Public transit via Google

Google releases what could be one of the coolest transit projects around, and all of my searches turn up with errors! I hope this is fixed by the morning!
Public transit via Google

Snowing Outside

 
 

Would you believe me if I told you it was snowing outside?

As if hang gliding wasn't dangerous enough...

Bullets fly over hang glider incursion: "An Israeli civilian crashed his hang glider just inside Lebanon on Wednesday, sparking a clash between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Israeli and U.N. officials said.

Israel Defense Forces said the hang glider landed inside Lebanon, a few dozen meters from the border, and Israeli troops in the area opened a border gate, calling on the man to cross. Israeli troops did not cross the border, the officials said."

What the hell was he thinking?

Making profits from incivility on the roads

Social science meet traffic congestion:

Making profits from incivility on the roads: "Social scientists sometimes talk about the concept of identity. It is the idea that you have a particular vision of the kind of person you are, and you feel awful when you do things that are out of line with that vision. That leads you to take actions that are seemingly not in your short-run best interest. In economics, George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton popularized the idea. I had read their papers, but in general have such a weak sense of identity that I never really understood what they were talking about. The first time I really got what they meant was when I realized that a key part of my identity was that I was not the kind of person who would cut in line to shorten my commute, even though it would be easy to do so, and seemed crazy to wait for 15 minutes in this long line. But, if I were to cut in line, I would have to fundamentally rethink the kind of person I was.

The fact that I don't mind when my taxi driver cuts in these lines (actually, I kind of enjoy it) probably shows that I have a long ways to go in my moral development."

via Insta-bloggit

Anakin Promoting the Mac

1984 Mac pamplet

Ballard Halloween Slideshow

Today I offer a cross-post with Rain City Guide... A slideshow of our Halloween adventure in Ballard!

Jason Lane Update...

It was a lot of fun to watch Jason Lane play in the World Series, even if the Astros got whipped by the White Sox... Oh well, such is life.

Why Jason Lane? For those who don't know I played varsity baseball with Jason Lane at El Molino high school. It's probably no surprise that he was awesome then!

A while back I wrote that I wasn't feeling too sorry for Jason. After watching him play in the World Series (and doing his part to try to ignite a 9th inning rally in the last game of the world series), I'm definitely feeling less sympathetic than ever. :)

One other thing... Jay: I expected some good World Series coverage from you... What happened?

I-90 lane changes will be studied

Things are heating up...
I-90 lane changes will be studied: "The state Department of Transportation and Sound Transit said yesterday they will spend the next few months studying how proposed changes to the layout of lanes along the Interstate 90 floating bridge might affect traffic, and how much such changes would cost.

Sound Transit's board of directors will use the results as it decides whether to send light rail or a high-speed bus system over Lake Washington as part of its program to connect the region by buses, trains and other types of mass transit.

Mercer Island residents are especially interested in what type of transit eventually will flow over I-90, the only road on and off the island. A 1976 agreement allows solo island drivers to use the bridge's carpool lanes. If Sound Transit picks light rail, however, those lanes would be replaced by train tracks. Leaders from Mercer Island, Seattle, Bellevue and King County have asked the state to allow solo island drivers to use future carpool lanes planned for the bridge."

Where does he get this stuff?

If Jay was god...

Woodside Barn Dance

Horse Head
Originally uploaded by tyrsdomain.

Among many other fun things I was able to accomplish this past weekend on my visit to the Bay Area, I had a blast at the Woodside Barn Dance. The Runnymede Farm (location of the barn dance!) is home to some outstanding scuptures... Click on the photo for a slide-show.

Lorax Quiz

I got an 8 out of 8 on the Lorax Quiz! (It definitely helps having a 5-year old daughter!).

How well do you know the story?

Sasha Riding the Turtle

Sasha Riding the Turtle
Originally uploaded by tyrsdomain.

Had a blast at a local birthday party this weekend. Reptileman showed up with a variety of animals including this huge turtle that Sasha got a chance to ride.

