Jason Graves and his band of BMXers

Full Circle Bike Shop in Florence was buzzing with action on an early October afternoon, but little of it had anything to do with business. Owner Jason "Jay" Graves was talking to one teenage boy about new pedals for his BMX bike, but the rest of the kids were in the store simply to hang out. A cluster of them stood around talking, while two sat watching a video on BMX biking. Others wandered up and down the long hall that led from the store's front door to the counter where Graves was standing. One asked if he could borrow a wrench. Just then the phone rang, and as Graves grabbed it, another boy headed over to the tool set to get the wrench himself. And it's all fine with Graves.

No Reservations: Classic Italian

In "Home Town," his book about Northampton, Tracy Kidder contrasted old Northampton, Hamp, with the trendier Noho. Joe's Café certainly belongs to Hamp, but it keeps on being rediscovered by Noho. After all, where else can you find an Italian restaurant decorated with pictures of cacti and mestizos?

Chef's Tidbit: Takeout makeover

Chinese takeout is always a treat, but it can be hard to sort out whether it's a healthy one.

Of course, with egg rolls, spareribs and fried rice, there's not much guessing. But when it comes to the vegetable stir-fries and noodle dishes, the answer isn't as obvious as we'd like.

User Friendly: A window on Windows 7

"What about Windows 7?" asked Mimi. I was replaying phone messages, checking email, wondering what I'd forgotten to do that I was supposed to do and trying to keep up with tasks that all seem to come at once (that never happens to you, right?). I hadn't heard from Mimi York in a while.

First Person: Accidental blogger

Some of the very best things I've done in my life I didn't exactly mean to do. Take love: I was definitely looking for it when I met my husband - just not with him (long story short: I thought he was too young for me, but here we are 19 years and four children later). Despite the fact that our last child, daughter Saskia, is adopted, I never meant to have four kids. While her inclusion in the family was not at all accidental, raising four children hadn't factored into my master plan.

Sean Martin Noonan

Sean Noonan came by his work as a stonemason somewhat by accident. Years ago, as a handyman at a nunnery in his native Ireland, he was asked to rebuild a section of a broken-down wall, and discovered he had a knack for the work.

Hot Buttonz: 'Dragon Age' adds grit to fantasy

The role-playing fantasy has been a staple of electronic gaming since the 1970s, when students cobbled together interactive quests on university mainframes. But the genre has fallen out of favor in recent years, overtaken by grittier dramas like the "Grand Theft Auto" and "Call of Duty" franchises.