TheCapitol.netCoursesConvenience LearningCustom TrainingPublicationsFaculty & AuthorsClientsStoreClient Care

December 2005 Archives

« Previous Archive : Main : Next Archive »

Christmas Parkour

See a gap, jump it. See a rail, vault over it.

See a wall, climb it.

These are the instincts of traceurs, adoptees of a French-inspired sport called parkour that is part obstacle course, part pushing the limits of urban architectural functionality and all adrenaline-pumping excitement.

Where most people see walls and divisions, traceurs see opportunities for overcoming obstacles and barriers both physical and mental.

"For traceurs, walk in park is no picnic: Channeling Spiderman with adult discipline," by Athma Chansanchai, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 19, 2005

Le Parkour (also called Parkour, PK) is a physical discipline of French origin in which participants attempt to pass obstacles in a smooth and rapid manner.

Parkour is said to be l'art du déplacement, or the art of moving (from A to B), consisting of uninterrupted forward motion over, under, around and through obstacles (both man-made and natural) in one's environment. Such movement may come in the form of running, jumping, climbing and other more complicated techniques. The goal of the practice of parkour is to be able to adapt one's movement to any given situation so that any obstacle can be overcome with the human body's abilities.

. . .

Practitioners of parkour are known as traceurs, a term of French origin. The names free running and free runner have been very frequently adopted by the English language media as a result of their use in the television documentary Jump London.

"Parkour," from Wikipedia

Some Christmas Parkour videos

Some other Parkour videos

Technorati Tags: , ,

December 25, 2005 02:40 AM   Link    Comments (0)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC

The Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.


We're off until January, so no posts until 2006 ... Merry Christmas and Best of the Season to you.

December 24, 2005 09:34 AM   Link    Travel    Comments (0)

This Week in DC Reviews - December 23, 2005

Periodically, we will publish This Week in DC Reviews, a roundup of reviews of DC-area restaurants, with quick links to DC-area restaurant reviews and mentions from the previous seven days in blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

For a roundup of New York City restaurant reviews from NYC food bloggers and media, see This Week in NYC Reviews at A Guy In New York.

We're using a truncated format for TWIR this week. We'll be back with a regular TWIR on January 6, 2006.

Did we miss your favorite DC restaurant review?

Let us know: hobnobblog -at- gmail.com ... we're especially interested in hearing from DC bloggers ...

. . . . . . . . .


Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

December 23, 2005 02:06 PM   Link    Dining    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (3)

Influential Management Thinkers

The Thinkers 50 2005 provides a completely new ranking. Produced by Suntop Media in association with the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), it is the definitive bi-annual guide to which thinkers and ideas are in - and which have been consigned to business history.

The Thinkers 50

Here are the top 12:

  1. Michael Porter
  2. Bill Gates
  3. CK Prahalad
  4. Tom Peters
  5. Jack Welch
  6. Jim Collins
  7. Philip Kotler
  8. Henry Mintzberg
  9. Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale
  10. Charles Handy
  11. Richard Branson
  12. Scott Adams

Two of our favorites are on this list: Henry Mintzberg and Scott Adams. Scott Adams said,

My first reaction was to feel sorry for the poor bastards who ranked 13 through 50. I imagine they would have felt pretty good about making the list until they were topped by the guy who wants to adopt a frozen embryo, name it Amy and keep it in the fridge.

I’m not entirely sure who I’m influencing with my world-class management thinking, but it can’t be a good thing.

"We Influential Management Thinkers," Dilbert Blog, December 22, 2005


. . . . . . . . .



. . . . . . . . .


Technorati tags: , , ,

December 22, 2005 04:47 PM   Link    Executive Branch    Comments (0)

Executive Leadership in Government and Nonprofits

[Jim] Collins is impressed by the caliber of leaders in the government and not-for-profit worlds. "There's this idea that somehow there are better leaders in the business sector and they need to come in and show folks in government or education how to lead or how to run an organization," he says. "I am now very skeptical of that idea."

In fact, given the choice between a successful Fortune 500 corporate CEO and the successful budget director for a large state, Collins says he would probably choose the budget director to lead a project. "We ought to be open-minded to the idea that maybe our best business leaders may have been trained in non-business environments," he says.

"Tricky Business," by Brian Friel, GovExec.com, December 21, 2005

JimCollins.com

We offer several courses on persuasion for managers and executives:




. . . . . . . . .


December 21, 2005 09:44 AM   Link    Comments (0)

Best blog posts of 2005?

Best-posts-large-static

We're looking for you to tell us about the great blog posts you've seen this year. At year's end, we'll post links to the best posts we come across. (We'll also post ALL link submissions, but our links will appear at the top of the post.)

All submissions must be original material, although a post that is basically a link to another post will get a hat-tip acknowledgement.

December 19, 2005 11:03 PM   Link    Comments (0)

The light in the dome of the Capitol Building

Q: When the light is on/off does that signify something? I can see the light from my apartment, e.g., it was on all night and went out for a while.

The lantern is lit when one or both houses of Congress meet in night session. Although there is not a legal requirement for the night lighting or a record of when the lighting began, it is believed that the practice started in about 1864, when members lived in boardinghouses and hotels near the Capitol.

"§ 6.11 The Lantern and Flags," Congressional Deskbook 2005-2007, by Judy Schneider and Michael L. Koempel (2005).

In an email, Mike Koempel told us: "On Tuesday [December 13, 2005], the House recessed at 5:17 pm until 6:30 pm. The Senate in the meantime adjourned at 6:21 pm. So, there were nine minutes when the lantern would have been doused before the House reconvened and the lantern was re-lit."

More

Congressional Deskbook 2005-2007, by Judy Schneider and Michael L. Koempel . . . . . .


Technorati Tags:

December 17, 2005 12:57 PM   Link    Congress    Comments (0)

Elevation Burger - best fries we've had. Ever.

Elevation Burger serves good burgers ... and the best fries we've ever had ... the fries are cut fresh in a hand cutter and then immediately fried in olive oil ... the beef burgers are made with a very lean beef that results in a burger that is not greasy at all, a bit dryer than we're used to, but thank goodness not like the greasy mess we had the last time we ate at a certain Alexandria burger place that's been around for years ...

Elevation Burger

Elevation Burger is clean, the staff friendly, the prices fair ... and the shakes and malts are outstanding ... if you are a big eater and you order a phat burger with everything on it plus an order of fries, you are going to be full ... you will not have room for one of their incredible chocolate chip oatmeal pecan cookies ...

We agree with Tarting it Up: "This was an A+ experience"

Did we mention the fries are the best we've ever had?

Elevation Burger is easy to get to by car: from Route 50, go north on Annandale Road .66 miles to Hillwood Avenue. Turn left on Hillwood and then left on Washington and you're there ... (previous reviews: the kitchenette (TWIR, December 16, 2005), dcist (TWIR, November 25, 2005), Tarting It Up (TWIR, November 18, 2005)) ... web site, 442 South Washington Street, Falls Church, VA [City Paper | Chowhound | Don Rockwell]

Technorati Tags: , , ,

December 16, 2005 11:47 PM   Link    Dining    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (1)

This Week in DC Reviews - December 16, 2005

Periodically, we will publish This Week in DC Reviews, a roundup of reviews of DC-area restaurants, with quick links to DC-area restaurant reviews and mentions from the previous seven days in blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

For a roundup of New York City restaurant reviews from NYC food bloggers and media, see This Week in NYC Reviews at A Guy In New York.

Did we miss your favorite DC restaurant review?

Let us know: hobnobblog -at- gmail.com ... we're especially interested in hearing from DC bloggers ...

. . . . . . . . .


Technorati Tags: , , ,

December 16, 2005 08:37 AM   Link    Dining    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (10)

FOIA - Freedom Of Information Act

Responding to calls for speeding the process of releasing federal documents to the public, President Bush issued an executive order Wednesday [December 14, 2005] requiring agencies to designate chief Freedom of Information Act officers.

Under the order, FOIA officers must develop plans within six months to streamline their agencies' processes. Those plans must be implemented within two years.

Agencies also must create FOIA requester service centers and designate public liaisons to serve as single points of contact for people seeking documents.

"Bush orders agencies to name chief FOIA officers," by Tom Shoop, GovExec.com, December 14, 2005

"Executive Order: Improving Agency Disclosure of Information," (will likely be Executive Order 13392), December 14, 2005

More


. . . . . .


Technorati Tags: ,

December 15, 2005 11:29 AM   Link    Comments (0)

What's in a SmarTrip card

SmarTrip card

dcist took a SmarTrip card apart and found:

the SmarTrip isn't just an RFID tag. It's also a Smart Card: an electronic identification card that performs calculations on its own. In SmarTrip's case, this means keeping track of the balance on your card — that's how the card can work on MetroBus. Because the balance is stored on the chip, there's no need for a network connection to a central database.
. . .
the rest of the card acts as an antenna — the card needs a pretty big one in order to gather enough charge for its return transmission. We estimated the antenna's length at around 40 inches.

"Dissecting the SmarTrip," dcist, December 14, 2005, with photos.

We think we'll keep using ours in the card format....

Not sure how to use the subway in DC? See our page on "How to Use the Subway (Metrorail or "The Metro") in Washington, DC"

December 14, 2005 12:57 PM   Link    Technology    Comments (1)

Best office chair?

Modern office chairs have grown far too complicated. Their underbellies have sprouted gnarly forests of knobs and levers. Their instruction manuals have thickened into tomes. On occasion, new chairs are equipped with explanatory CD-ROMs. This is absurd: Since when have we needed an animated schematic to teach us how to sit on our keisters?

Answer: Roughly since 1994—the year of the Aeron.

"Sit Happens: A search for the best desk chair," by Seth Stevenson, slate, December 6, 2005

Seth Stevenson's list includes:
the Aeron, which he rates as "Very Good, But Not Superb." We still like ours....

Number 2 is Let's B, by Turnstone, at $399 a "best buy"

Number 1?

Continue reading "Best office chair?"

December 12, 2005 02:35 PM   Link    Tools    Comments (2)

Sleight of hand - the glass trick by Cyril Takayama

Japanese magician Cyril Takayama has posted some interesting videos ...

  • The glass trick: he passes a coin, and then a salt shaker, through a glass table ...
  • Hamburger out of a sign: he pulls a hamburger out of a sign, takes a bite, then puts the hamburger back "into" the sign where the picture then shows a bite missing ...
  • Chopsticks and shadows: uses the shadows of his hands to remove a pair of chopsticks from their wrapper and then split the chopsticks ...

Pages with links to many more videos of Cyril Takayama's magic tricks ... CastPost ... Malaysia Magic Fellowship ...

MetaFilter has a discussion about the glass trick ...

Cyril Takayama is a member of Magic X Live and was part of "THEM - Totally Hidden Extreme Magic" ...


. . . . . . . . .

December 11, 2005 11:19 AM   Link    Entertainment    Comments (0)

Languages of the world

If you are a student thinking about studying a language, here are the most spoken languages in the world:

Language Approximate number
of speakers
1. Chinese (Mandarin) 1,075,000,000
2. English 514,000,000
3. Hindustani 496,000,000
4. Spanish 425,000,000
5. Russian 275,000,000

Source: InfoPlease

December 11, 2005 12:22 AM   Link    Career    Comments (0)

College Grads and Government Service

Worried that too many young Americans are turned off by the idea of working in government, Congress has provided $600,000 for a research project to develop strategies to raise interest among college students in federal service.

The "Call to Service Recruitment Initiative" will be run by the Office of Personnel Management and the Partnership for Public Service, according to the fiscal 2006 spending bill that covers OPM operations.

"Congress Funds Project to Entice College Grads to Government Service," by Stephen Barr, The Wahsington Post, December 9, 2005

Half of the 1.9 million current federal employees will be eligible to retire in the next five years, and the Partnership's research shows that Uncle Sam must work harder to attract college students to public service jobs. A 2002 survey found that college students know very little about employment opportunities in the federal government: only 21% of them ever recalled a federal recruiter visiting their campus. And a 2005 survey of graduating college seniors found that only 23% were “very interested” in working for the government.

"Attracting Young Americans to Federal Service," FedSmith, July 29, 2005

The Call to Serve Recruitment Initiative is part of the Call to Serve program, a network created in 2002 by the Partnership and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to educate young Americans about government careers. The network currently consists of 552 colleges and universities and 62 federal agency partners.

"White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card Pitches Public Service to 2,000 Interns; PPS Announces New National Effort to Help Attract Young Americans to Federal Service," Partnership for Public Service, July 26, 2005

"What is Call To Serve?" Partnership for Public Service

"Managing Federal Recruitment: Issues, Insights, And Illustrations; A Report To The President And The Congress Of The United States (Agency Illustrations)," by The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, September, 2004

A recent college graduate of our acquaintance applied for several government jobs over a 12-month period in 2004 and 2005, and received very few responses, despite having a solid B average from a good liberal arts college and being conversant in Spanish and Mandarin. So it doesn't sound to us like the federal government is trying too hard to hire recent college grads .... rather than $600,000 studies, maybe federal government agency HR offices should merely return phone calls and acknowledge receipt of applications and resumes ...

December 10, 2005 10:57 AM   Link    Career    Comments (0)

This Week in Reviews - December 9, 2005

Periodically, we will publish This Week in Reviews, a roundup of reviews of DC-area restaurants, with quick links to DC-area restaurant reviews and mentions from the previous seven days in blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

For a roundup of New York City restaurant reviews from NYC food bloggers and media, see This Week in Reviews at A Guy In New York.

Did we miss your favorite review?

Let us know: hobnobblog -at- gmail.com ... we're especially interested in hearing from DC bloggers ...

Technorati Tags: , , ,

December 9, 2005 07:22 AM   Link    Dining    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (5)

Christmas light show

PunditGuy links to

the most amazing, creative and well executed Christmas lighting display I’ve ever seen. Prepare to be amazed.

Video here ....

Here's a link to another video on the same house set to Jingle Bells, by Barbara Streisand ...

Update: According to Snopes, this was the 2004 Christmas light display of "Carson Williams, a Mason, Ohio, electrical engineer who spent about three hours sequencing the 88 Light-O-Rama channels that controlled the 16,000 Christmas lights in his annual holiday lighting spectacular."

"Man decks house with synchronized lights," boston.com, December 6, 2005

"25,000 lights dance to music: Display timed to a broadcast soundtrack," by Jessica Brown, The Cincinnati Enquirer, December 5, 2005

Mr. Williams shut down the display on December 6, 2005, due to traffic congrestion in his neighborhood

December 8, 2005 06:04 AM   Link    Humor    Comments (0)

Current Party Numbers in the House

With the election today of John Campbell to replace Christopher Cox, the party numbers in the House are:

See our Congress by the Numbers.


Technorati Tags: ,

December 7, 2005 04:45 PM   Link    Congress    Comments (0)

A place to donate used computers

We received this from a friend:

I've just learned about First Time Computers, a non-profit organization in Washington that rehabs donated computers and makes them available to low-income families in the Washington area. A family which could not otherwise afford a computer is given a refurbished computer and appropriate training to use it for a nominal fee of $25. Currently the waiting list far outnumbers the computers, and the average wait is about 3-4 months for each family.

If you or someone you know is upgrading their computer(s) this holiday season, this is a great place to donate used equipment. The website is www.firsttimecomputers.org. There's specific information about what they accept (basically Pentium II or later models, 266 megahertz or faster) as well as a list other related equipment (laptops, monitors, keyboards,etc.) which they can use. They also accept donations of groups of computers (when an office upgrades) and have the means to pick up larger donations.They are able to advise you on how to wipe any personal information from your computer before donation, or will do that for you if you prefer.

The director is Lowell Dodge, who's happy to answer any questions. His phone number is 202-966-0140.

First Time Computers, a 501(c)(3), 6407 32nd St NW, Washington, DC 20015, 202-966-0140

Here's a page listing what they do and do not need

To arrange for a pickup email them at firsttimecmptrs@aol.com describing what you would like to donate, and indicating when you would like a pickup.

December 7, 2005 04:19 PM   Link    Used Computers    Comments (0)

Battleships and DD(X)

Robert Novak has an editorial on the Navy's plan to decommission it's last two battleships, the Iowa and the Wisconsin. He's pitching a line for the Marine Corps, whose commandant General Mike Hagee told Congress two years ago that the loss of naval surface fire support would place his troops "at considerable risk." . . . These battleships are old, they're expensive to maintain, and the industry doesn't support manufacture of the ammunition for the big guns. The Marine Corps does have air support and field artillery systems for fire support. I don't see the justification to keep battleships just so you have an option to fire on North Korean military structures, as Novak alludes. Maybe it's time for the big guns to go silent.

"Big Guns Go Silent," by Jason Sigger, DEFENSETECH.org, December 6, 2005

More

Technorati Tags: ,

December 7, 2005 03:08 PM   Link    Military    Comments (0)

U.S. Congress Votes Database - Washington Post

Today the Washington Post launched a news website, The U.S. Congress Voters Database, that allows users to browse data from the 102nd Congress (1991) to the 109th Congress (present).

"Washington Post Launches U.S. Votes Database," by Sabrina Pacifici, BeSpacific, December 5, 2005

Technorati Tags: , , ,

December 6, 2005 08:14 AM   Link    Congress ~   Research ~   Tools    Comments (0)

Weather Closings and Delays

The web sites we find useful for school closings and delays are

December 5, 2005 01:44 PM   Link    Living in DC    Comments (0)

Malaysia Kopitiam

One of our favorite places to eat in Washington, DC is Malaysia Kopitiam ... the food is excellent and it is bargain-priced ...

Roti Canai at Malaysia Kopitiam
we especially enjoy the roti canai, although the pancake/bread is greasier than we like ...

Watt Tan Hor Fun at Malaysia Kopitiam
the Watt Tan Hor Fun is a hearty dish of flat rice noodle with shrimp, fish cake, pork and U-Choy (also called yu choy, yow chow sum, and choy sum) in a heavy egg sauce ...

Chicken Rendang at Malaysia Kopitiam
and the chicken Rendang, a curry chicken simmered in thick curry gravy with coconut milk and spices, including anise and cloves ...

Malaysia Kopitiam (web site), 1827 M Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-833-6232 [Washingtonian | WaPo | City Paper | openlist | Gayot]

Technorati Tags: , , ,

December 5, 2005 09:47 AM   Link    Dining    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (1)

"Soft-drink makers face a class-action lawsuit for selling sugared sodas in school vending machines."

A coalition of lawyers who have actively and successfully sued tobacco companies says it is close to filing a class-action lawsuit against soft-drink makers for selling sugared sodas in schools. The lawyers, who have been trying to develop a case against the soft-drink makers for more than two years, say a lawsuit could be filed within the next few weeks, probably in Massachusetts, which has one of the nation's most plaintiff-friendly consumer-protection laws.

"Lawyers ready suit against soft drinks: Sales in schools targeted by group," by Caroline Mayer, The Washington Post, December 2, 2005

via Joanne Jacobs

More

December 3, 2005 09:12 AM   Link    Advocacy    Comments (0)

This Week in Reviews - December 2, 2005

Periodically, we will publish This Week in Reviews, a roundup of reviews of DC-area restaurants, with quick links to DC-area restaurant reviews and mentions from the previous seven days in blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

For a roundup of New York City restaurant reviews from NYC food bloggers and media, see This Week in Reviews at A Guy In New York.

Did we miss your favorite review?

Let us know: hobnobblog -at- gmail.com ... we're especially interested in hearing from DC bloggers ...


Technorati Tags: , , ,

December 2, 2005 11:05 AM   Link    Dining    Comments (0)    TrackBacks (2)

"The Myth of Political Polarization"

[I]f people would simply look beyond the federal arena, they would see a very different picture. Although state campaigns can unquestionably get nasty, there is a spirit of pragmatism in state government that is not seen at the federal level.

Governors such as Mark Warner and Mike Huckabee have worked successfully with legislatures controlled by the opposite party. Republicans such as Bill Owens of Colorado have supported tax increases, while Democrats like Phil Bredesen of Tennessee have enacted cuts in social programs, even though these actions contradicted the typical stances of their parties.

"The Myth of Political Polarization," by Josh Goodman, 13th Floor, December 1, 2005

December 1, 2005 05:07 PM   Link    Research    Comments (0)

Thinking of Going to Grad School?

Then you'll want to read this post, and the comments, on Crooked Timber:

It’s around the time of year when undergraduates start thinking about graduate school, so naturally it’s the time of year for overheated blog posts on why going to grad school is meant to be a Very Bad Idea. The latest of these is from Dean Dad, who wants to Stop the Cycle of Abuse, i.e. stop people going to grad school. The reasons given are all fairly standard factoids – it’s a huge opportunity cost, it takes forever, and the job market is awful. None of these are good reasons, and it would be an awful decision to not apply to graduate schools because of posts like these.

"Go to Grad School!" Crooked Timber, November 30, 2005

More

December 1, 2005 10:15 AM   Link    Career    Comments (0)