Love the Shirts!

Love the shirts -- have to get one!

Now I Know ...

Now I know where zippers came from -- finally ... 🙂

How WWI Made the Zipper a Success
A money belt with a zipper became an instant success among WWI U.S. sailors, whose uniforms did not have pockets. Almost all initial zipper sales were for the money belts.

Hotdogs in the Park

So I was sitting in the park, chomping down on a polish sausage -- when this guy (see photo) comes over wanting a bite. I mean, can't they get their own??? 😀

Repeat What?

You ask me what I would like to repeat (if I had the choice)? Um, 1980s, please ...

Cooling Off Summer-style

It's been relatively mild this season. Normally I air out the place in the evening, leaving the windows open till early next morning -- at which point (early sunrise) I'd close everything. But this year? Only needed the AC two times this year. Not bad! :-)

Out On My Afternoon Walk

Passing by ye-olde-neighborhood ballpark, Wrigley Field. Game had just let up so there was quite a crowd outside ...

Walk-Marathon!

Walking all the way downtown is no big deal -- I do it all the time, taking the bus home. Today was different -- not only did I walk downtown but I walked all the way back home as well. Not bad!

WebApp? No Thank-You!

I've mentioned this before (link) but having to look for a separate program for each network (usually a webpage) that I'd like to access -- that makes about as much sense as requiring a separate telephone for each and every phone number. No thank-you!

Labor Day Parade

Nice walk down the street — feeling happy.

Fire on B-way

Fire on B-way just south of Devon -- the yellow/orange brick building on the left (eg north). CBS-TV reports address as '6341 N. Broadway' [link]

Today's #FoundOnStreet Award

Actually it wasn't on the street but the sidewalk where I found this -- a Garfield Dollar coin. Always nice to find cash this way!

Cool August in Chi-town

It's upper 70's today, lower 60s this evening. That's what we're getting for August? What are we going to call this? Global Cooling?

Tribune TV Guide

As kids, this was the first thing we’d look for as soon as the Sunday newspaper arrived (that and the funnies of course):

Kinda Sad I Missed Bernie

Not sure how I missed it but this looks kind of interesting [link] ...

Sensible Development ...

Someday, I'll be out on a walk and all of a sudden, hamburgers will start to rain down from heaven :-) :-) :-) ...

Relatively Cool Summer

So I gotta admit: this Summer ain't too bad -- really!

Routine normally is: leave the windows open overnight when it's relatively cool, close everything before sunrise thus holding inside the cool temp. This would work pretty much the whole day -- until evening when I'd repeat the process. Nice!

Note, I live relatively close to the lake -- that large body of water which has an effect on local weather.

Watched While Walking

Walking down the street, I noticed I was being watched by one of those feathered creatures up there !!! :-) :-) :-)

Ever Heard of 'Public Transportation'?

Oy, on the NPR program 'Here And Now', they were baffled by the question: 'Why teens aren't driving as much as they used to?' [link]

Um, maybe because they've got this alternative -- you know, something called 'public transportation' 🙂🙂🙂 -- LeofromLakeview

Surfside?

Surfside? Shouldn't that be something I'd be carrying? 🙃🙃🙃

Yippy, New Backpack! Finally :-)

Almost 2 years after original purchase (link): And of course it wasn't till this week that the 'older baby' finally fell apart (zipper -- totally busted). Happy to move everything over to the new baby!

DQTD (dumbest question of the day)

DQTD (dumbest question of the day): guy comes up to me on the street, shows me a ring (supposedly gold) and asks me where he can go to sell it. Um, right...

At Home with Friends

Grant Park Music Festival

Out at the Grant Park Music Festival Independence Day Salute -- walked all the way there {and walked all the way back).

Chi-town Summer Day

Yup, definitely a tee-shirt and shorts occasion. (At home, I got 'AC'). Can't wait till we hit August ... Update: Good news - looks like the home AC is working ...

Later in the day I checked out the concert at the Chicago Pride Fest:

Today's March Downtown

Heading down the street on our way downtown -- feeling happy.
[Location: Washington St. heading south to Daley Plaza]

'Get the App' (#FamousLastWords)

'Get the App' (#FamousLastWords)

-- From the same crowd that would've told you to get a new record player for each new record ...

Incredible Weekend

Amazing events happening in Chicago over the weekend:

• Ribfest Chicago (Fri., Sat. Sun)
• Chicago Blues Fest (Thurs., Fri., Sat. Sun)
• Old Town Art Fair (Sat., Sun.)
• House Music is Home at Navy Pier (Sun.)

Wow! (I'll be going to the Blues Fest on Sunday!)

Big Crowd Outside of Music Box Theatre

People waiting in line down the whole block at Music Box Theatre. Most of them had come from Wrigley Field after the Cubs game.

Gallery Bookstore Closing

Anyone walking down Belmont Ave will have seen the Gallery Bookstore (website). They're now closing unfortunately and apparently have reached the stage where they're giving away a portion of their inventory. Oh well. I picked up the following volumes (mostly U.S. history):

The books lay in shelves outside their store and there was quite a crowd going through the titles (see 2nd photo).

The Problem With #UICDental 🙁 ???

• The problem with #UICDental: They only do what interests them 🙁 ...
• All they want to do is remove your teeth and replace them with implants 🙁
• Wrong place if you need your teeth cleaned (for me 1st time in 5 years) fuhgeddaboudit 🙁

Update: I was told when I went over there this afternoon, that I could not enter the building. Um, this is what I'm paying for with my 'health insurance'?

Rent My Apartment at a Pretty High Rate

Wow, Redfin says I could rent out my place (2 bd) for up to $3k per month -- who knew!

Redfin: "[Your Apt Address] could be making you $2,916-$3,203/mo in rental income. List your home today"

Friend of Mine Likes Apples

Friend of mine chewing on an apple which I tossed to him ...

Chicago Pizza Is Real Pizza!

Oy, here we go again (link)...

Deepdish pizza (popular in Chicago & around the world) originally comes from the tradition of thick-crust pizza in Rome and elsewhere in Southern Italy. There they call it 'pizza rustica'.

The crust is so thick that they take a plain version (i.e. just the crust with no topping), they slice it in the middle and stick in things like eggs and bacon -- for breakfast!

Hai capito? :-)

Out on the parade...

Nice day, nice march (May Day March & Rally) ...

Today's Gift from Heaven

All right! Finally! Free pair of pants! #all-I-need !!!

Found this item as well:

Email for Auto-Delete

'Inflection Point' -- is that in the title or subject of any email to me? Sorry, but that goes automatically to trash.

Don't Tear Down My Library

Disturbing discussion of what looks like the current administration's intention to "cut federal funding for libraries and museums":

"Libraries are strong, trusted institutions, and it’s really unfortunate to hear that the federal government would think otherwise," said Cindy Hohl, the [library] association's president. "We have 125,000 libraries in this country, and that's more libraries than McDonald's restaurants. That's how prevalent and important they are. And so when we see that attacks on libraries are happening, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Americans love their libraries." [link]

Yesterday's March

Huge event! Shot of your's truly having quite a time.
Hands Off! Hands Off!

Library of the Future

Interesting look at predictions and the eventual realities of future libraries by PressReader: The Library of 2025: How Does It Compare to Past Predictions? (link)

Some predictions were good -- some were a bit inaccurate. As we all know (hopefully), information is an extremely valuable product. Shape may change over the years but access remains something we simply cannot do without.

Public Bathroom Facilities

Wow, bathroom facilities for both boys and girls! How nice! 🙃🙃🙃

Remember Renaldi's Pizza?

Now only available through the Google Archive (alas): RenaldisPizzaChicago.com [2010]

Growing Up ...

Me: Why do they have so many alleyways?

Parent: So you can go wee-wee, dimwit !!!

St Patrick’s Day Parade

Heading home after the parade -- great time!

Got so many presents -- hats, necklaces, bags ...

You Know You're Getting Old ...

You know you're getting old when they start sending you stuff like this:

The #1 Exercise for Balance (link)
This simple exercise can help prevent falls, improve how well you age

Okay, okay, I'll follow the instructions -- now, where's my drink? 😉

Am I Still Dancing? You Bet!

Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (Moreno J Remix)

Ducks Winter Swim

Can someone please tell these turkeys to get out of the water -- it's chilly outside 🙃 ...

Pizza Rome/Chicago

They call it 'deepdish' in Chicago and 'pizza rustica' in Naples or Rome (source):

Crowd of People at Riviera Theater

Crowd of people stretching down the street waiting to get into the Riviera Theater to see the group Psychic Fever (Sat. 2/8).

Prohibition 2.0

Well, I guess it's the 20's all over again (looking at my calendar). The Chicago Suntimes comes out with a repeat prohibition article:

Gen Z Is Drinking Less — And It's Changing Chicago's Social Scene Chicago was once dubbed the “Greatest Drinking City in America” by GQ magazine. But Gen Zers are putting down the booze and seeking out nonalcoholic options instead. (Link)

Psss, don't tell anyone but as teens, the only way we could acquire alcohol was to hang out in front of the liquor store and ask people going inside if they could buy us a bottle. Eventually someone would say 'yes'.

Mentioned in Der Spiegel Magazine Article

It's been a while but I just noticed a mention in the German weekly Der Spiegel:

"Hönkel jedenfalls hat Spuren hinterlassen, sogar in Chicago: Dort erinnert der Publizist Leo Klein aktuell an den „Summer of Hönkel“ in Berlin 1987". (link)

[Translation: 'Honkel in any case left traces, even in Chicago: there publicist Leo Klein remembered the period in the blog entry: "Summer of Hönkel in Berlin 1987.']

Talk About Robbery (Soc. Sec. Edition)

Lot's of talk about the Social Security increase for goverment workers (NPR article). Love how it focuses on pension recipients -- and completely ignores those of us who got tricked into signing up for the State's 401k option. I mean, once they got you to sign up for that, there was no possibility to ever go back to the state pension plan. I know -- I asked!

Even worse, not only would you be cut off from the state pension plan but there was no possibility to sign up for Social Security. I know because I asked if I could make voluntary payments to Social Security. They laughed.

What a double whammy :-(

Secrets of Library Science (Academic)

Secret Part 1 -- They Call It 'Teachable Moment':

Important to remember: the student is there to learn something. You don't look up the article -- the student does! You're there to make looking up anything a 'teachable moment'. That's your job, that's your responsibility. We all come out better for it!

Secret Part 2 -- Problem Finding Something?

If you're helping a student search for something and nothing turns up: Encourage the student to try another search term or database. Things can be hard to track down but there are a variety of sources to look up -- and a variety of search terms one can use to find them.

Nice Lunch on a Nice Day

Finishing up on lunch -- 1/2 sandwich then the usual fruit combo (1/2 orange, 1/2 apple, dozen grapes) -- inside the Whole Foods building at #lincolnbelmont

New Year's Dinner

Had a nice New Year's dinner of bbq ribs, fried chicken, french fries. Now where's the ice cream? #LeftOvers

Addition to the Collection: 'Complete Home Medical Guide'

Found this hefty tome ('American College of Physicians Complete Home Medical Guide') out on the street in one of those book boxes.  It's from 1999 but in almost new condition -- so I just couldn't resist ... 🙂

Full title: "American College of Physicians Complete Home Medical Guide", 1st ed. (1999) with CD-ROM.

Just Call Me ... Health Care?

Here's something we learned from the Europeans: You don't go to a ‘Dot-Com’ for Healthcare!!!  

P.S. Just call me, Carl Marks ... 😉

Famous Last Words

• 'Download Our App' -- Offer I generally tend to avoid  (1)
• 'Artificial Intelligence' -- Phrase at which I stop reading and leave the room

-------------------------------
1)  I mean I gotta download a separate 'WebApp' for every website I go to?  No thankyou!  So user-unfriendly!  So unnecessary!

1st & 2nd Thoughts of the Year

Wake up on New Year's Day and 1st thought is:

Polish sausage with mustard, relish, grilled onions & pickle ... 2 please :-)

2nd Thought of the Year (this one was obvious):

From now on only eat fried-chicken ... :-)

Nice New Year's Concert

Really really nice New Year's Eve performance by Corky Siegel, Ernie Watts and The Sons of the Never Wrong; took place at the Music Institute in Evanston! Started at 8p and lasted till -- you can imagine when :-)