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Aaron Read@aaronread1.bsky.social |
23 followers 15 following 199 posts
Chief Engineer for The Public's Radio in Providence RI. Co-owner of L&R Broadcast Services. Not saying anything on behalf of either. www.landrbs.com
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Sorry that should be "her" hedge fund friends. She already had them, that's how she became Treasurer. It never ceases to amaze me how the entire RI political world continues to pretend this article doesn't exist.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Well, and let's not forget how as RI Treasurer she basically looted the pension fund, under the guise of "reform", to give it all to get hedge fund friends. 🤷♂️
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Ya can't fix stupid. 🤷♂️
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Yet somehow wholly appropriate for Thayer Street, no? (ducking)
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Right, Kent?
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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There's a few bits that aged rather poorly, and it's bizarre to see, in 2024, tech that seems hideously outdated now...that seemed so cutting-edge back in the early 90's when I first saw RG. But it's still a true classic of nerd cinema. "You unbelievable bastard." "Count on it!"
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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FTR: Iowa isn't mountainous or anything, but at least along I-80 it has a lot of rolling hills. It may actually be nearly as flat as Kansas but it definitely doesn't look it or feel it.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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But yes, even I had a mental image of Kansas that was much flatter than the reality of I-70. Tho' what really surprised me was how flat Nebraska is. At least the eastern half of the state. Makes Kansas look like Utah.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I got in an argument with someone once about how Iowa is nowhere near as flat as Kansas. Finally I had to play the card: I literally just drove across BOTH THOSE STATES JUST LAST MONTH to get to NAB in Vegas. I know how flat each state is!!! 🙄
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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So not quite what I was thinking, but the details paint a similar picture, correct? Trump may have out-raised Biden but it was mostly due to just four households giving a cubic f**kton of money. Not any indication of broader support.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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It's not a bad movie. I have the dvd here somewhere myself.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I kept hearing on NPR's newscasts on Friday that Trump had out-raised Biden in fundraising. Was this $50mil the reason why?
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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The Globe's had a nice series on school busing this week. Well worth a read.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Now if you want to talk about how too many of those businesses are not locating themselves in *Providence* but instead are a few miles away in, say, Johnston or Smithfield? That's a convo worth having: a convo about how STOOOOOPID our municipal, county and state government is here.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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No, that's not actually what I'm saying. You're underestimating the corporate and personal income tax revenue colleges bring by attracting a lot of high-value/high-salary businesses to the surrounding area.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Bear in mind that this dynamic is almost EXACTLY the same one that led to hundreds of thousands of white families fleeing Boston when school busing was forced on them. It's not 100% the same, more like 90%. But that's still a lot of racism in play.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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That said, thanks to the demographic cliff, a hell of a lot of towns are about to learn the hard way what life is like without a college in their town anymore. The *kindest* (but still realistic) estimates I'm seeing are that 20% of the colleges open in 2014 will be closed by 2034. Yiiiiiikes.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I don't think the connection is quite that simple, though. I think the benefits colleges bring are vast and subtle, even if the downside of "fewer property taxes" is more stark.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Ya can't get ya face theah from heah.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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There's far, far fewer locales in America where there's at least six colleges in the same metro. Doubly so once you get outside the top 20 markets. And to the best of my knowledge, ALL of them tend to do better economically than their peers.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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On 2 you and I are in complete agreement. On 1, though, I say it's more subtle. I shat on Syracuse NY elsewhere in this thread, and they have a really big college. But it's (pretty much) the ONLY college in that city. One college (even two or three) isn't enough. You need at least a half-dozen.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Yes, YES!! That is such a quintessentially New England thing: too many people? Make it worse for us all so they go away.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Having lived up there for a few years, I can tell you Rochester has a lot of problems...but it has far fewer than most any other upstate NY city - and the primary and secondary effects of the colleges are the reason why.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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You'll note I didn't put Rochester NY on that list: the fact that Rochester has a half-dozen decent colleges is the reason why. Their presence was and is a symbiotic relationship to all the healthcare and biotech in the city, too.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Well if y'all like Albany so much there's plenty of other upstate NY cities that are hot garbage fires (Syracuse, Buffalo, Binghamton) that serve just as well as examples. The point is, having a bunch of colleges makes a BIG improvement to the overall economy of their cities.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Can't argue with the truth on that one.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I am sorry. I am very, very sorry.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I am Groot?
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Second, as egregious as Brown's pathetic PILOT payment is? Let's not discount the fact that Providence without colleges would be Albany, NY. Let that sink in. 😱
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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First, that's nonsense. I've lived in multiple college towns, and Brown could pay a billion dollars to PVD every year in PILOT; East Siders would still complain, long and loud, about the students.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Uh, Boston? (and the surrounding cities) There's some pretty stingy colleges there, too.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Oh yeah, that's a yellowjacket. They love sweet things. They're actually pretty "good" insects, even though they will be quite nasty if you disturb them or get too close to the nest. The problem is in the early fall, when the hive dissolves, they go looking for food, usually near humans.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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The sign explicitly says if you pee on the #WPVD property, your picture is going on social media and that women will point and laugh. I've done my part. Ladies! The rest is up to you!
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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One could argue social media did the same thing to broadcast radio and television. (shrugs)
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I am quite familiar with yellowjackets (and their nasty cousins, bald-faced hornets) due to their affinity for nesting at transmitter sites. I am also quite familiar with wasp killer spray.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Yellowjackets, to be precise. I think. Hard to see it clearly.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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A.I. was just a red herring!
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Years ago, I personally saw that someone had put up a sign in Kennedy Plaza, near the Subway, that said "No Mugging / Between These Signs" that looked exactly like a No Parking sign. This was literally across the street from City Hall. That's some impressive balls. It lasted two or three days.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I am mildly pleased with myself that just from what was visible on my screen, I knew that was the East Bay Bike Park in Warren, right next to Tourister Mill. 😁
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Don't forget shoreline access! 😁
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Boy these deck chairs are really worth fighting over who gets to rearrange them, aren't they?
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Actually I don't think he would. Elorza thumped him 53-43% in 2014, and Buddy left the GOP to be an ind. for several reasons; I doubt he would've gone back, nor would the GOP accept him. And a lot of his supporters were already dead, or close to it, in 2016. Never mind now.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Seems odd. He had a well-playing full-time gig at Cumulus Radio / WPRO at the time. 🤷♂️
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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That's entirely plausible as far as I'm concerned. 😉
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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It wasn't exactly a prank but I was interning at WBCN back when MTV's Real World Boston was taping in the summer of 1997, and somehow the DJ (Nik Carter) got the unlisted phone number for the RWB house and was calling them EVERY NIGHT. The lawyers were not pleased.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I still think the greatest radio stunt ever was WBRU's "Buddy Radio." The commitment was truly impressive.
wbrurock.wordpress.com
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I might get in trouble for this, but that's *usually* (not always) code for: "I'll work for the rich white people, but the poor brown people? Not so much."
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Imagine it thirty years ago and.... ...oh wait it hasn't changed one goddamn bit.
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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I grew up in Mystic. Awful place, but a lovely name for a town. 🤷♂️
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Aaron Read
@aaronread1.bsky.social
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Which radio station?
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