Odds and ends number 27

I’m going to start out with the political but quickly swerve away. I know there’s a lot of talk about fees vs. taxes here in Maryland that I’ll cover more in depth tomorrow.

But there’s other items percolating out there.

You know my feelings on the ‘scameras’ that I expressed in the fight we had over them in Wicomico County. Oftentimes communities abuse the privilege they are given by the state, and I’m looking for Salisbury to do the same thing once they install theirs.

My blogging friend Bob McCarty documents another case of ‘scamera’ abuse regarding red-light cameras in Arizona, which got an innocent man sent to jail. As is normally the case, we have to follow the Benjamins here.

Isn’t that the usual role of government in this day and age – taking your money?

Okay, my political rant is over for the time being. Let’s look at sports.

As I write this I’m watching an Orioles spring training game. But there is another event going on which has drawn interest, and that’s the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Just for fun, several Red Maryland contributors and friends got together to hold their own bracket challenge, and it proved I’m a better baseball fan than basketball prognosticator. Out of 13 entries I’m sitting in 10th and, as is often the case when someone is to blame the Butler did it. Since I picked Florida to win it all their loss ended my chances of winning. I can finish no higher than 5th or lower than 11th.

But at least I’m ahead of a couple people, including Brian Griffiths, who created the group. (Update: I finished 10th of 13.)

Finally, as many dedicated readers know I had a weekend of local rock post yesterday and skipped Friday Night Videos on my most recent Friday. After some thought, I’ve come to a decision that I’m boxing myself in by holding political videos back until Friday; anymore they deserve the same kind of feedback and comment as press releases and news items because they’re replacing these more traditional items. If I see something worth commenting on I think the video needs to be placed up right away.

In the meantime, I’ve begun to pile up a number of good local music videos. With cellular phone and iPod technology coming to the point where the output is quite acceptable for public usage, I think there’s enough out there to make Friday Night Videos become what the original television series was – all music, all the time. Obviously this site will remain political but we’re getting to the time of year when other things like Shorebird of the Week and local bands get their share of pixels.

But I can use a little help in that regard. If you’re a local band member or supporter reading this and want a little exposure for your video, just send me a link. Ideally FNV would run about 30 minutes, which works out to 6 or 8 videos per week. I KNOW there are more than 6 or 8 talented bands around here playing more than 6 or 8 shows a week (not to mention a pretty sizeable backlog of stuff.)

So look for those changes, which may actually make my life a little easier too.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.