BEHOLD!
This is the headline that greeted me on the front page of the local section of today's paper.
One would have to be forgiven for reading the headline and concluding that while more green buildings are being built, they obviously cost more, and so aren't economically feasible in a downturn/recession/depression/whatever, blah blah blah.
Thing is, it's not the cost of the buildings that's going up, which becomes clear when you actually read the article. In fact, as the article states a couple of times, the building costs range between competitive with and equal to traditional construction. What's going up is the rent that property owners can charge, based on the cache that "green buildings" now carry.
Nice deceptive headline, though. This is a deeply conservative part of the state, as redundant as that generally is, so it's understood, but is it too much to ask that the local paper be at least a little more honest in how it presents stories?
Then again, it may not matter anyway. Virginia Beach, lo and behold, is now officially a "green destination," despite offering, well, nothing in the way of green changes, developments, plans, etc.
How, you may wonder, did VB become a green destination?
"A few months back, the Virginia Green program told the city it would approve the moniker if 20 restaurants, 12 hotels, one attraction and the Virginia Beach Convention Center could be certified as places working toward environmentally conscious habits."
Let me get this straight: 20 restaurants, 12 hotels, one "attraction," whatever the hell that means, and the VBCC start working toward environmentally conscious habits, and this city of nearly half a million -- so clearly represented by the overwhelming preponderance of edifices and organizations -- oh, and an "attraction" -- working toward environmentally conscious habits becomes a green destination.
Scaling downward, Richmond would need about half of that -- so, say, 10 restaurants, 6 hotels, a half of an "attraction," and, say, the Coliseum or something, start working toward environmentally conscious habits, and boom! Richmond is also a green city.
Working toward.
Why does it feel like people are cutting out the lights when they leave the room? Nothing necessarily meaningful, just, you know working toward a solution.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Al Gore's "Man on the Moon" Energy Challenge:
Good for him.
My favorite quote:
"It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil 10 years from now," Gore said.
Take that, Themla Drake!
My favorite quote:
"It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil 10 years from now," Gore said.
Take that, Themla Drake!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Why to Vote Against Thelma Drake in VA-2 In November:
Sometimes I love my Congressional district. It is in my home district, after all, that Ed Schrock, the #2 most-conservative congressman and #1 anti-gay congressman, is outed for . . . soliciting sex from men. Needless to say, many of us had a great laugh at that hypocritical bastard's expense and moved on with our lives, even after he was forced to drop his reelection bid.
Enter Thelma Drake. If ever there was a "rubber stamp" for W, she's it. Totally useless, and barely survived a disorganized and poorly coordinated, if spirited, challenge from Phil Kellam in '06.
This year, she's opposed by Glenn Nye, one of two candidates I'm already committed to voting for (the second being former governor Mark Warner in his senatorial bid).
Even if I weren't going to vote for Nye, I'd vote against Drake. Why?
Let's check the list of reasons -- taken from the email her office sent out today (her email in italics):
July 2008 eNewsletter
Hello!
I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July. There have been a lot of developments in Washington over the last month and I want to take a moment to bring you up to speed on them.
Energy
Although Second District families are struggling under the burden of outrageous gas and energy prices, Congress has again left for the week without an up-or-down vote on a comprehensive strategy to address our current energy crisis. Families are hurting and bills the House has considered like punishing speculators or raising taxes on energy producers are simply not serious solutions to the predicament our country is in. Last week, the House voted on the establishment of a National Historic Trail and a measure on the preservation of White House emails. The American people are tired of Congress voting on half measures and meaningless bills.
Let's start here, shall we? First of all, if you're going to change the subject, I'd suggest not changing it to things that make you look even worse for the position you're taking. When there are as many as FIVE MILLION emails missing from White House servers, emails that -- surprise of surprises! -- pertained to thoroughly corrupt activities originating from and on behalf of that White House, it's a legitimate issue. What Drake is saying is that she opposes open government, and supports the right of the executive to rule, rather than to govern. Thelma Drake, in her own words, would do away with checks and balances entirely and revert to some sort of rotating emperorship (assuming she's still ok with change at the top; for all she indicates, she could be in favor of life terms for executives). Thanks for the clarification, Thelma, not that anyone needed it.
