Synchronicity II

HB: Tell me about the game Minecraft.

TB: Minecraft is a game that you can build anything you want if you have the items.

HB: What kind of items?

TB: Wooden planks, cobblestone, iron, diamonds and gold.

EB: And you can make a gun.

TB: That’s like mods.

HB: What’s a mod?

TB: It’s a download that you can do and you can make a gun mod…

HB: What does a mod do?

TB: It changes your minecraft into something cooler.

HB: Like what? Does it change the way it looks?

TB: That’s a texture pack that changes the way it looks.

EB: We have cottery craft texture pack.

TB: And there are enemies of the night.

HB: Like what kind of enemies?

TB: There’s creepers, skeletons, zombies, spiders and undermen…. And there are “Nuther” ememies.

HB: What kind of “Nuther” ememies?

TB: Like zombie pigmen, ghasts, blazes and magma cubes.

HB: What’s the “Nuther?”

LL: You tell him TB I forget.

TB: The Nuther is a place like Hell with burning fires and lava.

HB: Are there devils?

TB: No… maybe the pigmen are. Now my friend Sean is going to tell you about the “Aether.”

SD: The Aether is a place where there’s an unbeatable boss, where not one person has beaten it. The only way is to use a diamond sword and deflect the ice circles and make sure they hit the fireboss.”

TB: (to SD) If you know so much about the fire boss, why don’t you just beat him?

SD: It’s a mod, Tiko, it’s a mod. And the mod costs money. That’s the bad part.

TB: When I’m ten I’m going to buy the Aether mod.

HB: Don’t you think that by the time you’re ten, two years from now, you’ll want something else instead?

TB: Yes I will, but I’ll still play Minecraft and buy the Aether mod.

SD: I want to play Poptropica now.

HB: No! This story is about Minecraft, not Poptropica!

SD: So what?!!

EB: Hello. Yes.

TB: Why’d you say ‘hello, yes?’

EB: Because it’s funny!

TB: No it’s not.

EB: Waaaaaaaaaah!

HB: Let’s get back to Minecraft. You have Minecraft for xbox now. Is it different than the computer version?

TB: Yes. You can get a tutorial and there are updates like the computer version. I have one of them and My tutorial deleted for no reason.

EB: Blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah.

TB: (continuing) and there’s a old tutorial that you can get if you have the update that I have.

HB:Tell me about building things like the giant Sponge Bob or your house.

TB: Oh. At LL’s house I helped him make a Sponge Bob.

HB: Right. And it was as tall as a skyscraper and you could go inside of him.

TB: EB, say “blah blah blah again.”

I think this list includes all of the mayors except our current mayor Miro Weinberger.  You can see that quite a few Burlington streets are named for mayors- Woodbury, Crombie, Van Patten, Blodgett, Drew and Henry.  And look at Captain James E. Burke of the Starship Burlington over here! He served four terms between 1903 and 1935!

http://rangevoting.org/BurlMayors.txt

The following is a faithfully transcribed conversation between me (Haik Bedrosian) and Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Cassandra Gekas recorded at Uncommon Grounds coffee shop on Church Street in Burlington on August 12, 2012 between 9am and 10am.

HB: Thank you for joining me Cassandra Gekas, Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.
CG: I am indeed. Thank you.

HB: Ok one question off the top.
CG: Yes.

HB: Have you ever driven a race car?

Click here to read entire interview.

I’m justing going to make a list. Feel free to add suggestions.

Lois the Hot Dog Lady, Pine Street, Clavelle, Church Street, Bessery’s, Beltline, Bernie, Ben and Jerry’s, Groovy U-V, DeGoesbriand, John Dewey, Lake Champlain, Ethan Allen, Mary Fletcher, Centennial Field, Waterfront Park, Lakewood Raft, The Flynn, The North End, The Old North End, Red Rocks, Oakledge, Leddy Beach, Ben’s Sandwiches, Bonfires on the Beach, the Pinnacle, Phish, Magic Hat,

We have to vote “yes.”  If we don’t borrow this now at current rates, then the city’s credit rating will slide off a cliff.  Nobody likes taxes, but life is expensive.  Pay a little now, or pay a lot later.  There are no other alternatives.

Bear in mind our aquaducts need replacing.  In August a sewer structure from 1879 collapsed under Main Street.  Burlington is not a new city, by North American standards.

Please read my post on a city’s priorities from May, 2011.

Harbor Hideaway restaurant on Shelburne Road is no more. I remember eating there once when I was really little. There was a real skeleton in a casket in the foyer, was there not?

Update. Yes.  There was .  My memories from 30 years ago or more still work.  Now where are my keys?

(August 30, 2012)

Dear President Shannon:

Please accept my resignation from the Burlington City Council to be effective September 30, 2012. I have greatly enjoyed my 5 1/2 years of service to the people of the City of Burlington, but now I need to close this chapter in my political career.

Rest assured, that although my service will be ending, I hope to continue to weigh-in on the topics of the day, both in spirit and virtually through #BTVCC on Twitter. We are living in exciting times and just beginning to understand how technology can make government more transparent and more participatory. I am glad that I was able to play a small part in midwifing this new era.

I do want to make sure that there will be someone from Ward 1 replacing me as soon as possible. I have reviewed Charter Section 128 and it is my understanding that there will be a special election for the vacant seat on Election Day (November 6th). What I am less clear about is the timeline from now until then. I would ask that the City Attorney’s Office (I am including Chief Assistant City Attorney Gene Bergman on this correspondence since I know Ken Schatz is out of the office) answer the following questions by the close of business tomorrow (8/31) so that I may pass the answers along to my constituents: 1) Will the election indeed be on November 6th? 2) What is the deadline for filing petitions with the City Clerk’s Office? 3) Will there be a separate and distinct physical ballot for this race (as opposed to being listed with all the other races and ballot items on for election). If the City Attorney’s Office feels that there is anything else that needs to be detailed as far as an election schedule and mechanics, that would also be appreciated.

Thank you all for a tremendous experience.

With warmest regards,

Ed Adrian
Ward 1 City Councilor