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How am I this old?
I just realized, 25 years ago today I graduated from college. To help you understand what that means, here's the Beloit College Mindset List for kids born back then.And there I am with my college radio...
View ArticleChicago's signature building to change names?
The Tribune reported late yesterday that the John Hancock Center is for sale:Chicago-based developer Hearn Co. plans to put the North Michigan Avenue tower's office space and parking garage up for...
View ArticleWhy it's called Royal Dutch Airlines
It turns out, the King of the Netherlands has an air transport pilot certificate:King Willem-Alexander, reigning monarch of the Netherlands, revealed in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf...
View ArticleThe President reaches the limits of his eloquence
Responding to the horrible bombing of Ariana Grande's concert in Manchester, England, last night, this morning President Trump had this to say:We stand in absolute solidarity with the people of the...
View ArticleGun violence in Chicago
Crain's has a 3-part series this week on why Chicago has so much gun violence:So far in 2017, more than 1,200 people have been shot and 220 killed in Chicago. Shockingly, 30 of those deaths were...
View ArticleLatter days of the Republic
"A dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a...
View ArticleDon't push that button!
British Airways cancelled all of its flights out of its two biggest hubs in London today because of a power-supply failure:The airline hoped to be able to operate some long haul inbound flights on...
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Walking through the neighborhoods
I took a short walk today, from Central Street in Evanston to my house. Totals: 16.37 km, 2:25:29, 8'53" per km, 18,357 steps. It's not as far as my epic 28 km walk last June, but I'll probably do...
View ArticleStill stepping
Yesterday's step count did, in fact, reach top-5 numbers:2016 Jun 1640,7482016 Oct 2336,1052017 May 2733,2412016 Sep 2532,3542016 Jun 832,315Today's will not, if only because it looks like rain.
View ArticleThe Pope and the pagan
Andrew Sullivan's note Friday analyzes the President's trip to the Vatican from a distinctly conservative and Catholic perspective:Trump is not an atheist, confident yet humble in the search for a...
View ArticleThis IS the golden age of air travel
Pilot and author Patrick Smith points out that air travel is so much better than it was even 20 years ago, it's hard to see how far we've come:People often talk about a proverbial “golden age” of air...
View ArticleA year of Google Maps
Via my company's Slack #general channel, San Francisco cartographer Justin O'Beirne has analyzed the changes Google has made to its Maps feature over the past year, while Apple Maps has stagnated:So it...
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It was 50 years ago today
The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band came to America on 1 June 1967, and changed the world.As one might imagine, most news organizations have articles about it:Rolling Stone goes...
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Biggest. Airplane. Ever.
Paul Allen has funded development of an airplane designed to launch satellites into space. It's...huge:Called Stratolaunch, the plane has some impressive stats: a wingspan of 117 m, or longer than a...
View ArticleWaPo on the imminent demise of Sears
Washington Post retail reporter Sarah Halzack reviews the history of Sears and how it's done the last few years:Decades of missed opportunities have brought Sears to this. It lost its focus with...
View ArticleIncompetence is a feature, not a bug
Vladimir Putin biographer Masha Gessen explains why autocrats like Putin and President Trump tend to be so gloriously incompetent:[A] careful reading of contemporary accounts will show that both Hitler...
View ArticleHappy birthday, El
Chicago opened its first elevated train 125 years ago tomorrow, on 6 June 1892:On June 6, 1892, 125 years ago this week, the first elevated line called the "Alley L" opened for business, running from...
View ArticleThe Roman Tube
While we wait for former FBI Director James Comey to finish testifying before the Senate today, take a look at this really cool thing:They say all roads lead to Rome, but they also lead outward to a...
View ArticleMrs May's own goal
Well. What a difference a few weeks can make. Last night, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who called a snap election in April to shore up her majority in Parliament, discovered that she no...
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Happy 11th birthday, you old dog
Yesterday Parker turned 11, which means today brings his annual birthday portrait:I am not sure why he prefers me to photograph his left side, but going back through earlier photos of him, clearly he...
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