Poll at the bottom of this post
This is how they do lobster logos down on Cape Cod-
Cape Ann Kids Submissions-
Allie Nicastro
Madeline Ciaramitaro
Tag: Poll
Vote! GMG Community Coffee Maker Showdown Based On Reader Suggestions–Let The Voting Begin!
GMG Community Thinktank- Coffee Makers Please Leave a Comment With Your Favorite
So I asked our awesome readers what their favorite coffee makers were because I just can’t live my life drinking shitty Keurig coffee.
I’ve compiled the reader suggestions and will put them out here for you to read. if you click on the link to each coffee maker you can read their reviews and then vote in the poll for your favorite. Each model has links to its product reviews.
I’m leaning toward
The Bonavita BV1800 8-Cup Coffee Maker
Check out the Bonavita and read the reviews here
We have a Cuisinart with a stainless steel carafe. Highly recommend the stainless steel carafe as it keeps the coffee warm without burning it.
Cuisinart DCC-3200 Perfect Temp 14-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Stainless Steel
Brenda D
I have a Keurig out of convenience, before that, I had a Bunn for years that I loved.
BUNN NHS Velocity Brew 10-Cup Home Coffee Brewer
Been using my Chemex since the 70’s- works great!!!!
Chemex Classic Wood Collar and Tie Glass 8-Cup Coffee Maker with 100 Count Bonded Circle Coffee Filters
Karen Pischke BSN, RN
Maybe you could have a ‘coffee contest’ on a pod cast and compare. My vote – French Press. First time we had French pressed coffee was on a beach in Tonga. I told my mother about how good it was and she bought my husband a French press 20 years ago. He didn’t think he’d use it. Now, not a day goes by that he doesn’t use it 1 – 2 x a day. 30 seconds to ground the beans, pour hot water and let it steep while you dress. Fresh ground beans of your choice, freshly pressed with great flavor, aroma and a head on it like a fine craft beer. Even though it’s glass, it’s lasted all these years. Now we have 2 French Press – one for his full caf, one for my decaf/half caf. We even have another ‘single cup’ French press that doubles as a ‘to-go’ cup. French pressed much quicker than you might imagine, and the flavor is totally worth it. ‘French Pressed’ all the way.
LINKYO Coffee Press – Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker 34oz, 1L
gregbover
My honey got me a stainless steel Thermos French press, the two cup model. Changed the way I make and enjoy coffee.
Thermos NCI1000SS4 Thermos Vacuum Insulated Coffee Press, 34 oz
the bonvita 1900 with stainless carafe is awesome. 10 cup for me….best way to make a bunch of coffee, and to have more for later.
using a single cup pour over (Manual #1) taught me a lot about making better coffee…this was the choice for lots of coffee that will taste great and be available an hour later too. The only way it could be improved would be to build in a burr grinder into the bonavita itself.
Then get a Wacao Minipress for espresso on the go too…
Bonavita BV1900TS 8-Cup Carafe Coffee Brewer, Stainless Steel
I’d second the french press suggestion–seems like a little extra work, but totally worth it. I will never go back to a standard coffee maker, and k-cups are an environmental disaster. Our french press came from Ikea–stainless steel, double walled so it stays warm. I do wish it was a little bigger (it’s pretty big, but we drink a lot of coffee). Oh yeah, ALWAYS grind your beans just before brewing. With our stainless steel french press I believe I make one of the best cups of coffee available on Cape Ann.
UPPHETTA Coffee/tea maker, glass, stainless steel
Chuck.Cook
I second the Chemex. Takes a little more effort but the result is great. Looks really cool as well.
ellie
Chemex. Period. No better way.
The key to drip coffee (besides buying quality coffee) is a Gold Filter
Jerry
technivorm
5 years in, going strong. Hottest cup of coffee and fast brew… I use a burr grinder on the side, but any grounds work well–
Don’t look back.
Moccamaster KBT 10-Cup Coffee Brewer with Thermal Carafe, Polished Silver
by Technivorm Moccamaster
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Magnolia Pier Debate Part 2 – Check out this video from 4 years ago — NO Barricades=Safer and More Fun!
4 years ago, I filmed people of all ages (from 5 years old to grandpa) jumping off Magnolia pier, with at least 3 people jumping for the first time — all the while there’s a game of “Pier Tag” going on too. Pier Tag is impossible when the barricades are up. It’s time for the bureaucrats to man-or-woman-up, stop worrying so much about getting sued and remove the barricades to encourage kids, teens, adults, and grandparents to gather together in a safe, healthy place for some summer fun! While you’re at it, put the ladders back too. Joey – you think we should have a pole about this?
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Would It Be Strange For A Woman To Drive Across Town To Casually Drop In On Her Husband’s Poker Night With His Male Friends?
Poll- Vote For The Best 2015 Bikini Speedo Dodgeball World Championships Team Name
With The World Championship looming just around the corner on April 12th I thought a poll naming the best Bikini Speedo Dodgeball team name would be a fun idea.
Oh and for more info click here- 2015 Bikini Speedo Dodgeball World Championship Event Page
Don’t forget to sign up to get your free UBER ride to the event by signing up with free ride coupon code CAPEANN Here- https://get.uber.com/go/capeann
So here goes, vote for your favorite-
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Alicia Unleashed OR Unapologetically Alicia- Which do you prefer?
After a few too many adult beverages Joey may or may not come to regret his fateful decision of asking me to become an official GMG contributor. My role as we discussed and maybe to your dismay, will be to give the straight dope without filter as I see things (oh boy) You may agree with me or you may vehemently disagree with me, but know that what I put on these pages will be straight from my heart without excuses.
As far as the poll goes we are looking for my new username. Please chime in and whichever one wins I’ll be using going forward.
If there are any topics you would like to discuss on this crazy adventure feel free to leave a comment below and follow me on twitter @ali4416
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@MattNoyesNECN Poll- Shoveling Multiple Times vs The Screw It Til The End Method. Which Person Are You?
I’ve been keeping up with the storm (or at least trying to) by going out every couple of hours to shovel the walkway, around the cars and the end of the driveway. When driving over my mom’s to shovel her out I noticed a good number of cars and driveways that were straight up covered and hadn’t been touched.
Reflecting on it right now I’m not sure which is the better method.
One makes for obviously lighter duty at the end but the screw it til the end method where you sit around and eat like a pig and watch marathon tv series on Netflix sounds pretty damn good.
Please let it end…
What has been your tactic for handling the last few storms. If the options presented in the poll don’t represent your method, leave a comment.
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Poll- With Giusepppes Closed What Kind Of Restaurant Would You Like To Fill That Space
I think the only void we have in the dining scene on Cape Ann is Indian Food. If you’ve been to Anmol in Beverly you know it’s really fantastic. If we could lure the owners of Anmol to open up in the space in the basement of the Blackburn Building that would be round out Gloucester’s dining menu.
What type of restaurant would you like to see there?
Edit: After thinking about this I’m not sure that we have a true Steak House here. That would be something that could add to our dining options. However with the crazy high price of good beef I’m not sure that we could support a real deal Steak House. We could have a place that serves steak obviously but to get real aged beef after you triple your food cost (how most restaurants come up with their pricing) I don’t think we have enough people having business meetings on company credit cards that don’t care that they are spending $40 for a steak and $100 bottle of wine. That’s big city stuff.
So I stand by my original choice of Indian food. Oh and for the people that have never tried Indian food, you’re really missing out. Anmol is a treasure for the people in Beverly.
From Twitter-
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Who’s All In On The Market Basket Boycott?
There’s a Facebook Page with 35,626 Likes-
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Market-Basket/136649323208808
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Poll- Since the Gloucester Daily Times Went Paywall- How Has It Influenced Your Viewership?
It’s A Peep Showdown! Melissa Cox’ Peep Show vs Bill Cox’ Buoy Peeps–Who Ya Got?
How In The World Did Yodeling Ever Become A Thing?
Will you look at this guy? Seems like a nice enough bloke right? Meet him on the street in plainclothes, love to tip one back with him.
But then you put him in the lederhosen, tights, bib, funny hat, I mean what the frick is going on over there?
It’s gotta be the Octoberfest beer, right? Just get flat out shithoused, that’s the only explanation for making a conscious decision to dress up and sing like this.
Let’s strap on the tights, get crushed and yodel. That’s what I always say.
12 hours of yodeling or 12 hours of elevator muzak- gotta pick one, which one ya got?
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Paper vs Plastic: Some Facts
Bob Velo from Crosbys Market stated in the Gloucester Daily Times article that the cost for plastic bags are 3 cents vs 10 cents for paper bags.
Tax data cast doubt on claims about declining use of plastic bags in D.C.
By Mike DeBonis
The District’s four-year-old tax on disposable bags has been a rousing success, leading to a 60 percent drop in household bag use and many fewer plastic bags littering city streets. Such are the claims of city environmental officials, citing surveys done by an independent research firm last year.
City revenue figures, meanwhile, show no continuing decrease in the use of disposable bags. In fact, bag tax collections have proven remarkably stable since the nickel-per-bag fee debuted in January 2010.
Information from International Plastics website (for what it’s worth):
Recycling Partner
Paper Bags VS: Plastic Bags – Real Numbers
Are plastic bags getting a bad reputation?
Look in almost any newspaper and more than likely you will find an article about local government that is considering to somehow regulate plastic bags. It is becoming easy to hate the “pitiful” plastic bag!
Paper vs. Plastic:
Articles usually leave out the facts as well as the side by side comparison. A truthful look at what is required to produce 1000 plastic bags versus 1000 similar paper bags. If the biased media would present the facts, as discerning people we could make educated and wise decisions.
If all the shoppers using plastic bags last year had used paper bags instead, they would have increased the amount of solid waste by over 100 million tons and taken up 7 times more space in landfills.
Lindle Willnow submits a great link with more facts from the National Cooperative Grocers Association-
Here is a reference that shows that neither option is that good but plastic seems to have a smaller, though longer lasting impact (https://www.ncga.coop/newsroom/paper-or-plastic). That said, I haven’t got on board with bringing my own.
Joey notes-
The 979 cubic inches for 1000 plastic bags vs 7188 cubic inches for paper bags does not take into account that after a year or two in a landfill that paper bag will be significantly less from decomposing and the plastic bag will be around forever.
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Where do you stand on the Town Of Manchester’s Plastic Bag Ban?
January 29, 2014
Impact of bag ban? Thin in Manchester
By James NiedzinskiStaff Writer
MANCHESTER — The use of the plastic shopping bag was formally wrapped up when the town’s ban went into effect at the start of the month, and now, weeks later, some say the difference is as thin as the film the bags are made of.
Meanwhile, the Marblehead Board of Health voted last week to bring a similar ban to Marblehead Town Meeting in May. The board cited waste reduction efforts and impacts on the environment as a reason for proposing the ban.
The management of Crosby’s Marketplace is opposing the bid for a bag ban in Marblehead, as it did when Manchester’s ban went before voters, saying the company has made efforts to reduce the use of both paper and plastic bags.
Such a ban only increases the use of paper bags, which also impact the environment, considering the loss of trees and the amount of water used to produce them, said Bob Vello, general manager of the chain which has stores in both towns. Paper bags are more expensive at 10 cents each, he said. Plastic ones are 3 cents.
To read the entire article at The Gloucester Daily Times Website click here
Kudos to James Niedzinski for including the cost difference in the article. Too often people make environmental decisions without taking into economic factors at all. I’m not saying that i favor or not favor the decision by the Selectmen and voters in Manchester, I’m just happy that at least some concrete numbers were thrown into the discussion.
I’d love to know the difference in cost between Styrofoam cups and paper cups because I see way more Styrofoam cups blowing around and trapped under brush for years and years compared to plastic bags. I’ll give my opinion tomorrow.
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The Daily Traveler Chimes in On Gloucester’s Most Beautiful Lobster Trap Tree (and those other horribly misfigured Lobster trap trees from other places)
This Is a Thing? Lobster Trap Christmas Trees Are Serious Business in New England
December 7, 2013, 11:00 AM
We’re always excited to discover a Christmas tree that isn’t a “tree” at all. Like the one made of wine bottles at Seattle’s Hotel Vintage Park, the 2,130-foot tall “tree” of lights on the side of Italy’s Mount Ingino, and Lithuania’s recycled plastic bottle spruce. But for more than a decade, a new holiday tradition has been brewing in some of New England’s most charming coastal towns: lobster trap Christmas trees. And the competition to build the best of the bunch has gotten heated. We’re not about to get in the middle of a friendly fishing village rivalry, but take a look at the different ways in which five towns are putting their personal stamps on the lobster trap tree trend.
Click here for the entire story
I believe we’ve already chimed in year after year on the matter- the evidence is clear and the people have spoken. Sane people prefer our Lobster Trap Tree decorated by sweet adoring children from the Gloucester Community with heart felt appreciation for our lobster industry and hard working fishermen to the abominations seen below.
Don’t forget to bring your children down to Art Haven to paint a buoy to adorn the tree. That’s what separates our lobster trap tree from all those horribly disfigured monstrosity lobster trap trees up in Maine that are all simply built out of generic traps and cheap pre-made ribbons imported from China and manufactured in sweat shops with unfair labor practices.
Here we go folks, the fourth year of our fair and balanced GMG Lobster Trap Tree poll-
Gloucester’s Lobster Trap Tree Decorated With Hand Painted Buoys By The Loving Appreciative Children Of Gloucester MA-
vs.
Provincetown lobster trap tree adorned with cheap imported Chinese pre-made slave labor ribbons-
Isn’t Provincetown where all the gays are? I know the gays are better than this, much more creative and artistic. Be better Provincetown, you’re not representing well here- at all.
vs.
Then you got the terribly disfigured one from Maine where it looks more like a Christmas Spike than a Christmas Tree-
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Poll- What’s Worse? Bad Pistachio or Bad Oyster
Ever be sitting down in front of the TV eating pistachios just enjoying the shit out of them and then run into that one bad one that ruins you for pistachios for years.
I can’t even begin to describe that bad pistachio rotten taste, that taste that lingers and disgusts you to no end. You try to spit it out immediately but the damage has been done. Once it hits your taste buds there’s no turning back. It’s like seeing things that can’t be unseen. Like walking in on your parents having sex- horrifying.
Now pit that up against a bad oyster, that horrible horrible bad oyster.
Which one is worse? Like if you had to endure one which would it be?
PS- Take that shell away and rotate that oyster picture 90 degrees and what does the meat look like to you?
I see a beautiful tulip.
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Poll- Should Dogs Be Alowed Off Leash On Gloucester Beaches From Sepember 16th To April 30th?
In light of the petition to allow dogs off leash on Gloucester public beaches how do you feel about the subject?
Below the poll is the petition and where you can go to sign it.
Toby and I discuss it in this week’s podcast. You can listen to it by clicking on the icon here-
Please note: we have just been informed that the City of Gloucester will not accept the online petition. We therefore are asking that people take the time to sign paper petitions which are available in Gloucester at the following locations:
Animal Krackers
Petco
Last Stop Variety
Paws at Play
North Shore Veterinary Hospital
Cape Ann Veterinary Hospital
The undersigned hereby petition the City Council as follows and request changes to the beach ordinance 4-16a.
Currently it reads:
Sec. 4-16a. Dogs prohibited on beaches at certain times.
Dogs shall be prohibited from public beaches from May 1 to September 15, annually. Dogs shall be allowed on public beaches from September 16 to April 30, annually, and shall be under the control of the owner or keeper.
(Ord. No. 95-1998, § I, 7-7-1998; Ord. of 7-23-2002, § I)
We hearby petition to amend ordinance 4-16a to include:
Dogs may be permitted, during the above mentioned dates, on City of Gloucester beaches, off-leash and for the purpose of exercise.
A. The dog must be under visual and voice control by owner/guardian at all times.
B. All dogs must wear a collar with current tags.
C. All dogs must have current vaccinations and licenses.
D. As a condition of admission to beach areas, the owner/guardian of such dog shall use a suitable container or instrument to remove dog feces and shall dispose of it in waste containers provided for that purpose.
E. Aggressive dogs are not permitted. Owners are legally responsible for any injury caused by their dogs.
F. Dogs shall not be left unattended.
G. Female dogs in heat are not permitted.
H. Use of the beach by the dog shall constitute implied consent of the dog’s owner/guardian to all regulations and shall constitute a waiver of liability to the City of Gloucester and an agreement to protect, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the City of Gloucester, its officials and employees for any injury or damage caused by a dog.
Read The Gloucester Daily Times Editorial Here-
November 5, 2013
Editorial: City’s dog restraint laws need fresh and thorough review
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Critical Question of The Day- If you had to be stuck talking to stinky guy or curmudgeon guy which would you rather?
Here’s the scenario:
You absolutely have to spend time in close quarters to one of two people.
One. a person that absolutely reeks of body odor and overall stench and every time yo take a breath you inhale the rottenness.
or the second a total negative Nancy curmudgeon who has nothing nice to say about anything and takes delight in other people’s misfortune.
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Poll- Do You Know What Froyo Means?
When speaking to my boy Craig Kimberley night before last I told him that I was on my way to Cafe Bishco with Beasley and Amandacakes for some Froyo.
His response?
“What are you speaking, Hobbit?”
Then again in the comment section someone asked what “Froyo” meant.
In this day and age are here people that still don’t know the meaning of Froyo?
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Standers vs Sitters On Pavilion Beach. Is There really any debate on this one?
Rick Terselic submits-
Hi Joey: There was a significant amount of friction between the folks
on Pavilion Beach during the Greasy Pole competitions this weekend.
I’m of the old school that says standing room only! The sitters were
not only taking up more than their share of beach, they were yelling
(cursing at times) at anyone who was blocking their view. From what I
witnessed each afternoon it could have easily resulted in a rumble
many times over. How about setting up a poll and let’s see what the
GMG Community thinks about this issue? Viva!! Rick Terselic
I’m not sure there should even be a debate about this. If it’s standing room only it’s standing room only during the Greasy Pole and Seine boat races. Obviously if you have some old folks that can’t stand up you move to the side for them but people really can’t expect the whole beach to part for them o have direct sight lines to the pole if everyone else is standing up. that’s just plain ridiculous.
But we’ll poll it anyway and leave your comments below in the comment section.
Good Morning Gloucester 