Day 4898

Since I had to fast for my physical exam this morning I couldn't have my morning coffee or breakfast. It showed. I felt like I had no energy for the rest of the day. Of course this might have been some sort of jet lag effect from my trip. I never get much sleep on these launch trips. The exam went well though. The doc thinks I'm in great shape for my age. Of course "for my age" probably just means that I can still move around without using a walker.

I wish now that I'd asked the doctor about all the bug bites I've got. They're horrible. I think Florida mosquitos are much worse than Texas mosquitos. I get bites like this every time I visit Kennedy Space Center because I'm outside a lot. Since the bites don't go away quickly and I'm a terrible hypochondriac, I always worry that I've caught some strange disease. Were there bedbugs in the hotel? Did I eat tainted food? Did I sit next to the wrong person on the plane? Of course not. These almost have to be mosquito or chigger bites because I've experienced the same thing every time I go to Florida. The bites usually go away in about a week.

On the way back from the doctor I had to stop at the bank and get some documents out of my safe deposit box for tomorrow's driver's license renewal. Something must have changed in the law because I've never needed so much documentation before. I used to just renew my license by mail. The weird thing is that I already have a Real ID, so DPS should know exactly who I am. The letter I got for my appointment said to bring two forms of ID to prove I'm a US citizen, two forms of ID to prove I'm a Texas resident, an original Social Security card, and the title to my car. I've had numerous background checks run on me since I visit military bases to watch launches. Seems very strange that it's easier to visit high security areas at Kennedy Space Center than it is to get a Texas driver's license. At any rate, I've got a pile of documents now and hope I have everything I need. I definitely don't want to have to do this again.

When I returned home I mowed the grass in the back yard and then I took my long walk. The yard looks much better now, although there are still a few dead spots where the roofers left pallets of material while they were working. The grass will grow back quickly and I'll have to mow again pretty quickly as well. At least the new batteries I bought for the mower worked. I'll try to mow the front yard tomorrow.

I finally threw away my worn out Hoka shoes and broke in a new pair on my long walk today. These shoes are comfortable and help with my foot pain, but I sure wish they lasted longer. I've had hiking boots that can be resoled for a lifetime, but any type of sneaker is basically a throw away item. If you're active, you're lucky if they last a year. I was exceptionally slow on my walk today. I got started late and the  weather was hotter than I expected. My feet bothered me as well, but mostly I was just tired. I mentioned to the doctor this morning that I don't have as much energy as I used to. He just laughed and told me I was getting old.

Maybe Dawn did miss me while I was gone. She seems a little friendlier toward me now. One of these days we'll finally be friends. Hopefully there will be no problems with my driver's license renewal tomorrow. I need that license to travel. I also need to get started on my Axiom-2 article soon. There is no rush deadline this time, but I promised my editor that I'd get him something by Friday. Right now I just need to get some sleep.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4828

Dawn is continuing to do well. We took her on two short walks today and there were no problems. Tomorrow she finishes her pain meds, and we're hoping that she continues to be comfortable. It's been several days since Dawn has stumbled or fallen. Her neck is still a little swollen, but that looks better too. With any luck, life can return to normal soon. It's going to be a while before I'm comfortable leaving her alone on the bed, but we can always gate her in the hallway with a dog bed if we both have to be out of the house at the same time.

I took my long walk early today because I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I had to cut a mile off the walk to meet my appointment on time, but I still got my steps. It was chilly and overcast today but there was no rain. I'm getting bored making this five mile trek day-after-day, but it's still a lot easier than driving to the gym. It's surprising how quickly everything has turned green. It's starting to look like Spring has arrived.

My trip to the dermatologist was uneventful. Every six months the doctor freezes the keratosis spots on my face and scalp with liquid nitrogen and they always grow back. The keratosis is so minor that I tend to forget it is there. The doctor says it is important to monitor these areas though because they can turn into basal cell carcinoma. I've been going to this doctor for five years now and nothing has happened, so I hope things stay this way.

Janet's heart doctor wanted her to get a Kardia Mobile Heart Monitor to track her heart rate while exercising. She's supposed to send the results to her doctor periodically, but so far neither of us can figure out how to export the EKG files from the Kardia Mobile and attach them to an e-mail message. Usually I'm very good with devices like this, but I'm stumped so far. It probably doesn't help that something is wrong with my own e-mail account, so it's been hard to test the thing. I can usually receive e-mail just fine but I'm having trouble sending anything. I spent over an hour this morning talking with someone in a call center but got nowhere. Tech support seems to be getting worse and worse. I keep getting a message saying that my mail server has an invalid certificate, but the hosting company says everything's fine. Things were so much easier when you could actually talk to a software engineers yourself. Dealing with offshore call centers is an exercise in frustration.

It's weird having a non-functional e-mail account. I'm not working anymore, but I still have this need to stay connected. What if I miss a message about my press credentials at Kennedy Space Center? What if I need to change something quickly on a rescue website? How can I check on things I've ordered online? This is frustrating. Things seem to be getting worse so it looks like I'm going to have to deal with the call center people again. Oddly, this blog still seems to work fine.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4827

Dawn got a walk this morning and she did quite well. She seemed much happier today and being able to resume some of her regular activies was probably the reason. It's hard to tell if she is actually getting better since she is still taking pain medication and her neck still feels puffy. She's started to shake her head again which is both good and bad. It's good that her neck isn't as painful anymore, but we're going to have to start wearing the No Flap Ear Wrap again. The hematoma in her ear is starting to improve and we don't want that to get bad again.

I didn't do anything exciting today, but I did stay busy. I did several chores that I've been trying to avoid like cleaning toilets and trying to remove the stains on the ceiling. Spraying bleach on the ceiling works pretty well to remove a lot of the brown stains, but it's a messy job. You have to remove everything in the area, so you don't bleach furniture or other objects by mistake. I've learned to wear a hat, glasses and white clothing while I'm doing this so I don't ruin my clothes as well. The living room looks better now but I'm not even going to bother with the stains in the office ceiling. That part of the house is still leaking.

When Janet came home from the gym I took my long walk. We make sure that one of us is always home now to keep an eye on Dawn. We're making progress and the last thing we want is for Dawn to hurt her leg again with a bad fall. It turns out to be easier to let her continue to sleeping on our bed rather than gate her in a hallway where she can't fall. Dawn is a very stubborn dog and she just won't relax if she can't do things her way. Breakfast her way now means breakfast in bed. I don't know why she won't eat her breakfast in the kitchen anymore but it's not a big deal. I bring her bowl back to the bed and she eats there lying down. Oddly, she eats her other meals just fine in the kitchen.

Our weather has been like a roller coaster lately. One day it's hot and the next day it's cold. Today it was pretty chilly. It's hard to decide what to wear because it's always colder next to the lake. At least it was sunny today. I dressed warmly and completed my route, even though my feet hurt at the end. I'm not a big fan of Daylight Savings Time. It stays dark too long in the morning now and light too long in the evening.  I guess the late sunsets don't really matter because I'm not taking a telescope out in the evening anyway. The only connection I have with astronomy these days is testing the star tracker inside the house.

I had a nice walk this morning but it bothers me that I'm getting tired more easily. Walking six miles seems like a struggle at times. I'm going to keep walking though. I'm convinced that this activity is keeping me healthy and walking in the park is a lot easier than driving to the gym. I'm already doing better than my parents. Dad had Parkinson's Disease at my age and Mom was already dead.

I hate hearing that there's going to be a run on the banks after Silicon Valley Bank failed. Jeez. The money I have in the bank is my safe money, since I've never considered investing in the stock market to be all that safe. If the banks aren't safe anymore what do you do? Personally I think the news media love to scare people because it's good for ratings. They are making a big deal out of the bank failure because they know it will scare people. They've also been making a big deal out of airline safety lately because people are traveling more. Be that way if you want. I'll just quit listening to the news.

I need to remember that I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Doctors and dentists hate it when you fail to show up. I have to go to the dermatologist now because I have a few spots of actinic keratosis on my face. Since this is sometimes a pre-cancerous condition they want to check me every six months. No problems so far. The doctor freezes the keratosis spots with liquid nitrogen and I'm on my way. Did I mention that I hate growing old.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4716

Another physical exam is in the books. The doctor agreed that I appear to be in pretty good health. Hopefully today's blood test results won't prove him wrong. I've been debating for weeks about whether to get another Covid booster. I told the doctor that if I haven't gotten Covid by now, I probably wasn't going to get it. I've flown on lots of completely full planes and attended crowded events at the space center during the past several years and never caught Covid. 

When the whole pandemic started I was out at a McDonald Observatory star party where hundreds of strangers came up to look through my telescope. Little kids would cough on me as I attempted to explain what they were looking at. "Hey, I'm good," I told myself. The doctor told me that he felt exactly the same way until he finally caught Covid himself last month. He now feels like everyone in the world is eventually going to catch the disease.

I got the shot. I got a flu shot in one arm and the Covid booster in the other. Piece of cake I thought for most of the day, since I initially felt nothing. Now the arm with the flu shot is starting to hurt. I think I remember the same thing happening last year. At any rate, I'm done fretting about this for the moment. I've done what I could.

On November 22 I always used to go down to Dealey Plaza and listen to all the conspiracy theories about a second gunman on the grassy knoll. The place was a circus with lots of old timers who witnessed the event first hand hawking weird little self published books and pamphlets espousing their own personal theories. Most of these people are dead now. I don't think many people come down to Dealey Plaza anymore. For most younger people, November 22 is just something in a history book. Some of them don't even know who Kennedy was. I still remember the day vividly. I was going to high school in Alaska at the time. Someone came into my English class and told the teacher what had just happened. We were all stunned. Since there was no Internet or satellite broadcasts at the time, we didn't see video tapes of what had occurred until several weeks later.

Other than today's physical exam, it was just a normal day. I even ate my regular breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit when I returned from the doctor's office. I took another long walk in the park because I was too lazy to get in the car and go to the gym. I could do this walk in my sleep by now. Every day is exactly the same. I usually do pretty well for the first several miles and then my feet start to hurt. By the time I return home I'm wondering what I was thinking to attempt such a long walk. My doctor thinks walking is great exercise though and encourages me to keep it up.

I tried one more time to see if there had been any Thanksgiving cancellations at our favorite restaurant. No luck. They aren't even answering their phone anymore. Oh, well. We've still got a place to go that has decent reviews. I hope the weather isn't terrible. Now there are thunderstorms in the Thanksgiving forecast.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4713

Another cold day. I think today was even colder than yesterday. The cold didn't stop us though. We took our sunrise walk with Dawn, returned home, ate a big breakfast, and got ready for another day. I didn't have a big grocery list today, but shopping still took me a while. 

The stores were really crowded this morning. I guess everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving. For once the shelves were fully stocked. There seemed to be an abundance of everything. Prices were still high, but it was nice to have a feeling of normalcy again. I don't like seeing empty shelves.

I didn't even think seriously about walking in the park today. Our sunrise walk with Dawn convinced me that it was too cold and windy. I went to the gym, feeling thankful for the car's heated seats and steering wheel. When I arrived, I couldn't shoot baskets because there was a game in progress on the court. I got my steps on the indoor track, making fairly decent time. There were more people on the floor today than a typical Saturday. Probably most of them decided like I did that it was just too cold to do anything outside.

The pick up game on the court concluded as I reached the two mile mark on the track, so I got to shoot some baskets anyway. I was terrible today. I guess I should shoot baskets before I walk. It usually takes me about fifteen minutes to reach my goal. Today it took over thirty. Eventually I completed thirty free throws and headed home. I wanted to take a nap, but Dawn looked peaceful on the bed and I didn't want to disturb her. I've been tired ever since I returned from Florida. I'm not sick; just tired.

I started the car and warmed up the engine after dinner tonight to make sure it will start tomorrow. It is supposed to get below freezing tonight. I'll go mall walking in the morning and then we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. Dawn seems to like the cooler weather, so a cold day tomorrow isn't going to stop her. I'm sure I'll get used to the colder weather. I'm just not there yet.

I've dozed off twice writing this post. I wish I'd gotten more done today, but some days are like this. Maybe I'll have more energy tomorrow. I've got a doctor's appointment for a physical exam on Tuesday and I'm still trying to decide whether to get a flu shot and Covid booster. I don't think I need either, but I'm sure my doctor will try to insist on both. I still think too many meds and you begin to lose your natural immunity to things.  I'm not a fool though. I already take meds to control blood pressure, cholesterol, and a few other things. I didn't initially think I needed this stuff either. I'll probably end up listening to the doctor and then being mad at myself for not following my instincts. I still think the best way to avoid Covid is to just stay away from other people.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4702

I didn't see the lunar eclipse this morning. We would have had a good view on our early walk with Dawn, but it was quite foggy outside. It did see something interesting much closer to earth though. On my long walk right after breakfast, I saw Nick and Nora, our two resident bald eagles, arriving at their nest. The nest has already survived two storms, so maybe the eagles will be luckier this year.

I walked earlier this morning than usual, because I had a doctor's appointment later in the day. I made good time and my feet held up pretty well. It would have been easier to just skip today's walk, but I can't do that. I'm closing in on a full year of getting more than 10,000 steps a day. You've got to have goals. It doesn't really matter if the goals are stupid.

My yearly visit to the urologist was uneventful. The drive to the clinic took a lot longer than the exam. I'm still in pretty good shape for my age. I have an appointment to see the eye doctor later this month, but my mandatory exams for 2022 are just about finished. I'm a little nervous about the eye exam. I'm still hoping to postpone my cataract surgery a bit longer. Any type of surgery makes me very nervous.

Janet and I finally found a place to have our Thanksgiving Brunch. It wasn't the place we wanted, but it sounds interesting and the restaurant has great reviews. We've never had Thanksgiving dinner in a Mexican restaurant before. The Thanksgiving menu is quite a bit different, but it actually sounds delicious.

The date for the Artemis launch has changed. What a mess. I just got finished changing all my reservations. I couldn't get a better hotel, but luckily I was able to keep my room at the first hotel I reserved. My airfare costs more now. This always happens when I change a reservation on Southwest Airlines. I still wonder why I'm going to this launch. The launch happens in the middle of the night and there's a good chance that something will go wrong and it won't get off the ground anyway. I still don't know why NASA decided to leave the rocket on the pad with a hurricane approaching. Maybe they secretly want the rocket to be damaged in the storm so they won't have to take responsibility for a failure. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly. I still wouldn't be terribly surprised if the launch date changes again. A lot could change as Nicole gets closer to shore.

Sometimes I wish that people still used travel agents. It's a lot of trouble to change travel plans yourself. I knew I had to act fast this afternoon because as soon as NASA changed the launch date, the entire press corps would be changing their hotel reservations as well. Half the time my attempts to make or change reservations on my computer fail. Maybe it's my older computer, or maybe people don't bother to update their websites anymore. I usually end up having to make reservations on my phone. The phone works, but I still prefer using the computer. I like a real keyboard and a large monitor. I guess I'd better get used to using my phone. Even though I rarely use mine, the rest of the world is glued to their phones.

I can't say that I'm all that interested in today's election. Despite what some say, the world isn't going to end no matter who wins. Politicians are all hat and no cattle. I don't believe any of them. If you have to put a label on me, I guess you'd call me a libertarian. As far as I'm concerned, the less government the better. The best outcome in an election is a divided government where nothing gets done. If one party controls everything, they usually end up making a mess of things. I do think we ought to have an age limit on our elected officials though. The folks who pull the strings now are way too old.

I don't think much is going to happen tomorrow. I got everything done today. We'll see what happens. I find that life is still full of surprises.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4646

I surprised myself today. I actually got a lot done. The day started normally enough with Dawn's sunrise walk and my go-to breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit. After breakfast I picked up the pace a bit. I completely rewrote my article for SpaceFlight Magazine, edited the accompanying pictures in Photoshop and submitted the package to my editor, all before a scheduled 10:45 appointment with the dermatologist.

The drive to the dermatologist's office took longer than my exam. I'm told that I need these periodic exams to make sure my actinic keratosis hasn't morphed into squamous cell carcinoma. All was good today, as it always had been in previous exams. The doctor zapped the small keratosis growths on my face and scalp with his trusty blue can of liquid nitrogen and sent me on my way. "See me again in six months," he said. "I thought it was once a year," I replied. I think I see doctors far too often for seemingly needless reasons, but what do I know. One of these days the dermatologist might actually find something important.

On the way home I mailed the letter I wrote to my sister yesterday and then stopped at a plumbing supply store to get some parts for my troublesome toilet. I doubt that the problem is fixable now, but it's worth a try. Every plumber that comes to the house says I ought to just replace the toilet, but I hate to give up on things. Right now I'm just turning off the supply line after every flush. I turn on the supply line and fill the tank again whenever I need to use the toilet. This actually seems to be a simple and effective way to keep the toilet from running. I wonder why I didn't think of this sooner?

Although it was a bit chilly on our sunrise walk with Dawn, it was quite warm by the time I finished running all my errands. It definitely felt too hot for a walk in the park. After a quick lunch I went to the gym again. There was someone on the basketball court when I arrived, so I did my two mile walk on the indoor track first. Surprisingly, I managed to match my outdoor walking pace today. Maybe I should always take my walk before shooting baskets. I doubt that this increase in speed really matters. I'm still painfully slow, indoors or out.

When I returned home there was a two word message from my editor. All it said was "great stuff." I'm glad he liked the hastily written article I sent, but still would have liked more time to write a proper article that included the launch. Maybe the editor, like myself, suspected that the Artemis launch might never happen and just wanted something for the November issue. At any rate, I've got one more article under my belt and can feel like a legitimate space journalist for a while longer. 

As usual, I have no plans for tomorrow. Writing my article under severe time constraints this morning made me realize that I can still be professional when I need to. My hasty article was actually pretty good. There isn't much need for my services these days, so I'll probably just take another walk in the park. I might as well take advantage of these nice cool mornings while I can. Good weather in Texas is a rare commodity.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4529

I had my semi-annual physical today. It seemed exactly the same as every other physical exam I've ever had. What medications are you taking? Same as always. Do you have any questions or concerns? Not really. My doctor wants me to continue to take baby aspirin despite the negative press it has received lately. He asked if I wanted a second Covid booster. I told him I didn't think I needed one. A nurse gave me an EKG. Another nurse took my blood. I gave them a urine sample and I was done. It looks like I'm still in pretty good shape. The doctor probably made some notes about cognitive decline though. I couldn't remember the names some of the specialists I've been seeing. I couldn't even remember the names of most of the medications I'm corrently taking. In fairness, how can anyone remember these long incomprehensible names? I did remember the color and shape of each pill though.

Medical exams are one of many things that make me think of the Ground Hog Day movie. So many things in life are exactly the same no matter how many times we experience them. We repeat these things over and over again. Whenever I brush my teeth, load the dishwasher, go to the post office, or even take my daily walks, I feel a sense of déjà vu. I've been here before.

I had to fast before my medical exam this morning, but that didn't prevent me from having breakfast when I returned. It was almost lunch time, but I still had a big glass of orange juice and a bowl of shredded wheat topped with fresh fruit. My doctor seems to approve of my long walks, so I took another one after I finished my late breakfast. I completed my full six mile route, but it took me a while. There just isn't much joy in walking in hot weather. I should start going back to the gym, but it's so much easier to head out the back door and start walking instead of driving all the way to the gym. Even when I'm exercising, I'm basically lazy.

The batteries have gone bad again in the backup UPS for my computers. I'll have to take the heavy UPS to the battery store and get the batteries replaced this weekend. I might as well have the lawn mower batteries replaced while I'm there. I think all these people buying electric cars are forgetting some very basic things about batteries. They don't really last that long and they can be quite expensive to replace. If you forget to remove the batteries from an unused item, they can leak and ruin your expensive gear. Batteries have always been my nemesis.

I watched the livestream of the Boeing Starliner launch this afternoon. I kind of wish I'd been down there. United Launch Alliance lets you get a lot closer to the pad to place remote cameras than Space X does. This was a daytime launch too, so the bugs aren't so bad. I always get eaten alive by mosquitos on night launches. Don't think I'll be traveling any time soon though. I paid my remaining travel bills today. Ouch. This is getting ridiculous.

I took the trash out to the curb this evening. This always marks the end of the week for me. Tomorrow I'll think about going out for breakfast, but will probably just stay home and have another bowl of shredded wheat. It's time to mow the grass again. I should call a lawn service, but I'll probably just continue doing it myself. Hey, it's good exercise. My doctor would probably approve.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4528

Yay. The star tracker is working again. I'm not sure what the Benro people did, but apparently their third try was the charm. The first two patches they sent me to fix the connectcion problem didn't work, but the one they sent me yesterday worked perfectly. I'm still curious how a routine firmware upgrade rendered my camera useless and what the Benro engineers did to fix the problem. I'll probably never know the whole story though. Communication with my Chinese contacts has been rudimentary at best.

Now that the star tracker is working again, I'll have to turn my attention elsewhere. There are a ton of things that need attention around the house, but most of them are beyond my ability. I can't put on a new roof by myself. I'm not a good carpenter. And I'm certainly not a plumber. Sadly, I'm not very good at delegating things either. It would be easier if I could do everything myself, because I don't tend to trust people.

I went out and voted after breakfast this morning. When I arrived at the polling place, I was greeted by a poll watcher who told me that the power was out and asked if I was scared of the dark. Hey, no problem. I actually kind of like the dark. The room where the voting machines were was completely dark. All I could see were the glowing screens of the machines. I was surprised that the place was even open, but they said the voting machines were running on backup power. I was led to a machine by a lady with a flashlight and I cast my ballot. If there was even a time to be suspicious about whether your vote counted, this might be it. There must have been some people scared of the dark, because it appeared that I was the only one in the room voting. Voting in a dark room was certainly easier than getting the star tracker to take pictures on a dark sky.

It looked like it was going to rain this morning when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk. The rain never came, but it did stay overcast for most of the day. The cloudy weather made it easier to take my long walk. I was able to complete my full six mile route, but it wasn't easy. My feet seem to be getting worse. The Hoka shoes help, but walking is still painful on some days. It's time for my physical exam tomorrow, so I'll ask my doctor if I'm doing anything stupid. My gut feeling is still that a little discomfort is better than becoming idle. I need to keep moving and walking is still a lot easier on my joints than most other forms of exercise.

I've got to remember not to eat breakfast tomorrow. I need to fast because they will be doing routine blood work again. At least I was able to get an early morning appointment. I hate going without food for very long. I got a call from the clinic while I was out walking reminding me to wear a mask. I have a feeling that my doctor's office will keep requiring masks forever. Not a problem. Whatever keeps you happy is my motto. I don't wear a mask very often these days, but I've got plenty of them. Most are unused. I just wear the same one over and over again.

Dawn won a ribbon at training class again tonight. She's got quite a collection now. Janet says Dawn really enjoys the training class. Like most Dalmatians, she forgets everything she's learned on our morning walks, but that's OK. I've forgotten almost everything I learned in school as well.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4438

Today was mostly just fighting the weather. It was cold when we woke up and kept getting colder as the day progressed. I thought we'd get some sun today but it stayed overcast all day. At least there was no more rain. I still wonder how Northerners deal with Winter so well. Every time I go outside I bundle up in multiple layers. When I come back inside all the layers come off again. I do this over and over again all day long. Where is this mythical place where it is 72 degrees all year long?

I had my first TeleVisit with a doctor today. Everything worked fine but this made me wonder why this type of thing is any better than a simple phone call. Basically a TeleVisit is just a phone call except that you can see the other person. Zoom calls are the same way. A Zoom call is just an old fashioned conference call except that you can see the other people. Is it actually important to see the other people? To me it's distracting. I've been on work related conference calls for decades and never had any desire to see who I was talking too. On a video call you always start thinking about how goofy you look and spend more time inspecting the other peoples surroundings than thinking about the subject at hand. Call me old fashioned, but I still think reading is the best way to consume information and talking to someone is a lot simpler than texting them. 

I find that I don't even like YouTube videos. If I'm searching for something on the Internet and I'm given a choice of a video or a print article, I'll always choose to read the article first. I'm a fast reader and I can immediately go to the information I need. A video puts you on the other person's schedule. There are way too many long winded instructional videos out there. It's kind of weird that I have this attitude since I spent a big chunk of my career making instructional videos.

I don't know why I bothered to take my long walk today. It was bitterly cold. The temperature wasn't that bad but the wind chill made it feel fifteen to twenty degrees colder. I always felt better when the wind was at my back. Unfortunately since I walk in a huge circle, the wind was directly in my face a lot of the time. I still completed my entire route, but I'm not sure what it proved. This was one of those days where I'm not sure what it proved to even get out of bed.

When I was walking this morning I saw one of the eagles circling around the tree where the pair's nest used to be. It was kind of sad. I wonder if the birds realized what happened and why. They basically picked the wrong tree and made their nest on a dead limb. There is speculation that these are young eagles and are inexperienced nest builders. Maybe this is how they learn.

After I spent a lot of time yesterday taking leaves and trash out to the curb, the trucks didn't even come today to pick it up. I wonder why I take these e-mail messages I get from the city seriously. Half the time they are wrong. Now when I took out the week's regular trash this evening I didn't have a place to put the can. My regular spot was occupied by many big black bags filled with leaves. 

I'm not looking forward to our early walk tomorrow morning. It's going to be very cold. The main reason we walk early is so that Dawn will poop. She doesn't like to go in the yard. I guess an early walk is a good way to wake up, but a cup of coffee in a warm house would probably work just as well. Lets face it. I'm just not a morning person.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4373

FedEx is driving me crazy. I've been waiting for an important package since Saturday. After several delays the package was finally supposed to be delivered today. At 7:05 PM I received two simultaneous messages. One said "operational delay, no delivery attempted." The other said "package delivered, signature on file." Which message was true? The FedEx facility that was supposed to hold the package for me said it never received anything and when I attempted to look for the signature on file, it wasn't there either. It is impossible to get any help. You just get referred to a call center in the Philippines or Malaysia somewhere. I put a trace on the package. We'll see what happens. I really wish the shipper had used UPS or DHL instead.

I may never receive my star tracker, but I did receive a clean bill of health from my dermatologist. He froze a few little patches of keratosis on the top of my head with liquid nitrogen but that was about it. I have to see this guy at least once a year because actinic keratosis is considered pre-cancerous and needs to be monitored. So far, so good, but I'll have to see the dermatologist again in six months. The doctor is a nice guy but his office is relentless about sending out surveys. Enough with all the surveys. Even the people at FedEx who lost my package tonight wanted me to fill out a survey.

It must have rained last night. When we woke up this morning the ground was all wet. It must have been a gentle rain because I never heard anything even though I'm a light sleeper. Now theres's water on the roof again and I don't feel up to climbing up there and sweeping it away yet. No roof leaks so far, so knock on wood. Rain and water on the roof just adds to my frustration. Dawn doesn't like the rain either, but we finally got her to take her morning walk. Once we got in the park she seemed happy again. Rain seems to enhance all the smells she likes.

Today's FedEx mishaps just adds to my belief that the world is broken. Nothing works smoothly anymore. Traffic is terrible. Stores aren't stocked well anymore. Prices have gone up dramatically. It's not just food either. Everything is more expensive. People seem angrier too. None of this is good. I don't think young people realize how much better life was in the 1950's. You didn't have iPhones or the Internet, but you didn't need to lock your doors at night either. Cars looked interesting in the 1950's and houses were still built with high quality lumber. I'd go back if I could. I'm not all that impressed with artificial intelligence and social media influencers.

I wonder if I'll hear from FedEx tomorrow. They've already made it pretty clear that they are tired of hearing from me. I"m afraid the package might get sent back to Hong Kong is it is misplaced too long. Hopefully I will eventually get the computerized star tracker I've been waiting for all Summer. I read a news story recently about a FedEx driver in Alabama who dumped hundreds of packages in a ravine because he just didn't feel like delivering them. I hope my driver is a happy man who loves his job. Maybe this was just an honest mistake.

I still haven't washed the backdrop from our Santa Paws photo shoot. This is probably a good project for tomorrow. Tomorrow is my Blogiversary too. Can you believe I've been doing this since 2009?

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4324

Not a lot happened today. I wrote a letter to my sister and took it to the post office. I went to Home Depot and got a new plunger to replace the one I broke trying to clean out a slow drain last week. I went to Auto Zone to buy a windshield wiper blade for my car. I only needed one wiper blade because I bought the other one over a month ago when it was the only one in stock. Wiper blades at Auto Zone only cost a small fraction of what the Land Rover dealer was going to charge me. I had trouble finding a blade that matched the one that was already on the car, but the counter guy eventually found something for me in the back. Why did I do this today? Well, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and it is supposed to rain. Doctors frown on canceling an appointment because it is a rainy day.

I tried a different brand of shredded wheat this morning because the brand I'd been using had too many crumbs. When I got to the bottom third of the box, all I was eating was crumbs. When I opened this new box, the cereal inside looked exactly the same as the old box. It was so similar that it looked like it came from the same factory. What was I expecting? Did I really think that this cereal would be better because the picture on the box looked better. Maybe I should just go back to fixing myself an omelet in the morning.

There is some odd construction going on in the park. This morning I saw a bunch of small stone dams blocking some of the gullies that fill with water when it rains. Wire mesh held the stones in place, but water could clearly pass through the stone barriers. Was this some sort of erosion control or something else? There was also a huge pile of stones blocking a trail at one point. The cyclists who ride in the dark are going to love that. The park department definitely stays busy although I seldom know what they are doing. I wish the street department was this industrious. Potholes can stay in city streets for years without any attention.

I've noticed that a lot of people are looking for the eagles when I take my walk in the morning. I haven't seen the birds again, but the word is definitely out that they have arrived. If you see someone going from tree to tree looking upward, they are probably looking for the eagles. I even passed a city event sign that said "The Eagles have landed." I spend so much time in the park that I"ll probably see these birds again. I hope I have my camera with me next time.

I got an invitation in the mail to go to a focus group about cars. I like talking about cars, but I'm not sure if I'll attend. Focus groups usually pay attendees a small stipend for their trouble, but they are sometimes located far away and take place at inconvenient times. I'll probably talk myself out of this. I'm really reluctant to do anything new these days. 

I did order a new backdrop for this years Santa Paws pictures. We've got a ton of these Christmas themed photo backdrops now, but Janet thinks we need to make the set look a little different every year. She's probably right. I ordered the backdrop from China, so hopefully it won't be sitting on a ship somewhere when we do the Christmas pictures. I paid for expedited shipping, so I assume that this means it will be coming by air. We'll see. Hard to believe that it is already time to be thinking about holiday pictures again. Where did this year go?

I need to remember not to eat breakfast tomorrow. I have a physical exam scheduled in the morning to see if my blood work has finally returned to normal and I'm not supposed to eat anything after 10 PM tonight. Needless to say, I hate missing breakfast. 

Pearl is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4303

It's always interesting to go to a new doctor. I think this one is a keeper. The doctor I talked with today was the same one who removed the stones from my bile duct while I was hospitalized. and discovered that I had Barrett's esophagus. She did a good job of explaining why a second endoscopy and a biopsy of the esophagus was necessary. Evidently Barrett's esophagus is considered a pre-cancerous condition, even though the chances of it turning into cancer are very low. This inflammation of the lower part of the esophagus is caused by years of repeated acid reflux.  I've certainly experienced heartburn for a long time. Chances are the damage was done decades ago.

The upshot is that I go back to the hospital in a few weeks for an upper GI tract endoscopy. As a dubious bonus I am going to have a colonoscopy done at the same time. I knew that my primary care physician would never stop bugging me about the colonoscopy, so I thought this might be a good idea. Hey, I'm always up for killing two birds with one stone. I was somewhat surprised that the doctor agreed and said that doing both procedures at the same time would be no problem.

I don't look forward to being anesthetized again and having tubes shoved up both ends, but I'm a practical person and agree that this is necessary. No matter how healthy you think you are, seeing the doctor more often is just part of growing older. This is the time of year when I'm due for most of my annual exams anyway. I still need to make appointments to see the dermatologist, the urologist, and the eye doctor.

My doctor's appointment didn't stop me from taking my long walk. My new routine is to start the day with our sunrise walk with Dawn, eat a quick breakfast, and then immediately return to the trails for my long six mile walk before it gets too hot. This seems like a good plan even though it doesn't really get too hot anymore. The weather is just much nicer before 11 AM. 

People continue to send me surveys to fill out on an almost daily basis. What is the deal with all these surveys? I get them from the Land Rover dealer, the hospital, various doctors, elected representatives, the electric company, and just about anyone else I've crossed paths with. This is a recent phenomenon. Five years ago nobody asked me to take a survey. I wonder what has changed? Probably everything is driven by big data now and surveys determine what products and services we will get in the future. That's a shame if this is true. The world would be a much better place if people just used common sense to make decisions.

I finally figured out how to get the new medical features on my Apple Watch to work. The good news is that I have a few more graphs to look at in the morning. The bad news is that the batteries on both my phone and watch don't seem to last as long anymore. I've been trying to disable the background app refresh settings on my phone whenever I can find them. These seems to be on by default when you upgrade your operating system. Apple doesn't really care how long your battery lasts. They'd rather just sell you a new phone or computer every couple of years.

I think I'm more or less caught up on things for a while. I haven't heard from the observatory lately, so I'll probably just postpone my next visit until the Spring. I doubt that I'll be returning to Kennedy Space Center this year either. The launches I want to see have all been postponed until 2022. Maybe this is all for the best. It's been an expensive year and I don't have much money left for travel anyway. There's always plenty of walking to do. I'll just walk my way into 2022 and then pick up where I left off.

Lightning is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4302

Charlie and Oliver were in good spirits today. These two have so much energy. Our own dogs never played with toys that much, but Charlie and Oliver will chase a ball all day. You can tell that they enjoy the time we spend with them. We should probably spend more time with the rescue dogs but it's a long drive up to the kennel.  

Janet had a meeting this morning so we got up earlier than usual today. There were still a few stars in the sky and a very thin crescent moon when we left the house. I like it when the park is empty and quiet. It's much more peaceful to listen to bird sounds than the music from the miniature boomboxes people attach to their bicycles. Even worse are all the leaf blowers you hear later in the morning when the yard crews arrive in the neighborhood. It's no surprise that I like spending time on Mount Locke where all I hear is the wind and the occasional hawk overhead.

We're having an exceptionally nice Fall this year. We had a little rain last week, but mostly it's been clear skies and cool temperatures every day. It's nice to be able to walk without needing to change clothes when you return. I've found that my pace is faster on these cool mornings. Maybe I'm just feeling better these days, but I'm enjoying my walks again.

It was kind of weird having Facebook down all day. It's easy to forget that none of this even existed until very recently. You actually had to sit down over lunch to catch up on things with friends. Now you just like a few posts every morning and everyone knows you're still alive and well. I still think the world would be a better place without social media, but I'm as guilty as the next guy for wasting time scrolling through mountains of nothing every day.

I have to see a new doctor tomorrow. This means I'll have to fill out the same information I've filled out dozens of times before. Why don't doctors share information? They all seem to have their own forms. It seems like you should only have to fill out this information once. I thought I'd already made a list of all my prescriptions, so I could just print it out and take it with me tomorrow. I couldn't find the list anywhere.  I guess I'll make a new list tomorrow after breakfast. This is impossible to do in a doctors waiting room. I can never remember the names of the pills I take, and even if I could remember I could never spell them correctly.

We can't decide whether to go to the fair. Parking is too expensive. We don't particularly like fair food.  And we never go on any of the rides. Usually we just watch the agility dogs perform, walk through the auto buildings and look at new cars, and look for the sidewalk bricks we bought in memory of Spot decades ago. We'll probably go and then wonder why we bothered later.

One of my watch winders broke today. I guess it was about time. It's been faithfully winding watches I never wear anymore for dozens of years now. Hard to believe that I was so interested in watches at one time. I just wear the Apple Watch now. 

Jersey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4296

Today's service appointment was a mess. After making the service appointment over a month ago to ensure that I'd get a loaner car and then calling yesterday evening just to make sure that a loaner car would be waiting for me this morning, it get to the dealership this morning and you guessed it: no car.

I had to take an Uber home, but that wasn't nearly as frustrating as discovering that prices had nearly doubled for a major scheduled service. Everything I had done today was something I'd had dealt with before and it was unbelievable how much prices have gone up. I've driven a Land Rover since 1995 but maybe it's time to just get a cheap American car and say to hell with it all.

I'm not sure when I'll get my car back, but it probably won't be when it was promised. I don't know why I'm bothered about all this since I don't drive much anyway. I guess I'm just sick of the rising cost of everything. 

I got up early this morning to arrive for my service appointment on time. I shouldn't have bothered. Absolutely nothing happened with the car until around noon. It turned out that they wouldn't start the repairs until I approved each line item in an online service form. I ended up declining a lot of things because I knew I could get them done at just about any garage in town for a fraction of the price. I finally did get a loaner car just before the dealership closed this evening. This is pretty much an admission that the repairs will take longer than they initially claimed.

The temperature wasn't hot today but it was extremely humid. Sadly, my morning walk wasn't that pleasant today. When I looked at the forecast, it was pretty clear that rain was on the way. We need the rain, but I never did get up on the roof to clear away falling leaves and pecan shells. I usually check the pumps if a rainy spell is expected. I haven't done that either. Hopefully everything still works. I'm really not in the mood to deal with a roof leak again.

I got an e-mail today advertising a new Olympus photo contest. I knew I had some very good photos in the categories they were looking for so I thought about entering.  After I found the photos I was looking for in my files, I read the entry form again and discovered that the photos had to be taken with an Olympus camera. Never mind. It appears that most of my good photos were taken with a different brand of camera. It's hard to cheat these days because the make and model of the camera is always listed in the photo's Metadata.

