Graffiti - Dulles Toll Road, Reston, Virginia
04.30.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006

Jefferson Memorial at Sunrise - Washington, D.C.
04.07.2005 ©Michael Raymond 2005 - 2006

Fever Tree - Kenya
07.2004 ©Michael Raymond 2004 - 2006

Jeff Watson commented on the current price of gas thusly:

Jeff Watson: “The price of gas the day Clinton left the White House (Jan. 2001) was $1.54.”

Me: “How much is $1.54 now? Inflation is what, about 3% per year?”

JW: “The White House says there is no inflation.”

Me: “The inflation rate from JAN 2001 to APR 2006 was 3.36%. So $1.54 is roughly $1.59 in 2006 dollars.”

JW: “Hey America, electing 2 oilmen to the White House was dumb!”

Me: “TWICE!”

JW: “Once. Gore won in 2000.”

Me: “Ah, yes. Correct.”

Jeff also found this great clip of a surprise guest at a recent White House Easter event.

Devon @ 4.361 - Herndon, Virginia
04.26.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006

Today I had to tell Annette, a dear, dear friend of mine, that we would not be able to work together on the government web portal project for which I had chosen her. People above me decided we would go with another vendor and the two and a half months of work Annette and her team had done were down the toilet. I stopped by Trader Joe’s on the way to her house to break the news and picked up three bottles of Don Miguel Gascon malbec for her, Judy, and Bill as a way of saying thanks for the effort and I’m really very sorry it didn’t work out. Too bad Bill and Judy weren’t around; Annette and I plowed through 1½ bottles (presumable Judy’s and half of Bill’s…or maybe the other way around) and a pizza out on the back porch before Karla got home and saved us from stupidity. Everyone is still friends, of course, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s no fun breaking bad news – especially to someone trying to make a go of it as a small independent business. Then, on top of it all, to deepen the mood I sat in the basement and listened to Barber’s Adagio for Strings. That lifted my spirits. At least the wine was good.

On a happier note: Devon, Annette and Karla’s son, turns five in four days. That’s him up above enjoying his Oreos.

If you ever do need state-of-the art professional design work done - high-end top-notch stuff - be sure to consider Gildea Media Group. Tell them El Raymundo sent you. And ask for an orange pen.

Pews - National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC
04.25.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006

Please join me in welcoming Los Amigos de Los Raymundos, Jeff and Mary Ellen Quinn, to the world of Home Depot runs, leaky roofs, heat pump replacements, driveway sealing, lawn mowing, weeding, mortgage check writing, painting!painting!painting! furniture shopping, window treatments, and finally, happiness and fulfillment. The Quinns are first time home owners!

A funny story about Jeff Quinn:

La Raymunda and I met Jeff and Mary Ellen on Rangiroa on our honeymoon. Rangiroa is an atoll - second largest in the world - in the French Polynesian archipelago. The Quinns were on their honeymoon too, and were married up in Boston the same day as us.

Jeff likes to dive, and Rangiroa is famous for its drift dive, so Jeff signed up for a trip, hopped in a boat and off he went. When we next saw him back onshore, both eyes were blackened like he’d been punched in the face. Twice. Apparently his dive mask was not playing well with the change in water pressure and the air inside the mask wouldn’t equalize and several small blood vessels in and around his eyes burst. He looked like a pale, wet version of Tina Turner after Ike found out she’d burned the omelettes.

Back at the dive shop, the dive master loaded a videotape of the trip into a VCR so everyone could watch themselves playing underwater. And there’s Jeff, suspended in the water, grinning, blackened eyes bulging, giving the OK sign to the camera while a ten foot shark glides by just behind him.

Jeff just kept on grinning as the shark passed out of the frame and back into the deep. He said he had no idea the shark was there. Based solely on the way his eyes popped when he watched the video, I believe him. The story’s happy ending: everyone survived and Jeff got a good story he can tell for the next sixty years.

Price Gouging - Sunoco Gas Station, Algonkian Parkway Sterling, Virginia
04.25.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006

Gas prices have gone berserk again. Last time, they blamed Hurricane Katrina. What’s the reason this time?

All I can say is thank God there is an oilman in the White House to keep those oil companies in line.

Bleeding Heart - The O’Neill’s, Great Falls, Virginia
04.24.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006