DC Blogs Noted

Note to Readers: Another 30 blogs have been added to the dcblogs.com/live feed. Check it out.

Moving Broken-down Trains
Live from the third rail
This is a first person account of what happens when the Metro you are on breaks down. A detailed report of the procedure and mechanics involved. An excerpt:

At any rate, one of the employees had several people give up their seats. Underneath some of those beautiful orange cushions is a lever that cuts out the train's brakes. Sort of like putting the car into neutral, I guess. To access the levers one pulls up on an entire set of four seats, tipping the seats into the air.

Idiotarod
Barzelay
Unlike its Alaskan namesake, this one begins in Dupont Circle. Rob of the Goodspeed Update has photos and a link to the Flickr collection. An excerpt from Barzelay: I love this idea, and I'm not surprised to hear that it originated in San Francisco, the land of flash mobs, giant pillow fights, the EFF, and more.

Also Noted

Buffalo Chili: No water necessary at dcfud. (Background on Arlington and District water outage at Washington Post)

Angela of Real Estate Talk, a Bloomingdale resident and Realtor, offers this view of the real estate market. Granted the market has been a little overheated of late but it's a long way from cooling. I think when the weather warms you will see such an uptick in the market that all the Chicken Little pundits will be surprised.

First rehearsals. I hate standing up in a room and telling people my name. I don't know why. If I had to make a list of awkward, self-conscious moments, Meet and Greets would probably be at the top. From Playmaker.

A proposal in the U.S. Senate to make DC a test case for a flat tax draws a counter proposal from the writer of a blog about the Eckington neighborhood. (Wikipedia’s Eckington reference) It is unlikely that DC will get voting rights especially when republicans currently run all three branches of government. this will be a political football for some time. A better solution is to reduce the tax burden on district residents by recinding federal taxes. From New Kid on the Eckington Block

Flowers Bloom, Amplifiers Boom at Quest for Quiet. The amplifier was so loud, in fact, that after photographing in front of the stage for nearly an hour, my ears were ringing.

posted by kob @ 12:04 AM