Events

I'm an hour late getting in TDP, for which I'm sorry. Today was the last business day of 2006, and possibly Parker's last day in the office for a while (I'll be working downtown starting next month). Fittingly, here's Parker, doing what he does best: being a good office puppy. The ParkerCam will return! (Possibly tomorrow...)

It's time to update the sunrise chart. (You can get one for your own location at http://www.wx-now.com/Sunrise/SunriseChart.aspx.) Notice that in 2007, Daylight Saving Time lasts a lot longer than in years past: from the second Sunday in March through the first Sunday in November. This actually makes the autumn a little darker, as you can see from the chart. Date Significance Sunrise Sunset Daylight 2007 4 Jan Latest sunrise until Oct 30 07:19 16:33 9:13 28 Jan 5pm sunset 07:08 17:00 9:52 5 Feb 7am...

The couch is dead. We're going to take it to the street tonight or tomorrow, because Parker has quite literally beaten the stuffing out of it. He even knows he's being bad, running away from it the moment I take a step toward him. But just seconds after I turn away, there he is again, performing dog-o-suction on the cushions: I'm going to bet that no one takes it before the trash haulers find it. I might even bet that they will leave it behind, too.

Parker made it all the way to St. Louis and back without yakking. How did he do it? He slept the whole way:

...there was Eliza: I got my first camera in June 1983. Now, more than 23 years later, I'm scanning all the old slides and negatives. It's a little trippy. I keep finding things like this photo of the pet gerbil I had back then. I've also found a whole bunch of documentary shots around Northbrook, Ill., where I grew up. I'll re-shoot some of these at some point and post some then-and-now views. Here's a preview: the LP stacks at the Northbrook Public Library. They were still about two years from their...

Parker is back in the office! We had quite a full weekend. We drove down to see the in-laws in St. Louis, and for the first time on a drive of any length, Parker didn't puke. If you've never dealt with a car-sick puppy before, you can't fathom how important this is. Trust me. While in St. Louis, Parker met my brother-in-law's dog, Biscuit. She's 18 months old (to Parker's 6), and about the same size (18 kg, 40 lbs). Plus, she's cute. I think Parker's smitten. They played for the entire weekend, and only...

Via AVWeb: An aviation mechanic crew chief at Istanbul's airport got fired for allowing a ritual camel sacrifice on the tarmac: A crew of mechanics at Istanbul's airport were so glad to be rid of some trouble-prone British-made airplanes that they sacrificed a camel on the tarmac in celebration—prompting the firing [December 13] of their supervisor. Turks traditionally sacrifice animals as an offering to God for when their wishes come true. So...does this mean God did not accept the sacrifice?

I haven't really formed an opinion on Sen. Obama's office giving an internship to the son of a guy who gave $10,000 to the 2004 campaign. I'm not really surprised, nor do I really think it's a big deal. I've got a sort-of meta-concern about it, because I think it presages the kinds of stories we'll have to read every week after Obama announces he's running for President. Perhaps I've just got a typical native Chicagoan's indifference to petty nepotism. I'm wondering if this hints at a deeper connection...

I get the History Channel's "Today in History" newsletter every morning. I have yet to figure out their editorial choices. For example, today's newsletter led off with "Dec. 23, 1888: Van Gogh cuts off ear." I thought that today's 20th anniversary of the Voyager aircraft completing its circumnavigation of the earth was more interesting. Thoughts?

New Scientist explains Saccharomyces cerevisiae, better known as brewer's yeast: While we take yeast's brewing abilities for granted, they are in fact rather surprising. Most organisms that generate energy from sugars to use oxygen to break the molecules down into water and carbon dioxide. The energy this releases is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the molecule that cells use for fuel. In this process, known as aerobic respiration, each glucose molecule yields about 36 molecules of...