tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6145909909609094722010-01-01T20:21:06.323-08:00<p>This is the web page of <br><b>Mark Bartlett</b>.<br>You can e-mail me at <a href="mailto:mataglap@yahoo.com">mataglap@yahoo.com</a></p>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.comBlogger256125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-32492337960033438402010-01-01T20:21:00.001-08:002010-01-01T20:21:06.331-08:00

Will 2010 be a different sort of year? Considering it started with another heartbreaking overtime bowl game loss for the wildcats, so far the answer seems to be, "probably not.". I wasn't sorry to be sitting at home to watch instead of sitting there in the pouring rain. I wonder at what point in the 4th quarter that smith and Cohen completely lost their voices. The cats gave it all they had,

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-79537698671911214572009-12-10T11:29:00.000-08:002009-12-10T11:29:02.638-08:00

As winter sets in, for some reason thoughts of next year's trips start to really take hold. The Worldcon is in Australia next year, so that's out, and even if I was going to go to all the trouble and expense of flying to Melbourne, I wouldn't do it to spend five days in windowless conference rooms. The NASFIC is in Raleigh, which is an area we've never really done, so I spent some time several

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-35280733723179753342009-12-09T13:26:00.000-08:002009-12-09T13:26:16.024-08:00

Not an all-time record, but this morning took two and a half hours to make the trip by commuter bus from downtown to downtown, about twice what it normally takes. This is coming off just a couple of weeks ago when it took an hour and five minutes, a record on the other end for this means of transportation. Since September I've been mostly doing the commuter bus, since Chloe is on the earliest

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-91559083883311327592009-12-08T11:51:00.000-08:002009-12-08T11:51:46.057-08:00

Today is election day for the primary race that ultimately picks the person who will replace Ted Kennedy. And since this is Massachusetts and the Republican candidate is not a factor, the race is basically decided today, even though the general election isn't until January. Up until I walked into the polling place at Kane School I wasn't firmly committed, but I ended up going with Mike Capuano.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-9705703400360698762009-12-07T07:42:00.000-08:002009-12-07T07:42:59.722-08:00

Nate called out of nowhere yesterday to talk bowl bids. I was at the gym, and Chloe figured it was some guy wanting money or selling magazines or whatever, until Nate convinced her otherwise. Then I was off to Rhode Island for the afternoon's piano group soiree, so no sooner was I back and sat down to dinner than he called again! Then he had to cut me off because Rich was calling him, so he

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-1953789943314948582009-12-04T12:34:00.000-08:002009-12-04T12:34:31.102-08:00

Chloe got the news yesterday that she'd been picked for the freshman basketball team at MHS. She was a nervous wreck Wednesday night waiting to find out but got the thumbs up finally the next day, followed immediately by a bus trip to Wayland for a practice scrimmage. Marlborough has something of a competitive advantage in that because the 8th grade is in with the high school, they have more

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-50268938902107315712009-12-03T13:45:00.001-08:002009-12-03T13:45:35.867-08:00

This month’s classics reading group took advantage of John Updike’s recent demise to read his most famous, or notorious, novel, “Rabbit, Run”, which is now upon its 50th anniversary of publication. This is a little bit of a departure for us, since we don’t often get to read American stories that take place within the lifespans of most of the membership. And this book may underscore why, what

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-23871785503203435912009-12-02T11:18:00.000-08:002009-12-02T11:24:23.133-08:00

At trivia night last night at Elephant & Castle, Rahul, Darren and I gorged on free appetizers but didn't do so well in the trivia department. We really need more people, both a sports guy and a guy that watches a lot of current tv. Our previous attempt was a couple of months ago, with Rick chipping in that time, and we might have done marginally better this time. Darren came through with the

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-16070594318942109972009-12-01T12:29:00.000-08:002009-12-01T12:39:53.636-08:00

Chloe texted me during chorus rehearsal last night to tell me we'd gotten the call from the Marlborough Historical Society that we won a Christmas tree, one of the 41 decorated trees they were raffling off in their annual Festival of Trees that we visited on Sunday. We can't remember exactly what this one looked like, apparently it has a lot of gold ornaments on it, we should be picking it up in

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-85000485230050225552009-11-30T12:59:00.000-08:002009-11-30T13:00:12.793-08:00

For the first time since July 2005, Jill and Bob and the girls came to Boston for a Thanksgiving visit this past week. I’ve been badgering them to come out for the last few years, particularly when I’m entertained with descriptions of their frequent trips to southern California and now Florida to visit other various brothers. So when Jill was telling me this June about impending trips to both

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-47293742527015184652009-11-29T20:20:00.000-08:002009-11-29T20:34:13.506-08:00

From the fall of 1975 to the spring of 1977 I studied piano with Denis Morel, who basically was the piano faculty at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois. My studies with him coincided with his entire tenure at the small liberal arts college. How he ended up there I have no idea. Morel made reference several times to having studied with Jakob Gimpel, who according to online sources had

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-37232485241680613172009-03-08T17:09:00.001-07:002009-03-08T17:14:03.933-07:00

Well, it wasn't supposed to take six months to get the final pictures up, but these things happen...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-29372869579601145412008-09-21T17:07:00.000-07:002008-09-21T17:15:56.501-07:00

In the interest of creating phony dramatic tension, now here are some pictures of the kitchen shortly after the demolition. Also, the living room wall which crumbled when they jacked up the house to make it level.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-8614806348307157252008-09-07T07:56:00.001-07:002008-09-18T12:37:56.908-07:00

So here's what the kitchen used to look like (although it typically was not this empty). These pictures were taken around mid-July, just before the destruction began.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-52242525773184755462008-08-10T06:11:00.000-07:002008-09-18T09:17:17.097-07:00

Last day in Denver, and let’s be honest there’s not a lot going on here other than your general outdoor activities. We had thought about going to the science museum after the convention was over, but it’s only open until 5 and it was already after 2, so I decided to skip it and we walked over to the Virgin Megastore instead. It turned out to be a short visit, since their classical section was

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-40136422564630867432008-08-07T09:18:00.000-07:002008-09-18T09:19:37.068-07:00

Beth took the kids to a student production of Peter Pan this morning that was nearby, then they drove out somewhere and did some shopping. Meanwhile it was day two of Worldcon, and today’s panels were a little more interesting, although even though I got a good night’s sleep I still passed out for a few minutes during one of them. I got back to the room at the same time as everyone else, and we

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-28680281012516314772008-08-06T09:20:00.000-07:002008-09-18T09:21:25.781-07:00

The first day of the Worldcon had finally arrived and for once we were already in the city and ready to get started. Beth decided that the most interesting thing to do in Denver would be to get the car and drive down to Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, which took most of the day. Meanwhile I got going so I could register before the first panels started at 11:30. It was raining by dinner time

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-70107514929712325062008-08-05T19:20:00.000-07:002008-09-20T10:49:17.278-07:00

Woke up bright and early so we could be on the road in time to get to the fossil dig by the proscribed 9am. Had one last free hotel continental breakfast, where they made the waffles for you, then it was a long drive down a completely deserted US-30 to Ulrich’s Fossil Site just up the road from Fossil Butte National Monument. We got there around 8:30 or so, and were actually ready to go

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-41240325372026264142008-08-04T08:37:00.000-07:002008-09-18T08:47:40.401-07:00

Today was the nebulous day between the rafting trip yesterday and the fossil excavation tomorrow. The only goal was to get somewhere close to Fossil Butte National Monument by nightfall, which ends up being Montpelier, Idaho, unless you want to stay at a flophouse or double back a similar distance through the wasteland of southern Wyoming. Between Jackson and Montpelier is about 2 1/2 hours of

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-85990403932998133182008-08-03T08:37:00.000-07:002008-09-18T08:46:22.504-07:00

After four nights in Yellowstone, we hated to leave, but felt like we had done quite a bit so there weren't too many regrets. The kids were more than happy to go back to the same diner as yesterday for breakfast and order the same cheese omelet, so we could get on the road by 8:30 or so. This gave us enough time to go north for a few miles, so Beth could get a few pictures of the wildflowers

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-81504201227093714252008-08-02T08:37:00.000-07:002008-09-18T08:47:40.409-07:00

So far this trip has been comparatively hike-free for a National Park tour, mostly because there are so many things to see that right off the road. We did do a lot of walking through the upper geyser basin on Thursday, but it was all paved roads and boardwalks, not exactly a hike. So today was our one day to actually get out on a trail, although it also has long paved sections and even a short

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-12848891812433066102008-08-01T08:37:00.000-07:002008-09-18T08:47:40.415-07:00

This morning no one could get out of bed early, including myself, so it was 9 before we made our way to the village general store and grabbed a few breakfasty items, and ate them right outside on a picnic bench. Checked in at the visitor’s center, where they said the road to Fishing Bridge would re-open at noon, although at reduced speed and still subject to delays. We weren’t planning on going

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-24636432617575485442008-07-31T08:37:00.000-07:002008-09-18T08:47:40.422-07:00

Until I started to educate myself about Yellowstone, its primary claim to fame was as the home of Old Faithful, and that was the initial reason to come here, as we check off the iconic American landmarks one by one. So on our first full day in the park, that was where I felt we must go. We got up at a reasonable hour this morning, had the buffet breakfast at the Canyon Village restaurant, got 10

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-74811453054842483002008-07-30T08:37:00.001-07:002008-09-18T08:47:40.429-07:00

Today was another long day in the saddle as they say in bike racing, longer than it should have been as we were expecting to do about 320 miles and ended up around 400. This was not the fault of Google Maps or myself, as I’ll get to in a minute. After travelling so much yesterday, we were still able to get up and going reasonably early this morning, and had our complimentary breakfast (

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614590990960909472.post-47834572856514941102008-07-30T08:37:00.000-07:002008-09-18T08:38:43.445-07:00

So here we are back in Wyoming, a mere three years after our last trip out this way. Last time we covered the eastern half on our way to and from South Dakota, this time we tour the western half, starting here in scenic Casper (after a four hour drive from Denver last night), and heading towards Yellowstone. We'll spend a few days up there, then back down the western side through Jackson and

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02018287699918509559noreply@blogger.com0