Day 4363

I saw the eagle again today. This makes the fourth time I've seen the bird. I don't think I'm very observant. Every time I've seen the eagle, someone else has pointed it out to me. The two bald eagles must be here to stay. There are even signs in the park now warning people to stay away from the nest.

There wasn't much on my grocery list this week. I did notice that prices are still going up though. While I was out, I started looking at televisions. Flat screens are huge now. Most of the TV's I saw wouldn't even fit in our house. I suppose I could just get the old TV repaired, but the repair costs would probably be more than a new TV. You can't just replace a few tubes these days. Generally you have to get an entirely new mother board.

I've got all the photo gear packed and ready to go. I forget how long we've been doing these Santa Paws events, but it feels like it must be at least ten years. We get a new backdrop every few years, but most of the equipment has always been the same. I'm surprised that everything has lasted this long. Hopefully, the essential stuff will last a few more years. I don't feel like buying anything new at this point. The equipment will probably last longer than I will. I need to remember to bring my cane tomorrow.

I'm glad I didn't try to attend the STP-3 launch. This was one that I really wanted to go to at some point. Tonight's launch just got scrubbed and now it won't take place until Monday. If I was already down in Florida, the last minute scrub would have meant two more hotel and rental car days plus the hassle of trying to reschedule airfares during the holiday season. The older I get, the more travel just seems like a giant hassle. I wish my interests were closer to home. Maybe I'll get bored and become eager to get on the road again. Right now, doing nothing sounds pretty good to me.

I certainly won't be doing nothing tomorrow. I don't know how many people have made reservations, but usually we are pretty busy at Santa Paws events. Janet and I decided not to take Dawn with us. She's going to be a lot happier just snoozing on the bed. I hope everything goes well. Usually at least one dog tries to knock over the set, but we haven't had a disaster yet. Everyone always seems happy with their pictures.

We had pizza for dinner tonight. My new medication for acid reflux works like a charm. I can basically eat anything now. It's too bad that PPI's aren't recommended for long term use. It's a shame that doctors don't agree about this medication. I hate to take something that is going to create more problems than it solves.

We've got to get up early tomorrow so we can walk Dawn and eat breakfast before the photo event. At least there is no longer any rain in the forecast for tomorrow.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4335

I was surprised at how much prices had gone up when I went grocery shopping this morning. Janet had warned me that things would be more expensive, but this was fairly spectacular. A two pound tub of strawberries was over $10. Granted, these were the more expensive organic strawberries, but I've bought these things for $2.50 before. Gas has been creeping up in price as well. I've noticed that lines are starting to form at places where gas is the cheapest. I wonder where this will end? It's certainly not very encouraging.

As least my car starts easily now. Hopefully with a new battery and a recently completed scheduled maintenance, I will be good to go for another year. I don't drive much anymore so it doesn't seem fair to have car problems. I need to save my money and my energy for the house problems that are going to need attention soon.

We had no problems with loose dogs this morning, but Dawn wasn't interested in a long walk. It was a nice day and we tried to get her to try a new route, but she let us know that she preferred her short one mille loop.  We saw another Dalmatian on our walk this morning. It's rare to see a Dalmatian in the neighborhood these days. The owner lived on the other side of the lake, so she was either taking a very long walk or had driven her dog over here for a change of scenery. 

I probably need a change of scenery on my own long walk. My route has become so familiar now that I've practically memorized every step along the way. There are other routes I could take, but on most days it just doesn't matter. I'm not sightseeing when I take these walks. I'm just trying to stay active and get some exercise.

We'll see how good the new PPI I started taking is at controlling heartburn. We had chili for dinner tonight. Chili, spaghetti, pizza, and several other of my favorite meals have been pretty much off limits for the past year or so. Chili was generally number one on the heartburn register, so I'm a bit skeptical about whether a little green pill can change all that. It's worth a try though. If I still have heartburn tonight, it certainly won't be the first time.

My new editor at SpaceFlight must work all the time. I get messages from him on the weekends now. This never used to happen with the old editor, who was more my age. I guess there's a changing of the guard at the magazine. I miss the old familiar faces in my life. One by one they are all starting to disappear. My advertising friends are just birthdays to remember on Facebook now. Even some of the people I've met out at the observatory are starting to retire. I'm not terribly worried about being replaced by a younger writer at the magazine though. Writing is becoming a lost art. All the younger folks want to do podcasts and videos.

Where did this week go? It's almost time for Dawn's Sunday outing again. It's should be a nice day with a lot of walking. It's too bad my feet still hurt. Even with bad feet, I still prefer walking to lifting weights though. Walking is the perfect activity for daydreaming.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4321

I got the grocery shopping done early this morning to avoid the crowds. I wish I'd discovered this plan a long time ago because it works like a charm. Nobody appears to want to do their shopping early on a Saturday morning. There wasn't a lot on my list this week, but I had trouble finding something for dinner tonight that wouldn't give me heartburn and we would both like. I settled on chicken pot pies, risotto, and brussel sprouts. We'll see if that works. Very little does these days. Last night I had terrible heartburn and didn't get a lot of sleep.

I'm continually amazed at how much traffic there is in Dallas now. It's not the same city that we moved to in the late 1970's. The place feels more like Los Angeles now. It's not surprising that I don't like to drive. When I was younger I lived in the city because it was a great place for business. There were opportunities everywhere and I did well. Now I live in the city because the healthcare resources are so much better than in a small town. Living out in the country is so much more peaceful though as long as you stay healthy. I guess I'll never know if I made the right choice.

It was pleasant outside when we took Dawn's sunrise walk, but by the time I finished my grocery shopping and was ready for my own longer walk, it was already too hot. I thought our summer weather was over, but it was pretty warm this afternoon. It is Fall though. Some of the trees are starting to turn, but it doesn't look like we are going to get a lot of color this year. Usually there are already a lot of leaves on the ground by now. This year is different and most trees are still green. I guess we won't be going to the fair this year. The State Fair is already over. Where did the time go?

My foot pain issue seems to have resolved itself. I'm walking normally again without any pain medication.  I'm always going to have issues with my feet because there isn't much cartilage left to cushion the old bones. The Hoka shoes allow me to keep moving though. They are so much better than anything else I've tried. The only problem is that they don't last very long. I guess I'll just have to get used to buying shoes more often. Running shoes and hiking boots are not the same thing. I've had hiking boots that have lasted for decades.

I watched the Ariane 5 launch in French Guiana this evening. Next up for this rocket is the 10 billion dollar James Webb Telescope which will launch this December. I imagine that there is a lot of pressure to see that this launch goes perfectly. The huge telescope has been under development since 1996 and has endured numerous delays and complications. There is no backup for this mission. If the launch fails, decades of work and billions of dollars go down the drain. I'm always amazed when complex missions like this work as planned. I can't even get my car or our furnace to work perfectly.

The weather looks good for tomorrow, so we'll be taking Dawn on her Sunday outing again. I wonder if Dawn gets bored doing the same things over and over again. She seems excited to take this slightly different walk, but also a bit apprehensive. I guess I understand. I'm the same way about doing new things, even when they aren't very new anymore.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4313

I recorded my slowest walk ever today. My pace was a full six minutes per mile slower than a normal day. Sadly, I was never that fast to begin with. The main reason I was so slow was that my feet hurt, but my terrible seasonal allergies certainly didn't help. I walked over four miles, but by the time I returned home I could barely move. I don't know whether I need to quit walking for a while, or just start wearing the new Hoka shoes I bought a month ago. I'll try the new shoes first. I'd really hate to give up walking.

One year ago at this time I was out at McDonald Observatory for an astrophotography workshop. I was definitely feeling my age then, but things have gone downhill since that little adventure. The way I feel today, I'm wondering if I can even make another of these long trips out to West Texas. Astrophotography involves a lot of standing and even worse, kneeling in the dark. The terrain is uneven and you need good balance. It's very cold at night too. The drive itself is a nightmare. The past two trips to the observatory were during the height of the pandemic when traffic was lighter. Now that Texans have decided that the pandemic is over, freeway traffic is as bad as it ever was. I've heard horror stories from some of the West Texas locals about I-20. Evidently, there's a lot of road construction now, which makes the long drive even worse.

My motto is to always keep moving, so hopefully I will rebound from my current foot pain setback quickly. If the new shoes don't work, I may have to scale back walking for a while. I can't imagine quitting though. Walking defines my day now. I feel the same way about trips to McDonald Observatory and Kennedy Space Center. There are so few things I really enjoy these days that it would be a crime to give up any of them.

I think the cold wave that everyone's been talking about has finally arrived. The skies cleared today, but the temperatures kept getting cooler. Actually, the only pleasant thing about my long walk this morning was the temperature. It was a little chilly, but not quite jacket weather yet. If my feet didn't hurt so much, it would have been perfect walking weather. I think it's going to be even colder tomorrow. Luckily, there is no more rain in the forecast. I'm glad I cleared the roof of standing water when I did. I doubt that I could even make it up on the roof today.

Janet is trying to help me with my heartburn. She brought home a vegetarian pizza tonight for dinner. It was basically just artichokes, fetta cheese and a few olives on a pizza crust without any of the normal sauce. This isn't going to give me heartburn, but it isn't a pizza either. I told Janet that she ought to keep eating what makes her happy and if I need to fix something else for myself that's fine. We both agreed that an artichoke and fetta pizza wasn't a good idea.

We haven't seen any of the empty store shelves they keep talking about on TV. Gas is more expensive but everything else seems pretty normal. I'm wondering if I should stock up on a few things when I'm grocery shopping tomorrow though. This is probably how panic buying starts. Everyone is just trying to get ahead of the curve. We'll see how the stores look tomorrow. I basically think panic buying is stupid, but I'd hate to run out of toilet paper.

I still keep hoping that Dawn will warm up to me. She adores Janet, but still thinks I'm a kennel attendant.  She's fine when I'm feeding her or walking her on a leash. The rest of the time she gives me the stink eye.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4250

Dawn's infection is gone. There was no bacteria in the cultured sample this time. This is good news. We've still got to get rid of the bladder stones though. She has an appointment next week and the vet is going to try to flush out her bladder first and try to avoid the need for surgery. We still may need surgery though because the infection will reoccur of the stones remain in her bladder. There was some talk of doing a CT scan to see if there was anything else going on in her abdomen, but we decided to take things one step at a time and see if getting rid of the bladder stones solves her problems. The new allergy pills Dawn is taking now appear to be working. She hardly tried to lick her paws at all today.

I scheduled a service appointment for my car today and was surprised to discover that the first availability for a loaner car was September 28. Jeez. I asked what the problem was and the service guy said that the chip shortage we've been hearing about was so bad that the dealership was having problems keeping cars on the lot. They have started to sell their loaner car fleet as used cars now. They said they could do the service sooner without a loaner car, but I'm not falling for that again.  Whenever the dealership says they can get the car back the same day, you're usually still waiting four days later. I still need to get my car safety inspected this month, but I can do that anywhere.

Dawn seemed slow on her walk this morning. Maybe it is the new allergy pills she's taking. I hope allergy medications don't affect her the same way they affect me. When I take antihistamines or even something like Allegra, I just don't feel right. It feels like there is a constant buzzing in my head. It's almost better to have the allergies. Luckily allergy season is over for a while. I wish dogs could talk. It's always hard to tell how medications affect them.

The gym seems different now. It feels like the early days right after it first reopened. More people are wearing masks while they exercise now. There is no requirement to do this, but some people must be worried. The gym is so large and empty that being near other people is rarely a problem. There were less than ten people in the entire place this afternoon. I saw no need to keep my mask on while I exercised.

The treadmill I use is near a TV that is permanently tuned to HGTV. I've noticed that these home improvement shows all follow a fairly rigid formula. First a designer leads a couple through a house that looks completely messed up. A wall is always removed to "open the place up." A huge amount of time is spent choosing ceramic tiles for a kitchen backsplash. Usually the old carpet is ripped up to reveal a pretty hardwood floor underneath that everyone wants to keep. Finally pine cones and arty little nicknacks are placed on shelves, throw pillows are strategically placed on the couch and the couple is invited back in to ooh and ahh. I'm sure the cooking shows follow a formula too, but those TVs are in another part of the gym that I seldom use.

We had spaghetti for dinner tonight. I know this will give me heartburn, but it is still one of my favorite meals. Other than the occasional acid reflux, I'm feeling pretty healthy. My dermatologist keeps leaving me text messages to make an appointment, but there is nothing wrong with my skin. I feel like staying far away from hospitals and medical facilities right now. It's time to make a grocery list again. I feel sorry for the grocery store people because they're probably going to have to put all those "Stay six feet apart" stickers back on the floor that they just got finished scraping up. Hopefully nobody starts hoarding toilet paper again.

Emma is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4223

I got a letter from the observatory saying that they were returning to pre-covid operations in September and were looking for volunteers for star parties and special events again. Sounds good to me. I told them that I could spend a week or so out there whenever they needed me. I was thinking of going out to the observatory in October anyway, but September is close enough. I don't know why I like staying out at the Astropnomer's Lodge so much. It feels a bit like a strange secular monastery. I have a simple little room with fast WiFi and all my basic needs are taken care of. You get three meals a day and the food is great. There is no TV or radio at the lodge, but it's easy enough to make a phone call if I need to reconnect with the world. It is very peaceful living on top of Mount Locke. I'm not looking forward to the long drive, but it's always worth it when I get there.

We slept in a bit later today, but still got a fairly early start on Dawn's morning walk. Janet and I are both retired but we still keep the same basic schedule we did while we were working. Weekends are for shopping and sleeping in, even though we could easily do this any day. I noticed that Dawn's paws still looked red and raw while we were walking this morning. As soon as she finishes her antibiotics and gets a clean bill of health on her urinary tract infection, we are going to get her tested for allergies. My gut feeling is that the problem isn't allergies, but a skin patch test is the next logical step. One way or another we've got to figure out what is is causing Dawn to bite and lick at her paws and get her back to normal again. There's a solution for everything, but sometimes it can be very hard to find.

Signs that there was a pandemic last year are slowly starting to disappear. There are no mask mandate notices on the front doors of stores anymore and I noticed today that those stickers on the floors of grocery stores showing you how to stay six feet apart in checkout lines have disappeared as well. About 25% of the people you see still wear masks. I suspect that some people will continue wearing them forever. I still carry a mask in my back pocket because it hasn't really sunk in that this is over yet.

It was too hot to walk today, but the gym was closed and I felt compelled to get my steps. I soaked my clothes and hat in water, thinking that this would keep me cool during the walk. The plan actually worked pretty well, but my clothes were dry again around the halfway point. The skies were partly cloudy though, so the sun was under a cloud a lot. I guess I'll do the same thing tomorrow since the gym still isn't open on Sundays either. I wonder how long it will take them to get back to pre-covid operations? Maybe they're aiming for September as well.

I picked up a pizza for dinner tonight. I love pizza, but it is number one of the list of foods that give me heartburn. I'm already regretting eating the pizza. You'd think I'd just quit eating problem foods. You'd think I'd stop shopping on busy Saturday's as well. I'm a creature of habit and I keep doing the same things over and over again. Some of the things like long walks are good. Other things like pizza are not so good. Janet is trying to convince me to take my own car out to the observatory this Fall, but I'll probably just keep renting cars. Rental cars have gotten to be a habit as well. I'm superstitious that my car will break down in the middle of nowhere, so I just don't drive it out of town. Don't ask. It all makes sense to me.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4170

We've had every type of weather imaginable today. Pounding rain, high humidity, pleasant breezes, a little sunshine: take your pick. The heavy rain came early and it was relentless. It overwhelmed the pumps on the roof, but luckily the roof still didn't leak. In my younger days I would have climbed up on the roof during a dry spell and unclogged the pumps, but I'm just not up to it anymore. The roof will have to wait.

I'm going to have to come up with an alternative to watching television while I eat breakfast. Not only is the news unrelentingly depressing, the commercials are even worse. I seem to see the same seven mindless commercials over and over again. Most of them are for pharmaceutical products that will probably end up killing you in the long run. Even the business channels have gotten weird. I'm tired of hearing about bitcoin and non-fungible tokens. Nobody really understands these things, but everyone has a story about someone who got wealthy by buying or selling them. Young people seem to love bitcoin, but today's blockchain millionaires seem a lot like the Dutch tulip moguls of the 1600's. I'm old, so gold, boring blue chip stocks, and old Perry Mason movies make more sense to me.

I had to change the sheets today, which is always difficult with Dawn. It takes me a long time to make the bed now with a bad shoulder and weak knees. I usually try to make the bed while Dawn is eating breakfast, but when I'm changing the sheets I can never get finished in time. When Dawn finishes her breakfast she runs back to the bedroom and hops on the bed again. It doesn't matter to her whether the bed is made of not. I could shoo her away easy enough, but I don't want to make her even more fearful of me. I usually just let Dawn sleep on the bed until Janet returns from the gym for lunch and then Dawn goes out to the kitchen again. I eventually got the job done today, but it never used to take this long.

The more I hear about the post-pandemic surge in travel, the more hesitant I become to even try to return to Kennedy Space Center. There are plenty of launches this year, but hotel prices are rising rapidly, rental cars are scarce, flights are full, and everyone is encouraged to plan ahead. You can't really plan ahead with rocket launches. The dates are always changing. Maybe I'm just making excuses, but this doesn't seem like as much fun as it used to be. I'll be glad when everyone has taken their post-pandemic vacation and life returns to normal.

My long walk was certainly normal today. The skies had cleared, my foot wasn't bothering me, and I managed to complete my full six miles. It was still humid outside, but there was a nice breeze and I felt comfortable. There weren't a lot of people out today because of the recent rain and I pretty much had the park to myself. I like days like this. Even all the ducks were in their regular places, so they were easy to count.

I stopped taking famotidine last week because I thought I was taking too much of the heartburn medication. Bad move. Now, everything seems to give me heartburn. Even my breakfast smoothie gave me problems this morning. I always expect that my doctor will provide a solution to problems like this when I go in for a physical exam. He never does. I complain about feeling tired and having heartburn and he checks my vital signs and tells me how healthy I am. My blood work and EKG were perfect this time. So why do I feel so tired? If I made an effort to be vegan, I probably wouldn't have heartburn at all. Unfortunately, I love spicy food and have very little willpower about eating.

There's going to be an eclipse of the moon early tomorrow morning but I suspect that I will miss it. The forecast predicts cloudy weather with a chance of rain. The moon will be near the horizon anyway, which makes viewing difficult even on a good day. I"ll probably have to wait until I get back to West Texas to enjoy the night sky again.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4167

I'm a terrible shopper. When I went to the grocery store, Janet wanted me to get her some cream cheese and showed me the tub it came in. All I remembered was the tub and came home with a tub of sour cream instead. I actually saw cream cheese on the shelf next to the sour cream, but it came in a little foil wrapped brick. That couldn't possibly be right. I was looking for something in a little plastic tub.

Our rainy weather continues. There were plenty of dry periods between the showers today. I had no trouble finding time to walk, but it's still pretty wet outside. It's actually raining right now. We had been planning on doing some yard work last week so we could throw away the debris on bulky trash day. The trash pickup got delayed, but we never found a dry enough day to trim the bushes and get rid of the rest of the dead Asian Jasmine. Oh, well. There's always next month.

I updated my company website today and then decided that the update didn't make any sense and didn't bother to upload it. Somehow this wasted effort still seemed more productive than editing more Milky Way pictures. I think I'm burned out on astrophotography for a while. Maybe there's gold hidden away in the images I took out at the observatory last week, but it's been very hard mining it. I'll wait a while before  I resume this activity. I should have learned from last time. After my first astrophotography workshop I didn't even look at the pictures for almost a month. I think the wait allowed what I'd learned to slowly seep into my brain, because when I finally opened the files, everything clicked together fairly quickly.

I thought I'd get wet on my long walk today, but the occasional drizzle kept me cool instead. It's been really humid lately and if the sun was out I would have been miserable. It was a nice day for a walk, but there was no spring in my step today. I was really slow. My feet bothered me a little, but that wasn't the real problem. I was just tired. I shouldn't have been tired. I actually got more sleep than usual. I guess I'm just getting old. For every good day there are usually three bad days. 

I still think I need to stay active. Without ongoing activity and a certain amount of effort I probably wouldn't even be able to get out of bed. I hate to think what the aches and pains are going to be like five years from now. We'll see. I wonder how long I can keep walking six miles a day?

Dawn had a good day. Even though the ground is still soggy, she seems to have overcome her fear of getting her paws wet and is walking well. She was very enthusiastic about her little one mile loop this afternoon. Her appetite has definitely returned. For a while we were worried about a hesitancy to eat, but she devours her meals now. Dawn is fine. I think we just worry too much.

I went out and got a pizza for dinner. Even though pizza is absolutely the worst offender in the heartburn department, I still enjoy a slice now and then. All my favorite foods like spaghetti and chili give me heartburn. It's a shame. I try to eat sensibly, but I'd hate to be limited to a bland diet for the rest of my life. Spice is nice. For now, there's always Pepcid, but it's probably not a good idea to take too much famotidine either. 

I hope it's not raining tomorrow. Dawn missed her ice cream outing last Sunday because of rain. It would be a shame to miss this again. Hard to believe that it's been raining almost continually for an entire week, but that's the way it is in May. Pretty soon I'll be complaining about how hot and dry it is.

Rosco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4131

I'm falling apart. I threw out my back last night when I was emptying the dehumidifier water bucket. I thought I'd feel better in the morning, but I woke up with one more in a long list of aches and pains. I'm sure many people have a lot more serious back problems, but this was a new one for me. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of things to come. 

It was raining hard when I woke up this morning. I turned on the pumps and nothing happened. I could hear the pumps running on the roof, but no water was coming out of the hose. This was unfortunate because it meant I needed to climb up on the roof and investigate. I finished my breakfast and waited for the rain to subside a bit before attempting to fix the pumps. I already knew what had happened. Every Spring, tons of catkins fall from our Oak trees and cover the roof. These catkins get sucked into the pumps and clog them. It's an easy fix, but you have to go up on the roof first. 

For the first time I can remember I had a difficult time scaling the rock wall leading to the roof. My back hurt. My arms felt weak. I got the distinct feeling that my roof climbing days were coming to a close. I unclogged both pumps, got the water running again, and went back inside. There was no point in doing anything further until the rain completely subsided. Maybe it will get hot again and the standing water will just evaporate. At any rate, I have no desire to go up on the roof anymore. The water can wait.

There isn't much to do on a rainy day. I don't like watching television and I don't like driving in the rain. Work used to keep me busy on rainy days, but work projects are few and far between these days. I have mixed feelings about getting shut out of the Crew-2 launch. Planning for a launch would definitely give me something to do, but I can't really afford a trip right now anyway. Realistically, I should be glad that I didn't get credentialed this time. I have time to work on getting back to Kennedy Space Center and hopefully the next time I get approved, travel won't be an issue.

I was glad when the rain finally stopped because Dawn clearly didn't want to take a nap with me. When Janet returned home we took Dawn on her short daily walk and then I continued onward. I knew today was going to be slow and didn't even bother to track my time. I don't know why I even bothered walking today. The weather was chilly and I felt stiff and painful. Right or wrong, it's important for me to keep moving. I eventually completed my route and returned home. This time I did take a nap.

We didn't get any mail today. Somehow this always seems to happen when the weather is nasty. The Postal Service Creed doesn't seem to mean much anymore. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" Nope. I don't think that's the creed anymore. I do a better job of completing my appointed rounds than our mail carrier.

We had chili and cornbread for dinner. Chili gives me heartburn but it seemed like the perfect meal for a cold, rainy day. It's a shame that the body refuses to cooperate as you get older. I used to have an iron stomach and could walk for days. I guess I should be glad that anything still works at all. By any objective standards, I'm still pretty healthy. It just doesn't feel that way sometimes.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4083

I woke up early this morning, which meant I got even less sleep than usual. It was damp and foggy outside and I was convinced that it would start raining any minute. As soon as we finished breakfast we took Dawn on her short walk and then I went and got my grocery shopping done. There wasn't much on my list this week and I was home before I typically even start my Saturday errands.

It still looked like the rain would start any minute, so I thought I'd see how far I could get on my long walk. I knew I'd probably get wet, but it didn't really matter. I needed those steps and I wasn't going to get them staring at this computer. I did get a little wet, but the rain mostly bypassed us today. This happens surprisingly often. People living to the North and South of us seem to get a lot more rain than we do.

The afternoon was uneventful. I practiced processing some pictures of the Andromeda galaxy that I'd taken last October out at McDonald Observatory. The pictures weren't that good and I've been looking forward to returning to the observatory to improve on my technique. Sadly, that's not going to happen this Spring. A lot has changed in a year, and I doubt that they'll be needing volunteers for quite a while.

One year ago today, I was visiting a small private observatory north of Dallas to prepare myself to a two week stay out at the observatory. I didn't know it at the time, but this was the beginning of a year long adventure that resulted in a growing interest in astrophotography and a cover story in Sky & Telescope. I'm having trouble planning future adventures now. Covid has taken the wind out of my sails. Maybe after Janet and I complete our second vaccinations next week, I'll feel confident enough to start making plans again.

There are certainly some things worth exploring. I'd like to go down to Boca Chica and do a story on Starship and all the Space X activities there. I have to figure out how to get myself invited though. That might take a while. I definitely want to be down at Kennedy Space Center for the Artemis 1 launch. The launch is still supposed to happen this year, but I have a feeling it will be postponed. I've heard rumors that there will be a follow up to the astrophotography workshop I took last October. That sounds interesting as well. I need to remember that there are always things to do, but nothing is going to happen if I just sit here.

I went out and picked up a pizza for dinner tonight and almost immediately got a bad case of heartburn. It's a shame that many of my favorite foods give me heartburn. I love spaghetti, chili, ribs, fried chicken, and pizza. They all give me heartburn. It's kind of a shame that most of my favorite activities all involve trips to places thousands of miles away as well. Wouldn't it be easier if I enjoyed bland foods and doing things right here in Dallas? Maybe that's not the point though. At least I have interests.

I hope the weather is better tomorrow. A gloomy day usually results in a gloomy me. The forecast says it will be raining in the morning, but it might be clear. Texas weather is full of surprises.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3981

My editor wanted a longer article than I had anticipated, so he gave me an extension. This was good news because it was a very busy day. I think I could have finished the assignment, but I definitely wouldn't have gotten anything else done today. The day after I return from a trip is always busy. I had phone calls to return, a stack of bills to pay, files to organize, and a pile of gear to put back in its proper place. I also had to make an appointment with the dermatologist who kept texting me with reminders while I was in Florida. Finally, I made a trip to the grocery to the store to get enough fresh fruit so I could make smoothies for the rest of the week. I washed my dirty laundry from the trip last night, but it was still sitting in the dryer. All these simple tasks took me forever because I am slow and forgetful.

Although I didn't finish my article today, I made good progress. I'm happy with the draft so far and think the finished article will be interesting. With any luck, I can wrap things up with the text tomorrow and move on to photo editing. Working with the photos will take me longer than writing the article. I'm still trying to figure out why some of the other photographers pictures look better than mine. It's rare that any of the launch photographers use pictures straight out of the camera on a night launch. Lighting is difficult and everyone seems to have their own processing tricks. I'm still learning. That being said, I'm happy with the pictures I took. They definitely look better than the ones I took on the ESA Solar Orbiter launch last February.

