all the photos already taken...

As I wander about The Capitol, one of the things I wonder about as I take this photo or that is that I, with 1-2 minutes of thought about how to frame a shot and having only my pocket-carryable digital camera, cannot possibly take better photos than have been taken before - by others with more time, inspiration, talent, and equipment. So the only thing my photos have to say for themselves is that they were taken at a particular moment in time... possibly of a thing that might never happen again (for example, the combination of Andy, New England, and July of 2006). That being said...

Gary made some small talk with the main course, and then got to business of putting Mr. Lobster out to pasture...

Andy needed a little help from a local (thanks, Barbara!), but learned himself good how to eat a lobster.
Hey, check it out... it's the Jefferson Memorial. I like what the man had to say about the evolution of law. If you can't read it in the photo, it reads:
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions,
but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of
the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened
as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and
opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must
advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a
man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized
society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
As I see it, this is not an argument for some sort of vague notion of arbitrary moral relativism, but an acknowledgement of the complexity of the world, and humility about our ability to foretell the future of human society.And then, there's the Giant Phallus of Washington... er... the "Washington Monument" I mean...

I was walking by the north side of the White House, when a bunch of cyclists were oncoming... having a notion, I asked "hey, are you Critical Mass DC? I thought y'all were on the last Friday of the month..."

"no, we're on the first of the month..."

so here they are - the Massers of DC: