Here’s my quick review of Day 1 of the Outside Lands Festival. Things didn’t go smoothly. Day 2 was FAR better. Depending on time I’ll post that review today, or once I get back to DC.

Wow. The excitement today just never ends. Read this story on my other blog to see how my day started. But wait! The boss hits just keep coming. I broke 1,000 visitors to this blog. I was kind of hoping that balloons would fall from my ceiling or perhaps I’d get a free smoked salmon, but alas, nothing.  Oh well. I’ll keep writing. You keep reading, and we’ll aim for that salmon together.

Check this little morsel out for solid technology! Here’s the gist

Slydial, a new service from MobileSphere. . . allows users to call any mobile line and go directly to voicemail, without the awkward conversation. Their phone will actually display a missed call from your original number, but they won’t have a chance to answer it.

Wow! What a boon this would have been for anytime you had to call the “random” hookup to cancel a date. I can also see the utility of this product if you have to call the boss in the mornign to say you’re sick. Gotta love technology.

A co-worker sent me this article on Friday. It’s about people getting screwed because of something they posted to social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace. In this case, 

Two weeks after Joshua Lipton was charged in a drunken driving crash that seriously injured a woman, the 20-year-old college junior attended a Halloween party dressed as a prisoner. Pictures from the party showed him in a black-and-white striped shirt and an orange jumpsuit labeled “Jail Bird.”

The result: The prosecutor presented Lipton as “unrepentant”, and the judge sentenced him to 2 years of prison.

We’ve all heard stories about people getting in trouble when somebody Google’s their name, or perhaps they lose a job offer because HR found something salacious online. But going to prison over photos is new. One of my favorite stories is from a buddy of mine who worked on Wall St. A few years ago, his banking firm hired a new college grad. My friend and his co-workers Googled the kids name and the first hit was a police blotter story about him getting arrested for public urination at his college. HR didn’t fire him or anything like that, but he did get ribbed by his co-workers for being busted for pissing.

It seems like you hear more and more stories about people not getting hired because of bad online pictures or posts, so moral of the story is to keep yourself in check. Those cleavage shots while pounding tequila in Cancun might be fun to share with your friends, but the firm you applied to might not like them as much. Mind your online reputation people. Social networking could bite you in the ass. 

People are very divided on the Starbucks coffee issue–some love it, some hate it. Frankly, I enjoy it, but it doesn’t make me wet my pants (unless I drink too much). Sometimes I go to Starbucks, sometimes I go elsewhere. Depends what I’m in the mood for. My first preference would be for Tim Hortons, but they don’t have any in D.C. Yet. Actually, I’ll take a fresh drip coffee in Costa Rica any day, but alas, I live in Washington, not Costa Rica (I think). No matter. Today I went to get my fix, a venti drip coffee, and they were out of it and brewing fresh. When that happens, the coffee is usually free. Today was no exception. This has happened to me 5 or 6 times. They’re out of coffee and they give it to me free. I enjoy that. It really puts a smile on my face. All I get is plain coffee. I don’t drink those vanilla bullshits and whatever else they offer. You want a milkshake, go to McDonald’s and get one. You want coffee, go to a coffee shop. My friend once said that he thinks they should have two lines–one for people who are there for coffee, and the other for people who are there for vanilla bullshits. Not a bad idea. (BTW–If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the clip.)

I admit that I enjoy some of Starbucks dessert treats. I don’t get them often, but every once in a while they have something nice. Last year they had some kind of cold, banana bar. It was quite delicious, but I haven’t seen it this year. And, wait now, tomorrow is Wednesday. And you know what that means???? That’s right boys and girls. Free iced coffee day! But before you go there demanding a free iced coffee, note that if you didn’t a card a few weeks ago, then you’re SOL. They handed out cards in May that are good for a free tall iced coffee every Wednesday until July 23, 2008! My co-worker got a bunch of them and shared the wealth. And don’t think I’m afraid to hit up more than one store in a day. Mmmm. Icy and jittery.

You can’t study politics and try to discuss the journalism of politics without thinking of Tim Russert. Though he died on Friday, I feel that a quick post is necessary. Tim was one of the few people that people mentioned with pride when discussing anything good that came out of Buffalo (we also lay claim to Tom Toles, Ani DiFranco, Rick James, moe., and the Goo Goo Dolls [though now people only mention how they used to be good 15-20 years ago, before they got schmaltzy and sucked]).

Russert probably did more to advance the Buffalo name than anyone else in recent years. And he was “Buffalo” through and through. I’ve met a lot of people in this world and there is a distinctive trait, or nature, that is Buffalo. Sometimes it’s hard to put a finger on, but you know it when you see it. And Russert certainly exuded that trait in everything he did. I didn’t even watch Meet the Press all that much, but I certainly paid attention when Russert was on TV, whether on that show or something else.

So it is a shame that the world has lost one of Buffalo’s finest. A young guy who understood human nature and was a human. Often times in politics people forget the human factor.

I was out on the Chesapeake sailing with some friends this weekend (hence the late post of old news). One of my friends is from Buffalo too–we poured a little beer in the Bay in honor of Tim. If you have a moment, do the same.

I like this picture–it’s from a Bobblehead promotion the Buffalo Bisons did a couple years ago.

Addendum: There are a lot of famous people from Buffalo, but the few I list above are the contemporary names you’d likely hear in conversation. Go here for more if you’re interested.

