2020-05-21 03:10
My visit to the dermatologist wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was diagnosed with actinic keratosis which my doctor assured me could be easily and effectively treated. This was good… Read More
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Some Assembly Required Blog
john-sealander.blogspot.com
Take a day-by-day journey with writer/photographer John Sealander as he attempts to assemble something coherent out of the confusion around him.
2020-05-20 02:50
If I told you that it is hard to differentiate one day from another it wouldn't be news. I'm sure you've heard this before. You've probably heard it from me before. When we take our walk wit… Read More
2020-05-19 02:47
Visiting the rescue dogs on Monday has become part of our regular schedule again. We missed seeing these guys when everything was shut down. Hank, Charlie, and Cinder are the only Dalmatians… Read More
2020-05-18 03:10
The weather was much better today. We got up early to avoid the crowds, but apparently we didn't get up early enough. Even before 8 AM, the park was already filled with runners and cyclists… Read More
2020-05-17 03:13
Today was dismal. You know how I feel about an all day rain. We were lucky to be able to take Dawn for a short walk before the rain started in earnest, but even on this little excursion we m… Read More
2020-05-16 01:51
The lights are flickering and a big storm is headed our way. I hope the power doesn't go out before I can finish this post. It has certainly happened before. It's giant pain to have to start… Read More
2020-05-15 03:18
When a solitary person like myself starts getting cabin fever, things must be getting bad. I guess I spend more time shopping and going to restaurants than I realized because I'm really gett… Read More
2020-05-14 02:30
My annual physical went well. I'm definitely getting older, but it appears that I'm just as healthy as I was last year. The only mildly alarming thing is that my doctor wants me to see a der… Read More
2020-05-13 02:30
I got my second of two Shingles shots today. I was a little late, but still well within the recommended time period. I was initially going to postpone this injection until things returned to… Read More
2020-05-12 03:06
It was nice to get back to visiting the rescue Dalmatians. There was only a skeleton crew at the kennel and very few boarding dogs, but our dogs have been well cared for during the pandemic… Read More
2020-05-11 03:47
My Mom's been gone for so long that I can't even remember what we used to do on Mother's Day. I'd like to think we did something special, but maybe we didn't. I still have a few childhood Ch… Read More
2020-05-10 03:32
Saturday is my day to observe the rest of the world. It's the only day I get in the car and go anywhere. Some things I see astonish me, but I'm not going to be judgmental. The post-pandemic… Read More
2020-05-09 04:02
Fake news isn't limited to politics. If you try to fix a computer using online tips and suggestions, you will encounter an almost unlimited amount of nonsense. It's frustrating to wade throu… Read More
2020-05-08 03:30
Oops. My second computer upgrade didn't go as smoothly as the first. I had to remove the battery to exchange the hard drive in my laptop with a new solid state drive that arrived this mornin… Read More
2020-05-07 02:00
The big event of the day was watching the Blue Angels do their flyover of Dallas. We walked Dawn a little later this morning, so we would be in a good position to see the planes around 11 AM… Read More
2020-05-06 01:44
My article about McDonald Observatory is going to be published in an upcoming issue of Sky and Telescope. I received an acceptance letter from the editors this afternoon. Needless to say, th… Read More
2020-05-05 03:12
I'm disappointed. My application for media accreditation to cover the Space X Demo-2 launch was denied. NASA was telling the truth when they said that media access to this launch would be se… Read More
2020-05-04 02:27
I've decided it's time to face an emerging new reality. My comfortable analog world is gone. When virus fears eventually fade, a lot of things familiar to me aren't coming back. There are a… Read More
2020-05-03 02:37
I finally heard from Sky and Telescope. Their message was similar to many business messages these days. Basically it said: "Sorry for the delay. We're all working from home and everything is… Read More
2020-05-02 03:16
I got my stimulus money today. I noticed that the deposit was labeled as a tax refund by the IRS. Hmm. Does this mean that if I happen to get a refund next year, will the stimulus be deducte… Read More
2020-05-01 02:49
I've been interested in astronomy for a long time. I'm certainly no expert, but I do know the basics. That's why I've been completely baffled to keep seeing articles on the Internet saying t… Read More
2020-04-30 02:10
You know what I said yesterday. Yep. Same thing today. Even by my admittedly low standards, this quarantine life is getting monotonous. The weird thing is that unless you know someone person… Read More
2020-04-29 02:46
20,000 step days are normal now. What else is there to do? I just keep walking. My plans to clean out the office are on hold for a while, since there is no place to donate the stuff. I can't… Read More
2020-04-28 02:30
I have a feeling that three years from now we'll look back at our current situation as the most colossal overreaction in human history. How did we get here? When British scientist Neil Fergu… Read More
2020-04-27 02:53
We walked five miles before breakfast this morning. The weather was beautiful and the park wasn't crowded yet. I kind of like this new routine. It sure helps build an appetite. Breakfast was… Read More
2020-04-26 02:25
We're having a nice Spring. So far we've avoided any of the severe weather that has caused so much damage in other parts of the South. It's hard to complain about sixty-five degree days and… Read More
2020-04-25 02:51
We walked Dawn before breakfast this morning. The weather was cool and the walk was enjoyable. As we begin to enter the Summer months, I think our walks are going to get earlier and earlier… Read More
2020-04-24 03:09
I did it. I successfully installed a new solid state drive in my main work computer. Not surprisingly, the upgrade process was a lot harder than I expected. I had practically memorized the i… Read More
2020-04-23 01:48
We walked really early this morning to avoid the rain. Although there were all sorts of severe weather warnings, it never rained. It's hard to predict anything these days. There was virtuall… Read More
2020-04-22 02:18
I think I'm living in Bizarro World. High tech electronic suppliers who I've worked with for years are now sending me e-mails saying that they've got masks. What the hell. These guys sell co… Read More
2020-04-21 02:33
It's a shame that it took a plague to get me to clean out the house. Janet likes to clean and I have absolutely no excuse not to help her now. We continued our efforts to clean out the tool… Read More
2020-04-20 02:37
It's bulky trash removal time again. I've never seen such huge piles of trash in front of our neighbor's houses. Everyone appears to be using the lockdown to clean out their garage and tidy… Read More
2020-04-19 03:11
And just like that, everybody was wearing a mask. I'm amazed at how quickly we're all adapting to this new world. Life goes on. I made my weekly supply run today. Doggie poop bags are an eas… Read More
2020-04-18 02:57
I woke up early this morning. The last thing I needed was an extra two hours in an already eventless day. I remembered that Jupiter, Saturn and Mars were all located very close to the moon t… Read More
2020-04-17 03:14
It really is becoming difficult to remember what day it is. Every day is exactly the same. I'm finally getting enough sleep, but oddly it doesn't leave me feeling refreshed. I'm just as tire… Read More
2020-04-16 02:07
This is an amazing time to be alive. I don't even think we realize the magnitude of the changes we are going through right now. I may be wrong, but I think the history books will record this… Read More
2020-04-15 03:01
I'm seeing more and more pictures of people baking bread, fixing elaborate meals, and even sewing from friends who used to spend most of their time in meetings. I guess we are part of this t… Read More
2020-04-14 03:15
Dash died one year ago today. Janet and I were devastated. We were also very tired after tending to sick dogs for almost five years. Neither of us thought we would ever have a dog again. Her… Read More
2020-04-13 02:42
You know something, I don't want to go back to normal. Normal wasn't that good. I'm not typically an optimistic person, but I see a unique opportunity in the days ahead. The world has been g… Read More
2020-04-12 02:27
Fifty years ago today Apollo 13 started it's journey to the moon. We all know what happened a few days later. An explosion ripped the service module apart and the astronauts were rapidly los… Read More
2020-04-11 02:44
I saw something interesting today. Google and Apple are teaming up to create a new app that can monitor up to three billion people and warn them if someone who has tested positive for the co… Read More
2020-04-10 02:21
There is very little to talk about these days unless you want to argue with someone. There is plenty to argue about because nobody really knows anything. Projections change daily. Strategies… Read More
2020-04-09 01:53
I'm always curious about what is going on in my own industry. Have you noticed the enormous number of new commercials on TV lately? Everybody seems to have a brand new commercial about how t… Read More
2020-04-08 02:04
I keep wanting to say "Y'all are doing it wrong" when I hear all these suggestions about social distancing. I don't think extroverts have a clue about staying apart. Unfortunately, extrovert… Read More
2020-04-07 02:18
When the coronavirus started to become a serious threat, my first reaction was irritation. I was having the time of my life at McDonald Observatory and I was being sent home early. It made p… Read More
2020-04-06 02:05
Today was uneventful. In today's world, that's a good thing. We have plenty of food. There's a pot roast cooking in the slow cooker. Dawn is content and sleeping on the bed. If I turned off… Read More
2020-04-05 03:11
I try to go out for supplies once a week now. When I made my weekly run this morning, the world looked a lot different than it did last Saturday. For the first time I felt like I was walking… Read More
2020-04-04 02:58
Isn't it time we stopped calling this a pandemic and started calling it a plague? It's probably time we stopped blaming people for what has happened too. A plague is a force of nature. Like… Read More
2020-04-03 02:54
The park is open again. There was no explanation why it closed yesterday and no explanation why it reopened again this morning. I did notice a few overnight changes in the neighborhood. Ther… Read More
2020-04-02 02:56
Well this sucks. Our washing machine broke. I called my favorite repair shop and they're gone out of business. Damn. Their phone has been disconnected and their website has vanished. This wa… Read More
2020-04-01 01:57
The world is starting to look like a Steven King novel. For the first time in years I was able to back out of the driveway during the afternoon rush hour without any worries about traffic. T… Read More
2020-03-31 02:21
The park is still open to pedestrians and cyclists, but all entrances have been blocked and there are signs saying that the park is closed to motorized vehicles. This seems to be something t… Read More
2020-03-30 03:02
I spent a long time trying to salvage files today and reassemble them on an external hard drive so I can continue staring at a computer as I always do. I'm amazed at how prolific I've been o… Read More
2020-03-29 03:05
Finally, something has taken my attention away from the coronavirus. My main computer crashed late last night. What a giant pain. I'm having an almost impossible time salvaging 4 terabytes w… Read More
2020-03-28 02:22
I finally heard from Sky and Telescope today. As I suspected, my manuscript wound up in the editor's spam folder again. I don't know why this happens so frequently, but it does make it diffi… Read More
2020-03-27 03:31
Dawn gave me a scare today. She got spooked by something in the park and pulled out of her collar. It all happened very fast. Luckily, she stayed put when I told her to stay and I was quickl… Read More
2020-03-26 02:37
Hey, I'm doing my part. My car hasn't left the driveway all week. With the exception of a short trip to the vet yesterday, Janet's car hasn't moved much either. I can't say that my behavior… Read More
2020-03-25 02:28
We took Dawn to the vet today. It wasn't the first time she's been to the vet. All the Dalmatian Rescue dogs get an extensive vet check when they enter the rescue program. She also spent sev… Read More
2020-03-24 02:32
If we all die it will be because of a basic lack of common sense instead of the coronavirus. I really wonder about people. We are not running out of food. If we all just started shopping nor… Read More
2020-03-23 03:08
It was almost inevitable. Dallas, like many other large cities, is now under a lockdown. The new "Shelter in Place" rules go into effect tomorrow. I'm not sure if there will be many changes… Read More
2020-03-22 03:03
The baby owls have really grown since I saw them last. I initially mistook one of the babies for the mother this afternoon. A closer look quickly revealed that I was looking at one of the ba… Read More
2020-03-21 03:25
Maybe I'm fooling myself, but I'd like to think that all my long walks are keeping me healthy. What's not to like. Walking burns calories, strengthens your heart and lungs, lowers your blood… Read More
2020-03-20 03:17
The Crane Flies are back. I hate these things. They are like spiders with wings and every Spring thousands of them seem to gather by the back door, just waiting to get inside. I'm finding Cr… Read More
2020-03-19 03:27
It's going to be a very long Spring. They say that new cases of the coronavirus won't begin to peak for another 45 days. Even if infections begin to decrease after that point, it's going to… Read More
2020-03-18 01:57
I'm still getting used to the new normal. Lots of people were walking their dogs in the park today. There were more people without dogs as well. Hey, exercise and fresh air are good things… Read More
2020-03-17 02:36
I'm glad I went to the gym yesterday. I got an e-mail this morning saying that they were closing until further notice. Stores are closing. Restaurants are closing. The world as we know it is… Read More
2020-03-16 03:48
I'm glad my gym was still open this morning. There were a few additional signs about wiping down the machines after use, but just about everyone did that anyway. The only changes I noticed w… Read More
2020-03-15 04:11
I took a final walk around the mountain early this morning before saying goodby to a place I'd grown to love. Birds were starting to sing. The deer were grazing. The skies were starting to c… Read More
2020-03-14 03:42
It's definitely Friday the 13. We're currently under a tornado alert and we just learned that McDonald Observatory is being closed because of the coronavirus. All visitors and non essential… Read More
2020-03-13 05:49
Today was basically a free day with no star parties or tours, so I decided to drive down to Marfa and look around. I drove south to Alpine and then West to Marfa, passing the Marfa Lights vi… Read More
2020-03-12 05:44
Today was amazing. Nothing went according to plan, but I managed to come up with a new plan that was much better. My tour guide shift was over early today, so I used my telescope key to open… Read More
2020-03-11 06:00
I'm starting to feel like I live here. Life has settled into a routine. You don't miss meals at the Astronomer's Lodge. The food is excellent and it's the one time during the day where you c… Read More
2020-03-10 05:48
My first star party is in the books. I managed to keep my telescope pointed at the right star cluster for the entire evening. Everyone seemed pleased at what they were seeing. I was surprise… Read More
2020-03-09 02:12
I made it to McDonald Observatory. but it is a very It's a long drive to West Texas. I purposely made the trip on a Sunday because traffic is much lighter. I got started later than I'd plann… Read More
2020-03-08 03:38
Adoption fail. I think we've got ourselves a dog. Dawn had a major panic attack on the way to the kennel this afternoon. She was shivering and whining and it was clear that she didn't want… Read More
2020-03-07 03:43
I think I figured out a way that my Facebook readers can still see the blog. I created a new Facebook Group called Some Assembly Required and each night after I publish my blog entry, I take… Read More
2020-03-06 04:08
I managed to fix the furnace by myself and didn't need the HVAC guys after all. I did need an electrician though. I bought a new security light yesterday, but didn't have the nerve to instal… Read More
2020-03-05 03:19
Talk about irony. The last sentence of last night's blog post read "Life is full of surprises." Two minutes after I added that post to my Facebook timeline, all my Facebook posts disappeared… Read More
2020-03-04 03:44
I had a lot of little errands to run today. I finished everything on my list but don't feel that I accomplished much. Oh, well. I guess you've got to start somewhere. I went to the pharmacy… Read More
2020-03-03 03:38
We were pleased to discover that Lord found a home this weekend. Since Janet and I are still fostering Dawn, that leaves only three Dalmatians remaining at the kennel. Charlie, Hank and Larr… Read More
2020-03-02 03:25
Today was busy. I kept moving and ended up with 22,000 steps. I didn't feel as tired at the gym this morning and did surprisingly well on the basketball court. Maybe this is a good omen for… Read More
2020-03-01 03:38
Having an extra day in February always seems kind of weird. Of course, February is a weird month anyway since it is so short. I kind of wish every month has twenty eight days. Four complete… Read More
2020-02-29 04:10
Maybe we're going to have an early Spring. Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow this year. Just saying. There are other signs as well. The Dogwood trees are already starting to bloom. I'm… Read More
2020-02-28 06:31
I had an interesting evening under the stars tonight. It was kind of a dress rehearsal for my stay at McDonald Observatory. It's been so long since I've looked through a decent telescope tha… Read More
2020-02-27 03:49
It was really cold this morning. We thought Dawn might like to wear Dot's winter hat on her walk. Dawn wasn't so sure. She gave us one of her huge Dalmatian smiles, showing not only her teet… Read More
2020-02-26 04:32
I'm starting to get volunteer assignments for my time at McDonald Observatory. Among other things, I will be responsible for keeping a telescope pointed at Messier 35 during Star Parties, wh… Read More
2020-02-25 03:23
I received the press proofs of my Solar Orbiter article today. Wow. That was fast. The article I wrote about the Artemis program several months ago is still at least a month away from public… Read More
2020-02-24 03:35
I must have forgotten the letter B at the grocery store yesterday. I had to go back to the store this morning for blueberries and beer. I didn't make this mistake at the gym. My regular rout… Read More
2020-02-23 03:37
Today has been uneventful. Dawn is learning our routines and acts like she's been here for years. I don't feel bad when I have to run errands now because I feel confident she'll be fine in t… Read More
2020-02-22 04:00
Dawn got her stitches out this morning. The vet examined her and said that all her wounds were healing nicely. We were worried that she might have an ear infection, since she keeps trying to… Read More
2020-02-21 02:52
Things are looking up. When I woke up this morning the rain had stopped and I was seeing patches of blue sky. The first thing I did after breakfast was go up on the roof and clear the water… Read More
2020-02-20 03:31
Another rainy day. I kept the pumps running and for most of the day I thought my repairs were working. Late in the day the leak returned unfortunately. I'm back to square one. This is not a… Read More
2020-02-19 02:54
I woke up in plenty of time, but failed to see the moon pass in front of Mars this morning. The sky was overcast and it was starting to rain. I kind of expected this but I had to give it a t… Read More
2020-02-18 03:36
Everyone got some attention today. I went and visited the Dalmatians at the kennel while Janet stayed home and gave Dawn another walk in the park. Since I've been traveling, it's been a whil… Read More
2020-02-17 03:54
Dawn got her first walk in the park today. She loved it. Before Dawn entered the rescue program, she had been used for breeding. We think she is about six years old and Lord knows how many l… Read More
2020-02-16 04:05
Have you ever tried to change a password and gotten a dialog box that starts with "enter old password" before letting you enter a new one? Jeez. If I knew my old password, I wouldn't be need… Read More
2020-02-15 04:03
I wasn't going to go to Sprinkles this year, but then I remembered that Dawn had never had a Pupcake. I had to go. Pupcakes for the dogs has been part of our Valentines Day tradition for a v… Read More
2020-02-14 02:59
I felt foolish today when I got a letter from one of my editors, saying that he didn't always have time to respond to my mail because he gets 200 to 300 e-mail messages a day. Oops. I guess… Read More
2020-02-13 03:07
We took Dawn back to the emergency vet today to get the drainage tube removed from her neck. She was nervous in the car because she knew where she was going but was a lot more relaxed on the… Read More
2020-02-12 03:44
An all day rain reminded me that life has returned to normal. I've traded rockets for roof leaks. Even though it's hard to get me out of the house, I'll have to admit that life on the road d… Read More
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