Day 4123

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cooper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4061

I was busy with correspondence today. I wrote the dehumidifier company and tried to explain why the warranty replacement unit they sent was still not working properly. I wrote both of my editors about future assignments. I'm trying to get an approval from Sky & Telescope to proceed with my astrophotography article and also trying to find out what SpaceFlight Magazine wants me to focus on next. I'd like to remain optimistic and assume that once most of us have been vaccinated, I will be able to travel freely again during the second half of the year. There are several interesting launch events this Spring, but it's still probably too early to travel. When I was working, my goal was usually to complete one work related task every day. Now, if I can manage to accomplish two or three things each year, that's pretty good. One way or another I will eventually find something new to write about.

Our vet called with the results from Dawn's latest urine test. She still has high levels of protein in her urine, which can often be an early sign of kidney disease. Her test results were better than last month though, so we are going to remain hopeful that things will continue to improve. Dawn's diet is good and she's drinking enough water now. We'll do another test in a month and if things don't continue to improve it will be time for an ultrasound test to determine if she might have bladder stones.

I got a notice that I could do my registration paperwork for the vaccine online to save time. There were quite a few items to fill out, so this probably actually will save me time when I get to the vaccination site. Whenever I look at my online medical records I find something wrong. You can't really change your medical records. All you can do is notify someone that there's been a mistake. Sometimes the mistake is corrected months later and other times nothing happens at all. The records that I looked at today say I still have Hepatitis-C. Very odd. The hospital group that sent me the forms was the very same hospital that cured me of the disease. The medical profession is a confusing labyrinth of conflicting information. I'm amazed that anything works at all.

So far this year I have had an elaborate set of tests to determine why I sometimes have coughing fits at dinner. The results of these video x-rays were inconclusive and I still have no idea why I cough so often. I consulted with an orthopedic surgeon recently to determine why I have persistent foot pain. I was really encouraged by the doctor's recommendations, but now the foot pain has returned. Basically I've coughed a lot and had foot pain for the last fifteen years. I've been to doctors before and the results have always been inconclusive. Medicine is messy and there aren't always easy answers. I'll take the vaccine but I don't think it's going to be a magic bullet. Why do I think that this will end up just like the flu vaccine and we'll end up taking this shot at least once a year for the rest of our lives. The whole idea of "back to normal" is probably just an illusion. We have just taken a short cut into the future.

The trouble with this Kickstarter campaign that I supported is now I'm going to be wondering about this commitment until the Fall when the product is supposed to start full production. Is this thing even going to happen? Did I throw my money down a rabbit hole? I'm really not very comfortable with uncertainty. In another universe, I'd probably make a very good dog.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I won't have to get gas this week though. I didn't do anywhere. I got word that last October's issue of SpaceFlight Magazine is finally in the mail to me. Maybe my dehumidifier problem will eventually get resolved as well. I still have hopes of being back at Kennedy Space Center before the end of the year. Sometimes I feel like nothing is happening, but time marches on. I just need to be patient.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4037

I tried to catch up on some correspondence today. I doubt that I accomplished much, but at least I tried. I wrote my editor at SpaceFlight Magazine and told him that I won't be attending any space related events this Spring because of Covid. I'm sure he'll understand because he lives near London and people in the UK are under even more severe restrictions than we are. 

I wrote the dehumidifier manufacturer and describled the problems I'm having with the replacement they sent in great detail. I sent pictures as well. I don't know what this will accomplish but it's frustrating that I'm having just as many problems with the replacement unit as I was with the dehumidifier they replaced. I took care of a few other odds and ends as well, but mostly I was just avoiding starting anything new.

We experimented with Dawn today. Since Dawn is sometimes scared of me, Janet walked her by herself to see if that made a difference. Nope. Dawn walked about a mile, which is exactly the same distance she's been walking when we all walk together. Dawn just doesn't want to walk anymore. This is baffling to us, since she used to love her walks. We still don't know if the issue is physical or mental. All our other dogs loved their walks. Dot and Dash loved to walk even when they got old and could barely move. We didn't learn anything during Dawn's recent vet exam. Other than having too much protein in her urine, she seems to be quite healthy.

Maybe I'm trying to read too much into this. I didn't really enjoy my walk today either. It was a beautiful day, but I felt like I was on a forced march. The park is quite large, but I've practically memorized all the paths by now. There isn't much point in going somewhere else to walk. This is the largest, most interesting area for walking within fifty miles. Driving to go walking seems counterproductive too. One of the main reasons I started doing this was to avoid using the car.

I wonder why I've been spending so much time looking at telescopes lately. If I got a better telescope, there's nothing to see. I went outside last night and could barely see Orion. The light pollution in Dallas is really that bad. I still like gadgets and gear though, so I guess this telescope quest is a good way to daydream. There are a lot of interesting dark sky sites within driving distance, but there is little point in making travel plans until Covid is over. One of the main reasons that infections got so bad in rural West Texas was the surge of bored city people visiting Big Bend National Park. Staying put and doing nothing is really the best plan until I get vaccinated. I've abandoned my plans to go out to JPL in February for the Mars Perseverance landing. It just isn't worth the risk.

Maybe there will be a new episode of The Expanse to watch tomorrow. The Season 5 isn't over yet, but I'm not sure how frequently new episodes are released. One a week seems reasonable, but that's probably because I'm used to watching old fashioned episodic television. There are thousands to movies to stream these days but very few things capture my interest. I'm really surprised that I'm even watching this show.

I wish Dawn could talk and would tell us why she has lost interest in walking. There's got to be a simple answer for this. I lose interest in things all the time for no real reason. Who knows. Maybe dogs do the same thing.

Suzie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3941

Now that I am retired, I often wonder how I used to get so much done during my working career. I've really slowed down. All I basically did today was carry on an e-mail correspondence with three different people and it just about wore me out. Things are definitely starting to happen. I am getting messages about the astrophotography workshop from McDonald Observatory, messages about the upcoming Crew 1 launch from Kennedy Space Center, and messages from my editor about the Sky and Telescope article. For a while today, I actually started feeling like a working journalist.

I definitely didn't feel like a working roofer today. I postponed making repairs with the silicon coating again. I've done this a lot lately. I had used up so much time eating breakfast, walking Dawn, and answering e-mail messages that there wasn't much time left for dirty, messy work. It was hot this afternoon too. Basically I just didn't feel like climbing up on the roof. There's still plenty of time. The weather looks good for the next week.

Dawn continues to do well. We are back to our old walking schedule now with no adverse effects. Dawn still spends a lot of her day just lying on the bed, but I don't think there's anything wrong. She's basically just a lazy dog. She and I should be soul mates. I wouldn't mind spending a lot of my time just lying on the bed as well.

I did some research on star trackers this afternoon. I'm debating getting a tracker for my trip to the observatory. They dramatically improve pictures of the Milky Way and there are actually quite a few to choose from. These little gadgets are fairly expensive though. It's hard to justify getting something like this when I know it will rarely get used. There is way too much light pollution in Dallas to take pictures of the stars at all.

We passed another downed tree during our walk in the park this morning. Every time I see something like this, I think one of the Oak trees in our back yard is going to be next. Coincidentally, I passed some tree trimmers in the neighborhood on my afternoon walk. I thought about asking them to stop by my house after they finished and give me a bid for taking down the tree that got damaged last Summer. The workers were all up in the neighbor's tree however and I didn't want to bother them, so I just kept walking. Another missed opportunity.

It doesn't seem like a week has passed since I hauled last week's trash out to the curb. For that matter, it doesn't seem like a year since I had my last eye exam. Time goes by so quickly now. I guess that's a big reason why I don't want to pass up opportunities to do things I enjoy. There just isn't that much time left. Almost every week I read about someone I went to high school with who has passed away. Jeez. Van Halen died the other day. I didn't even know he was sick. I need to make a resolution not to waste a single day. Maybe I'll do that later after I waste a few more days doing nothing. Like I said, Dawn and I should be soul mates.

Madison is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day