Day 4873

Should I stay or should I go? When I woke up this morning I immediately checked all the weather apps on my phone, trying to decide whether it was worth extending my trip to Kennedy Space Center even further. None of the forecasts came to exactly the same conclusion, but the general consensus was that there was about a 20% chance of favorable weather at launch time. Not good. When I checked with the front desk at the hotel they said they were fully booked for the weekend. Not good either. I would have to look elsewhere for a new place to stay if I wanted to watch tonight's launch attempt. Finally, airline prices were even higher this weekend and most flights to Dallas were already full. Things weren't looking good.

I reluctantly decided to call it quits and made plans to head for the airport after a final breakfast at the Cracker Barrel Restaruant down the street from my hotel. I second guessed my decision all the way home. As luck would have it, I ended up making the right decision after all. Tonight's launch was scrubbed with only 59 seconds left on the clock. That's three scrubs in a row for this rocket. Ironically, tonight's scrub had nothing to due with the weather. The weather was actually improving.

When I was only a few miles from the Orlando airport I got a message on my phone saying that my flight had been canceled. What? This was disconcerting to say the least. I briefly thought about going back to Titusville, but I was already at the airport. I turned in my rent car just as I got another text message saying that I'd been rebooked on a flight leaving at 8:30 this evening. Not good. I definitely wasn't looking forward to spending the entire day at the airport. When I looked at the departure board, my flight was the only one canceled. Why? I saw that there was another flight leaving for Dallas in ten minutes, so I quickly headed for the gate in hopes that I could get on board as a standby passenger. When I arrived at the gate the plane was already loading. I thought I was too late, but the gate agent managed to get me onboard. I was the last passenger to board the plane. I was very surprised that I got on this plane since it was supposedly full. I learned later that a lot of Southwest employees fly free on the airline and they get bumped if there is a paying customer who wants their seat. 

I must have brought the bad weather back with me to Dallas. The sky looked dark, but I thought I could still take my long walk. I never got a chance to get my steps at the airport, since my flight left almost immediately after I arrived. For better or worse,  I'm definitely hooked on getting at least 10,000 steps every day. It's a good thing I kept up the pace today. When I was about five minutes from home, I got another severe weather warning on my phone. I made it to the house with minutes to spare. The storm was pretty bad, but it was nothing compared to what I experienced out at the Space Center last night.

I'm not sure when I'll get back to Kennedy Space Center again. These launch trips are getting expensive. There are several other launches I'd like to see this Spring, but I definitely can't afford to see them all. Dawn was actually glad to see me when I returned home. I guess life is full of surprises.

Lucky is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4872

This wasn't my lucky day. The VIasat-3 launch got scrubbed again. The weather today was much worse than yesterday. It was already raining when I headed out to the press site this evening, but I went anyway since I never received a cancelation notice from Space X. This was a mistake, since the rain kept getting worse the closer I got to Kennedy Space Center. 

As I was sitting in the parking lot, waiting for the rain to stop, the sky kept getting darker and darker and I began seeing lightning all around me. Then I got simultaneous warnings on my phone, my watch, and even from the rental car itself, all saying to take cover immediately because there was a tornado nearby. Jeez. Where would I go? All the nearby buildings were closed and we were miles from any available shelter. I just sat there and hoped for the best. It was pretty clear that the launch would be canceled, but I never received a notice from Space X. By this point the rain was coming down so hard that I couldn't see the rocket or even nearby buildings. I saw plenty of lightning though. There were huge lightning bolts in all directions. I heard thunder almost immediately, so the lightning was close. Some bolts appeared to land pretty close to the launch pad. At some point during the storm, other cars in the parking lot started to leave, so I knew that the launch must have been scrubbed.

I decided to head back to Titusville before it got completely dark. The roads were already covered with water and were very hard to see. I knew if I waited much longer some of the low areas might become impassible. It was a white knuckle drive back to town. About halfway back to the hotel there was a second tornado warning. There was even a little swirling image of a tornado on the car's GPS. There was so much water on the road that I felt there was a real danger of hydroplaning. Eventually I made it back to the hotel and I'm now trying to decide whether to stay another day.

I may change my mind, but I think I'll head home tomorrow. There is a 90% chance of more rain on Friday. Rain is in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday too. With those kind of odds I could be here forever, or at least until I ran out of money. Things don't begin to clear off down here until later next week. I definitely can't afford to stay that long. The day wasn't a total loss though. We got our credentials this morning and were bussed out to the launch pad to set remote cameras and take close up shots of the Falcon Heavy on the pad. It's a shame that Space X didn't go ahead and launch yesterday. The weather had actually cleared up by the original sunset launch time. 

I'm not even sure I could stay another day because the hotel is already beginning to fill up with weekend travelers. Airfares are more expensive on weekends too. If I stay Friday, I would be flying back on Saturday. Basically, I think it's a lost cause. One of the weather apps on my phone says there is a 90% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

I enjoyed chatting with other launch photographers out at the launch pad this afternoon. The weather was really nice up until about 4 PM. It's weird how quickly things can change. I really thought we were going to have a successful launch for quite a while today. All in all, it was a good day. I definiely can't recommend sitting out in a car in an isolated parking lot, miles from anywhere while you learn you are directly in the path of an approaching tornado. That was a little spooky.

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4871

The rocket didn't go anywhere today. Space X scrubbed tonight's launch due to the potential for severe weather in the area. Since the launch was postponed early in the day, we weren't even able to get our credentials. This was a disapointment to everybody waiting for their badges at the Press Accredation Office. We were hoping that we could at least go visit the Press Site today and get some pictures. I guess Space X didn't want us wandering around unsupervised. The launch has been rescheduled for tomorrow evening. The weather looks better tomorrow, but it's still not a sure thing. Basically, it has been a very rainy week. It's even raining in Dallas today.

I think there was some severe weather near Kennedy Space Center this afternoon, but it was very localized. When I went back to my hotel in Titusville, we didn't even see any rain until very late in the day. I guess this was a good thing because I was able to get my steps. I walked back and forth between the hotel and a Cracker Barrel restaurant at the other end of the street until I got my daily 10,000 steps. My timing was good because shortly after I got 10,000 Fitbit steps and closed all three rings on my Apple Watch it started raining pretty hard.

The rain didn't last very long and I didn't want to spend the entire afternoon in my hotel room, so I drove out to Playlinda Beach. This beach is located in the Canaveral National Seashore and is a place I like to visit. There are some nice views of the launch pad in several areas as well as an abundance of wildlife. The seashore is a protected nature preserve and is the longest stretch of pristine, undeveloped beach in Florida. The area is run by the National Park Service and today I traded my annual pass for a Lifetime Senior Pass. If you save your old yearly passes, they count toward the price of a lifetime pass. I ended up getting my Lifetime Pass for half price.

I did get a few photos of the Falcon Heavy rocket from the top of one of the walkways to the beach. The park service doesn't want you to walk on the dunes surrounding the beach, so they've built wooden walkways over the dunes in selected areas. I saw several other launch photographers I know taking pictures as well. Today, Playlinda Beach was the only game in town. It was a grey day and my pictures weren't spectacular, but at least it wasn't raining. Actually the weather was nice for the entire time I was out at Playlinda Beach and it only started raining again when I returned to Titusville for dinner.

I stopped at my favorite barbecue place for dinner. If I'm in Titusville I've got to have at least one meal at Sonny's. Most of the other launch photographers seem to favor seafood restaurants, but I'm from Texas and I'll take barbecue over fish any day of the week. When I travel I realize that I'd be fat if I made a habit of eating restaurant meals. Janet is a great cook and fixes really healthy meals. I'm lucky that I get to enjoy them.

It's too bad Space X didn't go ahead and have the launch today. The storms are gone and it's clear outside right now. I'm sure they had their reasons. I did see lightning several time times during the afternoon. The weather forecast said there was a possibility of large hail, but I didn't see any. I hope there is no rain tomorrow. At one point when I was driving through a short patch of heavy rain, my rental car had an electrical problem. The headlights went out and the GPS display went dark. Everything returned to normal a few minutes later, but this would be bad news if it happened at night.

I've changed all my reservations and will be staying another day in hopes that the Viasat-3 launch will take place tomorrow evening. Lets hope the weather improves. This isn't the first launch delay I've experienced and it won't be the last. When you are chasing rockets you've just got to expect these things.

Brady is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4870

It's been a long day. I made it to Titusville, ate a late dinner, and am sitting in my hotel, hoping that everything goes well tomorrow. The last time I checked there was a 60% chance that the launch would take place as scheduled. It was supposed to be raining in both Dallas and Florida today, but so far I've managed to escape the rain in both places. I'm sure it will rain sometime tomorrow, but often the skies clear up around sunset. Let's hope I get lucky. I'd hate to have traveled all this way just to have the launch canceled because of rain..

The day started normally enough. We took Dawn on an early walk, I ate my breakfast of shredded wheat and fruit, and then finished packing. I take the same things every time I make this trip, but it's surprising how many things I almost forget. Reading glasses are real easy to forget. So are hats and sweaters. It's Florida, but sometime's it's cold down here.

I finished packing quicker than I thought I would, so I decided to take my regular long walk before I left for the airport. Made good time today, probably because I didn't want to be late. I'm glad I got my steps in before I arrived in Florida. I've gone walking near this hotel in the day time, but it's not a place I'd feel comfortable walking at night.

I got lucky at the airport parking garage today. When I entered the garage a sign said there were zero parking places available, but someone was leaving just as I arrived, so I found a place anyway. Airports are a lot more crowded than they were even a few years ago. It seems like everyone is traveling somewhere. The plane to Orlando is always completely full. It's worth paying a little extra for business select, just so I don't have to sit in the back of the plane. When I was younger, flying seemed completely different. The seats were bigger and you got served a full meal. Now flying seems more like riding a bus. I shouldn't complain though. We made it to Orlando right on time and the people crammed in next to me were quiet and agreeable. I just wish I had the luxury of planning ahead on these launch trips. My ticket would be a lot more affordable if I didn't always buy it at the last minute.

Janet said that Dawn went looking all over the house for me this evening when it was time for her bedtime snack. At last I'm good for something with this dog. I guess she depends on me for snacks and meals. I doubt she'll miss me tonight though. Dawn always steals my place on the bed whenever I'm gone. 

I guess I'd better call it a day and get some sleep. I never sleep well on hotel beds. They are way too soft for my taste. Tomorrow should be a busy day rain or shine. First I"ll pick up my press credentials. Then a bus will take the launch photographers out to the pad to set remote cameras and take close up pictures of the rocket. I never set remote cameras myself, but these pad visits are my favorite part of attending a launch. The launch itself is early tomorrow evening. These twilight launches are spectacular because as the rocket climbs it goes back into the sunlight, creating all sorts of beautiful colors in the sky.

I'm hopeful at this point. We'll just have to see how tomorrow goes.

Pogo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4869

I should have been packed by now, but as usual I am way behind. Guess what I'll be doing after I finish this blog post. I'll be fine since I've done this many times before, but I do wish I was a little more organized. So far, the weather doesn't look great for the Wednesday launch attempt. I hate to turn down an opportunity though, especially when I already have press credentials. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I'll get to see something.

Dawn had a nice early walk this morning. I'm glad she is back to normal again. It's going to be hard to keep her from jumping on and off the bed, but we're working on it. We no longer use a leash around her neck and she doesn't do the jumping exercises at training class anymore, but otherwise her life is just the same as it has always been. 

It took me longer than expected to sync my laptop with this morning. I like everything to be exactly the same when I travel. I meant to only transfer the launch related e-mail messages, but I did something wrong and ended up transferring thousands of unwanted messages instead. Oops. Usually I erase old messages from the server before I sync the two computers, but I guess I forgot today. At any rate, all the batteries on my devices have been charged. Now I just need to throw a few clothes in my suitcase and I'm ready to go.

I made good time on my long walk today. It's a mystery to me why some days are better than others. I didn't feel particularly energetic this morning, but I was definitely faster. I passed a crew pouring concrete for a new sidewalk this morning. The park department seems unusually active this year. I haven't seen this much activity for a long time. Maybe they're trying to use up their budget before the fiscal year is over. It's hard to request an increase when you still have money left over from the previous year.

We don't see photographers around the tree with the baby owls anymore. Have the owls already flown away? They didn't look old enough the last time I looked, but I don't know that much about owls. I need to go down and inspect the tree myself, but that will have to wait until I return from my trip. I'm curious about the baby owls, but not that curious. I still look for the bald eagles whenever I walk, but other than a chance encounter on one of our early walks with Dawn, I haven't seen either of them in ages. I'll probably see eagles in Florida. There are a ton of bald eagles at Kennedy Space Center.

I hope there are no flight delays or heavy rain tomorrow. Driving from Orlando to Titusville at night in heavy rain is not fun. Southwest Airlines has certainly had its share of problems recently, but hopefully tomorrow will be a good day. I really wish I'd gone ahead and filled out my application for TSA Pre. I should have taken care of this by now. Oh, well. All it means is that I'll be standing in a long line again for my return trip.

I guess I'd better post this and go back to packing. I need to remember to pack a small travel umbrella. I know it's going to be raining on Wednesday.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4868

It was a dreary, rainy day. It never rained hard, but there was a constant drizzle for most of the day. It was too wet to take Dawn on a sunrise walk this morning, but we did take her down into the park to poop and pee when we woke up this morning. She still doesn't like to do her business in the yard.

After we dried off, we had a nice weekend breakfast and then I got ready to go mall walking. It might have been raining outside, but it was still dry at the mall. Mall walking provides me with my weekly glimpse at the state of the world. Judging from what I see every week, I don't think we are in good shape. Maybe I'm being too harsh though. People are still having families. I saw lots of young Moms and Dads with little children today. At least the walkers are still making an effort to stay active and healthy. I see people of all ages, from the very young to the very old. 

It's hard to generalize, but I do notice things. Women generally dress much better than men. It doesn't matter if the men are young or very old, they all seem to look like they pulled their clothes out of a pile of dirty laundry. Young people seem to love to wear torn and ripped denim. I never understood this trend at all. People are actually paying more for artificially distressed clothing that looks like it is almost worn out. The young and the old seem to like mall walking. You don't see many middle aged people walking. Young couples usually seem happy, while old couples are usually arguing about something. There are a lot more old gay men than I would have suspected. Quite a few walkers still wear masks. Why? Finally, little children are quite loud. They all seem to love to run and yell.

Overall, the walkers seem to be a wholesome lot. The stores themselves, not so much. A lot of the clothes on display seem purposefully ugly. The shoes are the worst. Who wears these clunky, awkward looking things? The more expensive the clothes are, the smaller the sizes on display. I think you'd need to be a size 0 to even be allowed inside some of the upscale little European boutiques. Most of the mannequins in the windows look like android robots with no faces. Only Neiman Marcus still uses realistic mannequins these days. The mannequins in Victoria's Secret windows are fat. Seems odd to me, but maybe they know their audience. The odd thing about fashion is that there is nothing new under the sun. Today's latest styles are all recycled from earlier eras. Judging from what I see in the windows, I could pull something from thirty years ago out of my closet and still be in style.

I like to listen to Stephen Dubner's Freakonomics Radio while I'm driving home. I always learn something from this show. I also like to listen to Guy Raz's How I Build This and the TED Radio Hour, but these shows seem to be on Saturday now and I only hear bits and pieces when I'm returning from grocery shopping.

Dawn didn't get her Sunday outing walk today, but we still took her for ice cream cones. She is such a weird dog in the car. She's always super excited when she gets to go somewhere, but immediately starts acting scared when the car starts moving. She would be a terrible dog to take a road trip with. Ice cream calms her down though. We eat our cones in a parking lot near the ice cream store and on the way home Sawn seems almost normal.

I started preparing for my trip this afternoon. I didn't get a lot done, but my manilla folder full of vital information is finished. I make one of these for every trip, just in case my phone or computer breaks. I have no faith in my memory. I need to have my NASA badging instructions, airline and hotel reservations, rental car contracts, and travel maps on paper as well. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish packing tomorrow.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4867

By my low standards it was a busy day. After taking Dawn on her sunrise walk, I ate breakfast and began my Saturday errands. I filled the car with gas and did my weekly grocery shopping. The stores weren't crowded today, but everything still felt expensive. I don't think prices have changed recently. They just always seem high. 

I took my long walk a little early today because I knew I needed to pick up my unsold gear at the guitar store. There were lots of people walking dogs and I almost got run over by a bicycle. I saw my first baby ducks of the season today. A female Mallard was swimming with at least eight small ducklings behind her. Usually I see lots of baby ducks at this time of year, but these were the first I've noticed. Children were feeding bread to the geese again right in front of a big sign telling them not to feed bread to ducks. Nobody listens. I made decent time today because the weather was nice, but my feet still hurt.

When I finished my walk I went to the guitar store and picked up an unsold Ensoniq ESQ-1 and an ancient Moog rack mount device. I'm not even sure what the Moog thing does. It's definitely not a synthesizer. A mixing board that I used to use with my last band is still missing. I wasn't much help, because I couldn't even remember the brand of the mixer. I kept telling the owner of the store that it was big and heavy and was inside a square brown flight case. I wish I'd taken a picture of the thing, because I can't find anything like it on eBay. Maybe it's just too old. The ESQ-1 was much heavier than I remembered. It was in a flight case too and I had trouble lifting it into the car. This obsolete gear immediately joined a lot of other ancient and useless stuff in the storage warehouse. 

I don't know why I have so much trouble throwing stuff away. Almost everything in the storage warehouse still works because I always took good care of my stuff. I doubt that I'll ever use these things again though. The ESQ-1 was state of the art when I got it back in the late 1980's. Not so much anymore. I don't even have room to set the keyboard up in the office these days. It is probably destined to gather dust in the storage warehouse forever.

To my credit, I have managed to get rid of a few things. I sold most of my guitars, at least half of my model train collection is gone now, and most of the art I accumulated over the years has been sold at auction. I still need to get rid of the watches, but it's not worth the effort to sell most of them because they aren't worth anything. I never bought expensive watches and was mostly interested in things with strange and interesting dials. I have hundreds of odd and mostly useless watches. 

It looks like it is going to be raining when I go to Titusville next week. This is disappointing because I'm almost certain that the launch won't be canceled or postponed before I leave. It always rains in Florida and if you postponed launches whenever rain was in the forecast, these rockets would never get off the ground.  Even on a rainy day, there's always a good chance that the skies will clear by launch time. I've seen completely clear skies two hours after a big thunderstorm. At any rate, I'll fly down there and take my chances with the weather, just like I always do. 

It's supposed to start raining here later tonight, so I'm not sure that Dawn will get a Sunday outing tomorrow. It looks like it will be raining for most of the day, but our forecasts are often wrong. We'll see what happens. We can still go and get ice cream cones whether it's raining or not.

Mindy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4866

Another day where I had trouble remembering what day it was. We got a lot of rain last night, but no severe weather. This morning there were very few signs that we'd even had a storm. The sky was clear and blue with a light breeze. It looked like it was going to be a good day for walking.

I accomplished very little today. After our sunrise walk with Dawn, I ate my breakfast and started reading other people's accounts of the Starship launch down in Boca Chica. I'm still glad I didn't try to go down for the launch. It's a long drive from Dallas and if I flew to Brownsville, it is often next to impossible to find a rental car. There is only one good hotel on South Padre Island and the bridge connecting the island to the mainland can be a huge bottleneck when things get busy. You'd have to be pretty dedicated to stay for any length of time. I think the photographers who went down there are still waiting to retrieve their remote cameras because Highway 4 is still closed. I'd still really like to see a Starship launch, but maybe I'll just wait until Space X finishes the facility they are building at Kennedy Space Center.

I called the guitar store to see about retrieving my unsold gear, but the owner said they still haven't found the mixing board I consigned. I'm in no hurry. I haven't even thought about this equipment for several years and the storage warehouse is getting full anyway. I still need to pick up the stuff though before I forget about it. I've lent out things before and forgotten about them. Often when you eventually do remember, it's too late. If the person has moved or the store has gone out of business, you're usually out of luck. I'll probably never use the mixing board again, but I do have a fairly decent synthesizer on consignment. I'd still use that. All I need is a place to put it. 

I looked at the long range forecast for Titusville and there's a good chance for rain next Wednesday. That's not a huge concern at this point because it rains almost every day in this part of Florida. I'm still going to go, but I do feel a lot better when there is no chance of rain in the forecast. Usually when I've had to stay an extra day or two at a launch, the delay has been weather related. Viasat-3 will launch around sunset, so that's a good thing. Often even if it rains during the day, the skies often clear around sunset.

I wish I'd gone ahead and signed up for TSA Pre before this trip. I've been meaning to do this for ages, but have never gotten around to it. Love Field usually isn't a problem, but having TSA Pre would save me a lot of time on the Orlando side of the trip. That airport is always crowded. Oh, well. One more thing on my to-do list. I think you have to do something in person to enroll in the TSA Pre program. Maybe they fingerprint you or something. At any rate, I should make an effort to do this. I hate standing in long lines.

I didn't see a lot of birds on my long walk today, but the park was pretty busy. In one part of the park workers were building a new sidewalk and in another part they were resurfacing and painting a tennis court so people could play Pickleball. I'm still not sure what Pickleball is, but apparently is is quite popular. I wonder where the Muscovy Ducks went? They are the laziest ducks in the park and usually just hang around Sunset Bay waiting for people to feed them. I haven't seen them for several weeks though.

This week has really gone quickly. It's time for me to make a grocery list again. I need to write my editor at SpaceFlight and see what he wants me to write about this time. Maybe if I get my grocery shopping done early, I'll swing by the guitar store and pick up that synthesizer. I'm sure there will be a long walk tomorrow as well. There's always a long walk.

Joe is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4865

After our early walk with Dawn this morning, I turned on the computer and watched the Starship explode. A lot of people expected this would happen, but it was still disappointing. At least the massive rocket made it off the launch pad. It looked like a lot of photographer's remote cameras were destroyed though. Hopefully things will go a lot smoother for the Viasat-3 launch next week. My accreditation request was approved today, so I will be going to the launch. I just finished making my reservations. Last minute airfares were predictably expensive and my favorite Airbnb was already booked, but the trip is scheduled.

