Day 4546

Lots of walking today. It was another 20,000 step day. We took our sunrise walk with Dawn, ate breakfast, and then I immediately took my long walk in the park before the temperature got too hot. A local running club was having a 10K race and there were lots of runners sharing the trails with me. The fast runners had already finished, but the slow stragglers were still making their way toward the finish line. Some of the slowest weren't going much faster than me. I momentarily thought of crossing the finish line myself, but I walked around it. Runners are a proud lot. I'm sure someone would have called me out as a fraud. 

Big races often have live musicians placed along the course. I guess this is to provide encouragement. One hapless duo were playing the Eagles greatest hits very badly. They sang out of tune and kept playing long after all the runners were gone. One my way home I heard them say they were going to play one last song. After they were finished one of the guys thanked everyone for coming and said he hoped they enjoyed the show. There was absolutely nobody within three hundred yards of the band. I think they were playing for squirrels.

I rested about an hour after I returned home and then Janet and I took Dawn on her Sunday outing.  I was afraid that it might be too hot for her, but she had a good time and did fine. It probably helped that there was a nice breeze and it was partially overcast. When we went for ice cream today we got lucky and received nice sized cones. They even put some ice cream inside the cone instead of just plopping a single scoop on top. Dawn expects the ice cream now. I think she would be very disappointed if we skipped this part of the outing.

This afternoon I went and looked at dishwashers in two additional stores. This turned out to be a good idea because both Lowes and Home Depot still had Memorial Day sales going on and offered much better deals than Best Buy. I found an LG model that I liked and will probably go get it tomorrow. Appliance sales are deceptive. There's the price on the sticker and then there are all the hidden extras. Installation and delivery are extra. The hoses and fittings to hook up your appliance are extra. Most dealers charge you extra to haul away your old appliance as well. It is what is is though. Few people will want to install a dishwasher themselves. Hopefully I can schedule the installation fairly soon because the old dishwasher is still leaking water.

I still haven't figured out the best way to catch the rat in the atrium. I have a Havahart Animal Trap but it only seems to trap squirrels. Rats are too smart. They quickly learn how to eat the bait without setting off the trap. I'll see if I can find the trap tomorrow and see if it still works. It's probably been eight years since I've used it. It's worth a try anyway. I really don't want to kill the rat.

There's already new firmware for the star tracker, but I don't have the nerve to install it. Everything is working now. Why do I even need the new firmware? I guess I don't really have the temperament to be a Beta tester. Each new firmware version adds additional features, but many of them don't work in the beginning. It can be frustrating. No wonder the Kickstarter backers got a good deal on this product. We are the ones working out all the bugs before it goes on sale commercially.

It will be good to go back and see the rescue Dalmatians tomorrow. All eleven of Sammy's puppies, as well as Sammy herself, have found great homes. Charlie, Oliver, JoJo, and Rocket are still waiting for their chance at a forever home though. Maybe our attempts to socialize these boys will help.

Scooby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4545

I paid five dollars a gallon for gas for the first time I can remember. Sadly, I don't think it will be the last time either. Things are getting bad. I remember four dollar gas during the Jimmy Carter years, but this is even worse. I could have gotten gas a little cheaper at Sam's Club, but the lines were too long. All the cars were pointed in the wrong direction too. If I joined one of these lines, the gas pumps would have been on the wrong side of the car. I feel sorry for people who have a long commute. No wonder everyone still wants to work from home.

Since I can't figure out how to stop the dishwater leak, I went shopping for new dishwashers after I finished my grocery shopping this morning. I didn't buy anything. Sticker shock. The average price for dishwashers at Best Buy was around a thousand dollars. I was expecting the price to be around five hundred dollars. There were a few machines for that price, but not many. I asked the sales guy about Bosch dishwashers which I kind of liked and he told me that they'd been out of stock for almost a year. "Supply chain issues," he said. What kind of dystopian world are we living in? Everything seems to be much more expensive and in short supply. Maybe I should just get the old dishwasher repaired.

It was nice outside on our sunrise walk with Dawn, but I could tell even then that it was going to be a hot day. This seemed to be a good day to go back to the gym. For some reason I seem to walk slower around the indoor track than I do outdoors. I think I'm walking fast, but Fitbit says otherwise. I got the steps I needed and worked with weights a bit to try to regain some upper body strength. I should have stayed longer, but it was kind of a bare minimums day. All I really wanted to do today was take a long nap.

Dawn has been reluctant to eat her dinner when Janet isn't home. She's going to have to eat while Janet is on vacation, so I thought I'd try something new this evening. I opened a can of Hill's Savory Stew with Beef and Vegetables which I knew she liked and let her smell it in the bedroom. "There's more of that in the kitchen for you," I said. That did the trick. She raced out to her bowl in the kitchen where I had placed a little bit of the wet food on top of the kibble that she normally eats. I'm not sure how long this will work, but it's a start. She likes her food, but just doesn't like to leave the bedroom when Janet isn't home.

I saw the rat in the atrium again today. I wish it would just go away. There's nothing to eat in the atrium and I don't know why it stays. The last time I tried to catch a rat in the atrium was a disaster. It refused to go in the safe live trap for weeks. I tried different baits, but nothing worked. I finally resorted to an old fashioned kill trap which caught the rat almost immediately. Unfortunately it didn't kill it. The rat woke me up in the middle of the night with a strange scream. It was dragging the trap around the atrium while making a terrible noise. I had to catch it in a big bucket and take it down to the park in the middle of the night. I don't want to ever do that again.

