Day 3908

No rain today. Luckily, it was still cloudy and cool. We had a nice walk before breakfast this morning, although the park was already filled with weekend athletes. I don't know if there is an increased interest in fitness or if people just haven't returned to the gym yet. Janet says her gym is still pretty empty. I've never seen so many people jogging and cycling in the park before. Maybe one hidden benefit of the pandemic is that people are finally starting to realize that it's a good idea to be healthy.

I found almost everything on my grocery list this morning. They even had rubbing alcohol today. Strangely, peaches have returned to the produce section less than a week after I received that notice from the store to throw mine away. Maybe they realized what I've known all along. There's nothing wrong with most of these peaches.

It was long past time for some serious house cleaning. I hate changing the sheets now because it hurts my dislocated shoulder to remove and replace the fitted bottom sheet. Like getting up on the roof, this is something that still needs to be done unfortunately. I also washed the comforter and all the dog blankets. Dawn sheds a lot. Actually all Dalmatians shed a lot.

Dog hair means I need to vacuum more often than I'd like as well. I did a lot of vacuuming today. My part of the cleaning duties are done for a while. I try to do my share, but Janet actually does a lot more cleaning than I do. She still cares about a clean house.

I didn't bother to take an afternoon walk today. Even though it never rained, I kept hearing thunder in the distance. We were able to complete our full five miles this morning and I got plenty of exercise cleaning the house this afternoon. I still haven't removed the standing water from the roof. No sense in overdoing things. Maybe I'll take care of the roof tomorrow. It looks like we've got several days of clear weather ahead and I still don't feel like going back to the gym.

When I looked at the Boca Chica cameras today there was a torrential rainstorm going on. The rain knocked out several of the remote cameras but it didn't seems to stop work at the facility. Nothing seems to stop these guys. It's fascinating to watch how quickly this brand new spaceport is developing. They're still making the rockets in tents, but that's about to change. By the time the real Starship makes it's debut next year, this place will look a lot different. I've got to figure out a way to get down there and do a story. This dusty little strip of land is definitely where the future is happening.

There's not much happening here. Whenever I venture out on my shopping day, I'm appalled at how everyone seems to be totally ignoring the virus. Restaurants are full. Masks are required everywhere, but nobody wears them correctly. Almost half the people I saw today were wearing their mask below their nose. A lot of people take their mask off to talk to store employees too. It must be frustrating to be a store employee. I'm still doing my part, but it's mostly because I don't like people anyways. It's easy to stay six feet away. I'll be keeping my distance long after this is over.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3907

There's been rain in the forecast all week. We planned our walk this morning to avoid getting wet, but it never rained. It was certainly humid enough though. I'm definitely ready for some crisp, cool Fall weather. I'm never sure when Fall begins or ends. Sometimes it's 80 degrees here on Christmas.

I paid some of my September bills today. You'd think paying bills online would be quicker and easier than writing checks, but it isn't turning out that way. For some reason there are often small discrepancies between Quickbooks and the online accounts. I must be entering the information wrong in Quickbooks, but the errors are often hard to find. I'd like to put everything on autopilot, but you've got to check on recurring expenses because they frequently change. I'm surprised at how often Medicare related stuff changes. This is often why my books don't balance.

I think once you go on Medicare, the amount of spam and telemarketing calls you get goes up exponentially. Janet and I both get way more spam and dubious offers than we used to. Older people are sitting ducks for spammers and scammers. Just about the only way you can avoid them is to never answer your phone. I block numbers almost every day, but these people keep finding us.

Dawn seemed nervous around me again today. This only happens when Janet is away for long periods of time. As soon as she returns, everything is fine again. In these situations, I've found that it's best to just ignore her. The harder I try to convince Dawn that I'm friendly, the more it seems to upset her. The Pandemic probably hasn't helped things. Neither of our schedules are like they used to be. I guess I should be encouraged that Dawn seems a little more comfortable now. This is just going to be a long, slow process.

Dawn is our first retirement dog. It was completely normal for all our other dogs to spend their day with me. I was the one who was always here. I walked them, fed them, and played with them while Janet was at work. Things are different now that we're both here all the time.

Very little happened today. I should have gone up on the roof and removed the standing water, but I thought if I did it would just start raining again. I had an excuse for everything today. It was too muddy for yard work. It was too early to write the editors at Sky and Telescope again. I definitely wasn't in the mood to clean out the office. Maybe that's why I just took a long nap.

Tomorrow is grocery day again. Is it even worth looking for peaches when they are all being recalled? Why is it harder to find extra sharp cheddar cheese? I've given up on Clorox Wipes. Did we ever even need them? We seem to be doing fine without these things.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3906

You want a recipe for a dismal day? Start with lots of rain. Add a huge sell off in the stock market. Throw in a little pandemic isolation and top it off with the latest cable news crisis. It's getting harder and harder to stay positive this year. I'm not a very positive person anyway, but this year is off the charts. Sometimes all it takes is a little rain to tip the balance.

We had to delay our walk again this morning because of the rain. We got up really early to beat the weather, but the forecast was wrong. It was already raining. The rain never lasted long, but it was hard to tell what was going to happen next. We ended up waiting until almost noon before leaving the house. Dawn didn't seem to mind. I think she would sleep all day if given the chance.

I got a letter from the grocery store today telling me to throw away the peaches I had bought from them almost a month ago. A little late guys. I've already had two peach pies and eaten a peach every day in my morning smoothie. If I was going to get salmonella poisoning I'd be dead by now. Who keeps peaches for over a month anyway? They don't last that long. There's still one store that sells peaches. I'm continuing to eat them. It makes me wonder if these peaches are actually safe, or whether the store just didn't bother to read all the recall notices. I do think a lot of these produce recalls are just done out of an abundance of caution. Nobody wants to get sued these days.

I went to the bank today to deposit a check. I wonder if the bank lobby is ever going to reopen? They've probably discovered that it's much easier to have everyone go through the drive up windows. Customers seems to have adjusted to this. Maybe there's no need to ever reopen the lobby. There's an app that lets you deposit checks by taking a picture of them with your phone. I'm too old school for this though. I don't use my phone for any type of transactions. It's just a tool to check the weather with and occasionally take photos. I used my phone to photograph some Bald Cypress fruit today. These don't look nearly as edible as the Mexican Plumbs a little further down the road.

Both Space X launches were successful today. There was a Starlink launch in Florida this morning and another Starship prototype hop in Boca Chica later in the day. The Starship still looks like a flying grain silo, but I bet a year from now it will look a lot more sophisticated. One disconcerting thing is happening down at Boca Chica. Space X is building a giant stainless steel wall around the facility. If I ever get down there, I might not be able to see anything. Since United Launch Alliance didn't have any launches today, they had time to answer my letter. Yay. I'm on the ULA media list now.

The trash has been taken to the curb. The rain has stopped. Dawn seems to be in a good mood. Maybe today wasn't that dismal after all. Really nothing happened today, but nothing happened yesterday either. We'll see if tomorrow is a repeat of today. There's more rain in the forecast starting around 4 AM. Will we get to walk or will we have to wait? There's certainly nothing else on the agenda.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3905

It was raining again when we woke up this morning. This looked like a long, hard rain, so there was no point in looking for a little window on the weather radar where we could walk. Dawn would have to wait this morning. That seemed fine by her. Once again, we couldn't even get her to go out in the back yard to pee.

I went ahead and fixed my breakfast while waiting for the storm to clear. It turned out to be just as well that I stayed home because I got a call at 9 AM from the media liaison officer at Patrick Air Force Base to fill me in on the procedures for visiting Cape Canaveral. The guy was extremely nice and spent a lot of time answering all my questions. He also put me in touch with media relations people at Space X and United Launch Alliance. It took a while to get my credentials, but I'm starting to feel like part of the space coast press corps now. There's a good chance I may attend the upcoming Delta IV Heavy launch after all.

The skies finally started clearing around noon and we got a chance to walk Dawn. There was still a light drizzle when we left the house, but that was OK. Anything that makes us feel cooler is fine these days. We thought we'd turn around if the rain got worse, but it ended completely before we finished our first mile. There was a nice breeze too. These walks are a lot more enjoyable when the temperature is in the low 70's. I hope the cold front that preceded last night's rain stays around for a while. I'm enjoying these cooler temperatures.

When we returned home I wrote introductory letters to the Space X and United Launch Alliance contacts that the Air Force liaison suggested I reach out to. He told me that the more people I can establish some sort of a relationship with, the greater my chances would be of getting a good story when I return to  Cape Canaveral. Good advice. I asked the Space X folks about the possibility of scheduling a visit to Boca Chica to do a Starship story as well. We'll see what happens. I'm glad I can start making plans again. I was really getting tired of doing nothing. Having some sort of a purpose during the pandemic can make all the difference.

Dawn was absolutely fine with me today. It was almost as if yesterday never even happened. We're thinking of talking to a behaviorist. Dawn has these panic episodes from time to time and we don't really know what is causing them. It's almost like she has PTSD or something. Dawn has clearly had some troubling experiences in her past. Maybe occasionally I remind her of them. It may take a while, but we're going to work this out. I want to be Dawn's best friend, not her worst nightmare.

It looks like there is still rain in the forecast for tomorrow. We'll try our best to walk Dawn, but if I'm stuck inside at least I've got a couple of launches to watch on the computer. Space X will be launching its twelfth Starlink mission tomorrow morning and later the same day they will attempt another low altitude Starship hop down in Boca Chica. Today I watched a test of the SLS solid rocket boosters out at the Northrop Grumman facility in Promontory, Utah. Watching these things is much more enjoyable for me than watching the news. The news is extremely negative these days. Rockets are just the opposite. Reaching for the stars is very positive.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3904

I received a letter from the Air Force today telling me that the credentialing process is complete and I have been approved for press access to Cape Canaveral. It turns out that I have actually been approved since mid-June. I just never received the approval e-mail. All's well that ends well I guess. If I knew I was approved earlier, I would probably have headed down to Florida for the much delayed Delta IV Heavy launch and had to return with nothing to show for my efforts. That launch has been delayed three times and still hasn't been rescheduled. The letter I got today was kind of vague. I still need to find out exactly how all this works.

Apparently I am approved to cover launches that take place at Cape Canaveral but not at Kennedy Space Center. These are two separate entities. There are lots of interesting military launches, so I'm good with this. I'll probably be headed back to Florida as soon as I feel safe getting on an airplane again. Lord knows how long that will take.

We walked early today because we thought it was going to rain. It was even darker than usual because of the heavy cloud cover. Walking at night under a clear sky seems kind of peaceful. Under heavy clouds it is kind of spooky. Eventually the sky lightened and we all relaxed a bit. We didn't get wet either. Eventually it did rain but it took most of the day for the storm to arrive. It's still raining right now, but it doesn't seem like the kind of storm that would cause a power outage. Maybe I'm being over confident.

Not a lot happened today. It seemed like I spent most of the day waiting for rain. I got a little wet on my afternoon walk, but that wasn't the main event. The heavy rain didn't start until this evening. At least both pumps seem to be working. I wonder how long this bad weather is going to last? According to the weather app on my phone it's going to be raining from now through Saturday.

I'm glad I'm back in touch with the Air Force. One of their media relations officers is going to call me tomorrow and fill me in on the details. Now I can start planning something again. I need to select a launch that would be interesting for the magazine to cover. I actually hope this takes a while. It will give me something to do.

Once again, I'm not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow. Somehow my days seem to go directly from breakfast to dinner with very little in between. Dawn seemed nervous around me again today. This happens periodically and usually doesn't last very long. Neither Janet or I can figure out what triggers this behavior. It's kind of sad though. She's such a sweet dog and there is no reason she should feel uncomfortable.

Can you believe it's September already? This has truly been a wasted year.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3903

These weeks go quickly. It's already Dalmatian Day again. There are still only three dogs at the kennel and it looks like very soon there will only be one. Hank and Luckie will be going to their forever homes soon. This pair gets along well and will be adopted together. After playing with the dogs this afternoon, we took Luckie to the vet to get spayed. Ordinarily the rescue group does this when a dog enters the program, but we needed to wait until Luckie's blood work looked good and it was safe for surgery. We may see Hank and Luckie one more time, but it looks like they will go to their new home soon. I'm glad things ended well for these two dogs. Now we've got to find a home for Charlie.

The weather was terrible today. It didn't cool down much overnight and it was oppressively humid when we left for our morning walk. There was no breeze, but at least it was cloudy. We didn't go as far today, so Dawn would't get overheated. I could tell she was glad to get back to the house. So was I. Enough of this weather. Fall can't come soon enough for me.

We might not get to walk at all tomorrow. It's supposed to start raining again around 8 AM. The forecast doesn't look good for the week. Right now it looks like the rain will continue until Saturday. I hope the pumps work this time. It's a lot easier to get the water off the roof if the pumps are helping me a bit. I'm still waiting for some cool dry weather so I can finish my repairs on the roof. It might not happen though. Fall is very unpredictable.

I really need to find something interesting to do that doesn't depend on getting approval from NASA. Writing jobs and website design used to keep me busy almost 100% of the time. Now I find myself spending way too much time on Facebook and living vicariously through the few people I know who are still actually doing something. There are a small group of people who are still photographing launches at Kennedy Space Center and an even smaller group that seems to spend their days trying to guess what Elon is doing at Boca Chica. My astronomer friends are still using the telescopes at McDonald Observatory. I'm not an astronomer though. I'm sitting here keeping the batteries charged on my laptop.

I got a business card from some tree trimmers who were removing one of my neighbor's trees. It's a start. They seemed very organized and methodical. I'll give them a call and get an estimate for removing the damaged Oak tree in the back yard. Every time there is a big storm I'm afraid this tree will fall. It's just a matter of time. We saw a large tree that had fallen across a road in the park this morning. These old growth trees seem to fall all the time. I hate to deal with this stuff, but you can't ignore it forever.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. It's a new month, but I suspect that September will be more of the same. One of these days life will return to normal, but it certainly won't be tomorrow.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3902

We got a lot of rain today. It started raining before we woke up this morning and continued through midmorning. There was no early walk this morning. Dawn wouldn't even go outside to pee. The rain was so heavy that I began worrying about roof leaks again. It didn't help that the pumps weren't working. I had to wait until the rain subsided a bit before I could go outside and discover that the circuit breaker for the pump circuit had been tripped. I got one of the pumps working and disconnected the other one so the breaker wouldn't trip again.

We ate breakfast and waited for the rain to stop. We were finally able to walk Dawn around 10:30 AM. The rain had cooled things down considerably. It was only 75 degrees when we left the house. There was a nice breeze as well. Unfortunately, this didn't last very long. As soon as the clouds began to dissipate and the sun came out you could feel the temperature immediately start to rise. Before we returned home it was already oppressively humid and you could tell it was going to be a hot day.

The first order of business after we returned home was getting the water off the roof. I knew if I waited, it would be too hot later in the day. When the pumps aren't working correctly there is a huge amount of water on the roof. A lot of the water was stained a dark brown by the pecans falling from a neighbor's tree. Squirrels eat the pecans and then the shells rot.  It's a mess. I've always thought that chemicals in the pecan shells cause the roof coating to deteriorate. I've always had the most problems with leaks during this time of the year. While I was up on the roof, I replaced one of the pump hoses. These things don't last long in the summer heat.

There must have been a power surge or a very brief outage last night. The breaker for the security light in the back yard had also been tripped. Oddly, I didn't notice anything strange inside the house. Only the outdoor circuits seem to have been affected.

There were several rocket launches today and I watched them on the computer between household chores. Space X was supposed to do a short hop with it's latest Starship prototype in Boca Chica and then launch a Falcon 9 down at Cape Canaveral later in the day. The SN6 hop never happened, but it was interesting to watch. Boca Chica is only about a mile from the Mexican border. After the pad had been cleared and the launch site had been secured there were two illegals who walked right past the rocket carrying a bucket. After passing near the pad, they pulled some clothes out of the bucket, changed outfits, put on facemasks, and disappeared into some nearby brush. The announcer for the launch coverage seemed startled and said "I wonder if these guys realize that 250,000 people are watching them." I have no idea what happened to the guys. They probably have jobs in Brownsville by now.

By the time I took my afternoon walk, the temperature was over 100 degrees again. It's weird to have temperature swings of over thirty degrees in a single day. That's Texas for you. I guess I shouldn't complain. We don't have to worry about hurricanes and we haven't had a tornado in a long time. I think we're going to try for another pre-dawn start to our walk tomorrow. By the time we returned home today, it was way too hot. Maybe the weather will improve in September. It would be nice if everything else improved as well.

Tessa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3901

Another hot summer day. It got up to 106 degrees this afternoon. This is one reason why we got a really early start this morning. I don't think Dawn likes the idea of walking so early, but we are doing it for her. These pre-dawn walks are the only way to beat the heat.

Even though the skies were clear for most of the day, we've under another thunderstorm watch now. It's hard to keep up with Texas weather. It looks like the storm is starting to dissipate, but I'm going to continue to watch the weather radar until the fast moving front passes over us. I hate the thought of losing power in the summer. It doesn't take long for the house to become impossibly hot and humid.

I managed to find most of the items on my grocery list this morning. Grocery shopping has become like a scavenger hunt. You never know what you are going to find on the shelves.  There seems to be plenty of bottled water and toilet paper now. It's common everyday items that seem to have disappeared. I managed to find peaches by going to a different store, but I still can't find my favorite cheese.

I forgot to update my credit card information on the shopping app I always use to avoid the checkout line and it wouldn't process my transaction. I couldn't seem to enter new information at the store, so I had to start over and go through the checkout line after all. I finally figured out how to empty my shopping cart in the app so I wouldn't be charged twice, but it took a while. Technology is always easy until it isn't. I think I'm better at figuring these things out when I'm at home.

The little red light we clip on Dawn's collar wouldn't work this morning. I thought the batteries might be dead, but the light seemed to work perfectly later this morning when the sun was up and we were back home. It's easy to find a bargain these days, but nothing seems well made anymore. We got some solar powered patio lights for the back yard a few months ago and some of the lights are already starting to fail. I suspect this is because we got the lights at the Dollar Store. What can you expect from a solar powered light that costs a dollar?

The launch I'd been wanting to attend all summer got aborted right when the count reached zero early this morning. Just as the rocket started to fire, everything shut down. Now the launch is delayed at least another week while ULA tried to determine what the problem was. If I had traveled to Florida, I would have incurred three extra days of hotel bills and then had to return to Dallas anyway without seeing anything. I think someone is trying to tell me to just lay low for a while. Travel is complicated and filled with uncertainties. Walking your dog every morning is pretty simple.

I hear thunder but it still hasn't rained yet. As much as I hate the idea of rain, maybe it would cool things down a bit. The temperature is still hovering around 100 degrees.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3900

I like big even numbers. Only a hundred days to go before I've been blogging for 4000 consecutive days. Piece of cake. I'll reach this goal before the end of the year. Can I keep this going for 5000 days? That remains to be seen. I don't even know if I'll live that long. I feel like I've got less to write about than I did in the beginning. I certainly have fewer readers. It's good to have goals though. Even if they are silly ones. One way or another, I'll keep writing.

I thought about repairing Janet's broken Apple Watch today. Hey, I've already successfully fixed two computers. I watched a couple of YouTube videos and it seemed like something I could do if I was careful and dexterous. Parts were available too. I'm not that dexterous unfortunately. Maybe it would be better to take the watch to the Apple Store. Nevermind. The Apple Stores have so many Covid regulations now that it's not not even worth the trouble to go there. Apple repairs are expensive too. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I could get a brand new Apple Watch at Best Buy for half the price of an Apple repair. It was a discontinued Series Three model, but it was still brand new. I went out and got Janet a new watch. I still may attempt to repair the old one though if I get really, really bored.

We got a late start on our walk this morning. The sun was almost up before we even left the house. The temperature warmed up quickly and I was a little worried that Dawn wasn't going to make it. She did fine though. Actually, she seemed to have more energy than I did. When is this summer going to be over? I've had enough.

The State Fair of Texas has been canceled this year, but they've decided to open the fairgrounds on selected weekends for drive-thru fair food. I didn't realize that the demand for funnel cakes, turkey legs, and deep fried pickles was that high, but I guess it is. People actually seem excited about the prospect of drive-thru fair food. I think I'll pass on this one.

I'm amazed at how many people watch the Boca Chica live cameras. There are usually at least a thousand people from all around the world watching even when nothing is going on. People in the chat speculate about what is happening whenever they see a forklift or crane move. It's fascinating to watch how quickly things change at this facility. They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is all so different than NASA. Have I become an Elon Musk fanboy? Who knows. I despise politicians, but I admire people like Elon and Steve Jobs. We need more people like this.

I'm kind of glad i didn't get accepted for the Delta IV Heavy launch now. The launch has already been delayed two times and I would have had to extend my stay quite a bit. Hotel bills and rental cars can add up quickly. I wish I had less expensive interests. When a launch gets delayed it can get pretty expensive. You think "one more day won't cost that much," and then it becomes two, three, or even four days. You hate to leave though and miss everything.

These weeks sure go quickly. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day again. It seems like I just did this. Will I find my favorite cheese? Have peaches returned to the produce department? Such excitement. I can hardly wait.

Mandy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3899

It took me a long time to figure out why today was a special day. One year ago today Janet and I were out at McDonald Observatory. That was kind of special. Nope. That wasn't it. I kept wondering and finally realized that it was Dot's birthday. We used to have big birthday celebrations for Dot and Dash. It all seems so long ago now. I hate it when memories start to fade. It's inevitable though. I guess that's why it's important to replace old traditions with new ones. We'll have to make sure that Dawn has a special birthday celebration this December.

My Apple Watch notified me that I've met my daily move goal for 365 consecutive days. I wondered why I'd missed a day a year ago and then I remembered that we'd spent August 26 last year in the car driving to Fort Davis. I didn't make the same mistake when I returned to the observatory the next March. I took a long walk as soon as I arrived. I've been routinely closing all three activity circles on the watch for months now. I wonder how long this will continue. At some point it seems like I might find something else to do.

The crystal popped off Janet's Apple Watch today. How was that possible? I wonder if this will happen to my watch as well. I did a little research on Google and discovered that this was fairly common. When the battery goes bad, it can swell and push the crystal out. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I've had swollen lithium batteries make a mess of laptops, a baby monitor, and a little WiFi hotspot. Why can't everyone make their batteries like Tesla? Tesla guarantees the batteries in their cars for ten years. You're lucky to get two years out of anything else.

We got an early start on our walk this morning. I think Dawn might be a little scared of the dark. She seems more comfortable when the sky lightens up a bit. I still enjoy these early walks, but it isn't always easy to get up in the morning. I still need to get more sleep. We were back at the house by the time the sun rose this morning. You'd think this would give me a lot more time to do other things. Usually it doesn't work out that way. I often feel like the day is finished by 9 AM.

I tried to do a few useful things today. I managed to open the sliding glass door enough to squeeze inside and clean the atrium. I've given up on getting this door repaired. Nobody seems to have the skills anymore. I swept some leaves off the porch, cleaned the car, and then called it a day. I should do more, but it's almost impossible to get motivated.

I'm trying to stay motivated about writing. That's getting harder too. I wrote some letters today trying to set up a visit to the Space X Boca Chica facility. I wrote a launch photographer asking for advice on how to reestablish contact with the Air Force. All this is kind of like putting a note in a bottle and throwing it out in the ocean. You've got to do something though.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. It doesn't look like we'll get any rain after all. I'm glad it is gradually getting a little cooler. Maybe we'll survive this summer after all.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3898

Sometimes monotony and boredom are good. At time like these I'm glad my life is devoid of drama. I certainly wouldn't want to live in the path of a hurricane. Laura looks pretty bad. It is already a Category 4 storm and growing stronger. I know a couple of people who live in that part of the country and I hope they have evacuated. It's probably too late to leave now.

Living near a beach has a certain appeal, but I think the chance of a hurricane would rule out coastal living for me. I prefer a place with no chance of hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, or earthquakes. Hmm. Where would that be? If you managed to find the perfect place, that's probably where the asteroid would fall.

I woke up again wondering what day it was. When I started this blog, I never dreamed that I'd be writing about a world where nothing happened for months at a time. Sure, things are happening on television. There is social unrest and a huge hurricane is closing in on the Gulf Coast. I try to avoid all that. The essence of social distancing is to put yourself in a little bubble. You start by staying six feet away from other people and pretty soon you want to be six miles away from everything. I still watch the news every morning while I drink my smoothie. So far, I haven't seen any good reason to rejoin the fray.

We had a nice walk this morning. We got started a little later than usual, but the park was still relatively empty. We found two of the three missing Muscovy ducks, but the female is still gone. Where could she be? There are more Great Blue Herons near the shoreline now. These birds are spectacular. I'm waiting for the White Pelicans to return now. It won't be long. I'm never going to be a birder, but these daily walks have taught me a lot about the local wildlife. We share our lake with some pretty interesting critters.

I think we're going to get some heavy rain tonight. I hear thunder in the distance now. We're too far away from the hurricane for tonight's weather to have anything to do with Laura's early rain bands. It's probably just a coincidence that it's raining here too. It's been dry this summer and we need the rain. I just wish I'd been a little more diligent about taking care of the roof. I don't think we're going to have a leak, but I've been surprised before. One thing is certain. It's a lot better to be worrying about a leaky roof than worrying about your house getting blown away in a hurricane.

There's a launch tonight that I really wanted to attend. Oh, well. It wasn't meant to be. Perhaps it is just as well that I haven't been able to work out my media accreditation issues at Kennedy Space Center. The launch is at 2:30 AM this morning and there are tons of mosquitos and bugs this time of year in Florida. 2:30 AM is past my bedtime anyway.

Tomorrow is another day. Or is it? It's hard to tell anymore. Maybe that thunder I heard was a false alarm. We still haven't gotten any rain. Stay safe if you are in the path of the hurricane. Stay safe if you aren't too. It's 2020 and anything might happen.

Cammy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Dayu 3897

Every once in a while I make an effort to get motivated. It usually doesn't get very far. I haven't had much luck sending e-mail to my Air Force contact, so today I thought I'd call instead. I tried five different numbers at Patrick Air Force Base and each of them gave me a "mailbox full" message. I couldn't reach a real person at all. I couldn't even leave a message. Why did I think getting media credentials through the Air Force would be easier than getting credentialed by NASA? I'm beginning to realize that I just might be out of luck until the pandemic is over. I know a few people who are still getting launch access at Kennedy Space Center, but they are all well-known Florida locals. It's kind of a shame to realize that I am one of the "non-essential" people. I might still want to do certain things, but nothing grinds to a halt when I'm not there. I guess this is the essence of being retired. Nobody is depending on you. My interest in space and astronomy is just an indulgence. I'm reluctant to call it a hobby, but that's probably what most people think.

We got an early start this morning. Sometimes Dawn gets spooked by things we can't see in the dark. She is very alert. It's weird that I can identify all the stars in the pre-dawn sky. It isn't hard when there are only a dozen of them. Light pollution is really this bad in Dallas. I know there are thousands of stars up there. I just can't see them. Despite the city lights, dawn is still a magical time. I love seeing the sky lighten as daylight arrives. Birds start to sing as sunrise approaches. I've learned to identify many of them. We often hear owls and hawks. Lately, we've been hearing Egrets and Herons. The ducks and geese are always noisy, but we haven't heard the Monk parrots in a while. I wonder where they went?

Facebook looked different today. I hate the new layout. I immediately switched back to the 'legacy" view which I guess will disappear forever on September 1st. Why do people feel compelled to change things? Everybody does it. I'm still mad at Apple for taking the DVD drive out of all their computers. I like the old Land Rover Defender a lot better than the new one. Truthfully, I still like film cameras better than digital cameras, but that ship sailed a long time ago. There's not much you can do about change. You certainly can't stop it. I try to go with the flow and accept change gracefully. It's sad though when you realize that certain aspects of the past were measurably better and you're never going to be able to convince anyone to turn around and go back.

I "drove" around Boca Chica today using Google street view. It's weird to think that the Google camera car has even been here. The landscape is pretty bleak down here. There are very few trees and  a lot of dirt. It makes me wonder why those people in Boca Chica Village decided to live there. There are no shops, no restaurants, and no gas stations. The place is certainly no luxury resort. The houses are very modest. Space X moved here because Boca Chica is the southern most point in the United States and this helps when you are launching things into orbit. I'm still not sure why the other residents moved there though.

I think that Hurricane Laura is going to bring some rain to our area tomorrow and Wednesday. The heavy rain is expected to be East of us, but we'll probably still get wet. I should have gone up on the roof today and made a few repairs while things were still dry. There's a lot of things I should have done today. I guess that's why there's always tomorrow.

Pinky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3896

Dalmatian day is back. We returned to the kennel this afternoon for a visit with Hank, Luckie, and Charlie. All three dogs were happy to see us and seem to be doing well. We learned that someone is interested in Luckie and Hank. With any luck, these two may find their forever homes soon. Luckie seems more relaxed each time we visit. She has grown fond of the kennel staff and is learning to trust us as well. The kennel is kind of like a halfway house for some of these dogs. It's a safe place where they can learn to trust people while the rescue group tries to find them a forever home.

The park seemed empty this morning. You can tell that more and more people are going back to work. When the pandemic started the roads were empty. Now the early morning rush hour is as bad as it ever was. Luckily, we are both retired and don't have to deal with returning to work in an uncertain world. Often our days are uneventful, but taking long walks in a beautiful park still seems preferable to anything else I can think of.

We've been seeing a wide variety of warning lights worn by dogs and runners, so we got Dawn a little red LED light that clips to her collar. Those bicycles that whizz by in the dark aren't going to surprise us now. As the days get shorter, I'm still thinking of getting a small headlamp. I was going to go to REI this weekend, but there was a line in front of the store because they are still restricting access. It's weird. If you went directly from Home Depot to REI on a shopping excursion, you'd think you were in two different worlds. Everyone just makes up their own rules on how they will handle the pandemic. There is no consistency whatsoever.

I still look at the Boca Chica live feed cameras every day. It is fascinating to see how quickly things change from day to day at this facility. This is the Wild West compared to NASA. It is also the future. Things look kind of primitive now, but I bet in ten years this remote strip of land near the Mexican border is going to look more sophisticated than Kennedy Space Center. I wouldn't bet against Elon Musk. The guy really wants to go to Mars. I'm going to have to work on arranging a visit to this place. There's definitely a story worth telling down there.

It's a shame that now that I've renewed my childhood interest in astronomy, I don't feel safe going out after dark. You really can't do this stuff in the daytime. Every time I turn on the local news, there a story about someone getting shot overnight. This is why I like McDonald Observatory so much. It's not just the dark skies. The place is so remote that urban unrest is the last thing on your mind. I have to admit that I didn't feel completely safe wandering around on the mountain after dark, but it wasn't people I was worried about. There were always those pesky mountain lions and snakes.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. It's still too hot to resume repairs in the roof. I don't feel like cleaning out the office either. Janet and I still talk about taking a short trip, but there are no clear destinations yet and Dawn doesn't like riding in the car. I'll continue to think about these things as I walk. I'm certainly racking up a lot of steps.

Hero is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3895

There was no need to go to the gym today. After walking and mowing the grass I felt like I had all the exercise I needed. Around this time of year I start thinking that I might not need to mow any more. I even thought that today. Late August is ridiculously early though for these type of thoughts. The leaves are still on the trees and the Fall rainy season hasn't even started yet. Our grass is often still green in December.

We got a late start this morning on our walk and the park was already filling up with people. We probably should have started earlier, but it was clear that we needed the extra sleep. Without an alarm to wake us, we slept two hours longer than usual. Dawn certainly wasn't interested in getting up. The only thing that gets her out of bed is the sound of her breakfast being fixed. It was a little warmer than we would have liked, but we all did pretty well. I think we'll go back to pre-dawn walks tomorrow.

I wasted a lot of time today watching a static fire test of the SN-6 Starship prototype. It took three tries and most of the day before the rocket motors actually fired. The guys who put this coverage together on their YouTube channel have a lot of patience. There were several false starts today. The rocket would be filled with fuel and then emptied again when something didn't go right. Basically nothing happens for hours at a time and then eventually the rocket fires for about five seconds. Watching these events is definitely an acquired taste. I didn't watch today's tests continuously, but I kept a window open on my browser and checked in on progress throughout the day. I think next week this rocket will fly on a short hop, just like its predecessor did a few weeks ago. If I go down to Boca Chica, I think I'll wait until the program is a little further along. Before the end of the year, Space X is supposed to be making much longer hops with a more polished looking rocket that has fins, a nose cone and two extra Raptor engines. The more I watch this Boca Chica channel on YouTube, the more interested I become in seeing a Starship launch. I'm going to try to make some contacts and see what happens.

When I walk in the park on weekend afternoons, I always see tons of people sitting in hammocks. I don't understand the fascination with hammocks. On a nice day, they're everywhere. Young people string them between two trees and then spend the rest of the afternoon taking selfies and looking at their cell phones. I don't get it. If this is what passes for enjoying nature these days, we're all doomed.

Can you believe it's going to be September soon? What a wasted year. Maybe next year will be better.  The cynical side of me says the virus will disappear from the news right after the November elections. Realistically, I think it's going to be with us for a very long time. New cases keep cropping up in countries that supposedly have already eradicated it. What's going to happen when everyone gets the flu this Fall and thinks they've got the virus instead? The hypochondriac's are going to be panicking. I'm going to continue to keep my distance. Seems to have worked so far.

Janet and I eat a traditional breakfast together on the weekends. Tomorrow it's back to my fruit smoothies though. Where am I going to find uncontaminated peaches. I've got plenty of strawberries, blueberries and bananas, but good smoothie has got to include a peach.

Mickey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3894

I missed the free shredding event this morning. It was only two hours long. Who has an event that is only two hours long? Oh, well. I didn't really know what I wanted to throw away anyway. There will be other events like this and I will probably miss them too.

I still can't find everyday items in the grocery store. Today my favorite kinds of cheese and popcorn were gone. I couldn't find those blue Scott shop towels either. When I asked where the peaches were, the produce guy told me that they had all been recalled. This seemed odd. I'd read about fresh peaches being recalled because of Salmonella contamination, but this wasn't supposed to be happening in Texas. The contaminated peaches were a different brand than I buy anyway. Hopefully, I haven't been eating contaminated peaches. I eat a lot of peaches.

We got an early start on our walk this morning in an effort to avoid the Saturday crowds. Apparently we weren't early enough. I think twice as many people cycle and run on Saturday than on any other day of the week. The pandemic hasn't been kind to many businesses, but it's been great for anyone selling recreational equipment. They say sales of bicycles, running shoes, and kayaks are skyrocketing. I see more people exercising in the park than I've ever seen before.

I'd hate to work in retail these days. I basically only go out on Saturdays now and I continue to be amazed by what I see. A huge number of people wear their mask below their nose. Don't they know that the nose is connected to your lungs? Even stranger are the people who always pull their mask down or take it off when they are talking to someone. Jeez. You can talk through these things. I went out to pick up some barbecue for dinner and while I was waiting for my order, I watched three different people pull down their mask to talk to the lady at the checkout register. No wonder we are having problems with this virus. Maybe this was why there was a help wanted sign on the restaurant as well.

I'm tempted to call my contact at the Air Force and ask what has happened to my request for media credentials. The only reason I hesitate is that I don't know what I would do if I was suddenly approved. There is a launch I'd like to go to next week at Kennedy Space Center, but I'm not really ready to fly yet. I've been on enough airplanes to realize that flying is probably the worst place to social distance. If the airlines were still running a full schedule, this probably wouldn't problem. Unfortunately, most airlines are cutting back flights so when their planes are in the air, they are still full.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. Eventually boredom is going to drive me back to the gym. Janet has been going to her gym for several weeks now and says it isn't crowded and feels much safer than the grocery store. She's probably right. My gym was never crowded even before the pandemic. It's probably virtually empty now.

I do lots of daydreaming on my walks these days. I've got plenty of of plans, but most of them take place in a world that probably doesn't even exist anymore. What's going to happen to my plan to become a space reporter? I've got the full support of a magazine in London, but basically no place to go. I'm getting older and don't want to get sick either. I think 2020 is a lost cause. I'm thinking about 2021 now.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3893

The article I wrote last December about my visit to Michoud Assembly Facility and Stennis Space Center has finally been published in SpaceFlight Magazine. I received the press proofs this morning. The article looks nice and they even used several of my photos. I'm happy. I just have to learn to remain patient with these magazines. They all operate on their own timetable. The Sky and Telescope article about my week long stay at McDonald Observatory is currently inching it's way toward publication. If I'm lucky I'll see the article early next year.

My editor at SpaceFlight Magazine is interested in an article about the Starship facility at Boca Chica. Maybe this will provide the incentive I need to pull something together. I only know one person who works at Space X, so it may take a while to make the contacts I need to get invited down there. The visit may never happen, but what have I got to lose. This will give me something to do in the weeks ahead. I'm certainly not having much luck getting invited back to Kennedy Space Center.

We had a nice walk this morning. It's still noticeably cooler than it was last week. Dawn definitely loves the Fall weather. She had lots of energy and was even playful this morning. When we passed the Mexican Plum trees, there were two hispanic ladies who seemed very interested in the fruit. I wanted to ask them whether the plums were edible and what you do with them, but they didn't speak English. The fruit looks pretty tasty, but I'm still not sure what these things actually are. I can identify a few ducks and geese at the lake, but I'm no arborist. This stuff still might be poisonous.

There's a free shredding event at a local church tomorrow morning, but as usual I am not prepared. I really need to throw away a lot of old documents, but I hate to discard them without looking through everything. Of course, I hate looking through everything too, because it takes so much time. This is why the paper keeps stacking up. I keep thinking that I'll deal with it later. Unfortunately, later is tomorrow. Will I be bold and throw the ancient documents awasy, or just wait until the next shredding event? I guess I'll see how I feel in the morning.

Since McDonald Observatory is starting to open up again, I wrote a letter to some of my contacts out there to let them know I was still interested in volunteering. I received a quick reply thanking me for my interest and saying that they'd let me know how their plans to reopen the facility are developing. Maybe I'll be returning to the Davis Mountains before the end of the year. I spend a lot of time maintaining contacts in the space and astronomy world. I don't want to be forgotten, but I don't want to be a pest either. It's a fine line.

Since we are taking so many walks in the dark, I thought about going to REI and buying one of those LED lights you wear on your head. Janet carries a small flashlight now, but one of those headlamps might be useful. You've got to carry a light so the bicycles won't run over you. Some of the cyclists get an even earlier start than we do. I never made it out of the driveway today, but at least the thought is in my head. I can always go to the store later.

It's grocery shopping day again tomorrow. One of these days I'm finally going to find Clorox Wipes.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3892

Every once in a while I get so frustrated with telemarketers that I'm tempted to discontinue my landline service entirely. Very few legitimate callers use the landline anymore, but telemarketers and scammers seem to love it. I must get twenty telemarketing calls a day. I never answer these calls, but they are still very irritating. I signed up for Nomorobo a long time ago and thought it would take care of the problem. You can always tell when a telemarketer has been detected by Nomorobo because the phone only rings once.

Telemarketers seem to be getting smarter though because more and more of them have discovered ways to bypass this blocking service. They spoof your local exchange, so calls appear to be coming from a neighbor. Some telemarketers just use their real names because they know you won't pick up the phone when it says "Invalid Number" on the Caller ID. The older you get, the more you feel like you are under siege by these people. There must still be people who answer their phone or there wouldn't be so many telemarketers. My Dad was a sitting duck for these people. He knew nothing about technology and always picked up his phone.

I have the option of designating up to twenty numbers as "safe" on my landline and blocking everything else. What numbers do you choose though. About the only people who still use the landline are doctors and suppliers who never bothered to update their old office database. Doctors and vets never call you using their main office number though. Sometimes they use their cell phone. Other times they use an extension in a lab or exam room. I still might give this a try though. Anyone who really needs to reach me just sends me a text anyway.

We got another early start this morning. When we walk in the dark, I realize how bad light pollution is in Dallas. You can see bright stars like Sirius and Procyon, but the only constellation that is clearly visible in the morning sky is Orion. Orion is easily the brightest constellation in the sky, which is why it is the only one most people can identify. The sky looks so different in Fort Davis. There's nothing like a velvet black sky dotted with thousands of stars that have been bisected by the Milky Way. Dark skies are peaceful and incredibly beautiful. I can't say the same about city lights.

It was another slow day. I looked up the number of a company that can repair my large printer, but I didn't bother to call. Is the printer even worth fixing? I've already fixed a lot of electronic gear that I've never used when it came back from the repair shop. Maybe I'll get the urge to make large Giclée prints again, but I doubt it.

I'm discovering that it's easy to pay bills online, but much harder to keep track of things in Quickbooks Pro now. I have to manually recreate all the transactions I have already done online. That's what I did this afternoon. My accountant says Quickbooks is obsolete and that I should switch to a modern cloud-based accounting program. Maybe he's right.

The week's trash has been taken to the curb and I'm ready to start a new week. Maybe your week doesn't start on Friday, but it works for me.

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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