JulieHuggins

For those of you living outside the Washington DC area (read: The Hinterlands), you've probably not heard of the very severe summer storms which swept our way Sunday night. These storms are, for the most part, a temporary but welcome relief from the stifling humidity and heat which seems is if it will suck the very air out of your chest, but while not uncommon during this time of year, they also bring the inevitable destruction of falling trees, downed power lines and transportation delays... Read Full Story

A few weeks back, I waxed poetic in this column about the virtues of public transport, and now I'm sorry to say, having worked the process steadily for the past few weeks, I think I've changed my mind. It's not the commute itself that's so taxing; psychologically, the biggest problem is me because I stubbornly maintain I shouldn't have to travel on someone elses schedule. A quick look at prices at the pump and parking expenses brings be down to reality though and I accept the realization that... Read Full Story

Over the years I've managed to incorporate some of my favorite movie lines in everyday conversation, and this is one of those times. It comes from the Bond film Moonraker , where Bond-baddie Hugo Drax says of Agent 007, "you appear with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season". In this case, what's appearing with a tedious inevitability just happens to be...an unloved season. I hate Summer. I hate the heat, the humidity, the mosquitoes, amusement parks, men who wear sock with sandals... Read Full Story

Long, long ago, in a state far, far away (California, that is), I fell in love with public transport. I fell so much in love in fact, that the picture accompanying this column is not from the current line of Los Angeles-based "MTA" buses, but is the picture of a circa 1980's "RTD" (Los Angeles Rapid Transport District) bus. I was ideally suited to ride the RTD when I lived in Los Angeles. Not only at 50 cents per ride was it affordable, but from my home one-half block north of Hollywood... Read Full Story

Now that the recent unpleasantness of partial-unemployment is behind me (having been resolved by acceptance of a rather tasty job offer), I've had time to take a deep breath, review the events connected with being unemployed and make an honest assessment of it all. The conclusion I've come to after hours of beer-filled contemplation is simple: everything about being unemployed is the pits. While this in itself may not be a revelation worthy of publication by The Huffington Post , it does give... Read Full Story

Since the commencement of my partial unemployment in March of this year, I've been spending much quality time in the comfort of my cozy home. Unfortunately, quality time when you're on slim-to-none income restricts your activities to anything that doesn't cost money, so I usually found myself watching mind-numbing daytime television until five or six o'clock in the evening when, in my mind at least, it's "ok" not to be productive. After a very short time though, my normal daytime fare (read... Read Full Story

Standing on line at the local convenience store for a well deserved six-pack and sub sandwich, I noticed that this week's featured article in Time magazine is entitled, "Facebook...and how it's redefining privacy". I've heard a lot about Facebook and privacy issues lately (mostly from "friends" who post on Facebook), and if I'm honest, I don't see what all the fuss is about. I should start off by saying I'm relatively new to all this social networking stuff. I've been on Facebook for six... Read Full Story

There are few things I can say with absolute certainty, but of one thing I'm clear; I like order. I don't like excessive newspapers, magazines and mail laying about the house, and all articles of clothing must be put in their proper places. Dishes need to be washed and put away before I can turn the lights out at night, and the bed must be made with almost military precision before I enter the shower stall for my morning cleaning ritual. So fastidious am I that my mother has remarked in the... Read Full Story

It's been a bleak week in Washington. Forget the stagnant economy, stifling unemployment, the war in Iraq and increasing dissatisfaction with the Obama administration; this item is serious business. Earlier in the week Councilwoman Mary Cheh proposed a tax in the District on sales of all sugary soda pop in order, she says, to help the City fight rampant obesity with the anticipated tax revenue, targeted at $16m, to be allocated at $6.5m for healthy school lunch programs, and $9.5m for anti... Read Full Story

For anyone under the age of, say 30, what I'm about to tell you may come as a bit of a shock. You see, back in the good old days, people had stuff in their house that didn't have to plugged in, charged, docked, clipped on your belt, or downloaded. And, we had loads of it. At the risk of sounding like your Granny, when I was young my room was chocked full to the brim with loads of book, magazines, documents, notebooks, newspapers, needlework patterns, photo albums, scrapbooks and general... Read Full Story