mid-week bullet points

A few mid-week bullets:

• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is very good. The dialog is as crisp as in the first few seasons of the West Wing.
  
• Since I'm mentioning the current television season, I'm obligated to discuss The Wire. The fourth season reinforces its position as the Best Thing Ever on TV. Ever.
  
• As the baseball season winds down, I'm watching the Twins closely to see if they can make the playoffs despite the loss of Francisco Liriano. Bat-Girl is a great Twins blog.
  
• I received seven pieces of mail from the unemployment office today. One letter claims I earned $0 last year, and therefore am not eligible for benefits. Another concurs with this determination. A third letter disagrees, though it dramatically understates my earnings. Mind you, I brought my W2s from last year, as well as several pay stubs to the office on Monday. They were copied. Presumably to be immediately thrown in the trash. I'll be visiting the unemployment office again tomorrow.
  
• Tonight I'm going to see Tokyo Police Club at the Warehouse Next Door. A review is likely forthcoming.

playing out the string

Notebook in hand, I went to RFK Stadium last night to watch the Washington Nationals host the Atlanta Braves.

7:02 p.m. - There couldn't be more than 1,000 people in the upper level, and probably aren't 10,000 people in the stadium for the first pitch.
7:05 p.m. - My claps for a first-pitch strike from Russ Ortiz echo hollowly against the stadium roof.
7:08 p.m. - A two-out double past first baseman Nick Johnson and Russ Ortiz's no-hitter ends.
7:10 p.m. - An Andruw Jones singly later, the shutout ends as well. Braves lead 1-0.
7:15 p.m. - RFK is as quiet as I've ever heard it when Alfonso Soriano leads off the bottom of the first with a single.
7:20 p.m. - Ryan Zimmerman launches a line-drive over the left field wall to tie the game. The lower deck bursts to life, and the crowd is still buzzing as Nick Johnson steps to the plate.
7:35 p.m. - The Red Hot & Blue pulled pork sandwich is tasty, but difficult to eat in a stadium seat, and isn't really enough food for $10.
7:38 p.m. - A three-run home run by Braves catcher Brian McCann spoils my upgraded seat in the lower deck. Braves lead 4-1.
7:55 p.m. - Even at $6.50 a bottle, something about a baseball game makes the first sip of beer even better.
8:06 p.m. - Thomas Jefferson wins the Presidents race after Washington squanders a big lead to mess with Teddy Roosevelt. Lincoln was a non-factor.
8:16 p.m. - Perhaps inspired by Jefferson, Bernie Casto hustles down the line to beat out an infield hit and the Nats close the gap, now trailing 4-2 after four innings.
8:25 p.m. - Andruw Jones hits a home run to put the Nats down three again. Doesn't look good for the home team.
8:49 p.m. - Jeff Francoeur homers in the top of the sixth, and I'm cold. Down 6-2, with no offense brewing and the temperature around 60, I head for the exit.
9:44 p.m. - I arrive home just in time to watch Soriano strike out on three pitches to end the game. Final score: Braves 7, Nationals 2.

shearwater and magnolia electric co.

Tonight I caught Shearwater and Magnolia Electric Co. at the Black Cat. Shearwater, an Okkervile River side project opened.

While a band with a banjo rather than a guitar (as well as an upright bass) is a novelty, Shearwater's first few songs with lead singer Jonathan Meiburg on banjo were uninspiring, they couldn't fill the 1/3 full black cat with sound. Only when he traded the banjo for keyboards, and the keyboardist grabbed up a guitar did the show pick up. A solid set, though nothing too exciting. Better, however, than...

Magnolia Electric Co., who took the stage next. Their guitarist looks like Robert Fitzgerald used to look. Unfortunately, that was the only notable thing about their performance.

standing in the unemployment line

Yesterday I went to the DC unemployment office to file my claim for benefits until the next disaster.

Arriving at 10:10 for my 10:15 "appointment," I checked in at the desk and joined 11 others sitting in a room with seats for 30.

Around 10:30 someone came in and called four or five away, leaving the rest of us to wait our turn. One woman tapped away on her Blackberry while another scrutinized the unemployment brochure.

The unemployed are clad in everything from business attire to ghetto garb, one woman dressed in a business suit, with another more suited for a night on the town than a job interview. At one point a man wearing a torn t-shirt and sweatpants joined us.

After about an hour, two women began discussing the inefficiencies of the office. "This is stupid," one said, getting up to register her complaint with the desk. Moments later she returned muttering "ridiculous" to herself. As she threw herself into a chair in the back of the room, the beads in her braids rattled as she continued shaking her head and muttering.

Eventually, at about 11:45, I was called into the office to finish my paperwork. Ten minutes later I was out the door.

If everything is filed correctly, in a couple weeks I'll start getting unemployment. Hopefully.

released

It's my last night in Harrisburg before returning home, with a trip to Minneapolis to celebrate the nuptials of Kassie and CJ. While I would have preferred to work another week here, they are downsizing (the technical term is "rightsizing") the staff here, and so home I return.

My financial desires notwithstanding, it's just as well that I leave this deployment. I've been here for seven weeks, and particularly the last few have been pretty slow. Couple boredom at work with a lack of social activities outside of work (exacerbated by my hotel's proximity to nothing but the highway), and you get a bored, lonely Simon.

The vacuousness of television and the internet can only go so far to alleviate these symptoms. Though I will mention that Keith Olbermann on Countdown (with Keith Olbermann) does fill the 8-9 p.m. time slot of my life quite well. Great political commentary with just enough humor to make the state of affairs bearable, at least for a little while.

mid-week bullet points

Part of my continuing effort to generate more content more frequently here at chabel.net, I'm going to try a mid-week bullet point post. It's easier than a real post, and 18% less boring.

• For some reason, watching Bill Clinton vote yesterday was pleasing to me.
  
• I think The Thermals new record, The Body, The Blood, The Machine is good stuff. I think they've been classified as punk, though I think they're not quite loud enough and their lyrics are coherent. I'm also listening to Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos quite a bit. Much lighter, they'd probably be classified as alt-country or folk. I think they sound a bit like Wilco, but newer.
  
• I'm finished in Harrisburg at week's end. I'll spend a week to ten days in DC, and then off to Minneapolis for Kassie's wedding and Episode III of Homebuying with Simon.

I took this on the way to work. I'd always wondered where students went. Now I know.

snow patrol...late

Twice delayed, Snow Patrol finally appeared at the 9:30 club. Because they had been postponed when the singer lost his voice, they appeared as a late show, with doors opening at 10, and Snow Patrol finally taking the stage around midnight.

It was a good show, lots of energy from the lead singer. Live, they sounded a lot like their album, which is both good and bad. Playing all but two songs off their two most recent albums, the crowd was into it, though not annoyingly so. And at 1:30, the crowd spilled out of the 9:30 club, and I started a two hour drive to back Harrisburg.

All told, a worthwhile trip, though I am not going to enjoy work very much today.

to my point

While packing, I have the football game on in the background. The announcers are now discussing whether they can use instant replay to determine whether one team's coach threw the flag for an instant replay in time. And then my head exploded again.

I hate football

The American professional football season begins today. I hate the NFL, both the institution and the sport it pushes. My distaste for the NFL is best expressed in bullet points:

• To start, the word football utterly fails to describe the sport being played. Even recognizing the increased role the foot played in early football, this is a stupid name. And of course, the rest of the world uses football to describe the most popular sport in the world. The Aussies recognize this, and their version of football (played with a lot more foot) is universally known as Australian Rules Football. Americans insist on confusing the world resulting in awkwardly constructed sentences like 'American football, as opposed to football, or soccer as it is known in the U.S.'



• It takes attention away from baseball, at the very moment the baseball season gains intrigue. A ravenous baseball fan, I have ignored the dull roar of pretend football games and "news," but sports coverage is now saturated with football coverage. Without any data (games), the coverage is the worst kind of sports journalism: speculative. This relates to a point below, but the excess of pre-game, post-game and mid-week analysis seems unique to football. The constant droning of catch phrases from semi-intelligent "analysts" may be the lowest form of television. I am constantly amazed at the sports television industry's ability to find people who perpetually speak as though the current topic is the most exciting and important thing in the history of the universe. Speaking of which:
  


• Chris Berman
  


• The culture promoted by the NFL is corrosive to a healthy society's values system. Violence is at the core of the game, brutality is rewarded. More than in any other major sport, the goal is not simply to defeat your opponent, but to dominate them. Behavior toward this end is glorified, and emulated endlessly by fans of all ages. Surrounding the games themselves is a dazzling panoply of images promoting women as sex objects, lite beer as life-improver, and fanaticism as reasonable behavior.
  
  My objections extend beyond typical braying about the coarsening of our culture. For the next five months sports coverage, and a fair bit of news coverage will be dominated by a sport that offers visceral thrill on par with the Christians and the lions at the coliseum, and little else. That this sport plays such a central role in our national experience and is so embraced by so many demonstrates our savagery as a country.
  


• My moralistic objections aside, sport itself makes no sense. The objectives are varied and convoluted. In basketball, you score by putting the ball through the hoop. In baseball, you score a run every time a player touches home plate. While there are many ways to achieve these objectives, there is only one objective. Let's review the ways to score in football:
  
  • "Extra Point" - Kick the ball (held stationary by a teammate, rather than dropkicking) through uprights on the play immediately following a touchdown: 1 point
    
  • "Safety" - Force an opposing player to the ground in their end zone while they are in possession of the ball: 2 points
    
  • "Two point conversion" - Carry the ball into the end zone on the play immediately following a touchdown: 2 points
    
  • "Field goal" - Kick the ball through the uprights in any situation other than immediately following a touchdown (see below): 3 points
    
  • "Touchdown" - Carry the ball into the end zone in any situation other than immediately following a touchdown: 6 points
  
  
  Some might call this nuance. I call it moronic. What basis is there for assigning the different point values to each act? A "safety" is far more difficult to achieve (or is occurs less often) than a touchdown. Why is it only worth 1/3 the points? Why is kicking, a very different skill (evidenced by the physiques of kickers compared to other football players), even an element of the game? After 300 pound men spend an hour pushing each other around in brutal and disgusting ways, the victor is determined by whether a 150 pound guy can kick a ball straight and far? Seriously?
  
• Ignoring the quality of the officiating, sometimes a very difficult thing to do, the enforcement of the rulebook completely disrupts the rhythm of a game. Is there any other sport where there are unplanned breaks in the action of ten minutes? A play happens. There is or isn't a penalty called. Officials huddle. A coach throws a diaper on the field and the officials spend the next five minutes watching television. A conclusion is reached. It is announced. The ball is placed on the field and the teams are encouraged to line up and resume play.
  
  Then the officials realize the ball may not have been placed precisely enough. More television watching ensued. I've begun searching my room for things with which to stab myself in the scrotum. Eventually I just pass out/have an aneurism. When play resumes, the end result is nothing happened. Time is put back on the clock. The ball has not moved. How football players navigate such a universe without existential crises astounds me.
  


• Too often arbitrary events determine the outcome. The placement of the ball on the field can have dramatic ramifications on the outcome. One inch in either direction may determine the victor. But the idea that an official can accurately place a ball currently resting under 1,500 pounds of flesh is laughable. Even instant replay does little to resolve this problem, creating myriad problems of its own.
  
  It is cliché that a holding penalty could be called on every play. But cliché for its truth. There are dozens of situations in a game where a penalty called or not called impact the outcome. While I believe referees to be impartial, their judgment too much determines victory.

I keep harping on the way in which the victor is determined in football. Why? Because that's the point of sport. If the outcome is largely arbitrary and we just want something violent then aren't we're better off watching Bumfights and admitting to our barbarousness?

reflections on Easton, PA

Easton, PA is a mid-sized city on the eastern edge of the state. Like many Pennsylvania towns, Easton has a little history, some nice architecture, and a classic main street with small boutiques and reasonably nice people. I stopped in Easton for lunch on my way from Bangor, PA to Morrisville, PA a bit more than two weeks ago.

Little did I know that Easton is home to two locations of cultural import:

The Crayola Factory, a factory/museum, provides opportunities for youth info-tainment with a little consumerism thrown in. Tempted to check it out, my enthusiasm to learn how crayons are made was tempered by the $9.50 admission fee. Some things are meant to remain a mystery.

The Easton Museum of Pez Dispensers (differentiated from all other Museums of Pez Dispensers) sits across the street from the Crayola Museum. Less a museum, the EMPD is more a room where someone keeps a lot of Pez dispensers. Next to this room is another room, where someone sells lots of Pez-related "souvenirs." The excessive entry fee of $2.50 dissuaded me from literally going behind the curtain (separating the 'museum' from the 'gift shop').

on Labor Day

I only realized it was Labor Day when, on my way to work, I thought, ‘where’s all the traffic? Oh yeah, not working.’

Moments later I realized I could have slept an extra ten minutes. So not only did I work on Labor Day, but got to work ten minutes early.

SOLIDARITY FOREVER!

department of excessive packaging

This weekend I went home to relax and take care of a few things. Greeting me was a pile of mail, mostly bills and offers for low-interest loans. Amidst the letters was an unsolicited package. Always a good thing, I jumped right in. What could be contained inside the pristine white box? Surely something of unparalleled value.
After a couple of minutes of wrangling with the wrapping, I found my prize:

W the Card. For my frequent patronage, I'm now some kind of SuperVIP at W Hotels. Apparently VIPs don't get letters, just packages.

If I'm a SuperVIP now, someone needs to let the garbage man know, because he'll be getting a lot more trash like this:

Agassi's last Open

If you're any kind of tennis fan, or real any sports fan at all, do not miss any of Andre Agassi's final matches at the U.S. Open. His first round defeat of Andre Pavel was tremendous, as much for the caliber of tennis as for the electricity of the crowd. It only figures to build as the tournament progresses.

a silver mt. zion

Usually there's not much to do, culturally speaking, in Harrisburg. Tonight, however, A Silver Mt. Zion came to town. I'd missed them in DC, but enjoyed them tonight.

They played in front of about 200 indie hipsters (redundant?) in the basement of the Whitaker Center. Classified as post-rock, a definition I've never really understood, I'd put them more in the new classical genre, one I've just made up. A seven member ensemble, A Silver Mt. Zion plays largely ornamental pieces punctuated by braying, often repetitive vocals. The violins and cello build to a crescendo. Combining the strings with feedback and other sonic goodies, their music, even more so live, is as aural assault as typically defined songs.

Good stuff, though lacking from the absence of the piano often heard on their studio albums.

sad fridge

Over the weekend I moved into a Homewood Suites, so I can do some cooking. I'm limited to two burners, no oven, poor cookware and a lack of utensils, but I can still make a few things. I went to the grocery and picked up some groceries to start.

My refrigerator looks pretty sad, bacheloresque, though if the cans were cheap light beer rather than cheap soda it'd be even more depressing. Such is the life of a traveling disaster salesman.

well done Howard

While I was briefly a supporter of Gov. Dean for the Democratic nomination, I ended up voting for John Edwards. But I've always though Dean to be a compelling voice for the party, and believed he was the right man for the DNC chair. In that job, he demonstrated his efficacy on Chris Matthews tonight.

can you tell me how to get...

As a child, my parents once took me to Sesame Place. A Sesame Street-themed amusement park, I don't remember much about it, though I did enjoy climbing around the (what seemed at the time to be) giant cargo nets. Sunday evening, I was surpised to find my hotel, the Sheraton Bucks County across the street from Sesame Place. Indeed, my room overlooked the park.

I certainly viewed the park through the rose-colored glasses of a child. I briefly considered visiting the park again, after all, there were water slides (rubber duckie-themed, no less). But rather than ruin my fond childhood memories a misguided trip where I would see the place for what it is: a commercial exploitation of a beloved public television show where teenagers dress up in yellow suits to imitate childhood heroes, I stayed in my hotel room and ate a crapBoston Market pot pie.

Morimoto

Dining options in Harrisburg are limited. There's a decent Thai place, and numerous good sub/sandwich shops, but that's about it, at least that I've found. So my trip to Philadelphia also presented an opportunity to splurge on a good meal. When I heard about Morimoto, run by Iron Chef Morimoto, I figured I'd continue my obsession with Food Network-related restaurants and check it out. Besides, I've been craving some killer sushi.

Having read some positive reviews, I opted for the nine-course Omakase. Here's what I had:

Toro tartare: Fatty tuna chopped with crisped garlic, this was a refreshing starter of high quality toro tuna. A hint of good things to come. Accompanying the dish was an umemomo (Japanese peach), a bit sweet, a bit tart, serving as a palette cleanser.



Octopus carpaccio: Lightly seared, this was unlike octopus I'd had at other sushi restaurants. Less chewy and more flavorful, the octopus was tender and light.



Thai fish soup with matsutake mushroom tofu: I don't like tofu, and I don't like mushrooms, but the tofu was the best part of this soup. The broth was very light, overpowered a bit by the piece of red snapper. Disappointing.



Striped Jack sashimi salad: One of the best things I've ever eaten. The sweetness of the fish was brilliantly complimented by the slight bitterness in the greens and the vinegar sauce.



Basil snow pea sorbet: A palette cleanser to prepare for the hot courses. Next time I'm home I'm going to see if I can recreate this. Very nice, and leaving me wanting more.



Spice rubbed seared lobster: When this course arrived I chuckled. Lobster's tasty, but seemed gratuitous here, and the spice rub added little. The accompanying ponzu butter was terrific as a condiment.



Seared Kobe beef with Japanese sweet potatoes topped with foie gras: A nice dish, the sweet potatoes complimenting the beef, with the luxury of foie gras adding richness. I'm not experienced enough to appreciate the difference between Kobe beef and good cuts of 'non-Kobe' beef, so I wonder if this was a bit of luxury to give me the sense that I'm getting my money's work.



Sushi course: By this point my tongue was a bit tired. Despite my oral fatigue, this was equal to any sushi I've had.



Pistachio cake with Bing cherry sorbet: Nuts about nuts I am not. I didn't particularly enjoy the cake, but the Bing cherry sorbet was powerful. Sweet, tart with vivid flavors, it contrasted well with the cake. Intellectually, I understand how this is a good dish, I just didn't like it very much.

All told, a good meal with great courses. Worth $165? Hard to say. I was hoping for more unique dishes, more playing with food and flavors. Ultimately I'd probably eat twice at Kaz Sushi Bistro for what I paid to eat once at Morimoto.

Nationals 6, Phillies 4

Having completed my first two assignments in my journey around Pennsylvania, I headed into Philadelphia to catch the Nationals play the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park (CBP). Even if my ballpark road trip proves impossible to arrange, I'm still crossing ballparks off my list.

The Nationals jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on a leadoff home run by Alfonso Soriano and a two-run homer by Ryan Zimmerman. My standing ovations as they circled the bases were not appreciated by the surrounding Phillies fans, but the fans weren't drunk enough to be a problem. The Nats added two more in the second, freeing me up to wander around the ballpark.

CBP opened in 2004, and is similar to other parks built in the last ten years. Brick facades and wide concourses offer a stark contrast to the dinginess of RFK. Unlike PNC Park in Pittsburgh, CBP doesn't have a distiguishing skyline, and is generally unremarkable. It certainly offers a pleasant enough baseball experience, but is in no way a classic stadium.

Wandering around the stadium, I took an opportunity to sit in the bleachers with "Howard's Homies," the cheering section for Philly slugger Ryan Howard. They weren't too impressed with my Nationals cap, but other than a bit of good-natured heckling, were controlled enough. With the Nats up 6-3 in the seventh, I headed out for dinner. Even without me, the Nats held on to win, 6-4.

miles to go

Normally in the office writing fascinating press releases like Floodsmart.gov Web site a valuable resource, I've been dispatched into the Pennsylvania wilderness. My mission: learn about community efforts to reduce flood losses and produce a series of stories on these practices. Beats sitting in the office.

Hopping in my trusty rental car I shall journey around central and eastern Pennsylvania. Heading all over the state, I'll stop in Philadelphia on Friday and then head to Norwalk, CT to visit Mr. and Mrs. Trachtenberg. Sunday, it’s back to PA to prepare for more community studies Monday, after which I'll return to Harrisburg. All these travels make for good blog fodder. Forthcoming...

music, food and a bad haircut

A few quick notes (blogging in bullet points is much easier):

• I'm quite taken with Stars of Track and Field and their album Centuries Before Love and War. If you like The Postal Service (and if you don't, my music advice is likely worthless to you) you'll like these guys. Good stuff.
  
• I'll be in Philadelphia tomorrow night, and I think I might go to Morimoto for dinner. Expect a full report, and perhaps even a Six Picture if I can get over feeling ridiculous about taking pictures of my food.
  
• Tonight I was driving down Memory Lane in York, Pennsylvania. Turns out, just off Memory Lane (near the Supercuts that gave me a crummy haircut) is a really good Indian restaurant. Who knew?
  
• The Daily Show just said of Hezbollah, "at least they're not FEMA." Nice.

could CNN be more embarrassing?

A federal judge has ruled the President's illegal wiretapping unconstitutional. So what's on CNN.com?

BREAKING NEWS
DA: Ramsey suspect started teaching job this week

Pathetic.

it's a big world

Now in my third week in Harrisburg, I’m again itching to travel. Beyond Pittsburgh.

I have enough frequent flyer miles to go anywhere in the world, and about three weeks of free hotel nights (anywhere with Hilton). So to my vast readership, I pose two questions:

• Where should I go?


• Does anyone want to come with?

I’m probably looking to travel either immediately before Christmas or after the New Year. Seriously, let’s go somewhere.

back in Pittsburgh

As I did the weekend previous, I drove to Pittsburgh over the weekend to visit Mike and Neva, take in a baseball game, and to get out of Harrisburg. I've expressed my taste for Pittsburgh previously. The above photos (as well as these) illustrate my fondness.

Much of my affinity for the city stems from Mike's fantastic house. Resting on the north shore of the city, his front porch overlooks downtown and its a small but architecturally diverse skyline. In the evening, the buildings illuminate, but despite their glow, we had a pretty good view of the Perseid meteor shower on Friday night.

In the side yard, deer occasionally frolic about. Rare is a spot where city and country converge so gloriously. It is, despite my preconceptions of Pittsburgh, just the spot for a weekend of relaxation.

road trip anyone?

I'm thinking about driving around the country next summer, visiting the 23 Major League Baseball stadiums I have yet to see. I think it can be done in about 40 days, though I'm still working on the optimal route between the 20 cities, and can't really plan in earnest until the 2007 schedule comes out.

It's an entertaining math problem, one I would be better equipped to solve if I hadn't dropped combinatorial math.

on the Keystone state

A few quick thoughts on my time in Pennsylvania until I get around to posting some photos (which is likely to be extended another week):

• Both the drivers and the highways in and around Harrisburg are the most dangerous I've traversed. The roads are narrow and lacking shoulders in many places. On-ramps are too short and drivers don't seem to understand the difference between yield and stop signs.
  
  
• Pittsburgh is among my favorite cities to visit, though I'll expand more on that soon.
  
  
• Pennsylvania is a BIG state. By car I traversed the width of Lousiana in just a few hours. Nothing is less than a couple hours from Harrisburg, and I've already driven about 750 miles in eight days.
  
  
• Combining the high price of gas and the high tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike (incidentally, why does a road need a Web site?) makes travel across the state by car an expensive endeavor. Round-trip from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh cost almost $70. And was well worth it.

New Orleans' mental health crisis

In April, I wrote:

One of the least-talked about consequence of Hurricane Katrina is the psychological damage many New Orleanians suffered....For many victims with whom I've spoken, they relive the event when they retell the story."

The unaddressed psychological scars left by Katrina may be the most pervasive lingering effect. People are rebuilding, or moving on, but will be left with their memories of the horrific days during and immediately following the storm. A recently published article in The Journal of the American Medical Association confirms my anecdotes. Though JAMA is subscription only, Time.com has a nice article summarizing the article, and discussing the broader problem of mental health treatment for Katrina survivors:

A February survey of people living in temporary FEMA-subsidized housing found that more than two-thirds of female caregivers reported feelings of anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders. As many as half of the children they were caring for were suffering from mental disorders of their own.

The health care infrastructure in New Orleans, fragile before Katrina, has completely collapsed. Mental health care is an even lower priority for a city just struggling to maintain order.

But there are only a total of 20 psychiatric beds available in the few New Orleans hospitals that have reopened, compared to about 300 before the storm.

And the cascading effect of mental health problems on physical health is also manifesting itself:

More troubling, perhaps, is a 25% jump in the mortality rate, including a threefold increase in the suicide rate — a conservative estimate since many self-inflicted deaths are classified as accidental.

The Senate once had a champion for mental health issues. Is anyone paying attention today?

reflections on Harrisburg

Harrisburg, like many Pennsylvania cities (indeed, like many mid-sized cities throughout the rust belt), is struggling to adapt to the changing economy. Downtown Harrisburg is an area in transition, with newly renovated restaurants and galleries neighbored by liquor stores and sub shops.

Fewer than ten blocks away from downtown, well-maintained brick row houses give way to dilapidated homes with broken steps and plywood windows. Corner businesses employ bulletproof glass to facilitate customer transactions.

Unlike many cities with which I am familiar, there are no physical boundaries separating the good neighborhood from the bad. In Washington, the Anacostia river has been keeping poor people out of sight for decades (centuries?). But here, driving down Market Street, the area transforms without warning.

I've been told I won't be here long, perhaps going home as soon as next weekend. Just long enough to miss A Silver Mt. Zion at the Black Cat, but not long enough to catch them here. Terrific.

no house for me

Someone else bought my house. Which, I suppose, makes it not my house.

waiting

Almost 24 hours after placing my offer on a house, I am still waiting for a response from the sellers. This is not fun.

press play

After two weeks of waiting for my next assignment, for some idea of what's next, today it all came at once.

I've been deployed to Harrisburg, PA. I'll start working Monday. But first, a house for sale in Minneapolis caught my eye earlier this week, and after a visit from Kassie and Mollie, I'm flying to Minneapolis tomorrow to take a look.

The logistics of three cities in three days are a bit overwhelming, but finally under control. Now I've got to pack, not only for a weekend in Minneapolis, but for a weeks-long deployment. Beats sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.

just missed

First,I left last night's Washington Nationals game after the seventh inning with the Nats trailing . They scored three in the eighth to win 7-6.

