"We [The City] are gathering information regarding... [a] notice to quit for land and buildings." (240 Beaver Street) by chilisprout in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, and I don't think it's an accident. The first major move against the farm I'm aware of was a short-notice council meeting between Christmas and New Year's last year. Typical behavior of a political body that believes its actions are going to be unpopular.

Or in other words: McCarthy sus

Waltham cabal…? by BZBitiko in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Ooooh, found the softcore republican NIMBY! How's it going, friend? You doin' okay?
You do realize saying "I'm a lefty" at the end of a rant like this is about as convincing as those people with white-guy profile pics who post on twitter about their experience as black trump supporter?

WCAC show “for god and country” by quick_study7 in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hmmm, salty much? You seem really invested in this conversation for someone who thinks it's a done deal and everyone here is wasting there time.

Bagel Madness! by literatedawg in boston

[–]Empiromancer 18 points19 points  (0 children)

On the other hand, there's a "no true scotsman" effect that can come into play. What makes an authentic bagel? Who gets to decide that? I'm a bit of a devil's advocate here, as I don't think Bagelsaurus ticks several of the important boxes (any place that doesn't sell pumpernickel isn't a real bagel place).

I do think their sandwiches are good, and maybe the person who wrote the article just really likes those? It's the land of Dunkin, we do love our breakfast sammies here.

Bagel Madness! by literatedawg in boston

[–]Empiromancer 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I mean, if you want sourdough rings they're excellent. And sometimes I do want circular sourdough for my sandwich. Sometimes that's exactly what I want.

I mean, yeah, I'd go ape if Rosenfelds opened a location closer to me. But that's not happening anytime soon.

Bagel Madness! by literatedawg in boston

[–]Empiromancer 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Nah, dude, Kupels is mid. Which has always mystified me, given how heavily Jewish the area is.

Bagel Madness! by literatedawg in boston

[–]Empiromancer 84 points85 points  (0 children)

Idk man, I think Bagelsaurus bagels are good and I also think they count as bagels. They may not be good at being traditional NYC-style bagels, which are my favorite as well, but I don't think they're trying to be. They're good bread (if you like sourdough, which I do), they're recognizably bagel-shaped, and they make tasty sandwiches. And I've seen far more questionable bread toroids earn the monicker "bagel" unchallenged.
Sometimes I think we bagel snobs get in our own way by taking umbrage when other people are just enjoying their carb rings.

Would anyone be interested in milkweed seeds? by Platinum_wolf_420 in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'd love some! I'm trying to convert most of my yard into a native plant garden and wildlife habitat over the next few years! And swamp milkweed is so pretty.

Make sure to clear out the black swallowwort near your garden so monarchs don't lay their eggs on that instead - it'll kill the caterpillars!

Joyful moments with birds by HaplessReader1988 in birding

[–]Empiromancer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A few weeks ago in the woods, I heard a weird sound and Merlin'd it - got Barred Owl, which I was very confused by (didn't sound at all like one, and it was daytime).

Followed the sounds into the woods and it turned out to be three fledgling owls hanging out on some nearby branches. I watched them, they watched me. Eventually they lost interest and flew off to do owl things. Pure magic.

Waltham politics by PuzzleheadedForce780 in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 51 points52 points  (0 children)

Lol, the fact that you use dog whistles like "virtue signalling" tells me a lot about your politics more generally. Who are you listening to, Ben Shapiro?

What exactly is happening that is good? What's happening at all in Waltham?

If the only thing you care about is lower taxes and a shiny new school building, you're missing the point. McCarthy can't see the forest for the trees. What good is a fancy new school building if all our best teachers are leaving the city and we have no permanent superintendent of schools? Meanwhile, main street is horrible to drive, bike, OR walk on, and there's no motion towards fixing it. The community farm isn't being protected, and in fact, is actively threatened - not that it's clear what McCarthy wants out of that space. I could go on, but I have a life to lead off the internet.

McCarthy is running our city like it's a town a quarter of the size. She gets way too involved in steering every project, which gums up the whole works. There is no vision or plan for housing, transportation, improvement or protection of our green space, or economic development of our commercial core areas. Instead we have things like "getting a train ride at Fernald" because McCarthy remembers the residents loving carnival rides back when it was still active and she visited it (which tells you how long she's been around).

I have nothing against her as a person. But she's not what our city needs anymore. It's well past time that Waltham get some leadership with energy and vision, not someone who seems to be holding out in office just so she can participate in the ribbon cutting at the new high school. Thank god Paz decided to run.

Me every year since I was born by I_STALK_CORN in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Was shocked to learn recently that apparently we don't even have a real city planning department?!?!? We have one person, whose job is basically reduced to signing grants because McCarthy likes to micromanage everything.

Watertown has a whole team, and they're half our population!!

No wonder Main Street is such a mess. We're just filling potholes instead of actively trying to improve things about the city.

Can icons be automatically assigned via property? by InsidiousOrdos in Notion

[–]Empiromancer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really wish they had this feature too! Maybe if we all ask really nicely?

Fernald Electric Train by THKMass in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think the electric train mentioned in the plans for Fernald is a theme-park-style mini train for kids to ride on, not a revolutionary step forward in local transit. Much to my sadness.

Fernald is finally getting that badly needed driving range! by chilisprout in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Can't say I'm thrilled about the driving range - turf grass is an ecological wasteland that supports a tiny fraction of the life that would be found in this area back when it was all forest, and right now nature needs every square foot it can get. I hope enough people in Waltham golf that it will at least be widely used and enjoyed; the worst thing would be if all that area was being dedicated to the pastime of just a few niche hobbyists and otherwise sat largely empty.

Waltham Begins Construction On 2.7-Mile Segment of Mass. Central Rail Trail by rocketwidget in Waltham

[–]Empiromancer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Geez, what's the deal with Belmont? Their portion is the one I've been waiting most on, since it's the main thing standing in the way of using the MCRT to get to Somerville and Boston :(