A state lottery is nothing but a voluntary tax paid by players. I'm all in favor of that. Governments have other use taxes including cigarettes, liquor and  various licenses.

The Massachusetts State Lottery has a great marketing campaign. A local store featured 48 various games. People can drop down a dollar or up to 30 of them for a chance to win the big prize. The games are all the scratch and match format.

New games are unveiled, but here is nothing new about them. They just have different names and graphics. Players buy them regardless. 

A local community wants to build a "spray park" on their historic town common. The park was designed by the legendary Frederick Law Olmstead. There is a deed restriction going back to 1843 which limits what can be put on the grounds. 

Over the years, a baseball field has been added, as well as bleachers and a kids playground. Apparently, they loosely met the definition of what could be included. The park is on the National Historical Register.

I believe in providing recreational opportunities for kids, but this latest idea would ruin another portion the Common. I don't know what the solution is. They should look at another place in the city. 

Wakes and funerals have changed over the years. Calling hours use to be 2-4 and 7-9 for two days. Now, wakes are one day for a few hours.

I don't attend many, but I had two this weekend. They were 5-8 and 3-6. Both were well attended. Many people dress very casual now. It struck me odd that people came in shorts and jeans. 

It's nice that they attended. I don't know where they were coming from or where they were headed.

Everyone makes their own decisions. It's so different now with how people dress. 

It's hard to believe that it will be almost 80 degrees today. I plan to attend a football game and don't know how to dress. I'll wear long pants because it will get cooler later on. 

I'll have a warm-up jacket and a hooded sweatshirt. I probably won't need them, but you can't put on what you don't have. 

A couple of Eagle Scouts have done a commendable job at a local park with the informational signs they made and installed. They mention the species of various trees along the walking and running paths.

The park is quite secluded. It gets no maintenance, other than by volunteers. There are indications of vandalism on a regular basis.

I wonder how long the signs will last. It seems like it's only a matter of time before someone destroys them. That's how some people are. 

The Boston Globe does a great job running photos of people doing ordinary things. They are inserted in various parts of the paper.

They recently had a photo of a woman using a metal detector on a playing field in Boston. She dug a little hole with a tool when the beeper went off. The only problem was that it was at a playground. She was digging where she shouldn't be. 

I don't have an issue with metal detectors. The users need to recognize where they are and not disturb a lawn. 

I don't think anyone will ever see a big high speed rail network in America like they have in China and Japan. Congress appropriated $11 billion back in 2009 for a series of projects. 

The ACELA train must slow down in certain parts of Rhode Island on it's way to New York City. These things need to be fixed to improve the speed of the trains. 

I think it's pointless to construct a high speed rail system in California. They got a big slice of the financial pie for a project that will take decades to complete. It's a great public works project if you want to create jobs. 

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Notebook almost a year ago. It cost about $500. It has already paid for itself with the money I've saved by reading the Boston Globe e-paper.

I use to always have a stack of unread papers. I never threw them out until I skimmed the issues to see if I missed anything.

It's nice to not have all the papers around. They now sit on my Notebook. The other day, I got a message about the storage space being used up. Apparently, the papers take up a huge amount of the Notebook's memory, especially the Sunday issues.

I need to do a better job in keeping up with them. 

After turning on the heat yesterday, it's hard to believe that it was  hot and humid today. Summer isn't leaving quietly.

It's a challenge to dress for these days and nights. It's easy to throw off a blanket when it gets warm. 

Autumn starts on Monday at 10:29pm EST. I thought I could make it through summer without turning on the gas heat I pay for, but it happened today when the indoor temperature was 66. The humidity was also 72% in my small apartment.

I still have windows open. The outside temperature fluctuates too much this time of year. It gets cold at night. I'm using one blanket.

It's time to take my quilt to the cleaners to get it ready for the cold weather ahead.

Some people are very well traveled to all corners of the world. They often try to limit their expenses by staying in hostels and cheap hotels.

Now, there is a website devoted to "couch surfing". It allows travelers to connect with hosts who are willing to take a stranger into their home and let them sleep there.

One reporter wrote a very interesting story about her experiences while traveling through Europe.

It's not for everyone. I couldn't do it because I would be too paranoid to stay with strangers in a foreign country. It seems to work out for many people, but they must be very trusting and adventurous. 

This is a big day for Great Britain. Scottish people will vote whether to establish their independence as a separate country. It's a historic step for both sides. The voter turnout is expected to be big with almost 97% going to the polls.

I wonder what the outcome will be. This story has flown under the radar. I expect the Scottish people will maintain the stats quo, but you never know. 

What will happen to Suffolk Downs after the race track lost out on a bid for a casino license? The horse racing industry has been on life support in recent years. The casino was seen as the only viable option to keep the place open.

Horse racing has an issue with demographics. The patrons at Suffolk are very loyal, but also rather old. Young people don't go to the race track except on special occasions like the Kentucky Derby.

A local commentator called on the track owners to find a creative solution to keep the venue open. This guy is living in a dream world. What does he expect the owners to do?

It was rather ironic to see the closing of the fourth casino in Atlantic City this year while the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awarded a gambling license to Steve Wynn. He will spend around $1billion to create a gambling destination. 

It has great potential to draw from the metropolitan Boston area. Can they keep a steady flow of people through the doors and not just the curious ones checking the place out?

Another license will be awarded for the Springfield area. The slots parlor in Plainville is under construction, in spite of the a November ballot question to ban casinos.

Will these places draw dollars away from the Mass Lottery? There are only so many gambling dollars out there. I think it's a hard industry to grow.

Wynn's casino in Everett won't open for at least four years. There is a little issue of the site being contaminated by industrial waste. It will need some expensive environmental cleaning. 

What will it be like in ten years?

There is a lot of strange stuff on Facebook. I always get a kick out of people who post about their poor eating habits for breakfast. Proper nutrition is a challenge for all of us, but not a priority for many.

I could never eat cookies or cake in the morning. The same goes for ice cream. People do it without any concern for their health. 

As a rule, I never answer my phone unless I know who is calling. We all get too many "800" calls. They are so useless. I think "Private Number" is equally obnoxious.

I received one this afternoon before I sat down for lunch. I made a decision to answer it and see what was going on with these calls.

It was a reminder for my dental appointment on Tuesday. They always do this. It's a good business practice for their patients.

The office must use a private service to make these calls. Otherwise, their number would show up on Caller ID.

It's very easy to miss calls that you need to get. 

Summer is down to its last nine days and only a matter of time before I put my short sleeve shirts away for another year.

I have plans to go golfing today. It might get up to 70 degrees. It's hard to decide whether to wear shorts. I would rather be warm than cold. It looks like a day for long pants. I'll bring my shorts, but doubt if I'll wear them.

Today is the 13 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Will anything happen today? The world is so crazy right now with various groups looking to attack America. So much has happened since 2001. We are living in a different time. 

Americans have less freedom than they did before the attacks. We all lost in the end. It's hard to determine what the future looks like.

Yesterday was the primary election in Massachusetts. Only five of thirteen contests on my ballot had any opposition. Incumbents just walked right to the finals in November. A few had no opposition from the other parties.

The voter turnout was dismal. Most communities reported less than 20% of the eligible voters bothered to cast a ballot. I voted at the local library.

People complain about career politicians, but nobody wants to run for public office. I think it takes a certain personality profile to get into politics. It can get very nasty. Most people don't want any part of it. 

I don't believe in term limitations. Some people get entrenched to the point where nobody can beat them. I think every office holder can be defeated if the right candidate decides to run. 

Every city in America has a homeless population. They are often hard to count because some choose to live on the street. The ones who reside in shelters are counted, but the real total is hard to determine.

New York City has found a creative way to deal with their problem. On any given day, there are about 50,000 people living in shelters and housing provided by the city. There is a program that gives people a one-way ticket to places where they have family they can live with.

So far this year, the city has paid 1,412 homeless people to leave the Big Apple. This program has been going on for years. In 2013, the Bloomberg administration paid for 2,208 tickets and sent people to places as far away as Paris and South Africa.

Critics say this just shuffles the problem to another city. They are right in many aspects. The homeless problem has been around forever and will never go away. Before the construction of Central Park in the late 1860's, the area was a shanty town for squatters. 

It was interesting to see the great rain storms in Arizona. They had a flash flood in some  places. How does that happen? It was such a big rainfall for a dry place. 

Arizona gets very little water from the sky. This was too much at once. 

I just read a story about a runner who completed a 26.2 mile marathon on all seven continents. This is not unusual except for the fact that he is 11 years and 5 months old.

He started his quest when he was nine by running one in Antarctica. The entire story is ridiculous. He did it with the encouragement of his grandfather.

I think he is too young to be running marathons. He claims to love running, but adults are the ones pushing him. I'm surprised he didn't get hurt doing it. 

Thunderstorms are in the forecast for late this afternoon and going into the early evening. This is the same time that I'll be at Gillette Stadium for a football game between UMass and Colorado. 

I've been to many games, especially in cold weather. It rained a few times, but we never had thunder. It will be interesting to see what happens. The weather people are usually wrong. 

Nobody ever wants to see trees cut down. However, there comes a time when a forest starts to die because of excessive growth and tree disease. It happened at a local park where I run.

A strand of hemlocks about 70 years old was cut down because of an insect infestation. Some people were outraged over the final look. It was a huge change. I thought it looked good because that part of the forest was dead and received no sunlight. New trees are already growing.

Now, there is a plan to harvest trees in another park area. The mayor has requested input from concerned citizens. I'm not sure what they can offer. That part of the part is like a dense jungle.  It gets so thick that nothing can grow. It needs to be thinned out.

Some people won't be happy when they see the final product, but it needs to be done.

The great museums of the world are filled with artifacts that never go on display and become forgotten. Their acquisition is often under murky circumstances.

A 6,5000 year old skeleton was found in a storage room at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Museum. Archaeologists found it in southern Iraq around 1930, but it stayed in a closet for decades without any type of document. Researchers believe the bones belonged to a 50 year old man from 5500 to 4000 BC.

The museum plans to display it, but this is a great example of poor record keeping and disregard for items in their collection. It aso shows that many artifacts were plundered from countries over the last few centuries.

Just about every institution is guilty of it. 

I think people have a strange expectation of what the weather should be like as we go through autumn. There could  be another 90 degree day in September, but I wouldn't count on it.

Everyone likes warm days this time of year. They will end soon.

There was a single-engine plane crash yesterday that killed the pilot and passenger. It developed problems after take-off and fell to the ground. 

We always hear about the safety of commercial air travel, but general aviation is another story. Last year, over 450 people died in small plane crashes.

I have not flown since 2000. It was always on a commercial airline. I have no desire to ever take a flight on a small plane. It won't happen. 

My mother is buried with her family in a Boston Archdiocese Cemetery on the other side of town. The limited grounds crew does their best to keep the place looking good, but it shows signs of neglect. It's mostly crabgrass that gets burned by the sun.

The main entrance has two brick posts that are on the verge of falling apart. They need some serious cement work and will probably fall down before they get repaired.

I was shocked today when I went here and saw a lovely black rod-iron archway. It looks really nice.

Why didn't this happen years ago?