Mobbie Awards

So, I've noticed that many of my blogs begin with the word "so".  So what?  It's my blog and I'll so if I want to.
But yea. It's been a coon's age since I did anything with this bloggy thing but I recently stepped into the smart phone age and yesterday the Twitter age.  While on Twitter I was checking all these folks to follow and saw all these blogs that I used to read religiously back when Blogtimore was up and running.  Thanks to Twitter I can see a lot of them in one place again and my how they've grown. Some new faces too. 
Add in some good timing  and I come across a list of blogs up for Mobbie Awards.  It's like a one stop shop for hooking up all the cool Bmore blogs. 
So in alpha order (because that's how my bookmarks work) here are the blogs that I've snatched up to read when I should be doing more trivial things like work.  Curse of the drinking class. 

Beer in Baltimore- It's beer!  Hooray beer!
baltimore21201- Hey, I like culture.  And I've even been to the Meyerhoff once.  Don't you judge me.
thebaltimorechop- Dude, it's stuff that I like.  Hooray for stuff that I like.
thecoolestkidsintown- this is a new one that I'm just getting in to. 
baltimorecrime- 171 as of yesterday.
acharmedcity- another new one that I'm checking into.  Dig the pics
audaciousideas- I can only dream to be this educated and effective in my fair city. Keep it up, folks.
baltimoreisawesome- Yes it is. And I saw a post for Beer and Bacon Happy Hour at Bad Decisions. Bump!
slumlordwatch- We need this blog! Someone's gotta keep an eye on the vacants. But if you come around
                         asking me about Snoop and Chris I didn't see shit.
homelesscide- This is where life gets real.  This is a new one that I'm paying attention to. Good luck, Dave.
baltimorebrew- Don't let the name fool ya. More than just brew here. There's some fine indy journalism here
                        on some tough local issues.
mobtownshank- Been following this one for a while now. Tried and true Baltimore blog.

And there ya have it.  Good luck on the Mobbies and have a super fantastic Friday. 

Fed Invents Most Accurate Clock in the World

Federal News Radio

If you are a sticker for time then your in luck.

A young scientist at NIST has invented the world's most precise clock. It's based on quantum computing research and made out of aluminum.
Till Rosenband is a physicist in NIST's Time and Frequency Division.

He has also been nominate for a Service to America (Sammies) medal, which are awards that are given out annually by the Partnership for Public Service that honor the exceptional work of federal employees.

He explains that the current, standard model is made out of cesium.

"So, to give you an idea, if these things could run for billions of years, they would lose one second in about three billion years. . . . That's about 30 times better than the cesium clock."

Yes, he did say billions.

The project, in essence, is not new, either. Rosenband credits his boss with a lot of the ideas for this new clock, and says many scientists have been working on how to develop a new, more accurate one for about the past 30 years.
"All these ideas have been coming together, and I just feel lucky that I could take a lot of the new developments and put them together in the lab and build this really accurate clock."

Now that the project has been successful, he says there are all sorts of applications for it. His office, for instance, can measure the shape of the earth more accurately which, in turn, means technologies like radar could potentially benefit.
"As your continental plate rises or falls a little bit due to geophysics, this will shift the rate of your clock slightly. So, with a more accurate clock, you could really make new kinds of measurements. In the future, there may be new navigation applications and things like that."

Though it might seem complicated to most people, Rosenband says the relationship between time and physics is actually pretty simple if you think about it long enough.
"Time sort of drives everything in life and in nature. Everything changes with time, and so you can use these changes to see how time was running -- and that's basically what a clock does. It's one of the most basic quantities in nature, and physics is really operating at that level. Physical laws all deal with time."
Speaking of time, Rosenband admits he is young for his accomplishments. At 31 years old, he explains that federal service just seemed natural to him.

"I think in science, in particular, if you're not working for the government directly, you're probably working at a university that gets a lot of government funding. I think the government really has kind of the long term view that science has -- that it is a long-term investment that the government should be making just to make our lives better. There is so much technology and so many new inventions and they require this kind of long term investment. . . . If you just wanted to deliver profits every quarter, you probably wouldn't be working on this, but if you want precise navigation 20 years down the road, then this is the kind of project you would be working on."


That's great!.  But I'll still be late for work.

Baltimore builds Arena to Nowhere.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-arena0724,0,1841047.story

OK, so most, or some, of you know that the city is going to tear down 1st Mariner Arena in 2010 and build a new one on the sight. But they have no commitment from anyone to use it.
They would like to lure a NBA/NHL team to the arena but isn't this area saturated enough in sports?
Can Baltimore even afford an NBA team? An NHL team? I'd love to see it but don't think it will happen.

But they're gonna have their stadium. Yes sir-ee.

From the Sun:.." Previous state policy called for attracting a franchise before building a sports venue, but city officials said this project would thrive even without a team."

Do you hear the great sucking sound?


Oh but it gets better. Ever hear of the Maryland Stadium Authority?

This coincides with a report I read on city development and Baltimore. Dudes on the board of the MSA have been known to buy up run down railway land or warehouse land and then suggest that the new stadium be built near this old warehouse near the railway.
Then their construction firm gets a contract to rehab the warehouse around the new stadium.

Enough of the pancake pontificating. Back to...oh, where was I?


Oh yes! MSA and $$ and the great sucking sound of publicly funded/privately profitable.
The legend of the upper tier, puppeteer untouchable. (I didn't pen that. )

..."It is impossible to build a building of that size that is privately financed. The state and city have to pick it up," said John Moag, a former chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority who now runs a company that provides consulting to sports leagues and teams."

The sucking continues. As stated above, it's impossible to stop. (If I'm going to get rich than it's impossible for this deal to stop).

I guess I won't be griping, though, when I'm watching WWE Smackdown in a new badass arena. But I'll bitch about it's birth to who ever will listen. Maybe I'll take a sign that reads "RIP 1st Mariner". Or whatever.

Watermelon: Nature's Viagra?

Yea, scientists in Texas (we can probably disregard this already. Nothing good comes from Texas) have "discovered" that there is more of the amino acid called citrulline in watermelon then previousley thought. This is some thimgamajig that relaxes and dialates blood vessels like Viagra does. (insert watermelon sex joke here).

Now this is fun. Watermelon season is almost upon us so that must mean that (insert Barry White voice here) "Love is in the air..." Actually, it's in the melons...hehe, that's what she said.

See? Watermelons and sex are fun...kinda sexy too...hehe...melons.

Juggs

Big ole jiggly...well, let's not get off topic here. I was talking about watermelons and sex. Actually, not really. Since I said that the research was done in Texas, where the fuzzy math comes from.

Scientists have already proved that although sex and watermelons can be tons-of-fun it's unproven.

On hearing about the Texas finding, Irwin Goldstein, MD, editor-in-chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, was underwhelmed: "Suggesting a man feast on watermelon to boost performance, he says, "would be the equivalent of someone dropping a beer bottle in Minneapolis, where the Mississippi River starts, and hoping to see it make an impact on someone in New Orleans. " -Editor's note (that's me). First of all, I hate to judge but the name Irwin Goldstein and Journal of Sexual Medicine just sounds like some nerdy brainiac went into sexual medicine to "study" the effects. I'm sure there's a Woody Allen movie that parallels this somewhere. Wait, there's probably a dozen. And secondly, the Mississippi river does not start in Minneapolis but quite a bit further north. But what do I know? I'm not a doctor.

Oh well. At least we can have a little humor from it all. And hey, at least they didn't say that watermelon was bad for us. That's a good thing. Because there's nothing I like more in summa-time then a nice big watermelon.

Tip** Jab a bottle of Skyy vodka in the end of the watermelon for a few hours and then watch the sex drive increase. Any volunteers for the research?

http://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/news/20080701/watermelon-a-natural-viagra

President Select Barak Obama

So you know we just selected our next president last night, right?
Barak Obama has all but cinched the nominee for Democratic candidate for president. How many out there believe me when I say that the president will be decided at the primary? All the rest is a dog and pony show. Correct that: a $500 million dollar dog and pony show. The showboaters will certainly clean up with that.
But really. We could save a boat load of $$ campaigning now if we just aceptd this widely opinionated fact. Facts as I present them here.

Cheers

Baltimore Mariner Arena Football!!

So how many of you folks heard about the Baltimore Mariners, the city’s new arena football team? No, it’s not the arena football league that you see on ESPN but a smaller regional league. They play at 1st Mariner Arena where there really isn’t a bad seat in the house, just cheap and expensive. So the Mariners are in their first season in the AIFA (American Indoor Football Association) and are so so rankings wise. But man what a good time. With team names like the Arizona Adrenaline and the Carolina Speed you know it’s fast paced. But you can also tell it’s a lot of fun with teams named the Utah Saints and Erie River Rats.
If you want to see precision passing and heroic plays then ya might want to stay home and watch the Stanley Cup finals. But if you want to hoot and holler and have a great time than Mariners football is a good place to do it. Unlike the NFL there is virtually no rules against taunting and showboating so at times it seems like you are watching professional wrassling in shoulder pads. Players taunt eachother and the fans. The crowd boos rival players who make a good play or put a hard tackle on any Baltimore players. And hard tackles happen as the arena walls are the boundary lines. Players get rammed into the walls that are only waist high and drilled into concrete with an Astroturf layer of cushion. And as far as players go this is probably their side job or their fun sport after work. Many players are walk-ons and former NFL practice squad players. The league’s motto is “Fast Paced Family Fun” and I think that sums it up. There are many kids at these games and many chances to meet and greet the players on the field after the game. There was a concert on stage after the game as well as many on field contests during media time outs. Unlike Orioles and Ravens stars, these players make it a point to meet their public and interact with them. That reminds me of the minor league baseball games that nowadays are more fun than the majors just because of the interaction with teams and fans.
I’d go back to a Mariners game. It was a fun time where I could be loud and rowdy in a family oriented sporting event. I could boo the other team and taunt them right back when they danced over a fallen player from the home team. All in good fun.

Are You Girls Guys, or What?

Earlier on Tuesday when I was in the theater getting ready to see the premier of Sex and the City there was a radio station, whose name and call letters I quickly forgot, that was introducing the three winners of their Sex and the City contest. The contest, I think, was to find the fashionista, the cosmopolitan and the something else. Like I said, I wasn’t paying attention. But what struck me was when they were all up in front of the packed theater being recognized. The crowd was mainly women, all the winners were women, the presenter was, yes, a woman. So why did the presenter ask for a round of applause for “these guys”? Now weather or not they were feminists or not I could not tell. Weather they were educated or not I could not tell. But I could tell that they were not guys. Is our language so overly masculine or are people mainly incoherent when they are speaking. Many many times I hear a group of ladies refered to as “guys”. Actually, any crowd, no matter the gender, is referred to as guys.
I was once made to see the error of my ways when I pointed to a lady in the bar while I was making my point. She made note of the gesture and told me of the dominance that I am trying to have in the conversation. She was well studied (I think). She was into re-education of gender and power. I didn’t put much credence into her words after she motioned to her group of girlfriends and said “C’mon guys, let’s go”. I smiled and said “you guys have a good night”. She took one last jab at me and said “See? See? We’re not “guys”. You men need some education”. I love this shit!

I Got to See Sex and the City Last Night.

I got to see the sneak premier of Sex and the City last night in White Marsh. I wasn’t really caring one way or the other about this film but then I scored free tix from the B and then emailed my girlfriend that I got tix. There was no turning back from there. I may as well have brought home a new VW Eos convertible. She was giddy as, well, as every other girl there. When we got there we saw that the theater even had a red carpet that all the ladies could walk down and get their picture taken on (if they brought their camera). I brought my camera but if I was gonna snap photos of anorexic white bitches at White Marsh Town Center I would be there all night…every night.
I’m not gonna talk about the film because I don’t want to risk ending up in Guantanamo.
Before the film started there was a plain clothed drill sgt. barking orders at us from the front of the theater. He reminded us that we are the first people in MD to get to see this film (Oooohhhh) and that cell phone calls, recording devices, Bluetooth, smiles, wandering eyes, or anything else that could be detected from the governments secret Total Sensory Awareness system would not be tolerated and that we would be asked to leave the theater. WTF ever, just show the damn film.
Oh, but I did get to snap one pic in the end. I had to get a photo of the heaping trash can full of popcorn, soda and candy garbage that this theater full of fashionista toothpick gals were cramming into their hungry little bellies. Enjoy!