The Latest Larry Correia Rant

 DO I UNFAIRLY PAINT THE LEFT WITH A BROAD BRUSH?

 ...I’m talking about YOU. Regular people. Voters. The guy next door. The masses on the internet. Just average joes. Democrats. Libs. Whatever you call yourself. Anybody who identifies as being on the left.

When your leaders pick a narrative, you drink that Kool-Aid. Even if it’s shit flavored Kool-Aid, most of you smile and tell us it’s the best fucking Kool-Aid you’ve ever tasted. It’s milk from the teat of a magic cherry flavored Unicorn. Nope. It’s shit. You all know it’s shit. But you go along with the narrative anyway.

When the insane progs among you lie their asses off, I’m talking blatant, easily disproven, painfully ham-fisted, fucking LIES… Do you call them out? Do you say, “hang on guys, that’s a little nuts”. Because if you do, the rest of us sure as fuck don’t ever see it. Pick a topic, any topic. It’s always the same.

Read the whole thing. When I got to that part, though, I laughed out loud, woke Mrs. Drang up from her  migraine-induced snooze, and further disturbed her by reading the entire thing out loud. She hasn't objected, so I guess she agrees. Either that. or she has Plans for tonight while I'm sleeping. 

(Actually, i know she agrees because she started talking Seattle politics...)

Challenge Accepted!

Seattle: Boy, the WTO Riots were the worst, weren't they?
Hamburg: Hold mein bier and watch this...

— Drang (@DWDrang) July 7, 2017

Earworm 05/16/2017

When Mrs. Drang and I were first going together, there was this quirky indie radio station in Seattle. The kind that played whatever they wanted. They'd play songs that weren't even B sides -- what's the equivalent these days? -- and whatever the music industry equivalent of "B Actors" is. Highly thought of performers that didn't get a lot of air play, except on quirky indie stations that appealed to hipsters and weirdos.

Like this:


Mrs. Drang-to-be didn't care for it much, but it appeals to something in me.

Frankly, I never found anything else by him that really did it for me like this one.

Mayday, Mayday!

May first in Seattle is always a pain in the fourth point of contact. Traditionally (so to speak) the pro-illegal immigrant faction has shown solidarity and tried to win hearts and minds by blocking rush hour traffic on Interstate 5. Here's a report from last year: Seattle May Day protests marred by violence - CNN.com

So this headline isn't exactly going out on a limb: Seattle May Day Protests Might Create Traffic Headaches - Seattle, WA Patch

The only honest commie on the Seattle City Council -- meaning she's the only member who actually admits to being a commie -- has called for "civil disobedience" (WARNING!: Link goes to commie web site.) Thus: Seattle Councilmember Sawant under fire, accused of trying to incite problems on May Day | KOMO

(Gotta love this quote:

"I barely believe that the anarchists are going to be barely a blimp in the whole process," said Juan Jose Bocanegra, Co-chair of the May 1st Coalition.

What does that even mean?)

I'll be at work, and I try to avoid Seattle in any case, but I suspect things will get sporty at this event:  Stand Against Communism

Officer Involved Shooting, Seattle, 02/21/2016

From the Seattle Police Department Blog:
SPD Releases Dashcam, Photos From Officer-Involved Shooting of Armed Felon In North Seattle

The Seattle Police Department is releasing photos and video from a fatal officer-involved shooting, which occurred Sunday as officers attempted to arrest a felon illegally armed with a handgun.
Around 3:30 PM police were conducting surveillance in the 2200 block of Northeast 85^th Street as part of an ongoing investigation. Officers observed a man with a holstered handgun, and identified him as Che Taylor, 46, a convicted violent felon, legally prohibited from possessing a handgun. Taylor’s criminal history includes convictions for assault, robbery and rape.
At approximately 4:15, officers called for additional units to assist in taking the suspect into custody. As Taylor stood at the passenger door of a white Ford Taurus, a marked patrol vehicle with emergency lights on pulled up facing the Taurus.
An SPD arrest team then approached the vehicle to take Taylor into custody. Officers ordered Taylor to show his hands and get on the ground. He did not follow officers’ commands, and instead leaned into the Taurus.
According to officers, as well as a civilian witness interviewed by investigators, Taylor reached for his handgun, leading officers to fire.
Officers detained the other two people in the car and called for medics. Police performed CPR on Taylor at the scene until medics arrived. He later died at Harborview Medical Center.
Detectives are still serving warrants as part of the investigation, but have recovered Taylor’s firearm, When Taylor arrived at Harborview Medical Center, he was carrying approximately 6 ounces of suspected crack cocaine and black tar heroin. Officers booked one of the other people in the vehicle into the King County Jail for possession of a significant quantity of suspected heroin.

This is the OIS I referred to in the intro to my previous post, that has local activists all riled up.
‘Black Lives Matter’ protesters demand firing of police chief after fatal shooting | The Seattle Times
Mayor, police chief promise timely update on fatal shooting of black man | The Seattle Times
Because a known convicted felon open-carrying a pistol during a drug deal is obviously in the clear...

GOAL Post 2016-8

Good news on HB2908, based on changes I've heard about coming out of some jurisdictions  California regarding officer use-of-force. coincidentally (NOT!) there is currently a big to-do brewing in Seattle regarding an officer involved shooting. I haven't read the details, but I'm guessing that the shootee wasn't doin' nuthin', and was just turning his life around while minding his own business on a street corner. 

Those seem to be the most dangerous things an urban youth can do these days.

***

FROM: GOAL WA goalwa@cox.net (Joe Waldron)

TO: undisclosed-recipients:

SENT: Fri 2/26/2016 7:11 PM

SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2016-8

Legislative Update from Olympia 26 February 2016

• SECOND CHAMBER POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF
• ALL BILLS UNDER CONSIDERATION SURVIVE
• GOAL POSITION ON HB 2908 CHANGES FROM OPPOSE TO NEUTRAL
• TWO CUT-OFF DATES NEXT WEEK
• TWO WEEKS LEFT IN SESSION

The second chamber (House bills in the Senate, Senate bill sin the House) policy committee cut-off was today.  All of the firearm-related bills we are tracking passed their respective committee.

HBs 1713 and 2793 passed out of Senate Human Services and were sent to Senate Ways & Means for approval of funding.  HBs 2410 and 2908 passed out of Senate Law & Justice and sent to Senate Rules for a floor vote.  HB 2908 was amended to add pro-law enforcement organizations to the working group making recommendations on law enforcement use of deadly force.  SB 6165 was amended in committee to clarify the language that assembling your own short-barreled rifle from separately purchased components is legal – provided you are using a legally registered (under the National Firearms Act) SBR receiver.  Good clarification.  SB 6267 passed to House Rules.  

HB 2908 was amended in the Senate Law & Justice Committee today.  Our position has changed from “oppose” to “neutral” now that rank-and-file law enforcement officers will be given a voice in the working group.  The recommendations of this working group could ultimately lead the legislature to change the rules regarding the use of lethal force by all citizens of Washington.

Monday, 29 February is the second chamber fiscal committee cut-off.  HBs 1713 and 2793 must pass Ways & Means Monday or die for the session.  Friday, 4 March is the last day for bills to pass out of the second chamber, with the exception of those bills amended in the second chamber which must go back to the first chamber for a concurrence vote.

Two weeks remain in the 2016 regular legislative session.  The session must end by midnight on Wednesday, 10 March.  

BILL STATUS:

Bill #	Subject	Prime sponsor	Status	GOAL position on bill	Current Status
3SHB 1713	Mental health/guns	Cody (D-34)	Passed S. HumSer	NEUTRAL	To S. W&M
SHB 2410	Felon gun registry	Hayes (R-10)	Passed S. L&J	SUPPORT	To S. Rules
2SHB 2793	Suicide awareness and prevention	Orwall (D-33)	Passed S. HumSer	SUPPORT	To S. W&M
HB 2908	Use of force by peace officers	Ryu (D-32)	Passed S. L&J	NEUTRAL	To S. Rules
SB 6165	Clarifies possession of short barreled rifles	Takko (D-19)	Passed H. Jud	SUPPORT	To H. Rules
SB 6267	CPL renewal notice	Schoesler (R-9)	Passed H. Jud	SUPPORT	To H. Rules

Key to abbreviations:  S. = Senate, H. = House, Jud = Judiciary, L&J = Law & Justice, HumSer = Human Services, Mental Health and Housing, W&M = Ways & Means

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

29 Feb

Senate W&M

Senate Hearing Room “4”

John A. Cherberg Bldg

1:30 p.m.

Possibly on HBs 1713 and 2973

Tutorial on public testimony:  http://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Testify.aspx

LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE:  You may reach your Representatives and Senator by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000.  Toll free!!!  The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993.  Also toll free!!!

1-800-562-6000   TDD 1-800-635-9993

OTHER DATA:  Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web site at "www.leg.wa.gov".  Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format.  You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com).  You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573.  Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.  You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at the TVW web site).

By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted.  By reading the "roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill.  The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.

GET THE WORD OUT:  If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com" or to "goalwa@cox.net.".  Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights.  Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s).  PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL.  I can be reached at "jwaldron@halcyon.com" or by telephone at (425) 985-4867.  

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):

Puyallup: 19-20 March

Monroe: 2-3 April

For more information about WAC, see:  https://washingtonarmscollectors.org/

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men."

Article 1, Section 24

Constitution of the State of Washington

Copyright 2016 Gun Owners Action League of WA

I am shocked, SHOCKED!!!

Gov. Inslee halts Bertha work after sinkhole forms near project - Puget Sound Business Journal

After moving less than 200 feet in the past 10 months, the Bertha tunnel boring machine will stop drilling again.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday ordered tunneling work to halt temporarily after a sinkhole formed near the waterfront earlier in the week – the same day digging stopped after a barge carrying dirt tipped over and spilled into Elliott Bay.

Seattle Tunnel Partners will have to find the cause of the sinkhole and prove the contractor can prevent similar incidents in the future before resuming work, Inslee said. Bertha is scheduled to start drilling under the viaduct in March.

“STP will not be allowed to resume tunneling until their analysis and work plans meet the satisfaction of our experts,” Secretary of Transportation Lynn Peterson said in a statement. “I want to remind everyone that replacing the viaduct is critical to public safety.”

 I predicted at the time this was going to make Boston's Big Dig look like a marvel of efficiency.  (a co-worker from Bahston shrugs and says "Hey, it was only 8 times over budget.")

Looks like I underestimated Seattle's ability to add an element of low farce to municipal incompetence.

UPDATE: Wikipedia is several months behind the news: Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As a show of solidarity...

...with our Mid-western friends, we here in Pugetopolis are bracing for a bit of Global Warning ourselves:

Special Statement

Statement as of 12:46 PM PST on November 22, 2015

... Snow showers are possible in The Lowlands Tuesday and it will
become windy and cold around Bellingham and in the San Juans... 

A cold front will move through western Washington Monday afternoon
and evening. A cold upper level low pressure system will shift
over the region Monday night and Tuesday. This will cause the snow
level to drop to around 500 feet across western Washington late
Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Colder air will move down from British Columbia Tuesday morning.
This will further drop the snow level down to sea level in the
north part of western Washington. It will be windy across western
Whatcom County and in the San Juans with cold Fraser outflow.

Stay tuned to the latest forecasts at www.Weather.Gov or your
favorite news source.

Www.Weather.Gov/Seattle

Granted, compared to what folks back home anticipate on an annual basis, our cold snaps and snowy weather is pretty pathetic, but after the last year or two, I anticipate a great deal of angst over even just a few flakes.

So to speak.

NO WAY!!!!

Bertha’s restart delayed again; will there be drilling by Christmas? | The Seattle Times

The four-lane, tolled¹ Highway 99 tunnel from Sodo² to South Lake Union is now scheduled to be ready in April 2018, more than two years past the original December 2015 opening the contractors touted in 2010, when they won the $1.35 billion tunnel contract.

More from the "Duh" files:

• Watchdog: Obamacare Exchanges Fail to Detect Counterfeit Documents | Americans for Tax Reform
• Obama vetoes $612 billion defense policy bill in rebuke to GOP | Fox News
• Justice Dept.: No criminal charges for ex-IRS official Lois Lerner 

 

1. First I heard that it's going to be a toll road. Doesn't surprise me, Seattle being run by a bunch of car-hating collectivists who are always eager to squeeze another dime from the taxpayers.
2. "South of Downtown", originally "South of Dome", so-called for the Kingdome, which was demolished before it was paid for. Some ceiling tiles fell off, leading the PTB to assume it was about to fall apart. The demolition crew said it was one of the hardest jobs they ever had.

More on the Cascadia Fault

Route Fifty - A Pacific Northwest Megaquake Will Test Government Response in Ways Katrina Never Did

While this article covers a lot of familiar ground, it also has some interesting new data, and a somewhat unique perspective.

I linked The Earthquake That Will Devastate the Pacific Northwest - The New Yorker when it was published; here is a follow-up: How to Stay Safe When the Big One Comes - The New Yorker. This one explains the dangers in more scientific terms, without  getting so technical that you need a PhD in Geology to explain it.

Also, note this key quote:

“You’re not overdue for an earthquake until you’re three standard deviations beyond the mean”—which, in the case of the full-margin Cascadia earthquake, means eight hundred years from now. (In the case of the “smaller” Cascadia earthquake, the magnitude 8.0 to 8.6 that would affect only the southern part of the zone, we’re currently one standard deviation beyond the mean.) That doesn’t mean that the quake won’t happen tomorrow; it just means we are not “overdue” in any meaningful sense. The odds I cite in the story are correct: there is a thirty-per-cent chance of the M8.0–8.6 Cascadia earthquake and a ten-per-cent chance of the M8.7–9.2 earthquake in the next fifty years.

And here is an OpEd from a recent Seatle Times about those two articles above: When disasters strike, poor, minority communities face greatest risks | The Seattle Times

Author is a social justice warrior scientist who can't help but see natural disasters in terms of people. Which is good. To a point. When you start denying that there is any such thing as a natural disaster, because the natural elements (wind, water, plate tectonics. etc.)  "interact with social environments to produce social outcomes", I think you're missing the point about preparedness.

For example, she bemoans the advice to bolt your home to it's foundation, because poor people live in apartments or rent, or own a home but can barely afford to live in Seattle, let alone make seismic upgrades.

Anyway. Related: Three Years After Japan’s Tsunami - The New Yorker

60 Years Ago Today

Tex Johnson bet Boeing's farm by doing not one, but two, barrel rolls in the prototype 707.

Almost cost him his job, but the aviation world was never the same.

Source: 60 years ago: The famous Boeing 707 prototype barrel roll over Lake Washington | The Seattle Times
(If the attenpt at embedding the video fails, it's there.)

A photo from same source, halfway through one of the death-, industry-, and career-defying stunts:

Down with the urban imperialists!

Instapundit » Blog Archive » SHOULD DENSE URBAN AREAS “force their will” on entire states?

“All of us who live in coastal Washington—Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative—have more in common with each other, economically, than we have with people living on Mercer Island or Queen Anne Hill. Urban voters know it. And they’re eating our lunch, in terms of development and growth.”

This is an OpEd from a local newspaper in Aberdeen, WA.

I live a helluvalot closer to Seattle -- and Olympia -- than Aberdeen -- hell I'm in the middle of the Seattle/Olympia urban sprawl! -- but I concur.

I want to subscribe to Mr. Walsh's newsletter.

As I alluded to in my previous post, our legiscritters in Olympia don't seem to give a damn what the voters want or think. This has been going on for years. We've passed several initiatives requiring a two-thirds majority to raise taxes, for example, but they keep finding ways to ignore them.

As I mentioned in a post the other day, we voted overwhelmingly against tax funding for commercial sports stadiums in Seattle, but somehow we wound up funding one or two. (Even while the old un-paid for Kingdome turned out to be pretty damned sturdy, and a larger challenge for the demolitions crew than expected...)

Daniel Hannan and Nigel Farage can complain, justifiably, that the European Overgovernment is made up of a faceless, unaccountable appointed bureaucracy that is answerable only to itself, like our own massive Executive Branch apparatus.

But our own "elected" officials increasingly meet that description.

Good! x2

Public funds no longer in play for Sodo arena | The Seattle Times

We, the people of Washington State, voted down sugestions that tax dollars should go to pay for the  stadia (Safeco Field for the Sailorboys, QWest now CenturyLink for the Seachickens), but our Masters in Olympia knew better.

Oh, and the old Kingdome was not paid for.

And  still in good enough shape that it was apparently a real bear to demolish.

*s*i*g*h*
Meanwhile...
Instapundit » Blog Archive » A SMALL VICTORY OVER INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY OVERREACH: Keurig says it was wrong to force users to buy single-serving pods.
We have a Keurig. A single serving coffee maker fits our lifestyle better. (Can't believe I used the word "lifestyle...")


We use these to reuse older cups. We also buy a lot of the unofficial cup that do away with the plastic outer cup and paper inner filter, and instead just use a micro-filter outer pod, no inner. The "My Caps" work perfectly with those.

If you live anywhere near Seattle, coffee is a common gift, and these also let us buy ground coffee (or whole beans) and still use the coffee maker on our counter.

Carmudgeing

Carmudgeing, get? Being curmudgeonly about cars?

Anyway.

See my previous post, and put the studded tires back in the garage.

Also, if you're going to drive such a small car I don't see it until I'm halfway into the parking space, you shouldn't pull so far in. Also, consider one if those 6' bright orange flags for bicycles.

Dude, if the bumper is scraping the tire, do without a bumper.

Seen in a local newspaper: Street parking turning into bus and bicycle lanes. No shit. And Seattlites wonder why we avoid their socialist hellhole.

Apparently, Brian was wrong

So, apparently there's about to be a big sportsball tournament. And, in order to show support for our team, we are supposed to boycott cheese. But, not only are my favorite cheeses not made in their state, they're made in this state or the one to the immediate south. But that doesn't count because these states are known for airplanes and software and coffee and running shoes and outdoor gear and knives, not cheese.


The pizza's gonna be kinda weird tomorrow, because the arbiters of sportsball fan loyalty have decreed that, in fact, the cheesemakers are not blessed.

Today's entry in The Annals of Authoritarianism (Updated)

Seattle OKs $1 fine for adding too much food to garbage bins | Local News | The Seattle Times

More on Initiatives 591 (YAY!) and 594 (BOO!)

A round-up, of sorts, in a tab-clearing type of day at the Washington Arms Collectors' web site:
First, the new TV ad for 591:

One big question locally, that, as discussed at the above link, has even been mentioned in the local media, is why has the National Rifle Association been pretty much AWOL, or at best phoning it in, on this.

Is it because they figure the Second Amendment Foundation and Washington Arms Collectors, and their associated and affiiliated organizations, have it covered?
Is it because they figure Washington State is doomed, and aren't wasting money on us? 
Or is it because they hate the Second Amendment Foundation and Alan Gottlieb and are willing to sacrifice the Evergreen State just to see their bete noir go down in flames?

I really, really hope it's number 1.

There's a TV ad out there in favor of I-594, that almost caused me to go Full Elvis on the boob toob last weekend, in which some bimbo claimed that "background checks are a simple solution to gun violence."
 Where to start?

• "Universal background checks" are clearly ineffective, witness the crimes committed by people who pass one. (And I'm not just talking here about the NICS check to buy a gun, I'm talking about, for example, police officers or others in positions of trust who pass a background check and commit a crime.) 
• This monstrosity requires a background check on any transfer of a firearm.
•  These checks mandated by I-594 would require that I conduct a background check on any adult I lend a gun to, including simply swapping pistols at the range ("Hey, is that a Crunchenticker Loudenbooomer 9...?") And then he would have to conduct a background check on me before handing it back. 
• Similarly, showing off the contents of the gun safe to a visitor, handing a "spare" to a hunting buddy because his gun broke, etc. 
• And, since each and every one of these required background checks is reported to the Washington State Department of Licensing, it will, in fact, be a de facto state firearms registry. 
• And no one knows what it will cost.
• There's an exemption for age, but only if the parent is present during the time when the minor is holding a gun. 
• There's an exemption for training, but only if the training is held at a "licensed club", and if the gun is kept at the club. 

And then there's this lovely fact:

• Failing to conduct a background check  for any transfer will be a Class C Felony.
• Like Rape.

I just don't know if I'll be able to resist the urge to spit in the face of the next jackass that tries to tell me the gun banning statists don't want to take away my guns...

Previous post: Why does the "1%" like this idea?

Oppose I-594: WA Citizens Against Regulatory Excess

I've mentioned Ballot Initiative 591 a couple of times.  It is a very short (one page!  Unheard of!) that adds two lines to the Section 9.41 of the Revised Code of Washington:

• It is unlawful for any government agency to confiscate guns or other firearms from citizens without due process.
• It is unlawful for any government agency to require background checks on the recipient of a firearm unless a uniform national standard is required.

Support I-591: Protect Our Gun Rights.

Thoughts on the Commute

In which I grouse about my commute, Mrs. Drang's commute, your commute... Or just plain driving around...

*

The most common make and model of car in Pugetopolis today seems to be the Kia Soul. I have no problem with this, it seems to be a practical car, not particularly attractive but not ugly, not huge but a large enough cargo area for grocery shopping, not so low that drivers of a certain age will have trouble getting in or out...
The drivers seem to be largely of Mrs. Drang's and my demographic, as the last point might indicate.  So why does Kia advertise the thing with animated hip-hop dancers hamsters? Beats me.

*

Mind you, the most common type of car on the road is the "crossover", the domesticated SUV that has largely replaced the minivan. Note that they are largely identical across manufacturers. This is what happens when everyone uses the same software to design vehicles to meet government safety and economy regulations.

*

If you're driving under the speed limit on the interstate stay in lane one.

• And turn on your hazard lights.
• And you'd better be having a medical or mechanical emergency.

*

Speaking of Lane One, a new one on me:
Today, as I was going to work I spotted a truck towing an Oversize Load.  The banner on the rear of the flatbed trailer identified it as such.
As I got closer, I realized the load itself was a crate.  As large wooden crate.  A huge wooden crate, it looked big enough to hold an M1 Abrams tank, or two, in fact, one on top of the other.
You could say the crate was sizeable.
So, if you're driving a semi rig hauling a flatbed with an oversize load, which overhangs the edges of your flatbed three feet on each side and is so tall it won't fit under most overpasses, the only reasons you should not be in Lane One would be

• Lane One is marked "Must Exit", and it isn't your exit
• There's an accident or construction or other blocking "mess"
• The vagaries of highway design have you merging from the left

Swerving from Lane One to Lane Four and then immediately back since Lane One is your exit is a sign that you shouldn't be trusted with a license to operate a tricycle on a playground, let alone a semi rig on the Interstate.

• Someone's lucky I couldn't see a "How's My Driving?" sign...

*

It is a little known fact that the Seattle area doesn't actually get as much rain as, say, New York. It rains frequently, but not usually heavily. Furthermore, July and August are usually bereft of precipitation, leading to obscure bloggers making jokes about the Yellow Sky Demon...
Also, it is common around here to complain that four or five days without rain causes everyone around here to forget how to drive once it starts again...

• So, it is noteworthy that yesterday we got more rain in one day than we usually do in the entire months of July and August combined, and I saw no signs of jackassery behind the wheel. 
• Good job!  (The fool above was spotted today, when it was overcast but not rainy.)

*

Meanwhile, Seattle's answer to Boston's Big Dig has been delayed even more.  Tunneling machine Big Bertha ran into a 9" pipe, you see, that was one no charts, and it broke her tooth.  So they have to drill down to perform dental surgery.  Which will apparently take until sometime next spring.

• I don't want to say "I Told You So"... Oh, who am I kidding?  Of course I told them so!
• Much of the Seattle waterfront is fill, which is why it's of such concern seismically.  Why they think drilling a tunnel is a better idea than building a new viaduct is beyond me...
• Oh, who am I kidding? They hate cars.  They hate drivers. They hate the idea that individuals have that much control over their personal movement. 
• Who is "they"?  Collectivists in general, the Powers That Be in Seattle, specifically, who love to encourage the development of housing, as long as it doesn't include any place to park a privately owned car.
• Jackasses...

Birds of Prey Know They're Cool (Edited)

What a nifty idea for a niche business, combining a passion/hobby, and a service.

Orchardists using falcons to keep birds from crops | Local News | The Seattle Times

There's an accompanying photo essay,Falcon Force: a natural patrol against crop pests, here's a thousand words-worth:

BETTINA HANSEN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Cooler than rent-a-goat, too.

Surprise, surprise! (Late post)

Don't know how I forgot this one in my "Drafts" folder.

During my abortive online post-graduate education, we studied Boston's Big Dig. The fact that Seattle is at least as Bolshie as Bahstain, if not quite as corrupt, went a long way to convince me that replacing the Alaska Way Viaduct along Seattle's waterfront with a tunnel was a Bad Idea. (Plus the fact that I have a cursory knowledge of geology and engineering...)

Estimate: No Bertha drilling for a year | Local News | The News Tribune
 Bertha won’t dig until at least March | Local News | The Seattle Times

So, their tunneling machine ran into a pipe that no one knew was there, and got broked. Idiots.