Maryland, the New Jersey of DC

Maryland is to Washington, DC as New Jersey is to New York.

Not just that they are in proximity, more of a difference in the way of life and the people who live there.

I should qualify that statement, I've lived in both New York and New Jersey, therefore I am entitled to have an opinion on which is better.

Maryland is too close in proximity to it's northern neighbors for it's own good. There are too many similarities in government and attitudes between New Jersey and Maryland that one would hope. Not only that, there is an attitude of those who live and work in Washington that somehow Maryland is inferior to DC and Virginia.

Don't get me wrong there are some really really nice parts of Maryland and some very old and historically significant neighborhoods just outside the District. Yet when you're in Maryland there is a different feel to the atmosphere, a more "in your face" attitude and an all around disrespect for others that is less prevalent across the Potomac.

You find the same thing when you cross the Hudson from New York to New Jersey. While they are close in proximity there is a harshness about northern New Jersey that is unequaled in its neighbors to the east. Again, just like Maryland, New Jersey has some really nice neighborhoods and some very wealthy people, but the atmosphere there is also "in your face" and "I'll break your knee-caps."

Hence I will always in my mind associate the relationship of Maryland and Virginia to that of New York and New Jersey.

Facebook cleansing

They say you should wash your face everyday, but how many of us have a dirty Facebook?

I went in the other day and I had about 250 "friends," many of whom I don't know very well and some that I've never even met in person. Some of these "friends" regularly post things that I don't want to appearing on my homepage feed. Sometimes they post inappropriate comments.

So the other night I found myself going through my "friends" and removing anyone who I haven't had personal contact with since we became Facebook friends. Turns out those who remained were people I want to keep track of, mostly family a few friends and a handful of acquaintances. I cut out over 100 people!

It's amazing, all of a sudden I'm seeing the posts from people who were typically pushed off my home page by the random mass of posts from "friends."

I think that everyone should try cleaning their Facebook every now and then.

No Wireless Network

It seems that ever since I traded my Smartphone for a regular cell phone that I haven't been able to post as often. Sure my bill is $35 less a month and I don't get bothered with work related emails, but I miss the small things.

I used to sit on the train and connect to the wireless network via Bluetooth and spend the commute blogging and doing other things to occupy my time. I miss that I could open up Google Maps and it would give me an estimate of where I was, sometimes it was even close, but at least I could tell what city and state I was in and get directions home.

I must admit that without the wireless network I've been able to do a lot more iPod listening and even a bit of sleeping during my commute. But between work and taking care of the baby at home, it would be nice to be able to sit on the train and blog.

So here is my late night, nearly 3 month later post, to get something up online. Hope you enjoyed it.