A “Traditional Media” Experiment April 17
The Boston NOW paper I mentioned before was launched this morning, and I’m in it twice.
There’s a blurb about the Museum’s podcast and a callout box on the page of Boston Marathon coverage featuring the latest Boston Behind the Scenes.
I wanted to see if this would convince people to go to my website, but the early returns aren’t good. Boston Behind the Scenes has seen exactly one unaccounted-for hit from the Boston area today – and that was from the servers of the Community Newspaper Company in Taunton. I’m pretty sure they were just thoroughly investigating the new competition.
Poor Marathoners April 16
The Boston Marathon is today, and the weather is not looking good!
It’s a hard race in a normal year, but I suspect this time will be really bad.
Last week, I put up an episode of Boston Behind the Scenes about the marathon. You can use the player below to hear about its history, and what it is like to run in a normal year.
Why Does the Red Cross Need a Hummer? April 13
Today in Cambridge, I saw a Hummer H3 with the American Red Cross logo on the side. (Sorry, but I didn’t get a picture.)
Red Cross donations shouldn’t be going toward trendy, gas-guzzling SUVs!
I changed the MBTA April 8
I went to an MBTA public meeting a couple of months ago and voiced this concern about the new CharlieCard vending machines:
The credit card readers don’t have a clear indication of the correct placement of the magnetic strip in the slot, and they only give you three tries to pay before you have to start over. Since there are four possible ways to insert the card, this leads to frustrated customers.
The T representatives seemed genuinely surprised when I brought up the problem, and said that they would look into it.
Fast forward to today, and look what I found on the CharlieCard machine at the Charles/MGH station (I wonder if the Chase logo is product placement or trademark infringement):
Substandard Umbrella April 4
For a number of years now, I’ve expounded on the virtues of the Brookstone Super Size Family Umbrella. I’ve called it a sturdy umbrella with an exceptional warranty. Even though it is expensive, I’ve been happy with its size and compact profile when folded, and I’ve appreciated its lightweight frame.
Not anymore.
I lost one of these during the winter, so I went into the store to buy a new one. The new model was even lighter than my first ones, and seemed to have a better opening mechanism. Unfortunately, the first time I took it out in the rain a light gust broke one of the supports. I brought it back to the store, and I was told that the warranty had been switched to one year. It seems illegal to change warranty terms after the purchase, but I didn’t need to fight that fight, as I’d just bought it the previous month. So, a bit annoyed, I took the new one home. Of course, I expected it to protect me from the rain.
I took it out a few times, and it served its purpose. In fact, today was one more opportunity to use it. Unfortunately, the first gust caused what can only be described as catastrophic failure. This time four supports broke and half of the umbrella collapsed.
Now, wet and angry, I’ve decided I’m bringing it back and getting a refund. No more Brookstone umbrellas for me.
The Camera Fights Back April 2
Steve Garfield took this funny picture of me at the Boston Media Makers meeting yesterday.
