Day 4460

What a nasty day. The weather wasn't actually as bad as the forecasters predicted, but it never is. Weather forecasters like to alarm people just as much as the next guy. Dawn wanted no part of today's cold weather. We tried twice this morning to get her to go down to the park and poop, but she wasn't interested. She stubbornly waited until later this afternoon to do her business.

I had planned to just stay inside today, but eventually I couldn't stand to break my Fitbit streak. I've gone over 111 days walking at least 10,000 steps and I wasn't going to let a little sleet stop me now. I put on my warmest clothes and left the house around 11 AM. Unfortunately my timing wasn't very good. I ended up getting caught in the only heavy rain of the day. It didn't last long. Just enough to get me soaking wet and very cold. Needless to say I didn't complete my route today. I headed for home after one mile which meant I only walked two miles today. That was more than enough. I threw all my wet clothes in the dryer and spent the rest of the afternoon warming up. It wasn't a total loss. I did get 12,000 steps. 

If I had just waited a few hours I wouldn't have gotten wet at all. So much to trusting the weather reports. I was convinced that the weather was going to get worse as the day progressed. When Janet returned home around 3 PM, we took Dawn down to the park again and she finally pooped. She wasn't up for a walk though and immediately headed back to the house. I think Dawn is a lot smarter than I am about the weather.

I hate sitting around the house on a cold day. Typically there is absolutely nothing I feel like doing. I'm not a big fan of Amazon, Netflix, or Hulu movies and I haven't read a book in quite a while. That's why work projects were so beneficial. They gave me something structured to do during the day without having to interact with other people. As a bonus, I got paid well for avoiding the idleness I didn't like anyway.

I should probably stop watching cable news, abandon social media, and just start methodically rereading the thousands of books that line all four walls of my office. I've forgotten what's inside most of these books, but I remember really liking most of them. I used to love the novels of John Fowles. I read every one of them. John Nichols Milagro Beanfield War was a favorite of mine. I always liked John McPhee's nonfiction books. The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed was fascinating. Maybe I just liked authors named John. Of course there was Ken Kesey, Hunter S. Thompson, R.V Cassill, and many more. Even Andy Warhol's autobiography was interesting. I don't remember any specifics about these books on my shelves but I was a prolific reader for many years. I wonder what happened? The only books I've read recently are Andy Wier's The Martian, Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy, and a self published book by an old ad agency boss of mine.

It was cold enough today that I went through the ritual of starting my car and warming it up without leaving the carport. The car would probably start tomorrow anyway, but I hate to leave anything to chance these days. There is water on the roof, but the pumps seem to be working well. I'm hoping that I don't hear a drip coming from the ceiling during the night. Janet sent me a text message saying that there was a dead animal on the front porch after she left the house this morning. When I went out to dispose of it, there was definitely something gross on the porch but it wasn't an animal. I'm still not sure what it was. Maybe it was the rotted remains of an old squirrel nest or something a dragon threw up. Life is always full of surprises.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4459

It's hard to believe it might snow tomorrow. Today was beautiful. It's difficult to beat 70 degree temperatures, blue skies, and very little wind. Dawn must have agreed because she seemed eager to take her walk this morning. I'm seeing signs of Spring everywhere. I guess tomorrow we'll see what Winter still has to offer.

I haven't completely given up on doing website design using an old system on an external hard drive. I copied the rest of the files I need from the server this morning and I'll give this a try and see how it goes. It's certainly not very critical how I update websites these days. I only work on two: my own and the one for Dalmatian Rescue.

It must have been a really slow day because I got out the star tracker again and began experimenting with it. I upgraded the firmware for the third time and installed the latest app on my phone. It's counterintuitive how this thing works and I usually end up with the camera pointing backwards when I'm trying to track something. Since I've only been using the unit during the day so far the only targets I practice with are the sun and the moon. The sun is too bright to be pointing a camera at on a day like this, but the moon worked perfectly. I really need to try this at night sometime, but I'm going to wait until it's a little warmer. I actually think the Polaris tracker works quite well. The software continues to improve with each new version. Most of the many errors I've encountered have been caused by me and the lack of an instruction manual. I still think this saga would make an interesting story for Sky & Telescope, but the editors don't appear to be interested.

I've really got to think of a better way to spend my day than taking long walks and complaining about my feet. The foot pain was quite noticeable today, but I was able to complete my entire route. Walking seems so much better than sitting around the house or watching television. It's worth the discomfort. Walking is a pretty mindless activity, but there are lots of things to see and looking at my surrounding always gets me thinking. No deep thoughts, but I do like to daydream.

I'm still doing my best to win Dawn's trust. I don't want her to be scared or depressed when Janet goes on vacation. So far we're still working on the basics. She'll come when I call sometimes now, but not always. When she's real hungry she'll watch me fix her dinner, but usually she waits in the bedroom until I'm finished fixing things and go back to the office. Then she'll come out to the kitchen and eat.  She'll share the bed with me now when Janet is away from the house. That's an improvement. A month ago she would always go out to the kitchen when I came in the bedroom. We've never had a dog that didn't like men before. You have to be very patient.

I'm a lazy person but I miss working. Working gave my day the structure it needed. It would be nice to have some interesting writing or website projects again. Not very likely though. All my old clients have either retired or died. I can't relate to the young people who replaced them at all. For the most part, young people just irritate me. If this sounds like the definition of a grumpy old man, it probably is. I'm hanging in there though. The week's trash has been taken out to the curb and I'm ready for whatever Friday brings.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4458

Another slow day. Dawn still won't walk in the morning because it's too cold. We go down to the field behind our house and as soon as she poops she wants to come back home again. For a dog that's scared of everything, she's incredibly stubborn. When she's ready to go home, nothing can make her move forward. Until Spring really arrives, we're just going to walk her in the afternoon. The temperature warms up quickly. It went from 30 degrees to 60 degrees today.

After breakfast I filled out my application for 2022 press credentials with the Space Force. I've been credentialed for the past two years, so it shouldn't be a problem. You never know though. I don't take anything for granted anymore. I'm not even sure the magazine I write for likes me these days. Something has changed but I can't quite put my finger on it. At any rate, I hope everything goes smoothly. I still want to attend the Artemis 1 launch. I watched this spacecraft being assembled at Michoud Assembly Facility and have followed its journey for several years. Hopefully when the time comes I'll be able to afford airfare. I have a feeling that the cost of a plane ticket is going to be a lot higher in a few months from now.

I wasted a lot of time this morning trying to get my Dreamweaver software to work better. My plan was to boot the computer from an older system that I was using about the same time I bought my Adobe CS-5 software. Surprisingly this actually worked, but my WiFi was really slow because I was running an old operating system from an external hard drive. The website files I needed weren't on the drive either. By the time I finished transferring everything I realized that this was a pretty stupid plan. I guess I'll go back to using my semi-broken copy of Dreamweaver on my main computer.

I got my 20,000 steps again today but it wasn't easy. My feet felt terrible. Usually the last mile is the worst. At least I dressed appropriately this time. It was pretty warm by the time I took my long walk and I wore a light jacket that I could easily tie around my waist as I warmed up. I didn't see any ducks of geese this afternoon. I doubt that I'll ever see the eagles again. I wonder where the birds went. Parks and Recreation has been doing a lot of work in the park lately. Maybe all the noise is disrupting things. I haven't seen this much activity in many years. I may be wrong but it feels like the park department is trying to use up the remaining money in their fiscal year budget before it disappears.

I still think we should be doing more to help the Ukrainians. What good are NATO and the United Nations if all they can do is issue proclamations? I seem to remember no fly zones being established in almost every major conflict during the past thirty years. So now it's too dangerous to have a no fly zone? Basically the Ukrainians got screwed. When they broke away from the Soviet Union and became an independent country, they voluntarily relinquished their own nuclear weapons in exchange for protection from the West. It sure doesn't seem like we are doing much to protect them from Putin.

Janet said that Dawn did really well at training class tonight. We definitely won't be going to training class while she's away on vacation. The way things are going, we might not even leave the backyard.

Bacardi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4457

Today was busy. Well, it was busy for me anyway. I finished working on my taxes and took the files down to my accountant. For many years I've burned a CD of my Quickbooks files to support all the paper documents. Nobody's computers except for mine seem to have a CD drive anymore, so I took them a zip drive this year. I have no real idea what I owe these days. It's too complicated. Hopefully, the damage won't be too bad this year. There are already plenty of other bills I need to pay.

On the way home I stopped to get some printer ink. All I needed was the Cyan cartridge, but I had to buy a three pack with a Magenta and Yellow cartridge as well. Since the Magenta and Yellow cartridges currently in the printer are pretty full, I will probably lose this new ink long before I need it. It's weird that the colored ink gets used at all since all I print are black and white documents. Computer printers are probably going the way of CD drives pretty soon. There is very little use for them anymore. I could have probably sent all my tax files to the accountant's Dropbox as PDF files, but old habits die hard. Tax season to me still means a big manilla envelope full of paper documents. 

When I returned home I added the three new dogs to the Dalmatian Rescue website. The site is up to date now, even though my Dreamweaver software barely works anymore. It's a good thing I know HTML fairly well. I haven't upgraded any Adobe software since they went to a subscription model, so the copy of Dreamweaver I use is ancient. It probably wouldn't work at all if I had the latest OS running on my Mac. I stopped upgrading the computer quite a while ago too. I hate the relentless desire of companies to monetize everything and turn owners into renters. I still think you should be able to buy software in a pretty box with a CD inside and be able to use it forever. The box should include a decent instruction manual too. Why does everything have to be a cumbersome PDF file that takes forever to read on your computer?

This weather is driving me nuts. The temperature fluctuates wildly from day to day. I never know what to wear anymore. I was cold when we took Dawn on her morning walk, so I dressed warmly when I took my long walk later in the day. I didn't think it had warmed up much, but I was hot before I had gone two miles. I never should have worn two coats, because the outer coat was too bulky to tie around my waist. My feet hurt a lot today as well. Foot pain seems just as unpredictable as the weather. 

The weather is going to get a lot colder by Friday. We may even get snow. Why does this happen every year? We have an early Spring. Things start to turn green and then we get a late hard freeze that kills all the early growth. We've frequently had terrible weather in March, so I wouldn't be surprised if we did get some snow this weekend. At least April is always nice. April isn't that far away is it?

I've been trying to get Dawn used to having me do the things that Janet usually does in preparation for her upcoming trip. So far, it isn't going so well. Dawn is still very nervous around me when I am alone with her. She will come and eat her dinner after I fix it for her, but I have to go back in the office while she eats. She won't eat if I am in the kitchen. She finally comes to the backdoor when I call her to go outside and pee. There is a whole breakfast routine she still needs to learn though. Janet always feeds her breakfast and gets her to take her pills while I am making the bed. Often Janet will take her down in the park to poop as well. She won't even leave the backyard with me unless Janet is nearby. It's going to be an interesting week. Dawn is a very smart dog and Janet has been able to do amazing things with her at training class. Hopefully it won't take her long to realize that I mean no harm and am actually her friend. Dawn needs to understand that Janet needs vacations too. I've had the opportunity to go to Kennedy Space Center and McDonald Observatory last year, but Janet hasn't gone anywhere since Covid started. 

Val is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4456

It was a busy day at the kennel. We met the three new females. Candy is a very active eight month old pup. Julip is a small four year old who loves to smile. And Sammy is a sweet three year old mama who is going to have puppies soon. Sammy will go to a foster next week to have her puppies and Candy and Julip will soon be joined by Rocket, a three year old male who is still at the vet. Considering what these puppy mill dogs have been through, they all seemed happy and remarkably well adjusted.

We spent a lot of time taking pictures of the new dogs, but we didn't forget about Charlie, Oliver, Jo Jo, and Willie. The rescue group hasn't had this many Dalmatians for quite a while. Each of these dogs has their own unique personality, but they are all wonderful. I would have a hard time choosing a favorite. When we left the kennel this afternoon I wondered if I would see some of these dogs again. The younger Dals often get adopted very quickly.

Winter has returned, but I hope it doesn't stay around long. It was so cold when we took Dawn on her early walk this morning that she didn't want any part of being outside. As soon as she did her business, she quickly turned around and wanted to go back to the house. While I was eating breakfast it was even sleeting for a while. Eventually the sun came out, but it never got very warm. It was still cold when I took my long walk later in the afternoon when we returned from the kennel.

I didn't walk far today because my feet were bothering me again. Every day is a new day. Some days I can walk almost normally, while other days I just hobble around. The inconsistency makes no sense to me. I probably spend way too much time wondering about my feet. If things were really bad I wouldn't be able to walk at all. The simple truth is that just about everyone my age deals with aches and pains. I'm probably still doing better than most.

I noticed on my calendar that Spot's birthday is tomorrow. If Spot hadn't been such a good dog, we probably wouldn't have continued having Dalmatians after he passed away. Spot changed everything. So many Dalmatians have been a part of our lives over the years. We've had some serious health issues and there are still teeth marks in some of the furniture, but I wouldn't change a minute of the time we've been able to spend with these dogs. Hopefully the people who end up adopting our friends at the kennel will feel the same way about their Dalmatians.

I'm just about finished with my taxes, so I'll probably take the files to my accountant tomorrow. Next on the list is re-applying for press credentials with the Space Force. With NASA you apply to attend individual launches, but Space Force credentials last for the entire year. It's good that I am thinking about going to Kennedy Space Center again. For a while this Winter I didn't feel like going anywhere.

Tomorrow I need to get the new dogs up on the Dalmatian Rescue website. I probably need to get the star tracker out of the box again too. There have been several software and firmware upgrades recently and I need to keep up. I keep moving along but I still have trouble doing more than one thing a day.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4455

I didn't pay enough attention to the weather this morning. I decided to take my long walk early and didn't even get to the end of the street before it suddenly started pouring rain. I quickly turned around and headed home, but it was too late. I was soaking wet. This was a strange little downpour. It didn't last long and it seemed to have been timed specifically to get me wet. It wasn't raining earlier when we took Dawn on her morning walk. And it wasn't raining later when we took her on her Sunday outing.

While my clothes were drying, I thought I might as well make use of my time, so I reluctantly started working on my taxes. While I was preparing my Quickbooks files for my accountant I noticed that my expenses had gone up in almost every category. Even though I drove less in 2021 I paid more for gas. Annual utility bills were considerably higher. Company expenses were about the only thing that went down. Makes sense I guess. I didn't have any business.

I've heard that our unseasonably warm weather is about to end. It got up to 80 degrees again today but tomorrow's high is supposed to only be in the mid-fifties. Later in the week we will be taking our morning walks in freezing weather again. This is basically par for the course. Almost every year we have a late freeze that kills all the early blooming flowers. Despite the odd weather, Spring is definitely getting closer. Things are starting to turn green in the park. It won't be too long before I start seeing baby ducks.

Dawn enjoyed her Sunday outing today. Maybe I was imagining things but she even seemed calmer in the car. I must have been feeling better too, because for the first time in over a month I was able to keep up with Dawn and Janet. My feet didn't bother me much today and I was able to make another attempt at my long walk later in the day after we returned home. We all enjoyed our ice cream cones today. A walk with Dawn followed by ice cream has become a Sunday tradition.

Basically all I did today was walk and do a little work on my taxes. I've had three 20,000 step days in a row now. That's not too shabby for a guy who can barely move when he gets up in the morning. I'm still not sure why my foot pain varies so much from day to day. Based on what is actually going on with my bones, you'd think the discomfort would be more or less constant. Maybe there is something to the old adage of mind over matter. I do tend to feel a little better on days when I'm in a good mood.

I'm about as anti-war as you can get, but it still bothers me that we aren't doing more to help the Ukrainians. At the very least, these guys should have iron dome defense shields around their cities like the Israelis do and  A-10 fighters to take care of the columns of Russian tanks and armored vehicles. Why was it OK for the United States to go into Iraq when virtually none of the locals wanted us there, but it is not OK to get involved with the Ukrainians when they are begging for our help? Yeah, I know the answer is Putin's nukes, but he still needs to be stopped.

Three of the four puppy mill Dalmatians will be at the kennel when we go to visit tomorrow. I can't wait to meet them. None of the dogs are ready for adoption yet, but I will take their pictures for the website anyway. I saw a few pictures of the dogs that were taken while they were at the vet. One of them looks a lot like Dawn. There certainly seems to be a family resemblance. I wonder if she could have been one of Dawn's puppies?

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4454

My grocery list was long this morning. Prices are still going up. It's not just a few cents anymore either. Most of the items I got today were at least a dollar higher than the last time I bought them. I don't really know who to blame here. Companies are facing a host of problems they never had to deal with before. There is a shortage of workers. Supply chain problems make it harder to get components to the factories and finished goods to the consumer. It's pretty clear that Covid has messed up everything. On the other hand, I think a lot of companies are taking advantage of the situation and raising prices just because they've got a good excuse now. I want prices to stay reasonable but I also want a healthy stock market because I depend on it for a retirement income. Why do I have a feeling that I'm not going to be able to have both.

It was quite warm today. We didn't even have to wear jackets on our morning walk with Dawn. I don't call this a sunrise walk anymore because the sun is rising earlier now. Lately, it's almost always been up by the time we get started on our walk. Unfortunately, this is going to change in a few weeks. Daylight Savings Time begins again on March 13. I don't think anyone likes the time change but like everything else in modern life we are divided on whether to make Standard Time permanent or Daylight Savings Time permanent. My vote would be to make Standard Time permanent. I've never liked Daylight Savings Time and am not looking forward to walking in the dark again.

For some reason my pace was a lot better on my long walk today. I completed my walk at least five minutes faster than I usually do. Not a lot has changed. I still wake up tired and I have foot pain, although it wasn't all that bad today. Maybe I walked faster because it was so warm that I wore shorts today. I don't see a lot of cold weather in the long range forecast so maybe we really will get an early Spring this year. I hope we do. I'm tired of freezing weather and wearing multiple coats in the morning.

I wonder when my seasonal allergies are going to stop. My nose feels red and raw now, but the drip is relentless. Years ago my allergies didn't start until everything started turning green in the Spring. That hasn't happened yet, so maybe the worst is yet to come. There's got to be a solution to this that doesn't involve taking Allegra-D or other powerful decongestants. I don't handle decongestants well, but lately I think I'd prefer the buzzing in the head they give me to a constantly dripping nose.

I had the best intentions to start working on my taxes today, but one thing led to another and I ended up doing nothing. I'll get this finished before the deadline, but I have no desire to deal with taxes this year. I know I'm procrastinating but procrastinating is one of the things I do best. It's almost a superpower. I tend to wait until the last possible minute on everything and somehow still manage to get things done just in the nick of time.

I think I'm making a little progress with Dawn. She comes to me in the mornings now to get her harness on for her walk. About half the time, she'll stay with me on the bed if I take a nap during the day. She's more likely to stay if I don't look at her though. If I turn away and sleep on my side, she usually stays. She's getting a lot bolder in the kitchen too. I don't think that has a lot to do with me. Dawn just loves food.

It looks like we'll have a nice Sunday outing tomorrow as long as it doesn't rain. There's a slight chance of rain but the temperature will certainly be nice. Here's hoping for sunshine and ice cream for all.

Rory is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4453

What was I thinking when I convinced myself that I could post something interesting for 5000 days? There are a lot of days where nothing interesting happens at all. I really don't have a lot of wisdom to share. Each morning I reluctantly get up. We take Dawn on a morning walk. I come home and make the bed and then I eat breakfast. Breakfast is the only time I watch television during the day. I wonder why I continue to do this because the news is universally dismal. Watching the morning news doesn't give you a lot of faith in humanity. After breakfast I turn on the computer and check my e-mail. The mail is almost entirely spam these days. I did get a message from the Space Force this morning reminding me to reapply for 2022 press credentials. I'll do that tomorrow. Sometimes I take my long walk in the morning and other times I wait until the afternoon. It all depends on the weather and how my feet are feeling.

I almost always walk the same route. This route has become so familiar to me that I could probably do it with my eyes closed. The long walk is a little over four and a half miles. With Dawn's shorter walks, this give me a total of at least six miles every day. Lately I've enjoyed watching the renovations that are taking place to the main trail that circles the lake. The work is pretty impressive. If only they built our city's roads this well. There are a few ducks and geese I see every day. I haven't given them names yet, but maybe I should. Two of the resident geese have disappeared and I haven't seen the Muscovy Ducks for a while. Whenever I start thinking that these birds might have died, they suddenly reappear. Usually by this time of year I start seeing wildflowers. Not this year. I've seen nothing so far, which is kind of odd.

My seasonal allergies are so bad this year that they actually help take my mind off my feet. The allergies are so pervasive that I occasionally think that this might be some strange undocumented Covid symptom. I've always tested negative though so I suspect that this is just is just a bad case of ordinary Hay Fever. I shouldn't complain about things like this because I know so many people who are dealing with far worse. It is irritating though to have a continual runny nose.

I'm glad to see that the fundraiser for the puppy mill Dalmatians appears to be going well. With this kind of support, it looks like we will reach our goal. I wonder what the dogs think about their new life. They are all scared right now, but it won't take them long to realize that their lives have dramatically improved. These dogs are all going to get really good homes.

I have mixed feelings about the war in Ukraine. I really think the United States should stop getting involved in foreign wars while at the same time wondering why we aren't doing more to help the Ukrainians. There is an impressive amount of unity among the Western nations. You'd think that with everybody on the same page we could do a lot more to stop Putin. What do you do in a situation like this? You can't let Putin get away with anything he wants. At the same time you don't want to start a nuclear war. I'm glad I'm not making the decisions. I have a feeling that it is a no win situation.

Janet's trip is getting closer and I still haven't won Dawn over yet. This will be interesting. Dawn tolerates me but I don't think she trusts me. This is understandable considering what she went through at the puppy mill, but I still wish I could convince her that I'm OK. I do think I'm making progress, but Dawn is not a young dog. Do I have time? At any rate, I've got my work cut out for me while Janet is on vacation.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4452

I started working on my taxes today. I didn't get very far but at least I've got a folder to put my information in. I haven't done my own taxes for many years but there is still a lot of information to pull together for my accountant. Why do retired people even have to pay taxes? It's called an income tax and I don't have an income anymore. It wouldn't be so bad if people could choose what their taxes were used for. If I had a choice I would send mine to help the people in Ukraine this year. I'm fairly certain that the money will be wasted or spent on some government program I hate. At least I live in Texas. We don't have a state income tax.

I've finally seen pictures of the four new Dalmatians that the rescue program is picking up. They all come from a puppy mill in Marshal, Texas that hopefully is finally shut down for good. The dogs are all in bad shape, but they are at our vet now and will receive the care they've been needing for a long time. One of the females is pregnant and will have puppies soon. Dawn was rescued from this same puppy mill so I know how bad the conditions are there. All of Dawn's fear and nervousness came from this place. If you would like to help these dogs, a fundraiser has been created to provide for their care. If you are reading the real blog on my blogspot page, you can click on this link to donate. If you are looking at my JPEG images on Facebook, just look for the Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas page. 

I wonder how long this warm weather is going to last? The temperature topped 80 degrees today. It felt more like Summer than Spring. I'm happy for the warmer temperatures. They certainly beat the snow we had in March a few years ago. It's weird to have your furnace and your air conditioner both working on the same day. When we wake up in the morning the furnace is running. By mid afternoon, the air conditioner kicks in. I think that Dawn likes this warmer weather. There's a sunny spot in the bedroom that's become her new favorite place.

My allergies are worse than ever this year. I wonder why? Are pollen levels higher or is my resistance lower? It's hard to tell. It is irritating to blow you nose all day long though. It's definitely not as much fun to walk when your nose is dripping and you are constantly sneezing. I've had seasonal allergies for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately antihistamines make the problem even worse for me. I can't remember exactly when this is over for the year, but I hope it's soon.

I can't believe that Russia just bombed Europe's largest nuclear power plant. The place is on fire now. This is insane. Didn't these guys learn anything from Chernobyl? The fact that the rest of the world seems paralyzed by the fact that Putin has nuclear weapons seems as good a case for banning all nuclear weapons worldwide as I've ever seen. Who would enforce this though? It would probably be impossible unless space aliens stepped in. Humans have been fighting each other since the dawn of time. I don't have a lot of faith that this sad episode is going to bring us to our senses.

This week has sure gone quickly. I've already taken this week's trash to the curb and am ready to start all over again. Every Friday I toy with the idea of resuming my Friday morning restaurant breakfasts. I doubt that I'll go out for breakfast tomorrow, but one of these days I will. It's long past time to start having fun again.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4451

It continues to be unseasonably warm. I wonder if the weird weather is affecting my allergies. My nose was running like a faucet today. My nose runs so much that I can't use regular Kleenex. I have to remember to always carry a couple of those heavy duty blue shop towels with me. Other than my perpetual seasonal allergies it was a great day. I hope we don't have a late freeze. With all this warm weather the trees are already starting to bud.

It was a pretty quiet day. I went to the bank and filled my car with gas. That was about it. I need to remember to always run errands like this when other people are at work. There were no lines at the gas pumps or the bank drive up window. 10:30 in the morning is great. Rush hour is over and people haven't started going to lunch yet. Now, I just need to break my habit of always doing my grocery shopping on Saturday. The first rule of retirement should always be to never do things when everyone else is doing things.

I was able to complete my full six mile walk today. My pace is considerably slower than it used to be unfortunately. I have to walk slowly and carefully now to minimize the foot pain. I stay on pavement or smooth trails more than I used to as well. I really don't want to twist an ankle. It's still good to be active though. I spend over two hours a day walking and that burns quite a few calories.

I avoid current events and politics like the plague, but Ukraine has captured my attention. I think this country has shown the world what real patriotism looks like. The Ukrainians make all the squabbles between the left and right in our own country look ridiculous. I wish there was a way we could help these guys a little more without starting World War III. I keep thinking if the Ukrainians had a few of our A-10 Warthogs they could take care of that forty mile convoy headed towards Kyiv fairly quickly.

There is a new update to the star tracker software. I hesitate to even use it because each new update seems to fix something while breaking something else. The Polaris tracker is still a work in progress and I am still basically a Beta tester. You'd think testing something like this would be interesting for me, but for the most part it is just irritating. I expect machines to work. Car problems, furnace problems, computer problems, and now star tracker problems are just an added nuisance in a world that is already too complicated.

My press credentials at Patrick Air Force Base have expired and nobody has contacted me yet about renewing them for another year. I hope this isn't a problem. I really want to go see the Artemis-1 launch later this year and I could usually count on the Air Force to get me on base even when NASA turned me down. I'm beginning to feel like I'm not in the loop anymore. There are a lot of launches at Kennedy Space Center now and I can only afford to go to a very few. It's too bad the magazine I write for doesn't pay for travel.

Janet said Dawn did really well at training class tonight. Dawn is starting to enjoy these weekly classes and has even made some dog friends. It's nice to see her overcome her fear and become a normal dog. She's still a little uncertain about me, but we're working on it.

Tucker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4450

Dawn got a bath today. It seemed like a good day for a bath since it was unseasonably warm. Also Dawn has been rolling in what is left of the backyard grass a lot and was getting pretty dirty. It's hard to keep the bed clean when a dirty dog likes to spend the day there. Dawn goes into full tilt drama queen mode when we go to the self-bathe place. She hates getting a bath. All our dogs have been this way even though they feel better afterwards. I guess I understand. I've gotten to the point where I don't like getting wet either.

It's hard to believe the weather we've been having. Every day is completely different. Today it got up to 80 degrees. The air conditioner in our house came on and I wore a t-shirt on my long walk. I probably should have worn shorts. We have had years where it snowed on the 1st of March. This definitely wasn't one of them.

I thought my little WiFi hotspot was going to go dead today, but I tried it and it still worked. I re-read the letter I got from T-Mobile and it turns out that they aren't discontinuing 3G service until July. I'm a little confused why I even got the letter. I always thought my hotspot was a 4G device. I wonder if I even need the hotspot anymore. It was useful when I traveled a lot, but those days might be over. I probably still need some sort of alternate way to connect to the Internet though. We still get the occasional power outage.

Today was not a good day for foot pain. My discomfort seems to vary just as much as the weather. Maybe I overdid it yesterday.  Who knows. At any rate I had to cut my walk short this afternoon. It was a shame because it was such a nice day. I was able to complete three miles, but just barely. I really need to order some Hoka boots even if they have discontinued the style I really wanted. I'm not even sure the boots will help, but if I get them I will feel like I'm making an effort.

It looks like we have four new dogs in the Dalmatian Rescue program. Janet heard that the dogs arrived today. They are all at the vet now getting checked out. Depending on their condition, they will probably be at the kennel sometime next week. We haven't had this many dogs in the program for quite a while. I'm looking forward to meeting the new guys. There will be lots of pictures that will need to be taken.

There's a new study out that says daily walks may significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's. This is good news for me. I walk so much that my brain may actually be improving. On the downside, my feet are probably getting ruined. I guess you've got to pick your poison. If I were still lifting weights at the gym I'm be ruining my knees and shoulders instead. I don't know how I ever used to be able to walk Dot and Dash at the same time. When they were young they were a handful. Now, I'm always telling Dawn to slow down because I have a hard time keeping up with her. I still believe that you've got to keep moving even if that means moving a lot slower.

It's hard to believe it's March already. February went by in a flash. I hope we have an early Spring. After today's nice weather, it would be a shame to see Winter return. You never know about March though. Anything can happen in March.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4449

We spent quite a while at the kennel today. Not surprisingly it takes twice as long to visit four dogs as it takes to visit two. Next week there could be eight Dalmatians at the kennel. I've heard that the rescue group will be picking up four more soon. Hopefully each of these dogs will find their forever home quickly. It gets expensive caring for this many dogs. Willie and Jo Jo are both adjusting to kennel life nicely. It's fun getting to know each dog's personality. They are all very different, but you would never mistake them for another breed. Dalmatians are unique in so many ways.

We had a nice walk before breakfast with Dawn this morning, but I waited until we returned from the kennel to take my long walk. It was warmer to walk later in the afternoon, but I forgot that the days are still pretty short. By the time I got back home again the sun was already setting. I think I saw one of the eagles again today, but I'm not sure. The bird was pretty far away. It used to be easy to find the birds. If you saw a group of people with cameras, you knew the eagles were nearby. Now that the crowd have gone and nobody is sure where the birds are, they are much harder to spot. I'm not even sure that they are still in the area. There are lots of large hawks in the park. I might have seen a hawk today.

Apparently there is a new form of auto theft in Dallas. High tech thieves have discovered a way to take control of your key fob starters remotely and are able to start and steal your car without actually having the keyless starter. The remedy for this is a Faraday bag. You drop the starter in the bag and it blocks radio waves. Janet got a couple of these little bags for our keys and they do work. If the keys are in the bag, you can't open the car. Unfortunately this is one more example of why we can't have nice things. Home delivery was a nice thing until porch pirates began following the delivery trucks and stealing packages. Now with these Faraday bags I can't just leave my keys in my pocket and forget about them. I'm not a political person, but I think I'd vote for anyone who had a really good plan for getting rid of all the criminals. I don't care what you do with them. Just get rid of them.

I still haven't ordered any Hoka boots even though my feet still bother me every day. The shoes I wanted have been out of stock for quite a while. They were supposed to be available again in February and then in March, but I noticed today that they have quietly disappeared from every website. Even the Hoka company website doesn't offer them anymore. There are several new boot models but they are all lighter and don't seem as substantial. Snooze, you lose. I guess I should have bought these boots last year.

It's weird that Covid has almost completely disappeared from the news. Has Covid really disappeared or is the media only able to handle one panic at a time? Now there is 24/7 coverage of the events in Ukraine as if nothing else is happening in the world. In truth, the situation in Ukraine is probably even worse than the news media is reporting, but it can't be the only thing happening. Where are the forest fires, floods, and trucker convoys? I guess it's hard to top a madman invading neighboring countries and threatening to use nukes. After the past several years I hate to think what's next. We've gone from bad to worse. Maybe an invisible asteroid is on a collision course with earth.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4448

It was a little chilly this morning but it certainly was a beautiful day. It was hard to believe how nasty the weather has been for the past several days because it was all blue skies today. Dawn got a nice early walk, plus another later in the afternoon. We didn't take our Sunday outing today for a variety of reasons, but Dawn didn't seem to mind. She doesn't like to ride in the car and it was too cold for ice cream anyway.

I didn't do much of anything today and was amazed that the day went so quickly. I paid some bills and finally got around to updating the Dalmatian Rescue website, but that was about it. I still waste too much time looking at Facebook even though there is little to see. Mr. Zuckerberg seems to think I like reading about aging rock musicians and exotic cars. I'm really just checking up on my favorite dogs. My Facebook feed is 90% dog pictures these days.

A few of the Dalmatians I regularly see online are located in Ukraine. I guess I never realized this until the war started. I hope these dogs and their owners are OK. It is really sad to see what is happening because it is all so pointless. In an odd way Putin has done the impossible. He has united the entire world against him. Democrats, Republicans, and just about every country on the face of the earth condemns the invasion. Even the Russian people are not in favor of what Putin is doing. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become a worldwide hero overnight and Putin has become a pariah. I may be wrong, but I think that whatever happens, Putin is done.

The Benro company wants me to document some of the problems I'm having with the Polaris star tracker. Communication has been difficult with this Chinese company and I'm not entirely sure what they want me to do. I'll try to work on this sometime next week although I'm really not that interested. My inclination is to just put the tracker back in the box and wait until someone else solves the problem. I'm sure there will be several more firmware updates in the coming months and one of them will probably take care of the crashes I am currently experiencing. I doubt that I'll be attempting any night sky photographs in the near future anyway. It's too cold outside. What a wimp I've become. It's a good thing I've got the blog. Blogging give me the perfect excuse not to go outside at night.

Speaking of blogging, my Google blogspot theme seems to have fixed itself. I noticed last night that the old layout is back and everything is just like it used to be. This is all a mystery to me. I was never given any notice when the theme and layout broke and there was no notice when things were fixed again. I did learn when things were broken that my theme is considered obsolete and is no longer supported. This makes the fact that it was repaired seem even stranger. At any rate, I hope my theme keeps working for at least 500 more days. I have no desire to change it at this point.

February is almost over. March is a transition month and we still may have some bad weather ahead, but I'm already looking forward to Spring. Oddly I have seen no flowers. Often I start seeing the earliest wildflowers in late February. Maybe it was too cold this year. I haven't even seen any daffodils or grape hyacinths yet.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4447

Another cold, grey day. We were finally able to take Dawn on a walk before breakfast and she seemed to enjoy it. We had a big weekend breakfast and then I went and did my grocery shopping. I left a little early this morning because I thought it was going to rain. Actually it did rain, but not until much later in the day.

The shelves are still looking a little bare in most stores but I still found everything I needed. I was going to get gas, but there were lines at Sam's Club where prices are lowest. I can wait. I drive so little that my tank won't be empty for a long time. Prices in the stores still seem high, but that is probably because I never used to look at prices. Now that I've become more aware of what things really cost, it all seems expensive.

I've been worried about falling for months, but it was Janet who actually fell. She stumbled while running in the park this morning and got some nasty looking scrapes and bruises. Hopefully no harm was done, but falling on pavement is never fun.

I dressed warmly for my long walk today. It wasn't as cold as yesterday, but it still felt very chilly to me. Nobody seems to dress as warmly as I do. I don't see how some of the people I see in the park can stand the cold. On cold days I wear a light down ski jacket under a heavier down outer jacket. The inner jacket has a hood and I wear a wool hat under that. Add a pair of lined leather gloves and I'm ready for anything.

So far no roof leaks today even though we got quite a bit of rain later in the day. I'm glad the pumps are still working because I have no desire to go up on the roof these days. My sense of balance isn't as good as it used to be and there is no reason to be tempting fate.

I'm still working on getting Dawn to trust me. She's fine when Janet is in the house, but still seems nervous around me when we are alone together. I don't know what to expect when Janet goes on vacation. I guess she'll either get used to me or it will be a very long week. I don't think I'll be able to take her on walks while Janet is away. If she froze in place a long way from home I would be out of luck. Right now it's hard enough for both of us to get Dawn moving again when she has these periodic freezes. I don't think the refusal to move is stubbornness. It is some kind of fear or panic.

I follow space more than politics and have been surprised that even this tiny little slice of reality has been affected by the crisis in the Ukraine. A major component of the Cygnus rocket that resupplies the international pace station is manufactured in Ukraine. Without this component there will be no more launches from Wallops Island. The Atlas 5 rocket which has been used for years to launch the majority of research satellites uses Russian engines. The fuel used to keep the international space station in a stable orbit comes from Russia as well. If the supply for these things is disrupted, the space program slowly grinds to a halt. It's sad how little I knew about Ukraine before this crisis. I still thought that Chernobyl was in Russia. And when did the spelling and pronunciation of Ukraine's capital city change from Kiev to Kyiv? Is this recent or am I just another unaware American?

I think it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow. I sure hope so. There's been too much gloomy weather on top of all the world's gloomy news. I want an early Spring, a friendly dog, and lots of wildflowers in the park. 

Bingo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4446

The cold wave continues. We didn't even try to walk Dawn this morning. She hates the cold and we don't want walking to feel like punishment. Dawn is a smart dog. I think she's realized that if she runs out in the back yard first thing in the morning and does her business quickly, she can forget the walk and spend the rest of the day resting on the bed. We were hoping that temperature would warm up enough so that we could all take a walk in the afternoon, but the weather did not cooperate. It stayed cold all day.

I typically channel surf the news channels while I'm eating breakfast and I've just about had enough. There is no such thing as objective news anymore. Everyone has a narrative they are trying to push and they gather just enough plausible information to support their pre-drawn conclusion. It doesn't matter what the subject is. Vaccine mandates, inflation, trucker convoys, January 6, climate change, and even Ukraine. Take your pick. 

There are opposing narratives on just about everything. If you don't agree with something, you just call it fake news. Although most people seem to agree that what is happening in Ukraine is terrible they certainly don't agree on what to do about it. The recommended responses range all the way from doing nothing at all to preemptively starting World War III. I remember a time when the country agreed on the important things. The memories are getting fuzzy though. It's been a long time since we've been able to reach a consensus on anything.

The trouble with pushing a narrative is that it makes it impossible to see the big picture. You only see one side of what is usually a very complex story. People are very poor students of history and they forget that what is happening now has been happening over and over again since the dawn of time. The dawn of time for humans is just a grain of sand in the ocean too. We haven't been around nearly as long as the dinosaurs.   During our short time on this planet we have been constantly fighting with each other. Archeology is basically a study of ancient conquests. The boundaries of every country on earth have been established through countless wars. You can virtue signal all you want but you can't erase the fact that humans are pretty nasty creatures.

