In that verbosity, I honed my blogging craft. I learned how to illuminate, motivate, and when needed, aggravate readers to effect change. Sometimes that change was small, Innocent Children followers may now know a bit more about Uganda, and other times I was humbled by the power of online rabble rousing; Free Our Streets is a case in point.

Now, I’ve gown in my blogging to be the publisher of OLPC News, a recognized leader in commentary on the One Laptop Per Child program. For me, OLPC News eclipsed Metblogs right about when Leslie Stall interviewed me on 60 Minutes. From then on, Metblogs was a low priority in my life.

And with this post, I’ll be exiting Metblogs. First, I’m joining the crew of We Love DC, in their new endeavor. Join us for the joy and conversation. Next, I have a radical change in my own life, one that will definitely rock my world:

Where should my friend look for it? Is there a global taxi lost and found? Or should there be a call-a-thon to each taxi company? Or would even that matter since most cabs are individually owned?

At least, if the passport cannot be found, the passport line is gone.

Now that my commute to work is shortened to a quick stroll from the kitchen to my home office, I’m not so in touch with the morning rush. But that doesn’t mean I forgot the pain involved with a message like this from Alert DC:

Metro is reporting delays of over an hour on the Red Line. A small fire on the tracks in the Metro Center area has been put out, but major delays continue. Additionally, at least Dupont Circle, Shaw-Howard U, Farragut North, Farragut West and McPherson Square Metrorail stations have no power due to an unrelated power outage. Non-Red Line service is operating normally in those stations, but with low (emergency) lighting.

While I think the view in the stations would be pretty cool for some station photography – masses of people waiting in low lighting, an almost Orwellian feel if you find the right depressed look – I think it best to follow the last direction from Alert DC:

Avoid Metrorail entirely if you were planning to use the Red Line.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Walking to work the other morning, I was struck by an amazing sight. A pinnacle of destruction piercing the downtown skyline, as another office building is deconstructed in the name of development.

This office building was special to me. Back when I first moved to DC, I worked at its sister building across Connecticut Avenue and the two were the only buildings around that had windows that could open. On beautiful spring days like today, I loved listening to the hustle of commuters exiting the Metro and melodies of the musicians singing for spare change.

Often, I would put signs in our office window to silently communicate with workers across the way – this was before IM made such actions quaint. They too loved their building’s special windows. Now, their home is gone and only 1001 Connecticut is left to feel a day’s breeze.

On moves progress, on moves modernization, and left behind is any connection to nature.

In tonight’s mail, I received a very interesting letter from “Mary Holder” – she and her husband want to buy my house. All I have to do is email her at mh.pronto@gmail.com or call her on (301) 841-7316 and she sounds like she’ll come running with a bucket of cash.

Sound too good to be true? Yep, sure ‘nuf does. Especially when a closer look at the handwritten-looking letter shows that its actually mass-printed, with only my name and address written by hand.

Then there is the matter of the reply address on the card. 611 Pennsylvania Avenue SE is a UPS Store, not an office, so dear mary is looking more suspect by the moment.

Last but not least, there is the problem (for her) that not only do I love my house, I can actually afford it too. So I’ll be trashing her letter and I suggest you do the same.

On my morning commute through Petworth I see many things. Few puzzle me as much as a random boat propeller on Sherman Avenue NW.

Who was towing a boat down the street last night? And didn’t they hear the clank when the propeller came off? Or the screech of tires as the drivers behind swerved to miss the errant metal?

Either way, the boat propeller did make for street art, what with the morning light and shadows playing across its twisted head as it lay in wait for a passing pedestrian to kick.

Wayan’s DC Photos

Make your voice heard on DC taxi fare changes! Mayor Fenty and the DC taxicab Commission are proposing to reinstate the $1.50 extra passenger surcharge with the meter system and they need to hear from you that this is nothing but a rider tax that will again make DC cab fares foolishly complex and expensive.

Get up in their grill and let them know that the original taxi meter fares are reasonable and realistic – no more surprise add-ons for additional passengers, rush hour, fuel prices, barometric pressure changes, and whatever else the DC Cab Commission can think of to fleece riders. Get online, on paper, or on the phone today and tomorrow to:

Leon Swain
DC Taxicab Commission
2041 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE
Suite 204
Washington DC 20020.
dctc@dc.gov
(202) 645-6018.

This is Thomas. He is getting married soon so tonight is his bachelor party.

In his hand is the Force Cup. A sexy toy I bought for Tom in a NoVA CVS.

Do note that the night is still young and Tom is still sober. Later, expect Tom to be much more compromised and the photos to be quite blurry.

Wayan’s DC Photos

I worked damn hard for this parking spot at 10th and F Street tonight.

First, I helped a flustered woman figure out how to open her super fancy car. Then, when we realized her issue was a dead battery, not being blonde, I jumped started her car.

My reward for doing good deed? A one-hour parking zone till 9pm and it was only 6pm. A night of meter feeding then ensued.

No good deed goes unpunished, eh?

Wayan’s DC Photos

Now when was the last time you went cross town in a wagon?

I do not mean a little red wagon either, but a full sized, horse-drawn wagon from the wild west days.

From the looks of this carriage wagon just off Florida Avenue, it went cross town somewhat recently. I wonder why and how.

If you had a horse-drawn carriage wagon out front, where would you go? I think I would race through Rock Creek Park morning rush hour traffic with a grin.