The Tech Issue October 2015 (Theme Issue)
A Guide to the 9th Annual Tech Jam; Daft Labs in Burlington; Vermont ‘Vermojis’; Training Women for Tech
Obituary: Kathleen De Simone, Burlington, VT
Kathleen De Simone “…it is like going into a room with a thousand skeins of yarn in a thousand wonderful colors and being asked to knit an afghan….” —Kathleen De Simone, on deciding which stories to tell about her dear uncle Freddy Mary Kathleen Teresa Bernadette O’Boyle Henry, known to us as Kathleen De Simone,…
Free Will Astrology (10/21/2015)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to the online etymological dictionary, the verb “fascinate” entered the English language in the 16th century. It was derived from the Middle French fasciner and the Latin fascinatus, which are translated as “bewitch, enchant, put under a spell.” In the 19th century, “fascinate” expanded in meaning to include “delight, attract,…
Northfield’s Woods Lodge Opens a Restaurant
The Woods Lodge in Northfield opened its dining room and tavern on Thursday, October 15. Four years after Tropical Storm Irene, the debut is the delayed realization of a dream that was nearly destroyed by flood waters. Lisa and Jonathan Burr purchased the former Camp Wihakowi and its 36 bucolic acres in 2005. Over the…
‘Persuasion Phase’: Bernie Sanders Shifts Tactics to Lure the Undecided
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has drawn rock-star-size crowds to arenas around the country. He’s raised a whopping $40 million, largely from small-dollar donors. He’s passed former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in polls of New Hampshire voters, pulled her to the left on several key issues, and he held his own in last week’s debate.…
Vermont Groups Train and Support Women in Tech
Meg Randall got her first tech job fresh out of college. After earning a degree in religious studies and anthropology from St. Lawrence University, she found a gig handling the email, website and coding for the Feminist Majority Foundation in Washington, D.C., and realized she had a knack for it. Her all-female intro to the…
Bridge of Spies
Anyone else notice how frequently the Cold War has factored into films this year? From the ridiculous (Guy Ritchie’s unnecessary reimagining of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) to the underrated (Pawn Sacrifice) to the sublime new work from Steven Spielberg, we’re seeing the results of directors’ sudden compulsion to peek behind the Iron Curtain. Bridge of…
Vermont Dairy Farms Are Milking Robot Tech for All It’s Worth
In the undulating hills above Cabot Creamery, its pearly towers like a milk-soaked Emerald City, Churchill Road narrows to a single lane. Thickset maples line the track on both sides, shading crumbled stone walls that edge viridian pastures. Beyond the hayfields, the Northeast Kingdom rolls away in painterly autumn hues. The hill crests just before…
The Tech Issue
This week’s Tech Issue* is timed to coincide with a job fair and tech expo organized by Seven Days and the Vermont Technology Alliance. With 60-plus exhibitors — from large-scale employers like the University of Vermont Medical Center to smaller startups such as Designbook and Step Ahead Innovations — the Vermont Tech Jam is annual evidence that…
I Have No Sex Drive, and I’m Only 37!
Dear Athena, I feel like I have no sex drive, and I’m only 37! I thought women were supposed to experience their sexual peak in their thirties, and I just feel my desire diminishing. At first my partner was understanding, and I was able to avoid sex sort of easily. Now he’s asking questions and…
Burlington Mac-maker Jerry Manock remembers his old boss: Steve Jobs
Originally published February 1, 2012 In 1977, when he was 33 and Apple had just five employees, Steve Jobs hired Jerry Manock as a consultant to design the Apple II, one of the first personal computers in history to be successfully mass produced and marketed. Manock gets credit for almost everything but the circuit board…
Burlington Startup Daft Labs Has Vermont’s Back End Covered
The simple cat graphic on Daft Labs’ website gives it an air of mystery. To the uninitiated, the page offers no hint of what the Burlington company does. But Vermont is nonetheless discovering this fast-growing tech startup that is writing complex code for a range of local companies, from Green Mountain Power to Localvore Today,…
Crimson Peak
In a recent interview with the Muse, director Guillermo del Toro quoted a colleague’s assessment of his new gothic melodrama, Crimson Peak: “He says you are channeling your 14-year-old inner bookish girl. Which I would agree with,” del Toro added. Indeed, Crimson Peak is a lavish feast for any viewer who has a “14-year-old inner…
Berniemoji for President
Sen. Bernie Sanders is likely the first politician to get his own emoji. Portland, Me., illustrator and Bernie supporter Scott Nash worked with two app developer friends, Akimitsu Hogge and Wade Brainerd, to create 12 colorful, cartoony “Berniemoji.” They show the presidential candidate grinning, glaring, gritting his teeth and yelling in full-on outrage mode. In…
Vermont Animal-Rights Activists Aim to Keep Pets Safe From Traps
Jenny Carter vividly remembers the autumn day. She was out walking on a neighbor’s property with her dog, Foxy, when “I heard this snap and a yip and looked to see what happened,” she said. “And there was my dog, caught in a leg-hold trap.” The long-haired mixed-breed pup whimpered. Carter had to decide whether…
The Rise and Fall of Springfield, Vermont’s First ‘Tech Hub’
The city of Burlington is doing everything in its power to become Vermont’s tech hub. The region boasts an international airport and high-speed internet. Next-generation companies such as Dealer.com and MyWebGrocer have joined legacy ones such as GlobalFoundries and General Dynamics. A new nonprofit, BTV Ignite, is gearing up to align “Burlington’s powerful gigabit infrastructure…
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma On His Latest Record, A Year With 13 Moons
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma’s latest solo record, A Year With 13 Moons, was a surprise to longtime fans. Most of the composer’s voluminous catalog, whether recorded solo or with bands such as Tarentel and the Alps, consists of works in the avant-garde and experimental spheres. But 13 Moons, released on Brooklyn label Mexican Summer, is built on…
Soundbites: Vermont Comedy Club Sneak Peek
A Guy Walks Into a Bar Before we begin this week’s column, I’d like to offer a warning: The opening segment concerns local comedy. So if you’re not interested in that, or if you’re one of those people who still think local comedy is a joke, you have my permission to skip ahead. Also, you’re…
Art Review: “Rock Solid for 15 Years” at Studio Place Arts
In “Rock Solid for Fifteen Years” at Studio Place Arts, 21 artists have a total of 30 works on exhibit. SPA’s annual “Rock Solid” exhibition is now in its 15th year, as the title indicates, and the work is indeed rock solid — sometimes literally, always artistically. The exhibit emphasizes stone sculptures and assemblages, paying…
Burlington Woman Finds the Past in a 76-Year-Old Nutshell
Frederick and Beatrice Keighley built their house on Burlington’s Walnut Street in 1936. Three years later, they went nutting. It was September 16, 1939. The Yankees had just beaten Detroit 10 to 3. Down south in Brandon, Rollin Bissette was healing from an injury caused by a cartridge that backfired and exploded when he tried…
A UVM Spanish Professor Takes Poetic License — With Robots
What does Spanish poetry have to do with robotics? The answer may depend on your visceral response to poetry in general, and to crawling, spider-like cyborgs. Whether people are repulsed or fascinated by either one, Tina Escaja hopes that the unlikely pairing will prove entertaining and enlightening. The goal of her “poetry-inflected robots,” she explained,…
Latest Filing Details Bernie Sanders’ Thriving Campaign
As he seeks the Democratic nomination for president, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has an ally in Choctaw, Okla. Bill Haivala is an 82-year-old retired electronics technician. “I like to find people that basically support, if you call it, a progressive or socialist agenda,” Haivala told Seven Days. “Bernie Sanders is talking about how America should…
Sculptor Kat Clear Crafts a New Jewelry Line for Perrywinkle’s
Pink is in — at least it is at Perrywinkle’s Fine Jewelry in Burlington. Last Thursday evening, employees at the flagship on Burlington’s Main Street donned magenta accents, and the store buzzed with guests, some with rosy Solo cups in hand. The space was awash in the hue, fine metals and sparkly gems, and it…
Introducing ‘Vermoji’ — Digital Hieroglyphics for Vermonters
Did you know that Vermont is the “poop capital of America”? That’s according to the headline of an August 18 story on the Daily Mail website. The UK newspaper was one of many media outlets to report on a recent study analyzing the use of emoji — those playful images that let smartphone users add…
Letters to the Editor (10/21/15)
Twisted ‘Tradition’ [Re Poli Psy: “Between Consent and Coercion,” October 7]: Columnist Judith Levine never once got to the heart of the issue at St. Paul’s School: its tacit, if not explicit, consent to its male seniors — who, at 18, are young men but not boys — to compete to “score” with girls who are…
Post ‘Health Connect,’ Is Vermont Ready for its Next Big Tech Project?