It looked like it was going to rain all day, but the rain didn't start until this evening. I think Dawn enjoyed her walk more than I enjoyed mine. I made an effort to move faster on my long walk this morning, but that just made my foot hurt more and I ended up walking much slower on the final mile. Even though my first two miles were faster, my overall pace didn't improve at all. Growing older is frustrating. Even on the best of days, aches and pains are just part of normal life. I think I'm healthy, but maybe I'm fooling myself. It seems almost impossible to increase muscle mass at my age and my balance isn't what it used to be. You've got to keep moving though. I think things would be a lot worse if I just sat around.

I finally changed the furnace filters today. I've been seeing a reminder on the thermostat to do this for the past three days, but I keep forgetting. I even forgot what day it was today and Janet had to remind me to take the trash out to the curb. It's actually pretty easy to forget what day it is when they are all basically the same. Maybe another launch trip will be the change of pace I need. These trips aren't very relaxing though.    I don't sleep well and I usually just end up substituting anxiety for my typical boredom.

The temperature got up to 85 degrees today. I was hot on my long walk and it made me realize that Summer is not far away. Nice weather doesn't last long here in Texas. Currently we are under another severe weather alert. There is no danger of a tornado this time, but we might get some good sized hail. We'll see what happens. I'm watching the weather radar and it looks the worst of the storm is going to travel a little north of us. So far we've been pretty lucky with bad weather. No damage this year, but I still haven't repaired the damage to the greenhouse from last year's storms.

This week has gone quickly. I'm really glad that Dawn seems to have fully recovered. She's fine now. I'm not so sure about myself. I didn't accomplish much this week, but I'm still here. We'll see if I can do a little better next week. I hope the Viasat-3 launch schedule doesn't change at the last minute. Flights already looked pretty full when I made my reservations. Oh, well. Much of this is out of my control. At least we missed the really bad weather tonight. I think the storm has already moved north of us. 

Wilson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4864

We are getting closer to pinning down a start date for the roof replacement. I think the roofers will be ready to begin sometime in early May. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any closer to pinning down anything else. I have no idea if or when I'll be going to Kennedy Space Center again. The launch date for all the missions originally scheduled for April keeps changing. In theory I'm still going to the Viasat-3 launch, but I haven't received my credentials yet. I have a feeling that Space X is preoccupied with the Starship orbital launch and I won't hear anything until that takes place. I guess all this uncertainty should teach me to just chill out and carry on. Life won't change much whether I go to these launches or not.

It was quite warm today, but it was overcast, so it was still reasonably pleasant walking weather. The days are getting longer now and it is almost always daylight when we take Dawn on her sunrise walk. This morning we saw no photographers surrounding the tree with the baby owls. Have the owls left the tree or have the photographers become bored with taking endless pictures? Maybe I'll have to visit the tree tomorrow and see if the owls are still there.

I got a late start on my long walk today, but I guess it didn't matter. There was certainly nothing else on my schedule. I see a lot fewer birds these days because the seasonal migrations have taken place and the migratory birds have left the area. There are still Purple Martins fighting with Starlings over the Martin houses in the park and a handful of Great Egrets and Blue Herons but that's about it. I don't even see many Mallards this Spring. The resident geese and Muscovy Ducks are always at Sunset Bay, but that's because they just hang around and wait for people to feed them. I haven't seen the Monk Parakeets in ages. I wonder where they went? I did see one of the Bald Eagles today. It was flying and I didn't get a great view, but the bird definitely was an eagle.

It bothers me that even though I walk six miles a day, my Apple Watch still says my fitness level is low. This is because the watch can estimate the amount of oxygen your body can consume during exercise. Unfortunately, certain blood pressure medications can throw the measurement way off and make it seem artificially low. There's nothing I can do about this, but it's irritating that I do so much exercise and still get a low score. I'm pretty sure that the Apple Watch and Fitbit don't make me any healthier, but I do like to measure things.

I should have mowed the grass today but I did a load of laundry instead. I've grown to hate mowing the lawn. I need to either buy a self-propelled lawn mower or hire a lawn service. Pushing that old mower around is getting harder and harder. I try to convince myself that this is good exercise, but it just feels like a giant nuisance. Too bad I can't just let the weeds grow and call the yard a small "native prairie."

Janet said that Dawn did well at training class tonight. Since we no longer use a leash around her neck because of the bulging disc, it's a little harder to get her to heal. Dogs tend to pull more when they are wearing a harness. A harness isn't typically allowed in the training class, but Dawn has a doctor's excuse. She still does all the other exercises well, but if she doesn't heal properly she's not going to be winning any more ribbons. I'm sure Dawn could care less. The reason she likes the class is that she gets to see other dogs.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4863

I handle boredom very well, but these days are becoming a bit too uneventful even for me. I really need to come up with a plan to stay busier. I certainly used to stay busy. When I had aspirations to be a fashion photographer, I planned test shots for my portfolio almost every week. When I played in a band, there always seemed to be band practice. I tried almost every restaurant in town when I was eating out every Friday morning. I used to write and record my own songs and built a pretty decent little recording studio. None of these things seem interesting any more. I no longer collect art or hang out at model railroading stores. It's probably been thirty years since I made a documentary film. Where did all these interests go? Some people have a passion for something that lasts a lifetime. I tend to dabble.

I guess I should be glad that I still enjoy astronomy and chasing rockets. There are plenty of opportunities to attend launches, but I need to be selective since it costs a lot to travel to Kennedy Space Center. I actually got an invitation to a Starlink launch tomorrow morning. Looks like I'm going to miss that one. I thought about joining an astronomy club here in Dallas, but meetings are infrequent and tend to be far away. I've grown uncomfortable about driving at night in Dallas. Truthfully, I've grown uncomfortable even being outside at night in Dallas. The city doesn't feel safe anymore. The time I've spent out at McDonald Observatory has probably spoiled me for anything else. If I look up at the grey sky here in town it hardly seems worth the effort to drag a telescope outside.

In the absence of anything compelling, I continue to eat my meals in silence and take long walks. The long walks aren't that interesting, but they eat up a lot of time. They also make me feel better about taking care of my health. Without the long walks, I'm sure that I'd weigh more and have all sorts of nagging health issues. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I think I'm pretty healthy. Today's walk was pleasant enough. It was cloudy outside and the temperature was warm. My pace was terrible though. This was one of the slowest walks I've done in over a month. At least all the ducks and geese were accounted for. I still count ducks.

I played phone tag with the roofers today. They'd call me and then I'd call them back. We never did manage to connect. The fact that they are trying to contact me indicates that they'd like to get started soon. I need to find out how long this is going to take. As soon as I set a date, I'm sure there will be an interesting launch in Florida and I'll need to reschedule. I don't like having workmen around the house either, but without a roofing crew there will be no new roof. When I owned rental property I used to spend a lot more time dealing with repairs and renovations. This is one more thing that no longer interests me. Truthfully, I'm more comfortable living in a hotel these days.

We'll see what tomorrow brings. I still need to pick up my unsold gear at the guitar store and take it to the storage warehouse. Maybe I'll finally hear something definite about the Viasat-3 launch. Dawn finally seems to be warming up to me. That's a good thing. Tonight I took a nap on the bed while Janet was away and Dawn didn't even leave the room. Hey, I guess that's progress.

Mattie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4862

As soon as we finished walking Dawn this morning, I turned on the computer and watched the Starship orbital launch attempt on the Space X live feed. I wasn't terrible surprised when the launch got scrubbed at the last minute. A lot can go wrong with something this complicated. At any rate, I'm glad I didn't drive down to Boca Chica to see the launch in person. The people who did make the trip are probably wondering now whether to stay for another attempt, or cut their losses and go home. Space X has not scheduled another attempt yet, so waiting is a gamble. Chasing rockets is complicated and can often end up being much more expensive than you'd planned. I guess it's worth it though. I'm still planning on going to Florida for the upcoming Viasat-3 launch. That one got delayed again today as well.

Our nice Spring weather continues. It's always a little chilly on our sunrise walk with Dawn, but the temperature rises quickly. By the time I'm ready for my daily long walk, I can usually change into shorts and a t-shirt. It's weird to see the temperature change so dramatically in just a few hours, but luckily the high temperature for the day is still very pleasant. I could probably put my time to better use, but a long walk seems essential now. Without my daily walk, I would end up spending even more time doing unavoidable chores around the house. 

Today's chores were changing the sheets on the bed and pulling weeds in the yard. I think that bulky trash pick up is tomorrow, so I wanted to get a few more things out to the curb before the trucks arrived. I tried to clean up the front yard today. The yard still doesn't look great, but I can see a definite improvement. When I'm doing yard work I often think about getting a yard service like the other neighbors, but I never do anything. The yard is small and I do need the exercise. 

The roofers want to get started on replacing the roof. I guess we might as well get this over with, but I'm not eager to spend a lot of money on something I can't even see. Getting a new roof is the key to fixing up the house. It makes no sense to repair stained sheetrock or replace carpets and paint until the leaks are eliminated. Sometimes I think it would be easier just to move, but we already live where we want to be. This is definitely the best part of town to have a dog. At any rate, the roof replacement is on my radar now. The work will probably begin within the next several weeks.

It seems like I'm spending more and more time dealing with spam these days. I get multiple spam phone calls, spam text messages, and spam e-mail every day. I never answer the phone anymore unless I recognize the number on the caller ID. When I get spam text messages I immediately block the caller. A lot of these messages get blocked by service providers before I even see them, but quite a few seem to get through. I feel like I am under siege. Who are these people and why are they making such an effort to deceive me? If a message on my caller ID says "suspected spam," why does the phone company even bother to put it through?

Tomorrow will be another day very much like today. Will I do anything different? Probably not. I really should have made plans to go out to the observatory for Dark Sky Week, but it's too late for that now. I'll think of something. Maybe I'll wash the car.

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4861

Another beautiful Spring day. The sun was already up when we took Dawn on her early walk, but I guess it still counts as a sunrise walk. There is always a crowd of photographers when we pass the tree with the baby owls. These appear to be very popular little owls. Dawn had lots to smell and didn't want to stay on the trail this morning. This meant dirty paws and dirty shoes when we returned home, but we all had an enjoyable walk.

After a big weekend breakfast of sausage, eggs, and toast I went mall walking. I'm always surprised at how much changes from week to week. The duck pond has reopened after weeks of renovation. It looks exactly the same, but I suspect the area was leaking. Kids seem to love this little water attraction with ducks and turtles. I still wonder where they kept the ducks while the area was being refurbished.

All the window displays have changed and feature Spring clothing now. White seems to be the seasonal color of choice. Most of the window displays seem very similar. It's kind of weird that the mall has hundreds of stores and they all seem more or less the same. I did my five laps of the mall perimeter and came home. According to Fitbit I was a little faster today, although it certainly didn't feel that way. I still seem to walk slower than most people.

Dawn was ready for her Sunday outing as soon as I returned home. It was definitely a beautiful day for a walk. The sky was clear and no jackets were required. I really hope this Spring weather lingers for a while. This has been an exceptionally nice Spring this year. Dawn really enjoyed her walk and we didn't forget the ice cream either. It wouldn't be a proper Sunday outing without ice cream cones.

I finally finished raking leaves this afternoon. I've been avoiding the leaves in the side yard because this is where the wind blows leaves off the roof and the thick pile of leaves is perpetually damp. Wet leaves are a lot heavier than dry leaves. Every time I filled a leaf bag, I could hardly lift it to carry it out to the curb. I don't think the yard will ever be completely free of leaves, but it definitely looks better now. The yard work tired me out. I'm not as strong as I used to be. It's one more reason I need to start going back to the gym.

Dawn has been getting much bolder around me lately. I took a short nap after I finished raking leaves and Dawn stayed on the bed with me. She didn't appear entirely happy about the situation, but she didn't get up and leave. She never used to come in the office. Now, she'll come in and bark at me when it's time for her dinner. Her internal clock is flawless. She always knows exactly when it is time for breakfast, dinner, and snacks.

I need to remember to get up early and watch the live feed of the Starship orbital launch tomorrow morning. I can't believe how many people I know decided to drive to Brownsville and see the launch in person. Why? There are very few places to stay in the area. If you decide to drive down Highway 4 to see the rocket up close, you need to remember that there are absolutely no public restrooms. If you need to go, you are at least thirty minutes away from the nearest gas station. You are never far away from the bugs and snakes though. I hear that the insect bites are terrible around Boca Chica. At any rate, I think I'll have a much better view of things on my computer.

I won't be going to Florida next week since the Falcon Heavy launch has been delayed. I think all the April launches have been delayed now. Oh, well. There's plenty to do here in Dallas. I still need to get the roof replacement scheduled and I need to go pick up the unsold gear I consigned at the guitar store as well. The yard still needs a lot of work too.

Becker is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4860

Grocery day isn't as easy as it used to be. Stores always seem to be out of the items on my list. I had to go to several stores to find strawberries. I had a hard time finding the shredded wheat I eat for breakfast too. I couldn't even find the dry roasted peanuts I usually buy. I needed to get more coffee today and I almost bought Lousiana style Coffee+Chickory. I couldn't remember what Chickory tasted like though and didn't want to end up with a case of coffee pods I didn't like.

The traffic is terrible on Saturday now. It didn't used to be this way. It doesn't matter what time of day I leave the house. It always seems to feel like rush hour. The parking lots at some grocery stores are treacherous. I think you run a bigger risk of having an accident in one of these parking lots than on the road. Whenever people see an empty spot they rush to grab it before the next guy. I survived, but I'm really beginning to miss living in a small town.

I think I figured out why I haven't heard anything about the Viasat-3 launch. They just announced that the launch has been postponed until the April 24th. Many of the other April launches have been postponed as well. I don't have a clue what is going on now, but I'm not going to worry about it. If it is meant to be, I'll go. Some of the other launch photographers are actually coming to Texas now. They want to see the first Starship orbital launch on Monday. One of these days I'll make it down to Boca Chica, but for now, going to Florida is much easier. There aren't a lot of places to stay on South Padre Island or Brownsville and hotels fill up fast when a launch is imminent. There are lots of snakes too and Space X frequently changes Starship launch dates without much notice. OK, I'm just making excuses. It's mostly the snakes.

It was a good day for walking again. The temperature was in the low 70's with light clouds. I keep looking for the eagles, but they have been very illusive. They abandoned the nest they built earlier in the year, but they are definitely still in the area. We saw one of them two days ago. I need to start carrying a better camera with me just in case I see something interesting. My phone is good for wildflowers, but not much else.

If I knew that the Viasat-3 launch wasn't going to take place until the 24th., I might have made plans to go out to the observatory for their annual Dark Sky Week. On the other hand, I haven't heard any calls for volunteers this year, so maybe they don't need me anyway. I wish that place wasn't so far away. It's very peaceful out in West Texas. Of course there are lots of snakes out there as well. Texas is full of snakes.

I wish the little Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood hadn't gone out of business. We felt like Chinese tonight and I had to drive a lot further to pick something up. One-by-one, a lot of my favorite restaurants are disappearing. Whenever we do go out to eat, the restaurants are usually crowded, so business ought to be good. I don't know why so many restaurants are disappearing. At any rate, dinner was good tonight. I just wish the places I like were closer.

I guess I'll go mall walking again tomorrow. I really should rake leaves as well. First things first though. It's time for Dawn's Sunday outing again.

Krissy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4859

I received author copies in the mail today for one of my magazine articles. That was a nice surprise and added to my growing collection, but I was really hoping to hear about press credentials for the Viasat-3 launch. I've still heard nothing and am beginning to think this isn't going to work out. Oh, well. There are a ton of interesting launches later this year and I've only got limited travel funds, so I need to just chill out and be patient.

Our clear skies have disappeared and for a while it felt like it was going to rain today. It was still a nice day for walking though. I actually prefer overcast days. I keep following the same routine day after day even though I realize that I should try changing things up once in a while. A little monotony is fine, but too much monotony is bad for the soul. At the very least, I should try walking on the other side of the lake. I used to do this occasionally and it's not that difficult. If I was really ambitious I could walk all the way around the lake. Janet did this once. The distance seems daunting to me, although I could easily circle the lake in less than half a day. I just don't have a strong desire to do this. Six miles a day seems plenty.

Today would have been a good day to finish raking the leaves, but I keep hoping that they will just blow away. I watered the grass instead. It's been over a week since it's rained and things are beginning to look dry. Our water bill goes way up in the summer. I don't know how people with large yards can afford to keep things looking nice.

Earlier this year the magazine I write for asked me if I wanted to participate in a media day for the CHAPEA Mars habitat down at Johnson Space Center. I said I was interested and to send me more information about a time and date. I never heard anything further and totally forgot about the media day until I started reading articles about CHAPEA in other publications a few days ago. They were even talking about the Mars habitat on the Gutfeld show last night. Oops. I guess I missed the media day. I don't think I ever got an invitation, but maybe I did. A ton of mail winds up in my spam folder and I've been known to erase some things by mistake.

I wrote a letter to my sister this afternoon but didn't bother to go to the post office. I can do that tomorrow when I do my Saturday grocery shopping. Janet did her grocery shopping today, which always gets Dawn excited. Grocery day is her favorite day. Today she sat at the front door and whined for about an hour before Janet returned. In Dawn's world everything needs to happen right on schedule. I need to feed her at the proper time and she makes sure we always walk her on time. I don't know how she has such a good little internal clock. Her sense of time is much better than mine.

Maybe I'll hear something about the Viasat-3 launch tomorrow. I'm running out of time to make reservations. I still need to make a grocery list for tomorrow, but that should be easy. I always buy the same things every week.

Flash is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4858

The big event of the day was seeing one of the bald eagles again. When we were taking Dawn on her early walk this morning there was an eagle in a tree very near us. I haven't seen the eagles in so long that I honestly thought they were gone. This was the first time Janet had seen them at all. I wish I'd had my camera with me because it would have made a nice picture. 

It was kind of funny that the eagle was only about 500 yeards away from the tree with the baby owls. As usual, there were a group of photographers under the tree photographing the owls. They didn't even realize that there was an eagle, and probably a much better picture, very nearby. I think Janet and I were the only ones who saw the eagle because it flew away shortly after we passed.

The weather continues to be near perfect. I'm used to walking in all types of weather and it's rare to have conditions when it's not too cold or too hot. It's a luxury to be able to take a walk without getting hot and sweaty or wearing a heavy coat. I think Dawn likes this weather too. She loves sitting out in the back yard on days like these. I still get tired by the time I finish my long walk, but this is the best time of year to be out in the park. Everything is green and pretty with an abundance of wildflowers. I forget when the mosquitos start arriving, but I haven't seen or felt any yet. Hopefully this nice Spring weather will morph into a mild Summer. I don't know if I can handle a Texas heat wave anymore.

I need to finish raking the remaining leaves because it's time to set out items for bulky trash pickup again. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I thought about raking this afternoon, but I was tired and didn't feel like getting dirty. I tried to get rid of fire ant mounds instead. The fire ants seem to get worse and worse every year. I'm not sure if the fire ant granules I put out even work. One of the mounds I treated last week still had ants in it today. Fire ants are even appearing through cracks in our sidewalks now. It's getting out of hand.

I need to learn more about weather. For the past several days it has been completely clear in the morning. Then around mid-day lots of puffy cumulus clouds develop. Late in the afternoon the clouds disappear and it is clear again. I'm guessing that as the ground heats up, moisture evaporates and forms into clouds. I could be wrong though. These are definitely not rain clouds. They just appear during the warmest part of the day.

Drivers in Dallas keep getting worse and worse. A reckless driver nearly destroyed a recently restored building in the park built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930's. Yesterday there was a fatality accident near the dam at the southern part of the lake. Today I saw another serious wreck with several wreckers and lots of cops as I was returning home from my walk. People don't even seem to be trying to watch the road anymore. It's one of many reasons I don't like to drive in Dallas.

I've taken this weeks' trash out to the curb, so I guess my week is over. Tomorrow Dawn will wait for hours for Janet to come home with the groceries. I think grocery day is her favorite day. I've just about given up on hearing anything about Viasat-3 press credentials. Still no news today.

Valli is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4857

The weather has been perfect for the past several days. The skies are clear and blue on our sunrise walk with Dawn and there are white puffy clouds when I take my long walk later in the day. Everything is green now. All the trees have leaves and the wildflowers are in full bloom. It's a pleasant time for walking, which is a good thing since that's all I'm doing these days.

I still haven't heard anything about the Viasat-3 launch. Another launch photographer told me that Space X is only giving journalists a 2 or 3 day notice about credentialing status these days. That's a shame since Southwest Airlines tickets will definitely be more expensive at such short notice. I'm assuming that I'll get approved but I might not. You never know.

Some neighbors stopped us to talk on our early walk this morning and Dawn did really well greeting their dogs. She used to be nervous around these dogs, so I think the training class is helping her. Janet said she did well in class tonight, although she is not heeling as well while wearing a harness. We're still not putting anything around her neck after learning about the bulging disc in her neck. There is no point in aggravating something that is already a problem.

My Fitbit quit working this morning, so I have no record of today's walk. I don't know why this bothers me, since I already know exactly what the Fitbit was going to tell me. I've done this walk so many times that I can gauge my pace pretty exactly by just listening to my footsteps. I know where all the mile markers are and how long it will take me to arrive home again. I still like to look at the Fitbit though. This afternoon I figured out how to get the thing started again, but I still don't know what went wrong.

It's a good thing that Janet and I like ham. There's a lot of leftover Easter ham. I've been having ham sandwiches for lunch and more ham for dinner. We may have to freeze some of this. At this rate I'll be eating ham until June. It's a shame that there are no more holidays coming up for a while. I always enjoy a good holiday.

I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been a call for volunteers out at the observatory this year. Usually I get called at least once a year. Maybe it's just as well. I have serious misgivings about driving that far again. On the other hand, I love that place once I manage to make it out there. It's quiet and peaceful and the night skies are incredible. The Astronomer's Lodge has a really good cook too. I'd go out there just for the meals.

This week has really gone quickly. You'd think I'd be bored to tears since I basically do nothing all day. I putter around and before you know it the day is over. It's probably a good thing that I don't have clients anymore. I'm slower about everything now. I don't know how I ever managed to get so much stuff done back in the day.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day