A number of people I know are very concerned that Trump might be elected. I have a suggestion to take the wind out of his sails and make his service to the nation unnecessary.
Trump’s promise is to “make America great again.” If everyone steps up, works hard, and makes America great again before Election Day, he won’t be needed. As an added bonus, the newly re-greatized nation would remain that way, with Clinton maintaining the new status quo.
Here’s how I’d do it:
Perhaps the biggest news revealed at the regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard had almost nothing to do with any board decision. A bus company has decided to start a daily route from downtown Brattleboro to and from Boston starting October 1.
The board did handle some meaty topics themselves, of course. They had healthy discussion of accessibility features of the new police station, a lesson on business development activities, a decision to spend $30,000 on pedestrian safety and work safety into future budgets, another decision to reconsider their decision regarding Bittersweet Lane, a scolding for the public for not paying attention, and more.
I’ve taken up Rolf’s challenge to create a puzzle. I haven’t hidden any prizes, but this could certainly be adapted to become a treasure-seeking endeavor in the future. Enjoy!
LSCMOS makes a square
BBMDEGHJWOWEPMLC are simply around
RO WB are varieties
and ACPMC also in pies can be found
Here’s a handy skill everyone should have – how to solder. Knowing how to use a soldering iron greatly expands your ability to make home repairs and build useful and interesting electronic devices.
This short video gives some tips and tricks for basic soldering of both wires and components.
Residents of Bittersweet Lane have asked the Brattleboro Selectboard to reconsider their recent decision regarding road reclassification. The board denied the request for the Town to take over the private road.
The Welcome Center may be getting a pump station, the Traffic Safety Committee would like more time to study the need for additional flashing pedestrian crossing lights, Blanche Moyse may get a road named after her, and there are many grants and financial reports to consider.
Attend and offer your two cents. You can always bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Today I learned from the Internet that after Hillary Clinton wobbled and was taken to her daughter’s apartment, she was switched! The person who emerged from the apartment was a body double, a political decoy.
The evidence, the internet said, was there. Look at the earlobes! The nose! Why was no one nearby in case she wobbled again? She was sick and now feels better. Clearly a coverup.
As a kid, I recall the buzz about Nixon being switched. It happened in China, when he took a bathroom break. The Nixon that emerged after was a different person, or so the rumors swirled. I remember adults having fun with it, but no one taking it terribly seriously.
You may not know of Thomas Heatherwick, but you may know some of his work.
He’s an architect and designer responsible for some of the more stunning new buildings and developments around the world. Heatherwick Studios has created everything from chairs that look like spinning tops and bridges that roll themselves up like a bug, to lush, tropical malls for deserts, garden bridges, and more. The Olympic torches in London? That was his studio.
His studio’s work gets attention. It’s a mixture of form and function, combined with new uses for materials, and simplicity. The projects are impressive and inspirational.
This is talk by Thomas Heatherwick at the Business of Design Week event in Hong Kong, talking about culture, design, and cities.
Brattleboro Fire Department computers were unintentionally encrypted and virtually “held hostage” by nefarious no-gooders, somewhere, demanding a ransom to unlock the impacted systems. The town did not give in to their demands, and the locked files are instead being re-created by staff.
Plans for the new police station were presented and approved, the Black Mountain sewer settlement began to be settled, public hearings lacked public participation, and more.
I’ve shown lots of examples of other people being creative – building, drawing, dancing, and so on. The hope is that it has given you some ideas about how to become more creative yourself.
Maybe we should take a step back, though, and talk again about creativity in a more general sense. Can we learn to be creative, or more creative?
This is a short overview video that talks about the sources of creativity, stages of creativity, and some of the more recent views of cognitive scientists on the matter.
Who are these people? Why are they meeting?
Ahh, that’s right. It’s the Brattleboro Selectboard, and they return for a regular meeting after a nice summer break of a few weeks to take on issues such as plans for the new police station, changes to ordinances, appointing people to committees, and writing a check for just over half a million dollars to finish of the gravity sewer at Black Mountain Road in accordance with the legal settlement.
You can attend and comment, or bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Time for another edition of Noticed Around Brattleboro, where you are invited to note things you have noticed in your neck of the woods. Small things, perhaps. Anything, really. Here are a few to get things started.
