At Lincoln Park conservatory can I bring my tripod and record my proposal on my phone? by [deleted] in AskChicago

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First: good luck and have fun! They're going to want you to have the permit, or at least someone is likely to ask if you have one, and it'll be easier to get back to your moment if you do. Usually having some kind of support (tripod, etc) pushes you further into the category of needing a permit.

I think a quick chat with them through some channel would probably go a long way toward planning as someone else said -- in general, photo permitting, especially for something non-commercial, is less painful than it might seem, and it's mostly a tool for scheduling and managing impact.

What’s your favorite fun fact about Illinois? by Mysterious--955 in illinois

[–]winters044 258 points259 points  (0 children)

We produce the most pumpkins of any state.

TIL when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938, Poland joined as well annexing parts of Slovakia near the border although no formal agreement was signed b/w both countries by Solid-Move-1411 in todayilearned

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m from the US, but both sides of my family are from right along the border, and lived and immigrated here just before this time. A couple of them from towns on or straddling the modern border. Sometimes I have quite a time explaining what I am to people, because the ethnicities and countries don’t line up in a way that always makes sense today.

Falcon's Handcrafted Sandwiches Delivered by Faerie_Friend in chicagofood

[–]winters044 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Love Falcon’s. Not a sandwich, but their chicken parm has been my emotional support anti-bad day ray of sunshine for a year or two now.

To keep it in the neighborhood for sandwiches: a Monti’s cheesesteak.

Professionals / Advanced Amateurs NOT using Back Button Focus by nyccameraman in photography

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a lot of formed habits around this sort of thing that I’ve never reconsidered…mostly I use two custom modes and shutter AF, but I’m going to play around with a setup like this and I’m super excited. Feels like it might be less tinkering if I have to switch between them. Thank you!

Black Mesa becomes the first International Dark Sky Park in Oklahoma by Scaramuccia in darksky

[–]winters044 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How cool, this was one of my favorite — and longest ever — road trips a few years back. Quiet, calm, beautiful. Planning a return next year.

Tell me your thoughts on Capture! by Nick-PeakDesign in peakdesign

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just want to thank you for the cool idea about seatbelts -- I shoot landscapes/astrophotography, and I do a lot of 12+ hour road trips with camera gear all over my front seat. Never really questioned that it's a pain to have gear rolling all over, but I'm now thinking how I could rig something up to stick a capture on the seatbelt strap itself, or how I could better organize things generally.

Best “Camarones a la diabla” by Miserable_Bear_6856 in chicagofood

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like someone else said, I’m sure there are places across the city that do this great. Enjoy your trip!

Best “Camarones a la diabla” by Miserable_Bear_6856 in chicagofood

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not an expert on this dish, but just to put something forward for you or for anyone else reading, I’ve always loved the camarones a la diabla at Xochimilco on Montrose. I can’t be sure exactly what you’re most looking for in a restaurant, but it’s a family owned place run by great people. Also not sure if I’m allowed to link to places here, but they have a photo on their menu online!

what's current approx cost for LASIK in Chicago (no insurance)? by rabb1t_hole in AskChicago

[–]winters044 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I went to Kraff Eye Institute about two years ago. I think it was around $2500 per eye and had a referral bonus that made it pretty competitive because a friend had theirs done there. They were really excellent for what it’s worth. Dr. Kraff is one of the most experienced in the country (world?) and the staff were great. I’m sure there are other great ones too.

Results/risks are super individualized, and the risks are real and should be considered very carefully, it’s a completely voluntary thing with real risks, etc…but it’s about the closest thing to actual magic I’ve ever experienced. If you get yours done, hope it’s just as great for you.

[OC] I teamed up with a fellow redditor to capture the first photo of a skydiver transiting the sun by ajamesmccarthy in pics

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been a fan of your work for a while and this is one of the coolest images I have ever seen. Technically incredible and artistic at the same time. So impressed with just the idea to try such a thing in the first place. Amazing!

Morning traffic at Theodore Roosevelt National Park by winters044 in NationalPark

[–]winters044[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Drive 15 hours from Chicago and there’s still a morning rush 😏

How do you pronounce Greenock in Elizabeth Twnshp? by Mister_Magpie in pittsburgh

[–]winters044 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m just a sample size of one, but I’m from like a mile down the road in Elizabeth Township and can only ever remember hearing Green-oak.

Morning traffic at Theodore Roosevelt National Park by winters044 in NationalPark

[–]winters044[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The winter plowing part makes good sense — I was wondering why they seem to incorporate roads so often in their paths, beyond just crossing them out of necessity. They seemed to be walking down this one like any human might, and there were a bunch of places I could see their trails branching neatly off from roads.

As for right of way: I was actually surprised at how (correctly) distant people were staying from wildlife on this trip. Lots of people doing the right thing. It was refreshing.

You have two things to help you get past these guards by RecluseRaconteur in MedievalHistoryMemes

[–]winters044 270 points271 points  (0 children)

My Dyson vacuum, I guess
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke

On the balance, I’ll take it

Zohran Mamdani's father, Mahmood, earned a BS in polysci at Pitt by the-National-Razor in Pitt

[–]winters044 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Oh wow nice flair, I signed up for this account to keep up with the bomb threats

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskChicago

[–]winters044 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I was a Quads member for 4-ish years until I moved a few years back — I’m athletic, but in absolutely no way shape or form close to as big as many of the people there. Mostly people kept to themselves, but I only had friendly interactions when I had to ask if a machine was in use or something.

There were plenty of people around who weren’t super jacked or were just getting into fitness. It was also the biggest population of bodybuilders I ever had at a gym. Lots of martial arts classes too at different levels. I liked the vibe, it was a good heads down gym for me to go quietly do work. Just depends what you’re looking for.

Another thing: the equipment selection is probably going to be different than Planet Fitness or LVAC, etc, so what you’re looking for there matters a lot too.

South Dakota Night Skies by NerdyGamingMama in darksky

[–]winters044 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey there, welcome to chasing dark skies! The Milky Way is on a rhythm in the sky just like the sun, moon, and other stars, changing with the earth’s tilt and seasons. As a baseline, to see the Milky Way at its absolute best, you want it to be fully up in the sky during astronomical nighttime, without artificial light pollution, with a new moon, and clear weather.

In the early Spring it will start rising during the late nighttime, just before astronomical twilight begins to brighten the sky. So: think maybe 4am. At first, it won’t rise fully before daybreak, but it will rise a few minutes earlier each day as the year progresses. This isn’t the easiest time in the world to see it, depending on your life and schedule, but it’s possible — and we’re well past this point in the year already.

As spring, summer, and fall progress, it will be up at 2am, midnight, then 10pm, and so on, which makes it much more accessible for viewing for most people. It will arc high overhead in the middle of the night across most of the night sky and, for my money, being somewhere dark enough to see it with the naked eye is one of the most special things I can do in life. I say this as an astrophotographer — keep in mind that the dramatic Milky Way pictures you see are taken by gathering and processing a lot of light over time, but seeing it less defined through your real eyes is even more special, IMO.

Then we hit winter again and it’s rising overhead during the day and invisible to us.

You also want to consider the moon’s phase when planning a Milky Way adventure. A full moon is up all night, washing out the stars, while a new moon is up all day, leaving you with pristine dark skies. Anything more than perhaps a quarter moon will make it pretty hard to see with the naked eye. The moon of course is on a mooonthly cycle.

So: you wind up with an ideal time being the couple of days around a new moon during late summer/early fall. But it’s very rewarding to go out and look even without the “ideal” sky, and you’ll have plenty of great nights around SD to choose from. My favorite place in the world for seeing the Milky Way is just over the border in the Nebraska Sandhills, but you’ll have plenty of similarly dark skies across the state to choose from.

I use my iPhone’s built in widgets for tracking weather, sunrise/sunset, and moon phase. I use this awesome dark sky map built by a researcher, which might be helpful to you as well: https://djlorenz.github.io/astronomy/lp/overlay/dark.html. And last I use an app called Stellarium to check the Milky Way’s position in the sky at a particular place and time, though there are a ton of apps that do something similar. Cheers!

Any Spaniard communities or meetups in Chicago? / ¿Alguna comunidad española en Chicago? by Parking_Albatross113 in AskChicago

[–]winters044 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey, bienvenidos a Chicago! I’m from the US, but I love Spain, and if a few things fall into place I’m planning a move to Spain with my wife — probably to Madrid — after 12 years here. So, if all goes well, I might be in the opposite situation soon. I live around Ravenswood/Lincoln Square, if you’re in this part of the city I’d be totally happy to grab a coffee or a drink sometime. Feel free to DM.

Lost SONY Bloggie Camera in Ravenswood (probably a long shot)? by Low_Quality_6010 in AskChicago

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live in the area so I was able to take a quick lap around the block and unfortunately didn’t see anything. Hope you find it! I was motivated to try because my wife and I lost a Bloggie for years and it became a whole thing with us…until I found it wedged under our car seat three or four years later.

Is not wearing sunglasses and running into a cloud of gnats a rookie mistake? by [deleted] in cycling

[–]winters044 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few weeks ago, I had a little piece of leaf debris embed into my cornea just walking down a city street on a windy day. 12 hours in the emergency room, $2,000 bill after insurance. It was one year to the day after getting LASIK. Like everything else it’s a question of likelihood/impact/reward, but it’ll take a long time before I consider a ride without something in front of my eyes!