martin & osa.

I found this lil gem of a his/hers clothing store in Old Orchard. I'd never heard of them before, but one of the many advertising kiosks in the mall caught my eye with some good-looking, simple, almost modern clothes. I found them just outside of the Nordstrom's entrance onto the mall.

Some of you may initially think that I picked this place because of it's name, and while I find some comfort in it, that's not the best part, check it -


They have the biggest dressing rooms I ever hung a pant in. People in NYC would kill for a place this big and well-appointed. I could comfortably place all of my clothing items into this one room.


Not only that, but they are well lit too. And, best of all...


... hooks! Haven't you ever said to yourself, as you dropped your coat onto the floor, "Boy, this *dressing* room could really use some places to hang clothes!"? Well, they have you covered. Not only are there long, horizontal bars about every two feet, you can also move the half-dozen hooks on each one! Plus, it's all adorned in this heavy gauge steel, even the door. It locks with such a thud and click that you really feel like no one will be barging in on you... as you hop on one leg while fighting to fit into a pair of skinny jeans.

It's was simply the best fitting experience I ever had. That's saying something cause I'm a guy and anal-retentive. And no, I didn't pick up the jeans in the picture... didn't fit just right.

New blog look, new blog city.

You may have already noticed that "replanted.chicagoan" has gone back to its original title of "transplanted.chicagoan". This is in anticipation of my impending move to Minneapolis, MN. I have been offered and accepted a new position at the company I menitoned in a previous posting. It's a well-respected company in the industry.

I don't plan on stopping the normal blog postings and now need to fill in with new MSP hotspots. So please continue to visit t.c as I make my transition to MSP. You remember the FAA's airport designations, don't you? MSP = Minneapolis-Saint-Paul.

Results, Poll #43, Winter's Cold.

When I first decided on this poll topic, it was getting cold out. During the week it warmed up and I thought my poll was stupid. Lucky for me, it got nice and cold again this weekend. Score, I may not be dumm!

Here's what we all said about old Jack Frost:

> 2 people (11%) chose 'yes, like a whale, i put on a layer of blubber for winter' - Now, I'm not pointing a chubby finger, but it's not healthy to yo-yo. (but don't drown your guilt in brownies)

> 5 people (29%) chose 'kind of, i broke out the winter clothes' - I think everyone should check their inventory, it's gonna be cold soon. Also, check your emergency roadside car kit. Yes, the one your dad made you put in the trunk eons ago and you've never even opened. At the very least, it'll make your mom feel better.

> 7 people (41%) chose 'as ready as i'll ever be, but not happy about it' - For me, knowing I have some warm clothes if and when it gets cold seems to help... but I'd like to be warm & cozy anyways.

> 1 person (5%) chose 'nope, i can't cope with the cold very well' - maybe it's time for one of the many coats now on sale at any store of your choosing. Help the economy!

> 2 people (11%) chose 'moot, i live in a place that doesn't get cold' - Well, la-dee-dah! Better run out and stock up on sunblock, George Hamilton.

To be honest, I think it's about perspective. In theory (and usually in practice), I like a locale that has four distinct seasons. It's nice to see and feel the changes. Fall usually sounds great in summer, but I know in a couple months that spring will start to sound even better.

17 respondents this week, sweet! I think I have FaceBook to thank for that. Poll #44 is in the oven, but it's not ready to come out yet. I hope to have it up by tomorrow (Monday). Please stop back during the week and make it another huge turnout (for my lil ole blog).

Brain Teaser, #8.

Mary was working in a chemistry lab with a mixture of chemicals that was 90% water and weighed 20 pounds. After returning to the lab from a weekend break, she calculated the mixture was now 50% water. How much does the mixture now weigh?
[For purposes of this puzzle, assume the non-water part of the mixture was not affected by evaporation.]

Discuss, Poll #43, Winter's Cold.

No, I'm not talking about the sniffles, this time, but I am talking about the 35 degree temps that have recently come back to the Midwest.

I remember last year in MKE when it was so cold the inside of your nose would half-freeze because of the cold air being breathed in. That's cold.

Results, Poll #42, Vote.

Wow, I'm honestly pretty amazed at how the t.c readership continues to be models of health, intellect, and now civic duty. A totally resounding result for this week's poll and, dare I say, the election as well.

> 13 (92%) people did vote in the election. Based on the elections's end result, I can guess who most of the 13 respondents voted for, we all could.
> Only 1 (7%) r.c reader was unable able to cast a ballot for president, but I suspect this was due to voter registration over apathy? It does highlight the importance of being registered well before an election day.

We picked up one more respondent than usual this week, 14 in all. I'm going to have to think of a good poll question to keep everyone involved. And since this is the presidential poll and poll number 42 for this blogger - who was the 42nd president?

Quality with a capital 'Q', Part I.

Here's some pics of Minneapolis, an interestin company building and, uh, that's it really. I can also say without a doubt, the drive from CHI to MPL is about 7 hours of cheesy Wisconsin goodness.

Minny got a really light coat of snow during the trip. It didn't amount to much on the roads, but it made the trees look nice.

This building is LEED certified (i.e. very enviro-friendly) and has a 40 megawatt solar panel array on the roof. I've heard it's the largest such array in the Upper Midwest. Powerful stuff. (I could have said "shocking" instead?)

The building is mostly warehouse, but since they are encroaching on forest preserve, they keep building up rather than out. Inside one wing of the building, special forklifts run on an almost prefectly level concrete floor and bring the driver up to heights of 35ft to pick products off the really really tall stacks of shelving. The guys wear what is basically a climbers harness while on the forklift. Falling would be bad.

It's kind of cool to have paved running and riding trails on one end of your company's parking lot... esp if you're a bike company.