Day 4721

It was a nice Fall day. The skies were blue, the temperature was mild, and most of my water problems are behind me. There is still water dripping from the can light in the office ceiling, but the drips are very slow now. What was once a steady stream is now only about two drips per minute. Probably by tomorrow morning I can remove the last remaining bucket.

Dawn was eager to walk this morning. She doesn't like it when we sleep in on weekends and did her best to make sure we hadn't forgotten about her. It was nice to see the sun again. The meadow behind our house was still wet and spongy from all the rain, but the roads have dried out. We had a nice walk at a fairly brisk pace and then returned home for another weekend breakfast.

I think all I really do on Sunday is walk. It would have been a nice day for walking in the park, but I went to the mall anyway. It's nice to have a change of pace and I enjoy looking in the shop windows before the stores open. There are very few middle aged mall walkers. There are old people like me and young couples with children. This seems to be a popular place to bring young children. There were tons of kids today.

It's easy to see that the Christmas season is the most important time of the year for retailers. The stores are opening an hour earlier now and most of them have all new merchandise in the windows. I see clothes I like in many of the windows but have no interest in buying anything. There is no reason for me to dress up anymore. I actually kind of miss the days when I had to wear a suit and ties for client meetings. Once, in the early days of my business I had a retail menswear client and agreed to be paid in clothes. I still have an abundance of nice clothes. All these years later I still have a few things that I've never even worn.

As soon as I returned from the mall, Dawn was waiting to go on her Sunday outing. She gets really excited about visiting new places, but still is scared while she's in the car. You'd think our Sunday routine would be old hat for her by now. Apparently not. She's always happy when we reach our destination, but the journey still seems terrifying to her. 

It's surprising how much our ice cream cones vary from week to week. Sometimes the ice cream is hard. Other times it is soft like a Dairy Queen cone. The size varies too. It just depends on who is serving that day. I wish they were more consistent about giving Dawn a free pup cone. She seems to know that these little cones are just for her. No pup cones today, but Dawn got plenty of ice cream. The ice cream always calms her down.

I should have done some chores today but didn't feel like it. I took a nap instead and as usual Dawn left the room as soon as I got on the bed. Janet says to ignore this behavior, but I still feel bad knowing that Dawn is uncomfortable when Janet is gone. She is definitely a one person dog.

It's almost time to pay property taxes again. Hopefully this is the last big expense of the year. I didn't do a great job budgeting this year. I probably did a little too much traveling as well. At any rate, I hope next year is more predictable. We shouldn't have as many appliance repairs. I think everything broke this year.

It's back to shredded wheat and fruit tomorrow. I need to think about putting up the Christmas tree as well. Christmas will be here before you know it.

Spots is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4720

This is how people go insane. I had just finished cleaning up the house and the last leak had finally stopped when another storm came though town while we were sleeping. There was a massive amount of rain and the leaks started all over again. I realized that something was wrong when I stepped in water on my way to the bathroom. Not exactly the way I wanted to wake up, but I got out the buckets and towels again and started round two of leak patrol.

I didn't bother going up on the roof today. Trying to sweep the water away in the rain didn't stop the leaks last time and I knew it wouldn't this time either. The pumps weren't working initially, but I did get them to work on my third try after we finished breakfast. I think each pump has to be submerged in a certain amount of standing water before it starts pumping. 

There was a break in the rain around 8 AM, so Dawn got her sunrise walk after all. She wasn't wild about getting her paws wet, but she did her business and completed the walk. Once we got off the wet grass and started walking on roads again Dawn was a happy camper and started enjoying her walk. I know she would have preferred waiting until the sun came out, but that wasn't going to happen today.

After our big weekend breakfast I went out to do my grocery shopping. There was a light drizzle, but it really wasn't all that bad. The stores weren't crowded today at all. I guess everyone was eating Thanksgiving leftovers. I filled the car with gas, found everything on my list and came home again. 

I kept hoping that the rain would stop, but that wasn't in the cards today. This was definitely an all day rain. Since the rain during the day was nothing like last night's downpour, the leaks inside the house gradually began to diminish. Most of the leaks have stopped by now, but there is still the one troublesome leak in the office. The water is leaking through a can light in the ceiling. Since this doesn't seem terribly safe, I am leaving the light off until things dry out. Lord knows how long that is going to take. This is the worst roof leak we have had in years.

It would have been miserable walking in the park today, so I went to the gym instead. It doesn't matter when I go, the same twelve people always seem to be there. I'm beginning to think they live there. I did pretty well on the basketball court today. At least I did well by my low standards. I'm glad I finished my thirty free throws and was off the court before some real basketball players appeared. I would have embarrassed myself if they has seen my pitiful efforts. I was pretty slow on the indoor track as well. I completed my two miles, but I always seems to be a lot faster when I'm walking outdoors.

When I returned from the gym, Dawn was sleeping comfortably on the bed, so I took a nap on the living room couch instead. It hurts my feelings when Dawn leaves the room every time I try to join her on the bed, but it is what it is. Dawn had a hard life at the puppy mill kennel and I don't think she is ever going to trust men.

The weather is looking much better tomorrow. According to the forecast we will have clear skies and mild temperatures. This sounds like a good day for Dawn's Sunday outing. I'll probably go mall walking as well. Mall walking is a nice change of pace from my regular walks.

Pepper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4719

Most of the leaks have stopped, but there's one stubborn one still dripping away in the office. The cadence of drips is much slower now. Maybe things will be back to normal by morning. When everything dries out I will need to bleach away the brown stains in the ceiling and start pretending the house is fine again. I still can't find a good carpenter and my list of potential roofing companies leaves a lot to be desired. A new house sounds appealing, but we already live in the best part of town to have a dog and Dallas real estate is still way too expensive. For better or worse, this is home until we get carted away to assisted living.

I still feel full from our big Thanksgiving meal. It would have been a good day for a long nap, but I got up and went through my regular routine instead. We took Dawn on her sunrise walk, I ate my breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit, and checked my messages before going on my long walk. It wasn't raining today, but it didn't feel dry either. There was a light mist in the air for most of the day. It kind of felt like walking through fog.

I was very slow today. I didn't feel unusually tired, but my walk seemed to take forever. There must be better way to use my time. My doctor did explain why my Fitbit continues to say that my fitness level is low, even though I spend an inordinate amount of time walking and staying active. Evidently one of the medications I take slows down my heart rate, so I never achieve the elevated levels Fitbit is looking for. This made me feel a little better. I think I'm in pretty good shape and couldn't figure out why the Fitbit wasn't agreeing with me.

I picked up a prescription at the pharmacy this afternoon. I'm still getting better rates using GoodRx than my Medicare Part-D plan provides. The prescription drug plan isn't cheap, so I keep wondering what I'm paying for. The pharmacist answered that question today. She said that they were getting bought by another company that didn't honor GoodRx prices. "You'd better keep that Part-D plan," she said.

It's Black Friday today. Everyone in the world wants me to buy something. My inbox was filled with special deals for everything from astronomy gear to wool socks. Some of the deals were tempting, but I really didn't need anything. I didn't buy anything either. I guess this is progress. A few years ago I would have almost certainly bought something I really didn't need just to get the Black Friday price.

It's time to make a grocery list again. Unlike most people we don't have a lot of Thanksgiving leftovers in the fridge. I need to remember to pick up the camera gear I will need for our upcoming Santa Paws photo shoots while I'm out tomorrow. The two day event will be here before you know it. I guess it's time to put up a Christmas tree too. Where did this year go?

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

4718 - Thanksgiving

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner this afternoon. It was worth all the calls it took to get a reservation at our favorite restaurant. The elaborate buffet was delicious, the service was great, and it felt almost like pre-Covid times. We'll just have to remember to make our reservation a little earlier next year.

Thanksgiving dinner was definitely the high point of the day. The rest of the day was a mess. We had a tremendous amount of rain last night. It was a relentless pounding rain that lasted for hours. Not surprisingly, all this rain caused leaks. It's been two or three years since our roof leaks have been this bad. I woke up several times during the night to the unmistakable sound of dripping water. I placed buckets under the leaks and went back to bed. By morning even more leaks had appeared. There are leaks in three different rooms now. What a mess. Some carpeted areas got soaked and will take a while to dry out. 

Since one of the two pumps on wasn't working I was forced to go up on the roof in the rain and try to fix things. I got the pumps working again, swept away a mountain of pecan leaves from the neighbor's tree, and came back inside to warm up. I really need more pumps. One pump for the main roof and another for the carport and storage areas really isn't enough. Initially the pumps were throwing circuit breakers, but after I put each pump on a different circuit, everything started working smoothly. Over eight hours later water is still dripping from the ceiling, but the buckets are filling much slower now. Hopefully by morning the leaks will have stopped.

This roof leak debacle has forced me to think seriously about putting on a new roof again. I got out the bids from several roofing companies I've contacted and looked them over this afternoon. This reminded my of how much I dislike roofers. Each bid had at least one serious flaw and seemed to be designed to protect the roofing company rather than help me. I really want an iron clad warranty that the roof isn't going to leak for at least fifteen years. Nobody even comes close to that kind of promise. Most of the companies didn't even have a good plan for eliminating the low spots that cause ponding during heavy rain. I've got to do something though. It's time for a new roof.

Dawn didn't get a walk today. She didn't even want to go outside. We tried to take her on a morning walk during a break in the rain, but Dawn was smarter than we were. As soon as she did her business, she headed straight back to the house. Not a minute too soon either. As soon as we reached the back porch, it started pouring. 

I wasn't nearly as smart as Dawn. After we returned from our Thanksgiving dinner I still insisted on taking a walk. It was still raining but I've gone almost a full year without missing my daily goal and didn't see any reason to stop now. Somehow I managed to get 15,000 steps on a very rainy day. I think most of those steps were when I was up on the roof. Hey, at least my raincoat works. I got the raincoat for my trips to Kennedy Space Center, but I rarely use it. They don't launch rockets in the rain very often.

I've taken this weeks trash out to the curb and emptied the roof leak buckets several times by now. It wasn't the Thanksgiving I expected, but it was still a pleasant one. We had a wonderful dinner, our house is warm, and we've certainly experienced leaks before. Life goes on.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4717

It was a dismal day with a silver lining. We finallly managed to get a reservation for the Thanksgiving Brunch at our favorite restaurant. We'll be eating a little later than we had planned, but it is all good. An early Thanksgiving dinner is just as tasty as a midday meal.

Luckily, we were able to get Dawn walked this morning before the rain started. We just got a little wet as we returned to the house. This rain shower didn't last long. After I finished breakfast the rain stopped and I was able to take my long walk without getting wet. I don't know why I continue to walk outside when my feet are bothering me. It's definitely easier to walk on the indoor track at the gym. I guess I just didn't feel like driving.

The park was fairly empty today. Cyclists don't like to ride on wet, slick roads and most of the joggers probably have better sense than to be out on a day like this. I suspect that most of the people I saw today were addicted to getting their steps just like me. I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. My gym is closed on Thanksgiving and it is supposed to rain all day.

The pumps on the roof aren't working today. That's unfortunate because it probably means I will start hearing the ominous drip, drip, drip of a roof leak in the middle of the night. I wish the pumps were more reliable. Sometimes they get clogged with leaves and other times during a heavy rain one of the pumps shorts out when the end of the extension cord that connects to the pump is under water. I'm tired of dealing with these problems but they're not going away. I'm always going to have a flat roof that holds standing water.

The websites and apps I use seem to have developed a life of their own. Sometimes they work and other times they don't. Part of the problem is probably my older computer and phone. I have no desire to upgrade just because developers are constantly making changes to their products. I'm sure these folks are just trying to stay ahead of the latest malware and hacking attempts, but it's frustrating. Couldn't everyone just leave things alone for a while.

Sometimes I feel like I live in a world that is crumbling around me. There seems to be a new mass shooting on the news every single day. The country is hopelessly divided and we can't seem to agree on anything. It doesn't feel safe to be out after dark anymore. Homeless encampments are everywhere. People are stealing catalytic converters from underneath your car and you risk a road rage incident every time you go to the grocery store. You can't even escape the madness if you stay home and do nothing. I must get twenty-five spam and telemarketing calls on my phone every single day. I don't even answer my land line anymore. It didn't used to be this way. I don't think young people believe me though. It was always this way for them.

I hope we have a relaxing, enjoyable Thanksgiving tomorrow and don't get caught in a bad thunderstorm. The weather forecast doesn't look good. I"m going to try to stay positive though. Thanksgiving should be a happy time.

Petey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4716

Another physical exam is in the books. The doctor agreed that I appear to be in pretty good health. Hopefully today's blood test results won't prove him wrong. I've been debating for weeks about whether to get another Covid booster. I told the doctor that if I haven't gotten Covid by now, I probably wasn't going to get it. I've flown on lots of completely full planes and attended crowded events at the space center during the past several years and never caught Covid. 

When the whole pandemic started I was out at a McDonald Observatory star party where hundreds of strangers came up to look through my telescope. Little kids would cough on me as I attempted to explain what they were looking at. "Hey, I'm good," I told myself. The doctor told me that he felt exactly the same way until he finally caught Covid himself last month. He now feels like everyone in the world is eventually going to catch the disease.

I got the shot. I got a flu shot in one arm and the Covid booster in the other. Piece of cake I thought for most of the day, since I initially felt nothing. Now the arm with the flu shot is starting to hurt. I think I remember the same thing happening last year. At any rate, I'm done fretting about this for the moment. I've done what I could.

On November 22 I always used to go down to Dealey Plaza and listen to all the conspiracy theories about a second gunman on the grassy knoll. The place was a circus with lots of old timers who witnessed the event first hand hawking weird little self published books and pamphlets espousing their own personal theories. Most of these people are dead now. I don't think many people come down to Dealey Plaza anymore. For most younger people, November 22 is just something in a history book. Some of them don't even know who Kennedy was. I still remember the day vividly. I was going to high school in Alaska at the time. Someone came into my English class and told the teacher what had just happened. We were all stunned. Since there was no Internet or satellite broadcasts at the time, we didn't see video tapes of what had occurred until several weeks later.

Other than today's physical exam, it was just a normal day. I even ate my regular breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit when I returned from the doctor's office. I took another long walk in the park because I was too lazy to get in the car and go to the gym. I could do this walk in my sleep by now. Every day is exactly the same. I usually do pretty well for the first several miles and then my feet start to hurt. By the time I return home I'm wondering what I was thinking to attempt such a long walk. My doctor thinks walking is great exercise though and encourages me to keep it up.

I tried one more time to see if there had been any Thanksgiving cancellations at our favorite restaurant. No luck. They aren't even answering their phone anymore. Oh, well. We've still got a place to go that has decent reviews. I hope the weather isn't terrible. Now there are thunderstorms in the Thanksgiving forecast.

Chelsey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4715

I'm not a big fan of Winter. I always feel cold no matter what the temperature is in the house. Life goes on though. We got up early and took Dawn on her sunrise walk. The colder it gets, the fewer joggers and cyclists we see. Dawn is still eager for her morning walks though. It's definitely not too cold outside for her. I guess this makes it all worthwhile. I like seeing a happy dog.

It's back to eating shredded wheat and fruit while channel surfing cable news. I usually end up watching the financial channels because even on a bad day the markets show more promise than current events. The world is kind of a depressing place these days.

When I was flying back from Florida the guy sitting next to me on the plane was watching a weird movie involving hidden treasure, lost sailing ships, and falling out of cargo planes. The movie seemed ridiculous but looked very expensive to produce. Who would make a movie like this? The only clue I had was that Mark Wahlberg was in it. I recognized him. It took about three minutes on Google to discover that the movie was called Uncharted and was based on a popular video game. I guess all this proves is that I have no idea what is going on in the world these days and that you can find anything on Google. I wouldn't recommend the movie.

I thought about going to the gym this morning but didn't really feel like driving. I bundled up in a warm coat and took my long walk instead. Nothing exciting to report today. I didn't see the bald eagles, but did see the resident geese and Muscovy ducks. Many of the trees have already lost their leaves. We don't get a lot of Fall color here, but some of the Oaks are developing a nice golden hue. The only construction that is still going on in the park are five stone gates.  I have no idea what these gates are for.

I paid some November bills today and discovered that my travel has caught up with me. Yikes. With three recent trips to Florida along with dryer and furnace repairs, this was going to be an expensive month. It's too bad there is no demand for my services these days. I'm still a pretty good web designer, but the young ad agency types will do just about anything to avoid hiring their grandfather. Lets face it. My time has come and gone. I had a good run though. No regrets.

I need to remember that I'm having my semi-annual physical exam tomorrow. Time flies. It feels like I just had one of these exams a few weeks ago. Since I will need new blood work, I can't eat breakfast tomorrow morning. I don't like these fasting exams, but I'll just have a larger lunch. After this is over, there's only one more exam for the year. I've still got to see the eye doctor in December. I'm pretty sure he will want to do cataract surgery, but we'll deal with that when the day comes. Maybe I can avoid the surgery for one more year.

I continue to see better pictures of the Artemis launch than I took myself. Disappointing. My pictures weren't bad but there is plenty of room for improvement. It's really hard to master this strange art when I attend so few launches. Some of the good photographers go to all of them. I guess I need to save my money and start planning another trip.

Ranger is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4714

It was below freezing when we woke up this morning. I think this was our first hard freeze of the year. Luckily I remembered to set the outdoor faucets on drip before I went to bed last night. Temperatures in the twenties are probably nothing to Northerners, but it seemed pretty cold to me this morning. Dawn doesn't seem to mind the cold at all. She seemed happy on our sunrise walk. I was just happy to get back inside where the furnace is still working fine.

After another big weekend breakfast I went mall walking again. It was much nicer to be walking indoors on a day like this. The Christmas season is in full swing at Northpark. The pumpkins are gone and have been replaced by Christmas trees. There are small trees, large trees, and everything in between. There is a house where you can visit with Santa and a large display depicting the twelve days of Christmas. Most of the store windows have Christmas displays now. It's pretty clear that this mall is doing everything they can to get people to buy lots and lots of stuff.

Mall walking is more popular than I initially thought. There are lots of people circling around the large mall before the stores open. When new products drop at certain stores like Nike and Swatch, lines begin to form hours before the stores open. There was evidently a new sneaker that a lot of people wanted at the Nike store today. There was a long line of young men standing outside the store a full hour before it opened. This seemed very strange to me until I read something about how sneakers are considered an investment by some and that there is a very active resale market. Rare sneakers can dramatically increase in value and collectors always seem to know when a desirable model is going to drop. I guess the same thing goes for certain Swatch watches. This is one more aspect of modern life that makes no sense to me whatsoever. These are not high quality shoes. It's all about fashion and status to a small subset of the population.

When I returned from the mall, Janet and Dawn were ready for our Sunday outing. Luckily the temperature had gotten quite a bit warmer between sunrise and noon. We had another nice one mile walk and then we went for ice cream cones. Dawn got lucky today and received a free pup cone in addition to our regular order. After taking three different walks today, I was ready for a nap after we returned to the house.

This afternoon Janet and I went over to my storage warehouse to look for the backdrop we were planning to use for this years Santa Paws pictures. It's discouraging for me to go to the storage unit now. It's filled with stuff I will never use again but I still can't bring myself to get rid of. Basically the storage warehouse is just a convenient place to postpone making decisions. Eventually we found the backdrop, along with a bunch of stuff that Janet either wanted to give away or throw away. She has her own storage warehouse, but mine is much larger. I need to get a grip on this stuff, but it's kind of overwhelming. It's easier to just pay the rent and deal with it later.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this Thursday. I've just about given up on getting a reservation at our favorite restaurant, but our second choice isn't all that bad. I guess we'll just go with that. We never eat Thanksgiving dinner at home anymore. There's no point in cooking a big meal for just two people. 

I hope our current cold spell is temporary. It's much less enjoyable to walk in the park when it's below freezing.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4713

Another cold day. I think today was even colder than yesterday. The cold didn't stop us though. We took our sunrise walk with Dawn, returned home, ate a big breakfast, and got ready for another day. I didn't have a big grocery list today, but shopping still took me a while. 

The stores were really crowded this morning. I guess everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving. For once the shelves were fully stocked. There seemed to be an abundance of everything. Prices were still high, but it was nice to have a feeling of normalcy again. I don't like seeing empty shelves.

I didn't even think seriously about walking in the park today. Our sunrise walk with Dawn convinced me that it was too cold and windy. I went to the gym, feeling thankful for the car's heated seats and steering wheel. When I arrived, I couldn't shoot baskets because there was a game in progress on the court. I got my steps on the indoor track, making fairly decent time. There were more people on the floor today than a typical Saturday. Probably most of them decided like I did that it was just too cold to do anything outside.

The pick up game on the court concluded as I reached the two mile mark on the track, so I got to shoot some baskets anyway. I was terrible today. I guess I should shoot baskets before I walk. It usually takes me about fifteen minutes to reach my goal. Today it took over thirty. Eventually I completed thirty free throws and headed home. I wanted to take a nap, but Dawn looked peaceful on the bed and I didn't want to disturb her. I've been tired ever since I returned from Florida. I'm not sick; just tired.

I started the car and warmed up the engine after dinner tonight to make sure it will start tomorrow. It is supposed to get below freezing tonight. I'll go mall walking in the morning and then we'll take Dawn on her Sunday outing. Dawn seems to like the cooler weather, so a cold day tomorrow isn't going to stop her. I'm sure I'll get used to the colder weather. I'm just not there yet.

I've dozed off twice writing this post. I wish I'd gotten more done today, but some days are like this. Maybe I'll have more energy tomorrow. I've got a doctor's appointment for a physical exam on Tuesday and I'm still trying to decide whether to get a flu shot and Covid booster. I don't think I need either, but I'm sure my doctor will try to insist on both. I still think too many meds and you begin to lose your natural immunity to things.  I'm not a fool though. I already take meds to control blood pressure, cholesterol, and a few other things. I didn't initially think I needed this stuff either. I'll probably end up listening to the doctor and then being mad at myself for not following my instincts. I still think the best way to avoid Covid is to just stay away from other people.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4712

I think it's Winter now. It felt very cold when we took Dawn on her sunrise walk and then it got even colder as the day progressed. I've got plenty of sweaters and warm coats, but it does take a little longer to get dressed in the morning. At least we don't live up North. I can't believe the amount of snow they are getting in Buffalo.

I don't think I accomplished much today. After walking Dawn, I made the bed, ate my breakfast, and waited around the house for it to get warmer before taking my walk. That never happened. In fact the longer I waited, the colder it got. Eventually I put on two coats, got my warmest hat, and went walking. There aren't nearly as many cyclists and joggers on a cold day. People were still walking dogs though. A change in the weather doesn't stop a dog from needing to pee. The ducks and geese must have been hungry today. The group that stays near Sunset Bay were following people around waiting for a handout. I didn't have anything to give them and the geese weren't very happy about that. 

It's time to set out bulky trash again, so I reluctantly hauled a bunch of branches and logs the tree guy left behind out to the curb. These got left behind because I asked hime to cut down another small tree when he was here. This tree wasn't in his bid, which only included removing the larger tree that had fallen on the roof. He agreed to cut down the little dead tree for free, but refused to haul away the debris. It didn't make sense to me, but I wasn't in the mood to argue. Some of the logs seemed very heavy. I'm definitely not getting any stronger. I got the job done though. Ten years ago this task would have been a lot easier.

The house still feels cold, even though the furnace is running normally. This happens every winter because our house isn't insulated very well. We have way too much single pane glass. On a cold day you don't want to stand too close to the windows. The furnace is doing its best though. I bet the gas bill is going to be high next month.

Returning from a trip is always a bit of a let down. I enjoy being part of the space community when I'm down at Kennedy Space Center. These are good people. I'd probably be out there chasing rockets with them if I lived down there. I enjoy being a temporary part of the astronomy community when I'm out at McDonald Observatory too. Oddly I don't feel part of any community here in Dallas, although it is clearly a large city with plenty to do. Sometimes I wonder why I moved here in the first place, but the answer is very simple. There were and still are plenty of good, high paying jobs.

This week has gone quickly. It's hard to believe that it's already the weekend again. Next week is Thanksgiving and we still can't get reservations at our favorite restaurant. I guess there were no cancelations. I'd better start putting my grocery list together. I hope the car starts tomorrow morning. I forgot to warm it up this evening. I probably need to get the battery replaced while it is still under warranty. 

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4711

Life is back to normal again. We took Dawn on a cold early morning walk and then returned home where I had my usual shredded wheat and fruit for breakfast. I enjoy traveling, but I eat healthier at home. I sleep better too. It's probably a good thing that I'm home a lot.

After breakfast I unpacked my bags, put my equipment away, and did a load of wash. I'm ready for the next launch trip as soon as my bank account recovers. Most of the morning was spent writing my article about the launch. My editor wanted a shorter article than I usually write. Writing something short and succinct is actually harder. I usually ramble on at great length. When the article was finished I edited a few pictures and sent everything off to SpaceFlight Magazine. A few hours later I got a thumbs up from the editor, so I guess I'm done with Artemis-1. I've been to the Michoud Assembly Facility and watched this rocket being assembled. I've been to the Stennis Test Center in Mississippi where it underwent an eight minute live fire test. I was there when the first launch attempt was scrubbed and yesterday I finally got to see it launch. Say what you will about this overpriced and long delayed rocket, but it is pretty impressive.

After our cold morning walk I thought I'd go to the gym today. Cold weather is not my friend. The temperature warmed up quickly though and I eventually decided to go on my long walk instead. It turned out to be a beautiful day. It's too bad my feet still hurt. I probably should think of a better way to exercise, but walking is easy. If I'm not having a good day I can always walk slower.

I'm glad the furnace is working well again. It still seems like this repair was way too expensive, but it was still much cheaper than a new furnace. It's a shame that the cost of virtually everything is spiraling out of control. I used to never think about the cost of things, but living on a fixed income in inflationary times will do that to you. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic, but life seemed a lot easier twenty years ago.

Looking at the night sky while waiting for Artemis to launch briefly rekindled my interest in astronomy. It's strange that so many of the things I like seem to happen at night. I'm not a night person at all. When I was in a band we always played at night. It's a lot easier to see the stars at night and I always write my blog posts at night as well. I guess I could blog during the day, but I'm usually waiting for something to happen. Some days nothing happens at all. It still seems odd that so many rocket launches take place at night. I've seen more night launches than day launches.

I wonder if anything interesting will happen tomorrow. Today was largely uneventful, but I did get 20,000 steps. I've taken this week's trash out to the curb, so the week is officially over for me.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4710

What a way to start the day. The Artemis-1 launch was spectacular. The launch team must have learned a lot from their previous attempts because the entire countdown went very smoothly this time. There was some drama along the way, but it was clear that NASA was determined to launch Artemis today if at all possible. At one point everyone thought the launch might get scrubbed when a small hydrogen leak was discovered with only about twenty minutes left in the count. 

They didn't stop though. A special red team trained to work under hazardous conditions was sent to the launch pad to fix the leak. Evidently this is very dangerous because when a rocket like this is fully fueled, a spark near a hydrogen leak could cause the whole thing to explode. The red team fixed the leak like it was all in a days work. A little later a tracking radar down range wasn't sending data and stopped the count again because of a faulty ethernet switch. This was quickly fixed and the count resumed. There was still some caulking on the Orion capsule that came loose during Hurricane Nicole, but the launch team didn't seem to think this was a problem.

It's weird to think that the launch was almost stopped by a few loose bolts and a faulty ethernet switch. I guess low tech can trump high tech on just about any launch. The thousands of people who have worked on the Artemis program must have felt vindicated today. The rocket has received a lot of criticism lately, but almost everything worked perfectly this morning. The Orion capsule is on the way to the moon right now. 

This was the most spectacular launch I've ever witnessed. The huge rocket turned night into day during liftoff. The exhaust flame was so bright that it literally looked like the sun has risen. Artemis was also extremely loud. I'm sure this launch could be seen and heard for miles. I was hesitant about going to this launch because there was a good chance it wouldn't succeed. There were literally thousands of things that could go wrong. I'm glad I went though. It isn't everyday you get to see the most powerful rocket in the world heading toward the moon. The next Artemis will have people on board. Hopefully I'll be around to see that one too.

I didn't get back to the hotel after the launch until almost 4 AM. I immediately began to wonder why I was staying another day in Titusville and changed all my reservations again. I was lucky to get the last seat on an afternoon flight back to Dallas and I'm home again now. Brr. It's cold here. The weather was a lot nicer in Titusville. I saved some money by cutting a day off my stay, but unfortunately not enough to pay for the furnace repairs. Yikes. The special variable speed motor the furnace required was four times as expensive as an ordinary electric appliance motor. 

Tomorrow I'll unpack and write my article for SpaceFlight magazine. For now, it's time to get some sleep. I doubt if there will be any more launch trips this year. Hopefully there won't be any more broken appliances either. 

Alvin is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4709

I'm back at Kennedy Space Center for another Artemis launch attempt. The launch is technically tomorrow morning, but it's going to seem like late tonight to me. If all goes well, liftoff will be a little after 1 AM. Everything looks good so far. The countdown is proceeding and there doesn't seem to be any weather problems.

The day got off to a very early start. My flight departed at 6 AM, so I had to be at the airport a lot earlier for all the TSA stuff. I must be getting slower because I cut it pretty close this time, arriving at the gate just fifteen minutes before boarding. I've been to Kennedy Space Center so many time by now that this trip is getting to seem very routine. I don't even need a car with GPS anymore. Titusville is a small town and it's starting to feel very familiar. 

I had to pick up my credentials before noon today, so that left me with a lot of free time. I went out to the Press Site to see what was going on and was surprised that the place seemed relatively empty. There were definitely a lot fewer people than were at the first launch attempt. I'm sure there will be a more folks arriving later tonight, but so far this launch seems a little subdued. All the scrubbed launches probably just wore everyone out. 

I got my Fitbit steps walking around the Press Site parking lot and then went to the space center Sonny's BBQ for a smoked pork sandwich. Sonny's has some great bartbecue and I always enjoy eating there. Before I left the Press Site to check in at my hotel I heard that the Artemis launch team had completed their final pre-launch meeting and had given the go ahead to begin fueling the rocket. 

My hotel isn't as bad as I thought. It's not the place I would have picked, but it's clean and relatively convenient. There must be a lot of people who are planning to show up at the Press Site later tonight because all the hotels in town are completely booked. I was actually lucky to get a room here. 

I've been told that the journalists covering the launch should plan to arrive that the Press Site by 7 PM tonight. That leaves a lot of time to sit around doing nothing. I guess I could go later, but there's no point in staying at the hotel. There's not a lot of point in going our for dinner either. After my big lunch, I couldn't eat another thing. I didn't run into anyone I knew this afternoon, but I'll probably see a few familiar faces tonight. I hope my camera works. I've been having problems with this camera lately. Actually the problems are mostly with me. It's hard for me to adjust the camera and focus properly in the dark. I always forget something on these trips. This time it was a flashlight.

