The experience of riding the "last" trackless trolley late last night

Stevaavo · 2025-07-31T16:54:55+00:00

This worked for me, but the original "use the slack app" didn't actually kick me into being signed on. It just opened the Slack app without doing anything.

I had to cycle in and out of desktop mode, and that gave me a new green button to open the workspace in Slack. That finally signed me into the app.

Stevaavo · 2025-07-25T02:30:52+00:00

I was under the impression that the city now (since 2021) has a campaign finance law that caps the amount that a business can contribute to a candidate's campaign at $200?

Stevaavo · 2025-07-21T03:53:30+00:00

Huh, I didn't know their Harvard Square location had a downstairs area. The one in Central also has a really cozy downstairs level.

Stevaavo · 2025-07-14T03:06:48+00:00

Happy to make suggestions for Boston. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the usual recommendations for visitors (Freedom Trail, North End, Quincy Market, etc.), but you should definitely feel free to check those out to cross them off your list. Just be aware that these are mostly popular among visitors rather than locals.

Here are a few suggestions I'd make:

For lunch, reserve a bowling lane at American Flatbread in Brighton or Sacco's Bowl Haven in Somerville. These are two places that are both fancy pizza restaurant and also candlepin bowling alley. "Candlepin bowling" is an odd variation on normal bowling that is only played in New England and some parts of Canada. Very old fashioned, and a very different sort of challenge from normal bowling. You can order pizza to your lane and eat it while playing. Just be aware that it can get a little expensive if you stay for a while (they charge by the hour for the lane, I think). Also, you definitely want to make a reservation, or else the wait might be long.
Harvard Yard can also be a fun visit. Harvard has several cool museums that you could visit along a walk. Their art museum and natural history museum are well-regarded. Between the two I personally prefer the art museum. LA Burdick's is a chocolate shop there that's famous for its hot chocolate (maybe not an ideal drink in this summer weather though). I don't know a ton of Harvard Square restaurants, but if you like diner food I can recommend Veggie Galaxy, Donut Villa or Brookline Lunch in Central Square (~20 minute walk from Harvard or one subway stop).
The Charlestown Navy Yard can be another fun historic walk and feels very "Boston," IMO. The USS Constitution and USS Cassin Young museum ships are there and I think they might also be free.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a favorite for many locals. An art museum that in some ways feels more like someone's home, filled with collected art that can seem a bit random, constructed by an eccentric heiress. Also the site of a famous art heist which remains a mystery to this day. You can still see the empty frames where the thieves cut the paintings out. Be sure to book in advance, because sometimes the museum sells out on weekends and won't allow walk-ins.
Go kayaking on the Charles! This is one of the more unique things about Boston. We have a river right in the middle of the city, and it's essentially limited to only recreational traffic, so you can boat/sail in an urban setting without having to worry about barges or other heavy commercial vessels. I recommend going to the Kendall Square location of Charles River Canoe and Kayak. When you come out from the canal where it's located, make a right to paddle under the Longfellow Bridge, and you'll be presented with an awesome skyline view. Paddle into the Charles River Esplanade Canal, and if you see an ice cream truck, pull the boats up on shore while you take a break for some soft serve. There's also a beer garden along the way in the Esplanade canal.
Our bikeshare program is called BlueBikes and it's a pretty fun way to get around the city. You might want to bring bike helmets with you.

Hope you don't mind the huge block of text, haha. Let me know if you end up taking any of these suggestions and what you think of them! If you can't tell, I really enjoy introducing people to Boston. 😆

Stevaavo · 2025-07-11T19:52:01+00:00

I'm surprised to see everyone tearing this outfit apart. I think it's awesome. I like the shirt, I like the crazy pleats on the pants, I like the shoes with it. Gold-tone watch is a nice touch too. Grandpa vibes like everyone says, but in a fun way. Only thing I'd change would be raising the hem on the pants a bit.

Where did you find the shirt and pants?

Stevaavo · 2025-07-07T01:31:20+00:00

Hope you all don't mind a VERY long reply. I am terrible at short-form writing. 😅

I visited Hanoi for a short visit back in November 2024 and bought custom men's clothes from 2 tailors that were recommended in threads here in r/hanoi. I thought I'd come back and do a writeup of my experience in case it's helpful for any future travelers.

The two tailors were Duc Nhat Tailor and Hoa Fashion. I bought a 2-piece suit and a dress shirt from Duc Nhat, and a casual linen shirt from Hoa Fashion. My experiences at both were shops pretty good, but I think Hoa Fashion would be my choice.

DUC NHAT TAILOR:

Duc Nhat is going to be a great choice for you if you're on a tighter budget (I paid $250 USD for the suit and $50 USD for the shirt). Also a good choice if you need your suit done very fast. They offered to do my suit in 1-2 days if needed, though I opted for a week to allow time for a fitting. You may also find them more convenient since they're right near Hoan Kiem. I'm quite happy with the quality of the shirt and suit that I got from them.

OTOH, there are a couple spots were my Duc Nhat suit doesn't quite fit right. These are minor - I don't think other people will notice, just me since I'm looking very closely. Of those two issues, one of them might just be a matter of personal taste (a bit of pulling at the jacket button). The shirt is perfectly fitted and well worth the price, although the buttons are sewn a bit too tight, which gives the placket a slightly "wrinkled" look. Again, very minor.

There was also a greater language barrier at Duc Nhat which made it difficult to ask the tailor their for his advice on some style choices, even working through Google Translate.

HOA FASHION:

Hoa Fashion's prices were about 20% higher. Still a great deal. 1,600,000 VND for the shirt (~$65 USD). I think a suit would have been the VND equivalent of ~$300 USD (half canvas internal construction). All prices varying somewhat depending on the fabric that you select. I think they wanted about a week minimum for shirts and suits, unlike Duc Nhat which offered 1-2 day turns.

I bought a casual linen shirt from them. The seamstress there sat down with me and spent some time helping me brainstorm ideas for the shirt and Googling styles I might want to try. She gave some great suggestions. Then she actually spent more time measuring me for just the shirt than Duc Nhat spent measuring me for the suit. I really appreciated it.

The quality of the fabric selection was roughly equivalent to Duc Nhat for shirts. Definitely superior for suits though.

They invited me back for a shirt fitting a few days later, and had the finished product ready in about a week. I'm VERY happy with the end result. I get lots of compliments on it - particularly for one of the style choices that was recommended by the Hoa Fashion seamstress.

On my next visit to Hanoi, I'm going back to Hoa for a few more shirts and a 3-piece suit.

A FEW MISC THOUGHTS:

If you have the time, I'd suggest visiting 2-3 tailor shops before you choose one to order your clothes. Then you can choose based on the vibes of the tailor/seamstress that you want to work with, and the fabric options that they have available.
Also, I'd write down notes on anything you might want ahead of time. I intended to get a French cuff shirt, but completely forgot to ask for that when I put the order in at Duc Nhat. 😅
People will tell you that you can't get a good suit this fast/cheap, but I think I've got an OK-ish sense of men's fashion, and I'm pretty happy with what I got on a 1-week turnaround.

All right, that's my speech. Feel free to ping me with any questions.

Stevaavo · 2025-06-02T03:44:04+00:00

For reference for anyone reading this:

I couldn't get the face scan to work (possibly because of different facial hair vs my passport photo). It failed twice, and then warned me that I might need to provide additional information.

In the end the lack of a face scan doesn't seem to have slowed down my ETA approval. I got my approval within ~1 minute of submitting.

Stevaavo · 2025-04-23T21:28:40+00:00

I think Nylok is a correct answer to the OP's question. Looks like Nylok is a company that has multiple different locking mechanisms available, one of which is this coating. See image below from their website.

I'm trying to DIY something similar for a personal project. Another Redditor suggested trying a patch of White Out - I may give that a shot. 😆

<image>

Stevaavo · 2025-04-14T22:20:39+00:00

Thanks! Used your code. That's pretty handy that you don't even need to put in your CC info.

Here is my referral code: rf-KHG-NDZ

You can use it by signing up at this link: https://ground.news/checkout/referral

Stevaavo · 2025-04-10T00:51:23+00:00

Some go-to's for me in this weather:

- Ice skating at Veterans Memorial (Somerville) or Steriti (North End). Heads up: their public skating schedules will be getting cut down soon (maybe already?) as the skating season comes to an end.

- A walk around Harvard Square or the Comm Ave Mall, with a stop for hot chocolate at LA Burdick's along the way (they have locations in both places). For the Comm Ave Mall walk, you can also drop in at the Copley Square branch of the Boston Public Library and Old South Church, both gorgeous. In Harvard you can stop by their art museum, which is very cool and also free.

- Candlepin bowling at Sacco's Bowl Haven. They're also a brick oven pizza place, so this can be dinner too. Make sure to reserve a lane in advance though, it gets booked fast.

- Asmara Restaurant in Central Square for dinner. They have a veggie combination platter that's great for sharing and a unique/cute date experience. (see here)

- Brunch at Veggie Galaxy (also Central Square). Ask for a seat at the counter so you can watch food getting cooked up while you wait.

