Blog

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything personal. Usually I just post random news and and an occasional quip, but I’ve been thinking lately that I should just post a quick “this is what I’m up to” (besides working).

So, here it goes:

- Planning a wedding -
Erin and I are busy making plans for our wedding. We’re pretty sure it’s going to be in October. We did have a date and place nailed down…but the city of Chicago shut down that place a few weeks ago after an electrical inspection. That was definitely an annoyance, but I view it as a good thing. I’d rather keep my family and friends out of a potentially dangerous situation. So, now we’re scrambling to find another venue.

- Buying a house -
Erin and I are moving. Our new house is on my mind a lot. It’s sick how much I think about it. I keep thinking about the extra space we’re going to have, and what do with it. More info to come…we move in June 15.

- Trip to Hawaii -
In Early April, Erin and I took a trip with my family out to Maui, Hawaii. The warm weather was nice, and it was cool to spend the week with my family. I tried surfing with my nephews (they crushed me), hiked to some waterfalls with my brother, and spent a lot of time with the entire family near the ocean. My advice to those who are traveling to Hawaii (or any other islands with a 5+ hour time change)…stay for two weeks.

- Strumming guitar -
I’ve been playing guitar in the Grateful Dead ensemble at the Old Town School of Folk Music. For our last eight week session, we covered songs from the albums ‘Blues for Allah’ and ‘Terrapin Station’. On Saturday April 24, we got together and performed for a small audience of family and friends at the OTSFM in Lincoln Park. For our next session, we’re covering a live album, ‘Reckoning’.

- Learning to Ride -
I am learning to ride a motorcycle this upcoming weekend. A friend and I decided to sign up for a two day training course at Motorcyle Riding’s Cool. I’ll let you know how it goes…

I hope everyone is doing well!

Here is an article that finely articulates the problem with majority espresso served in the US. You see, I find espresso fascinating, both in taste and preparation. With that said, I rarely drink espresso-based drinks outside of my home, and this article does a pretty great job of explaining why. It’s all about the taste.

An article describing the continued RIAA filed lawsuits against people who download music via peer-to-peer applications. Their chief complaint is that users of a P2P service are causing the music industry to loses a huge amount of sales.

So, I’m not using any music swapping services, yet I’m not buying any music. I’m pretty disgusted at the music industry’s behavior towards it’s bread and butter (consumers). I bought a hell of a lot more music when they weren’t acting like arses. They’re prices are still too high, and they continue to pump too much money in to non-talents.

My point is that this is why music sales are declining. It’s not because of file swapping, it’s because of irrational behavior and resistance to change.

I’m selling my beloved camera, the Canon G3. I’ve owned it for one year, and have had lots of fun with it. It’s an amazing camera; photos have tons of detail and images are full of color. The only reason I’m selling is because I’d like to upgrade to a professional grade camera in which I can swap out the lens.

If you’re interested, you can read reviews on cnet.com, or email me at jeff AT jeffjudge DOT com.

As of 8:30 AM this morning, Erin and I are engaged to be married!

One smile, that's all it took.

Erin and I are having the condo painted this week. I factored time vs. money, and it makes a lot of sense for us to have someone else do it. Besides, you should have seen our last attempt at painting the place….not pretty.

So, our place is upside down right now. Everything has been shoved/piled together in the center of each room. The upside is that we’ll have a great looking place in a few more days.

I wanted to send off a few emails tonight before i hit the sack, but our place is ‘unplugged’. I fired up my laptop out of speculation that one of our neighbors might have an access point for me to hop onto….and it worked! I did a quick search for access points with out-of-the-box settings and found one within 30 seconds. awesome :)

A few things…

I bought an espresso machine that is just amazing. For years I have been looking for a machine that makes great shots, can froth lots of milk, costs very little, and has the ability to be “plumbed in” to a house water line. I’ve spent weeks doing very detailed research on the different features of semi-professional machine, and I found what I was looking for: the Isomac Millenium People have said I’m crazy, but this is something I love and it’s totally worth it. It’s pretty easy to rationalize a purchase of this machine, given that I spend $15 dollars (+/-) on coffee or espresso based drinks in a given week. I’m totally happy, and my shots keep getting better as I zero in on the right technique.

I celebrated my 28th birthday on March 4. I don’t feel like I’m getting older, nor do I feel like I’ve changed a whole lot in the last few years. Thank you Dan and Erin for taking me out on my birthday, despite the snow that was pouring down over Chicago.

One of my favorite pictures of all time:

Hello all, I am writing you from a internet cafe here in Rome. Erin and I have been away now for week, five days in England and two days in Italy. It’s my first trip here to Europe and to sum it up…it’s wonderful to be here. Eating, drinking, sleeping, walking, talking, laughing and witnessing everything; it’s all so exciting. I’ve taken a lot of good photos, met great people, and will have plenty of stories to share when I get home. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their holidays. Ciao!!

I bought a new digital camera over the holidays , and I’ve been snapping up everything in site. Expect to see a lot of shots posted, both in my blog and under my ‘pictures’ section. Hope you all are healthy, happy and smiling brightly!