Author Archives: JJD
The Ride: Physics Experiment
Based on the chart below, can you guess what happened at approximately two miles into my ride this morning? That’s right, I learned that you can use your left buttock as a break pad to go from 35mph to a full stop. So now I can cross that off the list of things to try. I can […]
Teya’s Texts
One of the things that I love most in the world is when Ashley or Heather tells me about how their kids think or talk of me when I’m not around. Sometimes they tell me over the phone, but more often I’ll just get a text during the day letting me know how “Uncle Jason” […]
Watergate at Forty
This week is the fortieth anniversary of the Watergate scandal that brought down President Nixon. As you might expect, Washington is abuzz and the Washington Post (whose reporters famously cracked the story) has compiled quite an array of current and archival materials analyzing the events and their impact on American politics. The Post also hosted a fancy […]
The Ride: Approaching 100
I did two rides this weekend: One early-ish yesterday morning, when the weather was perfect; another this afternoon after church, when the weather was horribly hot and humid. Each ride was a little over 47 miles, so my total weekend mileage was about 95 miles. Fortunately, the cramping from last week didn’t return. And the […]
Errand Impediments
DC is a city that loves (LOVES) traffic-disrupting, high-crowd events. It makes for a vibrant city; there’s almost always something going on during any given weekend. But it also makes for surprises when yours truly forgets to check the happenings calendar before driving into town. For example, yesterday I needed to drop off some dress-shoes for […]
tUnE-yArDs and Mariachi at the 9:30 Club
Still playing catch-up from last weekend: After the gardening, the art show, and a great conversation with Lady, I met up with Amy for a concert at the 9:30 Club. It’s arguably the best place in DC for live concerts of the non-classical sort. They get all sorts of people, and the shows are constantly sold […]
Artomatic
After gardening with Danya I headed to Crystal City in Arlington and met up with Amy at Artomatic, a giant populist artistic event. Essentially, the organization has an entire vacant office building that it turns over to as many artists and other creative types as sign up. Entry is free — you get a wrist band […]
Garden Consulting
Danya, a friend of mine, has a cute little condo in one of DC’s cooler neighborhoods. She’s on the ground floor and has a great patio in the back, with a small square of unplanted ground. When she heard of my adventures in balcony gardening, she asked if I would be her gardening consultant for […]
The Ride: Not all roses
You know that bit from the Teddy Bears’ Picnic song, where it says “It’s lovely out in the woods today, but safer to stay at home”? Well, I kind of wish I’d gotten a similar warning before this morning’s ride. Not that I was in any great danger (although I did end up bleeding), it’s […]
Jasper Johns and Banana Leaves
The Phillips Collection has two new exhibitions, one featuring Antony Gormley, the other showcasing Jasper Johns Neither exhibition is open to the public yet, but tonight was a members-only preview. Fortunately, my friend Amy is a member and she invited me to go with her. I had never heard of Gormley before. His sculptures were wonderful. The lithographs […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 