iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

People are still surprised when I tell them DC tourism is in a bad place right now. I don't think people realize that this is the experience a DC tourist is getting in 2026.

Lincoln memorial reflecting pool surrounded by fences and caution tape.

Lawn next to the Washington monument fenced off and ripped up.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Saw this signage today and what a refreshing break from the slop (the restaurant next door had an AI slop sign).

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Two restaurants in NYC next door to each other. Only one of them has signage that makes me want to spend my money there.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Budweiser was a major sponsor at the Fair a month ago that everyone has seemingly already forgotten about.

Budweiser bar at the Great American state fair.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

When I first went to this food festival in April the vendors had mostly normal signage. Now barely 4 months later and it's almost exclusively AI slop. This is bleak.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Google Maps showing some pretty rock bottom hotel rates for a Friday to Monday booking.

Hotel rates in downtown DC for Aug 21-24.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Biked 20 miles round trip across town to the DC Open. Weather was good. Vibes were high. Didn't see a single N*tional G*ard. A reminder that DC is great when it's allowed to be.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I have DC jury duty tomorrow and after googling a simple question I wound up on some sort of court AI chat bot. We are so cooked.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

You know in a few days we are going to find out there was blatant insider trading on this too.

Polymarket screenshot: FIFA World Cup
World Cup: Folarin Balogun to Play vs. Belgium?

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

I've been saying all week that "security" is not the same as safety and a lot of people are now learning that in real time.

Jayme Moore, 42, from Sunbury, Ohio, is lingering outside an exit from the National Mall with her family, wondering if they will be allowed back after exiting because of an evacuation order for inclement weather. She said they had waited in intense heat “squished like sardines” for five hours to get in. It irked her, she said, that there hadn’t been safety concerns from officials then.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Jefferson Memorial exhibit is finally open. At first glance it looks OK. I will withhold future reviews until I've read all the actual content.

Jefferson Memorial July 3 2026 at 7:30am

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

July 3rd is a great day to come see the national monuments if you hate crowds!

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Are these "safe and beautiful" [sic] scaffolding going to come down any time soon? Clock is ticking here.

Arlington Memorial Bridge July 1 2026 at 4pm

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Tourism is popping at the Jefferson Memorial.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Guys I am at the Lincoln Memorial and despite the Washington Post telling us DC is getting a big tourism bump I can't find it.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Here is last year's map for context:

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

This is way less space available for fireworks viewing than in a typical year. The galaxy brain take is that it's all intentional to consolidate everyone in a small area and create the illusion of a big crowd.

National Mall fireworks map for July 4, 2026.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

These are just a sampling of headlines about tourism in last year. A year that, according to the official numbers, apparently had an ~increase~ in tourism.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I would love for any cyber security experts to weigh in on how Flipper Zero and Raspberry Pi devices get an explicit mention on this list. What do they expect people to do with them?

List of Prohibited Items at the Great American State Fair.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Poor Metro doesn't have any visitors 😔 cool exhibit though.

Metro exhibit on the National Mall June 25 2026.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

The state exhibits seem more popular. Each state seems to get about a 100ish square foot box to show off.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Not much happening in this section.

Secret Service exhibition. National Mall June 25 2026.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

One day drinker at the Budweiser branded bar.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I don't expect the National Mall to be bumping on any random Thursday afternoon but I have never seen it this empty.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

It appears strollers have been un-banned from the Great Fair but now Raspberry-Pi Enagbled (sic) Devices are banned. Wut?

Prohibited items list for the Great American State Fair now includes Raspberry-Pi Enagbled Devices.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Apparently you have to show photo ID to watch the fireworks on the National Mall this year - "no exceptions".

Screenshot from the Freedom250 website showing the ID requirement for 4th of July on the National Mall.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Might as well add Fun to the banned list at this point.

Bag policy at the Great American State Fair.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Is this a good or a bad development for the 15th Street bike lane?

Green paint being applied at 15th and Independence SW.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

De facto Open Streets before Petalpalooza 🌸

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

The twisted hypocrisy of the order to tear out the 15th Street bike lanes is that ostensibly it was necessary to placate car drivers during peak bloom but instead they just closed the entire street which is the superior option anyway.

People riding bikes at the Blossom Kite Festival.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

For this year's Kite Fest they closed 15th and 17th. No soundtrack of honking. No violent road rage. Just thousands of people enjoying a nice day. We can, in fact, have nice things.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

The website is frankly embarrassing. This event for "A Monumental Salute to America" says it's at the Lincoln Memorial, shows a stock photo of the Supreme Court, and still has [object Object] placeholder text.

Screen shot of the event page for A Monumental Salute to America.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

This has to be the most random Nats gate giveaway I have ever seen. Is there an inside joke that I missed?

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

This dog dressed as Maryland Driver for Halloween has to be the most local-DC costume ever.

Dog dressed as a Maryland driver for Halloween.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

Someone in the 90th percentile of household income is actually closer to someone at the 1st percentile ($251k difference) than they are to someone in the 99th percentile ($408k difference).

Graph of United States Household Income Distribution (2025).

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

I still maintain that this is all that matters to her and all decisions being made can be traced back to it.

For example, the mayor might need additional GOP cooperation in the coming years to keep the RFK Stadium project on track so that the Commanders return to Washington.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Took these photos on July 3rd. Typically one of the busiest dates of the year. This year: empty.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

I guess Capital Bikeshare took all the National Mall stations offline for the 4th but it's Sunday morning now and I still can't ride down there. Ugh.

Map of the National Mall showing no Capital Bikeshare availability.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

Tonight's downtown hotel rates kind of give away the game about how many people traveled in from out of town this weekend.

Hotels in downtown DC have rates in the $100-$200 range.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Or maybe stocks just make no sense. Like this headline "sales plunge" and therefore the stock is up 5% 🤷‍♂️

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

They are really leaning into the federal Washington vs. local DC distinction with these new hats.

Two Washington Nationals caps side by side.

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Wish I was being facetious but what is the risk that El*n goes for a walk one day, sees this work happening and tries to kill the contracts for the whole project?

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Rob Pitingolo @robpitingolo.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

It's wild how "cord cutting" originated from the desire to only pay for the channels you want to watch to now the grocery store is bundling a bunch of streaming services together as a means to sell you yet another subscription.

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