The Sears Tower is changing its name...

...to the Willis Tower after some British insurance company. So what, who cares? It was a bad idea in the first place. Any time a company builds the tallest building in the world it's a sell signal. As a friend of mine once said, "An ego can be an expensive habit." And if you'll notice, Sears as a company has gone straight south ever since it moved in back in 1973. (I asked my uncle once what it was like to work in the World's Tallest Building. He said it was great. He worked on the fourth floor in the old one and the third floor in the new one.) I always thought the Sears Tower was built to compete with New York anyway, which is a dumb reason. (Chicago is famous for its inferiority complex vis-a-vis New York.) And besides, it ceased being the world's tallest building a long time ago. That distinction goes not to New York, but to some structure in Dubai. And I'm sure New Yorkers haven't thought about it in years. They don't have to; they've got bigger things to think about--like being the Capital of the Known Universe (which they are, let's face it). It's kind of like Los Angeles not needing an NFL franchise to feel good about themselves. They know they're cool. So good riddance, I say. Maybe this will signal a new Golden Age for Sears, although I doubt it. I can't believe that ship of fools is still in business anyway. And maybe it's the high-water mark for Willis, not that I care.

So Chicago's still a great city--very affordable and very livable. If only we could do something about these horrible winters! At least in Minneapolis they spin it with "I like the cold winters here; keeps the riff-raff out."