randomduck

This was the scene on Tuesday at my local polling place: a long queue to vote. And this was just the indoor portion, as the line snaked outside and down the block a stretch.

It’s a good sign that people are showing up to vote in the primaries. And I’m really pleased that the front-loaded primary schedule didn’t result in a candidate before the citizens of DC, Maryland and Virginia had a chance to vote. For once, I don’t feel completely disenfranchised.

Popularity: 42% [?]

Today brings the unfortunate news that the Aumury Sport Organization has banned Astana from all of their 2008 events, including the Tour de France.

So there will be no defending champion, as many of Discovery Channel Cycling’s top riders moved to Astana during their off-season reorganization. Alberto Contador won’t be there (1st in 2007). Andres Klöden won’t be there, either (multiple podium finishes since 2004). My friend Levi Leipheimer won’t be there (3rd in 2007).

The race won’t be completely devoid of talent, but it won’t be a true test of champions.

This follows an earlier announcement that Astana isn’t invited to the Giro d’Italia, the season’s other top-level stage race.

ASO has stated that Astana “must prove itself” in 2008 to be considered for future entries. Regardless, no matter now well Astana races in the Tour of California or any of the early season, single-stage races, they won’t be given the chance to compete and prove themselves. So ASO has set them up to fail from the outset.

I completely understand the desire to clean up professional cycling. I also understand that, in 2006 and 2007, Astana was one of the most egregious offenders in the doping scandals, and that ASO has every right to be wary.

But in the off-season, Astana cleaned house. All of their staff were fired. Many riders were either fired or left on their own accord. Johann Bruyneel, mastermind of US Post Service/Discovery Channel was brought on board to right the ship, and all indications are that he’s been successful in that mission.

But thanks to ASO, the opportunity won’t present itself - at least without a fight. I hope they appeal this to whatever legal body they can.

And in the meantime, I hope they race to win every day, just to show up the ASO’s short-sighted decision.

Popularity: 31% [?]

(That said, I didn’t vote for him.)

A transcript from IM this morning - it sums up the whole thing rather well.

The Scene: me, riding my bike back home after a pre-dawn ride at Hains Point, about 6:55 am:

I was coming up 22nd St., and it was closed between M and N.
I hopped on the sidewalk, which was also closed (temporarily), and a guy calls out to me "you're insane to be riding in this cold!"
And it's Huckabee.
So I laugh and say yes, I'm insane, and my feet are frozen solid.
He then walks over to his van and grabs me a small cup of coffee.
We discussed working out for 3 or 4 minutes while I waited for the congestion to clear.
Affable guy.
He was waiting to be interviewed by Fox News, and they weren't going live until 7:10 or so.
I said thanks for the coffee and wished him luck. He didn't ask me for my vote - I think he figured out I wasn't a Republican.
But he was friendly and funny - and bemoaning the fact that the campaign has kept him from his workout regimen.

One of those uniquely DC moments, I must say!

Popularity: 45% [?]

If you live in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, today is the day!

Get out and vote in the “Potomac Primary!”

I’ll be casting my vote for Barack Obama.

And if this is all weighing too heavily on you, here’s something to watch:

Popularity: 30% [?]

I didn’t watch the Grammys® this evening. Instead, sprite and I watched the lovely Stardust - how did we miss this one when it was in the theatres?

But I digress.

Although I missed the Grammy stuff, I’ve analyzed the results and have the following reactions:

• I’m a bit surprised over the gushing that NARAS had over Amy Winehouse. It’s like they were openly rewarding her excesses. So expect to see her drop dead of an overdose in the next few years, as this validation of her ramshackle lifestyle doesn’t help.
• On the flipside of that, congrats to Mark Ronson, the architect of Winehouse’s sound (her first album, recently released in the States, is shite, which speaks volumes of Ronson’s talent).
• Perhaps the NARAS voters listen to me, as two of my faves of 2007 upset their more commercially successful competition: Levon Helm (Traditional Folk Album) and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss (Pop Collaboration With Vocals).
• To nobody’s surprise, The Beatles won again, almost 38 years after they broke up (Compilation Soundtrack Album and Surround Sound Album).
• Obama beat Clinton - both in Maine and at the Grammys (Spoken World Album).
• NARAS loves them some Harry Potter (Jim Dale won for Spoken World Album for Children) and The Muppets (Musical Album for Children).
• Nora Guthrie’s years-long restoration of her father’s only complete live recording won accolades from the academy, as well as the folk universe (Historical Recording).
• I’m dead chuffed that Herbie Hancock won Album Of The Year for his tribute to Joni Mitchell. It’s great to see a true innovator and legend win above more “hip” competition in the big prize of the night.

Popularity: 29% [?]

One thing every resident of DC who uses the Metro system contends with are the escalators.

And yes, I do mean “contends.”

You see, when the Metro system was planned in the 1970s, the usual governmental contract bid philosophy took hold: use the lowest bidder. In other words: go cheap.

And given the other shortcomings of the system - only two tracks on each line, unreliable and weather-vulnerable train equipment, lame-ass voice announcement recordings, inefficient seating design - the thing that seems to catch more riders than anything else are the are-they-or-aren’t-they-working escalators at stations.

These escalators, word has it, were contracted to a company that had never before built such equipment. But hey, the cost was cheap, so why not? The problem is that, given no experience in building escalators, the manufacturer didn’t design them for things that are common in the Metro system:

• long stair runs
• heavy loads
• adverse weather

So more often than not, one or more escalators are out of commission, forcing riders onto either a single working unit, or onto a single unit that is stopped because its neighbors are both out. When I snapped this photo, the stair on the left had only recently reopened - earlier, it was also being serviced, making the center unit a stationary stairway.

And at stations like Dupont Circle, Tenleytown, or Wheaton - all of which are deep underground and thus have long runs of stairs - it can be a long slog up the stairs after a day at the office, afternoon shopping, or a night on the town. In some respects it reminds me of the stairs at the Covent Garden Station on the London Underground:

Never ever, under any circumstances, take the stairs. Don’t do it because although you think it might be quicker than waiting for the lift: it won’t be, and the ascent will destroy you. There are 193 steps, and that’s the equivalent of climbing to the top of a 15-storey building. The only sensible way to tackle the Covent Garden staircase is from the top down. It’s enormously satisfying to trip nimbly past a succession of hapless souls stumbling breathlessly upwards, especially those with the added misfortune to be carrying heavy shopping. (from Time Out London)

And while there are also elevators at all stations (which have their own dubious reliability record), the escalators are the primary means of access to the Metro.

Popularity: 24% [?]