Am I doing anything but posting?

* All this talk of space policy ... and a new report was just released today regarding the Columbia disaster.  The Paper of Record has a piece here, which has been the most extensive review of the disaster since it occurred ... and will hopefully be used to make the Constellation space program better.

* In case you missed my post on the 30th about the NextBus link found at the Georgetown Metropolitan.  Well here it is again ... just select your route, then your stop, and you can see the next bus!  

* Via DCist, we've got some Rhee news, here!  Sadly its not awesome.  I don't want to steal DCist's entire post ... so to paraphrase - someone went through Rhee's 5-year plan and found the glaring omission of pre-school, pre-k, or even kindergarten.  This is especially odd considering the DC Circus just passed universal pre-k legislation.  Hmmm ... Idk.  Early education is important and Rhee knows that, but maybe she doesn't want to get bogged down ($$$$) in pre-schooling.

* Anyone want to get your hands on some limited edition merchandise.  This is awesome - I just bought some stuff.  I'm stoked.  These will go great along with my fourthree (thanks Joey) Bush-Cheney '04 glasses.  Check it out here!

* Odwalla Bar!  Patchus will find this amusing because we had quite the experience with them last year - also known as taking a bite and then spitting them out.  But I was at CVS the other day and saw them ... and for some reason wasn't thinking of our bad experience and bought them.  I just took one out of my desk and opened it - the second I smelled it I remembered the bad experience ... I decided to try it anyway.  Nope, still disgusting.  So readers, avoid Odwalla Bars at all costs.  Patchus even called their customer service line to ask if they had ever tried one of their bars, the woman didn't seem to want to answer.

* Speaking of CVS ... Why is it CVS/Pharmacy; not CVS Pharmacy, or CVS and Pharmacy, or CVS: Pharmacy Department within?  Anyone know.  It's been on my mind.

* Cavan over at GGW has the scoop on the CCT (Corridor Cities Transitway) ... and hopes that MoCo actually builds the transit if they plan for it.  The idea seems pretty solid and it would definitely be a great boon to business and growth.  Check it out, here.

I don't like the name Roundup anymore...

* Via TechCrunch, here, who gets these deets from Glassdoor, we have the best and worst places to work for the year.  I have taken a select few of the Top 20 to work for: Netflix (3), Whole Foods (6), Google (7), Caterpillar (16), and Apple (19).  The number 1 and 2 worst places, respectively to work are DHL Express (USA) [luckily they won't have to worry about that for long :-/] and United Airlines.

* BP is offering free WiFi at gas stations?  USA Today, here, seems to be under that impression, so we don't know if its actually fact or completely made up.  Interesting idea BP, hoping to be the next hangout?

* Rebuilding Place in Urban Space has an interesting take, here, on Washingtonian's article about Arlington and Alexandria possibly becoming the 51st state.  Why doesn't DC join in on the action?  Makes sense to me ... better than retrocession into Maryland.

* Engadget has the scoop on Ford's self-parking car - just something else that lazy Americans really need.  It should be available in two Lincoln models by 2010 ... interesting.

* Lifehacker has the deets on how to learn sign language - here.

* GGW thinks that Apple should stop toying around and design a building that the Georgetown ANC would actually like - something in the federal style.  If they wanted glass, stone, and metal - they can go build in Gallery Place or Logan.  Good point - here.

* The Clintons will be with America's Mayor on NYE assisting him in dropping the ball in Times Square.  Excitement.  Via Perez - here.

* Columbia Heights Streetscape project website is up and running - here.

* New Georgetown blog ... I personally like Vox Populi, but I'll be adding the Georgetown Metropolitan to Reader to check it out.  I'll let you know what I think.  Of particular note is that Mr. GM (as he annoyingly likes to call himself), has found the back door into Nextbus' WMATA page.  Go here and select your route, then select your stop - and you have the next bus information ... nice!

* LOL ... Cite H:

* Got an hour and a half to kill ... or just want to see a really great documentary via Joe.My.God. - The Times of Harvey Milk is up on Hulu.  I embedded it below, but you can feel free to click through because I think it'd be annoying to watch in this window.  The full link is here.  Watch:

Round Up ... or Round Down

Welcome to Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 ...

* The Paper of Record leads with an article regarding NASA's future, here.  Ironically enough a few friends of mine were sitting around discussing this last night - and then there was this excellent article this morning.  The article touches on two things ... the problems NASA has run into with the Ares rockets and Orion capsule - both of which I think can be expected.  We are designing a new way to get into space, this certainly won't be easy, and I think that anyone who expects it to be so is just being foolish  The bigger issue at hand in the public eye is the suspension of Space flight from 2010-2015; as a way to save a ton of money and allow NASA funds and time to properly prepare Constellation for space.  Obama has expressed his interest in keeping the Shuttle flying, in the interest of national pride (from '10-'15 we would be hitching rides with the Russians into space).  I personally don't like the idea of us not having a way to get into space for 5 years, but unless Obama is promising additional funding to keep the shuttle alive and not impact the Constellation launch date/preparedness - I am not in favor of changing anything.

Since we are on the topic ... it should be noted that Corrupt and I had quite the argument last night in regards to Shuttle versus Orion capsule.  I have no background in space policy and am certainly not a rocket scientist ... but it seems to me that we have tried this whole 'reusable' spacecraft thing and it didn't work.  I personally think this is the best technology we have on hand ... and until we are able to get some kind of plane into space, this will be the best technology.  Every country still has trouble with the whole reentry process - its just not something we know much about and not much we know how to change in regards to it.

* GMAC got $6 Billion and will convert into a bank holding company ... woot for them.

* Personalized medicine ... maybe one of these days.  The Paper of Record has the story, here, about how drugs only work for about half the people prescribed to them - due to people's genetic differences.  At some point in the future drugs may be tailored to work for you, or at least checked to make sure they do work for you before you are prescribed them.

* The Paper of Record has an interesting twist, here, on the housing crisis' effect on divorce proceedings - who gets the house?  Couples in divorce proceedings are trying to dump the house on their former spouse because they don't want to be saddled with its costs and mortgages.  And what are the houses worth ... in most places it is certainly not near the price that many people paid for them.

* Caroline Kennedy ... can we just stop this joke. No. No. No.

* The Paper of Record has an article and a City Room post about the MTA fare increases.  New Yorkers should brace for a fare hike, but they probably won't know for sure how much it will be until the late spring.  And the new fares are expected to go into effect over the summer.

* Want an iPhone ... you can now get them refurbished from AT&T for $99.

* The 2009 sign in Times Square will be powered by Duracell batteries that were charged from people riding bikes.  Since December 2nd, visitors to the Charmin Public Restroom in Times Square have been able to hop on a bike an help do their part to power the sign.  Overall it took 137, 228 of them.  Check it out at The Paper of Record - Bits, here.

* Also in Times Square news ... the Ball will stay lit year round!  How exciting!  Last year the bulbs were switched to LEDs, and this year they have decided to keep the ball lit and aloft all year long.  Interesting ... Via NYT - Green Inc., here.

* Also from the Green Inc. blog, here ... many cities and municipalities around the country are jumping on the bandwagon of the roundabout trend.  Also known as a traffic circle (NY), rotary (MA), and probably a bunch of other names.  For years traffic planners have known (at least the smart ones), that they are the most efficient and safe way to move traffic through intersections, especially ones with odd angles.  In theory a true roundabout should not be controlled as much as they are in DC - we have 'over-lighted' our circles to the point where they actually don't allow traffic to travel more efficiently in my opinion.  Many people find them annoying, and don't know how to drive through them - but then again most people barely can drive, so it shouldn't be a problem.  They save carbon emissions because cars are less likely to come to a full stop and less likely to feel the need to speed up as soon as the light turns green.  They also have a traffic calming effect by encouraging people to slow down.  Do you have thoughts?

* Warner Brothers and 20th Century are in a court battle over the upcoming movie Watchmen.  The Paper of Record reports, here, that a judge has agreed to hear 20th Century's suit to stop WB's release of the film, which they say they never released the rights to.  The hearing will take place on January 20th, and hopefully everything is resolved in time for its March 6th release - because it looks pretty good.

* Sad news from the CityDesk, here ... Georgetown has once again rejected the Apple store as a tenant.  Are these people stupid.  Anyone over the age of 40 should be barred from sitting on an ANC because they have no idea what is going on with the world and are just overly concerned with stifling progress and preserving a non-existent history.

... I'm sorry this keeps dragging on.

* Via WaPo ... The JCCIC (Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies) is encouraging ticket holders to take metro or walk.  Insaneeeee.  Here.

* WaPo reports, here, on how the economic downturn is effecting school districts and their plans to modernize and shift around schools.  These districts are now being forced to close schools and scale back on plans due to proposed budget cuts.

* NYT Op-Ed about the Gays, here.  Yes Corrupt, its all about the gays.  Frank Rich hopes that Obama starts acting on his promises to the GLBT community very soon.

* WaPo says that Chicago Public Schools could be a national example, with current CEO Arne Duncan soon to become our Minister of Education.  Duncan has made sweeping changes in the Chicago school system and hopefully we can see those nationally.  Rhee anyone?  Here.

Oh Snap...

This should have been my usual morning post - but I got a little sidetracked, so now its an afternoon post - with a lot of information.

Sidebar: They really need a better way to make like bullet points on here - each of these paragraphs is a different topic.

Okay, go out and eat please ... just do it ... Nathan's in Georgetown is apparently hurting so much that they might not be able to renew their lease this coming April.  I've honestly only dined there twice, but I've passed by a million times, and it is truly a Georgetown icon.  I get this information via Marc Fisher in WaPo this morning - in an article about Georgetown turning generic.  Apparently Nathan's was feeling the hurt even before the union-induced recession, so I can't imagine that things are faring any better.  So the next time I am in Georgetown, I think I am going to pop in for a bite to eat - I've only been for brunch so I might as well try another meal.  Though I will say, there brunch is pretty good.  I will add though, that if you are looking for hole-in-the-wall sports bars/restaurants in Georgetown - Chadwicks is really good.  I basically just undermined this entire post by recommending another restaurant over Nathan's -- lol -- go to both I guess.  Yum!

Education.  Education.  Education.  Rhee.  Rhee.  Rhee.  I have yet to have the honor of posting about The Iron Chancellor on this blog, but I will.  The reason I bring this up is Obama's nomination for Minister of Education (I'm pretty much over this whole 'Secretary' business - Minister sounds better), Arne Duncan.  I don't know the guy, he's certainly no Iron Chancellor, but she's also not ready to be MoE.   The Paper of Record has all the deets about this guy here, he seems to be pretty legit - straddling the divide between destroying evil unions and getting our schools the resources they need.  He has the experience, the brains, and the temperament to be an excellent Minister.  I am glad to see that Mr. Duncan is so focused on early childhood education, it makes absolutely no sense to start reforms in middle schools and high schools when the kids are coming without the proper educational background.  I look forward to positive changes and hopefully no children will be left behind.

BusinessWeek ran with a story yesterday about Airbus keeping it's 'edge' on Boeing.  Let's just start with the facts, If it ain't Boeing, I'm not going.  Any 'edge' that BusinessWeek asserts that Airbus has proves that BW has no idea how to run a business.  Airbus is kept afloat by the EU, their business model is non-existent, they just make up designs that have planes looking like Sperm Whales and then receive billions of dollars in government subsidies in order to keep the program afloat - as far as I am concerned Airbus is unreal, it doesn't qualify as a legitimate business.  Anyway back to the BW article, it talks about how Airbus didn't get the memo that no one wants Sperm Whale planes and they are looking for smaller, lighter, more agile planes like the godsend the Dreamliner.  I'm pretty sure according to Boeing's original timeline, I was supposed to be flying in a Dreamliner right now ... but that didn't happen.  Then again when you completely reinvent the manufacturing process to make a plane completely out of composite you are bound to run into some delays.  The 787 is now not expected to deliver until mid-2010, sadness.  Though that still puts it light years (4 years-ish) ahead of Airbus' lackluster competitor the a350 (which is essentially a plane they already make).  Boeing also has double the orders for the 787 than Airbus does for the a350.  I mean basically its a fact, Boeing is better.  I don't know why BW wrote this article, it was a waste of everyone's time ... Airbus should have gone bankrupt years ago.

All this talk of planes has me quite happy - I love planes.  And I love Boeing.  It also reminded me to check out the blog of a good friend of mine - Jon Ostrower - who writes FlightBlogger.  Anytime I come across a blog post about airplanes, Jon is linked somewhere in the post because he knows everything about everything.  He's quite smart and seems to get all the deets before anyone else, so he's clearly a good guy to know (and a good blog to read).  Anyway, I popped over to his blog (link again - yea you should go, its that good.), and he is leading with a story about the Chinese cancelling or delaying aircraft deliveries in 2009.  He points out this sucks for our friends over at Airbus, who are currently building a new factory over there.  I'm sure the EU will rush in to bail them out and make sure they remain an unreal and illegitimate business.

Taking the airplane thought and merging into a new topic. ... I would have included this in my Dreamliner discussion, but it had already gotten too long and off track - unions.  It is clear to me and basically every economist in the world (not verified) that the unions have caused the current recession - jk.  sort of.  Anyway, a union-lead strike caused a 58 day delay with Boeing's Dreamliner, probably causing a much bigger delay due to a backlog of parts that showed up - couldn't be put in the right places, etc, etc.  The Big Three had horrible business practices and didn't seem to get that people weren't going to buy SUVs for ever, but even with that stupidity I think they could have survived on their own.  Except for the fact that they are saddled with huge health care costs for retirees -- and they can't actually close down a factory.  Yea, that is absolutely my favorite.  When they close a factory or shutdown a production line, or really attempt to save any sort of money ... they still have to pay the people who work there.  Yea?  Does that make much sense to you?  In essence, they have absolutely no flexibility.  That is like if over the next 3 years when Bank of America lays off some 35,000+ employees, they just got to go home but still got paid 95% of their salary.  I'm sorry ... what?  Is this socialism?  Why even bother having a business if you can't make any decisions to save money.  I'm sure old Socialism Corrupt will have a post up in seconds about how unions are the 'fabric of our nation' and saved this and that and are the greatest - blah blah blah.  Yea, I'll admit it ... unions were good for quite some time - they have served their role, but they are inefficient and have no place in the 21st century.  Making a case for unions is like making a case for a horse drawn carriage over a car - yea its pretty cool, but its certainly not the best way to travel and it costs so much more money than it could ever be worth.  So you heard it here first, I'm calling on the 2010 Republican Congressional Majority to pass a law abolishing all unions.  Actually, why go through Congress - unions should just disband themselves on their own.  Okay .. that's good.

I can't wait to see Corrupt's response to this union banter - he frequently gets in a tizzy about such things.  He's all about making sure that people get paid for work they aren't actually doing.

I was trying to look up what happened with that whole Jim Graham wants underage kids to get trashed thing - but the Legislative Information Management System (LIMS) seems to require intricate knowledge of the legislation in order to find it - which kind of defeats the purpose in my eyes.  So I decided to read the Council's agenda for this afternoon ... this thing is like a 3-ring circus.  Their day seems to be occupied with approving resolutions naming streets and buildings after people.  Of note!  On the Consent portion of the agenda is the final vote for the approval of Verizon's Cable franchise, which means FiOS!  FiOS!  FiOS!  Oh I'm excited.  Anyway I discover that Jim Graham and the other cowboys over at the Council have decided to go ahead and approve this Bill (B17-0983) 13-0.  Unreal.  Fenty I'm counting on you buddy ... you made the right choice with Rhee and Lainer, make the right choice on this one.  Well I'm glad that Jim Graham has succeeded in getting kids drunk, hopefully they don't vomit all over his lawn.

The Paper of Record ran an Op-Ed today, declaring the death of dating.  It is over, it is done with, hook ups are here to stay.  According to the article, a new study by Child Trends has found that more High School seniors saying they never date than date frequently - aka they are whores.  Well this is great for our society.  Actually ... it is a very interesting article, and its also intriguing to see the amount of studies that have been done into this whole hook-up thing.  Makes sense to me, like the article notes - I am more likely to hook up with someone a few times, and if it is good - then go on a date.

Caroline Kennedy - get a life, do something else.  You will not be the Senator from The Great State of New York.  The Daily Intel has the rundown of the opinions out there, here.

Okay ... this has gone on for long enough.  Enjoy.

Also, I hate the dentist.  That is all.