This boy is still in my house, still on my couch, still homeless.

He sends out emails, he goes to open houses, but yet rejected he is again. What might he be doing wrong? What might he do better?

I know you know the pain of looking for a place in DC. We’ve all been there, and hope not to be there again. And we all can at least image the how a month on a couch ain’t good for family relations.

So do me, do him, do all of us a favor: spill you [apartment, room, group] house hunting secrets, and spill them now!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Breaking News! All Nation’s Triathlon race participants just received this depressing news via email:

Swim Segment. We received a letter 9/12/06 from the DC Metro Police stating the Harbor Permit we submitted was denied. The swim segment will be canceled and a 3k run substituted in its place.

Now the first question to ask would be why was the Harbor Permit denied? TNT says:

The process for testing the water in the middle Potomac for the specific purposes of conducting a swim event has never been well identified. While statutes, regulations and guidelines exist there is no precedent for permitting swimming for a triathlon.

TNT provided water quality tests starting July 31, 2006. We tested specifically for F Coli as required by the EPA for Class A use of a waterway. DC regulations require additional bacteriological testing be done for other pathogens in addition to F Coli. They also require testing for a greater length of time. The testing provided did not meet DC Requirements.”

That, kids, is called DC’s Byzantine regulations being a joy kill. But wait, why is the DC MPD giving out Harbor Permits, especially since the race entered/exited the Potomac on National Park Service land?

Something smells fishy here. Might it be hermaphoditc bass? Could the MPD’s be drinking Potomac estrogen water too long, to be scared of 500 elite athletes showing up its donut fed force on the race course?

Could this really be the fault of The Nation’s Triathlon’s irrational exuberance in having a 2006 triathlon? Might they have kept the ambiguity of approval hidden to entice more racers early enough to fill the course?

Either way, it’s a massive f*^k-up that is gonna doom this race. First off, many of the only 500 out of a projected 2,000 races will even do the course now that its not a triathlon. A run-bike-run is a duathlon, and not worth my time.

Oh, and offering a $50 credit to the 2007 race, out of a ~200$ entry fee doesn’t make up for it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This would be the physical manifestation of arrogance.

Not only is this punk parked in front of a fire hydrant, he is also in a bus zone. And he just had to be driving a Bemmer Beemer Bimmer.

Would all that signify a small mind or a small penis?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Now don’t ya hate this. Doesn’t it upset you when your bus goes and kisses another. And it public too!

This is two “S” buses kissing at 16th and Irving Streets this morning. Smooching for at least an hour before I passed by and still giving each other love now I bet.

Next time, please kiss in the off-hours. Your passengers and fellow commuters would appreciate the deference.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

As Wayan noted below, things aren’t moving on 16th St. this morning. The traffic is delay is due to two Metrobuses colliding on 16th St., injuring at least 12 riders. The accident occured before 7am this morning, and involved buses on the S1 and S2 routes. WTOP is reporting that one of the buses was forced to stop short after a car ran a red light in front of the first bus, causing a pileup behind the bus. 12 riders were take to DC Hospitals for injuries.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

While this photo does not really capture it, 16th Street ain’t moving this morning.

If you take this route to work I suggest you pick an alternate or prepare to wait.

The buses in the photo took 5 minutes to make it a block.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

With 75% of the precincts counted, Adrian Fenty is a clear winner tonight. 54% of votes tabulated so far ended up in his camp, some 22% more than Linda Cropp. Mr. Fenty has given his victory speech, and Mrs. Cropp her concession. The final vote is in November, but it looks as though Adrian Fenty has the mayorship all sewn up. No results are available via the DC Board of Elections Website, which is an awful shame, since my podunk county in Northern California can even do that. Perhaps that’s something that Mr. Fenty can get to work on?

In his victory speech, Mr. Fenty has made it very clear that he supports full voting rights for the District and will make that a significant part of his platform as Mayor of DC, something I whole-heartedly support, so long as we can make sure that we don’t end up with a Senator Marion Barry.

According to News Channel 8 (which I had to watch streaming instead of on my satellite system, thanks DirecTV), Mary Cheh has Ward 3 sewn up, Phil Mendelsohn will repeat as At-Large Councilman, Tommy Wells will take the Ward 6 seat. Eleanor Holmes Norton will repeat as DC’s (largely useless) Delegate to Congress. More as the text slowly slides by.

Update 10:38p

Fenty would be the first DC native to take the mayorship, which is pretty incredible.

Vincent Gray has a 16% lead on Kathy Patterson for Council Chair.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Well, it’s 8pm and the polls are now closed in the District. In an hour, they’ll close in Maryland for the primaries there. It’s time to count the votes, time to determine the winners, engaging in that process known as representative democracy. This really is just the primaries, but for predominantly-democrat Washington DC, this is the final election. Candidates Fenty, Cropp, Johns, and Orange have completed their run, and I know that I will welcome the removal of all the campaign signs from all over this town and take it back to its pristine state.

Who won? We’ll know soon. Party on tonight, candidates.

Just one thought before we go to the results, I’d like to thank Adrian Fenty and his campaign for being the only campaign to treat us seriously. We were blown off or ignored by Linda Cropp, by Marie Johns, by Vincent Orange when we requested something as simple as 10 questions. I am deeply disappointed in each of their campaigns for ignoring us as a venue for voter education, and I hope that they will learn from this in their defeat.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

See this cute white pit bull, Precious?

If you believe Joe, a homeless Texan who often preached about the Lord in Dupont Circle, she is just a lovable and harmless squirrel chaser.

If you believe the U.S. Park Police, she was aggressively running toward an officer who shot her in apparent self defense.

Which ever version is true, according to the WashPost, the end result is the same:

[Joe] lay in front of the dog’s body, which was covered with a blue blanket, until the Humane Society took the dog away. “She’s gone now, she’s dead, she’s dead,” Joe said, sobbing.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This came to us by friend of MBDC Rob Plumot who was walking through DC last night and sent us this:

After heading out of DC’s Best Sushi place around 8 last night, I headed towards Dupont Circle, only to find flashing police lights all over the place. Half of the circle was roped with “DO NOT CROSS – POLICE LINE” tape and at least 6 cruisers parked around and on the circle itself.

Wondering what happened, my compatriots and I talked to a bunch of folks who had seen the police response to the latest “crime emergency.” A peaceful homeless man’s dog had been shot by a cop in
the bustling park. It seems that the old pitbull was off it’s leash, hanging around it’s owner when the cop arrived. The cop, later claiming the dog charged him, fired a round into the mutt killing it instantly. Luckily, it seems his fast trigger finger didn’t result in any injuries to the many people wandering around the circle, not that that thought apparently crossed his mind when he decided to draw a gun and shoot a dog. All of the eye-witnesses I spoke with said the dog
was calm and not acting aggressively. It looks like the Washington Post reporter got a similar story about the completely needless shooting.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

How is this for an amazing extreme in our northern neighbours: If you live in Montgomery County, you’ll live 12.7 years longer than if you live in Baltimore City.

That’s according to the life expectancy numbers for the DC area from today’s WashPost article Wide Gaps Found In Mortality Rates Among U.S. Groups:

Montgomery County is tied for first (81.3 years), with Fairfax County not far behind at 80.9. Baltimore City is next to last (68.6). The District, at 72 years, is also among the 50 jurisdictions with the shortest life expectancies.

They say they don’t know the reasons why, only that there is a difference.

I say the difference is simple: Potomac Hermaphroditic Bass. See the folks in Montgomery County, after years of exposure to estrogen-laden river waters, are way more caring, expressive, and stylish.

Baltimore – way too macho to live past 68.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s the day of truth. The final judgment’s in the works, the populace is having their say. If you’re not sure where to vote, check out this precinct locator which will tell you your polling place of record. If you’re still wondering who to vote for, then I can certainly respect that, it’s a tough choice, and the future of DC rests in your hands. If you can’t stomach voting for any of the candidates today, then be sure to check out DCeiver’s endorsement for mayor, as it may give you a pretty good idea.

Polls are open tonight until 8pm. Got a good voting story? We want to hear it. I understand that several polling places in DC were affected by issues getting the polls open, so if you’d like to sound off, this is a great place to do it.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

We sat in the bar after pubquiz with the Redskins game on. A whole cluster of Skins fans in jerseys and, by the looks of it, a few sheets to the wind. The score was 19-16 Vikings, and the few brave Vikings fans were getting louder and louder in their denials of the Redskins abilities. Suddenly, there’s John Hall on the field. All I can think about are the articles in the Post before the season began. Joe Gibbs was promising that he’d stand by him, despite all those missed field goals in the pre-season. Sorry Joe, but I just don’t think Hall’s got it in him to be here. If he can’t make a field goal in a Monday night game, I’m not sure he really belongs on the squad.

We left the bar before the drunken Skins fans made short work of the Vikings backers. The looks on the faces of the faithful was not at all pretty, and I figure right about now someone is scraping up a Vikes fan out of the alley behind the Courts.

Sorry guys, next week.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Say you are crashing mid-workout, your energy levels dropping faster than your weights.

You need a burst of sugar but know better than to hit the snack machine.

The YMCA now has a healthy option for you: fresh fruit. Its perfect for a exercise pick me up.

Careful with the wallet though, at a buck a banana, these good for you treats ain’t cheap.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I know it’s been all over the media, and maybe if you’re lucky you even talked about it with friends or coworkers today, but it’s worth presenting a photo such as this one by mlancaster3361 to reflect and think about what happened on that sunny morning five years ago. Where has the time gone, and more importantly, where has the patriotism and feeling of togetherness that was immediately created gone? We’re back to the same old antics of bickering, party politics, and each person for themselves.

I think we’ve learned that our homeland isn’t quite as safe and isolated as it once seemed, but I still have an overall belief that we live in the greatest country on earth. Let’s do everything we can to keep it that way.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

seen at Eastern Market this weekend.

Damn that’s one UGLY baby.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Bizarre Ornament

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

Is it just me, or does this bridge ornament (found on the Ohio St Bridge near the tidal basin) look an awful lot like Tricky Dick?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’m hoping this use of the word “make” as a verb is different than the bathroom code our parents used with us as children, if for no other reason than I think it would cut into my personal time to pee forever…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I need a good manicure and pedicure. It’s been a while, three months at least, ever since I smashed my finger in a Manila hotel deck chair and had to perform poolside surgery with a kabob stick.

Since then, I lost the smashed finger nail and a new one grew back. A nail that is now long enough to shape and love. Coupled with the other nine that need a little TLC, I’m ready for the full mani-pedi experience again.

I have only one problem: where to go? My last manicurist moved out of DC in the spring and closed her shop. Now I need a new nail technician, one with a real foot bath for my feet and clean instruments for them and my hands.

And now I need you to tell me your favorite downtown mani-pedi wonder worker in the comments below. Bonus points if it includes a foot and/or shoulder massage too.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Pentagon 9-10-06 03

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

Tonight we entertained our friends in from Kansas City with a lovely dinner at 2 Amys up north of the Cathedral. We wined and dined, desserted and even Limoncello’d in the cozy space, enjoying each others company. Tiff and I bid them farewell and drove back home, over the Key Bridge and onto 110 toward 395.

As we came up on the Pentagon, we caught a view of spotlights heading into the night sky, and as we turned onto 395 South, and right by the Pentagon, there was the northwest wall, coated in blue light, but for one brilliant white spotlight, which highlights an American Flag.

We slowed to a crawl on the ramp, as did all those behind and around us, to marvel at the lights in the sky, and the light on the wall.

Sometimes, memorials are just perfectly fitting.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs