Day 4472

I didn't really do much today but I still feel tired. We started the day as usual with a sunrise walk. Dawn is still excited about resuming her morning walks although I'd like to sleep in a little longer. At least I slept well last night. It was cold and I put a heavy blanket on the bed. I always seem to sleep better under a blanket.

After breakfast I went to the post office to mail my letter and then stopped by the AT&T store to ask about an iPhone 12 Mini deal that looked pretty good. The deal wasn't so good after all, since I would have needed to get a new phone plan to take advantage of it. I thought I had an unlimited data plan anyway, but apparently not. Hard to believe that AT&T has an even more expensive plan than mine, but they did. I also would have needed a new SIM card. I routinely move my SIM card between various phones, but that wouldn't work because the new phone was 5G. I guess I'll keep my trusty iPhone SE for a while longer.

The observatory contacted me today and said that they're interested in having me come out and volunteer during their Dark Sky Festival at the end of April. I'll probably go. I hate the long drive, but I've always enjoyed my time at McDonald Observatory. I've got friends out there and the night skies are absolutely spectacular. Hey, maybe I've got one more road trip in me. One of these days I really will be too old for this sort of thing. The only complication is that Artemis-1 might launch in late April as well. This is one launch that I'd really hate to miss.

I got a reply to my Sky & Telescope query. It wasn't a firm yes, but it wasn't a no either. They might be interested in a review of my Benro Polaris star tracker. I now have the address of the magazine's reviews editor and the encouragement I needed to pursue this a little further. It would be nice if I could figure out a way to combine my upcoming trip to the observatory with a review of the tracker. The magazine loves pictures, so this might work.

I walked my entire route today. It was a nice day and I wasn't worried about speed. It's unfortunate that it's getting a little harder to walk six miles every day, but I'd hate to give up at this point. What else would I do? I don't think I'd eliminate the foot pain if I went to the gym instead. Considering how bad my shoulder and knees are, walking is probably still my best form of exercise.

My allergies and/or cold seemed better this morning. At least I didn't spend the entire day blowing my nose. I'd really like to put this behind me, but I think it all depends on the weather. If there is going to be travel in my future, I definitely don't want to be fighting a cold. We'll see how it goes. This definitely isn't anything new. I can remember bringing entire rolls of those blue Scott shop towels with me on previous trips to the observatory. Flying with a runny nose isn't terribly fun either. 

Janet said that Dawn did well at training class tonight. She came home with another ribbon. Dawn must like the class. When Janet was getting the car ready, Dawn thought she was getting left behind and started crying at the front door.

Ariel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4254

Another rainy day. We tried to get an early start this morning, but Dawn wasn't having any part of it. She doesn't like getting wet and quickly reverted to her old tactic of freezing in place. It wasn't raining when we left the house, but we had to turn around and go home before we were even out of sight of the house. Dawn can be realy stubbborn but she usually gets her way. Maybe she could smell what was coming. It wan't long before the skies opened up and we had another downpour.

The rain came and went throughout the day. It was enough to make me worry about roof leaks but I was still able to take my long walk. The weather certainly helped to cool things down. My walk would have been quite pleasant today if it weren't for my bad knee and aching feet. I don't know why I feel so compelled to keep walking. I guess it's better than doing nothing.

I got a message from McDonald Observatory this morning asking if I could come out to help with star parties in mid September. I was kind of surprised because these folks have always been super worried about Covid. They're still planning on resuming normal operations though. Maybe things are better in far West Texas. Jeff Davis County does have one of the lowest transmission rates for the disease in the entire state. 

I'm still undecided, but I'll probably go. The Space X Inspiration 4 launch is in mid September as well. That's an interesting mission and I got an invitation to apply for press credentials, but I'm undecided about this as well. I don't think I can afford to do both things. At this point a trip to the observatory seems safer and less expensive than a trip to Kennedy Space Center. A lot can change in a month though. We'll see what happens.

Hopefully Dawn will be completely cured and back to normal by mid September. Her damaged paws are starting to heal and she rarely attempts to bite at them anymore. This Friday the vet will try to flush the stones out of her bladder so she won't need surgery. I hope this works. I'd feel a little better about traveling if I knew Dawn was completely healthy again. So far, so good. She seems a little more subdued than usual, but that could just be the weather.

So far there have been no roof leaks. I wonder what caused the roof to leak before? The rain we've gotten in the past two days had been much heavier than the rain that actually did cause the roof to leak. It's one of life's many mysteries. I still hesitate to repair the sheetrock in the ceiling though. I can almost guarantee that as soon as I patched things up and painted again, the roof will immediately start leaking and I'll be back to square one.

I'm trying to resist the occasional urge to turn the blog into a political rant. It's hard to avoid current events these days and everybody has an opinion. That's part of the problem. There is too much anger and way too many opinions. I've thought for years that we were governed by idiots. Nothing has happened recently to change my opinion. I think it's ironic that there is this big push to make it easier to vote. We should really be making it harder to vote. At a bare minimum there should be some sort of an intelligence test involved. Oh, well. I do believe in Karma. It's a shit show out there, but we are probably just getting what we deserve.

Maybe I'll get my car safety inspected tomorrow. I'm starting to run out of time. I'm always running out of time.

Toby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3728

My first star party is in the books. I managed to keep my telescope pointed at the right star cluster for the entire evening. Everyone seemed pleased at what they were seeing. I was surprised  that we even had a star party tonight. It was overcast for most of the day, but the sky began to clear toward sunset. The original star cluster I was supposed to show people was covered by clouds, so a different target was selected. I now know a lot more about Messier 41 than I did yesterday.

Almost five hundred people looked through my telescope this evening. I didn't actually count them, but that was supposed to be tonight's attendance. Every night is supposed to be this way. The crowd seemed healthy, but if I don't get the coronavirus after all this, I'm probably immune.

It's a good thing I brought two warm coats. I needed both of them tonight. It gets very cold after sunset on the mountain. I thought I brought my most comfortable shoes, but they still left a lot to be desired. It's hard standing on your feet for that long. My feet hurt, but all in all, I was fairly well prepared. I even brought a little flashlight with a red bulb so I could check the telescope settings without ruining my night vision.

One of the weirdest things about the evening was driving back to the Astronomer's Lodge at the top of the mountain without headlights. You are supposed to keep your lights off so you won't ruin an astronomer's observing session at one of the big telescopes. The staff told me to use my headlights if I didn't feel safe, but there was a full moon and there were no other cars on the road. I just drove with my parking lights and straddled the center line. I could actually see very well, since there was a full moon and my eyes were completely dark adapted by the time the star party was over.

It's been an interesting day. I met some engineers at breakfast who were doing modifications to the huge coudé spectrograph located underneath the 107" telescope. They invited me to tag along with them and I got to see the spectrograph room, as well as the huge vacuum chamber where the main mirror is recoated every few years. The Tull Spectrograph is used to search for exoplanets now and has found quite a few. I always expect rooms where science is being done at these large telescopes to look like something out of Star Trek. Usually they are a messy maze of wires and pipes with plug strips and loose electric cords and cables everywhere. I've learned no to touch anything.

Tomorrow I start doing observatory tours. I have an orientation lesson in the morning and my first work shift starts in the afternoon. I'm going to be kept busy out here. That's a good thing actually. There is nothing else to do on the mountain. The isolation is kind of nice. I'd rather be here than sitting in front of the television in Dallas, listening to alarming news about the coronavirus and stock market crash.

I shouldn't have any problem sleeping tonight. I'm really tired and my room is completely dark when you turn the lights out. Last night I had to keep a flashlight by my bed so I could find the bathroom. Hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. The forecast doesn't look good.

Vai is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3667

Things are starting to come together. I heard from the observatory today and they told me that I'll be able to stay at the Astronomer's Lodge this Spring. This is pretty cool. A long list of well known astronomers have stayed here while they were using one of the big telescopes on Mount Locke. I'm relieved that I won't have to worry about renting an RV any longer. I also won't have to worry about food. Apparently, there is a cook on the mountain and two hot meals a day are included with my stay. It looks like I will be very busy as an on-site volunteer, but I'm really looking forward to this. It will definitely be something that few non-astronomers get to experience.

I still haven't heard whether I'll be attending the upcoming Solar Orbiter launch at Kennedy Space Center. SpaceFlight Magazine has told me that they'll verify my application to be a photographer for their publication. What remains to be seen is whether NASA will approve their request to cover the launch. It looks like getting a press pass is more complicated than I anticipated. There is still time for all this to be resolved, so there is no reason not to be optimistic. Even if a trip to Kennedy Space Center isn't in the cards, I've still got plenty on my plate with a trip to McDonald Observatory in the planning stages.

I had a meeting with my financial adviser this afternoon. I've been doing these periodic meetings over the phone for the past several years because I had sick dogs to take care of. I couldn't think of a good reason not to visit in person today. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly, because I should have stayed home. When I arrived at the guy's office he told me that he was recovering from the flu. He looked terrible. Yikes. I've always had a terrible phobia about being around people with colds. I seldom get sick, but I think the main reason is that I spend very little time around other people. I get nervous when I'm around someone with a cold. Oh, well. I did get my flu shot this year.

It's getting harder and harder to do more than one thing a day. When I got home from my meeting there was barely time to take my long walk. I initially thought I might be able to increase the distance I walk after a few months. I'm not so sure now. I've probably got the energy to go another mile on most days, but it just takes too long. Walking is a fairly time consuming way to get your exercise, but it still seems like a good idea. I don't think I'd want to spend this much time at the gym every day.

It looks like it's going to rain tomorrow. It may rain Friday as well. I wonder if I'll ever become comfortable with the idea of rain. Even though I've done a good job of patching the roof, I'm convinced that it is going to start leaking again. I need to make a decision about replacing the roof, but I haven't been happy with any of the bids so far. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a new roof and still be dealing with standing water after I'm done. Adding a slight pitch to the roof so that it will drain properly seems to double the price. I don't care how much you might love mid-century modern homes, don't ever buy a house with a flat roof. They are nothing but trouble.

I've wondered for a while why I wasn't able to enable WiFi calling on my phone. It turns out that my SIM card is too old. Usually when I get a new phone I just take the SIM card out of the old phone and put it in the new one. Looks like I can't do this any longer. If I want to be able to make WiFi calls on my current phone, I'll need to exchange the card for a current model. Who knew that these little chips had changed over the years. One more thing to add to my to-do list.

I hope I don't get the flu. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow either. I probably should just hope I can eventually learn to quit fretting about stupid things I have no control over.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3647

I got my first call for volunteers from McDonald Observatory. They need help during Spring Break. Hmmm. Do I really want to go out there during Spring Break? Maybe the kids who choose to go to an observatory during break are better behaved than the kids who go to Fort Lauderdale. I'm not sure about the weather in March either. I have visions of icy roads and jackknifed eighteen wheelers. The letter made me realize that I really am an on-site volunteer now and I need to figure out what to do about living arrangements. I'm still hoping that they'll let me stay at the astronomer's lodge during my initial volunteer trip. I'm not quite ready for the idea of living in an RV yet.

What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, the roof was leaking badly and Dash had become incontinent. Every day I was cleaning up water and pee while watching Dash grow weaker. It's much quieter now, but sometimes it seems too quiet. I miss having a dog around the house. I don't miss watching a friend fade away. It seems like a long time since Dash died, but the memories are still vivid. Dealing with illness is hard. At this point in my life I just hope that Janet and I stay healthy.

I'm doing my part by walking every day. I could probably do more, but I could certainly do less. I actually think I'm walking more now than I was when Dot and Dash were healthy. Walking seemed easier back then, but I was a lot younger. I wish aging wasn't such an uphill battle. I've come to the conclusion that I can't turn back the clock, but maybe I can manage to slow it down a bit. Hey, walking and exercise have got to be better than just sitting around.

I saw a TV ad today about Season 4 of The Expanse. I'd almost forgotten about that show. I guess it's on Amazon Prime now. I'd prefer watching the show on TV, but Janet has Prime, so I guess I can still see the show if I want. It just doesn't seem as important now. There were all these shows like Babylon 5, Farscape, Lexx, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly that I used to watch religiously. I rarely watch TV at all anymore. I wonder what has changed? Maybe I just don't sit around as much.

I washed the new photo backdrop and Janet helped me fold it up to put away for another year. I was amazed at how easy this 10 foot by twenty foot piece of cloth was to wash. It was light enough to fit in our home washing machine and the colors didn't fade or bleed at all. Having a washable backdrop for taking Santa Paws photos is a game changer. I never could wash the old hand painted backdrops and over time the smell of dog pee became overwhelming.

What are these purple berries I'm seeing everywhere in the park? A quick Google search told me that I was looking at a White Fringe Tree. That couldn't be right. I'm thinking that these are just Common Privet Bushes. Privet is an invasive species and that would explain why these little trees are everywhere in the park.

This week has gone quickly.  I've taken this week's trash to the curb and am deciding what to do for breakfast tomorrow. Breakfast has become like those science fiction series I used to wait for. I've got a whole city full of restaurants to try and I'm not even hungry.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3562

I tried to tie up a few loose ends today. I called a roofer who promised me a bid back in March. He said he was still interested but was so busy that he probably wouldn't even have time to think about my roof until after the first of the year. This guy disagrees with another roofer who has already given me a bid about the best way to fix my roof. Probably my current roofer disagrees with both of these guys. It doesn't give you a lot of confidence when nobody can find a common solution to your problems.

I called about my unsold guitars and synthesizers. Just as I expected, they are still unsold. Evidently, people are interested but nothing has resulted in a sale. I'm not ready to give up yet. If I took these things back, they would just wind up in my storage warehouse again. At least a few of my guitars have already sold. I have an offer on one synthesizer, but it is ridiculously low. I've been a pack rat all my life and I thought that parting with this stuff would be hard. That turned out to be the easy part. Actually selling the stuff is the hard part.

Earlier this summer I noticed that McDonald Observatory always seems to be looking for retirees with an interest in astronomy to help conduct their weekly star parties. Since the observatory is so isolated, they specifically look for people who own an RV and can stay for several weeks at a time. It's a volunteer job, but the observatory provides a place to park the RV, electricity, and access to the observatory's facilities. This sounds like fun to a person like me. If you stayed at the observatory long enough, you are bound to have a few clear nights. Unfortunately, I don't have an RV. I'm not sure I'd like to drive one either. I was in a daydreaming mood this afternoon, so I started looking at RV's on the Internet. Jeez. These things are expensive. You could buy almost any luxury car for a lot less. A Porsche 911 and a well appointed Sprinter conversion van are about the same price. You could buy a decent house for less than some of those huge Type A motorhomes. So much for thoughts of living on the road.

I need to find a way to make my walks more interesting. The benefits of this type of exercise are obvious, but the walks are becoming boring. I guess I keep walking because being outdoors is still a lot more interesting than walking on a treadmill at the gym. The best thing about walking is the solitude. The worst thing is being drenched in sweat with sore feet. Maybe I'll enjoy things more in the Winter.

I noticed that the tree guys dumped all their lunch trash in my garbage can. Most people wouldn't be bothered by this, but I'm obsessive. I hate loose trash. I always bag and seal everything. I emptied out the can and put all the loose stuff in a big black leaf bag. I was surprised at how much food the tree guys eat on the job. I don't eat lunch at all. Falling branches and logs also damaged a few things in the yard. I expected that though. At least they didn't drop anything heavy on the roof while they were removing the tree.

I guess I'll watch the final episode of the Ken Burns documentary later this evening. I don't ever listen to country music, but I know a lot more about it now. I'm always fascinated watching the credits at the end of a Ken Burns movie. Hundreds and hundreds of people seem to work on these things. I wonder what Ken Burns actually does? I made a few documentaries back in the early 1970's. There wasn't much need for credits. It was just me and a sound man.

I got caught up on a lot of things today. That doesn't leave much for tomorrow. I'm sure I'll think of something though. I've got an entire day to fill.

Rosie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3406

Eventually there will be nothing left to clean. Housecleaning seems kind of pointless to me, but it does occupy time. Today I brought a tall stepladder in the house and applied bleach to the stained areas on the ceiling. I've done this once before but the roof leak returned and stained the sheetrock all over again. Not surprisingly, I ruined a shirt while I was applying the bleach. While I was making a mess, Janet took a large comforter and other bedding that won't fit in our washing machine to the laundromat. The white comforter needed some bleach as well.

I don't know how long I'll continue taking a three mile walk in the morning, but for now it seems to be the most convenient way to get my 10,000 steps a day. Usually I see ducks nesting at this time of year, but they are strangely absent. Maybe the ducks have moved to the other side of the lake. I did see some Black Swallowtail butterflies and a few Red Wing Blackbirds. A couple of meadows are covered with small Huisache Daisies now. The season is still early, but it looks like it's going to be a good year for wildflowers.

I say all this but I'm really not much of a naturalist. I only took these long walks for the dogs. The jury is still out on whether I'll continue walking indefinitely. Walking is good exercise, but I'm just killing time. I've photographed all these flowers before. I've counted the ducks and learned how to avoid the poison ivy. I've seen rainbows and spectacular sunsets, but without a dog it's hard to see the point of it all. For now the Fitbit will keep me going. I've become a slave to the Fitbit.

Janet thinks I should volunteer for something. I try to explain that it's hard to avoid other people when you're volunteering. I guess I miss my old life. Writing and website development jobs kept me very busy. Clients paid my bills and the dogs kept me company. I sat in a little room in front of a large computer monitor and solved problems. I worked largely unsupervised and avoided meetings at all costs. The money was good and I had little to complain about. I think the dogs liked the arrangement too. I was always around and they became very spoiled. Basically, for many years I was just a well paid dog butler.

I was supposed to pick up the Sequential Circuits synthesizers today. The repairs have been finished for at least a week, but I've been avoiding picking them up. What am I going to do with these things? There is no room to bring them back to the office and I don't want to take them to the storage warehouse. The synthesizers need to be in a climate controlled environment. Keeping them in the storage warehouse for too many years was how they became damaged in the first place. The guitars were easier to deal with since there are plenty of vintage guitar dealers. Vintage analog synthesizer dealers are a little harder to find.

If you are a decisive person I'm probably going to drive you crazy as I slowly inch my way toward whatever comes next. I'm very patient and have a high tolerance for boredom. Don't expect any big changes in the next few weeks or months. I realize it's time for a change. I just don't know what the next chapter will be. Some people search for things. I have better luck just waiting for something to find me.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3229

I didn't even try to go back to sleep after cleaning up the mess Dash made in the bed last night. There's nothing like cleaning up poop in the middle of the night to wake you up in a hurry. I got dressed and went outside to look at the stars for a while. Orion was rising in the East and there was a gibbous moon overhead. It's peaceful at 3 AM, but there was still too much light pollution to see very much. I returned to the house, brewed some coffee and watched TV while doing several loads of wash. Needless to say, I was tired for the rest of the day.

The weather remains beautiful. Dash, who went back to sleep immediately after his accident in the bed, woke up rested and was ready for a walk. This time I was the one who was walking slow. We took our time and returned just in time for breakfast. I'll probably never get to sleep tonight because I followed my middle of the night coffee with even more coffee.

On the way to the grocery store I stopped by the new storage warehouse and made arrangements for a move in early November. I'm going to have to rent a truck because it will take forever to move everything in the car. It still seems like a good idea to hire someone to help me with the move, but I'm not sure who to call. I have a feeling that I'll just end up moving everything myself.

After making sure that Dash ate his lunch and had gone outside to pee, I returned to the old storage warehouse to continue my efforts to thin things out before the big move. I found some things that I could donate to an animal charity and filled the car again. I continue to be amazed that my efforts are having such a small impact. The warehouse still looks pretty full.

When I dropped my items off, the organization was having a volunteer appreciation party. Technically I'm still a volunteer, even though I haven't done much lately. I hung around for a while and helped folks clean up. I wish I'd come a little earlier, since the food truck was just leaving as I arrived. The volunteers were eating some delicious looking sliders.

Today would have been a good day to wash the car or remove the water from the roof. I was too tired to do either. Hey, at least I got something done. Thirty more days like this and the warehouse will be empty. There are a bunch of old typewriters in the warehouse, so I looked online to see if people collected these things. Yep. Tom Hanks is an avid collector of old manual typewriters and apparently so are a lot of other people. There are several websites for collectors where people buy and sell these machines. Now there is one more category of things I can consign and try to get rid of.

I don't know what to do about Dash's incontinence. He can't wear diapers and he never stays in one place at night. Often his efforts to get up and move to a new position are what causes him to poop in the first place. Dot's incontinence was a piece of cake compared to Dash. Dot would stay in one place all night, so it was much easier to protect the house.

I shouldn't have any problems getting to sleep tonight. I'm exhausted. None of this makes any difference to Dash. Lord know what he has planned for me tonight.

Dash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2779

I was worried about Dash this morning. He was lethargic and didn't want to walk. He wasn't even interested in eating my banana. I tried several times to get him to walk after I finished my breakfast, but he wouldn't leave the back yard. After a while, I gave up and turned on the computer. Around ten-thirty Dash wandered into the office and began slapping me on the leg. He wanted a walk. I took him outside and we had a normal, uneventful walk. It would have been nicer if we'd left the house earlier while the air was still cool, but Dash was fine. He's either very lazy or very spoiled.

We encountered another loose dog this morning. This has become one of my pet peeves. Why can't people keep their dogs on a leash in public places? There are signs everywhere in the park saying that all dogs must be on a leash, but there's a certain type of person that just doesn't care. Today's loose dog was well behaved and kept following the jogger who owned him, but you never know. After the dog bite I'm more nervous about loose dogs than ever. Maybe I'm just not meant to live in a city anymore. Irresponsible people make me uncomfortable in the park. Irresponsible drivers make me uncomfortable on the roads. I've begun planning my entire life to avoid encountering anyone.

I could have easily finished watching season two of The Expanse today, but things have been so slow lately that I wanted to save the last show for tomorrow. Right now there is absolutely nothing on my to-do list. At least this final episode will keep me occupied for a little while. This extended inactivity is starting to wear me down. I really need to find a replacement for the steady diet of deadlines that has kept me busy since I started my company in 1990. Something tells me that there's not going to be a big demand for seventy year old web designers.

Janet thinks I ought to start doing some volunteer work. That may work for her, but I don't think it's a  solution for me. Volunteering usually works best if you enjoy working with other people. The last time I enjoyed meeting new people was when NASA invited me out to Vandenberg Air Force Base. I guess I could start applying to view launches again, but that could get pretty expensive. It's somewhat of an honor to get invited to watch a launch, but you've got to pay your own way to these events. That's always the problem. When I've got the time, I don't have the money and when I've got the money, I don't have the time.

I'll probably go out to breakfast in the morning. There's no reason not to resume this Friday ritual. When I started going out for breakfast on Friday mornings, it was just a way to get me away from the computer and work for a while. Now there's not much reason to even turn on the computer. The meals I cook for myself are actually better, but going out to eat could still serve a purpose. For a recluse like me, it's a fairly safe way to briefly reconnect with the world. Now, I've just got to decide what to eat.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day