Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Penultimate Day

Until holiday to Canada, that is. Tomorrow might be my last day of work with the Edusmart cronies, but it's sometimes been enjoyable. Very enjoyable, considering that today, we built and launched 'model rockets'. I call them 'little missiles', considering that we blasted them in the little green space next to the church. The launch was spectacular- there was even a rocket that went into flames- apparently, those rocket engineers mistakenly used toilet paper as flame-resistant wadding. Our team's 2 rockets went pretty well. The fat, prefab one launched far into space, and only recovering the engine section after walking all the way around the block. The little one, which we did up as our CPTG rocket, was less sucessful, on account of the amount of nauseous rubber cement that we used, but was fully recovered. Awesome!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I can't spell "receive"

Blog time now! Even though the violin lesson went 20 minutes over, I still got a lot done. With luck, I caught the friendly neighborhood 31 home in no time, after walking 5 blocks, or so on Mass Ave.
At work today, we worked on our business plans, and dry-ran the performance. This Mr. Haus commented that our idea was pretty lucrative- versatile, full-range technology company- Cherry Point Technology Group of Northern America- or CPTG.
Lunch was fun- not lunchtime, but the food- Bologna sandwich, that, when microwaved, smoked liked plastic; the carrots were on their way out, in their little bag; fruit jello running down the side of its cup; A cookie that tasted rather like styrofoam. I happen to know that the food we received was served on certain airlines. If I ever flew on that airline---

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Not much today

Tuesdays always go like like this: I must play lots of violin for tomorrow's lesson. But, let me say, next Wednesday, I'll be in Canada.

More Details will soon follow- if I find a Canadian computer to blog with. Last year, I believe, I did it once.

After watching another episode of ACI, playing violin, going biking, playing tennis, and coming home to read about Ted Stevens, I'm sill air-violining to be super-sure.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Your Big Boss in the News

It turns out that our host was in some pretty bad news today. Some briefing; the company runs three sites; the one on Wisconsin, one on 16th, and the other in Southeast. The Southeast site was in the news. According to inside sources, the site did nothing for 4 weeks or so; that's what they said in the papers as well. The paper went on to mention pay issues; my site seemed not to have the problem too much- they managed to get the pay for those whose pay fell through by Western Union. I guess our managers- our instructors, as they have themselves known by us as, cared more about us than the other site managers.

The Geek Squad staff would call back later...

Sunday, July 27, 2008

1/4 of a way to a 1000 posts

Do you get a special thing on Blogger when you post 1000?

Anyway, I was out for a long time doing one of those superbikes- to Alexandria and back. it was hot...my legs were still tired from yesterday... it started to rain, but Alexandria seemed to be awesome- those free shuttle trolleys seemed to be popular. And back- 5 hours. Then soon- we went to another free concert at the Kennedy Center in the concert hall- it was popular.

How many times did I say Free in this post?

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Baltimore

I was informed that the Baltimore Coin Convention was today- in Baltimore, about 45 minutes away. We went, but first, we stopped at the 'world famous' Lexington Market- less touristy than one would think. Yes, I had a great Philly Cheese-steak. Some distance downtown, we went to the convention center by the twin stadiums. Yes, we made it there, but no coin convention. We were the third group to come the wrong date. Apparently, as I found out, my source was misled by the Washington Post (the people with the link to the Onion) when they did a non-conforming format issue. But, daddy met one of his firefighter friends from Brentwood (in PG county), and they talked a little. Next I found out that we were going to see interpretational dance at the National Business Museum. The building- and us were part of the dance, they said, Home and a bike ride to the Capital- now that tired me out-a lot.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Airplane!

Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (more commonly known as QANTAS, had an incident similar to the one on Aloha Airlines Flight 243. (according to AP) As of now, no one on board has perished.
Somehow, as of now, the fact hasn't made it to Wikipedia yet.

In personal news, Little Brother had us bike to the Airport again (3rd time this week), this time, keeping a timetable of points. Surprisingly, it only takes half an hour, with crosswinds, as usual, to bike there, and a little shorter back (no crosswinds, as usual).

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Not much today

I'm reading through Little Brother's "The Encyclopedia of Aircraft" (UK). It's surprisingly thorough, including one-of-a-kind aircraft.
Otherwise, there's not much going on, other than tommorow is Friday, and I have to figure out what to do with the weekend.

Ciao.
PS- Boy, was that a tropical storm last night! The bus felt so nice and warm it was so saturated and wet. You could hear rain on the roof of the bus there was that much rain.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Midsummer's Night Usual

I brought my notebook to work, as usual, but, the second thinking to write a long story for JangooMag about the last few months. But I didn't. I played more UNO, and won the matches we played.

After work, a bike ride to the airport ensued. Watching planes land barely 60 or so feet overhead, I wondered how bad it was for one's health, to watch planes like that. After all, airplanes do pollute a lot- rather, concentrate the exhaust for all those passengers in 2 or 4 engines.

And Tennis. The end of another summer day.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Where's the Blogger?

Appetizer-
I snoozed until 8am, as we were going to go to the 9am mass this Sunday. After that, it was about 11:15am. Time to shop for 'stuff'. Tysons was too crowded- a diversion to Leesburg's strip malls, were we bought a bike, pillows, toaster, etc. How American. And what a view! From the Dulles Greenway, you can see planes land- large ones, larger than those at National Airport, and the mystery of which country the plane came from. Flight to National only come from the States or Canada, in general.

The Show-
I was at a John Williams (the movie soundtrack composer) concert at the Kennedy Center last night. It was part of the Marine Band 210th anniversary event. It was FREE admission- I actually did not know that I was going until Sunday morning; otherwise, I would have given a FYI in-blog notice. Awesome show, included some clips of Star Wars, ET, Harry Potter, and JAWS. I would have snapped a photo of the event if it was not prohibited- not only by the House, but by the Department of Defense. I don't remember seeing many illicit cameras out, either.

Monday-
Not much to talk about, got a group raise, but no more lunch hour pay. In all, we lose net $1.35, including travel fare (working only 3 hours means that we can get a blanket transfer that is still valid after work), but gain a precious hour of lunchtime. I still treasure that moment, grabbing a packaged meal to go, swiftly getting on the 32, and being home in 25 short minutes. Then there was the forgettable bike trip loop between the bridges (I-66 and Arlington Memorial), and the Walgreen's back-to-school-sale fiasco, and the pool.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Richmond

"i don't watch much CSI, but i did watch the episode about the photoshop job"

Yesterday, I was out on a walk, after the swim (sounds like some other day this week, eh)
Today, when I should have been enjoying the only day of the week without a wake-up tome (M-F 7:15 for 9:00 reporting time, Sunday @ 7:00 for early mass - as they say in Washington the State, hunter's mass, translated to " convenience"- I was out for tennis- and man, it was hot. Illusions, loose muscles, chemically altered tennis balls, you name it. And then the long trek down south to Richmond. The freeway (95) was only good until the express/local merge in Dumfries (fyi the other one is in Cranbery, NJ). Then it was old rt. 1 for the next 70 miles. At least that went fast most of the way. We entered Richmond via some affluent suburb, and crossed into the stereotypical image after crossing one of the many railroad tracks. Daddy made 2 consecutive right turns, and it was yuppie-ish stage 2, then back to stage 1. Lunch was obtained from the City Diner (not the first one I ate at; I remember the one in WVA- not a chain, though). A zig-zag led us to Monument avenue, with all those Confederate generals line up on a New Orleansesque boulevard. However, we did not take 2 lefts to go downtown; we kept straight at it, leaving the city limits, and took a turn to a place where only Little Brother and I had been before. At the CHoirschool, we sag at this All Saint's church on River road, a River Road that resembles DC and Potomac's River Road, with trees and nice houses and country clubs. A left turn entered us into Richmond University- a posh, liberal arts college with tones of York (England) styling. It was still very hot, to say the least, and the memory of it sends sweat down my back. There, luckily, was an abundance of modern, air conditioned buildings which were open, to relieve some of the nasty heat and humidity. There was a lake, and a building over the lake, as the aforementioned York College had. But we did not head back down after returning to the car. We headed onto a roundtrip loop across the James River and back, barely visible of downtown , and headed back North on 95, until Mt. Carmel. The Stonewall Jackson shrine (or some other important Confederate general, I'm not exactly clear about it) by the RT+P railroad was to be seen, but, there was the traffic jam again. 70 miles on route 1, again. But we made it in three hours.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Pay Comes In

So today is Thursday, and tomorrow (probably at midnight tonight) I should be getting about $360 in my account for being at work- payday, as it is called. One more day of Whupity and then it's two days off. What a life. I was out since 6pm-biking, tennis, cosmetic bike fix- my thoughts are a little unorganized, and sorry. But some of our readers did want to know- How much does it pay? About $6/hour- a good value for what work we do (If this program wasn't about real-life job skills, we'd be shelling out $200 or so a week for it!)

PS- I was eliminated twice in UNO today, but it never happened when I held my deck to the end- if I yapped about it more, I think I could control my fate. Noontime round (one where I was ousted from)- that was dq'ed because of hidden cards!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Critanydisc?

Only through fsx (fantasy stock exchange) did I realize that oil prices are falling at a clippy pace.

More UNO (the card game:0) today- survived two elimination rounds as of now. It's the strategy that matters; Maybe I'll win tomorrow. I mean, if I'm no good at online wrestling, I have to be crafty at some little game- yes, I also do well in online poker.

The Doctor was at 2:00. Not more needs to be said here. I'm fine; there'll be more posts.

A 37- Limited ride was awesome as I headed up to AU for a violin lesson. Yes, silently roaring up the right lane of Mass. Avenue. As fast as self-driving.

Why am I writing in monotony?

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Day 2

Some facts about environmental issues: Nuclear energy is a very effective, renewable energy source.
What the environmentalist told us at work today: There's controversy about this, but Wind is better. You can power entire cities with wind farms.
Fact: Not so.

At work camp, we do thing like this, and otherwise, we do more camp-like subjects. Another thing is professional-oversighted business planning. Something nice and productive. Every few days or so, we go deeper into our business plans. Let's see what we have at the end of summer.

Our Idea
Complete IT and technology company

Other Ideas
Jamaican Catering
Women owned and operated Auto Repair Business
"High Life" shop
Designer Car manufacturing

And this afternoon, we (Little Brother and I) took an uphill bike ride to the Van Ness Office Depot- 1 cent office and school supplies- maxed out at 32 cents. I paid in a quarter, a nickel, and 2 cents.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Monday Again

Another day in the subterranean zoo, paid about 10 cents a minute being there. Yeah, not much going on, except that I inadvertently received government aid- the sub-gourmet food which we were served for breakfast and lunch were part of the Summer Free Feeding program. A lot of people have pledged to themselves not to receive these (ie foodstamps, free food, etc) governmental aid items. I thought I'd do that to, but I guess not!

How's that for breaking the stigma?

Sunday, July 13, 2008

DST- It started a while back

Right now, I'm checking up on some of my internet mansions- Youtube Empire, Facebook Land, and typing away at Blogger Spot.

Today, I got my first inside look at National Harbor. It was a little disturbing how exclusive the place was- most people came right off the freeway, and tourists came by tour bus or pricey boat. Anyway, the resort town was still under construction, but that did not keep us from the waterfront road, which was mostly finished, made up to resemble 'some California Oceanside town'. The inside of the main attraction- the 18-story Gaylord Resort, with sleek windows with perfect, iced edges, and a village under a skylight, and 6 glass elevators. Sadly, I didn;t make it to take a fantastic ride into the air. (Our nearby Embassy Suites has a 9-story glass elevator)

I never told our readers about the digital camera. Well, it was broken yesterday before the hike, and a self-repair brought it to OK condition. If I had the say, I would have straightened the plastic pushbutton- an e-scar remains from Little Brother's hastiness. Oxon HIll farm was too hot- left quickly. Pool- very crowded, didn't stay long. Kennedy Center free concert- great playing, and now here.

Tomorrow- work.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Car Trip

Let me recall what I did today....

Out to tennis,
Then to a Chinese restaurant that moved up to a snazzy buffet (Top's China Buffet)
A long trek in the Shenandoah near Front Royal
And back to tennis to test out the new rackets. Went well.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Sorry for not telling you sooner...

I'm watching a Brazilian film about something- it's a foreign film, so I'm uncertain about what the movie is about. It's called Black Orpheus, as translated into English.

Work today, got evaluations. I think I'm perfect, jobwise, but they paid lipservice to improvement. Apparently, I'm 'only' very good in Creativeness. Anyone who enters our internet empire knows that is not! O.K., It's Free Slurpee Day at 7-11 (get it?! It's 7/11/(08)). They gave us 7.11 oz. cups of the fluid, icy substance. Good. Pool, and then, the film.

A little sidetrack led me to read about the Nixie tube, an early LCD type device. Here's the link to the Wikipedia article (it was accurate as of today).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixie_tube

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Weekday No. 4

I read Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea in less than 3 hours' time, between breaks at 'work', and the commutes. An interesting book; set in Havana in the old Cuba. Most of it is really about an old man and this one fish. I won't spoil the story anymore. However, I could not help but notice that Hemingway has a tendency to skip punctuation. So be it. (****/4)

After the trip to the pool, there was a little President's Own Marine Band concert on the mall. With dying batteries, the digital camera managed to take great shots at strange angles of the Washington Monument, and that truck.

I got to now: a. Charge cell phone, b. Reward the camera with a fresh set

Addendum: Dido.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Not Choices

A. An unsteady finger clicked the DVD-reader power button twice in on-off-on fashion.
B. A swinging ankle hit the dormant computer's power button, turning the beast on.

Both happened, but for A., the consequences were short-lived. I got the knack on the third, successful, attempt. For B., however, it put me here tonight to Blog, albeit an accident. And after I go to bed, somebody in the family will be typing away for the next hour or two. These consequences were not so short-lived. Other than this, I collected free money from Facebook online 'virgin' Texas Hold 'Em Poker, and looked up cruise vessel prices. Not the ticket- the boat. Sounds like a possible lucrative business.

Just some food for thought.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Tactical Error

I read a savory ad about the new National Harbor at the Wilson Bridge.
I harken back to the Streetcar days of DC- A destination place at the end of the line. Glen Echo remains as an example. These days, 1920's theme parks are conceived as 'lame'. So enter this 2.1 billion (USD) resort, luring (monied) city people to beefen revenues and profits accumulated from the lured tourists.

-There is no way to get from Downtown to the 'resort' easily (sans voiture)
Options include- direct ramp access from I-95 and the Anacostia Freeway, which leads directly to Downtown, a $14 roundtrip ferry ticket across the river to Alexandria, or, as implied, a bus from a Green Line Metro Station (Southern Avenue) for staff. Great planning, Gaylord. I'll laugh when I read that you're in court facing a discrimination lawsuit. Or I'll file one myself.

But, I wonder, is the parking free?

Monday, July 7, 2008

Alexey!

Work and a very long walk- all the way from Cleveland Park, through the zoo, and Adams Morgan. A long walk. I'm thirsty and tired...

I was intrigued by the free sample of Tetris on my cell phone. Likewise, I did some Tetris of my own. 5720 points- up to level 4.
www.freetetris.org

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Saint Michael

Well, I'll be. I didn't have the time to type after the early morning post yesterday! After the coin hunt, I discovered that I did not have a violin lesson that day, and that we were headed to the Eastern Shore- St. Michael MD, and Tilghman Island, to be exact. A lunch stop in historic Easton, and a drive down MD 33.Through the she-she of St. Michael we went. It was much like the Hamptons (Long Island)- I still remember that time the faculty at St. Thomas took us to Easthampton- they came at us so enthusiastically with their shopping bags. Never mind. We came to the 'bridge which connects Tilghman to the rest of the world'--Drove to the end of the road to the army station watch tower. Last Saturday, we had been directly across the bay, at North Beach, 11 miles from the end of Tilghman Island. There is a bridge that opens about every minute to let the boats go underneath- the one in Tilghman, south of St. Michael, which connects them to the rest of the world. Returning home, we parked in the St. Michael's 'interactive' watermen's history museum, a.k.a. the boardwalk. They had this seafood place, a lot of boats, and a museum that they charged money for. More pictures- the memory card almost full.
g2g

Saturday, July 5, 2008

A day in motion

5:30am. Little Brother took me out on a bike ride to find mall treasure. But, there was only a quarter to be found. Pretty early to blog, eh.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Not Quite Night

I'm about to go out into the crowd, headed southbound on 23rd street, probably surrounded by 'people with a high tendency to stand on the left side of the escalator and make you and everyone else miss their train(s)'. Yes, today I was everywhere. Morning tennis, midday walk to Folklife festival (again), and a train ride through the desolated Smithsonian station (it's a 4ofJ tradition to close that station). Later swimming, violin Frisbee, and now I'm here. And I suppose at least one of our readers will be somewhere on the mall as well, watching the same firework show. It's just probability.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

A new chapter

Yesterday tends not to be a day worthy of a blog post. But- blogging was on my mind yesterday as I swapped between Facebook, gmail, and Blogger as I e-sent the Jangoomag, as well as the new PDF version- get the picture!

Today is July 3, tomorrow is that big day. After work (whence we wrote model resumes), I gave my swimsuit a chlorine bath (in the pool- I could have used a household cleaning product to do the chlorine scent trick), and that was it, until the Ballston Safeway shopping trip. So that sums up the first part of the summer break.

Seemingly fitting, I finished the Cold War novel today- on to Hell's Angels.
Part two- the ambitious teen-millionaire striver.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Tough day at the office?

Waiting for NTFletch's next post. I am one of a supposed many who eagerly await the next spoken word- unlike in this part, a post is a sweet treat that is built up to- not a daily of bi-daily given. Nevertheless, I sojourn on, gathering steam, as they say.

Today, we worked on our mayor project- choose a candidate from your group of 12, and, if he/she wins against the other two, their team wins a prize. Does the team I am in have a chance to win> It lays in my hands. It's true. For whichever intervention came, I was almost unanimously chosesn as the candidate. Pressure is on me.

I plan to finish The Cold War: A New History tomorrow afternoon, after I give the make-or-break speech for the model-mayoral bid.

Caveat Emptor:
Still not done with your first book this summer? Don't worry- I still have to take a week or two in August to skim the readings, again. But pretty good progress, though.

PS- I got up and left early to go to the Convention Center to pick up my Debit card- And they had it! I'm so happy!...