Day 4918

It was a busy day. We had quite a storm last night and we woke up to find some fallen branches in our yard. It turned out that these branches were from the neighbor's tree. No limbs fell from our own trees. I decided to climb up on the roof to see if there might be more branches up there. The roof was clear of debris, but there was standing water. I was so disappointed. One of the main reasons I got the new roof was so that it would drain properly. The puddles of standing water were in the same places I usually found them on the old roof. I'll call the roofers, but I doubt that there is anything they can do at this point. The roof is finished. I'm sure they'll just tell me that everything Is OK and that I've got a good warranty on the roof. "Call us is you have a leak," they'll say. The roof definitely doesn't leak now, but I'm still disappointed. Standing water is never good on a roof.

I promised Janet that I'd vacuum today and ended up spending more time cleaning the clogged Dyson than I did vacuuming. I wish I had our old Hoover back. The Hoover never needed cleaning or repairs and all I ever needed to do was change the vacuum bag when it got full. Why did I get sucked into believing the Dyson was better? It does clean reasonably well, but it's been a total nuisance the entire time we've owned it. 

I noticed that the utility room floor was wet this morning. This hasn't happened in quite a while. Did the washing machine drain overflow while doing a load of wash? Was this water condensation coming from the air conditioner? Who knows. It could have been either, or both. Both the washer and the AC use the same floor drain. I usually stuff a rag down the drain to keep water from backing up while the washer is running. This works well unless it is a very humid day and there is a lot of condensation from the AC. At any rate, I cleaned up the water and hoped that this was just a fluke. The main problem is that the old house has 2" drain lines where modern washing machines do a lot better with 3" drains.

The weather was all over the board today. It was clear when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk. I checked the weather forecast before I took my long walk and it was supposed to be cloudy for the rest of the day. As soon as I got a few miles from the house I got rained on. The weather apps on my phone are basically worthless. They are pretty accurate about what is going to happen thirty minutes from now. If you want to find out what is going to happen four hours from now, the apps just take a wild guess.

There were a ton of downed trees in the park. The storm last night didn't last long, but there must have been some really strong winds. I feel lucky that none of our own trees were damaged. It's going to be a while before the rainy season is over, so I expect more heavy rain this month. The problem is than when the rainy season is over, it is immediately replaced by hot, dry Texas summers. By July I'm usually wishing the rain would come back.

Janet wanted me out of the way when she was cleaning this afternoon, so I thought it would be a good time to install the latest software and firmware for the star tracker. As usual, the installation went smoothly, but the star tracker didn't work any more reliably than it did before. Getting it to connect to the camera is kind of like starting a car with a bad battery. The camera never connects immediately and often randomly disconnects during use. I keep turning the thing on and off again and switching cables around until I get the tracker to connect. I've had the thing for over a year and some functions still don't work. I still have problems taking a panorama shot. After several hour of monkeying around with the Polaris, I put the thing away again. I probably won't look at it again until the next software update.

I hope tomorrow is less problematic than today. My holy grail is always a day where nothing bad happens at all. I don't mind if nothing good happens either. I can always take a long nap. 

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4817

There was very little evidence that we'd had a huge storm last night. The sky was clear this morning and the ground was even relatively dry. We noticed a few downed trees in the park when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk this morning and a new leak appeared in the office, but that was about it.

We're getting better at putting on Dawn's head wrap in the morning after we get up, but so far it doesn't seem to be helping much. The hematoma on her left ear actually seems to be getting larger. Hopefully the No Flap Ear Wrap will help over time because the only other option is surgery. The hematoma doesn't appear to be liquid enough to just drain it.

My morning routine now includes turning on the roof pumps before I start breakfast. I thought I had cleared most of the water away before I went to bed last night, but there was lots more this morning. Did it start raining again during the early morning hours or was standing water on the roof just migrating to the low spots where the pumps are located? It didn't really matter. I knew that I was going to have to crawl up on the roof again and sweep away the remaining standing water if I wanted the leaks to stop.

Construction is finished on the service road through the park and I've gone back to my old walking route. Even though this walk has become monotonous and a little too familiar, I still find it enjoyable. I always do great on the first two miles, start to slow down a little on the third mile, and am really starting to drag by the time I've finished my fourth mile. I guess I could make my walk a little shorter, but I've gotten used to this. I see the same ducks and geese every day along with a lot of familiar people walking their dogs or cycling. It's too bad that Dawn doesn't feel comfortable walking with me. She could use the exercise.

After lunch I went up on the roof and removed the rest of the standing water. The weather looks nice for the rest of the week, so I won't have to worry about leaks for a little while. I had really hoped to end these frequent trips up on the roof, but necessity prevails. It always rains a lot during the Spring and I'm going to have to continue sweeping away the standing water until we get a new roof installed. I'll try to be careful. I've investigated getting landscapers and yard crews to do this job for me, but nobody seems interested. It's probably best that I continue doing this myself. The Armor Flex coating is fragile and if you don't know what you are doing you could easily make the situation worse. I've resigned myself to paying for a new roof, but I'm going to be really mad if these leaks continue after it is installed.

Today is Janet's grocery day and Dawn spent over an hour before she arrived barking at the front door. Grocery day seems very exciting for Dawn. My own grocery day is tomorrow and Dawn could care less. I guess the things I buy aren't as interesting for a dog. Janet and I have both gotten tired of grocery shopping because the stores and roads are so crowded now. I don't know where all these extra people came from but the city doesn't feel the same as it did several years ago. It would be nice to live in a small town.

The leaks have stopped and I need to put all the buckets away. I've made my grocery list and I guess I'm ready for the weekend. We will have a big breakfast tomorrow instead of my usual shredded wheat and fruit. Everything else will be the same. It's no surprise that I need a trip to Florida every once and a while. This routine can become pretty monotonous. 

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4814

I canceled today's appliance repair appointment because the dryer seems to be working fine again. I've done several loads of laundry and the problem seems to have disappeared. I have no idea what happened, but that's not surprising. A lot of things in life are a mystery to me. The roofers were a no show again today. They said they might be able to come over this afternoon, but didn't. They did send me a PDF file with their estimate though. Yes, it's quite expensive.

It was very warm again today. The temperature got up to over eighty degrees. This was another one of those days where the furnace was on when we woke up and the air conditioner was on most of the afternoon. I wore shorts and a t-shirt on my long walk and was still a bit hot by the time I returned home. No complaints though. I hope this is a sign of an early Spring.

I had to go up on the roof and sweep away the remaining standing water to get the leak in the office to stop. Most of the roof was dry, but there is a stubborn low spot right over the office where water lingers long after the rain has gone. The problem with this time of year is that I have to clear away this water over and over again. Sadly, there is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday.

I had to pick up a prescription today and the pharmacy staff were all in a bad mood. Usually these guys are very friendly. I ended up paying a higher price for my pills because they said it would take an extra thirty minutes if I wanted to compare prices using GoodRx. Strange. I always do this and it doesn't take any extra time at all. There was a big sign advertising free Covid test kits, but when I asked for some they said I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork to see if I qualified. Never mind. We've got a boatload of those test kits lying around the house already. This was all very disorientating because these guys are usually very helpful.

The construction crews are almost finished paving the service road through the park. I'll miss them because it gave me something interesting to look at while I walked. Pretty soon there will be lots to look at. I noticed today that daffodils are already blooming. This means that the Spring wildflowers will start to appear soon. I hope that there isn't a late March freeze that kills everything off. So far, it looks like we are headed for an early Spring.

There's been lots of activity down at Kennedy Space Center lately. It makes me wish I was down there. I wouldn't mind being one of the regular launch photographers who seem to be out covering every single launch. It's a somewhat silly activity, but strangely satisfying. Titusville is a nice town too. It's not too big and not too small. I could easily imagine living there. We're not going anywhere though. Moving is for younger people. I've lived several places over the years and basically one place is the same as the next. It makes more sense to settle down and learn to love where you're at. I'm glad I left Seattle though. Seattle has really gone downhill.

I'm hoping that we don't get a lot of rain tomorrow. I'm really tired of climbing up on the roof to sweep away the standing water. It makes me feel like Sisyphus, pushing that boulder eternally up the hill.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4800 - Valentines Day

Only two hundred days to go. I should have established a less ambitious blogging goal back in the beginning, but I still think I can do this. In less than a year I will have written a daily post for 5000 consecutive days.

I wasn't surprised to see the roof start leaking again when we woke up this morning. We got a lot of rain last night. Thunder and lightning woke me up several times and I always got up and checked for leaks. Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of sleep. The leaks didn't start until I was having breakfast this morning but it didn't take long for the water to make a mess of things. We had water running down a wall again, making it impossible to capture in a bucket. Luckily this leak was in a hallway where we have brick floors.

It was still raining early this morning, so Dawn didn't get her usual sunrise walk. We didn't forget her though. When the rain ended, Dawn got a nice walk later in the day. I didn't take my usual long walk because I was too busy dealing with roof leak problems. I did get my 10,000 steps though. Just barely.

All in all the leaks weren't nearly as bad as the previous two rain storms. The pumps on the roof were working well too. When I started seeing clear sky, I climbed up on the roof and swept away the remaining standing water. So far, so good. The leaks have finally stopped and I don't see any more rain in the two week forecast. If the roof gets completely dry again I may try to patch the obvious holes with the remaining Armor Flex silicon coating I have left. I doubt that this will fix the problem, but maybe it will help.

I still haven't gotten an estimate for replacing the roof from the roofing company, but I wasn't expecting anything until the end of the week. Prices were pretty high when I replaced the roof the last time and I expect that they are even worse now. I don't have much of a choice though. You just can't live in a house with leaks all over the place.

Although I had the best of intentions to quit climbing on the roof, it looks like this unpleasant chore is still going to be a part of my future for a while. I'm more careful these days but I'm also more clumsy. I definitely don't want to end my days by falling off a roof. Maybe by Summer we'll have a new roof and I can put this all behind me.

We didn't have our usual Valentines cupcakes this year. Janet had a class this evening and we were both tired anyway. Hopefully tomorrow will just be an ordinary February day. I'd like to hear something about the Crew-6 launch soon so I can make plans, but I'll be happy enough if nothing happens at all tomorrow. As long as the house stays dry, I'm good.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4797

I found a tick on my leg when I woke up this morning. This doesn't seem to be the right time of year to be on the lookout for ticks, but we live near the park and we have a dog. It goes with the territory. We checked Dawn and couldn't find anything on her. Then we washed all the bedding just to make sure. It was going to be a busy day anyway. This just made it a little busier.

