The Appointment, the Doom Scroll, and One Good Foot
I went to the podiatrist today. My foot is fine, and somehow I didn't have a copay. So I have to ask: why does seeing a doctor for one foot cost a full copay, but apparently seeing a doctor for both feet costs nothing? The healthcare system remains a mystery—at least my toes are doing well.
My father had asked me several times to make an appointment for him while I was booking mine. So I did. After the recent malay with my mom, and after he used my “deficiency” against me, I still helped. I told him the appointment time, and the doctor texted him a reminder.
When it was time to leave, he was still in his chair, doomscrolling amid the boxes, papers, and other stuff that had gathered around the place he hardly gets up from.
As I was heading out, he asked, “Did you get my message?”
“No,” I said.
“I canceled the appointment.”
“As long as you called them.”
I’m not playing messenger.
This has become a pattern. He asks for help setting up an appointment or task, then cancels when the time comes because he’s “not feeling well.” Maybe there’s more going on—perhaps even agoraphobia. But whatever the reason, the result is the same: plans get made, plans get dropped, and I’m left rearranging my day around them.
It happened with a necessary trip to Verizon to fix his cellphone. We finally went about six months after he first asked. It happened with an in-person bank deposit, at least two months after he asked me to help. There have been other examples.
I don’t mind driving him. He isn’t in shape to drive himself, and I like being behind the wheel. Honestly, the world is probably safer with him off the road.
What I do mind is changing my own plans to help—like moving a pain appointment I’d arranged for that morning in Downtown Charleston—only for him to cancel at the last minute without telling me directly.
That’s not cool.
So, lesson learned: I’m happy to drive when there’s a real plan, and he’s ready to go. But I’m not rearranging my day around appointments he may cancel from his chair.
At least one of us made it to the podiatrist. And one of us left with a good foot and no copay.
Day 122: Nirav Tolia Thanks the Faves. Who Gets to Profit From the Love?
Yesterday, Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia congratulated the local businesses named 2026 Nextdoor Fave Award winners.
It's a nice sentiment. Local businesses deserve recognition, and neighbors who recommend great businesses deserve a thank-you, too.
But this celebration has another side.
Nextdoor thanks the businesses for earning local love while selling products that help businesses connect with local customers.
That's the tension.
Three Groups. One Business Model.
1. The small businesses
They earn recommendations and recognition from their communities. But reaching more neighbors through Nextdoor's commercial products can involve paying for advertising or other paid services.
2. The neighbors
They write recommendations, share experiences, and vote for their favorite businesses. Their contributions help Nextdoor identify popular businesses and make those insights useful to others.
3. Nextdoor
It operates the platform, organizes the information, and develops commercial products that monetize its neighborhood reach and knowledge.
All three contribute something. All three have an interest in the outcome.
But they don't necessarily benefit in the same way.
Thanking People Is Great. Sharing Value Is a Bigger Conversation.
I'm not arguing that Nextdoor shouldn't make money. I want businesses to succeed, and a profitable Nextdoor would be better positioned to serve its users and shareholders.
But when Nirav thanks neighbors for voting, I have a question:
What happens after those votes become commercially valuable data?
And when businesses receive Fave recognition, can they turn that recognition into customers without continually paying for greater reach?
Those are reasonable questions about the relationship between community participation and monetization.
Day 122
Nirav can congratulate the businesses. He can thank the neighbors. Both are good things.
But gratitude and a business model aren't the same thing.
Neighbors provide the recommendations. Businesses earn the recognition. Nextdoor builds the commercial opportunity.
I'm asking whether the people and businesses creating that value are getting a fair deal.
👉 Read more at NielFlamm.com/blog
The Pharmacy Run: Adding Five More Players to My Medication Team
Today, I picked up my medications, and let me tell you, my pharmacy list is starting to look like a baseball roster.
I've got Flonase, a higher dose of amlodipine, doxycycline, benzonatate, and generic Allegra.
And that's on top of everything I was already taking!
Between diabetes, dialysis, and the usual collection of medical adventures, keeping track of my medications is becoming a part-time job. At this rate, I may need a spreadsheet, a project manager, and a weekly status meeting just to keep everything straight. 😂
The goal is simple: get rid of this stubborn cough, get the allergies under control, and hopefully get back to feeling like myself.
After dealing with this dry cough for nearly two months, I'm ready for it to pack its bags and move out. No forwarding address necessary!
I'm hoping the new medications do the trick. Of course, with kidney failure and dialysis in the picture, I also need to make sure my medication regimen is appropriate for my condition and that my doctors and pharmacist know everything I'm taking.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with my medication organizer.
Here's hoping the next update is about feeling better instead of adding another prescription to the collection!
Day 121: I Sold My NXDR Shares. Now Let's Talk About the Faves.
On Monday, I decided to sell all my NXDR shares.
After following Nextdoor for months, documenting its successes and shortcomings, and watching the stock, I decided it was time to take my gains and move on as an investor.
Well, I wouldn't call it a short-term trade. I held those shares for a while. But eventually, I cashed out.
And looking at today's price action, I'm glad I made that decision. NXDR is down approximately $0.16, or more than 6%, based on the figures I'm tracking.
Does that mean I predicted the decline? No.
Does it mean I know why the stock fell? Also no.
But it does mean I made a decision based on my own investment judgment, and I'm comfortable with it.
I'm no longer a shareholder, but I'm still interested in what happens to Nextdoor.
And today's announcement gives me another reason to pay attention.
The 2026 Fave Awards: Neighbors Provide the Data. Businesses Want the Customers.
This morning, Nextdoor announced its 2026 Fave Award winners, celebrating local businesses their communities recommended.
According to Nextdoor, neighbors cast approximately 5 million votes for 750,000 local businesses across 20 categories. The winners will appear in their neighborhoods' Local Faves discovery hub. Nextdoor
That's tremendous community participation.
Think about it. Neighbors are identifying the restaurants they love, the contractors they trust, and the businesses they recommend to friends.
The neighbors are creating valuable data.
Nextdoor organizes it, presents it, and uses it to make the platform more useful to consumers and businesses.
But here's the question I've been raising:
Once a business becomes a neighborhood favorite, how easy is it for that business to reach the neighbors who voted for it?
Nextdoor offers free Business Pages, but it also sells advertising and paid products such as Opportunity Alerts. Businesses need to understand the difference between community recognition and paying to expand their reach.
A Fave Award is wonderful recognition. But if businesses need to spend money to turn that recognition into customers, that's another commercial opportunity for Nextdoor.
There's nothing inherently wrong with selling advertising. Nextdoor needs revenue.
But neighbors supplied the recommendations and votes that created this opportunity.
That brings me back to my petition: Should the people who contribute valuable content participate in the value it creates?
Maybe the Stock Decline Has Nothing to Do With Any of This
NXDR closed today at $2.49, down $0.17 (6.39%). StockAnalysis.com
I sold my shares on Monday, so I'm glad I did.
But let's be clear: I have no evidence that today's decline is related to the Fave Awards, Nextdoor's monetization strategy, or my concerns about the platform. One day's stock movement doesn't tell us why investors bought or sold.
I'm simply watching a company with valuable neighborhood data try to turn that asset into a sustainable business.
The question is whether Nextdoor can create lasting value for its business, its advertisers, and the communities that make it possible.
Day 121. I'm no longer a shareholder, but I'm still watching.
👉 NielFlamm.com/blog
The Cough That Wouldn't Quit: Time to See the Doctor
For the last couple of months, an annoying little visitor has refused to leave.
No, it's not another Nextdoor controversy. It's a cough.
A dry cough.
The kind that shows up uninvited, hangs around for a while, disappears just long enough to make you think everything is fine, and then comes back as if it forgot something.
This has been going on for about two months, on and off. I actually had a doctor's appointment scheduled earlier, but I started feeling better, so I canceled it.
Because, naturally, when you start feeling better, you assume the problem has decided to move out.
Apparently, my cough didn't get the memo.
Enough Is Enough
Yesterday, I'd finally had enough. It was time to stop playing the waiting game and get this thing checked out.
Today, I went to my primary care doctor.
First up was the temperature check. My temperature was 99.7°F. That's not a particularly high fever, but it was enough to get my attention, especially considering everything else going on.
The doctor listened to my lungs, and I mentioned that my chest felt tight.
After the examination, I walked away with a prescription for antibiotics, a prescription for Flonase, and instructions to pick up Claritin.
Apparently, my nose and respiratory system have formed a committee, and now we're treating multiple potential troublemakers.
Claritin, but Not the D!
There's one important detail about the medication instructions.
I was told to get regular Claritin, not Claritin-D, and to avoid products containing pseudoephedrine because they can raise blood pressure.
With diabetes and kidney failure requiring dialysis already on my medical résumé, the last thing I need is to add an unnecessary blood pressure problem to the list.
My medication cabinet is complicated enough without introducing new characters.
I'll pick everything up tomorrow and follow the doctor's instructions.
But Wait, What About COVID and the Flu?
Here's the question that's been on my mind since the appointment.
Why wasn't I tested for COVID or the flu?
We've all heard about COVID continuing to circulate, and flu season is another consideration. With this cough hanging around for weeks, a temperature of 99.7°F, and chest tightness, I started wondering whether you considered either infection.
I realize a doctor can't test for every possible illness during every appointment. There may be reasons for the treatment plan, and I don't know what factors went into the decision.
Still, I would have liked to understand whether testing made sense.
Was the examination enough to suggest another cause? Were my symptoms inconsistent with flu or COVID? Would a test have changed the treatment plan?
Those are reasonable questions, and I intend to ask them.
After all, antibiotics treat certain bacterial infections, not viruses such as influenza or COVID-19. And while I'm hoping the prescribed treatment gets me feeling better, I'd rather understand what we're treating than simply wait and see.
Living With a Complicated Medical Résumé
When you're dealing with multiple health issues, you learn that symptoms you might once have brushed off deserve a little more attention.
Between diabetes, dialysis, and the other medical adventures I've experienced, I can't always assume that something will resolve itself just because it did last time.
I'm not trying to diagnose myself online, and I'm certainly not suggesting my doctor did anything wrong. I went to the appointment because I needed medical advice, and that's exactly where I should be.
But I also believe it's reasonable to ask questions and understand the plan.
Two months is a long time to have a cough that keeps coming back. I'm ready for this one to pack its bags and leave.
Preferably without leaving a forwarding address.
For now, I'll pick up my medications tomorrow, follow the treatment plan, and contact my doctor's office to ask whether COVID or flu testing—or any further evaluation—is appropriate.
Have you ever had a cough that lingered for weeks? Did you eventually find out what was causing it?
I'd love to hear about your experience.
If you're dealing with a persistent cough yourself, especially with fever, chest tightness, or underlying health conditions, don't assume it'll disappear. Get medical advice.
Because sometimes the best health decision isn't another internet search. It's making the appointment you canceled the first time.
Trust me. I learned that one the hard way.