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.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
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.'"
"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."
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."
Monday, June 20, 2005
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?
Saturday, June 18, 2005
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
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
Friday, June 17, 2005
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."
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."
Thursday, June 16, 2005
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."
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."
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!
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!
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
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:
If you haven't already, definitely check the site out!
- 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!
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Sasha Learned to Ride without Training Wheels Today!!!
She's awesome!
(BTW, this photo was taken by Sasha's friend Katka!)
(BTW, this photo was taken by Sasha's friend Katka!)
Friday, June 10, 2005
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
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?
"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?
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