What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0011

501.  Surprisingly, having been born in 1930, General Michael Collins, Colonel “Buzz” Aldrin and Neil Armstrong are all very sharp mentally;

502.  From 1971-1978, General Collins was director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM.SI.edu).  During that time, he oversaw its construction on the National Mall;

503.  During the summer, it’s hot in Canada;

504.  Canada has a lot of farms (especially British Columbia);

505.  The ocean waters in Canada are very blue;

506.  During the summer time in Canada, the sun doesn’t set until 10 o’clock;

507.  “The Sunken Garden” in Butchart Gardens (ButchartGardens.com) is stunning;

508.  Canadians are friendlier than Americans;

509.  Jellyfish is chewy and doesn’t really taste like anything;

510.  Fish stomach is chewy and slightly sour;

511.  Canadian women are hot;

512.  Canadians aren’t nearly as obese as Americans;

513.  What would you get if you merged Wisconsin with Montana in an alternate universe?  The answer is: British Columbia;

514.  There are a lot of Asians in (certain parts of) Canada;

515.  Instead of bridges, Canada has a lot of ferries;

516.  It’s strange hearing an Asian with a Canadian accent;

517.  Canadians like to spend their free time outdoors, mainly camping;

518.  Squab tastes like a cross between chicken and duck and looks like duck;

519.  Shark fin doesn’t really taste like anything;

520.  Whole abalone (to me) looks like a scoop of ice cream and has the taste and texture of a mushroom;

521.  Sea cucumber (to me) also has the taste and texture of a mushroom;

522.  Starbucks’s headquarters in Seattle is in the original Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog building;

523.  Washington, D.C. gets more rain than Seattle. . . . Seattle doesn’t get a lot of heavy rain, but it does drizzle a lot;

524.  Mount Rainier is taller than K2;

525.  Huckleberry tastes like blueberry (to me);

526.  Fadó in Seattle is bigger than the one in D.C.;

527.  Kobe beef hot dogs have a sweeter taste than regular beef hot dogs;

528.  There aren’t many tall buildings around Grauman’s Chinese Theatre . . . and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is filmed across the street;

529.  Most of my relatives play mahjong;

530.  What’s worse than D.C. traffic?  The answer is: L.A. traffic;

531.  Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, is only a few blocks long;

532.  The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (Huntington.org) is next to the California Institute of Technology (i.e., CalTech) in Pasadena, California.  Entrance is free the first Thursday of the month, but you have to get tickets in advance;

533.  Fatburger is better than In-N-Out Burger (In-N-Out.com);

534.  The auditorium of the Walt Disney Concert Hall looks smaller in person;

535.  Melrose Avenue has a lot of tattoo parlors;

536.  The Sunset Strip is a hodgepodge of bars, clubs, restaurants and shops that might run for a mile that’s kind of rundown;

537.  The first Hot Dog on a Stick (www.HotDogOnAStick.com) opened on Muscle Beach in Santa Monica, California;

538.  The W Washington, D.C. (formerly the Hotel Washington) has a great view of the White House from the POV Roof Terrace;

539.  It irks me when first run theatres play trailers for movies that are already out.  It also irks me when theatres have posters up for movies they aren’t showing anymore;

540.  Rock climbers are ripped;

541.  When you’re climbing up an indoor rock wall, you don’t realize how high up you are.  You’re too busy trying to figure out which holds to use next;

542.  When scaling an indoor rock climbing wall, try to use your legs instead of your arms.  You won’t tire as fast;

543.  For some reason, the bar at Modern (Modern-DC.com) reminds me of the Mos Eisley Cantina in “Star Wars: A New Hope;”

544.  Flavor Flav is a pretty good climber . . . and a pretty good drummer too;

545.  Richard Branson actually goes to his Virgin Mobile Festivals;

546.  There’s not a lot of training to jump out of an airplane. . . . I think that’s a little strange considering you could seriously hurt yourself (or even die) doing it;

547.  As bizarre as it sounds, it’s actually pretty calm plummeting 120 miles an hour straight to the ground;

548.  When skydiving, the parachute ride is worse than the freefall;

549.  Motion sickness from skydiving is a lot like having a hangover;

550.  During football games, the Austin Grill (AustinGrill.com) has $2.00 beers (i.e., Corona Extra, Corona Light and Miller Lite);