This blog consists of news, announcements and comments originally hosted on my website from 2000-2004. Yes, I attempted to be a blogger before I knew what it meant. However, the posts were rather infrequent, and updating the HTML was not easy. I never liked the format. (I changed the main news page way too often.) And I never enjoyed adding updates, which is evident in the number of postings I made during that four-year period.
All of this is a good testimonial for Blogger and other services that let you blog without ever seeing HTML or even knowing what it is.
Today I transferred the old news into this archive and included "The BDL Blog" as my news/journal section... My website can be viewed at:
www.bdlyles.com
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Friday, August 30, 2002
August 2002
It has been months since the last update... But now I have a new format for this page and some great pictures I just had to share.
These are from two of my most recent events in Washington. I assisted Children's own Dr. Bear in welcoming a small group of guests for a tour and dinner at the hospital.
That same week, Children's National Medical Center participated in the Cadillac Grand Prix, the first time a national auto race had been in the area in decades. My friend Krista and I were lucky enough to sit in one of the cars before the last race, and our luck rubbed off -- the car came in second place!�
These are from two of my most recent events in Washington. I assisted Children's own Dr. Bear in welcoming a small group of guests for a tour and dinner at the hospital.
That same week, Children's National Medical Center participated in the Cadillac Grand Prix, the first time a national auto race had been in the area in decades. My friend Krista and I were lucky enough to sit in one of the cars before the last race, and our luck rubbed off -- the car came in second place!�
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
Terror Hits Home - September 11, 2001
There really are no words to describe the mood in Washington on the morning of Tuesday, September 11th. I was on my way to work in the District when the World Trade Center tower in New York was hit by a plane. Soon I could actually see the smoke rising from the Pentagon, the result of a second attack by terrorists on American soil this day.
Later, the full extent of the terror became clear, as news reports revealed that another plane had hit the landmark towers in Manhattan, then that the first damaged tower had fallen... then that the second tower had also collapsed. In one horrific hour, the skyline of our nation's greatest city, along with a portion of the very heart of our nation's defense and security, had been reduced to mere dust.
At Children's Hospital, all managers and directors were briefed on details, as the institution went into a "mass casualty phase" and prepared for the worse, although all Pentagon burn victims had been adults so far and were taken to nearby Washington Hospital Center. Then the reality of the attack hit home when we were told, amidst the chaos and escalating terrorism, that institutions like hospitals, like even ours, could actually be considered targets to the kinds of people behind this sort of thing.
Eventually they let all non-essential personnel go home. However, getting home to Baltimore was another story. In fear of a land transportation attack, Union Station was closed to trains, eliminating my regular MARC commuter train. Luckily, MARC provided buses to Camden Yards... But the mood of confusion and despair was evident there downtown. Harborplace and other places had closed early. The Orioles game had been cancelled, as with all other major league games. As I got on a nearly empty bus at 5 p.m., it was clear that many people had been allowed to leave for home early too, even in Baltimore.
Now, after watching the headlines and the video of the unprecedented disasters, it's still hard to comprehend -- especially thinking about the World Trade Center. How such a symbol of United States commerce and power, not to mention the thousands of innocent lives lost, could be crumbled so easily and so quickly like this is devastating to all of us, in every way.
But life goes on, as we become stronger, both in our defense against such horror, and in our resolve to overcome this fear and attack on the freedom we now cherish so much more.�
Later, the full extent of the terror became clear, as news reports revealed that another plane had hit the landmark towers in Manhattan, then that the first damaged tower had fallen... then that the second tower had also collapsed. In one horrific hour, the skyline of our nation's greatest city, along with a portion of the very heart of our nation's defense and security, had been reduced to mere dust.
At Children's Hospital, all managers and directors were briefed on details, as the institution went into a "mass casualty phase" and prepared for the worse, although all Pentagon burn victims had been adults so far and were taken to nearby Washington Hospital Center. Then the reality of the attack hit home when we were told, amidst the chaos and escalating terrorism, that institutions like hospitals, like even ours, could actually be considered targets to the kinds of people behind this sort of thing.
Eventually they let all non-essential personnel go home. However, getting home to Baltimore was another story. In fear of a land transportation attack, Union Station was closed to trains, eliminating my regular MARC commuter train. Luckily, MARC provided buses to Camden Yards... But the mood of confusion and despair was evident there downtown. Harborplace and other places had closed early. The Orioles game had been cancelled, as with all other major league games. As I got on a nearly empty bus at 5 p.m., it was clear that many people had been allowed to leave for home early too, even in Baltimore.
Now, after watching the headlines and the video of the unprecedented disasters, it's still hard to comprehend -- especially thinking about the World Trade Center. How such a symbol of United States commerce and power, not to mention the thousands of innocent lives lost, could be crumbled so easily and so quickly like this is devastating to all of us, in every way.
But life goes on, as we become stronger, both in our defense against such horror, and in our resolve to overcome this fear and attack on the freedom we now cherish so much more.�
Monday, January 01, 2001
A New Year... A New Job!
Things happen quickly in fast-paced big cities like Baltimore and Washington.
Unlike the tedious turmoil regarding the selection of our nation's president, my new job in the nation's capital seemed to come about too quickly. One day I'm quietly sitting in my office at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, when I get a call - quite out of the blue - from Children's Hospital (Children's National Medical Center) in D.C. Even the person who called me was almost embarrassed by the fact that she was cold-calling someone forty miles away about a job opening. However, the more I listened, the more I agreed with her that it was at least worth the trip to explore the possibility. Now, a few weeks later, I'm writing part of this page of my journal as I travel on the MARC train on my way back home to the Monumental City from my first day at my new job in THE city of monuments.
So, the Baltimore Museum of Industry is now without a Director of Development & Marketing, while Children's National Medical Center has a new Grants Manager. I've left behind my harbor view and the several hats I was wearing, but I now work as "the writer" and part of an entire department of about twenty people who probably do not know that in a different dimension, at some smaller non-profit organization, they could all be melded into one person, much like I was just a few weeks ago. Plus, now there's the excitement of working in Washington, a true metropolis, with a wonderful urban core of stores, restaurants, nightlife.... The type of city I sometimes proclaim, pretend, portend my hometown of Baltimore to be. But there is more and more cohesion between these two cities these days, as evidenced by the recent joint bid for the Olympics, as well as the number of people I see commuting back and forth.
My thanks to everyone back in Baltimore at the Museum who helped to add two very eventful and meaningful years to my career. And thanks again for the gift of the Handspring Visor, which I am using to write this entry. How appropriate that I use the latest technology for this too... Since the good people at Children's Hospital found me electronically, through my web page.
(Yes, those weekends of teaching myself HTML and web graphics were indeed worth it after all! )
Unlike the tedious turmoil regarding the selection of our nation's president, my new job in the nation's capital seemed to come about too quickly. One day I'm quietly sitting in my office at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, when I get a call - quite out of the blue - from Children's Hospital (Children's National Medical Center) in D.C. Even the person who called me was almost embarrassed by the fact that she was cold-calling someone forty miles away about a job opening. However, the more I listened, the more I agreed with her that it was at least worth the trip to explore the possibility. Now, a few weeks later, I'm writing part of this page of my journal as I travel on the MARC train on my way back home to the Monumental City from my first day at my new job in THE city of monuments.
So, the Baltimore Museum of Industry is now without a Director of Development & Marketing, while Children's National Medical Center has a new Grants Manager. I've left behind my harbor view and the several hats I was wearing, but I now work as "the writer" and part of an entire department of about twenty people who probably do not know that in a different dimension, at some smaller non-profit organization, they could all be melded into one person, much like I was just a few weeks ago. Plus, now there's the excitement of working in Washington, a true metropolis, with a wonderful urban core of stores, restaurants, nightlife.... The type of city I sometimes proclaim, pretend, portend my hometown of Baltimore to be. But there is more and more cohesion between these two cities these days, as evidenced by the recent joint bid for the Olympics, as well as the number of people I see commuting back and forth.
My thanks to everyone back in Baltimore at the Museum who helped to add two very eventful and meaningful years to my career. And thanks again for the gift of the Handspring Visor, which I am using to write this entry. How appropriate that I use the latest technology for this too... Since the good people at Children's Hospital found me electronically, through my web page.
(Yes, those weekends of teaching myself HTML and web graphics were indeed worth it after all! )
Thursday, October 12, 2000
October 2000
DATELINE: BALTIMORE, MD - October, 2000
Yes. That was me on the cover on the Baltimore Business Journal (Oct. 6-12, 2000).
And, yes, I am more familiar with writing articles, than being an interviewee. So many good things were said, and yet I guess it was a "constant battle" for the 26-year-old writer to keep the tone of the article so negative. The headline that declares area museums are struggling for "financial health" is something I would question the editor about, as well. Especially when, later in the article, my institution, the Baltimore Museum of Industry, along with Walters Art Gallery and the Baltimore Museum of Art, are said to be prospering... And I do not remember using the word "fickle" to describe the public, as I am later caught uttering in one of two badly written paraphrases.
Nevertheless, the picture is good and on Page One. It even generated this remark, e-mailed from an old friend: "I bought a copy of the Baltimore Business Journal because I saw your pretty face on the front cover. You are now quite a celebrity. Can I have your autograph? You still look very erudite and scintillating. I don't see any wrinkles or gray hairs. I look forward to seeing you at the Museum of Industry. Best wishes for success with your future endeavors. Peace and love!"
So, maybe I can deal with this media attention after all.
efter all.
www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2000/10/09/story3.html
Yes. That was me on the cover on the Baltimore Business Journal (Oct. 6-12, 2000).
And, yes, I am more familiar with writing articles, than being an interviewee. So many good things were said, and yet I guess it was a "constant battle" for the 26-year-old writer to keep the tone of the article so negative. The headline that declares area museums are struggling for "financial health" is something I would question the editor about, as well. Especially when, later in the article, my institution, the Baltimore Museum of Industry, along with Walters Art Gallery and the Baltimore Museum of Art, are said to be prospering... And I do not remember using the word "fickle" to describe the public, as I am later caught uttering in one of two badly written paraphrases.
Nevertheless, the picture is good and on Page One. It even generated this remark, e-mailed from an old friend: "I bought a copy of the Baltimore Business Journal because I saw your pretty face on the front cover. You are now quite a celebrity. Can I have your autograph? You still look very erudite and scintillating. I don't see any wrinkles or gray hairs. I look forward to seeing you at the Museum of Industry. Best wishes for success with your future endeavors. Peace and love!"
So, maybe I can deal with this media attention after all.
efter all.
www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2000/10/09/story3.html
Saturday, July 01, 2000
Summer 2000
DATELINE: BALTIMORE, MD - Summer, 2000
It's official. After months of speculation, I have finally revealed a new web page design, and the response has been overwhelming. (Well, only one person saw this before I uploaded it, but he REALLY, REALLY liked it... O.K. He did have some criticisms, which I have considered. And, well, yes I did make some artistic changes, especially to this page.)
Anyway, the original design was three years old, and parts of it were always "under construction". Some people were even beginning to wonder, "Hey, Where is this guy? Does he really exist?"
Well, wonder no more! As you will see, the uploading is complete, and the new page is chock-full of information. There are pictures and graphics galore. And while there were a few glitches to be worked out, most of the real work was accomplished in time (pretty much) to celebrate my 38th birthday in May. This is no coincidence. As soon as things started to gel with the new site, I thought it would be appropriate to begin this "new look" as I begin a new year.
This new "news" page, I promise, will become an integral part of the site, updated more frequently than before. I hope to make it a journal of what's on my mind, frequently interspersed with sparks of creative humor, graphics, wisdom and news.
Also, I'll provide some links to real news and information sources, especially Alta Vista, which is the best way to find my page if you cannot remember the address... Just type in my name, and there I am!
So let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you.�
It's official. After months of speculation, I have finally revealed a new web page design, and the response has been overwhelming. (Well, only one person saw this before I uploaded it, but he REALLY, REALLY liked it... O.K. He did have some criticisms, which I have considered. And, well, yes I did make some artistic changes, especially to this page.)
Anyway, the original design was three years old, and parts of it were always "under construction". Some people were even beginning to wonder, "Hey, Where is this guy? Does he really exist?"
Well, wonder no more! As you will see, the uploading is complete, and the new page is chock-full of information. There are pictures and graphics galore. And while there were a few glitches to be worked out, most of the real work was accomplished in time (pretty much) to celebrate my 38th birthday in May. This is no coincidence. As soon as things started to gel with the new site, I thought it would be appropriate to begin this "new look" as I begin a new year.
This new "news" page, I promise, will become an integral part of the site, updated more frequently than before. I hope to make it a journal of what's on my mind, frequently interspersed with sparks of creative humor, graphics, wisdom and news.
Also, I'll provide some links to real news and information sources, especially Alta Vista, which is the best way to find my page if you cannot remember the address... Just type in my name, and there I am!
So let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you.�
Tuesday, May 02, 2000
May 2, 2000
DATELINE: BALTIMORE, MD - May 2, 2000
Hello, all!!! Today's news is that there is no news today. However, the news that I will be finally updating this website really could be considered news.... So, in that sense, that is the latest news.
The new look (along with more frequent news updates) will be up within the week... Stay tuned!!!�
Hello, all!!! Today's news is that there is no news today. However, the news that I will be finally updating this website really could be considered news.... So, in that sense, that is the latest news.
The new look (along with more frequent news updates) will be up within the week... Stay tuned!!!�
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