Events

Parker stayed home today, which is why today's Daily Parker includes perhaps more personal information than I generally share. I have a spare laptop, so I was able to set up the ParkerCam in our bedroom today. So here he is, in his Safe Place, proving that he's cuter than all get-up even when he doesn't know anyone is watching: This shot is from earlier today. I didn't use a more recent shot because the little darling found a pair of my boxers, and that is simply too personal for this blog. Finally, for...

The temperature is holding at 14°C (58°F) right now, but I have a feeling it's about to cool off considerably: For comparison, it's 8°C (47°F) in Rockford, which is about 100 km (60 mi) from here; 5°C (41°F) in the Quad Cities (250 km, 150 mi); and already -2°C (29°F) in Des Moines, 450 km (300 mi) away. The temperature change could be staggering. Kansas City has seen a 22°C (40°F) drop in the past 24 hours, from 20°C (68°F) to -2°C (29°F): Yum-O!

The latest from the best president we have: "There is one thing I'm not going to do. I am not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete," Bush said in a keynote speech at the University of Latvia just before a summit of the NATO defence alliance. (Emphasis mine.) What about this, though? It's all so confusing. (Via Talking Points Memo.)

It's still 16°C (61°F) in Chicago, which is more like September than November. But apparently there's a change in the air: Can't wait. But for now, I'll enjoy these wonderful temperatures.

As promised, I brought both the dog and a camera to the Dawes Park dog beach this afternoon. (I forgot bags though. Oops.) It's a freaky-warm 16°C (61°F) today, so while Parker and I both found it a little too chilly for a dip, we both had fun with the other dogs (including his friend Louie from his morning play group). Here he is conteplating the vastness of Lake Michigan: A little later, after some heavy wrestling with an American bulldog-boxer mix named Quincy, Parker seemed pretty happy (and...

Parker, ever the office puppy, got his first experience on a beach this afternoon when we walked over to the Dawes Park dog beach. He met a whole bunch of new dogs, had a great time, and has now deposited his sand-covered butt on my office carpet. It's 13°C (55°F) right now, and it may be this warm again tomorrow. If so, I'll bring Parker—and a camera—back to the dog beach. Now I must brush my jeans off.

A member of the Windows Vista team explains (via Joel Spolsky): I worked on the "Windows Mobile PC User Experience" team. This team was part of Longhorn from a feature standpoint but was organizationally part of the Tablet PC group. To find a common manager to other people I needed to work with required walking 6 or 7 steps up the org chart from me. So after 12 years, you still have to go to the Start menu to stop the computer.

Parker still hates the Halti: But within 90 seconds of getting it taken off, he forgets about it:

Happy Thanksgiving! I am very thankful that this wonderful puppy has come to live with us. Since I'm an atheist, I'm not sure what or whom there is to thank for it, so I'll just thank Parker himself for being the wonderful puppy he is. We're at Inner Drive Technology World Headquarters this morning so I can get some stuff done. At this writing he's being a sleepy little angel. Or, not so little, as you can see from this photo I took today at the dog park: Another view, which makes it clearer that Parker...

I just discovered my mail on the credenza in the office foyer. A letter carrier opened the door and put it there, with nary a woof out of the office puppy. Maybe this is why: I'm beginning to wonder about his contributions to the company's bottom line.