Events

A very old friend of mine put her dog down this evening. I know how hard that was. Cali had a good life, and was loved. And she knew it. Every dog owner has to face this eventually: dogs only live a few years. That doesn't make it easier. In the Jewish tradition—in which I was raised, despite both my parents and me being devout atheists—we always acknowledge the sadness lurking behind joy. It's a Jewish curse to find the cloud behind every silver lining. We dip an egg in salt water at Passover to remind...

I just got back from an event in Chicago which convinced me that Obama will win the White House. 375 days, 12 hours to go. In a completely unrelated vein, I am watching Parker try to destroy a Tyvek FedEx envelope. I think I've finally found a substance he can't destroy. Update: Nope. He can destroy it just fine. I'll be seeing that Tyvek tomorrow morning.

Via Talking Points Memo.

Just now on Talking Points Memo: "At the moment, it's Rudy about 300 votes ahead of Ron Paul." Stop the presses!

Today is already the warmest January 7th ever recorded in Chicago (right now 17°C), and if the temperature hits 19°C, it'll be the warmest January day ever. Stay tuned.

Just three days ago, Thursday morning, the temperature in Chicago sank to -18°C, with a wind chill of -23°C. Right now, it's 16°C. Did I mention it's the beginning of January? I'm so happy the U.S. has taken the lead against global warming.

"I'd rather be down here wishing I were up there, than the opposite." So goes the aviation axiom. But this morning, with its 3 km visibilities and 30 m—yes, thirty meters—ceiling, I have postponed a checkout flight for the third time in a row. Here's how weather can be really frustrating. I kept track of my flights (or lack thereof) during the summer of 1999 when I was trying to get my certificate, and put together a Web page to chronicle the frustration. Two notes about the page: first, I haven't...

I've had a number of conversations with friends recently about the 2008 elections. A couple are afraid we're going to repeat the 2004 elections, in which we Democrats believed the day before the election we were going to win, but woke up the day after to a brave old world. Today we've seen the first hard number that shows, without a doubt, we're going to rout the Republicans this year: tonight, an all-time record 227,000 Democrats caucused in Iowa, almost double the number in 2004. We're mad as hell...

Gotta love Chicago weather. Right now it's -18°C outside, which is the point where Chicagoans are allowed to complain about the cold without looking wimpy. It builds character. And I do have to get to my office, but you know? I don't want to go out there. Even Parker lasted just long enough to do his business before sprinting back to the door like his tail was on fire. (Of course, that could have been about breakfast and not about the cold.) But this being Chicago, the forecast calls for 10°C weather on...

I noticed as I was leaving the office Monday that my cactus changed: I guess it's a happy cactus after all. They're so hard to read, you know.