I think about things like this while I am walking. Probably even more so while I'm looking at the stars at night. What I see is only a tiny fraction of the know universe. The earth and its inhabitants are almost inconsequential. Humanity is here for a while but our fate will probably be just like the dinosaurs. Something else will replace us. This is why it is so insane to spend so much time fighting. In cosmic terms we are only here for the blink of an eye. Why can't we enjoy and make the most of the short time we've been allotted?

I'll admit that I didn't have a lot of deep thoughts on my walk today. It was so cold that I just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. I don't do a lot of sightseeing or even hear much on cold days like this. My parka restricts my hearing and side vision. I'm usually just looking at the trail immediately ahead so that I don't trip on anything. It's still peaceful walking in the woods though. Even the coldest day outside is better than watching the news on TV inside.

After hauling the week's trash out to the curb in the cold last night, the trucks didn't even come to pick it up today. It was this way last week as well. Getting back to normal after Covid is proving to be much more difficult than many people expected. Admittedly, these are first world problems. I'm worried about garbage pickup while on the other side of the world people are wondering if they've got a country left.

Cookie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4445

Another very cold day. We got up later than usual, but the temperature refused to rise. When we took Dawn on her morning walk, she quickly did her business and returned to the house. She had no interest in completing our normal one mile loop. Dawn is the smart one in the house. She is comfortable sleeping on the bed all day. Janet and I feel compelled to stay busy.

I didn't really want to take a long walk today, but I was bored doing nothing. I waited quite a while but it never got warmer. Actually I think the temperature dropped a bit after breakfast. Eventually I put on my warmest clothes and took my long walk. I walked my entire six mile route without encountering anyone. Actually I did see one person on the way home. As the red parka came closer I realized it was Janet. Her gym was closed because of icy roads and she decided to take a walk too. We were the only two people in the park.

Oddly my feet didn't hurt too much today. Maybe they were just numb from the cold. I haven't seen the eagles since their nest fell, but I did see the geese and Muscovy Ducks. There were only five pelicans at Sunset Bay. I wonder where the rest went? Most of the Double Crested Comorants were gone as well. Clearly birds have contingency plans for the weather but I wonder what they are? The pelicans would have had to fly a long way to escape the cold.

Janet and I didn't drive anywhere today but both started our cars in the driveway and let them warm up. I don't know if this helps anything, but we started doing this during last winter's extreme weather and it has become a habit. I hate the sound of an engine that won't turn over on a cold day. When I was growing up in Alaska, all cars had crankcase heaters. You always plugged your car in when it was not running and it would easily start even if the temperature was 40 below. I remember that all the parking meters in Fairbanks had electric outlets so you could plug in your crankcase heater while you were shopping.

The roof leak has returned in the office. How is this even possible? The temperature didn't even get above freezing today. I guess the heat from inside the house caused some of the ice on the roof to melt. For some reason freezing weather in the Winter causes more leak problems than hot weather in the Summer. The leak wasn't bad and has already stopped dripping. I'll have to leave the bucket out though and hope that I don't trip over it if I get up to go to the bathroom at night.

I don't think conditions in the world are going to improve tomorrow, but maybe it will get warmer in Dallas. The world may be doomed, but it's still easier to deal with on a nice day.

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4444

What a nasty day. The temperature has been well below freezing all day with periodic sleet and freezing rain. We tried to take Dawn on a sunrise walk, but it didn't take her long to realize that she'd rather be in the house. Needless to say we didn't make it very far this morning. I kept hoping that it would warm up a bit, but it never did. Janet had to go to a doctor's appointment and said the roads were slick in places. I started my car to warm up the engine, but didn't attempt to leave the house.

All I do on days like this is hope the power doesn't go out and the roof doesn't leak. So far, so good. Our electric and gas bills are going to be high next month though. Sadly, tomorrow is going to be just as cold. We've had worse winters, but I'm getting tired of this. No wonder so many people retire to Florida.

Although I had no real desire to leave the house today, I did want to get a minimum of at least 10,000 steps. Around mid-afternoon I bundled up in my warmest clothes and took a not so long walk. It didn't seem like it was raining when I left the house, but there was a light sleet that froze on my outer jacket. A cloth mask is actually useful on days like this. It kept my face warm better than a scarf. Today I mostly walked through the neighborhood because I knew the weather would be even worse down by the lake.  No bicycles or joggers today.  I seemed to be the only person out and about. I only completed two miles this afternoon, but that was plenty.

Both Olympus and Panasonic have come out with new micro 4/3 cameras recently. The GH6 and OM-1 sound intriguing and I've been reading a lot about their capabilities. What else do you do on a cold day when it's sleeting outside? I'm like a bug attracted to a light when it comes to new gear. The last thing I need is more cameras. I haven't even learned how to use all the features of the cameras I already own. I'm probably the same way with cars. I don't even like to drive, but I've bookmarked lots of sites about the new Ford Bronco. I don't need a new car any more than I need a new camera. Probably I find reading about new gear more satisfying than reading about current events.

I wish my office wasn't so cold. The little ceramic heater is running full time now. This room is the furthest from the furnace and it shows. I think the warm air in the ducts has already cooled off by the time it reaches me. This is still the room to hang out in on a cold day though. It's got the best computer screen. Dawn gets grumpy if I sit on the bed with her and if I'm out in the kitchen I eat too many snacks. The days would pass faster if I still had a few clients but the young kids in advertising and marketing aren't fond of hiring someone older than their grandfather. I guess that leaves me with reading about new cameras and planning trips I probably won't take.

I don't think Dawn is going to be any more excited about walking tomorrow than she was today. I'm not going to be very excited about walking tomorrow either. At least it's supposed to warm up a little on Friday. I'm waiting for next week when the temperatures will be back in the 70's again.

Joey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day