Field Day

Given all the technologies available to consumers today, you might think the staid hobby of ham radio is about as relevant to modern life as rabbit-ear TV antennas. Cell phones. E-mail. Skype. People around the world have more and faster means of getting hold of each other than ever. But just six months ago, the earthquake in Haiti was another reminder that amateur radio still gives a strong signal. Ham operators sent early news reports from the shattered island, just as they've done for decades in the aftermath of every hurricane, earthquake and snowstorm that has crippled or jammed the means of communication we usually assume will work.

Terrell Suggs' vow since tearing his right Achilles in late April was that he would run out of the tunnel and play meaningful football during the 2012 season. Suggs was always non-committal when that would be and that remained the case Thursday in his first public comments to the Baltimore media since June. "There is no plan in place so we have to take it day-by-day," said Suggs, disputing an ESPN report that he plans to play Sunday against the Houston Texans and that his family and friends will attend the game to witness his comeback.

Every spring, the students at Dublin Elementary and many other Harford County schools mark the coming of summer vacation with a day of sack races and relays, balloon tosses, fitness activities and outdoor fun.The events -- often called Field Days -- are usually in late May and early June as the culmination of a year of skill-building by students in physical education classes."

If you were an Orioles fan at Camden Yards on Sunday, it was a game that whipsawed your emotions. Oh, you were pumped before it started, weren't you? Your team was all alone in first place in the American League East. You were part of a great crowd (an announced 33,919) in a wonderful setting, with thousands of Little Leaguers parading around the field and the Orioles wearing camouflage uniforms for Military Appreciation Day. (Baseball players in camo -- George Carlin would have a field day with that one.)

a Field Day of voices over the airwaves.Twenty-five members of the Columbia Amateur Radio Association tested radio equipment and honed their skills under simulated emergency conditions at the 18th annual Field Day Saturday and Sunday at Clarksville Elementary.Emergencies simulated included floods, hurricanes, nuclear accidents and plane crashes.Field Day has two objectives.The first is to get as many stations as possible on any of about a dozen legal amateur bands to learn to operate under less than optimum conditions.

In an ordinary school year, we would not be calling your attention to the fact that the annual Westowne Elementary School Field Day took place as scheduled yesterday. We would not be reporting the successful completion, under murky but merciful skies, of the potato race, the tug-of-war and the cotton ball relay. We wouldn't have looked twice at the sight of hundreds of children, none wearing ponchos, romping across a freshly mowed Catonsville playground on a day when the forecast had called for rain.

AS A MAN, I believe that, every now and then, a man should do something manly. So when I got invited to the North Texas Earthmoving Field Day, my manly reaction was: "Heck yes."The North Texas Earthmoving Field Day is a very manly annual event organized by the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), which is a member of the Texas A&M University System. The Earthmoving Field Day is a massive gathering of big studly machines of the type you sometimes see in the distance, pushing around humongous masculine piles of dirt.

Some tips this week for fantasy football players:Players to keepWR Michael Irvin, Cowboys: Has averaged 17.6 yards per catch against the Packers with four TDs in five games.RB Eddie George, Oilers: Will make strong Rookie of the Year statement in facing the Dolphins' Karim Abdul-Jabbar.WR Jerry Rice, 49ers: Banged-up Ravens secondary should be chasing him all day.WR Andre Reed, Bills: Has one TD in each of his last three games vs. the Bengals.QB Jim Everett, Saints: Ranks second in NFC in passing yards and should have field day against rattled Falcons defense.

150 years ago in The SunOct. 6: The contract for building an iron bridge over Jones' Falls, at Madison Street, made on the part of the city by the city commissioners, has been ratified.Oct. 7: THE ELECTION TO-DAY -- After reading The Sun and eating their breakfasts this morning, it will become the duty of our citizens, to go forth to exercise the dearest privilege of freemen -- the suffrage of untrammelled political sentiment through the medium of the ballot.100 years ago in The SunOct. 6: ORIOLES FIELD DAY -- The field sports at Union Park which have been arranged for the benefit of the champions will be held next Saturday, provided Baltimore wins the first game in Cleveland.

Landscaper gives back with D.C. field dayIn today's economy, many employers are cutting back on "feel-good" events such as Christmas parties. But some companies are turning togetherness days into charitable events.Once a year since 1981, Ruppert Landscaping Inc. of Ashton has turned a workday into a fun day by holding a horticulturist's Olympics -- complete with lawn mower races, tree-planting tournaments and backhoe trials.But this year, company founder Craig A. Ruppert decided that the field day should do more than hone workers' skills.

Given all the technologies available to consumers today, you might think the staid hobby of ham radio is about as relevant to modern life as rabbit-ear TV antennas. Cell phones. E-mail. Skype. People around the world have more and faster means of getting hold of each other than ever. But just six months ago, the earthquake in Haiti was another reminder that amateur radio still gives a strong signal. Ham operators sent early news reports from the shattered island, just as they've done for decades in the aftermath of every hurricane, earthquake and snowstorm that has crippled or jammed the means of communication we usually assume will work.

Did it ever occur to you, while driving around Baltimore and its environs, that respect for Maryland's traffic laws had evaporated like dry ice left out on a July afternoon? Have you ever wondered why? For a large part of the answer, you need look no further than the District Court of Maryland. Believe me, if you get a traffic ticket in Maryland, go to court. If your offense is severe enough, the judge might turn down your sheets and put a chocolate on your pillow. Here's an example from a courtroom I visited recently: Three straight cases come before a Catonsville judge.

They came in cat ears, in polka-dot scarves, in leather jackets. Their glasses were chunky, their ears pierced, their eyes wide with wonder. As video cameras rolled, as checkbooks flipped open, as a few eyes misted with tears, they came one and all, stepped right up and took their chances, these 300 or so bidders who packed a Timonium auction hall last night for the liquidation sale that spelled the end of Baltimore's American Dime Museum. Richard Opfer, the auctioneer, said the phones started ringing at 2 p.m., three hours before the auction began, and never stopped.

The Maryland Cooperative Extension will hold its annual Dairy Field Days this summer at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship. Show dates, deadline for registration and contact for each breed are as follows: Ayrshire: July 22, entry by July 7 to Rick Hodiak, 410-313-1912. Brown Swiss: July 22, entry by July 1 to Bonnie Remsberg, 301-371-5498. Guernsey: July 8, entry to Shirley Smith, 301-834-8539. Jersey: July 15, entry by July 1 to Marcia Molesworth, 301-371- 4293. Holstein: July 13 in Frederick and July 17 in Timonium; entry by July 1 to Paul and Susan Harrison at 301-834-5123, and Steve Wilson at 410-666-1022, respectively.

BOSTON -- For the past 18 years, since Ibrahim Hussein's 1988 victory, Kenyans have dominated in the Boston Marathon. Yesterday, they continued that tradition. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot became the 15th Kenyan to win the 110th version of the 26.2-mile race and the fourth Kenyan to win it twice. On a chilly Patriots Day afternoon, he broke countryman Cosmas Ndeti's 12-year-old course record by a second, finishing in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 14 seconds. Six more Kenyans finished in the top 20. That was no surprise.

LANDOVER -- Saddled for weeks with the dubious honor of owning the NFL's worst offense, the Washington Redskins took their frustrations out on the New York Giants yesterday. Running back Clinton Portis rushed for 148 yards, including a touchdown, and caught one of Patrick Ramsey's three touchdown passes for another as the Redskins thumped the Giants, 31-7, before a raucous crowd of 87,872 yesterday at FedEx Field. The win ended a three-game losing streak for Washington (4-8), which became the last team in the league to break the 20-point mark in a game this season.

Harford County's North Bend Elementary School - reeling from the loss of a first-grade teacher who was shot to death in Pennsylvania on Sunday - has hired 40 substitute teachers to cover classes today so staff members can attend the funeral in Baynesville. Services for Rita K. Hofler, who taught at North Bend Elementary near Jarrettsville, and her son, Kevin J. Gehring, are scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Loch Raven Boulevard. "We will have two substitutes for each class," said North Bend Principal Steven R. Hardy.

WASHINGTON -- Was it a case of vice presidential amnesia? Or could it be that Sen. John Edwards just makes no impression when he meets someone? Most likely, Vice President Dick Cheney stretched the truth when he suggested in Tuesday's debate that his opponent was a guy he had not met before. "The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight," Cheney said. It was a familiar accusation: A senator is attacked by his rival for missing important votes in the Senate because he had taken time off to campaign for a higher office.

Harford County's North Bend Elementary School - reeling from the loss of a first-grade teacher who was shot to death in Pennsylvania on Sunday - has hired 40 substitute teachers to cover classes today so staff members can attend the funeral in Baynesville. Services for Rita K. Hofler, who taught at North Bend Elementary near Jarrettsville, and her son, Kevin J. Gehring, are scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Loch Raven Boulevard. "We will have two substitutes for each class," said North Bend Principal Steven R. Hardy.