Renovation 2007: Air Conditioning
If I haven't mentioned it, Phase II of my house renovations is 99.99 complete. Phase I was the kitchen, Phase II was the big monster budget killing renovation, Phase III will be the cellar. But Phase II is 99.99% complete, the .01% is some touch up painting I need to get around to doing with the doors and where the wall meets the ceiling.
Anyway, I have AC, and the system that I have is the
Space Pak. We've had a few warm days, and so far my feelings are mixed. First off, where I work there are spots where it is 60F and I have to bundle up, so I don't want to freeze at home. And so I've had the AC on and turned it off because I thought it was too chilly. The 1st floor does get nice and cool and the 2nd floor, where the heat rises, is iffy. It isn't hot, just noticeably warmer. This can be dealt with the ceiling fans.
I do like the look of it. No boxy ducts.
When Summer comes I'll give another review.
Labels: renovation
Bates Street 2008
See today's other post for an explanation.
Bates Street 1968-1972
For your entertainment and interest, the unit block of Bates St. NW.
Funny thing. I went over looking for the same house, but even with a house number that is quite visible, I can't match up this picture with the houses of today.
Houses to be demolished
I'd gotten several emails about the structures to be demolished on North Capitol and Hanover Place. I haven't followed through and posted anything, but luckily, Bloomingdale (for Now)
did. He's got pictures.
Labels: development, houses
The opposite of Gentrification?
Once a year I travel back to ye olde homestead in Florida to see the folks (Mom, Dad, Sis, Bro-n-Law, kids, and other assorted family members). It is also a chance to see the old neighborhood, as Mom lives in the same house we kids grew up in. And this neighborhood is a poor/working class neighborhood with a smattering of lower-middle class households.
So these annual visits I do notice little changes. Such as there was this horrid almost 35-40 degree dip in the center of the road a few blocks up that had been that way for decades and getting worse, got repaved. So I notice where there is new construction or renewal, in my mom’s area of town, none. She told me even her pastor (church is about a mile away) made mention that there isn’t going to be any investment in that area, and in fact there is disinvestment. People are just leaving the houses to rot and fall in under the weight of Nature reclaiming the space.
Now compare that with my own neighborhood in Shaw, I see what’s happening back in Florida as the anti-gentrification model. No investment, no rebuilding, rows and streets of houses completely abandoned, empty, slowly demolished by the elements. People do keep up their yards by mowing them, if there is grass growing, but that’s it. Houses sag, there are rusty tin roofs on others. It isn't all bad, but there is a lot of bad to notice.
I don’t know about crime, I just know I grew up with a rooming house of ill-repute diagonally across the street we called Pete’s house. And now, in addition to Pete’s house, Mom says, the house next door had dope dealing, prostitution and regular police visits, once the matriarch died. People who have other options to live somewhere else, do. The older folks stay, but the younger ones with means move out. About a 20 minute drive away, kinda out. Like what my half sister, some of my childhood friends, and cousins did. Come to think of it, they left town altogether.
Insulted
This weekend I was feeling pretty good. For the second week I appeared in a Post publication. And though my name didn't appear as I normally have it( with the first initial), was pleased to see the NCPC borders holding.
But then, later that day, a man knocked on my door. I answered and what he said to me, left me hurt and insulted.
Man: Hello Miss, I do yards 'round here and I can get up those weeds you have in your yard.
Me: [with a confused look] Huh?
Man: [pointing to one of several tufts of greenery] Those weeds there.
Me: That's my peppermint. It's supposed to be there.
Man: No, those weeds there. I can remove those.
[We both walk over to where he's pointing]
Man: That there.
Me: [pointing with my foot] That's peppermint. That's thyme. They're not weeds!
He called my yard weedy.
Great Jimmeny Christmas, if a yard doesn't fit the American norm, it has to be attacked? Is fescue the only allowable thing? Water sucking grass? I have an edible front yard where the peppermint, the spearmint, the Greek oregano, and several varieties to thyme run free. And when I gaze upon it's green lushness, I am glad. I was going to cut back on the peppermint, but a neighbor mentioned how she liked the smell of the peppermint in the morning.
Weeds? Bah. Yeah, I know some of those yard work jobs are half work, half charity (depending on the worker). But if you can't tell a weed from herb then I don't want you no where near my yard.
Labels: gardening
I went to community college
Just a quick mention, in relation to something I thought about while responding to a comment. I wonder why there isn't a stronger push for community colleges in the DC metro area?
A little info on me. I have about 12 or 20 (I have to look) credit hours from my hometown community college. At least 4 credit hours I took while still in high school. The county school system had this great program where we could get a head start with college by taking courses at the CC (comm. coll.) free of charge. Since a huge bunch of us were going to go to Univ of Florida, FSU, FAMU, or another state university it was a great way to knock out some required courses for free. Later, I went to CC during the summers so I could get Cs in classes I was going to do badly in anyway, so why not get a C for about $29 a credit hour, vs a D (these were weed out classes) at $45 a credit hour?
My mom got her Certified Nurse's Assistant (CNA) certificate from the CC, and that is what she's doing now in her semi-retirement. My sister is a CC drop-out, but she was aiming for something in the veterinary field. So I've experienced and seen how CCs are useful in a community in helping people get jobs by giving them specific training. When I hear about job training around here, it (and please forgive my ignorance) doesn't sound like more than advice on doing a job interview and introduction to a computer. And this goes back to another problem I mentioned before of the community trying or asked to support programs it has no direct dealings with, difficulty judging the efficacy of those programs. Basic skills have value, but I wonder how far it gets you in an environment where more workers have that skill set, plus this, that, and something else.
Labels: employment, schools
When quaintness attacks!: Washington Globes
I say get a ladder and a can of spray paint if you haven't been able to sleep because of the quaint globe street lights that add that historic feel, but pollute the night sky and creeps around your blinds keeping you awake. In today's Post there is an
article about "Washington globe" lights and how they impact the quality of life of residents who can't sleep or see less of the night sky because of these street light fixtures.
I tagged this under historic districts because along with brick walks these quaint looking lights follow. And sometimes they don't have to be in historic districts but they are there for the aesthetics. The high powered light bulb isn't historically accurate but there for street safety and though making the street safer by shining a penetrating light, that same light penetrates parts where it is unwelcomed.
When I bike into and back out of Georgetown, I pass by one of these so fashioned globe street lights and have noticed the house side of it blackened with what could be spray paint. In the day, it looks sort of vandalized and ratty, but I gather it does the job to abate the nighttime annoyance. The other side of the street is protected by thick leafy trees, so they don't have this problem.
Labels: historic districts, quality of life
Make the ghetto go away, and work together
Of course, we all recognize that if we are ultimately to improve psychological and physical conditions for minorities there must be total elimination of ghettoes and the establishment of a truly integrated society. In the meantime, however, all those working for economic and social justice are forced to address themselves to interim programs which, while not totally changing the situation, will nevertheless bring about improvement in the lives of those forced to live in ghettoes. And so, whiel [sic] many of those steps may lead to limited integration, those which do not must clearly be seen as interim steps until the objective situation makes a more fundamental approach.
and later
... Labor, Housing and the Office of Economic Opportunity, ought to work with the people of Shaw in developing, coordinating and concentrating their various programs upon social and economic problems of this area.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking at a March 13, 1967 rally for Shaw
Labels: history, neighborhood history
The bus- not all that, nor a bag of chips
Levels of Public Transit StopsUnderground metro station
Semi-exposed metro station (Ft. Totten-Green line)
Exposed above ground metro station
Sheltered-enclosed bus stop
Bus shelter with roof
Stick with bus sign
I read another blogger's rant about how we need to get over our biases about the bus, but you know, after riding the buses in the DC Metro area for over a decade, and whatever biases I have about the bus, are based on experience. I still ride the bus, but I have no romantic notions about it. It is, what it is.
I've been stuck in unpleasant weather, late for something, exposed to the elements, wearing something not suitable for standing still in a puddle or ice pack for more than 10 minutes, while waiting for a bus that either came 5 minutes early or is 1/2 an hour late, enough times to know what its limits are. Because some routes are so unpredictable, despite a bus schedule, I cannot count how many times I have chased down buses, run across several lanes of traffic (yes, not safe, yes I could get killed that way...) to beat the bus to the next stop, and in some situations fail and only be out of breath and have a pained side to show for my trouble. Thankfully, places where I've worked have a flexible schedule so my inconsistent arrival to work won't cost me my job. I don't know know if all bus riders have that luxury.
I lived in PG County where the bus service on the weekend seemed non-existent. When I lived there The Bus did not exist and neither did many sidewalks. It didn't help matters that even the taxi service seemed useless too. So until I moved closer to a metro station, the District and anything else further than where I could bike to was unavailable to me. It was too much of a hassle to wait 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival for a bus that would most likely show up late on the off chance it might show up early. And woe if a transfer to another bus was needed.
However, living in the city the bus is part of my transportation system. If I need to be somewhere on time, I take the train. Or, if the route is a trustworthy one, where the buses are typically consistent, I'll take the bus. The center part of the city is dense enough that I can come across another bus, or in some cases just walk to the nearest metro station, or bite the bullet and take a cab provided I'm within 2 zones of my destination. In PG and some parts of Arlington, those other options weren't always there.
The bus is useful, but in some cases you have to ask how much is your time worth, and is it worth spending in wait.
Labels: transportation
