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The Big Yellow Math Problem

  And tomorrow is the first day of school. I know this because I keep track of current events and, closer to home, I live with a teacher. The other day when I wrote about safety issues in school zones a commenter raised an issue about school buses, specifically: concern that school buses are not equipped with seat belts. Now, there are ongoing arguments as to whether seatbelts are needed or whether they would be logistically practical. I’m not going to wade into that now. I am going to predict that, in less that two weeks, local online communities will see more than one complaint about students having to stand on school buses due to lack of seats. If I am wrong I will be thrilled.  Whether or not students are sufficiently protected in school buses without seatbelts becomes rather beside the point when those buses are routinely carrying standing passengers. And, unlike subways, school buses are not equipped with those handy-dandy overhead straps.  Over the years one of t...
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Will It Or Won’t It?

  Tut, tut. It looks like rain. - - A. A. Milne Yes, Saturday has rolled around again and you may have been hoping to enjoy some outdoor activities. Good news! The pollen is low. Bad news! It looks like rain.  The theme for tonight’s Lakefront Live was intended to be Y2K Night but I swear to you that I saw a cancellation notice due to rain somewhere. Since I can’t confirm that, here’s the Eventbrite link to register  and get more information. Lakefront Live August 22 Another event which may or may not be impacted by the weather is the Patuxent Jazz Band concert at Carroll Baldwin Hall this evening:   Late summer lingers into dusk as Patuxent Jazz Band joins Carroll Baldwin Hall and Gottaswing! to present an evening of swing. Bring a chair for the lawn or your dancing shoes to hit the Hall's historic floor - either way, your toes will be tapping! Still need to learn to swing dance? Join Gottaswing inside the Hall at 5:30pm for a FREE beginner's lesson! Live music fol...
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F ³: Ignorance is Not Bliss

  In recent years we’ve subscribed to a food delivery service called Hungryroot. Like many companies these  days, they have what is called an online community on Facebook. Normally this is a place where people share recipe ideas, their favorite menu items, and/or ask questions. The other day we had what felt like an anonymous troll visit. Like it or don’t, just FYI…all Thomas Farms meats are Halal.  There were a variety of responses. Most were of the, “Why did you think this post was necessary?” variety. I decided to go the innocently cheery route. Good to know! Now I can feel comfortable recommending Hungry Root to my Muslim friends. I was much disturbed by the person who responded with the 🤮 emoji.  I wondered what that commenter was thinking. I wondered if they even knew what halal meant. Our old friend Google told me what people are asking when it comes to “halal.” Here’s the top ten for two searches. Two thoughts: 1) good for people who made the effort to try t...
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The Missing Village

  The continuing saga of invisible villages… You probably know that Columbia has ten villages.   Nine of them have central shopping/activity areas called Village Centers. Town Center does not - - I’m guessing that is because they have the Mall. As a newbie back in the early oughts, I was so proud of myself for familiarizing myself with information and lore about my new home in Columbia.This is why I was especially puzzled by ads claiming to represent Columbia’s Village Centers - - that didn’t include all of them.  That irked me. Here’s a recent one. The answer I got was that these particular Village Centers are owned and managed by one company: Kimco. The others aren’t. It wasn’t going to be as straightforward as I wanted it to be.  I still think you shouldn’t bill yourself as “Columbia’s Village Centers” if you don’t include all of them. It’s misleading if not downright factually incorrect. Oh, well. I delved into a recent article about Columbia’s Village Cent...
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The Weird Stuff

  A while back I posted this image from Marketa because it looked homemade to me.  I reached out to Marketa on Facebook and they told me it was legit. This week I saw this image promoting a local yoga session: Do you see it? The eerie similarities? Now I’m not sure either one was made by a human and I hate living like this. What do you think? ***** August brings one of my favorite anniversaries. You know the one. Apparently August is the month for this sort of thing. It looks like DC has joined the club. I still think an accordion is better. Also, there’s a difference between “electric” and “electronic” and I suspect this writer doesn’t know the difference.  *****  True confession: I can’t make myself read this article. “We’re All Over the Flood”: A Decade Later, Ellicott City Thrives Again , Julekha Dash, Baltimore Magazine It’s not because I think there’s anything wrong with the piece. It’s the title. “We’re All Over the Flood.” I don’t think of myself as superstit...
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Our Precious Way of Life and other Fairy Tales

  I was gratified to see that yesterday’s topic resonated with so many readers. The responses confirm the degree to which the housing shortage has squeezed all kinds of people in our community. At the risk of repeating myself, the point of writing about this for me is not to put the focus on “now our kids can’t get apartments!”  The most appalling housing insecurity and injustice is and has been experienced by Black and Hispanic residents. And, for far too long, their needs weren’t considered reason enough to push for a reasonable quantity of rental housing.  The end result is that there isn’t enough rental housing for anyone who needs it and - - surprise! - - our choices as a community eventually impact us, too.  Towards the end of the day I discovered that I wasn’t the only person to write about the coalition of community groups working with the Horizon Foundation on Housing Justice. I refer you to the post on the HoCo APFO Facebook* page. (It’s not long. You have ...
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We Built This House

  We want our kids to have the best. The best neighborhoods, the best schools, the best educational experiences, the best hobbies and activities, the best everything.  We hope all of that prepares them for the best colleges and/or career opportunities. We hope they will have happy lives. But we don’t want them to have homes. At least, not anywhere in Columbia/HoCo.  Before you protest, take a look at this listing on Redfin . I bumped into this listing on Bluesky along with commentary from Barbara Samuels, a knowledgeable Fair Housing and Affordable Housing attorney in Baltimore: 10,000 sq ft, 6BRs, 7BA, 4 car garage, guest house & pool. Must be small apt building & ADU right? No, not allowed! It is what passes for single family outside the HoCo PFA in western Ellicott City. How does it make sense to allow this use [for] 5 valuable acres but not apartments? I’ll be honest with you. Big, fancy houses houses like this used to spark my imagination. Now they just make ...
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