Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Adam and Meghan's Boston Adventure
My Tuesday ended like any other day. I waved goodnight to my boss and walked down to Central Square where I'd take the 5:08 redline train to Quincy.
About half way to my destination, the train pulled to a stop at Park Street, and then just sat there. This wasn't too much out of the ordinary, as I've experienced plenty of train delays before. This time however, I noticed that there was an acrid smell filling the car, and through the buzz of passenger conversation I began to glean that there was a fire at the stop down. 
We were instructed to get off the train. I went into the station to get my bearings when I ran into my friend Adam. Before we had time to formulate our next move, the station begin to fill up with a chalky-white smoke.
Passengers poured out of the station, each one on a cellphone trying to figure out where to go from here. Adam and I looked at each other in dismay.
"Do you know how to walk to the next station?"
"No."
About half way to my destination, the train pulled to a stop at Park Street, and then just sat there. This wasn't too much out of the ordinary, as I've experienced plenty of train delays before. This time however, I noticed that there was an acrid smell filling the car, and through the buzz of passenger conversation I began to glean that there was a fire at the stop down. 
We were instructed to get off the train. I went into the station to get my bearings when I ran into my friend Adam. Before we had time to formulate our next move, the station begin to fill up with a chalky-white smoke.
The fire department arrived by then, and told us to evacuate the station. I then whipped out my camera phone, deciding that if I was going to be severely inconvenienced, I might as well get a good blog post out of it.
Passengers poured out of the station, each one on a cellphone trying to figure out where to go from here. Adam and I looked at each other in dismay."The redline is shut down. How are we going to get home?" I asked.
"Do you know how to walk to the next station?"
"No."
"Me neither."
Unfortunately, neither Adam nor I spent a lot of time around Boston Common, so we weren't sure where to go. Chris called me to say he heard that the MBTA
was shuttling passenger from Davis to South Station, where we could take the train home. We called his wife, who gave us directions we only half understood, and then we took off for South Station.
We went the wrong way down Boylston Street, and on our way back to the other way it started to rain.
We finally made it to the end of Boylston to Essex Street, where South Station was supposed to be. We didn’t see any signs, so logically we went down South Street thinking we’d run into it. Well,
logic is a silly thing to use in downtown Boston, because South Station isn’t actually on South Street, it’s further down Essex Street. Several calls to my husband the navigator soon set us straight and we enter the wonderland known as South Station. 
I’d never been to South Station, and I was unprepared for the delights contained within. It was like Faniuel Hall combined with the Logan Airport terminal, with kiosks selling overpriced books and coffee, little boutiques, and terminal signs that didn’t actually tell you what tracks the commuter trains were arriving on.
Adam and I made our way through labyrinth of corridors until we got to the Redline platform. We sat on a bench, foot-sore but triumphant, knowing that any minute a train would come to take us home.
“Please exit the platform and wait outside the station. A shuttle bus will be by to take you to Broadway Station.”
Adam and I groaned. They just closed down South Station? What was once a wonderland became a living hell as Adam and I waited for a bus that wasn’t already full to take us to the next station.
Finally, inspiration struck.
“Meghan,” Adam said, “why don’t we take the commuter train to Quincy Center?”
“Brilliant!”
We stood in line at the commuter tickets counter, where, in light of the current crisis, they had two of four windows open.
Nevertheless, Adam and I bought our tickets for the 7:29 to Kingston, and we just a chance to see how the other side rides.
The commuter train is amazing! A quiet, smooth ride on comfy leather bench seats, making the regular trains seem like a roller coaster with smaller seats.
We pulled up to Quincy Center at last, where Adam and I said our goodbyes.
Naturally, my bus ran late, but I finally arrived at my house at 9:00 pm, four hours after I left work.
It was good to be home.
was shuttling passenger from Davis to South Station, where we could take the train home. We called his wife, who gave us directions we only half understood, and then we took off for South Station.We went the wrong way down Boylston Street, and on our way back to the other way it started to rain.
We finally made it to the end of Boylston to Essex Street, where South Station was supposed to be. We didn’t see any signs, so logically we went down South Street thinking we’d run into it. Well,
logic is a silly thing to use in downtown Boston, because South Station isn’t actually on South Street, it’s further down Essex Street. Several calls to my husband the navigator soon set us straight and we enter the wonderland known as South Station. 
I’d never been to South Station, and I was unprepared for the delights contained within. It was like Faniuel Hall combined with the Logan Airport terminal, with kiosks selling overpriced books and coffee, little boutiques, and terminal signs that didn’t actually tell you what tracks the commuter trains were arriving on.
Adam and I made our way through labyrinth of corridors until we got to the Redline platform. We sat on a bench, foot-sore but triumphant, knowing that any minute a train would come to take us home.“Please exit the platform and wait outside the station. A shuttle bus will be by to take you to Broadway Station.”
Adam and I groaned. They just closed down South Station? What was once a wonderland became a living hell as Adam and I waited for a bus that wasn’t already full to take us to the next station.
Finally, inspiration struck.
“Meghan,” Adam said, “why don’t we take the commuter train to Quincy Center?”
“Brilliant!”
We stood in line at the commuter tickets counter, where, in light of the current crisis, they had two of four windows open.
Nevertheless, Adam and I bought our tickets for the 7:29 to Kingston, and we just a chance to see how the other side rides.
The commuter train is amazing! A quiet, smooth ride on comfy leather bench seats, making the regular trains seem like a roller coaster with smaller seats.We pulled up to Quincy Center at last, where Adam and I said our goodbyes.
Naturally, my bus ran late, but I finally arrived at my house at 9:00 pm, four hours after I left work.
It was good to be home.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
SPAM
This is a spam message that my friend got over the weekend.
What happened to the good old days when nice Ugandan princes were trying to give us money?SOMEONE YOU CALL YOUR FRIEND, WANTS YOU DEAD.
I felt very sorry and bad for you, that your life is going to end like this if you don't comply, i was paid to eliminate you and I have to do it within 10 days. Someone you call your friend wants you dead by all means, and the person have spent a lot of money on this, the person also came to us and told us that he wants you dead and he provided us your names, photograph and other necessary information we needed about you. If you are in doubt with this I will send you your name and where you are residing in my next mail. Meanwhile, I have sent my boys to track you down and they have carried out the necessary investigation needed for the operation, but I ordered them to stop for a while and not to strike immediately because I just felt something good and sympathetic about you. I decided to contact you first and know why somebody will want you dead by all means. Right now my men are monitoring you, their eyes are on you, and even the place you think is safer for you to hide might not be. Now do you want to LIVE OR DIE? It is up to you. Get back to me now if you are ready to enter deal with me, I mean life trade, who knows, and I might just spear your life, $8,000 is all you need to spend. You will first of all pay $3,000 then I will send the tape of the person that want you dead to you and when the tape gets to you, you will pay the remaining $5,000. If you are not ready for my help, then I will have no choice but to carry on the assignment after all I have already being paid before now. Warning: do not think of contacting the police or even tell anyone because I will extend it to any member of your family since you are aware that somebody want you dead, and the person knows some members of your family as well. For your own good I will advise you not to go out once is 7pm until I make out time to see you and give you the tape of my discussion with the person who want you dead then you can use it to take any legal action. Good luck as I await your reply to this e-mail contact:b.patbulle228@gmail.comMr.Celestine chuks
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Starling Saga Continues ...
Just when we thought our bird drama was over, Taylor and I heard a familiar chirping yesterday morning.
"Oh crap," Taylor said, "There's another stupid bird in there!"
"Oh yeah," I said, "I remember reading about starling colonies in attics ..."
"What?"
"Well, usually starlings hang out in groups, and they all live together in the attic."
Taylor huffed, turned over and covered his head with the blanket. Through the covers I heard him mumble, "We'll just have to wait the stupid bird out ..."
There was no signs of the bird until this morning. I was in the bathroom when I heard Taylor yelp, "The bird! The bird came out!"
This time the whole house was in an uproar as Taylor and I, the cats and the dog ran around the second floor chasing the frantic bird.
I'm not sure why I was chasing it, since I had no intention of actually touching that nasty, dirty, disease-infested bird (Taylor thinks I'm a little ridiculous about my prejudice against starlings for these particular traits, as in his opinion all birds are vermin).
Finally, my cat Healey gave a tremendous leap and tackled the poor bird, and then chased it out the window Taylor managed to open just in time.
Taylor, the cat, and I looked at it each other pride. Victory!
"Wow, you're not a useless as we thought," Taylor said to Healey fondly.
Above our heads, we heard a familiar scratching sound.
"Oh no." Taylor groaned and crawled back under the covers of the bed.
"Um," I said. "Did I mention that starlings live in colonies?"
From the bed I heard a muffled, "Yeah. I think you did."
"Oh crap," Taylor said, "There's another stupid bird in there!"
"Oh yeah," I said, "I remember reading about starling colonies in attics ..."
"What?"
"Well, usually starlings hang out in groups, and they all live together in the attic."
Taylor huffed, turned over and covered his head with the blanket. Through the covers I heard him mumble, "We'll just have to wait the stupid bird out ..."
There was no signs of the bird until this morning. I was in the bathroom when I heard Taylor yelp, "The bird! The bird came out!"
This time the whole house was in an uproar as Taylor and I, the cats and the dog ran around the second floor chasing the frantic bird.
I'm not sure why I was chasing it, since I had no intention of actually touching that nasty, dirty, disease-infested bird (Taylor thinks I'm a little ridiculous about my prejudice against starlings for these particular traits, as in his opinion all birds are vermin).
Finally, my cat Healey gave a tremendous leap and tackled the poor bird, and then chased it out the window Taylor managed to open just in time.
Taylor, the cat, and I looked at it each other pride. Victory!
"Wow, you're not a useless as we thought," Taylor said to Healey fondly.
Above our heads, we heard a familiar scratching sound.
"Oh no." Taylor groaned and crawled back under the covers of the bed.
"Um," I said. "Did I mention that starlings live in colonies?"
From the bed I heard a muffled, "Yeah. I think you did."
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Starling in the Attic
On our first night in our new home, Taylor woke me from a sound sleep."Meghan, do you hear that?" He whispered.
"...Hear wha...?" I mumbled. My sleepy brain couldn't process what he was saying.
"There's something scratching in the attic. Listen."
I indeed heard scratching, but having been interrupted from my REM cycle, I really didn't care. I muttered something, then turned over and went back to sleep.
I woke in the morning to Taylor's ire and to the sound of bird chirps coming from the bedroom ceiling.
"There is a stupid bird in our attic!" Taylor informed me. "I couldn't sleep at all last night because it kept chirping and scratching and making all kinds of noise. We have to get rid of it!"
That afternoon Taylor called me at work to fill me in on his battle plan against our feathered intruder. He thought the bird came in through an unused vent pipe, which he would seal up.
"Wait a second," I said. "You can't seal the pipe with the bird inside the attic. It's starve to death."
"Well, what else am I supposed to do? I have to keep more birds from getting inside."
"You can't kill the bird! That's cruel." I sensed that appealing to the morality of a very tired and grumpy Taylor would get me nowhere, so I added to my argument. "Plus, if the bird dies in the attic, it'll stink up our room for weeks."
He grunted.
After work Taylor investigated the attic. Our bedroom has cathedral ceilings, so that part of the attic was walled off, and there was no way we could access the bird's hiding place. As Taylor sat on the edge of the attic entrance to think, suddenly the starling flew out of it's hole into the main attic.
"Meghan, help me get the bird!"
I came up to the attic with a small box. Taylor and I ran around unsuccessful trying to chase a terrified starling (which are pretty darn big!) and praying that the floorboards wouldn't break. The bird flew back into his hole. We went back to the bedroom and banged in the ceiling with a broom, but nothing would persuade the bird to leave.
After enduring another night of scratchings and bird noises, we got desperate. Taylor drilled 2-inch holes in the ceiling where we heard the bird scuttling around, and then waited. At long last, the bird flew out of the hole into our bedroom, banging into the ceiling and defecating everywhere until Taylor chased it out the window.
It turns out that all the effort really was worth it, as during my Internet research I found out that starlings are dirty birds that carry mites and lice and other fun diseases. Plus, they build these crazy nests that can engulf your attic, like this.
Taylor sealed off the vent where the bird got in the attic. I just hope we don't find anymore uninvited guests.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Obesity contributes to global warming: study
Obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport them and the food they eat, and the problem will worsen as the population literally swells in size, a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says.
The study also revealed that "heavy breathers" contribute more than their fair share of carbon emissions.
The study also revealed that "heavy breathers" contribute more than their fair share of carbon emissions.
Home Owners
Taylor and I closed on a house about three weeks ago. It’s a three bedroom, two bath, fixer-upper, and considering where we live, it was actually a steal.
I have to admit, that we came into the whole “fixer-upper” thing with starry-eyed optimism. We looked around at our grimy house and said “No problem, we just need to paint the walls and ceilings of every room, and rip up the carpet, and redo the cabinets, and regrade the front yard, and replace the gutters, and …”
All this improvements are easily accomplished in one’s naïve imagination. We thought we’d get our master bedroom completed in three days, then complete the kitchen shortly there after – why, the house would be ready to live in within two weeks! Three weeks later, we just now finished the living room, have of the kitchen, started the downstairs path and have to complete the upstairs bathroom tonight.
When we first start home-improving, the phrase “money-pit” began to ring around my head, but I have to say that after dedicating 4-5 hours after work every night straight for the past three weeks, we’ve come a long way. Tomorrow we hope to actually get our stuff in the house, and we may be living in our home by the beginning of next week – as long as I can clean the 20+ years of mold and soup scum out of the bath tub …
I have to admit, that we came into the whole “fixer-upper” thing with starry-eyed optimism. We looked around at our grimy house and said “No problem, we just need to paint the walls and ceilings of every room, and rip up the carpet, and redo the cabinets, and regrade the front yard, and replace the gutters, and …”
All this improvements are easily accomplished in one’s naïve imagination. We thought we’d get our master bedroom completed in three days, then complete the kitchen shortly there after – why, the house would be ready to live in within two weeks! Three weeks later, we just now finished the living room, have of the kitchen, started the downstairs path and have to complete the upstairs bathroom tonight.
When we first start home-improving, the phrase “money-pit” began to ring around my head, but I have to say that after dedicating 4-5 hours after work every night straight for the past three weeks, we’ve come a long way. Tomorrow we hope to actually get our stuff in the house, and we may be living in our home by the beginning of next week – as long as I can clean the 20+ years of mold and soup scum out of the bath tub …
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Starbucks
Starbucks Closing All Stores for 3 Hours Tuesday Afternoon for Barista Re-training.
Meanwhile, zombie-like hordes of caffeine addicts pound at the doors screaming "grande non-fat mocha!"
Meanwhile, zombie-like hordes of caffeine addicts pound at the doors screaming "grande non-fat mocha!"
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Meetup Groups
Morgan is going to a Puggle Party today. I joined a puggle-owners group on Meetup.com in an effort to meet new people.
The puggle group was the only one in which I was really interested. A lot of the other groups focused around politics, which I find interesting, but can't really see myself joining a group where that's the main topic. I'd rather join a group where our main interest is unicorns and politics can be discussed on the side, particularly regarding its effect on unicorn rights, etc.
The group I thought the most amusing was "Fascism in America." I can't help but think this group would quickly turn into a whine-fest led by people who feel that their personal liberties can't be infringed upon in anyway.
"I got ticketed for parking in a no-parking zone by my fascist local government!"
"The newspaper wouldn't publish my 1500-word essay comparing Bush to Dracula - they are such fascists."
"My mom says I have to be home by 9:00 - what a fascist!"
Yeah, that would get old after a while.
The puggle group was the only one in which I was really interested. A lot of the other groups focused around politics, which I find interesting, but can't really see myself joining a group where that's the main topic. I'd rather join a group where our main interest is unicorns and politics can be discussed on the side, particularly regarding its effect on unicorn rights, etc.
The group I thought the most amusing was "Fascism in America." I can't help but think this group would quickly turn into a whine-fest led by people who feel that their personal liberties can't be infringed upon in anyway.
"I got ticketed for parking in a no-parking zone by my fascist local government!"
"The newspaper wouldn't publish my 1500-word essay comparing Bush to Dracula - they are such fascists."
"My mom says I have to be home by 9:00 - what a fascist!"
Yeah, that would get old after a while.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Whole Foods
Lest my last post make you think I'm completely heartless when it comes to the environment and animals and naive Cambridge hippies, I wanted to assure you that I'm really not. I appreciate initiatives that raise awareness and help create clean air standards and nature reserves.
However, I think many issues are better dealt with by the people as consumers rather that the government, because government is alway very heavy-handed and tend to make problems bigger.
For example, I had a friend who told me he thought factory-farming was bad, and there should be laws banning it. I agreed with him that factory farming was pretty bad, but said he needed to look into the issue a little deeper before choosing to legislate the problem away. Factory farming exists because it efficient, and animals are fattened up and slaughtered very cheaply, which means poor families shopping at Wal-Mart can afford to buy more meat. Pass a law that takes that away, you can cause the factory farms drop business because of extra costs associated with raising animals free-farm, creating a shortage in the available meat supply, thus making it cost more to get.
I believe a better solution is supporting companies like Whole Foods. At their website I discovered they have "Animal Compassion Standards" and only purchase their meat from farmers who meet their standards. I think this is a great way to deal with this problem. And as more consumers support Whole Foods because of their practices, other food producers will start changing their practices to in order to compete. The more competition, the lower prices will be. This process is slower, because changes take time, but in the end it is much better for society then the government passing some sweeping law.
We already see this happening in the "green" movement that's occurring right now. Everywhere I look I see companies promoting how environmentally friendly they are.
Maybe I'm being a naive capitalist, but I really believe we have a lot of power to create change just by choosing wisely to whom we give our money.
However, I think many issues are better dealt with by the people as consumers rather that the government, because government is alway very heavy-handed and tend to make problems bigger.
For example, I had a friend who told me he thought factory-farming was bad, and there should be laws banning it. I agreed with him that factory farming was pretty bad, but said he needed to look into the issue a little deeper before choosing to legislate the problem away. Factory farming exists because it efficient, and animals are fattened up and slaughtered very cheaply, which means poor families shopping at Wal-Mart can afford to buy more meat. Pass a law that takes that away, you can cause the factory farms drop business because of extra costs associated with raising animals free-farm, creating a shortage in the available meat supply, thus making it cost more to get.
I believe a better solution is supporting companies like Whole Foods. At their website I discovered they have "Animal Compassion Standards" and only purchase their meat from farmers who meet their standards. I think this is a great way to deal with this problem. And as more consumers support Whole Foods because of their practices, other food producers will start changing their practices to in order to compete. The more competition, the lower prices will be. This process is slower, because changes take time, but in the end it is much better for society then the government passing some sweeping law.
We already see this happening in the "green" movement that's occurring right now. Everywhere I look I see companies promoting how environmentally friendly they are.
Maybe I'm being a naive capitalist, but I really believe we have a lot of power to create change just by choosing wisely to whom we give our money.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Global Warming
Boston is having one of it's snowiest seasons in recent records. By now, most of us are pretty tired of cold feet and wet gloves, but one advantage I have discovered is that it's been too cold for the Greenpeace acolytes to stand around Central Square and harass me about global warming.
I got into an argument with one once, and during the course of it I mentioned how just 30 years ago the big climate crisis was global cooling. He informed me that global cooling was a part of global warming and that "it's like Robert Frost poem, Fire and Ice, you know?"
I blinked at him a couple times, because, not being a poetry buff, I didn't know. I then countered that it seems silly to claim that the world heating up would simultaneously cause it to cool down.
He then asked me if I saw Al Gore's new movie.
"You mean his glorified power point presentation? Why yes, I had."
Not only have I seen An Inconvenient Truth, but nearly ten years before I read Gore's book, Earth in Balance.
I didn't want to, but my mom made me because she thinks silly things like "knowing both sides of a debate" is important.
I wasn't convinced, particularly when I noticed that his graphs showed that carbon levels rose after temperatures rose. This was so contrary to what he was claiming that I even showed the graph to my mom to make sure I was reading it right.
So imagine my delight stumbling across this John Stossel report on Gore's latest creation.
I just wish I knew about this when I was debating with Greenpeace. After all, if I can watch An Inconvenient Truth, surely he could spare eight minutes and watch a video.
I got into an argument with one once, and during the course of it I mentioned how just 30 years ago the big climate crisis was global cooling. He informed me that global cooling was a part of global warming and that "it's like Robert Frost poem, Fire and Ice, you know?"
I blinked at him a couple times, because, not being a poetry buff, I didn't know. I then countered that it seems silly to claim that the world heating up would simultaneously cause it to cool down.
He then asked me if I saw Al Gore's new movie.
"You mean his glorified power point presentation? Why yes, I had."
Not only have I seen An Inconvenient Truth, but nearly ten years before I read Gore's book, Earth in Balance.
I didn't want to, but my mom made me because she thinks silly things like "knowing both sides of a debate" is important.
I wasn't convinced, particularly when I noticed that his graphs showed that carbon levels rose after temperatures rose. This was so contrary to what he was claiming that I even showed the graph to my mom to make sure I was reading it right.
So imagine my delight stumbling across this John Stossel report on Gore's latest creation.
I just wish I knew about this when I was debating with Greenpeace. After all, if I can watch An Inconvenient Truth, surely he could spare eight minutes and watch a video.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The Good Life
Sometimes I wish I could take a vacation from my life and be my cat for a while. He's got it so good!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Fortune Cookies
As a fan of Chinese food, I've opened many fortune cookies over my lifetime, and I have to say that the quality of fortunes have really declined. Maybe the Hollywood writers' strike is affecting fortune writing.
This is a barely concealed advertisement for green tea ice-cream. Which I've heard isn't that good.
Then there's this:
This just shows a lack of effort on the fortune's part. I come to the cookie looking for guidance, and it tells me to flip a coin? That's like Ann Landers telling someone to see what Dr. Phil has to say.
I mean, how hard is it to write a fortune?
Thanks to the wonders of the internet, my point in easy to prove through a Fortune Cookie Fortune Generator!
See? Easy! Now make your own and show those Hollywood writers we don't need them! And then tell them to hurry back because I'm really missing watching new episodes of Bones.
This is a barely concealed advertisement for green tea ice-cream. Which I've heard isn't that good.Then there's this:
This just shows a lack of effort on the fortune's part. I come to the cookie looking for guidance, and it tells me to flip a coin? That's like Ann Landers telling someone to see what Dr. Phil has to say.I mean, how hard is it to write a fortune?
Thanks to the wonders of the internet, my point in easy to prove through a Fortune Cookie Fortune Generator!
See? Easy! Now make your own and show those Hollywood writers we don't need them! And then tell them to hurry back because I'm really missing watching new episodes of Bones.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Too Cold to Snow
Taylor W. and I were riding the T together when we were talking about the weekend forecast. Taylor said he didn't think it would snow, since the temperature was going to drop very low.
"What," I said, "You think it's going to be too cold to snow?"
Taylor then began to describe to me the scientific reasons why snow can only occur in the right temperature.
"That's why Antarctica is considered a desert, because it doesn't get enough precipitation."
I was incredulous, but since I arrived at my stop I told him he was probably right and left. But I wasn't convinced, so I asked a couple people at work, and finally, my mom. All of them said that yes, it can be too cold to snow.
Which just doesn't make since to me. I'm left with the conclusion that nothing likes to be active when it's cold outside, even snow clouds. Go figure.
"What," I said, "You think it's going to be too cold to snow?"
Taylor then began to describe to me the scientific reasons why snow can only occur in the right temperature.
"That's why Antarctica is considered a desert, because it doesn't get enough precipitation."
I was incredulous, but since I arrived at my stop I told him he was probably right and left. But I wasn't convinced, so I asked a couple people at work, and finally, my mom. All of them said that yes, it can be too cold to snow.
Which just doesn't make since to me. I'm left with the conclusion that nothing likes to be active when it's cold outside, even snow clouds. Go figure.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Sweeny Todd
I went to see Sweeny Todd last night with a group of friends. Being with my friends was more fun than the movie itself. Chris has a good analysis of the movie, so I'll let you read his thoughts and know that I "ditto" them.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
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