Day 4551

I always erase the cookies on my computer before I turn it off at night, so I think that Facebook is just grasping at straws when it is trying to get me to click on things. One day my feed will be filled with posts about boxing. The next day it will be filled with pictures of battle tanks and military equipment. Lately, I've been getting a lot of posts about obscure musical groups I've never heard of, along with random information about the early life of Elvis and Jimi Hendrix. A lot of these things are sponsored posts and clickbait, but some are just "suggested for you" nonsense generated by Facebook. I don't really understand any of this. Wasn't the whole idea of Facebook so you could keep up with your friends? Very little I see these on my feed actually comes from anyone I know.

I could tell it was going to be a hot day when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk. These early morning walks are always nice, but as soon as the sun hits your face, you can tell that the pleasant weather isn't going to last long. I really should have gone to the gym today, but it was easier to convince myself that a long walk right after breakfast wouldn't be so bad. The first few miles weren't terrible because the sky was overcast. As soon as the skies cleared it almost instantly became too hot. I'm afraid it's going to be like this for the rest of the summer.

I got a message from the Benro folks that it should be OK for me to install the latest firmware in the star tracker. Then they added that if the upgrade didn't work that they would fix it later. Not terribly encouraging, but I have to remember that I'm a Beta tester. Maybe I'll give the upgrade a try tomorrow. A year ago at this time I was learning how to use a different type of star tracker. I've taken both of these devices out to McDonald Observatory, but have only taken a small handful of pictures. I haven't used them at all in Dallas. There are too many streetlights that light up our backyard and I'm certainly not venturing very far from home at night these days. Sadly, it's just not safe anymore. Basically I just turn on the local news during breakfast to see who got shot overnight. We're not as bad as some major cities, but that's not saying much.

The new dishwasher will be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully there won't be any problems. I've found the shutoff valves for the water and I'll move the furniture out of the way after breakfast. I wish the installers would tell me exactly when they'd be here so I don't waste half the day waiting for them. I guess that's impossible. The best you can get from service people these days is a four hour window. The old dishwasher matched the color of the blue metal mid-50's kitchen cabinets. At least the stainless steel door on the new one will match the stainless steel counter tops. I looked for something with a slide in color panel on the door, but apparently that is out of fashion these days. All the new appliances are stainless steel. When I was younger it was important to me that everything matched. Now it's more important that everything works.

Hopefully I can get my grocery shopping done tomorrow before the appliance installers arrive. I don't know when I'll find time to take my long walk though. Oh, well. One way or another I'll get my steps. Even retired people with nothing to do have their priorities.

Escher is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4247

Last year at this time we were in the middle of a pandemic. Apparently, we still are. A year has gone by and it feels like nothing has happened at all. We were taking sunrise walks with Dawn last August because that's what you do when the weather gets hot. I was waiting for things to open up so I could resume attending launches again. I'm still waiting. Last year there was a big stained spot in the ceiling where the roof had leaked. The spot is still there. It's hard to get enthusiastic about anything. Sometime I wake up in the morning and think "That's it, I'm done." Then I get up, make the bed and get ready for our sunrise walk. There is a cadence to each day that is very familiar. It's easy to get from breakfast to dinner without a lot of thought. I often feel like complaining about my many aches and pains and then I remember friends who have cancer or aren't even here anymore and realize I have nothing to complain about at all. Life is good. I just need to appreciate it more.

I called the dentist office to confirm my appointment for tomorrow. I wanted to make sure I could drive to and from the appointment on my own. I don't know why I thought I might be sedated for the procedure, but I've never had a root canal before. They assured me that getting a root canal wasn't much different than getting a filling. I'll be glad when this is over. Having dental work done is the least satisfying way of spending money I can think of. I've thought about getting dental insurance but it really doesn't cover very much. My teeth are pretty good so I'll continue to take my chances. Hey, three cavities in seventy three years isn't bad at all.

Dawn hates the new larger cone, but it keeps her from reaching her rear paws. She only wears the cone while she's on the bed because that's where she does the most damage. While she's walking or active around the house, she seldom pays any attention to her paws. If I feel sorry for her and take the cone off, it won't take five minutes before she starts going after the paws again. It's frustrating. Dawn has a vet appointment this week to make sure her bacterial infection is gone. Hopefully the vet will have some answers about the obsessive licking for us.

I really should have gone to the gym today, but I didn't feel like driving. I took my long walk instead and was very hot. There aren't many people in the park on days like this. A few bicycles passed me on the trails and I think I saw one or two other walkers, but the place was basically empty. I completed my six miles, but when I returned home I was done for the day. 

I wonder how Facebook decides what to show me? I'm not very active and seldom reveal my interests. I always erase the cookies on my computer at the end of the day as well. The blog is just a JPEG image on Facebook,  so I doubt that they're reading that. Nevertheless, my feed is filled with pictures of guitars, reviews of the new Ford Bronco, and updates from NASA. They've actually got me pegged pretty well. There used to be lots of information about watches on my feed, but somehow Facebook has learned that I've lost interest in watches. Even though my timeline is mostly pictures of Dalmatians, I get very few sponsored posts about dog products. It's all very curious.

I don't think I'll have time for my morning smoothie tomorrow. My dental appointment is in the morning and the whole ritual of preparing and drinking the huge smoothie takes forever. Maybe I'll just have a small bowl of fruit instead. I could always skip breakfast entirely. I'm definitely in no danger of starving.

J-Lo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day