Day 4708

We found out what was wrong with the furnace today. Unfortunately it needs a special order part to fix the problem. The furnace is still not working, although it does come on occasionally. The technician tried to explain why the fan motor was making strange clunking noises and wouldn't always engage the fan, but I didn't really understand. I bet if the furnace has a simple single speed electric motor instead of this sophisticated variable speed gizmo, it would still be working. 

 I keep waiting for someone to call off the Artemis launch at the last minute. With my luck they won't postpone the launch until after I get down there. The countdown has already started, but some engineers are still worried about a piece of insulation that got blown off by Hurricane Nicole. Time is running out, but I don't think everyone is in agreement yet. Oh, well. At least the weather looks favorable. I'm going to go ahead and go to the launch, but if this thing gets scrubbed one more time I'm about ready to give up on Artemis. It's already too late to cancel reservations without a penalty. I guess we'll just see what happens. This is a historic launch, but it could also be a huge waste of money. I don't even know what the furnace repairs are going to cost yet. One way or the other, I'm pretty sure that this will be my last launch trip of the year.

It rained most of the day and the HVAC technician took a while to diagnose the furnace problem, so I didn't end up taking my long walk until late in the afternoon. As soon as I got my 10,000 steps I headed home. It was a miserable day and I felt cold and wet after only two miles. Dawn had a good walk this morning though. We managed to take our sunrise walk before the rain started.

I haven't packed yet, but there's nothing new about that. I always seem to wait until the last possible minute. The cameras and computers are charged though, so all is good. It probably won't take me very long to finish things up. I wish there were more direct flights to Orlando. I usually have to leave very early in the morning because this is the only flight that works. I hope the flight isn't late. I have only a few hours to pick up my credentials. For some unexplained reason, the Press Accreditation Office isn't open all day tomorrow.

I hope that the furnace is an easy fix and that the weather stays warmer until the part arrives. I hope the Artemis launch succeeds. Third time's the charm, or so they say. I'm already tired and I haven't even left Dallas yet. It would be embarrassing if I fell asleep at the Press Site waiting for the rocket to get off the ground. It could happen. I'm not much of a night owl anymore.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4523

After another long, hot day we finally have a working air conditioner again. The house was so hot that I think it's going to take all night for it to cool down. We've making progress though; one degree at a time. I don't know how people lived here before air conditioning. I guess you get used to it. I grew up in a house without central air conditioning. We had an attic fan, but no AC. I don't remember life being particularly bad, although I doubt I could live this way now. We would open our windows at night and the attic fan would pull in cool air from outside. When I first moved to Texas I knew someone who didn't believe in air conditioning. They had a large swimming pool in their back yard and would just jump in the pool when they got hot. To each his own I guess.

The HVAC technician was very nice. I tried not to waste his time by asking a bunch of stupid questions about how air conditioners work. I'm always very curious about mechanical things. The HVAC company used to be a client of mine. We don't talk about that now. At some point just about everyone decides they need someone young and hip to do their web site. It's not true of course, but try telling that to the kids who are running ad agencies these days.

At some point Janet bought a fan because the house has been so hot for the past several days. We discovered that Dawn loves sitting by the fan. She really doesn't like hot weather. We were uncomfortable, but we were more worried about Dawn than us. She's not a young dog and excessive heat can be hard on dogs. I ended up cleaning windows today because every time I tried to open windows to get a breeze blowing through the house, I discovered lots of spider webs on the other side. We have quite a few frosted glass windows in our house. They let light in, but block ugly views of the neighbor's house. You never really know what's on the other side of these windows until you open them.

The only way I was able to complete my long walk today was by walking early. I started right after breakfast, just like I did yesterday. No wonder Dawn likes her sunrise walks. This is the only time of the day when it is actually pleasant outside. It really wasn't bad at 10 AM though. I soaked my hat in water before I left the house and that helped a lot. I don't think I'd like to be an air conditioner technician in the summer. By the time the guy arrived late in the afternoon it was pretty miserable outside.

I'm getting messages almost every day now from the star tracker people in China telling me to do exactly the same thing that I've already explained to them doesn't work. The messages are so similar that I don't know whether we're having communication problems, or if I'm just being answered by some sort of automated system. The star tracker still doesn't work but I'm not giving it a lot of thought right now. It's going to be a while before I can get out to the observatory again.

This week has gone quickly. I hope nothing else goes wrong. Actually, the refrigerator seems to be working again. I don't really have an explanation for why it warmed up so quickly yesterday, but I suspect that we might have accidentally left the door open. We'll see how it runs during the weekend. I can always call the appliance repairman on Monday.

It's time to make another grocery list. I wonder how expensive things are going to be this week.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day