Readuponit: Travel and voracious reading

Tipped Off to the Google Ad, a Follower Knows All

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:36:00 +0000

As I fell asleep after one of the best Superbowls I've ever watched, I thought about the connections and the various lines that bind people together. There was a commercial during the game's third quarter for Google, perhaps spurred on by the early success of rival search engine Bing.

I knew it was coming because I follow John Battelle, who wrote a book about Google and runs Federated Media, the people who publish one of the top blogs on the web called BoingBoing.net. He had mentioned that it was coming, so I was ready when I saw them up on the screen.

Google's ad followed a series of searches about France. One of the top results was for "How to Make a French Woman Happy" and referenced a website knew well--Paris logue. The site was created by my friend Sean Keener's company, Bootsnall.com, and I was proud that they got such a high-profile shout out on the world's biggest stage. Good on ya Boots!

Saturday's Podcamp ended with a few beers at the Tavern in Westfield, where my seat at the bar brought the charming Rebecca Caplice, President of Greenfield Savings Bank, and two other women gathered around. Rebecca talked about the restaurant she and her husband opened, and how they've got more than 1000 fans on its Facebook Page. The funny thing is since I'm one of them I knew the whole story about the place and some of the former Greenfieldites who have given the place their blessing. Once again, social media brought me insights and backstories that made our face-to-face time more enriching.

The Guard Economy Keeps Us All Down

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:01:00 +0000

Samuel Bowles is an unappreciated yet wise economist who runs the Santa Fe Institute, a radical hotbed where people with big brains meet and talk about issues. I read in the Santa Fe Reporter about one of Bowle's theories, which intrigued me.

He states that in the US, one in four people are in the business of guarding other people's wealth. Whether they work as a private security guard for a gated community, or a rent-a-cop in a shopping mall, their job is to keep the rich rich by keeping the poor at bay.

Bowles speculates that we lose millions of dollars in productivity because so many of us are doing the work of guarding, instead of creating new businesses or doing other valuable things. He says what he calls 'guard labor' supports the beat down economy. These are the marginalized, the workers who sadly, in most cases will pass along their poverty to their kids. The SF Reporter story was titled "Born Poor," cites Bowle's study.

Like-minded People Gather to Share at Podcamp

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:19:00 +0000

"I have met so many people as a result of social media," said Leslie, an active blogger, twitterer and Facebooker, and one of the presenters at Podcamp Western Mass. "I met Morris, my partner, and I met another person who became a business partner, and so many people all over Western Mass. I've gotten so much more than I've given."

Leslie summed up why we have all given up a Saturday to join like-minded people learning about the fine points of twitter, facebook, blogs, videos and other aspects of today's social media landscape.

What I like is that it's one of the few venues where we can be typing a blog, reading twitter feeds and still listen to the speakers. I've always said, 'hey I'm listening, really' and nobody believes me. But here, hey....it's ok to do it all at the same time.

Jackie Stevenson has been a friend for many years, and she gave a bang up presentation about how she uses SM to promote companies and restaurants. She has some cogent examples of big media scores.

She spent more than a year as a freelancer; now she's gotten a four-day a week gig as Director of Public Relations for Winstanley Associates.

Without all of this SM stuff, she would have never gotten this great opportunity to have a good paying job with benefits. Couldn't happen to a better gal; and it couldn't have happened without our social media world.

Padded Airline Schedules Make for Longer Flights

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:07:00 +0000

Doesn't a free trip to Cancun sound good? Yeah, it does, but when you book a ticket six days in advance the flight details are kinda gnarly. I'm not one to complain but I fly out of Bradley at 6 am and spend about four hours in Dallas. It's only about 3 hours to Cancun but of course, nothing is ever as easy as one hopes when it comes to air travel.

Last night I read a story in the WSJ about how airlines have increased the length of time for nearly all flights to pad the schedule by about 30 minutes. Thus, a flight from New York to LA that might have taken five and a half hours five years ago now clocks in at six and a half.

The delays aren't weather related, it's all about the waiting time on the tarmac. Planes in lines like cars, one after the other, all trying to take off. It seems that nobody in the airline business believes in congestion pricing, so they go with the will of the people who all want to leave at the same time. So the schedules are padded, and people can think that airlines' on-time percentages are more impressive.

Oh well, I'm not gonna beef about this day-long flight. It's worth it to see my friends in Cancun again and hopefully, I can give a speech or something when they hand me my award.

