Adventures south of the border

Rush hour charity collectors of Boston

Who are these mysterious people in the neon shirts causing traffic slowdowns at rush hour? I can't tell if they are collecting for a legit cause or just really sophisticated panhandlers.

Accident prone

Sprained wrist = less blogging, typing

Only a 3-hour visit to the Beth Israel ER this time. Better experience than my last trip there.

Boston Harborfest 2007

July 1, 2007

How cheap is the MBTA?

Really cheap, according to one Orange Line rider in Haymarket.

MBTA - Haymarket - Orange Line, Inbound

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.

Behold, the car that floats

Amphibious car chugging down the Charles River, as viewed from the Esplanade.

Urban pets: The city mouse

There is a mouse in my house. And it's a smart one. I think it's the same mouse each time. (At least I prefer to think that there's only one skulking around.)

I know this not because it spoke to me (or spoke at all) but because this determined little rodent has chutzpah. I saw it scamper over one of the mouse traps that make the room an obstacle course for mice and humans alike.

I also think it's a picky little mouse. Most guides to pest elimination (including the boxes to one of the variety of traps) suggest using peanut butter as bait. This mouse clearly has a distaste for peanut butter.

I suppose it's time to get the landlord to bring in a professional to eliminate it.

Better late than never

Photos of some interesting sculptures from Somerville Open Studios. The artist is Riki Moss.

Cruising with Corvettes

I was surrounded by a contingent of Corvettes in Westwood on Rte. 109 Thursday evening. I tried to take a picture with my cell phone, but didn't want to get in an accident. Cruising home in the Volvo, I was a little surprised by the 2 or 3 Corvettes that were in front of me. Imagine my surprised when 5 more pulled up behind me at a stop light. Must be a club or something.

T is for turn

While sick and running some needed errands Sunday, I was stopped in the left lane, on the stop line, at the light where South Huntington Ave. meets Route 9 at a sort of t-shaped intersection, about to turn left into Route 9. Left blinker flashing.

A Green Line trolley was heading up the hill towards Heath St. The driver, stops, blows his horn and insists that I move back. I politely go back as far as I (and the people behind me) can. There's only so much room we all, including the trolley, have. He then opens his window and asks why I can't just turn right onto Route 9/Huntington St. (Keep in mind that my left turn signal is blinking at him.)

Me: I'm going left.
Him: Why can't you just go right?
Me: I'm not headed that way.
Him: Why not?
Me: That's not where I'm going. It's the wrong direction.

Eventually he gave up arguing and had scooted the trolley up the hill. It's not my fault that some idiot designed that intersection poorly, leaving tight space for all. Meanwhile, he made all those passengers wait while he argued with me about directions.

Tags: MBTA, Boston, driving, city life, Green Line

At what cost?

I think that what happened at VA Tech is horrible. But I do wonder if all the media attention being paid to this crime is, in a way, giving the perpetrator the attention or notoriety that he craved. To some people even post-mortem 'fame' is better than none.

I used to work for a TV station that did not cover bomb threats at area schools because they did not want to give possibly disturbed students the (negative) attention that they desired. They also did not want to encourage any copycats who might also seek their 15 minutes of fame.

Tags: media, murder, attention, fame, frenzy, television, news

Perfect day for a duck

Along Route 109
Millis, MA

Usually this is more marsh than lake.

Tags: nature, Massachusetts, river, Millis

Bad 'Carma' Continues...

Yesterday, the Volvo died on a small rotary in Norfolk. Just died. Thank goodness I was able to pilot it (minus power steering, or much else for that matter) into the parking lot of a gas station right before the Norfolk train station. The gas station was a preferable landing spot to the RR tracks. The nice guys who work there got it ruining well enough for me to drive back home to Boston, but recommended I take it to the Volvo place, as they couldn't quite figure out why the engine was making that horrible stuttering noise.

Anyway, I drop it off at the Volvo place in Dedham and now I've got yet another rental car- this time it's a Nissan Altima. Which is very nice. However, someone at Enterprise forgot to tell me something important about the car. I pulled out of the parking lot and wondered why the engine sounded so loud and then noticed that it was red lining, with RPMs around 6 and 7. I stopped at a light. Noise subsided. A number on the electronic display went from 3 to 1. Huh? Now I know very little about driving stick, but I do know that it involves RPMs. I look at the gearshift. It seems to have some plus and minus signs. I experiment and tap the gearshift. The car sounds a bit better. I tried again. Yep. That seemed to do the trick. For now.

I pull over into a parking lot to check out what the driver's manual has to say. I reached into the glove compartment and pull out... a DVD. Yep, the owner's manual is a DVD, which is not very helpful when driving down Route 1.

I made it to work, playing around with the shifter the whole time, and check out the Nissan website. Turns out the car is a a half-assed standard, not a true automatic. I also managed to find a non-DVD version of the user's manual. This was helpful, allowing me to figure out how to keep the car from sliding out of automatic and into standard (which seems to have been the problem this morning).

On a similar note, I swear my Volvo is it's own anti-theft device. No one in my neighborhood would want to steal it, since it would probably just break. (Not that a Volvo has the street value of a Lexus or Honda.)

Tags: car, Volvo, Nissan, transmission, trouble

Dark underbelly of the 'burbs

Intersection of Route 1A and Route 140 in Wrentham, MA
March 30, 2007

Tags: Wrentham, identity theft, suburbs, suburban life, crime, amusing, Massachusetts

Civics in action

I did my civic duty yesterday, jury duty that is.

I spent most of my day in a large room with people of all colors, shapes, sizes, and ages.
I began to understand what cattle must feel like as were were herded and then held in the jury pool room at the courthouse in downtown Boston. There seemed to be a good number of people who ran into a friend or acquaintance in the holding pen. I caught up on some reading and worked on some Sunday NY Times crossword puzzles that I'd saved up (yes, I'm sort of a crossword puzzle geek).

We watched a video that was boring but useful. It was during the video that I began to notice a theme that court employees would touch on -- that we should feel good about being there at jury duty because our mere presence, even in the holding pen, was very important. In theory, I understand why it's important to be judged by a jury of your peers, and I appreciate that they want us to feel more than just apathy and annoyance for being called, but it got to be kind of condescending. Unless you're going to pat my head and give me a cookie for being here, please stop treating me like a child.

Eventually, after a long waiting period, I made it to an actual courtroom. I hoped that things would get more interesting. They did not. The benches were so uncomfortable. Is there a rule that says that furniture in the courtroom has to be as old as the system the law is based on?

So, I sat and sat, as the judge, lawyers, and court officials involved int eh case called each potential juror (there were like 50 of us in there) up to the bench to talk privately. It would seem as if they had a jury all picked out. Then the would lawyers dismiss people, sometimes without having to give a reason (they're allowed to). This went on for like another hour. I did some more reading. My turn to speak to the legal eagles finally came and I told the judge what I'd been dying to since she introduced the case- that I had a friend how worked for one of the parties involved in the case and I felt that it colored my point of view. (I was being honest, not just whining to get out of jury duty). Not sure why I couldn't tell them that to begin with... like when the judge asked if anyone knew any of the parties involved or had reason that they might not be bale to be impartial.

Dismissed back to the hold pen. Yay. More waiting. A snack (they thoughtfully have a sandwich counter right outside the jury pool area, and a break room to eat in). Banter with other prisoners of jury duty. Eventually all of us remaining in the holding pen were (thankfully) dismissed.

What lesson did I take away from this experience?
That the people who work in law (judges, lawyers, officers, etc...) must have endless amounts of patience to deal with such a boring process everyday. I admire their dedication to something that can, at times, seem obtuse and arcane.

Tags: jury duty, court, Boston, trial, law, judge, courthouse, civics

Sunny afternoon on the Green Line

My return trip on the Green Line went much smoother than my very slow ride down to the courthouse this morning. Trolleys were running behind schedule and packed trolleys were taunting us as they chugged on by the platform. By the time we reached Park Park Street, my ankle was killing me. At Park Street we were informed that the trolley had a problem and we'd all have to exit. Another train going to Government Center finally came, and I made it to jury duty in the nick of time.
At least I didn't have to pay for it. There was no one to collect my fare when I entered at the middle door of he car.

But they way home was a much more pleasant experience. Well, as pleasant as one can have on the T.
Our driver stopped and opened the door for someone who almost missed the train. She waited until a family had settled in with their stroller and several small children after they almost went flying across the aisle. After calling a middle aged couple up to the front to pay (I think this was around Fenway), she was gracious about their mistake upon learning that they were from Western Mass.

Tags: Boston, MBTA, Green Line, subway, transit, trolley, commute

Boston's top 20 list

Boston officials posted a list of the top 20 code violators in the city on their website, which I find very amusing. I'm not sure exactly what codes have been violated, but I find the city's use of public shaming a creative attempt at problem solving (which the city could use some more of, in my opinion).

Tags: shame, urban life, Boston, government, code enforcement, amusing

Providence has personality

My former home base, Providence, RI, gets recognized for being distinct. The capital city of the smallest state has more character than it knows what to do with- and that's not even counting politics (which are the unofficial state sport). I enjoyed living there, once I got used to all the quirks and charms that go along with life in the Ocean State.

• the rush on bread and milk anytime snow is predicted in the vicinity of southern New England
• a special breed of potholes (I once saw one on Wickenden Street large enough to swallow a Chihuahua)
• students at a certain university who have trouble understanding the basic premise of looking before crossing the street
• all the cool outdoor art, most likely compliments of a RISD connection in one way or another
• Waterfire (which my mother once referred to as a "happening")
  
• Quahogs
  
• Operation Plunder Dome
  
• Buddy Cianci, the Prince of Providence
  

But without it's personality, Rhode Island would just be the small state in the country.

Tags: Providence, Rhode Island, Ocean State, Operation Plunder Dome, Buddy Cianci, government, cities, New England, Waterfire

The Other Windy City

Something's really loud tonight and it's not the downstairs neighboors. (Highly unusual).

I've been hearing some creaking coming from the porch all evening. Figured it was just some of the crap we and our porch-share neighbors next door kept out there (some of their kid's toys, and air conditioner, a dead potted plant.. the usual).
Wrong.
A few miuntes ago there was this horrible cacophony- screeeetch! shriek! (Roommate was on his way into the building and heard it from below). Turns out that the partial porch divider is hanging on by mere hinges and the neighbor's clothes line tied around their half of the porch. One of the posts it is fastened to has become unmoored from the roof overhang and now it flaps about like a wounded, one-winged dodo bird.

Tags: porch, city life, Boston, wind, weather, loud noise

Masshole experience #999

There are Massholes who try to race you at stop lights. Or cut you off for no apparent reason. Or turn from the wrong lane. But sometimes their odd behavior just mystifies me.

One day last week I was driving down VFW Parkway and turned on my signal to let the car in the right lane know that I planned to change lanes when they began honking furiously at me! For putting my turn signal on!

Note- I had not even started to change lane, yet the Masshole continued to honk! I'm sorry, did I somehow offend you by being a safe driver and obeying the rules of the (slushy and messy) road? Would you rather I had simply cut you off and scared the shit out of you on that dark and slippery road?

And to make it worse, it's not like the driver sped up to claim their road space... WTF?!

Tags: cars, Massholes, Boston, driving, idiots, commute

Parking envy

Is this really so wrong? I can understand this being an issue in historic districts. However, if you own a house and want to park a car or two in what is, essentially, your yard (insert redneck joke here), you should be able to. Doesn't parking increase the resale value of a house?

"You can go anywhere in Mattapan, Dorchester, and Brighton. There are tons of places where people have paved their entire yard. People do this all the time," said Bird, who speculates that the lack of on-street parking, especially in neighborhoods dominated by triple-deckers, compels extreme measures.

"You won't see this in Back Bay or Kenmore Square. These aren't the showcase areas; these are just places where people live," said Bird."

Why exactly is this not allowed anyway? The article wasn't very clear about that.

Tags: Boston, city life, parking, urban reality, silly rules, cars

Pacifist hate cime

A hate crime at a Quaker school. I thought that they were pacifists...

Isn't it sort of odd that they even have a football team? A major part of the game involves intentionally, and often violently, knocking the wind out of your opponents. Not the most peace-loving past-time.

Tags: Quakers, hate crime, college, football, pacifist, religion, Palestinian

Escape hatch?

Do you ever feel like everyone around you is moving on, growing up, changing gears while you're tethered to something unmovable in your own life?

Like in one of those bad dreams where you try to run but suddenly find that you can't move your legs. And so you stand there. Rooted. Breathing heavily, wondering how you're going to escape.

Tags: life, stress, change, growth, future

Real estate reality

Looking for a new place is only slightly less stressful than taking the SAT. Repeatedly.

I don't think that finding a dwelling in a decently safe area should be such so tough. The fact that I need parking for my Volvo does not make things easier (as much as I hate that car, it's the only one I have and would prefer it not be stolen or vandalized).

I don't understand why a broker or leasing agent is needed at all. Doesn't anyone just rent straight to tenants? The stress of moving is compounded by these agents- they (collectively) seem to have a bad rep as horrible, slimy people who will lie and cheat you out of money.

Are there any decent landlords or rental agencies in the Boston metro? Will pigs fly before I find one?

I've spent the better part of my evening investigating apartment options. It's late and I'm going to go bang my head against a wall now.

Tags: housing, city life, apartments, sanity, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, real estate, evil, stupid

Adventures in real estate

I'm debating moving, which in Boston is an adventure...

The powers-that-be raised our rent and I'm no longer sure where I live is worth what I'm paying. As I look around at new places, I wonder whether rental prices have more to do with reality or perception (of neighborhood, desirability, etc...).

Tags: Boston, city life, value, rent, adventure, apartment

Natural selection in Norfolk

To all commuters arriving at the Norfolk Station on Rte. 115 after dark, and those of you wearing black please pay special attention- LOOK BOTH WAYS before crossing the street.
Those glowing orbs you see coming towards you are attached to large metal objects on 4 wheels. Their pilots just may not be able to see you too well when you dart out in front with no warning.

(Note to the town of Norfolk- a traffic light would be annoying in that particular spot, but might just save some of your citizens from being eligible for a Darwin Award.)

Tags: car, commute, commuter, station, train, annoying, suburban idiocy, walking, Norfolk, crossing, Commuter Rail, MBTA

Asian drink experiment

Roommate went on a shopping spree at the Asian grocery store on Xmas Eve (nothing else was open). One of the treasures he returned with was something called White-Gourd Juice. We both tried it and it's not terrible (meaning it didn't make me dry heave), it's just pretty obvious that it's not a fruit.

(In your Asian drink experiments, please remember to stay away from durian- a dining companion practically cleared the table one night at a Brookline restaurant. His durian smoothie smelled like someone mixed onions and dog poo in the blender before plunking it down on our table. How appetizing.)

Tags: Asia, drink, juice, gourd, weird, experiment, Christmas Eve, holiday

Florida, in Photos

Don't you just love the famous 100 Foot Christmas Tree in Delray Beach?

Tags: Florida, picture, photo, trip, travel, beach, library, tree, holiday, decorations

The angry skies

Flew Jet Blue down to Florida. I'd totally fly with them again. It's not the airline's fault that the bad weather on Friday caused the passengers to feel like we were on riding a log flume at 40,000 feet, complete with periodic drops and dips and gasps of terror.

it was a bit odd when the pilot did a commercial for the Jet Blue AmEx card before taxiing down the runway at Logan. For the most part, Jet Blue is kind of like Target- they use design to hide the discount feel. They know that the small touches are what count. There was no in-flight magazine, but there were individual TV screens with 36 channels, plus 3 movie options. The flight attendants did not make you feel bad if you asked for another bag of chips. And I've never had so much leg room!

Tags: plane, airline, flight, Florida, trip, travel

Bad moods abound in the Sunshine State

I spent the long weekend visiting family in Florida. I expected the heat, humidity, and rain. I did not expect the nasty attitudes. I'm not saying that all residents of the Sunshine State lack a sunny disposition. Just a large amount of the population of Palm Beach County.

• A young woman that I spoke with while waiting on line told me that someone keyed her car the day before. The reason- she got a parking spot at the mall that the keyer had no chance of getting.
• People, especially older people, who would rather ram their shopping cart into someone than say "excuse me"
• A woman looked at me like I had 3 heads when I said "pardon me" as I scooted by her at the grocery store

Tags: Florida, travel, trip, rude, attitude, heat, holiday

Mall RugRats

I got yelled at by some snotty mom in the Chestnut Hill Mall today as I tried not to run over her wandering toddler.

It all began when I almost ran smack into a wandering little boy. He was right in the middle of the walkway, and I couldn't really tell who he belonged to (I almost asked him if he was looking for his mommy or daddy.)

I stopped. He stopped. I hovered, not sure which way the kid was going to move next. Right? Left? I feared that if I tried to twirl around him, I might wind up knocking right into the little boy. I may not love kids, but I have no desire to knee one in teh face. After an awkward little dance, he seemed stuck int hat one spot, and so I moved on. I was like halfway down the hall when a voice yells after me "nice face there miss!" I turned around. It was the mommy. (Had I been making a face? I don't know, I was too busy concentrating on not steamrolling a toddler). "I was trying not to run over your son!," I shot back. This did not seem to matter to the pit bull of a mom. She yelled some more. I don't remember what, because I didn't seem it important enough to bother paying attention to.

Let's recap:
Instead of appreciating my attempt not to hurt her little kid, who should not have been straying so into the middle of a crowd of holiday shoppers, some bitch yelled at me because I apparently made a face while doing so.

Some people have such strange priorities.

Tags: parents, family, kids, toddlers, mall, stupid, Boston, shopping

Hanukkah Ornaments

I'm the only Jew at work. To make me feel less left out by all the Christmas decor, my employer sent me off to shop for some Hanukkah stuff. In addition to the usual dreidels and wall decor, I thought that a Hanukkah ornament of some sort would lend a somewhat ironic and funny touch to the office tree (which is like 7 feet high and covered in trimming).
I went to the Hallmark store in the suburb where I work. I inquired about Hanukkah wall decor as well as a possible Hanukkah ornament.

Me: "Do you guys have any Hanukkah ornaments? Like to hang on a tree."

A long silence followed. The store's employees looked at me like I'd just uttered a racial slur.

Still Stunned Employee: "No, Hallmark doesn't make one of those. Why would you think they do?"

Me: "It's kind of funny, right? Ironic."

Still Stunned Employee: "No."

Me: "I'm Jewish and I think it's funny."

(More silence)

Me: "People I work with, who aren't Jewish, thought it was a funny."

Moral of the story- Hallmark takes their holiday ornaments VERY seriously and has no sense of humor about them.

Tags: Hanukkah, holiday, religion, Judaism, Christmas, ornament, Hallmark

Boston's ICA gets new home

The new ICA

hospitality tent

living art

is it destruction or is it art?

Headed out to the seaport to check out the new home of Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. It was a lot smaller than I imagined, and looked, from the back, like an air conditioning unit. The front and sides were much more impressive, allowing for multiple views of the harbor and city. There was also an outdoor area best described as a large patio.

I decided not to wait on line forever and opted to hang out on the patio. There was also a hospitality tent, sponsored by Target, a smart move, since the ICA people probably expected it to be freezing (which it wasn't).

Tags: architecture, art, Boston, design, ICA, Institute of Contemporary Art, museum, celebration