Design Review Meeting for the Olympic Tower Dec 12th

Design Review Meetings

East Design Review Board

715 8th Ave

Land Use Application to allow a 21-story, 76-unit apartment building. Parking for 76 vehicles proposed. Project requires City Council approval to allow a skybridge to connect to existing building across 8th Avenue.

Design Proposal Not Yet Available

Review Meeting
December 12, 2018 6:30 pm

Seattle University

824 12th Ave
Admissions & Alumni Comm Bldg- Stuart T Rolfe Room
Review Phase
REC–Recommendation  See All Reviews
Project Number

Planner
Holly Godard
Posted in In the Neighborhood, Skyline Info | Comments Off on Design Review Meeting for the Olympic Tower Dec 12th

The Amazon Diaries

Thanks to Frank C for forwarding this from The Guardian.

In The Amazon Diaries, our anonymous insider takes us behind the scenes at an Amazon fulfillment center where workers are ‘an extension of the machine’

‘The wealth we produce is being accumulated by our boss Jeff Bezos, while our wages barely keep us afloat’.
 ‘The wealth we produce is being accumulated by our boss Jeff Bezos, while our wages barely keep us afloat’. Illustration: Sam Morris/Getty Images

Welcome Amazonians. It is always Day 1. Are you ready to make a difference?

It was my first day as a seasonal Amazon worker, hired just prior to peak season. Our site operations manager was like many Amazon managers: an ex-military white male, in his late 40s and wearing straight-fit jeans and a T-shirt with “Amazon Military” emblazoned on the front. He drew a line alongside an inverted pyramid, writing “least important” on the bottom and “most important” higher up, with the word “customer” scrawled along the very top.

“Where do you think Jeff Bezos sees himself on this chart?”

Silence. He points to the bottom of the pyramid.

“Jeff sees himself as the least important person in the company. What this company cares about is the customer promise, and putting our customers first.

“Where do you think our associates are?”

Silence.

“Here! Jeff sees you at the very top! You, the associates, are the closest to the customers. It is up to you, every day, to uphold our customer promise. As front line associates, you are the most important part of this company!”

As I headed to our training session wearing my new orange associate work-vest and wearing my white badge designating me as a “seasonal” employee, I was approached by a co-worker in a fancy, blue and green-lined “Ambassador” vest and a blue badge that signified he has been “converted” to a non-seasonal Amazon worker.

“Did they give you the pyramid crap?”

I nodded.

“That’s a load of shit.” We laughed, but I wasn’t quite sure I understood.

“Welcome to Amazon,” he said.

Through the use of digital trackers and indicators, our workday is managed down to the second

The inverted pyramid has stuck with me as an Amazon fulfillment associate. In some ways it’s on point. It’s important to take a step back and realize what an Amazon fulfillment center really is. Prior to Amazon, the sale of stuff largely took place through physical stores. Enter a store and there can be dozens of employees, stocking shelves, managing the check-out counter, controlling inventory. The pace and rhythm of the day, at least compared to fulfillment centers, can be relatively relaxed.

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Posted in Business, Essays, Social justice | 1 Comment

The Friesian Horse

Rosemary W brings our attention to this amazing breed: Just watching them becomes an emotional experience. Can you imagine what it would be like to ride one? Their manes and tails are the longest that I have seen and I noticed that when performing on grass, their hoofs do not kick up a divot (they land flat footed). 

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The depressed stance

Image result for peanuts cartoons

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Flowers in the park

Flowers in the park

While walking south on 9th into the new Yesler park, I noticed these “flowers” blooming. What a nice addition to our neighborhood this is.

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The 487 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List

 This list in the NYT is only through July 10th so the insults are no doubt well over 500 people, places and things. It’s part of a strategy of keeping Donald Trump’s name in the news while satisfying his urge to denigrate others in order to elevate himself (in his own eyes and those of his base). Click here for the list.

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Freedom of Religion

In 2017, Maggie Meiners met an American-born Muslim man who spoke at her Christian church. She asked him and his friends to pose for a photograph based on Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom of Religion.”Credit Maggie Meiners/Anne Loucks Gallery

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Putting a dog to bed

Image result for peanuts cartoons

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OPERATION INFEKTION: THE ORIGINS OF FAKE NEWS

Infektion

This three-part video series explores misinformation campaigns from the days before ‘fake news’ was a sound bite, and how modern-day governments are fighting back—or profiting from the chaos. By Adam B. Ellick, Adam Westbrook for The New York Times

Click here to view this three part history of the disinformation Soviet KGB sponsored campaign to disrupt our democracy and other governments as well.

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IRS Form 990 for Non-Profit Organizations

Every not-for-profit CCRC is required to file a Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service. These are public documents, available on the internet – click here for the link. We are listed under Presbyterian Retirement Communities Northwest.

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Perspectives on Memory – Conference at the Frye

Perspectives on Memory

CREATIVE AGING CONFERENCE

Friday, February 1, 2019
8:15am – 6:00 pm

8:15 am: Check-in & continental breakfast
9 am – 5 pm: Conference sessions
5–6 pm: Closing reception

Location
Frye Auditorium

Perspectives on Memory is a one-day conference designed for social and healthcare professionals, artists, educators, and lifelong learners. Continuing education clock hours will be available.

Through the wide lenses of creativity and aging, this conference will explore the topic of memory from multidisciplinary perspectives including psychology, sociology, neurology, technology, as well as the visual, literary, and performing arts. Lectures by international specialists and local experts, including Charles Fernyhough, PhD, and Thomas Grabowski, MD, will present new findings in research and practice that question long-held assumptions about the way our minds work, challenging audiences to reframe their concept of memory.

After check-in and continental breakfast, the conference will begin at 9 am and conclude with a hosted reception following a full day of lectures and interactive presentations

https://fryemuseum.org/calendar/event/7069?utm_source=Perspectives+on+Memory+Conference+2019&utm_campaign=54fdc7c0df-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_06_Creative_Aging&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4723d8f2ae-54fdc7c0df-281784689

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Rockwell’s Freedom from Want reimagined

Thanks to Dick D

Rockwell

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Why do people go blind? – Dr. Russell Van Gelder from the UW

Thanks to Ann M for inviting Dr. Van Gelder to speak at Skyline

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Trump Warns That Florida Recount Could Set Dangerous Precedent of Person with Most Votes Winning

From the New Yorker’s Borowitz Report: “Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said that those in favor of the recount had a “sick obsession with finding out which candidate got the most votes.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said that those in favor of the recount had a “sick obsession with finding out which candidate got the most votes.”

“Democrats are going on and on about counting every last vote until they find out who got the most,” Trump said. “Since when does getting the most votes mean you win?”

Trump said that, if the recounts are allowed to proceed, “We could be looking at a very bad, very sad situation where to be considered legitimately elected you have to get more votes than the other candidate.”

Having just returned from the Armistice commemoration in Paris, Trump said that Florida’s recount has made America “the laughingstock of the world,” adding, “Putin told me they never do recounts in Russia.”

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Construction Update on the twin towers east of Skyline

Construction Bulletins:

November 9, 2018 UPDATE

  • Earthwork activities will continue during select Saturdays in an effort to expedite the mass excavation scope and to minimize overall night hauling durations.
  • Excavation and Shoring is approximately 90% with completion of mass excavation projected to be the middle of November.
  • Demobilization of equipment will occur on November 17th – There will be a mobile crane brought in to pull equipment out of the hole as well as place three trailers on the scaffolding.  This will require road closures on Columbia and Terry for that day.
  • Night hauling is ongoing and is projected to carry on until the end of excavation – scheduled to complete in November.
  • December 7-9 the conveyor will be demobilized and the tower crane will be erected. These activities will require road closures on Columbia and Terry.
  • Detail excavations and structural cast in place concrete elements will begin in November. This will require deliveries of reinforcing, formwork and concrete redi-mix. Concrete pumps will be staged on Terry Avenue for various concrete pours.
  • The site will be shut down for Thanksgiving from Thursday November 22, 2018 through Sunday November 25, 2018.
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Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace – and how to deal with our cell phones

Ed note: Are you having trouble understanding the entitlement that some millennials have and their immersion in social media and cell phones. This video will help you understand why this generation is having so many problems as they enter the workplace. There have been more than 32 million views of this video. It reminds all of us with cell phones – how to develop a way of dealing with what can become an addiction.

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After NRA Mocks Doctors, Physicians Reply: ‘This Is Our Lane’

Thanks to Dick D for sending this NPR post.

From NPR: “Doctors have been tweeting about their experiences treating victims of gun violence after the NRA mocked a position paper by the American College of Physicians.

A mocking tweet from the National Rifle Association has stirred many physicians to post on social media about their tragically frequent experiences treating patients in the aftermath of gun violence.

“Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane,” the NRA tweeted on Thursday. “Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control. Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves.”

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Doctors have become less empathetic, but is it their fault?

<em>Photo by COD Newsroom/Flickr</em>

Ed note: I recently went to a talk about physician burnout – something that I saw fairly frequently when I was in practice. The behaviors varied – anger, lack of empathy, alcohol, etc. As the article below points out, there are many factors in the workplace that make burnout more likely – too much pressure to see more patients, billing and coding pressures, clunky electronic medical systems, insurance denials, snarky administrators, and long periods of work without being able to decompress. There are no easy answers but longer appointment times and better work hours are part of the answer. Many primary care physicians do this by working somewhere between half and three-quarters time.

From Aeon: “I don’t like to take medications,’ Hernando (not his real name) told me when I recommended a strong dose of ibuprofen for the pain in his thumb during an even busier day than usual in the primary care clinic where I work. I’m not his regular doctor so he tried to explain that he preferred natural treatments to manufactured pharmaceuticals. We can work with that, I thought. But then he said: ‘I’d prefer not to wear a wrist brace,’ a key component of treatment for his tendonitis.

This visit was not going how I had hoped. I was rushed and already 40 minutes behind schedule, hoping to catch up. But my appointment with Hernando required time to navigate his preferences and wrestle with the clunky electronic record system when he requested a letter excusing him from work. By that point, I was even more stressed than before the visit and visibly frustrated. I saw he was not pleased either. Ashamed, I hurried to see my next patient, thinking: ‘That didn’t go well.’

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Veteran’s Day – honoring those who served

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“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism” – Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron denounced nationalism Sunday at a ceremony commemorating the end of World War I, in a pointed rebuke at some world leaders, including President Donald Trump, sitting just feet away.

“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying our interests first, who cares about the others, we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential: its moral values.”

President Emmanuel Macron

“I know there are old demons which are coming back to the surface. They are ready to wreak chaos and death,” Macron warned at a ceremony in Paris. “History sometimes threatens to take its sinister course once again.”

Last month, Trump said at a rally in Houston: “You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, OK? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Use that word. Use that word.”

Trump did not appear to acknowledge Macron’s comments, and later Sunday, the president spoke at an American military cemetery in Paris, praising those “who gave everything for family, country, God and freedom.”

The rise of nationalism, not just in the U.S. but across Europe, has raised fears that the post-World War II order of multilateralism that has avoided another catastrophic world war is threatened. More than 60 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, attended the Paris ceremony.

In an interview aired later Sunday, Macron appeared to jab at Trump again. “I always prefer having direct discussion or answering questions than making my diplomacy through tweets,” Macron told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, when asked about Trump’s tweeting habits.

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Trump Unable to Stop Caravan of Democratic Women Invading Washington

From the New Yorker: “WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Donald J. Trump warned on Wednesday that a caravan of Democratic women was heading toward Washington, D.C., with the explicit goal of invading the nation’s capital.

Speaking at a press conference at the White House, Trump acknowledged that he had failed in his bid to stop the caravan, which is on schedule to arrive in Washington on January 3, 2019.

“The Democrats are responsible for sending this caravan, and, frankly, it’s a disgrace,” he said. “They are sending some dangerous women.”

Elaborating on the threat posed by the caravan, Trump said, “Some of these women have fought in wars. They have fired guns. One of them is a mixed-martial-arts specialist. These are women who will kick your ass without hesitating.”

Posted in Humor, Politics | 1 Comment

Science fares well in the midterm elections

Thanks, from Ann M

From the NYT: “This year, more candidates with degrees in science, medicine and engineering ran for Congress than ever before. Of the nearly two-dozen new candidates in this crop, at least seven won seats in the House of Representatives.

The newcomers, mostly Democrats, include Chrissy Houlahan, who has a degree in industrial engineering and won in Pennsylvania. Sean Casten, who has worked as a biochemist, flipped a longtime Republican district in Chicago. Ocean engineer Joe Cunningham, who came out strongly against offshore drilling, won in South Carolina. Lauren Underwood, a registered nurse, won Illinois’s 14th District. In Virginia, Elaine Luria, who has a nuclear engineering background, defeated the Republican incumbent, Scott Taylor. Jeff Van Drew, who won a seat representing the 2nd Congressional District in New Jersey, is a dentist.

Pediatrician Kim Schrier is ahead in her race for Washington’s 8th District, with more than half of the vote counted as of Wednesday morning. One new GOP congressman, Oklahoma’s Kevin Hern, has a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Two candidates with PhDs in science, chemist Randy Wadkins and data scientist Mel Hall, did not win their elections. Two incumbents with PhDs kept their seats: Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), a former high-energy physicist at Fermilab, and Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), who worked as an engineer and has a PhD in mathematics.

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Posted in Politics, Science and Technology | 1 Comment

Crossing to safety – the future on 8th Avenue

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Loving Legacy Video

At a conference today I met the owner/filmmaker of Seattle based Loving Legacy Video today. He noted, “Your kids don’t want your stuff, they want your stories!”

  • Connect generations of your family members
  • Have a profound impact on your life and the lives of your loved ones
  • Dig deep into your life experiences through insightful and introspective interviews
  • Save yourself the time and frustration of trying to do it on your own

If interested contact Len Davis at 206-679-8381; info@LovingLegacyVideo.com; or check out the web site www.Loving LegacyVideo.com

 

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Water water everywhere

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