Day 3640

Life has returned to normal. I was up on the roof, wondering why there was still so much water even though it hasn't rained for several days. I wish I could just ignore this standing water, but I can't. Whenever I'm removing water from the roof, I'm reminded of a quote from an old Dr. Who episode. "Water is patient, Adelaide. Water just waits. Wears down the cliff tops, the mountains. The whole of the world. Water always wins." So true. The roof isn't leaking now, but if water sat there long enough, it would find a way in.

I finished editing the pictures from my trip and sent a few more to SpaceFlight Magazine. No reply or acknowledgment yet. This happens a lot. I never know whether people are too busy to reply or if my mail has gone into someone's junk mail folder. You always get an answer right away if someone wants something from you. If you want something from them, you may have to wait a while.

Our new petcam has been moving around on its own when nobody is looking at it. I looked on the Internet and a surprising number of people were experiencing the same problem. "It's creepy," most of them said. Strangely, the Chinese company that makes the IP camera openly admits that their camera pans and tilts on its own. "Don't worry," a company representative told one worried customer. "Nobody is spying on you. This is normal camera behavior. Our camera goes through a self-test routine periodically to make sure all systems are operating properly." Why am I skeptical? I doubt that this cheap camera is sophisticated enough to have a self-test routine. It's also a Chinese company, just like Huawei and Tik-Tok. The little camera works great, but for the moment we just put a paper bag over it.

Keeping track of my health is a mixed blessing. I'm always wondering about my sleep and heart rate now. My resting heart rate always gets lower when I settle into a routine. The more boring the routine, the lower the heart rate. Whenever I do something new, my resting heart rate goes up. Since a low resting heart rate is good, this would seem to indicate that a boring life is healthy. Exercise, even strenuous exercise does not elevate my resting heart rate. Travel does. I also sleep better after a boring day at home. This is all somewhat counterintuitive. You would think that doing new things would be good for you. Maybe not. Stress is a weird thing. Could it be that what is good for the brain is not necessarily good for the body.

I found a new spot that needs to be patched when I was up on the roof today. I wonder if the remaining silicon is still any good. I forgot to bring the bucket back inside on a night where the temperature got down in the low 30's. If the weather ever gets warm again, I guess I'll find out. I need to use this stuff up.

I don't think I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow. I've lost interest. I keep trying new places and new things that I don't really like. My smoothie is comfort food. I wonder sometimes if trying to be adventurous is even worth the effort. I'm comfortable with my routines and a simple, uneventful life seems to suit me.

Savannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3611

It was a little warmer today, but apparently not warm enough to get me motivated. I certainly didn't accomplish much. While I was waiting for the temperature to rise, I wrote a letter to my sister and paid a few bills. I'm in no hurry to take an early walk anymore. I debated whether to call McDonald Observatory again or apply for a second NASA event in December and eventually decided to do neither. Maybe I felt that appearing over eager could jinx things.

When I did get around to taking my walk I was surprised when someone stopped me to ask about Dot and Dash. How could anyone even recognize me when I was bundled up like this? Although it was warmer than yesterday, it was still cold enough to warrant wearing my down coat and heavy boots. I looked like the Michelin Man again. I realized later that I was wearing the same winter outfit I've worn outside for many years. These were my dog walking clothes. I was probably instantly recognizable as soon as someone saw the puffy blue coat and wool hat.

There is a big patch of purple asters I pass every day on my walk. These Fall perennials always seem to be the last wildflowers to bloom. I doubt that they'll last much longer in this cold. The butterflies that congregate around these flowers are already gone. They're probably in Mexico by now. Pretty soon the trees will be bare and I won't see any more wildflowers until Spring. I was never very concerned about what to look at in the park in prior years. I was way too busy walking the dogs.

We've got ants in the kitchen again. I think this happens every winter. These are tiny little sweet ants and they seem to be everywhere. We spray and it doesn't do much good, but eventually the ants disappear. One of the many downsides to winter is that the bugs like to come indoors.

I've been a little concerned that my resting heart rate has been higher lately. Why should this change since I do the same things everyday? I did a Google search and learned that your resting heart rate increases when you are warmer and if you are dehydrated. Maybe this explains it. I'm sleeping under a blanket now and wearing much warmer clothes, which I never used to do during the summer. I'm also not drinking as much water. I drank a ton of water when I took hot summer walks. I also learned that my normal resting heart rate in the low 50's is considered very low unless you are an athlete and that my 'elevated' rate in the low 60's is considered normal. Maybe the only thing I really learned today is that I am still a hypochondriac who hates to see anything change.

I need to remember to buy some spare quartz modeling lights and an extra strobe tube for my strobe lights. The SantaPaws season is rapidly approaching and every year I worry that my aging Norman strobes are going to break. I definitely don't want to buy any more studio lights at this point in my life. Good studio strobes have gotten very expensive. I'm hoping that since I basically just use this equipment to shoot Santa photos once a year now, that it will last as long as I do.

The refrigerator was looking empty so I bought some more Cadence Kitchen dinners. I had the Mexican Style Pulled Pork with pineapple and achiote sauce tonight over rice. So good, but they use too much salt. As always, the best tasting things seem to inevitably be bad for you.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day