Seeing that people are not allowed to photograph Chicago's newest most provocative sculpture of a 110-ton reflective bean, I'm going to get my hands on a mini reflective bean and photograph that all around the city of Chicago.

Problem is finding a reflective bean that is maybe around a foot long. The closest thing is these things called a Hematite egg. But they aren't quite big enough, and they aren't quite bean shaped. Then of course there are the gazing globes, which are a good size, but are too round. They would make for a chicago orange, not a bean.

If anyone could find a reflective bean that I could buy, that would be wonderful. As to not double our searches, I've already looked for the following terms at on froogle.com, amazon.com, shopping.yahoo.com, and ebay.com:
ï reflective oval
ï reflective bean
ï reflective oblong
ï reflective egg
ï mirror oval
ï mirror bean
ï mirror oblong
ï reflective egg
ï Hematite egg
ï bean sculpture
ï big bean
(I searched all these terms with quote marks around the phrase)

If we cannot find a reflective bean to buy, I will just make one. The trick will be to get a mirror-like reflective surface. Metallic paint would seem to be not refective enough. And foil would be too wrinkly. Any suggestions there would be welcome here as well. Please leave them in the comments. Thanks.

There are a lot of members on ebay that have a VERY similiar name to spudart. So similiar, it's rather eery. sp.dart, spudat, spudhart, spudrt, scudart, spudar, spudark. A bunch of the names are from Germany. Which is where J–rg Immedorf is from (he coined the phrase, "Painting must assume the function of the potato." Most of these users have been on ebay for more than one year, and some for almost six years! I've had spudart for 6 years and 3 months. But I'm sure nobody is copycatting the spudart name, it's just all coincedental.

You can check out the full list of these spudart similiar names, where they are from, and membership time. Or do a search for your username and see how many similiar names there are!
ï unlikelymoose has none.
ï artlaura has a lot of simliar variations like spudart. (ark instead of art)
ï tomsaaristo has none.

There's no book or website dedicated to the piers of America. They have such a fascinating history as many of them were built in the early 20th century, fell into disrepair in the mid-20th century, then revitalized in the late 20th century. Now a few of them are major tourist attractions drawing millions annually.

Also they are an interesting urban phenonmen for their unique qualities as with unique benefits as mentioned in my previous post.

Here's a page on all the major piers in the United States. If anything is missing or incorrect, please leave a comment below.

	Name Location	Built	Open for Recreation	Current Annual Attendance
	Navy Pier (history) Chicago, Illinois	1916	1916-1922, 1994-present	8 million
	Santa Monica Municipal Pier (history) Santa Monica, California	1909	1909-?, 1988-present	3 million
	Steel Pier (history) Atlantic City, New Jersey	1898	1898-1982, 1993-present	?
	Million Dollar Pier (history) St. Petersburg, Florida	1926	1926-1967, 1973-present	?
	FDR Pier (history) Oakland, California	1918	?-1998	?
	Pacific Ocean Park Pier (history) Venice, California	1905	1905-1946, 1956-present	?
	Ventura Pier (history) Ventura, California	1872	1936-present	?

Navy Pier is Chicago's number one tourist destination with more than 8 million visitors annually. There are so many advantages to the pier structure.

• It's by the lake where people can enjoy the water.
• Desintation for boat tours.
• Because how a pier sticks out from the mainland, it provides spectacular views back onto the mainland.
• Because of how it's an isolated land out in water, the entire area can be completely designed to provide a complete experience.
• Almost separate from the city. No traffic or icky city noise, like an island.
• However unlike an island, a pier is easy to access, because it is connected to the mainland.

Tomorrow, I'll cover some of the best piers in America.

This Tiki Head Tissue Box Cover is lots fun with being able to pull tissues out of an Easter Island statue's nose! But the danger behind this statue is nothing to sneeze at.

Be careful if you display this vertically as shown in the amazon photo. Whenever someone goes to pull a tissue out, the entire thing tips over very easily. This tissue box is best displayed laying down horizontally, which is a shame, because the real Easter Island heads aren't laying down, they are
standing up.

