http://www.explorehoward.com/ Recent blog posts from Dougout Chatter on ExploreHoward.com en-us 2010 The Baltimore Sun Media Group, All Rights Reserved. technical@baltimoresun.com (Technical Help) http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/89/pat-answer/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/89/pat-answer/ Today's a good day, because I learned something: St. Patrick wasn't actually Irish, but English. Born in the fourth century, he was kidnapped as a teenager and sold into slavery in Ireland. He later escaped and returned to his family before crossing the water again to convert the Irish to... Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:15:34 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/88/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/88/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/ It's hard to know what some people expect. Maybe it was just cabin fever talking. Naaah. Some folks we intereviewed recently complained about the job county crews did with snow removal in the wake of the recent twin blizzards. First, the county was late in freeing some neighborhoods from the... Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:30:43 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/87/dont-look-now/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/87/dont-look-now/ Just when you thought it was safe to get back on the roads, more wintry precipitation is on the horizon. Supposed to start tonight. It won't be anything like what we saw a couple of weeks ago (we can still see most of it, in fact, lying on lawns and... Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:50:31 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/86/an-alternate-lesson/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/86/an-alternate-lesson/ I see where Maryland schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick is asking the state's Board of Education to grant a waiver of the requirement of 180 days of instruction to all the local school districts in the wake of the blizzard of 2010. Without a waiver, they'll be bumping up against July... Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:23:03 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/85/dig-this/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/85/dig-this/ The original plan was not to hole up with four Spartan princesses for an entire weekend. That's just how it worked out. And it's a good thing. When the snow hit, my wife was in Florida, of all places. She and her younger sister had left that morning, leaving a... Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:55:03 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/84/gabby-motoring/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/84/gabby-motoring/ People are bound to draw their own conclusions about things, but I'm inclined to agree with AAA's take on a recent study of the effect of laws governing cell-phone use by motorists. A press release I just got from the Mid-Atlantic chapter of AAA says, "A new study released today... Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:25:02 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/83/all-wet-part-two/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/83/all-wet-part-two/ We heard last week from a reader who took exception to our editorial supporting a Columbia Association budget proposal to eliminate towel service at CA health clubs. Don Oliver insisted that it's necessary for health reasons for the gyms to provide towels to its members.  "How many bare backsides on... Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:21:23 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/82/all-wet/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/82/all-wet/ News from the Columbia Association has made a bit of advice from one of my favorite books particularly relevant to my life. Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is the funniest science fiction you'll ever read, and the movie was comedic genius, even better than "Galaxy Quest." The... Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:50:30 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/81/pick-your-poison/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/81/pick-your-poison/ Deja vu this morning while reading of the struggles of Republicans in Frederick and Washington (my old home) counties to agree on a successor to Del. Richard Weldon Jr., who is resigning his seat to become executive assistant to Frederick Mayor Randy McClement. When such vacancies occur, the central committee... Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:15:02 EST http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/80/what-say-ye/ http://www.explorehoward.com/blog/dougout-chatter/80/what-say-ye/ So I'm driving down Route 100 and listening to the sports-gab station last evening when the host says, "We've got Ken Ulman on the line." Huh? Yep, our executive rang up the call-in show to announce that Friday, Jan. 8, in Howard County would be "Willis McGahee Day-hee." I'll pause... Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:05:02 EST