For more photos, click on the picture and follow the links...

Laptops turn on, tune in to Metro's new Wi-Fi

Nice... The bus route from my house to the University District is offering free wi-fi!

Laptops turn on, tune in to Metro's new Wi-Fi: "Beginning today, some riders on two Metro bus routes will be able to turn on and tune in their laptops to the Internet using Wi-Fi wireless connections in a five-month trial that could expand to other routes, if successful.

By mid-October, all 29 buses that run on Route 197 between the University District and Federal Way and Route 48 between Loyal Heights and Rainier Beach should offer their riders the free service, said Metro spokeswoman Rochelle Ogershok."

Googol Talk is Live!

Let me know if you sign up:
Google Talk

Update:
My initial reaction to Google Talk is one of disappointment. I had heard that google was coming out with an IM and I was hoping it would be something really unique. I have two innovative ideas that if implemented would encourage me to add another IM to my desktop:

Innovation 1: An automatic translator that would allow me to communicate across language boundaries.

Innovation 2: Integrate the photo/webpage/video similar to Hello (which google already owns!).

Without one of those two innovations, I'm not seeing how this IM is any better than the three (Hello, AIM, Skype) I'm already running on my computer.

A9 Mapping

Amazon's new mapping service is pretty darn powerful! For a traffic engineer's perspective it is pretty darn useful to have a resource to see what field conditions are like without needing to actually go into the field! Thank you Amazon!

Amazon has a bunch of other cities in addition to Seattle!

Disappointment Travels Fast Across Seattle

It's sad when even the optimistic local politicians are discouraged. The Stranger asks: "When you look at the current political gridlock on transportation, how do you feel?"

And Ed Murray's response:
"I have to say I am extremely disappointed. I thought we had changed transportation as we knew it, to paraphrase Bill Clinton... I am one legislator. I am very much of an activist legislator, but I can only do so much and I am very disappointed."

google maps ad...

For an amusing 30 seconds, check out this spoof ad for google maps.

Abusing Traffic Signals

From Wired News, we get Traffic Hackers Hit Red Light

"The Safe Intersections Act, part of the transit bill signed Wednesday by President Bush, makes it a misdemeanor for unauthorized users to wield a "traffic signal pre-emption transmitter," a special remote control used by police, firefighters and ambulance drivers to change traffic lights to green as they approach an intersection."

Does this seem like overkill to anyone else?

If the cities are going to design a system that gives pre-emption to a device that costs less than $20 for someone to build, then they are the ones who should be getting fined! The easy solution? Design a simple security step into the process so that a generic signal pre-emption transmitters will not work. By the way, I happen to know that many cities have designed security systems into their pre-emption that stops this type of abuse, so my solution is not very far fetched.

Terrorist Scare at the City of Seattle

It is a little disheartening to be in a meeting at the City of Seattle skyscraper and hear over the load speaker:

"Due to heightened security, only the main entrance to the building is open. All other entrances and exits have been closed."

(That was not the exact wording, but that is definitely the gist of what was said). I doubt that I was the only one in the building who had a chill run through them after hearing this message.

Anyway, it turns out the scare was just because some nut left a box and a fire extinguisher at the security desk, but that is not what I imagined as I tried to concentrate through our meeting (up on the 39th floor).

iPod Mini Tips and Tricks

Seeing as how EVERYONE in my company just got an iPod mini, I thought I would pass along some tips and tricks that I've learned (during my first two days of ownership).

For basic how-to type info, check out Apple's ipod site where they will teach you things like:

• The basics
• Transferring your music to your iPod
• Playing songs
• Working with playlists on your iPod

Here are some of my own tips:

1. Download and use iTunes. It's free and you simply need this music player to take full advantage of your iPod.
2. Control the volume by rotating softly cycling around the white sphere. This is an awesome user interface trick, but not necessarily intuitive... Note that you simply MUST figure out this cycle trick because it is also how you cycle through songs and other options. If this still seems mysterious, then ask someone until you figure it out!
   
3. Turn off your iPod by simply pausing the music. After a minute or two the iPod will shut itself off. UPDATE: Thanks to a verbal tip I found out you can also turn off the iPod off by holding down the pause button!
4. You power it up by simply leaving it plugged into your computer.
   
5. Where do you get music? (1) Find someone with a collection of digital music that you like and borrow!!! (2) "Burn" your favorite CDs to your iPod through iTunes. (To do this, simply insert a CD in your computer, open up iTunes and hit the "import" button.) (3) Purchase the music from iTunes at 99 cents a song. (Hint: There is probably someone in your office with a huge stash of mp3 files on their computer. If you don't know who that is, ask me, and I'll hook you up with an appropriate person!)
6. Podcasts are kind of like a radio show you can carry with you and listen at your leisure. Most shows have a pretty amateur feel to them, although some shows are well put together and have a feel closer to NPR. One of the reasons you needs iTunes is that it lets you browse for podcasts that interest you and then lets you subscribe to them. After subscribing, the program will automatically sync the most recent podcasts to your iPod every time you plug your iPod into your computer. It is shockingly simple to keep up-to-date on your favorite programs.
   
7. I hear that the iPods can get scratched up pretty easily, so consider getting a case if you are going to use it a lot

By the way, if you have some other tips you'd like to share (or you have some questions), list them below in the comments.

AND now for the fun part... My first podcast (but don't expect to learn too much because I'm just reiterating what's written above):

• Podcast: iPod Mini Tips and Tricks
  

Main Engines on orbit taken from the International Space Station

Main Engines on orbit iss
Originally uploaded by tyrsdomain.

I just was sent this photo of the shace shuttle from the view of the international space station via email! It such a great photo, I thought I'd share it with the world.

I’m fascinated by the fact that you can see the earth below… (Part of me wishes I was on the space station to take the photo, but for the most part, I'm glad I'm not relying on that shuttle to get me home!)

Google Moon

If only every company had such a great sense of humor (and technical know-how):

Google Moon

On a side note... Can I integrate my own info on top of google moon? hmm... There are so many first mover potentials!

On top of half dome

on top of half dome
Originally uploaded by tyrsdomain.

This is my favorite photo from my recent trip to Yosemite... The hike up to the top of Half Dome has to be one of the best in the world.

Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety

Todd Litman is definitely on the ball... His latest article "Terrorism, Transit and Public Safety, Evaluating the Risks" (*.pdf) hits on current events to show how traving on transit is much safer (per mile) than traving via an automobile.

Some background: Todd runs the Victoria Transport Policy Institute (VTPI). VTPI has a massive collection of articles promoting alternative modes. Todd's specialty seems to be uncovering the true cost of our auto-dominated society.

Trail through Eastside

Ron Sims has been talking about getting the land associated with a rail line on the eastside in "public hands for use as a major regional trail. The deal would protect the land from development...

The rail corridor runs from roughly Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park in Renton -- the base for the dinner train -- through the Eastside to Snohomish in Snohomish County."

I really like the idea of another major bike trail in King County and I'll defintely be following this story. It could be a win-win if King County can keep the rail line open for rail traffic AND build a parallel trail.

Linguistics

This joke from growabrain speaks to my family:

"A linguistics professor was lecturing his class. 'In English,' he said, 'a double negative forms a positive. However, in some languages, such as Russian, a double negative remains a negative. But there isn't a single language, not one, in which a double positive can express a negative.' A voice from the back of the room piped up, 'Yeah, right.'"

Sunnyvale traffic signal prankster on the loose

I'll bet he's a disgruntled traffic consultant! Those damn traffic engineers!

Sunnyvale traffic signal prankster on the loose: "Whoever is behind the shenanigans has kept a low profile and drawn no attention to himself -- or herself -- while surreptitiously turning traffic lights around to face the wrong way, tampering with control boxes so the lights flash red in all directions and throwing the timing off to stymie motorists, said city spokesman John Pilger."

What's the purpose?

Does anyone else think it's odd that a potential terrorist gets killed while brining a grenade into the United States Courthouse in Seattle, and the Seattle Times rushes to post a full layout of the structure?

Yahoo 360 Review

I took a few minutes to play with my new Yahoo 360 account today... and it definitely offers enough compelling features to keep me going back for more.

What is Yahoo 360? It's kind of a like a "blog meets Friendster" where you can share thoughts (blog format), photos, reviews and more... If you are interested in using it for a blog, it should be noted that much of the site's interface revolves around photos (photos of your friends, groups, yourself, etc), so the site is really only appropriate for a personal blog.

Yahoo is definitely learning from Google's hipness, and you can only get your own 360 account by invitation. If you are interested, let me know and I can send an invite your way.

http://360.yahoo.com/dustinluther

Dedicated Bus lanes in Seoul...

I think my favorite part of this article is actually the photo because the red roadways look like something out of Disneyland...

Dedicated Bus Lanes Central to Renewal of Seoul Transit: "Customers now enjoy up to five free intermodal transfers through the use of new smart cards. Behind the scenes, a fully upgraded IT system makes use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to monitor buses and routes, and allocate revenues to operators on a flat bus/kilometer rate."

Chechen 'ordered Forbes killing'

Who would have thought? Blame it on the Chechens!

Chechen 'ordered Forbes killing' : "According to prosecutor Vasily Gluschenko, the criminal investigation established that Paul Klebnikov's murder was ordered by Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev and was carried out by a Chechen organized crime group.

Two members of the group have been arrested, and warrants have been issued to detain two others in the organization. A warrant for Nukhayev's arrest has been issued as well."

Southwest Moving to Boeing Field?

I like the idea of Southwest moving to Boeing Field. Since I do most of my flying on Southwest, it could make things substantially easier than trying to get in-and-out of the mess at SeaTac.

Sea-Tac fliers might pay more if Southwest leaves: "Southwest, a low-fare airline, said it sees potentially 'dramatic' costs savings by moving to the smaller, county-run airport and avoiding rising fees at Sea-Tac, the regional hub."

New pay-by-cell parking meter technology

Interesting technology...

Coral Gables trying new pay-by-cell parking meter technology: "Drivers lacking coins now may use cell phones to feed parking meters in Coral Gables, purportedly the first city in the country to offer such a service.

The automated system allows drivers who subscribe to simply dial in from their cell phone, punch in the number assigned to their parking spot, and the required costs _ plus a 25-cent usage fee _ will be billed to their credit card. When leaving, subscribers call back and end the billing cycle."

Imagine forgetting to make the call when you leave the lot only to find out later your credit card has been charged for a few days of parking!

Seattle Bus Monster

Seattle Bus Monster created a bunch of google map hacks that work seemlessly together to provide the best google haps hack yet. Some of the tools that Chris Smoak developed include:

• real time bus location information with estimated arrival times


• transit alarm feature that emails you when you choosen bus is close


• transit routes by bus stop


• real time traffic cameras

If you haven't already, definitely check the site out!

Sasha Learned to Ride without Training Wheels Today!!!

Sasha with Bike
Originally uploaded by tyrsdomain.

She's awesome!


(BTW, this photo was taken by Sasha's friend Katka!)

Simple Gmaps Tool...

I've built a Excel little program that allows me to create XML pages that can be directly imported into google maps. Having the program in Excel is nice for me because I've got so much data that is already in that format and translates well to simple gmaps. My first test of the system was to create a list of farmers' markets in Seattle:
Farmers' Markets in Seattle

The set-up has the ability to post custom icons (notice the tulips), links and photos.

Right now I'm looking for ideas of things people would be interested in seeing mapped in Seattle. For example, I think it would be nice to have the "off-leash" areas for dogs and I may put that graphic together tonight. Any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. And if you are interested in seeing my code (simple VBA stuff) that makes this happen, just let me know.

Khodorkovsky verdict makes him liberal icon

I've been telling my wife (who's Russian) for months that Putin is in the process of creating a future Russian leader, but this is the first article I've read that says the same:

"The jailing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky may have made the Russian oil tycoon an icon for President Vladimir Putin's liberal foes rather than rid the Kremlin of a potential rival, experts said."

Some questions:
1) Why is it that the Russians insist on creating their future leaders by putting them in jail first?
2) How (Why?) did Putin create a sympathetic character out of a billionaire?

Blogger Stealing My Content on MSN Spaces

I just noticed that a spam site has been copying ALL of the posts from one of my blogs (www.raincityguide.com) onto a new blog using MSN Spaces. When I contacted Microsoft to ask them to remove the spam blog, they say that I'll have to file a copyright infringement claim in order to get the specific postings removed...

I really don't want to link to the site (why add to their popularity?), but you can find it by running a technorati search of my blog (the offending site is called "Seattle Real Estate"):
Technorati: Search for http://www.raincityguide.com

Does anyone have any experience with all their content being stolen by another blog? Of course, I could always hire a lawyer, but I'm looking for a much cheaper (free!) solution. Any ideas would sure be appreciated!

Rain City Guide's gHomes

I've been playing a lot recently getting MLS search to work on top of Google Maps. It's still in an experimental stage, but you might find it interesting none the less:
Rain City Guide's gHomes

Tyr UpdatesGoogle Maps and Terraserver Topographic Images

As a transportation engineer/planner, I'm always interested in checking out the latest mapping technologies. Thanks to Google Maps there has been a huge amount of progress in displaying maps and satellite images in the last month or so. This new site has taken the high quality resolutions available from Terra Server and displays them on top of the vastly better Google Maps interface. Even if you don't use aerial maps for a living, the quality of Terra Server aerials on top of the ease-of-use Google Maps is a very welcome develoment! Thank you David for putting this together!

BTW, you have to scroll down the page a little to get to the map... I'm sure someone will take a technology like this to its own page at some point! Then we'll be able to resize the google map to get a full screen of aerials!!!

Playgroups Could Cut Child Leukemia Risk

Interesting article discussing how infections might play an important role in keeping kids healthy!
Health News Article | Reuters.com

Bina's Visit

We've had my grandmother come stay for the past few days, and we've had a wonderful time...



On the first full day she stayed with us, we took her to the Tulip Festival... I'm not one to spend too much time admiring Tulips, but it was very beautiful.



Of course, we couldn't miss out on Pike Place Market...



Well, it is only Monday evening as I write this, so more fun is definitely in store!

Google Maps - Sunset Hill Homes

Here is the latest test that I put together... Imagine how nice it would be if you could zoom around google to find your next home!

I'd love to have Anna be the first "Google Real Estate Agent!". Although, there are still a bunch of details that would need to be worked out, it really wouldn't be that hard...

I put up two homes (with their photos) on this page:

Google Maps - Sunset Hill Homes

comments are always appreciated!

Google Maps - Homes in Ballard

I did a comparable market analysis of homes in Ballard last night for a property on NW 63rd St. And to test the power of hacking Google Maps, I'd be curious to know if you can see the seven pointers ploted on this map:

Google Maps - Homes in Ballard

If you don't mind, let me know if you can see the map, and what browser you are using (i.e., firefox, etc.).

Update 1: I added a photo to the "subject house". Can you see this?
Update 2: I just tried in in I.E., and it doesn't work. But it does work with Firefox

Google Gulp

So many worthy quotes...

Google Gulp

I think my favorite is from #11 of the FAQ...

Although if you follow the "google hype" then you should be laughing pretty hard by the time you get to #5...

Lane hopes his time has finally come

Here's my friend from high school (on my varsity baseball team) complaining because it took him until 28 years old to finally get a starting role in the major leagues... For some strange reason, I feel more jealous than sorry for him...

HoustonChronicle.com - Herskowitz: Lane hopes his time has finally come: "'The frustrating part to me,' Jason Lane said, 'is when people say, 'You're young, you have to wait.' But I'm really not that young compared to other guys. I love this game and want to play it as long as I can. It frustrates me that I might only play 10 years now.

'I feel like I've missed out, but things happen for a reason.'"

Easter Party

Sasha and Stella on the run...


Magda on the hunt...


Group Photo 1


Group Photo 2


Stella and Sima

Some photos of our Saab 9-3

Dustin and Anna with their new Saab 9-3. (Photo taken by Sasha!!!!)


Sasha and Anna (and our new Saab) in Magnolia.


I've got to work on my setting up interior car shots, but here's the best we have so far...

Do you want more details? Want to see the leather seats? You'll just have to visit and we'll take you for a test drive!

Im Translator : Free Translation Service

This Russian-English on-line translator seems pretty darn slick. But I'll have to wait to run the site by Anna before I can know the quality of translations.
Im Translator

Seattle Real Estate Guide -- Beta

I decided to make the plunge and get anna her own hosted website. I'm still updating things like crazy, but I thought I'd share my work with the crowd!
Seattle Real Estate Guide

Seattle Real Estate Guide: Successful Real Estate Blogs

This is a test to see if the trackbacks feature is working on Anna's site!
Seattle Real Estate Guide: Successful Real Estate Blogs

Is it better if I give a preview when linking another website?

What do you think?

Making Money Off My Blog

I'd have to agree with AdRants:
Google's AdSense Makes Money For Publishers.
Making money off of Google's AdSense is too easy. Thanks to all my dear readers who've clicked on the my google ads, I've already made over $0.30!

Findory

I came across this great news source last night that I thought I would share with you'all:
Findory
The beauty of the site is that it taylors the headlines that appear based on the type of news links that you've clicked in the past. For example, do you always click on news with the title "seattle", then news with "Seattle" in the title will show up at the top.

Anna Luther's Seattle Real Estate Guide

I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with this... But I've been playing a lot lately with a blog for Anna's real estate business... I'm still in the begining stages, and would definitely be interested in ideas for improving the site:
Anna Luther's Seattle Real Estate Guide

Of course, the blog is in addition to the regular website that I have for her...
AnnaLuther.com

hey!

Animal Noises

This collage is from a group of photos I took of Sasha at Laguna Beach a couple of years ago... She was making lots of different animal noises during the shoot. Hence, the diversity of faces!

Back to 1975... Rollin and Wendy's Wedding Photos

On a recent trip to my grandmother's house, I found a photo album with a bunch of proofs from my parent's wedding. The idea behind the album was that people would place print orders based on their favorite photos. Well, the print orders were never placed (although the notes of who wanted what photo were filled in!). So, as most of you have probably never seen these photos, I scanned my favorite 20 or so, and presented them below. I have very high resolution scans available, so just ask if you'd like a high quality version for printing!


Groom



Bride



The Bridal Party



Wedding Party



Wally, Rollin and Jason



Luther Family



Williams Family



Donald and Janon



Wendy in Mirror



Wendy Dancing with John



Rollin Dancing with Bina



Wendy Dancing with Donald



Rollin Dancing with Janon



Wally Dancing with Gigi



Wally Dancing with Gigi #2



Throwing the Flowers



Gilmour, Luther and Wolfle Kids



Wendy, Laura and Robina



Wedding Scene



Wedding Scene

Rollin with Dustin, Dustin with Sasha

Father and Child...

In addition, we lost one snail yesterday. He wasn't moving very much for a couple of days and finally our hermit crab finished him off. Anna has begun calling our hermit crab "Killer Borka".

Female (name?)

The newest editions to our ecosystem include two clown fish... Yet to be named, although ideas are welcome!