Showing posts with label future predictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label future predictions. Show all posts

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Day 3794

When a solitary person like myself starts getting cabin fever, things must be getting bad. I guess I spend more time shopping and going to restaurants than I realized because I'm really getting the urge to buy something I don't need. I look forward to our long walks with Dawn every morning, but my reaction when we return home is usually "Now what?"

It's a shame I won't be able to go to Kennedy Space Center for the Crew Dragon launch. This would be the time when I would be making reservations and actively planning for the trip. I've got some new lenses I'd like to try at the launch. There was a magazine interested in having me do a story. Watching the launch on NASA TV just isn't going to be the same.

It's probably going to rain tomorrow since I went up on the roof this afternoon and cleared away the remaining water from the last rain. One of the pumps doesn't seem to be working well anymore. I don't know what to do other than buy a new pump. I've burned through quite a few pumps over the years. The first pumps were made of metal and were tough as nails. I had one that lasted for over fifteen years. The quality seems to gradually deteriorate on each new generation of pumps. I'm sure these new ones are made in China.

Many stores are open again in Dallas. Janet got some new running shoes today. She asked whether I wanted to come along but I was having a bad allergy day and didn't want to sneeze in the store. I do need new shoes though. Shoes don't last that long when you are walking 20,000 steps a day.

How long can the coronavirus continue to be the only topic of conversation nationwide? I think people are already starting to experience disease fatigue. The longer society is disrupted, the more people will start demanding a return to normal. Clearly a plague isn't normal, but neither is locking down an entire country. This can't be sustained indefinitely. I may be wrong, but I predict that if a cure isn't developed in a reasonable amount of time, we will simply stop talking about the dead. As a society we have a remarkable ability to sweep almost anything under the rug.

It's a shame that a health crisis is being politicized, but eventually everything is politicized in this country. The election in November is going to be all about the virus. Pick a side. If you think there is nothing more important than human life, you may change your mind if you are dead broke and without a job in November. If you think it is absolutely essential for society to return to normal, you may change your mind if a loved one becomes sick.

Almost every day I see well known local restaurants announce that they are shutting their doors for good. It's sad to see how unfair the lockdown had been. Home Depot and Lowes have never done better. Their business is thriving. Local businesses a block aways from these stores are dead. They will never return. Who decided which businesses would get to stay open? Clearly safety wasn't the primary factor. Every time I've been to Home Depot lately, the store has been packed. Stores that were designated as "essential" are actually doing more business now than they were before the pandemic. This just seems all wrong to me. I don't like seeing politicians picking winners and losers.

I've taken the week's trash to the curb and there is no more fresh fruit in the refrigerator. This always marks the end of the week for me. Tomorrow I will make myself an omelette and watch politicians argue with each other on TV while I drink my morning coffee. We'll take Dawn on a nice long walk and then I'll wish I had another computer to fix. It's going to be a long, long summer.

Lady is today's Dalmatian of the Day
Watch of the Day

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Day 3194 - Autumnal Equinox

I woke up to an ominous dripping sound this morning. The roof was leaking. I guess if I had to have a leak, now would be the time. We've had a tremendous amount of rain during the past 24 hours. I think we set some kind of all time record. I'm glad we live on a hill, because there was lots of flooding in town. When the rain subsided and we were able to take Dash for a walk, it was amazing to see how high the lake was. Most of the boat docks and piers were completely under water. Not only was the lake over its banks, the water completely covered a road that circles the lake.

It's so discouraging to realize that all the work the roofers did toward the end of the Summer basically proved nothing. The roof still leaks. I went up on the roof and made an obligatory inspection, but couldn't find an area where the water might be getting in. The house needs a completely new engineered roof with a slight pitch so water will drain off quickly. Redesigning the house is not in the cards unfortunately. It would cost a fortune and wouldn't really add any value. People want larger homes now. If we ever moved, our house would probably be scraped and replaced by another McMansion. It just doesn't make sense to put a lot of money into a tear down.

Truthfully, nothing makes a lot of sense right now. Someday, historians will look back and realize that this was the time when the second civil war started. Nobody knew what was happening at first. It wasn't a conventional war. The North wasn't fighting the South. There were guns of course, but the really dangerous weapons were words. It was neighbor against neighbor. Parents against children. Brothers against sisters. Worst of all there were no winners. Everybody lost.

Have our divisions become this great? Is this how the world ends? I hope not. When I watch the news I'm not encouraged. Polarization prevails and it seems like the war has already started. Maybe that's why I prefer cooking shows these days. I watched a show about making fish tacos this afternoon. Very tasty.

The weather forecast says it's going to rain all next week. It's officially Fall now. It always seems to rain a lot in the Fall. Jeez. How am I going to stop this roof leak? How am I going to be able to even get the roofers to come back? I think they're done with me. The drip finally stopped right after lunch. I got some bleach and cleaned the stains off the living room ceiling. A few hours later another storm arrived and the roof started leaking all over again. It's hopeless. I'll leave a big bucket out tonight to catch the water. There isn't much else I can do at this point.

Tomorrow's another day. Maybe I'll get some sleep tonight. The water from the roof is still dripping into a bucket in the living room. I'm not hearing the drips as frequently though. That's good. Dash hasn't pooped since early this morning. That's not so good.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day


Watch of the Day