Check out this event: 20th Pet Walk Rhode Island
Current mood: awake

Hosted By: PARL Pet Walk
When: Saturday Sep 13, 2008
at 8:30 AM
Where Roger Williams Park -- Temple to Music
1000 Elmwood Ave.
Providence, RI 02907
United States
Description:
PARL Pet Walk

Click Here To View Event

10:34 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

02.04.08 -- Charlie Clark Fund -- Dog in Need
Current mood: awake
Category: Pets and Animals

Greetings,

I've been in touch with Ocean State Vet regarding this Craigslist posting:
http://providence.craigslist.org/pet/560732746.html

WARNING: The images are not pleasant. They aren't *horrible* but they aren't pleasant.

The owner and dog's need is legitimate according to OSV. I intend to visit Ocean State Vet tonight to make a personal donation. They can accept donations over the phone. (401) 886-6787.

Thank you,
John

10:09 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

12.18.07 -- If the treat shall not come to me ...
Current mood: awake
Category: Pets and Animals

"If the treat shall not come to me, then I shall go to the treat."

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Yeah... so I really don't have a "regular" job anymore.

Cheers,
John

1:06 AM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

11.24.07 -- My New Geek Computer Set-Up
Current mood: awake
Category: Web, HTML, Tech

Well, my seven (or more?) year-old Dell Dimension XPS T700r finally started showing signs of crapping the bed for good. Granted that about 80% of the components have been replaced. Still, it was bogging down like a herd of turtles and no amount of effort, diagnostics, and such was doing any good. When Microsoft Word takes three to four minutes to open, it's time to upgrade.

Anyway, my current (but soon to be former) employer had me set up on Dell Inspiron 9300 (widescree laptop), which I love. Wanting something a little more robust, I found a great deal on an Inspiron E1705 on eBay (dual core processor 2.16/2.17 GHz, 2 GB ram, 80 GB hard drive, 256 MB Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS). It's big and really more of a mobile desktop replacement rather than a conventional laptop, but I like a lot of screen real estate.

Then, yesterday a co-worker of mine wandered into the office with a newly purchased ViewSonic VA2226w LCD flat-panel monitor (widescreen, 22"). They list at $360, but Amazon.com and NewEgg.com typically have them for about $260. He got his for $210 (including tax) at BJ's Wholesale Club. He hooked it up to his work computer so I could check out the quality (I already like ViewSonic monitors, but I always prefer to get a demo). Anyway, it looked great, so he offered to go back and buy another one for me (I'm not a BJ's member). Partially because I really wanted a dual-monitor set up at home, and partially as a "Merry Christmas to me", I told him to go forth and buy me gadgets.

I really didn't intend to completely replace my rig within a month, but that's what has happened. As I type this, I'm watching "Serenity" on the widescreen [bounce, bounce, bounce].

I'm such a nerd...

Cheers,
John

4:55 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

11.13.07 -- From Submarines to Schnauzers
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

So, about three years ago I walked through the doors at the Providence Animal Rescue League (PARL), filled out a volunteer application, and firmly told myself "You're just going to play with some dogs for a couple of hours each week. You won't let this place take over your life. You will not over-commit. You won't get roped into doing all sorts of extra stuff. For once, you'll just be a participant."

What a great, steamy load of crap.

Since that day, I've averaged over 200 volunteer hours per year working with animals, coordinating events, and helping them with fundraising, marketing, and public relations. Most recently in September, I was the chairman of the planning committee for their largest annual fundraiser, Pet Walk, where the combined work of the committee made it possible for PARL to easily surpass an aggressive monetary goal on a rainy day. Ultimately, I've loved every moment that I've spent at PARL.

Anyway, this apparently made an impression.

Because, this past Friday night PARL asked me to be their new executive director (meaning ... I'm running the joint). I have accepted the position and will start my new job on Monday, December 17. I'm looking forward to starting my new career in the animal welfare industry and all the challenges it entails.

So, that's the big news. I'm switching from designing training for the U.S. Navy Submarine Fleet to running a non-profit animal rescue league. All in all, this blog should become a lot more active...

All the best,
John

4:43 PM - 5 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

11.10.07 -- I Have HUGE News
Current mood: giddy
Category: Life

Can't share until Tuesday.

Until then, take a guess as to what it is. Might be fun.

Cheers,
John

2:00 PM - 5 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

10.27.07 - Book Signing: Traer Scott’s "Street Dogs"
Current mood: busy
Category: Pets and Animals

This is late notice, but my friend (and excellent photographer) Traer Scott is having a book signing tonight at Books On The Square in Providence, RI. She'll be signing copies of her new book:

Street Dogs
From the bestselling author of "Shelter Dogs" comes a heart-wrenching collection of 90 irresistible, soulful portraits and outdoor photographs of street dogs. This volume features mini-biographies of many of the dogs featured, with details about their rescue and journeys to new homes. Full color.

She'll be there with another prominent pet author, Ken Foster, who will sign his book, Dogs I Have Met: And the People They Found.

I'm a huge fan of Traer's work. I urge you to attend. Festivities begin at 7:00 PM.  471 Angell Street, Providence, RI 02906.

Cheers,
John

6:23 AM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

10.27.07 - New Favorite Pit Bull
Current mood: busy
Category: Pets and Animals

This is Bully (yes...very imaginative name).

Bully getting chest scratchies.

Silly Bully

Cheers,
John

9:07 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

10.13.07 -- Unproduced Science Fiction Scripts from WGA West
Current mood: calm
Category: Writing and Poetry

The Writers Guild of America (West) publishes "Written By". I subscribe to it and enjoy it (though its publishing schedule seems a tad erratic).

In any case, their summer issue featured good, unproduced scripts written by WGA members. The theme for this past summer was science fiction. Cruise on over to the "Written By" archives to read six unproduced scripts in PDF format.

Cheers,
John

2:47 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

10.08.07 -- Fresh Install of Wordpress
Current mood: busy

At Johndharvey.com, I had originally created my Wordpress blog using a server-side auto-installer called Fantastico. It's easy. You hit a button and *poof*, you have a Wordpress installation.

Unfortunately, Fantastico installations can be a little buggy and inflexible. Mine had been acting up for months and I haven't been able to upgrade to new versions of Wordpress (or change my theme) for a very long time.

So, I took the plunge yesterday, ripped out the Fantastico install and put in Wordpress 2.3 from scratch. No auto-installer. Wordpress' "5-minute install" was probably closer to half an hour due to one quirk with my web host and one user error (meaning I buggered something).

The good news is that I have an updated install and a better-looking theme at Johndharvey.com. The downside is that the Livejournal Crossposter plugin does not work in Wordpress 2.3. So, I'm back to cutting and pasting from here to both Livejournal and MySpace. There's a work-around, but I need to sort it out a bit before I try it.

At least Facebook still picks up my posts automatically.

Cheers,
John

1:02 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment