Metra Deerfield Station

Commuted to Deerfield, IL to meet with the great people at Walgreens. The Deerfield Metra station is located just a few blocks from their offices. Captured this on a late April morning using an iPhone. Post processed on the device with cross processing.

Morning on Emerald Lake, Vermont

Nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont, the turning leaves, clear blue sky, and clear water of Emerald Lake presented a rich tapestry of colors early this Autumn morning. It’s worth visiting Vermont just for this.

CTA Chicago Stop

My new commuting stop on the L. Beauty is all around us, even on public transportation.

Whirlpool at Niagara Gorge

One of Earth’s rare formations, the whirlpool at Niagara Gorge flows in, circles counter clockwise, and then continues it’s journey downstream. A few idiots have attempted to swim across the whirlpool, with few being successful. The river separates the US and Canada, with the trees in this photo being on the Canadian side.

List of Free Data Sets for Analytic and Forecasting Efforts

I’ve compiled a list of free, downloadable data sets that are useful for analytic & forecasting efforts. This list is by no means exhaustive and will be certain to evolve with time. Recommendations are appreciated.

Population & Geography Data

• US Census Data Access Tools
  Starting point for accessing data sets in the US Census.
  
• US Zip Codes
  A free source of USPS Zip codes.
• National Center for Health Statistics
  Marriage data occurring in States that meet reporting criteria for inclusion in the marriage-registration area, except for California unlicensed marriages.

Economy & Finance Data

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
  Contains information on inflation & prices, employment, unemployment, pay & benefits, spending, productivity, workplace, employee projections and more.
  
• Bureau of Economic Analysis
  Provides national, regional, international, industry and other data sets.
  
• Barron’s Market Data Center
  Real-time and daily data from WSJ.com and weekly data from Barron’s.
  
• Yahoo! Historical Stock Prices
  Provides daily open, high, low, close, adj. close, and volume of any equity over history. (enter the ticker of the equity you want to track).
  
• World Bank dataBank
  Provides data on world development indicators, finance, gender, education, health nutrition & population and more.
  
• International Monetary Fund Data & Statistics
  The IMF publishes a range of time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators.
  
• Federal Reserve Bank Economic Data (FRED)
  Information on Banking, Business/Fiscal, CPI, Employment & Population, Exchange Rates, Foreign Exchange Intervention, GDP and more.
• ISM Manufacturing PMI

Climate Data

• United States Historical Climatology Network
  The daily data include observations of maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation amount, snowfall amount, and snow depth. Monthly data include mean, maximum, and minimum temperature and total precipitation. Records for most stations extend through 2008.

Search & Competitive Web

• Quantcast
  Provides detailed visitor information for web sites.
• Google Trends
  Provides the daily search volume of terms on Google. While not the actual search volume, the exportable file provides a relative index.

Red Bull Racing, NASCAR

Attended the Spring Talladega NASCAR Race in Alabama. While I’m a loyal Miller Lite Blue Deuce fan, I do love the styling on the Red Bull cars. This is the underside of the gate on the crew trailer.

Update: This photo was published in the June 2009 International version of Red Bulletin, the Red Bull Magazine.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

I took this photo very early one October morning in Grand Teton National Park. The flat water in the foreground is actually the notoriously turbulent Snake River. The Teton range is in the distance.

Mohican State Forest, Ohio, Thursday

I continued my journey to Loudonville and the Mohican State Forest area for a family reunion today.  I began my journey at the midway point in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is not a quiet campground.  It is surrounded by highways and railroads, and is too far away from the beach to have any noise cancelling effect.  Tents are already not good for light or sound insulation.  The constant traffic from the road, trains, and the early sun caused Gus to be awake most of the night.

Gus is an early riser anyway, rising at first light so we don’t lose a moment of play time.  I have to keep my room at home dark or I end up being awoken at 5:00 AM in the Summer.  He will sit with complete dedication on the bed, his head overlooking mine, eyes locked on my face, monitoring for the slightest indication that I am awake.  If I so much as crack an eye lid… play time.  And let me tell you, waking to the face of a schnauzer 6 inches from your face is somewhat disturbing!

I got to sleep around midnight and was awoken by the engine brakes of a truck at 6 AM.  I quickly decided it was futile trying for more sleep and packed my tent and hit the road.  We were back on the highway around 7 AM, sans shower or coffee.

The area of Indiana between Gary and South Bend is in great need of additional coffee outlets.  Perhaps Starbucks should relocate some of the 600 outlets slated for closure to this seriously underserved area?  I did find a coffee location about 30 miles into the drive and color started coming back to the otherwise gray world.

The drive to Loudonville was uneventful.  Western Ohio is light industry and agrarian.  The area near Toledo is a very significant melon producing area.  Drove by a field that had cars in various parts, almost as if a prank or some wierd alien abduction/repatriation.

Milan, Ohio is the birthplace of Thomas Edison.  A bar in Milan read, “Welcome Bikers”.  The bar had no window and a gravel parking lot.

As you neared Loudonville, the terrain became hillier and more densely covered with trees.  We arrived Loudonville around 2 PM.

Mohican Adventures Campground

I stayed at the Mohican Adventures campground, which is a complex of RV campsites, cabins of multiple sizes, and tent campsites.  There are essentially two halves of the park split by a stream.  The right half is fairly flat, and the dominant feature is the large lake in the middle of the park.  The left half is a substantial large hill/small mountain, densely covered with hemlocks, pines, and other large trees.

The right half:

• Entrance area.  This is the area in the front of the park, with the registration office, RV hookups, small cabins, swimming pool, and volleyball location.  The entrance area is ideal for those people that camp because it’s an inexpensive way to hang out with their friends.  Noisy, but lots of stuff to do.
• Lake area.  This is directly behind the entrance area, going back halfway into the park.  There is a fairly substantial lake dotted with nice cabins and a few large camper sites, and a beach at the far end.
• RV/camper area.  This is to the back of the campground, and is where the RV/camper’s that want more privacy go.

On the left half:

• Tent camping area.  The area features steep hills, and great campsites spread throughout the hills.

My tent campsite was on the mountain area, set back in a cul-de-sac with two other locations where my cousins would be staying.  It seemed secluded, but we later learned that the views from above had clear lines of sight into our campsites.

After setting up, Gus and I head to my folks location in the RV/camper area.  Their lot backed to a stream and woods on the far bank, had an empty lot on one side and my uncles camper on the other.  The small stream behind them emptied into a slightly larger stream 40 feet away.  This is the same sream that bisects the park.  It’s a nice feature, providing a flat riverbed and intermittent small waterfalls.  The campsites that back up to the stream aren’t the most scenic, but you have the constant sound of the water falling while you sleep.

After catching up with everyone, Gus and I headed down to the lake for a swim.  A couple pointers before you take your dog swimming:

1. Ensure your dog knows how to swim.  I suggest trying a small swimming pool with steps as a learning area.  Gus found out by accidentally jumping in, which wasn’t good for either he or I.
2. Check the water before you allow your dog to swim or get anywhere near the water.  Some lakes have algae problems that can cause death if dogs drink the water.  If you don’t know about the safety, don’t risk it.
3. Watch for plants and soft bottoms.  Dogs will naturally try to put their feet on the ground and can quickly get tangled in plants.
4. Know the limits of how far your dog can swim.  Bigger dogs, especially retrieving dogs, can swim longer distances.  Smaller dogs have to paddle much more to go the same distance.
5. Have water available for them to drink.  They’re working out and need to stay hydrated.  Also, beaches tend to be warmer than other areas.
6. Watch for signs of being tired out.  Dogs are known to push themselves past their limits, but you don’t want your dog giving up in the water.  If they look tired, call it quits.
7. Be prepared to jump in.  Don’t bring anything that you don’t want to get wet.  If your dog gets stuck or struggles, you may need to jump in to help them back.

Gus and I made our way to the lake with a floating retriever toy.  There were a few people around the beach when we started, and more so when we finished.  If you’ve never seen a dog retrieve toys from the water it’s a cool sight.  When a dog likes swimming and playing fetch, they love retrieving in the water.  It’s a fun source of exercise that keeps them cool.

If you’ve never seen a 23 lbs. miniature schnauzer retrieve in the water, it’s even better.  Bigger dogs are good at retrieving partly because they are better able to swim.  Gus has to work pretty hard to get to the toy, retrieve it, and come back.  I’d toss the toy 30 feet out, he’d rush out to the water, and bring it back.

We started attracting a crowd, and Gus started retrieving the toy back to the cute girls at the beach (good dog!).  We called it quits after 45 minutes and headed back to the campsite.

Gus crashed in my lap that night near the campfire, completely exhausted from the day’s travel and exercise.  A tired dog is a happy dog.

Indiana Dunes

Gus and I packed up on Wednesday afternoon and headed down I-94 to the Indiana Dunes. I had a family reunion in Ohio scheduled for the weekend and wanted to get past Chicago.

Loading my truck took longer than I expected.  I’ve been living out of a hotel room for 2 months.  My life is organized into clear Rubbermaid tubs with fliptops, making transport easy if bulky.  9 tubs, 1 mighty squirrel hunter, camping equipment and 11 cases of beer… well, almost 11 cases of beer.  I ran out of room.  Fortunately, a group of guys and girls in front of the hotel were grilling and graciously helped me relieve myself of a case of beer.

I hit the road for the Dunes at around 4:30, which was the worst possible time.  That put me in Milwaukee rush hour towards Racine.  I cleared that traffic in time to make Chicago’s late rush hour.  What should’ve been a 2 1/2 hour drive took 4 1/2.

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is located in the North part of Indiana along the coast of Lake Michigan.  There are several parts of the park, but camping is limited to the Dunewood Campground.

I typically like camping in national parks because they design the layout of camping sites to be in harmony with the surrounding areas.  The result are campsites that retain privacy from neighboring sites.

The layout at the Dunewood Campground is no different, and at $15/night ($7 for National Park pass holders) are a bargain. My campsite was setback from the road and backed into a forest.  I was able to get my tent setup in low light, and then headed to the neighboring area for dinner.

I took a brief detour to the neighboring lakeshore and took a few shots of a beautiful sunset.  I saw tall buildings in the distance, but I’m not certain if they were from Gary or Chicago.  Chicago is a pretty fair distance from the area.

I stopped in a gas station to pickup some water and firewood, and to get an idea of where I could find food for dinner.  I did checkout the options in the gas station, but wasn’t desperate enough to eat the 2 year old burritos in the frozen case.  The clerk told me there was a restaurant a few miles down the road, so I hopped back in the truck and headed East.

I believe you can tell a lot about an area by its billboards, houses, bumper stickers, and the layouts and offerings in the local grocery stores.  Local grocery stores have an incredible understanding of the local clientele.  The grocery store I visit in Brookfield doesn’t carry Coke Zero, has old fluorescent lights, much older clerks, and more traditional selections of vegetables.  It’s definitely not where you go if you are a gourmet, or under the age of 40 (it’s close to me, that about it), but I’ll bet they have at least 4 different digestive fiber aids.

The first telling sign to me about the Indiana Dunes was the surrounding area.  Most vacation locales have restaurants and hotels near where the tourists stay.  The story nobody talks about is that the housing for the workers, often low-paid, is frequently Spartan at best, and run-down at worst.  Look no further than the housing in many parts of Orlando to see how the thousands of housekeepers, groundskeepers, and kitchen staffs at resorts live.

The community surrounding the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore features billboards advertising teen pregnancy, completing high school equivalencies, and other lofty objectives.  Beer signs advertise Busch Light 12 packs on sale.

What surprised me was that there were no nearby hotels or restaurants.  I arrived at the suggested restaurant.  The sign out front read, “Lounge,” in cursive script.  One car sat out front in a gravel parking lot.  I got the feeling that the Indiana Dunes was a park that was frequented mainly by locals, or people that wouldn’t need to go to a nearby restaurant or stay at a local hotel.

I passed on the lounge cuisine and picked up a container of Jiffy Pop from the gas station on my way back to my site.  i remember Jiffy Pop from when I was a kid.  We’d use it when we camped and had a great litle snack.  I was counting on Jiffy Pop being my dinner for the night, both for Gus and I.  In the earlier mentioning packing, I had packed all of MSH’s items in the bottom center part of the bed.

We arrived back at the campsite and I quickly got the fire going. There was an almost mystical sense of the fire, as it rose through the single clearing in the tree canopy.  Gus curiously watched as sparks spiraled upward towards the clear, star filled skies.  We sat their appreciating the fire for at least 30 minutes before we tried to cook our popcorn.  Astute readers caught that I said ‘tried’.  To be fair, Jiffy Pop clearly states on the package that you shouldn’t try to cook it over an open campfire.  Still, I remember camping with Jiffy Pop.

I removed the paper and held it over the fire with an amazingly short metal handle.  My hand started getting extremely hot, but nothing was happening with the popcorn.  I held it closer and the oil started to boil inside, but so did the blood in my knuckles.

I finally rigged it so it wasn’t in direct flame, but was propped up so I didn’t have to hold it.  At the point where I thought I had it fixed, a hole formed in the bottom of the aluminum and boiling oil shot into the fire, furthering fueling the flame.

I never did get the popcorn to pop, so Gus and I just watched the fire for the night.

My neighbors were quiet that night, but the campsite sits near both a highway and railroad line.  I heard trucks and trains roaring by throughout the night.  I’m a heavy sleeper, but Gus stayed up the entire night barking at any new sound.  I got to sleep around midnight, and was awakened by heavy traffic at 6:30.  We packed and were on the road before 7:00.

The park makes an okay overnight campground if you’re driving through the area.  It’s certainly better than many places I’ve stayed and a bargain at $15/night.  I wouldn’t recommend it for people that are looking for a multiday vacation.

Surfing the Indiana Dunes

I’m leaving today for my family reunion in Ohio, but along the way i will be stopping at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore for a night.   Indiana Dunes is 150 miles from Brookfield, but is conveniently located on the other side of Chicago.

The campsite is a bit off from the beach, but I’m hopeful I can hear the sounds of waves crashing throughout the night.

I miss my yard and garden (and my bed), so I am pretty excited to get back into nature.  I spent most of last year cultivating a nice garden in my front yard.  I ripped out two massive hedges and replaced it with a french drain, terracing, and a garden of perennials.  What amazed me was I put in one butterfly plant and the garden attracted all sorts of butterflies, bees, and other good insects.  I don’t believe butterflies or bees are attracted to hedges, but I was amazed at their coming in such amounts within the first year of my planting the garden.

The Indiana Dunes claims to have waves crashing on sandy beaches, Karner Blue butterflies landing on wild lupines, peaceful silence lingering along winter trails, and bank swallows flying from their nest inside the dunes. 

They also have a marsh, which I’m sure Gus the MSH will find a way to invade.  I am prepared with the new tea tree oil shampoo for both the bugs and the awful marshy smell.  I also invested in a life preserver so he can go further out in the water.

The drive from Indiana Dunes is slated for 5 hours, barring traffic or construction, so I should arrive in Ohio with plenty of time on Thursday to get setup.