...And we're back

If I never have to drive on I-81 again, I will be a happy guy. You know it will be a boring drive when Yahoo! Maps say "Drive 391.8 miles" on the same road.

On the other hand, iPhones are way cool.

Merry Christmas

See you in a week or so.

How to Build an Ice Rink

Very cool video from NHL.tv on the construction of the ice rink in Wrigley Field for the Winter Classic on New Year's Day, featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings.

Digital TV - An Easy Flowchart

h/t to Consumerist for the handy-dandy flowchart on whether you need to do anything to your TV for the digital conversion upcoming on Feb. 17th.

Wait a minute - Was George Bailey a Sub-Prime Lender???

Portofilo Magazine posits an interesting question - was George Bailey of "It's A Wonderful LIfe" a sub-prime lender? Was Mr. Potter really the good guy, trying to prevent the mortgage crisis?

One example Portofilo cites makes me think maybe, just maybe, Potter knew something..

POTTER

Peter Bailey was not a businessman. That's what killed him. Oh, I don't mean any disrespect to him, God rest his soul. He was a man of high ideals, so-called, but ideals without common sense can ruin this town. (Picking up papers from table.) Now, you take this loan here to Ernie Bishop...You know, that fellow that sits around all day on his brains in his taxi. You know...I happen to know the bank turned down this loan, but he comes here and we're building him a house worth five thousand dollars. Why?

GEORGE

Well, I handled that, Mr. Potter. You have all the papers there. His salary, insurance. I can personally vouch for his character.

POTTER

(Sarcastically) A friend of yours?

GEORGE

Yes, sir.

POTTER

You see, if you shoot pool with some employee here, you can come and borrow money. What does that get us? A discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class. And all because a few starry-eyed dreamers like Peter Bailey stir them up and fill their heads with a lot of impossible ideas. Now, I say...

O.K., so Potter wasn't right. Affordable housing helped create the middle class, and one could even argue that the G.I. Bill after WWII helped create the modern suburb.

Still, making loans to those that can't afford them is never sound policy.

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" No, and they don't care. And shouldn't have to.

Now’s the time of year when I live up to the tag line “Not as nice as I seem in person.” I’m a child of the 1980s. And we’re supposed to hold a few things sacred, I guess. Like “Just Say No.” And “The Cosby Show.” And “Live Aid.” And “Do They Know It’s Christmas.” Well, I never bought it. “Just Say No” has costs us billions and is doesn’t work. From Alternet.org:

A new survey reveals 13% of 10th-graders reported smoking marijuana in the past 30 days, while just 12.3% smoked cigarettes.

I never knew ANYONE like I saw on “the Cosby Show.” And I don’t mean influential African-Americans. I mean ANYBODY. My family trends toward the redneck side of things, and so did most of my friends. Living in a brownstone in the city with two parents that graduated from graduate schools? Not in my realm. I’ll pass. 

“Live Aid?” I waited 6 months from when it was announced until the show for two things – Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Black Sabbath ended up going waaaay too early in the day and I missed it. Led Zep? Yeah, whoever was in charge of tuning Jimmy’s guitar must have slept in that day, because, well, it wasn’t. We’re not talking a little out of tune. We’re talking “looking at the neck because I can’t believe how badly this is out of tune” out of tune. It was so bad, to this day, on any Live Aid compilation, you won’t find their tracks. It will never happen, because Robert Plant won’t sign the releases. That’s how out of tune Jimmy’s guitar was. And don’t get me started on Phil Collins getting all the credit for drumming when Tony Thompson of Chic and Power Station was doing all the heavy lifting. Phil was just hitting one cymbal back there. 

But let’s get to the real reason for this post – the utter ridiculousness that is “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” First, a refresher from Wikipedia.org

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 specifically to raise money for relief of 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure, and released by Band Aid on November 29, 1984.[1] In late 1984, a BBC report by Michael Buerk was aired highlighting the famine that had hit the people of Ethiopia. Irish singer Bob Geldof had seen the report and, being a social person, wanted to raise money. Aware that he could do little on his own, he called Midge Ure from Ultravox and together they quickly co-wrote the song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?".

Geldof kept a November appointment with BBC Radio 1 DJ Richard Skinner to appear on his show, but instead of discussing his new album (the original reason for his booking), he used his airtime to publicise the idea for the charity single, so by the time the musicians were recruited there was intense media interest in the subject. 

Sounds all wonderful, right? And the money did go to charity, and did start the ball rolling for Live Aid in 1985.  But have you ever actually listened to the lyrics? They are the worst sort of European egocentric imperialist tripe you can imagine. Let’s turn the way-back machine on and remember, shall we?

It's Christmas time There's no need to be afraid At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy

OK, so far, so good. It’s not Shakepeare, but nothing offensive.

Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time But say a prayer Pray for the other ones At Christmas time it's hard, but when you're having fun

Huh? What in the world is THAT supposed to mean? It’s hard to pray for people at Christmas because we’re having so much fun? Seems to me, that’s when most midly-religious people do the most praying.

There's a world outside your window And it's a world of dread and fear

Really? All of it? So the only place worth living is Europe? I’m sure there are some happy people in Papau New Guinea, even without running water and electricity.

Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears And the Christmas bells that ring there Are the clanging chimes of doom Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

Where to start? First off, we’re to assume they’re talking about Africa, since that’s where the money raised went. Do we really think there ARE Christmas bells in Africa? Want to guess what the largest organized religion in northern and central Africa is? Go Google it up, we’ll get back to that. And don’t get me started on “Thank God it’s them, instead of you”. I‘m supposed to THANK God for someone else’s misery? Like, if they’re miserable, that means I’m not? Where’s the logic there? There’s only so much misery to go around, and if you have some, that’s less for me?

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time

When is there EVER snow in Africa? Oh, that’s right, every year. 

The greatest gift they'll get this year is life (Oooh) Where nothing ever grows No rain nor rivers flow Do they know it's Christmas time at all

I sooooo want to channel Sam Kinison here, but I’ll refrain. (link NSFW) As for knowing it’s Christmas time, well, NO, THEY DON’T AND THEY DON’T CARE! The largest organized religion in the northern half of Africa, as it has been since the 700s and the Arab-African trade routes brought about the development of the Swahili language, is Islam. Yes, Islam. More northern and central Africans are Islamic than any other major religion. Now, there are plenty of indigenous religious practices, sure. But as far as organized religion, it’s Islam and nothing else is even close.

(Here's to you) raise a glass for everyone (Here's to them) underneath that burning sun Do they know it's Christmas time at all

So, I’m supposed to toast those dying of heat exhaustion? Is that before or after I thank God it’s them and not me?

Feed the world, feed the world, feed the world Let them know it's Christmas time again

Again, they don’t CARE that it’s Christmas. Are we going to make forced religious conversion a stipulation on receiving food aid now?

Feed the world Let them know it's Christmas time again Feed the world Let them know it's Christmas time again Feed the world Let them know it's Christmas time again Feed the world Let them know it's Christmas time again

That’s assuming they ever knew (or cared) it was Christmas to begin with. On that note…. Merry Christmas. Seriously. And the next time you feel the urge to do something good, do it. Don’t write a bad pop song instead.

Saturday Music Vid Pick - "All Nightmare Long" by Metallica

Metallica - All Nightmare Long


Because you can never get enough of mutant zombie Soviets from outer space...

Santa, I want to bust unions for Christmas!

The Republicans in the Senate have given themselves a big ol' Christmas gift - it's very possible the busted the last of the big manufacturing unions last night when the killed the auto bailout bill.

Senator after Senator bemoaned the fact the auto industry was "shackled" to UAW contracts, and spitting propaganda about auto workers making $74/hour in Detroit. None of it is true, but that didn't stop them from saying it.

From the beginning, this was never about the money and accountability. They gave more than $700 billion to Wall Street and didn't even ask for a receipt. But for $14 billion, the Big 3 practically had to have a plan for how everyone with the word manager in their title was going to brush their teeth in the morning for the next 5 years.

And never mind that it was a bridge loan, and the government would be paid back in interest, unless the $700 billion for Wall Street, where we're HOPING to get money back at some point in the undefined future.

This was all about letting the Big 3 fail and busting the UAW for Republicans. Don't let anyone else tell you different.

Here's the latest lump of coal

From Consumerist.com:

KB Toys has returned to Chapter 11 bankruptcy, says theWall Street Journal, and will be liquidated by its parent company — Prentice Capital Management.

"Going out of business" sales will begin quickly at the chain's 277 retail outlets, 40 larger KB Toy Works stores, 114 outlet stores and 30 temporary "holiday stores."

The WSJ says the liquidation was prompted by a 20% decrease in sales in the second half of this year.

The article had no information about the fate of KB Toys gift cards (though KB Toys website says they have suspended sales of gift cards for the 2008 season) — a detail that is up to the bankruptcy court. Generally, gift card holders are considered "unsecured creditors" unless provisions are made for the store to continue redeeming the cards.

So KB Toys is going out of business, with Circuit City close behind. I still haven't gotten over the fact MOntgomery Ward's doesn't exist anymore, and that's been around 10 years, hasn't it?

Metallica and the Grammys

Normally, I'd rant for days on end about how clueless the Grammy people are about metal and rock. I still remember almost throwing a coffee table into my parents' TV when Jethro Tull won the first Metal Grammy in 1990, just moments after Metallica had just performed.

But not this year - I just don't have time. Instead, I take satisfaction in the fact Metallica has four nominations, specifically:

Best Metal Performance (for My Apocalypse)

Best Rock Instrumental Performance (for Suicide and Redemption)

Best Rock Album (for Death Magnetic)

Best Recording Package (for Death Magnetic - the coffin box is really cool)

and Rick Rubin picks up a nomination for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, which he absolutely, positively, must not win. More on why here. Seriously, the CD mastering sounds like crap. Like a 10-year-old held a tape recorder too close to a radio. It's that bad. Don't believe me? Check this out (and click on View in High Quality) and read the article mentioned in the info.

Here's My Apocalypse for your viewing and audio enjoyment.

Four Years Ago This Week

On Dec. 8, 2004, we lost Dimebag Darrell Abbott of Pantera and Damageplan.

The book "A Vulgar Display of Power" chronicles not just the life of Darrell, but also the lives of the other three victims and the shooter at the Alrosa Villa bar in Ohio.

It's still hard to imagine the scene of seeing ex-Marine (and very much mentally ill) Nathan Gale striding on stage and pointing a gun in Abbott's chest and pulling the trigger, let alone the carnage that followed. Columbus Police Office James Niggemeyer's prompt response onto the scene (less than 2 minutes after the first 911 cell phone call) and action once on the scene saved more than a few others that night.

But music lost a giant that night. You may not have heard of Panetra, but to millions of metalheads in the very early 1990s, they were one of the few bands speaking for them. Metallica had sold out with "Enter Sandman" and "The Black Album," and hair metal had killed off any attention real metal should have gotten. Grunge was just getting started in a big way in Seattle, and suddenly flannel and Kurt Cobain were everywhere.

But in 1994, just as everyone was writing off metal, Pantera unleashed "Far Beyond Driven." Suddenly, the little band from Texas that no one thought anyone else knew had the hardest metal CD to ever debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. 

Personally, "Vulgar Display of Power" remains my favorite. And Darrell's post-Pantera project, Damageplan, still makes its way onto my iPod from time to time. But an argument can be made that "Far Beyond Driven" was the CD that saved metal in the mid-1990s.

So, have a Black Tooth Grin at a bar near you, lean over to the guy in a denim jacket next to ya, and raise a toast to Dimebag Darrell. Getcha Pull!

/Hey, I made it through this whole post without mentioning what a tool singer Phil Anselmo is! Oh, wait...

Today's bumper sticker of the Apocalypse

I know it's tough to read with my crappy RAZR cameraphone image but the bumper sticker carries this message:

Bring Back Ehrlich

Maybe he can get Andy Harris to return the favor and endorse him and campaign for him. After all, it worked so well the first time...

Hey, life happens

Sorry I haven't posted much the last few days - between Thanksgiving at the in-laws, working for my cousin the rest of the weekend, and a great Bennett Middle School band concert tonight, well, time's been tight.

I'll make it up the rest of this week, I swear.

Banking Lessons and Bedford Falls

I used to teach U.S. History and Consumer Economics before I switched to World History. And when we came to the topic of banks and the FDIC and why banks fail, I'd usually pull out a copy of "It's a Wonderful Life" and show the bank run scene. It's as good an explanation as any I've seen for the mess we're in.

"You're thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money's not here. Your money's in Joe's house...right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklin's house, and a hundred others. Why, you're lending them the money to build, and then, they're going to pay it back to you as best they can. Now what are you going to do? Foreclose on them?...Now wait...now listen...now listen to me. I beg of you not to do this thing. If Potter gets hold of this Building and Loan there'll never be another decent house built in this town. He's already got charge of the bank. He's got the bus line. He's got the department stores. And now he's after us. Why? Well, it's very simple. Because we're cutting in on his business, that's why. And because he wants to keep you living in his slums and paying the kind of rent he decides. Joe, you lived in one of those Potter houses, didn't you? Well, have you forgotten? Have you forgotten what he charged you for that broken-down shack? Here, Ed. You know, you remember last year when things weren't going so well, and you couldn't make your payments? You didn't lose your house, did you? Do you think Potter would have let you keep it? Can't you understand what's happening here? Don't you see what's happening? Potter isn't selling. Potter's buying! And why? Because we're panicky and he's not. That's why. He's picking up some bargains. Now, we can get through this thing all right. We've got to stick together, though. We've got to have faith in each other."

Of course, now the problem is, the money didn't just go into Joe's house. Joe's mortgage got bundled with a bunch of other mortgages, some good, some bad. And then insurance companies sold insurance on those bundled mortgages. And when a portion of the mortgages went bad, and the investors who bought the insurance went to collect, the financial markets went down, and AIG and the rest starting going hat in hand to Congress.

If we had been just putting money's in Joe's house, well, if Joe defaulted on his mortgage, the bank could handle that. They always have. Even in the 1970s energy crisis, the 21% interest rates of the late 1970s, and even the recession in the early 1980s.

Now? Now, we're handing out more than $7 TRILLION to companies, and the only one's we're asking for a plan or any sort of accountability is the auto industry. Because it's all the fault of minorities getting mortgages and auto workers making $73 an hour. Yup, that's the problem.

January 20 can't get here fast enough.

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

Hopefully, this won't come to pass, but...

Here's an amazing scene taken from "The Gold Rush", in which Chaplin, hungry Little Fellow for the Thanksgiving evening, cooks his own shoe and shares it with another man. They eat it as their meal, beyond poverty. 

Have I got a deal for you!

You know, I'm sure someone thought, "If they can sell waterfront condos in Crisfield, imagine what we could get in Salisbury!"

SALISBURY — The six-story Residences at Rivers Edge was auctioned Monday for $2.4 million, sold to the Washington-area bank that had lent money for construction of the riverfront project.

The 2 p.m. auction on the front steps of the Wicomico County Courthouse ended speculation over who would acquire the partially built, mid-rise residential condominium community on Fitzwater Street that became a victim of foreclosure.

Easton developer J. Michael Crosby was not visible among the estimated 50 spectators at the bidding. In April, Crosby's company was forced to stop construction at the structure on the Wicomico River after a dispute with Sandy Spring Bank, his lender. Sandy Spring, the highest bidder Monday, eventually ended its relationship with Crosby, forcing the foreclosure.

And when you name your development after a bad Crispin Glover movie about a bunch of teens who hide the murder of a classmate that also 4 Slayer songs on the soundtrack, you're just inviting bad karma.

Now I'm starting to get mad

Bear with me, this rant may not be completely coherent, but it's necessary for me.

I'm not coaching wrestling this year, but I still follow the team where I teach. And one of the kids I really liked coaching missed weight certifications on Saturday. I'll spare you the details, but it's the process where the Bayside Conference sets the minimum weight class for each wrestler. You can't go below that weight during the season for safety reasons. And the kid missed it, which means he can't wrestle until he gets it done at the make-up session in two weeks, and will miss the first match.

I was prepared to hunt him down in the hallways today and ask why he didn't show up for such an important team event. How could he let the team down like that? But before I found him, I found out why he wasn't there.

Seems he was in Baltimore, visiting family. Well, there are 51 other weekends a year to visit family, right? Why this one, and why not tell anyone?

He was in Baltimore because his mom didn't know where else to go. His mom, a single mother with two kids, a job, and a small (less than 1,000 sq.ft.) house she's attempting to buy, couldn't make the electrical bill. And Delmarva Power shut her off.

I'm not mad at Delmarva Power, although I certainly wish they'd be a bit more understanding.

I'm mad we are living in a country where a mother with school-age children does everything she can right - gets a job, keeps her kids in school, moves into a small (and I mean SMALL) house so she can keep a roof over their heads, and yet we can't build an economy where she can afford to keep the lights on.

Seems she used the last little bit of money they had to go to Baltimore because her sister offered to feed the kids and send some food back with them. So, the wrestler will miss this first match. But suddenly, that doesn't seem like the problem it did just 48 hours ago. And I'm not sure if he knows where he will be sleeping the rest of the week.

And I fear it's just going to get worse before it gets better.

Can we just inaugurate Obama now and let him get to work already?

Dr Pepper to deliver on Chinese Democracy free soda promise Sunday

From Blabbermouth.net, my favorite site for metal music news...

Don't cry, GUNS N' ROSES fans. The agonizing wait for the 17-years-in-the-making masterpiece "Chinese Democracy" will finally be over (fingers crossed) on November 23, 2008. Sure, there have been more rumored release dates than the 23 flavors of Dr Pepper, but if "Chinese Democracy" hits stores as announced, it's going to be so easy, easy for every American to get a free Dr Pepper as promised.

"We never thought this day would come," said Tony Jacobs, vice president of marketing for Dr Pepper. "But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us." 

Dr Pepper is ready to give out free soda coupons to every American when the album releases on November 23, 2008. If you're out to get a free Dr Pepper just follow these simple steps: 

How to get your free Dr Pepper: 

1. On the Nov. 23, 2008 release date, go to www.drpepper.com
2. Register your information to receive a coupon for one free 20-oz. Dr Pepper.
3. When your coupon arrives, redeem it wherever Dr Pepper is sold. 
4. Drink your Dr Pepper slowly to experience all 23 flavors. Dr's orders.

Coupons will be available for 24 hours, starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 23, 2008. Allow 4-6 weeks for coupon to arrive. Coupons will expire on February 28, 2009. Limit one coupon per person. Full terms and conditions available at www.drpepper.com.

National Hunger and Homelessness Week

Nationally:

Every day, homeless children are confronted with stressful, often traumatic events.

74% worry they will have no place to live

58% worry they will have no place to sleep

87% worry that something bad will happen to their family

(Homeless Children: America’s New Outcasts; www.familyhomelessnes.org)

Locally:

Did you know …

        As of June 1, 2006 Wicomico County identified 797 students as homeless.

        As of June 1, 2007, Wicomico County identified 1080 students as homeless.

        As of June 1, 2008, Wicomico County identified 1345 students as homeless.

        As of October 15, 2008, Wicomico County identified 1350 students as homeless.

**With the foreclosure crisis, we expect our numbers to continue to rise**

By Law:

 “Homeless children and youth” are “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” (- McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act)

 

This applies to all of our students who are living:

·         In a place that is not fixed, regular or adequate

·         In motels, hotels, campgrounds

·         In emergency shelters or in transitional housing

·         Abandoned in Hospital

·         Awaiting Foster Placement

·         Public places not designed for people to sleep

·         With friends or relatives due to the loss of housing, economic hardship or similar reason

Read more about it in “Determining Eligibility for Rights and Services under the McKinney-Vento Act”

http://www.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/det_elig.pdf

Rep.-Elect Frank Kratovil checks out DC

From WMDT.com:

Congressman-Elect Frank Kratovil has been in Washington D.C. all week. He is with other new members for orientation. Kratovil won Maryland's First District seat in the election.

He says come January, he wants to start working for the people of Maryland's First District on day one. He wants to get right to work fixing our economy, securing our middle class and protecting the environment.

Those three themes were on every piece of literature and in every phone call made by the Kratovil campaign this fall, and it appears he's staying true to that course. In Wicomico County alone, Frank Kratovil won by 5,818 votes. And remember, John McCain won the county by more than 2,413.   

From the office of Congressman-Elect Frank Kratovil:

Washington, DC (November 19, 2008) - Congressman-Elect Frank Kratovil has been in Washington all week with fellow members-elect and current members of Congress as part of a new member orientation program designed to help new members hit the ground running when they are officially sworn in at the start of the 111th Congress in early January. 

The orientation has consisted of informational seminars that range from getting around the Capitol subway system to briefings on House of Representatives rules and procedures. The program has also included an extensive briefing on House ethics regulations as well as guidelines for setting up and staffing both Washington, DC and district offices. 

"So far this experience has been invaluable. Come January I want to start working for the people of Maryland's First District on day one. This experience will allow me to handle all of the paperwork and procedural stumbling blocks ahead of time so that we can get right to work fixing our economy, securing our middle class, and protecting the environment," said Kratovil. 

Kratovil has had the opportunity to meet with members of his incoming freshman class as well as members of the House leadership. Yesterday Kratovil also attended his first Blue Dog Democrats meeting, a coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats who endorsed his candidacy. "Our nation faces a great deal of challenges, but I am confident that by working with the men and women I have met this week, as well as the current members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, that we can come together and do what our constituents sent us to Washington to do," said Kratovil. 

The second part of the week will focus on committee assignments. Kratovil has expressed interest in joining a committee that will allow him to work closely with the issues that effect First District families on a daily basis, such as Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, or Transportation. More information will be made available about committee assignments when it becomes available. 

So, yes, he's officially a Blue Dog Democrat. But that's not a bad thing for the Shore, and there's not much in President-Elect Barack Obama's agenda that would put him in opposition to the new president. Here's to a successful first term, and to many terms to come.

Thoughts and Questions: Nov. 19 edition

Can someone explain to me what's happening with the PAC-14 Board? I know I should care, but I can't even get the channel, because like almost 40% of Wicomico County, I can't get cable even if I wanted to. And have I mentioned just how much I hate Comcast? It's bound to come out sooner or later, so you might as well know that up front. 

But I read things like this, and wonder - who would CARE so much about wielding power of a public access channel almost half the county can't even get and almost no one watches?

SALISBURY -- Plans for Public Access Channel 14 are still murky, with some board members resigning in the latest twist.

This week Michael Day and Grace Foxwell Murdock informed Salisbury Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman they are stepping down from the TV station's dysfunctional board of directors.

The station broadcasts local shows and government meetings to Wicomico County viewers, but members of the station are caught in a power struggle over its future. The resignations come amid fears that PAC-14 might lose its independence in a set of bylaws now under consideration exclusively by the city and county. The station now receives practically all of its funding from the two governments.

Seriously, what am I missing here? Salisbury University is apparently giving up its role with PAC-14, and now Wicomico County and the City of Salisbury will be the sole entities supplying members to this board, although no direct tax money from residents is used in funding PAC-14, if I am to believe their website. And there better not be, because I'll be like a 60-year-old retiree complaining about paying for schools I don't have kids in if I have to pay for a cable channel the cable company won't let me buy.

But the "intrigue" mentioned in the article - no board meetings for two years, side groups being formed - really, who care that much about public access television? What am I missing here?

Metallica: Broken, Beat and Scarred

'Cause it's a Metallica kind of day, that's why.

"You rise, you fall, you're down and you rise again...what don't kill ya, makes ya more strong."

Can't wait to see them with my daughter in late January.

