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…)
So as previously mentioned, my wife and I had determined now was the right time for us to look for a home in Northern Virginia. (Considering my decades-long “dislike” of Maryland, it was automatically disqualified.)
This past weekend was our first outing with our Realtor to see what the area had to offer. We stuck to Springfield this weekend; no need to rush hither and yon right out of the gate.
We saw about 8 houses over the course of the last two days. Four were flat-out clunkers, two were ‘ok’, and two were outstanding! So much so we were hard-pressed during a late dinner at Mike’s American Restaurant to decide between the two - supposing we would place an offer so quickly from the start.
Needless to say, I’m amazed - and appalled - at the selection, even within a small five mile radius. Certain neighborhoods seemed to have ‘foreclosure’ or ‘for sale’ signs up nearly every other house. Others, you’d have a hard time finding even one.
A couple of the homes we visited were what I call “tired.” Scuffed walls, small holes, beaten appliances. Lived hard, then left vacant. Homes like that, I assign about $20K of additional “fix-up” money in my head - I’m no handyman, I’m gonna pay some guy to do it for me.
One home in particular you could tell was “rooms rented” - every door had a separate key, the carpet was beat to hell, and it LOOKED like a flophouse on the inside. You’d never know on the outside, though. We ‘passed’ on that one.
There was one place we went to that was still occupied, sorta. The house was a disaster; the two lower rooms were being ‘rented’, and it was just a sad testimony to the overeagerness of some people who bought over their heads and couldn’t keep above water.
Though I will pass on advice to this homeowner(s) - if you’re going to try selling your house, it would *probably* help if you, you know, CLEANED IT UP first. I know you’re supposed to look at the house and not the stuff, but geez! Nothing says “no way in hell” like old food along the baseboards, dirty clothes everywhere, and piles of junk “hidden” in the garage.
Bottom line? This first outing I’d give a B+. Two great possibilities, 4 disappointments. Prospects are looking good, though. I am really encouraged regarding the homes available for our projected price range.
Next week: the I-95 corridor (unless plans change).
Good morning DC, I hope you’re all blissful this morning. Going to be downright pleasant for February out there, high in the low 50s before a weekend that may require an extra blanket.
Metro Considers Large Plasmas for Stations
Metro’s giving a good hard look at plasma screens for all the platforms, and if you’ve seen the plasmas at the Gallery Place station, you might have a good idea what the prototype may look like. In addition, the displays would show content from a new “Metro Channel”, designed to provide a platform for live announcements and display of system conditions.
Virginia Dumps Smoking Ban
Despite strong support from the left, the Virginia House of Delegates has killed the smoking ban for the fourth straight year. Since Virginia’s legislature holds most of the power in the State, cities and counties can’t independently ban smoking, and thus it continues unabated in many of the bars and restaurants in the state. Who was responsible? Why, look, it’s Virginia’s favorite son, David B Albo, of the egregiously stupid $1000 moving violation fines! Hooray.
Final Amount in Revenue Scam is $43M
Forty-Three Million Dollars is what several DC Department of Revenue employees stole from the city coffers as part of their years-long scam. My general hope is that they spend some serious time in a federal pen belong to the guy with the most cigarettes.
When in Doubt, Don’t Trust the Flower Guy
Some suspects were caught red handed on Thursday, but a Sheriff’s deputy dressed up like a flower delivery guy. They used a sheriff’s van made up to look like a flower delivery truck, and a deputy in a delivery guy’s uniform to put the cuffs on 12 suspects who had been dodging the police for some time.
Do you think they make fun of you extra if you got caught because you were monumentally stupid?
That’s right, the grim day has finally come when Metro has raised its fares for all commuters. So, remember to fuel up your metro farecards in the morning with a bit extra to cover the new fares. You’re pretty much boned if you have to park, as parking’s going up too, meaning you could be paying Metro an extra $500 or so in 2008 if that’s how you come into town.
What’s interesting is that the fare increase will cost Metro another $363,000 just in new signage and reprogramming of the machines just to handle the fare increase, itself. The Democrats are using this an opportunity to bash Sen. Coburn (R-OK) for blocking a bill to provide $1.5B in matching fundings for the transit system. Sen. Coburn suggests that any increase in funding should be met with a decrease in funding. Anyone have a good source of $1.5B in the federal budget they might want to see cut?
I was at the bar the other day when I heard some guy say exactly that. Well, soon, it’ll be true.
The new Zipcar (they’re taking Zipcar’s name in this marriage, no hyphenation or brand new name) will serve serve 50 cities including the District. With 180,000 customers and 5,000 vehicles between the two companies, the new Zipcar will be a big deal, but I wonder if they’ll still need every one of those parking spots near the Metro?
Both companies are yet to showing a profit, and are hoping that an economy of scale will be available to them once they’re merged.
Here’s hoping.
