hollywood. or maybe just wood.

hollywood. or maybe just wood., originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

Hadn't noticed this before, but Hollywood Video has some problems with their neon. Or maybe not.

I wonder how long it's been like that.

do not cross

do not cross, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

On the way back home today, I noticed police tape all over the south end of SCCC. Turns out there was a suspicious package, which turned out to be nothing, I asked a cop about it and he told me it was "Typical finals week behavior".

Oh, I got a new camera today too. Hopefully this translates to more posting.

wordle

wordle, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

Everyone else was doing it, and even though I don't normally fall into the memes, I was curious.

Thanks Wordle for the app, bummer it's a total pain to link/re-blog.

Are you ready to change your commute?

dozers, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

I read on Capitol Hill Seattle that the noise ordinance is changing, and construction of Broadway Station is starting soon.

I have to say, I'm excited. Light rail is coming, and that's going to be an awesome thing for the neighborhoods with stations. I know it will increase my footprint and I might actually leave the hill every now and then. It will increase foot traffic in my neighborhood, which is good for retail, and theoretically, it will get people out of their stupid cars.

I also have to say that I'm not looking forward to crossing two streets of loaded down dump trucks every morning and evening, especially with my 3 year old son in tow. I've seen the routes that they have planned, and I'm probably going to have to adjust my current one.

My normal walk to the office is straight down Boylston, crossing both John and Denny.

Crossing John at Boylston always makes me feel like I'm doing something daring. It's just before the crest of the hill, so people coming up the hill are speeding up and people coming down the hill have just left a light and are also gaining momentum. Given the signage and lights, it seems like the city wants people to cross either on Broadway or Summit (where there is actually a lit up crosswalk) but if you're heading to Boylston and Pine (my destination), both of those are bad for several reasons, so I always cross there.  It's the fastest route.

Crossing Denny also makes me nervous. There is a blind turn on Denny at Harvard, and again, cars have either just left a light or are coming up off the freeway, so they're going fast here. At the end of the day, the drivers coming down the road have the sun in their eyes.   Hazardous.

There's a reason that both of these streets made the 'most dangerous intersections' map.

Drivers on Capitol Hill seem to operate their vehicles under high levels of stress and dumb, so I can't expect that adding trucks full of earth are going to make things any better.    I see a lot of Broadway in my future.

tasty pork buns

humbow, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

A week or so ago I stopped into Shinka Tea for the first time. Smack dab in the middle of my commute, it's a cute little tea shop that also has a couple kinds of humbow, vietnamese coffee, and maybe a dozen types of pocky (including mens pocky!).

Getting take away pork buns and coffee took about 10-15 minutes, so I probably wont make it an every morning stop, but I do have to say it was a nice break from my routine. It's definitely going into the rotation.

i'm sure you've all heard about the buses by now

bus, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

If you haven't seen the news, and I can't see how being as it's national now, a pair of charter buses slid down East Thomas and busted through the guardrail on Melrose Avenue and hung over I5. I used to live on this corner (seriously awesome view), and the Seattle Times article doesn't mention this, but East Thomas is one of the few cobblestone streets left on the hill and it's dangerous when it's wet, let alone covered in ice and snow.

The fact that one bus driver turned down this obviously dangerous street is one thing, but that the next followed just blows me away. No chains, icy roads, and a turn down a steep grade that ends in a guardrail. Seriously folks. wth.

Update: I saw a woman on the local news say she was de-icing the sidewalk when the buses started their turn. She waved at them and told them to stop, and they just kept going. Awesome.

Capitol Hill loves Vietnamese

broadway cafe, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

If you want Vietnamese food on the hill, it doesn't seem like it should be a problem.

There's Than Bros, Pho 900, Phocyclo, The place in "The Alley", Ballet, Pho Tai and Broadway Cafe. Broadway Cafe also carries Humbow. Shinka has humbow, but no Pho. I never make it up to the "fancy pants" parts, so I don't know if this exists already, but who has the best pastries, and are they open in the morning? Inquiring minds want to know.

My current vietnamese sandwich haunt is the Broadway Cafe, and it hurts me to let you know, because I don't like it when the place is full, but I have to say, it's the biggest bestest (and jalepeno-est) on the hill. The captothehill girls also agree, so you dont have to take my word alone.