Day 4884

Another slow day. It's a good thing I handle boredom well because every day is virtually the same. We get up and take Dawn on an early walk. I make the bed when we return and then I eat my breakfast. Breakfast is the only time I watch TV and I often wonder why I even bother. We have a new dishwasher but I always wash the breakfast dishes by hand. It's just a habit. I turn on the computer and check my messages after breakfast. They are mostly all spam. If it looks like it's going to be a hot day, I take my long walk right away. If it's cold, I wait for things to warm up. The long walk is completely predictable. I take the same route every day. The park is huge and I could take many different routes, but like I mentioned earlier, I'm a creature of habit.

There seems to be an unusual number of wildflowers this year. This is probably because we had a very wet Spring. I photograph these flowers and have learned to identify most of them, but this isn't really necessary. I've photographed almost every variety of native plants many times over the years. It's actually been quite a while since I've seen anything new in the park. I always look for the Muscovy Ducks and count the small gaggle of geese to see if anyone is missing. I used to see coyotes frequently but I haven't seen any this year. There are also bobcats in the park but I've only seen two in the past ten years. I'm glad these birds and animals are still abundant. When we first moved here the park was wild and largely abandoned. Now it is full of people and has a huge staff of caretakers. The place has become a destination for all forms of outdoor recreation. I can't even remember why we ended up living here, but it ended up being a good choice.

I thought about practicing using the star tracker today, but it was easy to talk myself out of it. I'm never going to spend a lot of time pursuing astrophotography unless I go out to McDonald Observatory again. I think I've already proved that the star tracker works. I just haven't proved that I'm seriously interested in astronomy. I wish the observatory was closer. It is a very peaceful place to visit. It might be a while until I get out there again though. It is much easier to fly to Florida for a launch than to drive to West Texas.

I wonder how Facebook chooses things for me to see? It makes sense that I would see a lot of posts about Dalmatians. It probably makes sense that I see lots of things about guitars and astrophotography as well. Why do I constantly get posts about WWII Battle Tanks though? And why do I need to know about the giant trees of Ohio. I used to get posts about Elvis Presley every day and then they went away. Facebook seems to think I'm real interested in ships at sea and alcoholic beverages. I think they are just grasping at straws. I delete the cookies on my computer every evening and erase my browser history as well. I don't want to make it easy for these guys, but they keep trying. 

The weather forecast says it's going to be raining when we wake up in the morning. I hope the forecast is wrong. Dawn always needs a walk in the morning and I need my long walk as well. I know we need the rain, but the rainy season is always a big nuisance. If it didn't rain so much, we wouldn't need a new roof at all.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4426

Life is back to normal. It was much warmer today and the snow and ice has virtually disappeared. Dawn was happy to get a morning walk again. It was still chilly early this morning but the temperature was above freezing for most of the day. 

The roads are no longer empty. When I did my grocery shopping this morning the traffic was as bad as it ever was. The only thing strange today was that the grocery store shelves were surprisingly empty. I guess there was a lot of panic buying before the storm and nobody has had time to restock yet. I did manage to find what I needed though. All in all, this winter storm wasn't nearly as bad as everyone expected. We've seen a lot worse. Hopefully this is as bad as it gets this year. I have my doubts though. We've seen a lot of nasty weather later in February.

The leak in the office finally stopped. The leak stopped for a while last night when everything refroze, but started dripping again this morning. Luckily, this was the only leak this time. I can see a little staining in the living room ceiling where I carefully bleached everything clean just last week. This means that some moisture is getting in, but not enough to actually cause a leak. I'm glad I didn't attempt to repair the sheetrock yet. Now I'm going to have to bleach the ceiling all over again. I knew this was going to happen. Leaks always occur when the roof freezes over. I actually think the roof leaks started many years ago when a thick canopy of ice covered the roof for weeks during an extended cold spell. At least the pumps are working again. I pumped quite a bit of water off the roof today. I'm not climbing up there though. With my foot pain, a bad knee, and a poor sense of balance, it wouldn't be a wise thing to do. I'm really hoping to replace the roof this Spring. Still got to find a good contractor though.

Janet has returned to the gym, so I walked by myself today. Most of the roads and trails were dry and I was able to wear my Hoka shoes again. I'm sure this helped, but my feet still hurt. I'm still walking the same distance, but my pace has really slowed down. It's really pathetic how slow I'm walking lately. Just about anybody can pass me now. At least I'm still moving. That's the important thing.

The two eagles that have taken up residence in the park have become quite the local attraction. People call them Nick and Nora now. There was quite a crowd watching the nest today. There are always a lot more people in the park on weekends. I didn't bother to join the group this time. I've already seen the two eagles many times and once I managed to get a few good pictures my interest has started to wane. I'll probably get a few more pictures in the days ahead. There's no hurry though. The pair is expected to remain in the area until Summer.

I didn't bother to monkey around with the star tracker today. The next step will be to take it outside at night and actually try to track and photograph something. It's still too cold for that though. I don't expect any dramatic results because there is so much light pollution in Dallas. Orion is bright enough to see from our back yard though. That's a good place to start. 

I think it's going to be even warmer tomorrow, so it looks like Dawn will get her Sunday outing. Even though Dawn is a lazy dog who loves to lounge on the bed, I could tell that she missed her walks the past several days. It will be good to resume our regular routine again. The regular routine definitely includes ice cream. We all love ice cream.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4328

Every time I go shopping, the world seems a little more dysfunctional. The stores are far from empty, but I'm having a harder time finding what I need. I used to find everything in one store. Now I have to go to three. Gas has been more expensive in the past, but it's definitely creeping up there again. The increasing prices and decreasing inventory isn't dramatic, so you don't really question it. You just wonder why your grocery bill keeps getting a little higher every week.

