7/23/2003 09:49:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I have moved into my work apartment in Madison. It is nice. If I wanted to be working here or if I lived here this place would be amazing. It is large. It has all the amenities that you could want. There is build in A/C, dishwasher, and washer and dryer. There is also a large kitchen. Yesterday, Bengi and I made a Wal-mart run to buy some furnishings, on the company�s dime. I bought coordinating bathroom items. They are sort of a palm tree oasis theme. I also bought a bed set that will fit my bed at home. Next week I am going to by some dishes thanks to the boss man.|W|P|105901495049011931|W|P|Mad Town Apartment|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/23/2003 09:42:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Bengi and I were returning from lunch today when the subject of Aquafina came up. We discussed how exactly some one is spotted in their �Get Spotted� promotion. As we turned a corner on the Beltline, Bengi pointed into the sky. There it was, the Aquafina blimp! It was flying over Mad Town. Sadly I was not drinking Aquafina at the time.|W|P|105901457446906004|W|P|Almost Spotted|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/23/2003 07:55:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Over the last year or more I have been receiving daily emails form Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, through an email list. They are short reflections on how to live a Christian life. I have really enjoyed them. Dr. Bright had been ill for some time and had found the email to be the best was to fulfill God's mission for his life. The email for 20 July have a bit different, Dr. Bright had died the night before. Now, I am still getting emails. These messages were prepared in advance by Dr. Bright, but now I cannot bring myself to read it.|W|P|105900814018970652|W|P|Troubling Email|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/22/2003 09:16:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|The King of Pop has spoken out against a new law that would make downloading copyrighted material, like music, illegal. He has some smart things to say about the subject.|W|P|105888338125150400|W|P|The King speaks, All Hail The King!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/21/2003 08:56:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Stuff is going on in THe Flatiron Life, but really do not feel like writing about it now. I promise I will soon.|W|P|105883901285941775|W|P|Stuff|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/17/2003 10:26:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Here and here via The Great One in The Corner.|W|P|105849878830052492|W|P|A couple reasons I do not like unions.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/17/2003 10:17:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|What would Ann Coulter do?|W|P|105849822683303388|W|P|My new diet!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/16/2003 08:56:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I went to the Dane County Fair tonight. It is good. It is not as large as I expected. Much to my disappointment the dome was not full of 4-H projects, in fact it is not part of the fair at all. I am likely underestimating the Dane County Fair and overestimating the Vermillion County Fair but I think this fair is only 2-3 times larger than VCo�s. The projects are poorly arranged and in an air-conditioned building. What is the fun of looking at projects, if you are not sweating to death? There are in a few rooms of the convention center that is on the grounds. I also noticed that there are no Champion, Grand Champion, or their reserves. There is much more was in the livestock than in far north haute. In the barns, there are many farm and club banners, but there are also FFA banners. There are many of the silly animals like horses, goats, sheep, poultry, etc. There are a lot of hogs. There is much more cattle. This being Wisconsin the vast majority of these are dairy. There is also an automated milking station. This is used for exhibit purposes, but I assume that the animals are probably so conditioned to the machine that being hand milked would disturb them. Through out the whole fair I could not wipe this large grin off my face. This is because I realized that 4-H folks are the same everywhere, at least in the mid-west. I heard 4-Hers and there parents disputing the judges finding, complaining that others had not followed the exact text of the rules, or that their projects were displayed incorrectly. I saw people who just as easily could have been Tomaws, Bartons, or McFalls. In the barns, the folks looked just like Hickses, Morgans, or Hills.|W|P|105840696641166418|W|P|Out at the Fair|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/16/2003 04:30:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Rich Lowry of National Review has a great syndicated article on the subject. He references a book I read a review of a while back and really would like to read.|W|P|105839104735799445|W|P|The Modern Colonialists|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/16/2003 09:02:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|For all its flaws, and there are many of them, English is a great language. For one thing we have no problem using words from other languages, mostly because english is composed of other languages. The French on the other hand still have to speak French and use the words the government demands.|W|P|105836417507430838|W|P|I love English.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/15/2003 10:08:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|A couple items have been added to the growing list of Nina's work.|W|P|105832493362464721|W|P|More from the CBS News machine|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/15/2003 09:24:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Recently I started a project I have dubbed, The McHale Option. The McHale Option is top secret. It is so secretive that none of my bosses even knows about it! I cannot disclose all of the details today. What I can tell you is that it has a target completion date of 2 September. It also involved this website and possibly this one.|W|P|105832224293094601|W|P|New work!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/15/2003 08:57:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Madison, Wisconsin is in Dane County. Today is the first of the Dane County Fair. My hotel is bounded on two sides by the grounds and on the other two by access roads to the fair. I have not been over there, but it looks a little bigger then your typical mid-western county fair. A major difference is that the "fair grounds" is the Alliant Energy Center. This is not a large power plant, but a domed arena the size of the Hoosier Dome with huge open areas (a.k.a. parking lots) around it. The website and map say that they have the livestock and 4-H project exhibits. There is a carnival with a huge Farris Wheel. There is also a lot of entertainment planned.|W|P|105832065210032713|W|P|Fair Time in Mad Town!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/14/2003 01:25:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|This murder took place at 2430 N. Lakeview Ave. Lakeview turns into Sheridan Rd, on which I live at 2930 N. i was exactly 1/2 mile from the scene while I slept! It was a domestic dispute so the hood is still safe, unless you are dating a shady character. |W|P|105820714470313849|W|P|Crime in the hood!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/10/2003 09:34:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I was just watching The News with Brian Williams with John Seigenthaler. There was a story about the floods in Indiana. The reporter, Kerry Sanders I think, was in Decatur and then said, "in nearby Noblesville..." Indiana becomes smaller and smaller everyday. Now 100 miles is nearby.|W|P|105789089701368894|W|P|NBC's Revisionist Hoosier Geography|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/10/2003 03:27:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P||W|P|105786885686035527|W|P|This ain't right!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/10/2003 10:52:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|...for Kobe!|W|P|105785237495175112|W|P|Let Freedom Ring...|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/09/2003 10:42:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|This story about a set of locked deer antlers is more than I could write about the benefits and drawbacks of troop deployments to Liberia! I take this as a sign that there are way too many deer in Indiana.|W|P|105776536134093052|W|P|VCo ...uhm... News?|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/09/2003 09:55:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Activision has brought a lawsuit against Viacom on these grounds. I think they have a case. Activision is saying that it cannot continue to produce profitable video games based on the once great Star Trek franchise if Viacom is determined to run it into the ground, as it appears to be to this Trekker.|W|P|105776253027470013|W|P|Yeah, Star Trek does suck|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/08/2003 03:58:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|This woman is the oldest known (or willing to admit) fan of the Cubs. I also found this woman who died recently, she was the oldest Cubs fan at the time, also 113 years old.|W|P|105769793036523791|W|P|Buy that lady a beer and a dog.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/07/2003 05:02:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I do not see the IU Medical Center being renamed after this.|W|P|105761534071115521|W|P|Ed Kelly dead.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/07/2003 02:58:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I have made it. I am in the lovely city of Madison. Only 2.5 hours and $2 for tolls.|W|P|105760793912761287|W|P|In Madison|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/04/2003 06:55:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Barry White has died.|W|P|105736290739421441|W|P|Oh baby!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/04/2003 09:53:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Jonah Goldberg says Californians should have to learn from thier mistakes, not have a do-over.|W|P|105733042416334613|W|P|The great one changes my mind on Gray-out Davis.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/04/2003 09:20:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I can think of an FSA employee or two with this guys same problem. :-D|W|P|105732843089170610|W|P|Federal Employees with no real work.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/04/2003 08:39:00 AM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Two centuries, one score, and seven years ago �our fathers bought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equally.� On this day it is of vital importance that we all read the words that set us free and reflect if only for a moment on their meaning for that time, our time, and our lives. Before the oft repeated second paragraph, comes the ignored and in many ways more important first. When I was in Mr. Martin�s Jr. High History class it was this first paragraph, which is also the first sentence, of the Declaration we had to memorize. Though I cannot remember every word in the correct order, the beginning is quick to my mouth: �When in the course of human event�� This first clause is as powerful and important as any other that come in the opening of the Declaration. This is the first line that the King would have read. His advisers would have given him a summery before he read it, and the title of the document would have gave the purpose away. However, this first line is designed to state that at a time of the people�s not the king�s or the current government�s choosing we can do what follows. What follows is a doozy. The Declaration of Independence not only turns the thirteen colonies into thirteen �Free and Independent states� united for a common good. It sets each of us free, in and out of America. At a time of our choosing it may becomes necessary for one People to rid itself of the current government. We are also reminded that we each have a separate and equal station in life. This station is not granted to us by a government or any other person, but through �the Laws of Nature and of Nature�s God.� This paragraph should be an often reminder that each of us is sovereign. We are each a nation unto ourselves. It is by our choosing that we have come together to form the alliances that constitute out great republic. We, the represented, are the ones from which our representatives derive their name and their power. They cannot grant us any rights because the only rights they have are the ones we have temporarily loaned to them. It is of vital impotents to our health and to the Republic�s health that we remind them that they are our servants. That we brought them into this world and we will take them out. |W|P|105732596406436826|W|P|Happy Birthday America!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/02/2003 08:48:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Michael Kinsley has some interesting ideas on how solve the gay marriage issue. (Via the Corner)|W|P|105719693106433694|W|P|What is marriage anyway?|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/02/2003 04:20:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I would like to thank all of you for make June 2003 the highest traffic month ever for The Flatiron Life! We had 2394 hits last month. I know that does not look like much, but in May we had 1519 and in April only 752. I encourage all of you to stay up to date with the most important goings on by checking back her often. In the last month, great new features like the Tribute to Nina have been added. Look for new features such as reviews and opinion article to be added in the future. As always, I am interesting in receiving email from all of you. I am interested in the kind of people visiting and what you would like to see in the future. |W|P|105718084869875220|W|P|Thank you!|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/02/2003 04:06:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Starting Monday I am going to be detailed north of the Cheddar Curtain for work. I will be working in Madison, making the drive every week, Monday through Friday. The way the plan looks for now I will be there for over a year.|W|P|105718000391646214|W|P|Moving on up to the North Woods|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/02/2003 03:48:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|I know that this is rather belated, but here is a summery of the road trip the Chi-mate and I took on Sunday. We traveled from Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley, to Fairfax, Virginia in a little over 12 hours. We covered 733 miles. Our route was Lake Shore Drive (US 41), I-55, Dan Ryan (I-90/I-94), Chicago Skyway (I-90), Indiana East-West Tollway (I-80), Ohio Turnpike (I-80), Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76), I-70, I-270, Capital Beltway (I-495), and I-66. The total toll was $22.20: Chicago $2, Indiana $4.65, Ohio $8.95, and Pennsylvania $6.60. The trip was fun, but I would not want to make it often. I like the ticket system that Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania use for the long stretches of tollway that allows you to just keep on driving. The trip did spark the classic question of why we have to pay a toll. I am not opposed to tolls. I think they are a good way of having the users of the roads pay for the road. What I do have a problem with is that you still have to pay gas tax on the toll way. The gas tax is used to pay for the other roads, which you are not using if you are on the tollway. A tunnel was in our route, which was enjoyable. I also never realized how hilly Pennsylvania is. Justin�s little Saturn could barley make some of the inclines. In addition, in Penn�s Woods we saw a stand of power generating windmills. It might be hard to tell from the picture but they are huge!|W|P|105717888007378320|W|P|Road Trip Round Up|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/02/2003 02:43:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|A new subatomic particle called the pentaquark has been discovered. A couple times this article says that this discovery will have far reaching consequences, but they must be so far reaching that the author was not able to speculate as to what they might be. |W|P|105717503404113466|W|P|Behold the pentaquark|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/01/2003 11:00:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|Bernard Chapin has this account of the Gay Pride Parade from last week. I think he is a little harsh, but makes really good points in the end. Note: He gives several alternative titles for parts of my hood that I have never heard.|W|P|105711841528733661|W|P|Gay Pride Parade|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/01/2003 10:43:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|WTWO was able to cross the river to make this report! It is about Clinton firefighters not having the equipment to respond to a VX incident. The trip yielded two stories, which probably meet their quota for the second half of the year. This one is about honoring the Iowan's that have been defending the Depot.|W|P|105711741978060757|W|P|VCo News|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com7/01/2003 10:32:00 PM|W|P|Jacob|W|P|The show Friends is not real for many reasons. Has none of these successful people ever thought of to buy a place and to stop renting? One of the other reasons that it is so unbelievable is they have lived so closely this long and has not killed each other! I do not hate the Chi-mate, but I do some times what to run him over with my car. This is not unusual. Talk to most people and they will tell you that they thought they were going to have a great time with their roommate, but as time past (some might say droned on) the little quirks turned into monsters that they wanted to through out the window and not look back if the roommate went with it. If you are in a committed relationship with someone and you shack up or marry them their little quirks might turn into even more reasons to love the person. "I think the way Jackie slurps her soup is cute and I lover her for that." However, if you are just roommates and could just as easily by as close of friends on different sides on the continent then they have no redeeming value. "I %#@% hate the way Justin slips every-#&$%@-thing he encounters." Maybe I am insensitive, but I do not think I want to live with any of my friends any longer because they are my friends. Strangers I already distrust and want to through out the window. I just want a robot, a monkey, or half-way polite stranger that will pay its half of the rent on time every month.|W|P|105711673292799303|W|P|Why Friends is not real.|W|P|jacob.tomaw@gmail.com