I’ve been out here in Chicago for about a week now on yet another working session, and like always it’s been quite a productive episode, both in terms of work accomplished and calories consumed. The weather in Chicago has been absolutely gorgeous, unlike the 0-degree wind chill that welcomed me the last time I was here. It’s been sunny and warm, and jogging through Grant Park across from Justin’s place provided a skyline view of the city that was absolutely breathtaking. I don’t know how he’s capable of staying indoors all the time. 
Work-wise we spent the first few days of the week pushing hard to put the finishing tweaks on the initial set of functionality that we planned to share with the close friends that are visiting this weekend. I’m glad to report we were pretty much on schedule, but like all all projects the devil was in the details, and we still have quite a bit of those to go, as our friends could attest to. Our hope is to get some really solid (and critical) feedback on our idea that will help us adjust our development direction appropriately. Since we’ve been working in a feedback vacuum it’s hard to say how useful our design ideas really are. It’s much easier to change direction earlier than later, and the criticism is easier to take from closer friends.
On a more personal note, we had a fantastically fulfilling meal last night at Fogo de Chao, a fancy Brazilian barbeque place. I’d never been before and was great fun flipping the “bring it on” token to green and having waiters suddenly appear offering massive slabs of meat-on-sticks. Mmmmm…