.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;} <$BlogRSDURL$>

Random musings from a Midwesterner in Beantown.

Friday, April 30, 2004

My New Home... 

Sullivan Square T Station Evacuated...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=383&e=1&u=/ibsys/20040414/lo_WCVB/2094801

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Urban Renewal in Somerville 

Three, heck, no, even seven years ago, if you had told me I'd eventually live--let alone buy a house--in Somerville, I would've told you to check yourself into the funny farm. While it wasn't explicitly on the list of places not to live given to us by a dear friend of my mother and the only soul we knew in Boston when we moved here, I'm sure it was only because a few areas (like Davis Square and the Tufts University campus--where John DiBiaggio reigned until just a couple years ago) have in recent decades slightly redeemed the seedy reputation the city had acquired as far as I can tell.

Now I live in a condo in East Somerville (ironically, right next to a halfway house--which, for the record, is more accurately described as a quarter-way house--giving my wife and me an easy out if the need ever arises). Somerville is the most densely populated city in New England, and one of the densest in the U.S. It grew tremendously in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when concepts such as urban planning were reserved for them thar fancy places like Boston and New York. It is Boston's Highland Park, to give an analogy that may help my suburban friends from Michigan. Gritty but still mostly residential.

I'll post more about our experiences as time goes on. But, yet again for the record (can you tell I'm in PR?), home ownership is the way to go!

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

If people from Cambridge are Cantabrigians... 

I finally understand where the "Cantab Lounge" in Central Square (they have some great open mic nights there) got its name. That's right, reliable sources say that folks from Cambridge (England or Mass.) are officially called Cantabrigians. Maybe 'cause Cambridgians doesn't flow off the tongue quite as well.

Meanwhile, I recently became a Sumervillian. Or is that a Sumervudlian? Summervillain? Hmm...

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Diagnosis U.S.: Bipolar 

Are the near 50/50 splits (okay, more like 40/40, but still) in recent presidential elections indicative of an increasingly centrist political outlook among the general population, or are politicians, in their attempts to garner the most votes, increasingly forced to hedge their bets and try to please as many people as possible?

As I perouse johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com, I am reminded of a book I read recently, The Universe and the Teacup by K.C. Cole. Cole, a science writer, goes into great detail in one chapter on the mathematics of voting. She goes into great detail about the relative "fairness" of various voting schemes, reminding us how the nomination of Lani Guinier was derailed because--among other causes--of her view on the need to change our voting system. Guinier challenged the appropriateness of our "winner take all" system. Her book, Tyranny of the Majority, builds on many of the concerns that Founding Father James Madison had voiced more than 200 years ago.

In the words of Cole, Madison argued that "the tyranny imposed by 51 percent of the people was every bit as threatening to democracy as the royal tyranny the colonists had fought to leave behind." Cole describes several alternatives, including an innovative and mathematically sound system devised by Steven Brams and Alan Taylor.

Few would argue that our current system is tyrannical. But presidential elections certainly seem to be getting closer and closer. And when a vote for Kerry really means a vote against Bush--whereas a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush (are you following me?)--well, there's no wonder voters are reaching all-time lows in this country.

So, is it time to rethink our electoral process? Actually no. Let's figure out how to handle "one person, one vote" first, before we start looking at "one candidate, one vote" or "one person, 100 votes," as some alternatives suggest. Meanwhile, the "anybody but..." candidate selection process will continue for the forseeable future as Americans continue to be forced into the lesser of two evils and candidates are forced to continually compromise their positions to pander to the widest possible voting populations in order to secure their majority.

Monday, April 26, 2004

Solar powered geek humor, or how I failed at PR 


From: Todd Van Hoosear
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 3:55 PM
To: 'cm---@z-----.com
Subject: Re: TODAY/SCIENCE: EFFECT OF SOLAR BLAST ON TECH - PC MAGAZINE (US)


> TODAY/SCIENCE: EFFECT OF SOLAR BLAST ON TECH - PC MAGAZINE (US)
> I'm looking to speak to anyone who can discuss the solar flare that
> may reach Earth sometime today and how it will affect technology,
> including cell phones, pagers, handhelds, satellites and other
> computing equipment. No phone calls, please. Need leads by 04:00 PM
> US/Eastern OCT 24. Monitored by eWatch
> Cade Metz URL: http://www.pcmag.com

Cade, I'm very interested in responding to your request ab0ut the effect of the
imp€nding solar bla$t on te¢hno£°gy. The®e are @ ñumßer ðf things tHat mi?ht
haÞÞe/V, but yo(_) neë%n't FE/\R an œvera11 ƒ?ilur? ø? ?ur ©o/V\municatIOn systm
wyekxzj &@^029731 @#@^*#%@*@! @*(#@!^*!@)#@ sjkq@i@!() @(^ wqiy eksh dg@*&^ wdy
uwqks duwtr(*@&te k

Sunday, April 25, 2004

The drinking club with a running problem 

Got a note out of the blue from an old friend the other day, and it reminded me of his decision to combine two of his favorite activities, drinking and running, into one possibly dangerous but certainly fun sport, hashing.

Friday, April 23, 2004

Sports for Dummies? 

Well, it's pretty involved, but at least there are pretty pictures to keep me engaged...

Thursday, April 22, 2004

Another claim to fame 

A couple years after Bob Talbert explored what defines a Michiganian, intrepid reporter Murray Dubin began investigating other lists circulating the web, and found my (and a few other folks' various) Shotgun Rules. My quote appears below.

I later tried to sell him on my web page on urinal etiquette, but he balked, claiming he wrote for a family newspaper. I still can't believe I actually used the word "codify" in a sentence...

Todd Van Hoosear, 28, a computer consultant from Boston, is one of the Web page rules disseminators. "I posted the Shotgun Rules about two years ago because we had used a simpler variation of them among my high school and college friends," he says. "I found it funny because someone actually spent the time to codify what were simply some vague, unwritten rules that so many of my friends followed."

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

I just don't get it 

I have to admit almost complete ignorance of most sports. Love to play 'em, and even enjoy watching them, but as soon as I'm in a situation where I have to talk about them, I feel like an absolute idiot.

Now put me in the middle of a sports-obsessed town like Boston. I'm not talking the "hey, we won for the first time in n years so lets burn this couch/moped/car/house/city block" kind of enthusiasm that I was familiar with in Michigan. We're talking the "Yankees Suck! They always have! They always will!" kind of obsessiveness that only comes with fans of a team that hasn't won a championship since 1918.

Fish out of water. But I'm acclimating. And thanks to a new beard, I can actually tell two or three Red Sox apart. Maybe I'll make it here... Oh, I forgot to add... Go Red Wings!! ;-)

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

That's not funny! 

Detroiters have a sense of humor--well, most of them. If you've been through all the shit that they have over the last 50 years, you'd have to have a sense of humor just to survive.

Bostonians, on the other hand, seem to take life a lot more seriously. Maybe it's the Puritanical heritage or the New England sensibilities, but whatever the cause, there's a visible undercurrent of tension here--especially when it comes to sports--that a midwestern white suburbanite like me can best describe as the feeling you get when you realize you made a wrong turn into a part of the city you're completely unfamiliar with, and oh dear God is that what a crack house really looks like?

Maybe that's why comedy is actually big in Boston! It's a pressure valve for the high expectations set for Boston.

Monday, April 19, 2004

A pie ain't a pie, a bean ain't a bean? 

The Food Reference Website, commenting on the irony that a Boston Cream Pie isn't a pie, wrote: "At least Boston Baked Beans are really beans!". But are they?

Friday, April 16, 2004

Rules of Driving: Boston vs. Detroit 

The drivers are the same, but the roads are very different!

Thursday, April 15, 2004

...or a Bostonian? 

Hmm... http://www.prba.com/humor.html

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Am I a Michigander...? 

One of my bigger claims to fame was being mentioned by name (with my buddy Kolyan) in one of Bob Talbert's columns. In 1996, he turned his eyes on a list that had been circulating for a few months and which was obviously inspired by Jeff Foxworthy: "You Might be a Michigander if..."

I wish I could find the article online, but it doesn't come up. I have the clip in my scrapbook though.

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Speaking of Whoppers, don't forget the Big Mac! 


From: Todd Van Hoosear
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2003 9:12 AM
To: 'additions@michigannative.com'
Subject: Big Mac (No, Not McDonald's Spam, a Suggested Addition to Your List)

Love the guide. Ya godda add "Big Mac" to the list (i.e., the Mackina* Bridge).

How about "Loopers" (as a--probably preferred, at least by people from the Lower Peninsula--alternative to Fudgies or Trolls)?

And no Michigan guide is complete without a mention and description of "YOU-kerr" and Vernors.

Oh yeah, and out here in Massachusetts (moved here 7 years ago), they call party stores "packies" (i.e., "packaged" liquor stores).

Take care!

- Todd

http://www.michigannative.com/michiganaccent.html

Monday, April 12, 2004

You can't have it your way, you're too fat! 

WDIV-TV reports:

"You don't need a couple of Whoppers. You are too fat. Pull ahead," Officer Gerry Scherlink said is an example of what the hackers are telling customers at the [Troy-based Burger King] drive-through speaker.

The men are reportedly tapping into the wireless frequency at the restaurant located at 14 Mile and John R roads. Police believe the culprits are watching and broadcasting from close range.

Full Story: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2750963/detail.html

Sunday, April 11, 2004

What do Monty Python, Harbor Springs and Hemingway have in common? 

Curious? Read on...

http://www.palinstravels.co.uk/book-2230

And no, I have no idea what a ticket-oyce is either...

- Todd

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?