Month: June 2006

Today. On the bus. Two kids. Maybe aged 15. Let’s just say you can pick your friends and you can pick your zits…. Ewwww. Yes, I am aware that something like 80some% of women have admitted to, well, messing around with their SOs blackheads but really. Leave that for the bedroom or some place private, not a city bus. Where I can see you. And be grossed out.

There are good Giants and crappy Giants. Same goes for Safeway. And Shoppers Food Warehouse. I guess the difference is age but sometimes I notice the products, the quality of the products differ too. That’s just wrong. I should find the same quality of garlic or apples or salad in one Shopper’s or Giant no different than another Shopper’s or Giant. But sometimes, crappy building, crappy produce. Is it just me? Anyone else noticing a difference ’round here?

Join us on Thursday, June 29th at the corner of 17th and O Street, NW for the kickoff event of the “2nd Annual Movies by Moonlight at the First Baptist Church of Washington D.C. ” for the blockbuster “Spiderman”. Showtime will start at dusk, or at about 8:30 PM. Come early to get a great seat!

This is the first of five nights of entertainment and fun throughout the summer that will not only bring the community together but benefit some of the great organizations that serve the homeless in our area. The showing of “Spiderman” will benefit First Helping which is the street level outreach project of DC Central Kitchen that helps thousands of homeless in our neighborhood each year. All donations collected throughout the night will go directly to support the work of this great organization.

So bring a lawnchair, a blanket, and enjoy a night under the stars with your neighbors for a good movie and a great cause!

Chatting with my friend Bc I mentioned our neighborhood woes regarding the liquor stores in Truxton. Bc works for a nonprofit (in the sense that they lose money) that works with health data and apparently one of his co-workers has a couple of papers on the relationship between alcohol sales and drug activity.
So if you happen to be in or near a university or medical library check out the following:

Freisthler, B.; LaScala, E.A.; Gruenewald, P.J.; Treno, A.J., An examination of drug activity: Effects of neighborhood social organization on the development of drug distribution systems. Substance Use & Misuse, 40(5):671-686, 2005. [with P.J. Gruenewald and A.J. Treno of PRC].

Abstract: Objective: The ability to determine the geographic locations of illicit drug markets is central to the development of preventive interventions that address access to drugs and associated problems, such as violence and crime. Method: The current study examined individual self-reports of drug activities and demographic information obtained from two waves of a telephone survey of 1,704 individuals aged 15 to 29 conducted in 1999 and 2001 across 95 census tracts in a Northern California city and measures of neighborhood characteristics derived from Census 2000 measures. Results: The results of the study showed that, at the individual level, younger people and male respondents reported most drug activities. At the aggregate level, neighborhood poverty was directly related to higher rates of drug activity. Residential stability was found to moderate reports of drug activity observed by African-Americans and young people. Conclusion: Social processes reflected in neighborhood characteristics of census tracts influence rates of self-reports of individuals’ exposures to drug activities.

and

Freisthler, B.; Gruenewald, P.J.; Johnson, F.W.; Treno, A.J.; and LaScala, E.A. “An exploratory study examining the spatial dynamics of illicit drug availability and rates of drug use,” Journal of Drug Education, 35(1):15-27, 2005. [with P.J. Gruenewald, F.W. Johnson, and A.J. Treno of PRC/Berkeley]

This study examines the spatial relationship between drug availability and rates of drug use in neighborhood areas. Responses from 16,083 individuals were analyzed at the zip code level (n = 158) and analyses were conducted separately for youth and adults using spatial regression techniques. The dependent variable is the percentage of respondents using drugs in the past year. Neighborhood drug availability (the major independent variable) was measured by the percentage of non-drug users who had been approached to purchase drugs. Data were obtained as part of the Fighting Back community evaluation. For youth (aged 12 to 18), drug sales in adjacent and surrounding areas were positively associated with self-reported drug use in areas where youth were residents. For adults, drug sales within the neighborhood were negatively associated with drug use, while drug sales in immediately adjacent neighborhoods were positively related to self-reports of drug use. Findings suggest that the areas where rates of drug users are greatest are not necessarily the same area where drugs are sold. Designing strategies to reduce the supply of drugs should receive input from city and regional planners and developers, as well as law enforcement and public health professionals.

I could waste hours looking at Apartment Therapy’s 2nd Annual Smallest Coolest Apartment Contest site. The idea was to judge living spaces 650ft and under. I’m soooo thankful for 1,000 sq ft. But it is amazing to see what others have done with less space than mine.
The ones I love are Waynes’ Diagonal Conversion with 476 sq ft. ; K/B’s Madison reflection @ 295 sq ft; Joe’s Hip New Home @420 sq ft if only for the way he has the toilet; K &G’s Santa Monica Apt at 550 Sq Ft; Bri & Chad’s at 350 sq ft; Jane’s and Darkos 645 sqft home; a Dramatic Bostonian at 288 sq ft; Katrina’s & Stephen’s 550ft studio; The MiniMansion at 440 sq ft; Thom’s San Fran Delight645 sq ft; Emily’s Simple Sanctuary at 600 sq ft; and David and Im’s One Space

Not exactly a fav but very good honorable mention isIvar’s Simple Pared down looks like an art installation.

First, if you are the owner of a shiny new car that any little teen hoodlum would be happy to ride around in and it is an automatic, get a club. Yeah, that ugly thing that goes on your steering wheel. There are some guys who want to steal your car. Also while I am at it…. decent drapes are also a little theft deterrent, particularly if you have a really cool and expensive electronic item (or items) that are clearly visible from the sidewalk. For myself, I just steal design ideas when I can see into your house. But there are others with less honorable ideas when they look in.

Second Vegetate sent out this:

There is finally legislative movement that would allow Vegetate to get its ABC license. This legislation, Bill 16-0696 would amend the current law that restricts any establishment that is within 400 feet of a school from getting a liquor license.
Specifically, it would allow the ABC Board to consider liquor license applications for restaurants and taverns that are within 400 feet of schools, whether or not a license of the same type is already in the area. This is a city-wide legislation, not legislation just for Vegetate or just for the Shaw neighborhood–though clearly we will benefit if it passes.
Next Friday, June 23rd at 10am in the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Councilmember Jim Graham, chair of the Consumer and Regulatory Affairs committee, is holding a public hearing to discuss and hear testimony regarding the Bill. We are asking that all who are interested in this issue attend the hearing. The more people who simply show their faces in support of the Bill, the better. We are also asking everyone to wear a white shirt or blouse, so that the council members know that you are there to support restaurants and taverns. We will have white ribbons for those who aren’t wearing white.
If you are so inclined, you may testify as well. If you plan to testify, you should call John Adams at 202-724-8198 before 5p.m. on Wednesday, June 21st. You will then have three minutes to speak at the hearing on the 23rd.
Finally, if you can’t make the hearing, you can submit written testimony to all the council members on the Consumer and Regulatory Affairs committee. Below you will find the email addresses of all the council members on the Committee, as well as a sample letter that you may modify as you see fit, which addresses the issues relevant to this legislation.
We look forward to seeing you on the 23rd. If you have any additional questions, please email us at info[at]vegetatedc.com
Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs

Jim Graham (Ward 1), Chairperson
jim[at]grahamwone.com
Sharon Ambrose (Ward 6)
sambrose[at]dccouncil.washington.dc.us
Kwame R. Brown (At-Large)
kbrown[at]dccouncil.us
David A. Catania (At-Large)
dcatania [at] dccouncil.us
Adrian Fenty (Ward 4)
afenty[at]dccouncil.us

If you want to email a councilmember send the following or make your own:

Dear Councilmembers, Graham, Ambrose, Brown, Catania and Fenty:

I am writing to ask you to support Bill 16-0696, introduced by Councilmember Jack Evans. While I am a strong advocate of protecting children from underage drinking, I also support restaurants and taverns in developing neighborhoods throughout the city. In fact, I believe it is possible to both protect children and allow new business development, if the current law is changed.

We want the ABC Board to have the authority to consider liquor license applications for restaurants and taverns that are within 400 feet of schools because the law as it stands now does a disservice to the entire city. Due to the grandfather clause, neighborhoods whose only ABC establishments are liquor stores, many of which are less than 400 feet from schools, can continue to see more and more liquor stores opening. But sit-down, fine and casual dining restaurants and taverns can’t even be considered, which will cause many valuable businesses to close and others never to exist in neighborhoods that sorely want and need them.

Moreover, as the examples of Vegetate and Queen of Sheeba in the Shaw neighborhood clearly show, the council should also rethink the way the 400 feet is measured. The 400-foot rule should state that the distance between an establishment and a school is measured from the main entrance of the school to the main entrance of the restaurant.

Please make it possible for new restaurant and tavern establishments to flourish in developing neighborhoods. Don’t penalize them because such establishments haven’t survived the decades of business losses in our neighborhoods; or because of problems with existing irresponsible establishments; or because of administrative issues associated with taking licenses away from bad businesses. It is impossible to predict that any one restaurant will act irresponsibly. Instead, please demand that ABRA focus on severely penalizing those establishments who are found guilty.

Unless the issues covered by this Bill are addressed, there will continue to be obstacles to the kind of development that the tax-paying citizens of the city want.

Pity the poor intern. Cramped in a badly furnished apartment with 2-3-4 other bright eyed bushy tailed interns for over $1,000 a month. The $1,250 price quoted by the Post is a bit more than what I pay a month for a mortgage for my house. I’m guessing a good amount of that is location, location, location. Even with a year lease, those parts of the city can be pricey and just shocking for some folks coming from lower rent towns. They should be thankful this isn’t New York City, I think cardboard boxes are going for $2,000 a month.
Speaking of renting, Jimbo sent me some time ago a pro-rent anti-mortgage link. Eh. Yes, home ownership has it’s downs. It would be nice if something broke or started acting weird I could call a manager, no bug a manager (because they seem to take their sweet time), to fix it. But when something breaks or whatever I have the luxury of deciding how long I can live with the broken screwy thing before I fix it, or pay someone else to fix it. Yes, you can rent better than what you can buy. You can rent a better neighborhood, more space, more amenities, etc. The other problem with home ownership is that it is hard to up and move when the need arises. Yet with all these downs I still think home ownership rocks.
Why do I think so? Well my mortgage (30 yr fixed) is lower than a Summer Hill Interns’ monthly rent. That helps. In time these things work themselves out. The first year was hard for me, I wasn’t making much and the mortgage and maintenance ate up a lot of my disposable income. As time progressed, I moved up career wise, my mortgage was stable and the neighborhood got more attractive. Rents will go up and you have no control over them. I will determine how much more I’m going to owe on the house by fixing it up and customizing it to my wants. In the future, when rents rise to a point where they are way over my mortgage and house expenses I could rent it out and move to Florida, where the rents are cheaper.
There is also a sense of control over my life that I will credit home ownership with, that has a great value to me. I’m able to foster the cats, at whim, because I own the house. I can rip out the carpet, paint the walls dark, put holes in the walls, move stuff around, because it is my house. No one can tell me to move out (short of me being a health hazard). I can make long range plans.
I will still encourage my renter friends to buy something, but no rush, not in this market anyways. Yes, the prices are nuts, but in time your salaries will rise and your tolerance for roommates will decrease. So save up for a down payment, and when the time comes, maybe not this year, or next year, but sometime, buy a place you can call your own.

…are sitting in my living room. In a cage. Angry. Frightened. I swear the tuxedo kitten is saying, “beycth I’m gonna keeel yooo.”
Momma cat is still out there and man is she smart. She figured how to trip the trap without being inside.

Big A$$ Disclaimer: This is just one woman’s opinion. Which you are free to disagree with because a) beauty is in the eye of the beholder, b) everyone may have a different user experience and the following is just one of that of the 5 billion or so people on the planet and c) everyone has different user needs that change with time and (sometimes) space. Also I do sometimes identify myself as a librarian, however I have never served as a Public Librarian. I have worked mainly in academic libraries and one association library, which are different from public libraries. Also I tend to use academic libraries and the agency library at work for my library needs.

Okay. I was reading in today’s Post “Through Glass Darkly: D.C.’s Poor Vision for Library” and disagreed with a few things. For one, I think, and this is just my subjective opinion, that the Martin Luther King Library designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is a ugly building and just plain ugly inside. To my eye is it just another nondescript ugly officey looking building downtown. But you may disagree, and that’s ok. The author of the article writes that “the library is a splendidly welcoming public building.” Personally, this is just my personal experience, I haven’t found it so. I compare it to other libraries I have used, and so far the best public libraries, in places where I resided, are the Arlington County main library (on a street that starts with Q) and the Gainesville, FL main library (circa early 90s). The MLK Library seems more like a reflection of the rest of DC government, some parts good, other parts not good or a bit horrid, and overall, blah.
Back when I had a subscription to American Libraries, the magazine of the American Library Association (I let my membership lapse because my then new employer does not pay for memberships), I remember there being an article every once in a while about library buildings and design particularly for libraries and the big problem of trying to get non-librarians to understand that we have special needs, and those needs being ignored. I will admit that library building design does not interest me that much so, mainly because I’m not in a position where I will need to design a library. So the the articles I did read, it was a quick read. Personally, I don’t think I have seen the MLK touted as a great example of how a library building should be. It might have been, but I haven’t seen anything coming from the library world (from architects and others but not so much librarians, hum) saying that the MLK is all that. Maybe that was in an article, and if so, please cite it. Another big problem is maintenance, but that’s not the only thing.
Well since I don’t have the Waltha T. Daniels library to go to, I will go to the MLK if I have to. The Washingtonia division is there. And when the copiers, the change machines, and microfilm reader/printers work properly, it’s all good. The enjoyment comes from the materials found and the mood of whoever is in charge of the room, not so much the design and layout, which does not really encourage sticking around. For other needs, the library my agency has at work is good and has the professional literature I need, and wouldn’t expect any public library to have anyway. Also if it somewhat-slightly-maybe-depending on how you think about it, relates to my job I can get the agency library to do an inter library loan for me, to get me the book/ article/ microfiche I need. Then as a dues paying alumni I can use and borrow from the University of Maryland’s library.
As libraries go, I have seen and experienced better.