Your Weekly Antics, Passwords Suck Edition...10/24/25
- lisaalkap
- Oct 24
- 5 min read
Well kids, here we are, at the end of another week with the weekend within our grasp. I hope you're all going to do something fun for yourselves. Here's what I've got...
1. Passwords. We need passwords for everything. We’re living in a world where our personal and sensitive information is under attack, and we are advised to use passwords to secure that information from online intruders. Key being, to protect our information from others; those who shouldn’t have it and would use it to their advantage. My life is not that exciting, neither is my online presence, therefore who the hell wants any of my personal or sensitive information - unless of course that includes accessing my CVS account and stealing all my coupons, then we’re throwing down. Other than that, the only thing the passwords are protecting my information from is ME. I spend more time resetting my passwords than anything else.
2. With the above said, I would like to make a preemptive formal apology to Jonathan F. who is far more important that myself and who is in charge of unlocking our online work system. I am back on my friend and dabbling in that system on a regular basis. I’m hoping to be a new, improved and reformed system user, but I’m not making any promises. Prepare yourself to see my name on the daily... there will be cookies and coffee in your future. ✌️
Exhibit 1, the handy work of the one and only Michelle Whiting.
3. Driving through the Woo this week I found myself in traffic. Now don’t bother asking yourself where that traffic may have been, because let’s face it…there are no streets or roadways free of traffic anywhere these days, Worcester included. After almost getting myself killed navigating through that dumbass peanut rotary in Kelly Square, I found myself on Water Street. To a complete stop I came and happened to look to the left and see this, Exhibit 2, a whole line of pigeons hanging out on the overhang of this fine establishment living their best lives and probably planning their attack on the citizens of the Woo. I’m telling you right now people, birds…they’re shifty, you can’t trust them, and city pigeons take that distrust to a whole new level.
4. Came across another fun find while sitting at the light at the corner of Park Ave and Elm Park. I see this guy everywhere and finally had the opportunity to snap a picture. I watched this guy get his dog all set and tucked into his blanket while they sat and waited for the walk sign to come up on the traffic light. Initially I thought it was too warm for a blanket, but once this guy got going on his bike he created quite the breeze for his little four legged friend. He was cruising so fast I barely got a picture. His little dog sat there with his ears blowing in the wind and taking in all the sights that Elm Park had to offer.
5. It’s been a busy few weeks here on our corner. The City has decided to tear up and replace all the sidewalks in our neighborhood. This generally begins at about 7am, which means that Gibson is on high alert starting by 6:45am. As long as there are not any new trucks or machinery introduced to the project throughout the day, the newness wears off, he loses interest and goes about his business stealing food off counters and packages left haphazardly over the fence by amazon drivers. Throw torrential rains into the mix, trash day, and city workers tearing up the streets and that provides the Big Dog with a trifecta of entertainment. Best day ever.
6. Found myself in downtown Gardner this week for a training. As I’ve said in the past, every once in a while I’m allowed out of the zip code and venture out to surrounding towns to spread the good word to help others improve the work they do with the people. What does one do when they find themselves in Gardner? The average person might take a ride past the Giant chair that commemorates the city’s once booming chair industry. Well, not me. Sometimes, I take a ride out to a place I’m expected to show up to on time, preemptively, to ensure I know where I’m going. Sunday was that day, and with the Kap girls in tow, off to Gardner we went. Did we go looking for the big chair? We did not. Instead, we do what all normal people do on a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon, and went directly in search of the second most haunted house in New England, the S.K. Pierce Mansion. Built in the 1880’s by Sylvester Pierce, the owner of S.K. Pierce and Sons Furniture Company, it is also ranked as the ninth most haunted house in the United States. Leaving my crucifix and string of garlic at home, driving by was enough for me. If you are so inclined to take things a little further, they offer tours. Exhibit 3, a drive-by photo of the S.K. Mansion.
Check it out here…https://www.skhauntedvictorianmansion.com/
7. This was more my speed…right around the corner was a larger than life display of a skeleton walking his skeleton dogs. Perhaps he escaped from the Pierce Mansion and is sowing his oats in the booming metropolis that is downtown Gardner…who knows.
8. While we were checking out haunted houses and viewing random skeletons in Gardner, Beet was out pounding the pavement in Boston and came upon this. It was unclear if this was an Uber driver, or just another random car driving through the city with a life size skeleton in the passenger seat…nothing to see here, keep it moving. Exhibit 4 best passenger ever.
9. Another oddity experienced this week…I was in the waiting room of a doctor’s office and there was a newspaper…an actual Worcester Telegram & Gazette out on display for the reading pleasure of those in the waiting room. I can’t remember the last time I saw a physical newspaper in a waiting room or anywhere for that matter. There it was, in real live print, free for everyone to read. This was a busy office, late in the day, and there that paper sat next to the office water cooler looking 100% untouched, not a crease in it. No thanks to social media and smart phones, we are now living amongst a whole new generation of people who have no idea what a daily newspaper is.
10. And…the nickels keep on coming and Sue Miller keeps on collecting them. At least this time they came with return address labels that look just like Gibson.
Exhibit 6, Gibson and Sue Miller's nickels.
And last but not least, keep on keeping on. The world is in chronic crisis and on fire right now. Don’t feed the flames people, work to help put them out.
Have a great weekend!