Is It Time for a Naming Ceremony?

In two weeks and one day, this weblog will turn one year old. Back on that first day, I did a Google search and found some 700 "Mike's Musings" out there.

I wish I had either a) checked before naming the dang thing, or b) immediately come up with something else. I didn't.

I just checked again, there now appear to be about 7,000 Mike's Musings. Oh dear.

Over the next two weeks, I want to think about maybe finding a new name.

What do you think?

Four Trumpets, Four French Horns, Two Trombones, Two Bass Trombones and a Tuba (With Percussion)

Last night, Karen and I attended the second concert of this summer’s Lewes Chamber Music Festival. This was a performance by a brass ensemble called Brass Engine. They played a mix of composed classical and modern music, church music and renaissance dances.

The Festival is organized by Sheridan Seyfried, a conservatory student, musician and composer and the son of our friends Steve and Elsie Seyfried. Last night included the premier of Sheridan’s Mad Jack’s Revenge, a new composition commissioned by Brass Engine.

Sheridan is the eldest of five. His younger brother is entering his second year (I think) at the Naval Academy at Annapolis. His younger sister, a high-school student, has just started a year of study in Thailand. The two younger siblings also show promise of creativity and individuality.

Karen and I feel that, if we can do half as well with our kids as Steve and Elise have done raising theirs, we will have done well.

By the way, if you ever have a chance to hear a brass ensemble this good, take it. What a full, rich, sweet sound.    

My Little Car and I In The Newspaper

An article in yesterday's News Journal on the rise in demand for hybrid cars as gas prices rise -- More drivers turning to hybrid options -- included several quotes from yours truly.

I was slightly disappointed that the reporter did not pick up on my thesis that the low emissions from these cars are also a big reason that many of us wanted to buy them. There is a mention of the low emissions factor, deep in the article, but I wanted to make the point that that factor meant more -- to me at least -- than the gas savings.

I was just as proud of my car when gas was at $1.98 per gallon as I am at $2.56 or whatever it is this morning.

Ninth Golf Game in 2005

I played 18 holes with Andy Southmayd at the Heritage Golf Course today. I played abysmally; absolutely abysmally.

It may have been the heat. It may have been the fact that I’m fighting a cold. It may also have been the crappy condition of the course. But the abysmal-ness of my golf game remains.


The course was in bad shape. The heat this summer has made course maintenance very hard. But this course is being let go a bit, I think. It is slated to be shortened and a set of townhouses put in and I think hey aren’t putting quite the same energy into taking care of it that they once did.

A shame, really.

Update: I have an excuse! Yay! Turns out, I was playing that game with a blood clot in my leg and in both my lungs. Given that, I think I played ... okay.

Big Flame Update

We were back at Tokyo Steak House this evening. Our waiter was Tom, who we’ve had before. We were comfortable enough to ask him why the Big Flame no longer bursts above the mid-table grills at Tokyo.

According to Tom, the flame is gone because… someone complained. The flame scared their small child. So management decided to douse the flame.

I would have expected someone to have been singed, at least. But, scared?

A Visit to Moore's Lake

I took my lunch hour at Moore's Lake today, and took along my camera.

Moore's Lake is a state-run fishing/boating access point just south of Dover. It includes a very cool dam/spillway and fish ladder.

I found it a very pretty place.

Jury Duty!

I reported to Sussex County Superior Court at 9:00 a.m. this morning to start my latest round of jury duty.

Here in Sussex, we serve in the jury pool for two weeks. During that time, we’re on-call to be picked for a trial. If we get picked for a long trial, we’re there for the duration. Otherwise, we’re back into the pool.

My jury duty started on August 15 and runs through the 26th. We call a special phone number each evening and a recording tells us whether to report or not the following morning. We were not asked to come in until today and today appears to be our only day of duty for this week. Next week? Who knows?

We were there today for a quick orientation to jury duty and for 40 of us to sit as a jury pool for the Court of Common Pleas. I wasn’t among the 40 chosen randomly and so by 10:30 I was headed north to my office.

I looked around the courtroom this morning at what is meant to be a random cross section of Sussex County residents. I think it was. A few young folks, a fair number of retirees; some African American, some Latino, the majority Caucasian.

I would be willing to wager that I was the only – or at least one of the only – folks there who was hoping to sit in the jury box for a trial. Most folks are resentful of an intrusion into their routine; they spend the time worrying about work or wishing they were back home.

I think it really is a part of our duty as citizens to serve on juries. We should vote. We should speak up on issues (after first learning about them). We should serve our jury duty. The legal system really does depend on us; I’m glad to serve.

Also, from a selfish point of view, I’m fascinated by the legal process. I’d like to watch a trial from up-close, without being a defendant, a witness, or a victim.

So, we’ll see what next week brings. If I do get on a jury, though, I won’t be blogging about it. Maybe I will post about it after it ends, but then only about the experience and not about any details of the trial. I think that that would be inappropriate.    

Where Did the Big Flame Go?

We went out to dinner this evening with my brother Matt and his wife and kids. We went to Tokyo Steak House, which is one of our favorites.

Tokyo Steak House is a hibachi-style restaurant, with table settings around a large central grill. The food is cooked in front of you by a chef who mixes-in showmanship, knife tricks and egg-juggling. He slices. He dices. He sprinkles-in spices. The food is very good; the chef’s show is a large part of the fun.

It used to be the case that that show started with a great cloud of flame. The chef would create a puddle of some flammable liquor (Sake?), light a smaller puddle off to the side, and connect the two with a final squirt of the liquor. A flash of flame would rise up into the vent-hood starting the show off with a bang.

This evening, and the last time we were there a few weeks back, there was no introductory flame. I have to wonder, why?

Are there safety concerns? Was there an incident? Did someone loose a substantial hank of hair to singeing? I just don’t know.

I have to say that I miss it. They won’t lose our business; we like the place very much.

But I do miss the flame.

Because You Never Know What the World Will Offer You

Question: Why do you always carry your camera with you?

I found myself behind this truck running lunchtime errands in Dover the other day. Thank you world.

Dead Bug

Dead Bug
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie.

When I got into my car this afternoon, the car's thermometer read 102 degrees. It had been sitting in the sun in a barren parking lot for four hours, so no surprise.

When I got in I found this insect lying dead, spreadeagled on the armrest between the driver's and passenger's seats. It appeared to have been overwhelmed by the heat.

I think it was a mosquito, in life, so I didn't shed any tears.