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While the Capitol Building bollards apparently can’t stop a SUV, the bollards around the White House should be able to keep even delivery trucks at bay.

How do I know? This amazing delivery truck vs. bollard You Tube video submitted by alert reader Web Jedi when he read about yesterday’s Capitol Building SUV attack.

While the bollards in the video aren’t exactly the same as the ones around the White House, they look the same and I would assume that would work the same.

Still, I could see one simple way around the bollards: a vehicle slingshot over the bollards.

Note how the delivery truck’s cargo flies out over the cab in the video. Now put a bomb delivery vehicle, or just the bomb itself, on rails in the cargo hold and with enough truck speed and cargo mass, you have a great airborne launch for your bomb SUV.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Let’s say a friend suggests a girls’ night out to dinner at Buck’s Fishing & Camping in Upper NW. Being a curious diner, you look it up in the Post’s City Guide. Following the very nice review by Tom Sietsema, you peruse a cavalcade of negative reader reviews. “Hmmm…” you think, “wasn’t there also some controversy about a potential lawsuit over food pics? What gives with this place?” Then you can’t help but noticing how, um, petty some of the reader complaints seem. You remember the buzz about chef Carole Greenwood being “difficult,” much the same way Debra Winger was called “difficult” or any other number of strong-willed women. You begin to wonder, what kind of night will this be?

In a word, perfect.

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There’s an article in the Post today that’s going to cause some coronaries amongst the DC crowd. The section in question reads:

Despite Gallery Place’s prefab jumble of modern and historic-looking facades, he pronounced it free of “urban development crimes.”

“They didn’t violate this neighborhood by destroying its history,” he said, though he looked askance at a CVS sign and a Fuddruckers.

I’m sure that Wayan is having an apoplectic fit right about now. Has the character of Chinatown changed to make it “more authentic” to the “Creative Class” that DC is courting for its revitalization? Can authenticity be engineered and designed by city planners, or is it something that can only happen after the fact? Does Chinatown represent any of that?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Never say we’re not looking out for you, constant readers. Wayan displayed his comfort in his masculinity and talked about needing a good pedicure last week. A commenter expressed an interest in getting a house call for her soon-to-deliver sister. Well Melissa, your wish request is our command: I give you Nail Taxi.

Okay, Cinnamon Bowser actually gives you Nail Taxi, inspired pretty much by exactly what Melissa wants to do for her sister, but I’m telling you about it now. Ten months after Daily Candy did, sure, but WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? All you do is TAKE TAKE TAKE TAKE! What about MY needs? *sob*

*deep breath*
*note to call therapist – is thorazine available in family-sized discount packs?*

Nail Taxi’s $35 for basic service isn’t going to get any awards for cheapest offerings, but what do you expect? They bring the tools to you and spend their time in transit, rather than you. Best of all in my not-so-humble opinion is that you don’t have to go into a room that smells the way the average salon does: like a Du Pont chemical factory on a hot day.

Yeah, I know what a nail salon smells like. You think Wayan’s the only one comfortable in his masculinity?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Well look what I found on the corner of 16th and Irving Streets NW: a DC MPD surveillance camera. That would be in addition to the red light camera on 16th Street facing the Irving Street intersection.

Why should we care about another MPD CCTV? Because this camera would’ve seen the red light runner who caused a DC bus kiss and a 16th Street parking lot last week.

It also sees more than traffic incidents, perched in the middle of the 15th, 16th, and Irving intersection. It sees you walking along the street, and me taking its photo. Now lets see if it does what its supposed to.

Lets see if this camera saw who caused the Metro buses to collide.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Oh God, but the Skins do suck. Yesterday’s demoralizing loss at the hands of the Cowboys was absolutely telling. The O-Line couldn’t keep Brunell protected, and as a result, what could be a good offense was reduced to nothing but a boatload of sacks and losses. The Cowboys camp spent all of yesterday bitching and crying about penalties and injuries, making me wonder if they’d had a healthy, less felon-dominated roster, could it have been much worse? It’s entirely possible that it could have.

