HoCo Loco Politico Games

One school board member, all five county council members, the county executive, two  state delegates, a state senator, states attorney, the governor and lieutenant governor, two bloggers, a reporter and the president of the United States all got a little air time on our latest podcast. When Paul mentioned that loco political activist Chris (“Ox”) Oxenham might make a good guest for a partisan take on the loco politico scene I suggested that it would be even more interesting if we could get someone from the opposite side of the political spectrum to be on with him. After spending some time with him at Guy Guzzones fundraiser earlier this month, I thought Roger (“the Rog”) Caplan would be the right match.

It worked out even better than I expected.

Despite the strong convictions of both guests, there was no yelling or overt nastiness. Instead we had a spirited exchange about the people and politics in HoCo with more than a few laughs. Nothing was held back.

I suspect some loco politicos may not find our sometimes brutally frank analysis all that amusing though. On the other hand, I also suspect that some others may take offense that they weren’t even mentioned.

The bottom line is that this was a very fun show and we will likely have these guys on again. They were that good.

You can listen to the latest episode of “and then there’s that…” here.

Yelp No Help

I locked myself out of the house on Wednesday. I was getting ready to leave the house when I received a phone call about work. As I talked, I also walked around the house getting my stuff ready to leave. I was a little behind schedule. I was the last one to leave the house.

As I walked out the door to put a few items in the car, still talking on the phone, I inadvertently locked the door behind me.

I realized what I did as soon as I did it.

“I gotta go,” I told the caller. I assessed the situation. I was locked out, without a coat. The car was unlocked but the key was back on the kitchen counter. I had my phone. I needed a locksmith, soon.

A commenter to a recent post made reference to Yelp, the smartphone app that bills itself as the “fun and easy way to find and talk about great (and not so great) local businesses.” I decided that this was as good a time as any to put it to the test.

I typed “locksmith” into the search window and Yelp gave me two options that were close by and offered service within 15 to 20 minutes. Recall that I didn't have a coat.

I called the first and got an answering machine. That immediately disqualified them. The second was a disconnected number.

I was getting cold. I then thought of a locksmith I used years ago in Columbia, Village Lock & Key. At one time they even had a store in The Mall. The name actually originated from their first store in the Wilde Lake Village Center. I met the owner once, a big guy named Sonny Crosun. They were my third call. They were also my last call. 

Within fifteen minutes a locksmith named Tim pulled up in his Village Lock & Key van and got to work on getting me in. Quick and professional. 

Curiously, they weren’t even listed in the top sixteen on Yelp.

Being good at loco info is not so easy to do on a national scale. 

New Toy

I got an iPad today. It feels like Christmas.

It came this morning by FedEx but I really haven’t done much more than open the box and hold it in my hands so far. It felt cool.

Today's schedule allowed for approximately thirty minutes of discretionary time between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM. That was nowhere near enough time to savor the joy of a new tech toy. Play time would have to wait.

But I could at least get it wired up while I was running between appointments. Around 12:30 this afternoon I dropped into the Verizon store on Snowden River Parkway. I'd just pop in and get the new toy connected to my wireless account.

As I approached the store, no less than two people held open the doors for me, one to my left and one to my right. How could they help me they asked. After explaining the simple transaction that I wanted to conduct, the one on the right took my name and told me to have a seat. No one else was sitting on the little brown bench.

There were also very few people in the store. More than one lanyard wearing Verizon guy looked “available.” This shouldn’t take long I thought.

I thought wrong. Fifteen minutes later I was still second on the list. I walked out. Any discretionary time I had in my afternoon just got cut in half.

I hate that store.

Anyway, I now have an unscheduled window of an hour and a half. There are many things that I should use that time for that are more important than playing with my new toy.

But those things are just going to have to wait.

Ring Around the Fountain

Tomorrow, the Columbia Association Board of Directors will consider two fountain designs for Symphony Woods Park prepared by Wesco Fountains on behalf of CA, their engineers and architects. Wesco builds and designs interactive fountains such as the one in downtown Silver Spring and at the Gaylord National Hotel in National Harbor.

This the “Argyle” design.

This is the “Rings” design.

The Rings design apparently accommodates dry uses too.

Whichever concept the board chooses, they’ll first have to seek a variance from the HoCo Health Department, which, according to the drawings, classifies interactive fountains as pools and therefore requires them to be fenced.

That particular fence is noticeably absent in these concept drawings.

Some will likely criticize CA for moving ahead with fountain designs before the nascent corroboration with Howard Hughes is totally fleshed out but that would be a little unfair, to the present CA team. This design contract was likely awarded before the new working relationship with HHC got started.

Sure, CA should have established this cooperation with HHC long before this. That is now water over the dam. If you want to thank anyone for the convoluted path CA took to get where it should have been years ago, see Liz Bobo, Cynthia Coyle, Alan Klein,... for starters.

SRB & CSX

The mayor of Baltimore weighed in today on the importance of an intermodal rail transfer facility in the Baltimore/Washington corridor calling it an economic imperative for keeping the Port of Baltimore competitive. In this op-ed piece in The Sun, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake wrote that the completion of the widening of the Panama Canal to accommodate larger ships will create a “new surge in imports and exports is projected to result in thousands of new jobs and millions in new economic activity — not just for Baltimore, but across the metro region. We must act swiftly to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity.”

“The truth is, our port makes Baltimore relevant in the global economy and is an economic engine that serves as a pillar of growth for our city. Moving forward with an intermodal facility — in a way that makes sense for our state, our port, and the private sector — is critical to keeping that engine humming. As an additional benefit for everyone who commutes in our region each day, driving more freight traffic onto rail reduces emissions, costs and wear and tear on our roads.”

Of course the sticky question is still where to put it.

Mutiny on the Blog

I’m having a birthday. It’s not a joyous moment for me this year but I can’t escape it. My actual birthday isn’t until Sunday yet I’ve already received a half dozen or so birthday greetings on facebook. Yesterday the usually celebrated birthday box from my sister arrived on my doorstep. I haven't opened it yet.

I'm trying hard to be grateful. It's better than not having a birthday after all.

Last week I received a postcard from Iron Bridge Wine Company telling me to come in for a free entrée for my birthday. It was good for something like a month. We went Saturday night. I drank more than I ate.

Today I got this postcard from Mutiny, the new pirate bar concept from the boys at the bridge. It’s basically the same birthday deal only I'd have to drive much farther to use it. I think I’ll pass, for this year anyway. I seem to recall Steve Wecker telling me Saturday night that they are looking for a spot in HoCo to do their next one. We talked a bit about the Friendly Inn but by then it was the second glass of wine and the only thing I can definitely recall him saying was that the place was going to need a lot of work before it could reopen. He didn't come right out and say that it was out of the question so I suspect that it would really just be a matter of getting the right business terms. 

I’d say keep your eye on that one.

That night I also had a moment of HoCo loco blog brotherhood. Mama Wordbones and I were joined by Tom Coale and Indiana Jane. Upon our arrival, there were no seats at the bar and the hostess was giving us that sad faced look when Tom waved us over. The gentleman of proper upbringing that he is, he offered his seat to Mama Wordbones. This naturally had the secretly desired effect of separating them from our conversation. They didn't seem to mind.  In no time TC and I pored ourselves into a glass of wine and proceeded to have a lively exchange over the HoCo loco politico scene.

And that my friends, beats a free entrée any day. 

Three Things about Food

One, Burger King is testing home delivery in Maryland and so far it is being well received. According to this review by Mike Rosenwald in The Washington Post, ordering burgers and fries online was “as easy and quick as ordering diapers from Amazon.com.”

That’s the bad news.

The good news, for that 2012 New Years resolution of yours, is that delivery service is not yet available in HoCo. The closest participating restaurant is in Burtonsville and I don’t think they cross the border...yet

Two, knowledgeable sources inside the hospitality industry inform me that rockstar restaurateurs, Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman are behind a new concept restaurant planned for Turf Valley Town Square.

Three, just down the pike from Turf Valley, the venerable Crab Shanty has undergone a major makeover. Momma Wordbones and I checked out the new menu at the recently rechristened Shanty Grill a couple of weeks ago and give it enthusiastic thumbs up. We both highly recommend their Shanty Maki Roll appetizer.

A Bag of Books

I've been thinning my inventory of tree books this month. It’s not a dramatic reduction in stock, more like managing the herd. Unlike e-books, storage of tree books is an issue, limited by shelf space which is not easily expanded.

The problem is that the inflow of books is always greater than the outflow and eventually this results in books piling up on desks and cabinets awaiting an opening on the shelves.

Today I purged.

Picking the books that would get the hook was interesting exercise. For some it was easy. I had two copies of “Tis” by Frank McCourt for example. In Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger I found a copy of a Las Vegas hotel bill from 1994. So that’s where I put that.

I must’ve read that book on the plane. It was a good way to fall asleep.

In all I bagged up twelve books and took them to the library. The shelves in my library are breathing a little easier now.

Go Ravens!

First Snow…For Some

By the time we ventured down the hill to Main Street this morning, the HoCo roads were relatively clear. Last night one of CG friends left their car downtown so this morning around ten we set out to retrieve it. At closing time last night the roads were a decidedly different proposition, especially for someone who had to drive to Mount Airy, so we ended up with an extra overnight guest.

On the way downtown we passed a family out shoveling their driveway. Mount Airy Girl (henceforth Mag) commented that it hardly seemed necessary to shovel. Before long it would all melt away on its own. I suggested that it was the novelty of the first snow to which she pointed out that it wasn’t the first. The first snow was in October.

It was more like a dusting around here than a snow. In Mount Airy apparently it was a different story.

Cleaning the cars off wasn’t as bad as it looked either. Fortunately the snow came before the ice, providing a buffer of sorts between the ice and the windshield. We had Mag on her way in no time.