Earth to Bill

School Books

2008-08-26T16:24:00.003-04:00

I swung by STCC today to buy my books and pick up my student ID. In the book store, the books for my courses were easy enough to find. If anyone did have trouble, there were a couple of folks milling about to help them.

As I waited in line, I glanced around at all the classroom accessories, souvenirs and coffee mugs the store had available for shoppers. I looked to the girl standing in front of me and said, "You'd think for the price of the freakin' books they'd give you a mug."

Since I'm only taking a couple of courses, I said to myself when I got there: "If it's under a hundred bucks I'll use my debit card. If it's over a hundred bucks, I'll use my CitiBank card."

I used my CitiBank card. Way.

*

After I put my books in my car, I walked over to Building 17 to get my student ID. I had gone to get my photo taken a few weeks beforehand, so I figured it must be available by now. It was. But not before I got a stern look from the lady there for not attending student orientation.

I explained to her that I was away on vacation when the orientation took place.

"You don't have to explain to me," she said - but in That Tone Of Voice that made you feel like you probably did need to explain yourself.

The girl checked my identification on her computer. When my photo came up on the screen, somehow it seemed to me that I looked much older. And I think the girl chuckled a bit when my picture came up on the screen, too. Thanks.

All I'm waiting for now is my parking permit sticker thingy, which I should be getting in the mail from the STCC police any day, now. I noticed while I was there, too, that the maintenance folks were busy re-surfacing and touching up the off-campus student parking areas.

One more week before classes start.

* *

STCC-ing it Out

2008-07-22T18:07:00.003-04:00

With limited options for career advancement at my current place of employment, I began to re-align my goals in recent years in the hopes of finding a niche for myself in another field of endeavor.

Getting my Comp-TIA Certification (PC tech) in 2006 was a first step in that direction. Last year I also ramped-up my blogging efforts and decided to focus my stories on my home city, Springfield, MA. That eventually got me this Valley Advocate Reader's Poll award.

Now this year it's time for me to fiddle around with my education. This fall I will be taking two courses (all I can afford on my meager budget) at Springfield Technical Community College. The two courses I'm taking are: Intro. to Mass Communication; and English Composition 1.

Following my placement exam, I actually qualified to take a more advanced English course. But the English Comp One course is a prerequisite for several other media courses I'm aiming at for the spring (2009) and beyond, so that'll do.

I'll try to keep folks posted as I go along. My posting on this blog has been infrequent, however, because of my involvement with a regional collaborative blog, Pioneer Valley Central, which I both post to and design and maintain.

Keeps me busy!

* *

New Photo Clicker

2008-06-25T10:50:00.006-04:00

Got a new digital camera the other day. It was long overdue. It's a Kodak Z1012 IS, and whether folks are fans of it or foes of it, it is a vast improvement over my old digital device.

While I was out, a couple of buddies spotted a hawk feasting on a rabbit by a parking lot. I quickly sprung into action with my new camera....

[click on images, below, to enlarge]

Still a considerable distance away, the hawk carried his prey up to a little hill, so I maximum-zoomed to get a shot of the him in case he took off before I could get closer....

As I approached, I could see he was ripping away at the poor bunny, cleary eager to fill his little bird belly....

All that remained on the parking lot pavement was this mess at the original kill site....

As I ventured perhaps a bit too close, the hawk flew off to a nearby power station....

But he had left behind his dinner, so I snapped this photo of what was left of it...

* *

Reel Mowers

2008-05-16T15:25:00.004-04:00

I have three lawn mowers in my possession, all of them being of the "push" variety. Of the three, two are non-powered, "reel" type mowers, like the kind that our granddads used to use (or our dads, depending on how old you are).

I picked up a copy of the Daily Hampshire Gazette's weekly magazine, "Hampshire Life," where I saw a story that caught my eye because of my ownership of said reel mowers. It was about a guy by the name of Jim Ricci who collects old reel-type lawn mowers, as well as other models. He also collects promotional materials, literature, and other lawn mowing artifacts as he pursues his long-time ambition of writing a book about old mowers. This issue's story marks the fourth story Hampshire Life has has written about Ricci's hobby since he started up his collection back in the mid-1990s. He now owns several hundred mowers, plus other landscaping equipment he has come across.

It's an interesting story, a good read, and you can check it out yourselves in the May 16th hardcopy issue of Hampshire Life. If you're reading this post after that week's issue has gone out, you're shit outta luck. Either that or subscribe to the online edition of the Gazette, or wait and hope Google caches the story. Whatever.

* *

Deserves Got Nothing To Do With It

2008-05-05T18:20:00.005-04:00

A health care panel examining emergency measures in the event of a pandemic disaster has drawn up a list of those who should not be treated. The study assumes meager resources, a strained health care system, and patients who - even if they did receive treatment - would not live long anyway.

Check out the story HERE.

* *

Light Bulb? Incandescent, Please

2008-05-02T09:58:00.007-04:00

With news last year that the Federal Government is going to be banning incandescent bulbs by 2014, environmentalist-mined folks from across the nation held hands and rejoiced.

The world will be saved!

The incandescent bulb has been decried as some dirty, wasteful, nasty thing. It even gets political, as some Liberals use it to describe their conservative countrymen: "Republicans are, like, so incandescent..."

So the incandescent bulb is something to be scorned. Reviled, even.

Poor incandescent bulb.

But I still like you! And after reading the latest news about the proper disposal of our new, "energy efficient" compact fluorescent bulbs, I'm learning to love you all over again.

There's this from MSNBC News: "Compact fluorescent light bulbs, long touted by environmentalists as a more efficient and longer-lasting alternative to the incandescent bulbs that have lighted homes for more than a century, are running into resistance from waste industry officials and some environmental scientists, who warn that the bulbs' poisonous innards pose a bigger threat to health and the environment than previously thought."

Yes, it appears that our new-and-improved little bulbs are rather nasty things in their own right. That's because, like all fluorescent bulbs, they have mercury in them, and one must be very, very careful in their disposal. Proponents of the new bulbs downplay the presence of mercury in them, like this article found online: "A power plant emits about 10 mg of mercury to produce the electricity needed to run an incandescent bulb, compared to only 2.4 mg of mercury to run a CF bulb for the same amount of time."

Yes, that's all well and good. But the mercury in a power plant is in a power plant, not surrounding me in my living room.

If you break an incandescent bulb, you just sweep up the tiny shards of glass and toss it in the trash. Not so with the new energy efficient bulbs. Breaking one of those constitutes a environmental hazard. Below is the twelve-step cleanup process recommended by the EPA:

Before Clean-up: Ventilate the Room
1.) Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
2.) Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
3.) Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

A.] Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
4.) Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
5.) Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
6.) Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes and place them in the glass jar or plastic bag.
7.) Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

B.] Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug
4.) Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
5.) Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
6.) If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
7.) Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials
8.) Immediately place all cleanup materials outside the building in a trash container or outdoor protected area for the next normal trash.
9.) Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
10.) Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states prohibit such trash disposal and require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Ventilate the Room During and After Vacuuming
11.) The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window prior to vacuuming.
12.) Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

Then there is the disposal standard that applies to all energy efficient bulbs, broken or not [from an online article]: "Recycling burned-out CFs is the best option. To find out if there are recycling options near you, call 1-800-CLEAN-UP for an automated hotline or visit earth911.org. (At the top of the earth911.org home page, enter your zip code and press "go." Click on the "Household Hazardous Waste" link, then the "fluorescent bulbs" link. This page will identify the nearest mercury recycling or disposal facilities near you. If the page contains no specific information on CFs, go back and click on the link for "Mercury Containing Items.")

"Or contact your local government agency in charge of household hazard waste (start with your sanitation department) to see if recycling is an option in your area."

Man, I just want to toss out my used up bulbs, not make an ordeal out of it. Which is exactly what most folks are going to end up doing, anyway. So after 2014 - indeed, starting nowadays - our landfills are going to be loading up with improperly discarded compact fluorescent bulbs.

Just like the ones that will be sitting in my trash cans.

* *

Child Care Doesn't Make Grade in Mass.

2008-04-29T10:50:00.003-04:00

A story from the Associated Press highlights Massachusetts' failing efforts to protect children under state care:

BOSTON (AP) — A federal watchdog group gives Massachusetts a near failing grade for its efforts to protect children from abuse.

Only nine states fared worse than Massachusetts, which got a D-minus in the study by the Children's Advocacy Institute and the watchdog group First Star.

The report said the state has failed to report on near-fatal child abuse and operates under a shroud of secrecy.

It cited several high-profile examples of alleged Department of Social Services failures, including Haleigh Poutre's case.

The girl was beaten into a coma while in foster care after DSS dismissed more than a dozen allegations of abuse.

It also mentioned Rebecca Riley, the 4-year-old whose parents are charged with manslaughter after she died from a prescription drug overdose.

Also, check out this Boston Herald story on the DSS (referencing the same report).

An excerpt:

The explosive report, scheduled to be released today, singles out the Department of Social Services as “dysfunctional and in critical need of comprehensive reform” and slams the state with a D- grade.

“It’s extremely disappointing to receive such a mark, but tragically not surprising,” said state Rep. John H. Rogers, the House majority leader and a member of the legislative committee on child abuse and neglect.

Couric, Gumbel Out

2008-04-12T09:51:00.003-04:00

NFL play-by-play impostor Bryant Gumbel is reported to be leaving the NFL Network after two years. The report says it was apparently Gumbel's decision, but isn't that the way these things always seem to go.

Meanwhile, so-called "media sweetheart" Katie Couric is a goner over at CBS News. In Miss Katie's situation, it seems more of a forced retirement, with ratings for the CBS newscast plummeting during her tenure as the evening anchor. Couric currently rates a distant third-place out of the major broadcast networks. She is reportedly scheduled to depart after this November's elections.

I just wanted to point out these two oustings since a.) Bryant Gumbel is a race card-issuing snob (how did he end up so terribly different than his brother, nice guy Greg Gumbel?), and b.) Miss Katie is a liberal schmoozer in the mold of Dan Rather. Better CBS rid themselves of her now before she eventually ends up embarrassing them while on some crusade against the Evil Right.

Wordpress 2.5 Evaluation Time

2008-04-10T11:21:00.003-04:00

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since "upgrading" to the all-new version of Wordpress, version 2.5, and I can now settle in on my overall conclusion to this latest incarnation:

IT SUCKS!

Where to begin? I'll start with the interface, which is cluttered and confusing, although with time I'll probably get used to it in time.

On the Theme design side, where once I could add plugins to either of my two sidebars in version 2.3, I can now only add plugins to one of them. Why is that?

The visual editor (WYSIWYG) still sticks. Doesn't come close to rendering the page as it would be with me doing it up in scratch HTML - which I now have reverted back to doing.

The image uploader/editor: Why in the name of The Three Stooges did the Wordpress open source folks mess with this utility? It worked just fine in all the previous versions, yet for some reason the developers saw a need to play around with it, and in so doing, they have succeeded in creating perhaps the most frustrating, ill-conceived, non-workable image uploader I have ever used. I get errors uploading and continue to be unable to transfer images into the post editor. This is all thanks to the software's all-new Flash animated uploader utility, which simply does not work.

I cannot for the life of me understand why the Wordpress folks can't just get the most basic of things - like visual editing and file uploading/transferring correct when companies such as Blogger managed to get the process down correctly years ago.

I now agonize over my decision to upgrade from Wordpress version 2.33. Editing and updating/inserting images using Wordpress 2.5 is about as pleasurable as pulling a sliver from my fingernail.

Thanks a lot, Wordpress. Please, please tell me you guys are working on fixes for the above failings for version 2.5.2

* *

Another Big Win for Wal-Mart

2008-03-29T11:07:00.005-04:00

[Story also posted at the Springfield Intruder.]

Sorry, Wal-Mart, but this time you're the bad guy.

Doing business and conquering the retail world is one thing. Bankrupting a family already on the ropes - both financially and emotionally - just to prove a legal point is something else entirely.

A CNN story reports that Wal-Mart sued a couple for health benefits it paid out after former employee Debbie Shank was awarded money in her own lawsuit against a trucking company deemed responsible for disabling 52-year-old wife and mother.

Shank suffered debilitating injuries which left her wheelchair-bound, in a nursing home and with a persistent case of short-term memory loss that drives her to re-live the shock of hearing about her son's death in Iraq every time somebody brings it up. She was awarded $1 million in her lawsuit, but after legal fees and (continuing) medical expenses, she is currently down to $277,000.

Wal-Mart sued on one of those "fine print" matters that seem to screw so many people: In accordance with the company's Health Plan (see fine print) the company can recoup benefits paid out if the recipient receives money in a lawsuit. The retail giant sought $470,000 in benefit money it paid out the Shanks. All sentiment aside, Wal-Mart won their case - although the court ruled the company could only recover the amount remaining in the trust fund. The Shanks appealed several times, but lost each one. The Supreme Court refused to hear their case.

Make no mistake about it: Wal-Mart is perfectly within its legal rights to get its money back from the Shanks. And it intends to get it.

Last year Wal-Mart posted $90 million in net sales. Meanwhile, Jim Shank divorced his wife so she could collect more Medicaid.

Go get 'em, Wal-Mart.

* *

More Internet Journalism Opinion

2008-03-27T11:14:00.001-04:00

The latest episode of Cranky Geeks - the videocast of PC Magazine tech writer John Dvorak - brings up the topic of failing newspapers and how they continue to just "not get it" - firing writers that provide content and so further degrading their product.

The issue is brought up at about just after the half-way mark on the below-linked video. (The first parts may bore you if you're not a tech brat.)

Cranky Geeks - Episode 109

* *

Dwarf Seeks Justice for Being Feared

2008-03-26T19:26:00.004-04:00

Can't blame someone for being frightened of you, can you?

Apparently you can, according to Ethan Wade, a dwarf who ventured into a McDonald's to get some grub and struck fear into the heart of a counter clerk. Another employee explained to Wade that the frightened server had a fear of little people. Said Wade in the FoxNews article: "The [frightened] employee had stated to her, 'Imagine if you saw a snake or a spider, how would you respond?' And that employee said she understood that. And I said, 'That's unbelievable. I am a human being.'"

"You can't have a phobia of a person," said Wade in the story. "I'm a human being. You can't have that type of phobia."

Oh really, Wade? How about if you were a gay little person?

* *

"Us" and "Them"

2008-03-06T10:23:00.003-05:00

Driving out to Holland, MA, last weekend, I was struck (figuratively speaking) by the sight of a cemetery along Route 20 that had a large landscaped shrubbery inscription reading, "Pray For Us" along its front. I thought it was a creepy sentiment, as it gave one the sense that the dead had put forward the request - despite the certain knowledge that a living grounds crew had crafted the message. It made me think of "the other side", where none return from, and how I've always thought it a little unsettling that I sometimes think of life and death as an "us" and "them" kind of thing.

Death is the final act in the story of all our lives. Most of us try to avoid our fate for as long as possible, but in the end we know that, eventually, we are going to lose the fight and become like "them".

Creepy.

~ ~

Kinks and Tweaks

2008-03-05T19:17:00.003-05:00

Well, the new version of the Springfield Intruder is up and running - with some occasional sputtering, of course. I'm having a little trouble with the various rss feeds going into the Front Page - two offering blog feeds, plus the google feeds. I suspect the problems I've encountered are from the blog feeds, and I'm working to get the bugs fixed on that.

It's like a never-ending ordeal, sometimes, getting things straight. Oh well!

Some minor tweaks to the site will also be performed in the coming days and weeks. And I still need to update and check the links on the "Missing Persons" section of the site, so for now, it's not linked on the site.

That's all for now.

*

Big Stuff

2008-02-29T16:20:00.002-05:00

Many changes are about to occur over at The Springfield Intruder. There'll be a brand-new layout, new video listings page, and some other cool stuff that I'm still plotting.

The re-design should be done this weekend (March 1st, 2nd), and I may be uploading and installing the layout at that time - if all goes well. It's fairly big project, as I will need to re-design and update some pages inside the Intruder, too.

Big Stuff!

See ya there ;-)

Lame Shots of Moon Eclipse

2008-02-21T10:33:00.003-05:00

Below are some lame photos I took of the Lunar eclipse from my cheap-o digital camera. I left my telescope at home.

*

*

Below are two much better shots of the Lunar eclipse taken by my trusty sidekick and girlfriend, Donna, who braved the cold outdoors to do a goody for her man....

* *

Like it or not: "Hate Speech" is Free Speech

2008-01-15T11:51:00.000-05:00

There has been a movement going on for decades now to control the speech of people whose views we find offensive or abhorrent. Through the years, our society has conditioned itself to be on alert for any statements, broadcasts, or images that may even remotely offend the tender sensibilities of minorities, women, the handicapped, the poor, the religious, or any other group capable of being labeled as a victim. The "progressive" movement in particular has rallied to the cause of banning what they have termed "hate speech" - that is, any speech or opinion they disagree with.

But each time we call out for the silencing of those whose opinions we find ugly or hateful, we take another step forward towards the subjugation of our free society. For the line between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable will gradually become more and more hazy. Already we have seen the definition of "hate" itself become more vague. Can we be too far off, then, from a time when all speech and expression will be routinely regulated?

Laugh at the notion if you wish. But in other parts of the world, the slide into restricted speech has already begun. Glenn Greenwald talks about this sad development at his blog on Salon.com. Check out his story, and also take the time to watch the video of a conservative publisher being questioned by a government official about his political views. Keep in mind, too, that the country the video was recorded in is none other than our progressive neighbor to the north, Canada.

Quite Orwellian. And disturbing.

You can also see the video below.

*

Conservative publisher being questioned by an Alberta government official.

*

Web Lessons and Blogging

2008-01-03T12:05:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, February 12th, from 10:00am to 11:30am, I will be teaching a free class on the Internet at the Springfield City Library, entitled, "Internet 101 - Welcome to the Web". This class is for folks new to the Internet and who would like to learn more about how to navigate the Web and find resources.

To learn more, or to sign up (or sign up a friend or relative), visit this linked webpage and scroll down to the "Internet 101 - Welcome to the Web" class.

Again, my class time is February 12th, 10:00am to 11:30am.

*
In addition to the above class, in March I will also be conducting two free blogging classes at the City Library for those folks interested in blogs and blogging. Blogs are like online journals, where folks can write about their lives, politics, religion, or whatever they choose. The first class is "Blogs 101", which goes over the basics of blogs - what they are, how to find them, and what they offer that mainstream media doesn't. The second class is "Blogging Basics", where I instruct folks on how to make a blog, write a blog, upload photos and video, and more.

The "Blogs 101" class is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4th, 10:00am to 11:30am.
The "Blogging Basics" class is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11th, 10:00am to 11:30am.

To sign up for one of these classes - or both of them, go to this same linked page and scroll down to "Blogs 101" and "Blogging Basics".

* *

Springfield Intruder - See Above

2007-12-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

If you're coming here at the behest of Local Buzz, click on the banner up towards the top of the page!

Thanks! ;-)

- BD

Not According to Plan

2007-12-13T14:24:00.000-05:00

This event happened last August, 2007, but I had such a good time watching it that I wanted to share it with the folks who stop by here.

It's a video of "Dateline" associate producer Michelle Madigan getting escorted out of a DefCon gathering [hacker conference] after she was outed while trying to work undercover there (complete with hidden video cam). Here is a link to a ZDNET blog that goes into further detail about the incident. Madigan was given every opportunity to remain at the event - as long as she put on press credentials, which she repeatedly refused to do (kind of ruins the "secret operative" effect). Finally, the event staff got up on stage and announced to the crowd the start of a new game, entitled, "Who Can Spot the Undercover Reporter."

Follow this link to a transcript of Madigan's ordeal.

LESSON TO BE LEARNED: Never try to "out-tech" a tech conference.

* *

Anonymously Speaking - Part 3

2007-12-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

Over at the website of WHMP radio's "Morning News," with Chris Collins & Tom Vannah, I found a podcast from an episode recorded this past November where Collins goes off on anonymous posters at Masslive who have insulted him and Tom on the "TV and Radio" forum.

My feelings on anonymous posters has already been documented. Collins more-or-less reiterates the common complaint us "known" posters have - that anonymous posters are generally abusive and insulting because they are "somebody else" when they're online, and don't have to be concerned about paying any social (or legal) consequences for their words/actions.

Collins mentions that the Masslive folks do a good job of patrolling the threads looking for slanderous or libelous material, which they do. I just sometimes wish they would deliver the editorial sword to some of the more childish and abusive posts. But I guess drawing the line between poor taste and poking fun can be a difficult one.

*

Teddy Bear Sparks Muslim Protests

2007-11-30T19:19:00.000-05:00

Muslim Stupidity on Display Again

Infuriated Sudanese protesters filled the streets of Khartoum on Friday after British school teacher Gillian Gibbons was convicted of inciting religious hatred and sentenced to 15 days in jail. Gibbons was arrested after allowing her school children to name their class teddy bear "Muhammad". She was spared the expected 40 lashes.

Oh, and in case you were thinking the protesters were in support of Ms. Gillian, you should know that they were instead demanding her execution. From the FoxNews story: The protesters called for Gibbons' execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."

Ah, the Religion of Peace...

*

Match Maker: HandyCam & Movie Maker

2007-11-09T20:14:00.000-05:00

Ah, a tech post. It's been a long while, so I thought I'd pop one in here.

Last year I purchased a Canon cheap-o camcorder for the purpose of making videos that I could upload to YouTube and add to my posts here on my weblog. Video-blogging they call it, I guess. I don't know - it's a heck of a lot easier than writing four paragraphs of crap.

Anyway, things went rather well with the videos. Originally, I had planned on doing both audio podcasts and video posts. But the video posts have always seemed to be so much easier and more fun to do, and so the podcasts have mostly fallen by the wayside. I made videos of parks and streets and local events here in Springfield, and I even took my camcorder up with me to our week-long family camping getaway to showoff the campground we stayed at.

It was all great fun - and still is. But somewhere along the road, I got this itching for a camcorder with a little extra umph. Nothing extravagant or too expensive, mind you. But something that could manage the darker settings and more challenging environments that I found myself getting into on certain occasions. And so it came to be that I ended up in Sears the other day, and that is where I splurged on my second camcorder purchase - a Sony HandyCam DCR-DVD108.

Wahoo! This camcorder came with x40 zoom (a +5 zoom improvement over my Canon), plus nighttime lighting assist and better anti-shaky software stuff. All-in-all, I was pretty impressed with its features. I took some test videos of it while I was out-and-about before bringing it home and seeing how it hooked up to my computer. As it turns out, the USB cord that came with it is fairly useless for my purposes. It's only really needed for transferring photographs taken from the camcorder (not in my plans). The Handycam uses a mini-DVD to store recorded video, so I ejected the little DVD and slapped it into the DVD player of my laptop. Next, I fired up good ol' Windows Movie Maker and got ready to see how my new toy took videos!

Nothing. What the fuck? Movie Maker couldn't even see the files on the DVD. Was I missing something? "Now is the time for me to read the owners manual," I said to myself.

The manual didn't have anything on editing video from the DVD. Even more chilling, it never even mentioned Windows Movie Maker! What was going on here?

Time for an Internet search.

Whenever I have a problem with PCs or software, one of the first things I do is perform a Web search by typing my problem into Google. Nine out of ten times, I'm not the first person to have that particular problem, and so I'll find the problem and (usually) a multitude of solutions on the Internet.

The bad news hit me fast: Apparently, Windows Movie Maker is not compatible with videos stored on mini-DVDs. You have got to be kidding me.

It got worse: All the file conversion software that was mentioned as a solution to bridge the compatibly gap was priced at around $70-to-$90 buck-o-reenies.

Kiss my ass.

It was at about this time that returning the camcorder entered my mind as a distinct possibility.

But I hate being defeated. Especially when it comes to PC and software problems. So I continued my Web search, vowing not to fail in my quest for a solution!

I downloaded and tried out three programs (all free trial versions), two of which were video editing suites that I really didn't want - I just wanted to convert video so that I could use Movie Maker. I also visited several tech support message boards that are usually pretty helpful, but not in this case. They just confirmed that I would be needing $$$ software.

Finally, after over an hour of sniffing around and experimenting, I stumbled across this nifty little program - I think it was all of 239kb in size - that seemed to hold promise. It's called Prism, and thanks-be to the Tech Gods, it worked like crazy. Best of all, it was FREE.

I took some video on the camcorder and slapped the mini-DVD into the laptop. Then I used the software that came with the HandyCam to transfer the video files from the DVD to the PC. Next, I fired up my little Prism and converted the files from mpeg (which for some reason Movie Maker was rejecting) to wma files. With that done, I next fired up Movie Maker and Wallah, I was ready to edit some video.

The entire operation actually takes mere seconds to go through. And yes, I suppose some smart guy (or chick) is going to tell me about some codec somewhere that will do the trick far easier (although neither smart folks nor codecs could be found on my Web search). But for a guy with no education at all with video - other than YouTube - I thought my little achievement was quite impressive.

Now, I'm still going to use my nifty Canon for quicker, daytime video shoots. But it's good to know that if I need a bit higher quality videos, or I need to shoot video and hand over the DVD on-site, I can turn to the HandyCam as a second option.

Next up is a new tripod mount! The one I have now is about fifteen years old and getting a little rickety. More than once it collapsed on me while I was filming. (Recently, I was at a City press conference in front of the old York Street jail and had my Canon camcorder set on the tripod. As the press conference went on, I sat crouched for a good amount of time behind the camera, looking as if I was making sure the camera was angled correctly. In reality, I was just staying near it in case the tripod gave out! ;-)

*

Oh, the Irony...

2007-11-09T18:18:00.001-05:00

So the autopsy results are out on that woman who died in custody at a Phoenix airport holding cell. As suspected, she accidently strangled herself. This after first getting shit-faced while on her way to an alcohol treatment facilty.

Go figure.

This from the AP article:

Gotbaum was arrested after becoming irate with gate crews who refused to allow her to board a plane. After realizing she missed her flight, Gotbaum used profanity and said, "I'm not a terrorist."

Before her arrest, she was seen on surveillance video running through an airport terminal, bowing abruptly as she appeared to yell and resisting arrest as three officers try to control her. Once handcuffed in the terminal, Gotbaum locked her legs as officers held her by the arms and pushed the still-standing woman through the terminal.

Police said officers took her to the holding room and shackled her to a chain on a bench, where she continued screaming. They checked on her minutes after she stopped screaming, and found her with the handcuffs and chain around her neck area.

Efforts to revive her failed.

Somewhere, there is a sad lesson to be learned in this story.

*

Adventures in Geocaching

2007-10-31T00:40:00.000-04:00

A coworker of mine recently introduced me to the sport/hobby of Geocaching (pronounced, "geo-cashing"). What the heck is geocaching, you ask? Well, geocaching is sort of like the techno-geek's answer to treasure hunting. Here's the idea: First, you need to have a GPS device - handheld, preferably. Then you go online and join a geocaching site - geocaching.com is the best one out there. Next, select a "cache" (stash) to search for using either the cache listings or integrated Google Map search utility. Once you select a cache, printout the cache's page, which provides you with GPS coordinates and details about the cache and how to look for it.

Now the fun part! Put on your sneakers or hiking boots and get outside to track down your treasure. You'll probably drive to a nearby location, first, then park your car and head out on foot with your GPS turned on and keeping you going in the right direction. Many hidden caches are somewhat easy to find (especially for veteran geocachers, who know where & how to look). But some can be quite difficult and frustrating to discover. But that's all a part of the challenge of geocaching! Once you find a cache, you remove it from its hiding place, open it up, sign the log book that's inside of it, and then put it back the way you found it, carefully hidden away. (Part of the challenge of geocaching is not being seen removing or replacing the cache, since folks might plunder the stash after you leave.) There may also be little prizes inside the cache that you can swap out for a trinket you brought along with you to put in.

Finally, you return home and go online to login your discovery at the geocaching website.

Now, doesn't that sound fun?

My own recent adventures in geocaching have brought me to a number of places I would otherwise have never bothered to visit. Thus far, I've found six caches and failed in my search for three of them. Last Saturday, in the midst of a day-long downpour and high winds, I was out there in the wilderness, tracking down stashes. Bad weather and evening treks are actually good times to go searching, since most [normal] folks are indoors and there's less of a chance of being seen taking out a cache. That's what I told myself, anyway, as I slid down an embankment and tumbled to the wet ground in the middle of Forest Park. All I could picture was the headline in the newspaper: "43-year-old man breaks leg searching for treasure in park."

And my ordeals are bound to be even more treacherous as the winter season approaches....

Geocaching is a worldwide phenomenon. Just stop by geocaching.com and do a search, and you'll be amazed at how many hidden caches are in your community alone. The craze began around the year 2000. I've been searching for caches now for only about two weeks. It gets me outside more often, and gives me something to do on those "nothing to do" days that always seem to creep into my schedule.

How much does it cost? Only the price of a handheld GPS device (starting at $100) and gas in your car.

So there you have it. Now there's no excuse for you to be sitting on your couch on a weekend afternoon, watching TV as life passes you by. Get on out there and take up the hunt!

More info on geocaching:
- A Beginners Guide to Geocaching
- Geocaching Wiki
- Geocacher University

*

Now That's a Muscle Car!

2007-10-26T07:55:00.000-04:00

While having lunch last weekend, my date and I passed by this armored car parked in a shopping center parking lot. We pulled over and I snapped a couple of photos. As you can see from the second photo, it was even registered with the DMV, complete with license plate.

*

Feminists Have More Fun?

2007-10-17T09:10:00.001-04:00

In an article I found on Livescience.com, scientists are reporting that their findings show that feminists have more fun in their relationships than non-feminists.

Personally, I find this hard to believe. And it's entirely possible the folks who answered the surveys involved in this study might have fibbed a little. I've always found feminists to be unbelievably boring and anal in their perspectives on life and living. (Just think Gloria on "All in the Family".)

Non-feminist chicks like to get drunk and party. What's so wrong with a fun-loving attitude like that? Of course they probably have a higher probability of getting pregnant, too. Hmm.

Oh well. There it is.

And here's the article to read yourself.

At the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival

2007-10-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

Each year my family meets up for a final camping outing by visiting the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival. The festival began in 1990, with an attendance of 425 garlic lovers. From that modest beginning, this year's attendance reached 53,000 visitors over two days. I can tell you first hand, we were glad we beat out the largest of the crowds, as we arrived at about 11:00am on Saturday and departed by about 2:30pm. As we drove away from the festival, mile after mile of cars lined the roads...

The power of garlic.

*

One of my first stops at the festival is the Boy Scouts tent, where I indulge in a garlic beef-on-a-stick as an appetizer.

There were about three or four bands playing in different areas of the Festival.

By about noontime, the crowds began to pack the festival streets.

Most garlic growers also had taste testing available for curious visitors.

There was garlic shrimp and garlic chowder...

...garlic & pork sandwiches...

...and even garlic ice cream (which I passed on).

There were non-garlic offerings, as well. I tried out the Jambalaya at this place.
It was delicious!

Other freshly-harvested alternatives to garlic included these peppers.

There were also several gift and souvenir vendors.

Wherever I go in my travels, I always try to pick up the local weekly newspaper. On this weekend, I found two such papers, both published by Ulster Publishing. The Woodstock Times had a feature story on - what else? - a marijuana bust. While the Saugerties Times had a sobering story on a local murder. The Saugerties Times also had a guide to the weekend's Garlic Festival. Surprisingly - since I'm used to the free papers in these parts (The Reminder and Valley Advocate) - neither weekly paper was free. The Woodstock Times was $1.00 and the Saugerties Times sold for 75 cents.

I also picked up a Garlic Festival program, which was selling for a mere 25 cents.

My purchases at the festival included a lot of food, plus a festival t-shirt and a tub of garlic cheese and a bottle of Bear-Man barbecue sauce.

Below is a short video I took while walking around the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival...

There are also more photos to see over at Flickr. You can see them all by clicking HERE.

*

Also, for anyone interested, I stopped by the Eastern States Exposition on Friday, September 28th, and did a little piece, including a video, for my other blog, The Springfield Intruder. You can check that out HERE.

Buffalo gets "Mossed" by the Pats

2007-09-24T10:48:00.000-04:00

Ahh, New England....

The mountains, the lakes, the scenic beauty of the Berkshires, historic Boston, the fishing communities - oh, and of course, the home of the New England Patriots, who, despite the rabid villainy tossed on us by our jealous neighbors in New York and beyond, continue to heap victory on top of victory for the local masses to enjoy. On Sunday (Sept. 23), we were entertained with yet another wipe out as our Boys delivered the sword to the staggering Buffalo Bills.

I was there, live, to take in the game, along with three friends. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon - finally, since we had not so much good fortune in the past. This day gave us everything we hoped for - warm weather, a victory for the team, and no car accidents. The traffic was unusually heavy due primarily to construction going on near the stadium - the Patriots organization is building a sprawling new complex, called "Patriots Place", next to Gillette Stadium - but we had left early in anticipation of this, so it wasn't a problem.

Below are some photos I took with my phone camera. Click on photos for larger views.

This sign warns unsuspecting travellers that a football game is being played today...

Walking along the overpass on our approach to Gillette Stadium, I snapped this photo.

Okay, in this photo, I am on a ramp going up to our grandstand seats. The stadium itself is directly to the right (out of view). On the left is the Patriots' outdoor practice field, and just beyond that you can see the large, enclosed building that is the Dana-Farber indoor practice facility. Beyond those facilities is the major construction site of the shopping mall portion of "Patriot Place". There is also construction going on directly next to the stadium, to the right of the water tower seen in the photo.

*

Just before the game, the players are not the first folks introduced to the crowd. The Patriots Cheerleaders are the first ones given the introduction. (They also had the best looking uniforms! ) Their introduction was followed by that of the Buffalo Bills, who received a less-then enthusiatic welcome - boos, of course.

The first quarter of the game was the most tense, for me. We were behind, 3 to 7, and I was beginning to think I was cursing the Pats (since they had lost the last time I attended a game, last November against the Jets). But things started to straighten out in the second quarter, and by the third quarter, the rout was underway!

All-in-all, it was a fine day to be a Patriots fan. The view was actually pretty good, even though we were so high up - our seats were just one row from the very top of the stadium.

Final outcome: Patriots 38, Buffalo 7.

* *

"Killer" Starts Patrolling

2007-09-04T11:16:00.000-04:00

Saturday, September 1st, marked the MSPCA's "Kitten Kaboodle" adoption day for kittens and cats. To help record the event, I walked on over and snapped a few photos and shot a short video - which you can see here at the Springfield Intruder.

As fate would have it, I have also been having recurring problems with mice running around my house. Mouse traps were inneffective, and gassing the place was not something I wanted to undertake. Hence, the only viable alternative came down to acquiring the most effective mouse deterent in nature: the house cat.

The cat I selected is a one-year-old whose name was Tessa, but in recognition of her duty here in the Dusty household, I have re-named her "Killer". Below is a photo I took while she was still at the shelter.

Assorted Photos 8/30/07

2007-08-30T10:09:00.000-04:00

Below are just a few (5) photos that I took ealrier this year and never found a place (or post) for them. (Click on each photo for a larger version.)

The newly-renovated apartments on Central Street, Spfld.

This historic depot in East Longmeadow has an uncertain future.

This burned-out house on Greene Street was a chance encounter, as I was passing by doing a video of Eastern Avenue.

I snapped the Hooters entrance as a passing thought, too. I had always meant to go there, but never got around to it.

Main Street, looking towards the South End.

And then there is the monument in the Springfield Cemetery, which from the opposite side - and looking at it from the interior of the cemetery - looks merely like an old, overgrown tree trunk.

* *

City Blog Updates...

2007-08-22T19:14:00.000-04:00

Swing on by my Springfield, MA, blog for the below stories....

1.) "Downtown Springfield was busy with things to see and do for both the fortunate and the unfortunate this past Friday. For those whose lives are on track, there was a farmers market and free concert in the Tower Square park on Main Street, part of the City Block concerts series. Local eateries had their tents up, as a variety of other sellers offering anything from baked goods to flowers and trinkets..." STORY HERE

2.) And I recently did a short video tour of American International College, seen here: AIC in August

Vacationing at Mi-Te-Jo's

2007-08-12T12:32:00.000-04:00

Each year my family gets together from the far reaches of New England to descend upon the Mi-Te-Jo Campground, located in Milton, New Hampshire, for a week-long camping reunion. Milton is a little town north of Rochester, along the border with Maine. It’s one of those typical remote, small towns, where they are lucky when all three of their town selectmen show up for a vote. Important issues such as boat launching egress points and licensing roadside produce carts are the cause of much intrigue in such towns.

My trip started out on Saturday, at 9:30am, as I met up with my brother, Bryan, and his wife, Lydia, at their house in Somers, CT, for the journey up north. Our mother and her boyfriend, Dale, also met us there as they were hauling up the pop-up camper of my other brother, Gerry, who was not going up until Sunday. (Gerry was bringing up his jet ski, too, so he had enlisted our mom to haul up one of the two trailers. And since I was shacking up in the pop-up, it needed to go up with us.) We had estimated our travel time as being approximately three hours, at the most. So we packed up all our gear into my brother’s truck and sped away into the bliss of our getaway vacation.

Traveling late morning on a Saturday at the beginning of August, however, proved to be a challenge. And so it was that four-and-a-half hours later, we finally drove into Mi-Te-Jo’s to check in. Happily, my sister, Debbie, her husband, Craig, and their two young sons, Chris and Ian, were already there waiting for us. They live in Campton, NH, so their travel time was considerably shorter. They had arrived less than an hour before us, and had already set up their campsite, which was right next to ours.

Heading up to New Hampshire was no joy ride.

It was very hot and humid that day, so our plan upon arrival was to work as a team. We would set up Bryan’s camper first, then set up Gerry’s (which I was to use). Finally, we would put up my mother and her boyfriend’s tent, which was the easiest task.

Things went well until Bryan’s camper was set up. Then the lolligagging began – drinks were poured, and casual banter filled the air as Bryan and Lydia chit-chatted with Deb and Craig.

When were we getting to my home? Impatient, I started cranking open and setting up the pop-up – which I had never done before. My Mom’s bo, Dale, came over to help out, but he was equally clueless. And so it was that after a half an hour of labor, it became cruelly evident to us that things were just not working out. Bryan walked over to the site to check up on us. “You’re supposed to put the support rods in before you pull out the sleepers,” he said casually. “Close it all back up and start over.”

I should have gone up Sunday with Gerry.

*

Sunday was a beautiful day. I hit the beach for some sun, hanging out there for over an hour while perusing a recent issue of PC magazine. My sister-in-law walked by me; “You’re as red as a lobster, Bill,” she observed.

“Nah,” I said. “I’m all right.” And in truth, I really was.

Just before lunch, my nephew, Chris, and I decided to go kayaking on the lake. Deb and Craig joined us, too, and off we paddled for about an hour before deciding to head back for lunch. Back at camp, we cooked up some food, then relaxed a bit before I decided it was time to go out hiking around with my camera and camcorder. I wanted to hit a trail that I remembered from the previous year, where about halfway along there was an old family cemetery, set just off the trail. I did a little video of my journey, below, which includes my trek along the "stonewall trail" that led back to camp.

By the time I got back to camp, I have to say, I was more than a little tired - and as red as a lobster! 'Time to start drinking,' I decided.

Later that night, as we all sat around a roaring fire getting loaded, I felt my eyes drying up pretty good. Then it dawned on me that I should probably take out my contact lenses. So off I went to the camper, where I peeled the contacts from my eyes. Stupid me. My left contact tore in half as I lifted it off my eyeball. Damn! And I didn’t bring any spares, so for the rest of my vacation, my vision would be impaired. Fortunately, I’m near-sighted, so I could still read without a problem.

Monday started out with an overcast sky, and then only got worse after about 10:00am. By noontime, it was raining pretty steady. 'Time to start drinking,' I decided.

Tuesday turned out to be a good day. I hiked around some more, took in some rays, and generally lounged around. I also shot some video of my bro, Gerry, taking nephews Chris and Ian out for a tubing run on his jet ski.

On Wednesday, it rained all morning, so I spent much of my time editing video and surfing the Internet. By midday, the rain stopped and the sky cleared up. I went out on one of my daily walks, snapped a few photographs, then made it back for an early supper. We sat around the campfire until 11:00pm or so before we all took turns calling it a night. The cool thing about being in a campground with cable TV hookups is that my brother and I could watch TV until we slipped into unconsciousness, then we’d wake up to the morning news. Not bad.

Thursday was more hiking and beach time. Later in the day, four of us went out to have a pizza at a nearby pizza joint called “The Pizza Nook”. The inside of the little place was incredibly hot – no AC and only one open window that we could see. We ordered a large pizza and then took a seat at a booth table. There was no waiter service, so we had to go up and get our own plates and drinks (from a display refrigerator). When our pizza arrived, we saw that it was actually about the size of a medium pizza – with only eight slices! That meant two slices each. A mere appetizer of a meal! Oh well, at least the pizza itself was good. We gobbled it up quick – we couldn’t wait to get out of that sauna! – and headed back to camp.

"Time to start drinking…"

*

Friday was the final day to get in some fun & relaxation. The photo above shows, from left-to-right, my nephew, Ian; my sister-in-law, Lydia (listening to an audio book - the latest Harry Potter!); my sister, Debbie; and my brother-in-law, Craig. We also took the time to get some "pre-packing" done on this day, since we had a lot of stuff to pack up and we to be off-site by noontime on Saturday.

I made my most ambitious hike on this day, too, as I trekked deep into the woods, where no pathways lay. The forest surrounding the Mi-Te-Jo campground is strewn with old rock walls - a testiment to a much more cleared-out landscape all those many years ago. I was gone for perhaps three hours in the afternoon before returning for dinner.

Below is a short video I made of the Mi-Te-Jo Campground.

MORE PHOTOS

Just before the main gate, on your left,
is this collection of old tractors.

The campground office and dayroom building.

This is the dayroom, which is open to everyone. The far doorway leads to the pavilion area. There is also an upstairs dayroom for adults only, with TV, books, a pool table, and a PC for Internet access. The campground also has WiFi Internet available around the office builing/pavilion area.

Our campsite. The camper I used is at center.

My bro, Gerry, at the helm of his jet ski.
Riding are nephews Chris & Ian.

Looking out to the lake. Our campsites were just a few dozen feet away from the beach.

There was a little boat inlet along the backside of our campsites, and these ducks were our constant companions throughout our stay.

The beavers left the mark in the forest interior.

While hiking around, I came across this tree growing right out of a rock!

This bridge and stone pathway are located towards the end of the hiking trail, leading back to the campground.

This creepy looking tree reminded me of something out if "The Lord of the Rings" fiction.

Below is a video I put together in my spare time, entitled "Animal Delinquents" (skip ahead a bit if you get bored with the duck)...

And finally, a very brief video on why some opinions matter...

~ ~

On Vacation 8/4 -> 8/11

2007-08-03T16:41:00.000-04:00

I'm off to New Hampshire for the week, so even though I'm taking my laptop with me and the campground we're going to does have WiFi Internet access, I may not opt to post until I get back home. But then again, maybe I will! Who knows? In the meantime, check out my story on the Guardian Angels' visit to Springfield this past week, and check out Tommy Devine and Heather Brandon's blogs all this coming week for more interesting goings-on in our little place in the universe.

~ ~

Action on Adams Street - 8/01/2007

2007-08-01T02:24:00.000-04:00

2:10am, Aug 1st, 2007

Trouble in the South End early Wednesday morning, as Springfield Police cruisers filled the streets. They appeared to be in search of someone (or more). By 3:00am, cruisers still cordoned off the corner of Richelieu & Adams Street.

MORNING UPDATE: According to the morning edition of Masslive, a gunfight took place at the corner of Adams Street & Dwight Street Extension. There were no injuries, and two people were arrested. Both suspects - a man and a woman - were charged with multiple firearms violations. Apparently the male suspect, Mario Ortero, who had already fired his weapon, pointed his gun at police officers a couple of times during the incident. Talk about restraint on their part. Ortero is lucky he's alive. More on the story HERE. Below is a short video.

* *

Lunchtime with Scooby & Bill

2007-07-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I plan out my videos days in advance. Other days, ideas just pop into my head and I shoot. This was one of those days:

So I'm sitting at the kitchen table eating my lunch, and there's this meddling dog just sitting there, staring at me.....

*

Optimistic Malcontents

2007-07-27T11:35:00.000-04:00

High hopes and low expectations. Acknowledging good things while lamenting the bad. Hollywood, rock 'n roll, and clips from original videos highlight this short take on cynical optimism...

*
Also, I whipped up a podcast over at the Springfield Intruder, which you can check out HERE

*
And finally, here's a video I found on YouTube that was done by visitors to Springfield. Includes a lunch at The 99 and trips to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Springfield Armory.

* *

Walking Maple Street - Springfield, MA

2007-07-26T21:37:00.001-04:00

From The Springfield Intruder, take a photo & video tour of historic Maple Street, in Springfield, MA. This area of the City has a large number of critics, and it is true that, unfortunately, Maple Street lies smack in between two of the poorest and most troubled neighborhoods in Springfield. But the street is still attractive, and I've always enjoyed my afternoon strolls there.

SEE THE STORY HERE

* *

Make me a Dusty Bill

2007-07-24T09:41:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while, I do a Google search of my name (hey, nothing wrong with a little ego check). My intent is to check out who has linked to my various websites. But on rare occasions I sometimes find things such as this drink recipe, below. Now, I'm not a liquor drinker, so I'll probably never make it. But I just might print out several thousand of these recipes and pass them out to a bunch of bartenders. You never know, if the drink catches on, that could be my side door to local fame! Then again, people are confused enough by my name, already (Dusty is my last name, folks). This might just make matters even more difficult!

Dusty Bill Drink Recipe Ingredients 2 tsp Lemon Juice 1 tsp Brandy 1/2 oz Apple Brandy 1 1/2 oz Canadian Whiskey 1/2 tsp Superfine Sugar
Directions Combine whisky, Applejack brandy, brandy, lemon juice and sugar in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well, and strain into an old-fashioned glass almost filled with ice cubes. Garnish with a maraschino cherry, and serve.

The Deer Hunter

2007-07-17T16:53:00.000-04:00

Reader Deborah Wilson has tipped me off to this terrific video, below, of a golden eagle taking down a deer. Yes, that's right: An EAGLE attacking and taking down a DEER.

Also, check out a cool birdwatching blog at birdchick.com for more bird-of-prey stories.

~ ~

Level Up, or Feed The Kids?

2007-07-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

This story at first sounded strange. But as I read it, it came to me that this kind of neglect may just be more common then we want to realize.

AP

RENO, Nev. (July 15) - A couple who authorities say were so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering other health problems have pleaded guilty to child neglect.

READ THE ENTIRE STORY HERE

*

Springfield's CityBlock Concerts

2007-07-14T09:53:00.000-04:00

Summer is here, and it’s time for downtown Springfield to liven things up again this year with outdoor activities. Many folks know about the Thursday night concerts at Stearns Square by now, but probably less folks are aware of the daytime goings-on just across the street from Towers Square on Fridays.

SEE THE SPRINGFIELD INTRUDER STORY HERE

* *

VIDEO: Life After Death

2007-07-12T13:30:00.000-04:00

You never know when your number's going to be called...

Taking some time for little reflection on life, I dreamed up this video. Shots taken from various parts of Springfield and East Longmeadow.

~ ~

In Other News...

2007-07-10T13:17:00.000-04:00

I am currently developing a rather large zit on the right-center of my forehead. The hot, humid summer is prime growing season for these things - they seem to grow in little nurseries along my forehead and the bridge of my nose. I've got some Noxema that I pat on to try and clean things up. But it's a routine ordeal that I've become accustomed to.

In other news, I recently went to the "Hoop City Jazz & Art Festival" at Riverfront Park, in Springfield, MA. You can check out my photos and short video here at my newest local weblog, The Springfield Intruder.

And then there's the Intruder's News Roundup for this past week that you can check out right here. The big news: Springfield, MA, did not win the Simpsons Video Contest. We came in 4th.

*

Springfield Fireworks Videos

2007-07-05T13:34:00.000-04:00

Check out the Springfield fireworks videos over at my other website, The Springfield Intruder. CLICK HERE for the afternoon preparation video, and CLICK HERE for the fireworks video.

*

The Dusty Pre-4th Party

2007-07-02T11:16:00.000-04:00

For the 28th year in a row, my brother, Bryan, has hosted his annual "Pre-Fourth of July" party at his house in Somers, CT. He calls it the "pre-4th" because it is always held on the weekend prior to any 4th of July weekend that comes along, thus helping folks to avoid the usual holiday planning conflicts.

This year, the weather was perfect - not too hot, and sunny all day long. The food was a-plenty and the beer flowed freely (although responsibly!). And for the 28th year going, we were entertained by the talented Berry Brothers Band, led by brothers Chris and Kevin Berry - two long, long, long, longtime friends of Bryan's.

I took a bunch of photographs of the event (only a select few of which are shown in this post), and I also got some video, which I divided into two parts. The first video starts with short clip of my sister-in-law Lydia, who sang a Janis Ian song in tribute to my sister Patty, who passed away this past January after a long battle with cancer. Lydia did a fine job, and I'm real proud of her performance. (NOTE: To any relatives who would like a full version of Lydia's song to Patty, e-mail me and I'll e-mail it over to you.) Also, I learned just how small a world we live in when Bryan's friend, Rick Martinez walked up to me and mentioned that he went to high school with none other than Tommy Devine. In fact, Rick says that it was he who first introduced Tommy to the writings of author Ayn Rand. Is that true, Tommy?

Rick says "Hi" to Tommy toward the end of the first video.

In the second clip, I go hunting around for folks to howl for me. I nick-named this video "The Howling" video.

Unfortunately, my sister Debbie and her family showed up after my camcorder had ran out of battery life (and sharp thinker that I am, I didn't think to bring the charger cord with me). But I did get a couple of photographs of them, anyway. The video clips follow the photos, below (click on images for larger versions).

The Dusty siblings: Gerry, Deb, Bryan, and me.

Al, Bonnie, and Rick.

The Berry Brothers Band

The Republican party-goers.

My sister-n-law's parents & friends.

Did I mention there was alcohol at the party?

The Clarke family. I had just called out to my sister, Debbie, so hence the "what the heck?" expression as she turned to me. Debbie actually ended up with the lions share of the brains in the family. All I got was this cheap digital camera.

The evening came to a close with the traditional bonfire after nightfall.

And on to the VIDEOS....

Part One

Part Two ("The Howling")

~ ~

Spfld Finance Control Board Speak-Out

2007-06-29T16:55:00.000-04:00

Over at the Springfield Intruder, I posted a summary of the 30-minute the public speak-out heard prior to the regular meeting of the Springfield Finance Control Board held on June 28, 2007, at City Hall, followed by some personal observations.

Check out the story HERE.

* *

O'Brien Clip on Devine & Dusty

2007-06-27T00:12:00.000-04:00

While attending the campaign kick-off of Springfield City Council candidate Karen Powell last week, Tommy Devine and myself found ourselves the target of "Bax & O'Brien" co-host John O'Brien's good natured barbs. It was all in light-hearted fun, of course. After all, if you can't kid around in a friendly environment, then when can you goof around?

You can listen to a sound clip HERE.

And just for the record: I do not do 1-900 numbers. I go to the Mardi Gras!

I'm going to get you, John O'Brien.

*
In other news...

While walking along Central Street (Spfld) a few days back, a young girl passed me one of those little "praise the Lord" pamphlets that religious fanatics think will make us see the Light. This one was actually disguised as a miniature comic book.

Inside, the comic warned me that the the Bible says, "the wages of sin is death," and that this death "is HELL!" - with the word "hell" being decorated with little flames.

I was unimpressed, however. But at least I took the time to snap a photo of it.

*
And last but certainly not least, I have a brand-new weblog by the spiffy name of "The Springfield Intruder". You can check it out HERE. The SI is pretty much more of the same ol' crap I write, only instead of divying it up between the New England Rogue Journal and this weblog, I'm putting all my Springfield stuff at the Intruder.

~ ~

Roaming Springfield - a Couple of Days in June

2007-06-23T12:53:00.000-04:00

Walking around Springfield the other day I came across the row of flowers planted along the MassMutual Center on Main Street. But something was missing!

"Did someone swipe the flowers?" I wondered, surprised at the sight. I certainly hope it wasn't a case of vandalism. It's quite possible, too, that they were looking ill, so the City was having them re-planted.

*

Last Wednesday I was downtown and came across the welcoming home ceremony for Iraq veteran and Springfield teacher Jose H. Irizarry.

Above, the "Star Spangled Banner" is being sung.
And below, the Puerto Rican National Anthem.

~ ~

Simpsons All Over The World

2007-06-21T10:43:00.000-04:00

For those who believe the effort to bring the Simpsons cartoon phenomenon home to our very own Springfield is a waste of time - or perhaps even detrimental to our city's reputation, I can only say that you need to look at this contest from the eyes of an outsider: True Simpsons fans are found all over the world, as evidenced by the hits my little post on the matter has received from places such as France and the United Kingdom. The evening cartoon, immature as it is to so many cynics, has an enormous following and fan loyalties that span the globe. The winning Springfield of the "Simpsons Movie" contest will be recognized internationally as the home of Bart and Homer Simpson. And that recognition will mean, at the very least, thousands of Google searches from folks eager to find out more about the actual city of the Simpsons.

How can this be a bad thing? One argument says that the cartoon Springfield is dysfunctional and corrupt and that people would assume our city to be the same. Well, first of all, for a time it actually was the same. But secondly, and more importantly, I cannot accept that premise as being a serious concern. Nobody is going to "laugh" at our Springfield just because we [may] have won the honor of being the home of The Simpsons. Any laughter that our city gets is due to our actual problems, not anything transferred from a cartoon city. And Springfield has been getting laughed at for all the wrong reasons for several years now, so there's no reason for us to be annoyed by any positive laughter brought in by this movie contest.

People come to Springfield for so many bad reasons - like "affordable" housing and cheap and easily available drugs (it certainly isn't because of jobs). Becoming the home of The Simpsons would be yet another good reason for folks to come to our city.

And it's so easy to make it happen. Win a contest, get the honor. Just like that.

The Simpsons phenomenon may not last for too long, but as long as it does last, it should be Springfield, Massachusetts, that reaps some of the benefits of its fame.

~ ~

Powell Begins City Council Bid

2007-06-20T12:22:00.000-04:00

Springfield City Council Candidate Karen Powell kicked off her campaign at the John Boyle O'Reilly Club in Springfield, MA, on Tuesday evening surrounded by friends and supporters, including Mayor Charles V. Ryan, various City Councilors of diverse repute, and local political pundit Tommy Devine. John O'Brien, of Bax and O'Brien fame, hosted the event and almost managed not to offend anyone in the crowd (sorry Ben Swan).

First up at the podium was 2006 Teacher of the Year Melinda Pellerin-Duck. Duck talked about Springfield's past troubles and her confidence in Powell's ability to make the right decisions in the future. She recalled their crusades together as they marched and packed the City Council chambers - much to the dismay of the councilors there. She said the citizens of Springfield could no longer afford complacency, and that those in Springfield's leadership needed to rebuild and not let down a public trust that has been betrayed so many times in the past.

Mayor Charles V. Ryan was next up to speak, and he talked about Powell's past efforts to make Springfield a better place to live. He said the Finance Control Board isn't going to be around forever and that the city needed people in office who could pick up where they leave off. He recalled first meeting the Powells when they ran their dog for mayor in 1999 (a protest statement against former Mayor Mike Albano). Ryan talked about his friendship with Karen Powell and his admiration for her determination to see things through get things done, and that it was that kind of drive that the City Council needed.

Karen Powell stepped up to the podium and spoke about her vision for Springfield, which she said has recovered quite a bit from past administrative misdeeds, but which still has a tough road ahead. She supports the work of the Springfield Finance Control, and believes it's important that their work continues. Powell has been active for years in fighting for what she believes are Springfield's best interests, and this campaign will be her first effort at making positive changes "from the inside [of government]."

For more on Karen Powell, check out this Reminder article. Below are some photographs I took while at the event.

Melinda Pellerin-Duck; John O'Brien; Mayor Charles V. Ryan

Karen Powell at the podium.

Karen Powell and supporter Kara Adams

Tommy Devine striking a pose.

That's me, making up for lost time in front of my computer with Kara Adams.

Karen and husband Bob Powell

~ ~

Simpsons: Missed it by a Hair(do)

2007-06-17T23:10:00.000-04:00

[UPDATED: 6-18]
Well, I arrived at Court Square in Springfield, MA, at 2:20pm on Sunday to check out the Simpsons video shoot scheduled for 2:30pm that afternoon. Unfortunately, at the last minute they apparently decided to move up the time to before 2:00pm because of concerns about the weather. I looked around - it didn't exactly look like the "cast of thousands" as later headlined on the Masslive Simpsons blog. I asked around, and got a number of "about a couple hundred." The Republican later confirmed that count in their story on the event.

Oh well. As long as they got their video in.

People were still milling about and getting their Simpsons hairdos while I was there. And I got a neat photo of probably the ugliest bus I've ever seen in my life. Photos are below, and below them is a 5-minute video I took of the post-event.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

~ ~

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

2007-06-15T09:53:00.000-04:00

A longtime reader of "Earth to Bill" from Marietta, GA, occasionally sends up photographs of her favorite places, and she's recently e-mailed a few nice pictures from Georgia's Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Included in the photos are shots of the "Illinois Monument," erected in 1914 in honor of an Illinois brigade that unsuccessfully attempted to take Cheatham Hill from Confederate forces in 1864. Take special note of the photo showing a tunnel next to the monument, where Union troops tried to dig under Confederate lines - using only bayonets, knives, and canteen cups.

Thanks Deborah!

[click on above image to enlarge]

[click on above image to enlarge]

[click on above image to enlarge]

[click on above image to enlarge]

[click on above image to enlarge]

[click on above image to enlarge]

[click on above image to enlarge]

~ ~

Brother Gerry Appears on "Peoples Court"

2007-06-13T23:50:00.000-04:00

Finally, somebody in the Dusty family gets his 15 minutes of fame!

On Wednesday, June 13th, 2007, my brother Gerry made his appearance on TV's "People's Court". He was the plaintiff in a case about a non-payment/partial payment of a bill for service.

Unfortunately, I missed it the show.

I waited all day for his episode to come on. There were three "People's Court" editions on that day - one at 11:00am, one 2:00pm, and another 3:00pm. And as fate would have it, the show segment he appeared on was the 3:00pm edition, which is about the same time I start my shift at the place that pays my mortgage. Just my luck.

Fortunately, my best buddy, Tony Danenza, commandeered my digital camera and snapped a bunch of photos for me in my absence. Thanks, Tony! You can check them out below.

Oh, yeah..... Gerry lost his case. Oh well. I still love ya, bro!

Tough luck, Man!

~ ~

Springfield River Walk & Bikway

2007-06-13T17:29:00.000-04:00

On June 13th, 2007, I participated in the first meeting of the Friends of the Riverwalk was held in the Municipal Building in West Springfield, MA. The purpose of the meeting was to establish a plan for the promotion of the Connecticut River Walk and Bikeway, a paved pathway extending from Agawam in the south to Holyoke in the north, with eventual plans to link to other bikeways in the region.

READ THE STORY AT URBAN COMPASS HERE

* *

Exploring East Columbus Avenue

2007-06-12T09:25:00.000-04:00

For those unfamiliar with Springfield, MA, East Columbus Avenue runs parallel to Interstate 91, along its eastern side. It is a one way street, going northbound to match the northbound traffic of the highway. Its sister avenue, West Columbus Avenue, runs along Interstate 91's western side (and is also a one way, running southbound). The east/west split was due to the construction of Interstate 91 back in the 1960s. Before that, many of the side streets that now end at East Columbus Avenue (stumped by the highway) used to extend westward to the riverfront & railroad tracks. Oldtimers from the South End tend to blame the construction of Interstate 91 for the demise of that section of the city, though the flood of 1936 (among others) certainly didn't help any.

*
Entering onto East Columbus Avenue from the South End of Springfield, the road will eventually take you all the way to the center of downtown Springfield, where you will pass by the Symphony Hall & City Hall (to your right), followed by the hotels Sheraton & Marriot. There are underpasses along the way through which you can get to West Columbus Avenue. Curiously, the street signs are absent at these traffic-lighted intersections. I never noticed this until I attempted to photograph the street signs (for visual reference) for this post. Suffice to say, if you come to a traffic-lighted, four-way intersection while travelling up East Columbus Avenue, turning left will take you under the highway and then to West Columbus Avenue. Turning right will take you to Main Street.

Looking south toward the used car lots that line East Columbus Avenue in the South End.

Looking north toward Lombard Street.

The church at Howard Street.

[SEE MORE PHOTOS AT URBAN COMPASS]

And below is a video I did to accompany the photos.

NOTE: The above video includes a look at the burned down "Loui's Auto Body". HERE IS A LINK to a video I made a few months back of Loui's.

~ ~

Brain or No Brain?

2007-06-07T20:58:00.000-04:00

Life on Earth is both fascinating and amazingly diverse and complex. We understand from our grammar school classes that there are two primary forms of life - plant and animal - and that it is the animal kingdom where all the brains reside. But not all animals are so blessed with such organs. Understand, first, that when I talk about brains, I'm not talking about those little bundles of nerve strands that make it possible for some creatures (like worms) to perform simple stimulus-response activities. I mean they gotta have the ability to build things. They should be able to hunt and kill, or dig little ditches to hide out in. They should be able to think on the fly - not react in some pre-programmed, automated way.

So which animals make the grade and which ones have failed life's intellectual test? Could you pick them out if they were shown to you?

We'll begin with the lowly, yet in many ways still noble, ant. Now, there are several species of ants to choose from, but we'll just stick with one of the littlest ones around: the sugar ant. Surely, this tiny creature that raids our counter tops could not possibly have a brain encased within that itsy-bitsy little cranium of his.

Or could he? Interestingly, it has been estimated that ants may well have the same processing power as a Macintosh II computer.

Has anyone ever seen the 1954 movie "Them"?

Let's move on, now, to the common starfish (actually 1,800 species). Starfish are predatory sea creatures who prowl the seafloor in search of clams, mussels, and oysters. Surely, the ability to hunt down food must mean that a brain is plotting out the strategy.

But such is not the case. Starfish passed on the line for brains...

Bird brains are often referenced when it's time to ridicule another person's intellect. But it would be a bit more appropriate to taunt someone with the cry, "Don't be a gecko brain!" Because the truth is, bird brains weight about 10 times as much as a reptile of the same weight, and only slightly less than a similar-sized mammal.

A Norwegian study done in 2005 concluded that lobsters and other invertebrates did not have the capacity to feel pain, lending some truth perhaps to the old adage, "No brain, no pain." The study found that the nervous system of such creatures was not developed enough to feel pain, and that any reaction to, say, boiling water, was merely a stimulus-response escape mechanism.

Needless to say, the PETA folks were not amused. PETA's Karin Robertson said of the study, "This is exactly like the tobacco industry claiming that smoking doesn't cause cancer." PETA has used a "lobsters in boiling water" analogy as an example of animal cruelty in their ad campaigns, making the assertion, "If we had to drop live pigs or chickens into scalding water, chances are that few of us would eat them.."

Umm, actually, it wouldn't matter to me.

Moving on to the human-animal comparison, I've often found it amusing how some people will try to convince themselves, and others, that animals are perfectly intelligent creatures - if only in ways that we mere humans are entirely incapable of understanding. In the 1980s, dolphin and whale activism was huge. It got to the point where I winced every time I heard some dolphin worshipping nymphet explain to her dunderhead carnivorous friends that "dolphins are intelligent beings - they can echo locate!" Yeah, well, so can bats, kiddo, but they're not exactly famous for their cave paintings. And then there was Star Trek IV, where the crew bravely rescued those two helpless whales - one of which was an expectant mother! - from those thoughtless, uncaring humans of the 20th Century. They took the whales "back to the future" so that they could communicate with a super-intelligent alien race that was wreaking havoc on Earth - because it couldn't comprehend human civilization! Of course, Spock - a mere vulcan (vulcans must be "mere" since they're friends with us dummy humans) - had no problem at all communicating with both the humans and the whales.

What... ever!

Real or Rumor? Cryptozoology's Top 10

2007-06-05T20:19:00.000-04:00

Do you want to believe....? Another Top 10 from Livescience.com:

"Cryptozoology is the study of animals that are rumored to exist. Such creatures are called "cryptids." Some, like the gorilla, giant squid and okapi, are no longer hearsay and legend but real creatures recognized by science. Others, like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, continue to tempt the hopeful and the adventurous with the possibility of their existence."

READ THE ARTICLE HERE!

* *

Stopping by "Urban Compass"

2007-06-05T16:25:00.000-04:00

At the invitation of "Urban Compass" blogger Heather Brandon, I've contributed my first post over at her place. You can stop by and read it here.

Below are a couple of photos I took in Court Square on Saturday [click on the photos to enlarge]. And below those is a little video I did while wandering around...

Stalking Lyman Street

2007-06-01T01:04:00.000-04:00

Lyman Street runs parallel to the railroad tracks that bisect downtown Springfield, MA. On a sunny Thursday afternoon, I decided to venture along its route, walking from Main Street all the way up to its right-bend turn to Taylor Street. This street could very well serve as yet another example of the "good" being located right alongside the "bad" in this city, as its lower end - running along the Amtrak train station - is nearly immaculate and obviously well-kept, while its upper end - running past Chestnut Street - lays largely desolate and ruined.

*Click on any of the below photos for larger views.

Looking east, with Main Street just behind me (and the railroad berm to the left). Ahh, the memories... We tried to get a friend "serviced" here by a couple of prostitutes about twenty-two years ago. But he feigned being passed out, so we moved on.

The above view is looking west (toward Main Street), with the Dwight Street intersection behind me. Notice the well-kept, tree-lined boulevard with decorative lighting and wide, brick-framed sidewalk. The Amtrak entrance is seen to the right, center.

Unfortunately, the Chestnut Street intersection, above, marks the termination point of anything else attractive about this street. The trailers being stored on the lot to the left have been there for some time - or they have been replaced without the lot getting cleaned up. It's one of the first eyesores you encounter after crossing over Chestnut Street. (Surprisingly, folks have no problem parking their shiny new, expensive cars in the dumpy little overgrown parking lot to the left of the trailers.)

I should mention at this point that if you are contemplating visiting Lyman Street beyond Chestnut Street, it would be prudent to come prepared. I like to make sure I have the above gear with me: A good pair of sneakers and a working cellphone with 911 on speed dial.

A closer look at the trailer lot. Nice, huh?

There are two primary buildings that stand vacant on this stretch of Lyman Street. Both appear to be structurally sound on the exterior, with only minor damage, some trash, broken windows, and repeated visits from the graffiti monster marring their appearance. I don't know what the interiors of these buildings (shown left and below) look like, but they both appear to be reusable for any businesses interested. Unfortunately, at the start anyway, you'd be doing business in an otherwise derelict environment.

Above is a close shot of one of the entryways at the building shown above, left.

These sidewalks, above, are in dire need of attention and repair. Broken, overgrown sidewalks are a big problem on this section of Lyman Street. But if the city expects prospective businesses to consider this area, the least we could do is make the streets look presentable for them as they drive by on their tours. (The fence you see on the right, above, has a parking lot area behind it that is used by neighboring businesses.)

And lastly, if you click on the photo above, you'll get a split-shot panoramic of Lyman Street as it turns to intersect Taylor Street (left side of photo) and also looking back west (right side of photo).

~ ~

Karen Powell Takes Her Turn

2007-05-31T16:05:00.000-04:00

Local activist Karen Powell [news] has an announcement to make, and she'll be making at the John Boyle O'Reilly Club this coming June 19th. The City of Springfield could certainly use some new faces on the City Council, and Powell's candidacy offers a perfect opportunity for us voters to make this happen.

Powell's views almost precisely (if not entirely) mirror my own views. In the past, she has worked with the Citizens for Limited Taxation, opposed trigger locks for guns in the City (read this Reminder article to see why), opposed the Albano-proposed needle exchange program, and helped manage this spring's "Keep Springfield Beautiful" effort (which I also participated in as a volunteer in the trenches ;-)

See her invitation to any & all interested, below.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
You are cordially invited to the
official campaign kick-off
Karen Powell
Candidate for
Springfield City Council

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

John Boyle O'Reilly Club
33 Progress Avenue
Springfield, MA

MC
“ROCK 102 Morning Show” personality - John O’Brien

Featured Speakers
The Honorable Mayor Charles V. Ryan
2004 Teacher of the year - Melinda Pellerin Duck

Donations welcome

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Karen Powell
c/o 34 Mohawk Drive, Springfield, MA 01129
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Springfield Eats a Big Breakfast

2007-05-26T15:38:00.000-04:00

Springfield, MA, celebrated its annual "World's Largest Pancake Breakfast" on Main Street this Saturday (May 26th). The event returned to the downtown location after a two year stint over at the Eastfield Mall (on the city's eastern outskirts). The breakfast had originally been scheduled for last weekend (May 19th), but was postponed due to bad weather.

READ MORE HERE - (ALSO PHOTOS & VIDEO)

The calm before the storm:
Tables line Main Street on Friday afternoon.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Below is a leftover clip from the Breakfast videos.
It's a car being offered as a prize.

~ ~

Out & About in Springfield, MA

2007-05-23T01:05:00.000-04:00

Okay, here we go! I made a brief video at the bottom of Longhill Street in Springfield, MA, yesterday. As I recorded it, I was twice distracted by folks who wanted to get my attention. The first person was a woman asking for directions. She got quickly annoyed with me, however, as I took my time explaining various turns while the cars behind her got backed up. So she just drove off. The second person was some chick shouting out "Hey, a camera! Hi!" - and she waved merrily as the car she was in sped by me, which was funny. See the video, below. I also wandered around Springfield and snapped a few photos (scroll below the video).

*
Earlier in the day, I strolled down Chestnut Street and stopped to take a couple of photos of the stairway opposite the Museum of Fine Arts. The stairs lead from Chestnut Street down to Dwight Street, and were apparently meant to be used by folks trekking from the Museums to the Civic Center.

Unfortunately, the area is currently gated and locked. The banners inside that I saw were old and torn. (Nostalgia trip... ~*~`~..*..... I remember using the stairs as a teenager back in the `70s to get to the Civic Center for rock concerts.... I don't remember much about the rock concerts.... perhaps because of the drugs and alcohol....~*~`~..*)

I don't know if the stairway/park is always locked up or not, but every time I walk by it, it is. Why is that? I don't know, but I suspect the usual suspects: vagrants and drug addicts.

The picture above shows the lower part of the stairway/park, next to Dwight Street. There's a drained pool there at the center-left, and also a statue of a naked chick to the right.

It's a beautiful little urban park, and a it's shame that it doesn't get any use these days.

*

Meanwhile, on another part of my travels, I spied these pigeons (above) roosting between the steel beams of the railroad underpass at Dwight Street, just before coming out onto the Lyman Street intersection. There's a fairly thick layer of bird yucky all along the walls, there, and also covering the lights.

Yeah, I know. Woop-dee-doo.

*
And finally, below are just a couple of extra photos I had left over from my daily walks. The first one is of an old abandoned car on the lot next to the closed-up "Louie's Auto Body" on East Columbus Avenue. The photo below that is of a vagrant's house parked in the doorway of a vacant building at the corner of Main Street and Adams Street. (Both photos are about a month or so old.)

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

My Bro to Make "People's Court" Appearance

2007-05-17T18:49:00.000-04:00

Big News!!

My brother, Gerry, went to a taping of "The People's Court" a couple of months back, and I've just received word that his appearance will be airing on June 13th, 2007. Mark your calenders, accordingly!

Gerry owns "Affordable Doors," a garage door & opener company out of Manchester, CT (his service area is throughout the state), and his small claims case is in regards to a non-payment/partial payment by a customer. In the interest of dramatic suspense, I can't tell you how it comes out. But you can see for yourselves by tuning in on the day it airs (June 13th). Check your local listings for the channel and time.

* *

DRAW ME: I am a Unique Person!

2007-05-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

This is something for all of you visitors to enjoy!

In a celebration of diversity, I created the below drawing of a very unique person (see bottom of post). You may notice, of course, that he/she has a slight development problem. That's where all of you folks come in: First, left-click on the image to select it (it should load to its actual size). Then right-click on the image and download it to your desktop (by selecting "Save Picture As" from the resulting menu). Using your favorite art editing program (file is in GIF format, so you may need to increase colors to 16 million), add a physical feature to help this person develop and grow into a complete human being. Save your contribution, then e-mail it back to me at neroguejournal@aol.com.

[ *SEE THE UPDATED PHOTO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!*]

PLEASE READ THE RULES:
1.) It doesn't matter which body part you choose, but you must select one from the list I have below (so please, no penises).

2.) Put whatever clothes you like on your body part, but try to keep it similar to the clothing on the other parts.

3.) You may choose a skin color, or leave the part blank. But once a skin color is chosen for a particular person, that color must be maintained for the whole body. (EDITOR'S NOTE: A colorless part [by default considered a white person] may be colored in if a particular body needs a part to be completed.)

4.) Keep the body part similar in proportion to the rest of the body.

5.) No more than two contributions to start with, until visitor participation is gauged.

6.) DO NOT change the size of the image. It should be Width-280 px. by Height-330 px.

7.) The deadine for drawing submissions is tentatively set for May 31st, 2007, depending on contributions.

As the contributions flow in (I'm sure!!), I will indicate next to each listed body part how many times it was selected, so as to give others a better idea of what to pick next - hopefully, the least selected item (the drawing in progress will also be displayed). Many parts, such as the nose and ears, will be paired as a single contribution. Contributors names (or screennames, if you must) will be listed at the bottom of each drawing, along with what they contributed.

Duplicate contributions will create a new unique person, which will be added to this post, next to or below the original drawing. And so eventually, we may have an entire community of unique individuals making up our own diverse community! (This "community" may be placed on a separate post.)

But it all starts with this first special human being! It's all up to you folks! So start downloading and start drawing.

BODY PARTS:
- HAIR (1)
- EYES + EARS (eyebrows optional)
- NOSE + MOUTH (1)
- TORSO + NECK (1)
- LEFT ARM + HAND (1)
- RIGHT ARM + HAND
- LEFT LEG + FOOT (1)
- RIGHT LEG + FOOT

UPDATE NOTE: My brother, Gerry, has kindly contributed this poor woman's torso. There is a tragic tale to be told somewhere in her life, I'm sure - as if something went terribly wrong in some car accident, or perhaps a diet plan gone awry. Even so, she's still smiling!

* *

Missing Persons in New England

The Rogue Journal Alters Format

2007-05-14T18:26:00.000-04:00

The New England Rogue Journal has recently altered its format to that of a hybrid weblog/ezine. The new format will allow for faster, easier updating, with more frequent story updates for visitors. The site still includes the "R-Files" section (unsolved murdered & missing persons) and weblog directory, as well as the legal column "Mass Law."

Stop by the latest incarnation of the New England Rogue Journal.

* *

VIDEO: Digging For Animals

2007-05-09T16:25:00.000-04:00

A trip into the woodlands of Forest Park, in Springfield, MA, where I trekked about in search of Nature's little creatures. I dug into the swamps, lifted old logs, and rolled over stones in my quest for wildlife. There were plenty of salamanders to be found, but other animals would prove to be a bit more elusive...

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

Hartford Advocate Film Critic Bagged

2007-05-09T11:34:00.000-04:00

This little news item was e-mailed to me today: Hartford Advocate film critic John Boonstra was arrested on Friday (May 4th) by police as he arrived in Stamford, CT, for what he thought was a romantic rendezvous with an underage girl. That "little girl" was actually the police, who had been engaged in an online chat exchange with Boonstra (which police say he initiated) for the past several weeks.

What a dumbass.

Let this be a lesson to any would-be child sex predators out there: The police know how you operate, and they are watching out for you.

As for Boonstra, his infamy is secured. He resigned from the Advocate on Monday. Any respect he once had from his reading public is gone. Sure, some of his friends will hang in there with him - hell, knowing the Advocate's culture, they may even feel sorry for him. But he will always have that asterisk next to his name: child sex offender.

READ THE HARTFORD COURANT STORY HERE

* *

Got One!

2007-05-08T00:25:00.000-04:00

Well, I came home from work last night to see that one of my mouse traps had worked as advertised!

I had noticed a mouse problem a couple of weeks back, and resolved to rid my house of their intrusion, one way or another. Mouse traps are my first tactic. If necessary, I'll get a cat and put her to work. (It will be a female cat - male cats suck - preferably black, and named "Killer".)

I purchased two kinds of traps: Two baitless spring/kill traps, and two "trap door" live capture traps that use bait. For several days I had no luck with either. But finally, tonight, I got my first kill. I had placed a kill trap beside my refrigerator, just by the entrance to my living room. My very first reaction when I saw the little rodent splayed out was, "Oooh! Got One!" I quickly picked up the trap and examined the kill. His little legs were sticking out from the front and back of the trap - the trap having snapped closed while he was apparently leaping through it. His little black eyes were bulged out of his head - as if he was still shocked by the unfortunate turn of events.

I immediately took the trap outside and dumped the body. It was only after I got back inside, however, that I thought I should write a blog post about my little victory - and wouldn't a photograph of the kill be neat, too?! But too late for that. I opted not to go back outside to retrieve the corpse and put it back in the trap for a photo (that I actually considered it may alarm some people). So instead, I drew a quick ink sketch of what I witnessed and scanned it. The sketch is below.

I thought, too, that the way the mouse was splayed out seemed surprisingly similar to a cartoon I drew for my "Small World" series about three years ago. That cartoon is below.

I'm still not entirely satisfied with the mouse traps, though, since it's been two weeks and I have only one kill to show for them. So I still may get Killer if the body count doesn't start going up soon.

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

Squirrel Tossing

2007-05-07T20:48:00.000-04:00

Somebody sent this video to me and I just had to link to it. Animal lovers - and quite a few PETA folks - are probably going to go nuts over this clip. I just thought it was funny as hell. For the record, I don't advocate abusing animals. But I figure it doesn't look like the little guys got hurt in this video - just tossed around a bit!

*

Golfing Stuff & a Grievance

2007-05-07T11:45:00.000-04:00

I wanted to videotape my golf swing to get a better idea of why I'm so bad at golf, so off I went to Franconia Golf Course (Spfld, MA), where I set up my camcorder at the practice area across the street from the parking lot. In this video, I'm just practicing sand shots and lob wedge shots.

While I was out there, I also decided to go hunting for golf balls.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In other news, I happened to be strolling down East Columbus Avenue on Saturday when I caught sight of an offending piece of litter as I passed by the Marriot Hotel. I picked it up, and lookee what I found....

* *

FLASH! - Spider Bite Causes Erection

2007-05-03T20:59:00.000-04:00

I'm not going to comment on this Livescience.com article. I think the story speaks for itself....

WASHINGTON — A Brazilian spider delivers more than a painful bite that sends most victims to the hospital. Its venom stimulates an hours-long erection. Now scientists have figured out the chemical that seems to be responsible for the penis boost.

In Brazil, emergency room staff can immediately spot the victims of a bite from the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria nigriventer). Patients not only experience overall pain and an increase in blood pressure, they also sport an uncomfortable erection.

CLICK HERE FOR THE WHOLE STORY

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

What a Bunch of Poppycock!

2007-05-02T16:05:00.000-04:00

Hard as it is to believe, I have never heard of the boxed snack that goes by the name of "Poppycock". When I first saw it in a "Big Lots" store today, I laughed out loud (aka "LOL!") and quickly showed it to another shopper. Oddly enough, she seemed much less amused by the snack's name.

Had I missed something? Was this some new snack named after the popular exclamation? Or has this brand been around for years and I've just been living in a snack-deprived cave?

Poppycock comes in a variety of flavors, too. There's Original, Cashew Lovers, Chocolate Lovers, and Pecan Delight.

Personally, I could never put anything in my mouth that had that kind of a name to it. I was even going to buy a box just to try it out, but I couldn't bring myself to be seen putting it on the cashier's counter.

* *

Springfield Clean Up Day

2007-04-30T12:20:00.000-04:00

Springfield Cean Up Day 2007 was scheduled to commence on Saturday, April 28th, come rain or shine. Thankfully, we were spared the former. But as I drove to my appointed meeting place, a heavy fog draped the buildings of downtown, and I remember saying to myself, "come on, give us a break...."

- READ THE STORY HERE

Below is a short video of the day as we cleaned up sections of the South End.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

UPDATE ON CLEAN UP RESULTS:
(info from Keep Springfield Beautiful)

Recap of the Great American Clean Up on April 28th:

- 47.25 tons of miscellaneous trash picked up by the DPW.
- 2.83 tons of televisions and monitors.
- 4.5 tons of metal to be recycled by Jos. Freedman.
- 4.5 tons of tires brought to Jos. Freedman dumpsters for recycling.
- 108 tons of bulk waste in the Waste Management dumpsters.
- 3.42 tons of litter collected by the Parks Department.

Grand Total - 170.5 tons (341,000 lbs) of trash removed from the streets and vacant lots of Springfield on Saturday, 4/28/07 (reaching the target).

* *

Shriners in the City

2007-04-27T00:44:00.000-04:00

I was on one of my walks downtown yesterday (Thursday) when I came upon a detour sign blocking off Main Street as I crossed Falcons Way...

Initially, I have to admit, I was a bit annoyed. "What kind of public relations show do they have going on now?" I thought. Politicians love their face time with the media. Luckily, I had my camera on me, so I decided to investigate while taking a few photos. As I got closer, I saw a tent up ahead of me. But I still wasn't sure what was going on...

As I drew up beside the event, however, its purpose became clear: It was the Shriners Circus guys! My cynicism quickly evaporated and I took a couple of more photographs as I walked on by...

The Shriners is a great organization that has done a lot of good things for a lot of people - especially kids. They'll be performing this weekend, in fact, at The Eastern States Coliseum.

Sadly (for me), I would have no problem getting into that little car, above, and driving away.

*

U Say "Web Site" - I Say "Website"

2007-04-26T16:48:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I pondered to myself, "what is it with everyone referring to a website as a 'Web site' [two words] lately?" Many, many years ago - back in the mid-nineties - I remember folks using "Web site" at a time when most people had no idea what one was. Back when I started creating webpages (1996), the single-word usage was just starting to be used, and I had always used it that way ever since. But now the two-word usage seems to be making a comeback. This is puzzling to me, and so now every time I see website spelled as two words, a little "what the fuck?" thought balloon floats over my head.

After all, if "webpage" is one word, and "homepage" is one word, then how did "website" suddenly morph into being a two word noun again?

So I decided to look it up. And what I found out is that both spellings are correct. So - whoop-dee-do - I'm sticking with the one word spelling. It's more consistent in relation to other 'tech' words like "homepage" and the now popularly spelled "email." (Note the loss of the hyphen in email.)

Here's the notation that I found at Dictionary.com:
"Usage Note: The transition from World Wide Web site to Web site to website as a single uncapitalized word mirrors the development of other technological expressions which have tended to take unhyphenated forms as they become more familiar. Thus email is gaining ground over the forms E-mail and e-mail, especially in texts that are more technologically oriented. Similarly, there is an increasing preference for closed forms like homepage, online, and printout."

There are many other words that started out as two words and morphed into one. "Dumbass" and "jackass" come to my mind immediately (sorry). "Dumbass" can still be spelled "dumb ass," but "jackass" evolved into one word a very long time ago. And then there's a bunch of words whose usage depends on whether they are nouns, verbs, or adjectives. Before my brain fogged over, I decided I'd just link to this nifty little webpage here that gives several examples. I also found this other site which helped me out (or confused me more, whichever).

There are some words, too, that I could never picture as ever being spelled as a single word. Ethnic references, for example, will probably always be hyphenated - at least in my lifetime. I just can't imagine "African-American" as ever being "Africanamerican." (And I've always considered the two-word usage of African-American to be "black person.")

Well, before I get totally lost in my own explanation of how confused I tend to get at times, I think I'll bring this post to a close.

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

Newly Found World May Have Water

2007-04-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

I stopped by Space.com earlier tonight and I just wanted to pass along this news link: New Planet Could Harbor Water and Life.

The story concedes that neither water nor life has yet been detected on the newly discovered world, but that it does orbit around its parent star in the so-called "Goldilocks zone" - the distance from a star that is both not too far and not too close to support liquid water. The planet is 50% larger than the Earth and five times as massive. The parent star, a red dwarf, is much dimmer than the Sun and only about one third as massive. The system is approximately 20 light years away from us.

I love this stuff!

*

Trash Fee Bill: English Speakers Only

2007-04-24T10:47:00.000-04:00

Well, I received my trash fee bill a couple of weeks back and I've finally taken the time to give it a good look before signing over my money to the City of Springfield. The instant I examined the notice, however, I found myself shocked - stupefied beyond all comprehension, actually - by the fact that the bill came in a mere single language - ENGLISH!

Of all the insensitivities!

Was this some terrible plot on the part of the City government? Some inexcusable administrative blunder? How could this have escaped the leering gaze of our community PC watchdogs? Perhaps, I pondered then, my Latino and Vietnamese neighbors received their bills in their native languages? (But no. I later found that a single line located at the top of the notice, which appeared in three languages - Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian - actually instructed non-English speakers to get an translator, of all things.Thanks a lot!)

The truth to this insulting omission, I suspected, was something far more mundane than some evil conspiracy: Budgetary constraints. Nowadays, however, in our "progressive" and ethnically sensitive society here in the hinterlands of Western Massachusetts, one should reasonably expect to see all our government correspondence delivered to us in every single language in the Western World, as well as Vietnamese, Laotian, Arabic, and Somali. Expenses be damned! Doing anything less would merely display our Western-chauvinistic, Euro-centric Imperialist bias.

How dare we!

What happened, by the way, to the brightly colored bill - like the one we received the first time? My new bill was on plain white paper. Sheesh. I did think the new name for our city service, "City Haulers," was pretty catchy, though. We should get a roller derby team named after them!

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

Human Brain Has Origin in Worm

2007-04-23T18:41:00.000-04:00

At last, my long-held suspicion has now been confirmed: According to a recent LiveScience.com article, scientists have determined that the human brain originally came from a common ancestor of our (very) distant kin, the worm.

Researchers once thought that the central nervous systems of vertebrates and invertebrates evolved separately, after our evolutionary split. But new research on the marine worm Platynereis dumerilii, whose nervous system has gone unchanged "for eons," has shown that the developing central nervous system in both the worm and we vertebrate folks are identical.

From the LiveScience article: "Our findings were overwhelming," says study team member Alexandru Denes. "The molecular anatomy of the developing CNS [central nervous system] turned out to be virtually the same in vertebrates and Platynereis. Corresponding regions give rise to neuron types with similar molecular fingerprints and these neurons also go on to form the same neural structures in annelid worm and vertebrates."

"Such a complex arrangement could not have been invented twice throughout evolution, it must be the same system," said Gáspár Jékely, another team member. "It looks like Platynereis and vertebrates have inherited the organization of their CNS from their remote common ancestors."

This is exciting news for me, as I have often pondered the distant kinship of we humans and those squirmy little thingies that borrow through the soil. Sure, they got stuck with neuron strands for brains while we got these big, complex organs with which to contemplate our place in the universe. But in the end, we are all just mere creatures of the Earth. It's kind of humbling, actually.

~ ~

Adventures in Gardening

2007-04-19T17:01:00.000-04:00

The Latest from the New England Rogue Journal:

"Well, Springtime is here! And that means it's time for me to screw up my garden again. Each year brings me new challenges - and new disappointments - in my quest for a pretty good harvest."

Read The Story Here

Plus:
- Strange Sites, Indeed
- Dead Blog Cemetery
- More stories from the Rogue Journal

At New England Rogue Journal

* *

"Street-People.com" Coming to Springfield

2007-04-18T08:43:00.000-04:00

So I fired up my computer this morning and I found this e-mail from the folks of "Street-People.com". It's from their Media Coordinator, Wayne Andrews, who just wanted to let me know that Street-People.com representatives are coming to Springfield during the month of April.

What the hell is "Street-People.com"? Well, in the press release that was included in the e-mail, they say they are the "online home of the homeless," and that they travel the country talking with street folks and featuring them on their website. So now, apparently, it's Springfield's turn. I surfed on over to their website looking for some updated news. There they had a "Street People Invade New England" story where they mention that they are scheduled to make an appearance on the "Bax & O'Brien Show" on April 20th (8:05am). So I'd look for them to be roaming our streets at about that time.

As for the website itself, it has a blog style to it, with updates from folks chatting with the vagrants they've met up with. The most recent post was for March 4, 2007. And naturally, they have a "PayPal" donation button there. I was tempted to donate 50 cents, but then I figured that - like all good vagrants - I would only be encouraging the website to spam my inbox begging for more.

They also mentioned in the press release that the group had been on "Good Morning America," which led me to believe, of course, that they had actually been guests on the nationally broadcast morning show. This turned out to not be the case. At the site, I clicked on the "Good Morning America" link to find that they had simply put up posters and signs around an outdoor stage area where the GMA folks were prepping a broadcast featuring Justin Timberlake. Oh well... some kind of exposure is better than none, I guess.

Anyway, it was good to see from their GMA post that Springfield is not the only city plagued by an oftentimes overzealous population of vagrants: "We showed up at 4:15 a.m. and there were already a hundred or so people standing in front of the stage, though a good portion of people were still out and drinking from the night before. And of course there were a couple of street-people hanging around, asking for cigarettes, change, etc. You can't sling a dead cat in this town without hitting a homeless person...unless you're actually looking for one and then you can't find them. They're sneaky that way."

The website was actually created by two office workers from Memphis, Tennessee, and was meant to add a little satire to the subject of street people, while at the same time getting word out about the "social phenomenon" of homelessness. The press release went on to say, "Being panhandled is something everyone that lives in a city understands. Our site is an outlet for that part of our culture showing that some people really need aid and others are just scam artists."

Well, I know all about the scam artists. In the City of Springfield, fifty cents won't buy you a cup of coffee - but it will get you accosted by the folks I sometimes refer to as "the roaming residents" of Springfield.

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

Brianna Couture - Spfld Elks "Citizen of the Year"

2007-04-17T11:35:00.000-04:00

I had the privilege of attending a Springfield Lodge of Elks event which honored 15-year-old Brianna Couture as their "Citizen of the Year." Brianna is a very brave, well-spoken, and intelligent young lady who offers her time as a spokesperson in the fight against Mitochondrial Disease, an affliction that she herself suffers from. In a time filled with so much bad news and sorrow, Brianna's story reminds us that there is still much good in the world. She is an inspiration to everyone - children and adults alike.

To learn more about Brianna and Mitochondrial Disease, stop by the below links.

- Springfield Lodge of Elks "Citizen of the Year" Brianna Couture
(the above link includes a video)
- MitoAction.org (Mitochondrial Disease Action Committee)

~ ~

Yet Another Balancing Act

2007-04-13T23:56:00.000-04:00

I learned this little routine - not actually a trick, because there is no slight-of-hand - back when I was a just a kid. This means, of course, it's been around a while, so many of you may already know it. You can't just do it anytime - you have to have the right utensils handy. But it's a good eye-popper for those who are easily marveled ;-)

*
Okay, let's start with the props:
- One drinking glass (it must be glass, not plastic or paper).
- One spoon.
- One fork.
*The fork should be the same weight - or close to - as the spoon.
- One toothpick.
- One lighter (or a match).

The execution:
First, interlock the spoon and fork as shown in the photo, below - with the two inner fork prongs below the spoon (as you are looking at it), and the outside prongs on top.

Next, insert the toothpick so that the spoon and fork are balanced. You may need to adjust your spoon/fork assembly to get the proper balance. You will then need to balance the toothpick on the rim of the glass. (Your glass can be smaller than the one pictured, as long as it can hold the weight of the spoon/fork assembly without tipping.) Try to get the spoon/fork assembly as far out as possible, to add to the dramatic effect.

Now, some people marvel at the mere balancing act itself. But we're not finished!

Take your lighter (or match) and light the inside end of the toothpick, as shown in the photo, below. The toothpick should burn all the way to the rim of the glass and extinguish on its own when it gets there. (You can tap away any charred embers.)

Ta-Da!

~ ~

Of False Alarms & The Litter Bug

2007-04-11T11:01:00.000-04:00

Wednesday morning, the sound of sirens alerted me to the possibility that something was a-miss in my neighborhood. Firetrucks sped onto my street, and - what do ya know? - parked just a few houses down from my house. Quickly, I pulled on my sneakers, grabbed my camera, and ran out the door...

Fortunately (or unfortunately, if I were a member of the paparazzi), the call turned out to be a false alarm. The call had been for the white house, seen above. By the time I got there, the firemen and police at the scene were already relaxed and chatting. I asked one fireman if it was a false alarm, and he nodded and said "yeah."

* *

Meanwhile, Springfield's saga with overflowing dumpsters continues. I could take photographs of illegal dumping and overflowing trash bins every day and never have a problem seeking out subjects. It is not that the dumpsters are occasionally overfilled and I just happen to get opportunistic photographs. The dumpsters in my 'hood are almost always overflowing just a couple of weeks or so after being emptied. And they stay overflowed for another week or two thereafter. The one pictured below is on Central Street, just up the road from the neighborhood's worst litter offender, the Northern Heights apartments. I could take a picture of this same dumpster each month, and it would look the same each time.

Overflowing dumpsters are a nag of mine because it leads to scenes like the one below. That littered lot is the result of weeks of nearby dumpsters and trash bins being left over-filled, where the loose trash on top just blows around to the neighboring streets and yards. Practically every day I have to police my yard for trash blowing in from neighboring bins and dumpsters - primarily the ones being stuffed over-full in the parking lot of the Northern Heights apartment complex on Central Street.

The dumpsters in Springfield need to be emptied when they are full, not when some arbitrarily set pick-up time comes along. Repeat violators of the city's litter ordinances need to be fined. The dumpster companies or property owners need to be told that their dumpsters must not be filled beyond the brim of their containers - period. And if they are repeatedly overfilled, then fine the company or property owner. And fine them for every housing unit that uses the dumpster. So if an apartment complex has 20 units, we fine the company or owner $500 x 20 = $10,000.

That's what I would do, anyway. But I've been told I'm a meanie when it comes to ordinance violators. Either that or my expectations of city ordinance enforcement - you know, the laws the city wrote, for whatever reason - are just entirely unrealistic, gosh darn it. ("We can't do that..." [sob])

I think if the City took such strong action in these matters, the mass violations would end immediately. We need to send a clear and strong message to trash container providers and/or property owners: If you do business in Springfield, or utilize trash containers or dumpsters on your property, then you will do so responsibly. If the City does not take such action - if we refuse to crack down on repeated trash offenders - then any efforts to reduce the immense litter problem in this city will only have temporary, short-term results. And the massive illegal trash dumping and disregard for littering in our communities will continue.

*

Springfield's Clean-up Day is slated for Saturday, April 28. I tried a few months back to get involved with the "Keep Springfield Beautiful" group that's organizing trash pickups throughout the city, but their meetings were on weeknights, when I'm working, so I was unable to attend them. Recently, I called to inquire about joining up, but all I got was their voicemail. I left a message, but they haven't got back to me yet. In any event, from reading their website, it looks as if they're looking for groups of people to sign up, as opposed to individuals. Oh well. If anything else, I can just grab a couple of trash bags on my own and walk down my street. They'll fill up quick enough.

I'll send you'all a picture!

UPDATE! I recently received an invite to join up with the "Keep Springfield Beautiful" folks. That's great news! I even get a T-shirt and a free lunch out of deal, too. (I wonder how many homeless people will be helping out?)

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

A Visit to 52 Westminster Street

2007-04-09T11:11:00.000-04:00

Last week, Jim Boone, President of the Springfield Preservation Trust (SPT), invited me to come along on a tour of the house at 52 Westminster Street, in Springfield, Massachusetts. The visit was scheduled for Saturday, April 7th, at 1:00pm, and our tour was to be hosted by the Rev. Maxine Moore, the Paster of St. Mark Methodist Episcopal Church, which is the the owner of the 52 Westminster property.

I arrived shortly before 1:00pm, and I was met there by Jim Boone. Soon afterward, about a half dozen other members of the Trust arrived to join us. While we waited for our host to arrive, we talked and snapped pictures, and we also took a little stroll around the exterior of the property.

And so 1:00pm drifted by...

A couple of neighbors noticed us at the property and stopped by to talk with us. Both were entirely uninterested in any restoration of the old house. Their sentiment is entirely understandable - who would want to walk out each day to be greeted by such a neglected and blighted property? Still, the SPT was there to gather information about the house's interior, and also to urge the church to either sell the property or take action to renovate it.

1:15pm went by....

The house at 52 Westminster had been used as a church for much of its history. Jim showed me a photograph of the house from the 1930s, back when it was in fine condition. It's a shame that owners of such properties - with such rich histories - feel the need to let them fall into such a dire state of disrepair.

1:20pm went by....

The neighbors complained that drug dealers often park in front of the property to sell their drugs, and that drug users will use the back-side porch to do their drugs. The neighbors said they have repeatedly called the police on such occasions, and the only way they felt that such activities would stop is with the demolition of the old house. The property is actually on the City's list of buildings targeted to be brought down. So the clock is ticking on this small piece of Springfield's history.

1:30pm came along - but unfortunately, our host did not.

Jim Boone received a call on his cell phone. It was Bill Devlin, an SPT member, who had just had a conversation with the Reverend Moore: Who are all those people [attending the tour]? she had asked him. (Bill had called to inquire about her whereabouts, mentioning that a lot of folks were waiting.) Unfortunately, the Reverend said she had just plum forgotten all about our visit, and she wasn't dressed yet, and she hadn't checked with the trustees of the church to OK our tour of the house, and... well, you get the picture. There would be no tour.

Oh well. Below are some photographs I took of the property while we waited for our no-show host. And at the bottom is a brief video tour of 52 Westminster Street. You can also check out a video done by Joseph Fountain last month at the site. Mr. Fountain is an interested buyer, but the church, unfortunately, has not returned his calls.

rear view of the house

side-rear view

front view

St. Mark Church (owners of 52 Westminster)

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

Easter Bunny Deemed "Too Christian"

2007-04-08T10:27:00.000-04:00

In an act of PC stupidity too ridiculous to even rant over (for long), the Tiverton Middle School in Tiverton, R.I., has banned the Easter Bunny, and instead installed the name "Peter Rabbit."

The superintendent of the school, William Rearick, was apparantly worried that children of other religious backgrounds might be offended by the bunny. Typical of secular warriors from all over America, Mr. Rearick did not wait for any complaints of any kind to herald forth from the children (or their parents) themselves. Instead, he bravely took up the cause of Progressive Elitism and made the stand on his own.

Unbelievable.

Personally, I could care less if a public school has an Easter celebration. But either have an Easter celebration, or don't have an Easter celebration. And if you do have one, and a bunny rabbit shows up, he would be the Easter Bunny.

What are they going to call the Easter eggs?

Happy Easter Everyone!

* *

Outside The Springfield Museums

2007-04-04T12:05:00.000-04:00

A quick tour of the Springfield Museums, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield is the home of The Dr. Seuss Museum, The Seymour Planetarium (which is "the oldest American-built planetarium in the world"), and The Basketball Hall of Fame, which is located nearby the Museums, on East Columbus Avenue, next to Rt91 North.

Approaching from State Street, a stroll around the inner courtyard (detouring to see the Dr. Seuss Memorial), and finishing at the Museums' front entrance on Edwards Street.

The Springfield Museums will be free for Springfield residents beginning May 1st, 2007. Visit the Museums website here.

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

Flynn Talks Crime - Collins Gets Time

2007-03-30T16:59:00.001-04:00

March 30, 2007.

After a scheduled thirty minute "speak out" of citizens and the reading of the minutes, the public meeting of the Springfield Finance Control Board began with a brief discussion of city affairs. Springfield Police Commissioner Edward Flynn had been scheduled to speak first, but he was a bit tardy for his appearance there - perhaps because of his interview with Urban Compass blogger Heather Brandon concerning the ridiculously stupid letters to the editor that appeared in that day's (Friday) Springfield Republican, regarding a shoot-out police had gotten into with a violent criminal.

Mayor Ryan convenes the FCB meeting - 3/30/07

Upon his arrival, Flynn began his testimony before the Board with a comparison of crime statistics from 2006 and 2005. As most interested people already know, the stats include the following information: For the year 2006, murder was down 17%; Robbery was down 12%; and aggravated assaults were down 19%.

Flynn went on to say that of the aggravated assaults, they (the police) believed that approximately 40% of those reported were the result of domestic violence, and that a further "large number" involved persons already known to each other (non-domestic). He said about one-quarter to one-third of reported assaults were deemed to be by a stranger.

On reported rapes in the city, Flynn estimated that 90% of these crimes involved persons already known to each other, or were the result of prostitution or other accompanying crimes. (This is probably not a big surprise.)

Commissioner Flynn also took the time to discuss a new plan the Department had been working on. The plan would have newly released inmates (from area jails) visiting Police Headquarters (on Pearl Street) upon their arrival in Springfield. There, they would be introduced at the Headquarters' roll call, where they would have the opportunity to meet with the officers. The plan would of course have the dual purpose of allowing the officers themselves to have a good look at any potential repeat offender. Personally, I thought the idea was pretty good - and as a good citizen, a bit amusing, too. ("Welcome home, John. Come on over and meet the boys. We're here to "help" you if you should happen to lose your way again...")

Police Commissioner Flynn speaks - 3/30/07

Flynn also discussed the subject of robbery in the city. He asked the Board - and the public - not to read too much into wintertime statistics, since historically, incidents of robbery tend to go up in winter because of the longer periods of darkness and the greater ease of concealing weapons due to the wearing of heavier clothing.

*

For an inaugural "speak-out" event, this FCB meeting turned out to be somewhat of a dud as far as attendance goes. Only five people showed up to speak, and those people were still only allowed 3 minutes to talk. One of those speakers, though, was regular-attendee Timothy T. Collins, president of the Springfield Education Association.

Collins fit a lot of information into his brief three minute speech to the Board. His first two topics concerned public employee and SEA business, and he then went on to city business. He discussed the need for Springfield to find new sources of revenue. He said the city should support Deval Patrick's call for cities to have the ability to raise their own revenue, other than property tax, which would then allow Springfield to take advantage of the very large influx of young persons who frequent the city on weekends by introducing city taxes on beverages and meals. He went on to discuss the need for allowing an increase in property tax rates (beyond prop 2.5) for those property owners living outside of Springfield (property investors) via home rule legislation from the State.

The Urban Compass blog has the complete text of Collins' speak-out - which I thought was pretty entertaining and informative, as well as the text of the other speakers who showed up to have their voices heard.

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

The SPSA vs. FCB - March 30, 2007

2007-03-30T14:19:00.000-04:00

The March 30, 2007, Finance Control Board (FCB) meeting held at City Hall in Springfield, MA, was preceded this time around by the introduction of a thirty minute “speak out” by citizens wishing to address their concerns and causes with the Board. On this occasion, five persons chose to take the speaker’s podium, including Springfield Police Lieutenant Edward H. Geier Sr., who serves as President of the Springfield Police Supervisors Association (SPSA), and the always illustrious and entertaining Timothy Collins, President of the Springfield Education Association.

Lt. Geier spoke to the Board – and to the attending press – of the need to resolve the City’s lone remaining unsettled contract dispute – that between the City and the SPSA. The sixty-eight members of the SPSA are the "only remaining city employees, amongst thousands, that continue [to work] under the provisions of a city-imposed wage freeze," said Gieir. A contract offer was put forward by the FCB - which the FCB has said is what the city can afford, but the SPSA stated that it fails to address the unfinished obligations of the previous (frozen) contract. Under that contract, the Association agreed to back-load its raises in order to assist the city in its financial crisis. Those back-loaded raises, however, never came to be following the implementation of the wage freeze. The SPSA is seeking a settlement of that (previous) contract before entering into a new contract with the City.

In regards to the frozen contract, Lt. Geier said, "It is truly not believable and clearly not an accepted practice for parties to just disregard the terms and provisions contained within [contracts]." He continued, "A contract is a dual ownership document. In this case the men and women of this Association have lived up to, honored, and continue to complete the terms of the agreement while the City of Springfield and the Springfield Finance Control Board has failed to act in kind. It is not fair that we should have to negotiate a contract twice and it defies basic logic and common sense that one would actively negotiate a new agreement with someone when they have not fulfilled their obligations under the terms of the first agreement."

SPSA members picket outside City Hall - 3/30/07

The debate regarding the negotiation of city contracts in Springfield is unique to this particular city, in that Springfield, unusually (and illegally, it turns out), had a wage freeze in effect that negated agreed-upon raises. In other words, the obligations in those previous contracts were not honored by the city. And while this matter was eventually addressed in separate contract negotiations with other city employees, the fact that the SPSA had agreed to delayed pay raises (that never materialized, due to the freeze) in their last contract - and that members also took unpaid furloughs - makes their dispute even more unique, still.

Regardless of where one may stand on this issue, it is pretty clear that this contract negotiation should not be considered the same as all the others. No contract discussion should be. The City, and the FCB, should perhaps also heed the advise of Timothy Collins, who took a brief moment to speak in support of the SPSA: If the FCB fails to properly address its obligations under the (frozen) SPSA contract now, then how can members of other unions trust that the City will honor its obligations with regard to their labor agreements in the future?

~ ~

Missing Persons in New England

So THAT'S Why I Can't Get a Date!

2007-03-28T18:49:00.000-04:00

For years, I've struggled to find the answer for my continued status as a "single and searching" male of the human species. I used to think it might have been my bad breath. But I brush pretty regularly, and I chew on Altoids like some folks eat peanuts. (Hell, I even floss.)

Years ago, I used to write poems - even at the local bar. But that didn't get me anywhere, either. I've also suspected that perhaps my sparkling personality might be to blame. But honestly, there's just no real chance of that.

Now, at last, I have learned the reason for my predicament:

Apparently, I'm not Brad Pitt.

"A new study explains why we aren't all born with Brad Pitt’s perfectly chiseled features or Angelina Jolie’s pouty lips." says an article from LiveScience.com.

As the article explains, the general theory is that females tend to seek out the healthiest, most fit males with which to mate. With this being the case, over a long period of time, one would expect that these superior males would come to dominate, and that all the ugly guys would eventually die away.

But clearly, this does not happen. And now a group of scientists have narrowed down the reason why. The answer lies in our DNA's repair system - the so-called "DNA repair kit."

A cell’s DNA repair kit is not really a kit but a set of molecular processes that routinely repair the damage done to the cell’s DNA that result in genetic mutations, under normal conditions. Mutations can be harmful and cause tissue to degenerate, malfunction or develop cancers. Other mutations are beneficial, such as those in the part of the genome responsible for disease defense that make an individual more resistant to attacks from bacteria and viruses. Some mutations affect the repair processes themselves and make them less efficient which results in more mutations as the damage goes unrepaired.

"You can raise or lower your own mutation rate," [study team leader Marion] Petrie said.

Huh?

A higher mutation rate creates more diversity in a population. Using a computer model, Petrie found that the greater genetic diversity created by mutations that affect DNA repair outweighed the decrease in diversity arising from sexual selection.

So, apparently, I've been brushing my teeth all these years for nothing!

[Read the entire article here.]

* *

Missing Persons in New England

Visiting The Springfield Cemetery

2007-03-27T11:50:00.000-04:00

A stroll around the Springfield Cemetery, in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was both a nice little walk and a little bit creepy, too. No ghosts, however, revealed themselves to my intruding camcorder lens.

Fellow blogger, Mark Alamed, over at Exploring Western Massachusetts, has said that cemeteries built back in the 1800s were designed to be visited much like public parks. And a quick view of Springfield Cemetery will show this to be true. It's really something to behold in person. This is without question one of the most beautiful cemeteries I've ever walked through, and will surely be more so when the grass has greened-up and the trees are in bloom. My pans with a camcorder just don't offer the same rich depth of vision that this cemetery provides as you look down from its slopes and terraces.

For more on the Springfield Cemetery, visit their website here.

* *

Missing Persons in New England

Peek-a-Boo...

2007-03-23T21:13:00.000-04:00

As if having two young female roommates wasn't enough. Sheesh.

- - - - - - - - - -
Man Taped Roommates in Shower, Police Say
AP

MANCHESTER, Conn. (March 22) - A man landed in hot water after police say he hid a tiny camera in a shampoo bottle to watch two of his female roommates as they took showers.

READ THE STORY HERE

*

I'm Green Latern (yawn..)

2007-03-22T21:22:00.000-04:00

How boring. I took this "Which Superhero Are You?" test, and it turns out that I'm NOT Superman, I'm NOT Batman, and I'm NOT Captain America. Hell, I'm not even Robin. (I would have settled for Underdog if they had him in the lineup.)

No, I'm Green Latern.

WTF? One of the few comicbooks I never read as a kid. I even thought he sucked on "Justice League of America."

"Look Mr. Mayor! Springfield is saved!! It's..... the Green Lantern!"

Unbelievable.

(see my results, below)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Your results: You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern		70%
Superman		60%
Hulk		55%
Spider-Man		50%
Robin		45%
The Flash		45%
Batman		40%
Catwoman		40%
Iron Man		40%
Supergirl		33%
Wonder Woman		33%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

* *

Law & Ordinances

2007-03-22T11:44:00.000-04:00

Springfield, MA, Has The Laws On Its Side

Cities and towns across the country and around the world bring order and stability to their numerous and sometimes [in the U.S.] diverse neighborhoods by use of local government, police and fire departments, public works, and established city or town ordinances. All of these together contribute to a safer, more functional society. Quality of life issues, in particular, can oftentimes be held up as an important measure by which not only a city judges itself, but also how it is viewed by others, including potential residents looking for new places to live...

READ THE ROGUE JOURNAL STORY HERE

* *

Missing Persons in New England

Anonymously Speaking - Part Two

2007-03-21T01:56:00.000-04:00

In relation to my previous post on anonymous online forums posters, I found this article and thought I'd pass it along. I remain almost entirely unsympathetic to the "anonymous" cause. I can see some limited excuses for certain people to need anonymity, but overall, I believe nearly all anonymous users of online forums choose to mask their identities just so that they can be abusive (with no repercussions). Many of their rantings and insults go far beyond childish. If these people ever actually met - face to face - with the people they were insulting, they would be red-faced and embarrassed beyond ever even admitting to.

An excerpt from the article: "There are examples everywhere of anonymous comments that cause harm. On even the most innocuous sites — a parenting message board, for example — anonymity often leads to the type of response that would hardly be likely if names were attached."

I agree. And I hope that in the future, more forums will be available that require the positive identification of those who choose to participate.

* *

Incandescent Light Bulbs Must Go

2007-03-20T18:32:00.000-04:00

Not even light bulbs can escape the movement to improve energy efficiency.

From LiveScience.com:
"The incandescent light bulb should go the way of outdated inventions like the coal-burning locomotive, says an energy coalition that advocates a widespread change to more energy efficient lights, compact fluorescent bulbs and light-emitting diodes."

Read The Story Here.

*

Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade 2007

2007-03-19T16:46:00.000-04:00

So much footage, it took three clips! I journeyed to Holyoke this past Sunday to check out the St.Patrick's Day Parade held there. I wandered around for a couple of hours. It was cold out, but not unbearable (unless you were a marcher, I suppose, and had been out there since the morning). While most folks were lining the streets, others peered out from building windows or watched from inside their cars.

I drank a beer while trekking about - as did many folks who lined the streets as the parade passed by them. The crowd was pretty boisterous at times, including near the ending point, where a few young ladies were quite playful. (I'm sure I missed a few other rowdy moments, but what the hey - I couldn't be everywhere.)

I met some friends there who were marching in the parade. Even though it was cold, they all had a good time, and it looked to me as if everyone else did, too. They say everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and it must be true, since I saw white folks, black folks, and Hispanics alike dressed in green & Irish costume. As a Springfielder, I was also glad to see that the Springfield Police Department was very well received by the crowd, who whooped it up loudly as the officers marched by (see the third video).

It was my first St. Patrick's Day Parade, and all and all, I'd have to say I'd go there again.

* *

Missing Persons in New England

Video Tour: Downtown Springfield, MA

2007-03-15T12:42:00.000-04:00

A brief video tour of some of the buildings along Court Square and Main Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. As a few folks know, I'm a big fan of old, well designed buildings, and Springfield has a bunch of them. This is a short video, about 4 minutes long.

Too many times in this day-and-age, builders focus far too much on economy over aesthetics. How many times have we driven along and seen these large, square, flat buildings and houses, completely devoid of any style or uniqueness? It's something that older cities like Springfield need to keep a careful balance of - creating the new while retaining the old. These historical buildings lend well to the character of these cities, and in many cases are a part of their souls.

* *

Missing Persons in New England

FLASH! - True Confessions?!

2007-03-15T11:04:00.000-04:00

Terrorist Confesses at Guantanamo

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, captured in Pakistan in 2003, has reportedly confessed to killing American reporter Daniel Pearl, and to have masterminded the 9/11 attacks.

Not exactly shocking news for the rest of the country, word of his confession in Western Massachusetts, however - as well as certain parts of California, is sure to bring in rounds of condemnation and protest. Opinion stories and letters to the editor alike will insist that the poor man was brutally tortured at the hands of his heartless American overseers.

"This is an outrage! It's a conspiracy!" - Organization for 9/11 Truth Tellers.

"Only because of our naked depravity has this tragic confession been made." - Valley Progressives for Freedom Fighter Justice.

"It is not true. Khalid is a kind man. He was going to marry my 12-year-old daughter. This is an American trick." - Khalid's brother.

"We don't believe it. We totally reject this so-called confession. It is totally unacceptable." - marketing director for "The 9/11 - CIA Connection: How the Bush Administration Carried Out the 9/11 Attacks with the Aid of Space Aliens."

"No more confessions. Close Guantanamo now! Impeach Bush!" - Copy-and-paste e-mail distributed by the group Move-On-NOW.org, first sent out, July 2002.

- - - - - - -

- MORE "Earth To Bill"

THANKS A LOT: Gorillas Gave Us "The Crabs"

2007-03-12T22:27:00.000-04:00

Livescience.com has the rather disappointing news that we humans more than likely first got "the crabs" - a kind of lice that take up residence in our pubic hair - from our old friends, the gorillas. That's just wonderful. Just when I was feeling good about trying to save them from extinction.

Of course, it wouldn't be the first time our simian friends have screwed us. Yes, it's true, other animals have sent us to both our hospitals and to our graves. Malaria and the West Nile virus come to us courtesy of the mosquito, for example. And rats have long been hazardous to our health, as well. But generally speaking, we don't like those animals very much (although I do have a particular liking for fancy rats), so there's not much of an effort to preserve their futures. Conversely, gorillas - along with other apes - are supposed to be like family to us humans. We want them to live. So, it's kind of like they're stabbing us in the back. Ain't it?

Well, maybe not exactly. They're not doing it on purpose, after all.

Or.... are they?

Something to ponder as you sip your morning coffee.