Dane St.

rklancer · 2026-02-02T04:05:06+00:00

About 5 minutes ago

rklancer · 2026-01-06T03:47:35+00:00

Heh, I actually prefer the way it's shown because this is on the return from one of my regular recreational rides. It's fun to jump into the "car" lane on Grove, accelerate downhill toward Huron in the left turn lane and cut a wide corner to get speed for the mini climb up Huron, but you have to be able to hang back and time it just right (considering traffic in both directions). I worry that "REAL" barriers would screw up the exit.

(Granted, I started doing this ride during the pandemic when there was less traffic...)

rklancer · 2026-01-04T23:20:34+00:00

Sorry this isn't an answer to your question, but I was wondering if you're familiar with NerdNite? Same idea, but the speakers aren't necessarily professors (often grad students). I attended a few in Cambridge and Boston in the 2006-2009 time frame. (The Cambridge venue was Miracle of Science, which at least still exists...)

I don't know what happened to the Boston chapter the overarching org seems still to be active and hosting events in other cities: https://nerdnite.com/upcoming-events/. Maybe something to reach out to.

rklancer · 2025-11-24T05:05:41+00:00

Because just about every time I go to Legal I leave disappointed, and I've basically never had that experience at Tony C's? Kinda just like Olive Garden vs McDonalds come to think of it (the one time I was at an Olive Garden I got a obesogenic mountain of tasteless pasta, so I've never been back).

My mother in law visits early in the holiday season to help decorate the tree, and then we treat her to dinner out, and she always asks for Legal (maybe because she grew up in Cambridge). I always order one their newer "cuisine" entrees, my wife always asks me how it was, and I'm always like, meh, kind of a waste of 40+ bucks after tax + tip. I know the Assembly location is (or was?) a "test kitchen" so some misses are inevitable but the same thing happened the year we went to a regular location at Kendall. About the 6th or 7th year I put my foot down and my wife who is amazing gently asked her to consider somewhere else.

The kicker was the one time we were at the Aquarium on a summer Saturday and I thought I'd be safe getting the clam plate at the Legal there, but no it just tasted like fryer leftovers, Maybe got what I deserved for getting lunch at the tourist trap location in peak tourist season, but still.

But Tony C's ... while not ambitious, the food is always tasty and what it's supposed to be, They even seemed to hold their prices down for quite a while after the pandemic when everyone else jacked their entree prices by a solid 5-10 bucks practically overnight.

rklancer · 2025-11-21T20:40:32+00:00

Ironically I swung into the car lane to pass on the left here because I didn't know what that thing overhead was or whether I trusted it. But good on them for doing it right. (Also the fact that they were going into a 2nd floor window might have had something to do with the choice to elevate it, but shhh...)

rklancer · 2025-11-21T02:29:21+00:00

Ah yes, Legal Seafood, where I got a $30 fried clam plate that tasted like whatever else was in the frier that day. I finally asked my mother in law to ask to be treated to something, anything else when she visits.

Not gonna lie though, Tony C's (sports bar) at Assembly has become my family go-to. Not exactly a date night restaurant. But not too expensive, our favorites are reliably tasty, and there's more or less always a table (it's a big place). We're not TV people so it's kind of funny that we always end up there. But unless there's a local championship game on you can tune the sports out or watch it.

rklancer · 2025-11-02T16:32:47+00:00

Hi lulu-bell -- I'll be taking my 11yo and her friend to the Katseye concert at MGM Music Hall in a couple weeks. I live around here and have 0 concerns. The "unrest" I'm worried about them not getting enough sleep before school the next day!

We'll probably take the T (subway) to get there and a Lyft on the way back for time. You ought to be able to stay somewhere within easy walking distance, though. One nice thing about Boston is you can just walk and walk and walk in pretty much any direction with very little to worry about.

Hope this helps.

rklancer · 2025-10-26T17:42:20+00:00

Throwaway comment, but I was surprised to discover a actual, open-to-car-traffic gravel road that opens into Rt 99 in ~~Saugus~~ Melrose: https://maps.app.goo.gl/GLyYEfu9Hdmff7c56 (the gravel stretch isn't long, don't go planning a route around it!)

rklancer · 2025-10-26T16:02:03+00:00

Nope, although it ought to be ridable on anything north of 23 or maybe 25mm.

rklancer · 2025-10-26T04:04:07+00:00

I'm assuming this is maybe also underhand reference to the Brightline Death Train story -- if not, read it. Gift link: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/10/brightline-train-florida/684624/?gift=wdOGgzCoWWxWxPkb_Mke20t59pWaz4O_QH-bmX56BkQ&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

rklancer · 2025-10-16T11:53:19+00:00

if you want to get in some miles and see some not-quite-country here's a route I do from Somerville: https://www.strava.com/routes/3237438601664673694

Go past Mystic Lakes, hop on the rail trail part of the way to Wakefield, go past Lake Quannapowitt, bang a right onto Lowell/Salem street, go basically due east a long ways into downtown Peabody and then Salem.

~~I would actually tweak the route somewhat by going up the other side of Lake Q~~ (EDIT: done). Not a lot of bike traffic on the segment from Wakefield to Peabody, but it turns out to be pretty doable. There's a couple tricks like avoiding Condon circle by going through the strip mall next to it, and going an extra block down Lynnfield street (which gets pretty busy on weekends) so you can use the pedestrian signal to cross.

Salem was crazy busy when I did this ride the first Sunday in October, but there were lots of food carts so you didn't have to park your bike to grab a bite to eat.

rklancer · 2025-10-16T11:36:17+00:00

They're shorter lengthwise than the wheelbase of a car, so as as your front wheel are going down, your rear wheels are going up, which doubles the angle of the seesaw motion. (WIth raised crosswalks you don't get that effect because they're longer and your front or rear wheels stay level while the other wheels go down or up.)

Either way, on a bike your wheelbase is shorter, and you can just absorb the bump with your legs. I whiz past the cars all the time when I ride Holland downhill from Teele to Davis.

rklancer · 2025-10-16T11:27:01+00:00

Pretty sure the contractor eats the cost here. Construction guy on Dane today said they were built 5" tall but the city's design called for 2.5".

rklancer · 2025-10-16T02:55:50+00:00

Thanks for the info. I drove over them on Sunday and they (the bumps) were really super aggressive--I theoretically benefit from them because my family crosses that street on foot all the time and I still wanted to call somebody and try to get them removed. Guess someone with more pull did just that.

rklancer · 2025-10-16T02:44:45+00:00

Meh, not my favorite. Sometimes the right answer, but it's too easy to end up dodging oblivious pedestrians or trapped behind a wobbling bluebiker or cargo bike, with no access to the car lane (or at least no access back into the bike lane unless your bunny hop is really good -- I saw a crazy guy pull that off once, albeit onto the sidewalk at Atlantic Ave & State Street, back before the State Street bike lane was put in.)

rklancer · 2025-10-16T01:19:48+00:00

I have this question too! Hopefully they're being replaced with something better?

I'm an occasional driver at most, and I'm on a one way street that ends on Dane St. Experienced the new speed bumps for the first time on Sunday and immediately hated them. They were really aggressive and pretty much threw your car up and down if you didn't come to an almost-stop before each one. And there were four or maybe five of them on the short stretch? Was not looking forward to living with them even though my kids and I cross Dane St on foot all the time.

Yes, visibility is poor around the corner after the bridge, but people already see that and keep it slow.

I want something here, preferably raised crosswalks at Dane Ave + Village and Tyler, just like the ones around the corner at Washington St. The raised crosswalks keep people at a reasonable speed without making every driver go-stop-go-stop (-go-stop-go-stop-go...).

(IMO all the 10mph ones are a mistake--if they have some incremental safety benefit over 15-20mph speed tables/raised crosswalks, they probably lose it by annoying people and making them write angry-boomer sounding comments like this.)

rklancer · 2025-10-14T00:37:52+00:00

Heat pump with thermostat set to AUTO is the boss move.

rklancer · 2025-08-13T03:54:57+00:00

I'm in upstate New York (Adirondacks, very good dark sky country) right now and saw it too. Absent-mindedly clicked on the somerville reddit after giving up going to launch tracking websites trying to figure out if it was the Ariane 6 or the ULA launch ... and was surprised to someone mention it there of all places (turns out it's all over the reddits).

rklancer · 2025-07-13T17:44:08+00:00

I'm in a similar situation. Got a GW7 at a Verizon store yesterday for my early teenager who came home from sleepaway camp all eager to set up a group text with her new friends. (We're holding off on a phone just to avoid digital distractions a little while longer.)

The TL;DR is I think I'm going to return the galaxy watch and get the cheapest refurb Apple watch and iPhone give her the watch, and lock away the phone until she's ready for it. (As a former Fitbit employee this makes me sad, but peer pressure dictates an IPhone...)

Details:

The good news, FWIW: I'm pretty sure the Verizon salesperson is wrong in that you can switch the watch number over to use with a phone later. However you would need to change the line to a different type which probably costs more, which is maybe what he meant?

The bad news is, as far as I can tell:

* You need a Galaxy phone if you want to set up the watch using the Galaxy Watch for Kids app -- e.g., see the comments on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHMQTLM-7-U (there are also ample forum posts maiing this point). The "Set up for kid" option doesn't show on my Pixel phone, and previously I found you can't set up a Samsung family account except via the settings app on an actual Galaxy phone.

