This bizarre new security robot has been installed outside QFC on Capitol Hill -- at this rate the supermarket will have remote-controlled turret guns by the end of the year
This bizarre new security robot has been installed outside one of the QFCs on Capitol Hill — at this rate the supermarket will have remote-controlled turret guns by the end of the year Matt Baume

Living’s too expensive. On one hand, at least 2,500 toxic gas station tanks are slowly poisoning the environment. On the other hand, cleaning them up would be expensive. Available state funding for cleanup is “a tiny teaspoon in the ocean.” Maybe it’s best to just let them kill us.

Biden’s working on the baby food thing. The federal government is scrambling to get more formula, taking steps that include increasing imports. They also gathered a bunch of resources for parents here. Today they reached an agreement to reopen a closed plant in Michigan.

Rock on. Or rock off, I guess, since this boulder has now been removed from the path that it was blocking:

And on top of everything else, bird flu. There’s been an outbreak of avian influenza in Washington, with eight confirmed cases (the most recent were among backyard chicken flocks, not agricultural birds). The state recommends that you skip fairs and exhibitions for the next 30 days, eliminate standing water on your property, keep different species separated, and avoid sharing tools and eggs.

More free COVID tests. You can now get eight free rapid test kits by ordering through USPS.

Trader Joe’s could be next to unionize. Management, you’ll be shocked to hear, is opposed. Employees are organizing to demand better wages and safety improvements. I’d also love it if the company stopped requiring cashiers to comment on at least one item of food you’re buying.

Charli XCX is doing … something … metaverse … cellphones? I have never felt so old as when I read the press release about a “limited-time experience featuring pop superstar Charli XCX” in partnership with Samsung and Roblox. If I’m understanding correctly, they’re launching a game (well, really it’s a commercial campaign) on the Roblox platform, and players get a virtual Galaxy phone that they use to explore a virtual world, and then they can attend a virtual concert on June 17. The “top users” will have a chance to join Charli XCX onstage “during her first metaverse concert.” I assume this is going to be something like the Justin Bieber concert I covered a while back, which I did not understand but enjoyed very much.

Tornados are coming to NY and DC. While we enjoy a nice spring day, the east coast is bracing for some major storms — high winds, cold, and hail are possible from Georgia all the way up to Maine. We’ll be getting some gusty winds of our on Wednesday.

You know it’s bad when Ryanair is taking potshots. The worst flying experience I ever had was at Luton airport in London when Easyjet literally lost one of its airplanes. (It turned up eventually on the other side of the airport.) As carriers go, Ryanair’s not much better in my view, but they’ve taken some time out from their busy schedule of gouging Ukrainian refugees to criticize Boeing. "I can understand why there may be various challenges manufacturing new aircraft, but aircraft that you built and made two years ago that all you had ... to do was put petrol in them and f***ing fly them to Dublin, really I don't understand why you're taking two to three month delays on that," said CEO Michael O’Leary on a conference call with investors. "It is redolent of very poor management performance in Seattle."

Don’t drive to Sea-Tac. The parking garage is just about all filled up. Hey, maybe now’s a good time to jack up the price of parking and use that to fund a moving walkway so people will actually want to take light rail. Estimates are that a moving walkway through the parking garage would cost $30 million — honestly, not a lot as airport construction projects go.

What is stopping us from having this on every residential street in Seattle? Honestly, this should be the default. Meanwhile, in Europe, the president of Ford has said that everyone should stop driving.

Abortion bans could have a big impact on Washington clinics. If states are allowed to ban abortion, people traveling from out-of-state could nearly quadruple demand for abortions in Washington, according to a new study.

Would you like a puppy? Seattle Humane Society just got a delivery of 7 adult dogs and 37 puppies, and they all urgently need foster homes; complicating matters is the fact that they were exposed to parvo, and so they require 14 days of quarantine. If you’re able to provide a home, get on the volunteer and foster list here.

Or would you like a cat? Look at this delightful creature! The single most unfortunate thing that has ever happened to me, by far, is being allergic to cats, and I’m saying that as someone who once fell off a cliff.