Over the weekend, we got hammered with rain here in the Chicagoland area. About four years ago - when I lived in Des Plaines IL - I had the joyous opportunity of sandbagging around the perimeter of our condo before the big flood. On Saturday, we jumped in the Land Rover and headed to see what kind of shape our old place looked like (Des Plaines got over 7″ of rain on Saturday alone). I was completely shocked to see that there was much more water from the rain and the river than when we sandbagged.

Check out some of the pictures taken with my phone while we were in the old neighborhood.

More information: News article on the flood

This is by far my favorite time of the year. Penn State football, cooler weather, fall golf, and no more bees…what else can you ask for? It brings me great joy to see Joe Paterno on the sidelines every Saturday - he is truly an inspiration. I hate being hot so the cooler weather (50s-60s) is a treat for me. Fall golf is the best. The courses are in great condition, not as many people are golfing, the prices per round are cheaper, and I always play better with my 2 iron after September 1st. Not dealing with nasty bees is a dream come true because if you know me - you know I am not a bee fan at all. Good times!

If you ever need a gift for someone that is hard to buy for, check out Brookstone’s wireless home weather forecaster. This really cool instrument automatically locates itself geographically, then updates itself using radio signals so that you always have the latest weather report (thanks to accuweather.com). I recently bought one of these and it is really cool. It even has a great magnet back so it easy sticks on the refrigerator door.

I know it is generally cold here in the winter - and even though we had a nice break a few days ago, it is cold here, but man I was shocked to see my Mac Mini’s ambient temperature reporting:

So much for that temperature reporting application!

I just returned from a four day trip to FL to visit some family…and to play some golf - both which were enjoyable. I am not much of a warm weather person, but I did enjoy the break from the snow here in Chicago (the most we have seen here in ten years). I am hoping to now get caught up with work. I will note that having my iPhone with me on the trip was extremely key. Not only was I able to keep on top of most of my email, but it entertained Evan on the plane with the video iPod and photo browser capabilities without needing to open a laptop. On the golf front - I played extremely consistent and had a lot of great shots for not being out on the course since November. I feel like this is going to be the best golf year I have had in a long time if I can master my chipping! Watch out!

We got some super snow over the last few days and I am loving it! Yesterday we got so much snow it was a two time snowblower day which is always fun. This is by far the most snow I have ever seen here (Chicago) since moving from the Buffalo area and our streets are covered and it is getting difficult to look to the left and right when pulling out of neighborhood streets because of the big snow piles. The snow is so wet and heavy (with a good inch or so of slush under it all) that the snow blower was barely making it in some deep spots…but thank goodness we have one or I would have to abandon my car and only use the Land Rover until it melted because it is too heavy to shovel.

It was nice to be able to take a break mid-day and go out with Evan for a little bit. We took him outside in his snow suit and pulled him around in his sled which he liked (when we went fast). I look forward to when he is a little older and we can build snowmen and … [more]