Day 4995

This morning was a pleasant surprise. We didn't get any rain yesterday but the cold front definitely brought cooler weather. The temperature was in the low 70's when we took our sunrise walk this morning. There was a nice breeze as well. I don't know how long this is going to last but the change is welcome.

It was still reasonably cool after I finished breakfast this morning, so I decided to take my long walk in the park instead of going to the gym. It's been a while, so I thought I'd see a lot of changes. Nope. Nothing changed at all. I suspect that it just been too hot for the maintenance workers in the park. Everything is looking really dry. This is fire hazard dry. Many trees are turning yellow early and starting to lose their leaves. The water level in the lake is very low as well. A big stretch of Sunset Bay has completely dried up. 

I find walking in the park more tiring than walking at the gym. Strangely, my Fitbit seems to think I'm actually getting more exercise at the gym. This is a mystery to me. There are lots of small hills on my walk and maybe I don't burn much energy when I'm walking downhill. My feet definitely hurt more when I'm walking outdoors. I'd almost forgotten how bad my feet can get after a long walk. I think the indoor track at the gym has a cushioned surface. Oh, well. Despite the problems, I still enjoy being outdoors.

I'm glad I didn't go down to Florida for the Silent Barker launch. I was approved for this one, but didn't go because I've been feeling poor this month. Staying in Dallas was definitely the right decision. I just got a notice that tomorrow's launch has been postponed indefinitely because of Hurricane Idalia. They are rolling the rocket back to the vertical integration facility. No new launch date has been announced. This would have been a huge mess if I was down in Florida. I'd be trying to change reservations and get a flight back to Dallas right when the hurricane was arriving.

I got my August electric bill today. Not good. This was the highest bill I've ever received since we moved here many years ago. I know that TXU has raised their rates, but this is ridiculous. The bill was higher than my car insurance payment and more than I charged for monthly rent back when I owned rental property. Oh, well. It is what it is. Hopefully things will cool down and next month's bill will be lower.

I'm so tired of this weather. I never was interested in much but the heat has destroyed my interest in just about everything. I don't want to take too many naps or I won't be able to sleep at night. I probably ought to get some books to read, but my interest in reading has wained. It wasn't always this way. There are hundreds of books on shelves in the office and I'm sure I enjoyed reading them. Luckily the days go quickly. Before you know it Dawn is ready for her dinner and I have mine shortly afterwards. I still don't know what I'm going to do with myself when the blog is finished. This has been my evening for many, many years. So far, no regrets about ending the daily posts though. It's time to do something else.

It would be nice if it's cool enough to walk in the park again tomorrow. We'll see. It was quite nice when I started out this morning, but was getting pretty hot by the time I returned. At least tomorrow's sunrise walk will be pleasant. This is always the nicest part of the day.

Mandy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4983

It was actually a little chilly this morning. I was amazed. We had a very pleasant walk with Dawn today. I think we were all surprised at the cooler weather. Unfortunately this isn't going to last. It's going to be 108 degrees again tomorrow. There's a chance of rain next week though. One can always hope.

The weather was so nice today that I didn't go to the gym. I ate my breakfast and for the first time in ages decide to take my long walk in the park again. It's been a while, so I noticed a few changes. Stone masons are rebuilding the park restrooms that got destroyed when a guy lost control of his car and crashed into the building several months ago. 

New grass has been planted in several bare areas. I didn't see many people though. Even though it was much cooler than yesterday, it was still pretty warm. I was surprised to see that all the ducks at Sunset Bay were gone. I wonder where they went. The water level in the lake was lower as well. These were all small changes though. The walk was pretty much the same as it's always been. 

I think walking outdoors is better exercise than walking at the gym. I certainly felt more tired when I returned home. Oddly, my Fitbit didn't agree. It says I actually burn more calories per mile while walking indoors. It's definitely more interesting walking outdoors. This is probably going to be a one day event however. The rest of the week will be just as hot as it's always been.

I got another invitation to attend a launch at the end of August. I'll think about it. I probably won't go though. I'm still feeling poor. There will always be other launches and Florida will be more pleasant later in the Fall. The fact that I'm not terribly eager to travel anywhere is a bit troubling. Ordinarily I'd have figured out a way to return to McDonald Observatory by now and would never turn down an opportunity to see a launch.

Maybe a few more weeks of fighting the heat here in Dallas will have me thinking differently soon. Driving to the gym every morning and then spending the afternoon wondering if the air conditioner was going to keep working is not very exciting. There are other things I could be doing but most of them involve work. I really don't feel like fixing things around the house.

Dawn got to go to her training class again. The temperature was finally cool enough for class. Dawn seemed really excited this evening when she realized she was going to go somewhere. Janet said she did well in class although she didn't bring home any ribbons this week. Dawn enjoys this class. Hopefully she will get to go again next week.

I need to remember that I've got a dental appointment tomorrow. I get so used to my never changing schedule that it's easy to forget these things. I don't think I have any cavities, but you never know. I go to the dentist regularly now, probably to make up for the many years when I never went at all. Dawn has her own dental appointment next week. She probably spent many years not going to the dentist as well.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4947

Dawn was a little calmer today. We're making slow progress. She still wouldn't come to the kitchen for breakfast this morning, but she did get off the bed and eat from her bowl when I placed it on the bedroom floor. Dawn is pretty good about going out in the back yard when she needs to pee. She's still reluctant to go down to the park though. Unfortunately this is still necessary because it's the only place where she will poop. A walk is out of the question. She does her business quickly and then tries to get back to the house as fast as she can. The bedroom is her safe place. I think Dawn knows that Janet hasn't gone out for groceries by now. She's stopped waiting by the front door. She started letting me nap with her for a while in the afternoon. In her own weird way maybe she appreciates my company.

It was surprisingly cool today. The weather radar showed lots of rain to the north of us, but very little reached our part of town. All we got were a few light sprinkles. This seemed like the perfect type of weather to skip the gym and take a walk in the park. The park hasn't changed much since I've been away, but it was still nice to be walking outdoors again. It's an entirely different experience when you can feel the wind and smell nearby flowering trees. Most of the wildflowers have gone to seed by now, but the park is still green and full of life. I enjoyed my walk.

I was surprised that my pace was faster than it's typically been on the indoor track at the gym. Maybe having something to look at put a spring in my step. Most of the migratory birds have gone north for the summer, but there are still quite a few mallards and bluewinged teal, along with our five resident geese. I didn't see the muscovy ducks today, but I'm sure they are still in the area. They tend to stay hidden in hot weather. There were surprisingly few people in the park this morning. I thought more people would take advantage of the cooler weather. Maybe everyone was afraid it was going to rain. There were dark clouds overhead, but I didn't get wet at all. Maybe I just got lucky.

I'm not sure I trust my Fitbit. Even though I walked quite a bit faster and further today, I supposedly burned about the same number of calories as I typically do at the gym. My heart rate wasn't any faster either. Even when I was walking up hills. I should probably just quit looking at the Fitbit and Apple Watch so much. I know walking is good for you and I do a lot of walking. I'd like to go walking in the park again tomorrow, but it's looking doubtful. The weather forecast says it will reach 104 degrees on Wednesday.

I still can't think of much to do in the afternoon. Luckily I'm well versed in doing nothing and enjoy napping. It's nice that Dawn will let me nap with her now. We both got a surprise when we heard a loud clattering noise in the kitchen. When I went out to investigate, I discovered that the knife rack had broken and all the kitchen knives were scattered on the kitchen floor. It's a good thing we were back in the bedroom. 

I've been going to bed earlier, although I'm still not getting any more sleep. It would be nice to get eight hours of sleep sometime, but I seemed to be programmed to get five. No matter when I go to bed I always seem to get five hours of sleep. Not to worry though. If you count naps, I'm certainly not sleep deprived. I'm kind of envious of Dawn. Nobody gets more sleep than that dog. She seems happy though. Maybe she's been wanting a quiet, peaceful room of her own for her entire life.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4925 - My Birthday

I turned 75 today. Any way you measure it, that's getting old. I think I'm hanging in there though. We started the day early to avoid the heat. Dawn got a nice sunrise walk and then I had my regular breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit. Right after breakfast I mowed the grass. I did both the front and back yards and was finished before 9 AM. The temperature was already in the mid-eighties, but it was still overcast so I decided to take a short walk and get my steps before it got really hot.

I'm definitely slowing down and am not as fit as I used to be, but I felt good that I was still able to do this much on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year. My Mom had already passed away before she reached 75 and my Dad had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and a host of other ailments by his 75th birthday. I'm basically still reasonably healthy. I try to walk six miles every day and am staying active. Who knows how long I can continue this, but nothing is stopping me at this point. I still hope to be attending launches at Kennedy Space Center when I'm 85.

I'm glad we walked Dawn really early this morning because it was way too hot for her to be outside later in the day. It looks like this heat wave is going to continue for the rest of the week. Luckily our air conditioner is working well and I think the insulation we added to the roof is helping keep the house cooler. I'm glad we didn't have to deal with the power outages that plagued other parts of the community after last week's storms. This is not the time to be dealing with power outages.

It was a low key and largely uneventful birthday, but I felt good about it. I didn't do much during the afternoon. I took a shower and looked at my birthday messages on Facebook. I'm not a big fan of social media anymore, but I still think these birthday messages are a nice thing. Nobody sends cards anymore. I got one birthday card from my Luddite sister who has probably never even looked at Facebook. Later in the afternoon I tried to take a nap with Dawn but she wasn't in a celebratory mood. As soon as I went in the bedroom, Dawn went out in the kitchen.

Janet and I went out for dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. We've been there for birthdays before and the food is always good. The prices were a bit higher and the portions were slightly smaller, but what else is new. All restaurants are doing this. At least the place was still in business. A lot of our favorite restaurants didn't survive the pandemic and are no longer here. Our waiter seemed disappointed that we weren't having dessert, but we had cake at home. We wanted to include Dawn in the birthday celebration.

After some cake and a glass of champagne, I did what I always do every evening. I wrote a blog post. Since I will have reached my 5000 Day goal before my next birthday, this might be my last birthday post. We'll see what happens.

Inky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4923

Very little happened today, but it still seemed like a long day. We had to get up very early this morning because Janet had an all day event to go to. For the first time since last winter, we took our sunrise walk in the dark. Dawn wore her lighted coller and I clipped a small LED light to my shirt. It was just like old times.

After breakfast I checked my messages and got ready to do my grocery shopping. My list wasn't long this week, but it still takes a while. I've started shopping earlier recently. The stores aren't as crowded and the selections seem a little better. The only downside to shopping early is that I've got more time to fill when I return home.

I had planned on going to the gym again today, but there was a nice breeze and it was overcast outside, so I decided at the last minute to walk in the park instead. It would have been cooler inside the gym, but I just didn't feel like driving anymore. Even though the humidity wasn't as bad as yesterday, I was still soaking wet by the time I returned home. In retrospect, it might have been better to go to the gym.

The light inside the refrigerator burned out today. It took me a while to figure out how to replace it. The light was behind a translucent cover and I couldn't figure out how to get the cover off. I save everything, but couldn't find the manual to the refrigerator. I tried to find a service manual online, but I couldn't find our particular model. Maybe the refrigerator is too old. I eventually got the cover off without breaking it and then wasted even more time looking around the house for a 40 watt appliance light bulb. I knew I'd bought this type of bulb before, but it's been a while. After a major search, I found a single 40 watt bulb left at the bottom of a shoe box full of old incandescent bulbs. Mission accomplished.

This afternoon was uneventful. I did a load of laundry and paid some bills on the computer. Dawn was in a bad mood because she thought Janet had been gone too long. She wasn't excited at all when I came home with my groceries. I eventually got her to go out in the back yard and pee, but all she really wanted to do was sit in the bedroom and sulk. I've really got to figure out a way to bond with this dog before Janet goes on vacation again.

I need a project, but I don't feel like starting anything new. All the old standbys don't seem to work anymore. I don't play my guitar or write songs anymore. I've already photographed every inch of the park and am losing interest in carrying a camera around. The last thing I want to do is start a home repair project, even though there are plenty of things that need attention. I would like to spend more time down at Kennedy Space Center, but that's just too expensive. It's too bad that Dawn doesn't like me to nap with her. A long nap always sounds good.

Finally it seems like there is no more severe weather in the forecast. It's going to be hot for the next week, but I can always go to the gym or just stay inside here at home. I'll go mall walking tomorrow morning. Hopefully, Dawn will still get her Sunday outing. If it's too hot we'll just go for ice cream.

Bali is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4920

No rain today, but the humidity was so high that it felt like it was raining. At least it was overcast and relatively cool outside. The humidity would have seemed even worse if the sun was shining. I had plenty of time to contemplate the weather today. I don't think I did anything except walk and eat. 

Our sunrise walk with Dawn was enjoyable. Dawn is always eager to go on these early walks. I'm always sleepy, but this is how I wake up. I wish the entire day was like these mornings. It warms up quickly though. By the time I'm ready for my long walk, I usually think it would have been smarter to go to the gym. Today wasn't that bad. I only questioned my sanity a few times during the walk.

The loose dog I saw animal control trying to capture yesterday was still there this morning. I guess they didn't catch it. There's a story here but I don't know what it is. The dog seemed friendly and I thought it would be easy to capture. The dog probably knew what it's fate would be if it wound up at Dallas Animal Services. Maybe a local rescue group will take an interest in this dog. There seems to be an epidemic of people dumping dogs around town and most of the rescues are full. It's all kind of sad.

I'm impressed at how quickly the park department removed all the downed trees from Sunday's big storm. I saw crews working with chain saws yesterday and today almost all of the trees were gone. There were lots of downed trees in the park, so this was a big effort. The park department seems like a model of efficiency compared to other parts of city government. Maybe I just notice things since I'm walking every day, but I'll have to admit that I'm impressed.

As soon as the ground dries out I'm going to have to mow again. We've had so much rain this Spring that the grass is doing really well. Grass has overrun several gravel pathways in the yard, but I don't really care. It's green and everything looks pretty nice. I keep thinking that I should hire a lawn service to take care of the yard, but I need to stay active and it isn't that hard to keep doing things myself. What else would I do anyway? I'm not that busy.

I've got an appointment soon to sign up for TSA Pre. In theory this will make it easier to travel. It will certainly save me time at the Orlando airport. I won't be going anywhere soon though. The roof was expensive and there are other big bills this month as well. I miss my time in Titusville though. I'm already looking at upcoming launches and trying to decide which ones I really need to see. I'm sure I'll be back at Kennedy Space Center later this year however. It's important to still have something interesting to do.

Dawn did well at her training class tonight. She's not been winning ribbons lately, but Janet says she still enjoys the class and knows all the commands. I probably need some sort of training class myself. I've forgotten just about everything.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4919

It was hard to stay ahead of the weather today. It would rain for a while, but never stop for long enough to get anything done. Dawn missed her early walk this morning because of a sudden storm. I almost missed my long walk as well. I actually did get rained on for a while, but it wasn't bad. Basically, the word of the day was wet.

I tried to call the roofer about the standing water on the roof but my contact person wasn't available. I just left a text message. The roof isn't leaking and I doubt the roofers can do anything, but I'm still unhappy. Getting a roof that drained properly was one of my main objectives when this whole roof saga began.

When I was walking this morning I noticed that there was a lot of interest in a loose dog. The dog seemed friendly, but the local park ranger and several police officers both seemed interested. They must have called animal control because when I was returning home I saw an animal control officer trying to catch the dog. I felt sorry for the dog since it probably won't last long in the pound. The animal control officer didn't seem to know what he was doing. Instead of using a catch pole, he was trying to catch the dog using a large net. It kind of looked like a huge butterfly net. With a little cheese, this dog would have probably come right over and let you put a leash on him. Maybe there was more to this story. The dog might have bitten someone or maybe there were worries about rabies. Who knows. I see loose dogs in the park all the time, but seldom see this kind of drama.

I shouldn't have been so industrious yesterday, because I had nothing to do today. I did a load of laundry because that's what I always do when I can't think of anything else. The good news was that the water from the machine didn't overflow the drain today. There were other problems though. Our phones went dead for a while which was strange because the Internet still worked. I eventually discovered that if I disconnected an old wall phone in the kitchen, the phones worked again. This means that there is a bad connection in the wiring somewhere. It's almost not worth trying to fix this though. We still have plenty of phones without the problematic kitchen phone.

I don't know why I bothered taking a walk today. There was a light mist when I started and intermittent showers throughout the walk. I was pretty wet by the time I returned home. I never even considered not walking though. These long walks have become an integral part of my day. At least it was cool outside. The ducks seemed to love the weather. I saw lots more ducks today than I usually do.

Dawn seem bothered by the storms today. This was odd because she usually totally ignores the weather. I'm worthless at calming Dawn down when Janet is away. If I come in the bedroom when she's upset, she'll just go to the opposite side of the house. Dawn needs to get serious about bonding with me. Eventually Janet is going to take a vacation again.

I have no plans for tomorrow. This means it will probably be exactly like today. I think there is more rain in the forecast tomorrow as well. Oh, well. The rainy season will be over soon enough. 

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

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 4916

Why do grocery stores keep changing the location of everything? It's irritating. They must think you will buy more if you have to search for the items on your shopping list. I couldn't find the aisle with all the spices this morning, so getting more pepper will have to wait until next week. Wherever you go, there are fewer and fewer cashiers and more self-checkout stations. Central Market just replaced a large section of cashier stations with self-checkout machines. I ended up in this section by mistake and will make a point not to go there again. The new machines weren't working correctly and kept ringing up the items I scanned twice. You couldn't correct this mistake yourself. You had to wait for someone from the store to come reset the machine. These machines won't let you buy alcohol without an employee checking your ID either. Good grief. Even a machine should know that I'm 75 years old.

I'm not totally against automation. I like the app that Walmart and Sam's Club use to let you bypass the checkout line. You scan the items on your phone as you are shopping. This is much easier than rows of self checkout stations near the exit. I don't think this trend is going to end any time soon. Pretty soon there won't be a need for employees in stores at all.

There were lots of severe weather warnings for today, but once again we didn't get any rain at all. I keep planning to go to the gym, but always end up taking my long walk because I'm tired of driving. With all the warnings about large hail I didn't want to risk leaving my car out in the open either. It was hot and humid today but that didn't stop me. I trudged along, completing my regular route at a very slow pace. Truthfully, I've grown tired of taking a long walk every day, but these walks are still preferable to other exercise alternatives. I'd probably gain ten pounds if I quit walking entirely.

I have quit thinking about switching from cable TV to a streaming service. It's easier to just pay a bit more and stick with something familiar. The experimenting I did yesterday convinced me that streaming is a bit of a nuisance. I don't watch TV that much, but I still like using a regular remote to change channels. Oddly our TV has a built-in Alexa which I have never activated. I think you are supposed to talk to your TV and tell it what you want to watch. Not for me. I'm becoming more an more like my Dad. He refused to use computers and used an old manual typewriter for most of his life. Maybe is is natural to become resistant to change as you grow older. Why relearn something you already know?

I got a press proof of my article about the AX-2 Mission from my editor at SpaceFlight. The article looks nice and they used four of the launch pictures I took. Whenever I see these articles in print, it makes me want to do more of this type of thing. I don't have any strong desires these days, but writing about rockets and attending launches at Kennedy Space Center is enjoyable. It's not a good way to make money though. None of the launch photographers I know are getting rich. Hmm. Is this a hobby or an occupation? It's hard to tell sometimes.

The weather is supposed to be much nicer tomorrow. I'll go mall walking in the morning and then we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. It doesn't bother me that we do the same thing every week. Actually it's kind of comforting.

Escher is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4915

When we walked Dawn this morning I could tell it was going to be a hot day. Our early morning walk was pleasant, but you could feel that the heat was coming. I should have just kept walking while the temperatures were still relatively cool, but I felt compelled to follow my regular routine. I came home, made the bed, ate my breakfast, washed the dishes, and then turned on the computer and checked my messages. By the time I was ready to walk again, it was already quite warm.

I tried wetting down my hat before I left the house, but that didn't help for long. The hat was dry again in thirty minutes. I wasn't very fast today, although my second mile was faster than my first. My last mile is always very slow. There are still a few ducks around Sunset Bay, but most have migrated north for the summer. I guess the city has finally realized that the bald eagles have gone because they took down the protective fencing that used to surround a long abandoned nest. While I'm walking I always wonder why I'm not at my air conditioned gym instead. Old habits die hard I guess.

I think I've figured out why AT&T was trying to get me to switch from U-Verse to a less expensive streaming plan. They've certainly never tried to save me money before. I did a little more research on streaming services today and discovered that their pricing structure is much like what I've experienced with my storage warehouse. They lure you in with a low initial price which usually goes away within three to six months. When you read the fine print you quickly realize that the regular price is much higher, and that pricing can change on a monthly basis. Eventually you will end up paying just as much for the streaming service as you do for traditional cable TV. Streaming services don't require a lot of service technicians and additional equipment either. I'm sure the phone company loves that. I've had U-Verse technicians out to the house many times to fix the system. All that goes away with a streaming service. As always, it comes down to money. The phone company makes more money selling you a streaming service. They can fire a lot of their service technicians and get rid of all the set-top boxes.

I tried the free trials for YouTube TV and Hulu to see if I might like streaming better than cable. Not so much. It's a lot easier to use the U-Verse TV remote than to navigate the convoluted on-screen menus of streaming TV. The bottom line is that U-Verse is definitely too expensive, but it's more convenient than the streaming services I tried. It's more convenient for me anyway. I guess I'll just forget about this for a while. I don't watch TV that much anyway. If Janet would rather have a streaming service, we can always switch later.

Dawn was predictably excited when Janet came home with the groceries this afternoon. She was disappointed that she didn't get an afternoon walk though. It was too hot. I don't think she would have enjoyed the walk. She didn't even want to stay outside very long when I took her out to pee. The sad thing is that Summer is just beginning. It's going to get a lot hotter pretty soon. There is good news though. I think the insulation we added with the new roof is already helping. It seems easier to keep the house cool than it did in previous years.

These weeks go by so quickly now. It's already time to make another grocery list. I need to get my shopping done early because there are thunderstorms in the forecast again. We'll see what happens tomorrow. The weather forecast is wrong at least half the time.

Liberty is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4914

I spent way too much time today trying to decide whether to abandon U-Verse and go to a streaming service instead. I don't know why I even care, since I don't watch TV much. It seems like something I need to do though. U-Verse is on the way out and AT&T doesn't want to support it anymore. I'm pretty sure our TV and home network will support streaming, but I'm always wary about doing anything new with electronics. There's always something they don't tell you about and you end up spending hours talking to a customer support person who doesn't really understand your problem. Streaming is a lot cheaper than U-Verse, but like everything else, the price is just an illusion. The price will keep going up year after year and then one day I will discover that it is actually more expensive than U-Verse.

My main reservation about streaming services is that they depend on my Internet connection which is never as fast as it claims to be. At least the U-Verse TV doesn't depend on WiFi or my network router. It just hooks up straight to the fiber optic cable. First world problems, I guess. I'm sure I'll end up getting some sort of streaming service and then end up hating it.

I had to pick up a prescription today and I still can't figure out how GoodRx works. The pills I picked up today had a list price of $113. On my Part-D prescription drug plan the Co-Pay was $18. On GoodRx the price was only $5.00. What is their business model? I don't see how they can offer prescription medicine so cheap, especially when the app is free to use. It does seem weird and more than a bit wrong that a prescription price could vary so much. $113 vs $5 is quite a big difference.

Not much happened today, but what else is new. We had a very pleasant early walk with Dawn and then I had a not so pleasant longer walk later in the day. The warmer weather still hasn't forced me to go to the gym, but I'm thinking about it more. Did I really walk in the park all last summer? I do remember some very hot days last year, but I don't remember fighting the heat every single day. I did used to go to the gym a lot more, although I can't remember why. One of these hot days will be a tipping point for me though. I'll go back to the gym and wonder why I didn't go sooner. The best thing about my gym is that it is always cold. When we start having triple digit days, it will be worth the drive just to stay cooler.

I'm still having trouble sleeping because of the pain in my shoulder. I'm pretty sure I just pulled a muscle mowing the grass, but Janet says I should see a doctor. I'll wait a while. If I went to the doctor for every ache and pain I had, I'd be going every day. If I went to an orthopedic guy about this, they would take an x-ray, tell me nothing is wrong, and then tell me to use Voltaren when I'm uncomfortable. Been there, done that.

This week has gone quickly. Tomorrow is grocery day for Dawn. It is her favorite day of the week. I'm not sure if I have a favorite day of the week. They all seem pretty much the same to me.

Lacey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4913

I changed my phone plan today. I thought this would be easy, but nothing is easy these days. When I got home from the phone store my e-mailed receipt showed that my new rate was almost double my old rate. The whole point of the change of service was to save money, not to pay more. I called the store but they said I needed to call someone else. It turned out that a bunch of small mistakes were made and services I didn't want or need had been added. Everything is fixed now, or at least I think it is. We'll see when I get my new bill.

It was a slow day. I took the letter I wrote yesterday to the post office and called in a prescription renewal. That was about it. The rest of the day was just walking and eating. I did end up watching a live stream of the first static fire of the new Vulcan Centaur rocket. The excitement lasted about two seconds. I'd like to see this launch when it is scheduled later this year. I'm not sure how often I can afford to return to Kennedy Space Center though. 

Dawn's early morning walks are always enjoyable, but the temperature rises quickly. By the time I took my long walk later in the morning, it was already too hot. I keep saying that I'm going to start going back to the gym, but when the time comes it's always easier to just walk out the back door and go to the park. Sometimes I wonder why I keep doing this. The walks are boring and not really that strenuous. If I really wanted some serious exercise, I could do a lot more at the gym. I guess the walks are just an ideal way to kill time. I write articles for SpaceFlight from time to time and still update animal rescue websites, but I'm not that busy. I kind of miss the days when there was a deadline to meet every morning.

I've been hearing thunder all evening, but so far no rain. It's a big relief not to have to worry about roof leaks every time there is thunder and lightning. Now that the roof is no longer a problem, it has become even more evident that there are still many other problems with the house. Hopefully, it won't take me as long to fix the other things as it took to replace the roof. Problems are no longer a challenge. They are just a nuisance. I long for a world where nothing breaks or needs to be replaced.

When I went to the phone store today they tried to sell me on the idea of getting rid of U-Verse and getting a streaming service instead. They said they don't even sell U-Verse anymore. Streaming might be a good idea. I looked at the channel guide for U-Verse recently and half the channels are just ads or informercials now. Too bad I hate dealing with change. U-Verse is being discontinued. My computers are obsolete. My car is getting old. It's frustrating. I'd be happier if everything was just like it was in the 1980's. The 70's weren't so bad either. 

Janet said that Dawn did well at training class tonight. She doesn't listen to me, but she's a very smart dog. We'll see if anything interesting happens tomorrow. I still need to fix that screen door.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4912

My Fitbit said I got zero sleep last night. I probably slept a little, but not much. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and it hurts to sleep on my side like I usually do. Apparently I can't sleep on my back. The aches and pains of growing older are never ending. Hopefully, I'll sleep better tonight. Sleeping is my favorite activity.

We got an early start this morning because Janet had volunteer work she needed to do. It's hard to believe that it was completely dark when we walked at the same time last winter. Since we are approaching the longest day of the year, the sun seems to be always up now. We had a nice early walk with Dawn. She has so much energy on these walks that it's easy to forget that she spends most of the day sleeping on the bed. Dawn really enjoys smelling things in the park and is very observant. She's almost always the first to spot things on our walks. The one thing she doesn't notice are approaching bicycles. It's our job to protect her from those.

I've grown tired of watching television while I eat breakfast but can't think of anything else to occupy my time. The news is depressing. The world is a hot mess. All the cable news channels are obsessed with politics, which I have no interest in. The commercials are the worst. It seems like there are only about a dozen commercials on television and they run over and over again. Most of the commercials are for dubious pharmaceutical products. Maybe the networks know that only old people watch television these days.

I wonder how long it will be before I grow tired of eating shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast. I've gone through a seemingly endless cycle of trying different things for breakfast and nothing seems to last more than two or three years. I ate a grapefruit for breakfast for a long time. I had oatmeal for a while too. I went through a period where I made myself elaborate omelets and one of my recipes even got featured in a cookbook. Probably the period where I fixed myself a smoothie every morning lasted the longest. I tried too convince myself that these smoothies were healthy, but they were just as sweet as those drinks people love at Starbucks. Fruit is full of sugar and I put ice cream in the smoothies as well. Not surprisingly, I gained weight when I was drinking a large smoothie every morning. I doubt that I will ever return to going out to eat on Friday mornings. The restaurant meals took too much time and I've become too reclusive to spend time sitting in a crowded restaurant. For now, shredded wheat and strawberries will have to do.

I was really slow on my long walk today. I'm surprised at how much my energy seems to vary from day to day. Maybe I was extra tired today because I got so little sleep last night. Who knows? On a good day I can complete my walk ten minutes faster than on a bad day. Some of this has to be due with the weather. Cool dry days are much better than warm muggy days. I'll almost always complete my route no matter how I'm feeling or what the weather is doing. I've walked in ice and snow and blazing hot summers. I've gotten caught in the rain quite a few times. I even make sure I get at least 10,000 steps when I'm traveling. Some things do stop me though. I didn't do any walking that week I was in the hospital.

I wrote a letter to my sister this afternoon but didn't get around to mailing it. I can do that tomorrow when I renew a prescription. I still haven't fixed the screen door. For some reason I'm dreading that job. Whatever happens I imagine that tomorrow will look a lot like today. The dogs days of summer have arrived.

Wendy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4911

Little by little, things get done. My new driver's license arrived in the mail today. For the first time in my life I have a license with restrictions. "Corrective lenses required," it says. I keep a pair of glasses in the car now, but honestly I can't tell any difference when I'm wearing them. Things look clear with the glasses, but they look clear without them too. Oh, well. I've got my license now and it's good for eight years. I looked goofy in my last driver's license picture. Now I just look old. Strangely, the new picture is in black & white. I wonder why.

I also picked up the pair of glasses with progressive lenses at Lenscrafters this afternoon. Progressive lenses are strange and take some getting used to. In theory I should be wearing them all the time and would no longer need readers when I'm working at the computer. It's a lot easier to just put on a pair of readers when I'm looking at a screen though. 

My progressive lenses are basically trifocals with distant, middle, and near ranges. They do work, but to avoid distortion you have to look directly at something. Side glances don't work very well. I've had 20/20 vision for so long that it's a big nuisance now that my vision had deteriorated a bit. I still think I can see things clearly, but apparently not clearly enough to pass a DPS eye test. I will always think I got cheated on the test. When I had an eye exam while I was getting my glasses, the ophthalmologist said I should have been able to pass the DPS test without glasses.

The rest of the day was pretty normal. We had a nice sunrise walk with Dawn. We're seeing lots of bunnies in the mornings now. The coyotes that used to live in the area must have moved on. In previous years the baby bunnies wouldn't have lasted very long. The ground was very wet this morning, but neither Janet or I remember hearing any rain last night. At least the weather is still cool. There have been years when the weather was already pretty hot by early June. I hope this means that we'll have a mild Summer. I've lost my tolerance for Texas heat.

I took my long walk before I went to pick up my progressive lenses. It was nice to be able to complete the walk without getting hot and sweaty. I'd better enjoy these days while I can. I suspect that the temperatures are going to get a lot warmer pretty soon. Something has changed on my Fitbit. I feel like I'm walking faster, but Fitbit says I'm walking slower. This has happened once before. The algorithm that measures time and distance probably changed a bit during a software upgrade. The Fitbit and Apple Watch have never agreed on walking stats anyway. They can be off by several thousand steps at the end of the day. I still don't know which device is right. Probably neither of them is correct. Oh, well. That's what I get for becoming addicted to meaningless statistics. It's almost impossible for me to walk without measuring something.

I've been having problems with my hosting company lately. I'll notice that my domains won't load even though everything else on the Internet is fine. I'll call customer service at the hosting company, sit on hold for a long time and usually by the time I'm finally talking to a customer service agent, the problem has fixed itself. They tell me that nothing is wrong and to call back if I'm having a problem. Very frustrating. This happens several times a day. I know that something is wrong with the server, but nobody can tell me anything. Maybe I need to change hosting companies.

I feel like I've finally caught up on a lot of things but I'm probably just fooling myself. There is still a long list of things I've been ignoring. I'll continue ignoring them for as long as I can.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4908

These days just seem to race by even with virtually nothing happening. You'd think that time would slow down, or that I'd get bored on slow uneventful days, but it's not like that at all. I wake up and then all the sudden it's dinner time. I have a routine that seems well suited to wasting time. We always start out by giving Dawn a morning walk. We start at the same time Winter and Summer, but now the sun is already up when we walk. The temperature is usually pleasant early in the morning. This short one mile walk is usually the nicest part of the day.

I make the bed while Janet and Dawn are having their breakfast and then I eat mine. I take my time because why hurry. There is almost never anything important on my schedule. Breakfast is the only time I watch television. I channel surf back and forth between all the cable news channels. I don't have a favorite but usually end up on one of the business channels.

I like being informed but usually get my news by reading Google News on my computer. This also seems to be where the cable news shows get their news. Nobody makes much of an effort anymore. I hate the paywalls that traditional news sources have placed on their websites and refuse to pay for them. Call me old fashioned but I still think the Internet should be free. I've had an Internet presence for over twenty years and have never tried to sell anything. I still think I liked the old days of Usenet news groups best. Who needs pictures and video. I still like to read.

Now that Summer has arrived I'm trying to take my long walk earlier. If I was smart I'd just go to the gym, but that would involve driving. As long as the temperature is bearable, it's much more enjoyable to take a walk in the woods. Walking is relaxing because you don't have to think. Daydreaming on a walk is completely different than fighting traffic on busy Dallas streets. Truthfully, even the park has gotten too busy for me, but it's my backyard so I'll continue to walk there. I really miss the isolation of Mt. Locke out at McDonald Observatory. The place is a science installation, not a recreation destination so there are never a lot of people there. Sadly, I have to drive a full day to get to the place, so those trips will be few and far between in the future. 

Today's walk was just like yesterday's walk, but it was cooler outside since I started earlier. I really hope we're not going to have a hot summer. I don't know if I can handle 100 degree days anymore. Last year I would soak my shirt and hat in water before I started walking. This year I think I'll just go to the gym if it gets much hotter. There isn't much to see in the park in the summer anyway. The animals are hiding from the sun and the migratory birds have already left the area and moved north.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I wonder what will be more expensive this week? Tomorrow afternoon Dawn's training class is having a summer party. Dogs are invited, so hopefully Dawn will enjoy this. If not, we can just walk home since the party is being held in the park. The glasses with the progressive lenses were supposed to be ready tomorrow, but I haven't heard anything from Lenscrafters. We'll see. It's a safe bet that I'll get the glasses before I get my new driver's license.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4907

I didn't accomplish much today. Somehow it's June already and it still seems like it should be February. I guess I've done a few things this year, but it doesn't seem like much. What happened to all the goals I used to have? I wake up, wonder what I'm going to do today and always end up doing the same things I did yesterday. There are really only two goals I have left. I want to continue walking six miles a day as long as I can and I want to finish my quest to write 5000 consecutive blog posts. Both of these are kind of silly goals. Is six miles a day really any better than four miles a day? It's just an arbitrary distance I picked a long time ago. I'm pretty sure that completing 5000 blog posts is no different than completing 4000 blog posts, but that's the number I chose. I'll be glad when I'm done because I really don't have that much to say.

We had a nice early walk with Dawn. The park seemed unusually busy this morning and I have no idea why. It wasn't a holiday but there were a ton of bicycles to avoid this morning. Dawn definitely gets the best walk of the day. It's almost always pleasant before sunrise. When I took my long walk later in the day it was way too hot.

When I checked my messages this morning there was a thank you note from my editor at SpaceFlight. I always feel better after I get some kind of acknowledgment that these articles I write have been received and are appreciated. One of these days a story will be rejected. I'm kind of surprised that all my stories have been accepted so far. I have absolutely no connections within the aerospace industry and don't really know that much about rockets. I can't even remember how I got interested in writing about space. Hey, it gives me something to do. All old people need something to do.

I had to go to the bank this morning but had no desire to go anywhere else. I just made a quick trip and came home again. I've probably driven more in rent cars in Florida this year than I have in Dallas. I do walk a lot though. Getting 10,000 to 20,000 steps a day seems far more important to me than what I see on these walks. I just walk the same route over and over again. The area where we live is pretty compared to the rest of Dallas, but after thousands of walks I hardly notice things anymore. I'm pretty sure I could do the walk blindfolded these days.

Now that the roof is fixed the other flaws in the house seem even more noticeable. The stained and cracked sheetrock in the ceiling really needs to be fixed. The sliding glass door to the atrium needs to be repaired as well. The whole house needs paint and new carpets. I'm sure there are many other things as well. The main drawback to making these repairs is that I hate having strangers in the house. Unless I want to learn how to do everything myself, I probably don't have a choice.

I've taken this weeks's trash to the curb, so this week is over for me. Tomorrow is Janet's grocery day and is Dawn's favorite day of the week. She gets so excited when Janet comes home with groceries. I'll continue watching the mail for my new driver's license. I'll feel a lot better about traveling when it arrives.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4906

I finished my article this morning, edited some pictures, and sent the package off to SpaceFlight Magazine. The pictures were almost identical to other rocket pictures I've taken. The article was pretty similar to other articles as well. It kind of made me wonder why I continue to do this. I guess I chase rockets for fun. What is fun though? I don't really know.

Today wasn't just warm, it was hot. The temperature got up to over ninety degrees. I guess it isn't Spring anymore. Summer has arrived. It was still nice outside when we took Dawn on her early morning walk, but I should have taken my long walk right after breakfast. By the time I got around to leaving the house, it was already too hot. I'm always slow to change my routines, but it's about time to go back to using the treadmill at the gym instead of walking outside.

I still haven't fixed the screen door, but I did update the Dalmatian Rescue website this afternoon. I do so little web design and maintenance anymore that I'm starting to forget things. The applications I use are becoming out of date as well. Luckily I still remember enough to get things done. It seems strange now that I used to have lots of clients and did this every single day. There are times when I miss the structure imposed by work.

The friend who is selling my model train collection sold a few more things today. Sales have slowed down to a trickle, but it's still a nice surprise when something sells. Why did I collect these things in the first place? It's a mystery. I wish I could find someone to sell my watches. I've really lost interest in watches over the years and only wear the Apple Watch anymore. There is nothing wrong with collecting things, but it can become an obsession. There is always something new and you never seem to have enough. I collect absolutely nothing these days. Too bad it took me thirty years to arrive at this point.

I'm still resisting the urge to climb up on the roof and inspect things after yesterday's big rain. If I keep climbing up on the roof it will have defeated the whole purpose of getting a new roof. The roof doesn't leak any more, so I should just leave thing alone. I wonder how many days it will be before curiosity gets the better of me. Realistically, I'll still need to go up on the roof from time to time. We have lots of trees and branches occasionally fall on the roof that need to be removed. I'm not going to make visits to the roof a regular occurrence though. Those days are over.

Dawn did well at training class tonight. She seems to love this class even though she hates riding in the car. I probably need to find some sort of class as well. At this point Dawn is probably learning more than I am.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day