give yourself a no-prize if you get the reference

WAMU’s excellent Metro Connection show is bidding goodbye to one contributor and hello to a new one, all without a staff change. Peter Fay has done his last broadcast, at least as Peter, and will be on tomorrow’s show at 1pm to talk about his new identity as Colleen Fay. She’ll talk about her new life and the impending changes, which I think is pretty amazingly gutsy and open.

I suppose you have little choice when your job requires you be a public presence, but it’s still pretty impressive.

What’s also amazing is how goddamned hard it is to come up with the correct pronouns to discuss events on either side of a change like this. “He’ll continue to be a part of the show he was a part of creating fifteen years ago” doesn’t work since it won’t be he who continues. She wasn’t a part of creating the show, he was. I can’t say “she’ll continue” either. English is clearly not a language cut out for discussing time travel or gender-switching radio hosts.

To give credit where credit is due, I found this story on FishbowlDC

Does the water taste just a hint like bleach? Don’t worry - that’s a completely normal byproduct of weakening the biofilm. From April 7th to May 7th the Washington Aqueduct Division of the Army Corps of Engineers, Arlington County’s water supplier, is using free chlorine to give the water pipes a once-yearly flush to eliminate bacterial build-up and regrowth.

From the county’s FAQ page on the process:

Temporarily converting from chloramines to free chlorine is done to help control bacterial regrowth within the water distribution system. The County will be coordinating an annual hydrant flushing program to coincide with the disinfectant switch to further control water quality.

A biological film known as “biofilm” is found in all water pipes. Over time, biofilm becomes resistant to the chloramines it encounters regularly and as a result can cause water quality problems if it is not properly managed.

Switching to free chlorine for a short period of time shocks and weakens the biofilm, rendering it safe. The system-wide process of flushing the water mains through fire hydrants combined with the disinfectant change is proven to be effective at controlling biofilm.

So if the biofilm is weakening and thus likely sloughing off into the public water supply, I certainly hope it is being treated to the point that no harm comes from it. As much as I love staying hydrated, the thought of drinking a tall glass of biofilm is not nearly as appetizing as these engineers might think.

All I can say is thank goodness for happy hour, where thoughts of water consumption are washed from our cortexes by large volumes of beer, which, like chlorine, is a wonderful sanitizing and purifying substance. At least I can pretend it is.

So what to do about water consumption? Flavor it, of course. That slight chlorine taste is harmless, after all, but not too pleasant. Go get yourself a bunch of Kool-Aid and enjoy such flavors as red, purple and orange, the last of which happens to also be the name of a fruit. Just don’t get all Peoples Temple on us in the process.

Well, Hizzoner managed to once again escape jail time for violating his probation. It’s really nice to see they’re letting him off without so much as a slap on the wrist for not filing his taxes all those years.

Apparently, half the traffic cameras in DC aren’t working, and as such, the city’s losing a boatload of revenue for the broken gear. Why all the issues? Well, they’re switching management companies for the traffic cameras. The new people to run the lights will be the same people that have fucked up the parking meters so badly. Sweet! Way to go, DC!

Virginia’s releasing a fotonovela about statutory rape called “Gracias Papi” or….wait for it… “Thanks Dad.” Something is definitely lost in translation, I think…

Today’s Post reports that U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11th district) is now supporting building a tunnel for Metro’s new Dulles corridor line through Tyson’s Corner.

“I just want to assure you I’d like to see this below ground,” Davis told the crowd of 400. “Imagine what the construction is going to be like when they’re constructing this thing aboveground. It takes forever to get there now. Putting this thing underground saves a lot of that.”

Previously, Davis along with Frank Wolfe (R-10th district) openly supported an elevated line:I

n July, the Virginia Republican co-wrote a forceful letter warning Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) that switching to an underground route in Tysons could jeopardize federal funding for the 23-mile line. The warnings, repeated in later meetings, persuaded Kaine to reject a tunnel in September.

Virginia “may very well be rolling the dice on the future of this project,” warned the letter from Davis and Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.). “Simply put, we are concerned about the long-term viability of the project with any decision that could delay it.”

Wolfe, whose district may include portions of the tunnel (if it does not, it comes within a few yards of the project) is holding firm. Jim Moran (D, 3rd district) is as well.

“I’m here not to be a cheerleader, not to tell you what you want to hear. I’m going to tell you what I think you need to know,” Moran said. “I’m sorry I’m not the kind of politician you’d prefer to have standing here. . . . The worst thing we can do right now is promise something we can’t deliver.”

Davis is denying he has changed his mind to protect himself and his wife, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), from political fallout.

Photo by DC Metroblogger

When I wander around the city, I always wonder what radndom utility boxes actually do.

Walking back from a meeting, I saw this one open. At the corner of 14th and I Streets NW seems to be a telephone switching box. Or at least the guys standing around it were from Verizon.

Look at the close up view, recognize any equipment?

How many of these urban utility boxes actually perform some required service, and how many are just relics of the past, like police call boxes now made into art?

I wonder how cleaner our sidewalks would be if we removed all the un-used detritus that clutters our egress.

Might we have room for more trees instead?

As Smouie is switching to Dish, I’m returning to Comcast after several years as a DirecTV customer. Tired of only having six real HD channels, and tired of having the slowest DSL on the planet (sorry toad.net, 700kbps down and 100kbps push isn’t a 1.5mbps connection any way you look at it) I started looking for other options. Comcast is offering a ridiculous deal if you switch to their all-in-one package, which handles HD Cable, Cable Modem and their new telephony package for $108/mo or so, or, roughly $70/mo less than I’m already paying now.

I was amazed to see my install window cut in half as the day after I called to get my install coordinated, they called me back with a vacancy a full week earlier than initially expected. There’s no dish to deal with, no weather concerns save for blackouts, and it’s all in on one wire.

The installers showed up around 1pm today and did the whole thing in about 90 minutes. I now have just a single box where once I had two, the new data box replaces my ancient DSL modem and all the wires strewn in my kitchen providing a line from the phone jack to my DirecTiVo and my phone set. Does it look great? In HD, it’s amazingly beautiful, but I think that’s due to the quality of HD, not anything Comcast has done. In regular definition, it’s no DirecTV. There’s a certain analog granularity to all of it, and I don’t find that welcome.

How can I talk about the Data service without drooling? My old DSL was around 500kbps down and around 100kbps up, which would be okay for a 768k service, sadly I’m paying for the 1.5mbps service. The new cable modem puts me upward of 10,000mbps down and around 350kbps up, and initial tests with large downloads have been very succesful. A new movie from iTunes at around 1.6GB downloaded in approximately 40 minutes. Impressive, indeed.

Phone service, well, as long as you pick up the phone and get a dial tone, does it matter who provides it? Comcast is a good bit cheaper than Verizon, and until it doesn’t work, I won’t even notice the difference.

After months, if not years, of dissatisfaction with Comcast cable television, I began to wonder whether or not I should switch to satellite.  Based on the unreliability of Comcast’s internet service, I already made the switch from cable modem to Verizon DSL – and was much happier with the service level – even if it is slower, at least it’s always working!

I asked for input from our readers on whether or not they were having problems with Comcast television, if anyone was using DishTV in Arlington, and what their experience has been.  I also turned to Consumer Reports.  They noted that satellite scored better in factors such as overall satisfaction, value for the money, picture quality, sound quality, and selection of channels.  This information, combined with your comments, led me to sign up with DishTV last Wednesday. 

The installation was scheduled for Friday morning.  The installation team showed up at the early part of their scheduled 4-hour timeframe (bonus!).  It was only after surveying my house and surrounding area that we hit a snag.  The first component of the system that has to be installed is the dish – and this requires a clear southern exposure at a particular angle.  Unfortunately, we have a large condo building to the south of our house, so the dish would have to be installed on the roof (as opposed to one of our balconies).

Apparently our roof was a bit higher and steeper than the installation team was prepared for – both in terms of equipment and courage.  One of us happened to overhear the leader of the team say something like “Shoot, I only get paid $12 an hour – I ain’t going up there!” 

We agreed that the roof was a challenge – and obviously we don’t anyone to fall off it and get hurt.  To their credit, the installation team was very apologetic that we wouldn’t be able to start enjoying satellite that day.  They also let us know they were “outsourcing” the installation job to another installation team that apparently doesn’t mind risking life and limb to install dishes on roofs.

That team was scheduled to come in this morning.  They’ve arrived, but I have no word yet on whether or not they’ll be able to scale Mount Smouie.  We’ll keep you updated…

I like television. I spend a few hours every day watching it. Nothing fancy, just your basic ol’ television programming.

I currently have Comcast basic cable service (e.g. not digital). I used to have that bundled with their internet service - but switched to DSL after four months of connectivity issues.

Now I am dealing with similar issues with the television - poor picture quality, service disruptions, etc. - and after four months of this and an endless number of service calls, I am tired of paying for what I consider crappy service.

I’m thinking about switching to Dish TV. Are any of you using this service in the Arlington area; specifically the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor? Do you like it?

How about the rest of you? Do you have problems with Comcast too?

Thank you in advance for your comments… I think we can all learn a little more about the monopolies this way.

Parking on Mass Ave well after nine, I emerge from my car to find a movable party happening in Dupont Circle. Two jazz musicians, a saxophonist and what sounds like a trumpet, play in the park exchanging solos and occasional duets. The display at the Sun Trust say 9:52 and 88 degrees, and it’s every bit a hot and sticky night in DC. The kind of night where you feel like you’re wearing the blanket you’ve hidden away for winter around your shoulders in the dampness.

Walking down to Big Hunt, I pass the ever-present rose guy, hassling a man to buy his woman a cheap plastic rose. The man’s not having it and his woman looks both smug and perturbed at once. The bar is mostly full, the dark booths hiding their occupants well, and I missed my friends sitting down four booths back. I order a Guinness and watch the TV.

The jukebox at the Big Hunt is something of a technological wonder. Much like one of Charlie Stross’ cornucopiae machines, it seems to produce whatever you can tell it to find by searching through its catalog and selecting what you want. Tonight’s selections run from good 80s alt-rock to current nouveau britpop and back again, and the bar seems to approve, as I saw a few older guys nodding their heads in sync with the beat. They almost looked like a grunge revival version of the guys from Night at the Roxbury. Almost.

A few beers later, having found my friends in plain sight, we leave the bar. They for their downtown hotel and some crash time, me for heat of the summer night and a brief walk before sleeping. As I turn the corner at Connecticut, the Sun Trust oracle says 85, no, wait, strike that, 86 degrees, switching back to the higher value after some considered thought like a politician rethinking his vote. 11:12 it says as I turn the corner to find my car.

If there was one “Interim” we could take out of a DC title, it would’ve been Dan Tangherlini at Metro, not Jim Bowden of the Washington Nationals, who is pretty much the mental midget of the baseball GMs out there. Kasten, according to the Post, said:

“Jim is very smart,” Kasten said last night at RFK Stadium. “By smart, I mean analytical.”

If by analytical, you mean doesn’t know the odds on driving drunk and getting caught, or can’t pick a team that’ll win more than half their games, or maybe even doesn’t bother to talk to Soriano about switching positions before trading for him and announcing the change.

Oy. Are we really stuck with this guy?