the dwfma blog.

~4.6 miles one-way, with a return aided by WMATA.

[gmap] Nice woodsy walk.

[gallery] Coming shortly.

Here’s what I came up with (and posted to setlist.fm)

Gardenia
Hurricane
One Inch Man
50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)
Molten Universe
Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop
Conan Troutman
Fatso Forgotso
Odyssey
Freedom Run
Whitewater
El Rodeo
One Hundred Degrees
Thumb (encore)
Demon Cleaner (encore)
Green Machine (encore)

Holla back.

Eh … an attempt at a footpath will follow shortly, as will pictures.

I am the Edison phonograph, created by the great wizard of the New World to delight those who would have melody or be amused. I can sing you tender songs of love. I can give you merry tales and joyous laughter. I can transport you to the realms of music. I can cause you to join in the rhythmic dance. I can lull the babe to sweet repose, or waken in the aged heart soft memories of youthful days.

No matter what may be your mood, I am always ready to entertain you. When your day’s work is done, I can bring the theater or the opera to your home. I can give you grand opera, comic opera or vaudeville. I can give you sacred or popular music, dance, orchestra or instrumental music. I can render solos, duets, trios, quartets. I can aid in entertaining your guests. When your wife is worried after the cares of the day, and the children are boisterous, I can rest the one and quiet the other. I never get tired and you will never tire of me, for I always have something new to offer.

I give pleasure to all, young and old. I will go wherever you want me, in the parlor, in the sickroom, on the porch, in the camp or to your summer home. If you sing or talk to me, I will retain your songs or words, and repeat them to you at your pleasure. I can enable you to always hear the voices of your loved ones, even though they are far away. I talk in every language. I can help you to learn other languages. I am made with the highest degree of mechanical skill. My voice is the clearest, smoothest and most natural of any talking machine. The name of my famous master is on my body, and tells you that I am a genuine Edison phonograph.

The more you become acquainted with me, the better you will like me. Ask the dealer.

A ~3mi loop to celebrate National Trails Day.

After some hemming and hawing and slacking, mainly about time, location, and distance, I finally met up with the Jank and headed out to Great Falls.  Sort of.  We ended up near the Anglers Inn along MacArthur Drive, near the Billy Goat Trail (A).  After making a minor loop and loading up with plenty of pictures, we headed back to the E-Dubb for some playoff hockey and tasty Chipotle.

[gmap] A nice loop with only preliminary repeating.

[gallery] Includes a shot of a possibly functional payphone!

Perhaps easier to read, here is a Googly Map of all the mentioned locations.

As featured on the Daily Show bit, “Me Lover’s Pizza with Crazy Broad“.

• Lombardi’s
  … oldest pizzeria in town, Little Italy, founded in 1905, they make their own pork sausage …
  32 Spring Street
  [google]

• Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
  … under the Brooklyn Bridge, a brick oven, but go there early; by four o’clock, the line’s out to the East River …
  19 Old Fulton St
  [google]

• Totonno’s
  … on Coney Island … maddon’ … thin crust, sweet sauce …
  1524 Neptune Avenue
  [google]

• Arturo’s
  … on Houston St, coal oven, lightly charred crust …
  106 West Houston Street
  [google]

• John’s
  … go the one on Bleeker; if that’s full, go to the John’s on the Upper West Side; it’s not the same vibe, but the pies …
  278 Bleecker St
  [google]

• Denino’s
  … on Staten Island, they got the breadcrumbs on the bottom …
  524 Port Richmond Avenue
  [google]

• Joe’s
  … on Carmine Street; just get a slice! …
  7 Carmine Street
  [google]

And of course,

• Famous Famiglia
  50th and Broadway
  [google]

Well, our first round picks were not the best.  When we won, we won big, but that was only half the time, and the other half, well, we were dismal, especially considering our projected Western Conference champion, Anaheim, is already going home.

Let’s recap:

EAST
1WSH v 8NYR — WSH in 5.  This actually happened.
2PHI v 7BUF — BUF in 6.  Turns out Philadelphia won in 7.  It took three goaltenders, but it happened.
3BOS v 6MTL — BOS in 7.  This also happened, even the painful part.
4PIT v 5TBY — TBY in 6.  So it tookTampa 7 games.  They still won.

WEST
1VAN v 6CHI — VAN in 5.  Took ‘em 7.  Whatever.
2SJS v 7LAK — SJS in 5.  Bam.
3DET v 6PHX — PHX in 7.  Not only did Phoenix not win the series, they didn’t even win a single game.  In fact, after scoring the first goal of the series, they never held another lead until Game 4, when they scrapped to advantages of 2-1 and 3-2 before allowing 4 unanswered, series-sealing goals.
4ANH v 5NSH — ANH in 6. Barry Trotz is the poor man’s Bruce Boudreau: all the minor-league toiling (every year in Nashville included), none of the star power, none of the attention of anyone outside a one-mile radius of the arena.

So now we are left with:

EAST
1WSH v 5TBY — Epic division rivalry.  Guy Boucher has Tampa on a roll, but this is where they stop.  WSH in 6.
2PHL v 3BOS — As painful to pick as last year, but I doubt the result changes.  Only the duration.  PHL in 6.

WEST
1VAN v 5NSH –What a snoozer.  Let’s give Nashville one win at home.  VAN in 5.
2SJS v 3DET — Is this the year San Jose finally … ah, nope.  DET in 6.

Then WSH beats PHL, and VAN beats DET.

WSH v VAN.

Maybe.

For the first time in a long time*, I find myself aloof regarding the NHL playoffs — not just those who made it, but those who play for those who made it.  That being said, why let an awful record fester, when I can keep the low returns coming?

Let’s do this.

Prince of Wales

1WSH v 8NYR — Though I sometimes secretly root for the Rags, it’s mainly only against Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or any team currently employing Todd Bertuzzi.  I wouldn’t mind a second or third round of playoffs here in the District.  WSH in 5.

2PHI v 7BUF — Two opposite philosophies: hire any gun you can, worry about goaltending later meets goaltender first, fill the rest if/when you have a chance.  Even though Philadelphia’s sketchy goaltending techniques worked last year, Pronger is ailing (and a year older) and the other team has Ryan Miller.  BUF in 6.

3BOS v 6MTL — Will the mighty mites of Montreal stay healthy enough to win?  Will Tim Thomas stay hot during the playoffs?  Will Could these teams hate each other more?  I see this going a long ugly seven, with — it pains my heart — Boston eventually winning.  BOS in 7.

4PIT v 5TBY — HCDB has done a masterful job, but it ends here.  TBY in 6.

Clarence Campbell

1VAN v 6CHI — It’s hard to call the Blackhawks the defending champions because half of their roster is gone; on the other side, it’s the same boring Vancouver team that eventually chokes.  Just not yet.  VAN in 5.

2SJS v 7LAK — The Kings would love to upend their somewhat-local rivals, but not without Kopitar.  This might be the only sweep of the first round.  Remember Niemi?  Chicago does.  SJS in 5.

3DET v 6PHX — I’m checking the calendar: Detroit seems due for another first-round flop.  Will it come sooner rather than later?  Let’s say this goes … later.  With a few bitter overtimes mixed in.  Phoenix may not do much after, but they can do this.  PHX in 7.

4ANH v 5NSH — Barry Trotz continues his streak of making people think he’s a decent coach … only to fall on his face come playoff time.  ANH in 6.

And the beat goes on …

1WSH v 7BUF — WSH in 5.
3BOS v 5TBY — BOS in 6.

1VAN v 6PHX — VAN in 5.
2SJS v 4ANH — ANH in 6.

And on …

1WSH v 3BOS — WSH in 6.

1VAN  v 4ANH — ANH in 7.

Until …

1WSH v 4ANH … This should be interesting.

Let the games begin.

* - Translation: New Jersey did not make the playoffs.

The quest for the playoffs in New Jersey, as told through The Wire:

Tommy Carcetti: “You know, when I was 15 points behind, I was resigned, you know? A landslide, I could live with that. I mean, what else did anyone expect, anyway? White guy, runnin’ for mayor in Baltimore? … But this? … Jen, if I lose this here by two points, it’s gonna kill me. It’s gonna just fucking kill me.”

I had my latest Walter Sobchak moment at work earlier today.  After I spent what amounted to the better part of two hours chasing down some obscure background information about a few misplaced records, my boss was annoyed at the total development man-hours spent on the eventual correction of five records.  Five records, out of about three million.  Yes, the math is somewhat ridiculous, but the work needed to be done for two reasons.

• One, this investigation was in response to a customer complaint; it might have been the author, or the publisher, or someone mentioned in one of the articles; it could have been a fuckin’ homeless guy outside Union Station.  I don’t care.  Someone noticed.  Even with a reactive mindset, you have to actually buck up and react when things happen.
• Two, like a lot of seemingly small data problems, this collection of five could be the tip of a nightmarish iceberg of fact checking and data chasing.  Maybe the past two years of work was flawed in some way.  (The jury is still out here, but unofficially, we may have dodged a bullet.)

But in the middle of explaining these two points, I suddenly started babbling,

Dude, this is a league game.  This determines who enters the next round robin. Am I wrong? Am I wrong?

The end.