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#75

Hey!

My thoughts about Chicago are actually okay, for the area I settled in and frequent - which is the North Shore. It seems like each area in Chicago is structured kind of like a bubble, with unique characteristics.

I find it pretty safe where I am, though I dont head to areas which would be considered dodgy. Downtown demographic changes through the day. But have never felt unsafe (don’t go out at night - I am old ;))

My wife wouldn’t let me take the kids to a white Sox game, she feels super uncomfortable at the unknown, but we have been to a couple of bulls games which was fine.

I am not sure that helps you with respect to the area you are considering, I am sorry

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#76

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This will never get old. You can kee the ice, but snow is so pretty

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#77

It absolutely is. Especially in the suburbs where you have country roads lined with trees that get a nice blanketing.

#78

Snow is great, as long as you don’t have to shovel it.

More years ago than I care to admit, I bought a house on a corner lot, where I had about 3X as much sidewalk to tend as most of my neighbors (and city ordinances requiring that I tend it). I had plenty of time to regret that during the winters. But I just moved into a condo where keeping the sidewalks clear is somebody else’s problem, and I can go back to enjoying white outside :slightly_smiling_face:

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#79

Thanks for your feedback. We’ll be there for a visit on Wednesday after a stop in Albany on Tuesday.

My only point of reference on the White Sox is the “shooting” during a game this summer, but the details that have been released on that don’t seem to add up, so it’s unclear what actually happened.

#80

I use https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/ if I want info or feel bad about how many people die from guns.

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#81

Fullerton used to be a powerhouse in the '90s, but then Augie Garrido moved to Texas. Still a decent D1 school, but nowhere near where it was back then. My son has a friend that played with him since they were 5 years old who is committed to CSUF, but the rumor is that he will be drafted in June and skip college.
We’re looking for a good Computer Science program, and it’s been tough to line up somewhere that he can play and get the education he wants. None of the CSU schools meet the academic needs. Most of the top CS schools that have baseball are good D1 programs where he might be able to walk on but then he would never play in games. He has been accepted to a couple of top 50 CS schools closer to home, but both are “Power 5” baseball teams where most of the pitchers transfer in from elsewhere before their junior season and then go on to get drafted. We’re looking at D2 or D3 in hopes of finding a good fit where he has an opportunity to earn playing time during his freshman year, and the options that meet the education level limit the choices. There are a lot of liberal arts schools that only offer a B.A. in computer science who could use another pitcher, but that’s not viable for us.

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#82

If you need a guide in the Rochester, NY region at any point, let me know. I imagine U of R and/or RIT might be a possibility in those categories, though I don’t know annything about their baseball.

#83

Makes sense, I graduated CSUF in 2000, and am not into Alum stuff, so have not kept up with if they were still good or not for Baseball. But that explains my thinking, I have a 90s frame of mind of the school.

#84

Howdy! So, I thought I knew how Americans would react to politics, but it turns out that even low level items create intense anger.

Situation - my wife has volunteered for the PTC at our local primary school, about 60kids/grade, so pretty small.

The school board and community have been working up options to replace the school. It’s old and falling down, non compliant with all the modern rules and regulations.

Through a couple of years of modelling and consultantation with community they have a proposed solution - build a new elementary on tye middle school campus (plenty of room) and close the old one. Makes sense.

Vote is mid March. But wow, it has exploded and divided the parents and community. Everyone wants the privilege of an amazing school system, no one wants to pay.

If they don’t build it, they will likely shut the school and roll the kids into other schools - which they have plenty class space to do so (avg class sizes are 16-20 kids)

I respect debate. But it has quickly devolved into personal attacks, and attacks on friends - vicious and mean. Do they expect to still be friends after this?

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#85

Welcome to Illinois! I think part of the problem is that the state has one of the highest tax burdens in the country so the prospect of raising taxes isn’t going to sit well with plenty. But it is a shame that it becomes personal rather than rational. My political engagement has certainly lessened over the years as it has become increasingly harder to have an actual debate on an issue. I think civilization as a whole has moved past the Age of Reason and not sits firmly in the Age of Emotion and I want none of that.

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#86

Literally the history of America.

When people talk about how contentious politics have become now, they forget it has always been that way.

I love reading about the 1796 presidential election. That first contested presidential election was a vicious series of personal attacks back and forth between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.

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#87

Raising taxes sits well nowhere. We have similar issues in the NH town I live in, where the voting block contains a significant number of senior citizens who, it appears, would rather die (literally) than see their taxes increase. And while they’re willing to vote for pay raises for our first responders, which is great, the school budgets are always a fight and major school renovations take years to get through. Add to that relative apathy among most residents for the local elections–our yearly local election in March draws a fraction of the voters we get for November elections.

The upshot is we spend less per student than the overwhelming majority of the state–I think we recently “improved” to third worst in that category–and that’s why my sons go to a private high school.

As for the civility issue, I think @Mirefox nailed it. I don’t think these people expect to remain friends, nor do they care. People don’t know how to have a respectful disagreement. Online behavior has bled into real life, so for many people, anyone who disagrees with them is an idiot and should be hit by a bus or befall a similarly awful fate.

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#88

But were those people friends? Personal attacks between opposition candidates has always been a thing. Maybe it’s always been that way in local discussions, too. I grew up in a family that didn’t discuss politics–my parents never told us who they voted for or discussed elections at all–nor do I talk politics with friends, so maybe I’m naive enough to have just not seen it.

#89

I think ‘not discussing politics’ has come about because people find it so difficult to disagree without it immediately becoming personal, which, in fairness, it often is.

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#90

So, vote failed - I suppose they get the school they wanted :slight_smile:

Different question, I want to go to GenCon to take the kids, but it is during our summer holiday - any similar replacements you would recommend within 3 hours of Chicago?

#91

There is no replacement for GenCon.

But maybe this list will find you something smaller in the Chicago area:
The 2024-2025 Guide To Board Game Conventions — Meeple Mountain

Geekway to the West is in St Louis in May.
Origins is in Columbus in June.
But both would be a little further than 3 hours.

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#92

Origins is a good con, but it has a little more of a grown up, serious geek vibe than some of the others. A friend of mine goes every year.

There really is no substitute for GenCon.

#93

Which sucks, because my family vacation is almost always during GenCon

#94

After trying and failing on a couple of occasions over several years to hire a contractor, and doing some research on doing it myself, I’ve decided I’m going to build a front porch. My son is now probably a foot and a half taller than he was when I was planning the project initially, and both he and my daughter are actually eager to help. So I think I have enough hands to get this done this summer, and I’m excited to try.

Here’s hoping I don’t hurt anyone or the house.

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