Metblogs friend Shawn came to last night’s meetup and told us a about a cool resource that he’s building. It’s called communitysteps.org and it looks like it’s off to a good start. The site features a consolidated calendar, media sharing, happy hour listings, and other useful tools for modern city living.

Check it out when you get a chance. It’s a work in progress that just might deserve a spot on your bookmarks menu.

Just a heads up to all of the procrastinators in the crowd: the “hottest band on your iPod” [stereogum] will be in your backyard this Saturday. And by your backyard, I mean at Neumo’s. That’s right, British export of the moment, Bloc Party will be in town on Seattle for all of your all-ages rock and roll needs [neumo's].

According to TicketsWest [#], there are still advance tickets available — as of 9:15, they were selling number 501 (think about the venue’s capacity and do the math). It’s a weekend all ages show so it’s bound to sell out; buy tickets now and avoid agony tomorrow.

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After months of much deserved hype and overanalysis Bloc Party’s album, Silent Alarm [$] arrived in CD form (vs. pricey import or questionable download style) at your favorite record store today. You can hear the incredibly catchy opening track, “Like Eating Glass” without even leaving the house thanks to your pals at Salon.com [#].

Hey there. We know that you already wrote it in your dayplanner and/or programmed it into your PIM, but just in case there was a critical systems failure, we thought we’d remind you that tonight is the fourth Tuesday of the month which means Metroblogging Meetup Happy Hour Super Fun Times at Piecora. Sign-up and RSVP so that we have an idea of how many to expect.

What could be better than custom slices of pizza, cool beverages, and metroblogging fans on a Tuesday evening? Exactly. We’ll see you there at 7 pm.

This weekend while I was down at the Qwest Exhibition Center to attend the NW Women’s Show, I happened to glance over at Safeco Field and noticed that someone had placed a “No Parking” sign in the glove sculpture at left field.

I know parking gets out of hand in that area at times, but this seemed a little much.

If you like beer–and if you live here, you probably do–you can help support that venerable institution of the arts, NW Folklife, by attending this weekend’s Hops on Equinox Beerfest. With a great selection of beers to sample–over 80 of them, in fact, some of them special seasonals you wouldn’t get to try any other time of the year–pub food sampling events, live music (featuring such great local artists as Anna Coogan & North 19, The Divorce and Memphis Radio Kings) and more, it’s a guaranteed good time for a guaranteed good cause.

Buy tickets in advance for $15 and save a whopping $5 off the door price of $20.

Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion
Friday, March 25, 5:00-11:00pm
Saturday, March 26, 1:00-11:00pm
21 or older, with valid ID

(image from portlandskate [#])

In an ongoing effort to help melt the much-discussed “Seattle Freeze” metblogs will present an occasional post to help bridge the interpersonal divide. Today’s call for help originates from a craigslist missed connection:

Kyle with a MSN Blog (or anyone who knows him) at spaces.msn.com/members/kylesspace/ please send me some email. I really want to talk to you about some of the places in your Washington photos. I’ve lived here all my life and haven’t even heard of some of the places you mention. I want to add them to the list of places I am exploring these days! Thanks! Paul
[craigslist]

This post is intriguing for a number of reasons. First, we had no idea that people actually used MSN Spaces and here are two of them, like ships passing in the night. Second, it would seem like someone with an MSN Spaces account who wanted to be contacted would include this information in the profile. However, just in case this was an oversight (and not a case of ‘blogger stalking) we hope that loyal metblog readers will do their best to help these two photoblogger explorers to connect.

image via wikipedia [w]

The Museum of Flight has acquired a precise replica of the Wright Flyer for its collection:

The $1 million replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, one of three built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the historic flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., will be displayed initially in the Bill and Moya Lear Gallery and later in the lobby . . . The Wright Flyer was built in Orville and Wilbur Wright’s bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, at a cost of about $1,000 and made its first flight on Dec. 17, 1903. [p-i]

While it’s completely understandable that the museum would want to include the plane that made the first powered flight in its extensive collection of aircraft, the difference in price between the original and the replica is the most astounding part of this report. A hundred years later and at a thosand times more expensive, you’d think that the replica flyer would be good for something other than decorating a lobby. For instance, flying or perhaps traveling through time.

Of course, we kid. See the authentic fake for yourself, starting next month.

On Wednesday, I drove over to SeaTac to get some Thai food. The husband and I are both food sensitive to various random edibles around town: for example, I once ate some of Uli’s famous sausages and had hives for three days. The husband’s particular downfall is Thai food, and our one reliable haven happens to be Bai Tong. So every month or two, we make the pilgrimage south to have some really good Thai food, and since the husband has been pulling some wicked hours at work, I’ve been driving twenty miles out of my way, buying lots of food, and stinking up my car on the way home.

On this particular Wednesday, I managed to avoid a short burst of heavy rain, and an even shorter burst of hail. As usual, the dreaded Renton S-Curves were solidly packed. There was even a couple of fire engines carefully parking themselves by the roadside around another parked vehicle. On the way home, the fragrant smells of lemongrass and spices and freshly steamed rice almost made me drive off the road.

Total travel time? About 80 minutes — quite a way to go for takeout. So let’s hear it, folks: what places around town will make you really brave the elements to get out there, and what is it you love about them?

This week, I announced my fifth annual tech conference, Gnomedex. It’s happening at Bell Harbor in downtown Seattle. This morning, I confirmed that Adam Curry will be keynoting! All registered attendees will have WiFi, power strips, and unlimited food and beverages throughout the weekend’s scheduled events.

You’re all invited to attend; we plan on having a great time, as always.

I hope that Seattle is warm to Gnomedex – as I’d like to do it again in this great city.

Standing around at midnight and bored out of your mind..and its a weekend? Check out The Egyptian for their series of Midnight Madness shows. Personally, Napolean Dynamite at midnight sounds like a plan.
(Listing from the website, check with theatre for definite dates)
Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom