Dispatches:
Journalist Seth Gitell's (very Web 2.0-looking) blog is up and running. (Via Dan Kennedy)
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September 30, 2006
In a name:
The new hotel on the site of the old Charles Street Jail will be called the Liberty Hotel. Get it, liberty? It's "the opposite of confinement," developer Rich Friedman helpfully reminds us.
Is there any chance they'll call the hotel restaurant Buzzy's?
Bumping elbows:
Ouch. Sometimes people just get to you, and an eye-rolling thirty-something Green Line riding woman really got to J. DiColo. Great post! (via UH)
Front page news:
I hate change but, at first glance, I like the change at The Globe website.
They've taken the opposite approach from the Herald, which has an arbitrary and inconsistent tree structure that encourages meaningless page-loads and doesn't reflect the experience of a print reader.
I'm sure there are business reasons for each paper's site design. But more fundamentally, I suppose it comes down to whether you think the web is the future, the way to attract new customers, which The Globe seems to have decided, or just a a free but imperfect extra to the print edition, like the Herald site.
Paying for the razor blades:
In some industries, the initial cost of a product is just the beginning; it's the cost of ongoing services that really brings in the dough. The trick is to design the original product in a way that it requires those ongoing services but to sell it in a way that this is not obvious.
It's interesting that Modern Continental seems to have stumbled upon this model, with expensive construction products that just happen to need costly ongoing repair. In any case, it seems that the State, on our behalf, is finally refusing to pay for something we thought we already paid for.
Down the road:
Jay asks, why won't Deval Patrick take the no-new-taxes pledge, since that's basically the position he's taken? Good question. Wildly speculative answer: Maybe it's because he doesn't want to introduce a litmus-test precedent that might come back to haunt him when he runs for president.
September 29, 2006
On target:
Slowly but surely, plans for another rebirth of Downtown Crossing are coming together. The hope, apparently, is that in a few years it will be a vibrant, shiny, prosperous section of the city, rather than the cold, dingy canyon it is now.
Nice new buildings and upscale grocery stores will be welcome, but there are other issues in the downtown area that have to be confronted. Crime and homelessness top the list.
Covering the earth
Google Earth, as I've written here, is my all time favorite computer application. It gets better all the time through updates and overlays and placemarks. Here are are some for seeing real-time weather. Here are a few (thousand) TV / movie locations. And here are the top ten things you can do with Google Earth.
Holding back:
It's never a good thing when, on the eve of an election, important information about a candidate is withheld. That's what Globe editors think. It's what I think too.
September 28, 2006
Public by nature:
Blog entries are increasingly being used in civil cases notes Sacha Pfeiffer in The Globe. It shouldn't come as a surprise to blog writers, especially those who publish under their real names. The real story is that there are bloggers who are caught by surprise by this.
In love with the state:
It might or might not be SAD, but with the shorting days, it's hard to get up early enough to post. A heavy work-load also plays in. In any case, I'm just getting caught up with the morning papers.
Margery Egan, channelling Maureen Dowd (?) asks which candidate for Governor is the sexiest? Deval, Kerry, Christy? She seems to have side-stepped Grace Ross for some reason.
September 25, 2006
No-mentum:
I didn't get home in time to watch the debate but I was able to listen to it in the car. (Despite the dropouts. Is the staff at WTKK hopelessly incompetent, or is it just me? But I digress.) Although going in, I was focused on the Patrick-Healey dynamic, it turns out that the spoilers stole the show.
Christy Mihos' relentless attack seemed to throw Kerry Healey off her game. And Grace Ross sounded startlingly articulate and reasonable.
As for the front runners, there were no surprises, apart from Healey's generally weak performance.
Dan Kennedy, who pulled the audio to his iPod, will listen more closely tomorrow, but offers that Patrick won by default. I agree. Adam collects some other early impressions, and Jay gives his take on the first half.
Manhattan project:
Although the suspects in the 2001 anthrax attacks are still at large, the investigation has spawned a number of technological developments that at least will allow us to detect and prevent future attacks.
High stakes:
Will Patrick move to the center? Will Healey go over the top? Tonight's debate will be worth watching. At the very least it will be engaging. This is an opportunity for one or the other to gain, or to lose, critical momentum.
Face the facts:
Have you heard the new Bob Seger album? I was never a real Seger fan but since he hasn't released anything for such a long time, I figured Face the Promise might be interesting. I was wrong, although there is one catchy tune he does with Kid Rock.
Russian highway:
Traffic on the Southeast Expressway is always worse when it rains. But it's never as bad as this.
September 24, 2006
Business intrigue:
Admittedly, this is Apple minutia, but interesting nonetheless, at least to me. David Chartier wries on the Unofficial Apple Weblog that Apple hasn't equipped it's computers with Sony's Blue-ray disks because it sees it as competition to it's video strategy. He quotes Bob Cringley as a source before concluding that the Apple strategy is misguided.
But that's not what Cringley said. He thinks that Apple is playing hardball with Sony to get them to release their movie catalog for sale at the iTunes store, something that Sony has been hesitant to do. No movies, no Blue-ray.
Apart from my being an Apple aficionado, I have to admit to being fascinated by the sophistication of the company's business strategies. Cringley follows this stuff closely and for me, his columns read like a Tom Clancy novel.
News from the fine china department:
They just can't help themselves. Today's Globe has a front page story on the rise and fall of Shreve, Crump and Low.
...[W]hat most people didn't know was that Shreve's, Boston's grand dame of jewelers, had recently fired its chief executive and laid off more than a dozen employees...
Shocking.
If there's a reason most people didn't know that, it's because it just doesn't matter to most people, including that single mother from East Boston. (Those dozen laid off employees are never mentioned again in the story. But then again the article isn't about them --it's about Shreve's.)
September 23, 2006
Zooming:
I'm fooling around with Google Earth and I wanted to see how well placemarks work in blog posts. Here, if it works, is where the Beatles Abby Road album cover was shot.
Can't cut loose, without that juice:
Everyone's all worked up about Hugo Chavez. Well get used to it. He's got oil and we need oil. Who else are we going to go running to, Iran?
Taking the Citco sign down is a meaningless gesture and the Mayor's right, we'd only be hurting ourselves if we did it. (Plus, Universal Hub would have to get a new, less snazzy, logo.) If we really wanted to do something about being smacked around by punks like Chavez, we'd be doing more to promote energy independence.
September 22, 2006
Owned:
Why would someone want to hack into BPDNews? Because they could, apparently. It's hosted on a commercial service, 2MHosts, and I would have expected better security. Hopefully the site will be back soon. If it's any consolation, we're not alone.
Adam has more.
September 21, 2006
Doing the math:
Election officials are hand counting the votes in the race between Dianne Wilkerson and Sonia Chang-Diaz. With Wlikerson's bare 141 vote victory, a recount could easily change the results, especially with stickers, write-ins and scuttlebutt about missing precincts.
It's unfortunate that my colleague John Kelleher played the Ralph Nader role in this election, taking 393 votes, well more than the margin between the front-runners.
In any case, we'll know more about the recount later today.
UPDATE: It looks like Curley's sprit lives on. Wilkerson wins by a whopping 700 ballots.
Man from Nantucket:
I remember the Nantucket of Prestons Airport lounge, Cy's diner, the Bosun's Locker... trips on the Nobska, playing pool at the Chicken Box and milkshakes at the Dairy Bar... waiting at The Hub each morning for The Globe to come in on the first boat.
In those days the Seven Seas gift shop sold junk souvenirs for working class tourists, not "highly designed wonderful antiques and fine art." My Nantucket is long gone, increasingly replaced by a playground for super-rich New Yorkers.
It's too bad.
No tan lines:
If a pasty white guy like me can get a real tan, without lotions, dye or risk of exposure to the sun, well I'd call that a scientific breakthrough. George Hamilton, watch out.
September 19, 2006
The morning after:
..BMG has become a big hit precisely because it's been so refreshingly fair and open to all views within its openly acknowledged blue confines -- but that dynamic inevitably changes in a general election. I hope its planned 'unity party' doesn't mean Kos-like stridency arrives tomorrow morning...
He doesn't think it will. I've seen plenty of real debate and dissent there and I don't think so either. But siege mentality too often leads to group-think. Kerry Healey has been planning (some say hoping) for a Patrick face-off. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
Tallying up:
Well, the polls are closed and WBZ is calling Patrick as the winner with 51 percent over Gabrieli (30 percent) and Reilly (20 percent.) That's with 3 percent of the precincts reporting and pretty much in line with some of the most recent polling.
To the wire:
Some of the best commentary and analysis in this primary came out of Blue Mass Group. They were a big winner. And they'll be covering the polls today through open threads. I'm guessing that the comments will be buzzing. Throw your two cents in.
As for the election itself, it will be interesting to see where all those Independents end up, although I suspect I know.
But then again, "The only poll that counts is on election day."
Early and often:
I usually harangue people around this time, reminding them, "Don't forget to vote." Maybe I'm wrong to do that.
...[A] significant portion of the population puts more energy into staying current with the TV show "24" or following the latest tensions on "The View" than into deciding who would best govern the state...
Most people, he thinks, are unqualified to vote because they don't read his newspaper. He's half right. (Of course they should be reading both newspapers. (And the blogs!))
No moss:
These guys are like a money sponge. If there's a single person left who's willing to pay for an overpriced ticket, they'll add another show in the tour that seems to go on forever.
September 16, 2006
Beats working for a living II:
Who was that masked man? Maura Hennigan has no clue.
The race for clerk of the Superior Court is also turning into a hard fought battle. But there are few if any issues involved. Well, other than who gets a job.
September 15, 2006
Desktop 2.0:
Web apps are hot, but, as Gary Morgenthaler puts it, "rumors of the desktop’s death have been greatly exaggerated." And that desktop will, he thinks, be running on an Apple.
Beats working for a living:
In some elections there's more at stake than in others, as Adam points out:
...In the deeds election, you've got former City Councilor (and Police Commissioner) Mickey Roache hoping to cling to power against a tough challenge from Michael Makan, who disagrees violently with Roache on, um, steel vs. wood shelves for property records or something. I don't know...
Daleyblog officially endorses Mickey Roache for Register of Deeds because, well, why the hell not?
Working overtime:
In this morning's Herald, Jay Fitzgerald writes about a study that seems to indicate that going for a beer after work is financially beneficial. Now that's what I call good news. I hope he got to do a little research on the story.
Healey supports Patrick?
Kerry Healey is doing some well timed pre-emptive attack campaigning against Gabrieli. Gabrieli staffers seem to think that this is evidence that their guy is the strongest, and therefore, most likely to win. Not so fast. First of all, how would Healey know better than anyone else who was going to win the Democratic primary? More likely, she's just trying to game the opposition primary to her advantage.
But it is telling, nonetheless. She obviously thinks she can beat Patrick in the general election while Gabrieli will give her a run for her money.
Healey's numbers for the general election might be wrong, but if they aren't, with Patrick out front in the primary, some Republicans are already feeling confident.
UPDATE: Also, check this post at BMG, as well as the comments. As they say, "Innnnnnteresting!"
Rover 2.0:
On the internet no on knows you're a dog. Until now. Dogster is social networking for the Frosty Paws set.
Super bad:
Is this the worst web site ever? Maybe, but there's plenty of competition out there. My all time favorite is the North Korean government's official site, both for content and design.
Veritas Airlines:
From The Economist: If in-flight announcements were truthful:
Please switch off all mobile phones, since they can interfere with the aircraft's navigation systems. At least, that's what you've always been told. The real reason to switch them off is because they interfere with mobile networks on the ground, but somehow that doesn't sound quite so good. On most flights a few mobile phones are left on by mistake, so if they were really dangerous we would not allow them on board at all, if you think about it. We will have to come clean about this next year, when we introduce in-flight calling across the Veritas fleet. At that point the prospect of taking a cut of the sky-high calling charges will miraculously cause our safety concerns about mobile phones to evaporate.
There's more on emergency exits and buckling that seat-belt.
Discombobulated:
This is about the funniest techobabble I've ever heard.
September 14, 2006
You know you're losing if...
Dan Payne, writing in the Globe, translates the campaign clichés:
Candidate who says, ``The only poll that counts is on election day," is losing. Candidate who says, ``I won't back down to the special interests," is losing. Candidate who says, ``If our people turn out, we'll be fine," is losing. Candidate who says, ``Our message is starting to resonate with voters," is losing. Candidate who says, ``We're going to surprise a lot of people," is going to be surprised by losing.
This would make a good election-eve drinking game.
Red teaming:
The bad news is, well read the story, there's lots of bad news. The good news is that the purchase of the main ingredient was flagged.
Tangled web:
Leak source Richard Armitage is pushing back at Robert Novack, who unleashed at Armitage in his column.
If you're not completely sick of the whole Valerie Plame story, you should check out this latest twist. And even if you are, you might find this the most interesting part of the whole sordid affair.
September 13, 2006
Film at 9:30:
TV news at 9:30 PM? Either we're all getting older or the news wasn't worth staying up till eleven for.
Dark Shadows:
I didn't know we'd outlawed shadows on the Boston Common. This is one of those controversies that could only happen in Boston.
September 12, 2006
Odd man in:
The Globe endorsed Patrick, and now the Herald has endorsed Reilly. Which all goes to show, Gabrieli will probably win.
Jumping box:
If you were planning to buy an iPod this morning, hold off for a few hours. Apple is making a few new product introductions today.
September 11, 2006
The unknown knowns:
For the anniversary of 911, Martin Amis writes a long and thoughtful essay on Islamism and the clash of cultures and morals. Here are some excerpts:
Contemplating intense violence, you very rationally ask yourself, what are the reasons for this? And compassionately frowning newscasters are still asking that same question. It is time to move on. We are not dealing in reasons because we are not dealing in reason
Further on...
'Sayyid Qutb, Osama bin Laden's favourite philosopher, felt that pragmatism would spell the death of American civilisation... Pragmatism, when civilisations come clashing, does not appear likely to be very pragmatic. To lose the conviction that you can actually be right - about anything - seems a recipe for the End of Days chaos envisioned by Yeats: when "the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity".'
The opening argument we reach for now, in explaining any conflict, is the argument of moral equivalence. No value can be allowed to stand in stone; so we begin to question our ability to identify even what is malum per se. Prison beatings, too, are evil in themselves, and so is the delegation of torture, and murder, to less high-minded and (it has to be said) less hypocritical regimes. In the kind of war that we are now engaged in, an episode like Abu Ghraib is more than a shameful deviation - it is the equivalent of a lost battle. Our moral advantage, still vast and obvious, is not a liability, and we should strengthen and expand it. Like our dependence on reason, it is a strategic strength, and it shores up our legitimacy.
It's a long piece, but on this day, especially, it's worth the time expended.
September 10, 2006
Can't live with them, can't live without them...
...At least when running Windows, you need security software. But at what price? If it's Norton, the price is pretty steep, according to this analysis.
Neutrality:
David Weinberger is a Patrick supporter (he has the lawn sign to prove it) but he doesn't understand The Globe's endorsement.
...Doesn't that contradict everything newspapers believe about the value of a neutral point of view?...
I agree. Especially so, when the same paper lets fester a nasty dispute between two of the candidates by refusing to reveal what it knows -- and then endorses the third. A cynic might even say we were being manipulated.
Taking sides:
Sooner, rather than later, The Globe endorses Patrick.
September 9, 2006
Inside baseball:
Apparently, the leak to The Globe, of the St. Fleur report, was not done anonymously, as the paper implies by adding at the end of this article: "The Globe is not disclosing the source of the report."
So the Globe knows whether Reilly's vocal and pointed accusations are true or false and they know whether Gabrieli's firm denials are true or false. But we in the public are in the dark on an issue bearing on the integrity and honesty of two officials running for an important office. I thought newspapers were supposed to inform us about these things, not hide them from us.
How do they cover the story about the story? Do they spread the accusations, even if they know they're false? Do they hold back while the Herald doesn't, strongly hinting as to who did or didn't leak the report? And if they know Reilly's accusations are true, how do they then play Gabrieli's unequivocal denials?
In most fields where ethics are important, a conflict like this would require a recusal. But how does a newspaper recurse itself from the news? Can they recuse themselves from the Governor's race?
UPDATE: Did I mention that The Globe will probably endorse one of the three Democratic candidates at some point? That introduces another ethical dimension to the story.
September 8, 2006
Comfortably numb:
A survey of drug use featured in USA Today reveals an interesting finding: drug use is up slightly overall this year and the increase wasn't driven by teenagers -- but by people 50-59, getting back into marijuana.
So I guess that it's no coincidence that this is still on the charts.
The best defense:
So there's finally some meat on the bone of the primary campaign. Tom Reilly came out swinging, accusing Gabrieli of leaking a report to The Globe. Bad idea.
The fact that Reilly and his staff really goofed in not reading the St. Fleur report was a one day story until he brought it up again last night. And it's about basic competence, or the lack thereof. I would have thought the Reilly campaign would have just kept their heads down and hoped the issue would fade, but maybe that's why I'm not a campaign strategist.
(I still want to know were Reilly got that tan. Does the AG do a lot of work outside? (Maybe there were lots of takes while filming this commercial.))
Feeling the excitement:
Interesting use of You Tube by Kerry Healey. Substantively, it's really not much of a 'gotcha' but it's getting eyeballs and it cost about a buck fifty to make and air. I expect we'll be seeing more of this kind of thing.
The rising:
I kind of like the way the proposed Freedom Tower and surrounding buildings redefine the profile of lower Manhattan. The photo accompanying this article shows the view from the north.
First stop:
Khatami spoke in DC yesterday in the National Cathedral with about 200 protesters outside. Let's hope things go as smoothly for us.
Crossed signals:
This is kind of funny.
Undiscovered country:
PC Mag has compiled a list of 99 web sites that, although helpful, are unfamiliar to most people. They include Techie Diva, a technology website for women, Freeware sites, Open DNS, the Polling Report and the Double-Tounged Dictionary, a reference for slang.
The PC Magazine layout is frustrating, as usual, designed for excessive page ad reloads, but still, the underlying content is worth the effort.
September 6, 2006
Hole in the ground:
This graphic shows where we are in rebuilding the World Trade Center site and what's behind the delays.
Know your rights:
Paul McMorrow explains the threat of digital rights management for non-techies. And incidentally, the Weekly Dig article was featured on the other Digg.
Iranian missile crisis:
In addition to the Khatami visit to Harvard, Druge is reporting that Ahmadinejad will visit New York. He, and Hugo Chavez will fly in to the UN after visiting the recuperating Castro in Cuba.
It's déjà vu all over again. I wonder if Ahmadinejad will be booked on the Tonight Show.
September 5, 2006
Seasonal attitude:
Sure, it was a wet summer. But to steal a line from fishermen, a bad summer beats a good winter hands-down. And it ain't over yet.
Now we know:
I was never much impressed with the televised stunts Croc Hunter Steve Irwin pulled off, assuming that they were staged with trained animals not wild ones. Needless to say, I was wrong. That's what cynicism will get you. Now, I suppose I'll have to try to have a more open mind -- and just in time for Katie's news debut. (Of course there's a