The day started as usual with a nice walk with Dawn and Janet. The weather was crisp and cool. Morning temperatures were in the 80's while I was in Florida. It was only 46 degrees here in Dallas when we left the house this morning. Dawn loves these cooler mornings and was eager to get going. She was waiting at the door for me to put on her harness while I was still putting on my shoes. Dawn seems to have finally remembered who I am. She has warmed up to me considerably. Let's hope we are friends again.

I called the rental car company this morning because I saw a big discrepancy between the receipt I got in Orlando and the bill that showed up on a credit card statement that arrived today. I felt pretty stupid a few minutes later when I realized that I was looking at the bill from my previous trip to McDonald Observatory on the credit card bill. The current trip hadn't even been posted yet. That's the trouble with traveling. Some bills arrive instantaneously and others languish for weeks, only to arrive when you have totally forgotten about them.

I didn't have problems with allergies or heartburn at all while I was in Florida. I didn't have random coughing spasms while eating either. It certainly didn't take long for all these problems to return. Is Florida really that different? There are different types of trees in Florida and maybe there isn't as much pollen in the air. I don't know why my heartburn symptoms disappeared. Maybe it was because I mostly just ate Chicken Caesar Salads at dinner. There is a flip side to this coin unfortunately. I am covered with mosquito bites. How did I get all these bites? New one are still appearing. I even used mosquito repellant provided by a nearby photographer while we were all waiting for the launch. Somehow the mosquitoes still prevailed.

Janet and I still don't know what we're going to do for Thanksgiving. Our long standing tradition of going to the Melrose for a huge Thanksgiving brunch may never be an option again. I bet those big buffets at the hotels in Las Vegas won't be an option again either. What a shame. I've learned to navigate the new normal pretty well, but that doesn't mean I like it.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3852

Saturday is my day to venture out of the house and see if the world is still there. This isn't a big change from my life before the pandemic, but I'm still making an effort to stay isolated. Dallas is officially a hotspot now. You wonder what made things suddenly spike? Everyone I know is still acting responsibly. We don't have a beach, so it wasn't that. We did have some protests, but ours weren't nearly as bad as some other cities. The few things Janet and I have done after the city opened up again have all seemed quite safe. Nevertheless, there has been a huge surge in new virus cases.

A lot of things just don't make sense about this virus. You'd think that African countries would be hit the hardest since they always are during any type of pandemic. Medical care isn't good in Africa and people in many countries are packed together in unsanitary conditions. So far, there have been very few deaths in Africa. China, which started this whole thing, isn't even on the list of affected countries anymore. If you believe all the charts and graphs, little countries like Peru are apparently doing much worse than China. The United States seems to be doing worse than Sweden, which didn't do anything at all to flatten the curve. It all makes you wonder.

They say that someone has invented a new heated air filter that kills the virus instantly. If heat does the trick, why are we still having all these problems in Texas? It has definitely been a hot summer. We got started a little late on our walk this morning and had to cut things short as a result. It was already getting too hot for Dawn around 8 AM. Later in the day when I took my afternoon solo walk, it was miserable outside. I guess this is to be expected. It is almost the middle of July.

The skies look clear tonight, so I think I'm going to set an alarm and go look for that comet tomorrow morning. I'm seeing so many cool pictures on the Internet that I'd like to see the comet for myself. Some of the best pictures have been taken by my friends out at McDonald Observatory. I'd like to trade places with those guys. They are so remote that since the observatory closed, they have become almost completely insulated from the problems we are seeing in the cities. This is extreme social distancing and it works for me.

I'm going to skip going to the gym again tomorrow. If I went, I'd probably change my mind because the gym is air conditioned. Of course they now say that building air conditioning systems spread the virus, so there's that. You really don't know who to believe anymore. I have a feeling that the governor is going to close gyms again pretty soon anyway. Texas isn't doing very well these days.

I brought a pizza home for dinner, even though pizza gives me heartburn. Actually the Cowboy Burgers we had for dinner last night gave me heartburn as well. I may be good at social distancing, but I'm not very good at staying on a bland diet.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3704 - Valentines Day

I wasn't going to go to Sprinkles this year, but then I remembered that Dawn had never had a Pupcake. I had to go. Pupcakes for the dogs has been part of our Valentines Day tradition for a very long time. It was nice that we have a dog around the house so we can continue this tradition for another year. I got some cupcakes for us as well, but this year the day was about Dawn. Janet and I are both really happy to have her as a houseguest.

It was a beautiful day, but the temperature was only in the twenties when I woke up this morning. No pipes froze and it was back above freezing by mid morning, but this was still very cold by Dallas standards.  I'm glad I removed all the water from the roof a few days ago. It would have all turned to ice by now.

I tried the new neighborhood restaurant this morning and it was terrible. I like a good breakfast taco as much as the next guy, but this wasn't the place for me. There was certainly plenty of food. I got my meal in one of those tin foil pie pans piled high with Chorizo, breakfast potatoes, and refried beans. There was a stack of flour tortillas so I could roll my own breakfast tacos, but the food got cold before I could finish it. I'm sure this gutbuster of a meal was exactly what most people wanted, but I should have gone back to the hotel and had French Toast. I wish I knew I was in the mood for a soothing meal before I had consumed a huge plate of Chorizo.

Janet had already left for the gym by the time I returned home. We've been leaving Dawn at home for short periods of time so she will gain some confidence about being alone. Dawn was fine, but I could tell she was glad that her people had returned. She gave me a big Dalmatian smile and started wagging her entire body. I waited until Janet returned to go on my walk. There was no sense in leaving Dawn alone again.

It didn't take me long to realize that this morning's breakfast was going to give me a major case of heartburn. When will I ever learn? I need to be eating cottage cheese and peaches for breakfast instead of  chorizo and refried beans. I thought that a long walk might settle my stomach, but all I got was sore feet. I should have listened to Dawn. I could tell she wanted me to take a nap with her.

I never did get started on my Solar Orbiter story today. I'm so slow that I ran out of time. I guess I was busy enough. I just didn't do what I intended. I paid some bills and took them to the post office. I went to Sprinkles and got cupcakes. I picked up some things for dinner at the grocery store. And I tried with limited success to bleach the stains from our recent roof leak out of the kitchen ceiling.

I'm sure my story would be easier to write if I had a deadline to meet. Deadlines motivate me. My recent trip was fascinating and there is definitely a story here. I just need to get it done before the Solar Orbiter becomes old news. Maybe tomorrow. The only thing that could stop me from writing tomorrow is roof repairs. The roof repairs do have a deadline. I need to find this leak before the next rains arrive.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3627

Lots of rain today. It was such a dismal, wet day that I decided to take my walk at the gym. This was a first. Driving in the rain to walk on an indoor track isn't something you'd expect of me. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Walking five miles on an indoor oval track is much better than getting cold and wet in the park. I may do this again. There is no sensation  of distance when you are walking on an indoor track. The only sensation is of time. To my surprise, I completed my walk faster than I do in the park. This was probably because there were no hills to climb. I also passed people on the track, which almost never happens in the park. People in the park are young and fit. People at my gym are taking physical therapy or recovering from heart attacks. I often think I'm one of the younger members.

I had to pick up something for dinner on my way home from the gym and the store was almost empty. I guess everyone was eating leftovers today. Since it was a cold, rainy day I thought we'd have chili for dinner. Eating chili almost guarantees that I'll have heartburn later this evening, but it still seems like the perfect meal for a wet winter day.

I guess it's a good sign that there are still no roof leaks. We've had a ton of rain lately. The pumps on the roof have been working pretty well, but they don't even come close to removing all the water. At best, the pumps can turn four inches of standing water into one or two inches. To remove the rest I have to get up on the roof and sweep the water over the edge of the roof with a big push broom. When it eventually stops raining, that's what I'll be doing.

Ginny has discovered squirrels. We may have to start taking her out to pee on a leash again. A dog that is recovering from heartworm treatment shouldn't be running around the back yard trying to catch squirrels. All our dogs have liked to chase squirrels. Dot even caught a few. It doesn't help matters that there are a ton of squirrels in the park. They could care less where the park ends and our yard starts. I've seen up to a dozen of them in the yard at the same time.

I didn't do any Black Friday shopping today. Instead, I deleted hundreds of Black Friday messages from my e-mail inbox. The ads and e-mail spam are relentless. From now until Christmas, retailers are determined to sell me something. These guys should know that I'm not really their target audience anymore. I don't need much. Unless someone's going to offer me a Mercedes Sprinter van for half price, I'm not interested.

Fitbit says that I am sleeping better since Ginny has arrived.  This is a bit counterintuitive, but it makes sense to me. Having a warm dog next to you is comforting. I didn't sleep well when Dot and Dash were sick, but they needed lots of attention. When our dogs were young, we all slept well. Ginny certainly has no trouble sleeping. She is sleeping next to me right now.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3551

I got asked to reprint a business card I'd designed years and years ago. I couldn't even remember doing the card, but it seemed like something I might have done. I looked through my files and couldn't find anything. I did find hundreds of projects I'd completely forgotten about. I tried to remember printers I used to use and looked up my account on several that still had websites. Nothing again. One printer I've used dozens of times had purged all my files. My folder of old jobs was completely empty. This was a weird feeling. When you retire, it doesn't take long for you to be forgotten. Jeez. It hasn't been that long. Is it that weird to want to reprint a twelve year old business card? I could have recreated the card from scratch in less time than I took looking for the missing file tonight. I should have been able to find the file though. I keep good records. I always thought printers kept old jobs too. Live and learn. I guess I'll have to recreate the business card from scratch.

As I expected, our road was a mess when the highway department finally closed it to demolish the bridge. There were long lines of cars trying to exit to the poorly planned detour routes. It's going to be a pain to travel North now. I guess I'm going to have to just head South for a while. I was able to get gas, do my grocery shopping, pick up a prescription, and go to the post office by heading in a Southerly direction. Eventually I'll have to go North though.

Somebody already took the two lawn mowers I took out to the curb the other day. That didn't take long. If they were just trying to sell scrap metal, they're probably happy with their find. If they were planning to get the mowers working again and actually use them, there's going to be some frustration. You can't even get parts for one of these old mowers and the other one needs a lot of work. I'm glad the mowers got picked up though. The city might not have even taken them on bulky trash day because there was still a little gas in the tanks.

The White Pelican has been gone for a week. If he's gone for good, the bird sure picked a weird time to migrate. His buddies will be returning for the Winter soon. Maybe the bird knew this. I wonder if birds can be antisocial? Maybe this Pelican just wants to be left alone.

I definitely paid a price for the barbecue I ate last night. I woke up with heartburn several times during the night. Was the tasty meal worth it? Who knows. I know exactly what to eat to avoid acid reflux, but it gets boring. It's a shame that the things that bring the most pleasure usually cause the most trouble. I'll definitely be eating barbecue, chili, and pizza again, but I'll give it a rest for a while. When I eat healthy, I sleep better. A good night's sleep trumps just about anything these days.

It's back to the gym tomorrow. This week sure went quickly. I never did get my 20,000 steps yesterday. I fell asleep 37 steps short.

Nicholas is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3490

I finally got some better pictures of Charlie when we visited the Dalmatian Rescue kennels today. He's a hard boy to photograph because he never stays still. I wanted a picture where his ears looked nice, his tongue wasn't hanging out, and there wasn't a ball in his mouth. Eventually I got one.

All the dogs have adjusted well to being in the kennel. They get a lot of attention, are well fed, and are recovering from the medical problems many of them had when they entered the program. They all seem so normal now that I don't think any of them will have any problems adjusting to life in the forever homes each of them will find soon.

We spend a lot of time at the boarding kennel so I don't take a morning walk on Monday's anymore. I still had time for a leisurely breakfast and a few errands before we left for the kennel, but that was about it. I had just enough time to pay some bills, go to the post office, and pick up a few things at Home Depot before we left.

I still had to take some sort of walk when we returned late in the afternoon. This was probably a mistake, but I'm addicted to those Fitbit steps. It was really hot and humid today. I had to stop several times to wet down my shirt and hat in a nearby water fountain. The Pelican has returned but the Egrets are gone. I guess these birds don't like to share the same water. There were water turtles basking on several semi-submerged logs. I guess they liked the sun better than I did.

I'm finally starting to get some bids for the last piece of art I put up for auction. I guess lowering the reserve made a difference. This is just an online auction so there is no drama. Maybe that's for the best. This piece got no attention at all when it was offered at a big auction in New York several months ago. I wish I had more art to unload. The bills for my trip to Florida are starting to come in and it is obvious that travel can be just as expensive as collecting things. I think travel is the way to go now though. When you collect memories they don't take up a lot of space.

I wish I didn't have problems with heartburn. I had some leftover pizza for dinner and I can already tell that it's going to be a long night. Pizza, spaghetti, and chili are just about the only things that give me problems. It's a shame because I love these things. We had steaks last night and a chicken casserole over the weekend and I had no problems at all. Whenever I eat vegetarian meals I don't have any problems either. It's clear that I shouldn't eat pizza, but I hate to give it up entirely. Every once in a while I just resign myself to heartburn.

A carpenter is coming over tomorrow to give me an estimate on repairing the greenhouse. If I like the guy I may get some bids on fixing other things around the house as well. There's certainly plenty of things that need to be fixed. It's hard to find an experienced carpenter who will work on small jobs. I don't know if this guy's any good, but one of my neighbors likes him a lot. I finally called the carpenter because I kept seeing his truck in front of the neighbor's house.

I'll add Charlie's new picture to the Dalmatian website tomorrow. I hope the carpenter shows up. You never know with these guys.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3425

Nothing to see here. Today was about what you'd expect for a rainy day. The thunder was loud enough last night to wake me up several times. I moved the chairs out of the way that get wet when the roof leaks and went back to bed. When I woke up this morning I discovered that one of the pumps had quit working. As soon as it was light enough, I climbed up on the roof in the rain to unclog the pump. You'd think all the catkins would be gone by now, but they're still falling from the Oak trees. When the pumps suck water from the roof, they also suck these catkins floating on the water into the filter and the pump clogs and quits working. It's irritating, but relatively easy to fix.

When the pumps were working again, we ate breakfast and made our grocery lists. Janet and I both get groceries but we each get different things. There was no avoiding driving in the rain today. We had things to do. Errands don't take as long these days because there is nothing to pick up for Dash. As he grew older, Dash has a grocery list that was just as long as ours. I've noticed that Peaches are back in the stores, but I'm not seeing the really good Georgia peaches yet. Clingstone peaches should be available soon and then Freestone peaches will start to be harvested later this Summer. I'm not a huge fan of grocery shopping, but it's a lot more enjoyable when I can find the things I like.

Around 2 PM the rain stopped and the weather radar looked clear for the rest of the day. I put on my boots and got started on my walk. For some reason I was slower than usual today. I'd like to think that my body runs like a well oiled machine, but like most people I have good days and bad days. I suspect that my energy level has a lot to do with what I eat. We had fried chicken last night. The tastier the meal, the more sluggish I become.

I saw lots of Barn Swallows today. These small birds fly low and fast over the water, catching insects in the air. I sometimes get Swallows and Swifts confused. but I think these were Swallows. They were smaller than Chimney Swifts and had a rust colored underbelly. I didn't feel like looking for Owls or Egrets. I felt tired today.

If it's clear tomorrow I guess I'll have to go clear the remaining water off the roof. I don't enjoy this task at all, but since I've become more diligent, the roof hasn't leaked again. Actually we haven't had a leak in a long time. I'm beginning to think that the one leak we had after the repairs were made was water that was already inside the house. There's no way of knowing what is going on between the exterior of the roof and the sheetrock on the ceiling. This one foot space is filled with insulation and is probably a haven for bugs and ants. I wouldn't be surprised if there are places where water is trapped.

Maybe something interesting will happen tomorrow. I'm not counting on it. I'll go to the gym and if I remember I'll stop at the store and pick up some more beer on the way home. I like a brew called Local Buzz. Pizza and burgers go better with beer. Since both of these things give me heartburn, a six pack of beer often lasts a month. Most of the time I just drink water.

Like I said, nothing to see here, except maybe a few water drops on the daisies in the park.

Dodger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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