Day 602

Today was a day of questions and answers. I tried to explain to a client why a 72 DPI image that was only 300x200 pixels in size wouldn't look very good when printed in their upcoming calendar. I tried to explain to another client why I couldn't keep making modification to their website indefinitely without charging them for the changes. I tried to get the folks at Epson to explain to me why my warranty had already "expired" on a printer that I just purchased last month. Nothing seems to be easy or obvious these days.

The biggest mystery of the day was why the stock market dropped 200 points right after the Fed report was released, only to bounce back almost 700 points just an hour or so later. It just doesn't make any sense. Nothing fundamentally had changed. The news from the Federal Reserve that people apparently hated right after lunch is still exactly the same as it was when the news was released. The only thing that I can think of is that the steep drop in prices triggered computerized buy programs designed to snap up bargains, and when the program trading kicked in, everyone else feared they were going to be left behind and started buying as well. The market just doesn't act rational anymore. To me, it's starting to act more like a flash mob.

Dot had her annual exam today. For a dog that's ten years old, she's really very healthy. The vet wanted to change her food, because she has too much protein in her diet for a senior dog. She's going to need her teeth cleaned as well, since she's starting to show some redness around her gum line. Older dogs are prone to gingivitis and we're going to have to work at keeping her teeth clean as she get older. Dash keeps his teeth cleaner looking because he likes to chew bones. Dot refuses to chew bones or chew toys however.

I've been watching all the mindless rioting in England on television and wondering if the same thing could happen here. Sadly, I think it could. I don't think this sort of thing would happen in Singapore though. It probably wouldn't happen in China either. Something has gone terribly wrong with Western values. These riots in England weren't the "Arab Spring" riots we witnessed earlier this year. There was no oppressive regime that needed to be removed. These rioters are just spoiled thugs. I have a friend who is a well known author of parenting books. He tells me that when you bring up several generations of children who think that the entire world revolves around them, society starts to crumble. I think he's right.

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