American Craft Beer Festival

Just when I'm flat out of things to say, I have a full day like I did on Saturday.

I have resolved that whenever I'm feeling a bit of a lull, I need to grab a camera. Photos tell stories.

After a long morning walk with Rosie, and a long walk through the city during the afternoon, I was a bit spent and dehydrated. What a perfect physical state for a Beer Festival!

Beer Advocate's 2008 American Craft Beer Festival had its final of three sessions at the Seaport's World Trade Center, a building I had never entered. $40 landed me a plastic tasting glass, and full access to hundreds of interesting beers.

I had the schedule planned out, wanting to maximize efficiency. 3.5 hours, one 2 oz drink every 5 minutes = 84 oz of beer = 7 bottles. I figure 7 bottles of boring beer at a nearby bar would have cost over $40 with tips, so it justified the expense on a purely cost per fluid ounce basis.

So, I'm getting a bit jittery when we elect to pregame at the bar next door, ambling over to what has now become an incredibly long line. After 25 minutes in the queue, we're finally inside around 6:30, throwing off all of my calculations.

Nevertheless, it was time to dust myself off and begin drinking.

The beauty of the glass we received was that the 2 oz line was somewhere in the middle of the vessel. I'd say the average portion we received was 2.5-3 oz.

Since I have been on an IPA kick of late, I would estimate that 75% of what I tasted were IPA's and Pale Ales. Most of my decisions were made by simply figuring out what brewer's line I was standing in, finding them in the guide pamphlet, and picking their pale ale. Not much of a science to it.

Most off-the-shelf standard beers have alcohol contents in the 4.5-6% range.

I do recall many of the beers I tasted had alcohol contents in the double digits.

As expected, small portions of beer add up, especially when many are 11% booze. While my camera on hand was the pocket Sony without the auto-shake protection, I think the out-of-focusness of the shots complemented our inebriated states come 8pm.

Overall, what a cool event! I'd do this again next year in a heartbeat.

My Boring Blog

Last night, Jamen commented that this blog has become boring.

I admit it, I haven't had all that much to say recently. Nothing snarky, nothing observant, nothing nasty, no veto list additions, no more Southie turkeys, no more phone books, no irritating bicyclists, and no travel stories.

It has been a bit of a lull, hence photos of large radishes.

With routine comes predictability. My life lately has been far more routine that in any time in the recent past.

Drives to the office are generally uneventful (less an overturned truck hauling gravel). Stories of what I do all day at work aren't too thrilling, as my day involves lots of spreadsheets, surveys, meetings, calls, and what might be classified as standard employment activities (plus, I make a conscious effort not to write anything inappropriate on here about my job or co-workers - that would be unnecessary and unwise).

But that brings me to a question posed by my friend Dan once on his far more entertaining blog Surgical Strikes - just who exactly do I blog for?

As much as I wish I could say I blog for myself, I no longer do. Part of my enjoyment in keeping this site is seeing how others find it - links, searches, random people stumbling across it - and realizing that others indeed use Platinum Elite for entertainment and information.

Over time, with a large body of postings, more and more people land here. Google and Yahoo think my posts and photos are relevant to queries, because they send tons of people to the site. Perhaps there is useful info amidst my posts, shrouded in the form of my opinions and reader comments.

And while most recent posts might induce yawning, the beauty of maintaining a blog is that people land on past postings all the time. Just this morning, I approved two comments referencing my canceling XM Radio and the unrequested sugar in my Dunkin Donuts iced coffee.

So here's to my finding value in the mundane. It's now summertime. The livin's easy.

Huge Radish

Huge Radish, originally uploaded by southiejason.

Thursday is quickly becoming my favorite weekday.

Even more so than Friday.

Why?

Because Thursday is vegetable pickup day in Jamaica Plain. My box share at The Food Project is in week #3 right now, and every week keeps getting better. It's almost like a surprise each week (today I received their email describing the contents of the box before picking it up, unlike the past two weeks).

When I arrive home with my produce box each week, I simply have to taste a bit of everything. Much of it was harvested just hours before I sample it.

Today we received two enormous heads of Boston lettuce, a bunch of chard, more scallions than I know what to do with, a small summer squash, and these radishes.

One of them was simply the largest radish I have ever seen. While I realize that large radishes exist somewhere, none have ever appeared in my mini cello radish bags (that the produce snob in me can't bare to purchase now!)

While I was preparing my sauteed chard, scallions, and pac choi (an Asian green, good in stir-fry, and still fresh from last week's box), I munched on the Huge Radish, saving the radish greens for a salad tomorrow.

It was spicy, crunchy, and tender. All around, a delicious huge radish.

Funny how a box of locally grown produce can change my mood. Maybe it's psychological. Maybe I'm nuts. But it's certainly a check in the "good for you" column that I'm doing this.

Beacon Hill Brownstones

Beacon Hill Brownstones, originally uploaded by southiejason.

I haven't had the chance to wander the city much recently. But when I do, I find so many great photo opportunities.

Take this shot of Beacon Hill brownstone residences. Along with European-esque narrow winding streets, this typifies what I expect to see in that neighborhood - black shutters, red doors, American flag, brownstones, iron fence, and green grass.

Celtics Win! Southie quiet.

I must admit - it's not every day that the Goodyear Blimp is flying over my head at 12:30 am during the final Rosie walk of the night.

But it's also not every day that the Celtics have such an amazing field goal percentage and win a Championship in decisive fashion. Good for them. Yes, I even watched the game.

It's nice to see the photos on boston.com - fans celebrating in bars, on the streets, and by tipping over flower planters (?!)

Here in Southie, it was eerie. Way too quiet for a city with yet another championship victory. I remember people screaming and cars blaring their horns down my street when both the Sox and Pats won, and figured the Southie faithful wouldn't disappoint.

Perhaps we're expecting wins too readily? Or, perhaps in being a Tuesday night at midnight, people were just ready for bed.

Wet Dog and Sweet Coffee

Today, I drove to NY for a number of family obligations (I'm taking a personal day tomorrow as well).

This morning, I woke up to torrential rain during the time I needed to walk Rosie and load her into the car. Normally, I would have waited until the storm passed, but I had to hit the road by 9:30am. So, out we go, short leash and umbrella in hand, wearing my rain repellent coat.

Regardless of how much I attempted to keep the umbrella above Rosie, she still got soaked. Stupid me then loaded her right into the car after the walk rather than bringing her inside to towel off.

When dogs move from wet to no longer wet, what do they do? They shake out.

Inside of car is now soaked.

My jeans were also uncomfortably wet, so I locked her in the car, ran inside to change, and came back out to a car interior that was both humid and slightly pungent as the distinct smell of wet dog overpowered my air freshener.

Thankfully, Rosie seems to have overcome her aversion to my car, as she now freely hops up into it, and no longer drools uncontrollably.

Off we went.

I drove to the Dunkin Donuts drive thru, and ordered a #5 and coffee with just cream.

That's simply two things to remember. Arguably three.

#5

Coffee (which may or may not be understood)

Just Cream

I received my #5 and cup of coffee, eating the #5 first, and finally taking a sip of hot coffee around one of the Masspike toll plazas.

It had cream and sugar.

WHY does Dunkin Donuts assume everyone wants sugar in their coffee?

I don't. That's why I say "JUST CREAM"

And...upon hearing those words...how hard is it to deliver a coffee that doesn't have sugar?

I got over my sweet coffee, and focused on the drive.

The rains ceased around I-84 (but continued intermittently), Rosie was well-behaved, and we made it without stopping in around 3 hours and 15 minutes. Great time. The sun even emerged.

Note to Self, re: Baking

Remember...say it three times whenever you get the urge....

Just because you have an oven, doesn't mean you can bake
Just because you have an oven, doesn't mean you can bake
Just because you have an oven, doesn't mean you can bake

Cooking? No problem. Baking? Eh.

Somehow, I was able to make two pans of brownies that were done on the outside, but wet in the middle. I was told it had something to do with the pan I used (i.e. a disposable aluminum pan from the grocery store).

Nonetheless, they looked delicious. But just weren't done enough.

I tried putting one pan in Todd's oven last night, thinking they could finish cooking there...and they just wouldn't finish cooking.

For today's brownies, I cut out the middle and transferred that into a glass pan. The outside edge is done enough to not have to cook again.

But the middle...is being re-cooked now (can one re-cook a part of a pan of brownies??)

In the future, it's simple. I just need to remember this posting.

Cabinet Counter Top

The cabinet project continues. Yesterday, my granite counter top was installed.

I think it looks great!

The stone isn't a perfect match to the existing counter (it appears a touch darker), it's about 1/2 inch higher than the existing counter (because I had to install the cabinets atop the flooring, rather than install the flooring around the cabinets as the builders did), and the finished edge isn't 100% identical to the other counter top....but all very minor issues.

The vertical backsplash really illustrates the unevenness of the drywall. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the middle part of the wall is a good 1/2 inch from the granite!

So onward we go - next step is the slate tile, which should compensate for the bumpy wall (the tiles are, by design, of varying thicknesses). I would have ordered and received it by now, but ran into a couple snags at Tile Showcase.

1. They no longer carry the decorative trim that I need (so I have to hunt it down).
2. The staff there who helped me were unexpectedly unpleasant! Very strange. I literally walked into the Watertown showroom with a receipt from my last purchase there a few years ago, measurements of the cabinetry, and examples of what I needed to purchase.

Somehow during my brief visit there, I was referred to as "this guy" by the receptionist (minutes after giving her my name), given a calculator to calculate the square footage of the tile myself, and received an entirely unwelcoming vibe altogether. Very contrary to my last visit there in 2005. Perhaps I forgot to brush my teeth or something?

In all fairness, they did tell me who manufactured the line of trim that they no longer carried, and gave me their information to try to hunt down a local distributor.

So, I decided to try to seek out the trim line first and then figure out what to do with the tile. Ideally, I'd take my measly $200 tile order elsewhere, but that would require hunting down another local distributor of that same tile. A phone call to Tile Showcase would be much easier.

Cell Phone Popcorn

...I knew my mild head discomfort while using my Motorola Razr wasn't just me fabricating something. It is indeed frying my brain...

Ode to a Cheeto

O cheeto, how delicious you are
Your crunchy texture
Pleases my palette by far
Your artificial cheese flavor
Sets off my taste buds
You stick in my molars
Much better than fried spuds
Your orange coloring on my fingers
Reminds me of how much I love thee
As I type away on my keyboard
The aroma of your baggie
Sets my mind toward
My next date with you, o cheeto

Pick Up Your Trash, Losers

You know what, family of 10 picnicking on the grassy area across from Carson Beach on Sunday?

If you're going to f*@king come into Southie (welcome) and have a f*@king picnic, then bring your f*@king trash home after you're done.

Thank You.

My gasoline consumption

One of the joys of listening to NPR each morning is how they delivery the stark economic news every morning. It's not a "fair and biased" Fox News approach, nor an overly sensational in-your-face presentation of the major networks.

Each morning, they tell me that gas has reached a new record high, foreclosures are increasing, unemployment is up, and the dollar has lost value once again. Then, they follow their disappointing news with gentle acoustic music, lulling me into a sense of complacency.

But finally last night, NPR caused me to think - how much am I actually spending on gasoline for my very un-eco-friendly-yet-wholly-paid-off Jeep?

In 2007, I spent $1,749.68 at the pump. Yes, down to the penny, I am aware of my gas expenditure.

So far in 2008, with gas much more expensive, I spent $502.12 through May 14th, putting me on pace for $1,338.99 (not factoring in how gas for the remainder of the year will cost more than gas for the first part of the year). Even if gas increases another 20%, I can project my year-end bill to be $1,606.78.

Now, those projections aren't perfect, because they also assume consistent consumption throughout the year. Nonetheless, I'm not hoarding a secret stash of gas in my closet.

I'm just driving less. Fewer leisure trips outside of the city. Less business travel. Fewer tooling around to unnecessary places.

I feel better. Just a bit, but better.

While I realize that everything is connected, and that higher gas prices cause higher airline prices, higher delivery fees, higher costs of food, lower consumer confidence, etc, I am comforted to realize that my entire paycheck is not going into the hands of the Hess on Old Colony Ave.

Even if gas doubled from last year, factoring out all other cost increases and assuming my level of consumption last year, that would cost me an additional $1,749.68 per month, or about $145 extra per month.

I was beginning to wonder if it's time for a more efficient car if the payment was going to offset the fuel efficiency.

At this point, it doesn't appear that I need to trade in the Jeep. 64,000 miles, a bunch of fresh repairs to keep it rolling. And it's only the third car I have owned in my 17+ years of driving.

$145 extra per month would suck, but it's not utterly devastating to me. It is still unacceptable, and sets a dangerous precedent should this rate of increase endure for years to come, but it's not game-ending.

I'm much more fortunate than those who have longer commutes or spend their workdays in their vehicles.

Celtics Game 2 and Super Bowl redux

I must admit that I have nothing invested in the Celtics. Basketball just doesn't do it for me.

Sure, I can name a few of the star players. But that doesn't make me a fan.

Why bother watching a game when all of the excitement occurs in the final two minutes?

And even then, it's simply score, foul, free throws, score, foul, free throws - apply, lather, rinse, repeat if necessary.

Yawn.

I have, however, nothing against the Celtics. I believe I have been to as many Knicks games at MSG as I have Celtics games at the Garden, which would be exactly one game apiece.

But the fact that they are Boston's team is reason enough for me to be happy for them and the fans.

And as a sports fan, how could I not watch the prime time game last night, Game 2 of the Championship Series. I should want to be all over that one. We're definitely amidst a sports dynasty here in Boston, with the Sox and Pats having significantly contributed to the past six years of championships. And now, it's the Celtics' turn.

Is it fair to say that Boston has been the most successful U.S. sports city over the past six years? 3 Super Bowl wins, 2 World Series wins, and now this? There's a lot of cities with sports teams. Winning 5 of the 24 titles of the big four (yes hockey still counts) is a feat. If you consider Southern California as a whole, it appears that the Lakers, Angels, and Ducks have also combined for five recent victories.

So that's why I tuned in.

Only to realize that yes, I was correct. Basketball just doesn't do it for me.

After flipping to another program which will remain nameless (and would challenge my being male), I redeemed myself by surfing over to my DVR list and re-watching the final eight minutes of the Super Bowl. What a drive.

But then it was back to the game for the final few minutes. So I did see all of the excitement in the end, which simply proved my suggestion that the final two minutes are all I need to watch.

Cool It Now

Holy mother of God, it's hot outside. Even the beaches of Southie - which were packed yesterday - seems too uncomfortable of any endeavor today.

Rosie figured out that her strenuous job of laying on the deck causes heavy panting in this heat. She's returned to the comfort of central air.

We're enjoying a day catching up on the things that just kind of get away from us during a busy week - folding the laundry, bringing stuff downstairs to the basement, cooking for the week - menial, everyday things.

I also have a plan to immerse myself in Apple's iLife software suite which came with my MacBook Pro. I love the simpleness of their iWeb software, and am thinking that will suit me just well in creating a new website for my mother's artwork.

She doesn't need anything fancy, just an interesting business card, basically. Of course, I have more grandiose ideas of including a blog, links everywhere, and running Google AdWords - but that would require time and some work on her part. She's still in the checking email, sending the occasional IM, and playing Poppit on AOL Games.

The Food Project Boston

Back in April, I joined a CSA program called The Food Project.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and The Food Project is one of the local organizations that operates in this manner. The Food Project provides for many summer jobs for inner-city and suburban youth (teaming them up and having them work together). Plus, much of what they grow is donates to local food banks and hunger organizations. Their goals are quite admirable.

Food Project members purchase a "share" of the crops that they grow, and in turn, they distribute the crops weekly. I believe the rate this year was $425 for a weekly box of what appears to be 20-22 weeks of pickups. The box usually contains between 4 and 18 pounds of produce.

Yesterday was the very first produce pickup, an exciting day indeed. At the orientation, they described how the crop tended to become much larger as we moved further into the summer growing season, and that the first pickup might be quite small (like simply some greens).

So, on my way home from work, I'm half expecting to detour through the pickup spot in Jamaica Plain to pick up a box with a head of lettuce inside. No problem, I thought. Gets me into the routine of Thursday pickups, and it's still a head of lettuce.

I was quite surprised when the box contained two humongous heads of lettuce (one green, one red leaf), two parsnips, four small parsnips, and a full bag of baby spinach. Wow! And this is week #1?

I did not know what to expect when I joined, and my gut tells me that I am going to have an overabundance amount of locally-grown produce for the next five months!

This is also a good reminder that I need to buy a salad spinner.

The Circle of Life

On Monday, I worked from home (well, from home and from the waiting room at the Jeep dealership - the beauty of laptops and wireless cards).

When the weather is pleasant, I like to leave the door to my deck open so Rosie can wander in and out as she pleases. We're fortunate not to have many flying pests here in my part of Southie. Large house flies seem to be more common than mosquitoes.

With my door open and me seated at the kitchen table, I began to hear some loud, consistent squalking - a volume and cadence much different from birds happily chirping.

I walked over the the railing in time to see these birds, along with about eight others, flapping around nervously. What could be causing the ruckus, I thought?

I looked down onto the sidewalk, and up the same path that the Southie turkey trotted last week was a midnight black cat with an unlucky still-alive bird flapping around in its mouth. A perilous position, indeed.

The captured bird was letting out a high-pitched cry for help, and its buddies up above were screaming back at it. Poor guy. I wonder what he was saying.

I asked a friend if it was bad luck for a black cat with a still-alive bird in its mouth to have crossed my path.

His response? "Yes, for the bird."

Brilliant.

Random Sampling of Questions

In an effort to answer some of the world's questions that drove people to Platinum Elite, I thought I would post a random sampling of some of these questions and provide insightful answers or comments.

Q. HOW TO REUSE BEER CANS
A. SERIOUSLY?

Q. HOW TO USE A DRUM SANDER ON A DECK
A. KEEP IT MOVING, OTHERWISE IT MIGHT SAND RIGHT THROUGH THE FLOOR BOARDS

Q. IF DRIVING HOW MANY MILES FROM LONDON TO CROATIA
A. WOW, THAT'S QUITE A DRIVE!

Q. JONATHAN PAPELBON - RED SOX PITCHER WHO DOES A CRAZY CAJUN DANCE AT HOME PLATE
A. YEP, THAT'S HIM

Q. PAINT INSIDE DOORWAY WHICH COLOR
A. BLUE

Q. SANDWASH PAINT UNEVEN COAT HOW TO FIX
A. PAINT ANOTHER COAT

Q. TARGET STORE SOUTH BAY MALL SHOWER CURTAINS
A. TACKY

Q. WHAT CAN I DO IF MY ITUNES CARD WON'T REDEEM
A. YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK

Q. WHAT COLOR SHOULD I PAINT UPSTAIR WALLS
A. BLUE

Q. HOW DO I BECOME ELITE IN CONTINENTAL
A. FLY OFTEN

Q. HOW DO I GET BACK MY DEPOSIT ON PLASTIC SODA BOTTLE
A. RECYCLING MACHINES AT GROCERY STORES USUALLY DO THE TRICK

Q. HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE HARLINGEN
A. HAR-LIN-JIN

Q. HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE QDOBA
A. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO?

Q. HOW LONG ARE ITUNES CARD REDEEM CODES
A. NOT LONG ENOUGH. REDEEM THEM QUICKLY.

Q. HOW MANY CALORIES IN A GRANDE SOY LATTE FROM STARBUCKS-NO WHIP CREAM
A. FEWER THAN IN A BAG OF KETTLE CHIPS

Q. HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU RESUBMIT TO ISTOCKPHOTO BEFORE APPROVAL
A. I'M STILL NOT APPROVED!

Q. HOW MUCH ARE LUXURY BOXES AT GILLETTE STADIUM
A. QUITE EXPENSIVE

Q. ACCORDING TO THE TITLE OF A PLATINUM 1979 ALBUM, WHERE DID SUPERTRAMP EAT BREAKFAST
A. IN AMERICA

Q. CONTINENTAL ELITE BOARDING PASS WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE
A. SAME AS THE REGULAR ONE, WITH "ELITE ACCESS" WRITTEN ACROSS THE TOP

Q. CONTINENTAL PLATINUM HOW TO DO IT
A. 75,000 ELITE QUALIFYING MILES IN A CALENDAR YEAR

Q. GILLETTE STADIUM HOW TO AVOID ROUTE 1
A. GET AN HDTV

Q. GUITAR HERO 3 HOW TO ""BEAT TOM MORELLO" GUITAR BATTLE
A. SAVE UP YOUR SPECIAL ATTACKS, WAIT UNTIL THE MAIN SONG IS OVER, AND USE THEM REPEATEDLY DURING THE GUITAR SOLO PART

Q. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL ICE SHOW BOSTON, MA PROMO CODE
A. I HOPE YOU HAVE CHILDREN

Q. HOW CAN I FIGHT AMEX
A. YOU CAN'T. THEY WIN.

Q. HOW CAN I LISTEN TO WXRV ON MY MAC
A. NO IDEA. I CAN'T LISTEN TO THEM ON MY MAC EITHER

Q. HOW DID CHRIS BENOIT & HIS FAMILY DIE
A. CHRIS DID IT

Q. HOW MUCH DOES GOLD'S GYM IN SOUTHIE COST
A. $39/MONTH FOR ME

Q. HOW MUCH DOES PAINT COST?
A. $20-$30/GALLON

Q. HOW OFTEN DOES EXPRESSJET OVERBOOK
A. RARELY SINCE THEIR PLANES FLY PRETTY EMPTY

Q. HOW TO BECOME PLATINUM ELITE EASIEST
A. I'D SAY A BUNCH OF LONG-HAUL FLIGHTS WOULD DO IT

Q. HOW TO BUILD A MODEL AIRPLANE OUT OF SODA CANS
A. UM, SERIOUSLY?

Q. HOW TO FIX A BAD INTERIOR PAINT JOB
A. HIRE SOMEONE

Q. HOW TO GET YOUR PHOTO IN THE IMPROPER
A. YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE - I FAILED AT IT

Q. HOW TO HANG CABINETS
A. A COUPLE FRIENDS AND SOME CHINESE FOOD

Q. HOW TO MAKE CUPCAKE CAKES
A. BAKE TWO DOZEN CUPCAKES, START WITH A STABLE BASE, AND WORK UPWARD

Q. HOW TO MAKE SANDWASH PAINT
A. DON'T MAKE IT, BUY SANDWASH PAINT

Q. HOW TO READ EXPIRATION DATES ON MILLER LITE BEER CANS
A. IF YOU'RE READING DATES ON BEER CANS, YOU HAVEN'T DRUNK ENOUGH

Q. WHAT DO STUDENTS THINK OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY?
A. THEY SEEM TO LIKE IT. THERE ARE QUITE A LOT OF THEM, THOUGH.

Q. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR WINDSHIELDS BUSTED?
A. CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY

Q. WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ITUNES SONG CREDITS?
A. YOU DIDN'T USE THEM QUICKLY ENOUGH AND APPLE REPOSSESSED THEM

Q. WHAT IS A DOUBLE SOY LATTE
A. TWO SHOTS OF ESPRESSO AND STEAMED SOY MILK WITH FROTH

Q. WHAT IS SUMMER LENT
A. IT'S A SELF-IMPOSED PERIOD OF SACRIFICE FOR 40 DAYS DURING THE SUMMERTIME

Q. WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE QUANTITY OF TRASH IN BOSTON
A. PEOPLE NOT RECYCLING ENOUGH

Q. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE SONG THAT WAS PLAYED ON OCTOBER 21, 2007 AT THE END OF THE BROADCAST OF THE ALCS GAME ON FOX
A. I'M SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON, PERHAPS?

Q. WHAT IS THE THIRD LARGEST STATE IN THE US
A. I THINK IT'S CALIFORNIA

Q. WHAT PART OF SOUTHIE IS THE PLAYWRIGHT
A. ON EAST BROADWAY

Q. WHAT RHYMES WITH AUSTIN AND BOSTON
A. ACCOSTIN'

Q. WHAT STORE CARRIES BEHR PAINT IN DAVENPORT IOWA
A. HOME DEPOT

Q. WHEN DID THE HACKLEY SCHOOL HAVE A FIRE
A. 2007

Q. WHEN IS THE END OF LENT IN ITALY
A. EASTER SUNDAY SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT

Q. WHERE CAN I FIND A PINK ESCALADE LIMO IN MASSACHUSETTS?
A. NOW, WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ONE OF THOSE?

Q. WHERE CAN I FIND THE STARBUCKS DUBLIN CITY MUG?
A. ON THE EMERALD ISLE

Q. WHERE DID THE OLD WBOS 92.9 GO?
A. OUT TO PASTURE

Q. WHO IS IN CHARGE OF MARKETING
A. GOOGLE CONTROLS EVERYTHING

Q. WHY DO YOUR EARS ""POP"" WHEN U TRAVEL IN AN AIRPLANE OR DRIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS?
A. PRESSURE CHANGE

Q. WII TENNIS + PLATINUM + HOW MAN
A. STRAP IT ON YOUR WRIST AND SWING!

Posting #500

I started Platinum Elite on Wednesday, October 11th, 2006, and somehow found 500 things to say to 27,600 unique visitors, 7,867 of whom found something interesting enough to come back for more.

In the world of blogs, that's not a huge number of visitors. But it is flattering that people find value in what I write - whether it's informative or merely entertaining, thanks for dropping by.

I have learned a great deal about website analytics and blogging during the past eighteen months. Sometimes, I can just tell when a posting is going to generate comments or receive links (both of which I greatly appreciate).

Some of the keyword searches that landed people on Platinum Elite range from understandable (yellow pages, Continental, itunes) to absurd ("elite boobs", "hipster vs. scenester", "is prostitution legal in massachusetts?")

There's a ton of great and amusing questions that people asked in search engines, and somehow landed here. Before I post those, I wanted to reveal a Top 10 list of the most viewed postings..

1. Mi Barrio

No idea why this keeps getting hits. It's a simple satellite photo of my part of Southie, and one of the first postings on Platinum Elite. I can't figure why it keeps getting hits.

2. KZPS Dallas - Lone Star 92.5

I listened to this station a ton about a year ago, and found its mix of music so unique - classic rock, country, and Americana, all with a respectful presentation. I believe the station has since tweaked its format somewhat. For a while, Google indexed my posting very high when people searched on terms related the station's name that I picked up a bunch of Texan readers and commenters !

3. My Starbucks City Mugs

One of the most commented postings thus far as well. It appears that there are a bunch of us Starbucks City Mug collectors around the world. I even traded mugs with Olivia in Germany as a result!

4. Posting 200

The last time I paused for a recap.

5. Hollywood Overstaying its Welcome in Southie

My local rants seem to be favorites of Universal Hub and Bostonist, as they are both generous with links. Writing about parking in Southie is a layup - always easy to get people interested and/or riled up.

6. Yellow Book Shame On You

Perhaps the crowning moment of Platinum Elite. It's nice to see how this posting continued the momentum of other local initiatives. People commented, sites linked to the posting, Fox 25 interviewed me, and I met with a City Councilor, all about the unnecessary distribution of these gigantic eyesores. My unexpected invitation into the world of social consciousness.

7. Canceling My XM Radio

I don't believe it was difficult as it seems...but truthfully, I don't know yet. I need to see if they bill me for June, as they have emailed me confirmation of the cancellation yet my XM receiver still works.

8. What Did One Parking Meter Say to the Other?

A moment of levity - Cambridge parking meters face each other, whereas Boston meters face the same direction. After I looked at the photo, it just screamed of them talking to each other. Hence the post. And the 14 comments!

9. Even Dogs Can Get Shafted During Snow Parking

I laughed when I saw this, laughed again when I posted it, and still find it amusing. Quintessential shot of snow parking in Southie, using a large stuffed dog as a space saver.

10. Departing Cruise Ship

Of all the pictures I have taken and posted, this is not my favorite. I like it - great timing, OK shot - but it picked up a number of inbound links and caused it to become popular content.

Honorable Mention to..

11. Boston Idiots on Bicycles

I'm a bit surprised that this was as popular as it turned out to be. Not just here, but also on Universal Hub, which received some spirited comments about this topic.

There might be a few more self-promoting posts this week. We'll see. But here's to another 500 postings here on Platinum Elite. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say.

James Hook & Co.

James Hook & Co., originally uploaded by southiejason.

Just last Friday, after my first Southie turkey sighting (I have since seen the turkey two more times), we went to The Barking Crab for dinner. I brought my camera along and snapped some photos along the Waterfront.

One of those photos - this one - was of the James Hook & Co. building. I didn't know what this business did, but figured it had to do with seafood. I thought the crude signage and industrial feel made for a great photo composition.

Then, at work yesterday, Karin pointed out that the building caught fire and was destroyed. Such a shame.

It's difficult to predict fate. Just days after I took this photo on what appeared to be a typical Friday evening, the building is now gone.

My New Office

I had this odd illusion that today, the first day working from our new office in Braintree, I would be able to show up soon after the movers arrived with our stuff, sit at my new desk, fire up my laptop, and resume business as usual.

Instead, we arrived to an expansive new office in a beautiful complex, with freshly painted walls, and the old company's furniture neatly pushed to the center of each room.

See, we negotiated a deal with the old tenants to purchase their unwanted office furniture and possessions, which turned out to be practically everything.

The desks, bookcases, and cabinets are in usable condition. They're not new, they're not gross, but they are somewhere in between. Workable is the best way to describe everything.

But what amuses me is that our phone system hasn't been connected yet, nor our Internet, our authenticating server, and our office equipment.

Why did I assume that the infrastructure was going to be intact and ready-to-go?

Silly me!

The beauty of productivity in 2008 is that my laptop, cell phone, and wireless card are just about all I need to continue. A flat surface for my computer is also nice, but not necessary.

I'm not being critical about the situation. It's rather amusing to me.

Overall, the move is a good idea. More functional work space, a standard, usable environment, and I believe a shorter commute for me. This office is about 7 miles south of my home, pretty much a straight shot on I-93 to the South Shore Plaza exit.

It's a reverse commute that, barring accidents and unforeseen traffic, took me 13 minutes to drive from 6:12 to 6:25 this evening.

I have never made it back from Kenmore in 13 minutes.

Final Day in the Kenmore Office

Upon looking at my calendar again yesterday, I quickly realized that I was a day off. Perhaps it's the short week, or my general inability to keep days straight.

Today is our final day in the Kenmore office.

What I thought would be a victory lap around the Kenmore eateries this week has become a complete avoidance of them. Uburger, Boca Grande, Ankara Cafe - I think I've enjoyed my final Big Papi Burger, Chicken and Corn Tamales, and Chicken/Eggplant/Mozzarella/Red Pepper rollup at your respective establishments.

Yesterday, I went up to the Packard's Corner SuperCuts for likely my final haircut there (not because of their performance, but rather I can't see myself going out of the way to have my hair cut, and this ill now be out of my way).

Then, as usual, I hit up the Super 88 Food Court for lunch. I always love coming to this place - it's like a mini pan-Asian food court. Korean, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian - all present. I landed at Pho Viet once again, my favorite of the bunch, and ordered their Shrimp & Chicken Summer Rolls and Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with Vermicelli. I ate half of that for lunch, and the other half for dinner. If it wasn't so warm outside, I would have had a huge bowl of their delicious noodle soup.

The drive back to Kenmore, however, left much to be desired.

Comm Ave has become a war zone, scarred with orange barrels, potholes, and construction equipment. It's an eye sore, and has been for the entire two years I worked in Kenmore. Add that to the joke of a construction project that the city calls Kenmore Square, and you have a high-profile part of the city that has been unacceptable for so long.

If I went to Boston University and was in a 2-year Master's Program, my memory of the area surrounding my campus would be nothing but an eyesore and a headache. Way to leave some students such a distasteful image of Boston.

I will most certainly not miss this part of town.

20 minutes after navigating this nightmare, I was back at the office.

A midday drive from Packard's Corner to Kenmore should not take this long.

Final Tuesday in Kenmore

This is our final week in Kenmore, as our office is moving to the South Shore Plaza environs. I'm still unsure of the official address and whether or not it's technically in Braintree or Quincy. Nonetheless, it's south of here right near I-93, and I've been there once before.

Rather than fill this week with rants about the subtle nuances that made working in Kenmore irritating, perhaps I should remain on the optimistic and positive tip, and celebrate the unique elements that made working in a Kenmore-area brownstone a memorable experience.

Today - it's parking.

I have a love-hate relationship with parking here.

The hate component is far usurped by the love element.

Hate because when everyone is here in the office, we're stuffed in tandem spots, and often playing musical cars if people have to escape early or head somewhere midday.

Love because, well, there's free parking for us a block from Kenmore Square.

The trip via the T entails either a 15 minute walk to the red line, boarding an already stuffed train, transferring to the Green line, and arriving at work having stood for about 50 minutes straight, likely an uncomfortable, sweaty mess, or catching a bus to the red line and following the aforementioned process (substituting a 15 minute walk for a 5 minute wait for the bus). Having a parking spot here allows me to dump my car somewhere for free after a 15-25 minute drive in comfort.

It's also nice to know the building owners, and have somewhere to park for Red Sox games or evenings out in the area, not to mention my Spanish classes at Boston Language Institute if I resume those this year.

While I won't assume anything, I have a feeling that given my history with the building owners, I can probably continue parking here in the future.

Photos from Earth Day Concert 2008

I went to the Earth Day concert today. Along with the beautiful weather and great music from The BoDeans, The English Beat, Cracker, and Cake, I spent much of my time taking pictures of random people around me.

No, YOU da man















Skanking to The English Beat
















The only other guy around me singing along to "Teen Angst" by Cracker, a song released in 1992.

I am currently 33 years old. This guy looks much older.

Do I really have more in common with him than with the legions of other 20 and 30-somethings at the show?








Hey, yo...yo, hey I don't know what to say. The chicks dig me.
















More unbridled dancing to The English Beat
















Does anyone know why a police officer caused Cracker to stop mid-song? There was some conversation, and then Cracker resumed with another song. Strange.

The Southie Turkey in Photos

Finally.

Turkey Photos from my street.

I was with Karin yesterday, and on the way from her home inspection to meeting the rest of our group at The Barking Crab, I had to go home and take Rosie out for a walk.

My first attempt at parallel parking was thwarted by a turkey in the parking spot.

Of course, now I'm all excited to grab my camera and catch the turkey in photos. It's not often you see a bird walking around Southie that's taller than toddlers.

We go inside, grab Rosie and my camera, and go turkey hunting.

Walk up to E. 7th St, and I see a lady staring eastward at nothing in particular.

"Did you see the turkey?" I shouted?

"Yeah, it went down H St."

We scurry over to H and look north to find nothing.

When I turned around to look southward, I saw many people mulling around. Some had cameras. Some were just gawking. Moments later, all of the patrons from the pub on the corner flooded out the door and occupied the sidewalk.

There it was. The turkey.

I've never seen anything like this. Not just a large wild bird in an urban environment. But simply the amount of people and cars who stopped what they were doing simply to point, photograph, and gawk at this turkey.

When Rosie finally got an up-close look at the turkey, her immediate impulse was to pull violently toward it. I'm not sure if she was going to chase it, as she seems to do with most birds, or if she wanted to sniff its butt, as she seems to do with most dogs.

Memorial Day Weekend

Here it is, Memorial Day weekend, with Monday being our first official weekday off since New Year's Day. MLK...Patriot's Day...Presidents' Day - all work days for us where I work.

One year ago today, Brian and I woke up in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and later in the day made it to the end of the Great River Road in Louisiana.

For some reason, I had it in my mind that the GRR Trip began this weekend last year, and was going to post about today being the one year anniversary of the trip's beginning. But just as I was posting about that, it occurred to me that this weekend marked the trip's end, and one year ago we spent the weekend in New Orleans.

I remember thinking how our planning of the trip coincided poorly with the high gas prices of last summer. It's hard to believe that they are even higher this year.

So this weekend, I'm looking forward to spending time here in Boston, and most likely outside, as the weather here is supposed to be terrific.

Karin has a home inspection today at 4PM, and she asked me to join her, since it's right down the street from me AND the perfect excuse to get a jump on the holiday weekend.

My plan on Saturday is to hit up the Earth Day concert tomorrow at the Hatch Shell. Even though I posted about the poor decision to change the old WBOS to the "Radio 92.9" that's on right now, I think they were smart to hang on to the Earth Day concert, and they put together a lineup this year that looks great - Cake, Cracker, The BoDeans, and English Beat (or, as Ryan calls it, "an extremely boring afternoon of sitting on the ground listening to bands that were popular in the 90’s.") Needless to say, he's not coming.

Guest Blog - Anti-American Airlines

Today, I turn over Platinum Elite to Ryan (he's blogless, otherwise I would link to his). Ryan has much to say about American Airlines' most recent checked-bag fees...
_______________________

The start of this guest blog on Platinum Elite began as a rant about how ridiculous American Airlines is to actually charge $15 to check a customers’ FIRST bag (both ways by the way. For the details click here.

After doing some research my anger towards AA turned more into confusion.

According to their 2007 Annual Report, the AMR Corporation (the company that owns American Airlines) reported a Net Profit of $504 million. This was an increase of $273 million from their prior year’s profits. Yet despite what most companies would consider a stellar year, I thought American Airlines actually has the audacity to charge a customer $30 (again, $15 both ways) to check a bag. Just a side note, the only reason I would check a bag is because airlines insist on making their overhead compartment just large enough to fit a third graders’ backpack. Note to self, write a letter to each airline about their inadequate size (of overhead storage that is).

So, as I progressed through my research of how idiotic, greedy, and purely evil American Airlines actually was, I found myself in somewhat of a predicament. The further I dug, the more I found that American Airlines really isn’t that evil. For example, AA reported a 2008 first quarter net loss of $328 million (or approximately 65% of their entire profits from the previous year). So, being the accountant that I am, my first instinct was to look at their most recent financials and Proxy Statement. I kind of enjoy reading these as they give a detailed account of executive compensation (something that I find to be completely over-inflated today). After review of their overall compensation package, along with checking the compensation packages of some other airlines, I found that while I can’t appreciate the figures, I can certainly see how they can justify them.

The problem isn’t compensation, and additional review of their financials didn’t reveal anything out of the ordinary. I began to think that maybe AA’s latest maneuver actually is in response to higher oil prices. As an investor, I would expect this response from AA’s management. However, I am also a consumer and this new baggage policy (while it really isn’t going to brake the bank) irritates me to no end. Why are we as consumers the ones who have to bear the brunt of increased oil prices? Ticket prices have increased steadily, and now I have to pay to check a bag. Are you kidding me? Ridiculous!!!

After getting fired up at American Airlines for another time, I calmed down and asked myself two things. The first was, “Who am I supposed to be mad at?” Is it the oil companies, OPEC, the President, Congress?? The other question was, “Once I do find out who’s to blame, what can I do about it?” After hours of reflection I still have no idea. Is it easy to angry at AA? Of course, they’re charging me an extra $30 to check a bag. Will it do any good to be angry with them? No, especially when I other airlines will follow suit. I can’t fight all of them!

So, it’s back to square one for now. I wonder if I ever do find the answers to my questions if it will make me feel better about paying $30 dollars to check my bag when flying American. I guess if I don’t, I can always stuff my week’s worth of clothes into my backpack and pretend like nothing has changed.

Canceling My XM Radio

I'm doing a little test with my XM Radio Subscription.

I'm canceling it.

I have nothing against XM. They have a great programming selection - Ethel, Fred, and Lucy (uh..get it?) are my three favorite channels. Good diverse playlists, unobtrusive personalities, and decent imagine.

And while my early-generation equipment purchased in 2003 doesn't allow me to listen to the channels at the highest fidelity (when I listen via DirecTV through my stereo speakers, it sounds much, much better), my decision to cancel has nothing to do with the XM service.

I simply don't listen to it much anymore.

With gas prices soaring, and life simply becoming more expensive, I'd love to find a way to shave an obvious $100 off of my monthly expenses, curtailing discretionary expenses. XM would save me $15 per month, I believe. And while this expense is one of my tax write offs, I'd rather simply not spend the cash than spend it and receive some of it back around tax time.

My test with XM, however, is seeing how long it takes them to respond to my email request to cancel. Nowhere on their website is there a big red "cancel now" button (that would be an obviously bad decision to have one). But there's also no small hyperlink to cancel through a few clicks. No section in the FAQ about canceling. No direct email box for cancellations. Just ambiguous options that route my question to...who knows? Customer Service? Account Services, perhaps?

What's odd is that I haven't even received acknowledgment of the fact that I emailed them. Usually companies have an immediate bounce back email mentioning that an email was received and will be responded to, regardless of the subject.

I have heard that XM makes it quite difficult to cancel, just like what AOL was doing back when their model involved subscriptions.

If I don't hear from them today or tomorrow, I'll try giving them a ring. My gut tells me I'm going to have to take another active step in this process by calling them, going through a phone tree, and probably getting frustrated along the way.

Yes, I voted

Not only did I vote after American Idol this week (I NEVER do this)...

...but I voted for Archuleta (who really irritated me during the whole season)...

...he was truly that much better in the finale.

Oh, what have I done?

Four Tet - Everything Is Alright

I definitely have been listening to NPR too much these days. But I do find it cathartic, informative, and addictive.

There's a show called "On Point" with Tom Ashbrook, which is broadcast in the mid-morning and replayed again at 7PM, which is the broadcast I usually catch when I hear the show. I believe its station of origin is 90.9 WBUR right here in Boston, but it's also syndicated nationally.

This song - "Everything is Alright" by Four Tet - is its theme music.

I had NO IDEA until I was surfing around itunes this evening and stumbled into an iMix called "Indie Electronic." A bunch of the songs were tracks I had downloaded (Hot Chip, MIA, Justice, LCD Soundsystem) so I figured I would listen to the hooks of the other songs recommended, most of which were by artists I had never heard before.

I click on Four Tet and almost jumped out of my chair - it was the NPR song! I just finished listening to the show during dinner, and then randomly found the song they use going into and out of local breaks. How coincidental!

Bizarre Dream from the 80's

So my dream last night was quite bizarre and chock-full of 80's TV characters!

I didn't realize this, but the owners of our present office building were having a benefit on what I believed was a typical day at the office.

I happened to wander around the pathways and gardens behind our building (pathways and gardens which do not actually exist), and I stumbled across Betty White and Rue McClanahan who were walking somewhere together.

I fumbled for words but somehow came out with "You're...the two....yeah!"

I followed them into the auditorium where a fund raiser was underway.

At the auction table, I met Joanna Kerns and Judith Light. I kept calling Joanna Kerns "Maggie Seaver," to which she responded but didn't seem thrilled. Soon after Alan Thicke walked over.

It's not like I have been watching 80's sitcoms all that much lately.

And I do find it odd that all of the characters in my dream were in parental (or grand parental) roles.

What does this mean?

Aaron bleepin Boone

I realize that the Yanks are in last place now.

I realize that the Sox have won two World Series since the Yankees have last won one in 2000.

I realize that after an emotional ALCS and this walk-off series-ending moment, the Yankees forgot to show up for the 2003 World Series, losing convincingly.

But isn't is still an insult for Fox to broadcast this particular moment in their countdown of "Great Moments in Yankee Stadium History" during the 8th inning of today's nationally televised Sox-Brewers game?

Even I, a self-admitted Yankees fan living in Boston, realize this.

My Fight at Home Depot Watertown

I had such an unnecessary disagreement today at Home Depot in Watertown, and while I'm now less irritated by the dispute, I'm still amazed at their lack of customer service - totally contrary to every other experience I have had at Home Depot in Dorchester.

When I ordered my cabinets, I ordered cabinet hardware that I believed matched the existing ones.

When my order arrived, the hardware was close, but not exact. I happened to bring one of the existing knobs into Home Depot last week, and found a very close if not exact match with some off-the-shelf hardware. Only problem is that I needed 14 knobs, and they had either 10-packs or just one single knob at the Dorchester store. I bought two 10-packs, but later decided to try another Home Depot at some point in the future, and return one of the 10-packs along with some other items that needed to be returned (some face plates, screws, etc).

I figured that I had to make a trip to Tile Showcase in Watertown today, and I would check out the knob inventory at Home Depot Watertown, and if they had single knobs, I would make my returns there. It shouldn't matter what Home Depot I return items at, should it?

For in-stock items...no problem. For special order items...it appears that they only accept returns at the store of purchase.

Only problem is that nowhere on the receipt does it say that, nor does it indicate it on store signage.

When I returned a few stock items along with the special order item, they took back the stock items without problem, but then informed me that I would need to go to customer service for the special order items.

No problem, I thought. Three people behind the counter, two people being helped now, a short line of two people waiting.

No joke - 20 minutes later (I verified the time on my return receipt), finally I walk up to the counter. It's now my turn.

They took one look at the receipt and said they could not accept special order items purchased at another store.

Grrr.

I told them that I was sent over to Customer Service from that lady over there (I pointed) and had been waiting for twenty minutes in a line of practically nobody.

Nope, can't take it back here.

I'm now getting more vocal, insisting that they call the Dorchester store and figure out a return over the phone. That didn't work.

I mention that this is a stupid $20 return on an almost $4,000 order and insist on a gift card in the amount of the return.

Nope. Now the clerk throws the receipt back at me (to which I responded "You DO NOT throw this back at me.") and summons a manager.

At this point, in my still hoarse-from-sick-yet-yelling voice, I'm drawing the attention of others. Some douche customer walked up to me and mentioned that he had been waiting an hour to return something on a $10,000 order (basically his way of suggesting that if he can wait, I can wait).

"This does not concern you." was my curt reply. Dude, go away.

The manager came over, listened to the problem, said there was nothing he could do, and told me to have a good day.

Thirty minutes wasted, all because the very first clerk did not take the time to realize that my special order item was not purchased there, and they would not accept the return at that store.

How am I, as a customer, to know this policy, when it's not spelled out or explained anywhere else but verbally at the Customer Service desk?

Before I left, I ended up staring down the douche who interjected (after 10 seconds of being stared at he finally gave me a facial expression of "um...yeah?" to which I yelled over "that was none of your business.)

I also had words with the first clerk, telling her about my wasted last thirty minutes in the store because she did not correctly explain their return procedure to me before sending me over to Customer Service.

After listening to me, she said "I'm Sorry," which to be perfectly honest was all I needed to hear from someone who worked there. Nobody else said anything else that was close to apologetic.

Oddly enough, the same person who sent me down the wrong path is the only one I have forgiven.

Bathroom Bible Verse

In the men's room at Cottonwood last night, I found a blue post-it note with the following inscription:

Repent of your sins
and turn to God
For the Kingdom
of Heaven is Near

Matthew 4:17

I took the note and showed it to my friends. They laughed it off, but then I wondered....

Why would someone put this in the men's room of Cottonwood?
Is there a person distributing Bible verses all around town?
Is he (assuming it's a guy...being that it was in the men's room) posting the same Bible verse everywhere, or does he have a cadre of different verses ready to roll?
To whom is this directed?
Why this verse?
Should I repent?
Is tequila the devil's juice?

Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day

Today is Dunkin' Donuts free Iced Coffee Day (after 10am). Usually I don't hit up these free events (free cone day, free burrito day) because it just seems like too much of a hassle to receive a free item of nominal value. I suppose part of the charm is community - waiting with others also seeking free stuff. But the lines usually offset the value, and I can't get myself to wait thirty minutes for a scoop of ice cream.

But this is different. There are Dunkin Donuts everywhere. I can't imagine that all of them will have long lines for the full twelve hours of the promotion.

I'm almost tempted to hit up each of the four or five Dunkin Donuts here in Southie just to see how long it would take to receive four or five free iced coffees. Unless they embed microchips or ask for our social security numbers, I don't know how they plan to prevent people from receiving multiple free iced coffees from different stores or at different times during the 10am-10pm window. Perhaps they're fine with any customers who are so excited about the free stuff that they are willing to keep hitting up Dunkin Donuts outlets throughout the day.

Which reminds me of a link from Universal Hub to a YouTube video posted by a couple guys that hit up 40 different Dunkin Donuts in one day.

City Hall or City Hell?

If I was damned to hell, I'm assuming that my workplace would be somewhere that looks like City Hall.

At the risk of insulting the good workers who go there everyday, it just such a depressing place. Concrete jungle. Dark and cold corridors. Decor from thirty years ago.

I had to drop by City Hall yesterday for a couple matters, and I could not help but think that many people spend over forty hours each week in this building. If the imposing vacant corridors aren't enough to drive one mad, spending time in an interior cubicle with overhead fluorescent lighting might just do it.

Years ago, on my one and only Duck Tour with my friend Brian (roadtrip Brian), I remember the tour guide asking if he had any locals with him, as we drove north on Cambridge St. A handful of us raised our hands. He asked us what building in the city was the ugliest and most out of place structure in a city with such great architecture, and without hesitation, all of us yelled "City Hall," which we then drove past.

I realize much has been written of City Hall's legacy. At one point, I'm assuming that the design plans were considered a good idea by many, though realize that the criticism has existed for decades, and remains today.

I'm amazed that this design won over 255 other entries. It just makes me scratch my head. What were they thinking?

My Weekend

Before

During

After

Whoops

Note to self:

When shaking a bottle of orange juice in the car, make sure the lid is closed, otherwise the juice will spray everywhere throughout the front seats, dashboard, console, and clothing.

Dining Out - Burmese Cuisine at Yoma in Allston

Wednesday night, I was driving through Kenmore (source of this post about the bicyclists) for a meeting of the Boston International Dining Association.

This month, we had some delicious Burmese Cuisine at Yoma on North Beacon St. in Allston.

Burmese does have a better ring to it than Myanmarese. Nonetheless, the food was outstanding.

The restaurant is very small and casual. Probably ten tables in total. No booze. Sodas served from cans with cups of ice (you might have to ask for double ice if you want more than a cube). This week, Boston.com had an article about the effect of the cyclone on the Burmese community here in Boston, and they included a photo of Yoma's interior.

I even took a menu to remind me what we ate.

The flavors mixed amazingly. The highlights:

ThaYetTheeTho - a green mango salad with shredded cabbage, shallot, diced shrimp, ground peanut, garlic sauce, and cilantro

ShwePaYonTheeHin - sweet pumpkin with jumbo shrimp, tomato, ginger, shallot, lemongrass, and cilantro

AaThotSone - vermicelli, somen noodle, wheat flour noodle, rice, shredded cabbage, fried tofu, steamed bean sprouts, potato, ground peanut, chili flake, shallot, and dried shrimp

Coconut Rice - rice with coconut milk, jasmine rice, and shallot

I had never eaten Burmese cuisine before, but I'm always game for new dining options. When we sat down and reviewed the menu, we almost expected the food to taste like Thai. I can seem the similarities, but both Burmese and Thai are certainly distinct.

Yoma is having a benefit on Saturday from 12 noon - 4pm to benefit the victims of the cyclone in Myanmar. I'd go back if I wasn't wrapped up all day on Saturday already.

Mac Features / Weeding Out Contacts

Now that's I'm up and running with my Mac, I find some of the completely intuitive features necessary, and can't understand why Windows never integrated such actions. Thanks to my co-worker Sean, I assigned the action of "move cursor to the corner" with one of three functions - upper left is hide all applications and show desktop, upper right is show all open windows to select which one you want to use, and lower right (I think this one is default) is my widget dashboard. I just dipped my toe into the widget world, but love what I have installed already.

I'm still integrating data, and have determined that this is a terrific time to clean out my contacts. Just this morning over coffee, I was able to delete contacts who fit into one of the following buckets:

1. Left job, now MIA
2. Haven't spoken to in years
3. Will very likely never speak to again
4. Douchebag

It makes for weeding through contacts quite simple. If you're not in one of those categories, you're still in my Outlook (...I mean, Entourage...)

Boston Idiots on Bicycles

I love this service called Jott. Basically, I have it linked to my cell phone and email, so I can call it, "jott" myself (or others), and it turns my speech into text, archives the original voice message, and introduces a sharable element by making the URL to the audio public, should I so choose.

Often, I'm jotting notes to myself ("Don't forget Mother's Day") or wacky things that I think might make for interesting entries here ("Asparagus pee" or "What is the appropriateness of someone farting out loud while at the urinal when you're the only two people in the bathroom?") While I haven't followed up either of those related jotts with a posting here, I did jott something during my drive to dinner last night that I must post.

The weather was great yesterday, which seemed to cause more bikers to hit the roads. By bikers, I mean Trek and Schwinn, not Harley-Davidson and Suzuki.

Last I checked, bikers are responsible for abiding by the rules of the road, just as car drivers are.

Yesterday, in the span of a minute, two idiots blared through red lights in and around Kenmore. On both occasions, I was the first car stopped, so I had clear views. And on neither occasion was the light changing from yellow to red.

One guy bolted through a red light, literally through a stream of pedestrians. Two people had to jump back to avoid being hit.

At the very next light, another biker sped through a red light almost plowing into a poor little old lady crossing the street in her violet pants, sun hat, and cane. At that light, waiting right next to me, was a Boston police officer on a motorcycle. He did nothing. Yet, if I proceeded through that same light right in front of him...I'm guessing I would have been cited.

When on a bicycle, it's one thing to come to a dead stop at a red light, and then cautiously proceed through. While still illegal, it seems safer.

It's another to ride through at full speed.

Lights are there for reasons, guys. And while the cars usually win during bike vs. car collisions, it's the people that get hurt during bike vs. pedestrian.

Brimful of Asha

I know there's a ton of songs in my regular iTunes rotation that are far off the radars of 99.44% of others, but are part of my usual every day entertainment....

"Devil's Diary" by The Caulfields
"Work For Food" by Dramarama
"Do You Remember the First Time?" by Pulp
"Jeepster" by T. Rex
"Let the Day Begin" by The Call

..and on...

This is usually the soundtrack of my day, mixed of course with some more familiar and current music.

I'm citing off-the-beaten path music because I heard a great song from the 90's not once, but twice in the past few days - on two separate radio stations.

One local, 101.7 WFNX
One Internet, RadioIO Alt Rock Classics (via iTunes radio)

That song is "Brimful of Asha" by Cornershop, bearer of one of the best lyrics from the 90's:

"Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow, everybody needs a bosom."

I bought this CD back in 97, and it's not terrible. But over the years, it just kind of drifted away from regular rotation.

When I heard FNX play it this weekend, I was surprised. It's not the kind of song you hear much of from terrestrial radio. But, FNX is still pretty cool, so kudos to them. I turned up the radio and sang out loud.

Internet radio, however, is a different animal. I discovered this RadioIO Alt Rock Classic channel last week, and the music is basically everything I remember from my days in radio from 91-96. Lots of weird stuff that, at the time, was in rotation on my radio station back then...

"Ruined in a Day" by New Order
"Get Out of Control" by Daniel Ash
"Groovy Train" by The Farm
"X, Y, and Zee" by Pop Will Eat Itself
"Real, Real, Real" by Jesus Jones

Songs that live mostly in my memory and my iTunes. It would be great to find some others who remember and still love this generation of music.

Jamaica Plain Pub Crawl

Well, it was certainly a weekend of excess, capped off with an unofficial pub crawl through part of Jamaica Plain on Saturday. Brian and Kelly are soon going to become new parents, and about 8 of us (bros, not....ladies) got together to celebrate one of his final weekends before dirty diapers and middle-of-the-night wakeups.

I had never been on the Samuel Adams Brewery Tour, but that is where we began our adventure. Our guide seemed pleased and mellow during the entire tour. I wonder what's really in those hops?









At the end of the tour, they hoarded us into the tasting room, where we sampled three 7 ounce glasses of draft beer - the mainstay Boston Lager, the Summer Ale, and a third one whose name escapes me (though we were told it is not available on draft anywhere else, and is only sold as part of a sample pack).

As many of the tour attendees were from out-of-town, they recommended that folks could continue their drinking at Doyle's. While that's almost always a good idea, we opted for a different next step - Brendan Behan.

I hadn't been there in quite some time, but Brian reminded me that once before, he, Kelly, Meghan, and I came up with our famous idea for a store that mixes cereal together, and served it in a casual setting. Of our list of names (including "Wheat Make You Breakfast," thanks to Brian himself), we settled on "Cereality."

Too bad that exact concept and exact name had already been operational and franchised. Whoops.

No grandiose ideas this time, simply a few pints of excellent microbrew IPA's - they have about 10-12 really interesting beers on tap that you don't see in many places - and our viewing of the Kentucky Derby. Before the race, someone collected 10 bucks from 20 people, then assigned numbers for horses. One of the guys in our party won, and soon after had an envelope of $200 in front of him. Not a bad investment!

Onward across the street to The Milky Way. It's a shame that this place is closing - it's always busy and has tons of character. The candlepin bowling was pretty busy, and it would have been a long wait for a lane. Good thing, I'm not all that skilled at candlepin. So we stayed for a few pizzas and more beer. By then, our band of merry men had whittled from eight to six.

We walked over to The Alchemist, a restaurant I had been to once before. I think it's such a cool environment inside, with the high ceilings, exposed brick, and casual atmosphere. I'm not sure how many pints we had there, but am guessing I left after the second one.

In all, JP is a great place to drink - a wide variety of beers and friendly environments within stumbling distance of one another. It would be nice if the places in Southie ventured off the tap beer beaten path, and included a number of excellent microbrews.

No hangover whatsoever...thanks to staying within my limits and my friend, Advil.

Nobody Under 26 Allowed

We noticed this sign today at Ankara Cafe, a small sandwich place in Kenmore.

Is the sign simply that old, or is this truly a place for the 26-43 year old crowd?

Southie Wild Turkey

I completely forgot to mention this during my post about the sweaty bus/T ride to work on Tuesday, but on the #11 bus, driving up Dorchester St., we were halted for about 15 seconds by a giant wild turkey making its way across the street. I seem to recall half-standing up from my seat, and pointing at the turkey for all who cared to be roused from their ipods, which was likely nobody.

I swear I read a mention of a Southie wild turkey on Universal Hub, but can't seem to find that posting now.

Nonetheless, I have no photo, as I was seated toward the rear of the bus, perspiring profusely. People behind me were probably wondering "who is this sweaty crazy guy pointing at an alleged turkey in Southie?"

Digging my MacBook Pro

I am totally digging this MacBook Pro - I think I need just a few more days with it before I'm entirely comfortable with the differences between this and a Windows-based machine.

The quick keys are intuitive and easy to remember (where's my bookmarks? Oh, Command-B. Need a new browser tab? Command-T. Cut/copy/paste? Command-X-C-V... just like windows). The lack of a right mouse button is still a bit weird to me, but I am quickly remembering that Control-Click is the way to go.

One of the most awesome design features is that the keyboard illuminates in darker environments. What a simple yet useful idea - backlight the keys and the characters on the keys. No I can computer in pitch black and save on my energy bill.

This laptop is also super fast, and will make my work much more efficient. My Dell had reached such a snail's pace that I was ready to throw it over the balcony had our office's ceiling not permitted the rain to fall onto my desk.

Once my data is fully integrated, I'll be thrilled. There are some frustrating elements of the data migration, such as MS Entourage not allowing for simple integration of a .pst file from MS Outlook. I believe there's an add-on which we're going to purchase today.

For now, I have a few projects I must forge through today and tomorrow.