This is so AWESOME, it's SICK!

When I found this data graph for DC's awesome Capital BikeShare, I became nearly giddy.  I've been playing with it for the last hour or so, and I'm like a kid in a candy store.  My heart is aflutter - for real! All my favorite things!  I love metrics.  I love cities.  I love interactive real time data.  I love bikes, and more so bike shares.  I love CaBi. so proud to be one of the founding members (as one of the first 2,000 members with a free t-shirt and commemorative keyfob....(geekster grin: Geek + Hipster = Geekster!)).  I love public transport, and more so if it's extra-green and innovative public transport.

Here's the link again...now let's play!  So much data depicted on first click.  First, the overall view of the CaBi program is the homescreen.  Larger circles denote larger stations with more bike docks.  The color of the circles show how full/empty the docks are - blue is emptier, deep red is an completley full station.  The graph is realtime, and the lower right hand corner gives usage stats.  Right now, pretty late on a Thursday evening, use is a low, sleepy 3%.  The max simultaneous usage for today was 173 bikes, in use, or a respectable 20% of all available bikes in use (more about this later).  That lower right hand info box has some pretty cool extra features.  You can show or hide a ticker which tells you bikes going in and out of station realtime.  It also shows usage and distribution imbalance datagraphs for the day.  Around 5pm, today the fewest bikes were in docks - or conversely, the most were in use.

Even more fun...there is an animation button where we can see those station circles go from blue to red and back again in a neato timelapse run.  See how, people head downtown, and then back to residential districts over the course of a day.  Sounds like a commuter city, until you realize this is by bikes, not crawling on the Beltway!  Mixed-use zones - shopping/residential/business like Dupont Circle and Capitol Hill get used all day.

Then, there's a little thrill ride here...Click on a station, and see it's dock stats for the last 24-hour period - the peaks and valleys of rush hour, the sharp zig-zags of frequent use.  For example, 16th and U has a precipitous drop from totally full to totally empty during the morning rush hour, as this high-density, young, urban hipster neighborhood heads out to work, presumably downhill towards downtown.  The Union Station dock does the same, with an opposite effect - all the bikes are taken from this busy transit hub around 6pm and dispersed to other docks within the nearby residential neighborhood.  One of my local stations at 14th and D Streets SE gets decent use throughout the day, but by 9pm, it's docks are full.  This matches my recent experience, when one evening, I grabbed a CaBi bike from the pool toward home, and found no docks at this station.  I had to ride a few blocks farther, though not too much off my path, to return my bike to a different station.  And Eastern Market (8th and Penn SE) and Dupont Circle stations get a fair amount of usage throughout the day.

And that awesome little addictive live data set led me to the supra-awesome blog Suprageography: I see data, I make maps that covers bikeshare data stats for several urban bikeshare programs around the world.  WOW!  I totally [HEART] that Oliver guy!  He recently posted about a big day for bikesharing - Easter Sunday - where he notes there was HUGE usage in DC (in the #1 ranking), Miami, and London - all soaring above 35% simultaneous bikes in use.  In DC 37% of our 872 bikes were in use at about 4 in the afternoon (I'm reasonably sure I had a bike out about that time).  He notes that usage rates above 30% stress the system, and it is difficult to find a bike in many places.  His table shows that not only is DC an amazing bikesharing city, but we have a relatively large program with our almost 900 books, especially with the relative size of our population compared to some of the other bikesharing cities - like London and Mexico City.  And, as he kindly points out so I don't have to be all puffy about it, America is beating Europe!


Yay, CaBi!  Yay DC!  I could eat this stuff all day.  

You know it's a bad date when...

...when he keeps twisting your words to prove his belief that women are bitches
...when you begin to wish you followed him to the bar to order the drinks, in case he slipped in a "roofie"
...when you realize that it is time to clearly, definitively, and immediately extract yourself, and are scheming how to do so without pissing him off
...when you begin to go over the information you shared to figure out if it is enough for him to find you at work or home
...when you look over your shoulder constantly all the way to the metro to make sure he's not following you
...when you leave a voicemail and email yourself with the details of what you know about him, where you met, and what you experienced to help out the investigation just in case you end up dead somewhere
...when you get home you double lock the door, and set the alarm

Yikes, that was freaky!

Sunday Morning

Pancakes 

-with real Vermont maple syrup

Canadian Bacon

Fruits Exotiques

- pineapple, banana, kiwi with honey lime dressing

Juice 
& fresh-brewed French Roast coffee

The Red and the Black (The blog post in which La Nouvelle Observatrice lets on to the whole wide world just how soccer-ignorant she is)

Ok, maybe soccer-ignorant isn't the word, but soccer-shallow (sadly) for sure. Tonight I went with M to the DC United vs LA Galaxy match over at RFK Stadium. The stadium is just a few minutes walk from my house, about 5 blocks, and yet in my eight years living here, I've never, ever been to a game. Tonight, I finally made it, and I'm sure it will not be another 8 before the next time. We had a blast. Still, my commentary is limited. Here are some of my observations:

RFK is a dump. Seriously, it is a shabby, dilapidated building, with weird stains and strange molds hanging from the structure. There is broken concrete and open, messy wiring. Seats are not well-marked. No one gives a damn. Maybe one day, they'll get a dedicated soccer stadium - too bad the whole country is broke.

The vending in our section sucked. No real fridges, just coolers full of ice and blue Gatorade with the labels slipping off.  It was cash-only, which always pisses me off. M and I got beer - lukewarm and pissy.

The hooligans...er...supporters' clubs... are pretty cool.  Barra Brava is hardcore. Their huge red and black flags, chants and drums are larger than life, and thumpin'. That, my dears, is fandom. They roar and jump and their whole section bounces. The whole stadium vibrates, in fact. A little scary. Is this place structurally sound? Anyway, they're fun to watch, but I'm too old for that.

The regular old fans are an interesting mix. The suburban families, the college (once-college) players, the Euro-urban sports fan elite, the entire Central American population of the greater DC Metro area. The guys in our section were pretty much from the latter group. If I heard "mierda...puta" one more time...

David Beckham (LA Galaxy), like me, is also getting old, but he was there and he played well. At one point there was a big smash-up where two players seemed to smack right into each others' faces. I remember thinking 'Ouch!'.... That, and that would never happen to Beckham. He's a good, hard player and all, but can't really afford to mess up his handsome, chiseled face. Landon Donavan (also LA Galaxy) didn't play. Apparently, he's busy, tired and his knee hurts, and he didn't travel out with the team. I don't recall the name of a single DCUnited player.

Oh yes, I do...Charlie Davies, who scored DCUnited's only goal with a penalty kick which tied the game's final score  of 1-1. That was good. M told me he was in some horrific car accident sometime last year, and is just playing again now.

I bought a DC United fan scarf. It's red and black with DC United and  Addidas logos knitted in.  It's reversible - black side with red or red side with black. I've always wanted one of those scarves.

Really, I should do this sports reporting more often...

A blogging tear

I seem to be on a blogging tear here...:-)  Did you notice? ;-)

I'm just so happy to have a normal weekend.  Five of the last six weekends have been taken up by travel for work and for play - to Philadelphia, Guatemala, Disney World, Philadelphia (2), and Portland.  I forget what kind of toll that takes, until I'm finally sitting down again on a lazy Saturday at home.  Laundry, blogging, cleaning, cooking, a walk and cultural fair with Dear Daughter, seeing friends, and a swim.  And my mind is quiet and happy, my thoughts take a leisurely stroll around my head.  Time to relax, time to reflect.  And a little blogging.  Oh, little blog, how I've missed you.  xo.

Portland, Oregon

During my recent business trip to Portland, Oregon, I especially loved my visit to the Mercy Corps offices. These new digs for the $200m international development and relief non-profit are just incredible. The LEED Platinum design is so inspiring. I especially loved this central staircase in the middle of the building. A central lightwell fills the space fills the atrium and surrounding offices with natural sunlight. And it's inviting views, central mid-air bridge, and easy access invite one to choose the stairs (A small elevator was tucked away in a corner). It's frame was a brushed steel, warmed by reclaimed wooden planks. Just gorgeous.  

Fruit Bat, H St. NE

Outside the window, one Wednesday evening in the spring

W

Professional Urban Grrl's No-Sweat Triathalon

Sportswear: Black leggings, black wool tunic sweater, black ballet flats, teal double-breasted spring trench (Pool: black swimsuit, black swim cap, pink goggles)
Getting to the starting line:  Leave work in taxi with colleague for an in-transit meeting.


Start:  Union Station

1st Leg (Walk) - Walk and talk with colleague heading north on North Capitol Street, part company at H Street.  Hang a right.  Cross bridge over train tracks.  Admire spring day - low humidity, temperature in the low-seventies, late daylight (it's already six-thirty! and the light gives everything a spring-pink glow).  Arrive on the other side of tracks - H Street NE, the edgy in-neighborhood with bars, restaurants, and coffee shops, with a hip-hop-city-punk-funk vibe. Recall the previous evening in one such establishment with friends and drinks.  Make note to self to hang out there more, and check out some of the new places.

2nd Leg (Bike) - Grab a Capital Bikeshare bicycle.  Place black work bag on the front carrier, and secure with neato fitted bungee cord.  Unbutton trench coat for ease of moment, and for cool teal trailing effect while riding.  Board bike, and head south on 4th Street NE past lovely, historic, restored rowhouses.  Note buds on trees giving a light fuzzy green-  or sometimes rose-, colored  glow of their early leaves.  Note beautiful spring gardens in postage-stamp front yards - tulips, daffodils, and blazing yellow forsythia.  Zig-zag through the neighborhood streets towards Eastern Market - going past more lovely house, small city parks full of dogs, kids, and friendly neighbors cavorting in the early evening, brought together by their shared community and the pleasant spring evening.  Arrive at Eastern Market, and park bike in the CaBI bike dock.

Pit Stop -  Enter Marvelous Market for a bottle of water and pack of soy nuts.  Sit outside on the french cafe chairs.  Check iPhone for messages.  Greet and chat with neighbor MS.

3rd Leg (Swim) - Enter public pool facility, and change into swimwear.  Shower quickly, and enter pool for 30 minutes of laps.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Let head roll out its day.  Marvel in the head-clearing power of exercise.   Chat with lanemate about water temperature - a tad cooler than lately.  Exit pool, shower, change.

Homeward Bound - Grab a CaBi bike for the short ride to the next docking station.  Walk remaining three blocks.

Finish: Home. Greet Dear Daughter, read books, snuggle, and wish sweet dreams.

Spring training never felt so good.

That's NOT what I asked for....

I'm in a particularly irritable mood.  Today when paying for my lunch, I asked the cashier to add a Diet Coke to my order, and pointed to the fridge stocked with soda cans.  On my way out, I went to grab my soda.

But there was only caffiene-free Diet Coke.  When I asked about it, I was told they were out of Diet Coke.  I looked at the options - Coca-Cola and Sprite Zero.  Neither would do.  I want the caffeine of the Coca-Cola and the sugar-free, no calories of the Sprite Zero in my cold, lunchtime fizzy drink.

I left quite grouchy with a Sprite Zero.  I really shouldn't be this annoyed.

The Secret (a poem by Denise Levertov)

The Secret
by Denise Levertov
Two girls discover the secret of life in a sudden line of poetry. I who don't know the secret wrote the line. They told me (through a third person) they had found it but not what it was not even what line it was. No doubt by now, more than a week later, they have forgotten the secret, the line, the name of the poem. I love them for finding what I can't find, and for loving me for the line I wrote, and for forgetting it so that a thousand times, till death finds them, they may discover it again, in other lines in other happenings. And for wanting to know it, for assuming there is such a secret, yes, for that most of all.