Second, only in America could the idea of legislation creating a National Historic Trail deemed meaningless. Again, though, Drake just outright steps in it. The trail in question? The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail (trust me, it's in there), commemorating the Chesapeake theater of the War of 1812. This includes the siege of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor -- you know, the siege that produced our national anthem. How delightfully patriotic a statement from a woman who wouldn't be caught dead without a flag stapled to her ass.
Now, the idea that she opposes windfall taxes and trying to find some regulatory measure to somehow hinder speculation isn't terribly surprising, since this woman is more thoroughly in the grasp of Big Oil than virtually anyone in Congress, so we can leave that more or less to the side, except for observing that speculation is an obvious part of what's driving the surge in crude prices, and for someone who purports to be concerned about the "pain" being inflicted on VA-2 families to support this speculation (which is what she tacitly does) is a glorious display of dishonesty.
I am strongly in favor of a comprehensive solution to the energy crisis that will:
1. Increase our domestic supply by expanding the development of American energy from the Outer Continental Shelf and ANWR; oil shale and oil sands; and liquefied coal technology for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel;
Stop right there. None of these make a short-term difference. If she were phrasing her plans in long-term language, then I'd have different objections -- such as the observation that ANWR will contribute less than 1% of projected U.S. oil needs even at full capacity, or that the amount of oil in ANWR could be saved in a year if every vehicle on American roads were simply ONE mile per gallon more efficient. Does Thelma support raising CAFE standards? Hell no.
What she does support is lying through her teeth by talking about two different things, relying on people not to notice.
Oh, and I'd love to hear her 1a: she wants to open U.S. "reserves," ok, but here's the catch: what's the mechanism for ensuring that the oil stays in the U.S. market and isn't exported? No one has yet answered this question, that I'm aware of, but if you wanted more proof that Drake is working for Big Oil and against the rest of us, there it is: she wants to exploit what's left so that it can hit the market. The global market. How, exactly, will this help U.S. and VA-2 families?
It won't. But gosh, it sure sounds nice, don't it?
2. Invest in alternative forms of energy like biodiesel, solar, geothermal, and nuclear; and
With the exception of nuclear, I love this idea. Curiously, though, she left "wind" off the list. My hunch is that this is most likely because the proposed offshore wind platforms happen to coincide with the desired drilling locations off the Virginia coast; I just looked around for a couple of maps, to try and superimpose the two, but didn't net what I was looking for (so if anyone can help, I'd be curious, and appreciative).
3. Encourage conservation measures.
Then stand up and call for CAFE standards to go up by 10, fleet-wide, within two years. And then by another ten five years after that. And by another ten five after that.
How about stumping for more tax incentives to homeowners and property managers to help? Put solar cells on your buildings, get a meaningful tax break. Oh, and how about reaching out to Richmond to pressure Dominion to rebate customers for the kilowattage their home-based units contribute to the grid? We're going to have to entirely rebuild the electric grid at some point, and are in the process of very slowly doing so, so how about putting your money where your mouth is and encouraging the hastening of that process?
Oh, and lastly, can we get ALL of the above-ground power lines in VA-2 underground already? How many times can they be knocked over by a storm and put back up before it's just throwing good money after bad? I suspect we've long since reached that point, but what the hey, it's hurricane season, so I'm sure they'll drop a couple of times over the next couple of months somewhere in Thelma's district . . .
I call this the “All of the Above” approach to the energy crisis.
No comment.
I’ve talked to people in the Second District who cannot afford to put more than $10 of gas in their tank and others who have stopped driving all together and ride a bicycle to work. This is unacceptable and I am working to get a comprehensive package through Congress that will bring badly needed relief to families in Hampton Roads, on the Eastern Shore, and all over America.
Why, exactly, is this unacceptable? I ride my bike to work frequently back in Germany -- what prevents people from doing so here?
Riding your bike to work is unacceptable. There's logic for you. Thelma's clearly still working with a high-school mentality, where it's "uncool" to ride your bike.
