Day 4864

We are getting closer to pinning down a start date for the roof replacement. I think the roofers will be ready to begin sometime in early May. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any closer to pinning down anything else. I have no idea if or when I'll be going to Kennedy Space Center again. The launch date for all the missions originally scheduled for April keeps changing. In theory I'm still going to the Viasat-3 launch, but I haven't received my credentials yet. I have a feeling that Space X is preoccupied with the Starship orbital launch and I won't hear anything until that takes place. I guess all this uncertainty should teach me to just chill out and carry on. Life won't change much whether I go to these launches or not.

It was quite warm today, but it was overcast, so it was still reasonably pleasant walking weather. The days are getting longer now and it is almost always daylight when we take Dawn on her sunrise walk. This morning we saw no photographers surrounding the tree with the baby owls. Have the owls left the tree or have the photographers become bored with taking endless pictures? Maybe I'll have to visit the tree tomorrow and see if the owls are still there.

I got a late start on my long walk today, but I guess it didn't matter. There was certainly nothing else on my schedule. I see a lot fewer birds these days because the seasonal migrations have taken place and the migratory birds have left the area. There are still Purple Martins fighting with Starlings over the Martin houses in the park and a handful of Great Egrets and Blue Herons but that's about it. I don't even see many Mallards this Spring. The resident geese and Muscovy Ducks are always at Sunset Bay, but that's because they just hang around and wait for people to feed them. I haven't seen the Monk Parakeets in ages. I wonder where they went? I did see one of the Bald Eagles today. It was flying and I didn't get a great view, but the bird definitely was an eagle.

It bothers me that even though I walk six miles a day, my Apple Watch still says my fitness level is low. This is because the watch can estimate the amount of oxygen your body can consume during exercise. Unfortunately, certain blood pressure medications can throw the measurement way off and make it seem artificially low. There's nothing I can do about this, but it's irritating that I do so much exercise and still get a low score. I'm pretty sure that the Apple Watch and Fitbit don't make me any healthier, but I do like to measure things.

I should have mowed the grass today but I did a load of laundry instead. I've grown to hate mowing the lawn. I need to either buy a self-propelled lawn mower or hire a lawn service. Pushing that old mower around is getting harder and harder. I try to convince myself that this is good exercise, but it just feels like a giant nuisance. Too bad I can't just let the weeds grow and call the yard a small "native prairie."

Janet said that Dawn did well at training class tonight. Since we no longer use a leash around her neck because of the bulging disc, it's a little harder to get her to heal. Dogs tend to pull more when they are wearing a harness. A harness isn't typically allowed in the training class, but Dawn has a doctor's excuse. She still does all the other exercises well, but if she doesn't heal properly she's not going to be winning any more ribbons. I'm sure Dawn could care less. The reason she likes the class is that she gets to see other dogs.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4845

I give up on this weather. When I left for my long walk this morning it was warm and the sky was partly cloudy. I could see blue sky. Everything was fine for the first couple of miles and then out of nowhere I heard thunder and some really dark clouds appeared. The clouds were moving pretty fast, but I was hoping that I could make it home before any rain arrived. No such luck. Right after one particularly loud thunder clap, the skies opened up and I got drenched. I was nowhere near a shelter so I got soaked to the bone. The temperature dropped ten degrees almost instantly and I was shivering. Eventually I made it home without being struck by lightning and immediately threw all my clothes in the washer. It was easier to just wash them than attempt to dry them out. I was so wet that it felt like I'd just taken a long, cold shower.

Ten minutes later the rain was gone and the sky was clear and blue again. Very strange. It was really a tiny little thunderstorm, but it was intense. Janet said that she got soaked while she was out grocery shopping too. Later I realized that there had been severe tornados in Arkansas and Tennessee while I was getting wet. I think there were tornados in Iowa and Illinois as well. What happened here was just a minor afterthought in a nationwide bad weather day. Once again Dallas got lucky. I'm still going to be glad when this rainy season is over though. Enough is enough.

Dawn got her early morning walk before the bad weather arrived and she didn't seem particular bothered by all the thunder and lightning. Dawn is scared of just about everything, but she isn't bothered by storms. Oddly, she is terrified of cats. There is an alley cat that has been hanging out near our yard and she won't go outside if the cat is nearby. Dawn can smell a cat long before Janet and I see it. There was a cat on a little trail leading to the park this morning and Dawn wouldn't move until we convinced the cat to move out of the way.

Needless to say, I didn't mow the lawn today. I'd been planning to pay some bills and pick up a prescription at the pharmacy, but I didn't do that either. In my own mind it was a very slow day. A date has been set for several of the launches I want to attend in April, but I haven't received any notification about credentialing yet. Hopefully they won't wait until the last minute to let me know. It's very hard to work out travel details when you only have a few days notice. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world if I didn't get accepted for these launches, but I would like to go.

I keep getting notices that the operating system on my computers is no longer being supported. Why? I like my computer the way it is now. I have one of the last versions of Adobe Studio and Microsoft Office with a full set of install discs. Everything is subscription based now. I refuse to pay a monthly fee for things I don't use frequently. So what if my computers are basically still living in 2011. It was a good year. Everything I have installed on the desktop and laptop still works and I have no desire to upgrade. I have no desire to get a new car either. The last thing I want is a car where the engine stops every time you pull up to a stop light.

It's hard to believe it will be April tomorrow. Where has this year gone? They say not to believe anything you hear on April Fools Day, but sadly that's true for just about any day these days. 

Smiley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4843

Where did today go? I don't think I did anything worth mentioning all day. It was too cold to mow the grass and I didn't feel industrious enough to start anything new. I just shuffled through my regular routine and before you know it, the day was over. 

Lately I've been preoccupied with aging equipment. My computers, phones, and watch can't be updated anymore because latest operating systems aren't supported. In prior years this would have been a good excuse to buy something new, but I have no desire for new gadgets anymore. My frustration isn't that the stuff is getting old, it's that Apple doesn't support it anymore. I have no real desire for a new large format printer either, but I hate broken stuff. I feel compelled to fix or replace the broken printer even though I will probably never use it again. I tried to convince myself that I need a large format printer to make huge prints of my rocket and milky way photos, but there is no wall space to hang more pictures. That was used up years ago. It's silly to buy an expensive printer to make three or four prints anyway.

Our pretty Spring weather seems to have disappeared. There was some light rain early this morning and more is on the way tomorrow. This didn't stop me from walking though. Dawn got a nice early morning walk and I took my regular long walk later in the day. I discovered that the photographers I've been seeing weren't looking for the eagles after all. Evidently there was an owl in a nearby tree that had babies recently. I already have pictures of an owl tending babies, so I doubt that I will join the other photographers. Owls are interesting to photograph though and they don't tend to fly away as you approach them.

It's amazing that the days go by so quickly since I basically only do two things each day. I try to walk at least six miles and I write my blog. I know that it's good to have goals but these are kind of silly goals. Why six miles instead of five and what's so special about 5000 days? These activities do provide structure though and they eat up a huge amount of time. I'm not sure what I would do if I didn't walk everyday. I don't really think of the walks as exercise anymore. It's just a way to spend the day.

We thought Dawn was well enough to go back to her training class tonight, but she had to come home early because she seemed to be favoring one of her front legs during an exercise. She seems fine now and seemed fine during the day, but it's really hard to tell how she's really feeling. Dogs hide pain well, especially if the pain is minor. All we can tell is that is walking normally again and the swelling in her neck has subsided. I wish she didn't shake her head so much, but she has always done this and I doubt she's going to stop.

I wish I'd hear something about the April launches I've applied to attend. Sometimes I don't know whether I'm going to get press credentials until a few days before the launch. This means that I never get any bargains on airfare and sometimes it's hard to find a hotel. Covering launches still seems worthwhile though. What else am I going to do with my time?