If you really want to stand it up, try putting some strong adhesive tape underneath it to prevent it from falling over while pulling out a tissue. Otherwise you'll have a running nose and a falling tissue box.

Chicago was the first city to have a nationally recognized large-scale city-wide temporary public art exhibit with its cows in 1999. Other cities soon followed suit, while every year Chicago has come up with a new variation on the theme. Here's a list from what I remember since the cow year in 1999:

1999
Cows on Parade (322 cows across the city)

2000
The Ping PongÆ Festival, Table Tennis (300 tables across the city)

2001
Suite Home Chicago (500 couches across the city)

2002
Something with Music (musicians playing at certain times at certain points in the city)

2003
Bobblehead baseball players (quantity?) (All-Star Game in Comisky Park)

2004
Mickey Mouse (15, 6-feet tall, 700lb along State Street)

2005
What's on this year?

Just imagine if the Chicago River was clean you could swim in it downtown. That would be so nice. To have beaches right in the middle of dowtown where people can do beachtype fun stuff.

(for the non-Chicagoans: The Chicago River cuts through downtown Chicago and is home to the most moveable bridges in the world for any city. The river is a constant green color and is said to be extremely dirty as it was a dumping ground in the early 20th century for dead animals and waste. In fact even to this day if the sewers get backed up downtown, they overflow to the Chicago River. Hence why nobody would ever want to swim in it)

Are there any major cities in the world with a river running through the middle of it that people swim in and has beaches that are clean?

What other sounds do farts make? Leave them in the comments please.

Chicago Outdoor Film Festival-Grant Park
Butler Field, Grant Park
100 S. Lake Shore Drive

Jul. 12: 8:59 p.m. "Citizen Kane"
Jul. 19: 8:54 p.m. "Annie Hall"
Jul. 26: 8:48 p.m. "My Darling Clementine"
Aug. 2: 8:39 p.m. "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"
Aug. 9: 8:30 p.m. "The Night of the Hunter"
Aug. 16: 8:20 p.m. "The Hustler"
Aug. 23: 8:09 p.m. "Star Wars"

Price: Free.
Phone: 312-744-3315

You can view the full 2006 schedule and my own guide.

Baltimore Orioles' Rafael Palmeiro, left, and Sammy Sosa, right, pose with Cincinnati Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. prior to the game Saturday, June 11, 2005, in Cincinnati. All three players have more than 500 home runs. (AP Photo/Al Behrman) This photo reminds me of those old time photos with classic players like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays:


However the photo of Palmeiro, Griffey, and Sosa all picture them in uniforms that they are not well known for.
ï Palmeiro is primarily a Ranger, but here an Oriole
ï Griffey is primarily a Mariner, but here a Red
ï Sosa is primarily a Cub, but here an Oriole

So that got me thinking about how many of the 500 homerun hitters have stayed with their team for a long time period.

Of the 20 baseball players with 500+ homeruns over half of them stayed with a team 15 or more years. (that's 11 of the 20). Quite impressive. To see the stats, click here.

I love getting emails from people. It's so nice. There's just a couple things that would make it even more pleasant...

1) use http:// in links
When emailing a link to someone, please PLEASE PLEASE include the "http://" in the url.

GOOD:
http://www.spudart.org

BAD:
www.spudart.org

Email programs will make the text into a link if you include the http://. But if it's not there, the text will remain normal and unclickable. It's just a common courtesy in this land of the information superhighway.

2) One space after a period, not two
Please do NOT put two spaces after a period. Two spaces were included when we were using typewriters. Computers now have automatic spacing and kerning where we don't need two spaces anymore. If you continue to use two spaces after a period, it will make you look like a COMPLETE DUFUS.

3) Include a subject
Yeah, it's faster to zing off an email with no subject, but having a subject in there gives quicker reference down the road when trying to find a particular email.

Baskin Robbins has this countertop sign advertising Hot Wheels CAKES. It's funny how exciting and dramatic they make CAKES to be here.

There have been 15 Cubs since 1990 who hit 20 or more homeruns in one season.
There have been 9 Cubs since 1990 who hit 30+ HR
There have been 2 Cubs since 2000 who hit 40+ HR

Position Name HR BA
2004
1B Derek Lee 32 .278
3B Aramiz Ramirez 36 .318
OF Moises Alou 39 .293
OF Corey Patterson 24 .266
OF Sammy Sosa 35 .253

2003
SS Alex Gonzalez 20 .228
OF Moises Alou 22 .280
OF Sammy Sosa 40 .279

2002
1B Fred McGriff 30 .273
2B Mark Bellhorn 27 .258
OF Sammy Sosa 49 .288

2001
OF Sammy Sosa 64 .328

2000
OF Sammy Sosa 50 .320

1999
LF Henry Rodriguez 26 .304
OF Sammy Sosa 63 .288
OF Glenallen Hill 20 .300

1998
3B Jose Hernandez 23 .254
OF Henry Rodriguez 31 .251
OF Sammy Sosa 66 .308

1997
2B Ryne Sandberg 25 .244
OF Sammy Sosa 36 .251

1996
OF Sammy Sosa 40 .323

1995
OF Sammy Sosa 36 .268

1994
OF Sammy Sosa 25 .300

1993
C Rick Wilkins 30 .303
OF Sammy Sosa 33 .261

1992
2B Ryne Sandberg 26 .304
OF Andre Dawson 22 .277

1991
2B Ryne Sandberg 26 .273
OF George Bell 25 .285
OF Andre Dawson 31 .272

1990
2B Ryne Sandberg 40 .306
OF Andre Dawson 27 .310

The McDonalds in downtown Chicago on Michigan Ave right behind the Wrigley Building is store #4444. I just saw this on my receipt. Numbers like this make me happy.

Catch a ball and your opponent who threw the ball is out. In a game with returnies, someone from your team also gets to come back in. Here's a couple tips on catching a dodgeball.

• I like to catch balls that are thrown right at my chest and then I cradle it against my body, so not to drop it. Actually, I never caught any balls in the last tournament, because there were no returnies. I generally stay away from it.
  
  
• Only catch the ball if you are really sure you can catch it. I've seen way too many people try to catch the ball only to drop it (thereby being eliminated).
  
  
• If you really suck at throwing, perhaps you should practice your catching. Stay low to the ground and suck those balls up.
  
  
• A technique I have yet to see employed on actual court play is the sitdown technique. The idea is to make yourself be as small a target as possible, yet enable yourself to actually catch the ball. Is there a rule against this? It seems like there should be, but if anyone has any experience with the sitdown technique, please write them in the comments below. Thanks.

This is a part seven 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.

Church: sit in the middle of the row/pew, not at the end.
Conference room: sit at the seat furthest from the door
Bus: Stand towards the back, not the front.
Elevator: Stand away from the door.

General rule of thumb, don't exist where people have to climb over you.

0 of 4 people rated my review of Sammy Sosa's boombox as helpful. What?! Don't people want to know what boombox Sammy Sosa owned?

Here is the review from March 10, 2003:

This is the exact same model that Chicago Cubs slugger, Sammy Sosa blasts in the clubhouse. Now you too can be like Sammy and blast your tunes to unheard of decibels. Hitting 66 homeruns is not a guarantee however.

You can still visit the boombox on amazon and give it a helpful vote. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005AY9T

The Mac OS X calculator is so huge compared to the old classic mac calculator. I miss you old school calculator. The new one looks like it's for senior citizens. The old one just oozes out techno geekness. 8-F

AP says, "This photo released by McDonald's Corp. show a new, slimmer and sportier Ronald McDonald, the latest evidence the fast-food chain isn't clowning around about its image. A TV commercial making its debut Friday, June 10, 2005, will show the famous clown skateboarding and playing soccer."

It seems odd that Ronald McDonald is not doing clown things. He's a clown, not a super sports star. Shouldn't he be juggling or tripping over things?

This is a very rough order of things that to look at when on a press check. While these are put into order, I usually don't go through it like a list. It's usually just all merged together and I check lots of things at once.

But there are some general things that I like to follow. Like I will focus on major issues like color/registration/paper before small details like hickies. Granted hickies or small boogers may indicate a larger problem with paper or ink. But unless if the boogers are really bad, I'll focus on larger issues first:

Before you get to the "press checking" stage, be certain you are totally satisfied with the final digital proofs. Once your job is on press, you are limited to what the pressmen can do, and re-making plates can be costly.

To read the list, please click here.

Taking your opponents attention away from the game is a great way to strike when they aren't looking. Here's a couple ways to do that.

• Have someone on your team do a cartwheel, and then totally peg 'em.
  
  
• Do a sychronized jump all at once to baffle your opponents for a second, and then nail 'em. If anything, they will laugh very hard and make this game fun. It's easy to get too serious about it. Doing a little dance every now and then reminds you that it's just a game.

This is a part six 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.

There should be one standard calendar file format.

Let's say you are at a website and see an event you would like to add to your calendar. It would be so nice if you could click on just one link to add that event to your personal calendar. It would include all the information like day, location, time, cost, etc.

Then you can easily share that event with your friends. And you can share your entire calendar with your friends.

All it takes is just one uniform file format. Something in RSS/XML maybe.

But what's the closest thing? Apple's iCal? Yahoo's calendar? iCal allows you to subscribe to certain calendars, like new releases of movies. So whenever the movie new releases are updated, it automatically updates your calendar. You can find calendars at icalshare.com.

I'm looking for a super small flatbed scanner. One that has a bed size of 4x6 or 5x7. And I'm not talking about those pen scanners. It needs to be a flat scanner.

I want to take my scanner out in public and scan things like the sidewalk and fixed objects. But a regular scanner is too big and clumsy. Anyone know of any mini scanners in existence?

Based on the item I posted yesterday, "Discover your Jedi Name," If the standard name is six letters long for each word, how did Yoda get his Jedi name to be just four letters?

Maybe his real name is "Da Yo."
or
Maybe his mom's maiden name is "Yo" and he was born in the town of "Da."

In order to get your Jedi first name:
1) You must take the first 3 letters of your last name.
2) Then you must take the first 2 letters of your first name.

To get your Jedi last name
1) You must take the first 3 letters of your motherís maiden name.
2) Then you must take the first 3 letters of the town or city you were born in.

I am Malma Dunchi.

It's kinda interesting that the last name of the Jedia is based on the mother's maiden name. Is the Jedi based on a feminine social model? Aren't all the Jedi men?

I tried finding famous people with the last name of "dun" that were born in Chicago, but nothing came up. But I guess by the very nature of the mother's maiden name, that even if you found someone, they wouldn't share the same Jedi name as you.
ï famous people birthplace
ï baseball players birthplace

Let's say you are going to drink a bottle of soda over the course of two hours.

Which soda would be more flat?
A) One where you put the cap back on after every sip.
B) One where you keep the cap off during the lifetime of the soda.

Of course, you would say option B. Because it would seem that placing the cap back on would help prevent flatness. But every time you open the bottle back up, you hear some fizz being released. Perhaps there is some atmospheric difference between the carbonated beverage and the air. And recapping the bottle constantly agitates that difference.

Pure attacking isn't the only name to game of Dodgeball. How you control your balls is a key element to the game.

• Although some advocate throwing the ball right away from the start, you have to be careful not to give all your balls away to the other team. The beginning of the game can be very difficult to dodge balls, because you have a crowded six people on the court. Giving the opponent all the balls when it's hard to dodge them is not a great idea. (that's how we lost our playoff match)
  
  
• Whenever possible, hide your ball behind your back. Even if you don't have a ball, put your hands behind your back to psych out your opponents.
  
  
• If they allow you to run off the court to retrieve balls, always recharge with a new ball off the court. Having one of your eliminated teammates hand you a ball while you are on the court can be a distraction for yourself.

This is a part five 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.