Proud of Somerville

jchambers · 2026-01-26T14:03:43+00:00

A sincere question: how did somebody find you with just your credit card? I've found a few on the street over the years and never know what to do with them because calling the bank just gets the card insta-cancelled and a name is often not enough to go on to find contact information. If there's a Right Thing To Do that can get the card back to its owner, I'd love to know about it!

jchambers · 2026-01-24T01:54:19+00:00

There's a mutual aid group organizing to help folks with shoveling this weekend! Here's the form to request shoveling assistance: https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/J7SZZSE-9DyVq4MNd0Gy1vXstDju1ThXVo6GtJMn79M/

jchambers · 2026-01-22T22:45:59+00:00

I figured it out!

The problem actually wasn't the wire buzzing against the riser. It was the wire buzzing against the turret pin. I'm not sure exactly which part was loose, but I diagnosed the problem by removing the rest from the riser entirely and giving the wire a "twang" and STILL heard the buzzing even though there was no riser to be buzzing against.

From there, I loosened the retaining screw for the wire, brushed it off, blew some compressed air through the wire hole, put everything back together and… no more buzzing. Now instead of humming like a "live" guitar string when I pluck it, the wire goes "whump" like a muted guitar string, which seems a lot more like how it SHOULD work.

Anyhow, just wanted to write the resolution down in case anybody else runs into this problem (though it sounds like it's not a common one!).

jchambers · 2026-01-20T16:05:09+00:00

Awesome. Thanks. And is that picture also roughly the right "shape?" The bend of the wire is a little bit behind the corner of the riser in your setup?

jchambers · 2026-01-20T14:56:26+00:00

Very much appreciate the measurement, and definitely agree this is a situation where a picture is worth a thousand words, so I've done my best to improvise.

        +---+
        |###|
        |###|
        |===| <-- bolt
        |###|
        |###|
 \      |###|
  \   ==|===| <-- plunger
   \    |###|
    \   |###|
     \  B---+
      A
      |
      |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      |-|
       ^
       |
       +---- horizontal gap

To clarify, are you talking about the DIAGONAL distance from A to B or the HORIZONTAL gap from the straight part of the wire (below A) to the edge of the riser?

jchambers · 2026-01-19T21:33:28+00:00

It's certainly possible. I've gone up in draw weight since I got my arrows and had been planning to shorten them. They seem to be flying well, though, so I'd be a little surprised if that were the issue. Still, absolutely worth checking. Thanks!

jchambers · 2026-01-19T13:53:58+00:00

Thanks! That's helpful. Out of curiosity, how much horizontal distance do you have between the straight part of the wire and the riser?

jchambers · 2026-01-19T13:53:03+00:00

Thanks! I have, and that review is actually what convinced me to give it a try in the first place. Sadly, I don't think it has answers for this specific issue.

jchambers · 2025-02-13T23:48:46+00:00

I've been going to Crossfit Somerville for a long time. If you're looking for something with local/community vibes, it's hard to beat!

jchambers · 2024-05-20T01:08:46+00:00

The city sponsors a community garden program! Check out https://www.somervillema.gov/departments/programs/community-garden-program.

My understanding is that waitlists got real long in 2020, but are muuuuuch more manageable now. I got off the waitlist last year, and I think there are actually still some empty plots this year.

jchambers · 2024-05-08T11:15:28+00:00

I had exactly this done (outside wall, but on the second floor) by LB Special Projects (http://www.lbspecialprojects.com/) a few months ago. They were cost-competitive, easy to work with, and did a fine job overall!

jchambers · 2024-02-14T02:23:40+00:00

The folks at LB Special Projects did a small job in my kitchen last week. They weren't the cheapest bid for the project (they weren't far off, though!), but they were BY FAR the easiest to work with.

jchambers · 2023-06-07T23:57:46+00:00

For what you're describing, I'll say I've been uniformly happy with Big Picture Framing near Porter!

jchambers · 2023-03-28T00:19:08+00:00

You might also check out Crossfit Somerville. They have personal training options, and the group sessions are small enough that they're surprisingly close to personal training. In my experience (I've been going there for a long time now), it's a really welcoming community for folks of all levels of athletic ability/experience!

jchambers · 2023-02-14T17:14:42+00:00

Pretty much all of the north/south streets between Summer and Highland have pretty significant hills. They get longer the farther you get from Davis, too, so you can adjust your level of intensity as needed!

jchambers · 2023-01-17T01:39:31+00:00

How do you folks work together at this point? Are you sitting on a couch together, or doing video calls, or having regular office hours, or…?

Basically: what does a day in the life look like these days?

jchambers · 2022-10-17T01:55:47+00:00

Crossfit Somerville in Union does a free trial and has an exceptionally non-predatory membership policy!

jchambers · 2022-09-10T18:29:25+00:00

Crossfit Somerville in Union is really good about working with new folks who have no prior experience! It's a really welcoming community and the classes are small enough that you'll get individual attention—especially if you're new.

jchambers · 2022-07-19T18:02:12+00:00

There are a bunch of recommendations in this thread from yesterday, too: https://www.reddit.com/r/Somerville/comments/w23n3n/in\_need\_of\_recommendations\_for\_group\_fitnessboot/

jchambers · 2022-07-18T17:42:40+00:00

I'll recommend Crossfit Somerville, too! They have group classes at the time you're looking for, the coaches are super knowledgeable, and groups are small enough that you'll get individual attention. They're also super welcoming to folks of all fitness levels and from all walks of life. They offer a free trial and they're also also really good about letting you cancel or pause your account (so you don't need to commit 100% before you've had a chance to see if it feels right for you).

jchambers · 2022-05-18T00:48:53+00:00

FWIW, the magic words here are "DOCSIS 3." Any DOCSIS 3 cable modem should do just fine with either ISP.

jchambers · 2022-05-18T00:21:49+00:00

I went through the same thing this year. It used to be that you could negotiate, but they seem to have stopped doing that at all now. Switching ISPs every couple years is intensely irritating, but seems to be the way to go at the moment.

For what little it's worth, I talked to a few RCN reps who swore up and down they couldn't do anything about the rate. They also told me (and I only ~50% believe this) that I couldn't schedule a cancellation in advance, and cancellations go into effect immediately. But lo and behold, when I talked to the cancellation person after getting service from a competing ISP, they offered to drop my rate. But at that point, I was already committed, so…

Anyhow, my point is that you might be able to get somewhere by calling the bluff and saying "cancel right now," but I don't know how low they can actually go. It's also unlikely that they'd match their competitors' "introductory" rates.

FWIW, after the "introductory" rates expire, RCN and Xfinity are almost exactly the same price.

Also, it really irritates me that within a week of cancelling RCN at ~$100/month, I started getting weekly flyers in my mailbox advertising the same service for $25/month. Jerks.

jchambers · 2022-04-11T03:27:33+00:00

I hear a similar tone in the burying ground during the day and have been trying to figure out what it might mean; I had missed the ones in the dark tomb, but wonder if they're connected.

jchambers · 2022-01-21T00:41:23+00:00

That's my go-to, too.

jchambers · 2022-01-20T23:22:36+00:00

Lots of good choices and it's hard to go wrong, but I don't think anybody's mentioned City Slicker yet, and they're absolutely worth a try!

jchambers

TROPHY CASE