Category Archives: Boston

MBTA’s “Transit Diary” a failure before it has even begun

The MBTA is currently beta-testing a project & corresponding web application called “Transit Diary“. Its purpose is to collect data directly from riders about their experiences riding the T, presumably to help the T evaluate how well it is serving riders’ needs and where service-improvement efforts should be focused. Unfortunately, Transit Diary employs obsolete, inferior… Read More: MBTA’s “Transit Diary” a failure before it has even begun »

Olympics in Boston: Just Say No

I have lived in Boston since 1989. I have been a homeowner here, in Brighton, since 1997. My wife and I have five children, all of whom were born in Boston, and two of whom are in Boston Public Schools. We are Bostonians. And we absolutely, positively, do not want Boston to host the Olympics in 2024.

“Beantown AutoMobile Detailing” vandalizes my car, refuses to clean it up

On Wednesday night, April 16, 2014, after our minivan sat idle for two days while we celebrated the beginning of the holiday of Passover, I went out to run an errand and found a sodden, disintegrating advertisement from “Beantown AutoMobile [sic] Detailing” stuck between the driver’s side window and its lower rubber gasket. When I… Read More: “Beantown AutoMobile Detailing” vandalizes my car, refuses to clean it… »

An open letter to the owner of The Chubby Chickpea Food Truck

Dear Avi, “You know what the great thing is about owning your own business? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” That’s what you told me this morning when your food truck arrived 10 minutes past its scheduled opening time and still hadn’t opened 10 minutes after that. That’s what you told… Read More: An open letter to the owner of The Chubby Chickpea… »

A journey of searching and renewal

Today, I embarked upon a magical journey, a journey of discovery, a journey of oneness with the environment. In a word, a journey of recycling. For several years, I’ve been accumulating junk of various sorts on a shelf under my workbench with the intention of eventually figuring out how to dispose of it in an… Read More: A journey of searching and renewal »

Globe Direct: Hey Boston, here’s 34 tons of trash per week on us!

What would you say if I told you that there’s a Boston business that adds more than 34 tons per week of trash to the City of Boston’s waste stream*, trash that the residents of Boston end up paying to dispose of to the tune of >$100,000 per year**? What would you say if I… Read More: Globe Direct: Hey Boston, here’s 34 tons of trash per… »

Boston Herald rude sales people won’t leave us alone

To: Boston Herald home delivery department Subject: Rude sales call from Boston Herald My wife and I (you can find us in your records under our home phone number [elided]) are no longer Boston Herald subscribers. We currently have no desire to resume our subscription. Since we canceled our subscription, your sales department has called… Read More: Boston Herald rude sales people won’t leave us alone »

A rotten start to my week, courtesy of, yet again, the Boston Public Schools

To: Maria Vieira, Assignment Specialist, Boston Public Schools To: Evelyn Adario, Assistant Director of Envrollment Planning and Support, Boston Public Schools To: Denise Snyder, Senior Director of Welcome Services, Boston Public Schools Cc: Boston City Councilor John R. Connolly Cc: Boston City Councilor Mark Ciommo Cc: John McDonough, Superintendent, Boston Public Schools Cc: Boston School… Read More: A rotten start to my week, courtesy of, yet again,… »

Why does dealing with the Boston Public Schools always have to be so unpleasant?

To: Acting BPS Superintendent John McDonough Cc: Boston School Committee Cc: City Councillor Mark Ciommo Cc: City Councillor and mayoral candidate John Connolly Cc: Mayoral candidate Charlotte Golar Richie Cc: Mayoral candidate Bill Walczak Dear Superintendent McDonough, Why does it have to be consistently so painful  to deal with the BPS administration? Some of the… Read More: Why does dealing with the Boston Public Schools always have… »