Chicago, Illinois. March 26, 2009.
But that is quite often not the way it goes. A bowler who appeals to the umpire is not required to ‘I appeal’, the foreman of a jury, in announcing the verdict, is required to say either ‘I announce …’, nor yet ‘We acquit’ or ‘We convict’, and an umpire in [...]

Chicago, Illinois. April 26, 2009.
The lottery was conducted–as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program–by Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him, because he had no children and his [...]

Evanston, Illinois. April 7, 2009.
Research libraries are eagerly embracing the digital world. They are acquiring access to great quantities of electronic materials produced outside their walls and are making digital versions of their own holdings. These projects, as they become more common, are bringing both the broad issues and the nuances of the digitizing process [...]

St. Charles, Illinois. August 1, 2004.
DETROIT — The new chief executive of General Motors, Frederick A. Henderson, said Tuesday that bankruptcy was “more probable” than ever for the automaker but that he still hoped to successfully restructure the company out of court. “We will get the job done,” Mr. Henderson, who is known as Fritz, [...]

Clear Lake, Iowa. September 25, 2008. The facts are these: Just after 1 a.m. February 3, 1959, a three-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza went down about five miles northwest of Mason City Municipal Airport, near Clear Lake, Iowa. The plane crash took the lives of the pilot, Roger Peterson, and three musicians: Charles Hardin Holley, better known [...]

November 17, 2008. Evanston, Illinois. Windows Driver Kit: Driver Development Tools
Blue Screen Data
When Microsoft Windows encounters a condition that compromises safe system operation, the system halts. This condition is called a bug check. It is also commonly referred to as a system crash, a kernel error, or a Stop error. If crash dumps are enabled on [...]

Old Orchard Barnes & Noble, Skokie, Illinois. November 11, 2008. 
Espresso Martini. Prep time, 5 minutes. Level, easy. Yield, 8 cocktails.
Ingredients:

2 cups freshly brewed espresso, chilled
2 cups orange-flavored vodka (recommended: Stoli Ohrani)
1 cup coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
8 slices orange peel, twisted

Directions:
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the espresso, vodka, and coffee liqueur. Shake for [...]

Chicago, Illinois. November 4, 2008. If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It’s the answer told by lines that [...]

Step 1: For the first 20 miles, put your right foot in front of your left.
Step 2: Put your left foot in front of your right.
Step 3: Repeat 105,600 times.
Step 4: Have Chicago police tell you it’s no longer permissible to run and that you have to walk the remaining six miles – but that [...]

One of the greatest things about the coming of autumn – in addition to the fact that I get to stop hating the heat/humidity combo – is the glorious day when I get on the train in the morning, open the paper and discover, via an advertisement or a mention in a column or something, [...]

Note: All events are taken from an exact transcript of today’s happenings. Paraphrases and one speculative statement were used, but no embellishments were made.
Step one: You wake up to the sound of gentle rain, softly lulling you back to sleep.
Step two: You arrive at the office and recieve a call from the PR director [...]

Places have different meanings for different people. I’m not that big a fan of, say, St. Louis, as bad things happen every time I’m there.
Yesterday morning, however, I found myself in Denver, a city where only the most insane of things happen to me. On my first visit, I drank seven Long Island Iced [...]

After a long week of finishing exams and finishing a magazine, it was a relief to be able to turn to the idyllic retreat of western Illinois. We set aside three days in Galena to recharge, plan for the next year and sleep until 10:30.
All went as planned – and I even found a restaurant [...]

It’s 3:14 on 3/14, and what better way to celebrate being a geek than, well, by being a geek? Soon, I’ll be leaving to run 3.14 miles, to drink for 3.14 hours and to make 3.14 phone calls (I have yet to figure out how this one is going to work). So cup your hands [...]