Before and After

Today is Veterans Day, so be sure to give thanks to any vet if you run into them. Technically today is Armistice Day and I am always reminded of WW1 when I hear that term. And when I think of WW1, I think of misery and destruction - below is the famous before and after photo of Passchendaele, click for larger.

Seen and Heard at the Bear Game

As usual, there were a lot of interesting things to see and hear at the Bear game last Sunday. While not everything has the high honor of being posted at the most important site on the internet, Drunk Bear Fans, these are some interesting odds and ends.

Click on any photo for larger.

Below you see a Red Explorer with a guy standing there. These guys made the COLOSSAL mistake of ridiculing a Chicago Police officer while he was clearing traffic. The cop finally said to them "YOU WANNA BE A MAN, COME OVER HERE! YOU WANNA BE A LITTLE BOY, GO HOME". Whatever that means. Anyway, if these guys were sober they are easily the stupidest group of people I have ever seen. And if they were drunk, they are still pretty stupid.
We got to the game early as this year we park at the Adler Planetarium. By getting there super early we avoided 1) the insane cash parking line and 2) got this cherry spot right on the park. This photo sucks, but right behind those out buildings is the beach and Lake Michigan. I don't think there is a better spot to tailgate at Soldier Field than this spot.

Some parents don't even pretend to get their kids involved in the tailgating, just hope they keep themselves busy.

As you exit the lot you can't bring any bottles or cans - not sure if you can bring a cup of beer. Looks to me like Miller Lite is winning this battle royale of the crappy beers. Also, seems that the learning curve is pretty flat - wouldn't want to provide a dumpster for these empties or anything, just keep putting the same old one barrel there to get overflowed in three seconds. Then again, it is the Chicago Park District so what do you expect.

I thought this guy was super creative - rather than buying a new jersey, just get out the old duct tape and magic marker and -poof - new jersey, changed from Berrian to Bennett. Love it.

How Not To Spar

Last night was more interesting than usual at the gym. I did a nasty boot camp and then did MT class as normal. The drills in class were amped up a bit, then we went into sparring. I was out of gas already, then this.

I did pretty well with my first opponent and felt loose. Then I went up against one more guy and the results were not so good. If the round were judged, I probably would have lost 10-9, but felt like I lost by more because I am so hard on myself.

My sparring partner for this round has been around the gym for a much longer time than me but he wasn't sparring like we usually do. When you are sparring you are NOT fighting and are supposed to pull your punches and kicks. He was absolutely drilling me and midway through I asked him "wtf". He didn't reply so I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands and let him have it a bit. He didn't like this as I kick REAL hard at this point in my life. Eventually he caught one of my kicks and threw me - a technique that I utilize quite often.

The problem I have is that I don't want to hurt anyone while sparring. I had previously caught a few of his kicks, but SIMULATED my cut kick on the remaining leg and let his kicking leg go. Of course then he goes and throws me on the deck in a spectacular fashion instead of returning the favor.

Maybe he was having a bad day, I don't know. But I was pissed off. Eventually his lack of conditioning failed him and I gave him a blizzard of techniques in the last 30 seconds of the round.

I did find (yet another) weakness in my game though - my sparring partner hardly ever initiated the fighting, rather counter punched the whole time. I need practice on how to fight this type of opponent better.

The old body is batterd and bruised today, but a lot was learned by getting my butt handed to me for a while last night.

Monday Morning Blues

What An Outstanding Autumn Morning

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This morning I awoke to a sight so familiar and luscious I had to take a photo. This was the view from my home office.


This image reminded me of the many hours, days, weeks and months I spent hunting whitetail deer from a treestand on family owned bottomland along the Indiana side of the Kankakee River this time of year.

Hunting above a swamp provided me with an advantage, I could hear Bambi's dad coming before I could see him. Hearing a distant deer slopping through the watery muck in the foggy morning light always got my adrenaline pumping.

Dad sold the land to a duck club twenty years ago to help finance his retirement so I was out of a private, secluded and productive property to hunt deer. Oh well.

Because of that I went full speed into upland bird hunting to satisfy my autumnal hunting jones. No regrets.

Friends and neighbors often donate venison to my freezer providing me with my favorite protein of all. It also opened up the opportunity for me to concentrate on raising my own gun dogs so I would always have a faithful companion to bird hunt with. Again, there are no regrets.

Those deer hunting mornings sitting fifteen feet above ground level in a cheap rickety tree stand watching the sun rise over that foggy bottomland swamp provided me with eternal memories of being one with nature. But there’s more than one way to accomplish that, I soon learned.

Who knows, one day I may gain access to productive private deer hunting land again. My traditional TC hawken-style .50 cal. muzzleloader is always ready to go. So am I.


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Around Chicago

Out by Big Bowl restaurant I saw this motorcycle and didn't blur out his license plate, either (click on the picture to enlarge).



Walking down the street I saw this white bicycle memorial and looked it up - his name was Clint Miceli and he was killed while riding his bike and this is his story.



It is the time of year when the boats go down the Chicago River towards their winter resting places and here is a shot of the bridge up.

Funny plates

Dan usually tells me to "blur" the license plate because that is good internet etiquette but this time since the owner obviously wants to be known I am displaying it "as is".

Pearl Jam and Incentives

A while back Dan wrote about how the most recent R.E.M. album actually sounded like the band we knew in college, rather than the dirge of their more recent work. The new Pearl Jam album, too, marks an attempt to return to the Pearl Jam "sound" instead of quiet noodling that was the norm for their last few albums.

Why did Pearl Jam suddenly try to become popular again? Because their record contract is over, of course. They signed a deal with Target to distribute their album, bypassing other retailers (although there is an opt out for independent music stores apparently, if there are any of them left) and letting the band earn a bigger cut of any sales. It was interesting that Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails gave away their most recent releases while Pearl Jam decided to charge their fans for it.

It would be a new world if rock bands had incentives to sell the most albums and release them in the most efficient way possible. The "old style" deals where the band was signed for a lot of money up front for a number of albums is going the way of other dying "old media" - into the wastebasket. There isn't enough money left in the system with CD sales drying up to support these sorts of dis-incentives.

I do find it almost the definition of irony that Pearl Jam, a band that made their name with their fights against "the man", now pretty much is up for giving the people what they want now that they need to go out and earn their rock star lifestyle.

Those are interesting incentives.

My One Black Helicpoter Theory

Conspiracy theories have probably existed since the beginning of man. The tinfoil hat brigade as of the last decade has many causes - supposed 911 "truthers" are one such example. Of course, the vast majority of these people are idiots.

I have always held one black helicopter theory - that a lot of times sports games are rigged in one way or another.

I think this started with me about 25 or so years ago. After watching a certain football game I said to myself - that just wasn't right. And from then on I have always tried to keep a darker eye on sports.

Tim Donaghy is the NBA referee that is now serving prison time for helping fix games he was refereeing, and for betting on those games. He is writing a book in prison. No publisher has picked it up yet, but an excerpt has leaked and the guys from Deadspin have it. Read this. Even if 20% (maybe even 10%) of it is true, my black helicopter theories about the NBA will have been proven true.

Sadly, the glass is always half empty when it comes to things like this to me. I think that every league, even in college, fixes games to increase revenue. Do you really want to see Boise State in the national championship game with their tiny fan base or do you want a team like Alabama playing if you are an NCAA official? Isn't it better for the Celtics or Bulls to be in the finals in the NBA rather than the Bucks if you are the head of the NBA?

On top of this, I think many games are fixed due to point shaving either by a player or ref on the take (see Donaghy above). Sometimes I watch football games and say to myself "that just didn't seem right". I am not saying that every game is fixed, but I think scores and perhaps results are manipulated more than is noticed by many. When you have watched countless hours of football like I have done over the years, you notice things that seem "off". It is sort of like eating your favorite food and then eating it again and noticing a slightly off taste. Another example is seeing a behavior change in your mate who you have lived with for 15 or 20 years. What's wrong, honey, you seem down today...

