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 oblivious to the sandy slobber all over his body):
Now he's back at Inner Drive World Headquarters dreaming about squirrels and liver treats.
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 is now more than twice the size of Jackson:
For comparison, here they are seven weeks ago:
That photo was from October 2nd, when Parker weighed about 10 kg (22 lbs). As of Tuesday he weighed 15.6 kg (34.5 lbs). This 900 g (2 lb) per week gain shows only one sign of slowing: now Parker will occasionally walk away from his dinner if he thinks we're doing something interesting. (He goes back to it pretty quickly though.)
OK, I need to get to work. But the ParkerCam is up until 1 pm CT (19:00 UTC) this afternoon, so tune in and watch the dog sleep. (Too bad there's no audio, because he groans and sighs when he's happy.)
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.
OK, I think I've got the ParkerCam figured out. Here's the current arrangement:
And here's what the ParkerCam sees:
It's impossible to keep up with him sometimes, so very often you'll just see an empty rug. Or, after Parker has done some redecorating, a scrunched-up rug:
Now we're going for a walk, so I can get lunch before Whole Foods turns into a zoo.
Anne just confirmed that the "Parker has halitosis" photo is now a ThinkGeek Action Photo. Maybe it's time to get Parker an agent? Or, possibly, a toothbrush?
I remembered my camera today, but alas, Parker is at home (so no ParkerCam). Here he is Sunday struggling (as any rational being would do) to get out from under a Cardinals blanket:
