Slog - Comments on The (Not Totally) Amazing Race http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race Photo by Jimmy Clarke Last weekend, Dan rounded up a few of us youngsters and promised a night of free drinks in exchange for testing out Seattle's big three cab companies. We pitted Orange, Yellow, and Farwest against each other in a circuitous route around town—the short version is that Yellow was the most reliable and efficient. You can read about it here, or skip straight to the video, in which I am way more drunk than I ever like to be. If you do read the print edition, please pull out your red pen and correct these three... Copyright 2008 Thu, 10 May 2007 13:33:48 -0800 Sun, 13 May 2007 22:58:39 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Transit Man IT's properly "State Route 99", or sr99 for short.

]]> Transit Man http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712161 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712161 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 13:42:49 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle So is this why you guys missed the fact that Oregon passed a domestic partners law today?

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712162 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712162 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 13:43:10 -0800 Comment by monkey Actually Will, Dan posted about it yesterday evening.

http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/once_upon_a_time

]]> monkey http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712189 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712189 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 13:48:46 -0800 Comment by J.R, In the post-Hugh Foskett era, "Sombrero" must always be capitalized.

]]> J.R, http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712199 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712199 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 13:50:38 -0800 Comment by lecherous I wish the stranger would do a Foskett update. I would like to know how that cutie is doing.

]]> lecherous http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712266 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712266 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 14:04:32 -0800 Comment by Amy Kate Horn Thanks, Transit Man. Corrected (again).

]]> Amy Kate Horn http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712268 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712268 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 14:04:50 -0800 Comment by k. also, the math is wrong for the team orange summary in the fourth heat (summarized as a 23 minute wait although the text has the correct "13 minutes later").

]]> k. http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712299 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712299 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 14:24:05 -0800 Comment by NO!! Foskett update... just let it go..


san/cum/NO-Jaya too..


move on people, pretty boys are fun for a couple of times, after we do 'em lets let them go..for all our sake

]]> NO!! Foskett update... http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712308 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712308 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 14:37:55 -0800 Comment by grammar po po It's properly capitalized as "state route 99" in most local publications' style guides. Thank you.

]]> grammar po po http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712374 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712374 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 16:02:57 -0800 Comment by Josh Bush is the most pro-sombrero president we have ever had. America needs to stand strong with sombreros now. The Stranger has gone against conventional Seattle wisdom and been pro-sombrero. Bush is the best American president sombreros have ever known, and many in the Seattle Jewish community appreciate what Bush has done for sombreros.

]]> Josh http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712380 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712380 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 16:08:10 -0800 Comment by Just Sayin Quick sidebar comment: While it is indeed a better idea to hail--rather than call--a cab in high-traffic areas, the ease with which it was done here may be due at least in part to the person doing the hailing, the ever-alluring Amy Kate. Next time, have someone ugly do it for the sake of getting a more representative sample.

]]> Just Sayin http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712384 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712384 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 16:16:59 -0800 Comment by Ari Spool That is the least graceful exit from a car ever recorded on film.

]]> Ari Spool http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712401 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712401 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 16:39:37 -0800 Comment by john @11

I was once with two female friends and was looking for a cab. I saw one half a block up so I ran to grab it. The cabby saw me and pulled over and I went to grab the handle of the door when the cabby saw the two girls behind me walking towards the cab. "Sorry dude, I can't take you." he said with a smile and a wink. "Boobs." Confused, I realized he was telling me he didn't want to take me since there were woman who wanted a ride. My friends got in and I followed, and he realized we were all together.

Either way, it's no joke. Cabbies will totally stop for some people, and not others.

]]> john http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712417 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712417 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 16:49:41 -0800 Comment by Amy Kate Horn Interesting theory, but my husband flagged that Yellow cab. He had better shoes on and ran faster than I could.

Going to look up "state route" in Chicago now...

]]> Amy Kate Horn http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712459 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712459 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 17:31:37 -0800 Comment by patrick Actually I-99 does exist, just not in Washington.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_99

]]> patrick http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712500 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712500 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 19:36:15 -0800 Comment by nomi malone None of the fucking cab companies show up when you call them. I've had nothing but trouble with dispatchers. HOWEVER! There is an awesome new town car service about town which shows up without delay and whisks you off in style. It's run by a punky ex-cabbie who’s lived in Seattle forever and so knows all the shortcuts, and his friends drive other cars and dispatch.
I felt much safer and better cared for than in most cabs (I used to work at the Lusty Lady and regularly had to ride cabs home at three in the morning, driven by creepy dudes that wanted nothing more than to talk on and on about my job. Not fun at three in the fucking morning after a five-hour-long work out.)
Anyway, these guys are rad, and totally comparable in price to other cabs, and you get to feel swanky to boot.
Call them! 722.7696

]]> nomi malone http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712523 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c712523 Housekeeping Thu, 10 May 2007 20:32:26 -0800 Comment by matt Are Red Top and Grey Top cabs no longer around?

]]> matt http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c715305 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c715305 Housekeeping Sun, 13 May 2007 02:25:04 -0800 Comment by no one in particular BTW, the strobe thing is an urban legend. He may have gotten a light by coincidence once or twice, but that's all it was. The strobe to get through the light is designed for emergency vehicles, but they're timed to very specific (and very fast) flash rates. It's extremely unlikely you'd be able to create the exact effect by turning your lights on and off by hand.

here's some wikipedia about it

]]> no one in particular http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c715769 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c715769 Housekeeping Sun, 13 May 2007 22:51:04 -0800 Comment by no one in particular Oh, even better, here's the snopes page about it.

"And even when drivers happen upon strobe-enabled signals, the sensors are set to detect lights flashing at a rate so rapid (in the neighborhood of 14 flashes per second) that a human working a manual headlight switch couldn't possibly imitate it."

]]> no one in particular http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c715770 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_not_totally_amazing_race#c715770 Housekeeping Sun, 13 May 2007 22:58:39 -0800