Day 4618

I got a notice today that I'm approved for an Artemis photo opportunity that takes place more than a full week ahead of the launch. Wish they could have scheduled this closer to the launch. There is no way I can spend this much time in Titusville. It looks like I may not be able to get close to the pad at all. They are scheduling remote camera placement much earlier than usual for this launch. There's a chance to take sunrise pictures at the launch pad that I'm going to miss as well. Oh, well. At least I'm on the approved list. I wish I could take part in more of the pre-launch activities but I really can't complain. I did get invited.

It's going to take a lot more rain before things start to turn green around here. It already feels like last week's showers never even happened. The park, as well as our yard, still look brown and dry. Luckily, the temperatures are still nice for our sunrise walks with Dawn. It was in the high 70's when we left the house this morning. Tuesday mornings are a lot busier than Mondays. There are cycling clubs that ride around the lake on Tuesday and Thursday as well as a lot more runners. I'm glad that Dawn still enjoys these early walks because they are basically the only exercise she gets in this hot weather.

I still am getting my exercise at the gym. I basically do the same things day after day. I spend twenty minutes on the basketball court, forty-five minutes on the indoor track, and another twenty minutes working with free weights. I could definitely spend more time here because I seldom have any place to go.  This short routine seems plenty though and is enough to keep my Fitbit happy.

There's more I could be doing at home as well, but I'm doing my best to avoid even thinking about it. Periodically I think about calling a roofer, but I've had such bad experiences with roofing companies that it's easy to put this off a little longer. I need to find a carpenter as well to replace some rotted wood trim. There are three carpenters in my contact list. I remember that one of them was really good and the other two were terrible. Unfortunately I can't remember which guy was the good one. It probably doesn't even matter. It's been so long since I've hired a carpenter that all three of these guys have probably retired by now.

I finally got my author copies for the last Spaceflight article I wrote. I keep thinking that I ought to submit articles to more magazines but I really don't have that many experiences to share. I enjoy writing about my visits to Kennedy Space Center and I'd probably enjoy writing about a visit to another observatory. Sky and Telescope doesn't seem interested in another article of this type though. I used to write articles about Spot and Petey for a little magazine called Dalmatian Quarterly.  Unfortunately that magazine went out of business a long time ago. Truthfully, I'm not much of a journalist. Everything I write is basically just about me.

One of these days I'll have something interesting to write about on the blog again. Don't hold your breath though. This entire summer has felt like Ground Hog Day. Every day is exactly the same. Maybe tomorrow I'll get around to testing the star tracker again. There is new software available now and what else do I have to do. I guess I could always take a nap with Dawn. Taking a nap with your dog always sounds good.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4234

Good grief. Usually a trip to the dentist is uneventful for me. I have good teeth and seldom have problems. Today the dentist told me that I have a cavity in one tooth and need a root canal in another. My regular dentist doesn't do root canals, so I had to go see an endodontist. My regular dentist said it was time for another pano-x-ray. That wasn't good enough for the endodontist however. He said I needed a cone beam CT scan. I got both. Needless to say, it was an expensive afternoon. All I was expecting was a routine teeth cleaning today. My teeth don't hurt and I had no idea there was a problem. The x-rays don't lie unfortunately, so I've got two different appointments in August for some major dental work.

This is probably why I still haven't made appointment with two other doctors I need to see this summer. I hate surprises and the older you get, the more likely you are to be surprised during a routine doctor visit. I'll get everything done this summer, but I'm saving the colonoscopy for last. I'd really like to avoid that one. 

Medical expenses always seem so unrewarding. I'd much rather get a new camera lens than a root canal. You can't ignore your health though. Both dentists agreed that it wouldn't be wise to postpone the root canal, even though the tooth isn't bothering me at the moment. The endodontist said the infection was still contained within the bone. "You don't want this to spread to soft tissue," he told me. "It will be very painful." OK. I believe you. I've made both dental appointments and will probably go ahead and make all my other appointments as well. I might as well get all this medical stuff behind me. Then I can concentrate on important things like going to rocket launches and visiting the observatory again.

