Day 4001

We went back to the kennel today to visit Charlie. Even though we were at the same boarding facility most of the day yesterday for our Santa Paws event, we were far too busy to visit Charlie. He didn't even get his picture taken with Santa because he is not good with other dogs. Yesterday's oversight certainly didn't seem to bother him. He was his typical unpredictable, happy self today. Charlie loves to destroy toys, so we only let him play with the most indestructible red Kongs we can find. He almost always has a ball in his mouth unless he is waiting for a treat. Charlie is smart and very food motivated. We've learned that we can teach him almost anything if there is a food reward involved. At any rate, he was glad to see us today. I think he expects to see us on Mondays now.

The props and photo gear we used at yesterday's photo shoot are back in the storage warehouse again. The house looks a little neater now, but not by much. We've still got way too much pandemic related stuff stacked up in the front hallway. I don't think there's much of a chance that we'll ever run out of toilet paper. I wish my storage warehouse was a lot bigger. If I had more room I could clear out the hallway and then start moving all the books in my office to storage as well. It would be much easier for me to put everything in the office in storage instead of just throwing it away. A storage warehouse is a great way to postpone making a decision. You always have the option of retrieving something if you change your mind.  It's an expensive luxury though. Storage warehouse companies keep raising your rent year after year until you are paying a ridiculous amount for a room full of worthless junk. They should be rewarding loyal customers, but they do exactly the opposite. I have a love/hate relationship with my storage warehouse. I like having a halfway house for my stuff, but I'm convinced that I'm being cheated by the warehouse company.

Today was definitely a nice day for a walk. It was still chilly outside, but the temperature was much warmer than yesterday. It is still hard to decide what to wear on these walks with Dawn. If you are comfortable at the beginning of the walk, you will be way too hot on your journey back home. If you are comfortable after you've been walking a few miles, you are going to be pretty chilly when you begin. I underdressed today and by the time I returned home, I felt just about right.

One of these days I'm going to need to learn to use my new camera. The instruction manual is over two hundred pages long and the menu in the camera itself offers a labyrinth of confusing choices. Most of the features I want to use are buried deep inside this menu. I guess there is plenty of time to experiment. I have absolutely nothing on my agenda now.

I wish people were better at answering my e-mails. I always answer messages almost immediately. The mask distributor has been silent about replacing my defective N-95 masks. The dehumidifier company hasn't told me whether they received the warranty information I sent them. Even my editor at Sky & Telescope failed to respond to a question I had about my upcoming article. When people do respond they usually tell me that they get hundreds of messages a day and don't have time to respond to everything. This is hard for me to comprehend, since I seldom get five messages a week. Spam doesn't count as a message obviously. I get plenty of spam.

I think Space X is going to do the big high altitude Starship test down in Boca Chica tomorrow. I need to remember to watch this. It ought to be interesting.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3889

Last night's rain really cooled things down. It was genuinely pleasant outside when we left the house this morning. It warmed up quickly, but for a little while we could convince ourselves that this was the beginning of Fall. These walks have become so predictable that we aren't far away from giving the ducks names. When things become so familiar that you start to recognize individual ducks in a park that's full of them, it might be time to change your route. I imagine that we'll keep walking this way though. We've finally found a route that's just the right distance and seems to maximize the possibility of finding a breeze. A little breeze can make all the difference in the summer.

It was a slow day. We didn't visit the dogs for a variety of reasons. I occupied myself paying online bills and looking for interesting stuff on the Internet. I should have gone up on the roof and cleared away the standing water from last night's rain, but I've learned that water evaporates quickly in the summer. If I wait until tomorrow, there will be much less water to deal with. I still enjoy my morning smoothie, but I've got to find a substitute for watching the news while I eat breakfast. The news is just too depressing.

I've just about given up on hearing from NASA or the Air Force. My various applications for media access to Kennedy Space Center all seem to have fallen into a black hole. I'm not sure if NASA will ever reinstate the social media programs I used to like so much. They've switched to doing virtual events instead, which have turned out to be very popular and reach a much wider audience. I imagine that virtual events are much less expensive as well. With media credentials at KSC becoming harder and harder to obtain, this leaves me with Boca Chica and the Starship. Maybe this is just a pipe dream too, but it's worth exploring.

Janet and I still talk about moving but we can't think of any place to go. Small towns that would have seemed ideal ten or fifteen years ago have already been overrun by people fleeing the cities. The pandemic has accelerated this exodus and even less popular places are seeing their population grow dramatically. Home prices are soaring in many small towns. I don't see this changing any time soon. Why would you want to live in a big city these days? There are still small towns that have remained small, but often there's a good reason. Terrible weather, no jobs, and lack of access to health care are usually at the top of the list.

The older you get, the more important it becomes to have a good hospital nearby. We have friends who have moved to the country who have to travel over a hundred miles if they have a serious medical problem. You get spoiled when there are world class doctors and hospitals just a few minutes away. Even taking your dog to the vet can be a problem in many small towns. The Dallas area has amazing veterinary specialty centers. They've saved our dogs lives more than once. You have to think seriously before giving all this up.

Yesterday's rain has already made our grass look a little greener. I think the weather is going to be cooler for a few more days as well. In mid-August little things like this can make a big difference.

Toby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day