I tried out a Meetup group this past weekend, with lots of success. While looking for something else online, I found a group–the DC/MD/VA Adventure Meetup–that does fun things like hiking, jumping out of airplanes, whitewater rafting, and so on. Actually, I’m not interested in the more adventurous adventures–all I really want to do is go on day hikes. I never feel like organizing them myself, and none of my friends is particularly passionate about hiking. Thus, this group.

The organizer had proposed a hike up Old Rag mountain, which I’ve wanted to do for a long time. The only problem was that he wanted to “beat the crowds” and do it at 6am, which meant leaving DC at 4:15am–and getting up at 3:30am. Second problem: it rained all night. But I stuck to my guns and, after about 3 hours of sleep, stumbled out of bed and made it to the meeting point. Two hours later, we were ready to climb the mountain in the grey fog.

It turned out to be really terrific. First of all, Old Rag is amazing. It’s just the right length (about 4.5 hours for us, including a half hour at the top) and rigorousness (rigorosity?) to feel like you’ve genuinely accomplished something. The path we took on the way up gave way to rocks towards the top, so we had to scramble and at times truly climb over the rocks, which was a challenge. Apparently the views are amazing, but we were in fog the whole time and largely missed them–but the verdant forest and lichen-covered rocks were impressive enough. And we had the whole mountain to ourselves.

What was also very cool was the whole meetup thing. Because of the rain, only 5 of the 28 who’d RSVP’d showed up. But that made it even better, as we were able to get to know each other quite well and really look out for each other throughout, particularly on the treacherous parts of the train. Meeting 4 strangers and having a great time talking and being kind to each other–it’s enough to give heart to any cynic.

In the spirt of some of our lovely Washington-area photography of late, I was excited when I saw a post on Upcoming about a DC Meetup and Photo Walk for local Flickr folks.

On January 27, the shutterbugs will assemble at 2:00 at Rocket Bar. At 4:00, they will set off on a photo walk to snap some city shots. (Tip: You are going to want some fingerless gloves to operate your camera and maintain some warmth. Trust me.)

More information can be found on the Flickr discussion board.

If you go, be sure to let us know. We would love to see your lovely photos of our lovely town!

Time to local mesh XO’s

Are you stalking UPS drivers with geek-lust for your G1G1 laptop? Do you want to mesh network with other First Day Donors right here in Washington DC? Then be sure to join a group I am starting: OLPC Learning Club - DC.

It is a local group of XO laptop enthusiasts committed to co-learning, hacking, and expanding the One laptop Per Child computational experience and we are having our very first meetup next week:

OLPC LC-DC Holiday Meetup
December 18, 7 PM
Mayorga Cafe & Lounge
3301 14th. St. NW (map)

We will have three special guests with us from other OLPC organizing groups:

• Bryan Berry, External Relations Manager, OLE Nepal
• Christoph Derndorfer and Aaron Kaplan from OLPC Austria

Bryan, Christoph, and Aaron will be giving us an overview of their progress in organizing local OLPC groups in their countries, and ideas on how to expand OLPC LC/DC. Then we’ll have an in-depth geek-fest and discussion around XO laptop usage right here in Columbia Heights.

Be sure to bring your enthusiasm, your commitment, and of course, you shiny green G1G1 XO laptop!

Wayan’s DC Photos

This is what happens when you mix geeks in love with the XO laptop and bloggers envious of the clock-stopping technology: a laptop wrestle at the bar.

Luckily, the OLPC computer is designed to survive rough abuse just like this and it meshed right through the mash up.

Despite the fistacuffs, my OLPC News meetup and the DC Blogger meetup was a success. Geeks computed and collaborated on the main goal of the evening: invigorating discussion and eventual inebreation.

OLPC Children’s Machine XO

Are you excited about a “$100 laptop” for children? Have you heard about One Laptop Per Child? Might you even be a Give One Get One participant?

Then you’ll be excited to learn that Wednesday night you’ll have the chance to play with a XO-1 laptop at the much-anticipated:

OLPC News Washington DC Meetup
at RFD in Chinatown (map)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 @ 6pm

Jonathan Blocksom and I are organizing a geek-out with BTest-1 and BTest-4 OLPC XO laptops.

If you have your own OLPC XO, Classmate PC, Asus Eee PC, or other low-cost computing option, bring it out. We can have a full on laptop shoot-out.

But don’t think One Laptop Per Child’s clock-stopping hot technology will be upstaged. As the many G1G1 XO laptop buyers will confirm, when it comes to educational computing for children, there is no equal to OLPC.

image courtesy of Whappen

Aw yeah! If you don’t have enough surreal in your life then here’s your shot: tomorrow Ron Paul will be at one of Tom’s fave stomping grounds, Boulevard Woodgrill. Personally I more or less concur with the opinion of MB alum Jeff and think he’s an entertaining crank with no chance of winning. I’m reeeeeallly enjoying watching him try, however.

The only thing that tempers my enjoyment is when we happen to concur on a matter and his spaz factor (like the X-Factor, but way less helpful though just as entertaining on tv) paints all of us who hold that opinion into whackos. Oh well.

DC Media Makers will meet tonight for their monthly social night at RFD near Gallery Place. This is a great group of folks, dedicated to videoblogging, podcasting and other Internet media-related topics.

DC Media Makers meets every other Thursday, alternating between the type of social gathering that is happening tonight and then meeting for discussion and education again two weeks later.

From their website:

Join us as we Media Makers expand our social frontier & try a new place downtown at At R.F.D (Regional Food and Drink). All videobloggers, videoblogger wannabees, and media moguls of every stripe welcome to this informal networking event.

RFD is located at 810 7th St NW in Chinatown, between H and I streets. Take the Metro to gallery place and take the 7th and H exit to Chinatown. It’s half a block up 7th on the left, just after Fado and before the Goethe Institute

Photo by DC Metroblogger

How small is the DC blogging community? I am not back it the USA 24 hours before I run into AOL Joe at a random Dupont Circle house party .

As the name suggests, Joe blogs for the area’s largest consumer IT company and he seems to be everywhere.

From a Six Apart meeting to the Blogger Summit, Joe is stalking me. Is he stalking you too?

And just how small is the DC blogging community? Have you been to a blogger meet-up to find out?

I recently signed up for Meetup looking to join a particular group interested in Web standards. How boring, right?

Anyway, as part of the signup process I was asked to divulge my home address and opted into a mailing list that keeps me informed about other groups and their meetings in the neighborhood. This is where things get interesting. So, the question is, can you make a correlation between the local population and such a list? You be the judge.

• Reiki
• Polyamory
• Raw Food
• Tarot
• Alternative Energy
• Metaphysics
• Gnostics
• Experimental Music
• Hybrid Cars
• Sierra Club
• Vegetarian

What, no Vegan group?

Before you jump down my throat, I don’t have anything against counter-cultere. If I could afford to I would live in San Francisco. Plus, there are a lot more groups and I certainly wouldn’t consider all of them “alternative.”

If you don’t know what it is… then the odds are slim you’ll care to learn. If you’re a blogger or content manager who works with Drupal or might want to, however, this might be worth your while. We’re moveable type folks here at Metblogs, but professionally I work with Drupal quite a bit. I think I’m gonna run out early to join this as a “work related networking activity” :).

If you want to meet with and talk to a few active members in the Drupal use and development community, they’ll be at Busboys and Poets tonight starting at 6:30p.