Yearly Archives: 2009

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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No Sidewalk? Run on the Grass

Time to run on the grass

Time to run on the grass

Running along Colorado Avenue NW recently, I came across this scene: a sidewalk missing, so no place to run that’s not in the street. Now the usual response to this is to run on the pavement, but why? Isn’t the flat grassy area all public property? If you look in the distance, you can see a utility pole in that same flat grassy area, so its city property, not private property.

So I ran on the grass.

My knees were happy, as grass is softer than pavement, and Taxi Dog was happy, her paws like grass much more than pavement. But I wonder if the homeowners are going to be happy? Would you be? Especially if you were excited because your home didn’t have a sidewalk just to keep pedestrians away.

The Daily Feed
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Ye Ole Ho-Mobile

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

Now I am not sure what the kids think of the term "ho" these days, but back when I was a young lad, it meant a prostitute. So why would a Virgina driver use such a term on their custom plates? Is a ho no longer a sex worker? And what ever happened to "Roxanne" or am I showing my age?

Arlington, Food and Drink, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Features
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Knife Skills Class at Arlington Adult Education

Photo courtesy of

‘SNC11054’
courtesy of ‘bradleypjohnson’

I’ve been out of school for a few years now, and have honestly enjoyed the freedom of having no homework. It is glorious, and although work sometimes turns into homework (especially when I have to go in on weekends), at least I’m getting paid (in theory). I don’t miss the homework, but what I do miss are the classes. I had wonderful classes in college. (Sometimes I daydream about sneaking into a GW or Georgetown lecture and reliving my glory days.)

So when Arlington put out the current class offerings for Spring, I poured through the catalog like a kid in a candy store. The classes are affordable, fun, and actually relevant to my life (unlike some classes I took at UNC). The one I chose to take this go-round was Knife Skills. My mother always said she wished she had taken a knife skills class, if only to know the easiest and quickest way to chop something, so I decided to learn from her longings and actually take one.

So last week, I packed up my best knife, and headed over to the Clarendon education center for a class on how to chop. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Taking Babies to the Bar

washington dc by wayan
Photo by Wayan

Tonight I was out at Looking Glass Lounge with a hot little date – Hanalei Stockard Vota – and I’m wondering how many other parents party with minors.

I asked the server if I was the first Dad in Looking Glass and she just laughed. I seem to be one of many. Yet when I was single I didn’t remember seeing too many boozing minors. I even made fun of changing tables in bars.

In the city, I expect us that juggle bottles and babies in bars to be rare. What’s the toddler tipplers take in the suburbs? Are sippy cups as common as shot glasses? And does it bother you if there are?

The Daily Feed
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Lincoln’s Watch Vandalized

photo by philip-odegard

I’m fascinated by all things related to the presidency.  I’m no history buff by any means and I can’t spout off useless presidential facts (you don’t want me on your Trivial Pursuit team), but the office of the POTUS is probably the most unique position anyone could ever be in.  Heck, if I was married, had kids, was religious, had powerful connections, and was a millionaire, I’d even think about running for president one day.  Now there’s a scary thought.

Continue reading →

Arlington, Food and Drink, The Daily Feed
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Oh, for the love of charcuterie!

Photo courtesy of
‘_MG_7998’
courtesy of ‘titlap’

WLDC Author Jenn and I were recently at happy hour together, musing over charcuterie. More specifically, how we could probably live off of only charcuterie platters happily for the rest of our lives – I mean, meat + cheese, add in some wine and bread… does it get ANY better?

Well, apparently it does, as the Neighborhood Restaurant Group and Nathan Anda, former executive chef of Tallula and EatBar in Arlington, launch Red Apron, an artisan butchery and charcuterie concept for which Anda serves as both butcher and executive chef. Red Apron is going to focus on the local and the sustainable, as Anda works directly with several local farms that embrace sustainable and humane farming practices, selecting choice breeds of animals, such Piedmontese and Black Angus cattle, Duroc and Tamworth pigs.

You can get a piece of Anda’s meats for yourself at Vermilion, Rustico, Tallula and Eatbar – some of my favorite ‘hood haunts. Want the meat for yourself, but don’t want to have to go to the bar? Head to Planet Wine or Buzz Bakery to pick up meat cuts to-go, including the famous Eat Bar hot dogs.  My sources hint that Anda is going to be expanding, offering Red Apron products at local farmer’s markets this summer, and he may have plans for a storefront opening in 2009.

Food and Drink, We Love Drinks
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We Love Drinks: Equinox, Redux

Chocolate Martinis at Equinox

"Chocolate Martinis at Equinox" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr

It was a case of double trouble when I met Katie for a We Love Drinks special at Equinox‘s Chocolate Happy Hour. As two of the food and drink fanatics here at We Love DC, we thought it would be fun to head out together to one of Katie’s favorite spots, a place I’d actually never been. And it did not disappoint. 

Picking a spot for the after-work happy hour is a tricky thing. Equinox has a small bar area really more conducive for pre-dinner drinks than for bringing a group or meeting multiple friends. But for a twosome, it works well… though we certainly perfected the art of lurking menacingly for vacant seats, like two sharks circling for blood (“what’s with the guy at the end of the bar, with the crossword puzzle? come on, close your tab, we want chocolate before spring begins!”)

Finally we were able to nab seats and properly toast farewell to winter with the last of the rich chocolate cocktails – one white chocolate with chambord splash for me, and one dark chocolate with sea salt for Katie. “Hello Saturday morning!” she quipped, and oh yes, these were pretty potent for girly cocktails. Happily not too overtly dairy, just the right taste of cream and salt for a chocolate cocktail. 

Now, the goodies. All happy hours must deliver on the goodies.  Continue reading →

Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed
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This is going to be cheesy.

Photo courtesy of
‘Reflecting Pool – Caught In the Day’s First Light – 9-30-08’
courtesy of ‘mosley.brian’

The past few days I’ve been in New York City on business, and never before have I been struck with such love for our city. I’ve already aired my grievances about the big apple, but this trip particularly reinforced my love of the capital. Walking off the Acela into Union Station truly felt like coming home. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I spotted the Capitol through the double doors. New York is fine, but DC is where it’s at, yo.

Convenient I should write for a blog called We Love DC, now isn’t it? So I distilled the things I love about DC down into five pictures, for your viewing pleasure. We can call it an Ode To The Things I Love About DC Today… And thus I share it with you… Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Farmers’ Markets Reopening Soon

Photo courtesy of
‘Dupont Circle Farmers Market’
courtesy of ‘runneralan2004’

Already with the vernal mercury rising, the fresh produce offerings at Eastern Market and Dupont Circle–open throughout the year–have greatly improved. I was psyched to see the return of of apples, tomatoes, brussel sprouts and various other goodies (yum, samples!) when I passed through Eastern Market on Sunday. This weekend sees the return of Anchor Nursery,  Clear Spring Creamery, Wollam Gardens, and Next Step Produce to Dupont’s market.

Very soon all other varieties of district farmers’ markets will return for the Spring months: Continue reading →

Entertainment, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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FBI Raiding OCTO

Photo courtesy of
‘the very scary but not secret service’, courtesy of ‘spiggycat’

Stay tuned. (Updating with latest info first.)

3:05 Update: Segraves is reporting now that the White House knew about the raid before it went off this morning. Well, that’s good news I suppose.

11:56 Update: According to WTOP, both men are being held on bribery charges. At this time, there seems to be no link between them and former CTO Kundra. If anything further pops up, we’ll let you know.

11:40 Update: OCTO employee Private contractor Sushil Bansal has been arrested now. Bansal is the CEO of the Advanced Integrated Technologies Corporation, which was awarded two contracts last year worth a total of $350,000. Continue reading →

Travel
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We Love to Travel: Weather Survival Guide

Airplane Skidding in a Snowstorm, by Anirudh Koul

Airplane Skidding in a Snowstorm, by Anirudh Koul (Creative Commons)

There are supposed to be two guarantees in life: death, and taxes.  I think they missed one: airline delays and cancellations.

As our recent “snowstorm” – and our upcoming thunderstorm season – prove, airlines can cancel flights for just about any reason.  Snow that might appear?  Canceled.  Too much wind?  Canceled.  Plastic bag blew on to the runway?  Canceled.

Okay, so now what?  Here are a few ideas I’ve compiled to help you get through the fun of airline cancellations. Ouray Hotel is a charming stay in Colorado for a mountain vacation you won’t forget.

Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Park View Station My Ass

New WMATA station names

New WMATA station names

Greater Greater Washington has an interesting idea gone all wrong. They’ve thought to rename Metro stations to be shorter and more logical. On the whole, I’d love the concept, as names like “U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo” are a run-on joke. But GGW better watch what it suggests.

To think that the Metro station at Georgia Avenue and New Hampshire should be called Park View instead of Georgia Avenue or Petworth is crazy talk. No, its fighting words. GGW can get all quick-hit somewhere else, cuz we’re not giving up our station to unknown Park View.

Essential DC, The Daily Feed, WMATA
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Metro Tops Google

Photo courtesy of
‘camera bag on shoulder tripod’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Kudos to Michael Perkins over at Greater Greater Washington: from his efforts and many, many other Metro riders, WMATA is finally going to release schedule and routing info into the open Google Transit Feed Specification format by March 23. They announced this last night at the DC Council oversight hearing for WMATA.

According to WMATA’s Facebook page, we the public will be able to download bus and rail schedule and route info from Metro’s website. The data will be freely available to all who agree to their terms of use. The data released will be the exact same data that feeds Metro’s online Trip Planner…and Metro reserves the right to withdraw the data if necessary.

So in the end, this “punt” by Catoe and Co is actually better than the failed Google deal, as this allows anyone to use that data. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a Facebook application utilizing it in the future…

We Green DC
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Oh, Crap: Touring Arlington’s Water Pollution Control Plant


‘The merry band heads to the solids building’, courtesy of ‘mtngirl9999’

You might not think that many people would want to spend a Saturday morning in the sewer. At least I didn’t.

But when, in a fit of green curiosity, I tried to sign up for a tour of Arlington’s Water Pollution Control Plant last December, I was put on a waiting list. There were only 40 spots available on the tour, and 100 people–yes, 100 people–had already signed up.

So I snagged a coveted spot on the next tour, which also drew the interest of 100 wanna-be gawkers. (Another tour will take place this Saturday, or you can see a short video online.) I showed up even though the confirmation notice was a bit unnerving, saying, “Arrive adventure ready!” What adventures could happen in a place like that?

Wish you’d been there, too? Let’s satisfy your inquiring mind. This is what happens after you flush. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Special Events, The Daily Feed
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St. Patty’s Day Celebrations

Photo courtesy of
‘Battle-ready helmet’
courtesy of ‘quinn.anya’

DC is going green, but not in the sustainable way — more like the “you look a little green…how many Guinnesses have you had?” way. Last weekend was the giant St. Patrick’s Day parade in Alexandria, which is often accompanied by an entire day in the multiple Irish pubs in Old Town, and this Saturday is Shamrock Fest at RFK Stadium.

I went to Shamrock Fest last year, and I’ve vowed to never return, but I do enjoy the general festiveness of this time of year, even if in reality it turns into two solid weekends of complete debauchery. Just be careful out there, and please, please don’t throw up on my shoes.

All Politics is Local, Fun & Games, History, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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VDOT YouTube – Your Tax Dollars At Work

YouTube Preview Image

Okay, I know it’s apocryphal for us to be linking to another blog <cough>BoingBoing</cough>, but while the video is cool and somewhat local (we had a shot of our own Wilson Bridge), I wonder if our tax dollars, besides going to the banks, insurance companies, and other misanthropes in another metro area <cough>New York</cough>, are now funding somebody’s quick fingers with Final Cut Pro? While I’m glad to see the Dulles Metro extension finally get moving (2013 to ride to Herndon), was this a real “shovel ready” project Tim Kaine approved? (The opera, however, is a nice touch… I think it was inserted for the NoVA constituents)

Special Events, The Daily Feed
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Dinner With a Spy

Photo courtesy of
‘I spy with my Metro eye …..’ courtesy of ‘christaki’

Next week, the International Spy Museum is holding one of their annual “Dinner with a Spy” events. This year’s guest is Oleg Kalugin, former head of Soviet KGB operations in the U.S. during the Cold War. Today, Oleg is an American citizen and an outspoken critic of his former employer and Russia’s current leadership.

During this intimate dinner, Kalugin will share some of his hottest stories from the Cold War, weigh in on the current international issues, and dialogue with his former adversary, CIA veteran and International Spy Museum executive director Peter Earnest. The ticket price includes a three-course meal at Zola and ‘unrestricted access’ to two extraordinary Cold Warriors.

It all goes down on Wednesday, March 18th at 7 p.m. Call the museum at 202.393.7798 for more information and to purchase tickets.

Comedy in DC, Fun & Games, The Features, WTF?!
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What That Job REALLY Is…

DSC_0220

(Comedy in DC will be back in two weeks. Tiff‘s out west, so I’m stepping in with something a little different…)

Let’s face it: we’ve all perused the various online job postings recently, looking for that ‘perfect’ position we all secretly crave. But sometimes, when you go to interview or after you land that dream job, it’s not what you expect. Looking back, you wonder how the position you’re in could even possibly match the posted description that initially caught your eye.

Wonder no more. I have compiled a list that describes what those common terms you see in most want ads really mean. And I’m sharing them with all of you today, because job seekers need all the help they can get deciphering such descriptions like:

An up-and-coming software company with an innovative profit-sharing plan has an immediate opening for a [insert technobabble IT title here]. We offer great benefits to a self-motivated individual in this exciting and professional work environment.

Qualified applicants will be deadline-oriented with an eye for detail and good communication skills and the ability to handle a heavy workload. Problem-solving skills a must. Some overtime required. Send resumes to noaddress@notarealsite.com. No phone calls please.

Continue reading →