Podcasts are the hot new thing on the internet, so I grabbed chicagocast.com.

Will I do anything with it? I dunno. Maybe I'll sell it. Maybe I'll do a weekly or monthly chicago podcast.

Some ideas for the Chicago podcast:
ï Interview people
ï Provide a chicago tour
ï Recap Chicago's top stories from the week/month.
ï This day in Chicago history
Any other ideas on what could be on chicagocast.com?

On the top of the 34-story Tribune Tower in Chicago flies an American flag. I don't see any other taller buildings in Chicago sporting an American flag.

Are there any buildings in the world taller than the 463-foot Tribune Tower that feature an American flag at its top?

I was playing around with ways of visualizing 365 days a year. One of the graphics takes a line rotates around it around 365 times. It actually made some interesting patterns on my screen. So here's a little preview of this particular pattern in the form of a desktop pattern. And oh, why not try a second one too.

The game of Dodgeball is great for devising creative ways to attack. Here's a few ideas.

• Aim for the best throwers first. You want to get them out, so they don't eliminate any of your players.
  
  
• Point at a certain player casually and then throw at a different one. (the pointing can't be too obvious)
  
  
• Here's a neat play called the Statue of Liberty. Hold the ball behind your back, and then have one of your teammates run behind you, grab the ball, and then immediately throw for a shocker.
  
  
• Another from the play book could be synchronized running where you and a teammate run in a diagonal and cross paths, then throw.
  
  
• As soon as one of your opponents is hit, aim for another one. There's that brief moment of time where people are stunned when one of their teammates get hit. It's a great one-two punch.
  
  
• We haven't tried this one, but maybe there is some sort of scream before attacking to shock your opponent. But then again, we want a lazy nonaware opponent. Once you yell, that perks them to be more attentive.

This is a part four of a seven-part series every Wednesday of Dodgeball strategies covering: 1) Pre-Game, 2) Equipment, 3) Throwing Techniques, 4) Attack Strategies during the Game, 5) Ball Control, 6) Distractions, and 7) Catching.

The season ending episode of 24 last night had agent Jack Bauer to be handed over to the Chinese government for prosecution for his secret mission. Jack was surely doomed. But then he pulls of this death scene where he pretends that he dies, and then escapes off to a new life and new identity with only four or five people knowing.

So

Now they can continue the 24 series with Kiefer Sutherland (the actor who played Jack Bauer), but instead it would have to be a whole new setting, because none of the other characters could know that Jack is alive (if they knew, they would have to turn him over to Chinese government)

With Jack's new identity anytime you see him in any other tv show, you can say that is Jack Bauer... just under a different identity.

If Sutherland appears in any other tv shows or movies, I will make a post about it on this blog noting how this character is actually still Jack Bauer.

What if there was a tax on gum? Apply the current cigarette tax onto gum, and each individual piece of gum will cost $0.28 each compared to $0.30 per cigarette. Here's how the formula used to figure it out:

Cigarettes:
ï $6.00 pack (with tax)
ï 20 cigarettes in a pack
ï $0.30 per cigarette

Gum:
ï $0.83 pack (with no gum tax)
ï 12 pieces of gum in a pack
ï $0.07 per piece of gum (with no gum tax)

To buy cigarettes in chicago, the tax is $2.53/pack. So let's put that onto gum. A $0.83 gum pack would then cost $3.36/pack. A whopping 28 cents per gum! That's almost the exact same amount per cigarette!

(Here's the sources for the cigarette tax numbers: state, total.)

Actually in Feb 2005, there was talk of putting tax on gum in London. Instead the "gum summit" in London decided to send gum manufacturer Wrigley a giant mean postcard signed by all delegate cities, with the message "Wish You Weren't Here."

However, an industry spokesman said, "Our research shows that a tax or levy would not be effective, as people would feel they have a right to drop the gum because they had already paid for it to be cleaned up."

I say they should just have fun and connect the dots with gum on the sidewalk.

On the postcard that tom sent to me, he put the stamp sideways which yielded an interesting pattern across this dude's shirt.


It almost looks like he is behind bars, or is wearing a striped shirt. And it's really quite eery how the cancellation line splits his face perfectly in half. You can also download a 1152x870 wallpaper of the stamp scanned in at 2400dpi.

How to strike your opponent more consistently.

• The lookaway: Don't look at the person you are throwing at. Either do the lookaway off to the side or ceiling. Or look at another player while throwing. Looking off court, might not be a good idea (you might get plastered), so it would probably be good to look at an opponent that has a ball, and throw at a different person
  
  
• The shinsplinter: I like to aim at the shins. Aiming at the shoes tends to make the ball bounce on the ground before it strikes the opponent. Aiming for the knees tends to make the ball go a little too high sometimes--where the opponent can easily catch it.
  
  
• The wraparound curveball: I've seen players grip the ball by wrapping their hand and wrist around the ball, and then throwing it for a curve. It can be tricky to master.
  
  
• The slight curveball: Personally I like to grip the ball a bit on the side to give a slight curve. It's just enough to be deceptive. Although, I have to admit the wraparound curve does give a much nastier curve that is harder to catch.
  
  
• The Favor Returner: Throw at a person who has just thrown the ball.
  
  
• The Gedemwhileyerdown: Even better yet, hammer it down at someone who just fell down, and then laugh insanely.
  
  
• Practice: Get some dodgeballs to practice with. NADA (National Amateur Dodgeball Association) uses eight-inch rubber-covered foam balls. Get them for $13.88 on S&S Worldwide.
  
  
• The Raisin: Since these balls are filled with foam, you can squeeze them like a sponge. The rubber gator skin coating enables them to retain their raisin like shape for a few seconds. I've seen many guys squeeze the crap out of the ball and then throw it.
  
  The court is still out on this technique. The unusual shape will enable the ball to knuckle more the air, making it move around unpredictably. In theory that should make it harder to catch. But then the slight unpredictable knuckling movement might make it harder to hit your target.
  
  Personally, I find it easier to catch a raisin ball than a full round ball. I find the raisin ball has more of a handle for me to grab. A full round 8-inch ball is a bit more slippery--therefore harder to catch. Please leave your experiences with throwing and catching raisin balls in the comments below.
  
  
• The Advanced Raisin: Most people just squish up the ball in any random pattern. But what would happen if you squished the ball a certain way? Think of the many grips a baseball pitcher will use with the seams on a baseball. Perhaps there are ways of denting the ball to make it behave in predicted ways. This is an item that I'm going to be exploring more in the future. If anyone has any advanced raisin techinques, please leave them in the comments below.
  
  
• Attack Strategies: Section four is very related to throwing, as it discusses strategies on attacking.

This is a part three of a seven-part series every Wednesday of Dodgeball strategies covering: 1) Pre-Game, 2) Equipment, 3) Throwing Techniques, 4) Attack Strategies during the Game, 5) Ball Control, 6) Distractions, and 7) Catching.

Last April I posted a challenge to anyone to find a postcard where the primary subject matter is a beach in Chicago. Tom stepped up to the challenge and mailed me a postcard of a Chicago beach. It's totally features a Chicago beach as the focus of the card. How about that! And it also declares Chicago as "THE VACATION CITY." How lovely!

Thank you Tom, you are a winner! Over the next six months you will receive six Chicago postcards from me!

Just a reminder, we can have more winners. The challenge is still open to anyone else to send me a postcard where the main feature is a Chicago beach. For rules on the contest, visit the original post.

Sometimes I wonder if people can hear my headphones, they are the bud kind that get embedded into my ears. I take them out of my ears and I can't hear them, so I'm assuming that nobody else can hear them when they are in my head.

But then so many people with the bud headphones have them so loud that I can hear them. Is there something about putting the headphones in your ears that amplifies the sound? If i were to yank the headphones out of their ears would they actually be not that loud?

Pepsi Lime is just regular Pepsi with a tad wee bit of lime. If I were to take a taste test, I would have just guessed it was regular Pepsi. I guess that's why they put the word "Pepsi" first in the name.

Now if it were Lime Pepsi, that would be really cool. A lime drink that sort tastes like Pepsi.

But how about Pepsi Beer? Or Pepsi candy bar?

What stuff should you be bringing with you to your dodgeball match?

• Wear shoes with good treads, you don't want to slip, that would be deadly.
  
  
• Wearing team uniforms does actually intimidate your opponents. If your team shows any signs from the start that you are good, that fear is then magnified by the uniforms. I know I was scared of a couple teams that seemed to have their act together. It's also cool to have matching wristbands and headbands. You can get 'em at Amazon: solid headbands, solid wristbands, and striped wristbands.
  
  
• As mentioned in tip 1, bring some balls and warmup before the game. The National Amateur Dodgeball Association uses 8-inch foam balls. They sell them for $20 on their site. You can get them for $13.88 on S&S Worldwide
  
  8" Gator Skiný Special Available in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, so you can buy a color ball to match your uniform. My team's main color is blue, so we practice with blue balls. ;-)
  
  
• Avoid wearing clothes that are overly baggy. If the ball hits any part of your clothing, you are out.
  
  
• Bring water bottles, the sport is deceptively tiring. The adrenaline rush alone will wipe you out.

This is a part two of a seven-part series every Wednesday of Dodgeball strategies covering: 1) Pre-Game, 2) Equipment, 3) Throwing Techniques, 4) Attack Strategies during the Game, 5) Ball Control, 6) Distractions, and 7) Catching.

Kramer adopts a four-lane highway and decides that the lanes are too narrow so he puts black paint over the lane-lines one and three and a four-lane highway becomes a two-lane comfort cruise.

What if this actually happened? Would this reality be more dangerous or more safe?

CHANGING LANES
More Safe:
When a car changes lanes, you'll be able to see the car moving towards your lane before it's actually in your lane.
More Dangerous:
But if cars start swerving around in their lane more, then you might not know if it's going to change lanes or not. People would try to pass each other in the same lane, because there is room to do so.

DODGING OBJECTS
More Safe:
There would be more room to dodge a dangerous object on the road.
More Dangerous:
Seeing that you can have more objects on the road, people will start littering more.

DOORS OPEN
More Safe:
With wider lanes, you could drive with your doors open.
More Dangerous:
You could fall out of your car.

The first ever ferris wheel was done for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The previous worlds fair was in Paris, and the Eiffel Tower was the talk of fair. How brilliant the French were! How forward thinking. America could not be left behind. So they an American Engineer named Ferris did this wacky design where a 250-foot wheel would rotate and carry people in boxes the size of train cars.

This first Ferris wheel was HUGE. Let us compare it to the Ferris Wheel currently up on Chicago's Navy Pier:

Here is a in-depth series of dodgeball strategies to improve your game and destroy the competition:
1) Pre-Game
2) Equipment
3) Throwing Techniques
4) Attack Strategies during the Game
5) Ball Control
6) Distractions and
7) Catching
(click any of these links to read more about this topic)

Today's topic is 1) Pre-Game:

• Before the game get with your team and assign a "hit list." Decide who are the the top three best players on your opponents team. Assign each person a number. When your team has two or more balls, call out the number for synchronized targets.
  
  
• Warmup and practice throwing before the game. It shows that you practice and thereby intimidates.
  
  
• A few days before you play, watch Dodgeball the Movie to get the cultural feel for the game of Dodgeball.
  
  
• Buy the same type of ball that the National Amateur Dodgeball Association uses: An 8-inch Gator Skin ball for $13.88 (available in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.)

While you're at it, buy some dodgeball mugs and tshits at cafepress: