awesome shot from serakate [flickr] who shared this via our group pool [#]

The other day I was sitting on the 55 heading from downtown to the Alaska Junction and overheard a couple of passengers complaining that it would be nice if they could find out how late a bus was going to be while they were at their stop. It occurred to me to (out myself as an eavesdropper and) tell them that yes, this is possible, but I was too squished into the seat to feel kind to anyone at that particular moment in time.

Later that week at the monthly meet-up, I realized that even though Josh [mb] and Kristen [mb] had already posted mentions (and comments [mb]) about mybus [#], that this service is still in dire need of press.

The Reader’s Digest version is this: All you need is a cellphone with SMS texting capabilities and you can find out when your bus will arrive.

**Please note: I have a pretty low-end phone with basic texting options (certain number included in my monthly bill) and it works okay for me, so if you’re not sure, I’d suggest trying it out before ruling it out.**

But how do you do it? Instructions and examples follow…If you already know about mybus, please, feel free to skip the instructions and go directly to the comments to share how much you too love this service.
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The Seattle Times reports that the South Lake Union Streetcar suffered “minor damage” in a collision with an SUV this morning at 7:30 a.m. The driver of the SUV ran a red light into the path of the streetcar which struck it, causing no injuries except (hopefully) the the SUV driver’s driving record. It was inevitable that this would happen at some point, but I honestly didn’t think it would happen this soon.

Photo by Seattle Bon Vivant from our group pool on Flickr

Today, KUOW’s the Conversation discussed the closing of the Crocodile. It’s a little bizarre how the host tries to blame the closing on music downloads, but there are a lot of good comments and analysis from guests like Pete Greenberg, John Richards, Imaginary Liz, and Josh from BOAT. Callers mention the cool, semi-secret, VIP seating area for parents. [kuow]

I think that Stephanie Dorgan deserves a whole lot of credit for running the club as a “labor of love” for all of these years, but it isn’t completely bizarre that (in addition to closing so abruptly) no one has been able to get a hold of her or that she didn’t even release a brief statement to the press? I guess it’s giving radio show hosts, ‘bloggers, and radio listeners to speculate wildly.

(via reverb, sound on the sound, three imaginary girls, etc.)

slippery joaquin [flickr] who shared this, and several other haunting infrared photographs via our group pool [#]

• Seattle’s Best coffee to come from a kiosk? [citizenrain]
• Weekly staffer tries, fails, to outrun the SLU streetcar. [dailyweekly]
• tonight’s installation of Blue Scholars five-day Northwest hip hop showcase spectacular, the Program, is sold-out. Watch it online. [stranger]
• See the Lawrimore’s installation in Miami. [arttogo]
• Mystery Method spotted in Seattle. [singledout]

About an hour ago here in South Lake Union the lights flickered and the power surged and my computer decided that it was time to go screwy for a little bit.

Over in Queen Anne about an hour ago, there was an explosion and fire in an underground electrical vault. So that explains that. The explosion happened at Broad and Harrison by the EMP and caused a bit of a power outage in the neighborhood [kiro]. They’re diverting traffic from the intersection until everyone is sure that the structural integrity of the road is intact.

If it was a big enough explosion to cause trouble with the power all the way over here, I want to know what it was like over there. Are any of you closer? Did you feel it?

Congratulations to Shauna James Ahern (Gluten-Free Girl ), who won the Well Fed Network 2007 Food Blog Award for Best Food Blog (Post) with “Do You Have Celiac?” [gfg].

• Fanciful rumors about the future of the Crocodile. the co-op idea is going strong as is a suggestion of a Jack Endino purchase. [threeimaginarygirls]
• Favorite Crocodile memories [threeimaginarygirls]
• “the Crocodile : luxury living in the heart of Belltown’s `grunge’ district. from $895,000″ [flickr]
• Co-op rumors run wild [lineout]
• Buyout rumors brought down to Earth [lineout]
• Is it possible that no photos have been taken of Stephanie Dorgan since 1992? [times]
• Speaking of 1992, Nirvana played at the Crocodile that year. [bigblog]
• Another list of favorites, as a form of grief. [reverb]
• Eli Anderson needs a job. [lineout]
• Jim Anderson needs a vacation. [lineout]
• Rumors of a club owner co-op buyout possibly confirmed. Maybe. [reverb]

forming a co-op to buy the crocodile? any explanation of why reverb’s RSS only rolls out once a day? hear any other hot gossip?

I apologize in advance if this shot makes anyone dizzy! I was messing around with a wide-angle adapter on an already wide-angle lens. The city in the background is bent around the angle of view and the intersection below is 1st Ave and King St on the south edge of Pioneer Square. Fun!

Everyone is justifyably gushing over Juno, which opened in Seattle this weekend and promises to be this year’s Little Miss Sunshine— it even has a scene where the teen protagonist has to pull a run-down van off the highway to have an emotional breakdown—but a nice surprise is that it’s full of sort-of local Kimya Dawson‘s music, chosen (and briefly perfomed) by the film’s star, Ellen Page. [pitchfork]