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Today the History Channel told the story of the Lake Nemi ships, huge floating palaces that were found on a lake bottom in Italy. They belonged to the emperor Caligula, and some of the features of these large ships amazed the architects over the centuries. The ships had heated floors. […]

I listened to the radio today and a liberal talk show host had a caller from Springfield, MA. The caller, a young white guy, had moved a few years ago to a mostly black poor neighborhood. And he has not been able to get registered to vote since. For some […]

Last night Cindy asked me what I was reading as I pored over my laptop on her kitchen table. I find the most amusing things to read. It was a story from Wired News about a man who had a high powered magnet implanted in his ring finger. The effect […]

Today I firmed up plans with my friend Rick Newton for the next extravaganza at the cafe–a photo exhibit with a multimedia twist. We’re going to show off photographs shot on film in Sicily by UMass students. Rick takes students to this lovely island each year, and they shoot glorious […]

Brett Arends writes in the Boston Herald about the NY Times vaunted “Times Select,” where people pay extra to read the big name columnists like Friedman, Krugman and Dowd. There are 482,000 who have signed up for the service so far. “However, the paper further admits that 62 percent of […]

In Horea, Romania, there’s a new hot tourist spot, particularly if you’re into … well, “humping”. I found this item on the ‘net this afternoon. “The Romanian village of Horea has become a tourism hot spot thanks to a “humping hill” which is said to help childless couples conceive. Corneliu […]

Sunday night’s dinner was with interesting company. My pal Joe had us over for dinner with Stephanie and her five girlfriends. I had not spent time with this many young women in a long time. The vivacious 30-something gals were vibrant and energetic. We talked about the cafe, and my […]

Today I met my friend Paul Shoul at Northampton Coffee. What a comfortable place: strong coffee, deep china mugs, a window to look out of. We talked about Paul’s upcoming blog, (watch for a link to it here) and then I read the NY Times. Found a story about “online […]

It’s a crappy grey day at the Cafe. Yet the customers, slowly but surely, are coming in the door. It was a treat today to man the counter for a while, and talk to a young couple who had come in for the first time. “How long have you been […]

I sat outside the cafe today, rain threatening, since reading the paper out there helps bring people in. The Republican had Thomas Friedman’s column about the Big Three automakers, again, making a mistake. He chided them for their recent ad campaign, where they give away gas cards to keep the […]

Love that afternoon TV in the basement. Where else but on the History Channel’s “Five Star Heroes” would I be able to learn about the life and times of General George Marshall. Marshall went to Virginia Military Institute, his brother thought he’d flunk out. He couldn’t get into West Point. […]

Got home late tonight. Was working on a proposal in collaboration with another website. Very high profile client, good sized proposal. Talking to the west coast late into the night. Later, on the Tonight Show, there was a funny bit called Pumpcam. The scene was from the survelliance camera in […]