Busted

Driving back from the Chicago office this evening I passed an Indiana State Police car that was parked in the median trying to catch speeders. My backseat passenger (my boss) pointed out the cop and I assured him that I was driving the speed limit so there were no worries. Yes, I was driving in the passing lane, but that was only because the right lane was filled with semi trucks driving at their slower posted speed limit.

A couple of minutes later, I noticed a car right on my bumper. I thought he was being impatient because I was still driving the speed limit while passing all of the semis and he probably wanted to go faster. I told him (although he didn't hear me, I'm sure), "Hang on a second buddy, I'll get over as soon as I can." He wasn't very patient -- he flashed his headlights at me.

At the first opportunity, I moved back over to the right lane and as I did I could see my tailgater suddenly had red flashing lights.

I really couldn't imagine why I was getting pulled over. I know I was going exactly 70 mph.

Turns out I was driving without my headlights.

My excuses were:
1) It was light out when I started driving.
2) Wow, the dash is so lit up, I just assumed my headlights were on.
3) This is a rental car and I thought all new cars had headlights that turn on automatically.

Apparently one or more of these made sense because I was able to drive away with only a warning ticket.

Just before all of this happened, I had made a comment that this would be the time of day to expect to see deer running across the road. My front-seat passenger (a co-worker) said he could shut down his computer if the screen's light was distracting. I assured him that it wasn't a problem, that I could see the road just fine. How in the heck could I see the road so well with no headlights???

Celebrating New Beginnings

Here Coy wishes both Lori and JoAnn the best of luck as they start a new chapter in their lives. Lori is going full time with her photography business and JoAnn starts her new job on Monday. I sure will miss having these girls in our office.

Eli's New Hair Style

From across the office today, I noticed that Eli was wearing a hat. I thought it was odd since it's the middle of summer.

As I got closer I saw that it wasn't a hat, but a dye job on his hair.

For some reason he decided it would be a good idea to paint a bullseye on his head. Guess he thought using red dye would be too over the top.

New Bird on the Block....

... And he's a long way from home.

This is the first time I've seen a real, live Baltimore Oriole.

He tried to help me convince the crazy cardinal to stop slamming into the window.

But after a while, he gave up and flew away.

I think he said something about being late for a baseball game.

Crazy Cardinal

This crazy cardinal has been around the office for the past three years.

Several times a day he pelts himself against the glass of our kitchen windows.

We've tried just about everything to convince him that he's only seeing his own reflection in the glass, but he just won't give up.

Business Travel Nirvana

Coming home from my business trip today, on my flight from Memphis to Atlanta, my seat mate was talking to the stewardess about how he was coming down with a cold.

As I twisted away from him to breath air that was not previously in his lungs, I noticed there was nobody in the back of the plane.

I quickly moved back three rows and across the aisle.

This turned out to be my best business travel flight ever! No chatty people around me. No kids kicking the back of my chair. No babies crying.

Ever Had One of Those Days?

Nature, Up Close and Personal

While walking through the art department at work today, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some movement out the window.

I took a closer look at saw this deer scrounging for food. I walked upstairs to get a better view and saw a second deer laying down by the pond.

It was a nice change-of-pace from the stress of everyday work life.

Rest in Peace Jack Sullivan

A couple of months ago, when I learned Jack Sullivan had cancer, I went to visit him. Sitting in his room at the assisted living facility, he was smaller than I remember him being. But then, I've probably built him up in my mind in the years since I last saw him.

I knew him as JG; my boss from 1988 - 1996. He liked to tell the story of my hiring as him rescuing me from the gas station. In reality, I had just lost my job at a radio station, after the new owners replaced the entire staff. And, I had picked up a part time job doing the books at a gas station. I wasn't anxious to go to work for another radio station; I wanted to do something more. In high school I had worked at a newspaper and in college I had worked at a TV station. I liked it all -- radio, TV and newspaper. I started thinking there should be something out there that would let me be involved in all three. Turns out working at an advertising agency was the answer. I sent my resume to two agencies and was offered jobs at both. Not sure where I'd be today if I had selected the other one... not even sure they're still in business.

My favorite JG story is the time I asked him if I could have a typewriter. He said there was a girl in the front office with a typewriter and she was called the receptionist. If I had any typing that needed done, I should give it to the receptionist. Right then I knew he was setting me up for success.

I learned quite a lot from JG. The three things that strike me as being most important are attention to detail matters, give your client what they need which is not necessarily what they ask for, and make your message appropriate for your audience.

JG was pretty hard on me at times, but I always knew he was trying to teach me and trying to make me better. I had a basketball coach in 9th grade who was harder on me than on any other girl on the JV team. I couldn't understand why and got so discouraged that I quit the team. Only then did I find out that she was so hard on me because she saw potential and thought that pushing me would help me get good enough to move up to the varsity team. Had I not had that experience, I don't think I could have appreciated what JG did for me. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to thank him for it.

Dubuque, Iowa

I drove to Dubuque, Iowa Thursday evening for a Friday morning client meeting.

We had lunch at a new restaurant that has opened in the former Dubuque Star Brewery, on the bank of the Mississippi river.
The city seems to be investing heavily in renovations and enhancements in the riverfront and downtown areas, giving the area a younger and more exciting atmosphere.

Behind the brewery I noticed a building that appeared to be a stand-alone square smoke stack. After asking why there was a smoke stack without an attached building, I learned that it was a shot tower.

Dubuque Shot Tower History and photo courtesy of Wikipedia: The tower was built in 1856 to provide lead shot for the military. The concept of a shot tower solved the problem of how to produce many cheap, nearly perfect lead spheres of the right size to fit in a musket. To make lead shot, molten lead was poured into the top of the tower, where it passed through a grate. The droplets that fell from the grate were of relatively uniform size, and the fall provided enough time for the liquid-metal droplet to form into a sphere before landing in the water below. The water cooled the lead to its solid state, retaining the spherical shape.

Sights of Chicago

I traveled into Chicago today for a web marketing conference. As I was driving down Lake Shore Drive, I saw a low-flying plane, between the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Building. Actually, I see this quite often, and it always sort of freaks me out. The only difference today was I had a camera.

After I took the plane picture, I thought I'd just capture a couple more shots along the way. My boss always used to challenge my logic in taking Lake Shore Drive to our Chicago office, rather than using the Dan Ryan. My thought is, if I'm going to get stuck in traffic, I'd much rather be enjoying the beauty along Lake Shore Drive.




A view of the boat docks in Lake Michigan near Navy Pier.
















Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park.








The Chicago River in front of the Sheraton Hotel (where I attended the conference.)