I hope the furnace is getting fixed back in Dallas. Janet said the repairman was coming back this afternoon with the new blower motor. There will still be problems when this is fixed, but at least I'll be warm. One one the problems reoccured last night while I was finishing packing. Another roof leak. I was surprised. We haven't had to deal with a leak in months. Oh, well. It's always something.

I really hope that Artemis is successful this time. I'm sure the launch team learned some things from the first two attempts. It probably didn't hurt to have a chance to completely inspect the rocket while it was inside the VAB as well. So far, people seem optimistic. There's only a few hours left until launch time. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.

Honey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4708

We found out what was wrong with the furnace today. Unfortunately it needs a special order part to fix the problem. The furnace is still not working, although it does come on occasionally. The technician tried to explain why the fan motor was making strange clunking noises and wouldn't always engage the fan, but I didn't really understand. I bet if the furnace has a simple single speed electric motor instead of this sophisticated variable speed gizmo, it would still be working. 

 I keep waiting for someone to call off the Artemis launch at the last minute. With my luck they won't postpone the launch until after I get down there. The countdown has already started, but some engineers are still worried about a piece of insulation that got blown off by Hurricane Nicole. Time is running out, but I don't think everyone is in agreement yet. Oh, well. At least the weather looks favorable. I'm going to go ahead and go to the launch, but if this thing gets scrubbed one more time I'm about ready to give up on Artemis. It's already too late to cancel reservations without a penalty. I guess we'll just see what happens. This is a historic launch, but it could also be a huge waste of money. I don't even know what the furnace repairs are going to cost yet. One way or the other, I'm pretty sure that this will be my last launch trip of the year.

It rained most of the day and the HVAC technician took a while to diagnose the furnace problem, so I didn't end up taking my long walk until late in the afternoon. As soon as I got my 10,000 steps I headed home. It was a miserable day and I felt cold and wet after only two miles. Dawn had a good walk this morning though. We managed to take our sunrise walk before the rain started.

I haven't packed yet, but there's nothing new about that. I always seem to wait until the last possible minute. The cameras and computers are charged though, so all is good. It probably won't take me very long to finish things up. I wish there were more direct flights to Orlando. I usually have to leave very early in the morning because this is the only flight that works. I hope the flight isn't late. I have only a few hours to pick up my credentials. For some unexplained reason, the Press Accreditation Office isn't open all day tomorrow.

I hope that the furnace is an easy fix and that the weather stays warmer until the part arrives. I hope the Artemis launch succeeds. Third time's the charm, or so they say. I'm already tired and I haven't even left Dallas yet. It would be embarrassing if I fell asleep at the Press Site waiting for the rocket to get off the ground. It could happen. I'm not much of a night owl anymore.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

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Day 4707

The house was very cold this morning. Luckily we had lots of blankets on the bed. I wish the furnace didn't decide to break on a weekend, but it is what it is. It actually got below freezing last night, so after we got finished taking Dawn on a chilly sunrise walk, our cold house seemed a lot warmer. 

I tried without much success to get the furnace running again. At one point the blower kicked in for a few minutes and warm air was flowing through the vents but it didn't last long. Something is seriously wrong with the fan and it doesn't take long for a circuit breaker to shut the furnace down. I really hope that I can get someone out here to fix this tomorrow morning. I hate being cold.

After breakfast I went walking at the mall. The car started easier this morning, so that was encouraging. I'm still a little nervous that it won't start when I need to go to the airport. The mall is already in full Christmas mode. Christmas trees are everywhere. The house where people bring their kids to see Santa is up. And most of the stores already have Christmas themed window displays. It's almost like Thanksgiving has been completely forgotten.

I walked my 2.5 miles and came home. Dawn was waiting for her Sunday outing, so off we went again for another walk. I kept falling behind on this third walk of the day. I was tired and my feet hurt. It was a nice day for walking though. The temperature rose quickly once the sun came up and it felt like a brisk Fall day. By the time we finished our ice cream cones, I was ready for a nap.

I tried without any success to find a better hotel for my Artemis trip. I finally gave up and confirmed my reservations at the hotel I've been trying to avoid. So far, it appears that the launch will take place on schedule. I still wonder why I am doing this. I don't really like night launches. If I stayed home and the launch was successful, I'd be kicking myself though. I guess I'm still going because I can. Press credentials for this thing were hard to get.

I should have started packing today, but I couldn't get motivated. It will be a busy day tomorrow. I hope the furnace repairs aren't too expensive. Who am I kidding. Of course they will be expensive. On a more positive note, I don't think there is anything left in the house to break. Maybe it will be smooth sailing for a while after this. One can always hope.

Puppies are today's Dalmatians of the Day

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Day 4706

Good grief. Our furnace went out on the coldest night of the year. It wasn't the flame sensor this time so I couldn't fix it myself. The gas was coming on, but the fan wasn't working so no air was reaching the vents. Since there was no air circulating through the furnace, it would quickly overheat and shut down. 

