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I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Cassie is my 7½-year-old mutt. I last updated this About... page in March 2021. Quite a lot has changed since then, most notably I wrote a whole new blog engine. (More on that in a moment.)

I miss my old friend. My new friend is pretty great, though.

Cognitive scientist Alexandra Horowitz, author of the excellent book on dog psychology Inside of a Dog, explains how breeding dogs for specific characteristics inflicts pain and suffering on the results due to generations of inbreeding: Breeders are not typically mating siblings, though it is not prohibited by the American Kennel Club and is not unheard of. Any mating within a closed gene pool of candidates will do, as far as breeders are concerned. But according to research published by a team from the...

The Daily Parker began as a joke-of-the-day engine at the newly-established braverman.org on 13 May 1998. This will be my 8,907th post since 1998 and my 8,710th since 13 November 2005. And according to a quick SQL Server query I just ran, The Daily Parker contains 15,043,497 bytes of text and HTML. A large portion of posts just curate the news and opinions that I've read during the day. But sometimes I actually employ thought and creativity, as in these favorites from the past 25 years: Old Man...

Even with Chicago's 1,642 judges on the ballot ("Shall NERDLY McSNOOD be retained as a circuit court judge in Cook County?"), I still got in and out of my polling place in about 15 minutes. It helped that the various bar associations only gave "not recommended" marks to two of them, which still left 1,640 little "yes" ovals to fill in. Meanwhile, in the rest of the world... Republican pollster Rick Wilson, one of the co-founders of the Lincoln Project, has a head-shaking Twitter thread warning everyone...

It's hard to believe Parker has been gone a whole year. I miss you, buddy.

Someone—I won't say who—gained 3 kilos since she arrived at my house in March. That's a 12% increase. Will she notice when I cut her kibble by 10% until she's back down to 23½ kilos? And no, I didn't forget that today would have been Parker's 15th Gotcha Day. I do miss him.

Parker would have turned 15 today. I'm of course very glad to have Cassie, but I do miss my bête noir quite a bit.

Microsoft has started sending little reminders of things that happened "on this day," no doubt taking cues from Google Timeline and Facebook Memories. But I did enjoy getting a reminder that I took this photo 14 years ago this morning: Parker at Bardwell Park, Evanston, Ill., 18 February 2007. It'll be 3 months tomorrow. I do miss him.

What a bizarre year. Just looking at last year's numbers, it almost doesn't make sense to compare, but what the hell: Last year I flew the fewest air-miles in 20 years; this year, I flew the fewest since the first time I got on a commercial airplane, which was during the Nixon Administration. In January I flew to Raleigh-Durham and back, and didn't even go to the airport for the rest of the year. That's 1,292 air miles, fewer than the very first flight I took (Chicago to Los Angeles, 1,745 air miles). I...

I just wanted to shout out to two dogs I've been able to hang out with this week.  On Wednesday I watched my neighbors' dog Sophie for the day. She really didn't care that I don't allow dogs on the couch: And yesterday, I hung out with this pretty girl: I'm not ready to adopt another dog yet. But I'm glad my friends occasionally need dogsitting services.

How did I miss this Times article from November? Lab tests can tell how old a human is just from the pattern of methylation. Thanks to this research, the same can be done for dogs. The results will help researchers studying aging in dogs to translate findings to humans. None of this research was done on dogs kept in a laboratory. All of the dogs in the aging comparison study were pet Labrador retrievers and the owners gave permission for blood samples. Scientists are unsure about whether the physical...

Getting my bête noir to pose for photos always challenged my patience and photography skills. This is his 3rd birthday portrait, 16 June 2009:

Watching the lead runners in the Chicago Marathon, 12 October 2008:

Parker never told me his exact birthdate. The shelter said the six Pomona Puppies—Parker, Polly, Pepper, Petey, Penny, and Poppy—were 11 weeks old when I met them on 1 September 2006, so I just counted back to June 16th. The shelter also said Parker’s dad was a 40-kilo German shepherd dog and his mom was a 7-kilo beagle/rat terrier mix. My vet said a DNA test “would likely say he’s a dog,” so I never got him one. When people asked what kind of dog he was, I would say "black." Parker's Petfinder mugshot...

Parker, about half an hour after into our first meeting, 1 September 2006:

Eight days after the country resoundingly turfed out the president, it seems people still have overactive endocrine systems. I understand; coming down from a stressful experience can take some time. But seriously, we have to take a collective chill. The president will leave office at noon Eastern time on January 20th whether he believes he lost the election or not. Mike Pompeo, Bill Barr, Betsy DeVos, and every other Cabinet-level officer will go as well. I expect, in fact, that Biden will have an...

Parker has taken carprofen for about a year, 50 mg with each meal, to help with his arthritis and back pain. Starting yesterday I upped it to 100 mg at breakfast. More carprofen meant less pain almost immediately. His walking pace improved about 10% today and he has seemed more active and more confident of his footing. He seems like the dog he was a year ago. But at his body weight, 100 mg per day is the maximum safe dose. Carprofen, like NSAIDs in general, puts a lot of stress on the body, particularly...

My ex and I got Parker in part because every morning we could see a doggy play group right outside our bedroom window. Here's Parker, 14 years ago today, having a great time there: Today we went back to the same park. Parker initially wanted to go into the building where we lived back then, so I had to explain that someone else lives there now. Once in the park, though, he forgot all that and just strolled around with a happy look on his face: Today was a good day for him, except for the parts where he...

Parker had his semi-annual vet visit this afternoon. We decided, based on the doctor's observations, that Parker didn't need to have a flu shot this year. Nor did he need a blood test, or to have the suspected fatty cyst in his side biopsied. I mentioned Sunday that he's going into the home stretch. Today's visit pretty much confirmed it. His heart and lungs are fine, and the doctor found no worrying problems anywhere else in his body, except for his spine. His German shepherd genes have slowly broken...

I cracked the code on an application rewrite I last attempted in 2010, so I've spent a lot of my copious free time the past week working on it. I hope to have more to say soon, but software takes time. And when I'm in the zone, I like to stay there. All of which is why it's 9:30 and I have just gotten around to reading all this: The president stomped out of a 60 Minutes interview with Lesley Stahl, and for reasons passing understanding, has threatened to release it himself. Pope Francis has officially...

I got this a couple of weeks ago, but only today had a chance to put it through Lightroom:

Today is former president Bill Clinton's 74th birthday. Last night, he spoke at the Democratic National Convention, where the party formally nominated former vice president Joe Biden to be president. In other news: Chicago removed Wisconsin from the list of states too dangerous to visit without quarantine. With the exceptions of California and Nevada, the map now looks a lot like projections of the 2020 election. Five Thirty Eight updated its interactive guide to voting by mail this fall. In Illinois...

As an old dog just a week past his 14th birthday, Parker has his ups and downs. Today was a bit of a down. A little before 3 am he pooped on the floor, which is annoying but not the worst thing he regularly does, but then he couldn't stand up. He woke me up when he belly-flopped into the pile. He seemed very sad about this, but he did get a walk more or less immediately plus some very gentle pats on the head after I cleaned up. He's not in pain, and he's a dog so dignity in these matters isn't quite...

I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Parker is my 14-year-old mutt. I last updated this About... page in May 2019, and the world has changed. 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 operated a weather website for more than 20 years. That site deals with raw data and objective observations. Many...

My bête noir turned 14 (fourteen!) today. I could not decide which photo of him to use so here are three: For comparison, here's what he looked like on his Gotcha Day almost 14 years ago:

We had calm winds in my neighborhood this morning, so after walking Parker I grabbed my Mini and did an altitude test. I discovered that I had to replace 3 damaged propeller blades (more on that later), but after fixing the aircraft, I popped it up to 90 m and had a look around: In the climb to that altitude I discovered that the tallest building in the area is only 70 m tall, and trees tend to be around 25 m tall. These are very useful data points when flying a tiny UAV that doesn't have...

Of all the things in the New York Times today, the fact that a census found 2,373 squirrels in Central Park made my day. Parker's too, no doubt, though he has trouble comprehending numbers larger than 2.

Yesterday we broke a heat record; today the temperature feels more or less normal for late December; this weekend it will get warm again. Welcome to Chicago: The record-breaking warmth comes on the heels of another historic ranking. With a high of 57 Wednesday, this year now ranks No. 2 on the list of warmest Christmas Days in Chicago since the mid-1800s, when records started being kept. The warmest Dec. 25 ever in Chicago was 17°C degrees in 1982. But after the daytime high pushes the record for...

Two articles came out today about dogs. The first, in the New York Times, explores how dogs became so indiscriminately friendly: In the early 2000s, when Dr. [Clive] Wynne began research on dogs, one of his experiments was a follow-up on the work of Dr. [Brian] Hare who had concluded that dogs were better than wolves or other animals at following human directions. In particular, dogs followed human pointing better than other animals. Dr. Wynne and Monique Udell, an animal behaviorist at Oregon State...

I didn't get nearly as much sleep as usual on this trip, compared with other weekends in London, so I'll have to figure out why before next time. But Parker and I are home now, and if I can stay up until 10pm (at least), I should get things back on track. Of course, between now and Sunday I have two rehearsals and two performances of Aleko and Everest. I think sleep planning might be in order. Oh, and Chicago had record cold last night: -14°C. Glad I missed it.

I don't know that Frank Bruni reads The Daily Parker, but his column yesterday made for a nice coincidence with my post earlier today: My interactions in Central Park are partly about having a dog but just as much about what the dog encourages, even compels: spending time in public spaces that are open to everyone and well situated and appealing enough to guarantee that people from all walks of life cross paths. And we need dogs, or at least we’re better off with them. They yank us outside of our...

On 1 September 2006, I adopted this guy: I can scarcely believe it's been 13 years. Here's the comparison: Here's to a couple more!

Is it that I set a new personal record for steps, getting over 15,000 every day for the last 11? Nope. Is it that, for only the second time in three years, I got enough sleep four nights in a row? Nope. Is it that Parker turns 13 today? Yup. And just check out his fashionable birthday present: For comparison, here he is 10 years ago:

I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Parker is my 13-year-old mutt. I last updated this About... page in May 2017, and a couple have things have changed. 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 operated a weather website for more than 16 years. That site deals with raw data and objective observations....

Parker got his leg stitches out yesterday. Mysteriously, the suture in his neck had already dropped off. Regardless, both incisions have healed well enough for him to ditch the cone: His fur is growing back pretty quickly too, in part because it's winter. He really, really liked going to the vet yesterday. And he's a much happier dog today.

A week after his surgery, Parker seems a lot better. He's resumed his previous walking pace, and seems generally less sullen, despite the fact that I'm out of the house a lot more this week than the last few. We also switched up his antibiotics which should help his body get rid of the last bits of gunk around his knee. His stitches come out next Wednesday, and with that, his cone comes off. Further updates as the situation warrants.

He has a weird haircut and he's back in the cone for two weeks, but Parker is otherwise happy and healthy. My wallet, however... Jeez, these older models cost a lot in repairs.

Parker's surgeon just called. She had no difficulty removing the plate from his leg and she got the fatty cyst out of his neck without complications. She also identified the screw that had hidden the infection from his immune system and has sent it in for culture, but she suspects it's a run-of-the-mill bacterium that, absent the screw, his body would barely have noticed. He'll be a little wobbly for a day or so and he'll have to wear his cone for two weeks, but the surgery wasn't nearly as invasive as...

My friend's mutt, finding happiness and interesting lighting in Durham, N.C.: I'll have a Parker update Tuesday afternoon. Stay tuned.

A couple of news stories have dogged me this week. First, the TSA has determined that travelers—particularly children—find floppy-eared dogs less threatening than pointy-eared dogs: TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the agency is also making at least one new change to reduce traveler stress: deploying more floppy-ear dogs, rather than pointy-ear dogs, to sniff out explosives in public areas. During a recent tour of Washington Dulles International Airport, Pekoske told the Washington Examiner that his...

We can all be thankful for things this Thanksgiving weekend, but few will be as thankful as Parker, who got his cone off yesterday:

With my old dog apparently in permanent maintenance mode, we're trying something a little more comfortable for him: That's a Comfy Cone, which he seemed to understand immediately would be more comfy for him. He did seem to sleep better last night. We're going to the vet again today, to see if drugs alone can evict whatever has taken up residence in his knee. If not, he'll have to have the hardware out. Soon. The infection seems to have gone down a little in the last day or two but new oozing over the...

Yesterday around 7am, I made it from where I parked in the main O'Hare parking garage to the concourse past security in 7 minutes. Today, at Raleigh-Durham, I made it from my Lyft to the concourse past security in 4 minutes. If you have the option of traveling to or from a smaller airport on Saturday afternoon, do it. Also, it's gorgeous out, so I not only got a chance to walk around Durham for an hour after brunch, but I also got to play with this cutie in her yard: That's Hazel, my host's 6-month-old...

Before everything descends into 18 hours of post-election punditry and chaos, a quick update on the dog. Last week he developed an infection around the site of his April surgery, complete with oozing drainage channel just below his knee. After a couple days of antibiotics, he's stopped oozing. We met with his surgeon today, and she said that the infection is in retreat, so he probably won't need additional surgery to pull the plates out. We'll continue antibiotics for three more weeks and I'll keep an...

Since I switched Internet providers in this move, I was able to leave my Nest Cam and Internet connection live for the move-out. Et voilà:

It's hard to believe this guy is that old: I mean, this wasn't so long ago: Here's to a few more.

Parker did not have a good morning. I woke him up early, then "forgot" to feed him, and wouldn't even let him lick the cream cheese off my knife when I had a bagel right in front of him. All he got was an unpleasant-tasting amino supplement and a pain pill. He did get a ride in the car, though, which might have gotten his mind off his appetite. But then he got unceremoniously carried up two flights of stairs (the elevator at the pet hospital was out of order) and handed off to someone who smelled like...

On the one hand, I've been really productive on my staycation, having checked off 38 to-do items including a few that came from my need to get Parker repaired. On the other hand, I've done none of the reading and writing I set out to do. With the A-to-Z challenge starting in two days, I really need to get on that. But, you know, it's still a vacation. So why not vacate a bit?

Man, I've needed this for a while. It's 11:15 on a Monday, after doing nothing of commercial or professional value for an entire weekend, and I'm finally at Inbox Zero for the first time in months. My to-do list currently has 30 items (plus 6 already finished) ranging in complexity or duration from "set up coffee with so-and-so" to "45,000 steps." Inbox Zero was not on the main list, but my inbox is itself a to-do list, so that counts too. In a few minutes I'll have finished with the physical items on...

The New York Times last week suggested that people who sleep with their dogs sleep just as well as those whose dogs sleep elsewhere: The dogs wore a device called a Fitbark, an activity tracker that attaches to the collar and records whether an animal is at rest and sleeping or active and at play. The people wore an Actiwatch 2, an activity monitor that records people’s movements and whether they are sleeping soundly or not. Both monitors were set to sample movement every minute, while the humans also...

I exaggerate. But officially, at 8:51am this morning O'Hare reported a temperature above -7°C, finally ending our 12 days of frigid temperatures. Parker got a real walk this morning, and he's about to get another one. And no boots! Most of the salt has been brushed away from the sidewalks. Of course, it's supposed to snow later today. But it's also forecast to hit -1°C today and (gasp!) 8°C on Wednesday. Anyway, I'm happy, and Parker appears to be, that walking outside does not immediately result in...

Yesterday I spent almost the whole day cooking and eating, while outside the temperature barely got above -10°C. So despite averaging better than 15,000 steps for the entire week preceding, I only managed 7,292 steps yesterday, my 3rd poorest showing of 2017. The problem is, when I'm working from home, I get most of my steps by taking Parker on long walks. Below about -10°C, even his two thick fur coats aren't enough to keep him warm for more than 10-15 minutes, tops. And below -18°C, forget it; even...

Eleven years ago today, Parker came home with me: He's still a brat about photos. This is from earlier this afternoon: Ten years ago I wrote about my first year with him. It's all still true.  

It's not really that perilous to travel from the US to the UK, unless you're in a step challenge. This past week, I was traveling for almost 40 hours—including 14 yesterday thanks to ordinary aviation delays. When you're on a plane, it's pretty hard to get steps. Fortunately the time change from the UK back to the US is in my favor, so I got 6 extra hours in which to walk, and I also got Parker back. Still, I barely squeaked in with 10,689 for the day and an unusually low 81,638 for the week (helped...

While I'm trying to figure out how to transfer one database to another, I'm putting these aside for later reading: Chicago Magazine thinks global warming could be worse for Illinois than previously thought. (But we're still going to do better than Florida.) Citylab reviews Sarah Williams Goldhagen's new book on the science behind appreciating architecture. Conservative (!) columnist Jennifer Rubin believes her party can no longer defend our national interests or our Constitution. Krugman once again...

Yesterday Parker turned 11, which means today brings his annual birthday portrait: I am not sure why he prefers me to photograph his left side, but going back through earlier photos of him, clearly he does. For example, here's the runner-up for this year's portrait: Not to mention, the 10-years-apart photos I posted May 4th.

The windows at Inner Drive Technology World Headquarters are all open—yes, on February 17th—because it's 18°C outside. This is the normal high temperature for May 1st. Parker's having a bath, too, so the weather is great for him to walk home from the doggy daycare place.

It's not all about PETUS today: Via AVWeb, the FAA has issued an airworthiness directive requiring owners of Boeing 787-8 airplanes to reboot them at least every 21 days. I am not making this up. Trump, never a fan of intelligence of any kind, is sticking his fingers in his ears about Russian hacking of our election. Jeet Heer warns that this yet another way Trump is very dangerous. Plus, he's lying about the CIA's role in the Iraq WMD fiasco. It wasn't the CIA who lied; it was the Administration. By...

I took a personal day yesterday to get my teeth cleaned (still no cavities, ever!) and to fork over a ton of cash to Parker's vet (five shots, three routine tests, heartworm pills, one biopsy, $843.49). That and other distractions made it a full personal day. So as I start another work day with the half-day of stuff I planned to do yesterday right in front of me, I'm queuing up some articles again: Then and Now, Armitage-Bissell Programming is Hard The Founding Fathers' Power Grab The Chicago Tribune...

One of the first photos I took with my poor, now-deceased G5:

Last year, as in five of the six years before, I only went to Ribfest once, owing to the 11 km round trip distance. This year I only live 1.8 km away, so dammit, I'm going all three days. Here's the report from this evening. I went with a friend so we could split samplers, and try more of them. Mrs. Murphy's Irish Bistro. Like last year, excellent sauce. Unlike last year, they kind of gooped it on mediocre bones. So they only get 3 stars for 2016. Mr. B's BBQ. You'd think that, because they're right on...

After yesterday's epic walk (from which Parker recovered in just a couple of hours) I realized it wouldn't be that difficult to get another 10,000 steps. So I did: That's a new PR. It was also 27.08 km—another PR. So the top 5 (as I mentioned back in March) are now: 2016 Jun 8 32,315 2015 Apr 26 30,496 2016 Mar 8 29,775 2015 Jun 15 28,455 2015 May 2 26,054 I'm not moving as quickly today as I did yesterday, but I'm pretty happy about blowing past my previous PR. Now I have plans for some day in the next...

Parker had some time at the groomer's today. This is becoming almost an annual event, but fortunately for him, not quite.

Yesterday's 17.2°C temperature at O'Hare was the warmest since it was 17.8°C on November 15th. It might not get warmer than that, but who cares, because it that's plenty warm for early March. 17.8°C is Chicago's normal temperature for April 29th; the normal for March 8th is 6.1°C. That's the good news. The better news is that working from home means Parker is working napping from home as well. And we just got back from an 80-minute, 8.1-km walk, his longest in (no surprise) even more months. Now the bad...

There's a blizzard outside, which has alarmed Parker to no end (the wind scares him), and my computer is dragging because it's running a virus scan. And I'm having yet another version conflict installing a NuGet package, which is annoying since NuGet is supposed to stop that from happening. Otherwise, just an ordinary Wednesday...

I'm having my worst week ever since getting a Fitbit: only 65,000 steps from last Tuesday through yesterday. Christmas, traveling, and yesterday's horrible weather have really hobbled my step count. So far today I'm at 4,200 steps, and I have some errands to run this afternoon that will help. But wow, five days below 10,000? Scandal. Even Parker is bored.  

Nine years ago today I adopted Parker: I didn't post his annual Parker Day photo last year because I was out of town, and I didn't have time to take the photo this morning on the way to work. So, if I'm not too lazy, look for it tomorrow.

The London borough of Barking and Dagenham (yes, really) will fine you £80 if you don't clean up your dog's poop. How will they catch you? Doggy DNA: In its pilot stage, only one or two local dog parks will be involved in the DNA testing, according to Eric Mayer, head of business development for Biopet Vet Lab. Anyone who wants to use those facilities will have to submit a canine swab, which cost about $45. (The fee will probably be split between the owner, the borough and the lab.) But by 2016, all 27...

First, a not-so-smart car: I'm not sure what amused me more, the disproportionate tow truck or that the Smart Car driver parked in a rush-hour tow zone long enough for Streets & Sanitation to remove him. Then, for everyone who takes his dog to work, there's this food truck: I didn't pick anything up for Parker yet. ($2.50 per biscuit? Did I read that right?) But if it comes back, maybe.

Lots more travel this weekend, including Parker and me spending two days in a place without Internet. (My phone at least had a little from time to time.) Now back home, I have to figure out the rest of my day before rehearsal. Parker, for his part, is sleeping on his own bed right now for the first time in more than a week.

Following a friend's example, I got a FitBit this week. The same friend has challenged me for the weekend, getting 15,300 steps to my 14,000 yesterday, and going hiking this afternoon. Ah, but I have a dog, you see. And the weather is perfect. So far today I've walked 15,400 steps (11.6 km), almost all of it with Parker, and we're about to go out for another walk. Here's walk #1, this morning, in Lincoln Park: And walk #2, at lunchtime, down the Lakefront Path: I got my 15,000-step badge on Friday, my...

We had spectacular weather across the region Saturday and yesterday. For our hike Saturday we had partly-cloudy skies, low humidity, and 14°C—nearly perfect. Here's Parker at the top of the trail, refusing to look at the camera: Then, yesterday, I had my final Apollo audition up at Millar Chapel in Evanston. Again, perfect weather: It's a little cloudy today, but otherwise cool and October-like. As far as I'm concerned, it can stay October-like for the next six months. Walking is good for you. Also, can...

We have near-record cool temperatures predicted today, possibly no warmer than 14°C today. It's also sunny, and neither I nor Parker has any responsibilities that can't shift to tomorrow. In short, we're going to take a hike. Literally; in Wisconsin. And possibly bring back some beer.

Good morning. It's the 1st day of September, 2014, and meteorological summer is over. School is back, Labor Day is upon us (but only in the U.S., where it doesn't remind anyone of actual labor struggles), and I've had Parker for 8 full years. (The annual Parker Day photo will have to wait until he and I are both back home. I know, this is the second year running that I've missed the day itself. I hope he forgives me.) On the whole, summer wasn't bad. Autumn should be fine as well: I'm attending a dear...

I've had a few minutes to go through the Spectralia photos from earlier today. We attempted to get Parker in them, to play Crab, the dog, but he is the sourest-natured dog that lives. Observe: Yet did not this cruel-hearted cur shed one tear. Eventually we got a couple good shots with him. Eventually.

I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Parker is my 7½-year-old mutt. I last updated this About... page in September 2011, more than 1,300 posts back, so it's time for a refresh. 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 operated a weather website for more than 13 years. That site deals with raw data and objective...

Today we got our 33rd day of measurable snowfall this winter, the day after we ended the third snowiest and third coldest January on record. (Did I mention I'm done with this winter?) At least someone likes the weather:

Wow, this weekend was busier than I anticipated. You know what's coming. Links! From the Washington Post, the IRS will have a helluva job enforcing the ACA; The Sun-Times has yet another example of government capture in Chicago; We're almost out of effective antibiotics, and that's not good; Charlie Trotter died of a stroke brought on by high blood pressure; and Note to self: Don't let Parker eat a pile of cheese unless you're prepared to walk him every three hours the next day. Oh, and we're out of...

This is one of the best parts of living in Lincoln Park: After watching one group of runners go up Stockton Drive, I can catch them going the other way down Clark. Even Parker gets into the action—sort of: We had perfect running weather today, 12°C with light winds and plenty of sun. Kenyan Dennis Kimetto set a new course record at 2:03:45, which is just about 3 minutes per kilometer.

I adopted Parker on 1 September 2006, seven years (and one week) ago. Since I wasn't in Chicago last Sunday, I didn't make a note of Parker Day at the time. Here, then, is Parker's annual portrait, complete with a blade of grass on his nose: And here, also, is hoping for at least seven more years with the fuzzy dude.

And here is his annual birthday photo: For comparison, here is last year's.

Poor parker. I came home yesterday evening to a pile of something on one of my mom's antique rugs. Overnight three more piles appeared, two on that rug and one on a different antique rug. Plus there was another pile from the other end of the dog on a patch of hardwood floor this morning. He didn't eat dinner last night, and he didn't eat the rice I gave him for breakfast. And on his walk this morning, he created a neon-green patch on the sidewalk that prompted a call to the vet when we got home. I'm not...

Yesterday I had a fun but abbreviated time at Jarvis Beach doing publicity stills for Spectralia Theater's Comedy of Errors. The play goes up this summer at several Chicago Park District parks as part of the Bard in the Parks program. I've just finished the first batch of shots, so I haven't got clearance from the production to publish any yet. I can, however, post a shot of the least helpful photo assistant on the planet, here lying down next to Spectralia member Don Johnson:

We probably won't hit the record November 22 temperature (21°C, set in 1913), but we'll get awfully close. It's already 15°C at O'Hare, with a forecast of 18°C—followed by a cold front and 0°C by morning. Parker and I will therefore now go for a long walk.

Yes, I just said I was taking Parker out for a walk, but I cut it short after five minutes. Here's why: Just as we got back home the gust front hit. Trees are now moving in ways that trees probably shouldn't. This should be a lot of fun to watch. ...but Parker is sulking. Tant pis, mon bête noir. Update, 1:25 pm: Huh. The storm just missed us, though reports have come in of 145 km/h gusts in Elmhust and Lombard, which "looks like a war zone" according to the Tribune.

To readers who couldn't care less about my Exchange migration post, here is Parker reacting to the cleaning service's vacuums: They're about to vacuum under my desk, which will make him a very unhappy dog for a few minutes. He'll survive.

As promised, Parker's birthday photo from yesterday: 1/250 at f/5.6, ISO-3200, 116mm

Parker never really likes the walk up to Ribfest. It's about 5 km, and yesterday the temperature hit 33°C, making him a very hot dog. He did, however, get a few bits of ribs, and when we stopped in the Urban Pooch booth, two entire elk jerky sticks he stole from the display case. This year's results: Mrs. Murphy's Irish Bistro, again my favorite; Itinerant Chicago BBQ, again my second-favorite; Corner 41, who had a good, hot vinegar sauce and fall-off-the-bone ribs (with a little too much fat, though)...

Because they improved downtown L.A. immensely: In 1999, Los Angeles passed its Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, making it easier and cheaper for real estate developers to convert old offices to new housing. While the ordinance arguably jump-started the revitalization of downtown L.A., a key (though overlooked) element was pet-friendly policies in these newly converted lofts. Walking dogs drove residents out of their homes and into the street at least twice each day. Elsewhere in Los Angeles, where...

As feared, Chicago is experiencing a weekend of perfect weather. As a consequence, Parker and I just finished an hour-and-three-quarters walk that had to include time at Noethling Park (aka "Wiggly Field"). We're recovering for a moment before heading outside again for another one. Regular updates will resume when the crisis concludes. (Note: Ordinarily I would have linked to the Chicago Park District's official page on one of its parks, but apparently they forgot to pay the Internet bill, so at this...

And the office dog is doing what he does best:

I'd say he's performing about as expected:

My company, 10th Magnitude, finally moved into its new office today. One of the criteria we had for selecting the new office was that they allow dogs. Everyone wins! (Hat tip MW.) It's hard to tell who likes the Office Dog concept more, Parker or my co-workers:

It's crystal-clear and 22°C, so I've spent the day walking Parker. Regular updates will resume once the weather deteriorates.

I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Parker is my 5-year-old mutt. I last updated this About... page in February, but some things have changed. In the interest of enlightened laziness I'm starting with the most powerful keystroke combination in the universe: Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V. Twice. Thus, the "point one" in the title. 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...

In a move that brings progressives and libertarians together better than a runaway defense budget, Gotham has banned dogs from bars: Since the health department adopted a letter grade system for bars and restaurants last year, bar owners say, health inspectors are allowing no wiggle room for four-legged patrons. The stricter enforcement is apparently bringing to an end a rich tradition of dog-friendly bars in New York. The health department issued 469 violations for live animals in food-service sites...

Parker just after sunset: 10 July 2007, Canon 20D at ISO-1600, 1/8 at f/11 with fill flash, 18mm, near here.

Parker, New Year's Day 2008: Canon 20D at ISO-400, 1/250 at f/8, 18mm. Edited from the first published version.

I love the first weekend of June in Chicago, because I love ribs. Once again, Parker and I walked up to Lincoln and Irving Park. And once again, we got some ribs. I only got four samplers this year. It's too bad I don't have time to go back today, because I'd love to try a few others. Of the ones I did try: Mrs. Murphy's Irish Bistro, at 3925 N. Lincoln Ave., once again topped my list. The sauce has some tang, some heat, and something else (I think it's Guinness). The ribs were fall-off-the-bone but not...

Another repeat, because I'm lazy, but still one of my favorite shots of Parker: 27 February 2010, Mars Hill, N.C. ISO-800, 1/1250 at f/6.3, 125mm

This won't actually show off my work or entice you to buy a magnificent image for your commercial advertising campaign at a surprisingly reasonable price. No, this merely shows a place Parker and I both enjoy for precisely the same reasons (sitting outside with popcorn and good beer). Four Farthings has their patio set up, and after I get back from a short bike ride, the dog and I are heading over:

There is no reason for this post beyond the obvious:

I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Parker is my 4½-year-old mutt. I last updated this About... page almost two years ago, so it's time for a quick update. In the interest of enlightened laziness I'm starting with the most powerful keystroke combination in the universe: Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V. The Daily Parker is about: Parker, my dog, whom I adopted on 1 September 2006. Politics. I'm a moderate-leftie by international standards, which makes me a radical left-winger in today's United States. Software. I...

Chicago weather conditions at 4pm: -6°C, winds northeast at 48 km/h gusting to 63 km/h, visibility 400 m in heavy, blowing snow. Here's the corner of Belden and Clark in Lincoln Park around then: And a little north of that, looking north:

One dog + snow – leash = one happy dog:

The last couple of days have reminded us we live in Chicago, severely limiting Parker's walk time. I don't want to keep him outside more than 15 minutes when it's below -15°C. He doesn't understand hypothermia, and he's got a double coat, so to him it seems like I'm being completely arbitrary. He probably doesn't remember the day it got down to -27°C and he fell over, whimpering, because his paws were too cold to walk after less than five minutes outside. So he's at day camp today, and I'm working on an...

Parker got to come home from boarding today even though he's going right back there tonight, a canine prisoner furlough for good behavior. Immediately upon returning home he sat in the kitchen and whined as I parceled out his food for his next prison sentence. Poor dude. The Duke Dividend, a result of not having 20 hours of schoolwork every week, has started to pay off in books. I'm halfway through Ender's Game, after blasting through The Hunger Games trilogy in three days and re-reading Howl again—a...

Just let him off leash in a blizzard:

A strong cold front and impressive thunderstorms came through last night. After an entire month of high temperatures above 26°C, it got down to 18°C last night. I've got my windows open, only one fan running (to pull air through the house), and a dog who needs a good, 8 km walk. And then, later on today, a much-missed Daily Parker feature will return.

My friend DC's puppy Rex: Parker met Rex last week. Rex greeted Parker with lots and lots of barking. Parker, who for the moment outweighs Rex by 10 kg (but won't for very long) looked at Rex, blinked, and, with Rex following and barking hysterically, proceeded to investigate the apartment. Within about an hour Rex had decided that Parker was really cool and Parker had decided...well, nothing, because Parker is 4 and Rex is about 5 months old, so Parker just ignored Rex. They'll have a play-date again...

So, with a project running somewhere around 105%, an old and patient client that predates my current employment waiting for some updates, Global Financial Management requiring that I figure out the combined beta of two companies about to merge, Foundations of Strategy expecting a transaction cost analysis Saturday morning, and an overwhelming anticipation of seeing Diane and Parker tomorrow after almost two weeks, I find myself completely out of creativity. Heaven bless my winter office (probably, now...

NPR reported this morning that dogs likely descended from Israeli wolves: To come up with their results, [UCLA researcher Robert] Wayne and his colleagues studied DNA from more than 200 wild gray wolves. "We looked at wolf populations in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia and from China," he says. In each case, they sought out and found genetic markers that were unique to these different wolf populations. So, for example, there were some markers that were only found in Chinese wolves, and others only...

I had hoped, as I hoped about Post #1,000, to write something lengthy and truly self-indulgent. This will disappoint many readers, but I don't have time to do that. Instead, just a quick update: even though Inner Drive Technology still exists (as does all of its software and ongoing maintenance), I'm now working for Avanade, a joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture. And, in the spirit of the season, on my way to Avanade's Chicago office yesterday, I noticed something...odd...about the Daley...

Last photo from Ponder Cove, Parker happy enough to levitate: I also forgot to mention the sign on the door that suggested the B & B's proprietors were our kind of people:

As promised, some photos of our trip to dog heaven, the B&B at Ponder Cove up in Mars Hill, N.C.: Did I mention dog heaven? That is one happy dog.

Each day that we spend getting Parker to exist peacefully with the cats brings us closer to the goal of peace and harmony. This, I think, is what Parker fears (and the cats want): (Hat tip DK.) Yesterday, for example, one of the cats (Lily, the boldest) let Parker sniff her. Of course, I had my hand on his collar the whole time, but still, progress. Then, later that day, another cat (Nick, the ball of orange spite that makes Bucky look like a model citizen) tried to hit him for no reason. Oy.

Diane and her sister made Parker a bed for Xmas. I think he likes it: Three guesses what he's staring at.

It's amazing what you can do with a well-focused dog: Unfortunately, he was focused on a cat. Baby steps.

Via the Freakonomics blog, the New Scientist has examined the science behind the eternal question, dogs or cats? Utility Dogs can hunt, herd and guard. They can sniff out drugs and bombs and even whale faeces; they guide blind and deaf people, race for sport, pull sleds, find someone buried by an avalanche, help children learn and possibly even predict earthquakes. Cats are good if you have an infestation of rodents. Perhaps that assessment is unfair, though. After all, we love our pets for other...

Parker got a chance to explore Oakwood Park today, the first sunny day we've had since we got here a week ago. The park is huge—I would guess about 75 hectares—and Parker (with help) ran around the whole thing: He also did exceptionally well on come-sit drills, leading me to the conclusion that he knows when I have treats. Of course, so does everyone else, like this beautiful Rhodesian ridgeback who kept sticking her nose into my treat pocket: Parker is now sleeping, which I hope lasts through the first...

I tried to get out ahead of the weather on Tuesday, but it found me. The trip started out at just past 7am with the car in this condition: By mid-Indiana Parker had had enough: And on the arrival end, the residents have still not fully accepted their houseguest: Parker and the cats have had words. Barks, growls, and hisses, actually. We're still trying to get them to stay in the same room together without either freaking out. This means, in practice, one of us coaxing the cats from behind the sofa while...

We got to Raleigh in one piece through a billion liters of rain, it seemed. Then this morning we got right back in the car to rescue one of our hosts after her radiator blew a hose: We also got out of Chicago just ahead of the bone-chilling cold and snow that has started to make living there a true test of character. I love Chicago, but you know, sometimes, it's not bad to skip out for a little while.

The bed is just a suggestion, apparently:

Field trip to Noethling Park (a.k.a. Wiggly Field) today, with a ball and a Chuck-It: Everyone had a blast until Sadie, a beagle, got tired of waiting for Parker to give her his ball. After some snarling and snapping, both humans decided the dogs were done with the park for the day. Here's Parker saying "nyah nyah" to both Sadie and me:

After two hours of classes this morning, both of which reminded me I need to study more, what better way to recover than with another Parker puppy video? The bed, by the way, lasted about four days. He shredded the thing like a Cuisinart.

You think he's cute now? This is Parker at 12 weeks, just a couple days after I adopted him:

Parker and I had a great two-hour walk this afternoon, punctuated by essays on Botswana and economic institutions (Duke reading). We stopped to admire the view at North Avenue, though I think Parker was more interested in the speedboat than the skyline: Here's the rest of the view:

The fuzzy dude is 3 years old today. Obligatory baby picture: That's his Petfinder mugshot from when he was about 8 weeks old. Here he is today: For his birthday he got extra soft food with breakfast, two Newman's dog treats, and some fresh ground parmesan on his lunchtime kibble. And an extra belly-rub.

...Parker was waiting for me to return. Everyone say "awww:" Photo: Debbie Kurtz

That's part of the fun in traveling 8 time zones away. More on that later. Meanwhile, my poor jet-lagged brain now has to accept that Parker may not actually love me, though he does a really good job convincing me he does.

Parker is asleep on my back porch and not allowed in the house because he decided, within 15 seconds of being off-leash at the park, that it would be fun to roll in a pile of gross, green, grass-covered, glistening, goose poop. We are now on our way to Petco for an emergency bath. Dogs.

1:15 pm, Chicago:

As Parker gets older and less likely to shred things, I'm leaving him alone for a few hours at a time without stuffing him in his crate. Of course, when he's crated, it's easy to put a camera on him. Not so much when he has run of the house. So, I've tried pointing the camera at places I thought he'd be likely to hang out. His crate, for example: Yes, that's an empty crate. OK, he doesn't hang out there when I'm gone. Got it. His bed in the living room, maybe? Well, he did stop by long enough to grab a...

I'm David Braverman, this is my blog, and Parker is my 3-year-old mutt. I last updated this About... page two years ago, so I thought it's time for a quick review. Here are the main topics on the Daily Parker: Parker, my dog, whom I adopted on 1 September 2006. Politics. I'm a moderate-leftie by international standards, which makes me a radical left-winger in today's United States. Software. I own a micro-sized software company in Chicago, Illinois, and I have some experience writing software. I see a...

We didn't hit the record for warmest November 5th today, but it did get within 1°C, to 22°C. After the euphoria (and, frankly, Champagne) of last night, I couldn't prevail against the weather, so Parker and I went to Wiggly Field with a Chuck-It: Parker has—I am not making this up—learned to dribble. He drops the ball from his mouth and catches it on the bounce, repeatedly: Mostly he just wants to chase the ball and keep it away from me once he's got it:

Sad day! I just realized Monday was Parker Day, the anniversary of when I adopted him. All he got was a heartworm pill. No wonder he's looking at me ruefully this morning.

The four-park sprint (and seeing some really great—and really patient—friends along the way) has ended. I'm off in a few minutes to restock my fridge and, at 4pm on the nose, to pick up Parker.

Yes, even Parker thinks this is cheesy:

Parker is two years old today. As is tradition, we all say: "awwww!" Also, this lovely armoire separates into four sections. The largest weighs two tonnes. I know this because a friend and I moved it yesterday. My doctor now knows this also. I haven't heard from my friend, so I can only assume he paid more attention to stretching and correct lifting techniques than I did.

Ah, ribs. Possibly my favorite food. Living in Chicago, there are options. And every year, I get to sample as many of those options as my stomach lets me at the annual Ribfest up at Lincoln and Damen. The festival is going on this weekend, so yesterday I dragged Parker there. It's a 5 km hike, and it was hot, and despite my assurances that really tasty treats waited for him at the end of the walk, he seemed to think we were heading for Bataan. When we finally got to the festival, Parker seemed to catch...

(I mean, other than because he loathes water.) No, it's about gasoline. I'm taking a summer vacation this year for the first time since 1992, and I had planned to load Parker and his smelly blanket into my Volkswagen and drive to San Francisco with him. Only, I just filled up my car this morning, and for the first time ever I crested $50. For gasoline. In my bleeding Volkswagen. Which caused me to whip out a spreadsheet and determine conclusively whether driving with Parker out to California makes any...

Devotees of the ParkerCam will have noticed it has shown a lot of Parker's empty crate lately. This happens because I have discovered the miracle of the dog bus, whereby Urban Out Sitters delivers Parker right to his crate (complete with peeb-stuffed Kong) on days when it's iffy I'll be able to pick him up before 7pm. The bus usually gets him home around 4pm, in case you're a slave to the ParkerCam.

'Nuff said.

After a several-week absence, the ParkerCam is back up.

I mean, other than the process of moving, which isn't at all fun, is that I'm giving up access to a yard. The guy painting my new apartment pointed out to me that there are 46 steps from the alley to the third floor, and said this made getting the tarps and things into the place that much less fun. I pointed out to him that I will have to traverse all 46 steps, in every weather, in every state of health, every day, three times a day, because I can't train my dog to use a toilet. As far as Parker will...

This morning I dropped Parker off at his new day camp, Urban Outsitters. Everyone was wagging when I left, though Parker seemed a little overwhelmed by the onrush of dogs. I was a little apprehensive, but I think he'll be fine. Do parents feel this way after dropping their kids off at a new school?

A very old friend of mine put her dog down this evening. I know how hard that was. Cali had a good life, and was loved. And she knew it. Every dog owner has to face this eventually: dogs only live a few years. That doesn't make it easier. In the Jewish tradition—in which I was raised, despite both my parents and me being devout atheists—we always acknowledge the sadness lurking behind joy. It's a Jewish curse to find the cloud behind every silver lining. We dip an egg in salt water at Passover to remind...

One week at overnight camp (Parker's day care provider also boards dogs, so he got to hang with his friends every day) has exhausted my dog. This is a common behavior in dogs, apparently. He was overjoyed to see me again in a way I've never seen in a human older than four, but as soon as we got home he climbed into his crate and passed out. (Actually he ate two entire bowls of kibble first.) Action shot:

I just got very good news for Parker: for the first time in his entire doggy life, he is free from all intestinal parasites. No more bad butt.

When we woke up this morning the temperature was -16°C. Did Parker care? He did not:

This leash used to be longer. I wonder what could have happened: Another $30 bitten in half by the Destrcuto-Beast.

Another one from Ninth Street, Durham: This was, of course, from Wednesday, not today. Wednesday it was warm; this morning it was below freezing. Apparently it does get cold in Durham, though "cold" here isn't "cold" back home. Jamie mentioned several times that the weather in Durham is much preferable to the weather in Chicago, because apparently she has forgotten last August. I guess it depends whether you prefer warm or cold weather. Tomorrow we're heading back to Chicago. Straight through. Twelve...

The amazing thing about this isn't that he's a handsome, happy dog, enjoying a beautiful autumn afternoon; it's that he's ignoring the squirrel directly behind him: All that training paid off, I guess.

From September:

My friend Sean visited over the weekend and brought with him a stuffed toy his wife made for Parker. The results were predictable, though Parker dispatched this one much faster than the vet toy he got for his birthday: Half an hour later: The next morning: Thank you anyway, Val. Parker said the toy was delicious. (Just don't ask me about his walk that evening.)

From this past weekend, in Lincoln Park, Chicago: Incidentally, the building behind him is the Parker School.

Poor guy. I got two bits of bad news for Parker. First, his bad butt has returned again, this time with bad, um, mouth as well. His vet suspects Crypto again, plus whatever else he may have picked up from his foraging in the yard. This time she was pretty direct in her prescription: No unsupervised, off-leash time at all, ever. So Parker will have to have walks with just me instead of going to the park or day camp for a couple of weeks. It also means that I won't just open the back door for him first...

For the first time in eight months, my dog has no odor. None. It turns out Petsmart has hypo-allergenic shampoo. (Last time they used stinky shampoo.) That is all. Photo to follow.

Note from the dog walking service yesterday: "He was great, as always. He looks real good in red. Went #2." (There were no hyperlinks in his note, of course.)

He loves the open office window. Not too many days of that left, though.

More from Saturday's Wright Way Rescue reunion: Schona, a 7-year-old Lab that Parker met:

Old rug, old sock, sunbeam. Dog is happy: Also, yesterday's note from the dog walking service made me feel almost as warm and fuzzy as Parker is: He met a puppy and he was very gentle and patient. Very nice. (No #2) That's my boy.

I'm not alone in the office today, but I may as well be: Parker is so tired he's not even getting up when I leave the room. Day camp works, I tell you. I should also point out one of the not-so-hidden costs of having an office puppy. Or, rather, a black office puppy on a white cotton rug. Yes, the rug in the photo above used to be blue and white. Now it's blue-grey and grey. And he's chewed it so much it can't be cleaned any more. But I discovered a possible solution: A couple of my friends have two...

After attending the ALS fundraiser (i.e., Lou Gehrig Day at Wrigley Field) last night, I decided to sleep past the normal play-group time and take Parker to day camp instead. Several bits of good news in this: first, the Les Turner ALS Foundation raised butt-loads of cash; second, even though the Cubs lost, so did the Brewers, so the Cubs are still only one game out of first place; third, Parker gets to hang out all day with his friends; and fourth, said hanging-out will make Parker sleep most of...

Parker and Goldie have started playing together mornings. Goldie, until recently, never had anything nice to say to Parker, so this surprised everyone: As a special bonus, I have some video of Parker (AVI, 10.3 MB) at my office. He has a new behavior: at the end of the day, when I pack everything in an get up to leave, he rushes forward with his paws stretched out front and slides across the terazzo floor. I have no idea why he does this, except perhaps because it's fun.

I recently started introducing Parker to some new foods that the dog walkers recommended, and what do you know? Parker cleans his bowl of every last kibble. There seems to be a side-effect, however: he's put on more than a kilo since his last weighing on July 4th, up to 26 kg. Back to a strict feeding schedule, dude. Sorry. Oh, and the ParkerCam is live today.

Paws for a moment. Also, I devoured Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend. I don't think I'm giving anything away when I tell you: Soylent Green is people! (I'll wait a discrete interval before writing more about the Potter book. You're on your own about Soylent Green.)

The stuffed vet that Danielle gave Parker a couple weeks ago still lives on—though empty of stuffing and looking a bit haggard: And Parker is live today. Astute viewers will notice a patch of something on his right hip. That's mud from this morning in the park. So tonight, he gets his quarterly bath.

Playing ball at sunset:

It's hot. Damn hot. Real hot. So yesterday afternoon I only spent about an hour at Tommy's, and made sure Parker had water: Why did I schlepp a bowl from home? Because while Nevin's staff very happily provide him with an aluminum take-out container full of water, Parker tends to dump the water out and then shred the container. Using the Fiesta bowl he's used to prevents the shredding part.

Apparently just having me tell him not to worry causes Parker not to worry. Last night I watched the Evanston fireworks display from Northwestern University's landfill, less than 2 km from the launch site. Whereas the night before Parker nearly went out of his skin because of my neighbors' Roman candles, the official (and very loud) city display didn't distract him from trying to catch fireflies.

6:09 am:

Parker will destroy just about anything he discovers in the back yard. Like this welcome mat, for example: Or this flower pot: Yesterday I also spent several entertaining moments removing children's bath toys from his mouth. I would take the boat, or scuba diver, or whatever, put it beyond his reach in the play house, and then go back to him and repeat the process until the kiddie pool was totally empty. He thought this was a fun game.

I forgot to mention how Parker is feeling. The antibiotics (only one of which had to be re-inserted in his food after he spat it out) seem to have done their job. Of course, on the way to visit his friends Sam and Hershey last night, he got to eat his dinner a second time. (Yeah, ew.) Here's the problem: there is no effective way to keep him from eating rabbit poop. He will get another crypto infection; and he'll have to be on heartworm pills year-round to prevent hookworm. He's not likely to grow out...

Yeah, you the dog: No ParkerCam tomorrow, so tune in now while he's there.

I like rodents, generally. As a kid I had gerbils. My college roommate Sean's wife raises angora rabbits. They're fuzzy, small, and the subject of cartoons we all grew up with. Rabbits, however, carry Cryptosporidium canis, a single-celled protozoan that causes bad butt. Parker, garbage dog that he is, finds rabbit poop as delicious as any other kind, and so he managed to give himself a lovely infection that has now cost me almost $100. (This figure includes the $10 the trainer charged me for cleaning...

Warm morning, park, big stick. Parker is happy: And because everyone is back home, the ParkerCam is on today.

Yes, it's a holiday, but when you own a small business sometimes you work seven days a week. Yesterday, for example, Parker came in to help with my filing: I don't think I'll staff the job out to him just yet, however, given his propensity to eat the files. I'm still looking for cicadas, though none seems to have emerged near me. Yesterday riding my bike I heard one in Highland Park and one in Winnetka, but so far I haven't heard any, nor seen any nymphs or shells in Evanston. If Parker only knew they...

Parker's brand-new friend Harper showed up at the dog park this morning: Harper (named after author Lee and therefore destined to become friends with Boo) was the runt of 13 puppies born 15 weeks ago. Her owner reports that Harper has nearly doubled in weight over the past three weeks—a phenomenon I know all too well. And despite my inherent bias towards my own handsome pooch, I have to say Harper is the cutest thing to hit the park since Paris left for Milwaukee in March.

From our visit to the park Saturday Morning: Parker sees an old friend. I just missed catching him in his "no one can see me" crouch, in which he, a black dog with a wagging tail on short green grass, completely fails to surprise anything he thinks he's stalking. Late correction, 12:45 CT: "Old" was exactly the wrong word for two reasons, now that I remember who was there. A 10-week-old golden retiever moved to the neighborhood recently; Parker met her for the first time moments after I took this photo....

This little piggy went to hell: Parker disembowels yet another toy, decapitating it in the process. So sad. This was one of his very first toys: a little squeaky pig that I got at the adoption event back in September.

Parker and I are hard at work at Inner Drive Technology World HQ: I don't know how long we'll stay, because it's ridiculously nice outside. That is all.

There has to be a caption here. Thoughts? No ParkerCam today; back tomorrow.

Having a ball in the yard: I noticed I missed Wendesday's Daily Parker. Expect a bonus weekend edition tomorrow or Sunday, then.

Just for giggles I took a few photos of Parker as he complained about me going to work this morning. It's easy, by the way, to get him to stop complaining: a frozen, peanut-butter filled Kong works fine. Photo #1 shows him as he realized that I was getting ready to leave: Photo #2 shows his dissatisfaction with this turn of events: And yes, Virginia, there is a ParkerCam today (and tomorrow).

One more from yesterday: only this time, I think a caption is in order. Thoughts? How about, "Um...could you give me a push?" No ParkerCam today or tomorrow. He's at day camp, so I have more time to finish my current project in West Kishinev.

Parker didn't seem to mind much when Ron picked him up: A moment later, though, I think he wanted to get down: Poor guy, doesn't get any respect. Parker, I mean.

Hmm. Problems with the new ParkerCam angle have become apparent in short order. Dogs naturally sleep with their backs to the wall. So putting the ParkerCam against the back wall of the room means we get six hours of Parker's butt today: Back to one, I guess.

Emboldened, perhaps, by his recent successes with tennis balls, yesterday afternoon Parker decided to hunt bigger game. Alas, his spatial-reasoning abilities have not yet fully developed: We still had a great time playing catch. Being crated most of the day along with continued treatment for his embarrassing problem left him with a lot more energy than usual: He's not quite World Cup material, but he's still only a puppy. Also, I'm experimenting with the ParkerCam a little. Instead of just wondering...

Parker had a terrific time at day camp yesterday. The over-tired energy you sometimes see in puppies and children conquered his fatigue, so he spent an hour playing with my neighbor's toddlers, and then half an hour with this tennis ball: Notice two things. First, he's not so much running as staring at the ball willing it to move. He did run at full-speed around the yard a few times, but perhaps because he was so tired, he seemed to have trouble with the concept of "ball." Second, though it's hard to...

The ParkerCam will not have anything interesting (i.e., Parker) to show today, since Parker has gone to day camp. Also, I don't have any new photos. So, once again, I present a Classic TDP, never before seen here, from the day after I met him: Yes, he once was that tiny.

Heavy sigh. Parker and I just got back from the vet, where we picked up a six-pack of prescription dog food and another vial of dog-odium. The dog-walker's note says it all: "No treat today. Parker had real bad butt today." I give credit to Parker for his housekeeping, despite it all. He kept almost all of it inside his crate, and then carefully placed his blanket over it. But he still appeared to feel really, really guilty when I got home, so after carrying him outside, I gave him a good bit of praise....

While I'm working out here in Kyiv (actually Oak Brook, Ill.), Parker has to stay for hours on end in his crate. I feel bad about him being alone for so long (even though he gets walked around 1pm), but let's review why he's in a crate: Tomorrow, though, the ParkerCam will be dark, because Parker gets to go to day care with his friends—and, more for my peace of mind, with the trainer who got him to understand the difference betwen me and the rest of his litter mates. Also of note, a friend touring...

P-Dogg and I had a ball yesterday: Chicago weather is truly wonderful. Yesterday Parker and I tossed this tennis ball around for half an hour, and yet only four days earlier it snowed. Parker, of course, does not care about the weather: Nor does he consider, for a moment, where that tennis ball has been:

The vet just called: Since Parker's condition has, um, firmed up, he can now go back day care again.

I'm still schlepping out to Kishinev (near Kyiv) every morning, so again all I have to offer is the dog walker's message from yesterday: "No business, but he's back to his usual self. #2: No. Treat." Simple, concise, nicely encapsulating my dog's afternoon. Also, I've made a minor configuration change to the ParkerCam. A problem with the upload process had caused it to blank out occasionally; I've now fixed that. Enjoy.

In lieu of a photo, just a note from the dog walking service: "Wow, what a crappy day. Parker didn't mind a bit. #2: No."

All right, I admit, sometimes I really hate Chicago's weather. Parker, who has never experienced a really hot Chicago summer (though he probably experienced some serious heat on the farm near his birthplace in Carbondale, Ill.), seems to enjoy it: Yes, folks, it's snowing in April. And because it's just above freezing, the snow is heavy, wet, and slushy. Parker took one look out the door this morning and bounded into the yard like...well, like a puppy. Bad news, P-dogg: no play group tonight. It will be...

I've started a new project that is consuming almost every waking moment, so unfortunately I have no new Parker photo today. Instead, I'll re-post a classic, from last September:

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...

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.

On Sunday I posted about catching a dog running loose in town. This afternoon I spoke with the local animal shelter to see if she had gotten back home. Short answer: no. It seems that Sandy, the slightly-overweight, very sweet beagle mix that Parker and I collared, is a regular visitor to the shelter. Six times, in fact. And each time, the owner gets cited, and each time, the owner takes several days to collect her. Sandy also has a brother, who is also a slightly-pudgy, very sweet beagle mix, whom the...

I meant to put this photo up earlier. A week ago Monday, just three days after he had a nice bath, the warmer weather gave Parker a field of mud to play in: You should have seen the other guy. At least Parker has black fur; some of his friends showed the dirt a lot better on their white coats.

After only five minutes of tug-of-war with Parker, I had to throw in the towel. Or, what was left of it, anyway: After the first loud ripping noise (15 seconds into the game), I figured, in for a penny, in for a dime.

My idea of a down-stay: Parker's idea:

Parker is jumping for joy at the weather: Today's temperature has already hit 21°C and it's still rising. Also of note, last night was the first night since January 12th that Chicago's temperature did not go below freezing. Happy spring! In related news, Ravinia Festival has decided to reconfigure its schedule because of the 17-year cicadas that start singing at the end of May this year. The Daily Parker anxiously awaits Parker's reaction to the bugs.

Quick: who's cuter? OK, no real contest here. He's also better looking than I am:

Parker had a well-needed bath today, complete with an unfortunately sweet-smelling shampoo and a bandanna that even Parker thinks looks silly: Now he's pooped. The first spot he chose to lie in happened to be the spot I was just about to vacuum, so his day just keeps getting worse. He might not even get to play with his friends tonight; last night, the park was so muddy we had to move across the street. Poor Parker. It's a dog's...well, you know.

Parker's new crate actually has more than double the area of his old crate. He has enough room to flop on his side and to turn around comfortably. Plus, he has his favorite crusty old bedspread to sleep on: A note about that crusty, old bedspread. Anne informs me that she paid about $150 for it a few years ago, and it only acquired its patina of puppy puke and peanut butter (along with several gashes and other miscellaneous defilements) in the last six months or so. She volunteered no thoughts about how...

One of the side-effects of obedience training I didn't know ahead of time is that Parker is now crate-trained. Since he's also more than double the size he was when I first met him, the crate I had for him was a little tight. So I bought him a new crate, with more than double the footprint of his old one, and with a lot more light and air. Enough light and air, in fact, that I can point the ParkerCam at him when he's in it: Check for Parker during the day. If I remember to bring the camera to my office...

Parker went to the vet yesterday because I noticed this lovely thing growing in his lip: The diagnosis? Dogwarts, also known as canine oral papilloma. Seriously. He has the doggy equivalent of HPV, in that it's pretty much the same virus and it's also just about as common (most dogs have it). It's spread through saliva, so most dogs get it when they play with lots of other dogs. It's the doggy "social disease." There's no pain, but there's no cure either, so it will just go away on its own—after he...

Heel, heel, heel, sit, down, stay...it's all so tiring: Also: good news to ParkerCam fans. The ParkerCam will return Thursday.

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:

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...

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...

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:

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...

It seemed like the perfect toy: a hand-puppet with extra padding and a squeaky, so that Parker could play with our hands and (a) not really compute that hands are involved and (b) not bite our hands to shreds. When finished with the toy, we put it back in Parker's toy basket. Well, last night, Parker decided to play with the toy, and as is his wont, he disemboweled it: Maybe if it had a Kevlar coating it might have lasted longer...

Ordinarily I would not be happy to wake up at 5:15am. Today, however, I was overjoyed, because except for a brief moment around 1:30 when I had to shove Parker's fuzzy butt out of my space (he was laying across the bed almost completely), we both slept through the night. My hypothesis from yesterday confirmed, I will now spend at least an hour a night running him ragged. It probably helped also that everyone—and I mean, everyone—was at last night's play group: Boo, Scotchie, Hannah, Dexter, Buck...

I love Parker. Who wouldn't? I mean, look at him, sleeping so peacefully: But last night around 2:30am he was neither peaceful nor adorable. In fact, from 2:30 until about 4:30, he whined, chewed my comforter, squeaked a toy repeatedly, barked at random intervals, and went outside twice—without actually descending the stairs into the yard. By the way, this is the second night in a row that Parker has confused 2:30 with 6:00. If he does it again tonight, I don't know what I'll do, since killing him seems...

My caption: "October 23. Parker helps with the laundry." I can only imagine his caption, but I'd bet it would mention a huge pile of chew-toys.

Imagine the consequences of having a black puppy on a white duvet. Then again, why imagine?

I don't always understand Parker, but here, I believe he's saying "Victory!" Requiescat in pacem, Sofa (1998-2007):

Everything, no matter how inert, must be sniffed. Like this rock, for example:

I mean, come on, is he not the cutest dog? ...And as a special bonus, here's a look at spiders on drugs, via a long-time blog reader: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1734043.

We got back from Miami late Friday. Parker, happy to have us home, wanted to keep us as close as possible Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday, for example, he kept close to Anne even while Anne was off doing other things: Also, my project start got pushed to either Thursday or next Monday (I'll find out later today). That means Parker came to the office with me this morning, and will probably come back again on Wednesday. He loves coming to the office. Of course, he seems to love just about everything in...

Anne and I are someplace warm (see second photo), but Parker is never far from our thoughts. Here he is New Year's Eve in what we must assume is doggy heaven: At the moment, we are in people heaven, so I can't guarantee any more postings until Saturday. I hope everyone else is, if not as warm as we are (25°C, 77°F on the beach), at least as happy.

I'm an hour late getting in TDP, for which I'm sorry. Today was the last business day of 2006, and possibly Parker's last day in the office for a while (I'll be working downtown starting next month). Fittingly, here's Parker, doing what he does best: being a good office puppy. The ParkerCam will return! (Possibly tomorrow...)

The couch is dead. We're going to take it to the street tonight or tomorrow, because Parker has quite literally beaten the stuffing out of it. He even knows he's being bad, running away from it the moment I take a step toward him. But just seconds after I turn away, there he is again, performing dog-o-suction on the cushions: I'm going to bet that no one takes it before the trash haulers find it. I might even bet that they will leave it behind, too.

Parker made it all the way to St. Louis and back without yakking. How did he do it? He slept the whole way:

...there was Eliza: I got my first camera in June 1983. Now, more than 23 years later, I'm scanning all the old slides and negatives. It's a little trippy. I keep finding things like this photo of the pet gerbil I had back then. I've also found a whole bunch of documentary shots around Northbrook, Ill., where I grew up. I'll re-shoot some of these at some point and post some then-and-now views. Here's a preview: the LP stacks at the Northbrook Public Library. They were still about two years from their...

Even when he's not being bad, he still looks guilty: Probably no Daily Parker until Tuesday. Have a wonderful holiday, and don't eat the sofa. (I mean you, Mr. "Who Me?".)

Parker, being an angel at Inner Drive Technology World Headquarters, with one of his favorite things in the world: a bully stick. If only he knew what they really were. I only found out just now as I researched this post. Ew.

I know, I've been a little delinquent with TDP posts. And today I'm actually phoning it in. First, Danielle's question, "Where is Parker?" As far as I know, Parker is at home asleep on our bed. The ParkerCam shows nothing but a chewie because that's the last image from when he was here yesterday. Despite the caption, he's not in the office today, so there isn't a new ParkerCam image. Check back tomorrow morning. Second, the couch destruction continues apace. Here is our dear looking innocent: And not so...

I have to take more photos of Parker when he's not asleep. Today, however, you get another sleeping puppy shot: No ParkerCam today, because of a lunch meeting. He's at home waiting for the dog walker to stop by.

I went to take a quick snapshot of Parker in his give-me-a-belly-rub pose, when he caught sight of the camera strap. The outcome was, I suppose, predictable: If you're interested, here's the pose in question:

Our little puppy isn't so little any more. Here's a before-and-after in which you can actually see the difference. The "before" shot is from September 8th, when he weighed 8 kg (18 lbs): The "after" shot is from about five minutes ago: He now weighs 17.7 kg (39 lbs), fully 10 kg (22 lbs) more than when we got him. So he's still growing a full kilo (2.2 lbs) every nine days: We're now revising our original prediction of 22 kg (50 lbs). I think he may come close to 30 kg (66 lbs), but Anne thinks he's not...

We're back, with the ParkerCam. I didn't intend to go five days without posting anything, but the office DSL modem—a crappy 2Wire model—has sporadically dropped the internal network connection. So while the DSL worked just fine, the modem stopped communicating with the rest of the office. No blogs, no email, no weather: quelle horreur. More later.

Parker is at home this afternoon. Due to a mix-up with the dog walker, he got two walks today because I was home all morning dealing with people in the house, but he got no walks yesterday. This explains why he bounced off walls for three hours last night instead of his usual two. Today's photo has nothing to do with any of that. It's just an average shot from two weeks ago, showing the eternal cuteness of Parker and the anything-but-eternal good weather that we had over Thanksgiving: If you live in the...

Anne sent this photo earlier today: For some reason, it looks the same in black and white as it does in color...

Parker stayed home today, which is why today's Daily Parker includes perhaps more personal information than I generally share. I have a spare laptop, so I was able to set up the ParkerCam in our bedroom today. So here he is, in his Safe Place, proving that he's cuter than all get-up even when he doesn't know anyone is watching: This shot is from earlier today. I didn't use a more recent shot because the little darling found a pair of my boxers, and that is simply too personal for this blog. Finally, for...

As promised, I brought both the dog and a camera to the Dawes Park dog beach this afternoon. (I forgot bags though. Oops.) It's a freaky-warm 16°C (61°F) today, so while Parker and I both found it a little too chilly for a dip, we both had fun with the other dogs (including his friend Louie from his morning play group). Here he is conteplating the vastness of Lake Michigan: A little later, after some heavy wrestling with an American bulldog-boxer mix named Quincy, Parker seemed pretty happy (and...

Parker still hates the Halti: But within 90 seconds of getting it taken off, he forgets about it:

OK, I think I've got the ParkerCam figured out. Here's the current arrangement: And here's what the ParkerCam sees: It's impossible to keep up with him sometimes, so very often you'll just see an empty rug. Or, after Parker has done some redecorating, a scrunched-up rug: Now we're going for a walk, so I can get lunch before Whole Foods turns into a zoo.

Anne just confirmed that the "Parker has halitosis" photo is now a ThinkGeek Action Photo. Maybe it's time to get Parker an agent? Or, possibly, a toothbrush?

I remembered my camera today, but alas, Parker is at home (so no ParkerCam). Here he is Sunday struggling (as any rational being would do) to get out from under a Cardinals blanket:

Last Monday was the first anniversary of this blog. I completely forgot. As penance, I will now post this photo Anne took ten minutes ago (she and Parker are at home; I'm still at World Headquarters):

Duh. Today I forgot not only my camera, but also the memory card inside the camera with the photos that I wanted to post. We'll just have to make do with the ParkerCam:

Oh, poor puppy. Today is the Big Operation. But even as the vet was leading him away, he had no idea what she was about to do to him. There are just too many interesting smells at the animal hospital. And he was probably hoping someone would feed him, since we "forgot" this morning: The worst part: No dog park for a week! Poor little guy.

I'm trying an experiment: the ParkerCam. It may not be around long, and it's only going to be on when Parker is in my office. Still, if it's running, it will update every 60 seconds. Sometimes you'll just see my office floor; other times, such as this writing, you'll see a sleeping puppy.

Parker appeared to have a good time at yesterday's (Wednesday's) play group. He's found two friends, Boo and Guster, who not only put up with him but appear to like having him around. Of course, they're both slightly larger than Parker: For some reason, except for Boo and Erin, almost every dog in the group has a name ending in "-er." And they're overwhelmingly male; Erin is the only regular female attendee. I wonder why this is. On that theme, tomorrow I'll look at the limited color palette of the play...

This is not how he's acting right now. (Excuse me while I extract teeth from my arm.) Also, my previous post reflects a certain "duh!" factor, since I actually had off-loaded this photo already. So, duh. He's still adorable.

Here's the deal: I forgot to download the photos for today's DP from my camera. I won't get to do it before midnight UTC (6 pm Central Time). So this isn't really a TDP. It's just an explanation of why there's no DP today. On the other hand, I didn't figure to have a TDP tomorrow. So tomorrow's DP will be today's. Follow? In other shocking news, Britney Spears filed for divorce today. Speaking of silly puppies.

Post-bath nap on Saturday. He has trained us to rub his belly whenever he does this; can't think how.

There will probably be no Daily Parker on Wednesday, so I'm hedging. Anne took this photo today after Parker had a bath and a good nap: We love our puppy, but after a couple of weeks without shampoo he gets pretty rank. Now he's soft and, well, only a little rank. We still love him though.

Parker has halitosis:

It's cold this morning (-6°C, 21°F), but not cold enough to keep Parker from running himself ragged at the dog park. I love this, because today is an Office Puppy day. As is our custom, we left from the park, stopped at my office to pick up my coffee mug, and then made our ritual pilgimage to Peet's. There Parker and I met Georgiana Penelope ("my husband called me Georgiana but my family called me Penny"), a local resident, who said Parker had beautiful markings and was the sweetest puppy she'd met....

As my major infrastructure project continues apace, Parker is keeping me company. I know I've posted lots of photos of him sleeping in my office, but I'm so happy about it, and he's so adorable, why not post another? He occasionally rouses himself, too: This is a marked improvement over yesterday when he attacked every cloth item in the place.

I love Parker's play group. So does Parker. Here's our dude and his friend Goldie: Erin, a miniature pinscher: Erin's brother, Jester: I completely forgot this guy's name: And of course, Parker's mom:

Parker and Jackson got a good workout yesterday: They played for about three hours, half in the morning and half in the afternoon. Right now he's asleep on my office floor. What a great puppy.

I've managed to stanch the bleeding from today's server crash, but sadly I only have enough brain power left to phone in today's Daily Parker. This "Flying Nun" look is awfully cute, though: At the moment, he's asleep on my office floor, right next to the slightly-chewed part of the carpet. But it's time to go to the dog park, so I think I'll have to wake him up.

Wow, did we have an exhausting weekend. Anne had to go out of town, so Parker and I had a "boys night out" with one of my business partners. Only, when my colleague and I first planned to get together over beer and ribs (our traditional "BNO" activity), he had completely forgotten about the pumpkin-carving party at his home. Change of plans: Parker dutifully got into the car and off we went to my colleague's house, where he and his wife were entertaining seven two-year-olds and their parents. I forgot...

Today we're catching up on four-week-old Netflix movies, a pile of magazines, and needed sleep. Parker has accompanied me throughout the apartment, giving me a new understanding of the phrase "puppy dogging." Same thing yesterday. I went into the lab at one point and less than thirty seconds elapsed before Parker repositioned his nap closer to me: It's really adorable, but I expect it wastes a lot of energy (which is maybe why he's napping?). I get up, cross the room, and he watches to make sure I'm not...

Parker, ecstatic not to spend the morning in a crate, has transformed himself into a model office pooch today: Of course, the chewie probably helps:

Parker has discovered birds: Also, a definition. I've arbitrarily defined "Daily" to mean "once per weekday," and also (because I'm a total geography nerd) defining "day" as starting at midnight Universal Coordinated Time (which is 7pm Central Daylight Time). Today, being Saturday, is a bonus TDP, you lucky dog. Parker is going to the office later today, too, so there may be yet another bonus TDP if you check back later.

Today Parker is (probably) 18 weeks old, and he's growing fast. We've noticed his ear cartilege firming up a bit, so right now he often has a one-up-one-down look that Anne finds particularly precious: Here's a comparison shot from six weeks ago: Also, he slept more than 7½ hours last night, a new record. Sadly, though, he spent 5½ hours in his crate yesterday, also a new record, the poor dear. But when we discovered an exposed wire on a power cord that (fortunately) wasn't plugged in, we realized his...

It rained a lot yesterday, but Parker doesn't care. In fact, he's not too fond of the toweling-off process that follows a good splash through the dog park. Maybe he'd prefer a blow dry? (Um, no.)

Anne loves this photo:

The whole family went to Meramec State Park, near Sullivan, Mo., over the weekend. It was Parker's first long car trip with us. Never before in my life have I cared as much about what goes into and out of another living creature; the car trip only intensified this feeling. Observe Parker as he was for perhaps 98% of the trip: Now observe him as he appeared twice on the way up and twice on the way down: That's not guilt, believe it or not. That's a seriously unhappy puppy preparing to demonstrate the...

Here is the artist and his work, in which he shows he's moved on from textiles to sculpture: That's a $600 armoire. He is so crated from now on. No TDP tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll make up for it on Monday.

Ah, Parker, having fun at the dog park, yelling at the camera. I'm posting this photo so you can imagine the toothy grin, energetic bouncing, and ecstatic barking, but in the dark at 5:45 am. At least he's now slept through the night twice in a row.

We are ecstatic: our ball of fur and teeth finally, after seven weeks, slept through the night. He woke up only when he heard Abby Ryan's traffic report on NPR. Then he danced on our heads until we took him outside. I hope this is the first of many nights we can finally sleep seven straight hours.

Though not rising to the destructive level of a nuclear-armed rogue state, Parker has nonetheless embarked on a radical remodeling of our house: And yet, he's just so adorable. It almost makes up for it:

Parker gets more comfortable at the dog park every day, but he still has a ways to go. Then again, maybe I'd be apprehensive if a 60 kg (130 lb) rottweiller were chasing me. I don't know if I'd hide under a picnic table, though: He recovered nicely (the rottweiller is actually a very sweet dog), and made some new friends.

When we got Parker just over a month ago he was timid, to say the least. He would whine and whine if one of us left the room, apparently not realizing that we were still part of his life or that he could just follow us into the other room. He was terrified of cars zooming down our block. The first time I tried to take him for a walk, a runner came towards us; Parker got so spooked that he yanked the leash out of my hand and retreated behind a neighbor's bushes. He couldn't negotiate the stairs on our...

Two-for-one today. First, yesterday Parker had some play time with our downstairs neighbor's dog Jackson. All of us, including our neighbors, hope they play together more often, because both dogs were tuckered out and slept like angels the rest of the day. This photo shows Parker before he figured out that he outweighs Jackson 3:2: Earlier yesterday Parker visited my office. Does he look guilty to you? He does to me. But maybe that's just wishful thinking. Note how far he had to travel to get something...

He knows he's being bad. He just can't help it.

I took 95 photos of the puppy yesterday while we were outside; here's one more:

Today we had people working inside the house and on the roof, so I had to keep Parker occupied. I got almost no work done—bringing the book outside with me was wishful thinking—so I went back in and got my camera. Here are some of the results:

Anne and I had company last night: my colleague Cameron Beatley, his wife Sarah, and their two-year-old son Jamie. Parker had never gotten the opportunity to play with a small person before. Cameron apparently got in the way:

I'm David Braverman, and this is my blog. This blog has actually been around for nearly a year, giving me time to figure out what I wanted to do with it. Initially, I called it "The WASP Blog," the acronym meaning "Weather, Anne, Software, and Politics." It turns out that I have more than four interests, and I post to the blog a lot, so those four categories got kind of large. I also got kind of tired of the old colors. And, today, I finally had the time to upgrade to das Blog 1.9, which came out just a...

Parker loves the camera, and wants to kiss it:

Anne just emailed me: "Parker is in the bedroom again." This means our little ball of fur and teeth has probably killed another shoe, or has, in some way, prevented her from working. So far the casualties include an ancient Ikea sofa we were planning to replace anyway, a Dell power cord (fortunately on the DC side of the brick), several throw pillows, and nearly an entire bottle of odor-eating spray-on enzymes. He's the most adorable little thing about 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time he makes...

Still one little problem with our otherwise criminally adorable puppy: separation anxiety. He's familiar enough with my office that he feels comfortable re-arranging the rug, but if I step out, he starts crying immediately. So this afternoon we're going to work on that until my nerves fray. This will have to be after I confirm the building is empty, of course, because our lobby is marble and terrazzo, giving his whining an unbelievable reverberating increase in volume.

Today is the North Shore Century, a 100-mile bike ride I've trained all summer for. Sadly, I'm not riding today, because a little less than a week ago my gallbladder turned itself green, and my doctors didn't think a major athletic event five days after surgery would be a good idea. But I can't stop wondering, how would I be doing? I expect I would have left Dawes Park around 8, three hours ago. That means I'd probably already be in Kenosha and would have started my return trip. Current weather in...

When I ate lunch on Sunday, my gallbladder contracted to help digest some of the cheese in my salad. A tiny piece of calcium was already lodged in my biliary duct, however, preventing bile from getting out. My gallbladder persevered. It pushed. It shuddered mightily against the stone. It had me doubled over in agony and Anne rushing me to Evanston Hospital. All of this on its own would have caused enough pain to last a decade if the gallbladder had simply given up and allowed the stone to wiggle its way...