Whoops!

The Republican-American has an election website up with some information about candidates, polling places, etc. I decided to give it a look this morning before going to to vote, just to make sure I'm decided about who I'm voting for. The website has an Election Day Countown clock, letting you know how many days left until Election Day. Today, which is election day (and it's only 10:15 in the morning, so I know the polls are still open), the clock reads "You missed it!"

Lieberman, Lamont & Schlesinger

We're a week away from the election, so things are starting to get ugly. Lieberman is retaining a significant lead in the polls over Lamont, and Schlesinger barely even registers, with only 8 percent of the presumed votes. For reasons that are completely a mystery to me, Waterbury is now being "blamed" for Lieberman's success, with Lamont supporters citing our recent history of convicted criminal politicians (ref. today's issue of the Republican-American).

I don't know what the demographics are for Lieberman's district, but it seems highly unlikely that all of his supporters are in this one city. Maybe there is a higher percentage of Lieberman supporters here than elsewhere in his district. The polls indicate that he has 73 percent of the Republican vote, and Waterbury probably does have more Republicans than the suburbs do. However, I think the real issue is that the Republican party, at least around here, never seems to have a viable candidate. How many people know or remember that Schlesinger is running? Come to think of it, remember when Giordano was the Republican candidate running against Lieberman? Even before his corruption charges, everyone knew that was a joke. It's not just Lieberman, either. Joan Hartley never has competition from the Republicans. Most years there isn't even a Republican candidate at all. In the Waterbury region, the Republican party is pretty much dead, even though there are plenty of registered Republicans (and in this case, I suspect most of them are voting for Lieberman in order to maintain the status quo). Is it like this in other places?

After reading today's article (about an article in the Providence Journal blasting Waterbury), I have the unpleasant feeling that Lieberman's win, should it happen, will be attributed to the support of "that evil city" Waterbury. It's unfair, not to mention irresponsible. If a journalist wants to talk about this being a politically corrupt city, then he should do some research and attack our current situation and politicians, not the ghosts of our past.

More Neighborhood Comparison

My first Halloween in my new neighborhood, just north of Hamilton Park, was a disappointment. The first trick-or-treater showed up at 6:45--just a boy and his dad, not even wearing real costumes, just wigs. A little after 7pm, a pack of twelve kids, plus parents, swooped up the street and made a good dent in my candy supply. I wish I had put out more in the bowl for them, because that was all I got for trick-or-treaters. Heck, there was only one other house on the street with any decorations up, and most of the houses were doing a good job of looking empty. There's no Halloween spirit here.

By contrast, my old neighborhood, near downtown, full of drug dealers and prostitutes, had tons of kids out trick-or-treating. They started at dusk, with the youngest kids out mostly between 5 and 7, followed by increasingly older kids. The younger kids always had on great costumes. It was a lot of fun. I miss my old neighborhood. It was noisy and had serious traffic problems, but people were a lot friendlier there. (Okay, some of them were a bit too friendly... my neighbor came home one day to find a crackhead sleeping on his couch...).

Palace Marquee

The new marquee for the Palace Theater in Waterbury is being installed today, replacing the flat metal sign that has been up since they reopened (although there was one day this summer when I saw the metal sign being reinstalled, which seemed odd). The new sign has an electronic display on the sides for promoting upcoming events.

Palace Theater's website: palacetheaterct.com

11/10/06 - Here's another photo from about a week later; banners have been bolted to the sides of the building, and pine trees have been placed out front... here comes Christmas!

Library books

I checked a book out of the Silas Bronson library at the start of the month. I need to read the book for my next book club meeting in November, but so far I haven't even started reading it yet. I started reading something else first (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay), and I want to finish reading that before starting Paris to the Moon. I started getting panicky about the library book--it's due back on November 1st--and I don't want to pay two weeks' worth of overdue fees just to get it read before my club meeting. Luckily for me, I had a vague memory about online library book renewals. I went to the library website, logged in using my card number, and I was able to renew my book in a few seconds. Yay! Modern technology is great!

Waterbury Brew Fest

The Brass City Brew Fest was held yesterday in Library Park. There were 180 different types of beer, both domestic (including Connecticut) and international (Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, Chinese, Austrian, Belgian, and so on). Also good music, courtesy of Carnegie Clapp, and good food from several Waterbury restaurants.

I'm still learning how to use the camera in my new cell phone, so unfortunately these aren't the best-quality images.


The beer was served under the tents. The crowd tended to gravitate towards the sun, where it was warmer.


This is always one of my favorite things: a van with a tap on the side.


A good beer from China.


Another good beer; this one seems to be named after my cat, only he's more evil than saintly.


More crowds of people having a good time.


Clapp & Friends playing great music for the beer drinkers. I think the seats and tables were empty because it was so extremely cold out and they were in the shade.

At one point I saw someone pour a beer they didn't like onto the ground. My first reaction was annoyance (litterbug!), but then I decided it was a nice libation for the people buried there (little known fact: the area immediately in front and behind the library was the first cemetery for Waterbury; when they built the library in the 1890s, most of the burials were left in place, either because the coffins were too deteriorated to move or because there were no family members left willing to spend the money to relocate the remains).

Chris Murphy

At the moment, I don't know much about Chris Murphy. I usually wait until closer to the election to do my research about who I will vote for. What I do know about Chris Murphy is that somebody really hates him. He must be doing well in the polls, making his opponants nervous. Twice a day, I receive recorded phone calls telling my that Chris Murphy has dark secrets suggesting that he might be a corrupt politician so don't vote for him.

I'm really really tired of getting called twice a day to hear recorded messages. At this point, I'm planning on voting for Murphy, just to get back at the harrassing phone calls.

Unsolicited political messages should be included on the "do not call" lists that block phone solicitations.

Waterbury Tax Collector

I received a mysterious and threatening letter in the mail today from the Waterbury Tax Collector's Office. It was a DEMAND NOTICE stating that I owe $10.37 in taxes, plus 31¢ interest, and that I had ten days in which to pay this bill or else the city would seize my vehicle. They sent the letter to my old address, and the time lapse for forwarding my mail seems to be about a week. So that means I have three days to hand over $10.68 if I want to keep my car.

The mystery is that I paid my taxes this summer. So I called up the tax collector to find out why I still owed $10.37 in taxes. I had a very difficult time getting a clear answer from the woman who answered the phone. She sounded like she didn't really understand what was going on either.

The tax bill I paid stated that it needed to be paid by July 1 and that it would be delinquent after August 1. Well, for one reason or another (probably because I moved in June), I didn't remember to pay it until August 16. I paid using a credit card. The city did not process the payment until the middle of September (which screwed up my budget calculations).

At first the woman in the tax collector's office said that the $10.37 was the late fee for August and September. When I suggested that it didn't seem fair to charge me a late fee for September, given that my payment arrived in August, she said that $5.70 was the interest they charge for credit card payments. When I pointed out that the bill stated that credit card fees were automatically taken out of my credit card, she said that the $10.37 was the late fee for July and August. At that point I gave up and did not ask why I was charged a late fee for July when the bill said delinquency didn't start until August 1.

I'm putting a check for the full amount in the mail today; it should arrive in their office tomorrow. I can't wait to see what happens next. If it takes them until some time in November to process the check, will they try to seize my car? or will they just send me another bill, this time with late fees for October and November?

More Pearl Lake Road

Alderman Arthur Denze has agreed to represent the residents of Pearl Lake Road in their fight against City Hall. Finally! Somebody willing to represent the people!

Sheila O'Malley, the mayor's chief of staff, was quoted by the Rep-Am as saying "Alderman Denze is entitled to put forward any resolution he sees fit, but the mayor has to concern himself with the safety and well-being of citizens who travel Pearl Lake Road. We will go forward with it because it needs to be done." This raises some questions for me.

Shouldn't the mayor also concern himself with the safety and well-being of citizens who LIVE on Pearl Lake Road?

WHO are these faceless citizens travelling the road? Why does the mayor care more about them than the citizens who live on the road?

Has anyone ever complained about the road being too dangerous? Have there been a lot of accidents caused by the road conditions?

I have driven on Pearl Lake Road many times, and as long as you obey the speed limit, there is no danger to the driver.

Maybe someone should fix it...

The downtown power grid blew up again last night. Sheesh! This seems to be happening more and more frequently. And this time the explosion caused a car to go up in flames. According to Jarjura (in the Republican-American), CL&P recently claimed that "all the power grids are in good order." And yet, following the last blow up on August 30, CL&P blamed the problem on the age of the power grid (it's 40 years old) and said that it would cost "millions and millions" to replace. "Millions and millions." Sounds to me like it needs replacing and they just don't want to do it. What if this had happened during Mardi Gros, when the downtown is packed with hundreds of little kids? This time a car was destroyed. Next time someone could get killed.

Neighborhoods

I used to live in a Waterbury neighborhood that scares most people. It has a high rate of unemployment, and a lot of police activity, because there are quite a few drug dealers, gun runners and prostitution.

I now live in a neighborhood that is mostly working class, with no sign of drug dealers, prostitutes or guns.

I lived in the "scary" neighborhood for two and half years. I never once had any trouble with my mail being stolen. Packages were delivered when I wasn't home and were left on the front porch. Sometimes I didn't realize the package was there for days. As far as I could tell, nobody ever considered stealing my stuff.

Yesterday a package was delivered to me in my new, "crime-free" neighborhood. I wasn't expecting it until today, so I didn't look for it last night. And, guess what? it was stolen. My downstairs neighbors saw the package and considered bringing it in for me, but didn't. This morning it was gone. On the bright side, Amazon.com's telephone representative in India assured me that my ordered will be redelivered on Monday, presumably at no extra charge.

At the moment, I'm feeling very charitable towards the drug dealers and prostitutes. Upscale society hates and fears them, but at least they respect other people's property.

Farmington Canal Greenway

One of my favorite things about living in Waterbury is that it's only a short drive to a linear park/greenway that starts in Cheshire. The trail was built along what was, at one point, the Farmington Canal and, at another point, the New Haven/Northampton Railway. It currently extends to Hamden, making it roughly 12 or 13 miles in length. Most of it is pretty much level, although the further south you go, the more hills there are.

As you can tell from the photo I took with my very old cell phone, it's a really nice trail, great for bicycles, rollerblades, jogging and walking. On the weekends and evenings, it's packed with people. It is wide enough for three or four bicycles, and is divided into two lanes, sometimes with a dirt path along the side for joggers.

Click here to visit the website for the trail.

I really hope they someday extend the trail its full length, all the way to New Haven. It would be even more amazing if they could build it all the way to Northampton, MA.

Target Acquired

As I was driving by Target today, I noticed that the parking lot was packed full of cars. The banner on the side of the store still says "Opening October 8," but according to what I overheard while I was there, it opened yesterday.

It's a pretty good store, much posher than the WalMart and not just because everything is all shiny and new. The goods are of a higher quality (for example, pajamas that are 100% cotton, instead of polyester (although they have those too)). There's a better selection, more variety, and more to choose from. They have a really nice selection of curtains, including a brand that is supposed to block out 99% of incoming light while also insulating against the cold. The grocery section is larger than WalMart's, although still small, and they don't have any craft supplies like yarn. The Halloween decorations were pretty uninspired, mostly just electric jack-o-lanterns (afterwards, I went to the shabby old K-Mart and found a really great pirate skeleton in a hanging cage -- it will look great on my porch).

Inside the Target there is a Starbucks (what does that bring us up to, three Starbucks in Waterbury? as opposed to maybe twelve or fifteen Dunkin' Donuts...) and a Pizza Hut Express (which is the only Pizza Hut in Waterbury).

Poverty

The Republican-American ran an article on Thursday, Sept. 28, summarizing a talk given for the United Way at Timexpo by Douglas Hall, associate director of research for Connecticut Voices for Children.

According to the article, 24 percent of Waterbury's children live in poverty, while the median income is $42,000 a year.

