Search Results for 'nA'

[TammiWS]

What CBJ said. I’ve been trying to articulate this for a week or two now with the first rumored announcement of this closure.

Also, maybe the issue isnt really about print, TV, internet, etc. but about news itself and that news is now about ratings (probably always has been but now its also entertainment) and not about providing an ‘unbiased’ source for information to the public.

I know people are going to say it has never been unbiased. However I remember in college (25+ years ago) and even growing up, newscasters and reporters reported facts and information but didnt give their opinions…You never knew where they stood on an issue really. Did anyone really know the views of Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley? I dont think so, not like we do now.

And its not only the newscasters, radio and web personalities whose views we know but its the companies they work for.

IMO its the because the media has become more about $$ and ratings that makes people have to work so hard to get information.

If anyone watched Jon Stewart when he had Jim Cramer on last week you would see how CNBC – once thought of as a channel where perhaps I could get some good financial info back in the 90’s (especially as a layperson) – has now turned into a farce –

To be informed you have to tap into countless sources and its exhausting enough for those of us who care. I cant imagine how difficult it is for those who want to care but dont know where to go for information.

[Sue]

We bought a sofa and loveseat from La-z-boy in Tukwila about 2 years ago. They were running a special at 0% with no payments for 18 months, and it was fairly inexpensive as far as furniture goes. It’s okay quality – it won’t hold up forever, but it’s not falling apart, and I’m not regretting that I bought it. Ours, however, are not recliners nor sofabeds, so I can’t speak for the mechanics of those pieces.

The only issue we had with them was that we wanted a style that was not in stock and was due to arrive in a week or two – as a result, they told us they were going to consider it a “special order” and need us to put down 30% in cash and then finance the rest at the 0% special. I thought it was ridulous that it was a “special order” when they admitted (before I asked) that they were coming in whether I ordered it or not. They claimed it was “special” because they were putting it aside for me and not able to sell it to someone else. I wasn’t interested in putting down 30% and we decided to leave – we didn’t really need the furniture. (I had the $, but why pay it now when I can pay it in 18 months?) That’s when they called the manager and he “made a deal” with us of 10% down. I don’t like games like that, but it’s become standard in the furniture business much of the time. Otherwise, there were no delays in shipment and they did honor the deal they ultimately made with us.

[JustSarah]

Thanks, j, I wasn’t aware there are other bars in West Seattle. /snark

My point was that I like going to this particular bar because it’s laid back (partially due to the fact that it doesn’t serve hard alcohol – weeds out many people), within walking distance of my home, has very friendly staff, and has a great rotating selection of beers and wine.

[dhg]

Best feature on the iphone: Visual voicemail. The phone downloads voicemail as a file so you can select what to play and you can easily replay a few seconds. try doing THAT with a Blackberry.

If your office uses Exchange Server then synching with the iphone will be simple. The Blackberry, on the other hand, requires additional server software to fully sync (costing thousands).

Another very cool feature of the iphone, if you use Metro Transit you will find it useful to download a small program that can tell you, for any intersection, when the next bus is coming.

[JimmyG]

I don’t know when we got to the point that our furry family members have to come with us everywhere.

I can’t abide the dogs at BPP and at C & P coffee (esp on the weekends) anymore.

Tie your dog outside or leave it at home. My dogs aren’t an extension of my personality to the extent that I must take them with me everywhere and show off their wonderful manners (most of which suck).

[Al]

Good news on all the complaints about gravel on Marginal Way! I received this message from Virginia Coffman at the SDOT Ped & Bike Program:

I have placed a call to the street sweeping crew to sweep the locations along E Marginal Way that you have identified. In addition we will be making improvements to the pavement along E Marginal Way for bicyclist in the next week or two. During construction E Marginal will be swept every two weeks.

If in the future you need to have a roadway swept here are the numbers to call:

Streets north of Denny: 206-684-7508

Streets south of Denny: 206-386-1218

And if you need a pot hole filled call the Pothole Rangers at:

206-386-1218

Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions.

[JustSarah]

This is a copy of an e-mail I sent to Beveridge Place Pub. It’s not necessarily a rant, more an inquiry – but I do wonder if anyone else has noticed a whole lot more dogs in there than before, and if it has kept anyone else away. If there’s any interest in the topic, I’ll post the reply I get from BPP.

“Hi,

I was just wondering when the BPP became so incredibly dog-friendly? When you were in the old location I would see one or two dogs in there on occasion, but not always. I loved spending time there with friends – we’d hang out for several hours enjoying our beer and wine. Since the move to the new location, and in particular over the last few months, I haven’t been able to handle being in there very long at all due to my dog allergies. I went out with a group of friends a few weeks ago to enjoy some barleywine and had to head home much sooner than I would have liked because I could hardly breathe due to all the dogs. I’m sure being known as dog-friendly brings in a lot of business; just know that it keeps some of us who love BPP away. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,

Sarah XXXXX”

I hope no one here takes this the wrong way… I’m just disappointed that I can no longer enjoy my favorite bar without paying for it with an allergic reaction. And unfortunately popping a Zyrtec or Claritin isn’t an option; alcohol + antihistamine/allergy medication = massive drowsiness and bad hangover :-(

[JoB]

flowerpetal..

the problem with the supposed economics practiced by the times is that they shared operating expenses with the PI…

now they shoulder them alone..

cjboffoli…

“in an age in which everyone has a cameraphone and easy access to a worldwide audience, average citizens have more power than ever to expose corruption and wrongdoing.”

exposing corruption in this manner has a lot less meaning than investigate journalism. It often takes the background work of investigate journalism to realize the context making a picture have merit…

Yes, collaborative news gathering gives us a lot more news a lot faster than we would have it any other way…

and i think what Patrick and Tracey are doing is phenomenal…

but it is not the same as long term reporters covering the same small beat year after year… learning the kind of background information that sets abuses in context… and having the time and resources to pursue a story for years before uncovering the piece of pivotal information that reveals the hidden story.

Patrick and Tracey are stretched to their limits delivering the quality product they are putting out now…

yes.. we will still have the fifty second scapegoat.. the easy target.. but those with more experience or with co-conspirators will be much harder to uncover… and silent partners will remain silent..

as for that $150 laptop.. have you noticed that like cheap meds they aren’t available here in the states?

and there don’t seem to be philanthropic organizations handing them out to the disadvantaged children in our nation.

in fact.. there aren’t any philanthropic organizations handing them out to the classrooms in disadvantaged schools in our own greater neighborhood…

it’s easy to think that the kinds of opportunities that we have are shared by all.. but it just isn’t true…

not only do many not have easy access to the information in libraries…

visiting the library takes time and if you are holding more than one job to make a paycheck and using public transportation it isn’t so easy to access the library…

but too many in our nation are functionally illiterate.. they may be able to read but obviously have difficulty with complex thought…

it is increasingly difficult for a well educated person like myself to navigate the complexities of myriad insurance policies, taxes, conflicting laws at local and federal level, lending policies and most a host of life’s little hassles.. let alone sort through the conflicting information to find the consistencies across ideological fences that lend towards differentiating fact from opinion.

And yes, i was purposefully obtuse… because that accurately reflects much of the language used…

Only those with advantages will be making the shift from print media to electronic… the rest of the nation will be getting their news from the network news… with little real competition for their attention.

and… if the short attention span of younger readers catered to by advertisers is any indication… the shift to electronic media does not bode well for encouraging prolonged thought…

I fear this is a step in the wrong direction.. replacing analysis with factoids…

and blurring the distinction between the opinions of experts and the opinions of talking heads…

A well informed public is crucial to the practice of democracy. if nothing else, the last 8 years of lockstep reporting should have taught us that.

it is not time for more of the same but a return to appreciation for well presented dissenting opinions…

[RainyDay1235]

I personally like the Cannery – it’s cheesy as hell but good deals (great scratch ‘n dent section) and a LOT to look at – in Sumner.

http://www.oldcanneryfurniture.com/

Plus, if I go there I can visit my favorite pub & brewery not far away: The Powerhouse in Puyallup! :)

[cjboffoli]

JoB: The economic reality of this situation does have very much to do with newsprint and the tremendous cost of cutting down trees, processing it into huge rolls of heavy paper, printing onto it news that is already outdated by the time the ink hits the paper, and then transporting those piles of heavy paper to every street corner and doorstep. Maybe the economics of that system made sense when it was all there was. But what might have worked well for Benjamin Franklin is simply too cumbersome in 2009.

As much as I’ll no doubt someday bore my grandchildren with stories of reading the Sunday New York Times over coffee and bagels, I’m not moved by those who would like to prop up an antiquated method of news delivery simply because we like the smell and feel of newsprint or because our grandparents prefer to get their news in that way. The thrifty and indigent can go read the news in any public library in the country or get themselves one of those $150 laptops that they make for kids in developing nations (which would be cheaper than paying 50 cents per day for a newspaper for a year).

You’re right…it is much more complicated than the economics of newsprint. When you consider that TV Guide has the highest circulation rate of any US periodical and that the comic book they call USA Today is the most widely distributed US newspaper, perhaps something else is at work here. Is it about literacy, attention spans and education? I’m not sure.

I suspect that if you were to open any of the top US newspapers and measure the column space devoted to investigative journalism you’d find it largely eclipsed by advertising and filler. Despite the number of Pulitzers that are still awarded every year, investigative journalism is well past its prime in an age of corporate media ownership of the news. But then again, even people like Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst were not above things like hype and even total fabrications to sell newspapers. It has always been about money first. But have heart: in an age in which everyone has a cameraphone and easy access to a worldwide audience, average citizens have more power than ever to expose corruption and wrongdoing.

As the television and advertising industries are also discovering, we have become a nation that no longer settles for the same broad message. Technology has catalyzed what is essentially a democractization of the news. This brings greater customization for the delivery of the news that is most relevant to individual readers. No longer do we have to read everything in black and white. I can now read stories about Melanesia with embedded color video and sound bytes with the actual images and sound of Melee children singing. Data can be presented with interactive graphics. The text of stories can be expanded well beyond the limits of column space.

Too often these days what passes for news in old media is the same AP story filed over and over in every city in country. News moves fast but turning the Queen Mary takes time. Whereas a big local newspaper would not have the staff and time to cover the hyper-local news that is most relevant to me in my neighborhood, the founders of the West Seattle Blog have stepped in and very cleverly filled this void. When we hear helicopters overhead we don’t resign ourselves to wait until the morning edition. We log on to the WSB and read about what is happening virtually as it happens. When I was sitting in a Midtown NYC office building on 9/11 and heard a rumor that a second plane had hit the Twin Towers, I didn’t sit on my hands and wait until the New York Times typeset the story, half-toned the pictures and delivered a pile of paper to my door. I immediately went to the Web. Internet news sites have broken plenty of exclusive stories that old media was way behind on. Journalists don’t disappear just because the methods of news delivery change. Like the best aspects of our innovative country, they simply reinvent themselves for new media. Patrick and Tracy have done this wonderfully well.

Even though the current technology of the delivery methods (expensive laptops, battery-dependent cell phones and Internet devices) are crude, I’m convinced that in short order the technology will rise to the task and will produce methods of news delivery that have all of the benefits of paper without the significant downsides. I think those who are nostalgic for the smell of newsprint are perhaps a bit short on faith and imagination for what the future holds. It is when we learn to be nostalgic for the future that amazing things can happen.

[JustSarah]

I’m aware that this has been in-the-making; however, yes, I consider an announcement that the newspaper will be shuttered tomorrow abrupt. I guess I assumed they’d give a little more lead time; maybe that was naive of me. Good luck to all the reporters/columnists/editors who are out of jobs tonight.

[bsmomma]

I know there’s the Adventure Boot Camp. I’d love to do that but unfortunately, I have to leave by 7am for work and $299 is a bit to much for me. Does anyone know of any other type of Boot Camp program that’s maybe in the evenings and easier on the pocket?

Thanks!

[Bikefor1]

I’ve been really lucky and happy with furniture bought at the Bon Clearence center which became the Macy’s Clearence center. It moved, but it’s still at South Center. A Natuzzi leather couch for $549.

[Anonymous]

Soclwr- I wasn’t “questioning” you, just couldn’t tell what actions you had taken, if any, to bring the poor service you received to managements’ attention.

Sorry they were not accommodating.

[Dog Free Parks]

Hi Mom2Soren: Interesting, you want to call us uptight, when, it appears, as you note, that you can only have so much fun with life, without a dog around.

I have tons o fun without a dog or a cat, and there is much to appreciate about the world that is spoiled by your imposing your dogs on people who would choose not to have them as part of their park experience… just as the city of Seattle chooses to not let off road vehicles in parks, such as motorcycles, cars, etc. They destroy what parks were set aside for. Hey, they are surely a part of societal life, right?

Get a grip. If you can’t enjoy life’s levity and joy without a dog in it or putting your dog in someone else’s face, you gotta quit accusing others of being uptight… I mean, really.

Dog co-dependent? Would that work for you?

As for dogs being part of societal life, since when did watching dogs take craps and pee all over the place become part of “societal” life, anymore than watching humans defecate and urinate in parks… which, of course, people generally don’t do. I have yet to see that happen, for instance, at Lowman Beach Park or Lincoln Park.

Yah, I just love going to a park for a picnic, getting into my sandwich, and then having a dog defecate right in front of me… makes my sandwich experience so much better…

[swimcat]

I’ve been to Maui twice, and loved this place: Hale Pau Hana in Kihei. They are condos (we stayed in the smaller building, not the tower), so you can go to Safeway and buy a ton of food and cook if you want since they have full kitchens (and BBQs outside on the grass lawn). Some of the condos have been redone, so look at the pictures too there are different styles to chose. This place is right on the beach in Kihei, and I just saw in the Seattle Times yesterday that beaches 1,2 and 3 were rated as some of the best in Maui. And they are- we traveled all around that island snorkeling and trying to surf, and the best beach was right in our backyard. Bonus is that it is quite private for being a public beach, since condos line it and public access is a ways down so it feels like a private beach for the condos.

I’ve stayed at fancy resorts and don’t like being captive to their restaurants, etc.. If that is your style then the Hale Pau Hana wouldn’t be the best place. But if you want to save money on food, and want a laid back atmosphere, this is the place to go.

Have fun planning your trip!!!

[GAnative]

I love my Blackberry, I actually get all of my emails unlike my previous phone.

And I love my iPod Touch with all of the fun apps. The only problem with the Touch is because it don’t work on a cell signal I have to either be at home or Starbucks or somewhere with free wifi for the fun apps to work. I like being able to see a website as it actually is unlike the Blackberry which is all text and you have to scroll for days to find what you are looking for.

As soon as I am able to get an iPhone on T-Mobile (hate AT&T – been there, done that) I’m switching!

[beachdrivegirl]

Thank you Christopherboffoli. I had read (on my IPhone) some of the comments about the IPhone being unpractical. When in all actuality it is not. I didn’t recommend the IPhone over the blackberry b/c it was cooler or b/c I wanted to play games on it. I recommended it b/c it is a more practical user friendly phone which works great with Outlook. And on a side note, my mom’s phone was in a plastic case and got chewed up by our neighbors dog (she had dropped it while getting the mail in the snow) despite the glass being cracked & the back all chewed up the phone still worked!!! And costs: AT &T Iphone plan was equal to my blackberry plan thruogh TMobile for the same service. It is very important when comparing plans that you remember to compare Apples to Apples not Apples to Oranges. You get alot with IPhone plan. Best of luck to those out there making the decision

[soclwrkrinmotn]

NR. I am not the type of person who will walk away without action. It’s enough to say that talking to management twice and having no action taken, or even courtesy granted during the call is grounds enough for my opinion.

And why are you questioning me, per chance? Not upset, just puzzled.

[danielleS]

I love love love Bakery Nouveau, and all things offered there. Most recently I bought an entire chocolate cake for my mother’s birthday there. It was phenominal. But I have to confess that I have been cheating on them a little bit. For four bucks in Trader Joe’s frozen section, you’ll find mini (which don’t turn out to be very mini!) croissants. I am convinced they are not only as good as BN’s, but also as flaky, buttery, and delicious as those you can order from Williams Sonoma. So, while I’ll still frequent BN for delicious pastries, cakes, and unbelievably great twice-baked almond croissants, I’ll be buying the plain style at Trader’s. The other benefit to this is getting to let them rise overnight and then filling my house with the aroma of them baking in the morning!

[corianton]

I’m a professional graphic designer living in the Junction. I just did the logo for the new Crocodile Cafe in Belltown, and have worked for R.E.M., Façonnable, and was Art Director for The Stranger for many years. website: http://www.sleepop.com. I’m in NYC this week but shoot me some info about your project and let’s see if it’s a good fit.

[JoB]

thanks for the info Julie…

it looks like the light cameras more than paid for themselves.. it looks like they paid for a few officers too…

i think that is a win win.. unless of course you are speeding through a red light.. and then you might not think so..

maybe you could look at it this way..

being caught by the camera is a lot safer than being t-boned by someone you didn’t see coming.

as for those snakes.. i promise to let any rat eating snake live to eat again ;->

I don’t aim for rodents.. but i think about it a lot…

how many points for a rat???

[AlkiRagdoll]

I am an AT&T Blackberry user, and really want a touch screen blackberry, but it is not available on AT&T yet. If your primary purpose/use is email and calendar, go Blackberry. If you want the new applications and showoff stuff, go Iphone as their applications are inexpensive and far more encompassing. I have no problem sync’ing my outlook, hotmail, and gmail accounts to my blackberry. I know some Iphone users have had difficulty. Blackberry users are very loyal, just as Iphone users are. If u want the touch screen BBerry, you have to go Verizon. I am in Alki area, and have outstanding AT&T service, which I need for international coverage.

[Julie]

Okay, so here’s what I turned up on a very quick search of the city website. Both news releases give monetary details about the pilot, so they may not apply to the current program. If I find out more, I’ll post–but here’s what I found:

City Council news releases:

8/17/2007 “The cost of 24 new cameras is approximately $1 million dollars. The revenue received from citations resulting from the six cameras at the four intersections currently under use is more than 2.5 times the cost of those cameras.”

1/2/2008 “The budget for the one-year project was $460,000. The city was billed approximately $3,500 per month for the services provided by each camera and this cost was covered by the $101 fines levied against each red light violation….The program issued 16,539 citations during the pilot, resulting in about $1.1 million in monetary penalties. “

[Julie]

(Aww, JoB–keep in mind the snakes eat rats! Leave them alone for me, please?)

I agree it would be interesting to know the financial arrangements for the red light cameras in Seattle. But I’m not sure I have a problem with it even if the company is making more than the city. Maybe I can find out more detail… I’ll try a bit, but don’t want to spend hours on it.

After all, it does sound like overall, they’re saving a bunch of money: notably insurance and medical, for which we all pay, even if indirectly. And we’re always fussing about not having enough police to do their jobs–and this would free up police. I doubt the city would plunk for the cameras if they weren’t cheaper than the police–but it’s worth checking.

I don’t see anything wrong with the red light camera companies making a great profit. If it saves society lives and money, and creates jobs–what’s not to like?