I caught the 48 on Cooper Pt Rd near 14th a little before 7:00. I was looking to catch the 44 at the mall and experienced the interesting sensation of watching the 44 leave just as my bus was pulling in. I had wondered if that wouldn't happen, since the schedule had them all leaving at the same time from the mall. Fortunately, the driver was able to call the 44's driver and have him wait.

Because the 44 rolls back over part of the 48's route, I can get off the 48 at Safeway and catch the 44 a few minutes later. I'll do that tomorrow and avoid the anxiety of the too-close connection.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, though interesting. I haven't been on SPSCC's campus in a few years and there are a couple of new buildings. The trip home worked well, too, with a more reasonable connection at the mall in that direction. Each way was about 30 minutes, in comparison to almost 60 minutes for the walk and clothing change at the end.

So, I'll use the bus again tomorrow, as I'm heading downtown for a bit after work and can take the bus home from there, too. Then, back to the walking, which is my default commute. For some, perhaps even many, of the other trips to work, I can use the bus instead of driving. Right now, I walk to work almost half of the time. If the other half is mostly bus-riding, then I'll be down to only one day a week of driving alone to work.

(Cross-posted at Peregrinate)

Please join us at the next Unity meeting at 6 pm, Wednesday, May 3rd, the agenda includes:

* Updates on our progress (posters distributed to all the local schools!)

* Upcoming activities

* Proposals for a steering committee, decision making & rapid response network

* A chance to get posters and stickers

Join us at Huntamer Park for the Alternative Fuel Fair and Electric Car Races! Electric cars from the Northwest will be racing and on display.

For more information:
Lacey Parks and Recreation
(320) 491-0857
www.ci.lacey.wa.us

Sponsored by the City of Lacey and Acme Fuel.

 Click on picture for slideshow.
 

Now that diesel prices are so high, the biodiesel is competitive. If you have a newer diesel you should be able to run the B20 (20%) and likely can run the B99/100 (99/100%). Acme Fuel sells both B20 and B100 at their 505 Lilly road station.

If you can run the stuff, do it! It lessens our dependence on foriegn oil, its better for the environment, and it is cost effective now!

Rick, how about you put the daily or weekly price of biodiesel at Acme/Fast Fuel in the border, maybe by the weather or such.

link

From AlterNet:

"I'm not some sort of conspiracy theorist," Monson says of his political leanings. "I'm not talking about how the government is trying to hide UFOs. I just want to do away with hierarchy. I'm saying that our economic system, capitalism, is structured so that it only benefits a small percentage of very wealthy people. When I was traveling in Brazil, they had us staying at a really posh hotel. Outside the hotel there was a mom sleeping on the sidewalk with her two kids. That's when reality hits you. What did that woman ever do? Who did she ever hurt?"

Monson wears his politics on his sleeve, as well as the rest of his body. An anarcho-syndicalist star is tattooed on his chest, an anarchy sign on his back and another "A" on his leg. While he loves his sport, he also feels a responsibility to use whatever exposure he receives for a larger purpose. "I don't think I'm more important than anyone else, but since some people are paying attention, then I'm going to use this as a vehicle to express myself," he says. Some fans have labeled him anti-American, but he shrugs off such criticism. He was slightly taken aback, however, when three Secret Service agents showed up at his gym in Olympia, Wash., last fall.

I've read Pat Buchanan's April 28th column Of imperial presidents and congressional cowards. Hey, we actually agree about some things. I've also been looking over the Cato Institute site. I don't have anything even semi-brilliant to say, still in the process of mulling over what I'm reading.

I participated in some of the Olympia May Day events yesterday. I've attended several May Days here in Olympia and each one is different. Depends on who the organizers are and on what is happening in our country. I kept an eye out for the nudity, mud wrestling, and pot smoking that is said to be the major purpose of May Days here, nope, didn't see any of that this year. We walked up to the capitol and I didn't see any traffic hassles really caused either.

The walk up was peaceful, beautiful weather, Spanish and English chants flowed back and forth. While I was walking I thought on how I'm not doing an immersion experiment with my Operation OlyBlog Conservative and on how I'd probably have to make a lot of changes if I were. For one thing I most likely would not be walking in the middle of the street.

I also know that generalizations are not all that helpful sometimes and that I don't really have a definition for conservative other than that Wikipedia link. I know I do want to continue working on seeing things from another view, I don't want to get stuck which is how I view the Nazis I'm researching. Maybe that is my most profound realization so far: I look for empathy. Does the person or group have the ability to imagine themselves in the other person's shoes? Is compassion and empathy applied or are they only able to see the other as The Other.......as alien hordes invading.

From The Olympian:

While some downtown merchants are cheering the move, other business owners near the new location at 1009 E. Fourth Ave. are leery.

What must not be overlooked in this move is the fact that the advocacy center fills a pivotal role in this community. Bread & Roses serves a vulnerable population of homeless men, women and children, many of whom are struggling with addiction and mental health issues.

For the homeless, the advocacy center is their rock — their one link to a “normal