Day 4660

Not a lot happened today. It was still dark when we started our sunrise walk with Dawn. There were other people in the park, but you could only see the lights they wore. Some people carried flashlights. Others wore headlamps and some even put little lights on their shoes. A lot of dogs had lighted collers. We used to have a little red light that would clip on Dawn's collar, but it got lost on a walk over a year ago. You don't really need these lights very long. The predawn sky brightens quickly. I could see Orion in the South with Mars overhead and Jupiter setting in the West as we left the house. By the time we arrived home it was daylight.

I discovered where the little green worms were coming from this morning. There is a tree I often pass under on our morning walks with hundreds of the things dangling from thin weblike threads. I must have walked through this mess the other day and didn't even realize it. Evidently the city is infested with these little green caterpillars this Fall. They seem to favor Hackberry trees.

The temperature was nice and cool today, so I took my long walk instead of going to the gym. Our Fall typically doesn't last very long, but I hope this weather continues. It's rare that the temperature is just right in Texas. Today was perfect. I could walk without getting hot and sweaty, but I didn't need a coat either.

It doesn't look like there is going to be an Artemis launch until mid to late November, but I still feel compelled to check on the rocket every day. Overnight they rolled the rocket back to the Vertical Assembly Building where it is safely stowed away. With the hurricane's path moving to the East, there is a chance that the storm will pass directly over the space center now. By the time Ian reaches the space coast it will be a lot weaker, but it will still be quite a storm. It's a good thing I'm not traveling to Florida this week. I've heard that they might even close the airport in Orlando soon.

My seasonal allergies keep getting worse. I'm not sure what causes these allergies, but it doesn't make any difference whether I'm indoors or out. Either way I'm always blowing my nose. The nasal congestion is irritating but I'm used to it by now. I've had seasonal allergies for years. I really appreciate the few weeks each year when the allergies completely go away.

I was thinking about learning some new features on one of my cameras today, but when the time came, I had already lost interest. Modern digital cameras will do a lot of things that people like me seldom use. I basically shoot the same way I used to with my old Nikon film cameras. The only controls I use are shutter speed and f-stop. I wish manufacturers would invent a way to insure perfect focus at night. That's always a tricky one for me.

I wish Dawn would warm up to me. Janet was gone this afternoon and every time I came in the bedroom, Dawn would leave. We both like to nap. It's a shame that it's so hard to do this together. I don't think Dawn will ever completely trust men.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4171

Today seemed like the first day of summer. It was hot, but not too hot. The sky was blue with a few puffy white clouds. It was still too wet to do yardwork, but it was a nice day for walking. We walked Dawn early today because Janet has a volunteer job on Wednesdays. Dawn didn't mind the change in schedule. She's walking pretty normal now. After we finished our one mile loop, I came back to the house with Dawn and Janet. It was way too early for my long walk.

I spent the rest of the morning practicing processing another image I took out at the observatory earlier this month. What I'm discovering is that  my in-camera noise reduction is actually better than the complicated procedures for reducing noise in my astrophotography software. I have a feeling that I'm doing something wrong, but maybe the easy way is better after all.

I noticed today that McDonald Observatory has started having a photography night once a month. That's all I need is another excuse to go back to the mountain. I haven't even paid my bills for this month's trip yet. I don't think I'll be going back in June. It's a nice idea though. There are no workshops or classes associated with these photography nights. You just get access to the mountain at a reasonable price. If the observatory continues having these monthly photography nights, maybe I'll go back in the Fall

If I go back to Mount Locke in the Fall it will give me an excuse to get the little telescope I've had my eye on. Somehow a return to West Texas seems more appealing than going to Florida right now. I just wish that the drive wasn't so long and that there was a guarantee of good weather when I got there. My batting average for good weather is not so good.

By the time I took my long walk the temperature was in the high 80's. It wasn't too bad, but I was definitely sweating by the time I returned home. This was just a taste of what's to come. I'm not sure how well I'll handle the heat this summer. It seems worse every year. Maybe the summer heat will provide the incentive I need to finally return to the gym. My gym has a nice indoor track and the place is air conditioned. Walking around an indoor track is boring, but so is my walk. I've been following the same route for far too long.

I keep hoping that Dawn will bond with me on afternoons when Janet is away. I almost got her to follow me to the kitchen this afternoon for some cheese, but she lost her nerve in the hallway and ran back to the bedroom. She likes to go out in the back yard on nice days, but she won't go on her own. I have to lead her outside on a leash. I take the leash off at the back door and she's fine outside. I sit on a bench while she lies on the grass. She'll frequently come over to me on the bench and let me pet her. Everything seems normal when we're outside. As soon as we go back inside, she runs back to the bedroom. It's all a giant mystery to me.

I was going to program my new camera with some custom settings today, but I never got around to it. There are four custom menus that allow you to preload settings you commonly use for different situations. I could have a dog picture menu, a night sky menu, a portrait menu, and a nature photography menu. This might actually be useful. I'll probably never do it though. I've never learned the full capabilities of any of my digital cameras. I just pretend that they are an old Nikon F2 and stick to the basics.

I missed the eclipse of the moon early this morning. I got up early and went outside to look, but the skies were completely cloudy. Our nice summer day didn't begin until much later in the morning. 

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2676

I was unlocking the back door and getting ready to take Dot outside this morning when much to my surprise I see her walking toward me. She had gotten up all by herself and was headed toward the door on her own. I was amazed. She hasn't done this for months. It was as if she was telling us "don't count me out yet." Her surprising show of strength continued for most of the day. Dot ate all her food today and had two good walks.

Dash was in good spirits as well. I think the dogs liked the cooler weather. The weather was a surprise as well. A cold front rolled in overnight and the temperature was in the low 50's when we woke up. The severe weather the bank teller was warning me about yesterday finally arrived late last night, but all we got was a lot of rain. Luckily, the hail storms and tornado warnings were to the North of us.

I spent most of the day doing mindless chores, but I did find time to take a camera down to the lake without the dogs. Cool overcast days are perfect photography weather. I was hoping to capture a Great Blue Heron or some Great Egrets, but they were nowhere to be found today. I did see a mother Wood Duck with three little ducklings, so my excursion wasn't entirely in vain. There are an abundance of animals in the park, but I don't see as many when I walk Dash these days. He's not as adventurous as he used to be, so we seldom venture off one well worn path. I've given up trying to get Dash to do something new. He is very stubborn.

I noticed today that the camera I am using now was only saving images at 180 DPI. I did a Google search to learn how to change the setting to 300 DPI like I was used to and discovered that dots per inch was no longer considered a meaningful number. For the most part, camera manufacturers had just abandoned it, just like depth of field scales and aperture rings on the lens. None of this makes sense to me. What if you wanted to print a picture straight from your camera without processing it in Photoshop? Wouldn't it would be handy to have a 300 DPI image then? Nope. I was wrong about that as well. Evidently modern printers automatically scale the image to the paper size you have selected and all of the processing I've learned to do over the years is no longer necessary. It's weird to feel so out of date. It's even weirder to still like the old way of doing things better.

We've had a lot of rain lately and I hope that the new patches on the roof are doing well. I haven't even been up to check on them yet. I haven't done a lot of things that I used to do routinely because I seem to be perpetually tired. Janet seems to feel the same way. When the chores are finished and the dogs have been taken care of, we fall asleep instantly.

It's too wet to mow the grass and too muddy to spend much effort cleaning the house. I guess I'll just go to the gym tomorrow. Maybe I need a personal trainer or at least a class or two. I walk constantly and am very active when I go to the gym, but I'm still losing muscle mass. I've gone from feeling pleased that I could still wear the same sizes I wore in college to being slightly alarmed. I definitely don't want to wind up like Dot. It's harder to build muscle as you age, but it is not impossible. I used to blame muscle atrophy on the statin drugs I was taking, but it's entirely possible that I'm just not working out hard enough.

I hope Dot has another good day tomorrow. There is really no explanation for the burst of energy she had today. A good day is a gift. I can't think of anything we did differently today, but it sure would be nice if our luck continues tomorrow.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2339

The electricians came today. So, how many electricians does it take to change a light bulb? In the past, it has taken as many as three. Today, there was only one guy, but perhaps there should have been more. Things didn't go all that smoothly. The sodium vapor bulb has burned out, so we decided to just replace the bulb instead of the entire unit. Amazingly, Home Depot had these strange bulbs in stock, but the model the electrician selected turned out to be bad and he had to take it back. To avoid trying out bulbs all day, he suggested that I replace the sodium vapor lamp with a modern LED fixture. This sounded fine by me. Unfortunately, the only fixture the electrician could find was bright enough to light a tennis court at night. Then the guy's boss called and told him he was spending too much time looking for light bulbs and he needed to move on to the next job. The electrician left, but told me that he'd be back before dark with a light that worked. I didn't expect to see him again, but he was true to his word and eventually returned with a smaller LED fixture that worked. Hopefully, we won't need to do this again for a while.

Dot and I skipped our physical therapy session for the first time in over a year. I think the added rest is helping. She hasn't gotten much stronger, but she does seem a lot more comfortable.  Hey, it's only been two days now. I'm encouraged, even though the progress has been small. We only walk Dot around the block now. If she gets stronger, we'll gradually start increasing the distance, but I don't think she'll ever walk up and down the hills of her old route again. Since incontinence is becoming a bigger problem, I went to a pet store and got a giant box of puppy training pads. We put one of these disposable pads under her at night, so if she pees, it won't soak through the blankets.

My project for the day was turning an old iPhone without a SIM card into a pet cam. This phone was abandoned long ago when the battery went bad, but it still works when you plug it into a charger and it will connect to WiFi. Our regular pet cam won't reach the small area where Dot stays now, so I thought it was worth a try. I downloaded an app that turns your phone into a security camera and amazingly, it worked. Now, I have a camera that is small enough that I can put it right next to Dot's bed when I have to leave.

The other day when I was updating firmware on a camera body, I discovered that a lot of modern lenses have firmware too. I found several lenses that were out of date, along with detailed instructions on how to update them. After installing the new firmware in each lens, I'll have to admit that I can't see any differences at all. I suppose that the auto focus is smoother now or something. I didn't need to do any of this, since I tend to use the manual settings on my cameras, but this is what geeks do on a slow day.

I sent out my May invoices today. This was the smallest batch of invoices I've mailed in a long time. Sad. I miss the days when I was busy and headhunters were calling me every month to offer me a better job. I think there's a better chance of Dot jumping over a tall fence than of a headhunter calling with a cool job offer again. Dot is aging with so much grace and dignity. I can already tell that it's going to be more difficult for me. I need to ask Dot what her secret is.

Dodger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day