What are some road trip ideas starting from the Chicago area for 10 days?
You can go pretty far in 300 miles, but how long do you really want to be in the car each day versus actually seeing/doing stuff? (A 4-year-old kid will not tolerate excessive distances in the car without occasional stops.)Here’s some road trips I’ve done from Chicago, all in 10 days or less depending on distance/things seen.Chicago -> Kalamazoo -> Detroit (Ford Museum) -> Stratford, Ontario (Stratford Festival) -> Toronto -> Niagra Falls -> Buffalo > Cleveland -> ChicagoAround Lake Michigan: Chicago -> Holland/Muskegon -> Traverse City (Sleeping Bear Dunes) -> Mackinac Island -> Upper Peninsula (Pictured Rocks Nat'l Lakeshore) -> Green Bay and/or Door County -> Milwaukee -> ChicagoChicago -> Rockford -> Madison -> followed Mississippi up to Minneapolis/St. Paul -> Eau Claire -> Wisconsin Dells -> Milwaukee -> ChicagoChicago -> Route 66 -> Springfield, IL -> St. Louis -> Hannibal, MO -> ChicagoChicago -> Indianapolis -> Louisville -> Bourbon country -> Bowling Green -> Nashville -> Memphis -> Cape Girardeau -> St. Louis -> Springfield, IL -> ChicagoChicago -> Columbus -> Indianapolis -> ChicagoChicago -> Pittsburgh -> ChicagoChicago -> Milwaukee -> Door County -> Wisconsin Dells -> Madison -> Chicago
What are the best burgers in Chicago?
Kumas Corner - If you have 2 hours to wait to get inside, and dont mind heavy metal music blasting non-stop while you eat.DMK Burger - burgers are not as big as Kuma's but definitely a shorter wait time to get a table, and comparable in quality.Square Bar and Grill - Near Kuma's, and similar quality without the wait, you can even get 2 grilled cheese sandwiches as the bun for a burger if you don't care about your waist size. Flub A Dub Chub's - Affordable, but inside sitting area is small, good for takeoutEpic Burger - wide variety of ingredients for made to order burger.mBurger- I believe all are located downtown, good fast food alternative, milk shakes are delicious
Why is Chicago and Illinois so broke?
There are two separate issues going on in Illinois' current budget woes: lack of assets and current-account deficit.The state used to keep an AWFUL lot of its money invested in areas claimed to both be "safe" and to bring significant interest -- so when the sub-prime mortgage market turned out to be made of junk and not safe investments, in the housing crash, Illinois lost the vast majority of its reserve money. That money is now gone, and cannot be used for anything. This includes money supposedly "set aside" for pensions, money from bond issues, and so on. Evaporated.This makes much worse the problem that if you look at the state's aggregated income and its financial obligations by way of outgo, they don't match up: it needs to spend a lot more money each year than it gets from its various revenue sources.If they had investments, they could draw them down to cover across economic rough spots, but they don't -- it evaporated. And so now they are stuck with either increasing the income or reducing the outgo.Unfortunately, the outgo has already been cut and cut for years, so now Governor Rauner wants to do things that are effectively defaulting on obligations: throwing away the contracted pensions for state employees (agreed upon decades ago and relied upon by the employees because if you work for the State of Illinois you have NO eligibility for federal Social Security for that income), cutting infrastructure investment past the bone, reducing services and supports for the very neediest, and so on.For obvious reasons, many state legislators are against this, and therefore Illinois has had no budget at all since basically Rauner's election. The state has been refusing to write checks to all the places the state usually pays funds to on a monthly basis -- the Chicago Public Schools, for example, have gotten zero state money this school year and therefore are running on something like five days' cash reserve (hence the possible necessity of mid-school-year catastrophic teacher layoffs). And on and on.Rauner absolutely refuses to consider increasing the income side of the equation, and most people with a working sense of empathy refuse to endorse the cuts to spending he wants, there's no investment cushion, and therefore we are stuck.
Can you make a convertible from a normal car?
Yes, but it is not a simple matter of chopping off the roof, which is of course is part of the project. Cars are designed with strength integrated into the design of the whole car. Removing the upper door frames very seriously impacts side and longitudinal strength. Convertibles tend to be heavier than sedans because a lot of strengthening has to be added firstly to the chassis and secondly to prevent side impact injuries where a lot of extra weight in new cars is found.Once you’ve finished the project, then the fun really starts as to trying to licence the vehicle. Depending on where you live depends on how tough the authorities will be. Some authorities demand a replica for crash test testing!. Minimum is that you’ll need comprehensive engineering certificates on design, build and quality .
What is the average day for a student at University of Illinois at Chicago?
Studied Architecture at UIC from 1980-1985.Bad:1. No windows in the architecture building. Ironic no? Studio time was from 1-6PM on M-W-F so it was not unheard of spending 7 staright hour inside this "building". In the winter 6"-12" of snow can fall during this time and what a shock it is to step outside after a blizzard and be totally unaware. Then try walking to parking lot 1A four blocka away carrying drawing supplies and several sheets of foam core board.2. Some classes with one instructor and 200 students held in an huge lecture hall.3. In my day the concrete walkways were still there. They made walking below them in the winter an eternal darkness. In the winter walking on top was impossible when it snowed. Did I mentioned they leaked. Due to poor design and no understanding by the architects / engineers of how a cantilever works the middle seam between walkway floor slabs always opened and leaked. Walking underneath while the snow melted on a bright sunny day caused students to carry umbrellas or stay out from underneath the cavernous walkways.4. Moderately dangerous surrounding neighborhoods. Every now and then reports of some deranged person swinging a hammer and the like. Never encounterd much danger though.5. It was a commuter school yet I practically lived in the studio during projects.6. Hard surfaces and poor ergonomic design. The entire campus is a study in hard surfaces. Concrete block, poured concrete, masonry and steel predominate. What few windows that exist are unoperable and tall and thin in nature. Humans prefer horizontal slots for viewing. The windows here are designed for cyclops.Good:1. Great teachers, at least in architecture. Most were practicing architects.2. Quick access to downtown. Great if your studing architecture. Invaluable resource!3. Back then it was on trimester system. Each trimester was 10 weeks. I learned a human can endure most anything for 10 weeks. 4. Lots of time off in between trimesters.5. Lots of great food nearby. Greek town, Italian Village and downtown. Staples included Al's Beef, Fontano's Subs, Halstead pork chop sandwiches and sausage, Manny's Deli and gyros at Greak Town.Overall it was a great education and outweighed the bad.
What is the best vacation you've ever had?
I was lucky enough to have parents that were very passionate about travel, and saved constantly to do so. My favorite vacation was when we went to Salzburg, Austria. The best thing about it was that it's totally walkable (especially the center) and it looks like a storybook (at least to me). It see such a city as a young girl really made an impression on me. I realized that not only can people live differently, but it can also be wonderful. Sure, you don't know how someone lives while one vacation, but you can see it. Something feels a bit different but you're not sure how different it really is. (Am I just noticing something because I'm on vacation and im trying to notice things? Am I just in a very different setting from my own city, but maybe if lived in another city in my country the difference wouldn't feel so great?)Everything sparked my interest.The idea that you can get around by walking and see most of the city boggled my mind. Walking up stairs between two buildings to get a monistary… it was like something out of a book. I remember walking from the hotel and seeing the castle on the hill as I walked toward the center. I felt like racing toward it. The walking through the little streets, and going to Christmas markets and eating huge baked potatoes, watching old men playing chess on a life sized board, waiting in line for Christmas mass. It was so fun and relaxing, and simply just exciting to something I wouldn't have seen at home. Even now I love the taste of red cabbage and apples, and I can still say parts of the mass in German (and at least the beginning of silent night). It really inspired me to look outside myself and my own city, and to appreciate the German language.My family and I went back a few times over the years. I never felt at home the way some people do when they visit a place frequently but I always feel comfortable there, and Austria has never lost its charm.
What is the Muslim position on Evolution and Creation?
The criticisms of the Jews in the Quran resulted in the persecution of Jews in Muslim lands--often slavery, deportation, land expropriation, and massacres, resulting from the permanent, uniquely Islamic institutions of jihad and dhimmitude. They had to wear on their clothes the image of an ape. Specifically, the 9th century Tunisian Qadi, Ahmed b. Talib compelled the dhimmi Jews to wear upon their shoulder a patch of white cloth (riqa') that bore the image of an ape, [the Christians were required to wear the image of a pig], and to nail onto their doors a board bearing the sign of a monkey. Apes are mentioned in Judaic texts, but zoomorphic signs were never imposed in the Jewish kingdoms, as was done for Jews and Christians in Islamic lands. Hence the actual implementation of such discriminatory zoomorphic badges is particular to Islam, and the reasons for this must be examined independently, and honestly, without any reference to Judaism. Jihadists today invoke the Quran to justify the worst terrorist crimes. Throat slitting of infidels is mentioned in the Quran. Al-Mawardi (d. 1058), the prominent 11th century jurist quoted this verse, specifically, « When you encounter those who deny (the Truth) then strike (their) necks. » (Quran 47 :4), in his learned discussion of jihad. This ritual execution is also mentioned in other Muslim legal texts and in narratives of Christian and prominent Muslim historians. Today it is performed against infidels and recorded on videotape for the edification of Muslim audiences. When the average pious Muslim reads a verse like 2:132 (“And this was the legacy that Abraham left to his sons, and so did Jacob; ‘Oh my sons! Allah hath chosen the Faith for you; then die not except in the Faith of Islam’”) or 3:67 (“Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in Faith, and bowed his will to Allah’ (which is Islam), and he joined not gods with Allah”), he understands what so many imams tell him: that the true Jews and Christians of today are the Muslims, and the people who go by those names are renegades and rebels against God. This is of course nonsense.
What are the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago?
I’m assuming that you don’t want recommendations for sights, since you only want to know where you shouldn’t be.Listen, Chicago is huge. The entire population of Montana moves in and out of the city during the week to do business.Okay, well maybe I made that up but it’s something like 1 million people.Most of Chicago is fine, it’s reputation is not deserved.[1] as long as you aren’t a tourist waving a gun or running drugs, or beating your children or being a massive racist to people.[2] All of downtown is fine. All of the neighborhoods on the lake are fine.As a tourist, I doubt you will go to Englewood. Or the west side, or near the southside[3]. As a tourist, you won’t really have much time to do anything besides enjoy downtown, the museums, blues bars, drinking, etc.I can say truthfully though that Chicago is home to some of the most welcoming, sweet people ever, in every neighborhood no matter the homicide rate. I have PTSD from a previous assault, and I keep watch of stuff like this closely. On the list of places I have ever felt threatened in, Chicago is not near the top by a long shot. People here are friendly, helpful and generally interesting; if you have a hobby or anything you want to do, you can find it here. Put a smile on your face, dress in your city dress and be accepting of everyone around you and you will have a fucking good time.The propaganda that Chicago is a murderous hellscape is just that: propaganda. While Chicago clearly has a problem with racisim and few bad neighborhoods, it’s just like in any large American city.Footnotes[1] Is Chicago Really America's Most Dangerous City? [Infographic][2] Old Head Beats Up Racist Man On The Chicago Train After Being Called The N-Word![3] Screenshot 2018-05-25 22.42.15.png
What's the fastest that you've ever driven one of yours cars and where was it?
Early youth, Mazda RX-7 on I-74 between Cincinnati and Indianapolis, possibly the most boring stretch of road outside of Kansas. Car accelerated great to about 95, then took a while to get to 110; the last twenty was excruciating.Then one day, having it serviced at the dealership one of the sales guys was asking what I thought of the car. Loved that car. Loved the rotary engine, but let him know about the lack of umph over 100. He said “wait right here”. He pulled a BMW 540 around and told me to take it for a test ride. Wow just Wow. Got that up to 110 on the on ramp, but ran out of room. Too much traffic to push any further. Needless to say my next car was a BMW. 140 MPH several times in different places.Then we moved to London where outside the city the give them 10 take them at 11 felt more like give them 29, take them at triple digits. That car was a Volvo 740. Never really tried to push that past 100. Took the family to Oktoberfest in Munich. I had a good German friend living in Munich at the time. At the rental car stand the agent asks “Vat kind of kar vould you like”. BMW of course. My wife objects “ We don’t need a BMW. Yes we do. Anyway, we were following my friend in his BMW when he took off. The rental had a governor and maxed out at 150. Eventually had to have wife call friend and ask him to slow down. There was no way for us to catch up.Moved back to the states and found a great deal on a 750 iL. That car was not only smooth, but had the muscle when I needed it. Never really pushed that one either, but at 140 there was plenty left.
---- Rounders--?
Polly was one great allrounder, for sure. You don't judge players just with their stats. You have to consider the contribution one made to the team, how important was that and in what circumstances. Shaun Pollock's contribution to the team cannot be discounted by any means. He was a bowler par excellence, bit underperformed with the bat. But he had played important knocks at crucial junctures of a match many a times in his career. Why he is not mentioned as an allrounder? Maybe he was a much better bowler than an average allrounder. He was impeccably accurate with his line & length. And most of his batting had come at the top of the tail. That is, after all the proper batsmen had come & gone. He was considered more like a bowler who could bat than a batsman itself. He was too good a bowler, and his exploits with the bat went unnoticed in the long run.