July 16, 2006 at 8:54 am · Filed under Lifestyle
This neighborhood is quite the dump. Trash collects on the sidewalks and in peoples’ yards all the time. Part of the problem is the trash system. An alley sits between every street. Frequently, bums will rummage through the garbage and pick out “valuables”. As they’re digging through, they just leave trash in the alley. No one ever re-trashes the trash. However, the main problem I have is with the locals. I’ve seen people clean out their cars by throwing everything in their car onto the street. Then, every business advertises with leaflets. Seriously, who looks at a leaflet and thinks “I do need a pirm” or “Yes, I’m in the mood for t-shirt.” Car leaflet = Street Trash. It’s proven.
Another gripe is with my college buddy, the landlord. He’s turning into a self-important prick. He looks at every situation from a business stand point. Is is worth his precious time or not, and if it’s not he’s going to go do something else. He’s even too lazy to clean his own apartment. When I was cat sitting, he told me his sister would be coming over to clean it up. He justified his laziness with the logic that his sister was in college and could use the money he’s paying her. It really wasn’t even that dirty. That being said he also needs clean around his property. Yesterday, I saw a mouse between the alleys of the houses. The back yard is a jungle. The wild flowers are so tall that birds are sitting on them. The hedges whip you when you walk by.
Honestly, I would do this work myself if I knew that it was going to get some point across. I know he’d think “Sweet, someone cleaned up the trash and did landscaping. What am I doing later?” …
Come to think of it, maybe this my own excuse or business model. Maybe I’m waiting for his gratitude or for him to offer me monetary payment for my work. Hmmm? What do you think? Should I do some cleaning out of niceness without getting any message across or should I just objectively criticize from the comfort of my living room?
July 11, 2006 at 8:52 am · Filed under Techy
I’m still waiting to buy an iPod Nano. I was hoping that in June that they’d slash prices. So, if you follow their product release schedule, new products shouldn’t be out until September (or November). The latest rumors suggest that the Nano will get an aluminum anodized casing. This is the one that the mini used. It is virtually scratch resistant, and that’s what most Nano complaints have been about. The memory capacity is also supposed to be upgraded to maybe as much as 8GB. This would be the perfect player for bikeing or vacations since it has a battery life of 14 hours. Here’s hoping.
A lot of speculation still surrounds the Video iPod. It’s supposed to have a 3″ touchscreen. But after using Missy’s iPod Video, I wasn’t impressed. It’s a neat thing to have, but the battery life was crappé. Having a larger screen would mean worse battery life. They need to work on that for this product to be successful.
July 8, 2006 at 5:36 pm · Filed under Lifestyle
I managed to mess up pudding. Right now, you’re asking yourself, “Doesn’t pudding have only two steps?” And yes, it does. “BEAT pudding mix into 2 cups cold milk in bowl with wire whisk 2 minutes. POUR into individual serving dishes.” Well, I dont have a wire whisk. So, I decided to improvise with a spatula. I thought it might be difficult to mix with the spatula, so I thought warm milk (rice milk) might speed up the mixing process. The result was liquid pudding that never got thick. I later tried a potato masher to mix it, and that helped a bit. The very bottom of the pudding got thick, but the rest was just runny. I guess I’ll have to buy a whisk next time, so as not to screw up the cheescake pudding I’ve got.
I also got a membership for this comic/video rental store called Brainstorm. I was reading The Onion and they had an advertisement that promoted them having many of the old Doctor Who videos. That’s initially what sparked my interest. I’d been there before when I was looking for Chicago version of “Rentertainment.” The store is small, but it’s half comics/half videos. The majority of videos are all old geeky stuff, but they have some new selections. I looked through a shelf of Doctor Who videos and was overwhelmed. I thought maybe I should read online which videos are better. The episodes were broken up into “serials,” and I thought what’s a serial. It turns out it’s just several parts that form one story. I ended up not getting any Doctor Who. What I did check out was the Star Wars cartoon The Clone Wars. I’d been craving them since I watched them at Ceej’s. All the old videos are priced $2.12. So, if you get 2 videos it’s 4.49 with tax, which isn’t bad. You also get them for 5 days. Membership was free and my rental card is a Star Wars trading card with a barcode on the back. Neat.
July 2, 2006 at 7:26 am · Filed under Lifestyle, Photos
Amtrak has a pretty solid and orderly transportation service. But, every once in awhile you get thrown a lemon cocktail. (ie the dining car fire and the 4 hour delay) This is one of those stories.
Part One: The Next Seat Passenger
Total Time: 10 minute delay
I got on Amtrak at the Alton station, as it had started in St Louis. I wasn’t able to find any open rows so I took a seat next to this woman, about my age. She was reading a notebook and I was sleepy. One of the conductors came around and asked us where we were headed. I replied Chicago and she said Bloomington. I proceeded to take off my glasses and catch some ‘zzz’s for an hour. After Springfield, I put my glasses on and minded my own business. I never made eye contact with the woman, but I could tell that she was looking directly at me time after time.
Eventually, she broke the ice, and asked “Have you lived in Chicago for your whole life?” Inside, my brain gave a “…sigh.” That triggered an entire conversation of where we live, where we work, and what we do. She told me how she was getting training to run her own bank. I told her a glamorized version of trading. You know. I left out the ramen, the homebody, and many of the boring aspects of life, and she bought into it.
Soon, Bloomington nears, and she had to get off. I stood up to let her gather her things, and I went back a few aisles to my bag. I wanted to pull out my magazines and read the rest of the way. I got back to my seat and she was still there. She said, “if you’re ever in St Louis give me a call.” She handed me her name and phone number on this gnarled up piece of paper from her notebook.
Now, she definetely didn’t classifify as a “hottie” and I’ll never call her. But…Aaaahhh! I still got it! The 10 minute delay had nothing to do with her, but we were running behind schedule nonetheless.
Part Two: Oops I drove off the road
Total Time: 20 minute delay
Past Bloomington, we got into another semi-residental area with a two way road near the tracks. I had moved to the window seat and noticed a police car with it’s lights on. That wasn’t too out of the ordinary, but it looked like someone had been pulled over, and we were slowing down. The police were out of their cars and talking to people along the road. Eventually, there was a “CRUNCH“! We come to a halt and I see this white Mitsubishi pass my window next to the tracks. We hit a car!
Now, it wasn’t a dead on smack. The car was half on the shoulder and tilted so that we nicked it. Everyone got out of their seats, but no one was allowed off the train. Ambulances and police were already on the scene and no one got hurt. The conductors got off the train and helped file a police report, but it really wasn’t a big scene.
I later heard the story from the conductor, and this is how it went. This girl had been with some friends, and she let one of them drive. Somehow, they lost control of the car, crossed on-coming traffic, spun through a ditch, and stopped on the tracks. The kids driving the car fled, and she stayed there with one other boy. Police were already on the scene and an ambulance was arriving as we got close. The police saw us coming and had everyone move away from the car, anticipating parts to fly.
We stopped once initially. Then, we pulled up a few feet to clear the car and stopped again. There was no damage to the train, and 20 minutes later we were on our way.
Part Three: I could have biked faster
Total Time: 60 minutes
Everything seemed to be on track. All the people were now animated and chatty after the car incident, and Joliet is next. However, the conductor has another announcement.
They tell us that someone has stolen a copper wire from one of the signal boxes. This controls the train signals to the roads. So, to prevent anymore possible accidents with cars, we’d have to travel at a pace of 10 mph for 10 miles. One hour to get 10 miles.
Right now, it was getting dark and everyone’s attitude was like “whatever”. I was fortunate to have my magazines with me. But I really could have used a beer. (I should really start bringing emergency beers for the train rides.) After the slow hour long cruise we got into Joliet, and there were no more delays.
The train ride should have taken under 5 hours, and I would have arrived in Chicago at 9PM. We however didn’t get in ’til 10:30. Surprisingly, there didn’t seem to be any angry passengers. I think everyone was just tired, as was I.
