Items of local interest to the four-state area (Western Md, Southern PA, Northern VA, and Eastern WV).
In addition to my weekly rants here online, I also write other things, including novels and short stories. To that end, I’m pleased to announce that my latest novel, Slipknot, is being published in both paperback and for Kindle e-reader (via Amazon) on May 1st, 2024. This is my second published work (the first, Apokalypsis, published in 2014, is also available on Amazon in both formats), and I’m excited to finally get this new work out for folks to read…
St. Patrick’s Day is barely behind us and this year, Easter is only a few weeks away, so it’s time once again to peruse the Oriental Trading Company’s annual catalog for all of those wonderfully weird and questionable toys and trinkets they have in stock to celebrate the Easter season. Take a gander at some of my catalog highlights from this year below. Mini “He Lives” Finger Puppets Yes, your child can spend countless hours talking to themselves in the…
For St. Patrick’s Day weekend, what could be better than attending a good ‘ol fashioned boxing match with a bunch of buddies? How about forty-one matches in one night? Yes, it was time once again for the annual West Virginia “Toughman” Competition, and this year, my friend’s eighteen year-old son was going to take his shot at fortune, glory, and a chance to win $14,000 dollars. How did he do, you may ask? Patience, Grasshopper, all will be revealed in…
As I wander about in my day-to-day life and observe the folks around me, I’ve noticed that If there’s one thing that both blue-collar and white-collar Americans love to do, its gamble. In my home state (Maryland), we have six legal casinos and of course, plenty of opportunities to sports bet online (although I’m still perplexed as to why I can’t play Texas Hold ‘Em online for cash here). Now, that may seem like a lot, but it doesn’t even…
For those of you who don’t keep up with current events, you read that title right. Next Sunday, March 10th, it’s time once again to participate in this national game we call “Daylight Savings Time”, in which we will collectively move our clocks ahead by one hour to somehow believe we are taking advantage of the earth’s tilt and rotation, gaining an additional hour of daylight each day. Madness. Honestly, people – just pick a lane and stay with it. …
Yes, today I’m going to get up on my soap box and shake my fist at the world of cellphones. Now, don’t get me wrong. Cellphones are powerful tools. If you could go back in time to just the early 2000’s and show the average person a cellphone from today, they wouldn’t believe the capabilities in today’s hardware and software, all conveniently packaged to fit in your pocket. “Whoa, easy there, future boy!” The world is truly at one’s fingertips….
The month of February is marked by many milestones – Groundhog Day, Mardi Gras, and for me it’s time for another annual chore that I loathe every year. Tax time. Yes, it’s time to sit down and figure out and file my federal and state income taxes. I am one of the many folks who does their own (as well as the rest of my family’s), so at this time of year, I put out my shingle and start pestering…
Ahhh, the summer garden. Who doesn’t love the thought of walking out of their back door and picking some ripe, juicy tomatoes, tender lettuces, or snipping off some fresh herbs to be used in that favorite kitchen recipe? Well, hold on there a minute, all you Gordon Ramsey wannabes. First things first. If you want to reap all of those delicious rewards, there’s a little sweat equity involved to get there. I’m not saying that having a small garden is…
One of the biggest expenses in a typical household after those pesky rent/mortgage/car payments every month is groceries. We all have to eat, and things are certainly not getting any cheaper at the local supermarket. What’s a body to do? Well, I feel your pain, and as someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, I employ quite a few strategies to help make my food dollar go as far as possible. I’m certainly no expert, but here…
As you may or may not know, I’m retiring from the world of work at the end of this year (just 338 days to go at the publishing of this blog entry – not that I’m counting or anything). It’s a funny thing, the reactions I get when I tell people this fact. First, they always look me up and down and quizzically ask, “how old are you?” When I tell them I’ll be fifty-seven at the end of this…