Events

John Lennon once remarked that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus," explaining later that more people had bought Beatles albums than went to church. It turns out, we atheists are less popular than the GEICO Cave Man. At least, more people would vote for the GEICO Cave Man, than would vote for an atheist. The sad fact is, most of the first U.S. presidents—including Jefferson and Washington—were, famously, as close to atheists as the 18th Century allowed. Who said voters were irrational?

I'm developing a hypothesis about Parker's digestive issues. Perhaps it has something to do with eating sticks:

I'm living a geek dream: I've found a confirmed bug in Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. I've detailed my findings over at the Inner Drive Software blog.

I've finally reviewed the ParkerCam archives from yesterday. Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough: he popped less than 15 minutes before I got home. Though, poor guy, I think this photo says everything that needs saying about how he felt right before it happened: So far, only a minor improvement, so I might just have to take a little baggie to the vet tomorrow afternoon. Oh, the joys of dog ownership.

I feel bad for Parker, even though I just spent the last hour and a quarter cleaning up. Remember the "bad butt" incident? Apparently his butt is still bad, because when I got home this evening I realized what had happened as soon as I stuck my nose into my apartment. I won't go into details, except to say that one of the most effective techniques I've found for cleaning paw-sized stains from carpets is to fill a small bowl with warm water and dish detergent, then use a tablespoon to scrape the stain in...

People who live outside Chicago may not believe this: Yesterday's high temperature was 21°C; right now, it's -1°C. Who knows what tomorrow will look like.

Trust me, you're better off without a photo today. My dog-walking service leaves notes every day. Today's: "Looks like he ate something he shouldn't have. He had some real bad butt. #2, treat." Poor little guy. He woke up around 2 in the morning and had to go outside, too. Right now, though, he's rolling on the floor pleading, in his doggy way, that I now take him to the play group. I will bring extra bags.

I meant to mention one other great thing about San Francisco: Kennedy's Irish Pub and Curry House, at 1040 Columbus Ave., right where the Powell-Mason cable car line ends. It had everything I could ever dream of in a place to park myself for hours: dozens of microbrews, a great bartender (Max McLean), outdoor seating (the back patio overlooks the cable car terminus; the front, busy Columbus Ave. in North Beach), and tasty dal makhani. I went there Thursday and Friday afternoons, sat in the sun, drank...

Ah, family. I'm glad I got a chance to unwind with the Ps after my conference. But I do miss my dog. Tomorrow: or, rather, tonight after 7pm CDT: check out Weather Now for, well, something appropriate to the season.

I believe I figured out why the conference disappointed me. I last went to VSLive in 2003, when I had just started to get really good at my craft. The sessions at that conference hat a lot of information that I hadn't encountered before, and taught me a lot about where I should look to keep fresh and informed. Four years of keeping fresh and informed, however, has pushed me well past where I was in 2003. So this year's sessions, despite being just as informative as the 2003 offerings, turned out not to...