Twenty-four percent. It's depressing. There are community centers and other organizations throughout the city that help improve the lives of the kids that have it the hardest. I can only assume that they are giving them the guidance and the skills to make their lives better (but, gee, wouldn't it be nice if the minimum wage were high enough for the parents to not be in poverty despite working full time?).

There have been a few times when I've seen community organizations encourage children to be beggers. That really annoys me. The Long Hill community center sometimes has the kids stand out on the corner hollaring at drivers to put money in buckets for their fund raiser. School groups will sometimes stand outside the grocery store asking for donations. This is not good skill-building. This is teaching the kids that begging works and is perfectly okay. The kids aren't even selling bad candy bars or making a lame effort to wash cars.

I think I'm going to start looking into the different volunteer organizations to see what's going on, and do what I can to help.

Pearl Lake Road

The city wants to widen and straighten Pearl Lake Road. The people who live on the road have been fighting this for decades. Currently, the road twists and winds through a nicely wooded residential area. The speed limit is 25, but a lot of drivers use the road as a cut-through and go as fast as they can without crashing.

The city claims that widening and straightening the road will get rid of "serious safety concerns." Uh-huh. The road would be perfectly safe if drivers obeyed the speed limit. Straightening the road will make it less safe. Drivers will probably start going 50 mph along it, making it significantly less safe for anyone living there. Jarjura appears to be one of the drivers who uses it as a cut through. He's making big talk about pushing the plans through no matter what the residents think.

The city's plans include new drainage, but I haven't seen any mention of sidewalks. The city never puts in enough sidewalks. All the city road developments over the past several years have failed to consider the needs of pedestrians.

What really galls me is the dismissal of the concerns of people who live on the road, and the total lack of official concern about speeders. It's like the city is saying that speeding and reckless driving is encouraged.

Brass City Buzz

My favorite place for coffee, panini and wireless access is gone. Brass City Buzz, on East Main Street, closed last week without warning or explanation. The owner covered up the windows with paper and posted a few signs saying "Closed", "Gift Certificates can be redeemed by sending them to x address" and "Please deliver mail to Louie's Pizza next door." Even the store's website is gone. This week a large realtor's sign went up in one of the windows.

I'm really sad about this. I loved Brass City Buzz. The paninis were fabulous, the atmosphere was great, the location was convenient. The suddenness of the closing is unnerving. I hope everything is okay with Dave (the owner).

I don't approve this message...

I don't know when it started or why, but all of the political campaign commercials I've seen in the past month end with the candidate saying "I approve this message." Most of the commercials are narrated by the candidate, and most of them have the candidate as the only speaker.

Of course you approve the message! You just delivered it! It's your commercial!

It makes me wonder if there is a single ad agency responsible for all the commercials. Maybe there are only two or three, and they aren't creative enough to come up with anything else. It's annoying to the point where I'm almost willing to say that I will vote for any candidate who runs an ad that doesn't end with that statement. But, it would probably turn out to be a candidate I really don't like. On the other hand, I would love to see a candidate who isn't afraid to be different from all the other politicians.

Education Opportunity

From CNN.com -- Yale University said on Wednesday it will offer digital videos of some courses on the Internet for free, along with transcripts in several languages, in an effort to make the elite private school more accessible.

While Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others already offer course material online without charge, Yale is the first to focus on free video lectures, the New Haven, Connecticut-based school said.

The 18-month pilot project will provide videos, syllabi and transcripts for seven courses beginning in the 2007 academic year. They include "Introduction to the Old Testament," "Fundamentals of Physics" and "Introduction to Political Philosophy."

The courses cannot be counted toward a Yale degree, and educators say they are no substitute for actual teaching.

Students at Yale -- one of the nation's most exclusive schools and the alma mater of U.S. President George W. Bush -- can be expected to spend nearly $46,000 for this year's tuition, room and board.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for us to share a vital and central part of the Yale experience with those who, for whatever reason, are not in a position to pursue a Yale education at first hand," Yale President Richard Levin said in a written statement.

The project is funded by a $755,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

from Yale's website:
Yale University is producing digital videos of selected undergraduate courses that it will make available for free on the Internet through a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

The Open Educational Resources Video Lecture Project has received $755,000 for an 18-month pilot phase. The project will create multidimensional packages—including full transcripts in several languages, syllabi, and other course materials—for seven courses and design a web interface for these materials, to be launched in the fall of 2007. If the venture proves successful, Yale hopes to significantly expand its online offerings over the next few years. The new venture joins a growing number of university-based initiatives that use the Internet to make educational materials widely available.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to share a vital and central part of the Yale experience with those who, for whatever reason, are not in a position to pursue a Yale education at first hand,” said Yale University President Richard C. Levin.

“This exciting new venture is part of thinking more globally about the University and its reach beyond the walls of Yale,” said Diana E. E. Kleiner, Dunham Professor of the History of Art and Classics, who is directing the project.

“The Hewlett Foundation is committed to making high-quality educational content and tools freely available on the web by partnering with leading universities, said Marshall Smith, director of the Hewlett Foundation’s Education Program. “Yale’s commitment to open educational resources is a very important contribution to this goal.” Detailed information on the Yale project and others supported by Hewlett’s Open Educational Resources Initiative is on the Foundation’s web site.

While MIT’s OpenCourseWare model has been widely emulated, Yale will be the first university to tap the potential of digital video by combining course architecture with essentially complete sets of lectures from these courses, as presented by its faculty.

To create the online offerings that will introduce and test this new approach, Yale will draw on its recognized excellence in teaching across the full spectrum of liberal arts disciplines. Some of Yale’s most distinguished scholars are taking part. The three courses being taped this fall are:

Introduction to the Old Testament, with Christine Hayes, Robert F. and Patricia Ross Weis Professor of Religious Studies;
Fundamentals of Physics, with Ramamurti Shankar, John Randolph Huffman Professor and Chair of Physics;
Introduction to Political Philosophy, with Steven Smith, Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science.
Those whose courses are slated for taping next spring include Charles Bailyn, Thomas E. Donnelley Professor of Astronomy; Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology; and Langdon Hammer, Professor and Chair of English.
Handling the technical aspects of the project will be Yale’s Center for Media Initiatives.

Nancy Johnson

from WTNH.com:
Johnson TV spot: "A call is placed from New York to Pakistan. A terrorists plot may be unfolding. Should the government intercept that call or wait until the paperwork is filed? Nancy Johnson says; act immediately. Lives may be a stake. Liberal Chris Murphy says no, apply for a court warrant even if valuable time is lost."

Democratic challenger Chris Murphy says the spot purposely distorts his view.

"Current law allows you to intercept a communication at any time so long as you apply for a 'wiretap' after that communication has been intercepted. She knows that's my position and she's deliberately distorting it on the air," says Chris Murphy, (D) For Congress.

Yet another reason why I don't like Nancy Johnson... truly a career politician, happy to say whatever it takes to win votes, even if she is spreading dangerous misconceptions and making people more paranoid and bigoted. (For the record, I am not a Murphy supporter either. I don't yet know enough about him to know if I would vote for him or not.)

I met her once, a couple years ago. She was scheduled to attend an event where she gave out Congressional Art Awards to children. She showed up nearly an hour late, rushed inside, rushed the ceremony, and then rushed off, saying that her kids were waiting for her in the car. Didn't apologize, didn't pretend to care about the people who were excited to meet her--the same people she claims to represent. How can you represent us if you don't take the time to get to know us?

Shopping Amenity

I noticed today that Price Chopper has a dispenser of sanitary hand wipes at the entrance to their store. This is the sort of thing that I probably would have scoffed at in the past, but after recently getting laid low by the flu for the better part of a week, I have a greater appreciation for keeping my hands clean. Using the wipe was great, not because I was worried about germs on the handle of the shopping cart, but because I touched a very grubby handrail on the stairs at school and my hand still felt icky from it. It was also nice to have handy after selecting a steak; the bottom of the wrapping was wet and I got some on my hands before I put it in a bag.