Visiting Louisville

Hi everyone, I just wanted you to know that I will be visiting Louisville starting Wednesday November 19 in the evening and returning on Sunday, November 30. I will not be around for thanksgiving, however all the days leading up to it (about 6 days I guess) I will be available. Please let me know if you want to meet up.

Fall Reprise

Its been a beautiful Fall weekend in Chicago. Temperatures have been cold at night, but daytime highs have been in the high 50s and 60s. I was originally supposed to go see Neil Diamond today in St. Louis, however, plans were foiled again. Its interesting, this concert was rescheduled from August when I couldn't go because of my friend Bobby's wedding. Today I have a conference call at 7pm and the concert is at 8. Its unfortunate, but perhaps it is just meant to be that I am not going to see him. I hope Jeremy, Jessica, and whoever they get to use my ticket (D-Lo?) have a great time.

I spent over a hundred bucks yesterday at Target. I got some much needed lamps for my bedroom as well as a few other items.

My bread baking continues to be mediocre, though yesterday's loaves were markedly better than my previous attempts. I just needed to use some more dough, and I think they may have turned out perfectly.

Fortunately for me, Merle has an extra ticket to today's Bear's game at Soldier Field. I will be meeting him in about an hour and fifteen minutes to go to the game and hopefully have some fun. The game should be over by 3:30-4pm.

Austin in 24 hours

Thursday morning I woke up around 4:30-4:45 to catch a 8:10 am flight to Austin, TX for work. Seems early, but here was how I broke down the time budget:

1.0 hours to get ready (finish packing, shower, shave, etc.)

1.5 hours to walk to the train, catch the train, transfer to the orange line, walk to the terminal.

0.25 hours to get through security, get breakfast, and get to the gate.

This adds up to 2.75 hours, which, waking up at 4:45 would put me at the gate by 7:30 am. This would give me about an hour before the departure. TSA recommends, last I checked, arriving at the airport 1.5 - 2 hours before your flight departs. My actual numbers were more like this:

wake up at 4:45.

leave apartment building front door at 5:42

arrive at train platform at 5:53-5:56

board southbound Red train at 5:59

departing Fullerton station at ~6:10 (i put this in here because I think its the fastest I have ever gotten from Wilson to Fullerton.

in Roosevelt station at 6:28

board Midway bound Orange Line train at 6:33

arrive at Midway about 7 am

make it to the gate by 7:25 am

on board the plane at 8:03 am

so, I was pretty successful getting out the door in under an hour. By my calculations, it took me 46 minutes to get from my front door to the Orange Line transfer at Roosevelt and another 30 minutes to get from there to Midway, so about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I should note that my times could not get much more optimal. I waited less than 5 minutes for a train at both stations, its often times a longer wait.
I spent about 25 minutes in the airport getting to the gate. So, rounding up, it took me about what I budgeted, or, 2 hours and 45 minutes. I think in the future I should build in an extra 15 minute buffer or, have a bailout plan if I reach a point where the timing isn't going to work. If it would have taken me 10-20 minutes longer on the train, I would have been cutting it close at the airport had I had to get inspected or anything like that.

In Austin, I met up with Craig who landed about the same time as me, and then we waited for Todd. We drove into Austin and had a quick lunch at KFC and then headed to our meeting. The meeting was short, but I think it went pretty well. We covered the basics and got the intangible benefit of a face to face meeting.

After the meeting, we checked in at the hotel and I made a quick shirt change and headed to the hospital to visit Ward and David. Ward and David are two Triangle's from Houston who were involved in a serious car wreck last Friday night. They have both been in the ICU at Austin's Brackenridge Hospital since then. They are both recovering well it seems, though I am sure it was a traumatic experience. Despite the fact that they are still in the ICU, the spirits among the families were high. Ward's dad is funny and was trying to get me to stay another day and David was soon to be extubated and would hopefully be able to wake up more and finally get to talk to his family. Ward was feeling so good that while I was out of the room, he made a request for the left side of his head that was about to get shaved to match the right side that a delta-T be carved in his hair and that we get a picture. It made me laugh. Ward was very talkative, all things considered, and after I had made my introduction and was a little at loss for words, he spoke very quietly and deliberately (his throat is still tender from the tubes) and asked me "so...when did you join Triangle?" and a hodgepodge of other questions. I was very happy to see that both David and Ward are making progress in their recovery.

I left the hospital and drove back to the hotel where I picked up Craig and Todd and we went to dinner at El Arroyo in Austin. The food was good, the music was good, and the margarita was also tasty. After dinner, we were all pretty much beat, and we headed back to the hotel. I stayed up until almost 11 working on stuff and then went to bed. woke up at 4:30 this morning to catch the 5 am shuttle to the airport for a 6:30 flight home. 24 hours and 40 minutes later, I stepped off the plane into the airport. It was quite the long day.