National Security
Recently, Congress did work effectively in passing two bills which are vital to our national security. Congress passed legislation sending much needed funds to our troops in harm’s way and re-authorized a program that allows our intelligence agencies to monitor terrorist communications as they plot against our families.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authorizes our intelligence professionals to monitor the phone calls and emails of terrorists who pose a threat to the security of the United States.
For more information on FISA, please click here.
The bill also provided cover to continue spying on Americans and gathering data on all of us, but we'll just ignore that -- not that anyone seems to care anyway (thanks, Dems in congress, way to CONTINUE to drop the ball on that one).
The Supplemental Appropriations Bill provided badly needed funding for our servicemembers deployed in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill also reformed the GI bill, updating the veterans’ education benefit for the 21st century.
Courtesy of Jim Webb, and it was a provision that you, your president, and your party hotly and stridently opposed -- but hey, let's all share the credit, now that we couldn't get it stopped, right? More dishonesty.
For more information on the Supplemental and the GI Bill reform, please click here.
I am proud to be your Representative in Congress and would love to hear from you.
I doubt it.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or opinions you would like to share with me, please click here to send me an email.
You know, over the years, I've had occasion to contact various elected officials about various things. I've contacted three Senators, two Representatives, and numerous state delegates and state senators.
Funny thing, Thelma Drake is the only one from I never even received so much as a form letter -- or even a form email, for that matter.
Go figure.
If you would like to get more frequent email updates from my office, please click here to subscribe.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this update.
All my best,
Thelma
You're very welcome, Thelma. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to show some people what your message truly is, and in your own words.
With best wishes for a happy private life starting in January,
Anthony
Enter Thelma Drake. If ever there was a "rubber stamp" for W, she's it. Totally useless, and barely survived a disorganized and poorly coordinated, if spirited, challenge from Phil Kellam in '06.
This year, she's opposed by Glenn Nye, one of two candidates I'm already committed to voting for (the second being former governor Mark Warner in his senatorial bid).
Even if I weren't going to vote for Nye, I'd vote against Drake. Why?
Let's check the list of reasons -- taken from the email her office sent out today (her email in italics):
July 2008 eNewsletter
Hello!
I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July. There have been a lot of developments in Washington over the last month and I want to take a moment to bring you up to speed on them.
Energy
Although Second District families are struggling under the burden of outrageous gas and energy prices, Congress has again left for the week without an up-or-down vote on a comprehensive strategy to address our current energy crisis. Families are hurting and bills the House has considered like punishing speculators or raising taxes on energy producers are simply not serious solutions to the predicament our country is in. Last week, the House voted on the establishment of a National Historic Trail and a measure on the preservation of White House emails. The American people are tired of Congress voting on half measures and meaningless bills.
Let's start here, shall we? First of all, if you're going to change the subject, I'd suggest not changing it to things that make you look even worse for the position you're taking. When there are as many as FIVE MILLION emails missing from White House servers, emails that -- surprise of surprises! -- pertained to thoroughly corrupt activities originating from and on behalf of that White House, it's a legitimate issue. What Drake is saying is that she opposes open government, and supports the right of the executive to rule, rather than to govern. Thelma Drake, in her own words, would do away with checks and balances entirely and revert to some sort of rotating emperorship (assuming she's still ok with change at the top; for all she indicates, she could be in favor of life terms for executives). Thanks for the clarification, Thelma, not that anyone needed it.
Second, only in America could the idea of legislation creating a National Historic Trail deemed meaningless. Again, though, Drake just outright steps in it. The trail in question? The Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail (trust me, it's in there), commemorating the Chesapeake theater of the War of 1812. This includes the siege of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor -- you know, the siege that produced our national anthem. How delightfully patriotic a statement from a woman who wouldn't be caught dead without a flag stapled to her ass.
Now, the idea that she opposes windfall taxes and trying to find some regulatory measure to somehow hinder speculation isn't terribly surprising, since this woman is more thoroughly in the grasp of Big Oil than virtually anyone in Congress, so we can leave that more or less to the side, except for observing that speculation is an obvious part of what's driving the surge in crude prices, and for someone who purports to be concerned about the "pain" being inflicted on VA-2 families to support this speculation (which is what she tacitly does) is a glorious display of dishonesty.
I am strongly in favor of a comprehensive solution to the energy crisis that will:
1. Increase our domestic supply by expanding the development of American energy from the Outer Continental Shelf and ANWR; oil shale and oil sands; and liquefied coal technology for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel;
Stop right there. None of these make a short-term difference. If she were phrasing her plans in long-term language, then I'd have different objections -- such as the observation that ANWR will contribute less than 1% of projected U.S. oil needs even at full capacity, or that the amount of oil in ANWR could be saved in a year if every vehicle on American roads were simply ONE mile per gallon more efficient. Does Thelma support raising CAFE standards? Hell no.
What she does support is lying through her teeth by talking about two different things, relying on people not to notice.
Oh, and I'd love to hear her 1a: she wants to open U.S. "reserves," ok, but here's the catch: what's the mechanism for ensuring that the oil stays in the U.S. market and isn't exported? No one has yet answered this question, that I'm aware of, but if you wanted more proof that Drake is working for Big Oil and against the rest of us, there it is: she wants to exploit what's left so that it can hit the market. The global market. How, exactly, will this help U.S. and VA-2 families?
It won't. But gosh, it sure sounds nice, don't it?
2. Invest in alternative forms of energy like biodiesel, solar, geothermal, and nuclear; and
With the exception of nuclear, I love this idea. Curiously, though, she left "wind" off the list. My hunch is that this is most likely because the proposed offshore wind platforms happen to coincide with the desired drilling locations off the Virginia coast; I just looked around for a couple of maps, to try and superimpose the two, but didn't net what I was looking for (so if anyone can help, I'd be curious, and appreciative).
3. Encourage conservation measures.
Then stand up and call for CAFE standards to go up by 10, fleet-wide, within two years. And then by another ten five years after that. And by another ten five after that.
How about stumping for more tax incentives to homeowners and property managers to help? Put solar cells on your buildings, get a meaningful tax break. Oh, and how about reaching out to Richmond to pressure Dominion to rebate customers for the kilowattage their home-based units contribute to the grid? We're going to have to entirely rebuild the electric grid at some point, and are in the process of very slowly doing so, so how about putting your money where your mouth is and encouraging the hastening of that process?
Oh, and lastly, can we get ALL of the above-ground power lines in VA-2 underground already? How many times can they be knocked over by a storm and put back up before it's just throwing good money after bad? I suspect we've long since reached that point, but what the hey, it's hurricane season, so I'm sure they'll drop a couple of times over the next couple of months somewhere in Thelma's district . . .
I call this the “All of the Above” approach to the energy crisis.
No comment.
I’ve talked to people in the Second District who cannot afford to put more than $10 of gas in their tank and others who have stopped driving all together and ride a bicycle to work. This is unacceptable and I am working to get a comprehensive package through Congress that will bring badly needed relief to families in Hampton Roads, on the Eastern Shore, and all over America.
Why, exactly, is this unacceptable? I ride my bike to work frequently back in Germany -- what prevents people from doing so here?
Riding your bike to work is unacceptable. There's logic for you. Thelma's clearly still working with a high-school mentality, where it's "uncool" to ride your bike.
National Security
Recently, Congress did work effectively in passing two bills which are vital to our national security. Congress passed legislation sending much needed funds to our troops in harm’s way and re-authorized a program that allows our intelligence agencies to monitor terrorist communications as they plot against our families.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authorizes our intelligence professionals to monitor the phone calls and emails of terrorists who pose a threat to the security of the United States.
For more information on FISA, please click here.
The bill also provided cover to continue spying on Americans and gathering data on all of us, but we'll just ignore that -- not that anyone seems to care anyway (thanks, Dems in congress, way to CONTINUE to drop the ball on that one).
The Supplemental Appropriations Bill provided badly needed funding for our servicemembers deployed in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill also reformed the GI bill, updating the veterans’ education benefit for the 21st century.
Courtesy of Jim Webb, and it was a provision that you, your president, and your party hotly and stridently opposed -- but hey, let's all share the credit, now that we couldn't get it stopped, right? More dishonesty.
For more information on the Supplemental and the GI Bill reform, please click here.
I am proud to be your Representative in Congress and would love to hear from you.
I doubt it.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or opinions you would like to share with me, please click here to send me an email.
You know, over the years, I've had occasion to contact various elected officials about various things. I've contacted three Senators, two Representatives, and numerous state delegates and state senators.
Funny thing, Thelma Drake is the only one from I never even received so much as a form letter -- or even a form email, for that matter.
Go figure.
If you would like to get more frequent email updates from my office, please click here to subscribe.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this update.
All my best,
Thelma
You're very welcome, Thelma. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to show some people what your message truly is, and in your own words.
With best wishes for a happy private life starting in January,
Anthony
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
My Article Now in Print:
Very exciting stuff -- I've got an article in the current issue of the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography.
My abstract can be found here.
Everyone go buy a copy and read it! :)
My abstract can be found here.
Everyone go buy a copy and read it! :)
Monday, July 07, 2008
Baby's Third Word, and Cruising Around Corners:
Lilja's gotten the hang of "dada" and "mama," there's no doubt about that. Precisely when she started making the association we're not quite sure, but it's been a little while.
She's also been working a third word into her vocabulary over the last week or so:
Nein.
She's also quite clear on when it should be used. If she wants a bite of what you're eating, and you offer her something else, say, what she's eating, or a Cheerio or something, she knows what's what. "Neineineineineinein."
If, as right now, you're trying to put her to bed and she's not quite sure she's ready for bed, "Neineineineinein" (I actually have the baby monitor on so I can listen to this little show, an admission for which Iris would be justified in going upside my head when she comes downstairs).
In other baby-related news, in the seven hours (!) it took me to get to and from a meeting this evening, Lilja figured out how to cruise around the corner of the coffee table. Previously, when she got to the end of the table, she'd either drop and crawl around the corner before standing and continuing to cruise, or would reach out to whomever was nearest to help her around the corner.
Tonight, when I came into the family room, she looked at me, grinned, and walked away. "Well, that's a great greeting!" "Just watch. She's showing off."
Indeed she was. She hit the corner, paused, looked straight at me, grinned her toothy, mischievous grin, and very casually, but also somewhat gingerly went 'round the corner and kept cruising.
She pounded on the table delightedly when we burst into applause. Damn, but she's cute!
She's also been working a third word into her vocabulary over the last week or so:
Nein.
She's also quite clear on when it should be used. If she wants a bite of what you're eating, and you offer her something else, say, what she's eating, or a Cheerio or something, she knows what's what. "Neineineineineinein."
If, as right now, you're trying to put her to bed and she's not quite sure she's ready for bed, "Neineineineinein" (I actually have the baby monitor on so I can listen to this little show, an admission for which Iris would be justified in going upside my head when she comes downstairs).
In other baby-related news, in the seven hours (!) it took me to get to and from a meeting this evening, Lilja figured out how to cruise around the corner of the coffee table. Previously, when she got to the end of the table, she'd either drop and crawl around the corner before standing and continuing to cruise, or would reach out to whomever was nearest to help her around the corner.
Tonight, when I came into the family room, she looked at me, grinned, and walked away. "Well, that's a great greeting!" "Just watch. She's showing off."
Indeed she was. She hit the corner, paused, looked straight at me, grinned her toothy, mischievous grin, and very casually, but also somewhat gingerly went 'round the corner and kept cruising.
She pounded on the table delightedly when we burst into applause. Damn, but she's cute!
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Travels Through Virginia 2:
- It's a lot of fun for me to see peculiarly German-heavy menus in restaurants over here. Take the Capital Ale House, for example. Want a curry wurst? You've got it. A true "Bavarian" pretzel? Yours -- and you can even get it stuffed with a wurst. Scan down the menu, find a dish involving your favorite German sausage, then cheek the beer list and pair it off with the right beer. It's actually pretty cool.
