awesome weekend!!

This one was of the best weekends I've had in a long time!! And I just know that next weekend will be even better :) Friday night was a fun night in Andersonville with dinner at Andies, beer at Hopleaf, and a night of Neofuturist fun with Too Muuch Light!! They did a great show too and had everyone stop in the middle of the play to call various congressmen about Karl Rove...which was cool!! I wish the new york neos didn't have their theater taken away! It would have been fun to see them next weekend!

Yesterday was another crazy day with an MIT BBQ down in lincoln park on the roof of this 44 story building right on the lake. It was so beautiful up there and fun to meet some of the incoming students and see some alums again. Fun! And then there was Joe's b-day! Yay for fun out in Algonquin!! :)

So some people say that they "slept all day" - but for me it was totally true! I stayed over at Joe's last night and work up around 11. Came home and slept some more. Tried to read outside, but then fell asleep and slept until dinner. Yesterday was a long night :)

cubbies fun!!

It was a beautiful day for a ballgame today, so what did I do, I went to a ballgame! :) Bleachers at Wrigley with Kelle, Kelly, and Bridget! It was such an awesome game and the cubbies eeked out a win in the bottom of the 9th! So much fun!! And the bleachers were as great as always. It's just so fun to watch the game from out there and enjoy some nice cold beer with friends! Yay! And then we got some good Mediterranean food up in Andersonville and ate outside as a nice end to the day. So good!

Then I had to deal with UPS again. But I won't go into all of that now other than to say that I will now actively try to ship via fedex so I don't have to deal with these people ever again...

fun in the city!

Last night was a good time! Went down into the west loop for Connie's housewarming party! It was fun to see a bunch of MIT people and to be able to take the train there :) Yay for people who live near the train!!

This afternoon I'm off to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!! Finally!! :)

Oh, and if you're reading this and you live in NYC and want to do something the night of the 6th of August, let me know! I'm also looking for a place to crash that night!

AIM...

Half of all Americans between 13 and 25 use AIM! Wow.

happy day!

It's a happy day! I *finally* got my security deposit back from the people who manage my old apartment! But I totally can't complain, because they gave it all back to me + interest. I very much gave up on cleaning the oven and a few other things when I was moving out, so it's a nice surprise. All in all, I was expecting at least $100 off. I should go do something nice with my bonus money...suggestions?

oh the memories....

Remember these?? Oh the memories of "all your base" :)

AIMFight

So so so addicting... How connected are you??

vaccines causing autism???

Interesting Daily Show tonight. Are MMR vaccines really responsible for the huge growth in Autism in the US, China, and other countries?? Here's the Salon article referenced on the show, and another article from WebMD.

Tommy and Toilets...

Fun from SmartMobs today...

Good old Tommy Thompson is getting an RFID chip implanted inside himself. Interesting. What's he thinking? Why would anyone want to do that??? I guess I can see the benefits of having your health profile with you at all times, but still, implanted in you? If someone hacks it, they learn everything about you just by walking by. Insurance, potential employers, all sorts of people. Not good!

Also interesting was the toilet that checks your urine for STDs and sends a message to your phone with the results. Very interesting. It's from the Royal College of Art. I really like a lot of the stuff they do. Lots of interesting pieces that really look at the boundaries of what can be done.

take gmaps to go!

Google Maps...on your mobile! With satellite pics as well as street maps! Sweet! :)

offshoring on a whole new level...

600 coders on an old cruise ship off the coast of california, working under non-US law and a quick boat ride from the mainland. Sounds like a party ;) And it's called, SeaCode, which wow is such a bad pun!

home!

So I'm back from a wonderful weekend down at Di's lake house in Indiana!! So much fun!! A weekend down in the sun with no computers, no cell phone coverage, plenty of sun, water, and beer :) It was a great time and extra-fun to go tubing now that Joe has his 115 HP motor on the boat!! And this couple down the street had this awesome party for like 200 people in their back yard on the lake. Beer, special punch, lots of food, and a live band! Very impressive! And very fun! And I met this girl who went to WHS...a little while before I did, but still very random. Grew up off of Hintz and BG road. So random. Why is my life filled with small world stories? :) It's fun though!

Now I must sleep!

off...

I am off....into the wonderful (er...) crossroads of america which is Indiana! As much as I dislike the state, it will be fun to hang out at my cousin's lake house, go tubing from the back of their boat, swim in the lake, and just relax for a few days...these past two weeks have been crazy!

In the mean time, I'll be without cell phone and internet for the next few days, so I guess I'll talk to you all when I get back :)

Is big brother next door?

Is big brother next door?

long time...

So yes, it's been a long time since I posted. And no, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth :) Had a fun weekend! Went to see TLM on Saturday night, and bumped into Laura and Dustin and the Hopleaf! How totally random! I guess not, because if you're going to TML, you have to go to hopleaf first, but I had no idea they were going. Anyway, a tad awkward since I was there on a date, but it was all good (no, not the girl who I was waiting for the email from, she never wrote) :( Very very fun time though and TML was in its best form!

I was back in the city last night for another MIT board meeting. Good times and good Chipotle! Yay for thinking of the vegan when ordering food :) And I never realized all the really nice restaurants/bars along wacker dr. On the way to the train, Connie and I stopped for a drink in this really nice one. And I got the catch pieces of the home run derby! :)

Anyway, the rest of the week looks to be super busy but totally fun! :)

mail and work

Still no email. Sad! I think I'll have to give up on that possibility soon :(

Work is going really well! I just left there actually because I wanted to get something working! And it is! :-D yay!!! :) :) :)

I have no plans for this weekend! If anyone wants to do something fun, let me know! I still haven't seen Batman or War of the Worlds, and I'm always up for food or TML!

obsessed...

Do you ever get obsessed about checking email? Especially when you're really hoping to hear from someone you've just met :) I must have looked at gmail every 10 minutes for the last few days! Anyway...still hoping to hear something good...

facade

Get Facade!! It's like Eliza, but with Neofuturists :)

tech review!

The best issue of Tech Review ever!!! For many reasons...there's a big Motorola SLVR on the front (the new candy-bar style RAZR)...it has a focus on "social implications of technology"...it has a whole article on "continuous computing" basically the idea of social applications used in mobile environments...and I learned that they had a competition to modify the "sponge dorm" :) Fun fun!

Harvard Bridge

Harvard Bridge
Originally uploaded by bentley79.

Google Earth can do measurements...so first I measured my "usual" run, then noticed measurement options and saw "smoots" - so of course I had to measure the bridge!! :)

quiz...

You Are 43% American

America: You don't love it or want to leave it. But you wouldn't mind giving it an extreme make over. On the 4th of July, you'll fly a freak flag instead... And give Uncle Sam a sucker punch!

How American Are You?

More like how Republican are you I think....

wedding...

Vivek's wedding yesterday was awesome!! Honestly when he told me that he'd be riding in on a horse or that he had so many things going on that his wedding was upgraded from an event to a convention by the hotel, or that the wedding ceremony would just go on for hours and people would just be sitting around talking, or getting up and leaving while it was going on, or that they'd serve ice cream in the middle of the ceremony, I just couldn't believe it. But it all went down just like that without a hitch. The reception was fun too and it was fun to see vivek and prashant bust a move :)

Some select pictures from the wedding are here along with some of the more non-incriminating pictures from Friday night. :)

Lewis Black in Milwaukee today! Call me if you want a ride or want to meet up there! Leaving Palatine around 2!

I love Madison!

Had an awesome time up in Madison yesterday! Got to see yet another Guerrieri which was fun and others I have not seen in like 7 years! And had good veggie dogs up at Elizabeth's "Grill Out" - which is Cheese Head speak for BBQ. :) Then got to wander around campus and Madison for a while. Fun fun times!! And such a great city! I'll have to go back soon when I don't have to drive back home the same day!!

Off to Vivek's Wedding now. Will this weeeknd ever end...it's going to kill me...

and the craziness continues...

Night two of my extended 4th of July weekend of fun was spent in the city at this awesome bar called Spoon in Old Town. Awesome awesome place! It was Kelly C's b-day so the whole crowd was there...the people I've known for 20 years, the people I've known for 10 years, and people I just met this year :) It's crazy to think that I've known Gina and Joe for 20 years now!! Anyway, it was great to see everyone again and to enjoy the open bar for $25 all night! So yes, Spoon is highly recommended!

Today I'm off to Madison for a BBQ at Elizabeth's! Tomorrow is Vivek's wedding. And Monday is Milwaukee for Lewis Black, Ben Folds, and fireworks. Anyone who wants to come on Monday let me know! Current plans are leaving here around 1ish.

Spin Doctors!

So last night's fun involved returning to Frontier Days (oh how some things stay the same) for a Spin Doctors concert!! Amazingly, they are back together and about to produce their second album...like 10 years later :) A fun concert and fun to hang out with Laura and Kelly and get a beer from Kelle who was working :) It's weird to go to the same neighborhood festivals you went to when you were growing up...and to have everything exactly the same...all the same rides, same food tent, same concert venue, same walkways...

how I miss MIT...

Did you know that "Oliver Smoot himself, ironically, headed the International Organization for Standardization for two years." Awesome article on MIT!!