A scant six months ago, I joined the wild and crazy crew here on MBDC; I was branching out in my blogscapades and wanted to try my hand at writing about the area that I’ve come to love.

Everyone here has been extremely good to me, one of the new kids on the block. The experience has been inspiring and has driven my creativity in approaching this area to new heights. I’ve been driven to explore this town more than I ever have before, in search of new restaurants, new venues, and new entertainment. Much of these experiences I’ve yet to share; sadly, I won’t be doing so on this stage.

Instead, I’m leaving MBDC and moving to We Love DC. My continued excitment over living here remains unabated. With our imminent purchase of a home in northern VA, I look forward to planting our roots deep into the soil and growing old with the District - inside the zone and through the Beltway. And sharing all of this with the great people of the area with more passion and freedom than before.

So thank you, readers, writers, commentors and the MBDC staff for taking a chance on and accepting the missives from one of the small fish in this vast pond. May your futures remain bright and your cameras nearby.

See you on the other side.

First off, if you’re a Nats fan headed to the game with the Orioles on Sunday, good luck. You’re hosed.

Heads up to everyone travelling across the District this weekend: every single Metro line is seeing major track work and rail testing from Friday night through early Monday morning.

Blue Line
Sad to say, this one’s been hit the worst. First, customers traveling between the Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street Metrorail stations should add up to 30 minutes of travel time for their trips because of track maintenance. Inbound and outbound trains between these locations will share one track from 10 p.m. to closing (3 a.m.), Friday, June 27, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., Saturday, June 28, 10 p.m. to closing (3 a.m.), Saturday, June 28, and 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., Sunday, June 29.

Additionally, if you’re traveling between the Pentagon City and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail stations, you should add 15 minutes of travel time for your trips because of track maintenance. Inbound and outbound trains will share one track between these locations from 10 p.m. to closing (midnight), Sunday, June 29.

Yellow Line
You get to piggy-back on the Blue Line’s woes. See above for sharing issues between Pentagon City and Reagan National.

Orange Line
Riders traveling between the Stadium-Armory and Cheverly Metrorail stations should add up to 20 minutes of travel time for their trips because of bridge repairs. Inbound and outbound trains between these locations will share one track from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, June 28.

Green Line
If you’re traveling between the Greenbelt and College Park Metrorail stations, add 15 minutes of travel time for your trips because of rail car testing. Inbound and outbound trains will share one track between these locations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, June 28.

Red Line
And finally, riders traveling between the Friendship Heights and Medical Center Metrorail stations should add 15 minutes of travel time for their trips because of track maintenance. Inbound and outbound trains will share one track between these locations from 9 p.m. to closing (midnight), Sunday, June 29.

Last Friday, me and the missus decided to dine in Old Town. We were craving Irish food; after our jaunt up in Maine a few weeks back and hitting several New England pubs we were feeling nostalgic for our Ireland walkabout back in 2005 and wanted to try getting back to that setting. Yes, yes, this is Virginia after all, but no harm in trying, right?

I’d read some reviews on O’Connell’s a while back and since it boasted itself as “a modern Irish restaurant in an ancient Irish setting” (from their website), we decided to give it a whirl.

We arrived right at 5 p.m., before the dinner crush on a typical spring weekend evening on King Street. After doing a quick check of the menu out front, we followed the pleasant and cheery hostess upstairs to the third floor. (As an aside, I love it when restaurants post their menus out front - saves me a heap of time of going in, scanning the menu and then bailing because I can’t find anything on it that waters my mouth.)

Seated in a corner along the long banister “corridor” connecting two of the older bars upstairs, the busboy was prompt in getting us water. So we dove into the menu and after some discussion, decided what to eat.

And then waited for our server. (more…)

Remember this experience?

Well, I received a phone message last week while I was off gallivanting around Maine; the caller was from CSC’s corporate offices. [I had filled out their online customer comment card, pointing to the previous article so they could see for themselves what was going on. Thanks, by the way, for everyone’s comments - hopefully they caught those as well.]

I was assured the matter was being looked into and the franchisee was being notified. Supposedly I should have already received a call from the store (nope) and received a gift certificate notification through the mail (nope).

Now, I’ll state right here and now I didn’t start all this for some form of free anything. I’ve done the retail punishment for over 15 years before I got smart and left; it pains me to see poor customer service, especially in establishments I frequent. I feel it’s my duty to politely let them know when they’re failing the public trust. And yes, also when they’ve gone above and beyond as well. (And yes, I’m an excellent tipper when it’s warranted.)

So while the call back is refreshing, the lack of local follow-up is disappointing. If / when we get those certificates, we’ll head back to the same location, if only to see if anything has changed (and yes, I’ll let everyone here know!). Meantimes, we’ll probably shift to the Hoffman location, unless someone can suggest a great local spot in Alexandria / Kingstowne / Springfield to try. (For the record, not a fan of Kalidescoops or Maggie Moo’s.)

Please, readers, suggest away!

So last night me and the missus went to look at a couple of townhomes, one of which we’re considering purchasing. We’d both had a really long mental day at our dayjobs, so I suggested we make the trip out to the Cold Stone Creamery on US 1, near the I-495 interchange. There’s not really a good place for ice cream near our current home and we both like the taste of CSC’s ice cream. So it’s worth the drive for us.

Read the rest of our adventure after the jump. (more…)

Good morning, D.C.

It’s been a very wet and soggy commute this morning.

If you drive in Virginia, please please PLEASE turn your headlights on if the rain is enough to keep your wipers on. “Daytime Running Lights” (those headlamps that are on when your car is in motion) isn’t the same thing - you need to have your parking lights on as well. Otherwise, you can’t SEE YOUR CAR in the gloom and gray. I sure don’t want someone to pancake my own nice sedan (hey, it’s my wife’s car!) and I would really like to not bump yours, either.

And if you don’t believe me, here’s what the VA Vehicular Code has to say:

§ 46.2-1030. When lights to be lighted; number of lights to be lighted at any time; use of warning lights.

A. Every vehicle in operation on a highway in the Commonwealth shall display lighted headlights and illuminating devices as required by this article (i) from sunset to sunrise, (ii) during any other time when, because of rain, smoke, fog, snow, sleet, insufficient light, or other unfavorable atmospheric conditions, visibility is reduced to a degree whereby persons or vehicles on the highway are not clearly discernible at a distance of 500 feet, and (iii) whenever windshield wipers are in use as a result of fog, rain, sleet, or snow. The provisions of this subsection, however, shall not apply to instances when windshield wipers are used intermittently in misting rain, sleet, or snow.

[…]

D. The failure to display lighted headlights and illuminating devices under the conditions set forth in clause (iii) of subsection A of this section shall not constitute negligence per se, nor shall violation of clause (iii) of subsection A of this section constitute a defense to any claim for personal injury or recovery of medical expenses for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident.

E. No demerit points shall be assessed for failure to display lighted headlights and illuminating devices during periods of fog, rain, sleet, or snow in violation of clause (iii) of subsection A of this section.

F. No citation for a violation of clause (iii) of subsection A of this section shall be issued unless the officer issuing such citation has cause to stop or arrest the driver of such motor vehicle for the violation of some other provision of this Code or local ordinance relating to the operation, ownership, or maintenance of a motor vehicle or any criminal statute.

(Much thanks to Vivian Paige’s blog for the info.)

So no, you won’t get pulled over for not having them on. But if a cop pulls you over for another violation, you’ll get it added as a citation, like failure to have your seatbelt on. So save yourself the aggrevation from safe drivers like myself - I reserve dirty looks for you people; do you really want that on your conscience? - and a possible accident in the future. Who needs higher insurance premiums when we’ve got these gas prices?

Gloom Returns, courtesy of Erik Charlton

In case you missed it Tuesday, the NHL nominated Ovechkin and two other guys for the Hart Trophy. The Capitals’ captain and centerman is up against Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Calgary’s Jarome Iginla.

Honestly, I’m pretty sure they only added Malkin and Iginla because they had to have three nominees.

Yes, yes, I’m solidly in favor of Ovechkin snagging this trophy, despite being a solid Penguins supporter. But I also acknowledge talent; Ovechkin personifies the essence of the Hart and he deservedly should win it.

It’s indeed fortunate that Washington made it to the playoffs - I highly doubt Ovie would’ve been nominated otherwise, though that travesty would’ve been unforgivable, I think.

We’ll find out for sure on June 12 in Toronto, when the 2008 NHL awards are doled out. And if you didn’t know, Nicklas Backstrom is up for the Calder Trophy for top rookie, too - but he’s going to lose that to Chicago’s Jonathan Toews.

Another Capitals member is an awards finalist - Bruce Boudreau was tagged today as a Jack Adams finalist, which goes to the coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success.” Boudreau replaced Glen Hanlon in late November last year, where the Caps lay belly-up in the Southeast cellar at 6-14-1. Since then, he led the Caps to a 37-17-7 regular season mark (with seven straight wins at the end of the season) and three hard-fought playoff wins before succumbing to the Flyers in Game Seven. He was also the fastest coach to 20 victories (34 games) in Caps history.

Ovie’s already snapped up the titles for most goals (65) and points (112) on the season. The sole reason the Caps even made it into the playoffs by a hair was because Ovechkin carried them on his back. If Ovie wasn’t playing, the Caps would deservedly be in the dregs of the league along with Tampa and L.A.

Ignila makes sense as a nominee - second career 50+ goal season, 98 points total, and spearheading the Flames’ own run into the playoffs. But he didn’t electrify his team or the home crowds like Ovechkin did.

The sole player at a shot of sneaking away with the Hart is the Penguins’ Malkin. And really, despite locking in 106 points with 47 goals - 46 points and 20 goals during a 28 game stretch that kept the Penguins on playoff afterburners when Crosby went down - the only real reason he could skate away with it is if the Penguins win the Cup.

But even I don’t think that’s likely to happen. I foresee quite the Caps ’sweep’ of the awards in June.

So my heartfelt congratulations to Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the Caps for an electrifying season. I truly hope you all keep that fire lit for next year; it’ll make some awesome match ups for me and my Penguin friends to look forward to.

The Golden Triangle BID announced their summer lineup for their popular “Sounds in the Square” concert series. The concerts are free at the Farragut Square Park on Thursday evenings in May and June from 5:00 to 7:00pm. Rain dates will be held in September.

This year’s series will feature concerts by some of the area’s most popular bands like No Second Troy, and local favorites including Everyone but Pete and JunkFood. So if you’re looking for some great local music fused with warm summer evenings in the middle of downtown DC, this might be your thing.

The current schedule is:

May 8 No Second Troy
May 15 Justin Jones & The Driving Rain
May 22 Everyone But Pete
June 5 JunkFood
June 12 The Kelly Bell Band
June 19 Crowded Streets
June 26 Reflex

You can check for any updates at the Golden Triangle’s website and if you’re myspace-savvy, add them as a friend.

OmegaBand, courtesy of stgermh

D.C. Mayor Fenty put the kibosh on any further extensions for cabbies working in the District to install meters. Bottom line? Those cabdrivers have to have meters installed by May 1 or face a $1,000 fine each time they pick up a fare.

Now, I know what you’re all thinking - “All those cabbies are going to have meters installed in a week? But there’s like, a ton of them and only a few installation garages!”

You’d be correct.

So there’s an extension - but it’s not called an extension. I call it “a bone” that’s been thrown to the cabdrivers. Basically, if they’re caught without a meter between May 1 and May 31, then they’ll get a warning. If no meter by June 1, all those warnings will convert to the monetary fine. After June 1, the fines are enforced. This gives them an extra four weeks to get metering devices installed.

All this because Fenty won the court ruling yesterday that upheld the city’s plan to require time-and-distance meters, as opposed to the eons-old zone-fare-customer-ripoff system.

Hey, it’s a good thing.

Although I really suspect cab customers are going to be out of luck snagging a metered cab in May; with the constant temper-tantrums the cabbies have been throwing over this changeover, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to find many of them riding with dozens of warnings until June 1, in order to soak as many customers as possible.

Meantimes, the drivers are sending their lawyer to the D.C. Court of Appeals, in order to prevent scrapping the zone-ripoff system while the appeal is pending. We’ll see.

Cabs will be spot-checked in May and warnings handed out. Citizens can also report unmetered cabs. According to the press release put out by the mayor’s office, “Passengers who wish to file a complaint against an unmetered cab should obtain the taxicab driver’s name, company and license number and report it to the DC Taxicab Commission at (202) 645-6018 or dctc@dc.gov.”

I’ll stick to Metro and my own two feet until this mess is all over.

Cab stand at downtown Hyatt, courtesy of drewsaunders

So you just finished reading the latest Grisham thriller, or stayed up all night because you couldn’t put down Amy Tan’s newest, and now you’re just itching to tell everyone about how awesome it was. Or what a terrible read it was, so don’t even bother. What options do you have?

Well, a lot, actually. You can find a forum or review site pretty much all over the web these days….except at the library.

Those days are over, at least in Alexandria.

The Alexandria Library now offers patrons and residents a chance to put down their own reviews and thoughts on nearly all of the library’s holdings, which includes books, movies, music, and other material found on the online catalog. The Library has included this functionality as another resource for people to get recommendations and reviews from other patrons on materials to check out.

“Our Library now has a truly interactive mechanism, completely integrated into our catalog,” said Rose Dawson, Director of Libraries. “We know that our patrons are already used to such interaction on many commercial Web sites, but our Library affords its patrons the ability to reserve materials online—and to get those materials at no charge.”

Accessing the catalog is easy. Go to the website and click on “Library Catalog” and start browsing. When you find something you’d like to offer a review on, just type it in. Keep in mind that you’ll need to register to the website in order to do so.

The interactivity of the online catalog is just one more step in building the community, and one that is appreciated from its patrons.

I love libraries, courtesy of mj*laflaca