Catch Up Time

To all:

My apologies for the short absence. Recovering from my trip to Silver Spring and Washington, DC took a bit more time than I anticipated. This is primarily due to the sluggishness of a muggy summer setting in compounded by my own search for motivation. I’ll spare everyone the internal dialogue and get on with the travelogue!

The drive down to DC last week, via route 95, was the best “drive” of the trip I think. The weather was beautiful. Southern New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland present hundreds of postcard worthy scenes and the traffic, while moderately heavy, was smooth and swift. The same can not be said for the drive back. One feature that might trip up a resident of St. Louis on this drive, as it almost did to me, is the paying of tolls. Tolls for roads (NJ Turnpike), tolls for bridges (Delaware Memorial), tolls for parts of roads (Delaware Turnpike), and tolls for tunnels (Baltimore).  I had just enough cash (car-wide coin search included) to cover all the fees on the way down to Silver Spring. The total down came to $10.05 and $7.00 on the return trip (I skipped the Turnpikes and the Bridge and took a longer route back to Medford, NJ…it was not worth the savings!).

Baltimore presented a great stopping point for lunch and some photo opportunities. Maryland crab and a burger at the Rusty Skupper on the Inner Harbor post-lunch crowd is the way to go. Driving the scenic harbor route covered all the basic stuff like Fort McHenry and the massive harbor development in progress. A similar development effort is underway on the Wilmington, DE riverfront on a much smaller scale. If you’re a tunnel-phobe you’ll need to take the Baltimore Beltway way west to avoid the harbor crossing tunnels.

The few remaining miles to Silver Spring (see Kathryn, I can spell it consistently without the extra “s”) went quick and led to the only traffic of the day at the exit for the University of Maryland. My hosts, fellow godparent Kathryn and her husband Steve, scored a major bit of real estate luck in finding a great house in Silver Spring just minutes from the Metro and downtown Silver Spring (a ‘tres funky, artsy deco, mingling spot for a range of ages and ethnicities). I’m sure they will be able to retire on the sale of this home in a decade or two!

Annabelle and William, the kids of the house, provide enough energy to light most of Silver Spring. Boundless is perhaps the word I could use. How Steve and Kathryn keep up is a mystery to me. I did have some nice “table time” with them Friday night and Saturday morning. Steve was very helpful in letting me blather on about some grant ideas that I have and hope to run by him in a few months related to science education. No one better suited to the task as he is one of the major project managers on the upcoming (August 2008) final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. After the Apollo landing on the Moon, Hubble ranks in my mind as NASA’s greatest achievement. Below is a link to a recent article on www.space.com related to the mission:

http://www.space.com/news/061013_hubble_cost.html

I’ve included pictures from Baltimore, Silver Spring, and DC on my google picture site: http://picasaweb.google.com/jtholste

I’ll save my thoughts on DC for a separate piece as it was, in its own way, as overwhelming as NYC. Both places have a distinctive “gravity” unlike any other place I’ve been. Meanwhile, enjoy the photos and feel free to share the blog address with anyone you care to. And comments, BTW, are always welcome. Job offers too!

Baltimore to Silver Spring

Howdy Loyal Readers!

I got into Silver Spring MD with a nice stop for lunch and picture taking at the Baltimore Harbor. Photos are on the photo site on Google. I must stand corrected once again on Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathryn’s residence. It’s Silver Spring with no “s” on the end of Spring. And, in fact, there appears to only be one spring that I could find so far today

Heading for downtown DC in an hour or so via the METRO. Sharp contrast to the NYC subways but…I think I can handle it. Expect late night photos for weekend viewing. Heading for Carrsville VA to see my sailor brother on Saturday. Hope to hit some shore sights on the way back to Medford and the cabin.

Hope all have a great weekend!

 jtholste

Corrected photo site address below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jtholste

A Late Night Update

Hot day in Medford Lakes and a hotter one tomorrow. Makes for nocturnal reading, writing, and (sadly) eating. Being healthy with a little hummus and pita break. I was finally able to track down a new memory card for the camera and salvage a few photos from NYC. Unfortunately about 25 shots were lost including some great ones of the Brooklyn Bridge. A good enough excuse to go back for another visit, I say! Those photos, of the Hayden Planetarium, a single selection from the celebrated Central Park, and a woman cooking was all that survived the battery flame up during my Water Taxi ride in NYC and are posted on the photo site. I suspect I am the culprit; opening and closing the camera lens to protect the lens from river spray overheated things a bit. I’ve learned my $19.95 lesson!

More travels upcoming: Beltsville Maryland and DC, southern Virginia and my brother’s tree farm, and quick visits to Baltimore and Richmond over the next week. Am looking forward to seeing friends in Beltsville. He (Steve) works for NASA and she (Kathryn) is a physical therapist and my goddess daughter’s god mother. Will try to interest Steve in working on an educational grant to design a secondary education course to specifically teach evolution as a science elective rather than just as a part of a biology class (where, surprisingly, it gets low billing and is often muddled and mis-handled). Another possibility is to design in school “science academies” in climate change and space exploration. Might try to interest that famous astronomer, Jeremy Perkins, in a bit of that project!

I promise more pictures (and a little less politics) during the coming week!

Editor’s Note: I stand corrected. Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathryn no longer live in Beltsville MD. They have moved up the real estate ladder and now reside in Silver Springs. Seems they slipped out of town a few years back. This, of course, explains why my Xmas cards to them have been returned the last two years! Time to update the address book.

A Summer Fit for Impeachment

It’s a simmering Saturday night in Medford Lakes, the Starbucks is in slow mode, and I’ve awakened from a sleepy day to hold forth on something in this blog. My email sometimes provokes me. Today I received mail from two social active groups related to impeachment; one supporting House Resolution (HR) 333 to impeach the Dick Cheney and another suggesting that Commando-in-Chief Geo. Bush’s commutation of “Scooter’s” sentence for his part in the Valerie Pflame is grounds for impeachment (amongst a dozen other “high crimes and misdemeanors.”) The order of removal is probably important in the grander scheme of things; Cheney before Bush would give us our first female president, Nancy Pelosi. The other way is too frightening to consider. Dick Cheney ascending to the most powerful job in the world is nightmare material for many an American ally and citizen. Seems VP Cheney serves as the ultimate protector for his boss regardless of what branch of US government he really thinks he runs.

Is impeachment of either likely? No but not for the reasons suggested by most Democrats and pundits. The focus on the future, no time for revenge, get out of Iraq course of the democratic leadership is certainly sane. No long hearings, expensive investigations, pompous presentations on Presidential purpose and image, or fashion shows of Brooks Brothers suits marked with the sweat of late night energy scam sessions and “Kill Sadam” rallies in the West Wing. Sigh…were are you Monica when we need real entertainment? Howard Dean is obviously on his meds as he should be in fever pitch for a fight to remove…somebody. Some of us took personally the attempted lynching of Bill Clinton and the obscene parade of lies about lies, sickening self-righteousness, and Henry HYDE! Some of us want a little “hide” from Henry’s party for its hypocrisy and willingness to derail a properly elected President from office for private moral failings. Have you been to Washington recently? Glass houses on every block and personal moral failing abound. Right, Henry?

No there won’t be an impeachment because most Democrats and Progressives see the White and control of Congress as a strong possibility of the 2008 elections. Twice as many Republic seats are open in 2008 than in 2006. The field of Democratic candidates is finally strong (and potential vital for at least the next 8 years).  I suppose this is reason enough to control my own lust for a little revenge and maybe, just maybe, upcoming hearings on everything from unconstitutional wiretapping, firing of federal prosecutors, war profiteering, energy manipulation, and personal financial gain will satisfy the desire for public accountability. Maybe. But I really want to see some of these people in jail. Long terms. No Paris Hilton accommodations. No commutations. No criminal book deals. Just gray walls, bars, bad food, and a right living Muslim cellmate named Osama. Yeah, that’s definitely better than some old impeachment.

Think positive thoughts!

Post Script, July 9: I’ve added a new link to the “blogroll” in the right column. “Truth Out” is an easy to read news service of “alternative media” and  columnists that may be of interest to some. I was scanning the site today and caught an news piece detailing the surprising upturn in sentiment for impeachment. A recent poll found that 45% of Americans beleive the House should commence impeachment hearings as a result of the Libby commutation and other issues.

Manhattan Part 1

Hello from Barclay Street in the Center of the Financial Universe…Lower Manhattan! It’s all fairly overwhelming and disorienting. The post-9/11 contruction boom dominates the landscape. I walked up to the WTC site from Battery Park and made it 3/4 of the way around Ground Zero. I gave in to tired legs and found a Starbucks to crash, reflect, and dump my camera. Unfortunately I had a “short” of some kind in my camera battery and had to let the camera cool down. My thanks to the nice gentleman at World Trade Photo for the diagnosis.  Photos from the first part of my water taxi tour, middle East Side to Battery Park are posted at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jtholste/ManhattanPart1

I’ll catch up with the pictures on the way back. I’m probably going to shorten my taxi tour and head back to the South Street Seaport and then to 34th Street for a nice dinner at a local place. Going to save my strength for the Ameican Museum of Natural History tomorrow!

New York, New York!

Finally made it to New York! Arrived late Saturday after a great little BBQ in Maplewood NJ. A thirty minute train ride but me and my friend Judy in Penn Station and exiting into the crowd from Madison Square Garden. And, yes, I was a total rube; gawking skyward, tripping over people, saying “Wow” more than a dozen times to no one in particular. The true New Yorkers were either amused or indifferent to my sudden loss of “New York” virginity. I was taken with the orderliness of people lining up for cabs under the watchful eye of one of New York’s finest. One women did cut the line and grab a cab much to the chagrin of the crowd. Unfortunately the officer was busy helping to load a van with a group of New York Newbies. The gods of New York will probably subtract some serious cab karma points from this women!

 Spent Sunday recovering and enjoying the local sights of the NYU Medical Center and the central East Side. Judy’s faculty apartment is on the 15th floor facing the river. The view is stunning although marred by the recent construction of a new science research building which obscures the center part of the view. Some pictures will be posted shortly on the photo site with many more to follow today and tomorrow. I have some personal business this morning; negotiating prescription refills long distance for shipment via UPS. This could be interesting. Both my doc and my pharmacy told me last month “no problem” to this arrangement. We’ll see. I also plan on doing the “Hop On. Hop Off” tour of the Island by water taxi. Lots of opportunities for great pictures and venues. Hope to hit Battery Park, the WTC Memorial, Greenwich Village, and perhaps one other stop. I’m on my own as Judy has both clinic and the start of a new rotation of interns and student. I probably will not see her until tomorrow morning. She an amazing doc and makes Matha Stewart look aloppy with her hospitality.

Much more later. BTW…weather is outstanding. Sunny, warm, 78 degrees, moderate humidity. Hope this doesn’t make anyone feel bad.

My Heroes

 
“We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions, and to apply the Geneva Convention to all detainees, including those designated enemy combatants.”
– letter signed by 50 high school Presidential Scholars and handed to President Bush (c) Slate.com and Doonesbury.com, 2007

The above was posted earlier this week. I wasn’t going to insert it here given the obvious political slap to the presidential puss. After some reflection, about what was appropos for this blog, I decided it definitely had a place. The courage of these young people to perform a true act of “speaking truth to power” should be applauded widely. Each one of them is a true “Huck Finn” daring the establised order to do the right thing. I nominate each one of them for the first official “WWHD”-What Would Huck Do Award(tm) of 2007. (See entry 6/4/07 Leaving America’s Hometown.)

Wouldn’t if be nice if somebody with some real clout checked up on these 50 kids to make sure that 1) their actions have not resulted in unnecessary wiretaps or audits of their parents by the IRS, 2) that they each have the resources to completed college without fear of politically motivated “errors” in the delivery of their tuition checks, 3) that each of them be thanked in ways too numerous to count for setting a far better example of being a real American than their President.

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/

Medford Lakes, NJ June 2007

For all you picture junkies, selected photos from the secret retreat and Medford Lakes.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jtholste/MedfordLakesJune2007

Hot, lazy day. Heat advisory and 95 degrees! For this I came to New Jersey?

Bong Hits 4 Jesus? Court says No Way 5-4

I don’t know how many of you have been following the Alaskan high school student’s court case objecting to his suspension from school for unfurling a banner mystically exhorting “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” at a “school sponsored” but off campus event for the 2000 passage of the Olympic torch. As an old high school and college news editor, I’ve followed the issue of school regulated free speech over the years. This particular case is troubling on the surface; the expression did not take place on school property, the speech in question may or may not have been a pro-drug message (okay, of course it was a pro-drug message. So?), and the punishment extended to the student’s family (father was fired from his school district job for supporting his son’s case. He was in maintenance not adminstration. The father later won a $200,000 suit against the school district).

I haven’t gotten to the Court’s web site to read the decisions so I’ll refrain from commenting on the law until then but…shades of things to come I am afraid. CBS News link on Court Speech cases below.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/25/supremecourt/main2974259.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_2974259

Did I mention I was looking for a job?

Greetings to all! Is it Monday? All the nicely dressed folks making their way through Starbucks this morning seem to have “Monday Face” and a driving need for caffeine.  Must be a work day even in this laid back village. I’ve lost a sense of the calendar which I think is a good thing at this stage. Breaking habits of action and thought was another goal for this summer road trip. Another, not yet mentioned, is finding a new career (and not just another job…those are easy enough to come by). The blog title hints at this objective although I haven’t written about it. I also haven’t mentioned anything about why I am currently unemployed and probably will not. I think my work karma is pretty good. No reason to tarnish it by whining and casting stones.

But I am looking for a job. I tore up my old resume as it was of no real value (over a decade old and just a bit yellow due to cheap paper). I’ve been in the same field of endeavor for almost 16 years; grant and program management for HIV/AIDS related health and social programs. When I joined the “cause” in October of 1991, the field was still being defined, the market still open and young, the opportunities for both good work and villiany plenty. It feels like it’s time to move on. Before I do, however, I want to understand why it’s time to move on. Am I simply burned-out? Have all the windmills been jousted and tyrants ousted? Are the problems remaining mundane or lacking a real challenge? Have the wolves that always gather to feed off the sheep of social life won the field? Do I care about the sheep anymore? And why do I think of them as sheep nowadays?

I don’t expect answers any time soon. July is “figure everything out” month. In the meantime, keeping up this blog to sharpen some long lost writing skills and scanning all the employment sites for options is enough for now. I’m still in residence at a wonderful cabin in the pines of NJ and Medford Lakes. A rainy day perfect for reading. I finished John Scalzi’s Ghost Brigade last night. Do check out his weblog, Whatever. It’s alleged to be one of the oldest and most read blogs on the web. My thanks to Dr Keith for introducing me to both Scalzi and Cory Doctorow during my last year at WUSM. Sometime this week I’ll get a reading list posted for summer enlightenment and escape. Suggestions are most welcome along with personal reviews.

http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/

http://www.boingboing.net/

Cory Doctorow’s weblog.

One small note: as I pulled into Starbucks this morning my trip odometer was at (1)999.90. I should trip 2,000 miles right after I pass through the first traffic light on the way back to the cabin. I’m reluctant to suggest that I am anywhere close to being half way through.