Cold Feet

MOSCOW -- Russia launched the first man in space, achieved near universal literacy and built superpower weaponry, but the real benchmark of civilization for many here is the solution to the problem of cold feet.Russians claim that nothing works against subzero temperatures like the humble valenki. The stiff, socklike felt bootees resembling medieval foot-swaddling are among the few Russian products that work and are in demand."Maybe nuclear missiles are the only thing Russia designed better than valenki," says Andrei Guermanovich, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at Moscow State University.

You've been following the debt ceiling debate, right? What? You haven't been? Why not? Is it because watching people argue over long-term debt restructuring makes your eyes glaze over? We don't blame you. So while you've been doing something clearly more interesting - say, rearranging your [insert secret, obscure hobby here] collection -  we've been following the “mano-a-mano” struggle between President Barack Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner.

In face of an ever-deepening state budget crisis, Maryland Republican lawmakers who chant the refrain of "no tax increase" are courting the kind of political comeuppance that has befallen their GOP counterparts in New Jersey.Having ridden voter anger at a tax hike pushed through last year by the state's Democratic governor, James Florio, Jersey Republicans wrested control of the legislature from the Democrats this year, establishing veto-proof majorities in both houses.But as soon as they got in a position to carry out their promise to roll back Florio's unpopular tax, the lawmakers suddenly developed a case of cold feet -- and no wonder, since turning the simplistic tax revolt rhetoric of the campaign into public policy would wreak havoc on the state's fragile economy.

In a week, Holly Beatty, 34, and her partner of seven years, Jessica Leshnoff, 30, will be married in a Jewish ceremony in Washington, where they met. They'll celebrate at a reception for 200 guests with Middle Eastern food, a disc jockey and dancing, and a large wedding party with a dozen attendants. The reception hall will be awash in romantic hues of ruby - on the tablecloths, vases, silk flowers and lighting. And the couple, engaged since December, have vowed to banish all thoughts of Beatty's recent layoff.

Every year about this time I begin to wonder about the same thing. When is it safe for children to go outside barefoot? My mother used to say the last day of school.Medical science may not help you much with this one!When the ground is frozen, walking on it for extended periods of time can cause frostbite. That is bad.Once the weather is past that point, however, bare feet are not much to worry about medically in temperate climates where earthborn human parasites are rare.Cold feet can cause discomfort, but they can't cause pneumonia, ear infections or colds.

WASHINGTON -- Judge Clarence Thomas said yesterday that he fired Angela D. Wright, the second woman who has accused him of making sexual advances, after she referred to a fellow staff member at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a "faggot.""I summarily dismissed her," Mr. Thomas told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also charged that Ms. Wright was ineffective in her post.Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., said that Ms. Wright -- who had been expected to testify today or tomorrow -- was now "totally bTC discredited" and had "cold feet" about appearing before the panel.

Abbe Click didn't have to worry about her fiance John Harman getting cold feet before their wedding last night.She knew that his feet would not only be cold, they'd be wet."I am so excited," said Miss Click as she adjusted the weights in her white veil. "I couldn't sleep, or eat. This is going to be so much fun."About 250 relatives and friends and 60 species of fish looked on as Miss Click, 27, and Mr. Harman, 25, were joined in watery matrimony in the 335,000-gallon Atlantic Coral Reef Exhibit at the National Aquarium.

He said he saw it all, said he was on that Pimlico street corner when they gunned down the teen-ager for refusing to pay a drug debt.But when the murder trial was set to begin last Monday in Baltimore Circuit Court, Shawn Dorsey was a no-show. Prosecutors, who with the defense lawyers had spent more than four days questioning a pool of nearly 500 registered voters before picking a jury, dropped all charges against four defendants, accused of first-degree murder.No eyewitness, no case.Baltimore State's Attorney Stuart O. Simms was asked Thursday whether Mr. Dorsey is still alive.

HOMEBUYERS who count on their quiet streets remaining free from major traffic use are well advised to double check the subdivision plat -- as well as their own lot survey. There are any number of these little-traveled dead-ends and local-access drives that are silently reserved -- albeit in the indefinite future -- for extension and connection to other thoroughfares.These existing official road plans strongly refute a complaint of homeowners that "we didn't know about it."Recent case in point is the Cliveden Reach area of Westminster, where residents are angry at plans for a 200-home subdivision and commercial center that would require opening Meadow Branch Road to busy through traffic.

Home improvement is not immune from the housing downturn, but the decline is modest compared with the slump in buying, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. If you are thinking of hiring a contractor, the Maryland Home Improvement Commission suggests you follow these tips: Vet the license. The state is seeing more contractors operating without licenses, and some are offering license numbers that are fake or that belong to someone else, says Steven Smitson, executive director of the commission.

Home improvement is not immune from the housing downturn, but the decline is modest compared with the slump in buying, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. If you are thinking of hiring a contractor, the Maryland Home Improvement Commission suggests you follow these tips: Vet the license. The state is seeing more contractors operating without licenses, and some are offering license numbers that are fake or that belong to someone else, says Steven Smitson, executive director of the commission.

In the market for a long-lasting, multipurpose outdoor shoe that's waterproof? Kayland's Arya Low eVent ($105; $90, nonwaterproof) fills the bill and is waterproof to boot. The upper is suede and fabric, a soft combination that fits like a glove but so far has endured my best efforts to rip it to shreds. The "eVent" waterproof membrane works well and dries fast, and the Vibram sole provides good traction and stability on trails. If you need something beefier for carrying heavier loads or for longer hikes, Arya's tougher relative, the Vertigo High ($200)

Nancy Smith of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., sometimes shut her eyes to the mess as she passed through the long hallway that connected her garage to her kitchen. It was there that the items of daily activities piled up -- golf and tennis shoes, rackets, jackets, baseball mitts and backpacks. To cleanse the clutter, Smith recently renovated the space into a mudroom -- an upgrade that more new homes feature and one that can add value to existing residences. "We wanted something so the kids could come in the back door and plop their stuff down rather than drag it through the rest of the house," Smith said.

Maybe they should call this one "Symphony With a Twist and Shout." Not that the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will be rock 'n' rolling when its annual Symphony With a Twist series opens tomorrow night, but the program's unifying theme boils down to: "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it." This "Tap to Techno" lineup provides a neat summary of music connected to the feet. You'll hear the sounds of Western-style steppin' in the Buckaroo Holiday from Aaron Copland's 1943 Rodeo and the metallic protagonist in Morton Gould's one-of-a-kind Tap Dance Concerto from 1952 (with tap dancer Thomas Ford)

A nasty mix of wintry weather slogged through Maryland yesterday, making roads and runways treacherous, and fouling weekend travel and Super Bowl parties across the state. Slick roads and driver error were believed to have caused a car crash that killed a 45-year-old Baltimore County woman about 7 p.m., state police said. The woman was partially ejected from a 1999 Lincoln Navigator when it skidded on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at West Nursery Road near Linthicum, where as much as an inch of ice had formed by the early evening.

HOMEBUYERS who count on their quiet streets remaining free from major traffic use are well advised to double check the subdivision plat -- as well as their own lot survey. There are any number of these little-traveled dead-ends and local-access drives that are silently reserved -- albeit in the indefinite future -- for extension and connection to other thoroughfares.These existing official road plans strongly refute a complaint of homeowners that "we didn't know about it."Recent case in point is the Cliveden Reach area of Westminster, where residents are angry at plans for a 200-home subdivision and commercial center that would require opening Meadow Branch Road to busy through traffic.

You've been following the debt ceiling debate, right? What? You haven't been? Why not? Is it because watching people argue over long-term debt restructuring makes your eyes glaze over? We don't blame you. So while you've been doing something clearly more interesting - say, rearranging your [insert secret, obscure hobby here] collection -  we've been following the “mano-a-mano” struggle between President Barack Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner.

I have had enough of this winter.I am tired of scraping snow and ice from my car windows.I am tired of shoveling my front walk every morning.I am tired of slipping and falling when I step outside my front door.I am tired of driving on slick roads with other motorists who drive too fast on icy roads or too slow on snow-covered hills.I am tired of driving around in a car that is coated with a film of salt, dirt and other road crud.I am tired of walking through parking lots and sidewalks full of dirty, slushy snow.

WASHINGTON -- Linda R. Tripp backed out of a project in 1995 to write a nonfiction book about the White House after a conservative columnist who ghostwrote the proposal for the book turned in a "sensational expose," Tripp's lawyer said yesterday.Her lawyer, Anthony Zaccagnini, said in a statement yesterday that the draft "substantially conflicted with Linda's intention to present a factual account. Linda ultimately decided to withdraw from the project because of the obvious sensationalism of the subject matter by the ghostwriter."

Every year about this time I begin to wonder about the same thing. When is it safe for children to go outside barefoot? My mother used to say the last day of school.Medical science may not help you much with this one!When the ground is frozen, walking on it for extended periods of time can cause frostbite. That is bad.Once the weather is past that point, however, bare feet are not much to worry about medically in temperate climates where earthborn human parasites are rare.Cold feet can cause discomfort, but they can't cause pneumonia, ear infections or colds.