Updating you in my personal quest to get Inauguration tickets, after Jim Webb sent me an e-mail telling me I’m not getting any tickets I got an e-mail from Jim Moran. Here’s the top of the e-mail:

First off I want to say that my friend status with you is going to be dependent on if you hook me up with tickets or not. I’ll prolly continue to vote for you however- you are doing a pretty good job. The letter goes on to not confirm nor deny my chance for Inauguration  tickets- just some ideas to think about if you don’t get any, however I do like those 198 to 17,000 odds.

Like Webb’s e-mail Moran hints at Jumbo-tron screens so that is looking like it’s going to happen. He also sent me a link to a map of the parade route in case I wanted to try that instead. He also hinted at the possibility of Cell phone congestion, so expect to be cut off from the world if you enter the “secure perimeter.”

Man I still haven’t decided if I’m going to try and go but it’s seems like I’m climbing a mounting or going to Jupiter- I have to worry about bathrooms, walking, and communications. I better bring some MREs or maybe some signal flares in case I need help… on second thought maybe flares wouldn’t be a good idea.

Do you know what I hate about moving?

Trying to furnish an empty house. I recently moved to a new place in Clarendon and Craigslist has been my best friend. I’ve been on it to find everything from roommates to TVs. Something I’ve noticed in my Craigslist travels is how much free dirt is available in the DC area.

Now I’m not dumb (well most of the time)- I realize people with their home improvement and gardening projects will have mounds of dirt leftover and wants someone to take it away. We’ve all driven by houses with signs advertising free firewood- it’s the same logic. However I can’t help but laugh at the headline- “free dirt.”

When I’m browsing through the listsings, I get excited about free TVs, Couches, or Pet Items. Free dirt just doesn’t get me as excited however. Maybe it’s because if I want dirt I just need to go into my backyard to get some.

Maybe I’m being ridiculous, but doesn’t anyone else gets a chuckle when they see free dirt on the DC Craigslist?

Well this afternoon I went out to vote, I went out in between the morning rush hour and lunch- so my time in line wasn’t bad at all. However I’ve been watching local news at work and other places in the region have been attracting large lines.

Have you voted yet? I hope you have- if not for me, do it for all the celebrities.

If you have voted make sure to use your “I Voted” sticker to get tons of free stuff!

I was really excited to vote- and I’ll shamelessly share my political views with the choices I made in the voting booth.

Before I go out to start my Election Night celebration- I wanted to share with you the way I predict the Election will play out:

As you can see I predict a landslide for Obama- will it happen? Will it be closer than I think? We’ll have to stay tuned and see how it turns out!

Not in the mood to watch the election results? Then maybe you should head down to Blockbuster and check out a movie from Politico’s 8 greatest Election Day movies ever.

It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. I know, the suspense has been killing you! Our inbox here at Metblogs has been overflowing with e-mails asking, “Who will Max endorse as his candidate for President?” Will it be Rudy “Mr. 911″ Giuliani? Nah, he talks funny and I’m tired of people using scare tactics to justify wars. Speaking of wars, how about John “The War on Poverty” Edwards? Nah, he talks even funnier and reminds me too much of this guy. What about Mitt Romney? He is a handsome devil, but to be honest, Mormons just plain scare me. And what about John McCain you ask? Anyone who can show this much love for Bush has spent one too many days in a POW camp.

So who? Who, Max? Will it be Hillary then? Well I do like Hill. She’s intelligent, talks about improving health care, likes using solar energy and other alternatives, has Bill as the First Ambassador, and let’s be honest, Chelsea is starting to look kinda cute. She’s been in politics since I was in diapers and knows how to be the captain of the U.S. Government. But there’s just something about those Clintons. You just never know how much you can trust them.

Oh, so then you’re endorsing Obama then right? Right? Well he’s been against the war in Iraq for a 100 years or something. He seems to have no skeletons in his closet. He’s got pipes that are fit for doing NBC commercial voice overs and teeth fit for being the Crest spokesperson. And Marion Barry is endorsing him right? I mean wow, Marion Barry!

Well I hate to say it, but it’s a tie. I can’t fully endorse Clinton or Obama because the decision is just…too…difficult. That’s why I’ve decided to endorse Hillack Obinton, the dream candidate for the ages. With Hillack, America will be loved by the world once again. Obinton will send Bill and Oprah around the world to mend our broken fences. John Edwards will be brought in as the head of FEMA where he will truly put New Orleans back together again. Steven Spielberg will be hired as the Defense Secretary where he’ll design the coolest looking and best documented wars we’ve ever seen. Google will be put in charge of developing cars that run on old cell phone batteries and recycled Starbucks coffee cups. The Gates Foundation will graciously donate half of its money to rebuild our schools and raise teachers’ salaries, but only on one condition - Apple must be investigated for being funded by communists and run by Al Qaeda.

So join me in my support for Hillack Obinton in 2008! Or…just vote for Clinton or Obama because either one of them will probably do a darn good job.

Datline NBC continued their “To Catch a Predator” series tonight - this is the show about men who target young teenagers over the Internet - after chatting online about sex and then making a date, these guys show up at an undercover house - when they arrive, they are confronted on video by reporter Chris Hansen. Tonight’s episode is focused on Petaluma, CA - but not too long ago they were here in Washington DC.

Coincidently, I received a story suggestion about a website called “Family Watchdog” a few days ago. The Dateline story prompted me to check it out. You can use the site to locate registered sex offenders in your area by entering your zip code into their interactive map - which overlays datapoints onto google maps. You can click through to see photos (if available), addresses, convictions and other information about the offender. If you like, you can also sign up for monthly alerts (free or $24 annually depending on the features).

A review of my local zip code area showed 430 offenders… creepy.

Today’s Post reveals that the MCI Center will have a new name by the end of March. Verizon Center, as the home of the Wizards, Capitals and Mystics will be known, reflects the recent acquisition of Ashburn based MCI by Verizon. This is the first name change in the eight-year history of the arena, which is a pretty good run these days. Enron Field/Minute Maid Park (opened in 2000) is a well-documented example of a name changing after a company goes belly up or it is sold. Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center has already had three names, the CoreStates Center and appropriately the F(irst) U(nion) Center, since debuting in 1996.

Speaking of the MCI Center and Capitals, they lost there to the Flyers last night, 3 - 1. Alex Ovechkin scored the first goal of the night, but after the 1st period, Philly did all the scoring, including an empty-netter near the end of the game. Lots of Flyers fans were part of the announced crowd of 16,876.

What would happen if some 20 or so inches of rain fell on DC in the span of a day or so? Hideous Catastrophe. What would happen if that flood was followed by a brutal winter like none we’ve ever seen before? Fifty Degrees Below.

He read tonight at the Borders’ Books in Bailey’s Crossroads from Fifty Degrees, from sections that describe the protagonists’ trips through a nigh-on post-apocalyptic Rock Creek Park in late fall (not far from today), and a part from the deep and frozen winter. He then took questions about his recent works, an attempt at transcription are below. Text is paraphrased unless marked with “quotes.”
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