hohum

Heh, can't change my vote now... went from software engineering, to corporate counsel for same software company... not quite the same field...

My favorite pan handlers were out in Boston while I was in school. There was this group of homeless guys who formed a "Band", which they called "Mixed Nuts". For their "Band", they would set up a radio playing songs from various classic rock stations. Then, they would dance around playing "instruments" which were actually just cut outs made out of cardboard. They were all fun guys, and they made a decent amount of change for all the laughs they got. I've run into the "My friends left me after a bar fight guy in Cincy." There's also another guy I see all the time who always claims he just got a job somewhere but needs a little money to tide him over (he used to be the "fix a flat" guy with the busted van, that he had his "family" in, who were clearly in on the scam). The other dude I see all the time is everyone's favorite clifton bum, Danny. First asks for change, then for a cigarette.

Hrm, well I've gone through lots of combo machines and never found one that really did both well... But then again, I'm also the guy that orders custom roasted coffee!

I don't go in for the combo machines, the combo machines may do drip coffee well, but they rarely do espresso well. I am way too much of a coffee snob for second rate espresso... if it doesn't do it better than the schlock they serve at the bucks, it ain't for me :)

I recommend this one from DeLonghi - http://www.amazon.com/Longhi-10-Cup-Stainless-Coffee-Thermal/dp/B0013CEW94/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1213819232&sr=8-4 Its the one I have - I like it quite a lot. Getting hard to find though. Although, its listed there for like 50% of what I paid. If you are looking for a solid reasonably priced QUALITY espresso machine, this one is the one I bought for my parents - they love it as well. http://www.amazon.com/FrancisFrancis-201033-espresso-machine-orange/dp/B000U01GV2/ref=sr_1_135?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1213819552&sr=1-135 (its the only machine under a grand thats worth a damn for espresso as far as I am concerned) Both, are good choices :)

I really wish that graph had included motorcycles... My motorcycle does better than prius mileage, but I am pretty sure its dirtier (gallon for gallon) than most cars...

I dunno about that, I don't think that the need for a personal transportation vehicle is going to disappear anytime soon (some trips are simply not feasible on public transit or rail). I think it will merely drive people to make better choices about what they use the gas consuming vehicle for, and the consumption level of the vehicle they choose. Gas still isn't as as expensive here as it is in Europe (relative to income) and people still drive, its just that they do it a whole lot less. As far as who is to blame - I blame the faux conservativism that has reigned supreme that last 8 years, where its somehow "conservative" to decrease taxes while at the same time vastly expanding spending and letting the US dollar depreciate like nobody's business. Personally, I think that one of the biggest contributing factors is the value of the dollar, and the ridiculously insane fiscal policies of the current administration. (along with many other factors of course - including supply of oil, increasing costs of extraction, a lack of focus on conservation, etc, etc)

I hope thats a typo ;)

Boston runs electric buses as well, but the alternate between electric and diesel (they may be NG by now, but not sure on that). Where there are overhead wires, they make use of them and run full electric, where there aren't, they run diesel. The downside to this plan is as already mentioned, the two wires. With the two overhead wires you a) get sparking, and b) the wire lines take a beating as the bus bounces its way down the street.

Buzzy isn't the owner of the building, he leases it. However, the owner has been trying to sell the building for some time. But the owner's asking price is a bit on the insane side. If it were to sell for the asking price, it would have to be one hell of a project to justify razing it. Not may projects can afford to just toss more than half a mil as "acquisition costs." I would expect a new bar tenant to move in (and perhaps someone to take over the Woody's moniker).

Here's the scoop on Woody's As far as I know it has not yet sold (and Buzzy is on speed dial on my phone ;)). However, it is closed right now because a) the liquor license expired june 1, b) you have to pay your back taxes before you can renew, and c) they were hit with a larger than expected tax bill that it may well be hard for Buzzy to come up with the cash to pay. Thats the story as it stands now. Whether it will open again, well that is very much up in the air. Absent some investors or a loan, I'm thinking its done. Beginning of July will be when its known for sure due to deadlines on renewing the license.

I have my CCW, so I am well aware of all of the above requirements. However, after sitting through the class to get my CCW, I certainly wouldn't classify some of the folks in that class as you did: "more educated, mature & level headed than those without." Frankly, if I had to come up with a simple classification for a goodly majority of those folks who were in my class with me, the classification would be "scared." There were more people "frightened of life" in that class than in any other course I have taken on anything in the last 33 years. (Then again, I also took the course with my father in law, a man who has more advanced degrees than anyone I know, and neither one of us took it because we were scared) However, to say that officers will not cite you for walking down the street with an unholstered weapon of any kind if you are a "law abiding citizen" is a gross understatement. Will officers be understanding if you are a level headed person, and talk to them about a good reason for acting as you have, well certainly. Will they cite you, or possibly arrest you if you are not a level headed person, or if there are folks who are genuinely scared of your presence with a firearm, yes, they will (and there are plenty who would be scared just to see one). edit - Nevermind, I reread your post, you said holstered. Sorry, I thought the comment was that they wouldn't give you trouble for an unholstered sidearm, and thats well, a judgment call on the part of the officer depending on the circumstances...

Open carry is still a no no. Is it specifically prohibited? No, it is not. Can it still get you in trouble - ABSOLUTELY. Most officers WILL cite you for inciting panic for open carry (most especially in the cities). You still cannot just walk down the sidewalk with a shotgun (or a handgun for that matter). Yes it is legal, it is also quite legal for the officer to cite you for inciting panic, or, if he really wants to get you, mayhem (the felony variant).

It was jam packed, you just had to figure out "the secret" - walk on the sidewalks outside of the main alley and make targetted runs for beer/food. It was way easier to get around than in the thick of it. I stood in one place in a crowd of "front row concert thick" crowd of people, on 5th St west of the square, waiting for things to move for more than 15 minutes (while getting the back of my ankles hit with GINORMOUS strollers every couple of seconds). Compare to walking the sidewalks behind the booths, I walked the whole length of the event in 15 minutes that way.

^ Commendable argument Michael One thing that I think needs to be highlighted about the displacement argument in OTR may be summed up as follows: 1) OTR has a VAST supply of vacant property (some of which has been rehabbed already by folks like you) 2) Even if some enormous and highly unlikely percentage of that under developed property is taken and developed (and consequently, property values rise) there will remain some amount of developable property (given the lower than possible current population density) for more affordable housing, and this doesn't even account for the large number of properties already owned that are dedicated to this purpose (and which will likely continue to be dedicated to that purpose) To me, given the smaller than possible current population of OTR, and the likely prospect of the continued availability of affordable housing in OTR, the likelihood of gentrification, in the population displacement sense, is unlikely to be a problem there. edit - contrast this situation with the situation in other classic "gentrified" neighborhoods, the south end of boston for example, which had densely populated neighborhoods before their "remake"