Day 3855

We got up early enough this morning to see the comet if it hadn't been cloudy again. Cloudy was good though. It kept our morning walk nice and cool. We keep leaving earlier and earlier in an attempt to avoid the heat. I used to think 7 AM was early. Now our goal is to be out of the house before 6 AM. The extra hour makes a big difference. There are fewer people on the trails and the weather is noticeably cooler.

Dawn did well today, but it is still the middle of July. It's going to be a long march to September. Dawn has the right idea about surviving summer. She went back to sleep on the bed while I had my breakfast. I usually watch TV while I'm eating breakfast. The news is still dismal, but the stock market was having a good day. It's kind of a mystery to me why the stock market has made such a dramatic recovery in recent weeks. What do other investors know that I don't. People are even starting to buy cruise line stocks again. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking a cruise for a long, long time.

I got Luckie up on the Dalmatian Rescue website after breakfast. I'm glad the rescue websites I work on are fairly simple. I've lost some of my skills. I haven't created a complex website in quite a while now and it shows. Use it or lose it has been my motto for many years. When it comes to web design, I think I've lost it.

I mowed the grass in the front yard this afternoon. It was too hot to be outside, but if I keep waiting for cooler weather, the yard is going to look like a jungle. Since I survived this task, I decided to go ahead and take my afternoon walk to get my 20,000 steps. It's a simple and at times mindless life, but I do have goals.

I went out and looked for the comet again a few minutes ago, but there were thick clouds on the horizon to the Northwest. I'm still not sure how the comet can be visible in both the morning and evening skies for the next several days, but that's what I keep hearing. Pretty soon it will be evening skies only. I think the best viewing opportunities will last for about a week. I'm hoping that we'll get clear skies on at least one of these days. I keep seeing cool pictures of the comet all over the Internet and I haven't been able to see it at all.

It looks like the new Ford Bronco is going to be incredibly popular. They are taking reservations online like Elon Musk now, and one model sold out in a single day. They say dealers are going to be charging a premium for the Bronco for at least a year. I don't know why I'm even interested. My car is running fine. It still looks almost new. I guess planning to buy a new car is just so much easier than planning to move to a new state.

I've already decided that it would be stupid to travel to Florida right now but I'm still wondering why I haven't heard anything about media accreditation for the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover launch. Usually when a launch is only several weeks away, all these details have been worked out. You'd think I would have at least received a rejection notice by now. Who knows. Maybe I'll hear something tomorrow. Otherwise, the big event of the day might be looking for blueberries.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3854

Today was Dalmatian day. We got to know our newest member of the rescue program a little better this afternoon. Lucky is a shy girl who is still getting used to life at the kennel. She was a little nervous around us at first and didn't want to play, but was very comfortable riding in the car when we took her to the vet later for an exam. This beautiful dog is going to make a wonderful companion for some lucky person. Hank and Charlie are still doing well. We think someone is coming to look at Hank later this week. Maybe he will find his forever home soon.

We had to cut our walk short this morning because of the heat. Even though we got an early start, we could tell that today wasn't the time to do our full five miles. Dawn lets us know how far she wants to go and when she selects the shorter route home, we know she's had enough. I'm not looking forward to another two months of this heat. The air conditioner never stopped running today. It's nice and cool inside, but you quickly realize you are at the mercy of these machines in the summer.

When I took my afternoon walk after we returned from the kennel, it was well over one hundred degrees. I should have stayed inside, but I was bored. These walks provide a structure to the day and save me from starting household projects that I will regret later.

I got a message from my editor at SpaceFlight Magazine saying that the article I wrote about my Artemis Day visit to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans last December is still going to be published in the magazine's upcoming September issue. It was supposed to be published months ago, but things change. That trip to the NASA facility seems like a lifetime ago now. I hadn't even heard of the coronavirus yet. I wonder when I'm going to get an opportunity to write about space and rockets again? The editor told me that the Air Force hasn't even contacted him yet about covering the Mars 2020 launch for the magazine. In a way, that's probably for the best. I don't even want to be tempted to fly to Florida right now. Until we can get a handle on this virus, I'd better hunker down and stay home. I'm not an optimistic person by nature, but I do hope that when the Artemis 1 rocket that I went to see in New Orleans has completed its tests at the Stennis Space Center and is ready to fly, I'll be attending the launch.

I missed my chance to see the comet Neowise in the morning skies. The comet appears in the evening skies right after sunset very soon. Maybe my luck will be better at night after sunset. We never did get clear skies on the horizon before sunrise. We'll see. I was going to go look tonight, but it was cloudy again.

I'm trying not to talk about the coronavirus or social unrest anymore. I've got my opinions, but opinions just start arguments these days. It's sad we have become so divided. What I will do tomorrow is get Lucky's new picture up on the Dalmatian Rescue website. I think she's a good looking dog. Website updates don't take that long, so I'll need to think of something else to do. I might finish mowing the grass, but I have a feeling that it will already be too hot by the time we finish walking Dawn and eating breakfast. Hey, that new Ford Bronco looks pretty nice. It's much cheaper than the new Defender too. Something to think about.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3853

I didn't need an alarm to wake up in time to see the comet. About the time I had planned to get up I awoke to the sound of a violent wind storm. Where did this come from? There was no rain, but the straight line winds were fierce. Lawn furniture was blowing around in the yard and the tree branches were swaying so much that I was afraid that one of our remaining large trees was going to fall. A few minutes after the wind woke me up, our power went out.

Losing power in July is something all Texans fear. We are lost without air conditioning. I immediately called in an outage report and then looked at the outage map on the Oncor web site to see if power outages in the city were extensive. Yikes. There were thousands of outages all over the city. Despite the widespread outages, we got an estimate of around four hours to restore power.

