*WMATA begins installing wireless service in "20 of Metro's busiest underground stations." Project slated for completion by October 16. All the better to tweet when you see a Metro employee asleep at the wheel, dear! Meanwhile, as the Baltimore Sun observes, Metro's "summer of horrors" continues.

*This week in Cal Thomas: The over-syndicated enfant vieillard terrible compares Britain's coverage of the health care debate to the War of 1812.

*The Washington Independent's Dave Weigel files one of the more readable eulogies for Robert Novak, in which he recalls the columnist's abundant disdain for blogs:

[Novak] was wrong in diagnosing blogs as a source of rot in journalism; the real problems with political reporting are reliance on spoon-feeding and spin, deference to powerful people even when they’re wrong or lying, and the elevation of experts who don’t know anything beyond what their sponsors tell them. At his worst, on cable news, Novak enabled that. At his best, Novak cut through all of that and did real reporting that exposed what powerful people were thinking when the cameras were off. We need more of that.

*Tonight's City Lights pick: Alex Cox's Sid and Nancy at AFI. All about Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten. Beaujon sez go! (Sort of.)

*And who doesn't miss Mr. T in DC? A little bird tells me you're more likely to find him on Twitter than on LiveJournal.

*Remember LiveJournal?

Photograph by Flickr user vitalyzator, Creative Commons Attribution License.

*The Washington Times condemns Rep. Jim Moran for "champion[ing] the idea of bringing terrorists like 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other al Qaeda detainees to historic Alexandria." Back in March, our own Amanda Hess noted the furor over a sex shop that threatened to undermine the dignity—nay, the decency—of Old Town Alexandria. First a naughty boutique, then political detainees—what's next? According to the Times: "the nuclear waste that Nevada won't take."

*D.C. Police report that 82-year-old James Booker went missing from his home in the 1700 block of Irving Street NE:

James L. Booker is described as a light to medium complexioned black male, 6’ 3” tall, weighing approximately 160 pounds, and is nearly bald with some gray hair. He has a mustache and may be wearing eyeglasses. He was last seen wearing a blue and gray jacket, black pants, and a black baseball cap with the word, “Veteran" on it. He is in need of medication and may appear to be disoriented. Anyone with information regarding Mr. Booker’s whereabouts is asked to call police at 202-727-9099.

*Tonight's City Paper pick: Point Juncture, WA at the Black Cat.

*New Columbia Heights commemorates Limerick Day by writing his own:

There once was a man from the Heights
Who liked to get in fights.
He went to Wonder-bar
Drank beer for many hour
then wished he'd only had Sprite.

Endearing—but Edward Lear he ain't.

*Prince of Petworth was "stunned by the beauty of this place."

*Mr. T in DC misses his jet-setting wife. And so does their dog!

Good afternoon, Washington. Below the links, City Paper is pleased to announce winners in its 2009 Inauguration Reader's Choice Contest.

*Ben Smith touches on the New York Times-Politico spat; Greg Sargent, meanwhile, mediates between the rhetoric of NYT Exec. Editor Bill Keller and that of Politico's John Harris.

*Farm Fresh Meat, hoping to cure his blogger's block, escapes to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

*Got a little thing for one of your local bloggers? Lemmonex at Culinary Couture certainly does:

I have a secret. I have crushes on some of you. My heart flutters at your comments. I await your haikus. I wonder where some of you are when I haven’t heard from you in a few days. I love how I can predict some of your responses. I read some of your blogs and adore the insights in to your life. Really, isn’t this the perfect definition of a crush?

If this sounds familiar, or if you'd just like to meet some of the local Rooshbags, get yourself to Marvin on Friday at 8 p.m. for a D.C. Blogger Happy Hour.

*And speaking of blogger happy hours: Arjewtino reveals the method behind the madness:

...for this one, Lemmonex emailed us and asked, “Are we doing a theme to this one or just ‘come and get fucked up’?”

*And speaking of bloggers and booze(!): Mr. T in D.C. is hoping to live to 100. His solution? A daily glass of pinot noir. Too bad he can't find a drinkable one.

Now, to the photos! Thanks to all who voted at our Inauguration Photo HQ, and congrats again to the winners of our first contest (you know, the one that actually involved multiple prizes).

Third place went to iandavidmuir for this shot:

Second, to AnyaLogic for this shot, which also won our print-version contest:

And first place went to keekeedee for this shot:

Keekeedee: Your gift basket's in the mail. And, you know, make sure to thank your friends for voting.

* The Washington Post on the search for a Fairfax police officer who went missing in the waters of Pohick Bay on Tuesday. Second Lieutenant Francis J. Stecco "had volunteered to play the role of a "victim" during a training session for a helicopter water rescue, though he was not a member of the dive team."

