david-s.net - David Schlosnagle's Words, Photos, and Links

Despite any rumors you may have heard or the fact I haven’t updated this site in exactly one year, I am still alive.

So what have I been doing for the past year? One word, work. In the past year, I’ve been doing a whole lot of hard work, something Hillary Clinton seems to think young people are unable to accomplish. From the NY Times:

She said that “young people today think work is a four-letter word” and “think they’re entitled to go right to the top with $50,000 or $75,000 jobs when they have not done anything to earn their way up.”

For other responses to her comments, see Time Magazine and the NY Post.

Did I miss the transition where Democrats became the crotchety old man yelling at the kids to turn the music down, while Republicans decided they were going to run free with the nation’s credit card?

Despite what the politicians say, all of that hard work has paid off. I’m buying a townhouse with Ms. No Name. It has two bedrooms, two and a half baths, fireplace, and two level deck. I posted a few pictures from the home inspection.

We close on June 30, so if anyone wants to help us move July 1-9, let me know and I will provide food and beer. I’m excited to finally have a place of our own, and we’ll be able to let Super Dog roam free.

During our research, I ran across a number of interesting sites:

• Zillow - shows estimated house prices and comparables
• Housing Tracker - shows inventory and price changes in the Washington metro area
• Fairfax county real estate tax records - shows assessed values, tax info, and previous sales
• Fairfax Neighborhood Profile - various stats vs. national averages

After a long day at work, I get in my car for my 5 minute drive home and when I turn on the radio, its some sort of salsa/latin music all in Spanish. What the hell happend to WHFS? They were taken over by the Mexicans! The new motto is “Siempre de fiesta” - “Always partying”. Well, I no longer get to party all the time I’m in my car. I first heard of HFS when I would visit my Aunt and Uncle in Maryland. That’s where I first heard Hum back in the day (summer of ‘95). When I moved down here in June, they were the first station I programmed in my car. DC101 is ok, but they seem to play only the top 40 linkin park wannabes. HFS was almost like a commercial college radio station, with their 90s nooner playing quality modern rock from the good old days (yes I am getting old and becoming one of “them”). Anyways, now is the time to stop trying to switch between commercials and finally hook my iPod up to my car. R.I.P HFS.

All four of you out there might have noticed that I haven’t been posting lately, and there is an obvious reason (excuse) for that, I have been super busy these past few weeks. I’ve been traveling (Penn State) and entertaining. Last weekend my parents came down to visit on their way to Virginia Beach. I took them to the new Smithsonian Air & Space Museum by Dulles. It is very cool place, and I wish I had more time to explore. I forgot to take my camera, but luckily I borrowed my Dad’s to take some pics of the SR-71 Blackbird and Enola Gay in five megapixel glory. As soon as my parents manage to figure out how to email pictures, I will have to post a few here. We also went out to dinner (mmm, Maryland crab) with my Aunt and Uncle, who I hadn’t seen in forever.

This past weekend John and Tom drove down, and Andy stopped on his way back from Myrtle Beach to visit for a couple days. Friday night was just a chill and play cards night after John and Tom showed up. Saturday was a big day of exploring D.C. We took the Metro in around 3 p.m. and went on a massive sightseeing tour starting out at the National Mall. In all we saw:

• Capitol Building
• Washington Monument
• Rubble of construction that is Pennsylvania Avenue
• Front of the White House
• Back of the White House
• Reflecting Pond
• Lincoln Memorial
• The little bit of the Vietnam Memorial that wasn’t fenced off
• Korean War Memorial
• The new World War II memorial
• The liquor store across the street from the American Bar Association (how fitting?)
• The 2 miles of sidewalk between downtown and Georgetown
• Old Glory Restaurant
• More sidewalk up and down M Street NW
• The Third Edition Restaurant (where Erin and some of her friends met up with us)
• Rhino Bar

Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the end of the night, so we slept in ’til noon, had a steak dinner with pototoes and green beans, and my friends were on their way back to PA.

Somewhere in between those two weekends, I did a little work to put food on the plate.

Happy Fourth of July! This is my first Independence Day right outside the nation’s capital, so I’m planning on heading in for the festivities and checking out the fireworks. If you’re in the area, stop by and try a hamburger or hot dog from my new grill. It’s also the first without my friends back home and at PSU, so I think this quote is quite fitting.

“To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.” - Bertrand Russell

If you’re not using an evil browser, you probably noticed the 4th of July colorscheme that will stick around for a few days.

Forbes magazine released their Best Cities For Singles 2004, and for the third year running, Pittsburgh ends up in last place. Luckily, I made my escape to the number two city, and one of the fastest growing counties in the country.

I feel bad for Pittsburgh, but the city is going bankrupt, jobs are fleeing the area, and tech companies refuse to move in. For now, D.C. will be the Silicon Valley of the East. If only the days of the tech boom would came back, I could go back to playing with Legos.