Legacy articles

Marine Corps Marathon

This is the scene in Washington DC today: The Marine Corps Marathon.

More a moving street party than a foot race, the runners are outnumbered by the cheering squads.

Runners: how was the race for you?

Us spectators are hoarse from shouting out encouragement.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Get your boo on

There’s three nights left to pay for the privilege of tromping through the forest and being scared. I highly recommend it.

I’m talking about local staple Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Maryland, of course. An annual event organized by Calleva Outdoor Adventures, MHF exchanges about $20 of your greenbacks for a dark & spooky wander through the woods. Punctuated by noises, slithering things, grabs, starts, shakes and eerie decorations, it’s a thrill ride. It’s not for everyone – my darling girlfriend responded to my invitation to come along with laughter and assurances that she and the Gilmore Girls would happily sit this one out at home while my judgment-impaired friends and myself waited in the cold for our number to be called.

That’s not a metaphor a la “getting your ticket punched,” it’s the tradeoff for a fun but popular event – the wait-time for your chance to walk down the garden nightmare path can be onerous. Our weeknight outing over a week ago had us arriving at 9:30pm and getting out turn at about 11:20p. There’s hot cider and bonfires, hayrides and projected spooky movies to occupy your time while you wait, but do yourself a favor: wear a warm hat. As we close in on Halloween you can be sure the crowds won’t be small, though they have supposedly opened up a second path. During my visit only one was open.

If the location doesn’t thrill you, Cavella links on the MHF page to Nightmare Forest, which is out in my neck of the woods. I haven’t given it a shot yet so I can’t speak to its quality, but if the Markoff’s people feel comfortable suggesting it I’m betting it’s worth a try.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

WaPo Vs. BoingBoing?

This is a live story, with several updates. Please read it all, it takes many turns, and you won’t know what happened unless you do. There are several updates, which are listed at the bottom of this story and are crucial to understanding the context and content of this story.

By now, I’m sure, there are many people who have heard of Christopher Soghoian. Chris is a PhD student at IU, working on a PhD in Informatics, and recently published a PHP-based system that could fake a Northwest Airlines Boarding Page, in an attempt to show how TSA is more “security theatre” than “good security”. It’s no surprise, then, that BoingBoing picked up the ball and ran with it both before and after Soghoian was visited by the FBI and a Congressman had called (wrongfully and idiotically) for his arrest. What’s interesting here, and what’s applicable to our local jurisdiction, is that Brian Krebs, security blogger for the Washington Post picked up the same story, and it reads in similar tone, with similar information.

securitytheatre.png

While I wouldn’t call it “irresponsible journalism,” in the vein of plagiarism, or anything like that, let’s pause for a moment and take a look at Brian Krebs. Back in August, Brian Krebs put out a piece called Hijacking a MacBook in 60 Seconds or Less which, full of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, was taken apart handily by Blogger Jon Gruber, including a rehash, or two, or three, in which Krebs’ account is challenged by other writers. Should we be at all surprised if he did take the story from another blogger and repurpose it as his own? Probably not. Hey, those new media bloggers for the Post have to make their shiny nickles somehow, why not do it on the backs of other bloggers?

An Update: After looking at Jardin’s story on BoingBoing, and looking at Krebs’ tale on the Post, I’ve got a major objection here, perhaps someone else can figure this out for me?

The timeline appears odd. BB’s story goes up at 5:30pm on Friday, an hour and forty-five minutes after the form was taken down by the FBI. Krebs wrote in the comments of his post at WaPo: “When I phoned Soghoian Friday evening, he abruptly ended our conversation shortly after it began by saying that two FBI agents were banging on his door asking to speak with him. A short time later, the tool he had posted on his site vanished.” If the timeline holds that the site was offline at 3:45p Eastern Daylight time, how was it that Krebs was still at the site three hours later? That doesn’t fit. The FBI visited Soghoian at 3:45 and the site was taken down around then. If Krebs hears about this at 6:50, calls Soghoian at that instant and only just then is the site taken down, we have a major discrepancy between Krebs’ account and Jardin’s account.

I trust the earlier story. [Further updates cast these stories into interesting light. Read on]

Further Updates Behind the Cut

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs Continue reading

Legacy articles

Dress warm, marathon cheerers-on

Runners too, but I’m sure they’re all in bed by now. Capitol Weather had this to say about tomorrow’s weather.

Given abundant sunshine, temperatures will warm to near 60 — but it will feel cooler than that — particulary in the shade.

Marine Corps Marathon runners will experience temperatures rising through the 40s under clear skies but with a stiff westerly wind from 20-25mph.

See you on the sidelines.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Is the DC Area Anti-Home Brew?

I went today to the Annapolis Home Brew Shop to get some supplies. A winter should never be entered into without adequate beer and wine and I am fixing to make both. One question though – are there no home brew places closer than Annapolis? It seems like there should be something closer but I couldn’t find it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

The Driving Dead

Alright all you ghosts and goblins getting your costume geek on: what is tonight’s verdict?

Are you gonna be a mommy gone mummy? A pirate lost at sea? A page looking for Foley? Or just the living dead?

What is your costume? Better yet, where are the Flickr pics?

And what might your Halloween night costume suggestion be? A true fashionista would never be the same ghoul twice!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Buses: Blocking the Box

Yo, Mr. Big-Ass Bus, did you notice the traffic jam? Both the one you are in and the one you are causing.

See that line of cars not going anywhere, no need for you to pull in behind them. You are only gonna be caught in the middle of the intersection when the light turns green.

Yep, just did. And now you are Blocking the Box.

What’s that you ask? Oh it’s the polite way for us to say you’re a traffic asshole, clogging our streets with your stupidity.

Please, respect DC, the source of your income. Don’t be an ass. Don’t Block the Box!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Hot Chocolate Kind of Day


Five Dollar Hot Chocolate

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

I was up at an hour too early to mention in print, on the road for a meeting in Ocean City. I was halfway there before the sun had even begun to make its presence known. On the way home from our OC, the rain began in earnest, soaking the road, slowing traffic and making life generally unpleasant. “It’s the sort of day that requires good cocoa,” I said aloud to no one in particular as I drove back to the District.

Good cocoa I found at my usual office haunt, Murky Coffee. Their new menu features two items that say “No Questions Asked,” their new Five Dollar Hot Chocolate and The Coffeemaker. Today being a hot cocoa sort of day, I plunked down my Abe and ordered one.

Folks, good hot chocolate is an artform. If it’s too thin, it’s not right. If it’s too milky, it’s not right. If it’s got wee little marshmallows, it’s not right (I believe in big marshmallows only, wee marshmallows may not apply.), or if there’s whipped cream. This cocoa, though, is a Manet or a Seurat, gentle with the palate, yet it crafts a full and rich image. The last time I had chocolate remotely this good was a midwinter’s dinner at Ray’s The Steaks when it came as a surprise with the check. I highly approve. Worth the $5 on a day when I’d rather be in bed, or cozy by a fire.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Noisy and pointless (no, not the Senate)

Is there a more goddamned useless invention in common use than the leaf blower? In exchange for droning noise and unpleasant exhaust you get leaves that have been blown around… blown around. Here’s one of the two offenders in my office parking lot today doing their part for monoxide emissions. The end result being all those leaves make their way from the sidewalk to the parking lot. Because they won’t be collecting them in any way, they’re just going to have them rot in a different location.

The only person ever to give me a valid reason for using a leaf blower lived in Manassas where the county did curbside vacuuming of leaves, so getting them all down into the street had some purpose. Most time I see these used they’re just making the leaves Someone Else’s Problem. Which might be at least a reasonable if rude goal except for that one thing that no leaf blower user seems to have ever considered:

Wind.

Seriously you clowns, you think some sort of leaf blower magic keeps them from just blowing right back to where they were? Buy a fracking rake and some garbage bags.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

EZ OUT of Your Pocket

Here is a funny indication of how long I’ve been Car Free DC.

Last week, while shopping at the Pentagon City mall, I saw this: the EZ OUT. Who knew the parking lot fees were automated at the Mall?

Still, the very concept that a mall, dependent on auto traffic as much as Pentagon City is, would actually change its customers to shop there is beyond me.

Wouldn’t you want to make every effort to ease your patrons egress? If only to escape publicity like this WashPost article?

I can see charging for those who don’t shop there, even towing non patrons, but milking your shoppers for $2 bucks a pop for parking? Downright cold-ass extortion.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

I See Mean People

Red = Bad

DC’s finest, the Metropolitan Police Department, recently released a new tool on the dc.gov website that actually allows you to see a spatial representation of the kind of crime that is going on our city. Homicide in Shaw? Sex abuse in Mount Pleasant? Stolen auto in Capitol Hill? Nah, couldn’t be. Crime in DC? It’s unheard of!

I personally can’t see a huge benefit from something like this unless you’re very paranoid and want to constantly check out what kind of crime is going on in your neighborhood. Or maybe you were recently the victim of a crime and you want to see if your tiny red thingama-icon made it on to the map? I guess one advantage is that this tool shows whether a particular type of crime has gone up or down, but let’s face it – we live in DC and we have a lot of crime. You know that your chance of getting mugged while walking around 14th and Harvard is greater than if you are walking around the White House, but you just never know. Fatal stabbing in Georgetown? Yep.

One thing to note is that the site currently works using Internet Explorer but has some minor issues with Firefox and other browsers. We have been told that the developers are frantically working to fix this so that the minority of web users can find the number of arsons in Foggy Bottom too.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Me Like Massive Art

I love big art. No, make that massive art.

These two dancing sculptures are always my high-point a visit to Rosslyn. Besides the passport check as I cross the Potomac, of course.

Tonight they were more festive than usual, sashaying through my buzz after another good night at Cafe Asia.

We need more massive art (not monuments) in DC.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

WMATA Asking For Bus Line Input

Now this is a public announcement by WMATA – a flyer right in a bus stop on the bus route affected by a proposed change!

The flyer, announcing public meetings on the proposal to restructure Metrobus routes 30-36 is where riders that care will see it. Riders like the people milling about reading it last night, and thinking of voicing their opinion on splitting the 30’s bus line into two shorter lines to improve service reliability.

The 30, Wisconsin Avenue line, would run between the Friendship Heights and Federal Triangle Metrorail stations. The 32, 34, 35, 36 (Pennsylvania Avenue line) would run between the Southern Ave Metrorail station and Federal Triangle Metrorail station, and the Naylor Road Metrorail station and Federal Triangle Metrorail station. During peak hours, the 34 would run to Farragut Square to minimize transfers.

Regardless of your opinions on the change, give three cheers to Metrobus for making the effort to get its ridership involved! Let’s cheer the best way too!

Move back please!
Move to the rear of the bus!
Move back!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Post Payola?

The other day, when the Post printed an article by Neal Mueller on the iPod’s inability to play Van Halen at 30,000 feet above sea level, I said, “Man, bummer that my iPod won’t play bad 80s hair rock on the top of the world.” Turns out, I should’ve been saying “Hey, wait a second, this looks like Payola to me…”

Turns out, Neal Mueller, who ever so much loves his Creative MuVo, is in fact sponsored by the company whose device he touts. In addition, it appears the Mac community (shockingly a zealous group) is taking a bit of umbrage, pointing out that it shouldn’t have worked as high as it did, and are upset that the Post would let someone with such clear bias write an editorial.

Can we expect jabs at Apple from employees of Microsoft at the Post, now?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

The Sky is the Limit



About a year ago, a photographer that I know came bursting out of his house with his camera equipment, as if he knew that Scarlett Johansson was going to be at the Hinckley Hilton and he was rushing to get some shots of her. I asked him what his hurry was and he said, “The sky! The sky! When the sky is this good I have to go out and shoot! It’s all about the sky!”

At the time I don’t think I had ever formulated that thought, but it was something I just knew in the back of my mind. When you have a killer sky, no matter what time of day, it can really add some depth and character to your photos and put the viewer in an entirely different mood. Whether it’s the early morning light, an amazing cloud formation during the middle of the day, or a killer sunset at night, they all make for a good background (or subject) for your photos.

Mr. Andertho has given us two great examples here. The photo above would be very average if it weren’t for the wispy clouds and subtle hues. The sky and morning light make this shot heavenly and give you a peaceful feeling. Conversely, the sinister clouds (not to mention the horse from hell) give the photo below a very dark and evil mood, making you feel that the end might be near.



So the next time you look out your window and see something other than a blue or gray sky, grab your camera and run! You may be surprised with your results.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Metroblogging Melbourne: Vegemite ban or cheap shot at the US?

Our colleague Neil at Metroblogging Melbourne has done a bit of footwork and discovered that Vegemite has not been banned in the US at all. The whole uproar started when somebody tried to come over the border from Canada and had his Vegemite confiscated. The FDA confirms that there is no such ban.

So if you were worried about your ability to get Vegemite here in our nation’s capital, fear not. Vegemite can still be imported as before.

Now, why you’d actually CHOOSE to eat something so revolting is still a mystery to me, but I join my Aussie friends in celebrating their right to do so.

Thanks for clearing it up, Neil!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

Drive Through Flu Shots?

Pandemic. It’s one of those words we see tossed around without understanding what exactly it means. According to the dictionary in my handy computer, Pandemic is an adjective, “(of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world.” Such previous pandemics include the flu outbreak of 1918, which killed between 50 and 100 million people across the world.

Next up? H5N1 Bird Flu, should it cross the avian/human line. Yesterday, though, Stafford county tried something intriguing: drive-thru flu shots. The county gave out 400 free flu shots in a 2 hour window, in a drill that could be a sign of things to come. Could DC pull off a drive-thru flu shot clinic? The Parking Lot at RFK comes to mind, or perhaps several of the single lane one-way streets. But the District’s Influenza plan is strictly traditional, featuring a clinic situation. Can DC do better?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

How Much Do You Like Scotch?

Do you like scotch? The old school version of whisky.

Do you like it enough to stand in the cold for it? What about 30 minutes of cold on a Wednesday night?

These fools, or drunkards, like scotch, Johnny Walker Scotch enough to do just that tonight.

Were you one of them? Was the booze worth the wind chill? I think not.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Legacy articles

How’s the new commute Joseph Persichini?



The FBI Taj Mahal

If you read today’s WashPost article “FBI’s Fairfax Agents Packing For Pr. William” you could be forgiven for believe that the reason for the FBI moving its Northern Virginia-based agents from Tysons Corner to rural Prince William County is “visionary”:

“If you look at the data for where is the growth of the economic corridor today, and where is it going to be three to five years from now, it’s Prince William,” said [Joseph] Persichini, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which handles cases from Northern Virginia and the District. “As growth goes, cases increase.”

The 30-year agent turned from crime fighter to demographer in planning the move. He spoke to economists and attended George Mason University seminars, where he analyzed future growth patterns in the region. “This is a business decision, and travel is a cost of doing business,” Persichini said, adding that the Prince William land cost $2.6 million compared with $12 million to $15 million for similar plots in Fairfax.

But if you are a cynic like I, you do a Google Search on Joseph Persichini Virginia, you get an interesting result:


Phonebook results for Joseph Persichini Virginia
Joseph Persichini
(703) 690-7159
9437 Hucks Bridge Cir, Lorton, VA 22079
Map

Might this be the same Joseph Persichini Jr.? If so, check out the difference between a Tyson’s Corner commute and a Manassas commute: 20 miles on 395 or 20 miles on back country roads.

While he’s not Dan Wittenberg, this new coummute sounds like a nice change. A change the FBI rank and file aren’t happy with:

The departure from Fairfax County has brought the same headaches faced by companies that move in search of open space and cheaper land: more time on the road and employee anxiety. FBI agents still do most of their work inside the Beltway, say some law enforcement officials who fear investigations will be slowed because many of the 150 Northern Virginia-based agents will be stuck in endless traffic on Interstate 66.

Hey, they could always commute along WO&D trail.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs