Why I Oughta...

If you opened up that copy of the Chicago Tribune that landed on your driveway this morning you likely saw the big ad from the good folks at Google touting the new program called:   Good to Know .  Here's how it looks in print: You'll be seeing similar ads in the paper AND around town for the next few weeks that include tips that are consistent with Google's commitment to keep users safe online.   Keep an eye out for the ads at your bus stop and other outdoor places. Think of it as an education program for everyone on why things happen on the internet and what to watch out for in terms of bad guys. I'm proud of Google for going rolling this out.  Good for users.  Good for Google. *disclaimer:  You guys know that I work at Google, right?  I didn't work on this campaign, though.

Earlier this year, we bought these Aqua Globes for the ferns that we keep on our front porch.  We were going on a trip of some sort and I was afraid they were going to dry out totally, so this seemed like a short-term solution.  They worked, in that they kept the ferns from totally dying. After the ferns came down, these globes came inside.  I've since plugged them into the pots of our Asparagus Ferns to keep them alive during these dry winter months.  So far, so good.  They drip out water in very small quantities, so I'm not sure they're adequate as the sole watering mechanism, but as a supplemental technique, I'd recommend them.  You'll still have to water your plants every once in a while, but these globes will make that job less of a hard requirement.

Over the weekend, we had some folks over for a pizza party.  I wanted to refine and perfect my Grandma Pizza recipe so I needed a crowd in order to make more than one skin. Unfortunately, the first two didn't turn out as well as I'd have liked.  Not sure exactly what went wrong, but while the tops browned up, the bottom didn't get crisp enough.  Here's what the top looked like: Just about perfect.  But the bottom?  It was limp and soggy.  Not crisp.  Guess I'll have to go back to the drawing board and re-work the recipe.  Who's up for a pizza party this weekend?

We were trolling Craigslist for a new Maclaren stroller after ours broke today when we found this Creep in the 'baby & kid stuff' section.   In between a post selling a collection of legos and a post listing board games. Just a friendly reminder: Be careful out there on the internets, guys.

Recently, I was stuck at a grade-level crossing in Elmhurst when I this odd train passed: it was a commuter train, but was badged by the MTA - Metro North Railroad.   That's New York City ?!?! Strange seeing it on the Union Pacific West line in suburban Chicago, that's for sure.  I'm guessing that this *must* be a new train that is being driven across country to be put in service?

It was just back a few months in August that the construction fences went up and I expected the old bungalow that was on the lot to be torn down.  Fast forward to this week, and this big house is going up fast.  They have the framing done and the roofers arrived to get started. They've made (in my mind) a mistake by putting the garage up front, but I'm not the guy buying the place.  We have an alley on our street and there's a lot of ways that you can improve the curb appeal by getting rid of that garage that takes up more than 50% of the view from the street. The listing has it at $899,900 with 4 bedrooms, 5 baths and 3700 square feet.  Nice house.  But, not my style.

For Christmas this year, I was gifted the Rockwell Sonicrafter - which is billed as one of the "most versatile and effective power tools on the market".  It is a multi-purpose tool that is a step-up in terms of power and functionality from a Dremel.  I've pulled out my Dremel from time to time, so I can understand the usefulness of this thing.  In fact, Nat has a big project made out of PVC pipe that we have to work on and I think the Sonicrafter will make short work of the cuts. I'm starting to amass a nice set of tools, but after the basement construction, I lost most of my work space and storage.  I was planning on doing it out in the crawlspace, but it is so chocked full of our stuff, there isn't a lot of room to operate.  Looks like I may end up out in the garage for now.  My plans call for putting a second story on our garage, but that's a big project and will have to wait until I get everything done in the basement.  Until then, my tools will kind