On a more pleasant note, I think it will be a nice day for Dawn's Sunday outing tomorrow. I'm tired of all the rain we've been having and am looking forward to better weather next week. Maybe I'll go look at dishwashers again after we have our ice cream with Dawn tomorrow. Hopefully I can find something better than what I saw today.

Faith is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4544

Do people still work on Friday? The park was so full of people when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk that I thought it was Saturday for a moment. Maybe everyone was just trying to get their jogging and cycling in before the rain started again. It's been pretty wet lately.

This was definitely a slow day. I didn't do much of anything. After breakfast I tried to find out where the leak in the kitchen was coming from without much success. It's not a bad leak. I removed some drawers from cabinets next to the dishwasher so I could see underneath and the area looked pretty dry. My best guess now is that the seal on the dishwasher door is starting to go bad. The rubber feels pretty dry and a leak on the right side of the door would correspond to where water is appearing on the floor. I'm no expert though. The water might actually be coming from the ice maker in the refrigerator. Who knows? I'm such a procrastinator that I actually thought about washing the dishes by hand to avoid using the dishwasher. That wouldn't work very long though.

When I took my long walk today the road over the little creek feeding the lake was open again. It apparently only took one day to install the new bridge. The bridge is for the fancy bike trail the city is building and is right next to a larger bridge for cars. The construction company building the trail must have a penalty clause in their contract because there is a ton of activity these days. It looks like the trail will actually be finished in early July as they promised.

I was able to complete my full six mile route today, but I probably should have just gone to the gym. I thought it would be a nice walk because it was quite cool outside on our early walk with Dawn. I guess I miscalculated because I was hot and sweaty by the time I returned home. It was overcast all day, but the temperature still climbed quickly. I'm probably going to be walking in the park a lot less during the summer. I just can't handle the heat anymore.

I'm trying to find out if I'm credentialed to attend the Artemis-1 launch this Fall. I applied so long ago that I've completely lost track of my status. The last time I was down at the space center I got the name and e-mail address of the person who handles all NASA credentialing issues. I sent a message this morning but it came back return to sender. I guess the person who wrote down the address for me misspelled something. Back to square one. There is still a lot of time and it's likely that the launch will get delayed again, but I'd sure like to find out something. I've already promised the magazine an article about this launch. It would be a shame if I don't get press credentials.

It's raining again and I've got the pumps on the roof working. I hate all these water problems. There's the toilet that runs in the bathroom, the mysterious leak in the kitchen, and the perpetual threat of roof leaks every time it rains. Plumbers won't work on the strange French toilet, the appliance repairmen is good at fixing things but bad at diagnosing problems, and the roof is just very expensive to add a slight pitch so it will drain properly. I'd rather deal with little problems like the star tracker. Old houses have so many problems that it can be overwhelming at times.

Time to make a grocery list again. This week has gone very quickly. Janet says the price of gas has gone up. I think it goes up every day now. We'll see how bad things are when I fill my tank along with a few grocery bags tomorrow. Life seem normal when I'm just sitting here at home. It's kind of a rude awakening when I have to venture out into the world these days.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4543

We had another big thunderstorm last night. The thunder was so loud that it scared Dawn, who typically ignores these things. I woke up when Dawn kept hopping off the bed to go to her "safe" place in the corner of the room and then hopping back on the bed again a few minutes later. It took about fifteen minutes before she decided that it was safe enough to go back to sleep again. I kept getting text messages on my phone from Oncor saying that there was a power outage in our area, but we never lost power. The roof didn't leak either. Luckily, storms with straight line winds move quickly and everything was calm by morning. I'm tired of all this rain, but at least the lawn looks good. Late Spring is usually pretty wet here. By July, I'll be wishing these storms were back again.

It was way too wet to take a sunrise walk with Dawn this morning. She didn't even want to go out in the back yard and pee. We figured that we could walk her later in the day. I ate my breakfast and ran the pumps on the roof. Amazingly, they're still working. Now that Summer is approaching and most of last Fall's leaves are gone, I'm just going to let the residual standing water on the roof evaporate. There's no reason to tempt fate by climbing up there too often.

The accessory I ordered for the star tracker came in today's mail. This will make it easier to attach the camera to the tracker in both landscape and portrait orientations. I've got everything I need now. All that's missing are some dark skies and the will to go outside at night and get bitten by mosquitos and chiggers. I'll keep practicing with the tracker so I can reliably set it up and use it in the dark. One of these days it will go back to McDonald Observatory with me.

I took my long walk early today while the air was still cool from last night's storm. As long as it's not hot and muggy, I still prefer walking in the park to working out at the gym. I was surprised when after a few miles my route was blocked by a construction crew. They were putting in a new bridge over one of the creeks that feeds the lake. It looked like they built the entire bridge offsite and were just lifting it in place with a giant crane. I've been watching crews build the concrete piers for this bridge for weeks. I still didn't expect that this is the way they would finish things though. Since I couldn't walk any further, I turned around and walked the other way. I ended up getting the same amount of steps and saw a part of the lake I haven't visited in months.

Dawn was almost back to normal today, but she's still a little more nervous than usual. She freaked out for a few minutes when she heard the mailman at the front door this morning. Dawn doesn't like surprises. Anything out of the ordinary can startle or scare her. I'm beginning to think that she has PTSD. She seems to behave very similarly to the way many people do with PTSD. Clearly something traumatic happened in her past and she'll probably never forget it.

I saw a rat in the atrium today. We haven't seen rats in the yard for almost five years. There was a guy in the neighborhood who used to take care of a lot of feral cats. I think they kept the rat population down. He found homes for the cats before he moved and I haven't seen cats in the neighborhood for quite a while. Owls used to eat mice and rats in the meadow behind our house as well. I don't even hear the owls anymore. I wonder where they went? 

I'm pretty sure the dishwasher is leaking. Do we need a new dishwasher, or is there just a loose water line connection somewhere?  I'll have to call the appliance repairman to find out what is going on. He'll probably monkey around for half a day and then tell me that I need to call a plumber. Nothing is easy these days.

At least the week is almost over. I've taken this week's trash out to the curb and the weather looks like it's going to be nice tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow will be uneventful. I'm kind of like Dawn in may ways. I'm good as long as there are no surprises.

Abby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4542

Today was busy. Well, it was busy for me anyway. After breakfast and a sunrise walk with Dawn I mowed the grass in the front yard. I did this early before it warmed up too much. Last month I thought I couldn't handle mowing the grass anymore, but I still seem to be doing OK. I guess I'll keep on going. The batteries in the electric mower aren't holding a charge as well as they used to, but still seem to be sufficient to mow one half of the lawn at a time. After I finished my outdoor chores, I wrote a letter to my sister and dropped it off at the post office on my way to the bank.

Mowing the lawn convinced me that it was too hot and humid to take a walk in the park. After a quick lunch I went back to the gym where it is nice and cool. I did a different set of exercises than I did yesterday in hopes that it would minimize the inevitable aches and pains. It's probably a good idea to vary my routine anyway. After all the years I've been going to this gym there are still quite a few machines I have never even tried. I'm able to elevate my heart rate a lot easier at the gym, but I actually burn more calories on my long walks. Go figure. I actually have no idea whether any of this activity is doing me any good. I assume it is, but how do you measure such things? I hope I've added a few months or even years to my lifespan, but we'll have to see how that works out.

Janet had somewhere to go this afternoon, so Dawn was her usual nervous nellie self when I returned from the gym. I'm used to this, but I wasn't expecting what happened next. Just before dinner time our power went out and Dawn completely freaked out. Such a strange dog. Thunder and lightning don't bother her at all, but power outages drive her crazy. I think it's the suddenness of it all. When there is an outage everything shuts off and the house is immediately quiet except for the irritating beeping noise from several uninterrupted power supplies. I know these bother her, so I shut them off as soon as I can.

Dawn's reaction was much worse than usual today because Janet wasn't home. I knew something was wrong when she raced to the back door and scratched to get out. She usually never wants to go outside when the ground is wet. It had been raining recently and that probably had something to do with the power outage. When she got outside, she wouldn't come in again. Something had convinced her that the house was now a dangerous place. 

The power outage didn't really last very long, but having the lights and air conditioner back on again didn't convince Dawn that the danger was over. I had a hard time getting her back inside and she didn't want to go back to the bedroom again. I left her alone for a while and the next time I went out to the kitchen, I discovered that she was sitting in a chair next to the back door. She wanted to go outside again. I thought she would come to her senses, but this time it was almost impossible to get her to return to the house. I eventually has to go get a leash and lead her back in. I fixed her a nice dinner, but she refused to eat and hid in a corner until Janet returned. 

All is well now, but Dawn's reaction today was troubling to me. She showed all the signs of a dog in a panic who would run away if given the chance. It rained a lot this afternoon but at least the pumps on the roof worked today. I was congratulating myself for getting the grass mowed and all my errands done before the rain started. I never was expecting to be blindsided by a power outage and a crazy dog.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4541

I didn't feel like fighting the heat today so I went to the gym. I might have to do this more often. Everything seems to be back to pre-Covid days. The water cooler is operational again. Most of the machines have been fixed. And even the basketball court is open. I shot free throws for the first time since early 2020 and not surprisingly I was terrible. It took a while to get into the rhythm of things but eventually I started hitting baskets. Walking three miles around the indoor track is kind of boring, but it's easy on your feet. The track surface feels somewhat cushioned. It's not like walking on concrete at all. I like that they keep the building really cold. I had a good workout without the heat and humidity of a walk through the park. If it weren't for the fact that I hate driving in city traffic I might go to the gym every day this summer. I'll certainly try to go a couple of times a week.

One of the reasons I didn't feel like walking in the park today was that I attempted to mow the grass this morning. I did this right after breakfast while it was still relatively cool outside, but it was still unpleasant. The lawn mower wasn't working well either. The battery won't hold a charge very long and I was only able to complete the small back yard area before the battery died. The front yard will have to wait until later. It looks like I will have to return to the battery store and get new batteries for the mower as well. If memory serves, these batteries are even more expensive than the ones I recently replaced in my computer UPS. Why has everything gotten so expensive? It's a never ending battle.

Before I completely gave up on the outdoors, I tried to clean all the spiderwebs off the living room windows. I don't know where all these spiders come from, but there are hundreds of them. I think they are attracted to the lights in the living room at night. Actually, it's probably other insects that are attracted to the lights and the spiders just build webs to catch them. I always need to remember to wear a hat while I am cleaning out the spiderwebs. I hate it when spiders fall in my hair.

At least Dawn was in a good mood this morning. She was enthusiastic on her sunrise walk without any of her recent balking or hesitation. We were hoping that she would want to walk longer this morning since it was still nice outside and we knew it would be too hot for a second walk later in the day. Dawn wasn't interested. She just wanted to do her regular one mile loop. There's no sense fighting with a dog on their walk. When Dawn wants to walk further, she'll definitely let us know.

I should have made more of an effort to see last night's meteor shower. I've seen a number of nice pictures on the Internet this morning. I did go outside before I went to bed last night, but I could tell right away that I wasn't going to see much. The sky was a light grey and I could only see a few bright stars. Most meteors are fairly faint and it is doubtful that I would have seen any no matter how long I kept looking with all the city light pollution. I would have gotten bitten by tons of mosquitos though. You really have to make an effort to observe the night sky in Dallas. Basically you have to have a friend who lives out in the country.

It's hard to believe it will be June tomorrow. Half the year is already over. It still feels like I just took the Christmas tree down. Oh, well. I guess I've managed to do a few things this year. I've been to a rocket launch and spent some time at the observatory. This is exactly what I did last year and probably the year before. I think it's OK to do the same things over and over again as long as you enjoy what you're doing. I'm glad I had the nerve to do adventurous things when I was younger, because most adventurous things just seem dangerous now.

Dawn has her training class tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll go back to the gym again. We'll see what the weather looks like.

Amy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4540 - Memorial Day

My Mom's Dad was career military. Both her brothers were fighter pilots. My Dad served in the Navy during World War II, although I'm still not entirely sure what he did. I never served. I had a low draft number during the Vietnam era, but got a medical exemption due to an injury I received rock climbing in college. Several high school friends served in the military, along with a couple of early ad agency co-workers. One of my art director partners was in the Marines and another flew jets in the Air Force. All in all, I've had very few connections with people who served and am probably not qualified to make many judgements about military life. I do think it's terribly sad that so many people have died in needless wars. The best way to honor all who died would be to just stop getting involved in needless wars. Going to Vietnam proved absolutely nothing. Going to Iraq and Afganistan proved nothing as well. I wonder if we will ever learn.

If you don't have military family or friends, Memorial Day is mostly an excuse to put some meat on the grill and have a barbecue. I didn't even do that today. I did try to go to the gym because it was a hot day. Their website said they'd be open this morning, but when I arrived, the place was closed. I wish more people would take the time to update their websites. The trip wasn't a total loss though. I stopped at a store and got some socks that were on sale on the way home.

I think I've become obsessed with the star tracker. Even though I'll seldom use the tracker, it is a cool, well designed piece of technology that appeals to me in an odd way. Little complicated things are fascinating. Maybe that's why I used to like mechanical watches so much. At any rate, I keep looking for ways to enhance the little tracker. Recently I discovered a better way to connect my camera to the tracker. The gizmo was a little expensive and I've been looking for a used version. Today I found one on eBay and bought it. I'm sure I'll get a lot more use out of the socks I bought.

Since I couldn't go to the gym today, I was forced to take my usual walk in the park. I could have skipped a day of course, but I'm nearing 200 days of meeting all my Fitbit goals. Why stop now?  Goals can be addictive. Just look at all these blog posts. I've completely forgotten why I started this blog in the first place. Now the goal is to just keep going.

Our sunrise walk with Dawn was quite pleasant this morning, but the afternoon walk to get my Fitbit steps was miserable. It was too hot for me. I wasn't able to complete my full route today but that's OK. As long as I get at least 10,000 steps and am able to close all three rings on the Apple Watch activity app, I'm good.

I missed having a chance to see the rescue Dalmatians today. It really didn't seem like Monday without a visit to see the dogs. We'll see them next week though.  It's nice having a routine. I've got Saturday, Sunday, and Monday covered. Maybe I need to find a repetitive activity for Tuesday.

Ollie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4539

It was a nice day. It was a little warm this afternoon, but there was a pleasant breeze all day. Dawn was in the mood to walk today which is always a plus. There was no hesitation like there was on previous days and she enjoyed both her sunrise walk and the Sunday outing later in the day. It may seem weird that I measure a day's success by Dawn's reaction to it, but that's just the way it is. Our days go much smoother when Dawn is in a good mood.

Basically all I did today was walk. I did vacuum the house this afternoon, but that doesn't really count. Walking is much more fun. It's amazing how dirty the house gets in a week. We live in a dusty area. Dust blows in from the park and dust blows in from the street. Dawn tracks in a fair amount of dirt as well. At any rate, the house is a bit cleaner now, even though it won't stay that way long.

Our first two walks with Dawn were enjoyable, but my third walk later in the afternoon was just to make sure I got my steps. By mid afternoon it was much hotter outside and my feet were starting to hurt. I would have gone back to the gym, but unfortunately it isn't open on Sunday anymore. Weekday hours aren't as long as they used to be either. A lot of Covid cutbacks have become permanent now in all types of businesses. When companies learn they can get away with giving you less, that's exactly what they tend to do.

I was working outside this afternoon and a spider must have fallen on my head. I didn't notice at the time, but about thirty minutes later when I was back inside and sitting at the computer,  I noticed something on my lip out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was dirt or a small leaf and brushed it off with my hand. I was quite surprised when a small live spider fell on the desk. Have I mentioned that I dislike spiders almost as much as I dislike snakes. I wonder how that spider could have been walking around on my head for half an hour and I never felt a thing.

Dawn continues to leave the room when I come into the bedroom to take a nap. She doesn't go far. She just goes out in the hallway and lays on the bricks in a place where she can peek around the corner into the bedroom door and see if I am still there. As soon as I leave the room, she immediately returns and hops on the bed again. I wish she'd realize that we both like to do basically the same things. We eat and we sleep. If she'd just learn to relax, she will have a lot more fun when Janet goes on vacation. The weird thing is that Dawn is fine with me as long as Janet is in the house.

When we went for ice cream after Dawn's Sunday outing today I asked for a waffle cone instead of the regular cones we usually get. The waffle cones are a little more expensive, but I was curious to see if they would fill these cones to the bottom. Nope. It's still a scoop on top of a basically empty cone. The waffle cones leak too. I guess I'll go back to regular cones next week.

