Day 4530

I didn't accomplish much today. I think I'm just avoiding things. I got a recall notice on my car and didn't bother to open it. I'm pretty sure it's the same recall notice I got six months ago. I called the dealership then, but they didn't have the part that needed to be replaced. They said they'd call me when the part was available. Never heard from them. I haven't looked at my blood test results either. My doctor said that they looked pretty good for the most part. I'll take him at his word. I got a call from my pharmacy, but I haven't gone to pick up the prescriptions yet. I have a feeling that my doctor called in new refills, even though I think I have enough pills to last me for the rest of the year. I keep telling them to wait on the prescription refills, but everything seems to be on automatic pilot.

These are all minor problems. There's plenty of bigger things that need attention. I need to call a roofer, a carpenter, a painter, and a tape & bed guy. A lot of stuff needs to be fixed around the house, but getting involved with contractors and repair people almost always leads to further problems. I'm tired of dealing with problems. I'd just as soon eat my breakfast, take my walk, and go back to bed. I kind of miss living in a hotel room.

I don't know why I continue to take long outdoor walks. It's hot and unpleasant out now. I should start these walks right after breakfast before the temperature gets too high, but I'm such a creature of habit that I keep doing things the same way I always have. Usually after I've walked about three miles I realize I've made a mistake and should have gone to the gym instead. Even Dawn doesn't want to stay outside in this weather. I often sit outside with her while she lounges in the sun. Lately, she just pees quickly and wants to go right back in the house. She's smarter than I am about the heat. She knows she's got a nice soft bed and the air conditioner is running well. What's not to like.

I'm dreading going grocery shopping tomorrow. The traffic is terrible. Prices are skyrocketing. And I need to get gas. Janet said gas prices have gone up again. It's a good thing I don't drive much because my car gets terrible gas mileage. We'll see how bad the damage is tomorrow. If I remember, I'll go to the pharmacy and pick up the pills I don't need, just so they will quit calling me. I need to get the batteries replaced in the computer UPS too. Do I even need a battery backup system for the computer? Probably not. I mostly use this thing to protect the computer from power surges. I'm tired of looking at the display that says I have 0 minutes of backup power remaining too.

One of the things I enjoyed most about going out to the observatory was that there are no radios or televisions at the Astronomer's Lodge. I have no desire to learn what is going on in the world when I'm out there. I think I could go a long time without listening to the news. I like the isolation of Mount Locke, but it's hard to duplicate in the city. You can't go ten minutes here without hearing sirens. I hear them every day on my walks. The constant police and fire sirens are a reminder that life in a city is filled with uncertainty. Was it always this way? I don't think so. Urban life has definitely gotten worse.

Our neighbor's fence has been falling down for a long time. I kept hoping that they'd just tear the fence down so we'd get a breeze again in our back yard again. Nope. Instead of tearing the fence down, they're building a taller one now. I wish I lived on a hundred acres in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors for miles. Of course then I'd have to deal with snakes and the occasional bears and mountain lions. I guess there are no easy solutions anywhere.

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4122

Well, at least I tried. Today I spent way too much time trying to figure out how to add a Windows partition to my laptop and when that didn't work, trying to get my Fitbit to track sleep stages again. I've known for years that Apple computers with Intel chips can run Windows, but I never tried to install it. Having a Windows partition on the laptop would let me easily run the astrophotography software I need for this May's workshop.

I should have known that nothing is easy. I quickly learned that my laptop and its Sierra operating system were too old to run Windows 10. No problem. Windows 7 would be fine for my needs. Not so fast. Microsoft doesn't let you download Windows 7 anymore. The Apple Boot Camp Assistant that is used to install Windows on a Mac no longer accepts older versions either. 

Basically, all the old software that used to work perfectly on all my computers has been erased from the earth. Nobody wants to deal with 32 bit software anymore, so they have just eliminated it. Backwards compatibility doesn't exist anymore. Apple, Microsoft, Dell, HP, and everyone else have been been relentless in their efforts to make sure that everyone upgrades to their current models. This is very frustrating to someone like me. I'm not interested in anything new. All I want is to retain the ability to do the things I could easily do twenty years ago. Quite literally, I could do a lot more useful work with computers twenty years ago than I can now.

My Fitbit isn't old at all, but I'm sure that the problems I'm having measuring sleep stages is related to software upgrades as well. Apps on your phone seem to automatically upgrade every week or so. There are so many minor upgrades that you quickly lose track of them. Somewhere along the line my Fitbit gained the ability to measure blood glucose levels and lost the ability to track sleep. Sadly, I'd probably sleep a lot better if I just quit trying to measure everything. I actually thought I slept pretty well last night, but the sleep app on my Apple Watch said I was only asleep for 2 hours and 37 minutes. 

I watched the Space X Starlink launch livestream while I was getting ready to walk this afternoon. This was a rare daytime launch and the weather looked beautiful. It would have been nice to see this in person, but it was all over in six minutes. The launch basically looked identical to all the other Falcon 9 launches as well. I'm beginning to question my desire to attend these launches. Covid restrictions have made attending launches in Florida much harder and it's getting a lot easier for me to say "been there, done that."

My daily walks are pretty routine as well, but at least they're easy and free. All I have to do is put on my shoes and walk out the back door. Today's walks were actually pretty enjoyable. Dawn did well on her short one mile walk and I did pretty well on my longer walk as well. No foot pain today. I have no idea why today's walk went so smoothly, but I'll take a good day when I can get it. When my foot doesn't hurt, I tend to walk a bit faster. I didn't embarrass myself today and kept up a pretty respectable pace for a septuagenarian.

While we were walking Dawn this afternoon, we ran into a neighbor who warned us about places where cars were getting broken into during the day. Apparently there is an epidemic of car break-ins in the city. I'm not surprised. Everywhere you look it seems like the fabric of society is breaking apart. Some call it progress, but it looks like chaos to me. I'm starting to envy my parents. I don't think they realized how good they had it back in the day.

I have no idea what is going to frustrate me tomorrow, but I'm sure something will crop up. For now, I'm just hoping that I won't have weird dreams tonight. I've been having a lot of weird dreams lately. Maybe my Fitbit doesn't count them as sleep.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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