--Andy

A Couple of Pictures

Not Now Brain, I'm Trying to Think

It is very rare for me to go a night without dreaming. Often times, my dreams are very stressful. Last night's dream was no exception, except, it was so odd that when it woke me up I felt compelled to write down the key facts and commit it to memory.

The dream went like this:

I was in school, perhaps even high school, and I had to take a bus home. The bus appeared to be a school bus. The weirdness started right away because while it looked like I was in Louisville, and it looked like we were driving on what I think were Louisville streets, I had gotten on the wrong bus. The bus I was on was the 147, a Chicago route designation, and for some reason I knew that I was supposed to be on the 146. I was sitting in the very back of the bus, which like a school bus, had the narrow back seats and I was sitting by myself. I was panicking because I was on the wrong bus, but I could not figure out how to make the bus stop and let me off (it was a school bus, and we were getting in I-64 in Louisville.) This was part one of the stress.

Part two came when I got off the bus. I think I was at a gas station, but I had left my bag on the bus. The bag contained my laptop, a camera, and a camera that did not belong to me. in the dream I estimated the value of my bag and its contents at $5,000. I have no idea what I based that dream number on. Anyhow, I started trying to call people on the bus or off the bus to help me get my stuff back. I was unsuccessful, and then I woke up.

Its not really my most stressful dream, but I thought the smash up between Louisville and Chicago was interesting. The 146 is actually one of the bus routes I would take to get home if I were downtown, and the 147 would in fact be the wrong bus.

Kentucky Should Want a Piece of this

The Chicago Tribune reported today, October 6, 2008 that Chicago would be the hub of a nine-state high speed rail network under legislation that has just passed both the house and senate and will soon be signed into law by the president. The Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act, among the various safety minded items also authorizes up to 3.4 billion dollars for the creation of these high speed rail corridors and grants to states.

Among Kentucky borders four of the states in the bill: Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio. It should only make sense then that Kentucky should want to be a part of this network. Imagine what a high speed connection to Indianapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis would do for our economy. It would provide competition to the airlines, reduce traffic on our roads, and would encourage tourism between the states.

In most cases, the tracks and right-of-ways are already there...they just need improvements.

I think it would behoove Kentucky to get on board, so to speak, with this plan and work hard to get connected to this high speed system.

Funny Image from Today's News

Salmonella Outbreak News Story

A few updates

Greetings everyone! I've made it through yet another day in the windy city. In the spirit of keeping things interesting and fresh, here are a few updates:

1. Blogs now importing to Facebook - I debated doing this for a while because generally I don't like aggregation of the things I read (sorry, Jeff), preferring to read them in their original presentation. Therefore, it should make sense that I have always desired others to read my posts as I displayed them. However selfish this might be, it was probably the reason why my rss feed was set up to only give previews of my posts rather than the full thing. Its a trade off though as now more people will probably have the opportunity to read what I have to say. The only thing I think I won't like though is that comments on the blogs I import will remain on facebook and will not go back on my website with the original posts...unless my admiring fans all click to the original post at the bottom of the note and then leave a comment ;-)

2. Walking - I have to say that I enjoy walking around my neighborhood and down to the lake. I am trying to enjoy the nice weather while it lasts, as I am sure this winter walking will be less appealing. Today I have probably walked around 4 miles. over half of that was deliberate exercise this morning. Yesterday I don't think I walked quite 4 miles, but at least there has been exercise. You can see more pictures from my morning walk on facebook.

3. Aldi's - I am not sure I like this place, but it does have some cheap, generic shit.

4. Gigio's Pizza in Uptown - This establishment located between wilson and leland on broadway intimidated me the first time I walked past, despite the glowing reviews I read on google. I have since visited there twice, once yesterday before going to Aldi's and once this evening with Darrell.

I may have just found my favorite NY Style pizza restaurant. The pizza is wide flat and with a tasty crust. The place itself is certainly unassuming, but the pizza is superb. I found this review on centerstage to be almost exactly in line with how I feel about the place. I wish I could pronounce the name, I keep wanting to say Gigolo's. Two people eating for less than 8 bucks, not bad.


5. Twilight - A novel by Stephenie Meyer. I have never been into Vampires or Vampire stories, but this was a book like few others that I have read. Truly captivating. It inspires me to want to write fiction, again, or pretty much anything really. The book itself was interesting to me because it is told from the point of view of a woman, something I am not accustomed to. But more than that I guess is the fact it is a love story told from the point of view of a woman.

I breezed through it, which isn't uncommon for me when I find a book I like. If you haven't read it and can find it at the library, go to the library and read it. If you can't find it at the library, ask to borrow it from me or go get it at Borders.

Sunny Day

Today was very nice compared to yesterday, but this isn't a blog about the weather. I'm sure there are plenty of those. I was, though, happy to see the sun this morning when I woke up. I decided to do my walk first thing this morning, so I walked with Darrell to the train sometime around 7:30 AM. I left him at Wilson and continued on around the neighborhood.



It was a great morning for a walk. It was cool, probably about 55 degrees, it was sunny, and the air had a very crisp smell to it which is common after a day of rain. I ended up walking about a mile and a half.

I worked hard to day on a lot of Java code that keeps getting more and more complex. I can't wait to be done with this interface.

Finally, I ate dinner with Sheryll, Mehera, and Darrell tonight at Crew. We ordered all appetizers, and they were pretty good. After dinner, we went to Borders before walking home. My total mileage for the day was about 3 or so miles.

Rainy Day

I didn't know it was going to rain today until I was preparing to take my morning walk. I meant to go early this morning while it was sunny, but we had a house guest and I was unable to get properly ready to venture outdoors. It was overcast. I saw that rain was approaching, but I figured I had 15 minutes which would be time for a quick walk and I could handle a light rain.

It turns out that it was a little cooler outside than I anticipated and the rain was a little heavier than light rain. I did a very quick walk up the block and then decided it would be best to turn back. Instead of venturing out in the rain, I decided to order some Thai delivery from a place that delivered a menu to our apartment. The Duck Walk advertises delivery service, so I decided to try their Pad Khee Mao. It was very spicy, and good, but not nearly as yummy as the dish from Sala Thai in Louisville. If I ever order it again, I would request a few changes. However, I will probably try something from there again such as the Pad Thai or the Cashew Chicken.

I may be going out to a place tonight with Sheryl, Darrell, and some other friends but this is to be determined. Anything we do will me minimal as I don't have a lot of time for gallivanting all over town.

French Toast, GC Wontons, and Good Times

Only moderately sunburned, I returned home yesterday from a weekend at the lake with Robbie and various other friends and coworkers. It was nice to be able to spend so much time in the water. I also got a chance to hang out with people I don't see on a daily basis, and to meet Robbie's friend Thomas. I met Robbie and Thomas at the outlet mall on Friday night, kinda late, and we ate a late dinner. For what its worth, the chicken tostada salad and the ribs from Montana Mikes aren't worth it. The dinner that Robbie made on Saturday though more than made up for the less than stellar showing by Montana Mike. He made filet mignon and potatoes and it was very good.

I made French Toast both Saturday and Sunday following my great-grandmothers recipe that my dad has entrusted me with. It turned out to be very good and I think everyone who tried it liked it, even my puppy-nephew Brady. It is not traditional/American french toast, instead it is more pastry-like and much more delicious than just egg dipped bread.

Robbie and I made Green Chili Wontons on Saturday, and also on Sunday though Robbie did most of the work on Sunday. We got a chance to use his new deep fryer which makes the process a lot easier. They turned out really well, though I think I liked the ones Robbie made on Sunday better because they had cayenne pepper in them and I was less tired.

Cooking and eating though were not the main focus of the weekend, on Saturday the weather was almost perfect and we spent the majority of the day in the water. We went out on the boat some and had a lot of fun. Robbie showed off on the rope swing, but I stayed in the water just swimming around. Saturday night, I got to put my boy scout knowledge to work building a campfire. It was a good fire and didn't take too long to build, it helped that there was a bundle of firewood to use, but we still had to gather sticks and twigs to get it going.

It was a very active weekend for me, and I enjoyed it. I am sore from all the swimming, the fire-building, and the other outdoorsy type stuff I did, but it was a blast.

Blood on the Sidewalk

"Welcome to Chicago"

This phrase was uttered to me one night after I moved in, but I keep repeating it over and over when I see things happen that seem more chicago than louisville.

While the street that we live on is nice, the surrounding area seems a bit sketchy. There has been a rash of violence this summer, according to some. Now it appears to me that most of it is gang vs. gang stuff, but I still don't want to be the guy that catches a stray bullet.

There is a "problem corner" near by at Lawrence and Sheridan. In the two weeks or so there have been two shootings. I don't think the first one resulted in any deaths, but the second one did. For informational purposes, Lawrence is 4 blocks north and Sheridan is 2 blocks west...approximately. A web site that I read, uptown update, and another site both covered the event, but one had a particularly interesting picture that I thought I would share.

WARNING - If you don't want to see a picture of someone who got shot and killed, don't click the link. For what its worth, it is not a close up of the wound. *** homicide victim ***

I hope anyone does not think it disrespectful of me to link this picture. I am just linking it for informational purposes. The most telling part of this photo is that it is an excellent example of journalism in real-time. Notice that the police have not shown up and that the scene of the crime has not been secured. For those of you who don't want to view the picture, I understand. This blog post from uptown update has pictures of the scene after the police showed up and secured the area.

Back

After a long week in Louisville, I am finally back home in Chicago. Got in last night around 8:30-9 central time. I actually managed to see more people than I thought I would have time to see.

Work was very busy last week, I logged more than 40 hours in only 4 days. A few high impact projects were bumped up in priority and urgency. The worst was a huge query that I had to run to generate a report. When dealing with large amounts of data, the shear volume can be overwhelming. I spent my evenings after work hanging out with friends, and also managed to see my mother and grandmother. I stayed at my Dad's place.

Friday and Saturday was the big wedding for Bobby and Nicole. I checked in at the Brown on Friday afternoon and then began helping with the set up of the AV system for the rehearsal dinner. The head unit (amp, mixer, whatever you want to call it) was damaged and would not come on. After a couple phone calls, Bobby's dad and I made a quick run to their location nearest the hotel and got a new one. We got back and got it set up, then made it back to the Brown to get ready for the rehearsal. Tim and I were both late, but we managed ok. The rehearsal dinner was at the Seelbach Rathskeller and the meal and drinks were excellent.

Saturday was a fun day as well. The wedding set up was fairly simple, but I have never seen the Crystal Ballroom look more beautiful. The reception lasted until midnight and the after party until almost 3. I think everyone had fun.

--Andy

In Louisville this week

Give me a shout if you want, I'll be in all week.

Andy

Strangely Comforting

So in my head, I keep playing Sim City - Chicago. No, a Chicago version of this game doesn't exist (to my knowledge), but I keep envisioning dragging my little mouse over certain areas and watching things happen. Having trouble with crime? add a police station. Too many poor people? just rezone or raise the taxes on the lower classes. Out of money? Make a deal or enter in a "cheat" code. However, what I really yearn to do is change the roads. Lake Shore drive ends a few blocks north of here and it seems rather abrupt. It would be really great if there were at least a set of one way avenues (4 or 5 lanes) that could carry traffic to and away from the city. So, every time I see an ugly building or some place that looks "slummy" I envision clicking the bulldozer tool and then dragging it over the area. Once those pesky buildings are out of the way, i can build my roads.

Granted, I have lived here for all of a week and a half (or so) and I don't pretend to fully grasp the nature of Chicago's traffic issues, but I can't help but dream. Obviously, a potential problem with my plan is that even if you can get away Lake Shroe Drive faster, you have no where to go since I-94 and I-90 are typically always clogged up during the day.

Anyhow, today has been a busy day. I have been working on a java tool that is a critical part of an interface I am developing. It keeps getting more complex. I finally see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, now that I got the java database working. I took a lunch break around 1:30 or so this afternoon and made a run to the grocery store. While I was out, I stopped to eat at Chili's. It was weird eating there by myself since I typically eat there with Robbie. I got what Robbie and I usually split (Southwestern Eggrolls and the Big Mouth Bites) and took the eggrolls home.

However, what prompted this post was the strangely comforting feeling that I had as I was walking in to Chili's. It wasn't that I was getting ready to eat, but more of a delayed reaction to my surroundings. I was in my car, I pulled into a large mall-like complex that could have been anywhere in suburban America, even Louisville. There was a Best-Buy there, a Dicks, and the grocery store I was heading too after lunch (don't shop hungry!) Something about parking my car, getting out, and walking inside just made me feel at home.

Now, maybe that is not a good reaction to have since the majority of my days will be spent in the city, not driving to a suburb to shop and eat. However, it was a purely self-contained moment that made me feel relaxed and I suppose happy as well. The rest of my lunch was uneventful.

The trip to Jewel was much more of a pain in the ass. I miss Kroger! The store defys my own internal programming as to how a store should be laid out, and the only deviation that I find endearing is that they sell liquor under the same roof...not that I'll be buying any since Darrell and I stocked up in Louisville before we moved. I ran my ass all over that store trying to get everything on my list. I'm sure I will get used to it. The good news is that prices seem a little cheaper just a little bit out of the city.

I made it back to the apartment and scored a fantastic parking space directly in front of the building on Clarendon. This will make it easy to unload the shit from IKEA we bought last night, once Darrell gets home later. I shamelessly did a uturn in the middle of the street to get it to, good luck everyone else!

Now I am heading back to work after my short break to update the blog. I am poised to solve this problem soon I think, and I will be so thrilled when this problem is behind me.

--Andy