It never occurred to me there ... [ more ]]]> I purchased a boat cruise up the Potomac. The description made it sound like a luxury trip sitting at a table, sipping wine and enjoying delicious tapas while looking out at the monuments lighting up the evening sky. Sounded like a great date night.

It never occurred to me there was reason to by skeptic about the deals on Groupon. Here’s the actual luxury Potomac tour experience:

• There were no tables, just inline seating along the sides of the boat. About 15 seats for about 25 people.
• The wine included was just two small plastic cups of whatever they were pouring. All other drinks, including water, cost extra.
• The tapas were a small buffet of tin trays that included wings, macaroni and eggrolls as well as a side tray of fruit.
• There were no monuments, when we got upriver from our starting point at National Harbor, we veered right up the Anacostia instead of keeping on the Potomac. So we did see the new ballpark and the destroyer at the Navy Yard but no Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and Washington Monument.

This is what I had envisioned we'd see. Not so much.

• The serenity of the upriver trip was challenged by a very loud audio track of the captain providing trivia about what was in view. The prelude to this taped monologue was the actual captain saying “I’m going to play this recording now and I don’t remember what I recorded so don’t ask me about it.”
• It didn’t occur to me to question safety when signing up, but the rest of the captain’s crew gave me the vibe that they could just have easily have been pirates.
• On the return trip downriver, the trivia track was turned off, the lights were turned down and they cranked up the club music.

Not my vision of what I was purchasing, but we didn’t let that deter two new parents who needed a good night out without the kid and pup. Once we reset our expectations from luxury cruise to pirate cruise, we had a great time and it made for quite a memorable evening.

Take the other ... [ more ]]]> Have you ever been on the news or in the newspaper? I actually have been quoted about five or six times, a few when interviewed about the Delaware Shakespeare Festival back in the day, but a couple times about really odd stories that I know nothing about.

Take the other morning, walking to the Metro there was a camera crew set up on my path. They stopped Selena and I and asked if we had any trouble with the wind and rain last night. I told them we didn’t encounter and rain but I did notice it was windy when I walked the dog first thing this morning.

They asked me to describe the wind, and I was at a loss. I just told them I was surprised that there was a lot of wind out there. Selena mocked me as we left them for calling the wind “surprising”, I insisted, that I gave them nothing of value, there is no way they would use my soundbite.

Eight hours later, I received this Google Alert:

The story is no longer on their site, and that’s a relief, because I sound like a buffoon, but I guess I can’t blame the ABC News. I did that myself by calling the wind surprising, and they just ran with it.

Montgomery County Police Alert, URGENT

National Gang Week is starting soon (Washington, DC, Virginia & Maryland) This is their new target method:

While driving on any ... [ more ]]]> I received this notice forwarded in an email from my mom the weekend before the Snowpacalype and I still don’t know what to make of it:

Montgomery County Police Alert, URGENT

National Gang Week is starting soon (Washington, DC, Virginia &
Maryland) This is their new target method:

While driving on any roads in your city or community, if you happen to see a baby car seat sitting on the side of the road, DO NOT STOP!!! We have reason to believe this method is the Gang’s trap. They target people especially women, to stop their vehicle to help a baby.

They make this baby or doll look as if it has blood on itself or on its clothes. When you exit from your vehicle in attempt to help, the gangs jump out from fields or tall bushes, and last reported, from guardrails on the highway. There are 3 confirmed cases where women were beaten to near death, and in one case a woman was raped and beaten badly.

Their goal is to torture the victims to death in any way possible. If you do happen to see a car seat on any highway, DO NOT STOP, CALL POLICE IMMEDIATELY!!!. Please forward this message to everyone you know. This is not a joke. Please be aware.

Det. G. J. Lee ID 1352

Montgomery County Police Department
Investigative Services Bureau
Centralized Auto Theft Section
2350 Research Blvd.
Rockville, MD 20850
Main: 240-XXX-XXXX
Direct: 240-XXX-XXXX

Wow, I appreciate the heads up (thanks Mom) and I know to keep driving, and am happy to pass this along. That being done, (and I don’t mean to make light of what sounds like a very serious matter, but) I can’t help wondering a few pratical matters about National Gang Week:

• First and foremost, can this be true? Do gangs have a National Gang Week?
• Is it really nationwide?
• Who does the coordination of all gangs to put together and promote this event?
• Where do they get their funding? Is there an agreed upon profit-sharing arrangements between all gangs?
• What is the point of the baby carriage terrorizing? Is there actually some return on investment there or is it just an expense that’s part of the celebration of Gang Week?
• How did the blizzard conditions impact the festivities? Will Gang Week be postponed? Probably not if it’s a nationwide event.

So many questions, I really should call the MoCo Police for more details.