Author: TimClarkeJr

For those of us in the greater DC-area, here’s to hoping that you have the good fortune of easy shoveling. And for those of you formerly from the DC area, now residing in more snow-friendly environments, not much has changed about how the nation’s capital experiences a snow event. Yep, it was a collective freak-out.

Officially, here at the homestead in greater Silver Spring, we were more in the 15″ range, with several very large boughs on the pine tree down in the backyard.

But no power outages. And a successful first outing with both kids in the sled for the first time. So, a good time being had by all here. Anyone else care to report?

And since you might be intersted, here’s what Wikipedia reports about thundersnow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thundersnow.

Now, my lovely teacher-wife gets to start the day-long vigil: will school get cancelled or delayed tomorrow? Stay tuned.

The old homestead in the news today. Seems someone with some time on their hands took a moment to tag Quince Orchard HS and nearby Ridgeview MS with their personal expression of free speech. NBC-4 has all the news. Several local churches and church buildings were also vandalized.

I’ve not been to the school itself for some time – at least a couple of years – but since both Lisa’s parents and mine still live within a stones’ throw of the school, we’re around there all the time. Things have changed, if you’ve not been back lately. The area’s matured with larger developments both commercial and residential. Kentlands, which was is in its infancy when most of the QO alums here were graduating, is now completely developed and practically a town in and of itself.

Anyway, since I am such the geek that I monitor Google News for mentions of the school, this popped into my in-box today. Thought I would pass it along for those of us with at least some connection to the old stomping grounds.

Oddly enough, I remember a fair amount of time spent painting some inside walls of the theater itself. I wonder if they’ve ever painted over some of those old ‘paintings’ backstage.

I don’t know why, but I’m all into the blog posting today.

I’m devastated by this news. Where else will I turn to see some of the blandest television programming ever aired? Or maybe it was all attention recently from the TV nannies.

“LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The Camdens will bid farewell to viewers in May when the WB Network’s top-rated family drama “7th Heaven” ends its run after 10 seasons in what sources said was largely a cost-cutting move.”

All the bad news is here.

Maybe we can hope that Dr. Gillian Taylor and Captain/Commander Decker will end the series finale by sling-shotting themselves back around the sun and back to their real lives in the 24th century.

You all can talk about intelligent design all you want; I’ve got larger issues to address. Such as: it has taken me a while to realize why I’ve been so disturbed by the sudden rise in popularity of I-Pods and the like. At least in DC, you can’t go ten feet on any sidewalk without seeing someone with that glassy look to their eyes, little wires dangling from their ears, paying just a little too much attention to the little white plastic box in their hand…

Then, while in Ann Arbor last weekend for a meeting, I caught ST:TNP, episode 106: The Game. A classic episode, featuring the indomitable Wesley Crusher fresh from the Academy, the lovely but out-of-her-element Ashley Judd in a career-challenging role – it’s no Best of Both Worlds, but then what is?

And it all became so clear, as I sat there watching this ep: Someone brought back an I-Pod from Risa, those aliens with that lame forehead ridge are just plumping us up for a quick takeover while we’re plugged into the latest podcast from someone-needs-a-life, and in the not-too-distant-future, we’ll be hoping Data comes through with that lame watch-the-birdie save before the top of the hour.

Not to offend any Barnsonian I-Pod worshippers, but the whole thing for me got pushed over the edge after spending a few moments in a college town this past weekend. In DC, we’ve got Blackberries and federal subpeonas (thrilling party conversation-starter by the way). But it seemed that Ann Arbor had been overrun by Apple and no one noticed. You could almost hear Steve Jobs cackling like Dr. Evil in the background.

In line at the largest Starbucks in North America (I mean it, you couldn’t see the far side of it), all over the bookstores, all over campus, in the three restaurants I ate at, at the hotel, and on and on. Seriously, someone needs to pull a Wesley on those things to determine if they aren’t hitting the pleasure center of the frontal lobe, because there was just a little too much love for the I-Pod there.

Isn’t silence golden to anyone anymore?

Just my two cents. It’s been one of those weeks so far.

Watching today’s developments – the evacuations of the Texas coast cities and towns, the situation in New Orleans and other hard-hit areas of Louisiana – I think it’s fair to ask that we all take a moment to think of family and friends in the affected zones.

And not just that, but think also of all our neighbors, since when it comes down to it, that’s the essential character of the republic in my mind–we’re neighbors, and we look after each other, and there are disagreements, certainly, but when it comes to times like these, if we’re treating each other as neighbors in need of help, we can make it through anything. Only a few days ago, we were crowing about the Redsksins victory over Dallas, and lording it over anyone from Texas we could find. Today, the people of Texas, and Louisiana, whoever they are, wherever they are, they are in our prayers. I also think something my oldest, Sarah, said to me the other day while we were watching the news during a rare break from the Disney Channel. She got worried about all the kids and babies she saw on the screen, and asked ‘Are they going to be all right?’ I told her, ‘Yes, and since they are our neighbors and friends, even though they live far away, we’re going to do what we can to help them,’ and that seemed to make her feel better. She knows I give blood pretty regularly and that we’ve been contributing to my organization’s Blankets for Babies campaign, but knowing that somehow we’ve instilled some sense of compassion in a four-year old, it was nice to see.

I was roped into sitting at the office this Saturday morning since our remote IT administrator wasn’t going to come up from Charlotte just to let the tech in to install a new network tape back-up deck.

So, of course, I am on time, my IT guy in Charlotte is ready to go, but the tech? Late, even called late to say he was going to be late, then left the new unit in Gaithersburg so he had to drive all the way there before heading to Silver Spring. (Run-on sentences are my specialty, by the way.)

Anyway, now I am here answering e-mail on a weekend, waiting, and waiting, and waiting. All the while, the sun is shining on a warm September day in your nation’s capital (where dissent is being crushed, as we speak, I’m sure).

I’ve been slow on the posts, myself, mostly because I’ve assumed the temporary role of director of the member services department here at the College. Two jobs for the price of one, you’ve got to love association management, right? So, it’s been a little hectic the last month or so.

But, hey, can’t complain, my beloved Nationals are still in the wild card hunt, and the Skins are 1-0 going into Dallas Monday night. So all is well in the world, at least until Tuesday morning.

That’s a headline bound to get a few Google hits, right? It’s not what you might think.

I am in San Fran to exhibit at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists meeting here this week – the people I work for, the American College of Nurse-Midwives, participate in the tradeshow here, along with all manner of pharma and device companies. Why we do this is another story.

So, despite a flawless series of flights from BWI through Denver and an arrival here marred only by rain, I still managed to botch it by leaving the cell phone in the cab.

It was one of those moments – when your stomach drops into your feet and you realize that only a miracle saves your day. The cell is my lifeline to the kids back home and, being in media relations as I am, it sorta makes it tough for reporters to get in touch with you, if, you know, they can’t because you left your phone in a cab.

Not that the cab driver can’t talk persuasively about homebirth and cesarean sections, but it’s bad for business.

So, after somehow getting the operator on the pay phone in the hotel lobby to connect me to the cell phone, my luck turned up for a change and the cabbie answered and brought the phone back to the hotel, where I sit tonight typing this note, content that the phone is here and not being used for long calls to Jakarta or the space station or wherever.

So, I’m in town for a few days if someone has any good suggestions for restaurants, while I try to avoid the more graphic exhibit booths at the tradeshow. (Those avid readers with kids will think about all the devices and gadgets and implements you might recall from the delivery room and you’ll get a sense of what I face over the next 72 hours.)

That’s not meant to be a funny headline, but reading it again, it sort of reads funny, especially taken out of context. Maybe it’s funny to me since I spend so much time agonizing over my own headlines.

I’d taken to reading Wil Wheaton’s blog in recent months, because I found his sense of humor interesting, and because he’s still working and the insights he gives on Hollywood are interesting. And because, I’ll admit, he was on ST:TNG and that puts him up there in my book. Regardless of how lame his character was, sometimes. I recommend the blog highly.

But, he’s had it tough. He’s lost two pets in as many months, and as in this post, he’s not shy about expressing his feelings. And his readers aren’t holding back in posting notes to him.

Worth a look, especially if you’ve ever lost a pet.