Homeless World Cup Soccer June 30th, 2008

   
Here’s the photo set from yesterday’s Homeless World Cup finals in DC.
   

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Festa Italiana: Gelato Amore June 29th, 2008

   

It was a busy and productive Sunday for us, most of it revolving around food and European cultures, two very great and wonderful things to revolve a Sunday around in my opinion. We checked out the Festa Italiano this morning at the Italian Cultural Society on 3rd and F St. It was small, but the food options were awesome. I had some coconut gelato and some of the most delicious pizza I’ve ever had in DC… deliciously salty dough and globs of mozzarella cheese. Matt also went for an Italian sausage and mango gelato while we watched some Italian men play– and teach — some onlookers how to play Bocci ball. Check the rest of the photo set on Flickr.
   
Next stop was the National Building Museum to check out the Eero Saarinen exhibit. I had been meaning to get over to this for awhile now because of my involvement on one of the the plaster models that is on display there. Awhile ago my company was contacted to create a 3-D computer model of the TWA Terminal, which is one of Saarinen’s works. I was part of a team of 3-D artists that created the model of the terminal. We sent it to another company that creates plaster-printed scale models of buildings. So that was cool to see a small part of my work on display.
   
Third stop was the Green Turtle in Chinatown to watch the Euro Cup finals. I was surprised at the number of both Spain and Germany soccer fans that were there, and it made for an exciting atmosphere in which to eat wings and watch the game.
   
This was not enough to satisfy our soccer quota for the day, so we went to watch the Homeless World Cup… more on that in the next posting…

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fields of green June 28th, 2008

     
While this photo is from my Uncle’s farm in Iowa we saw some beautiful and similar scenery this morning on our TNT bike ride a mere 20-25 minutes outside of Beltway in scenic Poolesville, MD. Who knew it got so country so fast when you get out of the city.
     
We drove out to Rileys Lock to meet up with the team. Our ride took us along some pretty remote rural roads, I think we covered a little more than 30 miles all in. One of our teammates took a pretty rough spill on some gravel on a turn at the base of large hill. He picked up a fair bit of road rash on his shoulder and had a decent gash on his elbow full of gravel, dirt, and crud. Nothing that a few stitches can’t fix!
     
I recently (yesterday) got some new pedals and biking shoes (the type where you lock your foot on to the pedal) and I’m still getting used to the motion of getting my feet in and out of the pedals. When I slipped a gear near the beginning of the ride I was so focused on what was happening with my chain/gears that I forgot I was still locked into my pedals. I coasted to a stop then just fell over on to my side (fortunately I landed on the grass on the side of the road) with the bike still attached. Yeah, that was embarrassing and inevitable….
     
Great ride and very nice to get out of urbanization for a little while. My handy dandy new on bike computer told me that I maxed out at 38mph during this ride….woooohooo! Go TEAM!
     
Also…I’d like to report that the bike rack did not fail us and no incidents or damage were reported to the bikes, the rack, or the car.

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ahh the Fort Reno concert days of summer… June 26th, 2008

 

   

After work today I rode the one-wheel-newly-replaced and the other-wheel-newly-realigned bicycle over to Fort Reno Park in Tenleytown for one in a series of outdoor concerts… Why is the bike wheel new you might ask? Well that would be because the bikes crashed to the ground this morning while attached to our now-broken bike rack as we careened over a poorly marked speed bump on Gallatin Road NW. Let me present all the facts, fair and honest, and we’ll let our readers decide where to place the blame for my $80 spent at Silver Cycles repair shop today.
 
 
 

Throwing blame around is mostly healthy, so… is the offender: me (Lori)? is it Matt? the bike rack company? the DC government/road surfacing department? the early morning hour?
 
fact #1. Matt was driving. Lori was navigating. (For the record, this is already quite a backwards situation.)
 
fact #2. The speed bump is not painted. It is the same color as the road. The road is wider that most DC side streets. There is small sign indicating speed bump, it is on the side of the road. It is difficult to see the sign (this is unbiased).
 
fact #3. I have previously careened over the speed bump in question on a prior trip to the pool.
 
fact #4. It was 6 am. We were *almost* at the pool.
 
fact #5. Lori and Matt attached the trunk-mounted bike rack together this morning.
 
fact #6. Lori and Matt first trial-installed the bike rack 2 nights ago, while Lori read the instructions for doing so. Today it was discovered that Lori did not read aloud (this is important) the very last step, which involved tying off the straps, BUT
 
fact #7. the Straps had previously been tied off by Matt on a successful bike trip yesterday in which no bikes were spilled onto the road.
 
fact #8. Straps were not tied down this morning when the bikes flew off.
 
fact #9. Lori’s bike wheel got mangled.
 
fact #10. Matt’s seat, previously wobbly, got miraculously re-tightened during the flying-off of the bike rack and bikes!! Thank goodness for a silver lining.
 
fact #11. The bike rack is missing two pieces of plastic tie-downs. Actually, they’re broken, they’re not missing… because they are resting on the side of Gallatin Road where I flung them this morning.
   
So it’s up to our loyal readers to decide in the comments who is to blame here. Do remember, Matt was driving.
    
Ok, fine, I will say that, after writing out the facts, I think I am to blame. SAD FACE. If there was a moral or an end to this story, and there is, it would be this: it’s better to sleep in past 5:30 am like a normal human being instead of trying to bike *and* swim before working a 10 hour day.
   
I also just noticed that this post started out with the title of “ahh the Fort Reno concert days of summer…” and I didn’t even get to that part. In summation of the concert, there was a lot of mostly crappy acoustic singing, and lots of teenagers, so we went and got Thai food. Goodnight!

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Tags: DC, Exteriors, People, Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim, bands, music, parks
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birds & squirrels & biking June 25th, 2008

   
Just returned from riding our bikes around Hains Point this morning (luckily with a few more parts than the bike in the picture…) and it was a successful ride. I did notice, however, that there were a LOT of critters all over the place rooting around in the trash cans and scurrying across the road. I wonder why the park service doesn’t empty the trash every evening? Lots of them were overflowing, and then I rode right underneath a gross bird struggling to lift a corncob (I think thats what it was?) out of the garbage can I wondered how long it would be until I got hit with a falling piece of trash. And would it knock me off my bike? I hope not. Maybe this isn’t a regular case, I guess I’ll have to drag myself out of bed again to see.

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What DC Metro can learn from Kansas City Airport June 24th, 2008

   
   
Well done, Kansas City International Airport, well done. Although this is blurry due to my camera phone suckiness, I think it gets the point across to people quite nicely. *Walk to the right, stand to the left.*   *Walk to the left, stand to the right.* If there is a way that WMATA could just pretty please print this on the metro escalators, all would be right in the universe… then we just would have to assume that all the tourists and/or summer interns passed their 5th grade reading comprehension classes and can actually follow a sign.   

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…back from Iowa June 24th, 2008

   
   
We’re ba-aaaack! After 5 days in Iowa visiting Matt’s family, we are back to the DC grind — which means we just got back from 5:30am swim practice. Nothing like an early morning swim to jolt you back to reality. ugh!    
   
The photo above is a windmill from Pella, Iowa, a city founded by the Dutch peoples with traces of their heritage still found all over the place there. Tulips, windmills, a Klockenspiel, and a bakery with Dutch letters – yum! There was supposedly this so-called “Duck Pond” that we walked to, only to find no ducks, but the pond was there. That could have been weird had it been the other way around.
   
We also spent time on the family farm (I petted an Angus/steer/cow of some sort) both a little white one and a big black one that used to be a porch pet and never once pooped on said porch. We walked around Centerville, Iowa and visited the museum, formerly the town post office, where we saw pieces of coal mine history, as well as cool old dresses and shoes, old postal machines, and one of those bicycles with one really big wheel. Matt’s grandfather had been helping to repaint the basement there.
   
We will post more of the trip photos later! I’m also happy to report that I am writing this on my new Mac Book Pro. boo yeah!

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i see skys of blue and clouds of white June 18th, 2008

   
…..just got back from a quick trip to LA for business…now back up to Philly to head to Iowa for Grandma and Grandpa’s 55th Wedding Anniversary!

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Saxophone Guy June 18th, 2008

   
Matt captured this guy mid-song with a pretty intense facial expression. He plays pretty regularly outside the Woodley Park Zoo metro entrance.

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Dump the Pump! Dump the Pump! June 17th, 2008

   
This Thursday the 19th is, according to WMATA, “Dump the Pump Day.” Screw you high gas prices! Residents are supposed to take advantage of metro in order to see how much money they will save on commuting costs for a day. They are also sponsoring a related contest to guess the daily ridership on Thursday – you could win a $100 SmartTrip card. Boo yah! I already submitted my estimate. Hopefully this is like the time I guessed the exact weight of the giant pumpkin in my dentist office and won a dinner gift certificate.

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Kickballers June 17th, 2008

   
Anyone who’s ever been to DC in the spring, summer, fall, or winter has seen the Kickballers, — teams of people in obnoxiously bright shirts standing around in clumps by the Washington Monument, the Mall, Constitution Avenue, and any other park or memorial area you have ever been to. They’ve also spread to Virginia and Bethesda and various places in between. Why doesn’t DTSS (that’s Downtown Silver Spring) have it’s own league yet?? …they do have that huge open turf area.
   
Anyways, at first glance you think these people are just standing around in disorganized clusters, but at a closer look it appears they are actually playing kickball in sometimes less than 40 square feet or approximately 1/90th of an actual baseball field. After all, the only prop you need is the ball, and maybe a few bases… or coolers, or extra flip flops. Whatever works.
   
Most people either 1) are Kickballers, 2) despise them or 3) used to be a Kickballer and now silently make fun of them. I, of course, fall into the third category. Since my days as a WAKA member, I have since graduated onto far superior sports such as softball. Still organized solely for the trip to the bar after the game, but also requiring actual athletic skill and more than one piece of equipment.
   
Anyways, we stopped by the field at Marie Reed in Adams Morgan on our way home the other night, which is where the picture above was taken. I guess the Kickballers are okay when they’re on a designated field… and I forgot where I was going with this.

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Tags: DC, Exteriors, Night, Olympus XA-2, People, adams morgan, lights, parks, sports
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…some sculpture for your Monday morning June 16th, 2008

   

This is the “Majesty of the Law” sculpture outside the Rayburn House Office Building, which is just south of the US Capitol Building between Independence Ave and C St. SW. According to DC Memorials.com, he’s holding a book of federal laws with the United States seal on the cover, and his sword is meant to represent valor. His counterpart is the female “Spirit of Justice,” and she holds a lamp to symbolize truth and righteousness. The photo was taken with the lensbaby, which is what gives it the blurry effect.

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this could be cool… June 13th, 2008

   
I read an interesting post this morning on DC Metrocentric.com about new plans for the revitalization of the Kennedy Center, and it actually looks pretty promising. If there is anything that place needs it’s the ability to get to it on foot. I remember the last time that we headed over there it was not easy trying to figure out how to get across all the bridges, highways, and overpasses to the entrance of the building. You’re standing there looking at it about half a mile away and you have no idea which way to head even though you can see the front doors.
   
If you check out the photo of the architects model at that link, it looks like they are planning for a pretty prominent promenade ((i heart alliteration)) complete with a linear pool of water. Good stuff!
   
The photo above is taken on one of the outdoor terraces…

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Fun with the Oktomat June 12th, 2008

   
Looks like it’s growing or something doesn’t it? Or maybe one of those Verizon commercials with the bars… Either way, toy cameras like the Oktomat are fun x 8… Actually, check out that link and then “click to animate” – it’s pretty amusing.

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This is Deep June 11th, 2008

   
Hmm I have to disagree with this stencil. While it *is* cute, funny, and pink, I would say that neither dreams nor reality are silly. You need to have amounts of both in your life in order to be successful. Without reality, you could forget just how silly your dreams really are!

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Tags: Exteriors, Random, artwork, graffiti, mount pleasant
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The Big Easy June 10th, 2008

   
Pictures from New Orleans are up! Click the photo above to view the whole set.

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Mmm… deliciousness June 9th, 2008

 
 
 
We are back in action after a 4-day trip to New Orleans, and celebrate we did! The highlight of the trip, for me at least, was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten — at Stella! Restaurant where Jill is working. Check out the amazing sorbet dessert above – it’s inside an ice bowl.

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Someone is finally 21 today!! June 4th, 2008

   
Twenty-one years ago today (at about this time), I was eating Cheerios in the kitchen, in my pajamas, with Mrs. Peggy, while apparently Jill was being born. I think David and I gave her a little toy shaped like an apple with a ball that rolled around in it.
   
And now the littlest sister is finally of drinking age. So today we are leaving for the Big Easy to celebrate celebrate celebrate! Happy 21st Birthday Jill! And I hope you remember all, or at least most, of Bourbon Street after we are done with it.

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it’s my aeroplane June 3rd, 2008

   

Gravelly Point Park just off the GW Parkway is awesome because you can get photos like this. The planes fly in for their landings at Reagan National Airport and they really arethisclose to your head. I also enjoy the weird time-warp air pocket sound that follows each plane as it comes in. It sounds like something from an outer space movie.

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the guy with the sign June 2nd, 2008

   
I’ve seen this guy several times now on my bike route from home towards the Lincoln Memorial. Matt walked over and snapped this picture of him last weekend, and apparently he asked Matt if he’d ever served in the army. The guy told him he was lucky when he answered “no.”
   
I have to wonder exactly how much time he spends by the side of the road flipping his sign back and forth (the other side says Bring our Troops Home) While I do appreciate activism and protesting for things you believe in, this just seems to me like an exercise in futility. I guess the sign gets lots of horn honks and it makes people think for a few minutes… but what else?
   
…or maybe he lost a son or daughter in Iraq, and this is therapeutic for him… who knows? If you are the sign guy and you happen to read my blog, please do share your motivation.

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The Deadline is here… June 1st, 2008

   

Happy first day of June! Today is the day that DC will start fining all taxi cab drivers that do not have meters installed in their vehicles. This cab we were behind the other night looks like it has taken care of business.

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