Day 4648

Not much happened today. You can tell the days are getting shorter. We left on our sunrise walk a little later than usual, but the sun still wasn't up when we returned. The weather was nice though. It was just chilly enough to wear a light jacket. Fall is definitely here. It won't be long before it's time for the State Fair.  

When I took my long walk after breakfast I noticed that the first of the White Pelicans have returned for the Winter. Usually about a dozen birds arrive early and the rest begin to appear about a month later. Seasonal changes are very predictable and so far this year everything is right on schedule. 

The stone masons have just about finished the four stone gates in the park. I still have no idea what these gates are for, but they are large and look expensive. There has been a lot of construction work in the park this Summer. The place looks good this year. It's too bad the city doesn't run as efficiently as the park department. The park is definitely cleaner and a lot safer than the city that surrounds it.

I got a notice this morning that it was time to set out this month's bulky trash. That meant that I needed to move a big pile of brush and tree limbs I had cut earlier in an attempt to clean things up on the roof. The neighbor's Pecan tree would droop down and touch our roof when it rained and often this would knock over my pumps. It took a lot longer to move the tree limbs than it took me to cut them in the first place. I got the job done though. I was tired when I finished, but at least I didn't get stung by bees.

A year ago today I was down in Florida for the Inspiration 4 launch. Now I'm waiting for news about the next Artemis-1 attempt. I'm pretty sure I'll return to see the next attempt, but I haven't made any firm plans yet. I wonder why I still enjoy doing this? I've covered quite a few of these things now and each launch is remarkably similar to the previous one. The space community is filled with interesting people though. It's nice to feel like I'm a part of this group even if my contribution is very, very small.

I've really got to get some work done on the house. It bothers me that the carefully curated list of suppliers that I've collected over the years is basically worthless now. Just about everyone has either retired or died. I hate to start over or rely on websites like Angi's List. There are few thing more irritating than hiring a sloppy painter or an inept carpenter. Something's got to be done though. I'm not going to get this work done myself.

This weeks' trash has been taken to the curb and I'm wondering whether to go out for breakfast in the morning. I'll probably just have my regular bowl of shredded wheat, but I did used to enjoy my restaurant breakfasts on Friday.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4317

What a beautiful sunrise this morning. The days keep getting shorter, so we'll continue to start our walks with Dawn just before dawn, at least until the time changes in early November. I hope this weather continues for a while. It is usually brisk and cool in the morning. I wear a light jacket on our sunrise walks and it is still brisk and cool without the jacket when I take my long walk after breakfast.

I took two Tylenols when I got up this morning because I wanted to have an enjoyable walk. Tylenol actually seems to work better for arthritis pain than for headaches. Who knew? I won't take any tomorrow and we'll see what happens. I do think my foot is gradually getting better, largely because of the new shoes.

I've got to think of something new for breakfast. I don't feel like returning to making smoothies every morning, but I'm getting tired of the shredded wheat. I've eaten just about everything over the years. There was a period where I had a grapefruit every morning. I had yoghurt for a while, although I hate it now. I made pancakes from scratch and went through a period where I fixed myself elaborate omelets. One of my omelet recipes was even featured in a cookbook once. If you've been reading the blog long enough, you may remember the SXSW Cookbook. I started making smoothies when Janet got a Vitamix but never really used it. I thought the Vitamix was magic. I started making delicious soups for dinner and then discovered smoothies for breakfast. Somewhere along the line I started going out to restaurants for breakfast every Friday. Covid ended that activity. I need to make breakfast interesting again. It used to be my favorite time of the day.

I'm a lazy person by nature, but I feel guilty doing nothing on Tuesday because that's when Janet cleans the house. To make myself useful today, I cleared away all the brush that had taken over the narrow side yard on the East side of our house. I almost forget that this small patch of land exists. This is the side of the house where the bedrooms and bathrooms are and the windows are glazed with frosted glass. This lets lots of light in, but blocks the ugly view. You don't need curtains either. I'm still impressed at how clever the architect of this house was in the mid 1950's. It's too bad that seventy years have passed and the house is falling apart.

I cleared away a mountain of brush and small trees and hauled them to the curb just in time for the bulky trash truck which arrived about an hour after I was finished. I had totally forgotten that it was bulky trash day today, but it turned out to be convenient timing. After the side yard had been cleared, I cleaned the windows. They were covered in spiderwebs because spiders seems to love our house. That's one good thing about Winter. The spiders are gone. Everything looks nice now and I hope it stays that way. I don't want to go in that side yard again until next year.

When I was walking this morning, I saw two helicopters in the distance that appeared to be circling my house. This was a little alarming. I worry about fire a lot since I hear so many firetrucks going up and down our street. As I got closer to home, I thought that it must be a bad auto accident instead of a fire. Our street is way too busy for it's size. For a while it was used as a detour when a freeway was under construction and a lot of people kept using the road after the freeway was finished. I started seeing a lot of police cars and wondered how many police cars you really need for a wreck. About three blocks from home a lady walking her dog passed me and said "be careful, they're chasing bad guys." I never did find out what was happening. Just another day in the city I guess.

Diva is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4193

We've settled in to our summer routine. We get up early and walk Dawn before sunrise. I don't bother to make the bed until we return because every minute we waste, it gets a little hotter. You can immediately feel any difference in the temperature and humidity the minute you step out the back door. Today was a little warmer than yesterday morning, but it was still quite nice. I'm glad Dawn enjoys these early morning walks because she probably wouldn't get a walk at all otherwise. Once the sun is high in the sky, it just isn't safe for dogs. You've always got to remember that dogs don't sweat and they overheat very quickly. The pavement is way too hot for their paws as well.

I still have my morning smoothie for breakfast, but I've noticed that I'm not as hungry on hot days. The heat saps your energy and you don't even feel like eating. I've been eating smaller dinners as well. This is probably good. I put on a few pounds during the pandemic and now is as good a time as any to lose them.

I asked Janet if she wanted to postpone hauling the dead trees and brush out to the curb for bulky trash day and of course she said no. It didn't take as long as I thought to move everything and the yard looks a lot better now. I still need to cut down one more dead Photinia tree, but the trucks won't arrive for a few more days so I've got time. I'd like to wait for a cloudy day to do the work, but there aren't any of those in the forecast. All I see in the week ahead is lots of sunshine and blistering hot temperatures.

The power company is telling us to conserve energy during the heat wave. This has everyone mad because the excuse the power company gave for the week long power outages during last winter's big freeze was that the Texas power grid was optimized for summer weather. They promised that there'd be no problems during the summer months. So much for that. Personally, I think the problems started when all these people started moving here from other states. Texas is a welcoming place but we're getting too crowded.

After we moved all the brush and wood to the curb, I went to the gym. A trip to the gym has become part of my new summer routine as well. It's just too hot to take my long walk thru the park these days. It's going to take a while to get back in shape, but my workout today was better than yesterday. I'm not going to concentrate on cardio for a while and work on my upper body instead. My heart is fine. It's my arms and torso that have grown weak. I could do some of these exercises at home, but I never do. There's something about going to a gym that forces you to do the work. 

I made tentative plans to go back to the observatory in the Fall. October is one of the best months for stargazing and I wanted to make sure that there would be some special Fall photography nights. It's looking good. This gives me something to look forward to. I'm not going to even think about going back to Kennedy Space Center until the kids are back in school again, hurricane season is over, and the weather gets a lot cooler. I suspect by next Winter the rental car crisis will be over and everyone who wanted to go to Disneyland will have taken their vacation. Mosquitos aren't as bad in the winter either. Maybe Artemis-1 will launch sometime this winter.

I need to water the grass tomorrow. This means I have to go to Home Depot and buy a new sprinkler. All the sprinklers around the house are broken. These things used to last, but they don't even make it through a single season now. The bad thing about watering the lawn is that Dawn heads straight for the mud when the ground is wet. It's always something I guess. At least I've taken this week's trash to the curb and am ready to call it a day.

Bali is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4100

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4099

What a weird day. We were getting ready to go visit the rescue Dalmatians when Janet discovered that she had a flat tire. Neither of us could remember how to change a tire, so we called AAA. A guy came out to the house and put on the strange little skinny tire that a lot of cars have nowdays so Janet could go to a garage and get the flat fixed. On the way to the garage, all the warning lights lit up on her dash and she had to have the car towed to the dealership. This all took a long time, so we didn't go visit the Dalmatians at all today.

It was a nice day, but I knew that Dawn wouldn't walk with me if Janet wasn't around. I left the back door open so she could go in and out and sun herself in the backyard when she felt like it. Unfortunately, what she really felt like doing was rolling in the dirt. When my back was turned, she managed to get absolutely filthy. She also came back inside and hopped on the bed. I had to get her cleaned up, but I knew it wasn't going to be an easy task. When Janet isn't around Dawn becomes very wary of me. I got some wet towels and gently began to clean her off. Not surprisingly, this frightened Dawn and she began to whine and cry. It's sad to see how easily Dawn can get herself in a panic. I managed to get Dawn reasonably clean, but I still have to wash the bedding. I don't know why Dawn is so fearful, but I don't think it is going to change. I'm learning to live with her weird ways.

I called Janet and asked if I could come pick her up, but she said that the dealership was going to look at her car soon and she was going to stay until it was finished. I didn't understand why all the warning lights came on at once, but apparently they just needed to be reset. I left Dawn to chill out in the bedroom and went on my long walk. It was a windy day, but very warm. I think the temperature got up to eighty degrees today.

I hope that we don't get any more freezing weather because the trees are definitely starting to bud. Every day I walk, the park looks a little more green. Our own trees are starting to bud as well, so I think that everything with the exception of a few shrubs survived the freeze. The yard could definitely use some sprucing up though. The house could use even more. I don't know if I have the energy to do anything substantial, but I'll give it a try. 

By the time Janet returned with her car it was almost dinnertime. We took Dawn on a short walk and called it a day. Dawn is starting to freeze on her short walks now. We got her going again and completed our short one mile loop, but it is frustrating to realize that we haven't really solved anything. Janet did manage to get Dawn clean again though. She doesn't seem to mind Janet cleaning her with wet rags. We should have just hosed her down, but that would have brought on a major panic attack. 

Very little was accomplished today, but there's always tomorrow. I need to make one more sweep of the yard and see if there is anything else that I can take to the curb for the bulky trash trucks. The trucks might actually come tomorrow. At least the washing machine is working well again. I'd better go wash the bedspread while I've got a chance.

Carmine is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4094

The washing machine is still not working. The technician says that the motor is not communicating with the motor controller logic board. I asked if there might just be a lose wire. Nope. I need a new logic board. Will this solve my problem? Maybe. Once the machine can talk to the motor we'll be able to see if there is anything wrong with the motor itself. Life was a lot simpler when major appliances were simple mechanical beasts. Now, everything is basically a computer. The part is supposed to arrive on Friday and I hope it works. I definitely don't want to go to the laundromat again.

Dawn didn't bark at the repair technician, but I could tell she was scared. She retreated to the bedroom as soon as she heard the knock on the door and didn't come out until long after the technician had left. It doesn't take much to frighten Dawn. I wish I could explain to her that being without a washing machine for an extended length of time is a lot more frightening than having a repair technician in the house.

I learned that there will be another astrophotography workshop out at McDonald Observatory in May. This will be an advanced workshop that picks up where the first one I attended left off. Do I go? I probably will, but it's hard to decide. I love the dark skies of the Davis Mountains, but I hate the long drive out there. Driving is surprisingly tiring when you've got a bad shoulder. Travel can get expensive too. I guess I should continue to do things while I still can though. One of these days in the not too distant future, it will be too late.

It still bothers me that my Fitbit says I'm not as active as I was last year. How can this be? I feel like I'm more active than I ever was. It probably just takes more effort to do things that used to be easy. I've definitely slowed down, but I'm moving as fast as I can. It's discouraging to see overweight people pass me in the park, but what can you do? Arthritis is real and I still don't believe in strong pain medication unless it is absolutely necessary. I'm going to keep moving, but in a few years my nickname will probably be turtle.

Bulky trash pick up is next week, so we've only got a few more days to clean up the yard and get everything out to the curb before the trucks arrive. The freeze really made a mess of things. I haven't seen so much dead vegetation in years. Hopefully a lot of the plants and vegetation will come back when things get warmer. It took years for most of these shrubs to grow and I just don't have the energy to replace them all at this point. We will get new grass though. Dawn loves to lie in the grass and sun herself on nice days. The dog deserves some decent grass.

I hope I have more energy tomorrow. I've felt lethargic all day. It's hard to get motivated when your feet hurt and you are constantly blowing your nose. This is no time to nap though. I need to get familiar with my new camera if I'm going to take it out to the observatory in May. I need to decide whether I can still afford to go to a launch in Florida this Spring. I've applied to go to the Starliner and Crew-2 launches, but haven't heard whether I've been accepted. The yard needs a lot of work and I haven't been up on the roof in weeks. There's an abundance of things to do, but I still just want to take a long nap.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4043

We got a new supposedly indestructible toy for Charlie today. In less than five minutes he had broken the squeaker and was shaking the thing so vigorously that I thought he would knock himself silly. Charlie was just having fun, but if I was a squirrel, I wouldn't get anywhere near this dog. Clyde is gradually overcoming his shyness and Cooper seemed much calmer than he did last week. Everyone is making progress and they were all glad to see us. We'll be back again next week. Visiting the kennel Dalmatians has become a permanent part of our routine.

Dawn is making progress as well. She is eager to take her shorter walks now and doesn't balk or freeze at all. Now that she has become confident that we're not going to try to lead her somewhere where she doesn't want to go, she's a happy camper again. Like most of our previous Dalmatians, Dawn is gradually training us instead of us training her.

I continue to walk about six miles every day. I can't say that the walks are always fun, but they are the only real exercise I get. I'd like to walk ten miles every day, but I don't think my feet are up to it. The new shoes help a lot, but I still feel like an arthritic old man when I return home. I had been planning on going back to the gym again, but now that Covid is resurgent, I think I'll wait a while. I've managed to stay healthy all year. There is no reason to start tempting fate now. The pandemic will eventually be over and I have a high tolerance for doing nothing anyway.

I missed my chance to get rid of the leaves in the yard before big trash day. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and the bulky trash trucks will arrive on our street in a day or two. I was hoping that our recent windy days would blow some of the leaves away, but all the wind did was blow more leaves into the yard. The leaves never used to be a problem before all the neighbors started putting up tall security fences. Now, they just stay in the yard forever until we haul them away.

I continue to bookmark interesting astronomy and telescope sites, making imaginary lists of equipment I need to buy and places I'd like to visit. Oddly, I seldom go out in the backyard and look at the stars. I always seem to have an excuse. It's too cold. It's too wet. You can't really see anything in Dallas anyway. I should make an effort just to stay in practice, but I suspect I have become spoiled. Once you've seen the stars from the dark skies in West Texas, looking up at the sky in a large city hardly seems worth the effort.

I hope I don't buy a bunch of gear that I never end up using. I already did that with audio equipment, but I never returned to songwriting. Once I lose interest in something, it's very hard to rekindle. I think my interest in astronomy is real. I had a telescope in junior high and high school and even thought of becoming an astronomer. Math put an end to that. There was some math involved in becoming an architect, but it was nothing compared to being a physics or astronomy major. Let's face it. I was never very good at math.

I learned something new today. I can't open pictures taken with new iPhones. The new photos are saved using the HEIC image format which isn't recognized by anything on my older phones and computers. I finally found a website that allowed me to convert a photo that was sent to me today but it was a pain to use. I'm glad I am retired or I would have to upgrade everything. Why does Apple continue to do this? I continue to get further and further behind. Adobe and Microsoft have gone to subscription services for all their software and now I can't even see iPhone pictures. Maybe my sister was right in becoming a Luddite.

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4016

Dawn is still very unpredictable on her walks. She seemed very eager to leave the house this morning. After she pooped, she froze and refused to move for a while. I thought she was done, but suddenly she became playful and started running and jumping around. We continued walking for almost two miles while Dawn smelled trees and bushes and was seemingly in a good mood. Then she abruptly froze again and refused to move forward. We tried to change directions and encourage her with a new path, but she just wanted to go home. She obviously wasn't feeling any discomfort, because she kept up a brisk pace all the way home. Something is wrong, but it all seems to be in her head. We are beginning to wonder if Dawn had a traumatic brain injury at some point in her past.

When we got Dawn home again, Janet went to the gym and I just continued walking. It's a shame that Dawn didn't feel like walking today. It was such a nice day. I didn't set any records, but I got quite a few steps today. It wasn't too hot. It wasn't too cold. It was just enjoyable being outdoors.

I'm really making an effort to declutter. It's such a monumental job that I think it's going to take years. Bulky trash day is tomorrow, so I was determined to add a few things to the pile at the curb. I filled several large black trash bags with useless stuff from the office. I finally took the new dehumidifier out of it's shipping container and threw away the box. I threw away a lot of other empty boxes too. It's hard for me to throw away a good box. Shoeboxes always seem useful to me. You can stack them because they're all about the same size. They are well made compared to other boxes and I always seems to have lots of little stuff to fill them with. All the empty boxes got broken down and went to the curb. There were some broken watch winders I threw away. These things were impossible to repair, but they looked nice, so it has always been hard for me to throw them away. I only threw away no-brainer stuff today, but it was surprising how many trash bags I was able to fill. 

The yard got some attention today as well. I threw away some leaky garden hoses and broken hand tools. It was too big of a job to rake all the leaves, but I did manage to sweep them off the front and back porches. I used the leaf blower to blow away a huge pile of leaves that had been blocking the door to the green house and discovered some more broken glass in the process. I guess the last wind storm had knocked out another pane. The greenhouse is a mess. It will be a big job to repair it and an equally big job to tear it down. 

Evidently the whole world watched the conjunction last night. There were a lot of pictures on Facebook. Some were better than mine and others were worse. I felt a little better about my efforts yesterday when I had something to compare my pictures with. Actually, I did quite well considering that I wasn't using a telescope. Almost all the photos that showed more detail than the ones I took were taken with high quality telescopes. Since there won't be another conjunction like this for hundreds of years, I guess it's time to go back to improving my Milky Way pictures.

The Boca Chica livestream was interesting today. Space X was moving the next Starship out to the launch pad. This sixteen story rocket was just traveling down a public highway on a very large truck. The rocket was upright too. It was an amazing sight. I guess Elon doesn't want to spend a lot of money building a special rail line or dedicated road to transport rockets from the factory to the launch pad. A state highway seems to work just fine.

I hope we can get Dawn walking normally again. She's not a playful dog and her walks are about the only exercise she gets. You don't want to let a Dalmatian get fat. It will almost guarantee that the dog will have problems with their rear legs later in life. In dog years Dawn is about the same age as Janet and I. We've all got to work on staying healthy.

Two sisters are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3774

We walked Dawn before breakfast this morning. The weather was cool and the walk was enjoyable. As we begin to enter the Summer months, I think our walks are going to get earlier and earlier. It's the only way to beat the heat. The walks will probably get shorter too. You got to be careful with dogs during Texas summers. Dogs can't sweat and can easily succumb to heatstroke. Dawn does pretty well now, but she's not a young dog. We don't want to push her too hard.

My computer upgrade went perfectly. All the data transferred to the new drive overnight and my applications seem to work. I did have to register Microsoft Office again, but I've done that so many times that it wasn't a big deal. Everything works now and I don't have to subscribe to Office 365. It's weird that the computer is silent. I've gotten used to the noise over the years. There is no whirring noise from the hard drive anymore and since the computer runs cooler with the solid state drive, I rarely hear the fan. I was pleased that I was able to complete this complicated repair. I saved over $200 as well. Replacing a hard drive is no big deal, but taking the entire computer apart to get to the hard drive is. Since I was able to do all this without breaking anything, I might try putting a solid state drive in my laptop too. These SSD drives are really fast.

The city is running behind on picking up bulky trash in our neighborhood, so I thought I'd add a little more to our pile on the curb while I had the chance. I resumed cleaning out the tool shed this afternoon and managed to find quite a few things I didn't need. I seem to have a terrible habit of buying supplies for repairs I never end up making. I found a lot of tile grout and sheetrock mud today along with about a dozen tubes of various kinds of caulking. All this stuff had gone bad from sitting on a shelf in the damp tool shed for many years. I must have been much more ambitious about fixing things back in the day. I wouldn't even bother buying this stuff today.

I found a canister of helium for blowing up party balloons and wondered why I bought it. We never have parties. It must have been for some Dalmatian adoption event. I thought about keeping the helium because it is a rare commodity these days. In the spirit of practicality, I threw it away. I have no need for helium.

I still haven't gotten my stimulus money. It's not a big deal, but I wonder who decides when the payments get made. 80 million people got their money on the first day, but it's crickets for a lot of the rest of us. I've heard that some people who are eligible might have to wait months. With my luck, the country will be up and running again before my turn comes and they'll just cancel the program. I'm never very optimistic about getting anything from the government.

