They Don't Call it the Windy City for Nothing

Sportsnation Poll

2009-02-01T11:15:00.000-06:00

Waiting to vote

2008-11-04T06:34:00.000-06:00

Summer Roundup

2008-08-30T22:41:00.004-05:00

As summer concludes, and a wedding is on the horizon, now would be the perfect time to download pictures from my new iPhone and see what fun has been captured on the bits and bytes of digital media. The iPhone includes awesome-yet-creepy GPS location embedding, meaning you can actually see where each picture was taken on a Google Map. Enjoy!

Indiana Dunes & Summer Roundup

MCITP: 2/25/08 - 8/12/08

2008-08-12T13:03:00.005-05:00

This morning, I polished off my last exam to earn my goal of MCITP: Enterprise Administrator. The MCP professional certification series was redesigned with the recent release of Server 2008 (the previous server release was Server 2003). I officially started studying on February 25, so this represents six months of studying and four separate exams. Here's the rundown:

4-8-08: Passed 70-648: Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 MCSA to Windows Server 2008, Technology Specialist. I scored pretty low on this one as it covered a wide variety of topics and improbable scenarios that you would rarely see in the real world (actually, most of the exams are like this).

5-20-08: Passed 70-620: Configuring Windows Vista. This one was a cakewalk. If you've used Vista and you have a history of configuring Windows-based PCs, you should have no problem.

7-14-08: Passed 70-643: Configuring Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure. This one was fun. I learned a lot about the cool technologies that are available in Server 2008 - including the new Terminal Services, IIS 7.0, and new remote access features.

8-12-08: Passed 70-647: Professional Series: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Administrator. What is an Enterprise Administrator? According to Microsoft, someone capable of designing, implementing, and maintaining a Windows infrastructure that covers multiple connected locations with thousands of users and hundreds of servers. This one was also fun because of the emphasis on design.

After this morning's exam, Jessica treated me to a gold medal ceremony, complete with the star-spangled banner:

And then I treated myself to my customary post-exam Wendy's Baconator celebration meal, complete with artery-clogging goodness:

Thanks very much to Jessica, who supported me all the way through six months of waking up early to study, going to the coffee shop every weekend to study, and quizzing me on topics. Now I guess we should get married or something.

Someone should really clean this up

2008-08-07T08:07:00.000-05:00

ComEd has been a little busy.

Let's go Mountaineers

2008-07-30T10:12:00.004-05:00

Every year, I'm asked to contribute a season prediction for WVU's #1 fan site, WeMustIgniteThisCouch.com. Here it is:

In an historical final showdown against South Florida on December 6, 70,223 people cram into Mountaineer Field, breaking the previous attendance record by one person (Pat White's mojo is legally considered to be a second individual). The game is a barn-burning back-and-forth battle for Big East supremacy that rages until the fourth quarter, when fisticuffs ensue on the 30 yard line. The referees consider ejecting three members of both squads, until it is agreed that all involved parties will attend Christmas dinner at the Bill Stewart household for a stern talking-to and a round table discussion on family values and the true meaning of Christmas. The Mountaineers win it by a field goal, and go on to bring the National Championship home.

Prediction: 13-0, Pat White for Heisman and #1 pick in the NFL draft, Stewart for governor.

The role of dinosaurs in network policy access

2008-07-28T15:26:00.000-05:00

Invitations

2008-07-27T23:19:00.001-05:00

Completed invitations: we has them.

iPhone Post

2008-07-26T16:22:00.001-05:00

Here's Ned, courtesy of the iPhone.

Tales from the Job Search

2008-07-03T21:57:00.005-05:00

Way back at the beginning of March, I applied for a policy analyst job at the Chicago office of a Federal government agency (we'll call it the Government Ridiculosity Office, or "GRO"). I knew that such openings in field offices are rare and in high demand, so I wasn't counting on it working out. But the GRO is supposed to be a great place to work, and the job sounded interesting, so I figured it was worth a try.

I didn't hear anything until the end of April, when I received an email informing me that I had "been deemed minimally qualified" and that my application was "currently in the second face of the screening process." My jubilation at my minimally qualified status was tempered somewhat by the information that this second "face" would not be completed until the end of May. When I hadn't heard anything by the beginning of June, I emailed to check on the status and was told that "applications are under review until Mid June". When I hadn't heard anything by June 23rd, I emailed again and was told they would have an update for me later in the week.

Later in the week, the update came:

The number of applications exceeded 1000 and the quality of the applications was exceptional. Your application has been carefully reviewed and considered. While you were deemed qualified for the position, your application was not among those rated as best-qualified. Therefore, your application was not forwarded to the selecting official(s).

So this was seemingly the end of the story. In the end, I was still only minimally qualified - or, at best, just plain qualfied.

But wait!

The next day I received another email:

Please disregard the email that was sent to you yesterday regarding the analyst position at the GRO. That email was sent to you in error. This email is to inform you that GRO will not be hiring in the Chicago Field office at this time. Depending on the projected budget you may be contacted for an interview at a later date. We appreciate the time you have taken to submit your application and your interest in the U.S. GRO.

So there you have it! Three months later they are now ready to tell me that they are not hiring.

Sadly, this is not the most pathetic story of my job search so far. Look for additional tales of woe in the days (or, knowing me, weeks) to come.

More photos!

2008-06-30T21:37:00.000-05:00

Michigan Trip

Jessica Graduates!

2008-06-15T12:23:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to the newest Master of Public Policy from the Harris School for Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Yay!

UofC Roundup

Here's a slideshow covering the ceremony, and the exhausting last few months.

Jason vs. the City of Chicago

2008-06-06T17:21:00.006-05:00

Anyone who knows me to any degree of knowing me knows that I think I know how be smarter than "the system," which usually knows better. You know?

Take for instance, Jason vs. the State of West Virginia, pitting me against the state over a $120 unemployment check I collected after I stopped working at WVU. I ultimately lost that one when I mixed up the time of my Circuit Court of Marion County appearance, and was an hour late to an appointment with an unhappy Judge.

Then there was Jason vs. the City of Morgantown, where I attempted to avoid payment on outstanding parking tickets accumulated through college. I ultimately lost that fight when my Father, the registered owner of the car in question, demanded that the tickets be paid in full. Definitely a good move by him.

There was Jason vs. the District of Columbia, over a traffic camera nabbing the Mazda doing 16MPH over the speed limit in a residential zone near Columbia Heights. That battle was lost when my argument involving Physics equations was too far fetched to prove that my car couldn't have been speeding.

Last year there was Jason vs. Jessica, who refused to be a willing part in Jessica vs. the City of Chicago, when Jessica's car was ticketed for not having a City of Chicago parking sticker while parked on the street. That one didn't even reach the planning and scheming stage, because, well, let's put it this way - if Jessica was a cereal, she'd be Moral Fiber.

So now comes Jason vs. the City of Chicago, which, by most accounts, is a legitimate wrongdoing by the Chicago Department of Revenue, a.k.a. the parking ticket cops. Seriously, they wear big "Department of Revenue" jackets. The Mazda was harmlessly parked in its usual spot near the Metra train stop on Western Avenue for the day, unaware that street cleaning was to take place on that side of the block. Why was the owner unaware, you may ask? Because there were no damn signs on that block indicating the pending street cleaning.

Needless to say, I swung into full battle armor for this one, especially confident that I could win. I took pictures and immediately compiled a comprehensive report to contest the ticket. I would show you the lovely document, but it has my license plate in the pictures, so I'm not sure if I should expose that to the mercy of the Internet.

But much to my chagrin, the response arrived today that I would be held liable for the ticket, because:

It is the finding of the Administrative Law Officer that the information submitted supports a determination that the violation occurred.

What. The. Hell. My argument wasn't that a violation didn't occur, my argument was that there were no damn signs, which there weren't, which my pictures show. There is even a box on the ticket response to select, indicating your excuse is that there were no signs.

So where does this leave Jason vs. the City of Chicago? Will Jason pay the $50 and give up? Or will he fight on, following the instructions quoted in the final paragraph:

You may appeal this order to the Circuit Court of Cook County within 35 days of the order date by filing a civil law suit against the City of Chicago.

Stay tuned.

Chicago by air

2008-06-02T15:34:00.004-05:00

I snapped a few pictures of our fair city on the way to Philadelphia this weekend.

http://misterstegs.spaces.live.com/photos/

Lack of fresh blog entries deemed "offensive," "ridiculous"

2008-05-15T08:10:00.003-05:00

There hasn't been a lot of blog action lately.

Yes, we've been busy, but we're all busy, and busy days are no excuse for not writing to one of the most respected and thoroughly read blogs in the Midwest.

Jessica is almost finished with school. So long as she can finish a final month of not debating heated topics with her professors, or causing a physical incident over a recent A- that was suspected to be due to a font misunderstanding, she will graduate. I'm very proud of her. Her job hunt here in Chicagoland continues to march onward.

I'm still on my studying kick for Microsoft certifications. The next exam date is this coming Tuesday, and a passing score will put me exactly halfway to my goal of the title of MCITP: Enterprise Administrator.

Lindy continues to whine during rush hour. "Rush hour" shall be defined as 6:30-8:30AM, or until food and walks are properly distributed.

Ned continues to lobby for more Tuna. He has a meeting before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week regarding the proper distribution of Tuna into his dish.

And finally, pretty much all of our friends in the city are moving into our neighborhood, so we're happy about that. When we aren't being socially awkward homebodies, we do enjoy the company of some other human beings. Closer proximity to everyone might facilitate that.

Until next time.

Greyhound video

2008-05-03T15:31:00.002-05:00

This isn't Lindy - but we really found this funny. Check out the surprise winner of this race.

Birthday Girl

2008-04-17T22:32:00.009-05:00

So, as many of you have heard, we adopted a dog. Her name is Lindy and she is a former racing greyhound. Today was her sixth birthday and she stayed true to the promise that greyhounds don't mind wearing hats. (In fact, a picture of a greyhound wearing a similar hat in an ad on the wall in the Pittsburgh airport was one of the things that fueled Jason's greyhound fever).

After much back and forth and worry about what it would be like to have a dog in our apartment and what kind of dog would be best, we have found the most delightful companion. Lindy is an absolute sweetheart. She greets us happily, follows us (especially Jessica) from room to room and in general just likes to be around us. She likes to come up to us and stick her face near ours in order to get pet.

Today we took her to the dog park for the first time. Before we even got inside the gate we ran into a young man with a greyhound. We bonded and he gave us advice and the dogs got to say hi to each other. Once we were inside the park, Lindy did not take off racing as we thought she might, but rather made her way around the perimeter, checking out the other dogs and saying hi to the people. We have gotten used to what she looks like, but seeing her around all the other dogs, we were reminded how unique she is.

On the home front, Ned and Lindy are coexisting pretty peacefully. They are interested in each other, probably Ned more so than Lindy. There was one incident where Ned swatted her and she yelped, but other than that there has been a lot of him sneaking around checking her out. We were worried that he might be too upset by her presence but he has still been our buddy as well, and as snuggly and friendly as ever.

All in all, we are enjoying our little menagerie.

The neighborhood Goose Island closes down :(

2008-04-14T22:11:00.003-05:00

I'll let Jessica write some dog news, as soon as she finishes filing her taxes. At 10:12. The day before they're due. Hey, I did mine this weekend.

Sadness swept through the Davis-Manvell-Ned-Lindy household (wait, Lindy?) upon the news of Jason's favorite restaurant in Chicago closing down at the end of the year. It also used to rate highly on Jessica's list before she was diagnosed as a Celiac and couldn't bear to hear Jason's conversations with the awesome bartenders about the beer samples. The brewpub can't afford its rent any longer, leaving MBAs in training like Jason (already almost at 30!) to trod up to Wrigleyville to finish their degrees. Nobody wants to fight through drunken Cubs fans to have a beer at the other, lamer Goose Island.

Oh well, we hardly knew ye, Goose Island, but here's to you. Cheers..

Pics of the pub from the Tribune

????

2008-04-11T09:12:00.002-05:00

Chicago goes dark

2008-03-29T22:07:00.005-05:00

We were on a rare trip to the 'burbs tonight, so we missed the big Earth Hour skyline darkening. By the time the Sears Tower came into view on 90/94, the spires were already lit up again. But here's what it looked like, and the CNN article to match. If you want to avoid reading the story - basically, a bunch of cities around the world turned off their lights to raise awareness for climate change.

So why were we in the suburbs? And in Skokie, no less? We met with a potential wedding photographer, who may be our winner. And we enjoyed a gluten-free dinner at Bonefish Grill, which culminated with the Great Zucchini Incident of 2008.

Well, to be specific - Jessica enjoyed a gluten-free dinner. Bonefish has a version of their menu on which they handily indicate which items are gluten free with a "GF." In small print at the bottom was a note about how all vegetables served with the entrees are gluten-free, except zucchini. Jessica happened to read this. She received her meal and happily dug into the fish and mashed potatoes. As she approached the vegetables with her fork, she realized they were, in fact, zucchini. She thought, "but they know I need a gluten-free meal, so this zucchini can't possibly have gluten!" But just in case, she waited until the waitress came by and asked. After a cryptic conversation it was revealed that the zucchini was, in fact, not gluten-free. (Something to do with some breadcrumbs in the tomato-based sauce). Apparently there's a button for gluten free on the computer and the waitress forgot to press it. The manager stopped by to apologize and offer some free GF Creme Brulee. You'll probably hear about the Zucchini Incident on CNN or something.

In other news...

2008-03-14T00:07:00.002-05:00

It's the final week of the quarter for Jessica, which is always a fun time. A paper due Tuesday and then another paper and a final exam on Wednesday.

At least I can take comfort in knowing that after this, I'll only have one more week like it in my life.

Chicago news roundup

2008-03-12T21:33:00.003-05:00

I realize it has been a little while since we posted anything - so here's a quick Chicago news roundup.

1. The new season of Top Chef started tonight - and it was great as usual. Especially since this season takes place in Chicago. The inaugural meeting of the cast members took place at the original Pizzeria Uno, where we've been a few times. If you've never watched the show, check it out Wednesdays at 10PM EST on Bravo.

2. The Sears Tower antennae are currently green. Seriously, I'm looking out the window at them right now.

3. The river will be green on Saturday. Check out what that looks like here.

That's about it.

Basketball week

2008-02-28T22:39:00.005-06:00

Basketball Week

Over a span of five days, we took in two great Chicago-area basketball games. Last Friday Jason was gifted a couple of great tickets to the Bulls/Nuggets matchup at the United Center. We were only around 20 rows back, and it happened to be an exciting game. It was the first game since Ben Wallace was traded, so we didn't have the opportunity to see him. However; the Nuggets have the likes of Carmello Anthony and Allen Iverson, so we got to see both of them up close. It was a high-scoring game, and the Bulls pulled it out in the end.

The best matchup came a few days later on Wednesday at the Allstate Arena, where we got front-row seats to see the Mountaineers play DePaul. Jason got the tickets from stubhub.com for a mere twenty bucks each - probably priced to move because DePaul isn't that good. The following information was duly logged at the game:

1. Jessica (now a complete WVU fanatic) nearly lost it on a couple of fans behind us that believed the referees were in on a massive conspiracy theory against DePaul. Foul. Foul. Foul. Foul. Foul. Foul.
2. Jason was asked by the guy to his left to sit back in his seat after he leaned over the wall to the court too many times. He was just jealous because DePaul stinks.
3. Bob Huggins looks even more incredulous in person.
4. Jamie Smalligan looks even whiter in person, if that is possible.
5. Jason is convinced Joe Mazzulla is definitely a scary thug dude.

All in all, some great basketball.

Go ahead, slap that knee

2008-02-25T13:24:00.002-06:00

Random corny joke made up by Jessica while we waited for the bus home from the Bulls game on Friday night.

Q: Why did lemon run so fast?

A: Because he was in a race against lime!

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-20T21:33:00.007-06:00

Jessica laments that I'm always outdoing her on blog postings. In response, I admitted that I do tend to have more free time on my hands. However, in all fairness - as I was running in and out of the apartment into 10 degree weather, she was on the couch watching Veronica Mars.

Anyways, it was a crystal clear night in Chicago for the Lunar Eclipse, so I snapped a round of pictures on each phase of the moon as it disappeared. Here's my amateur photo montage I made from the pictures.

Ever get the feeling that you're being watched?

2008-02-20T15:00:00.002-06:00

Well, that's a new one

2008-02-10T23:37:00.001-06:00

So, exactly what happens when your car sits in a puddle of water, and the water freezes? We saw the answer today whilst on the street in front of our building, braving the zero degree temperature.

That's Jessica in the hoodie.

And a frigid shot of the path to our door.

Snowy suburbs

2008-02-06T20:51:00.001-06:00

I snapped a few pics of the Itasca train station while waiting to catch the train back into the city. Clicky to enlarge.

Outbound direction, to Elgin, IL:

Inbound direction, to Chicago:

And the station sign.

The station is about a mile, walking distance for me, from our office. Itasca has well-maintained sidewalks, and my 15-minute journey takes me over I-355, which is a neat experience during rush hour. Here's a pic of that I took during much fairer weather:

The Village of Itasca is also directly in the flight path of runway 9R at Chicago O'Hare airport, so depending on the wind, the walk is neat because you can watch planes descending overhead on their final approach. Here's an overhead map: Google Map with Itasca and O'Hare

The Latest Forecast

2008-02-05T14:39:00.000-06:00

Winter storm warning. Wintery mix. 8-12" of snow. Winds up to 30 m.p.h. Blowing and drifting snow. . .

You know, the usual.

Here we go again

2008-02-02T19:49:00.000-06:00

More snow.
More snow.
More snow.
A foot of snow.
That's the door to our apartment building.

Assault and Battery

2008-01-29T21:10:00.000-06:00

I'm ashamed to admit - we had an incident of spousal abuse the other night.

In the wee hours of the night, I apparently rolled over and delivered a nasty elbow to Jessica's left eye. What's worse was that it has been reported that I was a bit insensitive, considering the time. Jessica left for the kitchen to find something cold to put on her eye, which does still have a small mark. She apparently came up with a bag of frozen peas, and returned to the bed to find me - wait for it - back asleep. So I'd like to apologize in front of the entire world. Hon, I'm sorry about elbowing you and making a mark and the peas and the sleep and all that. Whew.

In other news, Ned has a doppleganger:

Nope, the cat isn't Ned, but it sure looks like him. Jessica found the picture in a vote for your favorite cat thingy in the Chicago Tribune.

And despite the balmy 40 degree weather the other day, it's now approaching 10. And it may or may not be leaking through our removable hardtop ceiling skylight. And blowing wind around the window. Tomorrow evening might be spent in the Home Depot looking for some caulking.

It are my birfday?

2008-01-27T21:46:00.000-06:00

I had a great birthday today. Jessica made a card with my favorite picture from lolcats (don't ask, nope, that's not our cat/cake/picture):

Yea, doesn't take much to make me giggle. Also, we spent the evening at Goose Island, where I continue to work on my MBA (Master of Beer Appreciation). Jess was a good sport, even though her celiac-ness prevents her from enjoying the wonders of Goose Island beer. Last night, we had a minor shindig to celebrate the occasion with some work and school folks, complete with Wii and Jagermeister. Ugh. Fun nonetheless.

This just in: IT'S COLD

2008-01-24T22:45:00.001-06:00

Yep, it's official: there is no temperature outside.

Press Any Key

2008-01-23T20:01:00.000-06:00

May I present the most amazing error message ever. This happened today when I tried to boot a computer without a keyboard plugged in.

Catnip and snow

2008-01-22T10:37:00.000-06:00

Yep, it snowed again. Another hearty three or so inches to add some excitement to commuting this morning. And to add to the excitement, Ned thought it would be an ideal time to somehow, somehow manage to open a little container in the kitchen on a shelf near the floor containing catnip. A container that's been there without incident for over a week. While Jessica was taking a shower. When she had just seen him a minute earlier being a good cat.

So guess who was covered in catnip at 8:00 this morning? And guess what two people were cleaning catnip off the kitchen floor and an orange cat this morning?

Brrrrrr

2008-01-19T23:09:00.001-06:00

It's really cold outside. It was only around 5 all day today, and now it's negative one. I know this because I'm a dork and I announce the temperature to Jessica periodically throughout the day, thanks to the thermometer that she bought with the intention of monitoring the indoor temperature. Luckily it had a cord to also monitor the outdoor temperature, which I love. So yea, it's cold.

Also, I was so proud of my first attempt to bake gluten-free bread for Jessica, I had to post the result for everyone. We both agreed it's mighty tasty, and we're starting to get into the swing of her new diet. This morning we made salmon corn crepes, which were fantastic. Ned, of course, goes absolutely crazy when raw fish enters the kitchen.

Christmas recap

2008-01-11T16:53:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much to both of our wonderful families, who hosted us during the holidays. Here are some pictures from our West Virginia and California trips.

Christmas

Done!

2007-12-10T14:10:00.000-06:00

Well, it was a very busy quarter but I (and Jason) survived. It was the first quarter where I actually got to choose my classes, which made a big difference. While I had to spend a lot of time on data analysis and paper writing, it was definitely preferable to studying for tests and reading boring political theory articles.

Accomplishments:

I took a practicum course which involved doing a real-life project for a client with three of my classmates. The client was a job training and placement program in Chicago for homeless and other at-risk individuals. They provided us with their participant data and we did extensive analysis to determine employment outcomes. The final product was a presentation at the client (on Nov 30) and a report which (fingers crossed) we will send out today. The project involved a lot of work but it was satisfying and I really enjoyed it. I got very into the data analysis and was able to indulge my number-nerd side. I have been working on editing the final report for so long that Jason was afraid that I would be sitting on the couch with my laptop until the end of time.

I also took a course called Analyzing & Communicating Public Policy. It was the first class where I really felt like I was learning about public policy (only a year late). I had another group project in this class where we proposed a policy and wrote a policy brief and supporting documents and made a presentation to the class. Our policy was a paid family leave insurance program for Illinois, which is a very good idea that will hopefully become a reality within the next few years. The highlight of this project was that our class went to the Chicago Public Radio studios on Navy Pier on Nov 30 (yes, after my presentation to the practicum client) and had the opportunity to be interviewed by the host of local news show 848. I wasn't planning on being interviewed but another group member begged me to do it with her so I did. I would have been very nervous if I'd been anticipating doing it, but since it was a last-minute thing I was pretty relaxed. The professor said that I had a nice conversational tone and gave some good answers. It was just an exercise and won't really be on the radio, but it was a rewarding experience.

My third class was an overview of survey research in the Sociology department and our final assignment was to put together a grant proposal for a hypothetical research project, based on a series of smaller assignments during the quarter. I based my project on the study I'm a research assistant for and enjoyed the process. It reinforced my interest in conducting research and encouraged my growing interest in someday getting a PhD.

So, all in all it was a good quarter. The stress was almost unbearable at points, but I made it. I owe Jason a world of gratitude for not only putting up with me but actively supporting me, whether with hugs or doing laundry or baking me brownies. He is proud of me and that makes me feel so good. Thanks, hon!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-25T00:31:00.000-06:00

Our first Thanksgiving together was a lot of fun. You can check out our picture gallery below for some of the action. Jason declared it "the laziest four days ever," and Jessica was happy to oblige and join him in a lot of sitting around and relaxing.

Thanksgiving

Also, the one good thing that came out of Jason's business trip to Plymouth, MA, was being introduced to a dish at a local diner called a Pilgrim Wrap. The Pilgrim Wrap is easy to make - you need the following ingredients:

1. Thanksgiving leftovers
2. Tortilla wraps

Combine item 1 with item 2, and you're finished. Our favorite combination of foods is:

Mashed potatoes
Turkey
Stuffing
Gravy
Cranberry sauce

Photo update

2007-11-10T23:04:00.000-06:00

Here are some more pictures to tide our dear readers over until we write a real entry again. (Hopefully soon!)

Fall Photos

Me-owl

2007-11-08T23:48:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2007-10-07T18:58:00.000-05:00

After much searching and consulting and researching and reconsulting, we have settled on our Christmas travel plans. Flights are booked!

Here are the details:

Sat 12/22

Leave Chicago 11:00am
Arrive Pittsburgh 1:35pm

Wed 12/26

Leave Pittsburgh 7:19pm
Arrive Chicago 8:00pm

Fri 12/28

Repack
Hang out with Ned
Have our own Christmas

Fri 12/28

Leave Chicago 6:55am (!)
Arrive Los Angeles 9:25am

Tues 1/1

Leave Los Angeles 2:30pm
Arrive Chicago 8:35pm

And we look forward to traveling to New York at some point in the new year as well :-)

Bingo night?

2007-09-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

I'm on the train on my way home from work, and there was an elderly couple sitting in front of me. They were on the train when I got on, and I found myself wondering where they would get off the train. Were they on their way to the city to catch a show? Dinner?

Unexpectedly, they got off at Franklin Park. Now, I don't know much about Franklin Park, but the place looks fairly desolate. I was again wondering where they would go. Was there some secret early bird special steakhouse that they were headed to? Was someone waiting in a car to pick them up? And then I saw it - the American Legion. As the train pulled up to the stop, I noticed a nearby American Legion with a large sign proclaiming "Bingo Night! Thursdays at 7pm!" Now, I have no clue whether or not they were headed to Bingo Night, but if I was a betting man, I'd toss some cash down on that bet.

Thus ends a blog entry with no real point other than a random memory dump from somewhere on the Metra Miluakee District West Line.

Our first summer in Chicago

2007-09-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

The summer tourism season at the Jason & Jessica residence has drawn to a close. It was a rousing success, and the numbers say it all.

7 total visitors

Jason's friend Todd (May 11-13)
Jessica's mom (July 27-30)
Jason and Jessica's friends Leigh & Porter (August 10-14)
Jason's parents (August 24-26)
Jessica's dad (September 15 - 18)

3 visits to the Hancock building's 95th floor lounge for overpriced drinks and amazing views

2 visits to Promontory Point for views of the Chicago skyline and cool breezes off Lake Michigan

3 visits to the wedding site for a glimpse of what's to come

4 visits to local favorite Cafe Ballou

7 guests won over by Ned

Jason and Jessica also had their share of travels.

Jason visited Plymouth, MA three times for work. He also traveled to a suburb of Toronto. (Photo is of Mr. Stegs checking out Plymouth Rock)

Jessica visited her dad near Ithaca, New York to celebrate his retirement. (Photo is of Taughannock Falls, which is taller than Niagara Falls)

Jason and Jessica visited West Virginia to see family, friends and hike to the top of Seneca Rocks.

Jason and Jessica traveled to southern California to visit Jessica's mom and stepdad and brother, see dolphins and whales, drive along the Pacific Coast Highway, eat In-N-Out burgers, wade in the freezing Pacific, and get up close and personal with the Hollywood sign.

Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me!

2007-09-21T08:16:00.000-05:00

Last night we finally got to do another great Chicago activity - we took in a live recording of NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" Every year, the University of Chicago Harris School for Public Policy takes all of their new liberal elites to see a show before school starts. Jessica, now being a second year student, was able to take me this year because, well, I live here. Side note: as we mulled over whether nearby audience members were first year Harris schoolers, I came up with hazing rituals for her. One of them involves using a pretentious laugh and taunting a noobie that they probably can't even pronounce "Plaisance."

Anyways, the show was absolutely great. The panel members were Roxanne Roberts, Paul Provenza, and Paula Poundstone, all of which were hilarious. But the highlight for me certainly turned out to be Carl Kassel. I always enjoy starting my day with a good rundown of the news by Carl, so seeing him do the funny voices in person was great.

If you're interested, the broadcast of our show should air this Saturday morning, on your local NPR station.

Pictures!

2007-09-05T00:27:00.000-05:00

We're experimenting with some new picture hosting options. Click here to enjoy.

Blog resurgance, Hollywood style

2007-09-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

We just made it back from California! Boy are my arms tired. Luckily my fingers still work.

We've been catching some flack from all sides lately about the shocking absence of blog activity, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to kick things back up again with a quick California trip synopsis.

Wednesday night we headed out for LA from Chicago Midway, where after four hours of a jimmy leg sufferer's worst nightmare, we finally arrived. Arthur and Liz picked us up from LAX.

Thursday morning we were treated to a great tour of the city, including trips through Malibu and Hollywood. One of my favorite point-outs came from Liz, who showed us the bar where Mel Gibson began his drunken adventure that resulted in a national crisis over his racial slurs to LA's finest. We stopped at the Chinese theater and had lunch at the Farmer's Market.

Friday we went whale watching, which was great other than the fact that I found out that I'm susceptible to sea sickness. However, our master tour guide Arthur, a Naturalist Volunteer that does these tours quite frequently, made it completely worth it as we saw Blue Whales, Sea Lions, and a Dolphin mega pod. Jessica was so excited she even put Diesel fuel in Liz's Honda.

Saturday was spent hanging out with Jess's brother Ben, and a lovely trip to the beach where Jessica and I spent the afternoon lounging in the sand and got to watch the sun set into the ocean as we drove along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Sunday, we headed up to the Griffith Observatory and took in a planetarium show, which might have been more amazing had it not been 110 degrees on the mountain above LA. We met Jessica's friend Krista in Santa Monica and had real west coast sushi before heading out to a few pubs to enjoy the evening.

And finally, Monday, we took a final drive down the coast on the way to the Airport. We snagged exit row seats on the airplane so we could stretch out on the way back to Chicago, and hopped a cab to polish off our vacation in style, instead of spending an hour on the train at 11:00.

Jessica is asleep, but my mind still thinks it is only 10:30. Ned showed us his new tricks that he learned while we were gone, including eating decorative bamboo and jumping onto a shelf in the Den that is not rated for his weight.

We'll post some pics when we get things straightened around. Cheers, and thanks to Arthur and Liz for being great hosts and allowing us to have a relaxing vacation.

The good old PRT

2007-06-13T15:36:00.000-05:00

Jessica forwarded me a nice article in the New York Times online edition (originally from her Dad) that showcases the mighty PRT, a staple of my days in Morgantown, WV.

City's White Elephant Now Looks Like a Transit Workhorse

I'm glad to see that the PRT is up for expansion. As the article points out, it is one of the things that has enabled Morgantown to escape the decline in population that other West Virginia cities have faced in previous decades. I remember moving to Morgantown and being shocked when I met students that did not own a car. Imagine! Using public transportation as your only means of getting around!

Luckily, the Times writer didn't visit when school was in session - the system could benefit from an increase in capacity. I remember many days waiting for cars that never came, with a mob of angry students. The system's linear layout is interesting, but not practical. Each station has a bypass track, meaning if the car arriving flashed the last station on the route, you couldn't board if you wanted an intermediate station. It only makes sense because the cars don't hold that many people - it's not like a subway train that holds hundreds.

Also, it was always a great excuse for being late to class. Entering a room and saying, "Sorry, the PRT broke down," would always draw understanding nods and smiles from the entire classroom, and usually, the professor.

An ode to my best friend

2007-06-03T21:33:00.000-05:00

Most dog owners will tell you that, unequivocally, they are the proud owners of the “best dog in the world.” I know that this is false, because my Grandmother said so. In her declining health, I distinctly recall her including my dog as she systematically named all of the members of our family, deeming them “the best in the world.” However, it was not this inclusion as a member of the family that made Lightning so special.

Lightning was a mutt, although when people asked I proudly announced that he was part Corgi, part Daschund. In reality these were merely the two most pronounced breeds out of dozens in his lineage. Lightning had short blonde fur, shimmering white paws, and a long, bold, snout. Dogs with long snouts tend to pant quite a bit. And when they pant, their snout hinges open, giving the impression that they are smiling.

Lightning was always smiling. He smiled when you came home. He smiled when you were feeling down. He smiled when you told him your problems, and he only required only a simple ear scratch in return.

Nothing Lightning did was low-key. He was a constant presence in our yard for 16 years. He barked often, howled occasionally, napped frequently, and smiled constantly.

It is fitting, then, that Lightning did not meet his final days like many other animals of his kind. He did not ail in private. His final moments did not come in seclusion, and he did not attempt to shelter himself in a corner as death approached. He faced it like he faced any other intruder – boldly, fiercely, and under the gaze of anyone willing to watch. I cannot name a single thing, except for his namesake, Lightning, that made him cower or shrink away.

But what I admired most about Lightning was his ability to turn his emotions on and off. For a creature so passionate and fierce, he spent the majority of his idle moments sleeping peacefully in his favorite spots. In the mornings, he eagerly climbed into the dewy grass to catch a nap in a sunbeam. In the afternoons, he found shady patches to relax, with his head on his paws. And in the dark of winter, he found solace by nestling into bundles of hay that occupied his cozy doghouse.

During one moment, Lightning would be angrily barking at a squirrel, or guarding his territory with a watchful eye. But during the next, he would be napping peacefully in the sunlight, without a care in the world. Out of all of his admirable qualities, I would gladly adopt this one as my own. His ability to turn off the stresses of the outside world and find peace in his own domain was stunning and magnificent.

Perhaps we could all learn a lot from Lightning, the best dog in the whole world.

Crossnerd

2007-05-16T22:13:00.000-05:00

Jason and I each have many nerdy qualities. I won't go into them all here, but one of mine is that I really like to do crosswords. I started doing them in high school, when the otherwise less-than-stellar local paper launched a daily insert that had two puzzles, including the one from the NY Times. Before I got into them, I thought of crossword puzzles as part of some weird, indecipherable culture. But once I started, I was hooked. I love word games and puzzles, and I find it immensely satisfying to fill in the little squares. Plus I have a lame punny sense of humor, and crosswords allow me to exercise that as well.

On Monday of this week I went to the main library on campus to work on a paper that was due on Tuesday. I find that I can accomplish in 2 hrs in the library what it takes me at least 4 to do at home. Anyway, as I walked in I noticed a sign that there was a crossword competition that afternoon with prizes for first and second place, hosted by Special Collections in conjunction with their new exhibition on dictionaries. I thought, hey, that sounds interesting. But then I remembered watching the documentary Wordplay and how intense those people were. I'm more of a leisurely crossword doer, and I don't mind leaving squares blank if I can't figure them out. So I figured it probably wouldn't be worth entering. After working on my paper for a couple of hours, I decided to head out after a stop at the ladies room. As I walked there it turned out that the crossword competition was taking place in the lobby right outside. So I figured, what the heck, and went up to the table to get the puzzle. It turned out to be a pretty easy one, and I finished in 7 min 12 sec, which seemed pretty good to me but I had no idea how many other people were competing or how good they were. It was worth the few minutes, plus I got a free cookie, and I figured that was that.

Then today I got an email telling me that I'd come in first! I won a $30 gift certificate to the campus bookstore, which to a poor grad student like me is not a minor sum. So I'm glad my nerdiness has finally, literally, paid off.

Floor plan of new apartment

2007-05-13T21:16:00.000-05:00

One of the many reasons I adore Jessica so much is that she has this tendency to swoop in on something which I consider myself knowledgeable and totally show me up with little or no experience.

Take this floor plan, for instance. I've used Microsoft Visio for, at my best guess, 3-4 years. Visio is a sort of a poor man's architectural, drawing, and process diagramming suite. It's pretty fancy, providing you aren't designing a skyscraper or writing software to run a power plant. I started using it in college for Systems Analysis. It integrates with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and will create real software code based on the drawings you create.

Anyways, guess who became a Visio expert in the span of only a few minutes?

We created this floor plan of our new apartment (click to enlarge). Be warned that the scale may be a little off, and our mental details might have lapsed and/or erred towards the "remember how cool this feature was" side.

Our Dirty Laundry

2007-05-08T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight was laundry night. If it had been up to me I would have put it off until it was absolutely necessary, but Jason is much better about it than I am. He's always the one making us do laundry and take out the recycling. There are some things I'm better about doing, like vacuuming and litter box duty, but he's the king of laundry. He's even gotten me to put my clothes away the same day they are washed. (I have managed to teach him a few things, like how to sort clothes and match socks).

A couple of months ago I went away for the weekend and Jason picked me up at Midway Airport when I got back on Sunday evening. As we reached our building and rode the elevator up to our apartment, he was updating me on what he'd done over the weekend. The doors opened on the seventh floor and we stepped out into the hall. Just as something on the ground caught my eye I heard him say proudly, "I did the laundry!" And it was at that moment that I realized I was looking at a pair of my underwear, lying in pathetically plain view on the hall floor. And I had no doubt that he had, in fact, done the laundry.

[The above photo is of our actual laundry room]

Self Portrait

2007-05-08T19:02:00.000-05:00

Typical Jason work

2007-05-06T21:51:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I have a hard time explaining what I do. So while I wait for Jessica to play Dominoes with me in a few minutes, I'll explain something I just did for one of our larger clients. All without leaving the comfort of our apartment.

Any amateur computer geek knows that hard drives are what hold the data on your computer. If your hard drive dies, well, you're out of luck, unless you've been backing up. On a higher level, servers aren't much different. They usually have bigger hard drives, but the principle is similar. The only difference is, a dead hard drive could mean bad news for a business.

One of our larger clients (100+ users) has a mail server with three drives in it. A few months ago, I happened to notice that one of the drives wasn't showing any activity. By that, I mean that it wasn't blinking any pretty Christmas lights on the front of it in the server room. Two were, one wasn't.

The purpose of having three drives is a tricky concept called RAID. RAID stands for "redundant array of independent disks." There are lots of RAID configurations, for which I usually have to refer to this Wikipedia article, but the bottom line is that RAID allows you to have your data mirrored across multiple disks, so that if one dies, no data is lost. In fact, the server continues to run in most cases. Nice feature, eh?

Anyways, one of the three drives had failed, and the server was now running on two. Our previous IT consultant had apparently discovered this little nugget of information, and had already ordered a replacement drive from HP, which was sitting in the server room. I popped it into the server, but to my surprise, the array did not rebuild. They usually rebuild automatically. In this case, no blinking Christmas lights.

Well, after some more investigation, I discovered that the array was configured for RAID 1+0. Confusing, I know. I had to look it up myself. The core concept of 1+0 means you need four hard drives to do it. This server had only three, and one was dead. The mystery continues.

After much debate with some fellow engineers, we decided to migrate the entire array to RAID 5. Now, if you have a technical background, you might object here: there are pros and cons to using RAID 5 on an Exchange server. The bottom line is, it's only a medium-sized business, and we just wanted to wash our hands of responsibility as soon as possible to get the server back into a truly redundant state. When it comes to IT, I get nervous when one net has broken and there's nothing left to catch you before hitting the ground.

So this morning, I started a full backup of the mail server using Symantec Ghost. We actually already back the server up on a daily basis using Symantec Backup Exec. However, I've never had to restore a server from scratch using Backup Exec. Ghost, however, allows you to take a complete snapshot of the server and compress it into one file. A big file, perhaps, but I knew it would be the best way to recover from disaster if this RAID change went bad.

I had already cleared it with the client that there would be a mail outage Sunday, but I didn't specify an exact time. Hopefully nobody missed their Email, because it took 10 hours to complete the Ghost backup. I didn't think it would take that long.

At 9:00, the backup was complete, so I made the migration from RAID 1+0 (which, remember again, was setup improperly to begin with) to RAID 5. The switch was painless, did not even require a reboot, and at this point the array is rebuilding happily. I restarted the Exchange services and tested mail access, and all seems to be well. I'll check again tomorrow morning before leaving for the day to see if the rebuild is complete. Even if it isn't, the only noticeable side effect should be some minor slowness for people using Outlook. A small price to pay to know that their data is now redundant again in case of a disk failure.

So there you have it, that's a sample of some of the more technical work that I do. I'd say 50% of my job is this and the other 50% is managing client expectations and planning strategies with our office.

Pics of the new apartment!

2007-05-04T13:46:00.000-05:00

Food smells bad

2007-05-03T12:44:00.001-05:00

I'm in a server room at Lemont, IL. There is a hand-written sign next to the door that says, in this exact form:

Please Don't
Put Any Food
in The Garbage
AFTer 3 Days
IT SMELLS BAD.
Willie does not have Access!

I wonder who Willie is. Seems like he could be some kind of Scottish Groundskeeper. I can see ol' Willie now, standing on the other side of the door with a forlorn look on his face, wondering what it could be on the inaccessible other side that smells like rotten lunchmeat.

Also, I wonder why people switch from lowercase to capital letters at random. I've seen it before, and wondered why they can't stick to one form. Why mix it up?

Procrastination

2007-05-01T12:44:00.000-05:00

I had forgotten about this blog already (bad sign) but was delighted to remember it while trying to make myself study for my 3pm midterm. The class is awful, as is the professor, so the incentive to study hard just isn't there. It's also a gorgeous day out, but at least I'm sitting next to a huge window in the library.

After this midterm I have a take-home essay midterm and a problem set due Thursday. Then a bit of a break before another midterm next Thursday. Then, hopefully, the rest of the quarter will fly by and it will be summer. Ahhhhh, summer. Can't wait to see what it's like in Chicago!

The mysterious comment

2007-04-26T14:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I can't guarantee what I write will be good.. however I can start with a story about what constitutes reporting a IT problem in the gentleman next door's mind.

I'm here in Plainfield IL, at an undisclosed customer location. Generally I show up two days a week, one if I'm lucky, to address issues that have queued up that can only be solved by onsite work.

This morning, as I passed this particular gentleman in the hall, he said, with a haughty tone, "Undeliverable to the company, eh?"

"Umm.. what?" was my response.

"Uhhhhhhhh huhhhhhh!" he said, as he passed by, turning into his office.

Now, I spent the next couple minutes pondering what just occurred. The gentleman in question has approached me before with claims of undeliverable E-mail, which I have solved each time by finding nothing wrong, or finding user error. Was this his way of reporting an issue? I pondered. Undeliverable to the company.. did he send an Email to the entire company? Or to another individual in the company? Did it disappear into Email never-never land? Or did it bounce back as undelieverable? Did he take the time to read the error message on the undeliverable report? Had he spelled a name incorrectly? Or had he attached a large file?

In the end, I decided not to care. If the best he can do is make a vague, mildly insinuating comment implying I somehow made the server reject his inter-office Email, then I was better off continuing to my original destination: the kitchen, where terribly bitter black coffee awaited.

Write Something Good

2007-04-25T23:43:00.001-05:00

Take it away, Jason.