Drink local part deux

Anchor steam. SFO. Why come all the way here for a Corona?



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SFO

Solar panels everywhere at San Francisco airport. Only wish we had better weather.


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Green living of different sorts

In the Bay area for work and noticed this at the train station. BTW, love taking trains in different cities. Really get a feel for the City that way.


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Beer bottle chandelier by Wrap Architecture at Revolution Brewing. Now that's recycling.


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Commuting in Chicago

Every year, I'm amazed to see Chicago listed as one of the worst cities for commuting in the U.S. It's right up there with LA. I really think we need to improve our public transportation system to ease the congestion and to encourage less dependence on cars. Thanks to being a block away from the Blue Line, there are weeks when I don't even touch my car. I wish I had the will power to bike to work but I'm too lazy to start that now.

Recycling

Recycling at the office.


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Local Wines?

I'd drink local wines too if anybody around Chicago could churn out amazing Zinfandels like Larry Turley.


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Ski Local

Skiing in Geneva, Wisconsin. Not exactly Colorado or Vermont but fun nonetheless.

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In Wisconsin for the Weekend

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. "Drink Local." Enjoying a nice Spotted Cow right now.

"Logan Square Is The Shit Right Now."

Can one restaurant change a neighborhood? Probably not, but there is so much buzz about our newest addition to the neighborhood, Revolution Brewing, that one has to wonder.

There's no doubt that it instantly raises the profile of a neighborhood. Here's just a snapshot of the chatter over the weekend from the Internet. "Logan square is the shit right now." "Logan Square becoming a destination instead of an after thought?" "So many new bars! I'll soon be priced out of Logan Square." "Hip and a little upscale, which seems to be the way the area around here is going, whether you or anyone likes it or not." With $3 million+ invested into the brewery, it definitely signals to the community that this is the real deal.

And here's the most interesting part. I think the opening of a place like the Revolution helps other local businesses and home owners by attracting more people into the area. Case in point. Metromix published where to go "while you're waiting for a table at the Revolution" So instead of taking people away from places like Cole's, it actually helps bring more people into them. And as for home owners, the opening of a place like Revolution makes more people want to live in the area, which in turn increases demand for housing, which in turn stabilizes value.

Strange Deja Vu at the Wit

What does the Wit, "modern," "urbane," and "hippest" hotel in Chicago and our home have in common? Why, the toilet, of course: the Toto Aquia Dual Flush toilet. Mary and I were celebrating our anniversary at the Wit and we found a familiar sight in the bathroom. I didn't know whether to be weirded out that I recognized the toilet or be happy that we didn't have to hire some high-priced interior designer to recognize good design. We have 5 of them in our house.

Update on Radiant Heat

I previously wrote a pretty cathartic stream-of-the conscience post about how angry I was that radiant heat wasn't finished. Well, I'm frankly a little embarrassed by how vindictive I sounded (now that I've had time to reflect on things) and by how I've pretty much confirmed the general perception of lawyers everywhere (I'll sue them!!). But in honesty, building a home can bring out the best and worst in you. I've written effusively about how much I love, love, love this home but after being patient about certain things for so long, you feel like on principle, they should be done. I do feel better now that I've had that outburst.

Anyway, we've had a little intervention by our architects last Friday and our HVAC contractor has agreed to take care of the issue ASAP. They've even agreed to use the high-efficiency Noritz model that our architects recommended. Yes, that's more like it! Let's see some follow-through this time, though. Will we have our warm basement floors before the end of winter? Before summer? Ever? Hmm.

Why Is He Afraid Of The Curtains?

Lately, our son Josh has been waking up in the morning--somewhat panicking, crying and pointing to the curtains. It's really a bizarre sight. He stands up straight in his crib, fingers pointed directly at the curtains, and half crying and half mumbling something about curtains.

When I go to get him, I usually ask him, "What is it?" And he says, "Daddy, curtains!" He seems genuinely afraid of them or something behind them. Or in them? I usually let him touch the curtains and open them to show him that there's nothing there. But it's been like this every morning for the last 2 weeks.

I've never seen anything so weird in my life... I can see how he could be afraid of the closet (after seeing the Pixar movie Monsters so many times) or under his crib but curtains?? Maybe this is just some passing thing. Or is our house haunted by some curtain ghost? E-mail me if you have any theories....

Eco-Friendly Living? By Brewing Beer?

So I'm afraid I've been thinking. A dangerous pasttime... I know. What good is having an eco-friendly home if I waste others' resources and don't even try to live an eco-friendly life. We recycle and try to conserve water and electricity whenever we can, but is there more I can do?

Then it hit me with the soon-to-be opening of Revolution Brewing. [Update: Revolution Brewing will open its doors tomorrow, February 3, 2010!] Why not try to brew my own beer?? So I went out and bought the easiest kit possible with some premade brew varieties ready for making. The thinking here is that brewing my own beer will not only save money but it will also conserve the world's resources. My home brewing kit is reusable and I get about 20 bottles worth of beer from each batch. Hey, I'm not crazy--at least one person agrees with me.

This will take me about 2 months to get my first batch of beers, so if I end up hating it and throwing everything away, then this would have been a giant waste. But methinks this will end up ok. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

What's with some subcontractors not finishing their jobs?

Seriously, what's up with some subcontractors just not finishing their jobs? It's ridiculous. We've for the most part had a good experience with our subcontractors, but our electrician walked off his job (a complete ass) and our HVAC contractor still hasn't hooked up our radiant heat... and winter's more than halfway over!!

Normally, I'd leave this sort of thing to the general contractor (and I have been), because it's his responsibility to go after his subcontractors, but I know that he's been trying. Perhaps not as aggressively as I'd like him to, but then again, I have some pretty unrealistic expectations on that front because what I do for a living. (Two bad ones out of dozens isn't so bad.)

Anyway, our HVAC subcontractor has really been pissing me off. All they need to do is to hook up a stupid $1,000-$2,000 direct vent water heater and make sure it complies with code. Then they're finished. They've already been paid more than $50,000 for the rest of their work so why won't they finish this one last bit? It's just so contrary to everything I know about what good businesses do. Finish your work and make sure the customers are satisfied. Don't ignore them.

If this doesn't get resolved soon, I might be forced to report them to the BBB, file a complaint with the Illinois AG, and file a lawsuit. A $329 filing fee for a lawsuit is a small price for me to pay. They'll be wishing they'd finished long before I even got a little annoyed.

[Note: For updates on what happened, see here (where I get embarassed about my rant) and here (where I'm happy that it's all been finished).]