If all goes well, by February Vermont officials hope to start installing a computer system that will make it easier to figure out who is eligible for social service programs. The estimated cost: $129 million. The so-called “integrated eligibility” project has long been in the works to replace an obsolete 32-year-old Agency of Human Services…
Vermont International Film Festival Celebrates 30 Years
This week, movie fans and geeks everywhere celebrate the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future, Robert Zemeckis’ beloved time-travel comedy. 2015 marks another 30-year cinematic milestone, this one with a local flavor. The Vermont International Film Festival, which begins on October 23, is also celebrating its 30th birthday this year. Now a robust affair…
Astronomy Prof John O’Meara Is a Rising Star at St. Michael’s College
John O’Meara is into history — deep, deep history, before the Earth, solar system or Milky Way galaxy formed. The 41-year-old physics prof at Saint Michael’s College spends much of his time studying objects 10 billion light years away, created shortly after the big bang. O’Meara had no backyard telescope growing up in Denver, Colo.…
Artist Justin Atherton Brings a Ghostly Visitation to Red Square
October is the season for ghouls, ghosts and monsters — but for Burlington artist Justin Atherton, the preoccupation with the strange and otherworldly is a year-round affair. The 6-foot-3-inch friendly giant, who works at Queen City Printers when he’s not making art, has been drawing monsters and mischief makers since age 11. The latest iterations…
WTF: What’s Happening With Burlington Telecom?
The fate of Burlington Telecom was a hot local story for years after the 2009 disclosure that the administration of Mayor Bob Kiss had improperly used nearly $17 million in taxpayer money to keep the city-owned utility from going bankrupt. Ten months ago, Mayor Miro Weinberger’s administration closed on a deal requiring the sale of…
Spencer Goddard, Movement
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Breaking into Burlington’s somewhat crowded singer-songwriter scene can be a challenge. Newcomer Spencer Goddard has slowly worked his way in, gigging at comforting, folk-friendly venues such as the Skinny Pancake, the Light Club Lamp Shop and Pizza Barrio. This month Goddard debuts a six-track EP, Movement. It is a simple, cohesive…
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Exploring with Obscure Vermont [SIV417]
10/17/15: For the past four years, Chad Abramovich has been exploring, documenting and sharing his love for abandoned, secluded spots through his blog, Obscure Vermont. On a rainy and snowy Saturday, Eva and her sister, Margot, accompanied him to one of his favorite haunts, the Milton Cooperative Dairy Corporation, AKA the Milton Creamery. Built in…
Pistol Fist, Wrist Soup
(Self released, digital download) A couple of summers ago, I happened into the Monkey House in Winooski to catch a State & Main Records showcase featuring a handful of Montpelier bands. Unfortunately, because Grace Potter was throwing her annual Grand Point North bash on the Burlington waterfront, the show was sparsely attended. In fact, I’m…
USDA Funds Vermont Value-Added Products
Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture helps selected farmers transform their crops into new products by awarding them Value Added Producer Grants of up to $250,000. Last year, two farms in Vermont received USDA dollars; this year, six snagged grants. The largest grant, of a full quarter million dollars, went to Champlain Valley Farm…
Vermont PBS Lands Tech Star Victoria Taylor for New Show
Victoria Taylor has handled a lot of heavy hitters. In her former job at online-community titan reddit, she supervised thousands of “community interviews.” Called “Ask Me Anything,” those digital discussions enabled as many as eight million people to interact with celebrities such as tech philanthropist Bill Gates and pop diva Madonna. When Taylor left reddit…
Vespa’s Pizza Takes Dino’s Space in Essex
When new owners take over a restaurant, they generally close it for at least a few weeks before reopening with a new look, menu and staff. But when father-son duo Steve and Jake Vespa purchased Dino’s Pizza last summer, they chose to keep the doors open. “We bought it on a Tuesday,” says Steve, “and…
