Commute under construction (again)

I can't escape it. It's like the construction is following me south.


The new bane of my commute is the construction on Route 1 by Gillette Stadium. Generally there's not much typical* traffic on a given morning (especially compared to when there's a football game or concert). But add some orange cones, big machines, and men in DayGlo vests and you've got a traffic-stopping mess on your hands.





*Typical traffic = general volume, frequent slowdowns, commuters afloat in a sea of brake lights (ex: Storrow Drive at rush hour)

Urban pets: The raccoon contingent

Picture it, Jamaica Plain, 2007, in a slightly post-gentrification apartment complex. Children are playing, adults sitting on their porches, and three to four raccoons are chowing down on some cat food.

Yes, that's right, raccoons. Big, fat city raccoons indeed. There they were, sating themselves with the cat food that a neighbor leaves out for our cadre of kitties*, unafraid of the nearby parking lot basketball game or cars maneuvering around the asphalt.




*the best fed stray cats in Boston

Ultimate Masshole: Office Edition

This story of Massholism comes from a co-worker.

When her family first moved to Worcester from NYC in 2001, R's dad inherited a dilapidated Buick from her great aunt. It was a sad car, just on the verge of falling apart, but he figured it was would do until they got settled and he bought a new car. One day, R and her dad were in the supermarket when over the loudspeaker they hear "will the owner of a blue Buick, license plate YYY-ZZXX, come to the customer service counter."

It turns out that an elderly man had hit the Buick as it sat in the supermarket's lot, parked nicely between the lines of the parking spot. R's dad, a mellow guy, took it in stride. He wasn't angry he told the man, since it was a shitty old car and he was planning to sell the Buick for parts in the near future. The senior citizen, who had knocked one of his own headlights out when he ran into the Buick, was livid. He blamed R's dad for the way the Buick was parked.

Welcome to Massachusetts.

Maybe he thinks gay means 'happy'

Does this mean that Jesus is OK with the gay?

(via Universal Hub)

Brookline police confront divine problem

Police confronting a man outside the Trader Joe's in Brookline (parking lot side) on Sunday afternoon. Seems his signs and loud praising of Jesus was weirding out the customers. The customers complained to the staff, who in turn called the authorities.




I'm all for religious freedom, but this guy did seem a little pushy (from the part I witnessed anyway).



I realize the angle of the photos is kind of odd, but the presence of police officers kept me from getting any pictures of they guy's signs ("Praise Jesus" and etc...), as well as his manner of dress (black cassock-like thing, HUGE cross around his neck).

Fried DVR, with a side of ire

My DVR has died. Again. This will make it the fifth Comcast DVR that I've had replaced in the past year or so.

And it's not just me. Last time this occurred (November?), the Comcast rep told me that a lot of people have had this problem and that the company was searching for a new manufacturer (if that last part's true, I'll eat my hat).

What's the average life span of a Comcast DVR?

Neighborly hate crime in the 'burbs

A anti-Semitic hate crime where the victim is not actually Jewish. Fascinating.

Excerpts from the Milford Daily News:

Franklin - A 50-year-old King Street resident already charged with a hate crime against his neighbor stabbed the man in the hand yesterday with a knife, police said.

Wallace then cut a tire on King's car before turning to him and saying, "I'm going to (expletive) kill you," King said. He came at King with a hunting knife, aiming for his neck and face, but King, an ex-Marine, said he parried the blow and knocked the weapon lose.

In addition to the attack, Wallace is accused of slashing one of the tires on King's car, police said. In January, Wallace was charged with violating King's state constitutional rights for allegedly painting a swastika and the word "Jail" on his apartment door. King's ex-wife is Jewish, and he said he found the graffiti offensive.

Monster puddle swallows car?

This picture of what I believe to be a car's bumper floating in a large puddle was taken through my rain-soaked car window on VFW Parkway this morning.

WBOS Earthfest

Better late than never.