Boston Marathon 2013 tragedy

The attack at yesterday's Boston Marathon was horrible.  A lot of people will live the rest of their lives impacted by this henious act.  The deaths are saddening.  However, it is good that more people weren't killed.  This article is not going to discuss any of the gruesome details since there is already plenty of that in the press right now.

The location of the attack in Boston's Back Bay, near Copley Square.  This is an area with a rich history and includes several old churches.  The marathon finish line is on Boylston Street, between Dartmouth Street to the East, and Exeter Street to the West.


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In the direction of Copley Square is the Old South Church. 


The tower of this church is visible in the background of the already famous east-facing photo of the second explosion with the smoke of the first explosion visible.  (That photo isn't shown here due to respect for copyright, but it is available on many news sites and blogs, such as these 1 2 3).

From Google Maps, here's what this spot looks like on a normal day, facing West near the site of the first explosion.

The President's statement about the attack about covers the Boston spirit:

Boston is a tough and resilient town; so are its people.

 

Great New England Earthquake of 2012

Yesterday, some lake in Hollis, Maine was the epicenter of the Great New England Earthquake of 2012.   The best local news interview quote of the night about the little 4.0 earthquake?  Some guy really did say, "I felt my toes tingle a little bit."

Additional comments about this on Facebook here.

Jumpin Jack sign on Highway 495 Southbound

There's a modest sign on the roadside of Highway 495 South, about halfway between Highways 2 and 111. It is simple, with an American flag, and the words "Jumpin Jack". I've wondered what Jumpin Jack was.

Well, he turns out to be a beloved local truck driver named Jack Albert McPhail, a local hero that died while saving others on fateful winter day in March 2007. The story was originally carried by the Boston Herald, but is no longer available.   I was able to track down a Boston Globe article on Boston.com.  It does not mention the nick name "Jumpin Jack".  An obituary still appears on this trucker's forum. It's a good read about the man who was apparently well liked in his community.

For anyone that can safely use Facebook on the road (i.e., a passenger of a car) while passing this sign on 495 S, I've added a place to Facebook to check-in at this location called Jumpin Jack Memorial, classified as a local business under Highway. Facebook is a little odd on how it handles places added by common users, so you may have to search a bit for it (which is why you should be a passenger to attempt the check-in).

Roaming around Boston on the last fair weather weekend of the year

Late last week, I decided to do something to enjoy what some were calling the last great weather weekend of the year in New England. So, while others decided to go see the changing Autumn foliage, I went the oppose route, heading into the heart of Boston.

Not wanting to drive around the city, finding parking spots, paying multiple parking fees, dealing with the traffic, etc, I decided to give mass transit a try. The Commuter Rail ride from Southborough was comfortable. In about an hour, it got me to South Station. From there, Dewey Square was just across the street. This gave me a chance to check out the Occupy Boston camp-in protest. There's a lot of people, but the event is not a big as one might think.


After walking around a bit to explore the surrounding area, I decided to get lunch at Sorelle. The day was so nice, I went for a quick margarita at the outdoor bar in the brand new restaurant at the Russia Wharf. I don't remember the name right now. It has a great view of the inlet.

After that, I rode the T subway to the Museum of Science at Science Park. It's a fairly large museum with a lot of interactive displays and several shows. Some areas are for adults, but much of it is a glorified play land for kids (which isn't a bad thing for the kids).


I then walked over to Charleston and Bunker Hill. Foolishly, I decided to walk to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument, all 294 spiraling steps! The view of Boston from the top was great.

Next stop of Chinatown, so called. It's really just a city block or two. There's a few Chinese style restaurants, but just as many Vietnamese places too. The topper is that there's a McDonald's, two Starbucks and two Dunkin Donuts as well. Yes, TWO! So sad.

However, I did stumble upon my second news item of the day. Sirens where everywhere in Boston. It turns out, they where all heading down to Beach St. in Chinatown. A large chunk of bricks fell off several floors from the facade of a parking garage. They smashed up a car below, damaged some businesses across the street and injured one person who was taken to the hospital.



After that, I headed home, back on Commuter Rail to Southborough. On the drive back to my place, I stopped of to get some ice cream. Massachusetts is a strange place. It's winter about 1/3 of the year, and cold much of the rest, yet there are ice cream parlors (out door window service) almost everywhere, especially in the middle of nowhere! I'm not really sure why they are called parlors if there is no actual entry, but hey, who am I to argue with a great tasting treat on a warm Summer...er...Autumn evening. Anyway, Ulhman's Ice Cream Parlor was a good capper to a great day of exploration.

Bricks fell from several stories up in Boston, injuring one person,damage too

Bricks fell from several stories up in Boston, injuring one person, damage too, a photo by fcsuper on Flickr.

Here's the photo close-up the bricks that smashed the car, injuried one person and busted windows in shops across the street today on Beach St. in Chinatown, Downtown Boston!

Aftermath of parking garage brick falls several floors in Boston on Beach St. in Chinatown

Sirens everywhere in Boston today, and I didn't know why until I stumbled upon this. Bricks from a parking garage facade fell on to Beach St. in downtown Chinatown, injurying on person (sent to the hospital) and smashing a car and shop windows across the street.

Solyndra headquarters during weekday, just after bankruptcy announcement

This video is of the Solyndra headquarters in Fremont, California just days after they announced that they are going bankrupt. There's three large buildings around two massive properties.

U.S. Press is so Politically Comprised

The American Press is so politically comprised that even some small, meaningless stories are politically skewed to put the President in as good of light as possible. At the inauguration, Bush Jr. and his family openly flashed the "Hook 'em horns" gesture several times. Well, that gesture just to happens to be exactly the same as the "Satanic Salute". So, basically, the President of the U.S.A looks like he's saluting the devil.

Simple enough, right? Well, apparently not. The AP put out a story reporting on a supposed Norwegian reaction to the President's gesture. First of all, I did some research and found out that this "Norwegian reaction" is based on an article from a Norwegian tabloid, not a creditable newspaper. Since when is it proper to use a tabloid to gauge an entire country's response?  Suspicious.

So, the AP article says about the "Satanic Salute" interpretation, "That's what it means in the Nordics when you throw up the right hand with the index and pinky fingers raised, a gesture popular among heavy metal groups and their fans in the region." No, that's what it means everywhere in all of modern Western Civilization!

For some reason, the AP felt it is necessary to make the "Satanic Salute" interpretation of Bush's gesture seem like it was unusual and foreign, while trying to make the "Hook 'em horns" interpretation seem normal and common. In fact, the "Hook 'em horns" interpretation is actually the oddball. It's just screwy for the President to be making that gesture at all.

The AP article tries to cover over the fact that the "Satanic Salute" is the most likely interpretation of Bush's gesture, when seen out of context, by coming up with this ridiculous Norwegian angle to the story

If the AP was truly making an unbiased report, they would've simply stated that the gesture was meant to be the “Hook ‘em horns” and not the "Satanic Salute," without all this nonsense about Norway.