Via my dad, an interesting tool to help pick your primary-election candidate from the NBC affilliate in the Quad Cities.

This leash used to be longer. I wonder what could have happened:

The first snow of the season has begun in Chicago. Yippee.

For those of you keeping score at home, it was last this cold in Chicago (-7°C) on March 8th.

It builds character, doesn't it?

I've finally brought a new server online to take over from three old ones. By "old" I mean a Windows 2000 box with gerbils powering it and two salvaged desktops, one with a whopping 640 MB of RAM. Together all three have performed the tasks of one fully-functional server. And now, I have one fully-functional server.

A couple of problems have emerged.

Ordinarily I think unexpected animation on a website is distracting and irritating. Jamie sent me a very cool counter-example from a Dutch housewares retailer. That's the way to do it.

Via Talking Points Memo, the White House is planning to stay in Iraq indefinitely:

When last we left the Bush administration's so-called benchmarks for strategic progress in Iraq—that is, the political progress that military success allows—they weren't being met, and the White House didn't care. Now that the year's almost over and the administration is beginning to bring the "surge" troops home, it's worth asking: what happened to the benchmarks? The New York Times reports that the administration has quietly given up on them, preferring nebulous goals for which it's easier to claim success.

We still have (up to) 420 days, 22 hours, and 30 minutes left in the worst presidency in history.

Phew. Aside from a 10-mile backup on I-65 north of Indianapolis, the return trip went fine. Parker has now logged three entire days in the car without puking. And now he's curled up in his crate on his smelly blanket just waiting for me to turn out the light. Smart dog.

Another one from Ninth Street, Durham:

Today's Dilbert.

Parker and I didn't know what to make of this guy we found on Durham's 9th Street, but we figured Danielle would like him: