Comments

KING TV link
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Person-shot-on-Capitol-Hill-
Comment by Andrew Taylor
13 hours ago
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Discuss the bigger issues TONIGHT (Tuesday 11/17) at Miller
http://millerparkseattle.blogspot.com/2009/11/seattle-compre

Join former Mayor Norm Rice for the kick-off of a major update of
Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan – “Seattle 2030 and Beyond”

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Presentation at 6:30 pm
Miller Community Center
330 19th Ave E (served by Metro Routes 8, 10, 11, 12 and 43)
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 days ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: ... is there???
Agreed. It is a democracy and they are using _their_ dollars. Presumably their market analyses tell them that potential buyers will want cars. It's probable that many of the residents will work nearby and will commute by public transit, but will want cars for recreational uses.

After all, many of us live here both for the urban attractions and the stunning rural areas and wilderness that are all around us (We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto). It's really not practical to try and transport your bike to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail by rental car, try and go ski-ing by Smart Car or to take a shiny new Zip Car down the bumpy dirt road to many of our trail-heads (Harvey Manning always advocated clunkers for that).

Our Mayor-elect has proudly pointed out that he's car-less and has been camping by rental car, but even he's admitted that it was to a State Park and that that he wouldn't go wilderness camping that way.

Finally, if these urban areas evolve to accommodate families (it's happening in the Miller area townhouses), people really will want cars. You try schlepping your schoolkid's harp around by bus! (Been there, done that).
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 days ago
( +2 votes ) Recommend this
The usual...
1) Leave NOTHING (and I mean nothing) visible in your car.

2) If you're going to stash valuables in the trunk or under the seat, do so before you arrive at your parking spot, where people desirous of your property may be watching.

3) (optional) find cars that have violated 1 or 2 and park next to them.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 days ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Red and Black Books
When I moved to Seattle in 1982, Red and Black Books was upstairs in the building next to the Canterbury. The downstairs, where Samui Thai Cuisine now lives, was a collective ice-cream parlor/restaurant.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 week ago
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This is normal behavior
I think they do this every year.

Sort of recall the Miller tennis courts being the winter ones one year.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 week ago
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Will he bike to work?
When he was a Seattle City Councilmember, jim Street used to bike to work. Most mornings he'd ride past me while I was waiting at the school bus stop at 19th and Thomas with my kids (as they then were).

It's a bit further from Greenwood to City Hall and I'm not sure that there's a really good way to go, Sharrows or no Sharrows.

(Oh, and I've run into Richard Conlin WALKING through our neighborhood)
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 week ago
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Direction of #90 makes sense, but ....
The hill on E. Thomas between 19th and 20th ALWAYS gets blocked in snowstorms by a bus trying to make it up the hill, so only running the route down that hill makes sense

However, bendy buses trying to get up the hill tend to jack-knife and potentially block both lanes. It can take much effort from Metros tow trucks to dislodge them. So the snow route may be impassable due to regular buses caught on the route.

Expect webcam coverage of the area during the next snowstorm!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 week ago
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Cornish
see previous report here:

http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2008/06/12/best-of-the-hil
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 weeks ago
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Respect for Police
I believe that the Police deserve extra respect and we can cut them a bit of slack here.

I am aware of two incidents, within 400 yards of my house, where officers confronted heavily armed killers.

In both cases they could have held back and waited for the SWAT team.

In both cases they advanced on the killer and (probably) prevented more deaths or injuries to the (many) bystanders.

Actions speak louder than words.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 weeks ago
( +3 votes ) Recommend this
All over bar the shouting
King County's down to an estimated 13,800 votes on hand to count:
http://vote.wa.gov/Elections/WEI/VoterTurnout.aspx?ElectionI

Suppose they're half in Seattle; Mallahan would have to get ~ 54% of those to draw ahead.

Picture changes if there are lots more ballots still in the mail.

Note that the difference between them is ~ 1/2 of the number of write-in ballots. Those people (Nickels supporters?) had the decision in their hands and they blew it!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 weeks ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
May not matter but..
FWIW The car pictured is a Datsun 210 (manufactured 1978 to 1982, part of the B310 series) and not a Datsun B210 (manufactured 1973 to 1978). I only know because I owned a Datsun B210 from 1980 to 1990.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Sunny
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 weeks ago
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RE: Ballot tracking
Contact the elections office:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/aboutus/contactus.aspx
(many ways to contact them)
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 weeks ago
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RE: sad, but...
Availability of Key Arena, perhaps?
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 weeks ago
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Evening mailing might be a problem
Latest pickup I could find was 7:30 PM:
http://www.payphone-project.com/post_offices/1440179.html

Better off going to 23rd & Jackson till 8 PM
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 weeks ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Who's responsible?
The Widget links to SMT Research

They're monitoring "stuff" around the Asian Art Museum:

http://www.smt-research.com/casestudy/saam
Comment by Andrew Taylor
3 weeks ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
For efficient candy gathering...
find the out-of-the-way door in a high traffic neighborhood.

My (then much younger) son and I chanced upon such a door, lateish in the evening, and the grateful resident cheerfully emptied his whole dish into aforementioned son's bag.

Your mileage may vary.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
3 weeks ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Already submitted to Council, your support will help
We're in the hole, we've got to cut somewhere.

One small suggestion for those of us lucky enough to still be working stiffs:

make the shorter days (Weds, Thurs) 12 noon to 7 PM or (better) 1PM to 8 PM, to give us time to get to the library after work, rather than the proposed 11 AM to 6 PM.

Thanks
Andrew
Comment by Andrew Taylor
3 weeks ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
From another mailing from Barbara Luecke
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED and WELCOME!
Hole drilling this weekend, rod insertion starts Monday
Sat: 10-5p 2 people shifts. 10-2, 2-5
Sun 10-5 (tbd if we don't finish on Sat) 2 people shifts. 10-2, 2-5
Mon 12-5 3 people or as many as possible
Tues 12-5 3 people or as manay as possbile
2 people shifts. 10-2, 2-5Thurs tbd
Friday open......

Lighting tests start Wednesday with a formal opening on Halloween. So far, the installation will stay up through November 9th. We hope it can be longer. A longer run will be at the discretion of the Capitol Hill tunnel construction contractor who takes over
the site then. Station construction is about to begin!

We would have told you about this sooner, but we have had many technical issues to solve. We hope you can help us promote Dan Corson's temporary project now.

Please let me know if you have further questions. And if you would like to volunteer to help, or know of someone who does, have them call my cell phone: 206.388.7439
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 weeks ago
( +3 votes ) Recommend this
Ask to see inside the church!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
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PS
The Green Thumb's STILL THERE. I just clicked it and it did its thing.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Favicon
Has your favicon (the little icon next to the CHS web address at the top of the browser window) always been there and I hadn't noticed?

I've been struggling to figure out what the connection between a Yellow J and "Capitol Hill Seattle" might be. (revelation: see below).
The 16 x 16 pixel canvas is a bit limited, but maybe there's some way to get the essence of Capitol Hill in there: "CHS" in Times Roman with obvious serifs would be one possibility, or some variant on the odd logo on the Capitol Hill street signs.

How about a competition for a 16 x 16 pixel Capitol Hill icon (of a Capitol Hill icon)?

Can anyone squeeze Boe into that size (he's pretty small already)?

Andrew

NEVER MIND! Figured it you. You're using iconj.com to host your favicon, and they've had a hardware failure and lost your (undoubtedly elegant) favicon. The Yellow J is iconJ's default favicon, I bet!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Thank you Captain McDonagh
We've had many talented and dedicated Captains in the East Precinct since I moved here. It's been a pleasure to work with them, and to see them rise in the SPD hierarchy or to get positions elsewhere: Chief Diaz was the Captain of the East Precinct some years ago. Landy Black, who was East Precinct Commander before Captain McDonagh, is now Chief of the Davis, California, Police Department.

Captain McDonagh has the distinction of having the hardest name, to date, to type, but I think Captain Dermody may rival that!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
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RE: vivace
As I recall, you can submit updates via the Google listing. I did so for The Fargonian a while ago. Never checked to see if it helped, though.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
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You'll need a BIG telescope
"We expect the debris plumes to be visible through mid-sized backyard telescopes—10 inches and larger,"

That's a lot bigger than most mobile telescopes (think 4 inch refractors or 6 to 8 inch reflectors).
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
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RE: biking on Aloha
It's actually fairly slow, and it's quite wide at the corners. I cycle there most days. Parallel street to the north leads to a difficult crossing of 10th, while Aloha gives you a light to cross at (I'm on my way to Lake Union).

Parallel street to the south is a ways away. it's OK.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
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RE: Shannon Harps
Care to include Mia Zapata? Another tragically murdered Seattleite:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mia_Zapata

I'd suggest: "Mia and Shannon's Place"

It sounds friendlier and cozier than just "park", and "Mia and Shannon's Park" sounds awkward.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
P-patches
P-patches to the west of the Belroy apartments would be a great use of the land: right now it's a very overgrown forest that historically had homeless encampments in it and appears (as noted from the bike-path) to sometimes still have them.

Note that the south side of the forest, next to Roy Street, is very steep and unstable. That block of Roy is presently partly blocked by a large fallen tree from the steep hillside. During heavy rains there are frequent floods and drifts of dirt/pebbles generated by that steep hillside. Stabilizing (terracing?) the hillside would be great, as part of the rehabbing of the property!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
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RE: ... out door movies in the winter on asphalt ... sure
Yes, I'm really looking forward to watching "It's a Wonderful Life" outdoors this Christmas.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
1 month ago
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Field's empty!
Lights will be on till 10: come on down and enjoy the field while you can!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
I'm voting for the weight of the rain
A vandal would have had to have pulled straight down to cause the damage shown. Would have been awkward and then they'd have been drenched in all the accumulated rain in the tree. Might do that with one tree, surely not a row of them.

Blame Sir Isaac Newton.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 months ago
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Miller Schedule
should be posted in the kiosk at the NW corner of the field (and should be on CHS!).
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Those opposed
seem to include both the very poor (SE Seattle, White Center, Georgetown) and the very rich (Broadmoor, Magnolia, Blue Ridge), not to mention the zero people who live legally in Seward Park (us oldies remember when there was a caretaker's house next to the fish hatchery, but they're both long gone).
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 months ago
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RE: Miller Fountain is up and running
Miller Fountain is not staffed, so could well still be functioning, though it was not when went past this evening.

UPDATE: still seems to be running, but maybe shutting off before 8?
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Miller Fountain is up and running
Miller fountain was gushing away to itself when I cycled past at 9:30 AM today, Tuesday, 9/8/09.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 months ago
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Seismic issues
Interesting! While at the NOVA cleanup last weekend, I went into a basement room in search of a power outlet for a weedwacker. Looked like it was the main power switchboard for the school, and also had some networking hardware.

AND there was an imposing box on the floor that told you a) not to touch it and b) that belonged to the U-DUB Seismology people. Looks like there should be some data there, if anyone want to investigate.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Technology probably won't help with our biggest threat..
namely the REALLY BIG earthquake that will hit us, sooner or later. Power, phones, water, the internet (gasp, horror) will presumably all be out for days to weeks.

The emergency preparedness people try and persuade us to be self-reliant for 3 days but will admit (if pressed) that, after the "big one", it will take way longer than that for meaningful help to get to us!

Modern technology has its place, but we also need old-fashioned lists on paper, and camping supplies in the basement. [One of my fears is the lack of storage space for emergency supplies in all the townhouses around here].
Comment by Andrew Taylor
2 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Sign at Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island
"Pardon our noise, it's the sound of freedom"

http://www.city-data.com/forum/washington/5716-oak-harbor.ht
Comment by Andrew Taylor
3 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
It's hot, even in analog
Yesterday the official CHS thermometer was at 95 degrees, and was digital.

When I got to my 20th & John home at 6:15 PM today my unoffical (but Taylor brand!) analog thermometer was higher than I'd ever seen it: 101 degrees. For posterity, here it is:
Taylor Thermometer
Comment by Andrew Taylor
3 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
They're not getting a lot of sympathy from SLOG commenters
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/07/24/starbuc
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Dog of the Month?
Have they also been studying the dog-themed drinks at the Bottleneck Lounge?
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
A job for Sherlock Holmes?
How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?

The Sign of the Four, ch. 6 (1890)
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Hypothetical Question
If they had opened by the 21st, would they have honored the FREE PASTRY coupons:

http://www.starbucks.com/retail/free_pastry.html
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Dow Jones article
http://tinyurl.com/mjf22d
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: ... and ... is the coffee shop supply in peril?
Walgren's on 15th snuck by in part because it was a "remodel": as I recall it kept the requisite "2 walls" that counted it as a remodel. The design was vigorously opposed by the adjacent neighbors and the Capitol Hill Community Council. The concessions they got were:

a) the mural (whoopy-doo)
b) no drive-up pharmacy window in the alley
c) NO big free standing large big LED sign on a big pole in the parking lot. I believe you can still see the patch in the parking lot where that was going.

The greatest value of the fight was that it alerted the community to Walgren's standard cookie-cutter design, so when they proposed one for Broadway, people leapt all over them. And the rest is history...
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( +2 votes ) Recommend this
RE: No 'observation folders'
My wife reports seeing people sitting outside Victrola with printed-out spreadsheets on clipboards a couple of times recently when walking past at dinnertime.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: FieldTurf . . . at last.
The neighborhood association was talking about grass (REAL grass) in 1989.

We've now got:
new schools @ Meany
new community center
Deano's gone
grass field

Time to retire?
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Link for more details
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2009/07/13/central-area-ca
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
RE: big brother
Pare that down to 12 words and submit it at the forum, please.
Andrew Taylor
Forum details: http://tinyurl.com/cap-cd-forum
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Speed up buses, also?
" Also, the light rail has priority at every intersection, eliminating the stop and go feeling common in most Metro lines."

One would have thought that with transponders on the buses, that would be easy to achieve with the buses as well. Oh, and dedicated bus lanes should cost little more than the paint....
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Someone did try to fix this
I met a woman (union organizer, as I recall) about 15 years ago who had petitioned the City of Seattle to change the name of Republican Street to "Non-Partisan Street". The City had refused her petition but Jim Diers did present her with her own personal copy of a Non-Partisan Street sign.

Perhaps it's time to try again,,,,,,,,
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( +2 votes ) Recommend this
Wanted: Microsoft retiree bibliophile
love of cats and strange customers a plus.

Apply to above phone number. We'll bring the books to get you started. Heck, we'll give you the books, we'll probably even pay you to haul them away.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Thanks for the reminder
I was feeling I should post a reminder. Thanks for saving me the trouble.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
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RE: Lakeview overpass supposedly closed
Agreed. In past years SPD has closed the overpass at least 30 minutes before the show. They wouldn't let me go over to watch the show at Fred Hutch.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Firework pictures
After some experiments with my Canon A540:
a) manual focus at infinity
b) manual shutter for a longish exposure (1/20th sec or more)
c) flash OFF (the twinkling flashes from Gasworks are pretty but drain your battery)
d) burst mode to take lots of pictures as fast as possible
e) prune ruthlessly when you get home and:

http://millerparkseattle.blogspot.com/2008/07/lake-union-fir
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Title: This week's "bock" party
bock |bäk| (also bock beer)
noun
a strong dark beer brewed in the fall and drunk in the spring.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: via French from an abbreviation of German Eimbockbier ‘beer from Einbeck,’ a town in Hanover.

Sounds like a plan!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
4 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
where's the Central District?
Separate meeting:

July 27th
For Central Area (Madison-Miller, 23rd & Union - Jackson and 12th Avenue), Columbia City - Hillman City - Genesee, Rainier Beach
6-8 p.m
Rainier Community Center Gym 4600 38th Ave. S
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Inflatable santa/etc
Could you ask Scott what happened to the large inflatable buff guy doll that used to grace their roof around assorted holiday seasons?

Such things are usually kind of hackneyed, when seen at car dealers or along I-5, but our family kind of misses the Madison Street Bear (or whatever/whoever he was).
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Old trees
These trees are, in all honesty, over-mature and neglected and their time has come.
I alerted the Miller neighborhood to the signs on the trees back in February, when they were posted:

http://millerparkseattle.blogspot.com/2009/02/trees-on-john-

and heard no concerns at the time. As I noted in February, the trees are very rotten in their cores, and large branches break off in almost every windstorm. [Views from above, while exploring the construction, showed the rot to be even worse than feared]

The profusion of small vertical branches suggests that the trees were pollarded in their youth ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollarding) but they have not been trimmed during the 25+ years I've lived there.

The City did its part, by clearly flagging the trees and allowing 14 days for comments. I did what I could by publicizing the signs.

The trees are, sadly, very old and rotten. You may feel sorry for them and want them preserved, but you might well feel differently if a big branch fell on you (trust me: BIG chunks came off in the storms).

Many of the trees around us were planted when our neighborhood was developed, and I suspect this will be an ongoing issue.

(One liner: pay attention)
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Miller Fountain is up and running
The handicap-accessible walk-in, run through, sit in play fountain at Miller Community Center is splashing way to itself most hours, most days.

http://www.seattle.gov/parks/wadingpools_detail.asp?id=373

WADING POOL HOURS
May 22 - September 7, 2009
Daily 11 a.m. - 8 p.m
Address: 330 19th Ave. E
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Capitol Hill Co-op Preschool
Glad to see that the Co-op preschool is still chugging along. My son (now in graduate school) had a great time there, when the co-op was next to St. Marks.

We recall the two guinea-pigs at the school, and the kids' concern that the guinea pigs were cohabiting but not married. A wedding was arranged with the usual jobs (eg ring-bearer) but the less usual ones of bride-bearer and groom-bearer. My wife provided appropriate music on the recorder.

The excitement of the occasion was too much for the (aged) groom, and a guinea-pig funeral had to be arranged soon thereafter. His bones may be found in the ravine next to the school.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
"contstruction noise "
Thank you for attending the meeting and bringing us the essence of a long meeting in an quick, easily accessed summary. I've been aching for such a service at many meetings I've attended. Breezing in at the end and grabbing the handout is one strategy: this is even easier. Thanks.

BTW is "contstruction" a contraction of "continuous construction"?

AFT
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
RE: Seattle Protests Phelps Family, Westboro Baptist Church
I watched the BBC documentary about Westboro last night:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7735501683185935638
It confirms that Westboro "Church" is an incredibly marginalized and despised single family. I see no way that their efforts are any threat to anybody, other than their poor young children.

Very large, well organzied churches were clearly very active in the Proposition 8 battle in California.

Can you harness all of Sunday's energy to take your message to those churches (OK, that church!)? They actually have power, influence and money. Westboro "Baptist Church" has none.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
RE: Huh?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bitch%20burge

Still don't get it? Ditto!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
RE: The video - WANTED: a new chant!
"Hey Hey, Ho, Ho" was kind of tired even way back in the Vietnam War era, and hasn't got any fresher with age.

Can anyone come up with an edgy new 21st Century chant?
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
More details
http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/events/2009/06/14/meet-th

or for the (peaceful) Monday AM Garfield High School event:

http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/events/2009/06/15/westbor

But wait, there's more......

Slog reports on tonight's (seemingly sparsely attended) event: each protester had to hold about 4 signs:

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/06/13/westbor

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/gods-rejects/Content?oid=
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Many thanks to Justin
Great event, great turnout. Garage/porch/parking strip sales everywhere we wandered on Capitol Hill today.

Arranging the perfect not-too-hot sunny weather was a nice touch. Thanks.

Same time next year? Could we do without the grass pollen next time?

Andrew
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Well, he is named Rick (but in another movie).
"We didn't exactly believe your story, Miss O'Shea, we believed your 200 dollars."

-- Humphrey Bogart to Mary Astor in "The Maltese Falcon"
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Two thoughts.....
1) This garage sale day idea is really taking hold! Thanks Justin!

2) If you have any camping etc gear left over at the end of the day, try offering it to Tent City (they're presently behind the AM-PM at 23rd/Cherry): they were very happy to receive a couple of old tents of mine.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Men or women?
This report notes "two men and 13 women"

Times report says "two women and 13 men"
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Sign on the store door
Seen at the weekend. Implies that it will reopen as a Starbucks. Would surely advertise the fact if it was going to be something new. If they were closing I expect they'd just "go gentle into that good night".
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Happened before
A cyclist died at that intersection about a decade ago. Found dying early in the morning. Never established if it was hit-and-run or whether he collided with the bridge wall. On his way to visit girlfriend (colleague of mine). There was a memorial plaque on the bridge for a few years (and occasional candle drippings and beer cans).
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
RE: hope they get it!
Went by there today: they've got a good, wide, new unobstructed sidewalk. No obvious reason not to grant the application.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
DPD website issues
"we'll try to be on top of any more applications earlier now that we know what to look for on the Department of Planning and Development site."

You're forgiven: the DPD permit website lists the addresses of regular applications but not those of Sidewalk Cafe permits, so you have to open each one to see where it is. I alerted Diane Sugimura (head of DPD) to this: she thanked me but noted that they're being required to do more with less these days.

Sidewalk Cafe permit process potentially awkward because it's now split between DPD (planning dept) and the Transportation Department (who performed so well during the snow).
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
But wait, there's more...
Members of the truly scarily wacky Westboro Baptist Church ( http://GodHatesFags.com ) will be visiting our area on the weekend of June 13th to 15th. They'll be demonstrating outside assorted Jewish venues, churches (including Mt. Zion on Madison) and Garfield High School. Lots of info at:

http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2009/06/04/westboro-bapti

The Garfield High School Straight-Gay Alliance has a very effective and powerful plan
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107638305438

"Garfield's counter protest must be peaceful, and separate. The goal of this organization is to rile people up and provoke response. They bring their own cameras and tape everything that happens, using it as ammunition at later events. They hope that you will act inappropriately, so they can make fools of us.

INSTEAD, we will rally on the front steps of the school (they're not allowed on school property), in an effort to show the school, our community, and the world what Garfield believes in. Come to school early, ready to cheer, sing, and be non-reactive."
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Microsoft!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2009298137_b

The company even held a Seattle launch event, beaming a searchlight into the sky Tuesday night and raising a flag atop the Space Needle to mark Bing's debut.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/170050.asp
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( 0 votes ) Recommend this
Really weird
Looked round the open unit last weekend.

Very tall and thin with lots and lots of stairs (and few handrails). Not good for aging in place.

ALL the windows were stained glass, so you'd have no idea what the outside world was up to. Maybe if you can afford it you don't care.

One of the bedrooms, in the center of the building, had a skylight WAY up high. A door opened into the core of the building, which seems to be a huge common area and which contains the top of the afore-mentioned skylight. Employee assured me that there would be some way of stopping other residents from peering down on you in your bed.

Samuel Johnson: "Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
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iPhone App needed
Given the iPhone's GPS ability, somebody (not me) needs to write an app that reports to Seattle City Light that the pole at the phone's location has a problem: light out, wires dangling, etc.

Go for it mighty Capitol Hill programmers.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
( +1 votes ) Recommend this
Williams should be confined, but in a secure mental hospital
He was pretty clearly insane at the time he killed Ms. Harps. He was sent to Western State Hospital where he was treated to make him sane enough to stand trial. He then plead guilty and will be sent off to jail, where he surely won't get the level of mental health treatment that he would get in a secure mental hospital.

Some countries seem to often send those demonstrably mentally ill at the time of their crimes to secure mental institutions, the US very rarely so ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_guilty_by_reason_of_insanit).

Neither psychiatric hospital nor jail will bring Ms. Harps back, but surely the secure hospital would be a more humane home for such a profoundly disturbed man as Mr. Williams?
Comment by Andrew Taylor
5 months ago
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What cyclists really need....
is roads without enormous sharp-edged holes in them!

(what part of "fix the roads" doesn't Greg understand?)

AFT
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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How is 8 not extreme abuse?
I believe that the city code allows 8 unrelated individuals in one residence, and presume that's the rationale.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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Foaming root killer
After he'd snaked out several pounds of roots in our main drain (following a Thanksgiving Day sewage flood in the kitchen) our plumber ( http://www.wallingfordplumbing.net/) recommended foaming root killer as a preventative:

http://www.roebic.com/septic/rp.htm

Easy to apply: pour in toilet and flush. Then don't flush for 8 hours!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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Greetings, Doug
Welcome to the wonderful world of CHS!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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Crosscut chimes in on districting
http://crosscut.com/blog/crosscut/18952/
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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Light at the end of the tunnel
"We have our work cut out for us this grey Monday"

I take the recent appearance of sunshine to be deeply symbolic.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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Streetcars vs. Cablecars
Note that Scott's map shows streetcars in red and cable cars in blue. Cablecars can make it up steeper hills than streetcars. See my comment at:

http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2009/04/27/cd-rewind-a-st
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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Owner of tattoos is
My daughter, Ely.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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RE: Swine Flu
How may people infected with rabies/lupus/herpes?

Rabies: almost certainly nobody. You only get it via a bite from an infected animal. ~ no rabies in King County. The infection is very prolonged, so people get diagnosed and treated before they become incurably attacked by the disease (in those vanishingly rare cases, the people are [sadly] securely confined to prevent their infecting others while they await their inevitable and horrible death).

Lupus is a an autoimmune disease ( >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemic_lupus_erythematosus ) : it's not infections.

Herpes: 20 to 30% of the population have herpes antibodies ( >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes) and hence have had prior infections, and probably harbor latent infections which could be reactivated.

Best strategy? Wait to see if it's really an extremely virulent pandemic, like the 1917 flu. Doesn't appear so to date. Suspect that masks won't help much: see 1917 pictures ( >http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2009/04/27/streetcar-and-).

If it does become a worldwide pandemic that hits Seattle, best/only personal strategy is to remain away from other people till it's over (and hope that public services don't collapse). The several weeks' worth of food/water that you (of course) keep in your basement in case of catastrophic earthquake will of course be handy here. A good supply of firearms might also help.

More useful things to worry about include first and second-hand smoke, excessive alcohol consumption and obesity, all of which are known and avoidable health hazards. For people who do none of these, I caution against the hazards of extreme smugness. Oh, and global warming.....
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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reflections
a rotatable polaroid filter should let you remove the glare (and maybe even yourself) from the picture!
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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Saw it
I was a block away, walking south on 18th towards TJ's, when it happened. Heard the crunch over headphones: looked up and saw black vehicle going south on 18th, returning, then another crunch?, then two black vehicles went west on Howell.
One vehicle had collided with a supporting wire for a power pole on the SE corner of the intersection.

Speedy Police response: several SPD cars there when I returned from TJs, officers diligently taking information from people.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
6 months ago
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Electric buses: practical, cheap, not sexy.
The pro-streetcar arguments:
• the "green" power of electricity over diesel engines
• the metal tracks embedded in the street definitively identify the space where interactions will be the most intense and diverse
• because of this permanence, a streetcar becomes something much more than just a form of transportation,

surely also apply to our electric buses, or "trackless trolleys" as they were known when first introduced. Most trolley lines are many decades old and their routes cannot change: the permanence you desire.
The one new route (the 70ish through Eastlake) has art elements associated with the wires and stops, making it a more obvious part of the neighborhood.

Electric buses have other obvious advantages: they can get round obstructions in the road, and they don't need rails, which really do impede bicycle traffic on shared streets. I've cycled the SLUT line back from Denny to Lake Union several times and it really is not easy or pleasant to ride on. The proposed alternative (trolleys in center lanes with street center islands for loading) will result in pedestrian-car collisions: I've already seen pedestrians sprinting across Eastlake against the light to catch a SLUT. It's going to kill someone.

Yes, I know we voted for a trolley. We also voted for a monorail....... (and Nixon really carried the country).
Comment by Andrew Taylor
7 months ago
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Long time coming
The East Precinct redevelopment was announced at a housing forum that was one of Mayor Schell's (remember him) first acts as Mayor.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
7 months ago
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Birthday presents
Surely we should all be bringing a useful pot and a burst balloon.

>http://www.stellapower.net/tigger/tiggerstory6.html

"Sad? Why should I be sad? It's my birthday. The happiest day of the year."
Comment by Andrew Taylor
7 months ago
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One measure of a dive bar
is in the bathroom. A trough urinal is a good indicator.

Any similar signs in ladies' room?
Comment by Andrew Taylor
7 months ago
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Neighborhood Matching Grant!
This is a perfect candidate for a Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple matching grant.
They run to $15,000 and typically matched with sweat equity.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
7 months ago
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"take over neighborhood, conquer world."
Seen at a City Neighborhood Council meeting last night: somebody carrying a copy of
"How to Rule the World: A Handbook for the Aspiring Dictator".
http://books.google.com/books?id=N8ICAAAACAAJ&source=gbs_Vie
Comment by Andrew Taylor
7 months ago
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RE: rusty water
Just happened this AM: saw water in toilet bowl go from clear to brown as I flushed!

Puddles around the fire hydrant are consistent with the fire-truck filling up its tanks theory.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
7 months ago
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Any news of the survivors?
Does anyone know if the two surviving victims of the Huff shootings have recovered?

I recall no news of them at the time or subsequently.

BTW, here's a thoughtful analysis of the tragedy:
http://brief-treatment.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/m
Comment by Andrew Taylor
8 months ago
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Elysian TV
There's certainly one in the lower seating area, next to the brewing vat.
Comment by Andrew Taylor
8 months ago
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(From a CD News comment)
"As a city employee I can tell you that the situation is indeed dire, and there will be deep and serious cuts - even at the utilities. There have already been layoffs and program cuts, and there will be more. So if you have a priority for the neighborhood, you'd best show up en masse and let your feelings be known."
Comment by Andrew Taylor
8 months ago
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