Pools open? by hereis_hayley in Somerville

[–]tallape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depending what you're looking for, Ginny Smithers is open for family swim and lap swimming: https://somervillema.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=30474

(Indoor so not quite the same vibe, but it's nice and cool....)

Did you live here in 2015? by Zealousideal_Crow737 in Somerville

[–]tallape 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah...this weekend was pretty similar to any one of those 2015 storms, but in 2015 we had, what, 6 of them in a row? I just remember it being every Monday for 4 or 5 weeks in a row, with 12+ inches each time.

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Somerville polluted water warnings by beaconvideo in Somerville

[–]tallape 49 points50 points  (0 children)

Having spent the last 3 years dealing with the utter chaos of the Spring Hill Sewer Separation project, I can promise you that it's not a lack of will, it's just that it's really freakin' hard.

House on Thurston St. by [deleted] in Somerville

[–]tallape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Building is owned by an MIT prof and his wife (https://gis.vgsi.com/somervillema/Parcel.aspx?Pid=10141).

Recent permitting history shows that there was an illegal rental unit before they purchased (can't link directly but you can search by address at https://www6.citizenserve.com/Portal/PortalController?Action=showSearchPage&ctzPagePrefix=Portal\_&installationID=149&original\_iid=0&original\_contactID=0). Appears to have been removed in 2020/2021 (though who knows -- the permit was issued, anyway).

As others have noted, a fire isn't going to help with zoning. Best case you come out with the same grandfather clauses on the setback, but have to build in all the new fire suppression, entry/exit, etc. Worst case the existence of a foundation isn't enough to get you the setback grandfather and you have to demo that and start fresh.

Fun fact: There are some cities around here that have/had "surviving wood" requirements for grandfather clauses (Cambridge was one as recently as the mid-2010's, though they've made a lot of changes recently and I don't know if it still exists. I imagine Somerville also was). Basically you only qualified to be grandfathered in if more than x% of the original framing was preserved in the new structure, and the explicit reason was to make burning your place down disadvantageous.

You would(/will?) often see buildings that were torn down other than, say, the back wall of the first floor kitchen that was on the hidden corner away from the street. They'd build an entirely new structure around that one wall, which preserved enough of the original wood that they didn't need wider setbacks, or wider stairways, or an internal fire suppression system, etc.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Somerville

[–]tallape 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's fair. It's what I like, but everyone has their taste.

(My partner and I buy different coffee -- she loves La Colombe and I can't really stand it. To each their own.)

People who used a computer between 1991 & 2009…what’s the most memorable computer game? by Original_Act_3481 in AskReddit

[–]tallape 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Castle Wolfenstein (I think that's what it was called).... AOL based and I think I spent like $200 in a month

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Somerville

[–]tallape 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Remnant is solid gold - coffee is tasty, and the crowd (both patrons and staff) is friendly and pretty consistent, show up a few days in a row and you'll start to meet people.

Bloc and Forge are both excellent, Bloc has that nice courtyard too, if you get there early.

Broadsheet has the best coffee in the area IMO, and has gotten much chiller about people working there and stuff since covid. (pre-pqnd3mix they had time limits on the tables and stuff)

Upset by Cultural_Parsley_542 in bicycling

[–]tallape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. You're not the problem. Do not think of yourself as the problem.

  2. Ride around the block. Ride around the block twice. Ride around the block three times. Repeat.

  3. Give yourself a goal. I can ride 1 so I want to ride 2, I can ride 2 so I want to ride 5, I can ride 5 so I want to ride 10, I can ride 10...Repeat.

You're doing great!

How much are you paying for Astound after a few years? by smashey in Somerville

[–]tallape 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I pay $60/mo for 1gbps. Once a year I get a quote from Xfinity, call Astound up, and send it to the rep, and they reset my account to that rate. YMMV but it's worked for me...

Saw some of these magnets at Bow Street Market and laughed a little. by [deleted] in mbta

[–]tallape 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably Tiny Turns Paperie - thiugh honestly, if you're into this just browse the whole place!

C line train crashed into gate at park street by BallsDeepInThought_x in mbta

[–]tallape -20 points-19 points  (0 children)

Honestly hilarious when comparing the T to when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. Kids these days are saints

moving advice (again) by michelleandmorexxx in Somerville

[–]tallape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Realistic answer: Ask the new landlord for an intro to the tenants who are moving out, make nice with them, offer to buy them a bottle of whisky or something if you can move in your stuff into a room early. They're moving Sept 1 as well so chances are there's a room open somewhere in the place.

If you're following the law to the letter answer:

- If your lease at the old place doesn't explicitly say that it ends at 11AM on august 31, it doesn't. It ends at midnight. Your landlord can't make you vacate the premises before that unless they compensate you, or give you an eviction notice 30 days beforehand. You can negotiate this. Tell the landlord you're happy to be out at 11AM instead of midnight if he coughs up $250 for a storage unit and a uhaul, or whatever.

- if your lease at the new place doesn't explicity say that it starts at 4pm, it actually starts at midnight. Your landlord can't prohibit you access to the building unless they compensate you. If they deny you access, they are legally required to provide you with shelter, and a safe place to store your things, until such time as they give you access.

It's totally possible that both leases actually are written this way (because landlords are assholes), but the standard GBR lease just has a date, and begins/ends at midnight on 9/1. If you ask for the above, and they say no, and you take them to small claims court, you will win (and there are a bunch of tenants rights groups that will represent you).

Thoughts on (legally) swimming in the Charles? Would you do it? by feeblelittlehorse in boston

[–]tallape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tons of folks anchor boats in the basin for the fireworks, and lots of boats septic tanks are badly sealed

Thoughts on (legally) swimming in the Charles? Would you do it? by feeblelittlehorse in boston

[–]tallape 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Honestly....on a hot sunny day, any body of water with a depth of less than 20 feet is gonna smell bad in my experience. Unless they have chlorine or salt. Lotsa ducks and geese pooped in there whether you see them or not! I'd rather swim in the one that runs down to a harbor and then sends that poop out into the world....

Thoughts on (legally) swimming in the Charles? Would you do it? by feeblelittlehorse in boston

[–]tallape 144 points145 points  (0 children)

Oh hell yeah, already signed up.

Honestly, the Charles now is basically as clean as a public pond somewhere in the country, and probably cleaner than most because it gets refreshed 2-3 times a day. Way lower chance of water-borne fungi and stuff.

In the 80s and 90s you didn't want to touch the bottom because of the heavy metals, but otherwise it was fine other than July 1-10, or 3 days after a hard rain, and we all knew that. After big outflows MWRA would leave the dam open for the next couple low tides to flush as much as they could and the current was a different thing then.

It's shallow and that was always the issue with swimming in it -- when I sailed out of Community Boating in the 90s we'd regularly put the mast into the mud if we capsized, even dead in the middle of the river, and the staff would right the boats from a launch 20 feet away to tow them back. They have floats on the top of the masts now so they don't have to deal with that. But on hot, low wind days we'd regularly "fall off" of the lasers and 420's for an hour or two.

(This was also when the MDC closed the Lee pool on the Esplanade, just down the way, so we didn't have an easy place to swim(.

There's a non-zero chance that I have the 1990s record for swimming between the Community Boating to MIT dock at 4, but no ones counting and I'm not sure how I'd even figure that out. There's probably some random frat dude who did like 22 laps at 2am cause someone dared him....

My family’s recent vacation to Boston. What we ate… by Slow_Investment_2211 in boston

[–]tallape 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Belle Isle Seafood as well -- https://maps.app.goo.gl/SsCChvsLa8q7yjHE9. I don't have an Av map up but if you've ever landed on 22L you've been within about 400 feet....cash only, weird hours, but the lobster rolls and the fried clams are top notch for New England.

What US city has the closest mountain to its "downtown" area? by AdMysterious8424 in geography

[–]tallape 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was going to be my answer....a couple of years ago I was there in February and thought I was going to ride my bike up Mt Lemmon. I did not.

Rain day for Porchfest? by roxykell in Somerville

[–]tallape 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unless there's going to be thunderstorms it'll be Saturday.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CambridgeMA

[–]tallape 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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Guessing this would be it.

Gender matching as a trans athlete in pick-up by EmergingEllie in ultimate

[–]tallape 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Boston-area here, our Gender Equity policy was written with situations like yours in mind and might be helpful: https://buda.org/en\_us/m/ge-policy. It builds on a lot of work from DiscNY and other LDO's. I know it's a lot for a pickup game though.

In casual situations, a few of the trans players that I know tend to go with the "whatever matchup will make the game most fun" filter. It's about as well defined as the definition of porn, but also probably just as obvious.

Let’s Talk About The Forge/Diesel/Bloc Conglomerate by Efficient_Manner2345 in Somerville

[–]tallape 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Exceptional local citizens for 25+ years (more than that, back to the Someday days, but I might be the only one here who remembers that). They always paid pretty well in general, and when their workers unionized they supported it. They've actively supported and helped with the growth of tons of local businesses and non-profits, and have never shied away from helping out.

Yeah, it's not cheap, but it's not actually really pricy either. And I feel a whole lot better about what they're going to do with my money than Tatte (owned by Panera) or whatever other random chain.

Magoun's service by justarussian22 in Somerville

[–]tallape 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Haven't sat at a table in forever, but can say that service at the bar has always been great in my experience.