National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week

From an e-mail I received at work from a volunteer...

National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week
November 17-21, 2008


"I hollered over and said, 'Can I get you something?' I didn't know what to do." She learned the man's name was Rick. They sat on a guardrail and talked for nearly an hour. "And I began to realize that homeless people are not strange or bad or anything I saw on TV. This was just an average person for whom life took a bad turn, not much different from where mine was."

–Celeste Savage (“ HALO Director takes Detour into helping the homeless”)

Did you realize……

2300 Meals have been served at the HALO Street Program since January 2008.

20 families per week get food from the HALO Pantry.

HALO: Hope and Life Outreach 410-742-9356

Information on other local resources is on its way this week!

Do you know of a resource for homeless children? Please let us know about it!

Wicomico County has more than 1 in every 6 MD students in its public schools. Let's state that again: One in every SIX homeless students in MD goes to a school in our county. If you can help, please do.

How bad is the economy?

So bad that NASCAR is banning testing at all its sanctioned tracks next year - not Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, or Sprint Cup test. Here's how bad it is - the car owners are HAPPY about it:

Reaction among competitors was almost universally positive, from drivers happy to have a little more time off to car owners who see the measure as a way of saving money that's hard to come by right now. Testing is an expensive proposition, requiring the transport of several crewmen and truckloads of equipment, and costing teams an estimated $100,000 a day.

At least they found a sponsor for the Truck Series - after looking for almost a year for a replacement for Craftsman, which has been the title sponsor since the series began 14 years ago, Camping World stepped up to take over. 

NOW it's official - Frank Kratovil wins MD-01

We can stop worrying about initial election day returns, the difference between AB1 and AB2 counts, and what qualifies a provisional ballot to be counted. All the counting is done, there's no more counting to do, and ladies and gentlemen, it's official:

Frank Kratovil (D) has won MD-01.

By a final, seriously- we-really-mean-it-this-time count of 177,065 to 174,213 Frank Kratovil has officially and completely won the race. 

A few last details I think are interesting, anyway. From the time we first got totals on Tuesday night until the AB1, Provisional and AB2 counts were completed, Frank Kratovil gained 16,151 votes while Andy Harris gained only 14,215.

So while he started out with a lead of just 916 on last Tuesday night, he ended up with a lead of 2,852. In just 30,000 or so post-Election Day votes counted, Frank added another 1,600 or so votes to his lead. That's almost a 10% difference in votes garnered for the candidates in a race that was deadlocked on Election Night. 

That's a 55/45 split in late-counted voted, the overwhelming majority of which were absentee. And absentee votes totals are almost never good news for Democrats. And the requests were split almost exactly evenly by party affiliation.

Maybe it's just a weird statistical fluke. But it does show the lengths to which some Republicans chose to go to show their displeasure with Andy Harris, and their support of Frank Kratovil.

Inauguaral Edition: Thoughts and Questions, Nov. 13th

A few thoughts and questions from reading today's DelmarvaNow.com:

*Should I be worried that the top 3 teams at the 25th annual Eastern Shore High School Mathematics Competition on Wednesday were from private schools?

*I know I should probably care about things like codes concerning pets, but I just can't bring the same level of emotion as Donald Singleton, who managed to invoke Godwin's Law in a discussion about dogs.             

     

"The last thing that I need is a group of pet Nazis trying to tell me how to take care of my dogs," said Donald Singleton, a dog owner who spoke during a public hearing in Salisbury attended by about 35 people.

*Gangs in Crisfield, huh? I don't know about you, but this quote from Crisfield Police Chief Mike Tabor isn't terribly reassuring. "They're calling themselves a gang," Tabor said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's a gang." So if they called themselves the chess team, do we agree, too?

*Not from DelmarvaNow, but just a question - why doesn't the Coastal Association of Realtors post home sales info on their site anymore? They used to list, by county, sales and median sales price. It had YTD comparisons, same month comparisons, the whole nine. It's not there now. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

*And this guy is running for mayor. I'd vote for him if I lived in the city. Which I don't. And of which I remind him every time I see him.