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:

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 all four cardinal directions. The ironic effect of this is that there are now several spots in my bedroom and living room that are visibly cleaner than the rest of the carpet. Another ironic effect: his bed is soon to be cleaner than it's been in months.

Also, I should mention, it's literally freezing outside, so my apartment is now down to 10°C and I'm wearing a jacket. (All the windows are wide open.)

Parker has a vet appointment for Friday afternoon, if his, um, condition doesn't improve before then. Plus, he's on rice and cottage cheese until then (see photo), which he seems to like. Also, I'll be able to stop home and let him out every four hours or less for the rest of the week (in addition to his regular walks at 1pm).

Poor little guy. What a pain in the...yeah.

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.

I meant to mention one other great thing about San Francisco: Kennedy's Irish Pub and Curry House, at 1040 Columbus Ave.

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. Only a small part of it has to do with this being right outside the conference center:

I have to say, the conference has disappointed me a bit. Many of the panels I thought looked interesting turned out to be somewhat less in-depth than I'd hoped. To make matters worse, I'm in one of the greatest cities in the world, the weather is perfect, and I haven't had enough exercise this week.

So, as irresponsible as it seems, I'm going to take the next two hours or so to cogitate on what I've learned this week, by walking up Powell Street until I hit water. That should get me back to the conference (by Muni, most likely) in time for the next panel I'm interested in seeing.

...the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 today to ban plastic bags at grocery stores:

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 this afternoon to make the city the first in the nation to prohibit petroleum-based plastic checkout bags in large markets and pharmacies.

On the first of two votes needed for final passage, supervisors approved legislation sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mikarimi that would mandate the use of biodegradable plastic bags or recyclable paper bags. The legislation would take effect in about six months for some 50 large markets in San Francisco and would apply in about 12 months to large drugstore chains such as Walgreen's and Rite-Aid.

I hope to write more when the conference ends, or perhaps if I play hooky from a session or two tomorrow.