What I’ve learned since moving to D.C. (some of which should be obvious): 0017

801.  “Authentic,” traditional food isn’t necessarily “great,” traditional food;
802.  The National Capital Barbecue Battle (BbqDC.com) is in late June on Pennsylvania Avenue between 10^th and 14^th Streets;
803.  Generally, the Dow is undervalued in terms of gold when it costs less than 4 ounces of gold, valued fairly at about 6 or 7 ounces of gold, and overvalued when it costs more than 10 ounces of gold;
804.  If you want to go to the “Jazz in the Garden” concert series at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, plan on getting there early.  It’s extremely popular;
805.  The U.S. Naval Academy actually has foreign students.  Their respective governments pay for their tuition (i.e., $350,000.00) and upon graduation they serve in their country’s navy;
806.  When midshipmen arrive at the U.S. Naval Academy, they don’t have to know how to swim, but by the time they graduate, they do.  They have to pass a swim test in order to graduate . . . swim two-thirds of a mile in under forty minutes . . . in full uniform (minus shoes). . . . Also, all midshipmen have to play a sport.  It’s mandatory;
807.  It’s weird seeing a strip club next to Target;
808.  “Independence Hall” is really the Pennsylvania State House and the “Liberty Bell” is really the Pennsylvania State House bell;
809.  “Duck Tour” boats don’t mix well with barges;
810.  The average person lives 28,251 days;
811.  The National Aquarium in D.C. is affiliated with the National Aquarium in Baltimore;
812.  Former “Bachelorette” contestants hang out in Baltimore;
813.  Admission to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is free, but parking is $15.00. . . . However, if you go after 4 o’clock, it’s free. . . . Just don’t go during rush hour;
814.  The Space Shuttle Enterprise isn’t capable of spaceflight.  It was built without engines and a functioning heat shield;
815.  The one who releases himself from the emotional attachment to a desired outcome is, ironically, the one most likely to realize that outcome;
816.  You’re just another cog in the machine when you take a week off and the day you get back you don’t have any (urgent) phone and/or e-mail messages waiting for you and everything is pretty much how you left it;
817.  A belief is a thought you make real;
818.  Believing is seeing;
819.  The other “GPA:” Goal, Purpose and Action;
820.  Anthony Daniels looks a little like C3PO;
821.  It’s amazing how a sound . . . a taste . . . a smell can take you to another place and another time;
822.  The fear of loss is a more powerful motivator than the anticipation of gain;
823.  You can get pretty good crab cakes at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.  They have very little filler, . . . but they’re pricey;
824.  There’s no such thing as an accounting error in your favor.  Sooner or later, your creditor will find the error and try to fix it . . . usually incorrectly . . . causing even more problems;
825.  You can get kicked out of a bar for allegedly running into people and/or stumbling;
826.  The Legg Mason Tennis Classic is one of the top twenty men’s tennis tournaments in the world.  Some notable past champions include Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Stefan Edberg, Michael Chang, Andy Roddick, James Blake and Lleyton Hewitt;
827.  Lleyton Hewitt isn’t a big fan of the fist bump;
828.  Things don’t just happen.  You have to make them happen;
829.  Fail to prepare, prepare to fail;
830.  If you can avoid it, don’t pull in front of police cars, . . . especially at traffic lights;
831.  Don’t call a woman a “bitch” within five minutes of meeting her, . . . even if it’s meant as a joke;
832.  Nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it.  Nothing is as exciting as your fantasy;
833.  If the power usage in your electric bill seems off, make sure the correct meter is assigned to your account;
834.  You can make ice cream out of cream cheese;
835.  Laporta’s Restaurant (Laportas.net) has the best Happy Hour in (Old Town) Alexandria . . . $2.00 pints, rail drinks or house red or white wine . . . and $2.00 off all other drinks and wine by the glass (i.e., Monday through Friday from 3 o’clock to 7 o’clock);
836.  Clean contacts do make a big difference;
837.  It’s never too late to be what you might have been;
838.  It’s pathetic how we can’t live with the things we can’t understand.  How we need everything labeled and explained and deconstructed.  Even if it’s for sure unexplainable;
839.  A bigger house is not the answer.  Neither is a better spouse, more money, tighter skin.  Anything you can acquire is only another thing you’ll lose.  The answer is there is no answer;
840.  We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are.  Sane or insane.  Saints or sex addicts.  Heroes or victims.  Letting history tell us how good or bad we are.  Letting our past decide our future.  Or we can decide for ourselves.  And maybe it’s our job to invent something better;
841.  Is it a sign of maturity that, when you’re in a bad mood, you no longer turn to alcohol to feel better?
842.  There are only eleven Lego-certified professionals in the world.  Adam Reed Tucker is one of them;
843.  The tallest monument in the United States is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis;
844.  The way you get to the huge, impossible yes is, you start collecting a lot of easy, small yeses;
845.  A moment is the most you can ever expect from perfection;
846.  “Arts on Foot” (ArtsOnFoot.org) is in early September;
847.  The “Alexandria Festival of the Arts” is in early September;
848.  Sometimes you do something, and you get screwed.  Sometimes it’s the things you don’t do, and you get screwed;
849.  You can get pretty good food and entertainment deals at LivingSocial (LivingSocial.com);
850.  On Mondays, movies are $1.00 at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (ArlingtonDrafthouse.com).  On Tuesdays, they’re $2.00 and on Wednesdays, they’re $3.00;