December 2007 Archives

December 31, 2007

There's this one house, on our block (on the corner of Washtenaw and Logan Boulevard). And all throughout the holidays, they've thrown up holiday lights all over their house. And when I mean all over, I'm talking literally... ALL OVER. While I may have celebrated the holiday seasons in the... (read more)

Chicago Assassins

December 30, 2007

I'm too late to join up for this round, but I really want to hit the next tournament of Chicago Assassins. Looks like a ton of paranoid-inducing fun. Just looking over the Rules Page is a blast. Phrases like Excessively lazy assassins are disqualified and Employing the use of... (read more)

Quite Possibly the Best Group Lip-Synched Version of "That's What Friends Are For" I've Ever Seen

December 29, 2007

At the 1:55 mark, it all becomes worthwhile. Gold, this is. Pure gold.... (read more)

But If I... But I Can't... But Then...

December 28, 2007

Liz and I spent another day shopping. While at the Gap, I tried on a few things and spotted this note next to the "Call Attendant" button. Shortly after taking this photo, I crumpled to the ground... and spent the next two hours whimpering softly, unsure what I was supposed... (read more)

Wolverine is My Copilot

December 27, 2007

Liz and I are officially back in Chicago today, and we spent most of the afternoon walking around downtown, shopping. Didn't break out the camera much, and only stopped to take this one shot. I guess I've got this thing about toys tied to cars. Cuddly or otherwise. That, or... (read more)

The Day After Christmas

December 26, 2007

With so many people to visit and see over the holidays, we didn't get to see Katie and Dan (and Cameron and Savannah) until the day after Christmas. We all went over to Katie and Dan's house for a great dinner, and yet another evening of opening presents. I'm actually... (read more)

Christmas Day in Frankfort

December 25, 2007

Arriving in Frankfort on Christmas Day, this is what I saw on walking in to the dining room. Needless to say, there was a delicious meal later on that evening. In the family room with Darryl and Tricia, opening gifts. Liz and her mom, opening gifts.... (read more)

Christmas Eve with Grandma Phoebe

December 24, 2007

My grandma, with two of her great-grandkids. My uncle Benny, holding "Macho" on his lap. Family portrait - L to R it's my Uncle Benny, Macho, Jasmine, Auntie Vicky, Grandma Phoebe, my Mom, Jahnu, and my Dad. After the photos, Shane and Stacey went home with the kids. Aunty... (read more)

Indianapolis to Frankfort to Indianapolis

December 23, 2007

A big day of travel today. Bob (Liz's step-dad) had some family coming in for their annual Christmas bowling get-together, in Frankfort. So this morning, Liz and I got into the car and headed back to Frankfort to meet up with them. I was meeting a few folks for the... (read more)

Christmas in Indianapolis

December 22, 2007

Jahnu, looking super cute. Ahh, the cuteness! *explodes* Shane opened one of his gifts early, and decided to "test it" to make sure it worked. After a few attempts at flight... the copter gets pretty high up. So high, in fact, that it loses contact with the remote control.... (read more)

Travel Day

December 21, 2007

In the early morning, a few last-minute gift purchases. Then, off to Frankfort to drop off Baxter for the weekend. Then, back in the car to Indianapolis. Driving driving driving.... (read more)

Off to Indianapolis

December 20, 2007

Liz and I are off to Indy, to spend some time with my family. Not sure of the Internet access over the next few days, so updates might not be happening. Rest assured, I'll have tons of pics and videos, once I get back. Happy holidays, everyone!... (read more)

The Jingler

December 19, 2007

Stumbled across this over on MeFi Projects: For the next seven days of its natural lifespan, please experience THE JINGLER, a powerful Web Application that converts any uploaded MP3 into a holiday song through some optimally placed sleigh and jingle bells. You'd be amazed as to how much CPU... (read more)

All Home and No Poker Play

Stayed home again today, more for recuperation than anything else. I worked all yesterday, so today was more about resting and catching up. I had coffee for the first time in three days, and have been downing a goodly amount of orange juice. My fever's mostly gone, but everytime I... (read more)

Flu, Continued

December 18, 2007

Spent most of today at home, in front of the computer. I had a project due by COB today, and spent most of the day working on that. Chris and Masha helped me out a great deal, picking up the slack I left yesterday, not being in. As of noon:... (read more)

A Summary of the Day

December 17, 2007

3:30 AM: Felix wakes up, goes to bathroom. 4:30 AM: Felix throws up. 7:45 AM: Felix throws up. 12:00 PM: Liz comes home from work. 3:00 PM: Liz throws up. 4:00 PM: Liz throws up. 5:00 PM: Liz throws up. 6:00 PM: Liz throws up. 7:00 PM: Liz throws up.... (read more)

Visiting Kansas City, Part 3

December 16, 2007

The next morning, with all the gifts under the tree. Liz reveals a gift she made her dad: a fruit cake that's been in the works for 2-3 weeks. Before now, I've not been that familiar with fruit cakes. This one has at least an entire bottle of Kentucky... (read more)

Visiting Kansas City, Part 2

December 15, 2007

Most of the day was spent lazing around, hanging out. Darryl and I watched a ridiculous amount of Japanese TV clips on YouTube, resulting in both of us questioning why US TV doesn't follow suit. I'm not exactly sure what cut of meat this is, but it was delicious. Liz's... (read more)