It was too late to go to the gym after I returned from my two dental visits today. Even though it was very hot, I went for a walk instead. There was no compelling reason to do anything, but I really wanted to get those steps. I have become a slave to Fitbit and my Apple Watch. There's nothing wrong with exercise though. I think I'm in pretty good shape for 73. Age catches up with you though. Dusty Hill died today. He was younger than I am. I never saw ZZ Top perform, although I really liked their music. I should have gone to a concert while I had a chance. The band spent a lot of time in Dallas. Actually Dusty was born here.

Dawn is still trying to lick and bite her paws. I had to put a cone on her before I went to the dentist today. She's still taking antibiotics and I thought it was funny that the endodontist prescribed the same antibiotic for me. I'm supposed to start taking the pills four days before the root canal procedure. The root canal is underneath a crown and I keep thinking that this never would have happened if I hadn't gotten the crown. I chipped a tooth years ago and I wanted the dentist to just smooth the little chipped part and seal it. Nope. He said I had to have a crown, even though only a tiny part of the tooth had broken off. I still think that tooth was basically fine. What do I know about dentistry though? I'm the guy who went fifteen years without seeing a dentist at all.

Tomorrow I get a haircut. Somehow it is much easier for me to make a hair appointment than a doctor's appointment.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4213

Dawn and Janet were ready to walk when I woke up this morning. I could have slept for several hours longer, but I quickly got dressed and off we went. No matter how hot it was the previous day, it always seems nice before sunrise. Today, the sky was blue and there was no wind at all. I knew that this was as good as it was going to get. This was going to be a very hot day.

When we returned home I made the bed and fixed my breakfast. I was in no hurry because there was absolutely nothing on my agenda today. I kind of hoped we would get a short afternoon shower to cool things down, but that didn't happen. When I took Dawn outside to pee around mid-morning I could already tell that it was going to be way too hot for a long walk in the park.

Dawn still loves the new food we got for her. There's probably no going back to kibble now. We are able to mix a little of her old dry food in with her tasty new stew. Eventually, we'll be able to use this food up, but it will take a while. We still have no idea what her long term diet will be, since we haven't gotten the lab results from the vet yet. I hope we can find a solution that is healthy for Dawn, won't cause crystals or bladder stones to form, and most importantly that she will continue to eat. 

The more comfortable Dawn becomes at our house, the bossier she gets. I'm not really surprised since she's an old mama dog who has raised many puppies. The first thing she let us know was where she wanted to sleep. Next, she let us know how long she wanted to walk. Now, she's trying to tell us what she wants for dinner. In the beginning I think she was fearful that we might punish or hurt her if she didn't do exactly what we wanted. Now, she's pretty confident that she has a safe place to live and that we are both pretty nice people. Dawn is still a little scared of me, but even that is getting better. We probably should be a little more firm with her, but we just like to see her happy. This dog has had a very rough life. She deserves a little happiness.

I deserve a little happiness too, but usually I just settle for exercise. I went to the gym this afternoon mainly because I knew it was going to be cool inside. I can't even imagine what the electric bill is for this gym because they keep the place really cold. I did a little work with free weights today, but mostly I just walked around and around the indoor track. I don't know why it seems to take longer to walk a mile indoors than it does outdoors. I walked three miles around the small track and it seemed to take forever. When I looked at my Fitbit my pace was almost the same as it was outdoors. Maybe it's just boring to walk around and around in a circle. Time goes a lot quicker when you're outdoors counting ducks.

I'm getting tired of seeing the "service required" light come on every time I start the car, but I still haven't made an appointment to take it to the Land Rover dealer. I haven't made the doctor's appointments I keep getting e-mail reminders about either. At a certain point you realize that you are just a source of revenue for other people. There is a routine checkup for everything now. The HVAC guy wants to check your furnace. The car dealer wants to check your car. Every doctor you have ever seen in your life wants you to come in every six months for a check-up. Nine times out of ten there is nothing wrong. Maybe this is why it is so irritating to see the "service required" light in my car when I know there is nothing wrong.

Janet said that Dawn did well in training class tonight. I hope this class is good for her. It would be nice if she finally realized that life isn't so bad and that there is nothing to be fearful of. I'm one to talk though. I'm fearful of all sorts of things. 

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4199

One of the reasons that I don't get enough sleep is that I'm a night owl and Dawn and Janet are early birds. I didn't feel like getting up this morning since it felt like I'd just gotten to bed. Dawn was ready to walk though. What happened to yesterday's beautiful weather? Even though the sun hadn't risen yet, I could tell it was going to be a very hot day. The humidity was much higher than yesterday and it's the humidity that determines my comfort level. We still had a nice walk though. Things don't get bad until the sun is high in the sky. I'm careful to watch for snakes now. Dawn almost stepped on a snake a few days ago. I think it was a copperhead but we didn't linger or examine the snake close enough to make sure. I guess I've already told you how much I hate snakes. I'd like to live in a place where it was 72 degrees all year long with no snakes, mosquitos, or poison ivy.

Dawn walks completely normally now. She doesn't freeze in place or have panic attacks anymore. I think she really likes our new early morning schedule. I've never seen her this eager to walk before. Dawn's new confidence makes it worth getting up early. It's nice to see a happy dog. I guess it doesn't matter how much sleep I get at night. I can always take naps. I take a lot of naps during the day.

I briefly thought about taking my long walk right after breakfast, but a quick trip outside to get the mail convinced me that this was a bad idea. While I was outside I saw a lot of small ants crawling up and down one of our brick exterior walls. I looked up and there were a ton more ants up on the ceiling under the front porch. It looked like we were under an ant invasion. I got some bug spray and killed all the ants. After they all died, I swept them into a pile and disposed of them. We've had ant problems before, but I've never seen this many. I hope they were coming from outside the house trying to get in rather than from inside the house trying to get out. We'll see if they come back tomorrow. I hope I've seen the last of them.

It was way too hot and humid to walk in the park, so I went to the gym instead. I always feel like my gym workouts are harder than my walks in the park, but my Fitbit says otherwise. Apparently I burn a lot more calories in the park. I tend to walk faster outdoors too, although it certainly doesn't feel like it. I'm working more on my upper body these days, because that's what needs the work. I usually return home sore, because a lot of these muscles haven't been used in a while. I still prefer walking outdoors, but I'm glad I'm getting some use out of my gym membership. I don't understand why so many people wear a mask while exercising at my gym. It's not mandatory anymore. Janet says almost nobody wears a mask at her gym now. The decision whether to wear a mask or not will probably end up being one more thing that divides us as a country. I have a feeling that some people will continue wearing their masks forever.

Dawn knows she goes to training class on Wednesday now. She starts pacing around and whining almost an hour before Janet is ready to go. She seems genuinely excited, but then Janet says she becomes fearful once she gets there. Dawn is very apprehensive about doing anything new. She's a lot like me in that regard. Dawn's a very smart dog and she does learn though. I have a feeling that she is going to be a star pupil after she gets used to the routine.

I still haven't made an appointment to have a colonoscopy. I think I'm due for a visit with the dermatologist too. I keep avoiding these things in hopes that they will just go away. Doctors are used to people like me unfortunately. They just keep hounding you until you eventually decide it's just easier to get the procedure over with. There are so many things to avoid this summer. I wonder how long I can avoid mowing the grass?

Boo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4185

I was putting on my Apple Watch this morning and it spoke the time to me in a woman's voice. WTF. I've been wearing an Apple Watch for years and I didn't know it could do this. I couldn't get the watch to speak to me again, so I did a quick Google search and discovered that if you put two fingers on the screen at the same time, a voice will tell you the time. Who knew. Actually, this seems like a reasonably useful feature. Much better than that other feature that will automatically dial 911 if the watch thinks you have fallen. I turned that feature off after my watch accidentally dialed 911 in my sleep one night. 

Our machines are becoming too smart and too powerful. At least I don't have an Amazon Alexa that will automatically share your Internet connection with your neighbors if their power goes out. I read today that General Motors is going to temporarily stop putting that device that automatically stops your engine at stop signs and traffic lights in their full size SUVs because of the global chip shortage. Those vehicles are instantly going to become very desirable. I've yet to meet anyone who actually likes their car's engine starting and stopping on its own just to save a little gas.

I got a nice letter from NASA today explaining why I was sometimes excluded from the press pool at Kennedy Space Center. The letter was an answer to a question I'd asked over a month ago. I was a little disappointed that I apparently wasn't very high on the list of people NASA wants to attend their launches. I get bumped when more important people need to attend. On the other hand, I was encouraged that the NASA folks even remembered me. They urged me to keep applying for credentials in the future and acknowledged that if I've been credentialed once, I'll probably be credentialed again.

There was no rain today, but it was so humid that it felt like you could squeeze water out of the air. I almost went to the gym today to escape the heat, but I'm a creature of habit, so I kept walking like I usually do after Dawn finished her short one mile loop. I think the humidity is much worse than the heat. It kind of takes the fun out of walking when your clothes are all damp with sweat. I was tired when I finished my six miles today, but at least my feet didn't hurt.

Janet said that Dawn did better at training class tonight. She was less fearful and was able to complete most of the exercises. This was encouraging. Maybe Dawn will start looking forward to these weekly classes. Dot and Dash grew to love going to class. Training class will help Dawn gain confidence and give her a chance to be around other dogs.

I'm overdue for a follow-up visit with virtually every doctor I've ever seen. There's nothing wrong, but apparently if you see a doctor once, they never forget you. I find this a little irritating, but I'll eventually make an appointment with these guys. I'd hate to wind up with a disease that was caused by avoiding the doctor. These routine visits still seem like a waste of time though. I keep going and nobody's discovered any problems yet.

There's going to be a special photo opportunity out at the observatory this Friday. It's looks like the weather will be clear too. I'd love to go, but I just got back from there. The drive is too long and I haven't even finished paying for my last visit. Maybe I'll return to the Davis Mountains in October. I wish my interests weren't so expensive and far away. I can't think of anything I really want to do here in Dallas.

I can think of a number of things I really don't want to do, but as the skies clear and the ground starts to dry up, I'm going to be forced to mow the grass and finish cutting those dead Photinia trees. Maybe that long drive to the observatory isn't so bad after all.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 944

Do you procrastinate? I do. Although I get quite a bit done on most days, I am continually reshuffling the deck and putting the most loathsome tasks at the very bottom of my to do list. There is a downside to this strategy. If you haven't guessed it already, there comes a time when all the fun projects are finished and you are left with an endless list of things you never wanted to do in the first place.

I can probably stave off disaster for a few more days, but pretty soon I am going to have to buckle down and do the nasty Javascript coding for the pretty website shell I have already finished. Even worse, I'm going to have to rid our house of bugs. Bugs have been particularly bad this year. With dogs in the house, I hate to use insecticides. About the only safe way to exterminate the little beasties is to use a a special poison bait that you place inside your electric wall outlets where your pets can't reach it. This involves removing all the baseplates in the house and sometimes even unscrewing the metal outlet box itself. You put a little of the putty-like bait inside each outlet and light switch and then put all the baseplates back on again. This technique actually works, but the last time I did it, it took me all day. Yeah, I know that it's disgusting to think that bugs make their home in between your walls, but they do. I'd much rather have the bugs die quietly behind the sheetrock than inside the bathtub.

I woke up to sunlight this morning. The power is back on, all the battery devices are charged again, and life is back to normal. In a surprising move, the power company restored the electricity last night exactly when they said they would. Power outages are so common in our neighborhood that I've seriously considered getting a big backup generator. So, what stopped me from this practical solution to an ongoing problem? Well, the expense, for starters. A generator to power your television while you're camping is one thing, but a generator large enough to power your house and keep the air conditioner running is an entirely different animal. Not only is the generator itself quite expense, you then need to hire an electrician to install a switching system to take your generator power on or offline. This is not something that you would want to do yourself. If you hook things up wrong, you could end up sending your generator power back through the grid and fry the repairmen on the pole behind your house who is trying to restore your power. I've decided that a better solution is just to go to bed early when the power is out.

If there is anyone from the BBC reading this blog, please send some new episodes of Dr. Who and Top Gear over to the states. I think I've seen every available episode at least five times by now. Too bad these shows are the only thing I like on TV.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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