* Attention Adobe Photoshop Elements 7: Do not fuck with Mr. T in D.C.

* Frozen Tropics updates you on recent homicide arrests North of Capitol Hill.

* Hookupmaps charts craigslist casual encounters on google maps. Logan Circle is bumpin'!

* And in this newspaper:

- Jason Cherkis on D.C.'s greatest unknown music legend, Mingering Mike. Check out Mike's special introduction and the making of a love-song collaboration between Jason and Mike.

- Mixtec's new Mexican-Italian take-out gets the Tim Carman treatment.

- Dave McKenna on why high-school homecoming is for nerds.

- In Loose Lips, at-large council candidate Michael Brown robo-calls the wrong guy.

- Why the death of Tony Hunter's remains "unofficial."

Photo by NCinDC.

* For those interested in competing in one of those high-stakes, emotionally wrenching reality television programs---and for those whose place of employment merely imitate them---Slate's Joanna Weiss has your guide to how not to be the first contestant kicked off a reality show.

* New Columbia Heights has updates on the proposed neighborhood farmer's market: At a recent ANC meeting, William Jordan proposed that the market be run by EMG Marketing Group and Change Inc. and be held three (!) times a week.

* Mr. T in D.C. bows respectfully to the employees of the Columbia Heights Subway sandwich shop:

I just wanted to thank them here today. By now, all the employees there recognize me, and know what kind of sandwich I usually get. . . . The two women who work there on weekday evenings are particularly helpful and pleasant. They recently told me they were from Eritrea; I wonder what their lives were like there? It's not very far from lawless, violent places like Darfur and Somalia.

And in this newspaper:

* Arthur Delaney on D.C. Jail disaster readiness, terrorist threats, and the power of Google.

* Tim Carman tries to make a bagel, lies to City Paper staff.

* Mike DeBonis on the Nat's stadium slush fund.

* ... and the debut of Orr Shtuhl's Beerspotter!

Image courtesy pingnews.

* Upset the Setup gets upset at the hip-hop scene over at Chief Ike's.

* In Shaw gives D.C. a housing pop quiz: Can you tell what year this report on D.C.'s housing problems was written?

* All Our Noise marks the album birthday of The Ramones' Adios Amigos. The record is now 13. Is this really cause for celebration? Whatever ... at least there are sombrero dinos.

* Listen up, John McCain: Mr. T in D.C. tells you how to know when you're officially old. The incontrovertible evidence:

For decades, I've consistently disliked dried fruit: raisins, craisins, prunes, you name it ... All of a sudden, I've discovered a newfound taste for dried fruit ... I'm snacking on raisins as we speak! I keep a box in my desk for when I get hungry, and at home I've been experimenting with those more upscale, resealable packs of dried fruit. I've tried out a couple of different kinds of raisins, dried mango, pineapple, dates, and have a bag of dried blueberries I'm dying to open ... I may even try the ultimate in geezer confirmation fruit: prunes.

* Slate's Christopher Beam imagines alternate scenarios that would explain John Edwards' alleged late-night visit to his alleged lover and their alleged love-child. My favorite:

Edwards had come to return Hunter’s sari, which she had left the time he came to return her bomber jacket, which she had left the time he came to return her charm bracelet, which she had left the time he came to return her first edition of Pulp’s His and HersDifferent Classes, which she had left on the campaign bus in Reno.

Photo by NCinDC

* Good morning! Slate's got all your military sleep-reduction news.

* The Brightest Young Things discuss when rompers go wrong.

* Mr. T in D.C. sets some rules for TV watching at the gym. In: CNN and 80's music videos. Out: Entertainment Tonight and Fox News. This writer humbly submits the perfect gym entertainment: Discovery Channel's Cash Cab.

* The Post has a great profile of the man accused of stealing a rare Shakespeare first folio from the University of Durham:

Scott, a tall, thin man, has never really had a job, but he said his mother (whom he referred to at one point as "Lady Bountiful") bankrolls his trips---and his gold Versace ring, his diamond Rolex and a succession of exquisite cars: a Rolls-Royce, an Aston Martin, a Lamborghini, a silver Ferrari.

Speaking in a hotel with a plate of langoustines in front of him---lobsters couldn't be found---Scott said he remembered the moment he realized how much better the best was. He was 18, and he had slipped his feet into handmade Italian leather shoes.

* Tonight's picker-uper: Lenny Campello of Daily Campello Art News will give a talk tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Smith Farm's Healing Arts Gallery on Frida Kahlo and pain.

Photo by Mr. T in D.C.