Day 4974

I can cross one more thing off my to-do list. I got the car safety inspected today and picked up my new window sticker. It doesn't seem like a year since I've done this, but time goes by quickly now. Safety inspections are much faster than they used to be. Probably the process is smoother now because I take my car to a little neighborhood garage instead of going to the Land Rover dealer. It used to take forever to get the car inspected at the dealership.

Each day seems a little hotter than the previous day. We take our sunrise walk earlier now, but it doesn't help much. The temperature never really cools down anymore. At least there's a breeze on these early morning walks. Even the breeze disappears later in the day. Dawn still enjoys these early morning walks. I do too. Pre dawn is about the only time when it feels comfortable outdoors anymore.

It's back to shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast again. There's a new restaurant in the neighborhood that I'm vaguely curious about, but I'm just not very hungry anymore. I think my restaurant breakfast days are over. It doesn't matter. I like my boring meals. A bowl of mini-shredded wheat with strawberries is pretty good. I always use half and half instead of regular milk and have a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a cup of coffee. How did I drink those huge breakfast smoothies for so many years? Things change, I guess. What I eat for breakfast has changed radically over the years. It will probably change again one of these days.

I didn't want to go to the gym too early so I did a load of laundry after breakfast to kill time. I ended up being early anyway because getting my safety inspection didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I've decided that I like going to they gym during the lunch hour because there are fewer people on the floor and I can almost always find a place in the parking garage. The car is much cooler on the way home when it's been inside the garage. 

I still complete the same unambitious routine every day. I try to walk three miles on the indoor track in under an hour. Yes, I know this is pretty slow. I then try to complete ten free throws on the basketball court in less than ten minutes. I still miss a lot more shots than I complete, but I'm getting better. I've added a few upper body exercise to improve my arm strength, but I really ought to do more. I usually leave the gym when I'm bored instead of when I'm tired.

Janet cleans the house on Monday afternoons, so I vacuumed the carpets so I wouldn't feel guilty just lying around while she was working. The house never stays clean long when you've got dogs. Dalmatians shed a lot and there's always dog hair everywhere. My standards are a lot lower than they should be. It seems like I was a lot neater when I was right out of architecture school. These days it's hard to care. Janet doesn't even like to come in the office because it is much messier than the rest of the house.

I'll put the new inspection sticker on my windshield tomorrow morning. I'll think about fixing the cracks in the living room ceiling, but I probably won't do anything. I've been staring at the mess for months now. I'm not even sure I can do these repairs myself, but I need to try. If I hire a tape and bed guy to do the job it will be a huge production and there will be dust everywhere. 

We'll still be under a heat advisory tomorrow. There's lots of rain in the Northeast but it's bone dry here. I wonder how long this can continue? We're setting records for triple digit temperatures now. This too will pass I guess. I just hope our air conditioner keeps working.

Lou is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4944

It was quite pleasant on our sunrise walk with Dawn this morning. It was overcast, the temperature was in the low 80's and there was a nice breeze. I was seriously considering taking my long walk in the park today because the weather seemed better than it has been for several weeks. Then the sun came out. By the time we finished breakfast this morning it seemed like a completely different day. I would be returning to the gym again.

First things first though. I had grocery shopping to do. As luck would have it, a lot of things on my list weren't available today. Sam's Club didn't have strawberries. Central Market didn't have any orange juice and their strawberries didn't look fresh. Their juicer must have been broken because there were very few fresh squeezed juices at all. My favorite beer has totally disappeared from the market as well. I had trouble finding the brand last week and this week it had disappeared from all the stores. I have this problem a lot. Frequently things I like aren't terribly popular. Store routinely drop items that don't sell well now. They look at register data and only restock the items that are selling best. That's why a lot of stores are full of unhealthy food.

Since I had to scrap my plans for a walk in the park, I headed back to the gym after I put the groceries away. I tried to get Dawn to go outside an pee before I left, but she had no interest. Dawn doesn't like the heat. She's a smart dog. I don't like the heat either.

The gym is always pretty empty on weekends. It's a very large space, but their were only about half a dozen people on the floor today. My workout was the same as it's been all week. I walked briskly around the indoor track for three miles and then spent fifteen minutes on the basketball court. One of these days I'm going to have to start working with weights again, but that can wait. When I get my Fitbit steps and close all three rings on my Apple Watch activities app, I'm ready to go home.

I stopped at another grocery store on the way home because I started thinking that hot dogs would be good to have for dinner while Janet was away. I got uncured Wagyu beef hot dogs with no Nitrites or preservatives. They were still hot dogs though. Definitely not the healthiest meat, but very tasty. I don't understand grocery stores anymore. The checkout clerk asked if I brought my bag with me. What? I was confused and told the clerk to just put my items in one of their bags like they usually do. Janet told me later that this store charges for plastic bags now and had added ten cents to my bill. It seems weird that they are trying to cut down on pollution by eliminating plastic grocery bags, while literally everything in the store comes packaged in plastic.

When I returned home I did a load of laundry, paid some online bills, and took a nap. Dawn actually stayed with me on the bed which was a surprise. I've got a lot to remember while Janet is away. She takes care of giving Dawn her meds, filling water bowls several times a day, and fixing Dawn's breakfast. I feed Dawn dinner and her late night snack. Janet packages all Dawn meds in little baggies labeled for morning and evening on each day she is away on vacation. When I give the pills, I put a check mark on the calendar. With Dawn you have to do everything in the right order. I need to remember that she goes down to the park to poop after breakfast, never before. I do the same thing after dinner. Hopefully she will come out to the kitchen to eat her breakfast this time. The last time Janet went on vacation I had to bring her breakfast back to the bedroom and then stay out of sight while she ate. Dawn is a picky, stubborn dog who is set in her ways, but I still think she's great. We'll do OK next week.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4654

The Artemis fueling test went well today, so it's looking more like a launch attempt will actually take place next Tuesday. I was hoping for a delay since I just got finished paying for my previous trip to Florida. If the launch stays on schedule, I'll be there though. I feel lucky to be among the journalists selected to cover this launch. I don't want to squander this opportunity. We'll see what happens in the next few days. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the launch date still changes.

We got another early start on our sunrise walk this morning. I wish Dawn would stay in the neighborhood when we're walking in the dark, but she still insists on going to the park. The smells are better there. Dawn doesn't seem to mind walking in the dark, but I'm still a little nervous about bumping into a coyote. I'm always surprised at how quickly the sky brightens just before dawn. By the time we returned home the sky was blue and daylight had returned.

After breakfast I watched the Artemis fueling test on NASA TV for a while before heading for the gym. This was not exactly must see TV. The rocket just sat there doing nothing and every twenty minutes or so an announcer would give a brief update on what was taking place. There was another hydrogen leak at one point but they got it under control and were able to complete the test. When I returned from the gym, the test was still going on. I'm glad I didn't watch the whole thing. 

I had trouble finding a parking place at the gym today. I was expecting a crowd on the gym floor, but it was just the same people I always see. What were all those extra cars doing? Somebody must have been having a meeting. Since the gym is owned by a major hospital, a lot of hospital functions take place here as well. My routine never varies. There's a large wall clock on the gym floor and I always try to guess when I'll be finished exercising. My whole routine is just like clockwork. I shoot baskets. I walk two miles on the indoor track. And I lift free weights for a while. It's no surprise that I usually guess within a few minutes of the actual time I spend on the floor.

I paid a few more bills this afternoon and finished the accounting work I started yesterday. I still haven't had the nerve to look at my brokerage account. The stock market hasn't been doing so good lately. I learned a long time ago to stay the course when the market fluctuates. If you pick good solid companies and stay aware of what is happening in the world, you'll usually do OK in the long run. A bear market is still unsettling though.

Dawn won another ribbon at her training class tonight. She really looks forward to this class now. She starts getting excited at least an hour before it's time to leave for class. I don't go to the classes with Janet, but I'm really pleased that Dawn is doing so well. She's come a long way since she came to us as a frightened breeding dog in a puppy mill.

Rowe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4578

Today was just like yesterday. Tomorrow will probably be the same. I'm not happy with this heat wave, but what are you going to do. It's summer in Texas. I think it's been this hot before, but I mostly remember last summer, which seemed much cooler.

I've pretty much given up on walking in the park for a while. We still take our sunrise walk with Dawn, but even that is getting a little too warm. I always go outside after I finish breakfast to evaluate the weather and I'm not even tempted to take my long walk. It's just too hot.

I returned to the gym this morning and might keep going for the rest of the summer. When I used to just go to the gym on Sunday I was always surprised that so many people chose the same day as me. Now I realize that these people go every day. Some of the regulars seem to live there. If I go in the morning, they are there, and if I go in the afternoon, they are still there. I never stay more than two hours. On an average day, it's more like an hour and a half.

My routine is pretty simple these days. I shoot free throws on the basketball court until I get fifteen baskets. Sometimes this goes quickly and other times it takes a while. Next, I walk long enough on the indoor track to get my steps for the day. If Dawn takes a decent walk in the morning, I walk two miles. If Dawn doesn't feel like walking, I walk three miles. I spend a little time working with free weights before I go home. Today I used a machine where you sit on a bench and pull down on a weighted horizontal bar. I'm trying to stretch my bad shoulder a bit and get some more mobility. At first I couldn't use this machine at all because I couldn't raise my right arm above my head high enough to reach the bar. I'm getting better though. One benefit of going to this gym is that I can watch what all the physical therapists are doing with their patients and then do some of the same things myself. It's a nice gym and I could do a lot more, but mostly I'm just here to keep my Fitbit happy and get those steps.

I should have stayed inside when I returned home, but the spiderwebs on the windows continue to bug me and I decided to finish cleaning the windows. I only do a few windows each day so I won't get too hot. Our house has a lot of windows and spiders seem to love them. I think this is because lights from the house attract bugs in the evening and spiders build webs to catch the bugs. I always carry one can with window cleaner and another can with wasp spray when I am cleaning windows. Little by little I am getting rid of the wasp nests, but there are a lot of them. I think I'm making progress. The bedroom windows look a lot better when I'm taking a nap anyway.

I think Dawn has turned a corner with me. She no longer leaves the room when I'm in the bedroom during the day. We share the bed quite peaceably now. Maybe after spending nine days with me, she finally realized that I am not a threat to her. Dawn is also comfortable walking to the meadow behind our house with me now. She won't take a longer walk unless Janet is with me, but I think we are making progress. Janet seems pleased with this situation. I think she is eager to travel again.

I'm surprised that the week has gone so quickly since basically nothing has happened. This week's trash has been taken to the curb and I think I've remembered which parts of the yard needed to be watered. Maybe something interesting will happen soon, but I'm not counting on it.

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4564

The time before 10 AM is very valuable in the summer. It's just about the only time you can get anything done outside. The best time of the day is our sunrise walk with Dawn, but there's usually enough time left for another walk or an outdoor chore before it gets too hot. Today I washed the car, cleaned spider webs and mud dauber nests off the front windows, and washed the sidewalks and front porch. I was going to clean up some of the wood siding, but the paint is so old that it was flaking off when I used the pressure hose. Never mind. I think I accomplished enough. Washing the car was really all I wanted to do anyway.

The house smelled good today. Janet was making me a slow cooker pot roast to eat while she was away. I did a load of laundry and did some bookkeeping on the computer once it became too hot to work outside. I definitely wasn't feeling very energetic today. I took a nap and was pleased that Dawn didn't immediately run away.

After lunch I went to the gym. It would have been insane to walk outside this afternoon. I think this was the hottest day of the year so far. The gym's air conditioning bill must be huge. They keep the place really cold. This is fine by me. I like to exercise without sweating. I'm still surprised that I burn more calories shooting baskets than I do using some of the machines. This is good news because I can count shooting hoops as exercise instead of just having fun. 

I've settled into a routine at the gym that probably won't change much. If the basketball court is empty, I'll use it first. I've learned that if I wait, I often miss my chance. I'll be doing something else and a bunch of kids will arrive and start a pickup game. After shooting free thows, I'll use the indoor track for a while. The number of miles I walk varies. I'll walk less if I already have quite a few steps when I arrive at the gym. I'll walk more if I still need to walk a few miles to get my self imposed minimum of 10,000 daily steps. I don't get 20,000 steps a day nearly as often as I used to. I'm getting older and it just doesn't seem worth the effort on many days. Depending on how much time I have left, I'll finish my workout by doing a few things that will improve my upper body strength. I need to do more of this because my upper body strength is abysmal. 

