Boston Metblogs » bos_dan

Back From the (Mostly) Dead

bos_dan — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 17:25:57 +0000

Anyone who was familiar with the Cambridge bar scene couldn’t help shedding a few tears last summer when the Plough and Stars, the venerable (1969) pub beloved for its old-fashioned charm and soccer riots, announced it would be closing. Well, for everybody sick of pricey “American tapas” and appletinis, the time has come to dry those eyes (Irish or otherwise), because the Plough is back! Ok, ok, it’ll be back in March sometime, but it’s heartening to know that gentrification and skyrocketing Boston rents can’t keep everybody down. Somewhere out there, the people still want to drink Guinness, listen to great local music, and get whiskey poured on them when Ireland blocks a corner kick. With St. Patty’s Day around the corner, what more could you ask for?

Fly the Maddeningly Delayed Skies

bos_dan — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 04:25:18 +0000

Forbes Magazine has recently compiled an index of the fifty biggest airports in the US. Unfortunately, they failed, since the word “index” implies to me that the results should be sorted in some way. They went to all the trouble of finding the total number of passengers (from 2004) and the average percentage of on-time flights (from June of 05), but they didn’t bother to rank them by either measure. And I ask you, what’s the value of information if I can’t find out who to make fun of for being last? (infuriating Newark for efficiency and puny Bradley for volume, just so you know)

Anyway, Logan didn’t fare so hot, ranking a paltry 39th place in efficiency. I place most of the blame for that squarely on mother nature, because she hates flying and wants to make sure Boston travelers hate it too. The full efficiency list (compiled by yours truly, thanks for nothing Forbes!) after the jump.

Airport/City—% of Flights On Time—(# of Passengers)

1. Honolulu—88.74—(22 million)
2. George Bush/Houston —87.44—(36.5 million)
3. Cincinnatti/Northern Kentucky—83.64—(22.1 million)
4. William P. Hobby/Houston—83.50—(8.3 million)
5. Salt Lake City—82.19—(18.4 million)
6. Memphis—82.04—(10.4 million)
7. San Antonio—81.55—(7 million)
8. Dallas/Ft. Worth—81.49—(59.4 million)
9. Phoenix Sky Harbor—81.14—(39.5 million)
10. Austin-Bergstrom—81.05—(7.2 million)
11. Chicago Midway—80.81—(19.4 million)
12. Denver —79.27—(42.4 million)
13. Los Angeles—78.22—(60.7 million)
14. Cleveland/Hopkins—78.15—(11.2 million)
15. Nashville—77.56—(8.7 million)
16. Louis Armstrong/New Orleans—77.36—(9.7 million)
17. San Diego-Lindbergh Field—77.36—(16.4 million)
18. John Wayne/Orange County—76.96—(9.3 million)
19. Ontario (CA)—76.85—(6.9 million)
20. Lambert-St. Louis—76.81—(12.8 million)
21. Kansas City—76.67—(10 million)
22. Detroit Metropolitan—76.65—(35.2 million)
23. Indianapolis—76.47—(8 million)
24. Las Vegas—76.26—(41.4 million)
25. Oakland—76.00—(14.1 million)
26. Ronald Reagan—75.79—(15.9 million)
27. Charlotte/Douglas—75.55—(25.5 million)
28. Southwest Florida—75.22—(6.7 million)
29. Baltimore/Washington—75.15—(20.8 million)
30. Raleigh-Durham—75.13—(8.6 million)
31. Minneapolis/St. Paul—75.11—(36.7 million)
32. Tampa—74.82—(17.4 million)
33. Orlando—74.09—(31.1 million)
34. Pittsburgh—73.80—(13.3 million)
35. Sacramento—73.56—(9.6 million)
36. Portland—72.79—(13.0 million)
37. San Francisco—72.07—(32.2 million)
38. San Jose—72.07—(11 million)
39. Logan/Boston—72.03—(26.1 million)
40. Chicago O

Love Beer?

bos_dan — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 15:58:35 +0000

Because if you do, then the Extreme Beer Fest might just become your new idea of paradise. Just replace the 72 virgins with over 100 different extreme beers. Extreme beers, you ask? Do they enjoy BASE jumping? street luge? Hardly, Dan Cortese, these beers are simply extremely alcoholic (7% to 25% ABV at last year’s fest), extremely interesting (honey, jalapeno, coffee, whiskey, and fruit flavored beers, and the hoppiest brews around) and extremely delicious. Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but you can bet that they’ll sell out long before February 11th rolls around. Keep your eyes on the Beer Advocate site.