Observations

Random observations from a Sunday:

1.
Pennsylvania has a wierd way of labeling exits. Throughout Maryland, highway exits are labeled with an A or a B if there are two exits leading to the same road, yet going in seperate directions. So if Route 1 has an exit to Samsung Rd. it is labeled Exit 5 when there is a way to go both North and South on Samsung Rd. But if there are two exits from Route 1 to Samsung Rd., one of which leads south, the other north, then the Exits are labeled Exit 5A for the northbound exit and Exit 5B for the southbound exit. PA has a different system. Apparently if the mile of the road has two exits they won't label them different numbers, they'll sub-label them with letters. On I-83 the exit for I-76, the Penna Turnpike, is labeled Exit 39B, although the one exit ramp serves both east and west bound traffic. The reason? The mile the exit sits in is the 39th mile, but there is already an exit in that mile, so instead of labeling it another number like some states, they just tack a letter at the end. Just an observation...

2.
Watching the Ravens game, I finally realized something about (QB) Kyle Boller I couldn't quite put my hands on before. But then it hit me, he had a look about him. For the entire first half of the season he had looked lost. He looked like he didn't belong, that he didn't fit in. Sorta like the freshman who is smart enough to be in a class with all seniors. He is happy to be there, don't get me wrong, for he enjoys doing what he is doing, but it looks like he just doesn't know how to fit in. Well that is the look he had the entire first half of the season. But something changed yesterday at the game during the second half. He changed the "Kyle Boller look". Although it wasn't the look of a leader a quarterback should have, it was more of a (going back to the freshman analogy) "hey I answered the hardest question right and the entire class got extra credit and now they are all congratulating me, but they probably won't talk to me outside of class" look. You know, the sly, sheepish grin, but with an uncomfortable apperance to the rest of his body, like he doesn't know if he should act like this is normal, or if he should act like it was a guess. But that was the look he had when the camera zoomed in on him at the stadium during the second half when he had to shoulder the rest of the offense when both running backs went down with leg injuries. He did a good job and did drive the team down the field for two touchdown passes, but he didn't have a look of confidence. Maybe it was the fact he only had 19 starts coming into the game in the NFL and still isn't use to the system, maybe this game will give him confidence and by the time the playoffs roll around he'll have the confident look of a leader. This will be a very interesting thing to watch as the rest of the season progresses and the playoff picture develops. Just an observation...

3.
For as much crap PA takes about the amount of road construction, I think MD should also be talked about in the same sentence. There is always road construction on the roads of MD, but especially on the Interstates. There are always work zones and orange cones along the route, in fact driving from the stadium, around I-695 and north along I-83 back to school there were 2 seperate bridges that were being redone a lane at a time, meaning traffic had to be diverted from the one lane they were working on. The entrances to these work zones were lined with orange, in fact there was so much orange I think it glows at night. And there are countless other areas in MD that have construction on the roads, even if they don't need to be resurfaced, or whatever they do. I think the only reason MD and PA are looked at differently with road construction is because MD finishes its works a whole hell of a lot faster than PA. Drivers want progress, they just want it to happen overnight. Stupid fickle drivers. Just an observation...

4.
There must be something wrong with PA. I left my building, walked to my car and noticed it was real foggy outside. As I was driving and got to Reesers Summit on I-83, the fog got much worse, but then disipated as I went down the mountain. But the oddest thing happened, it seemed as if as soon as I crossed the Mason-Dixon line, the fog disapeared and it was bright enough to need sunglasses. It was a very interesting development. I never really liked PA, there is just something about it I don't like. Maybe it's the roads, maybe it's the construction, maybe it's the name, but for some reason there is something about the state I don't like, and this fog experience was another perfect example. Just an observation...

5.
Now I'm as patriotic as the next guy, but when did Lee Greenwood become the next Francis Scott Key? I remember a time when the song "God Bless the U.S.A." was played because people liked the song. Now it's played as a patriotic rally song where everyone is expected to stand up and take off their hats while the song is played. PA announcers don't have to tell people to stand and take off their hats for the "Star Spangeled Banner" anymore because everyone in the stands is already up while "God Bless the U.S.A." is playing. (On a side note, the singer of the National Anthem on Sunday November, 21st at M&T Bank Stadium was really good. Just wanted to point that out.) And if someone isn't standing then those around them force them to stand during Lee Greenwood's song, because they feel they aren't being patriotic or respectful to the United States of America. It isn't a patriotic song in the same sense as "The Star Spangeled Banner" or "Hail to the President" or "Yankee Doodle Dandy" for that matter. It is a song that wasn't played at large gatherings until after 9/11 when everyone was looking for a good ol' American song to play. It's just a country music song people. Just an observation...

I think we'll stop it there.