Day 2331

We woke up to sunshine this morning. The weather has become just as unpredictable as Dot's pooping schedule. I was delighted that thunder and lightning weren't going to be a problem today, but still it would be nice to know these things in advance. I've given up trying to figure out how Dot is going to feel in advance. Every day is a new day. I'm not a flexible person by nature, but Dot has forced me to embrace flexibility this year. Some days she is so weak and tired that she doesn't even want to move. Other days she seems to have found a second wind and actually seems to be getting better. She is so old now that each additional day is a gift. I try my best to adapt to her current condition and I'm even getting used to constantly cleaning up poop.

I wish I could get used to the idea of retirement. 2014 was a good year. Last year, things started to slow down, but billings were still OK. This year has been a disaster. I feel like I've totally dropped off the radar. I've known for forty years that advertising was a young business, but it still hurts to realize that you've gone past your expiration date. Things probably aren't going to change. For most of my career I was the first to try new things and was always on the leading edge of innovation. Now, I don't welcome the latest trends. For the most part, I'm appalled by where we seem to be headed. I have to live with the fact that I'm a clever, but increasingly grumpy old man.

I ordered the camera today. You knew I would. I don't buy things because I need them anymore. I buy things to influence my mood. The new camera probably won't get me any new jobs, but it will make the few jobs I still have a little more interesting. I look forward to experimenting and learning something new. It is ironic in a way that my knowledge of photography continues to improve, while my desire to actually sell the photographs I take continues to decline. I just don't care anymore. I take pictures almost every single day, but rarely show them to anybody. When I do get an assignment, all I think about is what a bother it is going to be to load all the equipment in the car and drive to the location.

I was fascinated by tonight's primary results. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have pretty well proved that the Democratic and Republican parties are irrelevant. Bernie is not really a Democrat and Trump is not really a Republican. The reason that they are both popular is that most voters aren't either. Almost everyone I know of voting age describes themselves as an independent. If the Democrats were smart, they would nominate Bernie because he has a better chance of winning than Hillary. If the Republicans were smart, they would swallow their pride and get behind Trump. These two candidates are as different as night and day, but they are both protectionists who believe that globalism and bad trade deals have destroyed the middle class. They also both believe that we ought to stay out of disastrous foreign wars. Sounds good to me. Maybe the Democrats and the Republicans ought to start listening to what the voters are thinking for a change.

I hope that Dot sleeps well tonight. Of course, I always hope that Dot sleeps well and there are no accidents. Sometimes we get lucky.

Milo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day