Day 4830

Yesterday was such a nice day and today was exactly the opposite. It turns out that it was the drugs that were keeping Dawn happy. After 24 hours without pain meds she woke up stiff and painful again. There were no falls, but there was one stumble where she almost fell. We've had to go back to having her wear a harness with a handle all the time so we can help her on and off the bed and make sure she doesn't fall when going out to pee. After giving her another Rimadyl she is much calmer this evening. We'll have to check with the vet and see how long it is safe to continue this medication.

Today was a dismal rainy day, but I did manage to get a few things done. I finished gathering and preparing my 2022 tax information to take to the accountant. During a break in the rain I took a fat folder with my tax materials and another with Janet's information to the accountant and then dropped off the old printer at an animal rescue donation site. When I returned home it looked like there was still enough time to take my long walk before the next round of storms arrived.

I completed my entire route today but I was pretty slow. My feet weren't having a good day. We didn't give Dawn a morning walk today and probably won't tomorrow either. Since she seems to feel good when taking pain medication it's hard to know what to do. We don't want to aggravate the situation, but it isn't good to be completely inactive either. Dawn is much happier when she can follow her regular routine. She and I are pretty similar in that regard.

The dreaded severe storms we've been hearing about for several days finally arrived late this afternoon. Usually bad storms go either to the north or south of us, but today they appeared to be headed directly in our direction. It all looked pretty serious for a while. We started getting warnings on our phones and then the tornado sirens started going off in the neighborhood. The local weather said the entire area was under a tornado warning and sure enough when I looked at the weather radar our house was inside the tornado warned zone. This hasn't happened for a long time. We gathered up Dawn, her dog bed, several blankets and our phones and headed for our safe spot. Truthfully, we don't have a safe spot in our house since it is an open plan design with no interior rooms. There is a ton of single pane glass that would break easily in a bad storm. We ended up huddling next to the refrigerator in a little alcove in the kitchen that was as far from windows as we could find. This still wasn't a great location because we were near the utility room with a gas furnace and water heater.

Dawn was good in her inaugural safety drill. She was nervous for a few minutes and then settled down and was pretty relaxed. I think she felt comfortable that both of us were right there next to her. Dawn didn't want us on the dog bed with her though, so she ended up having more room than Janet and I. The storm blew over pretty quick and everything is quiet again. A cold front has arrived though and it is almost thirty degrees colder than it was a few hours ago. When I took the trash out to the curb about an hour ago it felt like a completely different day than it did this morning.

There are no roof leaks yet, but I expect we'll start to see some soon. The pumps are running now and it's clear that there's a lot of water on the roof. I wish I knew where to place the buckets before I go to bed tonight, but the leaks never seem to appear in the same place. I actually hope the dripping noises wake me up tonight or there might be a big mess in the morning. The good news is that there is no more rain in the forecast for a while. The bad news is that Dawn isn't out of the woods yet. Whatever's wrong is still bothering her.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4785

The weather was dismal today. The temperature never got above freezing and the sleet that everyone had been predicting has finally arrived. I think it's going to be like this for the rest of the week. This is definitely not my favorite type of weather, but there's not much I can do about it.

I shouldn't complain though. The furnace is working well and the house is warm. Although it is currently sleeting outside, the volume of water falling from the sky is much less than a heavy rain. Maybe the roof won't leak. I didn't drive anywhere today because I didn't want to encounter icy roads, but the weather didn't stop me from walking.

I wasn't the only one who wore two coats today. Even Dawn wore two coats on her early walk. It was still dry outside this morning, but it was very cold. We were all glad to return home to a warm house. After breakfast I went out walking again. I wasn't ready to give up on getting my daily steps. I dressed very warmly, but this was one of the coldest walks I've taken in over a year. At about mile three I was beginning to question my sanity. I probably should have gone to the gym instead because the sleet and freezing rain didn't start until after dinner this evening. There certainly weren't many people on the trails today. I only encountered two other people on my walk.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I tried to make a doctor's appointment, but never could reach anyone. After a long wait on the phone, I was just told to leave a message on voicemail. I ended up making the appointment using the clinic website. I don't think anyone picks up their phone anymore.

This afternoon I filled out my 2023 credential application with the 45th Space Wing. This should have taken about ten minutes but ended up taking hours because the PDF document the Space Force sent me was formatted wrong and it was almost impossible to enter my information. I should have just printed out the blank form and entered the information by hand. Eventually I finished the form and sent it back. The information on this year's form was exactly the same as it was last year. Nothing had changed. Even though I wasted a lot of time, it was worth the effort. There are always a few launches where the Space Force provides much better access than NASA. You can't have too many credentials if you want to chase rockets.

I don't think we'll be going anywhere tomorrow. If the sleet continues, there's a good chance that the roads will be icy. We'll still probably take a morning walk with Dawn unless the weather is really bad. I'll reserve judgement on walking further. I like getting my steps, but I'm not fond of falling on my ass. If it's slippery outside in the morning, we all may just stay in the house all day. Dawn is not fond of nasty weather. I think she'd rather stay under a blanket on the bed.

Malcolm is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4780

The rain has stopped. Unfortunately, the roof is still leaking. I could probably put a stop to this if I went up on the roof and swept all the standing water away. I'm really trying to avoid climbing on the roof though. My balance isn't as good as it used to be and I'd hate to fall off. Heavy rain in the winter is the worst because it never evaporates. Hopefully, the leak will stop tomorrow. The buckets are filling slower now, so at least we're making progress.

It was cold enough on our morning walk with Dawn that I seriously considered going back to the gym. Dawn wore her sweater and it was definitely a two coat day for me. Dawn still enjoyed smelling things but I think she was glad when we returned to the house. I'm already tired of winter and it's barely even started.  We have at least three more months of cold weather before I can start to think about Spring.

I ate my breakfast slowly and did some small chores around the house in hopes that it would warm up outside if I waited long enough. It never did. In fact, I think it got colder as the day progressed. I still needed to get my steps though, so I dressed warmly and headed out on my daily long walk. The walk might have been a mistake, but I made it. There are a lot fewer people in the park on cold days. I saw very few bicycles and joggers today. I didn't even see many ducks. I still see people walking their dogs though. Dogs need to poop and pee in all types of weather.

My feet still hurt on these long walks. Sometimes the pain goes away after a while, but other times it gets worse. I think I've just reached the age where everything hurts. My shoulder hurts when I attempt to raise my arms above my head. My knees hurt when I bend them. Even my wrists and fingers hurt. None of this is really debilitating. It's more of an irritation than anything. I remember the days when nothing hurt.

I still can't decide whether to apply for the Crew-6 NASA Social. One of the cardinal rules for these things is never apply unless you really plan to go. They don't like it if you cancel after you have been accepted. Crewed launches are always interesting, but if I go to this one, it means one future launch I won't be able to attend. My budget is a bit limited this year. I just can't afford to be going down to Florida every month.

Janet and I decided not to visit the rescue dogs this week. It was too cold and damp to play with them outside and it's still unclear if there is an available indoor space we can use. We'll try to go up next week. It's too bad that the old kennel went out of business. It was just about perfect. Hopefully, the dogs will like this new place. It seems clean and well managed. It's just a long way away for Janet and I.

There's new software available for the star tracker and I had plans of testing it again today. The day got away from me though and when I finished everything else, it was too close to dinner to mess around with new software. I have no faith in the Benro people. Sometimes their software and firmware updates make thing better and other times they make things worse. I'm always apprehensive about starting the tracker up after I've installed new software.

Dawn didn't go to training class tonight. It was too cold and damp for her to be outside that long. The days are getting longer though. Maybe next week will be better.

Bones is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4691

Another rainy day. We were able to take Dawn on a very early walk before the rain started, but it hasn't stopped since. There haven't been any roof leaks yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear a dripping sound soon. The pumps on the roof are still working, although I think one of them is partially clogged. Considering how hard it has been raining, a lot more water should be coming through the discharge hose.

It has been a dismal, very wet day, but it still seemed like a pretty normal Friday. I ate my shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast, checked my messages, and made plans to go to the gym. I kept hoping that the rain would stop, but it never did. Ordinarily I'd avoid driving in heavy rain, but I've become totally addicted to getting my steps. There were more people at the gym than I thought there'd be. Makes sense I guess. What else do you do on a dismal, rainy day? I was better on the basketball court today and kept up a pretty good pace on the indoor track. I didn't feel like doing much else though. Once I got my steps, I was ready to go home.

Against my better judgement, I've decided to go to the upcoming Falcon Heavy launch. The launch takes place pretty soon, but I was able to make travel arrangements. I initially thought that this trip would be too expensive, considering that I'm going back to Florida in the middle of November for the Artemis launch. Luckily I remembered that I had enough points to book my flight using points. That helped a lot because fares were really high this time. Airfares seem to change minute-by-minute. The cost can vary dramatically, depending on when you need to fly. I lucked out on my hotel as well. There's a brand new Hyatt very near the space center that I've been wanting to try. It's never been available before. 

I got credentialed by both Space X and The Space Force for this launch, so I'll have a choice of where to set up my cameras. The Space Force provides viewing from the ITL Causeway and the Space X viewing site will be on the Press Site lawn. I'm not sure which of these locations provides a better view of the two side boosters returning to Landing Zone 1, but I'll find out. I've seen one of these Falcon Heavy launches before and it's pretty spectacular when the two boosters return side-by-side to land at the space center.

The tree guy returned my call today and said it would be two weeks before he could come remove the tree from my roof. I wish he could come sooner, but it is what is is. Right now the broken limb is lodged between the edge of the roof and another branch in the tree that it fell from. I noticed today that the limb has slipped a bit after today's heavy rain. Hopefully the limb will stay where it is until the tree guy arrives. If it falls to the ground it will likely do some damage.

I hope the weather clears up tomorrow. I don't do well on days like this. I'm always worried that the roof is going to start leaking again and I tend to get cabin fever quickly. I like a day where I always have an option of walking in the park and am never forced to drive in the rain. Rain or shine I've got grocery shopping to do tomorrow. I'd better start packing for the Falcon Heavy launch too.

Abi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4687

What a dismal day. It basically rained all day, although we were able to take Dawn on an abbreviated sunrise walk during a break in the clouds. The rain has been heavy enough that I'm worried about the roof leaking, but so far so good. The pumps on the roof are still working and that's probably helping a bit.

There's not a lot to do on a cold rainy day. I ate my breakfast and checked my messages for nonexistent messages from NASA. I was getting ready to go to the gym when we had a short power outage. Power outages freak Dawn out. Maybe it's the beeping noises the battery backup devices make when they kick in. Dawn couldn't find anyplace where she felt safe and ended up huddled in the kitchen. The power came back on in less than ten minutes but that was of little comfort to Dawn. I couldn't get her to come back to the bedroom at all. 

I waited around for her to calm down and tried taking her outside so that she could see that everything was alright. Nothing seemed to work. Dawn tried sitting on several living room chairs, but couldn't find a place where she felt comfortable. I finally ended up leading her back to the bedroom on a leash and sat with her until she started to relax. I don't know what causes this behavior, but it seems to happen every time there's a power outage.

The rain wasn't going to stop, but it was a fairly gentle rain and Dawn eventually fell asleep in the bed. I went to the gym, but I turned off the backup batteries before I left. Hopefully if there was another power outage, there wouldn't be any beeping noises. The fact that I would willingly drive in the rain shows how addicted I've become to getting my daily steps. Rain or shine I need to get at least 10,000 steps.

The gym was surprisingly crowded today. I thought the place would be empty, but what else are you going to do on a rainy day. Probably a lot of people were getting cabin fever sitting at home waiting for the rain to stop. I was absolutely terrible on the basketball court this morning, but I eventually completed thirty free throws and moved on the the running track. I walked two miles, got my steps, and headed home again. I thought the rain might clean up my car, but it wasn't meant to be. Passing spray from other cars just made the car even muddier.

One of the pumps on the roof must be partially clogged. It wasn't operating well today and kept throwing the breaker for the pump circuit. I didn't climb up on the roof to investigate because it was pretty nasty outside. Maybe if it clears up tomorrow I'll go up on the roof and clean out the pump, but I think my roof climbing days are just about over. It's slippery up there and I'm not as nimble as I used to be.

It's not raining right now, but the day isn't over yet. I see another band of storms approaching us on the weather radar and I'm starting to hear thunder. I'm not a big fan of an all day rain. Sure, the yard needed the water, but I definitely don't need the stress of waiting for the next roof leak. Maybe I'll get lucky this time. After this narrow storm band passes, I think it's clear sailing for the rest of the night.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4399

Another cold Winter day. If I could have slept all day, I would have. No rest for the weary though. We got up early, took Dawn on a sunrise walk and were relieved to see that her poop has almost returned to normal. The pills the vet gave her definitely helped. It was very foggy this morning and there was a light mist in the air. Dawn always enjoys smelling things, but I think she was glad to return to a warm house.

On weekends we have a real breakfast. Today we had bacon and eggs with toast. It's a nice change from the shredded wheat I've been eating the rest of the week. After breakfast, I checked my e-mail and read all the new entries on the Polaris forum. I'm glad the other Kickstarter backers seem willing to share what they've learned. I don't think I'd have a clue about how to operate the star tracker if I were on my own. 

Since the weather was dismal and we knew the ground would be wet, we decided to take Dawn to a different park today where we wouldn't get muddy. We walked on paved sidewalks today. Dawn was initially excited at all the new things to smell, but she quickly became worried when she realized that she didn't know where she was. It doesn't take much to get Dawn in a panic. Being lost isn't one of her favorite things. She started to freeze in place like she used to do months ago. The only way we could get her back to the car was for Janet to walk out ahead of Dawn and me. Dawn didn't want to let Janet out of her sight, so she followed her back to the car. Everything ended well though. We still went to Andy's for ice cream and by the time we returned to the house, Dawn was a happy camper again.

I still took my long walk today, but this was not an easy one. The temperature was actually colder than when we walked Dawn at sunrise and the wind had picked up a lot. My feet hurt more today as well. Not surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people out on the trails. Even the ducks looked cold today. I've noticed something new in the park recently. The city has installed placards with a QR code on a lot of the park signage. If you scan this code with your phone it will bring up a map that shows you exactly where you are. I have so many questions. Who gets lost in a city park anyway? I can't imagine anyone really getting lost in this park. Even the wooded areas are fairly close to major roads. Even if you did manage to get lost, why would you need a QR code on a stop sign to give you directions? All you have to do is open Google Maps on your phone and it will tell you exactly where you are anyway. There are a ton of these new QR code signs scattered all over the park. Another example of our tax dollars at work, I guess.

Since I didn't really have any plans for today, I watched the latest episode of The Expanse this afternoon. This series certainly doesn't appear to be coming to any conclusion. Maybe they want to keep their options open in case someone wants to continue the series with a Season 7. Everyone says this will be the last season though. We'll see.

I wonder if I'll be able to put the star tracker to good use after I figure it out? There are so many streetlights in our neighborhood that the sky never gets very dark. Our yard has a bright security light as well that is very difficult to shut off since there is no light switch. A sensor on the light automatically turns it on at sunset and off again the next morning. There are a few darker places down in the park, but crime has gotten so bad in the city that I'm definitely not venturing out to a dark and lonely place after sunset with a lot of expensive equipment. I hate reading the local news because it seems like someone gets shot every single day. It almost always happens at night and often involves an unlucky random stranger. No wonder I miss the solitude of the Davis Mountains so much.

Depending on the weather, we'll probably visit the rescue Dalmatians tomorrow. I hear there's a new dog in the program now, so I'd better take my camera. I wish astrophotography was as easy as taking pictures of dogs. I've gotten pretty good at taking pictures of dogs.

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4177

We had to take Dawn to the vet today. She's been licking her paws so bad at night that we often see blood on the bedspread in the mornings. This behavior is relitively new and we're trying to figure out whether she has a medical problem or a behavior issue. The vet gave her a cortisone shot tonight. If this stops the licking, he says that there's a good chance the problem is allergies. If the cortisone shot works, we then need to figure out what she is allergic to. Is is a food allergy, an environmental allergy, or something else? Of course, the problem might have nothing to do with allergies. She might have a yeast infection under her nails. She might have severe anxiety problems. Too bad that dogs can't talk. This is going to be a long process to figure this out.

It didn't rain today, but that doesn't mean it was a nice day. It was overcast and cold for most of the day. There were ominous dark clouds that made it look like it could rain at any time. The grey day actually made it more pleasant to walk. I'll take a windy, overcast day over a hot, sweaty day anytime. Dawn seemed to like the weather. She's been much more adventurous lately. We went off in an entirely new direction today. Dawn seems to know her way around the neighborhood. Even thought the route we took today was new to her, she seemed to know the way home. It's good to see her confidence grow. It's too bad she wasn't as confident at the vet.

I ordered the little telescope I've had my eye on. Redcat 51 if you're interested. I'm determined to become a better astrophotographer. I've definitely got a long way to go. The main problem I'm facing is a lack of dark skies. The light pollution in Dallas is terrible and I don't feel safe out at night in the city anyway. This means I will probably continue making the long trip out to McDonald Observatory several times a year. Mount Locke is hard to beat. The skies are some of the darkest in the entire country and the Astronomer's Lodge is essentially a great little invitation only hotel with a fabulous chef right at the top of the mountain.

My walks are starting to get boring. I do them purely for exercise now. I guess I could add a little variety by walking on the other side of the lake, but it's hardly worth the trouble. The other side of the lake is familiar territory too. There must be a lot of people who do the same thing I do. I recognize a lot of dogs now and I've noticed that certain cars seem to be parked along the side of the road every single day. The ducks and geese always hang out together in small little groups. The Muscovy Ducks never mingle with the other ducks. The geese stick to themselves as well. The domesticated geese don't even mingle with the Canada Geese.

Dawn certainly seems calm now. I think she wore herself out at the vet. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.  I hope the cortisone shot works. I think allergies would be a little easier to deal with than anxiety. Hard to believe it is June already. Where has this year gone? I'll fix another smoothie tomorrow morning and take another long walk. I'm trying to think of another writing project, but I'm not having a lot of luck with the magazines right now. There's always bills to pay I guess. I paid a few more today.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4047

Another gray, dismal day. At least it wasn't raining. It's hard to get motivated on days like this. I impatiently channel surf while I'm eating breakfast, never finding anything worth watching. I check the pumps on the roof and then forget to turn them off. I turn on my computer and mindlessly scroll through my Facebook timeline. I keep thinking I ought to be doing something useful and usually just end up charging camera batteries.

Janet goes grocery shopping on Friday now, so we didn't walk Dawn until she returned home. Dawn acts listless and seldom leaves the bed when I'm puttering around the house by myself. As soon as she hears Janet's car in the driveway, she hops us and races to the door to greet her. Lets face it. This dog just doesn't like me. I guess I can live with this. She's a very sweet dog and I'm sure she has her reasons.

As long as we take the short one mile route that Dawn likes, we have no problems walking her anymore. I'm beginning to think that she never liked our longer walks, but just went along with us because she was afraid something bad would happen if she resisted. Dawn is much more confident and assertive now. Maybe we're finally starting to see her real personality. There are any number of reasons why Dawn could be acting this way, but maybe she's just a lazy dog.

When Dawn returns to the house with Janet, I continue walking. I sometimes think that Dawn has the right idea, but I'm more disciplined than she is. I know that I'm getting older and my contemporaries are dropping like flies. If I want to stay healthy, I'm going to have to work at it. I have no interest in taking a class at the gym or doing anything competitive. Walking is the best way I can think of for staying active. 

When I leave the house, I can go West or I can go East. There is a well developed path that goes all the way around the lake and smaller trails that branch off in different directions. I've tried them all. The park is interesting and is a great place for bird watching, but after ten or fifteen years there aren't many surprises anymore. I probably should find someplace new just for a little variety, but I can't bring myself to get in a car just to go walking. Some days are boring, but I'm content with learning the habits of animals and watching the seasons change.

I'm reading more and more about astrophotography and realizing that the premise of the article I'm planning to write isn't original at all. People have been writing about this subject for decades and what's new to me is already old hat to scores of others. It's a good thing that I'm discovering this now. I'm a good writer, but I need to learn more before I attempt to teach. I'm still going to submit an article to Sky & Telescope, but it will take a little longer and will probably be much different than what I originally envisioned.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I continue to be amazed at how quickly time flies when you're doing nothing. I would have thought that the days would just drag on in slow motion, but this entire year has gone by in a flash. For a while I was frustrated that Covid has seriously curtailed my efforts to become a space and astronomy journalist. Now I'm realizing that there's a reason for everything. I couldn't really afford to be traveling all the time anyway. I'll attend launches and see dark skies again, but taking a break gives me time to rebuild my finances. My big project now is getting Dawn to like me.

Raider is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4031

Today was dismal. It was supposed to rain all day, but for the most part it was just dark and overcast. When we tried to walk Dawn, she wanted to turn around before we even finished our first mile. She always starts out very enthusiastic, but as soon as she spots a way home, she's done. We keep wondering if she has arthritis or if something else is wrong, but she always makes the journey home just fine. All she seems to want to do these days is lie on the bed.

After we returned home with Dawn, I continued walking. I was pretty sure I would get wet, but there was nothing to lose. Wet or dry, I had very little to do today. Although I got a little damp, the rain never really amounted to much today. I ended up walking about six miles.

I had trouble getting motivated today. I didn't take down the Christmas tree and I didn't start my next astronomy article either. I certainly didn't begin raking the leaves. You never want to rake leaves when they are wet. I ended up watching the Space X Starship static fire test in Boca Chica, but I couldn't bring myself to watch any of the news channels. It was just too discouraging. 

I think there's a new season of The Expanse available now on Amazon Prime. I think this would be season five. Maybe I'll watch that tomorrow. I always liked this show and the previous seasons seemed to get me through dismal days before. Unless I'm really motivated to start my astronomy article tomorrow, a little science fiction seems to be in order.

Janet was gone this afternoon and I had a hard time getting Dawn off the bed. I had to take her outside to go pee on a leash. She does fine on a leash, but she won't come when I call whenever Janet is gone. Sometimes she won't even leave the bedroom to eat her dinner. When I fixed her dinner this evening, she wouldn't leave the bedroom to eat until I went back to the office and ignored her. I heard her eating, but I didn't leave my desk because I didn't want to scare her. As soon as she finished her meal, I heard her go to the front door and wait for Janet to return. As soon as Janet came home, everything was fine again. It's kind of sad. I'm always here and Janet is gone a lot. I'm sure Dawn would prefer the opposite.

I'm going to have to disable some more things on my Apple Watch. After I upgraded the system, it's become way too intrusive. The watch is reminding me to go to bed now and asking me if I want a wake up alarm. I disabled the feature that calls 911 if you fall, but there are apparently more things I need to disable as well. A watch that tells the time, tracks my walks, and provides a decent weather forecast is all I need. Actually, I don't need any of this. I'm pretty content not wearing a watch at all.

I hope I'm more motivated tomorrow. It really is time for the Christmas tree to come down. I'm sure there's water on the roof as well. I should be getting to know my new camera and sending queries and proposals to magazines. I'm doing nothing instead. January is never a great time for me, but I should be able to do better than this.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3906

You want a recipe for a dismal day? Start with lots of rain. Add a huge sell off in the stock market. Throw in a little pandemic isolation and top it off with the latest cable news crisis. It's getting harder and harder to stay positive this year. I'm not a very positive person anyway, but this year is off the charts. Sometimes all it takes is a little rain to tip the balance.

We had to delay our walk again this morning because of the rain. We got up really early to beat the weather, but the forecast was wrong. It was already raining. The rain never lasted long, but it was hard to tell what was going to happen next. We ended up waiting until almost noon before leaving the house. Dawn didn't seem to mind. I think she would sleep all day if given the chance.

I got a letter from the grocery store today telling me to throw away the peaches I had bought from them almost a month ago. A little late guys. I've already had two peach pies and eaten a peach every day in my morning smoothie. If I was going to get salmonella poisoning I'd be dead by now. Who keeps peaches for over a month anyway? They don't last that long. There's still one store that sells peaches. I'm continuing to eat them. It makes me wonder if these peaches are actually safe, or whether the store just didn't bother to read all the recall notices. I do think a lot of these produce recalls are just done out of an abundance of caution. Nobody wants to get sued these days.

I went to the bank today to deposit a check. I wonder if the bank lobby is ever going to reopen? They've probably discovered that it's much easier to have everyone go through the drive up windows. Customers seems to have adjusted to this. Maybe there's no need to ever reopen the lobby. There's an app that lets you deposit checks by taking a picture of them with your phone. I'm too old school for this though. I don't use my phone for any type of transactions. It's just a tool to check the weather with and occasionally take photos. I used my phone to photograph some Bald Cypress fruit today. These don't look nearly as edible as the Mexican Plumbs a little further down the road.

Both Space X launches were successful today. There was a Starlink launch in Florida this morning and another Starship prototype hop in Boca Chica later in the day. The Starship still looks like a flying grain silo, but I bet a year from now it will look a lot more sophisticated. One disconcerting thing is happening down at Boca Chica. Space X is building a giant stainless steel wall around the facility. If I ever get down there, I might not be able to see anything. Since United Launch Alliance didn't have any launches today, they had time to answer my letter. Yay. I'm on the ULA media list now.

The trash has been taken to the curb. The rain has stopped. Dawn seems to be in a good mood. Maybe today wasn't that dismal after all. Really nothing happened today, but nothing happened yesterday either. We'll see if tomorrow is a repeat of today. There's more rain in the forecast starting around 4 AM. Will we get to walk or will we have to wait? There's certainly nothing else on the agenda.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3838

The Saharan Dust Cloud has arrived in Dallas. The sky has looked gray and hazy all day. No spectacular sunsets here. The dust was so thick that I kept thinking I could smell it. This dismal science fiction sky seemed the perfect companion for a world ravaged by disease and riots. The Saharan Dust plume is a yearly event, but they say that this year's cloud is the thickest ever recorded. There have been air quality alerts all over Texas today. Hey, it's 2020. What else would you expect.

I wonder when grocery stores will get back to normal. The stores aren't crowded anymore but there seem to be too many of some items and not enough of others. There is an enormous amount of bottled water and toilet paper in some stores now, but I haven't been able to find blueberries for two weeks. Still can't find Clorox Wipes. Sooner or later there will be a huge end aisle display of those too. It will probably be right next to the towering piles of toilet paper.

Texas is a virus hot-spot now, but businesses seem very reluctant to close again. There seems to be a strong desire to ignore the latest news even though area hospitals are quietly reaching capacity. Dallas had the states very first pop-up emergency hospital back in April, but it was never used. The hospital was dismantled and there appears to be no plan to bring it back. It's all very weird. Everyone was very good about preparing for the virus when it was still in the Northeast. Now that it's actually here, people have grown tired of the whole mess.

There are lots more walkers in the park than there used to be. Maybe I'm not the only one who thinks staying healthy is your only real defense. They say bicycle sales have skyrocketed. It sure seems that way. I wish we didn't share the same trails with these cyclists. You have to be careful when you are walking your dog. Cyclists won't slow down for anything.

We got take-out for dinner this evening and I used one of those curbside pick up arrangements for the first time to get our food. Everything was very efficient. You called your order in and when you arrived, they brought it out to your car in a big bag and swiped your credit card with a mobile terminal. I didn't have to wait long at all. The restaurant seemed to be doing a very good business. There was a steady stream of people bringing bags out to cars. I have a feeling that this particular restaurant is doing just fine. Some businesses will learn to adapt to this new environment and others will disappear.

I'm not sure how adaptable I am at this point. I'm envious of my friends out in the Davis Mountains. They seem insulated from all the urban problems we are facing now. I hope the virus and civil unrest never reaches these remote rural areas. When this is all over, we need some reminder of what life was like before.

Rascal is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day