In general, on my commute, I try to keep to myself. My commute is in two legs — a subway trip into the heart of Baltimore, and then a light rail trip out to Timonium. The subway trip is generally quiet; in the morning it’s professionals on their way into the city, and in theContinue reading “On Strange Encounters”
Category Archives: Life
On Watching Rainfall
For reasons unknown, the train stopped. It was evening, and I was heading home. The day had been dreary — dark clouds, winds, periods of heavy rain followed by mist. Were it not for the overcast skies and the rainfall, the day might’ve been brilliant; temperatures hovered near seventy, even this morning. When the trainContinue reading “On Watching Rainfall”
On the Lack of Blog Posts
Occasionally, I hit periods where I have nothing to say. Occasionally, I hit periods where I’m too busy to say anything. The last two weeks? They’ve been a little bit of both. Though more the latter than the former. I was on deadline for an article. I was also mildly sick. Article got done. TheContinue reading “On the Lack of Blog Posts”
On Maryland Transit Suckitude
The four feet of snow that fell during Blizzardammerung and its kissing cousin Blizzardammerung II linger on the Maryland landscape like a festering malignancy. I look out at the frozen wastes from my sixth floor office, and I think I should elk and moose wandering the glacier that now lays across the hills and dalesContinue reading “On Maryland Transit Suckitude”
On a Winter Lament
I dream of a day when the glaciers of Maryland will be no more. I dream of a day when birds are in the air, when plants break the soil, when flowers bloom. I dream of a day when a warm sun beats down on verdant fields of green. I dream of a day whenContinue reading “On a Winter Lament”
On Saturday at Farpoint 2010
Today things get into full swing at Farpoint, and if you’re into media science-fiction and you’re in the Baltimore area, it might be worth it to come out and take a look around. For people looking for me today, my schedule looks like: 2009 Comics In ReviewSaturday 5 pm — Chesapeake 1Panelists: Peter David, KeithContinue reading “On Saturday at Farpoint 2010”
On Blizzardammerung
On Friday, the world knew, an apocalyptic snowstorm was coming. It was coming up the jet stream, from the south. We could see fifteen inches, twenty-four inches, perhaps even forty inches of snow. A winter storm warning was issued from 10 am Friday to 10 pm Saturday. Some thought the office would be closed onContinue reading “On Blizzardammerung”
On Birds in the Snow
About an hour ago, snow began to fall on Baltimore. The weather forecast earlier this morning called for one to three inches of accumulation. A few hours later, during Car Talk, the local NPR news announcer revised that forecast upward to ten inches. (Correction: Ten inches is the Eastern Shore. Charm City is still justContinue reading “On Birds in the Snow”
On Today’s Typography Lesson
It has only taken twenty years, but I have finally found the font I wanted. In the mid-1980s, Del Rey used a distinctive typeface for the tables of contents or chapter headings of many of their science fiction novels. Foundation and Earth. The Songs of Distant Earth. The Integral Trees. Robots and Empire. A reallyContinue reading “On Today’s Typography Lesson”
On New Internet Toys
There’s a new Opera Pre-Alpha to play with! As longtime Allynologists know, my browser of choice is Opera. I’ll use Firefox in a pinch, though I don’t like how it looks. It’s sterile. I don’t like its rendering engine. That said, I do stay current on Firefox, and I just downloaded Firefox 3.6. (I haveContinue reading “On New Internet Toys”