The Bionic Eye - Recovery Days 1-2

Well, I'm about 40 hours into my bionic left eye, and I'm trying to be patient as my vision returns to a state that resembles where it once was.

Everything seems to be on schedule.

My pupil is no longer dilated as of this morning. I noticed the diameter began shrinking last night. Driving to work yesterday morning, even with sunglasses on, wasn't the most pleasant experience.

My ability to focus on distant objects is also much improved now. In fact, My distant vision appears better in my bionic eye vs. my natural one now. I am no longer seeing through a cloudy cataract-affected lens - almost to the point that when comparing the vision between eyes, I'm wondering if I'm starting to see a bit cloudy through the right eye. Let's hope that's not the case yet.

My ability to focus on intermediate objects is improving, but still fuzzy. I was told during the follow-up appointment yesterday that things should become better after about a week or two. As long as I'm seeing improvement every day, I'll be happy.

My near distance is what's concerning to me. Although this is the final focal length to improve after installation of a Crystalens (according to everything I have read), I have never had trouble with my near vision. It's certainly different. I just hope I didn't sacrifice my close-up vision in an effort to remove some cloudiness. Patience certainly will be a virtue here.

So the plan is to return for another appointment in a month. Between now and then, my current glasses prescription will make life a bit confusing. I see better through my left eye without them, but better through my right eye with them. But there's no sense having a prescription written now, as it will assuredly change within the coming weeks.

My New Eyeball

Yesterday was the day for my new eyeball.

Specifically, a new lens for my left eyeball.

A few months ago, I was diagnosed with a cataract in my left eye. It had been as if a hazy film was over the field of vision from my left eye, and a noticeable different from what I saw from my right eye. It was most noticeable when looks at lights during nighttime - there was a wider glow around light sources. Very misty London Sherlock Holmes-esque.

I did what all smart patients do these days, and self-diagnosed myself with a cataract. For a second opinion, I went to The Nielsen Eye Center in Quincy, and sure enough Dr. Nielsen confirmed it. He also mentioned how uncommon it was for someone my age to have a cataract without having had head trauma, diabetes, or having taken steroids. To my knowledge, none of that applies to me. Both of my grandmothers had cataract surgery...but they were in their 60's or older when they had the procedures.

So surgery was scheduled for yesterday. Karin drove me to the Cataract Center in Dedham for a 1:30 check-in. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a full waiting room of elderly people. The guy sitting next to me had his oxygen tank on. The lady across from me had her walker-on-wheels. The conversation in the air was from comforting spouses who had already had their cataract surgeries. This appears to be a rite of passage for the geriatric crowd. Well, and me.

Everything seemed to go well. they called my name, took my vital signs, gave me some drops to dilate my eye, sat me down in a comfy recliner where I was given a sedative by IV, and then brought into the operating room. The anesthesiologist was the third or fourth person to tell me that I was the baby of the patient crowd this week.

I believe the actual procedure took about 8 minutes. I recall feeling some type of clamp that held my eyelids open, saw two rectangular lights and lots of swirly colors as they ripped my faulty God-given lens from my cornea, and then mild pressure when my new Crystallens was implanted.

Unlike my wisdom teeth surgery over a decade ago, I did not ask to take my extracted body part home. I still have my wisdom teeth in an envelope at my parents' house. I figure they were mine, so why not keep them? Unfortunately, I think my fault lens was liquefied and sucked out, so not much to take with me.

I waited in recovery for a few minutes, received my post-surgery instructions and my fancy old-person shades, and was walked out to the waiting room where Ryan awaited to deliver me back home.

I was given a small plant from their coat / plant closet to take home (where a sign was hung notifying patients that plants were only for Cataract patients and not Lasix patients. Sweet! In your face, Lasix people. No free plant for you). I chose a short succulent over the mini-daffodils, thinking that it would last longer.

So I have to return today for a follow-up appointment, and then in about another month for a second follow-up. I'm on a series of drugs, and not allowed to lift more than 10 pounds or bend over without bending my knees. My eye's pupil is actually still pretty well-dilated from yesterday.

Since I elected to have the $1,900 multi-focal lens into my eye (and not the generic single-focus lens), I should be able to focus at objects of all distances once I'm fully recovered. The "what to expect" documents explain that my distant vision should be improved today or tomorrow, and my intermediate vision should return in a couple weeks. The up-close vision may take longer, like up to 6 weeks.

All of my computer usability this morning is thanks to my right eye. Thank you, right eye.

The Butterfly Effect

Why was I stuck in horrible traffic this past Saturday afternoon on 93 South?

The Butterfly Effect...

1. I'm inherently frugal.

2. Last Monday, Rosie and I encountered a woman down the street. I've seen her walking her dog often, and she, I'm sure, recognized us. We chatted. She mentioned that her dog was on a special diet now and asked what food Rosie ate. Turns out the bag-and-a-half that she had left over was the same brand as Rosie's. She asked if I wanted it.

3. I dropped Rosie off and returned to pick up the food. I offered her $20, but she refused. The food was the same brand, but the beef flavor, and not the chicken one. I figured I'd try mixing her usual flavor with this and then switch over to the new flavor. I read that's how you introduce dogs to new food.

4. Rosie ate the first bowl of the mixed food. I figured I was in the clear.

5. I was wrong. Rosie then stopped eating for a couple days, puking some clean phlegm a few times one morning last week. She even turned her nose up to treats.

6. She then stopped pooping. She had nothing to poop out. Not to mention that the temperatures and wind chill were vicious. Even she didn't like walking on the cold, crunchy snow/ice...and unfortunately Rosie likes pooping on grassy areas, none of which existed last week.

7. It finally occurred to me on Friday that perhaps I should switch back to her original flavor of dog food. Unfortunately, I was headed out Friday night, and then on the road by 8am Saturday morning. I should have remembered that Stop & Shop at South Bay is 24 Hours, but I didn't.

8. Since Ryan was dogsitting for the day, I left him a note to cook some chicken for her. He did so and gave her a potato as well, all of which she apparently devoured, confirming to me that she was indeed hungry but just didn't like the new flavor of food. Apparently she also pooped out a ton when they went for a walk, being that lots of melting had occurred and there were once again desired surfaces on which to poop.

9. So I'm coming back from Connecticut on the Pike and decided to take it to 93 South and hit up either the South Bay Stop & Shop or the Shaw's at the JFK/UMass T Stop. Smooth sailing back from Connecticut. Bumper-to-bumper traffic on 93 South midday on a Saturday. Huh?

10. I figured I'd just deal with it for a mile and get off my usual exit # 15 / Columbia Road. Unfortunately, it appears that a police officer had the exit blocked, which I had never seen before. Ever.

11. I turn on WBZ trying to find out what's happening. The Bruins are on. Great.

12. My next opportunity to turn around is Exit 12 - in 3 MILES....of bumper-to-bumper traffic caused by tons of people seeking to get off Exit 12 and turn around. Traffic cleared up after Exit 12.

13. Eventually, I made it to the exit, turned around, hopped back on 93 North, and passed my exit AGAIN due to excessive exiting traffic. Something must be happening at the Bayside Expo, I thought. I got off at Andrew Square and headed to the Southie Stop & Shop.

14. I ended up at home 45 minutes after I first got on 93 South, a process which should have taken 5 minutes.

15. I'm then informed that the Bayside Expo Center was hosting some Super Liquidation clearance sale. Ugh. Aren't these shows usually a bunch of crap vendors with second-hand, overstock, or refurbished junk? THIS was causing such a traffic backup? Grrr....

16. If I had never accepted the dog food, I would have never needed to buy the old flavor of food and would have taken a different route home from Connecticut.

The Butterfly Effect.

I'm a Published Photographer in China

I truly love the random things that happen to me sometimes.

A few of my photos have run for some local periodicals, most notably The Boston Globe.

But now, I am a published photographer in China.

Well, specifically Taiwan.

A few months ago, I received this email:

"Hello, Jason,

I'm an editor in Taipei, Taiwan. And I 'm editing a book about Popeye.

I saw a Popeye Statue pic you took on the internet. I love it so much and I want to put the photo in our book.

I want to make children learn more and feel interested.

Would you please give me the permission to use the photo? (Please send me the pic by email)

Sure, I will amrk put your name under the pic. Please reply me soon and thank you so much!

Best Wishes,

Angela"

At first, I was a bit suspicious. I figured that by providing information about myself, I would be entering some Mexican lottery or reaping my rightful portion of a Ghanaian prince's fortune.

But I figured, hey it's just a photo. I take pictures for fun and am flattered when others find use for them.

This is the actual photo I took in Chester, IL - the apparent home of Popeye.

I responded from this blog's email address and kept my contact info relatively vague. When she emailed me a second time for my address, wishing to send me a copy of the published book, I relented and gave her my work address. Just to be safe.



I then totally forgot about all of this.

Sure enough, I walk into my office yesterday, and there's a package from The Far East Book Company addressed to me.

The book appears to be a vocabulary and comprehension book for Chinese natives seeking to learn English.

Right next to the above photo is my name and some Chinese character. Perhaps it's my name in Chinese.

Nonetheless, I can chalk this up to the strange, interesting, and bizarre.

Live Nation Convenience Fees Suck

For some reason, I got it in my mind that I wanted to go see 3 Doors Down during the opening week at House of Blues Boston. Lots of hits. New venue. Why not?

My friend Tye said he'd come. Perfect. I'll get tickets.

Or so I thought.

The show has not been an immediate sell-out, but I still possess no tickets.

Why?

Live Nation service fees.

Boy is this a sign of my cheapness. But it's plain and simple robbery when the only method of purchasing tickets is online, and they tack what amounts to $11 of convenience / facilities / whatever fees to EACH $38 ticket.

$40 for Hoobastank and 3 Doors Down? Sure, why not.

$50? Pushing it.

I thought I would go to the House of Blues Box Office, inconveniencing myself but saving $20. Unfortunately, their website has no phone number for the venue. Perhaps the box office isn't open yet, as the venue sure isn't.

So I thought I would call some of the other Live Nation venues in Boston to see if I can purchase tickets for shows at other venues.

I tried calling the Paradise Rock Club, resulting in a recording with information and such, but no live person. There was a "for further information" number which I called, but that simply rang and rang.

I called the Orpheum. Recording. No option for further assistance. "Live Nation" is clearly a misnomer.

Bank of America Pavillion. Recording. Box Office opens in May...but there was a general information number for Live Nation.

So I called that number. Live person. Sweet.

She mentioned that some Blockbuster stores would soon become ticket outlets for Live Nation, a fact of which livenation.com had already made me aware. She looked up my zip code and learned what I already knew - the Blockbuster option in Boston is "Coming Soon."

I asked if Live Nation venues were able to sell tickets for events at other Live Nation locations, but she wasn't certain.

I then asked for a phone number for House of Blues Boston, and she had one! So I called it.

Busy signal.

Busy signal? Who hears these anymore?

All this just to save $20 and avoid paying the absurd convenience fees. I still haven't succumbed yet, but I now realize how INconvenient they make it otherwise for people seeking tickets.

This reminds me of the days when online banking cost $5 per month. It was a joke. I was saving the bank money by banking online, and they were charging me a fee for something that they were promoting and making their lives easier. Fewer humans and branches needed. Savings to them. Yet they still charged consumers. Good thing that's now a free service.

But there's lots of banks. They need to stay competitive. There's few outlets to purchase tickets from non-brokers. It's a total racket and unfair. I'd rather them charge me $49 for a ticket than $38 plus $11 in fees. Sometimes knowing less is more.

One Year Ago

I remember a year ago so vividly.

The Monday after the Super Bowl, just having seen one of the greatest endings in Super Bowl history. My two favorite teams fighting it out, and my top team (Giants) winning in such incredible fashion.

I remember being on cloud nine for months, starting with today.

I can see our hotel room. I still remember the streets of Tempe, Arizona. I remember where we had lunch before our flight, and remember the long two-day process of returning to Boston (booking a last-minute flight on miles got us from Phoenix to Minneapois on Monday evening, and then onward to Boston first thing in the morning).

I remember it all - and for the better part of 2008, it was great to casually drop in conversation, albeit with arrogant intent.

"Oh yeah, I was out there for last year's Super Bowl"

:: (varied astonished reactions) ::

The Giants are no longer the reigning champs. They made a great run at it this year, though. My cousins were already scheming for a lottery to see who got the family Super Bowl tickets this year, should we have been fortunate enough to have received a pair again. Then, the Giants failed to show up to most games in December and January, and poof....they're gone.

It's a memory I will take to my grave. Everyone should be so fortunate enough to have seen their team win it all in the big one, live in the stadium.

The sights, the smells, the sounds. The camaraderie. The spectacle.

It's been a year, it's officially now history.

It's no Fios...but it Does the Trick

I ran an Internet speed test from home last night.

It appears I underestimated my download speed and overestimated my upload speed.

Nonetheless, a bit more blazing than my test on Tuesday from the Quincy office.

More Prowlers in Southie

I managed a work-from-home day today with our weekly ice/sleet/rain event, and as usual was quite productive. It's probably a combination of a much faster Internet connection and fewer distractions. I left my house just three times, twice for dog walks (Rosie still had her play group and arrived home drenched - $15 well spent!) and one more time to buy milk, clean off the car, and (as usual) shovel the sidewalk.

During my shoveling, I saw a parking enforcer ticket a resident parked at the end of our side street. I almost parked in that same spot a couple nights ago, but knowing that for some odd reason cars at the end always seem to be ticketed, I thought better of it. Perhaps they are citing them for proximity to the curb cutout.

A few hours later during the final walk, I saw not only another parking enforcement vehicle shining the bright lights atop its car - I'm guessing the side and front lights allow them to spot resident stickers from inside their vehicles - but also two police cars circling the block.

Strange, I thought.

Could they also be seeking parking offenders?

Triple duty in Southie?

Nope. Instead we appear to have a prowler lurking.

Another prowler. Great.

I saw the police stop at a neighbor's house. Out emerged a woman who I always see walking her pooch. Either we have the same schedules, or she's simply always walking her dog.

I overheard her mention to the officers that she was on another dog walk (naturally) and she saw an unwelcome guy testing the handles of random parked vehicles. It appears he tried to break into a car familiar to her, and after discovering that it was locked, attempted another one, triggering the car alarm in the process (which come to think of it, I heard the alarm from my kitchen before we left for the walk).

Just what we need. More reports of attempted break-ins.

I find it a bit amusing that I fit the description of who she saw - white dude wearing a hoodie. Even though I had a dog in tow, I saw the cops peering my way, judging and wondering if they stumbled into the good fortune of seeing the perpetrator right there on the street.

Good thing I didn't bolt. That would have been an awkward chase. Icy sidewalks, holding a dog, and me being not guilty and all...

Why I'm Hostile

I just did a speed test on our agonizingly slow network here at work. While these results are awful, they unfortunately aren't atypical here in the office:

Download speed 893 kb/s
Upload speed 40 kb/s

I have DSL at home (?!) and I hit download speeds of almost 2000 kb/s and upload of about 1100 kb/s.

Watching web pages load in - and the web apps that I use all day, every day, is like watching animated gifs and bitmaps load into websites from 1996.

Inefficiency makes me extremely hostile.

Since Thursday

Since Thursday, I managed to...

1. Go to the Apple store on Boylston St. twice and switch two friends to iPhone in the process

2. Weigh myself for the first time in forever. As expected, the results were not pretty. But good thing....

3. ...it's Day 1 of the 11-day diet! I have about 8 weeks between now and St. Patrick's Day, which means four turns of the diet are available to me (11 days on, 3 days off)

4. Spend $90 at Whole Foods on 13 items.

5. Learn that amidst those 13 items is Whole Foods' freshly ground coffee - their house blend actually - which I discovered tastes awful.

6. Claim victory in a Game Night bout of Apples to Apples

7. Be called hostile

8. Book a hotel and car for the Iceland trip.

9. Read news stories about the Icelandic government falling, "leaving the island nation in political turmoil amid a financial crisis that has pummeled its economy and required an international bailout to keep the country afloat."

2009 Phone Books - 25% more!

It's that time of year again.

Phone books.

My 401k might have dropped by 34% last year, but my phone directory portfolio is up by 25%!

Good thing they delivered FIVE Yellow Pages this year. Verizon must be aware that we considered adding TWO stories to our Southie triple decker. Quintuple deckers are all the rage these days.

I'm assuming that the same person dropped all of these off yesterday. I just don't get the logic. Look at the building - there's three units here. So why not leave FIVE White pages and FIVE Yellow pages, right? It doesn't make sense.

My next-door neighbors probably received an identical delivery. They too have three units. That would, then, be TEN books of each color for a maximum of SIX units. Immediately, four of them would be unnecessary. That's almost this entire pile - guaranteed to be unneeded between our two buildings.

Who said everyone was cutting back in '09? The phone directory folks forge ahead, littering the landscape with more, more, and more.

These will, naturally, remain unloved in the front alcove until recycling day next week.

My Poor Timing - Elimination of FastLane Transponder Fee

My morning radio lately has consisted of Radio 92.9 to get me out of bed, followed by The Sandbox on WFNX to entertain me while eating breakfast, having coffee, blogging, and checking email. I then usually leave FNX on to keep Rosie company. She appears to like MGMT and The Ting Tings now.

With the inauguration, I decided to switch back to NPR. I went through a major NPR kick last year, and somehow managed to let is drift away over the past few months.

Back I am - extended news stories, mellow music beds, Morning Edition, and Bob Oakes.

This morning, upon turning on the kitchen radio, I was greeted by Bob telling me that the Masspike was doing away with the $25 fees it charges for FastLane transponders, and was instead switching to a 50 cent/month structure.

D'Oh!

I JUST acquired one of these a couple weeks ago! What bad timing, I thought.

25 quid out the door.

I found this, however, on boston.com, which included the following factoid:

"The free transponders will be available Feb. 15 and those who bought a transponder in the 30 days before that will get a credit for that amount."

Awesome, I'll receive a credit for the transponder I purchased on January 10th.

Or so I thought.

Then I re-read that and actually thought about the words. In the 30 days before "that." NOT in the past 30 days.

I do believe that January 10th would be 36 days prior.

D'Oh!

So now, I'm stuck with the $25 fee and 50 cent/month maintenance fee. Normally, I'd give them a ring and attempt to fight something like this, but I have a sinking feeling that I'm simply a victim of bad timing.

I Am Through With Winter

I totally feel like the snowstorms this weekend caught me off guard.

Were we really forecast for THIS MUCH snow?

Just staring at the piles and piles of white mountains...

And having shoveled at least 4 or 5 times already this year (somehow I appear to have inherited this responsibility for my entire building)...

And seeing little melting relief in the 10-day forecast...

I'm so fortunate that my job does not require the use of public transit and the resulting life as a downtown pedestrian. I've already lived much of the past few weeks in wool socks and hiking boots. Walking on slick, brown slush-covered sidewalks through puddles of indeterminate depth at each intersection is just a miserable experience.

This is also my first winter enjoying thrice-daily dog walks in such conditions. Last year's temperate January was a cake walk compared to this.

Tonight I had to make my way to the Back Bay for dinner. 20 minutes until the #9 showed up on Broadway, and another 15 until it rescued me from the Copley Square bus stop. Short, gingerly-taken steps amid the snowmuck in between. Another dog walk upon my return.

It's just very tiring - simply getting around. I'm ready for the Spring.

Dark Month Activites

I often joke that after the holidays, Bostonians hunker down for a few months of cold, snow, ice, and darkness, emerging sometime after Easter.  Street cleaning begins again, leaves and flowers return, and people spend more time outside beyond waiting for the bus or walking the dog.

It's these months of shorter days and chillier nights that I should take advantage of Jason time.  I'm staring at a few piles of books that I must have found interesting enough to purchase but not interesting enough to read.  I should probably work my way through these at some point soon so I can purchase more books to ignore.

The magazines are piling up again as well.  Many of them are poker magazines that just aren't "must-reads" for me anymore.  I browse them, sure.  But I haven't played much these days.  I should probably add that back to my list of dark month activites.

I could also always purge my possessions and just start selling stuff.  I wonder how much I can get for a broken Sony 5 MP camera.  Or a 3.1 MP that takes pictures onto mini-CD's.  OR a rolled-up area rug.  Or

I probably don't need folders full of notes from focus groups I conducted between three and nine years ago.  Nor do I need cassette recordings of these projects.  But, I still have them.

I'm also feeling grossly undereducated on movies these days.  I canceled my Blockbuster Online a few months ago, and have sat in movie theatres so infrequently over the past year that the movies now being released on DVD are unfamiliar to me.  These days, I pretty much entirely skip the movie section of my Entertainment Weekly.  I need to become interested once again.  Perhaps I'll rent a few PPV movies or grab some off itunes.  It's just so easy to stick with what's in the DVR list that I rarely go beyond it.  I need to shake that up.

This is all temporary, though, as it's already mid-January, and I have two pretty exotic trips planned between now and Memorial Day, both of which I'm very much looking forward to.

Softball also begins in a few months, which will be fairly time consuming for a while.

One of these trips and getting ready for the softball season are my main motivating factors to drop some weight and workout.  This is a great time of year to accomplish this as well.

Miracle on the Hudson

I have been on many airplanes in my lifetime (hence the genesis of Platinum Elite, actually - my former frequent flier status level).

Given the odds of a plane crash are quite poor, I shouldn't say that I'm shocked that all of my flights have resulted in my (and the aircraft's) safe arrival at our destination.  While thankful, I kind of expect everything to go smoothly.

But clearly, things don't always work that way.

Yesterday's events are nothing short of a miracle - it's the kind of story we needed.

Not a plane crash.

But rather, a plane rescue.

No casualties.  Coordinated effort.  Quick, correct decisions.  Everyday people going about a usual Thursday until about 3pm.  A few hundred passengers and rescuers who lived it.  Thousands more who witnessed it.  And now millions more, slackjawed, that this ended happily.

Much of the news for months has been terrible - layoffs, foreclosures, depression, bankruptcies, and loss of wealth.  I'm trying to picture the coverage of this story if it had ended much worse.  Airplane crashing into Jersey City?  Fiery crash into the Hudson?  Jet destroys George Washington Bridge?  Plan crashes into lower Manhattan (again)?

None of that.

We need heroes these days.  What a story - remarkable story from top to bottom.

Restaurante Montecristo in Eastie

After dropping Rosie off at the beauty salon on Saturday, I ventured into a part of Boston that I've seen so infrequently in my 7+ years here.

The mystical land of Eastie.

Sure, I've been to Logan Airport far more times than I can count. But I hadn't spent much time in Eastie proper, and knew very little about the neighborhood. Basically, I thought of it as Southie but much cheaper and much louder due to the constant sound of airplanes.

My journey to the "other side" of the tunnel was centered around my new FastLane toll tag. I finally switched over from EZ-Pass, motivated primarily by the Resident Tunnel program that allows me deeply discounted trips through both airport tunnels. All this time, my $3.50 trips could have been 40 cents.

I made it to the Tunpike Authority building at just the right time, as the line that grew behind me just 10 minutes after my arrival was pretty crazy. When I received my FastLane, I was told that I had to wait 30 minutes before using it.

Whether that's a racket to keep people in Eastie thereby supporting the local economy, or simply a technological fact, I hung out in Eastie for lunch (which was always my intention).

I went to my Urbanspoon iPhone app, shook it to see what came up, and it picked Restaurante Montecristo in Kelly Square.

So off I went. I found a parking spot on Meridian St. and quickly learned how Latin this area was during my brief walk to the restaurant - signs everywhere in Spanish. I was then anticipating a quick and authentic meal, exactly what I had hoped for.

And that's exactly what I received.

Inside, I turned out to be the only gringo. Mostly all of the other patrons spoke in Spanish.

The decor was unpretentious, simple, and practical, and the music they played was a mixture of cumbia, duranguense, and norteño - styles I relate to Texas actually, since I had once worked for a few Spanish-language music stations in Austin, McAllen, and San Antonio.

Since I had skipped desayuno, I was starving. I ordered the carne asada and a pupusa, my eyes a bit bigger than my belly.

Shortly, the server arrived with a ton of food. A bowl of three freshly made flour tortillas, the pupusa con queso with a side of dipping sauce, and a plate of carne asada atop a bed of rice, with a small side salad, avocado, salsa, and frijoles con cebollas.

Everything was awesome and reasonably priced. I grabbed a slice of their sweet bread for the road, and ended up spending $17 plus tip.

I need to research Eastie restaurants a bit - I hear it's mostly Hispanic and Italian food, possibly my two favorite types of ethnic cuisine.

I Despise Parking Space Saving in Southie

I just had the chance to survey the local environs during my morning walk with Rosie, and I must say, my Southie neighbors, you've disappointed me this time.

I wish people wouldn't use ANY amount of snow as an excuse to clean out their basements and save parking spots.

It's a bit absurd.

I spent far more time shoveling and salting my sidewalk (probably 30 minutes) than I did shoveling out my spot (probably 2 minutes). Perhaps I should put a cone, garbage can, and oscillating fan onto the sidewalk, thereby signifying that I don't want people walking on it.

But why did I mark my spot this morning? Because everyone else did, and out of fear for no spot when I return from work because everyone else has marked their spots.

Lemmings.

I despise this.

And please don't tell me that if I don't like it, I should move. I'm not moving...but I can still not like it.

Take these two spots:

This person clearly did a little bit of shoveling. Emphasis on "little":















While this person did not:



Not much of a difference in the amount of snow on the street.

I would fathom to guess that even a rear-wheel drive sedan can make it into and out of either spot safely. You wouldn't need an SUV to traverse this quantity of snow.

But alas, here we are. Once again. A little snow falls in Southie, and out come the space savers.

I know this won't change. Ever. But neither will my grumpiness with the system.

Ever.

Southie Neighborhood Crime Alert!

This was sent to me by a neighborhood group in Southie. Please be aware, my Southie neighbors!

*************

"It has been requested by Boston Police sources that this information get out to as many residents as possible as quickly as possible. There has been a BIG spike in housebreaks justover the last 2 weeks. Police are asking for your help.

House breaks in South Boston are increasing in number everyday, but especially over the last 2 weeks. Be aware of the following:

- Unfamiliar people lurking in your area, often carrying duffle bags or gym bags. Police say call 9-1-1

- A common tactic now is to knock on doors, looking for people who do not live at that address - this lets burglars know if there is anyone at home. Police say call 9-1-1 if this happens at your home.

- The housebreaks are taking place mainly in daytime/weekdays. Take extra care to secure doors and windows and keep an eye on your neighbor's homes too.

Some descriptions of suspects: White males, between the ages of 20 and 30, approximately 5'10'' tall, wearing hooded sweatshirts and jeans, one is described as having a "weathered face".

PLEASE! Forward this to all residents on your personal email lists and ask them to do the same."

************

Fast Lane Communities Resident Program

Universal Hub rocks for many reasons.

But today, it rocks because I saw this story about The Fast Lane Communities Resident Program

(side note - when I asked if she had ever heard about this program, Karin the Irish asked if it was a program designed for people who live in the tunnels. Though she was clearly kidding, I can see how, technically, this could be inferred)

I had NO IDEA that as a Southie resident - 02127 - I was eligible. I thought it was just for people in Eastie.

So, it appears that I can use the airport tunnel for the discounted rate of whatever it is - 40 cents?

Seriously?

How could I have lived in Southie for almost six years and not known I was eligible?

All this time...I could have been hanging out in Eastie without fear of paying $3.50 to get home.

Saturday, I'm headed to the MTA building in Eastie, utility bill as proof of residency in tow, to hook myself up.

Car Burning on Sherman Rd in Chestnut Hill

How's this for a bad morning?

My co-worker Sean lives in Chestnut Hill.

The white Jeep in this video is Sean's car.

Just as he's about to head out the door to the office, he saw a BMW pull up behind his car. The driver exited the vehicle and popped the hood. Smoke began billowing from the engine. Somehow, he was able to find some residents with fire extinguishers to spray onto the engine.

But then...

...something ignites...

...inside of the BMW...

...which is parked behind Sean's car.

Needless to say, the back of Sean's Jeep is no longer white. I'm told that the interior smells of burnt plastic.

His neighbor captured this video.

On the brighter side, I would imagine that there's no longer black ice in this part of the parking lot.

The aftermath...