Virginia Friends

[NorthernVAM]

a) Not a native, but went to college at VT, then moved to northern VA when I left the military.

b) I like where I currently live, but I don't plan on retiring here.

c) Reduce the traffic or at least put in public transportation and road systems that make sense

Hey Dave,

Did you see any of the publicity from Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that had GM showing off it's concept vehicles for flying taxis and flying cars? In all honesty, I don't think the problem of "traffic congestion" is going to be solved in the DC area in my lifetime, so the only hope that I have would be for flying UBER vehicles.

I don't think public transportation will solve the problem, mostly because public transportation really only works well when you have a really high density, and we've built these sprawling suburbs that reach over 70 miles out from the downtown area. The flying car solution is interesting, but I'm thinking that there is just too many hazards (such as electrical wires -- and other flying vehicles) to really have individuals fly their own personal aircraft from home to work or something like that.

On the other hand, if you are a technological optimist, then I could see the whole self-driving car infrastructure expand into some type of autonomous flying vehicle, although you know when a flying vehicle crashes, there are going to be fatalities .. can you imagine a flying car crashing through your roof?

BTW, I wouldn't want to retire here either. This place is for people who want to build some type of career in my opinion, not a place where you want to relax and enjoy life.

 

[DC_Dave]

Hey Dave,

Did you see any of the publicity from Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that had GM showing off it's concept vehicles for flying taxis and flying cars? In all honesty, I don't think the problem of "traffic congestion" is going to be solved in the DC area in my lifetime, so the only hope that I have would be for flying UBER vehicles.

I don't think public transportation will solve the problem, mostly because public transportation really only works well when you have a really high density, and we've built these sprawling suburbs that reach over 70 miles out from the downtown area. The flying car solution is interesting, but I'm thinking that there is just too many hazards (such as electrical wires -- and other flying vehicles) to really have individuals fly their own personal aircraft from home to work or something like that.

On the other hand, if you are a technological optimist, then I could see the whole self-driving car infrastructure expand into some type of autonomous flying vehicle, although you know when a flying vehicle crashes, there are going to be fatalities .. can you imagine a flying car crashing through your roof?

BTW, I wouldn't want to retire here either. This place is for people who want to build some type of career in my opinion, not a place where you want to relax and enjoy life.

The biggest obstacle to public transportation is the multiple states and municipalities that all get a say in any regional project. I mean, as far as the metro, on the VA side alone, why isn't there a line running down Rte 7 from Leesburg, to Alexandria and cross over to National Harbor, a line from the Pentagon, to Northern Ft Belvour that follows 395, a line from the pentagon along 244 out to Burke, a VRE line running from Purceville to Alexandria, or a line that circles the DMV?

 

[blulilacgrl]

OK .. you got me on the warmer climate, but honestly Virginia isn't bad in terms of climate, if you like to have distinct seasons. I mean, how far south do you really want to go? I've always had this idea of migrating ... living up near Canada (or in Canada) for the summer months, and then going south (where the winter climate is between 65 and 75 during the day) for the winter months.

Yeah ... Tourists are just part of being near Washington, D.C., and it's gotten worse since they put the Air and Space annex out here, and you can park there all day for like $10 bucks and there's a shuttle downtown. Not only that, but they put the metro in, and that has caused crime to go up in this area. And they call it progress.

I'm a hot weather girl at heart. So in totally fine with no distinct seasons. Lol. Eventually I'd love to get back to my roots in Texas.

See our tourists clog up the roads, monopolize the grocery stores, and just cause general mayhem. Come May, we all start getting prepared to be overrun. Then we spend all summer bitching about them.

 

[NorthernVAM]

I'm a hot weather girl at heart. So in totally fine with no distinct seasons. Lol. Eventually I'd love to get back to my roots in Texas.

See our tourists clog up the roads, monopolize the grocery stores, and just cause general mayhem. Come May, we all start getting prepared to be overrun. Then we spend all summer bitching about them.

Well, I hate to say this .. but when you get back to Texas, you may find out that it looks a lot like California. I hear that a lot of the folks who are bailing out of both Northern and Southern California are heading to Texas. Also, there are quite a few folks that I know of who relocated from here to both Dallas and Austin.

Then rather than complain about all the tourists, you can complain about all the California transplants ... It's always something ...

 

[NorthernVAM]

Bring Back the WO&D ...

The biggest obstacle to public transportation is the multiple states and municipalities that all get a say in any regional project. I mean, as far as the metro, on the VA side alone, why isn't there a line running down Rte 7 from Leesburg, to Alexandria and cross over to National Harbor, a line from the Pentagon, to Northern Ft Belvour that follows 395, a line from the pentagon along 244 out to Burke, a VRE line running from Purceville to Alexandria, or a line that circles the DMV?

You made me laugh with the Purceville / Leesburg to Alexandria line comment. Are you suggesting that it was a bad move to abandon the WO&D railroad in 1968 and turn it into a bike trail and high voltage right of way? (Well, as I understand it, parts of it are I-66 in Arlington).

I think what you are trying to say here is that nobody had the foresight 50 years ago preserve the right of way for the future public transportation.

 

[blulilacgrl]

Well, I hate to say this .. but when you get back to Texas, you may find out that it looks a lot like California. I hear that a lot of the folks who are bailing out of both Northern and Southern California are heading to Texas. Also, there are quite a few folks that I know of who relocated from here to both Dallas and Austin.

Then rather than complain about all the tourists, you can complain about all the California transplants ... It's always something ...

Lol. I know where to go in TX to get away from everyone. Although the movement from CA to TX does give me pause. Fuck it. Maybe I just need to buy my own island. That's an idea.

 

[StarGazer58]

Well, I hate to say this .. but when you get back to Texas, you may find out that it looks a lot like California. I hear that a lot of the folks who are bailing out of both Northern and Southern California are heading to Texas. Also, there are quite a few folks that I know of who relocated from here to both Dallas and Austin.

Then rather than complain about all the tourists, you can complain about all the California transplants ... It's always something ...

I lived in Colorado for about 8 years. When I first got to Colorado Springs it was a great place to live. Housing costs were low, taxes were low, traffic was light but a lot of people from California moved to Colorado and turned it into another California.

 

[StarGazer58]

When they designed Metro back in the late 60's, almost all jobs were located in DC. The suburbs were just housing and most people commuted downtown. Georgetown fought against the subway which is why there are no stations there. Tysons Corner was originally a one level mall surrounded by open land and no traffic lights.

I don't believe anyone foresaw the growth of the entire area. There was plans for an outer beltway which had land set aside for years. The Montgomery Intercounty connector used part of the land set aside but there never was any planning for a good public transportation system across the entire DMV.

One other fun fact, if you are on the Maryland side of the beltway between Georgia Ave and Rt 29, you will see Sligo golf course. At one time there was a country club which was split in half by the beltway with one half becoming Sligo.

 

[NorthernVAM]

Lol. I know where to go in TX to get away from everyone. Although the movement from CA to TX does give me pause. Fuck it. Maybe I just need to buy my own island. That's an idea.

Yeah. Maybe Jeffrey Epstein's island is for sale at a reasonable price? I imagine nobody really wants to live there now.

But then again, maybe it's just a population problem. I'm old enough to remember when the world population past 4 billion in the mid 1970s, and I think when my grandparents were born at the turn of the 20th century the population of the earth was less than 2 billion.

We are approaching 8 billion (7.8 billion right now), and for some reason we believe that it will level off at 10 or 12 billion. The UN thinks that the population could reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, and over 11 billion by 2100. If I make it to 2050, I'll be in my 90s, so I'll probably have no clue what is going on anyway.

 

[NorthernVAM]

An Island?

Lol. I know where to go in TX to get away from everyone. Although the movement from CA to TX does give me pause. Fuck it. Maybe I just need to buy my own island. That's an idea.

Yeah. Maybe Jeffrey Epstein's island is for sale at a reasonable price? I imagine nobody really wants to live there now.

But then again, maybe it's just a population problem. I'm old enough to remember when the world population past 4 billion in the mid 1970s, and I think when my grandparents were born at the turn of the 20th century the population of the earth was less than 2 billion.

We are approaching 8 billion (7.8 billion right now), and for some reason we believe that it will level off at 10 or 12 billion. The UN thinks that the population could reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, and over 11 billion by 2100. If I make it to 2050, I'll be in my 90s, so I'll probably have no clue what is going on anyway.

 

[StarGazer58]

I think covid was just a taste of what is to come in the future. As the world becomes more and more crowded, there will be another virus more lethal that hits us. The plague of 1348 had a 65 - 90% mortality rate on European countries so I believe it is just a matter of time.

 

[NorthernVAM]

The Future?

I think covid was just a taste of what is to come in the future. As the world becomes more and more crowded, there will be another virus more lethal that hits us. The plague of 1348 had a 65 - 90% mortality rate on European countries so I believe it is just a matter of time.

Oh .. I agree that there will eventually be a plague that our science can't outrun.

In fact, I tend to believe that there is a good possibility that someone amateur somewhere will be tinkering out with some over the counter genetic engineering kit, and create something that is lethal that will kill a good percentage of us. I don't even think it has to be a government lab now, I think we are getting to the point with tools like CRISPR where the average college bio-med student will be able to create genetically altered bacteria and viruses.

 

[StarGazer58]

Oh .. I agree that there will eventually be a plague that our science can't outrun.

In fact, I tend to believe that there is a good possibility that someone amateur somewhere will be tinkering out with some over the counter genetic engineering kit, and create something that is lethal that will kill a good percentage of us. I don't even think it has to be a government lab now, I think we are getting to the point with tools like CRISPR where the average college bio-med student will be able to create genetically altered bacteria and viruses.

You are right. I was not even thinking of a genetically modified virus so that probably increases the odds.

Everyone ready for some snow this weekend?

 

[FunLi]

Everyone ready for some snow this weekend?

One one hand I’m counting on a snow day for Monday. On another I’m debating on driving up to RVA Sunday to be ready for a slick drive into the office on Monday

 

[StarGazer58]

One one hand I’m counting on a snow day for Monday. On another I’m debating on driving up to RVA Sunday to be ready for a slick drive into the office on Monday

Wow, isn't that a several hour drive up to RVA for you even in good weather? It is suppose to start snowing here on Sunday so you might drive right into the storm. I once drove from Maryland to Connecticut in a snow storm and it was one of worst drives I have ever done, really hard physically and mentally. It snowed about 8" during that drive. Do you have to be in the office on Monday or could you wait until Tuesday?

Of course it might be that you are excited to be back out on the road no matter what the weather. It has been a while since I was last in RVA so I don't know much about what is there now but I expect you already know the good places to go. You staying downtown or the suburbs?

I was in RVA for work one time and I went to a bar and they had game called selectracution. You'd get a name tag with your two letter initials. Over the bar was this scrolling ticker tape. it would flash your message such as "from ab to yz you're pretty cute can i buy you a drink?" It was "hi-tech flirting" for its time. lol. If no message were sent your way then you were selectracuted. I also remember a bar in Florida that had phones on every table so you could make table to table telephone calls but you would not know who the call was coming from so you would be looking around the bar trying to figure out who you were talking too. That was a fun bar. I always enjoy getting out and seeing whatever city I was in.

Have a safe trip FunLi.

 

[StarGazer58]

There is a conversation in the Maryland thread about playing strip poker which made me wonder how many people have actually played 'Spin the Bottle', 'Truth or Dare', 'Strip Poker' and/or gone Skinny dipping with others of the opposite sex?

I have never played spin the bottle or truth or date. When I was on spring break during college I was once involved in a strip poker game with the girls staying in the hotel room next to ours. Only a couple of items of clothing had been removed before one of the girls was not able to hold her alcohol and projectile vomited all over the cards and table which ended the game right then so never got to see anything interesting. I did do the skinny dipping a couple of times which was a lot of fun.

So on the Virginia side, who has done what?

 

[n8Romantic]

There is a conversation in the Maryland thread about playing strip poker which made me wonder how many people have actually played 'Spin the Bottle', 'Truth or Dare', 'Strip Poker' and/or gone Skinny dipping with others of the opposite sex?

I have never played spin the bottle or truth or date. When I was on spring break during college I was once involved in a strip poker game with the girls staying in the hotel room next to ours. Only a couple of items of clothing had been removed before one of the girls was not able to hold her alcohol and projectile vomited all over the cards and table which ended the game right then so never got to see anything interesting. I did do the skinny dipping a couple of times which was a lot of fun.

So on the Virginia side, who has done what?

Spin the bottle in my teen years, none since. However, have played some very "engaging" Twister.

 

[StarGazer58]

Spin the bottle in my teen years, none since. However, have played some very "engaging" Twister.

I completely forgot about Twister. I only played it a few times as a kid.

 

[NorthernVAM]

I completely forgot about Twister. I only played it a few times as a kid.

Twister is made by Milton Bradley and their motto is:

Milton Bradley makes the best games in the world ...

In this case, they should add ...

... when the girls agree to get naked during the game ...

 

[NorthernVAM]

One one hand I’m counting on a snow day for Monday. On another I’m debating on driving up to RVA Sunday to be ready for a slick drive into the office on Monday

Supposedly the snow is supposed to start early Sunday morning, like at 3 AM, so I imagine Sunday will be as slick as Monday. My guess is that if the 3 AM prediction is correct, then Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday will be just bad driving days, and that it will be Wednesday before the roads are decent again.

 

[FourFlags]

Supposedly the snow is supposed to start early Sunday morning, like at 3 AM, so I imagine Sunday will be as slick as Monday. My guess is that if the 3 AM prediction is correct, then Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday will be just bad driving days, and that it will be Wednesday before the roads are decent again.

Good Sir: As I’m a transplant from Buffalo, here since 2017, 4-8 inches ( here in the Valley) should be nothing....BUT, given the lack of resources, skill,& experience dealing with this amount I fear you are right. Knot to worry, my fireplace is ready, & we have plenty of provisions for 72+ hours... sadly our dog won’t understand why he can’t go for his morning walk in the park. Being a bassist hound once he steps outside, he may grasp the situation Wishing you Good Luck in your part of the Commonwealth F.F.

 

[NorthernVAM]

Carmageddon III?

Good Sir: As I’m a transplant from Buffalo, here since 2017, 4-8 inches ( here in the Valley) should be nothing....BUT, given the lack of resources, skill,& experience dealing with this amount I fear you are right. Knot to worry, my fireplace is ready, & we have plenty of provisions for 72+ hours... sadly our dog won’t understand why he can’t go for his morning walk in the park. Being a bassist hound once he steps outside, he may grasp the situation Wishing you Good Luck in your part of the Commonwealth F.F.

Yeah, I'm originally from the Northeast as well and I know how to drive in the snow. The problem is that other people down here don't, and then add to it the fact that there are way too many people for the road system up here on NorthernVA, and you can wind up with a situation where it takes people 8 to 10 hours to get home.

Since you weren't down here in 2016, but we had a blizzard back then and the local media dubbed it Carmageddon because the series of accidents just gridlocked everyone. I wouldn't recommend anyone drive the I-95 corridor between Richmond and Baltimore during a snowstorm -- it turns I-95 which is already a parking lot on good weather days to just a gridlocked mess.

 

[FourFlags]

Yeah, I'm originally from the Northeast as well and I know how to drive in the snow. The problem is that other people down here don't, and then add to it the fact that there are way too many people for the road system up here on NorthernVA, and you can wind up with a situation where it takes people 8 to 10 hours to get home.

Since you weren't down here in 2016, but we had a blizzard back then and the local media dubbed it Carmageddon because the series of accidents just gridlocked everyone. I wouldn't recommend anyone drive the I-95 corridor between Richmond and Baltimore during a snowstorm -- it turns I-95 which is already a parking lot on good weather days to just a gridlocked mess.

Yes, I have heard of that blizzard, 25 inches over 2 days here in the Valley. But since we’re “ retired “ & don’t have to go anywhere ( except our dog walk in the park ), it really doesn’t effect us. I will admit that people, no matter where they are think that 4wheel/all-wheel drive makes them invincible to the weather conditions, a very sad state of affairs ( Always Drive for Conditions!!). Yes US 81 is almost as bad as US 95, thankfully I have the ole Valley Pike( US Rt. 11) as a backup, especially when Time is Knot a consideration. At my age, I’m very Happy here in the Valley

 

[StarGazer58]

Yeah, I'm originally from the Northeast as well and I know how to drive in the snow. The problem is that other people down here don't, and then add to it the fact that there are way too many people for the road system up here on NorthernVA, and you can wind up with a situation where it takes people 8 to 10 hours to get home.

Since you weren't down here in 2016, but we had a blizzard back then and the local media dubbed it Carmageddon because the series of accidents just gridlocked everyone. I wouldn't recommend anyone drive the I-95 corridor between Richmond and Baltimore during a snowstorm -- it turns I-95 which is already a parking lot on good weather days to just a gridlocked mess.

Hopefully for FunLi and all the others traveling on that day that the roads don't get too bad. I agree that there are just way too many people on the roads which leads to the gridlock but maybe with all the people working from home that will reduce the traffic. I am wishing her luck.

 

[StarGazer58]

Twister is made by Milton Bradley and their motto is:

Milton Bradley makes the best games in the world ...

In this case, they should add ...

... when the girls agree to get naked during the game ...

I am all for naked women anytime. I can think of a few here on Lit that I would like to see naked.