An Interesting Week

Since my last post, the world has lost Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and today, Billy Mays. (I'm not sure about the Michael Jackson one. There was so much coverage that I'm not convinced it wasn't actually the president.) There was also that Metrorail accident in DC on Monday, and a coup in Honduras this weekend. And the governor of South Carolina visited his mistress in Argentina over Father's Day (one of the guys who demanded Clinton's resignation over his affair with Lewinsky). Oh, and the two teachers from Frederick County (one from my alma mater) getting arrested on charges that could be the basis for a Law and Order: SVU episode. So, maybe it's a good thing a new week is about to start?

I do have to say that I did enjoy Saturday night (even though I felt kind of tired for some reason). I may have overdone it at dinner, though. And I got a nice refresher course in "Being Careful What You Say Around Certain Friends." It's a good thing it wasn't graded; I failed miserably.

Funny How This Only Comes From My Dad's Side

It appears that someone on my dad's side of the family is taking an interest in my romantic life (or, more accurately, the lack thereof). I was invited to some cookout thing she is having in the middle of July and said to bring a "female friend" if I wanted to.

It was probably a good thing that I didn't tell her that there isn't a "female friend," or else my grandmother would do something she mentioned about a year ago (the setting me up with someone thing).

But yes, that was a nice reminder of my single status.

Other than that, Father's Day activities were good yesterday (my dad wanted to avoid the crowds at restaurants today). The highlight may have been my sister's cat making a futile run for freedom.

Now, back to the qualifying exams.

A Sigh Of Relief

I think NASA is very lucky Endeavour was not needed for a rescue mission for Atlantis last month (see the poll to the right).

And, something Jon gave me has not completely killed my productivity (yet).

Now, back to the studying.

Something Fishy This Way Comes

There is a foul odor coming from Frederick County.

First, the mayor of Frederick vetoed the Board of Alderman's desire to investigate the buyouts of employees. (The city paid some employees money to retire, in an attempt to save money. However, something was botched and the employees could be hired back at their current pay grade, or something like that.) This has led to accusations that the mayor was "helping" some of his friends. The fact that he doesn't want an investigation, especially considering he is not seeking reelection, is suspicious at best.

Second, several weeks ago, a senior from Mount St. Mary's was hit and killed while she was jogging on a local road. The driver who hit her was let go without any charges (remember, in Maryland, pedestrians are allowed at the far left side, except on expressways and the like). Today, he and his parents were charged with not having the appropriate insurance on the truck. I seem to recall in the fender-bender I was in that the officer ran both our names for warrants, made sure the registrations were legitimate, and made sure our insurance policies were current and within legal limits. Apparently, this didn't happen on scene for a fatal accident. One wonders if the police were forced to do something when the victim's family tried to file a claim and found out the insurance was no good, thus preventing any sweeping under the rug. Sheriff Jenkins should be retraining his officers on what to do for traffic violations (hint: they need to do more than immigration checks).

Yes, it certainly seems that good-ol'-boy network is up and running in Frederick County. We just can't prove it.