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April 29, 2005
DC real estate insanity
I live in a rapidly changing (I'm not comfortable with the term gentrification) neighborhood in NW DC between 5th and 6th Streets on T. 'Round here there are still crackheads and crackwhores, and the other day I pointed out a trail of blood to a friend as we walked to brunch, a trail likely left the night before due to an unfortunate deal on a corner known for drug trafficking, a mere 3 blocks from where I live.
The real estate situation here is insane...that is if you are not already a homeowner. My 'hood is historically an upper-middle class African-American neighborhood. The upper middle class African-American neighbors across the street just sold their detached victorian-style home with driveway and guest house for, get this: $1.625 Million! Madness.
Granted, it's 3 floors, about the size of the Addams Family estate, and includes a guest house in back with two 2-bedroom spaces. For more insight on my changing neighborhood, check out the In Shaw (Now With More Gentrification) blog.
Darth Vader's Blog - actually quite well-written for a Sith Lord. "Hold on. I need a death-stick. I am back. Where was I? Oh yes, Obi-wan..."
Cinema Owners Seek to Curb Phone Rage - "While many felt teenagers were the worst offenders, Mackenzie said they were the most cooperative about turning phones off." An interesting observation about new tech and how people deal with it.
More on the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker from the Post - "This bird has materialized miraculously out of the past but is also a symbol of the future," said Steve McCormick, president of the Nature Conservancy. Remarkably positve rhetoric from an environmental leader. Usually it's more like "The sky is falling!" In movements, positive statements usually work better. MLK never said, "I have a nightmare!"
Wierd Excuses for Calling in Sick - today my truthful excuse is, "Emerald snot nodules are flowing from my nose and throat." I had a coworker that had to call in saying, "My emus got loose!" And it was the truth. Later I asked if any had been hit by a car, as I was told emu steaks are low-fat and rather tasty. And from the same site, I learn why I'm always so hot at work. And I'm talkin' temperature, not my productivity or the intelligent curve of my behind.
As I blog from home and look out the window, our sidewalks along T and 6th are being nicely redone by a very handsome, short, square-jawed latino bricklayer with salt-and-pepper scruff and a nice haircut. He's wearing kneepads, reflective safety vest, and a hardhat, and has a tendency to swagger down the sidewalk, making his tight butt swagger nicely as well.
Posted by jimbo at April 29, 2005 3:01 PM
Comments
The real estate in DC and surounding metro area is insane. For the price Rob & I paid for our house in Baltimore, would not even buy a crack den made out of cardboard in DC.
People who still have their cell phone on or use it during the middle of a movie should be beaten. There is no excuse why you need to talk on the phone. Its worse than that one person who needs to make comments or talk back to the screen.
If you are on call, like a Doctor, or a Police officer, you should have it on vibrate. Other wise shut it off.
Posted by: Dax at April 29, 2005 1:05 PM
And he even wore kneepads. How thoughtful and convenient of him!! LOL
Posted by: wyocwby at April 29, 2005 1:55 PM
Get that camera out for the bricklayer!
Posted by: bmw at April 30, 2005 2:26 PM
I think DC is especially bad since a lot of the surrounding communities make it a policy to zone for lots of commercial lots (very profitable as far as property taxes, etc.), while only allowing a very limited amount of residential development. The net result is that people end up either crowding into the city and paying huge sums for housing, or buying a lovely, (relatively) affordable house in southern Penna. or WV some place like that, and then having 2-hour (1-way!) commutes. I think the solution is to change the commercial/residential tax structure so it becomes more profitable to create more residential housing (and less profitable to build office buildings and the like).
Posted by: Peter at May 2, 2005 12:31 AM
Did you see the series of articles in the Post about housing in this area recently? One noted that housing costs (buying and renting) are so high that they outstrip inflation and cost of living increases, so the area just gets more and more unaffordable. The other one was to the effect that even homeowners in the DC area can't really sell their places to move past their "starter homes" because, whatever the profit they make off the sale, they end up not being to afford the mortgage of a larger place. It's so expensive that "buying up" is almost impossible.
Posted by: Dennis! at May 2, 2005 4:04 PM
For $1.6 million in New York, you can either get a large pile of collapsed bricks, or a rat- and roach-filled shithole.
But it is ILLEGAL now to receive or make mobile phone calls at the movies.
Posted by: Eric at May 2, 2005 5:02 PM
Regarding Cell Phones
Posted by: schitzo at May 5, 2005 4:19 PM