Anyone with even the slightest gadget fetish knows the iPhones come out on Friday at 6pm at Apple and AT&T Wireless Stores. Folks in NYC are already lining up outside their stores to get one. Crazy? Sure. But that’s where Metblogs comes in. We went ahead and got the goods on where the iPhones are going to be coming out on Friday. Each Apple Store (there are several in the area) is going to get a shipment of phones, but no one is telling how many each store is getting. So, here it comes folks, click through to check out our sweet sweet Google Maps Mashup of spots to get your iPhone!

Update: Now the map displays properly, and a few of the bubbles have been moved to their proper spots.

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

What does this photo make you think of? Hopefully the 2007 MBDC BBQ!

That’s right, this weekend we will be celebrating three years of Metroblogging DC in the best way possible: food, fun, and pinatas on Sunday, July 1st at 6pm in the MBDC BBQ HQ.

Your favorite MBDC authors will be there for witting conversation, total mockery for spelling and ideological errors, and to just mingle with the folks we’d like to thank for reading.

Oh and photography will be allowed and encouraged as long as you RSVP and invite local bloggers.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The City of Falls Church has a cooling assistance program to help low-income households stay cool in the heat of the summer. Thank goodness we haven’t gotten too hot yet, but the dog days of summer are right around the corner. No doubt it will get hot enough to cook the balls off many a bronze statue in DC.

Why is cooling assistance important? Because the extreme heat we feel every year causes health problems and extreme discomfort. Kudos to Falls Church for administering this program. Having seen a number of extremely low-income abodes in my time, I have to wonder how much it would cost to upgrade the wiring to handle an air conditioner, but that’s beside the point. Probably tarpaper shacks smolder instead of burn, right?

Personally, I think there should be more of a socialized ceiling fan program than air conditioning program, but that’s just me. I like our home to feel like Big Daddy and Brick’s home, except for all that tension and the no-neck monsters.

Until I get my own socially provided ceiling fan, I will be cooling off the only way I know how – either sitting in the yard in a tub of ice water, sipping a beer, or else making every day like pants-optional Friday. Who knows? Maybe both, if the neighbors don’t mind too much.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of PhotoCatcher

The other call you could make today would be to your congresscritter about the upcoming bump in internet radio royalties. The jump is going to be big enough to drive some organizations out of the market, including WAMU’s BluegrassCountry.org site. You can read about the issue on the Washington Post here, but don’t expect to find a link in the story to the site organizing today’s day of silence, SaveNetRadio.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There are two calls you should really make today. No, it’s not a hallmark holiday, no you don’t need to call the florist to get flowers for your secretary. Really, it’s not Blogger Appreciation day (though, if you want to drop off a bag of unmarked bills for me, I’m sure arrangements could be made…). It’s time to give two Senators a call.

Yes, I did just see you wince. Your shoulders also dropped, I saw that too. But pick up the phone. It’s time to do some work. Your Targets? Senators Webb (D-VA) and Specter (R-PA). Why? DC Voting Rights. The two gentlemen are as of yet undecided how to vote on the DC Franchise. Perhaps you might give them a ring with your opinion? Stealing straight from DCist, here are the contact points:

Webb can be reached at (202) 224-4024 and Specter at (202) 224-4254. If you’re more the writing kind, email Specter’s Chief of Staff Scott Hoeflich at scott_hoeflich (at) specter (dot) senate (dot) gov or Webb’s Chief of Staff Paul J. Reagan at paul_reagan (at) webb (dot) senate (dot) gov.

Email’s fine too, but I’m down with the phone call.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Nothing livens up a party quite like showing off your way-cool cell phone. Wayan here is showing off his latest DC Metroblog post to his Clockstopping Hottie girlfriend, who is visibly impressed with his dashing genius and Wi-Fi enabled 5MP camera phone. Well, if she wasn’t, at least I was. That phone was sweeter than agave nectar. Oh, how I would love such a phone so I can post on the road, on the fly or however I am on the go.

Nokia – can you hook a brother up?

The other guys at the party looked on in envy, sure that it was the phone, not the cool shirt, that got him his gal. Truth be told, it was hanging out with guys like me that got him his love trophy. No doubt.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Here was the scene this afternoon at Metro Center as I transferred to the Red Line from the Orange at rush hour: delays on the Glenmont side, platform filling to capacity, signs giving no train arrival times, with no announcements over the PA system. After a few minutes of waiting, the train labels changed to the dreaded "-- TRAIN", which could mean out-of-service ghosts, or no train at all. Estimated arrival times started to appear which exceeded the amount of time it would have taken me to walk home from Metro Center. Next train expected in nine minutes, next one after that in 16, and the platform continued to fill up with harried travelers. Judging from the crowd, no way I would be able to cram myself into either train. All the while, still no announcements from station managers.

