That’s Elbert With An E

To increase tourism during these though economic times, Ocean City ran some ads in several markets from Richmond, VA to New York advising viewers to take in the resort town before the ocean evaporates… in one billion years.

The story is here.

A Cambridge, MD teen was arrested today and charged with three counts of manufacturing explosive devices. The incident happened on Sunday, April 6 in a shed on West 7th Street in Laurel. According to the news article, the teen set off a soda bottle bomb. There were two other teens involved but only one was charged. Curiosity has me wondering why only one teenager was charged. Apparently no one was injured when the bomb went off. This might have been a tragedy averted, and to that I’ll say, “praise the Lord.”

Story reported at this link.

I’m off work this week. There are various things to do at home but there’s either no motivation or no money to do them. Throw this on top of it all: the van starts spraying coolant late Monday night. So for right now it’s out of commission and I’m getting our family around in a 3 seat pickup truck. Nice. Hey, if you know anyone I could barter computer services for auto repair, let me know!

We did get through one event for the week today, and it went very well, actually better than expected. It helps to bathe those troubles and the things that worry you in prayer. The Lord just seems to have a way to make those speedbumps less bumpy. What I’m tackling now would best be described as a “speed mountain”. I’d like to see it knocked down to a speedbump or less. Applying Mark 11:22-26 to life isn’t easy.

I would imagine that some are getting weary of the many religious posts recently. It’s a part of my life that’s real, and I like to talk about it.

Kavips noticed that there wasn’t much said on the Delaware blogs about Easter. All that was posted here was the Sunday Thoughts post and the sunrise service pictures. There wasn’t a whole lot to add to the day. Our Sunday service contained several performances by our drama team, an extended worship music set, then a brief sermon from the pastor. Our family enjoyed a day of peace and a nice turkey dinner. We didn’t have a ham because I like turkey better, besides we already had a turkey in the freezer. Honestly, a day of peace was just fine for me.

Lest I forget. kavips has been kind enough to mention me on the blog twice, so kavips is in the blogroll now. Welcome! And shame on me to leave out another blog that has linked here: ShoreBlogs. It’s in now too.

ShoreBlogs had a recent post about Technorati’s Authority Numbers for several of the blogs he has listed. I got on his list at #8 with a 23. My friend Michael at Monoblogue tops the list with a 73. He was certainly happy about it.

Finally, a big welcome back to Karen at A Woman’s Point of View. You were missed!

I’m happy to announce that thanks to Howard I’ve found another Seaford blogger: PonderMints. I’ve seen Brian commenting on Dave Burris’ blog and somewhere else but I can’t remember exactly where it was. Brian’s blog has now been added to the list. Pay him a visit sometime soon.

Michael at Monoblogue has had two posts discussing blogging. These posts drove me into some thoughts about doing this blog.

Honestly, one of the reasons I did this was to give myself a way to possibly get better at writing. In short, you get to be the guinea pigs as I try to improve my ability of communicating thoughts and ideas out on paper… err, I mean… well, on screen? I’ve not created many new things but I’ve spent a good deal of time pointing out what others are saying and doing then offering small comments to those.

It would seem that some have an interest in my feeble attempts at blogging because I do get some regular traffic. No, I’m not bragging like some would. The number of hits is nothing to brag about but something that gives me good feelings.

Networking with other local bloggers has been very good for That’s Elbert. This blog gets a good deal of traffic from local sites.

I figured out sometime last year that regular posting helps a lot. Like Michael, I’ve taken time and written some things in advance then timestamped them to publish days later. Brian at PonderMints has written that he’s been working a lot, and as a result his postings have been coming slower. That has also been a problem here. Balancing family, work, and church is always tricky but even more when one of them requires or demands more time than normal. Something has to give, and most of the time it’s right here. It isn’t that writing this blog has become a burden but that it doesn’t and really can’t have priority over any of the aforementioned three. Well, if I could make money at it, that would put blogging in the three! But that’s not even on the radar right now.

On the subject of posting, I’ve tried to suck some other folks into the That’s Elbert vortex but that’s not working (yet). I have not given up on Conservative Geek and Videoman because they are just as busy as I am. When things slow down for them, I will prod them again.

So, that wraps up the blog thoughts for now.

Starting January 1, the government of Maryland wishes all their oppressed brethren a Happy New Year by slapping new taxes on everything not already taxed and raising taxes on everything already taxed. I don’t live behind the Iron Curtain but know of the oppression present there. I mean, I can feel it every time I drive across the line to shop or visit my mother. I can feel it at church which is just across the street from it in Delmar. I thought it was coming across in the blogs I read from Maryland, but that just might be spirit of Bill Gates Steve Jobs darkness that sometimes creeps out of the technology. OK, now I’m just getting silly, but you’ve gotten the point.

I’ve gripped about the rise in DMV fees here in the First State. I still can’t figure out why they had to double auto registration fees and nearly double driver’s license fees. That touches home because both vehicles needed tag renewals this year, and my two youngest are waiting a little longer for their licenses because of that increase. Maryland’s tax increases will probably keep me spending more money in Delaware or online. It will be inconvenient but it might save us some cash.

I had an idea regarding cigarette taxes that would benefit Delaware. With Maryland jacking up the tax an extra $1 a pack, certainly their residents will be wanting to get their smokes cheaper somewhere. Why don’t we lower our tax in Delaware thus luring the bargain hunters here? The increase in sales will be good for our businesses and may generate more tax revenue. This is all fantasy, of course. Governments, especially those controlled by Democrats, don’t participate in the free market. In addition, if I am correct about this, Maryland would not be happy with it’s citizens bringing quantities of cigarettes across the border, in a legal sense of it. Honestly though, I don’t know how they’d ever stop it.

A Maryland blog, Gunpowder Chronicle, offers some ideas on how to “Starve The Beast” down there. His ideas seem well thought and reasonable. Take a look and see what you think.

There was a fire at a home on E. East Street in Delmar, MD on Sunday afternoon December 9. The home belonged to Eric and Sonja Shires, members of the church we attend. The Fire Marshall declared the home a total loss. This has displaced Eric, Sonja, their two children, and two other family members. They have a couple of needs, particularly they are looking for a 4 bedroom home in the Delmar area. Their pastor, Jim Brown, is asking if anyone would like to make any donations to do so in the form of a VISA gift card. Please contact Jim Brown if you can help. Thanks.

The letter I received from Pastor Brown is here.

According to Salisbury News, the old Salisbury Mall building is now leveled. It’s just a matter of cleaning up the lot now. Joe has current pictures of the place here. You can still see an aerial shot of the old building on Google Maps. The Daily Times also has an aerial shot here along with an article about the current development dispute here.

I have had the link to the Salisbury Mall Archive for a while now. It’s not been updated since the beginning of October, but I’m sure content is not easy to get. Wikipedia has an article about the Salisbury Mall here.