The next thing on my agenda is an appointment with the digestive specialists who removed the stones from my bile duct. They apparently discovered that I have Barrett's esophagus when they were inserting their scope into my intestines. I'm not sure what they want to do next, since I've already read the lab reports saying that the cells they removed to test turned out to be normal. I bet they want to do another endoscopy to confirm their earlier results. Since these guys are also who my doctor recommended to do my next colonoscopy I wonder If I could get them to do both procedures at the same time. It would save me a second trip to the hospital and I'd only have to be anesthetized once. Makes sense to me anyway.

Hopefully, there are no surprises from the dealership tomorrow. I've already resigned myself to a big bill. I just don't want it to get any larger. It looks like it is going to start raining soon. Let's hope there are no roof leaks tonight. I've already had a bad day. There's no need to make things worse.

Spanky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4285

Today was busy. I finished writing my article about the Inspiration 4 mission for SpaceFlight Magazine and started editing the hundreds of pictures I took to illustrate the article. When Janet proofread my story, she said I should say some nice things about Hayley. Seems fair enough. Hayley will definitely be the one people remember. I found a dozen or so pictures that would look good in a magazine and sent everything off to London. I haven't heard anything from my editor yet, but there's a big time zone difference.

I rescheduled my appointment with the digestive specialists who removed the gallstones from my bile duct. They want to do another endoscopy to examine a problem they found with my esophagus. Evidently I have Barrett’s Esophagus which is caused by long term acid reflux. I suspect they will want me to change my diet. I think I eat very healthy meals, but everything I like tends to cause heartburn. I'm willing to make some changes, but I definitely don't want to become a vegetarian.

I weighed myself for the first time since I was hospitalized and I've lost nearly ten pounds. I must have been sicker than I thought. This weight loss was a huge surprise, since I certainly don't look or feel any lighter. Actually, this puts me right at the target weight I've been trying to reach for a long time. Now I've just got to put some muscle on these bones. Muscle atrophy is a real problem as you grow older.  It's easy to lose muscle mass, but hard to build it back.

I took my first six mile walk in quite a while this morning. I did fine, but my pace was pretty slow. The temperatures are getting cooler, so I think I'll be able to get back to my old self fairly soon. Sometimes I get sick of walking every morning and writing every evening. I still think you've got to keep your body and mind active. I don't understand people who find exercise exhilarating. I'd still rather take a nice long nap.

I finally got my bags unpacked, did a load of dirty laundry, and put my suitcase away. I think it's OK to lift things again, but I still don't feel like mowing the lawn. Travel never used to be this tiring. I really like my trips to the observatory and the space center, but I'm usually worn out when I return. Oh, well. Getting old isn't a picnic, but I'm still a lot healthier than my Mom and Dad were at this age.

Hard to believe that the week is over and it's time to make a grocery list again. This week just flew by. I have no real plans for the weekend. Usually it's just grocery shopping on Saturday and Dawn's Sunday outing the next day. Maybe I'll do something interesting, but I wouldn't count on it.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4163

Another rainy day. I think it's supposed to be this way for the rest of the week. This would have been the week to go out to the Davis Mountains. It's still clear out there. I don't know what this proves other than it's very difficult to plan ahead and sometimes I'm just unlucky

I guess having a regular physical exam is an attempt to plan ahead. I do try to stay healthy, even though maintaining your health depends on a certain amount of luck as well. Since I was having blood work done today, I needed to fast and couldn't eat breakfast before my 10 AM appointment. This made for a long morning. I drove to the doctor's office in the rain and noticed that I need new windshield wipers. One more thing to add to my to-do list.

Physical exams are always a mix of good and bad news. The good news was that my doctor seemed pleased with my overall health. The bad news was that I'm due for another colonoscopy. It doesn't seem like ten years since my last colonoscopy, but time flies when you are growing old. I always ask about my ongoing foot pain and my frozen shoulder, but I'm never happy with the answers I get. There's no real cure for osteoarthritis. When the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time, there's not a lot you can do. Your choices are usually limited to pain medications, physical therapy, and surgery. I've known plenty of people who have had knee, hip, and shoulder replacements. I'm not sure I want to go down that road.

Dawn didn't get a walk at all today. We tried, but she had no interest in getting wet. It took some planning to take my own longer walk, but I managed to find some dry time between the bands of rain moving from the southwest to the northeast. I got caught in a few sprinkles, but for the most part I stayed pretty dry. This wet weather seems to bring out the snakes. I've seen snakes almost every time I've walked lately.

I made another attempt to process some of the pictures I took last week and wasn't happy with the results. It is much easier to take pictures of dogs. The night sky is quite dim and the stars are always moving, so you can't simply take a very long exposure. Successful astrophotography depends on taking a lot of shorter images of the same subject and then merging them together using specialized software that compensates for the rotation of the earth. There are many steps to this stacking process. You want to keep both your foreground and your stars sharp, while avoiding the camera noise that often accompanies long exposures. I'm learning, but I've got a ways to go.

The Atlas V SBIRS GEO Flight 5 launch was successful today. Several of my launch photographer friends were there and got great pictures. I'm always a little envious when I see these pictures, but I don't think I'll be returning to Florida any time soon. The East Coast gas shortage, lack of rental cars, and the huge number of people who want to get out of the house and return to Disneyland or the beach are going to make travel difficult for a while. I'm hoping that life will eventually return to normal, but clearly we're not there yet.

Dismal weather always puts me in a bad mood. I wonder how long it's going to be before I see the sun again? I spent a lot of time napping today, but that's the way it goes on a rainy day. I'll make up for lost time when the sun returns.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day