Day 4704

Another slow day. I ate, I walked, I did all the usual things. The carpenter who was supposed to come over and give me an estimate couldn't make it and said he'd stop by tomorrow. I signed up for another patient portal so I could view the lab results from Tuesday's exam. Medical websites seem a lot more concerned about security than banks. Thats always seemed strange to me. Doctors never share information either. I've bookmarked half a dozen patient portals and they all have basically the same information. 

When I took my long walk today, I saw the bald eagles again. When I returned home I searched the Internet for news about whether the Artemis rocket survived the hurricane. I didn't learn much. For a significant part of the day I thought it was Friday. It was that kind of day.

Something scared Dawn this morning and she wouldn't come back to the bedroom. The power didn't go out and I didn't hear anything, but Dawn was definitely alarmed. I delayed my walk until she calmed down a bit. I wonder what was bothering her? She's very alert and is a good little watchdog. I kept looking for the source of the problem but couldn't find anything. Dawn certainly wasn't talking. Eventually I noticed that she was asleep on the bed again and I took my walk.

Janet and I spent some time today looking for a new photo backdrop for this year's Santa Paws pictures. We couldn't find anything as nice as the backdrops we've used before. Maybe we'll just use a previous backdrop for this years pictures. Since we've been doing these Christmas pictures since 2012, I've got quite a collection of backdrops by now.

The November issue of SpaceFlight with my first Artemis article came in the mail today. The article and pictures looked good. I'd already seen the issue in PDF form, but I still like a real magazine you can see and touch. I keep telling my accountant that these articles constitute a real business for me, but his answer is always "show me the money." For practical purposes, there isn't any. You're not going to get rich writing about astronomy and space. I still feel like a journalist though. I get to hang out with other journalists at Kennedy Space Center and I've amassed quite a collection of press credentials by now. As hobbies go, this certainly beats collecting model trains.

I hope that the carpentry work I need isn't too expensive. The repairs need to be made, but I've still got another trip to Florida to pay for. It's a shame that old web designers aren't in demand. One or two websites a month would make a big difference in my income. The kids working at ad agencies don't want to hire someone older than their grandfather though. I've come to the conclusion that it's better to just accept this graciously. I manage to stay busy and I'm not broke. It's probably better that I don't have young clients driving me crazy.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4692

I voted this morning. I doubt that my vote will curtail inflation, bring crime under control, or end the woke insanity, but maybe there are other people who agree with me. We'll see. I always vote these days even though at times I feel it's pointless. When I was in my 20's and 30's I never voted. I jokingly told friends that I preferred a monarchy as long as I was a member of the aristocracy. My Mom always implored me to vote, but it was Janet who finally turned me into a voter. I'm convinced that the true believers in either party are a small but very vocal minority. They mostly just want to control things. I think they've forgotten that it is the ambivalent people like me who really control elections. For the most part we just want to be left alone and are more than willing to live and let live. If you political types make us mad enough to actually come out and vote, you're toast.

I was supposed to be packing for my trip today, but as usual I'm way behind schedule. I spent most of the day just doing my regular Saturday stuff. We walked Dawn a bit later this morning because we were waiting for the rain to stop. Dawn was fine with us having breakfast before her walk because she smelled bacon cooking. We always have a big traditional breakfast on weekends. Shredded wheat and fruit is only for weekdays. We eventually had a nice morning walk with Dawn and then I did my grocery shopping.

I continue to be amazed at today's prices. Inflation is real. I've bought the same things over and over again for many years and almost everything costs double what it did a few years ago. Something is very wrong here. They say we are dealing with 8% inflation but food prices are up way more than 8%. It's not just food either. The cost of everything has gone up dramatically. 

I thought about going back to the gym today, but decided to take advantage of the cool weather and walk in the park instead. I was actually a little cold on today's walk and I probably should have worn a jacket. The birds must have liked today's weather. Hundreds of White Pelicans were soaring overhead while the very vocal Monk Parakeets were flying from tree to tree at a much lower altitude. There were a group of artists making large wood block prints using a steam roller as a press. The spectacle attracted a large audience, but I didn't stop walking. I had ducks to count and was well on my way toward a 20,000 step day.

Although I haven't packed my suitcase yet, I did finish some of my pre-trip planning. I did a load of wash so I'll have clean clothes. I printed all the documents I'll need and put them in my familiar manilla envelope. I charged the batteries on all my devices. Now I just need to pack my bags while trying not to forget anything important.

I'm still having second thoughts about attending this launch. Are rocket launches really this important? Probably the important thing is that I continue to stay busy and active. Being a space journalist gives me something to do. I don't enjoy traveling that much, but I do enjoy my time at Kennedy Space Center. There will still be time to take Dawn on her Sunday outing tomorrow. I won't have time to go mall walking, but I'll get my steps by walking up and down the concourse while waiting for my flight.

Dakota is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4668

I surprised myself with how much I got done today. I took care of a bunch of small, insignificant chores that I'd been ignoring for far too long. I cleared away the spiderwebs that have been collecting under the eaves. I cleaned the living room windows. I watered the plants inside the atrium which is actually harder than it sounds. I cleaned the toilet. I did a load of laundry. And finally I vacuumed all the carpeted rooms in the house. The house still looks about the same, but all these things really did need to be done.

There was still plenty of time for walking. We got a later start on our sunrise walk today so it wasn't quite as dark outside. It wasn't quite as cold either, although I still needed a light jacket. After breakfast I took my long walk and actually made pretty good time. I've done this walk so many times now that I can pretty accurately guess what my time will be at each mile marker. I'm only off by four or five seconds these days. I can usually tell how fast I'm going by the sound of my footsteps. It's amazing that my brain can do all these little calculations while I'm just daydreaming. Truthfully, the walk isn't that interesting anymore, but I burn a lot more calories walking outdoors than I do at the gym.

I was out walking in the park when the Crew 5 mission launched and I didn't really care. I watched a replay of the launch on my computer later in the day. I have attended a number of manned launched down at Kennedy Space Center and they are all more or less the same. A few hours before the launch the astronauts get in Teslas and drive out to the launch pad. Sometimes I've been invited to watch the astronauts leave the iconic NASA crew quarters and say goodbye to their families but other times I've been excluded from this small group. Everyone sets up their cameras near the countdown clock and waits for the launch and then ten minutes later it is all over. Actually you get a lot better view of things watching the Space X live stream, but it is still nice to be there in person.

Dawn still doesn't like to nap with me. Whenever I come in the bedroom during the day, Dawn leaves the room and goes out to her dog bed in the kitchen. I'm sure Dawn has her reasons, but this just seems rude to me. If Janet is home Dawn is much nicer to me, but she is uncomfortable being in the house alone with me. Oh, well. It is what it is. Strangely, when I vacuumed the bedroom this afternoon, Dawn stayed on the bed. She didn't mind the vacuum at all. She just doesn't like sharing the bed with me during the day. Nighttime is fine. I often wake up with Dawn right next to me. All this seems very strange, but no stranger than most aspects of modern life. It's a weird world we live in these days.

We've got to get up extra early tomorrow morning. I need to drive Janet down to Baylor for some medical tests. There should still be time to give Dawn her sunrise walk, but it depends on how organized we are. It doesn't matter if it's dark outside. We are prepared with plenty of lights now. Dawn even has a spiffy new green lighted collar now. 

Lightning is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4639

The skies were clear when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk this morning and it rained during dinner. Just another normal Texas day. I'm trying to be a bit more industrious. Today I took care of a chore I've been putting off for years. I cleaned out the air return plenum for the HVAC system. It's easy to forget that this even exists, but it gradually fills with dust over time. I usually start to realize that it's time to clean this thing when I start to hear a whistling sound coming from the air intake grill in the wall. For some reason it's a lot of trouble removing this grill, which is another reason I can ignore this chore for years.

When I removed the large, heavy grill this morning I was astounded at how much dust was inside the plenum. There was so much dust caked on the back side of the grill that I wondered how air was even being circulated. I took the grill outside and cleaned it with a power washer and then vacuumed the inside of the plenum. The Dyson wasn't really up to the job. It jammed with dust three times. Eventually I got everything clean and the AC runs much quieter now. I need to remember not to wait so long to do this next time.

It was cool outside when we took our sunrise walk, but by the time I'd finished my chores, it was already hot and humid. I didn't want to deal with the humidity, so I went back to the gym. I've gotten very predictable at the gym. I shoot twenty-five free throws on the basketball court, walk two miles on the indoor track, and spend a little time working with free weights. That's it. The best part of going to the gym for me is that it's nice and cold inside. These guys much have an enormous electric bill to keep this large space so cold.

I had to activate a bunch of prescriptions I had on file at the pharmacy today. My doctor renews all my prescriptions when I have my annual exam, but this year I still had plenty of pills, so I told the pharmacy to just hold on to the renewals until I needed them. I noticed last night that I was almost out of everything, so I guess I need them now. I'll pick all these up tomorrow and it will be one more bill that is larger than I'd like.

The Artemis launch seems largely forgotten already. The story is no longer on the news and most of the other journalists have already submitted and published their articles about the event. My story wasn't scheduled to run in SpaceFlight Magazine until November, so I suspect that there will be a change in plan. I have a feeling that I'll need to re-write the entire article when the rocket eventually launches. I still can't decide whether to return to Florida for the next launch attempt. It will probably depend on how many bills there are to pay when NASA announces a new schedule.

I pruned a few dead branches from shrubs in the back yard this afternoon, but cleaning the air return plenum used up most of my energy. Since I didn't feel like fiddling with the star tracker again, I just took a nap. I guess I need to mow the front yard tomorrow so I can forget about mowing again for a while. It's almost Fall so I don't think I'll replace the mower batteries until next Spring. I've grown tired of continually replacing batteries. I did manage to get my power drill batteries to accept a charge though That's one battery I can keep a little longer. I certainly needed that drill today. I couldn't have removed the grill to the air return plenum  without it.

I don't have any plans for tomorrow. I didn't have any plans for today either and still managed to stay busy. I imagine that tomorrow will be the same.

April is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4317

What a beautiful sunrise this morning. The days keep getting shorter, so we'll continue to start our walks with Dawn just before dawn, at least until the time changes in early November. I hope this weather continues for a while. It is usually brisk and cool in the morning. I wear a light jacket on our sunrise walks and it is still brisk and cool without the jacket when I take my long walk after breakfast.

I took two Tylenols when I got up this morning because I wanted to have an enjoyable walk. Tylenol actually seems to work better for arthritis pain than for headaches. Who knew? I won't take any tomorrow and we'll see what happens. I do think my foot is gradually getting better, largely because of the new shoes.

I've got to think of something new for breakfast. I don't feel like returning to making smoothies every morning, but I'm getting tired of the shredded wheat. I've eaten just about everything over the years. There was a period where I had a grapefruit every morning. I had yoghurt for a while, although I hate it now. I made pancakes from scratch and went through a period where I fixed myself elaborate omelets. One of my omelet recipes was even featured in a cookbook once. If you've been reading the blog long enough, you may remember the SXSW Cookbook. I started making smoothies when Janet got a Vitamix but never really used it. I thought the Vitamix was magic. I started making delicious soups for dinner and then discovered smoothies for breakfast. Somewhere along the line I started going out to restaurants for breakfast every Friday. Covid ended that activity. I need to make breakfast interesting again. It used to be my favorite time of the day.

I'm a lazy person by nature, but I feel guilty doing nothing on Tuesday because that's when Janet cleans the house. To make myself useful today, I cleared away all the brush that had taken over the narrow side yard on the East side of our house. I almost forget that this small patch of land exists. This is the side of the house where the bedrooms and bathrooms are and the windows are glazed with frosted glass. This lets lots of light in, but blocks the ugly view. You don't need curtains either. I'm still impressed at how clever the architect of this house was in the mid 1950's. It's too bad that seventy years have passed and the house is falling apart.

I cleared away a mountain of brush and small trees and hauled them to the curb just in time for the bulky trash truck which arrived about an hour after I was finished. I had totally forgotten that it was bulky trash day today, but it turned out to be convenient timing. After the side yard had been cleared, I cleaned the windows. They were covered in spiderwebs because spiders seems to love our house. That's one good thing about Winter. The spiders are gone. Everything looks nice now and I hope it stays that way. I don't want to go in that side yard again until next year.

When I was walking this morning, I saw two helicopters in the distance that appeared to be circling my house. This was a little alarming. I worry about fire a lot since I hear so many firetrucks going up and down our street. As I got closer to home, I thought that it must be a bad auto accident instead of a fire. Our street is way too busy for it's size. For a while it was used as a detour when a freeway was under construction and a lot of people kept using the road after the freeway was finished. I started seeing a lot of police cars and wondered how many police cars you really need for a wreck. About three blocks from home a lady walking her dog passed me and said "be careful, they're chasing bad guys." I never did find out what was happening. Just another day in the city I guess.

Diva is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4259

I stayed busy today. We got a late start on our sunrise walk, but it was still nice outside. Dawn was eager to walk today. She was full of energy and enthusiasm this morning, even though we still basically just completed our basic one mile loop. The Rimadyl must be working because she showed little signs of discomfort today. The main problem with the Rimadyl is that we had to temporarily stop her allergy medicine and Dawn has started licking her paws again. It's always three steps forward, two steps back. If the licking started again when the allergy medication stopped, it must mean that the medicine works. We're going to stop the Rimadyl in a day or so, so hopefully we can get back to some semblance of normality very soon.

I took my long walk right after breakfast to avoid the heat as much as I could. We could have taken Dawn on her Sunday outing right after breakfast, but we wanted to give her time to rest after her sunrise walk. I completed my full six mile route and was surprised at how many people I saw out on the trails. People still like to exercise in the summer. They just do it earlier.

The temperature was warmer when we took Dawn on her Sunday outing but we stayed under shade trees while we were walking and only traveled half of our usual distance. Dawn was happy. She got to smell new things and didn't get overheated. As always, we finished our little excursion with ice cream cones. The price for the ice cream has gone up. I'm not surprised. The price for absolutely everything has gone up.

This afternoon I went and got the 2022 registration sticker for my car. You have to do the safety inspection first and then you can get the window sticker. You used to be required to put two stickers on your window, but now the safety inspection information is just transmitted electronically to the registration department, eliminating the need for one sticker. I remember when it was a major job to scrape the old stickers off your windshield. You had to use a single edged razor blade and there was still a lot of sticky residue when you were finished. The new stickers can be applied and removed easily and don't leave any residue at all. I appreciate progress wherever you happen to find it. The new stickers are much better.

I certainly don't see much progress whenever I turn on the television. I guess this is what woke America looks like. You've got a bunch of people more concerned about non-binary pronouns than about what is happening outside their little inwardly focused world. They talk a good game about climate change, while completely exempting China and India from the equation. They want everyone to drive an electric car, completely forgetting that our electric grid can't even handle the use of air conditioners in the summer. They think that removing performance requirements for math and science in schools will create a greater sense of equity. Dumb and dumber is what it will create. I could go on and on. The Afghanistan fiasco might be the last straw. We are no longer a serious nation and the whole world knows it. China totally wins the long game here and they didn't even have to fire a shot.

If I'm smart I won't even turn on the television tomorrow. We've got Dalmatians to visit at the kennel and there's plenty to do around the house. I'm thinking of writing an article about Johnson Space Center. It's one of the few places that I've visited extensively that I've never written about at all. 

Lance it today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4235

Today was busy. Well, at least it was busy for me. I did more than one thing today which is becoming increasingly rare. It doesn't cool down at night the way it used to last month. Since our sunrise walks are warmer, Dawn doesn't like to walk as far. We are back to our bare minimum one mile loop again. I can't blame Dawn for wanting to get back inside. I usually feel like getting back inside as well.

I stopped at REI to pick up my new running shoes on my way to get a haircut. You could tell the whole mask situation is getting very confusing. Some of the staff were wearing masks while others weren't. The customers were the same way. I see this everywhere. When I went to the pharmacy a little later to pick up the antibiotics I need for my upcoming root canal, none of the pharmacists on duty were wearing masks. My hair stylist still wants customers to wear masks though and says she might continue wearing them forever. Clearly, we are just as divided on masks as we are on everything else in this country. I carry a mask in my back pocket and put it on if it makes someone happy. I don't think they are necessary if you have been vaccinated though. I'm wearing mine less and less.

I always enjoy getting a good haircut. Usually a haircut means I will be traveling somewhere interesting in the near future. Not this time. Travel is another thing that has become completely messed up in a post-Covid world. Planes are crowded and the people flying on them have become extremely rude. Hotels have gotten very expensive and rental cars are almost impossible to find in popular destinations. This is one of many reasons why I will be missing the upcoming Boeing Starliner launch. It's just as well I guess. If I was down in Titusville now, I would be fretting about the latest launch delay and wondering how I was going to pay for the trip. I'm hoping that things will change in the Fall, but I'm not counting on it. A perpetual Covid panic seems to benefit some people. This may go on forever.

I feel bad about making Dawn wear the cone so much, but it is the only thing that keeps her from licking and biting at her paws. We can usually leave the cone off in the mornings because she is tired after her sunrise walk and just goes to sleep. It's the afternoons where she gets into trouble. She knows we don't like the licking and will usually not go after her paws while one of us is in the room with her. If we leave her alone in the house she starts licking immediately. I thought this might be separation anxiety for a while, but she also does a lot of licking while we are asleep. Luckily, she can sleep normally wearing the cone, because she's been having to wear it at night lately.

I'm getting tired of spending money on things that bring no joy. I got my car insurance bill today and of course it was a lot higher than it was six months ago. I looked up the average price of a root canal on Google and was horrified at how expensive they were. Several reputable tree guys want to charge me as much as $5000 to remove the big Oak tree in the back yard. Lord knows how much it will cost to fix all the things that need attention in the house.

I went to the gym again today. I may not be getting any satisfaction, but I am still getting my steps. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I still think staying in shape and drinking a healthy smoothie every morning is the secret to everything. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I've taken the trash out to the curb and watered the new grass. I'm ready for anything as long as there are no surprises.

Tink is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3899

It took me a long time to figure out why today was a special day. One year ago today Janet and I were out at McDonald Observatory. That was kind of special. Nope. That wasn't it. I kept wondering and finally realized that it was Dot's birthday. We used to have big birthday celebrations for Dot and Dash. It all seems so long ago now. I hate it when memories start to fade. It's inevitable though. I guess that's why it's important to replace old traditions with new ones. We'll have to make sure that Dawn has a special birthday celebration this December.

My Apple Watch notified me that I've met my daily move goal for 365 consecutive days. I wondered why I'd missed a day a year ago and then I remembered that we'd spent August 26 last year in the car driving to Fort Davis. I didn't make the same mistake when I returned to the observatory the next March. I took a long walk as soon as I arrived. I've been routinely closing all three activity circles on the watch for months now. I wonder how long this will continue. At some point it seems like I might find something else to do.

The crystal popped off Janet's Apple Watch today. How was that possible? I wonder if this will happen to my watch as well. I did a little research on Google and discovered that this was fairly common. When the battery goes bad, it can swell and push the crystal out. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I've had swollen lithium batteries make a mess of laptops, a baby monitor, and a little WiFi hotspot. Why can't everyone make their batteries like Tesla? Tesla guarantees the batteries in their cars for ten years. You're lucky to get two years out of anything else.

We got an early start on our walk this morning. I think Dawn might be a little scared of the dark. She seems more comfortable when the sky lightens up a bit. I still enjoy these early walks, but it isn't always easy to get up in the morning. I still need to get more sleep. We were back at the house by the time the sun rose this morning. You'd think this would give me a lot more time to do other things. Usually it doesn't work out that way. I often feel like the day is finished by 9 AM.

I tried to do a few useful things today. I managed to open the sliding glass door enough to squeeze inside and clean the atrium. I've given up on getting this door repaired. Nobody seems to have the skills anymore. I swept some leaves off the porch, cleaned the car, and then called it a day. I should do more, but it's almost impossible to get motivated.

I'm trying to stay motivated about writing. That's getting harder too. I wrote some letters today trying to set up a visit to the Space X Boca Chica facility. I wrote a launch photographer asking for advice on how to reestablish contact with the Air Force. All this is kind of like putting a note in a bottle and throwing it out in the ocean. You've got to do something though.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. It doesn't look like we'll get any rain after all. I'm glad it is gradually getting a little cooler. Maybe we'll survive this summer after all.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3795

The lights are flickering and a big storm is headed our way. I hope the power doesn't go out before I can finish this post. It has certainly happened before. It's giant pain to have to start over using battery power, a laptop, and an alternate Internet source. At time like these I wish I could write faster, but I'm pretty slow.

