I said this ain't the way it's supposed to be...

Well, I think we can say with certainty that this whole move-daylight-saving-time-up-a-few-weeks idea is an utter failure. As I said Monday, the extra hour of light in the evening is nice, but my sleep schedule has been thrown so out of whack that I had to take a nap yesterday.

A nap!

I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever take naps. Ever. I just don’t. I got nothing against them, per se; they’re just not my bag. I much prefer getting all my sleep at once (or in two nighttime segments divided only by a quick drink of water or trip to the restroom).

The nap almost made me late for the environmental commission meeting last night, though considering the disoriented state of my brain and hair I probably should have stayed home (but then I wouldn’t have learned that the county has a helpful guide to living with beaver! [PDF]).

I suppose it’s not entirely the fault of daylight savings that I’ve been so tired. Maybe it’s mono. Or the heat, which is simply brutal (I’m serious).

Or, more likely, this is accounting for some of it.

Yes, the Columbia election season is underway and candidates, including myself (though you wouldn’t know it from the newspapers – anti-blogger bias!), are already busy doing anything and everything they can to ensure that the handful of people supporting them is bigger than the handful of people supporting their opponents.

While I’m sure you’ll hear more about my campaign in the coming weeks, I’ll only mention now that I’m looking for volunteers to help spread the word (no need to live in OM or Columbia to sign up).

I’m also trying to come up with a snappy slogan. As much as I’d like to say something meaningful in ten words or less, I’d be much happier with a slogan that reflects the tone of this blog (lighthearted but serious…or is it seriously lighthearted?). Suggestions are welcome in the comments section, and the best one wins the chance of having me use it on official campaign material (note the escape clause in that sentence).

Seriously (again?), if you’re interested in helping or have a mostly-non-funny suggestion for the campaign, send me an e-mail to hocohayduke [@] gmail [dot] com. Please. I need all the help I can get.

Before you get worried, I promise not to turn this into a campaign journal. And, with that in mind, on to some more news…

Well, there’s actually not much in the way of news. This story – about commercial developer Manekin’s new headquarters – provides a good summary of the state of green building in the county.

What I found interesting in the story was that in order to include green features, which will likely yield a LEED-silver certification, Manekin paid an extra $340,000. The building itself cost $9.4 million, meaning that going green added only about 4 percent to the price tag. That’s hardly anything! The premium for hybrid cars is way more than that. With all the savings to be realized by modest increases in upfront costs, why aren’t all buildings in Howard County required to be certified LEED Silver (at least)?

Also, did you know the U.S. Green Building council has been working on a green neighborhood certification? Hmm…

Elsewhere, Columbia Compass is exploring a mysterious phone survey dealing with Columbia development. Lots of conjecture; very little information.

Wordbones finds something he agrees with in the Buisness Monthly. Interesting.

Evan’s soliciting participants for his March Madness pool. If I could just get my bracket filled out…

Oh, and Go Terps!

I agree with Free Market who agrees with the New York Times about terrible factory farming practices. More, including picture, here.

David Wissing, like me and Bill Santos, is involved in the upcoming Columbia election. He’s running for Town Center Village Board. Best of luck!

(Though I won’t really go into why, I disagree with his characterization that my race against Barbara Russell is a Merdon – Ulman rematch. Also, I disagree with putting global warming in quotes. And, for that matter, I disagree with the characterization that I was a “staunch” supporter of Ulman. I prefer blind apologist.)

Finally, The Sun’s Resident Speak Out feature this week asks: “Is there one word that you misspell or see others misspell all the time?”

Yes! Restaraunt? Restaruant? Resturant? Restaurant? It’s one of those, right?