i got a few neat shots of the people waiting in line to get in wrigley field. It reminded me of some shots that I took from the tribune tower of the immigrant line waiting for their papers.

Granted neither of these shots are anything great. But i think I might actively got out to take pictures of people standing in line.

Can you think of any other events or places where there are lines?

• Marathon runners (Chicago Marathon)
  
• Food festival (Taste of Chicago ticket line)
  
• Commuters (People going up stairs at Metra and L)
  
• Metra ticket sales line (1st of the month)
  
• Grocery store line
  
• Fast food line
  
• Carnival rides (Great America)
  
• Airport (O'Hare)
  
• Movie (hmm, any big movies coming up?)
  
• Cafeteria (hmmm, where?)
  
• Club (any popular clubs)
  
• School bus (any school)
  
• Kids at playground i.e. slide (i'd prolly have to take off work to go to schools to photo this)
  
• Pay phone (at the Taste)
  
• Cab (outside Union Station or McCormick Center)
  
• Voting (aren't we voting this november?)
  
• Sports team practicing
  
• people leaving church service*
  
• ticketmaster line* (saturday mornings at 10)
  
• Buffet* (old country buffet)
  
• Employees* (at work when they used to give us free food at company meetings)

do i want to branch out into non-people lines?

• Traffic jam* (hinsdale oasis on 294 is a nice aerial view of the highway)
  
• Aiplanes (o'hare)

* indicates idea from my twin brother, erik

AOL instant messenger limits its users to only 885 characters per post. So if you try sending an instant message with 886, it won't let you. I wonder why 885? It doesn't sound like a handy programming number. 1000 or 144 or 256 would sound more logical.

The boats are leaving lake michigan. Here they just passed the Michigan Ave bridge heading west.

Stay tuned the next few days for an exciting giveaway right here on the spudart blog.

Pepsi's newest promotion "Play Cool Million Cash Caps" seems like a big joke. You have to collect 11 caps each with a letter to spell out "COOL MILLION". Yeah, what are the freakin chances of this?

Right now, I've got letter "C". I'm betting that the letter "M" or "N" is the million dollar letter, since they appear only once in the letters. It would be really dirty if Pepis made it "O", because you'd have to get three of those to nap the million smackers.

While purchasing the new Sobe Mr. Green drink at Walgreens, I commented to Lisa about how I liked the dinosaur on the label. The Walgreens cashier corrected me and said, "it's a lizard. NOT a dinosaur." So I replied, "it will still be a dinosaur in my mind." and walked away.

"Dictionary-making is a mechanical, unnatural metalinguistic activity"
For more mumbo-jumbo on dictionaries, check out my honors thesis from college in 1997.

A co-worker of mine, Dave Rothkopf, is in a band called "Down the Line" playing acoustic rock and soul. They are very good and tasty. In fact their newest album is called "Welcome to Flavortown". It sure is yummy. Not your typical rock band, instead of the regular drums, they have bongos (djembe). Another dude plays a violin, harmonica, banjolin, and mandolin. Check out their website at: downthelineband.com and get their cd (10 bucks! what a deal!)

I want to make a tshirt that says dictionary on it. The front of the shirt would resemble the cover of a dictionary, as would the back. Then the long sleeve would be the spine. If you got a bunch of your buddies to do it, you could be a walking encyclopedia.

Here's the quote that convinced me to get my sofa from IKEA:

A good sofa is one you can't resist. It beckons when you pass, inviting you to actually enjoy your own living room between dinner parties... Don't buy a sofa with your in-laws and guests in mind. Buy it for you. See if it seduces--does it tempt you to stretch out lenghwise with a magazine.

from: Elegant and Easy Living Rooms: 100 Trade Secrets for Designing with Style by Dylan Landis

I bought a new tape measure / keychain a week ago. It has already come in handy! But while sitting at a bar last week, I really wanted a pair of scissors. Imagine the fun cutting up cardboard coasters while in a bar! What's on your keychain?

Walking down michigan ave in chicago today during lunch i came across a man dressed in a full-length pencil costume handing our Wrigley's Spearmint gum. Pencil Man! What do pencils have to do with gum?

Tom Saaristo of TOM TOOL food fame suggests "it's gum AND an eraser. Chew it and then erase. You're sure to get an A+! Matt, your paper smells so minty fresh! A+!"

Outside my apartment there are these old-fashioned doors from the ol' ice-refrigerator days. I am currently researching what would be some good flowers to put in a cedar container in this space. (Figure: autumn, chicago, container, no direct sun). I'll post the pictures when I get them installed. I found out that the container should be 8" tall. I was planning 4". Oops. Gotta go back and buy more wood.

I am looking for some Subway coupons online. Know where I can get some?

i'm looking for an ibook. I don't want to get the old "women's purse/toilet cover ibook." I want the new all white durable ones. I'm hoping to get one under $1000. Probably refurbished.

* Do you think refurbished ibooks are a good idea? (will it bust right away?)
* Will Apple be releasing new ibooks soon (hopefully lowering the prices of the current ones?)
* Will a 12" screen be too small?
* I've seen deals for ibooks that give away a epson 820 printer and some ram. But I don't need another printer and ram for the ibook is so cheap anyways ($39 for 256 ram), I'd rather get a lower price on the ibook instead of all these freebies.

Here's a couple comparison sites I've found:
* MacPrices
* MacChat
* MacReviewZone
None are under $1000. I really want it under $1000