I hosted a live viewing of today’s Soyuz launch today at work. It went well, except for NASA TV cutting out with 3 minutes to go before launch. I got it back with 45 seconds to go, and the audience left happy.
It was a nerve-wracking 135 seconds, though!
On the latest Boston Behind the Scenes, I asked my listeners what kind of accent I have. I’ve gotten two responses so far:
From Marie:
My crazy guess is Chicago but my one undergrad linguistics class doesn’t really give me a leg to stand on.
From Guido:
I want to say that based on your accent, and perhaps temperment [sic], you are from Chicago.
What does someone from Chicago sound like, anyway?
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.
Steve Garfield took this funny picture of me at the Boston Media Makers meeting yesterday.
Last week, I was invited to join the O’Reilly Digital Media blog, and today I got all set up. I still need the login info to post, but I’m officially in their system.
I was checking my website stats for Boston Behind the Scenes, and low-and-behold there were a ton of hits coming from the Frommer’s travel website! They did a story called Download This: Homegrown Podcast Tours Give You a Local’s Look on Thursday, and guess who is first on the list:
I found this article on the word evolution last month, and today I finally tracked one of the researchers down for the phone interview below (for release on the Museum’s podcast tomorrow). The paper is about the use of the “E-Word” in scientific articles and popular news stories. I found the topic very interesting, and I’m proud of the way the interview came out.
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