While looking through the Library of Congress’ website yesterday, I found this vintage 1852 image of Washington, DC, done by the same company that did the map of Baltimore of 1868. “Oh, wow,” I said. “This is cool. There’s the Smithsonian Castle, designed by James Renwick. There’s Trinity Episcopal, also designed by Renwick. There’s the … Continue reading The Washington That Never Was
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Yesterday afternoon, Howard Weinstein shared an interesting find on Facebook, E. Sachse, & Co.’s 1868 map of Baltimore City. Weinstein is writing an historical novel set in Baltimore about a decade later, and he said it would be helpful in his research, and perhaps to others as well. I had ancestors in Baltimore in 1868 … Continue reading Exploring an Old Baltimore Map
A couple of weeks ago Facebook showed me an ad. Usually I ignore ads on Facebook, but this one caught my attention. A Snoopy t-shirt commemorating the Apollo 11 landing! Fifty years ago come Saturday! The shirt is, naturally, unlicensed and unofficial. The Charles Schulz estate is receiving nothing from this shirt. And Snoopy, frankly, … Continue reading Boldly Going Where No Beagle Has Gone Before
Meet Dave. Dave is an usher at Camden Yards. Dave was not the usher for my section when I attended Saturday night’s Orioles/Indians game — that was John, of whom I have no pictures — but I saw Dave several times during the game, as he left his water bottle near the handicapped seating in … Continue reading One Night at Camden Yards
I keep a Rubik’s Cube on my desk at the office. It’s something I can fiddle with when I’m thinking. Sometimes I’ll even take it into meetings. A couple of turns here, a couple of turns there, and if I mess it up, there’s an online solution — You Can Do the Rubik’s Cube — … Continue reading Learning to Solve the Cube
I was in Harrisburg for a Senators baseball game. It was “Swords and Dragons Night” — Game of Thrones Night with the serial numbers filed inexpertly off — and they were playing the Bowie Baysox and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was making a rehab start. The game ended around sunset and, with the sky … Continue reading Harrisburg at Twilight
Saturday morning, while browsing Facebook, I found an interested an unexpected article — Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables is being translated into Scots Gaelic. The Canadian dialect of Gaelic was spoken on Prince Edward Island, though in declining numbers, at the time Montgomery’s novels were set, and I did not know that Montgomery … Continue reading Anne of Green Gables, in Gaelic
Making an appearance at today’s Harrisburg Senators game, Daniel Striped Tiger! I was so happy I damn near cried. Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was formative. As I tap this out on my phone, the Senators are losing 1-0 to the Reading Fightin’ Phils in the fourth, and it’s starting to rain.
About six weeks ago, a voice in the back of my head started talking to me. I want to redo the website. Why? I want to redo the website. Seriously. Why? Are you not happy with the website? I want something new. Why? I want something new. Then I’d find myself looking at WordPress themes … Continue reading The Way My Brain Works
Last week, I bought Funko POP! figure — Teddy, one of the Washington Nationals’ racing presidents. This was only the second Funko POP! figure I’ve ever bought. The first time I would have written about these stylized figures would have been in August 2010, specifically for figures of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Joker, … Continue reading Funko’s Teddy Roosevelt POP! Figure
Tuesday night after work I went to a college baseball game. The Baltimore Redbirds, the team in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, I followed for the last three seasons folded after last season, but the same field the Redbirds used, Carlo Crispino Stadium at Calvert Hall High School in Towson, is used for teams … Continue reading A Nice Evening for Baseball
Last night after work I stopped by the nearby Target. I needed a new pair of shoes — the soles to the pair I bought when Payless went into liquidation had already worn through to the insole — and Target was convenient. Fortunately, I found a pair I liked. I also found some camping-themed story … Continue reading As Seen in Target