Dining in downtown Washington – Scouting the Bluebell hike – Investigation of Tiktok – An unlucky choice of getaway car – Evening statistics
I had fallen behindhand in working out the maps and hiking directions for Wanderbirds and CHC hikes scheduled for April, so I spent much of yesterday trying to complete these. In the late afternoon I went to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms, which are almost at their peak; and since I was there on a weekday, it was less crowded than it would have been on a Saturday or Sunday. From there I went on to a restaurant in the Shaw district, where I met up with GT – the “grand old man of hiking,” as I call him, for he remains an avid hiker even though he is well into his nineties – and his wife BH and four others whom I know from the Vigorous Hikers. The Convivial, where we dined, is elegant without being stiflingly formal and its prices are surprisingly reasonable for such an upscale menu. It was a wonderful evening, as we all ate the rich food and drank the fine wines that accompanied the dishes, and we conversed animatedly among ourselves. Our topics, as may be imagined, were concerned with outdoor matters: the status of various trails, the best places to view certain varieties of wildflowers, the varieties of edible mushrooms available in the area, various trips we had planned in the upcoming months for hiking and biking,, the techniques to use for kayaking and canoeing and whitewater rafting. Towards political topics (to which – alas! – I must revert to presently) we gave scarcely a passing mention, and that is perhaps not unusual in a Washington colloquy, for we are so saturated here with comings and goings of politicians that most of us are – not to put too fine a point on it – sick to death of the subject.
Today I met with FH and RR to scout the Broad Run hike that is scheduled for a week from Saturday. To my pleased surprise, the bluebells are just beginning to bud, which means that they will be in flower by the day that the hike is scheduled and will not, as I had originally feared, be past their prime when it takes place. The recent cold evenings have delayed their growth to some extent, and the season of their bloom will be more typical this year than I expected. The weather was cool and windy when we began but it warmed up considerably, and the three of us had a thoroughly enjoyable time strolling along the trails and admiring the wildflowers. We saw many spring beauties and bloodroot in addition to the bluebells, and it seems likely that the trout lilies will be blooming soon in the area as well. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the hike on the day that is scheduled for the club, having another engagement; but I may saunter there some time in the coming week.
TikTok is currently undergoing a Congressional investigation for its ties to China. During this investigation Representative Richard Hudson, from North Carolina, displayed a remarkable ignorance about Wifi, a fairly basic concept in the field of network engineering. His first question to Shou Zi Chew, the TikTok CEO, was “Mr. Chew, does TikTok access the home Wifi network?” That’s rather like asking whether a car’s fuel task needs to be filled with gasoline before it can be driven or whether a house needs connection to a source of electricity for its lights to be turned on.
It is true that one variety of automobile does not use gas at all, which, as two would-be robbers discovered, is not necessarily an advantage. Two thieves stole about $8000 worth of gaming systems at a store in Gwinnett County, GA, and then proceeded to drive off in a Tesla as their escape vehicle. However, the car had already been driven many miles and in the process of their flight the drivers discovered that its battery was in need of recharging. Police found them just 15 minutes down the road from the theft scene, waiting for their Model X getaway car to top up at a location in Duluth, the nearest location that had charging stations.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 682,970,802; # of deaths worldwide: 6,823,199; # of cases U.S.: 106,042,628; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,152,582.