Planet Earth in the theater Aug 25, 2009
I watch me some Discovery Channel, and as such, I see a lot of commercials for Planet Earth, both the re-aired episodes and the DVD collections.  Despite my aversion to the cost of movie theaters, I would gladly pay $10 to see Planet Earth on the big screen. 

Update:  I really should've seen Disney's Earth while it was in theaters.  It's exactly what I'm looking for, since it included a bunch of footage from Planet Earth. #entertainment
Cowboys' new stadium Aug 25, 2009
The Dallas Cowboys' brand new football stadium, which premiered on primetime TV this past Friday night, was so poorly planned that the giant screens hanging from the ceiling actually get in the way of what's taking place on the field.  Or as one website put it, "[the] Cowboys' massive new stadium [is] not big enough to play football in."  It would've taken an idiot half a second to figure out that a punt can easily hit the screen, but apparently the $1.2 billion building budget could only afford less-than-idiots.  Thankfully, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is taking the issue seriously:  "You don't need to move [the screen]. You gotta be trying to [hit] it."  America's team my ass. 

On a related note, in between plays, host Curt Menefee showed that the giant screen provided an amazing view of the game for pretty much every seat in the stadium.  I couldn't help but notice it's about the exact same view of the game I receive while sitting on the couch in my living room.  Funny how that works. #sports
Women and pickup trucks Aug 20, 2009
I'll never trust a woman with a pickup truck.  SUVs are fine.  Cars, minivans, motorcycles even.  But a pickup truck?  There's just something wrong with that. #travel
Moms in my way (2) Aug 20, 2009
This post will surely offend people who, in general, are free from reproach.  It's like I'm kicking a puppy. 

I went to the grocery store after work the other day to pick up lettuce.  And mints.  Gotta have my mints!  The total for my two objects was about $6, and it typically would've taken me all of twelve seconds to get out of there (scan, scan, swipe, done).  Every line in the grocery store was manned by a cashier, and both self-checkout lines were functional.  But every line was full.  Like five people deep.  And what people group made up the five-people-deep line at every checkout counter?  Moms. 

I, like most people, have nothing against moms.  I have a mom myself.  She's good.  I'm a fan.  I'm a fan of other moms as well.  They have a tough job.  I don't envy that job, and I respect the difficulties and hardships involved with said job.  When I see a mom with a kid who's crying, I don't think, "Wow, that mom sucks."  I think, "Wow, that kid sucks that's a tough job."  And when a kid in the checkout line behind me yesterday saw two objects she wanted and her mom said to pick one, and the kid responded with, "But I love both of them," I have to smile.  Moms and kids are good. 

That being said, I surveyed the checkout lines at the grocery store and glanced at my watch, which also displays the date.  Yep, still August, i.e. one of the two months out of the year when children are pretty much guaranteed to be off from school.  Adding that to the fact that many moms don't have a traditional nine-to-five job and instead stay home with their kids (a noble act in itself), I couldn't help but think:  Moms, get out of my way.  I know you're busy with kids and you just got back from swim lessons and it's impossible to find time for blah-blah yadda-yadda, but there are literally hundreds of other minutes in a typical day which would be better-suited for satisfying your grocery needs, i.e. nine to five.  Not before nine.  Not after five.  In other words, go to the store during the day, when it's less crowded and hectic, instead of after normal working hours, when everybody and their mother suddenly decides they need one single item and proceeds to disrupt the gentle flow of my local grocery store.  Damnit. 

Related:  Old people in my way #business
Chicago trip review Aug 20, 2009
As with any major trip I take, here's my review and commentary of the recent trip to Chicago: 

Chicago's public transportation system is pretty good, albeit a little confusing.  I'm not sure if it was confusing because I'm a notoriously bad map-reader, or if it's because the idea of a central loop means that sometimes you have to travel north in order to go south, and vice versa.  And there were a few curiously designed maps, including one that showed a train line whose northernmost point was at the bottom of the map.  Speaking of maps, the city should consider making one universal map with all major tourist landmarks, all bus routes, all train routes, and anything else that might seem important, rather than handing out one map for each of those things.  One thing that was a no-brainer was the $14 all-you-can-travel three-day transportation pass.  NYC has a similar thing, but I think it's only good for one day, so there's always the thought of how many times you'd need to ride the subway to make it worthwhile.  Chicago's pass was good for trains and buses, and it was easy to figure out that it would be a worthwhile weekend investment. 

One thing that was recommended to us by a friend was the CityPass, or another similar product called the Go Chicago Card, which are both simply a set of discounted tickets all rolled up into one (big) price.  They make a ton of sense if you plan on going to several of the typical tourist attractions like buildings, zoos, museums, etc.  However, they only make sense if you actually go to about 5 or 6 major attractions, which, for a three-day weekend, isn't all that practical.  How many different museums can you go to in a single day?  And why go to museums in the first place?  A museum in NYC is pretty much the same as a museum in Chicago.  Another downside was that almost all the tourist attractions closed at 5pm, which wasn't horrible, but just meant that there was a somewhat narrow window in which to squeeze an entire day's activities.  However, the one benefit that made the card worth the price was the privilege of cutting to the front of a line of about 50-75 people waiting to go to the top of the Sears Tower.  That was awesome. 

One of the coolest things we did was an architectural boat tour, not because I'm particularly fond of architecture, but because it was a cool tour of the city from the unique vantage point of a riverboat.  And since not every building was built on the same day, it was a history tour too.  It was cool hearing about the rise and fall of certain industries in the city, and it was sad to see the most recent addition of the obnoxiously phallic Trump Tower.  What a pig. 

The other cool thing we did was go to the Butterfly Haven at the Nature Museum, which was a room full of butterflies from around the world.  I don't know how to explain it.  It was just cool. 

Finally, we were pleased to find out when we reached the city that the Air and Water Show was taking place the whole weekend, which meant screaming jets were flying over our head all afternoon.  Apparently the residents aren't too pleased with this annual festival, but there were plenty of onlookers and lots of loud air vehicles. 

All in all, a good trip.  The only thing I would've done differently would be to plan a little downtime.  We must've walked 15-20 miles all weekend (despite all the public transportation), and we got home late on Sunday night.  It took a few days to feel normal again. #travel
Universal quiet hours (2) Aug 20, 2009
Not everyone has a nine-to-five job, but I still think the world should (and usually does) adhere to the universal quiet hours of 10pm through 8am.  No loud activities should take place during these hours, including lawn-mowing, music-blasting, and collecting every single glass object from your house and individually throwing it into a garbage can from a height of four feet. #lifestyle
Congressional health care deadlock Aug 19, 2009
This just in: 
Congress Deadlocked Over How To Not Provide Health Care

After months of committee meetings and hundreds of hours of heated debate, the United States Congress remained deadlocked this week over the best possible way to deny Americans health care.

"Both parties understand that the current system is broken," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Monday. "But what we can't seem to agree upon is how to best keep it broken, while still ensuring that no elected official takes any political risk whatsoever. It’s a very complicated issue."

"Ultimately, though, it's our responsibility as lawmakers to put these differences aside and focus on refusing Americans the health care they deserve," Pelosi added.

The legislative stalemate largely stems from competing ideologies deeply rooted along party lines. Democrats want to create a government-run system for not providing health care, while Republicans say coverage is best denied by allowing private insurers to make it unaffordable for as many citizens as possible.
I guess if all else fails, they'll just yell "bailout!" and throw billions of dollars at the people who least deserve it. #politics
My first vegan experience (1) Aug 18, 2009
I'm not a vegan.  I'm not even a vegetarian.  I'm a beer-drinking, hamburger-eating American.  But I accidentally went to a vegan restaurant in Chicago on Friday.  And I have to admit, it was quite good. 

Before we went on our trip, Wendy looked for good places to eat, and since she's a hippie, she looked for places that had locally-grown and/or organic food.  She also tried to stick to moderately-priced restaurants, because she knows I'm a cheap bastard.  So she found a place called Karyn's Cooked, and it happened to be close to our hotel.  Only after we sat down at our table and started looking at the menu did Wendy notice a statement that said the restaurant was completely vegan and almost entirely organic.  But the menu wasn't full of salads and veggie burgers.  It had spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, steak, and a bunch of other meat-ish meals.  The waiter explained to us that instead of meat, they used a mixture of soy proteins and some other nonsense to give the appearance of meat.  Also, they use a lot of flavors and spices, a typical veganist tactic. 

[I had an accidental vegetarian experience one time when my friend made nachos with fake meat.  I ate it up, then was told the next day that I had eaten some sort of soy, with the rationale that I wouldn't have eaten it if I knew it wasn't meat.  And that's true:  I don't understand how non-meat can be made into meat.  Ignorance breeds contempt.]

So we got our vegan meals, ordered a couple organic beers, and it was awesome.  My spicy taco wrap was made of some sort of soy product, but the only clue that it wasn't meat was that it was a little watery.  Other than that, the chipotle, pico de gallo, and other ingredients made the meal feel quite normal.  And quite good. 

Also, the place was cheap.  Like under $10 a plate.  The beer was expensive, but it was organic, and its cost was offset by the price of the food.  All in all, this was a great experience, and I would gladly pretend to be a vegan so I could eat there again. #food
Chicago trip recap Aug 18, 2009
Wendy and I celebrated our five-year wedding anniversary by spending the weekend in Chicago.  We'd both been there before, but neither of us had really toured around much, and our anniversary seemed like a good time to do so.  We flew in on Friday and left on Sunday, and aside from a little rain on Sunday ($0.99 ponchos to the rescue!) we had an excellent weekend.  Here's a brief rundown of what we did: 

Friday - Flew in.  Got a train to the hotel.  Ate dinner at Karyn's Cooked (a vegan restaurant -- more on this later).  Walked around Navy Pier. 

Saturday - Walked around a bit.  Went to the top of the John Hancock Observatory.  Took an architectural boat tour.  Saw butterflies at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.  Got scared to death by the Chicago Air and Water Show.  Walked around the Lincoln Park Zoo.  Ate dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery.  Walked around Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. 

Sunday - Went to the Field Museum.  Walked around the Shedd Aquarium.  Checked out the Bean.  Strolled through the Art Institute of Chicago.  Went to the top of the Sears Tower.  Hopped a train to the airport.  Flew home. 

Pictures:

[gallery /img/2009/08/chi01.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi01-150x150.jpg:::Navy Pier ferris wheel at night.:::/img/2009/08/chi02.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi02-150x150.jpg:::American Gothic in front of the Chicago Tribune building.:::/img/2009/08/chi03.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi03-150x150.jpg:::Wendy gazes out at the skyline from the John Hancock Observatory.:::/img/2009/08/chi04.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi04-150x150.jpg:::Looking south from atop the John Hancock Observatory.:::/img/2009/08/chi05.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi05-150x150.jpg:::Rooftop garden from the John Hancock Observatory.:::/img/2009/08/chi06.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi06-150x150.jpg:::North Avenue Beach from the John Hancock Observatory.:::/img/2009/08/chi07.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi07-150x150.jpg:::A friendly midwesterner.:::/img/2009/08/chi08.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi08-150x150.jpg:::Not very bike-friendly.:::/img/2009/08/chi09.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi09-150x150.jpg:::The "corn cob towers" a.k.a. Marina City.:::/img/2009/08/chi10.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi10-150x150.jpg:::The bluest bird ever at the Nature Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi11.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi11-150x150.jpg:::A butterfly at the Nature Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi12.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi12-150x150.jpg:::A butterfly at the Nature Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi13.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi13-150x150.jpg:::Someone made a new friend at the Nature Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi14.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi14-150x150.jpg:::The Air Force Thunderbirds were in town for the Chicago Air and Water Show.:::/img/2009/08/chi15.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi15-150x150.jpg:::Da bear.  At the Lincoln Park Zoo.:::/img/2009/08/chi16.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi16-150x150.jpg:::Mrs. Lion at the Lincoln Park Zoo.:::/img/2009/08/chi17.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi17-150x150.jpg:::A wild rabbit in the gorilla cage at the Lincoln Park Zoo.:::/img/2009/08/chi18.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi18-150x150.jpg:::The Wrigley Building could be *this* much taller.:::/img/2009/08/chi19.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi19-150x150.jpg:::Buckingham Fountain at night.:::/img/2009/08/chi20.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi20-150x150.jpg:::From the Field Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi21.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi21-150x150.jpg:::The Field Museum.:::/img/2009/08/chi22.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi22-150x150.jpg:::The Bean.:::/img/2009/08/chi23.jpg:::/img/2009/08/chi23-150x150.jpg:::That's us on the Bean!:::]
#travel
JFK on liberty Aug 17, 2009
John F. Kennedy, from his inaugural address in 1961: 
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
I'm picturing Braveheart. #entertainment