I read a story in the NY Times while sitting in the window of the cafe, it was about how bike trails and encouraging biking is bringing another unwanted class of bike enthusiasts…thieves. But bikers and cops are fighting back, using baited bikes to catch bike theft ringleaders, and using […]

Despite the threat of rain, the crowd was large and happy last night while we watched Garrison Keillor take the stage in a light khaki suit and sing with the Wailin’ Jennies and a woman named Nancy who sings with Nickel Creek.  The only thing that stumped me was the […]

If you’ve ever traveled to Rochester, NY, you know how depressing it can be up there, especially in the dead of winter. I thought about this hard bitten city when I read a story in the WSJ by Dana Mattioli about Kodak’s chief, Antonio Perez. The silver haired CEO talked […]

Here’s a news flash: Social media doesn’t really move the needle of events; though some events live or die by their Facebook coverage, others, not so much. Our wine party at the cafe went off brilliantly, with many Hidden Techérs coming from far away to sip and schmooze. But only […]

I worked for decades as a man who made a paycheck. Later on in life I became a salesman who made commissions…and this was much better, because companies are willing to fork over way, way more if they can call it commissions instead of wages. I remember when I was […]

It’s gonna be a sweltering day, yet we’ve learned in the office that we can live without air conditioning. We turn on a big fan and open a lot of windows….we used to keep it cool as a cuke until we got the $200 a month bill. Funny how quickly […]

When James Hunter was growing up in Colchester, England, I bet he listened to a much different bunch of records than his mates.  I can see a whole lot of Sam Cooke, old Elvis, and maybe some ska records on his teenaged turntable, instead of what his peers might have […]

Last night I sat by a fire with two new friends. One was a well-known graphic designer in town, who had biked over and after we said good bye he said he had 12 miles to pedal.  My other host told me when I admired her restaurant stove that she […]

This is from CNN, a transcript of a recent interview with Howie Kurtz and David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker. I had the honor of being rejected by the magazine a few weeks ago.  But my friend who works there was very nice saying that often stories he suggests […]

It’s finally feeling like summer, and that’s a relief after our spring fits and starts.  Summer always used to mean swimming, but it’s been nearly a decade since I enjoyed a dip in the local river.  We drove over to Deerfield Academy and began the walk. I always say, when […]

The WSJ headline had “Blood Diamonds” in it, and today I learned about Angola’s flourishing and persecuted garimpeiros. These are the legions of poor men who make a living using a screen and a shovel to wash gravel in shallow mines, for diamonds.  Unlike in South Africa where mines go […]

It’s June 18, and yet it feels like we’re in the midst of July. On the radio, I heard Tim Nourse of the strawberry farms say that all of the berries were a week early.  And that he expected to be seeing sweet corn at farmstands a few weeks early […]