Posted by dminor Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:05:00 GMT
I came across this Holy Grail done in Legos link today and it reminded me of a picture I took (with my T616) at the Chicago Auto Show a few weeks ago of the Volvo XC90 built out of Legos. It was very impressive.
Posted by dminor Fri, 04 Feb 2005 19:16:00 GMT
I got one of those emails with multiple funny pictures in it. These look to be mostly candid pictures of odd mistakes during sign making like “Kids with Gas Eat Free!” at a gas station. This one made me laugh out loud. I have no source for the picture.
Posted by dminor Sat, 22 Jan 2005 06:57:00 GMT
President Bush was caught empty-handed and on-camera during a church service when the offering plate passed by and he didn’t have any cash on him! Luckily his dad, H. W. Bush, was there to take care of him, slipping some green over his shoulder non-chalantly and at the last second. I saw this story on our NBC affiliate’s newscast tonight.
Posted by dminor Thu, 06 Jan 2005 17:54:00 GMT
The first winter storm that hit Chicago after I moved here in 2000 was similar to the one that just hitus. Digging out of this one reminds me of my first experience with Chicago snow. I didn’t have these archived anymore, but, as Doug put it, “Yea for Larry’s mail retention policy and implementation”, a good friend retrieved and forwarded me some emails that I sent while I learned to cope with real snow. I will repost these messages in their entirety.
Date: December 11, 2000 12:37:11 PM CST Subject: Snow Lessons
being from “the South” we don’t know too much about how to deal with snow. Snow policy in the South seems to be: “at first sight of snow covering the ground: close all schools, board up businesses, send the idiots out into the roads, and stay inside and shiver by the fire until that afternoon when you peek out and there is absolutely no trace of snow anywhere.” Here in the North, I have had to learn some snow lessons. Here is part 1 in what may be a multipart series lasting up to 5 years entitled, “Snow Lessons I learned the hard way.”
Lesson #1: Don’t laugh at your neighbors when they are out shoveling snow while it is still snowing. They may in fact realize that it is almost effortless to push less than 2” of snow especially if it hasn’t been walked or driven on yet. They may also realize that while the idiot neighbor is trying to shovel 2” the next day after driving and walking on it and letting it turn to ice, they can sweep their dusting to 1/2” accumulation off in about 10 minutes and return to their hot chocolate.
Lesson #2: Even if you do figure out to shovel while it is still snowing, 3 inches is too much to clear at one time if you can help it. and when snow is falling at rate of 1-2” per hour, well you do the math.
Lesson #3: The amount of clothes you would wear to play in the snow and keep warm is possibly 3 times as much as you should wear to shovel snow. It may just well be true that wearing no clothing at all would keep you dryer than wearing lots of clothes and sweating [ed. this theory has not been tested by our author. Thank goodnes!].
That’s all for this edition. It has been about 15 minutes since I came in and I now have to return to the driveway to clear another 2”. We’re supposed to up to a foot today. Look for the next issue of “Snow Lessons I learned the hard way” where we take a tangential look at coveting our neighbor’s gas-powered snow blower.
Date: December 12, 2000 1:13:34 PM CST Subject: Snow Lessons “day 2”
Lesson #4 (The day after): Advil. Lots and lots of Advil.
Lesson #5: Don’t curse at your neighbors who use their snow blowers at 6:30 in the morning even though there is no light out yet—they could very well offer it to you later in the day after you have successfully hand shoveled 3/4 of the driveway. I’ll take what I can get.
At this point, I don’t think there is any way we won’t have snow on the ground for Christmas. Although, after shoveling 3 times in a 24 hour period with a total of at least a foot on the ground, I hope we don’t have to shovel much longer …
p.s. $21.70 from each person on this list would buy a good snow blower for us for Christmas. ;-)
Thankfully, in the 4 years since I learned those key points, I have acquired a snow blower. I’m not sure how much easier it is as I have to lean over a boy who feels the need to “help.” Yesterday, I had most of the boys in the neighborhood taking turns “helping” me and we ended up not only doing our drive and walk, but lots of other sidewalks and another driveway! Whew!
I need to get back out there do clear another 3-4 inches, but can’t quite bring myself to do it.
Posted by dminor Sat, 13 Nov 2004 01:54:00 GMT
In an article from Panic announcing the retirement of Audion, there is a link to what the chipmunks really sound like. I couldn’t stop laughing.
Posted by dminor Sun, 15 Feb 2004 18:23:00 GMT
Jason Perkins wrote in his blog about experiencing his first winter in San Antonio, Texas versus his longtime residence: Chicago. I couldn’t stop laughing—a bit from jealousy, a bit from understanding.
Oh! You have to experience a San Antonio winter. On Christmas day I called home to ask how long I should leave the steaks out on the grill for proper cooking time. One family member told me to go to hell and then hung up and another simply hung up on me. I considered that ample getting even for the San Antonio summer that we suffered through last year.
One of my favorite memories about Oklahoma Holidays is getting to play golf every Thnaksgiving and most Christmases for free on the closed public golf courses. A light jacket was all that was usually needed!
It was a minimal snowfall and was completely melted by 8 a.m. and there were still 700 minor accidents and 100 major accidents in the San Antonio area. I intentionally stayed off of the roads until it was all gone this morning because I’ve seen how badly the local drivers are with rainfall and can’t imagine driving with snow and ice on the road.
The funny thing is that you’ll never find a person living in the South that says, “I’m a bad inclement weather driver.” But everyone will till you how bad “everyone else” is. The bad weather driving is one of the things I’ve really enjoyed about living in Chicago. People do seem to have a better sense of how to drive in bad weather, and let’s hear it for the street crews! They just get it clear … and fast. The other thing about winter up here is that when it does snow, it doesn’t melt the same day. We have, until recently, had 5-6” on the ground for a good while. We never got 5-6” at a time, it came in 1/2-1” at a time over several weeks. But it’s still there! I love it. Overall, while I miss the almost year-round golfing, I’ll trade that for the staying snow and the lack of a long, hot summer. Of course, then my brother Jay in LA will call anytime of year and it sounds pleasant there! I think I’d go nuts without the change of seasons.
Posted by dminor Thu, 23 Oct 2003 03:31:00 GMT
I want to wish my good friends Phil and Cara congratulations on their new baby girl, Hannah. She couldn’t have been blessed with better people for parents! We’re excited for you. (and I’m glad it’s you and not me) ;-)
Posted by dminor Thu, 31 Jul 2003 07:49:00 GMT
Did quite a little dance today when my Expedition reached this big milestone. Hopefully, it will last a few more years… at least until the kids stop dropping crumbs in the seat! (wishful thinking?)
Posted by dminor Wed, 30 Jul 2003 05:47:00 GMT
What a beautiful city this is at night! Last night I took a group of teenagers visiting from Arlington, TX for a sightseeing trip downtown at night. I got this picture of the skyline I love to look at—night or day. I love this town!
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