If you’re one of 13,000 people employed by the District of Columbia, chances are that your personal information, including identifiers such as your social security number, were stolen on Monday, when an ING employee (they run the retirement program) took home a laptop, which was promptly stolen. What’s worse, the laptop wasn’t protected by a password, and the data contained on the laptop wasn’t encrypted, so anyone with physical access to the laptop will have fairly immediate access to the identity data.

DC Police and ING suggest that it’s entirely possible the thief wasn’t after the data, but the hardware, and sold it quickly and cheaply. However, that doesn’t guarantee that whoever bought it hasn’t just stumbled on to some kind of gold mine.

What’s really infuriating about all of this is that it comes so quickly on the heels of the VA laptop being stolen as well. Why aren’t companies taking steps to protect that kind of data? Why are they still checking it out on laptops with no password protections? Why are they still checking it out on computers at all? Why isn’t this sort of thing something you work on only in the confines of the office, over a local data link?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Beer + lime + ice in ice buckets, served poolside.

If you’re sweating through this weekend’s hot and humid heat, do head the brilliance of those in other lands. Specifically, I’m talking the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Last weekend, chilling with my beer + lime + ice in the Peninsula Hotel, I met Imedla Marcos(!), who beside her fabulos shoes, was drinking my favorite mix – beer + lime + ice. Impressed, I was in awe when I arrived in Sri Lanka.

Here, far away from DC, but suffering through similar oppressive heat, every one drinks beer + lime + ice in ice buckets.

As you can tell, working from Colombo is a rough life.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I’d like to thank all the members of the Grand Jury today who failed to indict Cynthia McKinney for assaulting a Capitol Police Officer with her cell phone a month or so ago. You have made it totally okay for people to hit cops, get away with it, and come off looking like the victim. Way to go. Here’s hoping someone clocks you this weekend, so you can see just how badly you fucked up.

If you wonder why people don’t think DC should have its own representation in Congress, or any of the other myriad things that I’m sure some community activists will claim the Man is doing to Hold Them Down, look no further than this paragraph from the Post:

The grand jury found “no probable cause” after an “extensive and thorough” investigation, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

What, exactly, was the grand jury examining in an extensive and thorough manner? The insides of their eyelids while evidence was presented? Were they reading off the Jesse Jackson crib sheet? Or was it more like, “well, she didn’t give him a black eye, and besides, racism.”?

What a fucked up world we live in. If I’d done this, they’d have slammed my ass in jail so fast my head would still be spinning. If it had been Patrick Kennedy, he’d have admitted it, claimed to be on prescription sleeping meds and in a hurry to go vote. If it’d been one of the guys at Wonkette, we’d be reading on their blog about who else they saw inside the DC jail, and how their Facebook profiles were doing.

But that’s not what happened. What happened was a black woman hit a cop with her cellphone, when they had the audacity to stop her from jumping the security line. When she came under fire, clearly it was the guard’s fault for stopping her, forcing her hand to her cellphone and her cellphone to the cop’s face. Clearly, the guard was a racist. Clearly, she had to act.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is just how fucked up DC can be sometimes.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

There’s an issue lurking out there, and chances are, if you’re reading this weblog, you could be affected. Blaine Zuver is the City Captain for Metroblogging Miami, and he’s got an excellent post about Net Neutrality and what’s at stake. Everywhere I go, I see ads by the cable companies conveniently placed on their own network about how this is about content providers paying for appropriate bandwidth, that’s a load of bull, pure and simple.

Content providers pay for their internet access the same as you pay for your home access, except they tend to pay a lot more for the big pipes that they need to send large amounts of data through. Most of these groups would raise their rates, which would seem like the obvious solution, except that these large companies would then seek other providers of fast internet access and could potentially lose their contract. So, instead, they’re seeking to double bill content providers. This is a load of crap. It’s like the power company charging you not just for the power that they use, but also for the convenience of having it most of the time, too. This is a load of crap.

