iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 8h

Light rain is one of the best traffic calming devices there is.

Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 9h

May 11, 1972 was the first time the Arlington Advocate ran an in-depth story about the MBTA red line extension. It's effectively day one, and members of the Select Board are already taking a "Route 128 or nothing at all position".

Selectmen Seek Route 128 Extension Or Nothing At all. Arlington Advocate, May 11, 1972.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10h

Pretty soon, it will be time to pack away my shorts for the winter. This is a bit sad.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Fall morning after a rainy night. I like this time of year.

A commuter bikeway, with a light coat of rain and some leaves.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm having a lot of fun choosing paint colors. The off-white is primer. I'm trying to settle on a green. It will probably be the one in the middle.

A wall with patches of primer, and three samples of green paint: Green with Envy, Traffic Light Green, and Lime Green.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Before and after pictures from the week's Sunday night dinner.

Ingredients: black beans, celery, a wax turnip, and squash

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Somerville is constantly making streetscape and roadway safety improvements, and we love to see it! Truth be told, I am envious of what they're doing in Somerville.

Traffic cones along Broadway, where the sidewalk is being replaced and new curbing installed.

More roadwork on Broadway. This bit is in Teele Square.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

In the spirit of autumn, here are some maple trees. 🍁

A red maple. It's an old tree; the leaves change colors early, and come in late.

A sugar maple. Its leaves haven't started to change color yet.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

More everyday things you can do with a bicycle: - make a trip to the drug store - pick up a small batch of dimensional lumber. I am very diligent about flagging my long loads.

A cargo bike, with several 1x3 inch boards, with red and green flagging on the far end.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Today's surface prep: sanding and priming.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Hi all, this is your weekly reminder to vote yes on Question 7 in MA. Also a rundown of property sale in #ArlingtonMA. Slowish week, with 8 changing hands, two in the sub-megabuck range.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The paint samples are Fresh Lime, Traffic Light Green, and Green With Envy. We'll see how they look on the wall tomorrow.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

SM seeks SF urbanist transit nerd for long train rides and sharing laughs about drivers stuck in traffic.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Small but important Saturday night tasks: soaking the beans.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Everyday things you can do on a bicycle: - take yourself for a hair cut - pick up parts at a bike shop - drop something off at the vet - take yourself for lunch - go to a bank - go to the post office - pick up paint samples - pick up pet supplies - go grocery shopping

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Improvised cargo bike repair lift. I am champs at tying things up :)

A cargo bike suspended with ropes. I needed to do some rear end work on it.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Let's look at a pair of letters from 1972 that get into everyone's favorite subject: #Parking! I'll agree with Robert Zwicker: parking is a modern day evil, but not in the way he thinks it is. 🤣 He'd like to see 5,000 more off-street parking spaces in Arlington's business districts.

Appeal For Action. Letter to the editor. April 27, 1972

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Neat stuff you see while walking around: bicycle parking inside a building lobby.

A row of U-racks inside a building lobby, as seen through a window.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

"The people who were in Arlington in 1978 don’t have a right to set our priorities ... The town has changed. People changed. Their needs have changed." www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/09/m...

bostonglobe.com

A changed Arlington reconsiders the Red Line - The Boston Globe

The town has changed a lot over the last half-century. So much that many wish the subway could run there after all.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Here's a nice example of shenanigans in local politics. It's May 1972 and Arlington, MA is a dry community. However, the Select Board is thinking about allowing private clubs to have liquor licenses. This would be the Masons, the Elks lodge, the Knights of Columbus -- that sort of thing.

Selectmen Vote Liquor Rules; Reject move to Force Board Membership. Arlington Advocate, May 18, 1972.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

If it's not one thing, it's another.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Last night, I attended a talk on how our local police department does accident reconstruction. It was very cool stuff.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

This is quite the impressive excavation project, and I've been admiring it each time I ride by on my way to work.

Large excavation project on Waltham St in Lexington.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, municipal employee strikes were not unusual for Arlington. We've had the school custodians, then the DPW. This time, the teachers are doing a wildcat walkout on a Friday morning.

Listening. Mary Barry lists to a compromise being outlned by School Supt. William Gibbs.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Bicycles, delivering the freedom that auto ads promise.

Riding by a long line of stopped traffic. Spring Street, Lexington MA

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I am a big fan of boring, declarative sentences.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

New apartment building going up at the end of the street. All five floors are framed out and I'm digging it.

A new apartment building under construction (sheathed with a green exterior system). It's flanked by a cannabis dispensary on the left and a gym on the right.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

How it started, how it's going. Props to the Medford Farmer's Market for the food.

Vegetables on a counter top: butternut squash, zucchini, onions, and brussel sprouts.

Cooked vegetables and black beans, in a roasting pan.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The wall is washed. Now we wait for the wall to dry.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

We have an excavator, a dumpster, and a demolition permit for a long-abandoned building. It looks like the old Arlington Automatic Transmission is finally going to come down. A portion of the roof has collapsed, so this is not a bad thing.

An abandoned auto shop, surrounded by construction fencing. There's an excavator in front of the building and a large dumpster off to the side.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Everyday things you can do with a #CargoBike: making a run to the hardware store.

A cargo bike, carrying a step ladder and painting supplies.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Prisma access browser and I are having an argument. It keeps enabling pab-protection.service, and I keep disabling it.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Once upon a time, sysadmins took great pride in machines with uptimes of over a year. Now we call them unpatched honeypots.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

New appreciation for The High Cost of Free Parking. The author uses partial derivatives to model parking preferences, weighing the cost to park, the time to walk, and the number of people in the car.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Looking at paint colors for the bedroom, and Lizard Green is the one that's speaking to me.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I want to find a pub that shows Masterpiece theater on TV rather than sports. Downton Abby and stuff.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Happy Saturday, and time for a rundown of #ArlingtonMA home sales, in the hope of motivating you to vote Yes on 7 to Legalize Starter Homes. Eight properties changed hands. As you'd expect, some folks made a lot of money.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

This week's #ArlingtonMA redevelopment board meeting. We had a discussion about deviations from approved plans at 455 Mass Ave, and approved a cannabis dispensary on Summer St. www.srevilak.net/wiki/Arlingt...

srevilak.net

Arlington Redevelopment Board - Sep 28th, 2026 - srevilak.net

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

There's a block party at noon on Silk Street in Arlington. Stop by if you're in the area.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I never knew that BTO was Canadian. I guess I ain't seen nothin' yet.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Today's #TransitCat is getting ready for a trip to the vet. She is not pleased about this.

A cat in a carrier, on the back of a cargo bike.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Standstill traffic on Alewife Brook Parkway. Why do they call it a parkway? Because it moves so slowly that the vehicles are basically parked. 🤣

A line of barely-moving headlights on a roadway.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

If you put 100 AI agents in 100 data centers for 100 years, I don't think any of them would be able to write a Rush album.

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Steve Revilak @purplebandanna.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

My ballot arrived in the mail today. It's got TWO pages. I've never seen a two page ballot before. (MA has nine ballot questions this fall. I do hope you'll vote yes on 7)

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