The steadiness that is Gardner

One of the truly semi-interesting quirks of my town of birth, Gardner, is that, with the exception of 1980, the population has remained within 5% of 20,000 for 90 years. The 2010 census shows the Chair City with 20,770 residents , down 2.61% from 2000.  Back in 1980, there was an abrupt drop, to 17, 900, but it rebounded to 19,900 in the next decennial count. It's as though 2,000 people had decided to go for cigarettes in New Hampshire on census weekend.

A drive through my old town certainly shows a lot of changes. Each time I drive through the uptown common and see what had been LaGrassa's in the 70's, I ache a bit. Did you know that, in order to save time and money on mowing, the city installed artificial turf on the traffic islands at the rotary? We used to call LaGrassa's the Astro-Turf^® Lounge.
The many, many empty store fronts on Main and Parker streets, the rubble and hoped-for rebuilding of the third Heywood-Wakefield complex, all that suggests a city in trouble. And yet, people stay. Or, if they leave for cigarettes or because of cigarettes, others come and take their places.
It takes a lot of changes to stay the same.

The steadiness that is Gardner

One of the truly semi-interesting quirks of my town of birth, Gardner, is that, with the exception of 1980, the population has remained within 5% of 20,000 for 90 years. The 2010 census shows the Chair City with 20,770 residents , down 2.61% from 2000.  Back in 1980, there was an abrupt drop, to 17, 900, but it rebounded to 19,900 in the next decennial count. It's as though 2,000 people had decided to go for cigarettes in New Hampshire on census weekend.

A drive through my old town certainly shows a lot of changes. Each time I drive through the uptown common and see what had been LaGrassa's in the 70's, I ache a bit. Did you know that, in order to save time and money on mowing, the city installed artificial turf on the traffic islands at the rotary? We used to call LaGrassa's the Astro-Turf^® Lounge.
The many, many empty store fronts on Main and Parker streets, the rubble and hoped-for rebuilding of the third Heywood-Wakefield complex, all that suggests a city in trouble. And yet, people stay. Or, if they leave for cigarettes or because of cigarettes, others come and take their places.
It takes a lot of changes to stay the same.

Five grams of cocaine vs. a life

A couple of articles showed up in my Google Reader queue last night.

Yes, I know that the facts of each case are quite different. Sentencing serves a multiplex of purposes related to the crime and the offender, including the defender's likeliness to re-offend. Sentencing is also illustrative, designed to show other individuals what might happen as the result of certain actions or patterns of actions or even the company you keep.
I certainly don't claim to know what's fair here. Would it be better on any scale of justice to have the sentences swapped, the drug dealer getting probation while the driver goes to jail? Hardly. I may not have the answers, but I am discouraged that a system filled with many people a lot smarter than me doesn't seem to have an answer, either.
All that said, in one case, a guy is going to jail for the possession (with intent to sell) of five grams of cocaine. The other is going home after being found directly responsible for the death of another person.

Five grams of cocaine vs. a life

A couple of articles showed up in my Google Reader queue last night.

Yes, I know that the facts of each case are quite different. Sentencing serves a multiplex of purposes related to the crime and the offender, including the defender's likeliness to re-offend. Sentencing is also illustrative, designed to show other individuals what might happen as the result of certain actions or patterns of actions or even the company you keep.
I certainly don't claim to know what's fair here. Would it be better on any scale of justice to have the sentences swapped, the drug dealer getting probation while the driver goes to jail? Hardly. I may not have the answers, but I am discouraged that a system filled with many people a lot smarter than me doesn't seem to have an answer, either.
All that said, in one case, a guy is going to jail for the possession (with intent to sell) of five grams of cocaine. The other is going home after being found directly responsible for the death of another person.

Sprung forward

OK, yeah, we got snow on the first full day of spring and the forecasters are suggesting that there might be some more tomorrow. We also set our clocks ahead an hour last week, way too soon if you ask me (which no one ever does). The Easter candy has been in the stores since the day after Valentine's Day. Big retailers have had their spring clothes for months already. Palettes of bags of mulch are stacked high at the home and garden centers. I get it. We want it to be spring, but nature has other ideas.

As you may recall, I'm taking courses at Mt. Wachusett Community College and plan to graduate in May with a degree in paralegal studies. A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from the college, affectionately address to Current Resident or me, indicating that graduation is coming up.
Then, last Thursday, I received a letter that affectionately informed me that I was 24 credit hours short of the requirements for graduation. My professor assured me that all was in order, that, each year, four or five students with, um, non-traditional academic records are tripped up by the automated system that evaluated transcripts.
Assuming, then, that I get to graduate, it's time to be thinking about what's next. I watch the job listings to gauge the job market. It seems encouraging. Companies are posting jobs, often on Craig's List and other free outlets.
Just yesterday, for example, a couple of weeks ago, there was a listing for a ""STYLIST"" (note the double double-quotes). If a job listing could wink, this is the way that it would do it.
Another writing job ad said "We need someone fast and efficient who understands keyword density and the importance of quality content in search engine ranking." In all my years of writing, no one, neither my great fans nor fierce critics, have commented on my keyword density, so I honestly don't know if I'm qualified or not. I'll have another look in a month or so.
I would like something in my field of study. I've had conversations with attorneys, IT managers, and others as I look for a job that combines my legal studies with my interests in technology.
While waiting for those gentle breezes of spring, I've plenty to do. This has been a busy stretch and remains so. Each day is quite different from the last one. Time was, there was nothing going on and the forecast was for more of the same. Now, it's the challenge of abundance that fills each day. This challenge, friends, is a very good problem to have.
I've taught one class on social networking and am teaching another on intellectual property (non-credit, both).
I gave a brief biographical background at the start of the course on social networking. One student asked, "Do you know what you want to do when you grow up/"
"This," I said. For all of the values of this that you and I can imagine.

Sprung forward

OK, yeah, we got snow on the first full day of spring and the forecasters are suggesting that there might be some more tomorrow. We also set our clocks ahead an hour last week, way too soon if you ask me (which no one ever does). The Easter candy has been in the stores since the day after Valentine's Day. Big retailers have had their spring clothes for months already. Palettes of bags of mulch are stacked high at the home and garden centers. I get it. We want it to be spring, but nature has other ideas.

As you may recall, I'm taking courses at Mt. Wachusett Community College and plan to graduate in May with a degree in paralegal studies. A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from the college, affectionately address to Current Resident or me, indicating that graduation is coming up.
Then, last Thursday, I received a letter that affectionately informed me that I was 24 credit hours short of the requirements for graduation. My professor assured me that all was in order, that, each year, four or five students with, um, non-traditional academic records are tripped up by the automated system that evaluated transcripts.
Assuming, then, that I get to graduate, it's time to be thinking about what's next. I watch the job listings to gauge the job market. It seems encouraging. Companies are posting jobs, often on Craig's List and other free outlets.
Just yesterday, for example, a couple of weeks ago, there was a listing for a ""STYLIST"" (note the double double-quotes). If a job listing could wink, this is the way that it would do it.
Another writing job ad said "We need someone fast and efficient who understands keyword density and the importance of quality content in search engine ranking." In all my years of writing, no one, neither my great fans nor fierce critics, have commented on my keyword density, so I honestly don't know if I'm qualified or not. I'll have another look in a month or so.
I would like something in my field of study. I've had conversations with attorneys, IT managers, and others as I look for a job that combines my legal studies with my interests in technology.
While waiting for those gentle breezes of spring, I've plenty to do. This has been a busy stretch and remains so. Each day is quite different from the last one. Time was, there was nothing going on and the forecast was for more of the same. Now, it's the challenge of abundance that fills each day. This challenge, friends, is a very good problem to have.
I've taught one class on social networking and am teaching another on intellectual property (non-credit, both).
I gave a brief biographical background at the start of the course on social networking. One student asked, "Do you know what you want to do when you grow up/"
"This," I said. For all of the values of this that you and I can imagine.