Cardboard

Right from the start, I knew we would have problems in our relationship. We were too much alike, he and I. Type A. Achievers. The kind who love lists and checking things off. The kind who love control. And yet, as the new year rolled in with all its resolutions and promises of change, I made a commitment to him. I downloaded the app to my phone and linked myself for the foreseeable future to MyFitnessPal. He made promises, and I did, too. But could we keep them? After all, we both wanted the same thing: We were determined to get rid of the eight pounds that had crept onto my frame in the last year.

Right from the start, I knew we would have problems in our relationship. We were too much alike, he and I. Type A. Achievers. The kind who love lists and checking things off. The kind who love control. And yet, as the new year rolled in with all its resolutions and promises of change, I made a commitment to him. I downloaded the app to my phone and linked myself for the foreseeable future to MyFitnessPal. He made promises, and I did, too. But could we keep them? After all, we both wanted the same thing: We were determined to get rid of the eight pounds that had crept onto my frame in the last year.

Howard County has relaxed its procedures for recycling cardboard in response to residents' complaints.Residents now may set out up to 20 pieces of flattened cardboard without bundling them. Cardboard formerly had to be tied or taped together by residents. The new policy took effect Jan. 1."People were calling in saying it was too difficult to tie up the cardboard," said Linda Fields, manager of the county's recycling programs. "We're just trying to make it easier for them."Residents seeking to recycle more than 20 flattened cardboard boxes or pieces of cardboard still must tie or tape the stacks.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Thursday, a sure sign that winter will continue for six more weeks. Amari, the Maryland Zoo's spotted leopard, disagreed. And the law of the jungle says leopard trumps groundhog every time. For the second year in a row, the zoo staff arranged for one of its critters to make a prediction. With a crowd of employees watching, the 19-year-old cat sprang from her rocky lair and bounded toward two cardboard boxes. The pink box was decorated with flowers, filled with meatballs and surrounded by straw carrying the essence of elephant.

Everyone loves the smell of piping-hot pizza. But no one loves the smell of a burning pizza box. Turns out, this is a difficult scent to eradicate from the home, and I've tried — even frying tilapia for dinner one evening. But the scent of flaming cardboard somehow persists. Almost all of my friends use the oven, set very low, to keep their pizzas warm in the box while they wait for their guests to arrive, for the evening news to be over or for the salad to be made. No one I know has encountered a problem with this.

The Pilgrims certainly didn't serve pineapple at their Thanksgiving feast, and it's not a traditional dish now. But you can make a dandy centerpiece with a pineapple.Materials:* 1 piece of medium-weight cardboard* Felt-tip marker* Scissors* 2 red felt pieces (each about 4 by 8 inches)* Craft glue (or a hot-glue gun if a parent helps)* 1 package of green or red pipe cleaners* 1 yellow felt square for beak (2 by 2 inches)* 1 set of large googly eyes* Craft T-pins* A pineappleWhat to do:1. Take a marker and draw on the cardboard a turkey neck and head, about 8 by 3 inches.

Baltimore County begins single-stream recycling Monday, allowing a new assortment of materials to be placed in a single bin for pickup. Residents can use containers up to 34-gallon capacity, trash cans up to 34-gallon capacity or small cardboard boxes - not plastic bags. Paper and cardboard may also be tied in bundles with nonplastic string or placed in paper bags. Officials ask that residents remove lids and not use wheeled containers. And so they know it's for recycling, mark the containers with an "X" or "recycle," or pick up a sticker from Baltimore County senior centers or public libraries or the trash and recycling drop-off centers in White Marsh, Cockeysville, and Halethorpe.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Thursday, a sure sign that winter will continue for six more weeks. Amari, the Maryland Zoo's spotted leopard, disagreed. And the law of the jungle says leopard trumps groundhog every time. For the second year in a row, the zoo staff arranged for one of its critters to make a prediction. With a crowd of employees watching, the 19-year-old cat sprang from her rocky lair and bounded toward two cardboard boxes. The pink box was decorated with flowers, filled with meatballs and surrounded by straw carrying the essence of elephant.

Wrapping paper, milk jugs, cardboard boxes and other recyclables are piling up in some Baltimore County homes. About 82,000 county households - those whose recycling is collected on Mondays - are dealing with a three-week wait for pickup service because of Christmas and New Year off-days. The county, which contracts with private haulers for trash and recycling, doesn't offer make-up days for recyclable collections. About a quarter of households throughout the county have Monday recycling pickup service, according to figures provided by county officials.

To the letter writer who stated that she would not recycle because her container was stolen ("Single-stream recycling isn't for us," Feb. 21) please reconsider. I just had cancer surgery and will be in radiation/chemo treatment, so I know I may miss a week of putting out paper and cans. But with single-stream recycling, I will not be inundated with stuff like under the old program. Jerks exist everywhere in the world, even Baltimore County. Please go to a grocery or liquor store for cardboard boxes and use them for recycling.

Wrapping paper, milk jugs, cardboard boxes and other recyclables are piling up in some Baltimore County homes. About 82,000 county households - those whose recycling is collected on Mondays - are dealing with a three-week wait for pickup service because of Christmas and New Year off-days. The county, which contracts with private haulers for trash and recycling, doesn't offer make-up days for recyclable collections. About a quarter of households throughout the county have Monday recycling pickup service, according to figures provided by county officials.

Everyone loves the smell of piping-hot pizza. But no one loves the smell of a burning pizza box. Turns out, this is a difficult scent to eradicate from the home, and I've tried — even frying tilapia for dinner one evening. But the scent of flaming cardboard somehow persists. Almost all of my friends use the oven, set very low, to keep their pizzas warm in the box while they wait for their guests to arrive, for the evening news to be over or for the salad to be made. No one I know has encountered a problem with this.

To the letter writer who stated that she would not recycle because her container was stolen ("Single-stream recycling isn't for us," Feb. 21) please reconsider. I just had cancer surgery and will be in radiation/chemo treatment, so I know I may miss a week of putting out paper and cans. But with single-stream recycling, I will not be inundated with stuff like under the old program. Jerks exist everywhere in the world, even Baltimore County. Please go to a grocery or liquor store for cardboard boxes and use them for recycling.

Baltimore County begins single-stream recycling Monday, allowing a new assortment of materials to be placed in a single bin for pickup. Residents can use containers up to 34-gallon capacity, trash cans up to 34-gallon capacity or small cardboard boxes - not plastic bags. Paper and cardboard may also be tied in bundles with nonplastic string or placed in paper bags. Officials ask that residents remove lids and not use wheeled containers. And so they know it's for recycling, mark the containers with an "X" or "recycle," or pick up a sticker from Baltimore County senior centers or public libraries or the trash and recycling drop-off centers in White Marsh, Cockeysville, and Halethorpe.

Pirates, male hula dancers wearing coconut bras, and the characters of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang braved the waters of Lake Kittamaqundi for a nautical showdown. The challenge: Build and pilot boats made of corrugated cardboard enhanced with an array of materials such as tape, paint, caulk, glue. More than 25 teams competed in the fifth annual Howard County Boat Float, presented by the Rotary Clubs of Howard County. About 300 people gathered on the hill overlooking the lake to watch boats race through a 200-yard course Saturday.

The doorbell rang the other day, and I answered it. (This has to be one of the most compelling openings ever written.) A group of my son's friends were at the door, so I let them in. (The excitement builds.) Shortly thereafter, the volume control on our speaking voices boosted several decibels, and enthusiasm reverberated throughout our house. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and yet everything happening was out of the ordinary. The air crackled with an irrepressible static that would present a serious challenge to even the dryer sheet industry.

Rutabagas, poultry pieces and cornflakes may be Andrew Klein's business, but lately his thoughts have been focused on cardboard.Mr. Klein's chain of four Kleins Super Thrift markets in Harford County recycles cardboard cartons from grocery deliveries. And goes a step further, collecting, compacting, baling and recycling used cartons from nearby stores."The smaller tenants in our shopping centers get a lot of cardboard deliveries, but they really have no way to recycle cardboard," explains President Andrew Klein.

Invoking the magic of celestial mechanics, Santa Claus will conjure up a holiday bonus for nearly everyone in North America this year - a partial eclipse of the sun on Christmas Day. The Christmas eclipse - the first since 1954 and the last until the 24th century - will darken more than 54 percent of the sun's diameter as seen from Baltimore. Unless you're looking for it, you're not likely to notice anything of this Yule eclipse. Too little of the sun's energy will be blocked to cause any noticeable dimming of the light or cooling of temperatures.

As holiday shoppers gear up this month, so do the nation's shipping companies, adding trucks, planes and workers to handle the crush of cardboard that arrives - often at the last minute. It's the busiest time of year for United Parcel Service, FedEx, DHL and the U.S. Postal Service. And if any of the expected 4.5 percent rise in gift-buying translates into more shipping, business will grow this year. "It's huge," said Mark Davis, senior transportation analyst at FTN Midwest Research, about the holiday shipping business.

OXFORD -- Right from the beginning, police Chief Jim Borga and local waterman Thomas "Tex" Bringman figured their third straight trophy in the International Cardboard Boat Race was in the bag. The buff young guys from the town's Coast Guard station looked like serious competitors. But one glance at the square-nosed bow of their vessel was enough to make the old-timers, two-time champions of the "law enforcement" heat, downright cocky. As it turned out, Borga and Bringman calculated right.