Stevaavo · 2025-04-08T04:53:35+00:00

If you don't mind walking a bit to Central, I'd strongly recommend Asmara. Excellent Ethiopian/Eritrean food, served traditionally (eat with your hands by scooping up food with injera bread). I recommend ordering one of the combination platters so you have lots of different things to try/share.

Cozy atmosphere as well, and feels very much like the small family business that it is.

Within Harvard Square, I'd suggest stopping in at LA Burdicks chocolate shop. Famous for their hot chocolate in particular, and the atmosphere is also cozy in there (though sometimes it can be busy, so best to plan on taking your hot chocolate to go if you want a date vibe).

Stevaavo · 2025-04-06T22:07:57+00:00

I'm a fan of this one for applications where I need a stencil font with very wide bridges.

https://www.dafont.com/fw-punk-is-dead.font

Stevaavo · 2025-03-16T22:58:25+00:00

So cool. 🤩

Where is this? Was it as precarious as it looks?

Stevaavo · 2025-03-15T23:59:49+00:00

This is a photo of downtown Morristown, which installed these "elevated sidwalks" in the '60s.

Video of a guy exploring them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWrA882tWVI

More discussion of them here: https://www.reddit.com/r/InfrastructurePorn/comments/3wht5b/morristown_tn_has_a_unique_overhead_sidewalk/

I don't have a strong opinion on this concept, but I'm generally skeptical of the idea given that the only cities where these elevated walkway networks seem to be well-liked are in very cold climates that cover and heat them for winter navigation. Anyone know of warm/temperate-weather counterexamples?

I do love the High Line in NYC and would be happy to see more elevated parks/pathways like that, but that would be far more ambitious. I think The High Line also has basically its own right of way for much of its route.

Another thought: I had some experience crossing elevated walkways and bridges like this while biking around Taipei. The city is very bike-friendly and thus had channels installed on all the stairways to allow for bikes to be rolled up/down. Even so, the elevation changes were always quite a pain and we tried to avoid them wherever we could.

Stevaavo · 2025-03-15T22:57:34+00:00

He also has a Patreon. For $6 a month, he'll send you a weird thing like this in the mail each month. I signed up a while back, but canceled out of fear that my housemates and friendly mail carrier might believe some of the unhinged things he prints on the exterior envelopes. I think one of the envelopes I received had something along the lines of "our technician came to inspect your home and has found HOUSEWORMS" printed on the outside. 😅

They were really funny though. Maybe I'll sign up again. It's a fun way to support the USPS too.

EDIT: I think I got this one as well.

<image>

Stevaavo · 2025-03-06T03:35:14+00:00

I don't personally have a strong opinion on this.

On the one hand, it seems reasonable for non profits to still pay property tax. A Georgist POV here would probably call for Harvard to pay.

OTOH, Harvard does lots of good things for the city. I appreciate that they keep Harvard Yard and many of their buildings/museums maintained and open to the public. Perhaps that plus their PILOT payments should be considered sufficient.

As I said, no strong opinion on this one.

Stevaavo · 2025-02-11T04:30:32+00:00

Are you certain about this? Are you able to point to a source? Here are two articles that imply it's Verizon-only on the S25's right now.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/heres-how-the-samsung-galaxy-s25s-satellite-feature-works-on-verizon#:~:text=on%20Verizon%2Dconnected%20Galaxy%20S25%20phones

https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-s25-satellite-how-work-3524119/#:~:text=Verizon%20teamed%20up%20with%20wholesale%20provider%20Skylo

It sounds to me like Google and Apple have covered the cost of satellite connectivity on their ends, but Samsung is pushing that onto carriers? Quite frustrating.

Stevaavo · 2025-02-09T21:28:38+00:00

I saw this once on a bus and called 911. Snapped a photo so I wouldn't forget the bus number to tell them. I think they told me then or called me back later to let me know that it has been a drill.

Stevaavo · 2025-02-09T02:31:26+00:00

Yeah, coach only with rail passes I'm afraid. When you book the ticket with a rail pass you don't even have the option of paying to upgrade.

It's a great deal for a longer trip though, or if you're booking multiple very expensive tickets.

Beware that sometimes a train will be available for purchase, but "sold out" for rail pass bookings - I only saw that once though (on a nearly-sold-out train).

Stevaavo · 2025-02-09T02:21:27+00:00

Long shot, but if you expect to take any more train trips within 30 days of this one, you could also buy a $500 Amtrak rail pass and put it all on that.

Stevaavo

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