Events

President Jimmy Carter turned 100 today, making him the first former president to do so. James Fallows has a bit of hagiography on his blog today, and the State of Georgia has declared today "Jimmy Carter Day." I hope I make it to 100, too, but I don't expect the State of Illinois to declare that day a public holiday. In other news: Hussein Ibish says Hezbollah got caught in a trap of its own making when it attacked Israel a year ago. A Chicago ordinance takes effect next Tuesday that will grant the...

I can scarcely believe I took these 10 days ago, on Friday the 20th. I already posted about my walk from Borough Market back to King's X; this is where I started: You can get a lovely snack there for just a few quid. In my case, a container of fresh olives, some bread, and some cheese set me back about £6. Next time, I'll try something from Mei Mei. Later, I scored one of the rare pork baps at Southampton Arms. Someone else really wanted a bite, too: Sorry, little guy, I can't give you any of this—oh...

Because I had a busy weekend, I had quite a full inbox this morning. After deleting the 85% of it that came from the Democratic Party and the Harris-Walz campaign (guys, you've already got my vote, FFS), I still had quite a few items of interest: Michael Tomasky reminds everyone: the XPOTUS is an evil buffoon, not an evil genius. Yesterday that same evil buffoon mooted a "Purge"-like day for the police to rough everyone up a bit. Contra most New York Times articles this election cycle, the Post's...

I meant to post more photos from my trip earlier this month, but I do have a full-time job and other obligations. Plus it took me a couple of days longer than usual to recover, which I blame squarely on the shitty hotel room I had for my first night causing a sleep deficit that I never recovered from. I posted a couple of these already, but with crude, quick edits done on my phone. I think these treatments might be a little better. Sunrise at O'Hare on the 18th: The hills of Hampshire: Invasive...

The White Sox lost to the Detroit Tigers last night, their 121st loss of the season and the most losses in Major League Baseball history, to become the Greatest Losers of All Time: After enjoying a three-game sweep of the struggling Angels to avoid history in front of their disgruntled home fans, the Sox went back to their losing ways Friday, falling for the 121st time to set a modern-day major-league record on the third-to-last day of the season. The Sox had shared the loss record with the 1962 Mets...

Two of the worst teams in baseball played their last home games of the season yesterday, one of them for the last time in their current home. The Chicago White Sox improbably swept the Los Angeles Angels at home this week, holding their season losses at 120 and their Tragic Number at 1. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Morrissey can't see how this gets better next year: When a franchise sets the modern-era record for losses in a season, which the Sox are on the verge of doing, it’s going to see fans...

Welcome to a special stop on the Brews and Choos project. Brewery: Two Tribes Brewing, Tileyard Road, London N7Train line: Piccadilly Line, Caledonan Road Time from Chicago: 8 hoursDistance from station: 900 m (about 1.5 km from King's Cross) I don't know why I haven't made an official B&C stop in London before now. The UK has just gotten going with its own microbrewing industry, as evidenced by the continued success of pubs like the Southampton Arms. I've had lots of English micros, some from London....

It took me a little bit this morning to get back into things, but once I figured out what my notes meant I managed to finish two whole features today. And I still had time to check these out: Marine biologists think they've figured out why octopus punch fish in the face. Amtrak will start Chicago to Miami service on November 10th, in part to reduce congestion on the Northeast Corridor during a construction project. The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) is for some reason opposed to changing the standard...

Welcome to stop #116 on the Brews and Choos project. Brewery: Crust Brewing, 5500 Park Pl., RosemontTrain line: CTA Blue Line, Rosemont Time from Chicago: 45 minutesDistance from station: 1.4 km (shuttle bus from El station—don't even try to walk it) Have you ever heard Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album? It's exactly what it says on the tin. And it's not their best work. (I mean, it's got a few laughs, especially on the first cut, but the boys made it clear they were flipping two fingers to...

I had the opportunity, but not the energy, to bugger off from Heathrow for an hour and a half or so connecting from Marseille. Instead I found a vacant privacy pod in the Galleries South lounge, and had a decent lunch. Plus I'm about to have a G&T. I've loaded up my Surface with a few articles, but I really only want to call attention to one of them. Bruce Schneier has an op-ed in the New York Times with his perspective on the Hezbollah pager attack and supply-chain vulnerabilities in general. I may...