6:30 was when i checked the clock this morning, realizing my roommate had already left by then (he was scheduled to leave at 5:00 to catch the first red line train out of alewife), on his way to new york city.

i went to the greenfest down at boston city hall this morning. there were two lectures i wanted to attend, one about geothermal energy (10:30), another about solar power (11:30). while searching for the speaker tent, i managed to get a survey of the kind of things that were there. pretty much anything that had to do with renewable energy or the environment were represented. fuel efficient vehicles, recycled materials, organic foods, animal-friendly cosmetics, various conservation societies, and of course many local green energy dealers. soyjoy seemed to be a major sponsor and you couldn't go anywhere without somebody trying to hand you a soyjoy energy bar (i managed to get 3 but i could've easily gotten more). i still find it strange to see people trying to make money from selling green products and services. i'm probably naive, but protecting and preserving the environment should be something people do for free, and not something where people try to figure out the angle so they can cash in on it. i probably wouldn't make a very good businessman with this sort of "give it away" attitude.

eventually i found the speaker tent, but i was the only person attending. we finally began when another person showed up, and more started to trickle in during the half hour talk. the speaker - a local geothermal installer - gave a simple overview in the form of a slideshow. the screen was just the back of the tent and two greenfest volunteers (recognized by their matching t-shirts) had to hold it down to prevent the wind from blowing it away. what i really wanted to know was how much would it cost to install a geothermal system, but i asked my other question instead, how deep do they drill into the ground. a recent issue of popular science said they drilled down 150 feet but larry told us they usually go 250 to 400 feet.

i decided to skip the solar energy lecture (figuring it'd be another overview when i had more specific questions) and go across the street to buy some fruits and vegetables from haymarket before going home. afterwards i went to the chinatown cafe on harrison street to get some spicy porkchop and rice to go, and went to ming's market to buy some snacks, before finally making my way home via storrow drive.

it was another hot day and i took a quick shower when i got back, before eating my lunch. i must've been pretty hungry because i ate the whole thing, suffering from a mild stomach ache immediately afterwards. i cranked up the air conditioner and kept myself cool the rest of the day. i watched the final unaired episode of the dollhouse followed by the red sox yankees game (sox won 14-1, after the 20-11 beat down they got from new york last night). i had so much to eat for lunch that i was hungry came evening and just had a bowl of cherries for dinner.

the north-moving hurricane bob wasn't supposed to make landfall here in massachusetts, but we still got some residual action in the form of a late night rainstorm. the temperature cooled down afterwards, but it was still hard for me to turn off the air conditioner. once i start using the AC, it becomes an addiction, and i don't like the warm stickiness that ensues when i turn it off.