Iced Coffee

Yeah, weather here is finally somewhat normal (so, not cold), and today was perfect for iced coffee. Of course, my proximity to the Rosslyn metro and my lack of driving to work made it totally impossible to get a DUNKIN DONUTS coffee. So after missing the bus by about thismuch I wandered into McDonald's (note: saw a md iced coffee commercial on today show while getting ready to leave the house) and got myself a coffee.
I'd say it would be 10 times better with 10 times less sugar in it (make that no sugar, none at all). In fact, it's sitting on my desk getting watery right now... I'm a "creme no sugar" type, so the sweetness is surprising.

Anyway, really the problem is that DD are not located central to any metro station, which is just obscene. I am convinced that setting one up right by the Rosslyn metro would create a huge amount of income, natch. I'd be there every freaking morning just about.

Why can't DC get the coffee right?!?!?!

VT

Jay Matthews is a fucking idiot. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/16/AR2007041600834.html?hpid=topnews

Because he said Tech had a good reputation, but this will tarnish it. Of all the articles to write immediately after this tragic event, one that suggests that the school will suffer in rankings is absurd.
I absolutely believe that that campus community will band together and maintain all reputations they had.

Again, Jay Matthews is a fucking idiot. This column is another one that makes me want to smack him!

Clearly you're joking, right...?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/interactives/shopper/030107.html

The ins & outs
In: TSA
Out: Privacy

Wait, those two go hand in hand.
And in my hand, well, I will not be sporting the so-called fashion of see-through purses. See italics from article below. How ridiculous. If you follow the link, the article has a photo of the bags from Coach & Chanel, along with the price... If you can find me someone willing to pay $500 for a plastic bag, we'll I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.
COME ON!!!!!!!!
Clear lucite accessories might be ok, but the "plastic" bag thing? It happened a few years ago and it didn't stick! I wish I could find a reference for that, if I do I'll post it later.


"Blame it on MySpace. On Facebook or YouTube. These oh-so- popular social-networking sites have changed us all by issuing a societal decree: Your life isn't real unless you bare it for all to see. And all this new technology has led to a staggering amount of transparency among us.

Now the concept has snaked its way into fashion. How else are we to explain the proliferation of all things invisible this spring?

Citing inspiration from the zippered plastic bags used for carry-on liquids on planes, designers including Karl Lagerfeld and Oscar de la Renta have crafted handbags from see-through polyvinyl chloride (PVC to you and me). Of course, for decades department stores have required employees to schlep their stuff in clear purses--but that's to discourage internal theft, hardly a positive story line to parade down the runway.

Also striking in their clarity: Accessories made from clear acrylic (trademarked under such familiar names as Lucite and Plexiglas) abound this spring. A revival of a mod '60s sensibility for see-me '07, they're luxury products for a new class -- one that has no need for a silly thing like personal privacy.

-- Cory Ohlendorf, The Washington Post"

The Onion

Don't cry, the ONION is in DC. I picked one (ok, actually grabbed 2) up outside of the Dupont South metro tonight. Boy is this exciting, because the Onion is hilarious, and DC really needs to lighten up.

GRE

So the GRE is NOT changing in Sept! (yay, procrastination)

No calls...

Please?
Does "no calls" mean no calls or no calls unless you are really serious, serious enough to track down a phone number and ask for an extension....?
Maybe it's no calls unless we don't respond to your emails EVER.... Persistence.

Rockin' the Bells

Well, apparantly GA tickets for Rock the Bells NYC are sold out as of I checked yesterday. That presale made me happy as a clam, and the 4 tickets I bought make life fabulous. I am so looking forward to the Wu-Tang/RATM reunion (since I saw them together in 96 or 97).

Regarding this summer's music: I don't know why modest mouse isn't hitting md/va/dc, they are going philly to nc, which sucks a bit.
I would like to go to Virginfest to see the pumpkins & my beasties, buuuuuut I don't want to pay for a 2 day event, and I will probably be way out of town that weekend... Besides, I've seen them both before too.

I would like to add that if any of these reunions act like RHCP did on tour (i.e. played a bunch of new crap) I will be pretty pissed. Granted, Rage has been broken up for years, so we should be good there!!!!!!

karma

I would say I believe that karma is the result of Tony Snow's cancer & the Dick's DVT. Not wishing death or disease on anyone, just thinking about it.

Anna Nicole

Poor Anna Nicole... Remember when my car was named after her?

So why is the news so focused on tragedy lately? Is everything that tragic right now, or is it just the way the media is spinning things. I don't know, but chew on this:

Could the John Edwards family be the next Kennedy's? (see politics, tragedies)

Free Coffee

Dunkin Donuts has free iced coffee today, if you are lucky enough to live near one, drink one for me. I can imagine back in Mass that you could get your coffee fix on the free cups - just go DD hopping and get a few on the way to work.
We are not that blessed down here, until I can open a franchise the closest one is 1.2 miles from the office, and it's not warm enough to go that far to get it.
Boo.

-Medium Iced Vanilla, Cream No Sugar

Because Lewis 'Scooter' Libby taught us nothing

I love that Bushie (aka President Bush's son) is letting his aides testify. Sort of.

WaPo (& the Merideth Viera clan) says "The White House, however, limited the kinds of questions the aides would answer and said the interviews may not be conducted under oath or transcribed. The conditions enraged congressional Democrats, who vowed to go ahead with plans to issue subpoenas as early as today that would compel the aides to testify."

Good for the Congressional democrats.

In other news, PB's son also plans to veto a bill to give DC a vote in the house... Because it is... UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/20/ AR2007032000111.html

"Islam doesn't mean peace, it means killing everyone for peace"

Teacher Charged After Uproar Over Arabic

A substitute teacher was charged with disorderly conduct Monday after she allegedly lashed out at a group of Gaithersburg high school students for using words in Arabic while practicing a commemorative speech to mark the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/12/ AR2006091201401.html

assalamu alaikum :)

Oh goodness, what an idiot. Honestly I would love to meet someone of her caliber and spout lovely arabic poetry just to get her riled up or something.
I bet she still eats freedom fries.

Football

Someone out there knows: What did Materazzi say to Zidane????

Edu-BORING

The edu-bloggers are slacking because of July 4th holiday... This makes my life at work boring because trolling the edublogs usually takes a nice relaxing chunk of time from my day. Granted, they're not really exciting on a day-to-day basis, and I tend to find the same info on like 8 different sites, and they get into petty eduwonk cat fights.

And they're still going nutty about mentos & coke--it was on letterman last night, let's get over it.

Yawn.

Read this if you have the time.

Interesting city paper article on a school in Dupont.
Most brain-tickling part of the article is in the last paragraph re: closing the school because of it's size.
DC obviously is not in on the small schools argument.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/2006/cover0616.html

HAH

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/06/18/oranges_to_oranges/?page=1

Don't go organic. a) there's no proven positive effect
b) the more people going organic, the more overtaxed organic systems will be... thus causing... something something i read a while ago. :-/

(And the whole foods lobster thing, totally PR, no one cares)

I must be hearing things

The acoustical society of america says not to use voice amplification in schools, instead renovate to fix the acoustics. Read about it here:
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060615-042818-1064r

Where should the schools get the money to renovate poor classrooms to adjust acoustics?

That might be buried somewhere in their policy on noise here:
http://asa.aip.org/amplification.pdf

intern season

Wow, probably the dumbest article I've ever read. Interns paying $1250 a month for a tiny bedroom in a shared apartment?
You are very very obviously getting ripped off.
And another one complaining that $250 is too much per month for a dorm room?
WHAT IS GOING ON!?!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/15/AR2006061501963.html?nav=hcmodule

troglodites

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061402155.html?nav=hcmodule

YES. I think this is a good idea, and a way for metro to generate revenue, because they could charge people to apply for permits to play in the metro. Use just about any other subway system in the world and you will find people playing music. Oh DC, get with the times baby.

english immersion

Bob Slavin weighs on on Ron Unz... I think Unz is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, and I wrote a paper about what a bad idea this was a few years ago for public administration with Prof Nostradamus.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0613/p01s01-ussc.html