AAMP!itude

so many threads...

I've been keeping track of various items in the news (or that've been written about)... not sure which one's I may comment on, so for now, I'll just list em (in no particular order):

• Hans Island dispute between Canada and Denmark (the Arctic island is located midway between the Danish territory of Greenland and Canada's Ellesmere Island)
  

  
  

• perceptual differences between Chinese and white Americans (eye-movement study by Chua & Nisbett at Univ. of Mich.)
  

  
  

• radio -- LPFM (Low Power FM) and podcasting
  

  
  

• tax breaks for movie productions in Maryland and similar legislation in the works in California
  

  
  

• BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) process and its effect on Aberdeen Proving Ground and Ft. Meade and their surroundings
  

  
  

• obituraries for Robert Moog (synthesizer innovator) and Esther Wong ('Godmother of Punk' in LA)
  

  
  

• real estate bubble (a.k.a., impending housing crash)
  

  
  

• Hershey's acquisition of Scharffen Berger (crummy chocolate buys luxury chocolate maker)
  

urban wildlife

Last night I saw a fox bounding across a parking lot in Timonium.
It was a little surprising, since I don't think there are neighboring forests. (But maybe I just don't know Timonium that well.)

Of course, the biggest current story of unexpected urban wildlife is the alligator in Machado Lake in L.A. I think it was discovered about a week ago.

I've passed by that lake several times. It's along Pacific Coast Hwy in Harbor City, right by the Kaiser Permanente hospital. (It's only now that I learned its name, from the newspaper articles about the alligator.)

Apparently, the 'gator has been surviving on a diet of tortillas, jelly doughnuts, and whatever else folks have been tossing it.

A crocodile "hunter" was hired from Colorado to capture it, but after a few fruitless days, he returned home to tend to other matters. He says he'll return in a week.

Hey, I know a school in Northern California that could use a live alligator. The San Francisco State University mascot is the 'gator. And they've got neighboring Lake Merced, that they could slip the critter into. (Of course, it'd probably "freeze" to death when the weather gets chilly.)

Meanwhile, I wonder what folks in Florida might be thinking of all this fuss over a 5-footer.
(The SoCal public response to the 'gator reminds me of the snakefish (?) infestation in a Crofton (?) pond a couple years ago, or the beaver invasion of the Tidal Basin, before that.)

DC Metro rail admin. & Al Qaeda

I liked what Wonkette (www.wonkette.com) had to say about the targeting of DC Metro by some Al Qaeda affiliate or sympathizer (as reported by WTOP radio and the SITE institute*):

"...frankly, the Metro administration has been doing a fine job of destroying the system all on their own."

If you've been following the news reports on Metro rail over the past couple years, you'll know about Metro screw-ups. (Of course if you're a daily rider, you probably have some stories to tell.)

So why should someone post a map of the Metro system in an AQ-affiliated online forum and suggest a chemical attack? Don't they know that such an action would probably affect tourists, more than locals, because the former would be unable to figure out how to escape the stations. :-)

A Washington Post story, last week, profiled the difficulty that summer tourists have with using the ticketing machines, understanding the fare tables, and navigating the system.

I think locals (and regular visitors, like myself) would welcome a thinning out of the country bumpkins who clog Metro. Who hasn't found their transit impeded by swarms of ignorant tourists who stand on the wrong side of the escalators and huddle around fare machines?

Well, I shouldn't be so dismissive. Some of their difficulties are understandable. All subway systems have their idiosyncracies and glitches. I've experienced problems and confusion with subways in the Bay area, Chicago, NY, Boston, LA, Frankfurt, and Berlin.

So why should DC Metro rail be any better? If you follow the Wonkette logic, a terrorist attack would spur Metro management to greater levels of incompetency.

(Maybe it's time to follow the example of President Bush and get a $3,000 mountain bike and start pedaling...)

_____
*http://siteinstitute.org/index.html

At that site, look for the following news item:

Jihadist Forum Member Advocates a Chemical Weapon Attack on the Washington Metro Subway System 8.11.05

best baseball announcers

I came across a review of Curt Smith's Voices of Summer: ranking baseball's 101 all-time best announcers (Carroll & Graf, 2005).

Here're are his top 10:

1. Vin Scully
2. Mel Allen
3. Ernie Harwell
4. Jack Buck
5. Red Barber
6. Harry Caray
7. Bob Prince
8. Jack Brickhouse
9. Dizzy Dean
10. Lindsey Nelson

=- =- =- =- =-

I know I've heard 3 or 4 of them, but only 2 I've heard through, at least, several games. That would be Dizzy Dean and Vin Scully. The latter I've heard the most and have an imprint of his voice, having grown up on it.

Don't remember what Dizzy sounded like. (I listened to him when my family lived near Buffalo. Then we moved out west, and Scully thoroughly supplanted that memory.)

Heard Red Barber on NPR's Morning Edition and saw Harry Caray a little bit on tv, with his trademark, goggly glasses. Also heard him announce an inning or so.

=- =- =- =- =-

These days I don't listen to nor watch much sports. So I'd be hard pressed to identify most of the announcers.

a dark night in Easton, Md

last Friday, I decided to check out an out-of-state singer/songwriter who was performing in Easton on the Eastern Shore (Talbot County).

Twasn't the best weather to travel, as there were some heavy rain that evening (especially on the return). It was late in the evening (about 10pm) when I arrived at the tiny cafe (Chez Lafitte) on Washington St. It seemed to be in a part of town with old, quaint buildings or storefronts. As the night was dark and sometimes rainy, it wasn't a good time to sightsee.

My first time in Easton... and the first time I'd traveled over the Bay Bridge to reach the Eastern Shore. (Having an M-tag / EZ Pass, helped speed passing through the toll booth. Although, once through the booth, traffic was stopped as the various lanes merged to 2.)

It's really not that far.

I must say that this year has seen several other firsts when it comes to intrastate travel. Early in the year, I drove up to Westminster (Caroll County). And of course, about 2 months ago, I visited southern Maryland (places like St. Inigoes and California). Also took the commuter rail, MARC (Camden line) and the Baltimore light rail (from the Cromwell / Glen Burnie station) during weekdays.

Not sure what's next... maybe riding the Baltimore Metro subway or visiting Frederick or ?

candy comparison

A couple weeks ago, I realized that I had, in my possession, two foreign candies that were very similar. So I tried a taste test. I ate one after the other.
Here's what I had:

Brand | Company | Style | Flavor | Country
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sugus | Kraft Suchard / Arcor | carmelos blandos | frutilla | Argentina

Kau Früchtchen | Storck | kau bonbon | kirsch | Germany

Both are what might be described as fruit chewies. In fact, Sugus looks like Starburst (the candy, made in the States, by M&M/Mars). Kau Früchtchen looks like a piece of taffy (except it's harder or more chewy).

I'd have to say that I liked KF a little better than Sugus. I don't know why the former seemed more flavorful. Could it be because it was bigger, and could reach more tastebuds on my tongue? Could it be because its cherry flavor was stronger than the strawberry flavor of the latter?

I couldn't find much info. about KF. The Storck website had no mention of the brand. I haven't, yet, been able to find out the brand's history.

Sugus was made by Arcor, under license from Kraft Suchard. Recently, the latter sold Sugus and other candy brands to Wrigley. I suppose the new brand owner will maintain the same arrangement with Arcor, but I really don't know.

Does anyone know the backgrounds on these candies?
I will keep searching for more information. (Perhaps, later, I will discuss my familiarity with these confections and how I came to acquire them.)

Sweet dreams!