Then, I arrived at the 930 Club just as The Secret Machines were finishing my favorite of their songs. It was still a good game, and a good show, I just need to work on my timing a bit.

the waiting

My vacation having ended, I'm now waiting for a phone call to deploy me on a disaster. Until then, I've got little to do, save to prepare a bit for my next deployment. It would be folly to make plans for the future, since I still hope and expect to be on the road by week's end.

Eight week vacations get boring. I hope there isn't a ninth.

i've still got the fever

Home now for almost a week, I'm still recovering from World Cup Fever. I've been watching the Brazil/France and Germany/Italy games to wean myself. I watched more than 35 games in a month, in five cities around the country. Speaking of my recent travels, there's a new Six Pictures up.

Since my return I've been bumming around DC making dinner for various people. Not entirely unlike my trip through Minneapolis.

No idea where I'll be going next, or when. Such is the life of a traveling disaster salesman.

yet another tragedy

I've generally shied away from the political stuff here, but everyone should read this NYT story about the recent death of another American soldier in Iraq. It's stunningly poignant, and still more evidence of the senselessness of this conflict.

my new buddy

Though I am now in San Francisco, I'm posting a picture of Mollie and Trevor's dog. Every morning, she'd hop into bed with me, disturbing my efforts to sleep until noon before falling asleep. Eventually, she'd wake up, spot a squirrel outside, and start barking. Not the most pleasant way to wake up, but it did encourage me to get up to watch soccer.

Minneapolis was a blast, a special thanks to my hosts. Lots of good food, good music, good friends, and general good times. I'll be back in September for Kassie's wedding.

last weekend in Minneapolis

What seemed like a long time in Minneapolis has become a short time. With just a few days left here, I'm cramming all sorts of Minnesota-related goodness into the weekend. Between World Cup games, of course.

weekend plans

Building on the overwhelming response to my quest for companions to the We Are Scientists show, does anyone want to go to the Twins game on Saturday? Should be a good time, Johan Santana is pitching, and there will be beer. Who's in?

Also, does anyone want to watch the US game tomorrow?

traveling about

Now in Minneapolis, the conference no longer consuming my time, I've put together a new Six Pictures. Despite having been in Las Vegas, the pictures are from my layover in Atlanta. Now I'm spending my time watching the World Cup and cooking for my friends. Good stuff.

the end of yearlykos

Having left Las Vegas, while sitting in the Fargo airport (with free wi-fi) some quick hits from the rest of the conference:

• Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner hosted a party at the top of the Stratosphere. Walking off the elevator, a man was pouring drinks through an ice sculpture. There was sushi and a mashed potato bar. Most people at the conference were a bit disgusted with the extravagance, I was impressed with his political operation. The blogosphere (a horrible word) is a serious fundraising machine (to say nothing of the value of its political support), and was treated as such at this event.
  
• Saturday, Governor Warner spoke to the convention. His record in Virginia is undeniable, and he presented a compelling message to unite the country, invest in technology to make America competitive, coupled with vague ideas about foreign policy. He's a good speaker, and has tremendous staff. With the current field of competitors, I think he'll win both the nomination and the White House.
  
• The young male/young female ratio at the conference seemed approximately 75:1, while the attractive male/attractive female ration was about 0:5.
  
• Sen. Harry Reid gave the keynote on Saturday night, a passionate speech about the need for intelligence reform. The positive reception for the anti-choice, pro-gun Minority Leader was yet another demonstration that the online liberal community isn't a bunch of rabid flaming leftists.
  
• Las Vegas is just as bizarre as it was when I visited in 2003, and still somewhere I don't think I'll ever go without a convention or other event to bring me.
  
• In just a few hours we'll find out just how good USA Soccer is. A win would solidify the US's place among the global soccer powerhouses, while a loss would serious jeopardize their chances to advance to the second round.