Day 4914

I spent way too much time today trying to decide whether to abandon U-Verse and go to a streaming service instead. I don't know why I even care, since I don't watch TV much. It seems like something I need to do though. U-Verse is on the way out and AT&T doesn't want to support it anymore. I'm pretty sure our TV and home network will support streaming, but I'm always wary about doing anything new with electronics. There's always something they don't tell you about and you end up spending hours talking to a customer support person who doesn't really understand your problem. Streaming is a lot cheaper than U-Verse, but like everything else, the price is just an illusion. The price will keep going up year after year and then one day I will discover that it is actually more expensive than U-Verse.

My main reservation about streaming services is that they depend on my Internet connection which is never as fast as it claims to be. At least the U-Verse TV doesn't depend on WiFi or my network router. It just hooks up straight to the fiber optic cable. First world problems, I guess. I'm sure I'll end up getting some sort of streaming service and then end up hating it.

I had to pick up a prescription today and I still can't figure out how GoodRx works. The pills I picked up today had a list price of $113. On my Part-D prescription drug plan the Co-Pay was $18. On GoodRx the price was only $5.00. What is their business model? I don't see how they can offer prescription medicine so cheap, especially when the app is free to use. It does seem weird and more than a bit wrong that a prescription price could vary so much. $113 vs $5 is quite a big difference.

Not much happened today, but what else is new. We had a very pleasant early walk with Dawn and then I had a not so pleasant longer walk later in the day. The warmer weather still hasn't forced me to go to the gym, but I'm thinking about it more. Did I really walk in the park all last summer? I do remember some very hot days last year, but I don't remember fighting the heat every single day. I did used to go to the gym a lot more, although I can't remember why. One of these hot days will be a tipping point for me though. I'll go back to the gym and wonder why I didn't go sooner. The best thing about my gym is that it is always cold. When we start having triple digit days, it will be worth the drive just to stay cooler.

I'm still having trouble sleeping because of the pain in my shoulder. I'm pretty sure I just pulled a muscle mowing the grass, but Janet says I should see a doctor. I'll wait a while. If I went to the doctor for every ache and pain I had, I'd be going every day. If I went to an orthopedic guy about this, they would take an x-ray, tell me nothing is wrong, and then tell me to use Voltaren when I'm uncomfortable. Been there, done that.

This week has gone quickly. Tomorrow is grocery day for Dawn. It is her favorite day of the week. I'm not sure if I have a favorite day of the week. They all seem pretty much the same to me.

Lacey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4844

There are critters everywhere this Spring. Last night there was a bunny in the yard when we were taking Dawn out to pee. It took me forever to get the bunny to leave because I didn't want Dawn to get it. Finally, I got it to go out an open gate and then we let Dawn outside. I did close the gate again after the bunny left. 

We've never had a dog with a really strong prey drive, but Dot killed a squirrel once and Gretta killed a bird. Dogs will be dogs. I've always been worried that our dogs would want to tangle with a possum. We see possums in the yard almost every week. There have also been racoons, armidillos, and the ocassional snake. Dawn pretty much ignores the squirrels. There are so many of them that they aren't interesting anymore.

This weather is driving me nuts. It's cold. It's hot. It's wet. It's dry. You never know what to expect. It was really chilly early this morning, but by mid-afternoon it felt like summer. When I wear a jacket on my walks I try to pick something that is easy to take off and tie around my waist. I'm usually cold on the outbound leg of the walk and hot on the return.

I still haven't gotten the grass mowed. My long walk always takes priority and by the time I get home I'm too tired to push the mower. I need to ask my neighbor's landscape crew how much they'd charge to mow my front yard while they are at her house. It's a very small yard and it would only take them a few minutes. Whatever they'd charge, I'd probably think it was too much. I've taken care of the yard for decades and am not used to paying for lawn care. Something's got to change though. I just don't have the energy that I used to.

Yesterday I tripped and fell while I was walking Dawn and now my back hurts along with everything else. Sometime I don't know how I manage to keep walking six miles a day. I've got bad knees, a dislocated shoulder, and some pretty nasty foot pain. I don't think the fall did any damage, but I've really got to watch my balance on uneven ground. Truthfully, I've got to watch my balance walking around the house. This is probably one more reason that it isn't a great idea to go back to the observatory and spend the night outdoors photographing the stars. There are a million ways to fall out there.

Very little happened today. I walked the same route I walk every day and then came home and charged camera batteries and backed up the laptop. There is very little need to back up the laptop since everything gets transferred to the desktop computer anyway. I hate seeing that little message saying "no backups in 208 days" and I guess today was the day to make it go away for a while.

There is more rain in tomorrow's forecast. Hopefully we will be able to get Dawn walked before the rain starts. Hopefully the roof won't leak either. I'll probably miss the rain when the ground is parched and dry this August. Right now I've had enough of the stuff. This has been a very rainy Spring.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4815

This weather is driving me nuts. As soon as the leaks stop the rain starts again. Once water gets under the Armor Flex coating on the roof there is a time delay before it reaches the inside of the house. What this means is that it can be sunny outside while the roof is leaking inside. The leaks aren't nearly as bad after my attempt to patch the roof, but even a small leak is still annoying. It's not raining right now, but we have tornado warnings starting tomorrow evening. I'm wondering if this will ever end.

There was nothing important on the agenda today. I ate my breakfast and tried to time my long walk so I wouldn't get wet. We were lucky again on Dawn's sunrise walk, making it home a few minutes before a heavy shower began. My luck ran out later this morning. Everything looked good on the weather radar, so I headed out. The weather was fine for the first mile or so and then a sudden shower appeared out of nowhere. I got wet, but it was quite warm so it wasn't a big deal. The shower didn't last long and I was almost dry again by the time I returned home.

I am so hooked on getting my steps these days that very little stops me. It's been a long time since I failed to get at least 10,000 steps. When I make the drive to West Texas it's almost impossible to reach my goal since I'm spending all day in the car. I missed my goal when I had gall bladder surgery too. There's not much you can do when you are hooked up to IV tubes in the hospital.

My feet were in bad shape today. I could barely walk when I got out of bed this morning. The odd thing is that the pain is worse when I first wake up. After I put on shoes and start walking around it usually gets a lot better. Aches and pains are the story of my life these days. Between bad knees, a bad shoulder and the persistent foot pain, something always seems to hurt. Most of this can just be attributed to growing older. Like many people my age I probably have a moderate case of osteoarthritis.

It's hard to believe that it is already March. Where does the time go? I did make it down to Florida in January for a Falcon Heavy launch, but most of this year has just been dealing with rain and roof leaks. It would be a nice break from this frustration to make another trip out to the observatory in April for their annual Dark Sky Festival, but I'm not sure that I'm up for the long drive anymore. When I made the trip last year it was really tiring. I definitely don't want to fall asleep at the wheel and my left hand tends to go numb if I grip the steering wheel for too long. Unfortunately there is no way to fly to this destination. It's a long drive to West Texas or nothing.

We're on the edge of the tornado warned area, so hopefully we won't get any severe weather tomorrow. I actually worry more about high winds than tornados. High winds have already brought down several large trees in our yard and there are several more that are just waiting for the right storm to take them out. These old mature Oak trees really don't hold up that well to high winds. I wonder if there are still places where the weather is nice all the time. Florida has frequent hurricanes and my favorite place in West Texas is dealing with a huge range fire right now. I wouldn't even consider living up North. How do people deal with all that snow? Who knows? Maybe it will be nice tomorrow. Our weather forecast is often wrong.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4780

The rain has stopped. Unfortunately, the roof is still leaking. I could probably put a stop to this if I went up on the roof and swept all the standing water away. I'm really trying to avoid climbing on the roof though. My balance isn't as good as it used to be and I'd hate to fall off. Heavy rain in the winter is the worst because it never evaporates. Hopefully, the leak will stop tomorrow. The buckets are filling slower now, so at least we're making progress.

It was cold enough on our morning walk with Dawn that I seriously considered going back to the gym. Dawn wore her sweater and it was definitely a two coat day for me. Dawn still enjoyed smelling things but I think she was glad when we returned to the house. I'm already tired of winter and it's barely even started.  We have at least three more months of cold weather before I can start to think about Spring.

I ate my breakfast slowly and did some small chores around the house in hopes that it would warm up outside if I waited long enough. It never did. In fact, I think it got colder as the day progressed. I still needed to get my steps though, so I dressed warmly and headed out on my daily long walk. The walk might have been a mistake, but I made it. There are a lot fewer people in the park on cold days. I saw very few bicycles and joggers today. I didn't even see many ducks. I still see people walking their dogs though. Dogs need to poop and pee in all types of weather.

My feet still hurt on these long walks. Sometimes the pain goes away after a while, but other times it gets worse. I think I've just reached the age where everything hurts. My shoulder hurts when I attempt to raise my arms above my head. My knees hurt when I bend them. Even my wrists and fingers hurt. None of this is really debilitating. It's more of an irritation than anything. I remember the days when nothing hurt.

I still can't decide whether to apply for the Crew-6 NASA Social. One of the cardinal rules for these things is never apply unless you really plan to go. They don't like it if you cancel after you have been accepted. Crewed launches are always interesting, but if I go to this one, it means one future launch I won't be able to attend. My budget is a bit limited this year. I just can't afford to be going down to Florida every month.

Janet and I decided not to visit the rescue dogs this week. It was too cold and damp to play with them outside and it's still unclear if there is an available indoor space we can use. We'll try to go up next week. It's too bad that the old kennel went out of business. It was just about perfect. Hopefully, the dogs will like this new place. It seems clean and well managed. It's just a long way away for Janet and I.

There's new software available for the star tracker and I had plans of testing it again today. The day got away from me though and when I finished everything else, it was too close to dinner to mess around with new software. I have no faith in the Benro people. Sometimes their software and firmware updates make thing better and other times they make things worse. I'm always apprehensive about starting the tracker up after I've installed new software.

Dawn didn't go to training class tonight. It was too cold and damp for her to be outside that long. The days are getting longer though. Maybe next week will be better.

Bones is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4490

It was hard to get up this morning. I'm still feeling tired from my trip. You can't keep a dog waiting though. I dragged myself out of bed and off we went on our morning walk. It was a nice morning, but really windy. I think the wind blew in more pollen because both Janet and I had allergy problems this morning.

We always have a big breakfast on Sunday morning and then after doing a few chores around the house, we left again for Dawn's Sunday outing. We took my car this time because Janet's car was in the shop for a recall repair. She had a loaner car, but they don't allow pets in rentals and loaners anymore. The way Dalmatians shed you could never convince anyone that a dog had not been in the car. Dawn is always nervous about new things, but she did pretty well in a different car. It probably helped that Janet sat in the back with her. There was plenty of room. The seats were down and Dawn had her favorite blanket. I'm glad this worked because I may need to take Dawn and Janet to training class this week. The Audi dealer is way behind schedule and who knows when the recall repairs will be completed.

The wind was blowing harder when we started our walk but it kept things cooler. Dawn enjoyed her second walk, but we got a big surprise when we went for ice cream afterwards. The place should have been open for several hours, but evidently employees arrived late and they weren't ready to serve yet. We were told to come back in an hour. So much for ice cream this week. We definitely weren't messing with getting Dawn back in a car again today.

