Day 4522

Not a great day. I waited most of the day for the air conditioner repairman to arrive. I was hoping that the problem was minor and that all I would need was a new capacitor or something equally trivial. Nope. When the repairman finally arrived at the end of the day he said the capacitor was fine. I need a new compressor motor. As luck would have it, he didn't have the proper motor on the truck and will have to order it. Yikes. How could this motor cost over $600? I guess that's still a lot less than replacing the entire unit. The parts warehouse was already closed when the repairman discovered the problem, so he won't be able to order the part until tomorrow morning. Oh, well. It looks like another very hot night. He said it is a bad idea to try to run the AC without the motor running too. I tried that last night and eventually the fan started turning. "That's a good way to burn out the compressor and that's when things get a lot more expensive," he said. Did I mention that the temperature was almost 95 degrees this afternoon?

A broken air conditioner is bad enough, but now I think the refrigerator is broken again as well. Late this afternoon I noticed that the temperature inside the fridge was a lot higher. For the past week I've noticed that a metal strip around the edge of the door seemed unnaturally hot. The refrigerator was still cooling fine, but this didn't seem right. I probably should have called the appliance repairman two days ago. Now it appears that the refrigerator is broken. We shifted some critical food to the little refrigerator but it won't hold that much. Hopefully I can get this fixed tomorrow before food starts to go to waste.

The only good thing about today was that I was able to complete my six mile walk. I started after breakfast so it wouldn't be too hot. It was a lot cooler than it was later in the day, but it still seemed way too hot for me. I don't know why it seems so important for me to walk everyday. On some days it's a real struggle. I think it's about time for me to start wetting down my hat and t-shirt before I start these walks. Last summer this really seemed to help.

I got a message from the Benro folks that they had another firmware package for me to install. Instead of just attaching the file I needed to the e-mail message, they provided a link to one of their servers in China. Of course, this link didn't work. Both my Firefox and Safari browsers said they couldn't establish a secure connection to the server and refused to open the link. This has happened to me before with Chinese servers. I have a feeling that it's going to take me a long time to get this star tracker working.

The temperature has gone down eight degrees outside, but only one degree inside. What's that all about? I can't really open the windows to let a breeze in because I took off the window screens years ago for aesthetic reasons and if I open the windows at night, tons of bugs will fly in the house. Ordinarily I wouldn't even want to open the windows at night, but ordinarily we have an air conditioner that works.

I kind of worry about Dawn. She hates hot weather and is currently the only one wearing a fur coat inside the house. Hopefully, it will start cooling down soon. It's supposed to get down to 70 degrees by tomorrow morning, but that still a long way away. I sure hope that compressor motor comes in tomorrow.

Dixie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4521

Good grief. It's the hottest day of the year so far and our air conditioner broke. It got uncomfortably hot inside very quickly. Hopefully things will cool off tonight. I called our HVAC guy, but the soonest they can get over here is tomorow afternoon. It's easy to forget how much we depend on air conditioning in the South. A day without a working AC serves as a pretty good reminder. I'm not sure what is wrong, but I hope it's an easy fix. An entirely new system could be pretty expensive.

At least the day started out nice. We didn't notice that the air conditioner wasn't working until around noon. It was still nice outside when we took our sunrise walk with Dawn. I should have just kept walking after Dawn finished her one mile loop. As soon as the sun got higher in the sky, the temperature warmed up quickly. Instead of walking when it was cooler, I started monkeying around with the star tracker again right after I finished breakfast. I think I'm obsessed with getting this thing to work. I installed the custom firmware the company provided a second time in hopes that it would work properly this time. Nope. I got exactly the same results as I did yesterday. I realize that the star tracker is still under development, but it's frustrating to go backwards. This thing was working fine when I was out at the observatory and now it isn't. The only thing that has changed is an app and firmware upgrade.

By the time I was ready to take my long walk, it was already too hot. I didn't do well at all and was only able to complete half my normal distance. This isn't good. We've got a long summer ahead of us. It's always hot in the summer, but I don't think I can handle the heat as well as I used to. I know we're having record temperatures for early May, but this is nothing compared to what it's going to be like in July and August. I need to get used to this.

I wonder what is going to break next? Broken toilets. Broken air conditioner. Fire ants in the back yard. I'm really tired of dealing with bugs and broken stuff. Living in a hotel room while I'm watching rocket launches seems really appealing at this point. Even the simplest task always seems to turn into something more difficult. I went into the greenhouse this afternoon to turn off a faucet that had been on drip all winter. The door to the greenhouse fell apart when I tried to open it. Now I've got to find some special fasteners to put the door back together when I go to Home Depot to get fire ant killer. Yes, I was supposed to do that today, but I got sidetracked by the star tracker again.

Growing old is weird. When I had the money to travel, I didn't have the time. Now that I have the time, I don't have the money. Rampant inflation is especially irritating when you're living on a fixed income. Everything seems so much more expensive than it did two years ago. The cost of my recent trips to Kennedy Space Center and McDonald Observatory were almost double what they were several years ago. I don't really notice the price of gas because I don't drive much, but airfares have gotten ridiculous. Hopefully the price of air conditioner repairs hasn't gone up that much. This is another expense I wasn't expecting.

Sometimes I envy Dawn. All she does is eat and sleep. I'd be OK with just eating and sleeping as long as nothing went wrong. I hate it when things go wrong. That's life, I guess. Things always go wrong.

Dodger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4520

Not a lot on the agenda today. We got up early because of the unseasonably warm weather. It's still nice outside before the sun comes up. Dawn has decided that she likes walking again. She's really enthusiastic on her early walks now. She hasn't balked or frozen in place for a long time now. This is all good. I hate to get up myself, but the walks are good for me too. After walking a mile or two with Dawn, I'm usually ready to start the day.

My contact at Benro told me to go ahead and apply the patch they sent me to fix my star tracker. Somewhat cryptically he said that it wouldn't hurt anything. Against my better judgement, I carefully followed the instructions exactly and installed the custom firmware the company provided. The tracker worked, but the camera still wouldn't connect. Actually, nothing seemed different at all. The last step in the instructions said to remove the SD card from the tracker and erase the custom patch file when I was done. Oddly, the file I had installed an hour earlier was already gone. Did the Polaris erase the file itself after the upgrade? Did anything happen at all? I'm sure this saga will continue. At some point they'll probably just tell me to use a different camera. My camera is on the approved list, but it never seemed to work well with the tracker. 

I only waste time with things like this because I've got plenty of time. Actually, I've got way too much time on my hands. There are no work deadlines anymore and thankfully Dawn is still pretty healthy. I write several articles a year for obscure magazines and halfheartedly try to fix things around the house. That's about it. I'd probably travel more if it weren't so expensive. I think I actually enjoy living in hotel rooms.

I was able to complete my full six mile route today. When the sun was behind a cloud it was actually fairly pleasant. Summer is coming though. I can feel it. I usually have to change clothes when I return home because I am hot and sweaty. My pace isn't what it used to be either. Even on a good day I'm slower. I distinctly remember walking a lot faster last year. Oh, well. This is one of the downsides of wearing a Fitbit all the time. You get a detailed record of your decline.

I'm seeing fire ant mounds in the yard again. They are all over the place in the park. Fire ants are nasty and I guess I'll have to go get some Amdro granules to kill them. I always worry about this kind of stuff with dogs though. Dogs get into everything. One of the reasons our yard doesn't look great is that I never use fertilizer. Our dogs have always liked to roll around in the grass. There is no sense in using something that could irritate their skin or even poison them if they ate it. At least fire ant mounds are small. I can block them off after I treat them.

There's a pretty moon out tonight. I should go out and photograph it with one of my telescopes. Why though? It's the same moon I've seen all my life. I've photographed the moon plenty of times before. That's my dilemma. I'm bored with things I've done before and apprehensive about trying new things. It kind of leaves me with writing a blog every night.

Chief is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4519

It's starting to feel a lot like Summer. When you feel a little warm on the pre-dawn sunrise walk, you know it's going to be a hot day. It looks like the temperature is going to be in the 90's all week snd that's definitely too warm for me. Jeez. How did I handle this last year? It looks like I'm going to have to get used to Summer all over again.

There are only four Dalmatians at the kennel now. The others have all been adopted. Charlie, Oliver, Rocket, and Jo Jo were all glad to see us. We were really impressed with the progress Rocket has made. When he first arrived at the kennel, he was scared of everything and completely unsocialized. Now, he wags his tail and comes over to greet us. He's a smart dog and it didn't take long to teach him to sit. We're going to work on teaching him to lie down and a few other commands next week. 

I'm surprised that Oliver and Jo Jo haven't been adopted yet. They are good looking, have great personalities and are definitely ready to go to their forever homes. It's going to take a little longer for Charlie to find a home, but he's turned over a new leaf. I think his biting days are over. One of these days Charlie is going to find a wonderful home with someone who understands his unique personality. Charlie always makes us laugh. He's really a great little dog.

By the time we returned from the kennel it was almost too hot to take another walk. I tried, but ended up walking just enough to satisfy my Fitbit with a minimum of 10,000 steps. I'm not sure what I'm going to do the rest of the week. I may have to start going back to the gym. I don't really like walking on an indoor track, but they keep the place nice and cool. I have a feeling that I started going to the gym in the first place because of the air conditioning.

I got a reply from the Polaris folks about my star tracker. It's hard to communicate with these guys, The instructions they sent this time seemed strange and unlike anything I've tried before. I'm suspicious. The file I am supposed to upload to the tracker is in Chinese too and I'm not entirely sure what it is. I haven't done anything yet because I don't want to brick the thing. I wrote the guy I usually talk to and explained the situation. Maybe he can help me make sense of things. I don't know why I'm still convinced that I'll eventually get this thing to work. It's been a long, slow process so far.

My latest toilet repair didn't last long. The toilet is already running again. I'm not sure I can fix this thing anymore. Plumbers are no help either. They won't work on the strange toilet. The problem with an old house is when you fix one thing, something else breaks. I'm tired of fixing things. I'd like to live someplace where everything was guaranteed to work perfectly for at least ten years.

I hope I don't succumb to temptation and try to apply the weird patch to my star tracker tomorrow. I have a strong feeling that it will only make things worse.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4518 - Mother's Day

Well, Dawn is certainly a mother. I bet she was a good mom. Lord know how many litters of puppies she had when she was a breeding dog at the puppy mill. I don't think those were pleasant days because she is still very fearful. She loves her new life now, but I think she's always waiting for the other shoe to drop. We suspect that one of the reasons that she's fearful of riding in the car is that she's worried she might be going back to her old life in Marshall, Texas. Dawn enjoys her walks and likes her Sunday outing, but is always relieved to be back at home in her safe spot, sitting on our big bed.

She must have known that today was a special day. She was full of energy this morning and ended up walking twice her normal distance on our sunrise walk. We always led her lead the way and are curious to see where she'll go. Usually she just follows her familiar one mile loop, but occasionally she gets adventurous.

After our walk we had breakfast and then did some household chores while waiting to take Dawn on her Sunday outing. We always wait until the ice cream store is open because getting ice cream is a big part of this Sunday adventure. I thought Dawn might be tired because she already walked quite a bit. Nope. She enjoyed this second walk too. She loves smelling new things. We have to steer her away from the poison ivy though. Lots of poison ivy in this park.

The ice cream store seemed short staffed this morning. Probably because it was Mother's Day. The staff seems too young to be moms, but thats just an old guy's perspective. Everybody seems young to me. Probably most of the staff are in their mid twenties. We all enjoyed our cones today. Dawn always seems calmer after having ice cream. She is always remarkably calm on the ride home.

I decided to mow the grass today. It was a little hot for my taste, but the traffic is much lighter on a Sunday. I don't enjoy mowing down by the street when everyone is in a hurry. I'm not close to the road very long, but even a few minutes seems too long when cars are racing by just inches away at fifty miles an hour. I'm not sure how much longer the electric mower is going to last. At the very least it needs new batteries. There used to be enough charge in the battery to mow the back yard after I finished the front. Now I have to let the mower recharge for a while before I can tackle the back yard. I could buy a new mower, but I really ought to just start paying the guy who is willing to mow my yard for me.

I felt industrious today, so I tried to fix the running toilet again. It's a shame that the parts I really need aren't available anymore. I've tried, but even the best plumbing supply store in Dallas can't find them for me. I do what I can and usually my repairs last about a week. My last attempt only lasted two days though. It's probably time to break down and get a Toto.

I didn't take a long walk today. After two walks with Dawn and mowing the grass I had all the steps I needed. It was hot this afternoon and I was tired. There is no need to punish myself just to keep my Fitbit happy. I"ll probably go back to taking a long walk tomorrow. Hey, what else is there to do?

I wish I'd get some feedback from the Benro people in China. I'm in no particular hurry to use the star tracker for astrophotography, but it's driving me crazy that I can't get it to work correctly. Since I had at least a partial success with the tracker out at McDonald Observatory, I can see it's potential. It's a pretty cool little piece of machinery. I'd like it a lot better if it worked though.

I like weekends because they inject a little variety into my life. Tomorrow it's back to shredded wheat for breakfast, long walks, and looking up random information on Google. 

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4517

The stores were really crowded today. Maybe it was because Mother's Day is tomorrow. Maybe it was because stores are always crowded these days. Who knows? I keep saying that I should do my grocery shopping during the week when people are at work. I never do though. I'm a creature of habit. I've always done this on Saturday morning and I probably always will.

Taking an early walk with Dawn is another thing we will probably always do as long as Dawn is healthy. I like these early morning walks. The city is still relatively quiet, although we still hear police and fire sirens occasionally. We see joggers, but the park generally doesn't get crowded until later in the day. Dawn enjoys the walks too unless it is wet. Today was dry and everyone had a good time.

Once I finished my shopping I didn't do much for the rest of the day. There are chores around the house that need attention but they can wait. The star tracker can wait too. I just don't have the energy to figure out why it stopped working yesterday. Maybe the Chinese manufacturer will have a suggestion for me. Until then the frustrating machine can just sit in its box.

My foot pain returned today. When I took my long walk later this afternoon it was a struggle to complete four miles. The weather wasn't great either. I had hoped that it would stay cool since it was overcast all day, but by mid-afternoon it was hot and muggy. It's starting to feel a lot like summer. The city was having an educational event in the park about native plants and prairies. Maybe I should have stopped and learned a little more about the plants I see everyday. I kept walking though. Too many people.

I should contact the guy who said he would mow my grass. With all the rain we've had lately, it's getting pretty thick. I'll probably just mow it myself though. It's hard for me to make changes. By the time I made arrangements with someone else, I could have the grass mowed. I do need to quit doing this pretty soon, because it's become too tiring. I'm sure I can keep mowing the lawn a few more times though. I'm such a procrastinator that I even procrastinate about making my own life easier.

I took a couple of short naps today and every time I got on the bed, Dawn got up and went to her dog bed in the kitchen. When I got up and left the room, Dawn immediately went back to the bedroom again. That dog is just rude sometime. I keep telling Dawn that she needs to get used to me because Janet will be going on another vacation this summer. I wonder if we will ever be buddies?

It's almost time for Dawn's Sunday outing again. We won't be celebrating Mother's Day because both our moms passed away a long time ago and neither of us have ever had children. We've had a lot of dogs though. We can always celebrate dogs.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4516

The star tracker is driving me crazy. It kind of worked out at the observatory, but there were a few serious problems. I had high hopes that the latest upgrades would resolve these issues and I would be good-to-go. I installed the new app on my phone and downloaded the latest firmware to the Polaris after breakfast this morning. Did this help? Nope. Now my camera won't connect to the tracker at all. I wasted an inordinate amount of time trying to get the camera to connect, but it was all for nothing. I'm going backwards now. The camera would never stay connected for long, but it always worked before. Now what? I sent my Chinese contact a message. Maybe they'll come up with another update that can turn this brick back into a star tracker.

The weather was great today. No threat of rain at all. Dawn seemed to approve. She was so eager to walk this morning that she added another half mile to her regular route. I never know what to expect when we leave the house in the morning. Sometimes she isn't interested in walking at all and other times she acts like a young pup. Today she really enjoyed her walk and just kept walking.

After I gave up on the star tracker this morning, I decided to defrost the little refrigerator. We got this thing years ago during a major power outage but we still use it today. It's small enough to be powered by a small generator and serves as an overflow fridge when the big one gets full. I wish I'd looked around for self-defrosting mini-fridge now. This one needs to be defrosted every few months. It's easy to forget that all refrigerators needed to be defrosted not that long ago. At any rate, I'm good-to-go for another few months and I didn't make too big of a mess.

My long walk wasn't so long today. My feet weren't the problem this time. It was the heat. It really felt like Summer today. I'm not ready for this yet. With the temperature near 90 degrees, I just didn't feel like walking my full six mile route. I'd better get used to warmer days because they're coming soon. Last Summer I used to soak my hat and shirt in water before I left the house and they would be completely dry before I returned. Maybe the heat will drive me back to the gym again. I prefer walking outside, but the gym is air conditioned.

I keep getting messages that it's time to apply for credentials for a variety of upcoming launches. Things are hopping down at Kennedy Space Center. It's a shame that I can't get down there more often, but it's just too expensive. I wonder if prices will ever go down again? I doubt it. I'll have to choose my launches wisely. I can probably afford one more trip to Florida this year and maybe one more trip out to the observatory as well. It's a shame that there's nothing I like to do in Dallas.

Time to make a grocery list again. The stuff I buy every week isn't a huge expense, but a trip to the grocery store certainly makes inflation seem real. Certain things seem to go up in price every single week. If this is the future I may need to think about working again.

Patches is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4515

Evidently Dawn thought that the weather was back to normal because she was eager to walk this morning. I was a little reluctant because my feet hurt but we all had a nice walk. My feet remain a mystery. Later in the day they felt fine and I ended up with a total of 23,000 steps.

After breakfast I wrote a letter to my sister and took it to the post office. I used to write tons of letters to people all over the world, but this one to my luddite sister is the end of the line. Nobody writes letters anymore. Few people can even send a decent e-mail message. All you get is a cryptic bare bones text these days. I write one of these letters every month and I kind of enjoy the process. It connects me with an earlier, simpler world filled with typewriters, postage stamps, and the delayed gratification of waiting two to four weeks for a reply.

On the way back from the post office I stopped at the pharmacy because I'd received a message that a prescription was ready. I wasn't low on anything, but I was curious which prescription got automatically filled this time. The pharmacist told me that no prescription had been refilled and that the automated message system must have gotten scrambled again. There were no pills to pick up. Jeez. Is it really that hard to keep track of these meds?  I don't know why they even need an automated refill system. The old way worked fine for decades. When I had about five pills left in the bottle, I would just call a refill in. Worked like a charm.

We got a little rain today, but it didn't really affect anything. Dawn got her morning walk before the rain started and I took my long walk after everything cleared up again. I haven't been up on the roof in a long time. I'm just depending on the pumps to keep the standing water level reasonably low after a rain. Pretty soon the summer heat will just evaporate the water. I'd like to think my roof climbing days are over, but lots can go wrong with a flat roof. One of these day I'm going to have to get up there again.

I finally got the nerve to look at my brokerage account today. Not a pretty sight. It seems like we are in a perfect storm of bad news. Inflation is surging. The stock market is crashing. The country is divided and increasingly polarized. And we seem to have reignited a cold war with Russia. A lot of this pain is self inflicted. In my opinion we never should have locked down the world for two years. You simply can't turn off the global economy and expect it to start up smoothly again. Apparently China still hasn't gotten this message. 

I was surprised at how far I was able to walk today. It probably helped that the temperature was cool, but my feet did hurt this morning. I wonder what happened?  I really need to think of something else to do during the day. I don't know if I'd have the time though. I'm hooked on getting my steps and I'm pretty slow anyway. There really isn't much time for anything else. It's remains a mystery how I managed to get so much done during my working years.

I did manage to get the trash out to the curb this evening. This week has gone really quickly. It still seems like I returned from the observatory yesterday.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4514

I made sure I got up in time to walk with Janet and Dawn this morning. It was extremely foggy and a little wet. Naturally, Dawn wasn't in a mood to walk. She hates getting wet, but it really was just a little damp. As soon as we got to dry ground, Dawn was fine.

It was definitely a slow day today. Did I do anything at all? I'm not really sure. I thought my Space Force press credentials were already approved for 2022, but I got an e-mail this morning asking for more information. I probably forgot to fill out something on the application form. No problem. I can't afford to go back to Kennedy Space Center anytime soon anyway. Two major trips in a single month have pretty much tapped me out.

I thought about updating the star tracker software again, but I wasn't really in the mood. There's plenty of time for that. I have a feeling that it's going to be a while before I'm taking pictures of the night sky again. Now that I've unpacked my bags, done my laundry, and put everything back in it's proper place, I'm left with my old standby activities. I ate my breakfast and I took a long walk.

