Day 4866

Another day where I had trouble remembering what day it was. We got a lot of rain last night, but no severe weather. This morning there were very few signs that we'd even had a storm. The sky was clear and blue with a light breeze. It looked like it was going to be a good day for walking.

I accomplished very little today. After our sunrise walk with Dawn, I ate my breakfast and started reading other people's accounts of the Starship launch down in Boca Chica. I'm still glad I didn't try to go down for the launch. It's a long drive from Dallas and if I flew to Brownsville, it is often next to impossible to find a rental car. There is only one good hotel on South Padre Island and the bridge connecting the island to the mainland can be a huge bottleneck when things get busy. You'd have to be pretty dedicated to stay for any length of time. I think the photographers who went down there are still waiting to retrieve their remote cameras because Highway 4 is still closed. I'd still really like to see a Starship launch, but maybe I'll just wait until Space X finishes the facility they are building at Kennedy Space Center.

I called the guitar store to see about retrieving my unsold gear, but the owner said they still haven't found the mixing board I consigned. I'm in no hurry. I haven't even thought about this equipment for several years and the storage warehouse is getting full anyway. I still need to pick up the stuff though before I forget about it. I've lent out things before and forgotten about them. Often when you eventually do remember, it's too late. If the person has moved or the store has gone out of business, you're usually out of luck. I'll probably never use the mixing board again, but I do have a fairly decent synthesizer on consignment. I'd still use that. All I need is a place to put it. 

I looked at the long range forecast for Titusville and there's a good chance for rain next Wednesday. That's not a huge concern at this point because it rains almost every day in this part of Florida. I'm still going to go, but I do feel a lot better when there is no chance of rain in the forecast. Usually when I've had to stay an extra day or two at a launch, the delay has been weather related. Viasat-3 will launch around sunset, so that's a good thing. Often even if it rains during the day, the skies often clear around sunset.

I wish I'd gone ahead and signed up for TSA Pre before this trip. I've been meaning to do this for ages, but have never gotten around to it. Love Field usually isn't a problem, but having TSA Pre would save me a lot of time on the Orlando side of the trip. That airport is always crowded. Oh, well. One more thing on my to-do list. I think you have to do something in person to enroll in the TSA Pre program. Maybe they fingerprint you or something. At any rate, I should make an effort to do this. I hate standing in long lines.

I didn't see a lot of birds on my long walk today, but the park was pretty busy. In one part of the park workers were building a new sidewalk and in another part they were resurfacing and painting a tennis court so people could play Pickleball. I'm still not sure what Pickleball is, but apparently is is quite popular. I wonder where the Muscovy Ducks went? They are the laziest ducks in the park and usually just hang around Sunset Bay waiting for people to feed them. I haven't seen them for several weeks though.

This week has really gone quickly. It's time for me to make a grocery list again. I need to write my editor at SpaceFlight and see what he wants me to write about this time. Maybe if I get my grocery shopping done early, I'll swing by the guitar store and pick up that synthesizer. I'm sure there will be a long walk tomorrow as well. There's always a long walk.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4237

The appliance repairman came back today and installed the new part. The ice maker and in-door water dispenser still aren't working though because no water is flowing to the refrigerator. I'm going to have to call the plumbers again. Actually, I did call the plumber, but they aren't working on Saturday. When the plumbers were out at the house we checked to make sure that the new shut off valve they installed stopped the leak in the freezer. I guess we didn't check to see if the valve actually worked. It seems fine in the off position, but nothing happens in the on position. This is frustrating to say the least. I hope the plumbers don't charge me again when I can get them to come out and investigate things. Janet suggested just leaving the ice maker broken since the freezer is working fine. I like the ice in my morning smoothie though, so the ice maker will have to be fixed. I can't keep buying bags of party ice forever.

I went to the gym really early this morning so I could be home in time to meet the appliance repairman. I did an abbreviated workout, finished my grocery shopping and made it home again thirty minutes before the repairman arrived. I was really disappointed when the repairman informed me that this whole refrigerator saga isn't over yet. Until I can get the water flowing to the refrigerator, I have no idea whether anything the repairman did today actually worked. I doubt if he knows either. The weird thing is that there is no logical reason why water isn't flowing. The shut off valve is very simple. It's either on or it's off. Water was definitely flowing with the old broken valve so there's nothing wrong with the copper pipe. Hopefully I can get a plumber out Monday because this thing is driving me crazy.

Dawn did extremely well on her sunrise walk this morning. She seemed back to her old self and walked almost two miles. We still have no idea what caused Dawn to stop walking and what is making her feel confident again. I'd like to think that the reluctance to walking had something to do with her paws, but she wasn't licking or paying any attention to them then. Now that she wants to walk longer again, she's tearing her paws up. I had to put the cone on her while I was eating breakfast, because she immediately wanted to start licking when we returned to the house. I don't understand anything anymore. Dawn shouldn't be licking her paws and water should be flowing through that copper pipe.

I might have missed my opportunity to see a Starship launch. Activity is really picking up in Boca Chica and they say that the hotels in the area are filled with Space X employees now. Space X is also building a tall fence that blocks a lot of the views you used to get from Highway 4. It still would be nice to go down there for the first orbital launch later this year. I'm beginning to think that space journalism was just something I imagined. I'm losing a lot of my connections at Kennedy Space Center and it seems harder and harder to get press credentials. Maybe it's all for the best. I don't feel really comfortable traveling now that Covid panic is on the rise again. I've had so many expenses lately that I probably couldn't afford a trip right now anyway. It was fun to be part of the space community for a while. Hopefully, I'll be able to rejoin them when life returns to normal.

It's not getting any cooler, so we'll probably have to take Dawn on her Sunday outing a little earlier tomorrow. A walk and ice cream cones will probably be the big event of the day. I doubt that I'll see a plumber tomorrow. The dispatcher told me that emergency plumbers worked on the weekends but that ice makers weren't considered an emergency.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4150

What a beautiful day. This would have been a good day to do yard work, but by the time I changed the sheets on the bed and did several loads of laundry I was too tired. Somehow putting a fitted sheet on a low platform bed is a lot harder than it used to be. I had my normal smoothie for breakfast, checked my messages, and got ready to walk Dawn. We walked Dawn early today because Janet was going to be away during the afternoon. Dawn was fine with the change in schedule. She liked the nice Spring weather too.

I knew there was going to be a Starship launch today, so I checked the computer from time to time to see how things were progressing in Boca Chica. The launch didn't take place until late in the day, but it was worth the wait. The fifth time was the charm for the Starship. It didn't blow up this time and made a perfect landing. It's impressive how quickly things are moving down at Boca Chica. I still think Elon might make it to the moon before NASA. I've really got to get down to Boca Chica and see one of these launches for myself.

There was plenty of time for a long walk while I was waiting for the Starship launch to take place. I made pretty good time today even though I was unusually tired. I think I didn't get enough sleep last night. The wildflowers are looking good this season. Somehow they weren't affected by our big freeze this winter. The Rhododendrons and Azaleas in Dallas didn't do so well. Most of these popular plants died. Usually in the Spring, I spend a day or two photographing all the wildflowers before the Summer heat dries them out. I've got plenty of flower pictures now, but I ought to schedule another photo day anyway just for old time's sake. 

I shouldn't have bookmarked the page of that telescope I'm interested in. I found myself going back to the page today and trying to justify purchasing the little telescope. It's really just a telephoto lens that has been optimized for astrophotography, but it's pretty cool. It even has a cool name: Redcat 51. I'll probably wish I'd ordered it when I return from the observatory and discover that the telescope is out of stock again. If this thing was available three weeks ago I probably would have ordered it instead of the telephoto lens I got recently. Oh, well. Maybe next time. I'm sure this won't be my last trip out to the observatory.

I still can't decide whether to apply from some June launch opportunities at Kennedy Space Center. I feel like I'm jinxed now and it hardly seems worth the effort, but if you don't apply you're never going to get accepted. I wish I knew why my applications were being rejected now. I've gotten a press pass before and I can't figure out what has changed. Maybe it's just one more thing to fret about. I'm not good at going with the flow. I'd like to have the rest of my year mapped out in great detail and then I'd just follow the schedule. 

I do have something on my schedule for tomorrow. I get a haircut. A haircut isn't a big deal but it fits in with my one activity a day philosophy. A haircut and a long walk. That ought to take care of the day.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4143

Upgrading my computers is always a traumatic experience. I carefully followed all the instructions for installing new memory in my laptop and was convinced that I'd done everything correctly. When I put the computer back together and pressed the power button nothing happened. The computer was completely dead. I took the computer apart again and reinstalled the old memory. It was still dead. After several false starts I finally got it to start using AC power. My control panel said the battery was completely empty. How did that happen? The battery was at 90% when I started the repairs. I called technical support and they told me to try resetting the system management controller. I've reset a lot of things on Apple computers over the years, but I'd never even heard of this. The service guy said that my problem didn't make any sense, but that sometimes things get scrambled when the battery is disconnected. Evidently. The battery is recharging now and we'll see if it holds a charge overnight.

I got some good news from McDonald Observatory today. I can stay at the Astronomer's Lodge while I'm attending the astrophotography workshop. This might not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. I hate driving late at night on mountain roads. I almost hit a deer the last time I was driving back to the Prude Ranch after the workshop was over for the night. If I'm staying on-site at the observatory I can relax and probably stay up a little later taking photographs. Meals are included at the Astronomer's Lodge too. I'm looking forward to this.

We were supposed to get severe weather today, but it never materialized. So far this year we have been very lucky. The bad storms always seem to go to the north or the south of us. I hope this trend continues. I always worry about tornados since our house offers no protection whatsoever. May is supposed to be the worst month for tornados in Texas but the weather hasn't been that bad this year. Alabama and Tennessee seem to be getting a lot worse weather than we have lately. 

It was overcast with a little drizzle today, but I was still able to take my long walk. There are two very large Muscovy ducks I frequently see on my walk. These ducks always hang out together, but today they were more than a mile apart. This was the first time I've ever seen the pair separated. I wonder if they had a spat? Ducks are noisy and apparently very social. I often wonder what all the quacking is about?

It looks like there will be another Starship launch at Boca Chica this week. I keep thinking that I ought to go down there, but it is not as easy as it sounds. South Texas is almost as far away as Florida and there are fewer hotels. Also, when you get down there you never know if there actually will be a launch. This doesn't seem to bother some of the launch photographers, but they are much more adventurous than I am. I still like Florida when NASA rolls out the welcome mat the best. I hope those days aren't gone forever, but we'll just have to wait and see. 

I certainly won't be doing anything exciting tomorrow. I'll look forward to another fruit smoothie and a long walk. Maybe if I'm lucky I can convince Dawn to be friends with me.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4114

The arboretum got hit pretty hard during the big freeze. I don't know why I thought this place would be exempt from all the carnage, but mother nature definitely had the upper hand here as well. As Janet and I walked through the gardens we kept saying "look, their's died too." Strangely, I felt a little better about our own pitiful yard after seeing that even dozens of skilled gardeners couldn't save these plants.

Even though almost all the Azaleas and Rhododendrons died, the Spring celebration was still pretty spectacular. Thousands of seasonal flowers made the well manicured gardens seem even more colorful than usual. Janet and I always get lots of ideas for our own yard when we visit the arboretum. Somehow we never follow up on these ideas though. When you have large dogs and thousands of squirrels in your yard, it's easy to lose interest in gardening. Usually we never get beyond cleaning up all the dog poop.

I didn't bother to take a long walk today. After stopping for a beer and a cup of tortilla soup at a patio restaurant inside the arboretum, a stroll through the gardens seemed like all the exercise I needed. Maybe it was good to take a break. My foot didn't hurt at all today. It's too bad you can't take dogs to the arboretum. Dawn would have enjoyed this afternoon's outing.

While I was eating breakfast this morning, one of the TV stations I was watching showed a supposedly live broadcast of the latest Starship launch at Boca Chica. Something seemed vaguely familiar about this launch, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Later in the day I realized that the broadcast I was watching wasn't live at all. It was footage from several weeks ago with a "live" caption pasted over the top. The real launch today was much different. It was very foggy outside and the rocket blew up in midair. This makes four Starships in a row that have blown up. I have a feeling that the first person to ride in one of these things is going to be pretty nervous.

Although I didn't take my long walk today, Dawn did get her shorter walk. She always seems eager to take these walks, but some days we don't get very far. Today was a good day. We completed our short one mile loop with no strange behavior at all. Some days Dawn walks like a normal dog. Other days, she freezes in place for no apparent reason. We still can't figure out her many moods. She certainly doesn't seem sick. Every time we take her to the vet, everything checks out fine.

I thought about taking a good camera to the arboretum, but I'm glad I didn't. I find that a lot of experiences are more enjoyable without a camera. I always have my phone in my pocket, but that's a lot different than lugging heavy professional equipment around. I find that I remember things better if I just take the experience in with my eyes instead of constantly trying to compose a scene for the camera. Oddly, I still haven't used my new camera. Maybe I should have just got a better phone.

Today seemed like Sunday for some reason. I hope that won't make tomorrow feel like Monday. One Monday in any week is plenty. I have no idea what I'll be doing tomorrow. I"m still trying to avoid climbing up on the roof. Maybe if I wait long enough, the water will just evaporate.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4002

Today was full of pleasant little surprises. The weather was much warmer. I was even able to wear shorts on my afternoon walk. My warranty replacement dehumidifier is already on its way. The machine may not have preformed as promised, but the company definitely provides great service. I'm not sure that Janet will want two dehumidifiers running constantly in the house, but having a second machine will definitely keep the place dry.

The best surprise was a preview of my Sky & Telescope article. I was sternly admonished not to share this pre-publication preview with anyone, so even my astronomy friends will have to wait until the magazine appears on newsstands to see it. This is "for your eyes only" my editor said. The article really looked good. There were lots of pictures and it appears like the article will be a major feature. I'm really starting to feel like a journalist now. I've managed to get five articles published in a little over a year. If Covid doesn't spoil all my upcoming trips, I may be able to do even better next year.

Dawn's birthday is tomorrow. I wonder if she's ever had a birthday celebration before? I'll have to go out tomorrow morning any get some dog cupcakes for her. I'll pick up a few cupcakes for Janet and I as well. We used to bake special cakes for our dogs birthdays. I even took a cake decorating class a long time ago. I don't think either of us have the patience for that sort of thing anymore, but we still try to celebrate.

I watched the high altitude test of the Space X Starship this afternoon on YouTube. The launch was scrubbed with one second left on the count. Nobody seems to know what went wrong yet. They may try to launch again tomorrow, or it could takes weeks to resolve the problem. It's amazing how complicated it can be to get a new rocket off the ground. I'm glad I didn't try to go down to Boca Chica for this launch. It has already been postponed several times and I would probably have needed to return home without seeing anything. Maybe I should wait until they have worked some of the bugs out of the Starship before attempting a visit.  I'm not really sure where I'd stay anyway. There aren't that many hotels on South Padre Island. 

Sadly, Covid appears to be getting worse everywhere. SpaceFlight Magazine is interested in having me do an article about the Perseverance landing next February, but I'm not sure a trip out to JPL would be wise. I'm not sure I can get myself invited either. Hey, it's something to think about. I've always wanted to visit the Jet Propulsion Lab. I'm just not sure I want to visit California right now. Maybe life will be better in February. Who am I kidding. It will probably be worse.

I've got another doctor's appointment tomorrow. This is a follow up visit with my dermatologist. I had some small seborrheic keratosis growths removed earlier in the year and now the dermatologist will probably want to see me forever. Doctors never seem to forget about you. If you see them once, you will definitely see them again. I guess this is a good thing. The older you get, the more important it is to be proactive about your health.

I still haven't taken any pictures with my new camera. I'm thinking about it though. I'm terribly slow about everything these days. I guess there's no need to hurry. Sooner or later the camera will get used.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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