Had a little fun with Gimpshop this New Year’s Eve
Category: Random
Thoughts on Vision Quest’s Sale
I just received a note from my almost-former fitness club, Vision Quest (read it here, if you wish). They have been acquired by Fitness International, LLC. If my brief bit of research holds true, they’re the parent for LA Fitness.
I bear them no ill will, and truly wish them and they’re staff the best. I found them pleasant and helpful. I great weary, though, of worn gear. Yeah, I’m not a treadmill runner, preferring my stationary bikes. But being relegated to barely functioning, decades old equipment wore me out. Anyway, I hope the new owners are prepared to invest and bring the facilities up to date. Sadly, I expect they will simply close sites and push people to existing LA Fitness locations.
It’s sad to see truly local companies fail and vanish. I guess, at one level, it’s the way of things. It’s hard to compete with the extra-large in commodities.
Christmas Ideas
Just found this in my inbox. Would be a lovely gift for me. *cough* *cough*
Hey Santa!
Facebook’s Video Ads
Autoplayed videos; oh, how I loathe thee! I’ve been grousing about this for years. And now, NOW Facebook wants to launch into the space. Grrrr…
The radio piece I heard this morning didn’t have much, except stating the auto-play piece. Reading this article on AdAge gives a bit more balance. Apparently, scrolling or swiping past will stop them from playing. And the mobile app won’t play them unless you’re on wifi. I guess that’s better than some of the ways these are executed, but still…
What I find most interesting, though, is their eagerness. Yes, this has a large revenue potential ($1 *10^6/day, plus the ability to deeply refine their targeting), but, BUTTTTT I don’t know anyone who isn’t annoyed by them. I wonder how much this will alienate users, perhaps driving them somewhere else? Ok, I really don’t think that this will drive a max influx of Google+ users, but I do believe it will drive a lot of people to download Adblock, or one of it’s kindred products.
Continuing the Exploration
My life orbits South Snohomish County, especially Lynnwood. This is where we settled at 10, where I graduated high-school, and now where I raise my son. Several decades of my life right here. I get out, we do “things”, and yet there always remains some place new. So many places, nearby, where my feet have not ventured. For instance, I’ve yet to do more than sail through the San Juans. I’ve never been off the ferry. Never! Perplexes many friends.
With so many opportunities in my proverbial backyard, my interest and fascination with this area grows. Thus, I continue my explorations. And with a new addition. I want to experience some place new, some place I’ve never been before. Whether a new town, new site, new restaurant, new park; I want to make a deliberate choice to seek out new stuff and do new things. Not to discount the stuff I already love, but to add a deeper richness to my knowledge of the area.
Some random ideas: a day trip to the San Juans (actually getting off the ferry), the parks on Whidbey, hikes in the Cascades, and (my favorite) and tour of local burger places (like Dicks, Win’s in Bellingham, Ray’s in Everett, Burger Mill in Marysville, etc…).
Monroe Mayor’s Race
The Everett Herald has a nice piece discussing the Monroe mayor’s race between Ed Davis and Geoffrey Thomas. The two candidates has significantly different viewpoints. And they both have ideas worth exploring.
WA State Department of Transportation update for Snohomish County
I signed up for these email alerts some time back, and have greatly valued them. Thus, I share them with you, hoping you’ll gain valuable insight and the ability to manage your transportation needs.
Cheers! And, now, with no further adieu…..
WSDOT NEWS Washington State Department of Transportation
Snohomish County Highway and construction Updates – October 10, 2013
Daytime paving on SR 9
The weather is getting nastier and that means our construction crews are working against time. For our SR 9 project, that means we’re making a huge push to get the stretch of highway from 212th Street Southeast to 176th Street Southeast widened to two lanes in each direction. To do that, we’re going to need to pave during the daytime from Saturday, Oct. 12 to Friday, Oct. 18. Crews will be laying asphalt as early as 8 a.m. on the weekend, 9 a.m. on weekdays and it could continue into the evening hours.
There will still be one lane in each direction open but drivers should prepare for traffic shifts from one side of the highway to the other and short-term closures of intersection side streets when no turns are allowed. Also, there may be times when access to local business driveways is briefly blocked.
Why the daytime closures? This kind of work is weather-dependent. If you remember, September was the rainiest month in our state’s history, which pushed back most paving. Now, our temps are dropping below 45 degrees at night and that makes asphalt cool too quickly to compact to the required standard, so we need to do it during the warmer daytime. The good news is that once this asphalt work is complete, crews will temporarily stripe SR 9 to its final configuration, opening up two lanes of traffic in each direction in most areas of the work zone and that will significantly improve traffic in that area.
Prepare for nighttime SR 522 closures
If you’ll be out late in Monroe – and you know who you are – prepare for full closures of SR 522 from US 2 to 164th Street Southeast/Main Street a couple nights in the next week. The closures will be 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. tonight (Thursday, Oct. 10) and Thursday, Oct. 17. The US 2 ramps to SR 522 will also be closed and a signed detour will lead drivers around via Main Street, Fryelands Boulevard and US 2.
During tonight’s closure, the Snohomish County PUD will temporarily remove a power line so that crews working for WSDOT can install a noise wall in the area. They’ll reinstall the line on Thursdaynight. But don’t worry, there won’t be any loss of electricity during the work and the noise wall installation will happen during the day. Also, SR 522 Fales/Echo Lake roads to 164th will also closemidnight to 4 a.m. Sunday to allow crews to move heavy equipment. A ll this is part of the SR 522 widening project, scheduled to be completed in late 2014.
Looking for feedback on I-90 tolling
We asked for your feedback and received thousands of comments during our initial outreach earlier this year for the proposal to toll I-90. We gathered the suggestions we received from the public and other agencies and now we’re presenting a range of possible alternatives that could help us meet the purpose of tolling I-90: alleviate congestion across Lake Washington and help fund the remaining portion of the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program. About $1.4 billion is needed to complete the I-5 to Medina: Bridge Replacement and HOV Project.
Through Nov. 6, we’re asking for the public’s feedback again to help inform our analysis on which alternatives could meet the purpose of the study. We’re considering alternatives in several categories, including tolling, state or regional taxes, mileage fees, federal funding and new highway capacity. As part of this, we’re hosting three public meetings, starting tonight, Thursday, Oct. 10, in Bellevue and then Oct. 21 on Mercer Island and Oct. 23 in Seattle. WSDOT and the Federal Highway Administration will be on hand to listen to public comments at each meeting. If you’re interested in speaking at a meeting, you can sign up online or on a first-come, first-served basis at the start of each meeting. If you can’t make it to a meeting, check out our website to learn more about the I-90 tolling project and how to provide your feedback.
- Bellevue College
- 4 – 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10
- Bellevue College cafeteria
- 3000 Landerholm Circle S.E., Bellevue
- Parking: Park in Lot 10 for easiest access to the cafeteria. Parking is free on campus after 3 p.m.
Stay plugged in
Projects are I-5 in Lynnwood/Shoreline, SR 529 at the Snohomish River Bridge and SR 531 in Arlington are all nearing completion though some of them require decent weather to finish. Stay plugged in to all of the construction and maintenance closures by checking out our Snohomish County Construction Update or What’s Happening Now.
Questions, comments, suggestions, Halloween costume ideas? Contact Mike Allende at allendm@wsdot.wa.gov.
Toys for Tots – 2013 Campaign Underway
I love the work that Toys for Tots does. Come, give them a hand.
Toys for Tots 2013 Campaign, Located at VFW Post 2100
2711 Oakes Avenue, Downtown Everett (yes, it’s warehouse space)
Check out www.toysfortots.org for hours
The US Marine Corps Toys for Tots South Snohomish County (from Smokey Point down south to include Shoreline…yeah, King County but we still love them (ed)) Campaign 2013 thanks Post 2100 of the VFW for the use, once again, of their facility as this year’s warehouse. Located at 2711 Oakes Avenue, the warehouse will operate in a 3200 square foot basement.
Also, this year’s campaign received an awesome donation from the new Burlington Coat Factory’s “give back to the community” program. Thousands of items, ranging from household, clothes and toys- were donated through the campaign to the Everett Gospel Mission; Cocoon House and the Boys at Girls Club at Trailside Village.
Edmonds Museum Garden Market and Summer Market
Tomorrow’s the last day of this year’s market. Must. Make. It.
Become a member of the Edmonds-South Snohomish County Historical Society and Museum.
Fundraiser for Old Dog Haven this Saturday in Lake Stevens
Old Dog Haven is a great local group that, well, supports homeless senior dogs (check out the website…I’m very fond of their work). Sammeke is the dog/owner of my good friend, Scott Watkins. For more details about the event (though it looks like all the gory details are in the jpeg below), head over to https://www.facebook.com/Sammeke10thBirthdayBash.