Day 4157

I'm posting early today. I've finally realized that there is no point in trying to write something at 2 AM after a long night of starwatching. I am usually incoherent at that time of day. It might be better to start writing during the day anyway. Years and years of posting something at the very end of every day have deprived me of a lot of sleep. 

So far the day has been interesting. I woke up this morning surrounded by a heavy fog. When I looked out my window at the Astronomer's Lodge the whole world was grey. I couldn't see the telescopes or the visitor's center in the valley below. It was cold too. The temperature was around 50 degrees for most of the morning.

After breakfast I put on some warm clothes and took a walk around the mountain. There is a road that circles the top of Mount Locke providing access the Astronomer's Lodge and some of the smaller telescopes. The road is not as long as I thought. I had to circle the mountain five times in order to walk two miles. It seemed like I walked longer than this because of some steep slopes and the high altitude. The top of Mount Locke is the tallest mountain in Texas accessible by road.

I met the guy from Planewave Instruments who will be conducting the workshop with my friend from the observatory. This is probably as close as I will ever get to a Planewave telescope. They sell mostly to universities and smaller professional observatories. Their telescopes start at about $20,000 and go up to over $500,000. A little rich for my blood. The Planewave guy isn't here to sell us a telescope though. He is here to teach us how to use PixInsight, the software program that I had so much trouble installing on my laptop. The first time I opened this software it seemed incomprehensible to me. I hope I learn something in the next few days. So far, it's all Greek to me.

The fog is already starting to lift and according to the latest weather forecast it should be clear tonight. I'm glad I brought my warmest winter coats with me. I have a feeling that I"m going to need them. When I was here last March, the temperature got down in the mid-30's at night. By the time we were through with our photography session, I was frozen. I've learned to be a little better prepared on subsequent trips. With any luck, I should be warm enough tonight.

Later this afternoon I'm going to assemble my star tracker so it will be ready for this evening. I'm really beginning to wonder why I bought this thing. It's heavy and a royal pain to put together. Also I have to kneel down and look through a small scope built into the tracker in order to line everything up correctly with Polaris. This was made for younger knees. When I'm down, it's hard to get up again. I"m going to regret not going to REI and getting a collapsible walking stick. I'm also going to regret not bringing a small folding chair with me. I hope to learn a lot about astrophotography at this workshop, but I may just learn that I'm getting too old for this.

Have I mentioned how good the food is at the Astronomer's Lodge? I always gain a few pounds while I'm here. Maybe I'm weird, but this is my idea of a nice vacation. The food is great. The place is quiet and peaceful. Quiet might actually be an understatement. It is dead silent out here. When I took my walk in the fog this morning, I heard nothing at all. There is no traffic noise, no airplanes, no police sirens, and no yard crews with their irritating leaf blowers. I didn't even hear any birds this morning. 

The fog continues to lift and I'm starting to see some blue sky now. Things are looking up.

Dixie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4156

I made it out to the observatory in one piece. What a long drive. Every time I travel to West Texas I'm reminded what a big state Texas is. I felt like I drove halfway to California today. I traveled through every type of weather imaginable. Parts of the state had clear skies. Other parts had thunderstorms with lots of thunder and lightning. Towards the end of the drive I even encountered a small dust storm. The weather is nice at the observatory this evening. Who knows what it will be like tomorrow. I guess I"ll have to wait and see.

The worst part of the trip was a construction zone around Odessa where the freeway was shut down to a single lane for almost 40 miles. Traffic was backed up for miles. I was stuck between two eighteen wheelers and there was no place to get off the freeway. Luckily I'd gotten gas just before the construction zone started. This was no place to worry about running low on gas. My rental car was a huge SUV that gets terrible gas mileage. It was the only thing I could find with an in-dash navigation system and blind spot warning lights. When did gas get so expensive? It was over three dollars a gallon in most places.

I think I'm the only one staying at the Astronomer's Lodge tonight. It's kind of spooky up here. The manager and the cook were leaving when I arrived. They showed me my room and got my dinner for me and then they left. I think some more people are arriving tomorrow, but for now it's just me. Luckily the WiFi password hasn't changed. The password is so long and complex that I needed help getting online the last time I was here. Meals are amazingly good up here. I don't know how this place managed to snag such a good chef. 

One of my astronomer friends stopped by to say hello while I was eating dinner alone in the dining room. He invited me to join him later this evening to look for Red Sprites on the horizon. I'd never even heard of Red Sprites until recently, but they are a spectacular form of lightning in the upper atmosphere. Often they are hundreds of miles away when they appear.  Red Sprites only last a fraction of a second, so they are very difficult to photograph. Maybe I'll see a Sprite tonight. Maybe I'll see nothing. I'm pretty tired after today's drive. I see a pillow right now and a nap is pretty tempting.

I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. The workshop doesn't begin until later in the afternoon, so there's plenty of time to go exploring. I didn't get a lot of exercise today, so I really ought to take a long walk in the morning. I took a short walk after dinner and was very tired. My feet hurt too. Going to bed early tonight is starting to look better and better.

We did end up looking for Sprites around 10:30 this evening. The storms were too far away though and we didn't see anything. The sky was pretty though. The Milky Way was just starting to rise and the sky was alive with stars. I stayed outside for about an hour trying to identify constellations. I wish I was more familiar with the night sky, but that's what I'm here for. Tomorrow should be a busy day. Maybe after a good night's sleep I can finally figure out how to put my star tracker together.

Dodger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4155

We picked up a new dog at the vet on our way to the kennel this afternoon. Aries is a beautiful six year old female who was an owner surrender. I can't recall that we've had another dog named after a zodiac sign. I wonder is she has an Aries personality. Aries is friendly, very gentle, and will probably find her forever home almost immediately. I wouldn't be surprised if she was determined as well. That's a typical Aries trait. I took some pictures of her for the website, but I think she already have someone looking at her. A dog this nice doesn't stay at the kennel very long.

Cooper was still at the kennel, but only because the guy who wanted to adopt him still needed to fix a few things in his yard. As soon as the yard is secure, I think Cooper will have his forever home. Charlie will probably be with us a little longer, but he certainly deserves a good home as well. Charlie is one of the smartest dogs in the rescue program. He just never developed a soft mouth as a puppy, so you have to be careful where you put your hands. 

Dawn got her walk today, but I had to skip my longer excursion. I'm already way behind on packing for my trip. I did take a short walk after we returned home from the kennel, but the weather hasn't been very cooperative today. It's been on the verge of raining all day. I thought I was going to get lucky, but when I had to go out and run some errands toward the end of the day, I got soaked. I hope the weather improves later in the week, but it's not looking good right now. I have a feeling that I'm going to be driving to West Texas in the rain.

I keep hoping that the ice maker will start working again, but we haven't seen any ice for several days. It's a safe bet that the ice maker is broken and will need to be replaced. We got a big bag of ice on the way home from the kennel. Maybe that will last until I can make arrangements with the appliance repairman to get this fixed. Something always seems to be broken around here. As soon as I get one thing fixed, another thing breaks.

I'm starting to wonder why I wanted to go to the astrophotography workshop at all. I'm very disorganized this time and I'm dreading the long drive. Hopefully the weather in West Texas will be nicer than the weather in Dallas. The rain is pounding down now and there is lots of thunder. There have been several severe weather warnings on the television this evening as well. I'm really glad that Dawn is unaffected by the weather. Thunderstorms don't seem to bother her at all. I wish I could say the same.

It's been a long day and I need to get some sleep. I'll do a little more packing before I go to bed. I guess there's always tomorrow, but I am running out of time. Why didn't I get organized sooner? I certainly knew this was coming. 

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4154 - Mother's Day

I couldn't find a good picture of my Mom, but she would have liked this picture of Dot. Dalmatian Rescue used to do pet photo events for every holiday under the sun. Our Mother's Day events were surprisingly popular. You didn't have to have children to be a pet Mom and everyone wanted a picture with their dog. Dot was the poster child for many of our photo events. She wore her pearls well.

Dawn expects her Sunday car ride now. She got so excited when she saw we were getting ready. She still doesn't seem to like riding in the car, but she loves going somewhere new. Dawn walks a little faster on Sundays. She seems to know that we are doing something special just for her. As always, we finished this morning's outing with an ice cream cone. When we returned home, Dawn was content for the rest of the day.

I had more energy than usual today. It was an increasingly rare 20,000 step day. After a short nap on returning from our outing with Dawn, I decided to mow the grass. I tracked the activity on my Apple Watch and discovered that I burned twice as many calories mowing the grass as I did walking Dawn a little earlier. Mowing without a self propelled mower on a sloping lawn can be pretty strenuous for an old guy like me. I really need to ask one of the neighbor's lawn guys how much they'd charge to mow my lawn too while they were doing the neighbor's yards. My yard is so small that it would only take them a few extra minutes. If the cost was even remotely reasonable, it would be worth the money. Pushing this mower is wearing me out.

I needed a little longer nap after this much activity, but I still wanted to take my regular long walk today. It was very windy today, but the rain that was forecast never arrived. Actually the wind helped cool me down. It would have been hot and muggy outside without it. It was a nice day for a walk, but by the time I'd completed my normal five mile route, I'd had enough. 20,000 steps seems to be my limit these days. There were times when I completed as many as 24,000 steps a few years ago. I don't know how I did it.

I should have gotten a big bag of party ice today and used it to fill the ice maker bin. The ice maker is still broken, but I'm not going to have time to deal with an appliance repairman until after my trip. It would be easier to just replace the entire refrigerator, but nobody makes the correct size anymore. Kitchens have gotten larger over the years and today's refrigerators are huge. None of them will fit in the small slot where our current refrigerator goes. It looks like the only way to get a new refrigerator is to keep replacing components on our current one whenever something breaks. We are gradually getting a new refrigerator, part by expensive part.

I'm going to have to get serious about packing soon. I hate to pack and am a terrible travel planner, so I always wait until the last possible minute. I thought I'd be better prepared this time, but it looks like procrastination wins again. I just hope that it doesn't rain when I'm out at the observatory. It's a long, hard drive just to end up with cloudy skies or a thunderstorm when I get there. This will be my fourth trip out to the observatory. I've gotten rained out before, but I've also had clear skies and beautiful weather. You just never know.

I'm curious whether Cooper got adopted this week. I guess we'll find out when we visit the kennel tomorrow. Last week we thought that Cooper would be going to his forever home very soon, but things can always change. It's a pretty safe bet that Charlie will still be there though. Charlie is always there.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4153

New census data shows that the Dallas/Fort Worth area had the biggest population growth in the country in 2018. We could overtake Chicago in size in the near future. This seems impossible until I start running my Saturday errands and then I realize that the story is true. The traffic is impossible now. Where did all these cars come from? Many cars have out-of-state plates. I guess I was ahead of the curve when I moved here in the 1970's. Dallas was still a big city then, but life moved at a slower pace. I liked it better then. To be fair, Seattle, the city I moved here from, was a lot better in the 1970's as well. I need a time machine.

Before the pandemic I used to love Cadence Kitchen flash frozen meals. These tasty nitrogen frozen skillet meals quickly disappeared from stores when people started panicking about touching things. The Cadence Kitchen meals weren't packaged. You scooped the amount you wanted from big bins in a display case and put it in your own container. The brand quickly disappeared because of Covid fears, but I saw the exact same meals today in standard frozen food packages under a different brand name. Was this the same product, or did somebody copy the idea. I bought one of my favorites and we had it for dinner tonight. Same name. Different recipe. Janet and I both agreed that this wasn't the same as the original. It didn't taste as fresh and there were too many added spices. I think it was more expensive too. How could a company get away with such a blatant steal? I looked on the Internet and didn't see anything about a licensing agreement or a sale of technology. I guess I don't know much about the food industry.

The ice maker broke in our refrigerator. This is a problem because ice is an important ingredient in my morning smoothie. I guess I'll have to call the appliance repairman again. Major appliances used to last forever. Not any more. I'm always having problems with the washer, dryer, and the refrigerator. We have a dishwasher that has worked pretty well for over twenty years and a microwave that has worked flawlessly for over thirty years. Our newer appliances are the ones that are always causing the problems.

The grocery store I shop at stopped carrying my favorite brand of beer. Last month they stopped carrying my favorite cheese. I hate that modern stores routinely change the merchandise they carry based on the check-out tapes of their customers. They carry more of what customers are buying and less of the things that aren't so popular. I always seem to be the loser in these situations. I could always go to a different store, but this store is convenient. I can't help it that demographics are changing. I know what I like and hate driving all over town to find it.

Maybe this is why I like walking. The lake changes at a much slower pace than the city around it. When I look at the trees and the water I can often fool myself into thinking that things haven't changed at all. The ducks still quack the same. It's all an illusion though. The neighborhoods surrounding the park have changed a lot. The houses are bigger and the lots are smaller. Nobody does their own yard work anymore. You can't walk two blocks without seeing a lawn care truck with a long trailer full of lawnmowers. Everybody seems to be doing well. I guess that's why people are moving here.

I didn't mow the lawn today. I felt tired after my long walk and took a nap instead. Maybe I'll have more energy tomorrow. I  hope so. It's supposed to start to rain again soon.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4152

I started assembling the gear I want to take to the astrophotography workshop this morning. Hmmm. Why so much? I may need to rethink this. It's not like I'm going to the South Pole or anything. Somehow there seemed to be twice as much stuff as I took out to the observatory the last time. That's the trouble with road trips. You aren't limited by what will fit in a carry-on bag. Maybe I can get by with less, but this is an advanced class and there are a lot of new things I would like to try.

The star tracker is going to be a problem. It has to be assembled on-site and there are a lot of pieces that can fall off and get lost in the dark. I practiced putting the thing together today and it took me a lot longer than I thought. I wish everyone would use the same type of batteries. Quite a bit of space in my bag has to be devoted to various types of chargers. I am making progress though. Give me a few more days and I'll have this down to a science.

I watch the business channels while I eat breakfast and it seems like there is a lot of weird stuff going on. Small businesses can't find enough workers because people are making more money on unemployment now. Large businesses don't need as many workers because they have become much more efficient during the pandemic. I'm glad the world of work is mostly in the rear view mirror now. I did pretty well over the years, but today's environment is a brave new world that I don't fully understand. I don't think it would be possible to duplicate what I did in the 70's and 80's today.

Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I think Dawn is finally starting to warm up to me. She's comfortable spending time on the bed with me now. When I take a nap, she doesn't run away anymore. She likes to sit outside on a sunny day and I spent about 45 minutes sitting in the back yard with her today. She still doesn't like me in the kitchen, but she races out to eat after I fix her meals and come to the back of the house to tell her that dinner is ready.

Maybe I'm fooling myself with my long walks as well. One of the fitness apps on my phone got an upgrade and it says that my overall fitness level is low. The app now measures VO2max which represents the heart and muscles ability to convert oxygen into energy during physical exercise. I probably just walk too slow, because the fitness level is calculated by comparing my heart rate with GPS data that shows my walking or running pace. My VO2max levels would improve if I went back to the gym and exercised enough to get my heart rate up. I like my slow walks though. It's very peaceful.

Time goes so quickly now. It's already time to make a grocery list again. I'll probably have to do some yard work this weekend because the weather is too nice to ignore the yard. A lot of things need attention and it's going to be even worse if I wait until the weather gets even warmer. I wonder how long it will be before I hire a yard service like the rest of the neighbors?

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4151

I got a haircut today, so that means I'm one step closer to being ready to travel. I always get a haircut before I take a trip. I guess it's kind of like putting clean clothes in your suitcase. It's not totally necessary, but it's nice to get started out on the right foot. I definately look more presentable now. I don't get haircuts as frequently as I did before the pandemic, but I'm certainly not going back to the way I looked in college. Back then I thought long hair made me look like a rock star. Now I think it makes me look like a homeless person. I asked my stylist when she was going to feel comfortable cutting hair without a mask. She said maybe never. This didn't seem strange to me at all. A lot has changed during the past year.

I got another rejection letter from NASA today. This notice was a bit different. It said that my credentials had been verified but my request to cover the launch was declined because the launch had been canceled. I will be given another chance to reapply when the launch is rescheduled. Is this good news or bad news? I have no idea. Since the launch was supposed to take place last March, it seems like they could have just waited a little longer instead of starting over from scratch. I'm kind of hoping that there are no important launches until all the post-pandemic travelers get their first vacation out of their systems. Planes are full and prices are insane right now. I'm in no hurry to join the madness. At least my trip to the observatory should be fairly quiet. There's not a lot of people traveling to that remote mountain.

I successfully added the astrophotography software to my new laptop partition. I thought that this would be easy, but it was surpassingly difficult because the software was developed by Germans. These guys were obsessed with verification and security. I had to jump through all sorts of hoops to get access to their download servers. When I launched the software to see if it worked on my computer, it seemed totally confusing to me. I have no idea what this actually does. That's OK. Learning how to use PixInsight is one of the reasons I'm going to the workshop.

We decided to wait until I returned from my haircut to walk Dawn today. I don't think she was happy with this plan. She was definitely eager to get out of the house. I was surprised at how hot it was this afternoon. Maybe this was why Janet and I walked Dawn really early last Summer. Neither of us can remember why we started doing this. It seems crazy to walk before sunrise now.

Dawn was hot and tired when we completed her short one mile loop. I probably should have gone back to the house with her. By the time I finished my long walk I was sweating profusely and was pretty tired myself. The temperature was in the high 80's today and it was very humid. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come. I'd like our nice Spring weather to last a little longer.

I've taken the trash out to the curb and am ready to restart the week again. It looks like I'm going to have to mow the grass again this weekend. I'm not looking forward to that. This mower isn't self-propelled and it's getting harder and harder to push. I'd like a weekend with nothing to do at all.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4150

What a beautiful day. This would have been a good day to do yard work, but by the time I changed the sheets on the bed and did several loads of laundry I was too tired. Somehow putting a fitted sheet on a low platform bed is a lot harder than it used to be. I had my normal smoothie for breakfast, checked my messages, and got ready to walk Dawn. We walked Dawn early today because Janet was going to be away during the afternoon. Dawn was fine with the change in schedule. She liked the nice Spring weather too.

I knew there was going to be a Starship launch today, so I checked the computer from time to time to see how things were progressing in Boca Chica. The launch didn't take place until late in the day, but it was worth the wait. The fifth time was the charm for the Starship. It didn't blow up this time and made a perfect landing. It's impressive how quickly things are moving down at Boca Chica. I still think Elon might make it to the moon before NASA. I've really got to get down to Boca Chica and see one of these launches for myself.

There was plenty of time for a long walk while I was waiting for the Starship launch to take place. I made pretty good time today even though I was unusually tired. I think I didn't get enough sleep last night. The wildflowers are looking good this season. Somehow they weren't affected by our big freeze this winter. The Rhododendrons and Azaleas in Dallas didn't do so well. Most of these popular plants died. Usually in the Spring, I spend a day or two photographing all the wildflowers before the Summer heat dries them out. I've got plenty of flower pictures now, but I ought to schedule another photo day anyway just for old time's sake. 

I shouldn't have bookmarked the page of that telescope I'm interested in. I found myself going back to the page today and trying to justify purchasing the little telescope. It's really just a telephoto lens that has been optimized for astrophotography, but it's pretty cool. It even has a cool name: Redcat 51. I'll probably wish I'd ordered it when I return from the observatory and discover that the telescope is out of stock again. If this thing was available three weeks ago I probably would have ordered it instead of the telephoto lens I got recently. Oh, well. Maybe next time. I'm sure this won't be my last trip out to the observatory.

I still can't decide whether to apply from some June launch opportunities at Kennedy Space Center. I feel like I'm jinxed now and it hardly seems worth the effort, but if you don't apply you're never going to get accepted. I wish I knew why my applications were being rejected now. I've gotten a press pass before and I can't figure out what has changed. Maybe it's just one more thing to fret about. I'm not good at going with the flow. I'd like to have the rest of my year mapped out in great detail and then I'd just follow the schedule. 

I do have something on my schedule for tomorrow. I get a haircut. A haircut isn't a big deal but it fits in with my one activity a day philosophy. A haircut and a long walk. That ought to take care of the day.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4149

I'm making progress. I've now got a dual boot laptop that will run the old software I depend on and the new astrophotography software I need. I was a little apprehensive about adding a partition with a new operating system to the laptop's hard drive, because if something went wrong I could lose important applications that I no longer have the install disks for. Things don't always go as planned when I do stuff like this, but I followed the instructions carefully and everything went perfectly. I'm surprised that I've never done this before. Usually if I need a different operating system I just use an external hard drive. Now I just need to add the astronomy software to the new partition and I'm ready for the workshop.

There was another Starlink launch at Kennedy Space Center this morning. There are so many of these things now that I'm losing track of them. A few of my Florida friends seem to go to every single one of these launches. I'm a little envious, but I don't know if I'd have the stamina to drive out to the Space Center and set up cameras day after day. A few launches a year is fine by me. The dedicated photographers are the one who get accredited though. Only one of the regulars routinely comes from out of state. His son is an airline pilot though and he gets free airfare. It's hard to compete with these guys. 

A popular small telescope that is perpetually out of stock suddenly became available on one of the astronomy equipment websites today. Should I order this? Probably not. It's tempting, but it wouldn't arrive in time for the workshop and there is no time to learn to use it anyway. I need to learn that equipment isn't always the answer. My time would be better spent learning how to get the most out of the stuff I already have.

Dawn got a bath today. She wasn't happy about the bath, but Janet likes a clean dog. I keep telling Dawn that dirty dogs are fine with me, but she doesn't appear to get the message. Dawn and I should be best buddies because I think like a dog. Dirt is fine. Eating, sleeping, and long walks are my life. I'm not wild about people walking down the alley either. Sometimes I think that Dawn is warming up to me. I'm probably fooling myself though. Dawn isn't frightened of me at all. She just doesn't like me.

The park was pretty empty today. Life must be returning to normal because there is a real difference between weekend and weekday activity now. During the worst of the pandemic, every day was the same. There were days when I couldn't tell the difference between Tuesday and Sunday because nobody was working. I'm not seeing as many people wearing masks outdoors in the park either. Little by little, a sense of normalcy is returning.

I made an appointment to get a haircut before my trip. I always do this before I travel. Luckily, I've still got hair to cut. My age is showing though. I often feel tired when I return from my walks. These walks shouldn't bother me at all because I'm not exactly setting the world on fire. I walk pretty slow. "All in good time" should be my new motto. Hey, I did get my laptop properly configured today. Tomorrow, I'll do something else. Don't let me buy that telescope though. I don't need it. I should start saving for a trip to Florida instead.

Crosby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4148

We might have seen Cooper for the last time today. It looks like he will be adopted soon. We met the guy who is thinking of adopting Cooper and he has already adopted several Dalmatian Rescue dogs. The guy just needs to make sure that Cooper gets along with his current dogs and Cooper will have a home. Hopefully this will work out. I think it will. Cooper is very friendly with other dogs.

Charlie was very quiet today. He was actually acting like a normal dog. Since this was Charlie, we were a little worried about him, but the kennel attendants assured us that he was fine. I think we must have woke him up from a nap. It's not like Charlie to sit quietly on a bench with us and let us pet him, but that's what we got today. He did play with his toys but he was uncharacteristically gentle with them. Dalmatians are full of surprises.

The weather may be full of surprises this evening as well. We've had severe weather warnings all afternoon, but so far all the storms have gone North of us. There is one more storm system on the way and this one appears to be headed straight for us. We'll see what happens. Weather is so unpredictable at this time of year. You never know if you are going to get a gentle shower or a tornado. The rain hasn't arrived yet, but I'll be glad when this storm passes to the East of us.

It was hot and humid today. It felt like Summer had arrived when I was taking my long walk. It was a reminder of what lies ahead. Our short Spring is almost over. Pretty soon is is going to be hot and dry. Instead of worrying about rain, I'll be begging for it. That's still in the future though. Right now, I'm still worried about the rain.

The lens I ordered for my trip to the observatory arrived early today. After complaining about the post office last week, it looks like they outdid themselves this time. I took a chance and ordered a used lens. I guess I got lucky. The lens looks perfect and I could have sworn it was new. Hopefully I will get some use out of this. It's definitely not something I'll be using to take pictures of Dalmatians.

I got a notice that I could apply to attend a Dragon resupply mission in June at Kennedy Space Center. This isn't something I would normally want to attend, but I'm becoming obsessed with getting back to the Space Center. Should I apply or not? If I am accepted, I will need to go and that means dealing with a lot of recent travel changes. They say rental cars are ridiculously expensive in Florida now because of short supply. Hotel room rates have gone up significantly as well. Everybody seems to want to travel now. Maybe I should just wait until some sense of normality returns. 
 

I'm hearing a lot of thunder now and see flashes of lightning through the office window. It still hasn't started raining though. On the weather radar it looks like the center of the storm is passing slightly to the South of us. I wish this was over. I'm torn between checking the radar every few minutes and posting this in a hurry in case the power goes out. The one good thing about these storms is that I think it will be a lot cooler tomorrow.

All in all, it was a good day. We enjoyed seeing Charlie and Cooper and I've got my lens now. I just hope the day ends well.

Milo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4147

I definitely didn't accomplish much today. I got up late, had a leisurely breakfast, looked at an endless list of lost or abandoned dogs on my Facebook feed, and started snacking well before lunchtime. Janet didn't have a lot to do today either, so she went with me on my daily walk. We were kind of hoping that Dawn would want to accompany us, but she just wanted her short one mile loop.

The park was really crowded today. I know it was Sunday but there are a lot more people on the trails than there were a few years ago. The city has grown, but I don't think that explains the crowds. More people are working from home and setting their own hours. Some people have given up working altogether. I wouldn't be surprised if more people were interested in staying healthy as well. The city is also promoting the park as a destination. It's a big change from the days when the place was virtually empty.

I miss the old days, but luckily the park is huge and there is plenty of room for all the extra people. There are lots of dogs as well. This is a popular place to walk your dog. Pit bull mixes appear to be the most popular breed in the city. Chihuahuas are probably next on the list. There are lots of German Shepherds and Labs as well. It's been several years since I've seen another Dalmatian in the park however. 

I need to start planning for my trip to the observatory. I hate packing and always wait until the last possible minute. This usually results in forgetting things. Like many photographers, I'm torn between a desire to take lots of equipment and a fear that the equipment will get stolen. Sometimes I think I'd be happier if I didn't take any cameras at all. Memories are often more vivid than pictures anyway. I don't think leaving the cameras behind is an option this time. The whole point of the trip is to learn how to take better pictures.

I'm still perplexed by Dawn's behavior. She's real friendly with me in the bedroom, but fearful of me in the kitchen. To this day, she has not set foot in my office. Outside, she has no problems with me at all. She comes when I call outside, but doesn't even listen to me inside. She sleeps next to me on the bed and likes me to walk her. The rest of the time she runs away from me. Dawn is a very complex dog.

I need to learn how to use my new star tracker. I haven't even tried it out yet. I guess I have an excuse. I'm apprehensive about leaving the yard at night and you can't see many stars in Dallas anyway. It's kind of weird to have an interest that I can't really use without driving hundreds of miles. I guess I could find dark skies much closer to home, but I don't know anyone who lives out in the country. It's probably just as well that I save my astronomy for West Texas skies. A few days of really dark skies is probably worth more than months of frustration in the city.

It looks like we will just be seeing Charlie and Cooper tomorrow. The new Dalmatian that I thought Dalmatian Rescue was getting was reunited with his owner, which was a much better outcome anyway. I'm glad the owners found their missing dog at the pound. Whenever I see a well cared for dog at a city pound, I'm convinced that there is an owner out there looking for them somewhere. Don't ever leave your gates open. It's way too easy for something bad to happen.

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4146

My phone definitely knows too much about me. This morning I noticed that the shopping app I use to get gas automatically selected the premium pump for me. It knew that this was the type of gas I use. Later, in the grocery store I saw a list of frequently purchased items that I could click as repeat purchases without having to scan the item. I doubt that these recent enhancements to the app really saved me much time, but it was interesting how much information the store was accumulating about me. If you think you still have any secrets, you are delusional. Our robot overlords know everything.

I don't think my bank is ever going to reopen the lobby. The drive up windows seem to be working well and the bank can operate with only two employees now. I see this everywhere. Business has learned to become more efficient and I don't think we are going back. My grocery store has changed the traffic pattern to discourage people from crossing each other's paths. This seems to be working too. Popular items have been relocated so that customers can get in and out quickly. A lot more people are using the shopping app on their phones as well. It's weird how well we have all adapted to hundreds of new pandemic rules. I don't think we even realize how much has changed.

Dawn was eager to walk today, so we left the house earlier than usual. There is still a lot of rain in the area, but we don't seem to be getting much. I looked at the weather radar before we left and nobody was getting wet today. I wish Dawn wanted to take longer walks, but she's still content with her short one mile loop. Maybe that's all she needs. I still feel a need to walk longer, so I continue walking after Dawn and Janet return to the house. I'm not sure how much exercise I'm actually getting. I was pretty slow today.

Walking is just a convenient time to daydream and plan. I've been thinking a lot about my trip to the observatory lately. I like to travel light, but there's a lot of equipment I'd like to try out as well. If I leave something behind, I always wish I had it, but there are always things I take that I don't even use. Basically, I'm not a very good travel planner.  I don't like to drive either, which is strange for a person who loves cars. There's still plenty of time, so I'm sure I'll get it all sorted out. I always do.

The Crew-1 astronauts are returning to earth tonight. It doesn't seem that long ago that I watched them launch from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The capsule will splash down later tonight near where my sister lives in Florida. Maybe by the time the Crew-3 mission is ready I can figure out how to get back on the NASA press list. It still bugs me that podcasters and YouTubers have better access than I do. Jeez I write for a real magazine. I guess nobody reads magazines anymore.

I took my sister's letter to the post office today. I have no faith in the post office even though I don't think anything has actually gotten lost. A lot of times the mail is slow, but it all eventually gets here. The new lens I ordered is coming through the mail as well. I'll fret about that shipment just like I did with the computer memory chips I ordered. I have a lot more faith in UPS for some reason. I never worry about UPS shipments.

I worry about too many things. Is Dawn healthy? Am I healthy? Will a tree fall on our roof? Is the world coming to an end? I probably should just go with the flow. There's not a lot I can change anyway.

Betsy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4145

Another rainy day. Dawn doesn't like getting wet and didn't even want to leave the house today. At one point we thought we'd found a little dry patch where she could take her short one mile loop, but we were barely out of the back yard when the wind blew and some water from a tree fell on her. That was all it took. Back to the house we went. The rain didn't stop me of course. I waited until the rain slowed to a drizzle and was determined to get at least a minimum of 10,000 steps.

It seems like a rainy Spring, but actually this completely normal. It always rains a lot in the Spring. By Summer, we are wondering where all the rain went, because it is hot and dry for months at a time. It would be nice if we had a nice even amount of rain throughout the year, but that's not the way it works in Texas.

I got a little wet this afternoon, but I managed to walk four miles. There weren't many other people on the trails, but the ducks seemed to love the weather. I should have dressed a little warmer today. Usually I get warmer as I walk. Today I got colder. I should have known better. I had to turn the furnace on again this morning. Every time I turn the furnace on in April, I think "well, this is it for the year." Texas weather always proves me wrong.

One of the presenters at the astrophotography workshop wrote today and asked the participants to download WhatsApp so it would be easier for him to contact the group. I'm alway reluctant to install any Facebook app on my phone because Facebook is relentless about wanting to grab all the information about you it can. Instagram and WhatsApp won't even work unless you give them access to your contact list. I went ahead and added the app to my phone because I didn't want to be obstinate and get started on the wrong foot. I can always delete it later. I don't know why there is an obsession to use tools like this. Isn't e-mail enough? A few years ago, some NASA folks wanted me to download Slack for the same reason. I've never had any use for Slack since.

I wrote a letter to my sister today, but I didn't mail it because I didn't want to drive to the post office in the rain. This was actually kind of silly, since it's going to be raining even harder tomorrow and I'll have to go out and get groceries anyway. Oh, well. I'll add a stop at the post office to my errand list and wash the car later. I should be happy for all the rain we're getting. The yard is getting green again and some of the plants I thought had died in the freeze are starting to come back. Even some of the Asian Jasmine is starting to grow again. It's going to take a while before it looks like it did before the freeze, but green is good.

I keep trying to think of a follow up to my Sky & Telescope article.  My upcoming trip will be the second time I have returned to the observatory since the initial article I wrote last March. You'd think I could come up with something. I can't use the travel angle anymore since I've already used that. I'm limited in what I can write about astrophotography as well, because I actually don't know that much. I have to remember that I'm going out there to learn, not to teach. I hate to let an opportunity go to waste though. Maybe I can come up with something that the editors will like.

The lens I ordered hasn't even shipped yet. Not this again. Why has shipping become so difficult lately? Janet says Amazon Prime isn't delivering the next day anymore. The post office is hopeless. With my luck the lens will probably arrive the day after I leave for the observatory. My bad for wanting a world that runs like clockwork. I should have learned by now that what I'm going to get is a dystopian mess.

Bea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4144

It didn't rain as much as expected, but it was still a gray, dismal day. I didn't even want to get out of bed this morning, but I followed my usual routine anyway. After breakfast, I confirmed my reservation at the Astronomer's Lodge and canceled my reservation at Prude Ranch. I'm glad I already reserved a rental car for the trip because I keep reading stories that rental cars are in very short supply now. Everything seems to be in short supply these days. Manufacturers can't get enough computer chips to make their products. I finally got my chips though and the laptop still seems to be working after my memory upgrade yesterday. Knock on wood. I'm hearing that there will be a gas shortage this summer because there aren't enough drivers qualified to drive the tankers that refill the gas stations. Hopefully this won't be a problem when I visit West Texas. It's hard to tell if the problems I keep hearing about are real or imagined because the media loves a crisis. So far, my life still seems pretty normal.

I ordered a used lens today that will be useful at the astrophotography workshop. I rarely buy used photo equipment because there is always something wrong with it. Maybe I'll get burned again, but I hope not. I just didn't want to spend a lot of money on a lens I probably won't use after the workshop is over. I mostly do pet photography these days and I always use fast, quick focusing automatic lenses. Simple, manual lenses are preferred for astrophotography though. 

There were very few people out in the park when I took my long walk. I guess everybody else was afraid of getting wet. I trusted the weather radar on my phone and only got hit with a few brief sprinkles. It was actually a nice, cool day for a walk. I actually prefer overcast days. Shadows are seldom a photographer's friend and photos tend to come out better when clouds soften the light.

The two large Muscovy ducks were reunited today. I'll probably never know what happened yesterday. I saw the mean little female duck that chased all the other ducks off the island for the first time in several months. Watching all the duck activity gives me something to do. Squirrels just aren't that interesting.

The wildflowers are in full bloom now. Somehow, the big freeze this winter didn't seem to hurt them at all.  I really need to spend an afternoon photographing the flowers while they are all still here. The flowers are definitely pretty, but it is hard for me to get excited because I have photographed most of them hundreds of times before. Maybe this is why I'm interested in astrophotography now. It is still completely new to me.

It looks like Dalmatian Rescue is picking up a Dalmatian from a local pound. Maybe Charlie and Cooper will have company soon. The animal control description of the dog called it a Dalmatian Mix, but it sure looked like a pure bred to me. This handsome boy is very young, so he will probably find a home soon. The young ones always seem to get adopted quicker. I'll look forward to seeing this new guy when he arrives at the kennel. A new Dalmatian always makes our Monday a little brighter.

The week's trash has been taken to the curb and I'm trying to decide who to write tomorrow. I owe my sister a letter and I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with NASA press accreditations in Florida. My sister will write me back. NASA probably won't.

Parker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4143

Upgrading my computers is always a traumatic experience. I carefully followed all the instructions for installing new memory in my laptop and was convinced that I'd done everything correctly. When I put the computer back together and pressed the power button nothing happened. The computer was completely dead. I took the computer apart again and reinstalled the old memory. It was still dead. After several false starts I finally got it to start using AC power. My control panel said the battery was completely empty. How did that happen? The battery was at 90% when I started the repairs. I called technical support and they told me to try resetting the system management controller. I've reset a lot of things on Apple computers over the years, but I'd never even heard of this. The service guy said that my problem didn't make any sense, but that sometimes things get scrambled when the battery is disconnected. Evidently. The battery is recharging now and we'll see if it holds a charge overnight.

I got some good news from McDonald Observatory today. I can stay at the Astronomer's Lodge while I'm attending the astrophotography workshop. This might not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. I hate driving late at night on mountain roads. I almost hit a deer the last time I was driving back to the Prude Ranch after the workshop was over for the night. If I'm staying on-site at the observatory I can relax and probably stay up a little later taking photographs. Meals are included at the Astronomer's Lodge too. I'm looking forward to this.

We were supposed to get severe weather today, but it never materialized. So far this year we have been very lucky. The bad storms always seem to go to the north or the south of us. I hope this trend continues. I always worry about tornados since our house offers no protection whatsoever. May is supposed to be the worst month for tornados in Texas but the weather hasn't been that bad this year. Alabama and Tennessee seem to be getting a lot worse weather than we have lately. 

It was overcast with a little drizzle today, but I was still able to take my long walk. There are two very large Muscovy ducks I frequently see on my walk. These ducks always hang out together, but today they were more than a mile apart. This was the first time I've ever seen the pair separated. I wonder if they had a spat? Ducks are noisy and apparently very social. I often wonder what all the quacking is about?

It looks like there will be another Starship launch at Boca Chica this week. I keep thinking that I ought to go down there, but it is not as easy as it sounds. South Texas is almost as far away as Florida and there are fewer hotels. Also, when you get down there you never know if there actually will be a launch. This doesn't seem to bother some of the launch photographers, but they are much more adventurous than I am. I still like Florida when NASA rolls out the welcome mat the best. I hope those days aren't gone forever, but we'll just have to wait and see. 

I certainly won't be doing anything exciting tomorrow. I'll look forward to another fruit smoothie and a long walk. Maybe if I'm lucky I can convince Dawn to be friends with me.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4142

Today was a little different. I took my long walk right after breakfast so I would be back in time to take Janet to the dentist. Yesterday there was a lot of rain in the forecast but today it was just overcast. I was surprised that I made good time today. Often I don't when I walk early.

When I returned home there was a surprise in the mail. My long awaited computer memory chips have arrived. They certainly took the slow route to Dallas, but the package appeared to be in good shape. I'll probably upgrade the computer tomorrow, unless I'm feeling especially clumsy. I'm never wild about making computer modifications. There are a lot of tiny screws and very fine wires inside these things. I try my best to be careful, but the truth is that I am pretty clumsy. I gave up watch repair as a hobby because there are a lot of very tiny parts inside watches as well. I managed to get quite a few watches running again, but I ended up breaking way too many. Luckily, upgrading the laptop's memory is very easy. All I have to do is remove ten screws, take the back off the laptop, disconnect a few wires, and replace the existing memory. This should only take about ten minutes, but it will probably take me an hour.

Janet's dentist was still operating under Covid protocols. They didn't want me to come inside. I dropped her off at the front of the building and then I was supposed to call them from my car when I returned and they would bring her down to me. Her extraction didn't take nearly as long as mine did a few years ago. I was only home a short time before I got a call saying that it was time to pick her up. 

We stopped at the pharmacy on the way home to pick up her meds, but they weren't ready yet. I took Janet home, watched Dawn curl up next to her on the bed, and then returned to the pharmacy. Dawn will make a good nurse. She never leaves Janet's side. I walked up to an empty counter and picked up Janet's meds, but when I was leaving two snarky ladies hissed at me and said "guess you didn't see the line" under their breath. I guess not. They were so far away from the counter that I thought they were shopping for something else.

I've either got to start going to the gym or just accept the fact that my body is wearing out. I was watching one of those Life Alert commercials while I was eating breakfast this morning and found myself wondering if I should get one. "I've fallen and I can't get up" is beginning to seem very real. I'm thinking of getting a walking stick for my trip to the observatory. I might take a folding camp chair as well. One of the bad things about astrophotography is that you often have to get down on your knees to point the camera at the proper section of sky. I remember hating getting up and down so often on my last trip. Maybe a walking stick and a folding canvas chair will help. I still refuse to call the walking stick a cane, but you get the idea.

The Artemis-1 SLS booster I saw at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans a few years ago has finally arrived at Kennedy Space Center. Over the next several months it will be assembled into a moon rocket and hopefully launch before the end of the year. This is the one launch I really don't want to miss. Since I can't really count on NASA anymore, I'm going to have to get to know the people in the Air Force media office again. The people I used to know are gone now, but if I did this once I guess I can do it again.  

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4141

I almost forgot it was Monday today. I was getting ready to take my long walk when Janet reminded me that it was time to go see the rescue Dalmatians. I took my camera in case the new female in the program was at the kennel, but when we arrived we learned that she had already been adopted. Charlie and Cooper were glad to see us as always. We've been pretty good at teaching these active guys to "go out for a pass" and catch a toy football in midair. We need to try to teach them some manners. Maybe they would find a home quicker.

We had already taken Dawn on her short walk before we left for the kennel, but there was still time for me to take my long walk after we returned home. I knew I was going to be slow this afternoon because my foot was bothering me before I even left the house. It's kind of irritating that the only thing my foot doctor was able to recommend were new shoes and some topical pain cream. There is just no magic bullet when your cartilage begins to wear out. I'm going to keep walking though. I have a feeling that things would get worse rather quickly if I quit moving. I know other people with arthritis and the fact that I can still walk six miles a day is proof that I'm really not doing all that bad. It could definitely be a lot worse.

My package isn't in Indiana anymore. With any luck it might arrive later this week. I wonder why USPS surface mail is so much slower than FedEx Ground or UPS Ground? Most UPS Ground orders arrive in three or four days. I know why Amazon Prime is so quick. They have giant warehouses all over the country and most things we order on Amazon are already in the Dallas warehouse anyway. Maybe I should be glad that the post office is slow. It gives me something else to track every day.

I watched the Delta IV Heavy NROL-82 launch on the ULA live stream this afternoon. I've always wanted to see one of these launches in person because the Delta IV Heavy is huge. I was approved to see the last Delta IV Heavy launch in Florida but the trip didn't work out for a variety of reasons. Since these rockets are almost always used to launch giant school bus sized spy satellites you don't get a lot of access at a launch. It would still be great to see one lift off though. There are only three of these aging giants left, so I'd better get planning if I want to see one of the remaining ones fly.

Janet is having a wisdom tooth removed tomorrow, so I'll need to take her to and from the dentist. Whenever you have a wisdom tooth removed you kind of wish you'd taken care of this earlier in life. Wisdom tooth roots go on forever and it is not always easy to remove them. My dental surgeon told me that the hole where the tooth used to be would fill in over time. It never did. There is still an indentation in my jaw that is easy to feel at the gum line. Hopefully Janet's extraction will go smoothly. We've stocked up on tasty soups so she'll have something to eat while she recovers.

We're starting to think that Dawn used to just be fed once a day. She still eats the same amount of food, but her schedule has changed. She isn't as interested in breakfast anymore and wants to eat more at dinner. I guess this is OK, but it seems weird to have a dog that isn't interested in breakfast. We couldn't fix breakfast fast enough for all our other Dalmatians. To each his or her own I guess. As long as Dawn continues to eat a normal amount of healthy food, we're not going to worry about when she eats. 

I'll continue eating my own breakfast at the same time every morning. Hey, I'm not a dog, even though I act like one at times.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day