• 1:07 A.M.
  Don't you forget about me, la la la laaaa

I sure take a lot of pictures of flat things. Signs have always amused me. Any of my siblings will tell you that when driven around in a car, I will read every visible sign aloud. This may have only been true 15 years ago. These days, I only say the really offbeat ones out loud ("Stupid Prices?"), but they are all still entertaining. What can I say? I am amused by really big words.

This isn't really that big of a sign, but it's sure not going anywhere. This picture was taken somewhere between here and Bothell, where they take their hydrant tags as seriously as the ones on their mattresses. I don't know what the rest of the tag says. Probably that you're not supposed to park in front of it or try to drink out of it, no skateboarding, blah blah blah	So yeah, you hear about that new chicken espresso they've got at park side? Um... Christ. It's a slow brain night when you can't think of any chicken/coffee puns. Well this sign is real, so maybe they do serve chicken espresso. Several different sizes: short, tall, grande, and aviante. Ohhh forget it
This was posted near a khaki packed breakfast cafe in my neighborhood. It's a much more interesting roommate-wanted ad than usual. I'm guessing the creative short-haired one is the one who drew the flyer. It says a lot about the one with the long curly hair that their best features mostly have to do with not interacting with you much. "Entertaining" seems like a generic vaguely good quality used to fill up space. Or, could also be a euphemism for "crazier than a pachinko machine".	I saw these things a long time ago in Kenmore, but still can't figure them out. Why here? Why an inch off the ground? Seeing eye dogs specially trained to honk their noses on the button? Lots of paraplegics in the neighborhood? Maybe stuart little lives in Kenmore.Or, like, hobbits. Or mogwais. Maybe the engineers got some bleed through from another page of the plans and the contractors just thought they were being thorough.
Another thing I really like when I was a toddler was the word "Cork". Cork cork cork cork cork! Clearly this sign, found in Vancouver, BC, would have been read aloud several times. Oh right, actually it was. And I took a picture of it. Two pictures, really. When I build a house, I'm making it out of massive laminate cork bamboo. More on the durability of housing materials in a bit.	Wandering around B.C., you run into a lot more loud mouthed people than you do in Seattle. Folks are much more willing to tell each other off, seems like. In Seattle, if you back into someone, you get some grumbling, maybe some muttered apologies. In Vancouver, you get a complete stranger walking down the street complaining about your upbringing and the general state of society in general. I dunno if it's because people aren't scared they'll get shot, or if they're better at communicating or what. This sticker, anyway, would be great for a wide variety of applications. It would stimulate communication!

Well, on Wednesday I went to the U Bookstore to check out Chuck Palahniuk's reading. He's a good speaker; he tells stories in an entertaining way. His anecdotes don't seem to really talk much about HIM, though. They are more like wacky situations that he's been in and what happened thus. There were a TON of hipster chicks at his reading made up to resemble that obnoxious chick in fight club. They asked questions like, "What was it like to meet Ed Norton?". Uh.. what else? My neighbors garage is disintegrating and dropping little bits of lumber with nails and roofing tacks sticking out all over my driveway. Because of this I am getting 2 new tires tomorrow. Then I am setting their house on fire. Actually, I'll do worse than that - I'll get the homeowner association to rebuke them! Oh, harsh!