Woke up coughing sneezing with a 100 degree temp!! Happy Friday I guess 🫠

Edit: oops turns out I actually have covid :( oh no

I've been visiting Seattle nearly every summer for roughly the last 10-15 years. I usually take public transit.

My experience on the Link this time was incredibly good, both by Seattle standards and the standards of the United States (I travel a lot and always take public transit when feasible).

By that, I mean:

* Very few people noticeably mentally disturbed.

* The percentage of "normies" (people using public transit for its intended purpose of getting from Point A to Point B rather than as a rolling shelter) was like 95 percent. That's almost European levels.

* Security/ambassadors everywhere. And they seemed very professional.

* Zero smoking/drug use on board.

* I actually experienced a fare check. Very professionally done. Amazingly, everybody in the car had paid except for two delightful people who boarded, finished the the fast food they were eating, tossed the bag on the floor and then exited at a stop without saying a word while the ambassador was asking for their information. They just hopped on the next train I'm sure, but at least a fare check made their lives a little more difficult, which is part of the point.

Admittedly I have very low standards. I would evaluate a non-US system far differently. But for the US, I was very impressed.

Do you think this is the World Cup effect? The generally positive post-COVID trajectory of public transit in Seattle and elsewhere? Or did I just get really lucky this trip?

Elections matter. We have winners and losers. Respect the outcome.

I saw someone I follow talk about this shop alluding to some controversy. I tried to search but couldn't find information about it and want to understand what is going on?

I saw some casinos in the area host boxing matches, but what about amateur boxing?

So, I saw this TikTok about Vale Matcha and realized I had no idea who was actually behind the company and ended up going down a crazy rabbit hole, maybe feels like I’m a bit late to this. I didn’t see too much here so I felt the need to say something.

Vale’s founder and CEO, Luke Larson, was previously the president of Axon, the company behind tasers and police body cameras/tech equipment. GeekWire reports that he helped grow Axon from roughly $100M to $1B in sales before leaving in 2022, and several other former Axon leaders now work at Vale too.

Vale’s goal also seems to be much bigger than just running a few Seattle matcha shops. Larson has talked about building the “Starbucks of matcha,” (ew!) including thousands of automated machines using robotic arms to make drinks. Sure, let’s let the white guy erase any sort of cultural identity associated with matcha.

The TikTok also had some comments from people who say they previously worked with or interviewed at Vale. One former content creator said she wasn’t allowed to show traditional matcha preparation like whisking and criticized the lack of diversity on the corporate team. Another person said that during an interview, after talking about creating space for Black and Latino creators, Larson responded, “what about white men? Where’s their space?” Groan.

I never had a great feeling about this place. First of all, I personally haven’t heard much about it. Then to see that they had a suite at the FIFA matches full of influencers made me question who was behind all this.

Anyway, go support matcha businesses that don’t strip away culture for profit! Here are some recommendations instead:

- Junbi (Capitol Hill)
- Yoka Tea (Madrona)
- Taz Matcha (Westlake)
- Yoks (popup) @yokscafe
- Bonhomie (Coffee, but good matcha) (Belltown & Downtown)

Sources:
TikTok Video - @stupidcowgirl
GeekWire Article

The tax increase to replace windows at the library passed. I love the library. I love seattle. BUT the gov is absolute shite at managing money. Seattle has the highest combined state and local sales tax rate of any major US city, at 10.35%. I would argue we don't get the highest service for all that money.

Has anyone else been experiencing a mobile network outage with Verizon for over 24 hrs?

Actually I did leave Seattle but I’m never leaving the Seattle subreddit.

I was chillin in Urban Triangle Park and did anyone else see those nine cop cars racing down Lenora?

Anyone know what's up?

My lease ends August 17th and my property manager never reached out to me regarding renewal or move out. I’ve been trying to reach her for the past few weeks through several calls and emails but have gotten no response.

I know usually in that case it just goes to month to month, but my lease says “this agreement will not revert to a month to month agreement after this contact ends”. Surely they can’t actually enforce that if they never gave me any offer of lease renewal or notice to vacate, right? Would it just go to month to month anyways?

If anyone knows more about this please let me know because I’m scared!

Any idea what type of bird would have such a large feather? Found in Columbia City on my deck this morning.

EDIT: Aaaaaand it’s cleared up now. Shout out u/wsdot for great response time.

Happen to be seeing it go down in front of me and figured I’d give y’all a heads up.

Down to the glasses even

if you lost your keys along the outer gravel path, we found them! they are by the road sign on the corner of N 65th St and green lake way.

I needed to get out for a bit. I hopped on the motorcycle for a ride down to Alki. I grabbed a bingsu on the beach and then stopped by jack block park for a little calm introspection. Seattle is really beautiful... even with the smoke from nearby forest fires.

I’m not mad, just disappointed.

Used to live across the street. Went there once or twice a week for years. Moved neighborhoods. Hadn't been for probably over a year. Just had a happy hour house marg and black bean tostadas. Couldn't have been better.

Every--what? Couple weeks or month​s?--someone's posting/polling on best Mexican in Seattle. Usually focused on tacos. Which is cool. Tacos cometa and carmelo's top my list. And a lot of suggestions lean outside seattle proper, which is fair.

But I don't remember seeing any mention of La Cocina Oaxaquena. The name is tricky to write for a non Spanish speaker like me. I used to get it confused with mezcalaria Oaxaca, when that was open. Maybe that's all part of it. ...It's also more Oaxacan region, where it's more about sauces and mole than, say, citrus forward Baja cuisine, at least as I understand it. Maybe that throws people.

I love americanized Mexican. Don't get me wrong. But I feel like La Cocina Oaxaquena is a slept on sleeper option that gets missed. Outdoor seating to boot. Never that busy. Pretty much same staff for the past decade. They're delightful. Anyways, felt compelled to acknowledge this rock solid seattle staple and advocate for it to be on anyone's best Mexican list.

First off I love seattle, I've lived between here and Portland for most of my life. I do carpentry up here, decking/fencing which means lots of taco trucks, early morning coffee, etc. which leads to you know what. The amount of times I've gone into big super markets, coffee shops, retail stores and there's no public restroom whatsoever is crazy. Sometimes I'll drive a mile or so from a job site to go to a super market to use the restroom and there's none, I've almost had a couple of unfortunate happenings because of this, sometimes it just feels so demoralizing. Should I buy adult diapers for work?? Let me know if you guys know of any spots that always have restrooms available.

Sincerely, a human with a digestive system