Gary Said... » blading

Roller Blading in Chicago

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:41:46 +0000

Just some photos and video of the Chicago area while I was rollerblading around the Grant Park area. Just some free time before WordCamp Chicago 2009 starts

We do this in Michigan when Detroit sports teams are in the championships.

Nothing really exciting in the video other than it’s a nice bridge and it’s a nice day. You can see I’m getting pretty tired as I near the top of the hill.

Direct link to the HQ video.

This might be a good test of the new Image Stabablization features in the iMovie ’09…

#wcchicago

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Tags and Categories: blading, Chicago, Detroit, general, Grant Park, Lake Michigan, Michigan, photos, roller blading, videos, WordCamp

Blogger Meet-up in Chicago Tomorrow

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:51:29 +0000

So a bunch of bloggers are getting together tomorrow and I’m going. It’s officially DaveCago 3 which means Dave from Blogography is in town and organizes a get together. So tomorrow evening we’re getting together to have drinks and dinner and drinks and just generally have a great time. I’ve gotten together with some permutation of this group the last two years and I wanted to do it again. I’m not even sure who’s coming, I only know of a few for sure but I’m assuming the group is more like 10-15+ people.

What else? I’m not sure if anything’s up for Sunday but if not, I’ll have my roller blades because down by the water in Chicago is one of the best places to go blading. I going to try to hit Standing Room Only for my ribs one of the days (it’s not too far from my hotel).

I’ll be taking the train, because I love the train!! I get too tired if I drive in on the same day to do stuff, the train lets me go in the morning and be awake the rest of the day (and also lets me be semi-productive for those five hours). If only I could take my bicycle on this stretch of the train, I really like having my bike in Chicago (you can really cover some ground).

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Tags and Categories: blading, blogging, Chicago, DaveCago, DaveCago 3, DaveCago3, friends + family, roller blading, rollerblading, train

Apple should add BlueTooth to iPods (Feature Request)

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 23:27:04 +0000

So I love my iPod but I hate the cords (the same goes for the cell phone). It needs bluetooth! It’s be better for the car (if the stereo from car had it) and it’d be better for walking, running, rollerblading, etc. I know people make some adaptors but Apple is such a BT supporter it really needs to be integrated (you could even sync via BT if you wanted).

Now BlueTooth is not as universal as it really should be so they need a way for companies to add some firmware to make it more compatible (who isn’t going to add a drive for the best selling iPod?)

And this is how I want it to work/look (be sure to roll your mouse over the image). And if we’re adding video, I want a 160 GB version!

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Tags and Categories: Apple, blading, BlueTooth, iPod, portable, technology, walking

What a beautiful day at MSU

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Sun, 28 May 2006 22:50:54 +0000

It’s such a great day I went up to Michigan State University to wander around. It’s a great day, it was a little hot for rollerblading though. Campus seems pretty covered with WiFi, I like that

I’m off to Charlie Kangs for dinner. That would be “beef with broccoli, with no vegetables, but I want the broccoli (just not the other ones)”…

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Tags and Categories: blading, me + myself + i, Michigan, Michigan, Michigan State University, MSU, WiFi, WiFi

They Promised Me Rain…

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 21:24:22 +0000

I had my day planned and I had to rearrange the whole day. So instead of cleaning, running errands and other boring stuff I had to do something else.

This means I got to go rollerblading and drive around in the car with the top down!!! It was 60+ most of the day so I’m really enjoying this (I didn’t say I was complaining, just that it was promised). It’ll probably rain later (or sooner) since they’re still forecasting it (tomorrow too) but maybe they’ll be wrong again and it’ll get up to 70!!!

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Tags and Categories: blading, general, me + myself + i, Michigan, Weather

Where are those rocks that I’m talking about…

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 18:59:28 +0000

So this is where I was when I did the rock tour (see recent posts). It’s also where I was when I went rollerblading part of the time and where I just liked to relax. You can see in the zoomed in part (you did click on the thumbnail image?) that fuzzy edge near the water along Lake Michigan, it’s all these huge rocks (or big chunks of cement) along the shoreline. It’s probably about 40-60 feet of these along the shoreline to the water (if not more) and many are painted with these some of these sayings on them.

The right half of the map is Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois the left half is Evanston. They’re north of Chicago maybe 30-40 minutes from the downtown train station via the Metra (sixty if you take the L and have to switch trains). The L is probably just at the left side of the map and downtown Evanston is probably just south of this map. I really like the area I’ve had different friends live there (or near) at various times and it’s just always been comfortable to me.

Here’s a sketch of the campus so you can see it from a different perspective.

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Tags and Categories: blading, Chicago, general, me + myself + i, Michigan

Things that make me happy :)

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 21:41:35 +0000

We’re talking about easily accessible things here (in no particular order), like:

Riding the train.

Evanston, IL.

Rollerblading.

East Lansing and MSU.

Holding babies.

Riding with the top down on perfect days.

I almost didn’t put that last one since I can’t contol the weather, I was trying to list things that were always accessible. I like first kisses too, but those aren’t always available so I didn’t list them. I can’t always find babies either but they’re an option more often than nice days in Michigan (and first dates).In case you didn’t know I’ve done four of these in the last 24 hours. That might be what inspired this…

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Tags and Categories: blading, general, happy things, me + myself + i, Michigan, Michigan State University, MSU

My stupid laptop

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 14:16:46 +0000

So I had power all the way down here on the train (yes, I’m in Chicago now) which was a treat, if only they had WiFi. I plugged in the the laptop before I went to bed and the darn battery charger cord came out 1/8th of an inch and now the thing is dead. I was going to take it with me when I left for Evanston (my plan was to blog, eat and shop all day, with some rollerblading in there too). My battery lasts a decent time but it seems to take forever to charge… I’m just annoyed because it’s only out of juice because it slipped, not ’cause it ran out. Maybe I’ll have to be geekless part of the day.

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Tags and Categories: batteries, blading, Chicago, portable, technology, WiFi

Vacation – Chick Chat

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 04:37:58 +0000

1. Where Do You Visit The Most On Vacation?:

Probably Florida, the Miami (pardon me, the South Beach area) and Ft. Lauderdale area. Haven’t been there in a while but it’s got sun and good roller blading. I’ve probably been to Florida the most especially counting other locations. I’ve been to Washington D.C. a lot but mostly for work. I’ve been to Chicago and Toronto more than a few times but those are usually quick trips and don’t require much planning. I’ll make Florida be my final answer!

2. What’s Your Idea Of A Dream Vacation?:

A town with water and a beach and lots of time to relax (and A/C in the hotel room). Not too much noise, not too much time to wait in a line for anything…

3. Ever Been To Disney World or Disneyland?:

Yes. As a kid and again when I was 18 or 19, it’s okay. It’d be more fun if I had my own kids to take.

4. What Has Been Your Favorite Vacation So Far?:

My last few vacations have been great London and Costa Rica. What I really liked about them was very little travel, didn’t keep changing hotels and towns and such, just mostly hung out in one spot. I’d probably give Costa Rica the higher rating since there was sun and beach and a lot more relaxing.

5. Have You Taken A Cruise?:

Yes, but I was only 15 so I don’t really think I got all the benefits from the trip.

From Chick Chat.

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Tags and Categories: beach, blading, Chicago, Costa Rica, Disney, holidays + events, London, meme, roller blading, travel

Blading

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Thu, 12 Aug 2004 03:01:33 +0000

So while I was in England I got to hang out with Monika, Danielle and Alysha. They were a blast and the kids had these accents that were so cute it actually sounded like that they were pretending to have accents. I should have recorded them so I could add an audio clip here.

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Tags and Categories: activities + sports, blading, England, holidays + events, in-line skating, kids

Even more photos…

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Sat, 31 Jul 2004 23:22:04 +0000

Here are some more PHOTOS, mostly of the major landmarks along the Thames. The tower bridge, the Eye of London (super slow ferris wheel), Big Ben/Westminster Abbey, me Blading. London Bridge (the flat one), bungee trampolining and a few other sites around town.

If you can’t read these check out the boring version with a limited number of photos (if you have to go this route please let me know what the error message you get is).

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Tags and Categories: blading, holidays + events, London, photo album

Share your two favorite… – Tuesday Twosome

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Wed, 07 Jul 2004 05:09:06 +0000

1. ways you cool off from the summer heat: Air Conditioning and Ice Cream.
2. summer activities: Rollerblading and Bicycling.
3. cold beverages: Coca-Cola and A & W Root Beer.
4. summer memories: Hanging out at the beach and hanging out with the guys (building floats keeps popping into my mind but that’s more of a fall thing.).
5. vacation spots: Costa Rica and England (and Miami Beach)

From Tuesday Twosome

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Tags and Categories: beach, blading, Coca-Cola, Costa Rica, England, meme

We Wanna Know – Sunday Brunch

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Wed, 07 Jul 2004 04:55:07 +0000

1. Looking back on the past week, what was your favorite moment? I had a really nice day Friday, I took the day off because the weekend was supposed to be yucky (and it ended up being nice most of the time). Blading, happy hour, errands (crossed a lot off my list) Fireworks at The Henry Ford with Kelly, Liz and Thomas.
2. Tell us about funny moment that had you and others laughing ’til it hurt. My buddy Mark was moving and we we lifting some stuff of the edge of the patio (it was about 6 feet off the ground and very long, the door from the living room and bedroom open to it). Heather and I were pushing the mattress up and no one was there so I yelled for help. Mark comes running out, into the closed glass door (and I swear the glass bowed out a few inches) knocked himself silly and instead of opening the door and coming out, he ran around inside and came out the other door. Every time I saw him for the next few days (weeks) I just burst out laughing.
3. What is one of your favorite childhood memories?
4. Tell us about a time when you were traveling when things just didn’t work out as planned. Costa Rica – driving through the mountains to get to Mount Arenal (the world’s most active volcano). Driving around trying to find a hotel or food while avoiding the HUGE wacos (pot holes) by the time we found the place we had blown a tire and the hotel was all but closed. We convinced the guy at the desk who didn’t speak any english to get us some food because we we starving so bad (he didn’t even charge us). He chopped up mangos and fruit and all sorts of stuff for us what a crazy night.
5. Have you ever been in the middle major storm (blizzard/tornado/hurricane/earthquake)? If yes, tell us about it. Yes. Last minute I flew down to visit Christine (West Virgina) over New Year’s (about 5 years ago), I had flight issues (not weather related) just getting there and the day I went to leave there was a huge blizzard there and in Michigan. I’m pretty patient so I checked into a hotel and went to the mall (I figured movie, food, shopping, etc.). During the movie (Step Mom) they close the mall, but no one tells us, so now they have a bunch of emotional people trapped in the mall. All the restaurants are closed, everything is iced over. I took me three hours to get a cab to take me back to the hotel. The hotel had no indoor pool, no gift shop, just basic TV, even the airport which I went to a half dozen times didn’t even have anything. I had actually read all they books they had already (except for the romance novels). It was a disaster when I got back to Detroit, people were basically living in the airport, it was like something out a war movie with all the refugees, I’m not kidding that’s how I felt. When I went down to get my luggage there was luggage from the past few days there stacked 5 feet high. They conveyers were three pieces of luggage deep, when people grabbed luggage they couldn’t dislodge it and got dragged along. It was the only snow day they had the few years I worked at that school district and I missed it…

From Sunday Brunch on Tuesday

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Tags and Categories: blading, childhood memories, Costa Rica, Detroit, earthquake, Fireworks, mattress, meme, Michigan, Michigan, Sunday Brunch, Weather

Karma? dis-Synchronicity?

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 04:22:55 +0000

So on Saturday I was thinking about one friend and I hadn’t gotten in touch for a while and that I had been (extra) remiss in keeping in touch. That night I get an e-mail from his wife (with a techie question), what are the odds?

Same day I was thinking about a friend who I hadn’t heard from in a while. Health problems for her and her husband, I’ve called every so often and gotten different answering machine messages so I assumed the messages were getting through. Sunday morning I noticed on my caller ID a call from their number. I didn’t really want to play it since I was pretty sure it wasn’t good news. But what are the odds of a phone call from them? And the last time she called late at night in crisis mode was the same night my step-father took a turn for the worse before he passed away. Just odd coincidences. (Finally caved and played the message, not good news, but not horrible either. But her comments about not calling back were very similar to my thoughts about not keeping in touch with the other friend.)

Saturday night on the way home (a very nice ride by the way) I drove by a nice park, I’m sure I’ve driven that way at least once (maybe twice before) but somehow not noticed it (but it’s huge). Saw a nice church made a notation of the times but didn’t get up in time. Was thinking about the other stuff during the day on Sunday went over to the park to relax and decided to go to church instead. The only one I’ve every gone to around here. The one with the super-friendly Father with the accent so strong you aren’t surprised when you find out her does sermons at another parish completely in Polish. I come out afterwards get inside and the radio is playing (odd) and they I realize the steering column is broken from when they tried to steal it while I was inside. A very odd anti-coincidence. Maybe more of an odd series of circumstances that let to me getting some negative feedback for going to church instead of rollerblading.

Just odd how things happen. I know there is a reason they call them coincidences but it’s just odd.

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Tags and Categories: blading, friends + family, general, Karma, me + myself + i

My Favorite Things – Sunday Brunch

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Sun, 23 May 2004 17:50:17 +0000

1. What is your favorite color?

Hmm.. I usually work with beige’s and browns not ’cause I like them but because they are easier to match… MY favorite color lately has probably been orange. I’ve got a few short-sleeve shirts, but my favorite is the bright orange sweat shirt that looks like it belonged to a cone on the side of the highway.

2. What is your favorite piece of clothing?

I llike my docker-like pants with all the pockets. Places for my keys, phone, camera, money and other things that I don’t have a place to put them since I don’t have a purse.

3. Where is your favorite place to eat out?

There are two chinese places in Lansing that I like Charlie Kangs (Beef Broccoli or Sweet and sour Shrimp) and J.P. Express (Pineapple Chicken). Locally I’ve been liking Friday’s (see below) and the bar around the corner from my place, Bamboozle’s.

