An Old-Timey Place.

If you ever have the chance, stop by the Courier Cafe in Urbana, IL. They have great food for both meat and non-meat eaters (it is liberal Urbana), a great historical building, good service, and an old-timey feel that just can't be matched in most places.


Not a too-small space, but not so big (ahem, Cheesecake Factory) that you feel uncomfortable or get lost on the way back from the bathroom either.


They don't "make these like they used to". In fact, they've been replaced by computers... Progress?


And what little dude (or dudette) wouldn't want to push in a recently begged quarter and watch this contraption pick up and deliver a shiny new gumball? Not many.

Brain Teaser, #3.

If you add the age of a man to the age of his wife, the result is 91. He is now twice as old as she was when he was as old as she is now. How old is the man, and how old is his wife?

A Night of Legends.

Recently, I pretty much lucked into an event at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was at the Assembly Hall and was titled "A Night of Legends". The basketball program had deemed it time to hang some famous jersey numbers, and they wanted to invite everyone to watch, with an all-star UofI basketball game thrown in for fun.




Not only did we get to see a game played by such UofI stars as - [from the News-Gazette] "There could be some no-shows, and some unexpecteds, but the rosters (or confirmed attendees) for A Night of Legends at the Assembly Hall are taking shape. Players who have said they'll be there Saturday include four of the five starters from '04-05: Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell." [...And] members of the 1989 Final Four squad who have said they'll be there: Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson, Stephen Bardo, Kenny Battle, Marcus Liberty and Larry Smith. Then some others, spanning the Kruger-Self-Weber years: Kiwane Garris, Brian Cook, Frank Williams, Jerry Hester, Jarrod Gee, Kevin Turner, Lucas Johnson, Cory Bradford, Sergio McClain, Sean Harrington, Jerrance Howard and Victor Chukwudebe."

But we also got to see (from afar) Deron Williams' Men's Olympic Basketball Gold Medal and a very nice ceremony for the unveiling of the jerseys, done by each player or one of their living family members (some of the jerseys were from players in the 30s and 40s). All in all, a pretty cool, historical night to be a part of.

[I know, crap pic]

We also found a new place to hit before events at the Assembly Hall - Houlihan's. I know, I know, you're thinking "Houlihan's?" - but the food was good and better yet, you can arrive early for dinner, park in their lot, then literally walk across the street to Assembly Hall. The restaurant is part of a new conference center and hotel, just south of Assembly Hall.

Austin Ghost Tours.

Ok, ok, I'm a liar. I have one more Austin story - geez, gimme a break.

One of the nights, we decided to do something a little more "touristy" than normal. We paid online and made our way downtown for an "Austin Ghost Tour".

The tour was of the walking variety and only comprised about 7 square city blocks, not too bad. Plus, the sun had gone down, the crowds on 6th Street were coming out, and it was interesting. All of the buildings we visited on the tour had stories of hunting's. Usually someone, er, some spirit was still in each building on the tour, doing the haunting. Most of it was pretty tame stuff, but all the stories seemed to be real to those who experienced it.

One of the most interesting was a building now owned by a pretty famous photographer named David Grimes. He does lots of print work for companies in and around Austin, like Dell Computers. Better still, he also has a whole section on his site devoted to the ghost stories of his current studio. I'll let him take you through them, here... IF YOU DARE!!! Muuwhooo-aaaa-aaaa-aaah!!!!

Brain Teaser, #2.

Using an empty 5-gallon jug and an empty 3-gallon jug, how can you measure exactly on gallon of fluid, without spilling, dripping, or losing any of it?

Discuss, Poll #35, Celebrity News.

Does anyone have a good celebrity story? Uhmmm... I've seen a few notables in public, but never a long conversation or anything. 

For a variety of reasons, one of my favorites was just having Hilary Swank walk by me in NYC. This was also after all the Million Dollar Baby Oscar stuff, when she was pretty popular. It was a quiet winter evening on a small street in the Village, no one else was around and I couldn't even gossip to anyone about it, b/c no one else saw. But she looked great (I hardly even noticed her then boyfriend/manager alongside her) and none of us said a thing. Kind of surreal at the time, but I'm pretty sure I started texting anyone that might reply right after. And when the friend I was with came out of the restaurant, it was the first thing I blurted out.

Oh, Hilary and I have the same birth year, but I don't follow too much celebrity news.

Results, Poll #34, NFL.

The gridiron poll is done, let's see what we got:

> 2 people (12%) chose 'yes, i see multiple games per season' - lucky ducks. though, who can blame them, if something's good, more is better. (right?)
> 7 people (45%) chose 'yeah, i've seen some' - not such a bad way to spend the day, is it?
> 1 person (6%) chose 'no, i like college games' - well, if you like college games, then the nfl is for you! bigger, fatser, more accurate. though there is something about the purity of college sports.
> 2 people (12%) chose 'not yet, but someday' - that's it, glass half full kind of people, this is what the world needs more of. i'd be happy to indoctrinate you into the nfl, just name the game (and pickup my ticket).
> 4 people (25%) chose 'wah? what's the nfl?' - you people need help. i'd suggest a quick and painless nfl-indoctrination. bring beer, grilled meats, team colors, rowdy fans and blend.

Interesting news for the NFL? Perhaps. (I don't think they read my blog though) Maybe they have some people to win over still, but for those of us that already like a football game in 20 degree weather, they'd be preaching to the choir.

Thanks to the 16 voters and for using all of the choices.