I feel like such a yuppie…
< 1 minute read
January 8, 2007, 10:06 AM
Here I am, sitting in a coffee shop, working on a laptop computer via a wireless connection, with a cup of coffee on one side, and a scone on the other. I’m sitting here at Daily Grind in Stuarts Draft, looking oh so trendy here with my coffee, scone, and little mouse next to the computer. The trick, though, is not to spill coffee on the Lappy’s keyboard. That would be BAD.
Otherwise, I got the Sable inspected today. It passed with flying colors, minus the right rear tire. I got that replaced, and all is well again. I kind of expected the rear tire to fail, as I’d had trouble with it holding air for a while. So good riddance to it. I have a brand new tire now that hopefully will hold air like a pro.
And then today is an off-day because I was originally supposed to pick my friend Katie up from the Charlottesville airport today. But guess what – Katie came back home early, and to stay, too. So that airport trip was scrubbed, and I’m glad. Since she’s been back in Waynesboro, I’ve gone to see her three or four times now.
Then I’m also a bit concerned – the Green Line up in DC had its first-ever accident yesterday, as the fifth car of a six-car train derailed outside Mt. Vernon Square station, injuring 20. This is also the first accident involving CAF cars. And Mt. Vernon Square is a station I’m quite familiar with. It’s the station that services the area around the Infoshop. How weird to think of a train derailing over one of the interlockings in that area. Check out an article on the incident.
And then later today, I’m going to Charlottesville to do some odds-and-ends shopping.
Categories: Computer, Katie, Mercury Sable, WMATA
Hey, isn’t that…?
2 minute read
January 4, 2007, 7:35 PM
First of all, after visiting my friend Tristan in Alexandria, I got back on the Metro at King Street. I literally ran to catch this train. I saw the inbound PIDS showing a Blue Line to Largo in two minutes. So I was just booking it. Dash into the station, through the faregate, up the escalator, and onto the platform just as the lights are starting to flash. And in comes this Rohr train.
*ding ding* “Doors opening! Step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car.”
So I got on the train, and sat down. I pulled out my log, and started writing. Blue Line, Rohr 1263, origin at King Street. I’m looking at that number as I see it on the cab door and write it down, and it looks awfully familiar. So I checked my log. Sure enough, there’s 1263 at the top of my log: Orange Line, Rohr 1263, origin at Vienna, destination Rosslyn.
Continue reading…Categories: Cell phone, WMATA
Unlocking Mom’s inner railfan…
2 minute read
December 27, 2006, 3:53 PM
Slowly but surely, I am unlocking Mom’s inner railfan. Today, on a trip to Washington that consists of Mom, Sis, Sis’s boyfriend Chris, and me, she chose to sit at the railfan window out of Huntington, commenting that she used to do this on the high-speed line in Philadelphia in the 1970s. It seems Mom thoroughly enjoyed her time at the railfan window of Breda 3087 from Huntington to Pentagon City.
Otherwise, we’ve had a fun trip. Sis did a bit of shopping, as we hit a vendor at Rosslyn, and right now, she and Chris are running through Pentagon City Mall. We also went to Chinatown in DC, where Mom learned that Chinatown’s not so Chinese anymore. Da Hua Market is gone, and a number of the restaurants are closed as well. It’s become very gentrified as of late, especially with the first thing you see when exiting via the Chinatown exit of the Gallery Pl-Chinatown station being a United Colors of Benetton store. But we still had a good time. Then we also visited the George Washington Masonic Memorial. All in all, a fun time was had by all.
And then we’re going to Murali at Pentagon Row for dinner. After that, our group parts company for a few hours, as Mom, Sis, and Chris are going to a play at the Kennedy Center. While they see a play, I’m meeting my friend Matthew Tilley, and we’re going to, like, chill for a few hours. Then we’re all getting together after the play, and riding back to Vienna. Then we go drop Matthew off at his house, and the rest of us go back home. All in all, a fun time shall be had by all.
And I have to figure out what to buy with a $40 Circuit City gift card, and a $25 Best Buy card. Hmmm…
Leak update…
< 1 minute read
December 14, 2006, 6:07 PM
Whitesell’s is going to fix the leak, no problem. Just give them a few hours with the Sable, and all will be well. The problem, however, is going to be in finding a time to actually give up the Sable for those few hours for them to re-seal it all. I’m off Monday and Tuesday next week. Monday is a DC trip, and then Tuesday will be the car.
So it ought to make for an interesting return from Monday’s DC trip should things work out as I hope. That would take the Sable from Washington directly to Waynesboro, and then I’d pick the Sable up Tuesday afternoon after someone gets home from work to take me back to Whitesell’s.
Needless to say, that will be an interesting end to a DC trip, with my landing at Whitesell’s instead of at home. The last time I took a DC trip that ended anywhere but my house in Stuarts Draft was actually April 12, 2003 (see A Protest Against the War for what happened that day). That trip ended at Potomac Hall at JMU. This time, Dad’s going to meet me at Whitesell’s, and he’ll take me the rest of the way home. Then someone will pick me up to take me back to Whitesell’s in the evening. Then the Sable will be all ready for another run to work the next day.
So there you go.
Categories: Mercury Sable
That ship looks vaguely familiar…
2 minute read
December 14, 2006, 2:09 AM
Take a look at this editorial cartoon by Jim McCloskey, the editorial cartoonist at the Staunton News Leader:
Categories: Ships, Virginia local news
What a surprise to see water streaming in…
< 1 minute read
December 14, 2006, 1:28 AM
I took the Sable to the car wash after work today to wash off whatever assorted road boogers had accumulated on the car. This would also be the first time I’ve taken the car through the car wash since the repairs were completed. I was quite surprised to see, as the machine made its various passes, that water was coming inside via the upper right (passenger) corner of the windshield.
I figure it’s probably a bad seal in that area. I also figure that the problem came about when the windshield was replaced, as this didn’t happen with the old windshield, and I’d taken it through the car wash a few times. The problem also doesn’t show itself in normal rainy driving, or even heavy rain, as I’ve taken it through heavy rain on the way home from Washington on a few occasions. Most recently was on November 7, when I had, to quote my November 8 Journal entry, “medium-to-heavy rain for much of the drive home, and wet conditions for the remainder.”
Still, that was a surprise to have water coming in, and I’m certainly glad I didn’t have a passenger with me at the time, because they would have gotten wet. That would certainly have been an unpleasant surprise for them.
So now I have something to do on Thursday. I’m going to go to Whitesell’s and get this problem fixed.
Categories: Mercury Sable
Does anyone know…
< 1 minute read
November 29, 2006, 8:21 PM
Does anyone know the location and/or purpose of a beacon or searchlight in Rockingham County, Virginia just south of Harrisonburg? I first noticed it in 2003 when I was commuting to JMU, and I gave it some more serious thought about what it was last night when I most recently saw it. And I see it on most trips through that area at night.
It appears to originate west of Interstate 81 and US 11, appearing to originate from Bridgewater, or just south of there. I’ve never actually seen the device that this light originates from – just the light itself. The beam of light is white, and it moves in a clockwise direction at a fast speed. If you’ve ever seen the way a lighthouse’s beam moves, it’s about the same.
To see the area I’m referring to, here’s a map. The beacon appears to originate from west of the highway (left on that map). The furthest north I’ve been able to see it is at Exit 240, which is the Mt. Crawford/Bridgewater exit on I-81, the junction of I-81 and Friedens Church Road. The furthest south I’ve seen it is just north of the Augusta County line. The boundary between the two counties is not marked on the map, but to give you a general idea, it’s a straight northwest-to-southeast line just north of Fadley Road and Weyers Cave Road (Route 256).
So my question is, has anyone else seen this particular bit of light? Does anyone know where it’s actually located? Does anyone know what its purpose is? If you know what it is, I would like to know!
Categories: Driving, Harrisonburg
I’m pretending it’s December 5 today…
2 minute read
November 28, 2006, 7:54 PM
Hello from Pentagon City. This trip was supposed to happen on December 5, but since my work schedule didn’t work out, it ended up happening today, a week early. That makes four consecutive weeks where I ended up in Washington.
And I spent the day railfanning for the most part. I went out to Largo, New Carrollton, and Greenbelt. I got two of my favorite operators, and have ridden twelve trains thus far. Add another two to that, and it will about do me for the day (those being Pentagon City to Rosslyn on Blue, then Rosslyn back to Vienna on Orange). And I got to use the emergency intercom on CAF 5191 to report to the operator that the lights were not turned on in the train. She fixed the destination code, which was initially displaying Blue Line to Greenbelt on the side destination signs, to the proper destination code for the Orange Line to Vienna before I could call. Though that one I wouldn’t have mentioned, because I wanted photos of the odd message. Blue doesn’t go to Greenbelt station! I remember that on a Richmond-to-DC trip, I saw a Breda rehab at Gallery Pl-Chinatown showing Blue Line to Glenmont (for which a destination code does not exist), but the train left the station before I could snap a photo – drat! I remember another time a while ago, a CAF train arrived at Vienna signed as a Red Line train to Farragut North. The destination signs turned off seconds before I was ready to take the shot, so no photo there, either.
And I got my two SmarTrips linked. The five bucks that were on my old, cracked SmarTrip will go to my new SmarTrip, and all shall be well again. The lady on the phone was very nice, and incredibly helpful. And I also hope I don’t lose my farecard at Pentagon City this time around. Last time, I lost my day pass somewhere at Pentagon City, and so I had to use my SmarTrip to get back to Vienna. That was $2.35 in fare I didn’t want to have to spend. But it’s either that or walk to Vienna, I guess. Of course, I can’t complain TOO much… more often than not, I leave Vienna after LAZ Parking opens the gates for the night, ending parking revenue hours, and so then I don’t have to pay for parking. So this is payback, I guess. Of course, we wouldn’t have this problem if Metro would hurry up and institute passes on SmarTrip…
It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.
3 minute read
November 27, 2006, 9:06 AM
Whenever I go to Washington, this line spoken by Elwood in The Blues Brothers comes to mind. Reason I mention this is because, aside from the cigarettes and the sunglasses, it’s fairly accurate for me. When I leave on my bi-weekly trip to Washington, it’s dark, I have a full tank of gas, and it’s 100+ miles to DC.
If you want to get somewhat specific, it’s roughly 150 miles. That accounts for four miles on I-64, 79 miles on I-81, and another 62 miles on I-66. That comes to 145 miles right there. Then when you consider the distance traveled on local roads, meaning the distance from my house to I-64, as well as the little bit of driving on Saintsbury and Vaden Drives in Vienna to reach the North Garage, it comes to slightly over 150 miles. I’ve been meaning to actually measure the distance with the Sable’s odometer, but by the time I think of it, I’m too far downrange for it to be worth setting at that point.
The only time I’ve actually reset the odometer to measure the distance was for my August 31, 2005 DC trip, which meant that it was the Previa’s odometer and not the Sable’s. You may recall that the August 31 trip was characterized by a confrontation with some Metro employees who basically wet their pants when they saw me photographing trains, which led to a meeting with a Transit Police officer. Regardless, it didn’t work out. The reason was twofold. First, I forgot to take the reading at the end of the trip, and made a few trips to work and back before realizing this. Secondly, even if I had remembered to take the reading, it wouldn’t have been accurate, since there was a detour around a work zone on westbound I-66 on that return trip, as well as the next one. Traffic was funneled off I-66 at exit 47, sent down some dark local roads, and then funneled back onto the highway at exit 43.
They say, “Vote early, vote often.” I did.
4 minute read
October 25, 2006, 5:56 PM
Today, I spent about an hour at the Augusta County Government Center in Verona, doing a bit of business with the local government, getting everything all squared away with everyone.
My goal was twofold. First of all, I was going to take care of the taxes on the Sable, and find out what the deal was with a $3.00-and-change late fee that was attached to the tax bill. It turns out that the late fee is related to a form that the county sends you at the first of the year. What they’re doing there is checking to make sure that you have the same vehicles that you had the last time you paid up. I did nothing with that form at the first of the year. I think I either trashed it, or it’s still sitting in a drawer somewhere. Either way, it seems that the 39-cent price of a stamp is well worth it if it saves me from having to pay more than seven times the amount in a late fee.
And then I also paid my personal property taxes on the Sable and bought a new county sticker. For 2007, the county stickers are orange. This is a change from the dark red 2005 sticker and the blue 2006 sticker. Since the old 2006 sticker was already loose in spots due to its being transferred to the new windshield in September, I just pulled it off with my hand, and affixed the new sticker. Bingo bango done.
Categories: Mercury Sable, State and local politics
An interesting ride home…
2 minute read
October 24, 2006, 10:02 PM
Well, I ended up going against what I said I was going to do in my last entry. I did take Route 1 up through Alexandria, but then plans changed in Arlington. First of all, I took a side trip into Pentagon City, mainly to prove to myself that I could get there by car. So I went over, and drove past the mall. I also discovered some of the space between Pentagon City and Crystal City, and took a fleeting look at a park near the mall.
Then, returning to Route 1, I drove up until just short of the 14th Street Bridge. There, the road forks, with the right fork going to the 14th Street Bridge, and the left fork going to Rosslyn. I took the left fork, and found Wilson Boulevard. From here, I was basically following the Orange Line, station for station. I saw Rosslyn’s buildings (though I didn’t see Rosslyn Center), and continued past the Court House, Clarendon, and Virginia Square-GMU stations. There, I saw a sign for I-66, and turned, and headed into Ballston. I took Fairfax Drive past the IHOP restaurant, past the Hilton and Ballston Metro Center, and past the Metro station entrances. Then, a couple of blocks later, Fairfax Drive turns into the on-ramp for I-66.
The new strap is taking some getting used to, but it works…
2 minute read
October 23, 2006, 8:19 PM
Hello from Pentagon City on my Richmond-to-DC trip, where I started from home, drove to Richmond via I-64, and took the driving tour through downtown Richmond, which is best described as the good, the bad, and the ugly – very ugly. I don’t call Richmond the “armpit of the state” for nothing.
Then I swung up I-95 to Fredericksburg, where I explored around a bit. One of these days, I will figure out something to photograph while I’m there. Then from there, I continued to Woodbridge, where I visited Potomac Mills. Very quiet place this time around, with my visit occurring on a Monday afternoon. Then I drove up US 1 a bit, and caught the Metro at Huntington. I visited my friend Tristan, and then went around a bit on the Metro, ending up here at Pentagon City.
So fun stuff. From here, I’m going to railfan over to Franconia-Springfield, then double back to King Street and ride back to Huntington, where the Sable is parked. Then leaving Huntington, I’m going to take US 1 to the 14th Street Bridge, and then drive into Washington. I don’t know what my route will be there yet. Then from there, I’m going to take I-66 to US 29, take 29 to Charlottesville, then catch I-64 again to go back home.
This was perhaps one of my scariest return trips from DC…
2 minute read
October 13, 2006, 12:47 AM
On my DC trips, for the run up to Vienna and the run back home, the goal is for the actual driving to be uneventful, and therefore forgettable. As you probably guessed, having had so many of these things, I don’t always get what I want.
I remember one time in May 2004 when I had a blowout on the way up. It happened on I-81, near Mt. Crawford. Thus this happened about 30 minutes into the trip. AAA put the spare tire on, and I continued to DC. The return leg of that trip was uneventful. Then there was the time in June 2004 when it was raining hard all the way to Vienna, culminating in a soaking of the Previa’s undercarriage right at the Nutley Street exit, which caused the car to strain at 25 mph for that last little bit into the parking space. Then there have been numerous return trips where I’ve gotten so fatigued that I have to stop en route and take a nap. Then there was January 17, 2004, and also January 20, 2005 – on those return trips, I had to battle snow almost the entire way back.
And here it is…
< 1 minute read
September 29, 2006, 4:11 PM
As you can see, the Sable is BACK!
The new grille is in place, and the dents have all been repaired. I am whole again.
Categories: Mercury Sable
The Sable is BACK!
< 1 minute read
September 29, 2006, 12:12 AM
The Sable has returned, and now it’s got a brand new grille, a new windshield, and all the dents from the deer accident have been repaired. So basically, it’s good as new. And I also still have the original grille.
The only major difference is in the windshield. The original windshield was plain all the way up. On the other hand, the new windshield is tinted blue at the very top.
They also detailed the whole car in and out, so it’s looking just gorgeous. We’ll see how long that lasts, but I’m going to make it last as long as possible.
And of course, I’m out of Sis’s car again. Trust me, once one takes a ride in my Sable, and especially once one has become accustomed to it, it’s hard to go anywhere else. I’ve come to enjoy my leather seats, and I also have more legroom in the Sable.
As you can tell, and as if the present photo feature wasn’t a BIG hint, I’m so glad that the Sable’s in one piece again.
Categories: Mercury Sable