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May 29, 2007

Massachusetts Driver

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Why is it that a driver on 95/93/128/Mass Pike:

  • Goes on the highway without checking for traffic
  • Drives well above 70 MPH
  • Goes in and out of traffic with no single changes
  • Cuts people off while talking on the phone

Then:

Expects people to "let them off" the highway when they are in the middle lane within 20 feet of their exit?

Why is that???

Also when did it become a rule that, if you have a brand new luxury car, you can go fast as you want on the Mass Pike?

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October 10, 2006

Our Ladies Help of Christians

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In an email that I sent two years ago today...

I attended the 7:30 service at Our Lady Help of Christians this morning and it was a full house. The church looks a little different since the last time I was there. Small portions of the ceiling white wall has been taken down. New this week are several scrolls on the walls of people that were buried at OLHC.

The biggest news of the weekend is where Father Fleming will be going after Our Lady Help of Christians closes. He will be the first pastor of the Holy Family Parish in Concord. Yup, Father Fleming will be staying in Concord. He received a large applause at this morning service when he announced the news, altho some appear to know already.

Next weekend, October 17th will be a special celebration at the church where former priests of OLHC will be invited to the church for the last time. Also next weekend Deacon Chuck Clough will preach at all the masses, his last homily at OLHC.

Additional Information: http://www.olhc.org/

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March 21, 2006

First Day of Spring!

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Today is the first full day of spring!

It wasn't that bad of a winter in New England. There wasn't that much snow to shovel, and the snow that did fall never lasted more than a week.

A sure sign of Spring in New England is the Boston Marathon, which occurs in mid-April.

Other notable spring events in New England:

  • Swan Boats return to the Boston Commons.
  • Red Sox Baseball
  • North End Resturant open outside dinning.
  • Concord, Lexington, Acton - Minuteman March

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March 10, 2005

Barber Shop in West Concord

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This morning I got up early and went to Concord to get a haircut at my favorite barber shop. I got there at 6:30. I assumed that the barber shop opened at 7, but got their early to do some banking and at least be first in line.

When I went to the original Barber Shop I couldn't see the hours, so I walked down to Barber Shop 2 and ran into my favorite barber, Bob. He recognized me and asked if I wanted a hair cut. We then walked back to the original Barber Shop. (That's where he works)

The Barber shop doesn't open until 7, but he was nice enough to get my hair cut right away. I got a quick hair cut and despite the heavy traffic on Route 2, was able to get into the office just after 7:30 this morning, around my normal time.

Nothing like having a early morning hair cut to start the day. :)

The West Concord Barber Shop hours are from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

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December 13, 2004

CambridgeSide Galleria

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Yesterday I visited the CambridgeSide Galleria in Cambridge Massachusetts.

There were lots of people at the mall, but parking wasn't a problem as there was plenty of parking on the 'B' level. Many stores were pretty crowded but it seems most people were at the Food Court.

The Apple store was pretty crowded with lots of people buying iPods and Mini-iPods. I also saw some people with some G5 boxes.

If you plan to visit the mall, you might want to eat at 'The Cheesecake Factory' or 'California Pizza Kitchen' both validate parking tickets.

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October 4, 2004

Topfields Fair

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For the next 10 days, the town of Topsfield will be a busy place with the famous Topsfield Fair in town. I had the opportunity to go yesterday and can offer these tips:

  • Go Early. Lots of people get to the fair after 11 pm. Plan to arrive before 10 am.
  • Bring some warm clothes. The temp goes down later in the day.
  • Watch the RCMP Show!

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July 5, 2004

Cape Cod Weekend

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This past weekend I traveled to the Cape for the the Fourth of July Weekend. Here are my notes about the traffic:

Friday Night: I got on the Mass Pike around 5:30 via Newton Corner on ramp. There was no traffic anyplace on the Pike or on 93 south. I suspected this because most people took Friday off and headed down to the Cape earlier on the day. There was a little congestion on 3, at the lane merge and a few other places. This seemed to be a typical traffic situation and not a result of holiday traffic.
Once I got to the bridge, there was a very minor backup at the rotary, about 2 cars in front of me were waiting to get on the rotary. Route 6 was a breeze all the way, even the lane drop after exit 9 wasn't backed up.
I arrived at the house shortly before 7:30.

Monday Night:I left the Cape around 4pm, the mid-cape seem to do fine as getting on from exit 12 was no problem. I ran into heavy traffic right after exit 4 on ramp. This continued all the way to the bridge. Route 3 was fairly light with moderately light traffic.

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May 26, 2004

Our Ladies Help of Christians

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Yesterday was a sad day in the 100 year history of Our Ladies Help of Christians church in West Concord. Fr. Fleming receive news that the church was one of the 65 parishes that will close in December. This comes as a surprise since the church is fairly active, it raised $17,028.85 to build 4 homes in Haiti.

According to the Associated Press:

Parishes on the list to be closed may appeal to O'Malley. If that fails they can appeal to the Vatican, but only on procedural grounds, not simply on their belief that their church should remain open, said the Rev. Christopher Coyne, an archdiocesan spokesman.
You can learn more about Our Ladies Help of Christians by visiting their website.

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January 16, 2004

Record Cold in New England!

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Hard to believe but it was -6.2 degrees this morning in Concord Mass. Today's cold weather has broken all records in New England. WBZ was reporting -10 at their studios in Newton. All the digital thermostats in Concord recorded record lows overnight.

I tried a trick that I saw on TV last night: I heated some water in a coffee mug for 4 minutes in the microwave and then went out side and threw the water in the air. About 80% of the water disappeared and the remaining about hit the ground. Its a pretty cool effect.

Over 330 schools in Massachusetts closed or had delay openings. Which is unheard of since this usually happens around a major snow storm. Most Superintendent of Schools didn't want their students to be waiting for the bus in the freezing temperatures. I would suspect that movie matinees will be crowded today. Expect big numbers for Disney's Teacher's Pet, which is the only G rated movie that opens today.

There is also talk of rolling black outs in New England! I was wondering what happened to former California Governor Gray Davis. The reason for the black outs is because the high amount of Natural Gas use to heat homes and business has caused some of the Natural Gas power plants to close. The power plant closures and the increase of power, due to the cold weather, has put a strain on the power grid. I don't think this will be a problem due to the large number of school closings.

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January 14, 2004

Cold Day in New England

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This morning it was -3 in Concord, Massachusetts and local weather forecasters say today will be the coldest day in more than 20 years! As cold as it may get today, tomorrow its expected to be even colder! I'll have to buy a book on Global Warming, and see why this is a problem.

Today's photo isn't accurate of how cold it is, since the heat from the house makes it appear warmer than it is.

New Traffic Lights
In downtown Chelmsford new traffic lights were put in this past week. This is sort of an odd type of thing to do in New England, in the middle of Winter. These lights are replacing a really bad four way intersection of Route 4 and 27. I am not sure if it will help the morning commute, but it should help make my evening commute better.

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