It's time to get supplies again. I basically use the car just once a week now. The grocery trips aren't long now. We've basically got plenty of everything. I go to the store mostly for fresh fruits and vegetables now. We've got enough paper towels, toilet paper, bottled water, and soap to last us until next winter. I don't think I'll need gas this week either. A tank of gas lasts a long time now.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3769

It's bulky trash removal time again. I've never seen such huge piles of trash in front of our neighbor's houses. Everyone appears to be using the lockdown to clean out their garage and tidy up their yards. We added our own pile on the curb today by cleaning out the tool shed next to our carport.

As the pile became larger I kept thinking "What is this stuff and why did I buy it in the first place?" I have a habit of buying supplies for repair projects and then never getting around to doing the project. When I finally get motivated to start working, I can't find the supplies I bought and go to Home Depot and buy them all over again. I found unopened boxes of tile grout that had become solid bricks after years of sitting on a shelf. There were dozens of tubes of caulk, glue, and paint that had turned solid as well. Some sheetrock I'd bought for repairs had turned into a crumbling, soggy mess after sitting in the leaky shed for way too many years. I found four large and very heavy steel bars that I had bought for something but couldn't remember why. Such a lot of unfinished projects! There were rusty tools that had to be thrown away because they simply didn't work anymore. I found two large boxes full of gimme caps with different corporate logos on them. Lord knows where I accumulated those. We made quite a pile for the trash truck to haul away, but we're far from finished. The other half of the tool shed remains untouched. Sorting through thirty years of accumulated junk felt a lot like clearing out my Dad's house after he died. We weren't trying to save this stuff. It just seemed to grow and multiply.

After today's initial cleanup effort, I'm really dreading cleaning out my office. Nothing is rusty or ruined in here, but a lot of things will never be used again. In my line of work, equipment become obsolete fairly quickly. It's hard to throw the stuff away though. I'll remember how something saved the day twenty five years ago and fool myself into thinking that maybe I'll use it again. Truthfully. I'll probably never use a film camera again. Modern digital cameras are so much better. I'll probably never use most of my audio gear either. I don't play in a band or produce commercials anymore and the equipment is woefully out of date anyway. All this stuff is hard to throw away because there are memories attached to everything. Eventually, the stuff in the office will be just like the stuff in the tool shed. I'll forget what it is and then it will be easy to throw away.

We miscalculated on our walk this morning and ended up getting caught in a thunderstorm. Luckily, we were close to a picnic pavilion when the heavy rain started so we didn't get very wet. It was nice to discover that Dawn wasn't scared of storms at all. She just sat calmly at our side until the storm passed. It's amazing what a calm, well behaved dog Dawn is. She still doesn't like to ride in a car, but other than that, very few things seem to bother her.

We got a lot of rain today but the roof still hasn't leaked. I'm not about to declare victory yet, but things are looking good. When normalcy returns to the world it might be time to make some serious improvements to the house. We need a lot more than a new roof. I think it's time to find a good general contractor who can fix everything. It's probably better to spend the money and have a nice place to live rather than watch it disappear in an investment account when the next pandemic arrives.

One hidden benefit of these crazy times is that we are eating very well. Janet is quite a good cook. I imagine we'll go back to take out meals when things get busy again, but for now life is good. Long walks and great meals are hard to beat.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3680

I'm glad I decided to trim trees and rake leaves this morning. Less than an hour after I bagged up the leaves and hauled the branches I'd cut out to the curb, the bulky trash trucks arrived and hauled everything away. I thought the trucks were coming tomorrow, but I guess I got lucky.

About three months ago I heard something about a new free gym membership plan that was going to be added to my health insurance coverage. I've been waiting for a letter explaining the program ever since. I never heard anything, so I finally went on the healthcare website to see if there was any informations there. The plan has already been in place for several months. Hmm. I wonder when they were going to tell me about it? Since my current gym supports the plan, all I have to do is sign up. This will be the third gym membership plan I've joined since turning 65. Hey, even the government wants me to keep moving. All these plans for seniors have been pretty good. I just wonder why they keep changing.

I got an e-mail today saying that my social media press accreditation for Kennedy Space Center has been officially approved for the Solar Orbiter launch. I can make my reservations now. A few hours later I got another e-mail saying that my traditional media press accreditation for Kennedy Space Center has been verified and submitted for approval. Hmm. I wonder if I will ultimately get both of these applications approved? I'm still hoping to get a real press pass. I suspect that both types of media accreditation provide pretty much the same access. Often when I go to these events, the social media folks are on the same bus with the magazine and television journalists. In my own mind, a real press pass is better because it makes me a working journalist. Instead of having an expensive hobby, I would be embarking on a second career. Here's hoping anyway. There's no real money to be made following space launches, but there's no money to be made sitting at home watching Netflix either.

Another cold front must have rolled through town last night. This is probably why I have a continually runny nose. We keep going back and forth between warm and cold weather on a 48 hour basis. There's no time to get used to anything. Now it looks like it's going to start raining again around midnight. I'm tired of this, but I guess it has always been this way. When I look back at old January posts, it is always a story of cold, wet weather. Last January it was much worse because I was still trying to keep Dash walking. His rear legs were weak and he dragged them while walking, so he needed three layers of protective socks and boots to keep his paws from bleeding. On cold days it took forever to get Dash dressed. He has a sweater under his Help 'Em Up harness, a leg brace, and the protective socks and booties. It was worth the effort though because Dash still loved to walk. It was his favorite time of the day.

I was surprised to see a patch of Pink Phlox blooming in the park today. Aren't these plants supposed to bloom in the Spring? They were definitely the only wildflowers to be seen. I was glad to have something to photograph. The park can look pretty bleak during these cold winter months. There are always birds to photograph, but I would need to bring a better camera. On a cold day, these walks are purely for exercise. I just want to get back to the house so I can get warm again.

Maybe tomorrow I can finish all the things I meant to do today. I did manage to get some leaves raked, but it's hard to get motivated on a cold winter day.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3590

I'm never going to become a space journalist if I don't take advantage of every opportunity. With this in mind, I decided to apply for credentials to attend an upcoming Space X launch in early December. I don't think I'll ever be a natural traveler, but they don't launch rockets in Dallas. If I want to watch a launch or even look at the stars on a clear, dark night, I'm going to have to go somewhere else. I think I can afford another trip by December, so we'll see what happens. Space X is always doing interesting things, so maybe there's a story in this as well.

It looks like I did a good job of applying the silicon coating yesterday. When I went up on the roof this afternoon to inspect my work, I was pleased to see that the coating had cured properly and was ready for the rain we are expecting tonight. All the damaged areas are covered, but I wish I had applied a little more of the product to sections of the roof where I know water accumulates. I have a lot of the silicon material left, so I can always go back later and apply more if needed. I'm always a little cautious with this stuff. I wasn't sure how long it would take the silicon to dry completely and I didn't want a big sticky mess when the rain arrived.

The weather was perfect again today. It's too bad the price we pay for Fall weather is often a cold front preceded by a line of severe storms. Fall is definitely the rainy season here in Dallas. The front that will be arriving early tomorrow morning isn't expected to produce severe weather, but it will bring a lot of rain. We'll see how my roof patches hold up. I'm optimistic at this point. I carefully walked the roof this afternoon and couldn't find any torn spots where water might enter.

While I was filling out my application for press credentials today, I thought I'd send a few query letters to magazines as well. I hate to see anything go to waste, so I'm trying to repurpose the article I wrote about traveling to McDonald Observatory. Hey, it was a good article. I just didn't look through any telescopes. If I get accepted by NASA to go back to Kennedy Space Center, I'm going to see if I can get access to the nearby Space X Starship assembly facility as well. Starship is definitely an interesting story.

While I'm waiting to hear from NASA, Sky and Telescope, and the folks at McDonald Observatory, I can always look at butterflies. There seem to be an unusual number of Monarchs in the area right now. The Fall migration is underway and I see the butterflies everywhere these days. I never noticed that Spring migration this year, but that's understandable. I had my hands full dealing with Dash's many health issues at the time.

I thought that the bulky trash trucks were going to arrive today, but my big pile of tree branches is still sitting out at the curb. I guess I could have trimmed a few more trees, but there's always November. I've probably done enough damage to the yard for one month.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3549

I filled my car with old gasoline containers, rusty propane cylinders, half empty cans of paint, motor oil, antifreeze, and a ton of old non-functional spray cans filled with remnants of bug spray, WD-40, household cleaners and other unidentified liquids for a trip to the hazardous waste disposal center. There were four red plastic gas cans, each filled with a different amount of gas. I don't use gas powered tools very often, so when it came time to fill the tank, I never could remember what kind of additives I'd added to the gas. Two cycle motors needed one thing and four cycle motors needed another. It was always easier to just buy a new gas can and start over from scratch.

Home Depot has made a lot of money from me over the years because I routinely ended up buying things I already had. I threw away a lot of duplicate cans of old, hardened spackling paste and sheetrock mud today. I've been meaning to get rid of this junk for a long time but it is a lot of trouble. I hope the effort was worthwhile. The greenhouse is almost ready for repairs to begin. The two non-functional lawn movers have been taken to the curb for the bulky trash truck along with a lot of other broken lawn and garden stuff. The mowers will probably be gone before the trash truck arrives. There are always people who cruise the streets a few days before big trash day looking for metal they can sell.

I was pretty ambitious today, considering that it is only Thursday. After I cleared away the old hazardous waste, I charged up the one remaining electric lawn mower and mowed the grass. Hopefully, I won't need to do this again, but I probably will. Sometimes the grass continues growing through the end of the year here in Texas.

With all this activity, it wasn't surprising that I didn't get started on my five mile walk until mid-afternoon. I was tired, but I had vague aspirations to do 20,000 steps on a weekday. I don't think I've done that before. I've only taken 19,000 steps so far, but the night is young. I still need to do a load of laundry.

The highway department looks like they're almost ready to demolish the bridge near our house. Some of the inconvenient detours are already in place. The road that travels under the bridge is supposed to close tomorrow. I don't know when they are actually going to blow up the bridge. We'll see what happens. I don't have a good feeling about this. Road construction projects take forever and they're always a much bigger mess than anyone anticipated. I still don't understand why the bridge is coming down. There is nothing wrong with it. I traveled over it one last time today.

I'm going to have to rethink where I go to breakfast tomorrow. Most of the regular places I go require that I drive under the doomed bridge.

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3477

Yay. When I was eating breakfast this morning, I heard some loud noises coming from the front of the house. When I went outside to investigate, I discovered that a handful of city workers with two large trucks were in the process of hauling away the huge pile of brush and logs that has covered our yard ever since the big wind storm roared through town on June 10. I was glad to see the woodpile disappear. I was beginning to think I'd be stuck with the unsightly brush for the rest of the summer. The grass that was underneath the brush pile is all dead. That's a shame because it took years to get the yard looking decent. Hopefully the grass will start to grow again after a few soaking rains. Otherwise I'll be faced with resodding the lawn later this summer. In the short term I've traded one kind of ugly for another kind of ugly, but at least we're making progress.

After breakfast I prepared some high resolution images I took at Kennedy Space Center to send to Spaceflight Magazine. The editor wants to use some of the pictures I took to illustrate my article. This surprised me almost as getting the article accepted. I know for a fact that there were better pictures taken of the launch because I met the photographers who took them. Nevertheless, I'm pleased that the magazine wants to use my pictures. Next time I'm at a launch I'm definitely going to take a better camera.

While I was working at the computer, I added the two new dogs to the Dalmatian Rescue website. Hank and Pongo ought to get a lot of attention. They are both very good looking dogs. Actually, I think my dog pictures are better than my rocket pictures. I guess I've had a lot of practice. I've been taking pictures of Dalmatians for a very long time.

I've started to see road construction signs in the neighborhood. No actual construction has begun but the signs have me worried. It's hard enough getting out of the driveway on a normal day. If our street is under construction, it will be even worse. I definitely don't want to get tar on my car. There's nothing wrong with the street, but that won't stop the city from tearing it up. I think half the streets in town are in a permanent state of repair.

It's hard to believe that a full year has passed since I began my downsizing campaign. Last July, my art was on its way to New York and my train collection had just arrived in Kentucky. A number of things have sold, but there's still a long way to go. I didn't realize at the time that this would end up being such a long, involved process. Maybe by this time next year I'll feel better about this whole endeavor. Right now, everything seems up in the air. Things do eventually sell. You've just got to be very patient.

I'm a patient person but things do seem to move very slowly. It take me an hour every morning to take my walk. Coincidently, it also takes me an hour to eat my breakfast. It took almost a month to get the brush removed from the front yard and it might be a year before I attend a space launch again. I'm in no hurry but sometimes I'd like things to move a little faster.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3253

I got a letter saying that I needed to change my pharmacy to continue getting the "preferred rate" on prescription drugs. This has happened before. I wonder what goes on behind the scenes at insurance and pharmaceutical companies. Prices and procedures are always changing with no explanation. Are generic drugs really the same as their brand name equivalent? Why do Dash's pills cost substantially less than mine? Often he takes the same pills that humans do. All I know is that healthcare has become way too complicated and is much more expensive than it needs to be. Jeez. I don't want to change my pharmacy for some stupid bureaucratic reason. I like my pharmacy. I need to check and see what this "preferred rate" really is. It may be nothing. The government always likes to scare you into doing things their way. I'm always willing to pay a little more to do things my way.

I was surprised to see that half the junk I took out to the curb yesterday is already gone. All the metal objects are gone. People drive by and scavenge the bulky trash piles. I guess they sell the metal at recycling plants. The city seems more than happy with this practice because there is less trash for them to pick up. The whole thing seems kind of sad to me, but what do I know. You know the old saying: one man's trash is another man's treasure. I did haul some pretty heavy metal objects to the curb yesterday. There was no copper though. It was only steel. Can you make money scavenging steel from trash piles? Like the true cost of prescription drugs, this is probably something I'll never know.

I had to leave the house for a meeting at noon today. Once again, it was hard to get ready in time. By the time I clean up all the poop, make the bed, walk Dash, eat breakfast, and take a shower, it is almost always noon. It's getting harder and harder to do more than one thing a day now. Today's meeting wasn't even necessary. My business bank wants to start selling me investments now that I'm retired. I keep telling them that I already have all the investment advice I need, but they are persistent.    I wonder why they don't understand that I want from them is the kind of service they were giving me fifteen years ago. Unfortunately, nobody wants to provide the type of service they offered fifteen years ago. That ship has sailed.

How do you prescribe bed rest for a dog? I'm having a hard time getting the cut on Dash's paw to heal, because he is always scraping the scab that is trying to form. He wears socks in the house now, but they are always falling off. The boots are too heavy to wear around the house, but the boots are what keep the socks on. At least the wound is trying to heal now. Dash just isn't a very good patient.

I woke up to find poop in the bed again last night. Dash didn't even wake up. Sometimes when the poop is firm I can pick it up with a poop bag without leaving a stain. I did this last night and just went back to bed without waking anyone up. I did wash the bedspread in the morning, but it still looked pretty clean. I don't know if I'm becoming better at cleanup or just more casual about poop. When stuff like this happens every night, it's hard to get very upset about it.

I've got my eye exam tomorrow. I think my eyes are still pretty good, but I have a tendency to rationalize my body's slow deterioration. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if I needed to wear glasses. I just hope I never have macular degeneration like my Dad.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3252

I think bulky trash pickup is tomorrow, so I thought I'd join my other neighbors in piling old junk on the curb. I certainly have enough junk. Hmm. Should I start in the back yard, the greenhouse, or the utility room? There was a heavy steel cargo carrier I used to use with the Defender that I wanted to get rid of, so I thought I'd start with the utility room. This thing attached to the trailer hitch receiver on the Defender, so there was no way Janet or I could use it with our current cars. Neither of us has a trailer hitch installed. I can't believe I used to haul heavy St. Augustine sod and buckets of river rocks with this carrier in an attempt to do my own landscaping. I remember spending three days a long time ago transporting tons of smooth river rocks to create decorative areas around the base of our Oak trees. How did I manage to do something like this? Now, even the empty steel carrier seemed almost too heavy to drag to the curb.