- Cally's in Harrisonburg is another "oh so German it kind of hurts aua" restaurant. The beer menu has a fairly nice selection, which I enjoyed sampling over lunch on Wednesday. The Koelsch I had no use for whatsoever, but then again, I already know that I hate Koelsch. The Downtown Amber was adequate, but not great, but the Munich Lager (very malty), Belgian White and Smokin' Scottish, in increasing order of preference, were fantastic. Very good stuff, particularly the last.
- Now for a (hopefully epic) gripe: It's all well and good to have an AM radio station devoted to giving drivers traffic updates on the major thoroughfares in Hampton Roads, but can someone please find a way to boost the signal strength? It doesn't do much good to have the station if you can always locate the nearest tower simply by passing a tractor-trailer and seeing whether the signal fades even more; even at it's best, the signal is about 85% static.
Not only that, but could someone at VDOT get eyes on all of the major choke points? On Thursday, at around 2 pm, we were bombing through Hampton on the way back to Virginia Beach. I had the useless AM update on, and listened to it four times through. There were updates for 64W, 264 in both directions, 58W, and 664N. Note the omissions: 64E and 664S.
So we head on towards the tunnel, thinking we'll be ok, when we round a bend and ... come to a dead stop at LaSalle Avenue, a bit over 5 miles out from the tunnel. I mean a dead STOP. It took an hour to get to the next exit, so that we could get off, turn around, and try 664.
664 was moving nicely, until we get bout 4.5 miles out from the tunnel, when we slam down to a near-stop. It was stop-and-go for a while, but unlike the corresponding route on 64, there was an element of 'go.' Still don't know the cause of this one; the stoppage at the 64 tunnel was a broken-down vehicle inside the tube that somehow managed to block both lanes (good going, dude).
Nor were we in the clear once we crossed the James River. We looped around to the end of 64, and hopped back on that route headed west through Suffolk and Chesapeake. The high-rise drawbridge over the southern branch of the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake? Breakdown on the bridge, left lane blocked.
Got past that one, only to spot the mobile traffic alert signs posted at the side of the interstate, advertising an accident 64W at Indian River Road. Our exit. Three left lanes blocked. Fantastic. So we got off onto the secondary roads, since we were close enough by now that I could do so with confidence. It took some time from there, of course, what with a few dozen traffic lights to negotiate and all, and God only knows how many thousands of extra "holiday weekend" travelers.
There was a light note, finally. It wasn't the pissed-off hungry baby in the backseat who, much to my surprise, had been confined to her carseat for four hours plus by this point (and all for a two-hour drive -- go figure); we did manage to get her fed, fortunately, and she calmed down. It was the flock of Canada geese that brought traffic across all three lanes of Greenbrier Parkway South to a dead standstill when they decided to take a casual stroll across the road. At least I was the lead car in my lane for that one, so I got to see and appreciate and laugh at what was going on; I may not have been so jolly about it were I four cars back wondering what the #$%^ was going on now.
The byline for the last leg of our drive: what should have been 21 miles turned into 3h20m. I didn't think to check the odometer to get a glance at the mileage of the actual route, but I know it was at least double when all was said and done -- not that that helps much.
So please, VDOT, get a better transmitter, and get some accurate traffic information out there in a timely fashion. It may not have changed much, but if I'd have known how screwed I was in both directions, I'd have gotten off and hung out somewhere for a while, ridden it out (hey, I've done it on 95 before).
- Cally's in Harrisonburg is another "oh so German it kind of hurts aua" restaurant. The beer menu has a fairly nice selection, which I enjoyed sampling over lunch on Wednesday. The Koelsch I had no use for whatsoever, but then again, I already know that I hate Koelsch. The Downtown Amber was adequate, but not great, but the Munich Lager (very malty), Belgian White and Smokin' Scottish, in increasing order of preference, were fantastic. Very good stuff, particularly the last.
- Now for a (hopefully epic) gripe: It's all well and good to have an AM radio station devoted to giving drivers traffic updates on the major thoroughfares in Hampton Roads, but can someone please find a way to boost the signal strength? It doesn't do much good to have the station if you can always locate the nearest tower simply by passing a tractor-trailer and seeing whether the signal fades even more; even at it's best, the signal is about 85% static.
Not only that, but could someone at VDOT get eyes on all of the major choke points? On Thursday, at around 2 pm, we were bombing through Hampton on the way back to Virginia Beach. I had the useless AM update on, and listened to it four times through. There were updates for 64W, 264 in both directions, 58W, and 664N. Note the omissions: 64E and 664S.
So we head on towards the tunnel, thinking we'll be ok, when we round a bend and ... come to a dead stop at LaSalle Avenue, a bit over 5 miles out from the tunnel. I mean a dead STOP. It took an hour to get to the next exit, so that we could get off, turn around, and try 664.
664 was moving nicely, until we get bout 4.5 miles out from the tunnel, when we slam down to a near-stop. It was stop-and-go for a while, but unlike the corresponding route on 64, there was an element of 'go.' Still don't know the cause of this one; the stoppage at the 64 tunnel was a broken-down vehicle inside the tube that somehow managed to block both lanes (good going, dude).
Nor were we in the clear once we crossed the James River. We looped around to the end of 64, and hopped back on that route headed west through Suffolk and Chesapeake. The high-rise drawbridge over the southern branch of the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake? Breakdown on the bridge, left lane blocked.
Got past that one, only to spot the mobile traffic alert signs posted at the side of the interstate, advertising an accident 64W at Indian River Road. Our exit. Three left lanes blocked. Fantastic. So we got off onto the secondary roads, since we were close enough by now that I could do so with confidence. It took some time from there, of course, what with a few dozen traffic lights to negotiate and all, and God only knows how many thousands of extra "holiday weekend" travelers.
There was a light note, finally. It wasn't the pissed-off hungry baby in the backseat who, much to my surprise, had been confined to her carseat for four hours plus by this point (and all for a two-hour drive -- go figure); we did manage to get her fed, fortunately, and she calmed down. It was the flock of Canada geese that brought traffic across all three lanes of Greenbrier Parkway South to a dead standstill when they decided to take a casual stroll across the road. At least I was the lead car in my lane for that one, so I got to see and appreciate and laugh at what was going on; I may not have been so jolly about it were I four cars back wondering what the #$%^ was going on now.
The byline for the last leg of our drive: what should have been 21 miles turned into 3h20m. I didn't think to check the odometer to get a glance at the mileage of the actual route, but I know it was at least double when all was said and done -- not that that helps much.
So please, VDOT, get a better transmitter, and get some accurate traffic information out there in a timely fashion. It may not have changed much, but if I'd have known how screwed I was in both directions, I'd have gotten off and hung out somewhere for a while, ridden it out (hey, I've done it on 95 before).
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Travels Through Virginia:
In the past two weeks, I've put almost 1000 miles on my car, and will have topped that by the time I get back home later today. Not bad for never leaving the state, eh? I've also seen some interesting things that I'd never seen or thought about before.
- I saw a truly funny personalized license plate yesterday in Harrisonburg: GOT MKAY. I turned back to the car to get the camera (seriously), but GOT MKAY had things to do, it seems, and had pulled out of the space by the time I was back. While I realize that this is probably a Mary Kay advertisement on the front and back of their vehicle, I prefer to think of it as reading "GOT MMMMMKAY?", preferably said with a Mr. Mackey-style intonation.
- Harrisonburg is a metropolitan area. Who would have known? I didn't, that's for sure, and was somewhat taken aback to hear it. It's also a much prettier town than I remember, heart of downtown excepted, and is undergoing quite the construction boom.
- Speaking of construction booms, Richmond is a lot longer than I remember. Short Pump now extends a couple of miles up 250 further than it did the last time I was here. Literally, a couple of miles of new development along 250 have sprung up in the less-than eighteen months between my visits to Richmond. Quite impressive, though I wonder if the long-term investment will be worth it, once some necessary infrastructural changes work their way into the system. Time will tell.
- Despite the change, once you finally do kick that one foot out of Richmond metro heading west on 250, there is nothing, and I mean nothing around you. Quite serene.
- Pound for pound, I'll rank Richmond's downtown business/government area as among the most difficult to navigate. I won't call it the worst, by any means, but pound for pound, it's up there.
- The county bird of Greensville County, if there is such a thing, should be the mosquito.
- I should get back to places like Natural Bridge and Luray Caverns. It's been quite a while.
- It's still strange for me to drive west on I-64 past 118B. I always smile when I hit that particular clearing between the halves of the interstate around 120-121. If you've made that drive more than a couple of times, you know exactly what patch of road I mean.
- No fog on Afton Mountain. Yay!
- Finally, what the hell is with pancake houses in Williamsburg? Do they breed? I'm not asking entirely facetiously, either. We hopped off of 64 onto 60 on the way up to Richmond the other day, mostly because I wanted to grab a slice at Dino's Pizzeria (best in the state), only to find out that they're closed Mondays. D'oh.
We decided that, rather than immediately getting back on the interstate, we'd stick on 60 and take the scenic route. About 1/4 mile into Williamsburg, I started gradually becoming aware of an inordinate number of pancake houses along the sides of the highway; by about 1/2 mile into the city I was flummoxed by their sheer numbers. All I could see after a while were pancake houses, whether claiming colonial origin or claiming lineage from an "Aunt" of some sort. I think that the most I saw were three consecutive, but there must have been two dozen in a 2.5-mile stretch, including a lone IHOP among all of its local competitors. Can anyone help me out here? What the hell is with pancake houses in Williamsburg?
- I saw a truly funny personalized license plate yesterday in Harrisonburg: GOT MKAY. I turned back to the car to get the camera (seriously), but GOT MKAY had things to do, it seems, and had pulled out of the space by the time I was back. While I realize that this is probably a Mary Kay advertisement on the front and back of their vehicle, I prefer to think of it as reading "GOT MMMMMKAY?", preferably said with a Mr. Mackey-style intonation.
- Harrisonburg is a metropolitan area. Who would have known? I didn't, that's for sure, and was somewhat taken aback to hear it. It's also a much prettier town than I remember, heart of downtown excepted, and is undergoing quite the construction boom.
- Speaking of construction booms, Richmond is a lot longer than I remember. Short Pump now extends a couple of miles up 250 further than it did the last time I was here. Literally, a couple of miles of new development along 250 have sprung up in the less-than eighteen months between my visits to Richmond. Quite impressive, though I wonder if the long-term investment will be worth it, once some necessary infrastructural changes work their way into the system. Time will tell.
- Despite the change, once you finally do kick that one foot out of Richmond metro heading west on 250, there is nothing, and I mean nothing around you. Quite serene.
- Pound for pound, I'll rank Richmond's downtown business/government area as among the most difficult to navigate. I won't call it the worst, by any means, but pound for pound, it's up there.
- The county bird of Greensville County, if there is such a thing, should be the mosquito.
- I should get back to places like Natural Bridge and Luray Caverns. It's been quite a while.
- It's still strange for me to drive west on I-64 past 118B. I always smile when I hit that particular clearing between the halves of the interstate around 120-121. If you've made that drive more than a couple of times, you know exactly what patch of road I mean.
- No fog on Afton Mountain. Yay!
- Finally, what the hell is with pancake houses in Williamsburg? Do they breed? I'm not asking entirely facetiously, either. We hopped off of 64 onto 60 on the way up to Richmond the other day, mostly because I wanted to grab a slice at Dino's Pizzeria (best in the state), only to find out that they're closed Mondays. D'oh.
We decided that, rather than immediately getting back on the interstate, we'd stick on 60 and take the scenic route. About 1/4 mile into Williamsburg, I started gradually becoming aware of an inordinate number of pancake houses along the sides of the highway; by about 1/2 mile into the city I was flummoxed by their sheer numbers. All I could see after a while were pancake houses, whether claiming colonial origin or claiming lineage from an "Aunt" of some sort. I think that the most I saw were three consecutive, but there must have been two dozen in a 2.5-mile stretch, including a lone IHOP among all of its local competitors. Can anyone help me out here? What the hell is with pancake houses in Williamsburg?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
