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Back From DC

I arrived back home around 7 PM last night...11 hours in the car is always a fun way to spend a day. Choices for interesting radio from the Pennsylvania border all the way through Indiana are very limited...fortunately I had the Clash and others on my Iphone.  It was great to be home to see the family.

One experience I would like to share is about Ustream and their Iphone application they released the night before the Inauguration. I downloaded the application late Monday night and during my wait along the parade route decided to switch to the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue as there were a couple of stores along the route including a Starbucks. I needed some warm liquids and food as I waited close to 8 hours for the parade to begin.

In order to take advantage of the Ustream app you need to be connected to the internet via a WiFi connection so I logged into AT&T's WiFi at Starbucks. As the invocation started I fired up the app and sure enough it worked remarkably well considering the crowds. I only stayed with the stream for a few minutes because it was several seconds behind the live audio that was being broadcast along the parade route. As I was watching the stream I swear I saw where 118K people were accessing the stream. 

Ustream released today on their blog that 214K people had downloaded the application in less than 48 hours catapulting it to the #4 spot on Itunes Application Stores free app's. Additionally, they set records for the number of live streams they served up.

I look forward to exploring future mobile applications and developments as networks continue to get faster, handsets improve and developers continue releasing functional and interesting applications.

Inauguration Day

Woke up early Tuesday morning to make the trek into DC for the Inauguration. We decided to see how the crowds were once we stepped out of the Metro station and decide if we were going to do the parade or the Mall for the ceremony at the steps of the Capitol. We decided on the parade...an hour in line to get through the metal detectors at 11th and Pennsylvania next to the Old Post Office before we were told that the two entrances at 7th and 10th and Pennsylvania were wide open. We hurried down to the entrance at 7th and Pennsylvania and sure enough no wait and we were front row for the parade, six hours before it as scheduled to begin. It was much colder than the previous two days and my brother in-law decided he was not up for standing for the next eight hours so he said farewell and headed back to Alexandria...little did he know that getting back to Alexandria was not an option. Getting back on the Metro was futile so he settled in on the Mall as I tried to stay warm waiting for the parade.

They had a nice PA set up so I was able to hear the swearing in ceremony while waiting for the parade to begin. The killer was the time between when Barack's speech ended and the parade started...all told it was three and a half hours as the parade started an hour late. It was crowded but less so than I expected...and for the most part a well behaved group. I was fascinated by the Secret Service and the snipers positioned a top the National Archives and Justice Department buildings directly across the street for me. In hindsight I now know why there were so many snipers as the President and First Lady first exited their limo right in front of where I was positioned. The photo below shows them as they walked past my location. In addition, I have never sen so many State Troopers in my life, the Virginia and Maryland troopers were near me and they were shoulder to shoulder along the parade route.

I was amazed as 90% of the crowd left immediately after the President walked past us...the parade had just started and was scheduled to last another two hours. I went and grabbed a cup of coffee at the deli that was packed a half an hour before and watched the next hour of the parade in the front row. One of my impressions is that the Marines have by far and away the coolest ceremonial drill group and best looking dress uniforms. I next headed up Pennsylvania and tried to get as close as possible to the Presidential viewing platform but had to settle for a distant view on the other side of Lafayette Park. From there I called it a day and headed back to Alexandria.

Back to Chicago early in the morning with a possible short detour to FL Wright's masterpiece "Falling Water" in western Pennsylvania. All in all a very memorable four days.

Monday Activities

This morning I took a long drive throughout the northwest side of DC and into Maryland with my brother in-law. There were many cool sights as I have not seen most of this area in my previous visits to the DC. Special highlights included: the Russian Embassy, National Cathedral, Sidwell Friends School, The National Medical Navy Center, 19th Street Baptist Church, numerous embassies and the Washington Hilton where John Hinckley attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan.

Much of the afternoon has been spent watching the Martin Luther King Day coverage on CNN live from the Mall. I am a little surprised at the lack of any presence from Jesse Jackson considering they have interviewed virtually anyone with close ties to Dr. King.

Up early in the morning to make our trek into the District. We hope to get there by 7 AM in order to decide if we are going to watch the ceremony in the Mall or try to get a spot on the parade route. With the size of the crowds expected tomorrow it will be impossible to do both. Looking forward to a historical day!

Back From The We Are One Concert

All I can say is WOW...we were in the group of people behind the WWII Memorial and in front of the Washington Monument...the show on HBO does not even do justice to the amount of people who turned out for the concert. There must of been over a half a million people on the Mall. The concert was great as we watched it on one of the many jumbotrons throughout the Mall. My highlights were Herbie Hancock, Will.I.am and Cheryl Crow singing "One Love", Stevie Wonder, Usher and Shakira singing "Higher Ground", U2 singing Pride and "City of Blinding Lights"and finally my favorite part of the concert folk legend Pete Seeger leading "This Land Is My Land" with Springsteen.