Events

Right around the corner from where I'm staying I found this:I don't believe I need to eat anything else today.  

A couple of things happened in the 10 hours since I got on a plane today: American stock markets fell a lot; Lucas told Chicago he's not building his museum here; and The pound has fallen to its lowest level since 1985. Only two of these are a result of Thursday's Brexit vote. But all three of these affect me. OK, I'm going to go find some curry.

It's 6:30 am in the UK, and the results are mostly in. The United Kingdom has apparently voted to secede from the European Union. That makes David Cameron about the unluckiest person ever to head Her Majesty's Government. Cameron pushed the "Brexit" vote on the understanding that it wouldn't pass. How'd that work out? In literary terms, the apotheosis of Nigel Farage is the dramatic climax in the story of the United Kingdom. David Cameron mooting the referendum was the technical climax. The denouement?...

UK law prohibits discussing an election while polls are open. The Daily Parker, being an American publication, isn't subject to this rule, but I decided this morning not to flout it anyway because I'm going to be in the UK tomorrow evening. Polls closed 20 minutes ago in an historic referendum to decide whether the UK should remain within the European Union (my belief) or leave it. Here's what people are saying. First, the Guardian, my go-to source for breaking British news: Long queues have been...

Once again, here's a list of news items I haven't fully digested but want to when I have a few free minutes: The Supreme Court split 4-4 on President Obama's immigration amnesty, which means the lower court decision stands, and 3 million people are now once again at risk of deportation. Oak Brook-based McDonald's is going to be Chicago-based McDonald's in 2018. Crain's thinks bankruptcy might be a good option for the City of Chicago. Meanwhile, the City Council approved new rules for ride-sharing...

Yesterday I started a new job as a Principal Architect at SPR in Chicago. It's a cool gig, and I'll be working with lots of great people, including some I already know (and to whom I'm sure I now have to pay hefty bribes for the references). I'll be writing more later this week, but I'm kind of swamped at the moment.

I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Parker is my 10-year-old mutt. I last updated this About... page in April 2016, and a couple have things have changed (not least of which, all the internal links changed when the blog moved to BlogEngine 3 last October). So here's the update. The Daily Parker is about: Parker, my dog, whom I adopted on 1 September 2006. Politics. I'm a moderate-lefty by international standards, which makes me a radical left-winger in today's United States. The weather. I've...

Last night some friends and I drove out to the middle of nowhere and popped off fireworks. It's a longer story than that, but it was tons of fun. I'll have photos when I get around to it. Note: Parker did not join us. Also, tomorrow I'll have some news. Check back.

As promised, here is Parker on his 10th birthday, yesterday: I don't think he's aware that it's his birthday, nor does he really have the concept of any number larger than two, but to me it's a big deal.

Yesterday's walk had a number of consequences, including some discomfort that has persisted until today. But I also blew away my Fitbit personal records. Yesterday's results: Which makes my top 5 now look like this: 2016 Jun 16 40,748 2016 Jun 8 32,315 2015 Apr 26 30,496 2016 Mar 8 29,775 2015 Jun 15 28,455 Yesterday's weather worked out, too. It was almost completely overcast, until I hit the heavily-wooded sections of the trail up in Glencoe and Highland Park. And it was cool; I don't think it got...