Day: October 14, 2012

Chickity Check It! Matyor Kirk Says City Will Conservatively Save $450,000 Per Year In Energy Costs

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro
The Mayor’s Desk: Giant steps for a progressive city

The Mayor’s Desk Carolyn KirkGloucester Daily Times

Check out the entire story by clicking the link above.  the part that made me do a double take is this quote from the Mayor-

Two turbines located at the Gloucester Engineering property owned by Equity Industrial Partners in Blackburn Industrial Park will generate energy credits, which will be used to cover Gloucester’s municipal electricity needs. In the process, the city conservatively anticipates saving $450,000 per year in energy costs. The city also will receive payments from the private operator of the turbines, starting at $40,000 per year with annual increases for the duration of the 25-year agreement. All told, city taxpayers will save a minimum of $11 million.

Holy cannoli batman.  That ain’t chump change.

Let’s file this away for a year and considering the $450K is the “conservative” estimate and we could get more savings, revisit it when the numbers become available.

We will get to see those numbers right?  Because at the conservative $450K per year, that’s a monster win for the tax base.  Monster win, no?

I still feel bad for the folks that have to live near it but in light of those huge savings it has made me much more receptive to them. 

I was not a fan of the idea before I knew that we could get this kind of return for virtually no investment on the local tax base.

So we’ll do like you know I like to do- Poll it Baby

Over/Under

In the first year, will the City of Gloucester receive over the “conservative” $450,000 per year in energy savings or under that amount?

or Under $450,000?

Free can be creepy

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

So you’re not confused, this is Peter writing today.  Remember when I told you that Vickie took some of Gloucester’s best music to Iowa on the cloud?  (See that post here, if you missed it.)  I pointed out that we love having our music in the cloud because we can play it anywhere, any time and on lots of devices — PC, Kindle, phone, etc.

Now, all the music in our cloud is music we own — that is, we bought the CD or downloads, or someone gave it to us.

As you may know there are other cloud services that allow you to play music you don’t own.  No, I’m not talking about Pandora.  I don’t like Pandora.  It’s radio without a DJ.  Pandora’s algorithm selects music it thinks you’ll like and streams it.  If I’m going to listen to music chosen by somebody else, I want that somebody to be a person who has chosen the music because he/she likes it.  That’s why I don’t listen to top 40 radio.  Those DJs just play what they’re told.

I’m talking about Spotify (click here if you don’t know what Spotify is).  Spotify let’s you play any song in its massive library for free any time you like, plus it has a social angle, which can be very exciting, but with a rub.  Here’s an example:

Yesterday, one of my favorite local musicians,  Carlos Menezes (of Runaround, Cape Ann Big Band and other tremendously creative projects) created a Spotify playlist featuring Fitz and The Tantrums and, when he did that, Spotify sent me an email.  Why, you ask, did Spotify send me an email when Carlos created a playlist?  In a word: Facebook.  Like most Spotify users, I log in using my Facebook account.  So does Carlos.  Whenever Carlos creates a public playlist, Spotify sends an email to all of his Facebook friends who are also Spotify users — automatically — and I got one, since Carlos and I are friends on Facebook (I like to think we’re friends in the real world too).  I have a lot of respect for Carlos’ taste in music, so I clicked on the link in the email, which launched Spotify and showed me his playlist.  Then I clicked on the first song (Breakin’ the Chains of Love) to play it.  As soon as I played that song, a new post appeared at the top of the Activity section of my Facebook Page announcing to the world, “Peter is listening to Breakin’ the Chains of Love by Fitz and The Tantrums.”

That’s the rub.

Call me old-fashioned, but I really don’t want the world to know what I’m listening to and when I’m listening.  So I “removed” the Spotify activity from my Facebook page.  And when I did, I selected the option to “remove Spotify” and guess what?  Having done that, I could no longer play any songs on Spotify.  In order to play songs on Spotify again, I had to allow Spotify to post on my timeline.

Is it just me, or does this seem creepy to anybody else?

Well, I like Fitz and The Tantrums, so I might just buy their CD and put it in my cloud.

Owning the music has its advantages, not the least of which is that the artist gets paid a whole lot more if I buy a song than if I stream it on Spotify.  According to published reports, I’d have to play Breakin’ The Chains of Love about 100 times on Spotify before Fitz and the Tantrums got as much as if I downloaded it from their website.

And then there’s the privacy bit.  Once I buy the songs and put them in my cloud, my family and I can play them anytime we like without anyone else knowing what we’re playing and when.

Don’t get me wrong, I really don’t mind telling people what music I like and what I listen to, but I want to choose whom to tell and when.  I don’t want Spotify and Facebook deciding that for me.  I’ve been misquoted in the press and had things I’ve said taken out of context often enough to know that it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that somebody will draw an unintended inference from seeing all my listening published on Facebook.

If I’m going to take grief from people, at least I want it to be because I recommend something specific with intent, like tonight you might want to go to the Rhumb Line and see my friends Allen Estes and Orville Giddings.  Or if that’s not your cup of tea, check out the other live music in Gloucester.

So to all you artists out there whose music I have in my cloud, don’t expect to see any Spotify posts in my Facebook Activity saying that I’m playing your music.

Winston Churchill Quote of The Week From Greg Bover

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

October 12, 2012
“If you are going through hell, keep going.”

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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Born to an English nobleman in the line of the Dukes of Marlborough and an American heiress, Churchill, though a weak student, distinguished himself early as a writer, soldier and war correspondent. Covering the Boer War in South Africa he wrote home: “Nothing is so exhilarating as being shot at without result.” Rising through the ranks of government ministries he became a Member of Parliament at 26 and First Lord of the Admiralty at 37. He was among the first to recognize the threat that Adolf Hitler posed and was elected Prime Minister at the outbreak of the WWII, famously rallying his people in the Battle of Britain. Knighted for his service to the UK and a Fellow of the Royal Society, Churchill was also the first person to be named an Honorary Citizen of the United States. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953 for his six-volume masterpiece The Second World War, a chronicle of tenacity. “Success is going from failure to failure without losing one’s enthusiasm.”

Greg Bover

Black Friday is going to be fun in Gloucester.

Posted on by Paul T Morrison & RD

Press Release for the craziness that will be the morning after Thanksgiving in Gloucester. 6 AM and the Rubber Duck will be there, Joewalking quizzes of  the early bird shoppers, clowns and ponies. No wait, scratch the clowns, Rubber Duck hates clowns. Pony not confirmed. Work off some of that turkey, freak your wife out by getting your Christmas shopping done painlessly.

—————————- PRESS RELEASE ———————————–

The holidays will soon be upon us and Gloucester is getting ready! Please join more than 22 stores who will be opening early on Friday, November 23rd, some as early as 6AM!

Watch for a glittery star soon to be hanging in participating stores. Some stores will have special sales, give-aways and prizes, we want your business!  Get ready for a special, friendly, personal experience without the lines and crowds! 

Lone Gull will be open at 5:45 AM to get you caffeinated and ready to shop. And, as always, thank you for shopping locally and supporting your downtown businesses. We appreciate our customers!  Just in case you were not aware, there are several new shops on Main St. Please come down and see what Gloucester has to offer.

*please visit each store with a star for particular sale and promotion details* Stars will be up by November 2nd!

Filming B-roll

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Stills from my B-roll. Click images to view larger.

Niles Pond October Sunrise

One of the most gorgeous, interesting, and enjoyable aspects of filmmaking I find is shooting B-roll. I am swamped with design work, organizing lecture programs, and hoping to finish the edits on my Black Swallowtail film very soon, but there is no better time of year to shoot B-roll for my Monarch film than autumn in Gloucester; the light is simply stunning, and what I like to refer to as “atmospheric.”

Niles Pond September Sunrise

B-roll further tells the story in a beautifully subtle, and alternatively not so subtle, manner and gives the project a sense of place. While filming and waiting, for example, for birds to take flight (whether swans or homies) I have my still camera readily available.

Salt Island Sunrise

The most extraordinarily beautiful things occur spontaneously. I feel so very fortunate to see, and in turn share, the natural world through the camera lens. Only several weeks ago while filming a spider’s web in a tree, capturing the filaments of silky webbing dancing in the light of the setting sun (with the pinky schooner Ardelle and the Dog Bar Breakwater in the background), the web’s maker came cavorting through the scene with a capture of her own!

Eastern Point

Mission To The Edge Of Space LIVE VIDEO

Posted on by capeannpainter

Mission To The Edge Of Space

WATCH IT LIVE

http://www.redbullstratos.com/live/

Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space, will attempt to transcend human limits that have existed for 50 years. Supported by a team of experts Felix Baumgartner plans to ascend to 120,000 feet in a stratospheric balloon and make a freefall jump rushing toward earth at supersonic speeds before parachuting to the ground. His attempt to dare atmospheric limits holds the potential to provide valuable medical and scientific research data for future pioneers.

The Red Bull Stratos team brings together the world’s leading minds in aerospace medicine, engineering, pressure suit development, capsule creation and balloon fabrication. It includes retired United States Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger, who holds three of the records Felix will strive to break.

THE FIRST EVER PMC TEEN MOUNTATIN BIKE CHALLENGE FROM MARCY PLANTE

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

  Yesterday was the first Teen Pan Mass Challenge Mountain ride in
Westwood. The ride was a huge success and the crisp weather was perfect for
biking! They are proud to say that 41 teen riders from 11 Boston area High
Schools, 1 from Connecticut, 1 from Gloucester,1 from Vermont, 3 from China
and 1 right off the plane from school in Denmark,  joined efforts to raise
$10,404. That is huge! The stats are amazingly similar to those from the
first year Billy Starr founded the PMC- in 1980 there were 36 riders who
raised $10,200.
Sam Bonchek, raised close to $3000 for the ride. In addition, they had 12
riders who achieved Heavy Hitter status by raising $200 or more. Tucker
Plante from Gloucester was one of those raising $500.00. "If your teen is
interested in being part of next year’s ride we would love to have them!"
Says Wendy Horn.  Please send her an email at pmcteenmtb@gmail.com.

Ravenswood Trail Race Today! Pic From Dave Olson

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

If you love the mud, the cold and the rain this is the perfect race for you today!

Follow Dave on twitter here- https://twitter.com/fatmanofthemtns

and his blog which I just discovered this morning, the byline-

Combining three favorite pastimes: writing, hiking and running, slowly.

Check out Fat Man of the Mountains here

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Public Service Announcement:

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

With Hot Chocolate season descending upon us I thought I’d serve you with a gentle reminder to allow your Dunks Hot Chocolate approximately an hour to cool before attempting to take a sip or else you will scald the roof of your mouth, tongue, throat and esophagus.

You’ve been warned.

2012-10-12 14.22.31

Community Photos 10/14/12

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Hi Joey

I shot this photo yesterday in the marshes near Rust Island.  You’re welcome to use it.  Love getting GoodMorningGloucester every day.

Sandy Chadwick

Heron in the Marsh

Hello Joey,
Thought I’d share this shot of a "Beautiful Fall Day on Cape Ann" I took Saturday afternoon 10-13-2012.
John Nasser

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Wingaresheek Beach Photos by Anthony Marks

Community Stuff 10/14/12

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

 

ESSEX ANTIQUES APPRAISAL NIGHT

Did you ever wonder what that old clock of yours was worth? Or that bunch of coins in your dresser drawer?

The Essex Merchants Group and the Essex Elementary School PTO are combining forces for the fourth annual Antique Appraisal Night to be held at the Periwinkles Restaurant 74 Main Street in Essex on Tuesday, October 23rd from 5:30 to 9:30 PM. A donation of $15.00 per person or $25.00 per couple  will go to benefit both organizations and includes hors d’oeuvres, participation in wine tasting, and verbal valuations from some of the most experienced local experts in the antique trade.

Diane Corrao, head of the local PTO remarked, "The PTO is very excited to be collaborating with the Essex Merchants Group once again to bring the Antique Appraisal Night to the community. We are happy for the chance to assist a group that is always so generous with their donations to the PTO. This should be a fun and entertaining evening for all who attend."

“In the past,” said Merchants Group chairman, Bob Coviello, “many special items have arrived including a Civil War diary and a wonderful set of art deco gold and gem stone jewelry.

Our appraisers will be happy to look at whatever you can bring. If it’s too big to carry, bring a photo and we’ll work from that.”

Hosting the wine tasting will be Sara Maziarz of Commonwealth Wines and on hand to do the appraising will be members from the Essex antique community: Michael March of Blackwood March Auctioneers,

David Neligan of Neligan Antiques, Ed Howard of the Flying Dragon, Michael Bider of Bider’s Antiques Auctions & Appraisers, Robert Coviello of Main Street Antiques, Vincent Caravella of All Prints and Maps and Rick Grobe of the White Elephant Shop.

Mr. Coviello went on to say, , “This will be a rare opportunity to have questions answered about your antiques and a chance to meet your friends & neighbors for an evening of camaraderie, to sample a fine selection of food & wine, and to support two great local organizations."

Take a Chance…Save a Life…5th Annual Lights of Love

5th Annual Lights of Love
Thursday, November 29, 2012, 5:30-6:30 pm
Addison Gilbert Hospital, 298 Washington Street, Gloucester

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Enter for your chance to win this original, framed oil painting, New England Springtime, by acclaimed Cape Ann artist     Ken Knowles.  100% of your raffle ticket purchase directly benefits cancer care services for Cape Ann patients, supporting world-class cancer care close to home for those who need it most.

Lights of Love is an annual celebration of life and hope.  The highlight of our season-long benefit is the festive Tree Lighting Ceremony which commemorates all who have been touched by cancer.  Launched in 2008 by Cape Ann residents Sue Kyle and Shawn Wilson in gratitude for the care Sue continues to receive at AGH, Lights of Love has raised more than $50,000 to ensure access to top-notch cancer care for Cape Ann families and the 2,000 patients served each year at the Gorton’s Specialty and Cancer Care Center.

Save the Date and bring your family for the 5th Annual Lights of Love Benefit and Tree Lighting on November 29 Featuring Lights of Love Annual Tree Lighting * Art Raffle Drawing * Cape Ann Raffle Prizes * Caroling with the Gloucester High School Chorus * Tribute and Holiday Treats.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Tickets available in Administration and Community Relations at Addison Gilbert Hospital (inside Washington Street entrance).

Please contact Rebecca via email or by phone 978.236.1624 for further information.

HALLOWEEN GRAVEYARD TOUR, PRESENTED BY THE ESSEX SHIPBUILDING MUSEUM
Halloween Graveyard Tour:  Essex, MA.  October 28th 2 – 4:00pm.
Take a trip through an ancient cemetery, meet the dead and have ghoulish goodies.  From grave robberies to revolutionary war heroes, the Old Burial Ground in Essex on Main Street will be a place to see on October 28th.  Tours to run approx. 60 minutes every half hour between 2 – 4pm.  Interest is high, so arrive early!  After the tour you are welcome to see the musuem.  Admission:  Adults $10 and Kids 12 and under $5.  For more information call (978) 768-7541 www.essexshipbuildingmuseum.org at Old Burial Ground Main St., Essex, MA 01929
Or Laura Doyle, 978-578-1613