I hope it doesn't rain much tomorrow. I'm getting so tired of dealing with roof leaks. You're probably equally tired of hearing about them.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4516

The star tracker is driving me crazy. It kind of worked out at the observatory, but there were a few serious problems. I had high hopes that the latest upgrades would resolve these issues and I would be good-to-go. I installed the new app on my phone and downloaded the latest firmware to the Polaris after breakfast this morning. Did this help? Nope. Now my camera won't connect to the tracker at all. I wasted an inordinate amount of time trying to get the camera to connect, but it was all for nothing. I'm going backwards now. The camera would never stay connected for long, but it always worked before. Now what? I sent my Chinese contact a message. Maybe they'll come up with another update that can turn this brick back into a star tracker.

The weather was great today. No threat of rain at all. Dawn seemed to approve. She was so eager to walk this morning that she added another half mile to her regular route. I never know what to expect when we leave the house in the morning. Sometimes she isn't interested in walking at all and other times she acts like a young pup. Today she really enjoyed her walk and just kept walking.

After I gave up on the star tracker this morning, I decided to defrost the little refrigerator. We got this thing years ago during a major power outage but we still use it today. It's small enough to be powered by a small generator and serves as an overflow fridge when the big one gets full. I wish I'd looked around for self-defrosting mini-fridge now. This one needs to be defrosted every few months. It's easy to forget that all refrigerators needed to be defrosted not that long ago. At any rate, I'm good-to-go for another few months and I didn't make too big of a mess.

My long walk wasn't so long today. My feet weren't the problem this time. It was the heat. It really felt like Summer today. I'm not ready for this yet. With the temperature near 90 degrees, I just didn't feel like walking my full six mile route. I'd better get used to warmer days because they're coming soon. Last Summer I used to soak my hat and shirt in water before I left the house and they would be completely dry before I returned. Maybe the heat will drive me back to the gym again. I prefer walking outside, but the gym is air conditioned.

I keep getting messages that it's time to apply for credentials for a variety of upcoming launches. Things are hopping down at Kennedy Space Center. It's a shame that I can't get down there more often, but it's just too expensive. I wonder if prices will ever go down again? I doubt it. I'll have to choose my launches wisely. I can probably afford one more trip to Florida this year and maybe one more trip out to the observatory as well. It's a shame that there's nothing I like to do in Dallas.

Time to make a grocery list again. The stuff I buy every week isn't a huge expense, but a trip to the grocery store certainly makes inflation seem real. Certain things seem to go up in price every single week. If this is the future I may need to think about working again.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

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

Watch of the Day

Day 4164

I saw the sun again today. This might not be the only reason I managed to get more done but it helped. After breakfast I went and got some new windshield wipers for my car. Instead of going to the Land Rover dealer like I normally do, I just went to the neighborhood Auto Zone store. This saved me a ton of money. I think I paid less than half of what the wiper blades would have cost me at the Land Rover parts department. I should do this more often. I'm tired of paying Land Rover's exorbident prices. I also only bought one wiper blade, since only one was broken. When the other blade goes bad, I'll replace it as well.

I think Dawn had the same response to the sun as I did. She was eager to walk this morning. There was no balking or hesitancy at all. She acted like a normal dog and we had a nice normal walk. I wish we could depend on this type of behavior every day, but I doubt that it's going to happen. Dawn is not a normal dog. Something strange is going on in her head. The vet who suggested that she probably had a traumatic head injury earlier in life was probably right. Dawn does the best she can and that's good enough for us. She's a strange, but very sweet dog.

I got Riggs, the new dog, added to the Dalmatian Rescue website and tried to catch up with a bunch of correspondence with my contacts at NASA and the Space Force. I was pleased that I  received a reply from my Space Force contact so quickly. I am good to go for any military launch and they may be able to help me gain access to some NASA launches as well. I am even pre-approved to set remote cameras at the launch pad. I'm not sure I'm ready to lose a camera yet, but it's nice to know that I have that option. There's a Falcon Heavy launch I'd like to cover sometime in June. Hopefully gasoline and rental cars will be available in Florida by then.

It really turned out to be a nice day today, even though there is still rain in the forecast for the rest of the week. We'll see how it goes. When I wake up tomorrow morning the forecast could be completely different. Even though it's been a very wet week, I've still managed to take my long walk every day. You'd never know that rain was forecast for today as well. It was beautiful outside and I had an enjoyable walk. My foot didn't bother me at all. Maybe my foot pain has something to do with the humidity. I really have no idea, but I'm always thankful for a pain free day.

I need to call the appliance repairman and get the ice maker fixed on our refrigerator. I'm not wild about spending the money though. The repair will probably cost several hundred dollars and party ice is cheap. I still have part of the bag I got before I left for the observatory. Ice is ice and the party ice works just fine for my morning smoothies. 

I didn't really accomplish that much today, but it felt like a productive day. Hopefully, I can keep this trend going a few more days. Sunlight makes a huge difference in my mood. On dark, rainy days all I do is worry about roof leaks. It probably helped that I didn't even try to process any astrophotography today. I'll eventually master this, but the learning curve is steep. Maybe processing my star photos is something I should save for a rainy day. I may not succeed, but at least failure won't make me feel any worse.

If the weather is still nice tomorrow I may do a little yard work. The grass is growing rapidly with all this rain. It's definitely time to mow again.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4113

Somebody bought Charlie and Cooper a yellow football with a squeaker inside and it was their new favorite toy this week. We discovered that both dogs would make pretty good wide receivers because you could toss them the football and they would catch it in the air surprisingly often. We met some new employees today. Like most Dallas businesses, the kennel seems to be slowly returning to normal. I'm glad they survived the pandemic.

When we returned home I went out and got a new pair of walking shorts. I was down to a single pair and I knew they wouldn't make it through the Summer.  Amazingly, I found some shorts that were exactly the same brand and style as the ones I bought three years ago. In theory, buying something that I didn't need to try on first should have saved me time. It didn't. There was only one person working at the checkout counters and the person ahead of me in line was trying to return something without a receipt. It took me forever to get out of the store, but I still like to support local business whenever I can.

Dawn did well on her first walk this morning, so we thought she'd enjoy a second walk after we returned from the kennel. Apparently not. We couldn't even get her down to the park. She froze in place and wouldn't go any further before we had even gone three hundred yards. Oh, well. At least she got a good walk this morning. Janet returned to the house with Dawn and I continued walking.

I wonder how long this nice Spring weather is going to continue? The weather has been almost perfect for over a week and there is no rain in the forecast. The pleasant weather is probably why I thought about getting shorts today. I've been wearing shorts and a t-shirt all week. Right now, the heat comes on when we wake up in the morning and then the air conditioner comes on later in the afternoon. I'd better enjoy this while it lasts. Pretty soon it's going to be way too hot.

I had a good walk this afternoon, even though I am still embarrassingly slow and every step reminds me that I'm almost 73 years old. I have so many aches and pains that I feel like an old rusty machine. I think things would be a lot worse if I didn't keep moving. Would I feel more fit if I moved even more? I guess I'll never know unless I return to the gym. When am I going to find the time though? I'm so slow that a few chores and a long walk fills my entire day.

I'm surprised that I still haven't heard from NASA or the Air Force about the launches I've applied to attend in April. Jeez. It's almost April. I hate to make plans at the last minute. I haven't heard anything from the magazine I write for either. It's starting to feel like everyone has forgotten about me. I'm torn between wanting a full schedule and the realization that I could never afford a full schedule anyway. I do get published, but the magazine never pays for my expenses when I travel. Does this just make my space journalism quest an expensive hobby? Who knows. 

I'm thinking about getting a smoked ham for Easter again. Janet thinks about the true meaning of Easter, but I usually just think about smoked ham. I'd better go look for something tomorrow. It may be too late already.

Elliott is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day