Josh

Toby did marvelously today. He's getting the hang of all of the pace changes and direction shifts, and even when we mixed it up today for the slightly odd pattern that was being used in the competition he handled it really well.

Me, I didn't do so well. By the time my turn to take my run came around, it was pretty obvious to me that this competition was mine to lose... and that is exactly what I did.

I had 2 clean shots that should have hit their targets dead to rights if it hadn't been for the sloppy release and a wobbling arrow off the bow. Toby was on-pace precisely like he should have been, my release was timed at the right pause in his gait, I had plenty of time drawn on the targets, and I even had multiple targets stacked in line at the time of release... all the parts in the right place to hit even if sloppy, and sure enough I slip up the forehand...

The good news is that even with messing up, I wound up putting 1 arrow into the foot of a target which got me into a 4-way tie for first place, and I would up with 2nd overall at the end. I also have a whole lot of impetus to get out and drill snap-shooting until my fingers are numb, several times a week until it's rote and I can stop thinking when I shoot.

Eyewitness #1 was a Bystander

I was just looking up news information about an event that I witnessed tonight and found a frighteningly misinformed article on the event on the King 5 news website. Their “Bicycle demonstration turns violent” article paints a picture of cyclist brutality committed on a vehicle, injuring the driver and scaring the passenger, who they describe as a pregnant woman. While there is no denying that the cyclists circled the car and trashed it, this was all an attempt to stop the car and driver from possibly hurting anyone else, as the scene they describe in their newscast takes place about 200 ft from the scene where the motorist accelerated from 0 to 40 THROUGH a standing line of cyclists at Aloha and 14th, luckily only injuring two of them as his car was pointed at a group of six.
I was standing about 20 feet from the scene and saw the entire altercation. I honestly cannot believe what I saw. Originally, the vehicle was trying to inch (westward on Aloha) into an oncoming mass of cyclists on a narrow road, where he had to pull into the oncoming traffic lane in order to get around the cars parked in his lane. About 6 cyclists peeled off to park themselves in front of the vehicle, explaining that he needed to wait and they would all be out of his way in a minute. The driver, however, remained agitated and expressed that they were “in a rush” and “would be late”. When the cyclists asked what they were going to be late for, the driver responded, “We have reservations!”, which left the group largely speechless until one of the cyclists again explained that he would save a lot of time and trouble if he just waited another 30 seconds for the rest of the cyclists to pass. At that moment, the driver suddenly put his car in reverse and backed up—5 feet into the sidewalk (now the car is parallel to Aloha—thank goodness there were no pedestrians behind him!)—and stopped. This strange behavior panicked everyone and no one moved except to shout “Stop.” This is when his passenger started yelling for him to “Calm down and stop” as well. After staying put for about 10 seconds, the driver then said “fuck this” and accelerated into the line of standing cyclists. When he hit the first ones, he continued to accelerate, but steered into the larger mass of cyclists before turning the wheel and tearing off in the opposite direction (east on Aloha) with one of the hit cyclists still on the roof of his car.

The driver sped down Aloha with a mess of bicycles and cyclists in his wake, a cyclist on his roof, and everyone, including his pregnant passenger, yelling for him to “Just stop!” At the bottom of the hill, the driver stopped at a stop sign and the cyclists swarmed the car, slashing his tires and breaking the windows in order to make sure that he did not continue operating his vehicle through the city like a madman. His door was opened, the driver got out of the car in tears and walked, unmolested back up to where the cyclists were splayed out in the street apologizing to everyone. His passenger was relatively calm, also walked up the street unmolested, and explained that her friend had made a mistake and that she had been yelling for him to calm down and stop the car. While there was a little hysterical yelling by the freightened bicyclists, there was absolutely no physical confrontation.

The reason that I am writing you is that it seems alarmingly irresponsible that such a biased story would be printed and broadcast when King 5 admits that “It’s wasn’t clear what sparked the confrontation”. Not that this is surprising by any means, which is unfortunate. I guess I just want to make sure that the real story is put out there before this damning misinterpretation gains any steam.

According to this month's issue of Atlanta magazine, Alton Brown will be writing a new column called "Ask Alton". Yay! This makes me very excited.

Can Seattle people with dogs _please_ keep them at home?

Just came back from Ballard Seafest and it was a tad bit annoying having to deal with all the dogs that their owners felt they had to bring with.

Saw multiple instances where peoples dogs jumped on people (who were eating food), jumping into concession stands or being dragged by their owners who were oblivious that folks were tripping over the leash.

I know dog owners love their animals and treat it like one of their own family members. Thats especially true for the vast amount of Seattle child-free folks (especially the radical CF people who bitch loudly in a restaurant when kids are present). I know there will be a snarky reply about how people can't take control of their wild children but whatever, they're fucking humans. You own a _DOG_ who shits on the street. How many children shit on the street here? I don't see diaper dispensers on the sidewalks (though maybe there should be for some of the homeless in Ballard who have been pooping behind the 7/11 on Market or in the brush next to Dennys). Secondly, I don't find your dog cute nor do I find it cute when it jumps on me.

Seriously folks, just leave the fucking dogs at home. Not at the street fairs, state trails or stores.

For the record, I'm on my bike all the time- for commuting, getting groceries, meeting friends, and so on. I've had plenty of scary encounters with cars and people while on my bike, but have never retaliated or caused (intentional!) damage to someone else's property.

The cyclists involved in this incident had no right to damage this person's car or drag him out (if that even happened...? I'm unsure of the details there). Take the license plate number, call the police, report what happened. Too many cyclists, I think, feel that they need to respond with violence when in an altercation with a car- u-lock, keying, physical threats, etc. I see this increasingly frequently when I'm on my bike. There's no difference between this and road rage, and just because you are on a bike doesn't give you the right to act violently towards anyone else, for any reason. Damaging someone's car isn't "self-defense" in this kind of a situation.

Obviously any time a car pulls into a group of bikes like this, it's the driver's fault and they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. But so should the cyclists who assaulted the car. I am sick of seeing bicycling as a lifestyle and the safety of cyclists everywhere being compromised by cyclists who, apparently, don't care to think about the repercussion of their decisions before acting upon them, and who feel that they are ethically superior to non-bicyclists and that, somehow, absolves them of any responsibility for their actions.

We could do, I think, a few things to help prevent situations like this in the future. First, post the route of CM around beforehand so that people can avoid the traffic if they want/need to. Second, someone sane and rational make a goddamn statement when the media asks for one, so it isn't just the driver's POV that's represented. Those folks that remarked that this is a PR nightmare for cyclists, I completely agree, but that doesn't mean that with a little thinking ahead that we can't mend the damage done. Third, if you see a driver, or another cyclist, acting violently, try to diffuse the situation, and calm the fuck down. Fourth, learn to memorize license plates and makes/models of cars. This, plus a cell phone and witnesses, is our best defense against the nutbar drivers out there, IMO.

Finally, the "don't be a dick" philosophy would serve us well in cyclist-motor vehicle relations, I think. On both sides.

Hey everyone! I am coming to Seattle next week for work, and I want to do some stuff during my free time! I was told that the Pike's Street Market was a good place to go, and that there are some cool coffee places in seattle. I just don't know where to start though. I wanted to do some out of the way things that tourist typically don't do, and take some photos of unique places.

I also wanted to go out to the bars, I am a bigger gay guy... if that helps with the bar selections.

Thanks in advance!

*UPDATE* I forgot to ask, is there any mass transit in the city? I won't be renting a car, so I would like to use some Mass transit while in town. Is there Mass transit from the Airport into the city? Or are Taxis my only option?

Aaron

I graduated and I've been having a heck of a time finding a permanent job. Anyone have suggestions for any effective career counseling companies? The career counseling at the university was pretty general, and I'm looking for advice more long-term than what a headhunter would give. Thanks!

from Muir Kumph <mkumph@karrot.org>
to criticalmass@scrimass.org
date Sat, Jul 26, 2008 at 9:31 AM
subject [Fwd: critical mass july 08 incident important!!!]
mailed-by karrot.org

There was an incident on 7/25/08 during Critical Mass ride at 15th and Aloha.


3-4 bikers were blocking off a car so the rest of the riders can continue, they were telling the driver that he needs to wait couple of minutes. Driver was inpatient, and kept telling things like "I have a reservation, I have to go" There was more bikes blocking him off because of the argument, at some point the driver got very mad, and turned around going on the side walk, almost hitting some bikes. Then the bikers started getting closer to the car so he wouldnt drive in the middle of the riders, and the argument got heated. Bikers were telling him to wait, and all of a sudden the driver said something like "Fuck this" and drove into the bikers. He intentionally hit people, injuring 2 bikers, and smashing couple of bikes, and back packs. He started driving away while everyone was running away from him so they wouldnt get hit as well.



Some bikers ran after the car, while others call 911. By the time police showed up, 2 of the car windows were broken and his tires were slashed. When the driver saw the police, he started crying and saying he was just scared, but none of the bikers even touched him before he ran over people.

I heard someone saying "The tires were slashed so he couldnt drive off"

2 of the bikers got arrested for property damage, and they are booked to jail. THEY HAVE COURT TODAY STARTING AT 12.30 PM AT KING COUNTY COURT HOUSE, COURT ROOM #1. So we need people who saw what happened to contact us, because the driver is trying to pull off that he didnt do anything.



Channel 5 tried to interview us, but we refused to talk with them, and it seems like media is showing the incident like "Violent bikers attacked a car..."

Bikers who got hit by the maniac driver, and bikers who got arrested need support from the community. Please contact via e-mail ekirgoz@yahoo.com, if you were witness or if you could show any kind of support, and share ideas...

I will post updates on this case but in the mean time please remember there is a court today !!!

edit: one of the biker's account, and the cops blame the bikes : http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/372364_criticalmass27.html

from Muir Kumph <mkumph@karrot.org>
to criticalmass@scrimass.org
date Sat, Jul 26, 2008 at 9:31 AM
subject [Fwd: critical mass july 08 incident important!!!]
mailed-by karrot.org

There was an incident on 7/25/08 during Critical Mass ride at 15th and Aloha.


3-4 bikers were blocking off a car so the rest of the riders can continue, they were telling the driver that he needs to wait couple of minutes. Driver was inpatient, and kept telling things like "I have a reservation, I have to go" There was more bikes blocking him off because of the argument, at some point the driver got very mad, and turned around going on the side walk, almost hitting some bikes. Then the bikers started getting closer to the car so he wouldnt drive in the middle of the riders, and the argument got heated. Bikers were telling him to wait, and all of a sudden the driver said something like "Fuck this" and drove into the bikers. He intentionally hit people, injuring 2 bikers, and smashing couple of bikes, and back packs. He started driving away while everyone was running away from him so they wouldnt get hit as well.



Some bikers ran after the car, while others call 911. By the time police showed up, 2 of the car windows were broken and his tires were slashed. When the driver saw the police, he started crying and saying he was just scared, but none of the bikers even touched him before he ran over people.

I heard someone saying "The tires were slashed so he couldnt drive off"

2 of the bikers got arrested for property damage, and they are booked to jail. THEY HAVE COURT TODAY STARTING AT 12.30 PM AT KING COUNTY COURT HOUSE, COURT ROOM #1. So we need people who saw what happened to contact us, because the driver is trying to pull off that he didnt do anything.



Channel 5 tried to interview us, but we refused to talk with them, and it seems like media is showing the incident like "Violent bikers attacked a car..."

Bikers who got hit by the maniac driver, and bikers who got arrested need support from the community. Please contact via e-mail ekirgoz@yahoo.com, if you were witness or if you could show any kind of support, and share ideas...

I will post updates on this case but in the mean time please remember there is a court today !!!

One of the blogs I read pretty regularly is John Taplin's Blog. I like it for the depth of discussion and analysis that is fairly well versed in history and philosophy. Even when I don't quite agree, the discussions are usually compelling, and it is a kind of discussion that I miss -- a lot of the blog world is the very personal, or the overly snarky (and there is definitely a place for both of those, but I miss the old school intellectualized critical analysis thing (it was how I was trained to think).)

The latest series on the price of empire is very worth reading.

The King5 news report on the violent incident that happened last night during Critical Mass was (not surprisingly) TOTALLY INNACCURATE.
My mom and I were close enough to hear the driver yell, "Get the fuck outta my way, we've got reservations!" before gunning his engine and careening into a group of maybe 11 riders. He then backed up and drove through them, some of whom were on the ground, again! There were injuries to more than two cyclists. It was crazy. Though I don't condone the riders pulling the driver out of the car and hitting him, I think slashing his tires as he tried to flee the scene was absolutely justified under the circumstances. It was best to stop him from tearing off into the neighborhood to possibly doing harm to someone else in his irrational state. Also, the blood on the driver WASN'T HIS. I know this because a few minutes later while sitting on the curb he reached back and touched his head, and when his hand came away bloody he asked a young man with a badly bleeding hand, "Is this yours?" The driver was certainly not the victim (as portrayed in the news story). There were riders (one specific female--she knows who she is) taunting the driver, but HE escalated the situation into violence and brought this down on his own head.

Does anyone know if the driver was arrested? Were any *cyclists* arrested?!

I hope this doesn't reflect badly on Critical Mass. Whatever happens from here, it has already diverted attention from the point of the ride. I know it's different for each of us, but most of our reasons are positive (good for the planet, making cars more aware of bikes and therefore our streets safer for us, promoting community, having a great time, etc.)

Any information you have is appreciated.

I have an unending desire to write soliloquies in honor of my Love, but each time after only a few sentences I stop and erase the entire thing. I feel unequal to the task of spelling out my happiness, I fear there are no words unique enough to express it. So many before me have organized their thoughts along more eloquent lines. The perfect expression of my love would be quiet, profound, timeless, and with a wry humor that reflects the comedy inherent in joy. You see, I know how I want the words to fall about me, but not what the words themselves should be.

And then, often when I erase my words it is because I am afraid that I am making myself a braggart. How can I properly be at once proud of my love, and also humbled to be part of this gift we are giving each other? But how can I think of being proper when my love for you is so immoderate? I love you recklessly and with a joyful abandon! Still, mere words fall short of expressing this. I could repeat a million times "I am so happy", "I am so in love", "You are so wonderful", "We were made for each other", and while no less true they all fall short of what I wish to express. How can I express the seeming contradiction of an almost unbearable lightness coupled with a profound sense of peace? How can I put words to something greater than speech?

What else could be so simple, so perfect even in all imperfections, so beloved as thou?

mcjulie & paulcarp and I went to the Mission at SJC today, entirely on a whim. They kindly stopped by for a visit, and we were having lunchish thoughts when we saw the road sign for San Juan Capistrano and decided to go.

The highway up the mountains climbs up and winds around enough to be genuinely scary, if only because the view of the lake is so cool that the driver needs nerves of steel to keep the required focus on the road. I wasn't aware that SJC was up in the hills, but I'm certain to be confusing it with some other San-something-something on that count.

We paid our (eminently reasonable compared to LegoLand's $70) $9 to get in and strolled about the grounds for several hours. I took a number of pictures with my phone, but the battery has to recharge before I can upload them. We'll see how they turn out.

It was a fantastic afternoon, and a very nice visit. We've penciled LegoLand in for a later date, perhaps next year. I managed to remain collected on my First Big Outing after three months, but I am tired. In a good way, tho.

Does anyone know if there are laws on where a neighbor can build a fence. Is it on the property line or does it have to be a few inches away from it on their side? I've been searching the RCWs and Municipal Code, but can't find it. This makes me think that on the property line is ok. Can anyone point me to a specific law that says otherwise? Any personal experience?

Thanks.

so..say i just moved here from california
like literally, today.
and i found an apartment online and pretty much paid the deposit and signed the lease site unseen
and then i got to the apartment today and hated not only the area..but everything about the apartment.
(the area isnt so good and there are multiple things wrong with my apartment)

im pretty much stuck with this years lease, arent i? even if i just moved in today?



i guess thats what i get for picking an apartment without first checking it out.


EDIT: Since people are asking, the apartment is in First Hill
Tell me some good things about First Hill, i need to know some.

There was a hit & run involving a car & a bunch of bicyclists (critical mass folks possibly?) on E Aloha in Capitol Hill about an hour ago - apparently a driver was either trying to back up into the street, go around the bikes, or was just irritated that he/she was stuck behind them and decided to drive straight through them and kept going.

No one was killed, but at least one guy was bleeding. Apparently some of the bicyclists took off after the vehicle, but I don't know if they caught him or her.

Well, the mass was quite awesome with a huge showing, until we took some really steep hills.

In the future, if anyone is reading this that is someday leading the mass, don't go down steep hills, we have too many fixie riders without brakes.

Two of which wiped out very badly. I remember hearing a crunch behind me and slowing down while another guy in front of me slammed into a parked truck and his front end came apart (wheel, fork, bars) and went flying. I rushed to the aid of the first guy, and queried about the second. Apparently the second crash wasn't nearly as bad for the rider as it was for his bike. The first guy hit it really hard, his face was covered in blood and blood was pouring from his ear at a pretty good rate initially, after a few minutes it slowed. I helped stabilize his legs while his friend talked to him and kept him awake. I must say that we are all thankful for the other long haired gentlemen who seemed to know more about first aid than we did. I stayed with the rider until a firetruck arrived, then most of the riders including myself walked back up the hill and rode to gasworks.

All in all a short mass, a fun mass, a terrifying mass, but at least it was a mass. See you all next month.

--matt

The Chevrolet Cup Hydroplane Races and KeyBank Airshow is on August 1-3.

We usually get Captains Club seating, but unfortunately missed our chance on tickets this year. If anyone knows of anyone who has these awesome tickets and would be willing to give them up (or won't be able to go at the last minute) PLEASE let me know. We need three tickets.

Yeah, we know that there are other viewing options, but we're endeared to the Captains Club, and are not hot on fighting random crowds.

Help will be appreciated, snark will be summarily disregarded. :-) Thanks!

Remember all those hoax virus warnings which have been circulating on the Internet since roughly two days after it was created? "Beware of such-and-such a file, nuke your operating system if you find it, and now forward this e-mail to all your friends!" Well, the really important piece in all that has always been the last clause. Those warnings are mainly about perpetuating themselves across the cyberverse, and it's irrelevant whether the warning is real.

So this week, for the first time in my memory, there's a security hole in the Internet which really is that severe. I would love to write an e-mail about it to all my friends, and encourage them to pass the message along as quickly as they can ... but that's already been done. Thousands of times. For fake security holes. It doesn't matter whether anybody would believe me; the very mechanism would be crass.

And so I'm writing an LJ post instead, because goodness knows nobody has ever spread rumours that way before.

The short explanation is that someone has found a way to exploit DNS caching, so that even if you type www.my_real_actual_bank.com into your address bar, your computer will take you to a fake site. Presto, your personal information is compromised.

A slightly longer explanation is that if an evildoer suspects that you might want to log into www.my_real_actual_bank.com in the future, she tricks your computer into sending out requests to thousands of similar but fake domains: say, 1.my_real_actual_bank.com ... 2.my_real_actual_bank.com ... 91.my_real_actual_bank.com ... 12345.my_real_actual_bank.com ... horse-walloping.my_real_actual_bank.com ... and so on. Each of these requests is pretty secure, and even though they're initiated by the evildoer, she has only 1 chance in 65,535 of intercepting any of them to send back false information. But one is all it takes, and if she sends out more than 65,535 separate requests, she will eventually succeed. Once she intercepts the request, all she needs to do is send back the reply, "I don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you try asking www.my_real_actual_bank.com instead? Here's its address." --And because your computer thinks this helpful hint is coming from an actual server at My Real Actual Bank, it says, "Thank you!" and memorizes the fake address. Presto, when you actually try to visit www.my_real_actual_bank.com, your computer takes you straight to the fake site.

Many computer companies have been working for several months to produce fixes for this security hole. Those fixes were released a couple of weeks ago as black boxes -- no one knew the details of what they were fixing, so that no hackers could sneak in and launch any attacks before the world's computers were updated.

On Monday someone leaked the details.

Today the attacks began.

Just over half the world's Domain Name Servers are now secure. That means almost half of them are not.

==> If you are in charge of a Domain Name Server anywhere on the Internet, stop what you're doing right now and go install the appropriate patch.

==> If you are in charge of a webserver anywhere on the Internet, take some time right now to make sure your DNS provider has installed the patch.

==> If you are just a regular ordinary web surfer, visit this link and click on the "Check My DNS" button in the upper right. If it says your DNS server is vulnerable, do not log into any banking sites ... or anywhere else, really ... until your DNS server is fixed. Passive browsing should be fine, because I can't imagine why anybody would want to launch a fake Wikipedia.

If your Internet Service Provider isn't fixed yet (as of this afternoon, Telus and Shaw are fine, but Radiant is not), you can also stop using their DNS servers. Google knows how. What you need to do is change your primary and secondary DNS servers to OpenDNS at 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220, and then flush your DNS cache.

---

This is not a test. This is the web security hole your mother warned you about. Odds are good that everything will have settled down by the end of next week, but right now the Internet is vulnerable. Please make sure you're not.

So besides digging around the garden, are there any stores in the Seattle or South King County area that sell live snails for cooking?