Category Archives: WTF?!

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)

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 →

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Head Scarf=Bank Robber?

Photo courtesy of
‘111: Cheap Sunglasses’
courtesy of ‘niseag03’

The AP is reporting this morning that employees of a Navy Federal Credit Union in St. Mary’s Co, MD asked to serve a Muslim woman in a back room because of her head scarf. I’m sorry…what?! She apparently put up with it once, and then demanded that she be served like the rest of the customers, as well she should. What the heck, NFCU? Religious freedom and understanding, anyone? Bueller?

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Snow Blower Drag Racing

Snow blower drag racing

Snow blower drag racing

One week ago today, I was at IAD after a half-day flight snow delay. On a people mover, we stopped mid-trip to let a funny convoy pass – runway snowblowers coming back from the March morning task. In the middle of the orderly progression, a race was on! Two snowblowers were going for the gold in the last winter blast.

Anyone else miss the snow yet?

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Is Your 2009 Commute Worse?

courtesy of philliefan99

courtesy of philliefan99

It seems to me that the first two months of 2009 have been a commuting nightmare. The morning traffic report on NPR is always citing a series of major delays on the metrorail, metrobus or the DC Metro area roadways.  In recent days it’s been an Orange/Blue line derailment and traffic ridden lane closures on Route 50, not to mention the havoc caused by Monday’s Snowpocalypse.  Even for those of us on foot, the congestion and hecticness of navigating the DC streets seems to have multiplied in 2009.  Pedestrians and drivers are more irritable, hasty and almost reckless with their decision making.  Yesterday, I saw a jaywalker hastily cross the “Vortex of Doom” (aka the Farragut North junction) without looking both ways and he quite nearly got creamed by a double decker bus.  Could the state of the economy and the accompanying angst be trickling down into the state of our daily commutes?

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Beware of Falling…Overpass?

Photo courtesy of
‘Hidden Past’
courtesy of photorat.photography’

Two lanes of Westbound US-50 are closed at Glebe Road because of falling debris from the sidewalk of the Glebe Road overcrossing. Traffic is significantly impacted, according to commenter TheDenverite, who passed through there this morning. VDOT is on the scene and will be doing an inspection shortly to determine the course of action. Staggering closures are expected while they investigate.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Prank War Hits Terps Game

This is just a classic prank from the folks at CollegeHumor.com. See, last year, Amir managed to prank his friend Jake at Yankee Stadium. Jake and his girlfriend were at a Yankees game and Amir put a fake proposal on the Jumbotron from Jake to his girlfriend. She flipped out, he flipped out, and they ended up breaking up, and Jake ended up getting slapped on the internet for everyone to see.

Last night at the Terps game, Jake got his revenge. He managed to prank Amir in probably just about the most cruel way: he convinced Amir he won a blindfolded half-court shot for $500,000. It’s brilliant.

Foggy Bottom, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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SUV vs. Traffic Island

Snow. It turns us into adventurers. Some of us bundle up to walk the chill, white, stormy landscape like Arctic explorers, braving wind and cold for photos or milk and bread.

And others among us get adventure by roaring out of parking spaces and skidding over slush so that our big black Nissan Pathfinder SUVs end up jumping service road traffic islands in Foggy Bottom, skidding further to straddle the traffic islands like a large, obnoxious, diagonal monorail, before finally triumphing over traffic regulations and common sense.

Snow. It also turns some of us into bemused spectators.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Wherefore art thou, Express?

Photo courtesy of
‘Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow…’
courtesy of ‘cruffo’

So maybe it was just me, but the Express was missing from my morning commute today. At my Metro entrance station this morning, there was a lone Examiner hander-outer man, and I only saw Examiners on the trains this morning. By the time I got to Union Station, there weren’t any Express papers in the paper stands, nor were there any Express hander-outer men (there are usually two!). I know some of you will understand my morning paper woes, the Examiner just doesn’t do it for me in the mornings, I want my Express!

Did you get your Express this morning? Was it just a weird coincidence that I couldn’t land one myself?

UPDATE 3:04 p.m. – WLDC author Tom just heard from Molly at the Washington Post, who reports that “today’s Express order was cut due to icy road conditions throughout the area. Normal distribution will resume tomorrow.” PHEW! Don’t play with me like that, Express!

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Open Letter to Obama

Photo courtesy of
‘Snow Dog’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Obama, we’re in a fight. You know I love you, I’ve supported you through a lot – I even went to the Mall for you in the freezing cold. I danced around in celebration of you. I’ve basically been your biggest fan. But ever since you made fun of DC’s reaction to the snow, I’ve been mad.

Today should have been my get-off-work-free day, my spend-the-day-in my-jammies-in-front-of-DVR’d-Grey’s-Anatomy SNOW DAY, but instead, those big shots at the Office of Personnel Management had to go and prove to you that DC can handle this snow by only putting us on a 2 hour delay. OPM, I’ll have you know it’s still snowing, Arlington didn’t do poo to clear away the snow, and I stumbled my way down Clarendon to the delayed Metro and I’m pissed. Continue reading →

Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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2 Hour OPM Delay

Photo courtesy of
‘Late Snow in DC / Two Rabbits’
courtesy of ‘little-wings’

Well, it’s not a total snow day out there, but there is a two-hour delay on the Federal Government, and most of the schools in the area are closed (except DC, who are on a two-hour delay as well). So, check the closing list, or check your email, to see if you can bundle up with some hot cocoa and television and make it a three-day weekend before going in.

Downtown, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro Readies for the Snowpocalypse


Brentwood Maintenance Yard
Originally uploaded by AlbinoFlea

Metro’s getting ready for what looks like it could be a fairly large snowpocalypse this evening. They’ve gotten their de-icing trains on the tracks, as well as 2,200 tons of salt and other ice-removal agents ready for use across the 100+ miles of track and parking lot. They’ll be starting the de-icing trains loose on the first runs of the morning tomorrow, and throughout the storm today. Bus routes are subject to plowing in the various jurisdictions that they cover, so that’ll be a game-time decision for most places depending on how bad the storm gets.

Of course, be sure to check in with OPM’s Status Page to see if you even need to go to work…

Entertainment, Music, Special Events, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Geriatric Superstar

Jesus Christ, Superstar starring Ted Neeley

So here I am, sitting on my couch, watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy on TNT (there’s a great way to lose a weekend, by the way), when I see an ad for a production of Jesus Christ, Superstar coming to the Warner Theater March 17-22. Having been a fan of this particular show since I was a kid (and it’s a popular choice for musical companies during Lent), I stopped to take notice… and saw that Ted Neeley is playing Jesus.

Okay, what the hell. Ted Neeley is the best-known Superstar Jesus. He played Jesus in the movie in his 20s, played him on Broadway, played him in the touring production for the movie’s 20th anniversary in the 90s, but people: Ted Neeley is 65 years old. For the record, that’s nearly twice as old as Jesus of Nazareth ever lived to be. I caught a performance on that tour in the 90s- he was sounding a little rough then, and that was 15 years ago. And look, no disrespect to Neeley- the lead roles in Superstar are vocally challenging even to performers in their prime. There’s a lot of high-pitched shrieking to be done, and it’s a strain.

Is there really no one else who can believably play this role that we’ve got to trot out a guy who is nearly as old as my grandfather to play someone about my age? Are audiences really so unwilling to see other people playing Jesus?

Life in the Capital, People, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Capitol Hill Style Exposes ChickDownTown Site

Photo courtesy of
‘Dress’
courtesy of ‘farrelley’

One of my all-time favorite local blogs, Capitol Hill Style, has a post today about an internet scam that had me glued to my computer monitor. The lovably snarky CHS author Belle tells a sordid tale of buying from a scam Web site ChickDownTown – and how the “company” is a tangle of deceit, lies, fraud and credit card scams. I felt it my blogging responsibility to share her horror story, and save others from ChickDownTown’s sketchy behavior . Plus, she’s one of the people behind DC’s fashion uprising, and we can all appreciate efforts to make our fine city better looking.

She’s not all florals, dainty jewlery and lingere advice, she’s rock solid and I appreciate the fighting fashionista in Belle!

Food and Drink, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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It’s not “Simply Potatoes and Listeria,” Giant.

Photo courtesy of
‘Potatoes’
courtesy of ‘ChodHound’

The latest nutritional scare affects the local DC area, as Giant has recalled a series of potato products because they may contain Listeria, which can make you pretty sick. So, if you bought hash browns, potato wedges or potato slices from Giant recently, you might want to check with Giant. Of course, their Recall page only has stuff on the peanut products, so, someone’s asleep at the switch over there.

All Politics is Local, Downtown, Foggy Bottom, Life in the Capital, Night Life, The Daily Feed, The Hill, WTF?!
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D.C.’s Big Beer Ban


Participation Lager… Originally uploaded by dharmabumx

Well folks, it seems, much like the application of parking rates, D.C.’s leadership have painted with a large brush in order to solve a detailed problem. On February 9th, the D.C. Council enacted, at the behest of of several ANC members, a ban on the sale of single bottles of beer in several wards in D.C.. The Washington City Paper has an excellent write up on the issue. The local beer aficionado and brewers list (which includes many of the brewers for local brew pubs in the area, local breweries and others), DC-Beer, has lit up discussing the issue. 

In short, to paraphrase the City Paper, too many people in certain areas of the city have been pissing in the wrong people’s yards after a night of drinking and revelry. So far Ward 2 (Georgetown) and 6 (Capitol Hill) are directly affected (can anybody say “staffers”) but has the unintended affect on those who drink beer for taste rather than rote consumption. A number of specialty stores (or those who actually stock something other than the corn-fed varieties, such as Budweiser) are left shipping their stock to the basement to avoid penalties while trying to get responses back from unresponsive commissioners and councilmen. I ask, dear readers, have you been affected by this issue, or have an opinion?

Technology, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Arlington Turns on the Red Light Cameras

Photo courtesy of
‘Drafthouse at dusk’
courtesy of ‘wfyurasko’

How hard up are counties in Virginia for revenue? Well, ask Arlington, they’re turning the red light cameras back on. Each ticket for running a red light is $50 for the county coffers, and doesn’t bother with pesky moving violations or points on the license. They’ll be video cameras this time, and they’ll start with four on Lee Highway, and one at Glebe & Fairfax.

Food and Drink, Fun & Games, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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Snuggie Pub Crawl

Photo courtesy of
‘Cult snacks!’
courtesy of ‘davitydave’

Do you like dressing up like the Polyphonic Spree to go drinking? Then we’ve totally got the Pub Crawl for you. DC will play host soon to the Snuggie Pub Crawl, where you and the closest 50 of your cultist friends can get plastered while wearing a WTF Blanket. But, in all seriousness, proceeds go to charity, and you can always wear a Slanket instead, just to mess with people.

Adventures, All Politics is Local, Downtown, Life in the Capital, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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D.C. Parking Injustice – If It’s Broke… Don’t Fix It


hello parking meter!
Originally uploaded by Nahh

The brew-ha-ha from last weeks parking meter hike around the city, and how it affected various commuters, visitors and others has taken an odd turn after some research and interviewing. In the apparent rush to receive those funds from the increased rate, it seems the D.C. DPW (whose responsibility it is to maintain them) were sloppily quick… either not being uniform in their application, or just wanting to make it interesting for those who choose to park downtown.

The meters originally under contention last week, actually play 3 different rates to parkers. One, the old rate ($1.50 for 8+ hours), two the projected 50% bump ($1.50 to $2.00 for 8 hours), or the crazy $0.25 for seven (7) minutes. I ask you, dear readership, and those who are regular street parking folks, have you come across similar issues? With the meters under three (yes three) different agencies to maintain, enforce and adjudicate, who’s going to be at the other end of that e-mail or phone call to hear you complain about the issue. Several of my parking buddies on two wheels have either moved to new locations (not yet changed), found a garage that will accept them, or stopped coming in via their former mode of transportation. One gentleman is still awaiting an e-mail back from Mayor Fenty’s office. I doubt this makes good policy, let alone much sense to the community.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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I hate pole hogs!

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro Opens Doors’
courtesy of ‘M.V. Jantzen’

My metro ride this morning was the exact opposite of the tranquility pictured above. I was one squishy sardine on the Orange line this morning (hey, at least it works today!) but the worst part of my metro ride was that a man on it was hogging the only accessible pole by leaning his body up against it. That, my friends, is my METRO PET PEEVE (all capital letters). It is rude and inconsiderate to hog an entire pole with your body. Even the crook-of-your-arm-hug annoys the crap out of me, cause I can’t fit my hand where it should comfortably go without hitting your private bits, lady! I used to hate it when people would stand on the left, but we all hate that, it’s an unoriginal Metro pet peeve that can usually be solved by saying “EXCUSE ME THAT IS MY TRAIN!”

My friend Rebecca hates it when people blackberry and walk at the same time. My boss hates it when someone sits on the outside seat blocking the empty window seat, or spreads out on one of the benches on the platform. My roommate hates it when someone stands in front of the door when she’s trying to get off the train instead of stepping out and waiting.

So I need a therapy session – let’s share, cause sharing is caring. And maybe you’ll learn a thing or two about which of your metro habits is annoying someone. What is YOUR metro pet peeve?