As the internet is about freely available speech, I don’t want to have to pay the monopolies just so I can get my site on the “approved list” for available bandwidth. If Cox is blocking Craigslist because they have their own ad service, how long is it going to be before your site is replaced by one that your ISP prefers? Giving the Telcos the power to decide what is important and when is unacceptable to a free-thinking society. Tell your Senator “No!”

The bill comes before a vote in the Commerce Committee on Tuesday, and it needs to pass. Contact any of the members of the commerce committee, but in specific, Sen. George Allen is on that list and he’s up for re-election this Fall. Drop him a note and tell him to vote FOR the Net Neutrality Bill on Tuesday.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Or, so said Gov. Ehrlich to Metro Board Member Robert Smith after Smith called homosexuality “sexual deviance” on public television. Generally there’s this thing we have in society called “manners” and it’s clear to me that Smith ought to pick up a copy of Emily Post for posterity. You don’t have to believe being gay is okay, you don’t have to believe that being gay is acceptable, but what you have to do is treat other people with common decency and respect in order to get by in this town. And that means not calling a group of people “sexual deviants” on public television.

Failure to do so will get you lots of press, but it’s the kind of press that shows up at the top of Google when HR departments, reporters, and friends go searching for information about you. It’s not in your best interest to come out swinging with words, on recorded television no less, that will look badly to other people when they hear them. Sure, some in the community might agree with you, but I don’t necessarily think that coming off as a bigot or a discriminator is going to be in your best interest, no matter what the cause is. Next time, Think Twice.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Ah, the TSA. No one likes them, no one trusts them, and they can’t even find a bomb when it’s passed through their own X-Ray detectors. I hear that their image is so bad that even Apco won’t take them. It seems that the crowd out at Dulles is fairly nonchalant about being impersonated, even if the rules for being selected for security, or even to whom you must show your identification.

I just can’t wait for the day when you have to swear fealty to someone in order to get on a plane. Then, and only then, will we be truly safe.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Stuck in Sri Lanka for work, I am enjoying my time as best I can. Best I can without my quiver of Washington supermodels that usually keep me warm in pairs.

How do I cope with their absence? Besides copious amounts of booze, I live by Fashion TV. Not for the actual fashion, mind you, for I am straight, but for the great slow-mo soft porn.

Almost as good as Computex Sales Girl Soft Porn, Fashion TV takes a very close and sensuous look at supermodels. Easy on the eyes, it is the best supermodel substitute in the developing world

I only wish I could watch it in DC. Comcast & RCN- anyone know if they carry it?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Dubya. Tee. Eff?!

Originally uploaded by tjbax.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know I’m supposed to be out honeymooning and stuff, but I just have to ask.

Maryland readers, what does SWAT team mean in your state that is so different than what it means to the rest of us?

And if it’s not different, perhaps you can explain why your churches and rotary clubs have them?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

BLK DRM

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

DC is a town of advocates, and it comes as no surprise when I see a car plastered in bumper stickers advocating everything from green cars to immigration reform to abortion messages (both pro-choice and pro-life), to embracing Jesus. Virginia, Maryland and DC all have very affordable vanity plates, and of course this means that cars won’t just have messages on their bumperstickers anymore, but also on their license plates.

Our friend here has decided that he’s against Digital Rights Management schemes which record companies and other digital content providers use to prevent rampant copying of their material without authorization. Many people, including the governments of several european countries, have stood up against the DRM groups.

Me, I fall somewhere in the middle. I love buying (and paying for!) digital music. No bulky CD to carry around, I can play iTunes purchases on all my computers, and I can move them around to my iPods. Yes, I realize they won’t play without iTunes. Yes, I realize that if you don’t have an iPod you’re pretty well and truly fucked, but I don’t care, to be honest. It works exactly how I want it to: I don’t have to take extra steps to make sure it will all play nice together, and it generally restricts me from giving it away to other folks.

There’s got to be a happy medium out there, where copyright holders get their due, and fans can have their flexibility, but I think in the wake of Napsteresque services at the end of the TwenCen and into the early Twentyfirst, I think we’re stuck with DRM. The trick is making sure it’s good, and it’s fair.

But, nice to see that LA’s not the only town where DRM isn’t popular, eh Boing Boing? As we wended our way through traffic today and caught this plate, we managed to miss the VA tag “FSMISM” which I’m sure would’ve ended up on their front page. Sorry Cory, we’ll work harder on that next time.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Oh Kwame Brown
how your license plate glistened
under the morning sunshine;
it reads
DC Council Member
At-Large D
in nearly impossible to read text.
that fine E350, though,
is hard to miss.

We all wanted around that panel truck,
its giant bulk lumbering up DC 295
in post-rush hour traffic
however, was it necessary
that you tailgated that DC taxpayer in his
swanky 300 M?

That luscious 3.5L engine roared
you sped ahead, right on that M’s bumper
Like white on rice.
or a politician on graft.

Oh to have such a fine ride,
and an awesome blue bowtie.
Oh Kwame Brown.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

So I am working out of a Taipei park this week, and to keep in touch with folks, I have a Skype account. This lets me call worldwide from my computer for cheap.

I’m so happy with Skype that I decided to upgrade and get a Skype phone number so people can call me on Skype using their usual cell phones or land lines (usually a computer running Skype is required).

Only one problem – Skype doesn’t offer 202 area code phone numbers!

I had to get a random number and have my office phone forwarded to it. I’m not about to be associated with a non-202 number. How un-DC would that be?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Starting August 17th, JetBlue is taking on the Delta Shuttle.

JetBlue is launching Dulles to JFK service on August 17th, with introductory fares at $39 each way, and with regular fares no higher than $145, and walkup tickets of $90 each direction available. You’ve got 3 weeks to book the cheap fares, and you have to travel by the 30th of September. Total cost of a roundtrip ticket with taxes and fees works out to less than a benjamin so get your act together and book it already.

My devotion to JetBlue could only be explained through their amazing service, which you have to experience for yourself. Leather seats, TVs in every seat with 24 channels of DirecTV, and soon enough, inflight wireless internet access will be available, as they bought part of the spectrum that could be used for that. Sign me up!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

My friend Oli from Australia has been going on and on and on and on about the World Cup soccer tournament that’s starting tomorrow at noon local, and I just haven’t ever managed to work up some fervor about this giant tournament of nations. While DCist wants you to head to tiny (but great) Bar Pilar, or maybe to ESPN Zone, why not cross the river and go to Summers instead? After the 2002 World Cup, it was voted Best Soccer Bar in America, especially considering it was open 24/7 during the ’02 World Cup when fans were crowding into the bar at 4 in the morning for plates of steaming hot breakfast in order to watch the matches.

Sure, you could go to Fado (which will serve Guinness for the 9am matches) or to another bar in the District, but why not go to one of the best soccer bars in the world, instead?

Summers will be doing replays of the daytime games (remember that Germany is a good 6 hours ahead of us right now) during the evening, so don’t be afraid of having to take a long lunch if you’re willing to watch on tape delay. The US kicks off their first game on Monday at noon against the Czech Republic, then won’t play again the following Saturday when they face off against Italy, but there are three games a day, every day starting tomorrow and going through the 23rd, after which we get into the more complicated Round of 16. In order to advance, teams must complete mathematical forumlae that make the BCS formula look fairly simple.

Summers is charging $10 if you only want to just watch the game, but order a couple of beers or some food and you ought to be in pretty good shape. See you there for kickoff!

Summers Bar

1520 N Courthouse Rd.

Arlington VA

Courthouse Metro is 1 block away

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I didn’t always feel this way. When I heard Charlie Slowes and Dave Shea in Spring Training last year, I wasn’t sure that they were the right men for the job, and it frustrated me. Neither of them seemed to have any character in those early games. It was like listening to paint dry, only without the excitement. Then, one day, the Nats won a game and Charlie tried something I’m sure he’d thought about for a while. He just cut loose, his voice crescendoing, “BANG! ZOOM! There go the fireworks!” as Nick Johnson rounded the bases on a homerun.

Instantly, a catch-phrase was born.

Since then, Dave Shea was unceremoniously replaced with Dave Jagler, and the Nats aren’t quite at the same apex as they were this time last year, but one phrase remains, and though Bud Selig himself may track me down and sue me, I insist on recounting part of this copyrighted broadcast without the written permission of the office of the commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Tonight it was Bang! Zoom! There go the fireworks! Another curly W is in the books for the Nationals!

Thank you, Charlie, for giving me something to really enjoy when the Nats cap off another win, like they did over the Phillies. 7 of 8. 8 of 11. 12 of 16. I look forward to tomorrow night’s game, and yet another curly W.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Ferrari

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

I love driving. There’s something that’s elemental about getting out on the open road with a map in one hand and the other on the wheel. This summer, I’m doing a two week roadtrip through the Midwest, and I’m salivating just thinking about it.

Driving’s not all easy, though, and parking is certainly something that drives many people nuts. However, if you own a fucking Ferrari Testarossa, the car that makes many little boys into car addicts for life, you had damn well be able to park it.

Just sayin’.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

BT Wanna-Be

Say you are in Dulles Airport’s Gate D, and you’re like me, a WiFi addict. If you whip out your laptop and fire it up looking for free WiFi, you’ll be kinda in luck.

Unlike the lack of WiFi at National Airport, in Dulles Gate D you can use BT Online. Or well part of it anyway. You’ll not be able to surf the Internet using a web browser, or use Skype to call home, but you can use Yahoo Instant Messenger.

Yes, thet’s right, BT Online changes for the use of the ports that allow browsers and Skype to work, but Yahoo IM is free for all. Me, I used to exclaim the shock of this error to my geek friends.

What will you use it for?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It is a hot and steamy summer afternoon in DC. The temperature is north of 90F in the shade, and sticky, sweaty humid. You are covered head to toe, Muslim woman style, and you’re pulling a large suitcase with a big purse over your shoulder.

What might you be thinking of doing just then?

This, I doubt would be your first choice of action – walking the wrong way down M Street, in M Street, towards Wisconsin Avenue, sweat pouring down your face cursing cars with your really bad attitude.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Okay, contest time. It seems that the DNC has decided that local strip clubs are the place to go for new voters.

Here’s the contest. Complete the phrase “Searching for Votes at Camelot is Like…”

There have to be some really good answers to this one…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Gangsta Sebring

Originally uploaded by mrkon.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released their findings regarding auto theft in 2005, and no surprise, Escalades are what every car thief wants this year.

Except in DC.

Where they’re stealing Dodge Stratus, Chrysler Sebrings and Plymouth Breezes.

Can I get a what the fuck, people? How is it that despite all the crazy expensive cars that are around this city, and we do have a Maserati dealer in town, that thieves are going after the Stratus/Sebring/Breeze? If you’re going to risk felony auto theft, and likely carjacking to boot, why in the name of all that is good and lubricated with synthetic oil are you going to waste it on a car that has, if you’re very lucky, a 4 cylinder engine? And only 150hp?

That’s what I can’t figure out. If you’re going to end up going to jail for it, you might as well make it worth your while by stealing a 7 series or one of those snazzy Hummers that I see on K St. C’mon, auto thieves, you’re giving DC a bad name.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Capitol Punishment is all over MLB Draft Day today, and so far the Nats have a couple of picks in the first round: Chris Marrero, another third baseman, and Colton Willems, a right-handed pitcher. The second round brings Sean Black (Righty Pitcher), Stephen Englund (Shortstop) and Stephen King (also a Shortstop).

Okay, I can see taking two pitchers in the first round, but can someone explain to me why we’re drafting another 3B with our first pick? And why we needed two shortstops in the second round? I mean, we’re just one more away from a trifecta of shortstops, which of course translates numerically to 666.

Perfect. How very Slayerific.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs