Imo, opening Moody St to outdoor dining in the summer would go a LONG way towards that. The last couple of summers it's made Waltham feel like a place to be. They're still deliberating about whether to do it again this summer and I hope enough folks turn out in support of it.

I tend to agree on the commute into the city being shitty, and I still use my car for grocery shopping and such, but depending on where in the city you're going it can actually be really doable without a car. Mine sucks because I commute to somewhere that's not very transit-accessible, so I have to drive, but a commute to Cambridge is reasonable on the commuter rail.

There's a bookstore/secondhand shop where I live that basically has this premise. They hire kids who've aged out of the foster system or are about to so that they can get some work experience, the idea being to involve them really closely in the running of the business so that they learn skills they can take with them. My understanding is they also have programs for life skills and generally getting on their feet. I try to donate and shop there as much as I can because they do such important work. I could totally see where a farm would lend itself really well to this too.

I'm a short person who drives a tall car, and after getting tired of making do with a broom/step stool, I bought an extendable snow brush and it's been an absolute game changer. Mine even has a rubber attachment that I use to break up ice when my car is completely encased. Strategy is to turn the car on and let it melt a little, then go to town with the rubber end. Safe for the paint job and oddly satisfying.

Hard agree. Did this with a friend awhile back on one of those gorgeous 60 degree fall days. We didn't feel the need to pay for a guided tour, we just walked the various sites at our own pace. Bonus points for the fact that we did this on a weekday (she came up for a long weekend) and there was NO line at Mike's. I was introduced to the Boston area by someone who tended to avoid the touristy areas, which is all well and good, and some of those off-the-beaten-path areas are now among my favorite places, but sometimes it's really fun to be a total stereotypical tourist for a day.

Also RCN, we pay about $60 for 500 Mbps. We've been customers for just over 2 years and when our rates go up my partner calls and asks for either a lower rate or faster speeds. I think we started at the 100 Mbps tier for $30ish.

Got my COVID booster last weekend - I had COVID in July so this put me right at the three months post-infection when they say you should get it. Tried to get it at Walgreens a few days prior and they cancelled on me due to staffing issues, but I booked at a different Walgreens and had no trouble. Had a surprising lack of side effects, though that could be from switching from Moderna to Pfizer. Flu shot, I figured I'd get it if they offered it to me when I was getting my COVID shot, and they didn't, so I'll be looking into my work clinic or other pharmacies in the hopes of getting it before the end of the month.