Day 4706

Good grief. Our furnace went out on the coldest night of the year. It wasn't the flame sensor this time so I couldn't fix it myself. The gas was coming on, but the fan wasn't working so no air was reaching the vents. Since there was no air circulating through the furnace, it would quickly overheat and shut down. 

As luck would have it, the HVAC guy I've been using for over twenty years retired a few months ago. I didn't know who to call until I remembered that the plumbing company I've been using has a HVAC division. I called their emergency number and about a half hour later one of their on-call technicians called me back. He said he could come over, but advised against it, telling me that the company's overtime and weekend rates were ridiculously high. He said that if we were cold, we could stay in a nice hotel for the weekend for a lot less than their emergency rates and asked if I could wait until Monday. The rates definitely were ridiculously high and I asked who would pay this kind of money. Hospitals, commercial companies, and others who absolutely could not afford to have their heating and cooling interrupted evidently. This company is good but they don't do much residential work. I decided to wait until Monday.

We bundled up for our sunrise walk this morning. Dawn, like all of our Dalmatians, seemed to like the cold. I was warm enough because I was wearing two down coats. Winter arrived rather suddenly this year. Only a few weeks ago I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. A hot breakfast warmed me up a bit, but the house has stayed cold all day. I have resisted the urge to monkey around with the furnace because I would probably only make things worse. The technician I talked to this morning said that I probably need a new fan motor and capacitors. I wished the guy could have come out today but I wasn't about to pay $700 extra for a weekend service call. 

I had a hard time starting the car when I went to get groceries this morning. WTF? I have a brand new battery. The battery is still under warranty, but I'll have to find time to go to the repair shop that sold me the battery on Monday. At any rate, the saga of broken stuff continues and I can't seem to catch a break. Once the car was warm it started fine, but I don't want an unreliable car if I've got to get up early to go to the airport.

I probably will need to go to the airport soon. I got a message from NASA today saying the the Causeway bridge has been repaired and that the Titusville entrance to Kennedy Space Center is usable again. Damn. This took away my best excuse to scrap the trip and stay home. I guess I should just go through with the trip. I've already committed to write an article for SpaceFlight Magazine and I'm a bit worried that if I skipped this launch it might affect my ability to get a press pass in the future. Oh, well. Like it or not, I'm headed back to Florida.

It never did get warm today but I took my walk in the park anyway. This was a winter walk with a sweater and a warm coat. There are a lot fewer cyclists and joggers in the winter. The weather was nice this afternoon, but I was still a bit chilly. Tomorrow I'll go mall walking and start to pack for the Artemis launch. I'd better get some warm blankets out for tonight. I't s going to be very cold in the house.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4487

Today was busy. After beakfast this morning I joined the other rocket photographers at the NASA Press Site to set remote cameras at the launch pad. I don't set remote cameras myself, but I like to ride on the bus with to other photographers. This is the only time the press is allowed to get close to the pad, so it's a great opportunity to get pictures. I can't believe that some of these guys continue to set remote cameras after all the tales I've heard about ruined cameras and lenses. 

You usually set remote cameras the day before the launch, so there's always a chance that it will rain overnight. Even with protective enclosures, many cameras have been ruined with water damage. If you get lucky and manage to avoid the rain, there's always a chance that your camera will get ruined by rocket fuel or flying debris. The remote cameras are set very close to the launch pad and are triggered to start shooting by the noise of the launch. There are no guarantees that your camera won't get destroyed. Sometimes I wish I had the nerve to try this, but I don't have any cameras I can afford to lose.

Today there was a certain amount of nervousness among even the more experienced photographers because as the morning progressed, we kept hearing news about a major thunderstorm headed our way. This was the same storm system that caused multiple tornados in Georgia last night, so it was something to be taken seriously. Several guys decided not to place their cameras after all. Somehow we managed to set up cameras at all four remote locations before the rain started. The timing was perfect for people like me, but it was little comfort to the photographers who knew their cameras were already getting wet.

I thought I could make it back to Titusville before the weather got really bad and I almost made it. The deluge started right as I was going over the NASA Causeway Bridge. Not the best place to be in a blinding rainstorm. I made it over the bridge and then cautiously made my way back to the hotel. The rain is over now, but it lasted quite a while. I was stuck in the hotel for most of the afternoon. Actually, this wasn't a bad thing because it gave me a chance to get started on my SpaceFlight Magazine article.

I have a hard time getting 10,000 steps a day when I'm traveling. I end up standing a lot, but that doesn't count to my Fitbit. The Fitbit wants me to be moving and burning calories. I usually walk up and down the little street where the hotel is located after dinner. It's kind of boring and there is nothing to see except for other hotels, but it gets the job done. You' think with all the walking I do that I'd feel really fit. Nope. I still spend most of my time feeling old and tired.

I really hope that the launch takes place as planned tomorrow. The weather forecast actually looks pretty good, but there is still a chance of high winds. With Space X launches you've got to worry about the weather at sea too. Even if the booster makes it safely of the pad, it still needs a place to land on the drone ship waiting out at sea. If Axiom-1 can't launch tomorrow, there are all sorts of scheduling problems. The Artemis-1 rocket on the next pad still needs to complete its wet dress rehearsal and the NASA Crew-4 launch is coming up very soon. Crew-4 needs to stay on schedule because the Crew-3 astronauts are waiting to come home. We'll set how it goes. I'd really hate to miss the launch, but any least I've already got a lot of great pictures.

Tomorrow is launch day. I need to get some sleep because it's going to be a very busy day.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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