From the category archives:

Essay

I got a job and this blog died. We moved and I really had no compelling reason to keep updating http://westwoodblog.org either. My life is pretty full but I do miss expressing myself and creating something here.
Partly, I’m also in transition. As we adjusted to a new rhythm of job, home, schools, etc. I dialed back to [...]

1 comment

New York City Daytrip

by Dave Atkins on August 28, 2010

in Creative Life, Essay, Urbanism, Work/Life

I’m not sure what starting me thinking about New York City again, but yesterday, somewhat impulsively–but with a little planning–I decided to visit. By myself. Cheaply. Without a concrete plan, I did a lot and spent just a little over $100.
I’ve been to NYC about half a dozen times. As a freshman at MIT, I [...]

11 comments

Over at Our Westwood (http://westwoodblog.org) I recently expressed my frustration that candidates in the upcoming September 14 primary for U.S. Congress and State Senate were unlikely to debate. I have a proposal for doing this online that will serve our communities, respect the candidates and voters, and increase participation and interest in the political process.
This [...]

31 comments

Why I Took my Money out of Sovereign Bank

by Dave Atkins on August 18, 2010

in Essay

Thanks to my diligent monitoring of my online banking account, I caught $2700 of errors in the past 30 days. Sovereign Bank (Santander) is still in the process of fixing the last mistake, but two strikes was enough for me to move my business to a local bank.
The first error occurred when David Adkins walked [...]

7 comments

Career Arc

by Dave Atkins on August 3, 2010

in Advice to Unemployed, Creative Life, Essay, Work/Life

My career is a search for opportunities to use my talents to help make a difference in people’s lives. My resume does not adequately make that connection. Much of what I enjoy writing involves connecting the dots between related but nonlinear ideas, so today I apply that to my own story:
I began with an interest [...]

12 comments

Stop Those Annoying Pop-Under Ads

by Dave Atkins on August 2, 2010

in Essay, Technology How-To

I thought, when I switched over to Firefox a long, long time ago, I had left behind the indignity of the whole pop-up ad banner. Perhaps I simply began visiting fewer porn sites (just kidding!). But whatever the reason, I began to notice that when I shut down my browser I would find half a [...]

7 comments

There is a great article in the Globe today about the Charles River Wheelmen and their Saturday Morning Fitness Ride in Needham. The weekly ride has proceeded uninterrupted for 617 weekends, including a few during blizzard conditions.

17 comments

Believe it or not, we are forever young

by Dave Atkins on May 22, 2009

in Essay, Work/Life

I still get nervous when it’s my turn to speak at a meeting. When I organize and lead meetings, I still feel like the novice upstart. I still assume there are older people who know better, and I wonder if they will take me seriously.
Then I realize I am 43 years old, and I recall [...]

9 comments

I’m tired of hearing people complain that so many don’t read newspapers or vote or participate in their communities. The belief that Americans have become apathetic, complacent conformists is accepted as conventional wisdom, when, in fact, I believe it is about to reverse and correct in a dramatic fashion. I would go so far as [...]

7 comments

My “Stop Down” Story

by Dave Atkins on March 11, 2009

in Advice to Unemployed, Essay, Work/Life

I was asked to summarize my situation as a potential “human interest” story…so I wrote the following copy. Some of this is clearly redundant with previous blog posts…
Dave Atkins is a veteran of the up and down world of start up companies. Prior to his current job, he worked in Silicon Valley during the dot [...]

3 comments