the perks of global warming

The thermometer nearly hit 80 in Chicago the other day, making it warmer than even southern California, which I'm sure delights that smug bastard Dennis Miller but hopefully rankles that other smug bastard James Inhofe.

It made the visit to Chicago quite pleasant to an outsider like me, though Greg and Belinda's kids complained about the heat during our visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo. I'm sure the heat only made the pig smells worse, as Lily here can attest (clarification: Lily is not one of Greg and Bee's kids, but is the daughter of their friend Joel, whom we met in Lincoln part Sunday morning).

I finally got to wear shorts Monday, when Scott and I played some disc golf. We played at an actual small ball golf course, which was a first for me. The baskets were near the putting greens at each hole. On the plus side, we got to play on a well manicured (albeit muddy) course. On the downside we had to pay to play, and also support an industry that generally isn't known for its eco-weenieness, er, eco-friendliness.

That was followed up by beers in the Pontiac Bar's outside beer garden area that reminded me of Zeitgeist, only without the fence.

This last shot was taken with an apocalypto filter (TM pending). OK, not really, I actually shot through the window of Scott's friends' apartment, right next to the El (it wasn't as loud as you'd think, since the windows overlook a station, so the trains come in and leave slowly). But I think the haze gives you a better feel for the unseasonably warm and sticky weather we had.