Events

The WASP blog is morphing into something else. I felt there was no alternative than to create a Parker category. Here's why: And then there's this: Perhaps the "P" stands for Politics and Puppy Parker?

...can we keep him? Here's Parker:

Everyone with a phone will get a tax refund this year: Individuals will be eligible for a refund of the long-distance tax billed for any phone service—cell, fax, computer or land-line—in the 41-month period from Feb. 28, 2003, through July 31, 2006. Taxpayers can claim a maximum refund of $60 with no questions asked, meaning they don't have to produce copies of phone bills to get money back. For the 2006 return, a person filing a return with one exemption can claim $30; two exemptions, $40; three...

Anne and I have arranged a blind date with Parker tomorrow: We may even take him home. He's a beagle-rat terrier-German shepherd mix from a farm in downstate Illinois. We think he'll take to urban living like a duck to water.

Anne found these guys on PetFinder.com:

First, I just put a major project to bed. It was my first time out doing litigation support, meaning I wrote software to crunch a whole bunch (= about a billion) of numbers for a law firm who represent a large (= about 350,000) class of plaintiffs. They got the results just now, so unless the defendant chooses not to settle and I get subpoenaed, I believe I'm done. Second, at least one petty little man on the South Shore Line apparently doesn't "get" the whole idea of bikes on a train: A day trip to...

Yesterday I posted that even a bad ride on my new bike is better than a good ride on my old bike. Today I had a good ride on the new bike, and boy, it's a very good thing. As you can see from my biking stats (at least as of this writing), I set eight personal records today, including one that stood for more than 21 years. There's a stretch of Sheridan Road that has a 14 m (45 ft) drop and a nice, straight, stopsign-free flat after it, where today I got my bike up to 53.4 km/h (33.2 mph), breaking my old...

Letter to the Chicago Tribune: The August 24th editorial on the Chicago City Council implies that the Council's recent actions, including its enacting a ban on the sale of foie gras, are paternalistic: the Council is "meddlin'," a "bossy governess," a bunch of "scolds"; its decisions are "petty intrusions in people's lives." All of those words and phrases describe paternalistic actions; that is, actions whose purpose is to save people from themselves. The foie gras ban is intended to save geese from...

First, I promise to take some photos today. Possibly I can convince Anne to take an action shot or two, which I will post, forgetting for a moment that no one—I mean, no one—can possibly avoid looking like a total dork while wearing bike gear. Second, I've revised and moved my biking stats page. I thought it was only fair to split off my old bike's records into their own table, because my new bike is so much faster it just wouldn't be fair. Case in point: yesterday, I did 40 km (25 mi) along the...

That is all.