So I mentioned the other day that as an assignment I made the students in the Tech Leadership class I taught write a grant (submitting was optional) and three students won. I just found out there was a fourth winner!!!! That’s brings the class total up to about $5,300. I think only seven applied so that’s awesome (at most eight applied since that’s all the students who had ja required job in education).
I’m so geeked!!!
So I’m eyeing the 2007 Cypress DX made by Giant. Anyone have any info on this bike and why I should (or should not) get it? It’s a decent price since the new models are out and I like it but I thought I’d check on some feedback from those of you out there. The new prices are higher (disc breaks) but took some features (adjustable suspension) away.
They color’s a neutral grey/silver so it shouldn’t bother me when I scratch it. I guess the one I had was a 19 inch frame, I’d have to check the receipt, I put a deposit for next week. But I’m still looking… I like the Front suspension and seatpost suspension, nice on the bumps, configurable too. If I want my old seat back that should work with it too, the handlebars are configurable too, up/down and back/forth. I think it has the light weight 6061 ALUXX (aluminum) alloy comfort frame.
Posted in general
Tagged bicycle, bicycle accident, Bike, Cypress, Cypress DX, Giant, Giant Cypress
So I teach a Leadership in Technology graduate class at a local university in the summer. One of the assignments is to write a grant; there is a $1,500 grant due at that time, so the timing is perfect. We review them in class, make suggestions, and we evaluate each other’s grants using the actual grant rubric. And then I grade it based on the same criteria of the grant.
I think about seven of them applied, not everyone could apply, you needed to be an employed K-12 educator and you need to be a member of the organization we applied to (which costs $40-ish). You probably see where this story is going… Continue reading
Once I got into Chicago yesterday everything went completely smooth. I got food, I got checked into my hotel immediately, showered and managed to hook up with Kevin and Dave and we went over to that Apple Store to check out some eye candy (iCandy, get it?!?) and wandered around a bit before meeting up with the bigger group later. I had a blast with all of them and I’ll expand on that later, but I’m checking out of the hotel and I thought ager my other problem post the last few days I’d mention that all is well.
And today I feel a whole lot better than I thought I would after all the Long Island Iced Teas, so that’s a bonus too…
So I made it to Chicago, even with the traffic reports not helping me any (actually I had two ways to go and choose the one that I hadn’t heard any numbers mentioned so maybe it did help). The weather is awesome right now and looks like it will be great.
On the way in, I was starving and I headed straight for Standing Room Only to get some ribs. It was the last meal I had the last time in Chicago and they were delicious, so I made it my first meal this time around. Google maps on my phone helped me get here, I sure wish it had GPS to figure out where I am so that when I want directions and I’m don’t have an exact location that it could figure it out for me!
I think I might take a short walk, and then go check in. I’ve got to get this car into the hotel parking so I don’t need to deal with driving/parking any more today, then I’ll see if I can hook up early with some of the people I’m meeting later on. I had planned on being in town hours and hours ago but yesterdays delays resulted in my not getting enough sleep and flooding delays encouraged me to do some shopping in Michigan City before getting too close to Chicago in hopes flooding would die down..
Posted in food + drink, general
Tagged BBQ ribs, Chicago, Food, Google Maps, GPS, Michigan, ribs, SRO, Standing Room Only, travel, Weather
I’ve gotten used to listening to traffic at home (Detroit area) and I understand when they talk about areas in general, but I’ve noticed when traveling other cities it’s way to hard decipher it. I’m traveling into Chicago right now, and while I can get around okay, the traffic reports are just gobbly-gook since I don’t know all the roads and traffic slang….
This is a problem today since there appears to still be lots of flooding from the last few days of storms. It’s beautiful right now though!!! Can’t wait to get there!
So I’m on my way to Chicago to see a variety of bloggers (to see who, follow the updates over the next few days) and I stop in Kalamazoo (Michigan) for some gas. After I get off the highway, I’m driving along and the truck in front of me swerves and I see a tire hurtling towards my car. I swerved but it managed to clip my bicycle (which is on the back of the car) and and rip it off the rack and drag the bike for a little bit before I’m able to pull over.
It does turn out there is a Jeep minus a tire that I didn’t notice during my swerving, turns out it was out on a test drive from an auto repair shop. They said to bring them the bill for fixing the bicycle and the rack. They sent me to a local bike repair shop and the end result is they’ve done $90 in repairs and then decided that I should get the bike replaced and it’s 3 hours later and I’m still in K’zoo. Everyone is closed now, and the repair shop is closed for the weekend and I didn’t think to get a home number.
Arrgh!!!! Why do accidents happen on the way to places and not on the way home? Of course it could have been way worse but the point was I’m bringing the bike to Chicago for the purpose of biking. I would have taken the train otherwise, I love the train, the station is a mile from my house and I don’t have to worry about traffic or paying for parking, etc.
On a side note I’m in Bennigan’s right now, who has free WiFi (always a bonus) which I’ll keep in mind for the future, eating their delicious Guinness Glazed Chicken Stir Fry. Yummy food and the ability to access the ‘net always helps!
This was supposed to be a nice relaxing weekend and now I’m pretty cranky and stressed now. And did I mention that that I’m three hours behind schedule now? I’ll be better tomorrow, I’m just venting for now and telling you about the exciting part of my day. Now to decide how much further I should drive tonight…
Posted in general
Tagged accident, Bennigan's, bicycle, bicycle accident, bicycle repair, bike accident, bike repair, biking, blogging, Chicago, Kalamazoo, Michigan, WiFi
So I’ve been all over the place lately. Geographically and just a lot of stuff going on (all things are good). I’ve been up north, done a variety of odd things to my car, seen movies, been reading, found some good sites and I’ve got a whole lot of “stuff” to blog about. I’ve got lots of photos too. I’ve also had a bit Internet connectivity withdrawal, I’ve either been too busy to surf or on a island (literally) but I’m all better now…
I just need a little down town to catch up with it. Hopefully in the next day or so (or at least by the weekend) I’ll get caught up.
Linking to our site, linking to posts or tweeting about this site counts as support too!
