Photo by DC Metroblogger

For years, I’ve gone to Companions, a pet store on U Street NW. Today I went there to get aquatic plants for my fish.

I am no longer a guppy dad, but I still need to replenish my tank with greenery. And today I went home empty handed.

Companions is now closed. Gone. A storefront completely empty. I didn’t even see a “going out of business sale”, though I am not surprised.

Their service was slow, selection poor, and their fish died often. Still, they were local and I tried to support them. Now, there is no need.

There is still a need for pet supplies in DC. My fish have a naked tank. Any suggestions for Metro-accessible alternatives?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Doesn’t this scare you? The idea of spraying a man-made chemical on your body that is so strong it changes the color of your skin.

I do not know who would patronize this tanning salon in Arlington, I know I would not.

While I love me a deep tan, I prefer obtaining one the natural way: poolside, drink in hand.

Yes, I know, skin cancer, but that is why they invented lasers. Who knows what you will need if you fake and spray your way through DC life.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

On Sunday, March 10th from 11-2 Arlington County will sponsor “Fit Arlington,” a joint effort by Arlington County Board Member Walter Tejada and School Board Member Ed Fendley to develop a culture of health and fitness in the county. The location will be Gunston Park, which is at 1401 28th St. South.

From their site:

Get Fit! Have Fun! All Ages and Abilities!

* Soccer clinics
* Tennis fun and games
* Moon bounce and kids carnival
* Interactive activities to enhance your knowledge and skills!

I don’t know – sounds like a whole lot of work. Maybe I will just head back over to O’Sullivan’s and do some pint-beer curling. That gut isn’t going to develop itself, after all.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s official, the Horticulturalist’s Office puts the peak bloom of the cherry trees the first week of April, giving us about two weeks or so of peace and quiet before the lovely folks from all over the country descend on DC like a pack of ravening wolves. Begin to steel yourselves for the lines of tourbuses along Constitution & Independence Avenues, as well as up and down 15th & 17th streets near the Mall. Beware the Smithsonian Metro stop, as the folks there over the next few months are likely not from around here, and will not understand the stand/walk rules that are observed throughout the rest of town.

But yes, it means a time of beautiful photos and even more lovely weather is coming to DC, and that the doldrums and pain of winter are on their way out. Bring on the tourists, so long as they bring the warm weather with them.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Yes, I am asking you if you’ve adopted a block in DC. Did your company agree to keep it clean? To water the trees & make it nice? I hope so.

The Adams Morgan Business Improvement District has adopted at least one block, the 1700 block of Columbia Road.

Now do not expect a sidewalk so clean that you can eat off it. Nor an oasis of urban beauty. It looks just like any other, and that should be the point.

Every block should be adopted. Should be cleaned by those who care. Best yet, a fastidious neighbor like you.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you were ever interested in putting C-SPAN video on your blog, or using it in another non-commercial medium, you can now do so with impunity, as the group that runs C-SPAN has decided to let you post clips from the floor, or hearings, or any other event that it covers with regard to the government, provided you attribute them back to C-SPAN. Also, the network is going to expand its internet video side, including many streaming feeds of Hill Hearings in the coming weeks. Get excited, political junkies! You don’t have to shlep to the Hill anymore, just to watch!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Because I have no idea what I’m looking at…and I like it!

Is this some sort of reflection? An angle of the Capitol that I’ve never seen before? Some sort of Photoshop voodoo? My brain would like to know, but my eyes are telling my brain to just shut up and enjoy the view. Quite a complicated situation going on around my upper extremities.

Flickrite noamgalai has impressed me with this one by doing what turns an overdone scene into a great photograph. One of the keys to taking a great photo (but not always necessary) is to show your subject doing something out of the ordinary. It’s one thing to take a photo of a bird for instance, but a photo of a bird eating a cigarette – priceless.

Aside from thoroughly confusing me (which is a good thing in this case), the composition and post processing are great on this shot and can be an inspiration to all photographers in our nation’s capital.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If I was going to spend the kind of coin it took to get a commercial onto prime time during “24” I think I’d run it past the proofreader. Maybe that’s just me.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) apparently objects to having to smoke outside. He told CPAC (the annual gathering of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy where Ann Coulter called John Edwards a fag) that he objects:

I live in a place run by what I refer to as the lifestyle Nazis here in Washington, D.C., that don’t let you do things like smoke in public places, for God’s sake.

Of course, he doesn’t mind the nanny state when it suits his interests involving the FCC (increasing fines for broadcasting “indecent” material) and Gambling (eliminating online poker), but when it comes to his beloved cigars…it’s Lifestyle Nazism. Who’s the bigger nazi here, one that curtails me from seeing the Sopranos on broadcast TV, one that eliminates online poker, or one that eliminates smoking from public places? Not a clear decision? Okay, let’s put this one up then. Tancredo was one of those few asshats who voted against renewing the Voting Rights Act.

Yeah. I thought so.

So, Rep. Tancredo wants a little individual freedom, eh? I can think of one freedom he ought to exercise: the one to leave town. Preferably on a rail.

Major hat tip to DCist for the original story.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I told my father the other day that I am still holding a grudge over when he commented to me about how unattractive he found all the cell towers that crop up everywhere. Cell towers? I asked. He pointed one out to me… and now I ALWAYS notice them. Thanks, Dad.

That’s not to say there isn’t sometimes an effort to disguise them, or put them in odd locations. The pictured one is on Fairfax County Parkway and pretty effective about half the year, when it’s surrounded by trees with actual needles. I bet the people who put it up thought they were damned brilliant in June. In January… a little less so.

What’s really amusing is that just 1/4 mile farther south the trees are evergreens and don’t lose their needles, so this disguise, which is obviously green year-round, would blend in well there.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Metropolitan Police Department is interested in what you have to say about their performance. Check out their 2007 Survey, which is completable as a PDF or as an HTML form done via Survey Monkey. Their Purpose statement reads: “The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of the District of Columbia, under the new leadership of Acting Chief of Police Cathy Lanier, is committed to reducing crime and the fear of crime by establishing “customized community policing” strategies to address individual neighborhood problems. As part of this, the Department is conducting a citywide survey to identify ways to improve services to all community members.”

Personally, I’d hope the police department’s goal would actually be to eliminate crime, but I can understand that they’d rather work in real terms, and that since people are often animals, there’s always going to be some crime. You’ve got a week to fill out the survey, which affects ONLY the MPD, not the Capitol Police, the Park Police, or any other Special Police force.

It’s your basic “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree” survey in section 1, with such attributes as:

• Overall, I am satisfied with police services.
• Police officers are visible in my neighborhood.
• The police are respectful and courteous.
• The police keep their vehicles clean.

Section 2 is more yes/no/don’t know, with questions about citizen perception and participation in police activities, including community involvement, and includes such questions as: I am aware that MPD sponsors community online Listservs. Except, that I can’t find such a listserv on the MPD webpage. It strikes me that they might want to consider some information architecture techniques for use on their general god-awful website.

Section 3 is all about crime priorities, allowing the surveyor to assign a priority of “Big Problem”, “Some Problem” or “No Problem” to any crime they list (though they list Robberies on the streets twice. And while I think that’s pretty cool, there’s no reason for a citizen to think that any of the categories they list as NOT a Big Problem. All the crimes they list are fairly serious, from burglaries to shootings and drug dealing. We have a categorization in law for this and they’re called felony offenses, which all of these are. Chosing degrees of felony isn’t up to the citizens, nor should we be forced to make the prioritization between someone getting shot and someone getting stabbed or someone getting held up at an ATM.

There’s one last thing I’d like to note, SurveyMonkey has no way of dealing with multiple surveys from single IP addresses and no way of verifying address data against known IP locations, so it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a lot of junk data input here, making the results of the survey done via web or fax into something that can’t be verified. Still, voice your opinions if you’d like. Just be prepared for them to be outshouted by Chinese Gold Farmers.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well look who just bought themselves a brand new flag! Isn’t that a beauty! And it’s larger-than-life self is waving over 15th Street NW at the end of Meridian Park.

Now the question I have to ask you is: just which country’s flag is this?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Franco Folini

WaPo’s reporting that Maryland is expanding their hate crimes act to include attacks on homeless people. Currently the groups that provide for additional penalties are “race, color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or national origin,” with sexual orientation an addition to the list in last year’s session. Next year might see the addition of the disabled, a group that some effort was made to include in this round but the filing was too late.

I’m hopeful that in short order we’ll add the disabled, bald, hirsute, fat, anorexic, Jets fans, halitosis sufferers, and people with comb-overs. Eventually we’ll put in enough people so we can recognize that violence against people is loathsome and atrocious in all its forms and violators will be punished for all offenses equally.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While Spring Training records aren’t too valuable, and not always a good indicator of final season performance, starting out 1-5, and the only victory coming against a split-squad portion of the Braves organization, one could say that the Spring isn’t going too well for our boys in blue & red. Fortunately, most of the Nats fans have kept their good humor in play…

As written by Tom Bridge & Adam Terio, with sincere apologies to Gilbert & Sullivan…

I am the very model of a modern DC Baseball Fan
I sing the praises of the game as well as Thomas Boswell can
There’s Schneider, Johnson, Patterson, Cordero, Guzman, Zimmerman
And those are just the ones approved by Jimmy Bo and Brother Stan…

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

I’m lookin out my window and it’s blue, sunny, and beautiful. Of course, I’m not outside standing in what my weather report here says is currently 36 degrees. Even at that temp, however, it’s hard to believe Capital Weather’s 70%-confidence prediction of snowfall tomorrow of up to two inches. I suppose part of that might be I’m still suspicious and confused by the overall bright and blue we’ve had these last four weeks – after five years here in the area I’m conditioned to expect a long, grey, dim and depressing February.

The question I have for all of you is this – do you think, like me, that this much less gray month was an excellent trade for so much below-average temperature? Assuming that’s what’s responsible and it’s not just luck, of course.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

WMATA isn’t restricting its new lighting schemes just to Metrorail stations.

Check out the new light strip on the S2 to Federal Triangle. Does that oscillating yellow light remind you of anyone? How about the Knight Industries Two Thousand?

Yep, KITT is now Metrobus compliant. Just don’t hope to see David Hasselhoff behind the wheel or those little flashing lights protecting pedestrians.

Whichever WMATA idiot that thinks a little yellow flashing bar will alert others to the presence of a Metrobus more than a few tons of metal, bright headlights, and squeaking breaks already do, might want to read WMATA press releases better.

It is driver error, not pedestrian cluelessness that is killing people.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Every city has its own version of the Fall Guy. In Sports right now, it’s Barry Bonds’ trainer, now serving jailtime to protect Barry Bonds, for reasons no one can fathom. In Art, it might be the curator of the Getty, taking the fall for the art world’s bizarre problems of dealing with stolen paintings. Today in Politics, it’s Scooter Libby, who’s fallen on his own sword, and is now found guilty on four of the five counts, and likely faces 18 months to 3 years in federal pound me in the ass prison for something resembling a coverup of who leaked Valerie Plame’s identity to reporters. Some say he’s covering for Karl Rove. Some say he’s covering for Dick Cheney. Either way, he faces DC’s most unlikely outcome: jailtime for breaking the laws here, not making them.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So Metro’s gone and reddened up the blinking lights embedded in the granite edge of the Glenmont-side platform at Gallery Place/Chinatown Station. At first I thought they had just put a clear red plastic seal over the light domes, but according to this Lunchtalk chat with John Catoe, they actually switched out the old incandescent lights for LED bulbs, which last longer, use less power, and cast an ominous and unearthly red glow which will supposedly be better for warning Metro showoffs to please stand clear of the platform edge and not lean way out to prove how macho you are in the face of oncoming trains. They’ve also switched the lower level Yellow/Green platform edge lights to amber bulbs. Here’s hoping that, in the spirit of added usability, WMATA color-codes edge lights by line. Red lights for the Red Line, blue lights for the Blue, green for Green, and so on, with alternating colors at stations which share two or more Lines. (Then we can lobby for a Pink Line, and the lights on those will be fabulous.)

More from Free Ride, Bluey Blog, and Gallery Place Living.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

What does this look like to you? Two black men hunched over a bicycle lock with a hacksaw.

Before you think a bad thought, like these guys are not bicycle scavengers, they are bicycle buyers. They just bought the frame from a guy who lost his lock key and now they’re hacking off the lock.

Personally, I’m glad this service exists. Better to recycle bike frames to a new owner than have it taking up space on the crowded bike rack.

Too bad its gonna take a few blades to cut the lock. I hope they figured that into their purchase price.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

According to the Arlington County website, Arlington Public Health is closely monitoring the Crystal City Hyatt for an outbreak of Norovirus, which the site dubs “winter vomiting illness.” Is this the more common term for this type of illness? Do parents send notes to school asking to excuse Johnny for missing three days of school on account he got the winter vomiting illness?

It’s bad enough that we have such an illness roaming around our creepily deserted Crystal City, but when the County decides to give the malady a nickname like that, I am not sure whether to giggle like Beavis or wonder how they came up with the moniker. Probably very smart officials on different levels had an off-site to discuss what to call this illness so that the rest of us could understand, since “norovirus” is obviously beyond our capability of understanding.

“I know,” one says, “let’s call it ‘the winter vomiting illness’ and that way people will be able to easily distinguish it from a regular stomach bug or the salmonella. Those can happen in winter as well, I suppose, but I think the ambiguous yet different name is adequate.”

“That’s why they pay you the big bucks,” Another replies. “Let’s call that problem solved and get on to what to call that condition of having blood flow from your nose after getting hit.”

For those of you less interested in making fun of a name and more concerned for how to prevent getting the winter vomiting illness, here is a tip from Arlington County: frequent and careful handwashing to prevent the spread of illness- at least 20 seconds in hot, soapy water (the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice)

I can count to 20 seconds, thank you very much. You don’t have to dumb it down quite that much.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs