Mr. Hakkarainen goes to Helsinki
Posted: February 29, 2012 Filed under: finland, hakkarainen Comments Off[This post is one of a series about Teuvo Hakkarainen, the newly elected True Finns Party MP from Viitasaari. For the record, my grandfather was born in Viitasaari.]
The Helsingin Sanomat is reporting that our man in Helsinki was out drinking with a biker gang and did not pay a woman for sex. (He did say that he gave the woman €100 “out of pity.” The biker gang, Bandidos, are listed as an organized crime organization in Finland.
Here’s Mr. Hakkarainen’s contrite explanation (in Finnish) of what happened.
Channel 4 also has the story
Sysco Puts Organic, Local Food on the Marketing Menu
Posted: February 29, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: CMO Site, food, local food, sysco Comments OffSysco, the nation’s largest food distributor, recognized that its success was becoming a problem. It dominated its market with its efficient order management and distribution of low-cost food products.
Read the rest on my blog, Sysco Puts Organic, Local Food on the Marketing Menu, at TheCMOSite.com.
Crime in suburbia
Posted: February 27, 2012 Filed under: crime in suburbia, holden Comments OffFrom The Landmark (subscription required):
[Editor's note: there were 16 suspicious items this week.]
508-829-5981. After verification, news of acquittals will be published.
Holden
Monday — February 20
2:20 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle parked at old police station, Main St.
7:00 a.m. Party at station with dog found on Quinapoxet Rd.
7:06 a.m. Caller with question regarding door-to-door sales
9:33 a.m. Caller with question regarding license to carry
10:37 a.m. Car parked in bad location, Brentwood Dr.
11:56 a.m. Molly Velasco into station to apply for solicitor’s permit
1:42 p.m. Party in lobby to donate stuffed animals
4:54 p.m. PandW Railroad calling regarding five kids playing chicken on the tracks at Bailey Rd.
5:21 p.m. Big Y calling regarding birds in store, referred to animal control officer
6:20 p.m. Female called about kids yelling at her in car, General Hobbs Rd.
8:37 p.m. Neighbor’s dog barking for hours, Park Ave.
10:48 p.m. Officer at Mobil Station, checking on beer purchase
Tuesday — February 21
1:05 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle parked on Jennifer Dr. all day
9:51 a.m. Out with male running on Brattle St. Student from Holy Cross
10:03 a.m. Advised person walking behind radio towers that owners don’t want people there, Shrewsbury St.
10:43 a.m. Lyndon LaRouche PAC supporters call to say they will be on sidewalk in front of Post Office, Main St.
5:52 p.m. Teacher set off alarm, Dawson School
Wednesday — February 22
1:35 a.m. Suspicious white truck with black flatbed driving up and down Country Hill Rd and Main St. Driver is looking for directions
11:38 a.m. Multiple calls for Town Hall and town clerk’s office, may be phone line problem
12:24 p.m. Multiple phone calls for various town departments, ‘very annoying’
1:14 p.m. Multiple calls for wrong numbers for town offices and senior center
5:55 p.m. Kids loitering, senior center, Main St.
Thursday — February 23
12:16 a.m. Caller’s house hit with eggs within the last five minutes, Wachusett St. Would like area checked overnight
10:25 a.m. White pick-up in caller’s driveway last night around
10 p.m., Anderson Ave. When dog barked, driver left quickly
1:53 p.m. Person sitting in vehicle at Jefferson Post Office screaming on cellphone. Officer reports party is having a loud conversation
3:30 p.m. Young male asked for directions to Holden center, seemed dazed and went in opposite direction
Friday — February 24
9:28 p.m. Neighbors are out for evening and there are people in their driveway, Parker Ave.
Saturday — February 25
12:39 p.m. Four-wheeler driving around Eagle Lake
5:18 p.m. Male, 6’6′, black jacket, reported near Mobil Station buying alcohol and cigarettes for minors. No contact
Sunday — February 26
4:48 p.m. Missing stop sign at Quinapoxet Rd.
Paxton
Monday — February 20
12:23 p.m. Loose terrier, Highland St.
Tuesday — February 21
3:23 p.m. Officer spoke with young children playing hockey in Grove St., moving them along
8:25 p.m. Suspicious auto parked across from caller’s residence; belongs to neighbor’s visitor
11:51 p.m. Caller advising her neighbors downstairs have been loud and slamming doors all night, both parties spoken to, Pleasant St.
Wednesday — February 22
9:56 a.m. Caller reporting male in woods behind her residence, workers repairing dam on reservoir property, Crowningshield Dr.
Thursday — February 23
12:25 p.m. Caller saw males on her neighbor’s property drinking alcohol, notified homeowner who yelled at them, one is running, Pleasant St.,
4:08 p.m. Two people on ATVs riding on Holden Rd., officer spoke with father who will locate his son and address the issue
9:27 p.m. Officer flagged down by several students in regard to issue with taxi, Anna Maria College. Officer transported one intoxicated female student to residence hall, cab fare collected
Friday — February 24
2:23 p.m. Caller saw a group of teens walking, may be intoxicated, Asnebumskit Rd.; officer reports everything appears OK
2:58 p.m. Caller says two youths were walking, breaking plow markers, Grove St.; negative contact
Saturday — February 25
2:48 p.m. Cow wandering on Grove St.
Sunday — February 26
12:36 p.m. Dog wandering in South St.
Princeton
Monday — February 20
1:36 a.m. Officer found vehicle running with no one in it, Main St.; owner contacted and advised that the remote starter must have activated it
Tuesday — February 21
1:01 p.m. Three kids with three unleashed dogs hanging around guardrail south of Krashes field, E. Princeton Rd.; officer unable to locate
10:28 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, investigated, E. Princeton Rd.
Wednesday — February 22
9:25 a.m. Party reports her mailbox stolen overnight, Coal Kiln Rd.; officer unable to locate
Saturday — February 25
2:45 p.m. Caller reports a suspicious vehicle with two males driving around neighborhood for five minutes, Clearings Way; officer did not observe any suspicious vehicle in area
Sunday — February 26
8:34 p.m. Party reports her horse is missing; animal control officer called and paged; caller found horse PM
Rutland
Monday — February 20
8:35 a.m. Dog call, Clealand Cir.
Tuesday — February 21
10:10 a.m. Dog call, Kenwood Dr.
12:58 p.m. Dog call, Pleasantdale Rd.
4:08 p.m. Suspicious person, Main St.
5:50 p.m. Suspicious person, Maple Ave.
Wednesday — February 22
6:42 p.m. Dog call, Kenwood Dr.
9:14 a.m. Suspicious auto, Lord Ln.
1:08 p.m. Dog call, Pommogussett Rd.
Thursday — February 23
9:23 a.m. Dog call, Kenwood Dr.
5:52 p.m. Dog calls, Maggie’s Way
6:54 p.m. Dog calls, Pleasantdale Rd.
Friday — February 24
2:30 a.m. Suspicious person, E. County Rd.
Sunday, February 26
5:35 p.m. Suspicious activity, Marjorie Ln.
6:44 p.m. Suspicious activity, Anthony Dr.
7:28 p.m. Suspicious activity, Main St.
7:44 p.m. Suspicious activity, Prescott St.
Sterling
Monday — February 20
7:52 a.m. Small Boston terrier loose in yard, Redstone Hill Rd.
Tuesday — February 21
8:21 a.m. Caller reports trucks idling for a long time at business next to her house, and someone is hitting hockey pucks into her fence, Redemption rock Trl. Unhappy with response from Town Hall. Business owner says he is zoned and licensed for a gas station, has had no contact with neighbor who is complaining.
10:22 a.m. Possible Jehovah’s Witnesses approached kids playing in yard, Blueberry Ln.
3:16 p.m. Walk-in reporting lost check has been cashed, Albright Rd.
4:07 p.m. Abandoned 911 call. On callback, female reports only a verbal argument. Officer investigating reports couple fighting over federal income tax check, School St.
Wednesday — February 22
8:33 a.m. Two dogs in roadway heading toward country club, Albright Rd.
9:03 a.m. Escort services requested, Stephanie Anne Ln.
3:41 p.m. Someone vomited in mail box, Griffin Rd.
9:46 p.m. Suspicious male walking down Chase Hill Rd.
Thursday — February 23
7:00 a.m. Several piles of animal excrement found on furniture in house. Can hear animal moving around. Animal control officer removed two raccoons, Worcester Rd.
11:01 a.m. Caller advises husky has just taken off through woods, has been found in Sterling in the past. Has tags and two shock collars.
1:21 a.m. Young male sitting on wall near cemetery, appears to be ill
Friday — February 24
10:20 a.m. English pointer missing, Barry Ln.
Saturday — February 25
9:40 a.m. Two horses with blankets on, running down road, Osgood Rd.
10:59 a.m. Walk-in has images of a male walking through his back yard to and from power lines, Albright Rd. Leaving memory card for detective.
5:14 p.m. Two horses running loose in traffic, Rt. 140
Sunday — February 26
4:28 p.m. Caller found a 6-8 inch arrow in his yard. Also found one a few months back, Hilltop Dr.
Two news stories divided by a common language
Posted: February 23, 2012 Filed under: facebook, google, language, potus, privacy Comments OffThe Obama administration has release a white paper outlining online privacy goals. The 60page report, Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World, is available here (PDF).
Here’s how the New York Times Bits blog reports it:
Meanwhile, the Register, a UK tech site, brings us the story in proper English:
A quiet visit with a LaRouche supporter
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: politics | Tags: Holden, larouche Comments Off“It’s all about the British financial institutions,” said the female Lyndon LaRouche supporter. She was talking with a woman in front of the Holden post office.
Read the rest of A quiet visit with a LaRouche supporter on my TelegramTowns.com blog.
Obama, Romney Go Mobile for Money
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: CMO Site, mobile, obama, politics, romney, square Comments OffThe Obama and Romney campaigns are using mobile technologies to collect political donations.
Both campaigns will use Square. Additionally, Romney supporters can download a copy of the candidate’s Believe in America jobs plan by tweeting about the book via Pay with a Tweet. The book is No. 9 on the Amazon Kindle best-seller list.
Read the rest of my blog post, Obama, Romney Go Mobile for Money, at The CMO Site.
Crime in suburbia
Posted: February 20, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Comments OffFrom The Landmark (subscription required):
[Editor's note: there were 25 suspicious items this week.]
Holden
Monday, February 6
5:36 a.m. Suspicious vehicle, running unattended, Main St.
Tuesday, February 7
4:07 a.m. Disturbance with prisoner, covering camera with toilet paper, spitting and banging on floor
10:43 a.m. Police out with loose dog, Malden St.
4:28 p.m. Police out with two skateboarders, Princeton St.
5:13 p.m. Skateboarders on Princeton St. refuse to leave property
10:01 p.m. Suspicious vehicles in lot, Holden St.
Wednesday, February 8
12:58 a.m. Suspicious vehicle, Main/Reservoir Sts.
2:30 a.m. Suspicious vehicle sitting outside house on Oakwood St.
6:32 a.m. Police check on individual wanted by Boston PD, Princeton St.
10:14 a.m. Loose dog complaint, Highland St., library
1:06 p.m. Persons report they paid for tree service that wasn’t rendered, Main St.
1:51 p.m. Sex offender registration renewal, Main St.
4:06 p.m. Caller reporting dispute with employee, Boyden Rd.
8:26 p.m. Teens smashing bottles on the side of Princeton St.
Thursday, February 9
9:22 a.m. Narcotics violation, high school, Main St.
9:24 a.m. Narcotics violation, high school, Main St.
1:30 p.m. Two kids on ice, Main St.
4:13 p.m. Suspicious vehicle, person videotaping neighborhood, Brentwood Dr.
5:10 p.m. Chainsaw left beside Malden St.
6:04 p.m. Person took bottle out of pile of rubbish and began walking around, Reservoir St.
7:34 p.m. Young female walking down Dogwood Cir. with no coat on, picked up by brown van
9:37 p.m. Police check on suspicious vehicles in parking lot, Highland Ave.
11:23 p.m. Suspicious vehicle parked behind business, Wachusett/Manning Sts.
11:34 p.m. Suspicious vehicle, Manning St.
Friday, February 10
7:59 a.m. Small gray dog running loose, Causeway St.
9:13 a.m. Checking on vehicle regarding road rage incident, Industrial Dr.
12:08 p.m. Downed line repaired without detail officer, Pleasant St.
1:44 p.m. Police assist person locked out of home, Malden St.
7:21 p.m. Group of youths walking through neighborhood, causing disturbance, General Hobbs Rd.
7:32 p.m. Caller reports youths back, causing disturbance, Nichols St.
10:07 p.m. Large animal in Cranbrook Dr.
10:25 p.m. Suspicious vehicle, Main St.
10:32 p.m. Police check suspicious person, Main St.
11:53 p.m. Suspicious vehicle, police move people along, Old South Rd.
Saturday, February 11
12:00 a.m. Suspicious person dressed in black walking, Main St./Park Ave.
10:11 a.m. Dog ran away, Main St.
3:41 p.m. Vehicle lockout, Reservoir St.
5:31 p.m. Large group of kids harassing caller, Nichols St.
11:29 p.m. Suspicious white van in Union St.
Sunday, February 12
6:38 a.m. Private investigator in area of Colonial and Edgewood
7:29 a.m. Male in woods raking, Paugus Rd.
Paxton
Monday, February 6
9:46 a.m. Caller reports large box in travel lane of Pleasant St.
10:17 a.m. Person at station to speak with officer about a collection box for the Heart Association, Pleasant St.
6:54 p.m. Assist person locked out of vehicle, Tanglewood Rd.
Wednesday, February 8
10:12 a.m. Person at station reporting suspicious activity on his property, Pleasant St.
12:30 p.m. Police go to business on Maple Ave. to speak to person about suspicious activity
Thursday, February 9
11:40 a.m. Person at station for car seat inspection, Pleasant St.
Friday, February 10
10:28 a.m. Suspicious vehicle parked in driveway, Pleasant St.
3:59 p.m. Police assist person locked out of vehicle, Pleasant St.
6:13 p.m. Two suspicious vehicles in area of Richards Ave.
Princeton
Monday, February 6
2:24 p.m. Two men approached caller’s house and tried to get information from her neighbors, Esty Rd.
Tuesday, February 7
11:09 a.m. Two loose boxer dogs, Main St.
10:23 p.m. Caller reports “very strange sound” similar to jet engine, Willson Rd.
11:02 p.m. Caller reports loud “jet engine” sounds, can’t sleep, Gregory Rd. Found to be mechanical issue with ski area snow guns
Thursday, February 9
4:04 p.m. Hubbardston PD reports car into guardrail, Rte.
62. Found to be in Hubbardston
6:45 p.m. Caller hit coyote, Goodnow Rd.
Saturday, February 11
2:27 p.m. Horse caught up in rope, Wheeler Rd.
Rutland
Monday, February 6
7:36 a.m. Loose dog, Carly Cir.
9:53 a.m. Person at station to speak with officer regarding the Internet, Main St.
11:25 a.m. Caller reports someone in business parking lot is doing drugs, Maple Ave.
12:51 p.m. Caller’s neighbor is burning trash in fireplace, Kosta Ave. Referred to fire dept.
2:48 p.m. Dead cat on Rte. 68
5:20 p.m. Suspicious white pickup truck in area all day, Birchwood Rd.
Tuesday, February 7
2:20 a.m. Assist Barre PD with Breathalyzer during booking, Main St.
8:29 a.m. Male sitting in silver pickup parked on sidewalk, John Robert Dr.
5:27 p.m. Suspicious vehicle parked at end of driveway for long time, Barre Paxton Rd.
9:22 p.m. Suspicious vehicle pulled onto property, Glenwood Rd.
Wednesday, February 8
3:36 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer about phone she received, Main St.
11:32 p.m. Black Lab tangled up in bushes behind house, Mary Way
Thursday, February 9
7:13 a.m. Suspicious van parked in front of residence, Forbes Rd.
11:51 a.m. Person at station to return GPS that does not belong to her, Main St.
Friday, February 10
8:32 p.m. Suspicious vehicle following female, Central Tree Rd./Naquag St.
9:51 p.m. Police assist person looking for lost dog, Glenwood Rd.
Saturday, February 11
3:27 p.m. Three dogs running in caller’s yard, Campbell St.
4:06 p.m. People yelling and screaming for two hours, Main St.; officer wanted
8:58 p.m. Snowmobiles and four-wheelers on lake causing lot of noise, Pommogussett Rd.
11:18 p.m. Report of gunshots, Rolling Ridge Rd.
Sunday, February 12
10:55 a.m. Suspicious pickup truck parked on Maple Ave.
Sterling
Monday, February 6
12:51 p.m. Caller reports receiving a call from a person from Las Vegas. Person bringing money and carrying a gun. Advised possible prank call, Rowley Hill Rd. Known scam call
Tuesday, February 7
7:56 a.m. Animal complaint. Summons served, School St.
7:58 a.m. Animal complaint. Summons served, Cole Rd.
4:50 p.m. Noise complaint, chain saws used for three hours, Flanagan Hill Rd.
Wednesday, February 8
8:03 a.m. Car “stalking” neighborhood.
Found to be private investigator, Bean Rd.
9:29 a.m. Person found tool box/tools all over Justice Hill/Upper N. Row Rds. Appears to be electricians tools
Thursday, February 9
7:26 a.m. Suspicious vehicle, Clinton Rd.
4:52 p.m. Person arrived home to find back door kicked in, property missing, John Dee Rd.
9:12 p.m. Truck went down Colby Rd. and knocked over people’s lawn markers
9:53 p.m. Vehicle drove up road toward cell tower, Pine Wood Ln.
Friday, February 10
8:05 a.m. Report of dead dog beside Redemption Rock Trl./John Dee Rd. Found to be fox
9:02 a.m. Report of female looking for address, confirmed home health aide, Clemence Ave.
12:59 p.m. Scam call from person claiming family member needed money in Mexico, Worcester Rd.
1:28 p.m. Scam caller advised person she had won $5 million and only needed $250 for delivery of money, Birch Dr.
3:58 p.m. Moped and helmet inside fenced area Heywood/North Row Rds.
Saturday, February 11
8:08 a.m. Suspicious male, Princeton Rd.
8:46 a.m. State police report male went to side of building with pipe or object in his hands, Chocksett Rd.; all set, worker shutting off trucks
12:36 p.m. Person found stray dog, Laurelwood Rd.
Problems of a first-world suburban shopper
Posted: February 20, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: robots, shopping, walmart, worcester Comments OffSigns in the store are informing customers that the Greendale Sam’s Club will close and the new club off of Route 146 will open this spring (no date specified).
From Holden, it’s about equidistant to the B.J.’s in Leominster. Market Basket is in nearby Searstown Plaza, in the case that I’m buying less than a year’s worth of something. Of course, there’s a B.J.’s near the new Wegmans in Northborough.
But, Bill Randell has been reporting that Market Basket may be coming to the former Diamond Chevrolet in Worcester, which makes in-city shopping viable again.
All this is necessary, of course, until robots are ready to do our bidding:
Kroger debuts kiosk concept at area college campus
Page left blank
Posted: February 20, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: green, printing, publishing, technical documentation, UBS Comments OffI thought that we were done with this.
For years, in technical manuals, we’d left a blank to make the pagination work out properly. Standards and conventions dictated that the first page of a chapter or section should be on a right-read page (recto). If the previous chapter ended on a right page, we’d need a filler.
Somewhere along the line, people got worried that someone would think that something had been left out of the manual. To make sure that we dealt with that hypothetical catastrophe, we started putting “This page intentionally left blank.” on blank pages that were, thus, no longer blank.
Fast forward a couple of decades. Few people care that technical manuals have chapters starting on a right-read page. We’re also more conscious of dead trees.
I was wrong. Google Ngram, which scans books for occurrences of pa phrase or keywords, shows that we’ve been increasing our usage of this tree-killing practice.
So, I guess I should be surprised to find that UBS sent us a four-page Form 1099 with printing one side and this on the back:
Laptops, the next generation
Posted: February 18, 2012 Filed under: computers, keyboard Comments OffWe’ve heard that tablet computers may overtake laptops in sales by 2015, plus or minus a year. I mentioned this in a conversation the other evening. Everyone over the age of 15 said that they’d have a difficult time working without a regular keyboard.
Fortunately, this be the era of technological bedazzlement, there is no need for which a silly product cannot be invented.
Therefore, we have jeans with a keyboard woven in the fabric and a USB wireless connection. (Tablet users may need a special adapter. At this point, however, an extra dongle should be the least of your concerns.)
The designers have yet to make manufacturing deals that would allow for mass production.
Let the “mouse in your pocket” jokes begin.
