Open Window

POLICE LOG* North Laurel: 9400 Fens Hollow: Someone broke a rear basement window and took a compact-disc player and television from a home between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday.9700 Covered Wagon Drive: Someone removed a screen from an open window in a house and took a stereo between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.* Savage: 10800 block of Guilford Road: Someone pried open the lock of a front door at Fiber Plex, but police said there was no sign of entry.

POLICE LOG* Elkridge: 5700 block of Paradise Ave.: Compact discs were stolen after someone entered a home through an open window Friday, police said.

POLICE LOG* Ellicott City: 3800 block of College Ave.: A resident's purse was stolen from the kitchen shortly after residents heard a kitchen window breaking.* Elkridge: 6300 block of Loudon Ave.: A stereo and CDs were taken after someone pried a screen from an open window Wednesday, police said.

POLICE LOG* Hickory Ridge: 6100 block of Covington Road: A resident was awakened by noises early yesterday morning and saw a burglar run from the dining room and climb out a front living room window, police said. A rifle and other property were taken. The burglar had removed a screen from an open window to enter.* Harper's Choice: 10400 block of Twin Rivers Road: A VCR and cash were stolen from the Family Life Center on Friday or Saturday. A rock was used to break a window for entry. Police said blood found at the scene indicated the thief had been cut by glass.

On October 1, 1991,The bottles of ChampagneWere lined up like bowling pinsI sat in front of my picture window,Watching the leaves on the trees releaseThemselves to the coolness of eveningMelancholia thickening like warm waxDripping from rose-colored tapersThe night was pouring from bottlesOf thick green glass, fizzing andCrashing in crystal like a whimThere was a conspicuous absenceOf someone with whom to sinThe scene was perfectly setCandles everywhere slowly...

POLICE LOGEllicott City: 8300 block of Church Lane Road: A gas can was taken from an unlocked storage shed Friday.5000 block of Waterloo Road: Office equipment was stolen from a home Friday after someone entered through an unlocked kitchen or garage door.5800 block of Main St.: Jewelry was taken from a residence Friday after someone entered through an open window, police said.10000 block of Whitworth Way: A red 1990 Acura Legend with Maryland tags ZNL989 was stolen Friday or Saturday.

POLICE* Harper's Choice: 5400 block of Eliots Oak Road: Someone threw a rock at a rear bedroom window, shattering it, about 3:30 p.m. Sunday.5400 block of Beaver Kill Road: Someone cut a padlock on a locker inside the Columbia Athletic Center between 12:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Sunday, and stole $40 in cash from a wallet.* Wilde Lake: 6300 block of Open Window: A garage door opener was taken from a vehicle on Feb. 13. On Feb. 19, the victim noticed two mountain bicycles were missing from the garage.

The same cool weather that has kept the snowball stands shuttered and slowed down business at Ocean City has also slowed the dials on your electric meter and saved you money.The number of "cooling degree-days" -- a temperature-based estimate of the demand for power to spin fans and run air conditioners -- is down 67 percent so far in this cooling season compared with last year's unusually hot late-spring weather, according to the National Weather Service.By opening windows instead of switching on their air conditioners, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers cut total sales of residential electricity by 3 percent in May, said BG&E spokesman Art Slusark.

In December 1860, more than four years before John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theater in Washington, the actor wrote a 21-page manuscript that showed his fanatical state of mind, his sympathies for the Southern secessionists, and his association with the historical characters he portrayed in Shakespeare's plays.In the view of Lincoln scholars, had these sentiments been known to the officials responsible for guarding the president, it is possible that Booth would not have had such easy access to the theater on April 14, 1865.

Some weeks ago, I reviewed Windows software that I felt would help non-profit organizations -- columns that generated a good number of comments from readers. Now, three new developments in the Windows environment are worthy of a quick update."What's the big deal with Windows software?," one reader asked me. "They claim it's so easy to use and it saves time. Oh yeah? So how come you can literally watch your hair grow while you wait for it to print?"Good point, I had to admit.One of the more frustrating things about Windows 3.0 is the wait time for printing documents, especially ones that incorporate tables or other graphic elements.