Day 1659

I can't say that I'm a big soccer fan, but I did watch the game between USA and Belgium today, mostly because so many people were talking about it. I don't think have the patience for this kind of game. I watched for over an hour and nobody scored. Eventually, I got tired of the game and took the dogs for a walk. When we got back, the game was still going on. It's rare that a sporting event captures my attention for very long. I probably like watching horse races the best. The race is over in just a few minutes and you can bet on the horses.

It was a slow day, so I went to the gym this afternoon. It was an anniversary of sorts. Exactly one year ago today, I joined the gym. I don't think I had great expectations at the time. It was just something to do on a hot Summer day. In retrospect, I've made quite a bit of progress. Most importantly, I'm still going! I rarely continue anything this long unless it has something to do with the dogs. I don't think I will ever become obsessed with physical fitness. Exercise is about as exciting as watching soccer to me. I have taken the advice of my hepatologist to heart though. He managed to convince me that a good diet was only part of the equation. Healthy food needs to be combined with lots of activity to produce the desired results. There's a lot of biology and chemistry involved, but it should suffice to say that diet and exercise go together.

I wish I was making as much progress with my business as I am at the gym. It seems like I was a lot busier last July. I have two website clients who keep me very busy and half a dozen others who need me sporadically. This isn't really enough, but I'm not sure what to do about it. I've had a real good run since I started the company in 1990, but I'm loathe to go after new business anymore. I'm far too used to being the Wizard of Oz. Sometime while I wasn't looking, Toto pulled back the curtain and ruined everything. I've been exposed. Most of what I do has become a low paid commodity to the generation that replaced me. I still chase after the low hanging fruit from time to time, but all too often it is full of worms. I'm beginning to think that the business isn't worth it anymore and I might have more fun working at the genius bar in an Apple store.

I'm still interested in photography, but I'm losing interest in the gear. I take the majority of my pictures using my phone now, just like everyone else. I saw a beautiful, very large butterfly outside the living room window this morning, I ran back to the office to grab a good camera and by the time I got back, the butterfly was gone. That's the trouble with lots of equipment. It's hard to be spontaneous. I used to like to create complex, beautiful images in a studio. Now, I prefer to just capture images as I find them. The phone is great for that. For a cynical person, I still see quite a bit of beauty in the world.

Bentley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day