Day 3860

I've got a lot to learn about taking comet pictures. I went back to the same hill where I went last night, but this time I took a telephoto lens. This was probably a mistake. The comet was still lost in the haze around the horizon and you couldn't see it with the naked eye. I found it easily enough with binoculars, but I couldn't see it with the camera viewfinder. You had to point the camera in the general direction of the comet, take an exposure, and see what you got.

The lens I took didn't have a hard stop at infinity either. You could focus past infinity which made it even harder to focus on something you couldn't see. I finally found the comet but it didn't look like those pretty pictures I've been seeing on the internet. There was too much light pollution from the city and too much haze along the horizon. If the comet would stick around for another month or so, I might finally get this right.

My hilltop vantage point seemed kind of weird tonight as well. There were lots of kids milling around in the dark. Several hundred yards away from me, there was a group having a DJ party in the dark with a portable sound system and a lot of people were dancing around waving glow sticks. Cars would drive by from time to time and their headlights would ruin my long time exposure shot. I wonder if this goes on every night? You certainly wouldn't know there was a pandemic going on. Have I mentioned that I miss the quiet solitude of the David Mountains.

We got an early start on our walk this morning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and as soon as the sun came up you could feel the heat. All the early morning exercisers must start at 7 AM. When we leave the house a little before 6, we have the park to ourselves. By 7 the trails start to fill with joggers and dog walkers. Sundays aren't as busy as Saturdays, but I'm still surprised at how many people are out this early. We saw the green parrots again this morning. All the baby ducks we began noticing last month are growing up fast. I enjoy watching the birds and animals on our walks. I think Dawn does too, but she didn't see any rabbits today.

I thought about taking a telescope when I went looking for the comet tonight, but decided against it. I got out the telescope during the afternoon and reviewed putting it together and aligning it. I think I'm missing a few parts. I have so many things that I have forgotten how to use and the telescope is one of them. It's a shame that there are so many lights in our neighborhood at night. The telescope is virtually useless in the back yard unless I wanted to look at the moon. I didn't know what to expect at my hilltop location tonight, so I wanted to be able to hop in the car and leave quickly if I had too. The telescope was just too cumbersome. Oh, well. I did get to see the comet again and take some mediocre pictures.

This weekend has gone quickly. The monotony of pandemic life is starting to get to me. I don't miss talking to people all that much, but I do miss being able to make plans. You really can't go anywhere now. Janet and I talk about taking a car trip, but where would you go? Neither of us like camping. Flying is out of the question now and even staying in a hotel seems questionable. I don't think anyone wants visitors from Texas or Florida anyway. I may try to get a better picture of the comet tomorrow. Who knows when I'll get a chance to see another one.

Jade is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3859

I found most of the items on my grocery list this morning. It remains to be seen whether I'll find the comet tonight. While I was out grocery shopping and running errands today, I scouted some more promising locations. Everyone says you have to be at least ten miles away from the city to see this thing with the naked eye. I'm not going that far, but I did find a little hill that might be better than down by the lake. We'll see. I hate driving at night. I might not even have the nerve to leave the house tonight.

We got a late start on our morning walk, but at least we had a breeze this morning. Saturday morning is always busier than other days of the week. We see the same people in the park day after day. At first I thought it was curious that everyone seemed to always wear the same clothes when they walk or jog. Then I realized that Janet and I do the same thing. I guess there is no sense in changing outfits on pre-dawn walks. We know the names of a few other dogs now. People are always curious about Dawn. We trade names and ages of our dogs as we pass on the trails. We keep our distance, but early morning walkers seem like a nice group of people.

I found blueberries again at the store, but I don't think I'll ever find Clorox Wipes. Now that conditions are getting worse in Texas, I hope people don't go back in hoarding mode. Shopping was just starting to feel normal again with most items back on the shelves. People do seem a bit nervous now. I know I am. When I was getting gas this morning I noticed two ladies sitting in their car at the next pump. They were both wearing gas masks that covered their entire face and purple rubber gloves inside their car. I haven't seen that before. I still wear the old drywall masks I bought at a hardware store a long time ago. I'm not sure how good they are, but they seem to last a long time.

Days are still extremely uneventful. I easily got my 20,000 steps today after two walks and a little grocery shopping. I'm working on getting Dawn to trust me more. She's still more comfortable around women, since the breeders who mistreated her were both men. I've learned never to make any sudden moves when I'm around her. She walks well on a leash with me and relaxes when we are both on the bed together. She's still a little wary when I'm doing something unfamiliar though. I'm fairly predictable. Eventually everything will become familiar. You just have to be patient with rescue dogs.

