HoCo Hayduke

And I don't know what went wrong. I feel I don't belong. I just keep moving on.

2008-11-25T18:57:00.004-05:00

Hayduke died last night.

This probably isn't particularly surprising to you or the spam-bots that still occasionally troll this blog for free, if pointless, advertising opportunities. Hayduke's demise has been a long time coming, starting over a year ago when I decided it would behoove me to further my career goals rather than blather endlessly about stuff on the internet.

Still, even as distractions and other priorities took his place and the time between posts grew from days to weeks to months, Hayduke persevered, if only as a muted shell of his former self. Looking back, I probably should have made a clean break earlier, but I couldn't/didn't until last night, when, with the help of some Ikea furniture, I let go.

The vast majority of the words on this blog were written at this desk.

I bought it around the same time I started this blog in the fall of 2005. Incidentally, I also bought the iMac around the same time. Together, the desk and the computer made up the Hayduke Command Center, which, tucked into little corners/closets of our home offices (first in the Kings Contrivance apartment and later in our Oakland Mills house), made for a lovely blogging oasis.

I did some of my best work at this desk. Certainly, it witnessed my most exciting and energizing moments as a writer. (I know, exciting and energizing are not usually associated with the act of writing, but whatever, it's – still! – my blog, bitches.)

I know the desk itself – the combination of pre-fabbed pieces of particale board and those crazy screw thingies Ikea uses – was not the source of whatever blogging acumen I may have possessed. It is, however, a physical reminder of a piece of my life that I really enjoyed.

And last night, it fell to pieces…

…with the assistance of a screwdriver and a hex key.

Just as I ran out of room in my life for blogging, my house ran out of room for the desk. There's a baby on the way, and when you only have 844 square feet and two bedrooms' worth of house, a large desk and an office become a luxury you can no longer afford. Which is perfectly fine by me. I'm happier than a pig in poop about the baby.

Nevertheless, as the pieces of the desk were undone and stacked against the vacant walls of the nursery-to-be, I felt pangs of loss for what once was. Alas.

It was fun, Hayduke. Maybe we'll do it again sometime.

That's the extent of the mourning you'll hear from me. I've got a nursery to finish, a wife to dote on, a dog to run with, a job to keep up, and a show to prepare for (Friday night, Michael's Pub, 9 pm, Pine Flood's world premier!), among all the other stuff.

Finally, to everyone who took the time to read this ridiculous thing, thanks. I had great time talking with you and hope to again soon. If you're interested in keeping tabs on me, you can find me on Facebook, where I'm now posting silly pictures of the dog.

Frosty fall morning...

2008-10-23T16:23:00.000-04:00

Everything is priced to move!

2008-09-27T09:32:00.000-04:00

Screw you, rain. We're yard-selling anyway and doing pretty good so far.

Living just enough...

2008-09-26T12:06:00.003-04:00

Curious sight from my recent trip to Virginia Beach: a not-too-shabby little town center area. Amidst the otherwise low-slung, sprawliness of the Tidewater area, this downtown area is home to several good restaurants, a comedy club, a fancy-pants performing arts center, a hopping night club and (gasp!) a very tall building.

One of the things that struck me most about the area was how easy it was to get in and out of by car while also being really welcoming to pedestrians.

Here comes the new boss...

2008-09-23T09:10:00.000-04:00

What?

I don't want to wait in vain...

2008-09-09T09:20:00.003-04:00

So, what better thing is there for me to do while waiting for my car to finish its check-up than go through ramdom photos on my phone and post them to the blog? Yes, I suppose I could watch a rerun of the hit CBS show NCIS with the other carless folks in this waiting room, but...um...no.

Here's a picture from my firat visit to Harris Teeter Saturday. For a guy who's written extensively about grocery stores, including a shameless love letter to Trader Joe's, you probably find it strange that it took me so long to visit Columbia's newest grocer. That's fine; I also find it strange.

Anyway, I share this photo only to point out the really thoughtful and really wasteful inclusion of a seperate heating system for the store that is dedicated to keeping shoppers comfortable in the frozen food aisles. Although it's certainly a nice touch, I can't decide if it's a step forward or a step back.

Some guys have all the luck...

2008-09-09T09:06:00.001-04:00

Man, the Gateway building has awesome vending machines. No fair. All we -- the denizens of the Howard building -- have is a Coke machine that charges $0.75 for a $0.65 soda.

Over to the field for tackle football...

2008-09-07T12:48:00.002-04:00

Woo-hoo! Football Day!

Seriously, good times, even though this may be the worst Ravens team of all time. On the bright side, I like to think that this is the year Ravens tickets become available and affordable again, but we'll see about that.

The big excitement about today's Ravens game is, of course, the debut of Mr. Ocho Cinco (the wide reciever formerly known as Chad Johnson). Say what you will about the guy, but I think his name change is probably the most brilliant thing an NFL player has ever done.

I mean, check out this shot from CBS's pre-game coverage and try not to laugh:

The guy's forcing everyone to this grammatical abberation of a joke seriously...awesome.

Bonus funny: Look at that picture...there's a ridicuolous caption in there somewhere, right? The closed eyes, Cowher's lips, the excessive lapel pins...it's all too much for me to process now. Perhaps during halftime...

I could not get enough...

2008-09-02T12:23:00.000-04:00

Happy September! I was out driving around for work and found a little
piece of HoCo that I had never seen.

Here's a picture. Can you guess where I was?

Even rivers ask for rain...

2008-08-20T17:06:00.004-04:00

Roads are pretty important to a lot of people.

This isn’t really insightful, but in light of this reality, you would expect a bit more care to be given to the design, not just engineering, of streets. Instead, we get what we’ve always gotten – generally safe and generally efficient thoroughfares for vehicular traffic.

Some folks think there’s more to streets than that, however. And as people often do when they share a desire for change, they’ve started a movement: Shared Space, which Wikipedia says is “the blurring or removal of the distinction between space designated for automobiles and space designated for pedestrians and bicycles.”

Here’s more on the concept from the Boston Globe:

The curb is a big enemy in the Shared Space philosophy, because the curb is a separator, dictating what belongs to the pedestrian and what belongs to the vehicle. There are other enemies as well: signs, lines on the road, even traffic lights. Pioneered by Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman, who died earlier this year at age 62, Shared Space gets the street naked, removes all physical and psychological barriers, and forces cars and pedestrians to share. The concept makes the street safe by making it dangerous to proceed without paying attention.

And more

For decades, our urban street system has focused almost exclusively on the efficient movement of cars. "When you walk down one of these European streets and see people walking, entire families riding bicycles together, people sitting outside having an evening drink, you think, 'This is the way a city should be,' " says Steven E. Miller, the executive director of the Healthy Weight Initiative in the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health. He believes walkable streets will go a long way toward mending chronic health problems. "And you feel astounded that America hasn't caught on to that effect."

The whole thing is worth a read. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more of this around here.

Totally unrelated to Shared Space (or maybe not?), here’s something that popped out of the Way Back machine today:

Yeah. How about that? This is the third revision, published by HCCA in 1994. The original edition came out in 1972. I haven’t really had a chance to go through it yet, but I thought it was an interesting piece of HoCo community history. I'll let you know if I find anything fun in it.

Because the fairness doctrine compels me, here’s the playbook used by developers.

Mother Nature got me thinking...

2008-08-09T10:00:00.002-04:00

A couple issues that sprouted up in my little piece of Columbia got me thinking. Unfortunately, these thoughts haven't led me to any conclusions…just more thoughts.

So, I'm presenting these matters to the collective wisdom of the local Anonymouses in hopes that my own thoughts might start crystallizing.

First, there's the Walgreens. I'm not exactly sure where it is in the development process, but almost all of Oakland Mills seems to know of and have an opinion about it. For those who aren't in the know, the chain pharmacy is working to locate a new branch at the intersection of Rouse Parkway (Rt. 175) and Thunder Hill Road, a decidedly non-village center site.

That last bit presents a problem. We can argue about tall buildings, but one thing that's pretty clearly part of the "vision" of Columbia is that the life's essentials would be located in our village centers. I don't think I'm slavish in my devotion to founding principles, but when there's a struggling village center that currently has no place for residents to get the medicine they really need – that is, not the over the counter junk – it seems kind of strange to support construction of a pharmacy out on the village's fringe.

But pharmacies don't play that way anymore. Unless they're part of a grocery store, today's pharmacies follow the stand-alone, along-major-roadways model. I'm guessing they do this because it's proven to be successful, and whatever niceties might be said about providing access to medicine, it's still all about the money.

(And contrary to what some may think, Columbia was never intended to blunt market forces in favor of the common good or social gains. Indeed, its true genius was exploiting them to achieve social ends…but that's for a later post.)

Also I'm also sensitive to the fact that this location, as opposed to one in a village center, would be more convenient for some (ahem...) and less convenient for others. Which way the scales tip in this instance, I can't say.

The other undecided I have is with respect to the idea of a new bridge connecting Town Center to Oakland Mills and whether this bridge should serve people, bikes, buses, cars or all of the above. I've long been of the opinion that a bridge open to all vehicles and made safe for pedestrians is the best option for Oakland Mills but others have raised good points that have me rethinking my position. Whatever happens, the bridge must be safe (in all ways) and convenient before it sees significant usage. The bridge we have now doesn't fully meet these standards and I don't know if anything can be done to make it so.

What's more, a really well-designed bridge would give our city another defining piece of architecture, which we desperately need.

So there it is...my jumble of thoughts.

How about you?

Say they want you successful, but that ain't the case…

2008-07-31T18:32:00.007-04:00

Because I feel like griping…

First: There will be no shortage of discussions about race over the next few months, a fact that, depending on your perspective, will be most welcome or entirely aggravating (or possibly in between, but not likely). It doesn't matter to me where you fall on the spectrum – as I'm sure it doesn't matter to you where I fall – but what does matter to me is that we come together as a nation to accomplish one thing: the abolition of the term "race card" (as in, "to play the") from our vernacular.

Not only does it trivialize legitimate concerns about racism (you mean it still exists?), but using it makes you sound like, well, a Not Very Bright Person, regardless of whether you use it "correctly" – that is, in response to a spurious claim of racism. Here's a tip: If you find yourself in a discussion about race in America where someone points out that a particular thing is racist – say, a political advertisement involving a certain candidate for President of the United States and a couple of blond-haired, white "celebrity" women – and you disagree with this person, you should state your disagreement in such a way that actually demonstrates the falsity of their claim. If it is indeed a spurious point, refuting it shouldn't be too hard, now should it?

As a corollary, just because a particular thing – say, the above-mentioned advertisement – doesn't bring out the inner racist in you that doesn't mean it isn't bringing out the inner racist in others. You know, kind of like how you can't hear a dog whistle but a dog can.

Second: Office 2007. Seriously, Microsoft, why did you destroy the one thing you did really, really well? This new version of Office is an abomination -- over the top graphic interface, confusing menus, general navigation issues, auto formatting from hell, etc. -- and it has me longing for the good, old days of Office 2003 (and I hate longing). But, hey, thanks for including a "blog post" template in Word. Progress!

I'm afraid that all the pieces might slip away from me...

2008-07-29T19:09:00.002-04:00

Good vs. Bad: A breakdown...

Good: Pandora for the iPhone. I realized in all my praise for the iPhone a little while back that I didn't really say much about what really makes it awesome: Applications, for one. I'll probably write about a few others that I like, but for now I want to highlight Pandora, which, if you don't know, is some free internet radio goodness. Basically, you create "stations" of bands you like and Pandora plays songs that match your taste. It's a great way to find new music that you might actually like...as opposed to whatever's on the radio.

Bad: One Hundred Pushups. This site claims that if you follow its six week program you'll be able to do 100 pushups. I did it, all six weeks without cheating, and I'm here to tell you what you already know: Don't believe what you read on the internet. When I started the program, I was able to do 50 pushups. After finishing the last level over the weekend, I did the exhaustion test last night and logged exactly 53 pushups. Yay, progress!

Good: Apple technical support. I've had two problems over the past couple weeks and both were solved super quickly by Apple.

Bad: The fact that I needed Apple technical support twice over the past two weeks. After I upgraded operating systems (Tiger to Leopard, for those of you playing along at home), my laptop's battery decided to lose about half of its capacity, which is pretty lame. I called Apple on Saturday, however, and a brand new battery arrived at my door on Monday, which is pretty good. The other issue had to do with an activation code that wasn't working, which may have partially been my fault but nevertheless these things should "just work," right?

(In fairness, these two problems are not bad considering the amount of computer-related upgrades involving Apple products I've done in the past month, nearly all of which have gone very smoothly, including the construction of a pretty sweet wireless network/home server.)

Good: Grand slams and the Orioles beating the Yankees.

Bad: "Competition yellows" during NASCAR races.

Good: MG Midgets for sale in Columbia.

Bad: MG Midgets for sale in Columbia tempting me.

My greatest fear will be that you will crash and burn...

2008-07-25T19:30:00.001-04:00

A couple of possibly competing data points about newspapers.

First, The Sun shared news recently of another reduction in local coverage. A daily feature just a few years ago, the Howard Section will now come out on Thursdays and Sundays only. Whether this results in an actual decrease in local stories or simply a consolidation of the same amount of stories on fewer days remains to be seen, but I'd put money on the latter in the short term and the former in the long term.

Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center just released a report detailing cutbacks at newspapers.

It has fewer pages than three years ago, the paper stock is thinner, and the stories are shorter. There is less foreign and national news, less space devoted to science, the arts, features and a range of specialized subjects. Business coverage is either packaged in an increasingly thin stand-alone section or collapsed into another part of the paper. The crossword puzzle has shrunk, the TV listings and stock tables may have disappeared, but coverage of some local issues has strengthened and investigative reporting remains highly valued.

So, according to the smart folks at Pew, while the rest of the paper withers, the local sections seem to be doing fine, if not better, yet, our local rag is cutting back on space for local news. What gives?

I actually don't think these are contradictory as they may seem. With so many options for consuming news on the big issues, consumers have turned to other outlets-- blogs, television, crazy emails from their grandparents, etc. In trying to find their niche in this changing landscape, newspapers, on average, have started devoting a greater share of their resources to local news, where the array of available options for consumers is considerably smaller; this is the transformation noted in Pew's study.

But even in this less competitive market, papers are finding it difficult to stay profitable because they're still relying on essentially the same model that's been used for decades, one that has largely failed to adapt to changing consumer preferences and technology. Traditional news organizations were painfully slow to embrace the internet, and even now that most have caught on to its permanence, they are stuck trying to play catch up in a game that's on a completely different field. In many cases, "tech-savvy" newspapers are still operating in the same paradigm, doing what they've always done, only digitally, which probably isn't going to cut it for much longer.

However, as long as people value information and their time, there will always be money to be made delivering news, whether local, regional, national or international. I'll leave it up to the smart people to figure out how.

...quoting things you'd never say...

2008-07-21T22:12:00.003-04:00

One billboard; two sides.

Whiskers on kittens...

2008-07-18T11:43:00.000-04:00

My favorite shot from GGP's "Vision" open house.

I've been sitting waiting wishing...

2008-07-18T10:48:00.001-04:00

Nothing but good reviews for the MVA Express in Columbia. I was in an out in under 10 minutes for a license renewal and didn't even get a chance to play poker on my phone.

Loving you is easy 'cause you're beautiful...

2008-07-16T18:18:00.003-04:00

Yes, I got an iPhone.

Yes, it's all I had hoped for and more.

And, yes, I stood in line for several hours to get it.

But... I did not wait in line on Friday like all those other losers, those saps who had to have it the day it came out. No, me, I'm patient and not one to buy into manufactured hype.

Yes, I got mine on Saturday, when waiting was no longer an exercise in crass commercial worship carried out by blind fanboys but instead simply a function of the prevailing reality that iPhones are awesome and a lot of people want them.

Yes, I know I'm kidding no one with this. But, seriously, it's awesome.

And, please, don't be like those ignoramuses (ignorami) who strolled by the line Saturday morning and couldn't resist cracking wise about how "it's just a phone." Because it's not "just a phone," and if you think it is, you're probably not very bright.

I don't think it's hyperbole to say the iPhone is arguably the greatest "gadget" ever conceived. It is all those old sci-fi pipe dreams rolled into a shiny glass and plastic package that is as easy to use as it is on the eyes.

OK, maybe I'm being a little to effusive -- it wouldn't be the first time -- but I'm in iPhone heaven right now, and I can't help it. I mean, even Abbzug, who generally hates gadgets, won't put hers down.

Now, if only I could figure out a way to take it swimming with me.

Yes, I've gone too far.

Goin' each and every place with the mic in their hand...

2008-07-09T17:58:00.002-04:00

SC, Maryland, New Orleans, Motown...

How about a little Hump Day Round Up…

All Merriweather, all the time: Wordbones' off-line alter ego wrote a nice column for the July edition of the Business Monthly about the Little Ampetheater (and Community Movement) That Could. I don't really have anything to add, but like WB, I'm glad he got this one wrong.

More Merriweather: My off-line alter ego also has a piece about Merriweather running in a local publication. Here's the cover story from the summer edition of Howard Life magazine.

Still more: I was feeling a little blah about this season's line up for Merriweather. Don't get me wrong, I love brooding, wannabe guitar heroes as much as the next 16-year-old girl, but John Mayer just isn't doing it for me this year. But two recent concert announcements have turned my blah into… uh, blazam? First, Rock the Bells, a tour of hip hop heavyweights, on July 27 and second, The Allman Brothers on September 30. They still don't totally make up for the lack of Jack Johnson – stupid Virgin Fest – but I'm happy.

As for non-Merriweather stuff, it's just this: Good riddance, Pooh Bears!

Devotees will tell you that Padonia Swim Club is more than just a place to go swimming. For some, it is where they got their first job, sent their kids to day camp, paddled on the pond, sparked summer romances, got married and sipped cocktails at the cabana bar.

So when the 49-year-old club announced that it was selling the Cockeysville property to a church and shutting down operations - albeit in fall 2010 at the earliest - the news hit members like an afternoon thunderstorm after a cloudless morning.

Padonia was the arch rival of my childhood swim team. They won every single meet for something like 73 years… until they ran into the buzzsaw that was the Crofton Swim and Tennis Club in the mid-1980s.

Yeah, that's right, I'm still living a 20-year-old rivalry. And, yes, sometimes I embarrass myself.

(Although I just saw this story today, thoughts of childhood swim meets have resurfaced recently thanks to my re-adoption of swimming as a preferred method of cardiovascular activity and the airing of the Olympic trials [in HD!] on television.)

Yeehaw!

But no one taught that to me yet...

2008-07-01T19:09:00.003-04:00

A couple of things on this lovely Canada Day...

First, I had an awesome time playing at the Oakland Mills Birthday Party on Saturday. Thanks to those of you who braved the heat and the rain to come out, including Wordbones, who posted a pic of The Fab Five. There are also a couple short videos of the affair somewhere on the internet, but I'll hold off on posting a link until I have the videographer's OK.

For those of you who missed it: Don't worry. There's a movement afoot to keep this little experiment going at least a little while longer. I'm interested to see what we can do with a wider song selection and more than a month to practice.

Second, a question. Is it legal to ride your bike on the sidewalk in Howard County?

Everybody had a good time...

2008-06-26T17:44:00.001-04:00

You know what you should do if you want to have a good time?

No.

Well, I’ll tell you. You should come to OM Fest on Saturday in Oakland Mills to celebrate the village’s 40th birthday and, of course, to hear what could either be a pretty good set of Beatles music or an outright embarrassment for yours truly. Either way, it’s a win for you!

Can I market or what?

Seriously, after our first practice late last month, I was a little nervous about the set. But after practicing to the point of exhaustion many nights in the past few weeks, I really think (or at least hope) it’s going to sound good.

Despite all the time spent practicing, I think the hardest part of this whole thing was picking an hour’s worth of music from the vast Beatles collection. Complicating this process is trying to balance what songs I want to play, what songs the audience will want to hear and what songs a band with two guitars, a bass and drums can actually pull off in a live setting. It was not easy, but I think we’ve got a pretty good set.

That said, I won’t try to claim that my taste in Beatles songs in any way resemble mainstream tastes.

You see, I’m a huge Beatles fan. There was a phase in my life when my fandom probably crossed many lines of normalcy and decency. But, whatever. The Beatles rock, and were it not for them, music today would suck. On this I will not compromise.

But unlike the vast majority of other diehard Beatles fans, I never lived the Beatles. Sure, I share Beatles experiences with many of my friends – a few of whom are playing in this band with me – but we weren’t there for Beatlemania or Sgt. Pepper or the break-up or really any of it (though one of my earliest memories as a child is seeing news of John Lennon’s murder on television, if that counts for anything).

I’ve listened to the Beatles in a different context than those who heard them when their songs were still new (ahem, mom, dad, other Boomers), and this, in turn, has led to my somewhat off-the-wall list of favorite Beatles songs. For instance, the title of this post is a line from “I’ve Got A Feeling” – a solid rock tune off of Let It Be that’s on my short list but probably few others. What’s more, if forced to pick an all-time favorite, I’d have to choose “Don’t Let Me Down,” the B-side of the “Get Back” single.

I mean, who picks a B-side as their favorite?

Anyway, let me hear from you. What are your favorite Beatles songs, or what would you like to hear on Saturday?

Also, for sociology’s sake, share whether you’ve been a Beatles fan since the beginning or since you were old enough to appreciate them.

And though the news was rather sad...

2008-06-06T20:09:00.007-04:00

A few audio/visual treats for you on a Friday evening. First, a collection of photographs taken from the train carrying Bobby Kennedy's body from New York City to Washington, DC forty years ago this weekend. This is a pretty amazing collection. Here are two of my favorites:

See the link above for more pictures, or the New York Times for a slideshow narrated by the photographer, Paul Fusco.

Also, here's a pretty great site from the Boston Globe with daily stories told through large, high-quality photography.

Finally, this made me laugh on several occasions, but I'm a nerd with a fairly immature sense of humor. Be careful, some of the jokes are a little (or a lot, actually) risqué for those with more delicate sensibilities and refined tastes (you know who you are…).

The kid's name is Bo Burnham.

Somebody spoke and I went into a dream...

2008-06-06T20:04:00.002-04:00

I had a nightmare last night.

This is not a very common experience for me. Most of my dreams involve unicorns and puppies.

Last night's dream was so bad that after waking up at 5 am, I couldn't fall back asleep, which usually isn't a problem for me at such an ungodly hour.

I'm sure you're now asking yourself what subconscious thoughts could have possibly caused me such great anguish. It wasn't monsters or demons or even sweet potatoes.

It was the iPhone.

In case you haven't heard, iPhone v.2 is almost certainly going to be announced on Monday. Rumors about the One Gadget to Replace Them All, which I've been obsessively following for weeks, all point to a line up of features that address the initial model's shortcomings. As much as I've wanted one since they were first announced almost 18 months ago, I've held off for a variety of reasons, but following the expiration of my Verizon contract in March, the demise of my old iPod in April and the maelstrom of rumors in May, I have been overrun by an urge to part with hard earned money for the shiniest of the shiny.

Clearly, as evidenced by my dream, this longing has seeped deep into my subconscious. The result of said seepage, however, was not pretty.

Most of the details are fuzzy, but what I remember most about the dream was opening the box to find a phone that fell short of expectations. In this case, short is probably an understatement. The device I removed from the box resembled something like this, only it flipped open to reveal more of the latest in 1980s technology.

I was crushed. And in my dreamy despair, I began frantically scouring eBay for a replacement, only to find that all of the older iPhones were being snatched up for thousands of dollars by disappointed folks like me. And that's when I finally cracked and woke up.

What's the takeway, aside from the fact that I'm a dork? Either I need more perspective in life, or Steve Jobs better not disappoint on Monday.

They run and hide their heads...

2008-06-05T18:18:00.004-04:00

After (grudgingly) being forced to ride out yesterday's storm away from windows with decent views in the basement of the George Howard Building, I anxiously drove home to see what havoc the weather had wreaked in my yard.

As I passed fallen tree after fallen tree, my nervousness mounted. Don't get me wrong, I loving having six mature trees surround my house -- including a huge 100-year-old pin oak -- but such leafiness does not come without occasional concern. If ever there was a day for concern, yesterday was it.

When I turned into my neighborhood, I was greeted with this sight:

Which, needless to say, did nothing to soothe my nerves. (I should point out that this house and its roof are still structurally sound and largely intact, contrary to how things may appear in the picture.

But as I turned onto my street, it was clear that my house had at least avoided that fate. And, indeed, upon closer inspection, it became clear that the total damage was below that of prior storms I've witnessed while living here. I mean:

Sure, we have our share of downed branches, but nothing major and nothing anywhere near the damage I had feared.

The open space around my neighborhood, however, was home to significant tree fall-age.

Columbia Talk has more shots of Oakland Mills storm damage here.

So, after this mess, it looks like we're in for some atrocious heat this weekend. Such are the wages of our otherwise fabulous spring, I suppose.

It's been a long, long, long time...

2008-05-21T18:38:00.003-04:00

So, yeah, what’s happening, hot stuff?

I think the past three weeks have probably been the busiest three weeks of my life. Between work work (I’ve taken over a colleague’s job while she’s on maternity leave and its budget season), house work, other people’s house work, a little bit of kickball and a whole lot of other stuff, I have barely had time to read others’ blogs, let alone think about adding things to my own. Thankfully, things seem to be pretty quite around these parts, so I haven’t missed much.

To be sure, I’ve thought about things I want to write about and may get around to more substantive posts soon, but for now here’s an announcement about something else that I’ve (probably foolishly) decided to put on my plate: Some friends and I are putting together a Beatles cover band to play the Oakland Mills’ 40^th birthday party on June 28. My friends are great musicians (me, I get by with a little help from them) and huge Beatles fans, so I can guarantee a great show or your money back. Seriously, you should come out – you’ll get a chance to hear some good music (there are other bands playing, too) and show some support to East Columbia’s (a.k.a. the real Columbia) oldest village.

All for now. More soon.

She don't remember the queen of soul...

2008-04-29T20:39:00.001-04:00

Let's see. I have a bunch of random, disjointed thoughts I feel like sharing, but none really deserve their own post. Hmm. If only there were a predetermined blog post template/format I could use…

Yeeeeee-Haw!

Maintaining my substance-free, noncommittal style, I'm not going to say much about the General Growth show last night, but David Wissing shares many of my same thoughts on the presentation and Wordbones has a preliminary rundown of the plan's first phase. I will say that the Merriweather stuff kinda makes me what to do silly things, like use smiley-face emoticons, but I'll refrain.

No I won't: :-)

So instead of augmenting the thoughts of my Brothers in Blogging, I will only add a small anecdote from last night's three hour ~~tour~~ show. Towards the beginning, MC Hamm(er) asked under-35 members of the crowd to raise their hands, a request presumably designed to show the significant age imbalance of the assembled group. Predictably, only a handful of the nearly 500 folks raised their hands.

Although I've wrung my hands in the past about the lack of young people involved in the Downtown planning process, that's not my intention in sharing this anecdote. Rather, it's to highlight the disdain this hand-raising exercise spurred in the dude sitting behind me.

"What's the point of that question," he blustered. "Parents come to these meetings. Kids should be home doing homework. What a stupid question."

Run along, kiddies. The grown-ups need to talk about important stuff.

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Are you anxious for more extensive coverage of local happenings? I mean, sure, there are the local blogs. They're great and all, but if you're like me – and I think you are – than you're looking for something that's a bit more, um, "establishment."

Well, then have we got something for you. By "we," of course, I'm not including myself or anyone directly affiliated with me, but instead Patuxent Publishing, which is set to drop some Explore Howard goodness on the unsuspecting web-surfers of our fair community. The nascent "blog" that had been occupying www.explorehoward.com address has been replaced with this promising message: "explorehoward.com - arriving 05/01/2008."

It feels like Christmas.

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Speaking of Christmas, it's been like that around here for me. In addition to getting three awesome new fillings for my poor, dying teeth, I picked up a new lens for my camera on Saturday, finally getting some decent tele-ability back into my photography. How about a shot?

Woo-hoo! Zoom!

More than a lot...

2008-04-28T18:25:00.002-04:00

So, yeah, how ya been? Anything going on? I've been (not literally) away for a couple weeks. Did I miss something?

Oh, right, there was the whole Columbia Council election thingamajig on Saturday. He didn't win, but I'm happy to see my neighbor Phil Engelke put up a good fight, losing by only eight votes to Alex Hekemian. I'm also happy to see my friend Bill Santos win a seat on the Wilde Lake Village Board. There were some other races, but you can read about those here.

Is that it? Just the elections? I think I'm missing something.

Lookie here.

Yes, that's it! Tonight (Monday) General Growth will be releasing its plan for more "sidewalk cafés and whatever" in Town Center. (By the way, "Sidewalk Cafes and Whatever" – great name for a band).

I guess this is kind of a big deal. As such, feel free to share the love/hate in the comments. Me: I'm withholding any opinion on the plan until I'm assured of an adequate balance between whatever and cafes. I'm told their plan is far too heavy on the whatever.

I know. I'm taking it too far.

Really, I have a serious point to make. Thanks to the playfulness of providence (or the wicked sense of humor of the Puppet Master), Columbia is in the midst of a rather eventful week. There are a lot of important things happening now, many of which will have impacts on our fair city for years to come.

A big player in this ongoing saga is the Columbia Council. As in all groups, the interpersonal/political dynamics of this assemblage of individuals will factor heavily in the policies it passes. Over the past several years, we have seen the Downtown-specific partisanship of this board reach a point where members are now generally perceived, for better or worse, as pro-Downtown-development or anti-Downtown-development, largely to the exclusion of their positions on other matters. Now, I know that at least one board member would scoff at this distinction, but when lines are drawn – and, boy, are they ever – you can't straddle them; such is the nature of these kinds of lines.

Unfortunately, Downtown ain't the only name on Columbia's dance card. Also vying for the board's eye are environmental and open space issues, financial and assessment cap considerations, and the persistent aging (is there any other kind?) of our shared facilities and community resources, among other things. On these matters, board alliances will be drastically different than the One Alliance to Rule Them All.

My fear is that the Town Center groupings – however tenuous their foundations – may carry over into completely unrelated matters, especially as the Downtown issue really starts to sizzle again. This wouldn't be good governance and probably wouldn't yield the best outcomes. This is one of the reasons why the debates about Town Center and the role of the Columbia Council in the process need to be reframed and taken to a more positive and (yes) opportunistic place.

I am, however, hopeful that board members will find common cause with those on the other side of the Town Center debate and work towards shared goals in other areas; indeed, we have already seen this happen on several issues, but I'd still like to see more. Since I'm making requests, I'd also like to see the artificial Downtown distinctions dropped in favor of a truly open dialogue.

Never hurts to ask, right?

School's out forever!

2008-04-15T20:16:00.004-04:00

It seems like every year with the onset of the spring heat – yeah, I'm calling it heat – I go through a bout of restless sleep.

For me, the ideal ambient sleeping temperature is somewhere around freezing and the ideal ambient household temperature is not much higher. Seriously…kind of.

During the winter, we keep the thermostat at a toasty 61ish degrees during the day and 57ish at night. Most people find this too cold. Most people are crazy. It's heaven.

But now, it's getting warmer, hot even, and as much as I love and, now, need cold air to sleep right, I can't bring myself to crank the A/C. Sure, I could open a window but (say what you will about this) I'm not really that comfortable leaving my first-floor bedroom window open with only a lovingly lackadaisical Husky for home protection.

All of this is a roundabout way of saying that I've had trouble falling asleep recently. And when I have trouble falling asleep, I think about stuff that generally makes me happy (I'm a 7), stuff like kickball, the Orioles, vacations I can't afford, mountain biking, taco night, my wife, dog, etc. (not necessarily in that order, but pretty close…).

So last night, after working through several kickball scenarios involving dramatic catches and exceptional base-running, my mind drifted onto a topic that's been hotly discussed on Freemarket's blog: school funding.

Although I've been known to in the past, I don't want to beat a dead horse here. I'm not going anywhere near the population control or kid propaganda machine issues. But all this talk about who pays for schools and who benefits stirred the not-quite-sleeping economist in me.

On the face of it, having parents pay for their kids' education seems like a pretty straightforward idea based on economics and fairness. Education is a tangible service provided at a cost. As with most services in society, if you want the benefit of it, you foot the bill.

Of course, education ain't massage therapy.

Rather, education, like many goods and services, places all sorts of externalities on our society, many of which cannot be quantified. For instance, how do you measure the benefit of living in a well-educated society? I'm sure someone's tried, but I don't feel like hopping down that Google-hole and I don't really think the results would be that conclusive.

But our educational system also provides direct services to residents, even those who aren't parents or children. And while lying awake last night, I came up with a pretty healthy list of services that I value. To wit:

Fields for practicing kickball with my friends
Fields for playing the annual Turkey Bowl football with my friends
Subjects for photograph
Hunting grounds for local hawks
Places for me to see local hawks hunting
Places where my dog can run in circles with 25-foot radii
Basketball hoops
Polling place
Shortcuts to various locations
Places where additional houses cannot be built
Places for community meetings
Chances to connect my neighbors while walking their kids to and from school

I could go on, but it's getting kind of absurd and might cloud the point. After all, the point is not what I value or how much I value these things. It's that I do. If these things were taken away from me, if I could not access the fields or take pictures of the school, my life would be poorer and I would be less happy.

I'll admit to being uncomfortable about monetizing everything in life, but if we're playing the economics game, let's play by the rules. As I said, how much I value these things is largely irrelevant, although I will say some are likely worth as little as a couple dollars and some much more so. Regardless, if it came down to losing the right to access these services or paying to keep them, I would be more than willing to throw at least a few – probably more – dollars in the hat.

Disentangling the value of these services from the broader collection of things I pay for with my tax dollars is probably impossible. But all of it is in there, internalized in the price I'm willing to pay to live in this community and therefore the amount of property taxes I pay each year to support the network of publicly provided goods.

So this is why I can't agree with argument that parents shoulder 100 percent of the burden for the cost of their child's education. Even if I'm the only one who practices kickball on school fields – and I know I'm not – everyone in this community derives some value from the school system. And if you value something that you don't pay for, you're a free rider. And in theoretical economics-speak, free riders lead to Pareto inefficient market outcomes – or, they screw things up.

Given the imperfections of identifying the value each individual places on our public schools, deriving a system where funding is entirely proportional to the benefits they receive is beyond our political and policy capacities. This is not to say there isn't a better system out there; it's just that, thus far, I haven't heard of one.

But who knows? Give me a few more warm, restless nights and I might come up with a plan. Either that or the perfect kickball line-up. Both are of generally the same value to me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple notes: My family shares a pretty strong commitment to fairness. This, I think, explains why I love sports and economics. At least in theory, both create somewhat-artificial contexts where "fair" is the initial condition and then let independent actors duke it out for whatever it is they're seeking, constrained only by the rules of "the game" and how they play it.

My interest in both however is less in the rules or theories, but in the performance. When the situation changes, how do people react? How does something that happens in the beginning of the situation play out at the end. I'm genuinely fascinated by the decisions people make when faced with a set of circumstances, resources and constraints they only partially control.

Also, let's say we did charge people the full cost for educating their kids, what would happen? My guess: A lot more home-schooling, as well as, unfortunately, "home-schooling."

Finally, I think someone mentioned this but I don't have the time to look it up: Isn't it true that you most likely pay off the costs of your public education over the course of your life? I spent 18 years in Maryland public schools and universities and I'm thankful everyday for the education and opportunities I received. While interviewing for a job with the State of Maryland out of graduate school, I mentioned that the debt I owed to taxpayers for my education was a factor in my decision to work in the public sector.

If, all of a sudden, you stopped charging general taxpayers for educational costs, wouldn't at least some of them be getting off with a pretty sweet deal?

When the streams are ripe and swelled with rain...

2008-04-07T19:37:00.003-04:00

Just some odds and ends for a dreary April Monday…

I cleaned my deck yesterday. It looks very nice, thanks for asking. On the advice of some friends who know these things, I opted to scrub with soap rather than power wash.

Friends who recommended this: You have temporarily lost my trust.

Cleaning a deck is prolonged misery. Seriously.

With most of the work around the house that I do – even the arduous stuff – there are usually milestones along the path to completion that bolster my spirit and keep me going. Not so with the deck cleaning.

Upon completing the task, I hobbled inside and collapsed on the couch, drawing inexplicable laughter from my usually-supportive wife. Feebly, I asked her what was so funny.

"People wash decks everyday for a living," she said.

"Yeah, but ours is bigger than most."

"So."

-----------------------------------------------------------

"We knew we were going to win."

The sweet reward of yesterday's work was watching the Orioles game on the DVR. I dutifully watched them fail to muster any offense against Felix Hernandez for eight innings, and not once thought of stopping the game. Probably because I couldn't move my arm enough to lift the remote.

Nevertheless, as soon as Nick Markakis hit a double to lead off the ninth, I paused the game and called Abbzug into the room. Something's going to happen, I thought.

And, sure enough, with a few singles, a passed ball and a little bit of luck the Worst Team In Baseball (this year's Orioles) had managed to win their fourth-straight (now five, after another one-run win today!) since losing on opening day.

I know I'm usually the first in line for the orange Kool-Aid, but damn if it didn't feel great to get this win and, more importantly, to hear Dave Trembely say afterward in his press conference: "When Markakis hit that double, we knew we were going to win."

The Orioles have been quitters for the past decade – see last year's 13-31 record in one-run games for starters, then try the annual mid-summer collapse for your main course.

But maybe things really are starting to change.

Now, does anyone have a napkin I can use to wipe off this orange moustache?

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Our local politics reporter from The Sun has a great piece totally unrelated to our county. In this Op/Ed, Larry Carson writes about his experience covering the city beat in Baltimore for the News American during the riots that followed Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.

Walking up Gay Street - past burning storefronts, past looters carrying suitcases through the broken display window of a pawn shop, and past Baltimore police cars racing by on their way from one riot call to another - I could hardly take it all in.

That Monday after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder was chaos in East Baltimore, where I struggled as a raw, 23-year-old police reporter for the News American to gather information. Strangely, none of the looters gave me a second glance, and I was calm and unafraid. Young, white, with short hair and wearing a sportcoat and tie, I probably looked like a police officer. I overheard several actual officers lamenting that since the new emphasis on civil rights, they had to arrest suspects instead of taking them around a corner and beating them.

One black man who passed me shook his head and said it was a "shame" what was happening all around us.

And it was. Nobody deserved to have his business ruined, his home burned, his possessions stolen. It was tragic, but then so were the years of injustices to Baltimore's African-Americans - confined to "their" schools and neighborhoods by racial prejudice, unable to find the kinds of jobs and opportunities whites had, yet spurred by the hopes that Dr. King aroused in all of us.

It's actually much more than a snapshot of that time and those riots, however, as it delves into Carson's experience growing up in a segregated Baltimore. You should probably just go ahead and read the whole thing.

We all want to change the world...

2008-03-25T19:04:00.003-04:00

A nice crowd turned out to hear County Executive Ken Ulman's speech on village center revitalization today. See if you can spot someone you know!

OK, so the angle doesn't really make identification easy, but what do you want from me?

Anyway, kind of apropos of Jessie's post today on urban decline in the 'burbs, here are some excerpts expressing in broad terms the challenge and opportunities facing village centers.

(Sorry for the all caps -- that's the format of the document and I don't really have the inclination to go back through and re-type everything.)

THE VILLAGE CENTER CONCEPT WAS, LIKE COLUMBIA ITSELF, AN EXPERIMENT IN COMMUNITY PLANNING. AND IT WAS, AND IN MANY RESPECTS STILL IS, A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT. ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN TO THE BAGEL BIN ON A WEEKEND MORNING, OR EVEN A WEEKDAY MORNING FOR THAT MATTER, KNOWS YOU FIND MUCH MORE THAN PEOPLE HAVING BREAKFAST. YOU FIND NEIGHBORS RECONNECTING...AND A COMMUNITY BEING SUSTAINED.

DESPITE THE OVERALL SUCCESS OF THE EXPERIMENT, COLUMBIA’S VILLAGE CENTERS—PARTICULARLY OUR OLDER VILLAGE CENTERS—ARE CAUGHT IN THE CHANGING TIDES OF THE RETAIL MARKETPLACE AND THE SHIFTING PREFERENCES OF THE CONSUMERS THEY SERVE.

...THESE SETBACKS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF THE FAILURE OF THE VILLAGE CENTER CONCEPT. IN BOTH OF THESE VILLAGE CENTERS, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY IN THE RESIDENTS OF THESE VILLAGES, THE VALUES AND IDEALS IN WHICH THE VILLAGE CENTER CONCEPT IS GROUNDED ARE STILL STRONG.

RATHER, THE SETBACKS WE HAVE SEEN ARE INDICATIVE OF THE GROWING NEED FOR VILLAGE CENTERS TO EVOLVE IN ORDER TO CONTINUE THRIVING, BOTH AS COMMERCIAL VENTURES AND AS GATHERING PLACES WHERE THE COMMUNITY CAN COME TOGETHER.

THE TIME HAS COME TO STRENGTHEN OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR VALUES BY RE-EXAMINING HOW THEY ARE MANIFEST IN THE PHYSICAL SPACES OF OUR COMMUNITY.

...THE UNFORTUNATE STORY OF A ONCE PROUD AND STRONG COMMUNITY WHICH SUFFERED A CRIPPLING DECLINE IS ONE WE KNOW ALL TOO WELL. OFTEN WITHOUT NOTICE AND SEEMINGLY WITHOUT CAUSE, STREETS GREW DANGEROUS, SCHOOLS UNDERPERFORMED, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES FLED; AND THOSE WHO STAYED FACED THE DAUNTING TASK OF RESTORING A FRACTURED COMMUNITY TO ITS FORMER GLORY.

THIS IS A FATE THAT I WILL NOT ALLOW COLUMBIA, ANY OF ITS VILLAGES, OR ANY COMMUNITY IN HOWARD COUNTY TO ENDURE.

I DO NOT MEAN TO SOUND ALARMIST OR PESSIMISTIC, BUT WE MUST BE COGNIZANT OF OUR VULNERABILITY AND COMMIT OURSELVES TO VIGOROUSLY MAINTAINING THE STRENGTH AND SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH SOUND, FORWARD-FOCUSED INVESTMENTS AND POLICY INITIATIVES.

WE HAVE, IN A SENSE, COME TO A FORK IN THE ROAD, AND WE MUST CHOOSE OUR DIRECTION.

EITHER WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO REVITALIZATION OR WE CAN SIMPLY THROW UP OUR HANDS AND EXPRESS REGRET WHEN THE NEXT STORE CLOSES AND AT EACH ADDITIONAL GRIM MILESTONE ALONG A GRADUAL DECLINE.

IN MY MIND, THERE IS NO CHOICE. OUR PATH IS CLEAR. WE MUST REVITALIZE AND RE-INVENT OUR STRUGGLING VILLAGE CENTERS.

WE CERTAINLY ARE NOT IMMUNE TO THE PROBLEMS WHICH HAVE CAUSED OTHER COMMUNITIES TO DECLINE. WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT, HOWEVER, AND WILL HELP PROTECT US FROM A SIMILAR FATE IS OUR COMMITMENT AS A COMMUNITY GROUNDED IN SHARED VALUES AND A SHARED VISION.

...OUR COMMITMENT TO VILLAGE CENTER REVITALIZATION HAS ALSO LED US TO THE DECISION WHICH I AM HERE TO ANNOUNCE TODAY. I AM PLEASED TO TELL YOU THAT WE WILL BE INTRODUCING A ZONING REGULATION AMENDMENT TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR VILLAGE CENTERS IN NEED OF REVITALIZATION TO REDEVELOP AND EVOLVE.

...WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY BEFORE US.

AS JIM ROUSE SAID IN 1964, “WE HAVE IN OUR HANDS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE OUR CITY—IN OUR GENERATION—THE MOST LIVABLE, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, AND THE MOST EFFECTIVE CITY IN AMERICA.”

THESE WORDS ARE JUST AS RELEVANT TODAY AS THEY WERE 44 YEARS AGO, PERHAPS EVEN MORE SO BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN THEM COME TRUE.

WHEN JIM ROUSE FIRST SAID THESE WORDS, COLUMBIA DID NOT EXIST...IT WAS STILL A DREAM. BUT TODAY, COLUMBIA IS LIVING PROOF THAT BOLD VISION AND THOUGHTFUL PLANNING CAN CREATE A DIFFERENT AND BETTER KIND OF CITY.

A BETTER CITY, CANNOT ALLOW ITSELF TO GROW STAGNANT. IT MUST CONTINUALLY SEEK TO IMPROVE ITSELF, TO REINVENT ITSELF, TO EVOLVE.

TOGETHER, LET’S EMBRACE THE FUTURE IN A SPIRIT OF INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY, OF HOPE AND OPTIMISM, REMEMBERING AGAIN THAT WHAT OUGHT TO BE, CAN BE.

If you have time, you should probably just read the whole thing (warning: PDF).

The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'…that's what I said…

2008-03-24T20:48:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry about that title. I can't help it: I inadvertently stumbled onto the beginning of This is Spinal Tap on television this weekend and I told myself I was only going to watch until Nigel talked about his guitar's sustain and his amp going to "11." But I didn't. I watched the whole thing. And you know what? I'm a better person because of it.

So, uh, yeah…

I guess there's no such thing as Retriever Magic. Oh, well. The NCAA tournament was fun while it lasted for my alma mater. At least I got a post (and a half) out of it.

Here are a couple other things…

By now you've probably heard about a village center-related press conference tomorrow involving my boss. I can't really share more than what's in the oh-so-thorough press release, but if you're interested in being the first to know, stop by the Wilde Lake Village Center tomorrow at 10:15 a.m.

In other news – news that I can actually share – for the second straight year voters in Oakland Mills will have a choice between two candidates vying for the village's seat on the Columbia Council. This year's contest pits long-time Columbia Association antagonist (and former Columbia Councilperson) Alex Hekimian against Phil Engelke, a (very) long-time Columbia resident and owner of probably the coolest house in Oakland Mills. Expect a bit more coverage of this election as it really starts getting underway.

Finally, Papa Hayduke is out in California for spring break, which means I'm missing out on my weekly free meal. Making my culinary sacrifice worth it is the fact that he was able to play a round at Pebble Beach and parred the 18th, one of the greatest finishing holes in all of golf. Congrats, Dad!

Nothing left for me to do but dance...

2008-03-15T16:12:00.003-04:00

Woo-hoo!

UMBC is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever!

Stolen from a sign shown during the broadcast: Fear the ~~Turtle~~ Retriever.

The horizon has been defeated...

2008-03-13T21:09:00.005-04:00

Here's my meager weekly attempt at maintaining this blog…

First things first: I got a new car! Actually, I didn't, Abbzug did. But my name's the first one on the title! Which counts for absolutely nothing. Still, it's a damn fine looking automobile, if I may say so. (I'd post a pic but it's too dark now. Maybe tomorrow.)

Sure, it's the same brand and model of the car we had before, but in addition to being shiny and new, this one has a much greater probability of actually starting when asked, a fine attribute for a car to have. I must admit, however, that I'm a bit sad to see white people don't like Subarus as much as they once did. Here I was, thinking I'm doing my part to fit the mold. Darn.

Meanwhile, another local merchant closes its doors. This time it's Produce Galore. Columbia Talk was on the scene first (as usual) and offers some follow up coverage that includes a couple interesting things.

Thing one, from the Sun's story: Said Del. Elizabeth Bobo, "I think it's just so sad. I can't help but believe that with support from the local government, we could prevent something like this. There must be something we can do to help family businesses that give such a unique, personal service to our community."

Hmm.

Thing two, from the post itself: "We channel so much energy these days into fighting stuff we don't want (highrises, Merriweather development, etc.) but not so much in saving that which we hold dear." Personally, I think that's a fantastic idea. Change the whole tenor of community activism.

Meanwhile, Wordbones offers a cool, logical and detached take on the closing of Produce, as do some of his commenters. But, of course, the comment I liked most was this:

...and let me add, the HC bloggers are a mess where developers are concerned.

There are no discussions, it's more like a cheer leading exercize. Quite nauseating at this point.

No wonder y'all are loosing readers like money at the gas pump.

There's a lot of funny in that. I mean, Wordbones is a developer (for the purposes of this discussion, anyway). But I'll leave it to you to dissect the rest of the humor…or not.

There's probably something to learn about our situation in that observation, too, irrespective of its accuracy (which I'm not weighing in on).

I was going to say something about the Flier's opinion pages, but as with the humor above, I'll let you do the analysis.

Oh, here's a start: "Like, wow!"

Finally, good things may be on the horizon for my little slice of heaven, Oakland Mills.

It's a crazy world we're living in…

2008-03-06T21:11:00.003-05:00

I have a ton of stuff about the One Homeowner's Association to Rule Them All, Columbia Association.

First, if you haven't seen Bill's post on the Lakefront issues, go there now. Seriously, it's good stuff.

Second, breaking news: I've been told that long-time Columbia Council representative and one-time Ian Kennedy opponent Barbara Russell has opted not to run again for her post.

Really? She couldn't have made that decision last year?

Actually, I'm glad she didn't. Yeah, I went there: I'm a loser and proud of it.

Anyway, who's going to run for the seat? Leave suggestions – or pleas to your candidate of choice – in the comments. I know who I'm rooting for.

Finally, Evan Coren and I have deep, fundamental disagreements about a bunch of things, particularly stuff related to Downtown Columbia. For instance, he thinks the Plaza Tower is a "middle finger" to all that Jim Rouse stood for. Me, I think it's a kind of boring tall building with expensive condos that probably, at this point, won't even get built.

See? Totally different.

These disagreements have at times caused tension among us, but that's cool. I like tense, awkward situations.

But, now, I have to hand it to the guy. He's been doing good things. First, I hear he went to bat for Oakland Mills revitalization, supporting in the face of considerable opposition an appropriation of funding for the community organizer position currently occupied by Ben Hunter. This position is vital to the success of OM's continuing revitalization effort, and Evan, unlike many of his colleagues, understood this from the get go.

Also, he's questioned a proposal to lower CA's assessment cap, a move that could be damaging to CA's financial position, which seems a bit tenuous already.

Overall, he's got perspective on things where others seem to lack it -- in addition to what's mentioned above, see his comments about the deteriorating structures at the lakefront in Bill's post (seriously, check it out.)

So without hesitation, I'm giving Evan the CA Board Member of the Year Award. And while we're at it, I'm giving Barbara a lifetime achievement award -- after eight years on the board, she deserves it.

And lastly, about this decision to end CA meetings at 11 pm: While I applaud the realization that public meetings aren't really public if they're held past midnight, board members seem to be trying to solve a symptom rather than the problem. There are very real concerns about how the board operates, concerns that aren't going to be addressed by simply letting everyone go to bed at a reasonable hour. Jessie shares some similar thoughts here.

Come on, Evan, try taking this one on.

Hold your head up, you silly girl...

2008-03-03T19:43:00.003-05:00

Just a couple assorted links while my head recovers from the pounding it took at the Maryland Home and Garden Show over the weekend.

Hey, hey. Lookie here. David Wissing's got a new (kinda) blog focused on HoCo stuff. For the non-national-poll-obsessed, this is where you'll want to go for all the local news. If you like polls, however, be sure to keep both sites bookmarked.

And that's about all I got for local stuff. But, wait...

You know Jessie likes those LOL Cats pictures, which are fine if a bit illiterate for my tastes. (I mean, "I can has cheezburger"? Don't they know that is not proper syntax or spelling?)

Anyway, there's now a similar site for those choosing the better side of the great pet debate: Fail Dogs. Unlike the LOL Cats craziness, the site does not rely on the anthropomorphic infantilization of cute kitties for humor but rather needs only the inherent and boundless silliness of canines to bring the funny. Like...

Yay dogs!

All we need is just a little patience...

2008-02-28T19:51:00.002-05:00

The email from Little Duke says it all...

"Uh oh":

There will be no sneak peek via On Demand of the 90-minute series finale of HBO's The Wire, according to a spokesman for the cable channel.

The finale will premiere at 9 p.m. March 9, and that will be the first time anyone will be able to see it - whether or not they have access to HBO On Demand.

Throughout this fifth and final season, subscribers have been able to use On Demand to see each of the nine previous episodes starting the Monday before their Sunday night cable premiere.

HBO says they are breaking with that pattern so that On Demand viewers don't "spoil" the finale for those who want to watch March 9. During this season and last, On Demand viewers have often posted details of episodes online in a way that made the spoilers almost impossible to ignore.

Man, it's gonna be a long week.

At least I can surf the internet again without fear of someone spoiling the ending. So, there's that.

Anyway, Wire fans, what have you thought about the season so far? If the trend in quality of episodes continues, this last one could be the best and saddest ever.

As I said earlier, I was apprehensive about the plot lines and story trajectory at first, but I'm totally on board now and, obviously, can't wait to see how it resolves (or doesn't).

But if you're waiting on the wind, don't forget to breathe...

2008-02-25T19:08:00.003-05:00

Dinosaur Mom (via Jessie) shares more sad news for Oakland Mills: The Blue Cow Café is allegedly closing. If true, the news may be bit shocking but, sadly, not surprising.

Karen Blue (owner of the café) was a supporter of mine during the CA elections last year. I only hope that things work out in the end for her.

Although it may be too late to reverse the tide of recently or soon-to-be closed restaurants in Oakland Mills, it's not too late to leave an impact on the long term health of this village. Tomorrow night (Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7:30 pm) is the Oakland Mills Town Hall meeting, a big opportunity for residents to help set the agenda for the redevelopment of their village.

Leave the posturing about revitalization to others. Here's your chance to actually do something. Take action. Get involved. Make a difference.

Yes we can?

(Sorry.)

OK, seriously. Words may make it sound trite, but nowhere is your contribution more meaningful and change more possible than in your own backyard.

I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter...

2008-02-20T19:59:00.003-05:00

There's this conventional wisdom floating around that the health of our village centers is contingent on the health of their anchors, grocery stores. Example here:

[Wilde Lake] Village Board Chairman Vincent Marando told [General Growth Vice President Greg] Hamm that the village had gone without a grocery store for a year and a half. The Giant store at that location closed in September 2006.

"I'm not sure the health of the Village Center can be held hostage for the next couple years," he said.

While not stated explicitly, the underlying sentiment in this statement seems to be that without a grocery store, the health of the village center is in peril. But is that really the case?

Once but, perhaps, not anymore.

For instance, compare the offerings at Wilde Lake's village center versus those in Oakland Mills (PDF) and ask yourself: Which would you rather live near?

I can count the businesses in Oakland Mills with just my hands (nine establishments). In order to count those in Wilde Lake (19), I need to take my shoes off, and trust me, you don't want that.

Wilde Lake has everything Oakland Mills does and much more to boot. Yet, the former is the center without a grocery store.

What gives?

Many hands have been wrung over the future of our village centers, about how we keep these vital components of our community relevant in the face of significant social and economic change. But we seem to keep coming back to the idea that an anchor grocery store is the most essential element. Maybe it's time to ditch that idea.

Back in the day, grocery stores were physically smaller and drew from smaller geographic areas. Today, however, with increasingly diversified tastes and shopper preferences, the thought of getting groceries at the store that happens to be closest to you is almost quaint. People want to go where they want to go, not where they should go because of geography and some mushy ideals about community.

Big families like Costco. Funky folks like Trader Joe's. Hippies like natural food stores. Rich hippies like Whole Foods. Cheapskates like Wal-Mart, Target or some other discount retailer that squeezes everything under the sun into their aisles. People who want it all like Wegmans. And so on.

To be sure, there is still a small segment of the population that must or chooses to walk to get groceries. And most of us don't want to go 20 minutes out of our way to get milk, toilet paper or some other essential item. In general, however, the bulk of our grocery shopping seems to be done on a weekly basis at the store of our preference, assuming it's within a reasonable distance (10 - 20 minute drive).

If this is how society has evolved, why should we fight ourselves and insist on full-sized, modern grocery stores in every village center?

To be sure, the "daily needs" element of village centers is still very relevant. Dry cleaners, banks, barber shops, and the like all belong in village centers, as do places that provide basic food and grocery needs. Beyond these requirements, restaurants and other small businesses seem like the most appropriate uses. The dearth of such establishments is bemoaned by anyone who has sought good, non-chain restaurants, specialty items or just decent customer service -- that is, all of us.

Admittedly, I haven't fully thought out the repercussions of such a shift in thinking. Perhaps, as we ponder their future, we need to look at our village centers as a whole, instead of individually, and try to understand how they can serve as retail and commercial hubs for neighborhood needs as well as those of the broader community. Perhaps I'm wildly off base and most people still want to go to whatever store is closest.

Regardless, a discussion about the potential of post-grocery store village centers seems to be in order for our sake and that of one our community's most cherished institutions.

I keep the ends out for the tie that binds...

2008-02-19T18:49:00.006-05:00

Just a couple odds and ends for today...

I'm working on the Montana trip Round Up but haven't gotten too far. Really, all I have is a working title: "Southwest Montana: The Dirtbag Chronicles." Also, I organized most of the pictures from the trip -- only 650ish this time, compared to over 1,500 from my last Montana adventure.

Here's the problem: While I want to write with enough detail to satisfy any skiers or boarders who read this blog and might be looking for ideas for a future trip, I don't want it to turn into one of those painful ski resort recaps you can find all over the internet. That is, the kind that earnestly and laboriously list all of the runs the author did, the price of food in the base area and the relative comfort of the accommodations. There's no "pop" in that.

Maybe I'll just post a video of me hitting a gnarly jump and call it a day.

What else? Hmm...

What about The Wire? Who's watching it On Demand? Man, the latest episode -- #58 -- had a shocker, huh? Let's avoid spoilers in the comments for the non-On Demand audience.

Something I've noticed: Some of the show's lovers have become haters -- this season's too didactic, the newsroom too staged, some of the plot lines too forced or unrealistic, they say. At first, I was on the fence about the newspaper stuff, too, but in the past few episodes it has come around. Also, I read two things on the plane -- an essay by David Simon in Esquire and Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen -- that added a ton of perspective to The Sun story line.

Regardless, the show's coming to an end in only a couple of weeks and television will become a little poorer because of this.

How about the weather? Couple chances of snow and other wintry messiness this week. Anyone excited? Even though I just came from a place that has received over 20 feet of snow so far this year, I'm still pretty jazzed about the prospect of a couple flakes/pellets falling in the area.

To all my Oakland Mills peeps, next week is the annual Town Hall meeting, which is pretty cool and certainly worth a couple hours of your time on a Tuesday night. From the OM eNews:

Listen – Brainstorm – Report Back!

Oakland Mills Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m. at The Other Barn
(Please enter through the side/courtyard door)

Our purpose for the Town Hall Meeting is to provide an opportunity for Oakland Mills residents to create agenda items for our next phase of community development! We are gathering together for the purpose of identification, prioritization, and implementation of creative ideas to move us forward as a community.

Be a part of Oakland Mills ongoing community development! We’re setting aside a few hours on Feb. 26 to find out what the residents of Oakland Mills think, what you want to see happen in Oakland Mills, and, what you are passionate and committed to work on.

We have proven over the past three years of our revitalization initiatives that it indeed takes a village to make things happen. Our board, committee volunteers and staff have been working diligently to create a framework for community development. Help us define Oakland Mills’ future on February 26th. Be a part of the exciting thing about to take place in Oakland Mills! (No r.s.v.p required, refreshments will be served. Bring a neighbor or two!)

Finally, I made a couple changes around here. Mostly subtle stuff, but I updated the link list and the RSS feeds on the side. As always, if there's anything I'm forgetting or should do differently, let me know.

All for now. More tomorrow.

Oh, Mama, can this really be the end...

2008-02-17T12:14:00.003-05:00

Let's be honest: Most people read this blog for its travel tips, the witty dispatches about foreign locales most in our suburban community could only dream about seeing.

OK, that's clearly not true (and therefore dishonest). In this blog's storied history, only twice have I gone on personal trips -- both times to southwestern Montana. Me, I'm not much of a world traveler.

But I did have a pretty good time at my sister's wedding a couple years ago and this time -- the week spent sliding down big mountains -- well, it was pretty cool, too.

Actually, it was more than just cool, but I'll get to that later this week when I'm not sitting on the floor of the Denver airport waiting for my delayed flight to board.

Until then, here's a picture from the week's pinnacle: Hiking up The Ridge at Bridger Bowl and riding what was, without exaggeration, the greatest run of my life.

I feel it coming in...

2008-02-11T20:06:00.000-05:00

Well, we've yet to get dumped on, but with a couple inches last night and tons of trackless snow back in the trees, I'm happy to report (and I'm sure you're happy to hear) that I'm scratching my powder itch.

Here's a shot of Bridger Bowl yesterday. Note the excessive crowd.

I think we're moving on to the big mountain tomorrow, but who knows? If it's snowing somewhere in southwestern Montana, we'll probably be there.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow! Oh, and here's something about Obama and specifics that I found interesting.

Can't you see the sunshine, can't you just feel the moonshine...

2008-02-07T19:59:00.000-05:00

The week leading up to a vacation is the worst, right? You have a million things to do before you leave, but you can't focus on what's in front of you long enough to get anything done.

Not only that, but the days start slowing down the closer you get to departure and, if you're like me, the night before leaving is usually full of anxious anticipation rather than sleep (and considering my flight leaves before sunrise on Saturday, this is going to be particularly annoying).

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now. And with that in mind, here's a disjointed series of thoughts…

Sad news on the Oakland Mills front. It seems the Fire Rock Grill has closed for an indefinite amount of time for, apparently, indefinite reasons. This really sucks. Bad. But at least it frees up a couple of parking spots in the village center.

Somewhere there's a tree on a clear-cut hillside thankful for its safety…

Jack Johnson, who's pretty awesome, just came out with a new album on Tuesday. It's called Sleep Through the Static and so far, I like what I hear. But I'm a pretty big Jack Johnson fan (understatement), so my opinion probably isn't worth much to the disinterested music fans.

Two cool things about the album. First, it was recorded using only solar energy, which I got no problems with. The second is he's using its launch to promote All At Once, described thusly:

All At Once is a social action network providing information, tools, and motivation for individuals who want to become active in their local and world community.

All At Once brings together non-profit organizations and fans to create change - your actions, your voice, and your choices all have a huge impact.

All At Once connects people together through a new online community (full site to launch March 1 – come back and check it out!). AllAtOnce.org is a connecting place for people to discuss issues and events, learn about non-profit groups, and take action together.

Pretty cool.

Finally, I'm a little hesitant to mention this because anything can happen, especially when talking about weather, but it looks like my jinx has come to an end. You see, in my life I've taken only two extended trips away from the East Coast in the middle of winter. The first time was January 1996 when I went to New Orleans and the second time was February 2003 when I went to Las Vegas.

These dates may not mean much to you, but to weather nerds like myself, these dates are spoken of in hushed, reverential tones. In the last twenty years, Howard County has received more than two feet of snow from a single storm only twice, and both times I was somewhere else wearing shorts. And each time, a little bit of my soul died.

When I booked the tickets for my trip to Montana in December, I was afraid that we'd get another mega-storm this week, but such a storm now seems pretty unlikely. Which is fine by mean, especially if it means more snow out west.

Alright, that's all I'm saying for now. Probably nothing tomorrow, but stay tuned next week for some stupid posts and pictures (and perhaps even another guest blogging appearance from a random family member) from Montana.

So close, yet so far away...

2008-02-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

Woo-hoo!

Yes, like most of America, I am reveling in the schadenfreude of the New England Patriots' historic loss at the hands of goofy Eli Manning and the G-men.

I think I've watched close to 1,000 replays of "The Play" and it just never gets old; I mean, how does David Tyree not drop that ball?

Great play. Great game.

Anyway, nothing but a couple of pictures today. Enjoy!

The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name...

2008-01-31T18:25:00.000-05:00

The day after the 2004 presidential elections -- around the time I was called out for being a petulant ass by someone with whom I disagree often but have always respected -- I came home from work feeling horrible.

Not only had my "guy" -- if you could even call him that -- lost, but our future seemed darker than ever for reasons that had nothing to do with the war, social security, or any other area where decent people can and should disagree.

I was upset with the stupid maps of the country showing blue states as the United States and red states as Jesusland; with the emails telling me how to move to Canada or just telling me to move to Canada; with the idiotic Bushitler and "Imagine No Liberals" t-shirts spreading like invasive weeds; and with all the petty proclimations of superiority and righteousness, from both sides.

Yes, the divisiveness had fueled me for months, but on that day, the Day After, my tank was empty and I just wanted it all to stop, even though I knew it wouldn't.

So, I walked my dog and ate dinner with my wife. And then I went into my office, sat on the floor and listened to Barack Obama's speech from the Democratic National Convention three months prior. And, as with the first time I heard it, I cried.

Maybe I'm a naive, overly-emotional git who is easily persuaded by a positive message delivered by a once-in-a-lifetime orator, but I can't help feeling now, as I did then, that he really is the Real Deal; that we really are standing at the precipice of a profound transformation; that there really is such a thing as the "politics of hope;" that the true mark of a leader is not what he does, but how he does it; and that deep down, we -- all of us -- recognize that "there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America — there’s the United States of America."

And today, by virtue of an absentee ballot, I added my meager voice to the chorus of millions chanting "Yes We Can" and truly believing that "out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come."

The audacity of hope indeed.

If I could only get there, then I could enjoy...

2008-01-29T19:45:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting dynamic between people, neighborhoods and grocery stores that, had I more time or inclination, I would like to explore further. Perhaps another time.

Suffice to say, you can tell a lot about a community by its grocery store(s). And with all the fuss surrounding the Wegmans, now seems like a good time to take a closer look at the source of the fuss.

Determined to find out just what a Wegmans is and whether its worthy of Columbia (or is it vice versa?), I set out last Sunday for Hunt Valley to see first hand how -- in this day, in this community -- a big-box development could actually rouse as many supporters as opponents.

I'm certainly not one to shy away from hyperbolic love for grocery stores, but some of the odes to Wegmans I'm hearing are making even me blush.

So, here, with pictures, is my take on The Wegmans Experience.

Unfortunately for the Hunt Valley Wegmans, it's in Hunt Valley, which now has one of those vanilla Town Centers -- basically a mall without a roof or, perhaps more fittingly, Disneyworld's Main Street without large stuffed animals. To say these projects represent some great advancement in community/retail planning and development is kind of laughable, but hey, people seem to like them.

But in its favor, Hunt Valley's lifestyle center has transit.

So, there's that.

Anyway, I didn't go to look at stores that we have in Columbia. I went to see this:

Let's take a look inside.

Hey, a "Convenience Case" with milk and butter right up front. That's nice, if a bit silly in concept for a store like this.

Lots of prepared food in the "restaurant" part.

Bagged salads galore, always good for the health-conscious family on the go.

Plenty of fresh produce, too, and, as advertised, it all looked pretty good.

(That's the best picture of produce I got. Sorry.)

Although the size is a little overwhelming at first, Wegmans does a good job of clustering things to make the store feel like a collection of smaller, specialty shops. For instance:

Cheese.

Bread.

Tea.

Kosher stuff.

Cliff bars. (By the box!)

And this, which I dubbed the "Trader Joe's" section.

Navigation, at least on Sunday, was tricky. Not only was it super crowded with many folks wandering around, mouths open, soaking up the enormity of it, but the middle lane that breaks up each aisle served mainly as a traffic bottleneck. Which was frustrating at times.

The "traditional" section had everything you'd expect to find at your local grocer, including, importantly, a healthy selection of Utz.

Despite the crowds, check out was quick, with plenty of lanes open and many without any line whatsoever.

I was less impressed with the total cost, however. Even with a bunch of store brand products in my cart, I easily spent more than I would for a normal trip to Food Lion or Trader Joe's. But unlike those stores, I can complete my entire shopping trip at Wegmans. (Ah, if only Trader Joe's sold Coke and Gatorade.)

The million dollar question, then, is: Will I do my routine shopping at Wegmans once it opens in Columbia?

Unfortunately, I can't say. Sure, it's big and nice and full of good food. But it's size, in my opinion, is actually a drawback. One of the things I like most about Trader Joe's is that its small and manageable, though it, too, can get crowded.

That said, comparing the experience at Wegmans to Trader Joe's probably isn't fair to Wegmans. Trader Joe's has built its reputation, to an extent, on its quirkiness, which alone helps make for a more enjoyable and entertaining experience. Wegmans serves a different need, one that is perhaps less in line with what I'm looking for than with what others want.

Also, when it comes to food, I'm a creature of habit. Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you I have a very consistent diet. For instance, I've had the same lunch -- apple sauce, sugar snap peas (sometimes carrots), yogurt, crackers, chips, protein bar, pistachios, and some other random fruit (the wild card) -- for the past three years.

So, for me, what's the point of going somewhere that has everything I need and a million other things I don't? If I'm not saving money, am I at least saving time by making one lengthy stop instead of two shorter ones?

(Aside: An interesting anecdote that relates to elements of the controversy surrounding the Columbia Wegmans. Thrice, while eavesdropping on other shoppers (a bad habit of mine), I heard folks extolling Wegmans' treatment of its employees and how it is consistently ranked among the best places to work.)

The unobtrusive tones on the news tonight...

2008-01-28T19:26:00.000-05:00

Perhaps you heard about this:

James T. Smith Jr. will report to work tomorrow in the county executive's office, but it won't be the one in Towson.

As the result of being on the losing end of a high school football wager, the Baltimore County executive will start his morning working as an assistant in Howard County Executive Ken Ulman's office in Ellicott City. Smith then will go to River Hill High School in Clarksville to speak to a government class, and the two executives will serve lunch to the River Hill football team's players and coaches, according to Smith's office.

Well, here's the video (with a fleeting shot of the back of my head!).

You've got to give a little...

2008-01-24T19:48:00.000-05:00

There hasn't been much discussion recently about Downtown. Is this the calm before the storm?

Or are we entering into a new era of community planning, one without acrimony and division?

Either way, General Growth seems to have heard the "more openness, more meetings" refrain from the community. Columbians, by nature, never seem to tire of meetings, but after the GGP Downtown blitz, even the most hardened meeting mavens may find themselves begging for mercy.

General Growth Properties Inc. will release the draft as part of a four-step public review of the plan that will include several meetings in which company officials will take input on the plan from residents before submitting it to Howard County officials for approval, according to a statement the company released Jan. 17.

…Prior to releasing the draft on April 28, General Growth officials will conduct two preliminary meetings designed to allow residents to question the heads of firms that are playing lead roles in designing the plan…

The firms are the Massachusetts-based Sasaki Associates Inc., which specializes in landscape architecture and will develop the pedestrian areas, and the New York-based Cooper Robertson and Partners, which is designing the plan for buildings and streets.

The meeting with Sasaki principal Alan Ward is slated for March 5, while the meeting with Jaquelin Robertson, a founding partner of Cooper Robertson, is scheduled for March 9.

The company also could add a public meeting with a transportation consultant before the draft plan is released, said Gregory Hamm, General Growth's regional vice president and general manager for Columbia.

…After releasing the draft April 28, General Growth officials will hold public meetings with each of Columbia's 10 villages to gauge residents' reactions to the plan and additional forums to collect reaction on specific aspects of the plan, including transportation, the environment, housing, and arts and cultural opportunities, according to company officials.

If my math is right, which it rarely is, I count at least 16 meetings (assuming one for each village). Wowser.

Time is the essence...Time is the season...

2008-01-22T18:53:00.000-05:00

While in graduate school a few years back, I developed a strange fixation with oysters.

Now, I've never eaten them and never plan to, but I found the story of the native Chesapeake Bay bivalves fascinating -- I mean, people fought wars over them!

My oyster obsession led to several papers on the topic of their restoration -- which after over half a century of effort has actually left them worse off than before intervention -- and ultimately culminated in a policy memo arguing not for or against any specific polices, but rather a new approach to policy. To wit:

Despite the insistence of many intelligent individuals to the contrary, the problem plaguing oyster recovery efforts is not an inability to overcome the diseases; rather, the problem is an inability to overcome our dogmatic approach to issues of ecology and economics. The first question posed above asks what we have done wrong, and the answer is simple: we have mistaken the oyster situation for a single problem and therefore have generated single-minded policies to address it. In reality, we are faced with two distinct problems, one involving oysters and one involving watermen. And, to define these problems only in their joint context fails to account for the broader range of issues involved in both. The perfect example of our outmoded framework for addressing these issues is the current debate over the introduction of the non-native oyster Crassostrea ariakensis (Chinese Oyster). Proponents of the plan stress that these oysters would be able to supply watermen with a viable livelihood, while also increasing the Bay’s water quality; it sounds too good to be true because it is. When freed of the desire to find a single panacea for these two problems, we can finally begin to individually address the real needs of maintaining the oysters’ water filtration capacity and improving the sustainability of the watermen and their harvests by creating adequate levels resource stock, oysters or otherwise.

Of course, I was writing this to get a grade and not so much to change policy, but prior to my ill-fated stint with the State Department of Natural Resources, the memo found its way into the hands of policy makers, who at the time weren't too keen on taking advice from some Longhair with a nebulous job title.

Nevertheless, despite its glacial pace, State government has proven me prescient.

Maryland should move toward an aquaculture-based oyster industry while at the same time trying to restore natural oyster bars for ecological benefits, according to a task force report.

The Maryland Oyster Commission's 2007 interim report does not call for a moratorium on the harvest of oysters nor for an end to public subsidies for harvest programs. Rather, it says the state should over the next two decades change how it manages oysters.

"People understand that what we've done in the past is not working, and that we do have to take some dramatic steps," said Bill Eichbaum, commission chairman and vice president of the World Wildlife Fund. "We have at least put down benchmarks that are different from what's been done in the past."

The state has convened numerous panels to discuss oyster restoration over the years, and each has tried to balance the ecological benefits of keeping oysters in the water with the economic interests of watermen. The new report says economic and ecological goals for oysters are "mutually incompatible." The oyster population is at 1 percent of its historic levels.

(Bolding mine.)

I'm not trying to claim credit or even pat myself on the back (well, maybe a little). Perhaps I'm just proving the cliche about a broken clock being right twice a day -- personally, I prefer "the sun even shines on a dog's ass some days," but that's neither here nor there.

What is here, however, is the fact that with a new approach to oyster recovery we might finally start seeing some real progress, which, no matter how you shuck it, is very good thing.

Mama I'm coming home...

2008-01-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

Back in the good old days of this blog, an editorial like the one in today's Examiner was pure gold.

Seriously, it has more holes than a donut shop and my previous, more antagonistic self would have loved the opportunity to point out every single one.

In today's climate, however, I should probably take a more conservative tack.

Bor-ing!

Alas, this is the path I've chosen and the price I must pay for the ~~wealth~~ ~~fame~~ ~~power~~…uh, benefits of my job.

Anyway, the editorial in question attacks Howard County's inclusionary zoning policy, also known as the Moderate Income Housing Unit program. This program is nearly identical to many others around the country, so in reality, the editorial's target seems to be inclusionary zoning itself.

The Examiner's problem with inclusionary zoning seems to be that "it discriminates against everyone else as it drives prices up on other homes."

In Howard County, a family of four with a household income of $75,408 qualifies to apply for the moderate-income housing program. Once approved, that family can purchase a condo or town home for a discounted rate in area developments.

At Ryan Homes' Elkridge Crossing, the moderate-income housing condos sell for $178,067 and town homes for $204,044. Regularly, those properties sell for about $260,000 to $330,000. Any way you slice it, that is a huge discount on a luxury home. Condos at Elkridge include a sun room, two full baths, an open kitchen and patio.

This is patently unfair to other county residents. How would you feel If you were a family of four with a household income of $94,260 — the median household income in the county? Why should the extra $18,852 you make each year force you to sometimes pay more than $100,000 more for the same property?

The program has other repercussions. A number of studies, including one from the California-based Reason Foundation, find that inclusionary housing policies, like rent control policies, reduce the supply of housing — driving demand up with prices.

(Huh. No mention of the patently unfair nature of the biggest housing boondoggle of them all and a bigger cause of increased home prices, the mortgage interest deduction?)

Rather than untangle the arguments from the outrage in this editorial, I'm going to focus on the source of its claims. In this case, the Reason Foundation and its free market dogma.

Reason has long been an opponent of affordable housing policies. The study mentioned by the Examiner is one of several produced by the libertarian think tank criticizing inclusionary zoning because, mainly, it distorts the "free market." These studies throw around numbers detailing the supposed costs of inclusionary zoning, which are always -- surprise! -- frighteningly high.

But what, then do you do when the market is clearly failing to provide the optimal outcome -- in this case an adequate mix of housing for people of all incomes -- like the textbook says it always does?

Thankfully, Reason has a bunch of recommendations in their handy report New Approaches to Affordable Housing: Overview of the Housing Affordability Problem (PDF). Here they are:

Modify explicit and implicit land use and growth controls to allow homebuilders and developers the opportunity to meet demand quicker.
Increase civil service compensa tion in select areas where incomes do not reflect high housing costs.
Encourage the use of market innovations such as location-efficient mortgages.
Assist and leverage grassroot, volun teer organizations such as Habitat for Humanity (HFH).
Use local flexible housing vouch ers to EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) eligible households.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry: Several of those recommendations demonstrate a stunningly poor understanding of economics, markets and development.

For instance, while the basis for the first – that land use and growth controls raise the cost of housing – is true, removing such controls would then cause another, perhaps worse market distortion.

Why?

Because growth imposes costs on existing communities, and as everyone who has ever taken Econ 101 knows, actions that impose costs on others are known as "negative externalities." In order for markets to work as wonderfully as they do in theory, the costs of these externalities need to be paid for both those who create them. The report singles out "impact fees" as a problem, but such fees are perhaps the perfect example of compensation for negative externalities, yet Reason doesn't like them because they screw up the market. I don't get it.

But why don't we just raise civil service pay to bring it in line with housing prices? That's a solution I can get behind, but it probably won't help the affordable housing situation because…because…throwing more money into the economy causes inflation ( i.e. increase in prices). Oh, well.

There is also the location-efficient mortgages idea, which would allow higher income-to-debt-payment ratios in certain high cost areas. Right, because screwing with mortgage practices hasn't contributed to any housing bubbles or problems in the credit market.

As for leveraging volunteer groups like Habitat to build more affordable housing, I'm all for it. Habitat does great work – 50,000 houses in 30 years across the U.S. I'm not sure how much of an impact it can have on prices, however, when for-profit residential builders knock out just shy of 2 million houses…each year.

I'm not even going to comment on the last one, because, well, I didn't really bother reading about it. But I think I've made a point in here somewhere…

Hmm…

Oh, yeah…This affordable housing stuff is hard. Drawing supply and demand curves helps illustrate basic points, but in our complex reality, "X" rarely marks the spot.

Hey, monkey, where you been...

2008-01-13T14:40:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

Ha!

First post of the new year. Sad, I know.

WOW! OMG!

So, I'm sitting here at my kitchen table, writing what's going to be a pretty lame post, when I hear a loud bang coming from the deck. Just in time, I turn my head to see a hawk flying from our new bird feeder towards a pine tree just beyond the fence with a much smaller bird in its talon. After a quick stop on one of the pine branches, the hawk flies off to find a less exposed place to enjoy its lunch.

Needless to say, the feeder, which had been covered with birds all day, is now wanting for patrons.

Here's a picture of the scene of the attack. If you look close enough you might be able to see a few downy feathers still floating in the air.

Anyway, the real point of this post was to explain the lack of posts over the past couple weeks. I've been consumed with a project at work, which will come to fruition on Tuesday. Until then, here's a picture I was able to snap with my new camera (woo-hoo! thanks, Abbzug) during a brief respite from the grind last weekend.

Maybe I didn't treat you quite as good as I should have...

2007-12-30T18:39:00.000-05:00

The one thing I'll say about Bun Penny...

It should move to Oakland Mills.

With two cats in the yard...

2007-12-30T10:54:00.000-05:00

Hey, look! My neighborhood gets profiled by the Washington Post!

In April 1972, Better Homes and Gardens featured the Pacesetter model home in Columbia in a glossy multipage color spread.

Focusing on its contemporary look, sliding-glass doors, interior courtyard deck, wall-to-wall carpeting and $27,000 price tag for a three-bedroom, two-bath house, the magazine presented the Pacesetter as the best in modern living for young couples on a limited budget. An even less expensive model featured two bedrooms and one bath.

Today, the single-level, 850- and 1,220-square-foot Pacesetter houses that line Encounter Row and the four courts that extend from it define the enclave and remain a distinctive alternative to the large Colonial-style houses more common in the region.

Both on the blog and in real life, I extoll the many virtues of my house at every opportunity, so I'll resist the urge to do so here (but you can find copious virtue-extolling easily in this blog's archives).

However, I would like to reiterate a major point of the Post's story, one that Encounter Row resident and Oakland Mills village board member Phil Engelke and his house exemplify: namely, the ease with which these houses can be personalized has really allowed the neighborhood to evolve in ways that most suburban enclaves could only dream of. (By the way, Engelke really should win some kind of award for the amazing things he and his wife have done to their house.)

After 35 years of pleasant living, a neighborhood that started out with only two home types has become one where no two houses are the same.

Single-family houses such as these would never be built today because they are too small and too unboxlike to be economically feasible, Engelke said. Now people build townhouses, which limits how they can adapt them, he said.

In contrast, Encounter Row homeowners have personalized the Pacesetters. Some have added large two-story additions. Others have converted the central interior deck to a sunroom or family room. Some, like the Engelkes, have added a foyer to connect the carport to the house and have turned the carport into a family room, study or studio.

"They're a canvas you can project yourself onto," Engelke said. "This house is not intimidating. It's easy to adapt."

Despite the supposed strictness of Columbia's covenants, individuality and personal style have managed to thrive in our little corner of Stevens Forest. And there is, I think, a lesson planners, developers, builders and, well, all of us can learn from this.

Communities are dynamic places, shaped and defined by the residents who live there more than anyone or anything else, something many seem to know intuitively (or by way of Jane Jacobs) but may have trouble seeing in relation to the hyper-planned and -controlled environment of suburbia.

Naturally, where this evolution begins is certainly a major factor in how the neighborhood evolves, and on Encounter Row, we're lucky to have started with small, affordable, adaptable, well-designed and thoughtfully placed houses. But the fact remains that construction, while the end of planning and development, is only the beginning of a community.

Like grass growing through concrete, individuality will find a way to push through the built environment, no matter how seemingly impenetrable its design, and a community will flourish. If my neighborhood is any indication, perhaps that's something we should welcome.

Just nod if you can hear me...

2007-12-19T19:55:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year…

The time when we get inundated with year-end lists. Last year, I offered two totally-made-up lists of awards (one, two)that each generated a lot of discussion.

But those were different times for me and this blog, times when pushing buttons was fun and (usually) without repercussions. Since I now try to avoid pushing buttons (at least, officially), a set of snarked-out awards probably isn't the best idea. Job security concerns shouldn't stop you, however.

So, here's your chance to generate some content on your own. (How's that for a sales pitch? "Do my work for me!") In the comments, let's see if we can put together a list of snarky, sarcastic or otherwise funny HoCo awards. Note: there's a fine line between this goal and meanness. Please try to avoid the latter.

Here are a few I thought of to get this party started:

Biggest Blog Letdown: Me, proprietor of two all-but-worthless blogs nowadays

Biggest Blog Surprise: Still can't say

Biggest Columbia Story of the Year: Strangely, the Poinsettia tree

Least Conclusive Columbia Story: The Tower

And…that's all I got for now. But if we get something going, perhaps I'll chime in again in the comments.

In case I don't get a chance to write again over the next week, everyone have a safe, happy holiday.

I dreamt I saw you walking up a hillside in the snow...

2007-12-06T19:46:00.000-05:00

Nothing like the regenerative power of snow to cure what ails...

The Husky's been a little slow to recover from last month's surgery. He's still very hesitant to use the repaired leg, largely, we believe, because he's kind of a baby and is just scared of re-injuring it. Our belief was all but confirmed yesterday when the maniac couldn't stop himself from running around in the snow yesterday. I know Marylanders are often conflicted about snow, but for the sake of my dog, who really needs to start exercising the leg more, let's all pray for a snowy winter.

In other snow news, Little Duke and I booked our tickets last night for the Big Sky Snowboard Extravaganza in February! Woo-hoo! I sure hope my sister's house is ready by then -- given the cost of plane tickets to Bozeman, I don't think we'll be able to afford commercial lodging.

Interestingly, Bridger Bowl, my sister's local ski hill and one of the stops in our southwestern Montana winter adventure, opens for business this weekend, the same weekend as our Big Three local resorts -- Liberty, Roundtop and Whitetail. The commonalities end there.

Hail victory...

2007-12-06T19:44:00.000-05:00

On the way to the Ravens game Monday night, my friend (and blog tipster) came up with another idea: a comparison of the stadium experiences of Maryland's two professional football franchises – the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Redskins (of Landover).

This seemed like a great idea. After all, how many chances does one get to attend two NFL games on consecutive days? Starved for decent blog content as I am, how could I refuse?

As I thought about writing this post over the past couple days, however, I realized I couldn't do the idea justice. In the span of 35 hours, I sat through two "est" games, both of which failed at providing a truly representative example of what most events at the stadiums -- FedEx Field and M&T Bank Stadium -- are really like. I would be comparing extremes that were, in some ways, opposite and, in other ways, painfully similar.

In case you live under a rock, the Redskins suffered their first real loss in quite some time when one of their best players was murdered over a week ago during a botched robbery at his house. There is nothing I can add to the Sean Taylor story that isn't just additional noise, so I won't even try.

Despite the emotions and the relative insignificance of it, the Redskins still had to line up to play their game on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. It turned out to be the saddest sporting event I've ever attended. While Abbzug's the real Redskins fan, I still maintain a strong interest in the team of my childhood. And even if everyone's saying it, Taylor was one of my favorite players. For a fairly laid back guy, I tend to gravitate towards the football players that are ruthless on the field. Taylor, who leveled a punter during the traditionally easy-going Pro Bowl last year, was that guy for the Skins.

So, going to the game was a way for me and Abbzug to pay our respects to the man. As instructed, we arrived early and made our way to our seats for the pregame ceremony, which was far better than what I expected from a Daniel Snyder production. The band's slow rendition of "Hail to the Redskins", played as a dirge, was tremendously moving, as was the video tribute, and by the end of the 15 minute ceremony, I don't think a single "21" towel wasn't soaked with tears.

The game itself was good, right up until the last minute, when a painful series of events led to a Redskins loss that epitomized the idea of kicking someone while they're down.

In the grand scheme of things…I don't think it mattered if they won or lost. They played. They honored their teammate and friend. And the next day, they got up first thing in the morning and flew to Florida to bury him. The game's outcome changed nothing.

Nevertheless, from a fan's perspective, the loss sucked and just added to the sadness.

Undeterred, I made my way to Baltimore on Monday to watch the Ravens play the Patriots, who, in case you're living under a rock, have already been given the Lombardi trophy this year. I hate them dearly. I hate their cheating coach, their womanizing quarterback, and their totally insufferable fans, all of it. (I do kind of like Randy Moss, though – straight cash, homey!)

My only real hope for the game was that it would turn into a blow out by the half and I could leave early enough to get a decent night's sleep.

Instead, I watched the greatest game of football I've ever seen. I'm still so upset that I don't really want to talk about it, but, wow, the play on the field, the wind, the snow flurries, the crowd, everything conspired to make it an amazing night…except for the fact, minor really, that the Ravens, like the Skins the day before, lost in the final minute of the game.

Something about appreciating the journey and not just the destination seems appropriate here. But, as I said, I don't want to talk about it.

Anyway, in what is certainly the cruelest twist of fate ever delivered by the football gods, the Redskins play again tonight (Thursday) against the Chicago Bears. I know there's still a mother and father without a son, a bride-to-be without a groom, a daughter without a father, and a team without a brother – the sad reality that no game will change – but damn, it would be nice if something could go the Skins' way.

Welcome to the machine...

2007-12-06T19:31:00.000-05:00

Some people are concerned about the Wegmans coming to Columbia and some of these concerned people have put up a website and sent out flyers to express their concerns and perhaps convince others to share in them.

Actually, cutesiness aside, Responsible Growth for Columbia's main gripe about the Wegmans is not so much the store itself or even its impact on existing grocery stores and village centers, but rather the shoppers who'll junk up our byways. They believe the store -- which, ironically, was praised as the epitome of "responsible development" by others in the past -- conducted a flawed traffic study and consequently proposed ineffectual traffic mitigation measures. I'm not going to argue either side, but if you want to hear my officially sanctioned take, the folks at RGC can, in a roundabout way, put you in touch with me.

I'm more interested in who's behind this fledgling group. Of themselves, their mostly-under construction website says:

We started out as just a couple of concerned neighbors and friends in the Owen Brown Village, and have grown to include small business owners, residents of Columbia from across all Villages.

Hmm. Anyone know anything more about them? I haven't seen their name anywhere except on their limited-run flyer (which didn't come to my house) and website-in-progress. Before you think this is some sinister attempt to silence critics of The Man, let me say that this is purely about my own curiosity and academic interest in the dynamics of community organizing and activism. Trust me, I don't care enough about Wegmans either way to get too wrapped up in it. After all, my grocery store allegiances are clear.

Anyway, what say you about the Wegmans? Good? Bad? Too much traffic? Too much food?

And since we've no placed to go*...

2007-12-05T19:11:00.000-05:00

Woo-hoo!

Snow!

In my quest to find subjects that I like and can actually write about, snow's probably on top of the list. Actually, not so much snow itself, but how well it was forecast.

That's right: Time for some Weatherman Accountability.

It's been a while since we've done this – obviously, since the last time it snowed – and last night I debated whether I should even bring it out of retirement for today, our fourth snowy December 5th since 2002. (How's that for consistency?)

Because I usually love accountability and weather, you might wonder why I was so lukewarm the idea of bringing WA back for today's "storm." The answer is those quotes. Before it started, I didn't think this predicted low-moisture Alberta Clipper really deserved a full analysis, especially because most meteorologists were in agreement about the outcome – namely, as of last night, 1" – 2" with little real impact. See a collection of predictions at Capital Weather.

But, then, it started snowing. And it kept snowing. And thanks to a burst of heavy snow after dark, we somehow managed to get 5" of snow on the Hayduke Weather Deck by 7 pm.

This surprised even me, a person who always expects snow storms to over-perform.

Unfortunately, it totally throws a (monkey) wrench (gang) in the post I had been mentally composing all day. I, the eternal snow optimist, expected the storm to exceed expectations, but only by an inch or so, just enough to joshingly reprimand the Weather Gillterati for their poor predictions.

As fun as that post would have been, the assessment of the pre-storm weather wisdom is easy: wrong.

Here's hoping they're wrong like this all winter.

*Snow. Christmas lights. I can't help the cheesiness.

Update: Channel 9 Meteorologist Tony Pann admits to being humbled by the storm, which he actually explains was two clippers. Good stuff, indeed...

Wie grün sind deine Blätter!

2007-11-28T19:15:00.000-05:00

While sitting around a yule log a couple days ago, some friends and I discussed the relative merits of the ongoing Fake versus Real argument.

Don't get any ideas. We were, of course, talking about Christmas trees.

Eventually, after discussing ease of set up and aesthetics, we came to the question of which is better for the environment. It seemed intuitive to me that real trees, even farmed and cut as they are, were the right choice for environmentally minded people -- such as myself.

Intuition confirmed.

If you want a tree for the holiday, the experts at Grist and TreeHugger say it's actually better to buy a cut real Christmas tree than an artificial tree.

Why? In a word, plastics. Fake trees are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Producing this type of plastic creates a lot of pollution, and PVC is difficult to recycle.

Plus, lead has been found in PVC. According to a report(PDF) in the Journal of Environmental Health, lead levels are higher in older artificial trees. You've probably heard about lead in children's toys, so just imagine the kiddos hanging around lead-tainted branches of your fake Christmas tree. Not a merry scene.

Farmed Christmas trees are ultimately a renewable resource. Growing trees absorb carbon dioxide, and after the holidays, the trees can be recycled into mulch.

So, what about you? Do you like them real, fake or not at all?

Everyone's gone to the movies...

2007-11-21T18:54:00.000-05:00

Since YouTube clips seem to be the new hottness on the local blogs, here is my contribution to the trend. First, some comedy.

If this blog's audience is anything like members of my family, only a few of you (namely, musicians and people who hang out in music stores) will truly appreciate the genius of that clip. More guitar heroes receive similar treatment here.

Second, some music that's actually and intentionally good. The band is ALO and the song is Maria.

Happy Monday!

It's getting better all the time...

2007-11-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update on the Husky...

He seems to be getting back to normal, though he's still hobbling around on three legs. Complicating the healing process is the fact that he actually had work done on both hind legs. The right was the torn ACL, and the left had a fat deposit that need to be removed.

An indicator of his improving health and morale: Last night, when we got back from Trader Joe's (see below), he bounced out of his crate to come sniff through all the bags (Inspector Husky, we call it -- there's even a little song). He loves doing this, mostly because we occasionally hide a toy for him in there.

He's also lobbying hard for more outside time, but that will have to wait until the wound closes and some of the hair grows back. Not because I don't want him getting it dirty -- he's on enough antibiotics right now to kill all the bacteria in Columbia -- but because I don't want to freak out people walking by. Serioulsy, it's pretty nasty looking.

I don't want to be right...

2007-11-08T19:18:00.000-05:00

Dear Trader Joe’s,

I shouldn’t like you. Really, I shouldn’t. After all, you’re just another chain with a gimmick – an appealing and quirky gimmick, but a gimmick nonetheless – and we have more than enough gimmicky chains around here.

But then you had to go and leave flowers by the door to welcome me with fragrance and color as I cautiously crossed your threshold.

And then, just past the symphony of colors and scents, the produce. Oh, how glorious it was to see my sugar snap peas looking healthier and tastier than anything I’ve ever seen at Giant or Food Lion. Surely they must cost a fortune.

No.

They’re cheaper.

But that’s not all. The other produce met or exceeded the peas standard: fresh, inexpensive and a wide assortment of organics. I’ll give you this: You know how to make an entrance (area).

As I wound my way through the wide aisles, each bearing its own surprises (a 10-pound chocolate bar, pistachio cookies, bags of assorted frozen peppers – perfect for taco night!), my will-power waned, but it wasn’t until I found the Reed’s Extra Ginger Brew for nearly $2 less than anywhere else that I finally broke down and confessed my love for you.

Sure, you’re just an odd grocery store in a glitzy big box park along the highway and you don’t sell Gatorade, an essential at my house. But you’re fun. And cheap. And kind of tailored to my diet. And your employees are nice, helpful and very efficient.

But you’re so small: 11,000 square feet, according to those who know. How do you do it? How do you offer so much in such a little space? Actually, don’t answer that. I’d rather not know. I’d rather my affection exist without the cold realty of business tainting it.

Will I visit every week? Perhaps. I can’t say. I’m sure there will be times when I’d rather not drive the 10 minutes it takes to get to your door. Plus, I noticed you don’t have many of the non-food essentials: paper products, toiletries, etc. Which is fine. I know another place close by that has those; it's the only real hang up in all this: Food Lion.

I’ve stood by “The FL” for over a year, extolling its virtues to all who will listen. And here you are, in your shiny new building, disrupting a solid relationship. Home-wrecker.

Oh, that’s not fair. It’s not your fault that I like natural, healthy foods at reasonable prices. You didn’t force me to happily fill my cart with your wares.

Maybe this is just an infatuation with something new and novel that will fade with time. Who knows? But for now, let’s just keep this between you, me and the poor souls who still point their browsers to this moribund blog. (They’re cool; we can trust them to keep the secret.)

Yours,

Hayduke

Oh what a relief it is...

2007-11-05T18:57:00.000-05:00

Bit of an anxious day here at chez Hayduke...

The Husky went under the knife to repair, among other things, a torn ACL. Although the vet assures us he's fine, we need visual confirmation before relaxing. Thankfully, he'll be ready to come home in about a half hour.

His surgery comes after a week of hobbling around on three legs, a pretty sad sight. Also unfortunate was the timing of the injury, which happened just before our annual excursion to Green Ridge State Forest. As always, the trip was fun, but the Husky has been a fixture for the past eight years and it just wasn't complete without him getting covered in dirt and taking up too much space in the tent. See?

Anyway, I'm leaving for the vet now and after that there's the County Council hearing and the Ravens game -- quite a TV night! Before I go, here's western Maryland showing its somewhat-muted fall colors.

UPDATE: He's home and, aside from a foot-long gash, a shaved leg and a heavily drugged demeanor, appears no worse for wear.

While waiting our turn at the vet, they stuck an orange Post-It note with the letters "DND" on one of the exam room doors. A woman left that room just as we left the other. She seemed more composed than I was at the time, and my dog is still alive.

I'm still a long way off from accepting my dog's mortality.

Here come old flattop...

2007-10-29T19:22:00.000-04:00

Just a couple quick notes on the first fall-like day of 2007…

I know others have already posted about this story, but I can't help myself. How's this for coming together to work for the common good?

After a chance encounter followed by a friendly chat and a later lunch date, County Executive Ken Ulman has submitted former rival Christopher J. Merdon's name to the County Council for appointment to the county's new revenue authority. The nomination will be formally introduced Nov. 5.

With his title, Freemarket paints a hilarious picture, while Wordbones gives it some additional context:

This speaks well for both men. It is not that often that we see this type of post election collaboration after what can be conservatively described as a nasty campaign. Nicely done!

In other news, here's an excellent piece about my old employer, Enterprise Community Partners. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of news in the story, but it does provide a good overview of what Enterprise does (hint: not renting cars) and what it has accomplished.

Unfortunately, two of the most interesting tidbits didn't make the story, but reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins nonetheless makes them public through a couple blog posts.

The first one reveals Jim Rouse's preferred name for Enterprise (The Robin Hood Trust), while the second discusses Enterprise Chairman Bart Harvey's idea to eliminate or reduce the mortgage interest tax deduction and use the money to pay for affordable housing, something I wrote about when he first floated the idea almost a year ago at a speech at Harvard. Now, I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is on affordable housing and therefore, would support such a move (not like it will ever happen), assuming it wouldn't totally tank my finances. My house, dog, appliances, and cars, to name but some, are doing a good job of that already.

Finally, it's almost here! The new Trader Joe's opens on Friday! Too bad for me. I'll be in beautiful western Maryland, soaking up the cold air and what's left of the fall foliage.

Someone saved my life tonight...

2007-10-20T11:36:00.000-04:00

You know what's fun?

Giving blood.

You get free cookies and juice and the satisfaction of knowing that you probably helped someone who really needed it. And really, what more can you ask for?

If you'd rather not let innocent people die because they didn't have access to blood when they needed it most (shameless), why don't sign up to give blood this Friday at the Columbia Mall.

The Columbia Foundation's twentyfivefortyfive initiative and the Chamber of Commerce's Young Professionals network are teaming up (actually, kind of competing) to take your blood. Between 10 am and 3 pm next Friday, the Bloodmobile will be parked at the mall, awaiting donors. If you're interested in participating, you can schedule an appointment here (use sponsor code 14839). Not only will your blood buy you cookies and juice, but you'll also get a t-shirt and a chance to win a $500 gift card and two tickets to a Ravens game, which, if you're a Redskins fan, you can probably sell on eBay.

Who is he and what is he to you...

2007-10-20T10:53:00.000-04:00

One of the most vexing issues facing us in HoCo Blogdom is that of anonymous commenters and whether contributions from the nameless are more or less constructive, informed, civil, etc.

Obviously, I allow anonymous comments on this blog and for the most part, always have. Also for the most part, discussions on this blog have generally been fruitful and productive, especially if you exclude the period from September to November of last year, when politics was too central to really discuss anything intelligently.

That said, I've never fully been sold on completely anonymous comments, for both pragmatic and philosophical reasons. Pragmatically, trying to maintain a discussion with several people named "Anonymous" is like herding cats. Philosophically, I tend to lean towards Jessie in the sense that a name -- even a made up one -- creates an identity and reputation that need to be protected and therefore an incentive to "think twice" about saying something foolish, inappropriate or out of character. Using Tom Berkhouse as the counter argument to this isn't appropriate because, for good or bad, he has a reputation that needs to be maintained, too.

That's a long way of shrugging my shoulders and saying "I don't know." Much of my (and others) thoughts on anonymity stem from experiences and observations, both of which are susceptible to personal biases. Not to say that it's perfect in anyway, but here's an external data point we can add to our assessment on the anonymous situation.

The beauty of open-source applications is that they are continually improved and updated by those who use them and care about them. Dartmouth researchers looked at the online encyclopedia Wikipedia to determine if the anonymous, infrequent contributors, the Good Samaritans, are as reliable as the people who update constantly and have a reputation to maintain.
The answer is, surprisingly, yes. The researchers discovered that Good Samaritans contribute high-quality content, as do the active, registered users. They examined Wikipedia authors and the quality of Wikipedia content as measured by how long and how much of it persisted before being changed or corrected.

“This finding was both novel and unexpected,” says Denise Anthony, associate professor of sociology...

...By subdividing their analysis by registered versus anonymous contributors, the researchers found that among those who contribute often, registered users are more reliable. And they discovered that among those who contribute only a little, the anonymous users are more reliable. The researchers were most surprised to find that the reliability of Good Samaritans’ contributions were at least as high as that of the more reputable registered users’ contributions...

...According to Anthony, Wikipedia now requires that anonymous contributors who make numerous edits must register.

“This will probably limit the number of low-quality contributions we find among high-use anonymous contributors, because in exposing their identity, they will have their reputation to consider,” says Anthony. “I don’t foresee this new policy affecting the quality of those Good Samaritans, though. Their presence should continue to be valuable.”

(Emphasis mine.)

I have concerns about reading too much into the study because I think there is a key difference between high frequency anonymous commenters on this and other local blogs versus high frequency anonymous Wikipedia editors. I suspect that on Wikipedia these folks are focused on poisoning the well, so to speak. For ideological, political or other reasons, they are compelled to purposely spread misinformation on certain controversial topics (evolution, global warming, the Laffer curve, etc) or to continue beating a single drum. For these people, a name is a signal to all others that the content they've added should be ignored.

Although there is likely some of that going on on the local blogs (for instance, the person who continues to comment on posts on another blog that are over a year old), I think the vast majority of anonymous commenters of all frequencies make positive contributions to the discussions by addressing the issue at hand and maintaining a respectable level of civility.

Clearly, this study doesn't hold the answers to the questions we face -- indeed, it might even raise a few more -- but it does provide an interesting perspective on the idea of anonymity in general, even if its conclusions are pretty much aligned with intuition.

Hypnotized, mesmerized by what my eyes have found...

2007-10-16T19:41:00.000-04:00

This might not be the most cogent post I've ever written, but whatever. For the sake of my good name I think I need to say something.

You see, it all started when I had the gall, the nerve, to write a pretty straightforward post with a pretty straightforward message. Here's the post I'm talking about. Most people with decent reading comprehension skills could probably figure out what I was trying to say, but just in case, here are two bullet points that sum it up.

Big box stores are a fact of life that I have grudgingly come to accept as, on the whole, pretty good, and;
There are ideas and examples of better ways of dealing with them that mitigate some of their bad stuff and that we as a community could consider implementing

Clearly, it's not rocket science or, I would think, particularly controversial, but judging from some of the responses, I am a very poor drawer of conclusions.

Not only did the post raise the ire of at least one anti-Big Box person, but my dear old friend Tom Berkhouse took it as a proof of something nefarious. Because I rarely read closely what Berkhouse has to say (I gotta look out for what's best for my psyche, after all), I'm not sure entirely what he was trying to prove. However, I believe he used my conclusion that Big Boxes aren't all bad to prove yet again that I am a hypocrite of the highest order.

A few years ago when I was trying to save Merriweather from an owner that apparently never intended to close it down (right, Tom?), I opposed potential Big Box development in Town Center. Which clearly means that, at the time, I hated all Big Boxes, regardless of location, while the post from the other day means that, today, I love them, regardless of location. Silly me, I thought I could have it both ways -- that is, Big Boxes in appropriate areas (car-friendly Snowden/Dobbin) and no Big Boxes in inappropriate areas (people-friendly downtown Columbia).

There is only love and hate in this world, after all. Take your wishy-washy BS somewhere else, chief.

Sorry. Lesson learned.

If only it would have ended with the incessant need of Mr. Berkhouse to make it All About Town Center (and by extenison the evilness of me and Ken Ulman), but it didn't. Some crafty anonymous commenter decided to call Mr. Berkhouse by another name in an attempt to "out" him, or expose his true identity. By failing to respond in due course to this bit of pettiness, I tacitly endorsed such actions and, again, demonstrated absolute proof of my hypocrisy, at least according to David Keelan.

Mr. Keelan took it upon himself to admonish me for failing to admonish someone whose identity I still have yet to ascertain and who may or may not have ascertained the identity of Mr. Berkhouse. Normally, this would just be a failure to enforce the Choose Civility edict in effect for The Howard County Blogs, but since I had the nerve to question Mr. Keelan's decision to entrap a previous anonymous commenter over a year ago, I just demonstrated a "double standard."

Mr. Keelan drags up this comment of mine from Back in the Day:

I do want to say that I strongly disagree with David Keelan’s decision to expose the true identity of a commenter he doesn’t like, and one with whom I disagree (and am frustrated by) regularly. Regardless of how you feel about her, David’s decision sets an ugly precedent. Commenter’s [sic] can be held to different standards depending on their views and the threat of tracing identities through IP address (which are available for all to see by looking at the Site Meter reports — see bottom of the page) looms over all. Such things help stifle diverse debate and might prevent many worthy commenter’s [sic] from participating.

(Note: The [sic]s are mine, added to what Keelan posted, as I used proper grammar in my original comment. See here.)

My thoughts on involuntary outing remain the same. I still think it's wrong and wish the anonymous commeter didn't do it. But I have no idea what I was supposed to do in this case. Immediately delete the comment? Right, then I'd get in trouble for patrolling my blog on government time. Oh, and I'd probably be in trouble for failing to allow free speech, as has happened in the past when I deleted totally unsubstantiated rumors (coincidentally, written by Mr. Berkhouse). I also caused quite a fervor when I tried to get everyone to use a pseudonym because I was limiting speech.

Damned either way, I suppose.

It's also pretty funny that this was not the first time somebody tried to guess the real identity Tom Berkhouse. Indeed, the first such instance was on Mr. Keelan's blog and his response to the commenter was just as lame, if not more so, than my non-response:

Thanks for posting. Your inaugural post is telling. I am sure we can rely on you for more interesting and insightful commentary. Keep up the fine work anonymous Slim.

Look, I don't really care if Mr. Keelan wants to call me out on his blog; I just wish he would be more direct about it. If he thinks my failure to act was shady, come out and say it. Instead, we get this:

The people trying to out Berkhouse are treating Tom as if he did something terrible like threatened a county employee for trying to shut off his water for non-payment or something when in fact all Tom does is forcefully and at times very forcefully expresses a strong difference of opinion with Ian. At times Tom will criticise [sic] Ian for what Tom perceives to be a twisting of the facts in order to reach a desired conclusion. Tom is often (not always) rather enjoyable to read and makes good points but often (if not always) fails to elicit a reaction from Ian. So in fairness to Ian perhaps Ian is just simply ignoring all commenter’s [sic]. Perhaps Ian is too busy with his new job which is perfectly understandable. I have a full time job too, a family, and I just started an MBA program (which is going great so far) so I understand finding time to stay up on the local scene and one’s blog isn’t easy.

Yes, I'm busy. But, frankly, I don't have the time or the inclination to get involved in these silly bloggy squabbles (says the guy writing over 1000 words about one -- I know), rehashing the same arguments, fighting the same fight. If anonymous and semi-anonymous commenters can't discuss things without feeling offended or offending others, perhaps they should spend more time with puppies or flowers. I'm nobody's mother.

It's also kind of sad that Mr. Keelan finds the need to again apologize for completely inappropriate behavior from Mr. Berkhouse (lies, character attacks, etc.). I know a lot of people like to disagree with me about a lot of stuff and some of my more vocal critics likely revel in the treatment I receive from the resident jerk. But in a community like ours, the fact that Mr. Berkhouse still has a group of people that accept and condone his vile words is pretty lame. Disagree all you want, that's fine. But is it too much to ask that you do it with some class?

Finally, there's a lot of stuff going on locally right now that hasn't been talked about at all, yet time gets spent on this? Please, discuss and argue about the big stuff and leave the drama to the high schoolers. Continuing to worry about which anonymous person said what about some other anonymous only dooms our little blogging enterprise to irrelevance.

Speaking of irrelevance, the icing on the cake of this whole thing is that -- as I told someone recently -- my blog is about two steps away from reading like a little girl's diary. Over my "two weeks" of silence I've only had two ideas for posts -- one about the rather large amount of acorns falling on my house and the other about my awesome dog. I'm being totally serious. There's a ton of acorns coming off our big oak and my dog is freaking awesome (for instance, he recently started "talking" in his sleep, which is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen).

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to write either post and my silence on the subjects is probably proof of my true disdain for oak trees and huskies.

Little boxes made of ticky tacky

2007-10-02T20:12:00.000-04:00

As much as it may hurt my anti-establishment cred (as if there's really any of that left), I think I'm coming around on big box stores. Sure, they're soulless, harmful to local businesses and the idea of buying jeans, lawn furniture and iPods in the same store is kind of silly, but they do offer convenience and great prices. And, really, who doesn't like easy shopping and low prices?

On balance (and in economist-speak), I'd say Target, Best Buy, Borders et al have produced net gains in our collective welfare. Which is a good thing, I think. What's more, they're so entrenched in today's consumer culture that fighting them doesn't really seem like the "good fight."

All that said, I still have a special place in my heart for local businesses and do what I can to support them. While big boxes may be great for getting mass produced items on the cheap, customer service is borderline nonexistent and the quality of the goods is questionable, both of which are fine for some things (jeans, lawn furniture, iPods, etc) but not so much for others (bicycles, suits, dinner, etc.).

Of course, over the last several years, we've seen the imbalance between big box, chain retailers and smaller, locally-owned shops grow. This is an unfortunate, but not intractable, situation. See, for instance, Washington DC:

The shells for what will be some of the biggest big-box retailers Columbia Heights has ever known are rising along 14th and Irving streets and Park Road NW. They include Target, Best Buy, and Bed Bath & Beyond .

Yet below these retail giants, space has been reserved for the little guys.

A Peruvian restaurant has signed a lease, as has a local African American franchiser of the Quizno's sandwich chain. A Vietnamese grocer is negotiating to bring a Pho restaurant to the development. A locally owned spa may also come.

The $149.5 million DC USA project is being developed by Grid Properties of New York. President Drew Greenwald said the firm will reserve 15,000 square feet, or about 11 percent, of ground-floor retail space for local and minority-owned businesses, under an agreement with the District to buy and develop the land. He will reduce rents by 30 percent to encourage smaller tenants.

"With all the projects, it is going to be a nice mix," Greenwald said. "It kind of has a little bit of everything."

Throughout the District, developers are carving out space for locally owned or small businesses. While small businesses tend to be riskier bets than their better-financed corporate counterparts are, mixing local and national retailers is a goal of city officials when selling or leasing public land.

So, the circumstances aren't perfectly analogous, but the idea is good, right?

Thanks to Jamie for the link. Also, for more on local restaurants, Jessie's got the scoop.

Consider this...

2007-09-28T18:29:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted recently because it's been an absolutely crazy week at work, but at least I have something to show for it.

Downtown Columbia: A Community Vision is available for review. The description from the County website:

County Executive Ken Ulman announces the next step in the evolution of Downtown Columbia. DPZ is asking for your input and comments on the draft document that is to guide this next step. During the month of October, the County will hold a series of meetings and workshops to provide additional information and to ask for public input.

Please review the framework document available below, attend one or more of the public meetings, and provide the community with your comments. Please feel free to telephone, send an email or fill out a For Your Input form with your questions and comments.

Also on the website is a list of tour dates for the traveling roadshow and a copy of the Town Center traffic study. Feel free to leave comments on the draft here, but if you want your comments added to the official record, you're going to have to go through the official channels -- for instance, this online feedback form.

Get involved. Give it a read.

Nothing from nothing leaves nothing...

2007-09-20T19:27:00.000-04:00

Duh.

Suburban sprawl is the missing link in climate change, a group of urban planning researchers said today, warning in a new report that global warming can only be slowed by changing development patterns to reduce the need for driving.

Living in more compact, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods actually would do more to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide -- the chief climate-changing gas -- than driving a hybrid car while staying in a typically spread-out suburb, the report asserts.

"The research shows that one of the best ways to reduce vehicle travel is to build places where people can accomplish more with less driving," Reid Ewing, the report's lead author and a research professor at the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland, said in a statement released with the report.

What else should I be...

2007-09-19T18:58:00.000-04:00

I know, I know.

Yes, I know.

I'm a big time slacker.

I need to post more.

If only I could create a computer program to read all the local news stories and blogs and then write posts for me. That would be sweet, huh?

Anyway, I got kickball tonight against a team that's been talking trash for months. We need to win these games to save some dignity.

But, before I run off to Centennial, I wanted to share to Oakland Mills-related items.

First, next Thursday – the 27th, for those of you who don't read daily (but who can blame you?) -- is the second Community Connections Gathering at Fire Rock Grill. The party starts at 6 pm and if it's anything like last time, you're sure to have a blast. Non-OMers are welcome to, but I can't promise we won't force you to take part in some potentially painful hazing activities. I'm kidding… sorta.

Since you'll already be at Fire Rock, might as well stick around for Taglines Comedy night, too. Don't pay full price, though. Ask around for half-off cards.

Secondly and finally, there is now a website for the Meridian Square project, the new office building set to go in on the old, abandoned Exxon site in the Oakland Mills Village Center. Although the finished building will not be as architecturally adventurous as it was in earlier drawings, I'm still impressed with it overall and am looking forward to the positive impact it'll have on our village, especially if they can land a nice café in one of the first floor retail spaces.

Your love is like a rollercoaster...

2007-09-10T19:47:00.000-04:00

Something weird always happens at Six Flags in Largo.

Something, that is, beyond the normal weird stuff you expect to see in the amusement park milieu. You know, horrible fashion choices, unhappy families bordering on total meltdowns, vomit, exorbitant beverage prices and the like.

Last year, I got stuck on the final hill of the Skull Island log pflume/water coaster (it's exact classification is a source of disagreement between my brother and I). We were up there for about 45 minutes, before they had us disembark and walk down the gangplank. All things considered, it wasn't a particularly bad (read: scary) place to get stuck, and we got a bunch of free jump-the-line passes out of it. So, it worked out in the end.

Then, this past Saturday, we took a spur of the moment trip down to Largo for some roller coasters. We started the day on what is by far the park's best -- The Superman. After a very steep 200-foot drop, it hits speeds of 75 miles per hour and doesn't let up for the entire trip, shooting over additional hills and through tight, banked turns. It's very smooth, to boot. I could ride it all day, which is basically what I did.

But I did manage to do most of the others at least once, including Two Face, a hanging (i.e. feet-dangling) roller coaster that pulls you up a hill to start, drops you back through the station, throws you through some loops and then up another hill, before doing the whole thing backwards.

I love roller coasters. Which is another way of saying I don't really get scared and they don't make me sick. But about midway through the Two Face, my vision started to get dark and I felt like I was going to pass out. I got off feeling dizzy and disoriented, as did my brother and his girlfriend. We decided, appropriately (I think), not to ride it again.

Good thing, too. Later in the day, it got stuck 100 feet up in the air. Yikes. Getting down from a hanging coaster is, I would imagine, significantly harder than getting down from a log pflume.

I wonder if the stranded riders got free passes. Actually, for that "inconvenience" I'd be demanding something of real value -- like a bottle of water.

How will this all play out...

2007-09-10T19:27:00.000-04:00

I’m not sure what to make of the news (via Jessie) that the Columbia Bike Guy, Athar - he of the red mohawk - has a Facebook fan club.

(Disclaimer: I’m on Facebook but am horrible about checking it. My bad. I’ll get around to the pile of messages one day.)

While I think it’s kind of cute that he’s reached this level of notoriety, I’m not sure how sincere it is. Sure there’s probably a mix of motivations in the group, but I get the feeling that most see him simply as a freak who makes a good backdrop for a silly photo. After all, pronouncements to the contrary notwithstanding, The Internet is still largely a place where people go to laugh at others.

I mean, if random but visible people deserve fan clubs, why isn’t there one for the Columbia Ninja (the woman who dresses in all black and rides her bike along Rt. 175)? Or, what about the Poodle Lady who’s always walking a gray, standard Poodle around Town Center? Are there others I’m not thinking of?

Jessie thinks this fan club is a way of reaching out and including him in our community, something that may be true in either a positive, welcome-to-the-club way or in a negative, ask-him-over-for-cookies-and-then-ambush-him-with-water-balloons way. (Yes, if you're wondering, I know of the latter "way" through experience -- it basically describes my first date with Abbzug.)

Maybe I’m just being overprotective. I’ve run into Athar a bunch of times on the paths, and as someone who enjoys riding a bike all over Columbia, I have long felt a special affinity for him. The fact that he’s (apparently) as well known as he is comes as a bit of a shock. It’s almost as though I want the Facebookers to prove their intentions before joining the club. But as we all know, that’s impossible.

Or, maybe he enjoys the celebrity (he seems happy in the photo Jessie posted). And perhaps this is just a way for other Columbians to celebrate something (rather, someone) unique to our community. He could be our very own Wild Bill Hagy.

Whatever the case, I just hope Athar doesn’t let fame go to his head.

It's a simple assumption that nobody knows...

2007-09-10T19:26:00.000-04:00

A grammatical request: Please, everyone, stop using “ask” as a noun. And while you’re at it, eliminate the phrase “touch base” from your vocabulary, except when referring specifically to baseball or kickball.

Thanks.

While I think of something clever to say...

2007-09-09T10:47:00.000-04:00

Between kickball, meetings, fantasy football drafts, an impromptu trip to Six Flags, Labor Day car races and myriad other things, it's been a busy week for me.

And today, football begins for real.

All of which is to say, sorry for not posting anything recently. I promise at least something fun or substantive this week, but until then, a quick anecdote.

I went to the 15th anniversary celebration of the Rouse Scholars program at Howard Community College on Thursday night. While there, I stumbled upon my class (Rouse III) "yearbook" from 1997. It was full of funny (embarassing) pictures and quotes from the class, including a section on where we each thought we'd be in 10 years.

My response -- written from the perspective of a wannabe rock star -- was: "I'll be married, with three kids, two cars, a house in suburbia and working a 9 to 5 job. And I'll also be a strong supporter of the Republican Party."

I'm still not sure what to make of the fact that I've become the target of my 90s-era irony, even if it's not entirely right. I don't, after all, have a 9 to 5 job.

It's such a crying shame...

2007-08-30T18:45:00.000-04:00

Stupid Comcast.

I'm posting from my cell phone because my internet service doesn't seem to be functioning. At least I'm getting about half of my regular cable channels. It's Craptastic!

Normally, I wouldn't bother posting anything under such circumstances, but since I need to follow my "once a week" rule (and because I promised a friend I'd write about an event), I'm giving my thumbs a workout.

Tomorrow night (Friday) is your last chance to catch a free movie at The Other Barn in Oakland Mills. The feature presentation is one best viewed on a big screen with a bunch of people: Star Wars! (The first one).

The show starts at 7 pm and is free and open to everyone (we're really nice on the East Side). Hit up Jessie's spot for more details.

Look at me... I can be... centerfield...

2007-08-23T21:30:00.000-04:00

Instead of talking about 27-run losses, how about some happy sports news?

Kickball season is underway!

Yes, Team Hayduke had our first (and only) practice last night, and judging by what I saw, I think it's time to put the other teams on notice: We're ready to ball.

But I'm not really here to share all the details of my kickball team (yet). Rather, I'm writing because David Wissing made me do it.

He has perfected the art of throwaway digs -- using an offhand word or two to take a swipe at things like global warming, Democrats, or the Redskins.

So, the other day when he called my blog "dormant," I took umbrage: "Hey, I'm posting at least once a week," I said to myself.

Which is a pretty lame response.

My trouble accepting the obvious -- that my blog is what's really lame -- was probably a result of the fact that for the first time since I took my new job, I missed blogging. This isn't to say I'd trade my job for the blog -- let's not get crazy -- it's just that I missed being part of all fun everyone's been having these past couple weeks. A few examples:

Our own local Carmen Sandiego, Jessie, has popped up in various places with play-at-home questions and tangible examples of community planning principles. Her most recent visit was to a couple impromptu paths in Oakland Mills, which reminded me of a story I heard in one of my first urban studies classes.

During the early days of Disney Land, people were eschewing the carefully laid out walkways in favor of shortcuts across grassy areas. Park management approach Walt Disney about the problem and recommended installing fences around the grass. Disney, apparently, rebuffed them, saying that's where new sidewalks should go.

There's more to that than just sidewalks, I think.

Bill Santos has also been sharing a bunch of Columbia and general planning insights, including this post linking to the "Neighbor Manifesto," a great, thoughtful read on where.

Meanwhile, with tons of pictures and frequent updates, David Wissing's coverage of that thing that I don't really want to mention has been great; he even created a separate category for it.

Of course, there's politics, too. See David Keelan and Freemarket.

Even Wordbones, after taking a slew vacations this summer, is rested up and back in the saddle.

Actually, it seems to me that, like my kickball team, our local blogs have covered all the bases, and also like kickball, I should just stay out in centerfield and catch the occasional lazy fly ball, such as:

I'm reading a new book about the development of a subdivision in rural Pennsylvania called Last Harvest: How a Cornfield Became New Daleville: Real Estate Development in America from George Washington to the Builders of the Twenty-first Century, and Why We Live In Houses Anyway (kind of a mouthful). At times reminiscent of our own situation in Howard County, it offers a comprehensive look residential development, from theories and planning to public hearings and approvals, some of which is, naturally, common knowledge to people like us. Nonetheless, there are many insights within the book that, I think, provide valuable to our local dialogue (which is a way of saying I think you should read the book).

Here are a couple quotes worth sharing:

The modest single-family house is the glory of the suburban tradition. It offers its inhabitants a comprehensible image of independence and privacy while also accepting the responsibilities of community.

If you've been to my house (or neighborhood) you'll probably know why that one resonates with me.

Then, there's this, from a town meeting:

We've been doing conventional development and we hate it. Why don't we try something new, and if we don't like it we won't do it anymore.

OK, that's enough for now. Back to dormancy, at least until somebody pokes me again.

And the cat's in the cradle...

2007-08-16T20:26:00.000-04:00

Goodbye, Bijou, and rest in peace.

Between me, my brother and the dog, you had some tough times, but you lived to a ripe old age, even catching your first mouse in the twilight of your life.

My deepest apologies for "Super Kitty." Just don't forget who snuck you into the house in the first place.

With a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole...

2007-08-14T19:29:00.000-04:00

I'm not going anywhere near some of the recent local stories on this blog (for obvious reasons). If you want to talk to me about them, however, a cold beer might loosen me up.

Short of that, I wanted to share a meeting announcement about something that was (is?) a bit controversial.

The Green Neighborhoods checklist developed as part of the package of recently approved green building legislation is still awaiting a final decision. In an effort to inform more folks about the checklist and what it is designed to accomplish, there will be a public meeting on Wednesday, August 22 at 4 pm at the Gateway building to discuss the details. If you're interested in attending, shoot me an email (hocohayduke - at - gmail.com) and we'll make sure we've got space for you.

For those of you who don't know, this checklist will be used to certify residential projects wishing to take advantage of the pool of green neighborhood housing allocations. Projects must earn a predetermined number of points for each green feature included in the development. If you're interested in seeing the checklist before the meeting, let me know and I can get you a copy (I know people who know people who know how to get it).

I'd like to teach the world to sing...

2007-08-07T18:57:00.000-04:00

I tend to look at things from a very selfish perspective – everything's always about me – which is completely fine. Just ask any economist.

Anyway, keeping that in mind, a brief statement about immigration/multiculturalism as it relates to me: Mexican Coke is now available from at least two local merchants, Sam's Mart in Oakland Mills and Exxon in Long Reach.

Given that Sam's is basically a Latino grocer, it's not surprising to see imported sodas there. That the best version of Coke is available at an Exxon station, on the other hand, is certainly a sign of mainstreaming.

I say, bring it on! Let's erase the artificial borders (and sweeteners) that keep us from total soda enjoyment!

I've been walking the streets at night...

2007-08-06T18:47:00.001-04:00

When I took the new job, I made a promise to myself that I'd post something on the blog at least once a week; my last post was exactly a week ago.

There's a lesson about human nature somewhere in that statement.

On a somewhat related note, I've always thought that I have a finite amount of words in me each day and that attempts to cross that threshold will always end in disappointment. I now know that to be true.

Since I'm nearing today's word limit, I'll keep this brief.

In case you haven't heard, there was some big news on the Turf Valley front. Freemarket's got the details.

Meanwhile, Wordbones started a new blog to chronicle the development of an office building in Emerson that he's overseeing. I think this will be a fascinating look into a world some of us like to think we already understand (really, we don't).

Finally, I'm still thinking about ways to spice up this blog while I'm busy, in Jessie's words, "calibrating himself and his blog to his new job." One idea that has popped up in my mind (and others') is to turn this blog into a family affair. Since Little Duke (my brother) is now a resident of this fair city -- and one of the original readers of this blog -- maybe we can convince him to weigh in on the news of the day. It's not like he's got anything else to do, after all (sitting around in his underwear learning old Dream Theater songs doesn't count).

If the weather gets better we can get together...

2007-07-30T19:03:00.000-04:00

Just a couple of quick item to share.

First, the county council just passed the package of green building legislation, which made the people I work with rather happy (me too, but not, apparently, Jessie). I'm sure you'll get all the details from the local papers in the next couple days.

In other county news, the Department of Planning and Zoning introduced an RSS feed today. If, like me, you can't get enough information about planning, zoning and development matters (really, who can't?), you'll love it. I'd say it's a safe bet that you'll soon see a DPZ RSS widget on this blog sometime soon.

And finally, if there's one thing we aren't left wanting for in Columbia it's meetings. Indeed, the glut of Columbia-related events makes it hard for most normal people to keep track of everything. Well, the good people at the Columbia Association have made keeping tabs on the packed schedule a bit easier with this new, online calendar, which is surprisingly sophisticated and powerful. The only drawback: No more excuses for missing meetings.

So let me introduce to you...

2007-07-26T20:40:00.000-04:00

...the new deck.

As promised yesterday, here are some shots of our new outdoor living space.

Now we just need to get some deck furniture and landscape the rest of the backyard.

But first, I have to say how happy I am with the guys who built our deck -- Don and Mike's Home Improvements. Although it may appear otherwise, our deck was not a simple project, but Don and Mike (and their assorted helpers) took all the complications in stride and gave us exactly what we were looking for. This project has also been the talk of the pathways around here, with many of our neighbors stopping on their walks to admire their work and inquire about their services. If you're looking for honest, hardworking, and reasonable contractors (who are friendly to boot!), I highly recommend Don and Mike.

(In the interest of full disclosure, they're not giving me anything to say such nice things.)

Stay tuned for an announcement about the first cook out!

2007-07-25T22:30:00.000-04:00

It's done.

In a little over a week, my side yard went from dirt to deck. It's nice.

Since it was dark when I got home tonight, I don't have any pictures of the finished deck. But these photos of the construction site over the past few days should tide you over.

The old deck:

The new deck frame:
The new deck boards:

For those about to rock…

2007-07-23T18:57:00.000-04:00

Although I’m still trying to figure out how to walk the fuzzy line between my job and blogging, when I saw this come across my desk, I knew it was something I could share.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman will be on hand to get a birds-eye look at Merriweather Post Pavilion’s newest addition, rooftop solar paneling. Brad Canfield, Director of Operations & Production for Merriweather Post Pavilion, has invited the County Executive to come view Merriweather's first step in "going green" and to learn more about exactly what these types of solar panels can do. In addition to viewing the solar panels, County Executive Ulman will also be awarding Merriweather the County's first "Green Salute."
This salute will be part of an ongoing effort to recognize Howard County residents and businesses who have decided NOW is the time to do their part to protect our environment. After a brief presentation, the County Executive and Mr. Canfield will be joined by the installers of the solar panels; all will then take a lift up to the rooftop to get an up close look at the installed solar panels.

The public is invited to come, too, so if you’ve got nothing better to do on Thursday (July 26) at 9:30 am, come on out and see the new solar panels for yourself. Actually, if you’ve never been to Merriweather while it’s “dark,” you’re missing out. I think I had as much fun on the tour a few years ago as I did at some concerts.

And while we’re on the topic of Merriweather, the Sun this week asked residents how they felt about the possibility of a renovation that allowed for year-round use. Send your letters here.

And, finally, speaking of letters, I was glad to see the letters to the Sun about the Columbia birthday party – just a bunch of people who, apparently, had a grand old time. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Stay tuned for more pictures of the deck! (Are you tired of that yet?)

He was turned to steel in the great magnetic field...

2007-07-19T21:33:00.000-04:00

I finally found a license plate worth paying a premium for:

My Cooperstown plans having been thwarted, slapping a pair of Cal Ripken Jr. plates on the Red Dragon seems like the next best tribute.

Share this evening...

2007-07-19T20:17:00.000-04:00

Hey, OMers, did you go to the meeting tonight? Want to share any interesting ideas you heard?

Also, for all county residents, County Executive Ken Ulman will be hosting a somewhat open-ended public forum next Wednesday night at Oakland Mills High School beginning at 6 pm. All of his department heads will be there (his executive assistants, too), and you'll have a chance to talk about pretty much whatever you want.

All dressed up, no place to go...

2007-07-18T07:37:00.001-04:00

Hey, the Sun's website got a fancy, schmancy redesign.

And speaking of redesigns, here's more on Merriweather and the idea to make it a year-round venue (without sacrificing the quality of it's summer state).

Keep him in the hole...

2007-07-17T21:59:00.000-04:00

The Deck, day one, from last night.

We always stand up straight...

2007-07-17T18:43:00.000-04:00

Although Dan Beyers mentioned it last week, I'm going to mention it again because: 1. Repetition is the key to awareness; and 2. I don't have the time or energy to think of something else to say.

This Thursday at 7 pm at the Other Barn residents are invited to share their thoughts for a community enhancement project on Robert Oliver Place, between the Barns and the Interfaith center. I've already heard some great ideas, but I'm sure the community at large can come up with concepts that are even better.

In the great effort to revitalize the Oakland Mills Village Center, this is probably just a small step, but it is certainly not an insignificant one. I hope you can make it on Thursday.

This life is going to be all about the dangling possibilities...

2007-07-15T18:53:00.000-04:00

After saying in my last post that, new job aside, I'd try to keep up my regular blogging pace, I dropped off the face of the earth for the next five days. Talk about empty promises (maybe I do have a future in politics).

If it's any consolation, not only have I neglected the blog, I haven't returned an email or phone call or done much of anything over the past nine days but paint (and putty and caulk and sand and similar nonsense). I did make a couple exceptions: a midnight showing of Harry Potter on Tuesday, a friend's 30th birthday party, half a day at the county office building getting the deck permit (work starts this week!) and a couple bike rides. But for the most part, I got up in the morning, worked until it got dark and ran to Home Depot(s) at night.

It was glorious.

Some people go on vacations to exotic (or not) place or retreats to monasteries to clear their minds. Me, I work on houses. Indeed, the last time I left a job I really liked for an opportunity stuffed with uncertainty, I spent two weeks repairing a beat-up rental property for a landlord who personified all the bad connotations associated with "absentee." At least this time the house is mine (and there aren't any fleas to speak of).

While I've done more than my share of painting, I've never actually painted a house. So, I had no idea what I was getting into. And as much as I think I should have finished the job during my week off, I'm content with what I accomplished, especially considering the amount of work required to prep the house and the quality of the previous paint job (a neighbor mentioned that the last owner to paint the house bragged that he finished the job in just 13 hours -- it showed).

Anyway, as proof that I haven't been just lounging around playing Wii, here are a couple shots of the house. Note the remaining work for next weekend and the new shed in the "after" shot.

Thanks to my dad for helping out on Friday and all my neighbors who stopped by to offer advice (some good, some less so) or words of encouragement.

More later.

Until then, an advertisement for an great event this week:

twentyfivefortyfive
at the Columbia Foundation invites you to join us at

"Give to Greet"
a benefit for the Domestic Violence Center (DVC) of Howard County

Wednesday, July 18, 2007
5:30-7:00 pm

Domestic Violence Center- 5457 Twin Knolls Road, Suite 310-Columbia, 21045

A donation to the DVC "Wish List" is required for admittance.
Light hors d'oeuvres and beverages provided.

THIS IS A FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT!

RSVP: 410.730.7840 or cdodsonreed@columbiafoundation.org

It's getting hot in here...

2007-07-10T11:48:00.000-04:00

Man.

It's freaking hot.

Not that you didn't know this -- even if you go from an air-conditioned house to an air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned office and back, you can't escape the dreadful, stifling heat (or people talking about it).

Naturally, I picked this week to paint the house.

The outside of the house.

Of course, given that I live in a 35 year old house with wood siding, I haven't actually gotten around to painting just yet. Four days and all I have to show for my work is a new post for the carport, a handful of new pieces of trim, and gobs and gobs of patched and caulked holes, cracks and crevices. Also, I've probably lost 10 pounds (a lot for someone as skinny as I), but I've consumed at least two, maybe ten, times that much in Gatorade and water.

I actually didn't pick this week to paint. It just sort of happened that way.

I hinted at something in the last post I wrote but claimed I couldn't explain it. See, I had planned to write a comprehensive, long-winded post describing something that's kind of a big deal (for me, anyway). I was probably going to talk about it in philosophical and psychological terms, about how it's changing the way I've defined myself for the last several years (mainly as a thrower of "wrenches" -- figuratively speaking).

After trying for weeks to write something about it, however, I couldn't figure out how to say what I wanted to say. So...

I left my position with Enterprise last Friday to take a job with Ken Ulman's administration. Starting next Monday, I'm going to be an Executive Assistant in his office, helping with a variety of things like writing, constituent service and policy. In a lot of ways, it'll mean getting paid for things I already do -- attend meetings, write about local matters, think about ways to make Howard County even better -- but from a completely different perspective.

That I'm taking this job should in no way reflect poorly on Enterprise, which was the best place I ever worked. As excited as I have been for the new opportunity, saying goodbye to Enterprise was one of the main reasons I've been out of sorts for the past couple weeks.

Now, obviously, I'm expecting at least one hater to come out of the woodwork and criticize me, my new job and Ulman (I think Berkhouse once even asked whether Ulman had promised me a job before the election, which he didn't). That's fine. Sometimes you just gotta let it out.

But just know that I wouldn't have taken this job -- or ever started this blog -- if I didn't want what everyone here wants: a great place to live. We may have deep, fundamental differences of opinion about what that means or how we accomplish it, but the end goal is still the same.

So, what does this mean for the blog? Well, you may have noticed that over the past month I've drifted away from some of the more controversial and political stories -- the Tower, the duplex legislation, etc. For myriad reasons, I won't really be writing about such things, but I will continue to write about all sorts of other happenings in the county and, of course, the deck (getting the permit tomorrow and the guys will start working later this week, hopefully). I can't say with any certainty how much blogging I'll be able to squeeze in, but I'll try to keep up the usual pace.

Anyway, lunch time's up and I've got a bunch of stuff to do before going to see Harry Potter tonight (woo-hoo!), so that's it for now.

Someone came and washed away your hard-earned peace of mind...

2007-07-06T17:44:00.000-04:00

Maybe you've noticed, or maybe not, but things have been quiet around here this week. Not for lack of effort, however. I've sat down to write nearly every night, but thus far haven't been able to say just what I want to say.

It's been a strange week. The pleasant temperatures (for July, anyway) and the midweek holiday framed a few deeper personal happenings, among them the death of a friend from what seems like another life, the approach of the big 3-0 and something else that I haven't figured out how to explain yet.

On balance, I'm fine and there's no need to worry or sympathize, but rather than navigate around the uncertainty, questions and emotions, I decided to embrace them, which makes for a mindset not suited to pithiness and sarcasm (i.e. blogging). I'm only writing now out of a bizarre compulsive need to broadcast personal details about my life.

There is much for me to be excited about in the coming weeks and much of it I'll share on this blog -- maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, but definitely soon.

Now, I need to go spend a lot of money at Home Depot. Yay, power tools!

I want it all...

2007-07-02T18:17:00.001-04:00

After six months of drooling at pictures, I finally got a chance to stop by the Apple Store today and play with the iPhone.

It is fantastic.

But as much as I want one, spending $600 on a phone, not to mention the $175 cancellation fee to get out from under Verizon's grip, isn't in the cards for me now. I've had enough trouble convincing Abbzug to let me buy a new laptop, and there's no sense destroying all that hard work by angling for something else. Stay focused!

Anyway, here are some pictures I took a few hours before the iPhone's release on Friday.

Look at all those suckers waiting in line.

Who am I kidding? If allowed, I would have been right there with them.

We're gonna have a good time...

2007-06-30T09:26:00.000-04:00

How about some pictures from the last night at the City Fair?

Hmm. That picture doesn't fully capture the fireworks experience. A video, perhaps?

That's better.

The whole set of photos from yesterday, including some of the preparations, can be seen here.

The regular crowd shuffles in…

2007-06-28T19:17:00.000-04:00

Abbzug and I had a great time last night at the Oakland Mills Community Connections Gathering. There was a really good crowd -- the bar area was nearly packed -- and in addition to just being part of such a positive community experience, it was great to see a bunch of familiar faces and meeting several new ones. I’m told to expect these nights at least once each “quarter” (season is such a better term), and of course, you’ll know the dates if you keep reading this blog.

A couple interesting tidbits to share: Oakland Mills sends out weekly emails to residents, with information about upcoming meetings, events and news of interest. I love these emails, but in talking with people who know, it sounds like we’re the only village that provides such a service. If I lived in another village, I’d be asking for it.

Second, more than a couple people commented to me that they actually like reading about the ongoing deck project. So, needless to say, you’ll be hearing (and seeing) more… soon.

Finally, I can’t say more yet, but for now: West Columbia, you’re on notice.

Fellow OMers: Please share your thoughts about last night and any ideas on how to make the gatherings better or for other events.

Non OMers: Don't be shy. Next time, come on out; we don't bite.

Remember me to one who lives there...

2007-06-28T18:55:00.000-04:00

Coming into work today on foot (a long story), it was hard not to notice that preparations for the resurrected Columbia City Fair are underway. I spent most of the day looking out my window at carnival rides rising from flat bed trailers and am now officially excited for at least a couple. But I'm wondering: Where are the swings?

The absence of a swing ride aside, it looks like this should be a fun weekend for Columbia. I'll probably be there for parts of each day in between all manner of other things I have going on. (One of which is moving the Little Brother from his house in Baltimore to his new place in Jeffers Hill. Yup, that's right, the Hayduke family is strengthening its [East Side!] Columbia presence.)

If rides and carnies aren't your bag but you're looking for some other way to commemorate Columbia's 40th, General Growth has reissued many of the village/neighborhood posters and is making them available for purchase at the information desk in the mall. Proceeds will benefit the Columbia Foundation, which I think qualifies as a worthy cause. Because I'm a blatant homer for Columbia, I stopped by work and picked up the Stevens Forest poster. Yeah, it's nice.

Ain't nothing but the dog in me...

2007-06-28T18:47:00.000-04:00

I don't usually talk about national politics in this space, but this is so utterly astounding/disturbing that I have to share.

The white Chevy station wagon with the wood paneling was overstuffed with suitcases, supplies, and sons when Mitt Romney climbed behind the wheel to begin the annual 12-hour family trek from Boston to Ontario.
As with most ventures in his life, he had left little to chance, mapping out the route and planning each stop. The destination for this journey in the summer of 1983 was his parents' cottage on the Canadian shores of Lake Huron. Romney would be returning to the place of his most cherished childhood memories.

...Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack. He'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog.
Then Romney put his boys on notice: He would be making predetermined stops for gas, and that was it.
...The ride was largely what you'd expect with five brothers, ages 13 and under, packed into a wagon they called the ''white whale.''
As the oldest son, Tagg Romney commandeered the way-back of the wagon, keeping his eyes fixed out the rear window, where he glimpsed the first sign of trouble. ''Dad!'' he yelled. ''Gross!'' A brown liquid was dripping down the back window, payback from an Irish setter who'd been riding on the roof in the wind for hours.
As the rest of the boys joined in the howls of disgust, Romney coolly pulled off the highway and into a service station. There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, then hopped back onto the highway. It was a tiny preview of a trait he would grow famous for in business: emotion-free crisis management.

Wow.

The kind of voices she would soon learn to deny...

2007-06-26T18:11:00.000-04:00

Before this week, I never realized how much I don't like barking.

See, I have a Husky, who aside from being the Best Dog Ever, doesn't bark. Sure he howls, whines and occasionally yelps, but every sound he utters has a communicative purpose: either I'm hungry, I need to go outside, or I need you to stop watching your stupid baseball game and hold this stuffed fish while I rip it to shreds (his favorite game). Sometimes he says other things, too, although I've found people generally start questioning my grip on reality when I describe conversations I've had with my dog.

Shattering the bark-free environment in my home this week is a friend's Dalmatian, who's a lovely dog in almost every respect... except for the totally random barking. I can understand barking when the doorbell rings or when there's an animal traipsing through the yard, but most of the time she barks for no apparent reason other than to shatter my eardrums, destroying final remnants of hearing not lost to rock and/or roll.

So, that's my gripe. Here's some stuff you might want to gripe about.

Concern over the uncertain future of our village centers makes what's happening in Oakland Mills so important. Rather than waiting for someone else to take the lead or relying on past assumptions about what village centers are supposed to be, OMers are charting their own course and while the work may be slow, progress is being made. Yes, I'm a homer.

Speaking of Oakland Mills, tomorrow night between 5:30 and 7:30 pm (Wednesday) is the community gathering at Fire Rock. Come on out!

Anne Arundel County and the Maryland State Police have joined Howard County in suspending step out traffic enforcement following the death of police officer Scott Wheeler last week.

Finally, Howard Community College's Rouse Scholars program is celebrating its 15th birthday. I like to think the program survived in spite of having me as an alumnus. Would it surprise you if I said the only college degree hanging on my wall is an A.A. in Liberal Arts (typical) from HCC?

The Yankees are in town.

In case you failed to notice...

2007-06-25T22:28:00.000-04:00

I'm still trying to figure out what to say about this.

This morning I woke up, feeling brand new...

2007-06-25T22:21:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I wonder who I’ve become. And then I read stories like this one and remember that I’m still me.