avoision: August 2005 Archives

August 31, 2005

Sadly, after work today was a going-away party for Anthony. He's worked with Emmis for about 10 years, and is leaving his position as webmaster for both Q101 and The Loop. Sad, sad day. We all met up at a place called Uncle Julio's, and watched the day turn... (read more)

The corner of Wells and Kinzie

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Updates Soon

August 30, 2005

I know I'm backlogged on images from the past few days. But since Sunday, I've been out and about. Went out last night, played poker tonight, and I'll be out again tomorrow night. When my social schedule picks up (which, apparently is what's happening now), it gets easier for blog... (read more)

Playing Poker

Me, Will and Donna (who I just met tonight) were over at Chris and Leslie's place this evening, for some pizza and poker. Talk of Star Trek, as well as the difference between anteaters and aardvarks dotted the night's conversation. It's been a long while since I've won a game... (read more)

Justin, troubleshooting his Mac but looking like he's trying to hack into some offshore bank account

... (read more)

After Work

August 29, 2005

Headed to Justin's place, post-work, to geek out about some code/pages he's been working on, and to catch a few drinks. Moving to iceland? It's not like it hasn't been considered before. Read read read. Howard and Justin, enjoying some fresh tamales with their drinks. Me and Howard, Rainbo club.... (read more)

Justin's New Camera

Guess who got a slick Canon Digital Rebel? Sweet! Since I took a photo of his last camera, it only seemed fitting I do so again today.... (read more)

On the way to work

Not sure what this was about. There's a "Pest Control" store across the street on North Ave, so maybe a few employees are protesting? Seeing this reminded me of Robin Williams' joke about taking little kids to Disneyland, and how Mickey Mouse to a five year old is simply... (read more)

Back Home, Off to Sleep

August 28, 2005

Back home now, and pretty exhausted. I may watch a bit of TV, but I doubt I'll be awake much longer. Which bodes well for tomorrow I guess. I've got a little bit of work to get done before the workday starts. That, and I'm also the donut boy tomorrow... (read more)

Canoe Trip: Fox River

A long while back, I got an invite to go canoing from Gina, a friend of my friend Kim. Today was the big day, and I woke up pretty early to do all my shopping. The night before, I made a big list of stuff to get (sunscreen, water, food,... (read more)

Early to Bed

August 27, 2005

Early morning tomorrow. Gonna run some errands first thing, pick up Will, and then the two of us are driving a solid hour and a half to Wedron, IL, for a nice 12 mile canoe trip. Off to sleep!... (read more)

You Are I Am

About a month ago, I helped with a small portion of a show at Open End Gallery. Many months prior to this, I met up with You Are Beautiful and kicked around some ideas for collaboration. We came up with the idea of having stickers with "I AM" printed on... (read more)

Booo

August 26, 2005

My server's been all wonky today. Off and on all day. I was planning on doing some more development work tonight, but since I can't upload files or test them online, I'm calling it an early night. Sent in two different trouble tickets to my host, with no response back... (read more)

On the way to Hot Doug's

I drove over to pick up Chris for an impromptu lunch at Hot Doug's today. Snapped a photo of the hangers in the front entryway.... (read more)

Felix the Cat

My friend Gretchen sent me this pic today, after seeing yesterday's Fun Slides adventure. I can't think of a more appropriate picture.... (read more)

The world is Tall with Stories, yet Short on Closure

August 25, 2005

... (read more)

Fun Slides

Let's start off with some backstory. A week ago (and ironically, the same day that I lost my balance on the CTA), I decided to tempt fate and ordered myself a pair of Fun Slides. What are they? Well, I mentioned them last November, when they were voted one of... (read more)

Got a dollar?

August 24, 2005

My friend Melissa is in a bad spot. I happened to catch a recent entry on her site, and it looks like she's scrambling to try to get some funds together. She's a fiercely independent gal, and to see her ask for assistance was something out of her character. It... (read more)

On the way home

I ended up cabbing it home, and spotted a very small, faint rainbow in the sky. I don't know if you can see it in this picture or not, but it's a very small patch in the middle (and to the right a bit). A lot of photos. The... (read more)

On the way to work

Oddly, this isn't the first time I've seen a skull in a car window. I think a big part of my fascination with window washers has to do with my fear of heights. Somewhere, a photo has no home. Another shot of the window washers, taken from across the... (read more)

Hazy Day, Productive Evening

August 23, 2005

I had a goodly amount to drink last night, and wore it all day today like a stone hat. Out until 2 AM on a school night. Yeesh. But by the end of the day, my brain was back in gear and I started getting excited to get home to... (read more)

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters

... (read more)

Congratulations Chelsea!

Looks like Chelsea got a permanent DJ spot at WLUW. Awesome! Saturday mornings: it's not just cartoons anymore! Way to go, Chelster!... (read more)

Updates!

08/22/2005... (read more)

Daddy

August 22, 2005

by Sylvia Plath You do not do, you do not do Any more, black shoe In which I have lived like a foot For thirty years, poor and white, Barely daring to breathe or Achoo. Daddy, I have had to kill you. You died before I had time— Marble-heavy, a... (read more)

Birthday Party

Swung by Justin and Howard's place to help celebrate Michelle's birthday. To be honest, I was a bit nervous about the whole thing. I didn't really know anyone there, and wasn't entirely sure whether Justin or Howard would be in attendence (turns out they were both off elsewhere, each one... (read more)

On the way to work

August 21, 2005

Tagged along with Chelsea to the Chicago Underground Film Festival at the Music Box, where she was volunteering for WLUW. As they're one of the sponsors for the festival, she was able to attend free (plus one guest - yours truly). We were attending a late show (10PM), and... (read more)

Matt Cooks Thai

Joined the Robinsons tonight, along with Nuanda and Chelsea for dinner. Matt was making Pad Thai for us all, and the kitchen smelled pretty darn incredible. It's been a long while since I saw everyone last, so tonight's meal was a lot of fun (and long overdue). We all... (read more)

You Are I Am

August 20, 2005

Today, I'm finally getting down to work on the images from the You Are I Am photoshoot. I've been at it for a few hours and it's been thoroughly enjoyable. I'm keeping things pretty simple, but I'm enjoying the design/layout process (albeit a minimalistic one). So far today, I keep... (read more)

Last Day of Work

August 19, 2005

Tonight, I joined up with Liz and Steph, to help Liz celebrate her last day of work. She's shifting locations, going part-time, and will be a fulltime student in the coming months. And of course, their bar of choice is Exit. Saw this guy on arriving, and found out he... (read more)

Neo's

August 18, 2005

After the meal, everyone gathered up and were planning to hea to Neo's. I attempted to decline, as I don't really like dancing... but Michelle convinced me to go and just people watch. So all five of us walked to Division, crammed into a cab, and headed on up.... (read more)

Cookout and Neo's

Howard had gotten some wild salmon, and had a cookout planned for this evening. Earlier in the day, I worried that we'd have to reschedule given the rain. But as it turned out, the weather was pretty fantastic outside, and there was nothing to worry about. In addition to... (read more)

It was a dark and stormy... afternoon?

Chris, looking out into the rain. Mid-afternoon, a big storm rolled in and clouded up a lot of downtown Chicago. Prior to this, we all heard a lot of thunder and crashing, getting progressively closer and closer. Justin noticed that the rain created rough outlines of the bridges above.... (read more)

Falling Down in Public; Or, the story of my spiritual de-pantsing

Before I begin, let me tell you about the last time I fell down. It was a regular workday morning, and I was riding the Blue Line downtown to the Clark/Lake stop. Right before that stop, the tracks curve sharply to the left, and if you're not paying attention... it... (read more)

More Coins

August 17, 2005

For those that have enjoyed the random coin-guessing games I've documented here, go check out the most recent post on rachelleb.com. Get your guessing in while the guessing's good!... (read more)

Chess Club

Went to Chess Club again today, and it was pretty tame compared to two weeks ago. Only a handful of us tonight: me, Charlie, a new guy named Joseph, and two others: Matt and Evelyn (who I believe were also in attendence two weeks ago). Charlied made pretty quick work... (read more)

God help me

August 16, 2005

I think I'm writing again. Fiddled with a poem a few days ago. Had it with me throughout the day, and mucked with it some more tonight. On the train ride home from work, I was thinking of how to edit a few lines. And as I did that, a... (read more)

My Space

So recently, I created an account on MySpace.com. I had one there for a bit, but didn't do much with it until Chelsea spurred me to flush out my profile. I'm as wary of this as I was of my Friendster account, but what the hey. If you've got a... (read more)

7:00 PM - 5:29 AM

Fell asleep on the couch last night circa 7:00 PM. Woke up around midnight. Decided that physically relocating to the bed would be too much effort. Rolled over. Woke up at 4:26 AM. Thought to myself "Huh. It's 4:26 in the morning." Rolled over. Woke up at 5:18 AM, to... (read more)

Michael Yon

August 15, 2005

And while we're on the topic of incredible writers, check out Michael Yon's Iraq War blog. Yon is ex-Special Forces, and out on his own in Mosul, following soldiers around and reporting what he sees. No media affiliation, no real tie to anyone - just him, his laptop, and... (read more)

dooce

Mike brought over the front page of the Trib today, as it featured an article about Heather Armstrong's site. I'm a huge fan of hers and all, but on the front page? And isn't her story like 2 or 3 years old or something? Regardless of how slow the... (read more)

Quarters!

Matt brought in yet another bag of quarters today. What is it - two guessing games so far this month? I think we're starting to hit some kind of trend. Here's Mike, making his calculations. For quick reference, here are the links to prior coin-guessing games: 1) The first... (read more)

Prior Top Ten Lists

August 14, 2005

For anyone wanting to look at the prior top ten lists, check out: Top ten days, 2003 Top ten days, 2004----- --------... (read more)

Ten Best Days

Ok. So I'm long, long overdue for this little bit of linkage. For those who aren't familiar with this, I make a list once a year, usually around July (we're running a little late this year). It all started when Alex and I went to Chinatown a few years back,... (read more)

Happy (belated) Birthday, Blog!

It's over a month late, but we've officially made it to year 3! Happy Birthday, you old blog, you.... (read more)

Updates!

08/12/2005 08/13/2005... (read more)

Back Home

August 13, 2005

I spent a lot of today just sleeping. I mean, sure, it's the weekend and all. But I slept a TON today. Just in and out, all day on the couch. Unfortunately, Deb had this great thing at the Arlington Racetrack today. I had a ticket, but wasn't able to... (read more)

Happy Birthday, Justin

Headed over to Justin's, for a little backyard celebration for his 30th. I got over there a bit early, and met up with Dave and Howard for some Papajin prior to. Quick shot of my gift, some JW Black, and Dave's fantastic choice of wrapping paper. Warmup routine: a... (read more)

*cough*

August 12, 2005

Feeling fairly ok, but the cough got way worse. The muscles in the back of my neck are starting to hurt, I'm coughing so much. I can't think of anything to write that isn't out and out complaining. I'm off to sleep.... (read more)

Happy Birthday, Everybody!

So for our little Interactive group in Chicago, there are a ton of birthdays in August: Justin, Kashif, Matt, Anthony, and Deb. We all gathered at Cafe Iberico to celebrate (Mmmmmmm tapas). As she does with every big birthday gathering, Deb gets everyone a huge bag of goodies. Justin,... (read more)

Resting

August 11, 2005

Since yesterday evening, I've felt pretty crappy. I've had this itch in the back of my throat, and it's been back there all day today. Each time I cough, there's a sharpness in the back of my mouth, and I can feel how hot the cough is. Yuck. It's weird... (read more)

The Aristocrats

August 10, 2005

Went to go see an advance screening of The Aristocrats today, with Justin, Chris, Will and Dave. Ever since I heard about it, I've been itching to see it. The five of us showed up fairly early (circa 6:45PM for a 7:30PM show), and they were turning people away at... (read more)

Ninja Stylee

There's this silly thing going on between our department and Marketing. For the past month or so, we've had a scooter in our area that really belongs to the Marketing/Promotions folks. Well, last week, they came and took it back. Since then, we've tried stealing it from the, and peppering... (read more)

Top of the Mart to ya

So this morning, a few of us showed up early to work and managed to get onto the roof of the Merchandise Mart. To give you some perspective as to how high we are, check out this entry. Chris, next to what I think is some big satellite relay.... (read more)

Updates!

August 9, 2005

08/05/2005 08/06/2005 08/07/2005... (read more)

Q101 Pontiac Street Team

So. Remember that photoshoot that Ben and I went on a while back? Well, here's the final result of a lot of those images. Click to find out more about the Q101 Pontiac Street Team. The look is quite nice, and I really dig the design/layout of this thing... (read more)

Another Coin-Guessing Game

I swear, this is starting to turn into some sort of unofficial sport with us. Mike ended up bringing in a big water cooler jug of change. As a frame of reference, let me refer you to: 1) The first ever coin-guessing game. 2) Matt's Bag-O-Money Challenge 3) Justin's Quarterless... (read more)

On the way to work

Rainbow rubber bands. Nobody wants the last one? Out on the balcony, taking in the city.... (read more)

Rainbo Club

August 8, 2005

Met up with Justin for drinks at Rainbo. I originally wanted to hide out at home after what felt like a nonstop weekend (my work schedule last night combined with today made it feel like I hadn't really stopped moving). But when I sat down in front of a computer... (read more)

Launch!

Productive day today. Woke up early and got a few hours in, before the workday began. Worked until about 8PM tonight, and got the project officially launched. I don't have the energy now, but I'll post more info on it tomorrow.... (read more)

Work work work

August 7, 2005

Got home around 10PM, and hopped on the computer. Worked until about 1:30 AM. So it goes.... (read more)

What's That Smell?

On the train ride home, I tried again to do a bit of work (unsuccesfully). I had made enough progress during the day that I felt I could get away with just doing more work when I got home. Near the last two hours of the train ride, I noticed... (read more)

Another work day

Woke up earlier than expected, and did some cleaning of the post-party mess. Plugged in the laptop, and basically worked through the early afternoon. This isn't the greatest of shots, but I wanted something to remember the living room by.... (read more)

Party!

August 6, 2005

Katrina and Eric. Among those who joined, they were two that totally dressed up for the party. As it turns out, the two of them will be moving to Aurora soon, where she will be pursuing an arts degree. Talked some with Eric at length, as he offered me... (read more)

Remember that flower I took a picture of?

... (read more)

Sort of a work day

So there's this big promotion that's slated to be done by the end of the day, Monday. I tried to get as much done as I could before I left, but Justin gave me his laptop so I could try to work some this weekend. On the train ride over,... (read more)

Hanging out with Abbey

August 5, 2005

Abbey met me right as I got off the train, and the two of us made our way shortly thereafter to a local bar called the Cellar. As we opened the door, I heard the Ramones and figured we were walking in to a good place. Abbey and I... (read more)

Talking with Passengers

On my ride down, I sat across from a woman named Sarah Thompson. Turns out, she's a member of the The Society of International Railway Travelers, and had just gotten back from a week and a half tour of Scotland, by train. Compared to the Amtrak, this train ride was... (read more)

The Chemical Brothers Reference

Just a quick note: Star Guitar is the name of a Chemical Brothers song. The reference is to the jaw-droppingly fantastic video of that song, made by Michel Gondry. If you've never seen this video, I cannot encourage you enough to view it, right now. The first time I saw... (read more)

On the Amtrak to Carbondale

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Mr Fastfingerís Guitar Shred Show

August 4, 2005

This is some amazing Flash work. I know you've seen Flash soundboards before, but this one goes so much farther it's insane. The load times are horrific, but be patient because it's totally worth it. You'll use any of the alphabet keys (A through Z) as well as the... (read more)

Currently Reading...

I picked up copies of these two books yesterday (I got Gretchen a copy of Freakonomics for her birthday, and decided I needed one too). I got the recommendation for these books from Liz and Steph, who told me about them a month or so ago. They were, in... (read more)

Woohoo!

Anthony came in today, and handed out a few of these tickets to the screening of The Aristocrats. SWEET! Big thanks to Anthony and Andy, who kick out all this awesome stuff over to us. I'm excited to see this movie. Sort of sucks that I'll miss chess club... (read more)

Updates!

08/03/2005... (read more)

Shit fountain

August 3, 2005

As everyone parted ways near midnight, Justin told me that he had something that was blog worthy... something that absolutely warranted a photograph. A few houses down the street, he shows me the shit fountain. This was built just outside that woodworking shop I came across, a few months back.... (read more)

Happy Birthday Gretchen!

Around 10PM, a bunch of us gathered at Happy Village to help celebrate Gretchen's birthday. It was a small group of folks, as it was a bit of a last-minute gathering. I met up with Gretchen, Dave and Rob in the back beer garden. We were later joined by Justin,... (read more)

Chess Club

Got home, napped for a bit, then headed off for a few games with the folks at the Wicker Park Chess Club. Met up with Will, and saw a few of the regulars (I'm slowly learning names). And guess what - tons of people tonight! Usually, there are about 6... (read more)

Fuck

August 2, 2005

OK. Let's start slowly. First, if you're game... check out the trailer for The Aristocrats. Ok. Not too bad, right? Next, check out the official website. Getting a sense of what this is about? Good. I first heard about this movie a few days ago, from Justin when a bunch... (read more)

Two Mock Fights, just to be able to do a spit-take

... (read more)

Celebration Lunch: Zaiqa

As a treat, a bunch of us braved the oppressive heat and walked down Orleans to Zaiqa for lunch. We had been working nonstop all morning to meet a 1:00 PM deadline, and were ravenous by this point. Zaiqa is a great Indian/Pakistani restaurant, on Orleans about a block or... (read more)

My Shuffle

So today, we officially launched My Shuffle - an application that everyone in our group has had a hand in building. Matt, Kashif and Justin laid out the foundational work for the artist database (which will eventually hook into a ton of our future applications). Ben developed the primary... (read more)

I guess it's not just me

Hmm. Wonder if they had a nice radio inside?... (read more)

Updates!

August 1, 2005

07/30/2005... (read more)

Long Day

Worked until about 9:30 PM tonight. Decent progress, but I'm thinking I want to try to head in to work early tomorrow. There's a big launch slated for the afternoon. More info tomorrow.... (read more)

Denied

I was meant to be taking some killer photos this morning. Alas, it wasn't to be. Raincheck. Hopefully.... (read more)

Found Bracelet - February 11th, 2005

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