Hasbro is coming out with a new Monopoly game, The Here & Now Edition.  They are taking votes once a day to determine what order the 22 American cities that will be included will appear on the board.  Being a Chicago resident, I will be voting early and often to make sure the Windy City is represented in the Boardwalk spot with Wrigley Field.  C'mon, let's beat those New Yoaka's. 

One of the least enjoyable aspects of my job is the commute.  I have a 30+ mile drive everyday, and the direction I have to travel on the expressway that I would normally take is notoriously one of the worst routes in the Chicago area. 

Through some experimentation, I've been able to sidestreet my way to a "manageable" drive of about an hour in normal driving conditions.  Unfortunately, there is no way for me to take public transit and at least reclaim those 2 hours a day into reading, sleeping, or portable video game playing.

However, this article is a nice little reminder that it could be worse.  WHO does this?  Unbelievable.

Baby Engy says "Hello, World" with a flash of her hand! 

That's right, Baby Engy is a GIRL!  We just found out at our 20-week ultrasound appointment yesterday that our baby is a girl.  Wow...the ultrasound machine is an incredible piece of technology...to see a young life before it enters the world is a mind-blowing experience.  However, such a complex piece of man-made machinery pales in comparison to the wonders of Almighty God!

This whole process of conception of life and the subsequent pregnancy has only reconfirmed to me the absolute miracle that is life, and the incredible complexity and wonder that this whole experience unveils only strengthens my faith in our Creator.  That we came about from a process beginning with primordial goo can only be laughed upon after experiencing such a miracle.

Here's a profile of Baby Engy:

And here's baby Engy's bum and feet!  The lack of any appendage here is proof that our baby has two X chromosomes

Here's an interesting article that discusses Jim Wallis and his book, God's Politics: Why the American Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It. 

I've heard about this book for a while and have been meaning to read it, but have yet to pick it up.  From reading through the article, I have to say I definitely agree with a lot of Wallis' thoughts and views, and am certainly looking forward to reading his book.   Has anyone read through it yet?

Check out this artist's incredibly cool Photoshopped recreation of the Damen blue line stop.  Looks amazingly life-like! (Warning: Site may be VERY slow)