Human Error

Stupid Pet Tricks. Stupid Human Tricks. Nighttime talk-show host Dave Letterman has gotten a lot of laughs out of dogs that "sing" and people who juggle strange objects. But anyone who has ever done a rehab, a remodeling project, or even a major repair knows that houses can play tricks as well. Sometimes the things they do are so stupidly funny you wonder if inanimate objects have a sense of humor.Of course, some Stupid House Tricks are the result of previous human error -- by old-fashioned or unskilled carpenters, by amateur plumbers, or by over-enthusiastic let's-do-it-now-even-if-we-don't-have-th e-right-equipment-or-" knowledge do-it-yourselfers.

The 161 patients of Dr. Mark G. Midei who are party to a malpractice suit against the cardiologist may have had their personal information compromised as a result of the security practices of a Baltimore law firm, reports Tricia Bishop. According to the story, an employee of Baxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones, which represents Midei, lost a hard drive with back-up information, which was "taken home nightly as a security precaution in case of fire or flood, a firm spokesman said, though the portable information was not encrypted -   among the most stringent security precautions that is standard practice for health professionals dealing with medical records.

ELK NECK STATE PARK -- Coast Guard experts are looking at everything from river currents to radar systems to potential human error as they investigate Monday's fog-blanketed collision between a 20,000-pound cargo ship and a flotilla of tugs and barges -- an accident that left four crewmen missing. Reconstructing the crash scene will be an arduous task, involving dozens of interviews with surviving crewmen from the sunken tug Swift and with those who manned the A.V. Kastner freighter, Lt. Blake Welbourne, a Coast Guard investigations instructor, said yesterday.

To err is human Ira Winderman Sun Sentinel The NBA already routinely fines, suspends or issues sanctions against referees in such situations. It is why such offenders seemingly disappear from the postseason scene, as if shuffled off into witness protection. The real issue is whether the league should make such sanctions public, as is the case for players who receive fines or suspensions after flagrant or technical fouls. The difference here is human error — a mistake in judgment, not in the application of the rules.

Investigators searching through the twisted, charred remains of the Silver Spring train crash are focusing on signal switch problems or human error to explain why a MARC commuter train was traveling twice as fast as it should have been before the two trains collided.With half of the checks already completed on the signals, investigators say they are beginning to believe that a mistake by the MARC train operators may be to blame for the horrific accident."The facts are driving us toward the human," said John Goglia, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board who is leading the probe.

To err is human Ira Winderman Sun Sentinel The NBA already routinely fines, suspends or issues sanctions against referees in such situations. It is why such offenders seemingly disappear from the postseason scene, as if shuffled off into witness protection. The real issue is whether the league should make such sanctions public, as is the case for players who receive fines or suspensions after flagrant or technical fouls. The difference here is human error — a mistake in judgment, not in the application of the rules.

During their final ticket check, the Baltimore Orioles discovered last night a computer and/or human error that has made approximately 1,500 tickets available for Opening Day.Seats are available in most price categories.They will be on sale through TicketCenter PhoneCharge, (301) 481-6000 in the Baltimore area and (202) 432-0200 in the Washington area and starting at 10 a.m. today at the Memorial Stadium box office.

An FBI forensic expert testified in Circuit Court on Monday that DNAfrom a man charged with murdering an Elkridge woman matches that found in bodily fluids taken from the victim's body.Special Agent Dwight Adams, head of the FBI's DNA analysis unit in Washington, testified that lab tests matched DNA in a blood sample from Vernon Clark with DNA in semen taken from the body of Kathleen Patricia Gouldin.DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the genetic blueprint for all life. Researchers believe each person's DNA is unique.

Investigators were trying to determine yesterday why a Metro subway train was traveling on a closed track Sunday morning, leading to a collision with a maintenance truck that injured 11 people. Maryland Transit Administration officials said the truck was authorized to be doing repair work on the track near the State Center station downtown. They did not know why the subway train was running on that track when it was supposed to be using a parallel track that was not being repaired. MTA spokeswoman Suzanne Bond said she expects to be able to report on the cause of the crash by tomorrow.

Baltimore County police will begin enforcing a new law next month requiring homeowners to register their alarm systems -- and to pay fines for repeated false alarms, authorities said yesterday.Starting July 1, homeowners whose systems produce repeated false alarms face the possibility of fines that escalate from $50 to $1,000, county police said. Businesses have been covered by the law since December, leading to a decrease in false alarms and an increase in false-alarm calls that were canceled before police arrived.

It's time for death penalty to receive an up or down vote in the Maryland General Assembly. I must strongly differ with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller who this week declared there to be "no sentiment in the Senate" ("Death penalty repeal unlikely this year," March 16) for the 2011 repeal bill. The Senate bill has 21 co-sponsors this year (24 votes are required to pass), up from 16 two years ago. Meanwhile, the bill has 61 co-sponsors in the House. Illinois just repealed the death penalty.

Frustrated candidates and voters waited hours for results in this week's closest primaries, but elections officials insisted that delays and minor glitches were customary and that the state's voting system worked smoothly. While Marylanders may want electronic machines to spit out instantaneous numbers when polls close, elections officials say the reality of counting is more cumbersome, with room for error. The lag for results in Baltimore City and Baltimore County stemmed from missteps by poll workers and judges, as well as computer software glitches in some places.

The city took responsibility Friday for errors that resulted in faulty tax bills mailed to nearly 8,000 Baltimore homeowners, and officials say a task force is brainstorming ways to ensure such mistakes don't happen again. About 6,100 homeowners were mistakenly sent notices last week that they were overdue on their property taxes for the tax year that just ended — by thousands of dollars, in some cases. Almost 1,800 others received a bill with the wrong amount for the current tax year.

It sounds like a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. An inmate at a prison in Western Maryland files a piddling lawsuit on the Eastern Shore that requires his presence in court. When corrections officials attempt to transport him there so he can testify, he outwits them during a stopover in Baltimore and makes good his escape. This would be the stuff of a Hollywood movie -- or an urban legend -- except that it really happened. Raymond Taylor was serving three life terms at a maximum security facility in Cumberland for a triple shooting when he escaped from a downtown prison in Baltimore last Friday while en route to the Eastern Shore.

Prosecutors have convicted suspects with fingerprints for more than a century - but the once unshakable certainty of fingerprint experts might be crumbling. When a Baltimore County judge barred fingerprint evidence in a murder case this week, her concerns echoed those of critics who say fingerprint identification remains as much art as science. "Basically, it's `trust me' forensic science, and that's scary," said Sandy L. Zabell, a Northwestern University mathematician who studies how statistics are used in court cases.

Understand this: It is vital to keep all the issues surrounding the replay fiasco in Eugene, Ore., last weekend separate and in proper perspective. To put it so simply that a rabid, death-threat-sending Oklahoma fanatic might even understand: It's a game. Yes, it's a game worth millions of dollars, at least that many emotions and probably someone's job riding on the outcome, but still just a game. A good, credible game in which players and coaches make mistakes and, on balance, officials make a lot fewer mistakes.

It's time for death penalty to receive an up or down vote in the Maryland General Assembly. I must strongly differ with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller who this week declared there to be "no sentiment in the Senate" ("Death penalty repeal unlikely this year," March 16) for the 2011 repeal bill. The Senate bill has 21 co-sponsors this year (24 votes are required to pass), up from 16 two years ago. Meanwhile, the bill has 61 co-sponsors in the House. Illinois just repealed the death penalty.

The 161 patients of Dr. Mark G. Midei who are party to a malpractice suit against the cardiologist may have had their personal information compromised as a result of the security practices of a Baltimore law firm, reports Tricia Bishop. According to the story, an employee of Baxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones, which represents Midei, lost a hard drive with back-up information, which was "taken home nightly as a security precaution in case of fire or flood, a firm spokesman said, though the portable information was not encrypted -   among the most stringent security precautions that is standard practice for health professionals dealing with medical records.

Few bands are lucky enough to score that one big break. Godhead is on its third. And with a new album and label, it could be its wildest yet. The four-piece rock group rolls into the Recher Theatre tonight to kick off the Congress of Corruption Tour. The group is co-headlining the five-week tour with fellow rockers Ill Nino and Ra. The tour requires four or five buses and a semi filled with enough equipment to blitz the 700-person-capacity Recher. Mark Russo, who has produced arena concerts for Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, will be running the show.