Photos at http://blog.kamens.brookline.ma.us/~jik/wordpress/2009/10/28/mayor-menino-is-it-your-policy-to-allow-your-staff-to-park-city-vehicles-illegally/.

Comcast thinks that its customers won't notice if it increases their monthly service charge by $2, if they call it an "equipment charge" increase rather than a service charge increase. They're increasing their revenue by $358 million per year without taking on any additional costs or providing any additional services. Consumers, fight back!

Please visit http://digg.com/tech_news/Comcast_sneaks_in_rate_increase_as_equipment_charge to read more and help me publicize Comcast's most recent attempt to cheat its customers.

This is not a good way to win votes...

http://blog.kamens.brookline.ma.us/~jik/wordpress/2009/09/29/spam-yoon-round-2/

Here, by the way, is the body of the spam he just sent me:

(Simulblogged on my blog.)

A recent political mass mailing from Michael Flaherty has a charming photo of him, his wife, and three of his kids, with this text above it (emphasis added):

A husband, father and lifelong rsident of Boston, Michael is a graduate of Boston College Law School, Boston College, and Boston University School of Law. Michael and his wife Laurene have four children, three of whom attend the Boston Public Schools.

Um, OK, so just out of curiosity, what about child number four?

Ayanna Pressley spammed me at the beginning of her campaign. I complained. She ignored me. I probably would have voted for her if she hadn't spammed me OR she had acknowledged my complaint.

More on my blog at http://blog.kamens.brookline.ma.us/~jik/wordpress/2009/09/14/why-i-wont-be-voting-for-ayanna-pressley/.

MBTA Transit Police threaten to arrest me for distributing flyers to reporters at Google Transit press conference

Ride the T with Google Maps? Sure, if you don't mind ending up in the wrong place!

To:

To the editor:

It has been painful to watch the avalanche of flawed statistics and discredited urban legends wielded by opponents of a primary enforcement seat-belt law in their foolhardy efforts to stop a law which would undeniably save lives.

To:

To the editor:

Councilor Michael Flaherty’s idea to slash the city’s motor pool by having workers ride the T is a brilliant strategy for doubling the number of employees on the payroll. How else does he expect to maintain the same level of productivity when workers are forced to spend half the day waiting for trains and buses that run infrequently and arrive late, if at all?

Is Flaherty trying to save the city money or earn points with the unions by creating jobs for their members?

Jonathan Kamens
Brighton

We've been living in Brighton Center for over a decade and until recently never had to worry about crime. The worst we had to put up with was drunken parties thrown by the BC students who rent on our block, and some years even that isn't a problem if the students are polite.

(A couple of years ago there were a couple of really talented guitar players renting across the street from us. They often jammed late into the night with their friends, but man, they were good, so we didn't care. Wish they'd stayed!)

John Houghton
Superintendent, Cabot Bus Garage
MBTA

Dear Mr. Houghton,

They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If so, then I must be insane to rely on the T.

It’s not so much that many of the 5xx express buses were horrendously delayed for hours this morning. I understand that was caused by a problem outside the T’s control, in particular, a stuck railroad crossing gate out in Waltham.

blog.kamens.brookline.ma.us...daughter-on-the-wrong-plane/

I just sent this letter to the editors of several local newspapers:

To the editor:

Concerning the tragic, fatal car crash in Leicester, high school principal Tom Lauder said, "It's not like they did anything wrong." Unfortunately, he's wrong... dead wrong.

The speed limit where the crash occurred was 30 mph. Police believe that the driver was traveling as fast as 70 mph, over double the limit.

Got a ticket for improper passing on the right on Washington St. at the intersection with Waverly Ave. near Newton Corner. Contested the ticket. Spent hours preparing for the hearing. Punchline: The trooper representing the Commonwealth didn't have a copy of the citation, so I was found "not responsible" without saying a word in my defense.

The three people whose hearings were before mine were also found "not responsible".

Moral of the story: always contest the ticket if you think it was undeserved. Well, the moral for the unscrupulous might leave off the last part, but personally, if I think I'm guilty of what they accused me of, I'll grit my teeth, pay the ticket and live with the surcharge.

More details on my main blog.

NSTAR just notified all customers who had signed up for the E-Bill service to be able to pay bills online, but who did not opt to stop receiving paper statements, that they were going to no longer receive paper statements whether they like it or not.

Read all about it on my main blog.

In an ideal world, the treatment received by a private citizen calling 911 would inspire confidence in the ability of the police to protect people from crime and terrorism. In reality, it seems designed to inspire confidence only in the criminals and terrorists.

Read more about my recent unfortunate encounter with the men in blue (or at least their 911 dispatchers) here.

I just got a phone call with a prerecorded message about House BIll 4493, which you can read here. The message claimed that the bill was going to be passed "tomorrow" and that I should call the backer of the bill (Senator Jack Hart) and the director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (James Rooney) to complain. The message directed me to visit the site mccabillexposed.com for additional information. But something's not right about this.

Read more about it here on my blog.