Events

Thirty-five weeks into his 3-day war, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin woke up to a new IAEA report that his invasion of Ukraine may cause a permanent decline in Russian fortunes: The energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to speed up rather than slow down the global transition away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner technologies like wind, solar and electric vehicles, the world’s leading energy agency said Thursday. While some countries have been burning more fossil fuels such...

Can you tell when I moved from a first-floor walkup apartment into a 3½–story townhouse? I figure, Cassie has about 7 years of climbing stairs in her. We're both going to have much stronger legs (though only one of us needs them).

I'm starting to adapt my habits and patterns to the new place. I haven't figured out where to put everything yet, especially in my kitchen, but I'll live with the first draft for a few weeks before moving things around. I'm also back at work in my new office loft, which is measurably quieter than the previous location—except when the Metra comes by, but that just takes a couple of seconds. I actually have the mental space to resume my normal diet of reading. If only I had the time. Nevertheless: Texas...

I've unpacked all but one of the rooms in my new house: Yeah, but this is the "one room:" It's supposed to rain on Sunday, so what better day to unpack all those books? Cassie, for her part, only cares that I unpacked her smelly old blanket:

I reported Saturday that Empirical Brewery, one of my favorite hang-outs just 400 meters from my new house, closed unexpectedly on Sunday. Block Club Chicago's Alex Hernandez found out why: Empirical Brewery was booted from its building and abruptly shut down over the weekend following a months-long legal battle in which the landlord said the company did not pay its rent for several months this year, according to court records. Hayes Properties, which owns the Foster Avenue building, served Empirical...

Today's theme song is U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," but I know it's somewhere in the new house... Unpacking proceeds apace. Last night we were both exhausted and we both had trouble falling asleep. We also both wanted pizza, though Cassie didn't know she wanted it until I brought it into the house. Back to unpacking. I actually have to work tomorrow, so I need to get at least half my life out of chaos tonight.

I'm minutes from dismantling my WiFi so there won't be a time-lapse like last time. The movers get here in about an hour. Last time it took about 7 hours, but he weather couldn't be better, and I'm moving less than 2 km. See you from Inner Drive Technology World HQ v6.0... I am very much looking forward to being done with this.

I'm not quite done with my kitchen, master bedroom, or master bathroom, but I have absolutely no energy left: The big spikes around 3pm were the concert I performed in this afternoon. So, I'm going to do a couple of low-stress tasks (swapping out the thermostat, disconnecting the A/V equipment) and then I'm going to sit on the couch with Cassie and try not to doze off before 10.

I believe I'm about halfway through the kitchen (the worst room to pack), and struggling not to go immediately to Empirical for my last pint there. It's sunny, breezy, and at this moment 24°C outside—perfect beer-on-a-patio weather. Alas, though, I have to pack...the dishes. And glassware. Maybe I can do this in two hours?

I have only two rooms left to pack before my move on Monday: the master bedroom (which will take me about 30 minutes and the movers about the same), and the kitchen (which will take me most of today). I also had to reserve some time later this afternoon to grab a pint with a friend at Empirical Brewery, because (a) the weather could not look better and (b) they close permanently tomorrow night. Let's move on from the demise of the second brewery three blocks from my new house in the period between me...