The doctor still hasn't filled my colonoscopy prep prescription. This might be a problem. I tried to call the doctor's office but they were closed for the weekend. When I called the pharmacy, nobody answered. The pharmacist I've known for years isn't there anymore. He either retired or quit. The kids that are running the place now seem very disorganized. Of course the front desk at the doctor's office seems a little disorganized too. I'll see if I can sort out the problem tomorrow when I go to the hospital for a pre-admission Covid test. I guess multiple Covid tests have just become a regular part of modern life. I keep expecting life to eventually return to normal, but maybe all this is normal now.

I'll be glad when the time changes in early November. It is completely dark when we get up in the morning now. We wait until the sky lightens a little before we leave on Dawn's sunrise walk, but we still need to take a flashlight. The flashlight isn't really to help us see. It is mostly so cars and cyclists can see us. We used to have a little red light that we clipped to Dawn's collar, but it got lost. Pretty much anything you clip to a dog's collar will eventually get lost. One vigorous shake and it's gone.

It's still nice and cool for my long walk, but I'm getting tired of walking. Maybe I need to go back to the gym for a while. The park seemed congested today and my feet are starting to hurt again. I think I prefer walking on cold, gloomy days when I'm the only one in the park. Right after a rain is usually a good time. The air smells fresh and there are a lot fewer bicycles when the roads and trails are wet. Since it was a nice day, everyone was out and about. I shouldn't complain about foot traffic in the park though. It isn't nearly as bad as traffic on the roads. Traffic was horrible when I was grocery shopping today. It doesn't matter when I leave the house. It always feels like rush hour.

After my last astrophotography workshop I joined several astrophotography groups on the Internet. I still read these things every day but it it is becoming clear that I don't have the same temperament as most of the other amateur astronomers. They will spend weeks planning and executing a single shot. To get good results, you often have to take hundreds of images and then combine them all together using special software. It's a slow tedious process and very often things go wrong and you have to start over. My roots were in fashion photography, which actually made me well suited to taking pictures of dogs. I'm pretty good at capturing a moment, but I find technical photography boring. I like to see the results right away. I still love to look at the night sky though and am eager to return to the observatory again. Maybe next Spring.

Until then, I'll continue my regular routine here in Dallas. It looks like it will be a good day for Dawn's Sunday outing tomorrow. I scheduled my Covid test early tomorrow so I will be back in time for a walk and some ice cream.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4215

It was a little cooler today. That made it easier to do some things I've been avoiding. I finally got around to mowing the grass. It grows quickly since we've had a wet Spring. I don't like mowing the front yard now, since traffic has gotten heavy on our street. When I've got the mower down by the curb, cars and big trucks will barrel past me at forty miles an hour. This constant traffic makes it hard to get out of the driveway too. Things have changed a lot in thirty years.

I was tired when I finished mowing both the front and back yards, but the weather wasn't bad today so I decided that I'd go ahead and take my long walk after a short nap. Dawn got the best part of the day when we took our sunrise walk early this morning, although the rest of the day was much better than I expected. It was overcast with a pleasant breeze. There was a chance of rain in the forecast, but all we got were a few light sprinkles. Actually the light showers helped keep me cool while I was walking. It felt more like a mist than an actual rain shower.

Mowing the grass and taking a long walk seemed to eat up my entire day. I didn't do much else today. We heard from the vet and Dawn does have bacteria in her urine. The second sample we took to be analyzed looked exactly the same as the first. Janet picked up the antibiotics the vet prescribed and we'll see if we can get her back to normal. At least Dawn still loves her new food. I guess you solve one problem and another one takes its place.

I'm having a hard time staying motivated. My days consist of deciding what to eat and when to walk. I probably won't even try to go back to Kennedy Space Center until Artemis-1 is ready to launch toward the end of the year. Rental cars are almost impossible to find in Florida now and hotels have gotten quite expensive. There are a lot of Starlink launches this Summer, but nothing that really captures my interest. I hope I don't lose the contacts I've worked so hard to build down at the space center, but it is what it is. It's a lot easier to go out to McDonald Observatory when I feel a need to get out of town. It's a lot more peaceful as well. I have no real desire to visit a big city again.

I should be working hard to master PixInsight and the other astrophotography software I was introduced to at the last workshop I attended. I have these application on my computer, but seldom open them. Truthfully, taking pictures of dogs is more fun than taking pictures of stars. I love staring up at the sky on a clear, dark night but I think I enjoy visual astronomy more than astrophotography. Astrophotography is very technical in nature. I think I enjoy the spontaneous side of photography more. I loved shooting fashion back in the day. I'll continue to work on becoming a better astrophotographer though. It's definitely something I haven't mastered yet.

Time passes so quickly now. It will be the middle of July soon and 2021 still just feels like an addendum to 2020. Has anything actually happened this year? It's time to make a grocery list again. I bet the stores will be more crowded tomorrow. I'm not sure where everyone went over the holiday, but they're definitely all back now.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4182

Dawn is a smart dog. She knows we sleep in late on Sunday and stays in bed with us at least an hour longer than her usual breakfast time. I don't know if she is being patient or lazy. Maybe she would sleep in late every day if Janet didn't get up early on weekdays. Dawn also seems to know that she gets a special outing on Sundays. As the time for our departure approaches she starts pacing around, whining and barking. I think we've overcome her fear of the car. Dawn is eager to hop in the car on Sunday morning. Maybe she never was fearful of the car; just fearful of where the car might be going. Dawn still doesn't like to get in the car if we are going to the vet or to get a bath. I think she knows.

We had a nice walk this morning. We had a lot of rain last night, but it was over by morning. The ground was still wet but the grass is thick everywhere now and it is easy to avoid getting muddy. Dawn seems to listen to me outside when I am holding her leash. She never listens to me inside the house. This is a very strange dog. I think I am slowly beginning to understand her. After our regular walk, Janet worked on a few training exercises. Dawn wasn't very interested. I think she knew it was time for ice cream cones. We always get ice cream at Andy's on the way home They call their ice cream frozen custard, but it tastes like Dairy Queen to me. I"m not particular about ice cream. I like all ice cream.