So I left the station and walked home. Ten minutes later, from home, I checked out WMATA to see what was up, and was greeted with, what else, “There are no service alerts at this time.” Hard to believe.

Great work, Metro. Nice to see the added revenue from all that advertising finally kicking in, eh? How much did you spend on those station performers again?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Stop! Or I’ll say “stop” again!

If you think that photographer harassment by private companies only happens in Silver Spring, think again.

Bill Adler was harassed yesterday when photographing a building in Chinatown. As Bill tells it:

[W]hen I stopped to take a photograph of a building on 7th Street, NW between Eye and K Streets. Two security guards emerged and one asked me what I was doing. I responded that I was taking photographs. The dialog then went this way:

Guard: “You can’t take photographs of this building.”
Me: “Yes, I can. There’s no law against it.”
Guard: “This is a Federal building and no photography is allowed.”

Better yet, Bill went back to the building with the now-famous Chip Py and took more photographs.
Now that’s the way to stand up to The Man.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’m going to be generous and assume that both the advertiser here and the Giant management – who I presume police the board for objectionable and illegal material – are unaware of what a blatant violation of the fair housing laws this is.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

DC from Air Force Memorial

Originally uploaded by matt.herzog.

Last night coming into DCA, before the snafu at the luggage carousel, we had the most wonderful descent into the city. Following the Potomac from the north, we coasted over the river, looking down over my adopted home, seeing the residential portion of Northwest blink in and out beneath the canopy of trees like so many fireflies on a warm summer night. Then it was the Cathedral in view, majestic and tall among the otherwise squat buildings, the red beacons on its prow welcoming the flight home.

We flew close over Rosslyn and the view over Georgetown was just incredible, the Key Bridge, then the Memorial Bridge, then the holy trinity of DC Landmarks, the Lincoln, the Washington and the Capitol lined up like some sort of man-made constellation of gleaming white marble. I hadn’t remembered seeing the crenellated skylight there the last time I fly over. Then it was down over the water, then the brief spot of beach, and then touchdown.

“Welcome to Washington, D.C., the local time is ten to eleven. Please set your watches forward to Eastern Daylight Time.”

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While I’m impressed someone managed to get this plate I think it would be more fun if it was being ironic, like on a minivan or something. As it is I think it’s more a contribution from The Department of Redundancy Department.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Pandemonium in Terminal A

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

When we got back from Chicago tonight, we weren’t the only folks flying into DCA tonight. However, the four flights that came into Terminal A in a short span of time ended up all sharing one luggage carousel, leading to a form of Lord of the Flies that I thought would not be possible in our civil society. Pushing, shoving, all manner of jostling of the persons in order to jockey for position closest to the maw of the carousel.

Ah yes, welcome home to DC.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s generally a really good or really bad thing to know a lot of police officers. For instance, I knew quite a number of officers in Durham, NC when I sold computers to the City of Durham a number of years back. I could go visit them, shoot the breeze, make a sale or two and know with some certainty that, should I need it, I had friends in the Durham PD who could vouch for me. That was good.

On the other hand, when I taught GED classes in Worcester, MA, my students were mostly kids who were constantly on the wrong side of the law and knew lots of cops from having been arrested multiple times. That was bad, at least for them, if good for society that they came into contact with the po-po on a frequent basis.

Since I have been in Arlington I have yet to meet any of the local police, although I have made friends at other law enforcement agencies. If I did know any of Arlington’s Finest, I would gladly buy them a beer, after reading this news story. After hours, of course.

From the Arlington County Web site:

The Arlington County Police Department tied for first place in a national traffic safety competition. The results of the 2006 National Law Enforcement Challenge were announced late last week. The ACPD tied with the Tallahassee, Florida Police Department for top honors among similar sized agencies (251-500 officers). Arlington was entered in the national competition after it won the Virginia competition in its size category.

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

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Continuing the musical Mt Pleasant theme, we now have a second band playing tonight.

Over at Rebecca’s its Boxy and the Movers kicking up old school rock and roll.

Too bad that Don isn’t here because dancing is about to start and he really cuts the rug. Now I have to bust a move and with my white boy shuffle complete with overbite, its gonna get messy.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Are you in need of a musical retreat today? Maybe a little latin flavor to your Saturday?

Then be in Mt Pleasant Square around 6pm as there is going to be a live band cranking out traditional Cuban music.

Just be sure you can dance. The Mt Pleasant crew can and will be there with swiveling hips and quick steps.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs