solarbird: our bike hill girl standing back to the camera facing her bike, which spans the image (biking)
solarbird ([personal profile] solarbird) wrote2025-10-17 05:40 pm
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Maps Release: Greater Northshore Bike Connector, MEGAMAP 2.0.5

Greater Northshore Bike Connector Map 2.0.5 – 17 October 2025 – is now available on github, as is MEGAMAP 2.0.5.

This release is very small, containing two major upgrades, and some additional notes on the Central Kirkland Connector’s south-end closure.

Here’s the complete changes list:

  • ADDED: Two-way bike lane opened on E. Marginal Way S on 9 October 2025 from Edgar Martinez/Atlantic down to Horton St., at which point you cross over at a new bike crossing to the existing ped/bike mixed-use trail which connects to Spokane Street Trail. This creates a no-car-interaction connection. These bike lanes will be extended from Horton directly to Spokane Street in early 2026. (MEGAMAP)
  • ADDED/UPGRADED: Bike lanes on northern 100th Ave NE in Juanita upgraded and extended to cover NE 139th St. through NE 145th St. (Both maps)
  • UPDATED WARNING: The south leg of the Central Kirkland Connector is BRIEFLY reopening this weekend (October 18 and 19) for a marathon event before CLOSING again until late October for continuing emergency sewer repair work. Once it does re-open, it will be closing again intermittently for additional work. On the maps proper, this is mostly be an alert box change. (MEGAMAP)
A screen-resolution preview of MEGAMAP 2.0.5.

All permalinks continue to work.

If you enjoy these maps and feel like throwing some change at the tip jar, here’s my patreon. Patreon supports get things like pre-sliced printables of the Greater Northshore, and also the completely-uncompressed MEGAMAP, not that the .jpg has much compression in it because honestly it doesn’t.

Enjoy biking!

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

joseph_teller: Unquiet But Polite (Default)
Joseph Teller ([personal profile] joseph_teller) wrote2025-10-16 05:40 pm

Another Sad Note

Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, died Thursday at the age of 87.

Susan Stamberg Obituary on NPR Website
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Joseph Teller ([personal profile] joseph_teller) wrote2025-10-12 05:29 am
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Joseph Teller ([personal profile] joseph_teller) wrote2025-10-12 03:59 am
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azurelunatic: A metallic blue and black horizontal-handled cane with an elastic loop at the bottom of the webbing wrist strap. (gimp)
Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 ([personal profile] azurelunatic) wrote2025-10-11 09:14 pm

Portable power chair

There's a new power scooter out, the Golden Buzzaround Carry-On HD. The HD part is important. This is the heavy duty one, which is also first-in-class lithium ion battery scooter. But that's not what this entry is about (and the scheduled arrival date is Tuesday).

Since the scooter was backordered and not going to arrive in time for the Michigan trip, I ordered a (not too expensive for the specs) power wheelchair off Amazon. The choice was partly informed by the advertised shipping time: two days. Plenty of time for it to arrive. And then I watched the shipment crawl over what was clearly ground transport, likely because of the battery. Eventually the package arrival date got down to our departure date. Meanwhile, I was paralyzed with anxiety about the trip, and was barely able to pack. At least I was able to make checklists for when I eventually unfroze on the day of departure.

FedEx said my power chair would arrive between 1 and 3. This was inaccurate, and at some point the forecast switched to "end of day".

When it hadn't arrived by 4, we loaded into the car with my upright (unpowered) walker. At the last minute as we fled out the door, I thought our snack supply looked a little too small and grabbed a random bag to toss a few more things into. As we pulled out of the neighborhood I called the airline accessibility services line to report the change. Which took a little while, as I had to explain that no, I hadn't "changed my mind" about bringing the power wheelchair, the reason I wasn't taking the power wheelchair was because it hadn't arrived yet, so I couldn't take it. At that point I got the appropriate amount of sympathy.

Within the MINUTE I told the very nice customer service person goodbye, Alex spotted the FedEx truck.

By that point Silver and I were on I-5, but with a very nice turn off opportunity. (Silver had taken that specific route because it's a pain in the ass to get over another couple lanes that quickly and in traffic.)

So we went back, we thanked the Bastard profusely and profanely, with the double thumb-tap to the lips (both of us, simultaneously). Silver offloaded the walker and onloaded the chair while I talked to the airline accessibility department again and tried to figure out what the battery voltage was. The footrests fit into the duffel bag with the extra snacks, just as if I had planned it intentionally. I asked Silver to empty my padded tote bag, so we could use it for the battery.

We got to the airport on time for all of that.

I got the best of both worlds: chair coming with me, but since the battery wasn't charged we checked the main body of the chair at the Special Services counter and got wheelchair service through the airport. Security was less of a zoo than usual because we went through the wheelchair lane instead of the endless maze. I got pornoscanned for the first time.

That got us to the gate an hour earlier than we'd intended.

I was very glad to have the power chair with us, as it made some of the bits that would have been excessively strenuous much much better. Silver got used to lifting the thing into the back of their mom's SUV, and eventually we banged our heads on the car less often.

Coming back, it wasn't quite as easy going through security since I was still new at steering the chair and we didn't have the professional chair-pusher to finesse security. (No, not the ateva way.) We gate-checked the chair. I checked in with the two wheelchair-pushers who met us at the Seattle end of things, and assured the one who was waiting for me that I had my chair (as Silver cussed gently at the footrests).

And when we eventually got home, Yellface cussed us both out like I've never seen her cuss before. She was Peeved! That we! Had Abandoned! Her!!!!

I have since decked it out with retroreflective tape, electroluminescent wire, and a miniature disco projector meant for a bike.
joseph_teller: Unquiet But Polite (Default)
Joseph Teller ([personal profile] joseph_teller) wrote2025-10-11 06:53 pm
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A Dame of Stage and TV Comedy has passed



I missed this when it was announced back on Oct 3rd.
joseph_teller: Unquiet But Polite (Default)
Joseph Teller ([personal profile] joseph_teller) wrote2025-10-11 06:11 am
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solarbird: (korra-on-the-air)
solarbird ([personal profile] solarbird) wrote2025-10-09 09:01 am

post your reality, part two

I’ve been calling for people to post pictures, video, whatever, of their towns when Herr Fuckface describes them as war zones, as hellholes, as whatever he pukes up this time. Particularly Chicago, and now, extra particularly Portland. But any blue city or state he lies about.

Post the truth.

On Wednesday night, Jimmy Kimmel requested people do that too, using the hashtag #ShowMeYourHellhole. They’ll look for and highlight some of those videos and contact you if they want to use it, so only use it on video you specifically want seen by as many people as possible.

Post your reality; use the hashtag to help other people see it, if you’re okay with the one in a million shot that they ask you to let them use it on Kimmel.

In reality, of course, they’ll mostly be checking YouTube and maybe other corporate social media, not cooperative spaces like the Federation. But he’s famous enough that if he calls for a hashtag, a lot of people will use it, and in this case, that’s no bad thing.

So – Portland. Chicago. Los Angeles. Memphis. DC. You in particular, but not just you…

…mods are asleep. Post your reality.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

azurelunatic: Karkat Vantas yelling. His shirt has the astrological sign Cancer in grey. (Karkat Yell)
Azure Jane Lunatic (Azz) 🌺 ([personal profile] azurelunatic) wrote2025-10-08 08:08 pm

Health (good news)

My immunotherapy infusion yesterday may have been my last!! I have a scan on Monday that will probably say that. Belovedest celebrated by cracking into the Strategic Redpop Reserve. This will mean much more leeway to leave town and such.

Colonoscopy results: mostly normal, one pre (not sure how many pre-s to put here) cancerous "lesion", and all of them removed. Repeat in two years, this time with Extended Prep. (My understanding of "lesion" and the medical definition may not align entirely well.)

Started the new injectable after the colonoscopy. I can definitely feel the impact. It remains to be seen exactly what kind. One of my friends has a new injectable too; she's getting some sinus clearance from it. Of all the random effects.

After the infusion, Belovedest and I trekked up-city to pick up a package for [personal profile] alexseanchai. All Pampered Chef, and a high proportion of likely goodies vs. likely duds. There were some varying scrub brushes. The utensil/knife scrub brush looks like dentures that are actually a scrub brush, but I can see that coming in handy. There was also a quarter-sheet pan with two eighth-sheet pans. And then we trekked back down when Belovedest realized they'd left their tablet at the cancer center. Freakin' ADHD. We're on The Assassins of Thasalon in our progress through Penric.

I have a smallish makeup hobby. Part of that is sometimes going all Weird Barbie on my face with eyeliner or whatever. Tonight I've convinced myself (via iridescent green eyeliner) that some kind of moon phase forehead jewelry might really slap.
solarbird: (korra-on-the-air)
solarbird ([personal profile] solarbird) wrote2025-10-08 09:04 am

I do think there was a point to Bondi’s performance

Pamela Bondi went before Senate Oversight on Tuesday determined not to testify to Democrats, and to help Republicans deflect and defend the Trump regime’s fascism. That’s obvious; it happens fairly regularly.

But usually, people doing this routine at least pretend to answer the questions. They don’t provide answers, no, of course not. But they pretend and follow forms.

Bondi wasn’t even pretending. Her responses were unrelated, spurious – and as Senator Schiff put it, “pre-canned” – attacks on and insults of Democratic questioners, over and over again. We couldn’t be entirely sure of it at the moment, but Reuters managed to photograph her notes during her “testimony”, and now we absolutely know for sure they were prewritten.

Later, she started launching these prewritten lie clusters during questions, while Democratic senators were speaking. Here’s an example of her interrupting Senator Schiff over and over again with literal unrelated whatabouts and insults.

Eventually, I guess she ran out of pre-installed lie clusters, because she ran out during a response to a question from Senator Whitehouse and froze up. She literally couldn’t seem to talk.

It’s quite the clip. Watch her, she just shuts down. Here’s the moment she realised she didn’t have anything left so couldn’t come up with another lie cluster attack and just sits there, stalled out:

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) posting "has anybody ever been more obviously full of shit than Pam Bondi is at the end of this 20 second clip?" over a video of Pamela Bondi not saying anything with "An error occurred" superimposed over the image below her face.

(I swear to you – I swear to you – I did not add that caption over the video. It was a player issue. But I couldn’t not keep it, now could I?)

But I do think there was a point here, and it wasn’t just not answering questions while giving Republican Senators time to lie and deflect on behalf of the regime. That’s all too normal.

No, I think the intent was to show their utter contempt for the legislature. I think this a stupid version of Caligula’s expression of contempt for the Senate, when he said he was going to appoint his favourite horse as a member.

(He didn’t actually do it, legend aside. The record is reasonably clear on that. He just mocked them with the idea.)

At least Caligula’s version was funny. This, by contrast, is just sad. But sad or not, I do think there was a point, and that point was to display contempt for representative government and to metaphorically blow a horse’s fart in the faces of elected representatives.

And I think that’s something people should understand.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.