Uh, being a big contributor is literally step one in MS' plans to take over competition going back decades. Are they on to "expand" yet?

If you don't think the Dead Kennedys are a punk band then I guess punk bands don't exist.

I just knew all those punk bands were terrorists! Jello Biafra better get a lawyer... \s

There's loads of precedent. Who his former employer was is irrelevant. If he broke a law, any law, precedent is what has happened when others have broken those same laws.

Narcimusk won't ever care and may even celebrate it

I see lots of layering recommendations, good. I might add to get yourself a couple packs of hand warmers. The kinds that warm up when exposed to air. You can open one and put it nearer an inner pocket amidst your layers of cloths. It can keep your whole body warm. Good for when the jarring cold is even more jarring than you'd planned for ;-)

Shedd Aquarium is right downtown on the lake front and lots of fun. Less than a block away is the Field Museum which you can easily spend a day wandering through. Near both is the Adler Planetarium if you look for that sort of thing.

Just south of the bean (cloudgate :-p ) is the Chicago Art Institute which is way larger than it looks (to me). Regardless of what artist is showing, the institute has large displays of art ancient to modern.

There are also a few musicals playing. Hamilton is scheduled to end in Dec. but it might be extended. I'll help you out and go see it to increase their audience counts ;-)

Since it's February and you may want to check out the underground, look into the pedway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pedway Maybe not for the faint of heart? You can walk from city hall to the train station under Randolph & Michigan on the corner of the bean. Fair warning though, the Chicago underground is far more massive than these maps show. Look up the Chicago Pedway sign. When you see it, you'll always see it ;-) Keep to the busy areas and times as it will be much harder to get lost. To give you an idea, the land under Millennium Park is a multi-level parking garage with various walking tunnels, train tunnels and a theater (yes, on Randolph :-p Lobby level is technically in the underground though). That's not to mention the underground streets.

I used to work in the Prudential building which is part of the pedway. Can you tell I miss being down there? ;-)

I guess the brown nosing is on for VP. Still, the cultish language sure is great...

Is this a Mitch Hedberg joke variant?

Climate is now a US culture war issue. It has been for decades but it is now, too.

Check the news. Twitter is/was used all over the place as a source for stories. The death of twitter removes the source of some really easy reporting income.

Speaking of the ex, did I tell you about the time she kicked me out of /r/poli...

Did you hear something...

Tubing the kish(waukee river) is what we called it. We once strapped a keg in inner tubed and floated with a tap. I got so drunk I lost the only hat I've ever loved...