Daiso Japan had lots of cool random stuff, most of it ridiculously cheap. There's one in the ID and one at Westlake.

I'd say my morning would be Respighi's "Regina di Saba". The day time would progress accordingly as allegro to largo to allegro of Vivaldi's "L'inverno" (Four Seasons, Winter), the evening would be something like Haydn's "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser (Poco adagio)".

Days of Future Past by the Moody Blues with the London Symphony Orchestra.

The stranger or qland or something else?

Doesn't help your question, but reminded me a great story from a Lit professor 10-15 years ago. Someone wrote their thesis on Amy Tan's use of the number eight in "The Joy Luck Club" and its significance, etc. After this person got their Phd or whatever, the thesis made its way to Tan, who was flabbergasted. She was completely unaware that she'd been using the number 8 a lot and had not intended it. But that's the joy of art. Author's intent isn't always necessary for something to have power or significance. That's all.

But yes, numbers have different meaning/significance in several cultures, so it's likely.

MR,

Griffin is right that there used to be such a feature but it is gone. You can no longer direct questions to specific people. It turned out that it was rarely used and when it was, it was usually in error. So it caused more harm then good. It also assumed the person had email notifications turned on because they wouldn't see it otherwise. So all in all, gone.

Your question is probably better posed to the larger group anyway because there are a lot of people who may know the answer to that one. In addition company reps monitor questions about their products as best they can and occasionally come and answer (while their answers have potential for bias they also tend to refer to specific facts/data/guarantees).

So, you might want to ask that question again, and not bury under the lesser question.

And btw, thanks for being such a great part of Questionland.

Charles

Most projections have population reaching a plateau somewhere between now and the year 2050...after that big decline.

Really most 1st world nations are at ZPG or declining already. The US would have 270 million if it weren't for immigration.

The point of this is that with fewer people around, there is a cascading effect where it becomes more costly to service new children (as you mention, educators, doctors and so on).

So, yes, like gourmet wines, and fast sports cars, children are becoming a luxury.

ARE YOU KIDDING, how disrespectfull to say $43 is still expensive, is the plumber there to work for free, have you ever looked into how a company works & how much it costs to run thanks to our goverment, $43 ? expensive? $43 didnd even cover the gas to get to your house, & LET ME REMIND YOU - IT TOOK HIM 2 MINUTES BECAUSE HE HAS THE KNOWLEDGE TO FIX IT - KNOWLEDGE YOU DONT HAVE, ( your paying him for his training & his years of working in crap for people like you no for his time )

I don't know shit about finance but I do enjoy hating on incompetent banks.

If you're talking about TARP -- passed by G W Bush just before he left office -- what happened there is the federal government bought billions of dollars in preferred stock of various big banks at 5% interest rate and a bunch of restrictions with how they could use the money.

This seems like a decent article on the whole thing:

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2009/12/its_payback_time.html

It sort of paid off: "Of the $245 billion handed to U.S. and foreign banks, over $169 billion has been paid back, including $13.7 billion in dividends, interest and other income, along with $4 billion in warrant proceeds as of April 2010." -- Wikipedia

To be honest all I really did was Google "TARP interest rate" :)

I think that would be Anthony who is responsible for all things technical at the The Stranger. His (and his team's role is limited (mostly) to coding as far as I know. Their design stuff is handled by outside people, one of whom is Michiko Swiggs (who also did the design for this site - you can find her answering questions on the site).

It isn't the rain that you may find troubling, but the short days and long nights of late autumn to mid-winter. In November and early December it's night by 16:30 and some people just get very gloomy at that time of year (not me though - I'm not a sun person). On the other hand, if you aren't a sun person, May and June and most of July have very long days. It doesn't get truly dark until after 22:00 and the sun rises very early - like 05:00. That bothers me more than the short days. I don't sleep very well during the summer in Seattle.

Welcome to Seattle. You are going to love living in a progressive city.

lol @ being able to Q-land but not google. Anyway, they could be the local Jr Ice Hockey Team: http://seattlejrtotems.pucksystems2.com/page/show/26203-seattle-jr-totems

Though their calendar doesn't have much on it for March. But who knows.

I have a mispronouncable name as well. I'm was super shy when I was younger so often other people do the correcting for me. However these days I have to do it myself if I want it done. Most of the time I don't really care. However for people like coworkers I make a joke out if it. They call my name and I respond with something what? who? There's nobody over here with that name! Eventually most people catch on. Although it is a giant hassel. The other approach I take is I have a quick and easy nickname for those who are lazy. That way they don't have to go through the work of stumbling through my name everyday. I also explain my name in syllabals and "rhymes with.." Good luck but your going to be doing this forever!

Recently they used the Space Needle to promote the new game "Angry Birds Space". I am perplexed as to why thy chose the Space Needle. It's not important enough. They should have used the Great Wall of China. Or the Eiffel Tower. Maybe because it looked like a tall catapult? Or because people think Seattle is an important city? I can think of way more important cities.

I lived nearly 30 years in Florida (over 10 in the Tampa area).

These are two very different climates for sure, but I am sure you will find things to love about it here. It is true that the light level is far reduced here for some 9-10 months of the year and you will eventually miss seeing blue sky and white clouds. The sky is often a white grey featureless dome over the area. The rain here is nothing like you know now. I have to explain sometimes to folks here that "pouring" is when you only have eight feet from your porch to your car door and you know you can't make it into your car without being completely soaked. What occurs here you often don't even duck for when walking about. The other thing you will very very rarely hear is thunder. You are coming from the lightning capital of the US to a place where it is almost not known to occur. I have been here for almost 25 years and can count on one hand the times I have been in a true thunder storm like I experienced almost daily in the summer living near an Florida Atlantic beach or in north Tampa.

Being acclimatized to the Florida temperature range you may find yourself cold here and will need to build a wardrobe that is appropriate. Coats can be worn any time of year and yet you will see kids in short sleeves and sometimes shorts waiting for the school bus when it is in the 50s and about to mist or drizzle. Comforters are normal on the bed and at the end of the couch to snuggle under in the evening. This is the place where folks wear wool socks and rugged sandals in the winter. The people are amazing. I have read on this forum that some coming from other areas find it difficult to meet and make new friends but I think that has a lot to do with your own outlook and abilities.

If you have family in Florida, you will have a cheap destination to escape to in mid-winter to recharge your batteries and brighten a few days each year (this was important for me some years over the holidays). Having developed a more cool/cold weather hardy constitution it was fun to stand on the beach where I grew up in shorts with a surf rod in my hand while normal residents walked by all bundled up.

You could plan a visit during our worse weather time of year (but we are all waiting for that to taper off now) but there is always the chance you will arrive here during rare wonderfully clear weather. I visited before coming here and it was clear and bright. I moved here one year when the rain was very reduced and blue skies common through the fall (Fall '87) and wondered what everyone said about this area. Eventually you began to miss the sun, learn to equip your home with appropriate fixtures to light the interior brightly when you want and love it.

This is certainly a very wonderful area to try out as a change from what you know. Get ready for some culture and climate shock, there is nothing like learning to be a bit of a chameleon and adapt to a new area to broaden your life experience and outlook.

What do you mean, "developed"? Set the tone, established the rules, or suggested the service?

Take a long vacation and visit before committing to a permanent move. It's good advice to follow no matter where you're moving from and to, and it'll give you a chance to look into things that you want to do in your potential new city. Don't do as an old roommate of mine did--without visiting first, he moved to Iowa from coastal Mississippi and had no idea he's need a heavy coat, for example.

I grew up in Florida and have been living in Seattle for 20 years. I love the weather here. Sure, it rains a ton from November to June, but it's almost always a light rain, not like the downpours in Florida, you can easily be outside walking around in Seattle rains. It's why we have so many coffee shops, places to duck into for a coffee by the window watching the rain.

And when it's not raining, it's beautiful. July and August and hot enough to be swimming in the lakes and September and October are my favorite when the light has this extraordinary quality to it. It's also when I arrived here so maybe it's just nostalgia.

The best thing about the weather here is that there are no extremes. No extreme heat, like Florida, no extreme wind, like hurricanes and no extreme cold. Weather for living I like to say.

I'm pretty sure you'll find this in SODO - try Sears at First & Lander, and the Army/Navy Surplus right by Sears; maybe Whistle Workwear a few blocks south on First by the West Seattle Bridge. Also Costco (if you have a membership) might have it - they have a small selection of coats and jackets but I'm not sure if they have this style.

If you wanted to spend more I would say also check out Filson on 4th Ave S just south of the stadiums - they make really rugged clothes, mostly hunter & outdoorsy styles, but jackets start around $200.

Work force in sodo or any of the stores like it that sell stuff for the
Construction crew should have it. Army surplus may have dickies and carharts but probably won't have non millitaryesque jackets

I have a weird moniker, involving a hyphenated two-name issue and an unconventional spelling. Thanks, Mom. It's a pain. I typically have to repeat my name two or three times when I introduce myself to someone, and usually it gets truncated.

In recent years, I've just stopped caring and I don't really feel much connection to my name anymore. Some people pronounce it correctly. Some people (including my brother) just say the first name. Some people use my initials, which I find is the easiest way to introduce myself. I also find that I become accustomed to being addressed in certain ways by certain people. Only two of my close friends use my initials, but it sounds weird to my ear when they don't, and weird when it comes from anyone else.

For my own part, I try to be patient with people because I have two issues: one, I have a TERRIBLE memory for names and faces, and two, I find that it's hard for me to pick up on subtle pronunciation differences (Elissa versus Alyssa, Ilana versus Alana). But in every case, I find that people really DO want to pronounce my name right, try hard to do so, and feel badly if they don't. So, I give them the benefit of the doubt. I get people's names wrong often enough that I'm in no position to judge.

Gotta love FDR. He was a RICH guy who didn't mind helping out the underdog in any number of creative ways (CCC, WPA, etc.) Decorum was observed, much as it was in Hollywood. No badgering press prying into illness and marital privacy. War was entered into at the last possible moment when the US was overtly provoked by Japan. The era could be endlessly rewritten, but I feel FDR was mostly a gentleman and a statesman who certainly had his detractors.

All this aside, if a men is getting his sexual and emotional needs met outside his marriage, I feel this is really no one's business. However, I appreciate knowing if he is a serial cheater who abuses women on many levels, particularly in the workplace. Double standard? A question of degree. I know I have done things in my youth that would certainly not stand up to the scrutiny of the current climate. Perhaps the guys at your old frat house are not the best judges of character, but what have you been doing in past two or three decades?

I don't know how to stop the flow of Chick tracts, only that they sell on line for 16 cents each. Perhaps your stealth "tipper" really believes they're worth their weight in Salvation. Perhaps the bookstore would post a sign stating that, while Chick tracts are cool, they are as yet not legal tender.

It's like with music: some people are just tone deaf. Don't be so touchy. It would help if you used your real name so we can know just how touchy you're being. For instance, Diane Arbus was Dee-Ann. How would anyone know that, or remember it consistently. My surname is only four letters, it sounds exactly the way it is spelled and vice versa. But people's ears and brains don't always make the connection. If you're gonna be that sensitive, just remember not to be Gathy (as in Portlandia). Sure, people called her Kathy, but at least that called her! Might YOU wish to become Mary? Just for those people who can't GET it?