Well, the Sox have done it. They've traded Nomar.

As you may have seen by now, the Sox were part of a four team deal that (in part) sent Nomar to the Cubs. At one point this was part of the plan of bringing the Big Unit to Beantown (he's now staying in Arizona, which is fine by me). Instead, we've now gained Orlando Cabrera from the Expos and Doug Mientkiewicz from the Twins (I don't expect he'll be in the Sox lineup tonight).

I suppose I should be happy that the Sox got something of value for Nomar, rather than letting him go via free agency. But there's a mental block about getting rid of Nomar, an iconic player and the first of the first-name only Sox (though I figure Dougie may join Pedro and Manny in that group, if only so people don't have to attempt his last name).

But I do worry about this actually solving the Sox problems. Nomar's been hitting the ball well for a team that's not had a lot of punch. Cabrera's not going to help there. And it does nothing to address the pitching situation, meaning that the Sox may still be aiming for an October run on the arms of Derek Lowe and Bronson Arroyo (not to mention some of the more frightening bullpen denizens). Yikes.

Then there's the Carleton Fisk thing, where the team loses/gets rid of a well-liked player and enters a down period. The Sox are more willing to spend to get talent now, but I still fear that the Sox won't return to the playoffs until 2011 or so. One bitten, twice shy I suppose.

I'll miss the calls of "Nomahhhhhhhhh!" at Fenway.

Sarah's been seeing more obvious security the last couple of mornings, including visible weapons. Probably not surprising given Kerry's arrival. Even so, her trip doesn't seem to be taking any longer (outside of the Beverly-Salem drawbridge being stuck open yesterday, which I don't even think Anne Coulter would blame on the convention).

We also had our first significant protesting today, not sure about what. It didn't seem that big (though an American flag did get torched), and the police moved in and took care of business. My guess is that the protesting will focus on NYC, though with the sitting President being there I'd have to guess the security perimiter reaches out into New Jersey.

Not much else going on with me. Next week is some sort of local civic celebration, and there's a Scrabble tournament at the library. I'd been mulling it, but it's $15 to enter. I'm a little gun shy about tournament Scrabble after reading Word Freak, especially when I may need that money for bills and such. There is a regular Scrabble club at the library, so maybe I'll check that out. I didn't think I could be more of a dork, but there you are. I'd be much better off following Greg's lead into reasonable physical pursuits, but there doesn't seem to be much call for curling or fencing up here.

Though after watching this year's Great Outdoor Games, I was half-tempted to take up shooting. I don't think I could do skeet, but the target stuff looks cool.

My trip into Boston today was, from a transportation point of view, anti-climactic.  Both trips took under an hour, helped no doubt by my not traveling during peak times.  Security was present in some areas (didn't see any at the Beverly depot), but I don't think I drew more than a cursory glance.  I did a little better in the swag department than Sarah, as I got a free T token (taped to a flier from a mortgage company) and free passes on a gambling cruise out of Gloucester. 

Security was much more obvious once I got into Boston.  One of the first sights present when I surfaced at Government Center was a gaggle of MPs.  There was a very visible presence by the US Park Police in the Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area.  One thing I found interesting was the ring of metal barriers around Faneuil Hall, every third or fourth one bearing a small paper sign reassuring me that the shops in the hall were still open. 

MSNBC had a tent set up on the south side of Quincy Market, which drew a crowd.  I saw one guy being interviewed by a Japanese camera crew, and another guy in a W mask (but wearing several pro-Kerry pins) got his face time, too.  The opposition was represented, too, but by two guys in their early 20s bearing homemade signs.  One of the guys was wearing a visor backwards and slightly askew, a look that always makes me want to slap the wearer.  I hope they aren't on the campaign payroll.

Anyway, there is a definite security presence, but I didn't feel too locked down.  Then again, I didn't try to get too close to the Fleet Center.

The crowds weren't too bad, either.  Lots of convention types (or at least people wearing what looked like credentials, so some of them were likely media) and locals, of course.  According to Sarah, the local action news folks (WHDH, channel 7) had some story on their news today talking about how there were fewer people in Boston this week as compared to last week, and that the convention folks overstated the problems with coming into town.  Sarah and I both thought that actually was the point of what they've been saying for the last 6 months - to get people to stay away if they didn't have to go into Boston.

That being said, it was hardly a ghost town. 

I won't go too far in depth into the interview.  I don't think it went all that well, but as it's my first interview outside of higher education in some time, my antennae may not be fully calibrated.  That being said, I don't expect my call next week will be of the hiring kind.

On the way back home, I could swear there was a guy on the T who I knew somewhat from BU going back to my senior year doing data entry for the physical plant office.  I don't think he's worked at BU for a good 10 years, but I swear I see him from time to time.  It's not like we were tight, so I don't feel compelled to make a re-introduction, but it's funny that someone on that sort of tangent continues to make an appearance, even if it's of my own making.

Sarah, who's just getting used to the commute to Boston, got her first go-round of convention commuting yesterday.  For those of us living up here, we have to take the train to Lynn, get a shuttle bus to the Wonderland T stop in Revere, and then take the subway.  Her report from day one was that getting in was pretty easy (outside of having to get in for a this week only 7 am start time), but getting out was a little more hectic.  She did note that there was an abundance of signage and helpful people, and that there were snacks provided.

She also got a boosterish pack of stuff touting Lynn, though it'd take more than a stress ball and a pen to get me to move there.

As for the convention itself, I don't expect that I'll watch too much of it.  After growing up reading about conventions that took 30+ votes to name a candidate, or where delegations were involving in seating crises, the current stage-managed excuse to party for a week doesn't do much for me. 

Of greater interest is the resurgence of the Red Sox, who are showing some signs of life.  How funny would it be if A-Rod, through his part in the brawl, got the Sox back on track?

Finally, a post from home.

We actually had the computer set up a couple of days ago, but we had a problem with the phone line.  While my call to Verizon suggested an outside problem, turns out the culprit was a bad phone jack in the kitchen.  I was surprised that something like this could take down all of our phones, but what I know about telephony would fit in a gnat's hat box.

In any event, dial-up is actually going pretty well.  I'm patient enough to wait the time it takes, but probably not patient enough if it took much longer.  I think about when I used to dial up from Manchester using the 28.8 on my old Mac Classic - I'm not sure how I didn't snap.  I also got very used to using that text-based Web browser - Lynx?  I hope it's enjoying its time at the old tech rest home; it's probably got the upper bunk rooming with Mosaic.

Sarah and I went to see The Bourne Supremacy, and it was pretty much what you'd expect.  Probably less loud than the first one, but I think it made up for the change in volume with even more jerky camera motion.  I thought we were over that.  In any event, it was nice to see Joan Allen again, though I wish her role had more personality.  Then again, you could say that about pretty much all the characters in the movie.

Previews were a mixed bag.  There was one for Ocean's 12, but no footage - just a date and a promise that everyone will be back (along with Catherine Zeta-Jones, which is vaguely worrisome).  Julianne Moore will apparently extend the unfortunate string of movies where she remains fully clothed with The Forgotten, where lives are rewritten for some nefarious purpose. 

I also think I may have a problem, as I felt way too positive about Ray, a Ray Charles biopic starring Jamie Foxx.  He's got the look down, I'll say that. 

Oh, there was also a preview for a movie called Cellular, where a kidnapped Kim Basinger gets help by calling some guy on a cell phone.  They don't seem to know each other; I'm wondering why she didn't just call 911 or get the operator.  I know, that wouldn't be much of a movie.

Let's see, what else?  I've watched a goodly portion of the Tour de France, and I think if Lance can hold the team together he could win next year, too (he'd also need Discovery to maintain the high level of funding that Postal gives, to help with the tech and pay salaries).  I don't think that'll happen - talk is that Floyd Landis is gone after this year.  As strong as Lance is, he may not be giving up the reins any time soon, so it's probably for the best. 

Job front is going pretty slow, though I have a second interview for a job next week.  In Boston.  During the convention.  I think if I show up on time I should get the job just for working out the logistics right.  More on this as it becomes available.

 

Back at the library again, though I hope to be addressing you from a home computer in the next day or so.  Unpacking what used to be our back room (which will hopefully rise again in a less chaotic version in our front room) is going slowly.  Admittedly I could be working harder at it; heck, I could be doing it right now rather than taking the time to walk over to the library (at least it's a short walk).

For the time being we've spurned high speed connections from Comcast or Verizon, due in large part to cost.  The sticker shock is pretty bad, especially as we've gotten very used to free high speed access from whatever campus we were living on at the time.  Dial-up didn't seem to do too badly during our brief stint with it in 2001, so we'll see how this goes.

We did get digital cable, which is OK.  Early returns suggest that I like the dish better, or at least the dish interface (the TV Guide-sponsored thing is clunky).  The "On Demand" feature isn't too bad.  I've actually gotten to watch episodes of Beat the Geeks and Monty Python this way. 

Phone and mail are in line as well, so we're slowly moving towards normalcy.  Sarah's commute is even going well, though that'll be shot to hell next week by the convention. 

The job thing could be going better, and hopefully will perk up once we get settled.  I was supposed to have a second interview for a job this week, but haven't heard from them.  Sent an email to get an update; I just hope they don't try to have me come in to Boston during the madness.  The travel may last longer than the interview.

Greetings from the Beverly Public Library in Beverly, Massachusetts, where Sarah and I are in the process of setting up housekeeping (or apartmentkeeping, if you want to be more precise).  We moved on Friday, a process that went better than expected, if you measure by the number of expletives used (very low compared to the move to Babson).  Special thanks to Shawn DeVeau for his help in loading the truck!
 
We live downtown, which is pretty convenient.  We're in walking distance to pretty much everything we need outside of a supermarket, which is a pretty short drive.  Parking is ample (there's a municipal lot across the street where you get 4 hours for a quarter) and we're about a block off from police and fire.  There's also about a half-dozen salon-type places in walking distance (the number of such places per person seems really high).  So we did pretty well with location, I think.
 
The apartment itself is a floor in a Victorian, has a few things that need fixing but nothing major.  The one serious issue is storage - no real closet space and very little counter space in the kitchen area.  We'll work through it.
 
Unpacking will dominate this week, which should be fun.  As much as I hate moves, this one went pretty well.

Quick TV notes:

* Caught the first two episodes of I Love the '90s and it was OK, but not as good as the editions for the previous decades. Not sure if it's too recent, that we've already applied irony while living in the '90s so the ironic comments weren't surprising, or if the formula is just getting old. There's no Donal Louge, either, which is unfortunate. But it's OK.

* As much as I like that ESPN is showing other events besides no limit Texas hold 'em for its 2004 World Series of Poker coverage, did we really need a countdown clock to new episodes during PTI?

* Speaking of PTI, Kornheiser and Wilbon need to give Ken Jennings more dap. Perhaps they should get his face into the background?

* Caught the 2 hour premiere of The 4400 on USA, and it was OK. The premise: 4400 people, missing from the 1940s on, are dropped off by Mount Rainer one day by a big ball of somethin'. Our heroes, a rogue Homeland Security agent and a CDC staffer (let's call them Mullder and Skully), try to get to the bottom of where these people were and what the deal is with their somewhat altered being (such as the kid who apparently has a life and death giving touch).

For basic cable, it's not too bad. Peter Coyote plays the regional DHS head, while Michael Moriarity plays one of the 4400 who, like the Hulk, isn't easy to love when he's angry (though in this case he doesn't turn into Lou Ferrigno or turn green or wind up only in part of his pants).

It's on Sunday at 9 or 10 (can't remember), which is dead time enough to keep giving it a look - for now.

Got a reply today from the DNCC about credentials to the convention: thanks, but no. No mention of who did get them, but you have to figure that the usual suspects are involved.

Sorry to say that our moose has been caught. She was tranqulized in Framingham this morning, loaded into a truck, and driven to New Hampshire. While it's likely a better location, I enjoyed having a moose in the neighborhood, so to speak.

OK, time to solicit some help from the public, though Boggie may be the one person Mac savvy enough to help.

I've got things set up such that I should be able to record my tapes to make MP3 files. I have the line in from the stereo to the iMic, which is connected to the computer via USB. According to the sound control panel, there is a signal going into the computer; the meter moves up and down as I turn the volume up or down.

The problem is that the signal never gets to the recording program, either the one that came with the iMic or iMovie, which can record sound. I also don't get music through the output jack in the iMic, though I do get computer sounds.

The iMic does show up as an input and output device, and it shows up in the system window the iMic people tell me to check to make sure it's being read. So I'm a little confused as to what the problem is. Suggestions are more than welcome.

Sarah pointed something interesting out to me while we were at the mall today: the logo on the Pottery Barn Kids bag (and one that they use at the entry of their store) is a child with a lampshade where their head should go. As much as that store is about conspicuous consumption, I didn't think they'd flout the point so clearly. Perhaps having enough money to shop there dulls the higher faculties?

I've been mulling this Kerry-Edwards thing, and I'd like to make three points.

1. All harping on experience is trumped by two words: Dan Quayle. I know, the argument is that in these heigtened times we need someone with experience in case they become President. But if Dan Quayle could be a heartbeat away during the fall of the Soviet Union and the first Gulf War, anyone can.

2. Let's go easy on the insider rhetoric. Our governor, Mitt Romney, took this tack rather than the experience route, saying that Edwards is an insider's choice, even with his lone term in the Senate. Given that the sitting President is the third generation of America's reigning political dynasty (Neil Bush notwithstanding), Romney may want to tread lightly in pursuing this line of attack. My guess is he'll fall in line with the inexperience argument, so this may not be that big a deal.

3. The 'trial lawyer' thing may not work so well, either. OK, it will in some circles. Doctors, for example. But this may not be the best time for a couple of oilmen (especially Cheney, given the trouble Halliburton got into over in Iraq) to dig at someone else's career path. I suppose doctors can contribute more money to a candidate than the average person, but there are a lot more average people who get pissed off by gas prices over $2 a gallon. That does seem to be slackening, but if the prices crest again after Labor Day, look out.

I also question Kerry's assumption about his ticket having the best hair. They clearly win on quantity, but I don't know if the Kramer-inspired pompadour that Kerry sports is anything to write home about.

So what's been going on the last few days?

Yesterday we did our movie-going duty and saw Spider-Man 2. Liked it, especially as it focused more on the mental or psychological aspects of things (or ast least as much focus as you get from a summer blockbuster). Thought Alfred Molina did a nice job as Dr. Octopus.

On the 4th we did our usual, going up to Manchester for the parade and then to my sister's (using her pool while her family was away). The parade was much better content-wise than in the past, good number of bands and even some interesting floats. But it continues to have large delays, either in the "intermission" variety where you have 5-10 minutes between seeing things, or the thing just stops for a similar stretch of time.

I had hoped to see some of my high school classmates, but the impromptu trip to my sister's put the kibosh on that.

For those of you who were at the wedding, you may remember Dean Burgess, an old friend from Manchester who was the groomsman who wasn't my brother or Shawn DeVeau. Saw him at the parade and learned that he'd just gotten engaged, which was fantastic news!

On the 3rd we honored America in a somewhat dorky way by taking in parts of the Minute Man National Park, which runs through sections of Concord, Lincoln, and Lexington. We saw the North Bridge, where colonials turned back the Brits and started the retreat under fire that went pretty much all the way to Boston. We also got to see some of the colonal buildings that were involved in that retreat along the Bay Road.

Walking that part of the road was probably the most amazing part of the visit, as you get a real sense of just how closely fought this thing was. The road itself is about 8 feet wide at best, and at the time would have been open farmland (there are a lot of trees and other growth now). Also pretty amazing to think that this dirt path was, at the time, the main link to New York.

Thinking about dodgeball, we actually played that game under a different name when I was in elementary school: bombardment. Dodgeball, for us, had everyone playing for themselves without any lines. You ran around the gym, were out if you got hit, and got someone out if you caught their throw. Even more diabolical was elimination, where a caught ball allowed anyone who was put out by the thrower to get back into the game. We often went entire recesses without finishing a game.

Then again, this is the part of the country where after bombardment we'd get a drink from the bubbler, or maybe a tonic at home. We also called suitcases Swedish lunchboxes, back then in nineteen-dickety-two. Damn the Kaiser.

If you've not seen Dodgeball yet, you are hereby ordered to go see it. I'll agree with the comments made by others, it's much funnier than you'd think. It's also got some good cameos and other unexpected bits. I'll also say that I now want to work for either "The Ocho" or Obscure Sports Quarterly.

As for previews:

Without A Paddle, some sort of buddy/adventure movie with Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and a guy I've never heard of before. Pass.

Seed of Chucky, a movie that I hope cost someone their job.

Alien v. Predator, no thanks, though fans of the original films, the game, or CGI geeks will probably like it.

I, Robot, which I bet has more vehicle chases than Isaac Asimov put in the book.

Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, which gets props for using White Castle. I'm clearly in the wrong demographic for this movie.

While in line to get a soda one of the TVs had a preview for an Anaconda sequel (Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid), which seems like the definition of strinking while the iron is stone cold and stored in the closet. It's probably from the folks who brought us Analyze That and that sequel to The Mask that keeps getting bumped back (release now slated for February '05).

OK, so much for the semis, as I'd have probably called both games wrong. Given that the Greeks continue to surprise, I'm going with them for the final. They seem to have a knack for getting the timely goal.

After going 3 for 4 for the Euro 2004 quarters (missing Greece's upset of France), I passed on the semis. I thus missed calling host Portugal's win over the Dutch (though I'm not sure I'd have actually called it) and predicting midnight for Greece against the Czechs (which I'll still put out there, as they're currently 0-0 at half).