Well, the very cold weather continues in Seattle today.  In fact, in the region, we have a chance of snow today (Wednesday.)  The predictions range from nothing to 4" by end of day for the greater Seattle area.

So what?

For those of us that have lived in the area for a while know when snow hits mass pandemonium breaks out.  Everything shuts down because of the snow and God forbid should you have to get somewhere.  Normal commutes turn in to multi-hour excursions.

The best example I can think of was the December 18, 1990 storm.   Forecasters knew snow was coming, but had no idea how much or it's exact timing, guesses put that it would arrive that evening.  People went to work on that Tuesday thinking everything would be fine.  (NOTE: I worked downtown at the time.)  Mother Nature had other plans, and the snow started coming down heavy just before the evening commute.  Downtown was clogged for hours (I was working swing shift, and can remember looking out around 9 PM and seeing gridlock in downtown streets.)  Vehicles simply weren't moving. The picture, at right, is a still captured from a King 5 Newscast from the infamous 1990 storm.

Getting to my point, however, the transit agencies were totally blind-sided by the weather!  Buses, particularly the articulated ones, were stuck, and they were blocking roads all over.  Metro (the transit authority) was beat up because they weren't prepared.  Fast forward to 12/16/2008: Weather forecasters were predicting snow - and Metro prepared this time.  They started playing recorded messages on the bus ride home stating that buses would be chained up in the morning (12/17) and that delays could be expected.  This morning there were delays!

It seems Metro would be damned no matter what they did: If they didn't chain the buses and then snow hit (and may still) people would complain that the buses were stuck and commutes home were impossible; on the other hand, if they chained up and nothing hit, people would criticize that effort and bemoan the fact that the delays as a result of chains were unnecessary.

From my personal perspective, I'd much rather have a few delays, than repeat 1990 when people were literally stranded for HOURS, because buses weren't prepared.  Good job King County Metro!

NOW can we please have a real blizzard in Seattle, PLEASE!

For those of us that drive fairly regularly there's no shortage of situations where we ask ourselves where someone learned to drive. Among my issues with society at large, one of my biggest gripes is with people that don't yet seem to know how to merge and have a tendency to create choke-points because they can't seem to figure it out.

As I was reading a recent "Getting There" column in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, I realized that one of my gripes was actually being discussed.  A reader submitted a question about merging while driving! (For those of you not familiar with the column it is always a good read and educational.) Here's part of the reader's question to the P-I:

...My expectation has been that I should come to a complete stop, wait for a space, then merge into the traffic...

What I didn't directly quote was the reader's shock that someone driving behind him was honking their horn at him while he sat idle at the merge lane!  Surprise, Surprise! The P-I asked Eric Widstrand, from the City of Seattle for a comment.  Here's part of how the P-I summarizes the answer from Mr. Widstrand with their interpretation of the contents, in context:

...advice in the state's driver licensing guide is to "signal and enter (a street) at the same speed that traffic is moving," not stop, and get out of the merge lane before it ends. If you must wait for a space, "slow down on the ramp so you have some room to speed up before you have to merge."

Let's get the message out, be it via blog or via conversations with friends, or whatever - PLEASE don't stop when merging when traffic is moving.  Forget about the brake pedal, and instead, focus on MERGING into traffic rather than coming to a complete stop!  Dare we use our horns to "educate" ill-informed drivers - road rage be damned?

I'm starting to become an island in a sea of Apple iPhones!  There is no doubt that as far as coolness Apple has nailed it.  But, as with all things Apple, the devil is in the details. Several of my friends have an iPhone now (the older model and the newer model) and I've witnessed some shortcomings that amaze me.

This post will kick-off my Apple hype-buster posts.  While I was an early Apple supporter (my computer savvy has its roots in an Apple //e) I find it necessary to help cut out some of the hype and get to reality so that people know what they are getting.

Shortcomings of iPhone 3G:

• Bluetooth Stereo - OK, wires are so 90s! Can't I listen to my iPhone's iPod music features with wireless headsets?  Quick answer: NO! What exactly can you use the iPhone 3G bluetooth for?  My understanding is the only profile supported is HandsFree, but if you try and go to the Apple store for more specifications, you see they give just the most generic of specifications (see right)  (NOTE: AT&T's site isn't much better)
• No Removable Battery - So?  Apple wouldn't short change us, now would they?  Well, let's see - they have an entire webpage dedicated to explaining the care, use and life of a battery in an iPhone.  Kudos for taking the time to explain the technology.  But in a link, they explain what it is going to cost to replace that battery when it does start losing it's ability to hold a charge.  Now, what they fail to mention is that it is going to require you to send your phone in, and be without it for at least a couple days.  Some argue the battery life will last the "life" of the phone.  If that's the case, why don't they warrant that it will keep 50% of it's charge for 2 years, rather than the 1 year the warranty provides? (After all, the contract with AT&T is for 2 years, and who wants to have to pay additional funds to make the phone last 2 years so that you can fulfill the contract?)  On a separate note, if the battery can go through 400 "charge cycles" and still retain 80% of stated capacity, why only cover the battery when it can't hold 50% of it's charge? Even if I charge my phone once a day for a whole year (365 full charge cycles) it should retain 80% charge according to their explanation.
•  Where's my Flash - So Adobe and Apple always play along nice, right?  NOPE - guess again.  I'll post more on this later, as I believe this ties more into the issue of Apple's control of the marketplace for apps, but suffice it to say, if a site uses flash you won't be using it with an iPhone.

I'll start with this and will add to the iPhone "gotchas" as I learn of them or read about them. Someone has to keep Apple honest, and I'll try!

Well, last night we had our first measurable snowfall in Seattle.  I don't know why, but getting snow is always a "cool" event.  It is like we are all kids and want snow so that we don't have to go to school or something.  Unfortunately, the snow we got was a small amount, not the 12" snow dumps that make it really fun in Seattle!