Union Station Centennial and Natural History Ocean Hall

2008-10-08.

Amy and I checked out the Union Station Centennial last Saturday. There were historical exhibits, memorabilia, model train sets, and best of all, historic train cars and locomotives out on the tracks. We got to look inside a 1957 Rosa Parks-dedicated Metrobus, pester the guys at NARP to send our membership cards, and walk inside an old Chessie Club Lounge Car, a Gadsby’s Tavern Dining Car, the Cannon Ball, and other luxury parlor-and-sleeper rail carriages from the early to mid-20th Century.

After a lunch at Uno Grill (formerly Pizzeria Uno), we walked over to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to see the new Ocean Hall. It had been just a week since its grand opening, so the hall was still crowded with locals and tourists alike. Eventually we beat a retreat to the ground floor cafe to get some coffee and catch our breath, but I got a few photos:

Half an hour later we returned to the Ocean Hall (now slightly-less crowded) and were able to browse the prehistoric displays at leisure and catch a glimpse of the Giant Squid — when suddenly, tragedy struck! (But that’s another post.)

View the full photosets on Flickr:

Union Station at 100

Sant Ocean Hall

Caturday!

2008-10-04.

Here is Pandora, moments before and moments after engaging in a quick flop maneuver atop her little lounging rug patch in the living room.

Walk Through DCA

2008-10-03.

After dropping off my parents at National Airport, I went on the long walk from Terminal A (the original 1941 airport building) to Terminal B/C (the newer, larger airport) to catch the Metro to work, stopping in the historic lobby to check out the exhibit hall and watch a plane take off:

There’s a somewhat kitschy 9/11 commemorative painting hanging in the terminal hallway, which I’ve been meaning to get a picture of. I post it here now with a detail closeup, without further comment:

I also dropped by the DCA airport chapel to get some photos to add to my collection. Especially fun was this closeup of the chapel phone by the Master Switch. Can you spot the typo?

Does he come in with his bowler hat, cane, and Führer moustache to do a vaudeville-style routine in which he eats his shoe?

Parents Visit

2008-10-02.

My parents (that’s them at right) have been going around the U.S. on some business, and they dropped by DC for the weekend to visit, staying with my uncle and aunt in Arlington. (Unfortunately our 1BR downtown DC apartment does not have guest space).

Funny thing is, they’ve done the whole “DC thing” for decades, so the first thing they wanted to see wasn’t monuments or museums, but shops: Gotta Run at Pentagon Row, the Bailey’s Crossroads REI, an Apple Store at Market Common, and other retail outlets you don’t get in the Philippines (at least, not without paying extra for steep import tariffs). Even a plain old CVS was like a Disney theme park. That made the weekend shopping fun in its own right.

Besides all the suburban mall-hopping we also attended a reception at Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton (with a performance by Barbara Cook who is astonishingly spry for 80), went to mass at St. Charles, and had burgers at Whitlows. I dropped Mom and Dad off at the airport Tuesday morning; next we see them will be after Christmas.

Some quick snapshots from the weekend, including a Jelly Belly carrot, a Star Wars Tooth Tunes toothbrush, and a box of recorders sitting in a corner at Saint Charles:

Ferris Beuller’s Day Off: The Novel

2008-10-01.

I picked this up at the church rummage sale last weekend before it got thrown in the dumpster with other unsold items at the end of the day. Yes, that is the official novelization of Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. It was just too campy a find to let go. At some point I might even read it, considering I’ve never seen the film in its entirety beyond snippets seen through peripheral vision on a TV in the same room while I was doing something else.

Caturday!

2008-09-27.

This is my 50th Caturday post!

Pandora had a vet visit yesterday, for a general checkup and nail-trimming. Due to my shoulder injuries I wanted to avoid hefting around her carrier, so I got a Kittywalk Stroller to roll her over to the vet in style. The stroller frame and wheels snap together easily, and fold into a compact and easily storable configuration, and the detachable carrier (attached to the frame with two hooked elastic cords) comes with a nice soft cushioned floor and a sheltered “cave” half. Here’s the stroller and Pandora in the carrier:

One caveat about the stroller: it doesn’t respond too well on rough or cobbly sidewalks. Pandora had a bumpy ride, and a spring-restraining plastic cover fell off one of the wheel attachments, and now that wheel won’t turn properly anymore. I’ll probably have to ask for replacement parts.

Shoulder Injuries

2008-09-26.

I’ve been dealing with a bit of pain in my right shoulder most of this year, possibly brought on by strenuous playing of Wii Sports on our last vacation. I [literally] shrugged it off, thinking it would go away, but it hasn’t and the joint pain has instead ramped up over the summer to the point that I can’t raise my right arm above horizontal without feeling stabby sensations — and now my left shoulder is beginning to show signs of similar pain and limited mobility.

So I’ve been to my primary care physician twice in the past month; the diagnosis: rotator cuff injuries. On the first visit she prescribed diclofenac and shoulder-strengthening exercises. These helped somewhat — until a wall-leaning incident a week ago caused renewed pain, further limiting my right arm’s range of motion and making the exercises more agony than help. Second visit to the doctor ended with an X-ray and a referral to an orthopedic specialist, whom I shall be seeing in October.

I was fitted for a sling but found that a sling position just made my shoulder hurt more, so I get to let my arm hang loose as long as I don’t lift heavy things with it or lean or sleep on that side. As it is, I’ve gotten very good at moving my right arm only from the elbow or with help from non-rotator cuff muscles. Otherwise my arm is limited to a very narrow cone of painful mobility, which I joke makes me not unlike John McCain. (He can’t raise his arms far above his shoulders because of injuries received while being beaten by his North Vietnamese captors.)

We’ll see what the orthopedic specialist’s recommendations will be in a couple of weeks. Whether I get surgery or not, I can most likely look forward to months of therapy for both shoulders. In the meantime, enjoy the X-rays. They’ve got bones in them.

Update: Triamcinolone acetonide!

River Scene

2008-09-26.

Short clip of a sculler in a rowboat passing by river barges carrying storm debris, between Washington Harbour and Theodore Roosevelt Island on the Potomac River. This is actually from last Friday, but I forgot to upload it, so here it is now.

Free Hyde from Isis

2008-09-23.

You may remember my entry about MacBook soft folding cases last month, in which I posted a video review of my new Isis Roach cover. Shortly afterward I got an email from Taylor Shupe of Isis, saying, I came across your video critique today and was super stoked that you took the time to do that. In fact, I would like to send you a free Hyde case and keyboard jimmy for your personal use.

How awesome is that? The Hyde case arrived last week. Unlike the Roach it’s actually got straps on the inside top, along with improved heat dissipation, and the faux leather gives it a definite touch of class. I had it on my MacBook for two days before I decided to go back to the hemp Roach; the leather texture and “green giraffe” inside were not my thing — but Amy liked it. So her MacBook is now Hyde-encased. I did keep the keyboard jimmy, which makes my keyboard soft and silent while keeping stuff — like cat hair — from getting into the tiny gaps, without slowing down my typing speed.

Here are some detail photos of the case: