I don’t care if you’re in a movie theater, at the office, or on a busy sidewalk, the ring (or ringtone) of a cell phone will never blend in with the other noises of everyday life (cars, computer keyboards, crying babies). My cell phone is always on vibrate, but if the phone is in my [...]
Filed under: Inventions, Offbeat, Tech | 2 Comments »
Deb and I dined with friends Friday night at Escobar’s. Along with Seven Saints, it’s probably the big ‘buzz’ establishment right now. Since I’m not a professional (or even amateur) food/restaurant critic, here’s my simple review…
Food: A
Atmosphere: B
Service: B
Value: A
… The atmosphere — tile floors, stucco walls, and high ceilings — made it a bit [...]
Filed under: Food/Dining | 2 Comments »
Since this ain’t a tech blog, I’ll keep this brief. By now you’re probably using Gmail. It’s fast, has a good spam filter, and offers nearly 3GB of storage. And now Gmail lets you send/store files up to 20MB in size. That’s nice. A lot of people use Gmail not only for email but also [...]
Filed under: Email, Google | No Comments »
Some athletes are stand-up guys after all. From the News-Gazette:
University of Illinois basketball player Jamar Smith will be in the Champaign County jail for the next two weeks after pleading guilty this afternoon to felony driving under the influence of alcohol. The 20-year-old guard from Peoria will also serve two years on probation in connection [...]
Filed under: News, News commentary, Sports | No Comments »
On Wednesday’s show we talked about gas prices, specifically how Champaign-Urbana gas station owners aren’t helping themselves. Owners claim they’re not making money on gas, yet where one station is charging $3.24 a gallon, another just blocks away is charging $3.48. So is the guy charging $3.24 losing 24 cents a gallon, or is [...]
Filed under: Business, Marketing | No Comments »
I’ve owned a total of five laptops in my life but by far my ThinkPad T41p has been the best. Like a BMW or Mercedes (neither of which I own, both of which I’ve driven) it’s the fit, finish and support after the sale that keep ThinkPad owners coming back. I know I’ll keep buying [...]
Filed under: Business, Computers | 2 Comments »
So Big Oil went before lawmakers on Wednesday to defend high gas prices. Essentially Big Oil said it’s not their fault prices are high… they’re not holding back supplies… it’s just coincidence gas prices are up as we head into summer… etc., etc. I love what author and columnist Stanley Bing has to say:
See, for [...]
Filed under: Money, News | No Comments »
From today’s News-Gazette:
Several downtown Champaign bars will remain smoke-free regardless of whether the city council repeals the smoking ban for bars and clubs this week. Carlos Nieto, who owns six downtown bars, and Jon “Cody” Sokolski, who co-owns Boltini Lounge, 211 N. Neil St., both say they will continue to ban smoking inside their bars. [...]
Filed under: Business, Champaign-Urbana, Smoking ban | 2 Comments »
“Where do you start?”
That’s what one Greensburg, Kansas, official told a reporter the day after an F5 tornado demolished the town. On May 4, 2007, 95% of Greensburg was blown apart by a mile-and-a-half wide twister. (Greensburg is roughly the size of Fisher, Illinois, and is — or was — home to 1,574 people in [...]
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Up until a couple of years ago I never would have thought I could run a half-marathon, or even a marathon. Now I’ve knocked out three — the Mahomet Area Youth Club half, the Chicago Marathon and, over the weekend, the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. And, somehow, in the middle of 35,000 runners I ran into a [...]
Filed under: Running, Sports | No Comments »
I’d rather not start another debate about the local (and soon-to-be state) smoking ban. Rather, I thought I’d share what I found on Wikipedia while doing research for the show:
In the first 18 months after the town of Pueblo, Colorado enacted a smoking ban in 2003, hospital admissions for heart attacks dropped 27%. Admissions in [...]
Filed under: News, Smoking ban | 2 Comments »
My friend Lynn works for United Way of Champaign County and emails me regular updates on volunteer opportunities. Even if you have just an hour a week, the latest UW brochure (PDF) has something for you.
Filed under: Champaign-Urbana | No Comments »
This Friday, the CBS Evening News will feature a story on Tuscola’s Flesor’s Candy Kitchen. Flesor’s was one one of three “Assignment America” features viewers could vote for over the weekend. (The story with the most votes each week makes it to air the following week.)
Via the News-Gazette:
The story of Flesor’s goes back to 1901 [...]
Filed under: Champaign-Urbana, News | No Comments »
