Watching Birds? Or Just Drillin’
I had a dental appointment last week when it snowed. The doc called and we set up a later time, and I settled in for some drilling. After a while, he stopped, and went away. I asked the hygenist sitting next to me if that was it. “No, no, there’s […]
The Ultimate Wireless Gadget
Stop reading for a moment. Flip this over. Notice that the backside of your morning newspaper is utterly unencumbered by cords, plugs, telephone jacks or USB connections. The Miami Herald had this take on newspapers today. To hell with Bluetooth technology. We were wireless long before wireless was cool.Marvel at […]
The Mysterious Google Cube
Here are some fascination prognostications by Sally Hofmeister in the LA Times today. “Google will unveil its own low-price personal computer or other device that connects to the Internet. Sources say Google has been in negotiations with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., among other retailers, to sell a Google PC. The machine […]
Orlando Swinger Party Upsets Soccer Parents
Some teenage soccer players and their parents saw more sights than they wanted when they stayed at a hotel where about 200 swingers were having a New Year’s party. The AP ran this story today, from Orlando. “Paul Camporini brought his wife, seventh-grade daughter and eighth- grade son from Safety […]
Pretty? Give her a Visa. Ugly? Send her Back
The Sun featured a big story about a brewing scandal at Lunar House, where immigrant status is greatly affected by looks. “A Lebanese girl came into the office in a foul temper asking for one of the guys who worked there. He had recently moved to another department. “She told […]
Adios, Siesta! Back to Work Early in Spain
The long lunch break, the two- or three-hour siesta that typified Spanish life for centuries, has been permanently shortened for government workers, dropping to an hour to keep pace with child-care needs and schedules in the rest of Europe. Instead of working from 9am until 7 or 8pm with a […]
Give Readers More News About Horse Sex
The Seattle Times Danny Westneat just published a column on the most popular stories of the year. While journalists would prefer to highlight their investigative work or their hard hitting corruption probes, the readers have a more prurient view. In the top five most popular stories, four concern a man […]
In Praise of Eight-Tracks
Sitting by the fire I read about Cory Doctorow’s decision to become a full time writer and give up his day job. Congrats! He is one of the editors of Boingboing.net, where I found this information about the lowly 8-track of yore. “They’re the butt of jokes these days, but […]
Supertrains in Europe, but Not In the U.S.
I didn’t know how ridiculously dependent we are on the ‘Net. Just can’t do anything I normally do all the time, such as blog (until now!), use Quickbooks, read GoNOMAD email and put up new stories on the website. We read the NY Times today as well as the Republican. […]
Rhapsody in Montpelier Vermont
Today we are in Montpelier Vermont, one of the most lefty towns in America. Everywhere we see organic this and natural that, but the place is friendly and our lunch in Rhapsody Natural Foods Cafe included miso soup, tempeh and some great Kashmiri Chai tea. The tea was the best […]
Photographer Watches Cyclists Crash
This photo caused a stir…I found in on boingboing.net yesterday. The shooter was given a hard time because instead of warning the passing cyclist, he watched as they plunged into this monster pothole and shot pictures. Doh!
Gillette’s in North Brookfield, for the Sink
Today we drove a country back road to North Brookfield to Gillette’s restaurant supply. Anne the owner met us and showed us what we needed, a three-bay sink, 15 chairs silicon valley looking maple, a huge undercounter fridge and other things for the cafe. Nick Seamon of the Black Sheep […]
Algerian Music, Dancing and Sex
Last night I enjoyed a movie from Algeria. The film, called Viva Laldjerie, centered on an attractive woman who lives in a neighborhood that is becoming more and more fundamentalist. She has a doctor client/boyfriend whom she spends time with but who won’t leave his wife, but the central theme […]
Moved Up the Street to our New Location
Moving today was exhausting…even though the heavy lifting was mostly done by Lexington Group’s men. We are now officially working at our new office at 4A Sugarloaf St. right next to Georgio’s restaurant. The cafe will open in a few weeks and today we wrestled with the people from Verizon […]
Five Long Minutes on the Bus
The woman across the row crawled up to the driver a second time. She crawled back. “Five minutes,” she said. “He said five minutes.” Kelly and Quang are blogging for GoNOMAD. “Five minutes could not have passed more slowly. When we finally pulled up next to a gas station in […]
Buying a House with a 90-year Mortgage in Japan
Yesterday’s NY Times included a story by Martin Fackler about Japan’s devasting real estate bubble. The thought comes to mind–could it happen to US? He profiled a man named Yoshihisa Nakashima who bought a condo 14 years ago for a price of about $400,000. He was convinced it would go […]
Make Mine the Clear Lane
Stephen Brill had a good idea when he published Brill’s Content five years ago. Too bad that printed magazines are so hard to keep in the black. Browsing Poynter.org this Christmas morning, I found what Brill is up to now. It all makes terrific sense: It’s called Verified ID Pass, […]
Laying Down Arms for the Night
YPRES SALIENT , BELGIUM // WORLD WAR ONE // 1914: There is an infamous story of soldiers fighting in WWI on Christmas Eve. From one side of the battlefield, someone spontaneously started singing “Silent Night” — in English. From the other side of the conflict, someone responded by singing the […]