March 31, 2006
Weighted Random Bracket Status Into The Final Four
Not that I or anyone else care anymore, but for the sake of science here is the status of my random NCAA bracket compared to the others. The final four will not be kind to any of the bracket selections so I don't expect any change from these standings.
Risky Bracket - 770 pts - 98 percentile
Deadspin Bracket - 740 pts - 96 percentile
Chicagoist Bracket - 570 pts - 54 percentile
Weighted Random Bracket - 510 pts - 29 percentile
Inga and John Bracket - 430 pts - 8 percentile
Technorati Tags: NCAA Bracket
Posted by JB at 9:45 AM | PermalinkUnion Pacific
Technorati Tags: Union Pacific, photo
Posted by JB at 9:36 AM | PermalinkMarch 29, 2006
What's On Peter Gammons IPod
Hall of Fame baseball reporter and Andrew Jackson look-alike, Peter Gammons is a pretty hip guy despite his appearance. He looks stuffy but if you listen to him enough, you realize he is a dynamic person. Case in point, in his blog today he posted the top 20 songs played on his iPod during his morning spring training workouts. It's quite a mix for someone in their sixties. Heck, just the fact that he works out and owns an iPod while being in his sixties says something.
Technorati Tags: Peter Gammons, Top 20 songs, ipod
Posted by JB at 8:56 AM | PermalinkMarch 26, 2006
Angle Photo Set aka Firehouse Construction
Just finished a set of photos on Flickr. It's a study of lines and angles that came out during the framing of the new Arlington Heights firehouse. The sun was bright that afternoon and the shadows were really working. Below are some samples and you can click here to see the entire set. Hope you enjoy them...
Technorati Tags: photos, construction, Flickr
Posted by JB at 10:58 PM | PermalinkMarch 24, 2006
R.I.P. - Addwaitya 1750 - 2006
Addwaitya, a giant aldabra tortoise thought to be about 250 years old died of liver failure.
Why do the good ones always go so young...
Technorati Tags: tortoise, Addwaitya
Posted by JB at 8:56 PM | PermalinkMarch 21, 2006
Goths Secretly Run The World!
Richmond in 'The IT Crowd' has put goths back on my personal radar. Good thing, because it turns out they are secretly running the world! Just kidding (kind-of) as there is a funny article in the Guardian (via BoingBoing) about how goths grow up to be successful professionals.
"Goths are like masons," I have been told. "They're everywhere."
The story also includes a funny quiz to see if your boss is a closet/reformed goth.
BTW - The South Park-esque goth kid was created with the South Park Studio Version 2.
Technorati Tags: Goth
Posted by JB at 8:05 PM | PermalinkSome FBI Agents Don't Have Email
I thought I worked for some backward outfits in my time, but this is shocking. A post on Slashdot points to a CNN story that says a number of FBI agents do not have email accounts. It sounds like they have only been getting accounts recently and the New York FBI office will have email accounts for all of it's employees by the end of the year. Email isn't in the budget. Hmmm.
Great homeland security job, guys. I feel safer already. The comments on the Slashdot post were funny as they point out that most of us have multiple free accounts and wonder if they can get brownie points with the feds if they share some of them.
Posted by JB at 10:33 AM | PermalinkChances To Check Out The Gunnelpumpers Next Week
I've been neglectful on posting the upcoming shows of band that are friends of Harvard Avenue. My apologies to the Tomorrow Music Orchestra! I'll make good on the next show.
Next week, the Gunnelpumpers are playing a big show at Martyr's on Tuesday March 28th and following that show up two days later on Thursday at their monthly gig at The Muse Cafe. Both shows are at 8 p.m.
Technorati Tags: Tomorrow Music Orchestra, Gunnelpumpers, Martyr's
Posted by JB at 8:54 AM | PermalinkMarch 20, 2006
Weighted Random Bracket Status
After the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, the 'weighted random' bracket that I talked about earlier is not doing to good. In fact it is tied for last with the Inga/John bracket (In which admittedly my half is worse than Inga's). Here's the breakdown:
Risky Bracket - 450 pts
Deadspin Bracket - 420 pts
Chicagoist Bracket - 410 pts
Weighted Random and Inga/John Bracket - 350 pts
Technorati Tags: NCAA Bracket
Posted by JB at 5:54 PM | PermalinkMarch 19, 2006
Quote of the Day
Ain't it the truth...
"Though I am not naturally honest, I am so sometimes by chance." --William Shakespeare
Technorati Tags: Shakespeare, quote
Posted by JB at 9:02 AM | PermalinkMarch 18, 2006
File Your Claim in the Sony/BMG Class Action Settlement
The EFF has asked members to get the word out. If you bought a Sony/BMG CD with flawed DRM (that made computers vulnerable to hacking and has no uninstall function), you are eligible to get a replacement CD, free music downloads or cash. Here is a list of the DRM tainted CDs. Click here for a description of benefitsand here to file a claim. You can also click on the pretty banner below or the one that will be in the margin of this site.
Technorati Tags: EFF, Sony, BMG, DRM, DRM settlement
Posted by JB at 4:43 PM | PermalinkMarch 16, 2006
NCAA Random Bracket
It's time to break out the Dick Vitale Bobblehead for the NCAA Tournament. The only sheets I am doing this year are the ESPN free bracket contests, so that makes 5 sets of guesses total. First is the traditional 'Inga and John' bracket that we always do together. We each do half and then coin flip for the winner. Then there is a sheet for the Deadspin and Chicagoist groups and one 'risky picks' bracket.
The last sheet is a little test I've always wanted to do. I've had friends in the past who have done the entire NCAA bracket by. In that spirit, I did a weighted random selection based on seeding. For example, in the selection between a #1 and #16 seed, the #1 seed had a 16x greater chance of being picked than a #16 seed. I know this is a flawed system, but what the heck, I wanted to give it a try. Right now it looks no crazier than any of my other sheets.
In the interest of bad science, I will be posting how the weighted random bracket does in relation to the 4 other sets of picks.
(Note to alarmists: There is no gambling involved in the ESPN NCAA brackets...)
Technorati Tags: NCAA Brackets
Posted by JB at 1:37 PM | PermalinkMarch 15, 2006
Mitsuwa Arlington Heights/Chicago Site
When I was in Mitsuwa yesterday (a Japanese Marketplace), they were promoting the website for their market pretty heavily, so I am assuming that it is new. Regardless, it is an excellent site with lots of information about Japanese cultural events at the store, a sake guide, info on the many restaurants and of course sale info. You can also make purchases through the site. Excellent!
Technorati Tags: Arlington Heights, Mitsuwa
Posted by JB at 8:38 AM | PermalinkMarch 13, 2006
Finally Fuego
After much waiting and being turned back by the crowd, we finally ate at Fuego (in downtown Arlington Heights this weekend).
The restaurant itself has a very cool decor with the large murals on the walls and vaulted wood ceiling. They spent as much time on the inside as they did with all the touches on the outside. Though not much of a drinker, the bar area was impressive. There was a nice mixed drink menu that had a nice variety without being too big. We had a mojito and a margarita which were both very good. Watching the bartenders hand mix margaritas and checking out all the exotic bottles behind the bar makes the table wait go fast.
As to the food, it had all of the classic Mexican dishes plus some interesting variations like my poblano burrito. Everything was fresh, but Inga and I were disappointed that the dishes seemed 'Americanized' by toning down the bold Mexican flavors. The tomatillo sauce on my burrito was very pedestrian bland and Inga's vegetable fajita was good, but was simply grilled veggies with no added spice.
Fuego wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. There are lots of Mexican restaurants with toned down dishes. Maybe that is what people like, but then again people like Olive Garden and Chili's too. For Americanized Mexican, it is good. Personally, I'll stick with authentic not as pretty places like Las Torres in Des Plaines.
From this sites logs, I can see that there are a lot of searched for Fuego. Their website is www.fuegomexgrill.com though it currently has no info other than an address and phone number. They are open everyday for lunch and dinner.
Technorati Tags: Arlington Heights, Fuego, Las Torres
Posted by JB at 8:08 PM | PermalinkMarch 11, 2006
Faded Window Decals
From the window of a defunct slotcar track/hobby store in downtown Arlington Heights.
Technorati Tags: photo, Arlington Heights
Posted by JB at 6:07 PM | PermalinkRailroad Ties
On Northwest Highway by Arlington Park.
Technorati Tags: photo, Arlington Heights, Railroad Ties
Posted by JB at 6:04 PM | PermalinkMarch 8, 2006
Carbon Neutrality And A Tax Deduction
Over the holidays, I was looking at several organizations that let you buy carbon offsets to make yourself carbon neutral. The one thing all of the organizations have in common is that they were for profits, so in turn there was no tax deductions.
Working Assets sent me an email recently about Carbonfund, which is non-profit. Now you can make yourself carbon neutral AND get a write-off. Looks like a 'win-win' to me.
Technorati Tags: Carbon Neutral, Carbonfund, Carbon offset
Posted by JB at 9:33 PM | PermalinkFire Fest and Illinois Youth Soccer Expo
The Chicago Fire is hosting their annual fan event 'Fire Fest' in Arlington Heights in conjunction with the Illinois Youth Soccer Expo. Here are the details:
The Chicago Fire has announced a return to the northern Chicagoland suburbs to host the 2006 FireFest on Saturday, Mar. 18 at the Forest View Educational Center, located at 2121 S. Goebbert Rd. in Arlington Heights, IL. For this year's edition of FireFest, the Fire organization has partnered with Illinois Youth Soccer and the 2006 Illinois Youth Soccer Expo for an exhibition and seminar event that will take place from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. CT. Admission to the FireFest/Illinois Youth Soccer Expo is free of charge, but all those who attend must be registered in advance. For more information on how to register, please visit www.Chicago-Fire.com or www.illinoisyouthsoccer.org.
Technorati Tags: Arlington Heights, Chicago Fire, Illinois Youth Soccer Expo, Fire Fest
Posted by JB at 8:24 AM | PermalinkMarch 6, 2006
Dirty Corners
March 5, 2006
New Logo
Hopefully you've noticed the new logo before reading this entry. It's okay if you didn't. I don't take it personally.
The old Harvard Avenue banner was carried over from version 2.0 many moons ago. I've been wanting to redo it for a long time now, but wasn't having any brainstorms. Finally, I got tired of seeing it on my 'to do' list and had at it. I may still tweak it a bit, but I'm pretty happy with it. I am toying with adding a couple of photo clips on the same plane as the Harvard Avenue text. We'll see. Feedback appreciated...
Technorati Tags: logo, Harvard Avenue
Posted by JB at 10:55 PM | PermalinkMarch 4, 2006
2006 SXSW Music Torrents Available!
The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!
Ooops, I mean; The 2006 SXSW showcasing band MP3s are now available for download via BitTorrent!!!
Designed to give SXSW attendees a guide to the performers playing at the music festival, it's 900+ legal songs available to download! It's the easiest way to give your MP3 library a gigantic shot in the arm of really cool music. No matter what kind of music you are into, there is something in the collection for you. It runs the gambit of music genres, except for Tibetan throat singing. Who knows, maybe this year's set has that too.
The 2005 SXSW MP3s turned me on to bushels of new bands and turned out to be a precursor to a number of the cool albums of the upcoming year. What else can I say? Why are you still reading this? GO!
Posted by JB at 4:48 PM | PermalinkStarbucks Knock-off Logos
This graphic of Starbucks copycat logos, comes from a story in The Korea Times about Starbucks' battle with Asian knockoff stores.
Isn't imitation suppose to be the sincerest form of flattery?
These knock-off images bring to mind this great logo I found on Flickr a while back of the Puget Hounds Flyball team.
Typical Cub Fan Experience
I remembered a conversation that I had last week that I wanted to share. It is one of those conversations that so perfectly illustrate, the typical Cub fan.
Some friends and I had lunch at our usual Friday place. Our server, who we know pretty well, was telling us how her and her friends were on the spending a lot of time on the internet getting Cubs tickets, dividing them amongst themselves and lamenting on how much they were spending. I joked with her that she was wasting her money as the Cubs are going to be horrible this year (I wasn't joking about the part about the Cubs being horrible this year - they will be). She replied that it was okay, she just like to get some sun in the park and have some beer (A typical Cub fan response, but not the point of this story).
"Anyway" she said, "at least Sammy Sosa won't be on the team this year!"
"He wasn't on the team last year." I replied.
"Yes he was."
"No, he played for the Orioles last season"
"Oh, cut it out! He played for the Cubs!"
At this point my Cub-fan friend at the table started to sink in his chair and cover his face. He knew what was coming.
"Do you know anyone who played outfield for the Cubs last year?" I asked. "Any other players?"
She paused. "You're teasing me" she quipped and walked away.
"Typical Cub Fan" I said to my friend at the table and to all of you who read this.
March 2, 2006
Blues Brothers Revisited
With the demolition of the Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, another Blues Brothers location is lost to progress (a la Maxwell Street). For a refresher, Dixie Square is the mall the Blues Brothers drove through, crashing through store and checking out the products, while eluding state troopers in the film.
So I got to thinking. As the Blues Brothers is a great snapshot of the Greater Chicagoland area in the early '80's, maybe someone should document what the areas in the film look like now. Turns out I was behind the times yet again as it was already done last year by fans of the film in 'Return To Chicago 2005'. Travis Bell and his friend have a replica of the Blues Brothers' Mount Prospect police car that they filmed driving through scenes in the film. From looking at the video trailer on their site, they not just drove through the same locations but recreated the same scenes in the present locations: driving though Daley Plaza, speeding down Lower Wacker, cutting over highway divides and through the empty Dixie Square Mall. Breaking laws for fandom. Sweet!
Posted by JB at 7:38 PM | Permalink
