...to go somewhere else. Yesterday's final, official figure: 208 mm, a full 43 mm more than the rainfall that caused the record floods in August 1987.
And it's not over yet.
Today has set the record as the wettest day in Chicago history, and (a) it's only 11am and (b) more rain is coming:
Overnight rains that approached 178 mm over northern Cook County broke several impressive Chicago records. 176 mm of precipitation has been measured at O'Hare International Airport since Midnight making today, Chicago's wettest calandar day in modern weather history.
I'm looking for community input.
Mostly because of business travel, but also because I have signed up for almost every reward program that American Airlines offers, this year I expect to earn around 200,000 frequent-flyer miles. I need to spend them. And when best to spend them then off-season, in late November or early December, when people aren't traveling much?
But where to go? American and its partner oneworld carriers fly non-stop from Chicago to about 95 destinations, ranging in distance from Milwaukee to Delhi, India.
So here are my rules for this long weekend in November or December: the destination must be 12 hours total flying time or closer; outside the Lower 48; avoid the infamous Newark-to-Kennedy connection that American loves to inflict on people using miles; no visa requirement; and nowhere I've been before. Oh, and it has to be somewhere I actually want to go.
Here's the preliminary list, with non-stop flights from Chicago listed first:
- Amman, Jordan
- Calgary, Alb.
- Cancún, Mexico
- Madrid, Spain
- Manchester, U.K. (i.e., Scotland)
- México City
- Montréal
- Ottawa
- Tokyo
- Toronto
- Bucharest, Romania (x LHR)
- Budapest, Hungary (x JFK)
- Buenos Aires (x MIA)
- Curação (x MIA)
- Copenhagen, Denmark (x LHR)
- Honolulu (x LAX)
- Panama City (x MIA)
- Quito, Ecuador (x MIA)
- San Jose, Costa Rica (x DFW)
- San Jose Cabo, Mexico (x LAX)
- Santiago, Chile (x JFK)
- Stockholm, Sweden (x LHR)
- Tel Aviv, Israel (x LHR)
- Vienna, Austria (x LHR)
- Zurich, Switzerland (x JFK)
(I'm leaning towards the places in bold.) Thoughts?
It appears the air conditioners back at IDTWHQ have failed, while I'm 1,700 km away:
The chart starts at 7pm Chicago time Tuesday. The squiggle shows the backup air conditioner cycling on and off while it's in "energy saving" mode. That stops around 2pm yesterday, when, I imagine, the backup failed. Then, at 8:30pm last night, the main seems to have stopped.
I'll be leaving San Antonio on an earlier flight. I just hope the A/C units have simply stopped, and that they'll start again when I turn them on. Chicago's forecast calls for a high of 34°C today only going down to 24°C overnight. But without cooling, Inner Drive's poor servers may not last another two hours...
Chicago has seen its hottest temperatures in years this week, with more coming today:
Not since July 24, 2005 when O'Hare hit 39°C and a reading of 40°C occurred at Midway, has a triple-digit [Fahrenheit] reading occurred at the city's two observation sites. The entire 83 year observational record at Midway includes only 84 38°C or higher temperatures—and just 26 have occurred in the nearly half-century period since 1960.
Good thing I'm not in Chicago this week. No, I'm in San Antonio, where the temperature has stayed a cool and delightful 37°C. Every day. Except yesterday, when it rained for half an hour.
I fully expect this business trip to balance out in January when I get sent to Manitoba.
The Economist's Prospero blog piles on the Cubs after attending the Crosstown Classic last week:
Teams like the Cubs give people a safe space in which to lose. Fans get the benefits of commiseration without incurring any real costs. The predictable losers also allow other teams to win. So really the Sox fans should be grateful for the Cubs. Such losers may not be so lovable on scrutiny, but their ineptitude has an extra civic function: they take one for the team. They’re a sacrifice fly.
And on the Fourth of July, yet! Limey bastahd.
He may have a point, though.
Snapshot from the corner of Franklin and Randolph recently:
22 June 2011, Canon SD1200 at ISO-100, 1/160 at f/13, 14mm, here.
Columbus Park, in Chicago's Austin neighborhood:
Today, ISO-100, 1/80 at f/8, here.
The Chicago Park District describes the park:
[Designer Jens] Jensen's vision for Columbus Park was inspired by the unimproved site's natural history and topography. Convinced that it was an ancient beach, Jensen designed a series of berms, like glacial ridges, encircling the flat interior part of the park. In the center area, following the traces of sand dune, he created a "prairie river" flowing from two brooks. Two natural-looking waterfalls, with ledges of stratified stonework, represent the source of the river. Throughout the park, Jensen included native plants.
Jensen also included programming elements emulating nature. Broad prairie-like meadows provide a golf course and ball fields. He designed an outdoor theatre, known as the "player's green," for plays and other performances. In the children's playground area, Jensen included his favorite feature, the council ring, a circular stone bench for storytelling and campfires.
It's also two blocks away from the Eastgate Cafe, which has tasty and inexpensive lunch for people and cool water for dogs.
Sunrise over Lake Michigan:
April 1993, Canon EOS Rebel using Kodachrome 64, exposure unrecorded, approximately here.
Dusty Baker walks from the mound to the dugout at Wrigley Field for the last time as manager of the Cubs:
1 October 2006, ISO-200, 1/800 at f/6.3, 200mm, here.