Polar Bear Plunge at National Harbor

Have you thought about going out today?  Or are you like me at home by the furnace, with a nice warm cup of chai tea and surfing the net.  Today being DC's most frigid day of the year, many avid Polar Bears decided to go out without barely anything on at all, and what take the heck, take a screaming running splash into the frosty Potomac.  Ok, some didn't have to get too, too wet.  Many just waded into the water until their knee caps or maybe even belly buttons touched the water.

But why saunter out at all?  Insane?  Perhaps, but it's all for a worthy cause. Polar Bear Plunges raise money and awareness and in this case supported the Chesapeake Climate Action Group.  And what's their noteworthy mission: To fight climate change in the DMV.

After the dip, many of the Polar Bears warmed up at the heated tents with warm Apple Cider.  Then it was off to Bonds or the National Pastime to laugh about the frivolity of it all.  After all, the idea was to raise awareness for our climate and to protect our beloved bears from going into deep freeze.  And what was more exciting than dipping in water that was below freezing, riding to the National Harbor on bikes from Capital Bikeshares from DC.

Social Media Evangelists Tweet Trends from GW Business School

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  What a stimulating day, spanning social media with #L2socialgraph to medicinal recipes during Shakespeare's time!

Are you reading this blog from your desk or outside your doorway?  Studies show that more people in three years will be surfing the Internet from their mobile phones than from the desktop computers. It’s mostly driven by emerging markets that are skipping computers altogether and adopting handheld PDAs as their primary tool, according to Scott Galloway, the founder of L2, a Think Tank for Digital Innovation.

RT @yianniak: More people will be surfing the web on their phone or tablet -- than they do on a computer within 3 years! -#l2socialgraph

Today, social media experts from the government and private sectors assembled at the social enterprising George Washington University to engage in stimulating discussions on the constantly evolving future of social media.

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  “Social media and other online strategies are critical tools that public sector organizations use to encourage transparency, engage constituents and serve the public in an era of cost cutting,” said Dean Doug Guthrie. “Our leaders and public sector organizations need to embrace these powerful new tools.”








• A college setting is the ideal location for such a dialogue because Facebook and Twitter are proving to be popular places for networking and promotion:

  

  RT @yianniak: Young affluents are 2x likely to be on #facebook that to WATCH #tv. #L2socialgraph

  After all, more and more students are tweeting in class and sharing notes and observations about the lecture with each other (yes, during class).  

The Service of the Shrivers: Best Buddies

circa, 1962 (Wikipedia)

Today we lost a great American hero: Robert Sargent Shriver.  He was a heroic statesman, the driving force behind the Peace Corps and a wonderful husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

Last year, I was blessed to be a small but life-impacting part of the 2010 Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge serving the Best Buddies organization.  I was also delighted to meet Michelle Kwan in person.  This was not the first time I met her.  I had seen her onboard the USS John C. Stennis during the 2001 Pearl Harbor Premiere in Hawaii.

Although, I did not actively participate, I stopped by and got to meet new friends as well as welcome old ways.

Here is the video. Late but still pertinent and I hope it moves you to make some difference in people's lives. This post is months late, but it's never too late to serve, to make new friends and to challenge each other so we can perform our best.

Also featured on this blog are one of the most accomplished athletes of all time: Carl Lewis.

It was great to see David Archuleta perform for us.

This beautiful portrait is displayed at the National Portrait Gallery

GWU Wishes Happy Bday to MLK at Former Gang Plagued School

The spirit of service is alive and vibrant at George Washington University (GWU) and on the birthday of the legendary Dr. Martin Luther King, hundreds of GWU students, staff and faculty took a day ON, not a day off to beautiful this former gang-plagued school.

Ballou High School in the past has been plagued with violence both off and on-campus.
 

In 2003, the school was shut down for weeks due to a mercury spill in the chemistry lab.  In 2004, a 17-year-old student, star football-player, (J-Rock Richardson) was killed during a confrontation after class.  The hallways were filled with trash and graffiti.  Teachers were too afraid to correct students.
Students from Condon Terrace and Barry Farms feuded with Ballou.

Yelp's "Most Wanted" at Crime & Punishment Museum

Don't know why I actually felt home here.

Hi Chito!

I just wanted to let you know that a couple guests at tonight's (er, well I guess last night's technically) event came up to me letting me know they found a Kindle and saw that it was registered under your name!

I just wanted to let you know that you don't need to panic and I have your baby (I myself have a Nook so I know what it's like). If you'd like to meet somewhere or come over to pick it up from my place, just let me know. But I just wanted you to know that it's in good hands!

Take care and I hope you had a good time at the event!

Amanda S.

Yelp DC Intern

I was one of the fortunate few hundred who had a chance to visit the Crime and Punishment Museum for Yelp's Most Wanted Party.  Since I spent New Years Eve at home typing on the computer, this was my way to make up for my missed celebration.

It was a wonderful evening, until I turned around and for the life of me, I couldn't remember where I put it.  It was only when I was perusing the dark side at the CSI Experience that it suddenly dawned on me that I left it in jail.

So I rushed two floors up to the replica jail cell only to discover that my amazing Kindle had disappeared.

Surely, there were enough thugs and jailbirds within these walls to make a quick snatch and run (There was even an actual life-size hole in the wall for your daring jail cell escape).

My Plan to Swim the Anacostia Before I Croak

I love stand up paddling on the Potomac, but on the Anacostia?

The new Anacostia River license plate (costs $25 to purchase)

Why there's too much ice up river?  Not really, Anacostia is my home and this forsaken river is my backyard.

This afternoon, I launched from Diamond Teague Pier, the brand new pier built to one day facilitate ferries to and fro the Nationals Ball Park.   What a perfect memorial for a smart kid that cared so much for the development of his community.  Diamond Teague was a charismatic young volunteer at the Earth Conservation Corp who was shot in the head in front of his house in 2003 at the age of 19.

DMV NY's Eve Century Bike Tour

We are planning for one last event to ring out the decade.  Huray! No, it's not another painful marathon.  It's a century!  Why not end this fantastic decade by riding 100 fabulous miles. How are we going to do it?  By riding 4 loops of the new and symbolic 25 mile DMV loop.  The route will be similar to the Christmas Day Marathon, encompassing DC, Maryland and Virginia and doing a complete loop around the Potomac.

Want to save your legs for NY's eve dancing?  No sweat. You have the option of stopping and resting after each loop or quiting altogether.


Loops:

• The first loop will start at 6:00 to end around 8:30. 
• We will break for 30 mins and go again and end around 11:30.  
• We will take an hour lunch break and start the third loop at around 12:30.  We hope to finish the third loop by 3:00.  
• Finally the 4th loop will start around 3:30 to end at 6:00.  

Will we see NY's Eve Festivities?
While riding through Old Town, we will ride through King Street and see the beginnings of First Night Alexandria.

DC: We will stop and see the National Christmas Tree one final time before they take it down for the year.

MD: We will get a chance to see the setup for the NY's Eve festivities at Gaylord Resort in National Harbor.

Expected Pace: 8-10 mph

Here is the DMV loop.

Weather: Cloudy. Highs will be in the upper 40's and we are not expecting high winds.  Looks like a great day to ride 100 miles.

Why I Ran 26 Miles on Christmas Day

Christmas came early to me in the form of a nice surprise -- a call from a friend I haven't seen or heard from in nearly 20 years.  We had gone to school together at Florida and her call from Shanghai was absolutely the right wake-up call I needed to jumpstart my day.  I needed to run, but life is not always on a time table.  No one was waiting for me and the race would start when life was ready for me to begin.

A call home to Mom to wish her well with her big dinner at home.  A call to my son and I wished he was home with me instead.  And then I was off to the National Christmas Tree to start my momentous run.

Christmas Day Marathon Run -- Still On

 This is the new DMV Loop that is exactly 26.2 miles.

Snow or shine, I am still planning on kicking off my Christmas Day Marathon Run tomorrow in front of the National Christmas Tree at 9:30 AM.

O Holy Night -- Reflections of Christmas

Maggie Contreras said it best: "If you are going to be in DC, for Christmas, you have to see the the National Christmas Tree.  Otherwise, it's like rejecting Christmas, if you don't go visit it."

I know a lot of people who've been hear for years and have never visited the tree. So if you have never seen the tree, please go visit it.  It doesn't matter how cold it is.  The tree is magical and you could meet amazing people there. And there's something traditional about the trains that brings out the child in you. It surely did for me.

It doesn't matter where in the US you are from. Every state and territory has its own mini tree.  And if you're not from the US, the tree will have a special meaning to you.

Meanwhile, Amy  expressed her views on Christmas succinctly: Christmas is about sharing the idea of love and giving worldwide.  We should see other people as ourselves. We should set everything aside and love everyone unconditionally.

And the biggest miracle of them all: To Pepe, it was the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.  To him, it was the most perfect Christmas present of all.

Meanwhile soprano prodigy, Jackie Evancho, wows us with her classical crossover, "Oh Holy Night."

Stand Up Paddle "Stand by Me"

"Stand by Me" written by Ben E. Kingperfectly captures my love and passion for this new found sport. . King was a master of sudsy metaphors that paints a lovely picture of Love that know no bounds.  And John Lennon simply sings it best.


I made this video to depict the exhilaration and excitement of stand up paddle boarding.

Christmas Day Marathon

So what do you do on Christmas Day after all the presents have been opened?  Well if the relatives are in town, you may want to go for a run -- a long run, that is.

If your family or significant other will let you go for several hours, you are cordially invited to participate in the first (annual) Christmas Day Marathon.

We are starting at 9:00 AM on Constitution Avenue, just north of the Washington Monument and south of the National Christmas Tree (Rain, Snow, Sleet or Shine)

The route will then take you to the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree before heading southeast towards Anacostia.

This will be the first true DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) marathon.

I will stage minimal aid along the way at Mile 4 (Congress Heights) and Mile 13 (National Harbor).  At National Harbor, we will take pictures in front of the 65-foot Christmas Tree made of synthetic "candy" glass.


 This is the new DMV Loop that is exactly 26.2 miles. It starts and ends at the Washington Monument.

The route relies heavily on bike and running trails and only about 5% of it is on busy streets.

We then cross the WW Bridge and stop in Old Town to view their Christmas tree and decoration near the Torpedo Factory.  Then it's a 10 mile run back towards the National Christmas Tree.

Since it's a Holy Day, we will not be breaking any speed records. We're going to take our time, enjoy, work off the egg nog and pumpkin pie and everyone we run into say "Happy Holidays."

Please contact me if you are seriously interested or seriously insane.  (Don't just show up without contacting me first, so we can plan accordingly)

This event is free, but you have to (BYOA) bring your own aid.

Routes used:

1. Anacostia Park

2. Suitland Parkway

3. Oxon Run Trail

4. Oxon Hill Bike Trail

5. National Harbor/Woodrow Wilson

6. Mount Vernon Trail

This marathon loop crosses three bridges:

1. Frederick Douglas (Nationals Park to Anacostia)

2. Woodrow Wilson (National Harbor to Alexandria)

3. Memorial (Arlington to National Mall)

It finishes with one loop around Hains Point to finish at the Washington Monument to reach exactly 26.2 miles.  The majority of the course is very scenic especially along Oxon Hill Trail (wild deer and turkeys)

The only major traffic lights you will encounter are those along Independence Ave and on Suitland Parkway and Stanton Rd in SE.

Big Bear Bike Sale for Charities

Today I bought a bike, no actually two, and the proceeds, all 100% of it goes to charities!

The first is a Bianchi Mountain bike for an amazing $190. With this bike, I can use as a commuter and even take it with me to NYC on the Bolt Bus.  Lots of people know Bianchi for the road bikes, but they may not be aware that Bianchi was one of the first mountain bike designers.  In 1915, Edoardo Bianchi manufactured a mountain bike in support of the Army Alpine Corps of Italy.

The second bike, a vintage Cannondale aluminum racer for a very good price. I was very glad to know that the money I paid will go to ship donated bikes to Ghana.

Once the bikes arrive in country, the locals work on reconditioning the bikes, creating jobs and taking full ownership and pride in their work.

Now, youths throughout Africa and South and Central America are provided with affordable bicycles for personal transport to work, school and health services.

Since 2005, more than 41,000 bikes have been shipped to countries throughout rural parts of Africa, central America, Haiti and even Afghanistan.

The bikes are used by the indigent as well as by aid workers. Like Nick Colombo said "It's like giving them a car." What a wonderful cause!

Early December Paddle: Georgetown to Navy Yard

  

Early Dec stand-up paddle in majestic Potomac and historic Anacostia from Georgetown to Navy Yard. Filmed with Casio EXILM EX-G1. Board is NSP 11'
Synched to U2's "One."

Although it was a bitter, cold day, best for watching football and beers, I truly enjoyed every second of this invigorating SUP.

DC, MD, VA (DMV) Marathon Loop

 This is the new DMV Loop that is exactly 26.2 miles.

It starts and stops at the Washington Monument.

The route relies heavily on bike and running trails and only about 5% of it is on busy streets.