Joe Gibbs shouldn’t have slept last night. Or if he did, I’m sure his dreams were dominated by screaming Wilbons and Kornheisers demanding blood in exchange for his sins. So, what can the old man do to regain his stature? Here are my suggestions:

Fix the O-Line: 6 sacks of Brunell in a single week suggests that the average lineman for the Skins is actually a 12 year old girl. Seriously, no O-line, no running game, and you can kiss half your passing game goodbye too.

3rd Down Toughness: The Skins converted only 2 of their 14 3rd downs this week. Two. No third down success means no offense, which means we get pounded like a nerd in high school.

Running Game: It doesn’t seem to matter who we put next to Brunell out there, no one’s getting any yards. Santana Moss has more rushing yards than T.J. Duckett. Something ain’t right here.

What else is wrong? I know ya’ll have opinions on the matter, because quite frankly, these guys suck. Tell us why.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

All the barricades around the Capitol Building, which look like they could stop a tank, only inconvenience SUV drivers.

This morning around 8am, an armed man in a light-colored SUV drove through a barricade at the Capitol in the vicinity of the visitors’ center construction.

Only bending a fender after surmounting the barricades and crashing into a water fountain, he jumped out of the SUV and ran into the Rotunda, with Capitol Police hot on his trail.

The Capitol went into lock down, and the guy was arrested in the basement, apparently mid-seizure. CNN has more details and a video.

All drama aside, I got $5 that says the Capitol Police will institute a Capitol Hill SUV ban by week’s end.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

“Four-Eyed Monsters” may be coming to a theatre near us if we vote for it. Basically, movie directors Arin Crumley and Susan Buice have made the promise that if at least 150 people from a particular metro area request that the film be screened, they will make it happen. So far the count in the DC area is up to 171, but we still lag behind other cities such as Seattle and Austin. So why try to bump it up if it’s already there? Well, I am guessing that if there are more requests iin a particular area, that area may get higher on their list.

Over thinking it? Probably.

So what is “Four Eyed Monsters?” Arin and Susan describe it best on their web site:

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

Now that the primary is over, and Fenty will be our new mayor once the rubber stamp official election happens in November, what was your dream candidate?

I’m talking no-chance-in-hell possibilities, like pre-Bush Cabinet Colin Powell or post-CBS News Dan Rather.

Either would be better than writing in for Faith, but not nearly as colorful. I think, if I could decide solo, it would be for someone take-charge and distinctive.

Wait, I didn’t have to write in for that. Fenty was on the ballot already.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Alfonso Soriano stole his fortieth base last night in the second inning in front of a lackluster crowd at RFK last night. When he stood up and asked for time, he became the fourth man in the history of the game of baseball to steal 40 bases and hit 40 homers in a single season, joining the likes of Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. Soriano is likely the least controversial of these figures, his only sin is being unhappy with his position, not the drugs and spousal abuse and arrests that plagued Canseco in Oakland, or the steroids/balco scandal surrounding Barry Bonds, or the constant money discussion with regard to A-Rod.

Soriano goes out there, despite a team that is bad on a good day, and absolutely shines in the lights of RFK. Jim Bowden, re-sign Alfonso Soriano now. If you let him go, it will be an absolute crime.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’m too tired from my booth bunny efforts at nerd prom today, but here’s the schedule of things going on tomorrow. Some worthwhile looking stuff, though today’s sessions (which is FAR too close to my booth) were 50-50 quality-wise.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

When I came back inside after getting my newspaper this morning, I found a political advertisement lodged in my door handle. Upon unrolling it, I first noticed the name Mike McMenamin, who is running for the county board. The second thing I noticed was that in the picture of him and his family, he is the only one not looking at the camera:

He also seems a bit disinterested. I don’t think Mike is all there.

I don’t know if he saw a squirrel, was making mental notes about turnip farming or maybe just didn’t know where to look, but you’d think that someone running for office could get a decent photographer to do the job right. I don’t know much about this guy other than the rash of good things he has said about himself in his literature, but personally I would rather elect someone who can follow a photographer’s simple directions to look at the camera.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This would be the Westin Arlington Gateway hotel bar, Pinzimini, where DC Metroblogging had a happy hour last night on the recommendation of one of the writers.

He likes it because it’s a mellow place, and I have to agree. It sure is mellow. The photo at right is exactly how it looked on a Friday night.

Even with few people there, Pinzimini wasn’t all that. The $8 rail (!) drinks are served slow, the bar is out of napkins and limes (on a Friday!), and I had to request our table be cleared of two rounds of pre-us detritus.

Note to those who cross the river voluntarily: ixnay on Pinzimini-ay.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

If you’re a photographer or have an eye for design, you can’t help but notice every once in a while how awesome our Metro system is, especially relative to other stinky, dark, dirty subways around the world. For being a product of the 70’s (opening day was in 1976) and being nearly as old as I am, it’s aging quite well. The arched patterns of intersecting concrete are functional as well as beautiful and give you a feeling of spaciousness unlike many other subway systems.

All of that being said, I can’t bring myself to take any photos down there in the dark catacombs of commuters. We’ve all seen other’s attempts to shoot something interesting but they all end up looking about the same. I know one day a creative idea will pop into my head and I’ll drag my camera gear below ground, but until then, here are some of my favorite Metro shots by Flickr users Samer Farha, dbking, Grundlepuck, and LaTur….

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

… or maybe it’s from being the son of a RN, but when I first saw this I was thinking of it as related to phlebotomy somehow.

Yeah, well… Darling girlfriend isn’t with me for my brains, I guess. Anyway, it’s as good a reason to hassle you as any – go donate blood.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

In an upgrade worthy of a kid on Christmas morning or Calvin and Hobbs daily, someone is enjoying an empty box in McPherson Square today.

No word on if he is getting transmogrified or just taking a nap.

If it was you, what would you transmogrify to? Or would you just nap today like I wanna do?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Now did my CVS is Fully Stocked post give Sarah Godfrey the idea to write her Park of the Beast article?

Even though she mentions my post in the article, who really knows. I only know that all her efforts to shame CVS into keeping stocking work tidy were for naught at the 15th and K Street’s CVS store on Friday.

This was the wall of red boxes out front, store stocking inventory scattered along 15th Street and blocking us from using the crosswalk and forcing us into K Street traffic.

Yo, CVS, ya mind?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Did you read the Washington City Paper lead article two weeks ago on the DC Police Surveillance Cameras?

Blockbustin’ Video! told of how the camera at 14th and Gerard Street was next to a new condo project. What it didn’t capture was how close to the new project it was.

The south side of Gerard is a brand new condo. The north side, where the camera is, looks like government housing. Might the camera be there to keep the two groups separate? Or just to improve the “security” of the condo and keep its price high?

Go by and check it out yourself.

Given Metro’s intransigent desire to hire someone other than Dan Tangherlini to run the city’s rail system, it comes as no surprise that other civic organizations might want to snatch up the brilliant interim manager of the Metro. However, I was surprised to hear that he might be in contention for the soon-to-be vacant City Administrator job, says the Post:

Fenty has identified a potential candidate to replace Bobb: Dan Tangherlini, interim Metro chief and former head of the District’s Transportation Department.

Tangherlini is seeking appointment as the permanent Metro leader; a decision is planned in October. But if he does not win that job, Fenty said, “we would be very interested in him.”

This brings up an important question: Who needs an amazingly effective and clearly public-minded front-facing official more? Metro or the city itself? In my opinion, Metro may need a new strong head, and Tangherlini’s done an incredible and laudable job at the helm there, but I think the City could use a fresh face, too, and Tangherlini’s credentials here are impeccable. What say you?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Major Hat Tip to the new DC Sports Bog for pointing out this hysterical ad featuring GW Coach Karl Hobbs, who is far, far, far too excited to go get his prostate checked. Is it just me, or is the emotion-set all wrong for what’s about to happen to that poor guy’s ass?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs