OK, gang, it’s time for some new Superlatives of Baltimore categories! (Apologies to City and Baltimore magazine)

You pick ’em! I will give my little opinion, too.

PLEASE NOTE: Some of these may be illegal or unappreciated. Information for amusement purposes only.

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It’s official. The levels of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay have dwindled to into a disaster.

That’s according to the U.S. Commerce Department, as the Virginian-Pilot reports. It’s the first time such a declaration has been made.

Disaster declarations are made, among other reasons, to free up federal funds for those affected by the disaster. (Well, that is, if the federal government has any funds left available to even free up.) According to the article, local government officials estimate the economic hit on the crab industry to be as much as $15 million over the next three years.

Many crabbers still hold fast to the idea that the decrease in the crab population is due to some sort of cyclical nature of the crab population.

No, seriously.

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The number of Chinese babies made sick by tainted milk continues to rise, almost seemingly by the hour.

The new tally is shocking. The AFP reports that as many as 53,000 Chinese babies have been taken to the hospital after drinking milk poisoned by melamine. That’s about the population of Bowie, Md. or Niagara Falls, N.Y.

One of the companies that has been forced to recall their products is Swiss food giant Nestle, who are also pretty big here in the United States. According to Inquirer.net, Nestle is claiming that its products are safe, even though melamine was found in their milk.

Meanwhile, the guy who was supposed to ensure the quality of China’s food supply has resigned. As Sky News reports, a number of countries have begun banning Chinese milk. (The United States had a ban in place even before the outbreak.)

You’ll remember that melamine was the same stuff that killed lots of cats and dogs in the United States last year. For a refresher, head over to the FDA’s website.

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remote thermometer
Want to know when your food is done without ever getting up from the couch? Now you can, with the remote thermometer. Insert the wireless transmitter probe in your uncooked food and then put it in the oven or on the grill. You’ll get instant updates on your remote monitor. For $50, you can be a couch potato while cooking a real one.

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What are you up to this weekend?

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The Associated Press reports today that the deadly salmonella outbreak appears to be over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But, as predicted here on bthesite.com back on July 18th:

But, my guess: we may never know with absolute certainty what actually caused the salmonella outbreak. The FDA is losing whatever shred of credibility it had left.

In the Associated Press report, the FDA’s food safety chief says, “We have not identified the total source of this.”

So, we’re left with unanswered questions and blame falling partially on Mexico. What a shock.

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With summer winding down, we thought it’d be a good time to ask for your essential Baltimore summer treat.

For me, the answer is snowballs, but not just any snowballs. I’m talking thick chocolate with marshmallow from Walther Gardens at the corner of Walther and Southern Avenues in the city.

I’ve been going there literally since I was in utero, so nostalgia might have something to do with my insistence that this is the best combination of crushed ice and syrup on Earth, but I think it has more to do with the fact that all of the flavors are hand-made in an old house right there on the premises, unlike most stands that use mass-produced flavors from Koldkiss or other brands.
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When it comes to health issues, there are two schools of thought. One, that people need protection from the government. You can reference seatbelt laws and putting surgeon general’s warnings on cigarettes here. The other way of thinking is that people should be able to police themselves and make their own decisions about their life and health.

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Seriously, the food at Virgin Fest is excellent (even if it is too hot for the seafood wrap). And despite what you’d expect, it isn’t too overpriced. My recommendation: the quesadillas.

“They say that travel broadens the mind, till ya can’t get your head out the door’”
 – Elvis Costello 

With the cost of gas being what it is, you may not be to keen on the idea of starting a band and playing to three people in Athens, Ga., at 3 a.m. and making $25 (that’s a good night, by the way), but you should consider it. I figured that a lot of you music enthusiasts reading this are probably musicians or aspiring to be, and thus would like to tour at some point, but you’re probably being tragically misled by naysayers, and curmudgeons. Here is the deal: You can do it, and you don’t have to go broke doing it.

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