Tag: weather

It’s time to end February School Vacation week, for good

I’m not writing this because I don’t think kids in school don’t work hard enough, because teachers have too much time off, or because I have some other ideas about school/teacher/union reform.  I’m writing this because 1) I grew up without a vacation in February and since moving to New England and finding out about it I’ve decided it’s an absurd practice, 2) I work with the public day in and day out and the very worst times of year to deal with people are school vacation weeks, and 3) Climate Change.

If I lost you on that last one, let me go into a little more detail.

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Happy Birthday Frederick Douglass aka give the people what they want

Much of the world seems to be celebrating Valentines Day today.  Regular readers of this blog will know that I usually celebrate the anniversary of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre aka the Mob war in Chicago.  I have also been known to wear all black and express my affection to my Spirit Animal, St. Grumpy Cat.

Today I’ve chosen a different tack.

Continue reading “Happy Birthday Frederick Douglass aka give the people what they want”

Greetings from the snowy tundra of Cambridge

I woke up a couple of hours ago and checked outside.  Dave Epstein had predicted that many of us would have a foot of snow or more by this point, and I am pretty sure his predictions have been born out in many places across Massachusetts.    I cam’t tell how much snow we have gotten so far but it looks like we have gotten enough to almost reach the top of the Mini’s tires.

Looking out the front door a few minutes after 7 AM.
Looking out the front door a few minutes after 7 AM.

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Winter is here

Last night the temperature dropped well into the teens, and it hardly felt any warmer this morning when I got up and went to work.  So it’s safe to say that winter is no longer just coming, it’s here, and we got our new hot water heater just in time.  Hot water is essential for winter survival – just ask the Starks of Winterfell.

Every winter is a new adventure here in Cambridge.  Not for us, really, because we have seen New England winters, but for so many of the students around here that hail from sunnier climes.  Many of them tend to not know what to make of serious winter weather, especially when they are driving.

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Requiem for a Bookstore

Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that independent bookstores are a bit hard to come by these days.  We’re lucky here in the People’s Republic, because we still have a lot of them.  But on Friday one of them went the way of the Dodo and the world is a little less fun for it.  So long, Lorem Ipsum.

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When suburban uniformity and reality collide

It is difficult to overstate the importance of water for life. It’s one of the reasons why so many human cities and human civilizations sprung up in places next to rivers or lakes where fresh water was plentiful. And in many places the bringing in of fresh water is one of the first public utilities to appear. Even here in Boston, a public water system was available by the end of the 18th century.
So how is it that in the 21st century, we have so many places, not just in the developing world but right here in the United States, that are struggling just to provide potable water for their population?
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Happy 4th of July everyone

Here in Boston we had some scheduling insanity due to the weather predicted for today.  Even though the big Boston Pops fireworks event was moved to Thursday the 3rd from Friday the 4th, the festivities still began early and then ended with a bit of chaos when the bad weather blew in shortly after the fireworks ended.

And wow, did the weather get ugly.

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So at least two pots of gold then?

Yesterday while driving home from my new job in Watertown (guess I should post something about that sometime) we had a nasty little thunderstorm blow through.  It then left Greater Boston with a gorgeous double rainbow.

So when I saw it for myself, I figured I would stop and get a picture or two.

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Beautiful spring day today

Kelly and I were working at a craft fair trying to sell some of her jewelry and the weather was just gorgeous.  In the morning it was a bit low so I walked to a little neighborhood market to get a bite to eat for us.  While there the nearby railroad crossing started flashing and dinging as a train approached the crossing.  So I walked over to take a look.

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