Frederick, Maryland

Here's a great article about Frederick, Maryland. I travel there sometimes when I'm on vacation on the East Coast. It's a refreshing respite from hustle of Philly and Baltimore. Click here for the NYT article.

Publishing not immune

The publishing business has never been immune to ecomonic downturns. It seems that when people start losing money, one of the first things they do is stop reading. Logically, that seems like the opposite of what people should do. Turn off the television. Log off the computer (after you've read your daily blogs :0)). Then open a book. Check out the newspaper. Write something.

Here's a New York Times article about how the economy is effecting publishing, with an emphasis on how cutbacks on advertising are leaning luxury publications.

Netflix lovers and Computer gurus unite!

In another NYT article today, a reporter talks about the frenzy online over Netflix's contest to beat its Cinematch program. Cinematch is a program Netflix uses to help determine best picks for movie viewers based on their ratings for previously viewed films. For example, if you've seen and watch a movie like The Pianist and rated it with 5 stars, then you might be likely to also enjoy a film like the Red Violin. Several programmers are coming close, but none have been able to improve upon the Cinematch program by more than 10%. To win the contest prize of 1 million dollars, contestants must do just that. Good luck to them all.

Teen suicide -- media nonsense

An article in the New York times online reported today that a young boy committed suicide on a live Webcam essentially on a dare. He did it on a website called Justin.tv where people set up Webcams, tape themselves live, and broadcast it over the Internet.

Click for article.

As the boy died, Internet onlookers were reported to have egged him on or to have simply watched as he overdosed on prescription medication for his bipolar condition. What makes this so much of a tragedy is that before his death, the boy was obviously reaching out. He needed friends, he wanted friends, and somehow he must have thought his online acquaintances WERE his friends. The online world has blurred definitions of relationships. People you haven't spoken to in years can feel like they've been in contact with you all along thanks to facebook and myspace. I wonder if the boy had had real friends would he still have died. If he'd been able to understand that the Internet is not the real world, would he be with us today

Hulu.com

I've taken to reading the Times online and I stumbled across this great article. YouTube is now facing competition for viewers from NBC's hulu.com. The popularity of hulu may also impact dvd rentals and sales. Hulu.com works like regular television. It includes full episodes of your favorite television shows, but with commercials. The difference between it and watching television the traditional way is that hulu.com features intervals of commercials no longer than 30 seconds in length. To me, this is much better than having to sit through 3 minutes of commercials at a time to get through one half-hour show.

Click here to read the article from the New York Times

Sherry James-Strother

Sherry James-Strother and 5 or 6 other people are running for the Prince George's County Council special election District 5 seat. I believe Sherry James-Strother is a good candidate because she's a person of the people. She has a special needs daughter (whom she talks about a bit too much, in my opinion) who she has helped get through school and graduate. She has also been instrumental in getting accessible sidewalks paved in her area so her daughter can travel. That experience alone testifies to James-Strother's strength in being able to get things done. She's not famous. She's not wealthy (as far as I know). She's not overly demanding. She just knows how the system works, and she's been able to maneuver it help her special needs child.

In PG county, there's a lot of hubbub about losing the county hospital system. That in and of itself is a shame. What sort of community can a people have when their basics of life have not been addressed? We all need food, shelter, and security. And the hospital system is part of our security. The lax PG county government has allowed that security to be taken right under our eyes. Sherry James-Strother used to work in the hospital system. It would seem to me that she would have a keen sense about how to proceed around this issue and bring about a satisfactory resolution. The only solution of course being that the hospitals stay.

In the debate last night, she handled herself rather well. But it was a very structured debate, with strict time limits placed on the candidates' responses. I would have liked to have seen her spar it out with the other two front-runners (in my mind, at least): Adam Ortiz and Theresa Dudley.

It will be interesting to see which of those three will rise to the top. This election has been rather sleepy, though. These candidates have been running since January or so and I've seen only a handful of coverage about in the local papers. What I'd really like to see are profiles. What is each candidate really like? What do they do for a living? What do their co-workers think about their management styles, etc.?

Oh yes, I should also mention that there is one other candidate whose name escapes me at the moment. He is big on volunteerism. He's an older man, could be someone's grandfather. I like him, too. He's got lots of personality. But he needs to develop a more concrete stance somehow. Is it his persona? I don't know. He's a nice guy, but I don't if I can envision him in a position of leadership. That's what he needs to do win. He needs to develop himself as a leader of men, not as a basketball coach or volunteer coordinator. That's what I get from him -- friendly, but not leaderlike.

That's it for now.

District 5 election musings

I was at the debate the other night where the candidates for the Prince George's County special election in District 5 were given about 1 minute to respond to a list of questions. On the panel were Adam Ortiz, mayor of Edmonston; Theresa Dudley, teacher at Kenmoor Middle School; Andrea Harrison, the talking puppet for Jack Johnson and his boy Harrington; Adrion Howell, the political wannabe; and Sherry James-Strother, former nurse at a local county hospital. Needless to say, I am NOT impressed by either Adrion Howell or Andrea Harrison.

First, let's things straight. Harrison used to work for Harrington. She is a candidate hand-picked from the Jack Johnson administration. That alone is enough to disqualify her from contention in this race. From her associations, it should be clear what the people of the county should expect if she is elected: more of the same. More of the same development projects that drain resources from our communities without giving back. More of the same discriminatory environmental policies that allow contracts with companies who pollute the air of our residents. More lies and deceit. Did someone say slate committee????

And Adrion Howell, well, he's actively seeking the endorsement of Jack Johnson. He's not afraid to let his connection to corrupt government be known. Good luck with that, Adrion. The people are going to see right through your glossy ads.

So that brings us to the last three. These are candidates who I feel are real candidates of the people. They are not without their flaws, but they are nonetheless who I feel are the top contenders (or at least should be).