Day 3705

Have you ever tried to change a password and gotten a dialog box that starts with "enter old password" before letting you enter a new one? Jeez. If I knew my old password, I wouldn't be needing a new one. We stopped using our petcam after it seemed to acquire a mind of it's own one evening. Now, we want to use it again with Dawn, but can't remember the password. The only alternative was to restore the camera's factory settings and install it all over again. This was a difficult process the first time and seemed even harder today. I guess I've lost a few more brain cells.

When I finally got the IP camera working again, I went up on the roof to see if it was dry enough to do some more repairs. Everything looked good. I took a tape measure and found the exact spot where the water was leaking in the kitchen. Now that everything is dry, I did see a small tear that could be causing the problem. I used the remaining silicon to cover this area and hoped for the best. The entire five gallon container is gone now. If this doesn't work, I'm going to have to buy another container of this expensive stuff and keep trying. The roofer has gone radio silent and doesn't answer the phone or e-mail. I have a feeling that I'm on my own now.

Dawn is doing so well now. She's become a member of the family. She's very comfortable around the house now and isn't bothered when we have to leave. Because she's a curious Dalmatian, I went to the storage warehouse and retrieved some more gates. We always gated our other dogs in a safe area when we had to leave. This gave them more space than keeping them in a crate and kept them from eating little things that would require a trip to the emergency vet. I'm never gone long, but it doesn't take a lot of time for a dog to get into trouble.

By the time I finished all my Saturday chores, I was surprised that I still had time for my walk. It was windy today, but the temperature was much warmer. I was tired by the time I returned home, but it was a nice day to be outside. All in all, I felt pretty productive today. I went grocery shopping, filled the car with gas, paid a few bills, reinstalled the petcam, and made some roof repairs.

I also watched the launch of the 13th Cygnus resupply mission on NASA TV this afternoon and wondered about traveling to Wallops Island. It's one of the few NASA launch sites I haven't visited yet. Wallops Island is pretty remote with few nearby hotels. There are no convenient airports either. Everyone I know who has gone to Wallops has loved the experience though. It's not high on my list, but one of these days I'll probably go there myself.

One thing I didn't do today was write. I still haven't started my Solar Orbiter article. I'm a procrastinator who is at his best staring at a deadline. With nobody demanding a finished article immediately, it's easy to keep saying "maybe tomorrow." The article will get written. I just don't know when.

One thing I'm sure I'll be doing tomorrow is going to the gym. Those 20,000 steps on Sundays don't walk themselves.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3576

Today was busy. I didn't sleep well last night, so I got up earlier than usual. Yesterday's cold front is already a memory. I was glad to get an early start on my walk, because the temperature was headed for the nineties again. Today, I took a better camera with me, hoping to see the water turtles. No luck finding turtles, but I did get a few pictures of a Great Egret. The Pelicans were too far away to get a decent shot. Maybe soon. There there are a lot of them now. I wish it wasn't so much trouble to pack a heavy camera. I always see the most wildlife when I don't have it with me.

I knew the temperature was only going to get warmer, so I decided to mow the grass as soon as I returned home. A lot of the grass has already gone dormant for the year, so there wasn't that much to mow. Maybe I can finally put the lawnmower away for the season. With the outside looking better, it was time to tackle the inside. I vacuumed the house and then decided to call it a day. I certainly had accumulated enough steps to keep Mr. Fitbit happy.

I started filling out a boatload of forms to send to McDonald Observatory. It seemed weird to give somebody so much information, but Janet assured me that these forms would seem completely normal to any working person. I've been on my own for so long that the whole idea of human resources is a foreign concept to me. I should be able to complete the forms tomorrow. I'm confident that I'll pass the background check. I'm not so confident that I'll actually have to nerve to spend several weeks to a month at the observatory. We'll see what happens. The earliest I could go would be next Spring anyway.

I got an invitation to apply for credentials to cover the launch of Northrop Grumman's CRS-12 resupply mission to the International Space Station. I think I'll pass on this one. I've explored the idea of going to Wallops Island before. I even got approved to go there once. The facility is small and it's hard to fly directly to this area. Maybe the Antares rocket just doesn't seem that interesting. These trips can get expensive and I need to save my money for something that might make a better story. Resupply cargo missions to the space stations are pretty routine. I'm thinking of going down to Boca Chica to view one of the upcoming Space X Starship launches. I have a feeling that Spaceflight Magazine would get me a press pass for a Starship flight. The first Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner launches sound interesting too.

I got some bad news from the vintage guitar store today. Some Japanese collectors were interested in one of my guitars. These guys were very particular so they got the store to take the neck and pickups off to examine for signs of alterations. The collectors say there are signs that the guitar has been refinished at some point. This lowers the value. It's possible that the guitar was refinished at the factory or that the different color stain under the neck was normal for that model. I doubt it though. The store sent me some pictures and the wood under where the neck attaches is a Mocha color instead of the natural finish of the guitar body. If the guitar has been refinished, it was a very good job. Neither I or the store had any idea until the collector had the guitar disassembled. It is still a desirable guitar and will sell but it will go for a lower price now.

I wish I had more things to sell so I could buy an Airstream Interstate van. That's not going to happen. Unless the stock market does really, really well next year, I'll probably be sleeping in a tent at the observatory.

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3221

I'm glad the daily rain doesn't usually start until around 9 AM. Even though the rain has been relentless this week, I've almost always been able to give Dash a morning walk. The evening walks are problematic, but at least he gets a chance to get outside. We didn't get an early start this morning, so we did get a little wet, but I'm not complaining. The daily downpour didn't begin until an hour after we returned home.

I'm getting used to the rain. I don't let it interfere with my activities anymore. Since there was no thunder today and Dash was sleeping calmly, I went out to breakfast anyway. Lately, I've been searching for the perfect Eggs Benedict without much success. Is this dish really that hard to make? A good Eggs Benedict is just an English Muffin topped with ham, a perfectly poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. All too often people seem to want to add Sriracha to the hollandaise and pile different meat and vegetables on top. It's not a sandwich guys. Today I tried a Lobster Benedict. Shredded lobster meat, asparagus, and some sort of spicy tomato bisque over a bagel was certainly creative. It just didn't taste very good. My holy grail breakfast is perfectly prepared French Toast, Eggs Benedict, or Migas. These simple dishes are surprisingly difficult to find.

Dash was still sleeping when I returned from breakfast. I wasn't surprised that he was tired. Once again he kept me up half the night cleaning up poop. At least this time the mess stayed on a protective mat on top of the bed so cleanup was much easier. I'm glad we have the special sanitize setting on our washing machine. It's been getting a lot of use lately. Since he didn't poop again on his morning walk like he usually does, I spent the rest of the day waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was still puzzled late this afternoon by the absence of poop until I accidentally stepped in the stuff on the living room floor.

I got a letter from NASA today inviting me to apply for a chance to watch a Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station from Wallops Island, Virginia. Why are these launch sites so difficult to fly to from Dallas? I had to make several connecting flights to get to Vandenberg Air Force Base. It's looks like I'd need to do the same to travel to Wallops Island. I don't think I'll apply. The trip looks expensive. Wallops Island launches often get postponed by weather. Dash is getting pretty hard for one person to manage too. Cleaning up the poop at night is often a two person job.

It would be nice to have something fun to do. I never realized how much of my life was devoted to work until I was fully retired. Dash certainly keeps me busy, but taking care of a sick dog can be very stressful. I need something relaxing. Going out to breakfast on Friday morning used to be relaxing, but when you can't even find a decent Eggs Benedict this become irritating as well.

The best part of today was a long nap with Dash. Early this afternoon, I realized I was very tired. I lay down next to Dash on the bed around 2 PM and didn't wake up again until after 4. I'm not really expecting a good night's sleep tonight, but it would be a nice bonus if I got one.

Diva is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day