Toll Collection and Rates

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will collect tolls when you are traveling in both directions across the SR-520 Bridge. Electronic tolling equipment will be installed on overhead gantries at the east high-rise of the SR-520 Bridge and will read your Good to Go! pass or scan your license plate as you travel at normal highway speeds.

You can pay the toll in one of three ways:

1. Set up a prepaid Good To Go! account and purchase a pass to mount in your vehicle.

2. Set up a prepaid Good To Go! account and register your vehicle license plate for photo identification. With this option you would be assessed a $0.25 surcharge per transaction.

3. Have a toll bill sent to the address where your vehicle is registered. With this option you would be assessed a $1.50 surcharge per transaction.

The minimum opening balance for all Good To Go! accounts is $30. How often you intend to drive across the SR-520 Bridge will influence which payment option you choose.

Your toll rate will vary according to the time of day, the day of the week, and how you pay. View the Good To Go! User Guide for an overview of SR-520 tolling. See proposed rates and full tolling details at www.goodtogo520.org. 

Tolling Policy for Microsoft Employees

For those of you that are Microsoft employees, here are some details on policy related to this. Employees are prohibited from seeking reimbursement for day-to-day commute expenses, to or from work. Likewise, managers are prohibited from approving such reimbursement. Microsoft will, however, reimburse toll charges for legitimate business travel. Please consult internal Microsoft Policy for more information and to learn what constitutes legitimate business travel.

Get Ready Now for Tolling on the SR-520 Bridge

· Receive E-Mail Updates: Sign up for e-mail updates at www.goodtogo520.org to receive information regarding rates, account options, special offers, and customer service resources.

· Purchase a Pass: Create a Good To Go! account and purchase a pass from WSDOT before tolling begins:

o Visit the Good To Go! website. This is the fastest and most convenient option.

o Stop by a participating Safeway store to buy a pass and then go online to create an account.

o Drop by a WSDOT walk-in or mobile customer service center.

o Purchase by phone at 1-866-936-8246.

If you activate a Good To Go! pass by April 15, 2011 you will receive $10 in free tolls for the SR-520 Bridge.

Information

You can explore bus options by using the King County Metro Trip Planner.

For questions about tolling on the SR-520 Bridge, or to give feedback, please contact the Washington State Department of Transportation by calling 1-888-G2G-WSDOT (1-888-424-9736) or emailing goodtogo@wsdot.wa.gov.

Apple updated its privacy policy yesterday with a new paragraph about location information. If you agree to the changes (which you must do in order to download anything via the iTunes store) you agree to let Apple collect, store and share "precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device":

Read more details with this article at consumerist.com.

How does this affect you?  You know those pop-up questions that say “iMobster wants to use your geographic information, do you agree to share it?”  Since you could be saying “no,” these apps usually have to be able to work and provide value to you without your geo information.  I almost always say “no,” except when it is an app where I specifically want to share my location (e.g. Foursquare).

Now, your choice is going away.  Random apps can collect information about where you go and use your iPhone, iPad or even your Mac.

Anybody remember the ads back in 1984 when Apple launch th Mac, where they positioned the competition as BIG BROTHER and positioned the Mac as the giving you back your privacy and control?  A bit of irony now …

About 20 years ago a man that we will call Fred disappeared from a small Finnish town. Fred had a somewhat questionable past, but nothing to make someone think he had been murdered. So in 2000 they just declared him a dead Fred, but on Monday they found out exactly how Fred became dead…he got stuck in a chimney of an industrial building. Yes he got stuck and died in 1991. The only good news for Fred was that the chimney was never used, and the good news for rescuers was that he was somehow mummified so everything was intact and his identification was in his wallet.

Out of Illinois … Say Cheese

A 39 year old man was walking through what must have been gangsta territory in Chicago over the weekend because…well, he got shot. He got shot right in the kisser. No lie, the man got shot in the mouth, which of course knocked out his front tooth and what a tooth it must have been. The guy must have Fitz size teeth because while one got knocked out it stopped the freaking bullet from penetrating his head. And here is the best part, after realizing what happened he spit out…spit out not only his tooth, but the bullet!

Out of Britain … Suckkkkker!

Do you or your kid have bucked teeth? Be honest, could you eat peanuts through a picked fence? Well it is likely that you had the dreaded addiction of thumb sucking. Yes thumb sucking causes lots of problems for the beaver teeth and misaligns the jaw! So that is why there is an orthodontist in Britain who has opened the first Thumb Sucking Clinic. Yes, it comes complete with a Thumb Sucking 12 Step Program. No word on the cost, but can you really put a price tag on keeping your child from being called bugs, Bucky, or sniggled tooth?

1) Who inspires you the most and what qualities do they have that makes you admire them? This will actually help you answer question 5, and tell you what you crave for your own life.

2) What are you naturally good at…what natural gifts do you possess (skills, abilities, gifts, etc)? You could also ask the question, "What are people willing to pay you to do because you do it so well?"

3) What do people typically ask you for help with? For example, from the time I was about 12 years-old people have wanted to tell me about their hurts, habits, and hang-ups.

4) If you had to teach something, what would you teach? For me the word "hope" is the first thing that came to mind. For many it could be math, science, or health and fitness.

5) What are your deepest values? Add the question, "What injustice do I see in the world that makes me want to jump into action?" For example, when you see poverty or the homeless does something inside of you say "do something!"

Write it down and it may help you at least rule out some options or situations that you are considering.

Why is the Boundary Being Reviewed in the First Place?

The community is growing.  Three years ago, Snoqualmie Ridge growth was addressed with a boundary change that balanced capacity from CVES to SES.  Approval has already been granted for building another 250 – 300 homes in Snoqualmie Ridge.  Kimball Creek is gaining 90 new homes.  North Bend water and sewage issues have been resolved and applications have been made for 387 new homes already (pending approval).  Unincorporated King County areas have had 30 new homes approved in the past two years.

And, of course, while the entire district benefits from the increased taxes brought by the growth, the broader electorate has repeatedly failed to support bond measure that could have alleviated growth problems by increasing capacity in the growing areas.  So, what are we faced with?

Basically, CVES and SES are now balanced and both at full capacity.  It doesn’t even look to me like the projections for NBES and OES incorporate the projected North Bend growth, but that is a story for another day.

Ultimately, I blame the voters that either didn’t get out and vote (you on the Ridge) or voted against bond proposals, but I assume that once the growth hits North Bend and they need their schools back for their own kids, enough voters will engage and pass a future bond.  For now, we have a boundary review.

I Was *So* Admiring the Process…

This most disappoint part is that I was largely content to just let the process work because the process seemed well thought out and objective.  Here is where we’ve been:

• February 11.  The School Board approved the formation of an Elementary Boundary Study committee at their February 11 meeting.  Elementary Attendance Boundary Study Announced.  This page outlines purpose, goals, timeline and identifies the committee members, which did not include an parent representatives.
• March 1-5.  Criteria Survey fielded.  See the results.
• March 5.  The committee announced criteria for the decision.  Elementary Boundary Committee Confirms Criteria.  Notably absent from criteria is proximity to the school – a recommendation from the first community survey which the committee explicitly chose to exclude from consideration.
• March 9.  The committee announce 5 proposed scenarios.  Boundary Committee Develops Five Draft Scenarios. With this announcement, the committee also fielded a second community survey for feedback.
• March ?.  Committee added Option F, described as “a potential solution that would disrupt fewer students than Options A or C.”  [If someone has more details than the district has published about why Option F was introduced, please share in a comment or e-mail.  I’ve heard that all options A – E result in Deer Park kids having a bus route on I90, but I have no substantiating details.]
• March 23.  Committee narrows the options to A, C and F and fields another survey.  Also published why other options were not chosen.

… Up Until Last Week

Then, it seems to go sideways.  Admittedly, the district hasn’t done a stellar job of explaining how Option F got added, but at least it was done publicly and there was a public comment and feedback period after it was done.

