5″ Rattail. yes. Surf sign hand signal. yes. This picture speaks for itself.
Although on doing a little Google search on “surf hand sign” I learned a few things. One, Ronaldinho is often known to make this hand gesture after scoring a goal. Is this a common soccer thing or did this guy in the picture just like Ronaldinho? Two, it’s called a Shaka Sign and according to Wikipedia can mean “hang loose,” “alright,” “cool,” or “smooth.” It’s often associated with Hawaii and the surfing community. Who knew!
I’ve seen this truck a couple of times in the last 2-3 years while driving around the city. In the past the timing was never right, I’d catch a bad light cycle, or be stuck behind someone going a solid 15 mph as the truck would zip down the road, or the truck would turn right when I really needed to go straight, and I was never able to actually read the message in it entirety. The truck had always made me laugh, particularly the signature – so very clever, and intrigued me a bit so you can imagine how pleasant a surprise it was to find the once elusive truck parked over near Metro Center. I don’t know anything about the driver/owner of the vehicle, I don’t know if it is associated with any business (there was a street vendor set up to the side of the truck), and I don’t know what the motive was for the paint job in the first place but I like it.
An interesting little metal installation piece that we saw the other day in Adams Morgan. It’s like 3-d graffiti made out of metal and attached to the back of a stop sign. I wonder if this artist does traditional spray paint graffiti as well?
Went to out first DC United game on Saturday night, and we were lucky enough to witness a 3-0 win over the Colorado Rapids. It was a good rowdy crowd, as I’m guessing it is for mostly every home game. We were just close enough to the crazy drum section to get a feel for the energy down there, but far enough away to not get covered in flying beer after each United goal. Depending whether you ask me or Matt, that is either a good thing or a bad thing.
I think everyone in DC is familiar with these colorful row-homes in Adams Morgan. I always wonder what order they were painted in (there is also a blue one just out of frame on the right side…), and if they have different owners? The colors seem too coordinated for them to have been unrelated paint jobs. Anyways, I think I would most like to live in the happy yellow one.
Hmmm, so I stuck 3 pictures together… can you guess what is going on here? because I’m still not sure.
It started with Matt “OMG I’m craving a burrito let’s go to Chipotle.” So we get our food, and we’re sitting there at the corner of Calvert and Connecticut Ave. and that guy goes flyyyying by the window on springy feet. And then across the intersection, and into the turn lanes, and back around, arms flailing everywhere. He had a little sign saying you could try the springy stilt feet for 10 minutes for free. I’m not sure what the actual rates were, but come on, he barely looked like he was in control of those things, and I assume he owns them and uses them frequently. Then I pictured myself, or better yet, Matt with those things strapped on. I’m sure he would be well over 9 feet tall. And spring-loaded. Awesome.
But seriously, what a silly thing to sell on a street corner. I picture it being bettered suited to a wide open plaza area with 8-inches of padding on the ground, but still then only slightly less dangerous. Not to sound like a scaredy-pants, but they look hard to use and easy to embarrass yourself with. Would you try them?
On Sunday night we went to check out the Comcast Outdoor Film Festival at the Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD. The show for the evening was Airplane! and true classic, and I think I forgot how funny that movie is.
The hill setup made for pretty decent viewing, and there were tons of vendors. By that I mean there was Ben and Jerry’s. The guy sitting behind us, who was talking about his love for mixing popcorn and ice-cream (“It’s sweet and salty!”), proceeded to then share some of his popcorn (we had been laughing at him) to mix with our last few bites of ice-cream. Not bad at all!
The Potomac is pretty to look at, right? I suppose that’s hard to disagree with. But now it’s exactly 1 month until I will be swimming in that water for the Nation’s Triathlon, and I’m getting just a tad bit nervous… especially since I’ve heard the Potomac mentioned in the news in the last 3 days, regarding things like toxic algae and dead bodies. Super!!
And then I remind myself that I’m doing this for a great cause and in honor of my grandfather, so won’t you please help me with a DONATION to DO NATION’s (Matt came up with that, I wish I was so clever…) and help fund blood cancer research ?
Okay, okay, so I know we are a little heavy on the metro photo posts, but that’s the way it goes. My metro commute was a mess this morning for me and about 800 other people… According to Wmata.com,
Trains are again moving smoothly on the Red Line today following an early-morning track fire at Metro Center. There were no injuries. Red Line trains were not permitted to pass through the station for about 20 minutes from about 7:15 to 7:35 a.m. today after a report of a small electrical fire on the tracks headed in the direction of Glenmont. Once the fire was extinguished, trains shared the other track between Judiciary Square and Dupont Metrorail stations to help move riders through the affected area. Trains resumed using both tracks at 8:20 a.m.
And while it was great that the loudspeakers were keeping people informed of the fire/smoke issue, I think what people really need to hear during a problem is the estimated time delay. Hello! Are we talking about a smoldering cigarette on fire in a trash can, or the whole damn station? It was killing me that they never actually announced something along the lines of, “Trains will resume running in approximately 20 minutes.” Or half hour. Or next Monday. Just give people a heads up! I witnessed a handful of people head out for taxis and buses, when, if they’d have waited 5 more minutes, they’d have been back on the train. (That they already paid for.) Anyways, I’m sure this happens more frequently than I realize, since I maybe only metro once a week. But has anyone ever heard the metro operators give an estimated time for a delay to be fixed??
The image quality is terrible, as I took this with a camera phone on full zoom, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this picture of three port-o-potties suspended a good 70′ in the air from a tower crane. I certainly hoped they checked to make sure no one was in there before lift off. Watch out for the first step, its a doooooosie!
Great picnic spot = a grassy patch near the Potomac, just down past the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge. Good for: sunsets (see above) and boat watching. Pairs well with PB&J sandwiches, wine, a blanket. Bad for: gnats, seeing loch-ness monster things jump out of the Potomac.
A Wetsuit and a Selby Bay Mustache
August 10th, 2008
If this isn’t reason enough to Donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for Team in Training, then I’m out of ideas! Our friend and coach, Ted, took this shot yesterday morning during our open water swim practice in wetsuits in Selby Bay, in Edgewater, MD. Lots of people came out of the water with murky brown mustaches and jellyfish stings. Luckily, I only had the first condition, which was easy to wash away. I guess it’s only fair to post my wetsuit shot too, so there you go, I’m on the left, mustache only somewhat visible. Following the swim, we completed a 5.5 mile run through the neighborhoods. What a gorgeous day!
Since 8 is my lucky number, I consider today the coolest and most potentially lucky day of my life. And it will never come around again. Until 2088, when it will be even more cooler/lucky. Strangely enough, I just had to sit and consider if I could live long enough to see that day. That’s a weird thing to think about, and I guess it’s a stretch — I’d be 105 years old — but who knows, it’s not entirely out of the question.
Anyways, assuming today is the only 08-08-08 of my life, I’m thinking I should buy some lotto tickets or something, and hopefully I will have more luck than whoever discarded these un-winning tickets in a tree-stump trash can.
Eight has been my lucky number ever since kindergarten, and I specifically remember the day. We were on some sort of farm field trip and it was time to go home. This was back in the day when everyone’s parents had those station wagons that you could sit facing backwards in… you know, and look out the back window and it was so so awesome to be going backwards. Anyways, Mrs. Peggy was driving the three of us home – me, Charles, and Tammy, and we all wanted to sit in the back seats. But there were only two seats, so she told us all to guess a number between 1 and 10. So I guessed 8, and lucky me! that was the number. Woo! I got to sit facing backwards. Ever since then, it’s always been my favorite number… true story!
And as an added bonus the Olympics start tonight (!!!!) at 8pm. YAY!
This morning, just before sunrise, I covertly climbed up on to the roof of the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms headquarters to snap this picture of the Constitution Square job site. It was quite a daring maneuver, if I don’t say so myself, but these are the lengths I will go to get a shot. Dedication, baby.
I am of course lying but this is a view taken from on top of the ATF at 5:39a from the camera that Clark Construction recently installed to monitor the site. Here is LINK to see the webcam. Pretty fancy stuff. It was only installed yesterday but eventually we will be able to do time-lapse of the project being constructed. The portion of the site directly in front will be the new Department of Justice headquarters, to the right is a spec office building, and to the back we will have a large apartment building (440 units), a Harris Teeter grocery store, and a Hilton Garden Inn. This should only take a few years….
OK, so I’m pretty excited about the Olympics starting tomorrow and I’m feelin’ the USA pride. I think I’ll be paying extra special attention this year to the Olympic triathletes, and by that I mean my mouth hanging open wide at how fast and buff they are. I heard on the radio today that there will be a special multimedia presentation at the opening ceremony, which I am equally excited about seeing. I wish I could have worked on something like that.
This photo is from Arlington National Cemetery…. and hmm why is the moon out?
This gorgeous building is directly across the street from Union Station and is home to the National Postal Museum, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and (most importantly) the Capitol City Brewing Company. I have only been in one of these (take your best guess) but in looking at the National Postal Museum website it looks like it might have some pretty interesting permanent and temporary exhibits that show how critical the US Postal System was in binding the Nation in its early years. This is definitely the place for philatelists (which sounds dirty but apparently is the proper term for a stamp collector).
The Bureau of Labor Statistics website has lots of oh-so-fun statistics about increased unemployment, rising costs of employment, and increased number of seniors that are working full time…good times. I don’t think I’ll be looking to tour this portion of the building.
A trip to the Capitol Hill Capitol City Brewing company is well worth the visit for more than just the signature brews that they offer. When you come in the entrance you see the door of an old time safe that has been sawed in half. Very impressive stuff, it really makes you appreciate the dedication of turn of the century bank robbers. The rest of the space is pretty phenomenal also as they have maintained much of the original decoration from the early 1900’s building. If coming into DC by train it is a great place to unwind before venturing into the city. Since this is the closest and nicest watering hole to my (relatively) new job site I’ve been stopping in with a bit more frequency than I had in the past. Also, you get a pretty good view of the Capitol building if you are sitting along the window.
Two Photographers at the Fountain
August 5th, 2008
This photo is taken by one of the fountains around the Smithsonian Castle , or what I like to affectionately refer to as “my house.” I’m pretty sure I would make my bedroom in the west tower turret thing that faces the National Mall, since that looks to be the tallest point and therefore the best place to spy on people from. Yep.
Hey, look! some people eating on one of the balcony restaurants inside Union Station. I’m surprised that Matt was able to take this photo without being harassed by the security cops about taking photographs inside the station… You can read more about the controversy at Lightboxdc.
She Swims, She Bikes, She Runs, She ROX
August 3rd, 2008
Our champion, Lori, completed her first sprint Triathlon this morning. She competed in theSheROX all women’s sprint Tri in Philadelphia, PA. That means she completed a half mile swim in the Schuylkill river, a 15 (I think) mile bike ride through scenic Fairmont Park, and a 3.1 (5K) run.
Lori used this race to work out some of the race day nerves and kinks in preparation for the Nation’s Tri in September. She learned a few gems during the race including, but not limited to: you should drink a lot of water during the race, transitions are awkward, and you shouldn’t over exert yourself during the first leg. There is still a bit of money left to raise for the Leukemia, Lymphoma Society so DONATE DONATE DONATE (pretty pretty please)!!
The Philly locals that took part in the race seemed to think that swimming in the Schuylkill was on par in terms of grossness as swimming in the Potomac, as we will both be doing in 6 short weeks, but I’d have to beg to differ. The portion of the Schuylkill that they swam in was upstream of the city, had lush parkland on the banks, and didn’t have the distinctive “smell” of the Potomac; it was most certainly less grimy than the stretch of the Potomac in the Nations Triathlon (which admittedly could be a lot worse but the combined sewer thing still freaks me out).
It was a gorgeous summer day, the SheRox was a very well run Triathlon, and Lori’s first Tri experience was a smashing success (finished ~ 2 hours!). She is now passed out on the couch across from me which is always an indicator a good hard days work.
Where did July go? ..it’s about that time of year, when you were little, that you started realizing that summer was over and that school would be starting again soon. Dread!
Anyways, this weekend we are headed to Philly where I will be participating in the SheROX Sprint Triathlon . It’s my first, but it will be really good practice for the Olympic one in September. It’ll also be my first chance to really test out the new bike and see what it can do!
