Although she was tired and hungry, I forced Tara to head out of the hotel and into town to go to a restaurant for dinner. After eating take out the previous two nights I was ready to sit down and talk to someone. Chappo told me about an Italian restaurant called Maggiano’s (also on Annie’s list), so we walked through Boston and ended up at the heart of Little Italy. I think the main reason I picked Maggiano’s was the online menu said they had “generous portion sizes” and I knew that we both hadn’t eaten much yesterday. The server confirmed the large meals, but was shocked when she came back to the table and we had each cleared our plates! It was good food and a nice change of pace to dine in, instead of take out. We took in a bit of Boston on our walk back to the hotel and turned in for the night.
7/12/07
Guess who came for Dinner?
So, the big news for yesterday was that Tara finally arrived! Her flight was supposed to end around 6 pm or so, but due to a 3 hour delay leaving JFK airport she didn’t actually get to the hotel until after 9 pm. I knew she was in trouble when I received a broken up cell message from NY saying that she was already being delayed due to weather and that it would be another hour until her flight would be cleared to depart. Another reason to love NY!
Although she was tired and hungry, I forced Tara to head out of the hotel and into town to go to a restaurant for dinner. After eating take out the previous two nights I was ready to sit down and talk to someone. Chappo told me about an Italian restaurant called Maggiano’s (also on Annie’s list), so we walked through Boston and ended up at the heart of Little Italy. I think the main reason I picked Maggiano’s was the online menu said they had “generous portion sizes” and I knew that we both hadn’t eaten much yesterday. The server confirmed the large meals, but was shocked when she came back to the table and we had each cleared our plates! It was good food and a nice change of pace to dine in, instead of take out. We took in a bit of Boston on our walk back to the hotel and turned in for the night.
Although she was tired and hungry, I forced Tara to head out of the hotel and into town to go to a restaurant for dinner. After eating take out the previous two nights I was ready to sit down and talk to someone. Chappo told me about an Italian restaurant called Maggiano’s (also on Annie’s list), so we walked through Boston and ended up at the heart of Little Italy. I think the main reason I picked Maggiano’s was the online menu said they had “generous portion sizes” and I knew that we both hadn’t eaten much yesterday. The server confirmed the large meals, but was shocked when she came back to the table and we had each cleared our plates! It was good food and a nice change of pace to dine in, instead of take out. We took in a bit of Boston on our walk back to the hotel and turned in for the night.
7/11/07
Alone in the City
After a long day attending stirring conference sessions like: Mashing Web 2.0, Online Learning Best Practices, Using Blogs and Wikis, and Making it All Work, let's say that I was ready to get out and see some of Boston. The only problem is that I'm not much of a sightseer, especially when I'm alone. 
Some plans fell through to go with some friends up to Harvard, so it was all up to me. I know it sounds crazy, but I ended up walking over to Fenway Park to see what was going on. Since, baseball is on their All-Star break it was eerily silent as I strolled around the grounds. It was kind of nice to be alone. Normally it is so crowded that you don't have time to look around. I had heard about the Ted Williams statue somewhere around the park, but it was fun to have a chance to see it, as well as the banners, retired numbers, and other historic Red Sox flavor. I thought about popping into RemDawg's to grab a bite, but it was way too crowded.
After worshipping at the Park, I ventured back into town in search of something to eat. I saw a ton of different dives, but none that looked too promising. I ended up going to the California Pizza Kitchen for take out and then back to the hotel room to watch the All Star game. It's weird to watch sports so much later out here than at home. The game started about 8:30 and didn't end until almost midnight.
I think the highlight of the evening was skyping Tara and the kids. They had a full day and were ready to talk to me about it, sort of. Kennedy gave me a full report on her potty experiences, I guess there was a poop incident. Alex tried his best to eat the computer screen while attempting to get closer to me. Tara showed off her handiwork for Alex's birthday invitation. It was fun to see everyone and it made me a bit homesick. Fortunately, Tara is headed out here today and we'll be together through the weekend. I wish the whole family could come, but it's too hard and the kids won't enjoy much of what we want to do (baseball, et al) out here.
Some plans fell through to go with some friends up to Harvard, so it was all up to me. I know it sounds crazy, but I ended up walking over to Fenway Park to see what was going on. Since, baseball is on their All-Star break it was eerily silent as I strolled around the grounds. It was kind of nice to be alone. Normally it is so crowded that you don't have time to look around. I had heard about the Ted Williams statue somewhere around the park, but it was fun to have a chance to see it, as well as the banners, retired numbers, and other historic Red Sox flavor. I thought about popping into RemDawg's to grab a bite, but it was way too crowded.After worshipping at the Park, I ventured back into town in search of something to eat. I saw a ton of different dives, but none that looked too promising. I ended up going to the California Pizza Kitchen for take out and then back to the hotel room to watch the All Star game. It's weird to watch sports so much later out here than at home. The game started about 8:30 and didn't end until almost midnight.
I think the highlight of the evening was skyping Tara and the kids. They had a full day and were ready to talk to me about it, sort of. Kennedy gave me a full report on her potty experiences, I guess there was a poop incident. Alex tried his best to eat the computer screen while attempting to get closer to me. Tara showed off her handiwork for Alex's birthday invitation. It was fun to see everyone and it made me a bit homesick. Fortunately, Tara is headed out here today and we'll be together through the weekend. I wish the whole family could come, but it's too hard and the kids won't enjoy much of what we want to do (baseball, et al) out here.
7/10/07
Freakonomics
Freakonomics is a classic book that I failed to review a few months ago. Dr. Steven Levitt, an Economist from the University of Chicago, began exploring obscure trends that he noticed in society. Cheating within Sumo Wrestling meets, What selling drugs in Chicago and selling hamburgers at McDonalds have in common, How Roe vs. Wade helped cut violent crime in the 90’s – you know all the things you’d expect an economist to explore.
So, why am I bringing up a book I finished months ago while I’m at a conference in Boston? Dr. Levitt was the keynote speaker this morning and he gave a wonderful talk where he discussed some of the new things he’s been researching. I can’t wait to read his next book where he’ll discuss how adding social security numbers for dependants to the 1040 form saved the government 3 billion dollars a year, and what an ex-computer programmer turned call girl can teach CEO’s about having a solid business plan.
First Night in Beantown
I've decided to make this conference/trip a blogging experience. After I left you yesterday I headed out into town to see the sights, and to look for a few geocaches. Chappo has told me about the lackluster caching in Massachusetts and I have to agree with him. I spent about 15 minutes walking to the one cache that was within 1/2 mile of the hotel. After searching for 30 minutes I gave up and headed back towards the Sheraton.
Since I still hadn't eaten anything yet, I spent a while looking for a fine establishment like Taco Bell or Wendy's. Since the only thing I found was a Dunkin Dounuts, I went back to the hotel and an online list of Boston's Best restaurants that Annie sent to me. Chappo had mentioned a burger joint that was nearby and I found it on the list, so off to Bukoswski's I went in search of some local flavor.
The first thing you'll notice from the image is that Bukowski's is first and foremost a tavern. They sell food, but they mostly sell beer. They claim to have 170 different beers available and during the 15 minutes I was there, they offered me at least 20 of them. After scrounging up a menu, I settled on the Chili Cheese burger (even though the Peanut Butter burger caught my eye). After dinner I went back to the room, enjoyed the last hour of the home run derby, skyped the family, and went to bed.
Since I still hadn't eaten anything yet, I spent a while looking for a fine establishment like Taco Bell or Wendy's. Since the only thing I found was a Dunkin Dounuts, I went back to the hotel and an online list of Boston's Best restaurants that Annie sent to me. Chappo had mentioned a burger joint that was nearby and I found it on the list, so off to Bukoswski's I went in search of some local flavor.
The first thing you'll notice from the image is that Bukowski's is first and foremost a tavern. They sell food, but they mostly sell beer. They claim to have 170 different beers available and during the 15 minutes I was there, they offered me at least 20 of them. After scrounging up a menu, I settled on the Chili Cheese burger (even though the Peanut Butter burger caught my eye). After dinner I went back to the room, enjoyed the last hour of the home run derby, skyped the family, and went to bed.
7/9/07
Destination Boston
Well, I guess I've finally made it back to Boston. It was a full day of travel, but I'm now looking out over the Charles River from my hotel room at the Sheraton. I was actually surprised how much cooler it is here than I expected. All the weather reports said that it would be near 90 degrees today, but it can't be out of the 70's right now. We'll wait and see what tomorrow brings.
For those of you who don't know I'm back east attending the Blackboard Conference (it's a web based course management system) for the week. I know a lot of you are thinking that I just came out to watch the Sox, but I'll have you know that the Red Sox aren't even in town right now, so I'm really here to learn. Of course, I will be staying through the weekend to visit with Chappo and the fam, and there might be a couple of nights where I end up in Fenway - you never know...
Since the only thing I've had to eat today is airlines snacks, it's about time to head out and see what I can find nearby. Anyone know where I can get some Chowder?!
For those of you who don't know I'm back east attending the Blackboard Conference (it's a web based course management system) for the week. I know a lot of you are thinking that I just came out to watch the Sox, but I'll have you know that the Red Sox aren't even in town right now, so I'm really here to learn. Of course, I will be staying through the weekend to visit with Chappo and the fam, and there might be a couple of nights where I end up in Fenway - you never know...
Since the only thing I've had to eat today is airlines snacks, it's about time to head out and see what I can find nearby. Anyone know where I can get some Chowder?!
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