(Part 2) Best products from r/washingtondc

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!

this is intresting http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/tlg/4821862966.html

> Burlesque Dancers & Drag Queens Needed for a Documentary (Washington DC)

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap
(google map) (yahoo map)

compensation: Compensation upon acceptance
The life of a burlesque dancer and drag queen is one of the most interesting jobs in the world. So many people have always been curious of the lifestyle that they lead. We would like to show people the inside life of burlesque and drag queens. Explore your dance, your thoughts, your life as well as your dreams, your goals and your ultimate wants. We are making an intimate portrait of the alternative lifestyle community as well as the DC underground burlesque and drag queen scene.

We will be filming the entire documentary right here in Washington DC and would love to meet and speak with you as well as film your routines as well as shows for those we want to follow. This will involve pay for those we chose and those who can really tell us and show us what your lifestyle is all about. Filming will last approximately 3 months starting mid January.

For those we chose, we will follow you for the day from home to work, from coffee shop to dinner. We will dive into your life, your upbringing and your shows to really get to know you as a person. For once, you can be heard and your story told.

We are EinsteinCarnegie Corporation that also holds FoxandHoundsDC and we have teamed up with Seanie Blue (www.seanieblue.com), who is a published writer and film maker. He will play a very large part in this amazing film.

The movie will be produced by EinsteinCarnegie Corporation and directed by DC artist Seanie Blue. It's a wedding made in the stars, because EinsteinCarnegie Corporation is a marketing and advertising corporation with a long history of success, while Blue is "an impossible artist to define" for his accomplishments in film, photography, music and the DC underground arts scene. Sean was the creative force behind the Deborah Ash documentary Portraits of Naked Lady Dancer:

We will be holding interviews and auditions Jan 3rd and 4th and would love to see you out there. If you are interested, please email us about you, why you feel as though you would be good at this and what is your ultimate goal in being a part of this film.

We are looking for serious individuals only, those who want to make this an amazing film, if this is not you, please do not reach out. For those who are interested, please be sure to include a telephone number to be reached as well as information about your interest in this film.

If you are interested in learning about a similar previous film on this particular topic that Seanie Blue created, please click the links below. For information on FoxandHoundsDC, please visit our website, www.foxandhoundsdc.com

http://www.amazon.com/Portraits-Naked-Lady-Dancer/dp/B0009ACZN6
http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/326461/Portraits-of-a-Naked-Lady-Dancer/overview
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/portraits_of_a_naked_lady_dancer/
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/portraitsnakedladydancer.php

The movie they will "film" will probably be your Burlesque show you paid tickets for....lolzzzzz

The winter months are especially hard. People say this ad nauseum, but start exercising. That could be hitting the gym or just going for a morning jog. Depending where you live, try and go for daily walks too. I started consistently exercising about two years ago and it helps me a lot.

For overall mental health, if you feel life is getting to be a bit much, maybe look into seeing a therapist. They can help give you tools to overcome certain emotions you are feeling and help identify things that arise. Other routes are meditation,. I used to pay for Headspace and highly recommend it, but plenty of free stuff out there too. Lastly, consider looking into self-help books. This genre gets eye rolls from time to time, but I've found a few books that have helped me understand my mental and emotional health. I recommend Feeling Good as a good place to start.

Regarding the loss of a girlfriend, everyone tackles that differently. Dating in DC is brutal, but when I was actively in the online dating scene, it was a lot of fun. I went in with no expectations, a positive attitude, and I met a lot of interesting women. Sometimes we'd date for awhile, other times it would fizzle out, and a few times I've made genuine friends. In the end, online dating was more about self discovery of what I really look for in a partner.

As for friends, check out the weekly Reddit happy hour. It would be a low pressure option to meet new people.

Overall, whatever you choose to do, there is no magic bullet and it's better to take an overall holistic approach to improving your situation.

I'm luck I have a mom & pop artist supply store that's been around forever nearby. They do film, digital, video, you name it. I just go in give it to them no questions asked although its been getting more expensive, most of the time I have them up it onto a cd then for cost reasons then file the negatives. Then when I'm ready to use something I can pull up the images (stored on a huge hard drive that is backed up everyday) bring in the negatives and get them printed. I think most big box artist supply stores would be similar I'm not sure though the closest is over an hour away from me, and I like to stay local.

The only time I have to explain something is when I bring in film that I've shot on my "fun" camera that takes 360 degree shots or however much I feel like taking. I get about 4 shots out of a 35mm roll and they are fine handling it even though its non standard some of them actually get excited about that camera. If you thinking about starting to dabble I can't recommend it enough its a Lomo 360 spinner super fun and dirt cheap $99 on amazon for a basic black one I think thats the same price that they sell them for if you get it directly from lomo, get the warranty if you get one I broke my first one after 6 months. Its pretty simple it has what I think of as a "rip cord" pull and it shoots but you can use it to do really crazy shots too. Here are some examples. You can find a ton shots from online. Did I mention its very fun I love giving it to my friends and let them shoot on it the response is always "COOL!" I'd also recommend the basic lomo as a nice fun camera to use you can easily do multiple exposures on it, over exposures, and long exposures like at night. I will likely never have my own darkroom having chemicals laying around is not something I want anywhere I live.

All that said if you already have a camera get some film for it and give it a whirl. Lens are dirt cheap for old film cameras so you can really expand you stable inexpensively. You do have to pay attention to film speed check out /r/analog/ if you need some guidance. You could try /r/photography just be prepared for someone to give you the standard why film line of questioning but there are people who know their stuff there too.

So it looks like Fios is available in Georgetown. If you're just looking for internet I'd recommend their 300Mbps package at a minimum, but with 5 people splitting it I would probably go for the gigabit for $79.99 a month. If you want TV, they have bundles with TV for an extra $20 or $30 a month. I would go with at least the "extreme TV package" if you want TV, because their "preferred" is nothing but Home shopping network and religious crap. If you do Fios, this modem is only $90 on Amazon and can handle speeds up to 1.7 gigabits.

If you're going the cable internet route, Google your modem's specific model number to see what DOCSIS version it is. If it's 3.1, you're good to go with any cable internet package. If it's 3.0, you can still use it with any package up to 550Mbps, but anything over that and you'll be paying for more bandwidth than your modem can handle. If it's 2.0 or below, you need a new modem. If you do need a new modem, just google "DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem" and take your pick.

For cable internet, I recommend RCN. They definitely service Georgetown It looks like they've got a great deal going on right now for gigabit internet and TV for $79.99 a month. That's probably going to be your best bet.

Between moving and switching providers to get a better deal, I've bought internet in DC and set up home networks probably a dozen times by now, so if you have any questions about the process or need help setting anything up feel free to message me anytime.

Disney's WOW is the easiest one to use, but doesn't give a lot of explanation, or any extra stuff.

Digital Video Essentials is the granddaddy of calibration discs. Starting with LaserDisc calibration tools. The BD is good, very very comprehensive. Gives you plenty of screens to calibrate, and evaluate (something the Disney disc doesn't have), the quality of your TV, and lots of history and exposition on why its the way it is, and info to help you purchase a better TV in the future. However, many people find this exposition, confusing, unnecessary and boring, and just want the test patterns.

Lastly Spears & Munsil calibration Blu-Ray. This is the newest one, I haven't used it, but I've heard it strikes a balance between Disney's WOW and DVE in terms of content and information.

This will get you all pretty close at home. These are all worth it, no matter the quality of your TV, or the room in which you use it. Professional calibration is simply better, and closer, however; unless you bought a very very high end TV its likely a professional cannot actually calibrate your TV to system standards, so its not really worth it. The other discs will get you close.

A word on TV calibration. TVs are purposely made to be out of system standards. There is no good reason with HD video standards, that any TV should come from the factory displaying anything else but system standard calibration. Here's the dirt on it. Consumers don't want accurate representation. Accurate representation doesn't subjectively look as good. It looks accurate. Consumers want brighter washed out contrast, and over saturated bright colors. So lower and middle end TVs are sold to show that off, because you'll buy them.

The worst way possible to buy a TV is to go to the store and look at which one has the best picture. TVs are typically sold under bright fluorescent lighting. Exactly the type of lighting you probably never watch your TV under. Lighting makes a huge different to picture quality perception. Which is why the Magnolia Room is darker.

My wife has taken courses with GLN and I took a few courses at the KCC. From hearing about my wife’s courses with GLN, it seems more suited to a casual interest and particularly helpful for tourists or language basics. Courses through the KCC are well-handled but much more intense, at most half of those who start Beginner I sign up for Beginner II. Not to mention how insanely small the class sizes get for the later courses. I personally had to drop halfway through Beginner II, I did not have the time to prepare/study outside of class. Also, there can be strong differences between teachers, and that makes a huge difference in whether you are prepared for later courses.

Some of the students at KCC have a background in Korean, either having family members that already speak Korean or who lived in Korea. There were people in Beginner II that lived in Korea for a year or more, you will never catch up to them. You also have your students that are hardcore Korean drama, cooking, and music (K-pop) fans and they can also leave you in the dust. This all makes it even tougher for someone without these backgrounds to get left behind.

There are some excellent resources available if you want to get a head start, such as https://www.amazon.com/Korean-Beginners-Mastering-Conversational-Included/dp/0804841004/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1484328652&sr=8-5&keywords=learn+korean but stay away from Rosetta Stone, as that is more geared to learning romantic languages (IMO). Overall, I would say Beginner I at the KCC would be casual and fun enough for anyone to take, but you have to consider your commitment in moving forward.

This seems like a good place for a PSA:

Emergencies typically require one of two responses:

SHELTER-IN-PLACE (snowstorm, blackout, earthquake)

• Generally, speaking you should have enough supplies to shelter in place for at least 3 days although other sources will say 14 days. That means clean water, food, and means to keep warm and dry if the power goes out or if there is flooding. Check out some of the FEMA resources others have posted.
  
  FLEE (fire, tsunami, attack)
  
  
• As far as a "bug-out" bag, these should be thought of as a means to keep you supplied and alive while traveling away from danger (not as a means of long term survival).
  
  When I assembled my kits, one of the most helpful pieces of advice I got was that "a kit is useless if you can't access it". For me, I am 90% of the time either at home or near my car so it makes sense to have a bug-out bag in both places. If SHTF while I'm at work or on the road, my kit at home is not going to do me any good.
  
  Emergency preparedness goes beyond "did I buy the right things?" and has much more to do with the practical realities of emergencies. A good example someone else pointed out: having a giant water reservoir is great but won't do you any good if your water gets cut off before you can fill it. Similarly, having a car is great but won't do you any good if the roads are too clogged to drive. Solution? Make your bug-out bag light enough to carry comfortably and take the Heel-Toe Express out of town.

Wholeheartedly agree with this suggestion! I bought this cold brew maker on Amazon for under $20 and use it religiously. It only makes a quart at a time, but you can dilute it 1:1 with water and it's still pretty strong. It's also not too large a profile, which is great if you share a fridge with roommates.

Only downside is that it takes a lot of coffee - 12-14 tbsp for one batch. However, this will be the case no matter where you get your cold brew from.

The food storage container/nut milk bag method is also a good way to make sun tea - for either coffee or tea, a glass half-gallon milk jug from Whole Foods does the trick perfectly.

The raise in water rates to pay for this has gotten people pretty angry, a la Skyrocketing DC Water Bills Leave Some Customers Unable to Pay. I support the project but I've definitely noticed the higher bills.

I went on a water saving binge, here are some water tips I learned:

• Fix all leaks no matter how small they seem. Common leaks people often miss is toilets that fill constantly a little bit or leaks on outside hose spigots
  
• Check that all your fixtures are low flow
  
• Get a hand wash toilet lid. When you flush the clean water that fills the tank first goes through the faucet. Example
  
• DOE will give you free rain capture barrels, use these to water your landscaping
  
• If you have a lawn that you water get rid of much of it as you can and plant water smart plants. DOE also has a program to install a free rain garden to help prevent runoff and another one for trees
  
• Need to run the water before it gets hot? Have a hot water recirculation pump installed. Say you are taking the first shower of the morning, press a button or have a timer set and a small pump recirculates the cold water that would normally go down the drain back to the water heater. It pays for itself in a few years but if the upfront cost is too high try insulating your pipes with cheap foam and insulate the spaces they run through to keep the hot water pipe warmer longer.
  
  The first 2 are the most important, for the rest the return on investment are smaller but still good to do.
  
  
• edit - Forgot to add, if you can't replace the toilet with a low flow one you can also retrofit a dual flush onto it yourself for very cheap.

Im so sorry this happened to you. I cant give any better advice than has been given, however, I have advice on how to prevent your next bike from being stolen.

I REALLY hope that cable lock in the picture isnt the lock you used. Using a cheap $20 lock to protect what I'm guessing is a $600 or more bike is asking for trouble. For your next bike, get locking skewers to protect your wheels. They make it practically impossible to remove your wheels when used right. Then get a U-lock, and use it anywhere on the frame. If you only protect your frame and not your wheels (aka if you dont get the locking skewers, or use a cable lock for your wheels), then you're looking at paying around $200 per wheel in aftermarket parts.

Locking Skewers:
http://www.amazon.com/Pinhead-Bicycle-Locking-Skewer-Pack/dp/B001Y9X328

http://www.amazon.com/OnGuard-MinPin-3-Piece-Locking-Skewer/dp/B00773XY9M/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1373286334&sr=1-2&keywords=onguard+skewers

or the best:
http://www.urbanbiketech.com/Pitlock-Locking-Skewer-Sets-s/1.htm

For U-locks, any is pretty good, but the higher-end you go, the better, and DEFINITELY sign up for the insurance the lock comes with! Here are two of the best:
http://www.amazon.com/Kryptonite-Standard-Bicycle-Transit-FlexFrame/dp/B005YPK9SY/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1373286741&sr=1-2&keywords=new+york+lock

http://www.amazon.com/Blackburn-Sing-Bicycle-U-Lock/dp/B00470OYE2/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1373286786&sr=1-2&keywords=blackburn+u+lock

Well the model that I had was one of the earliest Chromebooks available. A lot has changed since then and there are a lot of newer models with more advanced features. From what I do know about Chromebooks, I think they are best suited for people who don't mind using Google products exclusively. If you are OK with using Google Docs/Sheets/Slides for productivity, then you should be fine. Also, I wouldn't buy a Chromebook for gaming or video editing. If you are a programmer, a Chromebook could be useful, but only if you are using languages that can be compiled in the browser.

Here is a recent article that highlights the positives and negatives of Chromebooks. Best of luck.

An hour before doors open is more than enough. It's a general admission show, so it's pretty much pure chaos.

Please, for the love of humanity, make sure your friend wears proper shoes. Preferably something with some decent toe protection. I can't tell you the number of inexperienced newbies I've seen at general admission shows with busted open toes. Feet will be stepped on.

Please also make sure that your friend is okay with being shoved, squished, bumped into, and rubbed up against. I guarantee the club will be over capacity for a show like that. This means there will probably be no place to escape from people.

If she should chose to accompany her man down on the floor, there's a 90% chance that there's going to be a mosh pit opening up about 3 or 4 people back from the railing in front of the stage. If shes standing in a group of beefy looking dudes (or real skinny dudes with interesting hair) who are all eyeing each other up and down, then that's a good sign that she's standing in the middle of where a pit might open.

As someone who has been to many many shows (I've seen Green Day 2 or 3 times), please encourage your friends to protect their hearing by wearing ear plugs. Hearo's are pretty commonly found in drug stores. I advise this type with 3 "ridges" as opposed to the compressible foam type, as they don't muffle the sound as much - they just turn the volume down.

Tell your friends to take some pictures, but don't be those people who film the whole show, and forget to engage in the experience.

T-shirts are gonna be at least $30, so make sure they take some cash for merch.

This is what we do... A quick path is just to take the bridge into VA then on the WVa side over the last bridge hang a right toward harper's ferry and there's a little parking lot. You don't have to pay to park, but they will put an envelope on your car. You can start here if you like or end here.

If you choose to start here, there's a landing area where the rivers Ys and you can get out there and walk a bit... this tubing trip is about an hour or so.

If you use the park area as your get out spot you can go up the river a ways by river riders and launch in on the public boat launch that is right near theirs. Take a look at a map on google maps and follow the river up... We just drove our cars around and you can follow the buses to see where they put in and get out.

From where River Riders puts in on the area that's around their HQ, the ride is about 3-4 hours down to the parking spot by harper's ferry... I would say there's only one rapid that is challenging at all, but a group of 8 of us all managed to make it through just fine, and it was pretty fun.

Tubes from Amazon like River Riders has are about $18 shipped if you have Prime (http://www.amazon.com/Intex-58825E-River-Run-I/dp/B000PEOMC8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371961427&sr=8-1&keywords=river+tube)

Vote for a powerline extender. TP Link makes a good, cheap pair. One goes by the router, the other by you, then plug in a WiFi router of your own, which can be cheap, to extend the network. I'll throw links in when I'm not in mobile, but just wired a friend's condo like this, and it was literally the first pick on Amazon for both pieces. Install was plug, plug, plug, tap sync button, done. Good luck!

Links! Powerline Extender at Amazon

They make more expensive ones, but I doubt your network is fast enough to make a huge difference. Setup is trivial, and hey, easy returns?