I've decided to become more streamlined, so I've transferred my years of blogs and will now be using the built-in blogging software on the new version of my website. LiveJournal, you have served me well...but it's time to move on. Please visit my new site and blog: www.danheuser.com

This is Dan Heuser...signing off.

The town of Bensenville has been in the media lately due to the plans for the O'Hare Airport expansion. Their plans are to build new runways on the south side of Irving Park Road, demolishing a whole neighborhood full of homes in the process. There has been much opposition, but many homeowners have already sold off their homes. This has created an ever increasing "ghost town" feel in a once bustling neighborhood. Naturally, anything involving abandoned buildings sparks my interest. I had to go check it out for myself.

I found the neighborhood and starting driving around. It was about 3:30pm. There were hundreds of homes in this neighborhood, and from what I saw, about 90% of them were boarded up and abandoned. This was the most concentrated area of abandoned houses I've ever seen, even more than Gary, IN. There were no cars driving, no people walking their dogs or children playing, even on a beautiful summer afternoon. All that could be heard was the sound of airplanes flying overhead, a constant reminder of the neighborhood's fate. It was a very eerie feeling driving up and down these streets. I got out of the car a few times, but most of the pictures I took were out of my car window.

I came across a few homes that were still inhabited, all of them hanging huge signs of protest in their front yards. Unfortunate for them, it looks as if the battle against O'Hare has been lost.

After exploring for 20 minutes or so, I passed a man in a full size sedan who was parked in an entryway for a townhouse complex. I got the vibe that he did not want me here, but I continued down the street and took more pictures from my window. He eventually began to follow me. When I pulled over to get another picture, he pulled up behind me, got out of his car with his giant Mag-lite (for intimidation apparently). He said that he was with the O'Hare Expansion team and that there have been many arrests lately of people scoping out the area during the day, and then returning at night to break into the vacant homes to steal copper pipes and stuff like that. I told him that I was just taking pictures. He left me alone, but I didn't want any more shit from this guy, so I decided to leave.

While it will be nice to have a more efficient O'Hare airport, I couldn't help but think about all the countless families that were forced out of their homes. Some people who have probably lived most of their lives in these homes, raised their families, had many fond memories. And now they won't even be able to come back and visit the neighborhood that they called home for so long.

View more pictures here.

When purchasing a new phone, the sales rep usually asks if you want them to transfer your contacts over to your new phone. I usually say no, and this is why:

I don’t necessarily need every number that was in my old phone. Typing them in my new phone manually gives me a chance to clean them up. There’s no sense in keeping someone’s number that you will never call again. It’s actually kinda sad in a way. Friends with whom you’ve lost touch, ex-girlfriends, business contacts whose exciting opportunity never amounted to anything. When going through the numbers, I usually ask myself, “If I accidentally dialed this person and they picked up, would it be moderately to extremely awkward?” If the answer is yes, then that number will not make the transition to my new phone. In all, 21 people didn’t make the transition.

On the bright side, going through the numbers gives me a chance to think about all the people who did make the transition to the new phone. It makes me think about some of the people I haven’t talked to in a while, and that I should call. So that they make the transition to my next new phone, and many new phones to come.

I bought a new cell phone the other day. It’s the 4th cell phone I’ve owned since 1999. Up until now, I’ve always had a pretty bare bones phone. My phones have been used to make calls, and that’s about it. I haven’t gotten to enjoy all the features that have we’ve been starting to see on phones in recent years: Cameras, video, games, email, music, Bluetooth, web browsers, etc. I didn’t really even text that much because my last phone made it inconvenient to send texts, and half the time the incoming or outgoing texts would get lost in oblivion somewhere. On top of that, my sucky plan charged me 10 cents per text, which really starts to add up after a while.

But really what I’ve been doing is holding out for the next big thing. That “Big Thing” is the Sprint Instinct. It’s basically Sprint’s answer to the iPhone. I probably would have gotten an iPhone if it wasn’t exclusive to AT&T. But AT&T can blow my ass, sorry Apple.

The Sprint Instinct is an amazing phone. The more I play with it, the more I’m amazed by the features. It was a little daunting at first to have a phone this powerful. It’s like having a computer in my pocket. With the touch screen, texting is actually fun now (and unlimited with my new plan) and no longer feels like a chore, like it did with my old phone. I can receive my email, take pictures, use it as GPS navigation while driving, play some kick ass games, browse the web (ACTUAL websites, not just preset “News”, “Weather”, and “Entertainment” sites that are text only) and tons of other stuff.

My only complaint with the phone so far is the signal strength. On the first floor of my house, I only get 1 or 2 bars (out of 6). At work I only get 2 or 3 bars, and I’m directly underneath a cell tower. My phone dropped a call last night when I was driving home through Bannockburn. That was the only issue so far. I haven’t talked on it enough to see if the low signal strength will be a nuisance. I hope not, because everything else about the phone is fantastic.

I wanted to conclude my horrible travel story. I was not able to get onto the 12:45 flight out of Pheonix. I waited around even longer for the 2:30pm flight, which was delayed for over an hour. Since the flight was late, by the time I got to O'Hare, I had already missed the last Metra train going north. So I had to call someone to come pick me up. But my cell phone was dead and my charger was in my checked bag. I had to wait in the baggage customer service line to find out where by bag went. I waited about 20 minutes in this line, which is not a very fun line to be in since everyone in it is pissed off because they can't find their luggage. Luckily the woman found my bag in the back room behind the counter. I tracked down the one an only outlet in this part of the airport, which was right next to an elevator. I pretty much had to sit down in front of the elevator doors waiting for my phone to charge. I eventually called Colleen and had to explain how to get to the airport (since she's never driven there before). Because of the stupid Tri-State construction, it took over an hour for her to get there. I finally got home around midnight.

From the time I left downtown Portland, til the time I got home - 28 hours.

I am now in the Phoenix airport. My flight from Vegas took off late of course. When I arrived in Phoenix, I had roughly 20 minutes before the connecting flight took off to Chicago. This would have been okay, if the people at US Airways weren't a bunch of fucking douchbags. My connecting flight in Phoenix was, for some reason, booked on United, which was in a completely separate terminal which required a bus ride to get to. Then you had to go through the security line again. When I got to the counter, I could still see the plane outside the window, but they said it was too late. Missed it by a matter of minutes. Now I am on "Priority Standby" for a 12:45pm flight. But that is not guaranteed. If that doesn't work out, then I'm waiting around for the 2:30 flight. That is, unless the crew decides not to show up for that flight like the one last night that got canceled. My cell phone is now dead, so I can't call anyone. My cell charger is in my checked luggage. My computer is now my sole communication tool. Thank God for free public wi-fi. As for my luggage, who knows where that's going to end up. It's probably in Anchorage.

I am now laying on the floor at the Las Vegas airport. My connecting flight to Chicago got canceled. US Airways can suck my asshole. They offered no sort of monetary reimbursement for the inconvenience. They offered a hotel room, which is fucking pointless right now since it's already 2:30am and I'd have to be back here by 6am. So now I'm laying next to a window in the Check-in area. They also offered a food voucher....for $5. $5????? I can't even buy a fucking coffee for $5 nowadays. Fuck them.

I'm sitting in the airport and I thought I'd take the time to reveal some discoveries about life in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR.

1. Chicago is to hot dog stands, as Seattle/Portland is to Teriyaki and drive-thru coffee stands.

2. Rooftop moss growth seems to be a homeowner concern.

3. People out here love Barack Obama.

4. The public transportation is excellent.

5. People in Oregon love The Goonies. My Goonies shirt sprung up two conversations with random people, including one with a guy from Astoria (where the movie was filmed) who knows a girl who dated Corey Feldman while he was in Astoria for the filming of the movie.

The other day I was working out in the garage with the door open, when this man approached me. He was very short and Hispanic. He almost had the body of a child, but the face of an adult. I had never met the man before, but I knew he lived in the neighborhood since I've often seem him walking around. I already have negative feelings towards this man because a few weeks after we moved in, I witnessed him walk by our house and throw an empty Pepsi can into our yard. Ass.

Anyway, he walked up to me in the garage and said "Hey man, can I borrow your bike sometime?" He obviously saw my bike which was propped up in the back of the garage. I said "No, I don't think so." Then he rebutted with "I'll pay you." I still said no. He continued to ask about my bike, like where I got it, etc. I don't understand why he seriously thought that a complete stranger was going to let him borrow a bike. He didn't even introduce himself or tell me his name. Now I'm kinda worried that he has his eyes on my bike. Throwing Pepsi cans into people's yards can very well be a gateway to bike thievery.

I was at home this morning watching the crazy wind storm. I watched as it broke branches off our trees and flung them all over the yard. I was on the internet for a while, but then the internet went down. So I decided to get ready for work. After showering, I noticed that the lights in the bathroom were flickering. "This can't be good", I thought, as the power went completely out. With no power at the house, there wasn't much to do, so I might as well just go to work. But first I was going to call in my prescriptions to the Grayslake Walgreens. When I tried calling, it just rang and rang. The phones must have been down. I guess I would just do it the old fashioned way...stop in at the store. I walked out to the garage to pull my car out, but then realized that I've always relied on electricity to open the garage door. I wasn't quite sure how to open it manually, and I didn't want to force it and end up breaking it. I had to look through the instruction manual to figure out how to open it. It was actually pretty easy. On the way to work, there were several stop lights that were out and cops directing traffic. When I stopped at Walgreens, the employee at the entrance loudly exclaimed that they were only taking cash since the credit card machines were down. It's amazing how the lack of electricity puts a damper on your normal routine.