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Magical Mystery Tour EAST 2010 - DAY 1 COMPLETE!

2456

Posts

  • ukiyo eukiyo e Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Yoshipants wrote: »
    Also, you can add the Harvard Natural History Museum up to your list of museums. I haven't actually been there yet, but it's on my list of things to do.
    It's an awesome museum. I haven't been in a few years, but I remember that the glass flowers exhibit was breathtaking.

    ukiyo e on
    1EAFQ.gif
  • MetaverseNomadMetaverseNomad Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    WE SHOULD GO SNOWSHOEING. I have always wanted to do that!!!!!!! It would be awesome. :D

    And I like the idea of going to Sam Adams! I wanted to buy some of their more elite beers anyway (why are they not available in WASHINGTON?!?!?!?), so it would be cool to check out the factory (and the store???).

    Here's the list of events (besides PAX of course :P ) that I found that are going on during the MMT:E that sound pretty cool:

    The Language of Color at HMNH: Harvard Museum of Natural History:
    http://eventful.com/cambridge_ma/events/the-language-color-hmnh-/E0-001-021830160-6

    Masked Festival of Canton Bo: (as cool as this sounds, I think it's just photography)
    http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/node/294
    http://eventful.com/cambridge_ma/events/masked-festivals-/E0-001-024176322-0@2010032409

    Harry Potter exhibit (heeheeeheeee)
    http://www.mos.org/exhibits_shows/coming_soon&d=3834

    Boston Museum
    http://eventful.com/boston/events/the-secrets-tomb-10a-/E0-001-024864070-6

    MetaverseNomad on
  • PeasantDavePeasantDave Jersey ShoreRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    WE SHOULD GO SNOWSHOEING. I have always wanted to do that!!!!!!! It would be awesome. :D

    And I like the idea of going to Sam Adams! I wanted to buy some of their more elite beers anyway (why are they not available in WASHINGTON?!?!?!?), so it would be cool to check out the factory (and the store???).

    Here's the list of events (besides PAX of course :P ) that I found that are going on during the MMT:E that sound pretty cool:

    The Language of Color at HMNH: Harvard Museum of Natural History:
    http://eventful.com/cambridge_ma/events/the-language-color-hmnh-/E0-001-021830160-6

    Masked Festival of Canton Bo: (as cool as this sounds, I think it's just photography)
    http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/node/294
    http://eventful.com/cambridge_ma/events/masked-festivals-/E0-001-024176322-0@2010032409

    Harry Potter exhibit (heeheeeheeee)
    http://www.mos.org/exhibits_shows/coming_soon&d=3834

    Boston Museum
    http://eventful.com/boston/events/the-secrets-tomb-10a-/E0-001-024864070-6

    The Harry Potter exhibit only runs until February. :(

    PeasantDave on
  • ukiyo eukiyo e Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    And I like the idea of going to Sam Adams! I wanted to buy some of their more elite beers anyway (why are they not available in WASHINGTON?!?!?!?), so it would be cool to check out the factory (and the store???).

    Seriously. I asked for a Sam Summer when I was at PAX Prime and the bartender just gave me a blank stare...
    Unfortunately the Sam Adams brewery in Boston is only there for show, they do all of their actual brewing in Ohio. Don't let that deter you though, the tour is still awesome and the tasting room at the end of the tour definitely serves authentic beer. :)

    ukiyo e on
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  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    ukiyo e wrote: »
    And I like the idea of going to Sam Adams! I wanted to buy some of their more elite beers anyway (why are they not available in WASHINGTON?!?!?!?), so it would be cool to check out the factory (and the store???).

    Seriously. I asked for a Sam Summer when I was at PAX Prime and the bartender just gave me a blank stare...
    Unfortunately the Sam Adams brewery in Boston is only there for show, they do all of their actual brewing in Ohio. Don't let that deter you though, the tour is still awesome and the tasting room at the end of the tour definitely serves authentic beer. :)

    They may do most of the commercial brewing elsewhere but it is still a fully functioning brewery and they do most of their experimenting there.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • hotranhotran Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    They may do most of the commercial brewing elsewhere but it is still a fully functioning brewery and they do most of their experimenting there.
    'tis true. Every delicious elixir goes from twinkle in the Brewmaster's eye to glorious reality within the walls of the Stonybrook facility.

    If this ends up getting added to the itinerary, I shall pick up tickets if necessary. I live exactly two arm-lengths from the Brewery, and I've watched too many sad tourists get turned away with nothing more than a conciliatory key-chain because the tours for the day sold out in the early morning

    hotran on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    You rock so much MetaverseNomad! =) I'll add 'em to the list! =) And the Harvard Museum as well in general =)

    VThornheart on
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  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    hotran wrote: »
    They may do most of the commercial brewing elsewhere but it is still a fully functioning brewery and they do most of their experimenting there.
    'tis true. Every delicious elixir goes from twinkle in the Brewmaster's eye to glorious reality within the walls of the Stonybrook facility.

    If this ends up getting added to the itinerary, I shall pick up tickets if necessary. I live exactly two arm-lengths from the Brewery, and I've watched too many sad tourists get turned away with nothing more than a conciliatory key-chain because the tours for the day sold out in the early morning

    The Tours are first come first served and there aren't tickets. The tour is free, they simply ask you make a donation to the current charity. Maybe you're thinking of somewhere else?

    VisionOfClarity on
  • hotranhotran Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    The tour is free, but they do hand out "tickets" (consisting of beer labels) in the morning for tours starting later in the day. I've picked them up when we've had friends/relatives visiting from out of state who wanted to go but weren't willing/able to make it before the crowd. I'm not sure if there are different procedures for larger groups though.

    hotran on
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  • ElectricTurtleElectricTurtle Seeress WARegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Considering that I have never been to Boston whereas Seattle I have lived most of my life, I might be signing on if we can afford a extra day or two. (Right after buying another house there's a lot of doubt to that.)

    (Also Duck Tours are lame and suck. That gets my opinion out in the open.)

    ElectricTurtle on
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  • MetaverseNomadMetaverseNomad Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    hotran wrote: »
    The tour is free, but they do hand out "tickets" (consisting of beer labels) in the morning for tours starting later in the day. I've picked them up when we've had friends/relatives visiting from out of state who wanted to go but weren't willing/able to make it before the crowd. I'm not sure if there are different procedures for larger groups though.

    I'll bet they do group tours if we call ahead and make a reservation. Looking on Yelp, it looks like it's a great tour! I vote for this!!!!!!

    MetaverseNomad on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Aye, I'll definitely look into group reservation possibilities, good idea! =)

    VThornheart on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Okay, so I had an unexpected wedding to attend this past weekend so I wasn't able to get everything ready... I'll try to get the ball rolling this coming Sunday! =)

    And currently, my plan is to find a patriot hat and attire for leading the tour. I saw a thusly-themed hat at a costume store earlier this week, and it was like a calling from God. =) lol

    VThornheart on
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  • Goose!Goose! That's me, honey Show me the way home, honeyRegistered User regular
    edited October 2009
    You mean a tri-corner or tricorn hat, right?

    Goose! on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Aye, that's the one ;)

    VThornheart on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    So, a quick update... this weekend is finally the first weekend that I've been able to set aside a large enough block of time that I think I can get what I want done. =)

    Basically, it's partly for selfish reasons (because I've been wanting to learn it for a long time =) ) and partly because I'm hoping that eventually I can evolve it to a point where there's a lot less "manual pre-planning and organizing" that has to go into MMTs, but I've been planning to make a rails web app for people to register on to express interest in MMT, officially declare themselves as "going" to MMT, vote on locations, and get/pull/update information as needed for things like contact lists and such.

    I'm doing the NaNoWriMo word count site for the Writer's Block subforum right now as an easier jump into it, but I'm hoping to have that done by the end of the day and then jump into the most essential parts of the MMT registration site... I get the feeling that, if I get all day Sunday uninterrupted to work on it, I should be able to crank that first part out. I'll keep you guys posted. =)

    VThornheart on
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  • SpYkMoSpYkMo Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    This Sounds Amazing, as a Bostonian, i haven't seen half the stuff on this list. and some of the stuff i have, it was when i was in elementary school, and that was a long time ago.

    the TD bank north fleetcenter Boston garden or whatever its called now, i dont think they offer tours, but they do have The Sports museum in there.
    As for Fenway park, they offer tours year round except on major holidays.
    there's also an attraction near Fenway, its called "TOMB" i haven't been there, but i've heard from a few people it was fun. so if anyone wants to check that out their website is http://5-wits.com/
    also i don't know if anyone is interested in Plymouth Rock/ plantation. its probably like 45 minute ride, but i thought i'd throw it out there.

    i'll be keeping an eye on this, i want in, eespecially the brewey tours since i've been wanting to do those for a while, also the MFA and Museum of Science since i haven't gone since grade school, and i dont ever recall going to the Aquarium.

    SpYkMo on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Awesome! It'd be fantastic to have you along! =) I'm a NH native, so while I know a bit about Boston I imagine that having a few true in-town veterans is going to be an immense help! Welcome to the tour! =)

    So in other news, the NaNoWriMo site is all fixed up, so I'm turning my attention now to making the MMT site... this will be a bit more involved than the last one, but I'm hoping that what I learned from the NaNoWriMo group site will help. =) My goal is to at least get the ability to "register your interest" by the end of the night... but it's already 7pm, so I may be biting off more than I can chew. =) We'll see what happens. ;)

    VThornheart on
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  • Mad_Scientist_WorkingMad_Scientist_Working Registered User regular
    edited October 2009

    * Higher Education (Arrange for tours?)
    - Cambridge
    - Harvard
    - MIT
    What college is Cambridge??? Pssttt come to Northeastern University. We have a former presidential candidate and an astronaut.
    - Granary Burying Ground (http://www.cityofboston.gov/FreedomTrail/granary.asp)

    - Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Robert Treat Paine were all laid to rest here
    And Ben Franklin's parents.

    Mad_Scientist_Working on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Ah! lol, I didn't even notice I'd done that =) Yeah, Cambridge is the city, not the University. I've got to take it off that list. If I'm not mistaken, both Harvard and MIT are there, but it in itself isn't a University. =)

    VThornheart on
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  • Mad_Scientist_WorkingMad_Scientist_Working Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Ah! lol, I didn't even notice I'd done that =) Yeah, Cambridge is the city, not the University. I've got to take it off that list. If I'm not mistaken, both Harvard and MIT are there, but it in itself isn't a University. =)
    Actually......
    http://www.cambridgecollege.edu/about/directions.cfm

    Mad_Scientist_Working on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Oh, lol! =) Aye, that wasn't quite what I had in mind I think... but that is interesting to know. =)

    Yeah, I think in my head I was thinking "MIT and Harvard are in Cambridge!" and then I ended up writing Cambridge down.

    (If anyone's been to Cambridge college, feel free to speak up if you think it would be a good location though! =) Admittedly, I've never heard of it. =) )

    VThornheart on
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  • dardordardor Redmond, WARegistered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Since I have friends at both colleges and have visited both, here's my 2 cents. MIT is a really boring campus to visit. It's an engineering school at heart. People who did engineering at school will know what I mean by that (hint: lots of boring practical structures). Just wanted to throw that out there. Harvard has a beautiful campus though. And everyone should visit it if they're in the area.

    dardor on
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  • DrakmathusDrakmathus Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Would the bus be chartered for both Wednesday and Thursday? I won't be arriving until Wednesday afternoon, and I assume the tour will already be somewhere by then.

    Drakmathus on
  • tehnakkitehnakki Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Being that I semi-live on campus (and rarely get to leave :( ) I can definitely verify that MIT looks like shit! Though we got a new coat of paint for obama's visit this past Friday!

    MIT doesn't look like much, though I would assume the tour would be worth it for the amusing stories told more than to look at the "pretty buildings" and "great artwork."

    tehnakki on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Hmm, definitely noted! This is good information. =)=)

    And indeed, the bus would be chartered for Wednesday and Thursday ideally. =) You can meet us at one of the stops though and jump on I think! =)

    VThornheart on
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  • KalgarooKalgaroo Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    I don't think Cambridge College is anything special. I keep seeing their ads on the subway, which is usually a pretty good indicator that it's not really a place for visiting. Except perhaps those Aruba ads...

    Kalgaroo on
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Actually almost every college in Boston has ads on the T.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited October 2009
    Aye, we're definitely not hitting Cambridge college, it was a mental flub on my part, no worries. ;)

    VThornheart on
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  • arsonisfunarsonisfun Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Actually almost every college in Boston has ads on the T.

    Like my Alma Mater, Wentworth :D

    Good old WIT ... one of the largest endowments in MA, but nobody's ever heard of the place ...

    arsonisfun on
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  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    arsonisfun wrote: »
    Actually almost every college in Boston has ads on the T.

    Like my Alma Mater, Wentworth :D

    Good old WIT ... one of the largest endowments in MA, but nobody's ever heard of the place ...

    Well with MIT in the same area no one's going to notice that other IT.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • Mad_Scientist_WorkingMad_Scientist_Working Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    dardor wrote: »
    Since I have friends at both colleges and have visited both, here's my 2 cents. MIT is a really boring campus to visit. It's an engineering school at heart. People who did engineering at school will know what I mean by that (hint: lots of boring practical structures). Just wanted to throw that out there. Harvard has a beautiful campus though. And everyone should visit it if they're in the area.
    What in gods name are you talking about? MIT has the weirdest looking buildings in all of Boston. Sure the older buildings are actually quite generic but the newer buildings look like a drunken architect designed them. In terms of pretiest campuses:
    Harvard
    Boston College
    Northeastern University
    MIT
    Boston University
    arsonisfun wrote: »
    Actually almost every college in Boston has ads on the T.

    Like my Alma Mater, Wentworth :D

    Good old WIT ... one of the largest endowments in MA, but nobody's ever heard of the place ...
    I've heard of Wentworth when I first started looking for colleges. Ironically, I ended up right next door.
    I I keep seeing their ads on the subway, which is usually a pretty good indicator that ..
    No. No it isn't.
    MIT doesn't look like much, though I would assume the tour would be worth it for the amusing stories told more than to look at the "pretty buildings" and "great artwork."
    MIT musuem has some of the best artwork to look at.
    Aye, we're definitely not hitting Cambridge college, it was a mental flub on my part, no worries. ;)
    Can we go to the zoo? Can we? Can we? Please!!!!!! I want to take you to all the sights where you can get shot and killed. Seriously, I've found some fun stuff in the worst parts of the city like the Bigfoot Research Center.
    Lord Jezo wrote: »
    Usagi wrote: »
    Jezo, as someone who enjoys both fine Italian cuisine and Duck tours, I repectfully disagree.

    That being said, you don't have to come if you don't want to.

    Really though, what is there to like about things like Duck Tours? You sit in a bus with a bunch of other people from out of town who are all excited that they are in the big city, zoom past all the sights, and never get to take any time with anything. It seems so tacky.

    ( I am not trying to pick a fight, really am curious )
    Because the sights that you see in the Duck Tour are ones that no sane person would go see on their own and you learn facts about the city that you wouldn't learn on your own. A lot of it isn't worth going to see it outside of the tour.

    Mad_Scientist_Working on
  • Goose!Goose! That's me, honey Show me the way home, honeyRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    I suggest that the peeps who wanna do a duck tour make a separate thread, that way you have a choice.

    Goose! on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Mad_Scientist_Working, if you've found some good sites give us the info, and I'll add it to the list! I don't think anyone has to actually worry about being shot. =)

    Okay, so I have at least a tentative format for the website... I reused a lot of layout concepts from the NaNoWriMo website I made as a warmup for getting this working, so I'm still working on prettying it up...

    I also still need to actually add locations and get things like the voting functionality working properly, but I'll be working on that during the week. For now, you can at least register an account which will let me know that you're interested:

    http://mmt.vthornheart.railsplayground.net/

    Over the course of the coming week, I'll add the locations we've already come up with... and I'll open it up so that anyone who's registered can add a new location as well, and so that anyone who's registered can vote on locations.

    Once we hit a deadline for determining locations, I'll pin down the costs for the charter bus and set it up on the site so that if you're interested in taking the next step and actually going on the MMT, you can pay your share for the bus and thus secure your spot!

    For now though, sign up! The locations and such are coming! =)

    VThornheart on
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  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Okay, here's the official update! The following has also been added to the OP:

    SIGN UP!

    http://mmt.vthornheart.railsplayground.net/

    Register on the site above to sign up for the ability to vote on (and add potential) locations! The voting and location adding features should be ready by the end of the week.

    Once the voting is up, I'll announce the deadline for the end of voting and potential location additions, which will most likely be January 1st.

    I'm using an external site for a few reasons:

    1) The forum poll only allows voting on 10 locations at a time, which was painful when we were planning the first MMT
    2) We can use this site to generate contact lists and to track who's actually paid for their seat on the bus
    3) We can let people create an update location information, making it a bit more easy for people to chime in with suggestions
    4) We can generate some voting statistics and images automatically using the site data that we can then put in the OP so that people can get a quick analysis of current leaders in the location voting etc...
    5) Ideally (if I have time) I want to add the ability for users to put comments about locations in with the location itself, so that we don't have to crowd the thread here with it.

    Anyways, hopefully it'll prove useful! It's a bit of an experiment, so pardon the extreme amount of dust. ;)



    EDIT: Also, sorry that this update took so long to get to... I've been struggling to keep on par with NaNoWriMo, which as you can see I'm failing at. =) NaNo's more time consuming than I remembered... I almost forgot entirely to work on the site. But now that the core features are about 70% complete, I'll be definitely devoting time to refining that last 30% (the fun part ;) )... graphs, reports, gussying it up a bit... etc =)

    VThornheart on
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  • Mad_Scientist_WorkingMad_Scientist_Working Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Mad_Scientist_Working, if you've found some good sites give us the info, and I'll add it to the list! I don't think anyone has to actually worry about being shot. =)
    I really was kidding about the zoo though. It literally is in one of the worst parts of the city. If anything go to the MIT museum. Its a rather nice museum with probably the most interesting artwork in the entire city plus its close enough to other interesting sites like a nice gaming store, two art supply stores, and a really good hamburger joint.
    - Site of the planning for the Boston Tea Party
    Just as a side note double check anything related to the Boston Tea Party. My brother has been pining for the time in which it will reopen but I don't think it reopens before PAX.

    Mad_Scientist_Working on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Ah, d'oh... I'll double check that. =)

    Also, I'm not too worried about bad areas of Boston if there's something interesting enough there. We'll be a big group, so we'll do okay... might not be worth it for a zoo, but if you do know of something really cool, I'd at least be up for braving it. =) We'd put it to a vote of course, but it'd be worth putting it on the ballot I think.

    VThornheart on
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  • Goose!Goose! That's me, honey Show me the way home, honeyRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Spent a ridiculous amount of time trying this out from your idea in the tc thread.

    mmtbuscopy.png

    Goose! on
  • VThornheartVThornheart Registered User regular
    edited November 2009
    Nice! That's made of so much win Goose! I like it even better than the psychedellic one you made. It's awesome! I could see a cut-out of it (so you can see some windows of the bus and the PAX logo) being our trading card icon too potentially.

    You've got the skills, my friend! =)

    VThornheart on
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  • Goose!Goose! That's me, honey Show me the way home, honeyRegistered User regular
    edited November 2009
    You can't read it in the trading card logo size, unfortunately.

    Goose! on
This discussion has been closed.