• April ?.  A group of families privately submit an 7th alternate option, which appears to have ultimately been adopted in its entirety and proposed to the School Board. 

I have obtained a copy of the letter allegedly from one of the communities affected by Option C, but not affected by the Modified Option C and made it available for download here as a PDF document.

I can’t verify that this is the exact letter, but it seems highly likely in my opinion. 

It appears that the proposal became what is now called a Modified C Option.  This option was not shared or reviewed with the public, as was the case with all other options.  And let’s be honest – this is a new option.  It differs as much as the other options.

Later today, I will follow up with my own analysis of A, C, F and Modified-C in another post and plan to include comment on the “reasons” articulated by the committee for their recommendation.  Feel free to register and comment below, or share links to other information that you’d like to put into the public record.

Full Disclosure – How It Affects My Household

I want to get disclosure out of the way, so fewer people will see bias in my comments.

I live in K-North and we are affected.  In the original 5 options, we stayed at CVES for two options and moved to SES for three of the options.  In Option F, we would have stayed at CVES.  During the previous boundary review in 2007, we really wanted to stay at CVES, however, this time my wife and I discussed the different options and decided we were okay with any of the options.  CVES and SES each have their pros and cons:

• (+CVES) CVES is where our daughter went, is (long) walking distance and keeps our kids with the most of the other children in the broad neighborhood.  Also has ELC across the street for aftercare options.
• (-CVES)  CVES lost their Hi-C program in 2009, doesn’t have all day Kindergarten and is generally still a bit overcrowded.
• (+SES) We had heard great things about SES teachers and environment.  Has all-day Kindergarten and a Hi-C program.  Broadens the kids friend set to children from outside the neighborhood.
• (-SES) Much further to drive to/from the school.  Could affect how potential future home buyers view home value (perception mainly, but a reality.)

I did study each option as it came out and participated in the community surveys, except for the first one about criteria because I didn’t know it was happening.

“The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Each year the event has grown, and now hundreds of thousands of students participate to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior. Founded in 1996, the Day of Silence has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.” _{www.dayofsilence.org}

I have two problems with this day:

1. It makes our Children face a choice that they may not be ready for; it puts them on the spot in an environment where communication is critical for success (School). If you speak in class you must hate and not support LGBT. Crap, most likely you had a math question or needed some help in a subject needed for graduation.
2. The protests and counter protests disrupt and create an unsafe environment at School, and many parents just consider this a “Holiday” to avoid all of the conflict.

If you believe in a cause why not educate others and not provoke and piss them and their parents off, by grandstanding at our schools and students expense. I get that the LBGT students have a rough go, but is this the best way to get simple respect and acceptance that you deserve?

The only good news, Friday probably won’t be much different than any other day since most kids have lost the ability to speak anyway since texting has come along.

Out of Texas … An Unholy War

The good book says when confrontation strikes, you should not…you should turn the other cheek. Well Father John Parnell of the Saint Augustine Catholic Church in Fort Worth must have missed that passage. Just ask a Jehovah witness that stopped by his parsonage last week.

The word is that the Jehovah witness stopped by to let one of the father’s family know they were going to burn in hell. Yep, he was explaining to a young lady that if she did not leave her Catholic ways she would rest in the lake of fire and when Father Parnell heard this…he walked out the front door and began to beat the crud out of the Watch Tower Wacko! He unleashed a fiery fury of his own! In the end, the father was arrested.

Out of world of great inventions … Whizzing by

At 67 years-old Gerald Willis invented something incredible…something incredible but now deemed illegal. What is it you ask? A very very life like man who who. Now before your mind wonders down the LOVERS of Tukwila lane it is for helping people pass drug test. It is called the Whizzinator and here is how it works, the drug user on probation takes the Whizzinator and fills it full of clean wee wee. Understand?

They fill the fake who who with clean wee wee from a friend and then put it down in their wranglers and go take the drug test. It looks so real that if the probation officer catches a glimpse of Mr. Happy they will not know the difference. Well Gerald the who who guru just got arrested for a federal offense. Think about it…he is helping federal criminals illegally pass drug test so he has had to plead guilt to conspiracy to selling drug paraphernalia and conspiracy to defraud our government.

Out of New York … Sexy Sweat Shop

From the desk of The Fitz…there is a new workout that is all…all the rage in the Big Apple. It is a new kind of hot, hot…very hot yoga. This is a form of yoga where everyone sits together in a room buck naked.

Interesting enough…almost all the participants tend to be men. Yep, the flexible flop fest has a ratio of about 2 men for every woman. The inventor of the show your ying yang yoga is Jeffery Duval and he says it is a way for participant to shred their clothes, fears, and insecurities. One participant said, yeah, but it’s also a great way too find someone who is flexible and looks great naked (attempt at humor).

Out of Illinois…on the road to no whereville

George hood has set a new world record. Get a load of this my little coffee sipping donut dipping friends.

While we were shoving calories down over the weekend…Georgie was riding his bike. He was riding and riding and riding.  King George rode for 85 hours. You heard me right, George road his bike for 85 hours and went just over 1,000 miles for a new world record. Is that amazing or what? Oh wait…i almost forgot…he was on a stationary bike.

Out of Hong Kong…ooooo that’s just wrong

Barry kwok thinks he deserves to be recognized as a world record holder too, and why not Barry has done something that we could all agree is amazing.  Listen to this…he got himself really good and sun burned. We’re talking he looked like a walking tomato, and then he waited…he waited just the right amount of time before peel his skin off. Oh yeah baby…he was then able to peel off almost an entire foot of his back skin…

He has the skin flap to prove it and wants to be recognized. Guinness says nope…that’s just not worth recognizing. After all…how would something that silly look right next to a guy who road his bike for 85 hours going absolutely no where.

Out of the world of underwear…this is a gas

There is a new pair of underwear out there for us fellas…oh and they are sweet.  Better than those whitie tighties the fruit boys are always singing about…these babies have game!

And and they will allow us to let one go, without anyone being the wiser. Yes, i’m talking about anit-fart wear.Anti fart underwear baby! The under ease pants, as they are called, have a built in gas and stink filter!

The multi layered, replaceable filters are made of felt, charcoal and fiberglass wool. So these babies won’t even let out a silent screamer.

You can go on that date with Betty Sue and still enjoy the sensations of dropping the big ones without even having to make an excuse for rolling down the window! Sure, they are a little tight fitting to make sure nothing escapes, but there worth it. Order yours today and www.under-tec.com.

What does this mean for you Netflix subscribers?  Well, it partially explains my observation in my previous article – Netflix Popular New Releases – Not So Much!  Let’s get more specific than that though.

I hadn’t heard about the above deal, so I put The Twilight Saga: New Moon in my Netflix queue on the week it released (March 20, 2010).  Take a look at my queue for how this and other recent requests are listed:

Hmm, it doesn’t say that they don’t actually have it yet, does it?  I suppose many people don’t realize the big decrease in value that has come to Netflix and just think they are one of the unlucky few who aren’t getting it first. 

I think it is misleading, to say the least.  Frankly, why else do we pay the monthly fee if not to view recently released DVDs? 

So, what can you do if you want to view one of these *newly released* DVDs ?  You have lots of options, all of which happen to make the studios more money:

• It is available “on demand” from Comcast for just $5.99
• Buy it online for about $20 (Wal-mart has it for $17 + tax + $2 shipping, for example)
• Buy it now! on ebay.com for about $10.

I was a pretty early customer of Netflix and I love some of the innovations they have made.  I love their “watch instantly” option and I’ve watched several TV series completely online via Xbox Live.  However, I see little reason to keep paying for “3 at a time” DVDs when I can’t get the latest and greatest.   If I wait 28 days, I can buy the video on ebay.com for around $5 – so I could buy 3 per month instead of having a Netflix subscription.

I am certainly going to downsize my account.  I’ll probably change to the $8.99 option for now, so I can keep the online TV shows on demand, but I’m definitely going to start looking at other streaming options, because, from my point-of-view, the online streaming videos is all I’m using Netflix for at this point.