Autumn.
Nearly Halloween. 🎃
This three minute video recap of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission highlights so many incredible achievements.
Ten minutes with items from the recycling bin and I made a DIY “ramp” to place in our mail slot! Envelopes kept getting mangled and jammed when they caught on the bottom edge as our mail carrier shoved them through. Even worse, it left the mail slot open with winter air streaming in! Fixed!
Mazie and her Cousin Nora wanted to bake this afternoon so they both decided to do something ad hoc featuring Nutella. Both were very tasty treats. 🤤
Tammy and I made another four dozen Things 4 Good candles for next weekend’s fundraiser!
Having this frustrating issue with iOS 18.0.1 on my new iPhone 16 Pro where it refuses to connect to any Bluetooth devices — even my Apple Watch. A reboot of the phone solves it. Particularly annoying when this is the key for my car!
My Mom and I made our way to St. Olaf tonight to see Mazie perform in the Chapel Choir tonight. It was great performance titled I Want to Go Home: Reflections on Where We Are, Where We’ve Been, and Where We’re Going.
Money and Elections
In 2010 Citizens United.
The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other associations.
14 years later…
Elon Musk said that swing-state voters who sign a petition “in support of the constitution” will be entered into a lottery with a daily prize of $1m. The Trump-supporting billionaire previously promised $47 to anyone who convinced a swing-state voter to sign. The legality of the move is unclear. Seeking to “induce or reward” voters for “engaging” in acts “necessary to cast a ballot” is illegal. — The Economist, Oct 21 2024
Sometimes it feels like we are on a straight line to just buying votes.
Tammy and I made our first batch of candles for the Things 4 Good 2024 Candle Fundraiser! Tonight we poured Just Crackle and Winter Wonderland and drained 8 gallons of wax. 🕯️
We saw Mike Birbiglia‘s newest performance The Good Life at the State Theater tonight. He is an incredible performer — so many laughs.
Our trip to Chicago for MEA was all electric in the Tesla Model Y. We’ve not done that many road trips using the Supercharger network and it worked great. The worst charger was the one on North Columbus in downtown Chicago, and the best was in Waukegan.
Chicago MEA Trip Log
Thursday
- Depart at 6:12a
- Charge at Mauston.
- Charge in Janesville, walk to Culver’s that was closed
- Lunch at Culver’s in Janesville
- Arrived in Chicago
- Go to Museum of Science & Industry
- Charge at North Columbus parking ramp in Chicago.
- Tammy, Tyler check into L7
- Jamie navigates lower level roads and finally gets to hotel.
- Dinner at Perellia
- Walked to Palmer House and realized we were at wrong place.
- Walked to Magic Parlour
- Great Magic Show
- Walk back to hotel
Friday
- Drive to Arlington Heights
- breakfast with CJ at Scratchboard Kitchen
- Charge at Waukegan by a large casino
- Drive to Gurnee
- Tyler and Jamie do Extreme Flight simulation, while Tammy explores mall
- Ice cream at Scoops & Kettle in Gurnee Mall. This Just Got Serious. Chocolate Shoppe ice cream
- 60 to Escape. Mystery Mansion.
- Attempted to go to Botanical Gardens. Denied!
- Early dinner at Prairie Grass Cafe.
- Decide last minute to go to a movie — mad dash to get there just as the movie starts!
- Return to Prairie Grass Cafe to pick up Tyler’s coat that we forgot while rushing to get to the movie.
- Return to L7 Hotel for the night.
Saturday
- Breakfast at Wildberry in Downtown Chicago.
- Visit “The Bean”
- Walk over to Buckingham Fountain, and return 20 minutes later to see the major display.
- Check out Abraham Lincoln statue in Grant Park.
- Visit the Art Institute of Chicago.
- Walk to Bike Rental place, but decide to instead rent Lyft bikes instead.
- Ride Lyft Bikes to Soloway Coffee in Lincoln Park.
- Explore Oz Park after dropping off bikes.
- Go to Soloway Coffee for great cappuccino and Kyiv cake.
- Walk from Soloway Coffee to the Magnificent Mile, then walk the Magnificent Mile to the Architectural Boat Tour.
- Take Architectural Boat Tour.
- Dinner at Lou Malnati’s.
- Back to the hotel to rest and turn in.
Sunday
- Up early to drive back home.
- Charge in Janesville.
- Charge in Black River Falls while having lunch at Culver’s.
- Arrive home.
Chicago skyline.
The L crossing the river in Chicago.
Tammy had read about Soloway Coffee, a Ukrainian owned coffee shop in Chicago, and we rented some bikes and rode to the Lincoln Park neighborhood to try it out. They had Kyiv Cake, which I had never had, and it was great. They had Napolean Cake but the person in front of us bought he last slice!
While making our way to a coffee shop in Lincoln Park we ran across Oz Park in Chicago. It was a fun discovery. We didn’t have time to find the Lion though.
We visited the Art Institute of Chicago specifically to see one of the original Great Wave pieces that they have there. The Great Wave is one of Tyler’s favorite pieces of art. We also checked out the contemporary and modern galleries.
