Regret

You know what sucks?

When after all the smoke clears, and you finally get over the anger and the hurt and the disappointment that someone caused...

...you finally realize that you hurt, and angered, and disappointed him, too.

That sucks.

Yeah, suddenly running into the one person who brings out your own personal brand of crazy more than anyone else ever has before is not an auspicious beginning to the weekend. I shall overcome!

An Observation

This occurred to me recently:

Sitting and anxiously waiting by the phone is to the 20th Century

what

Constantly refreshing Yahoo Mail is to the 21st.



Discuss!

LOST Takes a Detour

Tonight was the long-promised and only semi-anticipated "Who the hell are Nikki and Paolo and why should we care?" episode of LOST.

Well, the first part of the question was answered fairly definitively...

....and the 2nd part was answered, kinda.

As many bloggers expected, tonight we saw a retread of our survivors' history on LOST island, except now from the perspective of 2 of the D-List folks on the beach. Nikki, the aspiring starlet, and her scheming chef boyfriend Paolo were leaving Australia with some stolen diamonds and a man's death on their hands. While our regular castaways spent the first 2 seasons figuring out the island's mysteries, these 2 searched the island looking for their missing bag with the diamonds inside and then Paolo sneakily tried to hide the treasure from Nikki once he found it. But not so sneakily, cuz he's kinda dumb.

Are we really to believe that these 2 shallow, sniping bumblers found Yemi's plane and the Pearl Hatch before everyone else? (Side note - is there a continuity issue there with the fact that Eko and Locke were the ones that found the "question mark" and dug out the entrance of the Pearl Hatch last season? Did N&P find another entrance?) And are we to believe that Paolo overheard Ben's master plan by accident??? Well, at least now we have the explanation for Poo-Poo Head's fascination with toilets...

Speaking of continuity -- I do like the way LOST is starting to wrap up or at least readdress storylines from long ago. Charlie confessing to Sun that he was the one who attacked her, at Sawyer's behest? I never thought we'd hear about that again, but now it's creating brand new tension and suspicion stemming from a very old event. Cool!

Ah, LOST's dum-dum twins, we hardly knew ye before your schemes got you buried alive with your precious diamonds. The Island wins again. At least your episode was better than "Stranger in a Strange Land." That was a piece of televised poo.

But, at the same time, this episode didn't change my overall opinion: Rodrigo Santoro still may be the worst actor currently working. Between Paolo and Xerxes, yowza, that's lot of footage for Raspberries!

One thing I did enjoy was that this episode again evidenced the newly self-referential style LOST has adopted in addressing fan complaints/concerns/theories. I am still loving how Sawyer is the "voice of the fans" in the lighter moments - he gets great lines AND more screen time! Some of the writing is actually starting to remind me of the last episode of Seinfeld, as the characters themselves are tossing about all the random fan theories that people are hoping explain the whole show.

As for the scenes from next week.... it looks like we'll finally get to see a good old catfight on the Island! Juliet may be bigger and know the Island better, but my money's on Kate. She's scrappy. And a felon.

PS - I do have to give it up for a totally random, much-appreciated Billy Dee appearance! Long live Lando!

The Little Things That Make You Smile

What would we do without our old friends? You know, the ones who know us inside and out, including both your stressful conversations from last week and those embarrassing stories from 12 years ago....

Tonight, I had a conversation with an old friend that reminded me of just how special they are. In the midst of having a relatively serious conversation with Brunette, where she was giving me some good advice, the following exchange occurred (somewhat paraphrased) via cell phone:

Brunette: "you can choose what you want to share and parcel out to others...."

Me: "hee hee! Parselmouth?!?"

Brunette: "eh?"

Me: "You read Harry Potter, right? So I should talk to snakes? Hee hee!"

Brunette: semi-laughing but semi-frustrated: "No, no....you're so weird. Okay, you can choose what you want to share and dole out to others...."

Me: "So Bob Dole speaks to snakes????" (Giggling uncontrollably.)

Brunette: Sigh.

Me: "Okay, okay, I'm sorry... you were trying to make a serious point."

Brunette: "What?" (Laughing)

Me: "I said, I know, you were trying to make a serious point."

Brunette: "Oh, oh! I thought you said I was trying to make a Jewish point!"

Me: (Laughing) "What? What's that?"

Brunette: "I didn't know! I thought maybe it was some new phrase for something..."

Me: "It is now!"

Us: "But that makes no sense?!?"

Much laughter and mirth ensues........ before cell phone batteries, like all things, must die.

I'm still giggling! :-) Mwah, Brunette! Love you!

PS - Just so you know, I will never forget "someone with a penis." Classic, classic!!!!

Out of the Blue

My 10-year college reunion is coming up in a few weeks.

I'm not going - I'm not a reunion person, and besides this year is so busy with wedding trips and work trips that I really don't want to use another whole weekend trip to go down to Richmond.

There are not that many people I've kept up with from my class, and the ones that I have are people I've found ways to hang out with on our own over the last 10 years.

TEN YEARS! How has it been a whole decade since I graduated from college? When I think about it, yes, it does seem that long. After college, I did 2 years in grad school then 3 years at my first job, then I moved down here. And I've been in DC for almost 5 years. So, that's pretty easy math. But the time just flies!

Anyway, as this reunion approaches, I've started hearing from people out of the blue. What with the wonders of MySpace and email in general, I've heard from or about several people that I lost touch with a decade ago. Strange!

Well, at least I'll be getting some fun updates on what's been going on in people's lives. A lot can happen in 10 years. I barely even remember that 22-year-old wearing that cap and gown. It will be interesting to catch up with people who do!

The Obligation to Endure

I heard something earlier this week that continues to really resonate in my mind.

Rachel Carson, the author of Silent Spring, urged people to pay attention to what their government and corporations were doing. She put the onus on the public to *demand* the truth about the environmental and medical impact of pesticide use, because it was the public that would have to face the consequences.

Ms. Carson often quoted the French philosopher / scientist Jean Rostand:

"The obligation to endure gives us the right to know."

Wow. That says it so succinctly - the entire reason why it's important for the public to pay attention, to monitor, to challenge, to participate in the workings of the government and the larger society.

We HAVE an obligation to endure - our very fact of being requires us to continue being. So it truly is up to all of us to make sure we are protecting and guiding our own ability to endure, as a nation, as a civilization, as a species.

That is why we do have the absolute right to know the reasons behind and the potential outcomes of the major decisions that affect our lives, why there should be transparency in government and truth in advertising.

Such a profound thought, but said so simply.

"The obligation to endure gives us the right to know."

LOST In a Puddle In the Corner of My Room

Holy freakin' A! Tonight's episode was a FEAST for LOST freaks like me!

Spoilers ahead....

Major plot advancement, character development, action, suspense, all in one episode?!?!?!?

The answer to a first-season major character mystery? Check. (And Ouch!!!) (And nice reference back to "don't tell me what I can't do.")

Battle of wills between John Locke and Ben Linus? Check.

Heart-wrenching CFL and Alex moments? Check.

Jack's plans and dreams crushed? Check.

Kate gets her heart a little bit broken? Check.

Strange, cryptic, less-info-than-they-seem clues about Ben's band of Others? Check.

Locke proceeds in his maniacal plan to take over the island? Check.

Locke gets added to the list of being responsible for someone's death pre-island? Check.

Random reference to what could be referred to as rodents of unusual size? Check.

Richard Alpert appears on the island? Check.

Ben continues to be the most delicious, evil, manipulative, brilliant character on television? Check.

Further food for thought for the idea that Locke's con man dad is the real Sawyer? Check. (At least in my head.)

(Re)establishing the fact that John Locke is a central figure in the show, with a connection to the island so mysterious and important that even Ben can't figure it out? Check.

Fascinating new pendulum theory, courtesy of EW by way of Joyous? Check.

FREAKIN' SHOCKING FINAL SCENE? Check. The Man from Tallahassee, indeed.

Fodder for the theory that this show is all about deep-seated Daddy issues? Check.

One of the greatest LOST episodes of all time. See, I can say that even when Sawyer doesn't appear for a second! But he is shirtless in the scenes from next week. Flutter, flutter!

Speaking of next week -- I'm starting the Deathwatch 2007 now. Which character do you think will bite it and end up being the next buried next to Boone, Shannon, Libby, Ana-Lulu, and Eko? (Please don't reference actual spoilers, just your guesses, pretty please.)

Tales from the Crypt

Lately I've taken to calling myself Granny. It works pretty well for a nickname, cuz it perfectly sums up how freakin' ancient I feel sometimes. But, honestly, I'm okay with it -- cuz I wouldn't trade my experience and accomplishments now just to be 24 again.

And it makes me laugh - as in when Onyah and I had our rented periwinkle blue Mustang last weekend and were proud of ourselves for driving with sensible caution in the snow. We kept saying "We're Grannies in a sports car. Deal with it!"

So, here's a somewhat related question that came up in an email today.

If you had to, could you still party like it was 1999?

I know I can't -- unless I can take 2 days off afterwards. Surprisingly, one of my best partying friends actually said even she probably couldn't anymore either. That makes Granny feel better! :-)

You Make Me Feel Like Dancin'

It's back! Thanks to the ridiculously long Heroes hiatus, I was able to take in the much-anticipated, much-sequined-and-tasseled premiere of the new season of Dancing with the Stars. Cha-cha-cha!

Before we got to the contestants, the pros treated us to a manic show choreographed to "Ballroom Blitz." It's good to see the hottest jerk on the dance floor, Maksim, is still hot even with a haircut. Why am I always attracted to arrogant Eurotrash???

Tonight, the men danced the cha-cha and the women danced the fox trot. How'd they do?

Ian Ziering - Well, he's paired with Cheryl Burke. That's a good sign, for sure. (Go Drew Crew!) Steve Sanders sure can swivel his hips. He look pretty good for the first week out, dancing to "Mony, Mony." And wow, Cheryl's so orange! A little too much of the spray-on tan, my dear. The judges liked them, and Bruno was cheesetastic right out of the gate, recommending he go study some Chippendales dancers. Mmmkay, Bruno!

Paulina Porizkova - She may have been a supermodel 20 years ago, but she still looks darn good. But her partner may not have helped when he said "My dad has a lot of pinups of you." Nice, dude. She's got arms and legs that go on forever, so she had some really beautiful lines during the dance. But it seemed a little safe and timid... There goes Bruno again. He told her she looks like "Breakfast, lunch and dinner at Tiffany's." That Bruno.... how will we put up with another 10 weeks of him?

Billy Ray Cyrus - So the king of the mullet now has Keith Urban hair? It actually looks okay... He calls himself "a left-footed hillbilly from Kentucky." Uh oh. He's pretty stiff and you can see him counting out the steps.... oh no! And her hair extensions came off! That pretty much sums it up. E for effort, but not much else. The judges really let them have it for the dance not really being a cha-cha at all.

Leeza Gibbons - Give it up for Leeza, who looks fabulous at 50. (With a little help, I'm guessing.) When did Leeza turn 50??? I thought she and Tony did a really great job, with a fox trot that's graceful and flowing. The judges disagree amongst themselves, with Bruno actually being hardest on them. Their score was pretty low, but they've got room to grow with next week's mambo. I thought it was lovely.

Joey Fatone - Rock on! I love that he's on the show, cuz no season is complete without a happily cheesy pop guy. And give it up for Joey, who's trying to use the show to lose a little weight. He was, after all, stuck with the world's worst last name. Their dance was totally fun and disco, and he didn't miss a beat when he had a microphone wardrobe malfunction. I think these boy band guys who've done Broadway have a real advantage. The judges love him!!!! Think there's a chance his good buddy JT might make an appearance????

Laila Ali - Ms. Ali is paired with the arrogant hot one, Maksim. Color me jealous! How cute to think of her dad being excited about her dancing. She has an interesting challenge, in having to transform herself from being an aggressive, dominant boxer in the ring to being a graceful female dancer. You can tell she's an athlete, cuz she's by far the most physically confident woman of the competition so far. And she seems to be really having fun! I have to say, these two relatively arrogant pros danced a pretty attractive fox trot! And of course, Len had very high praise to offer with "float like a butterfly, glide like a swan."

John Ratzenberger - Cliff Claven! He's a very late addition to the cast since the guy from The Sopranos had to drop out after rehearsals began. You have to give it up for his willingness to step in at a disadvantage, with 1/2 the time to train. Edyta's pretty orange, too! He does a pretty good job - better than Billy Ray, at least! And the judges are giving him a lot of credit. Good stuff!

Shandi Finnessy - Who? Miss USA 2004, I think. She's the token blonde beauty queen. Stacy Kiebler made that work for her, we'll see. Her dancing seems a little forced to me, and I think she has freakishly long arms! She's smiling a lot, but I didn't feel much authentic emotion. Bruno called them "Barbie and Ken" but coming from me that wouldn't be a compliment...

Clyde Drexler - Oh, poor Elena. Clyde, the former NBA star, is 6 foot 7! We shall all see if "Clyde the Glide" lives up to his name. He seems like a total teddy bear though, so if I were about a foot taller I'd want to give him a hug! Their dance was pretty good, though he seemed really nervous. She was keeping it pretty easy on him, without very complicated steps. It's amazing just to see that big a man trying to dance around! The judges all found him to be really warm and charming, and they are encouraging him to really bust out next week and *use* his size rather than try to be smaller on the dance floor.

Heather Mills - I am very much pro-Paul. Sure, she's triumphing over adversity, she's a charity campaigner, yadda yadda. But that's clearly the publicist's story. The last few months have really made her look a bit crazy. And I will have a very hard time rooting for someone who's been trying to make the nice Beatle look like a monster. Her dancing is okay, not terrible, so we might have to watch her stick around for a while. Does this mean they won't play any Beatles songs???

Apolo Anton Ono - I remember saying his name out loud a lot back during the Olympics, just cuz his name is so darn fun to say! He is really a glutton for physical punishment, cuz at the same time that he's practicing for DWTS he's also still competing in speed skating races. I gotta say, Apolo's got some sexy little swivelly hips. And his 18-year-old partner is adorable. Already you can tell a difference in the kind of critique the judges are giving him -- they're not telling him easy first-week comments, they're really giving him criticism like he's a competitor much later on. That certainly says something.

My picks? I think Billy Ray's the first one to go. And I think so far the main competition is between Joey and Laila and Apolo, with Ian a possible spoiler as the weeks go on. I just used my 11 votes online - yes, you get to vote 11 times - so I hope my favorites stay in. Fun fun!

Winter's Last Blast

I just arrived home from somebody's beautiful, wonderful, memorable wedding weekend extravaganza... and much of the adventure stemmed from Mother Nature's little joke of flip-flopping between summer weather mid-week last week and hard core winter as we all started driving north. Ha ha, ha.

(Seriously, though it presented many challenges to the whole weekend, I hope the bride and groom know that everyone who cares about them was there to celebrate with them in spirit if not in person, and that those of us who made it will never forget the stories of the mini-blizzard of 2007!)

So my blog readers, for your enjoyment, here are some views of what we all hope was winter's last blast for this year, as seen from the Blue Ridge Summit Lodge located somewhere between Waynesboro and Gettysburg, PA.

These photos are from Friday afternoon, when the snow showed no sign of abating. Pay attention to these two particular scenes:

Now, here are photos taken from the exact same spot on Saturday morning. Ah, what a difference a day and a little sunlight makes!

Once you could see this tremendous view all sparkly and pristine, it was very clear why the happy couple wanted us all to make the trek. Totally worth it! :-)

The Tipping Point

I am so traumatized.

I was just sitting here, checking my scores on my NCAA tourney challenge entry and watching Keith Olbermann. When suddenly, trusty cat Cleo started to freak out. She was running around in the far corner of the living room, jumping and seeming to attack something.

Then she turned and ran across the room and I could see that she had something in her mouth.

Something with a tail.

A tail that was wiggling.

HOLY FREAKING MOTHER CRAP DAMN HELL WHAT?!?!?!?

She had a live mouse in her mouth!

I started screaming. Seriously, screaming "oh my god! oh my god! what do I do? what do I do?"

I chased her down and she dropped the mouse, which was clearly damaged and couldn't run away. It was grotesquely squirming around. I dropped a paper plate on top of it.

I seriously didn't know what to do. I live on a 5th floor apartment. No outside access. I did not know what to do with this mouse. And Cleo was pawing at the paper plate trying to get the mouse. FREAK OUT. FREAK FREAK FREAK.

I grabbed another paper plate and - still yelling and basically having a meltdown - I sorta shuffled the still grossly squirming mouse in between the two plates. I still DID NOT KNOW what to do with it, so I did the first thing that came to mind.

I flushed the poor hurt squirming but still alive mouse down the toilet. I was shaking and yelling "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the whole time. And Cleo was banging against my legs trying to get to out.

Oh my God. I had a mouse in my apartment. And I'm afraid to say that I think this is actually at least the 2nd mouse in my apartment recently, since I had to throw away my old computer printer earlier this week cuz it suddenly smelled like something had crawled inside it and died. I did NOT want to investigate.

Okay, this is a whole new ballgame. Roaches, yes, I've learned to deal with them. But MICE????

I can not deal with that. I am going to reevaluate my finances and figure out what my possibilities might be. I have been really torn over the years about staying in an apartment that I don't love -- while I love the location and convenience -- but it may be time to revisit the whole scenario. But is there any other mid-priced city apartment out there that doesn't have some kind of "urban" problem -- whether it's noise, or critters, or crime, or garbage, or something? This is unacceptable, but I'm not hearing a lot of good things about any other apartments in the vicinity. Of course, If I won the lottery........ If I actually played.....

And, the worst part? Now, when I look at the cute, smiley, fuzzy, furry face of my beloved trusty cat Cleo... I also see the face of a killer. What the hell kind of Animal Kingdom is going on in my apartment?!?!?

LOST's Birds and Bees

Good episode tonight, in the grand scheme of things. (This post is spoilerific, beware.)

Finally, finally, finally, LOST answered one of its many mysteries..... but it has been a long time since it was a central mystery so it wasn't all that satisfying. Seems that about 20-some years ago, Jack's sleazy doctor dad, Christian Shepherd, did indeed have a fling with a lovely blonde daughter of Oz, and 9 months later little Claire appeared. So, voila! There you have it! Yes, Claire and Jack are brother and sister.

But, I read a good article earlier this week that asked... what does that mean? And how will it matter? Since Claire never did learn her father's name, how will either of them ever know? I guess it's just up to us, the viewer, to watch how they interact with each other and hope to God they never start getting all freaky like Shannon and Boone. Ick.

What else did we learn about Claire? She was a sullen, angsty teen with bad black hair who picked the worst moment in the world, fate-wise, to scream about how she hates her mother, cuz a split second later they were in a terrible car accident that has put her mom in a coma indefinitely. And that her aunt Lindsay (or Leslie? I've forgotten already) hates Christian Shepherd. And that he did try to be a part of her life, but somehow the aunt nudged him out.

And that Claire watched a lot of nature shows and can spot a silver tag on a bird's talon from hundreds of yards away. I won't even go into her plan for rescue -- I think it was more about needing to keep hope alive than having any real chance. Like Bernard's SOS on the beach last season. A plot device that worked for the episode, but if the 815ers end up getting rescued because of that note on that bird's leg, I'll eat my shoe. And not just a giant cake shaped like a shoe.

And PS - Desmond is still hot. Even though part of me thinks he should let it go and just let Charlie and Claire bite it. But he can run around a beach with his shirt half-open anytime!

In other news....

Again, the best moments of the episode were in the B-plot, with Kate, Sayid, Locke, CFL, and Patchy making their way toward the Barracks, aka Othersville. Locke is DEFINITELY acting like a man with a reckless mission - he will do anything to stay on the island at this point, including sacrificing a guy who seemed to know all about his pre-Island, weak, miserable life.

I think it's great that Sayid totally gets that John is out for himself and he no longer trusts Locke at all. That will make for some good drama. I've definitely seen an improvement in the writing over the last few episodes, as Sayid and to a lesser extent Sawyer are both saying and doing the things that we, the viewers, would think or say in these situations. Sayid is asking questions and trying to figure everything out. Sawyer wants to know who the hell the dumdum twins are. Another article I read really talked about how this is such a noticeable change, as the characters are finally acting like actual people probably would - rather than just accepting random strange things and just moving on to the next scene.

CFL, meanwhile, had a good scene about her feelings towards her daughter, but she's still mysterious as hell. And Patchy? Wow, what a way to go.

Again -- the jaw-dropping last moment of the episode was key -- as that damn insufferable arrogant Jack was shown to be the opportunistic fairweather touchdown-scoring turncoat that he is! Can't wait for that confrontation!

But first..... next week! Did you see the scenes? Finally!!!! The backstory we've all been waiting for -- how was Locke paralyzed?!?!

I can't wait for next week! Same bat time, same bat channel.

The Scandal of the Week

The latest buzz inside the Beltway is all about the Justice Department and the firing of several district attorneys across the country. The finger pointing has begun, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have started calling for Attorney General Gonzales's resignation.

But here's the thing. I don't really get this one. What is it about the firings that make them so bad? Is it cuz they were (allegedly) politically motivated? Is it cuz the White House was involved and making personnel decisions? Is that not supposed to happen? But the DOJ is an Executive Branch agency, right? So shouldn't the White House be able to make personnel decisions if they need to?

Can someone out there explain to me why this is a scandal?

A New Approach to Global Warming

Do you ever feel proud of yourself for taking the time to read something that makes you more educated about the state of the world, rather than just the usual celebrity gossip guilty pleasure stuff you would normally choose? Well, today, I chose to use my plane ride back from Atlanta as a chance to take in some brain food and read my latest issue of The Atlantic, and I feel smarter already.

The cover story is fascinating - "Global Warming: Who Loses - And Who Wins?" In the article, Gregg Easterbrook takes a new approach, at least new to me. This is not the Al Gore approach to global warming (love him though I do). There are no charts of data, no drowning polar bears, no political finger-pointing, and no anger. And, interestingly enough, I think Mr. Easterbrook's approach is different enough that he may just be able to sway some of those people (and I've met some of those people) who say "I don't believe in global warming. I'm a Republican." ???

This article, rather, approaches the subject from an economic perspective. Economics, remember, is about determining how to make choices that are in one's own best self-interest. So Easterbrook talks of global warming as a reality, even moderate, stodgy scientists and the Bush Administration are acknowledging that it's happening. Though he still advises that we should do all we can to try and slow down the climate change, he really addresses what it will all MEAN that the climate is changing and how the world economy, politics, and demographics will likely have to adapt.

Using the most conservative scientific conjecture (and noting that Gore tends to use the most extreme, "doomsday" predictions to get his points across), Easterbrook describes a 21st century that will likely include....a worsening economic situation for most developing nations, as they lie in areas that will become hotter and more uninhabitable.... larger and more urgent immigration problems than Lou Dobbs could ever imagine (Lou's my own addition, for emphasis).... changing global economies as new northern (think Arctic) shipping lanes open up and the major trading routes through the Asian Pacific Rim are no longer the most efficient.... land grabs in the now temperate Canadian and Siberian north as well as a global fight over ownership of Antarctica.... a massive freshwater shortage worldwide.... an economic recession in Europe as its old cities become cold and unlivable due to the changing North Atlantic current.... a food shortage and skyrocketing prices as rains shift to different regions and the world's "breadbaskets" shift, severely affecting the staple crop supply.... and even the potential for war over who owns Greenland (Denmark currently does).

Scary, huh? Yet the way he presents it seems so much more pragmatic than the usual extreme environmentalist pitch we've all heard over the years. As he is using an economic approach, rather than political, he also notes some of the ways that enterprising / shrewd people will benefit from the climate change. He makes recommendations about land investments that will likely become hot commodities, and he speaks to interesting potential trends in the energy sector and pharmaceuticals. As the weather warms up, all those tropical diseases keep moving north. And Easterbrook makes the very cynical but good point that perhaps once malaria really threatens the United States, there might finally be some real (profit) incentive in finding a cure.

And his speculation about the very possible realities of how human civilizations will adapt -- we humans being somewhat predictable for both our good and our bad habits -- results in the picture of a world where the northern rich have gotten even richer, and the people of developing nations are suffering unimaginably. (As a current day example, the magazine also includes an article called "The Real Roots of Darfur" - theorizing that the current genocide is not just an ethnic battle between Arabs and Africans, but is also a reaction to the changing climate in sub-Saharan Africa and is really a clash between landed farmers and nomadic shepherds.)

As he is using an economic approach, though, he does make a final recommendation.... this picture includes continued relative strength for the US, yes, but it also envisions growing power for Russia, for Canada, for China, even Argentina - while you can't predict exactly what will happen, it is easy to see that there could be a real shakeup in the balance of power worldwide over the next century.

So, that being said, what is in the US's best self-interest, from an economic standpoint? The status quo, of course, remaining the world's sole superpower and economic leader. Therefore, it is actually in our country's best interest to do everything we can right now to slow down or even stop the process of artificial (ie man-made) global warming.

Hmmmm. See how he did that? :-) Using a very different and I would guess more widely approachable perspective, Easterbrook got us to the exact same conclusion as Mr. Gore. Interesting. I hope a lot of people read this article!

Pedestrian Safety

As all my local readers know, 2007 has been a tragic year as several pedestrians have died in horrible traffic accidents. I know I am not alone in being a DC pedestrian who is suddenly now more cautious, and more anxious, in walking our city streets.

I have been paying particularly close attention to the City's official response to these tragedies because I happen to work *very* close to 7th and Pennsylvania, the site of one of the worst accidents in recent memory. Two local women, heading home after a long day at work, were struck and killed by a Metrobus while crossing with the walk signal at 7th and Penn.

This was a horrible tragedy, and I can not even imagine how the women's families are feeling. My heart truly goes out to them.

Immediately following the accident, the city sent transportation folks out to watch the intersection and begin assessing the options to make it safer. Several coworkers had the chance to talk to these city officials during the day and expressed their concerns about the dangerous situation and also to point out that the opposite corner, 9th and Penn, is just as frightening. In fact, both of those lights are so nerve-wracking for pedestrians that MANY people regularly jaywalk in the middle of Pennsylvania just to avoid the traffic that is racing to catch the left-turn arrow.

Although this and the other major incidents so far this year have involved Metrobuses, I do believe the buses in general are getting somewhat of a bad rap. Yes, they are the biggest vehicles on the road, but they are not the only ones who can be dangerous. I have seen taxis and regular cars whipping around that corner fast enough to be really scary, and I myself have almost been hit on more than one occasion when I am walking with the signal.

Over the last few weeks, the city has made a few changes to try and address the safety situation. I applaud their fast response, even though I think these changes may not be in exactly the right direction:

• There are now huge signs posted at the intersection of 7th and Penn reminding drivers that pedestrians have the right of way and that vehicles must yield. That's a start, but from what I've seen it's only at that one intersection.
• For the last week, the city has stationed several traffic police at 7th and Penn to direct traffic at the morning and evening rush hours. I know there's a science to this that I don't fully grasp, but from what I've seen the police are just reinforcing the current signals. So they're not really "directing" the traffic so much as acting as deterrents and slowing traffic down. It's also a start, but I've got to believe there can be a longer-term solution that doesn't involve permanent staff at that intersection.
• Now, Metro is testing a new feature on its buses -- flashing lights across the top of the bus to try to grab pedestrians' attention to make them aware of the buses nearby. It's an interesting idea, but I saw one of these buses tonight as they're piloting the lights on the S2/S4 line, which is my bus line. The flashing lights "roll" back and forth across the top of the bus, looking like something of a cross between KITT from Knight Rider and something on an old stereo. (Click on the link to see a pic.) I think they will definitely attract attention, but I worry that these lights could prove to be TOO distracting, especially to other drivers who might catch them in the rearview mirror or the corner of their eye.

I don't want to be just a complainer - like I said, I appreciate the city's efforts so far and their willingness to experiment. I imagine that they will need to adopt several new solutions in order to improve overall safety, since each neighborhood is a bit different and particularly the areas around the Mall need to accommodate tourist needs, too. I hope this is what the mayor's new walking city plan will start to address.

As a pedestrian and a citizen of the district, I have a few suggestions to offer, for whatever they're worth.

- Change the light sequence at the 2 intersections along Pennsylvania so that there are separate cycles. There should be a long "all walk" time -- 30 seconds or more just for pedestrians to cross the busy street -- and then a separate green arrow for left turns. I believe most of the danger comes from the conflict of left turning vehicles and pedestrians both racing to make the same light cycle at the same time.

- Stagger the lights along Pennsylvania Avenue so that traffic has to slow down. If there are all green lights in a row, cars can speed up pretty fast on that long, wide, straight street.

-Convince (ha) some of the fancy restaurants along Pennsylvania Ave to move their valet parking stations onto side streets, or somehow make them less obtrusive so they are not cutting off a valuable lane during rush hour.

- And here's my strongest recommendation -- come springtime, FORBID visiting school buses and motor coaches from parking along the far lanes of Pennsylvania Avenue. America's main street is NOT a tourist parking lot. Having those giant buses there for months at a time severely limits visibility and chokes up the traffic into fewer lanes, making it more dangerous for everyone.

Phew. Obviously, this is something I've been thinking about. I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Tell me why my ideas won't work, or why the city's response is the right way to go. I don't think there's a magic answer, but it's important for all of us to work together to make our beloved city safer.

LOST Roars Back!

So, all those LOSTies out there wondering about when we'd see more plot advancement and action? Clearly, only one thing was needed....

A little more Sayid!!!

Tonight's episode rocked. It's too late to do recaps these days, what with the time slot change, but I'm sure other bloggers will do it better than I would, anyway. Check this one out, for sure.

But I'll leave you with this -- even amongst all the great action and story arc, the best line of the night?

Sawyer to Nikki: Who the hell are you?

How Well Do You Know Me?

I blame Onyah for this little fanciful flight of narcissism.... isn't that what blogging is anyway?

Take the quiz to see how well you know me! Apparently this little scoreboard will automatically update with everyone's results. Cool!


Create your own Friend Quiz here

I Never Thought It Would Happen

But they have totally won me over. I have to admire people who recognize their strengths and know how to maximize their talents and abilities. So, after how long? 6 years or so? I have to admit it....


I am totally rooting for Team Romber!


PS: Eric must be a total jacka@@, cuz for Rob to call him out on how he talks to his girlfriend, Rob has now shown that he's far classier than the double-nip-pierced pretty boy. Now, that's a shocker!

Financial Advice, Please

How long would you wait to stop payment on a check?

Consider this scenario:

You write a relatively big check to your credit card company. You have a really good history with this card and you always pay on time. You send the check more than 2 weeks before the payment is due, and you mail it out along with several other bills. By a week later, all of those other checks have been cashed. The payment due date is approaching, but your credit company hasn't posted the check yet. Three days before the payment due date, you send another check, but you worry there still won't be enough time for the payment to be processed before the due date. So you call the credit card company hoping for a little guidance and understanding. Alas, no offer of an extended grade period or anything, but they tell you you can make an online payment of just the minimum balance to make sure your payment is in on time before the due date. So you do that. But, still..... that first check hasn't been received. And now it's been nearly 3 weeks since you mailed that original check.

What would you do? Wait longer?

My boss said she believes companies sometimes hold on to checks before processing them in order to jack up late fees - she's tracked her own mortgage company doing just that. Meanwhile, I've now got TWO checks out there that I'm waiting for them to process. Maybe this is an argument for online bill paying always in the future.

But for now - what about that original check? Is it too soon to stop payment? What happens if I stop payment and then they do receive it and try to cash it? Will I get huge fees for it bouncing?

Yikes

My younger brother turned 28 years old today.

Wow. I *am* old!

It seems like just yesterday that Dad and I got in a car accident in the snowy parking lot of the Minnesota hospital where he was born! I don't remember seeing the little tyke that night, but I do remember how wide my Mom's eyes got when I went running into her hospital room saying "Mommy! Mommy! I just rode in a police car!" :-)

Well, now that I think about it, I guess that does seem like 28 years ago. How time flies!

Anyway, happy birthday, baby bro. My life wouldn't be the same without you in it.

(She says, as if he actually reads this blog!)