Archives for May 2008

I recently blogged about the benefits of communities merging, so in a similar light I am merging my two blogs. More on that later.

First, it is worth noting that Newburyport’s 17,000 population live on 8.4 square miles of land, compared to Boca Raton, Florida’s 86,000 residents on 27.2 square miles.

This is a useful comparison, considering an article in today’s Boca Raton News that government leaders are seeking ways to reduce the number of boards and commissions in the name of seat vacancies, absenteeism, and concluded tasks.

Boca Raton has about two dozen such boards, says the paper. Newburyport has more.

I respect Newburyporters’ sense of volunteerism but that should go so far. Is it truly necessary to have a different group of volunteer commissioners to manage different city parks? Why must Bartlet Mall, Atkinson Common, and Moseley Woods have their own commissioners, when park management could be more efficient with one group?

I’ve spoken to others about this duplication of effort for multiple parks and there is consensus that this is an issue that should be reviewed. Of course, who reviews it? Create an ad-hoc taskforce, or assign the duties to the City Council’s Neighborhoods and City Services subcommittee?

Tomorrow morning I am flying to Florida and will visit Boca Raton, albeit for different reasons.

When I return, one will notice slight changes at the Newburyport Report.

Explained here, I will cease maintaining two blogs but will have one. Newburyport-centric posts will be marked by a Newburyport label as seen on this link which is where readers may wish to update their bookmarks.

Four months ago, I began the Newburyport Report, a blog of my reflections on living in the oceanside community of Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Between that blog and this one, I’ve noticed an increase in frequency and length of my posts. My unemployed status is partially to blame but moreover I have developed an increased thirst for knowledge in diverse areas and a parallel desire to share that knowledge with either personal or local commentary. Maintaining and updating two blogs is a tiring act.

Thus, with this post, the Newburyport Report is no longer a self-contained blog but will be shortly linked to this link showing every post on this blog with the tag Newburyport.

I’m also at work on a newer version of my website to further improve its look as prospective employers see it.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll join Mom and my sister for a mini-vacation to Florida. We’re flying down early Friday and returning late Sunday. It will be quick but enough time to see my grandmother Muriel who I last wrote about here.

We’ll be staying near Palm Beach Gardens, and intend to find a sports bar tomorrow night to watch the NBA Playoff game. I wonder if Floridians are rooting for the Celtics or the Pistons.

Next week, I’ll resume web development.

This is too funny not to mention:

In today’s Newburyport Daily News, there is an editorial praising Salem State College becoming a university.

It is a misnomer to assume a Newburyport editor wrote it as the time stamp is 3:20 a.m.

The Salem News, owned by the same parent publishing house, ran the same editorial three hours earlier.

Moreover, people can comment on one editorial or the other, but because of different sources the comments are not seen by all. I ask the editors: why?

Interesting data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on the real and nominal prices of gasoline. Click the image to see more detail, as well as data on the cyclical histories of gasoline and diesel.

During last night’s City Council meeting, Police Marshal Tom Howard said he does not foresee gas prices to increase beyond $4 a gallon through the end of this fiscal year and therefore doesn’t expect to ask for additional contingency funds.

He’s probably right.

So here’s a suggestion: Stop using police cruisers immediately when responding to 911 calls that don’t require them.

Instead, use the motorcycles already in the fleet. Buy other scooters, electric or not, if you must.

Or forget the motor or electric bike and go with a trike.

Here’s an old 1965 Harley-Davidson police model:

And here’s a newer version, modeled after the Segway, that some U.S. and British police forces use:

When you consider a car averages 21 miles per gallon to a 2-wheeler’s 75 to 100 mpg, it’s a no-brainer what to do. Save on gas, improve fuel efficiency, and save on automobile depreciation…and be greener with bikes and trikes.

Next time you watch a movie where scenes occur in a moving car, take a look at the backseat headrests. I challenge you to spot them. As most big-budget movies these days involving car scenes are shot indoors in front of a green screen, the headrests are removed to allow for greater camera angles.

With the increase of (Hollywood) films shot in Boston, I might as well prostitute myself to those studios and film companies as my Subaru’s backseat lacks headrests. I lost them a few years ago, so why not make some money off my forgetfulness?

Speaking of France (which is what I think of when I think of prostitutes, presumedly due to word association with the pronunciation of franc), a British woman who moved with her family to France writes in a blog called Miles Away in France.

Her latest entry begins with the sentence, Sadly we lost one of the turkeys.

How often do you read British women living in France talking about turkeys? I bet you didn’t think you’d read it here. I read about it at Tollipop. Which reminds me of Lollipop, a magazine I used to obsessively read at the Newbury Comics store in Harvard Square.