Events

I've taken myself and a few books up to a cabin in Wisconsin for the weekend. So far, the view fails to suck: It's clear tonight, so I'm hoping to see stars. We don't see many in Chicago.

For the rest of the month, I'm going to publish never-before-seen photos of my bête noir. I took this on his second trip to the Oakwood Dog Park in Raleigh, N.C., on 17 December 2009: I think I posted about 100 "daily Parker" updates in his first year. Here's the tag; have fun scrolling.

Every morning I get an email from The History Channel with "this day in history" bullet points. A couple stood out today: Two hundred years ago today, the American whaler Essex lost a fight with an 80-ton sperm whale. Only five of the twenty crew survived. On this day in 1945, 75 years ago, the Nuremberg trials began. In 1985, 35 years ago, Microsoft Windows came out. And now, the sanity. Via author John Scalzi, (conservative) attorney T. Greg Doucette explains why the president will leave office on...

Even though Parker has consumed my thoughts since the election, there are a few other things going on in the world: Epidemiologists estimate that yesterday we passed 250,000 Covid-19 deaths in the US. The original Morton's Steakhouse on State Street, opened in 1978, closed permanently Tuesday, ending my tradition of going there on my birthday each year. In a little bit of good news, the National Register of Historic Places designated Wrigley Field a National Historic Landmark today. And as I sit in my...

I woke up this morning, showered, had breakfast, and left my house. I didn't walk a dog before showering, or feed a dog before having coffee. At every step I had to catch myself from acting on habit. And every step presented something weird: where's the dog bed? Where's the can of food in the fridge? Where's the bowl stand? The next few weeks will suck. I know I'll feel better in time, and I know I'll adopt another dog someday—probably in the spring. It still sucks. Here's a re-edited photo of Parker's...

Parker never told me his exact birthdate. The shelter said the six Pomona Puppies—Parker, Polly, Pepper, Petey, Penny, and Poppy—were 11 weeks old when I met them on 1 September 2006, so I just counted back to June 16th. The shelter also said Parker’s dad was a 40-kilo German shepherd dog and his mom was a 7-kilo beagle/rat terrier mix. My vet said a DNA test “would likely say he’s a dog,” so I never got him one. When people asked what kind of dog he was, I would say "black." Parker's Petfinder mugshot...

Parker never told me his exact birthdate. The shelter said the six Pomona Puppies—Parker, Polly, Pepper, Petey, Penny, and Poppy—were 11 weeks old when I met them on 1 September 2006, so I just counted back to June 16th. The shelter also said Parker’s dad was a 40-kilo German shepherd dog and his mom was a 7-kilo beagle/rat terrier mix. My vet said a DNA test “would likely say he’s a dog,” so I never got him one. When people asked what kind of dog he was, I would say "black." Parker's Petfinder mugshot...

Parker, about half an hour after into our first meeting, 1 September 2006:

No, not a reference to a now-famous article of amendment to the US Constitution. One of my favorite movies, The American President, was released 25 years ago today. I plan to watch it again tonight.

While I wait for my frozen pizza to cook, I've got these stories to keep me company: Jakob Nielsen has updated his classic article "10 usability heuristics for UI design." Steve Coll tries to figure out what the president gets out of contesting Biden's win. Paul Krugman looks at the way half the country ignores the science in ending the pandemic and despairs at how we can forestall climate change. Patrick Smith reminds us that we've gone more than 19 years since the last major US air carrier...