Congratulations!!

A very special congratulations to Dan and Sharis Cooley on the birth of their son Ryan Sherman Cooley this morning. Dan and Sharis are the blogging originals and if you want to take a look at little Ryan, click here to see the new little one. And their blog is linked on the right side of the page as well. Awesome news Dan and Sharis!

Cool web site # 2

For those who don't know, I work at a radio station here in Chicago, WGN Radio: The mighty 720 AM. If you are around my age, you might not be familiar with it as most people our age tend to head to the FM side of the dial (if you are a big Cubs fan, you probably know WGN as the radio home to the Cubs, the best sports team in Chicago). With regards to AM Radio.....I would have to agree that I was not the biggest listener, until I started working at WGN. I don't know, there is just something about a truly local radio station (no syndicated shows) and the personalities and the way the station IS Chicago. I am sure I sound like a salesman, but give it a try, it is worth a shot and I guarantee you there will be some shows that will fit what you are looking for.

This all being said, I am getting to Cool web site #2. The radio world can be a small place and since I started working at WGN, I have gotten to know some cool people involved in the world of radio. One of them is my buddy Mike Stephen who used to be a producer at WGN. Mike has since moved on to bigger and better things, but recently he and another friend of his, Andy Hermann, started their own radio show - Outside the Loop Radio. At first, their show was done on their own and then Mike and Andy would download the finished product into podcasts. Now they have a home on WLUW 88.7 FM which is located at Loyola University. Mike used to host a show on WLUW when he was a student at Loyola and now he is back on at the station where he started. Outside the Loop Radio airs every Friday night from 6:00 - 6:30 PM, but if you miss the show, you can download their podcast of the show for free on their site (they have all their shows available for downloading). The show is really sweet and is a weekly audio magazine that talks about cool stuff here in Chicago. Take a listen, it is a fun time and Mike and Andy are two awesome guys. You can also download the show off their website through iTunes and you can then play it on your iPod. This past week's show had a neat interview with Brad Zibung who founded The Heckler, and an interview with a student from Northwestern about how Google (have you tried iGoogle?) is taking over her school. So be "in the loop" and listen to Outside the Loop Radio.

Happy Birthday America

Once again the 4th of July is here and it has come and gone. I always think of the 4th of July as the midway point of the summer and this year is no exception. With the big day taking place on a Wednesday, it seems more in the middle than ever before. I have always thought of all the fun that the big day brings, but today my brother J.P. reminded us all (in his dapper linen pants and bow tie) that what today actually is, is the birthday for our beloved country. And he's right. Today we celebrate all that is amazing about the country we live in and the people we live with. I hope we think about all the unique aspects of our country and all the sacrifices so many people (especially those in the military) have made to help make this the best place to live in the world. So in honor of our nation's bday, I thought I would let everyone know some interesting facts about this place we call home and why it is just so special. Happy birthday America, you deserve the best!

Did you know that.....

The state of Maryland has no natural lakes

The first telephone book was published in New Haven, Connecticut in 1878. The book was only one page long and had fifty names in it

The ZIP code 12345 is assigned to a company in Schenectady, New York - General Electric

Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace

Alaska has rain forests

San Francisco has no cemeteries

Tennessee is the birthplace of miniature golf

Americans throw away about 5 million bicycles each year

The longest beach in the U.S. is in Washington State

Montana is home to the shortest river in the world. Roe River is about 200 feet long

Kansas City has more fountains than Rome

Illinois has the highest number of personalized license plates than any other state

Everybody loves the Chicago Cubs

Last night I was at one of the better sporting events I have ever been to in my life. To say that it was thrilling is an understatement, and for those of you there, could you ask for a better finish? I am talking about the Cubs vs. Rockies game from Monday night. I will lay out the scene for you.....Cubs lead 8-3 going into the top of the 9th inning. Got it in the bag right? Nope. Cubs allow the first six Rockies to not only reach base, but also score (all with no outs). Yep, the Cubs now trail 9-8 and lucky for them they got out of the inning without any more damage done. Side note, to make the inning even worse, a fan ran onto the field and almost attacked the Cubs pitcher. That was bizarre and not the smartest thing. Anyways, heading into the bottom of the 9th, Cubs down one and so we need a miracle. De Rosa gets on first with a bloop single to right center. Angel Pagan (oxymoron?) strikes out. One out. Rob Bowen grounds into a fielder's choice and so now there is a runner on first with two outs. Koyie Hill comes up to bat and he's batting .194. He goes down in the count 0-2, it's over right? Out of nowhere Hill lines a single down the left field line, runners now on first and second. Theriot steps up to bat, he being Ryan The Riot, one of my new favorite Cubs. He grounds one up the middle and unbelievably the second baseman boots it for an E-4. Everyone is safe! We now have the bases loaded and Soriano is coming up to bat. He is 0-5 on the night, but everyone is feeling it. First pitch, ball one. Crowd screams, we will take a walk for sure. Second pitch, liner to right, one run in, another man rounding third, coming to the plate......Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win! We are all going nuts. Pandemonium breaks loose. High fives all around. I could not believe it. The ultimate low in the top of the inning followed by the greatest high in the bottom of the inning. Only the Cubs could do this to us. A great night at the ballpark and an unreal night of baseball that will not be surely forgotten any time soon.

Lastly, I walked to and from the game, but if I had driven to the game, I would have driven home on Lake Shore Drive with the windows down to this song. Stanley would have loved it! And a certain someone else out there would have loved it too. You know who you are!!!!

Another side note....In the video, doesn't the woman backup singer with black hair look like one of the bad villians from Superman 2? Discuss on your own.

Teaching Thursdays

I thought I would make Thursdays a teaching day. My little brother said Teaching Tuesdays sounds better, and while I agree, today is Thursday and I want to teach tonight. I am going to start out with something that everyone has always wanted to know. Solving Rubik's Cube. I recently found one here at my place and started learning how to figure it out. The first few steps are not that hard, but it does get tougher as you get further along. As with anything, practice makes perfect though and if you don't pick it up for a few weeks, you can lose a lot of the moves. I will put this video here that gives some good steps on how to solve the cube. Time to start flexing your brain muscle.

Got it? If not, here is another 'more detailed' version that will start you from the beginning. There is a sequence of videos that follows (steps 2 thru 6 are in the related video section) and I think it does a good job of explaining everything. Good luck!

Cool web site #1

Okay, so being that I am letting people know a little more about me and letting people know about some of my weird aspects, I thought I would let you know about one of my favorite websites. I first learned about Threadless about 4 years ago as I read a very pint size article on them in a magazine. One of the things that caught my eye was that it was a Chicago company and that they were run by kids my age. I checked out the site and little did I know that I would become a fan and a die-hard supporter of their way of life. My Mom made fun of me when I joined their T-shirt of the month club a couple of years ago and my Dad would always laugh when the t-shirts would arrive in the mail in the sealed plastic bags. But I don't think anyone is laughing now. This company is one of the most successful and coolest of its kind and both the founders were recently named to Crain's 40 under 40. Pretty impressive for two kids who didn't finish college and who basically print t-shirts. The concept is pretty simple. Have a t-shirt design contest where designers all around the world submit their unique, original designs. Let the public vote and then print the winning designs on t-shirts. Keep the winners happy by giving them cash prizes and then selling their t-shirts on-line. All the while, never selling out and creating a community that is one of the coolest on the Internet. I wish I had the foresight to see that this company was going places years ago and applied for some type of job, any type of job! I would be one happy man as they have so much fun and can wear whatever they want to work! Take a look at this video from Chicago Tonight and you can learn a little more about how Threadless all came together and why they are the envy of so many people out there. So next time you see me in an obscure t-shirt or in my lion sweatshirt, just smile and say, "Gotta be a Threadless!!"

Lionel Richie

First real post on this new blog. A thanks to the Flow Cooleys for the blogger help page. I needed the help for sure.

I thought I would start out with something fun. This is a great link and I have to give credit to two big Lionel Richie Fans - Andy and Chris. Thanks Andy for always making this a part of the parties at our old place. And Chris, you know you love the DVD. If this doesn't brighten your day, I don't know what will.

Random notes.....Our work softball team lost tonight, but that is okay. While I can be competitive, I like to just get out there and play. It is fun to then hang out afterwards with the team. We go to O'Donovan's and have some food and drinks and that is a good time to just relax and get to know your co-workers a little better. My favorite part of the night though is driving home by myself with the music on real loud. I like to get on Lake Shore Drive and just let Stanley (my car) fly (although Stanley is not a 2007, but a 2006). On the play list right now is Bloc Party and they are a hard one to pass up for me of late. This is a sweet song by them if you do not know them already.

Okay, first real day of blogging done, pretty cool. Think I might just make a habit out of this. Night.