Echos of A Delaware Story

I've stayed mostly out of the Representative Atkins story, but I can't help noticing that it is starting to spread.

I think it is appropriate that the aspect of this story that has spread most is the backlash against Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) after they issued a statement supporting Ocean City Maryland police who apparently released a driver they considered too impaired to continue driving without charges.

I note that they did not let him get back behind the wheel. That's important.

On Saturday, January 13, DelawareLiberal posted the story on DailyKos. He was interested in getting the word out beyond the Delmarva Peninsula. I haven't found any blog postings that credit that DailyKos posting as a source, but I'm seeing the story elsewhere.

The story was also on the Libertarian Reason Magazine's Hit & Run blog on Saturday. Reason editor Randy Balko, a FoxNews.Com columnist, wrote MADD at Drunk Drivers, but Not Influential Ones, in which he questions MADD's motives in taking the position they took. In this he is supported by his commenters, who almost unanimously are angry at MADD.

(As I'm working on this, I see that Hube, at Rhodey, has picked up on the Reason post. And so has DelawareLiberal.)

Balko credits a DUI lawyer named Lawrence Taylor as his source. In a post on his DUI Blog on January 12 (OK to Let .14% Driver Go -- If He's Politician), Taylor wrote:

MADD has apparently developed a separate standard for politicians and police in its War on Drunk Driving.

Taylor, it is worth pointing out, spends most of his time on "Bad Drunk Driving Laws, False Evidence and a Fading Constitution." At least, that's the subtitle of his blog.

In a post on January 6, he wrote:

For many years now I've written and lectured extensively on drunk driving litigation --on the science of blood and breath alcohol analysis, the flaws in breathalyzers, the ineffectiveness of field sobriety testing. In recent years, however, my focus has increasingly shifted to the gradual erosion of constitutional rights in DUI cases.

Taylor is not the only DUI lawyer to chime in.

Atlanta attorney George C. Creal Jr. had the story on his DUI Weblog on January 11 in a posting titled "Benefit of Clergy? Ocean City Delaware Cops let drunk Republican Legislator Go!" I note that Mr. Creal has not picked up on the fact that Ocean City is in Maryland, and not Delaware.

Mr. Creal says, of the Ocean City Police Department:

It is waging a public relations campaign to explain to the public that field sobriety evaluations are relative and not pass/fail. This is testimony that you would never hear on the witness stand from a police officer and should provide excellent fodder for able DUI attorneys in the area.

What I don't understand is Mr. Creal's reference to "Benefit of Clergy."

On Sunday, January 14, Chicagoan Mark Draughn picked up the story from the Reason Hit & Run blog and wrote Not So MADD About Some People... on his WindyPundit blog. Here is another blogger, by the way, who missed the "across state lines nature" of the story. (Please, people, we don't want Ocean City. Maryland can keep it.)

It has been fascinating to watch this story unfold. It was Delaware bloggers who stayed on it and forced the traditional media to pay attention. That's good, as I think this is not an issue that should be swept aside. On the other hand, I think some folks have gone too far in using this to hammer Representative Atkins. He has issues to deal with, to be sure, but the more important aspect is the notion that some drivers get breaks that others do not.

Also, as in most stories of this sort, the real questions arise from the participants' reactions to, and efforts to manage, the story.

Meanwhile, Jud Bennett sent an e-mail to his extensive Coastal Conservative e-mail list yesterday asking for a pause in the invective:

The story seems to have taken on a life of its own with no end in sight and has turned into one of the most vicious, malicious, and cruel witch hunts in the history of the State of Delaware.

I'm not sure that this e-mail was intended to serve as a "Jud's Rant." As of this writing (10:25 a.m., 1/15/07), it has not been added in the traditional Jud's Rant spot on First State Politics. It was, however, appropriated by Dan Gaffney and posted on the WGMD blog. I don't know whether this was Jud's intention or not.

I can't fully disagree with Jud, but I think Hube puts it well in his comment this morning on the WGMD blog:

Yes, there has been ridiculous speculation and hyperbole about Atkins; however, the anger amongst the laymen results in knowing that if this was THEM, they’d have been arrested, lost their license, and would now have a record.

Finally, let me point to a MySpace posting (of all places) for one of the most thoughtful reactions
I've seen to this story.

RudeBwoy381 is a 25-year newspaper editor in Georgetown. He says:

The singular focus on Atkins' particular case, however, obscures a larger and more-dangerous problem, in Delaware and, really, all over the place.

DUI is practically a sport in Delaware. Start thinking of people you know who have a DUI on their record.. the list is probably longer than you think.

He suggests that bars be provided with Breathalyzers and that they take the lead on keeping drunks out of their cars. That might help. He goes further, though, and points to a larger problem of our perception of alcohol:

This is what truly bothers me: from the time you are young, it is beat into your head that alcohol is not really a drug. Remember MADD presentations in elementary school? They always talked about "drugs and alcohol." Drugs and alcohol?

Think about what this means. Reasonable, educated people are coming into classrooms and telling your children that alcohol is somehow separate from other drugs. So is it any surprise that kids aren't that concerned about drinking? Look at some of these MySpace surveys that ask when you took your first alcoholic drink. I didn't until I was 18, and I think I held out the longest of anyone whose survey I read, besides possibly my sister, and I'm not even sure about that.

He concludes:

With all of the damage that alcohol does to people, how can it be the least-regulated drug in the world?

RudeBwoy381, please move your writings to a platform less odious than MySpace. I'd like to read you more.

I Find This Very Sad

A lawyer from Maryland has written a column for today's News Journal criticizing Delaware's efforts to preserve open space and encourage "New Urban" and village-style development.

In his column (If you want green space, buy your own), Thomas Beach argues against state efforts to purchase the development rights of farmlands by saying that the price is not high enough and "because the farmer uses up the money and then is stuck with a farm."

While I'm sure this may sometimes be the case, I think this oversimplifies things. The prices are negotiated and based on fair market appraisals. And the goal of the state's Farmland Preservation Program is to maintain the agricultural sector of the economy as much, if not more than, to maintain open space.

Mr. Beach also scoffs at the idea of village-style development, saying that people prefer to live on large lots in large houses.

It seems the only people who choose to live in cities are a few yuppies and the elderly who may need public transportation and easy access to services.

This statement seems absurd, if not insulting and condescending.

But here is the part that stood out for me:

Except for my time in the Army, I haven't done any serious walking since I turned 16 and got my driver's license. I have never ridden a bus or subway and don't ever plan to.

I find that simply sad.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.....

I'm having a lazy Saturday, nursing my sciatic nerve and limited to gentle activity. This seems a perfect time to try for a new look for the old blog.

I'm particularly keen on adding a third column.

Please pardon the virtual dust.... Things may look goofy now and again as I work through this.

Thoughts?

Delaware's Blogosphere Continues to Grow

I wanted to take a moment to highlight, in no particular order, a few new Delaware blogs that have come on-line recently.

Woody's Solutions was a New Year's resolution by Mark, a network administrator in Dover. It's early yet, but Mark looks to me like a dependable generalist.

The BrianMannBlog is a blog by, well, Brian Mann. Brian is step-son to Jud Bennett, who guest-posts on First State Politics. I had just left a comment there recently wishing wistfully that Jud had his own blog when someone pointed me to Brian's.

Brian played a small role in the recent Abramoff scandal, and he has started working though that experience on-line. Brian is an imaginative fellow; his retelling mixes fact and fantasy as he imagines dialog with Abramoff and others to explore issues, thoughts and feelings that grew from his experience. I look forward to the rest of the story.

Brian is also a nice fellow, who has had great advice for me in my recent bout with sciatica.

The Delaware Curmudgeon is a new blog by Shirley Vandever, whose comments I've noticed from time to time on the News Journal's StoryChat section. I think she is a fairly dedicated libertarian. That should make for some interesting commentary.

And there are a few other blogs that are not particularly new, but were new to me.

The Lone Haranguer is an homage to Daffy Duck, from Mic, of Wilmington.

Dover Citizen is from David Anderson, a politician in Dover.

