Day 4120

I got a call from my doctor asking whether I'd been vaccinated yet? Good grief. The place where I got vaccinated is part of the same medical group that my doctor belongs to. When I filled out all the vaccination forms, I checked the box that asked whether it was OK to share the information with my primary care physician. Obviously, nothing has been shared. Doctors seem inable to share information with each other. I've filled out the same information over and over again whenever I see a doctor. Nobody shares information and nobody corrrects incorrect information in your files. It makes you wonder why doctors even want all this information. Nobody reads it.

When we visited the rescue Dalmatians this afternoon the football the dogs liked so much last week was gone. We asked about the football and were told that the kennel dogs had destroyed it. I'm not surprised. A popular toy doesn't last long in a busy kennel. We'll have to look for a new toy football. Charlie and Cooper loved that thing. The dogs were playful today, but that wasn't much of a surprise. They are always playful. I hope both of them end up getting adopted by a young, active person.

My allergies seem to have cleared up. I can't remember if this the time of year when they disappear for a while, but it seems about right. Nothing is happening on schedule this year. Most of the Irises in the park haven't even bloomed yet. The ducks seem to be nesting later than usual as well. I haven't seen any baby ducks at all. I have no idea whether school is in or out anymore. I still see lots of kids in the park during the week who ought to be in school. Just about the only thing that hasn't seemed to change this year is Dallas traffic. The traffic is still terrible.

Dawn had a nice walk before we went to visit the rescue Dalmatians and then I had a not so nice walk after we returned. Today wasn't a great day for my feet. There still seems to be no rhyme or reason as to whether I'm going to experience foot pain on any given day. I'd ask my doctor except I've already done that. He sent me to a specialist who didn't have an answer either. I should probably just quit complaining. The pain obviously isn't bad enough to keep me from walking. I completed six miles today.

I think I felt more comfortable traveling during the height of the pandemic than I do now when everyone is returning to hotels and airports. I've always enjoyed doing things when other people were doing something else. I loved when the airlines blocked the center seats and the planes were half empty. My favorite time to walk is on overcast, dismal days when the park is empty. Even when I was younger and went out more, I would typically get tickets to see unpopular bands because I knew there wouldn't be big crowds. There are some interesting launches at Kennedy Space Center later this Spring, but I'm dreading flying into Orlando now that everyone wants to go to Disneyland again. 

I finally figured out why I'm probably stuck running Sierra on my computers forever. Sierra is the last OS that will run 32 bit software flawlessly. Apple began the transition to 64 bit software with High Sierra and when Catalina appeared, they completely pulled the plug on 32 bit software. It just won't run on newer machines or newer operating systems. This kind of sucks since I still have a ton of perfectly good 32 bit software that I bought back when my business was busy. Why should I subscribe to Office 365 when I have a perfectly good working copy of Office 2011? Why should I subscribe to Adobe's Creative Cloud when I've been using CS-5 for years without any problems? I hate the subscription model that most software companies have adopted. It's just a way for rich companies to get even richer. Can I keep ignoring the future? Maybe. My Dad never used computers at all and he did OK.

Janet wants me to go out and look for a cell phone booster tomorrow. Do such things exist? Our iPhones barely work in the house anymore. We have to go outside when we get a call. I keep the old landline because it's much easier to make outgoing calls on it. All the phone companies are talking about 5G now when they never even got 4G to work reliably. It's a a good thing I'm retired. I'd really be frustrated if I had to depend on today's technology.

Angel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4061

I was busy with correspondence today. I wrote the dehumidifier company and tried to explain why the warranty replacement unit they sent was still not working properly. I wrote both of my editors about future assignments. I'm trying to get an approval from Sky & Telescope to proceed with my astrophotography article and also trying to find out what SpaceFlight Magazine wants me to focus on next. I'd like to remain optimistic and assume that once most of us have been vaccinated, I will be able to travel freely again during the second half of the year. There are several interesting launch events this Spring, but it's still probably too early to travel. When I was working, my goal was usually to complete one work related task every day. Now, if I can manage to accomplish two or three things each year, that's pretty good. One way or another I will eventually find something new to write about.

Our vet called with the results from Dawn's latest urine test. She still has high levels of protein in her urine, which can often be an early sign of kidney disease. Her test results were better than last month though, so we are going to remain hopeful that things will continue to improve. Dawn's diet is good and she's drinking enough water now. We'll do another test in a month and if things don't continue to improve it will be time for an ultrasound test to determine if she might have bladder stones.

I got a notice that I could do my registration paperwork for the vaccine online to save time. There were quite a few items to fill out, so this probably actually will save me time when I get to the vaccination site. Whenever I look at my online medical records I find something wrong. You can't really change your medical records. All you can do is notify someone that there's been a mistake. Sometimes the mistake is corrected months later and other times nothing happens at all. The records that I looked at today say I still have Hepatitis-C. Very odd. The hospital group that sent me the forms was the very same hospital that cured me of the disease. The medical profession is a confusing labyrinth of conflicting information. I'm amazed that anything works at all.

So far this year I have had an elaborate set of tests to determine why I sometimes have coughing fits at dinner. The results of these video x-rays were inconclusive and I still have no idea why I cough so often. I consulted with an orthopedic surgeon recently to determine why I have persistent foot pain. I was really encouraged by the doctor's recommendations, but now the foot pain has returned. Basically I've coughed a lot and had foot pain for the last fifteen years. I've been to doctors before and the results have always been inconclusive. Medicine is messy and there aren't always easy answers. I'll take the vaccine but I don't think it's going to be a magic bullet. Why do I think that this will end up just like the flu vaccine and we'll end up taking this shot at least once a year for the rest of our lives. The whole idea of "back to normal" is probably just an illusion. We have just taken a short cut into the future.

The trouble with this Kickstarter campaign that I supported is now I'm going to be wondering about this commitment until the Fall when the product is supposed to start full production. Is this thing even going to happen? Did I throw my money down a rabbit hole? I'm really not very comfortable with uncertainty. In another universe, I'd probably make a very good dog.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I won't have to get gas this week though. I didn't do anywhere. I got word that last October's issue of SpaceFlight Magazine is finally in the mail to me. Maybe my dehumidifier problem will eventually get resolved as well. I still have hopes of being back at Kennedy Space Center before the end of the year. Sometimes I feel like nothing is happening, but time marches on. I just need to be patient.

Zorro is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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