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Editor's note: This story shows updates about the coronavirus outbreak in Washington state from March 2-8, 2020.
Sunday, March 8
11:35 p.m.
More schools announce closures. Click here for updates
7:20 p.m.
Kitsap County has reported its first case of coronavirus.
4:10 p.m.
The first death in Grant County has been reported, bringing the statewide total to 19.
3 p.m.
There are now 136 total cases statewide, according to the Department of Health.
12:52 p.m.
12 additional cases have been reported in King County, with two more deaths. There are now 18 dead in the state and 123 positive cases of coronavirus statewide.
11:50 a.m.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $5 million to help public health agencies in the greater Seattle area in testing for coronavirus. The foundation will soon offer at-home testing kits.
7:00 a.m.
Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma will transition to distance-learning only Tuesday, March 10 until the end of spring break on March 30, out of an abundance of caution. PLU will be closed on Monday, March 9 as faculty prepare for the transition. As of this writing there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus at PLU. The campus will remain open.
Everett Public Schools will close Woodside Elementary Monday, March 9 and Tuesday, March 10 after a student started exhibiting signs of coronavirus and has a parent who tested positive for the virus. The student did not attend school last week. During the closure on March 9 and 10 the school will receive an additional intense disinfecting, as well as the buses feeding that school.
Tacoma Public Schools will close Mary Lyon Elementary after the Pierce County Health Department notified the superintendent that a staff member at the school has tested presumptive positive for coronavirus.
For Mary Lyon only, this means no classes or before or after school activities March 9-10.
The district also will use the closure time to clean the school.
Saturday, March 7
7:00 p.m.
Officials with Public Health Seattle & King County tweeted Saturday saying there are "no restrictions" on testing for coronavirus (COVID-19). Health care providers can test any patient they suspect of having COVID-19. However, while testing is more available, limitations exist in healthcare providers' capacity to obtain samples and process lab results rapidly, officials said.
Health officials also said not everybody who feels ill needs to be tested, particularly those with only mild illness. King County stressed if you're sick with fever, cough or shortness of breath and are in a high-risk group, call your doctor to discuss getting tested.
6:00 p.m.
The Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank announced will be closed the week of March 9-14 to help reduce the risk of exposure. This includes food and clothing donations, shopping, all programs, volunteering, and meetings. Officials said the closure will allow staff time to create an alternative operations and distribution plan.
4:20 p.m.
The Sounders FC match against Columbus Crew SC will go on as planned Saturday evening despite the coronavirus outbreak in the Puget Sound region. There will be expanded sanitation procedures in place, including enhanced cleaning treatments to disinfect all areas of the stadium before and after the game. There will also be more hand sanitizer stations throughout the venue.
At this time, there have been no recommendations from public health officials to change sporting events. The game is at 7 p.m. at CenturyLink Field.
2:00 p.m.
A spokesman for the Life Care Center of Kirkland said Saturday a total of 26 residents have died since February 19. Of those residents, 15 died in hospitals and 13 of them tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). Another 11 residents died at the facility and it's unknown if they had the virus. No information on their post-mortem tests were available, officials said.
Public Health Seattle & King County said on Saturday that of the 15 deaths in the county, 14 are associated with Life Care Center.
11:00 a.m.
Sixteen people have died from coronavirus in Washington state as of Saturday morning, according to the Washington Department of Health. There are 87 other active cases.
10:22 a.m.
Clark and Kittitas Counties have confirmed their first coronavirus cases, according to the local health departments. It brings the total number of cases in the state to 82, and of those cases, 12 people have died.
10:00 a.m.
Seattle Pacific University will finish the winter quarter online starting Monday, March 9. Campus offices and services will remain open and on a normal schedule to accommodate employees and students living on campus. At this time, there have been no individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 on the campus.
9:50 a.m.
Echo Lake Elementary in the Shoreline Public School District will be closed Monday, March 9 for deep cleaning after a parent was diagnosed with COVID-19, school officials said.
The parent visited the school on March 3 for a parent-teacher conference. The teachers were notified and are staying home to monitor their health as a precaution.
7:30 a.m.
About 30 federal health officials are due to arrive at the Life Care Center in Kirkland today, to assist with treating residents. The nursing facility is the center of the Washington coronavirus outbreak. Ten of the 11 coronavirus deaths in King County are linked to Life Care.
Friday, March 6
7:45 p.m.
Starbucks has confirmed one of its employees was diagnosed with COVID-19. The employee worked at the 1st and University store in downtown Seattle. The store was immediately closed for deep cleaning and is expected to reopen soon once it's been thoroughly disinfected, officials said. The employee is at home in self-quarantine and recovering, officials said.
7:30 p.m.
Dr. Teresa Girolami, a primary care doctor in Redmond, answers questions about coronavirus.
6:20 p.m.
A man in his 50s is the first Pierce County resident to test positive for coronavirus, according to health officials. He is in stable condition and receiving care at St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor.
5:20 p.m.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health announces first positive case of coronavirus in Pierce County.
5:03 p.m.
Officials with Public Health Seattle & King County say a total of 11 people have died in King County from COVID-19. Of the 11 deaths reported, 10 are associated with Life Care Center in Kirkland. There are 47 other active cases of coronavirus in King County.
4:54 p.m.
Lake Washington Institute for Technology, which earlier this week closed its campus after a faculty member had tested positive for the 2019 novel coronavirus, on Friday announced that the campus would move to remote operations through March 20. Lake Washington Tech joins University of Washington and Seattle University in canceling in-person classes amid the area outbreak of COVID-19.
2:50 p.m.
Kent Mayor Dana Ralph directed the city attorney to file a temporary restraining order against King County, to block county public health officials from opening a coronavirus quarantine site at the Econo Lodge in Kent.
King County announced Thursday it intended to purchase the property and planned to use it to house patients. However, Kent claims King County failed to secure permits and didn't address the city's public safety concerns.
Ralph also declared a state of emergency in the city, allowing her to exercise emergency powers to coordinate resources responding to the public health crisis.
2 p.m.
UW Virology says to date it has processed approximately 400 tests for 2019 novel coronavirus, and of those tests between 5-7% of them came back positive.
UW reiterated it has capacity to process 1,000 tests per day.
1:30 p.m.
Western Washington University canceled its winter commencement, which was scheduled to take place March 21. The winter graduates will instead be included at spring commencement, according to the university.
WWU also plans to begin canceling large-scale events on the Bellingham campus, but classes will continue as normal.
12:52 p.m.
King County Executive Dow Constantine said there are currently 69 residents still at Life Care Center in Kirkland, the center of the COVID-19 outbreak. Fifteen of those residents have been moved to area hospitals for coronavirus treatment.
A task force of at least 30 medical professionals from the United States Public Health Service will also be arriving at Life Care on Saturday to help the staff contain the outbreak.
12:22 p.m.
One resident at Ida Culver House Ravenna, a retirement and assisted living home in Seattle, has tested for COVID-19 and is in quarantine off-site. The community's parent company Era Living reported in an email to staff, residents and family members that the affected resident has been in a hospital since Wednesday March 4 and will remain in quarantine there for a minimum of 14 days.
11:30 a.m.
Seattle University will not hold in-person classes for the rest of winter quarter, which is March 20. However, campus will remain open.
11 a.m.
The number of cases of coronavirus in Washington state rose to 79, including 11 people who have died, according to data from the Washington State Department of Health.
There are now 58 cases in King County, 19 cases in Snohomish County, one case in Grant County and one case in Jefferson County. That includes 10 deaths in King County and one death in Snohomish County.
10:40 a.m.
The organizers of Emerald City Comic Con announced Friday that the convention, planned for March 12-15, will be rescheduled to this summer. The organizers said all those who have tickets will receive a refund.
9:30 a.m.
Gov. Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine and U.S. representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Suzan DelBene (WA-01) are holding a press conference at 9:30 a.m. Friday regarding $8.3 billion federal supplemental spending bill passed by Congress to help states combat the COVID-19 outbreak. Washington will immediately receive $11.5 million in federal funding to help combat the local outbreak.
8:30 a.m.
A University of Washington staff member has tested positive for 2019 novel coronavirus.
The staff member works in the Roosevelt Commons East, which is west of UW's Seattle campus in the 4300 block of 11th Ave. Northeast, according to a letter sent Friday from Geoffrey S. Gottlieb, interim chair of the UW Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases.
The employee was last in the building on February 24, 27 and 28 and is now in self-isolation at home.
The infected person is believed to have had "limited contact" with anyone outside their immediate office floor. Those who were in direct contact with the individual were contacted and asked to stay home for 14 days after their last contact with the person, according to Gottlieb.
The building was closed until further notice for cleaning.
8 a.m.
Beginning Monday, the University of Washington will not have classes in person through the end of the quarter on March 20.
UW President Ana Mari Cauce wrote a letter to faculty and staff Friday asking instructors to hold classes and exams remotely. If classes can't be held remotely, the university will allow grades to be submitted based on work done to this point.
Pending health department guidance, the university plans to resume normal class operations on March 30 when the spring quarter begins.
In the meantime, the campus will remain open, and athletic events will continue as scheduled, according to Cauce.
7:40 a.m.
Washington will "immediately receive" $11.5 million in federal funding for the work public health agencies have done to combat the coronavirus outbreak in the state. The funding is part of an $8.3 billion measure President Trump signed Friday morning to help tackles the virus outbreak in the U.S.
Gov. Jay Inslee, Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), and King County Executive Dow Constantine will hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. Friday outlining how the federal funding will be implemented in Washington state.
7 a.m.
Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute seek 45 participants for clinical trials of a vaccine for the 2019 novel coronavirus. The first phase of testing will look at the vaccine's safety and see how the immune system responds to it.
This vaccine is not made from a weakened or killed version of coronavirus, and cannot cause infection, according to researchers.
If you are interested in participating in the study, click here for more information.
5 a.m.
Two Microsoft employees in the Puget Sound region - one at Microsoft and another at its subsidiary, LinkedIn - have tested positive for coronavirus, according to NBC News.
"We are working closely with local public health authorities to provide the necessary support for our colleagues and their co-workers," the company said in a statement to NBC.
Thursday, March 5:
10:30 p.m.
Two more people have died from coronavirus at Kirkland's EvergreenHealth Medical Center, according to the hospital's CEO. That brings Washington's death toll to 13. Another 59 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Washington state, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
8:15 p.m.
Mariner High School in Everett will be closed Friday for deep cleaning. Several other schools will also remain closed.
5:45 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence speaks about the coronavirus outbreak in Washington state, "All of America's hearts are with you."
Pence said 5.2 million coronavirus testing kits would be rolled out next week.
5 p.m.
Snohomish County declared a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus outbreak and laid out guidelines for the public on Thursday.
4:20 p.m.
An emergency order has been issued to Washington state health insurers requiring them to waive copays and deductibles for any person needing to be tested for coronavirus (COVID-19). The order was made by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler on Thursday.
Insurers also must allow a one-time early refill for prescription drugs and suspend any prior authorization requirements for treatment or testing of COVID-19. More here.
3:15 p.m.
A worker at CenturyLink Field who tested positive for coronavirus worked at the Seattle Dragons game on Feb. 22. Health officials said "risk to the public is low."
2 p.m.
Families of residents at the Life Care Center in Kirkland shared frustration state and federal health officials' response to the outbreak at the nursing home. The majority of King County's confirmed coronavirus cases are connected to the Life Care Center.
1 p.m.
Another person in King County has died from coronavirus, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County. This death appears to be a person who was previously diagnosed with coronavirus, as the county's total number of cases remains at 51.
King County's coronavirus death toll is now at 10, and the statewide death toll is 11.
12:45 p.m.
An increased number of people in the Lake Washington Institute of Technology community were asked to self-quarantine. Public health officials asked 46 people, primarily from the nursing and physical therapy assistant programs, to take those precautionary measures.
The school says it has also heard from additional students who believe they may have been exposed to coronavirus, "a handful" of whom are experiencing mild symptoms, according to a school spokesperson.
Several Lake Washington Institute of Technology faculty and staff visited the Life Care Center of Kirkland last week before the coronavirus outbreak at the facility was detected.
12:40 p.m.
The city of Arlington declared a citywide emergency to support the regional response to coronavirus.
The city says it doesn't know of any coronavirus cases within Arlington, but wanted to take "a proactive step" if the virus becomes a challenge, according to City Administrator Paul Ellis.
The city also plans to increase cleaning of city facilities.
12:30 p.m.
Microsoft asked Puget Sound and Bay Area employees who were able to work from home to do so until March 25th amid a coronavirus outbreak in King County.
The tech giant sent an email to employees Wednesday explaining the new work from home guidelines.
It also recommended people postpone travel to the Puget Sound or Bay Area unless it was essential for the continuity of Microsoft. All non-essential business travel to areas with the coronavirus is also expected to be canceled.
11:30 a.m.
Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson signed an emergency proclamation in response to the coronavirus outbreak in Washington state. There were no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bellevue as of Thursday morning.
The proclamation will streamline the "the city's process for procuring equipment, supplies and services that might be needed if large numbers of residents and/or city staff contract the illness."
Mayor Robinson is urging residents to support individuals who have chosen to self-quarantine.
11 a.m.
The number of people currently infected with coronavirus in Washington state increased to 60. The number of deaths linked to the virus remains at 10.
10 a.m.
As of Thursday morning, health officials say there are now 13 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Snohomish County, two probable cases, and more than 30 cases awaiting test results.
Chris Spitters, the interim health officer for the Snohomish Health District, says they are recommending - not mandating - that people avoid large gatherings if possible. Higher-risk populations, including people who are 60 years or older with underlying medical conditions, people with weakened immune systems, or women who are pregnant should take extra care, Spitters said.
The health district is encouraging employers to offer telecommuting. If they can't, workers should minimize interacting with large groups. Officials say employers should "maximize" sick leave beenfits.
The health district is still not encouraging school closures and will work with school leaders, Spitters said.
7:45 a.m.
Boeing's facilities team began cleaning a work area for the 777 production line after an employee went home sick Wednesday with flu-like symptoms.
The employee did not require emergency care and plans to contact his personal doctor Thursday, according to a Boeing spokesperson.
Boeing asked the employee's 10 teammates who were in close contact with him to also go home "out of an abundance of caution."
Boeing says it has not had any confirmed cases of coronavirus, but the company is "being extra cautious" and "proactive," according to the spokesperson.
5:45 a.m.
King County Metro said crews are now cleaning every bus each night using "21 newly acquired backpack sprayers distributed evenly across its seven bases." Crews started cleaning buses with the sprayers Wednesday night, so all passengers and operators will board "fully disinfected" buses starting Thursday morning.
"This practice will continue for the foreseeable future as part of Metro's ongoing efforts to support the health and safety of passengers, employees, and community members," King County Metro said.
Metro said it upgraded cleaning protocols and frequency after coronavirus cases started being reported in the Puget Sound region. Metro said they previously cleaned and vacuumed each bus daily and conducted four-hour deep cleans every 30 days.
4:15 a.m.
The Olympia School District (OSD) said false information about the district relating to coronavirus was shared on a mobile messaging app. The district said an altered photo of one of the school websites was posted on Snapchat, stating that OSD schools will be closed next week for sanitation purposes.
The OSD said that information is not correct, and, as of Thursday morning, schools will be open next week.
"As always, in the event of a school closure or other school schedule change, we will communicate directly to families and staff through our automated communication system. This includes an email, text, and RoboCall sent by OSD Communications. We will also post school schedule information as a drop-down alert on our website and post on our official OSD social media platforms," the district posted on their website.
Wednesday, March 4:
11:00 p.m.
Amazon is recommending that employees in Seattle/Bellevue who are able to work from home should do so until the end of the month.
8:03 p.m.
A contractor with Facebook based in Seattle's SODO neighborhood has tested positive for coronavirus. They were last at work on Friday, Feb. 21. The office will be closed immediately until March 9. Facebook is encouraging employees at all Seattle sites to work from home until Tuesday, March 31.
6:50 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health said it's still safe to donate blood. Those who are symptom-free are encouraged to donate to help with the Washington state blood supply.
5:51 p.m.
The Lake Washington Institute of Technology closed the campus out of an abundance of caution this evening to clean and disinfect after a faculty member tested positive for COVID-19. The campus will remain closed through the weekend, said Dr. Amy Morrison, president of the school.
Several Lake Washington Institute of Technology faculty and staff visited the Life Care Center of Kirkland last week before the coronavirus outbreak at the facility was detected.
5:20 p.m.
Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson has signed a proclamation of emergency for the city. Although there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bellevue, the mayor signed the proclamation in order to get equipment, supplies and services quickly in the event it spreads.
3:27 p.m.
Via Associated Press: Missouri-Kansas City has joined Chicago State in not traveling to Seattle for regularly scheduled Western Athletic Conference men's basketball games over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.
UMKC was scheduled to play Seattle University on Saturday but the conference says the school has canceled that trip. Chicago State announced previously it was canceling its men's basketball road trip to Seattle and Utah Valley and said its women's team would not host two games against the same schools.
The cancellations are believed to be the first by a major sport in the United States due to the virus.
3:00 p.m.
Seattle-based cancer research center Fred Hutch has activated its mandatory remote work policy in response to King County's recommendations to have employees work from home to help decrease the spread of coronavirus.
"It's important to know there's a difference between preparedness and panic," said Dr. Thomas J. Lynch, president and director at Fred Hutch. "With technological advances, we have the ability to remotely conduct and collaborate on research projects. By limiting in-person contact, our goal is to safeguard our employees, research participants and visitors, while continuing our lifesaving research on cancer, HIV and other diseases, including COVID-19."
The policy will be in effect March 5 through March 31. The policy excludes essential, on-campus staff such as security and facilities management.
2:00 p.m.
A state of emergency has been declared for Snohomish County and the city of Everett due to the coronavirus. Snohomish County's Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters has also declared a public health emergency for the county.
"We know people are concerned, and this declaration will help us work together to keep people safe," said Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. "These declarations formalize the work we've been doing together since the first COVID-19 coronavirus case was confirmed on January 21, 2020. Collaboration with all of our partners is what makes Snohomish County resilient. The public can be assured we are responding as quickly and decisively as possible."
1:45 p.m.
Officials with Public Health Seattle & King County, The Washington State Department of Health, and King County Executive Dow Constantine provided multiple updates about coronavirus on Wednesday, here's the latest:
- Public Health Seattle & King County has deployed two physicians to the Life Care Center of Kirkland to assist the facility with giving its residents and employees care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still has a team on-site at Life Care and is helping the staff contain the outbreak. Public health officials are planning to develop a team to make sure everyone in the facility can be tested for COVID-19.
- King County Executive Dow Constantine said officials are recommending people who are over 60 years of age and have underlying health conditions, as well as people who are pregnant, avoid large crowds until further notice to limit potential exposure to coronavirus.
- King County is recommending companies who can allow employees to telecommute should do so and postpone any large meetings or gatherings of 10 people or more until further notice, or find a way to do it virtually.
- King County Government is following those recommendations. Constantine said any non-essential large group meetings will be canceled through the end of March. Employees who can telecommute will be encouraged to do so through the end of the month. That decision will be reassessed each week, according to Constantine.
- Health officials are not currently recommending schools close unless a student or employee in the school has tested positive for the virus because they said children are not considered a high-risk group.
- King County has solidified two additional locations for modular units to house people with coronavirus. One is in the Interbay neighborhood and another is in North Seattle, but the specific locations were not provided. King County has also purchased a motel in Kent that should be operational in the next few days.
- Health officials reiterated people who are sick should stay home, and people should continue washing their hands with soap and water often.
12:40 p.m.
Woodmoor Elementary School in the Northshore School District announced it will be closed on Thursday, March 5 for deep cleaning and disinfecting after a parent and volunteer at the school tested presumptively positive for coronavirus.
The person was at the school Art Walk on Friday and volunteered in the classroom on Monday.
12:25 p.m.
UW Medicine says it can now test for the 2019 novel coronavirus or COVID-19. Experts at UW Medicine Clinical Virology Laboratories started working on developing the test at the beginning of the year to help address the national shortage of tests.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would allow certain laboratories to develop a diagnostic test for the virus under expedited approval, officials said.
Experts say this test will help speed up and expand testing of local cases. The UW Medicine Virology Lab started testing samples on Tuesday and it's now operating 24 hours per day. Officials anticipate the lab being able to test 1,000 to 1,500 samples per day by the end of the week.
12:00 p.m.
Six Kitsap County residents are being tested for coronavirus through the state public health lab in Shoreline, according to the Kitsap Public Health District. There are currently no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kitsap County. The test results are expected in 48 to 72 hours.
"We know the spread of COVID-19 in our region is concerning for community members, especially those who are at higher risk for serious illness," Kitsap Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Susan Turner said. "We are asking the public to stay calm, stay informed and take steps to protect their health and the health of those around them. It's important to know that most people who have COVID-19 experience mild illness."
11:50 a.m.
The Life Care Center of Kirkland announced it's stopping new admissions in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak at the facility. Officials want to fully focus on their current residents and associates. Any family members who have questions about their loved ones at Life Care Center should call the facility directly.
11:05 a.m.
One more person was reported dead from the coronavirus in King County, bringing the death toll in Washington state up to 10, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
King County also reported 10 new cases of coronavirus, and Snohomish County reported two new cases.
There are now 39 total cases of coronavirus in Washington state.
11 a.m.
Gov. Jay Inslee addressed the state's response to coronavirus in a news conference with reporters. Inslee said the federal government removed restrictions Tuesday that previously prevented people with mild symptoms who weren't hospitalized to be tested.
"We now have been given a green light to increase the frequency and protocol under which people can be tested," Inslee said. "I know people have been frustrated by that."
The state plans to increase testing "significantly" in the next couple days.
The Governor also said the state anticipates the scale of testing to increase, and it may require help from the private sector. The federal government is in talks with private labs to increase testing capacity, according to Inslee.
"We need to have the private labs to come to the front lines on this," Inslee said.
10:45 a.m.
"A handful" of the 22 Lake Washington Institute of Technology students and faculty who are self-quarantined have exhibited some coronavirus symptoms, according to message sent to the school community.
All of those students and staff reported they are "doing well."
Lake Washington Institute of Technology was closed Monday and Tuesday for cleaning and disinfecting after a group of nursing students visited Life Care Center in Kirkland, which is connected to at least 10 coronavirus cases.
10:25 a.m.
Vice President Mike Pence announced he will visit Washington state on Thursday to meet with Gov. Jay Inslee. Press Secretary Katie Miller said Pence will travel to Olympia.
"We are here for every American and will continue to work with state and local leaders as we protect their health and well-being," Pence said in a tweet.
10:20 a.m.
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (District 3) sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence urging the Trump Administration to work with "Congress, drug makers and all other relevant stakeholders to ensure that there is as little impact as possible on the supply of PPE, medical devices, and prescription drugs in order to protect the safety and health of the American people."
In the letter, Beutler also asked what steps the Administration is taking to ensure patients can access medication if there is a shortage of generic options, and what is being done to improve the accuracy and access to coronavirus tests.
9:30 a.m.
The Port of Seattle announced changes and new protocols at Sea-Tac International Airport to "maintain the safety, health, and well-being of passengers and employees."
The Port said more than 45 new hand sanitizers have already been installed throughout Sea-Tac airport with another 90 expected to be installed soon. An additional 100 hand sanitizers will be installed as they become available. The hand sanitizers are being installed at security checkpoints, jet bridges, boarding gates, and transportation centers.
Sea-Tac has also increased cleaning at all "high touch point areas" like escalator handrails, elevator buttons, ticketing kiosks, stairwell handrails, restrooms, and gate hold room seating armrests and areas.
The Port also said shuttle buses at Sea-Tac airport will be cleaned multiple times a day and is in the process of installing hand sanitizer dispensers by bus driver stations or doors.
7 a.m.
South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) said it was informed on March 3 that a student who attended classes at the Olympia campus was exposed to coronavirus at a social gathering. The student nor their spouse have shown any symptoms. SPSCC said the student is in contact with their health care provider and will be tested for the virus in the coming days.
SPSCC proactively did "concentrated disinfecting" Tuesday night in buildings 32 and 35 where the student attended classes. No campus closures are planned at this time.
6:40 a.m.
"Whether healthy or sick, please don't lick!" The Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Secretary of State's Office is recommending that voters use a wet sponge or cloth to seal your ballot return envelopes. Washington's presidential primary is March 10.
3:30 a.m.
Hazen High School in Renton will be closed for the rest of the week after a student tested positive for coronavirus.
Public Health – Seattle & King County recommended that the Renton School District close the school for the remainder of the week while health officials determine if anyone came in contact with the student. All other Renton schools are open and on a regular schedule.
Tuesday, March 3:
10:30 p.m.
More schools announce closures for Wednesday due to coronavirus, including Frank Love Elementary in Bothell and Clover Park Technical College in Puyallup.
6:45 p.m.
Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland will reopen Wednesday, March 4 after closing several days for a deep cleaning. Nursing students had contact with patients at Life Care Center, where several residents tested positive for coronavirus.
5:33 p.m.
Amazon announced an employee at Seattle headquarters tested positive for coronavirus. It is not known if this is a new case or a previously reported case.
5:25 p.m.
Emerald City Comic Con is still scheduled in Seattle March 12-15 amid coronavirus concerns. Last year's event brought nearly 100,000 people to the Washington State Convention Center over a four-day span.
4:45 p.m.
The House unanimously voted to increase funding around coronavirus from $10 million to $100 million. The proposal now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
12 p.m.
North Carolina gets its first case of coronavirus. The person who tested positive visited the Life Care Center in Kirkland, a nursing home at the center of a possible outbreak in Washington State.
11:50 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health says six people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Snohomish County. One person had died.
Another 21 tested positive in King County. Eight have died.
That brings the total number of deaths in Washington to nine.
11 a.m.
Public Health - Seattle & King County says a patient admitted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Feb. 24, died on Feb. 26. The patient tested positive for coronavirus.
The patient had underlying medical conditions and was transferred from Life Care Center of Kirkland.
8 a.m.
U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (District 3) and three other representatives introduced legislation to "encourage the rapid innovation and approval of a treatment to prevent or cure the 2019 Coronavirus."
"My home state of Washington has recently seen an outbreak of the novel coronavirus that's resulted in six confirmed deaths so far, which is why we must act quickly to stop the spread of the virus and pursue a cure," Herrera Beutler said. "I'm proud to join my colleagues in offering this bipartisan bill that prioritizes the review of newly developed treatment for COVID-19; if bureaucratic red tape gets in the way of viable treatments, we're unnecessarily putting lives at risk. We will be infinitely more effective in containing and preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus in this nation if we work in a cooperative, bipartisan fashion and focus on solutions."
7:30 a.m.
Kirkland Seventh-day Adventist School and Puget Sound Adventist Academy announced just before 7:30 a.m. class was canceled for "extensive cleaning."
4 a.m.
Classes will be held online Tuesday at Bellevue Children's Academy in Bellevue and Willows Preparatory School in Redmond.
Monday, March 2:
11 p.m.
Several more schools announced closures for Tuesday, March 3 and beyond.
8:20 p.m.
Coronavirus may have been in Washington state a week earlier than any known U.S. cases. A Snohomish County man traveled through Sea-Tac Airport on Jan. 15 after visiting China. His illness was not confirmed until Jan. 21. The man has since fully recovered.
5:08 p.m.
Redmond Mayor Angela Birney has declared a proclamation of local emergency. She said, "the City may require supplemental assistance if the severity of the event goes beyond the capabilities of local resources."
5:00 p.m.
Snohomish County health officials held a press conference on their response to the coronavirus.
Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said, "I intend to sign a declaration of emergency. I am taking this step to ensure we are nimble and can respond should the progression of the disease have more widespread impacts."
3:30 p.m.
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee announced that the state has increased the capacity to get coronavirus tests back faster from a facility in Shoreline. The facility should be able to test 100 (or 200 tests) a day.
The state has also asked people to consider avoiding large crowds. While the state has not banned or canceled large events, but people should be prepared for that possibility.
The state has also asked the federal government for its stockpile of medicine, masks, and hospital gowns.
3 p.m.
Gov. Inslee is giving an update on the state's response to the coronavirus.
2:35 p.m.
Seattle Public Schools crews deep cleaned Kimball Elementary School over the weekend due to coronavirus concerns, according to spokesperson Tim Robinson.
The mother of a Kimball student is friends with a co-worker who isn't feeling well, and the mother decided to keep her child home as a precaution.
There are no plans to close the school, but the principal sent a letter to parents advising them of the situation.
2:31 p.m.
Seattle University announces one student was in close contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus. The student has been deemed at medium risk for contracting the virus-- right now, they are not showing signs or symptoms but they will self-quarantine for 14 days.
Out of an abundance of caution, the university will clean and disinfect the areas where the student was present during a two-hour window on Friday, including a classroom in Pigott Hall and the atrium common area of Pigott Hall.
12:45 p.m.
The City of Kirkland says there are 27 firefighters and two police officer in quarantine due to the coronavirus.
"We anticipate that this could continue to happen as the situation evolves. We have also been notified that some of our firefighters in quarantine are demonstrating flu like symptoms," a statement from the city reads. "We are working closely with Public Health – Seattle & King County and adhering to their testing protocols."
The city's fire and police departments remain fully staffed.
Four additional coronavirus cases in King County brought the total number of known cases up to 14, including three more deaths.
The four new cases involve:
- A male in his 50s, hospitalized at Highline Hospital. No known exposures. He is in stable but critical condition. He had no underlying health conditions.
- A male in his 70s, a resident of LifeCare, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland. The man had underlying health conditions, and died 3/1/20.
- A female in her 70s, a resident of LifeCare, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland. The woman had underlying health conditions, and died 3/1/20.
- A female in her 80s, a resident of LifeCare, was hospitalized at EvergreenHealth. She is in critical condition.
- In addition, a woman in her 80s, who was already reported as in critical condition at Evergreen, died. She died on 3/1/20.
11:30 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health says the coronavirus hotline (1-800-525-0127) is reportedly working again. Previously, people who called were prompted to press # and then promptly disconnected.
11:10 a.m.
Washington state health officials announced six people have died and at least 18 people in King and Snohomish counties presumptively have tested positive for 2019 novel coronavirus.
King County Executive Dow Constantine says officials are in "final negotiations" to purchase a motel for people diagnosed with coronavirus who need to be isolated and recover. That should be made available by the end of the week, according to Constantine.
Additionally, officials are working to provide modular housing on public properties throughout the county.
"We have moved to a new stage in the fight to contain and mitigate this outbreak. King County is aligned and organized behind this common mission, with Public Health – Seattle & King County as our lead agency," Executive Constantine said. "We will direct all available resources to help cities, health-care facilities, businesses, and families continue life as normally as possible. But our best strategies depend on millions of residents actively following established disease prevention guidelines."
10:30 a.m.
State and local leaders are providing an update on coronavirus in Washington state at 11 a.m. King County Executive Dow Constantine is expected to announce an emergency declaration in response to the virus.
10 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health says the coronavirus hotline (1-800-525-0127) is currently down. People who call are prompted to press # and then promptly disconnected.
A spokesperson says the department is working to fix the issue.
9 a.m.
Puyallup School District closed Ferrucci Junior High and Wildwood Elementary for deep cleaning after a family reported having flu-like symptoms. Students en route to the schools were transported to the Karshner Center.
8:45 a.m.
A skyscraper in downtown Seattle will be closed Monday so crews can sanitize offices.
An F5 employee at the Seattle headquarters was in contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus, prompting the company close the tower.
The employee tested negative for coronavirus, according to a company spokesperson.
F5 says it will encourage employees to work remotely, convert large in-person events to virtual meetings and postpone all non-essential business travel.
Monday, March 2, 8 a.m.
Kingston High School was the ninth school in western Washington to close Monday due to coronavirus concerns.
A student who attends the high school is being tested for coronavirus, according to the North Kitsap School District.
Follow more school closures here.
What are coronavirus symptoms?
The symptoms of coronavirus are similar to the flu or colds. Symptoms include a fever, cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
The severity of symptoms ranges significantly. Some cases are very mild with symptoms similar to the common cold, and some cases are more like severe pneumonia that require hospitalization. Most deaths have been reported in older adults who had other health conditions, according to DOH.
Symptoms may appear as soon as two days after being exposed to the coronavirus or as long as 14 days.
A new Washington call center has been set up to answer your questions about COVID-19. If you have questions about how the virus spreads, what is being done in Washington state, and what you can do if you have symptoms, call 1-800-525-0127 and press #.


text:
ExxonMobil knocks carbon tax
ExxonMobil said Tuesday that it does not support imposing a carbon tax as a way to raise revenue and help avoid the fiscal cliff — further deflating hopes that the long-shot proposal could find its way into the final deal.
Energy experts from both parties, as well as some conservative economists, have been promoting a tax on carbon emissions despite resistance from congressional Republicans and reluctance from the White House. And some advocates have pointed to the fact that a carbon tax has drawn support even from bulwarks of corporate America like ExxonMobil, which has backed the idea since at least 2009.
( PHOTOS: 12 Republicans resigned to higher taxes)
But the company's support goes only so far, Vice President of Public and Government Affairs Ken Cohen said Tuesday.
A "revenue-neutral" carbon tax is the oil company's preferred option only if policymakers are moving forward with putting a price on carbon as an effort to address climate change, Cohen said.
But he said ExxonMobil isn't advocating such a tax simply to raise revenue and head off a coming collision of rising tax rates and automatic federal spending cuts.
"It's Option B," Cohen said during a briefing on the company's 2013 energy outlook.
"If the policy objective is to raise revenue, it's not on the table," he said. "If the policy objective is to put a cost on the use of carbon to discourage its use, then we believe that a revenue-neutral carbon tax should be very much on the table."
Cohen's comments appear to be a final nail in the carbon tax coffin.
His comments came one day after House Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said Exxon and other companies aren't making a "serious" push for a carbon tax.
"I don't think it's a very serious effort on their part," Upton told Fox News on Monday. He added: "We're going to do our very best to make sure that this is not a mole that pops up again."
Cohen also joked about the intense opposition Exxon faces from environmental groups, which are calling on colleges and universities to divest their interests in fossil fuel companies.
"It's not easy being us," Cohen joked after an attendee at Tuesday's press conference criticized the company.
This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 12:07 p.m. on December 11, 2012.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Strategy against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
The Commission presents a comprehensive strategy to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) which endangers the economy of the fisheries sector, fish stocks and the marine environment. The measures proposed would restrict access to the European Union (EU) market to those fishery products certified compliant with regulations by the flag State or by the export State in question. It also provides for surveillance of activities at sea, identification of IUU operators, improved implementation of legislation in the fisheries field and better application of sanctions in the event of infringements being committed. The initiative falls within the scope of the Community action plan to eradicate IUU fishing adopted in 2002 and follows on from actions carried out internationally (FAO, RFMO).
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ACT: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 17 October 2007 on a new strategy for the Community to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing [COM(2007) 601 final - not published in the Official Journal].
The European Union (EU) is proposing a comprehensive strategy to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Community and international waters. Such fishing practices threaten the Common Fisheries Policy ( CFP ) and damage the sustainability of fish stocks, marine biodiversity, fragile ecosystems, law-abiding fishermen and the coastal populations affected. This international scourge has environmental, economic and social consequences.
The EU plays a crucial role, as it is one of the key players on the fisheries market in terms of both production and consumption. The quantity of illegal products imported into the EU each year is estimated at 500 000 tonnes worth 1.1 billion.
The scope of the combat against IUU fishing covers:
infringements to rules on management and conservation of fisheries resources in national and international waters;
fishing activities in high-seas areas covered by a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation ( RFMO ) carried out by vessels which contravene the rules of the organisation. These are vessels without nationality or registered in a country not party to the RFMO;
fishing activities carried out in high-seas areas not covered by an RFMO in a manner inconsistent with state responsibilities for the conservation of resources under international law.
The EU must fight against certain factors supporting the perpetuation of IUU fishing, namely:
profitability. Due to low operating costs and the substantial resultant profits. It is also explained by the overcapacity of certain fishing fleets compared to the fishing possibilities available;
national and international loopholes of which illegal operators can take advantage. These loopholes involve flag registration, cooperation between States and international bodies, and monitoring, control and surveillance systems.
Community action
Although some progress has been made under the 2002 action plan , IUU fishing is far from eradicated. Through this strategy, the Commission is supporting the preparation of international rules and setting up of RFMOs responsible for implementing them. It intends to continue the monitoring, control and surveillance of activities at sea as well as identification of IUU operators. Better application of these rules and of deterrent sanctions for infringements is also required.
This comprehensive strategy encompasses all fishing and related activities linked to IUU practices (harvesting, transshipment, processing, landing, trade, etc.). It targets the whole supply chain and provides an answer to the problems caused by these activities at Community level as well as regionally and internationally.
Action against IUU fishing must fully integrate the trade dimension. In this respect, the Commission anticipates closing the doors of Europe to illegal products through the launch of a regime of control by the port State, under which fish or fisheries products must be certified by the flag State before landing or import into the EU.
To address the issue of "flags of non-compliance", the EU could act unilaterally to offset the inadequacy of multilateral action. A Community list of vessels responsible for IUU fishing and the Member States hosting them could be drawn up.
The Commission intends to improve compliance with international and Community laws by EU vessels and operators. It is planning to encourage Member States and EU nationals to ensure proper implementation of the CFP and to improve control and enforcement measures. Deterrent sanctions for IUU activities in Community waters and for EU operators responsible for this type of fishing anywhere in the world are necessary.
Better cooperation will enable investigation of IUU activities. A high degree of coordination and regular exchange of information should be guaranteed with the support of the Community Fisheries Control Agency . At international level, the EU must contribute to the efforts, in particular of the Food and Agriculture Organisation ( FAO ), to set up a global register of fishing vessels and an international network dedicated to monitoring, control and surveillance. At Community level, the EU must improve coordination between Member States' control authorities.
The EU must intensify the fight against fishing in the high seas within the framework of regional, bilateral and multilateral relations. The EU strategy to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing depends on various parties:
the RFMOs. The measures adopted by the RFMOs must be reinforced along with coordination between these organisations;
coastal developing countries. To improve the management and monitoring of fishing activities, Community financial support to these countries must be intensified. The impact of the IUU regulation on developing countries and accompanying measures must be assessed;
the International Labour Organisation ( ILO ). International conventions relating to work in the fisheries sector or the safety of fishing vessels must be signed by more States. It would also be appropriate to study the possibility of transposing this legislation into Community law.
This Communication is part of a broad international consensus expressed in the decisions of the FAO, the United Nations General Assembly and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD ) on the need to adopt a global approach to eradicate IUU fishing. It follows on from the 2002 Commission action plan and the Resolution of the European Parliament of 15 February 2007. It is, along with the proposal for a Regulation which should be adopted during 2008, one of the first steps towards an integrated maritime policy for the EU for sustainable use of the seas.
Proposal for a Council Regulation of 17 October 2007 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing [COM(2007) 602 - not published in the Official Journal].
Consultation procedure ( CNS/2007/0223 ).


text:
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text:
Adaptations are the ways we evolve to match our environment.
Our name indicates our desire to work closely with earth's natural systems in order to strengthen society's connection to our environment. It also indicates our ability to be resilient enough to change with the times while maintaining our mission.
Survival of earth's living things, such as plants and people, depends on their ability to change with the earth's environment. Survival of human social institutions such as governments, religions and businesses depends on their ability to change with humanity. Social institutions have a strong effect on the quality of life for the people associated with them and on the part of the earth's environment in which they operate.
Adaptations Inc. strives to develop the connection between earth's natural systems and people in a way that improves the resilience of both.
Adaptations are at the forefront of evolution. Adaptations Inc. is at the forefront of local sustainable agriculture in Hawaii. https://adaptationsaloha.com/


text:
Accola Griefen Gallery
May 23 to June 29, 2013
547 West 27th Street #634
New York City, 646-532-3488
Bypassing a post-modernist disbelief in the sign's capacity for truth, Susan Bee's current show, titled Criss Cross at Accola Griefen, announces a sincere love for the image. Bee's apparent faith in the capacity of the painted figure to truly say something flies in the face of stylish irony and dispassionate conceptualism. I see her practice as heroic: perhaps the devout image-maker in our climate of stagnant disillusionment is a post-millennial wanderer in sea and fog.
The signifying strategies of Bee's visual vocabulary include sequential narration (i.e. storytelling), a modernist invocation of pure color as the sensual index of emotion, intertextual allusion (Bee uses images from Hollywood and 19th century European painting), and a consistent emphasis on the tension between those modes. That tension is what accounts, in part, for the confounding beauty of the paintings that comprise the current series. The story told in Out the Window (2011) can be read and perhaps understood but not entered into: its subject—a flatly rendered, plaintive girl—is behind glass; she and her audience do not share the same present. This painted scene (like many of Bee's) makes explicit the encounter between the shallowness of the image-as-such and the deep space of lived experience. The story is always agitated by the unruly illegibility of painterly abstraction, which serves as its backdrop. The deep space of Out the Window—the splotched and dotted background which sets off its protagonist—is a welter of hot, libidinous color and bristling textures; a crisply felt but ineffable present-tense.
Bee toys with the usual implications of the picture frame—to separate art from world, to corral an idealized other-reality and present it as an approachable object in the here and now—in her recurring invocation of the window. The man in No Exit (2012) looks at us through the Mondrian squares of a modernist mosaic illuminated like stained glass. The film noir pathos of his expression and the play of hot and cool in Bee's palette, cast the space before the window—what lies between the character and us, his audience—in a shadowy solemnity. This gap is both our outside and his, and it menaces. It is an uncharted space, and the painting has no words for it. This ineffable beyond is re-iterated elsewhere in the exhibition as the turbid blur of the world when viewed from an automobile. In repeated cinematic renderings of people behind the dashboard—for example, Drive She Said (2011), Trouble Ahead (2012), The Trip (2012), Voyage (2012), and Wherever You Go (2013)—Bee envisions the menacing outside alternately as a swirling expressionist vortex, a patchwork of vivid geometric shapes, or a spattered web of aleatory drops. In this work she searches for the visual vocabulary with which to express the destabilizing sense-experience offered by the moving car; a phenomenon which, in the '40s and '50s (the Hollywood era Bee most often references) required the use of "rear projection" in order to be captured on film. The odd visual incongruity yielded by that technique—between the shaky, washed out external world and the sharper lines of the interior scene—is a glaring reminder of cinematic untruth, pointing to the dark functionality of the film studio. Film has always labored to mask its incapacity to immerse the viewer in airtight illusion; Bee, on the other hand, embraces the expressive potential of a kind of illusion that actively exposes itself.
In her images derived from European painters Caspar David Friedrich and Chaim Soutine, Bee again demonstrates that historical allusion in painting does not amount to an ironic disavowal of the source material, but instead indicates an impassioned wish to identify; a longing to feel and say what a painted character does. Whereas Roy Lichtenstein's rendering of Van Gogh replaced the latter's emotionally-charged brushstroke with the utilitarian blandness of graphic design, Bee's versions of Friedrich and Soutine re-animate a historical pathos via the aching brightness of her own style. Her paintings have an intensely contemporary feeling, which manifests itself as the straining for words, an effort which both turns toward the past and activates a new and radically particular visual consciousness.
Ruckenfigur (2013) breaks down the smooth narrative surface of Friedrich's gloomily romantic Sonnenuntergang (Brüder) ("sunset brothers") (1830) into a striated pattern of vigorous greens, oranges, and blues. Here the distant sun which captivates the interest of the two brothers, lets spill its warm hues onto the foreground. The observing figures are thus ushered into the very image they appraise; their wish to comprehend the beautiful object—Friedrich invoked Kant's notion of sublime longing for the thing-as-such—is, in a sense, nullified, as they are shown to already participate in the beauty they so wistfully appraise. Bee's painting exposes the false belief that one cannot get inside a work of art. The relation between an artwork and its audience always connotes a certain longing, and the image can ache along with the person, yearning to encapsulate the material of a passing experience that can't be held.
Bee's brushwork always articulates an immediacy of feeling troubled by the need for comprehensible expression. It is true that all images reduce the disorder of immediate experience to a definitely limited object. Action painting addressed the problem by favoring experience and rejecting the limitations of the object; Pop Art declared the dominion of the object and the inevitable, thorough colonization of experience. Bee's work, on the other hand, maintains that the painted figure can resist the tendency to dominate and enclose. For her, the barrier between beauty and the ordinary that is erected by the fact of the frame becomes a glimpsed horizon line, an illusory limit that dissolves when approached.


text:
The End
("The End" is also a: user.)
|Future Echoes
|it is now safe to turn off your computer
|Back when grunge was still cool
|Abbey Road
|Red Dwarf
|The End?
|He who dies with the most toys wins
|School is making itself obsolete with all of this memorization
|The Doors
|I am the Walrus
|2001: A Space Odyssey
|Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
|Now We Are Six
|The gorilla escaped!
|Rabindranath Tagore
|The Soft Parade
|Open Source Wars
|Battletoads as a videogame based on the Doors' song "The End"
|Her faith informed his fiction
|I Want You (She's So Heavy)
|Fourth dimension
|What to do if you've got too many votes on your hands


text:
"Firecracker Charlie," Friend, Mar. 2013, 42–43
Firecracker Charlie
Let us love one another: for love is of God (1 John 4:7).
Sometimes Charlie's feelings would explode! How could we help him?
Sometimes Charlie played army guys nicely with our big brother, Sean. But sometimes he kicked them all over the room. Sometimes Charlie sat beside me, coloring carefully in the lines of his coloring book. But sometimes he scribbled all over his page. And mine!
One thing was certain: our three-year-old brother, Charlie, was a mystery. None of us knew how to help him.
The solution to helping Charlie came unexpectedly. As our family stood watching a fireworks display one evening, Mom started thinking about how Charlie was sort of like a firecracker. When Sean or I did something to hurt Charlie's feelings, he would "explode." And he wouldn't quit until we made him feel loved again.
The next day, when Charlie was taking his afternoon nap, Mom called Sean and me to a secret meeting. She asked Sean how Charlie had acted that morning.
"He stomped on my clay creations and ruined them!" Sean said.
"How about you, Paige?" Mom asked me.
I frowned. "Charlie spilled water all over the picture I was painting."
"Do you remember the fort you made yesterday?" Mom asked.
"Yeah," Sean said. "It was the best fort ever!"
"We used all the blankets and chairs in the whole house," I added.
"Did you let Charlie play with you?" Mom asked.
Sean and I looked at each other and then at the floor. We hadn't let Charlie play.
"Would you like to see a miracle happen when Charlie wakes up?" Mom asked. "Let's think of nice things we can do for Charlie to show how much we love him."
When Charlie woke up a little bit later and wandered out of his room, we were ready.
"Hey, Charlie," I said as I hugged him. "Would you like me to read you some stories?"
"Sure!" Charlie said. He cuddled up with me on the sofa, and we looked at pictures while I read him a stack of his favorite books.
Then Sean came in, grinning. "Charlie, would you like to play a game of army guys with me?"
"OK!" Charlie shouted as he scrambled off the sofa.
Later, while Mom cooked Charlie's favorite dinner, Dad was Charlie's "horsie" and then his "bucking bronco." Charlie giggled and squealed, and Sean and I laughed too. It was fun to watch Charlie having such a good time.
After dinner, Dad stood Charlie on a chair, and we all sat around him. We took turns telling Charlie all the things we loved about him. Charlie smiled and smiled. He was so happy.
The most wonderful thing of all was that every one of us felt the same.
After that night, Sean and I tried a lot harder to invite Charlie to play with us. Sometimes Charlie messed things up, but he also sometimes made the games more fun.
Now when Sean and I forget to be kind and Firecracker Charlie starts to come back, we know that we can change things with one little word: love.


text:
The following is a long diatribe on my former computer. There is no need for you to read it. It's boring. Just don't buy an HP and none of this will apply to you.
I warned you.
Back in 2004:
I get myself an HP Pavillion. My company buys me the machine for use out of my home office. The goal is to have a reliable and affordable machine. I don't need to play games on it or do anything fancy, I just need it to work.
I bring it home and plug 'er in. Here is how HP greets me:
Click for biggie view
A challenge: How would you go about closing that goofy window right in the middle of the screen? You can't move it. There is no close button. Right-clicking does nothing. The answer? Click in the white area to launch the wizard, then tell it you don't want any.
Then hope the window doesn't re-appear next time you boot up.
I should add that when this sales pitch for internet providers popped up, my cable modem was already connected and working properly.
Anyway, what a mess of icons. Before I go installing any of my software, I need to clean this stuff off.
Before I can do that, yet another popup appears letting me know I need to create my restore discs. It turns out that HP did not provide the restore disks. I have to go out and buy blank disks and burn them all myself. All ten of them. I really should make the restore discs before I go on my un-installing binge, in case I remove something important, or one of these nagware programs makes a mess of the system during un-install.
So I run the restore disc creation program. The process is tedious and tiresome, with an long-winded wizard that chews through a lot of time before getting around to asking for the first blank disc. I put it in. The program reports that the disc is bad. It aborts the process. I throw the disc away and try another. Run through the wizard again. This disc is also bad. Abort. Two bad blank discs in a row? What are the odds?
So I insert a regular music CD into the burner. Nothing. I mess around with it for a while, always assuming that I was doing something wrong. I have to reboot several times. Every time I reboot, the system pummels me with various "offers" and other useless windows. Windows open up, unbidden. My "favorite":
Click for biggie view
This is HP organize. The thing is just a huge confusing container for a bunch of sales icons. Note that these are different from the sales icons that litter the desktop. In that center window a little movie begins to play, welcoming me to HP and telling me abut HP Organize, a ridiculous contraption made to replace the familiar windows interface with something more gimmicky and convoluted. It does this every single time I reboot, until I give up and hunt around in the options and find the one to shuts it off for good.
Remember, I'm just trying to install my software. Before I can do that, I have to clean all this junk off the machine. Before I can do that, I have to create restore discs. Before I can do that, I have to figure out what's wrong with the CD burner. Before I can do that, I have to figure out how to disable this HP Organize monster before it drives me mad.
But it doesn't end there.
Windows with nonstandard layouts (read: the close button isn't where you expect) appear regularly. They fade in, slide up, and otherwise animate in a distracting manner. HP organize. Updates from HP. Some picture viewer thingee. Configure your new ISP. Join the HP club. Each one is totally different. They eat up system resources, greatly slowing the machine. Boot-up takes ages.
These programs seem to wait until I try to accomplish something and then leap into view. It's madness. If I were to go to the mirror universe, Steve Jobs would have an evil goatee and all of his computers would act just like this.
I finally get that stuff shut off and out of my face so I can get back to finding out why I can't burn or play CD's. Eventually I realize: This CD burner doesn't work. It's busted, right out of the box.
I get on the phone with them. It is, as you'd expect, a long process of assuring them that yes my computer is plugged in and no, I don't have it submerged in water and I have not set it on fire. I'm in a hurry. I don't care about the CD burner. I don't need it. This machine is for work, and I don't need to burn CD's. I just need the restore discs. They agree to send some in the mail. Fine. Bye.
I'm happy I don't have to spend an hour swapping discs to burn these things, and they're glad I'm not demanding they do anything expensive like make sure their computer actually works.
I spend some time un-installing all the crap. It's a long and thankless task. I'm not even installing my own stuff yet: I'm just trying to clean off the machine so it will leave me alone. There is a lot of useless stuff tucked into the various corners of the OS. I clean out the system tray. I clean off the desktop. I clean out program files….
(Let's skip ahead here,. This took a while and you get the idea.)
…finally done.
I put in a music CD. Because the CD drive is rubbish, I put it in the DVD drive. It doesn't play. Instead, a new popup appears, prompting me to register (pay for) MusicMatch, some sort of music provider. But I don't need to buy music. I have some, and I just put it in the drive. All you have to do is play it! I can make this thing go away, but I can't get windows to make with the music-playing. Musicmatch comes up whenever an audio CD is inserted.
One of the windows that was jumping in my face a while ago was a link to the HP Help Center. I imagine my current problem is a common one. Rather than fight with it myself, I sign on and see what the help center has to say. I fire it up. Instead of just some FAQ or webpages, the help center is yet another fancy-pants application. It's sluggish. It prompts me to create my account. Create an account? Are you kidding? I just want help with my HP computer! Are you afraid non-HP users are going to leech help from you or something? I go through the motions and the help center locks up. I can't believe this. I try a few more times, but that's all the help center can do.
I give up on help center and deal with this Musicmatch program myself. It's tricky because the program itself doesn't offer any way to deal with it. I uninstall it, but then windows doesn't know what to do with audio CD's. I have to go into file associations and re-assign audio CD's to Media Player. I know that a very small percentage of the people out there know how to do this. As far as I can tell, this is the only way to get my computer to play audio CD's without paying for MusicMatch.
I'm enraged on behalf of all the people out there (the proverbial moms and grandpas) who buy one of these as a first computer. Just imagine if this was your first experience with a personal computer. This experience almost turned me into a luddite.
Eventually I get the thing fixed up and working right. The annoyware is gone. My software is installed. I'm getting work done. Then I decide to watch a movie. The DVD player is an annoyware demo. Figures.
In any case: The DVD player doesn't work right. Movies stutter and pause at regular intervals. It sucks.
Again, DVD playing wasn't on the list of stuff we needed the computer to do, so from a business perspective there was just no point in making a big deal out of this. It would just eat up a bunch of time and in the end I doubt they would get it right anyway.
Two years later:
Amazing. My standards for this computer were quite low, and yet it ended up disappointing me anyway. Even if the hardware worked like it was supposed to, this was a miserable machine. It was crippled by horrible software that was so unhelpful that its actions bordered on sabotage. I weep for the poor people who bought this machine. I had the knowledge required to clean off the machine and make it perform as it should, but I'm far from the average user. I'll bet there are still hundreds or perhaps thousands of people out there right now who have simply accepted that part of the boot-up process is closing HP Organize, and the picture viewer. They are used to seeing a half-dozen blinking icons in their system tray. Icons about which they know nothing, which they have never used, and which have been needlessly clogging up the works since day one.
I don't have any sort of denouement for this tale. I don't have anything witty to add at this point. After two years with the machine my opinion of it has not improved. I admit my tale isn't as bitter or frustrating as Jeff Jarvis in his adventures in Dell Hell. I'm only putting it here so that maybe someone in the market for a computer will read this and think twice before buying HP.
I'm also putting this here as a way of shaking my fist at the loathsome people at HP who put this thing on the market. You guys are scum. You could see how the machine performed and what it did, but you put it into boxes and sent them to stores anyway. Every dollar you made from this model was stolen, as far as I'm concerned. You cannot concieve of the misery you spread and the endless hours of your customer's time you wasted with this terrible, irritating, useless, nagging, slow, and piggish software.
Deep breath.
Okay, I'm done. I don't know what posessed you to read this, but thanks for your indulgence.
Self-Balancing Gameplay
There's a wonderful way to balance difficulty in RPGs, and designers try to prevent it. For some reason.
Dead Island
A stream-of-gameplay review of Dead Island. This game is a cavalcade of bugs and bad design choices.
The Middle Ages
Would you have survived in the middle ages?
The Biggest Game Ever
Just how big IS No Man's Sky? What if you made a map of all of its landmass? How big would it be?
The Best of 2016
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2016.


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Exquisite 1 8 Scale Ferrari LaFerrari Models 2
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Life style
A Look at Luxury Real Estate in Summerlin, Nevada
Summerlin, particularly the upscale Ascension Summerlin area, stands out as the epitome of luxury real estate in Nevada. The combination of the state's tax benefits, the city's urban conveniences, and the neighborhood's panoramic views make this area one of the most sought-after addresses in the country. Here's an in-depth look at what makes luxury real […]Read More
Luxe Travel
Lynx Yacht Adventure 24: Luxury Meets Adventure at Sea
*Luxury need not always mean being confined within golden walls or lying idle in opulence. True luxury sometimes lies in experiencing the world in all its ruggedness while being wrapped in comfort. Enter the Lynx Yacht Adventure 24, a magnificent melding of luxury with the spirit of adventure.* When the news of Lynx Yacht launching […]Read More


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OS X's basic tools for finding and managing files—the Finder and Spotlight—are fine. But savvy users find ways to make them better. For some, that means making the Finder work better, with smart folders and meticulous filing systems. For others, that means turning to some third-party utilities that let them manage files their way.
Smarter smart folders
In the Finder, I've set up a bunch of smart folders that keep track of related files. Some of my handiest smart folders collect Microsoft Word files with Mac 911 in the title (File Name Contains Mac 911, Kind Is Other Microsoft Word); BBEdit files containing blog as a keyword (Kind Is Other BBEdit, Keywords Contains blog); and files larger than 1GB, which I periodically review to see whether any can be archived or thrown away to free up disk space (Size Is Greater Than 1 GB). I keep these and other smart folders in the Finder sidebar; I also plant key ones in my DragThing Frequently Used palette. (The original smart folders can be found at the /Library/Smart Searches folder in my user folder.)—Christopher Breen
Super filing
Some people dump all their files into one folder and then use Spotlight to find the files they need. But for me, Spotlight is too slow and unreliable to use for regular file finding; it's also of little help when I want to find a document on another networked Mac. I still find it most useful to keep my documents organized meticulously into folders. I have several general ones (Finances, Macworld, and so on) in my user folder's /Documents folder. Inside each of those folders are folders for each year. Inside each of those folders are folders for specific products and articles—200905 iPhone Tricks, for example, and 20090310 Mac mini Review. I also include dates in my document names. Compulsive? Perhaps. But using that file hierarchy, I can find most documents by myself faster than Spotlight can.—Dan Frakes
Find files with Quicksilver
I use
Quicksilver (
shelf in the search field, and make sure Put On Shelf is selected.) To access a shelved file later, type
Shelf in Quicksilver and then press the forward slash (/) to get a list of shelved items.—Gina Trapani
Pop-up folders with Butler
Butler () lets me turn any folder into a navigable pop-up menu—like a folder on the right side of the Dock, except it appears wherever my mouse cursor is. For example, let's say I want quick access to my Macworld Documents folder. First, I open Butler's configuration screen and drag that folder from the Finder into it. That creates two items in the configuration screen: a container and a folder. After selecting the container named Macworld Documents, I use the Triggers tab's Hot Key field to assign a trigger—let's say Option-M. Then I select Opens A Menu Near The Mouse from the drop-down menu below the Hot Key field. If I wanted, I could stop here, and press Option-M to pop up the folder. But as a last step, I assign that same action to one of the buttons on my third-party mouse, using its provided software. Now I can get a navigable pop-up Macworld Documents folder with the click of a button or the press of a few keys.—Rob Griffiths
New documents wherever you are
The standard way of creating a new document in a specific folder is clumsy: you open the app, create a new document, select Save, and then navigate to the folder where you want to store the doc. But when I want to create a new document, the folder I want to store it in is usually already open in the Finder. So I use Document Palette ( ). With Document Palette running, I can just press a keyboard shortcut, and a list of document types appears on the screen; I choose one, and a new document of that type is created in the current Finder folder. You can customize the list of document types that appear, and you can include document templates. (For people who prefer a more Windows-like approach, NuFile ( ) lets you create new documents by right-clicking inside a Finder window.)—Dan Frakes
Self-cleaning folders
Although I could use OS X's built-in Folder Actions to automate file-management chores, I've installed Noodlesoft's $22 Hazel instead, because it lets me do more. Hazel works the same way Mail's rules do: I define criteria (any file in my Downloads folder that's older than one month, for example) and an action to run on the files that match it (move them to Trash). Hazel then takes care of the job in the background. Other actions I've set up empty my Trash if it hits a certain size, add all MP3 files in my Downloads folder to iTunes, and prompt me to delete related files when I trash an application.—Gina Trapani
Create new Documents folders
Over time, my Documents folder has become cluttered with cruft. I see folders I didn't create, including Microsoft User Data, Scanner Output (the software for my all-in-one HP printer put that there), My Smilebox Creations, and a WebEx demo file. I don't like having to wade through it all to find my actual files. So I created two new folders: – Docs and – Files. I then dragged those two folders to the Finder sidebar for easy access; the leading dashes keep them both at the top of my Documents folder list. I also went to Finder -> Preferences -> General and selected – Docs from the New Finder Windows Open drop-down menu; now, whenever I open the Finder, the contents of – Docs are displayed. Whenever possible, I also specify those folders as the default location for documents in specific applications; in Word, for example, that means going to Word -> Preferences -> File Locations and selecting – Docs as the default location for documents.—Mike Glish
Use Path Finder instead
I've been using the Mac since System 6 and have always thought the Finder was poorly implemented. I have also used Windows a fair bit, XP in particular, and I prefer its file-navigation tool (Explorer) to the Mac's. For example, I like right-clicking on files to cut (and move) them, and I like being able to manage files in Save and Open dialog boxes. That's why I've replaced OS X's Finder with Path Finder (). One of my favorite Path Finder tricks is splitting the Finder window, which is much better than creating a new window (as the Finder forces you to do). Path Finder also has more options for placing shortcuts on the toolbar, and I love being able to customize the right-click context menu. My only complaint is that Path Finder doesn't really integrate with OS X; you have to use it in parallel with the Finder, which can get confusing.—Halvdan Wettre
Move downloaded DMGs automatically
I've tweaked my Downloads folder so that applications and updaters—which are typically downloaded as disk images—are automatically moved to another folder (Installers). To do that, I attached a script to my Downloads folder as a folder action. First, I typed the following script into Script Editor (substitute your short user name for username in the fifth line):
on adding folder items to theFolder after receiving theJunktell application "Finder"repeat with aFile in theJunkif the name of aFile ends with ".dmg" thenmove aFile to folder "Installers" of folder "_username_" of folder "Users" of startup diskend ifend repeatend tellend adding folder items to
I then saved it as
move dmgs.scpt in my /Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts folder. I then created an Installers folder in my Home directory. After that, I right-clicked on my Downloads folder and selected More -> Enable Folder Actions. Right-clicking again, I selected More -> Attach a Folder Action, and chose my saved script in the Choose A File dialog box. Now I don't have to wade through my overcrowded Downloads folder to find the installer .dmg I want.—Anthony Reimer
Advanced smart folders
I have just one smart folder in the Search For section of my Finder sidebar. It's named Recent Files, and it shows me the document files that are in my Documents folder and that I've updated in the past week. To create it, I ran a Spotlight search in the Finder (Command-F), selected Kind Is Documents, clicked on the plus-sign (+) next to Save, selected Other -> Raw Query from the left-most drop-down menu, and entered this in the query field:
(kMDItemFSContentChangeDate >= $time.today(-7))&&(kMDItemKind != *Alias*)
I saved this query as usual, and now I use it all the time.—Kirk McElhearn
Use Automator to batch-process files
While most folks think Automator is good only for automating tasks they do over and over, I use it more for one-off projects. For example, I recently reorganized my old Macworld files; as part of that reorg, I had to rename thousands of files. My files had been named like this: 2008-Mar-20_Thu-Online Review.txt. In my new file-naming scheme, I wanted the month first, not the year; I also wanted to make the day of the week a bit more visible. So the aforementioned file would become 03-20-2008 [Thu]—Online Review.txt. Automator's built-in file-renaming actions made this batch processing easy; my workflow consisted of two actions from the Files & Folders collection:
Get Selected Finder Items
Rename Finder Items: Replace Text, Find
2008-, Replace
Rename Finder Items: Replace Text, Find
_, Replace
Rename Finder Items: Replace Text, Find
-, Replace
Rename Finder Items: Replace Text, Find
**Mar, Replace
I specified that first action (Get Selected Finder Items) so my workflow would rename only files I'd selected in the Finder; that minimized unintended renaming. I then modified the year and/or month in the workflow as I moved from folder to folder. What could have required hours of tedium took not much more than half an hour. (When you add rename actions to a workflow, Automator will offer to add a Copy To Desktop action before each Rename, in order to create a backup in case the renaming goes awry; you don't have to, but you can.)—Rob Griffiths


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For those who aren't infected by the greens, have a happy Saturday and I'll see you soon!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Happy St. Patrick's Day
For those who aren't infected by the greens, have a happy Saturday and I'll see you soon!
14 comments:
That is ONE GORGEOUS PHOTO, Xiao! I LOVE the nail polish and the lips! Your hair and cheekbones also look mega fine :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMarch 17, 2012 at 8:20 PM
Baby them cheekbones are amaze! I love them almost as much as Sherlock's! Almost. :PReplyDelete
Love that green!
The nail polish is gorg...but I'm LOVING that gloss! ;) I don't really do St. Patrick's Day...seeing as how most people celebrate the day with drinking at dawn...blech. No thanks! lol. Have fun at your friends party!!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMarch 17, 2012 at 8:48 PM
I agree with my Lil Sis, Tracy...your cheekbones are to DIE for! I love how this green looks against your fair skin......wish I could have my similar shades look like that, but they somehow managed to attract every tinge of green out of my skin instead, lol! Happy St. Patrick's Day to you - glad you're staying safe!!ReplyDelete
Yes, it's pretty, but I'm distracted by your super luminous skin! Share your secret!ReplyDelete
I LOVE that green!!!!! It's unique as hell. Have a good night!ReplyDelete
You're just like me! I don't have ANY green in my wardrobe... which was why when my office had a free dress only if you wear green on Friday, I was struggling! I ended up buying a guy's shirt from Country Road because I didn't realise how hard it was to find green shirts for women!!ReplyDelete
Looks like an advertisement, you are far too stunning. Love that green nail shade!ReplyDelete
I don't think that green is a very good shade for Asians to wear in general, so I applaud you for going against the green!ReplyDelete
I love that pic! Green is my favourite colour, if I could, I would wear it the whole year, haha. but I get easily bored, lol <3 the green nailpolish looks very nice actually!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMarch 18, 2012 at 1:15 PM
Your makeup is amazing! What do u have on for cheeks/lips and foundation? I love it ;-)ReplyDelete
Sunny- thank you! :)ReplyDelete
Tracy- I'm imagining you saying it in your smexy voice xD And no one can top Sherlock's cheekbones, no one!
Danielle- It's the LMdB Aurora lip kit, just in case you wanted to know!
ommorphia- Thank you :D I'm iffy about the green. At times I think it's genius, then others I think it makes me look yellow...
dani- secret shared in the next post!
Rainy Days and Lattes- Ji's colors tend to do that :)
Phoebe Limanta- lol! I agree. Green is not a great color on my personally anyway
emmabovary- Thank you for the nicest words!
Jamilla Camel- I agree :( I can only rock polish!
Claire- :)
Anonymous- Thank you! I detailed the things I used (and the full look) in the next post
i love murky nail colors. that is so gorgeous.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMarch 21, 2012 at 8:49 PM
I think I'm too brown to wear this polish (I'd feel far too much like camoflage all over I'm afraid!), but it really wears beautifully on your skin tone. It's a more unique army green than I've seen around - great Paddy's Day shade, with a twist!ReplyDelete
Hi, lovelies. Due to excessive spam, I would appreciate it if you refrain from including self-promoting links in your comments! This ensures that your comment will be visible and keeps the section clean. I look forward to hearing from you!


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Intel on Wednesday started shipping the latest Atom chips for netbooks, an important step to sustain growth of the low-cost PCs in the wake of the tablet onslaught.
The dual-core chips, part of the platform code-named Cedar Trail, bring better battery life and overall improved performance to netbooks, Intel said in a statement. Top PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, Asus and Samsung will ship netbooks with Cedar Trail chips beginning in January starting at US$199.
Intel has doubled graphics performance on the chips while reducing power consumption by up to 20 percent compared to Atom predecessors introduced two years ago, the company said. The new chips will help netbooks provide up to 10 hours of battery life on one charge, Intel said.
Intel introduced the Cedar Trail chips ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Jan. 10-13. Intel is expected to talk about its latest chips for smartphones, tablets and PCs at the trade show.
Cedar Trail chips are an important step in Intel's efforts to improve netbooks, which have been hurt by growing demand for tablets such as Apple's iPad. An Intel spokeswoman said that while device makers can put Cedar Trail chips in tablets, most of the company's customers are opting for Intel's upcoming Medfield or Clover Trail tablet chips for tablets.
Intel is retaining a positive outlook for netbooks, despite the threat from tablets. While netbook shipments have dropped in the U.S. and western Europe, the market is growing in developing countries such as India and China, Intel said.
The new chips allow netbooks to play back high-definitions and support for HDMI (high-definitiion multimedia interface) ports on the chipset will allow netbooks to be hooked up to high-definition TVs. Other features include wireless display technology to beam PC images wirelessly to TVs.
The new chips include Atom N2600, which runs at 1.6GHz and draws 3.5 watts of power, and the N2800, which runs at 1.86GHz and draws 6.5 watts of power. Intel in September introduced Cedar Trail chips for low-cost desktops.