Meanwhile, back in your global pandemic
In all the excitement of the debate, I forgot to mention a couple of local news items that depressed me today:The world's only Michelin-starred brewpub, which is in my neighborhood, and which closed in...
View ArticleThe morning after (debate reax)
Unlike the first presidential debate on September 29th (i.e., two years ago), nothing that happened at last night's debate made me want to become a hermit in the mountains of New Zealand. But two big...
View ArticleIt snowed this morning
I did not expect that. It all melted as soon as it hit the ground, at least.In other news, today is Doonesbury's 50th birthday.
View ArticleOne week to go
The first polls close in the US next Tuesday in Indiana at 6 pm EST (5 pm Chicago time, 22:00 UTC) and the last ones in Hawaii and Alaska at 7pm HST and 8pm AKST respectively (11 pm in Chicago, 05:00...
View ArticleThings that need to end soon
A few:Illinois set another record for Covid-19 infections with almost 7,000 reported today.Three-time Ahrendt Memorial Banality of Evil Award winner Stephen Miller has laid out how much more evil he...
View ArticleIt's the end of October as we know it (and I feel fine)
Milestones today:Sir Sean Connery has died at 90.On this day in 1864, just 8 days before a hotly-contested presidential election during the Civil War, Congress admitted (abolitionist,...
View ArticleDay of the Dead
Fifty years ago today, the Grateful Dead released American Beauty:There are countless versions of the Grateful Dead to tap into, hundreds of bootlegs and remastered live recordings to queue up. Many...
View ArticleAnniversaries of blunders in presidential politics
On this day 4 years ago, the Cubs won the World Series. Just six days later, we experienced one of the worst things ever to happen in US presidential politics.It turns out, today is the anniversary of...
View ArticleVandal 1 and Vandal 2
Two women have stealthily implemented the proposed name-change of Stephen Douglas Park to Fredrick Douglass Park:This is the first time the vandals have spoken about their crime, which involved adding...
View ArticleNot one iota of an end in sight
Remember the hurricane season of 2005, where we got the 27th named storm at the end of December and it finally dissipated on January 6th?Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Tropical Storm Iota, the 30th...
View ArticleThree quick reads
Happy Sunday. Tonight the sun sets in Chicago at 4:30pm, and won't set after 4:30 again until New Year's Eve. So in the few hours of daylight I have left, I'll read a few things:A low pressure area...
View ArticleLunchtime reading
While I wait for my frozen pizza to cook, I've got these stories to keep me company:Jakob Nielsen has updated his classic article "10 usability heuristics for UI design."Steve Coll tries to figure out...
View ArticleTwenty-Five
No, not a reference to a now-famous article of amendment to the US Constitution. One of my favorite movies, The American President, was released 25 years ago today.I plan to watch it again tonight.
View ArticleThe world keeps spinning
Even though Parker has consumed my thoughts since the election, there are a few other things going on in the world:Epidemiologists estimate that yesterday we passed 250,000 Covid-19 deaths in the...
View ArticleAnniversaries and sanity
Every morning I get an email from The History Channel with "this day in history" bullet points. A couple stood out today:Two hundred years ago today, the American whaler Essex lost a fight with an...
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A stack of books and a big window
I've taken myself and a few books up to a cabin in Wisconsin for the weekend. So far, the view fails to suck:It's clear tonight, so I'm hoping to see stars. We don't see many in Chicago.
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Worth getting up early for
Oostburg, Wis., 6:59 am:I brought my real camera and my drone, so early next week I hope to have better photos.
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Little house on the lake
As promised, I did get some photos of the place where I stayed this past weekend. The weather lent itself to drone flying for about an hour yesterday before the winds picked up. Today was a mix of...
View ArticleHappy Monday morning!
To thoroughly depress you, SMBC starts the week by showing you appropriate wine pairings for your anxiety. In similar news:Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) seeks a 19th term as...
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Steak for the Sun
I would be remiss not to mention that today is the 50th anniversary of Tea for the Tillerman, Cat Stevens' best and most popular album. It's also one of my favorites.Cover art by A&M Records (US),...
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