Tag: d.c.

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Presidential Inauguration

The Presidential Inauguration of Barak Obama on January 20th is expected to be a huge event, eclipsing the previous largest ever turnout since Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 inauguration with 1.2 million people. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty says up to 4 million people could converge on downtown Washington for the inauguration, although the Secret Service says that it expects 2 million people.

Screenings

Every one of the 240,000 people attending the actual swearing-in ceremony will be screened by walk-through or hand-held metal detectors. Beyond the obvious weapons not allowed, you also will not be allowed to bring:

  • Sticks or poles
  • Pockets or hand tools, such as “Leatherman”
  • Packages
  • Backpacks
  • Large bags
  • Duffel bags
  • Suitcases
  • Thermoses
  • Coolers
  • Strollers
  • Umbrellas
  • Tripods and camera bags
  • Laser pointers
  • Signs
  • Posters
  • Animals (other than service animals)
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Other items as determined by and at the discretion of the security screener

So while you might have thought it would be funny to point a laser pointer at the presidential motorcade, it will not be allowed.

It is likely to be so crowded that you won’t want to bring much with you besides your cellphone and camera.

Cellphones

Cellular carriers are adding capacity with temporary towers along the parade route. Still, with an unknown number of visitors, there is concern that the network will be overloaded.

One suggestion is to use text messages if your calls are not going through. These take up very little bandwidth and should work more easily.

Emergency responders and 911 calls will be given priority so those calls should be able to get through.

Getting to the event

All N. Va bridges will be closed to cars. You can walk or bike the bridges.

D.C. will be mostly shut down to traffic.

News

The Washington Post has an Inauguration Central website that includes:

  • A live webcam that is focused on the U.S. Capitol to show the construction of the Inaugural stage.
  • An FAQs section that gives users valuable information about ticket availability, transportation, ceremony timing and parade information, providing a sense of what to expect during in the weeks leading up to the Inauguration.
  • A downloadable map of the parade route with the most updated road closures in the area.
  • A calendar of Inaugural parties and events happening during Inauguration Week.
  • Quizzes, polls and discussion threads which give users a chance to test their inaugural knowledge.
  • A visitors guide which includes an interactive map of attractions on The Mall, suggestions on planning a trip to D.C. and advice on where to get lunch post-inauguration.
  • A section that features inauguration history, including a slideshow that provides a look at past inaugurations.

Inauguration Pop-up

One of favorite items to commemorate the inauguration is a pop-up picture of the event that you can print out and make yourself. This low-tech print out might not be like attending the real thing, but it will certainly be more comfortable.

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Computer Recycling in the D.C. Area

While we are shopping for the holidays, we should remember to recycle our old electronics. This article covers recycling information and locations for the Virginia, D.C., and Maryland area.

Dangers of Computer Waste

Old computers and monitors have harmful materials that can seep into the ground water and air if thrown in your normal trash. The cadmium and mercury in displays can damage the nervous system. Computers also may contain lead (causing birth defects and learning disabilities) and CFCs (destroying the ozone layer).

Donations

If you have a working computer, you can get rid of it through:

  1. Craigslist (Washington D.C. metro area) has sections for selling or giving away free stuff.
  2. Freecycle is a free program to give people items for reuse. They have groups everywhere, including, Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.
  3. D.C. Goodwill accepts computers that are not more than 5 years old. They will not take CRT monitors, the older large monitors that have been replaced by LCDs.

Recycling Computers and eWaste

The easiest way to recycle an old computer is to do it with the purchase of a new computer. Apple, Dell, HP, Sony, Toshiba and others have a corporate recycling program that allows you to give them your old computer after buying your new computer.

This image shows the Free Recycling Kit option that Dell provides in their services customization when you buy a new computer.

Drop-off Locations for Computers and other eWaste

The EPA eCycling site is the closest thing to a definitive set of inks to eCycling programs across the country. Below are the best links I found to the D.C. area programs:

Washington D.C.

DC Free Electronic Disposal Sites:
DPW (Department of Public Works) offers free, weekly Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and electronic recycling (e-cycling) drop-off service at the Benning Road Trash Transfer Station, 3200 Benning Road, NE, and at the Ft. Totten Trash Transfer Station, 4900 Bates Road, NE, each Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm.

Virginia

Arlington, VA HAZMAT Program:
Arlington residential households can recycle computers and other electronic items at the County’s HHM drop off sites.

Virginia Department of Environment Computers and Electronics Recycling, List of Virginia Collections Centers

Maryland

Maryland Department of Environment Electronic Recycling Collection Events and Locations:
Montgomery Country Shady Grove Transfer Station and Recycling Center

Ink Cartridges

Ink cartridges can be dropped off at Micro Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Office supply stores such as Staples, Office Max, and Office Depot take used toner cartridges and sometimes even give you credit toward a store purchase for dropping them off.

Cell Phones

Cell phones can be dropped off at cell phone stores. Working phones can also be donated to women’s shelters. Unactivated phones still have the ability to call 911 so they can be useful.

Recycling Can Be Easy

With many recycling options, you can easily dispose of your electronics safely.

Please let us know if you have any corrections or additions to this post.

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IT Conference for Intelligence Community

The Washington Post writes Even Spies Go to Trade Conferences about yesterday’s Open Source Conference 2008 organized by the DNI (Director of National Intelligence) at Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Building. The “open source” here does not refer to open source code for developers, but to open sourcing of intelligence by using the Internet and other publicly available sources to gather information.

Unlike Cold War-era spies, intelligence analysts and government policymakers can no longer rely primarily on cloak-and-dagger operations to keep track of global threats. Now, like businesses and other organizations, they’re increasingly turning to the torrents of information available on the Internet and through other non-classified sources.

Booz Allen Hamilton offered a service called InTrack to help collect, monitor and process data collected from the Internet and other sources. LexisNexis promoted a system for sending automated warnings of trouble abroad. There were companies selling translation systems, Web search tools and data-mining supercomputers. One of the more popular booths was Google’s.

The Google booth displayed a high-definition video of a virtual car driving through an exact digital representation of San Francisco — streets, buildings and all. But Google exhibitors said they were not allowed to tell a reporter why the company was there or what it did for intelligence or anything else.

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Where to buy electronics

While Best Buy may be popular for electronics, they are rarely the best buy. Their staff is known to make up answers. Their online prices are not as good as other Internet stores. And their in-store prices are often higher than their online prices, despite what their in-store website shows. Their Geek Squad is poorly trained and could try to take a video of you taking a shower. So instead of driving to Best Buy, first look around online.

Amazon has decent prices, but is also just a good place to shop around for what you want. Between Amazon and Amazon’s third party sellers, their selection is huge and their reviews can help you figure out what is best for you.

Newegg has long been a favorite electronics seller because of their great prices. They are usually one of the first places I visit. They sell lots of electronics, computers, computer parts, accessories, and software.

Cables, such as HDMI cables for HD TVs, are a huge rip-off in most retail stores. Best Buy and Circuit City will charge $40-$100 for a cable that is no better than a $5 cable from MonoPrice. MonoPrice’s cables are so cheap that you might suspect that they’re selling stolen goods. But MonoPrice has been around since 2002 selling quality cables and parts for their real price.

Although their site is not as attractive as MonoPrice’s, Blue Jeans Cable also offers a good deal on cables, especially if you need something special that is custom made.

While their prices aren’t the most competitive, Crutchfield offers a comprehensive site for home theater equipment. Their phone sales people are also knowledgeable.

There are times when you need a real physical store. For example, laptops have different “feels” and are good to play with before purchasing. Luckily, in the D.C. area, we have a great store for electronics.

Micro Center, with 21 stores nationwide, has a store here in Fairfax, Virginia. They have good prices and a wide selection of computer equipment and software. They have a television section for large LCDs and Plasmas. Unique today, they have a section just for selling Apple products. Micro Center is great for geeks too because they sell everything you need to build a computer from the ground up. MicroCenter also has a bookstore and a game section for PC and console gaming.

Micro Center‘s employees are generally quite knowledgeable, especially compared to those at Best Buy. They make money on sales commissions by putting a sticker on items that they help you to find. On checkout, those stickers are scanned for comissions.

If you’re shopping specifically for an Apple product or accessory, Apple’s retail stores are great and have an intelligent staff. Since Apple keeps prices the same everywhere, you won’t feel ripped off shopping there. There are only a few ways to get prices slightly better than the standard list price from Apple. You can get an Educational or Government discount from Apple. Or you can go to a third-party seller that might offer a small discount or combo package that Apple does not have. Amazon is the best of the third-party sellers now. They offer $100-$150 off of most current iMacs.

Although Best Buy is ubiquotus, there are many better alternatives. Give some of these other electronics stores a try.