Benjamin Tegarden

Closed by Court Order

Ben — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:37:43 +0000

Walking around Chinatown a few days back, I came across a shuttered storefront with a court restraining order posted on it. Being Chinatown, this isn’t too strange: stores are not infrequently shut down for selling counterfeit goods. But this is the first time I’ve seen a place shut down for prostitution. But, after thinking back to what this place looked like when it was open, I can’t say I’m too shocked. It always looked just a bit too shady to be legitimate.

The lesson: be careful of unknown massage parlors. Or, do what I do, and avoid them all entirely.

A Settlement House

Ben — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:23:04 +0000

This posted sign in front of the Hamilton-Madison House—one of the local ~~projects~~ settlement houses—would have a kind of retro charm if not for the grime and fractured glass.

More info.

More Snow!

Ben — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:16:20 +0000

After about 16 hours of non-stop snow, we actually managed to get a bit of accumulation:

First Snow

Ben — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:25:08 +0000

Today was the first snowy day of the season! Beautiful, and much better than the freezing rain we saw earlier in the month.

Fung Wah Insanity

Ben — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:45:14 +0000

Quite a crowd trying to take Fung Wah back to Boston on Thanksgiving Sunday!

Daily Reading

Ben — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:00:53 +0000

Environmental topics:

Which is the lesser evil: coal or nuclear power?

Is “shelter-in-place” home-building the solution to California’s annual wildfires?

Daily Reading

Ben — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:00:31 +0000

Education reading:

Is education a placebo?

Yes, it’s still possible to be successful without going to college.

Daily Reading

Ben — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:00:47 +0000

Judging the USPS by comparison to kiwifruit.

Speaking of food, people pay less for it nowadays.

Daily Reading

Ben — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:00:32 +0000

Monday mockery:

H. L. Mencken’s obituary (certainly not a eulogy) for William Jennings Bryan.

Using quotes from the Founding Fathers against modern-day politicians.

Back from Vacation

Ben — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:30:34 +0000

Phew. I’m back from my Canada / New England vacation. Now, I need to fit in some power-relaxing over the weekend before heading off again Sunday evening for a work recruiting trip.

Vital statistics:

Time: Seven days
Distance driven: 1400 miles
Countries: Two (United States, Canada)
U.S. states: Seven (New Jersey, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut)
Canadian provinces: One (Québec)
Pictures taken: 877
Number of poutine-related calories ingested: Too high to count