収束ゾーンでのライフ: Life in the Convergence Zone

Okay, been pretty burnt out this week, so have a beta Version 1.6 bike map [Edit: Here’s the latest Maps Release, download this instead!]. The Greater Northshore now goes up to 200th in Snohomish County, and the MEGAMAP expanded edition will go up to 194th.

This marks the first time that the MEGAMAP edition expands both to the north and the south over the core map. Neat?

This further expansion north was prompted by actually biking up there a little more. if I really want to be able to say that I’m including Lynnwood City Centre, I have to go up to at least 200th, and really, should include both sides of 196th.

Unfortunately, going up to 194th on the smaller map would make it too big for casual printing purposes. But since 196th doesn’t have any sort of bike support, I figure I can leave it off that version.

Even so – even with only going up to 200th – I’ve had to trim a bit off the south in order to stay on my own 17.5″ tall paper. This matters because I really want to be able to print the smaller map on three sheets of paper, and not have to cut and assemble six page. But between very careful placement of text on the north edge, and the addition of a new category of conditional text along the south edge – placing words like “to UW via Burke-Gilman” and “Woodland Park Zoo” and “Redmond Town Centre” with arrows as appropriate – I think I’m managing to keep the usefulness at the about the same level.

I hope so, anyway.

As always, love some test reactions. Here’s the beta. I’ll be dropping a release pretty soon, so, idk, get it in while you can, and thanks.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

If you’re thinking of going to one of the many Tesla dealership protests, here is a high-resolution protest sign for you. It’s a high-resolution re-implementation of a poster going around in London, with a few changes to make it a bit more 1930s-ish. It’ll work well on 11×17 paper for protest signs, should that be of interest.

It will also go twice as large and still be okay, really.

Here’s a lower-resolution preview for you. Go to the link above for full size.

[ETA: enough people like this other one too that it gets a direct link. I’ve got one on one side, the other on the other side of my sign.]

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

I made a video for Monsterdon, the weekly mostly-monster-moving event on Mastodon.

For some reason, people voted to watch Frogs (1972) this week. The title sequence I’m riffing on can make anything look action-packed, but, uh, I’m told… don’t be fooled by that.

I mean, it’s terror frogs. Don’t expect too much. xD

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

The Google app for iOS now adds THEIR links to YOUR posts from YOUR website unless you opt-out.

Their links lead people away from your site and back to Google. Because that’s definitely what you want, right? That’s why you have a blog or portal or web site or whatever. You want people to leave your site and go back to Google.

Oh, it’s not?

If you don’t like it, you can “Opt out.” Opting out is a pain in the ass. Here’s where you go to do it. You have to enter every variation of each of your domains or it won’t work. It will take up to 30 days, during which time Google will continue to pollute your work and your writing and your website with their modifications and their added links to take people away from your site and back to themselves.

For example, here’s the list of what I need to opt-out just for this one blog:

solarbird.net
http://solarbird.net
https://solarbird.net
www.solarbird.net
http://www.solarbird.net
https://www.solarbird.net
web.solarbird.net
http://web.solarbird.net
https://web.solarbird.net

Yes, you explicitly have to file no prefix, http:, and https: variants separately. They say so.

Making it difficult like this is 100% intentional and entirely designed to make it as annoying as possible, and also, to make sure you slip up if at all possible and forget one or more combinations.

(Tho’ I am just going to depreciate web. as a prefix right now, to bring down the load a little. Still gonna list ’em, though, because spite is why.)

Right now it’s only in the Google app for iOS and it’s probably a test to see whether they can get away with it without complaint, and how much revenue it generates. Let’s make that a combination of no and as close to zero as possible. Because otherwise they’ll roll it out everywhere, and probably derank you if you don’t go along.

Fucking hell, Google. Fuck you. Just… fuck you.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Dracula City! DRACULA CITY! Dracula City!

This Halloween, take advantage of our special liquidation sale!
Buy nine Draculas, get the tenth one for just one penny!

🎶 Dracula City
we sell Draculas
🎵!
and that’s all! 🎶

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Greater Northshore Bike Connector Map 1.4.3 – 19 October 2024 – is now available on github, as is MEGAMAP 1.4.3 a pasteup of Greater Northshore, City of Seattle, 2 Line Eastside Bike Connector, and a little bit of King County Regional Trails to get us all the way to the south end of Lake Washington.

Most of this are changes in Seattle that won’t be showing up on their map for another couple of months, or whenever they finally release Seattle 2024. So GETCHER HOTTEST FRESHEST SEATTLE BIKE MAPS RIGHT HERE xD

Changes in 1.4.3:

• Updating Juanita Drive construction area with a temporary downgrade to sharrow, recommending detour
• Slope markers on the closest, most obvious detour route (NE 123rd, NE 132nd)
• NEW BIKE UNDERPASS from Montlake to Bill Dawson trail is open, added to Seattle’s map
• Additional sharrows in Kirkland near Mark Twain Park
• New 6th Ave NW neighbourhood greenway in Fremont, yes I’m updating Seattle’s map for them again
• Updating/clarifications around Montlake Boulevard at SR-520; it’s in flux but this is close

All permalinks continue to work.

If you enjoy these maps and feel like throwing some change at the tip jar, here’s my patreon. Patreon supports get things like pre-sliced printables of the Greater Northshore, and also the completely-uncompressed MEGAMAP, not that the .jpg has much compression in it because it doesn’t. If you have an iPhone, please use the website interface and not the app, because Apple takes 30% if you use the app. I’ll keep doing this regardless, but you know. Thank you! ^_^

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Greater Northshore Bike Connector Map 1.4 – dated 30 August 2024 – is now available on github, as is MEGAMAP 1.4, a pasteup of Greater Northshore, City of Seattle, 2 Line Eastside Bike Connector, and a little bit of King County Regional Trails to get us all the way to the south end of Lake Washington.

New in this release:

• New data type: 1 Line Link Light Rail stations are now mapped, both on Greater Northshore and the MEGAMAP! They allow bikes onboard, so count as bike infrastructure. (Note that all 1 Line stations north of Seattle proper open on August 30th, not before.)
• Added several street names, particularly around 1 Line rail stations, for better wayfinding
• Cleaned up other street names where bike infrastructure overlaid KCGIS labels
• NEW SEATTLE ROUTE: New MLK bike lanes from north of S. Winthrop all the way up two blocks north of I-90. Seattle’s big map doesn’t have this yet, but mine does, Greater Northshore Megamap FTW ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
• Upgraded block connection on 68th between Bothell Way and NE 181st/Remington in Kenmore to Sharrow after upgraded street painting
• “Very Bumpy” advisory removed from Shoreline Interurban Trailhead due to repaving, thank you wildjo on Github for the contribution
• Re-added very short trail exit from Shoreline Interurban Trailhead that got lost somehow in a previous map revision
• Added two more short starter sections of what will become the “Trail Along the Rail” in Shoreline, and adjusted exact ending point of the largest section already on the map, thank you https://social.ridetrans.it/@bobco85 on Mastodon for the contribution

Here’s today’s Seattle Times article about the new stations, too. First train leaves Lynnwood (CORRECTION) around 12:30pm on the first day.

See you at the opening!

ps: my patreon, if you feel like throwing some change at the jar. I mean, I’ll keep doing this regardless, but you know. ^_^

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Now incorporating the southern mile-ish of Snohomish County! The idea was 2km but some places it’s barely over a mile. Either way, that means yes, we further enGreatered Northshore, because the actual Snohomish County map is absolutely a trainwreck.

It’s mostly for the Interurban North and North Creek trails but not just that.

Also new since map set 1.2:

• Construction warnings with dates! At least the ones I know about, which means Juanita Way. They’re widening the bike lanes but that means there aren’t bike lanes sometimes while they work.
• New bike lanes on 73rd Ave NE in Kenmore!
• Bike shop icons in Northshore
• Route updates in Bothell and Lake Forest Park
• Misc small stuff

URLs have not changed. Enjoy!

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Greater Northshore and MEGAMAP Bike Maps version 1.2.2, Mid-June 2024, dropped at the usual place. This is a very minor release.

I don’t see any substantial updates for the next few months; we’re as up-to-date as I think I can get. There is, however, some relevant new construction that falls into the Greater Northshore area, and that’ll get reflected as it comes online.

Changes:

• Added “Very Bumpy” note near Shoreline Interurban Trailhead
• Added start of bike lanes and “To Interurban Trail North” above that
• Extended fully-separated lane one block east in northern Shoreline after in-person verification
• Corrected types of routes (red-dash vs. green-dot) around Lake Forest Park Town Centre to more accurately reflect Burke Gilman-Interurban Trail connector signage
• Extended North Creek Trail a little into Snohomish County to indicate it continues

Direct “latest map” links have not changed.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.

Every time I look at the megamap and notice Mercer Island again – which I had to stitch together from three separate maps – it’s funnier to me.

Bellevue sees an interstate, a park-and-ride, and a tiiiiiny bit that they care to include. King County sees a couple of parks. And Seattle sees a fast blank field, with only an interstate crossing it.

That’s so desperately… accurate, really? And to me, that’s hilarious, even if nobody else seems to get it.

Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.