Author: doug

I walked to the train this morning due to puddles like this one: too wet for me for the bike, and I’m meeting Lis in town this evening so didn’t want to leave my car at the station. It took17 1/2 minutes, which is why I don’t do this more regularly.

This event was less crowded this year, which is good for us but probably not so good for the brewers. There were quite a few new breweries this year too, which is nice to see.

Zim is in town with his son for a family tour, and we got to see him. Here he is with 3 people who have known him even longer than I have.

OK, it’s not Throwback Thursday but I had to post this one.  This photo of a photo is me, at New England’s first chairlift, in about 1977. I am told that my grandfather (my mom’s dad) saved opening day one season by fixing the lift — he worked for Gates Rubber Company (which made industrial belts), and was able to repair the main drive.  Can anyone name the ski area? (I do know the answer).

Day 2 of offsite training — at a hotel in Mansfield, MA, of all places.  I was disappointed that the conference room next to this one was not called “Funkadelic”.

Bonus picture: here’s Weird Al Yankovic being White and Nerdy.

I had day 1 of a 2-day training for work today. They gave us pipe cleaners (now called “chenille sticks” evidently) to play with to drain off some fidgety energy. Evidently they’ve dealt with engineers before.  I took full advantage.

Lis is flying back from Arizona today and I am meeting her at South Station so we can ride home together. Her flight is, of course, delayed so I had to find some way to pass the time.

JohnK was kind enough to bring me a bottle of 3 Floyds Zombie Dust, a beer currently sitting at #17 on Beer Advocate’s list of the top beers in the world.  Here is my review: it’s very tasty, a well put together IPA.  And it (like Heady Topper before it, currently at #1) has taught me something important about myself: I can recognize the difference between a beer like this at the top of the field and a (still quite good) Dogfish Head 60 or Smuttynose Finestkind. But I don’t enjoy the better beer proportionately more: once I pass a threshold of quality, I am happy. And knowing that, itself, makes me happy.

I did not get a chance to have real Maryland crabcakes while in Annapolis earlier this spring, and have been craving them ever since. So with Lis out of town, I made myself a feast this evening.

Sadly, the crabcakes were slightly disapponting — the pasteurized crabmeat available in this part of the country just doesn’t have the subtle fresh flavor I remember from my childhood. The enormous diver scallops, however, were fantastic (as was the 22-oz. Hennepin).

Track work closed our nearest commuter rail station one day this week — the timing didn’t affect me, but Lis had to use a different station. Here you can see they’ve replaced some sort of clip under the rails. I’m told they’re pre-stressing the rails in preparation for (one of these years) no longer needing heat-related speed restrictions in the summer.