I’m telling you, I was dog-tired of that snow and rain and ick. I am so glad to be seeing some flowers, enjoying warm air, and just generally unwinding!

Here are the details:

Love Baseball? Have Kids who play Little League? Like the idea of sharing your home with a possible Major Leaguer?

The Rockville Express Baseball team is currently searching for host families for the 2010 Season. A vital part of a successful season is to have host families provide housing for the players, giving them support and a family atmosphere for the summer. When you host a player, you are not just taking on a guest for the summer, your family will be embarking on an experience that will make you a part of an extended baseball family.

Host Family Responsibilities:

Be available to host a player from June 1st – July 31st – Provide a clean, safe, and pleasant environment for the player to stay – Provide a private room or private area for the player to sleep – Provide food and/or meals for the player – Provide access to laundry equipment (players do their own laundry) – Players provide their own transportation

Host Family Benefits:

Free admittance to all home games – You will become more involved with the community – The player will be a positive role model for your children – You have an opportunity to make a positive impact on a young man’s future – You might be getting to know a future Major League star!

If you are interested in hosting a player, or would like more information, please contact Tina Campbell at 301-315-9008 or by email at tinacampbell-at-comcast-dot-net.

From the City:

The City of Rockville’s RedGate Municipal Golf Course is now open for play for the 2010 season, and offers a series of specials to match any golfer

RedGate’s championship 18-hole, 71-par golf course has been ranked among the top 10 public courses in the Washington metropolitan area by Golf Digest Magazine.

RedGate offers competitive rates and green fees, as well as a variety of discount programs, including multi-play cards, 50 years and older specials and twilight rates.

RedGate features four sets of tees that make this rolling course playable and fun for golfers of all abilities, from beginner to PGA Tour hopefuls.

In 2010, a new special will be offered for 9-hole rounds. Golfers can receive $4 off the 9-hole rate the first two hours and after 5  p.m. daily.

RedGate also features a practice green and driving range, as well as a full-service snack bar and catering service for outings.

Discount programs offered for the 2010 season at RedGate are as follows:

• Multi-play card – Play 11 rounds of 18 holes and receive three rounds of 18 holes for free.
• Six-month and 10-month passes – Packages are available offering unlimited green fees for individuals and families.
• Twilight rates – Twilight rates begin after 3 p.m. daily April through September.
• 50 years and older – Reduced fees for anyone age 50 and older Monday through Friday until noon.
• 60 years and older – Reduced fees for anyone age 60 and older Monday through Friday until 2 p.m.
• Ladies Day – Reduced fees for ladies all day Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays.
• Junior Special – Reduced fees after 5 p.m. for golfers 17 and under.

RedGate also offers camps and clinics for children age 10-17; offers private lessons; and features a full-service pro shop with club repair and fitting.

These babies have been hanging outside my house since Snowpocalypse I (in December). I found ‘em on the sidewalk, buried in some snow.

They yours?

I did extensive genealogy research for about a decade, and by far the best resource was federal census records. Before the advent of the internet, genealogy was an esoteric, secretive endeavor, usually performed by a small cabal of researchers, most of whom worked on getting people the proper documentation for membership in societies like the Daughters of the American Revolution. A lot of the research materials for sale to the layman were little more than collections of surnames from the phone books of major cities, but at least that was something concrete for people who were looking, sometimes blindly, for a connection to their ancestors and distant relatives.

Then the web came into being, and suddenly people could make instantaneous connections that they could never have hoped to make from their own limited knowledge, and there was a great revolution in genealogy. It had its drawbacks, though, including the propagation of a lot of incorrect data, but that was overwhelmed by the great benefit of being able to share information. Family trees could be organized in software databases and shared on websites, and people could access census data from sources like Genealogy.com and Ancestry.com.

I was especially fortunate to live in the DC area, so I could go down to the National Archives (back when it was open in the evenings and on Saturdays) and get immediate access to all of the federal census microfilms, from 1790 up to 1920. I transcribed thousands of census records for a book I was planning to write about Civil War pensioners in Tennessee, and I learned to love census records with a passion. It was so fascinating to see the evolution of a family, every ten years, to watch children being born and married off, to watch assets like land being accumulated, to watch names and ages mysteriously change, and to bring those individuals to life in my mind and my database.

Because so many of my Blalock family were living in the hills of Tennessee from the early 19th century, I was especially impressed at how thoroughly the census collectors were able to track down almost everyone. In the course of collecting those thousands of individual records, it was very rare that I completely “lost” someone in a census year: granted, it might take a lot of sleuthing to eventually find them, but the success rate was very high. I try to imagine the journeys of those census takers, traveling through wilderness and rough weather, tracking down homes and families, often met with hostility or suspicion. It makes it seem almost paradoxical, to me, that in our wired-up world it could be equally hard to track down everyone. But, the modern world has its own limitations.

I was really excited when the 1930 census was released eight years ago, because that was the first time that one of my parents was alive. I found my infant father living with his parents in Oklahoma, and was astonished to read that his name was recorded as “Murray Blalock”. WHAT?? I had never heard of this before. My father’s legal name was Richard, but growing up he was called Culmer. Where could “Murray” have come from? I had no idea – Dad died in 1992, and so sadly I couldn’t ask him. Thus, I am eagerly awaiting the release of the 1940 census in a few years, so that I can find out what he was called as a boy. And this is only one of the fascinating mysteries I have encountered in my travels through the census.

Why don’t you take advantage of that access and do some research yourself? Learning about the census is exciting, believe it or not.

Temperance Blalock

This is a Contributor Opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such pieces for consideration — the more voices the better. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!

Here’s a neat shot by Rockville Central friend Janet Piczak Brown. Here’s what she says about it: “I saw these lovely lamps in the Giant parking lot (Hungerford Dr.) today. Since everyone is always in so much of a hurry I wonder how often they are noticed?”

I wodner too! I had not noticed them, and I go there all the time.

When households don’t return the form, census takers must go to the homes to get the answers to the questionnaires, costing us all more money. If everyone mailed back their form, we would save about $1.5 billion. In 2010, the Census Bureau estimates that for every 1% increase in the mail back response, we will save approximately $85 million.

From the Census Bureau announcement:

“I’d like nothing more than to return money to the taxpayers following this census because they mailed back the census forms at a record rate,” said Census Bureau Director Robert Groves. “In the end, the American public’s willingness to participate in the 2010 Census will determine its success and how much money we’re able to return to Congress.”

Check here for an interactive map which shows the response rate. You can see which areas are doing the best. Type in your zip code to see if your neighbors have returned their forms. Let’s go Rockville!

Remember, all census responses are confidential. Answers are protected by law and cannot be shared with anyone. The Census Bureau takes extreme measures to protect the identity of individuals and businesses.

The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The information will be used to decide congressional seats, distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds, and make decisions about what community services to provide.

The form is one of the shortest in history! 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. So just do it! You have until April 1st.

Here’s what Herb says about his setup:

Our solar array produces 4.3 kw, which is an instantaneous power production value. It should produce 5289 kwh over the course of a year. This figure depends on the number of sunny days we have, and the orientation of the array (south facing and tilted at 39 degrees is best for our latitude). Other orientations, shade and cloudy days will compromise energy production, but are taken into account when projecting a system’s efficiency. The sidewalks were recently widened on Beall Ave, and two neighboring trees were removed. The resulting sun exposure makes our roof ideal, and the carbon offset exceeds those tree’s carbon absorption effect.

The financial incentives make the payoff much faster than the avoided cost of energy alone. Montgomery County offers a property tax credit of 50% of the system’s cost, capped at $5000. The US tax credit is 30% of the cost, and is not capped. Maryland’s grant depends on the system’s size, and it’s capped at $10,000. Additionally, because of Maryland’s participation in the regional greenhouse gas initiative, a renewable energy credit is awarded with every megawatt hour produced, and those are sold to polluters to offset carbon emissions. We get paid to generate energy even if we use it ourselves. It really pays to produce, and not pollute!

Man, that is one sweet deal. Go, Herb!

Here’s the last one from my disappearing-snow-at-Welsh-Park series. As the snow melts, solid itens that had been encased in it get arranged in unusual patterns. The stick across the pine cones made me think of a Japanese pagoda!

The Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee (RBAC; see http://www.rockvillemd.gov/recreation/bicycling/rbac.htm) has issued a challenge to all to ride 150 miles in 2010 in celebration of Rockville’s Sesquicentennial or 150th Anniversary, which is being celebrated this year. The challenge states “To track your miles, you may register and log-in to: http://presidentschallenge.org/ and enter Group ID Number: 89582 (Rockville Bike 150); enter any number/name for the Group Member Number; and start logging in your bicycling activity. OR keep your own mileage spreadsheet to share with us later.”

Why not combine the two challenges and get to know Rockville by riding the length of every street in Rockville during 2010? When you complete the 150 mile challenge you’ll be roughly halfway there (depending on your starting point for each ride and how efficiently you can navigate all the individual streets and cul-de-sacs). And many thanks to Mark for having the idea!

Denny Freezer

This is a Contributor Opinion. Rockville Central encourages readers to submit such pieces for consideration — the more voices the better. We ask that all such contributions be civil and we reserve the right to edit (in consultation with the author) or reject. Contributor opinions should not be seen as reflecting opinions held by Rockville Central editors, as they are just as frequently at odds with our own views. That’s the whole point!