Pump

I'M A BASEMENT person. My things belong in a basement. A weight bench, rarely used but thought-of often; stained tattered clothes, long overdue for the thrift shop; empty containers, cans, bottles, milk cartons, 150 pairs of running shoes filled with extra breathing holes from excessive use, but still retaining one last run; fill my personal hideaway. This spidery, dusty, underground cavern gives me more delight than any walnut-lined study.BUT, water likes to enter my stronghold. Pure (aside from acid rain)

It's mostly weeds that grow in the old industrial lots in East Baltimore, but developers have a plan to turn a collection of tumbling-down buildings at a former water pumping station into a place to produce something a bit more nutritious. Gregory Heller, a senior adviser with Econsult Solutions and the project's manager, described the vision for a "Baltimore food hub" Saturday to a small tour group clustered on the pavement in front of the former Eastern Pumping Station at Gay and Wolfe streets.

Today was the first day I did not lug my "frenemy" to work with me. It's liberating. But it's also bittersweet. My frenemy, you see, is my breast pump. Danielle turned 1 earlier this month (more on that in a future post), and has mostly transitioned to cow's milk. I was committed to the idea of breastfeeding, but I honestly didn't know how long I could sustain it after returning to a full-time job after maternity leave. And I honestly didn't anticipate the enormity of the emotional component of nursing.

There was a sharp contrast between the two headlining performances at this year's Preakness InfieldFest. Frugal rapper Macklemore, an independent artist with two No. 1 hit singles to his name, won the crowd over Saturday with messages that were positive, compassionate and sometimes just silly. Pitbull, the stoic purveyor of Eurodance-inspired rap-meets-pop, bludgeoned the crowd with rib-cage-shaking bass. And though Macklemore performed to a dry crowd while Pitbull fought through the rain, the results were largely the same, with an approving crowd fist-pumping and dancing.

A woman who says she was injured by an unruly gasoline pump is suinga Pasadena service station.Patricia Holiday's problems began when she attempted to pump her own gas on April 18, 1989, at Phil's Shell Food Mart Inc., at 3900 Mountain Road.Holiday removed the nozzle from a pump and "without warning," before she squeezed the handle, gasoline gushed onto her head, face, mouth and hands, according to a suit filed yesterday in county Circuit Court.Holiday, of the 200 block Beechwood Road in Pasadena, is charging the owners of the gas station with negligence for failing to warn her of "dangerous conditions."

John C. Taliaferro III, a retired vice president of sales and international operations at an upstate New York pump manufacturer, died Nov. 7 of pneumonia at Union Memorial Hospital. He was 91. Mr. Taliaferro was born in Baltimore and raised in Bolton Hill. He was a 1935 graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., and earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Harvard College in 1939.

This is how bad gas prices are now: I just saw a guy with a polo shirt, khaki pants and penny loafers at an intersection holding a sign that said: "Will work for regular unleaded." OK, fine, that's not true. But it could happen. And the way things are going, I'll probably be the guy holding the sign. You'll recognize me because I'll also be waving a stack of college tuition bills in one hand. And if the windbags in Annapolis don't come through, and we get hit with a 72 percent rate increase from BGE, you might see me waving that bill, too. I know, I know ... you have your own problems.

What's inflatable, not a toy, but could be fun on the beach?An inflatable swimsuit, of course.In early September, Cole of California will introduce Top Secret swimwear, which includes an inflatable bikini top with a pump-you-up system, a new "breath of air" on the ever-present quest toward breast enhancement.Priced at $72, the suit operates similarly to air-pump sneakers. A small rubber "bladder" sits between two padded wedges on the side of the breast."Pump it a little to turn heads. Pump it a lot to cause a frenzy," scream the promotional campaign brochures.

The plan to move into the new $6.1 million addition at the Carroll County Detention Center on Saturday was called off when corrections officials discovered a malfunction in a pump circulating hot water from a boiler."

About 40 Hampstead area residents and officials listened last night as Black and Decker (U.S.) Inc. made its case for a permit to pump an average of 432,000 gallons of water a day from 10 wells on the company's land on Route 30.The goal of the project is to contain underground chemical contamination on the company's land, said Randy McAlister, a hydrogeologist hired by the company.Several solvents used to degrease parts apparently leaked from the company's chemical storage area.The contamination was discovered in 1985, said LaVere M. Grimes, facility manager for Black and Decker's Hampstead plant.

Danielle's "gift" to me on Mother's Day weekend was calling it quits on nursing. Mornings were the final frontier and she politely declined me both mornings. (Sniff, sniff.) So, I guess I get my body back, and at least it happened gradually and naturally. Plus, there was no biting involved in our final nursing sessions, so it didn't end on a sour note. For fellow mommies still in the nursing and pumping lifestyle, here's a great new resource: Moms Pump Here . After my recent post about retiring my breast pump after 12 months, I got a message from Kim Harrison.

Today was the first day I did not lug my "frenemy" to work with me. It's liberating. But it's also bittersweet. My frenemy, you see, is my breast pump. Danielle turned 1 earlier this month (more on that in a future post), and has mostly transitioned to cow's milk. I was committed to the idea of breastfeeding, but I honestly didn't know how long I could sustain it after returning to a full-time job after maternity leave. And I honestly didn't anticipate the enormity of the emotional component of nursing.

In July 2008, Angel Carpenter, better known as DJ AngelBaby, fulfilled her lifelong dream of earning an on-air position at 92Q, the city's hip-hop radio station. On one of her first days at the job, Carpenter spotted the source of her inspiration - Khia Edgerton, the beloved and ubiquitous queen of Baltimore Club music known as K-Swift. "There's a window right there, where you could see her on-air," remembered Carpenter, now 28 and a lover of Club music her entire life. "I was so weird and so scared.

It isn't hard to recognize an example of false economy in the average household budget. The vegetable gardener who spends $500 on supplies to produce $12 in produce, the inexpensive home repair that falls apart in a month or the avid shopper who saves $5 online but pays an extra $20 in shipping and handling. Yet for some reason many of us are blind to the false economy of providing gasoline at the cheapest price possible regardless of its impact on our lives and society. To put it bluntly, humans have been subsidizing the cost of gas by accepting - without direct charge - the air pollution gas-burning vehicles generate.

Miguel Gonzalez had one of the best stories of 2012 - from the Mexican League to Major League Baseball's playoffs. Now he's got a postscript for 2013 - one that all of us took for granted, except maybe him. Gonzalez, who went 9-4 with a 3.25 in 18 games (15 starts) with the Orioles and was one of their most clutch members in the late pennant run, was told today by manager Buck Showalter that he made the team. That's not a shock. It would be shocking if he didn't. But you have to understand that the 28-year-old will finally be on a major league roster on Opening Day, for the first time in his star-crossed career.

Jill Sorensen's basement flooded after a winter storm knocked out her power, then again in 2011 during Hurricane Irene. What stopped another encore performance during last year's derecho? She'd installed a sump pump that uses her home's water pressure to kick in when the power conks out. Knock on wood, she hasn't had a flood since. That purchase — about $800 — is one of several moves she's made to prepare her home for bad weather. "We've taken the inevitability of storms more seriously," said Sorensen, who lives in North Baltimore.

Hampstead Town Manager John A. Riley has expressed concern to the Maryland Water Resources Administration over Black & Decker's application for a permit to pump an average of 432,000 gallons of ground water per day from 10 wells on the plant's Hampstead site."

THE PUMP -- it's not a rap song or a dance -- is the latest in shoes from Reebok, a high-concept, high-priced high top that literally puts the squeeze on an athlete's feet. "The ultimate fit and an amazing degree of ankle support," say the ads.Support, physical support, is the name of this game. High-top shoes were originally designed with our inherently weak and wobbly ankles in mind. In theory, the thick leather cuff of a modern high top supports the ankle and prevents sprains.Reebok's new shoes take this notion a step further by incorporating a plastic bladder that inflates with a miniature hand pump built right into the tongue -- "to protect your ankles."

SARASOTA, Fla. - On the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao, located just off the northern Venezuelan coast, baseball is the unofficial national sport. Kids growing up there have dreams of playing in the Little League World Series, following in the footsteps of a group that brought the world championship back to the island in 2004. Orioles infield prospect Jonathan Schoop played on that team. One of his teammates was Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar, now heralded at the top prospect in baseball.

The mayor can rock out. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake shared her Spotify playlist this week -- the songs that ostensibly get her pumped up before big Ravens games. She goes with M&T Bank stadium standbys like The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army. " There's Ray Lewis' walk-on song "Hot in Herre" by Nelly. And she tells Spotify her "personal favorite" is "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan. We like that she picked "Run This Town. " Which, you know, she kinda does.