Four hours isn't bad at all, but sometimes these estimates are way off. We could feel the temperature slowly start to rise in the house, but there wasn't much we could do. The weather radar indicated that some heavy rain would be following the brief wind storm. Janet and I went back to bed and waited for the rain, thankful that Dawn wasn't afraid of storms like some of our other dogs.

Oddly, the storm never arrived. Somebody got a lot of rain, but the storm seemed to be moving to the east of us. When morning arrived, we thought we could take Dawn on a short walk before it started raining. One of my weather apps said we had about a thirty minute window. As we walked, the window kept increasing. When we reached the point where we were going to turn around, it looked like we had another hour before the rain would arrive. This was enough time to complete the entire five mile walk, so off we went. I love these weather apps on my phone. The make life so much easier and predictable. It never did rain.

As we were returning home, I got a message on my Apple watch that our power had been restored. This all worked out almost perfectly. The house was cool again when we returned home and I didn't have to hook up the generator at all. The heavy overcast skies made the walk a lot cooler as well. I didn't get to see the comet, but we did end up having a nice breakfast.

Later in the day the skies cleared and the temperature rose rapidly. It was over 100 degrees when I took my afternoon walk. I had to run a couple of errands during the day and was surprised at how crowded the stores were. Even though Dallas is currently experiencing a record number of new coronavirus cases, everyone is shopping normally again. Go figure.

I mowed the grass in the back yard this afternoon, but it was just too hot to mow the front. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I really need to find someone to remove the large Oak tree in the back yard. I was really afraid that this tree was going to fall last night. Since the tree is very near power lines, I'm going to have to find a tree service that is certified to do work near electric power. I'll probably need a bucket truck too. This tree is very large and in an awkward place. Did I tell you how much I hate expensive repairs? It needs to be done though. I don't want Janet telling me "I told you so" after the tree falls.

Hard to believe that the year is half over and we've basically done nothing since March. Hey, Ford will be revealing the new Bronco tomorrow. That will be something to watch. We'll be going up to the Dalmatian kennels to photograph Lucky, our newest member of the rescue program as well. Our trees are still standing and the air conditioner is working fine. All is well.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3852

Saturday is my day to venture out of the house and see if the world is still there. This isn't a big change from my life before the pandemic, but I'm still making an effort to stay isolated. Dallas is officially a hotspot now. You wonder what made things suddenly spike? Everyone I know is still acting responsibly. We don't have a beach, so it wasn't that. We did have some protests, but ours weren't nearly as bad as some other cities. The few things Janet and I have done after the city opened up again have all seemed quite safe. Nevertheless, there has been a huge surge in new virus cases.

A lot of things just don't make sense about this virus. You'd think that African countries would be hit the hardest since they always are during any type of pandemic. Medical care isn't good in Africa and people in many countries are packed together in unsanitary conditions. So far, there have been very few deaths in Africa. China, which started this whole thing, isn't even on the list of affected countries anymore. If you believe all the charts and graphs, little countries like Peru are apparently doing much worse than China. The United States seems to be doing worse than Sweden, which didn't do anything at all to flatten the curve. It all makes you wonder.

They say that someone has invented a new heated air filter that kills the virus instantly. If heat does the trick, why are we still having all these problems in Texas? It has definitely been a hot summer. We got started a little late on our walk this morning and had to cut things short as a result. It was already getting too hot for Dawn around 8 AM. Later in the day when I took my afternoon solo walk, it was miserable outside. I guess this is to be expected. It is almost the middle of July.

The skies look clear tonight, so I think I'm going to set an alarm and go look for that comet tomorrow morning. I'm seeing so many cool pictures on the Internet that I'd like to see the comet for myself. Some of the best pictures have been taken by my friends out at McDonald Observatory. I'd like to trade places with those guys. They are so remote that since the observatory closed, they have become almost completely insulated from the problems we are seeing in the cities. This is extreme social distancing and it works for me.

I'm going to skip going to the gym again tomorrow. If I went, I'd probably change my mind because the gym is air conditioned. Of course they now say that building air conditioning systems spread the virus, so there's that. You really don't know who to believe anymore. I have a feeling that the governor is going to close gyms again pretty soon anyway. Texas isn't doing very well these days.

I brought a pizza home for dinner, even though pizza gives me heartburn. Actually the Cowboy Burgers we had for dinner last night gave me heartburn as well. I may be good at social distancing, but I'm not very good at staying on a bland diet.

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3851

Life has settled into a predictable routine. We get up early and walk for two hours. I make the bed when we return home. I watch TV while slowly eating breakfast for another two hours. I turn the computer on and check my mail and watch a few YouTube videos. Then I wonder what I'm going to do for the rest of the day.

The coronavirus has changed everything. There's not much point in making travel plans. Where would you go? I'm not sure when I'll ever feel comfortable getting on a plane again. Living in a world where you have to act like everything is radioactive has taken the fun out of the simplest things like going to an afternoon movie or eating in a neighborhood restaurant. The issue isn't about masks or no masks. It's more basic than that. We're living in a world where everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop. Politics has spoiled a lot of old friendships as well. It's getting ugly out there. Why even bother talking with someone if you are just going to end up getting in an argument? Let's face it. You're not going to convert anyone these days. The lines have already been drawn in the sand.

I was pleased last year that I had managed to find two things that I really enjoyed doing. I liked spending time at large observatories and attending launches at Kennedy Space Center. My favorite observatory is closed for the foreseeable future and you'd have to be crazy to go to Florida right now. I'm not even comfortable taking my telescope down into the park at night because Dallas has become a dangerous place after dark. The longer the pandemic continues the more trapped you begin to feel.

There is no rain in the immediate future, so I guess it's time for me to go up on the roof again. It's probably time to mow the grass again as well. It's amazing how quickly the grass grows when it rains in the Summer. I've got to do outdoor chores early these days and it's usually already too hot by the time I've finished breakfast. The heat provides a good excuse for waiting until tomorrow, but eventually all these things need to be done. I'm not sure I'll get much done tomorrow because Saturday is always grocery day. One chore a day is plenty.

I watched an interesting tutorial video on astrophotography this afternoon. I learned a lot, including the fact that it is virtually impossible to take these kind of photos in a city. The guy who put the video together lives on a small remote island. No wonder his pictures looked so good. I've been thinking about getting up early to take pictures of the comet Neowise, but I can't even find a place nearby with a clear view of the eastern horizon. Maybe I'll have better luck when the comet begins appearing in the evening sky.

It's going to be a long Summer. Fall is probably a lost cause as well. Let's just hope that when Winter eventually arrives, the world will be a better place.

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3850

When we were walking with Dawn this morning we passed this large warning sign that said "Raptors Ahead." I didn't see any dinosaurs, but maybe they're out there. It's definitely been that kind of year. It's pretty warm at sunrise now, but at least we had a nice breeze. We were able to complete our full five miles today before returning home to fix breakfast.

I don't know why I was worried about my dental appointment. Everything went smoothly. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, my dental hygienist always wore a mask and face shield when cleaning my teeth. I told the dentist that I now know why I can never find Clorox Wipes at the grocery store. They were wiping things down every five seconds. Unlike the folks at Home Depot, doctors and dentists know how to keep things sterile.

The folks at the dental office told me that they hoped the governor wouldn't shut them down again. They've had a difficult couple of months and are just starting to get the practice running smoothly again. I was impressed with these guys. They took all the chairs out of the lobby so nobody could sit down. You called when you arrived, and then they called you back when it was OK to enter the office. Only one patient was ever in the practice at a time. At soon as you arrived you went straight to the dental chair. It was all very efficient. In addition to getting my teeth cleaned, the dentist also smoothed out a rough spot on a crown that had been bothering me. It was a good visit and I'm glad I kept the appointment. Now I've got to decide whether to get a haircut before they start shutting down salons again.

The longer this pandemic goes on, the more I realize that the problem isn't which businesses are open or closed. The problem is human nature. A lot of people seem compelled to congregate and talk to each other. Why? If more people acted like me, this pandemic would be over by now. I'm comfortable walking alone, shopping alone, and eating at a restaurant alone. If I feel like drinking, I would never go to a bar.  It's so much easier to just get a cold beer out of the fridge, sit on the back porch, and let my mind wander.

All the news channels today were talking about today's Supreme Court decisions regarding the president's taxes. Almost nobody mentioned that the Supreme Court also decided today to give half of Oklahoma back to the Indians. What? I would think that this would be huge news. From what I can tell, government and business leaders in Oklahoma seem comfortable with the idea of living under tribal law because they think it will mean a ton of new Indian Casinos and lots of tourist dollars for the state.

I've been wanting to see Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise in the morning sky, but so far its been cloudy or raining when the comet is above the horizon. I've got one of two more day to hope for clear skies before the comet disappears behind the sun. It will reappear in the evening sky later in July. Maybe I'll have better luck then.

I doubt that I'll see anything exciting tomorrow. It is Friday though and I still have enough fruit left to make one more smoothie. I've taken this week's trash to the curb and am ready to start looking for Raptors in the morning.

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3849

I had to run some errands today and when I came home I noticed that there were blood stains all over the sidewalk next to the driveway. What the hell was this? When I got out of the car, I noticed a large dead rabbit underneath the car. The rabbit wasn't there when I left a little earlier, so whatever killed it must have done so recently. To make matters worse, I'd run over the rabbit and squashed it while I was parking the car. Yuk. I cleaned up the mess and asked Janet if she'd seen or heard anything strange while I was gone. "Well, there was a really large cat running away when I checked the mail," she said. "Did it look anything like a Bobcat," I asked? Yep. It probably was a Bobcat. We've seen Bobcats in the park before. They've been spotted in a dense grove of trees behind our house frequently. This was the first time they'd killed anything in our yard though. Hey, it's 2020.

It was cool enough to take our regular long walk this morning. Every once in a while there would be a breeze and we'd feel OK and then the breeze would stop and it was instantly humid and felt ten degrees warmer. The forecast says that it is going to be even warmer in the days ahead. I'm not looking forward to this.

I vacuumed the house today, mostly because Janet was cleaning everything else. I've more or less given up on household chores, but can still be shamed into action. I kind of wish we still had our old vacuum. The Dyson cleans great but it is such a pain to clean. Once I empty the canister it is still so dusty that I have to take it outside and use a leaf blower to get rid of all the dust. Old fashioned vacuum cleaner bags were so much easier.

I've got a dental appointment tomorrow. I'm a little apprehensive about going since Dallas has become a virus hotspot in recent days, but I'll go ahead and keep the appointment. Janet has already gone to this same dentist recently and says they are incredibly careful. They've eliminated certain procedures and do a simplified cleaning now. It's pretty safe sitting in the chair, but I still wouldn't want to be a dental hygienist. Even with a mask, gloves, and face shield, some of the patients are still going to cough on you. It's a simple rule of dentistry that you can't be sitting in the dentist's chair with a mask covering your face. They took my temperature when I went to the dermatologist and I'm sure they will here as well. What does this prove though? If it is the asymptomatic person with no fever and no symptoms that everyone is worried about, how are you ever going to effectively screen your patients?

I'm sure everybody has seen the charts that show the United States has plateaued with a high rate of infections, while all the other countries have reduced their infection rates to zero. How can this be? It seems to me like everyone did a good job of isolating for at least two or three months. I don't think Italy or South Korea isolated for longer than this. The current spike couldn't have just come from Memorial Day weekend. Even all the big city protests don't explain why the virus is now surging in places as remote as Wyoming and Montana. All I can think of is that the United States is a very large country and individual states didn't seal their borders the way most of the European countries did. Maybe it just took a long time for the virus to slowly travel from the coast to the heartland. It's just weird when the wild conspiracy theories actually make more sense than what passes for science these days. The scientists don't have many answers yet and seem to change their minds every week. I'm glad I don't have to make the decision of school or no school in the Fall.  It could turn out bad either way.

I'm also glad I'm retired and have been able to enjoy a lot of good years when the world was a much different place. When I was a kid I always thought that 2020 would be kind of like the Jetsons. Nope. Not even close.

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3848

I've discovered some curious things about Facebook that reveal equally curious things about me. When I created the Some Assembly Required group, I just assumed that my daily posts would always appear in chronological order. Nope. If someone comments on an older post, Facebook automatically changes the order of the posts so the post with the most recent comments appears first. It messes up the timeline.

I can manually change the order back so that the most recent post appears first, but Facebook seems determined to prioritize activity rather than chronological order. I have to keep changing "New Activity" back to "Recent Posts" almost every day. It drives me nuts. There is also often a suggested list of other Facebook groups that might interest members. Why is this here? I'm always deleting these groups because I'm not interested in them at all, but Facebook just keeps suggesting something else.

At first I thought I was really clever by creating a version of the blog that was just a series of JPEG images. Facebook loves pictures and appears to hate links. I'm still mad that Facebook arbitrarily erased years and years of blog posts because their AI robots decided that the daily links back to my Blogger address were spam. I wish more people would just read the real blog on Blogger. The type is crisp and much easier to read. You can click on each day's main picture and enlarge it. And you can click on each Dog of the Day to go to a more detailed story about the dog on the Dalmatian Rescue website. The Facebook blog is just a daily JPEG image of the real blog. Apparently when you give people a choice between good and easy, they will always pick easy. At any rate, the blog really does exist independent of Facebook. I don't even like Facebook. Hey, if you ever feel like reading the real blog, just go to https://john-sealander.blogspot.com and bookmark the address. It's easy.

I guess Facebook has come to represent many of the things I dislike about modern life. If I click on a story about the new Ford Bronco, I instantly get an endless stream of updates on my timeline about four wheel drive vehicles. There must be a connection between Facebook and Google, because if you Google anything, you will automatically start receiving information about that subject on Facebook. I love all the dog pictures, but I hate seeing people I actually know trying to shame people who don't share their beliefs. I've grown tired of all the "If you blah, blah, blah, just delete me now" posts as well. Who cares.

I've spend a significant chunk of my life designing websites and writing for online clients. It seems totally natural for me to turn on the computer every morning and spend hours in front of the screen. This is how I made my living for many years. I'm finally starting to realize that there is no need to do this anymore. I'm retired. I think a worthy goal would be to find something satisfying to do for long periods of time that doesn't require a computer or even interactions with other people. My dad never used a computer and seemed happy making little wood carvings of animals after he retired. I do like technology though and am fairly lazy. It's a dilemma.

The weather was much cooler this morning and there was no threat of rain. We were able to walk five miles with Dawn with no problems at all. I wish these daily walks took longer so I wouldn't have to think of how to spend the rest of my day. It's a shame that my little niche of following rocket launches has been taken away by the coronavirus. That was working pretty well.

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3847

I should have brought my good camera when we went to the kennel today. We were greeted by a new dog we hadn't met before. Lucky was a foster who returned to the kennel. She initially went to her foster home before I had a chance to photograph her for the website. Fosters are either temporary or they turn into adoptions and Lucky wasn't destined to be a foster fail. She will still need to find her forever home, but she's going to be perfect for somebody. I'll do her portrait next week.

Lucky seemed quiet and reserved compared to Hank and Charlie. The two boys were full of energy today. They both love to play catch but still need to work on releasing the ball so you can throw it again. Charlie will sit, stay, lie down, and come on command. Hank will automatically sit before receiving a treat now. He's been harder to train since he's deaf, but we are making progress.

Dawn didn't get much of a walk this morning. We noticed that a storm was approaching on the weather radar, so we quickly took a short walk and returned home a few minutes before the downpour started. I'm glad we timed things right today, because the rain was quite heavy. At least the pumps are working again. I think I discovered what the problem was yesterday. The two pumps are in different areas on the roof and if one runs dry before the other, it can overheat and trip a breaker. I watched things more carefully today. Actually the rain was so heavy that there was little danger of either pump running dry.

The rain eventually stopped and I took another walk later in the afternoon to get some more steps. The morning's rain had basically turned to steam. It was incredibly humid outside. I don't know why I continue walking. Probably just because I can't think of anything better to do.

I think It's going to rain again tomorrow. The combination of terrible weather and equally terrible news on TV is starting to take its toll. This summer seems like an episode of Black Mirror. There are conflicting reports about absolutely everything. It shouldn't be raining this much in July. The virus shouldn't be getting worse in July when everyone was so good about distancing in March and April. I'm still irritated that Florida has turned into such a mess. Will I ever get back to Kennedy Space Center again? Will I even have the nerve to fly again? I've gotten used to the idea of our old house falling apart. Now it appears like the entire world is falling apart.

I was initially surprised when international travel ground to a halt. Now it appears that state-to-state travel is being restricted as well. At least we live in a big state. There's plenty to do here in Texas. I'd hate to be locked in a little state like Connecticut. I need to reexamine things and find some activities that are satisfying and enjoyable to do while the world crumbles around you. Reading seems an obvious choice. I used to be a voracious reader, but it's hard for me to pick up a book these days. Oddly, I find it easier to write than to read. I seem to have lost my interest in music as well. At least there are dogs. Dogs are always enjoyable.

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3846

It was so hot and humid this morning that we had to cut our walk with Dawn in half. Dawn was still tired when we got home and I had to change my clothes. It's definitely going to be a long summer. I thought the day might improve, but it actually got worse. By the time I took my afternoon walk, it was stifling outside. At least I managed to complete my 20,000 steps before the weather changed again. Around mid-afternoon a sudden storm appeared out of nowhere and drenched us with rain.

I turned on the pumps and they worked fine for about an hour and then one of the pumps shorted out. I went up on the roof in the rain to see if any of the electrical connections had become submerged. Yep. I moved an extension cord out of the water, reset the circuit breaker and the pumps started working again. About thirty minutes later the lights in the kitchen went out. The pumps had tripped another circuit breaker. Something is definitely wrong with the pumps. I disconnected the pumps so I wouldn't start a fire and I guess I'll have to deal with this later. It might be quite a while later. There is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow and Tuesday.

I skipped going to the gym for the second Sunday in a row. The way things are trending in Dallas, I wouldn't be surprised if my gym decides to close again. This is the third day in a row we have had more than a thousand new Covid-19 cases a day. When we only had ten or twenty cases a day everyone was staying inside. Now, despite a dramatic resurgence, everyone has gone back to normal mode. Some blame the resurgence on Memorial Day. Others blame the people who don't wear masks or the protests in the streets that were taking place a few weeks ago. Very few people appear to be blaming themselves.

I think we have given our adversaries a blueprint for taking us out whenever they want. When we stay united, we are a badass country that will nuke you back into the stone age. If you can manage to turn us against ourselves though, you won't have to go to war at all. You can just sit back and watch while we destroy ourselves. Who would have thought that a tiny little virus combined with an avalanche of conspiracy theories could render all our missiles and aircraft carriers useless. I still think the virus was created in China for a specific purpose, but that's just my own conspiracy theory.  Just watch China be the first to come up with a vaccine and we all rush out to take it and die. Relax. That's a  conspiracy theory too.

I have a dental appointment next week. Why are dentist's offices still open? Aren't dental procedures right up near the top of the danger list? I guess I'll go ahead and keep the appointment. My dentist is extremely careful and there is only one patient in the office at a time. I wouldn't want to be a dental hygenist though. They're bound to get coughed on sooner or later.

I guess we'll go visit the Dalmatians tomorrow. It is Monday tomorrow, isn't it? It's getting to be so hard to tell the days apart. Even our walks are starting to seem like Ground Hog Day. We see the same people walking the same dogs or riding the same bicycles over and over again. They probably are saying the same thing about us. Everything is so predictable that Janet and I have started wondering about the "Hello Guy." There is this one cyclist who says Hello very loudly to every single person he passes. We used to see him every morning and he's been gone for several weeks now. I wonder if he got the virus.

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3845 - Independence Day

I guess I'm sort of a lazy patriot. I never served in the military. I seldom fly a flag, although we did have one on our house for a while right after 9/11. I'm proud to be an American though. I like it here. I've visited and worked in other countries and none of them even comes close to this one. I really hate to see people tearing this country down for things we either did or didn't do in the past. You've got to put historical events in context. Everything happens for a reason. The journey from the Stone Age to the Rolling Stones has taken us three million years. Humanity has only been keeping track of this journey for around five thousand years, but still that is a lot of time. When the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence they had already learned from the Mesopotamians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Italian Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, The Protestant Reformation, the establishment of parliamentary democracy in England and much more.

It's not really fair to condemn the founding fathers for owning slaves. The practice was commonplace at the time and in fact has been commonplace throughout human history. You can throw a dart at any civilization and you will find slaves. The Romans had them. The Aztecs had them. Many countries still have them today. It was commendable that John Quincy Adams rejected slavery, but he was the exception rather than the rule.

I think we should remember Washington, Jefferson and the others who signed the Declaration of Independence for their brilliance in creating a system of self governance that has lasted far longer than most. The history of the world is mostly a history of war and revolution. Generally the citizens haven't ruled. When you look at the United States through the lens of history, we come out looking pretty good. The founding fathers designed a system that was durable and flexible enough to adapt to a world that none of them would have recognized. Hey, we only had one civil war. The French had at least four.

While I'm sitting here musing about history, everyone else seems to be outside shooting off fireworks. It sounds like a war zone in our neighborhood. I don't know what it proved to eliminate public fireworks displays this year. Everyone seems determined to have their own. I think fireworks became cheap and abundant this year when so many municipalities decided to cancel their public displays because of the coronavirus. Apparently people have been shooting off fireworks every night in major cities for weeks now. I think this is happening in Dallas too, but I live far enough away from the city center that I don't hear what goes on downtown. I'm sure Dawn hears the fireworks, but she certainly isn't bothered by them. She's just sleeping calmly on the bed now.

It was a little cooler today and the park wasn't as crowded as I expected. There were the usual Saturday morning runners and cyclists, but there weren't many picnics and barbecues. Actually Fourth of July celebrations have been declining for several years. Cinco de Mayo is the big day for picnics in the park these days. Sign of the times I guess. Independence Day doesn't get as much respect anymore.

I removed the remaining water from the roof today. I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. My gym has been open for several weeks now, but I think I'll wait a while before returning. Gyms still seem to wind up on the list of most dangerous list of things to do while walking in the park appears to be the safest.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3844

Was today a holiday or not? A lot of businesses were closed, but the mail still got delivered. The grocery stores were packed with people buying for holiday meals even though gatherings of any kind are strongly discouraged. Most of the large cities in North Texas have canceled Fourth of July fireworks displays, but some of the smaller towns in the area are still planning parades and celebrations. I guess you can take your pick of what you want to do in Texas. There's something for everyone. I welcome fewer fireworks, but I'm sure there will still be enough loud noises tomorrow night to frighten all the city's dogs.

It was a little cooler this morning, so we were able to complete our normal five mile walk. Dawn actually did very well today. A few degrees can make a big difference in the summer. It did warm up quickly though. By the time I took my afternoon walk the temperature was almost 100 degrees. It was too hot to go up on the roof. I think I'm just going to let the water evaporate.

When we were eating dinner this evening, I got one of those loud alerts on my phone. For some reason, these alerts appear on my Apple Watch as well. I thought this was another Amber Alert or tornado warning. Nope. It was a message from the governor telling me to wear my mask.

Things are getting bad in Texas, but I keep wondering what there is to compare this to? I'm still convinced that when the coronavirus has finally disappeared, I will still know many more people who have died from cancer than from the virus. I already know of dozens of friends who have died from cancer and zero people who have died from the virus. I do know of two people who caught the virus, but neither of them lived in Texas and both recovered quickly.

Why do I keep thinking that if we reported statistics on every single person who had been diagnosed with cancer on a weekly basis, complete with ominous looking charts and graphs, we would become very alarmed. A cancer diagnosis is actually pretty common, but many people recover. I suspect the same is true with coronavirus cases. I'd like to hear more reporting about recoveries.

Maybe the only way you can get Americans to comply with anything is to scare the hell out of them. I'm old enough to remember when nobody wore seatbelts. When I was a kid, our family took us on vacations all over the country in a car without seatbelts. When I first began working in an office, everyone smoked. Changing behavior is a long, slow process. If living with deadly viruses is really part of our long-term future, I imagine that there will be other changes as well.

Seatbelts do save lives. I wear one all the time. I'm glad that fewer people smoke these days as well. Change is inevitable and a lot of change is actually good. I don't think you change things by erasing what you don't like. This is the problem with cancel culture. Even statues can teach you something. You can still smoke if you are so inclined. You can still buy cigarettes even though they will kill you. I'm not in favor of banning things or tearing them down. Learn from others experiences and then decide for yourself. This is why history should never be erased. Sometimes you can learn more from the things you don't like than from the things you approve of. I wouldn't be criticizing Washington, Jefferson and confederate generals so much. Just wait and see how future generations criticize you.

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3843

The combination of bad weather and bad news is starting to get me down. We didn't get rained on during our walk this morning, but it was so humid that it was hard to tell the difference. I still had to change my clothes when we returned. Without a breeze to cool us down, it was pretty obvious that we'd have to cut things short today. Dawn was happy though. She saw another rabbit. For some reason, Dawn has no interest in squirrels but she goes nuts when she sees a bunny. I hope the park rabbits still know to steer clear of our yard. Dawn is fast. She'd probably catch one.

I was planning to go up on the roof today, but I'm glad I didn't. There was nothing on the radar when I woke up, but an intense little storm passed overhead right after lunch. I wasn't expecting this at all. At least both pumps are still working and there are still no leaks. It's so hot now that any water that is still remaining after the pumps do their job will probably evaporate in a day or two.

Dallas keeps setting new records for coronavirus infections. I really didn't think it was going to get this bad here. Despite the dismal news, businesses and restaurants seem really reluctant to close again. I have a feeling that they will continue to stay open unless there is a new mandate shutting everything down. I have a lot of sympathy for small businesses in our neighborhood, but I don't really think they are going to have a lot of customers in the next few weeks. Everyone is suspicious now and there is very little trust. I don't think it helped matters that for months there has been massive media criticism of anyone who wanted to go back to church or get a haircut and then there were these huge street protests and the media seemed to imply that these events were OK or even necessary. Even now, there are a lot of people who refuse to acknowledge that the protests had anything to do with the spike in new cases.

It's all people going to parties or refusing to wear masks they say. Are protesters packed shoulder to shoulder on city streets immune to this disease? I seriously doubt it. A lot of things don't add up. I've wondered myself why there hasn't been another big spike in the Northeast, and then it occurred to me that most of the really vulnerable people up there are already dead. This virus is like a forest fire and it is going to keep burning through the population until everyone has been exposed. I'm good at keeping my distance, but every time I have a scratchy throat or need to cough, I wonder if my luck has run out. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. I don't think we can live like this indefinitely.

I keep wondering what is going to be the next shoe to drop. Will Ghislaine Maxwell implicate the world's entire ruling elite as a bunch of pedophiles? It could happen unless she commits suicide soon. Will those infected pigs in China start another pandemic before we manage to get a handle on our current mess? It doesn't look like we will have football this Fall, but we will have the presidential debates. That ought to be entertaining. Already both Biden and Trump seem determined to prove how sharp their brains are. Neither of these old fools are willing to admit that their best days are behind them. These debates are going to be a dementia derby. Cue the astroid strike. I think it's time.

I still have enough fresh fruit to have another smoothie tomorrow. I have no interest in going out for breakfast on Friday mornings anymore. I don't even have much interest in changing the breakfast menu. It's all smoothies all the time now. It hasn't been a great day, but at least I managed to take the week's trash out to the curb. As far as I'm concerned, this day is done.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3842

You don't have to convince me that July has arrived. It definitely feels like July. We got started on our morning walk before sunrise again and were lucky to have a breeze and overcast skies for most of the way. Dawn knows all the routes we travel so well now that we let her choose how long to walk. If it's cool outside and she has lots of energy, she'll usually pick a longer route. On hot days like today, she'll pick a shorter route home that shaves at least a mile off our travels. I continue to be amazed at what a smart Dawn is. She's kind of street smart too. I get the feeling that she's seen and survived a lot in her former life.

I paid my early July bills online this morning, but still had to go to the post office to mail a letter to my sister. Since there was no line at the counter today, I finally bought a roll of stamps. This roll ought to last me for several years. Periodic letters to my Luddite sister are the only reason I need stamps anymore.

It was a slow day so I did what I usually do on slow days: look at cars on the Internet. It's weird that I'm so interested in cars since I don't even like to drive, but that's the way it is. Ever since I spent that week at the Astronomers Lodge, I've decided that my desire to buy a 4x4 Sprinter Van was just a passing fancy. It is much more comfortable to stay in a hotel while you are traveling. Now I'm interested in the new Ford Bronco that is going to be introduced in a week or so. I owned a Bronco once and it was a fairly rugged trouble free car. There's plenty to choose from though. A British company called INEOS is introducing a car called the Grenadier that is a dead ringer for the old Land Rover Defenders I loved so much. This tough looking Defender clone features permanent all wheel drive and a BMW engine. It's going to be available for the US market too. Something to think about. I might even consider getting a Tesla Cybertruck. It's hard to bet against Elon Musk. Once they get around to putting a few Superchargers in Fort Davis, a Cybertruck is going to start looking pretty good.

While I was eating breakfast this morning I watched with some amusement as police began to dismantle the Seattle CHOP zone on TV. Very interesting that it wasn't the violence and murders in the occupied zone that caused the Seattle mayor to change her mind. It was when the angry mob started marching toward her own house. The people of Beverly Hills have banned protests in their ritzy neighborhood too. What a bunch of hypocrites. It's all fun and games for these armchair warriors until the mob threatens to burn down their homes.

There is a very famous quote from George Orwell in his book 1984. You probably read it in school: “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” The interesting thing to me is that the left thinks this ominous message refers to Donald Trump, while the right is convinced Orwell is talking about today's cancel culture. This is the world we live in. We are able to look at the exact same thing and see something different.

I hate all this conflict. I think the United States has become too divided to govern effectively. I wish we could just agree to let the red states secede and form their own woke country. California, Oregon, and Washington State would make a nice little country. Maybe they could take an empty state like Nevada too so all the Californians who have moved to Texas could return to their roots. This will never happen of course, because Americans are too argumentative to do anything practical.

Before someone writes the next tell-all political book, we need to remember that over 100,000 Americans worked on the Manhattan Project for several years during World War II and not a single one of them betrayed the secret of the atomic bomb. That's unity. Before we continue finding Nazis under every tree, we need to remember that Wernher von Braun, the beloved scientist who took us to the moon was an actual real Nazi. Before we tear down any more statues and cancel everything, we need to remember that it was the Jewish people who insisted that Auschwitz remain standing after World War II, so that history would never forget. I think we started erasing history long before the statues started tumbling. It's convenient for a superficial world that communicates using Emojis to just remember what we like. We need to own both the good and the bad and erase nothing. It's who we are. Civilization requires both.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3841

I finally got the grass mowed. I thought about waiting until the weather was cooler, but I'd probably be waiting until Fall. Temperatures are expected to be in the 90's for the rest of the week with a few triple digit days thrown in for good measure. The Saharan dust cloud appears to have returned as well. It definitely wasn't a great day to be outside. At any rate, the yard looks better now and I got some exercise. I'm glad we have a small yard.

We got our earliest start yet on Dawn's morning walk, but we still had to cut things short today. Instead of our usual five mile walk, we only walked four miles. Since at least half of our walk was completed before sunrise, Dawn was fine. Dawn still loves these morning walks, but we have to be careful that she doesn't become overheated. I have a feeling that our walks are going to become even shorter in the weeks ahead.

I watched a Space X military launch on my computer this afternoon. Some of my Florida photographer friends were there, setting up cameras right next to the launch pad. I wonder whether I'll ever be able to do this again. I was just getting started as a space journalist and then the pandemic happened. Since both Florida and Texas are hotspots now, I'm not anticipating getting clearance to return to Kennedy Space Center any time soon. I shouldn't complain though. There are worse places to be quarantined than where I live. Even though the vegetation is starting to dry out, the park is still a beautiful place. There are fewer flowers now, but I enjoy listening to the birds and trying to identify them.

Dawn enjoys the wildlife too. She saw her first rabbit up close this morning. I'm glad she was on a leash. She was a little too interested in this bunny. A lot of Dalmatians have a strong prey drive. Spot and Dot would chase squirrels for hours. Dot even caught one once. Greta went after birds. I have a feeling that Dawn would have gone after this rabbit. I guess it's not as bad as having a cat. We've never had a Dalmatian try to bring a dead mouse into the house.

I wish I'd gotten a haircut when the stores first opened. Now I'm becoming reluctant to go out in public again. Dallas has been setting new records for Covid-19 infections every day for the past week. Twenty people died yesterday. We're still doing a lot better than Houston or Austin, but the trend isn't your friend here. I'm sure the park will be full of people barbecuing and having parties on July 4. It's no problem staying away from these people since the park is huge, but it's still a little sad to see so many folks ignoring everything.

The dermatologist must have known what he was doing. The scabs on my face are starting to peel away and my skin looks clear again. Like many things involving medicine, I should have done this procedure earlier. Hey, better late than never. I'm glad I don't have to return to a hospital any time soon. I don't want to go anywhere near a hospital right now.

I need to think of something to do around the house that doesn't involve cleaning tomorrow. I'm the expert at isolation, but I'm becoming bored. I'm realizing now that working saved me from cabin fever for many years. Staring at a computer when you are working and making money is one thing. Staring at the same computer when you are retired is something else entirely. I don't recommend it.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3840

I almost forgot it was Monday until Janet reminded me that it was time to go visit the rescue Dalmatians. There are still only two dogs at the kennel, but we don't want to forget about them. Hank and Charlie were in fine form today. Both of these high energy boys love to race around and chase a ball. Sometimes they will even bring it back to you. Hank is deaf and we're starting to make progress in teaching him simple commands. Today for the first time, he sat fairly reliably for his treats. Once Hank has mastered the sit, we'll work on stay, heal, and a few other basic commands. Charlie already knows all these commands plus a few more. Charlie and Hank have taken longer to adopt because they each have special needs. For the right person, each of these guys would make a wonderful pet. I heep hoping they'll find their forever homes soon.

I didn't accomplish much today. We probably should have started our morning walk a little earlier because the temperature keeps climbing. The longest day of the year is already behind us and the Fourth of July will be here soon. We're in the middle of another Texas Summer. Dawn did OK this morning, but we're going to have to start taking shorter walks. If we keep leaving around sunrise, I think we can complete three miles pretty easy. Five miles is probably to be too much. The trouble is that the temperature climbs quickly as the sun gets higher in the sky. By 9 AM it's all over.

I made my morning smoothie without blueberries this morning. It was fine. Sometimes I don't think it even matters what I put in the Vitamix. The ingredients vary depending on the time of year, but the result is always pretty tasty. How did I get hooked on a liquid breakfast? I used to fix myself sausage and eggs every morning. Before that, I ate a grapefruit for breakfast. Somehow alternating sips of hot coffee with an ice cold beverage seems the thing to do right now. The only thing I missed when I spent that week out at McDonald Observatory was my morning smoothie.

I wonder if the observatory and Kennedy Space Center will ever reopen? I check my e-mail every morning but there is still no news. The space center has probably discovered that life is easier without a large media contingent at every launch. Since the Davis Mountains are one of the few places in the country without any virus infections, I wonder if McDonald Observatory is ever going to want visitors from a big city again. Life is changing. We used to like spending time in places like Paris and Barcelona. I doubt that we'll be doing that again. I doubt that we'll be going anywhere at all for the foreseeable future. It's too bad that neither of us likes camping. I think it's still pretty safe to go camping.

One of my favorite houses in the neighborhood got scraped this week. It's gone. I remember that there was a time when we wanted to buy this house. Why would anyone want to tear it down? Of course there is always an easy answer. Real estate is always about money.. A developer could easily fit two contemporary McMansions of the large double lot. Like I said, life is changing. I just don't like where we are headed.

I guess I'll finish mowing the grass tomorrow. Hank and Charlie gave me an excuse to avoid this chore today. The only excuse I'll have tomorrow is if we get more rain.

Sparky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3839

I had good intentions today. I was definitely going to mow the yard. I got out the mower, charged the battery, and was just starting to mow when a surprise storm appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't even supposed to rain today. I put the mower away and waited for things to dry, which of course they never did. So much for good intentions.

When we walked Dawn earlier in the day, we weren't even thinking about rain. It actually seemed like it was going to be a nice day. I could see patches of blue through the clouds and yesterday's big dust cloud appeared to have dissipated. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change in Texas.

I went back to the grocery store right after breakfast to test out a theory that I was just getting to the store too late for find blueberries and Clorox Wipes. This was a totally wasted effort. I didn't notice any difference at all and still couldn't find the things I wanted. I did get gas though. Yesterday, I forgot to bring a doggie poop bag with me so I could avoid touching the pump handle.  This is what social media has done to me. I have been grabbing gas station pump handles for most of my life with no adverse effects and now I've become convinced that they are riddled with disease. Who knows if the virus even lives on surfaces. Opinion seems to be changing on this. You literally don't know what to believe anymore when everything has the potential to either be fake news or an outdated medical opinion.

I've got a bad case of pandemic boredom, but for some reason I am unable to binge watch anything on TV. Janet can do it. Most of my friends can do it, but I just can't. I've tried watching podcasts on things I'm interested in like astronomy and rockets, but I quickly lose interest in these as well. It seems like the only thing I can stay focused on for any length of time is creating something myself. Mostly I'm a self-absorbed documentarian.

When I was younger, I wrote a lot of songs about my experiences. I still record my experiences photographically, but not as obsessively as I used to. Although I am fascinated with astronomy and space travel, all I really want to write about is how I personally interact with these things. I've basically just become a geeky travel writer. The blog, of course, is just an endless personal journal.

Does any of this even matter? Probably not. It does make me frightened when I see groups of people trying to do something for the "common good." How do they know what is good for everyone? They certainly don't know what is good for me. The whole notion of good is very subjective and has changed radically throughout history. To me the hive mind that social media has created is extremely dangerous. It's considered old fashioned in today's connected world, but I still believe in the individual. I'm convinced that if everyone concentrated on maximizing their own potential, instead of sticking their noses in other people's business, the world would be a much better place.

When I see people walking in the woods while obsessively looking at their phone, I think the whole concept of the individual doesn't even exist anymore. Critical thinking is a lost art. Young people just want to instantly know what everyone else is doing so they can do the same thing. When flash mobs first began to appear, people thought they were so creative. All the sudden an orchestra would appear and start playing in a shopping mall or something. I was one of the few people who found these things alarming. I saw flash mobs as a precursor to what is happening in our cities right now.
It's not good to be instantly connected to everything. You need time to think about things.

I've done a lot of critical thinking and somehow my plans all seem to involve turning off the Internet for a while. Don't you think that if Twitter, Facebook, and the ubiquitous 24/7 news cycle would just disappear, our world might actually start to heal? Talking to your neighbor over coffee is probably good. Getting mad at a Facebook post from someone you don't even know is probably bad. Just saying...

Patch is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day