Tag: Fenway Park

Computers Make Life Easier And Scarier

google-now-screenI’m very confused. Computers looking over my shoulder have made life easier and scarier. This isn’t a new subject from me, but it hit home last week as we prepared to leave for the weekend.

My phone and tablet both run the Android operating system. That means they both have Google Now, which claims:

“Just the right information at the right time.”

I opened Google Now and saw my flight times listed. I didn’t tell Google I was flying. It figured that out from reading my email.

It figures a lot out from what I do.

There are currently offers to track packages heading my way and links to articles about Comet Ison. It knows about the packages from my email and the comet from my browsing history.

Google Location historyMy weather is there too. While in Milwaukee, Google Now posted the local forecast plus a link to the weather at home.

It knows where home is.

Because I often use my cellphone’s GPS there are maps tracking my every move! Actually, I’m tracked when I’m not using the GPS too. The readings just aren’t taken as often.

Google Location history 2I assume Google can figure out who my doctor is and where we shop for groceries. It knew I was at Fenway Park June 24th. It can tell when I’ve spent the day at home.

Remember, it’s not just my location they know. Google also knows what’s at those locations.

I can turn most of this off. I don’t. There are two main reasons.

First, if I turn it off I’m the only one deprived of the info. Google and their pals will still know.

Second, it’s valuable to me.

Having my flight information, or weather in a strange city, or sports scores from just the teams I follow are more valuable when easily found.

Having Google Now is like having my own personal assistant. Does it know any less than a flesh and blood personal assistant would?

The downside is this information will be used in ways we can hardly imagine. And it will be used without your knowledge even when it’s wrong!

While we were in Milwaukee my GPS readout briefly shows me at my parents old condo in Florida. Who do I see to correct that glitch?

When the government pushes back against fears of surveillance it’s often stated the information is anonymized. Red herring. My actual name is the least important part of this equation.

I’m truly conflicted about all this. So much power to do good. So much potential to be evil.

America’s Most Beloved Ballpark: Fenway

Amazingly, while in the car on the way up we heard about this Red Sox newbie and Helaine predicted he’d ruin our day hitting for the cycle. He was 2 for 4 with a double plus the homer. Close enough.

It’s a week early, but I got my Father’s Day gift from Helaine this weekend. We drove to Boston and caught Saturday and Sunday’s games: Phils versus Sox. In spite of an ugly loss Saturday the trip was great. The Phils held on to win 5-3 on Sunday.

Saturday’s game was marked by a grand slam home run from a player making his major league debut, Daniel Nava. He did it on the very first pitch!

Amazingly, while in the car on the way up we heard about this Red Sox newbie and Helaine predicted he’d ruin our day hitting for the cycle. He was 2 for 4 with a double plus the homer all while wearing a number usually reserved for non-roster pitchers during spring training–60. Close enough.

It’s tough to describe what makes Fenway so special. Part of it is size. As you walk down Brookline Avenue toward the stadium other than the crowd there’s no sign a major sports venue is near!

Even the crowd’s not so large. The stadium only holds around 37,000.

Once we got to the stadium the vibe couldn’t have been better. We came carrying a small soft sided cooler with bottled water ($3.75 per bottle inside), my camera bag with lenses and two Subway sandwiches. No problem. Come on in. This stuff is allowed. The security guards and ticket takers were all smiling and in a good mood.

Inside the no hassle policy continued though we wore Phils shirts both days. There were plenty of Phillies fans, many of whom came early enough to watch batting practice.

The stadium itself is a lovingly restored antique. The new “throwback” stadiums are throwing back toward this!

The main scoreboard is fully human powered! Many of the painted ads are limited to green and white. They fit in rather than stand out. That’s a nice touch.

Though some recorded music is played there is also the traditional organist. He specializes in taking the soul out of even the most soulful songs.

By Sunday afternoon I was pleased enough with Fenway to join in on Sweet Caroline – “So good. So good. So good.”

Saturday’s seats had a pole directly between me and home plate! Uh oh. Luckily a seat was opened and we slid left.

Alas, behind home plate means behind the protective screen. It’s just not good to be behind screen. Oh–forget picture taking too.

Sunday we sat in the grandstand down the third base line. These seats were spectacular with perfect sightlines in all directions.

One doesn’t question gifts, but I think the better Sunday seats were the cheaper seats.

It rained a good part of Saturday’s game and stayed gloomy for Sunday. It made no diff. We were under cover and protected. I wouldn’t have complained had it been a little warmer than the 60&#176s we sat through both days.

I was extremely impressed by the Fenway grounds crew. It goes without saying a big league field will be well maintained but these guys are animals!

On Saturday’s game we watched them groom the infield three or four times valiantly fighting and winning against the rain. They were out with shovels and rakes and bags of that beautifully red infield dirt. They poured enough dirt that the basepaths should have been elevated from the rest of the field!

I asked Helaine if she noticed how many people were wearing team jerseys and t-shirts? It’s grown over the years. Major League Baseball’s merchandising is very effective.

What did bother us was one food item sold by vendors–New England Clam Chowder. I love chowder, but this doesn’t seem like the right place. On top of that it’s $7.50 for a small cardboard bowl!

Finally a liquid more expensive than ink jet printer ink!

As we were walking to pick up the car Helaine asked if I’d like to go on a Phillies road trip again? Absolutely.

Hey AT&T–What’s The Deal At Fenway?

I was astounded that as soon as I walked into the ballpark my data service (and possibly my phone service) disappeared.

We spent the weekend in Boston watching the Phils play the Red Sox at Fenway. I was astounded that as soon as I walked into the ballpark my data service (and possibly my phone service) disappeared. This happened Saturday and Sunday though we sat in different parts of the ballpark both days.

The limitations of the 3G network were readily apparent at Boston’s Fenway Park during a Red Sox game last week. Signal was consistently 4 bars, but the data network was totally non-responsive.

That’s my story… except it was written in 2008 and posted on Gigaom.

This is a long standing problem. Here’s another person with the exact same complaint as mine from Apple’s website.

You know what’s interesting… I was at Fenway Park in Boston yesterday. I had full bars on 3G, completely max’d signal as far as the phone was concerned. And with all of that signal, I could not get to a single web site or even send a text message. I kept getting errors sending data as well as timeout errors when trying to hit a web site.

It’s from July 2008 and, again, my story exactly.

More recently commenter writing about the iPad ban at Yankee Stadium added this about Fenway.

when I’m in my seats at Fenway Park with my iPhone, I get NO service. Not even EDGE.

Even a voice cell call from Stef went directly to voicemail while I was at Fenway. I got notice of the call only after we were walking back down Brookline Ave.

It seems difficult to believe at&t doesn’t know this exists. How could they not?

Recently at&t announced they were eliminating their “all you can eat” data plans for the iPhone. Maybe a nice gesture would be for them to stop signing new customers until they built a network that could handle the ones they’re collecting money for now.

Call me frustrated.

Fenway: Ugly Day–Ugly Loss

The Phillies lost. They lost ugly. Evey other part of the day conspired to be ugly too!

We spent the afternoon at Fenway. The Phillies lost. They lost ugly. Evey other part of the day conspired to be ugly too!

It was chilly and rainy. The photo pretty much sums up the day.

One more chance tomorrow. It looks like it won’t be raining. That’s a start.

We’re In Boston

The drive wasn’t too bad–just a little traffic. However, people of Boston are you living in an alternate universe?

Good aftahnoon from Bah-ston. Helaine and I have checked in to our hotel and will be leaving soon for Fenway Park.

The drive wasn’t too bad–just a little traffic. However, people of Boston are you living in an alternate universe? I used to drive here as a college student a zillion years ago, but I don’t remember such total denial that there might be other people on the road!

A city bus made a left turn as I was entering an intersection with the right-of-way. The driver held her hand up like she was a traffic cop. What was I going to do plow into her to make a point? She wasn’t the only vehicle to beat us to the punch at an intersection.

The grand prize, however, goes to pedestrians. The have been darting from between cars like cockroaches, often only a few feet away from legitimate crosswalks! Most crossed without bothering to look at their potential fate. Unreal!

We are at a hotel in the vicinity of Dana-Farber and other hospitals. Pulling into the garage nearly everyone we saw was wearing Phillies gear.

“Go Phillies,” Helaine yelled at a family walking out of the lobby.

We are among friends. Hopefully they will be happy friends later this evening (and tomorrow). Game time 4:05 PM.

My Wicked Pissah Father’s Day

Father’s Day is still weeks away, but last night on our drive from the airport Helaine revealed my gift.

I am tough to buy for. When there’s something I want it’s usually specific and esoteric like a lens or motherboard. At the moment there’s really nothing I want/need. Father’s Day is still weeks away, but last night on our drive from the airport Helaine revealed my gift.

“You said you wanted to see the Phillies out-of-town.”

Helaine was right. While snow was on the ground I’d scoured the Phils schedule looking for an opportune weekend in some city served by Southwest.

And then she told me–we’re going to Fenway this weekend. The Phils play the Sox in an interleague series. We’ve got tickets for Saturday and Sunday.

I am VERY excited.

The forecast isn’t perfect, but our seats are in the grandstand under cover. It doesn’t make much difference. Fenway is a special place. It’s like a beautifully restored and loved masterpiece.

Cameras and video cameras are permitted inside Fenway Park, but cannot be used to reproduce the game and must not interfere with other fans’ enjoyment of the game.

Clicky’s coming too!