I worked on my article for SpaceFlight Magazine for a bit and then I took my afternoon walk. I don't even call it a long walk anymore, because I haven't been going that far lately. I'm trying to give my foot some time to recover and it seems to be helping. For the past several days I've only been walking two miles. I still had a respectable total though because of the two short one mile walks with Dawn.

The catkins are falling from our Oak trees again. These small cylindrical flower clusters form every spring just as the tree's leaves start to turn green. They make a huge mess. I have to sweep the porch every day because it is completely covered with catkins. If it's a windy day they blow inside when you open the front door. The catkins can completely clog the pumps on the roof as well, so I'm hoping that all the wind we've been having lately is blowing the mess off the roof. I'd much rather have this stuff on the front porch than the roof. I really don't want to climb up there again to unclog the pumps. It's just getting too hard.

With all my aches and pains I'm really having second thoughts about taking a long road trip again. I don't know if I have another road trip in me. Especially all the way out to West Texas. Maybe a few trips to Kennedy Space Center each year is all the traveling I need. The way prices have gone up, I don't know if I could afford much more anyway. At any rate, I'll need to decide soon because the Dark Sky Festival is at the end of the month. This might not even be an issue because I don't even have a place to stay yet. Nobody has bothered to reply to my enquiry about reservations at the Astronomer's Lodge.

It's weird how much can change in a year. Janet sees an apocalyptic future. I won't go quite that far, but things do look pretty dismal. Workers aren't showing up to make ice cream. Restaurants don't have bread to make french toast. Prices for absolutely everything have gone through the roof. I'm glad I grew up and spent most of my working years in much better times.

Apollo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4131

I'm falling apart. I threw out my back last night when I was emptying the dehumidifier water bucket. I thought I'd feel better in the morning, but I woke up with one more in a long list of aches and pains. I'm sure many people have a lot more serious back problems, but this was a new one for me. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of things to come. 

It was raining hard when I woke up this morning. I turned on the pumps and nothing happened. I could hear the pumps running on the roof, but no water was coming out of the hose. This was unfortunate because it meant I needed to climb up on the roof and investigate. I finished my breakfast and waited for the rain to subside a bit before attempting to fix the pumps. I already knew what had happened. Every Spring, tons of catkins fall from our Oak trees and cover the roof. These catkins get sucked into the pumps and clog them. It's an easy fix, but you have to go up on the roof first. 

For the first time I can remember I had a difficult time scaling the rock wall leading to the roof. My back hurt. My arms felt weak. I got the distinct feeling that my roof climbing days were coming to a close. I unclogged both pumps, got the water running again, and went back inside. There was no point in doing anything further until the rain completely subsided. Maybe it will get hot again and the standing water will just evaporate. At any rate, I have no desire to go up on the roof anymore. The water can wait.

There isn't much to do on a rainy day. I don't like watching television and I don't like driving in the rain. Work used to keep me busy on rainy days, but work projects are few and far between these days. I have mixed feelings about getting shut out of the Crew-2 launch. Planning for a launch would definitely give me something to do, but I can't really afford a trip right now anyway. Realistically, I should be glad that I didn't get credentialed this time. I have time to work on getting back to Kennedy Space Center and hopefully the next time I get approved, travel won't be an issue.

I was glad when the rain finally stopped because Dawn clearly didn't want to take a nap with me. When Janet returned home we took Dawn on her short daily walk and then I continued onward. I knew today was going to be slow and didn't even bother to track my time. I don't know why I even bothered walking today. The weather was chilly and I felt stiff and painful. Right or wrong, it's important for me to keep moving. I eventually completed my route and returned home. This time I did take a nap.

We didn't get any mail today. Somehow this always seems to happen when the weather is nasty. The Postal Service Creed doesn't seem to mean much anymore. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" Nope. I don't think that's the creed anymore. I do a better job of completing my appointed rounds than our mail carrier.

We had chili and cornbread for dinner. Chili gives me heartburn but it seemed like the perfect meal for a cold, rainy day. It's a shame that the body refuses to cooperate as you get older. I used to have an iron stomach and could walk for days. I guess I should be glad that anything still works at all. By any objective standards, I'm still pretty healthy. It just doesn't feel that way sometimes.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4116

The furnace wasn't working when I woke up this morning. Damn. This always seems to happen during the very last days of winter when you don't think you are going to need the furnace anymore. I wasn't looking forward to taking the unit apart to clean the flame sensor again. The flame sensor is almost always the problem. Before I went to all that trouble I gave the tried and true method for fixing anything electrical a try. I unplugged the furnace, waited thirty seconds, and then plugged it in again. I also reset the thermostat for good measure. Amazingly, this worked. The furnace fired up and roared into life. The flame sensor probably is dirty, but with any luck I won't need to deal with it until next Fall.

I managed to find a nice little smoked ham today. I don't know why I thought there was going to be a run on Easter hams. When I went to the smokehouse, I was the only person in the store. There were even several small hams to choose from. I was surprised. Did Covid change something? In previous years I've had a terrible time finding a good smoked ham this close to Easter. 

I received a message from the Air Force, or I guess it is the Space Force now, saying that my press credentials have been reinstated for another year. Yay. I'm good to go for 2021. The message seemed to imply that the Air Force wasn't working as closely with NASA anymore. My credentials might only be. good for military launches. That's OK with me. I think the Space Force will be launching a Falcon Heavy later this year. A Falcon Heavy launch is always spectacular because both side boosters return to the Cape to land.

I wasn't expecting much on my walk today. When I woke up this morning I felt like a cripple. My left foot hurt. My right knee felt stiff. My hip felt sore and my shoulder still felt loose. Oddly, walking seemed to help loosen up these aching joints. I certainly didn't set any records today, but I completed five miles in a little more than an hour and a half. That's slow, but it will have to do for now.

I began to familiarize myself with the new star tracker this afternoon. The unit is sturdy and seems to be extremely well made. I don't think it is going to be easy to use unfortunately. A star tracker is basically a small German equatorial mount that holds a camera instead of a telescope. A motor slowly rotates the unit at 15 degrees per hour to counteract the rotation of the earth. You can take a lot longer exposures since the stars aren't moving from the camera's perspective. Like most telescope mounts, you have to assemble and balance the tracker in the field. There are several little adjustment screws that will fall off and get lost if you loosen them too much. You also have to align everything very exactly with Polaris. I know how to do all this in theory, but it's harder to do in the dark. Have I mentioned that I am very clumsy.

My Fitbit isn't tracking my sleep anymore. Maybe it's getting old and needs to be replaced. I always liked the sleep tracking capability. I have no idea whether it is accurate or even produces meaningful results, but I like to look at it in the morning and discover that I slept better than I thought I did. About half the time it does the opposite and shows me that I didn't sleep well at all. I probably don't need a Fitbit to tell me that I'm not sleeping well. My weird dreams tell me all I need to know.

Yesterday I got an e-mail from the Dallas arboretum asking me to review them on Facebook. A few minutes ago I got an e-mail from the smoked meat company where I got the ham, asking for a review on Facebook. The appliance repair company asked for a review after they fixed my washing machine a few weeks ago. Does everybody do this now? Couldn't we just go back to word of mouth? A world addicted to social media feedback is not a good thing.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4107

Another beautiful Spring day. In theory, I should get a lot accomplished on days like this, but I seldom do. Things are moving along slowly though. My 2020 taxes have been submitted, so I don't have to deal with that for another year. The Kickstarter project I backed has funded, so it looks like the product will go into production. If all goes well, I should get my hands on one of the first available versions sometime this Fall. One of the tree trimmers I called finally returned my call, so it looks like I'll be getting a bid on removing the Oak tree in the back yard. Janet wants to remove the tree more than I do, but I would hate to have it fall on the neighbor's cars and have everybody tell me "I told you so." The tree will probably be gone before the Kickstarter project ships.

Dawn did well on her walk today. There was no hesitation or freezing at all. I still have no idea what influences her behavior. She did get excited by another dog and tugged on the leash hard enough to make my hip hurt when I walked. I have so many aching joints now that I have to walk slow and steady. Sometimes I feel like that slow walking Duane Toddleberry character created by Tim Conway on the old Carol Burnett show. It's hard to believe now that I was ever nimble and agile.

I haven't heard anything from the Air Force yet about getting my credentials reinstated for 2021. We were supposed to hear something by the middle of March, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that things are running late. Everything seems to be running late this year. It's just as well that I won't be tempted by launches in Florida for a while. My trip out to McDonald Observatory later this Spring is all I can afford anyway.

I need to get a new plastic mat to put under my office chair. I've worn a hole in my existing mat and the wheels of my chair get stuck in it all the time. It's irritating. I used to see these mats everywhere, but now I can't find them. I probably haven't looked very hard. That will be my task for tomorrow. I also need an accordion folder for my 2021 receipts. I usually get one of these every January, but it's March already. I'm slipping. Looks like a trip to Office Depot might be in order.

It must have rained a lot last night because the water level in the lake looked a lot higher today. If there's more water in the lake, there's probably more water on the roof as well. I really should get up there and sweep the standing water away, but it is supposed to rain again tomorrow night, so maybe I'll wait. The way my hip feels right now, I probably couldn't make it up on the roof anyway. It sucks getting old. All these things that used to be easy aren't all that easy anymore.

Something weird is happening with our mail. Instead of getting a single batch of mail once a day, we are getting several deliveries during the day. Today we got three deliveries, each with a few letters and flyers. Is the mail actually getting delivered more often, or is our mail just getting misplaced in neighbor's boxes. Maybe neighbors are just returning misplaced mail. I really don't trust mail deliveries anymore. We used to have the same mailman for decades. Now there seems to be a new delivery person every week. 

I've slept well for two nights in a row. What changed? Probably nothing. My nights are probably just as random as my days. I hope this trend continues though. It really makes a difference.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4100

It's been two full weeks since Janet and I received our second dose of the vaccine. In theory, we should have acquired immunity to the virus by now. Do we really have immunity? I don't think anyone knows for sure. I do feel safer now, but not a lot has changed. Until a lot more people get vaccinated, we're still going to be dealing with masks, dire warnings from Dr. Fauci, and a tendency to avoid people who cough and sneeze. I guess I'll feel more comfortable about traveling now, but I never really stopped traveling. I went out to McDonald Observatory last October for an astrophotography workshop and then to Florida in November for the Space X Crew-1 launch. At any rate, I'm ready to put this weird chapter in my life behind me. I'm going to miss the airlines flying with the middle seats empty. That was nice while it lasted.

I changed the sheets on the bed today and finished washing the bedding that Dawn got dirty the other day. When did changing a fitted sheet on a low platform bed become an athletic event? This used to be an easy, somewhat routine minor chore. Now, the combination of a bad shoulder and weak unstable knees have turned changing the sheets into a nightmare. When old people get down on the floor, you have to think carefully about how you are going to get up again. Stand up chores like mowing the grass seem much easier by comparison. I guess I shouldn't complain. I'm still moving.

The bulky trash trucks didn't come today, so we raked a few more leaves and I cut down some small trees that actually died last year. I went to Home Depot and got a hedge trimmer to cut the dead growth off a hedge that runs along the back of our yard. I think this hedge will come back later this Spring, but the dead growth definitely needs to be removed.  Next up is replacing the grass. The dead grass has nothing to do with the big freeze. We always have a lot of dead grass in the Spring. I think Dawn will appreciate the new turf and it should keep her from rolling in the dirt so often.

I saw some Periwinkles blooming on my walk today. One by one, the Spring wildflowers are starting to appear. The Redbud and Dogwood trees are in full flower now. It won't be long before the Bluebonnets start to appear and in less than a month the meadows behind our house should be covered in colorful flowers. This spectacle doesn't last long, but I always enjoy it.

I was glad to see the Muscovy Ducks again on today's walk. The last time I saw them, they were being chased by a large dog that had gotten loose from its owner. The dog almost caught the female duck and all three ducks disappeared for several weeks. All is well now, but two of the ten geese I see everyday have disappeared. The two missing geese disappeared during the big freeze. I wonder if they died? I ponder things like this while I walk the familiar trails. Keeping track of animals and looking for flowers keeps me from getting bored. 

Dawn took a normal walk today. She didn't hesitate at all. Maybe I overthink her behavior. Janet and I wonder if she has brain damage after a vet raised this possibility, but it's entirely possible that she's just another stubborn Dalmatian. It would be nice if she enjoyed her walk everyday, but I certainly don't enjoy things everyday. Why should she?

They say we'll be getting our stimulus money tomorrow. I won't be buying Bitcoin or Gamestock shares with mine. It will just gradually disappear paying routine bills. I can't even remember what the last two stimulus checks got used for, but they're gone now. I'll take the money, but I think a lot of this stimulus has been wasted. We should have kept it simple and just helped the restaurant owners, out of work musicians, bartenders, flight attendants, gym instructors, and others who actually lost their jobs during the pandemic. 

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4098

I thought I'd slept in longer than usual this morning and then I realized that the time had changed. Why do we do this every year. I don't care if we go with standard time or daylight saving time. Let's just pick one and stick with it. Dogs don't understand time changes at all. They keep wanting to be fed at their usual time.

Our phones and computers update automatically, but there are still a lot of clocks in the house to change. I was changing the time on a wall clock in the office this morning when I accidentally dropped and broke it. What a shame. This clock has been faithfully reminding me that I'm always late for many, many years.

The nasty weather that all the news media kept warning us about never materialized. I don't think it even rained last night. I'm beginning to think that the media just likes to alarm people. Maybe it's good for ratings. Everything seems to be a crisis these days, even if it doesn't feel like a crisis in real life. At any rate, I was glad that there were no tornados nearby when I woke up this morning. Tornado warnings still get my attention.

When Janet and I were out walking today I got a message on my watch saying that we'd had a power outage at the house. Hmm. Who sent me this message and why? I finally figured out that the message was generated by the new little gizmo that monitors our electric lines. We tried looking at the petcam in the bedroom to see if the power was really out. The petcam still worked and everything seemed fine. When we returned home, the power was on and there were no signs that there had been an outage. Did the power  really fail or did the little line monitor fail? I guess I'll never really know.

My assorted aches and pains seem to be getting worse. A few days ago I tripped on a rock while I was walking and stumbled around trying to regain my balance. I never actually fell, but now my hip hurts when I walk. I'm getting clumsy as I grow older. I never would have tripped on that rock when I was younger and I wouldn't have dropped the office clock either. It might be time to end my trips up on the roof. Tripping on a rock is one thing. Falling off the roof would be a lot more serious.

I find myself spending a lot of time on Facebook astrophotography groups lately. Who would have thought that there were so many people interested in this strange and difficult to master hobby. Some of these people's photographs are amazingly good. They look like they were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. I don't think I will ever get this good. I just don't have the patience. I like astronomy but I also like to go to bed early. This doesn't bode well for any future endeavors. I have a feeling that a couple of trips out to McDonald Observatory every year will be enough for me. The rest of the time I'll just watch old Perry Mason episodes on TV at night.

Dawn froze in place briefly on her short walk today. We got her going again, but this was troubling. She's been doing so well lately. I'd really hate to see her become fearful of walking. She likes to sit out in the sun in the yard, so you'd think that she would like walking as well. She always seems eager to walk when we get out her leash and harness. Occasionally, something makes her fearful though and we still don't know what it is.

I'm torn between wanting something interesting to happen next week and wanting things to remain calm and uneventful. I'll probably get uneventful and that's OK with me.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4077

I hate getting old. It was a lot warmer today, so I thought I'd inflate my tires and get rid of the annoying warning light on my dash. I struggled to get the heavy air compressor out of the storage shed next to the carport. I'd put the compressor up on a shelf when I was younger and much stronger. Why didn't I put this thing on the floor like a sensible person? When I got the machine going and sat on the pavement to inflate the first tire, I realized that it was very hard to get up again. I went to the kitchen and brought out a chair to sit in while I was checking the tire pressure and inflating it to to proper specifications. I don't know why I never thought of this before. It's much easier to inflate tires sitting in a chair. These tires are supposed to be inflated with nitrogen, but who cares anymore. I'm tired of going to the Land Rover dealer and waiting around for an hour just to get my tires checked. All is well now. The tires were pretty low and they never would have inflated themselves.

The temperature got up to 70 degrees today which just shows you how weird Texas weather is. I thought for a while this afternoon that the air conditioner was going to come on in the house. I'm glad to have the warmer weather back. No more worries about frozen pipes and setting all the faucets to drip before I go to bed at night. I was expecting a lot of mud after the snow melted, but it seems to have just evaporated. The ground was surprisingly dry today.

