Martinator's Moblog

2009-04-16T08:43:00.001-04:00

So far has raised just over $200 for his Pan Mass Challenge ride. :-) http://ping.fm/gjBic

2009-04-14T17:03:00.001-04:00

Nice weather + April = bugs...

2009-04-14T08:18:00.001-04:00

Is surprised at how empty Rt-495 was during this morning's commute.

2009-04-12T07:11:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T20:38:00.001-04:00

Is watching Charlton Heston free the slaves from Egypt.

2009-04-11T14:35:00.001-04:00

Rain + kids = cabin fever

2009-04-10T19:53:00.001-04:00

At Opa's, in Ringwood, and very tired.

2009-04-10T18:46:00.001-04:00

http://ping.fm/p/xP4qp - Catherine enjoying her Bananas Strawberry Flambe that she got to help make.

2009-04-10T16:09:00.001-04:00

Off to Cafe Amore for Shrimp Parm.

2009-04-10T14:00:00.001-04:00

Forgot how good pizza could taste. Now at grandma's.

2009-04-10T12:52:00.001-04:00

Almost at Grandma's. Stopped at Benito's Pizzaria to get some good pizza.

2009-04-10T09:39:00.001-04:00

Is on the road.

2009-04-10T07:14:00.001-04:00

Is headed to NJ this morning as soon as I get my act together (still in PJs, still have to pack, ...)

2009-04-09T20:15:00.001-04:00

Just in case you can't get that other Wang Chung song out of your head from this morning: "Dance Hall Days" ♫ http://twt.fm/38252

2009-04-09T16:09:00.001-04:00

Is on his way home :-)

2009-04-09T08:38:00.001-04:00

For some unknown reason, I have this song stuck in my head this morning:
Wang Chung "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight" ♫ http://twt.fm/36841

2009-04-09T06:01:00.001-04:00

Might have actually gotten p good nights sleep for a change.

2009-04-08T14:47:00.001-04:00

is suffering through the after-taste of a stale Kashi bar...

2009-04-08T09:07:00.001-04:00

Is riding the Pan Mass Challenge to raise funds to fight Cancer. Please visit my PMC profile and sponsor me: http://ping.fm/gjBic

2009-04-07T08:21:00.001-04:00

Only had a small cup of coffee this morning. I think I need some more...

2009-04-06T06:59:00.001-04:00

Is meeting a friend for breakfast at Boston Bean Co. In downtown Maynard.

2009-04-05T20:08:00.001-04:00

Is at a concert in Central Square (Cambridge) at the YMCA.

2009-04-05T14:49:00.001-04:00

Just went for a nice bike ride with my daughter.

2009-04-05T07:05:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I installed a kick-stand on my daughter's bike. Here's the story: http://ping.fm/NNGbR

2009-04-04T16:00:00.001-04:00

Successfully installed a kick-stand on his daughter's bicycle :-) Blog entry forthcoming...

2009-04-04T14:09:00.001-04:00

Is going to install a kick stand on his daughter's bike today. Al least I am going to try...

2009-04-04T07:19:00.001-04:00

Trying out Ping.fm...

Monster of the Day II

2008-02-26T14:41:00.001-05:00

Swoop

How deep is the snow in beer?

2008-02-22T18:06:00.001-05:00

At ~ 4:00 this afternoon, the snow was almost 1 Bitburger deep!

Monster of the Day

2008-02-21T15:34:00.000-05:00

I work at Monster now. There are monsters scattered throughout the office. This is Skeeter.

Catherine skiing

2008-01-21T12:39:00.002-05:00

Click to Play

She loves it!

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Go Patriots!

2008-01-04T13:05:00.001-05:00

Left over ice sculpture from Boston's First Night.

Post Office Square

2007-12-14T07:31:00.001-05:00

21st Century Graffiti

2007-12-04T16:28:00.001-05:00

Next step: hyperlinked graffiti...

December Boston

2007-12-03T07:46:00.001-05:00

Snow comes to Boston.

All-Bran Construction Worker

2007-12-02T07:50:00.001-05:00

This is one funny commercial!

Boston Holiday Lights

2007-11-14T12:50:00.001-05:00

Getting ready...

Fire Trucks at Fanueil Hall

2007-11-07T11:38:00.001-05:00

Must be some kind of Ceremony

Alternative Transportation

2007-10-26T11:48:00.000-04:00

Old Caddie on State St

2007-10-18T13:28:00.001-04:00

Photo Shoot: North End

2007-10-18T13:19:00.001-04:00

Sunrise, Clouds, the Harbor, and a Tall Ship

2007-09-28T07:13:00.001-04:00

The tall ship in the harbor is the Argintinian ARA Libertad . It's hard to see in this photo, but it is quite a site.

The beginning...

2007-09-27T12:08:00.000-04:00

I wonder how long it will take for these vines to completely overtake the structure...

New Section of Greenway Open

2007-09-27T12:07:00.000-04:00

I think this just opened today.

Naval battle

2007-08-24T10:25:00.001-04:00

USS Constitution

2007-08-24T10:21:00.001-04:00

USS Constitution

2007-08-24T10:17:00.001-04:00

Metro Sudoku

2007-08-20T06:10:00.001-04:00

This mornings sudoku in the Metro paper was stupid easy!

Volley ball in Boston?

2007-08-16T13:06:00.001-04:00

A sand court set up next to Fanuel Hall.

Bluetooth what?

2007-08-04T16:05:00.001-04:00

Folks in Alabama trying to exchange Ringtones via Bluetooth while relaxing on a pier on Mobile Bay. Gotta love the 21st Century...

Atlanta, Terminal C

2007-07-30T13:45:00.001-04:00

Essentially all I've ever seen of Atlanta...

News vans

2007-07-20T15:50:00.001-04:00

Never a good sign when there are news vans right outside your building...

Norfolk Sunrise

2007-07-13T07:05:00.001-04:00

Duck Tour...

2007-06-25T17:12:00.001-04:00

Duck Tour passing by in the "West End" of Boston. Which is north west of the "North End" and is the neighborhood where North Station is located.

Big Ass Tanker

2007-06-22T13:12:00.001-04:00

USS Constitution Sets Sail...

2007-06-22T11:28:00.001-04:00

Not sure why, but the USS Constitution traveled out into Boston Harbor this morning. It then fired its canons out by the Black Hawk Terminal, and then returned.

It was cool to see this! The picture doesn't do it justice...

Summer's Here Elizabeth...

2007-06-21T14:22:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth enjoying the first official day of Summer...

Malatya Pazari

2007-06-12T10:54:00.001-04:00

A "Turkish Delight" brought in from a colleague who just recently visited her family in Turkey. It is pretty much sugar and nuts, and tastes VERY yummy...

WunderFrau Webisode 1

2007-06-12T09:15:00.000-04:00

WunderFrau is a comedic webisode series shot Astoria, NY. WunderFrau focuses on the story of a certain Super Heroine's "Simple" cousin, Dotty and her mildly super adventures.

My wife's cousin, Karl Bischoff (KBLZ Productions LLC), is a talented photographer and aspiring film maker.

What I want to know is: Where can I get a "Brick of Truth"? I imagine it is not as effective at the "Lasso of Truth", but probably much more satisfying...

Big Yacht

2007-06-07T12:40:00.001-04:00

The "Domani" moored right off Long Wharf Park. Must be nice...

Japanese Jack-in-the-Pulpit

2007-05-24T18:23:00.001-04:00

This latest edition to our shade garden is doing quite well. It is the first to bloom. We may get more of these next spring.

Norfolk Sunrise

2007-05-24T05:57:00.001-04:00

Cool Shot of the Sun behind a cloud at the Norfolk MBTA station.

Quincy Market & The North End

2007-05-23T08:34:00.001-04:00

This morning's scenic shot taken not too longs after the sunrise.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

2007-05-21T15:09:00.001-04:00

I just Had My Wisdom tooth Extracted. I don't even Remember going under or waking up. Now I am just waiting for my wife who just showed up.,

Me. Wet.

2007-05-16T15:53:00.001-04:00

I didn't leave early enough to miss the rain. It isn't even the heavy rain yet.

Looking Out Over the Harbor

2007-05-16T15:38:00.003-04:00

I like the contrast of "dark" and "light" as the leading edge of the storm clouds pass over the harbor.

Thunderstorm Coming

2007-05-16T15:38:00.001-04:00

This is what the severe thunderstorm looked like as it came in to Boston from the west.

Greenway Progress

2007-05-16T11:01:00.001-04:00

The fountain near the Aquarium seems to be coming along nicely. All those trees are brand new. Instant park...

Storm Clouds Rolling In...

2007-05-11T11:29:00.001-04:00

Rain clouds coming from the easy and headed west out over the harbor.

1634: The Galileo Affair

2007-05-11T10:19:00.001-04:00

1634: The Galileo Affair

This is what I am currently reading. An interesting and fun series to read. This is the third or fourth book, depending on if you count the anthology of short stories "Ring of Fire". (I count it).

I've read 1632 and 1633, which I enjoyed immensley. I think I've learned more about 17th century Europe through these novels than I ever did in school. After these two books, the series becomes less linear. The subsequent novels, like history itself, branches. I am curious to see how the continuity of story is maintained with each of these branches, particularly since they are co-authored.

Window Washer

2007-05-10T11:50:00.001-04:00

Not a job that I envy...

Monday Morning...

2007-05-07T07:31:00.000-04:00

I dropped my car off at the dealership and rode my bike to the Natick Train station. I just missed the 6:14. It was pulling away as I rode up. So I ate breakfast at Russ's Lunch in downtown Natick and caught the 7:10.

Dealership to T - Dropped the car off at the dealership and rode my trusty old mountain bike to the train station.

T to Dealership - The ride back to the Dealership from the train station.

Thank God for Helmets!

2007-04-29T07:38:00.001-04:00

I took my friend Kathy out on a ride on Saturday. At mile 11.5 she lost control of her bike going down a hill at 20 mph and went head first into the road. A passing driver called an Ambulance and it arrived within 5 minutes. She was unconscious for a couple of minutes. As you can see from the pictures, the hemlet made a difference.

Just look at how compressed the one side is.

It was scary seeing someone that hurt and unconscious. I was ahead of her and I heard her go down. I turned around and saw that she fell. Then I saw that she was very twisted and moving in a weird way. At first I thought she broke her collarbone. She was moving, but not conscious or aware. She had a "beyond blank" look in her eyes. She was very bloody. After I determined she had not broken her collarbone, I carefully positioned her so that she was on her back and elevated her legs. I also tried to keep her "awake", I didn't want her eyes to close and have her go completly unconscious. After 2-3 minutes she became coherent. "What happened?" was the first thing she said. Then "How's my bike?", I knew she was going to be alright at that point. Five minutes after the wreck, the Bellingham EMS trucks came and they took over.

This helmet took the brunt of the impact.

Amazingly, she has no broken bones. Not even a cracked skull. Again, the helmet pretty much saved her life.

Kathy's Wreck @11.5 miles. The remainder of the route is from when the bikes were being transported to the Bellingham Police Station for safe keeping.

Seven

2007-04-22T14:56:00.000-04:00

My friend Kathy taking her new triathalon bike out for a spin. It's a Seven.

Saturday Evening Ride - One More Shot

2007-04-21T17:45:00.000-04:00

One more gratuitious shot of myself with my cell phone camera...

Saturday Evening Ride

2007-04-21T17:44:00.000-04:00

Finally, a nice day to go for a ride. I managed to squeeze one in before the sun set.

Disabling ClearType for Your Site...

2007-04-19T11:37:00.000-04:00

Recently at work, I was asked "How come the ClearType isn't rendering on the page you coded?" I wasn't sure why. I didn't care much either as I personally don't like how ClearType renders. (I think it makes text blurry and more difficult to read, especially on smaller fonts...)

So after some research (Googling) I found out why from the IEBlog, this post in particular: Notes on the interaction of ClearType with DXTransforms in IE7.

It states:

To ensure good readability of Text in IE, in the Release Candidate build we decided to disable ClearType on elements that use any DXTransform. We will render the text in those elements as aliased text, in order to increase readability.

Oh, ok. Hmmm, since I personally do not like ClearType, all I have to do in order to disable it form my personal web site, Martinator.com, is to apply a DXTransform filter to the BODY tag that essentially does nothing :-)

body {
     filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Gradient
            (GradientType=0, 
             StartColorStr='#00FFFFFF',
             EndColorStr='#00FFFFFF'); 
     }

Now my site is ClearType free and the smaller fonts no longer render as "blurry."

Street Performer

2007-04-19T11:33:00.001-04:00

The sun finally comes out here in Boston, and so do the street performers. This shot is looking down at Fanuel Hall and Quincy Market.

Kathy and Teddy

2007-04-16T16:30:00.000-04:00

My friend Kathy with Teddy after she ran the Boston Marathon.

Good Pizza Downtown

2007-04-13T10:30:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I went to lunch with Jay (we share an office) to Oggi Pizza. It was good.

Oggi
131 Broad St
Boston, MA 02110

www.oggigourmet.com

My Office Window...

2007-04-03T11:44:00.000-04:00

This is where I am sitting for the time being. It faces south and I get some nice views of the harbor and the Seaport District.

Clock Tower

2007-03-23T13:54:00.001-04:00

The Customs House with Boston Harbor in the background.

Rose Kennedy Greenway

2007-03-21T14:22:00.001-04:00

The greenway is starting to take shape. It looks so different with the highway gone.

Morning...

2007-03-21T07:30:00.000-04:00

Morning in Boston. The view from my window. Just an excuse to test whether I can post photos from my new Blackberry :-)

Nice Lobby...

2007-03-20T08:23:00.001-04:00

I am waiting here because I am too early and I don't have a badge yet...

The View...

2007-03-19T10:50:00.000-04:00

I can see my old office from my new office.

Day 1

2007-03-19T10:28:00.000-04:00

American Well. My new job is in this building.

Last Snow?

2007-03-16T13:33:00.001-04:00

Winter's grand finale...

Mercury 428

2007-03-14T17:36:00.000-04:00

They don't make cars like these anymore...

Mario's in Lexington

2007-03-14T13:46:00.000-04:00

I went to Mario's in downtown Lexington, MA for lunch today. I had their Chicken Parm w/shells lunch special.

One Word:

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Route 109 - Dover

2007-02-26T06:41:00.000-05:00

Slow and snowy...

Waiting...

2007-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

He's not the only one waiting for the girls to come home from visiting family...

A Light Snow

2007-02-23T06:40:00.000-05:00

A nice snowy morning.

Meanwhile at Home...

2007-02-22T14:09:00.000-05:00

Catherine is helping mommy make brownies.

Oracle Presentation

2007-02-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

Sitting through a dry Oracle Portal Application Server 10g R2 (10.1.2) presentation. Maybe one or two slides apply to me regarding customizing the interface and creating a "skin". However, it isn't anything I haven't figured out on my own yet.

New Job...

2007-02-05T08:17:00.001-05:00

I'm starting my new job today up here in Lexington. There is a Peet's Coffee here :-)

Ice Cream

2007-02-03T16:32:00.001-05:00

We stopped for ice cream after our first time ice skating.

Bye Bye Integra...

2007-01-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I sold my 1998 Acura Integra GS-R :-)

It was a good car and still is good car. I have just outgrown it...

Lunch in a Cafe

2007-01-04T12:47:00.000-05:00

Today I am having lunch in a cafe in downtown Franklin, MA. MelDiva's www.meldiva.com

One Liberty Square

2006-12-28T09:47:00.001-05:00

A memorial for the freedom fighters who died during the October 1956 uprising in Hungary.