Arriving in Seattle aboard the Bainbridge Island Ferry.
Today’s “Stupid Design Moment”: if you are reading this sign, mission already accomplished.
Every last ounce of the lemonade.
Boom Noodle, Capitol Hill, Seattle
Scott Simpson, dead at 38
I’d met Scott twice, both times at the cramped-but-charming Lunchbox Laboratory location in Ballard. For whatever reason, I usually found myself at his restaurant at odd hours, eating “lunch” at 3pm after a meeting downtown, or some such thing. The “Lab” would be quiet at those times and it was easy to strike up a conversation with Scott or his girlfriend, Allegra.
Lunchbox Laboratory is home to what I consider the best burger in Seattle. They specialize in a combination of unique recipes and fresh ingredients that could only have come from a true chef. The place is no Dick’s Burgers, and that’s a very good thing.
I was always surprised to find people who considered themselves “foodies” and who hadn’t heard of Lunchbox Laboratory. I cannot even begin to count the number of people I sent their way, most recently dragging a friend to their new South Lake Union location the week of their grand opening.
I’d missed the news, but Scott took his own life last week. My condolences to his girlfriend, family and the folks at the Laboratory. I think a visit in his honor is in order. Let me know if if you’re interested in joining me.
If you live in Washington state and see one of these “Good to Go!” kiosks, don’t waste your time. This one was at my local library and, since tolling on Hwy. 520 is due to start later this spring, I thought it would be smart to get it over with and set up my account.
Yes, you can leave with one of the new window stickers you will need, but the process is much slower and more complicated than doing it yourself.
You see, it works like this: the nice guys at the kiosk had me fill put a paper form with all of my contact information, as well as details on my vehicles. Front and back, that took 5-7 minutes. Then, they fired up their laptop and entered the information I just wrote down into a web page on the WSDOT site. Yes, watching someone type on their computers is one of my favorite pastimes, but still… All told, it took about 20 minutes to do what is probably a 5-minute task in the comfort of your home.
The paper is eventually destroyed (they say), but since they take your credit card to top up your new account (a minimum of $30), I’d argue that this process is also less secure than just doing it yourself.
I’m not suggesting that there aren’t people who might actually find these kiosks to be a valuable service. But if you don’t call what you’re reading this on “the computer thing,” or know the definition of “tweet” that doesn’t have something to do with a bird, then you’re much better off just going here.
Library only has 2007 ed. of “Designing with Web Standards” by @zeldman. S’okay, web hasn’t changed much in 4 years, right?
Source: catalog.kcls.org
Wind. Rain. Not the best day to be doing this.
First trip on the light rail to the airport.
