Well Said, Sir

There was a workshop yesterday focused on the effects of growth and land-use change in Sussex County. It was put on by a new group at the University of Delaware and brings together two of my several professional interests, land-use planning and geospatial data tools. It might have been interesting to attend, but it was scheduled against the quarterly meeting of the Delaware Geographic Data Committee, the statewide gesospatial data users' group that I run.

Molly Murray was there, though, and wrote about it for the News Journal. In her story, UD work targets Sussex growth, she quotes the guest speaker Thomas Hylton, of the nonprofit Save Our Towns Inc., on the value of dense development with dedicated open space over the sort of sprawl patters that we often see.

"Sprawl is incredibly expensive to build and maintain," he said. And as people move outside of already developed areas, "they don't live in the countryside. They live in their cars."

I suppose that description somewhat fits me, and the way we live here in eastern Sussex County, as we discussed here, and over at Delaware Liberal, last week.

I comfort myself with the knowledge that, living inside the town limits of Lewes, I can (and do) walk to the public library and to downtown Lewes.

Still, though, it makes you think.

An Evening of Art

Saturday evening, Karen and I attended the opening of an art show at CAMPRehoboth, in Rehoboth Beach. The show is stilllife(in motion) by our friend Murray Archibald.

We usually see Murray's work at Epworth United Methodist Church. He and his partner Steve Elkins are quite active in the church. Murray creates art to decorate the church. His stations of the cross, for example, are remarkable.

The new show includes flowers and apples and hearts and motion and color and depth and a wonderful vibrancy.

We had a chance to chat with Murray and Steve and Rev. Jack and April Abel. We met some new folks too.

Art. Culture. Society. Friends. Life can be wonderful.

Fourth Golf Game of 2007

Andy and I played a round at Old Landing Golf Course this morning. We walked, carrying our bags. It was good exercise, but it did wear me down by the end of the back nine.

As a result, my last few holes were horrendous blow-ups. When tiring, I tend to stand up during my swing. I was topping the ball badly. And, with my hands tired, I was letting the grass turn my club head, resulting in severe slices.

My front nine hadn't been too bad, but the back nine breakdowns left me with a total score of 119. My worst this year.

Old Landing is our area's most mature course. It has fully grown trees, and some small hills. There is water, some blind drives, and a small squadron of horse flies to distract you. I like the place, in spite of the flies.

Lucky Sevens?

This evening I reached 77,777 miles on my Prius. I knew I'd reach this point today; I could see it coming last night. I rolled into all those sevens a bit past 5:00 p.m. I was just north of Milford.

I pulled over, with flashers on, to take the picture.

It has been just over four months since 66,666.

Blogging From a Government Perspective

A story in Federal Computer Week, GSA showcases agencies' blogs, takes a quick look at the growing use of blogging software by federal agencies.

Blogs have become increasingly popular among federal agencies as they try to bolster their online presence and become more user-friendly. Many of the blogs featured on GSA’s new Web site are hosted by senior agency executives and address some of the more pressing challenges the agency faces.

I think this is an important development. I'm in government, at the state level, and I see a real opportunity for government agencies to improve their communications with (not to or at) the public. I have bookmarked and plan to spend some time with a Guide to Blogging (for government types) from webcontent.gov, an on-line resource for government web managers from a group of federal cabinet agency web-masters.

There may be lessons there that we can apply at the state level.

The FCW site also points to a short list of federal blogs; I'm already reading the Library of Congress blog on that list (I'm a nerd-wonk, sue me). I think I'll also start tracking the Big Read Blog from the National Endowment for the Arts Literature Director.

The first post I found there had this promising opening line:

Bloggers are a gaggle of ignorant blowhards.

One of My Favorite Web Companies is Tweaking My Favorite Car

I saw a posting on the Official Google Blog yesterday that got me excited about what might be my next car.

In a posting called "A clean energy update," Google launched an effort to enable the development of a plug-in hybrid. As regular readers may know, I love my 2005 Prius and am waiting with some anticipation for the next really cool new green car. This might be it, though it's not yet at "regular product stage."

I thought about posting on the topic yesterday, but held off. This morning, however, I have found another write-up in the project. This one lists the grants that Google is making under its RechargeIT project. One of them will go to the University of Delaware's Will Kempton "for megawatt scale vehicle-to-grid research and implementation planning."

That's one of the cooler aspects of this approach; the idea that excess electricity from the hybrids could be sold back to the grid. And, it's neat to know that part of that work will be done here in the First State. And I think I probably have met Professor Kempton, somewhere along the line. (The name is certainly familiar.)

Too bad this wasn't on the market in time for Father's Day. Maybe next year.

Third Golf Game of 2007

Andy and I played golf for Father's Day this morning. We were back at The Rookery again. The place was filled with guys and their young sons, older men and grown sons, and grandfathers too.

I actually played fairly well. Not great. I still can't putt worth a damn. But my drives are getting better and my irons aren't too bad. There's hope.

And, as Andy noted, it's a bit more exciting when its competitive. For a while there, before I blew up on a par three , we were neck and neck.

Afterwards, we joined our wives and kids at the Jungle Jim's water park outside Rehoboth.

It was a good Father's Day.

A Flower

The sun came out this afternoon.

No Longer Endless, Just Repetitive

You know how some stores seem to always be "Going Out of Business?" The State Legislature out in Oregon has noticed, and they've come up with a law to deal with those never-ending business endings, according to a story in The Oregonian.

The measure would require merchants to submit a notice of intent to conduct such a sale with the Secretary of State's office. The notice, including the beginning and ending dates of the sale, would have to be displayed in a prominent place at the sale location.

That way, the endless "going out of business" sales have to have ends.

But they apparently can re-start their endings:

Going out of business sales could last no more than 90 days and merchants would be limited to one such sale a year under the bill.

Yup. You can only go out of business once a year in Oregon.

Why Don't We Write This Way Anymore?

I'm still rooting around in the past, looking for ancestors. This evening I have been reading through portions of William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas, published in 1883. He gives an early history of the town of Olathe, where parts of my family settled and prospered generations back.

I love the way Cutler describes events from what was, for him, only a few decades ago. For example, in his section on early inhabitants of Olathe, he has this to say about one gent:

John P. Campbell, a cousin of James K. Polk, came here from Nashville, Tenn. He was looked upon as a brilliant and promising lawyer in the State, but he impaired his faculties by the use of alcoholic stimulants, and died of consumption in the early years of the war.

Later, in his section on newspapers in Olathe, he recounts the effect of an attack by Quantrill's raiders on the town's only Democrat newspaper at the time, the Olathe Herald, which had been a growing and healthy concern:

Quantrill paid the office a visit September 6, 1862, after which John M. Giffin, its editor and proprietor, gathered up its debris and sold it for $306; original cost having been $3,500. In addition to his newspaper office, Mr. Giffen also lost through Quantrill's efforts, accounts and notes to the amount of $13,000, and the manuscript of an algebra, for which he had been offered $5,000, and fifteen cents royalty on each book sold.

My favorite, though, is his description of the "Reformed Presbyterian, or Covenanter Church." A congregation formed in Olathe in 1865, and split into two in 1871:

This denomination wherever founded is radical in its character, forward in reform movements, and never received into, nor tolerated slaveholders in its communion. While its members have borne arms in every national conflict for right and liberty, yet they refrain from the exercise of the elective franchise--believing the National constitution to be, though in many respects most excellent, yet in some things infidel and immoral.

Seems like I've read similar sentiments on modern day blogs as well.