I’m not surprised that his death affected many of his fans. I happen to live a few streets away from the Apple Store in Boston on Boylston Street — I heard there was a growing memorial outside the store and decided to get a look for myself.

My full Flickr set is here.

I’ve been using Apple products my whole life. My very first computer was the Apple IIc my father bought. There’s a picture of me somewhere as a toddler typing away on that Apple IIc next to my brother — it was a wonderful computer that we still have. And it still works.

After that machine though, I hated Macs — for most of the 90s they were clunky. I never even liked the famous candy-color iMac aside from the aesthetics; I bought one for the student newspaper I ran in high school and the machine crashed all the time. More trouble than it was worth.

It wasn’t until I was in college that the iPod came out and Apple really started to come into renaissance. With Jobs’ guidance, Apple pulled a full 180 from its laughable status and reputation for lousy computers that I remember from my formative years. Pretty remarkable.

May he rest in peace.

Link to the full set: Blizzard of January 12 2011, photowalk in the woods [Flickr set]
Tons of photos (and one video) from the woods during today’s blizzard below:

User reviews, like comic book superpowers, can be used for Great Good or Great Evil. I’ve always tried my best to keep my reviews fair and, in some cases, have opted to not Yelp if I really didn’t have something good to say. (A number of my friends and family own small businesses, so I guess I am especially sympathetic to their struggles!)

I’ve been lucky enough that, as an Elite Yelper for four years, a few of my reviews have been deemed worthy enough for Boston-area “Review of the Day.”

There’s one review I’m particularly proud of that I’m sure will never gain that distinction, but as of yesterday it gained the best unintended praise I could ever have hoped for.

On a whim in 2008 I wrote a review for the church I grew up in, the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Lowell, Massachusetts. My parents took me to this church during all my formative years, almost every Sunday and every holiday without fail. I will always have a fondness for this church as my second childhood home, and I wanted to pay tribute to it, especially since it holds an amazing, beautiful secret:

It is one of the most ornate and beautiful Orthodox churches ever made. Wall-to-dome, it is covered in handmade glass and gold mosaic Byzantine iconography. My review goes into detail about this — you can read it here. My home church is a treasure of Byzantine art and you’d never know it from looking at it from the outside. It’s located in a rough neighborhood of Lowell, and the exterior yellow brick is rather unassuming.

Apparently someone from my home church found my review on Yelp (or they found it via their daughter — I’m still not entirely sure), and from there things spread like wildfire — the link was passed around to the current Transfiguration priest and then on to the iconographer himself, whose work I can’t praise enough.

From there, someone dug around the church records and found my father’s contact information, and a thank-you phone call was sent his way. (Of course, my dad had absolutely no idea about Yelp, let alone my review on there, but he knows his daughter well enough to know that writing a review online about a church? Oh yeah, totally something I would do!)

When I wrote that review several years ago, my hope was that it’d pique the curiosity of folks who might attend the church’s annual food festival and–instead of making a bee-line straight for the souvlaki and spanakopita–might opt for a church tour as well.

Somehow it’s all come full circle. Kind of blows my mind!

Additional resources:

1. New Hampshire Public Radio did a fantastic story on the Transfiguration church, specifically the work of the amazing iconographer Robert J. Andrews. Read the story here.
2. –or you can download the mp3 of the story itself.
3. Hellenic Communications Services has a comprehensive article on Robert J. Andrews’ career. (The article mentions his work on scaffolds — as a kid in the 80s I remember seeing these scaffolds in the church. I always wondered what he was up to!)

The lovely Bruce Freeman Rail Trail runs right through my hometown of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. One trailhead is in Carlisle (right at the intersection of routes 225 and 27) and the other is at the Lowell/Chelmsford line at the Crosspoint building (which used to be known as the Wang tower way back when).  Most of the way through Chelmsford it directly parallels route 27, which I used to bike as a kid.  It’s a lot nicer to go on the bike path though — the path goes right by the lovely Hart pond, my old elementary school (Byam!), some surprisingly beautiful wetlands and then right into the center of the town.

As seen in Chelmsford center, where there are a number of places to get some food and drinks. This photo is right behind Ginger Ale plaza, where you can find the Java Room, which has been a popular spot in town since it opened.

Turning around, this is the view of Chelmsford Center looking north:

Go up the stairs and that’s Ginger Ale plaza on the left. There’s also parking on the right. A lot of local businesses are here just waiting to cater to path users! (That’s why I recommend the Center as the trailhead if you’re driving in from out of town.)

Full review and photos of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail after the cut…

From Chelmsford center, the path goes alongside route 110 and then heads into Lowell.  Crossing 110, I have to admit, was very confusing and hard to maneuver without dismounting.  I actually fell off my bike trying to negotiate a hard sharp turn while crossing the street, which is my own fault. Definitely dismount when crossing 110 — those signs saying “bikeway narrows” are NOT KIDDING. Until the path picks up again properly you have to go along a narrow sidewalk, you might think you’ve lost the trail at this point. Just keep following the sidewalk and you’ll see it pick up again.  I know there’s been some discussion that this part of the trail is confusing, so I hope in time there are some changes to make it a little easier to understand.

My recommendation for recreational riders is that unless you are trying to get somewhere in Lowell, it’s not really worth the trouble crossing through Chelmsford Center, across a lot of traffic, to continue into Lowell. (Though of course if you’re trying to get somewhere specific, this trail is AWESOME for not having to ride on heavily-trafficked roads like 110.)

So biking from Chelmsford Center going south towards Carlisle, you will go some pretty decent stretches without encountering any streets. This path isn’t nearly as heavily-used as, say, the Minuteman rail trail, so you can pick up some good speeds here.

Leaving the center and heading south, you’ll see the streams that (I believe…) feed into the Middlesex canal in the center of town. The canal is kind of hidden — but if you walk near the Fishbones restaurant in the center of town you’ll get a little peep of the canal.

The trail isn’t too heavily trafficked, though you will encounter a lot of families using the trail, which is great to see. Serious roadies need to keep in mind that even with “ON YOUR LEFT” etiquette, a lot of folks here aren’t still used to that so kids — especially the kids — will not necessarily understand what that means. Definitely use caution and announce yourself well ahead of passing!

As the trail parallels route 110 (again, leaving the Center going towards Carlisle) you’ll go through some protected areas and wetlands. I can’t wait to see this in the fall, it’s going to be gorgeous.

It’s always great to see people using the trail, but sometimes you want a nice, quiet ride. :)

One of the many MANY things this trail got phenomenally right was the intersections. Lots of signage for cars on the road and plenty of forewarning for path users.

As you approach road intersections, in addition to signage and marks on the asphalt, the asphalt changes to arranged brick. This effectively acts as a rumble strip for bikers:

It’s a very VERY smart idea.

Above was the High Street intersection. While you can get away with rolling stop/slows at later intersections, this is one where I HIGHLY RECOMMEND vigilance. Having grown up in this town and learned to drive on these roads, I can tell you that a lot of people tend to drive way too fast down High Street, especially since it’s coming down a steep hill. Until people change habits and get used to slowing down their cars at this intersection, bikers/walkers/skaters really need to be careful when crossing here.

Continuing past High street you’ll be going on another decent stretch without any interruptions.

The trees steeple over the trail in a really beautiful way. Again, can’t wait to see this in the fall. The Bruce Freeman trail might become my favorite once I see it in autumn — if it topples the Nashua River rail trail as my favorite that will be a feat indeed! :)

When you get to this clearing with the power lines, know that you’ll be coming up to another road intersection soon.

Aaaaaaand this is that intersection! Directly to your right is Byam Elementary School (my alma mater, haha) and in front of you is Agway. They’re very smart — they’ve put up signs facing the path advertising cold drinks and restrooms inside. (They also had toxic waste candy for sale, haha.)

Right after Agway on your right will soon be Hart’s pond.

It’s a great place for a swim (no lifeguards on duty though!). No reason you can’t hop in off the bike path if it’s a hot day.

It’s a decent-sized pond, too. You’ll be biking right alongside it for a while.

You’ll also be crossing a number of tiny private roads that lead to the water-side houses. Definitely use vigilance when crossing (as always!) but you don’t need to come to a full stop for these tiny roads.

Kind of hard to see — but some neighborhood kids set up a lemonade stand along the path near the pond. Judging by their coin jar it looks like they did decent business that day. Smart kids!

After the pond drops out of view, you’ll continue to parallel route 27 towards Carlisle and even cross it at one point, be careful at these major intersections!
And then (alas) the sign that you’ve come to the end:

This is where stage 1 of the BFRT ends, but hopefully the trail will continue one day soon!

Google elevation map showing where to follow Route 225 -- i.e. how to get to the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail from the Minuteman Trail

For bikers coming from the Boston area, it’s not too hard to pick up the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail from the Minuteman Trail. Remember that the Minuteman trail ends basically smack-dab in the center of Bedford? Pick up route 225 from there and follow it west for a while. When you get to the intersection of route 27 and 225, that’s where the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail starts.

I haven’t done 225 on a bike yet, so I don’t know about any major hills — I’ve done Bedford to Chelmsford on route 4 though and there are a few killer hills, so I think 225 in comparison is much better.

For more information about the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, please check out the official website of the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail: http://www.brucefreemanrailtrail.org/index.html
They have info on how you can support the trail and efforts to continue its construction/extension. Considering how beautiful phase 1 has turned out, I hope other towns realize what an asset this kind of public space is and support it.

[[Addendum]]
Also, I want to give a big THANK YOU to the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail and the Chelmsford Police Department. When I was biking the path yesterday (Saturday September 5 2009), a big tree collapsed right around the Lowell/Chelmsford line and cut off the path at about 3pm.

Luckily no one was hurt but you couldn’t pass around the tree. Within an hour the police were there with chainsaw crews, and they cleared the tree. Hooray! I stand corrected, thank you Ken for the correction. The police were indeed present to help direct traffic around the tree but the chainsaw crews were courtesy of the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. A big thank you to the Friends and to the CPD!

If you go into back entries all that far, they might not work perfectly with the new format. Sorry about that.

One last note: After a lovely year and a half in Davis Square, I’m moving out. Thankfully it won’t be a big move—I’m going to be about 5 minutes away by car, just across the border in Arlington. It’s bittersweet: I love living in Davis Square, but quite frankly, my rent’s awfully high. This definitely is a hot neighborhood and it’s been a blast living in the heart of it.

Go figure, when I put my apartment up on Craigslist, we got responses within a day, and barely two days after the listing went up, a new tenant already signed a lease! Amazing.

“As some of you are aware of there was a fuel tanker that overturned and exploded yesterday morning in Everett MA. Well I just found out through my sister Debbi that my sil’s niece and her boyfriend and family were one of the houses affected by this disaster. This is her niece Laura. What my sister and I are asking is if there is anyone out there willing to knit up some 9×9 squares so that we can show Laura and Chris that people care. If you can that would be very much appreciated. I know alot of you have holiday knitting to do but anything would help. If you are willing to help you can send them to us by Jan 5. Then my sister and I will put them together. I want to thank everybody in advance. Laura is also the niece of a former employee of mine.”

— from Aunty RaRa’s Antics

Ladies and gentlement of the crafting community, I know we can do this! Certainly a 9 x 9 square isn’t too much to ask. If a lot of crafters get together on this, we could easily assemble a good pile of squares in a short amount of time. Keep an eye on Debbi’s blog as well as RaRa’s blog for details on where to mail in the squares—I’ll also post the address here if she gives me permission to do so. [edit] Please check out the comments to this entry—if you would like the address for mailing in the squares, please email Debbi (in the comments) or me.[/edit]

I’m working on three crafty Christmas projects at the moment, but think of it this way, if the deadline is January 5th, that means you have all of the AFTER-Christmas time to knit a 9 x 9 square…or two or three.

[edit] More details from Debbi, who is coordinating this project, can be found here. Knit-specific details:

“I would love the squares to be 9 x 9. Any color, any weight *although dk or worsted would be best* and I would like it to be washable. Other than that – it is up to you. “

[/edit]

PS: If you’re on Ravelry, feel free to drop me a line or add me there (here’s a link to my Ravelry profile). Perhaps we can start up a group for the 9 x 9 Everett squares? By the way, if you’re a member of my family, I strongly advise you to NOT click the link until after Christmas!