tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652510142949478452024-02-19T10:27:36.017-05:00Down On The FarmLife, longing and lunacy experienced in and around HAYFIELD FARM, my Northern Virginia neighborhood.
OR, just random stuff that I found on the web and liked enough to re-post here. You decide which...drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-10840745767520614982013-08-31T18:43:00.000-04:002013-09-02T21:53:27.646-04:00Missing Your Child...And Your Past
It's been eight days since that first tiny, yet natural, "fracturing" of our family took place. My wife, youngest son Ben and I drove the 40+ miles south to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to move our oldest son Josh into his freshman dorm at the University of Mary Washington. We know this needs to happen, that this should happen, and we're truly excited for Josh -- but that doesn't make the "drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-46674311387638315132013-06-28T13:03:00.005-04:002013-06-28T13:03:42.030-04:00Mourning At Work
Feeling just a little sad today -- it is the final day in the office for two co-workers who I've worked with on various projects over the past several years. They have chosen to move on for better or more lucrative opportunities, and they deserve nothing but success wherever they land, because they have proven themselves to be shrewdly talented and dogged pursuers of progress in each of their drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-9207054371722880062013-05-18T19:32:00.000-04:002013-06-02T18:40:23.201-04:00Star Trek Into Darkness -- WOW. And again, just...WOW.
I was quite fortunate on two counts this afternoon -- not only did I get to catch a matinee showing (in 3D!) of Star Trek Into Darkness, but I was able to see it with my teenage sons, with whom I rarely get to enjoy a movie with anymore.
I will likely have more to say about Star Trek Into Darkness (STID) as time goes on, but right now I need to let the experience sink in. And boy, was it drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-92039263685557711622013-05-16T12:13:00.001-04:002013-05-16T12:13:36.432-04:00Local Used Book Store Closed, Victim of eBooksBook Rack to Close for Good Saturday - Kingstowne-Rose Hill, VA Patch
This is what happens when you don't blog regularly, and routinely seek out local news. The Book Rack was a book store that sold second-hand paperbacks and hardbacks in a nearby shopping plaza, that closed at the end of Feburary 2013 -- a victim of all of the iPads and Android tablets that showed up under Christmas trees at thedrakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-47782642295350710092013-05-13T14:29:00.001-04:002013-05-13T14:31:07.934-04:00Springfield Town Center -- Not A "Reston Town Center"The nearby transformation of the former Springfield Mall into Springfield Town Center (STC) is discussed and highlighted in this brief but very informative video. I thought all along that the STC redevelopment would be a series of redesigned "blocks" comprising a network of sidewalks, streets and plazas interconnecting among the existing anchor stores and newer, smaller retail tenants (not unlikedrakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-78677600917503925132013-05-13T13:52:00.003-04:002013-05-13T13:52:53.209-04:00Jack Diamond Exits MIX 107.3...Apparently, for Good
In a surprise move, WRQX-FM booted ultra-popular morning drive host Jack Diamond from their daily lineup a couple weeks ago, and replaced him with "The Bert Show," syndicated from Atlanta. Twenty plus years ago when my wife and I first married and commuted into Alexandria city together from our Kingstowne home, we listened to Jack and Bert on the drive, who were a pretty successful team back drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-5877642062766328562013-05-13T10:50:00.001-04:002013-05-13T10:51:16.466-04:00And So ENDED The Great Basement Den Renovation (Like 10 Months Ago)
Yes, it's a sad state of affairs when you check into your blog stats and realize that A) it's been one year and a day since you last posted, and B) that you last posted about basement renovations. I mean, seriously...yawn. Anyway, for the one or two folks who might accidentally stumble across this blog and potentially tear their hair out over the renovation "cliffhanger" I posted a year agodrakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-2071621556319612822012-05-12T09:48:00.001-04:002013-05-13T10:51:36.301-04:00And So BEGINS The Great Basement Den Renovation
The basement den is the final room to be remodeled in the home we've lived in for 10 years. Here's the before state, with that horrid, dirty neutral white walls and the detestable "rose" carpet that came with our home. Additional pics will be added as we progress, with the new "Monroe Bisque" (that's fancy-pants for "tan") paint to be finished tomorrow, of the new berber carpeting being drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-88721721872469918052012-02-03T13:05:00.000-05:002012-02-12T16:09:25.296-05:00Too Much Positive Reinforcement Produces Negative ResultsSo, I was just reading about a local church whose education director chooses to "honor" those Sunday school students who have perfect attendance for a given quarter at each of that church's Sunday services at the end of the quarter. Any student who has perfect attendance for any or all quarters is "honored" in June with a special "banana (wait for it...) sunday" celebration. When did Sunday drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-71972354698114725292012-02-03T11:00:00.000-05:002012-02-02T13:29:21.341-05:00Android Through the Years: One User's Perspective
From Cupcake To Ice Cream Sandwich: My Android Journey - AndroidPIT
Interesting look-back at one user's journey with every flavor of the Android mobile OS since the start...drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-18715837384424734032012-02-02T11:51:00.001-05:002012-02-02T12:03:32.222-05:00Weggy's Is On The Way...And So Is The Traffic
Construction Begins on Wegmans Site - Kingstowne, VA Patch
Will it be nice having a Wegman's nearby? Heck, yeah. Do I want it to be situated within a one mile radius of my home, on a narrow, two-way road that's routinely traffic-choked now with the extra personnel going to and coming from Fort Belvoir because of BRAC? Hell-to-the-NO, or at least not yet.
The lot excavation has indeed begun drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-83438204024617589882012-02-01T09:14:00.000-05:002012-02-01T09:14:12.755-05:00Franconia District's Most Dangerous IntersectionsFranconia District's Most Dangerous Intersections - Rose Hill, VA Patch
Yep, the intersections highlighted in this article are probably the worst in the area, but I think Kingstowne Boulevard / Kingstowne Village Parkway intersection also needs to be added to that list after the events of this past weekend...drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-71651838415691006132012-01-31T16:09:00.003-05:002012-02-02T12:01:51.835-05:00If You Value Your Life, WAIT for The Traffic Light To Turn At This Kingstowne Intersection
Police Release Name of Woman Killed in Crash - Kingstowne, VA Patch
I have often remarked to others riding with me in the car, when waiting to turn onto Kingstowne Village Parkway from Kingstowne Boulevard as depicted at the intersection pictured at left, that somebody was going to get killed one of these days trying to do so. If you're in the left turning lane, you are almost perfectly lineddrakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-3109128216219499912012-01-31T15:46:00.003-05:002012-02-02T12:04:00.347-05:00Ah, Facebook, How Do I Hate Thee? Let Me Count The Ways
Out of all of the pages and sites out there on the internet dedicated to sliming, vilifying, or otherwise denigrating Bragbook, THIS is the page that reigns champion over them all. It is a must-read -- I'm still leaking tears from laughing so hard...drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-29450920961204338902012-01-26T17:34:00.002-05:002012-02-02T12:01:26.847-05:00"...THY WILL Be Done, On Earth As It Is In Heaven."
I subscribe to a couple email-based prayer chains, one for a church that I used to attend a decade ago, another for one I currently attend. I am amazed at the sheer volume of prayer requests that some folks put forth some days, prompting me to ask myself, "am I not praying about every little trouble in my life enough?"
Even more interesting is the quality of the prayer requests -- more drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-61776843330101174342012-01-10T17:09:00.003-05:002012-01-10T17:12:01.233-05:00Welcome, 2012
New year...New attitude...
And not necessarily mine, either.drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-81624679163860308832011-09-11T12:00:00.000-04:002012-02-02T12:01:01.006-05:00I Couldn't FAKE A Better Writing Prompt...
During our family vacation to Corolla, North Carolina on that state's Outer Banks several weeks ago, I was chilling in my beach chair next to my wife, on the beach, about midday in the middle of vacation week, when a gentleman who looked to be in his early to mid 50s appeared at the top of the staircase that traverses the beach dune, carrying a beach chair and a duffel bag.
He descended the drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-72936490878412464202011-08-25T20:41:00.000-04:002011-08-25T20:42:57.386-04:00Godspeed and Good Health, Steve Jobs...
Steve Jobs resigned as Apple's CEO yesterday, although he will remain as the company's Chairman of the Board. My thinking is that Mr. Jobs had to make some critical choices regarding the quality of his remaining days, given that he's struggled with pancreatic cancer for the past several years -- cancer that has very likely taken a turn for the worse. My thoughts and prayers go out to Jobs and drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-38975281557793261762011-08-11T18:39:00.001-04:002011-08-11T18:42:59.631-04:00WP Comes 'Round to Profile The Farm!Where We Live: Hayfield Farm, tucked between the fort and the woods
A nice, light and fluffy slice of writing from our friends at the Washington Post, who seem to come around every 5-10 years to profile The Farm. Comments on the story are humorous, ranging from original owners complaining that they didn't get interviewed (instead of newer settlers on The Farm), and a couple proofreading drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-4857889312925916542011-08-05T16:34:00.001-04:002011-08-05T16:34:29.006-04:00I Love My iPad, But...Stop! It’s A Really Bad Time To Buy A Kindle | TechCrunch
There are studies out there arguing for and against eye strain on backlit screens -- my own experience on my iPad is that while I love to use the form factor for reading, my eyes do indeed get tired after reading the backlit iPad screen for more than a half hour at night.
I think at times that it would be nice to have a dedicateddrakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-14993472795137957872011-08-05T16:28:00.000-04:002011-08-05T11:42:37.138-04:00Delicious Irony
I do not suffer two-faced people nor those who demonstrate double-standards very well. Two weeks ago, two somewhat bitter (read that, hard-left) women in our neighborhood were vociferously and publicly exchanging complaints on Facebook that their originally-planned long beach weekends were cut short due to their respective spouses/friends having to be back home in time to report for work drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-20593973805300210502011-08-04T14:21:00.003-04:002011-08-04T14:27:00.721-04:00Serial Slashing? Seriously?
Video: Serial Slasher Strikes Again in Fair Oaks
This isn't quite as bad as the D.C. area sniper attacks from back in 2002, but incites a similar fear among innocent women wanting only to enjoy an incident-free shopping trip at the local malls here in Northern Virginia. Hopefully this sicko is caught sooner rather than later.
drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-8290755265616775242011-08-04T13:40:00.007-04:002011-08-04T15:49:12.701-04:00Beware the Enviro-NazisLatest shale gas assault: "A new front has been opened in the Obama Administration's war on shale gas and hydraulic fracturing" (from American Thinker blog)
What a shock. For the first time in literally decades, my hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania is experiencing economic growth from the influx of extra jobs and industry associated with the search for natural gas among the Marcellus drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-48920716996437126732011-07-31T15:26:00.002-04:002011-08-04T15:44:52.012-04:00Parroting Mommy and/or Daddy's Talking Points
Kids Say the Darndest Things: Blue State Edition - Don't you JUST want to pinch their cute little Marxist cheeks??drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-565251014294947845.post-75163495485421992892011-07-12T14:45:00.004-04:002011-08-04T15:28:28.772-04:00Permit Me This...
Hayfield Farm's Ben Lambert Breaks 32-Year Old NVSL Record
With a time of 22.59, Hayfield Farm's Ben Lambert smashed the NVSL record in the boys 13-14 50 yard freestyle, eclipsing the previous mark of 22.90 set by Jon Ballard of Tuckahoe way back in 1979. Ben's swim came on July 9, 2011 during Hayfield Farm's meet at Holmes Run Acres, one of the few remaining 25 yard pools in the NVSL. drakushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11087068957678535422noreply@blogger.com0