Washington Monument Grounds Reopening

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From WaPo: Washington Monument Subtly Fortified. The monument grounds have been closed off with ugly fences and walls for over a year now, while largely undocumented security enhancements were installed, but it looks like the walls finally come down on Monday, July 4th.

No more ugly Jersey barriers surrounding the asphalt strip around the Monument; the new security wall draws its inspiration from the “haha” walls of Old Europe: low stone barriers of granite which blended into rolling hills, providing a subtle separation from the surrounding landscape without interrupting the view. (The “Ha Ha” in “haha wall” ostensibly came from the reaction upon seeing hapless wanderers blunder into the barrier due to its being so well-hidden.)

I look forward to checking out the newly relandscaped grounds when they open on Independence Day. That area has been closed off to DC for far too long. Hopefully the asphalt strip around the base of the Monument will still be as great for rollerblading as it was two years ago.

A Long Weekend, Suddenly Free

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The plan was to take the train up to New Jersey to spend the next three days with Amy and her folks, far away from tourist-season-DC. But Amy took ill, so I cancelled my tickets at the last minute, and suddenly I have the 4th of July holiday all to myself. A neighbor has tickets to some shindig on the roof of the Department of Labor, so the night of the 4th itself is handled, but otherwise I’m using this time to kick back and relax a bit after what has been a very hectic June.

So I only did four things today: I napped, I rollerbladed around a bit, I took impromptu photos of Pandora, and I cut off my sideburns, which were getting kind of long and annoying. I’m just not a sideburns type of guy.

Google Maps does the Philippines

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By the way, I’m not sure when they did it, but Google Maps has added most of the rest of the world to their satellite imagery, with some choice high-resolution spots right in the Philippines. Here’s Metro Manila, though most of it is sadly blurry, at not as high a resolution as other world locations. If I’m reading the geography right, this is the Ateneo de Manila campus.

I don’t know why, but a square of land and water around Cavite and Sangley Point is at high resolution, as well as other areas which I suppose correspond with the locations of the old US bases.

Emelgeek on Flickr has found Mayon Volcano with Google Earth.

Update:

Laguna de Bay around Los Baños and Mount Makiling, with Banahaw and Cristobal in the distance.

Mt Pinatubo area, with Clark Airfield and Angeles in the background. Note the name of the neighboring peak.

Google Earth

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Google Earth is out, a fun and easy way to browse the globe, zooming in and out on satellite imagery sharp enough to distinguish people on the ground. 3D representations of buildings are also available, and various overlays, like road names, subway stops, even names of commercial establishments. Pretty amazing. Take a look at how close I can get to my apartment:

To show how crisp and exact the detail is, compare these two shots of Michigan City, one from me on a plane as I flew over it, and the other from Google Maps. (Click on the thumbs to see the photos on Flickr.)

View from a plane View from Google Earth

The app is for Windows only at this point, and you’ll ideally need lots of RAM and a 3D-capable video card. Plus, the data comes from Google/Keyhole’s servers, so there’s usually a bit of a delay loading the high-resolution features.

Gloria Apologizes

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So Gloria apologized in a public address, owning up to being the voice on the tapes, but not that these necessarily indicate election fraud, and that she is not resigning. Along my line of thought that history is repeating itself, I’m reminded somewhat of Erap’s address before Edsa II, where he made a public address during the impeachment trial, and it looked like he was ready to resign, but of course he didn’t. I doubt we’re at that point just yet.

PCIJ has transcripts of the tapes, plus GMA’s own apology, and analysis of the most telling conversations which indicate that GMA had firsthand knowledge of what was going on. MLQ3 calls it too little, too late. The Sassy Lawyer almost burnt her tocino. And Arnold has thoughts on forgiveness and trust in Philippine politics.

Amusingly, my post entitled “Gloria Resign” is now at the top of the Google search results for that phrase (at the time of this writing), and the kooky kommenters are starting to come in.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2005

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Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Oman
(Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Oman uploaded by brownpau.)

I braved the sweltering heat today to check out the Folklife Festival on the National Mall, featuring exhibits on the Forest Service, Oman, and American Food Culture. Most of the stuff was closed by the time I arrived, but I still got to hear some Latino beats, browse an “interactive” forest, see an Omani desert camp, and try some venison stew and an Italian-style chicken sausage. Here’s the full photoset.

Rent Goes Up

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Just got my annual rent “adjustment” letter from management, adding $70 to my current rent starting in a month. It was more than I expected. Another increase like this without any other changes to my finances, and I’ll have effectively been priced out of this city.

In other possibly related news, all personal reading has been suspended in favor of Home Buying for Dummies and the home ownership chapters of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s.

Choir Break

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(Break.jpg uploaded by brownpau.)

Choir at First Baptist DC will have a break from post-service rehearsals for the summer. I must admit to feeling somewhat lost after church this time of year; like I should be staying around church and doing something for another hour after service.