Day 4963

I'm glad I didn't go to the Falcon Heavy launch. Last night's launch got scrubbed with one minute left on the countdown clock. The launch was rescheduled for tonight and then subsequently postponed again until tomorrow night. It happens. This would have turned a quick one day trip into a three or four day trip. I'm sure I'll get a chance to be surprised like this again. Quite a few launches I've attended have gotten delayed.

There were no delays or surprises in today's schedule. Basically today was just like yesterday. We had a nice walk with Dawn before the sun came up. I made the bed, ate breakfast, and went to the gym. It's weird how every day seems the same. We see the same people every morning on our sunrise walks. The same people are at the gym too. Usually they are even using the same machines. Today I even got the same parking space that I got yesterday.

I visited Twitter today to see if there were any differences now that the blue bird is gone. I was surprised that I had lots of messages and post comments that I had never answered. The blog gets posted automatically to Twitter, but I never go there anymore. I never go to Instagram anymore either. The only place I visit these days is Facebook and I'm losing interest in that as well. When I reach my 5000 day blogging goal it might finally give me the incentive I need to leave social media entirely. We'll see. I wonder whether I can really quit blogging. I've been doing this so long that it just seems like an integral part of my day.

I'm beginning to wonder whether this oppressive weather is ever going to end. Never ending triple digit temperatures gets old quickly. The air conditioner is running constantly now and I keep hoping that nothing breaks. The electric company probably loves this. When we walk down the street returning from our sunrise walk, all you hear is the sound of everyone's air conditioner compressors. I dread next month's electric bill, but I'm still unwilling to spend the day in a hot house.

I have no plans for tomorrow. I imagine that I'll do the same things I did today. I keep looking at the ceiling and wondering if I can do the sheetrock repairs myself. I haven't gone to Home Depot and gotten supplies yet though. I'll probably just keep thinking about this for another month or so. I did take this week's trash out to the curb. It was probably the only useful thing I did all day. Dawn is probably already thinking about grocery day tomorrow. Waiting for Janet to return with the week's groceries is her big excitement for the week.

Deuce is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4851

It felt like Winter again today. How is this even possible? A week ago it was 90 degrees outside and now I'm wearing my down jacket and gloves again. This month every day brings something new. You never know what to expect. I'll take the cold over rain any day though. I've got plenty of warm coats.

The launch I applied for yesterday has already been postponed. Something mechanically is wrong with the rocket and a new launch date has not been announced yet. This is why it is so hard to plan these trips to Kennedy Space Center. Even when I do manage to secure press credentials, the launch itself is never certain. I've made several trips where the launch was canceled after I arrived and I ended up seeing nothing. Much more common is a one day delay. I've experienced a lot of those. You've got to stay flexible and hope you can extend all your reservations.

Dawn enjoyed her early walk this morning, but I can't says the same for my long walk later in the day. I waited a while to leave the house, hoping it would get warmer, but it never did. I guess today wasn't any colder than your average day in early January, but this is April. Winter is supposed to be over by mid April. I really doubt that we will get another hard freeze, but forty-five degrees with a brisk wind still feels like Winter.

After I returned from my chilly long walk, I basically did nothing for the rest of the day. Janet likes to watch movies, but I rarely do. I haven't picked up a book in a while either. Sometimes I test cameras and other equipment. Other times I do a load of laundry. Mostly I just waste time on the Internet. I catch up on the day's news on Google and check my Facebook feed. Neither of these activities gives me a lot of faith in the direction the world is headed. It's probably not surprising that I've spent a lot of time messing with the Polaris star tracker. It has been challenging to master this device since there is no instruction manual and it is still potentially useful in the future. It keeps me busy. The star tracker seems to have replaced the interest I once had for mechanical watches.

I wonder how much longer I can keep using this computer. It's a Mid 2010 27-inch iMac and can't be updated anymore. Almost every day I discover something new that isn't working the way it used to. The hardware seems to work fine, but the Apple operating system, browsers, and even mail have changed a lot. Website developers have changed the way they code things and I frequently find that windows won't open or pages won't scroll properly. Sometimes my WiFi connection disappears completely and I have to reboot the computer to restore it. Oddly I still have no desire to replace the computer. I liked the way the Internet and computers were in 2010. The bulky old Mac desktops I used before 2010 were even better. I had one with four hard drives, two Apple superdrives, and a modded CPU that was great. I think I detect a theme here. I just don't like change.

I think Dawn has a hard time with change as well. She spent so many years as a breeding dog in a puppy mill run by two old men that I'm probably always going to seem like a kennel attendant to her. In her mind Janet will always be the person who rescued her and I am Janet's assistant. I'm good for walks and fixing dinner, but she will never completely trust me. It's a shame that she doesn't trust me since we spend most of the day together in the house. Dawn has her room in the bedroom and I have mine in the office. She will follow me out to the back yard when she needs to pee and she always eats the meals I fix, but I can see a huge difference as soon as Janet comes home. She instantly becomes a happy dog again.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4634

Today was a catch-up day. I unpacked, put things away, and charged devices. It was nice and cool when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk but it was extremely humid. It made a lot more sense to go to the gym than to deal with all this moisture in the air. Janet dropped Dawn off at the vet to get her teeth cleaned when she left the house this morning. I finished my breakfast and checked my messages before leaving the house myself. It was a busy day by my low standards. I stopped at the bank on my way to the gym and then stopped at REI to pick up some shoes I'd ordered on the way home.

The gym was practically empty. I wonder where everyone was today. My gym is one of the few places where the employees all still wear masks. Even the staff down at Kennedy Space Center have quit wearing masks and they are usually pretty strict. Members don't have to wear masks while they are working out though. I walked two miles on the indoor track, shot free-throws on the basketball court for a while and came home again. I'm still tired and wasn't feeling very energetic today. 

We picked up Dawn at the vet later this afternoon. She did well and her teeth look great now. Dog dentistry is expensive. I had my own teeth cleaned recently for a lot less than Dawn's procedure cost. In fairness, I didn't need to go under anesthesia to get my teeth cleaned though. We've always had our dog's teeth cleaned once a year. Healthy teeth can prevent a lot of other problems.

They've restarted the Artemis countdown clock. I still kind of wish I was down there, but it would have doubled the cost of my trip. There is a good chance that Saturday's launch attempt will get delayed again as well. This is when I envy the local guys who don't have to worry about travel considerations. I didn't realize it until very recently, but there are already 12 potential launch attempts on the books. The three that were widely publicized were just the ones that NASA wanted to try first. This could go on for a very long time. I'm still skeptical that Artemis will actually launch on Saturday. The SLS is a very complicated rocket. There have already been four pre-launch dress rehearsals and not a single one of them was able to be completed yet. Something always went wrong. It's easy to forget that there is a long history of launch scrubs and aborts during the Apollo and Space Shuttle era. This is a brand new rocket and it could take a while to get everything working properly.

It rained pretty hard this afternoon. I'm glad I finished my errands and that we had already picked up Dawn from the vet before the bad weather started. At least the pumps on the roof are still working. When the pumps are working properly, the chances of a roof leak are much lower. Nothing is leaking so far. Knock on wood. I'm really starting to hate climbing up on the roof to fix things.

Now that everything has been unpacked and put away, it seems like I never even went to Florida. I kind of hope the launch does get delayed again just to justify my decision to leave early. If Artemis does launch on Saturday I certainly hope it is successful. It is astounding to realize how much effort has already gone into this thing and it is not even off the ground yet.

They are building more of these rockets, so the chances are high that I'll eventually get to see at least one of them launch. Until then, I will continue my regular routine. It's Thursday, so I've taken this week's trash out to the curb and I'm waiting for the rain to stop.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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