Day 3785

My article about McDonald Observatory is going to be published in an upcoming issue of Sky and Telescope. I received an acceptance letter from the editors this afternoon. Needless to say, this is great news. Sky and Telescope is a well respected magazine that I have been reading off and on since high school. I was so disappointed yesterday when I failed to obtain media accreditation for the upcoming Space X Crew Dragon launch at Kennedy Space Center. Now, I feel somewhat vindicated. My writing efforts aren't back to square one after all. I also got a letter from my editor at SpaceFlight Magazine saying that they were sad that I wouldn't be able to attend the Demo-2 launch. What can you do? The magazine tried their best to get me access to the launch and I tried as well. Sadly, the virus wins this one. I guess I won't be writing about America's return to manned spaceflight after all.

I'm not sure yet when my article will appear in Sky and Telescope, but I did learn that they are interested in using my photos as well. I'll send them a selection to choose from later this week. This magazine, like many others, plans their publication schedule months in advance. The editor said they are still trying to determine an appropriate slot for my article to appear. I hope I don't have to wait too long. Like most of you, I could use some good news in the months ahead.

Dawn had to go to the vet today to recheck the urate crystals that were found in her urine at her last exam. She's been taking Allopurinol for a month and we were hoping that this would eliminate the crystals and reduce her chances of getting bladder or kidney stones. Sadly, she still has crystals and has a low grade bacterial infection as well. The vet did a culture and we should know more early next week. I hope we don't need to change Dawn's diet. She really likes the food we are feeding her now.

Dawn is getting better at riding in the car. She is still nervous, but she doesn't appear terrified anymore. She was very well behaved at the vet, although we didn't get to go with her in the exam room this time. The virus changes everything. Everyone, including Janet and I, were wearing masks and a vet tech took Dawn back to a room for her exam while we waited for her in the lobby. The vet did come out to visit with us when she was done and we all kept our distance. It's weird. I know all these people well, but I had trouble recognizing some of them while they were wearing masks. These are very surreal times. I wonder how long we can continue like this before everyone cracks?

We are continuing to take our walk with Dawn before breakfast. This works out well, although it kind of turns my morning smoothie into lunch. It's nice walking early in the morning. The weather is cool and the park is almost empty. Dawn seems to really enjoy the walks as well. She's not a young dog, but has no problems walking five miles. I don't know what we are going to do later in the summer though. Dawn really doesn't like the heat.

I tried online banking today. Actually, I think it's easier to just go to the post office and bank. Hey, I'm trying to adapt to this strange no contact reality, even though it totally sucks. Even a loner like me needs to get out occasionally. I can't wait to get back to Kennedy Space Center.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3751

Well this sucks. Our washing machine broke. I called my favorite repair shop and they're gone out of business. Damn. Their phone has been disconnected and their website has vanished. This was sudden and unexpected. The repairman I liked gave me his name once, but he doesn't seem to exist either. The only person I could find with that name lives in London. Obviously the world is facing much larger problems, but this isn't the best time to be dealing with a broken washing machine full of dirty clothes.

Dirty laundry wasn't today's only problem. The city closed our park. Why? Police with bullhorns were driving around telling people to go home this morning. I wonder what caused this? I doubt that it was a safety issue. The park was virtually empty on Monday and Tuesday. Just blocking the entrances to motorized vehicles on Sunday evening seemed to accomplish everything the city had been wanting. I can only guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were people who complained that anyone in our neighborhood could still walk to the park while they couldn't drive there. It's all or nothing for some people these days. Even on the busiest days a walk in the park is still ten times safer that going to the pharmacy or grocery store. People always stayed six feet apart when they passed on trails and if you were going the same direction you were usually several hundred yards apart. I don't know what this closure proves. The joggers and cyclists aren't going to stay inside all day. They will just start using city streets which is actually much less safe. A police officer told me that they didn't want to close the park, but had to because of a few knuckleheads. I didn't ask who he was referring to. I know it wasn't me.

Even Dawn had a bad day. We got the results of her urinalysis and she has urate crystals. The vet suspects that she may have a few small bladder stones as well. We're going to start by putting her on Allopurinol for a month and then do another urinalysis. Dalmatians are prone to having urate crystals and Allopurinol often helps cure the problem. Dash took the drug for years and it really helped. We may have to switch Dawn to a low purine diet as well. The food she eats now is fairly low in purines, but there are options with an even lower purine content. Unfortunately, most of them don't taste as good. We'll see what happens. We've definitely been through this before.

My temporary computer solution is far from perfect. If I were busy with work it would be driving me crazy. Apparently, some of the files that were lost when my hard drove crashed were those secret hidden files that record a successful software installation. I've had to reinstall several things today, including Microsoft Office. My version of Office is so old that you can't register it over the Internet. You have to call a special telephone number. You can imagine how long that took.

I eventually found an appliance repair company that is still making service calls. I was a little surprised that they agreed to come out tomorrow, but I'm glad things aren't shut down completely. Will the repairman arrive wearing a hazmat suit, or will he be oblivious to the pandemic and sneezing all over the place? Either way, I'll stay out of his way. I've learned that repairs go much faster when I leave the repairman alone.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3750

The world is starting to look like a Steven King novel. For the first time in years I was able to back out of the driveway during the afternoon rush hour without any worries about traffic. The streets were empty. I took some bills and a letter to my sister to the post office today and there were giant sheets of clear plastic hanging from the ceiling separating the postal employees from the customers. I saw no need to add to the madness and quickly dropped my mail in a letter box and left. I stopped by the bank on the way home and discovered that the lobby was closed but a drive thru window was still open. There were lots of cars at the drive thru, but I was already here, so I waited in line with everybody else. I guess a line of cars is social distancing. All the neighborhood stores and restaurants were closed and parking lots were empty. The lack of activity make me feel uneasy. In one empty parking lot there were two crazy people wandering around aimlessly and yelling loudly at nobody. Was this how The Stand started? I was glad to get back to my own house.

The park was almost empty this morning. Blocking the entrances has made a huge difference. I still saw my neighbors walking their dogs, along with a few cyclists and joggers, but that was it. It was almost like the old days before the city passed a big bond issue and decided to make the park a recreation destination. I enjoyed the solitude but I'm sure this is temporary. Someday the crowds will be back.

I don't know how she did it, but Janet managed to catch a urine sample from Dawn this morning. I haven't had any luck at all. Hopefully, Dawn doesn't have urate crystals or bladder stones. It is a common problem with Dalmatians and you often have to change their diet. Dawn really likes what we are feeding her now so I'd hate to have to switch to a different type of food.

Operating my computer from an external drive is going surprisingly well. The only problem is that the computer is painfully slow. If my company was still busy, fixing the damaged drive would be priority one. A slow computer doesn't seem to matter as much anymore. I'm equally slow. Just about the only thing I use the computer for anymore is writing the blog and storing Dalmatian pictures. I have a feeling that if I deleted all my old client files, I wouldn't even need a huge hard drive anymore.

When you hear on the news that 200,000 people in the United States could die from the virus, it makes you wonder whether you should leave the house at all. I guess you could have your groceries delivered, but who is actually delivering them? So few people are being tested that almost anyone could be a carrier. I still think long daily walks are healthy for both the body and the mind, but what do I know? What if the virus can be aerosolized and is floating around in the air? What if masks actually do work, but are still unavailable? Janet may be sewing masks instead of dog bandannas for next years Dalmatian Rescue gold tournament.

I'm starting to forget what day it is. They all seem the same.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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