I love simple ingenuity. Simple, elegant iPod, iPhone (insert other) holder. Works great to display my dinged up SLVR as well.

I am going to give this blog one more shot. If I can bring myself to post to at least once a week I will keep it going otherwise this thing is headed for the trash bin. Sure, I have plenty to write I just lack all motivation to type it out. Now that summer is slipping by I will hopefully be able to allocation appropriate attention to these pages.

Obviously updates and posts have ceased. After May I will have plenty to add to the site in way of restaurant and product reviews, trip experiences, museum visits and a major pending purchase. So check back in a month to see what has happened.

A Coyote strolled through the Loop yesterday and decided to take a break at the local Quiznos. I am somewhat disappointed that Patel didn’t at least throw the little guy some processed turkey. From the Trib article coyotes in Chicago are not all that uncommon; one was even found on my street.

Are you f’n kidding me? “Monday, hell begins” is a quote from the CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown. North main-line ‘L’ service will be reduced from four to three track operation effectively placing fewer trains in service and increasing wait times by double.

What pisses me off the most is the complete lack of compassion the CTA has shown their loyal riders; handing out flyers that say “Leave early, Leave late, Alternate”. This is a complete F U from the CTA to the Chicago Metro public.

What this really boils down to is Frank Kruesi’s, President of the CTA, childish temper tantrum from not receiving city funding on his first proposal to update the crumbling public transit infrastructure. Basically this baby is engaging in a big, public ‘I will show you’ paroxysm with Mayor Daley.

Basically my time spent commuting to and from work is going to suck donkey balls. Thanks Frank, d-bag.

Simply breath taking.

(hat tip: Ullmer)

Please take a moment to celebrate Pi Day.

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375
10582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706798
21480865132823066470938446095505822317253594081284811
17450284102701938521105559644622948954930381964428810
97566593344612847564823378678316527120190914564856692
34603486104543266482133936072602491412737245870066063
15588174881520920962829254091715364367892590360011330
530548820466521384146951941511609…

Here is a list of some really interesting and useful information you may not have been aware that your mobile phone could perform.

1. Emergency - The Emergency Number worldwide for mobile phones is 112. If you find yourself out of your service providers coverage area and there is an emergency,
   dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.
2. Locked keys in car - Does your car have remote keyless entry? If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock.
3. Hidden battery power - Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# . Your cell will restart with a reserve and will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your mobile phone next time.
4. Disable a stolen mobile phone - To check your mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 #. A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. When your phone gets stolen, phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can’t use/sell it either
5. Free 411 information - Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all.

A 60 second review of the 5th generation video iPod. Contributed by guest blogger M. Ullmer.

• As an iPod, hands-down the best MP3 player out there. Light years better than my trusty, crusty 3G, and I like my 3G a lot . The features, battery life and capacity that are offered now are an insane value.
• As a video player: C+/B- at best. It works perfectly fine, the screen is just way too small. It only makes me want an iPhone-less iPod even more. Until a better solution appears for converting DVDs, I’ll (rightfully) bitch about it. 3-4 hours to convert a DVD to ipod-format is not acceptable.

Ullmer’s buying advice: Since I didn’t pay for it, it’s a huge step forward for me. But I’m glad I didn’t have to pay for it. For first-time buyers, they will absolutely love it. If you’re buying it for video, you will be disappointed (or have really low expectations). Call me when I can easily and quickly get my DVDs onto the iPhone version and I’ll be waiting, bag of gold doubloons in hand.

Iron Chef America featured Chef Graham Elliot Bowles vs. Iron Chef Bobby Flay recently on the Food Network. Chef Bowles hails from the Peninsula Hotel restaurant Avenues. I have not watched many episodes of the American version of the dramatic and humorous cooking show but since Bowles is a Chicago boy I felt compelled to tune in. The ingredient de jour was Chocolate; not an easy flavor to combine with other foods and remain creative across the five courses.

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This guy is pissed at Verizon. I feel your pain, man. Nice comment line. Classic Veit lingo.

Last night we visited Buddy Guy’s Legends on the south side of Chi-town to watch a show by the harmonica toting Charlie Musselwhite. The show was fantastic with the exception of two individuals that could not figure out the sound board. The feedback was pretty terrible at times. Charlie made it a strong point informing the two to cut his harmonica out of the monitors.

Unfortunately the club has lost its lease and will have to move by June 07. The owner of the building where Legends operates, Columbia College, wants to use the space for a student center. Over the years Legends has played host to numerous iconic musicians. Signed paraphernalia line the walls included a large painting of a blues Mount Rushmore with Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and B.B. King. I hope their new home is as fun as the old.

New header image and addition of a favicon; woot woot.

This is sweet. Perceptive Pixel illustrates what can be done with multi-touch technology. I am intrigued by the idea and application. My only issue is with finger prints and smudges. I flip out now when someone lays a greasy finder on my LCD I can only image a screen as such. I would be wiping it off every 5 minutes.

Dark Roasted Blend throws together some terrific photo collections. In light (or lack there of) of Chicago’s drab and gloomy winter weather these colorful, albeit deadly, little frogs brought some color in to the world for me today.