Jim Hammerand

Special Weather Statement from National Weather Service in Seattle.

Radar image from just after 6 p.m. Wednesday showing thunderstorm over northern Snohomish County.

:O Funnel cloud sighting in Snohomish County Wednesday evening, prompting Special Weather Statement from the National Weather Service and a lot of "really?!?" from local mets (well, this one at least...) #wawx

I miss MSP everytime I fly in or out of Sea-Tac … we’ve got a smaller, better airport in Everett but the routes are limited. Anyhow, welcome to Seattle!

Tonight’s PNW sunset north of Seattle

Whoa

Why the man behind ‘The Hater’s Guide to the AI Bubble’ thinks Wall Street’s hottest trade will go bust Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, generative artificial-intelligence chatbots have attracted millions of users and provoked plenty of excitement. But some skeptics are asking: If this te...

Had a really nice indepth interview with MarketWatch about the Hater's Guide To The AI Bubble. Really nice to see mainstream media taking on this story.
www.marketwatch.com/story/why-the-man-behind-the-haters-guide-to-the-ai-bubble-thinks-wall-streets-hottest-trade-will-go-bust-ac398ce0

A photo of kids playing on Seattle’s Pier 58 playground at dusk with the Great Wheel illuminated behind them.

What a beautiful Pacific Northwest evening under a crescent moon at the Seattle waterfront’s new Pier 58 park tonight!

Happened to notice the hybrid electric @ferries.wsdot.wa.gov MV Wenatchee coming into Seattle tonight

Counterpoint:

DAULY BEAST The Daily Beast @thedailybeast.bsky.social OPINION I simply cannot figure out why Hunter Biden thinks that the Democratic party—or the world—is in need of his opinions about politics, writes Chris Cillizza.

Impeccable set up for the punchline here.

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to watch them die. One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.” Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness. Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.” Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%. AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)

A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"

Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:

A photo of the Washington State Ferries system’s MV Wenatchee sailing on Puget Sound.

A couple weeks ago I spotted this empty @ferries.wsdot.wa.gov ship sailing well north of the usual Edmonds ferry lanes (Point No Point is in the background) and when I finally gave the photo a good look, it turns out it’s the newly hybrid-electrified MV Wenatchee. Welcome back to service!

AS409 drawing the especially unlucky card tonight, getting sent back to ORD after making it just shy of halfway to Seattle.

Ouch.

I've counted 7 so far, going to GEG, BOI and PDX. I don't think there's anywhere left in Seattle to put them. There's at least 12 jets currently sitting on taxiway tango alone.

FAA website that says: ATCSCC Advisory ATCSCC ADVZY 013 ALL 07/21/2025 ALASKA AIRLINES MAINLINE GROUND STOP MESSAGE: EVENT TIME: 21/0250 - 21/0400 DESTINATION AIRPORT: ALL DEP FACILITIES INCLUDED: ALL PROBABILITY OF EXTENSION: MED IMPACTING CONDITION: GROUND STOP ALL ALASKA MAINLINE AIRCRAFT COMMENTS: AIRLINE REQUEST EFFECTIVE TIME: 210252 - 210430 SIGNATURE: 25/07/21 02:52

Some planes en route to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are diverting. Related to Alaska’s ground stop on its entire fleet?

A photo of Boeing 777X aircraft N779XY in flight with ram air turbine (RAT) deployed.

Boeing 777X testbed #N779XY flew over today with its ram air turbine (RAT) deployed.

Their Water Taps Ran Dry When Meta Built Next Door

“A data center like Meta’s … typically guzzles around 500,000 gallons of water a day … Because electricity is more costly for data centers than water, companies often prioritize building their facilities in places with cheap power, even if the area is drought stricken.”

Paywall-free gift article:

Fascinating. Microsoft emailed me to say it was raising the price of Microsoft 365, but when i went to cancel it offered me me the old price — without all the AI bullshit.

It’s forcing AI on everyone and making them pay more for it, then only telling them they don’t have to if they try to cancel.

You will find that which you seek in Bluesky gift articles

🚨NEW: A horror story emerges from hacked flight logs of the March 15 flight to El Salvador: mass disappearances.

It's possible there are DOZENS of additional people the Trump admin sent to be imprisoned in El Salvador without trial who are imprisoned there whose names have never been disclosed.

There's a shortage of live-saving devices for kids — and tariffs might make it worse Pediatric ventricle assist device (VAD) manufacturer Berlin Heart is making more, but new tariffs might mean hospitals can't afford them.

There's a shortage of life-saving ventricular assist devices that keep kids alive while waiting for heart transplants, and the sole manufacturer says tariffs will make it harder — if not impossible — for hospitals to buy more. "We’re trying to figure out what we’re going to do."

Death by a thousand slops I have previously blogged about the relatively new trend of AI slop in vulnerability reports submitted to curl and how it hurts and exhausts us. This trend does not seem to slow down. On the contrary, it seems that we have recently not only received more AI slop but also more human slop. The latter … Continue reading Death by a thousand slops →

an organisation that pays people who report software bugs is thinking about shutting it down because of the time it's taking to deal with the rising amount of AI slop and human slop ("we cannot immediately tell that an AI made it, even though we many times still suspect it")
daniel.haxx.se/blog/...

The Media's Pivot to AI Is Not Real and Not Going to Work AI is not going to save media companies, and forcing journalists to use AI is not a business model.

Media outlets can't pivot to AI to save themselves. It's not a business strategy and it's not going to work. The only path forward is for journalists to lean into their humanity, to do things AI can't, and to make clear they are writing for people, not algorithms:

www.404media.co/the-medias-p...

A custom Washington state license plate that says DIDNT in a frame that says EPSTEIN on top of the plate and KILL HIMSELF on the bottom.

Remembering this license plate I saw a few years ago: it’s not a great photo but the top of the frame says “EPSTEIN” and the bottom says “KILL HIMSELF”

The entire internet right now

What started as a search for some of my first publications has led me to reading through the San Diego Reader of the early 1990s. It is, overall, astonishingly good. But then, there were alt-weeklies like it across the U.S. Almost all gone or hollowed out. Nothing has replaced them.

Rahm Emanuel has shown evidence that he will defeat the ‘culture police’ please google ‘Rahm Emanuel police evidence’ for more information

Toxic metal found in L.A. air after fires. No one knows where it’s coming from A little-known and highly dangerous earth metal used to craft spaceships has been found in wildfire-ravaged homes and in the air in Los Angeles. Experts are shocked — and alarmed.

www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...

RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy. Their meals are ultraprocessed Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raved in social media posts on Monday about the $7-a-pop meals that are delivered directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees.

Great work by the AP examining these ultraprocessed meals RFK has touted apnews.com/article/rfk-...

Nestled up against the steps of City Hall in LA is a large placard with missing posters for the recently disappeared in the city.

2. Neighborhood Scale Commercial a. Intent. Neighborhood Scale Commercial uses areis intended to promote neighborhood vitality and compatibility with surrounding residential areas, allowing only small-scale retail, service, and residential uses that primarily serve local residents with minimal traffic from outside the neighborhood. These businesses should support live-work opportunities, be easily accessible by walking, biking, and local transit, and contribute to vibrant, pedestrian-friendly community hubs which eliminate reliance on automobiles. b. Hours of Operation. Hours of operation, including deliveries, are allowed between 6AM and 10PM Monday – Friday, 7AM and 10PM Saturday – Sunday. c. Scale. Maximum square footage for a Neighborhood Scale Commercial space is limited to the greater of 1,800 square feet or 30% of the net buildable area of the lot, not to exceed 2,500 square feet.

Permitted uses. The following uses are allowed within Neighborhood Scale Commercial. Other proposed uses that are not mentioned in this section but achieve the intent and definition of Neighborhood Scale Commercial highlighted in 12.060.150.2.a and in 11.02.060 as determined by the Community Development Director, may beare considered a permitted use as an Administrative interpretation. 1) Food and beverage i. Restaurants ii. Coffee shops iii. Bakeries iv. Bars/Pubs/Taverns 2) Retail Sales i. Grocery or food markets (IE traditional “corner stores”) ii. Hardware stores iii. Bike and sporting goods iv. Pharmacies v. Boutique shopping (IE clothing, crafts, art, houseplants) vi. Artisan manufacturing with on site sales 3) Services i. Child-care centers ii. Salons and barbers iii. Pet care, boarding, vet iv. Physicians and dentists v. Art gallery vi. Financial services (IE tax preparers) vii. Florist shops

At the same time as the parking vote, the Bothell Council will be voting to legalize small scale commercial development throughout the city's residential neighborhoods. The move will allow neighborhood cafes and bars, corner stores, doctor's offices, child care centers, and many more uses.

A list of ordinances set to be adopted for Phase 2 Comp Plan updates with a parking ordinance included

A table of parking requirements with everything striked out

Next Tuesday night, Bothell is set to become the fifth Washington city to fully repeal mandates for off-street parking citywide.