Events

I just discovered something that should have been obvious: Chicago Public Radio dropped Car Talk too early. Starting yesterday, WBEZ moved its Saturday schedule around, dropping Car Talk from the 9am slot, bringing Wait Wait! Don't tell me and This American Life forward, and putting new show Snap Judgment in TAL's noon slot. Last week I listened to what I believed at the time to be the last Car Talk episode ever, and found it...oddly routine. Well, duh. Tom and Ray will continue recording until later...

Friday's cold front brought the chilliest weather in Chicago since April 12th. Friday night's low of 1°C yielded cool, cloudy day yesterday and today. It's now mostly cloudy and 6°C with a northwest breeze. This is significant because right now 45,000 people are running their asses off right around my house. For a variety of reasons I will not be chasing the street sweepers again this year, the chief reason being that while this temperature feels great to a runner, it kind of sucks for a biker. Good...

The temperature in Chicago dropped 13°C in six hours yesterday, taking us from summer to autumn between lunch and dinner: One minute it was summer, with the Chicago area basking in the warmest temperatures of the past 22 days---the next, howling northwest winds were delivering an autumn-level chill. Readings surged to 27°C at Midway and the Lakefront by mid afternoon but were soon on the run with the arrival of gusty showers—a few with lightning and thunder. These initiated the impressive temperature...

Behold, the Like-a-Hug: Designed by MIT researchers, the Like-A-Hug coat senses when a Facebook friend "likes" your picture of a sweater-wearing cat or wistful update about finding true love. Then, via some complicated electronic mechanism that's not quite clear, it rewards the wearer by filling with air to mimic a "hugging" sensation. So basically this is an article of clothing that broadcasts the owner's craven need for approval, as well as suggesting his or her crushing failure to attract hugs from...

The Chicago Transit Authority replaced two viaducts over Evanston, Ill., streets in June, the fifth and sixth of 17 century-old structures. The Daily Parker watched them replace one back in 2006; in 2012, the CTA took video. Here's Greenleaf Street, replaced on June 11th: And here's Dempster Street, replaced two weeks later: It's all part of a plan to rehabilitate the Red and Purple lines that may get finished in my lifetime. (The RPM project, one aspect of the plan, is going forward, soonish.) If only...

I made a mistake Monday: the Astos and Cubs will probably end the season with a combined 208 losses, not 207. It's a bit damp at Wrigley today, so they may not play; but if they do, either the Cubs will wind up 60-102 or 61-101 (to the Astros' 56-106 or 55-107, respectively). That's impressive. Meanwhile, the new wild-card arrangement has gelled for the National League (Washington, Cincinnati, San Francisco clinch their divisions; Atlanta and St. Louis are wild cards), but the American League might not...

The Tribune just foisted two news alerts on me that I already knew. First, the Cubs lost their 100th game, which, it turns out, has only happened three times in the last 140 freaking years. The Trib's lede is beautiful: Fifty years ago this week, only 595 fans showed up at Wrigley Field for the opener of the Cubs-Mets series, the last time two teams with 100-plus losses faced each other. The '62 Cubs — with future Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Billy Williams and Ron Santo on the roster — wound...

It is a mathematical certainty that the combined losses of the Astros and Cubs will get to 207 when the season ends Wendesday. They're playing each other right now, with the Cubs heading for their 100th loss of the year. One cannot but marvel at the prowess of both teams, both fighting quixotically for their respective honors. The Cubs can't possibly be the worst team in baseball this year, because the Astros have so totally dominated them in that respect. And yet, the Astros will move to the American...

Chicago hit a new record for most consecutive months with above-average temperatures, which ended August 31st (only we didn't know for sure until yesterday): For the first time in a year, Chicago has logged a month with below-normal temperatures. Averaging 17.8°C, September finished 0.3°C below normal, ending the city's record run of 11 above-normal months that began in October 2011. Despite the lower-than-normal temperatures, sunshine was plentiful, averaging 75 percent of possible, the highest here...

Last night, in the West Loop: After tomorrow's performance in Madison, Wis., Girlyman will be taking a break from performing. I'm glad I got a chance to see them. Doris and Ty: And the opening act, Chastity Brown, whose CD I bought on the way out. Great stuff: