Ask Paul: September 27 (Premium)

Happy Friday! It's been a horribly busy week ahead of a trip to Dallas and then Mexico City, so I'm ready to kick off the weekend a bit early. This will be our last weekend in Pennsylvania until mid-November.
My preferences are now historical
MattHewitt asks:

Traveling to Boston for the first time ever for a weekend travel date with my brothers. Any tourist or restaurant recommendations? Wanted to hear from someone who lived in the area for a while rather than just punch it into ChatGPT.

We moved to Pennsylvania 7 years ago, and while we do get back to the Boston area as often as possible--my wife was just there a few weeks ago, visiting family and friends, though I skipped that trip to catch up on work--we haven't actually gone into Boston proper that much. The last time I was in the city was June 2023. Worse, almost all our former favorite places are gone, many related to the pandemic. So everything here perhaps not as well informed as it could be.

As far as the tourist stuff, you can't go wrong with the classics. We used to joke about the people who would visit us for a few days and see more of the city than we ever did, but a lot of that stuff is worthwhile. The Freedom Trail, the Boston Public Gardens, the U.S.S. Constitution are all worth experiencing. I would go to the top of the Prudential building for the views. Harvard Square (across the river in Cambridge), Faneuil Hall, and the green space along what used to be the overhead highway that was removed during Big Dig are both pretty and worth walking through. If you're into art, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and Isabella Gardener Stewart are excellent. The Red Sox will end another fruitless season on Monday, but go on a Fenway Park tour, that's really nice. Do something on the water, like a Whale watch or harbor cruise. The Boston Public Library is gorgeous (and free); you could grab a to-go lunch nearby and eat in the courtyard there.

For food, you have to go to the North End for Italian. Most anything there will be pretty good, and it's been a while, and while most of the well-known places are on Hanover Street, I'd look on the next block over (Salem Street) as well. Mike's Pastry is famous there, but it's always packed and Trattoria Il Pannino is next door, cheaper, and more easily accessible. For seafood, you can't go wrong with Union Oyster House, Summer Shack, or Legal Sea Food (including Legal Kitchen in South Boston). I strongly recommend the pan-fried lobster at Summer Shack if you have to choose just one place/meal. (I went there and got that on my last trip into Boston.) Durgin-Park in Faneuil Hall is touristy and kitschy but they earned it.

Mostly obvious stuff I guess.
OpenAI is a train wreck that could take us all down with it
train_wreck asks:

What do you make of the high-level departures at OpenAI? Do you think they may be related to the for-profit changeover?

I am freaked out by everything that's happened at OpenAI at a corporate level. As...