John’s Home Page

We stopped in St. Louis on our way from Louisville, KY to Omaha, NE.

Ohio is one of the most depressing states in the Union. Cold, bereft of joy, it plays the role of West New Jersey well. But all was not lost. I managed to half-way enjoy myself every once in awhile. While in Toledo I took a walk along the waterfront, and saw the Water Street Station, which was an old power plant. There was some boring modern art called the Propylaea, but if that's all the culture you have you might as well run with it. The baseball stadium (home of the Mud Hens) was interesting. There was a bar that look out at the stadium (good wings).

We're in the American midwest again, hitting Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Took some pictures while we were in Michigan City and Traverse City. We stopped at Michigan City because we were having radiator trouble. We saw a train track in the middle of the road - I thought it must've been decommissioned. Turns out I was wrong. The train runs right down the middle of the street - a full-sized passenger train!

Wednesday Sept. 22 I arrived in Chicago for Intelec, the annual "telecommunications energy conference." MM from Verizon Wireless, WC, and myself co-authored a paper concerning ohmic test instruments and their ability to determine battery state-of-health.

I once again find myself in the wintry wasteland of Michigan. It is a landscape bereft of hope, save for the shining edumacational beaconitude of the Henry Ford museum. This time, DW and I spent some time looking at cars, industry, and the 20th century.

Got back from Jacksonville, FL on September 22. Went to the beach, St. Augustine, and the Fountain of Youth.

AB and I and the Drexel crew went to Medieval Times, a re-enactment of a dark ages jousting tournament.

Finally time to build a new computer!

AB, JCT, SB and I went to the Pixies show in Camden NJ on Sunday December 5th. There were two openers, one who I don't know the name of, and Datsun. They were ok, more classic rock style I suppose. After enjoying my $7 beer, the Pixies came on.

For my birthday, my sister gave me 5lbs of orange Silly Putty. What do you do with it? What *don't* you do with it?

JC, MG & I visited the Henry Ford, which consists of several attractions. The Henry Ford Museum showcases American Industrial history, and the beginnings of the automative age. Greenfield Village was created by Henry Ford. He moved many historical buildings to the Village to preserve them for future generations. We saw sites such as the Wright Brothers' cycle shop, and Thomas Edison's laboratory.

The Philadelphia show was at the Theatre of the Living Arts on South Street (I was with AB, and KW).

The opener was Corn Mo, who we skipped, and only saw him play two songs. The show was great, and all the songs went off perfectly, as far as I can tell. TMBG played a new children's song, "Alphabet of Nations" which was really good. Songs from "The Spine" are better live, but that's true for msot bands and albums. The live Thunderbird was everything I'd hoped for...this is one of my favorite TMBG song

The guys at Perfect Wireless, Inc. gave us two tickets to go see the Brickyard 400 practice session on Saturday, August 7, 2004. JC bought a ticket at the front gate, and we headed to a room near the garage area. There was free food, and we were able to see the mechanics prepping the cars before practice began. After we ate we went to the track and watched some laps. One driver wrecked about 2 laps into it, which was pretty cool. Sometimes the cars would bump the outside wall when making their turns.

Last Friday (July 30, 2004) myself and AB headed up to Pittsburgh for the Rolling Rock Town Fair, an all-day, outdoor concert in Latrobe, PA. AB has a friend with an apartment in Pittsburgh: RB, so we stayed at his place. After we got settled in we went out to a bar, shot some pool, and met the members of Del Cielo, a band out of Washington, D.C.