About praise

A friend named John had a seeing-eye dog named Earl. The first time that I met John and Earl, I instinctively reached down to pat Earl on the head. John said, "Please don't pat him. He gets plenty of love, praise, and attention at home. If you pat him, he will look to be patted the next time he sees you. I might be crossing the street. He might look for a pat on the head instead of doing his job, which is to get me across the street safely."

I often think of Earl. It's easy to go looking for a pat on the head instead of focusing on our primary goal, whether that goal is to help someone get across a street or some equally important, if somewhat ordinary, task.

Humbling...

If you make the minimum wage in Massachusetts (USD 8.00) and work full-time (40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year), you're in the top 12% of richest people in the world:

8 * 40 * 50 = $16,000/year

The end of orange season

You've got mostly gray-hairs shopping on a weekday morning and, so, a quick visit to the grocery store is almost impossible. They're inspecting each of their choices carefully, making sure that they are getting the best deal, whether the "Buy 1, Get 2 Free" deal on pork sirloin or packaged salad is really a good deal.
Not only do we have to make sure we have enough room in the refrigerator or freezer for these products, we need to discover our true motive in buying these products. Dan Riely, in his book, Predictably Irrational, describes how the notion of free twists our decision-making process. For example, we have salad with most dinners at home. Even so, it'll be a race to eat three big packages of salad before they start to go bad. Is a "Buy 1, Get 2 Free, Eat 2, Throw Away 1" still a good deal? Probably, even though the local farmers' market offers fresher salads and I can buy only what I need.
It isn't just kids with cell phones these days. During yesterday's shopping trip, there were several gray-hairs chatting away while drifting through the aisles, coordinating their purchases with the person on the other end of the phone. It's getting to the point that we'll need to ban cell phones while shopping, lest all the aisles be jammed up while shoppers argue with their caller because the shopping list says spaghetti but Ronzoni Rigatoni is on sale at 12 for $12.00.
The last of the American oranges are in the produce section now, at about a buck a piece. The oranges in bags come from South Africa and aren't as sweet. (To be fair, it's still in early in the southern hemisphere's winter.) Local tree fruits - apples, peaches, and pears - aren't quite ready. We'll just have to make do with the blueberries and raspberries that grow wild around the camp.

Jesus wants you to drive more

Twice monthly, a West Bridgewater MA Catholic church holds a drawing for $50 gas card. All you have to do to win is attend Mass: Church uses incentives to fill up the pews - Waltham, MA - The Daily News Tribune

The rain stopped two houses down

A walk with an old dog is a different kind of walk. Marley and I went for our walk to Worcester this morning. It's a three-mile route, all sidewalks, with a lot of tree coverage. Close to the one-mile marker, it started to sprinkle and continued for about 20 minutes, enough to dampen the streets and sidewalks that weren't protected by the leafy canopy. On the way back, Marley slowed quite a bit, particularly on the last half mile. Usually, when he wants us to slow our pace, he'll get in front of us. This time, though, he was hanging back. With a charming coincidence, I was listening to Bruce Springsteen's "If I should fall behind". We turned the corner and walked on the damp pavement of our street. The dampness stopped two houses away. The rest of the road was dry. When we reached our yard, still on his leash, Marley lay down and began rolling around on his back, scratching what itched, bits of dried grass clippings clinging to his fur. Once inside, he had a long drink of water and then settled for a nap on rug by the door.

Paper reduction

We're conducting an experiment of sorts. I've changed our Boston Globe subscription to Sunday only. During the week, I'll read their news on their website, mostly via RSS feeds. All of their comics are online as well.
For a long time, years, after we'd moved to Holden, I'd been wishing for home delivery of the Globe. The Globe is a good newspaper, not as good as it had been, but still a good paper. For a while, particularly with the publication of the Pentagon papers in 1971, the Globe was a national force. It had a solid Washington bureau, excellent foreign correspondents, and award-winning investigative teams. And, back then, it had Pogo. (For a while, when I was in college in the 60s, I subscribed to the Herald, just to get Pogo when the strip ran in that paper.) So, for 10 or 15 years, we'd ride through the countryside and I'd envy the green Globe delivery tubes that were in front of small-town homes.
IIRC, it wasn't until the New York Times company purchased the Worcester Telegram that we were able to get home delivery of the Globe. Since then, we've had several newspaper carriers. Gone are the days of a kid on a bicycle; to make money, you need have motorized divisions. Our current carriers are great. The papers show up on our doorstep around 4:45 on weekdays and 5:30 on weekends.
So why change? Why drop the daily edition? I have more time to read so, if anything, I ought add another paper or two. Not surprisingly, the reasons are several.

• The web has changed  everything. The streams of news merge into a river of Amazonian proportions, but this river can also be filtered, sliced, and mashed into a news source that meets my interest while also allowing for serendipity. 
• I'd like to save a few trees. Although our town has an excellent, single-stream recycling program, it does seem odd that two people can fill a 95-gallon barrel with paper and other recyclables. 
• We'd like to save a few bucks. I don't mind reading ad-supported content on the web any more than I mind reading ad-supported newspapers.
• The Globe is less compelling than it used to be. I realize that we may be talking about a death spiral for newspapers: reduced content leading to fewer subscribers leading to more staff and content reductions. Nevertheless, the management should have thought of that. The Wall Street Journal, for example, established an excellent online edition back in 1996. Even though it's a paid site (about $120/year), it has attracted a million subscribers.

The reduced quantity of news from our local and regional newspapers, with  more and more content shifted to the web, does leave people without good Internet access with fewer options. The digital divide is a topic for another day. In the meantime, for the summer, anyway, I'm giving up the print version of the weekday Boston Globe. I'll report back from time to time on how well I can eat my morning cereal while reading the online version.

Days and days

We'd tease the retired folks in our lives because they'd lose track of the days. They'd cross out the days on the calendar much like prisoners counting the days.
You know what, of course - they're right. The perception of days in a week changes dramatically when you step out of the rhythm of work. Today is Thursday. At work, we'd be leaning against Friday. Here and now, the days stretch out like a knotless rope. Sitting on the deck of camp, a strong northwest wind ruffling the pages of the book that I'm rading (This Land is Their Land by Barbara Ehrenreich), it could be any day. Does it need to be a particular day? Dunno. Stay tuned.
---
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Happy 61st Birthday, Arlo

YouTube - Arlo Guthrie/I Can't Help Falling In Love With You

Crime in Suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):

Holden

Thursday, July 3

5:38 p.m. Caller reports man stepping out into traffic trying to get hit by car to collect insurance; no contact

Paxton

Sunday, July 6

8:49 p.m. Rutland resident calling to report that a Paxton neighbor has been using power tools all day and he is sick of it, Turkey Hill Rd.

Bunny, we has one.

Water, water, everywhere and you don't have to drink it all.

Water, and lots of it, has been a prescription for health for a couple of centuries now. Interestingly, this article, Junkfood Science: Wellness water — the 8x8 myth, reports that there is very little scientific evidence to support the claim that water consumption brings good health, weight loss, or world peace. In particular, the 8x8, eight eight-ounce glasses of water, regimen is supported by  anecdotes - healthy people drink water. There were no finding to support the claim that these healthy people became healthy because of their water consumption. Again, there's a problem between correlation and causation.

The general guidance - eat a balanced diet and drink fluids when you're thirsty - still holds.

Iraq defeats terrorism. Our troops can come home now.

According to Fox News, Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, said that Iraq defeated terrorism.

A Hilltown Fourth

A Fourth of July celebration in Chesterfield MA, including Henry the Clown from out of town.

A walk in romantic woods

On our way back from dinner at our favorite restaurant, The Jenkins Inn & Restaurant in Barre,we stopped for a walk to Long Pond in Rutland. We used to go there in the summer time when we were dating oh, those many decades ago. You walk a short way into the woods, through the old cemetery, and then turn left onto a narrow path that leads up and down small hills along the shore. The big tree that held a rope swing had been cut down quite a while ago. (Setting up a rope swing takes just the right combination of a strong tree with a thick branch parallel to the water, high enough that you can swing out some distance before letting go and plunging into the water.

Most times, the pond is a lively place with people fishing, kayaking, swimming, 'n such. This evening, we were the only people there, just as it should be.

One less Bozo on the bus

Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dead at 83 - Boston.com

Dept. of Humility

via Miss Cellania - Ego

Perfect pitch

This morning, I tried out our new set of clippers, clearing away dead branches and branches that were in the way along our back fence. The maples are in charge, with trees large and small. The pines along our back fence had branches that were thick at the base, making it difficult to clear away the leaves and clutter. When I was done with the cleanup, my hands had a familiar smell that took me back 50 years. 
There were lots of pine trees in the back of the house where I grew up. So, it seemed as though my hands and clothes were always covered in the rich, sticky pitch. They were good climbing trees for a kid, branches every foot or so. It was easy to get 40 feet above the ground and survey the neighborhood. There's probably no better place for a kid, getting high off the ground on his own strength, brought to a height where you could see far.
At this house, we have a couple fairly good climbing trees. The maple tree on the east side of the house is probably ok, but there aren't any low branches to give a kid a leg up. Our tallest tree, the ailing spruce out front, has branches that are too close together so there's no room for climbing. The honey locust looks good, strong branches and plenty of space. There were a couple of pine trees right behind the house when we first moved here. They were too close to the house and we had them taken out when we put in the back deck.

RoasterBoy Playlist

1)	iPod shuffle playlist Sitting In The Stern Of The Boat (The Journey Begins) Various Artists Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of ... http://rbplaylist.blogspot.com/2008/07/ipod-shuffle-playlist.html
2)	Janis Joplin - Summertime She looked so old then and looks so young now: Crooks and Liars » Late Night Music Club with Janis Joplin http://rbplaylist.blogspot.com/2008/07/janis-joplin-summertime.html
3)	Barack Obama’s playlist Inside Barack Obama’s iPod : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily http://rbplaylist.blogspot.com/2008/06/barack-obamas-playlist.html
4)	iTunes Shuffle Playlist I Want To Be FreeRobert Gordon (With Link Wray)Robert Gordon w/Link Wray & Fresh Fish SpecialLonely Teardrops (1958)Jackie ... http://rbplaylist.blogspot.com/2008/06/itunes-shuffle-playlist_25.html

5)	In honor of what would've been June Carter Cash's 79th birthday - Ring of Fire FARK.com: Fark Video Player (3687547) In honor of what would've been June Carter Cash's 79th birthday - Ring of Fire http://rbplaylist.blogspot.com/2008/06/in-honor-of-what-wouldve-been-june.html
6)	iPod shuffle playlist SongArtistAlbumGive Us A FlagRichie HavensSongs Of The Civil WarBohemian RhapsodyQueenClassic QueenThe Red RoosterHowlin' ... http://rbplaylist.blogspot.com/2008/06/ipod-shuffle-playlist_18.html

Peace One Day - September 21, 2008

September 21st is also the day of my mother's passing.

Peace One Day- What will we do to make peace?

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):

Holden

Monday, June 23
6:00 p.m. Caller asking if he needs passport to go to Canada,
and if Holden borders Canada; advised that Central
Mass. doesn't border Canada; will contact a Maine PD
Sunday, June 29
8:16 p.m. 911 Snapping turtle on Wilde Willow Dr.

Rutland

Friday, June 27

3:05 p.m. Party requesting an officer for threats made by her

future mother-in-law, Main St.  

What was easy isn't so much so.

It seems as though there used to be some good freeware tools to let you create and publish web sites. As a part of the preparation for our Queen Lake Association annual meeting, I need to update our web site with information about the meeting agenda and a few other reference documents. I know how to edit HTML documents and publish with FTP commands, but it doesn't seem much easier than it was 15 years ago when I first created web sites.
I've used NVU, Amaya, and a few other tools (Emacs, the wrench for every nut), but none seem to have a good integrated editor and publishing solution. None has been satisfying. There are commercial tools that start at $100 and go up as fast as you can keep adding zeroes. It's doubly-discouraging when you find a long list of programs and then see that they're showcasing their 1998 favorites.
So, while I continue the search, I'll use Emacs and rsync to get today's work done.

O say, is that star-spangled banner still exempt from our sales tax?

Who knew? American flags are exempt from Massachusetts state sales tax.

Medical News: Memory Deficit in Middle Age Linked to Low HDL - in Neurology, Dementia from MedPage Today

Medical News: Memory Deficit in Middle Age Linked to Low HDL - in Neurology, Dementia from MedPage Today: "'The 'life-long' view of dementia stresses the importance of risk factors in midlife,' the authors said. 'Our findings on individuals ages 55 and 61 at the two phases of data collection suggest that low levels of HDL-C may be an important risk factor.'"

Low (<40)>60).

Past studies have identified low HDL levels as a significant risk factor for heart disease, but this is the first study that I've seen that links low HDL with cognitive abilities and memory.

Yikes.

---

Update:

via Fark

We got our gummint money

The check finally arrived. I'm not sure if it's our money that the feds are giving us or if it's really our kids' and grandkids'. In any case, we'll be good citizens and go spend it. After all, after September 11th, the president told us, "When [the terrorists] struck, they wanted to create an atmosphere of fear.  And one of the great goals of this nation's war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry.  It's to tell the traveling public:  Get on board. Do your business around the country.  Fly and enjoy America's great destination spots.  Get down to Disney World in Florida.  Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed."



And, in May, as the checks were put in the mail, he said, "[W]e hope people use that money and take care of their families and shop."



So, get going. America needs you.

All-star? Nope. We're all stars.

We learn from this article, Beachwood cancels Rec League all-star baseball game, that all-star games should not be held for 9-12-year-olds because competitiveness at that age is not good for the kids.

Aw, c'mon. It's pretty clear, even at relatively early ages, that some kids are better athletes than others, just like there are better students, musicians, artists, and Wal-Mart greeters. By the time I was 11, I knew I couldn't hit the inside fastball and that I'd enjoy baseball a lot more by watching good players than by watching myself strike out. Providing a showcase where talented kids can play with and against other talented kids is a great way for those kids to improve. The other kids who didn't make the all-star team? Sorry. Maybe there's stuff to do in the a-v room.

via Fark.com

Guns. We can haz them.

Let's see. If guns could be outlawed, then only outlaws would have guns. The SCOTUS rules that guns are inlawed. So, only inlaws can have guns. Wait, lemme think. Oh, anyway, be nice to your neighbor because he may be packing heat.

Supreme Court Rules That Individuals Have Gun Rights - NYTimes.com

You don't need a weatherman ...

As a follow-up to last week's review of weather forecasting resources, When you need more weather, here are a few more tips:

• Predicting the Weather with Clouds - Instructables - DIY, How To, outdoors, life
• Predict the weather without checking the forecast

BTW, I've edited the original article so that you can see the information in the comparison table.

6/26/08, One more: Redneck Weather Station

Travelers in the world of whatever

Marley never misses a chance for a ride. We keep one basket for stuff that's going to the camp. As soon as I pick up the basket (for whatever reason), he races to the door all awiggle.

This morning we took a ride to the camp to meet with a friend who will do some work on the fireplace. While there, I did some fishing, catching two large kivvers. Catching the fish was almost an interruption to the fun of casting and reeling in the lure.

The mountain laurel are stunning this year, in massive blooms and lasting longer than usual.

It's a bit creepy for Red Sox fan to claim that he's a Yankee.

This one's for Kevin, 'nother Yankee in Raleigh:

You Are 90% Yankee, 10% Dixie

You're so Yankee, it's possible you've never even been to the South!

Are You a Yankee or Dixie?

In praise of good service

Earlier this year, we bought a new desktop computer and multi-function printer from Dell. We've been pleased with the purchases, but I've been even more pleased with Dell's service.

Early on, I had a problem because of an interaction between Norton Internet Security and Vista. I called Dell tech support and, in a short while, was able to diagnose and fix the problem. The Dell tech support rep was able to connect to my system and verify that all was well.

Recently, a small piece broke off of the printer's document feeder. (You can scan, fax, or copy multipage documents.) I contacted Dell via their online chat service. Within a few minutes, the tech support rep arranged for a new printer to be sent my way. (I'll then send the old one, although with the broken piece, back to Dell.) I'll have my new printer in 2-5 business days.

Given the slim profit margins that the computer manufacturers can generate, it's amazing to me that they have such good service, handled by live people who know their stuff and are empowered to make things right.

When you need more weather (updated)

Mark Twain said, "Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it."

[RB note: I've cleaned up the formatting on this article. The table didn't display completed on the blog page.]

I've been interested in weather since I first watch Don Kent on Channel 4 in Boston. Kent was Boston's first TV weatherman and, for a long time, was synonymous with weather forecasting in New England. (A friend tells the story of riding a bus in Boston. The forecast had called for a nice day, but a surprise snow squall dumped a bunch of inches of snow on the city. A woman got on the bus, shook the snow from head, and said, "Damn you, Don Kent."

One of these days, I may invest in some weather reporting gear and become an official, trained weather-spotter. (Here's a bit more about being a trained weather spotter.) In the meantime, I'll look out the window. At both home and camp, we have good views of the northwestern sky. Most thunderstorms come from the northwest. (Although they're called Nor'easters, big winter storms come at us from the southwest. The name of the storm refers to the direction of the wind, northeast, that delivers the damage.)

The following table outlines some of the weather-related resources available on the web.

Weather UnderGround

Cost: Free (with ads)$10/year (ad-free)
Email updates: Yes
Specials:

• Lots of custom stickers that you can add to your web site.
• Personal weather stations - You can get detailed reports from other weather geeks in your area.

Notes:This is my favorite. It was one of the earliest sites. (I've been a subscriber since 2000.) It has the right mix of ease-of-use and features.

National Weather Service

Cost: Free (Your tax dollars at work.)
Email updates: Not really. You can subscribe to tsunami warnings and space weather forecasts. You can get text message alerts.Specials: All weather forecasting services start with data from the Feds.
Notes: If you stray from the forecast pages, it's easy to get lost, in part because of the site's design, but, more importantly, because there's so
much interesting stuff to see.

Weather.com (aka The Weather Channel)

Cost: Free (with ads),$24.99 (ad-free)
Email updates: Well, kinda, but not really. You can have alerts delivered to your phone and desktop.
Notes:

1. It did not recognize Phillipston as a valid location. (Phillipston doesn't have its own ZIP code; it shares one with Athol.)
2. It can suffer from feature-overload by providing too many options.
   

Accuweather

Cost: Free (with ads),$7.95/month, $79.95/year -Premium (no ads, extra features.),$24.95/month, $249.95/year, Professional (no ads, even more features)
Email updates:Yes
Specials: Lots of gadgets.
Notes: Accuweather provides forecasting services for many radio, TV, and other media. (See WBZ, for example.) As a result, the paid services, while more expensive than others, give you access to big league forecast information.

Local radio and television sites

Cost: Free
Email updates: Yes
Specials: WCVBhas an interactive radar feature that lets you zoom in to theneighborhood level to see how much its raining. (You could also lookout the window, but, if you have a computer, why would you use a window?)
Notes: The features and resources are typically tailored to meet local needs.

In addition, there are lots of browser add-ons (such as these for Firefox) and desktop widgets that will bring the weather to you.

Features in common

All of the weather services have these features in one form or another:

• You can specify a location - You can then bookmark that page and be able to get a weather forecast with a single click.
• If your cell phone has a web browser, you can see customized views of these sites on your phone. You can also have text messages sent to your phone, messages such as forecasts, severe weather alerts.
  
• National and international weather - You can browse weather reports and forecasts for most regions of the world. The amount of detail is dependent on the weather services in that area.
  
  
  
• Weather history and almanac - You can find out when the moon will riseor temperature averages and precipitation totals.
  

"Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative." - Oscar Wilde.

Driving Miss Daisy

God Loves Worcester

I pass by this sign often on my travels around the Greendale section of Worcester. (Photo from I'm from Worcester.) Each time I see the sign, I'm reminded of God's Song (yt) by Randy Newman.

And the Lord said:

"I burn down your cities--how blind you must be
I take from you your children and you say how blessed are we
You must all be crazy to put your faith in me
That's why i love mankind
You really need me
That's why i love mankind"

Damn

Comedian George Carlin dies at 71 - Celebrities- msnbc.com

From his early days as Al Sleet, the hippy-dippy weatherman through his evolution as the sage of political and social commentary, Carlin took us the new places, places that we weren't always ready to see.

He also reminded me of my friend, Don. Both had this crackling wit that could turn into a pack of firecrackers exploding on a dark road in the night.

I'll miss them both.

Lemme see if I understand this

According to this article, all smoking is banned in public places in Holland. You, however, can smoke pot in licensed cafes, so long as you don't try to sneak any tobacco into your weed.

Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road, sung at Tim Russert's funeral

CNN video - The Boss at Tim Russert's funeral

John McCain as a creepy husband (SNL)

A bunch of years ago, I had a discussion with a family member about Bill Clinton's appearance on the Arsenio Hall show. Clinton played the saxophone. The family member thought that it was disrespectful of the office of president to go on an entertainment show as a performer while Clinton was a candidate for president.


Well, we have to wonder how the religious right feels about John McCain's nude shower scene on SNL.

Crime in suburbia

From the Holden police log:

Thursday, June 12
9:38 p.m. Large TV in middle of the road on Reservoir St.
Friday, June 13
12:31 a.m. Couch and box spring left on Reservoir St.
...
3:08 a.m. Individual walking on Reservoir St.
...
11:53 p.m. Ongoing problem with wife reported, caller needs to talk to someone

Darwin's tool box

Wondering if that outlet is working?


bookofjoe: Vilcus Dactyloadapter* Circuit Tester

I can think of four words for AP

The Associated Press is planning to charge bloggers when said bloggers use five or more words from an AP story: BetaNews | AP sets up a toll booth for bloggers citing its stories

Not only don't they get it regarding the Fair Use Doctrine and all that, but they also misunderstand how you copy text from one page to another. You don't cut and paste; you copy and paste. (Cut means that you are removing it from a document.)

We're the double-nickel

Worcester is #55 among the most congested cities in the country.

The article says that if you want to go anywhere, the best time is from 6-7AM on Tuesdays. We might ask, where would you want to go then?

Fixing our roads with signs

More about FIID (Fixing it in documentation):

On MA Route 135 in Westborough, there's a sign just before the Route 9 underpass:

Caution

Flooding occurs in
heavy rain.

The sign has been there for oh, so many years, as have the rains, as have the floods.

Dept. of memoirs and memes

A round of meme tag.

1. write the title to your own memoir using six words.
   
   As I wrote in my college's reunion book:
   
   It's been better than I expected.


2. post it on your blog.
   
   Done


3. link to the person that tagged you.
   
   eba tagged me for this meme
   
   
4. tag five more blogs.
   
   Lori, Patti, Kevin, Ruth-Ellen, Jenny
   

Why I trust the Internet for all of my medical questions.

» Overtime Work Linked to Anxiety and Depression - Psych Central News

A recent study suggests employees who work overtime are at increased risk of anxiety and depression.

Long Work Day Not Linked to Stress

A bad day at the office has little to do with the number of hours you put in working. Workplace stress, research has found, is not linked to clocking in more hours. Rather, the culprit for stress in the office is workplace environment.

The Rock of Boston - Duane Glasscock Excerpts

When I listened to Part 1 of these old Duane Glasscock Excerpts, I was disoriented for several minutes as Duane and his callers were ranting about invasions of Iran, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf. Then, as now, the more we know about the Middle East, the less we understand.

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark Police Notebook (subscription required for web site access):

1:48 p.m. Possible past house break reported, someone went into basement and "smeared poop" on a CD; spoke to parents who advised son home all day and bored

5:13 p.m. Walk-in with complaint about trooper and an incident at gas station; advised not to blow horn unless for safety issue; said she won't buy gas in Holden again

This fortnight in RoasterBoy's playlist

Get RB Playlist

iPod shuffle playlist [Thursday, Jun 12, 08 at 03:29 PM GMT]

Buena Vista Social Club De Camino a La Vereda Buena Vista Social Club The Rolling Stones Honky Tonk Women Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! [LIVE] Lou Reed Power & Glory Part II Magic & Loss Robert Gordon (With Link Wray) Blue Eyes (Don't Run Away) Fresh Fish Special Vampire Weekend Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa Vampire Weekend Fleetwood Mac Although The Sun Is Shining The Vaudeville Years - 1968 To 1970 (Disc 1) Black Eyed Peas Shut Up Elephunk Jim Carroll Band Nothing Is True Catholic Boy …

Happy 93rd birthday, Les Paul. Here he is, a-pickin' and a-grinnin' with Mary Ford in 1954 [Monday, Jun 09, 08 at 08:14 PM GMT]

Let's see: guitar, guitar picking, recording techniques, harmonies. We pretty much wouldn't have music if it wasn't for Les Paul. And, while we're at it, let's remember how good Mary Ford was, a singer and a guitar player in her own right: FARK.com: Fark Video Player (3657059) Happy 93rd birthday, Les Paul. Here he is, a-pickin' and a-grinnin' with Mary Ford in 1954

iTunes shuffle playlist [Wednesday, Jun 04, 08 at 09:13 PM GMT]

Alabama 3 Bullet Proof The Original Five Blind Boys Of Alabama I'll Fly Away Alabama 3 The Night We Nearly Got Busted The Original Five Blind Boys Of Alabama I've Got A Home The Blind Boys Of Alabama No More The Original Five Blind Boys Of Alabama Count Me In Grateful Dead Alabama Getaway > Alabama Sacred Harp Singers Antioch - Alabama Sacred Harp Singers The Original Five Blind Boys Of Alabama This May Be The Last Time The Five Blind Boys Of Alabama featuring Clarence Fountain…

Curtis Mayfield - People Get Ready [Tuesday, Jun 03, 08 at 08:58 PM GMT]

Curtis Mayfield would have been 66 today. Here's Curtis performing one of his most frequently covered songs: YouTube - Curtis Mayfield - People Get Ready

Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79 [Monday, Jun 02, 08 at 06:59 PM GMT]

The Associated Press: Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79

More on FIID

This morning, I installed AutoIT, a nifty freeware product that helps me write small programs. At the end of the installation procedure, the setup program strongly urged me to read the release notes:


















Proceeding to the release notes, I learn that this new version can break some of my old scripts:







In a commercial product. the developers might provide a conversion utility that would make old scripts work properly. Or, they could have made changes in a more elaborate way to ensure that the enw version of AutoIT is backward-compatible (every AutoIT script written since the beginning of time would run, even though old programs would not be able to use the new features).

Because some customers depend on a particular pattern of behavior for certain products, we've had to make products bug-compatible: we would not fix certain bugs in old releases because customers had developed their own work-arounds to those bugs. Fixing the bugs would require that customer do work to unfix their own fixes. Got it?

Anyway, the AutoIT team was able to deliver another release of their fine product by fixing it in documentation (FIID).

If you were planning to be buried today, please wait.

We had some big thunderstorms during the night. Strong winds knocked down trees and branches. St. John's Cemetery in Worcester was hit hard.

How to improve a poorly-designed highway

There's a long-standing tradition in the computer industry. (It may be in other industries as well, but my experience has been in high tech.) When there's a problem that either too difficult for the development team to fix or it's a problem that's found too late in the development cycle, such that fixing it would delay the release, the problem is fixed in documentation. Meaning that the manual, help file, or release notes will describe how to work around the problem. The original problem is still there, but the team has absolved itself by telling the user that there is a problem.

Well, the Mass. Highway Department has found a way to fix bad highway design: fix it in documentation. Put up big signs that tell the drivers that the next few miles are a mess.

This sign is set just as Interstates 190 and 290 merge. Whether you're coming toward Worcester from the north or east, you'll go through a stretch of highway that goes from three lanes to two to five to four to three, all within a mile or so. Then, the driving gets weird and slow as the highway snakes through the city.

It's a testimony to the drivers in and around the city that there aren't more accidents in this stretch of road.

A sad note for our extended family

From today's T&G obituaries: Thelma (Westerman) Lebeaux, 89

(It may be a bit confusing for some. My mother, also named Thelma, married Linc Lebeaux in the mid-70s. Linc died in 1995, my mother in 2000.)

Mike Lebeaux joined in Sunday's celebration for MFH. We talked for several minutes about how his mother was doing, which, at the time, was ok. I remember our family minister, Neil Bakker, remark that death comes mid-sentence.

Our thoughts and prayers to Mike, Rich, and Sue and their families.

Michael's graduation

On Saturday afternoon, we attended Michael's graduation from Wachusett Regional High School, held at the DCU Center in Worcester. Mike is working for his father this summer, along with a second job at Walgreen's.

The graduation ceremony included a performance by the high school's wind ensemble, featuring their trombone section. Here's a short video clip of their presentation, including their dance number. Michael is fourth from left.


After the music and speeches came the reason that we were all there: the awarding of the diplomas. The presenter even pronounced Mike's name correctly (which didn't happen at my high school graduation):



On Sunday, we had a grand party of family and friends at Mike and Lynn's house. We stayed until five in the afternoon, just as the second line was forming.

Hoboken?

According to these people, Hoboken NJ is among The-10-Brainiest-Places-to-Retire. Let us see these brains of which they speak.

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark police/fire reports:







I'm telling!
No, I'm telling!

Nichols and Stone may be closing

Nichols and Stone is one of the last chair manufacturers in Gardner and seems to be on its way out: Worcester Telegram &amp; Gazette: Furniture maker teetering on brink

As Bill Clinton said, "There's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what is right with America."

The Simpsons have been renewed for their 20th season

Mine is #8 on the list

The 10 Most Worthless College Majors

Don't do the crime if you can't do the rhyme

Middlebury VT hooligans sentenced to poetry classes after party at former Robert Frost home turns destructive: Frost house vandals learn about poetic justice - CNN.com

Here's what you missed on Feb 2, 1965

From the Gardner News, TV listings:

And, the Westminster selectmen remind us to keep Fido at home:

Things you wouldn't know unless you asked Calvin's dad.

Quotes: Ask Calvin's Dad

Q. How come old photographs are always black and white? Didn't they have color film back then?
A. Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs are in color. It's just that the world was black and white then. The world didn't turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.
Q. But then why are old paintings in color?! If the world was black and white, wouldn't artists have painted it that way?
A. Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane.
Q. But... But how could they have painted in color anyway? Wouldn't their paints have been shades of gray back then?
A. Of course, but they turned colors like everything else did in the '30s.
Q. So why didn't old black and white photos turn color too?
A. Because they were color pictures of black and white, remember?

Why Obama has won the contest

We're angry, uneducated and unhealthy. Now what? (Scripting News)

"I want a President who welcomes the chaos and then figures out how we can be smart about the hand we've been dealt. Not one that whines and complains about how irrational the world is."

Be an American - Buy something

This pretty much sums up the Bush policies toward economic development, patriotism, and the war on terror. Just in time for your economic stimulus check. If you send these folks, The Something Store, they'll send you something. You won't know you'll get until you get it, but, hey, we're at war here.

I ... don't ... know ... what ... to ... say.

English Russia » The Sauna Truck:

Rev. Wright, Rev. Hagee, and the company we keep

Anyone who lives any kind of an interesting life is going to hang around with people who cause them trouble. This presidential race is no different. Just as the Clintons faced in the 90s, both senators Barack Obama and John McCain will have people from the fringes saying and doing things that makes it appear that the candidates are more radical than they are. My advice to myself on this is fairly simple: get over it.

The people of Utah keep re-electing Sen. Orrin Hatch, even though Hatch is good friends with Ted Kennedy. No one's going to confuse the two. The same with Alan Simpson and Robert Reich in their PBS discussion show, "The Long and Short of It." Harry Truman was elected to the Senate because he had the backing of Jim Pendergast's political and racketeering machine. Shunned for a time, Truman became one of the most independent and respected presidents.

Yeah, I know about dogs and fleas and all that. I also know that taking the measure of a person is a lot more complicated than just looking at the person's friends.

My mother was often curious about a person's ethnicity and occupation. She knew that these traits didn't fully define a person, but did tell something important. Someone might be a scientist who also practices meditation or a conservative Republican business owner who runs a food pantry. We only get to know the whole person by knowing the whole person and we only get to love a person by loving the whole person.

Dept. of Wiring

For a time in the 90s, I managed a quality assurance team in a small company that tested networked storage. We had lots of cables because we were testing dozens of systems connected to several servers. It was really easy to have the wiring get out of control. That's a particular problem when you're dealing with fiber-optic cable. These cables have threads of glass in the core. If the cable is looped too tightly or is crimped, the glass can break and the cable is useless. (This sample only shows a few fiber cables, the ones in orange.)



Dark Roasted Blend: Disturbing Wiring, Part 4

Notes from another home town

I spent a lot of my younger days in the Amherst area - as a student, as a worker, as a loiterer. I first visited the area when my father was working on the construction of the Southwest dorms at UMass in the early 1960s. I'd ride to town with him and, while he was at work, I'd hang around campus. I took a couple of summer courses between my junior and senior years in high school. One of the courses was taught by William Julius Wilson.

The story of my life from that time until I graduated from Amherst College late in the next decade is one best delivered in small slices. More slices later.

A few things that I noticed when I came into town this time:

• There are lots more people of color. That shouldn't be surprising, but I've been staying close to home for the past year and have seen mostly white folks.
• There are more people smoking, younger people mostly.
• There are fewer people talking on their cell phones while driving. Kids are talking and sending text messages while walking or sitting in coffee shops, but the soccer parents are just driving.
  

Is there an uglier building that the Marriott Courtyard in Hadley,sitting in what had been great farm land?

But, the Courtyard is just one of the latest in the commercial takeover of our land and psyches by big chains. It's easier to go to the Whole Foods store on Route 9 than drive five miles to the south to shop at the locally-owned Atkins Farm. Dave's Soda and Pet Food City, one of my favorite places, is a small, regional chain, but it sits in a strip mall that starts with Wal-Mart and ends with Michael's. It's what I call Route-9-ization. Pretty much the length of Massachusetts state route 9, you've got strip malls, mostly filled with the same chains that you saw 20 miles ago. There are still some undeveloped stretches - between Worcester and Belchertown and west of Northampton, but those sections will likely go under in our lifetimes.

What you missed on TV

From the July 26, 1962 Gardner News:

The Uncomfortable Truth. Nobody reads your blog.

From DespairWear:


Via About:Blank.

Dept. of Spam

Well, the folks at Hormel are doing well in these tougher times: The Associated Press: Sales of Spam rise as consumers trim food costs.

We should remember, though. If you are eating so much Spam that eating Spam Lite improves your diet, you've probably got more problems than how much Spam you're eating.

This fortnight in RoasterBoy's playlist

Get RB Playlist

Tim Buckley - Buzzin Fly [Thursday, May 29, 08 at 07:09 PM GMT]

One
of the sweetest songs from the great folk music scare of the 60s:
YouTube - Tim Buckley Buzzin Fly - Radio Toast for Cancer Research .
Tim Buckley died from a heroin overdose in 1975.

The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time : Rolling Stone [Thursday, May 29, 08 at 06:55 PM GMT]

Mostly,
lists such as this, The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time : Rolling
Stone , are kindling for arguments, particularly if you try to claim
that "You Really Got Me" is eight places better than "Voodoo Child
(Slight Return)". Nevertheless, there's a lot of good stuff here. Via
Fark Music , who reports " It proves, once again, submitter's theory
that 60s music &gt; 70s music &gt; 80s music &gt; 90s music &gt; 00s
music."

What's on RoasterBoy's iPod? [Thursday, May 29, 08 at 02:30 PM GMT]

Izabella
Jimi Hendrix The Lowlands [f/Jaime Hanna &amp; Jonathan MC Euen] The
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Happy Feelin' Earth Wind &amp; Fire Tennesee
Stud Johnny Cash Give The Fiddler A Dram Garnet Rogers Introduction
Jimi Hendrix Complainte Pour Ste Catherine Kate &amp; Anna McGarrigle
One Way Ticket Leann Rimes The Torture Never Stops Part Two Frank Zappa
Lonely In Love Lyle Lovett A Hard Day's Night The Beatles Fire And
Brimstone Neville Brothers Mystery Train Paul Butterfield…

Theme from The Andy Griffith Show [Wednesday, May 28, 08 at 08:29 AM GMT]

If
you have to have a tune stuck in your head, this is a good one: The
Fishin' Hole (theme to The Andy Griffith Show) by Andy Griffith
Songfacts

MilkandCookies - Muppets: I'm My Own Grandpa [Wednesday, May 21, 08 at 08:22 PM GMT]

MilkandCookies - Muppets: I'm My Own Grandpa

Searching for your sole

Note to self: when planning a crime in Finland, be sure to wear American shoes:Police to set up national shoe print register

On racism and spam

The other day, I received an email that provided a brief news story about IBM and its Rational software division, where I used to work. The message, IBM, TCQA Partner to Boost Nigeria, however, wound up in my Gmail's Spam folder.

There has been a long-running email scam, sometimes called the Nigerian Scam or the 419 scam. Basically, it requests that the receiver send money as part of a plan to free a large sum of money that's been held in an account in a bank in Nigeria.

While it's a good idea for spam filters to try to catch these kinds of illicit and dangerous pitches, it's less good when any mention of Nigeria in an email is enough to cause a message to flagged as spam.

I should note that Gmail's spam filtering is, overall, remarkably good. Very few spam messages sneak in (maybe three or four a year) and there are also very few false positives (legitimate messages marked as spam). It's still a good idea to review messages to make sure that the good and bad stuff aren't getting mixed up.

Retail trends in our fair burg

Holden presents itself as a pretty well-off suburb. The prize fights surrounding the maintenance of the historic district in the center of town when a gas station wanted to put up canopies over the gas pumps was stuff of legend (even though the canopies eventually did go up).

So, there are a couple of interesting trends in the Big Y shopping plaza just south of the town center. Bhadon Gifts has offered fun and exotic gifts for 13 years. My mother loved the place and got to know the staff quite well. It was a bit of a surprise, then, to see that they're closing this store to consolidate back into their one store in the Tatnuck section of Worcester.

In the meantime, Dollar Tree has opened a store in the same plaza. Dollar Tree has as its marketing strategy everything for a buck. You'll find World's Greatest Dad pillows, plastic drinkware, and car sponge with rope for a dollar. The place looked busy this morning, busier, certainly, than Bhadon's. Meanwhile, on Main Street, there were no cars in front of the Talbot's clothing shop.

If only we had transparent skin

The human body is complex and doesn't give up its secrets easily.

For quite a few months, I've had an elevated CK level along with muscle pain that doesn't correlate to overuse or apparent injury. The CK level (creatine kinase) is the measure of an enzyme that shows up when there's been muscle damage. Normal readings top out at 200 or so. Mine has been been in the 700-800 range. We've ruled out the more common causes, such statins.

Last week, I met with a neurologist who prescribed a number of blood tests (five vials worth) as well as arranging for a surgical consult. This afternoon, I'll have a muscle biopsy. The muscle tissue may reveal more of what's going on than the doctors can find out by triangulating through lab tests. In a couple of weeks, I'll meet with the neurologist again to review the results.

Armed with a copy of my blood test results from last week and an hour or so with Google, I have a couple of ideas of what might be afoot. Nothing really bad jumped out. It'll be interesting to see how a Google-powered amateur compares to a professional.<sup>1

1</sup>My doctor's diploma from Harvard is English. She graduated in 1995. My diploma, from a nu, is in Latin. When I was sitting with a group of friends after our graduation, we discovered that none of could read our diplomas. Finally, the father of one of the other graduates, a classics professor, translated it for us. I wonder if colleges are still using Latin on their diplomas.

On the wall

Francis Arthur Bond; Vietnam Wall; Vietnam Veterans Memorial

I've looked at clouds from both sides now...

Sandra's parents have returned to PEI for the summer. This morning, a cloud looking like PEI appeared in our western sky:

Then, again, maybe it didn't look anything like it at all.

Things you wouldn't learn unless you read the local police report

Someone broke Twitter again

We still got it

Happy Anniversary, Sandra.

Love
Karl

Dept. of food

Since Tess was diagnosed with diabetes, the whole family has been much more aware of what's in food. We're particularly paying close attention to the number of total carbohydrates. So, while doing our grocery shopping today, it was good to learn that many brands of fried pork rinds have zero carbohydrates. We can all give a shudder to know that fried pork rinds are, in this context, a healthy food.

Police news from suburbia

Twitter - not ready for prime time?

There's been lots of discussion in the blogosphere and Twittersphere regarding Twitter outages and its general scalability. Something really important like Twitter shouldn't be off the air for even a few moments.

VA identifies how to reduce occurrence of PTSD among veterans

Stop diagnosing PTSD and let 'em appeal: CREW and VoteVets release email telling VA staff to “refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out” | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Closing the Complaint Window

We typically regard complaining as truth-telling and, conversely, equating not-complaining with acquiescence. Funny thing, it doesn't always work out that way. Complaining, more often than not, leads to more complaining, spiraling into a persistent spirit of dissatisfaction.

As a result, a church in Missouri is encouraging its congregants to go 21 days without complaining. The idea is that, according to common understanding, it takes 21 days to break a bad habit or start a new good one.

Many therapeutic techniques, including CBT, REBT, and others, talk about reframing - looking at a current difficult situation from a different perspective to understand how bad is really and, ideally, see a way of dealing with the difficult situation without resorting to stale habits that haven't worked very well. Much of our complaining isn't about righting a wrong, but trying to make the case that we're right and someone else is wrong.

I doubt that I'll be able do the 21 days; 21 minutes seems a bit overwhelming. Shortly, I need to head out for a 21-minute drive with my fellow Massachusetts drivers. 'Nuff said.

Congrats to Father Fred

Rev. Fred Enman has received the first John W. Spillane Award for Distinguished Christian Leadership for his work with the Matthew 25 project. Matthew 25 provides low-cost housing to folks in the Worcester area. For more info, see Worcester Telegram & Gazette Worcester Diary.

We're also fortunate to know Father Fred personally. He's a regular at Mike and Lynn's, bringing his strong spirit and stories of hope to our family gatherings.

Yes, Master

The word 'boss' comes from the Dutch word 'baas', meaning master. Here's the background on 'boss' and other words of the workplace: The Origin of Words You Hear A Lot in The Office.

This fortnight's RoasterBoy Playlist

Shuffling through iTunes

When I put my iTunes library on shuffle, here's what shows up: Name Artist Cotton Eyed Joe The Mountain Ramblers Living In The Country Pete Seeger Run Run Run The Velvet Underground Saint Of Circumstance Grateful Dead Need Your Love So Bad - Version #1 Fleetwood Mac Brother Gil Scott-Heron Ladies Auxiliary Woody Guthrie There's A Doctor The Who Rendezvous Bruce Springsteen No. 5 in D Major Mieczyslaw Horszowski Love That Burns Fleetwood Mac Compared to What Eddie Harris & Les McCann 05/13/2008 05:19 PM

You want riffs? Junior Brown's got riffs. FARK.com: Fark Video Player (3595642) Junior Brown can rock 05/12/2008 07:24 PM

Ozzy Osbourne › Crazy Train I accidentally cut the antenna lead on my satellite radio while I was load pallets into the back of my car. So, now, I'm left with terrestrial radio. Mostly, it's pretty bleak so I scan a lot stations. Last night, my meanderings brought me to WHJY 95.5 out of Providence. This Ozzy song caught my attention, but the banter between the DJ and sidekick was quite forgettable. 05/08/2008 06:57 AM

Hayes Carll - A Lover Like You It's got that jangly style of Dylan's Blonde on Blonde with the Austin, wise-guy redneck twang. 05/07/2008 09:16 AM

David Bromberg - Mr. Bojangles David Bromberg played guitar in Jerry Jeff Walker's band while Mr. Bojangles was JJW's big hit. (It was an even bigger hit for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.) IMO, Bromberg's version is much better, his voice cracking at all the right turns. 05/06/2008 04:00 PM

Riffs at the heart of our brains

The video clips don't always synch with the music, but, what the heck: MilkandCookies - Rock & Roll Riffs 1964 to 1975 05/05/2008 07:34 AM

The J-Walk Blog: Bush In Ads

How George Bush is pictured in foreign advertisements:

From The J-Walk Blog: Bush In Ads

My name is more popular than Elmer, but a long way from Jesus

Pop Culture Makes Mark on Social Security's Most Popular Baby Names List

Birdy, Birdy, In The Sky

In the early spring, I park my car under the maple tree at the top of our driveway. Until the leaves have filled out (which is a week or so away), the tree is an avian outhouse. My car looks, well, it looks like it's been sitting under a tree where dozens of birds hang out. When the leaves are fully grown, they catch those offerings.

Now I can identify the culprits. There's a book entitled “What Bird Did That?” Identify a bird by its poo!. I'd like to think that I have more of a life than one that would have me studying the droppings on my car's hood, but new knowledge about nature is rarely wasted.

A fine October day this middle of May

The wind is strong from the north and east and you can feel the chill from the ocean, even though we're lots of miles away. The sun wants to warm us, but the wind takes the warmth away. We didn't get the snow that was forecast for last night. The big storm swung to the south of us and out to sea.

We're in full bloom now around town. The lilacs are out, purple and white, although their scent is not yet awake. The lawns need mowing once a week.

Yesterday, we had our town election. There were just a few contested races and one question regarding a Prop 2 1/2 override. The override was to cover the cleanup of an oil spill at one of the former schools. It didn't pass and I'm not sure what that means. Probably, we'll have to pay for it out of general expenses.

Meanwhile, last week's Holden police log reported:

• Parent says 9-year old misbehaving, wants police to come
  
• Paxton PD requests contact with resident accused of throwing things from his motor vehicle in that town; mother contacted