I found DU soon after it went live, while looking for Bush jokes online. The search led me to EarlG's great Top 10 Conservative Idiots. :rofl: I was hooked immediately. But I didn't yet own a home computer (and would not until the following January) and was able to only take short peeks while at work. Bummer. But I regularly checked out the site and found myself reading the forums. At the time, I was such a newbie to the internets that I had never previously seen any kind of discussion fo...

One dead in heat-shortened marathon 302 runners hospitalized, officials say By Andrew Wang, Josh Noel, Shannon Ryan and Neil Milbert | Tribune staff reporters 4:55 PM CDT, October 7, 2007 A Michigan man who collapsed during Sunday's heat-shortened LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon has died, authorities said. A spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office said the victim, identified as 35-year-old man from Midland, Mich., was picked up near the intersection of 15th Street and Ashland ...

It was $2.94.9 in the near west suburbs of Chicago. Yesterday, it was four cents higher, but under the $3 mark. I never thought I'd see that again.

Bibbity bobbity boo..... The streetlamps are on in Chicago tonight, And lovers a'gazin' at stars; The stores are all closin', and Daley is dozin', And the fat man is counting the cars... And there's more cars than places to put 'em, he says, But I've got room for them all; So 'round 'em up boys, 'cause I want some more toys, In the lot by the grocery store... To me, way, hey, tow them away, The Lincoln Park Pirates are we, From Wilmette to Gary, there's nothin' so hairy And we always collect o...

Her car was pulled up at the store entrance and she was putting something big into the back of her car. I was afraid to drive around her, because someone might have come from the opposite direction and then I wouldn't have known what to do. I am 83 years old and between all I have to pay for pills for my "condition" and putting a little gas into "Old Bessie", I was feeling all weak and discombobulated from not being able to afford to eat food. So I had gone to Target, damn near passing out fr...

(Link) Anybody else remember going out to watch the satellite in the sky? And how much does this out me as a geezer?

Source: Chicago Tribune Mob jury reaches partial verdict on slayings By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter UPDATE: A federal jury in Chicago this afternoon found that three reputed Outfit figures were responsible for 10 gangland slayings at the heart of the Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial, but the panel deadlocked on eight other murders. Details to come. The federal jury in the landmark Family Secrets mob trial has reached a partial verdict this afternoon but told the court that it is de...

A word I encountered in a novel I am reading. :silly:

I am almost afraid to post this. This is Cubs' year REALLY MAYBE HOPEFULLY PRETTY PLEASE? Rick Morrissey September 23, 2007 A fan base that suffers from congenital heartbreak is being asked once again if it would be willing to place its trust in a baseball franchise that seems to delight in destroying dreams, foreclosing on hopes and, for all anyone knows, clubbing baby seals. The fan base wonders if there's a catch. No, the fans are told, that's it. Just lie on the ground so men with s...

Anyone know how to get a couple hippos and rhinos out of the bedroom? :hide:

Neal Conan is on NPR in the lead-up to Petraeus' and Crocker's testimony before the House. He got a bit flustered and referred to "the surge" as "the siege". Ironic. I am laughing.

A year later, Field's followers still protesting By Sandra M. Jones September 8, 2007 It has been a year since Macy's made its Chicago debut, and the department store chain can't seem to shake the image of a New Yorker trampling on the Second City. Marshall Field's loyalists plan to gather Sunday in front of Macy's on State Street in Chicago to call for the return of the famous moniker, marking the fourth protest organized by the grassroots group Field's Fans Chicago. "Our goal is to demons...

Who knew? :hide:

By Jon Van | Tribune staff reporter August 28, 2007 Chicago is curtailing its digital dreams, deciding to back away from municipal Wi-Fi service after failing to reach agreement with either of two companies that sought to build a wireless Internet network in the city. The move comes as municipal broadband wireless projects around the country face difficulties, and EarthLink Inc., a major player in the field, is re-evaluating its future in municipal Wi-Fi. As envisioned in early 2006, Chicag...

4 counties named disaster areas Tribune staff reports 2:26 PM CDT, August 24, 2007 Gov. Rod Blagojevich was touring flood-damaged areas today and declared four northern Illinois counties state disaster areas: Cook, Lake, Kane and McHenry counties. Another round of thunderstorms is expected to blow through this afternoon and tonight as work crews try to restore power, clear roads and alert people across the Chicago area to flooding dangers. The National Weather Service sent out a flash flo...

Ex-Gov. Ryan to seek 2nd appeal The legal team for former Gov. George Ryan pledged this afternoon to seek another appeal after a federal appellate court this morning affirmed his sweeping fraud and corruption convictions. In a crushing legal blow to the former governor, a three-judge panel from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled 2-1 today that Ryan received a fair trial last year despite a series of juror controversies. In earlier allowing the former governor to remain fre...

Sorry. A dupe. :blush:

It's taken me almost six years to get here, from a lurker virtually at the very beginning until I joined in October of 2001 and now. A :toast: to my dear friend Andy Stephenson. And :loveya: to BDC.

Spindle in need of a tow truck No town wants to be known for 'public art' that would be more at home in an auto graveyard, writes Judy Baar Topinka Judy Baar Topinka is a former treasurer of Illinois and represented the west suburbs in the legislature August 3, 2007 Berwyn is a west suburban treasure. It has solid bungalows and beautiful Victorian homes. It is great for commuting because of the Metra and its location between two major expressways. It has great ethnic restaurants. And finall...

Roni is always around to welcome us, congratulate us on milestones, remember our birthdays, anniversaries and whatever. But she hasn't been around for 10 days...after posting a thread where she said she wasn't doing too well. Can anyone please enlighten us? I am very worried about her. Thanks, mods and admin.

Raise your hand. I have a free cellphone that I can't quite figure out how to use except to make a call. Why would I want a gadget that would put me bacl $500 or $600 that'd be too complex for me to use? Am I the only one who could care less?

Army takes aim at officer attrition Midlevel leaders get incentives to stay on during war footing By Lolita C. Baldor Associated Press Published May 12, 2007 WASHINGTON -- The Army will offer incentives to keep midlevel officers as it faces another decade or so in combat around the world, its chief of staff said Friday. Gen. George Casey, who took over as the Army's chief just a month ago, said the United States will "be in a period of conflict for, I believe, another 5 or 10 years." And the...

Vrdolyak indicted in real estate case By Jeff Coen and Matt O’Connor Tribune staff reporters Published May 10, 2007, 12:42 PM CDT Edward R. Vrdolyak, the former powerful Chicago alderman and polarizing politician who has been under federal scrutiny in connection with a multimillion-dollar real estate deal, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud and bribery charges, authorities announced today. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Vrdolyak was indicted "for allegedly scheming with ...

Is there ANYTHING this guy has not confessed to? :shrug:

She is back...first CD in years. :D (Link)

I am hearing tons of fire engines (can't see them) and am smelling something burning. I can't see anything. This is a near-in Chicago suburb with a lot of old buildings...some of which are landmarks. I hope the damn fire is extinguished soon, that no one gets hurt and no one is left homeless. Damn, smells like old wood. More engines heard. Other suburbs are responding.

Mine has approximately 14,000 living, breathing residents. And more than 550,000 dead ones. The other end of town from where I live is one cemetery after another...all old ones. The authorities know immediately from the election results if we vote early and vote often. This IS suburban Chicago, after all.

Does your man abandon you Saturday nights this time of year??? My team lost (31 - 21) last night. :cry: His team won (59 - 0) tonight. :D Now he is off watching someone else tonight. I hate winter, but January is looking wonderful to me right now. :evilgrin:

Because their parents could not afford to pay the electric bill. (Link)

In matter of life and death, the joke is on Buchwald By Stevenson Swanson Tribune national correspondent Published August 27, 2006 MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. -- Art Buchwald was supposed to be entertaining angels by now. In February, the ailing newspaper columnist said goodbye to his friends and checked himself into a Washington, D.C., hospice to await his final deadline. But a funny thing happened to the man who has spent his life making readers laugh. He lived. So he did what he has done e...