The Viener.com Blog

The Bug Zapper

Here is a quick video of one of my favorite summer toys, the original bug zapper.

The Blueberry Island Tour - Hogdon Island on Lake Cobbossee in Maine

Here is a video tour of our favorite little island on lake Cobbossee in Maine.  The official name of the island is Hogdon Island and is part of the Kennebec Land Trust, but the island was introduced to us as "Blueberry Island"

Lulu's First Kayak Ride

Here is a video of Lulu's First Kayak Ride on Lake Cobbossee in Maine.

Jolie Kayaking in Maine

Jolie's 2009 Kindergarten Showcase

At the end of the year at Nysmith, the Kindergarten class puts on a showcase of their singing and physical fitness prowess.  Here is a cute video of some of the showcase: In the first skit, Jolie is the letter K on the virtual keyboard!

Video from Riley's Flag Football Game 5.30.09

GoReston.com Launches

GoReston.com has recently launched as a platform for community communications.  The idea of this Reston Blog, is to get a bunch of passionate Restonians to write about what is going on in Reston and share their opinions and facts about what is happening in our community.

I encourage anyone interested in Reston to register for the blog and request to become a contributor!

Adam

12 Ducklings Learning to Swim @ The Viener Pool

Over the past few months we have seen several ducks swimming on our pool cover after it rains.  Today we saw 12 little ducklings learning to swim for the first time after last nights rain.  Check out this cute video of the 12 ducklings trying to get out of the pool after their swim lesson.

More Emails Going Back and forth about the Robert E. Simon Center Proposal for Brown's Chapel

Here is a letter form Jane Action to Frank Lynch:

From: Jane Acton
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 8:22 AM
To: frank.lynch1@gmail.com
Subject: Email response

Hi Frank,

I’m one of your constituents and I was glad to read your email yesterday regarding the Brown’s Chapel project.  I appreciate the time and effort you put into serving us here in North Point; thank you for your commitment.

I must have just missed working with you on the RA board; for several years I was very involved in moving the concept of indoor tennis onto the board’s radar.  Evidently we were successful as eight courts are included in the plans for Reston’s very own version of the Taj Majal.  Our expectations then, however, never resembled anything that is being proposed today.  We envisioned a more modest approach to an indoor tennis facility, a few courts with adequate parking. 

Thank you for responding to the community’s conversation about the rec facility.  It was good to read the history of how we got to where we are.

The part of your email that bothers me the most is the part that reads: 
 
That is where we are today....a preliminary drawing of the Taj Majal. It has always been my belief that that this is where the community process starts. I have no expectation that something like this will ever get built, nor would I support it. There are a number of public meetings scheduled to work the process. Neither board has made any decisions to move forward and has left all options open (and there are many), including not working together.

I wonder why the RA and RCC boards would be interested in spending their time (and our precious assessment dollars) for two years on something that it is not seriously considering.  It is a ludicrous approach to doing business.  Does Microsoft’s board gather for two years and throw out pie-in-the-sky ideas that they admit will probably go nowhere but why not shoot for the moon just for fun?  I seriously doubt it.  They talk about what issues are germane to moving the Microsoft business forward in the real world, for real customers.  They are respectful of and responsible to their shareholders; I doubt they have much interest in going down a path that doesn’t hold much promise.

I mean no disrespect to you or the RA Board, but your email describes a rear-end-first approach to doing Reston’s business.

Shouldn’t the community process start with:  What do we need? and then: What can we afford?   If the Robert E. Simon Center (it already has a name!) is just an fantasy, then why is the board so defensive, and why are all of us on the opposition side reacting passionately to something that you state is really just a daydream?  It doesn’t feel anything like a daydream, Frank.  It feels very real and a lot of people are really, really angry about it.

You may be the only one who is thinking this way.  Robin Smyers (a friend of mine) is taking this pretty seriously from what I can tell.  Larry Butler and some others have all expressed hope that the community will embrace the concept and see it through to “reality” (a real quote).  I’m pretty sure they would like a building just like this to be built.

And why was it kept so secret?  Why are the plans so far along when the community at large found out about it?   Why was it so hard for people to get details about it (Brown’s Chapel neighbors tried for months and could get no where and were actually told lies).  Shouldn’t community input have come at the beginning rather than after elevations and plans have been drawn up and names have been selected?  Now we’re all running around like crazy trying to figure out how to get this thing stopped before someone shows up with a bulldozer.

I cannot tell you how inane the whole thing appears to the community.  People are literally smacking their foreheads and saying, “What are they thinking?”

I’m sure we’ll meet in the days and months ahead.  In the meantime, I would urge you to take a stance against this proposed abomination right now.  This would demonstrate that voices in the North Point district are being heard and that you respect and are standing firm with your constituency. 

Jane Acton
cc:  SaveBrownsChapel.com

Save Brown's Chapel Park Resources

Here are some great links to the resources that the Reston Community has put together regarding the Save Brown's Chapel Park project:

• Save Brown's Chapel Park Website
• Brown's Chapel Rec Center Plan Facts
• Stop The Brown's Chapel Project Activities, Dates & Meetings
• News Articles about the Brown's Chapel Health Center Project
• Brown's Chapel Park Photos
• Stop the Brown's Chapel Rec Center Project Petition

The Save Brown's Chapel Park organization has also established a facebook and twitter account.