1600 Tobacco Road, N.W. 20500

Nothing takes the edge off a Washington winter quite like a visit to the Botanical Gardens.  That’s not the National Arboretum, by the way – the best time to visit there is in the spring.  The Botanical Gardens, however, can be most appreciated, in my humble opinion, in the winter, where stepping inside is like instant… Continue reading 1600 Tobacco Road, N.W. 20500

The Election Isn’t Over Until the Fat Lady Votes

As the crow flies, 821 Upshur Street, Northwest, is only about a mile from the pleasant upscale Washington neighborhood that hosts our National Zoo.  But as anyone who lives in a modern American city these days can tell you, a mile, in many cases, might as well be a light year.  So, after work today, I… Continue reading The Election Isn’t Over Until the Fat Lady Votes

NASA to Astronauts – What Are Those Rings Around Uranus?

True, the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a civilian agency.  But you’d never know that from the way they behave.  NASA’s gratuitous obsession with secrecy does not merely rival that of those organizations within the Executive Branch, such as the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency,… Continue reading NASA to Astronauts – What Are Those Rings Around Uranus?

First Family Redux

My three o’clock appointment today was one Randy Spassvogel, trade association representative for the Humorists’ Association of Cartoonists, Kibitzers, Stand-up Comedians, Allied Media Parodists and Satirists.  Under the circumstances, I couldn’t resist.  As he settled into the chair across from my desk, I just had to do it.  “Knock, knock.” Spassvogel threw me a quizzical… Continue reading First Family Redux