Water Quality=FAIL

I received a notice the other day from the "Cambridge Springs Water Department" (I thought they did business as the Cambridge Area Joint Authority but maybe that's only for sewage) that the borough's water supply had two violations of accepted water standards. There was too much organic carbon and too much alkalinity in the water. I need to do some more research on those topics (thank goodness for Wikipedia) as the letter didn't really explain what the problems meant--only that it was not an emergency but that customers had a right to know. They've known about this since February apparently--and that makes me wonder why it took them four months to let us know.

I'll take the dirt road, it's all I know

The Erie Times-News reported that two Cambridge Springs-area dirt roads will be paved this summer: Blystone and Miller Hill Roads. I grew up on a dirt road, so I have a bit of sentimentality towards them.

However, my wife sells real estate in Crawford County, and I'm sometimes less than thrilled when she comes home from showing houses in the boondocks and her car looks like it's done more than a few laps on the dirt-track circuit. In fact, we were just out the other day looking at one of her listings on Humes Hill Road, and as we drove up the road with dust flying around us, I thought to myself: "I guess some people really do enjoy living out here in the country." But I'll take the big city life of Cambridge Springs borough any day...

Summer apparel guide

I take a daily walk through the fine borough of Cambridge Springs, usually from the Dollar General area down to the Riverside Inn and back. I've noticed that summer-like weather in the area has brought along with it summer-like apparel on local residents.

Here are a few general observations about that clothing (or the lack thereof) that I can't help but share:

1. Tube tops are not an easy look to pull off. If there's any question in your mind about wearing one, take that as a sign that you shouldn't. Gravity is an ever-present force.

2. Gentlemen should wear shirts in public. There's a pretty good chance that people don't want to see that much of you, even though you think you're cool driving around in your Corvette showing off your six pack/keg of a stomach.

3. Tank tops are acceptable--except if you have a lot of hair on your upper arms. (This applies to both gentlemen and ladies.)

4. Wearing shorts while riding on a motorcycle is either an extremely bold move or an extremely dumb one.

In my humble opinion, these are tips that will make summer more enjoyable for you--and in many cases those around you.

Free crib, toddler bed, bouncy horse thing

I have some stuff to give away that I no longer need--free for pick up near the schools in Cambridge Springs. Email me at admin@cambridgesprings.net if you're interested or want more information.

1. Crib. Purchased in 2005; cherry wood color.

2. Toddler bed: Shaped like a taxicab; has some scuffs/marker on it.

3. Bouncy horse thing for kids. Looks sort of like this but is older.

Softball team falls just short

The Cambridge Springs softball team fell 4-0 in the PIAA Class A West final yesterday. (Full story here at the Meadville Tribune.) I thought it was nice that the team still received a police/fire vehicle escort when they returned to town last night—that was a fitting ending to what was an excellent season for the Blue Devils.

Cambridge Springs softball team advances with 4-3 win

The Cambridge Springs High School softball team advanced the PIAA Class A western final with a 4-3 win over Chartiers-Houston today at Slippery Rock. The Meadville Tribune has the full story.

DVD quality in a High-Definition world

I'm a customer of Coaxial Cable, which primarily serves the Edinboro and Cambridge Springs areas. Subscribers to Coax's digital cable service (including me) recently received a letter informing us that our cable boxes would be replaced with new models so that the company could offer all of its channels in digital (some were analog still, apparently).

You could either schedule an appointment or just go swap the box at Coaxial's Edinboro office. I chose to do the latter and went there today, and I was immediately disappointed when I saw that the highest quality video output available on the new box was s-video—no HDMI or even component outputs. (The box does have a digital audio output, which made me happy since we have a receiver that will accept it.) Coaxial has been promising since the end of 2006 that high-definition programming will be "coming soon," but the distribution of what appear to be lower-end cable boxes doesn't seem to be a good sign.

The Coax employee said that all channels (including premiums but not pay-per-view) would be available until sometime in July to all digital subscribers with the new boxes. (They'll be sending out smartcards that subscribers have to add to the box to let it know what level of service is being paid for.) It's cool to have all those channels for a while, but it really stinks that that on-screen program guide—probably the best feature of digital cable—isn't yet available with the new box.

It might finally be time to give Dish Network a chance. All Coax can muster is "DVD quality" programming in what is now a High Definition world.

Spa softball team advances in PIAA playoffs

Congratulations to the Cambridge Springs softball team, which defeated Elk County Catholic 5-0 to advance to the state quarterfinals. (Full story from Meadville Tribune is here). Next up for the Spa (21-2) is WPIAL champion Chartiers Houston on Thursday—time and location to be announced 1 p.m. at Slippery Rock.

Stop sign pwned

Someone reportedly ran down the stop sign on Venango Avenue near Marcy Park in town. Inspired by my coworker Mike, who is the master of all things LolCat, I offer this image: (I'm assuming it was a patron of one of the local bars that took out the sign, but that's just judgmental speculation on my part.)

Local duck murdered

From today's "We might have a future serial killer on our hands" file: a 14-year-old boy apparently decided it would be a good idea to kill a Cambridge Springs-area duck and then smash a couple of its eggs. The Bonecutters, a local family with an ever-so-cool last name, had been caring for the duck and observing it daily. GoErie.com has the full story. The kid either dropped a rock on the duck or stomped on it--both of those scenarios are pretty messed up if you ask me.