hpincket

Cumberland, MD

Cumberland is a neat town. It's industrial like Pittsburgh but also has a colonial feel. There are churches everywhere, and in between them you'll find truck depots, train tracks, canals, earth haulers, and other elements of industry.

The city is split by a canal. Alongside it runs a walking path, surprisingly heavily used. I think it may be the fastest route around the center of the city. Anything not along the canal is on a hill. Unlike Pittsburgh the sky was partly cloudy and the air was clean.

There are some impressive buildings, like this Mason's lodge and church on a hill. There were some strong political messages on churches. I remember trying to puzzle out a monument which I think was for all unborn babies.

Because the room I rented lacked a kitchen, I ordered takeout. By far my favorite was Curtis' Famous Coney Island Weiners. This place rocked. Located downtown and with the interior of a dive bar you're not surprised to learn it's been open for over 100 years.

The men behind the counter shout "What do you want?" the moment you cross the threshold. The menu is small. I ordered 3 weiners, priced at $1.65 each. You can get a hamburger for about the same. The restaurant was busy -- a steady stream of customers. The men knew their patrons by name. One man ordered 4 weiners, another 8. They come loaded with onions and some sort of relish.

I took a second to snap a photo of the building. This was enough time for me to witness an act of kindness: One of the workers come out of the store. He passed my tip to and old women and her grandchildren. It was maybe 50 cents. I overheard him say that he saw her running short and he hoped this would help.

I took my weiners across the street to a cabin once used by George Washington. Presumably he used it for sleeping.

After lunch a man on a bicycle with a black eye talked to me. He told me he appreciated my face shield - showing people to take the virus seriously. He said the only reason he wasn't in his cell right now was because the jail was at capacity and he had threatened to write the paper. So he gets half days or something. Who knows how much of that is true, who cares?

Harper's Ferry

On my way out of town I took a detour to Harper's Ferry. It has a dramatic approach. I noticed the road-side photo-ops too late, so if you want a dramatic skyline you'll have to look it up.

No I didn't hike up the hill. Why you ask? Because there were a lot of people. As you can see, I was pretty nervous.

I was a little disappointed with Harper's Ferry. I'm glad I chose to stay in Cumberland instead. It felt like a theme park. The old buildings were filled with "Ye old Tavern" type places. How depressing.

The rocks were good though.

I did find this plaque which designates the Appalachian trail as a "National Planning Landmark". Apparently it's a whole thing.

Other articles

A daytrip to Breezewood
Thu 26 November 2020
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

I'm keeping this short so that they actually get published. Don't expect anything elaborate.

I used Thanksgiving's low-traffic to checkout some sights near Cumberland.
1. Paw-Paw Tunnel along Maryland 51 (Scenic Byway)
2. Abandoned PA Turnpike Tunnel
3. Breezewood PA Junction
Paw Paw Tunnel

The Paw Paw Tunnel was underwhelming, mostly because the …
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Society of the Spectacle: Thesis 60

Thu 12 November 2020
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

Where I write for the sake of writing. No promise of quality. Here is an attempt at interpreting thesis 60 of Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle.

The celebrity, the spectacular representation of a living human being, embodies this banality by embedding the image of a possible role. Being a …
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Mayan writing... for English

Sun 01 March 2020
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

Let us begin with a simplified version of the Mayan writing system. That is, we will encode English phonetically with the glyphs that represent sounds in Maya. We won’t have all the sounds, but oh-well!

Use the included syllabary to construct words from the associated sounds. Syllables in Maya …
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Hydroponic Lettuce!

Tue 31 December 2019
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

To stave off the miserable Pittsburgh winter I started collecting plants and lights.

One strategy I used was to start a small Hydroponic garden of lettuce. I followed the guide on Hydroponics Indoors almost exactly. I found the website very helpful, and when I emailed the owner a clarifying question …
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Refutation of 'The Bifurcated Mountain'

Sat 09 November 2019
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

Today, while reading a paper on Mayan Ball Courts, I came across the phrase Yax Hal Witz, or "First True Mountain." I immediately opened a tab to find the mountain. Or to find if it even existed.

If you search the phrase you end up at an article from the …
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Changing Signals of Quality

Sat 05 October 2019
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

Desirability of textiles from quality to humanity
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Why not to use Credit Cards
Fri 30 August 2019
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

When possible I try to pay with cash. Here's why
- Credit card transactions are used to track your spending history to target advertisements. Google has access to 70% of transactions from credit and debit cards for the united states (source. Not so for cash.
- Credit cards introduce a third party …
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A response to "A short critique of Stallmanism"

Sat 14 April 2018
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

As always, I am writing these entries in order to solidify and formulate my opinions. I may end up reversing opinions of what I write. I hope that by writing this out I may have a better understanding then the general mutterings which pass through my brain on occasion. Let …
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Modern Mayan Temples

Sun 04 March 2018
By Harrison Pincket

In scrapbook.

Aboard a bus departing the Cancun airport I notice a small stepped-pyramid adjacent to the on-ramp of the high-way. It stands the height of a single story, too close to the roadway to have been constructed afterwards, but oddly prominent. Is this pyramid a lesser, forgotten Tulum or Chitzen Itza …
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