Photo by DC Metroblogger

Now this is a public announcement by WMATA – a flyer right in a bus stop on the bus route affected by a proposed change!

The flyer, announcing public meetings on the proposal to restructure Metrobus routes 30-36 is where riders that care will see it. Riders like the people milling about reading it last night, and thinking of voicing their opinion on splitting the 30’s bus line into two shorter lines to improve service reliability.

The 30, Wisconsin Avenue line, would run between the Friendship Heights and Federal Triangle Metrorail stations. The 32, 34, 35, 36 (Pennsylvania Avenue line) would run between the Southern Ave Metrorail station and Federal Triangle Metrorail station, and the Naylor Road Metrorail station and Federal Triangle Metrorail station. During peak hours, the 34 would run to Farragut Square to minimize transfers.

Regardless of your opinions on the change, give three cheers to Metrobus for making the effort to get its ridership involved! Let’s cheer the best way too!

Move back please!
Move to the rear of the bus!
Move back!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The other day, when the Post printed an article by Neal Mueller on the iPod’s inability to play Van Halen at 30,000 feet above sea level, I said, “Man, bummer that my iPod won’t play bad 80s hair rock on the top of the world.” Turns out, I should’ve been saying “Hey, wait a second, this looks like Payola to me…”

Turns out, Neal Mueller, who ever so much loves his Creative MuVo, is in fact sponsored by the company whose device he touts. In addition, it appears the Mac community (shockingly a zealous group) is taking a bit of umbrage, pointing out that it shouldn’t have worked as high as it did, and are upset that the Post would let someone with such clear bias write an editorial.

Can we expect jabs at Apple from employees of Microsoft at the Post, now?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

About a year ago, a photographer that I know came bursting out of his house with his camera equipment, as if he knew that Scarlett Johansson was going to be at the Hinckley Hilton and he was rushing to get some shots of her. I asked him what his hurry was and he said, “The sky! The sky! When the sky is this good I have to go out and shoot! It’s all about the sky!”

At the time I don’t think I had ever formulated that thought, but it was something I just knew in the back of my mind. When you have a killer sky, no matter what time of day, it can really add some depth and character to your photos and put the viewer in an entirely different mood. Whether it’s the early morning light, an amazing cloud formation during the middle of the day, or a killer sunset at night, they all make for a good background (or subject) for your photos.

Mr. Andertho has given us two great examples here. The photo above would be very average if it weren’t for the wispy clouds and subtle hues. The sky and morning light make this shot heavenly and give you a peaceful feeling. Conversely, the sinister clouds (not to mention the horse from hell) give the photo below a very dark and evil mood, making you feel that the end might be near.



So the next time you look out your window and see something other than a blue or gray sky, grab your camera and run! You may be surprised with your results.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Our colleague Neil at Metroblogging Melbourne has done a bit of footwork and discovered that Vegemite has not been banned in the US at all. The whole uproar started when somebody tried to come over the border from Canada and had his Vegemite confiscated. The FDA confirms that there is no such ban.

So if you were worried about your ability to get Vegemite here in our nation’s capital, fear not. Vegemite can still be imported as before.

Now, why you’d actually CHOOSE to eat something so revolting is still a mystery to me, but I join my Aussie friends in celebrating their right to do so.

Thanks for clearing it up, Neil!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Pandemic. It’s one of those words we see tossed around without understanding what exactly it means. According to the dictionary in my handy computer, Pandemic is an adjective, “(of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world.” Such previous pandemics include the flu outbreak of 1918, which killed between 50 and 100 million people across the world.

Next up? H5N1 Bird Flu, should it cross the avian/human line. Yesterday, though, Stafford county tried something intriguing: drive-thru flu shots. The county gave out 400 free flu shots in a 2 hour window, in a drill that could be a sign of things to come. Could DC pull off a drive-thru flu shot clinic? The Parking Lot at RFK comes to mind, or perhaps several of the single lane one-way streets. But the District’s Influenza plan is strictly traditional, featuring a clinic situation. Can DC do better?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Do you like scotch? The old school version of whisky.

Do you like it enough to stand in the cold for it? What about 30 minutes of cold on a Wednesday night?

These fools, or drunkards, like scotch, Johnny Walker Scotch enough to do just that tonight.

Were you one of them? Was the booze worth the wind chill? I think not.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The FBI Taj Mahal

If you read today’s WashPost article “FBI’s Fairfax Agents Packing For Pr. William” you could be forgiven for believe that the reason for the FBI moving its Northern Virginia-based agents from Tysons Corner to rural Prince William County is “visionary”:

“If you look at the data for where is the growth of the economic corridor today, and where is it going to be three to five years from now, it’s Prince William,” said [Joseph] Persichini, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which handles cases from Northern Virginia and the District. “As growth goes, cases increase.”

The 30-year agent turned from crime fighter to demographer in planning the move. He spoke to economists and attended George Mason University seminars, where he analyzed future growth patterns in the region. “This is a business decision, and travel is a cost of doing business,” Persichini said, adding that the Prince William land cost $2.6 million compared with $12 million to $15 million for similar plots in Fairfax.

But if you are a cynic like I, you do a Google Search on Joseph Persichini Virginia, you get an interesting result:

Phonebook results for Joseph Persichini Virginia
Joseph Persichini
(703) 690-7159
9437 Hucks Bridge Cir, Lorton, VA 22079
Map

Might this be the same Joseph Persichini Jr.? If so, check out the difference between a Tyson’s Corner commute and a Manassas commute: 20 miles on 395 or 20 miles on back country roads.

While he’s not Dan Wittenberg, this new coummute sounds like a nice change. A change the FBI rank and file aren’t happy with:

The departure from Fairfax County has brought the same headaches faced by companies that move in search of open space and cheaper land: more time on the road and employee anxiety. FBI agents still do most of their work inside the Beltway, say some law enforcement officials who fear investigations will be slowed because many of the 150 Northern Virginia-based agents will be stuck in endless traffic on Interstate 66.

Hey, they could always commute along WO&D trail.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

My wife and I took a friend to Bangkok Blues in Falls Church last night. Since arriving in the area, this has been one of my favorite restaurants and bars. Everything is low-key, they have music every night (see their calendar here)and the price is right for getting some excellent Thai food.

There’s just one problem with Bangkok Blues. The music is so loud that it’s often hard to hear the wait staff and each other. I am a big fan of blues, jazz, rock – well, almost any type of music – but the mixture of great food and loud music is a little over stimulating for me. Just when the peppers are doing a number on my tongue and I am trying to chase it away with a swig of their Bangkok Blues Lager, a trumpet blares a high note that would scare even Mariah Carey.

Definitely go check this place out, but if you want an intimate atmosphere it’s the wrong place. Go either before a show starts or else just go for the music and booze. The guitar-shaped bar is really something to see and I bet it could hold a beer as well as any other, so I plan on testing this theory soon, returning just for drinks and tunes.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In the latest skirmish in the Gallaudet protest zanyness, students took over College Hall, a building which houses the President’s office, HR and other administrative offices.

For eight hours. In the middle of the night.

Then they left.

That’s right. Protesters successfully occupied a building after closing and vacated it at opening time.

In other news, Israeli forces report they successfully forced Islamic restaurants to stay closed from sunup till sundown all through Ramadan.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, so maybe you are Jack Requa, and maybe WMATA’s Board of Directors did appoint you acting general manager to replace Interim ex-General Manager Dan Tangherlini, but that don’t mean we like you.

Dan was our man. No matter if he wasn’t a classic interim GM, we loved him anyway.

He made things happen, made riders and workers feel respected, and set a might high bar, Jack.

Good luck in reaching it, good luck in even trying. I say make your life easy, stab Chris Zimmerman, the NoVA Board Member who lost Tangherlini, and stab him right in the chest with juicy scandal.

Yes, you’ll get fired fast, but you’ll have the respect and love of every single WMATA stakeholder, and who knows.. Fenty is hiring all the best!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Even though I’m an avid Apple hater, I love this candid shot taken by Flickr user furcafe. This guy seems to have a camera attached to his eye socket, judging by the number of photos he takes around town, and this one is absolutely made for an Apple promo. Doesn’t it make you think that owning a MacBook is cool? Just chillin’ at your local coffee shop, surfing the net, sipping on a latte, hanging out with other cool people…you dig?

The photographer’s use of black and white is great here, and the lighting, especially the glow of the laptop on his face, really adds to the mood. I like that this photo tells a story about one of our local establishments while at the same time holds on to its anonymity. The depth of field (i.e. what’s in focus and what isn’t) focuses the viewers’ eye on his subject, some cool dude just chillin’.

As for the legality of candid photos, don’t ask me. Unlike the rest of DC’s population, I’m not a lawyer, but my best guess is that as long as you don’t sell your photos or use them for commercial use, you’re in the clear. So next time you’re chillin’ at your local establishment, fire away and see what gems you and your camera come up with.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There it was in my mailbox this afternoon, an exhortation from Major League Baseball’s Memorabilia group to “Remember the season!”

What exactly does MLB want me to remember? The incessant stadium drama? How utterly shitty RFK is to watch baseball in? The ineptitude of Frank Robinson? Jimmy Bowden’s crazy and unending shuffling of the deck chairs on our very own Titanic? The delay in choosing the ownership until they couldn’t make a meaningful contribution to this year’s team budget? That we finished dead last? 20 games under .500?

Christ, MLB, it’s almost like you’re rubbing salt in the wound.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

You may have seen Outside.in somewhere else on the blogosphere today, but it’s a unique mashup between Google Maps, Blogs, Zipcodes, Event Listings and a bunch of other location-based technologies. You can search for activities by neighborhoods, by zipcodes, by place names, by addresses. It’s very extensible, but it’s far from perfect:

It seems that it puts Dupont Circle on the map where the White House is. It puts Capitol Hill in Northeast around H St. It doesn’t know anything outside the District (for some, this isn’t a problem, though…), and it certainly lacks some of the neighborhoods that aren’t the focus of a great deal of attention, which is a shame, but it’s a system that we can help fix, all of us in DC, by writing more about the city in which we live.

Now go check it out!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Now them pumpkins!

My you have big gourds, Madam Organs.

Big, round, plump. Smooth, curved. They are mighty.

Two men, two pumpkins. All in the fall sun.

Want your own? Pumpkins that is? Get a cart-full.

Pumpkin purchase party is happening now.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

You know him best as PC in the Apple commercials, where he consistently steals the show and seems more likeable than his Macintosh counterpart. John Hodgman is more than an actor in commercials, however, he’s also a humorist who performs (here he is explaining the series of tubes that is teh intruwub on The Daily Show) as well as writes. Now his book, The Areas of My Expertise, is coming out in paperback and he’ll be appearing at the Warehouse Next Door tonight to promote it. While the Olssens webpage claims the event is sold out, admission was supposed to be free with purchase of the paperback so you may still be able to go. If you’re of a mind, give them a call at (202) 785-1133. If you manage to weasel yourself in you’ll also get to enjoy Jonathan Coulton, creator of the brilliant Re:Your Brains and other fun music.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Make room for us!

Do you ride a bicycle? Do you live in Columbia Heights or Mt Pleasant? Then you are not alone.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association thinks your neighborhood has the highest bicycle usage rates in the city, yet completely lacks accommodations for bicyclists, both in terms of on road facilities and bicycle parking.

While the Columbia Heights/Mt Pleasant Transportation Study recommends striping bike lanes on Mt Pleasant Street from Park to Columbia, Columbia Road from 18th to Georgia, Harvard Street from 16th to Georgia, and extending the 14th Street bike lanes south to Park Road, WABA wants more.

WABA recommends extending the 14th Street bike lanes further south to U Street where they will connect to existing lanes south to Thomas Circle, add bike lanes on 11th Street from Park to Florida, on Kenyon and Irving Street from 11th Street east to the Hospital Center, and add bike parking to the streetscape.

Think WABA is right on, or crazy nuts? Then let your voice be heard!

Columbia Heights /Mt. Pleasant Transportation Study Meeting
Wednesday, Oct 25th, 6:30 to 8:30pm
Kelsey Temple Church of God in Christ
1435 Park Road, NW

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’ve lived in a lot of different cities. How hard do you think it can it be to find a good HVAC contractor? Or a plumber? Or an electrician? Or a painter?

Let me set the scene for you. My furnace doesn’t work, so now my heating is out. Done. So I did the next logical thing, see if I can figure out what’s wrong with it myself. I can light a pilot light like nobody’s business – watch out! Nope, that wasn’t it. So I did the next logical thing by getting on Angie’s List to find a good HVAC contractor. They came out, and quoted a price of $700.

I decided to use the HVAC guy that other people in my building use since he was somewhat highly regarded and knew what he was doing.  He quoted me a price of $575, came out and did the repairs while I was at work, but had to come back out today to put on the finishing touches.

I could go on, but my point is that it can be quite difficult to find good service people around here. So if you do find someone good, hold on to them. As a matter of fact I would suggest that even if you are not currently looking, that you are always on the lookout for highly recommended AC technicians. Those things need regular maintenance anyway, and you won’t want to have them out of commission if it’s too hot or too cold out, after all.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Here’s a fun tidbit: Wonkette and The DCeiver claim POTUS himself, the Big Bush went to the Thomas Circle CVS on Friday morning.

I don’t know why he went to CVS, but I do know why he went to that CVS.

See, if he went to the CVS at Columbia Heights, this truck would be blocking his swift egress – note it’s even parked next to the oft ignored No Parking signs.

And we all know the CVS at 15th and K isn’t any better. He’d be stuck in this mess, like every week before.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I knew traffic would be bad here – clear as mulled cider (the weather is just right for this metaphor) – but I had hoped that this volume of traffic would lend itself to safer driving habits than I had seen elsewhere. Disappointed again. Traffic is hell everywhere it turns out.

So when did the stop signs get reinterpreted to mean “slow down?” Since when is it okay to not stop at traffic, light, even cut people off, when you have a red light? Have the traffic gods granted us special permission to act like nuts? My message for all the traffic-clogging lane-swapping tailgating freaks out there is simple: Slow down like the rest of us. Is it really so important to rush and get to your destination three minutes earlier? I don’t know about you, but my work isn’t going anywhere until I get to my desk. It sits patiently while I travel and will still be there even if I am 20 minutes late.

I beg you – slow down. Stop at red lights and stop signs. It not only reduces accidents but it will be good for you to relax a little, Mr. No Patience.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Incoming (and embattled) Gallaudet University President Jane Fernandes will be doing a Washington Post chat at 2pm today, about 30 minutes hence. It’s one of her first public interviews since this latest round of protests has heated up and closed the University. There’s bound to be material aplenty for Fernandes, but feel free to get your questions in. When the chat’s done, we’ll have a summation of her comments.

The interview’s over, and the results are in. Check in the extended answers for important snippets and analysis.

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