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What Are These Mysterious Blue Boxes?

By Chris Carosa on July 12, 2010

I saw the first one a few weeks ago on the way back from Chili. Hidden in a tree along the telephone wires on Lehigh Station Road hung what appeared to be a blue jacket. Since I was the only one in the car, I didn’t get much of a look. I figured it was something left over from the many recent graduations. You know, like those crazy sneakers-hanging-from-the-telephone-wire things you used to see everywhere.

Then, on the same drive home, I noticed another blue jacket hanging from tree shrouded telephone wires on Mendon Center Road.

“Wow!” I thought to myself. “That must have been one big party!”

Again, I couldn’t take a good look. I arrived home and promptly forgot about these navy garments.

Until this past Sunday. While traveling on Gulick Road in Honeoye (that is the road leading to Cumming Nature Center), I saw no fewer than three of these unexplained cobalt (or deep purple) three-sided boxes. (It being an early Sunday morning, I was able to actually pull over and stare at these things.)

What are they? My mind reels with the possibilities. Could they be the onset of some alien invasion? They appear to have cryptic markings on at least one side, but my zoom lens failed to discern the language. Or perhaps, in placing them deep within leafy branches overhanging telephone wires, maybe they are camouflaged surveillance devices furtively planted by this now-apprehended Russian spy network.

If you have an idea what crazy story might explain the existence of these mysterious blue boxes, add your thoughts in the comment section below.

Alternatively, if you know what they really are, let us in on the secret.

Posted in Western New York State of Mind Tagged mystery, Rochester

The Search for the Slice

By Chris Carosa on July 8, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the July 6, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

It rains an awful lot in New Haven. It even rains in the winter. Of course, any amount of snow makes it worse. They don’t use salt in New Haven. They use sand. The snow melts (with the help of rain), leaving the sidewalks a puddle of a gritty mud. Over the years, though, one builds an immunity of sorts and learns to cope with the constant precipitation. (Maybe that’s why I rarely Continue Reading “The Search for the Slice”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Buffalo, erie county fair, hamburg, New Have, pizza, Rochester, Western New York

RIT’s Self-Publishing Advisor Tool

By Chris Carosa on July 7, 2010

We’ve written before (“University Offers Free Tools for Authors,” July 6, 2010) about the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) superb author resource called the Open Publishing Guide (OPG). As part of RIT’s commitment to an Open Source approach, when solutions are developed, the university releases them to the public free of charge through the OPG lab’s web-site http://opg.cias.rit.edu/. The site includes reference sources, public domain graphics and a whole slew of other interesting and extremely useful tools.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of OPG resides in its “Self-Publishing Advisor” tool. This on-line application helps an author narrow the list of print-on-demand (POD) service providers to the most appropriate ones. I’ll show you how it works by using an actual Continue Reading “RIT’s Self-Publishing Advisor Tool”

Posted in Great Writing Tips Tagged author, Open Publishing Guide, RIT, self-publishing

University Offers Free Tools for Authors

By Chris Carosa on July 6, 2010

In June during the 2010 Future of Reading Symposium at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), attendees received a hands-on demonstration of a powerful free tool for authors and self-publishers. The Open Publishing Guide, relaunched in April of this year, offers rich resources ranging from marketing, copyright and references, to public domain sources, free software tools and instructional booklets to forums, author communities and the latest news.

I was fortunate enough to attend this interactive breakout session, hosted by Rachael Gootnick, Content Manager of the Open Publishing Guide (OPG). Rachael explained the Continue Reading “University Offers Free Tools for Authors”

Posted in Great Writing Tips Tagged Future of Reading Symposium, Open Publishing Guide, RIT

Civil War and the World Economy

By Chris Carosa on July 1, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 29, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

Surprisingly, my immediate reaction to the Chinese student demonstration this past spring had me questioning their tactics. I feared, in their quest to move things more quickly, the young protesters would spark a hardliner response. Ironically, their daring deeds would lead to one giant panda step backward.

Change, it seems, occurs most easily if done from within. Unfortunately, neither the students of Tiananmen Square nor their Continue Reading “Civil War and the World Economy”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged economics, politics, war, world affairs

The Cornucopia Tree

By Chris Carosa on June 28, 2010

Once upon a time there lived a man who owned a very special tree—a cornucopia tree.

Now, as we all know, the word “cornucopia” comes from the Latin word meaning “horn of plenty.” In ancient mythology, it was said to produce an endless supply of food and drink. Even today, Americans display a cornucopia at their Thanksgiving table as a symbol of gratitude for all the Lord has given us.

Well, this cornucopia tree produced everything the man’s family needed to survive. From its branches grew food and drink, wood to build and heat their house, and even the clothes they wore.

(Yes, clothes. Don’t ask how the tree managed that. It just did.)

One day the cornucopia tree produced something it had never produced before—two identical eggs.

The man, now very old, saw them and understood their meaning. So he called his two sons.

“Boys,” he said, “this tree has given our family everything we have ever needed. Now it has Continue Reading “The Cornucopia Tree”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged abundance, Aesop, allegory, Ben Franklin, capital, capitalism, charity, consumerism, consumption, contentment, cornucopia, delayed gratification, entrepreneur, fable, fairy tale, family, finance, Fractured Fairy Tales, gratitude, greed, horn of plenty, instant gratification, moral story, Parable, prodigal son, productive, stewardship, storytelling, sufficiency, symbol, temptation, Thankgiving, wealth, wealth building, wisdom

Twentieth Century Lorelei

By Chris Carosa on June 24, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 22, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

Manhattan beckons, a modern day siren. It summons the untested and ambitious. Dreamers flock to the Mecca of Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, Madison Avenue and Wall Street. Yet, only the most alert explorer can prevent the straggly rocks of reality from dashing his high hopes.

Of course, the sweet love song drowns the most rational into a luscious lull. Unlike Hollywood, which seduces the naïve children and renders them soulless, the City dulls even the sparky young with pleasant serenity.

Manhattan calls for me. I guess it always has.

Some say Paris truly represents the romantic world of the twentieth century. Indeed, Gertrude Stein and her Lost Generation virtually proclaimed it such. Ironically, though, Continue Reading “Twentieth Century Lorelei”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Growing Up, New York City, Sentinel, slice of life

Mary Anne was Wrong! The Truth Behind Character and Destiny

By Chris Carosa on June 21, 2010

Pondering the meaning of character one evening, I stumbled upon the much quoted citation from George Eliot (whose real name was Mary Anne Evans) in her masterpiece The Mill on the Floss (1860): “Character is Destiny.” Curiosity getting the better of me, and knowing the exertion would prove effortless, I dug deeper to discover the full context of the quote. It revealed a wonderful irony. It also led to a deeper mystery.

Here’s what Mary Anne wrote:

“Character,” says Novalis, in one of his questionable aphorisms – “Character is Destiny.”

First, let’s get to the beautiful piece of irony. Ol’ Mary Anne apparently didn’t even like Continue Reading “Mary Anne was Wrong! The Truth Behind Character and Destiny”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings Tagged Character, Destiny, football, George Eliot, Heraclitus, Marv Levy

Chaos and Opportunity on Capitol Hill

By Chris Carosa on June 17, 2010

[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 15, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

A few weeks ago many of you read about Pete Rose and Jim Wright on this very same page. Well, folks, I admit to you now, the closest I ever got to correctly predicting the future was when I played the role of the Soothsayer in our eight-grade production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. (Remember him? He only had two lines, both identical: “Caesar, beware the Ides of March!”)

OK, so I was wrong about Wright (the jury’s still out on Rose). Boy, was I wrong! I was Continue Reading “Chaos and Opportunity on Capitol Hill”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged baseball, politics

Has Chris Anderson Crossed to the Dark Side?

By Chris Carosa on June 14, 2010

Last week, Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief for Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail and Free, took a trip to the Dark Side. In doing so, he introduced a cavalcade of fascinating concepts, revealed an insider’s secret fear and scared the you-know-what out of a cadre of faithful fans. What did he say? More importantly, why did he say it? Most urgently, does this portend a change no one wants to see?

Speaking at RIT’s “The Future of Reading” conference, Anderson offered no apologies for the apparent decline in the publishing industry – he pointed out Conde Nast, his employer, had sales growth in 2009 despite the record industry downturn. Further, he added these two choice morsels: “books still work” and “the web FAILed.”

Actually, in the case of the latter, Anderson referred to his own magazine’s site, which generates precious little cash flow for his company. You could envision him shudder as Continue Reading “Has Chris Anderson Crossed to the Dark Side?”

Posted in It's a Nerd's World Tagged Chris Anderson, Future of Reading, RIT, Wired

Chris Carosa