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:
So far, only a minor improvement, so I might just have to take a little baggie to the vet tomorrow afternoon. Oh, the joys of dog ownership.
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.
Trust me, you're better off without a photo today.
My dog-walking service leaves notes every day. Today's: "Looks like he ate something he shouldn't have. He had some real bad butt. #2, treat."
Poor little guy. He woke up around 2 in the morning and had to go outside, too. Right now, though, he's rolling on the floor pleading, in his doggy way, that I now take him to the play group. I will bring extra bags.
I meant to mention one other great thing about San Francisco: Kennedy's Irish Pub and Curry House, at 1040 Columbus Ave., right where the Powell-Mason cable car line ends. It had everything I could ever dream of in a place to park myself for hours: dozens of microbrews, a great bartender (Max McLean), outdoor seating (the back patio overlooks the cable car terminus; the front, busy Columbus Ave. in North Beach), and tasty dal makhani.
I went there Thursday and Friday afternoons, sat in the sun, drank some beer, ate some curry, and fought off some of the most aggressive pigeons I've ever encountered. (Max told me pigeons are a protected species in San Francisco. This is probably not true, but I still hesitated before swatting one off my book. Imagine the scene below with a pigeon perched on the cover, pecking at my naan: that's what I discovered upon returning from the washroom.)
If they only had WiFi, and if Parker had been with me, I might never have come home.
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.
Four years of keeping fresh and informed, however, has pushed me well past where I was in 2003. So this year's sessions, despite being just as informative as the 2003 offerings, turned out not to be as useful to me.
There are a couple of other factors, some of which I previously identified:
- The conference is in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities on earth;
- Except for Monday, the city has had perfect spring weather;
- I haven't slept especially well, which colors my perceptions and moods.
The last point bears emphasis. I truly love the Hotel California, and I will stay there again the next time I'm in San Francisco; however, I will endeavor not to stay on the Geary Street side. It's too damn loud. Maybe because it's only a block away from the theater district, every night we had some new musical performance:
- The symphonic "March of the Garbage Trucks" started each day at 5:30am.
- Last night around 3am, we got the recitative and aria "O Too-Quiet Street / I am the very model of a modern crazy homeless man," followed by "Officer! Officer!" featuring the SFPD Men's Chorus.
- And who could forget Saturday night's rousing operetta in three acts, Happy Birthday, Fratboy, that also included a guest appearance from the SFPDMC?
Meanwhile, people on the courtyard—or even on the Jones Street side—swear they heard none of this. So much for Room 404.
I'm now going to the post-conference workshop. At least that's my plan; coming out of a miserable Chicago winter, today's sunny, 20°C weather sounds a lot more appealing than a windowless room and "Windows Workflow: a Gentle Introduction."
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.