Other than the bad weather, it has been a pretty good day. We had a nice walk with Dawn this morning before the weather turned bad.  My Friday morning omelette was tasty. It wasn't a busy day, but it wasn't a bad day either.

I'm gradually becoming more familiar with online banking, but I think I still prefer writing checks and going to the post office. Somehow checking a few boxes on a website doesn't seem real. I keep checking the website every few days to make sure the transaction has actually gone through. I don't know why I trust the post office so much. The post office has lost my mail several times. So far, the bank's website has worked perfectly.

I'm going to have to get used to doing as much as I can online. New regulations have made doing almost anything in person a totally frustrating experience. Texas is technically open again but you'd never know it if you have to go shopping. With each passing week going to the grocery store becomes more complicated. The new trend is to put lots of arrows on the floor and establish a one way traffic pattern throughout the store. This is not the way most people shop. If you are going to have one way aisles, you definitely need a few passing lanes. It is almost inevitable that you will end up stuck behind someone who can't decide what they want to put in their buggy and they just stand there blocking everyone behind them. Some stores have even blocked entrances, leaving only a single door to enter and exit the store. Not only is this a potential fire hazard, it also creates even more traffic jams. Keep in  mind that I didn't even go shopping today. I'm just remembering this madness from last week. I have a feeling that things will be even worse when I make my weekly shopping run tomorrow.

A Florida friend told me that I might have better luck obtaining access to Kennedy Space Center through the military than with NASA. I didn't even know that this was an option. I found out how to contact media relations for the Air Force and I think I'm going to apply. The forms I need to fill out are lengthy and a magazine needs to sponsor me but what have I got to lose. Evidently this is how some photographers are still managing to get launch access. It's easy to forget that Cape Canaveral is still an active military base.

The virtual NASA Social event for the upcoming Crew Dragon launch is actually more interesting than I'd thought it would be. I find myself posting to the group frequently. Admittedly this is mostly because there isn't much else to do these days. Hey, if I'm going to do something online, I think I'd rather talk about rockets than complain about masks.

I continue to be amazed that Dawn seems to have no fear of storms. All our other Dalmatians had pretty severe storm phobias. This evening while the lights were flickering and thunder was rumbling, Dawn was just calmly lying on the bed as if nothing was happening.

I may get gas tomorrow when I make my weekly shopping run. It's been well over a month since I filled my tank. The new normal isn't normal at all.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3702

We took Dawn back to the emergency vet today to get the drainage tube removed from her neck. She was nervous in the car because she knew where she was going but was a lot more relaxed on the way home. She had to feel better without the plastic tube protruding from her neck. We'll have to go back again in about ten days to get her stitches removed, but so far everything is looking good. The vet said her wounds were healing nicely.

Dawn has been the perfect houseguest. She has adapted so quickly to her new routine that it seems like she has been living here for years. The family who adopted her couldn't have found a better dog. Dawn is one of those Dalmatians who smiles, but I haven't been able to get a picture yet. When you point a camera at her, she quits smiling. We have a low platform bed, which probably seems like the world's biggest dog bed to Dawn. It's easy for her to get up and down and she loves to take naps on the bed. We haven't been able to walk her because the location of her wounds makes it difficult to use a collar or harness. She likes our yard though and is completely housetrained. Just like Ginny, it's going to be hard to see her leave.

I miss having a dog, but I still think fostering is the right thing to do. Since we're experienced with Dalmatians, but don't have a dog of our own now, we're the perfect place for dogs like Hank, Ginny, and Dawn who temporarily need a quiet place to rest and recuperate.

The rain finally stopped around noon today. I was able to get up on the roof and remove all the water. A few hours later the leak in the kitchen stopped. I noticed that there is another leak on the back porch as well. I wrote the roofer a very polite letter asking for help. He's done so many repairs already that I know he doesn't want to hear from me again, but I don't think I can fix this leak myself. I can't really call other roofers either, because he's the only one locally who specializes in these silicon roofs. I think I've found where the water is getting in, but I could be wrong. I definitely don't want to make the situation worse.

I sent my pictures of the launch to the magazine but still haven't received a response. This is a little troubling but it has happened before. The magazine is based in London and the editor is often away from the office for days at a time. Oh, well. I've done my part. I hope they like the pictures. I offered to write a story, but since the Solar Orbiter was a European mission I think they already had a European writer working on an article. I'll probably write an article anyway and try submitting it to other publications.

Janet wanted to see how Dawn would do alone in the house, so I took a short walk while she was out running errands. Dawn seemed a little nervous when I gated her in the bedroom but quickly warmed up when I gave her a few treats. When I returned home, she was sleeping comfortably in the center of the bed. I'm usually here, but it's nice to know that it's safe to leave her if we need to be somewhere else.

It's hard to believe that it's almost the middle of the month already. I need to start working on my taxes and do some more planning for my upcoming trip to McDonald Observatory. Retirement is starting to feel busier than when I was working. That's probably a good thing.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3566

It was a nice day for a golf tournament. The weather was warm, but not too hot. There was a nice breeze which I enjoyed, but it might have made things challenging for the golfers. We had a good turnout this year and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. It takes a lot of work to put on a golf tournament, but this has always been a good fundraiser for the dogs. It's hard to believe that Dalmatian Rescue has been doing this for eighteen years.

This years tournament was held at Tour 18. They call this place a replica course. Each hole duplicates a hole from famous golf courses like Doral, Sawgrass, and Augusta. Seems weird to me, but the golfers seem to like it. While the teams played, Janet and I drove around the course in a cart and took their picture.  I haven't done this in a while and I must have slowed down a bit. I remember taking over three hundred pictures at previous tournaments. Today I only took 200.

This evening I discovered that an airline pilot we've known for years likes astronomy as well as Dalmatians. I've known about his dogs for years, but I've never known about his telescopes. I told him about our recent trip to McDonald Observatory and we shared a few observing experiences. It's a small world. I didn't really think I'd run into anyone else who was equally fond of Dalmatians and astronomy.

Jenga's new family brought him to the golf tournament. He looked great and seemed very happy with his new life. Quite a few people brought their dogs with them today and almost all of them were familiar faces. They got their start in the rescue program and have all found wonderful homes. It's fun to see how well these guys are doing. They've come a long way since their life at the kennel. I knew some of the golfers today, but I think I recognized more dogs than people this afternoon.

I still don't really understand the appeal of golf. It's expensive to play and difficult to master. My shoulders are so wrecked that I don't even think I could swing a golf club. Lifting my arms above my head isn't something I can easily do anymore. That being said, I'm still in better shape than many golfers. To each his own, I guess. I'll skip the golf clubs and keep looking for dark skies and a good telescope.

I should sleep well tonight. It's been a long day. Tomorrow we'll visit the Dalmatian Rescue kennel again. We'll be taking Jasmine to the vet to begin her heartworm treatment. I'm not sure what I'll begin. It's a new week. I'm sure there's something that needs attention.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3554

Today was a little different. Instead of taking a walk right after breakfast, I turned on the computer and recreated the missing business card. Why didn't I do this in the beginning? It only took me about fifteen minutes to redo the card from scratch. I spent hours looking unsuccessfully for the old files. I uploaded the layout to one of the same online printing companies I thought might have printed the original card and I was done. Is there a lesson in this? Probably not. If there is an easy way and a hard way, I usually pick the hard way.

After I got the business card taken care of, I edited some of the new Dalmatian pictures I've been taking and got dressed to go to my doctor's appointment. This was just a yearly checkup with a specialist I don't see much anymore. I was hoping that they'd have a better nurse this time. I remember she had a hard time finding a vein during my last visit and ended up sticking me multiple times. You'll never feel it when a good phlebotomist draws your blood. An inexperienced one can make you want to skip your appointment.

Todays blood draw was fairly painless, but my blood pressure seemed abnormally high. I mentioned this to the doctor and he just laughed. "We don't even need your blood pressure," he told me. "We're required by law to take a reading before every exam though, so we just buy the cheapest monitors we can find." "Throw that cuff away," he told his nurse. "It's been reading high all day." The doctor seemed pleased with my exam and said that I didn't need to see him again until this time next year. I don't have nearly as many doctor's appointment anymore. I feel healthier and apparently the most of my doctors agree.

I finally did a side-by-side comparison of the old and new dehumidifiers today. The old one clearly isn't working as well as the new one. It's hard for me to throw the old machine away because it still looks brand new. Rationally, the dehumidifier isn't worth fixing. I've had trouble finding a repairmen who works on this brand and I know that the repairs would cost almost as much as a new machine. This is why we bought the new dehumidifier in the first place. Too bad. I was kind of hoping I could fix the old machine and then we'd have two. Hey, you can't have too many dehumidifiers.

This morning, I was convinced that I wouldn't have time to take my long walk today, but when I got home from the doctor's office, I decided to walk anyway. Skipping a day now and then is no big deal, but I've gotten hooked on taking a lot of steps for my Fitbit to count. A walk at the end of the day is really no different than a walk in the morning. It was still way too hot.

I watched the third episode of Ken Burns documentary about Country Music. After the first hour, I got bored and wandered away from the TV to do something else. Ken Burns films are well done and really interesting, but they are way too long. I think I've got the message now. I'm not sure if I'll watch the final episode at all.

I'm sure that tomorrow won't seem nearly as busy as today. I don't have many busy days anymore. I'll figure out something to do though. I always do.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3546

Today seemed busier than usual. The tree guy call me during breakfast and we tried to schedule some time for him to come remove the fallen tree in our yard. There are other trees that need to be dealt with as well, but first things first. No promises were made, but hopefully he will show up tomorrow. Before taking my morning walk, I took some September bills to the post office and picked up my mystery prescription from the pharmacy. It turns out that they switched all my prescriptions to auto-refill. Maybe I have reached the age where they just assumed I was becoming forgetful.

It was a little cooler this morning and there was a nice breeze, but at the end of my walk I was still hot and tired. I'm continuing to walk five miles in the morning now in case I don't have time for a second walk in the afternoon. Lately, I barely have time for the morning walk.

The reason I was trying to get thing finished up quickly this morning was that Janet and I were returning to the boarding kennel to spend some more time with the new Dalmatians. The kennel staff spends a lot of time with our dogs, but we thought that they could all use some additional time to become accustomed to being around people. A little socialization can work wonders. The dogs are already becoming familiar with their surroundings and were much more relaxed than when we visited them on Saturday.

Our rescue dogs tend to get adopted very quickly. While we were at the kennel today a woman arrived who had been looking for a companion for her female Dalmatian after her male passed away. One of the new dogs got along extremely well with her dog and since the lady was well known to Dalmatian Rescue, this lucky boy ended up finding his forever home as well. Two adoptions in three days is really pretty good.

We stayed to play with the remaining dogs who are still looking for a home. They are all getting to know us now and it is fun to watch them grow and develop. Most are already starting to learn some basic commands. Hank seems to be doing well. So far there has been no reoccurrence of his bloody stools. His lab reports haven't come back yet, so we are still waiting for a diagnosis.

By the time we returned home it was almost time for dinner. The day was basically done and it was too late to start any other projects. I never got around to submitting my article to Sky and Telescope, but I should have no problems doing this tomorrow. The only thing on my calendar is a routine checkup at the doctor's office. I imagine that the tree guy will want to come over during my appointment, but I'll worry about that later. It's hard to decide whether it's harder to reschedule tree removal or a doctor's appointment.

Traffic was terrible on the trip to and from the boarding kennel. I'm really missing the empty streets of Fort Davis. All the new dogs are on the website now if you're curious.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3495

There have been so many documentaries about Apollo 11 this week that I feel I know more about the space program now than I did when all this was actually happening. Looking back, it is amazing that John Kennedy's promise to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the decade was actually fulfilled. Kennedy himself was starting to have second thoughts about the huge expense of the program just before he was assassinated in Dallas. I don't think we could do something like this today. Can you imagine today's politically correct politicians putting Wernher von Braun in charge of the space program? During the 60's Americans hadn't become tribal yet. Despite all the unrest surrounding the Vietnam War, most Americans still had a lot of national pride. They really wanted to beat the Russians to the moon. I can't even imagine 400,000 people working toward a common goal anymore. That's how many people the Apollo program employed at its peak. Just about everyone my age knows someone who had a connection to the Apollo program.

I'm glad we persevered and kept going despite all the initial failures. It proved that you can do just about anything if you stay focused and put your mind to it. Many of those early space pioneers genuinely believed we would be living in cities on Mars by now. It was definitely possible. They didn't realize how fickle politicians can be and how quickly dreams can fade. When I was a kid I thought we'd be living on Mars by now too. I remember reading articles about space travel in my Dad's copies of Scientific American. We were already designing atomic powered rockets in Nevada during the late 1950's. Project Orion was going to take us to Mars using a rocket powered by firing a series of nuclear bombs. What could possibly go wrong?

I didn't feel like fixing our usual Saturday breakfast. I didn't watch old Have Gun Will Travel episodes while I was eating either. I found some granola that was still sitting in a box in the kitchen that I'd bought over a year ago. It tasted fine. Apparently granola lasts forever. I went shopping for fresh fruit early today, hoping to get my morning walk in before it got too hot. Once again I failed. I think it was too hot before I woke up this morning. At least there was a breeze. It was a warm breeze but it was better than nothing.

My feeble attempts at being useful today were limited to defrosting the small refrigerator and washing the car. I don't count the long walks as being useful. I'm not even sure they are healthy in all this heat. It's something to do though. I do feel like I'm starting to get some muscle tone back. In the Winter these walks might even be enjoyable.

It's time to go to the gym again. It would make sense to use the indoor track for walks but I'm reluctant to do this. I like my rituals. I've convinced myself that memorizing all the details of my route will keep my memory sharp. I make a point to look for specific objects every several hundred yards. So far, I'm memorized a lot of signage, know where to look for Egrets and turtles, and am slowly learning the names of all the plants I see. I imagine I'll take 20,000 steps tomorrow. That's what I do on Sundays.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3457

Life is good. We finally got power restored early this afternoon. Most of the traffic lights are functioning again and people have stopped driving like maniacs. The gas company even fixed a gas leak in the neighborhood that nobody even knew existed. There's nothing like a four day power outage to make you appreciate the little things. Janet and I actually did pretty well without electricity, but there are so many things we take for granted.

Before the power was restored today, I took a walk through the neighborhood to see how everybody else fared. I was amazed at the devastation. We lost a tree, but it didn't wreck our house. Some people had serious roof damage. A few people still had trees on top of their cars. I was sad to see that Erykah Badu's Porsche had been demolished. It was one of the prettiest cars in the neighborhood. The sound of chain saws was everywhere. Almost everyone had a big pile of logs and tree limbs in their front yard. It's going to take months for the city to clear all the debris away. Who knows. Maybe the city won't need to clean up all that much. I've already started seeing people scavenging the log piles for Winter firewood. One guy I talked to today said he had a wood burning stove and he was specifically looking for pecan logs because he liked the smell when they burned. I think this guy might have hit the jackpot. The park is full of old growth pecan trees and these trees seemed particularly vulnerable to being uprooted by the high winds. Mesquite trees seemed to survive pretty well but a lot of pecan trees bit the dust. Our two large Oak trees survived the storm intact. It was our Elm tree that got toppled.

It took a while to reset the clocks, put all the food in the ice chests back in the refrigerator again, and reconnect everything on the network. During the outage I kept wishing I had a larger generator. As soon as the power returned the urge for a huge generator quickly faded. Big generators are heavy, noisy, expensive, and I've really got no place to keep one. My little generator actually did just fine. We just had to learn to do stuff one thing at a time. You could use the hair dryer and brew coffee. You just couldn't use two high wattage gizmos at the same time. I discovered that everything ran smoother if I plugged the big UPS backup battery I use for the computers into the generator and then plugged all the other things into the back up battery. This seemed to filter out the power spikes that gave the generator problems. Starting an electric motor takes a lot more power than keeping the same motor running. I could always tell when the compressor kicked in on the little refrigerator. That was the only thing that temporarily overloaded the generator.

I was shocked that I actually have some website work to do tomorrow. One of my few remaining clients wants to update his site. I'm usually very responsive, but I told him he'd have to wait until the power returned. Tomorrow would have been a busy day even without the website work, but I'm always happy to have the work. There's still tons of laundry to do. I need to get new tires for the car before the trip to Kennedy Space Center. It's been a while since we've seen the rescue Dalmatians too. No problem. It will all get done now that we have electricity again.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3428

For better or worse, I've settled into a routine. I make the bed, I eat breakfast, I take a long morning walk, I take care of the day's unavoidable necessities, I eat dinner, I take an evening walk, I write the blog, and I go to bed. It fills up the day pretty well. I've been doing this over and over again for several weeks. I'd like to think that I'll expand my horizons after a while, but who knows.

Today's unavoidable necessities were mowing the grass and removing the remaining water from the roof. Every time I mow the grass I think I ought to just hire a yard guy like all the other neighbors, but then I realize that mowing is really just walking and it doesn't seem so bad. Keeping the roof dry is a little easier now that it's warmer outside. A lot of last week's rain had already evaporated, so I was able to clear the remaining water in less than twenty minutes. Running the two pumps religiously whenever it rains helps as well. I must be doing something right since we've had a lot of rain this Spring and the roof hasn't leaked for quite a while.

I also took some things to the storage warehouse that Janet was about to throw away and paid my mid-month bills. All in all it was a pretty busy day. I managed to rack up over 18,000 steps without even going to the gym.

The guys who fixed my fiber optic cable told me that they'd take care of canceling the Wednesday appointment I'd made earlier. Today I got a phone message from AT&T saying that a repair crew would be out tomorrow. I didn't even bother calling back since I would probably just complicate matters further. This is probably why my U-Verse bill is so high. Every time I've had a repair, there seems to be confusion like this. I wouldn't be surprised if a crew comes out tomorrow and installs the same line all over again.

If I had more faith in my car, the weather, and the other drivers on the road I might start taking some road trips. When I was in college I had an International Harvester Metro Mite Van. I drove all over America and from one end of Canada to the other. The truck wasn't very reliable, but it wasn't a problem. There were International Harvester dealers with excellent mechanics in every little town. These guys mostly worked on tractors, but my little truck never presented a problem for them. Somehow I don't think I'd have the same success driving a Land Rover through rural America. It's kind of ironic. Land Rovers are supposed to go anywhere but you never see them outside of big cities.

I'll probably end up going nowhere, but at least I'm thinking about traveling. Thinking about something is always a good starting point. I hope I make the cut and get selected to go to the Falcon Heavy launch this summer. Going to Kennedy Space Center could be the catalyst I need to do many other things. With any luck I should find out by the end of the month.

Lady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3416

I was wrong about the weather yesterday. We were in the path of a big storm after all. It just arrived a little later than I expected. I can't relax during storms anymore. I keep expecting a leak to appear in the living room, the power to go out, the greenhouse roof to blow away, or a large tree to fall on the house. All these things have happened in the past. I went outside and started the two sump pumps. I moved some of the furniture in the living room. And I tried to go to sleep. It was really all I could do.

The pumps ran all night and they were still pumping water off the roof early this morning. We got a lot of rain but we didn't lose power and the roof didn't leak. I wish I could say that the rain was over but I think we're going to get a repeat performance tonight. By the time I finished breakfast, the last of today's bad weather had moved to the East and I was able to take my morning walk. I saw the pelican flying low over the lake this morning. It was looking for a fish to eat. I'm glad the bird isn't injured, but I'm still puzzled why it didn't join the other pelicans on their annual Spring migration.

I got my phone bill today and was surprised to see that it had gone up. At first I though I had been charged extra for using the phone while I was in Houston, but there are no roaming charges anymore. My bill has been exactly the same for several years now. When I looked for an explanation for the increase I saw a small item in fine print that just said "service changes." I certainly haven't made any changes, so I called customer service to see what was going on. "Oh, AT&T raised your rates," the lady told me. "We grandfathered your plan for as long as we could, but we needed to bring you into line with current rates." I was irritated, but I wasn't really surprised. This was exactly what the storage warehouse people did to me. Why should the phone company be any different.

I'm not a big fan of the subscription economy. I think the whole idea is to get you hooked on something and then continuously raise your rates. Netflix does this. Microsoft does this. It looks like the phone company does it too. The world was much simpler when you could watch TV over the air for free and actually owned the software and entertainment you bought. I'm still using a fifteen year old version of Microsoft Word because I just don't feel like paying over and over again for Office 365.

You'd think I'd be getting a lot more done without a dog to take care of, but actually I'm doing less. I've lost my focus. I'm sure this will change. I'm just not clear what comes next. Walking is good. I've started fixing myself more interesting things for dinner. I'm going to continue photographing plants and animals in the park even though I've already documented everything ten times over. Janet wants to travel. Somehow I don't think going to the post office counts as travel.

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day