Orioles fan. . .

Question for the audience: Is there any point in rooting for a team that losses consistently? The Orioles have now lost 8 in a row, the last two to the Devil Rays. I have always been a faithful fan and will undoubtedly continue to be. But it does make me wonder, why continue to support a team that brings only disappointment?

No Internet

For some reason it takes Verizon like three weeks to hook up our internet. So as we are moving into our new house we are completely cut off from the world...if you don't count cable, phone, cell phones, etc... It is kind of scary to really feel how reliant I am on the internet, I have been completely unproductive without it. Of course there is also the new puppy to account for that. Meet Quinn. (Again, since I posted a picture before we brought her home.)

Murder Baltimore

Baltimore is in the midst of a disturbing murder trend. A former student of mine was gunned down earlier this summer over a verbal dispute. I have heard little from any of the mayoral candidates that suggests they have a viable solution to get a handle on it. A useful tool for looking at what is taking place is available from the Sun's website. In the meantime I will be looking for someone to vote for.

New Name

Been on vacation. Currently moving. There is a new name coming to the blog. I have been thinking of names and it will involve some variation of "Publius." I may change the address as well. Keep an eye out. In other name news the puppy will be named Quinn. We debated about Boh for a long time but ultimately like Quinn better.

Zoology continued

Saw a manatee today. Pretty cool, like a big floating cow. Just saw it for a minute.

Crime Baltimore

To give you some idea how out of control crime is in Bmore, my brother was reading the police blotter a while ago and came across a gem of a story that read something like this:
"A body was found in a trash can in an alley behind _____ St. Police have labeled it 'suspicious.'"
I mean seriously, we don't know it was murder . . . it could have been an accident. I just hope we can get a mayor that can get a handle on the situation because it is getting to be a scary place to live.

Environment

Great intermittent series by the New York times on climate change. Click the link.

Commuting

Since for the past five years I have lived across the street from work I have not had to commute at all. This is great from an environmental standpoint and from a saving time and stress standpoint. Now that I am heading back to school at Maryland and living in Hampden this will all change. I now face a brutal commute three times a week. I am trying to figure out the best way to do it. My current plan is to bike or get dropped off at Penn station Baltimore, take the MARC train to Union station DC and then take the subway to College Park. I am guessing about 1.5-2 hrs for this trip. My other option is an hr car ride, but this wastes gas and I can't read in the car. (not to mention Honda blew up last time I tried to ride her to DC) With the first option I am using public transportation and hopefully can get lots of reading done. If anyone has experience with this commute and wants to share some tips feel free. The other drawback to taking the train, other than time, is the cost. Taking this trip twice a day three times a week aint cheap.

Liger

Down in Florida on vacation. Saw a Liger today. It's 900 lbs. It was awesome. Liger is on the right. He kept trying to mount the other tigers...frisky little guy.

Too many kids

Recently I read about a family who just had their 17th child. They are the Duggar family and you can check out their website. I don't fancy myself a judgmental person, nor am I a fan of the government interfering in people's personal lives. In this case it seems the Duggar's have not been shy about sharing their own beliefs and philosophies, so I don't feel too bad commenting on their life choices. As our country/world grapples with global warming and other environmental catastrophes it seems incredibly irresponsible to have 17 children. While it seems seldom talked about, over population is probably the preeminent cause of our environmental problems. I don't advocate any sort of legal recourse, but simply wish people would practice personal responsibility in their lives. We can reduce, reuse, and recycle to a fault, but as long as our planet continues to be overpopulated we won't begin to address the real problems we face. Seriously, check out the website...Nuuuutty.

Baseball and Steroids

Found this chart in an article on ESPN.com. The article was about A-Rod's chances of breaking the HR record. I found it interesting if you look at it in light of the whole steroid phenomenon. Notice that those players not suspected of using steroids all hit the same or less HRs after their 32nd birthday as they did before their 32nd birthday. Those who we know or suspect did steroids almost all hit more HRs. (Like the good ol' Oriole Rafael.) Coincidence? I don't think so. Is Barry going to be the HR king? Not in my book.

HRs before and after 32nd birthday

Player	Before 32	After 32
Hank Aaron	398	357
Barry Bonds	332	421
Babe Ruth	356	358
Willie Mays	373	282
Sammy Sosa	386	218
Ken Griffey Jr.	460	128
Frank Robinson	399	187
Mark McGwire	277	306
Harmon Killebrew	393	180
Rafael Palmeiro	232	337

Latest Painting

I don't get to paint much. But I did complete one painting this summer. I think I am going to do a few more in a similar way. Here's a bad picture of it, the colors are all distorted and it looks much better in its larger form.

Artscape/People Watching

As an avid fan of people watching I had a great time about two weeks ago enjoying both Artscape and the Otakon convention in Baltimore. Artscape is always good fun with artcars, street performers, great music, art and lots of just plain weird stuff. The fact that the two events were on the same weekend meant that you had all the Otikan folds dressed up in crazy costumes (large weapons, wings, wigs, scantily clad...) and the normal Artscape folks inundating the city. It was hard to decide where to go for the best viewing. You can see some Artscape pictures on Sarah and my flickr account.

Does God accept collect calls?

What's happened to Runts?

Went to my local candy dealer the other day and ordered up a half pound of runts only to discover that they changed the runts. No more lime/watermelon runts? It's a tragedy. I went to the Willy Wonka website to try and decipher why they would make such a blunder. But since it is designed for kids and not serious candy lovers like myself it said nothing. They are keeping their lips tight. Everyone knows if you are going to eliminate a runt it should be banana. Nobody likes the banana runts.