I’m excited! I have so much cool travel planned in the next few months it’s going to be hard to get any work done during the week while I’m here. This weekend is the Adirondacks, next weekend might finally be New York, the weekend after is Chicago, then I have a break as I welcome Nick and Michele to Boston. Then it’s the big trip to Peru! After that there might be a road trip to Florida, and I’ve been keeping my eye out for cheap flights to places such as Key West…
Monthly Archive for July, 2007
…for I am with thee (Isaiah 43:5, and other translations).
However, it looks like there’s still hope for the godless among us, thanks to some clever scientists who have found a “pathway for extinction of contextual fear” in (presumably godless) mice.
Being able to do the most fearful things, like asking a girl out for example, may be simpler in the future when the cure for fear comes out. If it comes as a tasty liquid medicine, and avoids side effects such as loss of the ability to operate heavy machinery, then it just might replace the current favourite for fearful situations. Only time will tell whether it’ll retail for $7.95 and be as good as a Long Trail Hefeweizen…
Having been back in Boston for a whole two days I felt like getting out and doing something. A few people mentioned that there was something at the end of the Orange Line, if you could avoid getting shot on the way. While there aren’t any decent maps on the Middlesex Fells pages, I found a good pdf one on a biking site.
Getting there is simple, go to the north end of the Orange line and walk up Washington St until you hit one of the many ‘gates’ along that road, I went up Goodyear Rd and started there along the Rock Circuit Trail. This trail appears to hit every outcrop on the eastern side of the Fells, and goes through many and varied kinds of forest. The circuit took about 2.5 hours for the round trip, not including the 15 minutes or so from the T stop.
The walk is similar to the Blue Hills Reservation skyline trail, which has a number of views of the city. It’s a much smaller park, but is perhaps easier to get to. From the little time I spent there it appeared the density of people was rather less too.
The rest of the photos are here.
I’m not sure whether to claim this one, I spent a week near Springfield at an enjoyable Gordon conference in western Mass this week so have ventured out of Boston.
Maybe I’ll wait until I’ve been to Walden Pond to claim it…
Along with lots of people who are real bona fide Americans, I celebrated July 4th yesterday. Every year Bostonians gather along the banks of the Charles River, to soak up the atmosphere, listen to some music, and watch a good ol’ fashioned fireworks show. This year they also got wet.
I took my camera for a walk along the esplanade around lunchtime, to see hundreds of people enjoying a lovely afternoon by the river. I didn’t go into the sound shell area, which was pretty packed having been open since 9am. A number of new citizens were sworn in, a little history was read out (the declaration also appears as the editorial in the Globe every year, thus saving the editor a days work).
After a ‘few’ celebratory cocktails with the Aussie/CfA crew, I returned to the river to watch the fireworks, in the rain unfortunately, but didn’t dampen our spirits…
Photos here.
