free throws on the basketball court, but I'm seldom very tired when I'm finished with my workout. I should probably try a little harder to elevate my heart rate. My goal is mostly just to keep moving. Hey, I burn just as many calories as I did walking outdoors and I don't get sunburned. It's hard to argue with that. If I remember, I'm going to try mall walking this Sunday when the gym is closed. I have no desire to walk outdoors again until this heat wave is over.

I practiced using the star tracker again this afternoon. I was going to wait until the new firmware update was released, but boredom intervened. For the first time in ages there were no error messages today. Everything worked perfectly. I try to be consistent but I still can't figure out why I have good days and bad days with this thing. Even if I don't spend a lot of time doing astrophotography with the tracker, it was probably a good investment. It has already provided hours of entertainment. Although frustrating at times, testing the tracker is much more enjoyable than mowing the lawn.

I'm still waiting to hear more about the Artemis-1 launch. I've already made my reservations, but it would be nice to know whether I picked the right days to travel. I've been invited to attend several other launches in the interim, but I can only afford one more trip to Titusville this season. I need to just be patient and wait. Eventually, I'll get a schedule from NASA and I'll be on my way.

Tomorrow I do my share of the grocery shopping. I've got my list ready and expect prices to be higher again. It's probably time to fill the car with gas too. No shredded wheat in the morning. Janet cooks a big breakfast on the weekends.

Tink is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day