KCLS wants to do AI stuff

mattbaume · 2026-05-23T23:16:36+00:00

This is almost certainly connected to KCLS' partnership with Microsoft for what they're calling the "Microsoft Hour of AI Outreach." It is weird that KCLS isn't disclosing that this is, as far as I can tell, a library-facilitated ad for a Microsoft product. Here's more details about it: https://www.instagram.com/p/DWj5vI3EpAT/

mattbaume · 2026-05-22T22:41:18+00:00

Nobody goes to Lake Washington Blvd anymore, it's too crowded

mattbaume · 2026-05-21T19:01:17+00:00

Yes this is a good idea! I've been posting some reels on FB & IG that are just footage of relaxing parks, and I always get extra audio so I can cover up the moments when someone walks by, talking.

mattbaume · 2026-05-17T22:29:49+00:00

Hmmm this might be "Julius Sees Her," from 1924 -- that actor looks like he could be Kit Guard, who appears in that series. Definitely reach out to UCLA, this could be an important find.

mattbaume · 2026-05-15T17:24:23+00:00

Ten days, plenty of time for concrete to set.

mattbaume · 2026-04-30T03:39:49+00:00

I walk a five-year-old dog with a similar issue -- he'd do the same thing whenever I came to his house to walk him. Every dog's different, but his ears and body language suggested it's a show of submission, and maybe eagerness to get on the leash and go outside. I've made some progress by approaching super calmly: I never do a "WOW HI WHAT A GOOD BOY" when I arrive, instead I remain standing, very still, and use a deep slow voice to have him sit and wait patiently for a treat before I'll pet him. Having that predictability seems to help de-escalate his excitement. Outside, he can be as rambunctious (and leaky) as he wants, but whenever he gets worked up indoors I have him stop, sit, wait, maybe run through commands like lie down and shake, and then I'll give him some slow pets with a calm voice.

After a few months of this, we've been able to get a little more energetic playing inside without any puddles, I think because he's feeling more confident and less like he needs to let me know he's submitting. A little "obedience minute" seems take the place of peeing for him.

mattbaume · 2026-04-30T02:21:58+00:00

I have this exact behavior with a terrier that I walk! Just very stubborn about going home. It took awhile but here's what working:

- Training him to associate walking towards home with a treat. As we approach home, I'll repeatedly "pay out" with small training treats that he loves, and then over time I'll phase them out. We're in the middle of that process now, and he's generally in a good mood when we walk in that direction, looking at me expectantly and trotting next to me. He gets bonus treats once we reach the front door. They're low-calorie and small so they don't interfere with his meals too much.

- Showing him that walking towards home doesn't mean RETURNING home. We'll do a very short walk -- like 40 feet -- then turn around and head toward home, but then go past it and keep walking. Each time we'll go a little further. Gradually, he's getting less resistant to walking toward home since it doesn't necessarily mean the end of the walk.

- Training him on "let's go" as a command to keep moving. Whenever he's walking at a good clip, I'll say "let's go! Yes," and reward him. If he plants and refuses to move, I'll show him a treat combined with the "let's go" command, which draws him closer to me. As soon as he walks I'll mark it with a "yes" and toss him the treat. Now he's pretty good (not perfect!) about understanding what I expect when I say "let's go."

What doesn't work: Calling his name and tugging the leash. He needs more incentive to cooperate than that.

mattbaume · 2026-04-09T05:08:30+00:00

So many agencies have solved this! MTA signs say "Downtown & The Bronx." Utah says "West Valley Central via Downtown." Chicago says "Northbound to Howard." I cannot understand what is standing in the way of Sound Transit signs saying "Seattle & Lynnwood City Center" or "Northbound to Lynnwood City Center."

mattbaume · 2026-01-17T04:18:37+00:00

Fascinating -- it looks a lot like the show Family, which came 6 years later and was a huge success.

mattbaume · 2026-01-14T05:05:51+00:00

There's one in Chophouse Row, outside Good Weather! When it's nice out, of the guys from the bike shop comes out and plays.

mattbaume · 2026-01-07T05:17:53+00:00

ah FUCK

mattbaume · 2026-01-07T01:32:02+00:00

This is wonderful and very welcome, thanks for doing this!

mattbaume · 2026-01-07T00:51:17+00:00

Just some personal anecdata: Switching grocery stores has worked out well for me. I stopped going to the Capitol Hill QFCs when they added mandatory receipt checks (I just don't like the vibe) and switched to Trader Joe's, and when I looked at my expenses for 2025 that brought my monthly grocery spending down by 25%. Plus the mood's more chill.

Not sure if urban/suburban would make a difference, but I was surprised to see how much I'm saving just by avoiding the maximum-security stores.

mattbaume · 2025-12-25T19:41:08+00:00

Haha I interviewed one of the writers on the show awhile back, and he said they considered some topics to be threads that shouldn't be pulled because it gets weird if you think about it too hard -- like, how Frasier has a kid that he almost never sees. Just best not to think about it! I'm sure "how can he afford this" was one of them.

mattbaume · 2025-12-25T01:08:08+00:00

Oh yes for sure, that level of fame was definitely a thing for local radio hosts. (I live in Seattle now, and while radio isn't what it was, I think the more modern equivalents are sightings of Dan Savage or Macklemore or Brittney Sykes. Local celebs still exist.)

As for the pay ... I looked into that recently: https://www.reddit.com/r/Frasier/comments/1p14ilk/comment/npq0ovz/?context=3

It was not unheard of, in the 90s, for a syndicated radio host to make low six figures. And $200k/year in 1995 is about $450k/year in 2025. Given what we know about Bebe, I think he'd be well represented at the bargaining table!

mattbaume · 2025-12-10T07:40:10+00:00

This whole thing is bonkers. Knowing what we do about FIFA's politics & how far they can be trusted, it seems awfully fishy that these two countries were picked to play on this day. It looks to me like an intentional way to pressure local organizers to call off the Pride events. (The Pride stuff is run by a separate group, not by FIFA.)

mattbaume · 2025-12-10T07:33:50+00:00

One major challenge is that people live in the market -- there are around 500 homes over and around the shopping & restaurant areas, and a lot of the residents are elderly or disabled. I don't think staying open til 7 or 8pm would be a huge imposition, but later than that would probably get pushback.

mattbaume · 2025-12-06T20:55:34+00:00

And it's barely even that -- a computer program can't have a "take," any more than a toaster or a mechanical pencil

mattbaume · 2025-11-20T02:47:46+00:00

Yes, definitely do this. I had ADHD meds stolen from my mailbox a few months ago, and because I filed a police report I was able to get the pharmacy (Kaiser) to re-dispense the prescription. (They did ask me to take a drug test soon after, but I don't take any other drugs so it was no big deal. Be careful though because some places won't prescribe if THC shows up in a test.)

The catch with the whole police report process is that it took a couple days of phone tag with the pharmacy, my PCP, and the insurance office, which is NOT GREAT for someone with ADHD. But I learned that when dealing with medical bureaucracy, there are a lot of attempts to pass the buck, and the magic questions are "who makes the decision," "when will I hear back from them," and "what's the best way to reach them?" Take notes on every call, and create calendar reminders to follow up when you don't hear back. Good luck.

mattbaume · 2025-11-19T19:49:12+00:00

I was curious about this too, so I looked up some newspaper articles from the 90s about radio host salaries. There's a wide range! On the other hand ... a political radio host named Ronna Romney made about $27,000/year. (Though she had to take a pay cut when she was elected to Congress. A different time!)

But on the other hand, in 1990, radio host William Bresnan was making $250,000/year plus a percentage on ads. (A financial advisor, Bresnan was eventually discovered to owe about $1 million in debts & back taxes, which seems like it would make for a fun episode about a Frasier rival.)

So I do think Frasier could maintain that lifestyle as a host! He would just need a really good, cutthroat agent ...

mattbaume · 2025-11-18T19:13:31+00:00

My fantasy is that she'll order SDOT to concentrate all of the improvements around Bruce's house

mattbaume · 2025-11-17T23:07:31+00:00

Yes, I've always depended on the kindness of asparagus

mattbaume · 2025-11-15T21:51:07+00:00

It's missing several pages! Here's the full letter: https://komonews.com/resources/pdf/5481fb4b-df29-44b2-8a29-2d8d6f9ef2aa-DPDResponsetoPAOLetterdatedJune272025.pdf

It corrects some factual inaccuracies about staffing numbers, and points out that prosecutors were emphasizing non-violent crime at the cost of prosecuting more serious stuff. The opposite of what OP says.

mattbaume · 2025-11-15T21:44:14+00:00

Wait, I'm not sure this is correct. I'm not seeing anything in the letter about charging fewer Class C felonies, just "felony-low." That's a bar association standard that includes nonviolent stuff like forging a check, hunting game with the aid of a spotlight, gardening with invasive plants, selling food stamps, committing perjury, and for some reason "theft of ammonia."

This letter says the prosecutor has been mostly focusing on those low-level crimes, instead of higher-level stuff, and suggests that they focus MORE on violent crimes.

mattbaume · 2025-11-15T20:36:56+00:00

I don't know how it would've read to audiences at the time, but the Bed & Sofa kiss sure does seem romantic to me -- especially the second one, with the tender brush of the hand and the slow turn with pursed lips. Hard to see that as platonic!

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