Day 4404

Dawn got a bath today. I hate to say that this was the big event of the day, but it probably was. None of our dogs have liked getting a bath. They seem so disappointed when we arrive at the self bathing place instead of a park or the ice cream store. Dawn acted like we were torturing her but seemed happy enough as soon as she was dry again. I guess if a bath is the worst thing Dawn has to look forward to, she's doing pretty well.

My long walks keep getting slower and slower. On a good day it takes me about nineteen minutes to walk a mile. Today it took thirty. My feet were terrible today, but I kept plodding along. I just can't bring myself to stop walking. It has become an integral part of my day. If I went to the gym and did other exercises, my shoulders would hurt instead. I'm not even sure these slow walks do me any good. It still beats staying in the house or driving somewhere though.

I think I was wrong about the Fitbit draining my phone's battery. I've disconnected both Fitbit trackers and the battery still doesn't last very long. It's probably time for a new phone, but I like my small iPhone SE. There used to be several nearby stores where I could get the battery replaced, but they have either gone out of business or quit offering the service. I liked it when the local Interstate Battery store used to change phone batteries while you wait. It was quick and much less expensive than the Apple Store. It's too bad I can't change the battery myself but you need special tools to remove the glass. Fixing a computer is much easier. I'm clumsy with small things.

I watched the last episode of The Expanse this afternoon. I never would have guessed that this was the end of the series if I hadn't already read about it online. I'm pretty sure that Amazon is finished with this series, but the final episode was certainly inconclusive. I want to know more about those strange dog like creatures on one of the ring worlds that can bring people back from the dead.

I continued my efforts to fix small things around the house. Today I took apart the shower nozzle and cleaned out all the scale and calcium deposits. Maybe now I can adjust the shower spray again. Our city water leaves a lot to be desired. I wish we could just get distilled water from the tap. I always use distilled water for the coffee maker and I've never had to clean it.

I was going to practice using the star tracker again today but the day got away from me. I really didn't anticipate my walk taking such a long time. Today's walk should have been enjoyable because the weather was so nice. Tomorrow it's supposed to get much colder again. I need to order the Hoka boots even though I suspect they won't make any difference. I suspect that a new battery won't really improve my phone's performance either. Apple doesn't support their old products anymore. Actually nobody supports old products. They just want you to buy new stuff.

I got an invitation to attend an upcoming Space Force launch at Kennedy Space Center at the end of the month. I'm not going though. Covid restrictions have kind of ruined travel for me. I don't feel like going anywhere until this whole mess is over with. If I can't get a handle on my foot pain, I might not feel like going anywhere period. The whole idea of volunteering for a week out at the observatory seems a lot less appealing than it did this time last year.

At least I've got my routine. Tomorrow is grocery day again. Maybe I can finally find my favorite ginger ale. Sunday is Dawn's outing and Monday we visit the rescue Dalmatians. One little event each day is plenty. I just need to stay busy enough to avoid raking leaves.

Kasey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4384 - Christmas

We had a nice day. We got up late and then took Dawn on a morning walk before breakfast. After our bacon and eggs, I watched the James Webb Space Telescope launch on the NASA livestream before starting my second walk of the day. The launch went perfectly, but it's going to be a long six months before the telescope arrives at its destination and begins exploring the universe.

Dallas set a new temperature record today. 81 degrees is warm for December, but it was just about perfect as far as I was concerned. I had a very enjoyable walk in the park. Everyone I passed seemed a little friendlier today. I saw a lot of joggers wearing Santa hats and I passed one guy loudly singing Christmas carols in his car. I don't have many Christmas traditions, but we did dress Dawn up in a pretty Christmas scarf on her walk today.

For most of the day the smells of cooking permeated the house. Janet cooked a delicious meal featuring a crown roast, root vegetables, candied sweet potatoes, green beans with bacon, and cranberries. The root vegetables were cooked with the crown roast, so the juice from the meat permeated the vegetables and gave everything a delicious flavor. It was really a perfect Christmas dinner.

This afternoon I watched a new episode of The Expanse. This is the sixth and final season of this show and everything is starting to run together. I can't even remember how the series began. It's basically a lot of space battles without much of a plot. It's still an excellent show as far as TV science fiction goes. You could probably mix in a few shows from season two or three in this final season and I wouldn't even know the difference. I've watched a lot of science fiction. I was never a fan of Star Trek, but I've seen every episode of Farscape, Lexx, Babylon 5, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, and Red Dwarf. I guess this is what happens when you get hooked on the Twilight Zone as a kid. I also read a lot of books from everyone from Robert Heinlein to Philip K Dick, but my favorite author is still John Fowles who is about as far away from science fiction as you can get.

It's hard to believe that 2021 is almost over. 2020 and 2021 just run together in my mind. It seems like 2019 was the last real year. Will we finally get back to normal in 2022? It seems doubtful at this point. I think it's time to stop panicking about each new variant and realize that this virus is probably going to be with us forever. All the lockdowns didn't stop the virus and seem to have created a dysfunctional society instead. Was it worth it? Only time will tell. I kind of think this is nature's way of telling us that there are too many people on the planet and the way we are currently living just isn't sustainable.

Dawn seemed to enjoy her first Christmas with us. Oops. I was wrong. It turns out that this was Dawn's second Christmas with us. I went back and read last year's blog post and was a bit chagrined to realize that last year was almost identical to this year. We did exactly the same things, including our walks with Dawn. We even had the same menu for Christmas dinner. That's OK. Christmas was nice last year and it was nice again this year. I can't help it if my memories are getting fuzzy.

The weather is still going to be nice tomorrow, so we'll take Dawn on another Sunday outing. We'll stop for ice cream on the way home, but I'm not even sure the ice cream place is open. A lot of smaller businesses are closed for the holidays. I should do some yard work tomorrow afternoon, but I probably won't. I'll probably just take a long walk followed by a long nap.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4380 - Winter Solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year. I can't wait for the days to get longer again. I've never been a fan of Winter, so I'll look forward to getting a little more daylight each day, even though there are many cold mornings yet to come. It was near freezing again this morning but the sky was clear and the temperature warmed up rapidly. I wore two coats on our sunrise walk, was able to shed one of these coats when I took my long walk after breakfast, and when when we took Dawn on her second walk later in the afternoon, I only need a very light jacket. A second walk for Dawn has been added to our daily routine on days when Janet is home. Dawn definitely enjoys the extra activity. For an older dog, she has a lot more energy than we initially thought.

My Fedex package has still not been delivered. Absolutely nothing happened today. The package still appears to be sitting at a distribution warehouse in a nearby town. I tried without any success to contact the Fedex case manager investigating my misplaced package and got nowhere. These people are supposed to contact you within 24 hours, but it's been five days now. I would drive over to the distribution center myself and pick up the package if I could, but these facilities are off limits. I have been told several times that I would not be allowed inside. It's all very frustrating. The only good news is that I have finally been able to contact the Chinese manufacturer and they are going to investigate the lost shipment from their end.

I really need to find something to do other than walking and obsessing over lost packages. These days are getting really monotonous. Unfortunately there just isn't much that interests me at the moment. I don't really feel like I'm a part of the space community since my trips to Kennedy Space Center are so infrequent. I envy the local Florida space photographers who seem to be on site almost every single week. I'm not really part of an astronomy community either. I still like to volunteer at McDonald Observatory, but it is a long and tiring drive to West Texas and the observatory only needs me about once a year. There are local astronomy clubs in the area, but I have become reluctant to drive at night. Almost every single day I read about someone randomly getting shot on a Dallas freeway. It is not a good time to be driving around very late at night.

It's too bad I don't enjoy watching TV more. There are more movies available for streaming than I could watch in a lifetime. Unfortunately, very few of them have any interest to me. I did notice that Season Six of The Expanse has started. The first two episodes are already available on Amazon Prime. Even this simple pleasure seems difficult. For some inexplicable reason Amazon Prime movies won't run if you are using Safari. You keep getting an "incompatible plug in" message. I was finally able to access the new season by using Firefox, but quickly discovered that my computer couldn't keep up with the high resolution stream. I eventually discovered how to lower the data transfer rate, but by then it was time for dinner. Oh, well. At least I"ll have something to do tomorrow.

I have to remind myself not to join the fray and start arguing about politics on the blog. It's tempting, but just because everyone else is doing this doesn't mean it is right for me. I do have opinions but I don't think I'm going to be able to convince you to change yours. We have all dug in our heels. I've never seen the country so divided. Sadly, I don't realistically see us coming together on anything important in my lifetime. I find myself increasingly nostalgic about my childhood. The period of time between the end of World War II and the beginning of the Vietnam Way was pretty darn good.

Willow is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4066

Today was all about the weather. I woke up cold and never really got warm. It looked and felt like it could snow at any time, but I think that comes later. One forecast I heard today said that we could get up to 11 inches later in the week. I dont think Dawn likes the cold any more than I do. On cold nights she makes a nest out of the blankets and they end up piled around her instead of on top of me. Maybe that's why I woke up cold.

I should learn to dress warmer in Winter like Northerners do, but I tend to turn up the furnace instead. This is probably why I am always so concerned about the furnace going out. A warm house is essential. One Winter our power was out for several days after an ice storm and it got so cold we had to go stay in a hotel for a while. Luckily, Janet still worked then and we would go down to her office during the day to stay warm. Dot and Dash thought that this was a big adventure, but I couldn't wait for the weather to get warmer. It's no surprise that old people retire to Florida. You never hear old people saying "let's move up to Minnesota when we retire."

Today was uneventful. My arm hurt a little at the injection site when I woke up this morning, but it wasn't bad at all. I think getting the shingles vaccine was much worse. We walked Dawn earlier today because Janet had things to do in the afternoon. It wasn't going to get warmer in the afternoon anyway. The temperature hovered around freezing for most of the day. I dressed warmly and was able to finish my longer walk after Dawn and Janet returned home, but it wasn't long before I began to question my sanity. There was nobody on the trails today. I only saw two other joggers during my entire walk.

