There is no place to hide. After a few days, this driver still has quite a bit of windscreen real estate covered up with ice. Lazy, stupid or just plain scared of ice? The world may never know. To top it off, she was really short, at least from what I could tell, and was talking on a cell phone.

You’d think… Well, it doesn’t really matter what you’d think because apparently lots of people don’t.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I see that the middle set of tracks at the Airport stop are pretty well filled in with ice. It made me wonder – does this set of tracks get used when it’s not a dumping ground during times of inclement weather? I haven’t been riding the rails here long enough to know this and certainly don’t get as much use out of the airport as some other folks do. I am curious whether the rust on the tracks is from a long period of not being used or if it’s from the melting ice sitting there.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s that time of year again – the season of crappy parking. Go ahead and blame it on the weather but I suspect people who park like this do it all year long. Come on, people! At least have the decency to pull out of traffic completely before getting out of the car.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The DC HIV/AIDS Commission has you covered like a jimmy hat. Or, rather, WITH a jimmy hat. The DC Government is going to give out a million DC-branded condoms this year, starting with 250,000 on the streets today in places like a Ward 7 laundromat. You can peruse the list of outlets for the free condoms. My favorite? Rock Creek Academy is getting 200. Most other places are getting about 1,500 to 2,000, but RCA is getting just 200. They only have a little sex there, I guess. If you want to apply for free condoms for your organization (and Wayan, I’m staring squarely at you, you ought to set up shop just to apply.), you can fill out this form and give it a go!

So, is anyone willing to, ahem, give us a field test report of the new DC Condoms? How do they stack up against Trojan or Durex?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Beer. Barleywine. Ale. Stout. Dopplebock. Kölsch. If you only recognize two or three of these, that’s fine, but for those of us who can wax rhapsodic on the glories of each, we hang out at RFD or the Brickskellar for some of the very best that fermented barley & hops have to offer. Last night, and the night before, us beer geeks gathered for the Regional Strong Ale tasting. Judging by my partial hangover this morning, they were strong indeed.

But the best part of the tastings isn’t the beer, it’s the brewers and Bob Tupper. At the front of the room, at a dias with microphone, Bob brings the brewers up with samples of their beer, and they get to talk about it. It’s amazing what you hear when folks talk about their beer. Last night, Jeremy Cowan from Shmaltz Brewing got up and told some incredible stories about his Lenny’s Bittersweet R.I.P.A. that had us all in hysterics, especially at the time that his own grandmother one-upped his coolness factor by mentioning that she and his grandfather saw Lenny Bruce at the burlesques in San Francisco.

Watching people talk passionately about what they do is some of the coolest stuff you’ll ever see, whether they’re artists, or musicians, federal officials, or brewmasters. That kind of personal investment in one’s work is a true rarity, with many people living their work-life like they belonged as an extra on the Office. It’s inspiring.

If you think of it as paying for the story, you get to pretend that the beer is free, too.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Washington’s very own glacier seems to be receding after having hit a high point right before this last storm. The glacier I refer to is in the eastbound lane of the E Street Expressway right under the 23rd Street NW bridge. Every day I drive my wife to work, I have to swerve to miss it, so my apologies to those of you I have inconvenienced by exercising the driving skills that were so common in Worcester, MA, where I lived for four years.

The giant mound of ice was mostly destroyed by plows coming through, and not by global warming, which was my initial thought. The giant stalactite above remains attached to the bridge and is scheduled to return dripping icy water on the highway as soon as temperatures raise just a few more degrees. Yes, the glacier will rise again.

I had hoped to get a photo of the monstrosity but have been unable to, since that would likely mean getting run over. Anybody else game for this endeavor, now that I sold it so well?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In retrospect I think that maybe they’re just big Moody Blues fans, but at the time I thought “Why would someone want to get a plate that advertises them to be white Satan?”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Map of Our Dreams

Reading the WashPost article “A New Map for Your Cab, But It’s Still a Fare Game” by David Nakamura, you might get excited that there is a new taxi fare zone map that:

features additional streets, including North and South Capitol streets and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, and landmarks, such as Union Station, the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial, to help passengers determine where they want to go and how much it would cost.

“If you’re riding in a taxi cab in the District, it is your right as a rider to have access to clear and concise map, zone and fare information,” Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said in a statement.

The controversial zone system, however, remains unchanged, as the city still has not gone to metered fares. The boundaries of the zones also remain the same.

And so does the official taxi zone map. The DC Taxi Commission, known for its amazing flexibility and inventiveness, has to approve the new map first.

I think hell will look like our streets today before that happens, but we can always hope, pray, and wait for sanity to prevail, the sanity of meters that will never come. So while we suffer psycho taxi drivers, at least we have the reliable and interactive taxi fare calculator

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I love this tree. It stands southwest of the Washington Monument, just inside the haha wall and beside the path that ascends to the plaza and obelisk. (Before the renovation of the grounds, a path went straight down from the plaza, winding around the tree as it descended to the foot of the hill.) It’s a favorite play area for kids visiting the Monument, tourist and local alike, and wedding photographers like it for local post-nuptial shoots. Yet I know so little about the Monument Tree: what kind of tree is it? How long has it been there? Does it have a name? If it doesn’t, can we name it? What shall we name it? Can we name it George? Huh? Huh?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

I am an avid cyclist. I bike all summer, through rain and sweat. I ride in rush hour traffic for fun.

But you could not beat me with a stick to get me on a bicycle tonight.

Bitter cold, black ice, and early darkness combine to create a suicidial situation unfit for two-wheeled human-powered locomotion.

Yet what do I see in the mornings or just now at Union Station? Fools on bicycles headed into certain peril.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

I saw this flier nailed to a tree in November: Our Brother, Donald Lee, is Missing.

I ‘d forgotten about this photograph until just now, and looking at it, I wonder what happened.

But the Arlington Police wouldn’t give me any information and a Google search doesn’t show a response.

Might you know what happened? Or have you seen Donald, or his family?

Did he get in an accident, or meet the wrong person? Might he just want to flee and left with little trace? Or was his sick, and wandered away confused?

The poster says little, I know less. Do you know more?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I know, I know. Everyone is complaining about the snow/ice storm and the lack of snow removal. Well let me join in.

I come from a snowy land far, far away known as “Denver” (deh-n-ver). Not only does it snow much more than it does here in little ol’ DC, but when you wake up in the morning after a good snow storm, your street has been plowed! Neato. What a concept.

As a citizen of a city that has one of the highest tax rates in the nation (and takes up such a small geographical footprint), I have to stop and wonder at times like this, “Where are my tax dollars going?” They certainly don’t seem to be going towards fighting crime. Our police are a joke! Remember the murder that took place on Swann Street not long ago? No suspects. Nobody is in jail. Nada! And my tax dollars certainly aren’t being put towards maintaining our roads. Have you driven down streets like S or Florida lately, or in the past few years? It’s like driving on the moon! No wonder people are buying those giant SUV’s. You need one to prevent your brain from rattling as you drive through the city. Come on DC. Repave a road or two. I’d be happy to grab a shovel and help out.

Now as far as this snow storm goes, I realize that it wasn’t just a friendly dumping of powder. Yes, there was freezing rain included in the “wintry mix” which made things a little more complicated. But here’s how I would go about it:

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

I guess the answer is “not.” Last night I was ecstatic as I approached my home and noticed the snow plow on the next block. I could almost taste the sweetness of safe driving. However, my street was not cleared at all by this morning when I took my wife to work. All the other ones in the neighborhood are.

This is not simply because the Arlington County utility vehicles have been too tied up to get to my humble block. In fact, twice I have seen a big county truck, plow up, zoom down the street and spread sand. Granted, sand is better than nothing, but wouldn’t it be wise to use the plow first and then spread sand? I mean, if the truck is there anyway, two extra sweeps down the street would not take that much more time or effort.

So here is my official, public inquiry to Arlington County: WTF?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

How hard is the ice that covers yesterday’s snowfall in Washington DC? I know its too thick to easily make snowballs, but might the ice be strong enough to walk on?

This morning I tested the snow + ice that covers the front lawn of my apartment building on 16th Street – an ice sheet that covers snow at least four inches deep. So how hard might that ice layer be? Play the video to find out:

Yep, now that’s tough ice. Now don’t you wish it was egg-cooking hot instead?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

When I drive to work from my darling girlfriend’s house in Arlington to my office in Reston I spend a lot more time in the car than when I am coming from home in Sterling, but she’s worth it. Even if it means spending time on the highway behind people WHO ARE TOO GODDAMNED SPECIAL TO BRUSH THE F*%&ING SNOW OFF THEIR CARS, RESULTING IN HUGE PIECES PERIODICALLY BREAKING OFF AND FLYING THROUGH THE AIR AT FIFTY MILES PER HOUR TOWARDS MY WINDSHIELD, ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF PEOPLE BEHIND THEM.

*ahem*

Above is pictured two of said jerks, the one on the right apparently feeling that s/he doesn’t really need to see who might be over there in the right when changing lanes. Which I guess is not such a shock – if you don’t care if you blind them with the detritus from your roof, why would you care if you cut them off?

Any of you clowns reading this: if it’s too much of an imposition to brush off your vehicle before sharing the roadways with the rest of us, maybe it’s too much of an imposition on you to go anywhere and you should just stay the hell home.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

WAMU is reporting two people were struck and killed by a Metrobus at the corner of 7th St. NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. WJLA is confirming the story, though saying that only one of the two pedestrians was fatally injured. WMATA.com is short on details, as usual, and local news stations are also fairly devoid of information.

Yet another major tragedy involving the Metro system…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you told me that the world would end in either fire or ice, as Robert Frost has also pondered, I would not be surprised. Nor if you told me that the world would end with Apes becoming our masters or God showing up and telling us that the stuff we thought we knew was all wrong and that we would have to repeat it until we got it right.

What does surprise me, time and again, is that dopes like this drive around with snow on their windshield. The car appeared in the parking lot while I was having lunch out on the great tundra of Clarendon at the Silver Diner. Why wouldn’t someone take the extra five seconds to wipe off the snow instead of being a dangerous jerk to the rest of us?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Good riddance Mantis and welcome Napoleon to the corner of Columbia and Mintwood in Adams Morgan.

Occupying what was Miss Siagon back in the day, where I had a hot tryst still remembered fondly, Napoleon Birtro looks like it will host hook ups of its own.

Just check out the bar back photo!

Downstairs is a whole other sexy lounge that looks to be a love den for supermodels and those that hunt them.

Still, Napoleon is not cheap and the crowd is money so be ready to drop coin for your horny honey.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

“a dream of the theatre”
courtesy of rachel sian

I hadn’t gotten to writing on the issue since my friend told me on Monday night that Fat Pig had been completely snubbed, but I’m glad to see the Post has opined on this year’s Helen Hayes nominations and their omitting Fat Pig at all levels. Personally I’ve always found what the HH choses to laud and what it ignores a little odd, but this year’s inclusions and exclusions are flat-out whack.

Obviously I think the complete snub of Fat Pig is insane, but other bits of whackyness stand out too. There’s a single non-resident Supporting Performer nomination for someone in a show other than Spamalot. Really? One show? You managed to come up with five non-Resident Productions to nominate, yet none of those other three yielded supporting players that stand out?

My understanding is that the nomination process got revamped around 2003. Maybe they need to take another look at it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs