Snow-MAH-Geddon...

Be safe out there today and tonight people. We are expecting a lot of ice and some areas snow. Though I'm not seeing a lot here in the City of Vancouver, there is a lot of rain falling. And all it would take would be a simple freeze tonight to turn it into black ice. A really BAD case. 

If you have go to Portland or any area of the metro (which Vancouver is in) watch out for the icy hills as well!

Happy New Years...

Remember, pre-arrange a Tow for you and your car OR cab ride. There is no excuse for drinking and driving! If you have to folks, take the keys away from some one and make sure you get them home safe.

Happy Holidays....

I just wanted to wish everyone who may be reading this a happy holidays and a new year!

When you become frustrated with your local daily? (thought about the site being down?)

As some might know from my procurement of hell and outright disdain at time times for sites that simply can't figure out that how the web works, that there site goes down so many times like a cheap html junkie.

The excuse I have heard over the web was there was a contract internet backend vendor that was down. I was beginning to wonder if the local snoozemedia (sorry, the local name I have applied because for some reason or another, they simply always seem to be asleep at the switch!) simply could not find a good information technology person who knew how to right decent contracts to make sure their site was hosted at a decent provider and was up?

Have any of their web editors, IT or whomever is in charge of their CMS (for those who may not know, it is called content management systems with a template on the front that controls how a website looks, acts and does things.) contract does not seem to understand what SLA or service level agreement is?

This means, if the site goes down, does it have some serious penalty clauses or ways to switch to a computer system outside of the core development pod that the site is hosted on.  IN todays world, there is no excuse for a site being down, when web systems and cloud systems are so cheap!

Even when Amazon's EC2 and other cloud providers went down about six months ago that hosted every thing from your daily backup provider, ISP web hosters, Netflix and possibly web ad companies? This type of web disconnection for no decent or apparent reason should not tolerated by the owners of our local paper. Just as Amazon was villified for it's system being down.

And Amazon is a Seattle Based corporation with hands-across the world reach, so this tells you what a lot of people think about web providers in almost 2012. Why would they be down?

When money talks..

Our local newspaper has decided that they need through their Op-Ed section (see: http://tinyurl.com/br7g2zv ) to discuss the various subjects that are going around round and round the local blogosphere.

This weeks subject is  about the C-tran's board idea to layoff putting to a full voter vote in Clark County, Washington the option of bringing light rail across the columbia river (src: Columbia River Crossing Project  on a new bridge. For some twenty years, the people of our county have voted to not allow this train from various reasons like crime, underutilization of the trains, expense to build and maintain, etc,etc.

What the Opinion page editor was trying to show through a similar story vain that the Editor-at-large, his supposedly co-equal through a story of a phone conversation with the character Hub from Amboy (very rural, northern town northwest of Batltle Ground?) and how his ability to have to say in the local transit orientation in the southern major city was null and void because he would not have to pay the taxes on it.

He suggests that every single town, region, state and federal area has a human made sovereign jurisdiction and boundary lines. And that if you don't like how this works, you simply do not have to shop or give economic sustenance to it by choice. That he could go further south into another state and still conduct his business and the local area would lose out on the state tax benefits.

What he does not seem to understand is that people from throughout this region will be crossing that bridge every single day. And with our economy as bad as it is and possibly, why are we not facing reality that we need other options to cross the river, EXCEPT the most outmoded transit options that that do not offer the freedom to work at night (transit to and from do not work after 10pm unless you live in specially served areas and may not so in the future, do to budgetary concerns.)

My problem with light rail is not politicization of it, is that the technology does not fit our region well. We are a technically diverse and economically challenge. We simply do not fit in the same way other large community region of 2 million. This region is spread out, land locked by a mountain range and different state regulations?

If we were bigger, say Seattle's size at six or so million, then we might have a serious economic ability to spread the costs of a transit system across a wider base. And a really good case to be to MOVE more people in a singular fashion from a point-to-point system that light rail is. It is a great system if you are moving 1,000s of people short distances. (less than 10 miles.) And the general cost is significantly higher than running a general bus - spoke system where people are exchanged from lower feeding runs into fuller buses. A very similar system is the airline industry from the 1970s or so..

I'm all for a vote on this system for both the financing AND the politics of it for Clark County. Let the people speak? Instead of continuing to play each of the local communities against each other (think divide & conquer political will.) and shrink political borders to make sure and achieve a political outcome in your favor after many years of voters saying how they felt about a subject cogent to their interests. Then to also have state laws enacted in your favor to get your objective through?

If that is not political gerrymandering, what is? Or special interest attention, please do tell me how this is different?

How do I feel about people suing the state to keep the cuts from going effect

source: ( http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016807200_lawsuits20m.html )

The governor describes how she is dealing with the budgetary problems that are being blocked by lawsuits. 

Some might understand why I have such heart burn. I used to be on several subsistence programs because I was medically disabled at one time. But with the economy is as it was, I understand that we need to make some changes in Olympia. I want people to understand that suing the state just because life isn't fair isn't right. 

We have a multi-billion dollar revenue and growing deficit. And to sue to block one program from going under is just plain wrong. We have to make cuts and it may come to the effect that there might be future state constitutional amendments for a forced rainy day amendment that the state legislature can't mess with and would help greatly. But with a twenty percent in Clark County and in some places ten to fifteen around the state, the middle class is the one who is probably and generally going to be paying MOST of the taxes in the state. 

The businesses or llc's can be getting special tax breaks, liens and other ideas to lower their effective B&O, property, electricity - utility to keep them here in Washington State.

And I simply do not believe that an income tax or some thing like a B&O (which should be termed a business grose income tax...) will not pass here.Its simply just not severe enough for our population will go for it. 

So now I do believe we need to come to some realization here. Either one, we have to cut a lot more and get our people to drop their expectations down that everyone is going to get everything they want OR somehow the governor can kick the can down the road to the next governor elects that are campaigning now for the office. She sould just patch up what she can and pass the problem on like a LOT of the United State presidents do. 

Left Hand turners, watch out for me!

Is it that I seem to continually meet up with stupid people when I have the white light at 39th and Columbia trying to cross  and the left turning drivers think that green light is ok for them almost to plow into me? Its a frequent problem in Vancouver that I get it all over. I have the crossing light and people are so impatient, when they see the green, they hit the gas and go to the left almost plowing into me. 

I know the city have very FEW options and a budget cutting that leaves only a few active patrol officers that can are still in the traffic unit. Very soon, there might not be ANY traffic officers in our police department to nail these types of drivers. 

Any one else almost get killed on a routine basis like this?