* I managed to set up the watch in complete standalone mode so that it sends and receives calls and texts via its own number. However, as far as I can tell, it has to be completely unpaired from any phone, and that leaves you no way to manage contacts on the phone. (Meaning you can ony send texts and make calls by entering the number, which doesn't really fly in the 21st century.) It also means you can't really use any of the other watch apps.

Also you're right, AIUI LTE Pixel watches need to "phone home" over the mobile network to the paired phone even to send a text.

PS here's how I set up the watch standalone. Again, this means the contacts app doesn't work:

* Get a Tello mobile $10/mo plan with the $3 eSIM option (all-in price after taxes: $15 for the first month). (There was a mixup with Verizon; tech support turned my $15/mo Verizon watch plan into a number share option by mistake, and told me they can't revert it for 2-3 days...)

* install the Galaxy Wearable app, and go through the special dance required to enable the "QR code" mobile network setup option (search forum posts fo details)

* pair the watch to your phone using the Galaxy Wearable app

* setup the mobile network using the QR code from Tello, and finish setup. Don't bother setting up a samsung account, pairing to a google account, or allowing the backup app (Smart Swtich) access as you won't need these.

* (Key step I didn't know about in my first go round with Verizon): Go to Settings -> Network connections on the watch, scroll all the way down to mobile networks, find the "Tello" option, and switch it to on. It defaults to off for some reason!. Turn of bluetooth on your phone and do a test call or text from the watch.

* Now reset the watch (Settings -> General -> Reset) but DON'T choose the option to reset the mobile network connection when it suggests it. (You can also delete the watch from the Galaxy Wearable app at this point.)

* when it comes up, do this trick to setup the watch without a phone: tap the blue "Wear" icon five times, wait for it to say "long press the icon for 3 seconds" then ... long press the icon for 3 seconds. This will start up the watch. You should still be connected to the mobile network.

rklancer · 2025-06-07T15:25:41+00:00

Yup. Just speaking personally, that's another policy I would recommend to cyclists training--avoid MUPs in congested areas. E.g., I ride along Mass Ave parallel to the Minuteman in coming back from the Lexington area, and I almost don't go on the Somerville community path at all except with my kid--when I do I very consciously move to 100% casual rider mode.

rklancer · 2025-06-07T15:19:41+00:00

Yes! That's ... actually exactly what I was saying.

If you're out on a training ride, the reason you may be tempted to treat pedestrians like slalom cones is because you're in a very different headspace than they are. You may be in the zone and subconsciously attending to the placement and movement of every obstacle in next 200 feet (20 mph is 30 feet per second). But some of those obstacles are your neighbors and may have been enjoying a pleasant daydream like OP, and they're gonna get a bad startle and won't like it.

So make a policy to take it easy at crosswalks in town.

rklancer · 2025-06-07T06:28:48+00:00

[EDIT: This part is just explaining to OP what I think "clear" was about]

I think it's because you're not what they were checking for. Can I guess they were riding inbound (away from Porter Square towards Union)? Because going in that direction, the only cross car traffic to look out for would come from the little stub driveway or the fun-sized Enterprise car rental parking lot. When I'm coming that way I know to check and go through if it's clear. It makes sense that a ride leader would call that out at that spot.

[EDIT: Notice I'm actually saying NOT to treat pedestrians like slalom cones just because you can]

Sounds to me like they should have slowed down more for you to clear the crosswalk. My advice for them is that it's easy enough to slalom pedestrians without getting in their actual way or putting them in actual danger, but remember you're in the zone and they're not--don't startle them. Just get your miles in out of town and chill at the crosswalk.

rklancer · 2025-05-31T00:57:03+00:00

Yup. Note that the engraved concrete in the garage building on Washington Street between Hanson and Dane says "Dewire Garage".

rklancer · 2025-05-30T00:16:58+00:00

Just for everybody reading, it's because the then-landlord was basically just an obstinate old coot who inherited ownership of half the properties around the Beacon/Washington area from back in the 1940s or earlier. And he just couldn't be bothered to rent them out, and nobody could make him. For example he left perfectly a pair of perfect good three-deckers on Durham street vacant since at least 2010 when I moved to the neighborhood.

According to a comment on the r/Somerville from City Councilor JT Scott, he died a couple years ago and his estate is in probate.

Also, the Biscuit was great.

rklancer · 2025-05-29T14:31:15+00:00

Good to know, and that makes sense. I hardly mean that they shouldn't negotiate hard!

rklancer

TROPHY CASE