I can’t enjoy it today, but apparently there is free wifi in Dupont Circle now.

District-based TechAssist says they are providing free wireless Internet access inside park and the coverage may work on surrounding blocks. The $10,000 project is sponsored by Allied Telecom Group, Jurys Doyle Hotels and the Koltun and King law firm, and oddly, TechAssist does not have plans to make up that cost by using advertising on its Web site.

If you’re in Dupont Circle, do a wifi scan and tell me whatcha find. I’d love to hear how fast and open the connection is, and if my dreams of posting to dc.metblogs from the Dupont Circle of Life can really come true.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Back in the day, when I thought I could make a difference, I Ran Against Bush. Now that he’s up for another four long years, I’m a bit jaded. I can’t really bring myself to Drinking Liberally vs. just drink till I’m snoozing on the 42.

Still, you might have some fight left in ya. In that case, don’t despair, Run Against Bush is now Running for Change and they’re having a Summer Kick-off to fight Bush’s Supreme Court nominee.

So before you hit DC’s Best 80’s Party, come to the Blue Room this Saturday from 7-10pm to Reconnect with old friends or make some new ones, and drown your sorrows with some stiff drinks as we mourn what the Republicans are doing to the country.

Adam Shah from Alliance for Justice will tell you how evil John Roberts really is and they’ll have some great FREE prizes a silent auction, including gift certificates worth up to $100 from area vendors.

Me, I’ll be doing my own version of the running man, still in my blue Run Against Bush shirt.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you, I picked you out, I shook you up, and turned you around, turned you into someone new. Now five years later on you’ve got the world at your feet, success has been so easy for you…. – Human League

Remember that one? Don’t you want me baby? It’s gonna be stuck in your head all day now and there is only one way to get it out – Washington’s Best 80’s Dance Party where you can turn up your collar with pride.

Join me Saturday, July 23rd and bring your friends, its free! The party starts at 9pm. The lights will be low and the music will be high. See you there….
– No Cover All Night (9pm-3am)
– The most fun you can have on a Saturday in DC
– Killer Air-Conditioning (Great for dancing – look cool, stay cool)
– Amazing sound system & lighting
– Tons of free glow bracelets & other 80’s stuff.

Zucchabar – Saturday, July 23rd
1841 Columbia Rd
Adams Morgan
Washington, DC 20009

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Let me start by saying I don’t like fast food. McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, even Arby’s in my mind are all equal villains in America’s obesity epidemic. In addition, they indirectly led to the total absence of any kind of spice, flavor, or originality in American restaurants. Chili’s to Cheesecake Factory, any chain restaurant and a number of stand alone stops can trace their bland uniformity on the trend started by Mr. Kroc.

That being said, there is one trend he started that I revere him for. Thanks to his continuous drive for a standardize and sterile restaurant experience, there are clean and well stocked public-accessible bathrooms across the country, and even overseas. Yes, I know, there are exceptions, and to those who’ve not traveled, all kinds of dangers that await, but for me, who is thankful for porcelain, a McDonald’s bathroom is heaven.

Not in the fall to my knees kinda way, but in the thank god I don’t have to pee behind a tree way. Or as last night proved, as I was stumbling out of a reception at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, bladder full of free booze, thank god I don’t have to pee behind the cop car kinda way! Yes, New York Avenue Micky D’s, where I got the call a while back that Dad was terminal with lung cancer, I forgive you now.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I knew this day would come. The day my neighborhood transformed from funky and independent to corporate GapKids-dom.

We had hints of it when the Starbucks opened at 13th & U.
(I’ve yet to enter it; give me Sparky’s anyday for my caffeinated counterculture fix.)
Then there was Storehouse on 14th – whoa.
Now the Faux Lofts going up on 11th (who wants a wide window next to a funeral parlour?).

I’ve been late quite a bit this week, so it’s given me the opportunity to witness these morning stroller strolls. Young women with single strollers, double strollers, and some scarily with four kids in one (being happily child-bereft I have no idea what you call these – trolleys?). The last are obviously nannies, which is another indication of where the neighborhood is going…

The day my hood becomes like Glover Park, where strollers are
literally parked on the sidewalks in front of homes, is the day I
dread.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

With random searches beginning to happen on the New York Subway, DC Metro officials are thinking about bag searches for our own metro. You want to drive ridership down? Go right for it, Metro. No one wants to subject themselves to full on purse search just to ride the fucking public transit system for a dollar. You want to increase gridlock, pay off more psycho taxi drivers, and generally make DC a more frustrating place to live, you go right for it.

This is the kind of crap that drives people to the suburbs, Metro, and they’re going to stay off your rail lines if it means carrying less or having to let the surly Metro employees, you remember, the ones who arrested a 12 year old girl, and the ones who accosted a pregnant woman, and especially the station manager who was up on assault charges, do personal searches.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Jason Storch of DC Foodies is also an API ace, hacking together a Google Map of his restaurant reviews, using the new Google Maps API. You can zoom in, move around, click the hotspots and get the review data. It’s quite slick, and Jason’s an excellent reviewer of restaurants in the DC area, so check it out before you make your reservations for restaurant week.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I took my car in for service this morning to my dealership in Springfield, and found myself staring on the hideous end of a $1600 repair bill on my $6000 car, so I figured, well maybe it’s time to look at a trade in? I’ve been jonesing for a Honda Element or a VW Passat, so I emailed my contact at Stohlman VW in Tyson’s, and fired up Google to take a look for Brown Honda in Arlington online.

Folks, it is really really bad PR when the number two link for Brown Honda on Google is a website listing the consumer complaints about the dealership. Really bad.

That said, is there anyone who can recommend me to a good Honda dealer in the area?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

When I first signed up for DC Text Alert, I figured, hey, awesome, this is a great way to tell me when there are major closings I need to know about, or problems in the city I should try to avoid, but today reached a new low. With additional terrorist actions in London today, and Metro monitoring the situation, DC EMA decided to send out a text message reading:

Due to the events that have occurred in London, the national threat level has not changed. An orange alert still exists for transit authorities only. Law enforcement officials will continue to monitor the situation in London.

Essentially, “Nothing is wrong, don’t worry.”

Thank you DC EMA for making me spend $0.10 to know that nothing is any different. Why don’t you send me a message later today that says “Still nothing wrong.” and charge me again? How about one tomorrow morning that says “Nope, still safe!”

C’mon DC EMA, your service is great, but it’s diluted by this sort of utter crap.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

“Man, I wish it was Friday,” the sad lady next to me in the elevator sighed.

No kidding.
When you’re the last Metroblogger to leave the party (besides DJ lil’e!), it should clue you in to the fact that you will be hurting the next day…

This morning I officially dub myself a lightweight. As in drinker. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone out on a “school night,” and last night’s chill soiree at Felix really shouldn’t be responsible for the hangover I’m experiencing now, rocking slowly back and forth in my cubicle, trying to block out the incessant high-pitched whining in my head. After all, a few cocktails used to be, oh, appetizers on the multi-course dinner of alcoholic delights.

So in order to convince myself that it isn’t so bad, and that it used to be much worse, I thought I’d share my favorite DC Hangover story…

I was temping in the hallowed halls of a Classic Washington Think-Tank, where even the lowliest researcher sports at least two higher degrees. There I was, in the prime of my drinking-for-sport days, coming in completely and utterly smashed still from the previous night’s antics.

A clueless co-worker asks me to sit in on a meeting, and I think “sure, I’m cool. no problem. I can fake this.”

Ten minutes into the meeting it begins. Head spinning, stomach heaving, that horrible feeling of doom as the throat constricts and the saliva starts in.

I excuse myself and race to the restroom, making it just in time to vomit all over the lovely marble.

“Ah, much better,” I think with the smugness of youth, and head back into the meeting. Five minutes later, my face slowly turns pale green, and it all begins again…

All in all I had to leave the meeting a total of three times.
Needless to say, I did not end up working for them.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Oh its late and I am downtown. Way past my bedtime on a weeknight, and I am drunk. This is not new, nor unusual, no this is normal for me. I do this often and so I have a plan for home delivery.

Rather than taking a $8 cab ride, using $8 that I could spend on tomorrow night’s drinks, I take the 42 bus. I love the 42. Not only does it wander through all the good spots in town, the last stop is right next to may apartment building. Steps away from the bus stop, which I always love on nights like tonight.

Before I get there though, I’m gonna take a nap. Yep, sleep on the bus. The gentle rocking, the slight sway when folks leave, its a perfect motion, that combines with the engine noise lullaby, has me snoozing by the second stop. Snoozing till the driver walks the bus at my stop, waking me so I can stumble home.

Yeah, I love snoozing on the 42.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

On Monday night, the fella in front of me said, “Hey, if you can’t snap a losing streak against the Rockies, who can you count on to help you out?” as if beating the hapless Rockies would be easy as pie. I mean, sure, we sent Armas to the mound on Monday, and he’s as hardy a small kitten, so I didn’t expect us to win that game, but with Livan and Patterson coming back-to-back, I figured we’d take the series and break that slump. It appears, however, that Livan is threatening surgery in the near future, which would likely derail our best pitcher for two to three months, possibly the rest of the season.

Of course, it’s not all bad news for the Nats, they’ve sent Wil Cordero packing, hopefully to a land far far away, like Cleveland. In his place arrives Kenny Kelly, late of the Reds, and of course, with roster moves come speculation of what other moves Jim Bowden might be making.

The Astros come to town today, 13 games back of the Cardinals in the NL Central, but still above .500 and 7-3 in their last 10 games. Here’s hoping we don’t get swept.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Hungover though we are today, we’d really like to welcome Phoenix and Birmingham (England) to our Global Family of sites. They bring us up to a grand total of 32 cities currently served by the Metblogs network. If you’re interested in writing for DC, drop me a line at tom splat metroblogging.com, or if you’re interested in writing for one of our sister cities, fill out this application.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Thanks to everyone who came out to Felix tonight to celebrate our first birthday. It’s been a great first year for DC Metblogs, and we’re hoping for many many more to come.

Special thanks to Cake Love for their awesome cakes, The Screaming Squeegee for their awesome work on the t-shirts, Joe the amazing bartender in the Zipper Lounge at Felix, and the always incredible dj lil’ e for spinning for us tonight.

This has been a great year for us, thanks everyone for reading!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This just in from the Associated Press:

Pilots flew into restricted airspace 3,400 times across the country in the three years following the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a congressional report that says the government needs to better coordinate its response to such violations.

3,400 times, eh? That’s around one hundred violations a month, or at least three a day. Wow! I would hate to be a pilot these days. If you even come close to DC you can get your very own F-16 escort to Frederick, MD and cause an evacuation of the Capitol.

Lucky for me, I’m not a pilot, no I’m a writer here on Dc.Metroblog.com and tonight we’re celebrating one year of Unrestricted Airspace! So stop reading & start drinking!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Smudge of Ashen Fluff has posted mp3s of the Q And Not U Ft. Reno show.

(Quit your bitching, the band is about to break up and I doubt they’re likely to deprive fans of concert bootlegs.)

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Dear Mr. Metropolitan Police Parking Enforcement Officer:

Yes, it’s very gratifying that you’re enforcing the 4:00-6:30 No Parking period at 4:01 PM as I’m outside my office, taking three minutes to unload stuff from my car into the waiting arms of my coworkers. Really, we’re all very pleased that you’re so dedicated to your job.

But I only have one question.

Where the FUCK are you at 5:30 and 6:00, when there is ACTUAL TRAFFIC being SEVERELY BLOCKED?! You know, when the FedEx truck is parked on L Street unloading a hell of a lot more stuff than it takes to full up the back seat of my Beetle.

But I also suppose I should thank you for taking your time on the truck in front of me that had been left at the curb, leaving me just enough time to DRIVE AWAY before you got to me.

Love,
Tiff

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

California Tortilla, the little burrito joint that could, is having Freeze Pop Day at its restaurants tomorrow (it’s our birthday, too! We didn’t even know they were fans!) :

It’s that time of year again: Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 20th is Freeze Pop Day at your local California Tortilla! (I love Freeze Pop Day.) Our spunky employees will be anxiously standing by to give you your favorite Freeze Pop color. (The jury’s still out on whether they’re actual flavors).

So, take a break from your workaday life and get a freeze pop. They’re located all over the greater DC area.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I had a lunch meeting with a friend over in Farragut North today, so I figured a quick stop up the red line and away I’d go. I walked into the station, expecting to wait a couple minutes, but sure enough, a train was pulling into the station, just my luck! Were it only so good going home. I descended the escalator back into the station, post-meeting and bam, there are the blinking lights. Score. Train impending!

Or not.

5 minutes pass, blink, blink blink.

10 minutes pass, blink, blink.

Wait, are those people in the tunnel?

Sure enough, 3 metro employees are checking the tracks, walking up the tunnel. blink, blink, blink.

At this point, the platform is restless, the black man in the suit and tie, the clay aiken wannabe in the bad pinstriped suit, the pregnant woman on her cellphone, the glamour model leaning against the payphone, we’re all bored stiff, pissed off, and angry that we’re wasting a good 20 minutes of our lunch hour to deal with Metro’s complete and utter incompetence.

blink blink.

blink.

fucking lights blink.

The PA crackles to life, and warns us of a delay on the Red Line at Farragut North.

Great. blink. blink. We know this. blink.

Finally the train comes, packed full of frustrated workers, disheveled and angry tourons, and the clueless folks that have nothing better to do than ride the Metro at 1:45pm. Back to work.

blink.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So I’ve often thought that Metrobuses are microcosms of DC society, more so than the tourist-riddled Metro.

Each bus line has its own personality.

Some are completely cut-throat:
“I’m not getting up for you, pregnant lady!”

Some are pulse points of DC professional stress:
“Did you just touch my jacket?!!?”

Some are quiet, courteous, and deadly.

Take my line, the venerable 66. As a regular rider now for the past five years, I’ve discovered it has two important rules, and both were on display this morning.

1) Always greet the bus driver.
If you greet the driver consistently, with a sad and sleepy “Good Morning,” you can eventually break through his gruff exterior. He may actually recognize you, and one morning slow down (!) or even stop (!) and wait while you stumble blearily across the street to catch the bus. I reached this exalted state today, and even got a “Late this morning, honey?”

Of course I paid dearly for ignoring important rule number two…

2) Be Nice to the Church Ladies.
This prevents them from talking about you loudly as if you weren’t there. “Who does she think she is, making us wait for her?” Note that if you’re in plugged-in iPod bliss, they will talk about you even louder, and if the driver is nice to you, count on instant elevation to “Jezebel!” status.

Tomorrow will be an interesting ride…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs