March 2008 Archives

We're Going Someplace Called "Pita Inn?" In Skokie? Really?
March 31, 2008
Last week, Kashif sent out an email inviting folks out to eat. He was sad to have missed our last group outing, and suggested a place he liked a great deal: Pita Inn. It's not often that Kashif sends out an invite, so it was a rare occasion indeed. James... (read more)
Please Chinese MC Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em
March 30, 2008
Known as HammerXXX, this guy's version of "U Can't Touch This" is pretty stellar. And the rest of the guy's videos are pretty damn terrific, too. As you'll soon see, the best part is the mom... who's just sitting there in the background, quietly absorbed in her work. We... (read more)
Wherein I am Videotaped, Unawares
March 29, 2008
This was totally not my fault. The couch is waaaay too comfortable. Well, actually it's a bit my fault. When going out to eat, one drink and I'm usually fine. Two drinks, and I've tended to get that splotchy thing happening (also known as the Asian Flush). Invariably, it... (read more)
Liz's Dad Visits
Liz's Dad was visiting this weekend, and spent some time hanging out with us in the city. He was staying with Tricia and Darryl, but came in in the late afternoon to talk and catch up some. Normally, we trek over to Kansas City for an early Christmas, but it's... (read more)
The Grocer and Brooks Golden @ NEW'D
March 28, 2008
Outside New'd, a new and used resale shop just a few doors down from Liz's old apartment. We were here tonight for a show featuring Brooks Golden and The Grocer. Inside, we met up with a bunch of folks from work: L to R it's TJ talking with Chris... (read more)
Lunch at Hot Doug's - the Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium
Since we were both home on a week day, we decided a nice lunch out over at Hot Doug's was in order. And even though it was a Friday, we still found ourselves in a bit of a line, outside. Ever since my first experience here, tasting a blueberry-infused... (read more)
Old Table, New Table (Part 4)
I took the day off work today (we have a company policy that gives every employee a "birthday day" off, available anytime during the month of your birthday). Liz was also at home, since she was technically on her spring break, and the two of us tended to our... (read more)
Old Table, New Table (Part 3)
March 27, 2008
Liz had another full day at the table. I was able to pitch in some after work, and by around 9PM the table was fully stripped and sanded down.... (read more)
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a... Mechanical Dragonfly?
In the afternoon, I picked up the sound of a slight whirring in the air. Looking over, I saw Darren (our new QA Manager) with a remote control in his hands and something shooting through the air. Seeing as we're a web company, it's a moral imperative that we have... (read more)
Old Table, New Table (Part 2)
March 26, 2008
Walking in the apartment after work, I was hit with some incredibly strong fumes. So much so, that I started coughing after a minute or two. Liz had been working on the table for most of the day (again), and though the windows were cracked some... the place was... (read more)
Comic Book Store Field Trip
Today, right before lunch, James mentioned to me that he and Ben were heading to a comic store... and did I want to come along? I hesitated a bit, and he followed up with "You don't have to buy anything. You can just go look." And after that comment, I... (read more)
Blue Line Window View - Dancing Wires
I've been meaning to capture this moment for a while now - on the Blue Line, heading in to the city... if you look out the windows to the right, you'll see a series of wires setup alongside the tracks. I've noticed that, if you pull your focus back and... (read more)
On the Train, Heading to Sleepytown
March 25, 2008
I was pretty tired after my day. But apparently, so was Tus. Sheesh. A man can't fall asleep on his own couch, without getting mocked? What's up here? :P I really need to stop leaving my camera out, where Liz can get to it.... (read more)
Old Table, New Table
Liz has undertaken a new project this week: refinishing the dining room table. She's technically on Spring Break, and has had her eye on re-doing the table for some time now. For those who may remember, we found this table during an Estate Sale on the same day that... (read more)
Who Would Win in a Fight - a Minotaur Armed with a Trident or a Centaur Armed with a Crossbow?
Who among us hasn't asked ourselves the age-old question: Who Would Win in a Fight - a Minotaur Armed with a Trident or a Centaur Armed with a Crossbow? We all have our own answers and reasons, but what do the celebrities think? I saw this site over the... (read more)
Easter in Frankfort
March 23, 2008
Liz and I went down to Frankfort today, to hang out with her family for Easter. This was the fantastic spread on the table that greeted us, on walking in. On each plate, everyone got a little marshmallow treat. There was a mini-easter-egg hunt in the house, and one... (read more)
Decorating Easter Eggs with Liz
March 22, 2008
After a long, lazy day... Liz and I started a bit late on the whole decorating Easter eggs bit. But around 10PM, we got our dyes out and settled down to do a bit of painting and drawing. While we had a lot of colors to choose from, the combination... (read more)
Jason and Layla Visit Chicago
March 21, 2008
My friends Jason and Layla were in town the past few days, visiting Chicago and exploring downtown with their two kids (Roman and Miranda). Liz and I met up with them today, towards the later part of the afternoon. Jason and I go way back, as we were both colleagues... (read more)
Tus the Dog: What's Yours is Ours
March 20, 2008
Early this morning (circa 6:30AM), Jake stopped off at our apartment and dropped of his dog, Tus. He's heading to Nicaragua for a week, and during that time Liz and I will be serving as official dogsitters. I see now that word of our babysitting skills has gotten around. Walking... (read more)
Snow Day in Yorkville: Mike's Time-lapse Video
Several weeks back, in early February, we got hit with some substantial snowfall. During that time, we had a half-day at work due to the strong weather. Many of the folks on our Affiliate team (living farther out in the suburbs) were told to work from home the day prior.... (read more)
*pop* *pop* *pop* *pop*
March 19, 2008
After having a balloon-filled apartment for over a week now, Liz and I decided it was time for one last hurrah, and to officially say goodbye to the balloons. All of the helium-filled balloons have gone, but the ones remaining were the green ones... the ones we've been kicking around... (read more)
Rock, Paper, Scissors: Four Years Later
A long, long time ago (way back in 2004), we used to have this particularly boring task at the workplace. It was a menial task, an update that had no admins and required "manual" labor, as it were. In order to determine who got the crap job... we settled on... (read more)
Peabe Featured in Mini Documentary: Hello My Name is Chicago
March 18, 2008
Bryan passed around a link today, of a guy who shot a neat (and really well-produced) mini-doc on the Hello My Name is Chicago show. Check out the video below (and at 2:20, Bryan gets a nice mention/interview as well). Direct link to the video on Vimby here. Photos and... (read more)
flickrvision: Real Time Images from Around the World
March 17, 2008
flickrvision, by David Troy, is absolutely mesmerizing. He's taking in data from the Flickr API, and overlaying it against what appears to be Google Earth. Pretty brilliant stuff, and it's just really compelling to watch. In watching this, I'm also reminded of We Feel Fine, and 6 Billion Others.... (read more)
Back from India: Justin Returns to Chicago
March 16, 2008
I got an email from Justin earlier in the day, letting me know he was safe and sound back in the States. More than that, he was safe and sound over at Dave's apartment. A few phone calls and a few hours later, a bunch of us were meeting up... (read more)
Downtown Dinner at Brazzaz, Brazilian Steakhouse
March 15, 2008
Tonight, Liz and I met up with her family over at Brazzaz (warning, music and cheesy Flash) for a fancy meal downtown. Known as a "Brazilian Steakhouse," it's a all-you-can-eat sort of place, with a wide assortment of meats. While the salad bar was pretty great, this is by far... (read more)
An Irrational Celebration: Happy Pi Day (3/14)
March 14, 2008
Today is the 20th anniversary of Pi Day, which was first celebrated/created by Larry Shaw in San Francisco in 1988. Based on the American date format (3/14), today is a day lots of folks the world over celebrate arguably one of the most popular irrational numbers we have -... (read more)
Batman Street Promotion: "I Believe in Harvey Dent"
March 13, 2008
On the way in to work today, Liz and I were walking down Jackson and spotted these guys standing right outside the side door to my building. At first, I wasn't sure what the fuss was about, but the moment I heard the name Harvey Dent, I knew what was... (read more)
Frozen Blueberry Dessert Recipe
March 12, 2008
In a recent unflattering photograph of me where I was taking a nap performing complex calculations while meditating, there was a little cup and spoon visible off to the side. Ben noticed this, and inquired about it... and I meant to post up this recipe. Things got a little... (read more)
HBO Starship Intro: Behind the Scenes
Chris sent along this great link to a 1983 "behind the scenes" look a the classic HBO intro sequence (aka "The Starship"). Not only are the details of the model city pretty fascinating... but it was fantastic to see how some of the special effects were created. In particular, I... (read more)
Lunch Field Trip: Merchandise Mart + Indian Food
March 11, 2008
