Day 4852

I'm beginning to realize why I used to collect things. When I collected watches I was always looking for interesting and affordable old watches. I did a lot of reasearch and bought watches from all over the world. I read books on how to repair watches and began to accumulate watch repair tools. My interest in watches even led to having several watch brands and retailers as clients. All this kept me busy, but how many watches do you really need? I just wear an Apple watch now.

I've had similar experiences with collecting other things. I collected model trains and construction equipment for a while. I can't even remember how I became interested in this, but there were little brass trains all over the house for many years. I never built a model railroad or joined a club. I just liked the way these precise little models looked. They were art. I remember the best models were made in Japan and Korea. 

When I was young and living in Seattle I  collected art. I went to gallery openings and was always on the lookout for up and coming artists. I didn't spend much but I did have a good eye. I was surprised decades later to discover that some of the things I had acquired in my 20's were worth a lot. Eventually I sold everything at an auction house in New York and I haven't been interested in art since.

Collecting things was kind of like a perpetual treasure hunt. I didn't need any of these things and eventually began to wonder what I was doing with this stuff. It wasn't the stuff that mattered, it was the process of finding it. You read books to collect knowledge. You travel to collect experiences. I think a lot of photography is just collecting memories. Collecting things is a way of learning. Maybe I need something new to collect.

There was certainly nothing new today. I did exactly the same things I did yesterday and the day before. I don't really get bored because my mind wanders a lot. I'm always wondering about things while I walk and spend a lot of time at the computer going down rabbit holes on the Internet. If I lived in Florida I'd spend a lot more time chasing rockets. Probably attending launches is just another way of collecting things. Just like watches or model trains, each launch is very similar. There is just enough difference to keep you wanting to see one more. Hopefully, I will get approved to attend a few launches toward the end of this month. I'm certainly not collecting anything else these days.

We've almost stopped worrying about Dawn. The swelling in her neck is gone and her front legs don't seem shaky anymore. We'll keep the step at the foot of the bed and try our best to keep her from jumping. It was frightening to see her start to stumble and fall. I've always worried more about our dogs health than my own, but health issues are always on the table. Sickness can come out of nowhere and it makes you quickly realize how fragile life is.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3933

They've raised the rent on my storage warehouse again. These annual increases are so predictasble and relentless that it's infuriating. It's almost like they are begging you to move to a different location. I've already done this once, but it's a lot of trouble. I could probably save a lot of money by moving back to my old warehouse as a new customer. Like I said, it's a lot of trouble though. I wish I could just wave a magic wand and make some of this stuff go away. 

I don't want to have a yard sale because I hate dealing with strangers. I don't want to sell on eBay because a lot of the stuff is heavy and difficult to ship. I did make an effort two or three years ago to sell a few things. I was successful at selling most of the guitars. I repaired some of my vintage synthesizers, but there was no market for them. After three years about half of my train collection has sold. The old computers are basically worthless, but it's a lot of trouble to take them all apart and remove the hard drives. Stuff just accumulates and then you forget what it is or why you bought it in the first place. I've still got stuff from my Dad's estate in the warehouse. There are probably a few things from my grandparent's estate. There's a lesson in this somewhere, but I didn't learn it soon enough. The millennials who spend their money on experiences instead of stuff are probably the smart ones.

Dawn walks a little further every day. We're still going very short distances though. I'm not sure she'll ever get back to where she was before. We're not going to push her. When Dawn starts to slow down or look tired, we immediately turn around and go home. Dawn does seem to be improving. Tomorrow we start gradually reducing her Prednisone dose. The real test will come when she has finished all her meds.

The temperature was still nice when we took our short morning walk with Dawn, but warmer weather has definitely returned. It was actually pretty hot when I took my longer afternoon walk. I wish the weather was more predictable, but I guess I wish everything was more predictable. When I was walking this afternoon I saw the mother Muscovy duck again. There were only three ducklings with her this time. Where did the other three go? Nature can be pretty cruel. I'm not sure I even want to know what happened to the ducklings.

It looks like the Delta IV Heavy launch is finally going to happen tonight. The weather looks good and the countdown is going smoothly. I'd still like to see one of these giant rockets before they are retired and become obsolete. These days they are only used to launch billion dollar school bus sized spy satellites for the CIA. Nobody really knows what these satellites do, but watching them head into orbit is pretty impressive. I'll try to stay awake tonight and watch tonight's launch on my computer. The next time one of these monsters launches from Cape Canaveral sometime in 2022, I hope I can see it in person.

As I approach 4000 days on my blog quest, I'm really starting to wonder if it's worth the effort to go any further. I'm running out of things to say. A lot of days are so uneventful that I wonder why anyone reads this at all. Maybe I'll get a second wind and start doing interesting things again when Covid finally dies out and life returns to normal. Actually I don't even care if life returns to normal. I'd just like to travel normally again.

Thelma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3530

I was looking for a key this afternoon and realized that I didn't know what half the keys on my key ring even went to anymore. These keys were just the tip of the iceberg. My search uncovered keys to cars I no longer owned, keys to rental property I sold years ago, and a lot of mystery keys that didn't seem to unlock anything. How did I accumulate all these keys? I hate to throw them away because they must have a purpose. I'm sure this is why my office is so cluttered. Everything in here must have a purpose. I did eventually find the key I needed. I'm glad I never threw it away. Now I have an excuse to hang on to other old things of dubious value.

Janet and I went to the Rich-Tones concert tonight. Janet knows some of the singers in this chorus and we have been going to their Fall concerts for many years. I was completely unfamiliar with a cappella barbershop harmony before we started going to these concerts, but I've grown to like the music. This group competes all over the world and have been international champions several times. A hundred people singing four part harmony can sound pretty amazing. I can't handle rock concerts anymore, but the audiences for these events are more my speed. Lots of old people and families. I enjoyed the evening.

I can't say I enjoyed the weather today. It was a little cooler, but the temperature and humidity were still well outside the comfort zone. I only took one walk today, but that was plenty. I hope this outdoor activity is doing me some good. I'd hate to think I was doing all this for nothing. At least the day are getting shorter now. These walks will be a lot more enjoyable this Fall.

I watched a couple of episodes of Have Gun Will Travel and Maverick while we were eating breakfast this morning. I like these old TV westerns. Most of these shows aren't remotely politically correct by today's standards, but the scripts are surprisingly good. I think I like old Hollywood better than new Hollywood. You can have the Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino and Black Mirror. I'll take the simple  black and white morality of Have Gun Will Travel and The Twilight Zone.

I'll definitely go to the gym tomorrow, but maybe I don't need a 20,000 step day. I've got some other stuff to do and it just takes too long to take all these steps. If I'm ambitious I'll just walk a little longer while I'm at the gym. If I'm not feeling ambitious I might do nothing. We'll just see how the day goes.

Hero is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day