My Chicago

Lincoln Park Zoo Lights

2009-12-14T16:38:00.002-06:00

Trish and I have been out to Lincoln Park Zoo to see the light show the have every winter. The show advertises over a million lights, and I think it delivers with flare. The park decorates just about every tree in the park with a Dr. Suess-esque color scheme which gives the zoo a magical glow. Just behind the caffateria they play the nutcracker suite on a loop with a light show that moves to the music. Not the most amazing thing ever, unless you're under ten.

It's time to move along people

2009-12-14T09:34:00.002-06:00

Well, once again the Bears have ended their season early. I won't even get into the dozen reasons that this was not going to be "the year". Time for plan B for my winter sports watching. A dozen or so years ago this very situation started my last romance with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Never having watched much basketball, it was the combination of bad football and championship basketball which got me into the sport. For years during the 1990s I retreated to basketball as the Bears entered football limbo. This system worked well for years. But, now both are bad and I have ventured out to a new sport for myself. This last week I've been watching the Blackhawks. This is a relatively new thing to be able to do. This is only the second year in the Rocky Wirtz era which brought us televised home games. I'm a little light on the rules but I am quickly picking up on things and am loving the sport. It doesn't hurt that this team is very good this year. They are young and quick and are really exciting to watch. Their scorers, Sharp, Kane and Hossa are amazing and they have great defensemen, too. Anyway, if you haven't watched a Hawks game, I'd dial one up when you can. At the very least it will give you a good plan B when the Bears tank their season.

If you haven't heard, there's a new home-buyer credit in town

2009-11-20T16:26:00.008-06:00

I was talking with my managing broker, Darlene this afternoon and we were discussing the new home buyer incentive program. I was a little interested to hear that it's been expanded to certain current home owners as well as first time buyers. I went looking for more information and came acrosss this article I liked. So, here is the clip, it's from the Wall Street Journal. I hope this helps anyone making a decision to make a move this year. I work with lending professionals at my office, so if you have any questions let me know.

"House shopping usually slows down in the winter, as people put their home searches on hold to trim the tree, buy presents to put under it and avoid the chilly weather.

This winter, however, might be different, thanks to the extended--and expanded--first-time home-buyer tax credit.

"We're going to see far more interest in the fourth quarter than we generally do because of the tax credit," said Heather Fernandez, vice president of Trulia.com, a real estate search engine. Traffic surged on the site on Nov. 5, the day Congress approved the credit extension, she said.

The new law extends the tax credit for first-time home buyers and opens it up to some existing homeowners as well: The credit is now 10% of the home price, up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and up to $6,500 for repeat buyers.

All buyers must have a binding contract on a house in place on or before April 30. The sale must close on or before June 30. "
By Amy Hoak
A DOW JONES COLUMN
Click here to see full article

Bulls are looking good

2009-11-18T14:17:00.005-06:00

I watched last nights Bulls-Kings game and the Bulls are impressing me so far in this young season. They got out to an early lead and never looked back. One thing that struck me is that the Bulls are playing defense!? They are looking more like an old school Eastern Conference team now then any time in the post-Jordan era.

Joakim Noah looks great and is leading the league in rebounds. His energy at the boards has made all the difference in the defensive attitude of this team this year.

On the offensive side of the ball. Everyone knows Rose should have a productive year at the point. I think the players everyone need to watch are Jannero Pargo and John Salmons. Without Ben Gordon the Bulls are going to be relying heavily on Salmons and Pargo to fill in the points lost with his departure. I think last nights game vs. the Kings showed how the offense can go if either or both of them can constantly make shots from the outside.

Anyways, I'm no sports analyst, but I do like how the Bulls are looking this year.

Experiences in Chinese Food

2009-11-09T13:50:00.012-06:00

Trish and I went to two different Chinese resturaunts this last week. First we went to our favorite neighborhood Chinese resturaunt Chang's on Elston Ave. Chang's looks a little run-down from the outside and the inside isn't really fancy, either. What it lacks in expensive appeal though it makes up for in a traditional albiet cheesy Chinese atmoshpere and really good and inexpensive food. As an example, Trish and I got hot tea, two egg rolls, one soup, and two entrees for $20!

Secondly we tried Triple Crown for Dim Sum in Chinatown. The place was really nice. Maybe I'm a sucker for mirrors and colorful blinking lights, too. The Dim Sum was great, we ordered all sorts of bbq beef rolls, wraps and dumplings. It was really filling and all very good. Triple Crown was right at the corner of Cermack, right where "Chinatown" starts.

Here's something you may not know

2009-11-02T18:37:00.005-06:00

I've always like the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" with Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. I always forget that Chicago was left with the greatest legacy to that history. The two lionesses that were said to have eaten 135 people are on display at the Field Museum. Apparently, the two were caught, killed, stuffed and shipped to the museum more then 80 years ago. A recently published study disputes the amount of people that the lions ate, saying that it was more likely around 35, but could be anywhere between 4 and 72. Got to love those scientist.

Downtown Thai on West Irving Park Road

2009-11-02T17:17:00.005-06:00

Trish and I went out right before Halloween and tried a new place in our neighborhood. When you drive up it looks like a decent place for being in a strip mall. Once you get inside though you feel like you walked into a River West restaurant. The food was good, I had a Pad Thai and Trish had the chief's choice sushi plate. The prices were totally reasonable. The music was smooth jazz which was nice and added to the feel of the place. I liked the place in general and glad to see a cool downtown-like place on the Northwest side.

Ipsento @ McLean & Western

2009-10-16T00:09:00.008-05:00

This afternoon my buddy Rich and I were out walking our dogs (Capt. America & Tinkerbell) and we stopped for something warm to drink before we let the dogs run around the park. We stopped by Ipsento on Western and McLean, which is a block North of Armitage. We got a couple of hot chocolates which were perfect for this cold rainy day. I noticed that they offer free coffee every Friday morning from 6:30 till 9:30. If you take the Blue Line at Western, or drive that way though Bucktown you should check this place out. I also found out that they have free wi-fi, too.

Hoagie Hut

2009-10-14T13:39:00.002-05:00

I just had lunch at the Hoagie Hut on Lincoln Avenue and Wrightwood. I gotta say I really enjoyed the Hot Ham Hoagie. The woman at the counter was very friendly and had a joke and a smile for everyone. Also of note, this place has parking, which on Lincoln Ave. is hard to find, and frankly one of the reasons I decided to stop and check them out.