Best products from r/washingtondc

Antenna: I have one of these RCA antennas on my roof that's split to my two TVs, for the older Sharp TV with the better tuner it gets everything possible including channels from Baltimore (I'm in NE) but recently has "dropped" the 30.x channels (Russia Today and some Korean stations, no big loss to me) while the newer Vizio apparently has a worse tuner and gets about 75% of those channels (no 7.x, no Baltimores). I previously had a interior "window" antenna connected to it, it received even fewer channels then. In both cases using a signal amplifier helped get a few more channels. Moral of the story: Roof antenna best, interior antenna just OK, signal booster good, the tuner in TV makes a difference- but there's no good way to know how well your tuner works til you try. Certain antennas work better with certain frequencies and stations.

Streaming Boxes: I have the Roku3 and am pretty satisfied with it, using it for Amazon, Netflix, USTVNow (see below) and Youtube. I also have an external hard drive with media on it connected via USB. Generally works well and is responsive, doesn't lock up that often. I also have an Android box, the Matricom GBox-Q that's a bit more open to 3rd party apps and whatnot. It's a neat idea but buggy in execution most of the time. I use it mostly for watching stuff on hard drive (it's better than the Roku at that) and maybe finding some weird European sports and alternative internet content but I find myself using the Roku to watch Netflix by default most of the time. My buddy has the FireTV and likes it, especially the voice control. I had an AppleTV for a minute, didn't really like it though the AirPlay feature with other iOS devices was nice.

Channels: I'm a big fan of a lot of the OTA channels and there's a bunch that you can't get on cable. Noteworthy are: 4.2 ("classic" TV shows like Magnum), 7.2 (the "whitebread" channel, Brady Bunch/Gomer Pyle/Patty Duke et. al), 7.3 (Comet, a poor man's SciFi channel), 9.2 (if BET was any good it would probably be like 9.2), 14.2 & 14.3 (older movies, 14.2 is a lot of b&w while 14.3 is westerns), 20.2 (called Movies!, a lot of good films, some not so good), 20.3 (used to be Spanish, just turned to all cop shows I think), all 9+ PBS channels (22.1-2-3, 26.1-2-3-4, and 32.1-2 . Plus some other stuff for NoVA and Baltimore if you can get em), 50.2 (classic sitcoms) and 50.3 (movies from different eras). There's ION TV at 66.1-6, which is supposedly "positive" TV but 66.1 only shows dead body shows (Criminal Minds, Law & Order, et. al.) and 3, 4, 5, & 6 are all shopping. 66.2 is kids cartoons, but not ones that grownups would really watch. 30.1-9 is a lot of foreign TV. There's a full lineup of what's available here.

Services: I have Netflix and Amazon Prime as well as a free account for USTVNow. Netflix and Amazon Prime have a lot of similarities in their catalogs though Netflix has a lot more original programming each day. I'll probably let Prime expire next time it comes up. USTVNow was originally conceived to let US troops overseas get to watch US TV but has morphed into a general service. Signing up for the free version lets you stream all 7 of the major networks, but no hi def after 45 days. Their pay service gets you more channels (ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, PBS, My9, A&E, Animal Planet, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNBC, CNN, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, ESPN, FX, Fox News, History, Lifetime, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Spike, Syfy, TBS, TNT, USA, AMC) for $30. But that's almost the cost of cable, and you're paying internet costs to stream it.

Sports: Plenty of college sports, NASCAR, and golf, expect NFL football only on Sundays, sporadic baseball and hockey, almost no NBA basketball (want to watch the Bullets? Go to a bar). You'll find yourself starting to watch the X-Games and American Ninja Warrior more often. The only saving grace is when you finally do get to see a TV with ESPN on you'll realize it's 90+% guys in suits yelling stupid at one another and not actually sports coverage.

Haven't had cable in years now, haven't regretted it. Sports and Adult Swim are about the only things I miss.

Fellow male SoCal transplant here! First, get some flexible measuring tape, the kind used by tailors. Use this to measure your neck, chest, inseam, etc. Do this several times to make sure that you have a good set of measurements. Accurate measurements are key, since looser clothing means more heat leaving your body.

These measurements will make online shopping a hell of a lot easier. Winter clothes are expensive, so Amazon is your friend. I'll post a few of the things that I rely on for the coldest days below, all of which have been godsends. I have terrible circulation in my hands, feet, and ears so your mileage may vary, but you'd be surprised how much cold wind hurts your ears. My east coast native friends make fun of some of these things, but I'll take non-misery over judgment when it's ten degrees.

Carhartt makes some of the warmest, and cheapest, winter items. They're not fashionable, but they're durable and affordable. This hat is $8 and it's been warm enough to keep my ears and scalp toasty during walks to work. The Carhartt scarf is also a godsend. If you're anything like me, you never realized that a scarf actually served a functional purpose, but it'll make any coat significantly warmer by preventing heat loss. Carhartt and others sell wool socks that you'll be glad to have if you walk to work.

This next item is the dorkiest by far: an electric jacket. Just like an electric blanket with some added shame. There are some more high-end versions, but a few power tool companies make them for affordable prices. They're waterproof (ie snowproof), carry a charge for hours, and have different heat settings. [This Bosch one is $150] (http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-PSJ120L-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Softshell/dp/B00E1RWH72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413778229&sr=8-1&keywords=electric+jacket) and has good reviews. Milwaukee sells a newer model that also includes an in-pocket USB charger, which I recently saw at a Home Depot around here. The big advantage of the electric jacket is the heat settings: because it can be off or on low/medium/high, you're essentially carrying around four jackets. I never would have made it through Inauguration without this jacket.

Also important: gloves! Don't skimp on these. You'll want a pair that are waterproof but pliable enough that they won't make it impossible to
tie your shoes or pull out your metro card. I highly recommend these smartphone gloves. The fingertips are lined with silver threads for conductivity, so you'll be able to use your phone/trackpad in the cold. These are a great value, but they'll be the least forgiving of poor measurements so be careful to get this right!

Lastly, long underwear. I've never met a suit that kept my legs warm, so these merino wool underwear are amazing. A good pair of these will keep you warm on the coldest days but be breathable and soft enough to keep on under your slacks all day (or you can remove them at work, of course).

Most of these things are for the coldest days. You won't need anything like them most of the time, but you'll be glad when you have them. You'll also want an overcoat somewhat like this, some more stylish scarves, etc. For dress shoes, just be vigilant about cleaning the salt off! I'd never run into road salt before moving here, but there will be months where it's on all the sidewalks and it just ruins leather. Get some leather conditioner (I like this stuff) and apply it to your shoes regularly to keep them in good condition. Dry leather becomes cracked leather which becomes useless leather.

I hope this helps!

I spent my senior year of high school studying gentrification and demographic patterns in the District for my senior thesis and used these three sources extensively, they're superb books that are great reads for anyone even remotely interested in the District. They're pretty pricey to buy, but DCPL has each book, and the last one is available for Kindle.

City of Magnificent Intentions is an amazing book. It's the DCPS textbook for D.C. History (mandatory to graduate high school) and is filled with great facts, photos and drawings. Although it's formatted like a textbook, it is still a fantastic history of the city. It does a great job addressing planning and general demographics. It's probably one of the best books on D.C.

Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C. is a fascinating read on the politics and racial history of the District, and it's co-authored by Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood! It has a great section on the riots, how they affected the District, and the rise (and I believe also the fall) of Marion Barry.

The Great Society Subway is an incredibly detailed history of Metro, but might also interest you based on the way it details the impact it made on various sections of the city and suburbs (For instance, it goes in depth about how the green line was the last line built and how that impacted the neighborhoods it passed through, often the poorest in the city).

You're in luck then. That turntable is very easy to deal with. It also includes an alignment checker on the body of the plinth, if you still have it. As long as you are using a standard headshell this will be pretty damn accurate for you. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/852304/Pioneer-Pl-12d.html?page=4

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Then you just need to buy one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071P9VZ5Q/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?psc=1 and confirm that you have the right tracking force set.

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The actual procedure to balance a tonearm should be in that manual, but it's simple. You first turn the anti-skate and VTF to 0. Then start twisting the counter-weight carefully until you can get the tonearm to simply float level, that is your zero point, rotate the bezel to 0. Then dial the weight up to the tracking force recommended for the cartridge you have chosen, and verify with the guage. There's usually a recommended band like 1.5-1.8 (and then set anti-skate to the same), I find nearer the top to be better with s-arms but you can experiment.

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To be fair, you can carry a knife (of reasonable size) and pepper spray/gel legally and in the metro.

The knife is more of a tool than anything else, but it's there if a situation occurs where I need it. The pepper spray is my go to. I keep it on one of those retractable kevlar key strings. I have yet to use it, probably because I look like the abominable snowman (or so I've been told) and no one wants to screw with me, but I'd rather have options if something does happen, whether to me or someone nearby.

Even though I expect most of the people posting here can take a single teenager, the problem is they're like raptors. They hunt in packs. I might be able to take two on, three if I'm lucky. The pepper spray helps incapacitate enough/all of them to balance out the odds to where I escape with limited injuries and hopefully, end any situation with the would be attackers in custody.

I really wish people would be a little bit more assertive and proactive about their safety. Take a self-defense class. Start carrying a (legal) weapon and learn how to use it. If you can't be bothered to do any of this, remember that a hard strike to someone's throat will bring most people to their knees.

Yes and no. The idea was that the Metro would serve as both a subway system and as a commuter rail-- thus the bad seating layout and the decision to have carpets. They wanted it to feel more like a commuter line.

If you looked at a map of NYC that included the full length of the NJT and Metro-North lines, it would look far more absurd.

I do think that there's path dependence between the Metro and sprawl, but I think that saying it's a causal relationship like you are is overstating it.

Also, might be of interest to some in this thread: Zachary Schrag's The Great Society Subway.

The book Dream City is the authoritative guide on this. It tracks Marion Barry's life and career while also providing a great guide to the political history of the District in the past 50 years. It gives a good portrait of Barry's complexity - he was brilliant (had a master's degree in chemistry), inspiring, had great ideas, but also couldn't control himself.

Make sure to get the updated 20th anniversary edition.

Solid technique, but I use Mack's and they are great. I also use them for concerts and since they aren't crazy colors, they are barely noticeable. Would recommend to anyone with thin walls.

https://www.amazon.com/Marpac-Dohm-DS-All-Natural-White-Machine/dp/B000KUHFGM

I bought one of these when I lived in a prewar building (paper thin windows) facing a major street in Manhattan. It may not be something you use all day but it'll help you sleep. You may have to play around with optimal positioning, but next to you on your nightstand is typically not the right positioning.

The book they reference there is pretty fantastic. Incredibly thorough and comprehensive history of WMATA and Metro, right from the start.

I got this one and it worked well for me


https://www.amazon.com/Fermentaholics-Kombucha-Twelve-Starter-Culture/dp/B01N7S1CV5/ref=asc_df_B01N7S1CV5/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167141564589&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16422637340237787187&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9061285&hvtargid=pla-314031789242&psc=1


But it's definitely more fun to get one from someone!

If you wanna know why it happened the way it happened, I highly recommend reading The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro.

http://www.amazon.com/Dream-City-Power-Decline-Washington/dp/0671768468

Dream City is an excellent read in terms of understanding the peculiar politics of DC.

There's a book called 60 hikes within 60 miles of DC that's pretty good.

I brought my step stool https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B014JP1T5Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and it worked great!

>I called customer service and was told it's "normal" to have to reboot everything daily

This was true years ago. It was common to have to reboot routers and'or modems to clear up problems. It really should not be an issue with newer equipment. If you try it a few times and it works, buy a timer to automate the process for you. Just set it to turn the outlet off at two AM for a few minutes and then turn the outlet back on.

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https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Programmable-CANAGROW-Electric-Grounded/dp/B07MC2MJG4/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2UV2YZ6EEJD0J&keywords=outlet+timer+indoor&qid=1565533600&s=gateway&sprefix=Outlet+timer%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-7

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Finally, if you have owned your own equipment for a long time and it is older equipment, you might actually be falling into that group where you do need to reboot regularly. Or you can try updating the device firmware which may help.

I'm reading S Street Rising and it's awesome so far.

City of Magnificent Intentions was the textbook we all had to read in 10th grade DC History class.

I'm a fan of greenbelt park because it's close to me. You should consider this book, it's worth the money.

Thanks for the recommendation! Added to my Goodreads queue.

My standing D.C. book recommendation has been and will remain Dream City by Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood.

Here's a really good book - http://www.amazon.com/Dream-City-Power-Decline-Washington/dp/0671768468#

If you do want to read something I highly recommend: https://www.amazon.com/Dream-City-Power-Decline-Washington/dp/0786755938/

Dream City. Most definitely. The library has 20bazillion copies, and you'll understand a lot more why DC is the way it is after reading it.

I go with pepper gel and keep it on this for quick and easy access.

Good list. I'd add S street Rising.

I suggest purchasing this book: http://www.amazon.com/Hikes-within-Miles-Washington-Including/dp/0897325559

The best Metro accessible hiking includes:

• Rock Creek Park
  
• Capital Crescent Trail
  
• Teddy Roosevelt Island
  
• Mt. Vernon Trail
  
• National Arboretum
  
• Lake Artemesia
  
  Roosevelt Island and the Arboretum are both inaccessible due to the shutdown. Rock Creek, Mt. Vernon, and Capital Crescent are under NPS jurisdiction, but as far as I know still available to use, although restrooms along those trails are all likely to be shuttered. Lake Artemesia is under the jurisdiction of Maryland, so it's still very much accessible.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0671768468/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

used for $7.

https://www.amazon.com/Dream-City-Power-Decline-Washington/dp/0786755938

$7 on Kindle

Oh I just got mine from Amazon. The Kindle version is only $7.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Society-Subway-Washington/dp/080188246X is the book most often mentioned.

Edit: fixed link