Meaningful Work and Mastering the Art of Underemployment

CultureFebruary 24, 2010 1 comment
Meaningful Work and Mastering the Art of Underemployment

I was out of work a long time.
Not totally out of work, I always had a little work but I was most of the way out of work most of the time.  This makes me either a good person to talk to about finding a job or a horrible one. If I am a good [...]

Good News for me! Bad News for North and Clark?

CultureFebruary 3, 2010 5 comments

I have started accomplishing the goals on my list, but I am going about it in all wrong order.  Last week,  I got a job (with these fine people).  An honest to goodness full time non-freelance job.
I got the job by working for free (with these fine people) but that is tomorrow’s post.
This checks a [...]

This Man Will Fashion Your Brain Waves Into a Hat

InterviewsJanuary 11, 2010 2 comments
This Man Will Fashion Your Brain Waves Into a Hat

Sean Montgomery, Doctor of Nueroscience, is fasinated by biofeedback (the body’s external manifestation of thought, feeling, and status).
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Your body is constantly communicating with the outside world. Sean’s “Fashion Devices” take these communication (sweaty palms, heartbeats, and neural impulses) and makes a visual representation of them on hats, t-shirts, [...]

Goals for the New Year

ChicagoJanuary 6, 2010 4 comments

Wrote this post on December 28th, but didn’t have the gall to put it up.  Then I saw my blog buddy Josh Hanagarne’s post on goals for 2009 and the success he has had with his list.  So I decided, what the hell.  Also, I am hoping the added pressure of putting this list in [...]

Register for Primaries Today

ChicagoJanuary 5, 2010 3 comments
Register for Primaries Today

If you live in Illinois, today is the deadline to register to vote in the primaries.
If you live in Illinois and want to vote but don’t want to go to some horrible bureaucratic hellhole simply print of the form you can get here and send it in today.
Voting in primaries is especially important in states [...]

Trash or Treasure it’s Yours

CultureDecember 23, 2009 6 comments
Trash or Treasure it’s Yours

I recently gave a friend some advice that I realized I wasn’t following myself.
I suggested that he start a writer’s journal. I used to keep one when I was
in a creative writing class in high school. I liked it
and it was helpful at the time, so I told him he ought to do the same. [...]

Mustache Weekend

CultureDecember 20, 2009 6 comments
Mustache Weekend

Whether we conform to them or rebel against them we’re all, in some ways, defined by our commitments. Family, work, and rent are some of the basic ones, but there are millions. Generally people think of commitments defining them in a negative way, living for the weekend, being tied to a horrible mortgage [...]

Emily Claire Palmer – Live Performance from North and Clark Dinner Concert December 3rd

I had planned to bring you most of the performances from the North and Clark dinner, but we had an audio video meltdown at the last minute.  Luckily, my buddy Chris recorded a couple songs on his phone. The video quality leaves something to be desired but the music is what I really care about.
This [...]

Generating Revenue for the CTA (2 of 2)

ChicagoDecember 9, 2009 2 comments
Generating Revenue for the CTA (2 of 2)

Last week I outlined some rough ideas for generating more money for the CTA, this week I take those ideas more in depth.
Coinstar and the CTA Card
Coinstar is a great partner to grocery stores.  They have machines that take change and (for a small percentage) return paper bills.  It’s a device with low upkeep costs [...]

Generating Revenue for the CTA

ChicagoDecember 5, 2009 4 comments
Generating Revenue for the CTA

Chicago needs the CTA. A big part of what is good about this city has to do with how much of the city is always within reach. Besides the grid and size of the streets there is nothing that has as much to do with that as the public transportation. The city’s economy depends heavily [...]