I really need to work on my balance. I read an article recently that said if you couldn't balance on one leg for at least ten seconds with both arms at your side, you were likely to die within ten years. That sounded pretty harsh, but it's very difficult for me to balance on one leg for ten seconds. I always thought it was just because I had weak ankles, but maybe there's a lot more going on. At any rate, I'm going to work on my balance. It couldn't hurt.

The little bird whistle for the Alessi tea kettle arrived in the mail today. It pleases me to be able to fix little things like this. A big project for me is putting a new hard drive in a computer or learning how to use the star tracker. Huge home improvement projects are out of my league. I don't even want to think about the big stuff. We still need a new roof, major sheet rock repairs, and some carpentry work on the exterior siding. A huge Oak tree needs to come down as well. Lord knows when this stuff will get done. I really hate dealing with the contractors and workmen you need for big projects. Fixing a tea kettle is more my style.

I'm really tired of turning on the television in the morning and hearing about politics. This is not what I'm worried about. Where are the stories about giant solar flares that could wipe out the entire power grid? These solar storms have happened before and will happen again. Where are the stories about global crop failures? What happens if the giant volcano under Yellowstone National Park explodes? I guess I like astronomy because it tries to deal with the big things. The little things are like mosquito bites. They are irritating, but we'll probably live. 

I'm going to try to get to bed earlier tonight. We have to get up really early tomorrow so we can walk Dawn before Janet leaves for the airport. I hope that Dawn decides to get along with me. It's going to be a long week otherwise.

Kirby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4562 - Summer Solstice

Today was another day when the temperature determined everything. I just don't handle the heat very well any more. The day started as usual with our sunrise walk with Dawn. The air felt warm and humid as soon as we left the house. These early walks are still the best part of the day though. The higher the sun climbs, the worse it gets.

Today wasn't very productive. After breakfast, I ordered a few odd things online. I'm always surprised that you can find just about anything on the Internet. I got a replacement whistling bird for our Alessi tea kettle. The bird goes in the spout and starts to whistle when the water comes to a boil. The old whistling bird melted for some reason. I also needed a Lightning to 30-pin adapter for my phone. I still have a lot of old stuff that needs to connect. My car happens to be one of those old things that thinks all Apple devices still connect with the 30-pin connection. Apple hasn't sold these things for quite a while. I still found some brand new ones in the box from China. Are the cables counterfeit? Who knows? If so, they sure went to a lot of trouble making the box look absolutely identical to the Apple box.

I didn't even consider walking in the park today. The only thing I did outside was try to kill the mud daubers that are building nests all over the outside of our house. The things are annoying because I can hear them buzzing right outside the window next to my computer. I may be wrong, but I don't think wasps deserve the same respect that bees get. They don't typically pollinate flowers or make honey. They will sting you though. We don't see many bees in our yard, but wasps seem to love the place.

I went to the gym today for obvious reasons. The place was more crowded than usual and the parking garage was full. I had to park the car outside which meant the interior felt like an oven when it was time to return home. My routine at the gym is pretty simple. I'm not even sure if I get any benefit from it. I shoot hoops on the basketball court until I make fifteen baskets. Sometimes I do this quickly and other times it takes forever. I usually walk two miles on the indoor track. I should be faster on the comfortable indoor track than I am walking outdoors, but surprisingly, I'm not. I'm almost always slower walking indoors. When I'm finished walking I'll use the abdominal crunch and rowing machines and usually spend a little time with free weights in the weight room. That's about it. I'll always spend at least an hour at the gym, but rarely if ever two hours. Some of the regulars seem to spend the day there. I'm usually pretty bored after the first hour.

Today is the first day of summer. It's also the longest day of the year. Sadly, it's not the hottest day of the year. The temperatures will continue getting hotter for at least another month. I'm not looking forward to July and August. If the forecasts are accurate, this is going to be a very hot summer. Lets just hope that there aren't any brownouts or power outages. I'm not going to last long without air conditioning. I don't even want to think about what the electric bill is going to look like this summer. It seems to get worse every year.

Maybe something interesting will happen tomorrow, but don't hold your breath. Summer is mostly about just making it through the day. I'm still hoping to get credentialed for the Artemis-1 launch. Who knows when that will be though. The launch hasn't even been scheduled yet. I'll probably do a lot more talking about traveling this summer than actual traveling. Traveling has just become too expensive.

Barley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day