We won't be able to visit the Dalmatians tomorrow since the kennel is closed for Memorial Day. Don't worry. The dogs are still fed and looked after. The place just isn't open to the public tomorrow. I'm going to miss visiting the guys. Visiting the rescue dogs has become a permanent part of our Monday routine.

I hope my gym is open tomorrow. I think it's going to be too hot to take a long walk outside. If Dawn would cooperate, I might just take a long nap inside. 

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4538

It was hot this afternoon, so I finally went back to the gym. I hadn't been there in such a long time that there were new owners and I had to enroll all over again. I still had a membership, but they wanted me to sign some new waivers that basically said that they weren't responsible if I dropped dead on the gym floor. I went through my old routines on my favorite machines, worked with some free weights for a while, and was totally dismayed at how much harder everything seemed. Use it or lose it, I guess. I really need to make an effort to go to the gym a couple of times a week this summer. My upper body strength is terrible now. I guess I've been fooling myself with these long walks. They are really just leisurely strolls.

On the way home I stopped at REI and got some new shorts for Summer. The shorts I've been wearing on my walks are practically rags by now. The store was having a big sale, but there was really nothing else I needed. I find this happening at almost every store I find myself in these days. I'm losing my desire to buy stuff. Now what? Buying things I didn't really need kept me occupied for many years.

The weather was perfect for our sunrise walk with Dawn, but she didn't seem all that interested in walking this morning. She's started her freezing in place behavior again. I thought we were going to have to turn around and go home, but then another dog passed us on the trail and Dawn decided she wanted to follow it. After that she was perfectly normal again. She didn't seem interested in the dinner I fixed for her tonight either. There was nothing wrong with her appetite though. As soon as Janet came home, she raced out to the kitchen and ate everything. I have no idea what is going through this dog's head, but it doesn't seem normal.

Janet and I went out for dinner tonight. It's been a while since we've done this and it was a nice change of pace. I've noticed that you can't just pick up the phone and make a reservation these days. Restaurants increasingly want you to use Open Table, or something similar to make your reservations online. I liked the old way better, but things change and you learn to adapt. It's weird. I made my living designing websites for quite a few years, but I'm not a fan of the online revolution. Things were better when we weren't as connected. Try explaining that to someone who has had a phone or a tablet in their hands since they were a baby though. They just don't understand.

The traffic seemed really light for a Saturday. The stores weren't crowded when I was grocery shopping this morning either. It's a holiday weekend and people must be traveling. There is such a pent up demand to do stuff after two years of Covid restrictions that I don't even think that the high price of gas is slowing down the desire to travel. There's got to be a breaking point though. I was amazed at how much more expensive my two trips this year were compared to similar trips in previous years.

We're going to have to watch the temperature tomorrow. Last week it was almost too hot for Dawn on her Sunday outing. Dawn looks forward to this Sunday trip though. If it's too hot, we'll skip the walk and go directly to the ice cream store.

Sam is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4537

Another cool morning that turned hot in the afternoon. Dawn wasn't eager to take her sunrise walk. I don't know why because it was really nice outside. We bribed her with a couple of dog biscuits and made it around our little one mile loop. Maybe she was just pretending about not wanting to walk to get the biscuits. Dogs are sneaky that way.

When I was eating breakfast this morning I noticed a stain on the brick floor in the kitchen. When I went to investigate the bricks felt damp. I hadn't spilled anything recently, so this seemed weird. I sure hope there isn't a water leak under the slab. This happened once before and it was a nightmare to get repaired. I'm beginning to hate older houses. Maybe the damp bricks are nothing, but I'm suspicious. Something is always breaking or falling apart in this 65 year old modern house.

At least there was a little bit of good news this morning. I upgraded the software on the Polaris star tracker and it still works. I ran a lengthy test and everything worked perfectly. The camera didn't disconnect at all, so maybe my problems are over. I felt pleased when I put the troublesome tracker back in its box. I may not be using it any time soon, but it's always there when I need it.

Dawn seems to have reverted to being nervous around me again. Somehow I must remind her of the two men who ran the puppy mill where she spent most of her life. Dawn is totally devoted to Janet but will probably always be a little suspicious of me. It's understandable, given the life she's had, but it's still kind of sad. 

I should have gone to the gym today, but I just keep walking in the park. It's becoming close to impossible for me to try something new. Going to the gym isn't even that new, since I used to go frequently before Covid hit. It's just so much easier to get up every morning and do exactly the same things every day. I have two places I like to visit and that seems to be plenty. I have a routine that mostly consists of walking and eating. I still spend time on the computer even though there is no real work to do and I always end the day with a blog post. Sometimes I'm bored, but not as often as you'd think. It's really not a bad life as long as nothing breaks.

I wonder about things when I'm walking. There are big signs in the park telling people not to feed the ducks. There are also educational posters explaining why it it is bad for ducks and geese to eat bread. Apparently nobody reads these messages because I still see people feeding bread to the ducks every single day. Often they are feeding them right next to a sign telling them not to feed the ducks. These are probably the same people who leave litter all over the place after having a picnic. It's not that surprising that I am a solitary person. I like animals better than people. Except for snakes. I'm not very fond of snakes.

It's time to make a grocery list again. I'm beginning to dread these Saturday shopping excursions. Traffic is terrible and driving skills seems to have deteriorated precipitously in the past several years. Maybe I'm imagining things but people weren't as rude and seemed to drive a lot better before Covid. Maybe it's just all the new people moving into the area. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Grocery shopping still beats mowing the lawn.

