photo by eschapp
Entering their fourth season at Nationals Park in Southeast DC, the Washington Nationals are in search of two things that have eluded them in that short time: a winning team and a consistently sold out ballpark. The team is making major moves to assure that happens in 2011 both on the field and off.
This week the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship began. It’s an annual rite of passage from winter to spring. This year 68 teams were invited to what’s lovingly called “The Big Dance”, up from 65 in recent years. This move allowed more “underdog” teams with hyphenated names (UNC-Asheville, UT-San Antonio) to have their moment in the sun. And it’s those underdog teams that provides one of the driving forces that compels fans of the game to watch. Bernard Johnson says it’s all about the drama of the highly ranked teams from the well known conferences taking on the little guys.
Metro’s problems have been well documented in past few years. From the fatal crash on the Red Line in 2009, to a $72 million dollar budget shortfall, to price hikes. But probably the biggest nuisance issue that riders see on a day to day basis are escalator problems.
If you haven’t caught on by now – I’m a TV news producer who works overnights. That means that on a good day – I’m asleep by 2 pm and out the door for work by 10:45pm. On a good day. Factor in lunch dates with my girlfriend, being so tired I CAN’T fall asleep, catching up on Californication, or any other good excuse to spend quality time awake when other people are – and sleep can go out the window. If I take “recent health studies” that us TV news folks love to talk about seriously – I’ll probably be dead soon.
In the world of A/V – good video can make up for sub par audio. In the strictly audio world (radio, podcast, etc.) – bad audio means you are screwed. Literally, you could have the most groundbreaking, world peace initiating, orgasmic interview or natural sound of all time – and if I can’t make out what it is – it didn’t happen.
I’m slowly becoming an Apple guy. I was never big into Apple because it seemed like a cult to me. Brainwashed masses creepily waiting for Steve Jobs (and that creepy early ’90s mock turtle neck tucked into jeans look) to unveil the latest version of a gadget that he just introduced 6 months ago. I’ve always thought of myself as a tech snob – always wanting the latest stuff (no – I never even gave the Zune a second thought), but I always had friends that bought it – so I didn’t have to. I’ve always had access to iPods, iPhones, iPads, Wiis, PS3s, XBOX360s, not to mention the latest TV and stereo technology.