As luck would have it, the HVAC guy I've been using for over twenty years retired a few months ago. I didn't know who to call until I remembered that the plumbing company I've been using has a HVAC division. I called their emergency number and about a half hour later one of their on-call technicians called me back. He said he could come over, but advised against it, telling me that the company's overtime and weekend rates were ridiculously high. He said that if we were cold, we could stay in a nice hotel for the weekend for a lot less than their emergency rates and asked if I could wait until Monday. The rates definitely were ridiculously high and I asked who would pay this kind of money. Hospitals, commercial companies, and others who absolutely could not afford to have their heating and cooling interrupted evidently. This company is good but they don't do much residential work. I decided to wait until Monday.

We bundled up for our sunrise walk this morning. Dawn, like all of our Dalmatians, seemed to like the cold. I was warm enough because I was wearing two down coats. Winter arrived rather suddenly this year. Only a few weeks ago I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. A hot breakfast warmed me up a bit, but the house has stayed cold all day. I have resisted the urge to monkey around with the furnace because I would probably only make things worse. The technician I talked to this morning said that I probably need a new fan motor and capacitors. I wished the guy could have come out today but I wasn't about to pay $700 extra for a weekend service call. 

I had a hard time starting the car when I went to get groceries this morning. WTF? I have a brand new battery. The battery is still under warranty, but I'll have to find time to go to the repair shop that sold me the battery on Monday. At any rate, the saga of broken stuff continues and I can't seem to catch a break. Once the car was warm it started fine, but I don't want an unreliable car if I've got to get up early to go to the airport.

I probably will need to go to the airport soon. I got a message from NASA today saying the the Causeway bridge has been repaired and that the Titusville entrance to Kennedy Space Center is usable again. Damn. This took away my best excuse to scrap the trip and stay home. I guess I should just go through with the trip. I've already committed to write an article for SpaceFlight Magazine and I'm a bit worried that if I skipped this launch it might affect my ability to get a press pass in the future. Oh, well. Like it or not, I'm headed back to Florida.

It never did get warm today but I took my walk in the park anyway. This was a winter walk with a sweater and a warm coat. There are a lot fewer cyclists and joggers in the winter. The weather was nice this afternoon, but I was still a bit chilly. Tomorrow I'll go mall walking and start to pack for the Artemis launch. I'd better get some warm blankets out for tonight. I't s going to be very cold in the house.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4705 - Veteran's Day

Today was disappointing. The carpenter came over right when he promised he would. He was a nice guy. Unfortunately, when he looked at the damage, he told me that the repairs looked too complicated for him and he didn't want to bid on the job. After several days of searching, this was the best carpenter I could find, so I don't know what I'm going to do now. Carpenters seem to fall into two categories. There are framers who build new houses and cabinetmakers who remodel kitchens and make custom bookshelves. I need one of those carpenters like you see on that "This Old House" show on PBS. I think a restoration carpenter is going to be very hard to find in Dallas. This city doesn't value anything old. Scrape it and replace it is the motto here.

After my failure with the carpenter, I went back inside and checked my e-mail. There was a message from NASA saying that the NASA Causeway bridge between Titusville and Kennedy Space Center had been damaged by Hurricane Nicole and was closed until further notice. They said that journalists would have to take an alternate route to the Press Site for the Artemis-1 launch. Bummer. This new route adds an extra hour of driving time each way between the hotel and the space center. A big section of this road is under construction as well. Since the launch is scheduled to take place at 1 AM, the last thing I want to be doing is driving at night on roads that have those concrete construction barriers on either side of a narrow lane. I've been on this road before and it's a pain during the day. I'm really not looking forward to driving two hours every time I want to go to the Press Site. There will probably be horrible traffic jams as well, since this alternate route is now the only entrance to the space center. A lot of people work at this facility. Add all these employees to the visiting Artemis press and you've potentially got a real mess. I find it difficult to believe that a hurricane that could seriously damage a major bridge would leave the Artemis rocket unscathed, but that's what they say. NASA is apparently still planning to launch this thing on November 16th.

I'll think about this over the weekend, but I'm really tempted to cancel my plans and just stay here in Dallas. None of this seems very fun anymore. I'm staying in a bad hotel. The launch is in the middle of the night now, so you won't be able to see much. Worst of all, the main bridge connecting Titusville to the space center is out, forcing everyone to take a very long detour to reach the press site. Is it worth it? I seriously doubt it. There will be other launches in the future. It might be time to get realistic and cut my losses.

Not only was it a dismal rainy day, it was also very cold. When we took our sunrise walk this morning, it didn't feel like Fall, it felt like Winter. I think it will be even colder tomorrow with temperatures approaching freezing. This all seems rather sudden, but that's Texas weather for you. We're going to have to find Dawn's sweater for tomorrow's walk.

It rained for most of the day but I still had to get my steps. The fact that I drove to the gym in heavy rain shows how committed I've become to getting my steps. Maybe the cold weather improved my metabolism because I was pretty good on the basketball court this afternoon and made surprisingly good time walking on the indoor track. I may end up going back to the gym tomorrow. It's grocery day for me and I often don't have time to take a walk in the park.

I don't have much of a connection to Veteran's Day anymore. Both my parents were Navy veterans but they've been gone a long time. I don't actually know many people who've served. I think our veterans deserve a lot of respect, but we really need to stop sending them to needless, pointless wars. We never should have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan. We probably should have never gone to Vietnam either. 

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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