My old address

 
From an ad in  the Northwest Journal of Education, 1904 -- 98 years before we moved in, 106 years before we moved out!

"Wake up to a sweeping city view!"

Well, that's what the Craig's List ad said, anyway! I don't see the evidence of it, unless they meant seeing the apartment manager sweeping the sidewalk out front.

There's a building like this down the street from us in our current (but soon-to-be-vacated apartment)...

...and one morning we were walking by and saw that a car (since removed) had crashed though the iron railings above the lower level and actually smashed into the basement apartment! Wouldn't that be an exciting evening at home?

This one allegedly fits two bedrooms into a 674 square foot space, which is quite an achievement.

Awesome!

Now I know what I want for my birthday!
Bills would let golf carts on Washington streets

By MELISSA SANTOS

The News Tribune

Two state legislators are looking to move golf carts from fairways to roadways.

A bill by Rep. Tami Green, D-Lakewood, would let people drive golf carts in bike lanes and on sidewalks throughout the state.

Meanwhile, a bill by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, would let local jurisdictions create golf cart zones on low-speed streets.

Right now, state law allows police to ticket people who drive golf carts on roads.

The bills come four months after the City of Orting enacted a policy allowing golf carts on most of its city streets, and more than three years after the City of Liberty Lake in Eastern Washington did the same. But law enforcement agencies worry about whether it's safe to allow golf carts to drive alongside multi-ton sedans and SUVs - especially since the carts wouldn't need to have standard safety features such as seat belts.

"When you put a slow-moving golf cart, even with traffic going 25 miles per hour downtown, it can lead to some safety concerns," said Don Pierce, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. "It's just not necessarily a good mix."

Haugen said she thinks legalized golf cart travel could be useful for elderly people who no longer wish to drive cars.

"We're having more and more people get older, and they aren't able to drive as much," Haugen said. "We really are trying to be sensitive to the whole idea of providing alternative transportation."

Haugen's bill would allow carts to travel only on streets with speed limits of 25 miles per hour or below. Green's bill would allow them to go anywhere that bicycles or pedestrians can go, and classify them as "local electric carts."

How to park on Howell Street at Summit Ave

There are a few simple rules you need to follow if you wish to park your car on Howell Street between Olive Way and Summit Avenue.

1. Make sure you're not very good at parallel parking. If you can get your car in the space in less than five minutes, you're doing something wrong.
2. The street is on a 30 degree incline, so you'll want to be driving a stick shift that you haven't really mastered. This will ensure that your car makes lots of violent, herky-jerky movements as you try to squeeze into that tight space.
3. Don't get your brakes fixed! The squealing, shrieking sound is music to the ears of the people who live in the apartments on both sides of the street.
4. Have a really old beater car that takes 10 minutes to warm up while you sit inside enjoying that first morning cigarette. Make sure to rev the engine intermittently, so that people will think you're finally about to leave. You can also have your stereo blaring the whole time if you want. Any black, billowing clouds of exhaust are a bonus, naturally.
5. If you leave your car parked, you should have an antiquated alarm system that will go off if a hummingbird hovers within ten feet of it.
6. As you're pulling out, do a prolonged 8-point turn so that you don't have to drive around the block to get turned in the right direction. Don't worry, no one minds how long it takes! You can drive up on the sidewalk if necessary.
   
7. When you leave, be sure to pull out and tear down the street as violently as possible, as if you just turned into Steve McQueen in Bullitt.
   

Keep in mind that this is a densely populated area, so you'll want to make sure that as many people as possible are aware of your presence. Happy parking!

"It's the end of the world!"

Summer making warm exit in Washington

The Associated Press

Low temperatures overnight dropped into the 30s in parts of Eastern Washington, but the National Weather Service says high temperatures will be above normal for a couple of days in the state.

Forecasters say a high pressure system moving over the Northwest will bring sunshine and unusually warm temperatures in the 80s for the last day of summer Monday and the first day of autumn Tuesday.

Forecasters say clouds will move into Western Washington by midweek, dropping the temperatures. Skies should remain clear for most of the week in Eastern Washington.

We're supposed to have a high of 86° tomorrow. Have I not suffered enough?

Ben & Jerry's getting oddly specific

Here's a new ice cream flavor from Ben and Jerry's. At this time, it's only available out by the dumpsters on Howell street between Olive Way and Summit Ave, and only three or so days a week, for about six hours at a time. If you're lucky, it will show up in your neighborhood soon!

*Thanx to Beebo for tipping me off to this!

What the crazy people sing

Late last night (3-4 am?), after the big false fire alarm down the street which drew about 3 fire trucks, plus paramedics, etc., a crazy dude was yelling (at someone?) loudly, for a while, and then he began singing this song as he walked off into the sunrise:

This best part was how his voice was fading in the distance as he bellowed "I've got to keep on movin'!"

P.S. Matthew Wilder has a face made for radio, doesn't he?