Over the river and through the woods...

...to a softball game I go...or so I thought. After sitting in traffic for nearly an hour to get to yesterday's softball game at Avenel Park (crossing the Potomac River and winding through the woods of Potomac, MD), I made it to the game with 2 minutes to spare. Too bad it got cancelled because of thunderstorms and I had to drive back over the river and through the woods in torrential downpoars and a crazy lightening storm...

Painting the barn

As I waited on the platform in New Carrollton to get on the Metro yesterday, I couldn't help but notice a woman (probably in her low 30's) wearing a red bikini top and black biker shorts. I thought it was odd but figured she must have just finished exercising or something and didn't worry about putting regular clothes on due to the near 90-degree temperature. When we boarded the Metro, she proceeded to pull a makeup kit out of her bag and started to do some stuff with it (sorry...if I new more about makeup, I'd be able to give you more details than this, but unfortunately I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to this area). Anyway, I figured it was still no big deal; assuming again that she must have just finished some type of workout, I thought she would just be touching up something that may have smeared or something. However, 4 stops and 15 minutes later...still going at it painting the 'ole barn...a half hour into the trip, started to do a few things to her hair, but still doing more makeup stuff. At this point the Metro was getting pretty full and I couldn't really see what was going on any longer, but I'm assuming she's still applying makeup and getting ready a day later for some big event in her red bikini top and skin-tight biker shorts...

And you thought your mom was weird

This website was put together by a son documenting the results of his mother's eBay buying. Creepy...

Miserable Day

I had a horrible day today, and it's not even over yet...can't wait to see what's yet to come. So that you may get some enjoyment from my misery, below are some of the highlights of the day:

• Betsy leaves for Arizona while I'm stuck in DC
• Have to travel an hour to New Carrollton, MD for work
• Someone is in my cube at the client site and I am forced to find another location
  
• Noon meeting comes sooner than expected meaning lunch must be delayed until at least 2pm
• Get tied up in hour-long conversation after 2-hour meeting
• Decide to wait to get back to Virginia to eat lunch since I've been eating out too much recently
• Get stuck in stop and go traffic for nearly an hour on the Beltway
• Realized I'm getting low on gas and decide to turn off air conditioning
• Run out of gas in the middle of the 4-lane Beltway in 90+ degree weather with bright sun and in my black car
• Push my car to the side of the road
• Call Roadside Assistance number for which I am (or so I thought) a member; I'm told that my membership is expired but proceed to have them call for help anyway even though it will be completely out off my pocket
• Wait 15 minutes for automated call back providing confirmation and estimated time of arrival; receive call estimating at least 55 minutes!
• Figure out there must be a better option and call friend to see if they can help (they can...thanks, Scott...I owe you big time)
• Walk 3/4 of a mile each way in my suit on the side of the Beltway to pick up gas; finally get back to my car and fill with gas (thanks again, Scott) and proceed to nearest exit
• To avoid running out of gas for the second time in the same day, I'm forced to go without A/C again since I still have very empty tank
• Sit in the scorching sun through terrible traffic once off the Beltway, at one point sitting through a single light for 4 cycles with no breeze and no A/C
  
• Finally make it home nearly 4 hours after leaving the client site, drenched in my own sweat in a nice suit (great feeling)
• Stalked by a bird on my walk with the dog
• Eat lunch at 7:50pm

What's next?

Metro Chaos

While it's definitely nice to live across the street from a Metro station to avoid the traffic congestion around the DC area, taking the Metro is certainly not always a walk in the park itself. Yesterday, after a very long day at work, I got on the Metro to head back home and immediately heard something to the effect of "we are experience delays in all directions" that pertained to me. Sure enough, the normal ride of 50 minutes turned into over an hour and a half. The main benefit of the Metro having a generally stable schedule compared to driving was lost, not to mention the fact that it was uncomfortably warm (and I'm wearing a suit) due to the 90+ degree weather.

Then today, on my way to the Nationals game, more chaos unfolded. Luckily, I had a seat and was minimally affected this time. Nevertheless, about 4 stops before the stadium the car I was on was essentially full. Of course, many others over the next 4 stops were very anxious to try to fit in to the train and make it to the game in time as well. Each stop resulted in additional pushing for space and plenty of shouting. "Move out of the way" and "Let me on" followed by "Can't you see there isn't any room" and "I don't think so...you're waiting for the next train." At one point, I heard someone say "You can't do that to a baby." Not sure who was doing what, but I was content with my seat and pre-game snacks. Finally, there was the good samaritan who tried to organize everything and asked if anyone was getting off at each stop. "We have 6 people getting off at this stop," she would yell...like that helped.

Breathe Like a Fish

Alan Izhar-Bodner, an Israeli inventor, has developed a way for divers to breathe underwater without cumbersome oxygen tanks. His apparatus makes use of the air that is dissolved in water, just like fish do.

The system uses the "Henry Law" which states that the amount of gas that can be dissolved in a liquid is proportional to the pressure on the liquid. Raise the pressure - more gas can be dissolved in the liquid. Decrease the pressure - gas dissolved in the liquid releases the gas. This is exactly what happens when you open a can of soda; carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the liquid and is under pressure in the can. Open the can, releasing the pressure, and the gas fizzes out.

Bodner's system apparently uses a centrifuge to lower pressure in part of a small amount of seawater taken into the system; dissolved gas is extracted. The patent abstract reads:

A self-contained open-circuit breathing apparatus for use within a body of water naturally containing dissolved air. The apparatus is adapted to provide breathable air. The apparatus comprises an inlet means for extracting a quantity of water from the body of water. It further comprises a separator for separating the dissolved air from the quantity of water, thereby obtaining the breathable air. The apparatus further comprises a first outlet means for expelling the separated water back into the body of water, and a second outlet means for removing the breathable air and supplying it for breathing. The air is supplied so as to enable it to be expelled back into the body of water after it has been breathed.

Read more about the underwater breathing system from IsraCast.

Bob Saget's Fruit Salad

Unfortunately, I was in New York this past weekend and missed out on a can of Dole fruit salad stolen from Bob Saget's shopping cart...