Day 4484

Well, I'm still here. I got a message from Space X late last night saying that the Axiom-1 launch had been delayed for two days. I'm really glad they sent me the message last night instead of this morning, because I would have been on my way to Florida. I hastily rescheduled my airline, hotel, and rental car reservations and discovered that prices vary wildly depending on which day you travel. It's a lot less to fly on a Wednesday than on a Monday, but Friday is more expensive than either of those days. I was lucky to be able to reschedule on such short notice. It wasn't entirely smooth sailing though. I had to use a different rental car company because my first choice was completely out of cars on the new dates I selected. I hope there aren't further delays to this launch. A lot of people are traveling again and it's not always easy to make changes.

I guess I was right to be apprehensive when I learned that the Artemis-1 dress rehearsal was having problems. Pads 39A and 39B are close together, so what is happening on one will often impact what is going on at the other. The giant Artemis moon rocket is always going to be first in line down at the space center. I guess the Axiom Space folks will have to wait. Oh, well. I was glad to be able to sleep in longer this morning, but I'm going to have to unpack my suitcase to find today's evening meds.

Since I was home today, it was just another day to visit the rescue Dalmatians at the kennel. There are so many dogs now that it takes us quite a while to see everyone. These dogs always make us laugh. Dorothy and Candy are wild. Julip and Willie are shy. Oliver and Jo Jo are big clumsy goofballs. Rocket is still scared, but he seemed more relaxed than last week. Charlie is just Charlie. We had a good time this afternoon. Several dogs are being looked at, but nobody got adopted this week. I don't know if we'll see Sammy again, but her puppies are all healthy and doing well. Their eyes are open now and they are getting their spots.

I took several short walks today, but didn't feel up to taking my regular long walk. I probably wouldn't have had time anyway since we spent so much time up at the kennel. My shoes feel different now since I've already transferred the custom orthotics to the new Hokas that are currently sitting inside my suitcase. It's not worth the trouble to transfer them back again.

We are under a severe weather warning tonight although I haven't seen or heard anything yet. So far the storm seems to be moving to the north of us. I hope this continues. Tonight's storm is associated with high winds and possible tornadoes. That's the last thing we need. I still worry that one of our remaining large Oak trees will be toppled in a big storm. We've already lost several this way. I always see downed trees in the park after a major storm. Our own trees are about the same age, so you never know.

I got a notice this morning that my application to attend the NASA Crew-4 launch was not accepted. That's just as well because I couldn't have afforded to go to two launches so close together anyway. Crew-4 is scheduled for next week. I just applied to attend both launches in hopes that one of them would come through. All is well. Now I've just got to decide whether to go out to McDonald Observatory at the end of the month. It's not an easy decision.

There's not much on the agenda tomorrow. My bags are packed and even if it rains tonight it's still supposed to be a nice day tomorrow. Maybe I'll sleep in late again.

Dottie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3900

I like big even numbers. Only a hundred days to go before I've been blogging for 4000 consecutive days. Piece of cake. I'll reach this goal before the end of the year. Can I keep this going for 5000 days? That remains to be seen. I don't even know if I'll live that long. I feel like I've got less to write about than I did in the beginning. I certainly have fewer readers. It's good to have goals though. Even if they are silly ones. One way or another, I'll keep writing.

I thought about repairing Janet's broken Apple Watch today. Hey, I've already successfully fixed two computers. I watched a couple of YouTube videos and it seemed like something I could do if I was careful and dexterous. Parts were available too. I'm not that dexterous unfortunately. Maybe it would be better to take the watch to the Apple Store. Nevermind. The Apple Stores have so many Covid regulations now that it's not not even worth the trouble to go there. Apple repairs are expensive too. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I could get a brand new Apple Watch at Best Buy for half the price of an Apple repair. It was a discontinued Series Three model, but it was still brand new. I went out and got Janet a new watch. I still may attempt to repair the old one though if I get really, really bored.

We got a late start on our walk this morning. The sun was almost up before we even left the house. The temperature warmed up quickly and I was a little worried that Dawn wasn't going to make it. She did fine though. Actually, she seemed to have more energy than I did. When is this summer going to be over? I've had enough.

The State Fair of Texas has been canceled this year, but they've decided to open the fairgrounds on selected weekends for drive-thru fair food. I didn't realize that the demand for funnel cakes, turkey legs, and deep fried pickles was that high, but I guess it is. People actually seem excited about the prospect of drive-thru fair food. I think I'll pass on this one.

I'm amazed at how many people watch the Boca Chica live cameras. There are usually at least a thousand people from all around the world watching even when nothing is going on. People in the chat speculate about what is happening whenever they see a forklift or crane move. It's fascinating to watch how quickly things change at this facility. They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is all so different than NASA. Have I become an Elon Musk fanboy? Who knows. I despise politicians, but I admire people like Elon and Steve Jobs. We need more people like this.

I'm kind of glad i didn't get accepted for the Delta IV Heavy launch now. The launch has already been delayed two times and I would have had to extend my stay quite a bit. Hotel bills and rental cars can add up quickly. I wish I had less expensive interests. When a launch gets delayed it can get pretty expensive. You think "one more day won't cost that much," and then it becomes two, three, or even four days. You hate to leave though and miss everything.

These weeks sure go quickly. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day again. It seems like I just did this. Will I find my favorite cheese? Have peaches returned to the produce department? Such excitement. I can hardly wait.

Mandy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3689

Sometimes it's the little things. I got the toilet to stop running today. I took everything apart again and soaked all the parts in vinegar for an hour to remove the built up scale. Then I bought a new ballcock membrane at a plumbing supply store. This tiny little piece of rubber was seventeen dollars, but apparently it is vital. After I carefully put everything back together again, the toilet worked normally. As I have mentioned many times, I will never buy a French toilet again.

It looks like the launch date for the Solar Orbiter has changed again. A new launch hazard warning has been issued, but so far I have received no confirmation from NASA about the new date. This makes changing reservations difficult. I was able to book another hotel for the revised date, but will have to cancel one of my reservations by tomorrow night to avoid a penalty. I can change my flight right up until the day of departure, but hotels are more difficult. When things are busy at the Space Center a last minute change in the launch schedule can leave you without a room. Hopefully, this will all be resolved tomorrow. I hate uncertainty.

The weather was even colder today than it was yesterday. It didn't seem to bother the birds though. The Egrets and Herons seemed at ease wading in the icy water. I was warm enough on my walk, but I needed two coats today. I'm beginning to think that dressing in layers like this will be better out at the observatory than my bulky Alaska coat. There was a stiff wind when I walked along the shoreline and I was still reasonably warm. A lot of people might think that a down jacket on top of another down jacket is overkill, but it seems to work great. Hey, I get cold easily. The inner down jacket is very light and the outer jacket is a larger size so it fits perfectly. Now I need to find some comfortable shoes that keep my feet warm.

My plan to get some astronomy lessons at the little observatory north of town hasn't worked out very well. There haven't been many clear days in January. I guess January has always been like this, but it sure seems gray and dismal this year. Maybe February will be better. I've still got some time. I'd really like to be more knowledgable when I arrive at the observatory.

I have no idea what I'll be doing tomorrow. I'm sure I'll check my e-mail a lot to see if there is any news from the Space Center. I need to answer the latest letter my sister sent. Maybe there'll be bills to pay as well. It's still not warm enough to make roof repairs, but that's probably useless anyway. I guess I should just concentrate on breakfast. Should I go out for French Toast or make an omelet at home? Oddly, little decisions like these seem just as difficult to make as the larger ones.

Malcolm is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3685

I changed all my reservations this morning. The Solar Orbiter launch has been postponed. I was kind of expecting that this might happen, but I hope it doesn't happen again. Just because you managed to make reservations for one date doesn't guarantee you can make them for another. Luckily, I was successful this time although hotels seem unusually full for this time of year. At any rate, I hope this new date sticks. Last minute changes are a lot of trouble.

It was an uphill battle to get my 20,000 steps today. I did my usual workout at the gym but it felt like someone had changed all the settings on the machines. I looked and nothing had changed. The only thing that had changed was me. I was terrible on the basketball court as well. Oh, well. We all have good days and bad days. At least I finished everything.

The sluggish feeling continued when I began my walk a few hours later. I blamed this on the wind. It was warmer today, but it was very windy. It looked like a good day for sailing. Not so good for picnics though. By the time I returned home I was finally starting to feel normal. It was odd that I felt sluggish today because I actually got a good night's sleep.

I thought about putting some more silicon on the roof, since it was so warm today. Then I remembered how windy it was and decided to wait until the weather was calmer. This stuff is messy on a windless day. I'd probably end up with liquid silicon all over myself on a day like today. I'm not even sure there is a point to continuing these repairs. I still don't know where the leak is.

I guess I missed my chance to go up to the little observatory north of town. There just weren't enough clear nights in January. Now the moon is back and nights will be getting brighter for the next several weeks. I read that tonight was a good night to see Mercury just below a very thin crescent moon right after sunset. There were clouds on the horizon though and I'd have to walk quite a ways to find an unobstructed view anyway.  It wasn't worth the trouble.

It's easy to talk me out of going outside at night, but it would be difficult to talk me out of visiting the Dalmatians. I'm already looking forward to our weekly trip to the kennel tomorrow. I hope everyone is doing well. We will continue our efforts to socialize the dogs and spoil them with treats. I haven't heard anything recently, but it would be nice to learn that a few more are on their way to their forever homes.

I listened to a little bit of the Grammy Awards this evening. Once again I didn't know who most of the artists were. I did know who Usher was, but was he really the right guy for a Prince tribute? Who am I to say? I'm still listening to Hotel California in the elevator.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3470

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful place on a clear night. When we arrived at our destination on the shores of the Banana River around 1 AM, a copper colored moon was just starting to rise on the Eastern Horizon. Behind us, Jupiter was shining brightly just above the constellation of Scorpio. The sky was dark enough that I could actually see the Milky Way for the first time in years. Directly ahead, something else was shining brightly on the horizon. It was the Falcon Heavy rocket bathed in searchlights at launch pad 39A.

The launch was supposed to take place at 11:30 PM yesterday evening, but got delayed for three hours because of a minor technical problem on the pad. There was a lot of nervousness within our group as we began to hear rumors of the delay. When the countdown clock stopped and went dark, we were afraid that the launch might be canceled. When the rumors began circulating, we were scattered between Cocoa Beach and Titusville eating dinner before returning to meet the bus that would take us to our viewing location.  Lots of messages went back and forth before a new plan was announced. The launch would still take place and had been rescheduled for 2:30 AM this morning.

We were prepared for something dramatic, but the launch exceeded everyone's expectations. When the countdown clock reached zero, there was an intense flash of light on the horizon. An enormous trail of fire rose quickly into the sky, followed about ten seconds later by the thundering sound of 27 Merlin engines. Literally in a matter of seconds, darkness was turned into day.

Night launches are spectacular because you can see the rocket much longer. As the Falcon Heavy climbed in a graceful arc toward orbit, we could clearly follow the rocket all the way through stage separation and second stage ignition. The return of the two side boosters to Space X Landing Zones 1 and 2 was amazing. The two side boosters began their boostback burn almost directly over our heads.  Less than a minute later we saw the second stage engine start. The side boosters continued to fall rapidly as the second stage slowly faded from sight. About seven minutes after liftoff, the two side boosters simultaneously began their entry burn and started to slow down rapidly as they approached the landing zone. We saw puffs of smoke from the rockets exhausts rising from the landing zone indicating a successful landing and less than a second later heard two incredibly loud sonic booms. Sound travels slowly and the sonic booms arrived at our location after the boosters had actually landed.

Although the center core failed to land on a drone ship positioned over 1,000 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean, the mission was a huge success. The side boosters which had already been used before on a previous Falcon Heavy mission proved their worth again. All of the 24 satellites were deployed successfully. The brilliant people we talked to during the past two days who had spent years and years developing these payloads must have been very happy this morning.

Our little group of social media mavens were happy too. For many of us this was a dream come true. We had been up for over 24 hours, but I'm sure that some of us were already making plans in our mind to do this again. It is inspiring to see people succeed at doing something so complicated. As I returned to my hotel to pack my bags and return to Dallas, I felt like I had made some new friends and witnessed something important. I'm not always a positive person, but I felt good as I was flying home today. If humans can do something this complicated just by working together, we can do anything.

Shiner is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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