Day 4519

It's starting to feel a lot like Summer. When you feel a little warm on the pre-dawn sunrise walk, you know it's going to be a hot day. It looks like the temperature is going to be in the 90's all week snd that's definitely too warm for me. Jeez. How did I handle this last year? It looks like I'm going to have to get used to Summer all over again.

There are only four Dalmatians at the kennel now. The others have all been adopted. Charlie, Oliver, Rocket, and Jo Jo were all glad to see us. We were really impressed with the progress Rocket has made. When he first arrived at the kennel, he was scared of everything and completely unsocialized. Now, he wags his tail and comes over to greet us. He's a smart dog and it didn't take long to teach him to sit. We're going to work on teaching him to lie down and a few other commands next week. 

I'm surprised that Oliver and Jo Jo haven't been adopted yet. They are good looking, have great personalities and are definitely ready to go to their forever homes. It's going to take a little longer for Charlie to find a home, but he's turned over a new leaf. I think his biting days are over. One of these days Charlie is going to find a wonderful home with someone who understands his unique personality. Charlie always makes us laugh. He's really a great little dog.

By the time we returned from the kennel it was almost too hot to take another walk. I tried, but ended up walking just enough to satisfy my Fitbit with a minimum of 10,000 steps. I'm not sure what I'm going to do the rest of the week. I may have to start going back to the gym. I don't really like walking on an indoor track, but they keep the place nice and cool. I have a feeling that I started going to the gym in the first place because of the air conditioning.

I got a reply from the Polaris folks about my star tracker. It's hard to communicate with these guys, The instructions they sent this time seemed strange and unlike anything I've tried before. I'm suspicious. The file I am supposed to upload to the tracker is in Chinese too and I'm not entirely sure what it is. I haven't done anything yet because I don't want to brick the thing. I wrote the guy I usually talk to and explained the situation. Maybe he can help me make sense of things. I don't know why I'm still convinced that I'll eventually get this thing to work. It's been a long, slow process so far.

My latest toilet repair didn't last long. The toilet is already running again. I'm not sure I can fix this thing anymore. Plumbers are no help either. They won't work on the strange toilet. The problem with an old house is when you fix one thing, something else breaks. I'm tired of fixing things. I'd like to live someplace where everything was guaranteed to work perfectly for at least ten years.

I hope I don't succumb to temptation and try to apply the weird patch to my star tracker tomorrow. I have a strong feeling that it will only make things worse.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4518 - Mother's Day

Well, Dawn is certainly a mother. I bet she was a good mom. Lord know how many litters of puppies she had when she was a breeding dog at the puppy mill. I don't think those were pleasant days because she is still very fearful. She loves her new life now, but I think she's always waiting for the other shoe to drop. We suspect that one of the reasons that she's fearful of riding in the car is that she's worried she might be going back to her old life in Marshall, Texas. Dawn enjoys her walks and likes her Sunday outing, but is always relieved to be back at home in her safe spot, sitting on our big bed.

She must have known that today was a special day. She was full of energy this morning and ended up walking twice her normal distance on our sunrise walk. We always led her lead the way and are curious to see where she'll go. Usually she just follows her familiar one mile loop, but occasionally she gets adventurous.

After our walk we had breakfast and then did some household chores while waiting to take Dawn on her Sunday outing. We always wait until the ice cream store is open because getting ice cream is a big part of this Sunday adventure. I thought Dawn might be tired because she already walked quite a bit. Nope. She enjoyed this second walk too. She loves smelling new things. We have to steer her away from the poison ivy though. Lots of poison ivy in this park.

The ice cream store seemed short staffed this morning. Probably because it was Mother's Day. The staff seems too young to be moms, but thats just an old guy's perspective. Everybody seems young to me. Probably most of the staff are in their mid twenties. We all enjoyed our cones today. Dawn always seems calmer after having ice cream. She is always remarkably calm on the ride home.

I decided to mow the grass today. It was a little hot for my taste, but the traffic is much lighter on a Sunday. I don't enjoy mowing down by the street when everyone is in a hurry. I'm not close to the road very long, but even a few minutes seems too long when cars are racing by just inches away at fifty miles an hour. I'm not sure how much longer the electric mower is going to last. At the very least it needs new batteries. There used to be enough charge in the battery to mow the back yard after I finished the front. Now I have to let the mower recharge for a while before I can tackle the back yard. I could buy a new mower, but I really ought to just start paying the guy who is willing to mow my yard for me.

I felt industrious today, so I tried to fix the running toilet again. It's a shame that the parts I really need aren't available anymore. I've tried, but even the best plumbing supply store in Dallas can't find them for me. I do what I can and usually my repairs last about a week. My last attempt only lasted two days though. It's probably time to break down and get a Toto.

I didn't take a long walk today. After two walks with Dawn and mowing the grass I had all the steps I needed. It was hot this afternoon and I was tired. There is no need to punish myself just to keep my Fitbit happy. I"ll probably go back to taking a long walk tomorrow. Hey, what else is there to do?

I wish I'd get some feedback from the Benro people in China. I'm in no particular hurry to use the star tracker for astrophotography, but it's driving me crazy that I can't get it to work correctly. Since I had at least a partial success with the tracker out at McDonald Observatory, I can see it's potential. It's a pretty cool little piece of machinery. I'd like it a lot better if it worked though.

I like weekends because they inject a little variety into my life. Tomorrow it's back to shredded wheat for breakfast, long walks, and looking up random information on Google. 

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4474

What day is it? Today seemed exactly like yesterday. I did all the same things in exactly the same order. I keep thinking about going out to eat for breakfast on Friday's again, but haven't started yet. It's easier to just eat another bowl of shredded wheat. It looks like I'll be doing some traveling this Spring, but I'm dreading getting accepted for anything. I should be excited about these upcoming trips, but I'm not. I'm avoiding things. Dawn and I just sit on the bed together and wait for something to happen.

I was going to call a roofer today but I forgot which one I liked a little better than the others. I have half a dozen  roofers in my contact list. They've all been out to the house and given me bids. Some were horrible and others seemed reasonably professional. They all seemed way too expensive. Everything connected with construction these days seems way too expensive. I don't want to call the wrong roofer, but I've got to do something. It's time.

The toilet repair I made the other day didn't last very long. The toilet has already started to run again. Why didn't my repair work? There are some components I can buy at a plumbing supply store, but others are unavailable. I've been fixing this thing for years, but it gets a little harder each time. Oh, well. It's probably time to just give up and get a new toilet. They say Toto toilets are good. I'm sure I can avoid making a decision a little longer though. I don't feel like making a decision about anything.

It was really hot today. I think it got up to eighty degrees this afternoon. There was certainly no need for a coat on my long walk. It was a shorts and t-shirt kind of day. Walking is just another way of avoiding making decisions. I think about things I ought to do on my walks, but I rarely do them. At least my feet didn't bother me today. My allergies weren't very bad either. It was actually a pretty nice Spring day.

I think I'm done with the star tracker for a while. The last time I got it out, everything made sense and I was able to align it properly. Now I'm trying to convince Sky & Telescope to let me write an article about it. I think I'd rather write an article about the tracker than actually use it. Maybe one of these days I'll take the tracker out at night and take some photos. I'll probably take it out to the observatory with me. There's no excuse for not taking pictures out there.

Janet went to a Dalmatian Club meeting tonight and learned that there is a new female named Dorothy at the kennel. I'll have to remember to take my camera next Monday. The rescue group has quite a few dogs now, including eleven new puppies. Sammy's puppies are all gaining weight and doing well. 

Time to make a grocery list again. Didn't I just do this a few days ago? Time flies when you are doing nothing.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4473

I think I've applied for too many events. Today I learned that NASA is resuming in-person NASA Socials starting with the Crew-4 launch in late April. Of course I had to apply for this as well. I love NASA Socials and they've been discontinued for over two years now due to Covid. If I end up getting approved for Artemis-1, Axiom-1, and Crew-4, I'm not sure how I'm going to afford it. That's a lot of launches in a short amount of time. Getting credentialed for all three events is doubtful though. I might not get approved for anything. It looks like there will be a trip out to McDonald Observatory this Spring as well. They definitely would like me to volunteer for their upcoming Dark Sky Festival. The thought of doing this much traveling is sending me into a panic. I'd really feel more comfortable doing nothing at all. 

It's hard to get motivated to do household chores, but I fixed the problematic French toilet again this morning. It seems like I just repaired this thing a little while ago, but my fix didn't last long. The running toilet was driving me nuts, so I took everything apart and cleaned the components again. This seemed to work, but I don't know why. I still don't really know how this odd contraption works.

I'm having a hard time getting up in the morning. I don't know if I'm not getting enough sleep or if I just don't want to face another day. Janet and Dawn are always up a lot earlier than I am. When I hear Janet say "we're walking in ten minutes," I reluctantly roll out of bed and get dressed. Dawn still loves her sunrise walks. Due to the time change, it seems like we are actually walking at sunrise again.

I managed to walk six miles again today. My feet actually didn't bother me too much. I'm walking a lot slower than I used to, but at least I'm still moving. It's amazing how quickly everything is turning green. The dogwood and redbud trees are flowering and I'm finally starting to see some wildflowers. I still enjoy seeing the park come back to life, even though I've witnessed the same thing every year for as long as I can remember. I should probably take a good camera and go exploring before it gets too hot. This is a good time of year for interesting pictures.

I'm hoping that my seasonal allergies are finally starting to abate. For the past two days my runny nose hasn't been nearly as bad. Being able to walk or even sit here at the computer without a constantly dripping nose is a blessing. I hope this lasts. It seems like with everything starting to turn green in the park, I've got more pollen woes ahead of me, but I'll take what I can get. The day is just a lot more enjoyable without watering eyes and a runny nose.

Janet wants to put a new roof on now and get started on renovations around the house. I'm dreading this, but it's probably time to start making some decisions. The house really does need a lot of work and I'm definitely not a big fan of roof leaks. I've never had a lot of success dealing with contractors though. It's a giant pain fixing things in a house that you are still living in. It's a lot easier to do renovations in an empty house. 

At least this week's trash has been taken out to the curb. Taking out the trash is more my speed. I can handle this. I'm not sure what I"m going to do tomorrow, although I have a feeling that it will involve a walk.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4417

My teeth are in good shape. My dental hygienist always complements me on how well I take care of my teeth and gums. I try. The last thing I want at this stage of my life are implants or more crowns. I kind of wish that I'd had braces when I was younger, but that ship has sailed. My teeth are a little crooked but I have very few fillings. I still have three of my four wisdom teeth, with none of the dental problems that both of my parents endured. Hopefully I'm done with medical and dental appointments for a while. I think I've had more than my share this Winter.

When I returned from the dentist, I went to the good plumbing supply store and got the parts I needed to repair both toilets. I got high quality parts with brass fittings instead of the plastic stuff you find at Home Depot. I hate masquerading as a plumber so maybe this will help minimize future repairs. You never know though. Something else may break tomorrow. 

I'd never make a good plumber. The work is way too messy for me. I'm always very methodical and careful, but somehow I always end up making a mess. It's almost impossible to disconnect the supply lines to a toilet and remove all the internal parts without spilling a little water. At least I didn't try to remove the supply line without turning off the water to the house at the meter. I think I learned that lesson on a previous repair. The shut off valve on one of the toilets doesn't completely close and water sprays everywhere if you don't shut off water to the house first. The good news is that my first repair worked perfectly. The bad news is that I got tired of being a plumber and I still have to fix the other toilet. At least Janet's toilet is fixed. I'll deal with mine later.

I could tell on our sunrise walk with Dawn that this wasn't going to be a good day for my feet. I still can't figure out why some days are relatively pain free and other days are terrible. It doesn't seem to be the humidity because I've had good and bad days when the weather was exactly the same. It doesn't seem to be the result of too much exercise either. I've been able to go on long walks multiple days in a row without a problem. On a bad day I have trouble just walking around the house. I probably need to make another appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. I need to make sure that I'm not inadvertently damaging my feet. If walking doesn't really make things any worse, I can probably live with the pain.

The park has been virtually empty for the past several days. There hasn't been as much traffic on the roads either. Is something going on that I don't know about? I don't have a clue. Maybe it's just the weather. It has been cold and nasty lately. Maybe it's Covid. There are a ton of people who've gotten the virus recently. I can't says that I don't know anyone who's caught Covid anymore. I know quite a few people who've come down with it. It's kind of amazing that Janet and I haven't caught the virus. The test Janet had to take to see her doctor was negative and I've had several negative tests recently. So far, so good anyway.

There is new firmware available for the Polaris star tracker. I'm kind of nervous to install it though. It's always a mixed bag whenever there's an upgrade. Some people on the user forum report better results after an upgrade while others report that their tracker doesn't work anymore. I'm tempted not to bother with every upgrade and just keep watching the user forum until everyone seems happy. I think that day is still a long way away. I'm not sure I would have backed this project if I knew I was going to be a Beta tester. I just want things to work when I turn them on. Finding bugs and solving problems isn't exactly my cup of tea. Being a Beta tester isn't as messy as being a plumber, but it's almost as bad.

It seemed really cold when I took the trash out to the curb this evening. That means it will be even colder in the morning. If Dawn could overcome her fears and learn to walk with me without Janet nearby, we could do her morning walk a lot later. I have no schedule and actually like to sleep in. Dawn doesn't know what she's missing.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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