Sure, we all know Tony Williams has always enjoyed his mayoral junkets, but it seems that the City Paper has totalled the mileage for his second term and it seems that Tony’s done enough travel to head to the moon. Which is notable because that’s a good chunk of distance, but it’s also how he’s made that travel. The City Paper breaks it down thusly:

28,790 miles on short trips inside the US.

111,085 miles to global jaunts to distant lands

87,809 miles to European countries

68,086 miles to “glamorous” locations. Like Salt Like City.

It all adds up to 295,770 miles, which is a bit more than the distance to moon. There have been many points in Tony’s term that folks have wanted to send Tony to the Moon, looks like he did it himself!

image excerpted from the City Paper’s Kyle T. Webster with thanks.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

46 players at 7 area schools yesterday were found to have had their grades altered in order to make them eligible for high school sports. I thought this stuff only happened in crazy places like Texas and California, but apparently add Maryland to the list of places where teachers and administrators lie and cheat to get specific athletes on the field. Worse still, the GPA required for school activities is only a 2.0, meaning that the folks that they’re helping to cheat are likely the ones being disruptive in class, holding back the rest of the students and otherwise being meatheads.

More shocking? This quote from the Post:

Academic ineligibility, which affects everything from the drama club to the football team, has been an issue in Montgomery for several years. At some campuses, close to one-third of students don’t have 2.0 grade-point averages.

Wait. Nearly a third of the students at some schools around here are at less than a C average? Christ on a Pogo Stick, people, what are these teachers doing?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I had probably been grumbling under my breath for the entire hour I’d been up, having had to leave the house before the time I’d normally be awake. Thankfully for the sake of everyone else who had to be stuck in training with me that day, I had to wait behind the bus long enough to realize that what I was annoyed about having to do what these kids do every day.

That guy on the left apparently got all the epiphany he needed quicker than I did, since after waiting a few minutes he just drove off regardless of the order to STOP.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Check out the big wheels on H Street today!

DC DOT is dropping new pavement in front of the old convention center site.

They should be done by rush hour but if I had a car I would stay away anyway.

New asphalt just loves to stick on car paint and is a real pain to remove.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

I don’t know if I should be proud or worried with this observation: lubricated condoms are popular at the CVS in Adams Morgan.

I could be proud, knowing the peeps in my hood keep a helmet on their jimmy.

I could be worried that so many folks are getting it on while I get none.

Instead, I’ll just work on a good Halloween costume and hope I’ll get a chance to upgrade my own lubrication.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I end up traveling on the Chain Bridge a couple times per week going to various jobs in DC from my home in Arlington. Every time I move over to that center lane I can’t help but wonder when some other driver going the opposite direction might forget to read the sign and do the same thing. I worry like this for the three to five minutes it takes to get from Glebe Rd. to Arizona Ave.

So can someone tell me how often this bridge, or Canal St., gets backed up from a single accident due to absent-mindedness or apparent middle lane envy? I have been lucky so far but I am sure my time is coming.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Going east, that is.

Bangkok Bistro, located at 3251 Prospect Street Northwest in Georgetown, is simply amazing. My wife and I pressed through the crowd as Georgetown came alive early in the evening, and arrived at the restaurant just as a chill was settling in.

We were celebrating a wedding anniversary and had asked a parking lot attendant where there was good eating in the area. Parking lot attendants are good at this sort of thing. Plus, it’s romantic to ask the guy whose lot you are occupying for a restaurant recommendation. In addition, that $15 parking fee stretches just a bit further when you figure you have a walking Zagat guide at your service.

The Bistro was wonderful. The food was delicious, capturing all the deliciousness of an authentic Thai meal without all the raw sewage and old garlic smell you might get had you gone to Bangkok for dinner instead of Georgetown. I love Thai food and, having been to Thailand a couple times, have developed a sense of what is good and what isn’t, although I am still not able to replicate the really good stuff on my own stovetop.

Bangkok Bistro is the best Thai food I have had outside of Thailand. The service was fast and friendly, the restaurant neat and clean with a fully stocked bar. Friendly, polite staff, great food and warm atmosphere – everything I llike in a restaurant. The only thing they didn’t have that I wanted was some warmer weather, but I suppose they can’t be held accountable for that.

Definitely go check out Bangkok Bistro if you have a chance.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While Mik was observing phlegmy police, I was behind this jerkbag. Hey JAH – just because you hold your arm at full length straight down the side of the door when dropping that cig on the street doesn’t mean nobody’s gonna see. I did. I’m assuming you wouldn’t throw a plastic bag out the window – though perhaps I give you too much credit – so don’t throw your plastic cigarette butts out either, okay?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While the The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, UCLA School of Law reports that Virginia is 4% gay (NoVA is 7%, DC, 8%), a new poll by the Washington Post reports that 53% of Virginia voters say they would back a same-sex marriage ban. A same sex marriage & civil union ban that would constitutionally deny legal rights to gay couples in any type of contract.

(As an aside, the Federal Defense of Marriage Act is now bringing that pain home to the House – former Mass. Rep. Gerry Studds’s widower male spouse Dean Hara, cannot collect on Studds’ pension.)

Same sex marriage ban or not, Virginia continues to repress in ways many and small. Last week Manassas joined the anti-gay by denying an application for a home-based massage therapy business.

While that in of itself wouldn’t be much, according to the WashPost, the Manassas City Council has received two applications for home-based massage therapy businesses in the past three years, approving both, until Howard Daniel, who is gay, applied.

After nearly two dozen people protested, none who live on his street or even in his neighborhood, but are affiliated with Manassas’s All Saints Catholic Church, the council members balked and voted instead to consider changing the city’s zoning laws.

No word if Mr. Daniel balked at living with such small-mindedness, and got smart, moving north of the Potomac.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Paying taxes is high on my list of onerous things to do. It right after taking a cab in DC. However, I’ve paid mine up, so this one’s not for me. If you’ve decided that it’s too onerous for you, and you’re behind on what you owe the District, today is one of the days the city is reaching out to those who owe them money with hopes it will reconcile the issue and get the revenue in one way or another. So if you owe Uncle Marion and his cabal, now would be the time to step forward and get it taken care of. The office on North Capitol St. is open til 8pm tonight.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Parking Garage

Originally uploaded by spike55151.

With the official mayoral election still a few weeks out, Mayor To Be Adrian Fenty may have his very first political victory in progress right now. With the initial plan for the new Stadium in southeast unable to afford above ground parking garages, and Lame Duck Williams unable to pass a $75 million dollar plan to build the garages under separate mandate. Fenty’s new plan uses revenue from the stadium to pay $56 million for the construction of two above ground garages that would feature a team store upon opening and be able to accomdate additional retail on the top of the garages later. The Lerner Group and the city’s current CFO are supporters of Fenty’s new plan, as well, removing most of the clear private obstacles, and leaving only the council to approve the measure.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In the middle of the sad Washington Post story about a landscaper slain in SE, is this tantalizing paragraph:

Police received the first report of the shooting from new technology that recognizes the sound of gunfire. A device known as the “ShotSpotter” recently was installed in the area and helped police pinpoint the location of the shooting.

What might “Shot Spotter” be? And where is this new citizen surveillance tool deployed in Washington, DC?

From the ShotSpotter website:

The ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System uses the principle of acoustic triangulation to locate gunfire across wide areas. [..]ShotSpotter sensors detect gunfire at a range of one to two miles away from our sensors, and our systems have been shown to be accurate to within 25 meters over one to two mile ranges.

From the MPD Homicide Reduction Strategy:

ShotSpotter: The FBI has begun a pilot program to install Shot Spotter sensors in the highest crime areas of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh MPD Districts. These sensors detect gunshots fired, triangulating the location of the shots and immediately alert the FBI and the MPD that shots have been fired at a specific location

So kids, we now have yet another way for Big Brother to keep tabs on us. First it was protester CCTV, then surveillance camera gentrification, and now its audio surveillance for police action!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Dear Washington Post:

Look, we all know that Northern Virginia feels sort of like a different world from the the rest of Virginia (or RoVA, as you so quaintly put it). And we all know that there are serious issues dividing Northern Virginia from our neighbors to the south. And yes, we do sometimes snicker to ourselves, in our snobby East Coast hipster ways, about accents and NASCAR and things like that.

But is it necessary, really necessary, for your staff writers to get together and insult our fellow Virginians publically? How does that help the situation?

In NoVa, a lab is the family dog. In RoVa, a lab is the family meth business.

Yes, Northern Virginians are frustrated, but it’s really not helping the debate to openly mock our fellow voters. You can’t win votes from people you make fun of. Really, people. We’re not 12 anymore.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there’s a wealth of opportunity waiting for you and your camera at the National Zoo should you be up for the challenge. Granted, going to the zoo can be a little depressing when you start to think about how Mr. & Mrs. Lion would rather be gutting their prey in the Serengeti, but hey, at least they know what time dinner is coming to them every day. I feel really bad for the primates since they’re supposedly intelligent and most likely have a better grasp on just how much their lives suck.

But I digress. This shot of an American Eagle by Flickrite Tiger Empress is (like the bird) a thing of beauty. This is about as sharp as you can get, thanks to her trusty 400mm lens and Nikon D70. You feel like you could reach out and slice your finger open on that beak. My only criticism is that the background is a little distracting, and I would prefer a little more contrast and color saturation, but overall I think this shot is amazing.

If you have a point and shoot camera, you probably won’t be getting up close and personal with the animals, and by all means, leave your camera phones at home. But unless you have a worldwide animal photography trip planned, a trip to the zoo is as good as it gets.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Guess who this is…

Yes, the day of ghouls and goblins is fast approaching, and I’m looking for costume ideas now – the first party is this Saturday!

What would crazy Wayan wear? I’m always in for a thinking man’s costume, one that takes a moment to figure out. Say a black shirt covered with Easter peeps = a chick magnet. Or a lumberjack outfit with a milk carton sporting a “Where’s my blue ox?” ad = Paul Bunyan.

Yet, I don’t like costumes that require hours of prep or makeup. Mummies and zombies are way too annoying three hours or six drinks into the night. Also, supermodels like costumes that make a man look good – or at least fun.

So, whaddya say DC – what should Wayan be? If I pick your idea to wear, a Metroblogging DC t-shirt will go your way.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

RCN offers fat pipe

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

That’s a lot of data transfer, folks. Right now, most DSL lines in the DC area top out at 1.5mbps. Cable modem for the most part, from Comcast and others is around 10mbps. Fios is around around 15 Mbps. RCN, though, who we’ve talked about several times before here, seems to be topping out the bandwidth scale with their new 20Mbps service.

How fast is that?

It’s an iTunes Movie Store purchase in roughly 20 minutes.

That’s pretty flippin’ fast.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Google

Rumor is that the Gallaudet protest brigade has gotten necessary permission to march to the Capitol on Friday, so be prepared for some traffic snafus along the New York Avenue route, assuming that’s their path. It could be a big-ish bunch considering that about 60% of the Gallaudet faculty expressed no confidence in Fernandes and said she should step down or be removed. Mind you, I’m not terribly impressed by this incredibly courageous move of stepping up to make a statement after other people have done so for you for several weeks, but still – that’s a big semi-official public endorsement of support for the protesters.

Anyone with information on the route, if it’s been decided, please share.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Inn @ Dupont Circle

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

Wait, a bed and breakfast right in the middle of downtown? Sure enough, there is, right in the heart of Dupont, and with nightly rates better than most of hotels, perhaps your next guests might prefer to stay in a sweet little B&B instead of a giant hotel, give these guys a ring. They’re right on 19th St, just south of the circle. Check ’em out.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you are reading this, you know what a blog is. If you are a blogger yourself, then you know who Anil Dash is (or you should). And Thursday will be your chance to meet Anil and get some serious Six Apart blog boost.

Anil will be in town for a half-day blogging seminar to discuss the benefits, challenges, and best practices of business blogging.

Better yet, I’ll also be there, so expect a dozen or so cell phone photos of me mugging with Blogebrity as I pretend to be one.

Best of all, you can join me if you pony up the $150 and get the afternoon off from work.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

With the impending Gay Marriage Ban well thought of in the rest of Virginia, and many other issues significantly disparate between the Tidewater and Northern Virginia, perhaps it’s time that Arlington, Fairfax and Alexandria severed ties with the rest of the state that uses it only for tax revenue. Perhaps it’s time that these three districts join with the District at large to form a 51st state. With 5 million people in the greater DC area, this new state would be larger than Wyoming, Alabama, North Dakota and other states in population, and, due to DC and Northern Virginia’s unique position in the economy as the seat of government, the site of a significant number of beltway bandit contractors, and several large international commerce hubs, the state could have an economy to rival the largest state economies.

So, with this final straw potentially upsetting the creative class in Northern Virginia, and encouraging them to be elsewhere, perhaps it’s time to fight back a bit?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs