Day 4872

This wasn't my lucky day. The VIasat-3 launch got scrubbed again. The weather today was much worse than yesterday. It was already raining when I headed out to the press site this evening, but I went anyway since I never received a cancelation notice from Space X. This was a mistake, since the rain kept getting worse the closer I got to Kennedy Space Center. 

As I was sitting in the parking lot, waiting for the rain to stop, the sky kept getting darker and darker and I began seeing lightning all around me. Then I got simultaneous warnings on my phone, my watch, and even from the rental car itself, all saying to take cover immediately because there was a tornado nearby. Jeez. Where would I go? All the nearby buildings were closed and we were miles from any available shelter. I just sat there and hoped for the best. It was pretty clear that the launch would be canceled, but I never received a notice from Space X. By this point the rain was coming down so hard that I couldn't see the rocket or even nearby buildings. I saw plenty of lightning though. There were huge lightning bolts in all directions. I heard thunder almost immediately, so the lightning was close. Some bolts appeared to land pretty close to the launch pad. At some point during the storm, other cars in the parking lot started to leave, so I knew that the launch must have been scrubbed.

I decided to head back to Titusville before it got completely dark. The roads were already covered with water and were very hard to see. I knew if I waited much longer some of the low areas might become impassible. It was a white knuckle drive back to town. About halfway back to the hotel there was a second tornado warning. There was even a little swirling image of a tornado on the car's GPS. There was so much water on the road that I felt there was a real danger of hydroplaning. Eventually I made it back to the hotel and I'm now trying to decide whether to stay another day.

I may change my mind, but I think I'll head home tomorrow. There is a 90% chance of more rain on Friday. Rain is in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday too. With those kind of odds I could be here forever, or at least until I ran out of money. Things don't begin to clear off down here until later next week. I definitely can't afford to stay that long. The day wasn't a total loss though. We got our credentials this morning and were bussed out to the launch pad to set remote cameras and take close up shots of the Falcon Heavy on the pad. It's a shame that Space X didn't go ahead and launch yesterday. The weather had actually cleared up by the original sunset launch time. 

I'm not even sure I could stay another day because the hotel is already beginning to fill up with weekend travelers. Airfares are more expensive on weekends too. If I stay Friday, I would be flying back on Saturday. Basically, I think it's a lost cause. One of the weather apps on my phone says there is a 90% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

I enjoyed chatting with other launch photographers out at the launch pad this afternoon. The weather was really nice up until about 4 PM. It's weird how quickly things can change. I really thought we were going to have a successful launch for quite a while today. All in all, it was a good day. I definiely can't recommend sitting out in a car in an isolated parking lot, miles from anywhere while you learn you are directly in the path of an approaching tornado. That was a little spooky.

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4814

I canceled today's appliance repair appointment because the dryer seems to be working fine again. I've done several loads of laundry and the problem seems to have disappeared. I have no idea what happened, but that's not surprising. A lot of things in life are a mystery to me. The roofers were a no show again today. They said they might be able to come over this afternoon, but didn't. They did send me a PDF file with their estimate though. Yes, it's quite expensive.

It was very warm again today. The temperature got up to over eighty degrees. This was another one of those days where the furnace was on when we woke up and the air conditioner was on most of the afternoon. I wore shorts and a t-shirt on my long walk and was still a bit hot by the time I returned home. No complaints though. I hope this is a sign of an early Spring.

I had to go up on the roof and sweep away the remaining standing water to get the leak in the office to stop. Most of the roof was dry, but there is a stubborn low spot right over the office where water lingers long after the rain has gone. The problem with this time of year is that I have to clear away this water over and over again. Sadly, there is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday.

I had to pick up a prescription today and the pharmacy staff were all in a bad mood. Usually these guys are very friendly. I ended up paying a higher price for my pills because they said it would take an extra thirty minutes if I wanted to compare prices using GoodRx. Strange. I always do this and it doesn't take any extra time at all. There was a big sign advertising free Covid test kits, but when I asked for some they said I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork to see if I qualified. Never mind. We've got a boatload of those test kits lying around the house already. This was all very disorientating because these guys are usually very helpful.

The construction crews are almost finished paving the service road through the park. I'll miss them because it gave me something interesting to look at while I walked. Pretty soon there will be lots to look at. I noticed today that daffodils are already blooming. This means that the Spring wildflowers will start to appear soon. I hope that there isn't a late March freeze that kills everything off. So far, it looks like we are headed for an early Spring.

There's been lots of activity down at Kennedy Space Center lately. It makes me wish I was down there. I wouldn't mind being one of the regular launch photographers who seem to be out covering every single launch. It's a somewhat silly activity, but strangely satisfying. Titusville is a nice town too. It's not too big and not too small. I could easily imagine living there. We're not going anywhere though. Moving is for younger people. I've lived several places over the years and basically one place is the same as the next. It makes more sense to settle down and learn to love where you're at. I'm glad I left Seattle though. Seattle has really gone downhill.

I'm hoping that we don't get a lot of rain tomorrow. I'm really tired of climbing up on the roof to sweep away the standing water. It makes me feel like Sisyphus, pushing that boulder eternally up the hill.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4738

I totally misjudged the weather today. I put away the buckets because the rain has stopped and then one of the leaks started again. What a mess. I need to start looking at the wind chill index instead of the temperature. I glanced at the temperature before we took Dawn on her early walk and thought it was pretty warm. There was a brisk wind though and I was freezing by the time we returned home. I didn't learn my lesson either. Later in the day when I took my long walk the temperature was even warmer so I only wore a light jacket. Wrong again. The same cold wind was blowing and I ended up freezing all over again. I did learn one thing. Being cold makes me walk faster. I completed my long walk in record time today.

I took the letter I wrote yesterday to the post office after breakfast, but came right home again. I have no interest in shopping or doing things around town these days. Everything is too expensive and I don't really need anything anyway. I hope this new sense of frugality continues. Property taxes are due and I need to start saving for my next trip to Kennedy Space Center.

I've been trying to avoid mowing the grass, but the front yard looks terrible to I decided to get it over with this afternoon. Unfortunately the lawn mower battery won't hold a full charge anymore and the mower died before I finished the job. The yard does look better, but it looks like I've got to mow at least one more time I can call it quits for the year. Now that the weather is cold I have to remove the heavy 24 volt battery pack from the mower and bring it inside when I'm finished. What a pain. No wonder all the other neighbors use a lawn care service.

The stains in the ceiling from the latest series of leaks are really looking bad. I'm not even sure I can bleach them out this time. I've contacted a contractor who came highly recommended to give me a bid on fixing everything in the house. Restoration work will be expensive but something needs to be done. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm very high on anybody's list these days. We've been trying to get together for over a month now and nothing has happened yet. I have a feeling that I'm not demanding enough. Thats not going to change though. I'm not a pushy person.

I wish I was down at Kennedy Space Center this Friday. Space X is launching two rockets on the same day. The launches are only a few hours apart. I can't recall that ever happening before. It ought to be interesting. I'm still a bit envious of the launch photographers who seem to never miss a launch. They all live in the area though. I don't know how they find the time because most of them have other jobs. It's probably good that I can only afford to go to Florida several times a year. If I was trying to cover every launch I'm sure I would have lost interest by now. I get bored quickly.

Dawn and Janet did well at training class tonight. I was surprised that they went to class because it was pretty cold outside. I was reluctant to even take out the garbage. I guess we'll have to deal with this cold weather for quite a while. Winter Solstice is almost here and it will be officially Winter soon. I don't know about you but I'm ready for Spring.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4312

The rain appears to be over for a while. I'm glad because we did get a small roof leak last night. This wasn't in the living room where it usually leaks. It was in the office. Water was dripping around the edge of one of the can lights in the ceiling. There have been leaks in this location before, but they are rare. I've never found the source. Since there was a leak, I decided I couldn't postpone going up on the roof any longer. I had to remove the standing water.

Since the drip in the office stopped after about an hour,  I was in no hurry. I had breakfast and took my long walk first. Dawn got her sunrise walk as well. The standing water refused to go away on its own, so I eventually climbed up on the roof and dealt with it.

I really hate this job. It's fairly strenuous and it's getting harder and harder for me to climb up on the roof. The neighbor's pecan tree is no friend of mine. It drops tons of pecans on the roof every Fall and the squirrels break them open and make a mess. The pecans turn the standing water into a brackish brown mess which stains the roof and makes it harder to find any tears in the elastomer. I really need to bring the power sprayer up on the roof and clean up this mess, but the sprayer is heavy and I'm afraid that power washing the roof might cause even more leaks. I still push all the standing water over the edge with a big push broom which resides on the roof permanently. Even on a good day it takes me well over an hour to remove the water. Today, since I was removing a ton of broken pecan shells as well, it took me even longer. I've said this many times, but never buy a house with a flat roof.

It would be nice to live in a new house with no problems, but I've never seriously considered moving. The house was paid for years ago and we live in a great neighborhood. I like living by the lake. There isn't a better place in the entire city to have a dog. Things will continue to break and I will continue to fix them. It's too bad that all the repair people I used to use have either retired or died. This new generation of repair people aren't nearly as talented as those older guys. Back in the day I always felt like the guys from "This Old House" were coming over to fix things. Not anymore. That's why I try to do as much as I can myself.

The launch photographers I know are all getting ready for the Lucy launch this weekend. Somehow major science missions always seem a little more interesting than your routine communication satellites. I can't help being a little envious of these Florida photographers. Photographing rockets is one of the few things I actually enjoy, but traveling to the space center for every launch is way too expensive for me. I probably won't return until the Artemis 1 launch in early 2022.

The city finally mowed the meadow behind our house. This will make it much easier to return home after Dawn's sunrise walk. When the grass was tall, our shoes and socks would get wet for several days after a rain and Dawn's paws and legs would always get sticky from the grass pollen. Every morning we'd have to clean Dawn with a wet rag before we went back in the house. Maybe since it is so late in the year, the grass won't start growing again until Spring.

The week's trash has been taken out to the curb and Dawn is sitting alert on the bed, waiting for Janet to return from a meeting. I'm happy to say that this day is just about over.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4163

Another rainy day. I think it's supposed to be this way for the rest of the week. This would have been the week to go out to the Davis Mountains. It's still clear out there. I don't know what this proves other than it's very difficult to plan ahead and sometimes I'm just unlucky

I guess having a regular physical exam is an attempt to plan ahead. I do try to stay healthy, even though maintaining your health depends on a certain amount of luck as well. Since I was having blood work done today, I needed to fast and couldn't eat breakfast before my 10 AM appointment. This made for a long morning. I drove to the doctor's office in the rain and noticed that I need new windshield wipers. One more thing to add to my to-do list.

Physical exams are always a mix of good and bad news. The good news was that my doctor seemed pleased with my overall health. The bad news was that I'm due for another colonoscopy. It doesn't seem like ten years since my last colonoscopy, but time flies when you are growing old. I always ask about my ongoing foot pain and my frozen shoulder, but I'm never happy with the answers I get. There's no real cure for osteoarthritis. When the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time, there's not a lot you can do. Your choices are usually limited to pain medications, physical therapy, and surgery. I've known plenty of people who have had knee, hip, and shoulder replacements. I'm not sure I want to go down that road.

Dawn didn't get a walk at all today. We tried, but she had no interest in getting wet. It took some planning to take my own longer walk, but I managed to find some dry time between the bands of rain moving from the southwest to the northeast. I got caught in a few sprinkles, but for the most part I stayed pretty dry. This wet weather seems to bring out the snakes. I've seen snakes almost every time I've walked lately.

I made another attempt to process some of the pictures I took last week and wasn't happy with the results. It is much easier to take pictures of dogs. The night sky is quite dim and the stars are always moving, so you can't simply take a very long exposure. Successful astrophotography depends on taking a lot of shorter images of the same subject and then merging them together using specialized software that compensates for the rotation of the earth. There are many steps to this stacking process. You want to keep both your foreground and your stars sharp, while avoiding the camera noise that often accompanies long exposures. I'm learning, but I've got a ways to go.

The Atlas V SBIRS GEO Flight 5 launch was successful today. Several of my launch photographer friends were there and got great pictures. I'm always a little envious when I see these pictures, but I don't think I'll be returning to Florida any time soon. The East Coast gas shortage, lack of rental cars, and the huge number of people who want to get out of the house and return to Disneyland or the beach are going to make travel difficult for a while. I'm hoping that life will eventually return to normal, but clearly we're not there yet.

Dismal weather always puts me in a bad mood. I wonder how long it's going to be before I see the sun again? I spent a lot of time napping today, but that's the way it goes on a rainy day. I'll make up for lost time when the sun returns.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3983

After making a few more edits, I sent my completed manuscript to the magazine today. A few hours later I sent the accompanying photographs. I selected eighteen of the best images from the hundreds I took at the launch and did my best to clean them up for publication. It's weird that after all these years I'm still discovering new things you can do with Photoshop. I used to wonder why other launch photographer's images always looked better than mine. Sometimes it was just using a better tripod to keep the camera steady. Every photographer seemed to have their own secret sauce. Some like to shoot in manual mode. Others like aperture priority. Almost everyone does some sort of post-processing because the lighting is so difficult on  night launches.

I discovered that by changing the contrast and color temperature of an image I could often bring out more detail. You want everything to look natural, but there is nothing natural about an insanely bright flame surrounded by darkness. I wanted to make sure that you could at least see the rocket that was creating all the flames. My images might improve a bit with better equipment, but I think I did pretty well. Hopefully, the magazine will find something they like. When you send eighteen images, they'll probably only use three.

I must have fallen back to sleep after Janet said it was time to get up this morning. When I realized I was late, I stumbled around getting dressed as quickly as I could while Janet and Dawn waited at the door. It was cloudy this morning, but we still had a pleasant walk. Fifty degrees seems to be an ideal temperature for everyone. We have all settled into a predictable routine. Dawn has specific trees and rocks that she always smells. Janet checks out the progress of new construction in the neighborhood. We both count the ducks and geese to make sure they are all there. Our long walk takes about two hours and the slightly shorter route we sometimes use takes about an hour and a half.

It was a slow day, although I did spend a considerable amount of time preparing my launch photo for publication. Since photography was already on my mind, I went over to the storage warehouse to look for the backdrop we'll be using for Santa Paws pictures. I have lots of photo backdrops, but one is washable and is much lighter than the rest. That's the one I wanted. My storage space is so full that it always takes me a while to find anything. Lots of stuff brings back memories, but there is very little that I'll actually use again. While looking for the photo backdrop, I stumbled across some nice leather coats that don't fit anymore. There was a brand new outboard motor that belonged to my Dad. That's not much use without a boat. The only thing that resembled a boat was a windsurfing board that I'll never be able to use because of my bad shoulder. The guitars and most of the model trains are gone now, but there are still a few vintage synthesizers gathering dust. I diod find the backdrop, but was in no mood for decluttering today. That will have to wait.

My insect bites itch like crazy. I still don't know if I was bitten by mosquitoes or fire ants. I guess it doesn't matter at this point. They will eventually subside and while I wait, I've just got to keep from scratching them. The next time I go to a night launch, I need to remember to bring some industrial strength  insect repellent.

It was one of those days where I kept forgetting what day it was. I did remember it was Thursday just in time to take the week's trash out to the curb. You never want to forget the trash when the city only picks it up once a week. It's hard to believe that it's already been a full week since I left for Titusville and Kennedy Space Center. I wonder how many weeks or months it will be before I pack my bags again?

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day