http://pixel4.net/blog Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:48:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Last night, Kathy and I decided to go on a dinner date to the mall. We're not big mall people, and we certainly had no desire to participate in the rampant consumerism, but we thought it would be fun to wander around and just hang out in a "normal" ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/12/13/the-glass-rhinoceros/ Whenever I stop writing in my blog, you should know by now that I'm either (a) really busy and traveling a lot or (b) tired of writing or (c) both. The hiatus over, really, the past six or seven weeks is mostly because of (a) and only a little ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/11/30/adventurous-month/ Today I had to come to Los Angeles for a total of two hours to do some Very Important Work. Even though my flight was delayed, I'm flying between two pleasant airports on planes that, interestingly, aren't half-filled in either direction. This makes for relaxed travel despite the ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/11/04/double-whammy/ Last weekend we did a 10k walk in Boulder for the CROP Walk, an annual fundraiser for local, national, and world hunger relief. Someone took a picture of part of the group... and we're identifiable: (Hint: Where's Zamba?) http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/11/03/walking-with-the-blob/ This year's coloration has been as good as I've seen it. Some people say that summertime moisture promotes better fall colors. I don't know if that's true or not, but I can say that it's fascinating to me how much variation there is in the hue shift. ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/09/28/mountain-fall/ For the past year, I've spent an inordinate amount of my time at work trying to hire new people. It just takes forever. And good results (like, actually hiring someone) are hard to come by. I think mostly this is because, for this job, we need people ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/09/25/interview-fun/ After spending some nine days in California, it's great to be back home just in time for the transition into peak fall. Kathy and I took some time this weekend to cruise around our backyard and assess the sights. It's always a little tricky, because the color change ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/09/23/fall-has-arrived/ I have a poker tournament named after me. Okay, really the only reason it's so named is to entice me to come and supposedly donate my dollars to my opponents. Nevertheless, said tournament has a real trophy made of poker chips, an old-fashioned cigarette tin, and some St. ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/09/22/book-signings-and-the-benbux-invitational/ One of the my favorite aspects of personal finance, mixed in amongst the doldrums of boring, repetitive data entry and upkeep, is future cash flow. It's pretty much the most important thing most regular people want to know, too, right? How much money will I have [then]? ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/08/29/cashflow-analysis-in-scheme/ Folks, winter is on the way. Just two weeks ago, we were all sitting around in our un-air-conditioned house about to melt. The heat was ever-present, reaching 90 at our abode during midday. Bringing a newf into worst possible thermal environment at that time was doubly challenging, ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/08/15/winter-willing/ Sounds like something from Lost, huh? It's been 13 days since we got Zamba. She's now 14 weeks old. She weighs 45 pounds tonight, up from 38 upon arrival. (She's within an inch of Chaco's height at this point.) Today we arranged a "play date" with three other newf puppies, including the runt ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/08/08/13-14-45-0/ In addition to having an infatuation for water, our new puppy is also blessed with a very special brain. You see, it has a built in "lag factor." She needn't be under the influence of mind-altering chemicals (I suppose water will do). There don't have to be ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/07/29/high-latency/ Zamba is a consummate water lover! She likes it any way she can get it: drinking, slobbering, falling from the sky, or in her swimming pool. The first thing she did when she got home and found the water bowl, after taking thirty enormous gulps, was to ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/07/28/the-wet-dog/ That's Zamba to you. Several months ago we began our search for a Newfoundland (a.k.a. "newfie" or "newf") puppy. Several breeders, stillborn litters, and heart murmurs later, we found our Zamba: She's been with us at home for six days now, having spent a nice, long 11 weeks with her litter ... http://pixel4.net/blog/archives/2008/07/26/world-meet-zamboni/