Mailbox

Yesterday's mailbox included a small item about the controversy brewing over the changes Twinings has apparently made to its famous Earl Grey tea. That inspired a friend to send over this You Tube montage of all the times Captain Jean-Luc Picard made references to Earl Grey tea.  

A man in Carroll County was checking his mailbox Wednesday afternoon when he discovered a pipe bomb, the Office of the State Fire Marshal said. The man was not injured. The mailbox was described as "rural," in the 3800 block of McMullen Road in Taneytown, the fire marshal said. The home's owner, James A. Sandel, found the bomb about 4:15 p.m. and called 911. The bomb was disposed of, and McMullen Road was closed for about five hours. Anyone with information about who placed the bomb in the mailbox is asked to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal at 410-859-7152.

A man in Carroll County was checking his mailbox Wednesday afternoon when he discovered a pipe bomb, the Office of the State Fire Marshal said. The man was not injured. The mailbox was described as "rural," in the 3800 block of McMullen Road in Taneytown, the fire marshal said. The home's owner, James A. Sandel, found the bomb about 4:15 p.m. and called 911. The bomb was disposed of, and McMullen Road was closed for about five hours. Anyone with information about who placed the bomb in the mailbox is asked to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal at 410-859-7152.

If the Super Bowl is over, can spring and the gardening season be far away? Well, yes. If holidays are the markers on the highway to warm weather, we still have to get through Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and this year's early Easter. Not to mention an unexpected snowstorm or two. But the inveterate gardener is sustained during this time of year by catalogs. Lots of catalogs, which start arriving just after Christmas, covers bursting with gorgeous tomatoes or dahlias or foxglove or peppers.

We were just not really sent a memo forbidding us to use Goodnight Irene in headlines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing recommendations for residents in states that might be affected by Hurricane Irene to minimize the potential for foodborne illnesses in the event of power outages, flooding, and other problems that could be associated with the storm. ( Food Safety News ) Here's Eli's review of Gino's Burgers & Chicken (Adventures of a Koodie)

Yesterday there was a Wednesday mailbox post. Why was that? I blame it on 1) the effects of a magnitude-5.9 earthquake (4.7ish in these parts, according to this ), 2) the effects of the Junk Food Social thrown by the Features Department 3) the inclusion among the links of a New York Times restaurant review, which everyone knows hits print on Wednedsay. But today is Wednesday. I admit it. I'm take my lunch at my desk. But, apparently my productivity would increase if I left my desk for lunch and came back refreshed.

An SUV was set on fire and a mailbox was blown up, both in the Perryman area Sunday, according to fire investigators. Around 6:30 p.m., a Yukon Denali XL was found completely consumed by flames in a field behind an industrial park in the 1400 block of Perryman Road in Perryman, according to a notice of investigation from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. It was unclear what year the vehicle was made or who owned it. The fire caused an estimated $13,000 in damages, the fire marshal's office reported.

Pre-quake material The New York Times had this story about the underground practicd of paying for positive reviews on Amazon, Yelp, Citysearch and Trip Advisor. The New York Times Sam Sifton gives two stars to Roberta', a "rural-urban-hippie-punk food Utopia" in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Smurfs Cake Pops on Angry Asian Creations A story in the Sidney Morning Herald (not sure where I found it) about chef's who remove a menu item only to have customers demand its return.

I'm really bad at correspondence. I love the idea of it - of actually using a pen to write words to send to someone - but then i remember I can't just hit send. I have to find a stamp. I have to remember to put the card in my purse. Then I have to (this is mortifying) ask the internet if there is a mail box on my walk to work because I've never thought to look. I have several un-sent thank-you notes in my house; cards that I cut and glittered and designed and stamped and then forgot about because, as it turns out, there is no mailbox on my walk to work.

A mailbox on the lawn of a Columbia home was blown apart Thursday byan apparent pipe bomb, but no one was injured, county police said.The mailbox, in the 6600 block of Mohawk Court, blew up at about 8:30 p.m., splitting its support pole and sending debris up to 35 feet away, said Sgt. Gary L. Gardner, a county police spokesman.Police said the home was unoccupied at the time of the explosion,which was heard by neighbors.On Tuesday, police arrested three teen-agers in a series of recent explosions believed to have been caused by pipe bombs and other explosives.

An SUV was set on fire and a mailbox was blown up, both in the Perryman area Sunday, according to fire investigators. Around 6:30 p.m., a Yukon Denali XL was found completely consumed by flames in a field behind an industrial park in the 1400 block of Perryman Road in Perryman, according to a notice of investigation from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. It was unclear what year the vehicle was made or who owned it. The fire caused an estimated $13,000 in damages, the fire marshal's office reported.

When he wanted to get the attention of his scuba class, Ed Kidera would bang on a full air tank that he used for instruction. His students would instantly redirect their eyes toward him, drawn back to reality by the beautiful tone emanating from the heavy steel cylinder. The tank's special sound wasn't lost on Kidera, either, as he immediately recognized its potential as kinetic art. That moment of serendipity more than 20 years ago changed the direction of his life. Kidera, who has a master's degree in ocean engineering and was a self-employed consultant at the time he was giving scuba lessons part time, began experimenting with making bells from various types of tanks shortly after his chance discovery.

He has built a mini-Taj Mahal, a fleet of small cars and a bay's worth of miniature lighthouses - even a dollhouse-size version of the balloon-lofted home from the animated movie "Up. " But Ed Witles' creations aren't models. They're mailboxes. Many of the wooden works go to a single nonprofit organization, typically after they've completed a two-week stint receiving mail in front of the Glen Burnie home of their builder. Witles, 88, a retired steamfitter, said his joy is in the construction.

I'm really bad at correspondence. I love the idea of it - of actually using a pen to write words to send to someone - but then i remember I can't just hit send. I have to find a stamp. I have to remember to put the card in my purse. Then I have to (this is mortifying) ask the internet if there is a mail box on my walk to work because I've never thought to look. I have several un-sent thank-you notes in my house; cards that I cut and glittered and designed and stamped and then forgot about because, as it turns out, there is no mailbox on my walk to work.

Fans can get letters delivered to the Baltimore Ravens by dropping them off in purple mailboxes at local Giant Food grocery stores, a promotion kicking off Tuesday as the football team prepares to head into the playoffs. Letters in the "Baltimore Ravens Postal Service" boxes will be taken to the team's training facility in Owings Mills every Wednesday night that the Ravens are in the playoffs and posted in the cafeteria, the team said Monday. Details and participating Giant locations are at BaltimoreRavens.com/Playoffs . jhopkins@baltsun.com twitter.com/RealEstateWonk Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

The following is compiled from police reports from the Cockeysville Precinct. Our policy is to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. Parkton Stablers Church Road , between 9 a.m. Oct. 22 and 8:11 p.m. Oct. 23. Mailboxes destroyed at 14 houses after being struck with hard object. Downes Road, 20300 block, between 6 p.m. Oct. 25 and 9 a.m. Oct. 26. Snow blower stolen from unlocked shed.

Police believe a pipe bomb caused the destruction of a U.S. Postal Service mailbox in Odenton on Saturday.The explosion occurred at 12:32 a.m. at Chapel Gate Drive and Waugh Chapel Road.No one was injured by the blast.The county fire marshal's office is investigating the incident.POLICE LOG* Hanover: Dwayne Lamont Simms, 30, of Race Road, was arrested Saturday by Anne Arundel County deputy sheriffs on charges that he failed to appear in court and violated his probation on a charge of possession of a controlled dangerous substance.

Turn mailboxes into works of art? More than 100 artists, architects and designers received plain mailboxes from the Archives of American Art, with a request that they turn them into works of art.The results, on view at 300 Galleria Officentre in Southfield, Mich., are to be auctioned on Nov. 19 to benefit the art archives, a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution that preserves documents and interviews that record the history of art in America.The exhibition has mailboxes by 118 artists. Ron Kent's entry, "Mailbox . . . and Mail!"

The mailbox parking ban bill approved unanimously last week by the Harford County Council is a pointless bit of paperwork that will only serve to get the county government and the sheriff's office in the middle of disputes between neighbors that should be resolved by those neighbors. The bill makes it illegal to park within 10 feet of a residential mailbox on the grounds that postal regulations allow a letter carrier to hold on to mail, if the mailbox in front of a home is blocked.

Yesterday's mailbox included a small item about the controversy brewing over the changes Twinings has apparently made to its famous Earl Grey tea. That inspired a friend to send over this You Tube montage of all the times Captain Jean-Luc Picard made references to Earl Grey tea.