Sure, he owns the Redskins, which means he’s richer than God. Sure, he can fire players and coaches like it was nothing. But getting rid of some pesky trees? Not so easy for Dan Snyder, Washington’s richest dumbass:

Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder offered to pay the National Park Service $25,000 nearly four years ago in exchange for permission to remove trees behind his Potomac estate, according to Interior Department documents released this week.

The Post managed to get ahold of Interior Department docs this week that shows that Dan Snyder offered the Perk service $25k plus a “general donation” which would be “unrelated” to his property four years ago. What he really meant was, I’ll give you 25 grand, plus Patrick Ramsey’s sire fees. Of course, he did get to cut those trees down last Fall, which sparked controversy across the city.

Apparently, however, the problem was that 25 grand just wasn’t enough money. Snyder’s lawyers and publicists, who I’m betting should be fired, given his rep in this town, say that it’s cost Dan near a hundred grand to do it instead. All because Dan wanted to see the river.

Silly Dan.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Proof that people will, in fact, think of everything: iPodSubwayMaps.com, who have miniaturized the DC Metro map to 8 small 220×176 pixel .jpg files that will display on your color iPod’s screen while you tour about town via our favorite transit method.

No word yet on whether or not this will allow iPods to fix escalators that are frequently broken, or un-jam the red line, but perhaps it will add a bit more use to that sparkly iPod that half the city seems to have and use on the Metro each day.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Did you guys know that the Hotel Monaco will provide you with a goldfish for the duration of your stay? A friend of ours in town for a convention introduced us last night to Kevin, her goldfish-for-the-week.

The Monaco used to be a Post Office, and housed Samuel Morse’s first telegraph.

This has been your random history lesson for the day.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Sitting out by the Capitol Building the other day, I was struck by the beauty of the new interns. More than a girl on a park bench, they seemed all fired up to be in DC, a welcome change in my jaded life. I did want to warn them, to give them a heads-up for what they were in for.

The backstabbing, double-talking, cheapskates that they would have to call boss, co-worker, lover, but alas, as with everything else, a Craigslist post already explains it all – Welcome my little interns

Yes, welcome to DC, now put your guard up.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Since I make it a point not to follow these things, I had no idea that the latest couple allowing Katie and Matt to televise their wedding is semi-local.

Their tacky and overblown lavish and elegant shindig will be taking place in mid-September at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club in mid-September. Like the dress, the rings, and pretty much everything else about the affair, the location was chosen from 4 possible venues by “Today” viewers.

I suppose turning over the decisions on one of the most important days of your life to morning talk show viewers is a small price to pay for a “fantasy wedding” that you don’t want to pay for…

(I know, I know, so judgmental…. lol)

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Were you thinking of braving the rain to contest a ticket today, or need to pay one asap? No need to stress, you just got a holiday!

Ticket Payments
No ticket which comes due during this period will default, double, or receive penalties, as no walk-in ticket payment services will be available. Tickets may be paid by credit card online or by phone at (202) 289-2230. Payment by check and money orders may be sent to the address listed on the back of the ticket.

Ticket Hearings
All ticket-related hearings which had been previously scheduled (officer’s presence requested) for this week are cancelled, and the tickets will be dismissed. A decision letter will be issued by mail. There will be no walk-in ticket hearing services available. All tickets may be adjudicated by mail by writing to the address on the back of the ticket.

The DMV is giving folks a parking ticket holiday since the K Street DMV office is now permanently closed. Yep, after too many shutdowns, including one that started Monday, the DMV finally decided that their $131,978 per month offices were not fit for human habitation.

Now that it’s gone, I have a new DC Traffic Ticket processing idea: Replaced the Traffic Adjudication Board by a slot machine, which in giving out random 3 cherries, would be more consistent in its judgments, and replacing their payment processing system with an automated teller, which would be faster than the 3-6 month check cashing done now.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

295 is now closed at the Eastern Avenue overpass north and south bound, as a construction vehicle has hit one of the support beams and the District is concerned that the overpass may not be safe. They’re rerouting traffic around on the service road to the south, but if you’re heading north, traffic must exit at Burroughs. No word yet on how long this will be closed but apparently a bridge team is en route.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

engadget meetup

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

It’s a packed house down here at the Warehouse Theatre where Peter Rojas and his Engadget Crew are holding court before an audience of about 120 or so hipsters getting their gadget geek on. With $2 Yuenglings and Buds, it’s a good place to be. Of course, they sure could have used Lauren tonight as the line for the bar was out the door early on in the evening.

Thanks much to Peter and the gang for hosting this event. Even though they got gypped out of the iBook sale in Henrico County, they still came down to hang with their DC readers at Warehouse.

They’re going to be giving away some cool schwag and a gadget or two, so if you haven’t trekked down here, there’s still time!

Thanks to everyone at Engadget for the great event tonight. Pictures are up at Flickr.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

This appears to be the week of meetups, as Engadget’s Meetup is tonight, and now there’s a flickr meetup for DC area shutterbugs on Wednesday night over at Aroma Company in Northwest:

Looks like the August Meetup is going to be on the 10th, which is this Wednesday. It turns out we’re going to have it at 7:30 pm at Aroma Co. it’s a martini/cigar bar furnished retro lounge style. 3417 Connecticut Ave NW, Cleveland Park, Washington DC. This is also the night that Blue Coyote Laughing is opening her show there. Come one come all. It should be a great time.

I might just set aside my case of RiverFU to head up and see this one.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

steam

Originally uploaded by a.m.cross.

The steam grates downtown that frequently pour their excess heat in white puffy cloud form are often the source of much joy for the homeless population during the winter months, when they provide pockets of livable weather when usually the bitter cold overtakes the city. Of course, usually they’re not running in the summer time, but this morning as we drove north on 12th St past the EPA, sure enough, the voluminous white cloud was coming up from the street grating.

Any idea why the steam system would be running in early August?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

For the ladies: Party Scene Screen on the Green

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Or at least the K Street office. DC Alerts says:

The District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles announced it is forced to close its facility at 65 K Street, NE due to major HVAC system failures and unhealthy interior conditions.

The facility normally houses DMV

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

With their big goose-egg loss today to the Padres, the Nats fell five and a half behind the Braves and are two games out of the wild card race, headed into Houston for a three game series. Sure, our shortstop couldn’t hit his way out of a wet paper sack, and our star pitcher likes to throw his gear after a particularly frustrating loss, our right fielder is going under MRI after MRI, seeking second opinions in Alabama, and our manager is as senile as Willard Scott.

Yep, things are just ducky here in Nationals-land.

But hey, we’re still above .500, which is more than I could say for those Expos of yesteryear.

A shopping list for Jim Bowden:

– New shortstop. If Guzman can’t hit .200, he needs to go.
– New hot corner. Vinny may provide some leadership in the clubhouse, but until he starts slugging, he’s replaceable.
– 4 and 5 starters. Loaiza has been solid, just unable to get run support. Hernandez may be a firebrand, but his rubber arm means he can go the distance and win. Patterson is absolutely on fire, and let’s just hope he can stay that way. Armas, however, sucks. Horribly. Get him gone.
– Some further relievers. I love Majewski, and the Chief. But we need better medium to long relief.
– A new manager. Frank may be HOF material as a player, but his late-inning decisions are costing us games. Time to send him back to the league offices.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Wе аrе аlwауѕ lооkіng for wауѕ to ѕаvе you mоnеу аnd fоr fаntаѕtіс реrѕоnаl fіnаnсе products we thіnk you wіll love. Sо we are really еxсіtеd tо tеll уоu аbоut thіѕ grеаt credit card that еѕѕеntіаllу рrоvіdеѕ уоu wіth a nо іntеrеѕt lоаn fоr a year! Wе had nеvеr hеаrd of a сrеdіt саrd wіth thіѕ ѕоrt of оffеr before, аnd definitely wanted tо ѕhаrе іt with уоu.

The credit card wе’rе tаlkіng аbоut іѕ thе Plаtіnum Pluѕ MаѕtеrCаrd frоm MBNA, visit this page to get more details. page

Hеrе are some оf its best features:

Thеrе іѕ no annual fее
Yоu саn trаnѕfеr mоnеу frоm thе MBNA Plаtіnum Pluѕ MаѕtеrCаrd tо рау оff уоur оthеr еxіѕtіng сrеdіt card balances and nоt pay аnу interest оn thіѕ money for 12 mоnthѕ!
You саn trаnѕfеr money frоm the саrd іntо уоur bаnk ассоunt аnd nоt need tо рау аnу іntеrеѕt оn this mоnеу for 12 months either!
If уоu’vе heard еnоugh and want tо apply fоr оnе rіght nоw, wе don’t blame уоu. Clісk thе link bеlоw, fіll out an application, аnd thank us lаtеr.

Fоr thоѕе whо want tо knоw mоrе, keep rеаdіng!

The mоѕt ѕurрrіѕіng аѕресt of thіѕ credit саrd іѕ thаt you can tар its credit lіnе аѕ аn іntеrеѕt free lоаn! Cаrdhоldеrѕ wіthоut debts tо рау off саn simply deposit оr “trаnѕfеr” fundѕ frоm the card into a savings ассоunt аnd then use іt оr іnvеѕt thе mоnеу аѕ they ѕее fіt – рrеttу сооl, rіght? It’ѕ a little-known feature of the card that’s ѕurе to gеt lоtѕ оf аttеntіоn іn thе wееkѕ аnd mоnthѕ аhеаd, which іѕ аll the more rеаѕоn tо sign uр now, whіlе MBNA is ѕtіll ассерtіng аррlісаtіоnѕ.

Of course, іf уоu have еxіѕtіng dеbtѕ оn оthеr саrdѕ, thе Plаtіnum Plus MasterCard frоm MBNA іѕ a grеаt tооl tо hеlр pay them off. In fact, with 0% interest аnd nо аnnuаl fee, Cаnаdіаnѕ loaded dоwn with hіgh interest credit card debt would bе сrаzу not tо take this саrd. Pауіng those dеbtѕ оff wіll bе so muсh еаѕіеr without monthly іntеrеѕt сhаrgеѕ tо dеаl wіth!

So what аrе уоu wаіtіng fоr? Aррlу fоr thе MBNA Plаtіnum Pluѕ MаѕtеrCаrd frоm MBNA at LowestRates.ca tоdау!

Pershing Park

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

It’s hot out there. Really hot. 95 and humid, hot. So, what do you when it’s hot? Usually, I cower in the air conditioning, praying that the power won’t go out. Of course, the other option is to head out somewhere near a body of water, as they have a cooling effect on the nearby air. So today for lunch I walked over to Pershing Park and sat in the open air by the pond there and watched the ducks frolic. Not at all shabby.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Now let’s take a look at this. Mayor Williams wants to move WMATA to Anacostia.

The same WMATA that is under fire for poor service, constant breakdowns, and gross mismanagement. The same WMATA that can’t even order rail cars on time and on budget. And some how this same WMATA will be able to sell its downtown offices and move to Anacostia, making a profit in the process?

Right. I may believe in local government’s ability to improve life by moving a day labor pick-up spot, but WMATA? Not even I am that optimistic.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Hi, Washington Post. It’s us, we’re the blogs in your town. I know, it’s been a while since we talked, most of the time you only come to us when you’re slumming, needing a little piece of interesting gossip, or when you’re interested in capitalizing on our buzz-factor, but today you slighted one of us.

That’s right, at just before 1pm today, DCist picked up on a little tiny bill that was chucked into the mix right before Congress adjourned: a bill that would rename 16th St. to Ronald Reagan Boulevard. Your article, written 7 hours later, doesn’t mention the source for your information saying only “neighborhood web logs”. This is a problem. We give credit where credit is due, we link to the source of our information. It’s part of the blogger’s creed: give credit where credit is due.

You owe DCist a round of drinks. Minimum.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Back before my wingman dumped me, he and I hatched the ultimate pick-up plan, a puppy rental service. That’s right, what could be a better prop to pick up the chicks than a cute puppy? One that will get all the girls to coo and cuddle in your presence.

Well it seems that some smart cold-hearted guy has decided to do just that, launching the DC Puppy Rental Service. You even get to choose between two cute & fluffies for your scamming delight.

Still, I think I can one-up that. There is a chick-magnet that not even a puppy can match: kids. Not your own of course, but a cousin

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Today, this man (at right) robbed a branch of the Bank of America in Alexandria, VA:

Police said the robber approached a teller at the Bank of America, located at 600 N. Washington St., implied that he had a weapon and demanded money. The teller gave the man an undisclosed amount of cash and the robber fled.

What kind of desperate person do you have to be to rob a bank within easy striking distance of the FBI? I mean, it’s not like their giant hideous headquarters isn’t close by.

That’s right folks, the village people are robbing banks in DC. A brief comparison, if you will. Please examine the picture at right. Then, please examine the picture at left. Shall we expect the Indian Chief to be robbing a Chevy Chase? The Motorcycle guy to be knocking over a PNC? I mean, this is just silly. Why wear a hard-hat to a bank-robbery? I mean, do you really want to be known as the village people bank robber? Because I can totally see that catching on in these parts.

What is it about people that makes them do stupid things in the capital? Van man. Tractor man. Frank Robinson. Dan Snyder. These people have all done monumentally stupid things in this town (threatening to blow up the treasury, threatening to blow up a pond, playing Wil Cordero, firing everyone immediately after one bad season), so I suppose you’re in decently hilarious company, but c’mon man, the Village People are way out of style.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I realize we’re still 3 months out from Zoom Zoom DC, which is currently scheduled for 12-13 November 2005 at FedEx Field in Landover, but the thought of taking out some new Mazdas for some speed work and some slalom driving is getting me salivating with excitement.

I love to drive. Putting my foot down on the gas and getting pushed back into my seat is a truly orgasmic feeling for me, feeling a car power its way through a tight curve is a thrill that few other terrestrial experiences can match. Getting a chance to drive like a maniac, for free, sounds like a grand idea. Go get yourself signed up.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs