Fabrics Out, Pre Paid Mobile In

Vida Fabrics in Adams Mogan closed months ago. The storefront sat empty for a while, but is now active again, with the addition of Cricket Wireless. It's a mobile phone company trying to get a foothold in the Washington, DC market. They mostly offer pre-paid wireless phone services, similar to Boost Mobile or Virgin Mobile. That is, there are no long term contracts and many of the features are available a la carte, an attempt to keep prices. down. Cricket is open 1652 Columbia Road NW.

Real World Filming Spotted in Mount Pleasant

Well, according to a trusted source we'll call "Tommy." He's a good friend from my hometown who lives in Mount Pleasant. He says they were on Mt Pleasant Street at about 3:00pm yesterday. I asked what they were doing and his only reply was "They look lost." So, there. That's all I have for you. Take it for what it's worth. Maybe they were going to Pica Taco. Or looking for me. That would be cool. But I am usually at work during those hours.

Pica Taco Open at Argonne

A tiny taco and burrito restaurant has opened on the first floor of the Argonne apartment building in Adams Morgan. Pica Taco recently took up residence next to Park Plaza Beer and Wine. (The Argonne was previously named Park Plaza Apartments.) The Street address for Pica Taco Cafe is 1629 Columbia Rd NW, but its actually on Harvard Street directly across from Rat Park. The menu is pretty basic, with tacos, tortas, burritos, and a few sandwiches. Peanut butter and banana is one of the sandwich offerings. Pica also offers some really basic breakfast meals as well; egg and cheese, etc. If you've had a chance to stop by, let me know in the comments.

Red Line Accident Resonated, Even Outside of DC

As a Washingtonian, daily Metro rider and proponent of public transit, I was shocked and very distressed watching the reports of Metro's Red Line collision last week. At the time I was in New York about to leave the hotel for dinner. The local NYC news station broke from programming to report the incident, even before it aired on CNN and other cable news channels.

The night unfolded, and I found myself checking the news reports at the dinner table, trying to keep up with the tragic events miles away in DC. The local NY media, including print and television did a surprisingly thorough job of reporting on the incident, even featuring Fenty, some crash victims, and allowing the story to be told enough that I had a good idea of what was happening even though I was several metropolitan areas away. It probably wasn't the topic of first concern for New Yorkers, but it was right up there near the top of the 11:00 hour news.

Now over a week out, I can see that some nerves are still frayed, within Metro and those of customers as well. Until there is a definitive answer about the equipment problems, especially those within the trackbed itself, some may never feel completely comfortable riding the train. We can get over operator error, which does not appear to be a major cause for this incident. The driver of this train was likely failed by equipment, mechanics and design. But if the design is faulty, how do you reconcile that? That's a system wide problem. I'm not speculating that there is a system-wide failure, there is no evidence of that. But if there is a system-wide potential for failure, that's a problem for me.

Riding Metro is safe. I will continue to ride. The statistics show that travelling in a car is more dangerous than riding Metro or other subways. But the perception that a hidden fault could have caused this accident is troubling. Do I think this should be made into a political issue? No. Should Virginia, Maryland, the District governments agree to create a permanent funding stream for Metro? Yes. That has been true for years, well before this terrible collision took place. Peace to all the families and friends involved. Keep riding the trains and buses to work and play. And to Metro: Please, as best you can, find out what contributed to this collision and work as hard as you have ever worked to correct it.

Officials Seek Clues in Train Crash : New York Times

D.C. Metro Red Line Crash : Washington Post

DC Metro Crash: Who Will Die Next Because We Throw Money at Billionaries and Scrimp on the Public Good? : Alternet

New Street Front for Safeway

Adams Morgan's Safeway store is getting a face lift. The tired looking store is in the midst of construction to rebuild the façade and complete some small cosmetic changes inside the store. This is by no means an entire renovation of the store. Lately this Safeway has looked extremely dated due to the openings of new Harris Teeter and Giant groceries. In addition, the new-design model Safeway at 5th and L Sts NW has proven that the potential for a decent shopping experience is possible at the chain.

Apparently, Safeway wanted to expand into the adjacent empty retail spaces, but the asking price was too high. Work has started at those sites as well, rumored to be a future CVS. I look forward to looking upon the new storefront, but not sure that will get me any closer to going in.

Apartment Houses: The Imperial

At 1763 Columbia Road NW. Formerly apartments, renovated in the late 1980s; now condos.

Technical Difficulties

If you ever devlop even a minor computer problem, never take it to Staples. Even if they offer really cheap computer "repair." Even if they are within walking distance of your house. Even if the guy you dropped the computer off with seemed capable. Even if they have the so called easy button. I pushed the easy button and the computer that was at 85% capability is now at 15% capability.

C'est la vie. You get what you pay for. "There's an old saying in Tennessee. I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee, that says: Fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me... you can't get fooled again." Insert another colloquialism if you wish.

Anyway, the blog is sort of impaired as I try to get the issues resolved over the weekend. Technology; the money's in the maintenance.

Vegan Cake, Buses, Natürlich

Well, I was wrong. A few weeks ago I complained that the District Department of Transportation wasn't doing enough in the way of promotion of the Circulator's new routes. Well, I wasn't looking hard enough. A simple internet search would have unearthed this YouTube channel just for the Circulator. DDOT got a little creative in an effort to show that the Circulator bus can take you to interesting and perhaps unknown spots all over the city.

Sticky Fingers, Peregrine Espresso, Good Food Eatery and Garden District are among the businesses featured. I like the adds and they seem to show DDOT making a creative effortto get the message out. So, my apologies Circulator! DDOT, you are trying, I failed to look before I spoke. I like the ads, very nice. If I could only bake a vegan cake in under 30 seconds...

Refilling SmarTrip Card Now Marginally Easier

Save yourself a trip to the Columbia Heights Metro station or the nearest bus stop. You can now refill your SmarTrip Card right here in Mount Pleasant. We long for the day when SmarTrip cardholders will be able to refill their cards online. Seems easy enough infrastructure to build. And that day will come soon. However, until then, recharging just got a little bit easier. Metro has teamed with businesses around the city, Virginia and Maryland to offer another point of sale for adding value to the "e z pass" of the DC transit world.

Previously the only ways to load up a card were to visit a Metro station and wait in laboriously long lines or hop on a bus and add the cash manually to the card. There aren’t nearly enough SmarTrip machines in the Metro stations, something that WMATA acknowledges. Adding money on the bus is easy enough, although tough to do one-handed for some if the bus is moving. And personally, I don’t like to hold up the line adding money to my card.

In Mount Pleasant, there is one retailer who has the new system, Distribuidora El Salvador Del Mundo, at 3108 Mt Pleasant Street NW. Employees have to actually add money to the card through a device behind the counter. They accept cash and credit. It was not clear if there was a service charge. The other close location is the Giant Grocery at 1345 Park Rd NW. Again, you have to hand over the SmarTrip at the customer service desk for refill. Giant charges a $0.25 fee for refill and you can pay with cash or credit/debit.

For me, this is only marginally easier than standing in line at the stations, because, you're just as liable to have to stand in line in either Giant or Distribuidora and wait for the transaction to take place. However, another option is another option, so I won't complain too much. Keep it coming Metro, and don't give up on online credit card refills. We will be grateful!

Friday Fun Post: Clizzle Dizzle