Award-Winning Writer: I Love the Sound of That!

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:29:00 +0000

Cindy and I traveled to Mexico last January and upon my return I wrote a story for GoNOMAD titled "Ecotourism in Cancun: Wilder than we Expected," about the contrast between the stereotype of Mexico's most popular tourism destination and the public perception of ecotourism. The story was about things you can do outdoors---but what we remembered most was how much we loved the people of Mexico.

I've been a writer since I helped put out my elementary school newspaper in 1970. But I've never been able to call myself an 'Award-winning writer.' Tonight, for the first time in my 51 years, I took a first place prize for my writing. I'm awfully proud, I must admit. And this one comes with a big check and a free trip to Cancun for the ceremony. Pinch me!

It was our first trip to Mexico and we loved everyone we met. The physical beauty of Mexico's azure sea and the cenotes (water holes) of the Yucatan were striking. But Mexico, for us, was about the people who live there. Our hosts were friendly and warm, and everyone from the hotel manager down to the chamber maids were genuinely pleased to help us and their smiles were real. I can't wait to go back next week!

Faceless Facebook Friends Will Meet at Podcamp

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:59:00 +0000

I awoke to the sound of a 5-horsepower motor whirring in the driveway across the street. It has snowed and Kate next door was using her snowthrower to clean the white. It's early February and I can only say I'm glad that January is gone. As I lay back in bed and gazed my barely focused eyes on my iPhone, I read the trail of Facebook posts that had been posted while I slept.

Like many people I know my life has been significantly changed by this regular ritual. Gazing down and reading the posts that 350 other people have added over the course of a day has become an important part of life. But truth be told, it's really not all of those 350 people, it's more like 20 or 30 who are active posters who consume most of my Facebook reading time.

I have never met many of these people who I follow; that's a unique aspect of this new world of pseudo-communication. But I feel like if I met them I would know them as old friends. It's the same for the blogs I follow; I know so many things about people because they've posted blogs about their lives.

On Saturday I will get to meet many of the Facebook friends and Twitter followers who only appear in my life in pixels. It's time for Podcamp, where the questions one saves up all year can be answered and Geekdom rules. It's a time where having 3200 followers on Twitter is actually cool, and we share expertise on whatever we know something about. It's a time when it's really ok to talk while you're typing...my kind of place!

Pond Hockey Makes Everyone Happy in Ashfield

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:21:00 +0000

Patrick Falla and Ben Crosby understand what is really truly important in winter. Pond hockey. They seized the day by organizing 'The Frozen Faceoff,' a 16-team round robin hockey tournament held on Ashfield Lake over the weekend. The 64 players got to enjoy one of the funnest pleasures of winter, skating on a frozen lake and shooting at the box.

Family and fans cheered on their teams from up above the lake in the cozy Ashfield Lake House. Hot food and cold drinks kept them happy and they created their own version of box seats out on the deck overlooking the four rinks, each measuring 95x x 55' from board to board.

The elements make playing pond hockey something above the normal turn around the rink.
"Once you step back into a rink after playing pond hockey, it feels pretty cushy," Spencer Gowan told the Recorder's Bob Dunn. Next year the organizers expect many more rinks and many more skaters, and spectators.

Yi Yi: A Long, Complicated Taiwanese Tale

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:10:00 +0000

We watched a nearly 3-hour movie set in Taiwan yesterday, and as the sun set we found ourselves still a bit confused and no end to the lengthy tale called Yi Yi.

Whoever set up two hours or less as the maximum allowable viewing time for a movie must know human nature. We kept wondering when this film would wrap up, but we kept getting more scenes.

The movie starred a character named NJ whose brother is getting married amidst a scandal..the bride is ballooning out pregnant. We see an indignant 'other woman' stalking the ceremony, finally being asked to leave while she screams out apologies for not being the bride.

His son is picked on by the cruel older girls in primary school, and his mid-twenties daughter is experimenting with sex. Later the youngster tries to get even with his tormentors but instead douses the strict teacher with water instead of his intended target.

But what's on NJs mind is the love he left behind 30 years ago, who meets him face to face at the wedding and reignits their dashed love. At one point NJ has to do business with an associate--he's Japanese, he's Taiwanese, so they converse haltingly in English.

We don't know whether he ever got back together with her, since after 2 hours and 49 minutes it was time for 60 Minutes and we shut it off.

Try this Triggerfish...It's Abundant and It's Good!

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:51:00 +0000

In South and North Carolina, Georgia and Eastern Florida, January brought new restrictions to what fishermen can catch and sell out of the local waters. That's because some popular species like grouper, red snapper, black sea bass and red porgy are becoming too rare--and need time to increase their numbers.

A story by Christine Muhlke in today's NY Times magazine profiled a fisherman named Mark Marhefka, who is now delivering abundant species like triggerfish and other 'trash fish' to seafood restaurants who once turned up their noses at the stuff.

"If I don't make Abundant Seafood work, I won't be able to survive being a commercial fisherman anymore," he said. There is something satisfying to me about people using the many types of fish in the sea who aren't endangered, by simply showing people how to cook them. The story included a recipe for triggerfish, it seems that the biggest effort is convincing people that they can enjoy an unknown species instead of their regular snapper and grouper.

These fish are often caught a mile from a restaurant but then trucked to a warehouse across the state before its delivered a few miles from where it first docked. Marhefka sells his line-caught fish after he gets the orders while he's on the boat...and only has to deliver it a few miles from where he docks.

"Honey, They Shrank the Newspaper!"

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:43:00 +0000

A chill went through me this morning when the oil company called, telling me that if I wanted a heating oil delivery today it would cost me an extra $100, since it was Saturday. These are the same people who I made famous when I signed a 'budget plan' and ended up paying $4.20 a gallon all year when the average price of oil was about $2.65.

But no, they wouldn't come out, and so I did a 'number 8' as the Kiwis would say. I drove down to Wal-Mart and bought a 5 gallon jerry can. Then I poured the soapy fuel into my oil tank, and prayed it would last until Monday.

While I was at the gas station, I saw a box with the local daily newspaper inside. "Honey, they shrank the paper," I thought, noticing that this broadsheet paper has now become a tiny little tabloid like the Boston Herald. A woman in Cumbies told me that they only shrunk Saturday and Monday's papers, and the rest of the week they print the full broadsheet size.

I know that they have big money problems at most papers, but this is a dramatic shift. Printing it sideways and turning the Republican into a part-time tab means far less column inches to sell ads in. But then again, they'll use half as much paper.

He Didn't Listen to His Woman...and She Didn't Let Him Forget!

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:29:00 +0000

I got a call yesterday from a reporter named Agnes Pawlowski from CNN.com. They were doing a feature on dirty hotels and wanted some quotes. I was happy to pull out this old chestnut, a classic case of a man who should have trusted the wiser instincts of his better half. Here's the passage.

"Max Hartshorne said his girlfriend will never let him forget the time he booked a hotel room in Los Angeles, California, based on the low price.

The couple, from South Deerfield, Massachusetts, were on their way to New Zealand and just needed a room for the night. Hartshorne, the editor of the travel Web site GoNomad.com, said he had a bad feeling when the hotel shuttle that was to pick them up from the airport turned out to be a dented, decrepit van. The hotel itself was a dump in a seedy neighborhood, Hartshorne said.

"It was dirty, it was a bummer and it was the classic thing where the woman is telling the man not to do something and the man thinks it's the cheapest," he added. The couple ended up scrambling to find another place to stay."

Thanks for reaching out CNN, glad to provide fodder for your travel site!

He Teaches Physics...and Can Explain It

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:21:00 +0000

Last night I attended a meeting of the local cable TV station. A sort of goofy guy my age sat down next to me, and said he was there because his son was attending the meeting. "I'm the driver," he explained. But later as we sat together eating pizza, he told me what he did, and it threw me.

"I teach physics at Smith College," he said. I love it when people tell you 'what they do' and they impress you. I mean, physics, hey that's gotta be the ultimate geek genius department. I asked him how his students use physics in their day to day lives, and how it stays relevant. His answer reflected the wisdom of one who has lectured for many years.

"Physics gives you the basis for how to analyze a problem, how to systematically figure out what is what, and how the processes fit together." Then he explained a question to me that my sister posed that had stumped me a few months ago--how do radio waves transmit sound to our ears?

"It's all various levels of spectrum," he began. "Whether its xrays, or radio sound waves, or cellphone transmissions, they're all different levels of spectrum that nobody can see, but each diffferent type of activity uses a different section of this spectrum." Spectrum is what Verizon and AT&T spent billions on in the US government auction last year. They want to own more of the wave space so that their customers phones can transmit on it.

Deliciously complicated, it's one of those topics that I love exploring. Even if I don't totally get it.

High Speed Rail in Western Mass: Yes, We Can!

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:02:00 +0000

Train service is one of the things that travelers know is much better in Europe and Asia than in the US. Who hasn't traveled to say, Switzerland or England, and marveled at the speed and the efficiency of their rail transport? I took a train across Austria a few years ago and it was one of the most marvelous travel experiences I can remember. I took notes of the many things I saw out the window as we sped toward the ski resort town of Kitzbuhel from Graz.

Today I was happy to read about the new funding for high-speed rail that will turn our I-91 corridor, along the Connecticut River, into a new high speed rail track. Stations that haven't seen passengers since the 1960s like Greenfield and Holyoke will get new rail service.

The people who aren't happy are the devoted rail-users of Amherst, who pleaded with Amtrak not to change the route. But taking a detour over to Palmer and Amherst adds 45 minutes to the Vermont-New York route. Amherst was overruled, thank God, and now the trains will follow the most logical way, straight up and down. I can't wait to board the train in Greenfield or Holyoke, just as soon as the tracks and the stations are ready to go!

Obama Thinks He Can Sell Us Anything

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:17:00 +0000

I voted for Obama, like everyone I know. But it's been hard for me to put into words why I'm disappointed in how his presidency has worked out. Despite the virulent naysayers who can't find anything amiss, I found a writer, Bret Stephens of the WSJ, who put it into words for me.

It's been a year of rebuffs, from people who Obama insisted we just had to reach out to and would find common ground and move ahead--wrong!

First, make the Czech and Poles mad by giving up missile bases there, to try to get Moscow to be tougher on Iran. NO! Then a snub of the Dalai Lama, to make China like us? NO!

Then speeches in the Middle East are met with 'meh!' in the region Egypt's 27% favorable view of the US tops the list. France? Sarkozy openly suspects the President is weak.

Healthcare is an issue I feel strongly about, but most Americans don't like the current bill. Obama thinks he can just sell us all, and look what happened in Massachusetts.

Stephen's point is that piling up a $12 trillion deficit is turning even those who want to love him into doubters.

In the Slums of Naples, Bosses are Challenged

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:18:00 +0000

In the gloom that we called Sunday afternoon, we watched a movie filmed in contemporary Naples called Gomorrah. Like its Biblical namesake, this southern Italian city is indeed a place full of vices and the portrayal of life in the tenements was gritty and grim.

It was one of those movies where you miss a lot, despite the subtitles, because the nuanced conversations between youth, or aging mafiosis, are hard to put down in writing. The neighborhood's apartments--hovels with screaming kids and other loud noises--are supported by the mob. A man named Don Ciro metes out the payouts, and nearly every recipient grumbles that they aren't getting enough.

A pair of snot-nosed kids who think they're tough begin to annoy the mobsters. They come across a cache of automatic weapons, and the next scene is of these two teenagers in their bikini briefs, firing off machine-gun rounds on a beach. You just know they'll regret stealing those guns.

In a parallel plot, an experienced tailor named Pasquale betrays his Italian boss by conspiring to teach low-paid Chinese competitors to make the couture dresses in a sweatshop. They smuggle Pasquale into the factory and with a translator, he shows the eager Chinese how to make dresses just like the more expensive native tailors. Eventually, the car he's riding in is driven off the road and crashes. It's just not a good idea to mess with these guys.

When Times Are Tough, Give and You Get

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:44:00 +0000

January is a tough month, as anyone with a payroll and hungry vendors can attest. But it is wise to consider that every year, we survive and thrive and make it to February and beyond. I called up my sister this morning and she gave me some interesting advice. Counter-intuitive, yet compelling.

"When you're struggling, that's the best time to have benefits, and donate to charity. If you give when things are difficult, you get back when times are flush. It really works." She recommends we organize a benefit, or try to reach out and help people. I think there is truth to the notion that giving gets, and I hope that I can get some traction for my idea of helping local people who are unemployed by offering assistance at the cafe.

I put this out in our newsletter but didn't get any bites. Could it be that everyone on our cafe email list is gainfully employed and doesn't need help?

I keep thinking that offering people the chance to use our computers, sharpen up their resumes, and brainstorm about how they can get jobs and get their careers on track is a service we could offer. Do you know anyone who is out of work and needs our help? Please send them our way.

It's the Time of Year When We Hate It Here

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:41:00 +0000

Now is the time that every one of us here in New England settles into our winter funk. We ask ourselves why we do this, why we live in a place that for so much of the year is unfriendly because people are so cold. Slipping around on ice, trying to start nearly frozen cars, not wanting to go for a walk 'cause it's too damn cold. The whole thing puts me in a foul mood.

The only bright spot is that all of us have been going back to the gym, doing Zomba and aerobics and working out in our own ways. That is my bright spot in this sea of ice-cold dreariness. The feeling of elation when I leave the gym lasts for a few hours, until I settle back into being cold.

I got sent a lifeline when I spoke with a PR rep about the Azores. These seven islands are only four hours away from Boston, via a direct flight. The average temperature there is in the mid-sixties at this time of year. Portugal owns these ancient volcanic islands, and they want us to come see them. I am rearranging things in order to make this short escape. If all goes well we will end this dreadful month hiking in green forests of the Azores.

At the Neighborhood Watch, We Share Our Stories

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:01:00 +0000

Last night a meeting was held in a Holyoke elementary school, gathering people together who live in Ward 7. It was about forming a neighborhood watch, after many of us had been burglarized. When the official from the Sheriff's office asked who had been broken into, a majority of people's hands went up....incredibly, more than two thirds of the gathered crowd of about 80 people had been recent victims of crime!

One street, Fairfield Avenue, seems to be the epicenter. Again and again we heard people tell their experiences with daytime burglaries, or in some cases, people breaking in at night and scaring the wits out of them. "Who can guess how many patrol cars are out on the streets between 4 and 11 pm? asked the official. "Six."

That means they depend on people to call police, or to provide information on the anonymous tip lines that they man at the Ludlow jail. One woman said she had moved to Holyoke a week ago, and she lives on ...Fairfield Ave. She hasn't felt safe since hearing about all of the break-ins, and she was distressed to hear even more details.

The Sheriff's official advised that people should close their blinds, so as not to tempt bad guys with their big screen TVs and other stuff, and that bushes provide good hiding places for those in the process of breaking in. "But we are all in this together. We have to look out for eachother. Get to know your neighbors, know who lives to the right, left and across. That's how we can make this work."

Tucker Hartshorne as Joe Kennedy Singing "Shake Hands"

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Chris Hartshorne, We Already Miss You

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:56:00 +0000

A great big light has gone out in our family. Our gregarious, hilarious, fun-loving and smiling cousin Chris, known to most as Tucker, has passed away. It's damn hard to believe that he won't be around to smile and charm us, and bring us back so many memories just by being his wonderful self.

READ COMMENTS FROM HIS MANY FRIENDS ON HIS PASSING HERE

Chris was an animal trainer who worked with major studios providing them with animal characters that he taught to do tricks and follow instructions. One of the last things I read about on the blog created after he fell sick was about his friends who had to rustle up the goats that they brought into the Saturday Night Live studios for a skit. He was Susie's partner for 30 years, he was a devoted husband and had hundreds of friends...we found that out when he married and so many people came to celebrate with them.

Chris and Susan have been a fixture...he more than anyone else, brought us closer together as cousins, aunts and brothers and sisters. Chris loved the family legacy, the old Essie stories, and life in the 1960s and earlier. I remember he had a 1954 pick-up that he loved driving around, he brought it up to my prep school and stayed with me in my dorm room for a few nights. He loved old black R&B crooners and he loved playing music. He did it for a living for two decades.

I just can't believe he's gone.

'Hoarders' Makes Me Want to Throw More Stuff Out

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:02:00 +0000

Christina and Janet are two middle aged women with the same terrible problem. They were profiled on a chilling television program on A&E called 'Hoarders,' which showed their jam-packed houses where piles upon piles of clothing, boxes and thousands of other things lie in disgusting piles. There are narrow trails that the women and their children navigate to get to the bathroom, and both of the women's bedrooms are their epicenters of clutter. The kitchen? Worse than you can imagine, with every dish balanced, Dr Suess style, on top of the sink and counters.

It's a disease....not just a personality trait. The aerial views of the piles and the semi-soft focus makes it all look even worse. The subjects are shown in tight facial shots, explaining the circumstances that caused them to value those boxes of plastic children's toys and six-year-old newspaper clippings. Each has her own reasons for this spiral into living in a cluttered hovel.

But the time comes after the therapists arrive and men in blue shirts come with big trucks, prepared to rid these poor families of their clutter. But each trash bag must be gone through, each discarded child's shirt or sheet of paper must be approved. It gets tough, the most hard core hoarder retreats to her bedroom, the bed closed in by a mountain of clothes. Still, the second woman soldiers on, letting it all just....go.

We are treated to a refreshing sweep of the now decluttered house, it's like the euphoria of showing a new house to a new tenant. Janet weeps as she sees her living room in a state that won't embarrass her daughters. Christina never quites gets into the groove, and settles back into a depressing and cluttered state.

If You Get Pulled Over, Don't Flash a Bogus Badge

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:59:00 +0000

"Do you know who I am?" is the well-worn phrase that people who think they're important use when confronted with hurdles like being pulled over by a cop, or a big long line. In today's Gazette, I read about a former selectman who tried the same thing when he was pulled over for speeding on Route 9 this month.

David Moskin waved a badge 'vigorously' out the drivers-side window as the patrol officer sat writing his ticket. He says now that he was trying to show that 'he was a local,' but to the police officials this smells like 'do you know who I am?" It reminds me of those stickers people post on their rear windows, proclaiming how they support their local troopers. Hey, anything is worth a shot I guess.

Now the town of Hadley is looking into all of those badges they gave out to former police commissioners, the purpose of which they are hard-pressed to explain. When Moskin was pulled over for doing 44 in a 30-mile-an-hour zone, he told the officer a former board member said to show that badge if he was ever pulled over. Oops. The cop seized the badge.

If We Can Imagine It...It Can Be Done

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:46:00 +0000

I drove down to Costco for supplies, and as I often do, took the longer slower way through the flats of Holyoke up to Cindy's. I stopped by this bridge and got a good look at the former Parson's Paper factory, burned up and wreckage.

This might someday be the home of the high-speed computing center, full of servers and smart people, all bringing the biggest high tech project that Western Mass has ever seen. Right here, right next to this canal, which will bring cooling water in...imagine it.

I look forward to coming back to this forlorn little bridge to see a gleaming high tech building with multiple photovoltaic cells, maybe a green grassed roof, and people coming and going in pursuit of high tech wizardry.

An Eminence Grise Speaks Out in Favor of Lord Leno

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:26:00 +0000

I read in today's NY Times about an NBC executive who came to the sudden defense of the chin--also known as Jay Leno--who has been attacked recently by his fellow late-night talk show hosts.

Ebersol says its gutless, and 'chicken hearted' for Conan to be mad at Jay, because the reason he's being cancelled is simply low ratings.

"Ebersol is an eminence grise at the network, with a longstanding relationship with CEO Jeff Zucker." wrote the Time's Bill Carter.

I love that term, eminence grise, and found out that it means grey eminence, and originally referred to Francois Leclerc du Tremblay, right hand man of Cardinal Richelieu. Leclerc wore beige robes which in those days people called grey, and had a lot of influence over his eminence the cardinal.

The term refers to a person who is a powerful advisor or decision maker without an official title. Like the president's wife, or somebody else who speaks unofficially but carries a lot of weight.

Ebersol is head of NBC's sports department, but once ran entertainment. So he can speak as a powerful behind the scenes guy, maybe a little more candidly since he's buddies with the big boss.

While the Tourist Boat Passes, She Flashes Boobs

nharts2@aol.com (Max Hartshorne) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:11:00 +0000

It's a whirlwind of a day and finally, the cafe is chugging on all eight cylinders, shaking off a lousy few weeks of post-holiday doldrums. With my most excellent staff handing all of the soup and pannini making, I had time to do what I should be doing, publishing stories and planning new trips.

I got an invite to do the old 'social media' thing and yak about South Florida, and I'm hashing out details. Boy, Fort Lauderdale sounds good just about now, even though temps down there are hardly balmy. But even 60 degrees is an improvement for most of us New Englanders. I hope we can include an airboat trip in the Everglades as well as a boat tour of the estates of the rich and famous along Lauderdale's canals. I remember doing this back in 1993 and while the boat full of gawkers passed by, a woman pulled up her top and gave us all a show. The boat's captain was a comedian, and riffed off the many famous rich people who made their homes in this tony city of canals.

I am still optimistic that Panama will fall into place, and in the fall Cindy and I will be going to Peru. But the thing is that we never know what might come up between now and then. That's what makes it all so fun.