Credit to Chicago

Interesting list of contributions from Chicago during the Civil War:

• It should be remembered and made a matter of history that the first money raised in Illinois for the war was subscribed by citizens of Chicago.
• The first armed force sent out in the West was that sent to Cairo, and it was sent from Chicago.
• The first general in command in the State of Illinois was Richard Kellogg Swift, a citizen of Chicago.
• The first shot fired in the West for the Union was a Chicago shot, from a Chicago cannon, trained by a Chicago boy, of the Chicago Light Artillery.

Source: Cook, F.F. Reminiscences of Chicago During the Civil War (1914). [link]

Wow, IceCream Everywhere!

 Outside On My Daily Walk ...  🙂

Library Science 101

My Approach at the RefDesk when helping a student or member of the faculty (which occasionally would get me into trouble):

• "Let's Try Something Else" (i.e. different database or different search terms, etc.)

Snowy Street-Scene

 Um, waiting for a snowman to come knocking on my door  🙂

P.S. It's been a pretty chilly winter ...

CTA Bus Really Needs a Bath

On a bus (CTA #22) trying to look outside:  Wish they'd give these buses a good washing -- maybe once a year at least  :-)

Chilly! Chilly!

Went out for a short walk -- hoo, chilly! chilly! 

Spouse2Bee

 Ok, it's been decided! I'm gonna marry this rabbit! 'Bout time! 🙃

Where to Go to Potty -- in Roman Times

Important information on going to the potty in Roman Times: link...

CTA EL Station Rehab

Background info on EL Station rehab:
https://loopchicago.com/in-the-loop/new-state-and-lake-cta-l-station-designs-unveiled/

Wow '26!

Wow '26 -- who's going to remember that? :-)

Yuck, Glad I Left Early

Article in yesterday's Sun-times:

DePaul University Lays Off 114 Staff Members:
"The Lincoln Park-based school [i.e. Depaul] said it’s facing financial headwinds due to a significant drop in enrollment among international graduate students, an increased demand for financial aid and the rising costs of benefits."
Chicago Sun-times (12/15/2025)

Preparing for the #BigChilly

Getting ready for the #BigChilly -- bought a whole bunch of groceries! (Plus a case of beer, naturally!)

New Year's Resolution

Fried Chicken?   Buy a whole year's worth!   I need it!   We all need it!   #NewYrsResolution 🙂

Yowza, Snowy Corner

Yowza! Snowy corner at Clark and Wellington (looking north) ...

Name-Change to Street in Berlin

Interesting change of name for a street in Berlin. Just noticed! It's gone from Manteuffelstr. to Audre-Lorde-Straße -- at least the section which I used to live on. More info here:

Part of Manteuffelstraße to be renamed after American poet Audre Lorde ...

No Sandwich for Leo :-(

Birds wouldn't share their sandwich with me! Not one offer to join in and take a bite :-(

Tag der Mauerfall (Day the Wall Came Down)

Yup, I've written about this before (link). It's a day I'll never forget...

Today's Proceeds ...

Sick of finding all this money on the sidewalks :-) I mean, do I walk for a living???

Spare me the App!

'Get the App' -- um, not me, thank-you ...

Nice Rewards for Nice Flu Shots!

Got all these nice presents/rewards -- just for getting those Flu & Covid shots! It was a shoulder-to-shoulder affair -- one side (i.e. shoulder) got the covid shot and the other side got the flu thingee!