Monthly Archives: April 2003

Ohilights

Here are my top ten personal favs from our minivacation (in random order):

1. Snow Pudding. YUM!
2.Volleyball and bonfire at the Carter’s. “I got it…no wait! You’ve got it!”
3. 10 Pin Bowling. Last minute and perfectly wonderful! My finger and wrist muscles are still sore!
4. Der Dutchman. Great view, no Amish.
5.Heinies. Cheese, Grommit!
6.Hanging out with K&M
7. Hilarium!
8.Rita’s
9.Maunday Thursday Tennebrae service
10. Peter’s baby pictures…awww!

Easter in Ohio

We’re back! Becky and I got back last night from our Easter trip out to Ohio. We spent lots of time with my family and friends from Mount Vernon. We went bowling, toured Amish country, hung out at Friendly’s, did some shopping, had a cookout with the Carters, and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Naturally, we took lots of photos while we were out there, and you can see them all here:

Easter in Ohio

Big Dig Review

On Sunday, on the way back from visiting some relatives in Southie, Becky and I drove through some of the new portions of the Big Dig.

On the way in to the city, we took the Mass Pike from the Allston/Brighton Tolls. This put us into the new Mass Turnpike extension, aka the Ted Williams tunnel. The TWT runs underneath the south end of the city, and carries traffic under the Fort Point Channel, runs under a portion of South Boston, and then heads up to East Boston, Logan Airport, and Route 1-A.

We took exit 25 off of I-90 East, which puts you smack into South Boston. The ride through the tunnel was very smooth and fast, and the tunnel was brightly lit. The exit signs were very clearly marked.

On the way home, we got on I-93 North via the Congress St. on-ramp. The on-ramp was really a huge tunnel that took us down into the Liberty Tunnel (the name given to the new Central Artery tunnel). The on-ramp itself had to be about half a mile long, and then we were dumped off into the new central artery. The ride on the central artery was very fast, but it seemed to be EXTREMELY bumpy. Our car, which can normally handle bumpy roads pretty well, was lunging up and down as it drove through the tunnel. Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that we were driving well above the posted speed limit… 🙂 In any case, the Liberty Tunnel, like the Ted Williams tunnel, was brightly lit and the exit signs were clearly marked.

The Liberty Tunnel northbound exited directly onto the new Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge (or, as radio stations have been calling it, simply the ‘Zakim Bridge’). As you pass out of the tunnel and onto the bridge, you can still see the remaining upper and lower decks of the old central artery. Immediately after that, however, you are treated to a magnificent view of the new bridge. We drove through at night, and the lighting on the bridge was spectacular as we drove through! I wished that I hadn’t been driving so that I could get a better look. In any case, we flew across the bridge, and immediately at the end of the bridge there was a left hand exit to get on Route 1 North via the Tobin Bridge. This dumped us out into the old City Square Tunnel, and from there the ride was pretty much normal.

Except for the uneven, bumpy ride in the Liberty Tunnel northbound, everything was very nice! I am looking forward to the day when the southbound side of the artery will be open, and the hulking green skeleton of the old artery will be removed. This will make way for a good chunk of new green space in the city, and will once again connect the waterfront to the city’s downtown.

Kurds

I really didn’t know much about the Kurds, or what part they play in the conflict in Iraq, so I looked around for some information. I found a good article here:

The Kurds

If you don’t know much about them, this is a good time to read up.

Voting in North Dakota

The fun fact for today:

The state of North Dakota does not have voter registration. Their system basically depends on the fact that most communities are very small and closely knit, and most everybody knows everybody. For people who are new to a precinct, usually a sworn affadavit is required. Interesting!

For more info, go to the source: Voting in North Dakota

TMBG

Saturday’s TMBG concert was great! It marked my fifth time seeing TMBG live in concert:

1. Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH
2. Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
3. Avalon, Boston, MA
4. Avalon, Boston, MA
5. Avalon, Boston, MA 🙂

Suffice to say, seeing TMBG in concert is one of the few occasions I will frequent a smoky, crowded venue such as the Avalon. Their show was great, as always. They really know how to entertain a crowd! One of the best parts of the show was the ‘Radio Play-Along’… they hook up a KLH radio to the PA system, and then randomly tune to various stations. Then they try to play along with whatever is on the radio. Hilarious! As they said in the lead-in to RPA, “This is the part of the show that consistently disappoints! This is the part of the show that can tank at any time!”

TMBG managed to pack in a really full set of music into the hour and 15 minutes they were on stage. This time, I managed to bring along a notepad and jot down their set list. Unfortunately, there were a few songs I didn’t recognize (!!), but here it is:

1. Wicked Little Critta
2. James K. Polk
3. (???)
4. Black Magic Marker
5. Super Tasters
6. “No!”
7. Shout and Stomp (not a song per se…)
8. Birdhouse in your soul
9. The Guitar
10. Man it’s so loud in here
11. Don’t Cross The Street
12. Au Contraire
13. Rocket to the Moon
14. Radio Play-along (they tune in to random Boston radio stations and play along with whatever is on the radio)
15. Older
16. Another First Kiss
17. The Statue Got Me High
18. Doctor Worm
19. Drink!
20. Violin
21. Fingertips
22. Cyclops Rock
23. The Sun (is a mass of incandescent gas…) (The sun gets its power from the reactions of Route 95, Route 91, Route 84, and the Mass Pike…)

Encore I:
1. Christmas Tree (?)
2. Ana Ng
3. New York City

Encore II:
1. Robot Parade
2. Istanbul (Not Constantinople)