Hundreds of Miles from Home: July 2006

Fox News gets great photographers...

One errant brick

The chimney in question

Sigma Chi's roof, riddled with bricks

More destruction

Oh no...

David, George, Anne, and Witz on the roof

Storrow Drive, flooded again...

Disaster strikes Beacon Street, Fox News...

Yesterday Boston fell fate to a torrential downpour in the evening hours. During the biblical rains, while I was in my room on the top floor of 528 Beacon Street, a lightning bolt stuck what seemed to be the roof of our building, followed by a thunderous clap. I ran to the balcony to survey any damage but the heavy rain forced me back inside for a change of clothes.

Within minutes, sirens roared down Beacon Street as fire trucks parked outside the house. Firemen rushed inside to find the fire board blinking wildly, but no fires had been started in the house. As the firemen left and the rain stopped, I went back out to the roof and heard muffled sounds like stones hitting pavement. The fraternity house next door had a few scattered bricks on their roof. I walked to the edge of their building to see that the house next door was covered in bricks that smashed through tables and skylights. Looking up to the 10 story building next door, I discovered the cause of damage. Lightning had stuck the building’s brick chimney, causing it to explode.

I grabbed a camera and ran outside to see if any bricks had fallen to the street. A man’s windshield had a large hole where a brick had pierced the glass, and large pieces of chimney were scattered all around the back lot.

George sent Fox news the tip of the chimney explosion, and they picked it up for their evening news broadcast. Our story was trumped by a group of churchgoers that were struck by lightning under a tree and an ice cream truck that was hoisted into the air by downed power lines, but we got a few seconds of airtime as well.

I've waited many a year for this show. Now I'm more than willing to brave the humidity of Boston for a good show every once in a while

The Weakerthans!

The opening band for the Weakerthans, The New Amsterdams

Ew

Big guns

Mikko, George, and a cannon

Classic Mikko

Fireworks I

Fireworks II

Fireworks III

Fireworks IV

Fireworks V

Evening of the 4th

The Harvard Bridge on the afternoon of the 4th

Modern function art

Gotta love function graphs

My grand love for construction work

Heather, Tiger pose

Gattis in crane position

This woman is quite the Neil Diamond fan. Check out the license place and multiple bumper stickers

Developing my musical skills in KB Toys

The Life and Times

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks in Boston. Without the extreme motivation to blog every aspect of my days I have instead been slipping through weeks with a lighthearted demeanor and a smile on my face. During the week I work mornings at MIT’s computer helpdesk and spend the afternoon brewing up breakthrough inventions at the MIT Media Lab. More on that later…

From this picture set is July 4th, a glorious revolution in New England, and a concert at the Paradise with Bryan to see The Weakerthans.