Events

Even as the East Coast gets bombed by an early-spring cyclone, we have sunny skies and bitter cold. But the -12°C at O'Hare at 6am will likely be the coldest temperature we get in Chicago until 2023. The forecast predicts temperatures above 10°C tomorrow and up to 16°C on Wednesday, with no more below-freezing temperatures predicted as far out as predictions can go. Meanwhile, I'm about to leave for our first of two Bach Jonannespassion performances this weekend. We still have tickets available for...

US Representative Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) yesterday laid out his love of American democracy at an event back home: @RepCawthorn said tonight he regrets not being able to stop the 2020 election. Are promoting misinformation about the election after just speaking out against misinformation being spread? Hear if for yourself-@WLOS_13 pic.twitter.com/IcxD6U46Et — Samiar Nefzi (@samiarnefzitv) March 11, 2022 Now, did he really mean the election, or just the XPOTUS losing by more votes in history to...

I'm hard at work on a presentation for my company's annual Tech Forum, which is next week. Meanwhile I've got two performances of Bach's Johannespassion this weekend, with our orchestra rehearsal this evening. Oh, and we change the clocks on Sunday. So in lieu of anything more interesting, here's a photo I took of Chicago's St Boniface Cemetery on Tuesday morning:

No, I didn't send Cassie's slobber to 78AndWoof.com or anything. Someone brought a DNA-shaped toy to the dog park today, which Cassie found irresistible: This cattle dog also found the toy irresistible, leading to this irresistible tug-of-war that ranged around the park for a good five minutes:

Julia Ioffe, one of the best, most competent reporters covering Russia today, reminds us why Vladimir Putin's death or exile wouldn't change as much as some in the West think: The first time I took a Soviet history class, it was taught by the legendary scholar and Stalin biographer Stephen Kotkin, who asked a question that has since been seared into my memory. During his lecture on Stalin’s terror, Kotkin asked, essentially, how can one man kill millions of people? Sure, Stalin could have said, kill the...

In an authoritarian regime, telling your boss that he did something wrong can have fatal consequences. Therefore people avoid mentioning problems up the chain. Like, for example, that mandating the army use only Russian-made mobile phones, even though Western electronics have progressed years or decades beyond them, might leave the army at a disadvantage in combat. Similarly, as an engineer, you might not tell your superiors that blowing up the enemy's 3G cell towers will render your 3G phones unusable...

In one of those stopped-clock-is-correct-twice-a-day moments, the XPOTUS and I have similar assessments of former US Attorney General Bill Barr: “Bill Barr cares more about being accepted by the corrupt Washington Media and Elite than serving the American people,” Trump wrote. “He was slow, lethargic, and I realized early on that he never had what it takes to make a great Attorney General.” Also Barr “didn’t want to stand up to the Radical Left Democrats because he thought the repercussions to him...

Cassie and I walked all the way to the Horner Park Dog-Friendly Area yesterday, taking advantage of the 19°C weather and forbearance of rain clouds. We went a little out of our way on the first walk, so I could get a look at what was left of Twisted Hippo Brewing: Yikes. Still, only one person was injured in the fire, and he's expected to recover completely. After a 48-minute walk, Cassie ran around like a puppy at the dog park for about 20 minutes: The return walk took another 45 minutes, after which...

Welcome to stop #73 on the Brews and Choos project. Note: this location closed permanently in September 2022 in what I can only assume was Karmic balancing for Urban Brew Labs closing the week before. Brewery: Smylie Bros. Lakeview, 3855 N. Broadway, ChicagoTrain line: CTA Red Line, SheridanTime from Chicago: 20 minutesDistance from station: 500 m I guess it was inevitable that I would visit the newest location of what may be my least-favorite brewery so far. Smylie Bros. (who really seem to be...

No, I don't mean the war in Ukraine. I mean the toy I got Cassie on Wednesday. To refresh your recollection, it looked like this when I handed it to her: As of this morning, it looked like this: I honestly don't know where the rest of it went, though I did find a lot of 2-3 cm leather fragments all over the living room. We're about to take a walk (it's 17.4°C at Inner Drive Technology World Headquarters!), so I may, ah, encounter more fragments in the next hour or so.