The air is much more pleasant in the Davis Mountains. I didn't have any allergy problems while I was out at the observatory. As soon as I returned the allergies came back. Now my eyes are watering and I'm constantly sneezing and blowing my nose again. Allergies don't stop me from walking though. What else is there to do? I walked my full six mile route this morning, but my feet were killing me on the last half mile. I still can't figure out why my feet are extremely painful one day and then just fine the next. I was really slow today in  hopes that a slower pace would help. It didn't make any difference. I probably should have stayed home and read a book.

I'm already wishing I was back on the road again. Life is simple when I'm at a launch or helping at the observatory. There are specific tasks to do and I build my day around them. Living in a hotel is super simple. There is no grass to mow and if something breaks, it's not your responsibility to fix it. I don't do much anyway, so having a desk where I can write and a bed to sleep in is all I need. I love the food out at the observatory and always look forward to meals. The barbecue is pretty good at the NASA commissary too.

Since I won't be going anywhere for a while, I need to find something to do. Theres a kayak sitting in the back yard. Using it would help build upper body strength, but the last time I was out on the lake I saw a bunch of snakes swimming next to me and that was that. I hate snakes. There's a guitar and some keyboards in the office, along with the remains of a small recording studio, but I haven't felt like writing songs in ages. I definitely don't want to start collecting things again. I'm glad I finally kicked that habit. I guess I should be happy that I still have two things left that I enjoy doing. Rockets and astronomy are still oddly satisfying.

I hope the weather is better tomorrow. It was hot and very humid today. It feels like our short Spring is already over and we are sliding headlong into Summer. Let's just hope that the air conditioner in both the house and the car keep working.

Crosby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4513

It was surprisingly cold this morning. The temperature stayed in the 50's all day. I hope this is a sign of things to come. I'd like to see a mild Summer for a change. I overslept this morning and Dawn and Janet took their morning walk without me. I was surprised that Dawn walked at all since it rained again last night and the ground was still wet.

I really didn't do much of anything today. I eventually got up, made the bed and fixed my breakfast. I paid some bills and updated the Dalmatian Rescue website. Quite a few dogs have been adopted recently and it's important to keep the site up to date. When I finished I realized that I had forgotten to mark Willie as adopted. I marked Willie as adopted and then realized that Sammy had been adopted as well. Oops. I opened Dreamweaver again and added her too. Lets just say I'm not as sharp as I used to be.

I didn't think I'd be wearing a winter coat this late in the year, but it was chilly outside so I took a coat with me on my daily walk. The skies were grey, but it was pleasant outside. I like this kind of weather. Cloudy bright skies are best for photography and 50 degree temperatures are certainly a lot better than 90 degree temperatures. There weren't a lot of animals to look at today, but the construction in the park was interesting. I'm surprised at how much progress has been made on the new trail going through the park. The city ought to hire these guys to fix the roads in Dallas. The are much more efficient than your average road crew. Personally, I'd rather have fewer of these concrete superhighway trails, but I'll have to admit that the new trail looks pretty nice.

After spending a considerable amount of time testing the Polaris star tracker out at McDonald Observatory, I come home to discover that there are already new software and firmware updates to install. What this means is that some things that have finally started for feel familiar to me will probably change. This has happened before and I feel like I've had to learn how to use this thing all over again several times already. The software does keep getting better though, so that's a good sign. Maybe by the next time I get out to the observatory, the tracker will finally have been perfected.

I have no idea what I'll be doing tomorrow. I should start reading more books. I should start lining up contractors to fix the house. I should be doing a lot of things. If the economy gets any worse, I should probably start looking for a few paying jobs. I probably won't do any of these things and will just start planning my next trip to Kennedy Space Center instead. 

Milo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4512

There are only four Dalmatians at the kennel now. Dorothy found her forever home this week. Sammy has not been staying at the kennel since she's been busy raising eleven puppies. The puppies are all weaned now and ready to go to their new homes, so Sammy was able to go to her forever home this week as well. Rocket is the only one of our puppy mill dogs that has not found a home yet. He will soon though. He is overcoming his fears and each week we see him he acts more and more like a normal dog.

We are really pleased with Rocket's progress. He has gone from a terrified dog who wouldn't even come near us, to a much happier dog who wags his tail and runs to greet us when we arrive with a bag of treats. We even managed to teach Rocket to sit today, which was a major accomplishment.

We know why it is going to take Charlie a little longer to find a home, but it's a mystery why Oliver and Jo Jo haven't already been adopted. Both dogs are some of the friendliest we've ever had in the program. Oliver loves to play and Jo Jo just wants attention. Maybe people want a smaller dog. Oliver and Jo Jo are both larger male Dalmatians. Maybe their luck will change soon. All these dogs really deserve a great home.

I spent a big chunk of today unpacking and doing laundry from the trip. Everything is back in it's proper place now and ready for the next adventure. It's a shame that travel has become so expensive. I wouldn't mind spending more time at McDonald Observatory as well as Kennedy Space Center. You may wonder why I spend so much time at these two locations. The answer is easy. They feel like home. I avoid people in Dallas, but I always find folks that seem like kindred spirits at the observatory and the space center. Rocket launches and the night sky never get old to me. I'll keep going back because it is just more satisfying than visiting someplace new as a tourist.

I went to the bank today and picked up prescriptions for myself and Dawn. When I went to pick up my prescription at the pharmacy, I was confused. "Didn't I just pick up this same pill last week," I asked. The pharmacist checked and sure enough I was right. It turned out that I had two separate prescriptions for the same medicine. One renewed in 30 days and the other renewed in 90 days. "Let's just cancel the 30 day prescription," I said. One more example of automated systems run amok. For some reason neither my doctor or the pharmacist ever noticed that there were two identical prescription floating around in the system.

Almost every day something we need goes up in price. It's not just travel expenses. My storage warehouse had a dramatic price increase this year. Real estate taxes are up. The cell phone bill keeps getting higher even though I don't make any calls. Today I got a letter from my primary care doctor saying that the clinic was going to raise rates again in July. Concierge doctors were always expensive, but this is getting ridiculous. I'm just glad I'm not trying to buy a house. Housing is what has really gotten ridiculous.

Dawn didn't want to walk this morning because it rained last night. She's a strange dog. The thunder and lightning last night didn't bother her at all, but getting her paws wet is another story. She just doesn't want to walk on wet ground. By the time Janet and I returned from the kennel, the weather was nice again and we had a nice walk with Dawn. As I often do, I continued walking after Dawn finished her one mile loop. I guess I'm still tired from my trip because I couldn't complete my regular six mile route. Maybe I'll have to change the name of this blog from "Some Assembly Required" to "Perpetually Tired."

Bogart is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4511

I woke up early this morning and against my better judgement I got dressed and went outside one last time for a look at the pre-dawn sky. Who knows when I'll have a chance to see the milky way again. A couple of other Astronomers Lodge guests were wandering around in the dark doing the same thing. I showed them how to find some of my favorite objects in the pre-dawn May sky. Hey, I'm making progress. A couple of years ago, Astronomy Lodge guests would be showing me how to find things.

When the sky started to lighten, I went inside and fixed myself breakfast. I was still hoping to get an early start on the long journey back to Dallas. A couple of guys invited me to join them at their table. One of the men had been a writer for Texas Monthly for over twenty years. He was freelancing now but was still writing for a wide range of very familiar magazines. I was impressed. The writer's friend was a pilot who had a goal of landing at every small airport in Texas. They had flown to Marfa in the pilot's plane while I was inching along toward the observatory on I-20. We had an enjoyable time trading stories about writing, flying, and living in Texas. So much for my plan to leave early.

Eventually, I hit the road and began my long journey back to Dallas. When I'm driving toward McDonald Observatory, the traffic gradually gets lighter as I head West. When I return to Dallas the opposite happens. The journey starts out as a pleasant drive through the Davis Mountains with surprise views of deer, javelinas, and occasionally even elk around every corner. When you hit the freeway, the wildlife are replaced by eighteen wheelers, and then once you get within a hundred miles of Dallas/Fort Worth the roads become clogged with city traffic. I thought that things would be better on Sunday, but there were still way too many cars for my taste. In the mountains I could drive for ten minutes without seeing a single car. In city traffic I am passed by ten cars in a single minute.

I thought I could avoid the construction in Arlington and the perpetual traffic jam near Fair Park by taking a different route from Fort Worth to Dallas. I didn't save any time and ended up getting lost instead. By the time I discovered that the road wasn't the one I was thinking of, I was well on my way to Shreveport. Oops. I turned around and headed back West again. Jeez. I've lived here for over thirty years and still can't find my way around town.

It took a little longer to get back to the house than I thought it would, but I'm finally home. Dawn not only remembered me, she seemed happy to see me. I haven't bothered to unpack yet. I used the remaining daylight to take a short walk so I could satisfy my Fitbit's desire for a minimum of 10,000 steps.  The walk was such a contrast to my daily walks on Mount Locke. The silence was gone, replaced by police and fire sirens, airplanes on final approach to Love Field, and the perpetual background noises of city life. 

I'm already missing the quiet of Mount Locke. Was the trip worth it? You bet. Would I make the long drive again? The jury is still out on that one. I think I'll go sleep on the idea. It's been a long day and I'm very tired.

Betsy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4510

I could get used to this. I woke up early, so I went outside to watch the Milky Way core rise in the east again. There was also a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus this morning. The two planets were very close together just before sunrise. I also saw quite a few meteors. They were probably leftovers from the Lyrid metoior shower, which peaked just a few days ago. It was very windy just before dawn, but I had a warm coat. I'm starting to recognize constellations easier now. It helps if you actually take the trouble to go outside at night. I wouldn't do this in Dallas, but this definitely isn't Dallas.

Saturday has been the busiest day of my stay. In addition to my regular star party duties, I spent the afternoon at a festival booth explaining different types of telescopes to visitors. There were a variety of different types of telescopes on display and I explained the pros and cons of each. I didn't tell people that I rarely look through a telescope myself. I do know a fair amount about them though. I think my presentation sounded reasonably knowledgable. Maybe someday I'll spend more time looking at the night sky. I kind of doubt it though. There's always the blog to write and I do live in Dallas. 

I had the same telescope tonight at the star party. We looked at the same target too. Messier 3 is quite beautiful. I doubt that I could even see it from Dallas. It is quite faint. I'm not sure I'm pronouncing the Canes Venatici constellation the globular cluster is located in correctly. I do know that it means hunting dog in Latin though. I always learn something new whenever I'm out here. I now know how to open, close, and rotate telescope domes.

It's been a very nice stay out at the observatory. I reconnected with friends, got to enjoy some of the most beautiful dark skies in America, had some delicious meals at the Astronomer's Lodge, and had a chance to remind myself why I became interested in astronomy in the first place. I dread the drive back to Dallas tomorrow just as much as I dreaded the drive out here. It's a necessary evil though. There is no other way to get here. It would be nice if Southwest Airlines flew to Marfa, but I don't think that's ever going to happen. You can take a train to Alpine, but Amtrak is incredibly unreliable. Often the train that goes through Alpine is hours late. It's a lot more expensive than driving as well. 

I'm glad I had time to eat dinner tonight. I was hungry and pretty tired. There was about an hour break between the end of the daytime activities and the start of the star party, so I drove back up the mountain to the Astronomer's Lodge and had my dinner. I don't think I'm going to do any more photography. I've had a good look at both the morning sky and the evening sky. Right now getting some sleep is pretty high on the agenda. It's a long drive back to Dallas tomorrow.

Bea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day'

Day 4509

I stayed up late last night giving the Polaris star tracker it's first real test. I had a few unforeseen problems, but the thing actually worked. It tracks stars very well for long exposure photography. I'm still having problems with the tracker disconnecting from the camera at random intervals, but hopefully these problems will get resolved with future software updates. It would be nice if the tracker was more reliable because it's hard to fix things when it's pitch black outside. They don't even want you to turn on a flashlight up here because you might disrupt observing at one of the large telescopes. I stayed close to the Astronomer's Lodge when I was out doing photography last night because I was alone and I'd heard too many stories about mountain lions and snakes.

Today was a work day, but I didn't have any assignments until later in the day so I was able to sleep in late. I don't sleep wall while I'm traveling, but if you get tired enough you can sleep anywhere. I had a leisurely late breakfast and then took my daily walk. To get the steps I need takes ten trips around the rim road that circles the two large telescopes on Mount Locke. I'm not walking as far as I do in Dallas, but the altitude is much higher here and four miles a day seems plenty to me.

I got lucky tonight and got a really good telescope to take care of at tonight's star party. The 16" Ritchey Chretien is very nice. Basically all I had to do was make sure the telescope didn't drift off target and rotate the dome every once in a while so the dome slit stayed lined up with the telescope. I also had to answer a lot of questions. There were 300 people at tonight's star party, which was actually a lot smaller than the last star party I volunteered for just before Covid shut everything down. I thought I would know the answer to most people's questions, but of course I didn't. You never know what people are going to ask.

The weather was perfect tonight. It wasn't freezing cold like the last time I helped with star parties. I didn't  need to bring my winter coats. Better safe than sorry though. It probably helped that I was inside a dome this year. Last time I was outside and it was windy. I didn't hear any coyotes howling tonight. I did see the Javelinas though. These small wild pigs are everywhere. My telescope target tonight was Messier 3. This globular cluster is spectacular under the dark Davis Mountain skies. Everyone who looked through the telescope seemed quite impressed.

Tomorrow I'll have more to do during the day. I'll be at a booth with different types of telescopes on display and will be answering questions for future amateur astronomers. I enjoy talking about telescopes but I need to ask someone tomorrow about the pronunciation of certain items. When most of your knowledge comes from reading books rather than talking to other people, it's very easy to mispronounce words.

I don't think I'll take the star tracker out again this evening. It's late. I doubt that I'll get up early to see the Milky Way core rise before dawn tomorrow morning either. I'm tired and I think I've seen enough of the night sky for one day. It was a good day though. I enjoyed it.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4508

I got up early this morning and watched the milky way core rise in the East before dawn. The morning sky is actually more interesting than the evening sky at this time of year. It's pretty dark at 5 AM, but it's late enough so you can still get some sleep. I was able to see Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn all lined up in a nice row, and as the sky started to lighten a very thin crescent moon followed behind them. I didn't try to use the star tracker this morning because the sky was getting lighter instead of darker. I've been having so much trouble with this thing that I knew the sun would probably be up before I could get the tracker working  properly

It was an enjoyable day. I didn't really do much but doing a whole lot of nothing is my kind of day. I walked a few miles before eating a leisurely breakfast and then walked a little more. I'm glad I brought some shorts with me because it was surprisingly warm today. By mid-atenoon the temperature was almost ninety degrees. When it got too hot outside I went to my room and learned a little more about Messier 3, the globular cluster I am supposed to show star party visitors during the festival. I also tried to make sense of the vague star tracker instructions.

An astronomer friend loaned me a tripod to use while I'm here, so I was able to test the star tracker after all. I spent a couple of hours this evening putting the tracker through its paces with decidedly mixed results. When it worked, the tracker was quite impressive. The problem is that it disconnects from the camera at random intervals. This is the problem I've been having since I received the tracker several months ago. I still don't know whether the problem originates in my camera, the Polaris tracker, or the app on my iPhone that controls everything. I did get a few decent pictures tonight, but until the software improves I doubt that I'll be using this thing very much.

It is so quiet up here. It is amazing to take a walk and hear absolutely nothing except for the wind blowing softly through the trees. You hear bird sounds very early in the morning, but they are quiet later in the day. Occasionally you will hear a car off in the distance in the valley below, but not very often. I like the peaceful isolation of this place. If you actually lived here it might get old quickly, but for a few days at a time it is very peaceful. There are no radios or televisions at the Astronomer's Lodge. If you really insist on keeping up with what is going on in the world, there's always Google News on your computer. We do have a good WiFi connection.

I don't know if I'm going to get up early again tomorrow morning. It's hard to get any sleep when you go to bed late and the turn around and get up early. I usually get to bed really late after star parties because I've still got to write the blog after the star party is over. I guess I could sleep during the day like the astronomers do but that is an acquired skill. My body clock is still set to night time sleeping. We'll see how it goes tomorrow with my first real work day. So far, my stay on the mountain has been very enjoyable.

Parker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4507

It's good to be back on Mount Locke. It was a long, tiring drive out to the observatory, but there wasn't much road construction and I didn't encounter any accidents. I've made this trip so often that I'm starting to remember lots of little things along the way. I-20 isn't exactly a scenic drive, but there are lots of wind turbines, a huge oil refinery, and mile long freight trains that run parallel to the freeway. Once you get out of Dallas/Fort Worth, the traffic is mostly large trucks. I don't know which is worse: big city congestion or 500 miles of non-stop eighteen wheelers.

This wasn't the best rental car I've had. The seats weren't very comfortable and there was no GPS. The car did have Apple CarPlay though, so I was able to use the GPS on my phone. Apple Maps actually does a good job of tracking and route planning. I'm not sure that this is good for your phone though. My phone felt hot after being on all day. I think it's going to be harder and harder to find cars with in-dash GPS in the future. Your phone basically provides everything you need.

I always forget things when I travel. It doesn't matter how carefully I pack. Something important always gets left behind. I took two cameras and the Polaris star tracker with me, but I forgot to take my tripod. Jeez. How could I forget this? A tripod is pretty essential. You definitely can't do astrophotography without one. I feel stupid to forget something this important, but that's what happens when you start to rush things so you can leave on time. Hopefully I can borrow a tripod from one of my friends out here.

It's a good thing that I did leave early because when I arrived at the Astronomer's Lodge I discovered that they had put me in the cottage instead of the lodge itself. Some of you might actually like the cottage, but getting there involves a lengthy climb up some very steep steps. The manager had already left for the day when I arrived, but the cook was still there and she was able to transfer my reservation to an available room in the lodge. I'm glad that everything worked out because I wasn't looking forward to hauling my heavy suitcase up those steep steps.

I walked for a couple of miles on the mountain after dinner this evening. It's amazingly quiet up here. There are no traffic noises, no airplanes flying overhead, and very few people. Some of the resident astronomers live on the mountain, but you rarely see them. Other than talking to the cook about my reservation, I haven't spoken to anyone. There is one other car parked outside, so at least one other person is staying in the lodge. One of the nice things about staying here is that meals are included. I'm pretty sure they had to include meals to get anyone to stay here. There aren't any restaurants for miles and miles.

I'm going to be very busy with volunteer work on Friday and Saturday, but tomorrow is kind of a free day. I'll try to catch up on my sleep and then go do some personal photography. There's lots of wildlife up here and the scenery is spectacular. If I can find a tripod to borrow, I'm finally going to try out the star tracker. After all the time I've spent monkeying around with it, I really hope it works.

It's been a long day and it's about time to get some sleep. Before I go to bed I'm going to go outside and check out the sky. I'm not expecting much since it was cloudy while I was eating dinner. Things change quickly on the mountain though. Who knows what I might see.

Bowser is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4506

I'm making progress. I picked up my rental car and I'm almost finished packing. I don't know why it takes me so long to get ready, but it does. There always seem to be surprises. I decided to take the star tracker with me, but I had trouble getting it to work today. I think I set up everything the same way I did the previous time, but I must have done something wrong. It took me forever to get the tracker working properly. 

The rental car was an even bigger surprise. There are usually dozens of cars to choose from. This time there were only three. The entire lot was almost empty. This was an airport facility that usually has hundreds of cars. None of the available cars had GPS, so I will have to use my phone again. The car was smaller than what I wanted as well. Oh, well. It is what it is. I thought that travel would become easier when Covid restrictions were lifted. It actually seems more difficult now.

I always have trouble packing when I go to West Texas. Is it going to be hot or cold?  Usually it's a bit of both. It can be quite warm during the day, but freezing cold at night. I'll take my winter coats again, because I'll be helping at star parties and I remember being pretty chilly during these events. Do I need to take sweaters too? I probably just need to get a bigger suitcase. This time my things don't need to fit in an overhead bin on a plane. They just have to fit in the trunk.

I wore my new boots on my long walk today. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to regret wearing them on the trip. So far, so good. I've only put about 10 miles on the boots so far, but they seem comfortable. I don't think I'm going to get blisters or anything. I'll take my dependable Bondi-7 shoes as a backup. I really don't want to let foot pain ruin this trip.

I think our bad weather is behind us. It looks like clear skies for the rest of the week. I think the weather is going to be nice out at the observatory as well. At least the forecast looks good for Ft. Davis. Clear skies are fairly essential if you are having a Dark Skies Festival. It's a very long drive just to get rained out. Unfortunately, this has happened to me before. Let's just hope that everything goes as planned.

I will be getting up early tomorrow, so I was planning on getting to bed equally early tonight. I don't think that's going to happen. I've still got a lot to do after I post tonight's blog entry. This happens every single time I travel. I woke up this morning thinking that I've got plenty of time to get everything done. Where did the day go? I really didn't do that much. I took my walk. I tested the star tracker. I picked up the rent car. Oh, I tossed a few things in a suitcase too. Unfortunately, I'm not done yet. I'm not even close.

I'm still having second thoughts about this trip, but I'm definitely going. I seldom look forward to new experiences, but I always enjoy the memories afterwards. I need to remember that I love this place. I just wish it wasn't so far away.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day