For lunch today per Ben's suggestion, a bunch of us (Jane, Chris, Ben, Bryan, TJ, Nick, Masha) went out for some Indian food, over at Klay Oven. This restaurant used to be an occassional treat for us, back when we used to work in the Merchandise Mart. I, for one,... (read more)
Contempt of Court Citation, Averted
March 10, 2008
At the start of the month, I received a rather ominous letter letting me know that the photos I took documenting my Jury Duty experience were in violation of local court rules. More than that, the letter stated that my "willful actions could result in a Contempt of Court Citation."... (read more)
My Amazing (and Slightly Terrifying) Birthday Surprise
March 9, 2008
Let me begin by saying that for the past few days, I've been barred from entering the kitchen pantry. No explanation, no reasons, just "don't go in there." The latch had been thrown. On the door, a note was posted, expressly prohibiting me from going inside. Now, fast forward... (read more)
Birthday Dinner in Frankfort
March 8, 2008
Tonight Liz and I travelled down to Frankfort, to hang out with her family. And actually, it was also for my birthday too (I'm having quite the weekend). For dinner, Liz's mom cooked up some fantastic food - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, asparagus and brussel sprouts (which I'm discovering that... (read more)
Birthday Dinner - Smurfs, Crepes, and a Surprise
March 7, 2008
My birthday is this Sunday, but Liz had plans for us to go out and celebrate tonight. For the past few days I knew we were heading out... but didn't know where. I only knew we were going out. I got home, was told to put on some nice clothes,... (read more)
Cecropia - Delightful and Intuitive Video Game Approach
Cecropia is a company that specializes in what they call "Personality Video Games." It's a fantastically entertaining approach, and I'm awed at both how simple and intuitive it is. There's a small little game on their home page, and a larger project entitled "The Act." I'm reminded a lot... (read more)
Happy Birthday, Rey!
As is the ritual at my workplace, everyone tries to throw a little birthday surprise for Rey/Deb when their day rolls around. Today was Rey's birthday and we all gathered in the kitchen to help celebrate. While I wonder if we'll ever top the surprise sushi cake, this design... (read more)
Photoshop Disasters: Or, Attack of the Clone Tool
March 6, 2008
Photoshop Disasters is a small but growing collection of some pretty bad Photoshop work, found out in the wild. The design of the site isn't anything to write home about (and in fact, it looks like someone just slapped these images up on a generic blogger template). But the... (read more)
Battleship Torpedo Attack
March 5, 2008
Allison recently got a version of Battleship that I've never seen before - one where each side comes complete with a periscope that shoots torpedoes (tiny black marbles) under water, at the ships. Here, Bryan is taking aim through the periscope (there's a small window/mirror that lets you peer... (read more)
Random Images, California Blue Line Stop
I raced up the steps at the California Blue Line stop, only to miss the doors by a second or two. After walking over to the railing, I noticed how incredibly bright and crisp the day looked. I felt compelled to take a few photos, mostly just because I haven't... (read more)
Star Firsts: "How I Lost My Virginity" Stories from Celebrities
Quite possibly NSFW due to language, but compelling reading nonetheless: Nerve has compiled a series of "my first time" stories, as told by celebrities. It's quite the range, too - Joe Namath, Bertrand Russell, David Bowie, Sylvia Plath, Iggy Pop, Here's a snippet from Marilyn Manson's account: We ambled downhill... (read more)
Nick's Photo Featured on Gapers Block
March 4, 2008
Nick got one of his photos featured on Gapers Block today! You should definitely check out Nick's photos on Flickr - lots of cool images there to peruse. All told, I believe that makes three of us in total who've had photos highlighted, from this office. Any more, and... (read more)
Small Murders
March 3, 2008
by Aimee Nezhukumatathil When Cleopatra received Antony on her cedarwood ship, she made sure he would smell her in advance across the sea: perfumed sails, nets sagging with rosehips and crocus draped over her bed, her feet and hands rubbed in almond oil, cinnamon, and henna. I knew I had... (read more)
Upcoming Poetry Reading: Aimee Nezhukumatathil
My friend (and OSU MFA alum) Aimee Nezhukumatathil is going to be in town tomorrow for a reading over at Columbia College. She is the author of two books of poetry (Miracle Fruit and, most recently, At the Drive-In Volcano). Last year, she got some nice press from none... (read more)
Housekeeping, the French, and Dave Barry
March 2, 2008
With all the recent traffic/activity lately, I decided to do a little housekeeping. Up until now, my older Flash projects were sitting on some pretty bare bones HTML pages. Today, I tweaked the stylesheet for this site and created a page layout that could better house all of my Flash... (read more)
My Jury Duty Blog Photos - Possible Contempt of Court Citation
March 1, 2008
Ok. Uhm - wow. So apparently, I was in violation of local laws when I took photos during my Jury Duty service, a few weeks back. I knew that I wasn't allowed to photograph inside the courtroom, during an actual trial (which I didn't do). But I didn't realize... (read more)
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The Popemobile, 2007 Chiditerod
Flash Experiments
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