JDC

Quincy is definitely a good place to look. Revere and East Boston might be a bit of a culture shock for a midwesterner. I'd recommend Newton too, but for really car-free living Cleveland Circle, parts of Cambridge, some of the aforementioned areas in Dorchester... JP is probably headed out of a lot of people's price ranges, but worth checking out. One good rule to stick by: if you want to live without a car, go where the students are. Very few have cars, and if you're near a college campus (well, I guess there's a college on every corner in this town) then there's likely plenty of other amenities nearby.

Wow, the last post on here was from the day of the D branch accident? Yikes. Speaking of the D branch, I was a little put off yesterday when they decided to go from Newton Center station express to Riverside when I was already running late. I take it they do this because one train is running a little behind and the one behind them is ahead of schedule? They pull this stunt at Harvard Station sometimes, running express to Alewife. How much time can you actually save by not stopping at Porter and Davis if you have to go through the stations at about 5 MPH anyway?

NPR's The Diane Rehm Show on WAMU.

They ought to get a big, scary drill sergeant-type guy on there who, every 30 minutes or so, should shout "LET'S SEE THOSE TICKETS!" Those who don't produce a ticket should be forced to do 20 push-ups.

DC's Metro seems to always be perfectly lined up with the wait times. I don't recall seeing countdowns in Boston, but I've been out of the hub for a few years now. What's the story with transit-oriented development around LYNX stations? Is a lot of the land around the stations already under contract by developers? I know here in the Triangle investors laid claim to a lot of space surrounding proposed transit stops. Unfortunately the trains are still on hold.

Great to hear about NC's first light rail system! I'm looking forward to riding LYNX when I'm in Charlotte for the Thunder Road marathon next month.

I'm listening to my boss talk about how college basketball is superior to the NBA.

^ That song has been tarnished by the Sopranos finale. Anyone use Pandora Radio (www.pandora.com)? It's not bad for background noise. Just put in the name of an artist and it'll play stuff that sounds like that artist.

North Carolina Public Radio

It makes sense. The core is really hot, perhaps so hot maybe it's light in weight, like a gas? I'm not a geologist, so perhaps what I said is laughable.

I love how the city is becoming even more of a baseball mecca. They ought to consider moving the College World Series here, especially as there's talk of tearing down Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium. In a story on ESPN a month or so ago, they listed Durham's DBAP, among other Triple-A parks, as one of the newer, nicer ballparks that the NCAA might consider...

Wilco's Sky Blue Sky

I'm with you on that one, though at least there are a few entrances along Blackwell Street. Once phase II is complete it looks like there will be a rather grand entrance up near the northern edge of campus on Blackwell. The thing about ATHD that I'm most disappointed about is that so much of it - even on the ground floors - is office space.

Of course the Triangle media doesn't cover this stuff. It just doesn't tie in well with the stories about shootings and government corruption.

Lowe's? The last thing on my mind when I'm in Lowe's is meeting women. Especially when you consider what a lot of the women who hang out in home improvement warehouses look like. It didn't occur to them to check out some of the trendy bars on Glenwood?

Wait a minute. You mean a city's image problem can be illustrated with a percentage? Wild stuff Mayor Bell. If new home construction in Wake County slows down at all, and housing costs go up, I wouldn't be surprised to see something of a boom in the Bull City. Then again, I'm not hoping for any more suburban sprawl in souther Durham County.

I've never really considered Raleigh or the Triangle much of a vacation spot before, but there is no shortage of fun and/or unique things to do with out-of-towners. I've taken most of my visitors to Duke Gardens, Franklin Street/UNC, the State Capitol, the museum of history, Bullock's Bar-B-Que (trust me, waitresses back home don't call you 'honey' or 'baby'), American Tobacco Campus, West Point on the Eno, City Limits Saloon, and to Bulls games at the DBAP. I guess while the area isn't exactly New York City or Disney Land, there are a surprising number of unique things to do.Maybe you've just got to know someone who lives here.

More news on development around the old Durham Athletic Park: From The Durham News I'm a little unsure about the area. I live within spitting distance of the DAP and I see the neighborhood's potential, but I worry the city's power brokers will never accomplish anything major along Washington and Foster Streets. They already dropped the ball on City Place, turning what could have been a great shopping center for downtown residents and workers into offices. While I'm pleased with the city's persistence in keeping older structures alive (ATHD, West Village, etc.) I sometimes wish they'd take a cue from some other cities and make it easier to get projects going downtown, even if it involves tearing down an abandoned house or (gasp!) losing a few parking spots.

Another Frank Wittenberg project. I guess he gave up on that second tower at "Durham Centre" and instead chose to turn a Best Western into cheap condos.

A lot of my high school friends have since gone to college, graduated and settled in Allston, Brighton or Somerville. I'd recommend any of them to someone fresh out of college, especially if you like walkable streets, good nightlife, and aren't expecting to live in something very new or fancy. As far as safety goes, it's a big city, so you watch where you're going. That being said, if an area is safe enough for Harvard students, it's probably safe enough for just about anybody.

^Great site. And great map up there. One problem I notice though is #44, the County Social Services redevelopment. The shaded part includes two buildings (one of which I'm typing this from in my pajamas) that are not part of social services.

^That would be cool, though you'd miss out on the ball park atmosphere. Not that I'm crazy about sitting in the bleachers on a July afternoon. When the professional women's soccer team Boston Breakers played at Boston University's Nickerson Field, they required students in the dorms that look out over the stadium keep their shades down. Not that anyone really cared about women's soccer or anything. I wonder if anything is planned for the site where University Ford currently resides. I've seen sketches in the past that looked like there was going to be some high-density residential over there.

Good stuff. My band once opened for the Jam tribute act by the same name. All Mod Cons

69 Love Songs vol. 3 by The Magnetic Fields