During Emily's parents' stay, Emily and her Mom spent a delightful morning at the Newseum, a museum about the media and the news.
One of the exhibits was an interactive game where you could "Be a TV Reporter." You can choose between 7 backgrounds (each with its own news story), and you take a microphone and read off of a teleprompter! Twas fun! Too bad I couldn't convince my Mom to join me, boo hoo.
Here's the video:
The R & E Times
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
You know when you're driving, and..
... the commercial truck/bus in front of you has a sign that says, "How Am I Doing?" and provides a number for you to call? Richard and I were behind one yesterday and I thought, "do the pros really outweigh the cons in this case?"
Let's say the person in front of you is a bad driver, and you decide to call the number to complain. Well, for at least a few minutes, you yourself will be a very distracted driver as you either (a) write down the number on a piece of scrap paper on your wheel to call later, or (b) call while on the phone and rant and rave to an automated machine.
Sure you may feel better, but what if during that time of your distraction the driver in front of you stops very suddenly, or serves into another lane (he/she is a bad driver after all, which is why you are calling). Now your reflexes are slow and a crash is more likely, if not inevitable.
Writing about this leads me to another question -- if you do call in, does anyone actually listen to the messages that you leave? Or is it just a placating and "venting" tool to make you feel better and not lash out against the company that the truck driver was working for?
PS- I desperately tried to find a picture of a truck with a "How am I doing" on the back and couldn't. Google images failed me!
PPS- Once in middle school, my friend Amy and I called in the number and rambled on for like 5 minutes about how we thought the driver was attractive. Good times.
Let's say the person in front of you is a bad driver, and you decide to call the number to complain. Well, for at least a few minutes, you yourself will be a very distracted driver as you either (a) write down the number on a piece of scrap paper on your wheel to call later, or (b) call while on the phone and rant and rave to an automated machine.
Sure you may feel better, but what if during that time of your distraction the driver in front of you stops very suddenly, or serves into another lane (he/she is a bad driver after all, which is why you are calling). Now your reflexes are slow and a crash is more likely, if not inevitable.
Writing about this leads me to another question -- if you do call in, does anyone actually listen to the messages that you leave? Or is it just a placating and "venting" tool to make you feel better and not lash out against the company that the truck driver was working for?
PS- I desperately tried to find a picture of a truck with a "How am I doing" on the back and couldn't. Google images failed me!
PPS- Once in middle school, my friend Amy and I called in the number and rambled on for like 5 minutes about how we thought the driver was attractive. Good times.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Our Washington DC Stay-cation
Richard and I have been living in the Washington DC region for over three months now. I still can't tell you how to get to the Jefferson Memorial from the Lincoln Memorial or what direction the Potomac is from my work (although, I did recently learn how to pronounce "Potomac" which I had apparently been saying wrong for weeks).
Now, this may be partly due to the fact that, well, I am a stereotypical female with a horrible sense of direction, a husband who enjoys driving me everywhere and a GPS that -- most of the time -- leads me, guides me and walks beside me.
But I am determined to get to know my new hometown better! When Richard and I first moved in, we got round-trip vouchers for a river cruise from Old Town Alexandria to Georgetown. Since they expired on November 2, and it was one of those rare Saturday afternoons where Richard could take a break from studying, we decided to do the whole tourist thing in Old Town Alexandria and Georgetown. It was probably in the top 10 best days of my life.
First of all, Old Town Alexandria is SO beautiful in the fall! My sister came down last Tuesday, and despite the horrible weather, we ate a wonderful French meal on King Street (in the heart of Old Town). Thanks Carma! But when we went down on Saturday, the weather was perfect (75 degrees, not windy), and the leaves were changing on the trees. I couldn't believe all of this is a 5-minute drive from our house.
Now, this may be partly due to the fact that, well, I am a stereotypical female with a horrible sense of direction, a husband who enjoys driving me everywhere and a GPS that -- most of the time -- leads me, guides me and walks beside me.
But I am determined to get to know my new hometown better! When Richard and I first moved in, we got round-trip vouchers for a river cruise from Old Town Alexandria to Georgetown. Since they expired on November 2, and it was one of those rare Saturday afternoons where Richard could take a break from studying, we decided to do the whole tourist thing in Old Town Alexandria and Georgetown. It was probably in the top 10 best days of my life.
First of all, Old Town Alexandria is SO beautiful in the fall! My sister came down last Tuesday, and despite the horrible weather, we ate a wonderful French meal on King Street (in the heart of Old Town). Thanks Carma! But when we went down on Saturday, the weather was perfect (75 degrees, not windy), and the leaves were changing on the trees. I couldn't believe all of this is a 5-minute drive from our house.
After walking around Old Town for awhile, we hopped on our boat to head to Georgetown. While we were there, Richard met a recently-graduated law student from Michigan who had the same professor that Richard has! He promised Richard that he would send his outlines from the class (which he did), and according to Richard his outline is amazing and has really helped him! What a fortunate coincidence.
When we got to Georgetown, I decided that I would do a photo shoot of model-Richie. My favorite is the first one. I love the leather jacket!
When we got to Georgetown, I decided that I would do a photo shoot of model-Richie. My favorite is the first one. I love the leather jacket!
Finally, it was time to go back home, boo. I did get some great shots of the sunset over the Potomac though (PA-tome-ICK). Basically, it was so much fun to "discover" our own city. I know I'm always dreaming of going places (Australia, Argentina and Romania to name a few). But there is seriously so much to do here in our own backyard! I love Washington DC!
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