Queries, links, and anecdotes

[magid]

Queries

1. Boston local: can anyone recommend a divorce lawyer?
   
2. NJ central, south of Newark: does anyone know a role-playing group that needs a player or two?
   
3. Anyone have a cable for a Sony digital camera I can borrow? (I'm not giving up on finding the one I already own just yet, but I really do want to get photos off the camera. *dangles photo posts* if that's an inducement; other bribes open to negotiation :-)
   
4. Anyone want an Ultralast UP-NPBG1 3.6V rechargeable lithium camera battery? It cost me $30ish, so ideally I'd like to trade it for something. (*grumbles* about salespeople who sell batteries the camera won't read)

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Links
Google maps now offers walking directions. Beta, of course, but neat.

A Boston environmental group that has started an urban orchard in JP. Residents with space grow a tree or two or more, and the fruit is available to all. Very cool.

A company that specializes in UV-protection clothes (thanks to Hammercock for the link).

An AAA-equivalent that includes bike towing: Better World Club.

An index of businesses in Inman Square (*cough* metro-Inman, apparently).

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Anecdotes, etc.
I was westbound on Broadway at the intersection with Hampshire, stopped at the light in the bike lane. A bus came up on my right, in the right turn lane, and the driver slid his window open to chat. "Wanna race?" I laughed. "You're turning!" He admitted it, and we shared a grin. As the light changed, he said "Stay safe," and drove off. It felt particularly nice as an antidote to at least one or two of those "bus drivers are out to get bicyclists" moments.

I'm a very lucky person: one of my friends lives a couple of blocks away, and has an apricot tree in his yard (it was a housewarming present; how cool is that?). It's fruiting wildly, and I got to go over and help pick hundreds of apricots, then have my first apricot daiquiri. I think there will be apricot chutney in my future, too, since my freezer doesn't have room enough for apricot pies. Possibly apricot jam, too (with or without cranberries).

There are huge areas of Boston I'm completely unfamiliar with. Thursday I meandered on the bike*, and started to get a sense of Fort Point and the North End, linking up bits on my mental map. I'm still not sure how I ended up in the loading zone for the Trade Center** (though I know the left was the only option at that intersection that wouldn't put me on Rte. 93)... Oh, and the surface of the bridge to Charlestown is sucky for riding.
* Once I'm in Boston, it's interesting to explore. I almost never head downtown unless I have plans with people, though: too much stop and go.
** I'd originally thought I'd find the Harborwalk and bike through East Boston and Dorchester down to Quincy, but never did get myself off the surface streets.

I was wearing my sun/rain hat, walking a few blocks from home, when this afternoon's downpour started. I was surprised and pleased when a passing guy offered space under his umbrella while our paths coincided. Extra bonus: his English accent. (Not that it made any difference in the long run: I got drenched. But it was incredibly sweet, and nothing I'd expect from a random person.)

Dear city planner,
Painting a bike logo on the shoulder of a road may be part of making a bike lane, but dealing with the debris, potholes, and other hazards is necessary to complete the process. Please make a note of this.
Thank you,
me

Comments

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Oh, apricots! I don't think there is any appropriate way to eat them except ripe directly from the tree. I have tried buying them at farmers' markets, but they are never the delicious, ripe to the point of total structural collapse, deliciously sweet fruit I remember from childhood (there's a tree in my parents' yard). The fruit at the markets is invariably too hard and tart, and it doesn't seem to ripen well left out on the kitchen counter.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I ate a couple while picking. $Friend said he brought some in to work, but the walk turned them into pulp. So I'm assuming that they're mostly ripe enough to suit your criteria. Want to come over for an apricot or two, even if not directly from the tree?

[docorion.livejournal.com]

For my divorce I used Steven Kornstein (http://www.google.com/search?q=steven+kornstein+boston&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a); he doesn't 'specialize' in divorce law, but he had a good grasp of it, and was a big help for me. (My sense is that lawyers are forbidden by their professional associations to 'specialize', or more specifically to say they are specialists. Steven had a fair bit of divorce clue, though).

If that link doesn't work, just google him up-that's what I did, because my divorce is long enough ago that I had purged his phone number.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thank you.