Visiting Kansas City, Part 1

December 14, 2007

Arrived late in Kansas City. The plane was delayed by 30 minutes, which proved incredibly lucky for Tricia and Daryl, as they were running late. Looking in to the kitchen, as cookies are being prepared.... (read more)

Deck the ~~Halls~~ Whiteboards

December 13, 2007

... (read more)

Banner and Experiments, Updated

December 12, 2007

Did some tinkering around last night, and modified a few things. Made the top banner a lot bigger, and randomized a bunch of images (each image links to the entry where the photo was taken). Additionally, I also created a listing of all my Flash experiments. I'll probably work on... (read more)

Ballistic Wars

December 11, 2007

Ballistic Wars (by Easy Only! Games) is sort of like marbles, with some fancy graphics and UI thrown in to the mix. Your goal is to "defuse" bombs set up by a mad professor - and you do so by clicking on your troops, setting up where you want... (read more)

Decorating the Christmas Tree

December 10, 2007

Keeping with our tradition, Liz and I went out and got a Christmas tree for the holidays. We decided the best place for the tree would be right in front of John Cleese. Liz gets out the lights. Me, hanging the ornament Liz got me last year. Baxter the... (read more)

Evan Jacover's FlickrTunes

December 9, 2007

Chicago developer/blogger Evan Jacover has created his own Flickr-based videos, and is offering up his source code to boot! I'm impressed at how quickly his video run (he's playing the song at the start, and dynamically loading in images as the song progresses). As a result it's way zippier... (read more)

Renegade Holiday Craft Fair, Pulaski Park Fieldhouse

December 8, 2007

Thanks to my coworker Christine, I found out that there was a Renegade Holiday Craft Fair going on this weekend. Our weekend plans shifted around considerably, as this became our big to-do on Saturday. Liz, outside the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, ready to get her craft on. The Fieldhouse itself is... (read more)

Slanket Silliness

December 7, 2007

Allison recently ordered a Slanket as a holiday gift. It arrived today, and of course she had to try it out. As did everyone else. Ben, testing out the comfiness while reclining in the bean bag room. Chris, looking very holy. My two favorite possible captions: 1) Always a... (read more)

Sean Serves Plum Pudding, With Flaming Brandy

For the Office Potluck a few days ago, Sean had brought along a plum pudding to share. Apparently, the process involved a bit of brandy that was heated up, and the resulting flame would be poured over the pudding. We never got around to the dessert, so Sean decided... (read more)

Emmis Interactive Holiday Party: Wild Hare, Wrigleyville

December 6, 2007

Since our department moved out into its own office, our holiday celebrations have also separated themselves some from the stations. In the past, us Interactive folks would celebrate along with the stations; but we'd also have our own gatherings and dinners. It's wild to think about, but about 5 years... (read more)

Emmis Interactive, Quarterly (Potluck) Meeting

We had a nice pot-luck quarterly meeting this afternoon. Prior to the event, Bryan and Allison and the rest of the design crew gussied up the room with some decorations. Good doesn't begin to describe this. Lots of great stuff people brought in from home: Kashif's wife made her... (read more)

Dinner with Jeff at Piece, Wicker Park

December 5, 2007

Jeff (aka FlamingoJeff) was in town this week, for a few days of classes. He met up earlier with Matt (aka Tha.Riddla) and Will (aka rogue_designer) last weekend. Since I was unable to attend the get-together, me, Jeff and Liz decided to get together for dinner over at Piece... (read more)

Snowfall Accumulation, Logan Square

December 4, 2007

Tonight, we got a goodly amount of snowfall. We had some over the weekend, but tonight's snowfall just kept on coming and coming. And accumulated. As I was turning off the lights around the apartment, this is what I saw out the windows. Late at night, with the streetlamps on,... (read more)

Sidewalk Flower, State and Jackson

While walking around during lunch today, I spotted this flower... nestled perfectly within a sidewalk crack. I walked by, stopped, and then walked back and pulled out my camera. I think it's a poinsettia, but I'm not 100%. Seems a bit small. As I was photographing, I noticed everyone... (read more)

Colin Moock's Actionscript 3.0: From the Ground Up Tour, Chicago

December 3, 2007

A few weeks back, a bunch of us signed up to attend the Chicago portion of Colin Moock's Actionscript 3.0: From the Ground Up tour. This morning, I woke up bright and early (along with Chris and Masha), and caught a bus over to Navy Pier for an all-day,... (read more)

Chain Factor

December 2, 2007

Chain Factor as an addicting little game, once you get your head around the rules. I'll have to confess, it took me a few tries before I fully grokked what was going on... but after that, I lost a good amount of time to it. The basic premise is... (read more)

TJ's Whirlyball Invitational

December 1, 2007

Over the weekend, TJ and his friends got a Whirlyball court reserved. He opened up the invite to us coworkers, and me, Ben, Allison, Chris and Leslie all joined in on the fun. Driving at the red goal... Leslie and Allison, taking a breather and watching the game from the... (read more)

First Snow, Chicago

While Liz and I were out today, we got caught in an afternoon snowstorm. I'm not sure if this was the first snowfall or not (I think there may have been one in Chicago while we were in Texas). It was the first one I've seen, at any rate. And... (read more)