The real Squids of Ballard are the fuckers who are obstructing the completion of the Burke Gilman Trail.

Charles, it's utterly stupid to say not fixing a problem helps to fix a larger problem. Not fixing a traffic clog is like saying a family shouldn't add a child's bedroom because of overpopulation.

I was bracing myself for a more scathing remark from you about the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh, so, ..., have a pleasant day.

'tis ok to fone one in
Occasionally. have
an AWESOME
Weekend
Chas!

Happy Union Victory/Confederate Traitor Surrender Day!

Jamie Demon’s annual shareholder letter is basically a signed confession from the kleptocratic oligarchs that they’ve plundered the country to the point of collapse. Whoopsies.

“The past year highlighted challenges for U.S. institutions, elected officials and families, as our country’s rivals see a “nation torn and crippled by politics, as well as racial and income inequality — and a country unable to coordinate government policies (fiscal, monetary, industrial, regulatory) in any coherent way to accomplish national goals.”

OK, Ta-Nehisi Coates.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/07/jamie-dimon-says-economic-boom-fueled-by-deficit-spending-vaccines-could-easily-run-into-2023.html?&qsearchterm=jamie%20dimon

"In that case we Americans will hardly need to ponder a mystery that has troubled men for millenia: What is the purpose of life? For us, the answer will be clear, established and for all practical purposes indisputable: The purpose of life is to produce and consume automobiles" - Jane Jacobs on the erosion of cities to accommodate cars.

Animals, including humans, laze for the very simple reason that exertion expends energy. In a natural environment sources of energy aren't always readily available, so in those situations exerting a minimal amount conserves it for times when it may be required for more important activities, such as running down prey, hibernation, reproduction and gestation, foraging, regulating internal body temperature, etc.

Charles: 100% agreed on the parking squid. Not just amazing, fucking amazing.

speaking of bears
& Resting at Ease

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o&ab_channel=Flexz

here's a Better one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6e3ITsjLRI&ab_channel=DisneyJuniorUK

He fought in WWII. It's more than you ever did.

Third cousin.

The surge in covid-19 cases is mainly among younger adults from what I read. We only vaccinated old people and then reopened schools, so the surge is not surprising.

@19: He knew that of course, but such a detail blunts the hype.

Charles made a good point about not watching the the George Floyd coverage because it is too traumatic for him, however, any human being with a sliver of a soul should be traumatized by the details of his murder regardless of race. Cops view themselves as cops first regardless of their race; don't you remember when they tried to make themselves a protected class? They all target poor people of all races and black cops are twice as violent towards black suspects/victims. Anyway, Charles could really benefit from listening to a little Kemele Foster, who is African american but does not identify as black and therefore he claims he doesn't take on this self inflicted black pain Charles is always aluding to. It sounds a little silly at first, but Kemele lives in hipster Brooklyn where he claims white people practically fall over themselves to pander to him, especially since the Floyd murder. I would assume Charles probably has similar experiences in Seattle where white guilt flows like the ever present drizzle. So yes Charles, "turn it off", read a little Timothy Leary and Kemele Foster and you will be a happier person.

Disinfecting surfaces: Out.

Washing hands: In.

"In most cases, cleaning with simple soap and water — in addition to hand-washing and mask-wearing — is enough to keep the odds of surface transmission low, the C.D.C.’s updated cleaning guidelines say."

Pro tip: Read links before posting them.

@24: ok - also note that Franklin Delano Roosevelt married his distant cousin Eleanor.

Also, blast Meghan Markle for leaving a haunting turd of an collaborated racist remark in the House of Windsor. If she was really concerned about racism, she should have dealt with an institution or an academic panel to really delve into it a serious manner instead of running to Oprah for God's sake.

Indeed it did cause unneeded stress on Prince Phillip and the Queen even after letting them off the hook a few days later.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are trash.

@17 - "He also married his cousin, which is a feat few among us can claim..."

Regarding that second bit, you've obviously never spent much time in Texas.

@29: The Queen took the uncharacteristic step of publicly rebuking Thatcher over her handling of apartheid in South Africa. And despite her husband's unfortunate remarks from time to time, they are not the racists you love to hate like Donald and Melania.

@23- "black cops are twice as violent towards black suspects/victims." Where the fuck did you get that bullshit tidbit? That was not my observation during my career in a very diverse department, and 20 years of that career involved making recommendations of discipline for officer misconduct. In fact, my anecdotal observation was the opposite of that.

A quick Google search finds several studies that contradict that also. A Texas A & M study of two diverse cities found white officers 5 times more likely to use deadly force as black officers in the same call/arrest situation in black communities.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01846-z

Another study of Chicago cops found black officers used force in general 35% less than white officers .

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/white-chicago-cops-use-force-more-often-than-black-officers/

I got bored with looking after those few minutes of linking these, but my own observation after nearly 3 decades in police work dovetails with the findings of such studies. Black officers did use force less often as a percentage of contacts/arrests than white officers. My own opinion as to why is that young white male officers tended to be far more impatient than any other race of officer or female officers.

Correction on @31, I know of no direct evidence that Melania is a racist.

@34-- if WE
cannot Protect our
Betters then WHO Can?

& if they need to sharpen up
their foiling (or whatever) Skills
on Us then who are WE to quibble?

my God some peeps think
they OWN the World.

@34: Oh, they do have their un-stuffy moments:

https://youtu.be/yx-tPsN2w7Y

Fixing the chokepoint on I-5 is nothing like adding a new freeway or encouraging more driving. It is a major contributor to stalled traffic, idling and wasting tons of fuel. Its not like this is going to change anyone's habits as to whether or not they drive through there. Building a third Lake Washington bridge, or a new "bypass" freeway past 405, etc. would be quite a different matter (and opposing them on grounds they would increase car dependence would be precisely correct).

Even if we banned single-occupant driving altogether this would have remained a stupid and unnecessary chokepoint for buses, trucks, and carpools.

@33 - Melania is racist-tolerant and racist-enabling. Perfectly happy to move into the house that her husband's racist followers arranged for them to rent and fly on the official planes that said racists enabled them to charter. That's good enough for me.

@30: I remember worse from Bob Hope!

@41

True, but Bob Hope was funny.
And Bob Hope earned his money and his reputation.

@42: As the saying goes, lighten up.

Mudede's disinformational "CDC says you can stop washing your hands" could win him a suspension on most social media.

@32 -- "... young white male officers tended
to be far more impatient than any other
race of officer or female officers."

so it's the damn
Impatience Quotient in
dire need of an Exorcism.

@37 Ahkshually, there is ample evidence that adding lanes and widening roads only makes congestion and pollution worse via induced demand, as elaborated upon here:

https://archive.curbed.com/2020/3/6/21166655/highway-traffic-congestion-induced-demand

It's worst in big cities, where every square inch of precious land given to roads pushes homes, businesses, and other destinations further apart making commutes and trips longer, making fewer trips walkable and making transit routes less efficient and more costly, making cars a necessary choice for more people, changing their habits and thus requiring more space for cars, and so on forever until the cars use more of the city's land than the humans who live in it

@25 Professor_Hiztory: I agree. I am saddened, too. I feel for you and your close relatives in the UK, and especially Queen Elizabeth II, for the loss of her husband and their family. Agreed--how sad what Elizabeth is seeing now slipping away.
Rest in peace, Prince Phillip of Edinburgh. Phillip and Queen Elizabeth II were married 73 years.

@46 - Re-read my post. I agree with the induced demand theory & am not suggesting that we build any new highways or new lanes. But the work in question is to remedy a dumb-ass situation where the road goes from 3 lanes to 2 and then back to 3 very quickly. It's not really different from having a three lane road with a stalled car in the right lane. Of course we would want to move the stalled car in order to prevent a major slowdown (which wastes tons of fuel). And this will improve mobility for buses and carpools too.

There is zero chance of any more freeway lanes being built through downtown and that is as it should be. But let's at least use what we already have efficiently. the knee-jerk idea that we should leave this just to make drivers extra miserable is ridiculous.

@48: Your last sentence is their point for which they are oblivious to its ridiculousness.

@33: What part of Melania's globally reprehensible "I Really Don't Care" jacket didn't you get, Elmer? Your consistently futile comments only further prove how oblivious you are to Trumpism.

@37 & @48 dvs99: Agreed and seconded. The idea of pushing a new freeway through downtown Seattle (?!?!?!?) to me, is absolutely mind-boggling! I'm left wondering how many Seattle City Council members and urban planners are transplants from car-dependent L.A. and the surrounding sprawling areas of Southern California.

@28 & @32 Morty: Thank you for sharing your experiences as a police officer. I really admire your courage and resilience to live in both the blood red states of Texas and Idaho, given the political environment and legislature there.
Wishing you and your girlfriend a happy well-earned retirement.

@50: That's a stretch. It was a weird contorted dig at the media:

"It's obvious I didn't wear the jacket for the children, I wore the jacket to go on the plane and off the plane," she said.
"It was for the people and for the left-wing media who are criticising me. I want to show them I don't care. You could criticise whatever you want to say. But it will not stop me to do what I feel is right."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45853364

Isn't that squid running for Mayor?