Washington protests

Spent much of the day in Washington covering the anti-war and pro-war protests/press conferences. I took the photo as the first several thousand or so of the anti-war folks went by the White House on the Pennsylvania Ave. side. I liked the juxtaposition of the sign and the White House.

M's accident did $3,700 worth of damage to the Accord, which the body shop estimates will be repaired in two weeks. We haven't heard yet how much our insurance rates are going up. He's been using my CRV to get to school and work, while C and I carpool. E had to give up her car to me today so that I could get to the metro and then to D.C. We can juggle for a couple more weeks.

I'm sorry to be missing the game tomorrow. Hope the Bills play well, that the weather's good and that the section of the stadium really is "family friendly."

Playin' @ the Picnic

USA TODAY held its first picnic/anniversary party in several years yesterday, and Not Dead Yet was the featured entertainment. The guys sounded good and had a good time. They were on a small stage just outside the main entrance to the building. Elsewhere on the grounds there was food, games for kids, etc. The organizers said 1,400 people had signed up to come. It wasn't really possible to figure out if that many showed up because it was so spread out, but 1,000 doesn't seem unreasonable. I took some video too, which I'll try to remember to bring with me next week.

Podcasting

I'm at work today. Not too much going on, thankfully. Much of the material for tomorrow's already been prepared.

M has been in Richmond visiting friends. He's due back any time now. E, C and I went to Macaroni Grill on Friday night (with Pat, the boyfriend) to see M in action. He seems to know what he's doing and to enjoy it.

About podcasting: I've been late to the craze. But my new Creative Zen Micro mp3 player (more capacity than the mini i-pod, plus it has FM radio and a voice recorder) has allowed me to do some exploring into the podcasting world. It's pretty interesting. Today I listened to the podcast version of NPR's On The Media while I worked out. The other day I enjoyed an episode of something called Coverville, which as the name implies is a show about songs by famous artists as covered by other artists.

So for you i-pod and mp3 owners out there, I encourage you to do some hunting for podcasts you might enjoy. Wonder if a Bills fan has started one yet?

Speaking of the Bills, I plan to drive to LV on Fri. the 23rd. The game's on the 25th. I'll probably go to W. Va. on the 26th to check on the house there.

Working through Labor Day

I ended up not going to W. Va. It didn't seem wise to be doing that much driving just now and I knew I'd have to work Monday anyway. Now, with Justice Rehnquist's death, I'm glad I didn't go. C says she and E and Pat have had a good time there. They went on a horse ride Friday. Did some light hiking yesterday. M and I have basically done normal weekend stuff - his gig at Potbelly's, some grocery shopping, law mowing, etc.

Unbelievable

I was just telling M that the news from New Orleans is certainly unbelievable. Not the "natural" part of the disaster, but the aftermath.
C has taken E and her boyfriend up to W. Va. They're planning to go horseback riding tomorrow. Depending on how work goes, I may join them either late in the day tomorrow or early Sat. morning. M has to stick around here over the weekend to work and for a practice with Not Dead Yet. Last night the members of another band, this one of young folks, came over to jam in our basement. They sounded good.
But all that seems kind of trivial, of course, compared to the news.