A Day Off

Why on Earth would this blog be considered spam? I tried to login yesterday and was told I was blocked for possible terms of service violation. Sheesh! I haven't yet begun to violate the terms of service! You see, we build to that.
So instead I went to the racetrack. I had been hoping to get there all summer and it seemed like a perfect day. I arrived about 45 minutes before post time for race #1. All the buzz was about Mamma Lina, who was purchased a few months ago for $260,000. A look at the board told me she was the odds on favorite. I dislike betting on races with a horse so clearly picked to win. To me it's just not worth wagering, mathematically.
Still, I wanted to at least dip my feet in the pool. I saw another horse with a decent chance, Napoleon's Retreat, being ridden by a well-known jockey, Christopher A. Emigh. Actually I have no idea how well-known he is. I just know that I have heard of him and since I know very little about racing it stands to reason that he is fairly well known among more knowledgeable types. Besides, he has won quite a few races that I have bet on.
I decided to start slowly with a two horse Exacta Box bet. Betting simply on the favorite to win doesn't really pay, but choosing the second horse in addition can pad the winnings. And if by chance Napoleon's Retreat managed to sneak ahead of Mamma Lina, then so much the better.
Sure enough Mamma Lina won the race handily. Unfortunately for me, Napoleon lost steam and nearly retreated before the finish line. As I found myself doing throughout the afternoon, I had chosen the horse that came in last.
Along the way I managed to have one good race that made up for the others. But by and large I was choosing two of the three top finishers (and sometimes three of the top four) and one who came in dead last.
I think I can rule out handicapping as my next career goal.

Arg!!!

Most mornings I find myself with one of those "Arg" moments. You know how it is when whatever you are doing is taking five times longer than it needs to or simple tasks require you to backtrack and start over at least three times

Come to think of it, I have those pretty often throughout the rest of the day too.

When I was setting up this blog I came up with a couple of titles that I liked, only to discover they were already in use. (I choose to believe that means they were decent ideas.) All I wanted to do was start writing my blog, but I couldn't because I needed a title first. Since all my ideas were taken I started to feel like I was the last person to start a blog. This is where I got the idea for "Last American Blogger." I seriously doubt I am, but whatever... I just want to get started.

Personally I prefer to write my titles after the text is complete. When I write, sometimes the words take me on a unexpected journey and I end up somewhere I didn't even know existed when I started. So, sure, I may fully intend to outline my proposal for the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution, but with any luck we will end up discovering something much more important along the way.