Day 4493

We had more rain this morning, but it didn't last long. The rain surprised us. We took our normal sunrise walk with Dawn, but if we'd gotten started ten minutes later we would have got soaked. I guess I should always look at the weather radar before I go outside. Things can change quickly at this time of year.

I didn't do much of anything today. I answered a few e-mails, but that was about it. There was plenty of time for a long walk. Maybe I'm finally getting enough sleep, because I'm picking up the pace a bit. I'm still nowhere near where I was a year ago, but any improvement is good. I noticed today that all the American White Pelicans are gone. The Double Crested Cormorants are gone as well. These birds are probably better predictors of the seasons than the weatherman. They always seem to know exactly when it is time to migrate. Occasionally, a few White Pelicans will stay at the lake for the Summer. Not this year. They are all gone. The eagles are gone as well. I wonder when the city will reopen the area where they built their nest. There is no need to protect the area anymore.

I thought I was going to need to take Dawn and Janet to dog training class tonight, but her car repairs ended up being completed in time. I've got a recall on my own car as well. I got the recall notice over six months ago and the dealership still doesn't have the parts. I have my doubts that they will ever get the parts. They're having a lot of trouble even getting cars to sell.

Somebody sent me a copy of an old newspaper article about my house today. The article ran in the local paper in 1957. It was interesting to see what had changed and what had stayed the same in the pictures. The author apparently thought that this house was special and would probably be appalled if he could see it today.  Foundations have settled. Cracks have appeared. Roof leaks have stained areas of the ceiling. Several different owners repainted the house, so few of the original colors are the same. Hey, the place is over 60 years old. What would you expect. It's still a neat house. I wish doing a restoration wasn't so hard while you are still living in a house. Contractors really prefer working in a vacant house. 

I think I'm going to spend the next several weeks fretting about my trip to the observatory. I've thought about leaving really early to avoid the traffic. Unfortunately, it's hard to avoid the heavy trucks. They're on the road 24/7 and are always going too fast. It's kind of ironic that I'll be going to one of the nation's premier dark sky sites and I still want to get to bed early. While I'm driving I worry about my hands going numb from gripping the steering wheel for hours on end. When I get there I'll worry about twisting my ankle by tripping on a rock in the dark. I wonder why they even want volunteers like me? I do like astronomy though. Maybe that counts for something.

I wonder if Covid is really over. By all accounts it appears to be worse than ever in China. I'd hate to get out to the observatory and discover that a mask mandate had been reinstated. It could easily happen. I've gotten used to going without a mask, so I'd hate to go back to 2020. If I really have to go back in time, I'd rather go back to 1969 instead.

Valli is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4481

It's getting harder to get up in the morning. I'm getting plenty of sleep. I'm just not eager to start a new day. Dawn's early walks actually help make the transition from night to day. After 45 minutes outside, everything starts to seem normal again. It's hard to be in a bad mood when you are following behind a happy dog. Dawn loves her morning walks. I've learned to like them as well.

As expected, I didn't go out for breakfast this morning. I thought about it, but I wasn't that hungry. The thought of driving across town to eat more than I was hungry for made a bowl of shredded wheat sound pretty good. 

After I finished breakfast and completed a few morning chores, I called the hotel where I'm supposed to pick up my press credentials and asked if they really had a Starfish Room. They did. It was a small meeting room so they didn't bother to put it on their website. One more needless worry averted. Now I'm going to have to find something else to fret about.

I had to upgrade all the Apple stuff today. Apparently there was another hacker exploit that needed to be patched. This never used to happen. Back in the day, Apple systems seemed totally immune to hackers and malware. I could go years without worrying about my system becoming compromised. I guess that's the price you pay for becoming popular. I dutifully upgraded my phone, watch, and tablet knowing that I'll probably have to do it again in a few weeks.

Janet does her grocery shopping on Friday and grocery day has become Dawn's favorite day of the week. She gets so excited when bags of food arrive at the house and immediately starts barking for me to open the dog gate. The gate stays closed until all the food is in the house and the front door is closed. Then Dawn runs to the kitchen to supervise while everything is put away. A dog's life is pretty simple. It revolves around food and sleep. Throw in a few walks during the day and you've usually got a happy dog.

The older I get, the more I've started to live like a dog. I get lots of sleep, take naps during the day, and spend more time than I should wondering about what to eat for dinner. I also spend a huge chunk of my day walking. I walk a lot more than Dawn, but otherwise our lives are similar. Maybe this is why I react to traveling the same way Dawn does to riding in the car. Traveling gets me outside my comfort zone. It would be so easy for me to do nothing at all, but I'm convinced that new experiences are important.

My upcoming trip to Kennedy Space Center won't be a completely new experience, but every launch is different. I worry more about plane crashes that I used to and traveling seems excessively expensive now. On the other hand, I enjoy feeling part of the little community of rocket photographers and writers at KSC. Even though I don't go to the space center that often, there are still people who remember me. It's a real job too. I have a story to write and a deadline to meet. Is all this important? It's really hard to say.

Tomorrow is my own grocery day. Dawn doesn't get very excited when I return. That's probably because I usually buy things like paper towels, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and bottled water. Fresh meat and produce probably smells much more exciting to a dog. Maybe I'll look for some Hoka shoes when I'm out and about tomorrow. I"ve been thinking about new shoes for way too long.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4137

I got a real letter in the mail today. This is increasingly rare. Most of our mail is junk. There is always lots of political mail whenever there is an election. There are weekly grocery store circulars and various home services send flyers advertising lawn care and tree removal. I used to get lots of trade magazines, but most of them have gone out of business. I still get bills in the mail, but I don't even open them. They are just reminders that it's time to pay online again. Whenever I'm waiting for something specific, it never comes. I've been waiting for author copies of a SpaceFlight Magazine article for several months now and of course there are those computer memory chips that seem to have disappeared. I still wait for the mail every day though. It's just something old people do.

I still watch TV while I'm eating breakfast as well, but I'm constantly changing channels because there's nothing I like. I don't know what kind of audience the network morning shows are targeting, but it definitely isn't me. Cable news is like a broken record. It seems like we are always in the middle of the same crisis. The financial channels increasingly talk about Bitcoin, SPACs and other things I don't understand. Sometimes the only thing left are old TV Westerns, Perry Mason, and The Andy Griffith Show.

I've just about given up on NASA. I write polite letters asking about accreditation, but never get a response. Actually I don't get a response to many of my questions these days. When I retired and my business slowed, I kind of dropped off the radar. When you no longer have something other people want, you gradually become invisible. Generally, I don't mind being invisible, but I hate being totally out of the loop. I wish I had some kind of card I could flash whenever I wanted to participate in something. Sadly, life doesn't work that way. You have to stay involved if you want to participate.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to be a regular part of the launch photography community because I can't afford to visit Florida that often. I'm not going to write frequently for astronomy magazines either because I don't actually know that much about astronomy. It's easy to get discouraged, but there are always opportunities. I guess my job now is to always keep an eye out for new opportunities.

Dawn has decided that she likes walking through open fields instead of staying on the trails. This would have been good in the Winter, but now the prairie grass is growing tall and I worry about chiggers, ticks, and especially snakes. I don't see many snakes but I know they are out there. I'm already fretting about what shoes to wear out at the observatory. Do I wear lightweight, comfortable sneakers, or heavy snake proof boots? I always take the boots, even though they are uncomfortable after I've been wearing them for hours. That's one thing I liked about growing up in Alaska. There were no snakes.

There are severe weather warnings for tomorrow again. Most of these warnings don't amount to anything, but you've got to take them seriously. One way or another it does look like it's going to rain. Right now there is a 100% chance of rain. How am I going to take my long walk if it rains all day? Oh, well. I can't worry about that now. It's time to take out the trash and call an end to this week.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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