Show me a person who hasn’t had a blood-boiling experience with Comcast and I’ll show you a person who has never had cable TV. Whether they’ve screwed up your bill, showed up five hours late for a service call, or taken three visits to actually fix your problem, their quality of customer service is at the bottom of every industry.
Let’s say for example that Comcast scheduled an appointment to come by your house for an installation, didn’t show up, came by two days later, then botched the installation. You decide to go to the local Comcast service center to complain, patiently wait two hours, only to be told that the manager has left for the day. What would you do?! What would you do?! Stop! Hammertime.
That’s exactly what little ol’ Mona Shaw of Bristow decided to do as she went home and stewed over the weekend, got her husband’s claw hammer, and went back to the service center to let them know who’s boss. According to today’s Washington Post article:
“Hammer time: Shaw storms in the company’s office. BAM! She whacks the keyboard of the customer service rep. BAM! Down goes the monitor. BAM! She totals the telephone. People scatter, scream, cops show up and what does she do? POW! A parting shot to the phone!”
She claims that her blood pressure skyrocketed, she started to hyperventilate, and was ultimately booked by Johnny Law. She was fined $345 and received a three month suspended sentence for disorderly conduct. Poor little ol’ lady. While I don’t think busting office equipment with a hammer is the solution to every problem, kudos to her for letting her voice - and her hammer - be heard.
Photo by yoganerd
Today on my lunch break, I swam through the Reston humidity over to the closest CVS to pick up some Corn Flakes, Q Tips, and light bulbs. As I rounded the first aid isle, I couldn’t believe my eyes: a wine section! How could this be? Were my eyes playing tricks on me? Was this some sort of Virginia hillbilly law that’s been around since the civil war? Was this some sort of joke? Had the heat and humidity finally given me slight brain damage?
No, no, no, and no. It was as real as a stripper’s breasts are fake. I decided to take advantage of this oddity so I asked the cashier up front, “Excuse me dear sir. Could I please speak to your sommelier? I’m interested in picking out a fine wine to go with my turkey sandwich.” It turns out that CVS doesn’t employ sommeliers, but the cashier assured me that the 2006 vintage of the Turning Leaf table wine was exquisite. He also recommended the 2007 Yellow Tail Merlot.
Needless to say, I opted for a chilled Hawaiian Punch instead.
Constellation Power has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to put a new nuclear reactor in Calvert county, the fourth to be applied for, nationwide, this year. There hasn’t been a new nuclear reactor built in the US since the Three Mile Island disaster, but with new tax incentives for power providers who get their applications complete before the end of next year, companies are positioning themselves to be able to take advantage of the new situation.
Are we ready for nuclear again? The US kinda freaked out after the Three Mile Island near-meltdown and the Chernobyl disaster, but with power needs proving insatiable, and with fossil fuels being subject to significant negative public attention due to global warming concerns, the timing could be ripe for an expansion of nuclear power.
Will it do anything to lower your power build? Almost certainly not. But, it might decrease dependence on fossil fuels, which can be considered a positive.
No, this isn’t really the next John Carpenter film with Snake Plissken taking aim at the White House and Congress (although, I wished it was). But it’s about mid-season for all the D.C. natives to head out of town just to catch a breather from the madness that is life in the Capitol Region.
While typically, some of these “escapes” are not traditionally vacations in the usual sense (usually only a few days), there are plenty of places both near and far to get away from it all, even if it is only for a short bit. Some folks head internally, staying at home, or spending entire days at the movie theater. Others head out past the potential “blast zone“, to places like Shenandoah, Ocean City, and even Philly (which has King Tut right now, BTW). Others will head further afield…
Tom and Tiff head to Pittsburgh, but have been heard to hit the Eastern Shore. Carl’s on leave of mind to head to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, while Doug slips off to the local mountains of the Shenandoah. Paulo has yet to have a real honeymoon, and feels a strong pull to Harpers Ferry and the John Brown Wax Museum. Jenn loves Cape May in New Jersey, even though another city such as Philly or New York could also top the bill for rapid exit from our fair city. I’m heading to Beantown (to visit the Samuel Adams Brewery as well) and Cape Cod. Even Stacey escapes… at home in Vienna… Virginia, not Austria… just by having moved there. And we all know, DC is good enough for Wayan!
Jenn did bring up a good observation about coming back from these “breathers” from DC; How do you feel about the city when you return? Better or worse than when you ‘escaped’? Have you noticed anything interesting upon your return that you may have not observed or felt being here 24/7?
Now, I’ve seen a lot of things during my time on the road and across this country… however, this evening while riding home, at the light at Randolph Road and Georgia Avenue, a cute Welsh gal in a pickup truck (bumper sticker flag gave it away), put on the emergency brake, and whipped out a pennywhistle and began to improvise something akin to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic“. I wished I had a camera to take in the event, but was barely able to make out the music with my engine humming and the helmet and earplugs in (see Tom, some of us wear them). If everybody took their spare wasted time and exercised it in such a non-violent and creative fashion, I truly do believe the world could be a better place.