4. What is your favorite meal?

I’d have to say one of the few listed above and I’ve really been liking Friday’s for some of the Jack Daniel’s meals at Friday’s. The best is the Sesame Jack Chicken Strips.

5. What is your favorite sport or recreational game?

No. I’m more of a Dominoes (or recently Scene It? the DVD game) kind of guy. Oh wait, can I count rollerblading?

From Sunday Brunch

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Tags and Categories: blading, dominoes, DVD, meme, Scene It, Sunday Brunch

100 Things

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 00:01:51 +0000

Here’s my 100 things about me page. (If you’re looking for my 101 in 1001 days list go here.) To follow the theme that I’ve found on many other sites, partially to see what I come up with and to let others see what I come up with. I’ve broken this down a bit: I like, I dislike, I am, I’ve live in, I wish I understood more about, places I’ve been and before I die…

It’s interesting how many of these things I’ve blogged about so far…

UPDATE: December 2004/June 2005. I just came here to update this. I can’t believe how much it has not changed. The only other things are I’ve been liking my iPod (and listening to podcasting), the Scene It? DVD games and maybe some additional music groups (Katy Rose and maybe a few others) and I won’t add them until they’ve been around a bit longer. Probably “Two and a Half Men” (I laugh SO hard) and Liz Phair (added).

I like:

Riding on the train
Driving with the top down
The Internet
MSU
Ice cream (Cookie Dough from QD)
Rollerblading
Sunshine
My family
Kids
Babies
Picnics
Coca-Cola
Gadgets and gizmos
Taking pictures
Tori
Sarah
Indigo Girls
Liz Phair
Jewel
80’s music
_Joan of Arcadia
Sports Night
Roswell
The American President
The Cutting Edge
A Christmas Story
Flight of the Navigator
Narnia
Time Travel
Reading
Movies
Dominoes
Scrabble
Euchre
Sitting by the river
Learning
Volunteering
M & M’s
Smarties (the chocolate kind)
Prizes in Cereal
Soda Pop in a bottle
Fun Size Candy
Macintosh
My i500 Palm Phone
Tivo
WiFi
The Ocean
Maps
Luggage
Books
Ice Skating
Sleeping
Building a fire
The Moon
Stars
Laughing
Holding hands
Crushes
Traveling
Smiles
Showers
Clean sheets
Surprises

I dislike:
Pickles
Mayo
Mean people
Sauces on my sandwiches
Country
Being stuck at airports
Traffic

I am:
An only child
Smart
Tall
Curly
Goofy
A night owl
Was born on September 11th

I’ve lived in:
Royal Oak
Berkley (21 years)
Southfield (a 1/2 year)
East Lansing (7 years)
Haslett (4 years)
Southgate (1 year)
Dearborn (4 years)

I wish I understood more about:
Astronomy
Women
Art

Places I’ve been:
United States (all over)
Canada (Toronto 5 times; all over several)
England (3 times)
Prague
Costa Rica (2 times)

Before I die I want to:
Have kids
See Paris
Take a cruise across the ocean
Find out what is out there
See the pyramids
Write a computer book
Live happily ever after
Find out “Why?”

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Tags and Categories: 100 things, Berkley, blading, Christmas, Costa Rica, Dearborn, dominoes, DVD, England, Haslett, iPod, me + myself + i, meme, moon, MSU, Pyramid, pyramids, Roswell, The Moon, time travel, TiVo, Two and a Half Men, WiFi

Favorite Family, Meals and Search Engines – 3x Thursday

Gary from http://GarySaid.com/ — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 00:54:26 +0000

Who’s your favorite person in your family? What makes them so cool? Emily and Nathan. They are the babies of the family. Not much is cooler than that!
What’s your favorite meal of the day? Why? Breakfast! Bacon, eggs and cantaloupe. It’s a good start to start the routine of my day. Even if I get up at 2 PM I generally still have breakfast. Waffles are better but they take too much time.
What’s your favorite search engine? Can it cook your meals for you? Google! I hear they are acquiring iHop so it shouldn’t be too long before the cooking starts…

Bonus: You’re given on day to do any number of favorite things that you choose. What would your day consist of?

Breakfast

Rollerblading (around MSU)
A picnic
Shopping (successfully) at Best Buy
Eat Chinese (at one of my favorite places in Lansing)
Some time at Borders and their Cafe
Stopping by the Apple store (have you been there, it’s the coolest store)
Finding a really good deal (or something free) on-line
Being with friends for all of the above

From 3x Thursday

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Tags and Categories: 3x Thursday, blading, breakfast, dinner, kids, lunch, meme, money, MSU