I had been planning on watching the latest episode of The Expanse this afternoon, but when I opened Amazon Prime on my computer I discovered that Season Five of the show was already over. What? The episode I watched last week didn't feel like a season finale at all. There were hundreds of other shows I could have watched, but I closed my browser and took a nap with Dawn instead. Dawn didn't look entirely happy sharing the bed with me, but she didn't leave this time. I'll call that progress.

I should have gone to Home Depot today and gotten some of those foam tubes that you wrap water pipes with. I put the foam around the exposed outdoor water faucet pipes every year, but it doesn't seem to last long. I think that rats eat the stuff. I remember seeing an exposed copper pipe coming out of the ground recently, so it's time to do this again. Actually, it's past time. I hope nothing freezes tonight. I'll set the faucets on drip and hope for the best.

I haven't heard anything further from the dehumidifier company. They've probably gotten sick of me, just like the roofer did. I really wished that I'd saved the broken dehumidifiers now because I know that I could have salvaged parts from them. I have discovered how to stop the rattling noise. If I lift the dehumidifier 1/2 inch off the ground and then drop it, the rattling stops for several days. I doubt that this is a factory approved solution, but it works. I'm sick of fixing things.

Tomorrow looks like a repeat of today with even colder temperatures. I need to come up with a better plan for dealing with Winter. It's going to be a long time until Spring.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4052

I used to own GameStop. I can't even remember how I acquired this stock, but I always thought it was a total dog and eventually sold it at a loss. Jeez. Who buys video games at a store anymore? Imagine my surprise when the stock went from 3 to over 300 in just a few days. Some kids on Reddit, cheered on by the likes of Elon Musk, decided to take down the short sellers and hedge funds and that's exactly what they did. Do I wish I'd held on to my shares a little longer? Maybe. It's a strange world we live in now. It's a little unsettling to see investing and sports betting converge, but I'll have to give these kids credit. I never liked the whole idea of short selling myself and always wondered why it was legal.

It was chilly today, but the skies were still blue and it was hard to complain about the weather. We walked Dawn earlier than usual because Janet had some things to do in the afternoon. I tried to give Dawn her second walk by myself later in the day, but Dawn was having no part of it. If Janet wasn't going, she wasn't either. I still follow the same trails where we used to take Dawn on a long walk. It's a nice walk and I still don't understand why Dawn doesn't like to do this anymore.

Wednesday has become the day I watch The Expanse. This won't last long because Series 5 is almost over, but for now it gives me something to do. I've watched Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Lexx, Firefly, and Dr. Who in the past. All these shows are kind of mindless and predictable, but so are Hallmark Movies. For now, The Expanse will have to do. I can't watch Dr. Who anymore. The writing is terrible.

I got a notice from my pharmacy today inviting me to schedule a vaccination. I went to the website and started filling out the application. I let them know I was over 65. I found a convenient location. I did all the steps until I got to the page where I was supposed to pick a date and time for my appointment. The entire months of January and February were greyed out and a note said there was no vaccine available yet. There wasn't even a place to leave your name. The page just said to try again later. Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell us this at the beginning? Why ask people to make an appointment when there is no opportunity to actually make an appointment? I don't think this appointment system is ready for prime time.

There were a bunch of small projects I was going to start today, but I didn't begin any of them. It's so easy to convince yourself that something can wait until tomorrow when it actually can wait until tomorrow. Last year I had some goals. It took me a year to get my story published in Sky & Telescope and almost as long to get press credentials at Kennedy Space Center. I had built up some some momentum but Covid has taken the wind out of my sails. What now? I've convinced myself that it would be stupid to travel at the moment. The virus is worse now than it was last April and with all these new variants cropping up, who's to say that the vaccine will even work on them? This is a time to find something that you really enjoy doing at home. Damn. I'm out of luck there.

Maybe I"ll start some of my small projects tomorrow. Maybe not though. Most of these projects are really just chores in disguise.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4045

It's dental week at our house. Yesterday, Dawn got her teeth cleaned and today I did the same. My proceedure was a lot simpler than Dawn's. There was no anesthesia involved and I was in and out in less than an hour. I think it took me longer to drive back and forth to the dentist's office than it did to get my teeth cleaned. My dental hygienist always seems pleased with how I care for my teeth. I do try. I think I'm doing penance for all those years when I wouldn't see a dentist for decades at a time. Now I get new x-rays once a year and have my teeth cleaned every six months.

I'm always surprised that my dental hygienist wants to talk. How can you talk with a bunch of dental implements in your mouth? There's an art to having a conversation during a dental cleaning. There are lots of long silences. We mostly talk about dogs, but I did learn that dentists and hygienists aren't on the vaccine list yet. This surprised me. My doctor and most nurses I know have already been vaccinated. You'd think that dentists would be at the top of the list since they are right in your face when they are working on your teeth.

Dawn didn't get a walk today. It was a cold, rainy day and she was much happier just taking a long nap on the bed. I insisted on getting my steps and kept checking the weather radar until a found a little gap in the weather pattern that would allow me to walk a few miles. I'm not very good at gauging these intervals anymore. I did pretty well for the first three miles, but on the last mile back home I got soaked. Oh, well. It wasn't much of a walk, but I got 10,000 steps and closed all three activity rings on my Apple watch.

There's a new episode of The Expanse every Wednesday, so this gave me something to do after I returned from the dentist's office. Episode Eight wasn't that good, but I watched it anyway. By next week I will have totally forgotten what happened. This type of episodic television isn't very memorable. There is always a cliffhanger at the end of the show and nothing gets resolved. I could probably watch the same episode over and over again and never realize that I'd seen it before.

I've been reading a lot of articles on beginning astrophotography and I'm starting to realize that the premise of my own article isn't that unique. I'm going to have to rethink the article I'm planning to send to Sky & Telescope or it will never get published. No magazine is going to publish something that they have already published several times before. I'm not sure I even have anything interesting to share, since everything I know about astrophotography is based on a few clear nights in West Texas last October. Nothing ventured, nothing gained though. I know that I need to write about any interesting experiences I have since I really don't do that much. You can't let a good experience go to waste. We'll see what I can come up with. I'll start reworking my outline next week.

I hope the weather clears up tomorrow. I tend to get cabin fever on rainy days, but don't like to drive in the rain. Since I don't like watching television either, it leaves me with very little to do. I'm glad I got a short walk in this afternoon after my dental appointment. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and paying online bills. Exciting stuff. I'm still researching telescopes and astrophotography gear, but there's definitely no hurry to buy anything. I might not see the stars again for months.

April 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

Day 4037

I tried to catch up on some correspondence today. I doubt that I accomplished much, but at least I tried. I wrote my editor at SpaceFlight Magazine and told him that I won't be attending any space related events this Spring because of Covid. I'm sure he'll understand because he lives near London and people in the UK are under even more severe restrictions than we are. 

I wrote the dehumidifier manufacturer and describled the problems I'm having with the replacement they sent in great detail. I sent pictures as well. I don't know what this will accomplish but it's frustrating that I'm having just as many problems with the replacement unit as I was with the dehumidifier they replaced. I took care of a few other odds and ends as well, but mostly I was just avoiding starting anything new.

We experimented with Dawn today. Since Dawn is sometimes scared of me, Janet walked her by herself to see if that made a difference. Nope. Dawn walked about a mile, which is exactly the same distance she's been walking when we all walk together. Dawn just doesn't want to walk anymore. This is baffling to us, since she used to love her walks. We still don't know if the issue is physical or mental. All our other dogs loved their walks. Dot and Dash loved to walk even when they got old and could barely move. We didn't learn anything during Dawn's recent vet exam. Other than having too much protein in her urine, she seems to be quite healthy.

Maybe I'm trying to read too much into this. I didn't really enjoy my walk today either. It was a beautiful day, but I felt like I was on a forced march. The park is quite large, but I've practically memorized all the paths by now. There isn't much point in going somewhere else to walk. This is the largest, most interesting area for walking within fifty miles. Driving to go walking seems counterproductive too. One of the main reasons I started doing this was to avoid using the car.

I wonder why I've been spending so much time looking at telescopes lately. If I got a better telescope, there's nothing to see. I went outside last night and could barely see Orion. The light pollution in Dallas is really that bad. I still like gadgets and gear though, so I guess this telescope quest is a good way to daydream. There are a lot of interesting dark sky sites within driving distance, but there is little point in making travel plans until Covid is over. One of the main reasons that infections got so bad in rural West Texas was the surge of bored city people visiting Big Bend National Park. Staying put and doing nothing is really the best plan until I get vaccinated. I've abandoned my plans to go out to JPL in February for the Mars Perseverance landing. It just isn't worth the risk.

Maybe there will be a new episode of The Expanse to watch tomorrow. The Season 5 isn't over yet, but I'm not sure how frequently new episodes are released. One a week seems reasonable, but that's probably because I'm used to watching old fashioned episodic television. There are thousands to movies to stream these days but very few things capture my interest. I'm really surprised that I'm even watching this show.

I wish Dawn could talk and would tell us why she has lost interest in walking. There's got to be a simple answer for this. I lose interest in things all the time for no real reason. Who knows. Maybe dogs do the same thing.

Suzie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4035

Snow day. It didn't snow for long and the snow didn't stick. There were a few large flakes though. It's been a while. We learned pretty quickly that Dawn doesn't like snow. There were lots of pictures on Facebook of Dalmatians running around playfully in the snow, but Dawn refused to go outside. Eventually she went out for a few seconds to pee, but she immediately raced back inside again. It was actually her kind of day. She got to sit on the bed with Janet for most of the day while Janet watched movies.

I ended up watching movies too. There wasn't much else to do. I binge watched Season 5 of The Expanse. The season must not be finished yet, because there were only five episodes. I take back what I said yesterday. The show actually did become more interesting the longer I watched.

As the day progressed the snow changed to rain and then the rain subsided to a dismal light mist. I was determined to get my steps, so I bundled up in my warmest coats and went walking. My outer coat got a little damp, but I stayed warm. I walked my usual five miles and it was good to be outside. My feet didn't hurt today, but my shoulder did. It must be the weather. Arthritis does that sort of thing. I hope the shoulder pain goes away. I really hate taking pain meds.

The house has felt cold all winter, although the thermostat says the temperature is exactly the same as it was last year. I tend to wear sweaters around the house during the day and always put a blanket on the bed at night. I don't remember doing this in the past, even though we have definitely had colder winters. I wonder if old people become more sensitive to cold? That's a pleasant thought. Next winter I'll probably have the temperature up to 80 degrees and still be shivering.

I live in fear of the furnace going out during the winter. So far, so good. I used to live in fear of roof leaks, but my repairs have held up admirably. I know there's water on the roof right now, but I'm going to wait until the weather clears up to go inspect things. I wasn't always this confident, but I'm still superstitious. I can't leave the water up there too long, because it's just inviting problems. I guess there's no hurry. The way my shoulder feels today, I couldn't make it up on the roof anyway.

Hopefully I can get the outline for my next Sky & Telescope article off to my editor tomorrow. I'll have plenty of time to complete things no matter what the weather's like. There are no more episodes of The Expanse to watch. I squandered the entire new season today. 

I wonder if Dawn will be more enthusiastic about walking tomorrow? I kind of doubt it. She was certainly happy enough doing nothing today. We'll see how it goes. It's supposed to be a lot warmer tomorrow afternoon. If Dawn won't walk, I certainly will. I've convinced myself that I've got to keep moving. Whether this is true or not doesn't even matter. Walking provides a structure to my day and gives me something to do.

What am I going to do tomorrow? My fruit smoothie and several cups of coffee will take care of the morning, but then what? I've finished updating my website after procrastinating about this for several years. Just about the only thing left is cleaning up the office. Heaven forbid.

Murphy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4034

Another uneventful Saturday. I had a hard time finding fruit at the grocery store this morning. I don't think that people are panic buying strawberries. I just hit the store at the wrong time. I ended up finding everything I needed, but I had to go to several different stores. Janet shops multiple stores every week. I don't know how she had the patience.

Walking Dawn was a strange adventure this morning. She was enthusiastic leaving the house and we ended up walking several miles before she realized that she was lost and panicked. When she froze this time it was very hard to get her moving again. I thought that I would have to go get the car again, except this time we were not in a place that was accessible to cars. We finally got Dawn moving again by having Janet sit in the grass about twenty yards ahead of her. It seemed to take forever, but eventually Dawn would run toward Janet. We had to repeat this process about four times before Dawn got to an area of the park that she was familiar with. She seemed to remember that the road home involved a left turn and tried to go up every road to our left. When we refused to head up these roads, which actually headed in the wrong direction, Dawn would freeze again. As soon as Dawn knew where she was, she headed confidently back to the house.

All this weird behavior is new and she never behaved like this before she had that seizure. Dawn doesn't have a fever and acts completely normally at home, but something is wrong. When you combine extreme stubbornness with extreme fear, you've got a mess. I guess we could get an MRI of Dawn's brain, but we did that with Dot once and the results were very inconclusive. All we really learned was that dogs have very small brains.

Since Dawn didn't walk far this morning, I had to take another long walk by myself. I'm learning that my new shoes work great on pavement but aren't so good on rough ground. By the time I returned home today, I had some very sore feet. I guess I could go back to wearing heavy hiking boots, but I've gotten used to having something light on my feet. The easy solution would be to just walk a little less. I really don't have many problems until I start walking over five miles.

I started watching Season 5 of The Expanse this afternoon. Somehow the show doesn't seem nearly as exciting as it did when I first discovered it. Maybe the world has changed. Maybe I have changed. I suspect that I'm just not very interested in watching TV anymore. I doubt that I'll even finish watching the other episodes in this new season.

It is supposed to snow tomorrow. One forecast says there is a 100% chance of snow. Another says we will get a wintery mix of rain and snow. Either way, I'm glad I finished running all my errands today and have no need to be out on the roads tomorrow. I'm curious what Dawn thinks about snow. Some of our dogs have loved it and others have hated it. I'm not a big fan of snow myself. I'm not a fan of anything wet on the roof.

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4031

Today was dismal. It was supposed to rain all day, but for the most part it was just dark and overcast. When we tried to walk Dawn, she wanted to turn around before we even finished our first mile. She always starts out very enthusiastic, but as soon as she spots a way home, she's done. We keep wondering if she has arthritis or if something else is wrong, but she always makes the journey home just fine. All she seems to want to do these days is lie on the bed.

After we returned home with Dawn, I continued walking. I was pretty sure I would get wet, but there was nothing to lose. Wet or dry, I had very little to do today. Although I got a little damp, the rain never really amounted to much today. I ended up walking about six miles.

I had trouble getting motivated today. I didn't take down the Christmas tree and I didn't start my next astronomy article either. I certainly didn't begin raking the leaves. You never want to rake leaves when they are wet. I ended up watching the Space X Starship static fire test in Boca Chica, but I couldn't bring myself to watch any of the news channels. It was just too discouraging. 

I think there's a new season of The Expanse available now on Amazon Prime. I think this would be season five. Maybe I'll watch that tomorrow. I always liked this show and the previous seasons seemed to get me through dismal days before. Unless I'm really motivated to start my astronomy article tomorrow, a little science fiction seems to be in order.

Janet was gone this afternoon and I had a hard time getting Dawn off the bed. I had to take her outside to go pee on a leash. She does fine on a leash, but she won't come when I call whenever Janet is gone. Sometimes she won't even leave the bedroom to eat her dinner. When I fixed her dinner this evening, she wouldn't leave the bedroom to eat until I went back to the office and ignored her. I heard her eating, but I didn't leave my desk because I didn't want to scare her. As soon as she finished her meal, I heard her go to the front door and wait for Janet to return. As soon as Janet came home, everything was fine again. It's kind of sad. I'm always here and Janet is gone a lot. I'm sure Dawn would prefer the opposite.

I'm going to have to disable some more things on my Apple Watch. After I upgraded the system, it's become way too intrusive. The watch is reminding me to go to bed now and asking me if I want a wake up alarm. I disabled the feature that calls 911 if you fall, but there are apparently more things I need to disable as well. A watch that tells the time, tracks my walks, and provides a decent weather forecast is all I need. Actually, I don't need any of this. I'm pretty content not wearing a watch at all.

I hope I'm more motivated tomorrow. It really is time for the Christmas tree to come down. I'm sure there's water on the roof as well. I should be getting to know my new camera and sending queries and proposals to magazines. I'm doing nothing instead. January is never a great time for me, but I should be able to do better than this.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3652

It was a very quiet day. I was going to watch one episode of The Expanse per day during this holiday week, but I've already completely finished Season 4. That didn't take long. After breakfast I started washing the windows on the house. This will take a while. The windows certainly needed a good cleaning. It's a messy job because you have to clear away all the spider webs first. The living room windows do look better now, but my shoulder feels worse. I finished the back of the house, but the rest will have to wait. Maybe I'll do some more tomorrow, or maybe not. It depends on the weather.

It was such a nice day today that I thought I'd try to patch a few more areas on the roof. To my surprise, there was still some standing water. Where did that come from? I don't even think it has rained recently. I found a few dry areas to patch, but I'll have to go back later when the roof is completely dry. There's not a lot more I can do anyway. Most of the bad spots have already been patched and I'm almost out of silicon.

The only clue I had that it was Christmas Eve was the number of families walking together in the park. It must be a Christmas tradition for some to take a family walk. I never see large family groups walking together unless it's a holiday. I'll have to admit that it was a good day for a walk. The skies were clear and the temperature was almost seventy degrees.

I was expecting a lot of swelling and discomfort after getting my shingles shot, but so far I've felt nothing at all. My theory is that I took a long walk right after getting the shot and maybe this caused the vaccine to disburse throughout my body more rapidly. On the other hand, maybe I just don't react to this particular vaccine. The pneumonia shot I got earlier this year did make my arm sore, but I guess all medicines are different. I'm fine with no reaction. It will make taking the second shot easier.

The stock market is doing a lot better than it was last year at this time. The roof is just the same however. I actually think I was up on the roof patching things with the silicon material last Christmas Eve. The big difference is that Dash isn't here. I really miss that dog. He was headed downhill last Christmas, but he could still walk and was eating fairly well. We never dreamed that he would only make it until April.

I doubt that I'll do anything special tomorrow. I don't really feel like it. I'll make my smoothie and take my long walk. That's enough. It's too bad I already squandered the TV show I was waiting to watch. Binge watching is kind of like eating too much for dinner. You regret it afterwards.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3651

I got my shingles shot today. Well, I got the first of two shots anyway. I really wasn't planning to do this now, but my pharmacy had the vaccine available and I knew I'd feel foolish if I went back next month and they were out of the stuff again. It's a mystery to me why the vaccine has been in short supply for over a year. It's somewhat of a mystery why I even need these shots. When I got the older Zostavax shingles vaccine a few years ago, that was supposed to be effective too. I'm pretty good about following doctor's orders though. I think it's one reason why I'm still reasonably healthy today.

On the way home from the pharmacy I picked up some more LED bulbs to replace the ones that are burning out. I think the reason these bulbs are failing is that I was a very early adopter of this technology. Today's bulbs are less expensive and last longer than the first generation bulbs I bought. Most of them even have a ten year guarantee now. This is the curse of the early adopter. I'm ofter the first to buy a new type of computer or camera. It's been irritating to realize that if I just had the patience to wait a few years, I could have gotten something that was much better, often for a lot less. I'm glad I wasn't the first to buy a flat screen TV. The early models used to cost over $5000. Now you can get something much better for a few hundred bucks.

I finally got my tree guy to commit to removing one of the remaining Oak trees in the back yard. I like the trees, but they are all getting very old and part of this tree has already fallen. I definitely don't want to have the rest of this large tree falling on my house or the neighbor's cars. I'm also thinking of relocating my driveway to the back yard. The traffic on the street in front of our house keeps getting worse and worse. During rush hour it is almost impossible to get out of the driveway. As luck would have it, the big Oak tree is right where a potential driveway might go. This is kind of an ambitious project, so it may never happen. A lot of my ambitious projects don't.

I'm continuing to watch Series Four of The Expanse. I still don't think the new series is as good as the shows first three years, but it's good enough to get me hooked. It's a good thing to watch during this holiday week. There isn't much else to do anyway.

I've noticed that some of the White Pelicans wintering at our lake are wearing little leg bands. You can see a band on the leg of the bird in today's picture. Who put these on and why? A little research revealed that ornithologists have been banding pelicans and other migratory birds for a long time to study their migration patterns. A lot of White Pelicans were initially banded at Marsh Lake, Minnesota between 1972 and 1998. Evidently Dallas is right on the migration route between Minnesota and Mexico. One question remains. How do you catch a pelican? These are large, powerful birds. They don't even want you to get close to them.

I started washing the windows on the house this afternoon. I'd like to show Janet that I made at least a minimal effort to straighten things up while she was gone. It's hard to do more though. The house has a lot more problems than I have energy.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3650

Today seemed longer than usual. Janet got up early to go to the airport and I couldn't get back to sleep, so I watched the early morning Starliner landing on NASA TV. I was surprised at how cold it was out at White Sands, New Mexico. The temperature was in the twenties and the recovery crew were all dressed in winter parkas. It was a little chilly here as well, but I knew it would warm up quickly as soon as the sun came up.

By the time I finished my morning smoothie and went to the gym, it was already looking like a nice day. When I returned home, I thought about going back to look at the pelicans again, but decided against it. I was tired after my workout and didn't really feel like a lot of extra steps today. My basic Sunday 20,000 is more than enough. I definitely didn't feel like going up on the roof, although it would have been a good day to make some additional repairs. Maybe I'll do that later in the week. It's supposed to be even warmer on Tuesday.

Since I was feeling lazy, I watched a few more episodes of The Expanse on Amazon Prime. I don't think the writing is quite as good as it was last year when the show was on the Sci-Fy channel. The show is still interesting however, and I don't think it will take me long for finish viewing Series Four. The show seems designed for binge watching now. The entire season appeared at the same time and you can skip the intro and credits for individual episodes to easily view everything at once. Binge watching doesn't appeal to me. One show a day is fine. It will give me something to do during the week.

The first batch of LED bulbs I bought for the house is starting to burn out. Strange. I thought these things were supposed to last forever. I guess that four or five years is a long time for a light bulb. I just wish the bulbs weren't so expensive. I guess I'd better go to Home Depot and get some more tomorrow. They're all starting to fail at once.

I have a feeling that it's going to be a very quiet week. I can't think of anything that I need to do tomorrow. Even light bulbs don't feel like a priority. Right now, I just need to catch up on my sleep. I didn't get enough today. It's still early and I'm already having trouble staying awake. Maybe if I go to bed early I'll feel a little more motivated to do something useful tomorrow.

Two sisters are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3647

I got my first call for volunteers from McDonald Observatory. They need help during Spring Break. Hmmm. Do I really want to go out there during Spring Break? Maybe the kids who choose to go to an observatory during break are better behaved than the kids who go to Fort Lauderdale. I'm not sure about the weather in March either. I have visions of icy roads and jackknifed eighteen wheelers. The letter made me realize that I really am an on-site volunteer now and I need to figure out what to do about living arrangements. I'm still hoping that they'll let me stay at the astronomer's lodge during my initial volunteer trip. I'm not quite ready for the idea of living in an RV yet.

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, the roof was leaking badly and Dash had become incontinent. Every day I was cleaning up water and pee while watching Dash grow weaker. It's much quieter now, but sometimes it seems too quiet. I miss having a dog around the house. I don't miss watching a friend fade away. It seems like a long time since Dash died, but the memories are still vivid. Dealing with illness is hard. At this point in my life I just hope that Janet and I stay healthy.

I'm doing my part by walking every day. I could probably do more, but I could certainly do less. I actually think I'm walking more now than I was when Dot and Dash were healthy. Walking seemed easier back then, but I was a lot younger. I wish aging wasn't such an uphill battle. I've come to the conclusion that I can't turn back the clock, but maybe I can manage to slow it down a bit. Hey, walking and exercise have got to be better than just sitting around.

I saw a TV ad today about Season 4 of The Expanse. I'd almost forgotten about that show. I guess it's on Amazon Prime now. I'd prefer watching the show on TV, but Janet has Prime, so I guess I can still see the show if I want. It just doesn't seem as important now. There were all these shows like Babylon 5, Farscape, Lexx, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly that I used to watch religiously. I rarely watch TV at all anymore. I wonder what has changed? Maybe I just don't sit around as much.

I washed the new photo backdrop and Janet helped me fold it up to put away for another year. I was amazed at how easy this 10 foot by twenty foot piece of cloth was to wash. It was light enough to fit in our home washing machine and the colors didn't fade or bleed at all. Having a washable backdrop for taking Santa Paws photos is a game changer. I never could wash the old hand painted backdrops and over time the smell of dog pee became overwhelming.

What are these purple berries I'm seeing everywhere in the park? A quick Google search told me that I was looking at a White Fringe Tree. That couldn't be right. I'm thinking that these are just Common Privet Bushes. Privet is an invasive species and that would explain why these little trees are everywhere in the park.

This week has gone quickly.  I've taken this week's trash to the curb and am deciding what to do for breakfast tomorrow. Breakfast has become like those science fiction series I used to wait for. I've got a whole city full of restaurants to try and I'm not even hungry.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3108

Just heard that a million gallons of raw sewage is headed toward our lake. Evidently a construction crew ruptured a sewer line in a suburb North of here and the sewage flowed into a creek that feeds the lake. Life in the city I guess. We never let our dogs swim in the lake anyway because of an abundance of snakes and the ongoing threat of Leptospirosis. Lots of people do let their dogs swim in the lake though. Maybe when they start seeing dead fish, they'll know something is wrong.

It's going to be a long, hot Summer. The temperature routinely gets above one hundred degrees during the day now. It's still cool enough for Dash if we begin our morning walk at sunrise. Later in the day it gets pretty dicy. Even though Dash still wants to walk in the evening, it isn't safe to go very far. We barely made it to the end of the block this evening.

I'm going to miss watching The Expanse after breakfast on Thursdays. Season Three is over now. I watched the season finale today and although a few major issues were resolved, I was still left wondering what was going to happen next. Since we'll probably have to wait at least a year or two before the series reappears on Amazon Prime, I may have to start reading the James S.A. Corey books. The story The Expanse is based on is an eight book series. The TV show has only made it as far as book three. There's a long way to go before this saga is complete.

I barely got started on the new website project and the client already wants to go in a different direction. It's not even worth the trouble to get upset. Few people are interested in my ideas anymore and I'm not interest in arguing. I'll see if I can figure out how to do what these guys want. If not, it's no great loss. I'm more or less retired anyway.

I keep wondering what is happening with my train collection and whether my artwork has made it safely to New York yet. Why am I still thinking about these things? I'll never see this stuff again. I need to move on and start thinking about the next things I need to part with. I'm nostalgic by nature. Looking back isn't always good though. Instead of focusing on old memories, it would probably be better to start making new ones.

It's been a long week, but at least it's Friday tomorrow. Maybe we'll see another Scissor Tailed Flycatcher on our walk. These birds are always interesting to watch. Maybe the electrician will show up and fix the light in the back yard. Maybe I'll be inspired to find an interesting place to eat in the morning. Hey, Dash's poop still looks normal. That's encouraging. When a dog's poop is more encouraging than the evening news, you know we live in a world that has gone wrong.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3107

The yard looks nice again. I thought the guys were only going to replace a few squares of obviously dead St. Augustine sod, but they ended up replacing about half the grass in the yard. The landscapers were very nice and I felt a little bad about calling them multiple times about the bad grass. I was polite but persistent. You have to be. I've learned the hard way that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Now it's time to focus my attention on the leaky roof, the stuck sliding glass door, the faulty backyard light, the noisy toilet, and a half dozen other things that are falling apart around the house. There are lots of little things that need attention this Summer, but the big thing is still Dash. I worry about Dash every day.

I talked to two different vets today about blood thinners and internal bleeding. Both of them agreed that Janet and I did the right thing to discontinue the low dose aspirin Dash was taking when we started seeing dark stools. Evidently baby aspirin has a greater tendency to irritate the stomach and intestinal lining than Plavix. Low dose aspirin can easily cause internal bleeding in both humans and animals. We're going to stop the aspirin for now, but continue the Plavix. So far, this plan seems to be working. Dash's poop has already returned to its normal color and there are no longer any obvious signs of bleeding. We can only hope that we are still keeping the blood clot from growing.

I'm way behind on the website project I'm supposed to be doing this Summer. I've been waiting for input, but I finally decided that I could get started without it. I didn't really accomplish much today, but I did manage to recover my password and gain access to the server. I created a space for the new site to reside and now I've got a place to come back and work whenever I'm in the mood. As my deadline for completing this project approaches, I imagine that I'm going to be in the mood a lot more often.

As soon as the new grass got installed, the yard squirrels started to eat it. When the squirrels aren't eating the grass, they are digging holes to bury acorns under it. With all the critters that call this place home, it's amazing that I have a yard at all. I have a feeling that critters are responsible for the faulty security light in the back yard as well. There are thousands of spiders in the yard and they are constantly building webs. I wouldn't be surprised if there a thick spider web covering the photocell that turns the light on and off. This would certainly explain the erratic behavior of the photocell, but I'm not sure about the solution. You can't tell spiders what to do.

I'm recording the two hour season finale of The Expanse tonight. I wonder when I'll find time to watch this? Dash doesn't usually sleep this long. Whenever I watch, I'm sure I'll have to stop and start the show over and over again, so I can take Dash outside to pee. Dash will sleep for a long time if I'm sleeping with him. If I'm trying to do something else, he's constantly interrupting me. Like any Dalmatian, he thrives on attention. I probably spoil him, but why not. Dash has so many problems that he deserves all the happy moments he can get.

I can't decide whether to stay up late tonight. Saturn is at opposition and less than one degree away from the full moon tonight. It ought to be quite a sight. The only problem is that there are so many trees in our area that I won't be able to get a good view of this rare alignment until almost 1 AM. If I want to see Saturn's rings, I'll need to get the telescope out too. I wonder if I can even find the telescope? I know it's here somewhere.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day