I got a kick out of a blog posting on DenverInfill Blog about the naming of suburban developments.
In Guide to Suburban Denver Subdivision Names, Ken Schroeppel has created a sort of cheat sheet -- Chinese Restaurant Carry-out Menu-Style -- for the naming of subdivisions.
Thus, we might get "The Sanctuary at Hawk Tree Crossing" or "The Estates at Silver Gate Meadows."
I'm often amazed (appalled?) at the names tacked-on to the multitude of suburban developments here in coastal Sussex. And I see a trend similar to that Mr. Schroeppel notes.
We have more than a few subdivisions with pretentious names like "The Enclave" or "The Preserves." Near my home, you will find Wolfe Runne, which we here in town refer to as "Wolf-EE Run-EE." That's one that shares with places like "The Meadows" or "Red Fox Run" another trend: name the subdivision after that which it displaces.
My current favorite (and I use that word advisedly) is "The Ridings at Rehoboth." "Ridings," I guess to highlight the horsey-ness of our area. Actually, the horsey area is a bit farther west. But we'll let that go.
What gets me is that "at Rehoboth." This "Ridings" is west of Lewes, out on Beaverdam Road and about 8 to 10 miles from Rehoboth Beach. Depending on how you make the drive.
Some of what is between Rehoboth Beach and its "Ridings:" West Rehoboth. Midway. Five Points. Belltown. And Robinsonville.
Of course, naming something as "At Rehoboth" or "[insertname], Lewes" raises the price considerably.
There's a development down near Bethany Beach which has a fancy, gated entrance on one road that is never open. It has several other entrances on another road that are not gated and are always open.
I always wondered why that was.
A colleague who used to work in the County Mapping and Addressing office explained that a development with an entrance on the one road would get a Bethany Beach ZIP Code. An entrance on the other road would mean an Ocean View ZIP Code. Not that the development would be actually in either town; the only difference would be that ZIP Code and which named post office would be in their address.
Ocean View is a great little town. But a Bethany Beach address is worth several tens of thousands of dollars more. Never mind that the residents use the Ocean View Road.
Perception, it seems, is reality.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Out From Under The Clouds
It's not that I haven't had anything to say the last few days. It's just that I have felt too cruddy to want to put together a blog entry.
My first cold of the new school year started Wednesday, and built to a crescendo of congestion, sneezing, and headache yesterday. I tried lots of fluids, some rest, and moderate medication. I awoke feeling a bit more human this morning.
Yesterday, feeling too lousy to get about much, I started playing with LibraryThing. It's not particularly new, but is new to me. It allows you to create an index of your library.
I did wander outside at one point while a crop-duster was working on one of the fields just outside of Lewes.
Today was nice enough, and I was feeling chipper enough, to get out and mow the lawn. I was finally able to get an almost decent photo of one of the many spiders that have set-up shop around the outside of the house.
This evening, while Colleen was exercising her horse, I got to play around with, and photograph, the new kittens at the barn.
My first cold of the new school year started Wednesday, and built to a crescendo of congestion, sneezing, and headache yesterday. I tried lots of fluids, some rest, and moderate medication. I awoke feeling a bit more human this morning.
Yesterday, feeling too lousy to get about much, I started playing with LibraryThing. It's not particularly new, but is new to me. It allows you to create an index of your library.
I did wander outside at one point while a crop-duster was working on one of the fields just outside of Lewes.
Today was nice enough, and I was feeling chipper enough, to get out and mow the lawn. I was finally able to get an almost decent photo of one of the many spiders that have set-up shop around the outside of the house.
This evening, while Colleen was exercising her horse, I got to play around with, and photograph, the new kittens at the barn.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Art From Ashes
Ever since I've had a blog-roll, I've had a link to Wooster Collective, a site "dedicated to showcasing and celebrating ephemeral art placed on streets in cities around the world."
The September 11 entry on Wooster is a bit of history; Wooster Collective: Our Story. The site founder explains that at the time of the attacks, he and his partner were living near the World Trade Center in the West Village.
He watched the second plane hit. He watched the towers fall. More importantly, he watched the city come together as a community.
It's heartening to find another positive result of the attacks of 9/11. It shows that humans are capable of creating good from evil. You have only to keep looking, and keep your heart open.
The September 11 entry on Wooster is a bit of history; Wooster Collective: Our Story. The site founder explains that at the time of the attacks, he and his partner were living near the World Trade Center in the West Village.
He watched the second plane hit. He watched the towers fall. More importantly, he watched the city come together as a community.
