Tuesday, 2007-05-01
o'hare station
My new favorite place that I've never been is CTA's O'Hare Station on the Blue Line in Chicago, Illinois.
If ever I'm at at the O'Hare International Airport in the future, even if only for a layover, I'll make sure to check the place out. Hopefully reality will do my imagination justice.
Photo by Tom Harpel on Flickr.
Sunday, 2006-10-01
buying tickets to the red river shootout
Last year I queried HornFans and craigslist for ticket buying advice for the annual Red River Shootout. I hadn't missed the Texas/Oklahoma game the previous four outings (since freshman year 2001) and wasn't going to last year either.
As craigslist doesn't preserve postings, I figured the advice I gathered might be helpful to others in this situation. So I'm updating my notes and offering them below.
Everyone who responded that had attempted to buy tickets around the State Fair in the past were successful. I kind of expected this response, though, based on what I already knew about the process. Some pointers I received:
- Ask everyone you see in Dallas and along the way if they have tickets to sell. Talk to fans in gas stations as you drive in, at your hotel, etc.
- Fans with extra tickets who want to see the game would rather take a hit on the tickets (i.e. sell them less than they are going for on craigslist or eBay) than end up stuck with them. With that in mind, someone already inside the fairgrounds should be especially ready to negotiate.
- Two different frames of mind about where to buy the tickets: some said buy them outside the fair, still others said inside. If you attempt the second, entrance to the fair (day of) for adults is $13 (as of this posting). Factor this into your decision-making.
- Tickets drop in price as game time approaches. If you can stand to miss kick-off you might be able to score a good deal.
- I've heard of people who have handed money to folks at the gate — in lieu of a ticket — now and ever since arriving at The University of Texas five years ago. Not going to condone this option, but to each his/her own.
- From what I know of Dallas law (not much) it's illegal to sell tickets unless you work for a company that sells tickets in the city. As a buyer you should be okay.
No matter what, there is the risk that you may go to Dallas and end up empty handed. But that risk, according to responses received, does seem rather low.
This year, I'm already off to a better start with one ticket secured (three left to go). But I'm still short the tickets needed — as I imagine will be the case many more times in the future.
Tuesday, 2006-08-22
my letter to the austin city council on the helmet ordinance
Council Members,
I commute to work on my bicycle every day. Although my current workplace is only around three miles from my apartment in central Austin, my last job was over twenty miles away in north Austin. I biked to that job every day as well; and I will commute by bike wherever else my employment takes me in the future.
I always wear my helmet when biking, but I do not support a mandatory helmet law. My fiancée doesn't commute to work by bike, but she is willing to ride with me around the neighborhood. Even though I'd like her to wear a helmet at all times, she refuses to — even though she owns one. You may ask why I don't support a helmet law, then? It's quite simple, really: I'd much rather have her bike some than not bike at all. (She has told me that if she were forced to wear a helmet, she wouldn't bike. Period.)
As a transportation cyclist, I understand the reasons people choose not to wear a helmet. It's cumbersome to carry a helmet around all day. Helmets are uncomfortable, especially in the Texas heat. And it may seem superficial, but based on my appearance at meetings at work in the morning, I know that helmet-head is more than just a minor annoyance.
In addition to the above-mentioned inconveniences, helmets are not a magical solution for safety. But they are treated by many as such. In other words, safety on the road requires more than a piece of foam on our heads.
Research shows that helmet usage is up — without an adult helmet law on the books. Why add an additional hindrance to cycling, then, for those who choose to ride without a helmet for personal reasons? If we want biking to become safe in this city, we need to invest in solutions which make biking a more viable option, such as improved infrastructure and education/awareness. Not on a helmet law that no cycling organization in Austin has yet to support.
Jonathan Horak
Saturday, 2006-05-27
iced tea
I'm a packrat. And I've moved ten times since settling in Austin for University. Among all of my repeatedly lugged and unused goods are two bulk boxes of iced tea bags — the proper kind, meant for brewing — which I've held on to since quite possibly freshman year. One package remains unopened.
Yesterday, I risked personal health and decided to give the tea a try. What does tea stored for multiple years taste like?
Strong.
I consider myself an iced tea connoisseur, if there is such a thing, having been practically raised on the stuff. As a result, caffeine in the quantities found in iced tea doesn't usually phase me. Not the case here; something in those bags goes straight to the heart.
Wednesday, 2006-05-24
itunes drag and drop feature
Found a new feature in Apple iTunes today, that I imagine has existed since day one — Apple is incredibly intuitive with drag-and-drop functionality:
Dragging media files to an empty area in the Source List (on the left-hand side of the program) creates a new playlist populated with the files. A serious improvement over my previous multi-click process of locating files for every album copied to the library.
Update 2006-06-03 04:37: Something else I've just noticed: music dropped on blank space in the Source List does not play automatically. Music dropped into the main window plays automatically, on the other hand, against my wishes.