This didn’t even occur to me until a coworker of mine pointed it out to me:

What do you suppose all those Rolling Thunder bikers did when they tried to go to Whitey’s in Clarendon and found Tallula’s in its place?

Dr. Dremo’s is hosting a Flip Cup Tournament on June 4th, benefitting the Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. $100 per 5 person team, and the beer is included in that fee. For those of you blissfully unaware of the Flip Cup Phenomenon, the best way it can be described is a Beer Drinking Relay Race with an element of skill. Fortunately, since my description sucks, they’ve posted the tournament rules. Anyone interested in entering a team?

DC’s own Radley Balko has a great piece on Wegman’s grocery stores, now in Sterling and Fairfax, and coming to Hunt Valley, MD fairly soon. See, Wegman’s isn’t just a grocery store, and it’s not just another big box, but it’s smart shopping:

Wegmans is a grocery store, of course. So it stocks all the usual toiletries, packaged foods, spices, kitchenware, and the like we’ve come to expect from a mega-grocery. But despite its considerable high-end and hard-to-find offerings, Wegmans prices on most day-to-day goods are actually on par with or lower than its competitors. The store keeps its aisles wide, for easy cart maneuverability. It offers a holder in each cart for fresh flowers, to keep them from getting smooshed by the ice cream. It boxes up perishable items at the end of each day and sends them to local homeless shelters. The store’s seasonal magazine begins by listing areas in which the company feels it has failed, and offers solutions as to how it might do better.

But still, in an effort to crowd out large retailers that serve the community at low prices, places like Montgomery County have effectively blocked such places in an effort to bring their version of conformity to the county. Never mind that Wegman’s is Forbes’ 2005 choice for the best place to work. Of course, what they’re failing to notice is that people will drive out to Wegman’s in Fairfax or Sterling, frequently an hour trip from Montgomery County, to get there. And why not, when they’ve got low prices, better goods than the average Safeway or the truly ghetto-rific Giant, and a pleasant atmosphere. What they fail to see is the tax revenue that it would create for their community, allowing them to ease the tax burden that property taxes in a real-estate-booming area have become.

Today begins the bidding process for the Washington Nationals, with 9 groups registered to bid with Major League Baseball. The team is expected to fetch well above $300 million, with the possibility for that figure to reach half a billion dollars if the team is sold with a portion of the MASN network. I’m hoping that it goes to the group lead by Fred Malek and Jeffrey Zients, the Washington Baseball Club. But that’s just me. Weigh in on the other options in the comments.

Just got home from the first night of Kraftwerk’s two night stay at the 930 Club. Greta and I loved it so much, we decided to go again tomorrow. These guys are the masters of Audio/Video interaction. This two and a half hour set was much longer than the one I saw at the Coachella Festival last year and was so worth the whopping $40 ticket price. Every extra song they played tonight was something I was dying to hear after Coachella. The highlights for me were “Neon Lights” and “Home Computer”. Watching Kraftwerk play these two songs along with their perfect visuals projected on a mammoth screen was sublime. Pure joy – I could’ve cried during “Neon Lights” – it was beautiful.

With all the people taking to the highways for the holiday weekend, how often do you suppose things like this are happening?

While some are headed to the beachs of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, and others still headed into the mountains of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, there are many of us still here in DC for the weekend. This morning at Arlington Cemetery, President Bush will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in recognition of all those who have died in service to their country. Their deaths purchased our freedom, our rights and our soil. Today, we remember and thank them for their sacrifice.

Rita’s Ice is coming to D.C.! There will soon be a Rita’s on Rhode Island Avenue, which, if you’re not familiar with the chain, is a good thing. I’d never heard of Rita’s until 5 years ago, when I started college in Pennsylvania. I wasn’t quite sure what water ice was, either. Actually, I’m still not sure. It’s not quite a Slurpee, not quite an Italian ice. Anyway, if you get the chance, try one. Too bad spring is almost behind us, because Rita’s gives away free water ice on the first day of spring.

This Thursday is Dollar Night for the Potomac Nationals. Bring your family! Ironically, I’m going to see the major league Nationals that same night. And I promise not to do that annoying “O!” thing during the National Anthem.

While I am a transplant to driving in the DC metropolitan area, I learned to drive on the suburban streets of Davis, California, I’ve found that driving in DC proper is fairly easy to handle. Of course, I’ve also found that most of the obstacles are caused by absolute morons who somehow managed to get their hands on a set of car keys and a license.

DCist seems to think it’s all Virginia Drivers’ Fault. But there’s a problem here. Here’s the problem:

The District and Maryland tied at 44th place in how well their drivers fared on the test — only 79.8 percent would pass — while Virginia enjoyed a three-way tie with Alabama and Nevada for 15th place — 84.7 percent.

Okay, great, Virginia drivers will pass the test given by the DMV 5 more times out of 100 than their counterparts in Maryland or the District. That’s pretty much a wash. But, Martin (or should I say, That DCist) seems to think it means it’s all Virginia Drivers’ Fault:

So what does this mean? Scientifically, not much. Practically, well, it may mean that those stick-to-the-rules Virginians just can’t seem to deal with driving in a city, where traffic rules are naturally more flexible than in the ‘burbs and are often treated more as suggestions than as actual laws. Virginians may have the book-smarts, but they lack the street-smarts.

Virginia requires that all drivers retake the state exam every 5 years. How do I know this? I just had to do it last October. I went in for my license renewal and was told I had to repass the driver’s test. I got slapped in front of a terminal and tapped in the answers to the questions. I missed one question, having to do with the speed limit on a divide two lane highway (I figured 55, since that’s what I’ve seen along the various divided highways I’ve driven in Virginia, it was actually 65mph.) The point being is that when your license expires here, you get to take the test. When was the last time you saw a driver with a Diplomat or State Department plate having to re-take their driver’s exam? How about those trucks who seem to make it their business to park in the no-stopping-zone along the various main thoroughfares in DC? During Rush Hour? Or how about my favorite: the median merge. Today, I headed up to Baltimore to take in an Orioles game, and there was a huge backup on the Southeast/Southwest Freeway at the Penn Ave exit. Did folks behave like good little drivers and be patient as the officer at the top of the bridge directed traffic? No. They didn’t. Without fail it was Maryland and DC plates that were screaming by on the shoulder or trying to sneak in via the median.

So, Martin, I know you’re trying to be funny, and your shtick seems to be bashing those of us who live on the other side of the river, but man, take a pill. Here’s a better question…

How the hell do you know what traffic’s like in the city? Don’t you take that new-fangled subway thingy everywhere you need to go? I mean, that’s what responsible DC residents would do, right? ;)