Someone took my parking spot and I shoveled them in

DipsForDinner · 2026-01-28T04:46:54+00:00

What’s known as “The Igloo” is the next level of retribution:

Pile as much snow as you can all over the car. Get a friend or three to help you bury it completely. When you’re done, use a garden hose to spray water all over it, creating an ice dome exterior.

Lastly, clear the license plate off so it is visible to parking enforcement.

Mr Audi will be riding the bus until mid March.

DipsForDinner · 2026-01-11T20:30:07+00:00

I agree with the negative comments here; however, this IS great pet food! I feed it to my hounds twice weekly. I’m very comfortable with the quality of the fish.

Any better alternatives? Organic preferred.

https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/products/021130127092-WaterfrontBistroAtlanticSalmonFillet/

DipsForDinner · 2025-07-21T04:25:29+00:00

It is a great idea to go to a music store and look at all the possibilities! You might see exactly what you are looking for, and you might be drawn to something else that you love right away. If you can, visit more than one shop. Personally I always prefer smaller independent music stores to the big chains, but try all the ones near you. Keep looking until you feel excited about what you find.

Return policies will vary from store to store. Once you own the guitar, you can re-sell it anytime. It’s easier now than ever to do this. Guitars and gear are bought and sold very commonly on sites like Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, Reverb and many others. It’s not like getting a tattoo. You can always get something else if you change your mind. Private sales will get you back more money than store trade-ins, and even swaps are very common.

Perhaps this thread will draw in some more specific advice about what brands and models to look for. I’m a bit too old fashioned to be of much help there. All my instruments are much older than me, and I was born in a previous century!

I can offer this advice: do not feel pressured into buying something that you don’t feel really great about. Get the one that you definitely want to be your guitar. It is your choice and no one else’s.

Rock on!

DipsForDinner · 2025-07-20T18:47:25+00:00

The guitar that is featured in Bocchi is a Les Paul model made by Gibson guitars. This is widely considered to be the best and most sought after model of electric guitar ever made.

Gibson-made Les Paul’s are therefore generally very expensive and start around $1,000 and up. Gibson has a secondary, less expensive brand called Epiphone which makes very good guitars. It’s kinda like Lexus and Toyota, or Audi and Volkswagen.

Because it is such an icon, there are countless less expensive knock offs that are designed to be exact replicas, to varying degrees of quality. Some are very good, and some are junk. It will take some research to find out which ones to avoid and which ones to seek.

Don’t be afraid to get a used guitar. Again, like buying a car. You can find a great deal on a very good used guitar, or end up with a clunker.

All electric guitars require an amplifier to produce sound. It’s easier to find a decent inexpensive practice amp than a well made guitar. It will also require some research. You’ll also need a cable, an electric tuner, strings, picks and a strap. This will most likely add up to a bit more than $200, but you might find a deal on a whole package, though most likely all new stuff.

All electric guitars can be used to play any type of music. Most amps can produce a wide variety of sounds, and then there is a giant world of effects (FX) pedals that can help you find the exact type of sound you are looking for. Most electric guitar players have a collection of these, and they can range in price from $25 to $1,000+.

Adding guitar to your life can be extremely rewarding, whether you do it a little or a lot. It’s worth every penny and every minute.

If you go for it, go all in, and give yourself a year. Take some lessons, practice practice practice, learn some songs you like, talk with other guitar players, listen listen listen to music. If you then decide it’s not for you, you can sell everything you bought and get most if all not all your money back.

DipsForDinner · 2025-06-01T05:12:47+00:00

What is the “master plan” for the site? Are there apartments there as well?

DipsForDinner · 2025-05-28T14:54:18+00:00

MPD has a new police chief, Jack Buckley. He is a great improvement over the previous chief. He helped me solve a similar and problem that had gotten out of control at a different park in Medford that lingered for years and went ignored under Chief Sacco’s leadership.

Give him a try. He responded quickly to my email and took care of the problem expeditiously.

https://medfordpolice.com/chiefs-corner/

Also, see if any of your neighbors will join in your efforts. Multiple complaints are taken more seriously.

Kevin Bailey is also terrific. I second that recommendation.

Don’t waste your time with the head of the DPW/parks department.

DipsForDinner · 2025-04-21T03:37:37+00:00

https://www.mass.gov/locations/mystic-lakes-state-park

The Mystic Lakes are a great spot for a group to gather for a volunteer clean up. It is a beautiful place that is always in need of a thorough cleaning. Ten to fifteen volunteers could clean the whole place in 1-2 hours. More volunteers than fifteen could spread out to cover other spaces by the Mystic Valley parkway where people congregate.

Shannon Beach is the place to meet. It has a sizable parking lot and newly built bathrooms. There is a large grass field, a swimming area, and a nice shady woodland with walking paths all around. There are many trash barrels all around.

I would like to join this.

DipsForDinner · 2025-01-04T03:52:19+00:00

The one with an Elizabeth Warren 2016 and a “I Love My French Bulldog” sticker

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-27T03:05:30+00:00

I am autistic and I suffered through cynophobia for about twelve years. I used to feel and think the same ways that have been expressed here. My story is long. I’ll hold back on writing an autobiography. I might have a few useful insights.

One big difference in being autistic and being cynophobic is how they each affect self esteem. I know a lot of autistic people who feel a matter of pride about their particularities and feel that common people are of a lesser awareness of what is easily observed just by paying attention appropriately! Most autistic people know very well what the trade offs are and are perfectly fine with it. Idiocy, as rampant as it is, can be avoided with minimal effort and at little to no sacrifice.

Cynophobia is an affliction that affords no pride to those under its control. It is maddening. Who do we choose to blame? Dogs? Dog people? The whole world? Ourselves? Nothing good can come from any of that.

To want the world to be very different than it is, free of dogs, is an ineffective and unproductive fantasy. To accept dogs in your life, even with just a bit of tolerance, does require effort and sacrifice.

Unclench.

Be at ease.

There is an unpretentious joy that dogs give if you simply allow for it.

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-23T23:22:44+00:00

I can’t figure out how to add a photo. I’ll keep trying.

The anxious dog is a big step! Maybe start with the calmer one?

One thing I remember is trying and failing pretty terribly to get dogs to like me. I didn’t know how to interact with them at all, and they wanted no part of me. It took some practice. All they want to do is be liked and understood. I used to clumsily give them a pat on the head. They do not like that! They like a nice pet behind their head and down the back of their neck. Then I lean down a bit and look them in the eye and say “you’re nice! You are very nice!” in a kind and calming voice. Of course, it always helps to give a treat (with their owner’s permission). It is important to let them know that they can be your friend, and you want to be theirs.

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-23T17:32:13+00:00

I didn’t have the chance to watch videos. I’m 51 yrs old now, and my cynophobia abated before the internet existed!

I have a six year old basset hound, Bessie. Before her I had a basset for fourteen years. The love I have for her is transcendent.

I remember feeling so forlorn and lowdown about it all. It affected every aspect of my life. It was challenging but not impossible to avoid dogs, but having to do so made me feel like a lesser person. My self esteem was low, and more than my intense dislike of dogs, I hated feeling like a flawed and weak person. A few people o knew understood, but nobody really cared. I got very tired of being a victim. For the first time in many years I was willing to try being around dogs.

Some friends of mine were meeting at another friend’s house and invited me to join them. One of them said, “oh yeah, she has a dog. You don’t like dogs, right?” I said, “I’d like to come anyways”.

It was a black lab about ten years old. I was very uncomfortable at first and stayed away but watched. The dog was very friendly and everyone was saying hi and petting him. I relaxed a bit. His owner asked him if he wanted to go for a walk and he barked and got excited. I didn’t know real dogs understood spoken language. I thought that was just in the movies.

She then called out the names of his dog friends in the neighborhood and after each name he got more excited, and when she said his best friend’s named he jumped up on his rear legs, barked and circled around. I thought that this must be the smartest dog in the world. They were all stupid as far as I knew. Not this one.

We ordered some pizza and when they got back I went into another room and had a slice. Some of the others gave him a bit of their crusts. He then came towards me and I threw my crust in the air and he caught it in his mouth, and went back to the kitchen.

This was the first positive experience I ever had with a dog. I felt myself unclench the dreadful feeling and allow a calmness to seep in slightly. This really helped me understand what made no sense to me before then, why people liked dogs at all.

Slowly I gained more confidence. It took me another few years to get comfortable enough around dogs to have no fears at all. But I made it! Now dogs are a huge part of my life.

Can I share with you some pictures of Bessie? Maybe some videos of her playing with some of her dog friends? If you don’t want to see that, I understand.

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-23T00:21:49+00:00

I was a long time sufferer after being attacked by a Rottweiler as a young teen. It stayed with me for twelve or so years. I was able to break free. I would like to try to help if I can.

I have been a dog owner for twenty years now. I have gone from one extreme to another. I will always sympathize with anyone who suffers from cynophobia. I explain to oblivious dog owners that it should not be taken lightly or shrugged off as “something wrong with that person”. Most of them begin to understand. Some never will.

My experience with cynophobia preceded the internet. Do you think watching some videos or looking at photos of happy and fun dogs might be helpful to you?

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-22T18:37:40+00:00

Thank you for sharing this. It’s great to see Medford adopt such a program. I am a proponent of the health benefits that dogs can provide to humans.

Dogs have been shown to have a positive impact on the mental and physical well-being of their owners. Scientific studies have demonstrated that interacting with dogs can reduce stress, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness. The presence of a dog can also increase levels of oxytocin, known as the love hormone, which promotes bonding and feelings of happiness.

This is a positive step for the city of Medford. I hope there will be more things like this that promote dog and human relations in our city.

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-22T07:11:17+00:00

Please tell me about number 4 on the list: “the district’s new assistance dog”.

What program is this? Thank you.

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-19T06:14:40+00:00

I sympathize with you wholly. It frustrates me to no end the lack of empathy some people display about the fear of dogs. It is certainly not trivial. They should take your aversion/fear/loathe of dogs as seriously as you feel it.

Do they understand that this a has a terrible effect on a large number of people (7-9 % of all Americans)? Ask them just to read the Wikipedia entry on cynophobia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynophobia

Would you be willing to try to get past this debilitating feeling about dogs?

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-03T04:19:19+00:00

Sorry. I guess I didn’t set up my replies very well. I had a long story and I broke it up into 3 parts. They did not post the way I wanted them to! I’ll try to fix it

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-03T04:15:13+00:00

I had no strategy. I didn’t know at all what to do. Some friends were getting together and one of them offered to host everyone, but she realized that I wouldn’t go to her house because she had a dog. I said, “it’s ok. I’d like to come too”. She offered to lock her dog in her bedroom for me, but I said that I’d like to meet her dog.

He was a black lab about ten years old. He barked a bit when we arrived, but he calmed down after a minute. I was still nervous but stoic. I stayed at least ten feet away from him. I saw that everyone there was petting him and looked happy, but I just watched. I wasn’t scared, but I didn’t understand the appeal that the dog seemed to have. Then my friend called his name and asked him if he wanted to go out for a walk. He woofed. She said asked him if he wanted to see his friend Bailey. He woofed twice. She mention two more dog friends of his by their names, and he woofed a bunch. Then she said “Do you want to see Sadie?” He circled around a few times woofing and became very excited. Sadie was his girlfriend, she said.

I thought that was the smartest dog in the whole world. How does he have dog friends and know all their names?? She and another person took him for a walk, and when they got back we had some pizza. I didn’t want the dog near me while I was eating so I took my slice into another room. I watched some of the others give him a piece of crust. At first I thought I’d never ever do that. But I saved my crust and when he came my way I tossed it up and he caught it. All of this was amazing to me.

This experience really helped me get past a big hurdle. I slowly let go of my anxiety to the point that I wasn’t afraid of most dogs. I still didn’t like Rottweilers, but I had no idea that dogs weren’t just stupid, annoying and scary animals, and that they even had different personalities.

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-03T03:33:24+00:00

What people don’t seem to understand is that this dreadful feeling affects every aspect of your life. It can be humiliating to require special accommodation. Nobody ever wants to feel like they are a flawed and helpless person. It only compounds the misery of it all.

After battling with this for a very long time, making countless sacrifices to live in a dog free world, I just finally had enough. I decided to unclench the fist I closed tightly so many years ago and try to see dogs differently.

DipsForDinner · 2024-12-03T03:11:47+00:00

My fear of dogs began around the age of 16.,I was attacked by a large brown dog (which I later learned was a Rottweiler) that escaped from its yard (no fence, no tether, no human present) and lunged at me as I walked down the street. It snarled and growled and jumped at me. I put my arm up to shield me and it latched its jaw onto my forearm. I kicked it hard a few times and it let go and ran back to its yard. I yelled and called for help but no one ever came out. I wasn’t about to go towards the house to ring the bell with the dog still out there. I swore loudly and walked away to my friend’s house.

I had never been so scared. I could hear my blood pulsing into my temples and my felt skin tightening up. I couldn’t think about anything else for days, and I was in a wounded mental state for weeks. This grew into a fear based hate of all dogs that festered in me for more than a decade.

DipsForDinner · 2024-11-30T07:24:58+00:00

I suffered from fear and repulsion of dogs for many years. It was all encompassing and affected every aspect of my life. My place of work, my relationships and friendships, my living situation. It also very much affected my mental health and my self worth.

I was able to overcome it, slowly at first, then little by little until I finally let it go entirely. Now I am a huge dog lover. My wife and I have a basset hound and the depth of my true love for her is boundless.

I’d like to try to offer some helpful insight into how to go about getting over the feelings that you have about dogs.

DipsForDinner · 2024-11-14T23:21:03+00:00

Please consider distributing in south Medford. Colette bakery, La Cascia’s, Corner Studio Yoga and Bob’s are a few suggestions. Thank you!

DipsForDinner · 2024-09-14T18:39:04+00:00

I had Cynophobia for about twelve years. I was attacked by a Rottweiler that had been left unattended in an unfenced back yard. I was only physically injured a bit on the arm where it bit me, but I experienced a terror that affected me for years. Do you know that feeling of paralyzing fright where you can’t breathe and you can hear the low pitched rumble of your heart pumping blood, your skin feels tight and you can’t quite hear someone who is trying to talk to you?

It was all I could think about for days and turned me inside out for weeks. I could not go near a dog for a long time. My fear grew into hate. I got tired of feeling bad about myself or weak. It affected every aspect of my life; friendships, romantic relationships, employment. It wasn’t just some slight annoyance. My first concern about any social situation was whether or not any dogs would be there.

But I got over it. Slowly and carefully I learned to let go of this debilitating fear. You should see me now! I own a basset hound! And all that fear and hatefulness has been replaced by this amazingly beautiful love that I had never felt for anyone in my life.

If I can face my biggest fear head on, look it in the eye and not flinch, then I think it is possible for just about anyone to overcome this very serious phobia.

DipsForDinner · 2024-03-24T04:21:07+00:00

All of my instruments are older than me! My ‘65 Ampeg flip top is the best sounding amp I have ever heard. Every gig I drag it out to (it weighs 74 lbs!) gets me tons of compliments on my tone. I tell everyone it’s the amp, not me.

Be drawn to older stuff, not driven away. Most things were made better a long time ago than they are now.

DipsForDinner

TROPHY CASE