Boston

December 28, 2007

Wireless at South Station

In the past, travelers to Boston's South Station used to be able to get free WiFi while waiting for their train. If you google WiFi South Station you'll find several article about the free wireless access at South Station. However, the Free WiFi is gone in favor of a paid service provided by GuestBox.com.

So how is the wireless service at South Station? Is it worth the $9 month fee or $8 hourly fee? Don't ask me, it appears that the service isn't Macintosh friendly.

I am unable to login to the service using my Powerbook G4. I had no problems with the signup process, it went very smoothly and I was very excited to get online. However, I can't get past the login screen. I don't get any error messages, its just the login screen keeps showing up asking me to login everytime.

Problem is that I already put in my credit card number for a monthly subscription. I am unsure if this is related to having Macintosh 10.5 installed on my computer. I'll check to see if I have the latest patches. I am currently using Mac OS X 10.5.1 (9B18) on a Powerbook G4. I am also using the latest versions of Safari and Firefox.

If you have any support issues with South Station wireless, you should contact GuestBOX, you can call them at 888-999-1299.

December 26, 2007

South Station

The Boston’s South Station commuter rail was pretty quiet this morning. This isn’t a surprise since most business travelers took most of this week off. I was very excited to find a seat this morning.

Can someone explain why Dunkin Donuts hasn’t open a franchise inside South Station? The nearest one is about 3 blocks away from the station. It seems that with all the commuter trains that come in the morning that Dunkin Donuts would do pretty well in the morning. There’s a Dunkin Donuts in the Harvard Square ‘T’ station that does pretty well all day.

The South Station terminal has a good assortment of restaurants, and I have seen many people goto the station to get lunch during the busy lunch hour. There’s three main eating establishments restaurants: Cosi, McDonalds, and Master Wok.

If you plan on taking Amtrak METRO or Acela from South Station, I highly recommend that you bring your own food on the train. A bag of chips or soda is much cheaper at a supermarket than at the train station. Also the food selection at the station is very limited.

I suspect that the commute tomorrow isn’t going to be that bad so its going to be a good week to be going into Boston.

December 18, 2007

MBTA Delays

The MBTA was experience delays this morning due to the cold weather. This morning I waited almost a 1/2 hour in the freezing cold waiting for the train. Most commuters left after about 25 minutes.

The MBTA should have a better system in place to let commuters know about train delays. Hopefully they will fix this in the future. I feel sorry for the people that were in the train waiting to get into Boston. Wonder if the commute will be better tonight if the cold air continues.

December 13, 2007

Snow Day in Boston

Today was a pretty snowy day in the Boston area. Weather forecasters warned people that it was going to be a quick storm dropping about 6 inches or more of snow during the evening commute.

What made the storm really bad is that almost everyone left work early! This caused a grid lock with most of roads in eastern Massachusetts. I know some people that left work in Natick around 3pm and didn’t get to their house in Newton until 7pm. A commute that usually takes about 30 minutes for the 20 mile distance took 4 hours today!

The MassPike was bumper to bumper going into and out of the city of Boston. The bottleneck lasted for many hours, and the side roads weren’t any better. Washington Street in Newton had the largest backup that I have ever seen. Most people were taking this route to avoid the traffic on the Mass Pike and get to 128.

The suburbs weren’t any better to commuters. Local media reported slow traffic on Route 9 in the Newton/Wellesley area. Some commuters even ran out of gas on Route 9! There were lots of reports of people being on the road stuck in traffic for 5,6,7 hours.

I was in the city of Boston and took the commuter rail from Newtonville to South Station. I got out of work around 4:30 and waited to catch the 5:05 train. The train was a little late getting in and they waited an extra 15mins before leaving. (I am not sure the reason for the delay.) Most of the trains were late getting in and there were lots of people in South Station waiting. I manage to get to Newtonville around 6pm.

I stopped at the Lobster Wok to pick up Chinese takeout for dinner, and there were few other people also had the same idea. The restaurant was the crowded that I have ever seen it! I did notice that the Starbucks next door was also crowded and a few people were using their laptops in the cafe. Must be nice to sit inside and sip on a Eggnog Late and enjoy the first winter storm of the season.

My white 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS had no problems getting up the street to my apartment. The car was covered in snow, but had no problems getting through the unplowed parking lot. I saw several front wheel drive cars having problems in the parking lot and fish tailing on several side streets. It really helps to have all wheel drive.

The next time a big storm supposed hit the Boston area during the evening commute its probably best to work from home, or at least leave really really early. I am sure there’s plenty of New England drivers that wish they didn’t go to work today.

November 15, 2007

Boston Sports Bar

Yesterday, KirkJerk posted that no Boston Team has lost since the Red Sox came back from being down 3 games against the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. (The only exception is the Boston Bruins) Since October 16, the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics and the New England Patriots haven't lost a game.

The Boston Celtics do look pretty good this year, and I enjoyed watching them win to go 7-0 for the season. It couldn't be more perfect for the Boston fan, watch the Celtics win during the week and then on Sunday watch the Patriots win. No question about it - Boston sports teams are playing at a very different level than other teams.

If you are visiting Boston and looking for a sports bars to watch the games, here are three good options:

The Good Time Emporium - 30 Sturtevant St, Somerville, MA 02145
Lots of big screen TVs and plenty of free parking makes this a great sports bar. Plenty to do before or after the game.

The Fours - 166 Canal St, Boston, MA 02114
Directly across from the Fleet Center, a great local favorite. Easiest to get to via Public Transportation.

Game On - 82 Lansdowne St, Boston, MA 02215
At Fenway Park, a great place to watch any game.