‘colors’
courtesy of ‘ekelly80’

It looks like we’re just about done with the summer-like warmth.  It’s hard to believe we’re in the waning few days of October, and the air conditioning tripped on this afternoon.  The weather has been pretty amazing these last few weeks, as if to gently ease us into the longer nights and colder weather.  Well, today was just about it. The high tomorrow is 60, and aside from two days in the mid sixties over the weekend, we’re headed toward the cold again.  So get those sweaters back out. Fall is coming.

‘National Archives’
courtesy of ‘SwymRocket’

Our friends at TBD report that federal agents have seized several boxes of materials apparently belonging to the National Archives from the Rockville home of a recently-retired Archives employee.

Agents from the Archives arrived at Leslie Waffen’s home with a search warrant for specific materials, but no arrest warrant for Waffen, who has not been charged. Waffen had worked at the Archives for 40 years before retiring in June.

An audit completed by the Government Accountability Office this month found numerous issues with the National Archives’ preservation and security process, some internal and some related to document retention policies not being followed at other federal agencies. The audit was conducted after news reports last year of certain particularly valuable historical documents being missing, such as the original patent for the Wright Brothers’ flying machine.

There is no word on what specifically the Archives expected to or actually did find at Waffen’s home, but it’s kind of unnerving to contemplate the idea of important pieces of the American historic record sitting in boxes in a retired government employee’s basement.

‘Fry Captain Food Truck’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

It’s a gorgeous Indian summer day, so go on out there and get your lunch on. Franklin Park and Farragut Square are where it’s at today, so if you work in the area, get your double lunch on.

Continue reading →

‘Capital Bikeshare’
courtesy of ‘Daquella manera’

October 31st is your last chance to get cheap access to thousands of bikes all over the city.  Think of Capital Bikeshare like Zipcar-for-bikes: Put in your key and take a bike, and then get charged by the hour for when you use it.  If you think you’ll borrow a bike more than 10 days a year, it’s totally worth the $50 cost to join now. Better than that, for rides under 30 minutes, you won’t pay a dime in usage fees.  That means if you just need a quick bike through downtown on your lunch break, you can grab a bike for free and go from Capitol Hill to Georgetown without paying any usage fees.

‘Cheesy replica script’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’

The hottest “ticketed” event in NatsTown since Stephen Strasburg’s Major League Debut on June 8, 2010 is an exclusive invitation-only stub to the Washington Nationals new uniform unveiling November 10 at Nationals Park.

And, if you’re not a premium client or season ticket holder who has already purchased your package in full, then a chance to attend the evening’s events will not be yours for the taking. Continue reading →

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courtesy of ‘muohace_dc’

Brilliant news! We’ve come across the following tweet from @dcgrilledcheese, promising a new grilled cheese food truck come December. The only thing better than melty, cheesy goodness is melty, cheesy goodness conveniently parked at a street corner near you. Maybe this is the coming of Grilled Cheesus after all.

‘After the Game’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

The Washington Post reports that federal agents are investigating an Ashburn man in connection with an alleged plot to bomb multiple Metro stations. Officials believe Farooque Ahmed came up with the plan on his own and expected to carry it out by himself, though they stress that the plan wasn’t anywhere near completion when Ahmed was arrested.

Before this issue becomes yet another political football in a town where official concern about terrorism is so ubiquitous as to be desensitizing, here’s one piece of practical advice: When you’re carrying stuff in the Metro (or anywhere in town, really), please be certain to take everything you brought with you. It’s something we all want to do anyway, and it will reduce the number of packages treated as “suspicious” when they are simply “forgotten.”