Day 3715

I'm starting to get volunteer assignments for my time at McDonald Observatory. Among other things, I will be responsible for keeping a telescope pointed at Messier 35 during Star Parties, while explaining to visitors what they are looking at. Although this beautiful open star cluster in the constellation Gemini was discovered in 1745, I've never seen it yet. This isn't surprising, since you can't see much in Dallas. I do know where the constellation Gemini is though. Gemini is high in the sky on clear evenings and I often see it when I take out the trash.

Now that I have been assigned a telescope and tour guide duties, it seems even more important that I get a refresher course on the night sky. I talked to the astronomer who owns the little observatory north of town and made an appointment to visit in the next week or so. All we need is a clear night. Maybe he can show me how to set up and align a Losmandy German Equatorial Mount as well. I know how to do this in theory, but once again, I could use a refresher.

Not a lot happened today, but the day went quickly. My routine has changed a bit since we are walking Dawn now. Janet and I take a two mile walk with Dawn after she gets back from the gym in the morning and then later in the day I take another three mile walk by myself. Dawn loves going on her walks and I think they are good for her. We try to take a different route every day to give her a little variety. Basically, Dawn just eats, sleeps, and goes on walks. That's all Dot and Dash did most of the time too. A dog's life is simple, but it seems honest and enjoyable to me. I've always thought that dogs make good role models.

I'm beginning to see signs of Spring. A few of the trees in the park are already starting to bud. The start of the wildflower season is still over a month away, but I'm starting to see new flowers every day. Most of the flowers I saw today were quite small. It was still encouraging to see a little color in the park. Winter can be pretty dark and grey.

I ordered the wide angle lens I've been thinking about. I was disappointed to see that even B&H charges sales tax now. When did this happen? Will this lens make it easy to take great deep sky pictures. Probably not. I've been reading that the best pictures of the Milky Way often involve stacking dozens of identical images in Photoshop to eliminate background noise. It's kind of a technical process that doesn't really appeal to me, but maybe I'll learn how to do it. Modern, full frame sensors eliminate a lot of this noise, but of course I don't own one of these cameras. I'd love to have a Sony Alpha a7R IV, but I'd have to win the lottery to get one. A new camera like this means all new lenses and that's just not going to happen.

I wasn't pleased to see the stock market drop almost 2,000 points in two days. If the coronavirus ever starts to spread within the United States, things will get much worse. Hopefully, that won't happen. I'm enjoying life now. The last thing I need is an apocalyptic pandemic.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3677

It was nice to see the sun again. Although it was still cold and windy, the sunlight made a big difference. I ran my Saturday errands before going up on the roof in hopes that it would warm up a bit. By the time I filled the car with gas, got groceries, and took a few bills to the post office, I was ready. I wish I could get all the water off the roof using the pumps, but that would take at least five pumps. I've only got two now. I put one on the carport and the other over the lowest spot on the roof, which happens to be over the living room. The pumps do a good job of lowering the overall water level, but there are still a lot of big puddles when they stop working. I wonder how much longer I can continue sweeping all this water away by hand? It's pretty tiring. I'm going to be too old for this one of these days. Maybe I'll finally have a new roof by then.

When I was walking in the park today, I saw a guy who appeared to be out cold on the pavement ahead. As I approached, some EMT guys arrived in an ambulance and began working on the man. I wonder if he had a heart attack? I didn't see any blood or sign of injury. A lot of people overdo it on exercise and heart attacks in the park are not uncommon. Drownings are common too. I see the fire department boat searching for people several times a year.

Accidents and injuries always make me nervous. I'm probably careful to a fault, but things can happen when you least expect it. I see accidents on the road almost every time I'm out and about. There seem to be an enormous amount of car accidents in Dallas. Is this common for any big city or are the people here just bad drivers? It's probably a little bit of both.

I got a notice from REI saying they were having a Winter clearance sale. Maybe I'll stop on my way to the gym tomorrow and look for winter coats again. I probably need an ultra wide angle lens more than a coat though, so I can take pictures of the Milky Way while I'm out at the observatory. You need a wide angle lens for those cool time exposure pictures of rocket trails too. Actually, I've already got an ultra wide angle lens. It's for the wrong camera though. I don't use heavy, bulky cameras anymore. I guess I've got a heavy winter coat too if I want to use my old Alaska parka. The older you get, the lighter you want everything to be. A few pounds can make a big difference when you're feeling tired.

Maybe it's a good thing that I'm interested in buying something again. I haven't had the urge for a long time. It's too bad I'm not still working. I'd feel less guilty about spending money if I was still making money. Of course if I was working, I wouldn't have time to go to rocket launches and distant observatories. That's the big irony of retirement.

If the weather stays nice, I might rake some more leaves tomorrow. We've already bagged a ton of leaves and taken them out to the curb for bulky trash day. There are still plenty on the ground though. If I need another reason to remove the damaged Oak tree in the back yard, this might be it.

Dovey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day