Day 3623

Whenever I go to the eye doctor, I'm always tempted to get out of the chair when nobody's looking and go take a closer look at the eye chart. It would be easy to just memorize the bottom line of letters so I would have a perfect score. That bottom line of tiny letters always looks fuzzy to me, but it is the only one the doctor is interested in. I can read the larger letters just fine.

The doctor told me basically the same thing he told me last year. My distance vision is still 20/20. My close up vision is slowly deteriorating. And I am developing cataracts. Apparently cataracts are extremely common as we age. I won't need to do anything about mine for at least another five years, but according to the doctor they aren't going away. They say that researchers have discovered a compound that can safely remove cataracts without surgery. They've only tried the eye drops on mice so far, but maybe they'll be available five years from now. I'd definitely prefer eye drops to surgery.

The worst thing about these annual eye exams is driving home with your eyes dilated. I wore dark sunglasses but the road was still pretty bright. Luckily the effect wore off pretty quickly this year. Within a few hours after I returned home, I was able to take my walk in the park. I think I'm good for another year.

I went to the storage warehouse and picked up some kiddie gates, a large crate, a dog bed, and Dot's food and water bowls for our Thanksgiving guest. Janet picked up some food at the vet. We'll be keeping Ginny at our house during the Thanksgiving holiday. Treasure gets a holiday vacation with another volunteer as well. Some of the dogs will stay at the kennel, but hopefully this will help keep things from becoming too crowded. Ginny is still recovering from her heartworm treatment and needs to stay quiet. Kennels are definitely not very quiet during the holiday rush. There's a lot of barking going on. I think our house is the perfect alternative for a dog who needs her rest. Very little happens here.

I found out today that my background check has been completed and that I have been approved to stay on Mount Locke for an extended period of time. The public affairs director at the observatory said that they would be looking forward to seeing me next year. This is good news. I've got a lot of planning to do. The first obstacle to overcome is finding a place to stay. I could always rent an RV for my initial visit, but I'd rather stay at the astronomer's lodge or some type of permanent housing at the observatory. Almost 100 people live on-site. Some of them are temporary. Maybe I could make arrangements to rent somebody's place while they weren't there. This can all be worked out. I doubt that I will be returning to the Davis Mountains until next Spring anyway.

I need to write Spaceflight Magazine and see whether they'd be interested in an article about my upcoming trip to the Michoud Assembly Facility. It's not a launch, but it still could be very interesting. The first of the Space Launch System rockets that will return the United States to the moon is nearing completion at Michoud now. If I can follow this rocket on it's journey through testing and launch, it would make a good story. The launch is still over a year away though. We'll see what I discover in New Orleans. There's always a story somewhere.

I hope that Ginny enjoys her stay at our house. I'm a little nervous and a little excited. They say Ginny sometimes tears up her bed. Hey, it happens. We've got an indestructible Kuranda bed for her, so she should be fine. There's a lot on my plate for a guy who does nothing. A NASA adventure, an interesting volunteer opportunity at a distant observatory, and a dog around the house for a while. It's going to keep me busy.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3619

It looks like December is going to be very busy. We have three Santa Paws photo events scheduled in December and I just learned today that I got accepted to attend Artemis Day at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. I'm still waiting to hear about the Starliner launch at Kennedy Space Center. If I get accepted for that as well, it's going to be a really busy month.

I ordered a new photo backdrop this afternoon and am hoping it gets here in time for our first Santa Paws event. I didn't think this would be a problem until I completed the order and realized that the backdrop was being shipped directly from China. I should have known. The last backdrop I ordered was made in Mexico. I don't think anyone in the United States makes these things anymore. These photo realistic backdrops are produced on demand. The website said to allow six days for production and another six days for shipping. That's cutting it close, but if these are realistic times, we'll be fine.

It looks like the process to get me clearance to spend time at McDonald Observatory is finally underway. Some of the delay has been my fault. For some odd reason some of the forms I need to fill out have been sent to my regular e-mail address and others to a seldom used Gmail account. I hardly ever check the Gmail account. The only reason I even have it is that some places demand an alternate e-mail address for security purposes. I don't know why I checked the Gmail account today, but it was a good thing I did. The form that starts the whole approval process has been sitting in my in-box for two weeks.

I'm trying to learn to identify trees by the shape of their leaves. This is a good time to do this since the  park is littered with falling leaves. The Oak, Elm, and Pecan trees were easy to identify, since we have these in our yard. The Live Oaks were pretty easy too. This left dozens of mystery trees. I think I identified the leaves from Cottonwood, Bald Cyprus, Bodark, Flameleaf Sumac, and Sweetgum trees today. Hey, I need something to do now that all the wildflowers are gone.

This week has gone quickly. Basically I've just spent my time walking through the park, but I've got a lot of irons in the fire. Can I come up with an interesting article about a visit to the moon rocket factory? I still really want my space adventures to be published. Is my Christmas photo backdrop going to arrive in time for the first Santa Paws event? Where am I going to stay if I get credentials to stay at the observatory for an extended time? I don't have an RV and am unlikely to get one. Do I really need to see an orthopedic surgeon about my shoulder? Where are all these stupid ants coming from? I think about these things while I walk thought the woods looking at leaves.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3576

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3573

Is today the day our long awaited cold front arrives? Some say yes, others say no. The weather radar seems to indicate that a big change is coming, but it's still 93 degrees outside. I don't know how I feel about the weather anymore. We could certainly use the rain, but I hate dealing with roof problems. We'll see what happens. There are still two big trees in the backyard that could fall in the next big windstorm. Our power can go out at any time. It often does when it rains. The roof probably won't leak, but it always could. My pumps are far from reliable.

