I know, I know…It’s been a busy month.
Written on 27 June 2008 by DuoBetween Selphie’s birthday, work, and a more active schedule…I have not been able to be as active in getting updated.
That will change however. I am starting to get into more and more of a better daily routine, and I actually have a number of topics that I have “in the queue” for the blog. So bear with me a bit. Let me update you on my doings as of late…
I will say, I have really settled nicely back into City living. It’s really hit me, how much I missed living in Chicago. Secondly, I have started to get back into shape with regular cycling again. I haven’t cycled regularly in years and it feels damn good to be back in this habit again. One of the things I have noticed is that the bike path along the lake which shadows Lake Shore Drive is a lot better than I remember. Despite the usual idiots who dont follow common sense, its always a brilliant ride. Seraph and I made it as far as fullerton on our last regular run. Our goal is to be able to bike to Navy Pier and back home by the end of summer.
Third, cigarettes in the city are really freaking expensive. Up to $80 a carton in some parts of the city. So, I ditched the regular brand smokes, and have started making my own cigarettes. I bought really quality Cigarette Injector. For $50 bucks, it does a damned good job. I found a place that sells cigarette tobacco which is blended to mimic storebought brands. Kicker is: you buy a bag of tobacco from them, they send you a free box of filter tubes for free.
So, my cost for a carton now:about $15.00. Takes about 10 minutes to make one pack of smokes. Takes about a week to get your technique down. The trick is learning the right amount of pack for the injection chamber, and how to load it properly. Too much tobacco, the cigarette is too tight, and you can get any draw off it. Too loose, and it burns too quickly. I love it. Mayor Daley and Todd Stroger can blow me.
The CTA continues to annoy me. I realize they have growing pains, and budget pains. However, what disturbs me more is their lack of understanding when it comes to straight up good old common sense when planning their logistics.
Work is great. I actually feel like I am making a difference where I am. While I have wild days, and slow days…I feel useful and productive again.
I have started working on game design when I have the time. My friend Dave has been submitting material like a madman, and I have a few coders taking a look at things.
I am making plans for two major fall purchases. One: a wall mount jukebox kit from mameroom.com. I so want this for my apartment. It will compliment the bar atmosphere perfectly. The second is my cocktail MAME cabinet from dream arcades. I think these will be aquired by August/September.
The other major purchases I am working towards are a Training sailboat for next summer. And a 25′ to 30′ sailboat for the following summer. The ultimate goal of which is to be out on the lakefront for Venetian Night 2010. Wheeee.
I do plan a full redesign for Digital Arcadia. However, aside from some minor art contributions, I am probably going to hire a freelancer for the job. I just dont think I have time for it. Between everything else I mentioned above, I am also trying hard to get more “community minded”. I am making an effort to shop more locally, and I want to start getting more into my community.
So, please pardon the long stretch there between updates. I do plan on adding “update the blog” to my daily routine. And remember, you can always hit “The Best Of…” if you want more, or you want to look around and don’t know where to start. =)
Ja Mata!
Current Mood:
Bouncy
The CTA Sucks Whale Balls. (A touching little rant)
Written on 10 June 2008 by DuoSeriously. They would screw up a one car funeral procession.
I got home tonight at 7:45 or so. I left work at 5PM. Some moron got himself killed near 27th street (nowhere NEAR the friggin loop, I might add) and that backed up the whole system. Seraph and I wound up walking from the Fullerton stop down to clark to catch a 22.
Problem one: Not enough rolling stock for the north side redline.
This is not just on days where there is an incident. Today it was more pronounced because of the incident. People talk about the “Three track hell” southbound on morning rush, but honestly, I have yet to have a problem there. The problem is the evening rush. Where the ratio is roughly 2-3 brown/purple line trains stopping, dumping transfers to 1 red line train. Today that ratio was something even worse. AND there was a cubs game. I am sure the CTA thought they were QUITE CLEVER with their announcement that the purple line would be making stops at Sheridan to help with the cubs traffic. However, its really not so clever because out of something like 6 brown line trains, I saw ONE purple line train.
Problem two: No fucking backup plans to move people.
Seriously. You have a yard at Midway. You have a yard Howard. You have a yard at Harlem. You have the newly rehabbed Paulina connector. WHAT THE HELL is wrong with you people? Move some damned trains into service. Seriously. Take them from howard, cross them over at fullerton and run them north again. Bring them in from the Midway yard, run them through the loop and then turn them into Red Line Trains once they pass Armitage. Stop trying to use trains already in the system to cover for your fuckups. MOVE THE STOCK you have sitting idle into service so you can cover the outages. And put more stock onto the red line. Or, maybe perhaps try out what people have been telling you: re-introduce skip stop.
Problem three: Governor Rod.
Thanks for shafting us yet again, Governor Asslick. You and Emil Jones passed a funding budget for the CTA. But your petty politics, and your silly squabbling has meant that the capital improvment money is nowhere to be found. Thanks. You people are starting to make people long for the good old days of George Ryan. Equally corrupt as our current Governor seems to be, but at least he wasnt a fucking retard with plastic looking hair and could actually get things done.
Problem four: Mayor Daley.
You give Irish people a bad name. Why dont you stop your public land grab attempts, and dig into your fat TIF slush funds to help with some of the problems the CTA has. It shouldnt just be the state’s or the fed’s job to fund it. CTA stands for CHICAGO transit authority. Why not help fund it?
And this city wants the Olympics? They have to be snorting something good at City Hall. I’ll put $20 on coke cut with pixie sticks.
Current Mood:
Angry & 
Annoyed & 
Hostile
As Promised!
Written on 25 May 2008 by Duo
The pictures from the housewarming party for my new pad have been posted!
All in all, it was quite a happy affair. Everyone had fun, there was good food, music and good times. I had quite a turnout, and I for one had a blast. I didn’t get completely persnickered, because I was busy trying to be the good host. It’s always nice to be surrounded by friends. I want to thank everyone who came. If you were invited and couldn’t make it well, you missed a fun time. The bar was packed, and it was lively.
After the last guests had left for the night, we sat around the bar discussing the next event. One of the ideas was a theme party. And then someone mentioned a tiki party. Not too sure about that one. A friend from work suggested an 80’s theme party, and I countered that it could be 80’s themed along the lines of Pop vs. Metal.
Not sure though. So, I guess I’ll take suggestions. I am shooting for mid July for the next party. In the meantime, feel free to head over and check out the pictures. Of course, new pictures means I have to go out and get new frames. I still have alot of wall space to cover. =)
Current Mood:
Enthralled & 
Contemplative
Party Pics coming soon..
Written on 22 May 2008 by DuoJust dropping a quick update…
1) I do plan to get the party pics from last weekend up.
2) Digital Arcadia needs work, and a redesign. Rather than do this on the semi regular 3-6 month basis, I am only going to do it once a year from here on out. So, as it stands right now, I am going to begin thinking about what I want to do, and then work on it during the fall and winter, and shoot for a spring launch.
3) To that end, I want comments and suggestions. Feel free to drop me a line with what you think needs to change, how to improve things, colors, ideas…anything.
4) Anyone out there in doing some custom CSS/PHP work?
Current Mood:
Groggy
Social Time.
Written on 9 May 2008 by DuoI selected my apartment based on a number of criteria. But, one of the main selection points happened to be, was it entertainment friendly?
In the past, I have been pretty reserved. I passed on a lot of social contact, partially because I was busy being a parent, and partially because in some ways, I chose to be somewhat solitary in many ways until I figured a few things out, and became less of a caustic person. I think that was one reason I abhorred photos of me. I really didn’t want pictures of me in the state of being I was in. Of course, someone changed my attitude on that quite a bit. But to be fair, I wanted it to change, I felt a bit less reserved. I just needed a shove.
In the previous 4 or 5 years, I have made a few steps toward becoming more social in general. But now I crave a bit more in the way of contact and fun with others. I have made it a point to accept most invitations, and I have been steering myself toward a place where I can extend invitations as well. It’s for this reason that I made “entertainment friendly” a criteria for my new pad.
In about a week’s time, I will be having a housewarming party. I even printed invitations. Based on response, I believe I am going to have 20+ people here. Which is great. I really want that social contact. For a variety of reasons. But, the main one is this: I know the boundaries of my personality now, and I happen to think overall, despite my quirks I am a fairly nice guy. I can be funny, serious, etc. But I think I am also a lot happier now that I have been in many years. I didn’t just “find” this happiness. I sought it out, and worked hard for it. I think entertaining for people, for friends…is a way of sharing that.
I think it’s vital to share it too. So, next week I plan to get the house ready. I plan to make sure everything is perfect, or as close to perfect as I can. I want people to come, have fun, commiserate. I have invited people from the different segments of my life, and it will be interesting to see them interact. I look forward to it. Seraph and Selphie will be there, and it should be a good time for all concerned.
I’ll be sure to post pictures of the event. =)
Current Mood:
Playful & 
Jubilant