Libby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4536

Today's big event was giving Dawn a bath. I didn't think Dawn was too dirty and probably neither did Dawn, but she likes to roll in the dirt and Janet likes a clean dog. We always take Dawn to a self bathe place in the neighborhood. She hates getting in the tub, but always seems to relax when we apply the shampoo and rinse her off with warm water. By the time we dry her with a couple of bath towels, she seems like a happy dog. I kind of feel the same way about taking a shower. I hate getting wet, but it does feel better being clean.

It was surprisingly cold when we took our sunrise walk this morning. The furnace was on when I woke up and I actually needed a coat when we went outside. I thought I was done with Winter coats for the year, but maybe not. The weather here is full of surprises. Dawn approved of the cooler weather and really enjoyed her walk this morning. I thought she might want to take a longer walk, but she was more interested in returning home for her breakfast.

I always take Dawn outside around 11 AM to pee. I sat outside with her for about fifteen minutes and she did nothing, so we went back inside again. I then went out in the front yard to pull weeds in a little garden area and when I returned not more than ten minutes later I discovered a trail of pee leading to the back door. Dawn never does this. I wonder why she didn't go when I had her outside a little earlier. I hope she isn't getting senile or has some kind of medical issue. She's been fine the rest of the day, but it's something to keep an eye on.

My long walk this afternoon was curtailed by foot pain again this afternoon. I was lucky to get 10,000 steps today. It's a shame that my feet have been bothering me when the weather has been so nice. This would have been a great afternoon for a long walk. As much as I hate driving in city traffic, I'll probably have to start going back to the gym soon. I have a feeling that my feet need a rest and I probably need to start doing some alternate exercises anyway. My upper body strength is terrible now. It's a shame that it is so easy to lose muscle mass as you get older, but so hard to gain it back again. 

I've got to stop using Facebook. It's become totally irritating lately. Whenever I see an interesting story, it always ends up being hidden behind a paywall. I hate those paywalls and steadfastly refuse to subscribe to anything. Newspapers and magazines are the worst. Now that nobody reads the printed page anymore, all these publications seem to be trying to recreate their subscription models online. Even in the old days I used to read magazines in libraries. I guess I've always thought that information should be free. Almost as irritating as paywalls is the proliferation of sponsored articles on Facebook. These are all clickbait. If you click on an interesting headline and picture, you are led through an endless series of pages filled with ads and other nonsense, all trying to get you to hit the next button that will lead you to your destination. Usually I realize that I've been scammed after hitting the next button a few times. I should have learned by now that these sponsored posts are all worthless clickbait.

Where has this week gone? I've already taken the trash out to the curb and and am contemplating going out for breakfast on Friday again. Maybe I will one of these days. I think the magic is gone unfortunately. I don't enjoy eating as much as I used to. Exploring new restaurants used to be a big adventure. Now eating a perfunctory bowl of shredded wheat is just the easiest way to get some food in my belly.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4535

I'm amazed that the roof didn't leak. We really got a lot of rain last night. I'm glad that Dawn isn't bothered by storms. All our other dogs would havae been in a panic. I was close to being in a panic myself. I hate dealing with roof leaks and was convinced that I was going to wake up this morning with a big mess on the floor. All is well though. There were no leaks at all.

Since the pumps didn't work last night, I was forced to go up on the roof and investigate this morning. It's a lot harder for me to climb up on the roof these days. I try to limit my time up there because I really don't want to fall. It turned out that the pumps weren't broken after all. The extension cords didn't appear to be bad either. The main pump had tipped over on its side which explained why it wasn't working. Maybe the wind blew it over or a possum bumped into it. Who knows? I swept all the standing water away with the big push broom that resides permanently on the roof, made sure that both pumps were working again, and carefully made my way back to the ground. It was slippery up there today. I hope I don't have to do this again for a long time.

Dawn wasn't wild about walking this morning because the ground was still very wet. We made it all the way around our one mile loop though. Dawn only stopped once, but we got her going again with a dog biscuit. She really doesn't like wet weather. I waited until later in the morning to take my own longer walk. I didn't really feel like walking either, but I am determined to keep moving. I was able to complete my full six mile route again. It was nice and cool outside, but I just didn't feel like walking. As much as I would like to on some days, I just can't substitute napping for walking and expect to stay in shape.

I resisted the urge to monkey around with the star tracker today. I had plenty of time, but why cause myself needless aggravation? The tracker works now, but if I update the software, it will probably stop working again. That's what happened the last time there was an app upgrade anyway. My Chinese contacts at Benro say it's perfectly safe to update the app, but I have little faith in this product anymore. I wonder how long I can ignore this thing? I'm curious what will happen if I upgrade the app and firmware, but I think I'm just asking for trouble.

There's a lot going on in space these days. I watched the Transporter 5 launch this morning and the Starliner return to earth this afternoon. Sure wish I could see more of these events in person. I kind of like being part of the little community of space journalists and photographers. It's just too expensive to go to the Space Center very often though. Most of the other photographers live nearby. Maybe I'll go back later this year. There are lots of launches I'd like to see. There's just not lots of money to indulge what has become a rather expensive hobby.

At least the rain is over for a while. It's going to be cooler for the next week or so as well. I was surprised that the furnace came on for a little while today. I thought I wouldn't hear that thing again until next winter. Maybe the cooler weather will make my walks a little easier. One can always hope.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4534

It's a little late, but the rain has finally arrived. I spent most of the day trying to avoid getting wet but I guess you can't avoid it forever. I did manage to get my long walk finished before the storms started and Dawn got her walk as well. Now we wait for the roof to start leaking. We've got quite a downpour right now and the pumps on the roof aren't working. It's not a good combination.

Other than waiting for the rain to start, it was a pretty slow day. I discovered that the shower drain was clogged when I was taking a shower today. I wish I'd discovered this before I was actually in the shower and already wet. I had to get dressed so I could go outside and get my tools to snake out the drain before I could continue. Water is not my friend. Between running toilets, slow drains, and leaking roofs, I've had just about all the water problems I can handle.

Dawn must have know that the weather was about to change because she refused to take a sunrise walk. It wasn't raining, but the ground was wet. That's all it takes with her. Luckily, Janet was able to give her a walk in the afternoon before the next round of storms hit. I think Dawn is much better at forecasting the weather than the apps on my phone. Yesterday they said the rain would start last night and continue all day today. The forecast was only off by 12 hours.

I wasn't feeling lucky today, so I postponed updating the star tracker app on my phone. It was tempting because there wasn't much else to do today, but I kept remembering that the last time I updated this app was when all my camera connection problems started. One of these days I'm going to have to deal with this. My phone keeps wanting to update apps automatically when they become available. I've had to disable this function and update apps manually, being careful to avoid the Benro app.

I wish I could get the pumps to work without going up on the roof. Sometimes when the extension cords to the pumps are under water for too long they short out and throw a circuit breaker. Other times, leaves and dirt clog the pumps and need to be cleaned out. Unfortunately, you never know that something is wrong until after it starts raining. Oh, well. It is what is is. I'd better go get the buckets ready. It will be a miracle if we don't get a leak tonight.

My problems always seem so minor whenever I turn on the news. I guess that's why I don't like listening to the news anymore. I often feel like I am witnessing the total collapse of society. If you are even a casual student of history you realize that all civilizations come to an end at some point. We've had a good run, but we may be nearing the end of ours. I wonder what the next Middle Ages will be like? Probably a bit like BladeRunner. I may be wrong but I keep thinking that globalization is behind many of the problems we are seeing today. Just because something is too big to fail doesn't prevent failure. It almost guarantees it. The world would be a better place if there were lots of tiny little powerless civilizations, all completely independent of each other. If one fails or goes haywire, the rest just continue on. Of course this wouldn't work in a world filled with jet planes and satellite phones. It wouldn't work if two tiny civilizations decided to join forces and take over a third tiny civilization either. Hey, I've got no answers. Maybe we just need a lot fewer people.

I hope this rain stops soon. I know that rain is a lot better than drought and wildfires, but water still makes me nervous.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4533

We're getting to know the remaining rescue Dalmatians pretty well. Each of these dogs has their own distinctive personality. Charlie can go from calm to chaos in a fraction of a second. He's one of the smartest dogs we've known, but he definitely isn't a lap dog. He loves to show off and we've been able to teach him some amazing tricks. Oliver is a goofy clown who will fetch a toy or ball for hours. He's the only one who will bring the toy back to you so you can throw it again. Jo Jo is a gentle giant who prefers to be outdoors. He won't play in the indoor play area, but take him outside and it's a completely different story. He likes to hide his ball, even though it's always in plain sight. He's the only one who likes to climb up on a bench so you can pet him at eye level. Willie likes to play with a weird plastic ball that makes funny noises when it rolls along the floor. He prefers being petted to playing though. He's super affectionatee with people but doesn't seem to get along with other dogs. Rocket is a shy boy who is making amazing progress. He didn't even know how to play at first, but is definitely starting to enjoy playing with rope toys. They all love the treats we bring. It's a shame that these boys haven't been adopted yet. Each of their unique personalities would be perfect for some lucky person.

Today was unusually busy for a Monday. I paid some bills after breakfast and our early morning walk with Dawn. Then I shut off the computer and took the heavy uninterrupted power supply to the Interstate store to get the batteries replaced. I was hoping that the dead batteries would still be under warranty, but time flies and they were already two years old. No free batteries this time. I was amazed at how much prices had gone up since the last time I had to replace UPS batteries. The two batteries in the unit cost $95. That's more than double what the same batteries cost several years ago. Oh, well. One more sign that we are living in a crumbling, dystopian universe.

The weather was quite a bit cooler today and it would have been a good day to walk if my feet were cooperating. I joined Janet and Dawn on an afternoon walk after we returned from the kennel, but I felt like returning to the house with Dawn after she finished her short one mile loop. I did walk a little further, but not much. Even counting Dawn's two walks, I didn't even complete four miles today. Maybe I overdid things last week. Maybe my Hoka shoes are wearing out again. Who knows. My feet are definitely bothering me more than usual though.

Dawn is a funny monkey. When Janet is away she won't come out of the bedroom while I am fixing her dinner. I have to get everything ready and then return to the office before she will come out and eat. When Janet is home it's completely different story. She's a bossy little thing who is right out in the kitchen with me, barking at me constantly to hurry up and get her supper ready. I wish she was more comfortable being alone with me, but it is what it is. I'm sure Dawn has her reasons for all of this.

There has been rain in the forecast for several days, but I think it's finally going to start raining later tonight. I hope this current forecast is wrong because it shows an all day rain tomorrow which extends into Wednesday. It's a shame that we typically get all our rain for the year in one month. We've had plenty of rain lately and everything is green, but it will be bone dry again by July and August. An all day rain conjures up visions of roof leaks. I hope the pumps are still working.

There's already a new update for the star tracker. I'm afraid to install it though because it might break the fix the Benro folks sent me a few weeks ago. I'd hate to go back to square one again. I should leave well enough alone, but if I'm stuck inside on a rainy day, curiosity might get the better of me and I could end up installing the update anyway. Curiosity killed the cat, or so they say.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4532

What a difference a day makes. Finally, a proper Spring day. The temperature was in the sixties for most of the day and there was a nice breeze. Dawn was pleased with the situation and so was I. This would have been a great day for walking, but my feet refused to cooperate. This was a bad day for foot pain. After our two walks with Dawn today, I really didn't feel like walking much further.

Dawn really enjoyed our Sunday outing today. I think she knows where we are going by our schedule or maybe by what we wear. It's weird to see a dog get so excited to get in a car she hates riding in. The ride is short fortunately and pretty soon she is back on the ground again, tugging at her leash and smelling everything in sight.

After our walk, we always go for ice cream. The ice cream place raised their prices about a month ago, but now the price has gone back to what it used to be. There must have been complaints. There's always more than one way to achieve your objective though. I noticed today that the cones are smaller than they used to be. The cones used to be filled all the way to the bottom and now there's just a scoop of ice cream on top and the cone itself is largely empty. I feel cheated. Maybe the price increase would have been better.

Today changing the sheets was on the agenda. Why has putting on a fitted sheet gotten so hard? I struggle with lifting the heavy mattress and tucking in the bottom sheet now. This never used to seem like a difficult task, but my wrists still ache hours later. Now I think I know why my Dad started just sleeping on the top of his bed after Mom passed away. It was probably too much trouble to make the bed. Janet says I need to go back to the gym because I'm losing my upper body strength. She's probably right.

Today's long walk was just a short walk through the neighborhood. A lot has changed over the years. One by one all the small frame houses are being torn down and replaced by McMansions. I wonder how people can afford these monster houses or why they even want them. Who really needs a third story on their house? I'm old enough that I don't even like the idea of stairs.

I feel perpetually tired these days. After every activity I feel like taking a nap. You'd think that after a number of short naps I wouldn't feel like sleeping at night. That isn't the case at all. I go to sleep quickly and sleep soundly. Sleeping has become one of my favorite activities. I'm starting to remember my dreams better than my daytime activities. I lived in Seattle for several years right after I graduated from college and I can't ever remember going to the grocery store there. How did I eat? I remember furniture stores and art galleries, but no grocery stores. Weird. The other day I was thinking about a production house that I used to use when I started my business. I went there frequently, but now I can't remember why. What client was I working for and why wasn't I doing the work in my own studio? I could go on and on. I still think I'm pretty sharp, but I'm sure I've lost a few brain cells along the way.

I guess I'm going to have to get the uninterrupted power supply fixed tomorrow. I've already lost one computer due to power surges and I don't want to lose another. The UPS is heavy and awkward though, so I'm not looking forward to this. I'm definitely going to have to take a nap after finishing this chore.

Rosco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4531

When I started seeing reports of people spending over $100 to fill their tanks, I didn't believe them. "How is that even possible," I thought. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that it would take more than $100 to fill my own tank when I got gas this morning. Yikes. This is a pretty steep increase from a year ago.

I stopped at the pharmacy on my way to the grocery store and sure enough, my doctor had renewed all my prescriptions again. "I don't need these yet," I told the pharmacist. "I won't need any of these for a very long time." I checked on the prices while I was there and all the meds were a lot cheaper using GoodRx. I really need to talk to my provider and find out why I have a prescription drug plan. Maybe I'm missing something, but it appears that I am paying a whole lot for nothing.

A lot of my favorite brands are being replaced by private labels at grocery stores. This started at Costco and Sam's Club, but other stores are doing it as well. The cost differences are often significant, but I have to wonder about the quality. I still believe that you usually get what you pay for. I don't really like this private label trend. I've been buying certain brands for years and it's frustrating when you can't find them anymore. Oh, well. I guess this is just one more sign that I'm growing old. I'm not a big fan of needless changes.

Today was another day where it was supposed to rain, but didn't. I took my long walk earlier today because I didn't want to get wet. I stayed dry. I think there is still rain in the forecast, but it hasn't arrived yet. All we got today was the humidity. It was hot and muggy all day. I should have just gone to the gym, but after I finished grocery shopping I didn't want to get in the car again. I was able to complete my full six mile route, but I can't say the walk was pleasant. Welcome to Summer.

Dawn was grumpy all day because she thought that Janet was gone too much. When I fixed her dinner this evening, she refused to come out of the bedroom and eat it. I knew she was hungry, but she stubbornly stayed in her room until Janet returned home. As soon as Janet arrived, she raced out to the kitchen and ate everything in a big hurry. Dawn is a strange combination of stubborn and scared. It's going to be a fun time when Janet goes on vacation next month.

I couldn't replace the batteries in my uninterrupted power supply this morning because the battery store is only open on weekdays. At least I remembered this before I unplugged everything and put the heavy UPS in my car. It's seems kind of quaint for a store to only be open Monday thru Friday, but that's the way it is. It will give me something to do next week, now that my problems with the star tracker seem to be over for a while.

I just looked at the temperature and it's dramatically colder than it was a few hours ago. Looks like it is going to get down in the high fifties overnight. It's hard to get used to Texas weather. It's like a roller coaster. You can be sweating one day and freezing the next. At least we aren't getting snow like they are in some parts of the country. I fantasize about a place where it is 70 degrees all year long. Does such a place even exist?

The big event tomorrow is Dawn's Sunday outing. It's a simple thing to drive to another park for a walk, but it sure beats mowing the lawn.

Casey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4530

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

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

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

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

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

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

Harley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day