Day 4991

Dawn had to go to the vet for her dental cleaning today. She got her regular sunrise walk, but couldn't eat breakfast this morning. You aren't supposed to eat prior to having anesthesia. Dawn is always excited to ride in the car, but is so disappointed when we wind up at the vet instead of the ice cream store. She was not a happy camper when we dropped her off this morning.

The house was pretty quiet without Dawn today, but actually it is pretty quiet with Dawn as well. I ate my breakfast, took care of some correspondence, and then went to the gym.  It's still way too hot to do any outdoor chores and I don't feel up to fixing the cracks in the ceiling yet. My daily trip to the gym remains my only consistent activity.

I think these trips to the gym are starting to produce results. I'm faster on the indoor track now. It used to take me around 23 minutes to complete a mile. Now it only takes me 20 minutes. I'm gradually adding weights to my strength exercises and doing more repetitions as well. My biggest improvement is on the basketball court. I'm getting much more consistent about completing free throws. I'm certainly not bragging. Fat people still pass me occasionally on the indoor track and almost everyone can lift more than me in the weight room. I think I'm making progress though. My Fitbit agrees.

I have mixed feeling about missing tonight's Crew 7 launch. I didn't apply for credentials after the magazine told me that one of their staffers wanted to attend. Crewed launches are always a big deal down at the space center, but I'm not terribly sorry that I'm missing this one. It's still very hot in Titusville and the launch isn't until 3 AM. I've never been a fan of these late launches. It's very hard to get good pictures and 3 AM is way past my bedtime. I've been to several late night, or technically early morning, launches and I'm always very, very sleepy. I bumped the lens on one of these night launches and all my pictures were out of focus. I'm not even going to stay up and watch this launch on the Space X live feed. I'll be asleep by then.

We weren't able to pick Dawn up at the vet until very late in the day. She was there for most of the day. The dental cleaning didn't take that long, but she needed some x-rays as well. The vet always wants to keep dogs for observation at least two hours after having anesthesia as well to make sure they are stable. Dawn got a good report. There were no cavities and no teeth needed to be pulled. There were no longer signs of gingivitis either. We try our best to keep her teeth clean, but it's hard with a dog that doesn't like you messing with her mouth.

This week has gone quickly. I've taken this week's trash out to the curb and have finished watering the lawn. It would be nice if tomorrow were cooler, but the temperature is supposed to reach 107 degrees. That doesn't sound better to me.

Hero is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4044

Dawn has clean, white teeth again. She had quite a bit of tartar build-up and really needed a cleaning. Dawn of course had other ideas. She always goes into panic mode when we take her to the vet. She was so upset this morning that she had an irregular heart beat when they tried to sedate her. The vet took things slowly and gave her a mild sedative and waited for her to calm down before giving her anesthesia for the cleaning procedure. 

We were afraid that she might need some teeth extracted because she'd spent so many years biting at the bars of her crate when she was used as a breeding dog. Her front teeth have been worn down, but luckily what remains is still strong and she has no cavities. No teeth needed to be removed today and her gums are in good condition too. Dawn didn't enjoy her day at the vet, but we feel better knowing that her teeth are healthy and in good condition.

The forecast called for rain today, but predictably it was wrong again. I was able to take my long walk after all. I haven't gone anywhere new for a while and continue to follow the same well-worn paths. I feel like I should name the ducks I see along the way because most of them have become quite familiar by now. Apparently ducks are no more adventurous than I am. My walks may be boring, but I still occasionally see something new and I'm definitely getting more exercise than I'd get staring at this computer for an additional two hours every day.

The replacement dehumidifier has started rattling again and it's driving me nuts. I know the manufacturer sent me a refurbished model even though I can't get them to admit it. The customer support folks won't even answer my questions now. This is a bit baffling to me, since they were so responsive when I was initially trying to get a warranty replacement. It kind of feels like they have a policy that if the manufacturer sends you a replacement, they can never talk to you again.

As I continue to learn more about astrophotography, I'm becoming increasingly tempted to buy a tracking mount. This is the only way I'll be able to take longer exposures of the stars. There is no need to rush things though. A tracker would be a total waste of money until I can start visiting dark sky sites again. Even the best tracking mount wouldn't help me much out in my back yard. I keep hoping that eventually Covid will be over and I can pick up where I left off at the astrophotography workshop last October. It would be nice to start visiting Kennedy Space Center again too. When is this all going to happen? I have no earthly idea.

I keep getting messages from my doctor encouraging me to get vaccinated at one of those mega-sites where you have to stand in line all day. Don't think I'm going to do that. I'd rather just stay away from other people for a while longer. Apparently my doctor's office gets a small supply of the vaccine every month, but so far it's being used on patients who are in a lot worse shape than I am. I'm in the 1B priority group, but so are millions of other people. I'm sure I'll get a call one of these days telling me that it's my turn. Take your time guys. I still have lingering fears that this vaccine will turn out to be a horrible mistake like Thalidomide and other drugs where the side effects weren't discovered until years later.

Dawn is unusually quiet tonight. I don't think the drugs have worn off yet. When she came home, she immediately drank a ton of water and then threw up on the bed. We're still washing all the bedding. Hopefully, life will be back to normal in the morning. 

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day