Sometimes it is blatant like the time I heard Brent Musberger make a comment on a field goal a few years ago. He said something like "that gets them under the number" or something similar. I still remember sitting in my living room chair with my jaw agape and asking my wife if I just heard that correctly. Yep, Brent must have had some dough on that one. While this is no big deal (although his contract probably forbids it), the sideline coverage could help out one team if played correctly. See what I mean about the black helicopters?

I am glad that Donaghy wrote that book as it will be absolutely devastating for the NBA - I will be the first one to buy it if and when it comes out. I would look for more of this sort of thing to come out in the future.

Wind Energy

Recently when driving in Western Illinois near the Iowa border I noticed a vast field of wind turbines off Route 20. On the way back to Chicago I got off the highway and started driving on the rural dirt roads to get a closer look.

These are the wind turbines near Lena, IL. The turbines are part of the "EcoGrove" project. A firm called EcoEnergy was the project manager for this effort, and here is the web site describing the project. The project has a capacity of 100 MW and the turbines are between 1.5 and 2.5MW each... so there are at least 40-50 wind turbines at the site. The project cost $200M (per the web site). Per the wind FAQ's section of their site:

How big is a wind turbine?
EcoEnergy’s turbines typically measure 262 feet (80 meters) to the hub height (where the blades meet) and rotor diameters in the range of 246 to 295 feet (75 to 90 meters)..

As you can see from the photos, these wind turbines are huge. They were all turning slowly the day I was there in the wind, with three blades.

Because they don’t produce all the time, aren’t wind turbines an inefficient way to get our electricity?
Wind turbines actually generate electricity most of the time (65 to 80 percent), though the output amount is variable.

This is a strange question. You are wondering what the total output of wind energy is, and this just answers whether or not the turbine is generating any energy at all.

Wind turbines are actually extremely efficient. One of the simplest ways to measure overall efficiency is to look at the energy payback of an energy technology, or the amount of energy consumed in producing additional energy. The energy payback time for wind is similar to or better than that of conventional power plants. A recent University of Wisconsin – Madison study calculated that the average energy payback of Midwestern wind farms is between 17 and 39 times as much energy as they consume (depending upon average wind speeds at the site). Nuclear power plants generate only about 16 times as much energy as they consume and coal plants generate just 11 times as much energy as they consume.

This is another strange question and answer. I guess it makes sense that a wind turbine creates a high multiple of the energy that it consumes, because the marginal cost of fuel (wind) is zero. The issue is that this power is variable in time (possibly off-peak) and in quantity.

In general, wind energy in Illinois makes sense because most of Illinois is damn ugly. It is flat with cornfields and not much to look at. Actually the area near Lena, IL where these turbines are located is probably one of the prettiest parts of Illinois (admittedly, not saying much). But I don't necessarily think that the wind farm is bad on the horizon, it is actually pretty cool. I don't think that the wind farms significantly impact the farm economy; they take up some amount of land but not a lot of total acreage.

The issue too is cost efficiency. $200M was spent for 100 MW of capacity, and this "capacity" is when the wind is blowing at a consistent rate best for the turbines. I don't know what the practical capacity of a wind farm is, it obviously depends on specific circumstances, such as how windy it is. We also would need to understand the useful lives of the gear; they had some trouble with blades made in India but likely they have this figured out in the most recent wind farms.

At least in Illinois we have a decent transmission corridor and it is located near some urban areas in Iowa. We probably will be seeing more of these wind farms in the future.
Cross posted at Chicago Boyz

Trump Gets Funky

The Spire atop the Trump Tower in Chicago got "funky" last night and they rolled through a bunch of color combinations. Don't know if this will be a new trend or not in the city.

Monday Morning Blues

I think I am going to start a new feature here at LITGM, the Monday Morning Blues. Since that is what I always have after a great weekend. Today we have Johnny Winter with Key to the Highway. The video can't be embedded so go here and enjoy.

My blog mates

While out of town this weekend driving through rural Illinois and Iowa I saw a couple things to remind me of my blog-mates.



With this photo above now I know where Dan goes every Monday night to get the fine beer for $1 / can. Yum.



This table was at the resort where I stayed and it was awesome and I thought of Gerry and his bird dog in training.

Autumn 2009

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The leaf explosion happened right on schedule this year in my neighborhood. Bigtime. It didn’t last long, there were only a few days of color until rain and wind brought it all to an end. We all know what's next.


My new pup Dottie is growing fast. Here's what she looked like last August. She’s four months old now, very healthy at just over twenty pounds and as feisty and loveable as a setter pup can be. Any nightmares of having a puppy in the house (such as chewing on woodwork) have yet to materialize. Confining her space, close observation and a lot of love and understanding makes the difference. We've learned from experience.


Dottie responds well to her name and we have turned the corner on house breaking. All it takes is patience, positive reinforcement and a lot of paper towels.

Since I have been commuting to the city daily for the past month my personal time with her has been short.


Going for a long walk with Dottie late this afternoon was pleasant. I took these photos on one of the few sunny weekend days we have had this month.


Dottie was easy to control on the leash. Better yet, she was zigzagging in front of me without a too much aggressiveness. This is a good sign for a young English Setter pup with strong field trial lineage. Field trial dogs love to work far out and breaking them to work close in takes a lot of effort, discipline and consistency on my part. It’s too early to tell how we will do in the field a year from now but I like what I see so far.


In another month or so we will begin serious obedience training exercises daily. Judging by her desire to please, Dottie may be my easiest subject so far. I can only hope.

Time will tell.

I can't wait to put her on live birds.
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Do You Feel The Lovie?

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Nope, just anodder heart attaaack my friend.


Suddenly I find myself in a serious Bear Fan funk. I don’t get it. WTF?

For a very short time (three weeks) I was drawn into a rapture with the thought that Jay Cutler was the real deal and his leadership would make the others play better. He looked so good at times especially during those late game rallies. He has the skills. He had the papers. He also had his multi-generational retirement plan set up last week with a contract that gave him an extension adding about $20 million in guaranteed money to the $30 million extension.

Cutler or not, the Bears best days may be years away unless drastic moves are made. Shuffling defensive and offensive line player positions isn’t going to cut it. Elevating second-tier players with the hope of finding a diamond in the trash is a crap-shoot even if Lovey claimed how deep they were (on defense) during the pre-season.

That Bears defense resembled a group of life-size cardboard cut-outs last weekend. On offense few elite running backs could find a hole to run through with that offensive line not to mention those costly turnovers.

Tonight on a dark, rainy train ride home from Chicago while reading the Sun-Times one local sports media guy had the guts to step up and write what I have known for the past few years. The problem with the Bears lies with head coach Lovie Smith.

Most local media sports pimps shy away from negative commentary when it comes to Bears management or ownership. They fear being cut out of the inside access food chain at the Bears Lake Forrest compound.

Chicago sportswriter and talk radio host Dan McNeil is a northwest Indiana native. He has been involved in Chicago sports talk radio since it’s inception. Dan worked for sportscaster Chet Coppock back when Chet was the only sports talk game in town.

From the published Dan McNeil article I read today in the Chicago Sun-Times:

“Barring Cutler, the Bears' business model is wallowing in the mire. Gone are high-round draft picks (for Cutler and Gaines Adams). They need at least three new beefcakes on the offensive line. Their secondary is dreadful. Kickers excepted, Lance Briggs is the only consistent high-level performer on the team. Smith's choices for assistants, including his stubborn defensive coordinator -- himself -- earn very low grades.”

Kick some ass, Dan!!!

This is the only internet information I could find on Dan tonight, then again my internet research efforts are generally short (yawn) lived.

What isn't mentioned is Dan graduated from Gavit high school in Hammond Indiana. He is a bit younger than I am but grew up within five miles of where I lived. I had the pleasure of being on a fishing weekend with him about fifteen years ago at the time when he earned his first prime-time Chicago sports radio program.

One of the Magician Lake regulars invited Dan up for one of the two traditional spring and fall Bass fishing weekends at my cousin’s lakeside cabin. Mike, who is a regular at these bi-annual events, went to school with Dan. Seems that Dan enjoys bass fishing. A dozen of us had a ball that weekend even if the weather sucked.

As I remember that trip the rain was falling with real gusto all weekend assisted by a stiff wind. I hate fishing in the rain. I do own the finest rainwear money can buy but that is only so I can stay dry on the speedy ride back to the cabin or public launch or sitting in a duck blind all day.

On this particular weekend years ago most of us (all Notre Dame fans) spent Saturday afternoon in the cabin in front of the hot fireplace watching Notre Dame football, talking crap and drinking after a soaking wet morning in the boats. Not the guys in Mike’s boat, no. Mike is as serious about his fishing time as they come. Mike, Dan and another of their high school buddies spent hours in the rain that afternoon fishing out of a fourteen foot jon-boat. Sheesh. When it finally got dark they returned…soaking…freaking…drenched.

They had no fish to bring to the table. None of us did that weekend. Bait and tackle shops exist because of guys like us.

The first thing Dan asked when he walked through the door of the crowded cabin dripping wet that evening was, “How did Michigan do today?” He’s a big Michigan fan. So, nobody’s perfect.

We mercilessly pelted him with lead split shot, empty beer cans and whatever debris was handy. Later in the evening he shared some bizarre Chet Coppock stories. Lots of laffs.

Dan is one of the few Chicago sports wags I have respect for. Any guy willing to spend a windy and rainy autumn day in a 14’ jon-boat when he could have been holding court near a dry lakeside cabin fireplace watching college football earns my respect. No matter how dumb that sounds.

If the Bears gag against Cleveland this weekend (don’t be surprised when that happens) maybe more media experts will jump on the dump Lovie bandwagon.

For now it’s just me and one Chicago sports wag named Dan. Neither of us feel the Lovie.

In all fairness you may read an opposing viewpoint here.

Feeling Young Again.

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But dressing up on Halloween is out of the question.

It has been crazy busy for me this month. Suddenly my free time is tight. A fat, juicy one-week on-site downtown Chicago contract dropped into my lap early in October and they soon offered to extend the contract.

Suddenly, I feel like Jay Cutler.


Look at it this way, when you encounter a face-down well-dressed passed-out drunk in a dark, Chicago River North alley with a fat wallet sticking out of his back pocket loaded with ca$h and nobody is looking what would YOU do? After all, it IS the Chicago way.

What I really wanted to comment on during some rare time-off is the Chicago Bears display of courage along with their strategic and tactical excellence last Sunday in Cincinnati led by Coach Lovey Smith. But I decided to spend my only free afternoon casually blowing leaves and mowing the lawn while comfortably riding on my little John Deere tractor sipping an icy gin & squirt in a plastic cup on one of those rare, sunny, seventy degree October days instead.

I missed out on most of the Chicago Bear action but my garage television was tuned in to the game. While stopping to refill my plastic cup I would check on the score. Bad idea. I stopped looking and just kept mowing.

A month-long string of rainy, gloomy days have been a real pain in the azz as well. It’s been rare driving to or from the commuter train on dry pavement. Departing and arriving home in the dark sucks as well, but the money is really, really good.

Did I mention feeling like Jay Cutler?
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Crazy Advertisement

I am certainly not an advertising expert and I guess one key to advertising is catching the eye of the passer-by. But I have no idea what they are trying to get across with this Aja steak house in Chicago but she appears to be an attractive woman covered in that green goop like in nickelodeon.

Billboards

Every so often we get all of our neighborhood billboards changed out. Had to have a laugh when I saw these two billboards - one for atheists and the other touting that heaven has bagels (or something to that effect).