Chicago

I visited Chicago!

The Windy City

Interesting fact: Chicago is not called the windy city because of the weather, but because of its politicians. When Chicago wanted to host the world fair in 1893, it was not an attractive location. But Chicago's politicians talked so much about hosting the fair that they convinced the World Fair Board to hold it in there. Afterward, one newspaper man claimed that the politicians in Chicago spoke so much that the city must be windy. 

Anywho, ever since I first heard about deep dish pizza, I've wanted to try it. And what better place to have some that at Uno's, where deep dish pizza was first created?

The Original Deep Dish Pizza

Deep dish pizza is very different than traditional pizza. The first thing I noticed was that the cheese was on the bottom while the tomato sauce and toppings were on top. This prevented the crust from getting soggy,  which was necessary so that the pizza could hold up all the ingredients.

The Individual Numero Uno Pizza

The only thing better than Uno's pizza was Portillo's Chicago-Style Hot Dogs. Before, all I knew was that Chicago-style hot dogs existed. But after going on a bus tour, I learned that asking for a  hotdog that's been "dragged through the garden" means that your hot dog comes with mustard, onions, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, sweet relish, sport peppers, and celery salt.

World's Best Hot Dogs

And this is going to be blasphemous, but I've never had a more delicious hot dog. I daresay that Portillo's Chicago-style hot dog is better than New York style hot dogs or any other type of hot dog I've ever had.

After gorging myself with the local specialties, I decided to visit the #1 tourist spot, Navy Pier.

Navy Pier

I didn't go on the Ferris Wheel or carnival rides, but I did see Cirque Shanghai, a wonderful performance full of eastern-themed stunts. There was a man who juggled seven balls, eleven girls who all rode on one bike, and five performers who simultaneously drove motorbikes in a tiny globe of death.

Cirque Shanghai

After Navy Pier, it was time to see Millennium Park. The first thing I noticed were the two gigantic water towers with large, animated faces. On one tower was a giant man's face, and on the other was a giant woman's face. One thing that caught me by surprise is that every time one of the faces made an "o" shape with their lips, a water jet shot out.

The Crown Fountain

After the Crown Fountain, I saw the iconic Cloud Gate, surrounded by a formidable crowd of tourists.

Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean"

The most fascinating part of "The Bean" for me was walking underneath it, where mirrors reflected mirrors and reality warped and echoed itself over and over again. Can you spot the orange in the partial picture below (hint, I'm the only one with orange)? I counted dozens of mirrored, warped images of myself when I stood underneath Cloud Gate. 

The Underside of the Bean

After touring the rest of the park, I decided to go on a Chicago bus tour. It was a fascinating ride on the top of the double decker bus, seeing all of the different building structures Chicago had to offer. The guide told us that Chicago has many unique skyscrapers because it was the central hub of the New Bauhaus movement.

Trump International Hotel and Tower

Aqua Tower

Marina Towers

NBC Tower

The most impressive building by far though was the Willis (formerly Sears) tower, which is the tallest building in all the western hemisphere.

Willis Tower

I love tall places, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to go to the tallest building in the western hemisphere, especially since they just recently installed the SkyDeck, an enclosed glass deck where all five exposed sides are made of reinforced glass.

SkyDeck atop the Willis Tower

While I was waiting in line I befriended some nice people from Brazil, and they took a picture of me on the deck.

Bryan on the SkyDeck

After exploring downtown Chicago, it was time to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Once I made it inside, I knew I'd made a good decision. I could hear children and adults laughing and screaming in the background, and on the domed ceiling, the museum had etched in huge letters,

"Science discerns the laws of nature. Industry applies them to the needs of Man."

After only a few steps inside one of the first things to catch your eye is the 40 foot twister! Besides the twister, there was also a giant Tesla coil, Rhodium (which is more expensive and durable than platinum), and even kids running on giant hamster wheels. It as like everything I've ever wanted, under one roof.

Chicago Museum of Science and Industry

The cherry on top was that on the way out I bought a desert that was an old childhood favorite.

Awesome

Lastly, it wouldn't be a Chicago trip without experiencing the the Blues scene. Unfortunately, I was only twenty (although not for long) so there weren't many options. Luckily though, there was a blues band playing at a joint called Smoke Daddy. Seeing Rockin' Johnny and his band play was an unexpectedly fun experience.

Rockin' Johnny at the Smoke Daddy

Overall Chicago left a wonderful impression. I talked with lots of people, ate exciting new foods, and enjoyed the best Chicago had to offer. That's why I'm giving Chicago the full five stars: ★★★★★

Wood Whittlings

So I like math. And geometry. And wood whittling. So what better way to waste spend time than by wood whittling geometric some shapes that I love?

I'll begin with the Steinmetz Solid, where the view from the front, side, and top is a circle, but the shape is not a sphere. 

Mathematical Steinmetz solid

I decided I wanted one, so I bought some wooden cubes, sandpaper, and a whittling knife from a hobby store and went to town. And here's my finished hand-carved whittle! How does it compare to the shape above?

From here it's like a cube...

But from here it's like a circle

One nice property of the solid is that it can always roll since it is circular in three dimensions (pardon the music, YouTube gave me no choice since I had to replace the malfunctioning audio).

Now the Steinmetz solid is an interesting structure, but not a very complicated one. The shape is fairly simple, especially compared to the Gömböc, which was only recently discovered in 2006 in a mathematics publication. 

The Gömböc's claim to fame is that it only has one stable point, and is therefore the first homogeneous (same density thoughout) self-righting shape. There are other self-righting shapes that you may know, but these have a weight in the bottom, which the Gömböc doesn't have (that's why it's called homogeneous).

The Gömböc

 For a while I wanted to buy one online, which would be pretty sweet if the cheapest one didn't cost 149 Euros. So I decided to make it. Since it is a much harder shape to whittle, I had to do some planning. 

Whittling in progress

I have to admit, I was first dissuaded by quotes like this,

"The geometry has to be manufactured to unprecedented precision: a Gömböc of 10 cm diamater has tolerances far less than 0.1mm."-Official Website

In imperial units, that's like saying a Gömböc 1 foot wide would have an error tolerance of less than 0.012 inches! 

But alas, after several solid days of whittling and sanding, it was done! In your face, website!

Finished!

Here is my second baby in action. Notice how it self-rights.

Lastly I decided to snap some shots of what I've been working on for so long. To the right is the original 2'' cubes I bought from Hobby Lobby, in the middle is the Steinmetz Solid, and to the right is my Gömböc.

My Babies

Fortunately (for my sanity) these were the only shapes that I have ever wanted to own, so I did not make any other 3-D shapes. But after whittling the Gömböc, with it's unparalleled required precision, I feel like I can make anything I truly want to. I wonder what I'll do next...

West Virginia 2012: Food, Dogs and... Abandoned Structures?

Last weekend I decided (at the suggestion of my dad) to drive to West Virginia while my immediate family visited Aunt Shelly and Larry. I think the surprise went well!

I made it!

Most everyone was happy to see me, although my mom said she hates surprises and that she thought of punching me (fortunately she did not).

I missed you guys too.

Anywho, lets get this post rolling.

Food

It wouldn't be West Virginia without lots and lots of delicious food. Dad and Larry treated us all to a delicious hunk of meat. That's when Larry showed me the magic that is Borsari, the most delicious meat rub ever made. It turns meat into magic.

Besides our delicious chunk of meat, the biggest foodie development to happen in West Virginia was the arrival of the new automatic ice cream maker.

Aunt Shelly's new #1 Ice Cream Maker

We made serious amounts of ice cream. Vanilla, peanut putter, chocolate, hand-picked berry flavor and more.

One of the many flavors we made.

As for eating out, we went to a "take out" place called Smoke on the Water which featured smoked shrimp, ribs, brisket, and best of all smoked potato salad.

Smoke on the Water

Last but not least, we also joined several of our neighbors in a delicious Pig Roast. I've been to Pig Roasts before, but I was told this pig was squealing the day before, which did make this unique.

Can't have a Pig Roast without a roast pig.

Below was our gracious host cutting the pig in the hot West Virginia sun. Since he was preoccupied with cutting the pig, he had others tend to his sweaty forehead to make sure our pig had only the intended flavors.

Give this man a paper towel!

The food at the pig roast was delicious, and it was fun talking to the others who made it. It felt like a traditional rural get-together.

Dogs

Watching the bears running around the forest is one on life's simple pleasures. One of our favorite developments was seeing how far we could get Honey Bear into the water. Honey Bear hates being in water, but Aunt Shelly used some delicious chicken to gave Honey Bear an offer she couldn't refuse.

Honey Bear's pretty cautious.

Almost there!

Got it!

Honey Bear never got deep enough to swim, but she did get most of her belly wet, which was a big step forward. Kudos to Aunt Shelly for being so patient.

Abandoned Structures

Larry introduced us a new tower in Elkins which used to be a lookout for forest fires.

Bickle Knob Observation Tower

The view from the top was truly breathtaking. We could a 360° view of the surrounding area, with all the mountains and valleys creating a real-life contour map of the West Virginia forest.

What a view!

Nick and Aunt Shelly weren't keen on climbing the high, abandoned tower. They made themselves at home in the middle on the floor.

Aunt Shelly and Nick Played it safe.

But they did cowboy'd up to take a nice picture against the railing.

The fam'

My favorite new discovery this trip though was visiting an abandoned property that Aunt Shelley owns, which had fallen into disrepair. Dad and I first drove next to it during one of our Fat Cat rides.

It ain't West Virginia without Fat Cats.

I asked my dad what he though happened, and as he said it, "water just gets everywhere, and destroys everything."

One of Aunt Shelly's more neglected Properties

On our second trip back, we brought mom, who surprised me by coming in and exploring with us.

Mom treading lightly.

Dad, despite being the largest of us all, actually was the only one who managed to not step through the floor. He knew how to distribute his weight.

Dad distributing his weight.

I wasn't so dainty.

This hole wasn't here before we walked around.

It was truly fascinating to see how water and time could ruin what used to be a beautiful house.

They used to be shelves...

After we went through the house it was time for me to take another nine-hour drive back to Midland. But taking the time to come see the old family was definitively worth it. That's all I got for this post. I hope everyone continues to have a great summer, and remember....

Stay safe!