Day 4998

Not a bad day. We had a nice sunrise walk with Dawn this morning. These early walks are still very pleasant. It's just too bad that the temperature warms up so quickly once the sun appears. We see lots of people walking their dogs these days. I think everyone in the neighborhood has realized that this is the only sane time to walk your dog. Dawn seldom wants to greet the dogs we pass on our walk, but she always wants to smell where they've been. We take our time on these walks and let Dawn smell things to her heart's content. They say smelling things is a really important part of a dog's life. Smells certainly seems to be a high priority for Dawn.

I wasn't in a hurry to get to the gym this morning so I did a load of laundry after breakfast. Doing laundry is oddly satisfying. I like having everything in it's place and folding the laundry and putting it away is so much easier than cleaning up the office. I don't know why I bother to check my messages anymore. I seldom get any. Today I had one form letter from the new head of media operations for the Space Force. It basically said that he looked forward to seeing me at future launches. I'm glad the Space Force hasn't forgotten about me. It's been a while since I've attended a military launch.

Lately, I've been trying to get to the gym just before lunchtime. The gym is never crowded then and it's much easier to find a place in the parking garage. I did much better today. My time on the three mile walk around the indoor track was pretty decent. There are still people faster than me, but I kept up a respectable pace. I actually did great on the basketball court. I completed my ten free throws in less than six minutes which I think is a record. Today I completed five free throws in a row. I don't think I've ever done that before. If I ever manage to complete all ten shots in a row I'll move on to something more difficult. I have no idea if that will ever happen. I still miss quite a few shots.

I did all my weight lifting exercises today and even thought about adding a few more. Maybe later. I was actually pretty tired by the time I headed home again. One of the streets I normally take on the way home was blocked because of road construction so I had to take a detour. You'd think that the city would eventually finish with all the roads, but they've been under construction even since I moved here in the mid 70's. You can't drive five miles in this town without encountering road construction.

I've been making myself a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch lately. I never used to eat lunch so I feel vaguely guilty of eating something now. I think I just eat out of boredom. I'm seldom all that hungry which is probably one of the reasons I don't go out for breakfast on Friday's anymore. A small bowl of shredded wheat is just fine.

Janet wants to get a new chair for Santa to sit in to go with our new Santa Paws backdrop. We looked at chairs that would look nice in a Winter outdoor setting and I think we found something that will work. I'm glad Janet cares about these things, because all I'm thinking about is how tired I'm going to be and wondering whether my strobe lights will still work this year. I thought I was getting too old for this five years ago and yet here we are. We've got three dates scheduled for this year. I guess I can make it.

I've finished taking this week's trash out to the curb and it still seems way too hot around sunset. Hopefully September will be a little cooler. I have no plans for tomorrow at all which just means I will be going back to the gym around 11:30 again.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4991

Dawn had to go to the vet for her dental cleaning today. She got her regular sunrise walk, but couldn't eat breakfast this morning. You aren't supposed to eat prior to having anesthesia. Dawn is always excited to ride in the car, but is so disappointed when we wind up at the vet instead of the ice cream store. She was not a happy camper when we dropped her off this morning.

The house was pretty quiet without Dawn today, but actually it is pretty quiet with Dawn as well. I ate my breakfast, took care of some correspondence, and then went to the gym.  It's still way too hot to do any outdoor chores and I don't feel up to fixing the cracks in the ceiling yet. My daily trip to the gym remains my only consistent activity.

I think these trips to the gym are starting to produce results. I'm faster on the indoor track now. It used to take me around 23 minutes to complete a mile. Now it only takes me 20 minutes. I'm gradually adding weights to my strength exercises and doing more repetitions as well. My biggest improvement is on the basketball court. I'm getting much more consistent about completing free throws. I'm certainly not bragging. Fat people still pass me occasionally on the indoor track and almost everyone can lift more than me in the weight room. I think I'm making progress though. My Fitbit agrees.

I have mixed feeling about missing tonight's Crew 7 launch. I didn't apply for credentials after the magazine told me that one of their staffers wanted to attend. Crewed launches are always a big deal down at the space center, but I'm not terribly sorry that I'm missing this one. It's still very hot in Titusville and the launch isn't until 3 AM. I've never been a fan of these late launches. It's very hard to get good pictures and 3 AM is way past my bedtime. I've been to several late night, or technically early morning, launches and I'm always very, very sleepy. I bumped the lens on one of these night launches and all my pictures were out of focus. I'm not even going to stay up and watch this launch on the Space X live feed. I'll be asleep by then.

We weren't able to pick Dawn up at the vet until very late in the day. She was there for most of the day. The dental cleaning didn't take that long, but she needed some x-rays as well. The vet always wants to keep dogs for observation at least two hours after having anesthesia as well to make sure they are stable. Dawn got a good report. There were no cavities and no teeth needed to be pulled. There were no longer signs of gingivitis either. We try our best to keep her teeth clean, but it's hard with a dog that doesn't like you messing with her mouth.

This week has gone quickly. I've taken this week's trash out to the curb and have finished watering the lawn. It would be nice if tomorrow were cooler, but the temperature is supposed to reach 107 degrees. That doesn't sound better to me.

Hero is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4977

The schedule was a little different today. We got up and took our sunrise walk at the regular time, but there was no breakfast for anyone. Dawn had an early vet appointment and she needed to fast for blood work, so we postponed eating until we got home. Dawn was excited to get in the car, but seemed very disappointed when we arrived at the vet. I think she thought we were going for ice cream.

We didn't learn anything today because it will be several days before they get the test results back from the lab. We did mention Dawn's strange behavior to the vet. No answers on that either. Janet and I think it is more likely that Dawn is having panic attacks rather than seizures, but we have no idea what is causing this. Usually the house is quiet and nothing is going on when Dawn becomes fearful and starts acting weird. Luckily Dawn seems to recover quickly, but it is still alarming to see her shivering and shaking for no reason at all.

When we returned home Dawn got her breakfast and so did we. By the time I finished my breakfast it just seemed like an ordinary day again. Hopefully all is well with Dawn. When her test results come back we'll schedule her annual teeth cleaning. Actually my teeth cleaning is coming up soon as well. I have a dental appointment next week.

I'm getting bored with going to the gym every day, but it's way too hot to even think about walking in the park. Even our sunrise walks with Dawn are feeling too warm now. I guess this is what happens when you get hooked on having a certain number of steps every day. I'm certainly not going to get my steps sitting at this computer.

I found a spot in the parking garage today, but my performance at the gym was nothing to brag about. I still can't bring myself to do anything different. I walked three miles around the indoor track again. This is between 40 and 45 laps, depending on which lane I'm in. I'm not the fastest person on the track, but I'm not the slowest either. I shot free throws until I completed ten. This took 9 minutes today. I finished by working with weights for a while and trying to build up my upper body strength. This is going to take a while, but I certainly don't have anything better to do.

The house up the street is gone and all that is left is an empty lot. There are two empty lots on the street now where people I knew well used to live. They both had nice houses that they were proud of. I think it's a shame that the neighborhood is changing, but it's probably inevitable. Living near the lake has become very desirable. The regular people who greeted us when we arrived years ago have all died by now. The folks who replaced them are much richer. Pretty soon the street will be nothing but lawyers and anesthesiologists.

I've finished taking this week's trash out to the curb and the temperature was still over 100 degrees an hour after sunset. I always think that things are bad until I turn on the news. It's hot an dry here, but wildfires haven't burned the place to the ground like is happening on Maui right now. We aren't being flooded like a lot of places in New England either. Even the tornados are developing elsewhere this year. I still wish it would get cooler though. We are setting the wrong kind of records this summer.

J-Lo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4970

I think this heat has fried my brain. I can't think of anything I want to do. Basically I just get up every morning and repeat the previous day. Our sunrise walks are getting warmer and warmer. It was almost 90 degrees when we left the house this morning. These early walks are still the only time it makes any sense to go outside. I spend the rest of the day inside, hoping that the air conditioner keeps working.

I applied for the OSIRIS-REx astroid sample return event at Johnson Space Center this morning. Hopefully my application will be accepted. The astroid sample hasn't even returned to earth yet, so I guess everyone is being optimistic. I've been to Johnson Space Center before and the place is amazing. It doesn't cost much to fly to Houston either. We'll see what happens. I won't be returning to Titusville very soon anyway. The launches I am interested in attending have all been delayed.

In lieu of traveling I guess I'll just keep going to the gym every day. It's not very exciting, but it beats doing nothing. I'm getting a little faster going around the indoor track and I actually did pretty well shooting baskets today. I've added a few upper body exercises to my routine, but I could do a lot more if I had any motivation. These trips to the gym are still just a substitute for my walks in the park. The way the summer is going, it may be October before I can resume my long walks though. This has been a very hot summer. It could be worse though, although I'm not exactly sure how.

They are still knocking down the house up the street. There is not much value placed on older homes here in Dallas. I've seen some really nice places disappear in our neighborhood over the years. Our house will probably be knocked down when we're gone as well. The place is supposed to be architecturally significant, but that's not going to stop anyone. The house is small and people want big these days.

As usual, the afternoon was uneventful. I'm beginning to understand why Dawn spends so much time napping. What else do you do on a hot day? I took the trash out to the curb this evening, but that was about it. I wonder what I'm going to do with myself when I finish this blog? I've only got about a month left before I reach my goal.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4907

I didn't accomplish much today. Somehow it's June already and it still seems like it should be February. I guess I've done a few things this year, but it doesn't seem like much. What happened to all the goals I used to have? I wake up, wonder what I'm going to do today and always end up doing the same things I did yesterday. There are really only two goals I have left. I want to continue walking six miles a day as long as I can and I want to finish my quest to write 5000 consecutive blog posts. Both of these are kind of silly goals. Is six miles a day really any better than four miles a day? It's just an arbitrary distance I picked a long time ago. I'm pretty sure that completing 5000 blog posts is no different than completing 4000 blog posts, but that's the number I chose. I'll be glad when I'm done because I really don't have that much to say.

We had a nice early walk with Dawn. The park seemed unusually busy this morning and I have no idea why. It wasn't a holiday but there were a ton of bicycles to avoid this morning. Dawn definitely gets the best walk of the day. It's almost always pleasant before sunrise. When I took my long walk later in the day it was way too hot.

When I checked my messages this morning there was a thank you note from my editor at SpaceFlight. I always feel better after I get some kind of acknowledgment that these articles I write have been received and are appreciated. One of these days a story will be rejected. I'm kind of surprised that all my stories have been accepted so far. I have absolutely no connections within the aerospace industry and don't really know that much about rockets. I can't even remember how I got interested in writing about space. Hey, it gives me something to do. All old people need something to do.

I had to go to the bank this morning but had no desire to go anywhere else. I just made a quick trip and came home again. I've probably driven more in rent cars in Florida this year than I have in Dallas. I do walk a lot though. Getting 10,000 to 20,000 steps a day seems far more important to me than what I see on these walks. I just walk the same route over and over again. The area where we live is pretty compared to the rest of Dallas, but after thousands of walks I hardly notice things anymore. I'm pretty sure I could do the walk blindfolded these days.

Now that the roof is fixed the other flaws in the house seem even more noticeable. The stained and cracked sheetrock in the ceiling really needs to be fixed. The sliding glass door to the atrium needs to be repaired as well. The whole house needs paint and new carpets. I'm sure there are many other things as well. The main drawback to making these repairs is that I hate having strangers in the house. Unless I want to learn how to do everything myself, I probably don't have a choice.

I've taken this weeks's trash to the curb, so this week is over for me. Tomorrow is Janet's grocery day and is Dawn's favorite day of the week. She gets so excited when Janet comes home with groceries. I'll continue watching the mail for my new driver's license. I'll feel a lot better about traveling when it arrives.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4886

I finally got out the star tracker and began testing it again. This thing is so frustrating. It works perfectly ocassionally, but mostly it randomly crashes in unpredicctable ways. I've spend hours and hours trying to identify and isolate the problem. I always come up with nothing. Is it a bad cable that causes the camera to disconnect? Why does the app often fail to stitch together panorama shots? I can't tell whether it's the camera, the iPhone app, the Polaris itself, or the connecting cables that are causing all the problems. It doesn't help that there never was an instruction manual for this thing. There is an online user group, but almost evereyone is using a different type of camera to connect to the tracker, so useful advice is limited. I gave up trying to communicate with the Chinese manufacturer a long time ago. The marketing people speak English but most of the engineers don't. When this thing works it produces spectacular results, but it only works for me about 20% of the time. I certainly didn't accomplish much today, so the Polaris will go back in the box for another month or so.

The rest of the day was about what you'd expect. Dawn got a nice early morning walk. I ate my breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit while watching the world disintegrate on cable news. I checked my messages and once again found nothing but spam. Then I got ready for my long walk.

My feet haven't been bothering me as much lately. I have no idea why. I can't be bothered to walk in a different direction, so I keep following the same path over and over again. I've walked this route so many times that I notice the smallest details. A piece of gum on the pavement becomes a mileage marker. A missing duck becomes a cause for concern. I'm surprised at how many people follow the same predictable routines as I do. I pass some of the same people walking in the opposite direction every single day. There are a lot of dog walkers I recognize now. There is even one guy who walks his cat on a leash. The park department spent a lot of money putting up fancy barriers to prevent vehicular traffic on the wider trails. Less than three months later most of the barriers are down. I suspect  the park maintenance people complained that they couldn't get their mowers, trash trucks, and other equipment through the barriers. One more example of a bureaucracy at work. Often the left hand isn't talking to the right hand.

My long walk took most of the morning and my experiments with the star tracker took most of the afternoon. There are lots of chores I could do around the house, but chores were the last thing I wanted to do today. I also wasn't interested in mowing the grass, even though it has been growing very quickly with all the rain we've been having. I guess I'd rather just go back to Florida and watch another launch. There is an opportunity to get press credentials at the end of the month for the AX-2 launch, but they'll probably wait until the last minute to notify me again. Who knows if I'll end up going. A lot depends on when the roofers decide to replace the roof.

It looks like tomorrow will be a nice day and then there is rain in the forecast for a solid week. This has been such a rainy Spring. It's has been hard to plan for anything. One way or another I'm sure we'll have a new roof by Summer. I'll probably see another launch or two as well. By July I'm sure I'll regret complaining about the rain. We get all our rain at once and it can be extremely dry later in the Summer. At least some things are predictable. I took this week's trash to the curb like I always do on Thursday evening. The trash truck always arrives while we are walking Dawn on Friday morning. The garbage man is very predictable.

Dodger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4879

I got started on my SpaceFlight Magazine article today. I'm not really happy with it yet, but at least I'm making progress. As usual I lost a paragraph and had to start over when Microsoft Word froze on me and I had to restart the computer. I really need to remember to save my work more often. No harm done though. I didn't like that paragraph anyway.

It was another slow and largely uneventful day. We got up and walked Dawn earlier than usual because Janet had an early appointment. Dawn continues to seem strong and no longer shows any signs of weakness in her front legs. She hasn't fallen in quite a while now. I haven't fallen either, but I do show signs of weakness from time to time. There's nothing wrong. I'm just getting older.

After my usual breakfast I checked my messages and got ready for my long walk. Most of my messages are spam these days. There doesn't seem to be any way to avoid these unsolicited messages. I get them on my land line, my cell phone, and on my computer. I've gotten where I never answer the phone unless caller ID shows a number that I clearly recognize. Most of the e-mail spam is painfully obvious. How stupid do these guys thing I am? Spam and telemarketers are still irritating though. I uses every spam blocker in creation and still a lot gets through.

I made pretty good time on my walk today, but my feet are hurting again. These walks are starting to seem like Ground Hog Day. The same things happen over and over again. I pass the same people, see the same animals, and end up complaining about the same aches and pains. Long walks are still the best way to kill time that I can think of. If I didn't take these walks I would just stay at home and eat snacks. A two hour walk adds structure to an otherwise amorphous day. I'd consider walking three hours a day, but I don't think I could make it. Two hours is pretty tiring as it is.

Much of my work on the article today was just doing research. I returned from Kennedy Space Center last Friday, but I forget things quickly. I don't know what I'd do without Google. You can quickly find the answer to virtually anything on Google these days. Doing research use to involve a trip to the central library and hours of searching through books, magazines, and newspapers. The whole process is so easy now.

I didn't finish my article, but I did finish my long walk. I need to start walking on the other side of the lake just to break the monotony. I could always go to the gym instead, but it's more enjoyable to walk outside instead of around the gym's small indoor track. I'd probably accomplish more by just going to the weight room at the gym, but I've become totally hooked on getting my Fitbit steps every day.

I've taken this weeks trash out to the curb and am waiting for the rain that has been predicted all day to finally start. Tomorrow I'll finish my article and send it off to the magazine. I'm ready for another launch trip. There is very little that interests me here in Dallas.

Crosby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4809

I can't get used to this roller coaster weather. Yesterday I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Today I was wearing my down parka again. We've gone back and forth like this for weeks. It's weird to say the least. Even though it was chilly this morning, we had a nice early walk with Dawn. She doesn't seem to mind the cold nearly as much as I do. I can tell the days are gettig longer now. A few months ago we would have been walking in the dark at this time of day. Today is was quite light out and we watched the sun rise as we headed back to the house.

It looks like I failed at stopping the roof leaks. I thought I had dodged a bullet yesterday, but right after breakfast I noticed a small wet spot in the office carpet. The roof was leaking again. My patching efforts must have helped because there was only one small leak instead of multiple leaks all over the house. It was still disappointing to see a leak though. I was forced to climb up on the roof again and sweep away the remaining standing water from yesterday's rain. I wasn't surprised to find that the leak was directly under the biggest duck pond on the roof.  The roof was largely dry, but this one large puddle of standing water was evidently enough to cause a leak. My patches seemed to have held up fairly well during the rain, but I must have missed something. If there is a lot of standing water, it doesn't take much of a hole in the elastomer coating to cause a leak.

I've given up on going to the Crew-6 launch. My application must have gotten lost because I still haven't heard anything one way or the other. NASA is usually pretty good about notification even if your request is rejected. I don't know what happened this time. Truthfully this is a blessing in disguise. I wasn't planning on returning to Kennedy Space Center until April or May and couldn't really afford this trip anyway. I do like to go to most of the important launches, but it certainly doesn't hurt anything to miss this one.

I had to change my route through the park again today. There is some major construction taking place on one of the park's main service roads. I still can't figure out how the park seems to get better roads than the rest of the city. In our neighborhood we get those cheap spray on roads. This was a proper road. They had one of those huge machines that scraped away the old road and then they started from scratch applying completely new pavement. Personally I would prefer no roads through the park, but the place has become a recreation destination. Not everyone can get to this place by walking out their back door like I can.

The roofing company wants to come over and meet with me next week to go over their bid. I don't know what this is going to prove. It's certainly not going to soften the blow of whatever expensive price they put on the job. I've dealt with roofing bids before. They are always more expensive than you expect. I can think of lots of ways I'd rather spend the money, but we can't go on living like this. We need a new roof.

I haven't really accomplished much this week. There are still leaves to rake and it appears that I failed to stop the leaks yesterday. It doesn't look like I'm going to the Crew-6 launch either. I did get this weeks trash taken out to the curb this evening and the roof has finally stopped leaking. More importantly, there is no longer any rain in the forecast for next week. Hey, I'll take what I can get. Dawn is still being good about wearing the No Flap Ear Wrap. It will probably take a while, but I hope this will help eliminate the hematoma in her left ear.

Joey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4802

Dawn got a bath today. That was probably the big event of the day. Dawn, like most dogs, doesn't really like getting a bath, but she tolerates it. We take her to a neighborhood self-bathe place where there are lots of other dogs and she is always well behaved.

Luckily, last night's severe weather alert never materialized. It didn't even rain. I keep looking at the weather forecast with trepidation. I'd really like it to stay dry for a while. So far, there is no rain in the forecast until next Wednesday with a 30% chance of showers. I can live with that.

It was quite cold today. I didn't dress warmly enough when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk, but I didn't make that mistake again when I took my long walk later in the day. Dawn seems to enjoy the cold. She was full of energy this morning. I definitely wasn't full of energy when I took my long walk, but I did manage to complete my six miles. There weren't a lot of people on the trails today for obvious reasons. There are always a few die-hards like me though. I recognize them now but have no idea who they are.

I had several errands I needed to do today but never got around to doing anything. I need to renew a prescription before it runs out and I need to get a new bulb for one of the living room lamps before it burns out. There are other things that can probably wait until this weekend. At the rate I'm going, I suspect that everything will wait until this weekend.

The only real connection I have to the Space Coast is what I see on Facebook. Almost every day I see cool photos of launches that I missed. There's always a lot going on down at Kennedy Space Center but unfortunately I can only afford to travel to Florida several times a year. I kind of envy the photographers who seem to attend every single launch, but I wonder if I would have their stamina if I actually lived there. I tend to get bored quickly. There are a lot of things that have captured my interest in the past. Most of them are just distant memories now. Realistically, going to a few important launches a year is plenty. They are all more of less the same anyway.

I'm really tired of having a runny nose. I don't do well with decongestants, so I'm blowing my nose constantly. This seems more like seasonal allergies than a cold, but I've had enough. Since this happens every year, you'd think I'd have come up with a solution by now. Nope. So far, I'm just burning through a lot of blue Scott shop towels. At $20 for a six pack, this turns out to be pretty expensive Kleenex.

This week has gone quickly. When I took this week's trash out to the curb this evening, Mars and Jupiter were already low in the Western sky. It seems like they were overhead just a few weeks ago. I wonder what stars will be overhead the next time I'm out at McDonald Observatory. It might be a while.

Joshua is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4781

I really thought the leaks had finally stopped when I woke up this morning. Not so fast. Around mid-morning when I was checking my e-mail, I heard the sound of dripping water again in the office. Luckily I was home at the time. I placed a bucket under the new leak and realized that I was going to have to go up on the roof and remove the remaining standing water. Damn. There is typically a lot of standing water that the pumps can't remove after a heavy rain. If I did nothing, these leaks might continue for weeks.

I don't use a ladder to get up on the roof. There is a decorative brick wall in the front of the house with protruding bricks that provide a toehold that allows me to climb to the carport. From there it is easy to access the rest of the roof. The whole process is kind of like urban rock climbing. When I was younger it was a piece of cake to climb up on the roof. Now, not so much. With bad knees, a dislocated shoulder, and deteriorating upper body strength the short climb is a bit daunting. I made it up today, but I really need to avoid making this a habit.

The roof was a mess. One of the pumps had clogged and I found several tears in the elastomer coating that seals everything. After surveying the damage, I wasn't surprised that the roof was leaking. I swept all the standing water over the edge of the roof with the big push broom that stays up there permanently. This stopped the leaks inside the house, but the bad news is that there is more rain on the horizon. If I was a rich man I would just walk away from this house. It has become an evil entity that mocks me.

Aside from dealing with the troublesome leaks, it was a fairly normal day. It was warmer than yesterday, so walking was a bit more pleasant. We slept in a bit later this morning so we didn't need flashlights when we took our early walk with Dawn. The ground was surprisingly dry, considering what I was dealing with at the house. Dawn had a nice walk and I had a nice breakfast after we returned home. 

I waited until it warmed up a bit before taking my long walk in the park. It was still a little chilly when I left the house, but it was a beautiful day. Walking is still a great way to kill time. I probably got more exercise clearing the water off the roof, but walking was a lot more fun. As an added bonus, I didn't have a lot of foot pain today.

Against my better judgement, I ended up applying for the Crew 6 NASA Social today. I probably won't get accepted, since I have already been to several of these events in the past. It's hard to pass up an opportunity to return to Kennedy Space Center though. These periodic social media events often provide better access to normally off limits parts of the space center than a regular press pass, so if I do manage to get accepted it will be an interesting trip. I attended the Crew 1 launch, as well as the private Inspiration 4 and Axiom 1 missions. These crewed missions are never routine and are always exciting. Wish me luck. We'll see if I get accepted.

This week has gone quickly. I actually forgot is was Thursday until Janet told me it was time to take the trash out to the curb. I'm glad the leaks have stopped but I'm not looking forward to next week at all. Right now the forecast is showing a strong probability of rain for the entire week.

Jazz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4683

I got up early to take my car in for service this morning. They told me that if I was the first customer, I could wait while they did the work and I wouldn't have to leave the car for the day. The service appointment didn't take long because one of their machines broke and they couldn't do everything they'd planned. I did get an oil and filter change though and they turned off the annoying "service required" light on the dash. I was back home again before 9 AM.

I got an unpleasant surprise this morning when my hotel in Titusville called and told me that they had to cancel my reservation. What? Apparently they had a severe plumbing problem and an entire floor of the hotel had flooded. This left me in a bad situation. I'd made my reservations early to make sure I had a room for the next Artemis launch attempt. Now it was several weeks later and I had to scramble to find anything that wasn't already completely booked. All the convenient Airbnb's in the area were gone. I eventually found a hotel in Cocoa Beach, but it was a lot further away than I would have liked. Even worse, I will have to leave Dallas on launch day just to get a room. This won't really be a problem since the launch is at midnight but it is cutting things a little close. I kept looking and finally found another hotel that was closer to the space center but it was kind of run down. I booked this one too. I'll think about it for a few days and cancel one of the reservations. Since I'm leaving a day later now, I had to change my airline and rental car reservations as well. All this kind of makes me wonder why I do this. Attending a popular launch is so much trouble to arrange and it's all over in just a few minutes. It's amazing how quickly these rockets disappear in the sky.

Janet took Dawn on her sunrise walk while I was getting my car serviced, but I did get to take a walk in the park later in the day. I didn't do well today at all. My feet hurt for the entire walk and I was pretty slow. At least the weather was nice. It was a lot warmer than yesterday, but it was still a very pleasant Fall day. The walk itself was fairly boring, but not as boring as going to the gym.

It took me so long to find another hotel and reschedule everything that I didn't have much time for anything else today. I liked my original plan a lot better, but I guess this will have to do. I've always hated surprises and this was a big one. I'll still get to see the launch though, assuming that it doesn't get canceled or postponed again. I still can't decide whether to try to attend the upcoming Falcon Heavy launch as well. I haven't heard anything about my credentials yet, but this launch is happening pretty soon. Why are they waiting until the last minute to approve credentials? Oh, well. It is what it is. Realistically, it's too expensive for me to go to two launches so close together anyway, but I'll wait to make a final decision until I hear whether I've been accepted. 

Since my service appointment wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be, I can probably go ahead and get the dryer fixed this month. The machine still dries clothes just fine, but it's started making an ominous noise. I can't realistically ignore this much longer because the belt that turns the drum is starting to fail. The last time the appliance repairman was at the house I asked him how long the belt would last. "Maybe you've got a week. Maybe you've got a year," he told me. That wasn't much help at all.

It seems like it should be Saturday tomorrow, but we've still got another day to go. I've taken this weeks trash out to the curb and am still fretting about my change in travel plans. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4669

We had to get up really early this morning so we could walk Dawn before I had to take Janet down to Baylor. The park was empty and felt a little ominous  in the dark. The sky did lighten up a bit before we returned home and Dawn had a nice walk. I'll be glad when the time changes next month. I'm not really wild about walking in the dark.

There was a lot of road construction this morning, but we made it to the hospital on time. We've made this drive many times for a wide variety of check-ups and exams. Sometimes Janet drives me and other times I drive her. Our doctors really frown on driving yourself if you need anesthesia.

By the time I finished fixing breakfast and checking my messages it was time to go pick up Janet again. I was supposed to call the nurse when I arrived so they could bring Janet out to the car. It's been so long since I've used the phone in the car that I forgot how to make a call. I couldn't figure out why nobody heard me when I dialed the number. I completely forgot that the phone is paired with the car and that I needed to press the green call button on my steering wheel to connect the call. I eventually just turned the car off and made the call normally on my phone. I felt foolish later in the day when it finally occurred to me what was going on. 

It warmed up quickly today, so I decided to go to the gym instead of walking in the park. I was terrible on the basketball court for no apparent reason. The place was really empty when I arrived. There were only two other people in the entire gym, I walked two miles on the indoor track, eventually completed my 25 baskets from the free throw line and went home. I wish the gym was a little closer to home, but I can't imagine going somewhere else at this point. I've been coming here a long time. I'm pretty sure that I've outlasted all the staff. There was a completely different set of trainers and therapists here when I first joined.

A Space X launch got scrubbed today with only 30 seconds left on the countdown clock. I'm glad I didn't go down to Florida for that one. I'm still planning to return for the next Artemis launch attempt, but have no idea when that will be. It's a shame that they haven't set a date for the launch yet, because Southwest Airlines is having a great sale. There is no point in getting a ticket now and changing the reservation later. I would end up paying whatever current prices were after the sale was over and probably wouldn't save anything. The only way you can get a good deal on airline prices is if your plans never change.

The star tracker project that I backed on Kickstarter has finally arrived in retail stores. Some of the backers who still haven't received their Polaris units aren't very happy about this. I received my Polaris quite a while ago, but the little tracker still seems like a work in progress. Every time I turn it on I'm never sure if it is going to work. I'll have to admit that I did get a good deal though. The current retail price is almost double what I paid.

I've taken this week's trash out to the curb. Jupiter is rising in the evening sky now. It doesn't seem that long ago that it was setting in the morning sky. Light pollution is so bad in Dallas that the only objects worth looking at are bright planets and the moon. I've never seen the milky way from my back yard. This would seem like a good reason to plan another trip out to McDonald Observatory but I really hate that drive. I'll probably go back to Florida first.

Cassie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4655 - Autumnal Equinox

It's officially Fall. I'm more than ready. With a record setting string of 100 degree days, this Summer was brutal. Hopefully, the cooler weather will bring lower electric bills. I'm not terribly confident though. Nothing seems to go down in price these days. The first day of Fall got off to a good start with our sunrise walk this morning. Not only was it nice and cool outside, the humidity was low as well. Cooler weather always puts me in a better mood. Sometimes this doesn't last very long, but I'll take what I can get.

Since the weather was nice, I took my long walk in the park instead of going to the gym. I kind of miss all the construction that was going on this Summer. It gave me something to look at and speculate about while I was walking. Now I'm back to counting ducks again. When I arrived at the lake I saw our five resident geese swimming toward Sunset Bay. The bay was several miles away at the time, but the geese beat me there. I've been watching these geese for years and I've never actually seen them fly. Since they appear to be domestic geese, I wonder if they can fly. The two resident Muscovy ducks that hang out with these geese can definitely fly. They have large wingspans and are quite impressive when in the air.

I still walk faster outdoors than I do at the gym. I suspect that this is because the first two-thirds of my walk are downhill. When I measure the final uphill climb to get back home, my pace slows considerably. Surprisingly, there are still quite a few wildflowers in the park. The Purple Asters are in bloom. So are Clematis, Goldenrod, and Water Primrose. The only bad thing about walking in the Fall is that my seasonal allergies are back. There are only about two months a year where I am free of allergy problems. My Spring allergies last into Summer and my Fall allergies last into Winter.

It's getting frustrating that NASA still hasn't announced an official date for the next Artemis launch attempt. They are already hedging their bets on the 27th by calling this a "tentative" launch date.  We've been issued instructions about when and where to pick up our credentials for the 27th though. I really expect that the date will change but I haven't canceled my reservations yet. I'm superstitious. If I canceled my reservations, this would almost guarantee that the launch would take place on the 27th. Maybe I'll hear some news tomorrow. I remember hearing that the launch team would make a final decision before the end of the week. When does the week end though? I can't even remember.

I think my interest in astronomy might be waning. Mars is approaching opposition and getting brighter every month. Jupiter is the closest it has been to earth in 70 years. I still haven't gotten out my telescope to view either of these planets though. Mars rises in the East around midnight but I've got no excuse for Jupiter. I could probably go outside right now and see it if I wanted. My main excuse is mosquitos. We've got lots of mosquitos at night now. I'm also just tired. As soon as I finish writing my blog post all I want to do is go to sleep.

When I took this weeks trash out to the curb this evening I noticed that the city had picked up the bulky trash piles on the street sometime this afternoon. I was going to add a few things to our pile, but I guess I'll have to wait until next month. Will I go to the gym tomorrow or take another long walk? Either way, it's probably the only decision I'll make all day.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4627

Today was uneventful. The weather was a bit warmer this morning, but it was still a welcome relief from the heat wave we were having just a few weeks ago. Maybe the worst of this summer is finally over. I could definitely live with no more hundred degree days this year.

I'm still making slow, steady progress getting ready for the trip to Kennedy Space Center. So far this mostly involves checking equipment and making sure that it works. I renewed a prescription that might run out during my stay, but I haven't gotten around to packing clothes yet. This usually doesn't take long. I travel light.

It was quiet during our sunrise walk with Dawn. Some days the park is empty on our early morning walks and other days there is lots of activity. I still haven't figured out what draws people to the park on specific days. There are a few people we see every single day. They are obviously on a schedule, just like we are.

I probably should have gone to the gym today, but I decided to take another long walk in the park. The outdoor walks aren't any easier on my feet, but they are more enjoyable. Today was humid, but it was still quite pleasant. 80 degree days are much nicer than 100 degree days. 

My Airbnb hosts told me that it would be OK to extend my stay if the Artemis rocket fails to launch on Monday. This was good news, but I'm still not sure if I would want to spend an entire week in Titusville just waiting for another launch attempt. Mostly it's the additional cost that bothers me. The magazine I write for doesn't pay any travel expenses and the bills add up quickly. I still can't decide whether I have a second career or an expensive hobby. I guess it doesn't really matter. I enjoy covering these rocket launches and in a world where joy is a rare commodity, I guess this counts for something.

Sometimes I envy the rocket photographers who actually live in Titusville. There are quite a few of them and many seem to be at every single launch. Would this get boring after a while? I'll probably never find out. It does feel like you are witnessing something important when you are at the space center. History is being made. The actual photography is just a task though. It isn't that different from photographing dogs or the night sky out in West Texas.

I told my magazine about the interviews I set up with the two European astronauts and my editor wants me to do an article about them as well. It's a good thing I enjoy writing. Print writers seem to be a dying breed. Almost everyone I've met out at the space center seems to have a podcast, works for a TV station, or has some connection with a website. There are very few writers.

I've already taken this week's trash out to the curb, which always marks the end of the week for me. I guess I'd better pack my bags tomorrow. I'm running out of time.

Pinky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4620

It rained again last night and it was a lot cooler this morning. Ten degrees can make a big difference. We had an enjoyable early morning walk with Dawn and since the skies were overcast it looked like it might stay cooler all day. I ate my breakfast and checked the temperature again. Finally, it was cool enough for a long walk in the park.

I enjoy walking outdoors more than on the indoor track at the gym. I don't enjoy the heat though, so I need to take advantage of days like this. It didn't even get up to 90 degrees today and for most of my walk it was in the 70's. The only thing I don't like about walking outdoors is the continual drone of leaf blowers from the landscaping crews in the neighborhood and the frequent police and fire sirens. Add in all the planes on final approach to Love Field and it's not a very quiet place. Our park is a beautiful wooded area but it is located inside a large city. You really can't avoid the noise.

Since it was cooler today I decided it was finally time to mow the grass. We've been letting it grow because the taller the grass, the deeper the roots. Even though it has been a dry summer, I think the lawn is going to survive. I'm not sure how long the mower is going to survive though. I definitely need new batteries. I used to be able to mow both the front and back yards on a single charge. Today the mower died before I finished the back yard. I hesitate to buy another mower though. I think the next step is to join the other neighbors and just get a landscaping service to do the mowing for me. I'm definitely not getting any younger. Mowing the yard tires me out now.

I managed to find another ESA astronaut to interview while I'm down at Kennedy Space center. Maybe I can turn the two interviews into a separate article. Both astronauts have interesting stories. The Italian astronaut had a close call when a faulty spacesuit caused his helmet to fill up with water while he was outside the space station doing repairs. The German astronaut is a musician and joined a live Kraftwerk concert while he was on the space station and may be the only person to play a synthesizer in space.