This morning I wasn't even thinking about rain. I slept in late, so I got a late start at the gym. Everything seemed a little harder this morning, so maybe I should have slept in even longer. I wish it was easy for me to get eight hours of sleep, but that's not going to happen. Even without dogs to wake me up at night, I still wake up early. I was certainly wide awake by the time I got home and prepared to take my five mile walk. Too bad it was so hot. I'm hoping that the cold front everyone is talking about is real. October is way too late in the year to be having July temperatures.

I've been visiting websites about how to outfit a van. It's much more complicated than I thought. Marine toilets vs Porti Potties? Propane vs Electricity? Diesel vs gas engines? Solar power vs a second alternator? Options are almost unlimited and usually quite expensive. This type of complexity puts a live-in van squarely in the daydream category. I can't imagine making a decision anytime soon.

Truthfully, it's hard to make a decision about anything these days. Decisions that open doors are OK. Decisions that lock you into something and might close some doors are to be avoided. Any decision that involves a lot of money is especially tough. I always start with easy things. I think I'm going to have McDonald Observatory go ahead an start a background check on me. That's a pretty open ended decision. If I get certified as a star party assistant, it becomes much easier for me to become a volunteer and stay at the observatory for extended lengths of time. I don't have to do anything though. I could just continue thinking about this for another year.

We take Treasure back to the vet tomorrow to get her stitches out. Hopefully, she is good to go now and won't have any further problems. Treasure is currently our only mix in the rescue program and often gets overlooked because people are usually looking for a purebred dog. There is nothing wrong with this. People go to breed rescue groups because they are looking for a particular type of dog. There are tons of rescue groups that specialize in finding good homes for mixed breeds. There's basically something for everyone out there. That being said, I wish more people would look at Treasure. She's really a great dog.

I used to dread Mondays. They aren't so bad when you're retired. Sure, there are still bills to pay and appointments to make, but there are also dogs to visit. Visiting the Dalmatians on Monday has become a regular part of our week. Everything else can wait until Tuesday if needed.

Cassie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 538

I had my interview with the FBI today for my friend's background check. I thought the agent would ask me a lot of tricky or probing questions, but the whole experience was more like going through an airport line with the TSA folks. The questions were very general and largely unnecessary. "Is your friend a member of a subversive group that is trying to overthrow the United States government?" That sort of stuff. Jeez, guys...what kind of friends do you think I have? I will say one thing though. Our government pays our federal agents well. As I was finishing up my Starbucks coffee after the interview, I noticed the agent driving away in a big black Mercedes.

For several weeks I've been wondering what happened to a missing check from one of my clients. They said they cut the check back in May, but I never received it. Today the mystery was solved. Somehow the check got stuck to the back of another check and both checks were mailed to someone else. Does the other vendor return the check addressed to me? Nope. They cash it. This doesn't give me a whole lot of faith in the banking system. You wouldn't think this vendor's bank would deposit a check that was written to a completely different company, but they did. At any rate, I'm going to get my money. I don't think I'm going to trust the post office this time though. I'll just drive up tomorrow and pick it up.

I noticed that Apple introduced iCloud today. So far, I haven't been a big fan of cloud-based computing. For the most part, having your documents in the cloud is slower and a bit buggier than just having them all on a big hard drive on your desk. I imagine I'll end up using iCloud whether I want to or not, however. Knowing Apple, this thing will be so completely integrated into the operating system that I won't even know I'm using it. It will just start syncing things whenever I charge the battery or something.

I called a bee removal company today and left a message, but they never returned my call. I guess they were just too busy buzzing around town.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 534

I got a call from the FBI today, asking if I would be willing to be a character reference for a friend of mine who is in the middle of a background check for a high security clearance. The agent said they needed to have someone talk with me for about twenty minutes. I asked where they wanted to meet. "We're in Sacramento," the agent says. When I told him that I lived in Dallas, there was a long pause, and then the agent said he could transfer the interview to someone in my area. I told the guy that my friend could probably keep a secret pretty well. "Hey, I've known him for over five years and I still don't know what he does for a living," I say. The agent laughed and said someone would be calling me. Our government at work, I guess.

Dot's painting arrived in the mail today and it looked even better than the JPEG image I showed you guys a few days ago. Carolyn Finnell is a talented painter and we definitely want her to do a portrait of Dash as well. Several of our friends saw Dot's picture and said they would like paintings of their pets as well. I have a feeling that Carolyn might end up painting a lot more Dalmatians than she bargained for.

I might have to have a beekeeper come out and remove the hive from its mystery location inside my walls. The situation seems hopeless. I've sprayed three gallons of insecticide in and around the entrance to the hive and still the bees keep coming. The pest control store keeps telling me that lots of bees have been killed, but as long as the queen is still alive at the center of things, new bees will keep being attracted to the hive. So far, there seems to be an endless supply of worker bees willing to die for their queen. I'm still very reluctant to have the bee keeper come out though. He would have to tear a hole in the roof to get at where the hive is probably hidden. I have enough problems with my leaking roof already. If the beekeeper tears a hole in the roof, I'll probably never get it properly sealed again.

At least it's Friday tomorrow. I probably say that a lot, but that's the way I feel. Every weekend this little hampster can finally get off the hampster wheel for a little while.

Dalmatian of the Day

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