I managed to get rid of quite a few totally useless things, but the utility room still seems full. Where did this stuff even come from? There were bags that attached to the lawn mower to catch grass clippings. I never used those things even when new. The lawn mower they belonged to is long gone anyway. There was a huge sacks of old towels that must have had something to do with animal rescue at some point. Why didn't I throw these away years ago? There were lots of disintegrating canvas tote bags and old paint cans. Eventually I gave up. There was just too much junk. Hey, I made a start. If I do this every month before bulky trash pickup, someday it will all be gone.

Dash did a lot of pooping in the house today. Some days are better than others. Dash tries to head for the back door, but I don't even think he's even aware that he needs to poop until about two seconds before everything comes out. I try to be optimistic. At least he didn't poop in the bed last night.

Since I'd already started the day by cleaning up poop, I thought I'd tackle a few other loathsome tasks as well. I cleared out a slow shower drain and cleaned the filters on the bathroom sink faucets. A few weeks ago, I listened to a program on NPR about all the microscopic creatures that live in our houses and cleaning suddenly seemed prudent. Evidently tiny creatures live in our water pipes, our air vents, and even our hot water heaters. The scum that forms on your shower head and tiles is called a biofilm and it provides nutrients for the little critters. Our house must be a luxury hotel for these organisms. because there are biofilms everywhere.

I'm almost caught up watching the National Geographic Channel show about Mars. The show has become a little preachy for my taste, but it is still very interesting. I wonder if we'll ever get to Mars? It's so easy to get distracted by problems right here on Earth. I hope I live to see the first humans on Mars. It's a long shot though. At the rate we're going, we might not even make it back to the moon.

I did my best to apply a disinfectant to Dash's gums today. His teeth are terrible and I worry that he's going to get periodontal disease. Dash hates the medication, so it is very difficult to do this everyday. Janet distracted him with a cookie while I cleaned his mouth. I need to do this every day. I need to clear away a little junk everyday too. There are so many things that need to be done and none of them are particularly pleasant.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2887

I'm afraid I'm going to have to retrieve Dot's rugs from the storage room soon. Dash is starting to slip and slide on the bricks. If he would slow down and start acting like the mature dog he is, I'm sure he could navigate the bricks for another couple of years. That's not Dash though. He still likes to counter surf. He'll still race to the kitchen when he hears food being prepared. Since he already has a partially torn cruciate ligament, I'm afraid he's going to ruin his knee joint every time he slips. I've thought about just leaving his rubber boots on all the time, but there's a downside to that as well. I just wish Dash would realize he's getting older and start taking care of himself a little better.

I'm trying to take care of myself better. That's why I switched doctors and continue going to the gym every Sunday. It's no fun growing old, but what are the alternatives? While I was driving to the gym today I listened to a TED talk about recent advances in gene editing. Precise gene editing could bring back the Wooly Mammoth from extinction, eliminate mosquitos in malaria prone areas, and allow parent to choose the hair color, intelligence, and resistance to disease of their babies. What could possibly go wrong? This all sounds like science fiction, but apparently scientists around the world are already using something called CRISPR-Cas9 technology to modify plants and animals at the DNA level. There's a lot of debate about the ethics of messing around with human DNA, but I'm sure there was debate about the ethics of atom bombs before we exploded the first one too. Humans tend to use the things they invent. We just can't resist.

Maybe in the future, people like me won't have to worry about diabetes and arthritic joints. We'll use gene editing to create a race of disease free, almost super human people. Of course, there's an even greater chance that we'll inadvertently create thousands of 100 foot long fire breathing dragons who will eat us while we sleep.

I had a good workout today, but that apparently wasn't enough. Against my better judgement, I actually moved the furniture while I vacuumed this afternoon. I don't do this very often because it is too depressing. It's unbelievable how much dust can accumulate under a chair that hasn't been moved for a year. We also took the heavy comforter off the bed and took it to a laundromat for cleaning. If you let your dog sleep on the bed with you, you quickly realize that white isn't the best color for a bed spread. I liked out old brown comforter better. It might not have been the prettiest thing in the world, but it hid all the damage the dogs caused admirably.

I didn't do my homework on Wordpress this weekend. Oh, well. There's still time. It's hard to get excited about Wordpress. I guess it's convenient if you like to work in teams, but it doesn't do much for me. I can think of so many more elegant ways to design a website. When you're used to sitting down and writing your own code, it just seems cumbersome to use someone else's template.

I see my neighbors beginning to pile up bags of leaves, old kitchen chairs, and discarded children's toys on the curb. This much mean it's time for bulky trash pickup again. I'll need to look tomorrow and see if there's anything I need to throw away. I'm supposed to receive a package next week. I think the package is lost since no tracking number was provided by the shipper. The shipper says everything is fine. We'll see who's right by the end of the week. We're going out to eat for Thanksgiving again this year. This should be a relaxing occasion, so I'm going to try my best not to worry about Dash. There's no need to worry. He's just going to be sleeping on the bed like he always does in the afternoon. I wish I wasn't always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day