– The new Elliot Street bridge is completed and looks good.
– There are new talking crosswalk buttons downtown at some intersections. (I’ll guess that these will be disliked by most. They kind of bark at you, in contrast to the tweeting sounds we’re used to. I pressed the button and it yelled “Wait!”)
– Western Ave paving is getting underway from Havilands to I-91.
YouTube was streaming the MTV Video Music Awards, sort of.
They showed us everything except the stage. We saw backstage cameras, dressing room cameras, limo pickup area cameras, talent prep areas, the lobby, and lots of shots of the audience. But no performances.
We could hear, somewhat, what or who was on stage, but our visual focus was elsewhere. Nicki Minaj or Beyonce getting their hair done, Kanye wandering the lobby, Jaden Smith talking in the hall with Miley Cyrus. It was Kanye and Kim Kardashian sitting alone looking at their phones in a dressing room.
This went on all night. Cameras would switch from obscure location to obscure location.
Gene Wilder. Don’t know the guy at all, other than through his work, but his passing made me think again of how much I’ve been entertained by Mr. Wilder throughout the years.
For me, Willy Wonka is perhaps one of the more inspirational movies from childhood that I return to over and over in my life. A poor nothing of a boy gets a lucky break, explores a highly creative manufacturing establishment, and ends up being given the chocolate factory. Wilder’s Wonka is the only one worth watching.
A few guiding lessons that stick with me from lyrics and lines in the film:
1. If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it. Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it.
Imagine you just bought a new house, perhaps on Cedar Street, and you want to play your drums night and day. It’s essential, after all, you need as much practice as possible to become better at playing. You need it!
How can you play whenever you like without disturbing your new neighbors?
Here are some creative ways to reduce the noise coming from your new home studio playhouse. These snazzy tips can apply to just about any noisy activity done inside while living in close proximity to others, but most are specific to drums.
For those who ignore social media, you can ignore this.
For the rest of you, I have a word about laziness. Yes, I’m talking to you, person who has your Facebook feed set to automatically retweet things.
Here is the situation. Twitter allows for 140 characters. It is an art and science to craft messages that fit the space and make sense. Much can be communicated in a good tweet.
Everyone can make sandcastles, and with a bit of practice and a few simple tools those sandcastles can be quite nice.
One of the best tools to have on hand is a straight edge. They are great for carving, packing, and shaping mounds of sand into walls, stairs, windows and doors.
In this first video, Jenny the Sand Castle Girl, an Australian sand castle making champion, shares some of her tips and tricks for making an enormous beach castle.
Central Fire Station plans have been approved. The Brattleboro Selectboard took a look at a series of architectural and mechanical drawings provided by the project team, had no objections, and gave the architect a green light to continue.
The board announced decisions in three matters they have been considering regarding three streets in town, Brattleboro has a new Assistant Fire Chief, many municipal projects are underway, the Library will soon be renovated, DeGray ‘s request for immediate blinky lights was slowed somewhat, the Stone Church gets semi-belated approval for a liquor license, and more.
Throughout the meeting were small victories for pedestrians, from preserved access to possibilites of new funds for safer crossings.
Kevin Bacon.
Why, oh why, does the Brattleboro Chamber of Commerce persist in its effort to entice this actor to come to Brattleboro for a bacon festival? What demographic is this supposed to draw?
Quite possibly, dear reader, you are completely unaware of this marketing effort. That would be forgivable, given that the target of the marketing effort is one potential tourist — Kevin Bacon.
Rather than direct mail, or cold calling, the Chamber seems to be banking on a stealthier approach: social media nagging.
was going to treat you to plate spinning this week, but plate spinning requires the use of special plates made for the act, and it is unlikely you have them around the house. But you do probably have a hat nearby, and with it you can begin to learn some cool moves to impress your hat-admiring friends.
This guy has many videos to help jugglers get started (you can watch hom teach you to spin plates, too!). Here he walks through a handful of hat tricks.
The Reformer is reporting that Brattleboro’s classic Chelsea Royal Diner is up for sale. The owenrs simply want to retire after decades of running a restaurant. Can anyone blame them?
Business is reported to be good there, so some enterprising diner chef to-be could pick up and keep things going. If you have $850,000, it could be yours.
The restaurant, among other things, has been featured in Zippy cartoons.
