This coming weekend, you can take a bus tour with a local real estate agent to look at foreclosed properties in the Worcester area.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
set mode=vulture
This coming weekend, you can take a bus tour with a local real estate agent to look at foreclosed properties in the Worcester area.
Dental Dept., redux
In the continuing discussion with friend eba regarding teeth, I discovered that one of my crowns has developed a fault line. I have a previously scheduled appointment with my dentist later this month; we'll decide at that point whether he'll be able to get the new navigation system on his boat this year or not.
The father of a friend of my father went to the dentist and learned that he'd need dentures. In order to get the denture, all of the guy's remaining teeth would have to be pulled. This was in the 1930s or so (as the story goes) and would have cost perhaps two hundred bucks. That seemed like a lot to the old Finn. So, he went home, got a bottle of whiskey, a pair of pliers, and a bucket. He'd take a swig of whiskey, pull a tooth, and spit the blood into the bucket. By the end of the day, he'd pulled all of his teeth.
This news story from the UK shows that DIY dentistry is still going on.
The father of a friend of my father went to the dentist and learned that he'd need dentures. In order to get the denture, all of the guy's remaining teeth would have to be pulled. This was in the 1930s or so (as the story goes) and would have cost perhaps two hundred bucks. That seemed like a lot to the old Finn. So, he went home, got a bottle of whiskey, a pair of pliers, and a bucket. He'd take a swig of whiskey, pull a tooth, and spit the blood into the bucket. By the end of the day, he'd pulled all of his teeth.
This news story from the UK shows that DIY dentistry is still going on.
Friday, April 04, 2008
The Night James Brown Saved Boston
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated 40 years ago today. Because of the work of several courageous and clever people, Boston avoided most of the rioting that overwhelmed most major cities. Boston's only black city councilor, Tom Atkins, and Kevin White, mayor, arranged to have the April 5 James Brown concert broadcast on the city's public broadcasting station, Channel 2, WGBH. The streets were quiet that night as thousands stayed home to watch the show.
VH1 will broadcast a documentary about the events around and on that night. See Rock Docs : The Night James Brown Saved Boston for more info. WGBH's Greater Boston had a story about the movie and the night. VH1 will release the movie, along with WGHB's concert footage, on DVD.
VH1 will broadcast a documentary about the events around and on that night. See Rock Docs : The Night James Brown Saved Boston for more info. WGBH's Greater Boston had a story about the movie and the night. VH1 will release the movie, along with WGHB's concert footage, on DVD.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
No benefit in drinking eight glasses of water a day, scientists say - Telegraph
A key part of the weight-loss canon is that we should drink a half gallon/two liters of water per day to flush the system and make us feel full. It's interesting to learn, then that scientists have not determined the benefit in drinking eight glasses of water a day.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Why people hate computers and cell phones
I've been trying to transfer a couple of pictures from Sandra's phone to our home computer using Bluetooth. Following what I believe are the proper instructions, I received the following message:
Tooth Regeneration May Replace Drill-and-Fill
Friend eba has offered several reports about her and her husband's dental experiences of late. Thus far, dentists are still making their boat payments by using mechanical means for repairing teeth - drills, filling, crowns, and implants. Some new techniques, still in the research and testing phases, may allow our teeth to regenerate themselves. The new procedures still require intervention by dentists, so they'll still be able to afford their Rolex watches.
This, by the way, is one of my Pearly Gate questions: why don't human teeth automatically repair themselves? The teeth in some animals, such as chipmunks and squirrels, keep growing, so the animals must eat hard food to wear down their teeth. We humans, however, get two sets of teeth. The first jettisons itself fairly easily. The second, so-called permanent set, crumbles and fails over the next three or four score years, bringing us pain and an increasing reliance on soft foods. What evolutionary (or creation-scientific) advantage does this dental design bring?
This, by the way, is one of my Pearly Gate questions: why don't human teeth automatically repair themselves? The teeth in some animals, such as chipmunks and squirrels, keep growing, so the animals must eat hard food to wear down their teeth. We humans, however, get two sets of teeth. The first jettisons itself fairly easily. The second, so-called permanent set, crumbles and fails over the next three or four score years, bringing us pain and an increasing reliance on soft foods. What evolutionary (or creation-scientific) advantage does this dental design bring?
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
This week's RoasterBoy playlist
Benny Goodman - Sing, Sing, Sing (with a swing) |
| This one is always on any of my lists of best song/recording ever. 04/01/2008 04:18 PM |
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Gnarls Barkley - Who's gonna save my soul |
| Modern R&B with a classic Al Green feel. 03/27/2008 01:39 PM |
Last lumps of winter
The woods still have big patches of snow and ice, but our yard has turn the corner to spring. 
According to the weather forecast, we might get some snow on Friday, but the ground is getting too warm to let the snow stay for very long.
Sandra and I have had a nickel bet for a month or so. I wagered that the pile of snow on our back deck would still be here on April 1st; she believed that it would be gone.
Had we closed the wager this morning, I would have won. A day of 60 degree weather, however, ate through the snow like Marley through his breakfast.
This is Post #800. We're coming up on four years in a couple of weeks.
According to the weather forecast, we might get some snow on Friday, but the ground is getting too warm to let the snow stay for very long.Sandra and I have had a nickel bet for a month or so. I wagered that the pile of snow on our back deck would still be here on April 1st; she believed that it would be gone.
Had we closed the wager this morning, I would have won. A day of 60 degree weather, however, ate through the snow like Marley through his breakfast.
This is Post #800. We're coming up on four years in a couple of weeks.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Vernal suburbia
A pair of robins have been hanging around on Holden Street, midway between Shrewsbury Street and the Worcester line, for more than a week. This weekend, we saw a robin in our yard, a half-mile north. The rest of the gang, the grackles and blackbirds and cardinals and mourning doves, are eating voraciously at our feeders. If I kept the feeders full, I bet they would go through 50 pounds in a week.
We're seeing the first noses of crocuses and poppies where the sun has warmed the earth. There are still patches of snow around the yard. The ponds are trying to melt by day, but the freezing temperatures overnight put a fresh, thin coating of ice on the open water. The ice is too thin to support the Canada geese, but the smaller ducks can sit comfortably, if you call sitting on ice comfortable.
So, we're ready for spring, ready to get going on the yard work and living outdoors and all that. Last night, I cooked (or, rather, undercooked) supper on the gas grill on the back deck. Today, March is going out like a lamb, if you call snow and cold wind lamb-like.
We're seeing the first noses of crocuses and poppies where the sun has warmed the earth. There are still patches of snow around the yard. The ponds are trying to melt by day, but the freezing temperatures overnight put a fresh, thin coating of ice on the open water. The ice is too thin to support the Canada geese, but the smaller ducks can sit comfortably, if you call sitting on ice comfortable.
So, we're ready for spring, ready to get going on the yard work and living outdoors and all that. Last night, I cooked (or, rather, undercooked) supper on the gas grill on the back deck. Today, March is going out like a lamb, if you call snow and cold wind lamb-like.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The state of the retail economy
This article, Penney’s Warning Adds to Retail Gloom, from yesterday's New York Times, is the latest in a relentless parade of news stories about our troubled economy. When we walk through midrange or upscale malls, the dispirited atmosphere is too much to take. If it was not for the teenagers, preening and parading, there'd be no energy at all in these joyless caverns.
The business articles have a lot to say about demographics, marketing programs, and earnings-per-share. What the articles don't say, however, is that, in store after store, pretty much all that they have to sell is crap. If you took down the signs over each doorway, I doubt that your typical shopper could tell which store you're in. The clothing and housewares in Penney's is nearly the same as in Sears. You've got three stores specializing in sneakers, but the department stores have sneakers, too. Chico's, Coldwater Creek, Express, and The Limited are, imo, indistinguishable. I believe that a third to a half of the stores could go under and few people would notice. We'd notice the empty storefronts, but we wouldn't feel pinched by reduced choices.
So, here's a tip for American retailers, sell good stuff at a decent price or close up shop and do something else.
You know, it used to be that we'd measure the health of the American economy by what we produced -first the Gross National Product, now called the Gross Domestic Product. Now, our excitement is about how much we can spend. What's the bellwether of the economy? Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when we show the world how insane we are about our shopping. If we're not good shoppers, we'll all be sad when Baby Jesus comes on Christmas Day. I'm sure that Baby Jesus will be sad alright, but not for the reasons that we think.
The business articles have a lot to say about demographics, marketing programs, and earnings-per-share. What the articles don't say, however, is that, in store after store, pretty much all that they have to sell is crap. If you took down the signs over each doorway, I doubt that your typical shopper could tell which store you're in. The clothing and housewares in Penney's is nearly the same as in Sears. You've got three stores specializing in sneakers, but the department stores have sneakers, too. Chico's, Coldwater Creek, Express, and The Limited are, imo, indistinguishable. I believe that a third to a half of the stores could go under and few people would notice. We'd notice the empty storefronts, but we wouldn't feel pinched by reduced choices.
So, here's a tip for American retailers, sell good stuff at a decent price or close up shop and do something else.
You know, it used to be that we'd measure the health of the American economy by what we produced -first the Gross National Product, now called the Gross Domestic Product. Now, our excitement is about how much we can spend. What's the bellwether of the economy? Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when we show the world how insane we are about our shopping. If we're not good shoppers, we'll all be sad when Baby Jesus comes on Christmas Day. I'm sure that Baby Jesus will be sad alright, but not for the reasons that we think.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
What the Web brings to news
we were quite surprised to hear the radio news yesterday. The lead story was about the tractor-trailer that that flipped over in Chicopee (MassLive.com). It's rare to have a Boston station carry a story, let alone lead with one, that comes in from west of 128.
The newspapers and broadcast outlets got the basics just about the same - how this truck driver swerved to avoid a car that had stalled on the highway, how the gasoline and diesel fuel exploded, the heroics of a passer-by who helped the truck drive escape, the mixed safety record of the trucking company. Overall, it was a scary story that could have been even more tragic.
The worldwide web, in the meantime, finds additional, different ways of looking at tragedy. For example, there is a site called truckspills.com that focuses on the weird and varied stuff that trucks have spilled as the result of accidents.
Then, there's the granddaddy of them all, Bus Plunge.It's been around since the start of the decade and brings gripping and grim tales of buses going off of the sides of roads.It's what the web does best - bring you answers to questions that you didn't know you are too embarrassed to ask.
The newspapers and broadcast outlets got the basics just about the same - how this truck driver swerved to avoid a car that had stalled on the highway, how the gasoline and diesel fuel exploded, the heroics of a passer-by who helped the truck drive escape, the mixed safety record of the trucking company. Overall, it was a scary story that could have been even more tragic.
The worldwide web, in the meantime, finds additional, different ways of looking at tragedy. For example, there is a site called truckspills.com that focuses on the weird and varied stuff that trucks have spilled as the result of accidents.
Then, there's the granddaddy of them all, Bus Plunge.It's been around since the start of the decade and brings gripping and grim tales of buses going off of the sides of roads.It's what the web does best - bring you answers to questions that you didn't know you are too embarrassed to ask.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Families are wonderful, for most folks
Sometimes, a family is just too much:
And, you can never trust those realetors.
And, you can never trust those realetors.
What kind of thinker are you?
Your Thinking is Abstract and Random |
 You are flexible, adaptable, and creative. There's many ways that you can learn - and you're up for any of them. You relate well to other people, and you do well working in groups. You can help people communicate together and work with each other's strengths. You don't work well with people who are competitive or adversarial. You prefer to work toward a common goal... not toward conflicting goals. |
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A walk through suburbia
It's not as serious as dodging sniper fire on the tarmac in Bosnia, but these suburban roadway present their own hazards. Many of the roads don't have sidewalks and can be quite narrow, particularly when SUVs in a hurry are taking up both lanes. Fortunately, the snow banks have melted away, so Marley and I can step into the safety of someone's muddy lawn.
Although most people associate Holden with the land of mega-houses, there are a lot of five-, four-, and even three-room houses nestled along the older side streets, houses built 50 to 75 years ago on a quarter-acre tucked into what had been woods. These houses don't always age well. They weren't built with the best of materials or by the best carpenters. Nevertheless, they were and are someone's home.
Yesterday, as Sandra, Marley, and I walked to the Worcester line, two large shadows passed over us, blocking the noon sun. Two hawks were flying low, looking for lunch.
Although most people associate Holden with the land of mega-houses, there are a lot of five-, four-, and even three-room houses nestled along the older side streets, houses built 50 to 75 years ago on a quarter-acre tucked into what had been woods. These houses don't always age well. They weren't built with the best of materials or by the best carpenters. Nevertheless, they were and are someone's home.Yesterday, as Sandra, Marley, and I walked to the Worcester line, two large shadows passed over us, blocking the noon sun. Two hawks were flying low, looking for lunch.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
T&G - Arrest made in church vandalism
Last week, someone painted anti-Christian and other not-nice graffiti on churches in Phillipston and Gardner. The suspect turned himself in yesterday. What I found most interesting in the story, Worcester Telegram & Gazette News: "Arrest made in church vandalism," is that the reporter used the suspect's MySpace info (NSFW).
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
This week's RoasterBoy playlist
- Electric Flag - Another Country (Tuesday, Mar 25 at 08:37 PM GMT)As with so many talented folks, Mike Bloomfield died too young, died of just too much of too much. He founded the Electric Flag after leaving the Butterfield band in 1968. The one album, A Long Time Comin', had rich talent - Nick Gravenites, Buddy Miles, Harvey Brooks - and laid out a rich set of complex tunes with amazing blues threads holding it all together. The sweetness of Easy Rider sits up there with Peter Green's Albatross in my blues licks hall of fame.
- Wormtown Underground Radio Network (Monday, Mar 24 at 07:29 PM GMT)Wormtown Underground Radio Network
BTW: This was post #100 on the Playlist.- 3 Mustaphas 3 - Soba Song (Monday, Mar 24 at 06:59 PM GMT)
Let's see, we have a west Texas swing song extolling the virtues of a Japanese noodle soup, modulo some klezmer and middle Eastern woodwinds. It's like tuning into four or five radio stations at once. - 3 Mustaphas 3 - Soba Song (Monday, Mar 24 at 06:59 PM GMT)
A great big bucket of "It ain't fair!"
[Update 3/25/08: Smokey passed at home away this afternoon.]
M&L's cat, Smokey, has been losing weight for a while and has shown little interest in eating, even the good stuff. I brought him to the vet on Friday and today received the results of the blood tests. In brief, his body isn't producing any new red blood cells even as it destroys the ones that he has. It sounds like cancer in the bone marrow.
We concluded that the best thing to do is nothing, except to try to keep him comfortable. He doesn't seem to be in any pain. He's lethargic and, as mentioned, has little interest in eating. At yesterday's Easter gathering, he just wanted to sit on the carpet in the middle of everything. We'd move him out of the way and he'd come back to the same spot.
Smokester is the mellowest cat I've known, particularly for being an outdoor cat. He'll spend a day in the woods hunting and then come home to be carried around like towel in a family of six kids.
The real kicker is that Smokey and Tess are just about the same age, a few weeks apart. They got Smokey shortly after Tess was born. They've grown up together. Tess will have go on without him. Ouch.
M&L's cat, Smokey, has been losing weight for a while and has shown little interest in eating, even the good stuff. I brought him to the vet on Friday and today received the results of the blood tests. In brief, his body isn't producing any new red blood cells even as it destroys the ones that he has. It sounds like cancer in the bone marrow.
We concluded that the best thing to do is nothing, except to try to keep him comfortable. He doesn't seem to be in any pain. He's lethargic and, as mentioned, has little interest in eating. At yesterday's Easter gathering, he just wanted to sit on the carpet in the middle of everything. We'd move him out of the way and he'd come back to the same spot.
Smokester is the mellowest cat I've known, particularly for being an outdoor cat. He'll spend a day in the woods hunting and then come home to be carried around like towel in a family of six kids.
The real kicker is that Smokey and Tess are just about the same age, a few weeks apart. They got Smokey shortly after Tess was born. They've grown up together. Tess will have go on without him. Ouch.
Monday, March 24, 2008
No late-night radio, eh?
I've had satellite radio (Sirius) in my car for the past couple of years and so don't listen to AM or FM much at all. Occasionally, I check the local news or traffic reports, but that's about it. Time was, however, when I'd listen to lots of different radio stations. One in particular, CBAM, the CBC Radio One station out of Moncton NB, delivered a powerful signal after dark. When commuting home during the winter months, I'd get to listen to the CBC news The World at Six and As It Happens.
CBAM-AM is going off the air in early April. The locals have a high-powered FM station, giving them a better signal all day long. And, the CBC national feed is available on Sirius.
One less AM station to bounce off of the night-time sky.
CBAM-AM is going off the air in early April. The locals have a high-powered FM station, giving them a better signal all day long. And, the CBC national feed is available on Sirius.
One less AM station to bounce off of the night-time sky.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter for many, but not all, Christians
Bronislaus Kush wrote a very interesting and informative piece, Split in churches rises with Easter, about the differences between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Most notable today is that the western churches, including the Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations, are observing Easter today. The eastern churches use a different calendar and different method for calculating the date of this movable feast; they will observe Easter in about five weeks.There are also many profound differences between the east and west, divisions that stretch back through more than three-quarters of the Christian era. This includes the primacy of the bishop of Rome, the role of the national churches, and many details in the Mass itself.
Because most American Christians are affiliated with the western churches, today is our day for sunrise services, chocolate rabbits, and Peeps.
[Update: Here's some more info about how the Easter date is calculated (for the western churches) from God Plays Dice: Easter's early this year. Deal with it.
Along the lines of the questions regarding the historical churches, I have a couple of questions that I hope some reader might be able to answer:
- Why do many Protestant churches (Anglican/Episcopal and Methodist notably) refer to various saints who were elevated before the Reformation?
- Have the Anglicans, or other churches, for that matter, elevated any new saints?
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