Peoria Illinoisan

While trying to pick up a quick lunch, I found the recently opened O’s Tacos & More (at the former Lonnies Dairy Ice Cream Barn) on Farmington Rd is no more.  The parking lot was unplowed and a simple sign was taped on the door saying “sorry, we’re closed.”  Hoping they were only closed because of the cold weather I peeked through the windows and found what humble furniture and fixtures they had were gone.  I had a bad feeling this might happen as the three times we visited previously we were their only customers.

Our family took a liking to this place from our first visit.  Soft corn tortilla tacos, homemade tortilla chips and a hot sauce to die for!

I hate to see a good place go down.

Thank you for calling Dell tech support, may I have your service code, the heavily accented Indian voice on the phone said.  After being disconnected and being a little irritated I called back.  I was on the phone for nearly an hour and my issue was never solved.

I didn’t catch his name, but I learned that he was in his mid 20′s, single, but wants to settle down and have a family.  He has traveled the world, even once visiting California.  His shift starts at 4a.m. and I was his first caller of the work day.  He lives in a suburb of New Delhi in a highrise apartment which, while remotely controlling my computer, showed me a picture of using google street view.  He was very proud of his country and encouraged me to visit.  I said I didn’t like to fly so that wasn’t likely going to happen (nor would I think of India as my top travel destination) so he gave me virtual tour of India using Google images.  When he was done he asked if there was anything else he could help me with.

Well, my computer still doesn’t work.

You have a hardware problem, not a software problem.  I’ll have to transfer you.

I should have been pissed, but it was just too surreal and he was too friendly.  I don’t know if Dell encourages this type of thing, but they should.

9:43 a.m. – Accident w/ injuries unknown. Airport Rd overpass. Car possibly hanging over guardrail.

9:49 – Accident w/ injuries. Kickapoo-Edwards Rd.

10:03 – Two vehicles in ditch. Northmoor & Allen

10:09 – Accident. Two vehicles & Semi. I74 @ Adams.

10:43 – Vehicle spun out in, stuck in ditch w/ small child. I474

10:44 – Two car accident. Forrest Hill & Sterling. One vehicle not drivable.

10:57 – Four car accident w/ injuries unknown. I74 @ University on-ramp.

10:57 – Car in median. I474

11:11 – Stranded motorist. Unable to pay driver after tow from ditch. Tow truck left (that sucks). Rte 6.

11:32 – Smithville Rd. Car in ditch.

11:42 – Two car accident. Knoxville @ I74. One vehicle not drivable.

11:45 – Vehicle hit a pole. Bellevue ave.

In the approximate two hour time frame I listened to the scanner, there were 20 vehicles in accidents or ditches in the Peoria area. I know I missed some, but you get the gist.

With forecasts of 3+ inches for the Peoria area along with winds gusting up to 30 mph, the Winter sent from Heaven is over.  Seeing how this will be our first snowfall of the year, and knowing how drivers drive on the first snowfall of the year, even with only three inches, I’m expecting a disastrous commute.  The wildcard is how well the city plows the streets.

On a positive note, the days are getting longer, Cubs pitchers and catchers report to Mesa in 38 days and The Masters is a mere 82 days away!  I’m expecting great things out of Tiger Woods this year… not so much for the Cubs, but it will be fun to watch nevertheless.

According to a comment today on Peoria.com (which mysteriously disappeared shortly after being posted) Eric Turner supposedly announced at the last Liquor Commission meeting that he is moving to the Chicago area.

I’m taking it with a grain of salt at this point.  You can take it as you wish.

Update: Snopes says this is false.

As I was working on laundry in the basement and listening to 99.9, I heared they are playing their entire playlist from A-Z by song title.  The promo spot said ‘all week’ which I took to mean from now until New Years.  Based on seven days, and an average of 3 to 3.5 minutes per minute song, their playlist somewhere between 2,800 and 3,300 songs.  Not quite as large as I thought it was, but still very impressive.  I still think they should expand and mix it up a bit more than they do (i.e., I love hearing alternate takes and live versions of classic songs, but wouldn’t mind hearing the originals once in a while), but seeing how this is Peoria’s most diverse Rock & Roll station we’ve had for almost as long as I can remember, I really shouldn’t complain.

As of this writing at 5:45pm Monday they were playing the Stone’s “Beast of Burden,” followed by U2′s “Beautiful Day,” and a song by a newer artist I’m not very familiar with, Shawn Mullins, “Beautiful Wreck.”

I’ll be listening and curious to hear what will be played without any weighting of popular or new music.

I wouldn’t say in an abundance, as I only found one – this guy in Chillicothe.  Unfortunately he caught me by surprise and took off down the river before I could get a good picture and I never saw another.

He needs cookies and milk, department stores to make his appearances, and post offices to handle all the letters from children.

If Santa Claus ever wants to relocate from the North Pole, he should consider Peoria in central Illinois. That’s the conclusion of a Canadian think tank that analyzed data on Canadian and U.S. cities to compile a scientific list of top 10 places suitable for Santa.

Data-driven decision-making spurs many corporations to consider relocating. The researchers thought: Why not Santa?

Peoria ranks sixth on the list from the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. The rankings are based on five variables: the number, per capita, of cookie factories, milk producers, postal and courier services, department stores and toy factories.

Airports, highways and high-speed rail mean nothing to Santa, so cities’ transportation options weren’t part of the analysis, said the institute’s research director, Kevin Stolarick. He’s an Illinois native, but he didn’t let that bias his research.

“The numbers are accurate,” he said.

Why does Santa need toy factories? Wouldn’t he build his own elf-size workshop?

Stolarick explained that the business of delivering toys to good boys and girls is a growing concern with the world population reaching 7 billion. So Santa may need to hire full-size toymakers away from other manufacturers. If there’s an experienced workforce nearby, that’s good for Santa. He simply woos them away with better pay and benefits.

The top Santa city is Guelph, Ontario, according to the analysis. Forget about it, Hinesville, Ga., with no reported cookie makers, milk producers, toy manufacturers or department stores. Santa’s not interested.

Illinois may want to consider a package of tax incentives tailored to St. Nick to keep him in Peoria once he relocates his headquarters, said Stolarick.

“He’s got a big workforce, right? You gotta worry about that,” he said.

Reprinted from the Chicago Tribune.

The top 10:

1. Guelph, ON
2. Williamsburg, PA
3. Sherbrooke, QC
4. London, ON
5. St. John’s NL
6. Peoria, IL
7. Hamilton, ON
8. Winnepeg, MB
9. Trois-Rivieres, ON
10. Kitchener, ON

This whole “shut down the ports” thing really chaps my ass. Stop commerce, truck drivers, longshoremen, train engineers, raw material and supplies to small businesses and factories. Neither Walmart nor Wall Street will feel a blip, but the ones they claim to represent will.  By definition, shutting down ports also shuts down exports, which is something we want, isn’t it?

I.D.I.O.T.S.

and then this… (sorry, embedding of the video was disabled)

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2ztak_wBwGc

Would someone please call DCFS.

Trimmed the back side of the tree because it was too large – Forgot to water it – Unstable floors – The kids put too many ornaments on the front side – An old friend came in from out of town – There was an earth quake – A terrible flood -

It wasn’t my fault, I swear to God!!

I’m become accustomed to them learning songs through movies, and rock band but they knew this one through a commercial.  As I played this…

this ad came on T.V. …

I don’t care how they discover music and I won’t like everything they find, nor will they like everything that I do, but I’m curious and open to whatever they discover.

Albert Pujols is now an L.A. Angel.

at least in the past few days – but after reading the story, one can only laugh and smile – except Anthony Miranda who is currently sitting in the Cook County Jail.  I especially like the part where he begs for his life after threatening to blow someone’s brains out.

Tribune:

A man who tried to rob a mixed martial-arts expert at gunpoint found himself no match for his intended victim this weekend, police said.

Anthony Miranda, 24, faces a charge of discharging a weapon during a robbery in the Southwest Side attack, which left him wounded in the ankle and badly bruised from his confrontation with the 33-year-old man he robbed, police said.

Sun Times:

“He asked me for my wallet, for my phone and my keys,” Justin explained. “I told him I don’t have a wallet, I only have cash. He cursed me — like ‘m—–f—–.’”

Justin said he handed over the $30 in cash he had stuffed in a his car’s cup holder, but Miranda was not satisfied, Justin said.

“At that moment, he backs up the gun and he racks it,” Justin recalled. “The gun jammed. He racked it a second time. He ejected the bullet on the ground. He went down and grabbed the bullet and said, ‘Look, m—–f—–, it’s a hollow point. I’ll blow your brains out.’”

That’s when Miranda ordered him out of the car, Justin said.

Justin said he looked at the man facing him, pistol pointing at his chest, and was pretty certain he was about to take a bullet.

“I wasn’t scared because I’m trained,” Justin explained.

Justin then demonstrated to a reporter the sudden, rather effective maneuver that disarmed his attacker.

“The round went off,” Justin continued. “I put him down to the ground. He was fighting. He didn’t want to give up.”

But at the same time, Justin said: “He was begging me to let him go. He said he has a baby.”

Justin then kept his attacker collared until police arrived.

Asked about his training, Justin offered only vague hints at his background: “Former military,” “high-risk training,” “Hostage rescue.”

While I was hanging out in the Starbucks parking lot at Glen & University taking pictures of the billboards below, the sun was setting over the Advanced Auto Parts store, so I turned and grabbed a photo.

I have no opinion of Advance Auto Parts, other than I liked their sign against the red sunset, but I wholeheartedly endorse the joint fundraising efforts of the Peoria Playhouse Children’s Museum and the Peoria Zoo.

www.powerofplaypeoria.org

Yes, this is Peoria’s Best Buy.  Hat-tip to JW @ Peoria.com