We’ve talked about meters before. You know the struggle. Sen. Levin (D-MI) pushes for meters, and they magically appear on the Mayor’s agenda, much to the delight of many of the riders-to-be. There’s something fair about time-and-distance meters that seems lacking from the Zones system.

My friend Ian took the train back from New Jersey where he’d been holed up for work for a couple days, and caught a cab home from Union Station so he could take his final exam. Here’s where it gets good. The cab’s not metered. Or, at least, that’s how it started. Being in the cab awhile, Ian noticed that his cabbie did, in fact, have a meter installed, it just wasn’t on.

When he asked the cabbie what the deal was, the cabbie said, “I’m not turning it on ’til June 1st.”

If you run into this, feel free to submit a complaint to the DC Taxi Commission, as they’re operating in violation of the law. Don’t know how to complain? This article from the Taxi Commission has all of the details. Get the cab number, the cabbie’s name, and the license plate of the cab, and then write it all out. Used to be you had to send a physical letter, but now you can email your complaint to dctc3@dc.gov.

In the wonderful wisdom that is the D.C. Council taking their lead from the President in trying to *hush* dissent in the Capitol, preliminary approval was given to quiet noisy demonstrations within the city. As WTOP reports, that the measure is aimed at getting demonstrators away from residential neighborhoods and limit “non-commercial public speech” to 80 dB at a distance of 50 feet. The initial ordinance was proposed by Tommy Wells (Ward 6) and supported by Mary Cheh, Kwame Brown and David Catania in 2007, but was now just voted upon for enactment.

So what you’re saying, is that, while folks who decide to at least exercise their right to be heard in a public forum, “non-commercially”, must do so at a whisper, but some “commercial” entity, blaring music and using a loudspeaker, can do so wherever and whenever they want in D.C.? Let’s take a glance at what 80dB’s really gets you. [Note: Contrary to the “quick facts” posted on Councilmemeber Wells’ site, and increase in decibels is not a simple “doubling” but a logarithmic scale increase… which is a much different mathematical consideration… so much for politicians fact checking before trying to enact laws.]

10dBA - Normal Breathing
20dBA - Mosquito or Rustling Leaves
30dBA - A Whisper
40dBA - A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA - Normal Conversation
60dBA - Laugher
70dBA - Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA - City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA - Motorcycle or Lawnmower

So, what they are proposing, is that you can protest in D.C., as long as we can’t hear you above the din of the traffic in D.C.. WTF?! Ice Cream trucks are louder than that… granted other cities are cracking down on those too. Granted, I always wanted the ice cream truck in my neighborhood to play “Helter Skelter” or come around like L.A.’s ice cream truck of satan.

D.C. readers, what’s your view on this… pleasant relief or curb to your Constitutional rights to be a pain in the ass?

DSC_5644.jpg — Originally uploaded by rev_bri

I just got this from the Arlington Alert email system:

The USGS has confirmed a magnitude 1.8 “micro” earthquake occurred near Annandale, VA at 1:30pm.  There have been no reports of damage or injuries.

Anybody feel this? Any news to report from it?

A parking enforcement vehicle parked in front of a fire plug. Does that seem fishy to anyone else? If a week goes by without me seeing a Montgomery County parking enforcement vehicle parked illegally, it’s because I haven’t spent many days up here in Bethesda.

Photo: Parking Enforcement Parking Illegally Originally uploaded by carlweaver

We got some email this weekend that left me utterly appalled with the Redskins Management. Suffice it to say that, if this is true, the Redskins have some real work to do with regard to fan-support and fan-management. It’s bad enough that Tickets are so expensive, but to both charge a $100 name-change fee AND strike ticket-accounts while a family’s in crisis?

Wow. That’s pretty low.

My father, who recently passed, has been a season ticket holder since 1961; 12 tickets used by family and friends (one of whom in a high DC postion). Since his passing I’ve managed the account. This year’s payment was received by the Redskins 3 weeks late. I was just notified that they have REVOKED OUR TICKETS!

I spoke with Jason Friedman who claimed “letters, emails and postcards” were sent home. NOTHING WAS SENT! I plan on fighting this but I really don’t know how– the Redskins claim all rights to do anything they want.

Our account’s address is still my father’s and his name is still on the account. As his son, I can take over but the Redskins charge a non-refundable $100 per ticket transfer of name fee. That’s $1200 that I don’t have lying around.

With the economy the way it is, the ticket holders didn’t get the money to me as quickly as normal– I expected maybe a late fee or some penalty but never this…This seems like new big business running out the old, working RFK middle class fan base that Snyder profits from.

Maybe others are feeling this too but it’s not like they never received payment. It’s a $14,000 account. Three weeks late and out??

Just ludicrous.

Why I Hate DC picked up on the new Nationals song that I was trying to explain away this weekend as the result of an auditory hallucination. Here’s the song. I use that term VERY loosely here. And thanks much to the first commenter at WIHDC, who summed it up perfectly:

OMG, it’s like a third-rate glee club and the 1920’s and a marching band’s percussion section had a very slow love child. WTF?

Yes. What the Fuck, Nationals? What the Effing Eff were you on when you decided this was a good idea? I mean, the O’s just got rid of Orioles Magic, and it seems to have gotten them off to a pretty good start? I mean you hired the team that brought us the iconic Monday Night Football Theme. Shouldn’t you have gotten something that resembled that? It’s not too late, Get Your Money Back!

We got to head out to the dump in Fairfax County a week or so ago to bid final adieu to a couch that had far outlasted its meager existence. It was just $5 to drop the couch on the cement slab and watch as the awesome garbage hauler equipment just smashed up all manner of trash and shove it down into was appeared to be an endless pit of forgotten furniture, and various other bulk trash.

They’re very meticulous about how you get to dispose of things, there’s a man at the booth where you pay who makes sure it’s the right kind of thing to go to the dump, or whether or not it’s household hazard waste and belongs in the special part of the dump where they store those fluorescent tubes and bulbs, or if it’s a dead refrigerator, what they do with the coolant tanks.

I caught this sign and started to wonder…what sort of citizens can you dispose of at the West Ox Road Facility? Do they have to be Fairfax County citizens? Can I pay extra to drop off Arlington County citizens for proper disposal? Do out of state citizens cost extra?

Citizens Disposal?! — Originally uploaded by tbridge

Last post for the day: where the hell did COB (close of business) come from? I find myself saying it now too, but five years ago, before I’d moved to DC, I’d never heard of it. Is it just a DC thing?? And why not EOD (end of day) instead?

I kicked off work about 4:45 today to come down to Nationals Park for tonight’s Nats/Cubs game, getting to the game around 5:45. Imagine my surprise when I could get into the stadium….but not to my seat. In fact, none of the inner ring of the ballpark was accessible until 6pm, 90 minutes before the start of the game, and more importantly, 10 minutes after the Nationals had stopped taking BP.

How are young fans supposed to engage with the players and get to know and love them? I mean, I understand that the team’s in a slump, and maybe you don’t want them pressured to have to perform for an audience, but why open the park at all, then?

I don’t get it. You want us to bond with the team, you have to let us bond with the team. You have to let us inside the park to do that. Don’t just leave us stuck in the centerfield entranceway where the players are specs in the distance.

What’s better? This is Little League Support weekend. The idea being that the Nats are holding a used equipment drive for the local Little League groups. You want us to do everything we can to support youth baseball? Let us take kids to the park and watch how the pros get ready for game.

Standin’ Around — Originally uploaded by tbridge

Found this via Wonkette, with a much bigger picture. Apparently, they’re having some sort of firearms training group (Warning, website has sound, which may or may not make you hate humanity…) demonstrating their wares in various House of Representatives offices today. Laser Shot’s mission is: “Our mission is to be the leader in firearms training products specializing in “Use of Force” and “Judgmental Training” to save lives emphasizing on military and law enforcement products.”

Hysterically, their Mission statement includes links to their four major branches: Military, Law Enforcement, Hunter Education and…

…Home Theatre?

No really. For real. They will sell you a kit to install in your home theatre so you can practice pistol shooting, rifle shooting or shooting skeet! The best part of all of this? The “firearms” they sell are probably the only legal ones for the District.

I guess if somebody breaks in you can put a dot on their chest…