And it was at this time, in the days immediately after September 11, that we discovered ephemeral art. Until then we had no idea what street art was. But the attacks of September 11th had made us hyper-aware of our surroundings. We began exploring Lower Manhattan like never before. We were now seeing the city in a completely different way, with new eyes and a new heart. Everything, and everyone, around us was now suddenly important. And it was in these days immediately after September 11th that we began noticing street art everywhere we went.He started photographing. Eventually he put what he found on-line. It caught on, and Wooster Collective was born. I am paraphrasing. The full post is well worth a read.
It's heartening to find another positive result of the attacks of 9/11. It shows that humans are capable of creating good from evil. You have only to keep looking, and keep your heart open.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Yup. I Voted.
I did my civic duty today, just like I was asked to by the nice man from the party who called last night. I voted in the Delaware Primary Election this evening at the polling place of the 1st Election District of the 37th Representative District.
When I came down Savannah Road towards the old Lewes Middle School, where we vote, I saw lots of cars parked along the road. I was pleased, since I had heard that turn-out had been light. I was a bit surprised to see two young women in National Guard fatigues standing outside the front door. When I approached the door, they handed me a folded, xeroxed sheet.
I had gone to the wrong door. There was some sort of program scheduled in the school building. The polling place was the next set of doors down; the entrance by the cafeteria/auditorium. There was no one parked there.
In my defense, the door I first went to is one where the polling place has been set up at least once in the past.
When I got to the right spot, I found I was the only voter in the place. No waiting.
After I voted, the poll workers were kind enough (bored enough?) to let me take their group portrait.They told me that they had seen about 200 voters by that point (around 7:00 p.m.). They said that that was about what they expected. There were only two races for that District, one each for Ds and Rs.
Changes. Thanks, Ernesto.
Walking back to my car after voting this evening, I found myself looking at a scene that I'd photographed back in June. A lovely brick home with a wrapped porch, framed by mature trees. It looked different tonight. Several large tree limbs were on the lawn, and the house was no longer quite so shaded.
Here's how it looked back in June:
Now, after Tropical Storm Ernesto came through a short while ago, it looked like this:
Here's how it looked back in June:
Now, after Tropical Storm Ernesto came through a short while ago, it looked like this:
Monday, September 11, 2006
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Our Marriage Turned 18 Today
Eighteen years ago today, Karen and I called together her family and mine, and all our friends, at a Church in Potomac, Maryland, to witness our wedding.
Karen was raised in the Greek Orthodox Church, worshipping in Slavonic, and our marriage included some prayers and promises in that language. It was very high-church, with kneeling and crowns and incense and a procession three times around the alter.
I don't really know what was promised in some of that ceremony, but that was when I started following my Father's wise advice: "Do whatever your wife tells you to do." It's advice that has served me well, so far.
Whatever the details, I can say that we were pretty well completely married by the end of the ceremony.
The reception was at a country-club-type place out west of DC. Though we were the only sober people at that reception, I don't have a firm memory of what the place was called. I know that we missed most of our meal walking from table to table to meet and greet.
I asked my older sister to buy boxes of Animal Crackers for the head table; I had wanted to get a huge supply of just the Giraffe Animal Crackers, to put in bowls at every table. Karen is a Giraffe person. But I was unable to make that happen.
The band was traditional, playing polkas. At the crescendo of the evening, a huge ring danced around Karen while my youngest brother and Karen's sister collected cash donations for a shot of whiskey and a dance with the bride: The Bridal Dance. Mom still wonders at the sight she had that night of her youngest son cheerily sharing shots with one and all.
Karen was danced into a tizzy and by the time I broke through the ring to claim my bride ("Tradition! Tradition!" sings Tevye), we had collected several hundred dollars. That night, at the Admiral Fell Inn, on Fells Point in Baltimore, we counted our cash, laughed about our families, and started a life together that still includes laughter, joy, and lots of family.
I love my wife. She is a beautiful, kind, talented woman. I'm a lucky, lucky man.
Mazel-Tov! If I do toast so myself.
Karen was raised in the Greek Orthodox Church, worshipping in Slavonic, and our marriage included some prayers and promises in that language. It was very high-church, with kneeling and crowns and incense and a procession three times around the alter.
I don't really know what was promised in some of that ceremony, but that was when I started following my Father's wise advice: "Do whatever your wife tells you to do." It's advice that has served me well, so far.
Whatever the details, I can say that we were pretty well completely married by the end of the ceremony.
The reception was at a country-club-type place out west of DC. Though we were the only sober people at that reception, I don't have a firm memory of what the place was called. I know that we missed most of our meal walking from table to table to meet and greet.
I asked my older sister to buy boxes of Animal Crackers for the head table; I had wanted to get a huge supply of just the Giraffe Animal Crackers, to put in bowls at every table. Karen is a Giraffe person. But I was unable to make that happen.
The band was traditional, playing polkas. At the crescendo of the evening, a huge ring danced around Karen while my youngest brother and Karen's sister collected cash donations for a shot of whiskey and a dance with the bride: The Bridal Dance. Mom still wonders at the sight she had that night of her youngest son cheerily sharing shots with one and all.
Karen was danced into a tizzy and by the time I broke through the ring to claim my bride ("Tradition! Tradition!" sings Tevye), we had collected several hundred dollars. That night, at the Admiral Fell Inn, on Fells Point in Baltimore, we counted our cash, laughed about our families, and started a life together that still includes laughter, joy, and lots of family.
I love my wife. She is a beautiful, kind, talented woman. I'm a lucky, lucky man.
Mazel-Tov! If I do toast so myself.
ax + by = gcd(a,b)
On cre.ations.net, there is a short video of a simple strobe-light-enhanced fountain, the Time Fountain. A fellow has added timed, strobing LEDs to a simple water stream to make art. The video posted on this page is neat.
A commenter on MetaChat, where I found a link to this site, tells us that this effect as a lot to do with the extended Euclidean Algorithm. I'll take his/her word on that. The EEA is beyond my ken, but the water drops sure are pretty.
A commenter on MetaChat, where I found a link to this site, tells us that this effect as a lot to do with the extended Euclidean Algorithm. I'll take his/her word on that. The EEA is beyond my ken, but the water drops sure are pretty.
This May be Interesting to Watch
With a tip of the cap to the News Journal editorial page, I point to a new web site: Delaware Public Notices. This is a page posted by the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association to share Delaware government legal notices.
I'll be watching it to see how complete and timely it is, but I can see this as useful in several pursuits.
The head of the Press Association has a "Delaware Voice" column in the paper as well, explaining the thinking behind the new site. He explains that the site is in part a response to a proposal in the legislature last session to stop using newspaper classified sections for state government legal ads. He argues that not using newspaper ads would reduce public confidence.
But I have no objection to maintaining the legal ads in print. The cost is not that huge. I am glad to see another outlet for information added, though. And I think we can trust the Press Association to do a thorough job.
I'll be watching it to see how complete and timely it is, but I can see this as useful in several pursuits.
The head of the Press Association has a "Delaware Voice" column in the paper as well, explaining the thinking behind the new site. He explains that the site is in part a response to a proposal in the legislature last session to stop using newspaper classified sections for state government legal ads. He argues that not using newspaper ads would reduce public confidence.
By placing notices in newspapers, the state reassures the public that no backroom deals are being cut and no contracts are being awarded under the table. The newspapers can monitor that the government has followed the law in inviting bids on contracts or is notifying the public about major projects.I'm not sure I agree completely. I have not looked at the legals section of a newspaper in ages. I don't think most people do; only those who actively seek out the government public notices.
For now at least, ordinary residents are more likely to come across a notice that they were not actively seeking when it is published in a newspaper. On the Internet, most people only find what they are seeking.
But I have no objection to maintaining the legal ads in print. The cost is not that huge. I am glad to see another outlet for information added, though. And I think we can trust the Press Association to do a thorough job.
Thursday, September 7, 2006
Sometimes We Forget...
We forget how nice our City of Lewes can be. This evening, I stumbled across a blog posting from August from "Number 4 of 5." The post, In the streets of Delaware, I swear, tells about a visit to Delaware's beaches by a family from, I think, the DC area.
They were bummed by the crowds on the beach, but charmed by Lewes.
It's nice to read someone else's fresh reaction to our town. We know it is a lovely place, but we've gotten used to that fact. This small blog entry by someone I don't know has reminded me of why I fell in love with this place 20 years ago.
They were bummed by the crowds on the beach, but charmed by Lewes.
We walked a round for a while, ate dinner on the harbor, bought homemade ice cream, etc. Basically all the things you should do while in a beach town.There are pictures of the harbor, of the Zwannendael Museum, a labyrinth in the churchyard, and that odd kid-sized plastic pirate outside Kid's Ketch.
It's nice to read someone else's fresh reaction to our town. We know it is a lovely place, but we've gotten used to that fact. This small blog entry by someone I don't know has reminded me of why I fell in love with this place 20 years ago.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)