Archive for April 2004

Thomas Circle

Another PDA photo, this one taken of Thomas Circle tonight on the way home from the gym. This is the view west from M Street. I googled “Thomas Circle” and found that there is, allegedly, a plan to restore Thomas Circle to make the park in the center accessible to pedestrians. It would, it seems, disrupt 14th Street traffic, so I’m sure that the interests of suburban commuters will ultimately prevail over that of local residents.

Good Food

Trio Restaurant is a 17th Street institution which does not, as the sign claims, have “Good Food,” other than its diner-style breakfasts. But it’s always packed. Cheap food sells even if it comes out of cans.

Don’t Slam the Door

This was taken with my PDA on the way home tonight, in the midst of a thunderstorm. The cab driver, concerned about his rickety cab, had a “Don’t Slam The Door” decal in the window. Judging from the condition of the cab, I can’t imagine many people have bothered to heed that injunction.

Strawberries

Tonight’s dinner. I had meant to have something more substantial, but I got caught up in watching Master and Commander which was just released today on DVD. Somehow all the on-board surgery killed my appetite.

Have A Grape?

This fountain is in front of a house at 17th and Q which used to be the home of Marilyn Groves. Marilyn was the enemy of all night life on 17th Street, and for years she managed to control the local ANC to fight new business licenses on 17th. She finally abandoned the battle and moved to the suburbs where she belongs. The new owners have erected a fountain depicting young girls offering grapes, perhaps a sly reference to Marilyn’s tireless campaign against new bars and restaurants.

Marilyn was a founder of the now-hopefully-defunct Dupont Circle Citizens Association. For a good laugh, go to their moribund web site.

More April Flowers

These tulips were blooming yesterday in a garden on 17th Street. More than you need to know about tulips in DC can be found here, including the fact that the National Park Service plants about 250,000 tulips a year in DC.

April Flowers

I think Spring may have finally arrived, almost one week after Easter. These flowers were basking in the sun in a small garden at 15th and P Street.

Penn Camera on E Street grudgingly replaced my brand new Canon Digital Rebel SLR that had a problem with the card reader. The manager was convinced that I had jammed the Compact Flash card into the camera and hammered it in further for good measure in order to bend the pins, which of course is absurd. Even though he saw this as my fault, he said he would replace the 4-day old camera anyway with “no hard feelings.” The Canon tech support people thought that a defective Compact Flash card was probably the culprit. Of course, Penn wouldn’t exchange the suspect card (which they had sold me). So I told them I was walking down the street to Ritz Camera to buy a new card and would come back so that we could verify that the new camera was functioning properly. This did not seem to phase them, so I suspect things like this happen to them quite often. After dropping more than $1100 on the camera and accessories (such as the Compact Flash card), one would expect to be treated better. No wonder the store is usually empty.

Chili Today Hot Tamale

It was Chili Today and it’s not going to be Hot Tamale. Another cold, grey, rainy day. Bottles of hot sauce evoke warmer, sunnier places.

Actually, the Chili Today Hot Tamale sauce on the right is my favorite hot sauce and Whole Foods has stopped carrying it, at least for the moment. But you can order it directly from the source at www.chilitoday.com. I just ordered three more bottles. You should get some too. Try it on scrambled eggs with garlic salt and grated cheddar.

New camera

I took yesterday off and had hoped that they weather would be nice and I could go shoot some pictures with my new Canon Digital Rebel SLR. Of course, taking the day off meant that it rained all day, so no outdoor pictures. I did take this picture indoors, handheld and at an ISO setting of 1600. That accounts for the noise/grain. Even so, the camera did a nice job for a situation with extremely low light.

Get me outta here!

The kid in dad’s arms wants no part of the lecture the artist is giving on his works to this mom and dad at Fusebox gallery. Can you blame him?