I'm still a little apprehensive about my upcoming trip. Everything important happens early in the morning and I'm not a morning person. My flight leaves at 6 AM and the launch itself takes place at 6:30 AM. Different days though. I've been told to arrive at the press site five hours ahead of the launch. Yikes. That means I'll be getting up in the middle of the night. I'm not so sure about staying at an Airbnb either. The place I selected got great reviews but I've never stayed at an Airbnb before. I've stayed at the Titusville Holiday Inn so many times that I feel like family there. Oh, well. You know what they say about old dogs and new tricks. It might be good for me to try something new.

I briefly thought about getting out the star tracker and seeing if I could duplicate yesterday's test session. It seemed like too much trouble though and I ended up doing a load of laundry instead. Even though I mowed the lawn today, it still seemed like a slow day. Hey, there's nothing wrong with slow days. I've taken this weeks trash out to the curb and I'm read to start all over again tomorrow.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4613

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday's rain really cooled things down. It was only 71 degrees when we woke up this morning. Dawn enjoyed her sunrise walk and so did I. The cooler temperatures were so nice that I decided to skip going to the gym today and walk in the park instead. I left the house right after breakfast and the temperature had already climbed to 78 degrees. It was still nice though.

I managed to complete my full six mile route but I was slow and it was getting pretty hot by the time I finally returned home. The fancy new trail through the park is complete now. It looks like it was completed right on schedule. I saw the two Muscovy ducks this morning and was surprised that there are only five of the resident Sunset Bay geese now. I wonder what happened to the other five? The grassy meadows already look a little greener, but maybe I'm just imagining things.

Even though I was slower than usual today, my pace was still faster than I typically walk on the indoor track at the gym. I always seem to walk faster outdoors even though this seems counterintuitive to me. The indoor track is much easier on my feet. You'd think I'd walk faster indoors.

When I checked my messages this morning there was still nothing from NASA. Hopefully, when the credentialing and logistics information finally arrives it won't be too late to change my reservations if it becomes necessary. I have a feeling that I'm getting too old for this. I have no inherent flexibility or sense of adventure anymore. I"d be much happier if everything, including the weather, was locked down months ahead of time.

I did a load of laundry this afternoon, but didn't attempt anything major. The afternoon still went quickly though. Dawn is completely comfortable napping with me now. When I run out of things to do I'm always up for a nap. I thought about doing some yard work this afternoon, but this morning's cooler temperatures had already disappeared. It was very humid too. I need to go up on the roof and check on the pumps, but I'm not even sure I can climb up there anymore. I definitely don't want to fall, so maybe my roof climbing days are over. Sadly, this task is difficult to pass on to someone else. Years of dealing with this troublesome roof have taught me all kind of tricks for keeping it dry and leak free. The elastomer coating is kind of fragile too. Someone who didn't know what they were doing could really make a mess of things.

Tomorrow Janet and I will be meeting someone who wants to adopt either JoJo or Spot. I'm curious to see which one she'll choose. Both are great dogs but have very different personalities. I'm glad that one of these dogs will be finding their forever home. Now that the kennel situation has changed, it is good to have fewer dogs in the program. Hopefully, we'll still be able to work out a way to play with the dogs on a regular basis. They definitely seem to enjoy our company.

This week has gone very quickly. I've already taken this week's trash to the curb and am ready to start over again on my predictable weekly routine. Maybe next week I can resolve all my travel uncertainties.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4606

I always try to do at least one thing every day. Today I got my car safety inspected. I used to do this at the dealership, but they always used the opportunity to find other things to charge me for. Now I take the car to a litle neighborhood garage. They are so fast that sometimes I think they aren't doing anything at all. It works for me though. As long as I have the paperwork, I'm good for another year. 

Safety inspection is always a two step process. You get the car checked at one place and then go to another place to get the sticker to put on your windshield. I used to have to go downtown to the courthouse to get this sticker but now you can pick it up at just about any grocery store. At any rate, the car passed inspection and I can cross one more thing off my to-do list.

There was a nice breeze on our sunrise walk this morning, but you could tell it was still going to be another hot day. The park is pretty busy on these early walks. People have discovered that this is the only way to beat the heat. I think 7 AM is the coolest time during the day and 7 PM is the hottest.

After breakfast I went to the gym again. It turned out to be convenient to take care of the safety inspection while I was on my way. My trip to the gym is as methodical as any other part of my day. I always do the same things. I'm more consistent on the basketball court now and I've picked up the pace on the indoor track a bit. I'm definitely not setting the place on fire though. There are lots of people on the floor who are in better shape than me. I've noticed that all the televisions at the gym are turned to either a cooking channel, a home improvement channel, or a sports channel. No news here. It's probably for the best. Listening to the news would probably upset anyone's exercise routine.

I still haven't heard anything more about the Artemis-1 launch. I wish I'd receive a definite schedule soon. With so many people converging on Titusville there is going to be a point where it is impossible to change airline reservations or extend my stay. I'm already hearing rumbles in the space community that it's almost impossible to find a hotel room. Even campgrounds have filled up. At least I have a plan, although it might be hard to change it at this point. I hope the trip goes smoothly, but I'm starting to get a little nervous.

I paid a few bills this afternoon, but that was about it. Keeping the yard looking green seems hopeless now. I still water things that look dry but it doesn't seem to do any good. The heat and drought have won this battle. This week's trash has been taken to the curb and I'm ready for another day more or less like today. Somehow I don't think I'm ever going to resume my restaurant breakfasts on Fridays. Why did I do this for so many years? A lot of things I used to do seem strange now.

Pebbles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day