Mac & Cheese is a vegetarian foodie blog, from Wilmington.

I'm probably missing some others, but wanted to recognize a few. I'm having great fun reading thoughts from all around the First State.

On The Road With Dino

Dino has begun his trek from Indonesia to Newark, Delaware. He's blogging his way around the world.

At last posting, Dino was in the airport at Singapore, having come from Jogja via Jakarta. He's got Tokyo, Detroit, and Philadelphia ahead.

I guess it would be too much to ask for "Around the World in 80 Blog Posts," but maybe in 8?

Mr. Burris, Re-Name That Blog!

I stopped by Dave Burris' First State Politics this evening and found a new feature: The Conservative Corner, a new, apparently to-be-regular, guest-post by pro-development activist Rich Collins.

This is Rich's first foray into the world of modern blogging and his bid to stake a claim to be the voice of Sussex County Conservatism. It joins the regular "Jud's Rant" feature in which former Lewes Councilman Jud Bennett has been tracking and commenting on Sussex County issues for some time now.

As I read through Rich's opening essay, I found myself thinking (in the voice of James Earl Jones and with ominous tympani and horn accompaniment), "And so, the battle for the soul of the Sussex County Republican Party begins in earnest."

For those of who don't follow the growth and development issues of Sussex County, Jud and Rich have been often on opposite sides of the argument.

Jud, who ran for County Council some years back and very nearly won, argues for growth control and land-use planning.

Rich fronts an organization known as the Positive Growth Alliance, which campaigns forcefully against state environmental regulations and land-use planning initiatives that it sees as threatening the free market. Or something like that.

Dave Burris is about to become the Chair of the Sussex County Republican Party (once college football is done). His blog has been a well-written, usually clear and respectable voice advocating Republican positions on Delaware and national issues. I give him a great deal of credit for opening his blog to the verbal food-fights of the Sussex Rebublicateria.

But now, as he gets ready to take on a leadership role, I wonder if Dave shouldn't re-name his blog. Something like "Sussex Republicans Gone Wild?"

May I Just Say, For The Record: OUCH!

My leg hurts. Not as much as it was hurting on Saturday, but enough. I'm just coming out of a bout with sciatic pain. I don't like it.

I have chronic problems with my lower back. They have something to do with my being 45 years old, over-weight, and out of condition. Every once in a while, over the last few years, things have flared up, causing discomfort. This week-end, I got the full effect.

It is my own fault, of course. I had been feeling some sciatic pain for a few days, but I volunteered to drive Christina and some of her fellow dancers up to Newark on Saturday for a Dance-School audition.

When I got out of the car in Newark, the pain came on in full. From then on, I was unable to find a comfortable position, standing or sitting. I spent the day leaning on the backs of chairs or hobbling along with burning daggers twisting in the back of my thigh.

Luckily, Karen had come along and was able to drive home. The ride home was rough. When we pulled into Lewes, I asked Karen to just head over to the Hospital so I could beg the ER doctor for some relief.

I must have been a sight in the waiting room. I was completely focused on enduring. When they took me back to the treatment room, I was shuffling along feeling very sorry for myself -- until I saw the various broken bodies already in the ER.

They took me to a room and asked me to strip to my skivvies and put on a gown to await a Doctor. That was tough; I was having trouble bending and reaching down. But I got it mostly done. Soon I was leaning on the back of a chair with the gown, untied, hanging from around my neck. Waiting.

When the doctor came in, he had two Sussex County Paramedics in tow. The EMS staff were shadowing the Doctors that night.

The Doctor took one look at me and made a sign for me not to say anything. He turned to one of the Paramedics and asked if he could tell what my problem was.

The Paramedic looked me up and down very briefly and said something like, "The way he's having to stand like that, I'd say it's sciatica."

I guess I'm not very original.

The Doctor was very nice. He made sure that I understood what was going on and how to treat it.

Sciatica is not a disease but is a set of symptoms that occur when the sciatic nerve, which runs down the leg, gets pinched or compressed. Short-term treatments can address either muscle-spasm or muscle and nerve inflammation. Or both.

In my case, they gave me a muscle-relaxant shot and prescriptions for a muscle-relaxant, a pain-killer, and an anti-inflammatory. I didn't like the muscle-relaxant; it just made me woozy. The anti-inflammatories, however, work fairly well.

So here I am, two days later, still sore and walking gingerly. I don't much like it.

Taking Action Against Abuse of the News Journal's "Comments" Web Section

Like many Delaware bloggers, I have by turns been horrified by, and fumed about, some of the comments that are posted in response to stories on the News Journal web site. I've just sent an e-mail to the supposed monitors of the site, calling their attention to one problem. We'll see if they fix it.

The News Journal, like many newspapers, has added commenting to its on-line offerings so that readers can react to, and interact about, news stories. Theoretically, this might increase knowledge and foster constructive discussions. In reality, that's only sometimes the case.

Regular commenters on the News Journal site have proven to include some vicious and hate-filled individuals. Stories about fatal shootings of persons who were engaged in criminal activity, or were suspected of being criminals, routinely generate responses such as "It's a shame he didn't kill the other two as well. Would've been 3 less pieces of scum the taxpayers have to support instead of just one!!"

Many of the comments reveal a deep and nasty strain of racism in Delaware society. And the venom directed at those commenters who might suggest compassion, mercy, or restraint is disheartening.

The News Journal does have a link to "report abuse" on its forum pages, though not on the News Story pages, where comments are tacked on at the end. I have sent a few of these reports in the past, but I don't know if action has been taken on any of them. I have seen occasional markers that indicate a post has been removed by a moderator, but the volume of anger has not abated.

This morning, I spotted a comment that looked fishy to me, rather than hate-filled. In response to a story on a potential new subdivision, a user calling him- or herself "Rix" posted the URL of what purports to be Delaware "Business Rating" web site. The comment was worded in such a way as to slightly relate to the news story, but I was suspicious and so I clicked on the "profile" button to see what else this Rix has posted.

The profile pages include a link to "Find all posts by [user]." Rix has posted eight comments on the News Journal site in the last two months, all of which suggest visiting this same web site. It looks like Rix has added his comment-ad to any story that has anything to do with consumer complaints.

This is a form of comment spam. It's not as evil as the automated and often nonsensical comment spamming that hit blogs a few years back. And it must be said that the site that Rix links to may in fact be a legitimate and useful site. But spam is spam and the best that can be said of these comments is that they are noise.

So I have sent an Abuse Report to the News Journal. And I have specifically, though politely, asked that I be notified when an action is taken.

I will be curious to see what happens.

I'd Know That Stone's Slouch Anywhere

Rooting around in the cut-out bin of the internet this evening, I came across a video of a performance including Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino posted on a Swedish site called "Mr. Dante Fontana's Visual Guidance LTD." (Really)

Hearing three of the great rock piano bangers playing all together was worth a click. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There's no information with the clip. It looks like a television show, or some sort of benefit concert. The band is led by the ubiquitous music-elf, Paul Shaffer, who earns equal measures of my respect and my eye-rolling. He's a sometimes annoying presence, but no one puts together all-star pick-up bands as well as Shaffer.

What surprised me in this case, though, was how quickly I was able to pick Rolling Stone Ron Wood out of the dark, out-of-focus background. Other than Shaffer, and the three legends, the rest of the band is mostly in shadow and fuzzy.

Ron Wood, however, stands in a distinctive slouch over his guitar. It's a stance he shares with his band-mate Keith Richards and it goes with their loose-limbed, loping style of rock and roll.

I recognized him by his outline and his lazy grooving behind a piano-pounding Jerry Lee Lewis.

One More On Transitions

David A., who blogs semi-anonymously and quasi-regularly as "The Delaware Right," is terribly upset at the Democratic take-over in Washington. He calls today "A Dark Day in Our Country's History."

I would respond to his doom-seeing on his blog, but Mr. A. has his comments turned resolutely off.

Welcome, Weary MBA Student

When you have a chance, pay a visit to Dino's Journal.

Dino is a young man from Indonesia who will be arriving in Delaware this month as an MBA student at the University of Delaware.

He recently tried out PlaceBlogger and found Newarking. He was pleased to learn a bit more about the place he'll be studying.

I've added him to my blog-roll and look forward to his impressions of our small state.

Staying the Same, the More Things Change

I've been watching the change-overs of various governments around the nation this week. There are a couple of things to note.

In Congress
The big story in Congress, of course, is Nancy Pelosi taking over as Speaker of the House. That she is our first woman speaker will be well-covered elsewhere. I like Martha Burke's take on that on TomPaine.com when she writes "This Just In: Pelosi Is A Woman."

I was planning to post about the symbolism of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) using a Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson for his swearing-in. Dana, at Delaware Watch, beat me to it.

Dana points to an article on Forbes.com on the use of the Jefferson-owned Koran copy. I saw the story this evening in a news release on the Library of Congress site (Thomas Jefferson's Copy of the Koran To Be Used in Congressional Swearing-in Ceremony). The book, an English translation that dates from 1734, is now part of the Library's collection.

I like this quote from the Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington:

Jefferson believed that there was no subject to which a member of Congress may not have occasion to refer. As the nation's library, and as a symbol of the central role that free access to information plays in a knowledge-based democracy, the Library continues to collect internationally, on all subjects, and in more than 470 languages.

In the States
There were a few notes from the change-overs of Governors that also caught my eye.

In Massachusetts, outgoing Governor Mitt Romney apparently did bit of patronage-packing on his way out of the Governor's Mansion and into the Republican Presidential Primary fray. The Boston Globe reported yesterday:

Governor Mitt Romney, despite his stated opposition to patronage appointments, installed more than 200 Republican activists, current and former state employees, and others to boards and commissions in December, including departing Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey.

Apparently, Romney had complained back in 2002 when his predecessor did much the same thing. He was quoted back then as saying "I will look for people to get jobs based on what they know, not who they know."

Things change.

Meanwhile, down in Florida, new Governor Charlie Crist signed his first Executive Order yesterday. As reported in The Ledger:

Charlie Crist's first move as governor is tackling bureaucratic language and barriers to public information that he criticized Wednesday as an "arrogance" in state government that intentionally distances itself from citizens.

Surrounded by TV cameras and reporters, Crist signed an executive order Wednesday morning that requires each state agency to "adopt a plan to implement Plain Language guidelines" to "communicate in a clear, easily understood manner."

I wish him, and all my friends in Florida state government, the very best of luck with that. Honestly. I know I am a word fan (Lexiphile?), but I do think that, in communication from government agencies, simplicity and clarity are important.

I just don't think they are very likely.

Cold. But Sunny and Quiet.

I had an extra day off for New Year's because of the National Day of Mourning for President Gerald Ford. Delaware State Government offices were closed. I took the opportunity to walk around the Point of Cape Henlopen in the afternoon. With my camera.

It was cold, but not as cold as it should have been in January. The sun was shining strongly and the sky was appropriately blue.

The beach was empty, but for a few seagulls. It was wonderfully solo out there.

There were untouched, newly blown dunes. The tide was low, offering me shallows to explore and offering snacks for the gulls.

The winter air was clear, offering a glimpse of Cape May on the northern horizon.

A walk around the point features two historic lighthouses. The Harbor of Refuge Light is on the outer breakwater off the point of the Cape. The East End Lighthouse is on the inner breakwater, within the inner arc of the Point. I take lots of pictures of these.

Crossing the dune, back to the Point Parking lot, I noticed one of the Delaware River and Bay Pilots Association boats headed out into the Atlantic. As I reached the top of the dune, I could see a large container ship waiting just off Hen and Chicken Shoals.

I took much this same photo walk with Christina late last January. I think it should become a tradition.

An Albino Deer? Or An Echo From the Distant Past?

Driving past the old parade ground in Cape Henlopen State Park this afternoon, I saw a small heard of deer grazing by the tree line. This is not unusual; the Whitetail Deer feel safe enough to graze there most of the year.

What caught my eye, though, was an apparently all-white deer. I had to try for a photo.

This was taken at a distance and with a bit of zoom. It is not as sharp as I would like. In addition, the white deer seemed to shine in the late-day sun. I was not able to get it properly in focus.

Are there albino deer? There seem to be. From my quick research, I'm guessing that this was either an albino or a piebald deer.

I was also fascinated to find references to a legend of a Great White Deer from the Lenape people who first lived in this area.

Looking Ahead to 2007

I've been thinking about New Year's Resolutions.

Mine are simple. I plan to pursue health: physical, mental and spiritual. They are connected.

I've also been looking around the Delaware blogosphere to see what other folks are thinking as they look at the year ahead.

I'm collecting links to "New Year Thoughts" on my flickr account. Here are a few things that jump out at me.

• Joe, at Merit-Bound Alley, has a clear-eyed view of how he can use his blog to help affect change. We're not all going to be the leading political bloggers; some of use are supporting voices.
• Guest-ranter Jud, at First State Politics, will continue to be one of the leading voices. That's appropriate; he has been and probably will again be a candidate. I think Jud needs his own blog in 2007.
• Taylor, at Mac'N'Cheese, offers a recipe for Hoppin' John And Collard Greens. I don't plan to make that dish, but I will be tracking healthy recipes from Taylor this year.

I'll be adding to my tag-list today, and may update these bullets as well.

Looking Back on 2006

As we head into what is starting out as a very rainy 2007, I thought I'd take a few moments to look back on my on-line life in 2006.

I posted 1,491 of my photos on flickr in 2006. In 2005, my first year there, I had posted only 656. I only started in April of that year, though, and didn't hit my stride as a photo-hobbyist until around July of 2005.


My busiest month in 2006 was July, when I posted 212 pictures. That's not surprising, as that is the month we in which we spend time at the Tyler Place, in Vermont. On the way up to Vermont this year, we also played tourist at the Statue of Liberty and at Mystic Seaport and Aquarium.

The irony is that, because I traditionally swear-off on-line life while on vacation, July is also the month when I spent the least amount of time at my computer.

I posted 247 entries to Mike's Musings in 2006. In 2005, I had posted 272 times. Perhaps I'm getting more selective? More busy? Less creative?


My busiest blog-posting month in 2006 was August. I have no idea why.

In looking back on 2006, I thought I'd take a tour through all 12 months, to see what was uppermost in my mind in each. I've tried to pull a representative post from each month:

1. January: I recorded A Walk Around The Point of Cape Henlopen. This was a photo-walk with Christina.
2. February: I reflected on driving at night in a post titled Snowy Fields, Full Moon.
3. March: Another photo-walk, this time recording Some of What We Found at the Botanical Gardens. I visited there with my colleague Sandy while we were at a conference in DC.
   
4. April: Another memory post, now looking back to my college days, visiting a frozen lake in Maine, Midwinter.
   
5. May: At the end of the month, we were already back on the beach. Which led me to the thought "And So We Begin Again."
6. June: One day I saw a person I could only describe as a Senior Delinquent.
   
7. July: A story in the local paper had me reflecting on guest workers and that notion that We Do Welcome Guest Workers in my city of Lewes.
   
8. August: We attended A Symphony Orchestra Concert at Lewes.
   
9. September: I reflected, as I often do in September, on my incredible luck in finding and marrying Karen. I wrote Our Marriage Turned 18 Today.
   
10. October: I found A Cause Worth a Donation in a scholarship fund set up in memory of former Lewes Mayor George H.P. Smith.
    
11. November: I started noting rants from out-of-state bloggers about Delaware's stretch of I-95. That had me wondering, "Does Delaware Need a better PR Firm?"
    
12. December: The phrase "The Curve of Your Laugh" set me off into another memory of life with Karen

I think it was a good year, at least in my efforts to find art in life. There was much to mourn in the world around us, but I always try to find beauty.

I've Gotta Get Me One of These!

Today I had the opportunity to take a geocaching trip to Cape Henlopen State Park with my brother Matt, his wife and daughters, and my parents. Matt and family were given a geocaching starter-kit by Matt's sister-in-law and her partner for Christmas.

This isn't quite the first time I've tried this. For the last several years we have organized a GPS-based or geocaching-style activity as part of the Delaware GIS Conference. I helped field-test a set of way-points tied to Cape Henlopen's World War II history interpretation.

I am surprised that I have not yet gotten myself a GPS unit. GPS has become a tool in geospatial data development, which is my field. On the other hand, I'm in data coordination and not in field data collection.

I'm thinking about getting a GPS now, though. I'm not sure that geocaching is my sport, though it is fun. What I'd like to do is use a GPS to collect point locations of the various neat things I find in my wandering around Delaware.

The Park was active today. The weather was warm and there was bright sunshine. Lots of folks were out enjoying the dunes and pine woods of the Park.

Quiet Please! I'm Eating

This will have to become a year-end tradition: The British Medical Journal late December edition, which seems to always feature research from out on the edge.

Last year was the first time I ran across this fun site. Last year at this time, the BMJ included studies looking at the effect of the shape of a glass on how much alcohol people pour, and at the effects of reading Harry Potter on accident-prone kids.

This year, the December 23 edition includes a paper entitled "Sword swallowing and its side effects."

A finding? "Major complications are more likely when the swallower is distracted..."

And: "Sword swallowers without healthcare coverage expose themselves to financial as well as physical risk."

Indeed.

By the way, did you know that there is a Sword Swallowers Association?

(BIG THANKS TO RESOURCESHELF, WHICH OFTEN SERVES UP THESE SORTS OF GEMS)

Storming Times Square

Karen, the girls and I made a flying visit to New York City on the Wednesday after Christmas. Irene the Organizatrist put together a bus trip for students and families of the Dance Studio. We sent away for Broadway tickets, booked our bus seats, got up hideously early, and drove over to Millsboro to catch our motor coach.

By chance, one of Colleen's friends from Academic Challenge was in the city with her family, from Seaford, for a few days. Against all odds, we managed to meet them for lunch at the Times Square Hard Rock Cafe. Afterwards, they helped us take Standard Tourist Family Portrait #32.



After a short wander around Times Square, checking out the buildings and people, we headed to a matinée of Hairspray. That's a great show: bright, funny and rocking. We loved it.

Waiting in line outside the Niel Simon Theater, I enjoyed watching a young woman from Fox 5 in New York (Vanessa Alfano, maybe? Looking at this again, I think maybe it was Toni Senecal) doing takes for some sort of story. She would walk towards the camera, bouncy and animated, saying whatever the line was supposed to be for her report. Then she would stop, turn on her boot heel, and stalk back to her starting point, fuming and discontented. Next take? Bouncy and happy again.

Everyone in line enjoyed that.

After the show, with dusk falling, we headed up 52nd Street to Fifth Avenue, stopping to shop and take pictures. The girls had a strong urge to check out Saks Fifth Avenue. I thought it a good place to try for a new self-portrait.

Evening on Fifth Avenue, a day or two after Christmas, is crowded. Really, really crowded. We had to play old-fashioned, NFC-style, ground-attack football just to get through the crowds to meet the bus.

Then it was a creep through the streets of Manhattan, out the Lincoln Tunnel, down the turnpike and home. We pulled back into our garage just at Midnight.

It was a long day, but fun.

It Is An Ill Blog Post That Yields No New Words

I was going to swear-off pointing to "I Hate Delaware" blog postings, but one of the several that have resulted from Christmas traffic back-ups on I-95 in northern Delaware offers a word I had not heard: Shunpiking.

I found that word in a set of links on avoiding the Delaware Turnpike at the end of a post entitled "Ban Delaware" on Backwards City.

Shunpiking refers, of course, to finding ways around toll routes. The drive-around for the Delaware Turnpike has been the subject of some on-line conversation lately.

The fuss, by the way, tends to arise from traffic back-up associated with the toll plazas on I-95. Complainers advocate doing away with those tolls, or with Delaware altogether.

We can't get rid of the tolls, though. Our state runs on cash from out-of-staters. It's worked well so far; why change now?