I’d actually intended to just do a roundup of the interesting outfits and shirts I’d seen and have just one more marathon post, but I got diverted by this woman: Jaimee Joroff. Funny shirts are one thing, flags – for all their additional drag – are another. But firefighter gear? That’s some serious shit, even if she did concede to wear sneaks rather than boots. So I punched her number up in the MCM website and googled her name.

Un-freaking-believable.

Near the top of the list of results was this 2004 MD press release. Ms Joroff is apparently wearing EMS gear because she is an EMS technician. An EMT who finished training despite being in an arm cast. A year after graduation she participated in a challenge that involved climbing seventy-five flights of stairs. In full protective gear, tank included. I don’t know if any of you have ever SCUBA dove, but I have enough trouble lumbering my ass over to the edge of the boat and letting gravity do the rest of the work to get into the water. Even if the tank is one-fifth the weight… I don’t think I’m making 75 flights if you strapped helium balloons to me, much less a metal air tank.

One of the other Google results was about the 2005 winner of the Harpist of the Day award given out at the Richmond Highland Games and Celtic Festival. No no, it’s not Ms Joroff…. she was the 2004 winner. That year’s event was the 23rd and 24th of October. The week before she was running the marathon to raise money for the Burn Foundation’s Summer Burn Camp for Children, according to the above-linked MD press release.

All the other results are similarly race results and/or information on monies raised for charity. If she’s not working hard to save lives at work she’s doing it to save lives indirectly, though she might take some time off to make money for charity with her harp playing.

Here’s to you, Ms Joroff. I appreciate that you’re out there working to help us all and it tickles me to know that someday I might have my life saved by an award-winning harpist marathon runner with a heart of gold. Thanks for making the world a better place in what seems like your every waking moment.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Jane Fernandes is done at Gallaudet after the Board of Trustees voted to terminate her appointment as the president of the University, resulting in a jubilant scene on Florida Avenue where the protestors not only burned Fernandes in effigy, but exulted in their triumph after 27 days of demonstrations.

They’re not out of the woods, yet. There have been no promises of a blanket amnesty for protestors, and they’ve promised to continue to protest until they are granted amnesty from reprisals from the administration.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Please join me in congratulating Kristen, seen here at mile 22, who would go on to complete her first marathon with a time of 04:27:54. The addiction seems to have set in – a few hours after finishing she was indicating to us her desire to do it again and finish in under 4:00.

Congrats Ms K. I don’t understand what possesses someone to do the marathon but I admire the devotion to setting and preparing for a goal that it displays.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I mean aside from otherwise reasonable people deciding to push their bodies to the point where they’ll need days to recuperate. No, in this case I’m talking about The Sport and Health Dancers who were on-hand to dance to entertain…. someone. They were fairly talented – check out a short video clip after the jump – but were in the unfortunate location right next to the running lane, making seeing them a bit challenging if you’re a spectator and a 2 second experience if you’re a runner. They probably should have been up on the raised stage off to the left but since they were performing between bands I guess they wanted to take advantage of that time to do teardown & setup for the next act.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

When I was writing about Markoff’s Haunted Forest I was going to use a photo from DC Photo Pages since they have a whole gallery of Markoff’s photos. In the end, though, I decided that their copyright page was so obnoxious that I didn’t even want to give them a hotlink. Paragraph one says all their content down to HTML code “cannot under any circumstances be cached for optimization, retransmitted, copied or altered without the explicit written permission of the owners” and then paragraph three says that if you submit anything you grant them “right to use, reproduce, display, perform, adapt, modify, distribute, and promote the content in any form, anywhere within” their site.

Sorry guys, I don’t want to play with folks who write the rules that one-sided.

Hmmm, I bet that quote above qualifies as a violation, huh? Tsk, better warm up my lawyers.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

If you are planning to cheer on a loved one in today’s 31st Marine Corps Marathon you better get a move on.

As you can see here, runners are off the National Mall and headed into NoVA.

If you are a techno geek like me, you are getting runner updates sent to your cell phone and are using them to estimate location with great accuracy.

If you’re not, be ready to face scan at a massive pace. Either way, the marathoner in your life could use the support right about now.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

As the last of the runners in the Marine Corps Marathon pass, these recruits spring into action.

Cleaning up the mess of too many thirsty and hungry runners, uncomplaining marines quickly return the city to its usual pristine state.

Thank you US Marine Corps. From the famous Iwo Jima Memorial to the middle of Independence Avenue, the 31st Marine Corps Marathon is a great success!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This is the scene in Washington DC today: The Marine Corps Marathon.

More a moving street party than a foot race, the runners are outnumbered by the cheering squads.

Runners: how was the race for you?

Us spectators are hoarse from shouting out encouragement.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Calleva Outdoors

There’s three nights left to pay for the privilege of tromping through the forest and being scared. I highly recommend it.

I’m talking about local staple Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Maryland, of course. An annual event organized by Calleva Outdoor Adventures, MHF exchanges about $20 of your greenbacks for a dark & spooky wander through the woods. Punctuated by noises, slithering things, grabs, starts, shakes and eerie decorations, it’s a thrill ride. It’s not for everyone – my darling girlfriend responded to my invitation to come along with laughter and assurances that she and the Gilmore Girls would happily sit this one out at home while my judgment-impaired friends and myself waited in the cold for our number to be called.

That’s not a metaphor a la “getting your ticket punched,” it’s the tradeoff for a fun but popular event – the wait-time for your chance to walk down the garden nightmare path can be onerous. Our weeknight outing over a week ago had us arriving at 9:30pm and getting out turn at about 11:20p. There’s hot cider and bonfires, hayrides and projected spooky movies to occupy your time while you wait, but do yourself a favor: wear a warm hat. As we close in on Halloween you can be sure the crowds won’t be small, though they have supposedly opened up a second path. During my visit only one was open.

If the location doesn’t thrill you, Cavella links on the MHF page to Nightmare Forest, which is out in my neck of the woods. I haven’t given it a shot yet so I can’t speak to its quality, but if the Markoff’s people feel comfortable suggesting it I’m betting it’s worth a try.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This is a live story, with several updates. Please read it all, it takes many turns, and you won’t know what happened unless you do. There are several updates, which are listed at the bottom of this story and are crucial to understanding the context and content of this story.

By now, I’m sure, there are many people who have heard of Christopher Soghoian. Chris is a PhD student at IU, working on a PhD in Informatics, and recently published a PHP-based system that could fake a Northwest Airlines Boarding Page, in an attempt to show how TSA is more “security theatre” than “good security”. It’s no surprise, then, that BoingBoing picked up the ball and ran with it both before and after Soghoian was visited by the FBI and a Congressman had called (wrongfully and idiotically) for his arrest. What’s interesting here, and what’s applicable to our local jurisdiction, is that Brian Krebs, security blogger for the Washington Post picked up the same story, and it reads in similar tone, with similar information.

While I wouldn’t call it “irresponsible journalism,” in the vein of plagiarism, or anything like that, let’s pause for a moment and take a look at Brian Krebs. Back in August, Brian Krebs put out a piece called Hijacking a MacBook in 60 Seconds or Less which, full of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, was taken apart handily by Blogger Jon Gruber, including a rehash, or two, or three, in which Krebs’ account is challenged by other writers. Should we be at all surprised if he did take the story from another blogger and repurpose it as his own? Probably not. Hey, those new media bloggers for the Post have to make their shiny nickles somehow, why not do it on the backs of other bloggers?

An Update: After looking at Jardin’s story on BoingBoing, and looking at Krebs’ tale on the Post, I’ve got a major objection here, perhaps someone else can figure this out for me?

The timeline appears odd. BB’s story goes up at 5:30pm on Friday, an hour and forty-five minutes after the form was taken down by the FBI. Krebs wrote in the comments of his post at WaPo: “When I phoned Soghoian Friday evening, he abruptly ended our conversation shortly after it began by saying that two FBI agents were banging on his door asking to speak with him. A short time later, the tool he had posted on his site vanished.” If the timeline holds that the site was offline at 3:45p Eastern Daylight time, how was it that Krebs was still at the site three hours later? That doesn’t fit. The FBI visited Soghoian at 3:45 and the site was taken down around then. If Krebs hears about this at 6:50, calls Soghoian at that instant and only just then is the site taken down, we have a major discrepancy between Krebs’ account and Jardin’s account.

I trust the earlier story. [Further updates cast these stories into interesting light. Read on]

Further Updates Behind the Cut

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

Runners too, but I’m sure they’re all in bed by now. Capitol Weather had this to say about tomorrow’s weather.

Given abundant sunshine, temperatures will warm to near 60 — but it will feel cooler than that — particulary in the shade.

Marine Corps Marathon runners will experience temperatures rising through the 40s under clear skies but with a stiff westerly wind from 20-25mph.

See you on the sidelines.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I went today to the Annapolis Home Brew Shop to get some supplies. A winter should never be entered into without adequate beer and wine and I am fixing to make both. One question though – are there no home brew places closer than Annapolis? It seems like there should be something closer but I couldn’t find it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Isn’t it time to trade this in for a new one? How do you abbreviate “Didn’t make it into the post-season” anyway?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by ShawnBlog

Alright all you ghosts and goblins getting your costume geek on: what is tonight’s verdict?

Are you gonna be a mommy gone mummy? A pirate lost at sea? A page looking for Foley? Or just the living dead?

What is your costume? Better yet, where are the Flickr pics?

And what might your Halloween night costume suggestion be? A true fashionista would never be the same ghoul twice!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Yo, Mr. Big-Ass Bus, did you notice the traffic jam? Both the one you are in and the one you are causing.

See that line of cars not going anywhere, no need for you to pull in behind them. You are only gonna be caught in the middle of the intersection when the light turns green.

Yep, just did. And now you are Blocking the Box.

What’s that you ask? Oh it’s the polite way for us to say you’re a traffic asshole, clogging our streets with your stupidity.

Please, respect DC, the source of your income. Don’t be an ass. Don’t Block the Box!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Five Dollar Hot Chocolate

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

I was up at an hour too early to mention in print, on the road for a meeting in Ocean City. I was halfway there before the sun had even begun to make its presence known. On the way home from our OC, the rain began in earnest, soaking the road, slowing traffic and making life generally unpleasant. “It’s the sort of day that requires good cocoa,” I said aloud to no one in particular as I drove back to the District.

Good cocoa I found at my usual office haunt, Murky Coffee. Their new menu features two items that say “No Questions Asked,” their new Five Dollar Hot Chocolate and The Coffeemaker. Today being a hot cocoa sort of day, I plunked down my Abe and ordered one.

Folks, good hot chocolate is an artform. If it’s too thin, it’s not right. If it’s too milky, it’s not right. If it’s got wee little marshmallows, it’s not right (I believe in big marshmallows only, wee marshmallows may not apply.), or if there’s whipped cream. This cocoa, though, is a Manet or a Seurat, gentle with the palate, yet it crafts a full and rich image. The last time I had chocolate remotely this good was a midwinter’s dinner at Ray’s The Steaks when it came as a surprise with the check. I highly approve. Worth the $5 on a day when I’d rather be in bed, or cozy by a fire.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Is there a more goddamned useless invention in common use than the leaf blower? In exchange for droning noise and unpleasant exhaust you get leaves that have been blown around… blown around. Here’s one of the two offenders in my office parking lot today doing their part for monoxide emissions. The end result being all those leaves make their way from the sidewalk to the parking lot. Because they won’t be collecting them in any way, they’re just going to have them rot in a different location.

The only person ever to give me a valid reason for using a leaf blower lived in Manassas where the county did curbside vacuuming of leaves, so getting them all down into the street had some purpose. Most time I see these used they’re just making the leaves Someone Else’s Problem. Which might be at least a reasonable if rude goal except for that one thing that no leaf blower user seems to have ever considered:

Wind.

Seriously you clowns, you think some sort of leaf blower magic keeps them from just blowing right back to where they were? Buy a fracking rake and some garbage bags.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Here is a funny indication of how long I’ve been Car Free DC.

Last week, while shopping at the Pentagon City mall, I saw this: the EZ OUT. Who knew the parking lot fees were automated at the Mall?

Still, the very concept that a mall, dependent on auto traffic as much as Pentagon City is, would actually change its customers to shop there is beyond me.

Wouldn’t you want to make every effort to ease your patrons egress? If only to escape publicity like this WashPost article?

I can see charging for those who don’t shop there, even towing non patrons, but milking your shoppers for $2 bucks a pop for parking? Downright cold-ass extortion.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

DC’s finest, the Metropolitan Police Department, recently released a new tool on the dc.gov website that actually allows you to see a spatial representation of the kind of crime that is going on our city. Homicide in Shaw? Sex abuse in Mount Pleasant? Stolen auto in Capitol Hill? Nah, couldn’t be. Crime in DC? It’s unheard of!

I personally can’t see a huge benefit from something like this unless you’re very paranoid and want to constantly check out what kind of crime is going on in your neighborhood. Or maybe you were recently the victim of a crime and you want to see if your tiny red thingama-icon made it on to the map? I guess one advantage is that this tool shows whether a particular type of crime has gone up or down, but let’s face it – we live in DC and we have a lot of crime. You know that your chance of getting mugged while walking around 14th and Harvard is greater than if you are walking around the White House, but you just never know. Fatal stabbing in Georgetown? Yep.

One thing to note is that the site currently works using Internet Explorer but has some minor issues with Firefox and other browsers. We have been told that the developers are frantically working to fix this so that the minority of web users can find the number of arsons in Foggy Bottom too.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Phto by DC Metroblogger

I love big art. No, make that massive art.

These two dancing sculptures are always my high-point a visit to Rosslyn. Besides the passport check as I cross the Potomac, of course.

Tonight they were more festive than usual, sashaying through my buzz after another good night at Cafe Asia.

We need more massive art (not monuments) in DC.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs