NOVA Online

I found out today that NOVA (on PBS) has some of their shows stored on the internet. You can go to the site and view them (not download). My favorite was about "Mirror Neurons" and how humans react to and see other humans. It was REALLY fascinating.

Here is their site: NOVA Programs and here is the one I saw.

Boston: Cost Of Living

The Cost of Living: Commuting
Local commuters lose about $13.45 for every hour in transit

"... Boston ranks 10th in the nation in longest commute, but even that's 10 minutes less than the nation's leader, New York City. Data from the Texas Transportation Institute show that it costs a commuter in the three-state region of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island $13.45 for every hour in transit..."

Read more (with a cool little picture scheme) about transit in Boston. It lists alternative modes of transportation and how much each costs. Pretty interesting stuff.

The "Shower Curtain" Post

So while in the shower this morning I thought of a post. I titled it: (see above)

About 4 weeks ago Anna and I stopped into an IKEA in CT on the way back from NYC. I was very proud of the fact that we bought a shower curtain for under $2. It's un heard of. You cant even buy one of those at the $0.99 store.

Well two nights ago Anna and I put up the new curtain. Something seemed a bit off as I was putting it up. You know, that feeling you have when you missed a button on a shirt you just put on. Well, the "shower" curtain does not reach the length of the shower, but it is very long.

We told Anna's mom about this on Easter and she asked if we had purchased a "shower" curtain or a "bath tub" curtain... the answer was obvious.

Moral of the story: When showering in our bath tub, please do not let too much water out of the sides. Thank you.

Humor: New Windows RG (Real Good)

I found this site, it's a hilarious version of Windows. My favorite was: Click on "Start", move up and click on "Word" - See what happens to the paper clip guy.

Test out Windows RG here

Napoleon Dynamite Soundboard

Check out this VERY FUNNY soundboard, featuring Napoleon Dynamite! Also look on the sides to see your other favorite characters' soundboards.

Fact: Mosquitoes

According to my Snapple Cap: "Real Fact" #129

"... Mosquitoes have 47 teeth... "

Yahoo: Good News, 1GB

According to Indiantelevision.com, Yahoo Mail will be joining GMail within the next few months as the only free e-mail services to offer 1GB of space for e-mail. Gee, I remember when web based e-mail clients only supported 10MB (I know, what kind of geek remembers things like that).

Would You Like Some Chili With That Finger?

WARNING: This is real disgusting. (Thanks to Dr. O for the story)

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

"... A diner bit into a segment of human finger while digging into a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's restaurant Tuesday night, Santa Clara County health officials said today..."

Read the rest of the horrifying story here.

Quiz: How Many?

How many licks does it take to get the center of a tootsie roll pop?

Red Sox: Staying at Fenway

It looks like the Red Sox are finally going to buy, and not rent. They are going to stay in Fenway Park and build around it to make it better. This includes the possibilities of a new T-stop (Yawkey Way, Green Line), acquisitions of surrounding buildings, beautifying the neighborhood. But will they REALLY stay? Only time can tell. As Mike, here in the office, said: Forever is a long time.

From Boston.com:

"Park it here for the future... Put in an order now for 2012, when the Red Sox will become the first major league team to celebrate 100 years in the same ballpark..."

Sad News: DeLorean Dead at 80

I'm sure some of you have heard this but, here is an excerpt from Reuters UK:

"... John Z DeLorean, the man behind the DeLorean sports car of the early eighties has died. The DeLorean sports car is now best remembered for its role in the Back to the Future series of films. It was a perfect piece of casting - it looked futuristic and when the script made fun of its unreliability, the by-then extinct company was not around to complain..."

Still Don't Believe Me?

Here is something I read at MacDailyNews yesterday. I think it's time to make the switch to Firefox.

"...Security report shows Microsoft's Internet Explorer was unsafe for all but seven days of 2004..."

"... Global security consultancy ScanIT shows Microsoft's Internet Explorer was 'unsafe' for 98% of 2004, while rival browser Mozilla was 'unsafe' for only 15%," Presswire reports. "The figures come from 195,000 internet users who checked their systems for vulnerabilities using ScanIT’s free online Browser Security Checker in 2004..."

"...the scanner showed Microsoft's IE enjoyed only seven days without being subject to any known vulnerabilities, between 12 and 19 October..."

Jokes: More

I will add these to the left link in a bit, but I wanted to share them with you now. Thanks to Maggie for the jokes.

Q. Two silkworms were in a race. What was the result?

A. A tie.


Q. What do you call a fish with no eyes?

A. FSH.

Want A Funny T-Shirt?

Dan sent this one along: Busted Tees

I found this one a while back (Mostly current news and really, really, cruel humor): T-Shirts Hell

Enjoy! And let me know if you bought (or have) any.

Mathias' Adventures: Virginia

For those of you that don't know him, Mathias, is a real-life MacGyver. I met Mathias my freshman year at Roger Williams University when we were both on the soccer team there. We drifted apart for a while, but, we tend to catch up every once in a while (We met up at a bar here in Boston last summer and had a great time.). He is a real smart guy who just has a knact with mechanical engineering. Basically he's a genius in an odd, yet not so geeky way. Well here is an e-mail he sent out to a bunch of us about his next "job/adventure/saga". A little more info: Mathias took some time off from working for a year or so and has been living on a boat and doing odd jobs, he also spent some time traveling in Australia (Those were great stories. He kept us all in the loop by sending e-mails every now and then.) I promise to update everyone with Mathias' Adventures in the future, it should make for some fun reading.

Hello All,

Yes this is a mass E-mail so commence the rolling of eyes. Some of you may have heard that I will be moving to Virginia in the next two weeks. I was offered and accepted a job working as an independent contractor for General Dynamics. I will be working in Woodbridge, Virginia, which is about 15 miles southwest of Washington DC.

The project is right up my alley. I'll be working on sorting out the problems with the marines next generation landing craft, which is at the prototype stage. Basically the vehicle is like monster garage on steroids. It is a tank that holds 17 marines, is dropped from a ship, turns into a giant jetski, goes 35 mph on water, hits the beach, turns into a tank, and does 45 mph on land. I couldn't have dreamed this one up. Here is a link with some pics....

As of yet I haven't found a place to live. I'll be leaving my boat here for the time being, possibly bringing it down in the early summer if this job works out good. I'll be working lots of hours and only get 3 days off per year, so vacations are pretty much out. I do get every other Friday off, so I will be able to take mini-trips. If you'd like to come visit, and I hope you do, we can always plan for one of those long weekends. My cell phone and E-mail will remain the same for the time being. I hope everyone is doing well and I hope to talk to you all soon.

-Mathias-

Google: Google X

Today Google Labs is debuting a new tool: Google X. Its touted as a "... quick fun way to access all of Google's services..." Google X pays tribute to Mac OS X with this little quote at the bottom of the page: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. OS X rocks. Homage to you."

Google X is (as described by MacDailyNews): "... Google Labs has debuted "Google X" which adds an animated Mac OS X-style Dock above Google's search box..."

Google X was created and designed by Chikai Ohazama, Google Software Engineer. Check out the blog here.

Technorati!?

Ever heard of Technorati (What's happening on the Web right now)? It's a search engine. I may have heard of them (but then again, I may be lying). Well somehow I found that they have linked to my page. The linked to:

Like Whoa: New Apple Products
and
Pimp My Mac?

Google: Advance Search

Did you know Google has an advanced search engine? Well many of you have seen it but have probably never used it. It can be very useful when finding exact things of if you are completely lost. Well I have used it a few times, but I recently scrolled down and saw a list of "Topic-Specific Searches". There is Google Local which searches, well, locally (I believe I have mentioned this before). Well, I noticed a few more:


Apple Macintosh - Search for all things Mac
BSD Unix - Search web pages about the BSD operating system
Linux - Search all penguin-friendly pages
Microsoft - Search Microsoft-related pages
U.S. Government - Search all .gov and .mil sites
Universities: Boston University, Bentley College, Boston College, & more - Narrow your search to a specific school's website

Can You Dig It? (UPDATE)

This info (and title) comes directy from a source I use for popular news. Someday, if he or she is willing, I will reveal "My Source", code named "Mr. Big".

Mr. Big relays this info from a boston.com article:

Doubt aired on safety of I-93 tunnels
Engineer cites leaks, damage, lack of data
By Sean P. Murphy and Raphael Lewis, Globe Staff | March 15, 2005

The engineering specialist who led the investigation into leaks in the Big Dig says he can no longer say with confidence that the Interstate 93 tunnels are safe to drive in, according to a letter obtained by the Globe...

Read more here.

UPDATE: Romney wants Turnpike chief out - The governor is asking the state's highest court if he has the power to fire Matthew Amorello.

Make Money From Your Old Cellphones

Do you have a cell phone that you don't use and just sits there? Either it's from an old service provider, or just doesn't work anymore? Well, instead of letting it collect dust, make some money from it. A site called CellForCash will send you a pre-paid box to your house for you to send them your old cellphone(s). You can check the site to see how much they will offer for your phone, so you can decide before you send out the phone. Within 30 days of them receiving your phone they will send you a check. There are a few of these companies. Some donate the phones, some sell them to poorer countries at reduced rates, some sell them to people here (parents buy kid cellphone, kid loses it, parents buy a reduced rate phone, instead of paying crazy amounts for a new phone).

Also - Remember my previous post: Old cellphones (even those without service providers) can be used to make emergency 911 calls. So, it may be wise to keep one or two around for the house or car, just make sure they are fully charged.

Read the complete article from WHDH-TV Boston here.

Here are some other sites and locations (from WHDH-TV Boston):

*** Experts say it's important to remember when selling a cell make sure you erase all of your personal information and cancel the service before getting rid of it.

http://www.phoneiscash.com/scripts/default.asp

http://cellphonesforcash.com

Cell Phones For Soldiers
South Shore Savings Bank
781.337.7800

Bush: Who Cares What You Think?

While I was searching for a Google bumper sticker (this search has lead me to some odd finds) I found this bumper sticker: "Who Cares What You Think"

Turns out that if you search for "Who Cares What You Think?" in Google you will come upon a story about a guy who told President Bush that he was doing a bad job in office and Bush responded by saying "...who cares what you think..." The guy quickly scribbles down what Bush said and he then goes on to tell about the President's strange reaction (worried it would leak to the press?).

I'm not exactly sure if this story is real, but it sure seems possible. (Christine confirmed that she has heard the story before).

Read the story here.

Google: Store

I just found this while looking for a Google bumper sticker.

Google has their own merchandise store. Cool! They even sell "Google Goo"... Come on, who doesn't need Google Goo?

TiVo: Supply DVR Service to Comcast

Well, one of my three favorite companies (Apple, TiVo, and Google - Anyone know where I can buy a Google bumper sticker) is going to supply DVRs to Comcast. I switched away from Comcast a year ago so that I could get away from digital cable and pay a whole lot less with RCN. Everything has been great, I pay less for a bundle package (Under $100/Cable-HighSpeed Internet-Phone). But the latest news may make me want to switch back, I mean, hey, it's TiVo.

Here is an article that Alex (thanks) sent along to me this morning:

Reuters
TiVo to Supply DVR Service to Comcast
Tuesday March 15, 9:27 am ET NEW YORK (Reuters) -

TiVo Inc. on Tuesday said it will supply its digital video recording system to No. 1 cable television operator Comcast Corp. in a deal that will boost TiVo's distribution and could quiet lingering doubts about its growth strategy. The pact may boost subscribers at TiVo, which has been under scrutiny by Wall Street analysts to prove how it will grow in coming years. The deal came about one week after Comcast set a $1 billion deal to buy television set-top boxes from Motorola Inc. TiVo shares jumped more than 30 percent in pre-opening trade on Inet Tuesday.

Buy A Cellphone... Make $75 Profit?

Hmmm... Looks like I can just buy 10 of these and make a quick $750. Well, maybe just $75. Anyone want to try? You don't actually have to sign up for the 1 year contract if you don't use the phone. Just buy the phone and it can hang out in your house as an emergency (All cellphones, even if de-activated, allow you to make 911 calls). I found this on DealMac.com:

Motorola V551 Bluetooth Video Cell Phone for $75 "profit" (10:12 am) Amazon.com offers the Motorola V551 Bluetooth Video Phone from Cingular for $74.99 with free shipping. A $150 mail-in rebate slashes it to a profit of $75.01. ("Profit" excludes the cost of the plan.) That's tied with our last listing for the lowest total price we've seen. The V551 is a quad-band GSM phone that features an integrated digital camera, MP3 ringtones, speakerphone, 3.26-oz. weight, 0.91-inch thickness, USB port, and 176x220 color display. A one-year minimum service agreement is required. Rebate expires March 23.

No More Viruses...

I just read this on MacDailyNews.com:

68,736 Microsoft Windows Viruses
- VS -
ZERO for Apple Mac's OS X

Folks, if that doesn't make you want to run out and buy a new mac, than read on:

"... It may or may not surprise you, but there are no OS X viruses (or worms or trojans), partly due to the implementation of OS and its almost-inaccessible Root," Graham K. Rogers writes for The Bangkok Post.

"... Most Mac users never need Root access. We use Administrator privileges, and if Root is needed for installation of an application or for alterations to the system -- what a virus would need to do -- a user must enter a password. This physically and consciously acknowledges an event (and its consequences).

Mac naysayers would have us believe there are no viruses because there are so few Macs (this also applies to Linux and Unix platforms), although that could change with the Mac mini," Rogers writes. Rogers continues, "If the numbers of viruses for Windows keeps on growing (as of January this year, there were a total of 68,736 viruses detected, according to Symantec), the Mac may come in for some attention.

There is no point spending all your time virus-writing, however, if viruses will not work. The only problem on OS X is from macros with Microsoft products and from mail attachments. These do not harm the Mac environment but may damage a Windows computer if sent. As a normal precaution, I do not open attachments, and trash them instantly."
(Read full TechNewsWorld article here)

Read the full MacDailyNews article here!

What's The Weather Going To Be Like?

It's an ongoing question in every office building in New England. However, it's become somewhat of a joke in this department. We are rather loose and quick witted. So hilarity always ensues.

The on going joke I have here, with Liz, is her inability to predict the weather within reason. I mean sometimes she is way off. She says she gets her weather in the morning from KISS 108 (Which I'm pretty sure uses Channel 7's Todd Gross??), but it is sometimes almost opposite of what is going on. Perhaps it's because she gets here so early and the forecast change, either way, it's always humorous to ask her to predict the weather for the day. But, hey, she is from Pittsburgh, where I'm sure the weather comes in two flavors: Freezing cold, or "ok".

Any other office weather stories?

Movie Review: The Incredibles

Anna got a "secret sneaky preview copy" from Tha Wood (Hollywood video, where she works part time, but is done with next week) before it comes out to the public.

What a great movie. We both really liked it. (Don't tell Anna, but I plan on buying it some day soon)

I discussed the movie with Liz who said it was a bit grown up but that it was the best movie she saw all year. We talked about how there were certain parts (Was Mr. Incredible cheating on his wife, Elastic Girl?) that may be over the kids heads. But, we also agreed that there were enough cool action parts to keep the kids attention. Also, the movie wasn't that long, another good point.

I give it 5 out of 5 stars. I don't agree with Boston.com's 4 star rating factor. If a movie isn't GREAT, it gets a 4, which is essentially 75%, a C. My star system allows there to be movies that don't quite make the elite status, but can get a respectable 80%, or a B-, which is far kinder than a C... even I know this, and trust me, I am very familiar with all of those grades below a 4 out of 4 rating.

Oldie But Goodie: Virtual Suck Tour

Nick just reminded me of this... I have a link to a site titled: "Virtual Suck Tour of Arlington, MA". Check it out on the right under "Phat Links," yes... I will update it soon.

True Story: "Crazy" About Milk!?

Stefanie told us a story last night about a girl, let's call her Dairy Queen, who drinks a lot of milk! She said that D.Q. lives with her sister and they go through a gallon of milk everyday. All they have to drink at home is water and milk (rumor is, in the summer they have CrystalLite, shhh). This is D.Q.'s milk drinking habit, daily: Glass of milk with cereal (that already has milk in it). A glass at lunch. A glass with dinner. And a glass before going to bed. She sometimes drinks a glass of milk while watching TV. Also, sometimes after she works out and drinks water, she doesn't feel so full, so she has a glass of milk.

It turns out that when D.Q. was younger she didn't like vegetables. So her mom figured that she needed to have something healthy, and milk was the choice. D.Q. made a joke that neither she, nor her sister have ever had a broken bone. To that I said to Stefanie, I've drank about a gallon of milk in the past year (including cereal) and I don't have any broken bones. I then knocked on wood and jammed my finger (Sike! - But that would have been funny).

Switch from Blogger?

Yes, it's true, I have thought about switching off of the Blogger site to a new blog site a few times. However, Blogger is so easy to use and the most compelling reason for not switching from Blogger... yup, you guessed it, it's because Blogger owned by Google!

Blue-Ray DVDs

No, this is not Billy Ray Cyrus' Greatest Hits DVD... (that can be found here)

Blue Ray technology is the next step for DVD's not HD-DVD... supposedly Blue-Ray is far superior. So, I guess I will start looking for new DVD players that support Blue-Ray disks. Truth be told, they won't be available for about 5 years, but, why not get an early start on the shopping. By the way, normal DVDs use a red ray technology to transfer data from the disk to the player. Yes, who knew the color of the ray made that much of a difference.

Matrix Quote

No, I haven't seen the movie(s) yet. But I did hear this quote on a sports radio show this morning and I really liked it:

"...comprehension is not requisite for cooperation..."

Meaning: You don't have to know/understand what/why we're doing it, just do it! I Can't wait to pull this one out on my kids some day!

My Dream Last Night (or as much as I can recall)

... Some tall typical business looking man, holding a paper bag, walks up to me, Grace, and Anna and says "freeze I have a gun in this bag." Some how I get up enough courage (because we all know I would be the first one running down the street) and called the guy on his bluff and pretended I had a gun (just follow me here). He relented and said he actually had this ATM card that he needed Anna to use to take money out of the ATM. For some reason we felt compelled to do so, almost as if we had to do it! So I told him that Anna would not do it, and that I would do it.

So I walked up to the ATM tried to take money out, but I had some problems with the machine and only got about $10. He then ran away. We then called the bank and found out that the person, who's name was on the card, had passed away a while back. She was some wealthy woman. So, we chased him ('cause, you know, what else would you do after you've been forced to withdraw money using someone else's ATM card).

We ended up going through a bunch of scenarios from going to my sisters house (which doesn't really look like her place) to going to a "fancy Dunkin Donuts" (I mean, which Dunkin Donuts aren't?). I got really upset with the Dunkin Donuts manager because he was bragging about how great it was. "Dude, it's a Dunkin Donuts!" Why, may you ask, was I getting upset with the Dunkin Donuts manager in my dream? Well, I believe there is a deeper rooted issue that my mind is trying to relay to me, but that's for another day. (By the way, I stopped into Dunkin Donuts this morning and had a rather pleasant experience).

Well, we eventually get a picture of the woman who the card belongs to. Around the same time we found that there was a copy of the guys information and picture xeroxed on to the ATM card. But then, we some how got a copy of a group picture of the wealthy woman and a copy with the man in it, dressed as her. After some careful examination we could see how different they looked (you know, because it's hard to tell when a tall businessman dresses up like a woman). Why was this guy photo-editing a picture so that he would look like a woman in the picture? Once again, my mind might be trying to tell me something, but, as I said before, that's for another time. The information on the guy somehow revealed that he was either a Lieutenant or a doctor, I couldn't tell.

So why was he trying to steal the money from the ATM? No one will ever know, because my alarm went off. But the guy was apprehended before my dream ended, we just never found the answer to the mystery. I kind of felt like that cartoon "Scooby Doo," but without Scooby and Shaggy, just Fred, Thelma and Dafney. And we all know that those three could never completely solve a crime without the antics of Scooby and Shaggy. So, anyone want to finish up my crazy dream?

Great... Microbes!

For a guy who washes all of his dishes before he puts it into the dishwasher, this was not the article to read. Interesting fact, there are more microbes in the kitchen than there are in the bathroom, I guess that makes sense. But, since I already have a healthy obsession with cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, I guess I'm all set.

What is a Microbe? A minute life form; a microorganism, especially a bacterium that causes disease. Not in technical use.

Check out Boston.com's little gallery about microbes in the home.

Gangsta Google?

How Jana found this I will never know. Jana, your from Iowa, you've lived in Boston, and now you are in LA, are you going Hollywood on us?

Check out this "PHAT" site: GIZOOGLE

Just Checking: Blogger Widget (Try #2)

Just checking to see if this widget works. It is supposed to allow me
to post to my blog from this little application... we'll see.

Just Checking: New Blogger Widget

I downloaded this new "widget" and I want to see if I can post from it.
Ciao for now!

Konfabulator

Konfabulator is a great piece of software that EVERYONE should use. Well, what does is do? Answer: anything and everything. It consists of a bunch of "widgets" that people have created. The "widgets" (like big icons) sit on your desktop. I use a weather widget, a internet search widget, and a digital clock widget to name a few. They also have lunar eclipse counters, calendars, analog clocks, music widgets, news tickers and hundreds more.

Check it out here: Konfabuator - Whatever you want it to be

U2 Tix: Redux

They're back... let the frenzy of ticket purchasing begin. I plan on hearing stories from Marisa on how she got up at 7AM to make it to work by 7:30 so that she can "wait online" for tickets. Another story about how she asked all her friends with internet access to try to get tickets. Her detailed theories on how she planned on getting after-market tickets if they were not available. I hope she is a member of U2.com (see last line).

Well here is the info for the tix:

U2 -- at the FleetCenter Oct. 3 and 4. Tickets $49.50-$165, on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. This second leg of U2's ''Vertigo//2005" tour will follow three sold-out FleetCenter shows in late May. Subscribers to U2's website (U2.com) again have the chance to reserve tickets in advance.

A Healthy McDonald's

''It's what I eat and what I do . . . I'm lovin' it"

Sounds kind of funny coming from Mickey D's. Well, let's hope McDonald's is actually sticking to this and won't eventually make deep-fried fruit cups (not a good visual).

I'm all about eating healthy. I mean the last time I had a hostess product was at least 24hrs ago.

The Future: Robotic Parking Garages?

According to the company, Robotic Parking, the future is here.

Yes, I'm sure many of you saw the picture on Boston.com yesterday, but I actually read the article. It was fascinating, straight out of "iRobot". You pull your car into a "garage", which is much smaller than a conventional garage. Leave the keys in the car, the door unlocked, and walk away. No, the car doesn't turn over, or sideways, or fold into a small credit card (yet), it simply lifts and glides into a open space.

I saw a video from CNN (you can find more on their site) on this type of garage in New Jersey. Apparently there one of these garages exist in Cambridge (I'm going to try to find it this weekend, if it doesn't snow). Also, a major hospital, here in Boston, is looking in to building one that holds about 400+ cars. Here is a snippet from Boston.com:

"... Imagine pulling into a parking garage, swiping an access card, driving on to a steel pallet, turning off the engine, and walking away as your car is automatically turned 180 degrees, is swiped by a life-sensing detector to make sure it is empty, and is carried away for storage by a computer-operated lift. Upon your return, you swipe your card again. Within two minutes your vehicle is returned, your account is charged, and you whisk away without needing to navigate a damp elevator, pay an attendant, look for scratches, or endure the ugly panorama of yet another concrete parking monstrosity..."

Pimp My Mac?

So this company, ColorWare Computer Products, has been around for a bit and started gaining major press from around the world last summer, so I am not too far behind.

If you plan on buying a higher end model of an iMan G5, PowerBook, iBook, iPod, and now... a Mac Mini... and you didn't like the plain, simple, white color of all the products, consider this company. They have all your favorite Macs in a variety of colors from, Farrari, to Envy, to Blaze!

And check out this section to "Pimp Your Gaming Console"

Off to Grams' House

Let me restate that I do not like this state (New York). I like the people better, but not much, I only like a few people. They are the ones I know, well, I guess that's my fault for not meeting more people, but... that's for another time.

We only got to see family we saw was Anna's grams. We had just missed her uncle (and his fam), and the other uncle (and fam). They were all real busy with pre-arranged kid stuff on the weekend. A bit of a disappointment since we like seeing them and joking around with everyone, but, we understood. I think Grams really enjoys having us there, and we really like her, so, it's always a great trip.

NYC was NYC... still a bad place... I caught my coat (barely) on some make shift fence they set up to cross a bridge that was under construction. I swear that if you leaned against the fence you would be free falling on the the Grand Central Parkway. I got REAL upset about my coat, for about a minute. It's barely noticeable. Did I mention that I really, really, dislike NY.

On the way back Anna and I stopped into IKEA (New Haven, CT). That place is GREAT! Its going to be a HUGE hit here in MA in the summer. The state is even thinking of making a new on/exit ramp of rt. 24 for the store (which will be surrounded by the Christmas Tree Shop, Home Depot, Costco, and Jordan's furniture - all in Avon). We bought a few frames (frameless glass; 4 for $0.99), a shower curtain ($1.29 - clear plastic, probably costs $4 at Target), and some place mats (cheap and plastic, $0.50/each). We also put our names down on a sofa, that only costs $300... and we saw a recliner (that doesn't look like a recliner) that we might get. Seriously, this place will take away a lot of business from Jordan's. There was this kids bunk bed set for $300, at Jordan's it would cost $1300... Who needs to buy kid's furniture at that price when they grow out of it so quickly?

The downside to IKEA: You have to assemble the furniture. But, its not hard and it looks real good.

Celtics Game: Last Night

Wednesday, 2 March 2004 @ 7:30PM Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics Final Score: Lakers 101 - Celtics 104

Anna and I got a pair of tix for Christmas (thanks) and we had a great time at the Celtics game last night. The game went to the final seconds and the ending was great (Kobe Bryant missed a game-tying 3-pointer).

It was a pretty inexpensive night for Anna and I. The tix were free, we parked on the street (someone almost pulled in while we were waiting, lucky for him I kept Anna in the car), and we didn't eat that much at the game (1 hot dog, 1 sausage, one coke).

We sat a few rows away from the back of the building, however, I stand behind my statement that there is no bad seat at the Fleet Center (or TD Banknorth Garden, or whatever they are calling it these days). The stadium seating is more vertical than horizontal so you feel like you are right on top of the game.

It was also Antoine Walker's first game back in Boston as a member of the Celtics since the trade a year and a half ago. It was also the first sell-out at the Fleet Center in quite some time (actually there were 4 sell-out's this year, the last coming when Walker returned with the Atlanta Hawks). The crowd was pumped. There was a video tribute for him before the starting line-ups and came out wearing his old jersey (the rookie Al Jefferson switched to #7).

Well it was a wonderful evening. Tomorrow (Friday), it's off to NYC to visit Anna's grandmother for the weekend. See everyone on Monday.

Ciao

Welcome Baby: Keegan

Grace has had her baby. After many false labors and doctor visits, she gave birth to her son named Keegan on Saturday, 26 March 2005 @ 11:30PM. He comes into the world weighing 5lbs 2oz. He and Grace are doing well and excited to be home. He is a tiny guy who can be held in one hand (not that I tried).

Anna and I are his god-parents, so send your check to us, we will make sure it gets to him.

I will post some pictures soon.

Keegan has started a diary. This is what I have read so far:
Day 1: The move was a bit difficult, but I'm getting used to the new place.

Check out DJ Muna

A close, personal friend of mine (ok, I met him once and I work with his wife)

DJ Muna is back! ... along with sister Julia Goldrosen, host of Africa Kabisa! on WMBR 88.1 FM. DJ Muna will be at the Enormous Room TODAY (2 March 2005).

Join us for an evening of African music at:
Enormous Room, Central Square, Cambridge, MA
Wednesday nights 6:00 - 9:00 pm

CD Release Party: Soltero

Soltero
CD Release party

Also performing: "pants yell!"

Paradise Lounge
Sunday, 6 March 2005 @ 9PM
$5 Cover Charge (hey, the bands got to eat).