Video: A Ride Over The New Indian River Bridge

I had an errand in Fenwick Island yesterday, so I took advantage of the ride down to film my first crossing of the new bridge over the Indian River Inlet. I had made a similar video about a month ago, before the new span was completed.

It's only partly finished. At this point, traffic north and south shares what will eventually be the two lanes of the southbound side. Still, it's pretty cool.

Thank You, Barbara Vaughn

Lewes City Councilwoman Barbara Vaughn has announced that she will not seek reelection this spring, ending her council career after four terms. I want to take a moment to say "thank you."

I've worked with Barbara on a variety of issues over the years. She's lately been the ex-officio member of the Lewes Planning Commission for the Council, providing us with regular updates and the council's perspective on issues that we discuss.

Barbara Vaughn is a very bright, kind, and dedicated woman. I've always been impressed by her willingness to give her time and energy to my City. This woman is in her 80s, and still going strong.

I will also note that Barbara Vaughn bears an uncanny resemblance to my Mom, Judy Mahaffie, another strong, kind, dedicated and bright 80-something. So working with Barbara has always felt somewhat... home-y.

Just by Way of Comparison...

Canada Geese visit Legislative Mall Dover. DE, a photo by mmahaffie on Flickr.

... here's what it looked like in Dover on this date one year ago. It was cold and grey and there was snow on the ground.

Today? It was sunny and 60-some degrees. Trees are starting to bud. Daffodils are starting to push up through the non-frosty ground.

It ain't right, I tell ya.

We Won!

We Won!, a photo by mmahaffie on Flickr.

Karen and I have been playing Team Trivia on Friday nights this month at the Milton Irish Eyes restaurant. Lori Callahan, seen here on the left, got us started when she invited us to join her and her young fella Kirk Stirling (right) a few weeks back.

Lori and Kirk are the heart of a trivia team called "Who the H**** is Molly Hatchet." The membership varies, but we've enjoyed being a part of the team for a few weeks now. Last night, the team also included Lori's sister, Linda Lane, her husband Tom, their daughters Katelyn and Stephanie, and Kathleen's young man, Jordan Blankenship.

We edged out the nice couple at the next table last night to win on a tie-break question: "How many pounds of potatoes does it take to make a bottle of vodka?"

Another Video of Lewes: Canalfront Park

Here's another video project attempt. This is video from a walk into Canalfront Park, in Lewes.

Happy (Gubernatorial) Anniversary, Jack Markell

reflected inauguration 1, a photo by mmahaffie on Flickr.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell gave his inaugural address on this date in 2009 in front of Legislative Hall, in Dover. It was a very cold day, but clear and sunny.

I knew Jack Markell very slightly already. He'd spoken, as State Treasurer, at a conference I organized years ago. I like the guy, and I think he's done a good job so far.

Videos of Lewes

I've been taking my new small video camera on my walks around Lewes. And I have been playing around with iMovie with the images I collected. Here are some of the results.



I took a look at Zwaanendael Museum.



And I looked around 1812 Park.

Good Advice From the World of Improvisation

I just finished reading Tina Fey's book Bossy Pants. My eldest daughter gave me this book, and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, for Christmas. They are both great fun.

Tina Fey worked her way into television through Chicago's Second City improvisation theater and in her book she offers a set of Rules of Improvisation that she says can be applied to everyday life. I've extracted the main heads here; the full thing is well worth reading as is the whole book itself.

• The first rule of improvisation is AGREE. Always agree and SAY YES.
• In real life, you aren't always going to agree, but this rule reminds us to try to keep an open mind.
• The second rule is to not only say yes, but to say YES, AND...
• Don't be afraid to contribute. Make sure you are adding something to the discussion.
• The third rule is to MAKE STATEMENTS.
• Whatever the problem, don't just ask questions and point out the difficulties; suggest solutions.
• Finally, THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, only opportunities.
• Many of the world's greatest discoveries have been made by accident.

Let's face, we're all mostly improvising our way through life anyway; why not look to the practice and rules of that art form to learn how to do what we're doing because we really don't know what we're doing?

Polly vs The Faucet

I suppose something more thoughtful and dignified would be more appropriate for a blog post on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the video below makes me happy. It has a cute, fat cat. It has sunshine. It has humor. It has almost everything. Including a kitchen sink.

Odd: Family History For Sale, By a Stranger

I was doing some idle family-name searching this weekend and came across a person on Etsy selling illustrations by my grandmother from a book published in 1929.

This gorgeous double-sided plate features the work of the artist Isabel Cooper from specimens at the American Museum of Natural History. One side features seashells from tropical waters and the other American specimens.

Isabel Cooper was an artist and illustrator who provided paintings for a variety of publications, created murals for public buildings, and traveled to remote outposts with scientists where she fulfilled the role later filled by color photography.

As near as I can tell, these are plates cut from a book my grandmother did illustrations for in the years before her marriage to Charles Mahaffie. 

I'm not sure how I feel about this sort of thing appearing for sale. My grandmother was paid for her work back in the 1920s, so that's not an issue. But I hate to think of great old books being cut apart and mined like this. Also, I always thought of Etsy as a site for artists and artisans to sell things they created themselves.