I wasn't that eager to go on my long walk today because I knew it would get hot quickly as soon as the sun came out. I decided to walk earlier than usual in hopes that the skies would stay cloudy. I almost got my wish. It stayed overcast with a little breeze until I was almost home. I was slow today but I wasn't in a hurry. I'm trying to not be such a slave to my Fitbit. I really ought to stop wearing the Fitbit on walks and start carrying a small camera again. I used to take better pictures in the park. Now I mostly just depend on my phone. Sometimes I'll just use an old picture for the blog. I've photographed everything there is to photograph in the park by now. If I see something interesting on my walks, I can almost always find an old photograph of exactly the same thing.

I'm beginning to hate taking a shower after I walk. The shower drains slowly if any hair gets in the drain and water alway seems to get under the tile floor through various small cracks in the tile grout. I usually end up having to snake out the drain and use the wet/dry vac to extract the water that has gotten under the ceramic tiles. This is a huge pain and it almost make staying hot and sweaty a viable option. Old houses are an endless problem and so is finding knowledgable and dependable repair people. You learn to live with the problems. I've already learned that a small bag of party ice will last almost three weeks in the freezer. I could buy party ice forever for a lot less than the cost of having an appliance repairman install a new ice maker.

I thought about watching some more tutorials about PixInsight this afternoon but my heart wasn't in it. I have to admit that I'm just not very interested in the technical aspects of astrophotography processing. I can get fairly decent looking photographs just using Photoshop. Maybe I'll just stick with what I know. I read an article today where various amateur astronomers were recounting stories about being stalked by mountain lions, bears, and coyotes while observing in remote wooded locations. These stories were a little sobering and took some of the fun out of staying at the Astronomer's Lodge. I can't be fearful of everything though or I'd never leave the house.

We'll probably go see the rescue Dalmatians tomorrow. I'm curious to see who's still there. Charlie is a safe bet, but the others might all be adopted by now.

Wendy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4171

Today seemed like the first day of summer. It was hot, but not too hot. The sky was blue with a few puffy white clouds. It was still too wet to do yardwork, but it was a nice day for walking. We walked Dawn early today because Janet has a volunteer job on Wednesdays. Dawn didn't mind the change in schedule. She's walking pretty normal now. After we finished our one mile loop, I came back to the house with Dawn and Janet. It was way too early for my long walk.

I spent the rest of the morning practicing processing another image I took out at the observatory earlier this month. What I'm discovering is that  my in-camera noise reduction is actually better than the complicated procedures for reducing noise in my astrophotography software. I have a feeling that I'm doing something wrong, but maybe the easy way is better after all.

I noticed today that McDonald Observatory has started having a photography night once a month. That's all I need is another excuse to go back to the mountain. I haven't even paid my bills for this month's trip yet. I don't think I'll be going back in June. It's a nice idea though. There are no workshops or classes associated with these photography nights. You just get access to the mountain at a reasonable price. If the observatory continues having these monthly photography nights, maybe I'll go back in the Fall

If I go back to Mount Locke in the Fall it will give me an excuse to get the little telescope I've had my eye on. Somehow a return to West Texas seems more appealing than going to Florida right now. I just wish that the drive wasn't so long and that there was a guarantee of good weather when I got there. My batting average for good weather is not so good.

By the time I took my long walk the temperature was in the high 80's. It wasn't too bad, but I was definitely sweating by the time I returned home. This was just a taste of what's to come. I'm not sure how well I'll handle the heat this summer. It seems worse every year. Maybe the summer heat will provide the incentive I need to finally return to the gym. My gym has a nice indoor track and the place is air conditioned. Walking around an indoor track is boring, but so is my walk. I've been following the same route for far too long.

I keep hoping that Dawn will bond with me on afternoons when Janet is away. I almost got her to follow me to the kitchen this afternoon for some cheese, but she lost her nerve in the hallway and ran back to the bedroom. She likes to go out in the back yard on nice days, but she won't go on her own. I have to lead her outside on a leash. I take the leash off at the back door and she's fine outside. I sit on a bench while she lies on the grass. She'll frequently come over to me on the bench and let me pet her. Everything seems normal when we're outside. As soon as we go back inside, she runs back to the bedroom. It's all a giant mystery to me.

I was going to program my new camera with some custom settings today, but I never got around to it. There are four custom menus that allow you to preload settings you commonly use for different situations. I could have a dog picture menu, a night sky menu, a portrait menu, and a nature photography menu. This might actually be useful. I'll probably never do it though. I've never learned the full capabilities of any of my digital cameras. I just pretend that they are an old Nikon F2 and stick to the basics.

I missed the eclipse of the moon early this morning. I got up early and went outside to look, but the skies were completely cloudy. Our nice summer day didn't begin until much later in the morning. 

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4169

There are still four Dalmatians up at the kennel. Aries name has been changed to Millie, which is probably a better name for her anyway. Two of the four have adoptions pending, but I don't think they'll be going to their new homes until June. This is a great group of dogs. They are healthy, happy, and have great personalities. Janet and I have enjoyed getting to know them this Spring. Hopefully all four will find their forever homes very soon.

When is this rain ever going to end? It didn't rain all day today, but it certainly was another wet and dismal day. I'm getting tired of this. We don't have a set schedule for walking anymore. We just try to go out when the weather radar says it's going to be dry for a little while. Dawn got her walk before we left for the kennel and I split my own walk into two shorter walks after we returned home. There wasn't enough time between storm cells to walk very far today, but I did manage to get at least 10,000 steps. There is rain in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday as well. It's enough to make me want to forget about exercising for a while and just take a very long nap.

Sky & Telescope isn't interested in the new article I proposed. The letter I got from my editor was nice enough, but it was clear that the magazine just wasn't interested. I'm having trouble coming up with an interesting astronomy article. When I went out to the observatory last October, I thought an article about astrophotography was a sure bet. Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly clear that I don't really know that much about the subject. There are thousands of amateur astronomers who know much more than I do. and could probably write a better article or tutorial. I am learning a lot though. It just takes time. Maybe I just got ahead of myself.

I hope my budding career as a space and astronomy journalist isn't short lived. It's beginning to seem that way. Spaceflight Magazine doesn't seem as interested in further launch stories either.  I can't really blame them. Unless I can find a way to get interviews and establish an interesting back story for some of these launches, any article I write is going to be more or less the same. I go to Florida, follow an Air Force liaison to the designated viewing location, and watch a rocket disappear into the sky. Five minutes after the launch, it's all over. From four miles away, all these rockets look the same. Where is the story here? It was a lot more interesting when NASA put on special events for social media influencers. We got to go behind the scenes and see some amazing things that people seldom get access to. Covid put an end to all that. Even if NASA resumes the program at some point, I'm not really an influencer anymore. I think I'm basically writing a blog for twelve people these days.

Why am I still interested in astrophotography? Processing the pictures to bring out hidden details has been much more difficult than I anticipated. I don't feel safe going out after dark in Dallas either. There are too many stories about people getting robbed in the park. It's kind of weird that I have to drive 500 miles to a remote mountain in West Texas before I feel safe being alone outside at night. There are Mountain Lions out in West Texas, but these animals don't seem nearly as threatening as people. All that being said, I still might buy a small telescope this year. I do like learning how to use new gear.

It's going to be a long week if this rain doesn't clear up. At least the roof isn't leaking. I actually must have done a pretty good job of patching things up earlier in the year.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4168

Dawn got her special outing today. It wasn't a clear day, but it wasn't raining either. We thought we'd take her someplace new, but the strange surroundings scared her and we got back in the car and went back to her usual Sunday park. What a dfifference. Dawn would hardly move at the new location, but she bounded out of the car and immediately began smelling things when we returned to our regular Sunday park. This park was new to Dawn at one point too, but I don't know how much new Dawn can handle. Of course we got ice cream cones on the way home. Even though it was a gray and somewhat dismal day, I think Dawn really enjoyed herself.

I took a short nap when we returned home and then I went walking again. I could be doing other things, but walking still seems the best way to fill an otherwise uneventful day. I daydream a lot when I walk. I seldom think about serious things. I plan future trips. I think about what kind of car I'd like to buy next. I count ducks, And I wonder what the neighbors are doing. Sometimes these walks are tiring. Other times they are boring. They always beat mowing the lawn though.

I had to do some website updates today and I couldn't figure out why my changes weren't showing up in my browser. I uploaded the new pages several times and still kept seeing the old site. It finally occurred to me that I needed to clear my cache files. When I refreshed my browser, it was just reloading the old site that was already in the browser cache. Problem solved. I vaguely wondered why I don't always have to do this. I probably used to know the answer, but my web development skills are fading fast.

I watched a YouTube tutorial titled "Getting started with PixInsight" this afternoon. I thought if I understood the basics of this complex program, I might actually get some use out of it. This video was supposed to be for beginners, but it still seemed very complex to me. It was hard for me to stay interested. Things that were easy and intuitive in Photoshop required ten mysterious steps here. I still don't even understand the PixInsight menu. It baffles me that a lot of people love this program. Maybe I picked the wrong hobby. I've been taking photographs for the better part of my life. You'd thing this would be easy, but astrophotography has been a struggle for me.

I'm getting bitten by mosquitos inside the house. Where did these things come from? Mosquitos seem unusually bad this year. It must be all the moisture. I'm starting to see lots of ants too. I guess it's that time of year. Where can you go where the weather is pleasant and there are no bugs? Bugs are everywhere. There were moths inside the Astronomer's Lodge. When I go to rocket launches in Florida I always get bitten by bugs. I always get the most powerful insect repellent I can find and the bugs don't even care.

I still haven't finished unpacking from my trip. The clothing has all been washed and put away, but there's still a lot of equipment I need to deal with. I took the star tracker apart and put it back in it's box today. That's a start. Now I've got a case I can use for pet photography again. Maybe I'll deal with the rest of the camera equipment next weekend. I doubt that I'm going to be using it any time soon.

Tomorrow we visit the rescue Dalmatians again. It only seems like a few days have passed since we saw them last week. Where has the time gone? We are almost halfway through 2021 and it still seems like the year is just getting started. Covid has changed everything. I'm so used to doing nothing that it's starting to seem normal.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4165

Our rainy week continues. It doesn't rain continually and I'm usually able to find time to walk Dawn and myself, but it's pretty damp outside. It's amazing how green everything has become. I thought a lot of our outdoor plants died during the big winter freeze, but most of them have recovered. Even the Asian Jasmine ground cover is coming back. It's nice to see the yard coming to life, even though it will mean I have to mow the grass more often.

Today was a slow day. After breakfast I put together a proposal for a new Sky & Telescope article and sent it to my editor. I have no idea how this proposal will be received, but I definitely would like to keep writing for the magazine. Nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess. I don't expect an answer anytime soon. It took me over a year to get my first article published.

Since I had a lot of time on my hands today, I practiced my astrophotography processing skills. I think I'm doing everything correctly now, but I'm still a bit disappointed in the results. I can spend hours working on a photo and the end result doesn't look that much better than the original out of the camera. This either means that my camera is very good or my processing skills are very bad. I'll keep working with what I've got. It's going to be a while before I see dark skies again.

There was a light drizzle when I embarked on my long walk today. That was fine by me. It's been very humid lately and the light rain helped cool me down. I'd like to think that these walks are helping me physically, but my Fitbit seems to disagree. I'm walking too slow and not elevating my heart rate enough. If I made Mr. Fitbit happy, I could never complete six miles though. Slow and steady is the only way I can continue walking for long distances. I really need to return to the gym. My calves are strong, but the rest of my muscles are pathetic. Walking doesn't do a lot for your upper body.

Most of the bills for my trip to West Texas have come in. I paid some today while wondering why I didn't pick a less expensive hobby. Following rocket launches and searching for dark skies can cost more than you might think. At least I don't collect watches anymore. Who knows. Maybe I'm not doing so bad after all. I know people who spend a fortune on fishing.

Dawn very gradually seems to be warming up to me. There are times during the day when she seems like a normal dog. I still can't be in the kitchen with her though. If I'm in the kitchen, she immediately goes back to the bedroom. She's the first dog we've had that doesn't hang around waiting for table scraps. Dawn likes me to walk her and seems to tolerate me sitting on the bed with her. Hey, it's a start.

I"m having second thoughts about replacing the ice maker in the refrigerator. The freezer is full and I would have to empty everything out to give the repairman enough space to work. Do I really need ice anyway? The only thing I ever use the ice maker for is to add a little ice to the blender when I make my morning smoothie. I just do this to make the smoothie colder. Maybe it would taste just fine without the ice. On the other hand, I could just fill the ice maker bin with a bag of party ice every few weeks. I could do this for years for much less than the cost of an appliance repairman.

I've taken this week's trash to the curb and the weather forecast still says more rain tomorrow. I'm growing tired of this rain and kind of wish that I'd just stayed out at the Astronomer's Lodge. I haven't come up with a plan for tomorrow yet, but if it happens to clear off, I know I'll get a lot more done.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4163

Another rainy day. I think it's supposed to be this way for the rest of the week. This would have been the week to go out to the Davis Mountains. It's still clear out there. I don't know what this proves other than it's very difficult to plan ahead and sometimes I'm just unlucky

I guess having a regular physical exam is an attempt to plan ahead. I do try to stay healthy, even though maintaining your health depends on a certain amount of luck as well. Since I was having blood work done today, I needed to fast and couldn't eat breakfast before my 10 AM appointment. This made for a long morning. I drove to the doctor's office in the rain and noticed that I need new windshield wipers. One more thing to add to my to-do list.

Physical exams are always a mix of good and bad news. The good news was that my doctor seemed pleased with my overall health. The bad news was that I'm due for another colonoscopy. It doesn't seem like ten years since my last colonoscopy, but time flies when you are growing old. I always ask about my ongoing foot pain and my frozen shoulder, but I'm never happy with the answers I get. There's no real cure for osteoarthritis. When the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time, there's not a lot you can do. Your choices are usually limited to pain medications, physical therapy, and surgery. I've known plenty of people who have had knee, hip, and shoulder replacements. I'm not sure I want to go down that road.

Dawn didn't get a walk at all today. We tried, but she had no interest in getting wet. It took some planning to take my own longer walk, but I managed to find some dry time between the bands of rain moving from the southwest to the northeast. I got caught in a few sprinkles, but for the most part I stayed pretty dry. This wet weather seems to bring out the snakes. I've seen snakes almost every time I've walked lately.

I made another attempt to process some of the pictures I took last week and wasn't happy with the results. It is much easier to take pictures of dogs. The night sky is quite dim and the stars are always moving, so you can't simply take a very long exposure. Successful astrophotography depends on taking a lot of shorter images of the same subject and then merging them together using specialized software that compensates for the rotation of the earth. There are many steps to this stacking process. You want to keep both your foreground and your stars sharp, while avoiding the camera noise that often accompanies long exposures. I'm learning, but I've got a ways to go.

The Atlas V SBIRS GEO Flight 5 launch was successful today. Several of my launch photographer friends were there and got great pictures. I'm always a little envious when I see these pictures, but I don't think I'll be returning to Florida any time soon. The East Coast gas shortage, lack of rental cars, and the huge number of people who want to get out of the house and return to Disneyland or the beach are going to make travel difficult for a while. I'm hoping that life will eventually return to normal, but clearly we're not there yet.

Dismal weather always puts me in a bad mood. I wonder how long it's going to be before I see the sun again? I spent a lot of time napping today, but that's the way it goes on a rainy day. I'll make up for lost time when the sun returns.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4162

There's a new dog up at the Dalmatian kennel. Riggs, our new boy, appears quite young and still acts like a puppy. Looks can be deceiving though. Some Dalmatians act like a puppy their entire life. Riggs was definitely a bundle of energy, but he will be a fun companion for some lucky person. Two of the four Dalmatians currently at the kennel already have homes, but their new owners haven't picked them up yet. This is not unusual, since many of the rescue dogs are adopted out of state and transportation arrangements can be complicated. I'm never sure about adoption details. Janet and I just play with the dogs and work on socializing them.

We tried to walk Dawn before we left for the kennel, but she wasn't having any part of it. Although it wasn't raining, the ground was still wet and that was enough to convince Dawn that an afternoon of sitting on the bed was a better alternative. According to the weather forecast we're going to have rain all week. Today wasn't as bad as yesterday, but we still got a lot of rain. The ground is soggy and the water levels at the lake are quite high. 

I thought I might have to curtail my walk today, but it was still dry when we returned from visiting the Dalmatians. The sky looked dark but I thought I could keep checking the weather radar like I did yesterday. This worked out pretty well. Actually, the skies cleared a bit as I was walking and I even saw a few patches of blue on my way home. I wonder where yesterday's energy went though. Today I felt tired and I walked at a much slower pace. My feet hurt again too. It's a mystery why there is no consistency to my foot pain. I'll ask my doctor about this tomorrow at my physical exam, but I don't really expect an answer.

One of our neighbors had tree trimmers out today, so I asked them if they could give me an estimate for removing the damaged Oak tree in our back yard. This crew seemed more knowledgable and professional than some I've seen in the neighborhood, so I may hire them. I'm in no hurry though. The first thing the tree service guy told me was that our tree was very large and was located next to a power line. It would be a multi-day job to remove the tree. If you've ever had a tree removed, this translates into "very expensive." We'll see what the estimate is. I'm sure it will cost more than my recent trip to McDonald Observatory.

I tried to process another Milky Way photo today, but I must have done something wrong. The edited photo turned out to be worse than the camera original. I think I must have been in a hurry and skipped a few steps. I was trying to complete the processing after breakfast before Janet and I left to visit the rescue Dalmatians. Getting these photos ready for their Instagram moment is a long and tedious process. I shouldn't even bother unless I have a lot of free time.

An Air Force launch that I'd been invited to attend got scrubbed today. This was a reminder that a trip to Kennedy Space Center is just as uncertain as a trip to McDonald Observatory. There are so many things that can go wrong with a launch. Today's mission wasn't scrubbed because of weather. There was a problem fueling the rocket's second stage instead. I think they are going to try again tomorrow. I'm not even going to think about making a trip to the East Coast until the current gas shortage is over. The trip would probably be a nightmare with a shortage of rental cars and no gas available.

Maybe I'll watch the ULA livestream of the launch tomorrow. I have a feeling that I'll still be at the doctor though. I wish I could have gotten an earlier appointment. I have to fast for these semi-annual physical exams and I won't be able to have any breakfast. Breakfast is such an important part of my daily routine that I'm not looking forward to this. I hope the doctor can explain why I've been feeling so tired lately. He'll probably just tell me that I haven't been getting enough sleep.

Susie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4152

I started assembling the gear I want to take to the astrophotography workshop this morning. Hmmm. Why so much? I may need to rethink this. It's not like I'm going to the South Pole or anything. Somehow there seemed to be twice as much stuff as I took out to the observatory the last time. That's the trouble with road trips. You aren't limited by what will fit in a carry-on bag. Maybe I can get by with less, but this is an advanced class and there are a lot of new things I would like to try.

The star tracker is going to be a problem. It has to be assembled on-site and there are a lot of pieces that can fall off and get lost in the dark. I practiced putting the thing together today and it took me a lot longer than I thought. I wish everyone would use the same type of batteries. Quite a bit of space in my bag has to be devoted to various types of chargers. I am making progress though. Give me a few more days and I'll have this down to a science.

I watch the business channels while I eat breakfast and it seems like there is a lot of weird stuff going on. Small businesses can't find enough workers because people are making more money on unemployment now. Large businesses don't need as many workers because they have become much more efficient during the pandemic. I'm glad the world of work is mostly in the rear view mirror now. I did pretty well over the years, but today's environment is a brave new world that I don't fully understand. I don't think it would be possible to duplicate what I did in the 70's and 80's today.

Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I think Dawn is finally starting to warm up to me. She's comfortable spending time on the bed with me now. When I take a nap, she doesn't run away anymore. She likes to sit outside on a sunny day and I spent about 45 minutes sitting in the back yard with her today. She still doesn't like me in the kitchen, but she races out to eat after I fix her meals and come to the back of the house to tell her that dinner is ready.

Maybe I'm fooling myself with my long walks as well. One of the fitness apps on my phone got an upgrade and it says that my overall fitness level is low. The app now measures VO2max which represents the heart and muscles ability to convert oxygen into energy during physical exercise. I probably just walk too slow, because the fitness level is calculated by comparing my heart rate with GPS data that shows my walking or running pace. My VO2max levels would improve if I went back to the gym and exercised enough to get my heart rate up. I like my slow walks though. It's very peaceful.

Time goes so quickly now. It's already time to make a grocery list again. I'll probably have to do some yard work this weekend because the weather is too nice to ignore the yard. A lot of things need attention and it's going to be even worse if I wait until the weather gets even warmer. I wonder how long it will be before I hire a yard service like the rest of the neighbors?

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4140

Taking Dawn on a car ride to a new park has become a Sunday ritual. Dawn always appears excited and apprehensive at the same time. It kind of reminds me of how I feel when I take car trips. By all rights Dawn and I should be best buddies. We both spend way too much time waiting for the other shoe to drop. Today was certainly a good day for a little excursion. It was beautiful outside. We saw horses today. Dawn wasn't scared of them, but I don't think she realized that Dalmatians are supposed to have a natural affinity for horses. What Dawn was really interested in was the ice cream. We always end our Sunday outings with an ice cream cone.

I stayed busy today. It was an increasingly rare 20,000 step day. I must have looked pitiful when I was mowing the grass this morning because a homeless man wandering down the street stopped and asked if I needed help with the mower. I assured him that I was fine and always mowed this slow, but he persisted for a while before he continued wandering down the street. I think he just wanted money. The good news is that the yard looks a lot better now. The bad news is that I'm probably going to have to start mowing every week again. Most people on the street use a yard service now, but I continue to mow myself. Why not. We have a small yard and it's good exercise. I don't really like yard work, but I don't like going to the gym either. I wish the human body just stayed in shape automatically.

Now that my missing package has resurfaced, I'm getting frequent notices from the post office about its whereabouts. Oddly, the package is still in Indiana. I think it is making a grand tour of Indiana postal facilities. The post office needs to talk to Amazon. Janet has Amazon Prime and they seem to be able to deliver virtually anything the next day.

There were even more people in the park today than there were yesterday. It's not surprising. You've really got to take advantage of nice weather here in Dallas. It doesn't last long. I don't mind all the joggers and dog walkers on the trails, but there are way too many skateboarders and guys barreling along at thirty miles an hour on those electric Onewheel boards. You can buy a used car for the price of a Onewheel, but  these things are surprisingly popular. A brand new way to kill yourself I guess.

I'm continuing to watch YouTube tutorials about astrophotography. I'm amazed at how many people make these things. Some of them are very good. If you want to do anything, there's a YouTube video to tell you how. Before I attempt any major computer repairs, I'll look for a YouTube video to explain the process. Why do people make these videos? You might make a little money from the ads that Google inserts at the beginning, but I suspect that most of these tutorials are a labor of love. I could never do this myself but I'm glad these tutorials are out there. You can learn a lot on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Dawn has decided to join us for dinner again now that Janet and I have switched chairs and she can't see me. It's weird to have a dog that doesn't like you. Dawn isn't scared of me at all and is perfectly comfortable with me feeding her and walking her on a leash. She just doesn't want to be friends. It's OK. Actually I understand completely. I don't want to be friends with everyone either. 

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4126

We took Dawn in the car to another park today. She seems to like these outings. Dawn is still nervous about riding in the car, but now that she knows where we are going, there is visible excitement as well. It was a perfect day for a walk. The temperature was in the low 70's with a clear blue sky and little to no allergies. For some reason Dawn walks faster and eats less grass when we walk her at the alternate park. At any rate, everyone had a good time and we celebrated by having an ice cream cone on the way home. We're not expert dog trainers, but this is our way of introducing Dawn to new experiences. It seems to be working.

I should have mowed the grass today, but maybe it can wait one more week. I still feel compelled to take my daily long walk and this typically doesn't leave me with enough energy to do yard work as well. I'm probably just making excuses. I'll do almost anything to avoid yard work. Usually in the Spring I'm up on the roof every other day, but this year it's been over a month since I've climbed up to inspect things. At some point I'll need to remove the remaining leaves and make sure there will be no leaks over the Summer, but I'm basically done with the roof for a while. My knees are bad, my shoulder is unstable, and I'm getting too old for this kind of foolishness.

The irises in the park are finally blooming. Most of the flowers are late this year, but the big freeze didn't seem to hurt anything. Actually it seems like it is going to be a very good year for wildflowers. The only things the big freeze decimated appear to be Azaleas, Rhododendrons and our Asian Jasmine ground cover. I'm still hoping that the ground cover returns to life, but things don't look good at the moment.

I had a good long walk this afternoon. Counting our earlier short walk with Dawn, I managed to complete over six miles today. I didn't set any records, but my feet didn't give me a lot of problems either. I've found that the best way to alleviate foot pain is to avoid uneven surfaces and never walk on my toes or the balls of my feet. This slow, flat footed walking style probably makes me appear even older than I am, but on a good day it appears to work.

After my walk I resumed my quest to transform my laptop into an astrophotography processing machine. Every time I come up with a plan, there is a snag that renders the plan worthless. Hardware limitations on the 2011 machine make it impossible to run the latest operating systems. I am currently running a 32 bit operating system and almost all modern software is 64 bit. I may be able to run some 64 bit software by installing the last operating system supported by my laptop. Unfortunately, if I attempt the upgrade I may lose all my currently installed software. It's a problem. My latest plan is to add a new partition on my hard drive and create a dual boot system. On one partition I'll keep all my faithful old software and on the new partition I'll install a newer operating system that hopefully will run some of the astrophotography software I need. My laptop doesn't have enough memory to run the newer operating system, but that can be fixed. I really should have replaced the memory when I upgraded the hard drive and installed a new battery several months ago. Oh, well. I probably thought that attempting to upgrade too many things at once was pushing my luck.

Have I turned into a hopeless geek who has lost all contact with thee rest of the world? Maybe. These things need to be done however and I don't think anyone else is going to help me. Eventually I'll get my computer problems solved and move on to other things like fixing the sliding glass door.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4123

I tried to catch up on some correspondence today. I've never felt a huge compulsion to communicate with others, but occasionally I feel a need to see if I still exist. I write people like a castaway throwing notes in a bottle out in the ocean. I got one answer to my e-mails today, so that was a good sign. I think I'll give it a rest for a while.

I'm still frustrated that there appears to be no way I can add old software to my old computers. Auto manufacturers are required to have parts available for any model they sell for a minimum of ten years. Most manufacturers keep parts in stock for much longer than this. Software publishers don't seem to follow these rules. As soon as they develop a new version of their software, they pull the old versions off the shelves. Old versions of popular software are seldom supported and after a while  you can't even find them to download. Old software just disappears. Hardware manufacturers are pretty much the same. If you want to install an older operating system on your computer, you are out of luck. 

All this makes life difficult for a person like me who wants to keep things frozen in time. I remember a time when everything worked perfectly and I want to keep it that way. I like old cars because you could fix them yourself. I can't remember my parents refrigerator ever breaking. Appliances used to last forever back in the day. There was a golden age for computers and electronics, but I think we are long past it now. I had a lot more interesting software to choose from back in the ancient days of Apple's System Nine than I do now. The little niche players have all disappeared. If you can't find what you want in the App Store, you are out of luck. 

It's not really worth fretting about things you can't change, so I just drink my smoothie and walk. There were times when I was much, much busier, but maybe there is no longer a need for that. Before I took my long walk today I continued experimenting with the images I took out at the observatory last October. There's an art to squeezing every last bit on information out of astro photos. I'm learning a lot more about image processing and I've discovered that the photos I used to be pleased with can look much better after I align the red, green, and blue layers and stretch the histogram. I'm starting to understand why a lot of astrophotographers call their individual images data. There is a lot of information hidden in every photo. Processing is just learning how to extract it.

Dawn really looks forward to her walks now. She knows when we are getting ready to go and her tail starts wagging. I think she expects these walks now. Occasionally we are late and she starts barking at the door. I hope she continues to enjoy walking as the weather become warmer. We were near the limits for an enjoyable walk today. The temperature was in the low 80's and as we neared the end of Dawn's short one mile loop, I noticed that her tongue was hanging out. We'll need to start taking water with us soon. Summer can be brutal in Texas.

At this time of year the furnace comes on early in the morning and then the air conditioner comes on around mid afternoon. This morning the furnace refused to light again while I was eating breakfast. I got out my tools and was prepared to disassemble things so I could clean the flame sensor. Just as I was getting ready to turn the unit off and take the cover off, the furnace lit and everything was fine again. The flame sensor must be dirty, but not hopelessly dirty. Maybe I'll still have to fix it this Spring, or maybe I can wait until next Fall. I'm in no hurry to fix this thing. Working in the tiny utility room is hard on my wrists and knees.

I've taken this week's trash out to the curb and am ready to declare the week officially over. I slept better last night and my Fitbit actually worked. Go figure.

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4119 - Easter

The picture is old, but I still like it. Dot was a great dog. She was a patient soul who let us dress her up in all manner of ridiculous costumes. I doubt that Dawn would wear bunny ears. They would just be one more thing to be scared of. We wanted Dawn to have a nice Easter, so we drove her to another park this morning where we knew she would have new things to explore. Dawn really enjoys these outings even though she's not fond of riding in the car.

We had a relaxed and very enjoyable Easter. Janet went to church yesterday to avoid the crowds and today was just a low-key day around the house. Dawn was in a good mood today and took two walks. We were impressed. After we took her to a new park in the car, she did her familiar one mile loop later in the day. The park was busy, but it wasn't nearly as crowded as in previous years. Covid has changed everything.

Janet joined me on my long walk today. A walk is always a good time to talk and catch up on things. I managed to keep up a pretty decent pace and my foot didn't give me any major problems. Although it was overcast today, the weather was mild and I didn't need a coat. We've lived in this area for a long time and it's weird how much the neighborhood has changed. Even the park has changed quite a bit. It was largely undeveloped when we moved here. I think I liked it better then. At some point the city passed a huge bond issue with the money designated to go toward improving the park. Over time the area became a popular destination for people all over North Texas. They come to birdwatch, to hike, to cycle, to kayak and sail, and to have picnics and barbecues. It's really a wonderful park now, but I still liked it better when it was wild and undiscovered.

By mid afternoon the house began to be filled with the smells of a delicious meal being cooked. While Janet was cooking, I tried to clean up the yard. There are still lots of leaves trapped under the dying ground cover in the back yard. We haven't tried to rake this area because it would pull up the remaining Asian Jasmine that managed to survive the big freeze. I thought I'd try to blow these leaves away with a leaf blower. I was partially successful. I removed a lot of leaves, but unfortunately the entire area doesn't look any better. It's going to take a long time for this part of the yard to recover.

After I gave up on yard work, I practiced processing some of last October's astrophotography images in Photoshop. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and bookmark tutorial sites. I continue to learn and the results are beginning to show it. I'm getting better at this odd and often difficult avocation. I walk to keep my body active and I write and keep learning to keep my brain active. I may be wrong, but I'm convinced that staying active like this is the best way to avoid dementia and maybe even Alzheimer's. I've seen way too many people my age begin to decline the minute they give up and quit learning.

Our Easter dinner was delicious. The small batch meat company that hand smokes the hams I get every Easter is amazing. This stuff is addictive and surprisingly easy to cook. Janet made candied yams with marshmallows on top and green beans with bacon and peppers. We topped everything off with a cherry pie for dessert and we are both pleasantly stuffed.

It looks like I'll have some tasty leftovers for the rest of the week. I hope Dawn continues walking. She did well today. She even came out of the bedroom and joined us at dinner for a while. Easter is supposed to be a hopeful time and today felt good. I'm not typically an optimistic person, but today I'm more than willing to give it a try.

Dottie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4115

The star tracker I ordered arrived today. I looked at the instruction manual just long enough to realize that it's going to take me a while to learn to use this thing. I've got a month or so to master assembling and operating the tracker in complete darkness. This is not easy. When I was out at McDonald Observatory last October, even setting camera exposures in the dark was a chore. I spent a lot of time looking for little things I dropped on the ground. It was way too easy to throw off your polar alignment by bumping the tripod in the dark or spoiling the focus that took you forever to get just right by accidently touching the lens. Astrophotography is not an avocation for the clumsy. Unfortunately I am very clumsy. We'll see if I can be more careful this time. The last time I was on the mountain, I almost fell in a hole and broke my leg.

Maybe I ought to stick to photographing dogs. I'm pretty good at photographing dogs. Getting a good picture of the Andromeda Galaxy or the Orion Nebula is much harder for me. The night sky is interesting though and there are very few things that interest me anymore. Hey, if other people can do this, I should be able to take good night sky pictures as well. I'll figure out this star tracker in the weeks ahead and I bet my photos will be a lot better this time than they were last October.

I resumed my long walks today. It was very windy which made it almost impossible to dress for the occasion. When I was near the shoreline and the wind was blowing in my face I was cold. When I was out in the meadows and away from the water I was hot. I don't know where the ducks were today. I saw very few. Pretty soon the pelicans will fly North for the summer. There are already a lot fewer of them at the lake. Another week of two of warm weather and they'll be gone.

I see a few new wildflowers blooming every day now. It's interesting that the blue and purple flowers bloom first. Then the yellow flowers start blooming. The red flowers are almost always last. In April and May you see all the flowers at once and then they slowly start to disappear. It's not as much fun to photograph these flowers anymore because I've already captured every variety that grows here many times. April used to be a time for photography. Now it's mostly a time where I don't need to wear a coat and I don't get sunburned either. 

I was going to go looking for an Easter ham today but I forgot. I need to do this tomorrow. I've learned to ask for a Chop at the smokehouse. This is a small boneless cut that the store uses to make ham sandwiches for customers. A regular ham is way too much for two people and this small size is perfect. If you vacuum seal the meat in a boil-in bag you can keep it nice and juicy by just heating it in boiling water instead of putting it in the oven. Did I mention that I love a good smoked ham?

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be April 1. It's getting harder and harder to separate the April Fool's jokes from reality. Life is so strange now that I'm having a difficult time telling the difference. The fact that Covid is still with us after an entire year seems like a cruel joke, but I guess it's real. I don't need any more big surprises. I'm waiting for life to become simple and predictable again. That wish is probably an April Fool's joke. I don't think that life will ever be simple and predictable again.

Smiley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day