Dress, Drag, Dragon*Con

Yeah, yeah, yeah…yet another cutesy title. Nonetheless, for those of you who don’t know what Dragon*Con is let me explain. Imagine over 30,000 geeks taking over four hotels for four days of total sci-fi and fantasy immersion. It’s pretty intense and the fans at this convention never disappoint…well…some of them don’t.

Holy SHIT the immense amount of time and money that HAD to have gone into this!

One essential part of Dragon*Con is the costuming. Some people work countless hours & a good deal of cash to perfect their costumes of their favorite characters and make some amazing recreations! Then there are others that don’t spend any time or wear things they REALLY shouldn’t.

Now look, I’m not some holier than thou athletic or skinny guy ranting about fat people. I’m fat myself, but I also know I can’t pull off Aragorn or He-Man so there’s no way I’d try. Me? I could do Mario or a Ghostbuster, something of that nature.

Here’s a couple of things you shouldn’t do:

Corsets should fit. If you're fat, don't pull them so tight that they're the Hoover Dam up top, or avalanching. There is a proper way to wear this! These are MINOR violators, it gets exponentially worse. --Photo by Meggrs (CC)

YOU ARE NEITHER SCI-FI, NOR ARE YOU FANTASY!

Just, for the love of God, put some thought into WHO you’re going to dress as before you actually do. Sure, everyone wants to be the hot sexy woman or the badass guy, but some of us just are NOT built for that. This is just a public service announcement for 2010…

For the rest of my Dragon*Con photos go here.

Flights, Friends, Freaks, and Football!

Dragon*Con: Where geek women are not afraid to show copious amounts of skin.

Holy mother of God, what a weekend! I decided to go balls to the wall and take a 5-day Labor Day weekend. Hells to the yes! I definitely did my best to make the most of every moment I had free, and still slept in.

It all started Thursday when I woke up at 3AM to catch a 6AM flight out of DCA. Dear Airtran, please never move my flight to 6AM again. Nonetheless, everything was on time and I made it to ATL by 8AM. There I met up with my very good friend Allison and we headed back to her place before swinging by Dreamland for some outstanding ribs and white bread. Mmmm… It wasn’t the original, but still damn good compared to DC-area BBQ.

Next up was some hanging out before we headed out to Taco Mac to open up the 2009 College Football Season with the viewing of South Carolina vs NC State. It wasn’t the most exciting game, but it was great to finally see football on TV again. Later on my good friend Daniel showed up and we made headway on both the beer list and football by watching Boise St. vs Oregon. I eventually made it back to the house and hit the sack hard.

Malleteers just hanging out on random street corners is not unsual behavior.

Friday I MARTA’d into the city to grab grub with Dave from Mallet, but I ended up late and met up with him after his Farscape session. That’s right. Farscape. Wondering WTF? Dave and 100,000 of our friends were at Dragon*Con. I ended up meeting up with Dave and several other Malleteers to hang out the rest of the day, but not after taking several photos of some excellent and not-so-excellent outfits, but that’s another blog entry. We ended up grabbing grub at some 24hr dive that served up rolly chairs and a penis-shaped sandwich. I called it a night and MARTA’d back home after that.

Alabama vs Virginia Tech 2009 Baby!

Ahhh, then Saturday rolled around. GAMEDAY. I headed into the city late and missed the Dragon*Con parade, but I was able to get a few more photos before David arrived to head toward the Dome.

I chatted with Laura Croft while awaiting David's arrival & charging my iPhone.

Once he arrived we made our way to Centennial Park and found all of nothing happening there since the concert had yet to start. We then decided to find a bar that had both beer and televisions. Somehow we ended up down a side-street at Sidebar. We started knocking back a few beers while watching football but then we realized something quite strange. 1.) We were outnumbered by castrated turkeys a good 5:1. 2.) This was a Florida Gators bar. Sonofabitch. There was no way in hell I could stay after both of those realizations, much less one.

Do not get int he face of and shove a rival fan or you will get hit. Twice. In the face.

From there we headed back out and made our way to the CNN Center for some huge, cold draft beer with Daniel and his friend. After a couple of those we made yet another trek on down to Matt’s tailgate across from the Dome. They grilled me up a tasty deerburger before David and I finally made out way into the Dome about and hour prior to kickoff. Our seats were five rows from the top of the upper deck on the 15yd line. No complaints here, we had an AWESOME time inside. Alabama’s band AND football team took care of business. That’s just how we roll. I was exhausted by the time I hit the couch around 1AM, and I had lost most of my voice as well.

We were SARDINES on the way home from the game.

Finally, Sunday rolled around. Not a moment too soon because this weekend was killin’ me. It was time for a vacation during my vacation. Allison and I decided to make cinnamon rolls from scratch. It was a fun experience since she has no bread machine for the dough, no rolling pin, no bread hook, and no experience baking. Nonetheless, we both prevailed and ended up with some extremely tasty rolls! It was find to also spend the day hanging out with her all day. I do miss my good friends being close by these days. Nonetheless, the evening rolled around and I was due back to the airport for my 10PM flight. I made it back into my cozy bed around midnight and was quite glad to be there. Of course, I could have made it faster if we didn’t have to park the plane in BFE at IAD and use those godforsaken shuttles back to to baggage claim. Since it was a late flight we had to wait for the entire crew to load up before leaving. Of course, things could have gone much quicker if these IDIOTS didn’t stop to sit in the first seat on the shuttle and park their baby carriages right in front of them so no one can get by. Not to mention the others that just HAD to roll their small suitcases behind them no matter how crowded the aisle was. I’ll be damned if they could pick the thing up and just carry it in order to navigate easily. What in God’s name is so difficult about that?

At any rate, I decided to take it easy today. Look forward to another post on Dragon*Con later on.

Southern Hospitality. Assholes. Happy medium?

It seems that while many here think themselves Southerners, they are not. I have heard many a claim on the Mason-Dixon line delineating the North from the South (yes, I disagree with wikipedia), but that’s a load of horse manure. While DC isn’t a bastion of assholery that NYC or Chicago can be, it definitely isn’t near the warm and hospitable South as experienced in Alabama, Georgia, North Florida, and Tennessee (Note: The further south you travel in Florida the further “north” you really are). As such I’ve decided to help people figure out where the South ends and what you can expect from the middle-folk.

From St. Augustine, FL. Far enough south to be north...

1.) Mason-Dixon Line: Traditionally, many people claim the South to be states that are below the famed Mason-Dixon Line. This line was surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to settle a border dispute in the old British colonies. As such, this basically puts every state below Pennsylvania in the South. This line begs the question as to whether or not you just stretch it clear across the US. One can assume you would since it was once used to mark the line between slave and free states, but that would leave parts of Indiana and Ohio in the South, while relegating some of West Virginia to the North. And where does it end? California? Texas? This just seems to not quite fit the current South.

2.) Confederate States of America: Sure, we’d all like it to be this easy, right? Just mark down all the states from the CSA as the South and be done, but are they? I’ve already established that the southern part of Florida is the North, not to mention Texas is definitely mid-west. They’re…different…and arrogant. Then, one could also count all of Virginia in the South, but further along I will argue that Northern Virginia (NOVA) is indeed part of the North now.

By this method the South would include South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, & Tennessee. Then there’s the question of the states with dual governments such as Kentucky & Missouri and places claimed by the C.S.A. such as: Indian Territory, New Mexico, & Arizona. Finally, one would also need to consider the border states of Delaware, Maryland, & West Virginia. Holy crap! Talk about a mess!  I think that’s just too much of a hassle and far too antiquated a method for such a demarcation.

Mmm....southern fast food.

3.) Pork BBQ & Sweet Tea: This is my preferred method for delineation. Basically it works like this: To be a part of the South the area in question must produce both of these or one in total excellence. This gets rid of NOVA, MD, WV, most of KY, MO, TX, and southern FL. God knows DC isn’t in the south according to this method. There is hardly any decent pork BBQ in this entire region, much less good. Most non-southern inspired restaurant chains also do not carry sweet tea, and if they do it’s that God-foresaken Lipton Lemon CRAP that only WISHES it could be considered sweet tea. I thank God every day for places like Chick Fil A where I can grab some decent sweet tea on the run or a REAL southern chicken sandwich (screw you McDonald’s!).

Now, since we’ve established this isn’t the South, I must say it’s not the typical North either. People in DC & NOVA aren’t complete assholes,  just somewhat. Here’s what you can expect when you come here in comparison to what you’re acustomed to.

-People will not waive when you let them over in front of you while driving.
-Some people will hold doors, most won’t (the people who do are probably tourists anyway).
-You must be semi-aggressive to merge.
-Everyone wears their hats indoors.
-Most people don’t wait to start eating until everyone is served.
-Don’t expect a ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ terribly often.
-You will get strange looks when trying to make small-talk with the cashier.
-People will not acknowledge you when you walk past.
-The person that you think it making random friendly conversation with you is actually on their bluetooth headset. They now think you’re crazy.

This is just life. Sure, people aren’t as nice here, but they could be much worse. Overall, I’m loving the DC region. It has its pitfalls, but overall it’s a winner IMHO. Now, time to go make some sweet tea…

Going out of business sale that puts furniture stores to shame!

I’m a fan of sales, hell, I’m a fan of saving money in general. However, some people have started giving sales a bad name. First it was furniture stores, since they’re ALWAYS “going out of business”. We’ve come to accept that there’s basically no such thing as a good deal at a furniture store. However, electronics are a different story. With all of the big box competition and online competition, there’s always a good sale somewhere. Sadly, with the demise of CompUSA and Circuit City, the “going out of business” sale BULLSHIT has hit the electronic stores like a couch-pushing pro.

First a preface on how this works. CompUSA and  Circuit City both went bottom up. With tons of instore merchandise to liquidate they sold off everything to a liquidation company for a low cost to wash their hands of any more bleeding. Sadly, these new owners are doing their best to squeeze every last cent out of CC customers, just like they did at CompUSA. Knowing all of this I decided to travel down to the local CC to check out the “deals” and see if it was as rampant as had been reported. The known M.O. is to mark ALL merchandise back up to MSRP and then take the discount off that new, higher price. Was this at work in Tysons Corner? You betcha! And I have pics!

I’ve used the Internet to find prices for several things I photographed in-store and have listed them here for comparison. Note that there were a couple of decent deals, but the problem is that everything sold is sold ‘as is’ so there is ZERO possibility of return if the product is defective. If it is, you’re just screwed. And trust me, anything can be defective at CC.

Office Ultimate 2007
CC: $680 @ 60% off = $272
NewEgg (NE): $380

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Laptop Memory Model KVR667D2K2SO/4GR – Retail
CC: $149.99 @ 30% off = $74.99
NE: $39.99

Panasonic DMC-TZ4S Silver 8.1 MP 2.5″ 230K LCD 10X Optical Zoom 28mm Wide Angle Digital Camera
CC: $299 @ 40% = $179.99
NE: $225.99

ACC-FH70
CC: $119.96
B&H Photo: $75.80

160GB EIDE WD HDD Caviae SE
CC: $79.99
NE: $44.99

100DVD-R
CC: $49.99@60%=$19.99
NE: $19.99

50DVD-R
CC: $29.99@60%=$11.99
NE:$10.99

QuickCam Orbit AF
CC: $141.99@40%=$85.19
B&H Photo: 95.95

G51 Logitech
CC: $209.99@40%=$125.99
NE: $169.99 Shipped

Panasonic TH-50PZ85U HDTV 50″
CC: $2199.99@40%=$1319.99
ShopDigitalOnline: $1,199

These guys have a special little place in hell reserved for them. I highly recommend everyone help protect themselves from such scams and visit Consumerist.com regularly. I’m an avid reader and this place will open your eyes (and help your back pocket).

DC Vote? I vote for eviction.

I too think it’s a shame that the residents of the District of Columbia have no real representation in the House or Senate. Hell, it hasn’t been terribly long since those same residents couldn’t even vote in the Presidential Election! Though I feel these people should be represented in Congress, I think the wrong path is being followed.

First, I believe the District should be as it was originally envisioned: a federal district. That is to say, it’s separate from the rest of the country as it is set aside for the federal government to convene upon. It is set out in the Constitution of the US as such in Article I. It is to be distinct from the states, not as one of them.

Second, granting representation to DC would be akin to granting single cities their own senators and congressmen. Hold up though, I don’t mean NYC, Chicago, or LA! I mean Nashville, TN, El Paso, TX, or Charlotte, NC. Seriously!? You want them to have the same power as a state as well? I don’t think so.

So what’s one to do about this? Easy. Rezone the entire district non-residential. Evict all residents of the District and make DC a true federal entity. Everyone in the nation would be properly represented and DC could slowly be morphed into a massive national park and national treasure. I know this would likely be the absolute most unpopular thing to do, but I think at the heart of the issue it is the correct thing, discounting all emotions from the equation. The hardship bore by the residents would be massive, and the bill for the nation’s taxpayers would be tremendous. However, this is only a result of allowing this issue to fester far too long without a proper solution. Outside a constitutional amendment, I think this is just about the only constitutional direction in which the legislative branch can head.

Not like it’d ever happen.

The Nunnery

As many of yo know, I’m no longer single (sorry ladies). As such, I’d love to go visit Beje at her place and hang out like any normal guy would, but for the fact that she lives in a nunnery. Officially this place is know as “Thompson-Markwood Hall” or the “Young Woman’s Christian Home”…riiiiiiight. It’s located on Capitol Hill near Union Station right around LoC, SCOTUS, etc. Basically Congress chartered this place back in 1887 for women (18-34) as a cheap place for women to stay. (Read: Horny old men decided they needed nubile young women near the Senate buildings.)

So, here I am, with a lovely woman who lives in what is basically a nunnery. Only women may live there, no men are allowed past the lobby, no men are allowed into the lobby after 11PM, and the woman at the desk looks at me like I’m the spawn of Satan and Hitler with a creamy nougat center of misogynistic rapist hatred. At least, that’s what her glare told me while I was inside for all of 20sec. (I feel the love woman, seriously, feel the love. Beje’s got my number if you want to grab coffee sometime. Yeah, I know you do…)

I guess you can’t win them all, and I also guess at least Beje has a place to live she can afford. God knows I can’t wait for her to move into a real apartment (Love ya babe!).

People are not intelligent, in general.

So, here we sit, basking in the elevator music that is Starbucks. I’m surfing the web while Bejedecy is making flash cards for the GRE. Since we need an enormous amount if space we’re taking up the limpy table right next to the door. Ahhh….the door…

The door of our illustrious Starbucks here in Falls Church is broken. The spring that shuts it automagically has decided to stop working for now. The good folks here at the ‘bucks have put up a sign on the door describing the situation and asking the patrons to please shut the door upon entering or exiting. Yes, PLEASE SHUT THE DAMN DOOR. Do they? Approx 1 in 3 do.

Why am I angry? Well, there are several levels to my anger. First, it’s obvious when you open the door that there is zero resistance and it therefore must have assistance to shut, lest it be left wide open. Getting past this obviousness is my getting up behind 2/3 of the people who enter to shut the door. This is annoying because Bejedecy is actually working and cannot (I don’t fault her) and I have to not trip over multiple power cords in order to reach the door. Although inconvenient, it does break my concentration every 1-2min. Now, the kicker. This woman is what really made me blog. She stops outside the door for approx. 30sec reading the damn sign. Then walks in and leave the door completely open! Not even a courtesy pull to get it even partially shut. Then she does the same on exit.

Thank you woman, you are the epitome of the lack of intelligence that permeates this nation. I blame you for all of the ill that currently wreaks havoc on our society. Invasions of privacy? Your fault. DHS and TSA’s existence? Your fault. Patriot act? Your fault. Random Metro searches? Your fault. All fear mongering by politicians, police, and other officials in power? YOUR FAULT!

That is all.

America’s history…stuffed into small rooms…

This is in front of the National Museum of American History...is that a...penis?!

Well, what a gorgeous weekend it was! Perfect for adventuring out to DC and also for the grand reopening of the National Museum of American History. Deciding it was well worth fighting the crowds to see, we (MarMar, Zach, and I) set off to see what all the newly renovated museum had to offer. I had high expectations considering the renovations too two years and it’s the one museum I’ve been wanting to see since I moved here. I mean, come on! How could a museum dedicated to our own country not be spectacular?

Well, it seems I quickly found out…

Upon entering from the Mall (very close to the Smithsonian Metro I might add) you are greeted by a spectacular artist’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. It’s gorgeous and definitely a gorgeous piece of work. Under it you’ll find a line…to see the real one. Granted, it was opening weekend, and thus I didn’t mind not getting to see it due to the long wait. I’m planning to return to see it later after the gloss has wore off the museum a bit. For those who did brave the line, there was a bit of entertainment in the form of reenactors. These were spread throughout the museum and some gave talks, performances, etc. It was a great touch to see them walking around and interacting (though we did spot an anachronism here and there, such as two Minutemen taking an escalator).

Made in Ame....wait...Nurnberg?

The collections are fairly eclectic, covering many aspects of American history. A good deal of space is allotted to achievements in electricity (lighting, generators, motors, power generation in general) and some select eras in American history, however the museum seemed to fail at getting the exhibits to flow from one to the other. You’d find small rooms here and there with exhibits on musical instruments, publishing, and pop culture.

In all seriousness, these smaller exhibits were either inadequate or confusing. They were mostly stuffed into small cramped rooms where the crowd couldn’t flow whatsoever, lacked direction, and even left out things that just completely threw me. For instance, the musical instrument room left me baffled. There is a machine that allows you to play selections of classical music (from many non-American composers no less) and it doesn’t even have Dvorak’s “Symphony for the New World”. Wth? IT’S THE SONG ABOUT OUR FREAKING COUNTRY! WHERE IS IT? *headdesk* Then in the neighboring pop culture exhibit there are random goodies, but only one baseball jersey? What? No mention of basketball, American football, or and ungodly amount of other baseball? Olympic dominance? Nothing?

One of the coolest exhibits: Julia Child's Kitchen...like...THE ACTUAL THING! Awesome.

Of course, the museum isn’t finished yet, as is obvious by the areas still under construction and exhibits yet to open. Which begs the questions, why are there exhibits that are unfinished after TWO YEARS of construction? How is Lincoln’s exhibit and the First Ladies’ exhibit not complete? Wasn’t the latter under construction before the entire museum closed? Ludicrous.

Overall I’m fairly disappointed with how this museum turned out. I desperately wanted to love it, but like a red-headed step-child I just wanted to beat it until I felt better about myself. I’ll be visiting again in the future and hopefully it grows on me some, but I’m unconvinced that I will ever love the museum enough to visit regularly.

Rain…wusses.

Ok, so what the hell? People up here freak out over the smallest bit of rain! Come on! You’d think 6 inches in a day was the end of the world! I hate to break it to y’all, but 6in isn’t jack! Hell, most of the time it “rains” here it’s just sprinkling. Hell, where I lived we had over 24in in 24 hours on a couple of occasions! 6 inches was NORMAL! We had REAL rain storms. Storms where you had to drive 35mph because you couldn’t see 3ft in front of your car! Hell, up here we hardly ever even get a thunderstorm…WEAK!