The Daily Parker

Politics, Weather, Photography, and the Dog

Today's Daily Parker

Parker's second training session finished up well, but according to the trainer, Joe Hislop, Parker is a smart dog who got a little spoiled. Actually, he got a lot spoiled, which is totally my fault. But now, Parker isn't so spoiled any more. In fact, he knows how to stay down for as long as necessary now. Last night, aided a little by fatigue, he stayed in a down position munching on a bully stick for an hour. Here he is being quite a well-mannered dog while I walked out of sight and back in my office building's lobby:

You'll notice that I've replaced the ParkerCam with the Inner Drive Webcam. It may be a while before the ParkerCam comes back, for two reasons. First, when he's home and I'm not, he needs to be crated. This will continue probably for a few months at least, and may be permanent. Second, I've recently upgraded some of my office systems, and it's kind of a pain to set up the ParkerCam on an old system when he is in the office.

The ParkerCam will return. Meanwhile, I'll be more concientious about Today's Daily Parker.

Today's Daily Parker

You will notice that the ParkerCam isn't being updated today. Parker is in his crate, which I had hoped not to use, but circumstances required it:

Parker and I watched the Oscars last night:

He got bored during the middle part, so he began repositioning furniture (in this case, my pillow):

But most of the time he just half-watched and half-slept:

Today's Daily Parker

Through the ParkerCam I just got to watch my darling soon-to-be-crated-from-now-on puppy disemboweled my comforter:

I guess the photo caption isn't a joke after all. I am not happy.

Update, 1:30 pm: Oh. My. God. I can't decide if he's adorable or really, really a bad dog:

Update, 5:15 pm: Caught in the act! OK, I really have to get home now.

The good news is, he's clean now

After play group this evening I (a) wrestled a 24-kilo dog into a bathtub, (b) continued to wrestle said dog who did not want clean water dumped on him repeatedly, which was ironic because (c) less than half an hour before he had rolled around in a mud puddle the size of Connecticut at the dog park.

Poor Parker, he won't be going to the play group much until either (a) the mud in the dog park freezes or (b) the mud dries out.

But in a strange twist, right now he's lying on the floor gnawing on a bully stick, peaceful as a bishop. I do love this puppy most of the time.

Update: As I wrote those words, he started re-arranging the room. Oy.

Today's Daily Parker

Parker, a black dog, hangs out on a white couch (because they no longer make this one and natural cotton was the only color slipcover they had left), which is covered in a slightly greenish fleece blanket (because it has an expected lifespan of two months and cost $3 at Target):

Nothing otherwise notable here.

About this Blog

I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Parker is my 8-month-old mutt.

Here are the main topics on the Daily Parker:

  • Parker, my dog, whom I adopted on September 1st.
  • Biking. I ride my bikes a lot. Last year I prepared for two Century rides but, alas, my gallbladder decided to explode a week before the first one. I might not have a lot to say until later in the spring, but I have big plans in 2007.
  • Jokes. All right, I admit: when I'm strapped for ideas, sometimes I just post a dumb joke.
  • Politics. I'm a moderate-leftie by International standards, which makes me a radical left-winger in today's United States. Less than 701 days remain in the worst presidential administration in history, so I have plenty to write about.
  • Software. I own a small software company in Evanston, Illinois, and I have some experience writing software. I see a lot of code, and since I often get called in to projects in crisis, I see a lot of bad code. Posts in this blog about software will likely be cross-posted from the blog I'm about to start, Inner Drive Software.
  • The weather. I've operated a weather website for more than seven years. That site deals with raw data and objective observations. Many weather posts also touch politics, given the political implications of addressing climate change under a President who's beholden to the oil industry.

This is public writing, too, so I hope to continue a standard of literacy (i.e., spelling, grammar, and diction) and fluidity of prose that makes you want to keep reading.

So thanks for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy the blog.

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.