Belgian Malinois

 Jeopardy asked a question on the Friday edition of Jeopardy (a game where Drew, the guy I was rooting against, fed by schadenfreude by missing all 3 daily doubles, still only needing to get final jeopardy to win, and failed epically) asked about a Belgian Malinois, a dog I had never heard of, never thought of, never identified. I may have seen a Beligian Malinois and just not known about it. It's apparently a type of one of the most common dogs, Belgian shepherds. Pets seem really cool to have, but also really difficult to maintain. I saw several people checking in their cats/dogs at the airport when I've been traveling this summer, and it just looks horrendous for the animals: locked in a carrier cage that you can't move at all, stuffed into the cargo deck of a plane for however long the plane is in operation and finally being let out when the owners get out. I can barely make my flights on time, I can't imagine having to make sure Fido or Rufus get to the airport in time. Of course you could not travel with animals, but then you're having to find a dogsitter, or send the dogs to doggie hotels, or just not travel at all. Not the greatest options. How do petowners do it? I tell MJ that the greatest fear I have right now of having kids is having to deal with all the extra burden and being there all the time for the child, no flexbility.... it's like you're the child's servant. But isn't that what being a petowner is? Changing it up so that the dog is the master and you're just the servant to the dog. Feed it, pick up its poop, wash it, trim its hair, take it to the vet. I talked to a law school friend and former roommate Thursday who said "he doesn't get it" about having kids.... he's against them and wouldn't want them. He's a very good-lookign guy, tall and handsome with a wife who is the mirror version of him. If were him I would "get it" about having kids, the kid is unlikely to be anything but beautiful and tall (and almost as importantly, with European features). He doesn't get kids, but he has golden retrievers that he loves. Of course there are reasons for loving dogs and being able to cuddle with dogs, dogs being loyal no matter what and never abandoning you (as humans do), but I don't get the lack of love for having kids, if you're already having dogs. 

My dad loves violins and classical music more than any animal; we sat in a car on the way to the airport yesterday just listening to classical music- first of all, AI is replacing violin virtuosos too, Oh no! AI can generate music that really just sounds like Ray Chen or Joshua Bell playing, or Hilary Hahn, or Itzhak Perlman. They obviously can't replicate the physical presence and physical performance value of Ray Chen (wild, putting his whole body into it) but the music? it sounds pretty damn close. I sometimes miss the feel of a violin in my hand, magically creating melodic music that breaks up an otherwise mundane day. It's possible that's why I never craved a pet as a child, my parents replaced the warm feeling of pets and furriness with the familiar sounds of music and violin pumped into my veins. I don't need a pet to fill a hole; music's got this. instead of a Belgian Malinois, I can listen to famous French composers like Erik Satie (La Gymnopedie) and Claude Debusssy.