Rock Hall Rocks!

If you know anyone in college, you probably know they were on Spring break this week. I still pine for those days of having a week off to let my brain vegetate, and just read for fun. While I can enjoy a week respite from classes, my much better half did get the week off. So we decided to turn eastward and make our fortunes outside of Baltimore this weekend. After many hours of research and with an ever helpful Google by my side, I found this little gem of a bed and breakfast, in Rock Hall, which is in Kent county. Huntingfield Creek was about a two hour drive from Baltimore, and well worth the drive. You get to see rolling fields of green, which do not naturally occur in Baltimore, that put your mind at ease, and help you realize there is something more than asphalt and concrete. Anyway, this place is set on an enormous estate that abuts the bay, and is good for taking a long walk. Make sure you bring the very friendly dogs along, you can see them in my slide show below. Directly south from Huntingfield Creek is the smallest national wildlife refuge in the country, according to our gracious innkeeper. Eastern Neck wildlife refuge is a tiny island, but it is home to our national symbol, the eagle, which we saw several of. I was able to take a picture, but it just appears as a black speck, oh well. But, there are trails and it offers an amazing view of the bay, including Baltimore off in the distance. I have been told that a ferry used to bring people out to Rock Hall for crab feasts, but they were discontinued. As far as culinary options, for a place as small as Rock Hall, there are several options. We chose the Bay Wolf, and dined on a delectable dish of Wienerschnitzel, which I was told was comparable to anything being served in Vienna. But, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the mouth watering breakfast that is served. There is plenty, and the sticky bun con sausage was unique and provided a great juxstaposition of sweet and salty. All in all, it was a weekend that should be replicated, and if you get a chance, you should stay with Jim and Joanne.

Rock Hall

Relationships

There is a little bit of truthiness in this video.

The Sad Truth About Relationships

Protest This Tibet!

The Chinese government does an excellent job at shutting down any dissent. Tiananmen Square was an excellent example of this. Nothing says loving like getting run over by a T-35. So you have the Tibetans, who are currently having a little rebellion of their own. With crowds, chants, and the occasional severe beating by overzealous Chinese authority types. I mean, these people were only their own country before the hoards from China decided to extend their domain into Tibet. So some of these Tibetans are chaffing from the yolk and acting out. The Chinese response, was typical, but it is getting more attention than normal, with the Olympics so close. I like the fact they have shut down media coming out of Tibet, going as far as blocking YouTube. I don't care what kind of repressive communist regime that you are, YOU DO NOT BLOCK YOUTUBE! That and the fact that the Dali Lama is not inclined to tell his countrymen to stop their protest either, speaks to the importance of this event.

So the U.S. government has sternly rebuked the dragon from the East, for kicking out foreign journalist. Not that they are letting any of the journalists that are there actually report on anything of substance. As far as the Olympics go, the EU has already said it would not boycott the games. But, where does the U.S. stand? There have been reports that at least one hundred people have been killed by the authorities, and I am sure the count is much higher than that. Does the U.S. responsibility to make a stronger stand that just feigning outrage, or do the economics outweigh wholesale slaughter? Time will tell. Meanwhile, good luck you crazy Tibetans, don't let the Chinese keep, I mean beat you down.

It takes a Ninja to kill a Ninja

I first heard this saying from my brother, and while it is funny, in the case of cancer it is deadly serious. These scientist are using a virus to kill cancer cells. If this breakthrough translates to other forms of cancer, we don't necessarily need a cure, because we can destroy the cancer. This is the type of scientific discovery I am looking forward to seeing more of, so kudos to this super smart scientists.

Trimming the Fat or Cutting Dead Weight, Choose your Metaphor

I pay attention to politics in D.C., because it is fun and I am familiar with the scene. So when I saw this article in the Sun today, I had to laugh. Last week the chancleor of D.C. schools did the same exact thing. She got the power to fire, and classify central office employees as at will, and got rid of their asses. Many say it was because they were underperformers, she says it was to give more money to the schools. For whatever reason they give, getting rid of all the redundant and wasteful central office jobs, can only help. Mr. Alonso is going to cut $110 million from the central office budget and redistribute $70 million. I am sure some people are going to whine about jobs, but when the money is going to the kids, there is only so much whining that can be done. I think this is a good move, considering how poor the schools in this city perform. But, we all know that simply throwing money at the problem will not work, you have to have students who want to be there an want to learn. Let's hope they keep the number of administrators down, so they can focus on giving the kids the resources they deserve, and not the shortchanging they have received thus far.

In a Womb Far Far Away . . .

A love quirky little articles about the most cutting edge science, and how it affects society. While the science in this article isn't cutting edge, the entire concept behind surrogate wombs is fascinating. Here you have a couple, somewhere in the world, who is a paying an Indian woman to carry their future child. These women are apparently paid several years wages for this service. While the article says this practice has been banned in several countries, India has seemingly done well in regulating the practice. I guess the country figures there are so many people living in abject poverty, the mental strain caused by this practice is outweighed by the financial benefit. I just don't understand how these women could give up a child that is technically half theirs. I can't argue for people who want to bring a child into this world, but the means are questionable.
(Photo Stephanie Sinclair/VII Network/ N.Y. Times)

Sore Thumb

I tend not to complain too much, especially when it isn't worth wasting my time. But, there are occasions when I think it is warranted. I don't necessarily view this as a complaint, more of a criticism of sorts. So I was walking down Pratt street this morning, and see they are almost finished with the exterior of the new Convention Center Hilton. When I first saw the silver siding, I thought it was nothing more than a base layer. That is not the case, almost the entire building will be that silver color. Not that I have anything against the color, but when you compare it to the surrounding environs, you see that it doesn't fit in with the brick motif of the ball park, or the rest of the buildings in that area. One would think that if you are going to build a building, you would have it fit in with the motif, which in Baltimore is red brick. I can understand if they are trying to save money on the cost of materials or the labor it takes to install the brick, but that place sticks out like a sore thumb, and and ugly one at that! Check out the slide show below so you can see what I mean.

Do Not Follow the Leader

England has been the leader in keeping track of its citizens.  They have cctv cameras seemingly growing out of the wood, in order to keep their citizens safe.  There are doubts as to whether they actually work, but once a government gets a big brother program like this going, it would take an act of god to stop it.  Next comes their national ID with bio-metric data.  Which is to include your address, finger prints, and retinal scan.  This is certainly comparable to the U.S. Real ID, and what our law makers are pushing on us.  We shouldn't have to walk around with our iris scan and finger prints just to prove who I am.  I think a picture works just fine.  Both the U.S. and English governments are claiming this will increase our safety, but if they can't get the big issues right, how can we expect them to carry this out with any bit of competency?

Deaf, Dumb, Blind and Stupid

I guess that is how you could characterize the United States' policy with regard to Palestine.  We want to promote democracy, but we cut them off when they elect Hamas.  I don't know if you can blame people for wanting to boot the corrupt acolytes of former PLO head Arafat.  This article from Vanity Fair just goes to show you that we still aren't playing with a full deck when it comes to handling situations in the Middle East.  Instead of building up a government, we forced a reactionary coup, that left both sides worse off, and the extreme elements in a better position.  Three cheers for Condi and her crew!