One word, somewhat phonetically pronounced as “pescajamba”. Kind of. That one word means that Tom Waits is touring. That’s big news. The news was out last week that Tom Waits would be holding a press conference this morning. As my friend Matt said in an email last week, “Tom Waits is holding a press conference 9am monday. He is either touring or dying.” Luckily he is touring! His press conference was a thing of beauty. Waits is the only person I can think of who would base his tour on the constellation Hydra. Watch the video to see how it all played out, and what that crazy word above means.

Of course the pisser is wondering if his constellation will allow for the East Coast to be graced. We can only hope. Carry on.

So, I’m doing research about green living because of a class project. It’s quite apropos considering today is Earth Day. I happened upon The Nature Conservancy’s Website in the course of my research and I found this tidbit under the “Ask the Conservationist” Column.

“Here in Phoenix, we recycle paper, glass, some plastics, etc. Since we’re in a desert, we’re also very water conscious. My question is, am I wasting water by trying to get the peanut butter jar or jam jar clean enough to be recycled?”

Your first step is to check with your local recycling program and find out if they require items to be washed.

Patrick Gonzalez a scientist with the Conservancy’s Climate Change Program and an avid recycler, answers:

Some recycling programs do not ask you to wash containers, so you can conserve water and energy by depositing your containers unwashed.

But many cities ― including my current home of Washington, D.C. ― do ask residents to wash containers before placing them out for collection.

Check out the site for the full answer. Frankly, I hate washing peanut butter out of a container, but I do it.

And FYI: Peanut butter works really well for getting sap off your hands. Don’t ask how I know that.

Alright. Now get out there and hug a tree.

So I was checking out the blogs of my classmates and today I came upon a post by my classmate Gregg. It’s about cupcakes. It crossed my eye because I had a cupcake moment last week as well, which is perhaps odd for someone who claims to eschew sweets (I’ll admit to a fondness for a piece of carrot or red velvet cake if offered). My own moment came two weeks ago at brunch. A few of us were discussing the fact that my friend Doug doesn’t like cake. He likes pie, cookies, and other desserts, but not cake. I can understand not liking certain kinds of cake, but to not like cake as a whole is just weird. Anyway, I inquired if anybody had yet been to the new Georgetown Cupcake. He said he had tried to go a couple weeks ago, but the line was down the block, so he went to Baked and Wired instead. I stated that I should try to get there before class. Doug’s wife said that she believe they close earlier than my class time, so it might be hard to do.

Now, the serendipitous moment for me came last Tuesday, just a few days after that whole cupcake discussion. I was again reading classmates’ blogs and I happened upon the a post from my classmate Shari, stating that she had tried Georgetown Cupcakes. So the cakes went into my mind again. I checked out their Website to see exactly where it was located and what their hours are. It was a very warm day, so I decided to walk home instead of hitting the gym. On nice days I like to walk from my office in Ballston to my house in Georgetown. A walk outside beats a walk in the gym any day. As I got into Georgetown, I decided to see where the cupcakery was located and was surprised to find it open! So I got a couple treats and tried the Chocolate Coconut, which I found to be very tasty. I was impressed that they make a little dent in the top of the cake so that the frosting goes down a bit rather than just sitting on the surface. As it turns out, the place is open until 7:00 PM on most weekdays.

And there is why I’m writing about cupcakes. I actually believe that higher powers make me think about cupcakes more frequently than I would figure. All day at work or home I listen to a listener-supported radio station (KEXP) from Seattle. Cupcake Royale, a Seattle cupcakery, provides sponsorhip of the radio station, which means I frequently hear ads for them. One of these days I’ll try their cakes and let you know how it goes.

Yes, Pope fever has hit Washington. And because my mind is as vapid as a corn muffin, my first thought is of “The Family Guy” when Peter kidnaps the Pope to impress his dad.

OK, enough of that though. So yes, the Pope is here. If I had planned in advance I would have tried to watch the Popemobile during today’s procession, but alas, work calls. Washington Circle was jumping with cops this morning. The whole circle was filled with police cars, vans, and bicycle cops getting ready for what I’m sure was a crowded scene. The procession was expected to pass through Foggy Bottom somewhere after 11:00. Being the good Catholic I am (I can barely type that with a straight face), I would have liked to have seen the Pope. It really is a once in a lifetime type of deal. Plus, if my grandma was still alive she would have been so proud. Of course she was Polish and extremely Catholic, so her fervor was a bit strong. This was a woman who had a photo of the Pope hanging on the wall in her bedroom and who cried when Perry Como sang Ave Maria on TV. She also cried during the National Anthem. And God Bless America. She was very emotional. But I digress. 

Of course with the Pope’s arrival, I noticed a new batch of graffiti in the form of posters pasted along 23rd St. The first few I saw said, “Smoke the Devils Weed.” That one pissed me off because of the missing apostrophe. Would it kill you to make your graffiti gramatically correct? The next sign said, “Smoke Dope Waste the Pope.” OK. Kind of reminds me of a t-shirt my buddy told me about that says, “I like the Pope because the Pope smokes dope.” There was a band called the Smoking Popes. They had a decent hit song called “Need You Around” in the mid-90s. According to Wikipedia they put out an album in 2008. That’s nice.

So get out there and check out the Pope if you have the chance. If nothing else, it’s an excuse to leave work and sit outside for a few hours. Or maybe he can heal your eternally damned soul. Who’s going to argue with leaving the office to see the Pope? It’s like saying you’re going to give blood or you have “intestinal distress.” Nobody argues with that!