Our nephew-in-law, Matt, had his college graduation party today, so we headed out to Crystal Lake. Katie and Julie had a fine time running around the back yard and meeting the various puppies in attendance -- jeff_duntemann and Carol's new bichon and another fellow's boser pup, both of whom seemed quite happy around really young children. The girls are still too young to have a dog. :)

Well, I finally found out where someone had squirreled away the cart that I needed to take everything down to the van at work. I'd already moved it to a closer space when I sent down to meet jdonat and Michelle to retrieve the coolers we'd sent for Picnicon, so that would be relatively convenient. I tossed all the wiring into a bag, piled everything on the cart, and headed down the elevator...

Green Card Instructions Or, ASQGSA - ASCII Stupid Question, Get a Stupid ANSI http://blog.writch.com/2009/07/branch-on-power-off.html FSM Fold, Spindle, and Mutilate hat tip jeff_duntemann

A mixture of random links I've collected in lieu of content: Idiot Compassion - A reflection on the idea that sometimes the best thing to do for somebody who has a problem is the opposite of what they want you to do, or what feels good. Farming on Mars? - Well, actually Milwaukee, not Mars. But the ideas in this interesting if long article point out the kind of intensive agriculture that would...

For my Canadian readers, happy Canada day ! ETA Ooops! That's tomorrow (embarrassed grin). Well, enjoy anyway. For jeff_duntemann , happy (a day late) birthday!

Happy Birthday bohemiancoast & jeff_duntemann

jeff_duntemann , Carol, their nephew, Brian, Q-Bit, and Aero came by to join us for dinner tonight, as Jeff and Carol are about to hit the road back to Colorado. I grilled hamburgers and hot dogs while Katie and Julie enjoyed playing with Jeff, Carol, Brian, and the very bouncy -- but child-wary! -- dogs. And a good time was had by all. :)

For the people out there (hi, Mark!) who truly enjoy torture by hot peppers, Chile-Head is a good reference point.   Me, that’s overkill. Jeff Duntemann has a fun article about a local-to-him diner in Des Plaines, IL called the Sugar Bowl that is worth a read. I tried this BBQ place in a Beavercreek, OH location ; it’s not bad at all, but it’s not stellar.   Central and Western Ohio sorts...

Well, if they hadn't delayed the start of last night's Cubs game by 35 minutes waiting for a phantom thunderstorm that apparently missed the ballpark -- we had about two minutes of rain and they covered the field at about 6:55 PM -- they might have finished the game on schedule. As it was, the rain arrived in earnest after the seventh inning and I left. They played another half-inning before covering...

The first Capricon meeting of the year is tonight, so I'm heading home to grab dinner with daisy_knotwise , jeff_duntemann , Katie, and Julie beforehand. In work-related news, after beating my head against the wall for a while, I think I've finally figured out the correct way to handle the initial updating of the views in our application, which is made more complex by the fact that...