Vacuum Cleaner

Media critics who say journalists have no business delving into the sex lives of U.S. Reps. Henry Hyde and Dan Burton are probably well-intentioned - but misguided about how and why investigative reporters do what they do. The controversy has led me to reflect not only on the current controversy, but also on the difficult decisions I made a decade ago as the first independent biographer of business tycoon Armand Hammer, public figure extraordinaire, whose...

Vacuum cleaner's soothing sounds; CD: Mother creates a disc of white noise designed to calm the little ones. Sales are showing a healthy growth."The Muffin Man?" You can handle it. "Itsy Bitsy Spider?" Part of the deal. "Old McDonald?" Gotta admit it's a classic. But since when does parenthood require listening to a recording of a vacuum cleaner?Since it was discovered that the sucking whine of the trusty Hoover can make infants stop wailing.That's why the CD "For Crying Out Loud!" -- a collection of "unlikely" sounds designed to soothe fussy babies -- is climbing the charts for the under-12-month set.Created by 33-year-old Baltimore mom Martha Stone, the album features a smorgasbord of white noise pacifiers, including a maternal heartbeat, a blow dryer, a washing machine set on the gentle cycle, a car's windshield wipers and rain falling on a roof.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Baltimore City Southern District Burglary: A Catonsville man reported that someone broke into a locker he rented at U-Store in the 1400 block of Russell St. on Friday and removed $8,150. Southeastern District Robbery: An 83-year-old woman was walking in the 600 block of S. Fagley St. about 6:45 p.m. Saturday when two men in their 20s stole her purse, which contained identification and keys.

As part of an evil plot to tie women to the kitchen, scientists have revealed that house dust really does matter, just as your mother told you. Apparently, that harmless-looking powdery stuff that dwells in our homes is a cocktail of hazardous substances that would feel at home in a Superfund site.In case you missed last week's column, let me introduce you to the Dust Baddy Hall of Fame: lead, arsenic, cadmium, pesticides, volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

It's not intended to replace doctors and nurses. But the 200-pound robot - controlled by a joystick and looking like a futuristic vacuum cleaner - is turning out to be extremely popular at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The robot works like a remote-controlled video camera, rolling into patient rooms and taking pictures and sound that allow for televised conversations. Referred to as "Dr. Robot" by Hopkins staffers, the device is being tested as a tool to help check on patients more often and over longer distances.

Baltimore City Northwestern District Deadly weapon arrest: Officers John Johnson, Timothy Miller and James Regan stopped two men for an alleged minor infraction Friday night in the 3000 block of Spaulding Ave. Police tried to question the men, but they fled. One was caught, and police seized a loaded .45-caliber Glock semiautomatic handgun and a bulletproof vest he was wearing. The other man escaped. Tavon Gilliam, 24, of the 5100 block of Queensberry Ave. in Pimlico was charged with possession of a deadly weapon and illegal possession of a bulletproof vest.

Q: I need an inexpensive wet/dry vacuum cleaner that has an attachment for steam cleaning carpets and furniture. Also, what else should I consider in getting the best one for both indoor and outdoor cleanup?A: With all the new models, features and accessory kits, choosing the best wet/dry vacuum is as complicated as buying a new car. Accessory kits like do-it-yourself steam carpet cleaners, gutter cleaners, detachable blowers, etc., make wet/dry vacs versatile.Wet/dry vacs can clean almost any liquid, dirt and debris.

Michael T. McCarthy Sr., a longtime Electrolux vacuum cleaner salesman who helped foster children find homes in his retirement, died on Jan. 23 of sudden cardiac arrest at the Baltimore-Washington Medical Center. The longtime Cockeysville resident was 69. Raised in Philadelphia, the sixth of seven siblings, Mr. McCarthy graduated from North Catholic High School there in 1961 and spent about nine years, starting in his late teens, as a brother with the Oblates of St. Francis DeSales in Wernersville, Pa. There, he was responsible for taking care of the grounds and working on the farm, according to his daughter, Jennifer Jones.

COCONUT ISLAND, Oahu -- What was intended as a noble scientific experiment in the 1970s has turned into a modern-day plague for the delicate coral reefs surrounding the University of Hawaii's research station here. A professor scoured the seas for the heartiest, fastest-growing algae to help poor nations develop a seaweed crop for carrageenan - the gelatinous emulsifier used in products ranging from toothpaste and shoe polish to nonfat ice cream. Maxwell Doty succeeded, in one regard.

MORE MONEY for oysters could well mean a healthier Chesapeake Bay. Congress recently appropriated more than $4 million for bay oyster restoration projects next year, its largest outlay ever. Maryland and Virginia pledged this summer to spend a combined $50 million over 10 years to meet the regional Chesapeake 2000 Agreement for a tenfold increase of oysters in the estuary. These commitments to build oyster reefs and bars, create harvest-free sanctuaries and replant young oysters recognize the importance of oysters as the vacuum cleaners of the Chesapeake.