I propose that OlyBlog have a semi-anonymous meet-up and reporting of an event.

What? Olympia Film Society's showing of Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

When? Sunday, April 13, 6:30pm.

Why semi-anonymous? Because too many people from OlyBlog already know each other for it to be truly anonymous (unless we all agreed to wear masks) and organizing a time for everyone to meet before the film is not something I volunteer to do.

What's the point? It should be fun, supporting OFS is a good thing for our community (in my opinion) and I think reading a bunch of different perspectives about the same event could be an edifying part of this OlyBlog experiment.

I've been compelled by a woman I shall only identify as Mistress "K" to photograph, and reveal to the reader, these strange installations. Or donations. Or something. We're not entirely sure what they are. I'm told that they appear, and disappear, in front of this restaurant from time to time. Who knows what they mean? Is that one with the raised fist missing in the later photo, or is she on a mission to seek out the Kahlua Cream pie? I would have sent the king, myself. Or the radio. Fnord.

I'm not entirely sure I want the mystery solved, though. I just wanted to share the photos. And satisfy Mistress "K." Which is why, at the end of posting this, I hit a button marked "SUBMIT." And I smile.

I just realized I never did a formal review of Annie's for Olyblog, so here goes. BTW, I think it may be possible to get a vegetarian item or two, but if you are not interesting in reading about meat please stop here and go elsewhere.

That said...

Wally's is on the Westside in the same complex as Grocery Outlet and West Marine. They are a new business, just a few months old. I pop in there when I get the chance, breakfast all day, $3.50 cheeseburgers, GREAT subs, tea, coffee, soda, espresso. They do have vegetarian meals, but nothing vegan. If you find yourself in the part of town, stop in and have one of the best (and most affordable) sandwiches in town!

I can get a good meal and drink for under $10. Usually around $7-8.

Intercity Transit has nearly finished installing camera systems on all of its regular coaches – almost 70 in all. Most of these installations involve seven cameras, while some shorter coaches have only five. All of them record video and audio information in a digital form for storage on a removable hard drive on the bus. The system records video on the bus for approximately 7 to 10 working days.

According to news stories (and Verint’s own website) these camera systems also wirelessly transmit the imagery to anyone with the knowledge and tools to make a wireless connection to the bus’ WiFi system, located above the driver’s head:

“In the event of a security incident, Nextiva Transit will allow supervisor and police vehicles to view live video from within the bus, enabling more effective actionable intelligence and emergency response.” 1

“Verint Systems Inc., a leading provider of analytic software-based solutions for workforce-enterprise optimisation and security, announced an agreement with Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) to enable the use of Verint Nextiva™ Wireless devices on MOTOMESH broadband wireless networks. (…) By deploying Nextiva wireless video management solutions on a Motorola mesh network, private security, law enforcement and emergency response personnel have immediate, high speed access to security video and data delivering heightened situational awareness to enable a more effective response.” 2

With the ability of the system to monitored live by those with the access tools, these systems have likely become a prime target for detectives seeking to identify those responsible for the Evergreen Uprising (Feb 15, 2008). Recent late night extensions of the routes to Evergreen have resulted in more “face time” for those who travel via bus to TESC.

When I was logging camera installations in the post-uprising weeks I noticed only 3 of the 30 buses seen on the Evergreen routes were NOT ones with camera systems installed. Prior to the uprising, it was rare for the buses on the 41 / 48 routes to have cameras installed. It is not known at this time whether this intelligence “take” has proved useful to the Sheriff’s Department, but one can imagine others who would find its data quite useful.

I've already begun to exploit this data pool by requesting bus video and audio from IT Bus #808, which in November 2007 was used to move Olympia Police into the Port of Olympia. Their conversations were quite telling...

[I wrote this and sent it out as a press release, so this is both hyperlocal news and written by me! The Olympian wrote a story about it, posted here]

Olympia, WA- Over 4 million Iraqis have been displaced both within Iraq and externally since the U.S. invasion in March 2003, yet only 1,608 Iraqis were admitted by the United States for resettlement of any type during in 2007. Displaced Iraqis living in Jordan or Syria cannot attend universities or obtain work, and the Chronicle of Higher Education has reported that the university system inside Iraq is near collapse.

In response to this educational and humanitarian crisis, the Iraqi Student Solidarity Committee (ISSC) at the Evergreen State College has asked the college whether there are tuition waivers that could assist students displaced by the war in Iraq to complete their undergraduate careers. Evergreen has replied that there are waivers available for displaced students and that a student designated by the group would have access to that waiver program in Fall 2008.

I'd like to see people post videos on OlyBlog of themselves and their friends doing New Jersey Bjork.

Here's a good lyric for you to practice with:

i live by the ocean
and during the night
i dive into it
down to the bottom
underneath all currents
and drop my anchor

and this is where i'm staying

this is my home

Enjoy, and let's see some videos!

Bought a bar of Fedora Dark Chocolate at Einmalien's today and man is it good! Smooth like milk chocolate and not bitter, yet still dark. Bourbon is one of the ingredients. Looks like it would be good for a vegan although there is a disclaimer of "may contain traces of milk or nuts"