Day 4939

It was a little cooler today. It's surprising what a difference a few degrees can make. We had a very pleasant sunrise walk with Dawn this morning. For the first time in weeks we even saw a bunny again. Dawn loves these early walks but is not a very active dog. After we return home she usually spends the rest of the day sleeping.

After finishing breakfast I thought I'd take advantage of the slightly cooler weather and mow the grass. After mowing the front yard I realized that the temperature was a bit warmer than I'd thought. I was hot and tired. The back yard will have to wait. As long as this hot weather continues, I'll probably be limited to one outdoor task a day. Early mornings are OK, but it warms up quickly.

Janet had volunteer work today so we got an early start. When I finished mowing the grass after breakfast it still wasn't even 9 AM. I answered a letter from my editor at Spaceflight, paid a few bills, and then got ready to go to the gym. I haven't been to the gym this early before and it was probably a mistake. There must have been classes or meetings going on because the parking garage was completely full. I had to park outside which guaranteed a very hot car on the drive home.

For the third day in a row I did exactly the same things at the gym. I walked three miles on the indoor track and shot free throws on the basketball court for fifteen minutes. I could have stayed a lot longer because I had no plans for the afternoon. I just didn't feel like doing anything else. Fitbit is getting on my case, telling me that I'm not exercising as much as I used to. Sorry. Three miles just isn't the same as six miles. I can't imagine walking six miles on that indoor track. Even three miles is incredibly boring. My pace was slower today. I guess mowing the grass tired me out more than I thought. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow. The gym will be open on Independence Day and I'm almost certain I'll be back. It's still way too hot for a daytime walk through the park.

I don't think I'll go to the gym this early again. It leaves too much of the day to fill when I return home. I've started eating lunch again just to kill time. There are definitely things that need attention around the house, but I loathe doing sheetrock repairs and I'm kind of afraid the screen door will fall apart if I attempt to put on a new screen. I have a feeling that my desire to avoid difficult tasks is why I do the laundry so often. Doing the laundry is marginally useful and it is very easy.

The July issue of SpaceFlight with my article about the Viasat 3 launch came in the mail today. The article about the Axiom 2 Mission will be in the August issue. Writing these articles is something I actually do enjoy doing. I've always enjoyed writing. I used to have a ton of writing jobs when print magazines were still popular. Most of these magazines and the ads they used to contain are gone now. Somebody still creates advertising but I'm definitely out of the loop. Most of the ads I see these days are absolutely terrible and the millennials who create them would never hire their grandfather anyway.

I don't know what I'll be doing tomorrow but it definitely won't include watching fireworks. We have no interest in fireworks anymore. Fireworks are just something that needlessly frightens dogs. I probably will go to the gym. Hey, you've got to do something.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4564

The time before 10 AM is very valuable in the summer. It's just about the only time you can get anything done outside. The best time of the day is our sunrise walk with Dawn, but there's usually enough time left for another walk or an outdoor chore before it gets too hot. Today I washed the car, cleaned spider webs and mud dauber nests off the front windows, and washed the sidewalks and front porch. I was going to clean up some of the wood siding, but the paint is so old that it was flaking off when I used the pressure hose. Never mind. I think I accomplished enough. Washing the car was really all I wanted to do anyway.

The house smelled good today. Janet was making me a slow cooker pot roast to eat while she was away. I did a load of laundry and did some bookkeeping on the computer once it became too hot to work outside. I definitely wasn't feeling very energetic today. I took a nap and was pleased that Dawn didn't immediately run away.

After lunch I went to the gym. It would have been insane to walk outside this afternoon. I think this was the hottest day of the year so far. The gym's air conditioning bill must be huge. They keep the place really cold. This is fine by me. I like to exercise without sweating. I'm still surprised that I burn more calories shooting baskets than I do using some of the machines. This is good news because I can count shooting hoops as exercise instead of just having fun. 

I've settled into a routine at the gym that probably won't change much. If the basketball court is empty, I'll use it first. I've learned that if I wait, I often miss my chance. I'll be doing something else and a bunch of kids will arrive and start a pickup game. After shooting free thows, I'll use the indoor track for a while. The number of miles I walk varies. I'll walk less if I already have quite a few steps when I arrive at the gym. I'll walk more if I still need to walk a few miles to get my self imposed minimum of 10,000 daily steps. I don't get 20,000 steps a day nearly as often as I used to. I'm getting older and it just doesn't seem worth the effort on many days. Depending on how much time I have left, I'll finish my workout by doing a few things that will improve my upper body strength. I need to do more of this because my upper body strength is abysmal. 

I really need to work on my balance. I read an article recently that said if you couldn't balance on one leg for at least ten seconds with both arms at your side, you were likely to die within ten years. That sounded pretty harsh, but it's very difficult for me to balance on one leg for ten seconds. I always thought it was just because I had weak ankles, but maybe there's a lot more going on. At any rate, I'm going to work on my balance. It couldn't hurt.

The little bird whistle for the Alessi tea kettle arrived in the mail today. It pleases me to be able to fix little things like this. A big project for me is putting a new hard drive in a computer or learning how to use the star tracker. Huge home improvement projects are out of my league. I don't even want to think about the big stuff. We still need a new roof, major sheet rock repairs, and some carpentry work on the exterior siding. A huge Oak tree needs to come down as well. Lord knows when this stuff will get done. I really hate dealing with the contractors and workmen you need for big projects. Fixing a tea kettle is more my style.

I'm really tired of turning on the television in the morning and hearing about politics. This is not what I'm worried about. Where are the stories about giant solar flares that could wipe out the entire power grid? These solar storms have happened before and will happen again. Where are the stories about global crop failures? What happens if the giant volcano under Yellowstone National Park explodes? I guess I like astronomy because it tries to deal with the big things. The little things are like mosquito bites. They are irritating, but we'll probably live. 

I'm going to try to get to bed earlier tonight. We have to get up really early tomorrow so we can walk Dawn before Janet leaves for the airport. I hope that Dawn decides to get along with me. It's going to be a long week otherwise.

Kirby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3851

Life has settled into a predictable routine. We get up early and walk for two hours. I make the bed when we return home. I watch TV while slowly eating breakfast for another two hours. I turn the computer on and check my mail and watch a few YouTube videos. Then I wonder what I'm going to do for the rest of the day.

The coronavirus has changed everything. There's not much point in making travel plans. Where would you go? I'm not sure when I'll ever feel comfortable getting on a plane again. Living in a world where you have to act like everything is radioactive has taken the fun out of the simplest things like going to an afternoon movie or eating in a neighborhood restaurant. The issue isn't about masks or no masks. It's more basic than that. We're living in a world where everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop. Politics has spoiled a lot of old friendships as well. It's getting ugly out there. Why even bother talking with someone if you are just going to end up getting in an argument? Let's face it. You're not going to convert anyone these days. The lines have already been drawn in the sand.

I was pleased last year that I had managed to find two things that I really enjoyed doing. I liked spending time at large observatories and attending launches at Kennedy Space Center. My favorite observatory is closed for the foreseeable future and you'd have to be crazy to go to Florida right now. I'm not even comfortable taking my telescope down into the park at night because Dallas has become a dangerous place after dark. The longer the pandemic continues the more trapped you begin to feel.

There is no rain in the immediate future, so I guess it's time for me to go up on the roof again. It's probably time to mow the grass again as well. It's amazing how quickly the grass grows when it rains in the Summer. I've got to do outdoor chores early these days and it's usually already too hot by the time I've finished breakfast. The heat provides a good excuse for waiting until tomorrow, but eventually all these things need to be done. I'm not sure I'll get much done tomorrow because Saturday is always grocery day. One chore a day is plenty.

I watched an interesting tutorial video on astrophotography this afternoon. I learned a lot, including the fact that it is virtually impossible to take these kind of photos in a city. The guy who put the video together lives on a small remote island. No wonder his pictures looked so good. I've been thinking about getting up early to take pictures of the comet Neowise, but I can't even find a place nearby with a clear view of the eastern horizon. Maybe I'll have better luck when the comet begins appearing in the evening sky.

It's going to be a long Summer. Fall is probably a lost cause as well. Let's just hope that when Winter eventually arrives, the world will be a better place.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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