Bike to Work Day

Bike to Work Day turned out to be a nice day. Lots of people turned up at the pit stops for free food and goodies. They had a stunt rider this year to entertain the crowd. I got my shirt this time unlike last year because I didn't register.

Since my client was on vacation and I didn't have my normal Friday afternoon meeting I took off the last few hours of the day and did my normal loop around Arlington. There was some water that closed the trail near the river but people were riding around it. You could also see that Four Mile Run flooded the trail and left debris. Not a ton of people out because of the threatening weather. I did get a few drops on me but it turned out to be a nice ride.

GPS of loop ride

Sonos setup

I got a Sonos set-up and am quite happy with it. First I got the bridge and the portable S5 to verify I wouldn't have any wireless issues in my dense RF environment. It worked well so next I hooked up my bedroom and living room as well. It is nice having access not only to my whole music library but I've also been exploring the hundreds of internet radio stations. I've found some good ones. I can use my phone as a remote control. The downside is I now have my phone's wi-fi on all the time and have been recharging my battery a lot more. That is not an issue though. Although I'd like to have the ability to set the timer with my phone and I can't do that yet. I should have set this all up a few years ago.

Charlie Hunter

photo by person_64

Charlie was hanging out on the front porch of the venue when we arrived. The show turned out to be rather empty. They had seats out unlike last time and we were able to sit in the front row. It was just Charlie and the drummer as it has been lately. It might have been different drummer than last time but they obviously were familiar with each other's playing. They played some of the good tunes from his last album. He would ask for recommendations from the crowd but would ask which key we'd like to hear... "D Major or D minor?" he asked, "Augmented!" I replied and Charlie chuckled. He said we were requesting old songs and he doesn't remember anything more than three years old. Someone requested Pursuit Package and since he couldn't remember how to play it he told the story of how it got its name. He explained that he bought some Pontiac or Plymouth or something for $1000 and the selling point was that it had the pursuit package. During the set break he hung out with folks outside again. During the encore he played some crazy song that was almost exclusively harmonics. It appeared as if it was something he has been messing with recently. It was pretty interesting.

Infamous Stringdusters

It was a double concert weekend and the Infamous Stringdusters were the first up at the State Theatre. Teri and I had dinner at the Mad Fox brewpub as has become a habit. We heard Orange Whip IPA was going back on tap and I had to get my growler filled with that lovely citrus hop brew.

Apparently it was the last show of the tour for the Stringdusters although there were not a ton of people there. The show opened with the Two Man Gentleman Band. They were an interesting Smothers Brothers look-alike that had a funny unexpected risqué routine.

Once the Stringdusters came on you could tell they were going to have a good time. They mentioned it was their last show of the tour and they were recording it. There was a video camera on the side of the stage and the banjo player had a Flip camera on his banjo head. I've seen that before on his banjo and didn't realize it was a video camera. They threw down two great sets. I love how they always surround whoever is soloing. They can pick. Just like last time they came down in the audience for the encore and played acoustic. It was fun. They had a good time and the crowd had a good time. Till next tour.

pics and video

rainbow over DC

I captured this pic from my office window...

Later I saw this on my twitter feed by @WeatherBugMedia:

Nearly full rainbow across the Washington DC sky... from our @WeatherBug camera at WJLA studios around 5:30pm http://twitpic.com/4tffsi

Caps R2 G1

Having made it to the second round of the play-offs the Caps are up against the Tampa Bay Lightening. I wonder what their mascot looks like? Our mascot turned in to a cardinal from an eagle in the end of the season. Not sure how that jives. Looks like he added to the new look with a mohawk in round two.

credit: clydeorama

My weekly Friday meeting with the client didn't happen so after helping out the boss for a bit out was out of there at 5:00. Teri and I got good seats on the club level at exactly center ice. We were a couple rows behind the TV cameras. I always find it interesting to watch how they work. For some reason tickets were available for this game. I think prices dropped leading up to it. Of course we got tix after game six of round one so they were probably at their highest price. We ended up getting a decent deal for a round two play-off seat at club level on a weekend.

This game they gave us thunder sticks. They are 2.5 foot long but thin balloons you blow up and bang together. Thunder sticks versus the Lightening? The first minute of the game was the same as its been during the play-offs and the Caps were on their heals. After that though they picked it up. Teri had her Avon walk the next day so no drinking for her. Unfortunately even though the Caps seemed to have control most of the game the Lightening got some luck and scored. After that we couldn't come back. Hopefully the Caps pull it back in game two before heading to Tampa Bay.

Netherlands Carillon

It was a nice day so Teri and I rode bikes to Shirlington to have lunch. On the way past the Marine Corps Memorial and the Arlington National Cemetery we saw that the Netherlands Carillon was open. I've been riding past it for years and this was one of the only times I've seen it open. The last time was years ago. Teri and I stopped and took the opportunity to go up inside and check out the view. Other folks there were saying that it was closed for a few years. I didn't have my camera with me but below is a phone picture. It was a nice view. The bells rang while we were up there but thankfully it was only a quarter after the hour. Teri got a little wheezy being up so high and we headed down before the bells rang again.