Day 4046

Another rainy day. Even Dawn got bored today. By the time the rain finally stopped around 4 PM, she was eager for a walk. Cabin fever didn't make her walk any longer, but she enjoyed all the new smells in the wet ground. When she reached her one mile limit and headed back toward the house with Janet, I continued walking. A long walk was about all I was going to accomplish today and I wanted to accomplish something. I was able to walk four miles before I noticed that it was getting dark. Even though the days are slowly getting longer, the sun still sets pretty early. By the time I returned home it was completely dark.

There wasn't much to do today. I decided to inventory a bunch of old camera gear and discovered a lot of things I'd completely forgotten about. Why did I buy this stuff? Did I ever use it? The answers to these questions are lost in the mists of time. On thing is certain. I've spent as long, long time photographing things.

I'm getting tired of watching static fire tests on the Boca Chica live feed. The SN9 Starship has had multiple static fires this week. The rocket sits there for hours doing nothing and then the actual test lasts about one second. Space X must be learning something because they keep doing these tests over and over again. Next week SN9 will do another high altitude hop. That will be worth watching.

I'm seeing more and more people posting pictures on Facebook when they get vaccinated. Is this the thing to do now? They even have stickers that say they got vaccinated, just like those stickers you get when you vote. Most of these people I see are younger than me and have nothing to do with the health care industry. I wonder how they got the vaccine? I thought this first round of shots was only for first responders and old people. I'm still in no hurry. I'm happy to let these eager beavers be the guinea pigs.

We had a short power outage today, but the new detector I installed that is supposed to monitor our household wiring and power lines didn't detect anything. Hmm. This gadget probably doesn't work any better than the noisy dehumidifier that keeps rattling in the bathroom. One of my watch winders quit working today as well. I guess that's not a big deal, since I don't wear mechanical watches anymore anyway. A lot of new stuff just isn't made very well. When I was cataloging camera gear this afternoon, I kept noticing that the older something was, the better it appeared to be made.

I decided to go paperless with a few more bills today. I'm getting tired of wondering whether something got lost in the mail. Pretty soon everything will be paperless. I never thought I'd get to this point, but our mail service isn't what it used to be. Most of the mail we get these days is junk anyway. Maybe my goal is to just be able to throw all the mail away without even looking at it.

The trash has been taken out to the curb and Dawn is waiting for her late night snack. This day is done. I don't expect anything exciting to happen tomorrow, but you never know.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4038

Janet walked Dawn by herself again today. She said that Dawn was more enthusiastic this time and didn't freeze at all. They still only walked about a mile, but I guess this is progress. We'll continue this routine for a few more days and then I'll start walking Dawn again and see if it makes any difference. It will be very disappointing if it turns out that I'm part of the problem, but I'd like to know.

I thought I would have heard something from the dehumidifier company by now, but so far nobody has replied to the letters I've sent. This is disappointing as well. There is something wrong with the replacement unit the company sent and they are basically the last resource I have. I've already discovered that there are no repair shops in town who will work on these things.

I wish I wasn't losing interest in walking because I need the exercise and can't think of a better way to stay active. My Fitbit says that I'm not doing as well as I was this time last year. I have a feeling that this is because I stopped going to the gym. I didn't go that often, but my workouts were fairly strenuous compared to walking in the park. I guess I could walk faster. Nope. I actually can't walk any faster.

I wait for the mail every day, but I don't think I'm ever going to get my author copies of SpaceFlight Magazine. Everything in London is so chaotic right now with all the severe virus lockdowns that I think sending out these magazines is the last thing on anyone's mind. Nevertheless, I would still like to receive the magazines someday. It's still hard to believe that my articles have been published until I can hold the magazine in my hand.

Janet was gone a lot this afternoon and I had to put Dawn on a leash to get her to go outside and pee. She would also not eat the dinner I fixed until I left the room and went back to the office. Maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like she has reverted back to being a kennel dog and I am the kennel attendant. Could it be that she experimented with freedom for a while when she joined our family and then decided that she felt more comfortable in a kennel environment with strict rules? I have no idea. It does feel like the bedroom has become her kennel run though. This is where she feels safe and comfortable.

I watched the Boca Chica live feed for a while today. The SN9 Starship prototype had three static fire tests in a single day. Clearly they are getting ready to fly this thing. I don't think anyone has done three back to back static fires before. Elon must be getting confident. Meanwhile, the Artemis-1 rocket has been waiting for over a year for it's static fire test. I still wish I was going to Stennis Space Center for this, but NASA had other plans.

I watched the latest episode of The Expanse later this afternoon. I have to admit that watching the show was a little more interesting when watching a static fire test, but episodic television is pretty predictable as well. It's something to do though and gets my mind off obsessing about dehumidifiers and wondering about Dawn.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day