The roads and trails were dry too, which allowed me to wear my good shoes on my walk today. The shoes made a big difference. My feet still began to hurt after about four miles, but I felt so much better than yesterday. Janet joined me today as well, which helped me to pick up my pace. She tends to walk a lot faster than I do. I'm sure this is because she is in better shape than I am.

I saw a huge possum on the back porch before I went to bed last night. This explains why Dawn has been so interested in smelling things in the yard lately.  We had to watch her carefully when she went out to pee this morning. Possums are beneficial animals, but I don't want our dogs to tangle with one. I have a feeling that the possum is probably living in our damaged greenhouse. There are probably a lot of critters living in that greenhouse.

Dawn is back to taking two walks a day again. She seems happy taking these two short walks. Maybe that all she ever wanted to do. She enjoys smelling things in the park and occasionally gets to greet another dog. She is very particular about other dogs. Some she clearly likes and others she tends to avoid. I'm always careful when we approach another dog, because it's hard to predict how she's going to react.

I wonder if we're ever going to get mail again? We haven't had any deliveries in over a week. Ordinarily, I wouldn't care, but I'm waiting for some copies of SpaceFlight Magazine to arrive from England. These copies with my articles in the October and February issues were mailed just before the big storm hit. I know there are sitting in a bin at the post office somewhere, or maybe in a mail carrier's trunk. I hope they arrive eventually because I know the magazine is getting tired of me asking about the October issue. At least I don't worry about bills getting lost anymore. It's so much easier to just pay everything online.

I'm running out of time to get my tax material prepared for the accountant. I have no interest in doing this anymore. You know what they say about death and taxes though. I'd better get busy. I was always very meticulous about keeping accurate records when I was working. With each passing year I care less and less. I know there have been a lot of tax law changes because of Covid. I hope my accountant knows what they are, because I certainly don't. I still think old people should be exempt from all this stuff. It's hard enough to remember to take my pills every day.

It looks like everything will be back to normal tomorrow. I've got fresh fruit ready for my morning smoothie. The only thing on my calendar is my second Covid shot.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3956

We woke up to heavy rain this morning. Where did that come from? I guess I haven't been keeping track of the weather. Along with the rain came a new cold front. It was actually pretty chilly today. We couldn't take our regular morning walk because of the weather, so I got the pumps on the roof started, ate my breakfast, and tried to make the bed around Dawn, who refused to move.

Eventually the rain stopped and we took Dawn on her walk. She loved the cold weather. She was frisky this morning and had a lot more energy than I did. The rain must enhance smells, because she wanted to stop and smell everything. When we arrived at Pelican Bay, all the Pelicans were out of the water and up on the shore. This was the first time I've seen this happen. Usually the birds perch on submerged logs in the shallow water. The Pelicans were huge up close, but Dawn had no interest in them. She mostly just wanted to check her pee-mail by sniffing every rock and tree.

The abrupt change in the weather made me feel even older than usual. Every joint in my body hurt this morning. Most of these aches and pains were very familiar. They are a big reason why I try to stay active. If I were sedentary, I think I would feel the effects of aging even more. Activity does help. By the time we returned from our walk, I was starting to feel normal again.

I don't know where the day went today. I certainly didn't do all that much. Two walks, breakfast, dinner, and a short nap seemed to use up the entire day. I was planning to practice using the stacking software again this afternoon, but never got around to it. I didn't spend much time watching the Boca Chica live feed either. Things were strangely quiet at Space X for a change. 

I didn't watch the debate last night, but clearly it didn't change anyone's opinion. When I was channel surfing during breakfast this morning, Fox and OAN said that Trump clearly won the debate, while MSNBC and CNN said the Biden clearly won the debate. No wonder I just watch the business channels these days. I'm sick of politics.

I hope my car starts tomorrow morning. I haven't used it in nearly two weeks. I always rent a car for my trips and I haven't been shopping lately. It's time to get groceries again though. Hopefully my battery is still good. I have no real desire to go to the grocery store any more, but we still need food. We are actually eating better during the pandemic than we were before. Having a good meal is definitely something you can still do at home.

I'd kind of like to buy a new telescope, but it makes no sense whatsoever. There is nothing to see in Dallas's light polluted skies and I'm still apprehensive about driving to a dark place out in the country late at night. Every time I turn on the local news there's something about another overnight shooting on city streets. Sadly, Dallas is not a safe place to be driving around at 3 AM.

I guess I'll have to be content with periodic trips to McDonald Observatory. I feel safe out there and the skies are amazing. The only amazing thing about Dallas is that it has always been a great place to find a good job. Dallas has been good for my career. Not so sure if it's a great place to retire.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3880

One of the worst things about the pandemic is that every little ache and pain makes you think that your luck has finally run out. I woke up with a sore throat this morning. "This is how it begins," I thought. Never mind. I forgot that this is a common occurrence. When I don't sleep on my back, I get nasal congestion and start breathing through my mouth. Instant morning sore throat. As soon as I was up and had some coffee the sore throat disappeared.

Maybe I'm just a hypochondriac, but this has happened before. Occasionally I'm winded after a long uphill walk and I start to wonder about my lungs. I'm always checking my temperature with the forehead thermometer. If it even varies by a tenth of a degree I wonder if this could be the start of something. Every time I hear someone cough, I wonder how far the virus can travel through the air. None of this is good, but there is a certain logic to this sort of thinking. The virus is relentless and people aren't all that careful. I find it easy to believe that the longer you stay healthy, the more likely it is that your luck will eventually run out.

This is probably why I'm never wild about shopping day. Half the people in the grocery store had their mask below their nose this morning. I forgot the doggie poop bag I usually put over my hand when I pump gas. People are always picking through the produce to find the freshest items. There are so many opportunities for things to go wrong.

Oddly, I never worry about walking in the park even though I don't wear a mask outdoors. Joggers and cyclists pass us on the trails, but nobody lingers and nobody gets close. Fresh outdoor air is much different than a building's air conditioning system. I'm sure that if sports eventually returns, watching football in an outdoor stadium would be safer than watching basketball in an indoor arena. It's not good to think this way. Once you become convinced that every stranger is a potential danger, it's going to be hard to trust anyone again. No hugs please. Ever.

Every time I go shopping, I'm more and more convinced that our country's supply chain and distribution system has become seriously damaged. Stores just aren't as well stocked anymore. I'm still seeing an overreaction to the toilet paper shortage. There is an abundance of toilet paper and bleach now, but not enough cheese. Every week I find common, everyday items that just aren't on the shelves anymore. Some aisles are half empty and I can't even remember what used to be there. This inconsistency often forces you to go to several stores when one used to be enough. If the whole idea is to get in and out of the store as quickly and efficiently as possible, it would be nice if the store had what you need.

We got a late start on our walk again this morning. Saturday should be the day we start extra early. The park is always crowded on Saturday, but few people get up before sunrise. Old habits die hard though. We always used to sleep in on Saturdays. One of these mornings we need to take a picture of Dawn right at dawn. At least once a week we see a beautiful sunrise. This would make a nice backdrop for a portrait of Dawn.

I hope I don't wake up with any aches and pains tomorrow. I'm tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's about time to wake up and feel like going to the gym.

Lilly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3568

The older you get, the harder it is to tell whether the aches and pains you feel are completely normal or a sign that something's wrong. When I wake up in the morning I hate to move, because it feels so comfortable to just lie there doing nothing. As soon as I'm up and about, my joints start telling me that I've seen better days. The aches and pains are real. My ankles hurt when I walk long distances, but I suspect that there's nothing wrong. I wear really light Nike Air shoes now because they're easier on my feet but they don't provide the firm ankle support that my old heavy hiking boots did. I'm sure that there is something wrong with my shoulders, but I'm not certain what to do about it. I haven't been good at keeping up with my physical therapy exercises and I don't even want to consider surgery. Everybody I know who has had shoulder surgery never regained a full range of motion. Basically, old bones just aren't as resilient as young bones.

I probably should start going to physical therapy again for my shoulder. It did help a little when I was doing the exercises every day. I'll ask my doctor to recommend someone the next time I see him. I really need to improve my range of motion, but it's hard to do exercises that are painful. I'm not very motivated. It's easier when someone is forcing me to do the right thing.

I've got a dental appointment in the morning and an appointment with the eye doctor later in the month. Doctors always tell me I'm doing great. What does that mean? They probably just mean that I'm doing pretty good compared to other people my age. I remember feeling a lot healthier when I was younger, but it was probably just an illusion. I actually had more medical problems when I was young than I do now. At least I'm eating healthy and taking care of myself these days. Hopefully, I'll never wind up in the ER again.

October is here, but where is the nice Fall weather? Today still felt like Summer. I think my walks will be a lot more enjoyable when the weather is cooler and I don't have to change my clothes as soon as I get back to the house. I keep telling myself that sweating is good for you. At least that's what I hear. Sweating during exercise is supposed to reduce the risk of developing kidney stones, prevent colds, and detox your body. Sounds good to me.

I wonder if I'll have time to take my walk tomorrow? I might not even have time to drink my smoothie. I should have made my dental appointment during the afternoon. These days even 11 AM can seem pretty early. How did I ever used to go to work every morning? I need to ask the dentist whether braces could benefit someone my age. I feel like my teeth are getting out of alignment. Does it even matter? Probably not.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3300

Dash seemed a little more lucid today. He didn't stumble around as much and his eyes seemed brighter. I have no idea what determines whether Dash has a good of bad day. Everything in his life is fairly consistent, but some days are definitely better than others. I'm always happy to see a good day. They are few and far between.

The roof is finally drying out. The weather is still nice and warm but the leak did not return during the midday sun. I'm at the mercy of the roofers now. If they return tomorrow or Tuesday we may be able to fix this leak. The rain is supposed to return on Thursday though, so the window of opportunity is small. I'd love to hear the guys up on the roof tomorrow morning but I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch. I was the squeaky wheel for a while, but I may not be any longer.

On my way to the gym this morning I thought I'd pick up another pair of cheap rubber rain shoes for walking Dash. These slip on shoes don't last very long but I can put them on in seconds and they keep my feet dry. Somehow, instead of these cheap shoes, I came home with a pair of steel toe Doc Martens. Why did I buy these things? I already have some heavy work boots. These felt comfortable though and seemed like they would last forever.

 My shoulders and elbows still hurt from working on the roof last week, but I did my full workout anyway. I'm afraid if I vary my routine, I may just quit going to the gym altogether. I'm pretty much on automatic pilot when I go to the gym, but my Fitbit indicates that I'm doing something right. If I could just bring myself to endure this kind of punishment three times a week I'd be in great shape.

The park behind our house has become so popular in recent years that it is stressful to walk Dash on a nice weekend. There were bicycles everywhere today. None of them slow down for Dash. The number of loose dogs increases dramatically on warm weekends too. You really have to be aware of your surroundings. These things called Onewheel are becoming popular too. They look like a skateboard with a single big motorized wheel in the center and can travel up to twenty miles per hour. We saw six of these contraptions today. They're fairly expensive but that doesn't seem to stop people from buying them. Onewheel travel seems even more dangerous than those ride sharing scooters that are popping up all over the place. What do I know though? I still prefer walking.

If things go well tomorrow the roofers will discover what is causing my roof leak and the Herman Miller technicians will fix my office chair. Unfortunately, it's a Monday tomorrow and people aren't always at the top of their game on a Monday. I'll hope for the best but nothing will really surprise me.

I'm getting sleepy so it's probably time to call it a day. Dash has been sleeping for quite a while, so he'll probably be wide awake at 3 AM. We'll see what happens.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3290

The repairs failed. The roof is leaking again. I heard the familiar sound of water dripping on the brick floors around 3 AM this morning. While I was getting a bucket positioned under the leak, Dash woke up and proceeded to poop on the floor. By the time I finished cleaning everything up, it was hardly worth going back to bed.

This was all very very disappointing to say the least. The rain was pretty intense last night, but I genuinely expected the roofers patches to work. Everything looked pretty good before the rain started. To make matters worse, the pumps I'd placed on the roof weren't very effective either. I'd hoped that the two pumps would significantly reduce the volume of water on the roof during a storm, but they quickly became clogged with leaves and debris from the trees and the flow of water through the hose gradually slowed to a trickle. At least the rain is gone for now. The weather was clear and cold when we woke up this morning. Dash got a nice walk, although he stumbled a lot. He's stumbling more now and it worries me. After breakfast I went up on the roof and began sweeping the standing water away. I've been up on the roof way too often lately and every bone in my body aches. I'm used to the pain in my shoulders and wrists, but today it felt like I'd developed tennis elbow as well. I'm way too old for this.

The leak stopped within an hour after I removed all the standing water. I still don't know how it is getting inside. I called the roofers and they said they'd be back next week. This is getting very irritating. I'm genuinely tired of fixing things. Unfortunately, with an old house you are always fixing things.

At least I was able to talk with a technician who said he can fix my chair. Unfortunately, he isn't available until the week of January 7. I guess the trash can I've been placing under the chair to keep the back upright will work until then.

Clearing the roof was tiring and I didn't feel like doing anything else today. Some things couldn't be avoided unfortunately. It was time to vacuum water from under the shower stall with the wet/dry vac and there was a big pile of laundry to do. Eventually I decided that enough was enough and I took a long nap with Dash.

The market is still insanely volatile. Within an hour or two this afternoon there was an eight hundred point swing. The Dow went from being down 600 points to closing up over 200 points. Just like yesterday, there was no real news. I guess volatility is just a sign of the times.

Maybe tomorrow will be uneventful. I think I'll go back to the hotel for breakfast. That will be nice and calm, even if the market isn't.

Taylor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3244 - Veteran's Day

It was a slow day at the gym. Moving the storage warehouse has taken its toll. Every bone in my body protested as I went through my routine today. Maybe it was worth it though. I did feel better when I was finished than I did getting out of bed this morning. I hope the aches and pains subside. I don't like feeling this way, but I don't like being too old to do things either. Maybe I'm just out of shape. I'm certainly not as active as I was when the dogs were younger.

Today was even colder than yesterday. Janet and I both wore our Winter coats when we walked Dash this morning. The weather was way too cold for me, but Dash seemed to enjoy it. He was more active than usual and wanted to walk down by the shoreline. It's always good to see Dash with a little energy because these days are becoming rare. After an hour out in the cold, we were all ready for breakfast.

If I didn't turn on the television this morning, I'd never have known it was Veteran's Day. Both my parents, who served in the Navy, are long gone. I had an art director partner who was a Marine and had two friends who used to be fighter pilots, but I've lost touch with all these people. When I listen to the tributes and Veteran's Day memorials on TV, all I can think of are the many pointless wars that have taken place in my lifetime. Vietnam and all the wars in the Middle East that followed didn't really liberate anyone or advance the cause of freedom. A lot of good people died needlessly. I guess I'm an isolationist at heart. My parents couldn't have ignored Hitler and the attack on Pearl Harbor, but a lot of the regional conflicts that my generation found themselves involved with were different. We didn't change anything for the better in Vietnam. The Middle East has been a mess for thousands of years. We should have stayed home and let some of these countries sort things out for themselves.

The shoes that seem to be doing a good job of protecting Dash's feet are wearing out fast. I don't think these new boots will last another week. I can envision the type of boot Dash needs, but nobody seems to make it. Since his rear paws turn under when he walks, he needs protective rubber on both the top and bottom of the boot. The rubber needs to be durable while remaining very flexible. It is impossible to get a thick rigid boot on. The shape of Dash's paws makes him very hard to fit. It's too bad I couldn't make an impression of his rear leg and have someone fabricate a custom fitted boot. For now, I guess I'm just have to keep buying these off the shelf dog boots fairly frequently.

I guess advertising does work. Lately, I've been real tempted to buy one of those "My Pillows" you always see advertised on TV. They probably aren't any better than any other pillow, but when you aren't sleeping well, it's always easy to blame it on your pillow. Maybe I should blame the mattress as well. It used to be really firm, but years of dogs playing and sleeping on the bed have worn it out. Dalmatians can be rough on furniture when they're young and active. I think my back would feel better if I slept on the floor. I'm not going to try that though. The floor is cold and full of dog hair.

I think I'd better get a flu shot next week. I rarely get the flu and often skip the shot. Maybe my luck has run out. I volunteered to take pictures at a children's event this month. The flu doesn't bother me, but children do. I always manage to catch a cold when I'm around children. I wish I'd remembered this before I volunteered.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day