A number of our readers have voiced their displeasure with the Metro Authority's new bag check policy. Steven Silverman of Flex Your Rights and his army of interns know how you feel, and they've got some words of wisdom: "We encourage people to say–clearly, calmly, repectfully–'officer, I do not consent to any searches.'"

Then perhaps you may want to steer clear of Metro over the coming months. The transit agency has declared that it'll be looking through the carryons of its riders as an anti-terrorism measure. Metro boss John Catoe, however, is saying that the move doesn't come in response to any threats.
Instanalysis on the bag searches: [...]

Via the Post and Washington Business Journal, we learn that Metro Transit Police are gearing up to conduct random bag searches of Metro users. The searches, Lena Sun writes, will extend to "backpacks, gym bags and any other containers that riders carry with them onto the bus and rail system."
When will they start? "While the [...]

How our favorite technology killed 25 people.

Recently, my brother started commuting by bike to and from his job in Chicago. I love my brother, but his commitment to half-assedness is breathtaking—rather than buy a helmet, he made do with his 10-year-old son's skateboarding helmet, which he perched on top of his head Chilly Willy–style, and instead of lights he had...nothing but [...]

Last Sunday, the Redskins trumped trends, history, and conventional wisdom, with a victory over the hated Dallas Cowboys ("opening up the windows of heaven and letting God pour out his blessings").
Was this a moment for gloating? Yes. Was this a moment to pump fists in your car as you listened to the locker-room interviews? Yes. [...]

Flash of Genius, the film version of inventor Robert Kearns' life, comes out this weekend, starring Greg Kinnear.
I don't know what's in the movie, but I got to know the real Kearns, who lived in Montgomery County and on the Eastern Shore, back in the late 1980s.
I wrote for a small chain of automotive trade [...]

From the District government:
McPherson Square Metro Rail (1400 I Street. NW); the station is closed due to a hazmat situation being investigated outside of the station, shuttle buses is being sent to the location.

Oh heavens! Someone is blocking the bike lane in front of me! Quick! Let me take a photo and blog it!
Seriously, fellow cyclists, you know why people think we're weenies?
1) The clothes. For Pete's sake, yellow lycra?
2) The incessant whining.
Look, "Share the Road" goes both ways. I don't like whooshing into traffic to avoid a [...]

There was a fabulous anarchic feel around the Morgan Boulevard Metro station on Sunday. Fans going to FedExField for the Redskins/Saints game were met by a horde of vans and drivers shouting for their business as they came off the train.
This was the first regular season game since the team stopped providing shuttle service from [...]