I had a lot on my grocery list this morning, so shopping took a little longer than I expected. As usual the stores and the roads were crowded. Maybe I'm imaging things but it seems like a whole lot more people have moved here in the past year. I don't remember Dallas ever being this crowded before.

Considering how cold it was yesterday, I was surprised at how warm it was today. It was actually a beautiful day. Dawn had an enjoyable early morning walk and then I had a nice longer walk when I finished my grocery shopping. The walk itself was uneventful, but my feet didn't hurt as much today. I have no idea why each day is different, but I'll take what I can get. I only had to wear a light jacket today. What a difference a day makes.

I was tired when I returned from my walk, but I still had work to do. Since the roof wasn't going to stop leaking until I swept away the remaining standing water, I reluctantly climbed up the brick wall and started pushing the big broom that resides permanently on the roof. Within an hour after I finished removing all the standing water, the leaks inside the house stopped. I'm good for now, but there is a 60% chance of rain next Tuesday. It looks like it is going to be a long Winter with lots of leaks because realistically I doubt that a new roof can be installed until April. 

Janet started making the bed when I was out walking, but there was still some bedding in the dryer so I finished things up after I got done with the roof. Dawn was taking her customary afternoon nap but it was surprisingly easy to get her off the bed. All I had to do was lie down on the bed for a few minutes and she left the room. I could see her peeking in the bedroom door occasionally as I put a variety of pillows, blankets and comforters back on the bed. Dawn knew she had been tricked, but she didn't return to the bedroom until I was finished.

I think I can put all the buckets away, but I'll probably leave a few out overnight just in case something starts leaking again. The only other chore I did today was empty out the ice maker in the refrigerator. The ice maker shuts off when the tray is full, but we don't use much ice and the ice in the bucket eventually fuses into a solid block. Sometimes it's almost impossible to even get the ice bucket out of the freezer. I take the bucket outside and chisel the ice block out and then clean the bucket and put it back in the freezer. I've tried turning off the ice maker but that causes even more problems. Water can freeze in the supply line causing the plastic line to split. Evidently this refrigerator was meant for people who use a lot of ice.

It looks like the weather is going to remain nice over the weekend, so Dawn will get her Sunday outing tomorrow. I'll go mall walking as well. Walking in the park is actually better exercise, but I've spent enough time in the park this week. It's time to go look in store windows and ponder how screwed up the world has become.

Lady Gogh is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4796

The roofing guy was nice and seemed knowledgable. He didn't like my idea about going back to a tar and gravel roof, but the solution he proposed seemed reasonable. At first he wanted to put a new roof over the existing roof, but we've already been down that road. I made it clear that I wanted to remove the existing roof material, check to make sure there was no rotted decking, and then apply a completely new roof. Lord knows how much that's going to cost. The guy said he'd have a firm estimate in three or four days. No hurry. I think it would be crazy to do this before it gets warmer anyway. This company came highly recommended, but so did the companies that replaced my roof before. I don't have a lot of faith in roofers.

It was so cold today. This was a total surprise to me, since it was nice yesterday. Dawn seemed fine on her early morning walk, but I made a mental note to dress warmer when I took my long walk a little later. Part of the problem today was the wind. A cold winter wind isn't very pleasant to walk in.

I waited until after the estimator finished his roof inspection to take my long walk. I was thinking that it would get warmer if I waited until later in the day, but actually it seemed to get colder. At least there was no rain. The ducks and geese seemed hungry today and would chase after anyone who came near them at Sunset Bay. I would think it would be pretty miserable to be a duck in the winter, but then I'm not a duck. I'm certainly glad I don't live up North anymore. I have no tolerance for cold weather.

Despite the cold I managed to complete my six miles and get my steps. I'm persistent and it takes a lot to keep me indoors. The walk is getting boring, but I'm a creature of habit. Since the park is huge, I could easily take a different route but I seldom do. I think I follow the same route day after day because it's easy to compare results. I know exactly how long it takes to reach various points along the way on both good and bad days. I'm not a competitive person by nature, but I do compete with myself from time to time. It's always nice to get better at something. Even walking.

I didn't do much this afternoon, but the day still seemed to go quickly. The roof is still leaking a little but I don't hear a lot of dripping water anymore. Probably by tomorrow morning all the leaks will have stopped. Actually I'm surprised that the roof is still leaking at all. It seemed pretty dry when I was up on the roof with the estimator this morning. There is no rain in the immediate future but I'm sure it will rain many times before a new roof can be installed. 

I hope I hear something about my application for Crew-6 credentials soon. Sometimes NASA waits until the last minute to issue credentials and then the airfare to Orlando becomes more expensive. Hotels are often more expensive if I wait until the last minute to book as well. There's nothing I can do about this, so I just wait. Last minute credentialing is no problem for the launch photographers who live in the area. It can be a problem for me though. I wish I could plan ahead.

I do have a plan for tomorrow. It's grocery day for me. If I go to the gym at all, it's usually on Saturday. We'll see how the day goes. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow afternoon and shoot some baskets. I'm getting tired of counting ducks in the park.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4789

It was a beautiful day today. It was a little chilly, but the ice is almost gone. Dawn was certainly happy to get a walk again. She's been house bound for several days. The only reminder that it wasn't a perfect day was the occasional sound of water dripping from the ceiling. There were fewer leaks this morning, but they were still there. I knew what I had to do.

After breakfast I went to Home Depot to get some large sponges that would dampen the sound of water hitting the buckets and bought a new large plastic tub to replace one that had shattered outside in the cold. I emptied all the buckets and got ready for my long walk.

I knew I was going to have to get up on the roof and sweep the standing water away to get the leaks to stop, but I wanted to wait until the afternoon to get started on this loathsome task. A walk would give me time to think about things. The roads and trails were completely dry today. Once the temperature got above freezing, the ice disappeared quickly. One thing I noticed was that my Hoka boots provide a lot more support than the regular Hokas I was wearing this morning. I'm going to save the boots for bad weather though. They're too expensive to be my regular shoes. I've got so many leather shoes I don't even wear anymore. The Hokas are so much more comfortable.

I got rejected for the upcoming Crew-6 NASA Social. I wasn't terribly surprised since NASA gives new applicants preference now. I've been to too many of these things before. It's just as well that I'm not going anywhere in February. I really can't afford another Florida trip until later in the Spring. I was still disappointed to have my application rejected though. I'd attend every launch if I could.

After I returned from my walk, I went up on the roof to remove the standing water. I tried to see if our stepladder would reach the lower carport roof, but it was too short. I should have realized that I had probably tried this before. If the stepladder was tall enough it would have been a much easier way to get up on the roof. I didn't buy a ladder at Home Depot because they were heavy, a bit expensive, and I couldn't figure out how to get one of the large ones in my car.

The climb up the bricks is hard on my knees now. This whole process seemed a lot easier when I was younger. At least the roofer I called is coming out tomorrow to give me an estimate. The roof is in bad shape. The Armorflex silicon coating is torn in so many places that it is basically worthless. I could feel a lot of squishy areas where water had gotten between the coating and the asphalt roof underneath. The problem with the existing modified bitumen roof is that the seams between the asphalt and rubber strips have started to go bad, letting water get inside the house. The Armorflex coating was supposed to prevent this problem, but now the coating has gone bad as well. It's time for a brand new roof.

I finished removing all the standing water just before dinner this evening and a few hours later all the leaks stopped. Unfortunately, there is more rain in the forecast later in the week. I really can't continues going up on the roof like this. I'm getting too old and one of these days I'm going to fall. I've asked lawn care guys to give me a bid on doing this job for me, but there has been no interest. It's really a terrible job.

Janet did her grocery shopping today. Tomorrow, I do mine. She said the stores were out of a lot of things because trucks weren't resupplying them during the ice storm. Maybe there will be a better selection tomorrow. I hope the roofer can come up with a good solution to my problems. I'd really like to put roof leaks behind me.

Casey 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

4718 - Thanksgiving

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner this afternoon. It was worth all the calls it took to get a reservation at our favorite restaurant. The elaborate buffet was delicious, the service was great, and it felt almost like pre-Covid times. We'll just have to remember to make our reservation a little earlier next year.

Thanksgiving dinner was definitely the high point of the day. The rest of the day was a mess. We had a tremendous amount of rain last night. It was a relentless pounding rain that lasted for hours. Not surprisingly, all this rain caused leaks. It's been two or three years since our roof leaks have been this bad. I woke up several times during the night to the unmistakable sound of dripping water. I placed buckets under the leaks and went back to bed. By morning even more leaks had appeared. There are leaks in three different rooms now. What a mess. Some carpeted areas got soaked and will take a while to dry out. 

Since one of the two pumps on wasn't working I was forced to go up on the roof in the rain and try to fix things. I got the pumps working again, swept away a mountain of pecan leaves from the neighbor's tree, and came back inside to warm up. I really need more pumps. One pump for the main roof and another for the carport and storage areas really isn't enough. Initially the pumps were throwing circuit breakers, but after I put each pump on a different circuit, everything started working smoothly. Over eight hours later water is still dripping from the ceiling, but the buckets are filling much slower now. Hopefully by morning the leaks will have stopped.

This roof leak debacle has forced me to think seriously about putting on a new roof again. I got out the bids from several roofing companies I've contacted and looked them over this afternoon. This reminded my of how much I dislike roofers. Each bid had at least one serious flaw and seemed to be designed to protect the roofing company rather than help me. I really want an iron clad warranty that the roof isn't going to leak for at least fifteen years. Nobody even comes close to that kind of promise. Most of the companies didn't even have a good plan for eliminating the low spots that cause ponding during heavy rain. I've got to do something though. It's time for a new roof.

Dawn didn't get a walk today. She didn't even want to go outside. We tried to take her on a morning walk during a break in the rain, but Dawn was smarter than we were. As soon as she did her business, she headed straight back to the house. Not a minute too soon either. As soon as we reached the back porch, it started pouring. 

I wasn't nearly as smart as Dawn. After we returned from our Thanksgiving dinner I still insisted on taking a walk. It was still raining but I've gone almost a full year without missing my daily goal and didn't see any reason to stop now. Somehow I managed to get 15,000 steps on a very rainy day. I think most of those steps were when I was up on the roof. Hey, at least my raincoat works. I got the raincoat for my trips to Kennedy Space Center, but I rarely use it. They don't launch rockets in the rain very often.

I've taken this weeks trash out to the curb and emptied the roof leak buckets several times by now. It wasn't the Thanksgiving I expected, but it was still a pleasant one. We had a wonderful dinner, our house is warm, and we've certainly experienced leaks before. Life goes on.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4625

We got more rain overnight, but it was over by morning. Dawn was able to get her sunrise walk and the temperature was nice and cool. I was surprised that the water level in the lake looked normal even though we've had an enormous amount of rain in the past few days. We must have timed things right this morning because we encountered no bicycles and very few runners. We did see a lot of ducks though. I wish every morning was like this. It was a very pleasant walk.

Since the weather was so nice, I decided to take a walk in the park instead of going to the gym. I left the house right after breakfast because I knew how quickly the weather could change if the sun came out. It was heavily overcast and there was a light mist, but even that was nice. It seemed like a treat to be able to walk without immediately getting hot and sweaty. It was surprising how quickly the meadows have turned green again after a few days of rain. There was very little standing water though. The ground was so dry that it probably immediately just absorbed all the water.

I was determined to get something done today. After a light lunch I went to the T-Mobile store and tried to update my non-functional Internet hotspot. The little hotspot quit working about a month ago because it was very old and still used 3G for connectivity. The phone company warned me that the unit was obsolete and would quit working when they pulled the plug on their 3G network. I've been avoiding having yet another expense, but I hate to travel without an Internet hotspot. The hotspot has been great when there are power outages at the house as well. 

The new 5G hotspot is a little bigger than my old companion but it still fits in my pocket. It took a lot longer for the T-Mobile guys to get me hooked up than I though, but everything is working now. It took a long time for them to find my account because they look for a phone number to find your records. The old hotspot has a phone number but I had no idea what it was. I just turn it on and connect whatever device I want to use to the hotspot WiFi. Eventually they found my account by taking out the SIM card and using the SIM card ID to find my account. Oddly the new hotspot uses the same phone number as the old one. The guys told me to write this number down in case I need it in the future.

On the way home I stopped at Home Depot and got a new extension cord so I could get the second pump on the roof working again. I got a heavier gage cord this time because maybe the old cord was too light to handle the pump's amperage. The heavier the cord, the more expensive it is. It's probably directly related to the price of copper. There was a display of electrical wire next to the extension cords and I was amazed at how expensive copper wire has become. I don't know why I was surprised. Everything is a lot more expensive now.

Hopefully I won't need to climb up on the roof again for a while. Both pumps are working now. It's amazing that doing one or two things can use up an entire day. Tomorrow I'll try to check a few more things off my list. The Artemis rocket is waiting for me and I've still got a lot to do.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4624

What a lot of rain. It rained more in one day than it has during the entire summer. I think we got over ten inches today. This wasn't a gentle rain either. It was a downpour. Not surprisingly, the roof leaked. I put a bucket under the leak before I went to bed last night but I underestimated how fast the water was dripping. When I woke up this morning the bucket had overflowed and the carpet in the office was soaked. Such a mess. I guess I should consider myself lucky that only one area in the house had a leak. It could have been worse.

Dawn didn't get a walk this morning. She got a trip to the vet instead. This visit was for lab work she needed before getting her teeth cleaned. Dawn is a healthy dog but she has a lot of anxiety. She definitely didn't like being at the vet. It's kind of embarrassing how she acts in the exam room. As soon as we returned home Dawn headed straight for the bedroom and took a long nap. I felt like doing the same, but I had lots to do.

After I finished breakfast I went up on the roof. This wasn't a pleasant job since it was still raining, but I needed to get the pump working. I also trimmed some of the low hanging branches on the pecan tree that were interfering with the pump. I don't know how much this will help, but at least I eliminated one source of problems. I didn't even bother to sweep the water off the roof since it was still raining. I must have done something right because eventually the leak in the office roof stopped. I still need to go buy a very long heavy duty extension cord so I can put the second pump back in operation. 

The combination of roof leaks and ants has made me totally disgusted with the house. The running toilet in the second bathroom doesn't help either. It's definitely time for a new roof. I've interviewed lots of roofing companies over the years and haven't really liked any of them. Companies that specialize in flat roofs tend to only want to do commercial work. Our house is too small for them to bother with. Everyone is too expensive. The problem with our house is that is has settled over the years and the roof no longer drains properly. There are always puddles and duck ponds on the roof after a big rain. Nobody seems to have a great solution for this problem.

Even though I hate to drive in the rain, I went to the gym this afternoon. I needed to get my steps. The gym was fairly empty today and was even colder than usual. I was terrible on the basketball court and slower than usual on the indoor track. Basically, I just felt tired. Trimming branches on the roof in the middle of a rainstorm was hard work this morning.

It didn't even get up to 80 degrees today. For the first time in months it's colder outside than it is inside. There's still a chance of rain tomorrow, but I don't see anything ominous on the weather radar. Who knows. We may even be able to take a sunrise walk with Dawn tomorrow morning. I don't think it is going to rain tonight but I'm going to leave the buckets out just in case. Be careful what you wish for. I've been wishing for rain for weeks, but this was too much.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4623

You can learn a lot about society by walking around a shopping mall before the stores open. Cooking hasn't changed much. I see exactly the same Cuisinart food processers, Vitamix blenders, and Le Creuset cast iron pots in store windows as I did fifteen years ago. On the other hand, what people put on their feet has changed a lot. Everyone wears sneakers now. Even the mannequins in high-end men's stores show men wearing sneakers with suits. Every clothing store has some sort of sneaker in the window. That's all you see on the feet of people walking around too. Not a leather shoe in sight. 

The expensive boutiques still display clothes for impossibly skinny people, but middle of the road stores now proudly display larger sizes in their windows. There are even fat mannequins now. There must be a large market for purses. I counted at least a dozen stores that sold nothing but very expensive purses. Jewelry stores don't put jewelry in the windows anymore. There are just posters with pictures of jewelry. The Apple store has a policeman inside the store even when it is closed. Times have definitely changed. Truthfully, there is very little you actually need in most shopping malls. You get that stuff at Walmart.

We got more rain today. I knew the rain was coming so I went up on the roof and fixed the pumps. A low hanging limb from the neighbor's pecan tree had knocked over one of the pumps and it had become unplugged. The other pump had a bad extension cord that started to smoke every time I plugged the pump in. That pump will stay unplugged until I can buy a new extension cord. Oh, well. At least I got one of the pumps working again. I swept the remaining water and a ton of pecan shells off the roof before I called it a day. I really hate going up on the roof these days. My balance isn't as good as it used to be.

At least the rain has cooled things down a bit. It was quite pleasant outside on our sunrise walk with Dawn  and we were even able to take a short walk later in the day on Dawn's Sunday outing. It's still quite humid though. A succession of rainy days makes things uncomfortably humid outside. The humidity didn't stop us from getting ice cream though. You can eat your ice cream cones in the car with the air conditioner running.

I vacuumed the can light sockets in the bathroom ceiling this afternoon in an attempt to get rid of the ants. This was a wasted effort. Even though the dead ants are falling directly below the can lights, there were no ants to be found when I removed the bulbs from the light sockets. Ants and debris are still falling from the ceiling. My success with the pumps was short lived as well. It just started raining again and my one remaining pump is no longer working. It's probably that same pecan tree again. When the limbs get wet they droop down and some even touch the roof. The moving limbs probably knocked over the pump again. This house can be very discouraging at times. I think I just heard the ominous drip of a roof leak.

I charged the laptop and installed security updates this afternoon. I think I'm ready for the trip now. Working with computers is much easier than dealing with household problems. The computers are old but not nearly as old as the house. 

We need to take Dawn to the vet tomorrow morning for pre-dental lab work. It's time to have her teeth cleaned again and they want to make sure she is OK for anesthesia. Getting her teeth cleaned is probably a big reason why Dawn doesn't like the vet. Healthy teeth are important though. For people and animals. 

Sure wish the pumps were working this evening. We're getting a lot of rain.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4535

I'm amazed that the roof didn't leak. We really got a lot of rain last night. I'm glad that Dawn isn't bothered by storms. All our other dogs would havae been in a panic. I was close to being in a panic myself. I hate dealing with roof leaks and was convinced that I was going to wake up this morning with a big mess on the floor. All is well though. There were no leaks at all.

Since the pumps didn't work last night, I was forced to go up on the roof and investigate this morning. It's a lot harder for me to climb up on the roof these days. I try to limit my time up there because I really don't want to fall. It turned out that the pumps weren't broken after all. The extension cords didn't appear to be bad either. The main pump had tipped over on its side which explained why it wasn't working. Maybe the wind blew it over or a possum bumped into it. Who knows? I swept all the standing water away with the big push broom that resides permanently on the roof, made sure that both pumps were working again, and carefully made my way back to the ground. It was slippery up there today. I hope I don't have to do this again for a long time.

Dawn wasn't wild about walking this morning because the ground was still very wet. We made it all the way around our one mile loop though. Dawn only stopped once, but we got her going again with a dog biscuit. She really doesn't like wet weather. I waited until later in the morning to take my own longer walk. I didn't really feel like walking either, but I am determined to keep moving. I was able to complete my full six mile route again. It was nice and cool outside, but I just didn't feel like walking. As much as I would like to on some days, I just can't substitute napping for walking and expect to stay in shape.

I resisted the urge to monkey around with the star tracker today. I had plenty of time, but why cause myself needless aggravation? The tracker works now, but if I update the software, it will probably stop working again. That's what happened the last time there was an app upgrade anyway. My Chinese contacts at Benro say it's perfectly safe to update the app, but I have little faith in this product anymore. I wonder how long I can ignore this thing? I'm curious what will happen if I upgrade the app and firmware, but I think I'm just asking for trouble.

There's a lot going on in space these days. I watched the Transporter 5 launch this morning and the Starliner return to earth this afternoon. Sure wish I could see more of these events in person. I kind of like being part of the little community of space journalists and photographers. It's just too expensive to go to the Space Center very often though. Most of the other photographers live nearby. Maybe I'll go back later this year. There are lots of launches I'd like to see. There's just not lots of money to indulge what has become a rather expensive hobby.

At least the rain is over for a while. It's going to be cooler for the next week or so as well. I was surprised that the furnace came on for a little while today. I thought I wouldn't hear that thing again until next winter. Maybe the cooler weather will make my walks a little easier. One can always hope.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4470

We met Rocket today. Rocket is the last of the puppy mill dogs to arrive at the kennel. He had to stay at the vet longer than the others due to several medical issues. He still needs to gain some weight and his skin is infected, but he's looking so much better than when the rescue group picked him up. Rocket is definitely on the mend and he's going to be a great looking dog. He's still getting used to kennel life and is a little shy, but is very friendly. You can tell he hasn't had a lot of experience with toys, but he's curious. He's going to make a great pet for some lucky family.

It was a strange day at the kennel. It was raining pretty hard when we got there and about ten minutes after we arrived the power went out. Hopefully it's back on my now but there was no electricity for the duration of our visit. The dogs didn't seem to mind. There was enough light from an open door to the outside in the big playroom that we were still able to have fun with the dogs. We didn't see Candy and Julip today because they had just been spayed and needed to rest. Charlie, Oliver, Willie, and Jo Jo were all ready to play though. None of the dogs wanted to go outside and pee today. I can't blame them. It was pouring rain.

On the way home I was hoping that our own power didn't go out. The storms were pretty severe today and there were a lot of power outages. We got lucky. Everything was fine when we got home and Dawn was still sleeping on the bed. You could tell that we'd gotten a lot of rain. When I turned on the pumps, one of them didn't work. This wasn't good news. I really didn't want to deal with a roof leak, so as soon as there was a break in the rain I went up on the roof to see what was going on. It appeared that one of the pumps had burned out. It was hot to the touch and wasn't working. I didn't completely give up on the pump because it has an internal breaker that shuts the unit off when there is an overload. I used the time between storm cells to sweep as much water off the roof as I could before the rain started again. This was probably a futile effort. During a hard rain, the roof can fill with water in a matter of minutes.

It's raining hard again now, but there was a break in the storm that lasted over an hour, so I used the time to take a walk. It wasn't a long walk because I don't like getting caught in a thunderstorm. I did manage to get 15,000 steps today though and amazingly I didn't get wet. It takes a pretty nasty day to keep me housebound. Even on a rainy day, there always seems to be a little time to walk.

I took some Nyquil this morning to see if the claims on the bottle were true. It is supposed to relieve headache, fever, sore throat, minor aches & pains, nasal congestion, sinus pressure, and cough. I would have been happy if it just got rid of the congestion, but it did nothing. I wasn't terribly surprised. None of these over the counter cold remedies have any effect on me. Probably I still just have seasonal allergies after all. That would explain why cold medications don't work. I read an article recently that said this was the worst year  for seasonal allergies in modern times. Makes sense. It seems to be the worst year for everything else as well.

I'm still worried about a roof leak because we're getting a lot of rain. The faulty pump did start working again but it didn't stay working very long. Something is causing it to overheat too quickly. It's probably time to buy a new pump. The pumps I used to buy years ago were almost indestructible, but these new ones are lucky if they last two years. Nothing is made well anymore. Actually, I'm pretty sure that high quality pumps still exist somewhere, but you are never going to find one at Home Depot.

It's been a long and tiring day, but I did enjoy meeting Rocket. Maybe the weather will be better tomorrow.

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4431

Dawn got a clean bill of health at her exam this morning. She's lost a little weight and all her lab reports looked good. Our appointment was very early this morning, but it left the rest of the day free. Basically Dawn is a very healthy dog with a lot of anxiety. She definitely didn't like going to the vet this morning. I think she knew right away that we weren't going for ice cream.

Against my better judgement, I went up on the roof after we got home from the vet and cleared away the remaining standing water and what was left of the Fall leaves. I was pleased to see that more water had evaporated than I anticipated, but not so pleased to discover a few new tears in the elastomer that will have to be patched. It was a little harder getting down from the roof than it used to be, but the job needed to be done. Now I can work on removing the stains from the living room ceiling again. I wish I could find someone to go up on the roof for me, but it's a weird job and if someone doesn't know what they're doing they could easily ruin the fragile roof.

Janet was determined to get Dawn to walk this morning. Eventually we made it around our short one mile loop. Dawn was fine after we got off the street that leads to the park. She just doesn't like that street early in the morning. I'm not looking forward to walking Dawn when Janet is on vacation. Maybe we'll just stay in the yard for a while. If Dawn freezes in place it often takes both of us to get her home again. At least she's a healthy dog. A little weird maybe, but that's a lot better than being sick.

I'm pretty healthy too, but I feel like a cripple when I take my long walks these days. I don't think there is much I can do about the foot pain. The cartilage that used to provide a cushion is mostly gone now and I don't want to resort to steroid shots. I don't want to do the fusion surgery either. It seems like having all the little bones in your feet fused together would make walking really awkward. Sometimes I think going back to the gym would be better, but using my other joints is no picnic either. Walking is still better than doing something that puts a lot of strain on my shoulders or knees.

I still got 20,000 steps today, but I'm walking really slow now. I guess that's OK. It gives me plenty of time to think about other things I might be doing. So far, I haven't come up with anything. Most things end up being like my experience with the star tracker. I like to learn new things, but as soon as I get reasonably good at something I lose interest. As soon as I get one really good picture using the tracker it will probably go back in the box. 

The duck hasn't returned to our yard, so I guess it was just passing through. I probably should have encouraged it to stay because it looks like it was eating grubs. We've always had problems with grubs in the backyard. They live underground and eat the roots of our grass. I think grubs are one reason it has always been difficult to get grass to grow in the yard. Ducks and dogs aren't always a good mix though. Most of our dogs would have tried to kill the duck. Dawn would have probably been scared of it.

This week has really gone quickly. I was going to wash the car today but that would have violated my one task a day rule. Surviving another trip up on the roof was plenty for one day. I'm sure Dawn would say that surviving a trip to the vet was plenty for her as well.

Landry is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4337

It only took one day to adjust to the time change. It seems more natural to wait until it gets light to get out of bed. It get dark earlier, but now that I've adjusted the timers on the lights in the house, I hardly notice the difference. Dawn wasn't demanding dinner at 4 PM today either. I guess we're all good to go for what will hopefully be a mild Winter.

Monday is always a very quiet day at the park. I encountered very few people on my walk today. It looks like the park department is getting ready to do some road construction. They were marking sections of the main road through the park for replacement. This is how they seems to do road repairs these days. Instead of repaving the entire road, they just cut out potholes and bad chunks and replace them instead. Most of the roads in the city look like patchwork quilts of concrete and asphalt. 

The ducks, geese, and pelicans were all in their regular places this morning, but I haven't seen the eagles in several weeks. They are still residing in the park because people report sightings just about every day. Maybe I'm just not taking my walks at the right time. I'll never be one of those people who hang out for hours with a camera or binoculars hoping to catch a glimpse. The eagles are certainly impressive, but they are not even as large as some of the pelicans. 

Since it was Monday, we spent the afternoon visiting the Dalmatians at the kennel. I thought Pepper might have been adopted by now, but she was still there, along with Charlie and Oliver. Sock, a Dalmatian Rescue alumni, was being boarded there this week as well, although he has a new name now. Somehow I always remember the dogs by the names they entered the rescue program with. Most owners rename the dogs after they adopt them. We've renamed some of our dogs, but not all of them. Dash was originally named Boomer and I think Petey had another name as well. We left Dawn's name alone, because she was older and already seemed to know her name. The change from life as a breeding dog to life as a spoiled pet was enough for Dawn. She didn't need a new name to remember as well.

On the way home from the kennel, Janet needed to stop at a Walmart to get some things. I try to avoid Walmart at all costs, but am always surprised when I step inside one of these stores. They are huge and seem to be so poorly organized that you have to aimlessly wander through every aisle in the store to find what you need. This is probably by design. Janet seemed to be able to navigate the store pretty well though. The only thing I tried to find was Reed's Extra Ginger Brew. This is the only soft drink I like and it is becoming impossible to find. The beer I like, Four Corners Local Buzz, also seems to be disappearing from the shelves. Grocery stores have become so computerized now that they only restock the popular items. If you like something that everybody else likes, you'll find entire aisles of the stuff. Otherwise, you are generally out of luck.

I need to remember the NASA teleconference tomorrow. I got the dial in number and passcode to join the conference today. I've participated in a couple of NASA press conferences before, but the other ones were in person. I guess this will be kind of like a Zoom meeting. I seldom end up asking questions at these type of things. If I even think of a decent question, some other reporter usually ends up asking it first.

I really need to go up on the roof and remove the remaining water. I know it's still up there, even though nothing is leaking now. I know that when the water in the back yard birdbath has evaporated, that the water on the roof is probably gone as well. I keep watching the bird bath and it's still full of water. Hopefully, I can find something more exciting than sweeping the water off the roof tomorrow. At least I'm going to try.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4312

The rain appears to be over for a while. I'm glad because we did get a small roof leak last night. This wasn't in the living room where it usually leaks. It was in the office. Water was dripping around the edge of one of the can lights in the ceiling. There have been leaks in this location before, but they are rare. I've never found the source. Since there was a leak, I decided I couldn't postpone going up on the roof any longer. I had to remove the standing water.

Since the drip in the office stopped after about an hour,  I was in no hurry. I had breakfast and took my long walk first. Dawn got her sunrise walk as well. The standing water refused to go away on its own, so I eventually climbed up on the roof and dealt with it.

I really hate this job. It's fairly strenuous and it's getting harder and harder for me to climb up on the roof. The neighbor's pecan tree is no friend of mine. It drops tons of pecans on the roof every Fall and the squirrels break them open and make a mess. The pecans turn the standing water into a brackish brown mess which stains the roof and makes it harder to find any tears in the elastomer. I really need to bring the power sprayer up on the roof and clean up this mess, but the sprayer is heavy and I'm afraid that power washing the roof might cause even more leaks. I still push all the standing water over the edge with a big push broom which resides on the roof permanently. Even on a good day it takes me well over an hour to remove the water. Today, since I was removing a ton of broken pecan shells as well, it took me even longer. I've said this many times, but never buy a house with a flat roof.

It would be nice to live in a new house with no problems, but I've never seriously considered moving. The house was paid for years ago and we live in a great neighborhood. I like living by the lake. There isn't a better place in the entire city to have a dog. Things will continue to break and I will continue to fix them. It's too bad that all the repair people I used to use have either retired or died. This new generation of repair people aren't nearly as talented as those older guys. Back in the day I always felt like the guys from "This Old House" were coming over to fix things. Not anymore. That's why I try to do as much as I can myself.

The launch photographers I know are all getting ready for the Lucy launch this weekend. Somehow major science missions always seem a little more interesting than your routine communication satellites. I can't help being a little envious of these Florida photographers. Photographing rockets is one of the few things I actually enjoy, but traveling to the space center for every launch is way too expensive for me. I probably won't return until the Artemis 1 launch in early 2022.

The city finally mowed the meadow behind our house. This will make it much easier to return home after Dawn's sunrise walk. When the grass was tall, our shoes and socks would get wet for several days after a rain and Dawn's paws and legs would always get sticky from the grass pollen. Every morning we'd have to clean Dawn with a wet rag before we went back in the house. Maybe since it is so late in the year, the grass won't start growing again until Spring.

The week's trash has been taken out to the curb and Dawn is sitting alert on the bed, waiting for Janet to return from a meeting. I'm happy to say that this day is just about over.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day