Think Lynsen

Merry Christmas to all…

2009-12-24T07:59:00.005-05:00

…and to all, a good night.

Annie and I are going to take a break from blogging for the rest of this month so that we can fully enjoy our holiday respites. We hope that you, too, are able to relax and enjoy this special time. Grab a friend and see a movie. Find a quiet corner and read a book. Or wander into the kitchen and eat some tasty treats. Just don't squander this rare opportunity to decompress.

Have some fun this week and we'll see you again New Year's Day!

DC Agenda gets props on Rachel Maddow Show

2009-12-23T15:24:00.003-05:00

Check it out! The segment goes from 1:15 to about 2:20.

OMG Brain Fish

2009-12-23T07:16:00.000-05:00

From National Geographic...

"For the first time, a live Pacific barreleye fish—complete with transparent head—has been caught on video. The deep-sea fish's tubular eyes pivot under a clear dome."

More Christmas fun: The Colbert Christmas Holiday Special

2009-12-22T07:14:00.001-05:00

God bless Hulu!

(Oops - used the wrong embed code before. Here it is!)

Geeky gifts: Addendum

2009-12-21T07:30:00.001-05:00

ThinkGeek just posted these awesome things!

First, A transforming USB jump drive and a mouse. SWEET.

Second, a Star Wars poker chip set. The poker chips glow like the various light saber colors and have pictures of Jedi on them. The price is steep, but the cool factor - near infinite.

Check it out: Newsradio Christmas episode!

2009-12-20T07:22:00.000-05:00

We were just watching this yesterday. Enjoy!

Snowpocalypse, wow!

2009-12-19T18:02:00.002-05:00

Our hard-hitting news coverage of the 2009 Snowpocalypse in the Greater D.C./Baltimore area. Enjoy.

Snowpocalypse!

2009-12-19T00:19:00.003-05:00

Snowpocalypse, also known as snOMG and other amusing phrases on Twitter, has begun for the D.C. area.

Long story short, we're expected to get 10-20 inches of snow over the next 24 hours. People are freaking out and Mayor Fenty has declared a "snow emergency," which basically just means people need to find some other place to park than on the street. Me, I'm just excited we might get to witness a rare occurrence of Thundersnow, which sounds a lot like the name of a villain from an '80s cartoon series.

Josh, however, remains jaded and is convinced that, like similarly forecasted doom storms of the past, we will be left with a mere few inches of precipitation, not the dozens they're predicting. We'll see.

Toy Drive at Piratz Tavern tonight!

2009-12-17T10:04:00.003-05:00

This sounds like a great event - wish I could attend! Passing along the info for others who might be interested.

Come out for food, fun, and drinks at Piratz Tavern. We will be having an evening of music with Pirates for Sail, Letter of Marque, Scales & Crosstones, The Vagabonds, and The Son of Strum. This will be a unique opportunity to see all of these artists performing together in a jam session style performance...

Admission is a donation of a new, unwrapped toy in it's original package. All toys (stuffed animals included) must be brand new and toys must meet consumer product safety codes. Any glue or paint on toys must be non-toxic, no spark/friction toys, and no violent or frightening toys. Only movies that are G rated are appropriate.

Reservations are recommended and please feel free to come dressed in garb...

More info on Facebook.

Techno Chicken makes you go...whaaaa?

2009-12-17T07:17:00.000-05:00

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

When free means awesome

2009-12-16T07:59:00.004-05:00

I've always appreciated Free Comic Book Day, an event the industry pushes each year to recapture lost readers and entice new audiences. But next year's event on May 1 has me particularly jazzed.

Building on the success of its newly rebooted "G.I. Joe" comics line, publisher IDW is conducting a very interesting experiment. The company is going to offer an alternative title resuming the original G.I. Joe vs. Cobra story that Marvel Comics halted in December 1994 with Issue 155. For its contribution to Free Comic Book Day, IDW is publishing Issue 155.5, which leads directly into the Issue 156 relaunch.

This concept is made even more intriguing by the participation of original G.I. Joe comic writer Larry Hama. It's long been known that the Marvel story didn't end the way Hama wanted, with the axe falling rather abruptly and Issue 155 having little to do with the issues that immediately preceded it. Although a previous attempt was made to tie up the storyline's many loose ends, this full relaunch could yield a better product. I can't wait to see it.

Christmas Light Hero

2009-12-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

Holy CRAP.

Watch as a kid controls a really wicked Christmas light display...by PLAYING GUITAR HERO.

Thanks to Ozzie for discovering this on the Cynical C Blog.

Awesome gift ideas for the geeks in your life

2009-12-14T07:24:00.000-05:00

ThinkGeek.com has really been rolling out some cool new stuff lately - here are my faves thus far.

	Sushi Mini Magnets
	Bacteria Assassin Ninja Toothbrush Sanitizer
	Tauntaun Sleeping Bag (no longer an April Fool's Day joke - they actually made it!)
	Star Wars Chop Sabers
	Laserpod

Number One...

2009-12-13T09:42:00.001-05:00

Thanks KittyKittyBangBang!

2009 in Pictures

2009-12-12T14:41:00.002-05:00

In lieu of a holiday letter, we Lynsens prefer to save a little paper and get our multimedia on! Enjoy our 2009 retrospective, and happy holidays to all our wonderful friends, family and readers!

Taking time to laugh

2009-12-11T07:59:00.000-05:00

In case I've left you with the impression that we're too busy at DC Agenda to laugh, rest assured we've still got our senses of humor. This picture, taken the night we wrapped our first issue, shows Editor Kevin Naff (sitting) and Art Director Rob Boeger (standing) enjoying my antics.

Insult to injury, part 3

2009-12-10T07:59:00.004-05:00

It's nice to know that amid the chaos that is my life these days, some things can go right.

My bank informed me yesterday that despite their earlier threats to reject my unemployment pay — simply because my account number was preceded by five zeroes — the weekly deposits would be processed. This came after the D.C. Department of Employment Services made it clear there was little they could do to help the situation. I thank city department officials for responding so quickly to my situation. I also thank my bank for understanding there's nothing I or D.C. officials can do to change the situation. My bank is thus planning to manually enter each of my unemployment pay transactions. I appreciate that extra effort on their part.

So all's well that ends well. At least on that front.

MST3K is now on Hulu!

2009-12-09T21:06:00.002-05:00

ZOMG. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is on Hulu now! Well, five episodes, to be exact, including this gem, which is one of my favorites: Monster A-Go-Go. Enjoy.

The other episodes are "The Starfighters," "Secret Agent Super Dragon," "The Rebel Set" and "The Giant Gila Monster." Here's hoping some of those elusive, never-been-released-on-DVD Sandy Frank movies make it too (a girl can dream, right?).

Insult to injury, part 2

2009-12-09T07:59:00.000-05:00

I have an interesting update to my post yesterday about the problems I'm having regarding direct deposit of my unemployment pay.

An official with the D.C. Department of Employment Services saw the post and left her contact information, asking me to get in touch with her to resolve the problem. I did so and was impressed with her desire to quickly resolve the problem. I explained the issue I'd encountered with my bank and told her what I needed to verify with her department. She took action and I was soon speaking to the person who oversaw direct deposit issues within the department. He explained the system constraints and said there was little he could do, but was willing to speak with someone at my bank, should that help resolve the problem.

That was one mighty impressive lifeline the D.C. Department of Employment Services threw me. Now if I could just get my bank to be similarly responsive.

I called Tuesday afternoon the bank staffer who'd previously helped me and explained what I'd learned from the D.C. Department of Employment Services. She seemed stumped and said she'd have to speak with another department and then either she or someone from that department would call me back. Okay. So would I get a call back today? Well, she didn't know because the people she needed to talk to were meeting and it wasn't clear when the meeting would end. But someone would call me back. You know, sometime. Uh huh.

So let's review: The D.C. Department of Employment Services, who I've known for one month, is awesome. My bank in Minnesota, which I've done business with since March 2003, is not.

Insult to injury

2009-12-08T07:59:00.000-05:00

As if I wasn't dealing with enough craziness, now my bank is threatening to reject deposits of my unemployment pay.

That's right. My bank is telling me that my unemployment pay "will be returned" unless D.C. government offices can abide by certain bank rules. What rules, you ask? The rules that say you can't arbitrarily put five zeroes in front of my account number. (That's what the Department of Employment Services did in establishing the direct deposit link I requested.) This is apparently enough to confuse my bank's automated system and means a staffer has to manually enter the transaction. So it needs to be fixed. Now. Or else I don't get my unemployment pay.

I had a good laugh at the bank staffer who told me all this Monday. I tried to explain that while their system may not necessitate the entry of all 17 potential numbers for a bank account, that's probably not the case with the Department of Employment Services. When the staffer suggested I simply call over to the department and remedy the situation, I had a good, long laugh and said, "You've never interacted with D.C. city government, have you?"

No? I didn't think so.

So after losing my job and getting stiffed one month's pay, this is now another headache with which I have to deal. Thanks, guys.

Shiny new "real-time search" added to Google

2009-12-07T14:19:00.005-05:00

Two quick notes from the World o' Tech...

1. Google just launched its "real time search." What the heck does that mean? Basically, now you'll start seeing tweets and other live-updated content (eventually even Facebook Fan Page stuff) within your search results page. I just tried it and it wasn't working for me yet, but supposedly it's working for some people and should be live for everyone with in the next few days.

Check out this superdramatic video of what it looks like:

2. I'm losing faith in the Twitterverse because the hashtag #uknowyouneedlotion is trending today. Has Twitter jumped the shark?

Three weeks later

2009-12-06T09:59:00.005-05:00

It's been three weeks since Window Media closed the Washington Blade, destroying a community institution and throwing my life into turmoil.

The ensuing days and weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. You'll recall that many Blade employees banded together after the publication's closure to start DC Agenda, which we're billing as the LGBTQ Community's News Source. (A side note to the Q crowd: You can thank me for the recognition. I've pushed hard to make you part of this venture.) Our first issue, which was eight pages, was easily trumped by our second issue, totaling a robust 20 pages.

The community and advertiser support we've received these last few weeks has been nothing less than amazing. That so many people have done so much to help DC Agenda is the main reason we've been so successful. Such assistance helped us this week return to newsprint and produce our largest issue yet: 40 pages. Sporting an entirely new design, the issue was very well received and helped differentiate us from our former brand — one that's now tarnished by bankruptcy proceedings.

As we move full speed ahead on our fourth issue, we're starting to get ourselves stabilized in other ways. Lynne Brown, the DC Agenda publisher, has been working hard to make initial equipment purchases and secure office space. This means our esteemed art director, Rob Boeger, no longer needs assemble each issue on his overburdened MacBook laptop. It also means that we again will soon have a place to call home. We hope to soon furnish our barren offices above the Results Gym on U Street with desks, chairs, phones and other business essentials. These things must come in stages as we receive advertiser revenue and gifts from supporters, but they are coming.

Sooner rather than later we'll be seeing our business cards, a milestone that reflects mixed developments. For example, I'm sad that two members of the Blade newsroom won't be part of DC Agenda. I'll miss Amy Cavanaugh and Rebecca Armendariz, but understand their situations. On the other hand, I'm heartened that my supervisor, Editor Kevin Naff, has seen fit to promote me. The title News & Multimedia Editor now precedes my name. It's a heartening recognition of the work I did in the Blade newsroom — and the early plans I have for DC Agenda's future.

Of course, at this stage, such rewards are among the few quantifiable compensations we can receive. I and all other DC Agenda staffers continue to work as volunteers, primarily conducting business on our cell phones from our homes as the business is formally established. It's unclear when the first DC Agenda paychecks might be distributed. Heck, it's unclear when the first DC Agenda visitor might be received. This effort represents a massive leap of faith among the many people involved. But as Lynne said during our first meeting at the new offices: "Failure is not an option."

I want to thank my family members and friends who have supported me during these last three, tumultuous weeks. I'm sorry that I can't speak with you more often and that it takes me so long to respond to your messages. Know that your support keeps my spirits high and my mind calm. Thank you.

Food poisoning in can form

2009-12-05T09:43:00.000-05:00

Rare is the day that one of my dietary staples faces a recall. But this is no ordinary year, and today is one such day.

Slim Fast — yes, I drink Slim Fast — is recalling all its canned drinks. Apparently, a few people contracted brief bouts of food poisoning after drinking the product, so out of "an abundance of caution," the company is recalling all its canned drinks. If you have any at home, the company is advising you to discard the cans and contact them for a refund.

Amazingly, I dodged this bullet in part because of my recent job loss. In looking at where I could cut costs, I decided to drop the canned Slim Fast drinks in favor of the cheaper, powdered Slim Fast product that's mixed with milk. As fate would have it, the powdered product is not part of this recall.

So… Score one for unemployment?

Something cute, and something useful

2009-12-04T07:45:00.001-05:00

My brain is too full to do much of anything right now, but here's an adorable picture from Daily Squee...

And here's a helpful article on finding the cheapest and fastest way to ship packages this holiday season.

Enjoy.

Have you been laid off?

2009-12-02T07:15:00.000-05:00

I thought this was profound. It looks like a great movie.

Thanks to the mighty Chris Brogan for sharing it!