Monitoring Moves: New Cameras?

I ventured to Greenhill Park the other evening to check out the fields that Worcester Youth Soccer League uses for soccer, and while I was driving along Skyline Drive, towards Worcester Technical High School, I noticed some weird hanging "lights".

Well, after looking at them for a bit, I still couldn't figure out if they were lights or cameras?

My hunch is that they might be some sort of hybrid light with a night vision type camera that can see people as they're walking on the sidewalk.

I'm not sure how long they've been there, but for as many times that I've driven along Skyline Drive, this is the first time I noticed them.

So, what do you think they are?

The New School Year

Congratulations to all the kids that are starting school throughout the City of Worcester today!  

It's the beginning of a new school-year, and it's going to be one filled with learning experiences, fun, smiles, tears and greatness.


To all the teachers that have one of the hardest jobs in the world, thank you for being Positive Innovators.  Know that every young lady or man you teach, interact with is one of God's children, just like you, and deserve to be listened to, encouraged, and pushed to be the best person they can be.  


As my mother, who was a public high school teacher for 25-years, used to tell me, "Listen more than you speak.  You have two ears for a reason, and when you're not sure of something, don't be afraid to ask a question."


Here's to a great school year!  

Worcester World Cup 2011 Recap

Ghana vs. Albania 

Last weekend's Worcester World Cup games were great; played by women and men that love the game, and put on a show for the community to witness.

While I wish more folks were in the stands, cheering on the players and teams, the fans that were there with their vuvuzelas, drums and flags made it a great warm-up for me for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, taking place in Brazil.

Women's Division
In the women's division the teams that made it to the semifinals were:

• Portugal vs. Ecuador
• USA vs. Columbia

I missed the game between Portugal and Ecuador, but I was told that Portugal put up a great fight, but Ecuador was too much for them and Ecuador won by a score of 2-1.

 USA vs. Columbia

In the match between USA and Columbia, the Columbian squad was very disciplined with the ball, and had some very good set plays that turned into goals.  The final score was 3-0 in favor of Columbia.

Team USA player attempting to stop Columbia attacking offense.

Team USA starting to advance the ball.

Women's Final- Columbia vs. Ecuador

Columbia vs. Ecuador: Ball possession

In the women's final between Columbia vs. Ecuador, it was very obvious from the opening whistle that both teams were fatigued, but the Columbian team seemed to find a boost of energy.

Columbia vs. Ecuador: Columbia on the attack

With midfielders that were "greedy geniuses" with the ball, the Columbian team moved the ball effortlessly down the field, and made runs that resulted in a few good shots on goal.  Columbia led
2-0 at the half.

In the second half, Columbia, again, put together some good runs, and scored 3 more times.

Columbia vs. Ecuador: Columbia controlling the ball on the attack

The final score was 5-0, and Columbia was crowned the Women's 2011 Worcester World Cup Champions.

Ecuador congratulating Columbia on their 2011 Worcester World Cup win.

ACE vs. CETS (Youth Game)

Men's Division

Albania vs. El Salvador: Intense action

For the men's quarter-finals, there were a number of great match-ups, such as:

• Brazil vs. USA
• Iran vs. Kosovo
• Nigeria vs. Albania
• El Salvador vs. Togo

Brazil defeated USA. (I didn't see this match.)

In the match between Iran vs. Kosovo, I was told that it got ugly when a number of players had to be separated and players had to be ejected. (I didn't see this game, but if there was a low point for this year's games, it was what transpired during this match.)

For the match between Nigeria and Albania, it was a match of the disciplined versus the undisciplined.

Albania played under control, was very purposeful with the ball, and had a handful of set plays that allowed them to get some very good shots on goal.

The Nigerian team featured a number of athletic and talented players, but they never seemed to be able to put a together a play or get the ball to the open player at an opportune time.

Albania went on to win 2-0.

In the match between El Salvador vs. Togo, El Salvador too played with discipline and wound up winning the game by a final score of 1-0.


Men's Semi-Finals


Albania vs. El Salvador: Final score 2-0 Albania

Brazil vs. Iran: Final score 2-0 Brazil

Brazil vs. Iran: Brazil advancing the ball

Men's Final

Albania vs. Brazil: Men's Final

In the men's final game, which paired Albania versus Brazil, there was an influx of people in the stands.

I soon looked around the stands, and they were abuzz to watch David battle Goliath.

In this story of David versus Goliath, David, being played in this match by Albania, was no match for the behemoth Goliath, played by the ever-present and looming Brazilian team.

Brazil scored first, and even though it was only one goal, it seemed to take the wind out of team Albania's sail and made their feet that much heavier; the fatigue-factor became more evident.

Brazil controlled the game from whistle to whistle, and when it was all said and done, the Brazilian team had trounced Albania 3-0 to win the 2011 Worcester World Cup trophy.

Brazil celebrating their 2011 Worcester World Cup victory!

Laces tied tightly
The women and men that organize the Worcester World Cup are an amazing group of people!  What started as seed has grown and blossomed into an amazing weekend-long event that features the diversity that exists in Worcester.

A Texas-sized hat tip to you and all of the volunteers that created such a great event and I look forward to next year's Worcester World Cup 2012.

The Y: Peace Festival

On Thursday, August 11th, I had an opportunity to stop by The Y's "Peace Festival" that took place in park behind The Y, located on the corner of Murray Avenue and Ethan Allen Street.  

This was the 2nd Annual event, and while I didn't attend last year's event, I can tell that this year's event was bigger and better attended by the crowd that was in high spirits.

The "Peace Festival" was envisioned by a group of community activists that wanted to model that adults can come together, have fun and be as one in the community.  The children that attended had lots of stuff to do: The were moon bounces, face painters, along with food and refreshments.

And, the highlight was performances by a number musicians and artists from Worcester.

A special hat-tip to the organizers: Brenda Jenkins, Nathan Pickens, Sean Harris, and the countless people whose names I don't know, but worked hard to make sure that everyone had a great time.

 Central Massachusetts' own Bre'Jae performing.

This young man did an awesome Michael Jackson impersonation.

I'm already looking forward to next year's "Peace Festival", and seeing people get together, have fun, build and grow.

Village of Piedmont: The Rebirth

I was driving on Chandler Street yesterday, while heading to the Worcester World Cup games, I saw this house.

What's the story behind this house and the other properties that are being renovated?

Worcester World Cup: Ghana vs. Albania 8/13

The score was zero to zero at the end of the first half.

The second half is about to start!

Albania just scored on a penalty kick at 11:29 am. 1-0 Albania.

Worcester World Cup 2011: Iran vs. Guatemala

It's now halftime, and the score is 5-0 favoring the very athletic and ball-controlling Iranian team.

If team Iran plays this way for the rest of the tournament, they are going to be very hard to beat.

Here's a video clip of their 3rd goal.

Somebody's watching!

Due to my fellow bloggers, I've been paying more attention to the "traffic cams" in Worcester.

Well, I guess this means that all the folks that have the bad habit of "creeping" through crosswalks while sitting at red lights will receive a ticket in the mail? I sure hope so because I'm tired of seeing pedestrians getting clipped.

And, if the cameras just so happen to spot me dancing to Otis or some other Motown greats, that's alright. But if the City chooses to make some extra money by submitting the video to "America's Funniest Home Videos", please make sure my check is made payable to my legal name.

Thank you!

Worcester World Cup: Game ON!

WORCESTER WORLD CUP 2011
AUGUST 12th, 13th and 14th at Foley Stadium (305 Chandler St.)
Kid Zone - Games, Moonbounce, Skill Building, ArtAffordable Authentic ethnic food from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Iran, Liberian, Vietnam/China and Nigeria
BRING YOUR VUVUZELA ! ! !
Admission: Under 18yrs old freeAdults: $5 for weekend pass

All Games FREE Friday, August, 12th
Friday, August 12
5:30 PM  – Men's: Brazil x Egypt
6:40 PM  – Men's: Ecuador x USA
7:50 PM  – Men's: Iran x Guatemala
Saturday, August 13
 8:30 AM  – Men's: Liberia x Kosovo
 9:40 AM  – Men's: Iraq x Nigeria
10:50 AM – Men's: Ghana x Albania
12:10 PM  - CETS vs ACE Youth Exhibition Game
1:20 PM   – Men's: El Salvador x Burma
2:30 PM   – Men's: Jamaica x Togo
Sunday, August 14
8:30AM -- Men's Round II / Semi-Final Games All Day
10:50AM  – Women's: Portugal x Ecuador
 1:10 PM  – Women's: USA x Colombia
 5:50PM  – Women's FINAL
 7:00PM  – Men's FINAL

Mother Nature knows what we already know!

While walking on Pleasant Street yesterday, I noticed how dark the sky was above City Hall.

It made me think: Maybe with all the wheeling and dealing that takes place at City Hall, there might be some bad "juujuu" in the building?

Elsewhere in downtown, the sky was blue and the birds were singing.

Get off my railroad tracks!

I spotted this police officer on the tracks near the Super Walmart.

I wonder if the guy on the right was attempting to cross the tracks and the police officer stopped him?  At first, I thought he was in handcuffs, but he wasn't.

Never a dull moment in Worcester.

MAJOR Rain!

After the MAJOR weather last week, now we have some serious rain falling.

Thank you sweet baby Jesus!

Research & Development

One of the things that I get to do often is travel to do research on the ever-growing sneaker "lifestyle & culture".

One of the cities that I visit often is New York City, which is home to thousands of sneaker stores and boutiques.

For example, this store is called Flight Club, and it's a consignment store. The split is 80/20, and folks from all over the world trek to NYC just to see this store up close and personal.

There's another store in LA and in Tokyo, and, of course, they have an online store.
Stay tuned because word around Worcester is that we may see a similar type of store in Worcester in the fall.

On your feet, kid!

So, I've been working on a number of footwear projects that have taken awhile to come to fruition, but one thing I'm learning is patience.

Well, this Asics project, which I didn't work on, but I really like the execution, landed earlier this year and I got my hand, and, more importantly, my feet on a pair of the Asics Gel Noosa Tri 6 sneakers.

They are super bright and extremely comfortable, and if you over-pronate like me, you'll really like these.

Over the coming weeks, I'll post pictures of a few footwear projects that have connections to Worcester.

Some Signs are WRONG!

Yesterday, I had to take my daughter to the doctor to have him look at an insect bite that she has on her leg. Luckily, she just has "sensitive" skin and she'll be fine.

The kicker came when she looked at a poster, geared towards kids learning to count, and says to me, "Dad, I think this sign is wrong." You see, wherever we go, we read signs and try to spot mistakes and see if the other person can spot the mistake.

Well, it took me all of 45-seconds to spot the mistake, and tell her good catch.

This just confirms that education does begin at home, and all those flash card games do pay off.

Summer Prep

After last night's tornado warnings and thunderstorms, I wonder if the weather in New England will be more like the weather in the Midwest and South?

Well, whatever Mother Nature dishes out, as New Englanders, we know how to roll with the punches.

Now, it's time to get the summer house ready, and, more importantly, get the pool ready for some fun in the sun.

Local Art

My daughter pointed this sticker out to me on a light post in Webster Square.

Actually, she said that she's seen it before and tried to take a picture, and, I quote, she said, "You were driving too fast, Dad."

I don't know who the artist is and if they're from Worcester or Central Massachusetts, but I must say that I think this is awesome!

Have you seen similar art in your neighborhood?

Happy Easter

Worcester Sunrise 4/12

Another beautiful sunrise this morning!

Sunrise: 4/7/11

Here are a couple pictures of this morning's sunrise. 

After seeing the sunrise on Monday, that I thought was just absolutely gorgeous, I've been looking forward to some more beautiful sunrises and sunsets.