Day 4142

Today was a little different. I took my long walk right after breakfast so I would be back in time to take Janet to the dentist. Yesterday there was a lot of rain in the forecast but today it was just overcast. I was surprised that I made good time today. Often I don't when I walk early.

When I returned home there was a surprise in the mail. My long awaited computer memory chips have arrived. They certainly took the slow route to Dallas, but the package appeared to be in good shape. I'll probably upgrade the computer tomorrow, unless I'm feeling especially clumsy. I'm never wild about making computer modifications. There are a lot of tiny screws and very fine wires inside these things. I try my best to be careful, but the truth is that I am pretty clumsy. I gave up watch repair as a hobby because there are a lot of very tiny parts inside watches as well. I managed to get quite a few watches running again, but I ended up breaking way too many. Luckily, upgrading the laptop's memory is very easy. All I have to do is remove ten screws, take the back off the laptop, disconnect a few wires, and replace the existing memory. This should only take about ten minutes, but it will probably take me an hour.

Janet's dentist was still operating under Covid protocols. They didn't want me to come inside. I dropped her off at the front of the building and then I was supposed to call them from my car when I returned and they would bring her down to me. Her extraction didn't take nearly as long as mine did a few years ago. I was only home a short time before I got a call saying that it was time to pick her up. 

We stopped at the pharmacy on the way home to pick up her meds, but they weren't ready yet. I took Janet home, watched Dawn curl up next to her on the bed, and then returned to the pharmacy. Dawn will make a good nurse. She never leaves Janet's side. I walked up to an empty counter and picked up Janet's meds, but when I was leaving two snarky ladies hissed at me and said "guess you didn't see the line" under their breath. I guess not. They were so far away from the counter that I thought they were shopping for something else.

I've either got to start going to the gym or just accept the fact that my body is wearing out. I was watching one of those Life Alert commercials while I was eating breakfast this morning and found myself wondering if I should get one. "I've fallen and I can't get up" is beginning to seem very real. I'm thinking of getting a walking stick for my trip to the observatory. I might take a folding camp chair as well. One of the bad things about astrophotography is that you often have to get down on your knees to point the camera at the proper section of sky. I remember hating getting up and down so often on my last trip. Maybe a walking stick and a folding canvas chair will help. I still refuse to call the walking stick a cane, but you get the idea.

The Artemis-1 SLS booster I saw at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans a few years ago has finally arrived at Kennedy Space Center. Over the next several months it will be assembled into a moon rocket and hopefully launch before the end of the year. This is the one launch I really don't want to miss. Since I can't really count on NASA anymore, I'm going to have to get to know the people in the Air Force media office again. The people I used to know are gone now, but if I did this once I guess I can do it again.  

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4137

I got a real letter in the mail today. This is increasingly rare. Most of our mail is junk. There is always lots of political mail whenever there is an election. There are weekly grocery store circulars and various home services send flyers advertising lawn care and tree removal. I used to get lots of trade magazines, but most of them have gone out of business. I still get bills in the mail, but I don't even open them. They are just reminders that it's time to pay online again. Whenever I'm waiting for something specific, it never comes. I've been waiting for author copies of a SpaceFlight Magazine article for several months now and of course there are those computer memory chips that seem to have disappeared. I still wait for the mail every day though. It's just something old people do.

I still watch TV while I'm eating breakfast as well, but I'm constantly changing channels because there's nothing I like. I don't know what kind of audience the network morning shows are targeting, but it definitely isn't me. Cable news is like a broken record. It seems like we are always in the middle of the same crisis. The financial channels increasingly talk about Bitcoin, SPACs and other things I don't understand. Sometimes the only thing left are old TV Westerns, Perry Mason, and The Andy Griffith Show.

I've just about given up on NASA. I write polite letters asking about accreditation, but never get a response. Actually I don't get a response to many of my questions these days. When I retired and my business slowed, I kind of dropped off the radar. When you no longer have something other people want, you gradually become invisible. Generally, I don't mind being invisible, but I hate being totally out of the loop. I wish I had some kind of card I could flash whenever I wanted to participate in something. Sadly, life doesn't work that way. You have to stay involved if you want to participate.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to be a regular part of the launch photography community because I can't afford to visit Florida that often. I'm not going to write frequently for astronomy magazines either because I don't actually know that much about astronomy. It's easy to get discouraged, but there are always opportunities. I guess my job now is to always keep an eye out for new opportunities.

Dawn has decided that she likes walking through open fields instead of staying on the trails. This would have been good in the Winter, but now the prairie grass is growing tall and I worry about chiggers, ticks, and especially snakes. I don't see many snakes but I know they are out there. I'm already fretting about what shoes to wear out at the observatory. Do I wear lightweight, comfortable sneakers, or heavy snake proof boots? I always take the boots, even though they are uncomfortable after I've been wearing them for hours. That's one thing I liked about growing up in Alaska. There were no snakes.

There are severe weather warnings for tomorrow again. Most of these warnings don't amount to anything, but you've got to take them seriously. One way or another it does look like it's going to rain. Right now there is a 100% chance of rain. How am I going to take my long walk if it rains all day? Oh, well. I can't worry about that now. It's time to take out the trash and call an end to this week.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2544

I never know what to expect when I open my e-mail in the morning. Today there were more new assignments than I'd had all week. It was going to be a busy day. After taking Dash on a long walk and finishing breakfast, I got started on a lengthy website revision. It seemed like I'd just changed this site recently, but I guess it was time to change it again. It's not my role to question these things.

The dogs were good this morning, so I was able to work quickly and efficiently. Before noon, I was ready to get started on a new writing assignment. Neither of today's assignments were very exciting, but I was glad to have them. It's still important to have something to do besides cleaning up dog poop.

The replacement parts I ordered for the Waterpik and the LunaTik iPhone case I ordered on Black Friday both came in the mail today. I love getting things in the mail. If I had more money, I'd order even more stuff I don't really need. I think the main reason I started collecting watches many years ago was that I liked getting little packages in the mail. I was never a very orthodox collector. I seldom bought expensive or traditionally "collectible" watches. I preferred obscure brands with odd looking dials. People always worry about being scammed when buying watches online. I never worried at all, because who is ever going to go to the trouble to counterfeit a cheap watch. Whenever a package comes in the mail these days, it reminds me of my collecting days. Eventually, I realized that most of the fun was over as soon as I opened the package. I don't collect anymore, but I make no apologies for the money I've wasted on useless stuff. When you work alone for years at a time, you've got to use your imagination to keep your day interesting.

If you saw my closet, you'd probably think I collected coats. In my mind, I'm just being practical. Each coat represents a ten degree difference in temperature. Today I picked one of my warmer coats for our morning walk. This was the first time this year that the temperature was in the 30's when I woke up. Nothing froze, but it got pretty close. I dread the day when the temperature actually does drop below freezing. The garden hose on the back porch has become an essential component in my continuing efforts to keep Dot clean. It is much easier to take Dot outside and clean the poop off her butt with a hose and then dry her off with a bath towel than it is to try and accomplish the same thing inside using wet rags.

I've been wondering what to do with the extra garbage can the city sent me last month. One of my neighbors solved the problem for me. They stole it. Why they would want a broken garbage can is beyond me, but at least it isn't sitting behind my house in the alley anymore. I've actually been having pretty good luck getting my trash emptied recently. Maybe there's a new driver on our route. I haven't had any problems in well over a month, but I'm still superstitious. When I took the trash out this evening, I made sure to place it in my lucky spot. If a car is ever parks in this spot on Thursday night, I don't know what I'm going to do.

Dot is sleeping now, but she still hasn't pooped since early this morning. It makes me nervous. This is an accident just waiting to happen.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day