Now that Charlie is neutered and has all his vaccines, he can start "socializing" with other dogs. The trouble is, he only gets to see other dogs when he goes on his walks. So I decided to take him to Doggie Day Care. Even though Charlie is a bit of a wild man at home, he turns into a shrinking Violet when he goes out in public. I had to coax him through the door of Doggie Day Care, especially when he heard several loud barks coming from inside. But the day care worker quickly took him into the "small dog room" and he had a gay old time playing with Ginger (a small Pomeranian). I think it's a hoot that Doggie Day Care has cubbies for each dog's leash, just like Brian's old pre-school had cubbies for shoes.
I also took Charlie to Pet Smart to buy a t-shirt when he goes walking in the snow. He doesn't really get cold on his walks, but he likes to face-plant in the snow which sticks to all that wavy hair on his back and belly.
The temperature climbed back up into positive double digits, so Susan and I rode our bikes around the neighborhood trail. The nice thing about Colorado is that when the sun is shining, it feels really warm out. As far as I'm concerned, I'll put up with a little cold not to have to ride my bike in the basement.
Bruce is getting ready for spring by building a new garden cabinet in the basement. We bought so many tools and supplies last year when we were doing our xeriscaping project that there's no place to put it all. And as you can see, Charlie likes to chew on anything that isn't hidden away, so it's nice having a cabinet with doors.
One of my referee friends was going through the old robotics archives and found this photo of me refereeing in 2007. Goodness, I didn't realize I'd been ref'ing that long.
The table layout has sure changed in the past 17 years. In 2007, the mat was very simple with dark black lines to help the robot know when to turn. The 2023 mat looks like a flashback to the psychedelic art of the 60's. I don't know how the robot feels, but I get dizzy just looking at it.
