RFK Stadium and the Nationals are hosting a blood drive next Saturday, August 6th, from 2-6 p.m. As an extra incentive, all participants will receive tickets to an upcoming Nationals Game. According to the MLB website, the Expos used to hold an annual drive at Olympic Stadium, so it’s nice that they’re continuing the tradition here.

Ah yeah, it’s nice to reach a goal, and now I have, if only for a moment. When I started writing for dc.metblogs, they asked at least three posts a week form me.

Ha! Little did they know who they were signing up. Now, a little over a month into the gig, I’ve become a post-phreak, yapping about this and that with abandon.

A post-phreak who just leapt to the top of the list of posters in the last 30 days. While this list is ever-changing, and I’m sure I’ll be bopped off shortly, it’s nice to be at the top for my moment in the sun.

Thanks Tom, for trusting in me, and thank you for following along. Now stop lurking, you have comments to make!

You notice this cool weather? Realize its gonna be nice all weekend? Then its time for you to work off all those beer + lime + ice drinks and come out to the DC Tri Club Sprint Tri #4.

That’s right, this Sunday July 31, at Haines Point registration for the race starts a 6:00am, with the first swimmers hitting the pool at 7am. Its $5 for DC Tri members, and if you beg really nicely, they might even let non-members participate after you learn the secret DC Tri Club handshake.

Then the real fun will begin. You have a 400 meter pool swim, 18 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run ahead of you, with guys like me behind you, breathing down your neck with the speed and skills we learned in NYC Olympic Triathlons. Don’t let that intimidate ya though, we’ll all be cheering each other on, because that’s what the DC Tri Club is about.

Look for the club tent near the entrance to the golf course parking lot on the Washington Channel Side and give me high-five. We’ll both need it to wake & sober up first.

Well hello there my pretty. How are you doing? You look mighty fine sitting there on that park bench, yapping away on your cell phone. I might like to meet ya.

Care to turn around? Wanna catch my eye? How about a wink? Or better yet, cup that phone and say hello. There is room on the bench, in this lunch hour, and maybe your life, for little ‘o me.

Please?

No, I didn’t think so. You’re too into that call for me. They have your attention, not I. Hell, who knows. Would you care about me if you weren’t on the phone?

Good then. I’ll just admire from afar. Enjoy your beauty in the day. More color than a flower, more activity than a tree, yet as inert as either.

for all those brides-to-be, i’m giving you plenty of warning that next friday is filene’s basement’s big bridal event in dc. for those of you looking for deal on wedding gowns, and willing to work for it…this is the place to hit.

i summarized the top tips from filene’s site:

1) wear a sprots bra & shorts so you can try on dress anywhere in the store (no being modest!)
2) easy on the makeup as it may ruboff on the dresses.
3) bring your mom, friends, that really agressive boss. you’ll need someone to handle the inventory, someone to negotiate trades and someone to guard against predators.
4) identify your team: bright hats, colored shirts, walkie talkies, loud perfumes (ha ha).
5) doors open at 8 AM … people start lining up at 6. w/in 60 seconds all the dresses are picked-up and the trading begins. good luck.
6) be courteous — a raving lunatic of a bride is not desirable. remember what happened to monica?
7) sizes: remember you can always alter a dress smaller…it’s much harder the other way around. also, don’t be shocked that if you’re an 8 in normal dresses and a 10 or 12 in bridal. bridal wear runs small.
8) this is no place for the indecisive — be open-minded, have fun and, but don’t hesitate to make the purchase — the sale only lasts a day!

lucky you, i’m out of town that day, but may swing up to boston in a couple weeks, where the sale orinated :-D

I just went over to the Subway in West Falls Church to grab lunch, and as I was driving through the parking lot, I spotted a woman driving in my direction holding something out the window. As I got closer, I saw that she was holding a Squeegie. And as I got even closer, I saw that she was also holding a gun.

No, I don’t know if it was a real gun. No, I don’t know if it was HER gun. No, I don’t know why she was holding it out the window, or why she was also holding a Squeegie out the window, or if she cared that she was getting her fingerprints all over it. But if you hear anything more about this (”Good Samaritan Turns in Weapon,” “Crazy Woman Slays 10,” etc.), let me know because it was just…weird.

Thanks to Sean in Los Angeles for pointing out Eric Richardson’s new tool: Singularist.

Why, you ask? I was curious too. Here’s what Eric says:

I hate the editorial “we” on sites that claim to be “blogs”. I want to hear a writer’s voice, and I think the we sucks that right out of the content. It sounds pretentious. Get off your editorial high-horse and write like real people. Other local blogging sites — Metroblogging, for instance — seem to understand this.

Huh. So much for that haughty voice…

It’s egg cooking hot out and instead of enjoying a beer + lime + ice drink so nice, I’m standing outside a client’s office in Georgetown hailing a cab. Up pulls a Lincoln Town car and into luxury I slide.

Behind the wheel is Mohamed, a cabbie four months new, who is still polite and kind. Shocked at my good luck, we start talking about zone rates and psycho taxi drivers. He, like we, hates the DC zone system too. All day folks moan about how three block can cost $15 but a trip to National is only $12. All day Mohamed has to listen to these gripes.

Me, I didn’t gripe one bit, I just enjoyed his service. Across town we drove, in luxury and peace. Such a change, such difference, such a ride you too can enjoy the next time you need a cab. Trust me. No, better, trust him. Mohamed: (571)213-5479

Folks, the life of a systems administrator isn’t always a pleasant one. Generally, when you’re doing your job, no one knows you’re even there. As such, when your presence is required, it’s usually associated with bad things. This is no way to go through life. Six years ago, someone staged the very first Systems Administrator Appreciation Day, and it’s since become an annual holiday for Systems Administrators Everywhere. Thanks much to Jason DeFillippo, our intrepid Systems Administrator here at Metroblogging, for he rocks pretty hard core. Thanks a lot Jason!

Back a little while ago, John mentioned ESPN’s new campaign to broadcast from all 50 states, and we noted that the District was getting completely passed over in favor of a Maryland Jousting Tourney and the Staunton Football Festival. Well, now Jesse Jackson is getting involved. He intends to picket the ESPNZone downtown.

Really, people, this is getting absolutely ridiculous. If this is what you’re left with, after a failed career as a politician, a failed career as a protester, you really ought to think about hanging it up.

Jesse, Go Home.