This morning I took one of my walks around East Cambridge and my wanderings took me through the undeveloped area of Northpoint. With all the rain we've been getting this summer, the area is dotted with areas of standing water. These are attractive to shore birds if they remain long enough to sprout a population of insects. Today I saw a spotted sandpiper and spotted a group of three lesser yellowlegs feeding in these pools. read more...
One of the owners of Cambridge Research Park, the new development off Third Street in East Cambridge that includes the Genzyme building and the Kendall Square skating rink is asking for suggestions of names for the park to be constructed at the end of the Broad Canal. Approximately the area shown in blue on the picture. There will be a canoe and kayak launch and dock, a new boardwalk over parts of the canal and open space landscaped in the area north of the water. They have contracted with Sasaki Associates to design the space.
The current working name is Kendall Square Park. It does sound kind of dull and there is already that fountain and seating area right at the square.
Almost everything I come up with sounds like the name of a condo. I would like something with a reference too local geography or history. It is on the site of the old Cambridge Gas Light Company and next to the Broad Canal. read more...
I have found the coolest web site that allows you to create some very interesting maps. You choose the area that you want to have shown from the Google Maps background. and add categorized markers to the locations that are relevant to the theme of your map. then you can add text, links, and photos. You can even add tour own images as markers, but they have to be pretty small. As you add markers, an index list forms in the lower right corner. As you run your cursor over the list, the names pop up next to that items marker on the map. You can also add paths and polygons that can display routes, distances, land parcels, districts,etc. read more...
Check out the Circus web site by clicking this link:
OPENAIR Circus
The picture is a 3 second exposure of Alien John's LED "fire twirling" performance. read more...
Cambridge Community Development Department has begun building the Painted Park. It is an extension of Costa Lopez Taylor Park at the corner of Lopez and Charles. We will be getting benches and tables, community garden plots, and what looks to be some nice landscaping. It will be nice to have a pretty place to sit and chat while the kids climb The Gnoat the playground. The rest of the park is getting a face lift too.You can already make out the layout of the new pathways that will form the design of the new addition.
A neighbor saved some pieces if the painted pavement and we hope to get them installed as a tribute to the community members who helped make this park happen. See my previous entry for more info.Construction begins at The Painted Park
Here is a link to the Community development Department's description page for this project. read more...
I’m angry. I’m very angry.
While googling the Amigos School to try to post a link to an Aaron Sorkin play being performed in both English and Spanish, I got a link to a post by Fred Baker on the Cambridge Republican City Committee’s blog suggesting that my daughter’s school be blown up. I’m not only angry, I’m stunned. How am I supposed to react to that? Is proposing a terrorist act of such magnitude even legal? I suspect it is given the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, but I’m appalled, disgusted and even scared.
Which of our children does he think should be murdered? Which of our teachers, friends, and city employees does he think should die for his racist fantasy? read more...
Link to Boston Globe article published July 15, 2008
I met with David Rabkin at the museum of Science on Wednesday 7/9/2008 to learn about the wind energy project that they want to start within the next year. It would involve installing an array of small wind turbines made by several manufacturers on the roof of the museum and monitoring them for a year or more. It seems that there is a major lack of hard data on the performance of small scale wind energy equipment. They would like to help change that. Right now the main source of information is from the manufactures themselves. read more...
