Not Wise on an MC

Originally uploaded by webjedi
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While I didn’t drag my ass out of bed early enough to consider doing the “National Bike to Work Day“, but besides the now plethora of pedaling folks on the streets and along the parkways, the motoring type of cyclists are now out in force.

Now I know, a lot of them, pedal or non, do do things the right way, a number, the ones that stick in our minds, are those who don’t. The picture to the right here, demonstrates everything you shouldn’t be doing on your motorcycle accoring to the Maryland MVA saftety course, which includes, riding with you helmet up (but points for having one), no hand protection, and, of all things, smoking a cigarette.

So all you walkers and drivers, be aware of those who choose two wheels over four, or rotating rubberized motion enahancers over walking there.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Brunch Setup 2

Originally uploaded by tbridge.

Is there a better meal than Brunch? Really? You get the comfort food of breakfast, mixed with the tasty lunch fare. Eggs Benedict. With fries. This town has no shortage of great spots for brunch, from the big fancy spots like Georgia Browns (with their incredible southern comfort food) and Whitlows (for the bloody mary bar, in specific).

This town loves to sleep late on Sunday and hit the brunch scene. Whitlows, the Boulevard Woodgrill, the Overwood, Ireland’s Four Courts, these are just a few of the names, but of course there’s Peacock in Georgetown, or Four P’s in Falls Church, and heck, there’s a whole website dedicated to brunch in DC. DC is the town of Brunch, with its variations on eggs benedict legion, its bloody maries spicy, and the coffee hot.

Viva la brunch!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Congratulations, Mr. or Mrs. Snack Bar Manager of the RedGate Golf Course in Maryland. You sure have come a long way from smoothing out sand traps, emptying trash bins at each hole, and driving the snack cart around the course. Look at you now! You’re the Snack Bar Manager with your very own dedicated parking space, even closer to the clubhouse than the golf pro’s parking space! I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your hard work and dedication over the years. Without you, who would I buy my Gatorade and peanuts from? Keep up the good work!

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While Don may be ducking down with shyness, I’m almost immobile with anticipation. Starting at 7pm tonight will be my premier on 60 Minutes.

Famed reporter Lesley Stahl will be covering MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte’s progress with One Laptop Per Child, his dream of one-to-one computing as an educational boost, and I’ll be featured as an expert on OLPC.

You can even see a split-second of me at the end of this trailer:

And yeah, I am nervous!

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

While I arrived too late to meet-up with Tom, I too joined the party crew last night at DC’s first TECH Cocktail. All the A-list of DC’s blogerati were there, sporting cool looks for the cameras.

Unfortunately, I didn’t meet any of them, being so tardy that the doorman almost didn’t let me in, but I did happen to meet the “Master Blogger” of AOL: none other than AOL Joe!

This random meeting was way better than the last one if only for the trouble AOL Joe got me into. Note his coy Cheshire cat grin as he woos the ladies…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

My dining companion last night said that he didn’t think this was accurate since the hybrid still uses gas but if someone as pedantic as me is willing to give it a pass I think it’s funny enough to share with y’all. Maybe I was just in a forgiving mood after gorging myself on chicken wings.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

In what may be a great case study on how blogging now influences major media outlets and confirmation that I am in the blogging big leagues, 60 Minutes will be focusing on the other website I contribute to: OLPC News.

Famed reporter Lesley Stahl will be covering MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte’s progress with One Laptop Per Child, his dream of one-to-one computing as an educational boost, a way for children in the developing world to “learn learning”.

Ms. Stahl will have on-location reports from OLPC testing in Brazil. With 13 million viewers on average every Sunday night at 7pm, the coverage of OLPC should be a major boost in profile for the project.

Lesley Stahl will also be interviewing an obsessive follower of OLPC XO advances, a technology in development expert who publishes the informative and influential OLPC News: your favorite DC Metroblogger, Wayan.

Lesley and I, interviewing

I am told OLPC News and I will be an integral part of the One Laptop Per Child segment of the CBS News program, including video of an interview I had with Lesley Stahl in New York City.

There should be a distinct focus on OLPC News as the medium by which those interested in the “$100 laptop” can go for independent news, information, and commentary.

So be sure to tune in and watch me geek out on one-to-one computing in education. Cheers, jeers, and beers welcome.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It was a packed house at MCCXXIII last night for DC’s first Tech Cocktail, hosted by Frank Gruber and Eric Olson. Out on display were a number of interesting services including Wine Library TV and Buzz XYZ, amongst others.

DC’s tech community is certainly well-served, what with groups like Refresh-DC, and the Social Media Club, but it’s nice to see more events to get techie people out and about and socializing. Many thanks to Frank Gruber and Eric Olson for the great event, be sure to check out Raoul Pop’s photoset from the event if you couldn’t make it.

So, when’s the next one?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

Finally, a Bike to Work day with agreeable weather. This means you do not have an excuse: pedal your way to employment today!

Come join DC area cyclists in Freedom Plaza to celebrate a healthy form of locomotion. Drivers, you should be especially celebratory. We represent thousands of car lengths NOT blocking your commute this morning.

And now, the Bike to Work Day Flickr Pool.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Do you recognize this dilapidated structure, badly in need of a paint job? Have you ever passed it on your way to a museum and wondered, “Hmmm. What a bizarre looking thingamajig. I wonder what they use that for?” Have you ever seen anyone on or around it? All of these questions cloud my brain whenever I walk by this prehistoric gazebo.

Well, according to Flickrite rockcreek:

“I used to walk by this every day when I worked at the Holocaust Museum, and finally called the library at the American History Museum one day to see if they had any info on it: it’s a bandstand, and it used to sit on the grounds of a now-demolished insane asylum in Illinois. When the asylum was closed in the 60s, it was donated to the Smithsonian. Apparently it was used for concerts in the 70s and 80s, but that was given up because the noise from the 14th St. traffic drowned out the musicians.”

What a waste of space! Here are my suggestions on what to do with this (roughly) 1/2 acre of land:

• Build another Smithsonian Museum: The Museum of George Bush’s Great Ideas. He’s had a few great ideas in his time, like to marry Laura and have some hot party animal daughters, to mispronounce his words and be the laughing stock of the world, etc. Hopefully his next great idea will be to leave the White House quietly and never be heard from again.
• Slap an ice skating rink in there. We’ve only got two other rinks within walking distance of this space, so what will another one hurt?
• Turn it into one giant garbage can, an art installation if you will. It will give tourists a place to spit their gum and to throw their cigarette butts into.
• Dig a hole a mile deep and build a giant parking garage. Charge $10 a car and watch the tourists gobble it up.
• Turn it into a skate part so all of those punks over at Freedom Plaza have another place to tear up.
• Build another Washington Monument there so that DC has its very own Twin Towers. Then put a catwalk between the two, charge $20 to walk across it, and watch the tourists gobble it up.
• Build the Iraq War Memorial, aka The World War III Memorial.
• Build a penalty box for any senator, congressman, or executive branch moron who breaks a law. Lock them up in a plexiglass box so that all of the tourists can pay $10 to take pictures of them with their camera phones.

Any other ideas? Let’s hear ’em.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Washington Nationals Game

Originally uploaded by acaben.

Swept the Marlins. Took Three of Four from the Braves. Our offense actually produced some runs, and our bullpen actually stopped the other guys from doing the same. The bullpen hasn’t given up a run since Tuesday. 10 straight innings from the the bullpen without an earned run. Our bullpen actually only gave up ONE run in the series against the Braves. That’s an ERA of 0.56, collectively for the series, which is pretty damned outstanding for a team that’s in dead last in the NL East, and for the team with the 2nd to worst record in the Majors.

There’s potential here, maybe these guys aren’t all that awful…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

As of February 2008, all the bars and restaurants in Maryland will be smokefree, joining the District and several other cities and states around the US. Bars and Restaurants can petition for an exemption if they can prove financial harm to their business, but I have a feeling that’s going to be a hard sell for any business that tries.

Now, to get Virginia to do the same… yeah, I know, pipe dream…

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Photo by DC Metroblogger

This is Washington DC’s Franklin Square. Nestled between 14th and 13th Street and K and I Streets in NW, its one of the largest, if not the largest park in downtown.

With huge old-growth trees, plenty of grass and shade, and multiple benches, its a great escape from urban life without leaving the city. I walk through this park in the mornings this week, and I love it.

Today I noticed that the fountain in the middle of the park is full of water again, so soon we should expect a spray of blue to go with our sprawl of green.

Yet another respite I’ll miss with the bye bye to 901 15th Street.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

I love me the BMW Mini Cooper. The cars are damn cute, very fuel efficient, and packed with all kinds of techno-gizmos that make driving the little cars a dream. Even better, with their tiny size they can fit into any parking space.

So why in the hell did this arrogant asshole decide to park his Mini in the exact center of a huge space on a Sunday?

That spot, with his car, could fit a whole other car with enough room to not need a rubber bumper. To me, such a Mini parking space offense is almost equal to those who get a whole other memo. If you have a small car, park right, take up a small car spot.

Otherwise, you are yet another arrogance defined.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The City Paper is reporting that:

According to a press release received by City Desk this morning, the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Washington D.C. is now open. About goddamn time!

And we here at Metroblogging DC could not agree more. Right up there with cosmetic surgery and fake boobs, DC needs more women thinking that the surgeon’s knife is the key to happiness. Don’t believe me? Just read the press release:

For many women, the search for a better sexual experience has been a life-long quest. Magic pills, creams and various physical exercises have long touted their sexual enhancement claims to no avail.

“As a woman’s body experiences child birth and the natural aging process, the muscles and ligaments surrounding the vagina can become weakened or relaxed causing decreased sexual gratification,” says Christopher Warner, M.D, FACOG, Founder of the Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Washington D.C, ,

“Because sexual gratification for the woman is directly related to the amount of frictional forces generated during intercourse. The LVR procedure restores strength to the vaginal canal that results in more friction and a better sexual experience.”

Yep, that’s right, its all about vaginal friction. No need for romance, foreplay, clitoral stimulation or even an attentive sexual partner – just an Energizer Rabbit pounding away and women of DC can re-achieve the joy of yesteryear.

And to go along with this new unachievable and dubious metric of feminine beauty and sexuality; diet pills like Proven, weight loss fads, and anorexia are for sale on insecurity aisle three.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Market Square mascots

The Alexandria Volunteer Fair treated us pretty well, as it turned out – the weather was okay on Saturday (at least during show hours – what the hell happened that evening?) and just beautiful on Sunday. We were fortunate enough to be assigned a booth that had its back against the fountain, allowing us to spend the quiet moments watching these two ducks, who apparently make their primary home in the fountain.

When I commented on how the female duck was always the one to decide to go from one spot in the fountain to the other and how the male simply followed her around, my darling girlfriend called him “devoted.” I suggested an alternate word.

The bruise has just about healed.

Otherwise it was nice having them around to watch. If you go by and see them, thank them for the company.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Today’s Metroblogging DC Caption Contest stars this photograph from the Washington Post article “Senate Panel Hears String of Impassioned Appeals” as I am speechless with its juxtaposition of expressions.

The reader who submits the best caption to this photograph in the comments section below, will receive a Metroblogging DC T-shirt. Extra points if Eleanor Holmes Norton yeilds no ground to Adrian Fenty.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

It’s not surprising to me that shock jocks behave badly. This is a capitalist society, and as long as we (collectively) create a market for shock jocks, people like Opie and Anthony will continue to push the envelope, just like car companies will continue to build SUVs as long as there are suburban yuppies who want to buy them. To a certain extent, we have no one but ourselves to blame for the Imuses and Opie & Anthonies of the world.

It’s a little surprising that DC-based XM, which is not subject to FCC regulations, suspended Opie and Anthony. But hey, if I owned a broadcasting company and my on-air talent made jokes about how fun it would be to watch the look of “horror” on a woman’s face as she’s being raped, I’d fire their asses. Like, before the end of the show. Without apology. Not because they don’t have a First Amendment right to say it, but because their rights do not require me to provide salaries or studio space for them while they do. And because their rights do not require their employer to lose ad money or subscriber revenue in the name of “Creative Freedom.”

So I think Jim Treacher is full of shit when he calls it “censorship”. It’s not censorship; it’s capitalism. (Comedy Central has an agreement with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of “South Park” that’s at least honest about it. They can do whatever they want, but Comedy Central will show episodes in advance to advertisers. If the advertisers stay in, the show airs. If they want to pull their ads, the show doesn’t.)

It’s worth noting that the terrestrial radio version of the Opie & Anthony show has lost advertising from none other than Trojan condoms over this incident. How tasteless do you have to be when the company who gave us the “Trojan Man” commercials decides you’re bad for its image?

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Kilts and bagpipes abound, and you’ve surely noticed cops driving in from everywhere, garbed in various modes of dress uniform, mingling with the standard crowds of tourists at the sights. It’s Police Week in Washington, DC, when policefolk from around the country converge on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at Judiciary Square to commemorate their fallen comrades. At right, a short video I took of some of the parade that came down New Jersey Ave NW and turned on to E St NW toward the Memorial. Kilts and bagpipes make everything awesome.

The ironic down side to all this police presence is that they’re not here to fight crime so much as to kick back, drink up, and party hard; so the nights of National Police Week are often reminiscent of a series of Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, but with lots more motorcycles, drag racing, and firearms. This old Boston Globe excerpt from an email archived on a humor site refers to Police Week as “law enforcement’s version of spring break,” highlighting the hijinks of an especially boisterous group of NYC cops in 1996:

…they set off fire alarms and slid naked down the beer-soaked railing of a hotel escalator. According to Georgetown Cafe manager Jamil Manna, 29, the cops were drunk at 4:00 a.m. when they flashed their badges so he would give them a table quickly. After eating, they ran out, with Manna at their heels.

Manna jumped into a cab to chase them, but the cops hailed the very cab Manna was in. When Manna confronted them, one officer showed a gun and threatened to “blow Manna’s brains out.” D.C. detective J.C. stamps said the incident marred festivities that were otherwise peaceful.

If you need me tonight, I’ll have my head covered in about two dozen pillows to try and drown out the noise of the rowdy hellraisers revving their engines and drag racing up and down North Capitol Street, like they do every single year for National Police Week. Party on, America’s Finest.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

The Alexandria Young Republicans want you to come out to the First Annual Dick Cheney Paintball Tournament this June. It’s only $45 and comes with a picnic lunch and a kickass t-shirt.

You do know what Tara Reid said to Dick Cheney, right? Not the face!

Okay, sorry, not funny.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs