life as a dog…

So I have four upcoming trips for work.  Cleveland, Orlando, Switzerland and Orlando.  I just found out that the second Orlando trip may become a lot more extensive.

The trip could end up going this way:  DC to Orlando to Los Angeles to Indianapolis to DC.  Starting the 4th.  Ending the 8th.  Yep…about a flight a day for four days.  And events each day.

Oy vey.

So this morning, I decided it was about time to get down to the Smithsonian American History museum.  I haven’t been since they re-opened.  Hopped on the bus and was on my way.  Staring at me on the bus was a poster for something I had totally forgotten about… The Cherry Blossom Festival started yesterday.  Crap.  Did this mean Metro was going to be overwhelmed?  Luckily, I got there early enough (or maybe it was because the weather was pretty crappy at the moment) that there was no problem.

I got down there about 10 minutes before opening.  There was already a line, but it wasn’t awful.

They made this big stink about how it was a total renovation.  It was not.  They renovated the central area and the exhibit for the Star Spangled Banner.  That was it.  NOTHING more.  I made my way around all the same exhibits that were there before they closed.  I think the only new thing was the picture of Stephen Colbert hanging on the wall.

So, I left the museum (it was starting to get way too crowded) and started heading toward the Natural History Museum.  But on my way, I decided against it.  Then I thought maybe I’d venture over to the National Aquarium.  I’ve never been.  But I was thinking they charge for admittance, so I nixed that.  I headed to the Metro.

The closest Metro station to home is the Pentagon.  It’s Sunday, so the buses run rather infrequently…at least compared to during the week.  While I was at the Pentagon station, I figured I might as well walk over to the Pentagon Memorial.  I’ve been wanting to get down there, and this seemed as good of a time as any.  That, plus the fact that I didn’t really want to come down to the Pentagon just for the Memorial – you can’t park anywhere near it.

The Pentagon Memorial…they give absolutely no explanation as to what it means.  That is, what the design means.  Some is obvious – the markers are situated according to birth year of the victims.  But what are they supposed to be?  I assume they are benches – about that height, anyway.  But they are all in a sea of gravel.  Yes…gravel.  I took a couple of pictures, but since the trees have not yet bloomed, it’s rather drab – trees with no leaves and gravel.

Overall…I gotta say I’m disappointed with both the Smithsonian and the Pentagon Memorial.  The memorial…just seems like it wasn’t really thought out…they just wanted to get something up quick.  The museum…the “renovation” that they did in no way is worthy of how long they had the thing closed… two years, I think.

This is just a test post to see if Windows Live Writer is working properly with the new url.

I’ve got mixed feelings about the whole freecycle thing.  I know my sister loves it and is active in it.  But me…not so much.  I joined the freecycle list when I lived in Reston and was not impressed.  Either people had absolute junk that they were giving away, or they wanted something unreasonable.  One time, someone was asking for a light meter and a pelican case.  These are easily $250 each.  Really?  You want someone to give you a $250 item?

I’m in Arlington now.  I decided to give it a second try.  Seems to be a little bit better now.  But there are still those ridiculous things.  One time, someone was asking for a bike, because they wanted to be able to ride their bike to work and I guess their current bike had either been stolen or lost or something.  I mean seriously…if you are working, can’t you afford to buy yourself a cheap bike?

Today, I saw an item come up that really made me laugh.  Someone was offering 11 Twinkies.  Yes… Twinkies.  Turns out, they had a party and someone brought Twinkies.  Only 1 was eaten, so they had 11 left over.  But, and I’m being totally serious about this, they said, “we don’t approve of Twinkies.”   That’s just funny.

Well, looks like my Toshiba has met its maker.  The thing will not turn on at all.  I think it probably overheated and fried the mobo…or maybe just the power section.  Regardless, it’s dead.  The hard drive is still good, thankfully.  I was able to pick up an enclosure pretty cheap and transfered over what I needed to my work laptop.  The work laptop is all I have right now.

So…a replacement…

I wasn’t planning on buying anything right now, so having a personal laptop will have to wait a little while.  I want to make the jump to Mac.  I know I can get a Windows machine for much cheaper, but I still want to make the jump to Mac.  I’ve been wanting to for a long time.  But I’m not still not sure whether to go with a MacBook or wait a little longer and get a MacBookPro.  Part of me even wonders if I should scrap the laptop idea and get an iMac.  If I didn’t want to have the ability to use Final Cut, I’d even consider a Mac Mini (of course, then I’d have to get all the add-ons…like…oh, I don’t know…a monitor!).

I never travel anywhere with my own laptop, so a desktop wouldn’t be out of the question.