b l o g o r e l l i

Commuter Rail Connect: Initiate Contact

Perhaps to offset paying almost double the cost for a monthly pass and enduring the MBTA's Mussolini-esque "If you see something, say something" campaign, the T is throwing commuter rail riders a bone by testing a free Wi-Fi on the Worcester/Framingham line. Luckily, due to train car swaps (totally my assumption,) sometimes the Needham Heights line, which I ride, has WiFi.

I only found minor mentions of the program online in my research, so I thought I'd post a quick Q&A based on my experiences.

Do users have to sign in or click a service agreement?
I've seen both...sometimes the computer just connects to the network, other times an intermittent screen comes up when the browser is launched.

How is network performance?
The maybe five times I've used CRC (Commuter Rail Connect,) the stability of the network has varied. The main issue is that I have to quit my browser and restart so that the CRC (or my laptop?) realizes that I'm a user. A few times, the connection has dropped, and a few times I couldn't connect at all.

Does it totally rule to be able to surf the Inter-net during dull train time that might otherwise be used for reading or sleeping?
Yes, yes it does.

Apple Store Boston "Systems Go"

Beantowners, rejoice! Today, the new Boston Apple store on Boylston Street -- officially the largest in the country (beating out NYC) -- is open for business. I predict a clusterfuck of techie geeks and Newbury Street tourists will clog the sidewalk all the way back to Mass Ave.

More photos here...

(photo from Gizmodo)

FFF (Flickr + Freeze Frame)

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note that I'm in the process of transitioning the photo albums over to Flickr, which has come a long way since I attempted this feat the last time. For those curious about what I've been up to lately, here are a few albums to satiate the cat-like inquisitions:

Charles River Saturday
One  of the first sunny spring Saturdays, the Charles, and BBK

Frankie Nacho's Half Birthday
Six months into his mid(?)-thirties means Boston Bowl and fruity cocktails in honor of the man who once ordered a "Scarlett O'Hara" with a straight face.

Vermont Country Weekend
The ChoBos, HalfPintCars, Murforellis, BBK and Bump head up to Okemo for some cheese, drinking, and relaxation at my boss' ski house.

iGreen Monster

Playing almost cruelly on Bostonians'  largest shared weakness, the new (under construction) Apple store on Boylston street has put up a teaser façade that looks like looks like Fenway's Green Monster...

In other news from AppleInsider:

"Beginning this week, Mac Geniuses will be referred to as simply 'Geniuses,' Mac Specialist will similarly become 'Specialists,' and Business Consultants will be renamed 'Business Partners.'

In a move also aimed at better distinguishing the roles of each staffer, employee clothing will see the following changes: Specialists will now wear light blue t-shirts once worn by Concierges, who will now wear bright orange.

At the same time, Business Partners will reportedly take on a more professional appearance with dark blue, buttoned-down shirts with "Business" embroidered on the sleeve next to the Apple logo. Genius and Creative employees will continue to wear dark blue, while back-of-house staff will be clad in black."

Oh, puh-lease.

Luckily, most customers will remain lame ironic hipsters, or clueless middle-agers with paunches trying to get photos off their iPhones, like the one I was behind at the "Genius" (ahem) Bar earlier this week.

Just Another Twit(ter)

Even though I swore not adopt any more techie addictions besides
- this blog
- Wündercabinet
- working on building an independent WC using a great backend solution that I recently discovered and
- my general, aimless, and completely time-consuming web surfing

I fell into another online addiction today. Much like heroine junkies say, the first time was just.so.easy...and I kept going back for more.

I read about Twitter a year ago on kottke.org. At the time, I thought the whole thing sounded like a big bunch of wasteful nonsense. Did I need more white noise in my e-day besides spam and emails from MLB and the Red Sox Nation (courtesy of The Prof entering all of my email addresses in every Red Sox ticket lottery known to the Northeast)?

But on blogs that I browse, more and more have Twitter links. Aware that I am far from the crest, but unwilling to miss the wave, I signed up:

twitter.com/blogorelli

Now, does anyone really care that my boss' daughter got a damn-near perfect score on her SATs or that The Prof and I's Mexican-themed date night ended in a body shot contest -- off BKP? Probably not, but be warned, Inter-net, sharing the most mundane, succinct (140 words or less) and clever-mostly-only-to-its-author soundbites from daily life is like a little drunky brainbuzz.

Kind of like writing a blog, but in baby steps.baby steps.baby steps.

TED TED, You're So Fine You Blow My Mind

The insane mind-meld that is the T.E.D. Conference happened last week in Monterey, California. I read about this event last year, but never managed to go back and listen to any of 2007's amazing talks that were posted online. For those wondering...

"TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)."

It costs $6,000 and takes a personal invitation to attend the actual conference, but luckily the public can view the posted talks for free. Yippee! I watched a few sessions at the end of last week because we were starting a new project at work and I was feeling a bit burned out and uninspired. All (or most) of the 2008 talks will be posted online at TEDtalks. Check them out. This year's conference sought to address such big questions as:

Who are we?
What is our place in the universe?
What is life?
Is beauty truth?
Will evil prevail?
How can we change the world?
How do we create?
What's out there?
What will tomorrow bring?
What stirs us?
How dare we be optimistic?
And the point?

Another interesting aspect of TED is the TED Prize, "a way of taking the inspiration, ideas and resources that are generated at TED and using them to make a difference. Although the winners receive a prize of $100,000 each, that's the least of what they get. The real prize is that they are granted a WISH. A wish to change the world." I definitely enjoyed reading what past TED prize winners (like Bono and Al Gore) did for/with their wishes.

Just a little Monday "boost" going out to anyone needing a catalyst to feel/think differently about our big world...

A Wii Problem

My first night at home without The Prof went surprisingly well. As I realized the last time he traveled for work, I have somehow learned to depend on his actions to trigger my daily routines. However,  I managed to remember to brush my teeth last night AND even got up on time this morning. One bonus to getting out of bed? Using my new Origins products, a present from my friend Tara in gratitude of designing and programming her new web site. She's an amazing makeup artist (and person) -- check out her work at TadaYourself.com !

Anywway, when The Prof and I stopped into Best Buy a few nights ago to look at portable hard drives (and the MacAir!!!), I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the store was selling Wiis for only $249. Yes, I know that $249 isn't super cheap or maybe doesn't even deserve the preceeding "only", buuuut the price is significantly less than the one I had imagined ($400.) Could my dream of a Wii finally come true? Would I master Super Mario Galaxy and lose 10 pounds on my Wii Balance Board before The Prof's plane even took off  from Orlando?

So far, Inter-net, my fanta-Wiis (like that?) go unfulfilled due to zero stock of Wiis at local Best Buy stores. I've got another five days until The Prof returns and at least four states with Best Buy stores in drivable range...don't count me down and out yet!

Until the day I see Wii, guess I'll just satiate my gaming appetite by watching some time lapse videos of people playing Wii. And yes, the man below is Wii-ing while holding a newborn. Bad-ass.

P-P-P-Pump It UP

I'm Believing The Hype about rumors that Steve Jobs will announce Apple's new subcompact computer tomorrow during his MacWorld keynote speech. Finally! I'm not sure about the name, though...MacBook Air? Hmm. Maybe I'll feel reassured after watching the keynote live on Apple.com...

Move Over, Michael Scott

Last Friday morning, shortly after arriving at the office, I suffered from my first migraine headache ever, the effects of which rendered me unable to focus the right quarter of my vision for a scary 15 minutes. A mere hour later, my boss nearly did actually blind me -- with shock -- when he gave my co-workers and I our Xmas presents:

i P H O N E S ! ! !

When I ripped the wrapping paper off my package and saw the photo on the box underneath, I actually started weeping. Then I hugged my boss, then I screamed, jumped up and down for a full minute, and finally exhaled. Now I know how people who win at Plinko , or the "Favorite Things" audience on Oprah, feel. What a ride, Inter-net. What a ride.

So I've basically been huddled up with my new "baby" for the past three days, programming in numbers, syncing playlists and learning about features. Oh, and digging out from the two snowstorms we had between Thursday ans Sunday. The first one produced what many local news outlets called "the worst commute in twenty years." Here are a few photos:

From our front door

From the street

The second storm hit late Saturday night and, since we spent a lot of time shoveling on Thursday, we only had to do two short snow removal stints on Sunday. I spent most of the day inside with my two other babies, doing cozy things like watching movies and eating homemade macaroni and cheese. I also finished cleaning the office and got a bunch of presents ready to mail. Overall, the weekend was somehow both relaxing and productive.

Now it's back to the grind for my final week in the office before I go home for an extended visit to PA for the holidays. Go figure, I'm actually feeling in the holiday spirit...wonder why?

Great Expectations

A big announcement, Inter-net:
We're expecting a new addition to the Blogorelli household.

MY MACBOOK PRO LAPTOP!!!

After literally one hundred hours of research on Apple insider sites and discussion boards over the past six months falied to yield any reliable hints that new pro-level laptops would release at MacWorld in January, I decided to take the plunge yesterday at the Apple store in Providence. The Prof and I worked a great deal, and although Bobby Crocker predicts three weeks as the over/under for me being disastified with my purchase, I feel pretty elated today.

Since I upgraded to the newly offered 250GB hard drive, the machine isn't scheduled to ship for two weeks. TWO WEEKS! A slight buzzkill, but I plan to use the time to prep Johnny 5's content for transfer, and decide on accessories...and a name, of course. Any suggestions?