I thank God for our city council

The Cambridge City Council has voted in a policy order to make known that they are opposed to the 2024 Boston Olympic bid.   I get the impression that no one in the group to bring the 2024 Olympics to Boston thought to discuss their plan with surrounding communities to feel the waters, so to speak.

I cannot believe that any serious person would think that hosting the 2024 Olympics here in Boston is a good idea.  And with such a relatively small window to prepare, it is quite unrealistic.  In fact, it is hands down one of the dumbest ideas I have heard put forth in a long time.

Where would we put it all?

Yes, I know Kelly has talked about this already, but I have to throw in my own two cents worth, because this is something that has actually gotten me quite a bit fired up and angry.  It is yet another case of the privileged few dictating to everyone else.

Continue reading “I thank God for our city council”

A Beautiful and Storied Ship, Part Three

I have been meaning to put up the rest of the photos from my tour of the USS Cassin Young, but I just hadn’t been able to get around to it yet.

View from the fantail
View from the fantail

So here are more of the photos from the tour, in no particular order.

Continue reading “A Beautiful and Storied Ship, Part Three”

#BlackLivesMatter & #NoBoston2024 – The intersection of money, race & power

Anyone who isn’t a moneyed plutocrat in the very tiny ruling elite here in Boston – Marty Walsh, John Fish, Charlie Baker, and Shirley Leung, I’m looking at you – likely understands that yesterday’s announcement that Boston “won” the USOC nomination for the 2024 olympics is a Very Bad Thing.  The Boston 2024 group has existed for about a year and, chaired by Fish, has been trying to essentially shame the populace into believing that if we do not do this thing, invite the world to come here for a 3 week-long party 9 years from now, we’re provincial losers and that Boston isn’t fit for the world stage.

To put it bluntly, the people at Boston2024 are liars.

Continue reading “#BlackLivesMatter & #NoBoston2024 – The intersection of money, race & power”

A gentle reminder that this is New England in winter

Although we are WAY under our usual quota for snow so far this season, winter has decided to let us know that it is still here, and that all those warnings from the Starks were not for nothing.

This morning when I got up, the temperature according to the little weather tool on the kitchen computer was -3 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind chill was somewhere between -20 and -25 degrees, depending on just how hard the wind was blowing.  It would be white walker weather, except for the lack of snow.

Continue reading “A gentle reminder that this is New England in winter”

Calling all Boston area Rock and Mineral geeks!

The Boston Mineral Club is having our annual Auction on January 10th.  (That’s this Saturday for those of you following along at home.)  Geoff and I are rock nerds.  I’ve been a huge rock nerd since I was a kid and I’m THRILLED that I’m finally going to have a chance to go to a live gem and mineral auction in person.

Continue reading “Calling all Boston area Rock and Mineral geeks!”

Filling gaps in family history

Part of the problem with doing family history is that there is so much missing.  Kelly and I both had relatives serving in the U.S. Navy in World War Two, and on a wide range of different ships.  Kelly had a grandfather that served on the USS Massachusetts (BB-59) during the war, and I had a grandfather that eventually served on the USS Cutlass (SS-478).  Interestingly enough, both of these vessels are well-documented, and even more fascinating, both of them still exist.

Continue reading “Filling gaps in family history”

Protests, First Night and Boston Getting it Wrong

I’ll tell you right up front as I start this that I’m as much of a fan of First Night here in Boston as I am of the 4th of July.  Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say that I hate the crowds and accompanying stupidity for both just as much, but what the 4th stands for matters more to me.  And, I’ve never been able to figure out why they call the celebration of the last night of the year First Night.

Anyway, New Year’s Eve here in Boston is celebrated with a giant city-wide party.  You can buy a button that will get you into all kinds of things for free.  There are concerts, ice sculptures, fireworks, skating, dancing, face painting, puppet shows, museums, all sorts of things.  The list is almost endless and it is entirely impossible to do it all in one evening.  This has been happening as long as I’ve been living here and, though it nearly went bankrupt and stopped happening a year or so ago, it is back with a vengeance now.

Enter politicians and police to screw it all up.

Continue reading “Protests, First Night and Boston Getting it Wrong”

School Vacation Week: notes from the front

To most of us, most of the world even, this week is the festive week between Christmas and the New Year.  Most Universities are in Intercession, some non-profits are closed, and many people choose to go on vacation.  To those of us who work in education, this is School Vacation Week.  To those of us who work in the Service Industry, this is Hell Week.

To those of us who do both, this is a tsunami of bad behavior, worse parenting, and unbelievable entitlement.

Continue reading “School Vacation Week: notes from the front”