Taste of Chicago 2011 - Picture Diary of Food

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Can you match what's what?

• a. mustard fried catfish
• b. beignet
• c. sweet potato fries
• d. mango kafir
• e. jerk wings
• f. irish egg roll
• g. sauteed goat meat and fried plantains
• h. toasted ravioli
  

The Taste of Chicago

Pictures of the Day] Look for next entry! To learn more: http://explorechicago.org/city/en/supporting_narrative/events___special_events/special_events/park_district/Taste_of_Chicago.html

Mood] Pretty good

Weather] Sunny, High 78!

Currently] In the cube

Quote of the Day] "Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in the world that just don't add up."

So every year the Taste of Chicago comes and it is pretty much the happiest time next to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Why is so much of our culture circled around food? It's awesome, it's fun, it's social, it's delicious. I don't know, but whatever the reason, each year the streets are blocked off and Grant park is packed with tons of people enjoying roughly sixty vendors! There are free items to be had and lots of exciting concerts/shows at the Patrillo Band Shell.

My personal favourites always include: the bbq turkey leg, fried plantain and sauteed goat meat, original rainbow waffle cone, pierogi with all the dressings, and sweet potato fries. This year there are a few new vendours though and I am psyched to check them out! I really want to try the jerk chicken wings or lambchops. (for the full listing of stalls: http://explorechicago.org/city/en/supporting_narrative/events___special_events/special_events/park_district/Taste_of_Chicago/taste_of_chicago_2011.html) Tickets are 12 for 8 dollars. The turkey leg costs 12 and if you buy the tickets ahead of time at a grocery store like Dominicks, then it's cheaper.

I think there's an awesome variety of dessert and main courses. They keep it pretty balanced and some stalls serve both. I am going to go again this week!

ZOMFG TURKEY LEG,
~Jaye

IIT Digital Picture Frame

Pictures of the Day] Pictures of the new digital picture frame

Mood] Blah, how often is that eh?

Weather] HOT. Freaking 84 degrees. Not cool.

Currently] In the cube

Quote of the Day] "Acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to."

So today started out pretty fantastic. I mean that in a non sarcastic way. I got to talk to my best friend on Skype for once in a long time, and since the last time we've spoken, both of us have had a lot of adventures. It's nice to be able to have webcams and see one another from afar. Of course, skype isn't perfect quality, but I think it's improving all the time. I like thinking about how "back in the day" people had to wait for the only means of communication, which were letters, for months and months, even years. A few friends of mine and I still keep the age old tradition of writing snail mail alive, but I wonder often whether or not it will ever die out completely. There's just something pleasant about getting something in the mail and knowing that someone took the time to write it for you. It's not staring at a screen and reading. You actually get to PHYSICALLY open the envelope (sometimes get that papercut) and read ink on paper. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I think it's neat.

Anyway, today's blog entry is totally about the new IIT Digital Picture Frame that I have set up for the Office! It has been a little bit of a pain because of course the box says "128 mb of internal memory!" which actually amounts to like...10 photos. So I had to pick out all the photos I wanted (which ended up being like 100 something, you know me) and then put them onto an SD card (which I had to transfer 2 different ways) and then shove the SD card in the photo frame and then figure out how to work it from there (as you can see there are like 4 buttons to actually navigate with). Heh. All in all though, not too bad. And definitely worth the effort. That frame is going to look snazzy sitting up at the front desk! So yeah, moral of the story is: students, if you're looking to get an awesome gift for your parents, go for the digital picture frame and pre-load it with pics of yourself and the rest of your family! BEST IDEA EVAH.

Not looking forward to walking in the heat,
~Jaye

IIT Undergrad Admission Flickr Account

Picture of the Day] FLICKR!!!

Mood] Awake

Weather] Mostly cloudy, high 70!

Currently] In the cube

Quote of the Day] "The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."

So I have blogged before about the IIT iphone app that I so awesomely got to voice for (IIT Campus360, where you can view videos, photos, and do your own tour by navigating a map and tapping on buildings to hear information about them), but here is another project that I have been working on!! Yes. The IIT Flickr account. Woo woo! Tony (fellow Student Ambassador and super cool dude) and I have been uploading pictures from events, ones we've taken on and off campus, student activities, classrooms, you name it! It's been lots of fun, though a lot more work than you would think.

In addition to taking the 500,000 photos (I actually don't know if that's how many we have. Ha ha ha. Just joking), we have been hand pruning them, uploading, writing descriptions, organizing, and geo-tagging all of them, so you know exactly where the photos were taken! Pretty neat. And people definitely have been checking it out, which is awesome. In May we had 506 views in one day! I think that's pretty successful, though I'm thinking we can get more. :D

Check it out here!!! : http://www.flickr.com/photos/iitugadmission/
~Jaye

Summer Studio

Picture of the Day] Some buildings from my studio research

Mood] Bogged down already

Weather] Sunny, 83, feels like 87

Currently] In the basement

Quote of the Day] "Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live."

So first off, yay, air conditioning!! I finally have some! Hooray! Now then, the apartment is beginning to cool down, though my room is still a little stuffy. It's better than before though, so woo. As for homework, studio has already got me working hard. This studio is focusing on how to create vertical and horizontal structures that are energy efficient/sustainable. We are in the research phase, so right now we are studying a ton of different precedents and are beginning to get an idea of what kind of technology can be used - photovoltaic, tons of different wind turbines, passive solar systems, etc...

Some of the interesting buildings try and combine a number of options to become totally self-sufficient. It is definitely possible, but a bit difficult. Also a lot of people think that the aesthetic of the building is forfeited. I think there are ways to make a building look and act dynamic. Besides, I think that peoples' taste are changing, especially if it means keeping the planet healthy to live on for generations to come. I think sustainability actions are all about habit. If we make it a habit and an expectation, then we can make it something that is inherent for future generations. It's kinda like organic food, which makes things difficult because the system is circular. If you want organic food, then you have to buy it, but it's expensive, so you don't, but if you don't buy it, then the price will never go down. We'll figure it out in the end...

Research away!
~Jaye

The Heat and a Face-Lift

Picture of the Day] This blog! Yeah I know it's cheating. :P

Mood] Wiped Out

Weather] High 80s, humidity..don't even talk about it.

Currently] In the basement

Quote of the Day] "When ideas fail, words come in very handy."

Oh my goodness. It's sooooooo hot. Then again, anything over 60 becomes hot for me. Ha ha ha ha. It's been awful up here and the air condition has not been fixed in my apartment yet so I have set up tons of fans to circulate air, which still does not work very well. I'm hoping to get that fixed soon. In other news, my blog has gotten a face-lift! I was getting bored of the last one, so I thought to change things up, but it was a bit more difficult than I imaged. I think they don't make it very easy for you to change free blogger templates. @.@ So I had to delete a bunch of my widgets (the things on the sidebars) and re-make them from scratch. Unfortunately my fake twitter feed got nixed. :/ I'll hopefully find some other cooler things to put up. ^-^ There are actually a decent number of pre-sets in the blogger design archive now, so I might just use those for a while and change things up. It'll probably be easier anyway!

Humidity is one of the worst things on this planet,
~Jaye

Rainy Day in May?

Picture of the Day] Today it is raining super hard, so why not flaunt my new boots in the office?

Mood] Cheery

Weather] 53, rainy, thunderstorming

Currently] In the cube

Quote of the Day] "What's another word for Thesaurus?"

So today is pretty awesome. It was incredibly difficult to get up. I was supposed to wake up early and do some exercising and homework. Instead I slept in. Why? Headache. Yes. But also GRAY GRAY GRAY. It was completely dark. My room has no windows (well one that I wouldn't care to open. >.>) so it is pitch black if the door is closed. Today even with the door open there was barely any light in there. Why? RAIN. It was thunderstorming and raining all night (or at least it seemed like it). But I was pleased to get up and put on my new boots. :D

I'm not sure who will be coming today for the tour, but I hope they dress warmly and bring umbrellas! We usually give tours at 12:45 PM - 1:45 ish every day. I know that in the past, people have still come out to see us even in awful weather. Either way, people have other options of checking us out. I'm not too worried. ^-^

Back to work!
~Jaye