I think I'm going to go ahead and get a haircut. My stylist really needs the work. Since I'm retired, it's easy for me to forget how hard the pandemic has been on people who have a small business. Gig workers have it the worst I think. My stylist is very careful and I have an N-95 mask. I don't think I can wait until this is over anyway. Covid is going to be with us for a very long time.

You didn't know I was gone, but I took a break from writing for a couple of hours and went looking for the comet. Found it. I went to the only hill I could find in Dallas and discovered that there were other people looking as well. One couple I spoke with had even been out to a special observing night at McDonald Observatory. The comet was almost impossible to see with the naked eye, but looked spectacular in my image stabilized binoculars. I took some pictures but they didn't turn out very well. The sky just wasn't dark enough. I did see a pretty bright meteor though. Too bad my camera was pointed in the other direction at the comet. It was surprising to meet random astronomy people on a hill in the dark in the middle of a pandemic. They were nice people though. Maybe a comet brings out the best in us.

Beemer is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3858

I can't decide whether to go looking for the comet again tonight. The sky is relatively clear. I know exactly where to look now. I also know that the perpetual haze on the horizon will prevent me from seeing anything. I still have some mosquito bites from my previous comet search as well. It's a tough choice. I'd like to see this thing, but I also like staying inside where it is air conditioned and bug free. Why don't I live in the mountains where I could just walk out on the front porch and enjoy a cool breeze and a beautiful dark sky?

Today was exceptionally uneventful. I got out some older digital cameras and tried to relearn the menu structure. I discovered the other day that my best camera doesn't have a camera raw profile in Photoshop. This is because I refuse to buy a new copy of Adobe Creative Suite. My old Photoshop works best with my older cameras. Usually this isn't a problem, but I'm going to need the camera raw format to get a decent picture of the comet.

I typically spend my days learning new things on the Internet and then promptly forgetting them again. Today I tried to relearn everything about my old Olympus cameras. I feel sorry for kids if they don't get to go back to school this Fall. Online learning has its limits. I learn best by actually doing something  wrong and then doing it again and again until I finally get it right. Somehow, watching a YouTube video just doesn't do the trick for me. If we have enough clear days I'll eventually get a good picture of the comet. I'm sure there will be a lot of trial and error involved.

We had a nice walk this morning, but had to cut things short on the way home. The skies were clear  and as soon as the sun rose, the temperature began to climb immediately. I wasn't surprised that Dawn chose the short route home. Starting these walks before sunrise is the only way to go. I still take an afternoon walk without Dawn, but it is only because I'm a creature of habit. There is no joy in the afternoon sun.

Tomorrow it's time to get groceries again. Who ever thought that getting groceries would feel like a dangerous activity. I"m more aware of other people now and not in a good way. You have to wonder if some of our "new normal" behavior will become permanent? It probably will. Nothing is casual anymore. Did I remember to bring several masks and some cleaning wipes. I usually need a spare mask because I'm always breaking the elastic straps on the cheap paper kind. I try to remember to bring a doggie poop bag as well in case I need to pump gas. I used to bring some Clorox Wipes with me but we used those up a long time ago. My sense of smell is still good and I've become aware of how far away you can smell someone's perfume or cologne. I keep thinking that if virus droplets travel that far, we're all doomed.

Maybe I'll find blueberries tomorrow. My smoothie always tastes better with blueberries. The little things matter when you can't do the big things. Hmm. I think it's time to get gas again. I used to do this once a week. Now once a month is plenty. I doubt that I'll go to the gym this weekend. I haven't even gotten a haircut yet. Basically, the "new normal" means doing nothing at all.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3857

After I processed some of the pictures I took last night in Photoshop, I discovered that the comet was there after all. It was exactly where I had been looking, but was too dim to see even with binoculars. So much for astronomy in the city. It's hard to see anything through the perpetual haze. I was a little surprised that my camera captured something I couldn't see with my own eyes, but my eyes can't seem to manage an eight second exposure. This comet is pretty dim. It makes me miss those dark skies of West Texas.

I looked for the comet again tonight but the sky was cloudy toward the Northwest. No luck today.  I did manage to see the ISS as it flew overhead around 9 PM. Unlike comet Neowise, the space station is bright enough to cut through patchy clouds. Every time I see the station it is coming from a different direction. I still have this simpleminded notion that the space station should travel in a predictable path like the planets. Nope. The ISS definitely is predictable because I have an app on my phone that shows where it is at any given time. I just can't wrap my head around orbital mechanics. Maybe that's why I went into advertising.

We got started on our morning walk before daylight again. Today there was no breeze though. Even though it was cloudy, we all got hot fairly quickly. Dawn got excited when she spotted a rabbit, but after that she let us know that she wanted to take the short route home and we were happy to comply. I'll be glad when Summer is over. Every day seems like Ground Hog Day. We just do the same things over and over again.

I think I missed my chance to finish the roof repairs. It's way too hot to go up on the roof these days. I hope my expensive bucket of silicon material stays good until the weather cools down again. I hate to waste this stuff. There are so many things that need attention around the house, but it's almost impossible to get motivated. Covid life is basically just walking and fixing meals.

I find myself looking at telescopes on the Internet a lot now. Buying a nice telescope is tempting, but somewhat foolish at this point. Where would I use it? Light pollution in Dallas is terrible and I hate the idea of a long drive out to the country every time I want to look at the stars. An astronomy club here in Dallas owns some land up in Oklahoma where there are dark skies. Members can use the site for observing, but that's a really long drive. Probably going to Mcdonald Observatory several times a year is a better plan. Oops, I forgot. The observatory is closed.

Clearly I'm not the only person interested in the new Ford Bronco. My newsfeed is filled with articles now. It's weird that Ford seemed to get this retro 4x4 thing right, while Land Rover missed with their new Defender. I waited for years for the new Defender to arrive and now I don't want one. It's too expensive for a utility vehicle and I don't like the styling. So far I like almost everything about the Bronco.

When New York was having a lot of problems with the virus, I kept thinking that Texas had dodged a bullet. Apparently it just wasn't our turn yet. Florida is even in worse shape than we are. I wonder if I'm ever going to get to return to Kennedy Space Center. It's a waiting game now. Janet and I sit here and make plans for things that just aren't going to happen for quite a while.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3856

I received a notice this morning that NASA rejected my request for media accreditation for the July 30th Mars 2020 launch. The language in the notice was exactly the same as it was for the DM-2 launch last month.  "Due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic, we had to limit the number of media permitted on site, etc..." I wasn't going to go to Florida anyway, since it has become one of the world's leading virus hotspots, but this was still sad news. How long is this going to go on? I'm sure there are many people who have had more important plans interrupted, but this is very frustrating. I haven't heard from the Air Force yet, but I doubt that they are credentialing out of state visitors right now either. Florida is struggling. So is Texas for that matter. Maybe 2021 will be better.

The skies have been clearing this afternoon and I decided to try and find the comet this evening. I scouted out a few locations on my afternoon walk and thought if the skies remained clear, I might finally be able to see it. The best location I found still has some trees on the horizon, so wasn't sure if the comet would clear them. I wasn't sure if sunset haze would obscure things either. Hey, what did I have to lose.

It was another hot day. Getting started on our morning walk before 6 AM really helps. It is noticeably cooler before the sun rises. Today we had a nice breeze and lots of cloud cover too. We had a nice walk and were able to complete our full five miles. Dawn seems to be an early bird. She likes these early walks as long as she gets her breakfast first. Dogs have their priorities. I'm content to wait for breakfast until we finish our walk, but Dawn wants to eat as soon as she gets out of bed in the morning.

If I'm able to find the comet tonight, I'll want to take a picture of it as well. Hmm. How do I take long time exposures with my good camera? Seems like I've done this before, but it's been a while. I looked up directions on the Internet and the procedure was a little more complicated than I anticipated. With old mechanical cameras you just set the shutter on bulb and used a locking cable release to activate the shutter. With modern digital cameras you have to disable a lot of automatic functions before you can use the camera manually.

After spending an hour looking for the comet, I finally had to admit defeat. I saw nothing. The sky was pretty clear, but there was haze on the horizon. Actually, there is always a thin haze on the horizon down by the lake. If I really want to see this comet, I'm going to have to get in the car and look for a higher elevation. It's possible that I was just looking in the wrong place, but I don't think so. There were many maps on the Internet showing just where to look.

I've never been wild about venturing into the park at night. It's dark, there are coyotes, and there are always the voices. I can always hear people off in the distance that I can't see. What are these people doing? Every time I've gone into the park to look at stars at night, I hear these hidden voices. It's kind of creepy.

When I returned to the house from my futile comet hunting excursion Dawn didn't initially recognize me and started barking like crazy. She's a good little watch dog. I wish she'd watch things a little more carefully though and realize that it's me coming in the house. Don't bite me girl. I'm friendly.

Lizzy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3855

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3854

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3853

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3852

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sophia is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3851

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keller is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3850

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Greta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3849

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trevor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3848

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

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

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

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

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

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

Delaney is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3847

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cisco is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3846

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

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

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

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

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

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

Isabella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3845 - Independence Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3844

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bob Hope is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day