The Daily Parker

Politics, Weather, Photography, and the Dog

Today's Daily Parker

I don't know what Parker was saying to Dexter, but it does look like Dexter is taking the kid under his wing, so to speak:

Also, I'd like to point out that neither of them cared about the -26°C wind chill, but Dexter's dad and I sure did. Pretty sunrise, though:

Today's Daily Parker

The ParkerCam is back, and this time, it's personal.

Parker is at home today, but I've decided to give up a little of my own privacy so that he can continue to be famous:

This also lets you, gentle reader, play "where's Parker?" all day. Is he by the door, hidden from view off to the left? Looking out the window? Or just lying on his back with his paws straight up in the air? Around 1pm, you might even get a glimpse of the dog-walking service.

Update: Apparently the upload can be a bit slow, so sometimes the image won't be there when you hit Refresh. I'll try to fix that tonight.

New use for old sirens

So I'm walking home at 8:15 pm, and I hear Civil Defense sirens. I'm just old enough to find the sound chilling. When I was a kid, CD sirens meant "tornado" or "Soviet missile attack." They sounded for about two full minutes, which I thought was gratuitious.

See, Evanston, Ill., sounded their CD sirens tonight to tell everyone to move their cars, just in case people missed the 20 cm of snow on the ground (parking restrictions take effect after 5 cm of snow).

I also found out, this storm has dropped more snow on Chicago than any other since I returned here in March 2000. As I walked home in my long underwear, thich Irish sweater, ski gloves, fleece scarf, snow boots, and heavy jacket, I thought, "you know, it's not so bad..." Not to mention, Parker is having a grand old time, though it did pain me to see him try to do his business with snow all the way to his chin.

This weather builds character, after all.

Late update: The Chicago Tribune has picked up the story.

Another random destruction

So I'm in my office, working on stuff, when all of a sudden my speakers go haywire, then dead. Yup: Parker bit right through the speaker wire, destroying the best computer speakers I've ever had, which were about $150 back in 1998.

Destructo-beast from Hell, that's what he is.

Today's Daily Parker

You know, sometimes I forget things. Today, for example, in getting Parker to give my boots back to me and rushing to get to the play group, I forgot the ParkerCam at home.

So, Parker is in the office, but this is probably the only office-puppy shot we'll have today:

And how was the play group? Well, take a look outside Inner Drive World HQ's office window and imagine:

That's the view from 6:40 am CST (1240 UTC). What you can't see clearly are the 42 km/h wind gusts. At least Dexter and Key, two of Parker's big yellow lab friends, made it there.

Is it April yet?

The temperature in Chicago hasn't gotten above freezing since the 27th, and we're getting more snow—50 mm so far today. At least it's warmer: for 7 of the past 9 nights the temperature has fallen below -18°C, but right now it's a balmy -3°C.

Oh, who am I kidding? Syracuse, N.Y., has over 30 cm of snow on the ground, which is nothing compared with the 3 m reported in parts of nearby Oswego County. And up in Crane Lake, Minn., it's -31°C, and not likely to get warmer any time this week.

I guess it's not so bad here.

Today's Daily Parker

It's amazing how long the hand puppet has survived, despite Parker's best efforts:

Yes, it's still around, but completely emptied of Hollofil and turned inside-out. This has the interesting side-effect of exposing the squeaky part. Maybe "interesting" isn't the right word, as I didn't feel "interested" in it after Parker spent ten minutes wandering the apartment chomping on it (squeak squeak squeak).

Parker still has some anxiety about the new place, which manifests in an inability to be alone for more than two minutes. Last night he didn't even go into the kitchen without company, for example. So he spent a lot of time barking and whining until I either paid attention to him or followed him into whatever room he wanted to be in at that moment. I still can't decipher the "I'm thirsty" warble from the "I want to go outside" song, but I'm getting better.

At least he's sleeping through the night consistently.