Day 2649

It's that time of year. There are tornado warnings in the area and the weather radar shows a storm is headed our way. I think the really bad weather will pass to the north of us, but you never know here in Texas. One way or another, we're due for thunderstorms this evening and that's never good with two storm phobic dogs.

I was actually surprised to hear all the storm warnings on the evening news because, for the most part, it was a nice Spring day. The park was full of people today, including several weird ones. While I was walking Dash this morning we encountered a couple walking their miniature donkeys. They had the donkeys on leashes, just like dogs. Later in the day when I was returning from the gym, I noticed a group of men in another section of the park dressed in suits of armor, apparently reenacting medieval battles. At least there were no loose dogs today, although I was followed by a drone for a while.

The people in my gym keep getting older and older. I'm beginning to feel out of place. When I was on the treadmill this afternoon there was a group of old men next to me complaining about their doctors. One of them didn't want to have a biopsy done and thought he could resolve his problems through the power of prayer. Good grief. Just get the biopsy done. I didn't join the conversation though. It was none of my business. I wish a few younger people would join this gym, although I do tend to have the basketball court to myself.

Dot woke up in the middle of the night and I decided to take her outside. It was a good move, because she went right back to sleep after she peed and I was able to sleep in until almost 8:30 this morning. I wouldn't mind taking Dot outside every night, but it doesn't work very well unless she wakes up on her own. If she's sleeping, you want to let her sleep.

I forgot to go to the grocery store and look for blueberries this morning. I also forgot to go to REI on the way to the gym and use a coupon I got in the mail. Basically all I did today was take a nap and go to the gym. I did do the laundry, but when I washed the sheets, the bottom fitted sheet tore in the washer. Damn. I love bamboo sheets, but I wish they weren't so expensive. Bamboo sheets are more comfortable than cotton, but they don't last any longer. I guess it's time to look for some more.

It's hard to believe it's almost April. Pretty soon I'm going to to have to renew my driver's license and my passport. I hope I can just mail in my driver's license renewal. Spending time at the DMV is even worse than jury duty. I think when they take my passport picture this time, I'll finally look exactly like my Dad. I sure wish I still looked like I did in my first passport picture. Time definitely isn't kind.

I guess I'll have to make my morning smoothie with blackberries this week. Oh, well. Blackberries are pretty tasty too.

Bubba is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 2639

There weren't any blueberries when I went to the store this weekend, so I substituted blackberries in my morning smoothie today. I think I like blueberries better. Do I go out and look for some more blueberries tomorrow, or do I just live with the mix of blackberries, strawberries and bananas for the rest of the week? Why do I concern myself with such minutiae? Probably because it allows me to avoid the frustration of thinking about larger issues.

I could be thinking about globalism vs. nationalism. It's certainly a hot topic right now. I prefer blackberries vs. blueberries because I can actually make a choice about things like this. Larger issues just become abstractions that nobody really understands. If you really want to know, I think nationalism is better than globalism. Not for the reasons you might think though. Nobody seems to take the long view on these type of issues. It's not national pride vs. cheap flat screen TV's for everyone. I tend to think that globalism is a recipe for the extinction of the human race.

A global society is the ultimate too big to fail entity. If a global, unified society fails, who's going to bail it out? Small redundant systems are much more resilient. The natural world works this way. So does the internet. When you have thousands of independent connected servers, it doesn't matter if one goes down. The signal just gets rerouted to a different server and everything stays connected. Wouldn't a world consisting of thousands of small independent countries be better? Lots of small countries, each developing their own rules, traditions, and culture would give the world the genuine diversity and redundancy it needs to survive. If a few countries screwed up, it wouldn't really matter.

It is ironic that we even talk about diversity in a global society. The whole point of globalism is to maximize efficiency and standardize everything. This destroys diversity. If there is a Starbucks in Beijing and your food comes from Argentina, choices gradually diminish for everyone. When everything is one big giant system, the repercussions from failure are enormous. Remember, when the world becomes too big to fail, who's going to bail us out when it all starts to crumble?

I don't know why people can't understand this. Lots of small, weak countries that manufacture their own stuff and create their own traditions is a better recipe for long term survival. If the European Union fails, it is probably a good thing. The United States should probably split into several smaller countries too. We just aren't smart enough to create a unified world where everyone follows the same rules. With lots of little, isolated, self sufficient countries, you wouldn't have to worry about world wars as much. People would still fight, but it wouldn't really matter if nobody had any power.

It is hard to even explain this concept, because this is not the world we live in. Humans seem to operate on two emotions: fear and greed. When a country gets a little more powerful than it's neighbor, they become greedy. The temptation to gobble up the weaker country becomes overwhelming. That's how the world became the way it is. We just can't leave things alone. I take the long view. Democrats vs. Republicans is just a minor distraction if you're convinced that the human race will be extinct in 30,000 years.

So, this is why I spend my day talking to dogs and wondering whether blueberries are better than blackberries. The larger issues are like the wind and the tides. I can't change things. I can't even articulate what I am seeing. I just watch and wonder, thinking that something has gone horribly wrong.

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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