I ended up going with “Jack bag” as a result of my quest for the right bag, which I have been pretty happy with. It has its problems, but it is pretty nice. As I knew, it is not a laptop bag, which means I am always nevous when I carry around my laptop, as it is just a canvas bag. I have been thinking of getting a protective shell, much like most macbook owners have, but I haven’t bothered yet.

After starting season 2 of Dexter (amazing show) though, I am starting to have regrets. He has this really sweet laptop bag, which just looks awesome. All things considered, it isn’t what I was looking for, but it is still tempting. I did some searching, and the bag is the Oakley S.I. Laptop Bag. It is $180, which is absurd in my book for a bag, but it definitely looks strong and incredibly badass.

I spotted three local new crews today when I went to watch the UofC annual polar bear run today. It is a naked run in the quads, as part of the Kuviasungnerk and Kangeiko festival here. Events in the festival are normally early in the morning all week to celebrate winter or something dumb like that; I have never attended any of these and I expect I never will. Anyway, it finishes up with the naked run. It is 28F outside, so it is a challenge of sorts, but it is mostly an excuse for some to streak in the quads. There are always a few photographers out there, and the pics have made it to internet in various forms (see video from last year). I was surprised today to see the local news show up. I saw cameras for CBS, FOX, and WGN. It is just a little bit creepy. Slow news day or whatever, but it seemed at least a little bit odd to me. Any runners pretty well gave up there privacy, but it seems a little bit on the wrong side. Either way, it was good for a laugh. I think I might have been in one of the few pans they did of the crowd…

Update: Here are some news stories about it:

• CBS 2 Chicago write up from this morning. By hundreds of runners, they mean about 50.

Maybe more to come…

One of the current US Cellular commercials has a girl explaining  how she was apprehensive to go to college, because her dad is illiterate (she says that she has to read bills and mail to him). She goes on to explain that someone at a US Cellular store helped her dad read bills and other mail. If you watch enough TV, you have probably seen it. Every time I see it, I wonder what US Cellular is going for exactly. The story is so pathetic, it seems like it is probably true. Who would make that ad up? I come away just thinking US Cellular is weird for advertising that. Besides, the point of the ad is that someone at some US Cellular store was nice and willing to help this idiot guy out; its not in anyway a reflection of the company as a whole other than that they employ someone decent. A good employee would provide good customer service; helping out illiterate guys has nothing to do with cell phones.  US Cellular has always struck me as a confused company; that view has only been re-enforced.

I wasn’t sure what to think when I heard that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were returning to the air but with completely improved shows, As most people know, the writers’ strike knocked the late shows off the air, and like many, I felt the hit most with these two shows. As tonight’s shows pointed out, the writers are not exactly salt of the earth blue collars fighting for basic workers rights. Of all things, it is probably not the worst picket line to cross. Still, I found it a bit surprising that Stewart and Colbert joined the other late night hosts in going back. I really didn’t know what they had in mind. After tonight’s show, I am mixed….

Of the two, I thought Stewart handled it much better. He implied that he really didn’t want to be doing the show. For ’solidarity,’ the show’s name was changed to A Daily Show.  He focused most of the show on the details of the strike and ripped a bit into the producers. I particularly liked his bit on Viacom suing YouTube (so Google) for 1 billion dollars, comparing them to a child for choosing such an absurd sum. It seems like a fairly accurate portrayal. Even with all that he did about the strike on his show, it still seems wrong. Clips still went up online, and though I cannot check, I am sure the episode is available for download on iTunes. Doesn’t really show support for the studios if from their perspective, they are just making a hit show with a smaller budget.

I thought the way Colbert handled it was almost offensive. He spent a fair amount of the show sticking to his usual act. He stuck in character and went on about he is being perfectly consistent by breaking the picket lines. He spent a while showing how no writers meant no written material. No shit. In short, he didn’t use his relative job security to make any criticisms. It was just business as usual. It seemed like many of the jokes and rips he made were borrowed from Stewart. I really found the show surprising and disappointing.  Colbert did his time on Second City, and he always seemed to be able to rip into people far more than Stewart. Colbert, go back to Strangers with Candy, where you had some principles.

The late shows were all suffering as a result of the strike in ways that will leave permanent. I watched them because I happened to be watching Futurama and South Park on Comedy Central before they came on. I got used to not watching it, and I wasn’t really missing them after a week or so. If they hadn’t gone back on the air now, the shows might have gone under as well. It seems like their motivation for going back on the air was to save the show. All the writers striking are risking their jobs and their shows too; I don’t see why they should do differently.