Day 557

When I was fixing my morning coffee today, my burr grinder broke. I'm totally hooked on coffee made from freshly ground beans, so I immediately try to fix the thing. I find the hidden screws , take the coffee grinder apart and find an electric motor that smells like burned insulation. I used to fix small appliances like this all the time. It's not that hard. You just take the motor out, go to a local store that sells small motors and find another one that looks the same. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way anymore. There aren't any little stores left that sell stove parts and small motors anymore. Even if there were, I wouldn't know how to describe the motor in my coffee grinder anyway. It was obviously made in China and was not designed to last twenty years like my very first coffee grinder. I threw the coffee grinder away like I was meant to do and drove down to the nearest Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy another one. This time I picked a German brand, in hope that it would be more reliable. I'm not expecting much though. I'm sure the only thing German about this grinder was the name on the box. Everything is made in China now.

When I was walking the dogs this afternoon in the park, I kept seeing all these shuttle buses driving back and forth every five minutes along one of the main access roads. Each of the large, diesel buses was completely empty. This got me curious, so after our walk was finished, I took the dogs back to the house and went back to the park to follow the buses to wherever they were going. It was a big city sponsored party. I think the park is having a big anniversary or something today. The party had everything. There were food vendors, beer trucks, a big tent with bands playing. The only thing missing were people. Now, I knew why all the buses I saw were all empty. There was no reason to take a shuttle bus in the first place. The parking lot in front of the stately 1930's WPA designed building where the party was being held was half empty. Most of the cars that were there probably belonged to the vendors. If the vendors left, there would be nobody attending the party. Another example of government at work. I'm sure this whole thing started with good intentions, but someone chould have done a little research and seen whether anyone was even interested in attending an anniversary party for the park.

I went and took pictures of Bentley, the new Dalmatian at the kennel this afternoon. The poor dog has heartworms and a bad skin condition from being infested with fleas. We've already started his treatment and by the end of July, he should be looking and feeling a lot better. He might even have a home by then. Bentley is a really nice dig. Maybe coffee grinders have become throw-away items, but I'll continue doing the best I can to make sure that dogs don't become throw away items as well.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day