Elliot B

Thinking about this more - the FD can call in trucks from neighboring cities when needed. Why can't the PD call in a couple cops from Arlington or Medford in a situation like this if they really don't have enough people to handle the situation?

Tagging @jake4somerville.bsky.social and @willieburnleyjr.bsky.social ... hopefully whoever wins next month can find a better solution for this sort of situation in the future.

And then none of the dozen city/utility people who drove past us while we were keeping the road closed felt like telling us when it was finally open. They just quietly drove away down the other end of the street 🙄

My partner and I directed traffic for 90 minutes, but when a neighbor called the city, they were told there's no one on the city end who can direct traffic in a situation like this... which feels like major shenanigans to me 🫠

Apparently the city has no one who can direct traffic in an emergency. Fire at the end of our street, and cars kept trying to come down and getting stuck/giant traffic jams kept forming (two 1-lane, 2-way roads that empty onto our 1-way st, nowhere for people to go unless one side backs out).

Press coverage of this has, so far, been bad — a bunch of outlets seem to have googled "what is a generic medication" and then wrote their piece.

Yes, most Rx filled in the US = generics, but the ~10% that aren't? A signficant portion of those are life-saving meds with no substitutes.

this rules they made it synonymous with lying

Beautiful results. Just marvelous.

So excited we'll have a new mayor.

Top left - me wearing a blue RespoKare mask. Top right - me wearing a black Powecom mask. Bottom - the Powecom mask on top of the RespoKare mask, showing that the Powecom is much smaller.

I've had people recommend Powecom masks as larger than other KN95s, but they're still pretty small & don't fit me any better than other KN95s I've tried.

Photo comparing RespoKare to Powecom attached. I'd love something that goes under my chin like the RespoKare (& more up the sides of the face).

Anyone have recs for earloop masks that fit larger faces?

I usually wear large RespoKare N95s, which fit well, but are a pain to put on/off quickly (& the straps like to break if you do). I'd love one with earloops for less risky situations where I just want to pop a mask on/off quickly a bunch.

How To Sign Up For '25-'26 COVID Vax [shareable resource] | Matthew Cortland Get more from Matthew Cortland on Patreon

I, a healthcare lawyer, run through how to navigate the pharmacy websites to make a COVID vaccine appointment.

This video is completely shareable, there's no patreon account, no log in at all, required. It's meant to be a shareable resource for your normie friends

www.patreon.com/posts/138393...

Save 40% on Chants of Sennaar on Steam In this award-winning puzzle adventure game, play as the Traveler on a quest to reunite the Peoples of the Tower. Observe, listen, and decipher ancient languages in a fascinating universe inspired by ...

Chants of Senaar is 40% off on steam at the mo (~ £10). I reckon it's one of the best videogames I've played.

An industrious neighbor (who is not me) created this remarkable resource that consolidates -all- the candidate answers to -all- the various surveys and questionnaires.

Read up. Get informed. Talk to your neighbors. Think. Vote.

somerville-candidate-questionnaires-2025.online

Do it.

Search your name.

Take their money.

It’s yours anyway.

Word to Chicago protesters: going “floppy” is a tactic that annoys police, wastes their resources, and makes them look bad.

This sort of word choice helps reinforce the notion that covid is actually over, and meaningfully hurts us all.

But what do I know about public health messaging 🤷

Healey: Massachusetts insurers have to cover the cost of all vaccines approved by the state, no matter what the brainworm in chief says. This includes MassHealth and GIC.

A screenshot from the show Taxi. Christopher Lloyd (who played Doc in Back to the Future) is stretched out on a bench, propped up on one elbow with the other arm resting between his legs. Another character (Latke) stands behind looking down at him.

"Paint me like one of your French disgraced nuclear physicists"

I also considered that some kid did it as a drunken lark, but the cords are gone, so that seems unlikely.

(I mean, yes, you could always run a new power cord. But no one is going to do that for these lamps.)

I put 3 floor lamps on the curb hoping someone might find a use for them...

I went out to do trash a few hours later, and someone *cut the power cords* off at the bases?? So now they're just straight trash.

Are people so desperate for copper they'll take power cords? wtf??

Now that painting is done, Alan has finally come home from his long vacation.

It's good to have him back.

You may need to go through a doctor's office if you can't find a pharmacy with stock.

Also, pharmacists generally don't ask for proof of these things. The whole situation sucks, but a lot of folks can still get the vaccines who are under 65. Please get vaccinated if you are able!

People with Certain Medical Conditions and COVID-19 Risk Factors Get information about the risk factors of COVID-19 for the general public.

Despite the new rules, you *can still* get the covid vaccine if you have anything on this list! That includes depression, ADHD, obesity, smoking, and lots of other things.

www.cdc.gov/covid/risk-f...

Cracking the Flag-Burning Amendment Visit the post for more.

TWENTY YEARS AGO I posted about how easy it is to get around any sort of flag-burning law/amendment/executive order/whatever, and here we are today, having it have some relevance. Also our current president is a feculent spoon.

whatever.scalzi.com/2005/06/23/c...

Our front porch. The lattice under the railing is painted lavender, while the vertical posts along the railing are a rainbow of 6 colors.

A front view of the porch, showing 6 flat metal frogs, in sets of 3, climbing up the porch.

A close-up of 3 of the metal frogs.

After months of slowly painting our porch*, we finally finished yesterday. Which meant that today we could finally put up our new porch frorgs.

Alan Ribman will return shortly, too... just as soon as I fix his joints.

(*I do NOT recommend exterior painting, especially in the summer 🫠)

Fuck insurance companies.

The back of a closet door with a fabric shoe organizer hanging from it. The organizer is full of all different types of cables (power, USB, audio, HDMI, etc), with the different pockets labelled.

Inside of a trash back full of surplus cables.

Finally got my cable organizer organized again, along with far too many cables for e-waste. B/c if a pocket is too full for a new cable to fit, then I don't need it.

Why do I have so many USB-*Mini* B cables? Does anyone even use firewire for anything anymore? Who knows! But they're going away. 😅

Really wish we had ranked choice voting. I suspect it would be Jake vs Willie at the general election if we did.