gdp's Comments

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Customers rate local health and fitness clubs | Consumer News | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Break

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 03:15:40 +0000

I've had such bad experiences with fitness clubs that I will probably never sign up for one again. One, which I will not name, promised that my ex and I would receive starter kits (plural) with helpful products in them when we signed up, and that was not true. The first kit was free and the second kit cost $75, which was not what we were promised in person or in the contract, and then the gym ended up being crowded with rude bulked-up gym rats who hogged the machines in groups. We ended up calling our lawyer to send them a letter and were able to get out of the contract with not too many hassles and no extra money beyond the two months we'd already paid for (no pro-rated refund). The other club was clean the day we visited and there was no waiting for any of the machines because they had multiples of each, but that was not true for any of the other times we were there. Sweat crusts on the handle-bars (partly the fault of the users not cleaning them off, but also laxness on the part of the club for not enforcing a cleaning rule and doing cleaning of their own), slime on the floors in the locker room, and the sick smell in the pool room was not eliminated by cleaning chemicals (I've been going to pools all my life, and that was NOT a normal odor). Plus for whatever reason it was almost always crowded after that first visit. Fortunately we only signed up for a month so it was only a little waste of money. Unless someone buys a membership for me as a gift, I'll probably forgo fitness clubs and just do yoga and free weights and walking on my own. The cost is so high, you're surrounded by people watching you (some of those clubs even put their machines right up against the window so passers-by can stare at you while you jog or bike or what have you), and the seemingly high percentage of rude people just makes them miserable to use, unless you're already a fit, tanned, rude gym-rat yourself. I totally understand why there are gyms popping up here and there that only allow clients who need to lose weight, or are for women only.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Stray dog dispute heads for Portland courtroom | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, B

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 19:31:38 +0000

If I lost my phone, you would not be in the right to keep it just because my name and address wasn't written on the phone or saved inside. You would be required to either contact the police or turn the phone into a store run by the service provider so that they could find the rightful owner of the phone. Searching craigslist or posting flyers would not be considered sufficient for the phone to be legally your property. It's no different with dogs, and the police have sided with the dog's original owner. Also, she DIDN'T get the dog properly licensed until his original owner claimed him back, nor did she file a found animal report as required, or post an ad in the newspaper. Here is another article with more information on the background of this story, and I've quoted one brief part of that article below: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012... : --Portland police also have sided with Hanson-Fleming [the original owner]. In police reports obtained late Wednesday, Officer Wendi Hamm told Biggs [the girl currently keeping the dog] in a May 15 phone conversation that she had failed to follow Multnomah County animal code in taking possession of the dog because she didn't file a found-dog report with animal services or post ads in the newspaper.--

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Stray dog dispute heads for Portland courtroom | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, B

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:20:41 +0000

He should counter-sue for his legal costs when he wins, since it is quite clear that she did not follow the law in regards to notifying the authorities after she found the animal. I feel a little sorry for her because she obviously formed a bond with the dog, but if she'd followed proper procedure in the first place she wouldn't be going through what she is going through now, and she wouldn't have spent so much time bonding with the dog, and all that money on getting the dog trained (money which I do not believe she is legally entitled to try and get back from him, considering she did not follow the law when she kept the dog, and if she had, the dog would have been returned to the rightful owner before she had a chance to do so). But I feel even more badly for the man who was deprived of his dog for so long by a girl who seems to think that "finders keepers" is okay, even though legally that is often not the case. She messed up and yet she's still acting like a spoiled brat who isn't getting her way, and she can deal with the consequences, which in this case are as simple as giving up the dog and the money she spent on him, and hopefully court costs and legal fees for the rightful owner that she is dragging through all this unnecessarily (and to her own detriment, both financially and reputation-wise).

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Md. police: Boy, 12, being charged with murder | National & World News | Seattle News, Weather, Spor

Fri, 6 Jul 2012 06:20:26 +0000

That is a seriously disturbed child. I feel so badly for those who loved and cherished the little girl, and for those left to deal with the aftermath of what this boy did. There are no easy answers, no simple solutions, and no chance for true justice in a case like this where not one but two young lives are destroyed. Hopefully, in time, those who are grieving and suffering over this can find a small measure of peace.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Hit-and-run victim says road rage to blame | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Break

Fri, 6 Jul 2012 00:20:06 +0000

Seattle drivers are irrelevant. This happened in Orting, on a road with multiple bends. A different version of this story on KIRO's website said that she passed the cars just before a bend in the road, which is not a safe maneuver no matter what you are driving, and that she flashed a peace sign to the car as she passed, which could have been mistaken for some other kind of hand-sign. There is NO excuse for the car running her off the road like that -- I'm not defending the driver of the car at all, or belittling her suffering -- but it sounds from these two articles as though she could have been more courteous or careful herself in the way she shares the road, especially since it looks like there's a good stretch of straight road after the place where she chose to pass them that might have been more appropriate for such a maneuver. I hope she makes a quick recovery with no lasting scars or trauma, and that the creep who chose to run someone down is caught or turns themselves in. Again, there's no excuse for that kind of behavior. http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/crime-law/driver-...

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Answers sought after autistic man wanders off from drunk caretaker | Local & Regional | Seattle News

Wed, 4 Jul 2012 01:08:55 +0000

That poor man! I'm glad they were able to piece his story together within a short time. As for the caretaker, he doesn't deserve that title, because there was no sign of care for anyone but himself in his actions.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Man grabs boy, 10, tries to sexually assault him in Wendy\'s bathroom | Local & Regional | Seattle N

Mon, 2 Jul 2012 16:37:14 +0000

I know the kid never made it to a stall because the bathroom probably didn't have stalls, I was referring to the fact that if the bathroom *did* have stalls they might not have designed it with a locking door (as there would be no need for a lock if the stalls themselves locked), and the creep that did this wouldn't have been able to barricade himself and the boy in the room and hurt him so badly. That's what I meant by "This is a good reason why restrooms should have a locking stall within *rather* than a locking door." I was basically trying to say that this is a safety issue with locking single-occupant bathrooms that could have been avoided if the bathroom had stalls that locked and an outer door that did not.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Loose kangaroo startles drivers in Pasco | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breakin

Mon, 2 Jul 2012 16:23:08 +0000

Definitely an unexpected event, but I'm glad it didn't end too badly. On another note, I have never seen such a young-looking man behind a news desk. It's rather refreshing.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Anderson Cooper: \'The fact is, I\'m gay\' | Entertainment | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking

Mon, 2 Jul 2012 16:02:18 +0000

He's exactly right in saying that in a perfect world it would be no one's business, but right now the world is a very imperfect place, and I'm pleased that he had the courage to stand up and say something. This wasn't exactly a surprise, though.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Man grabs boy, 10, tries to sexually assault him in Wendy\'s bathroom | Local & Regional | Seattle N

Mon, 2 Jul 2012 15:57:21 +0000

Yeah, he does. The first moment I saw that picture, with the sheriff logo in the corner, I thought it was from the "Faces of Meth" picture lineup that Portland does. He looks as diseased on the outside as he is on the inside.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Man grabs boy, 10, tries to sexually assault him in Wendy\'s bathroom | Local & Regional | Seattle N

Mon, 2 Jul 2012 15:55:30 +0000

There is no punishment sufficient enough for what this miserable sack of slime has done, but I'd certainly settle for a life term in general population. This is a good reason why restrooms should have a locking stall within rather than a locking door. There is no way he could have done as much damage as he did if only the stall locked. I feel so badly for that poor boy and the trauma he has gone through, which is unimaginable to anyone who hasn't been through something like it themselves, and also for the boy's family and the aftermath of what has happened. All of their lives have been changed forever.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Driver rams deputy\'s patrol car during traffic stop | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Spo

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:41:29 +0000

Or he could have called for a friend to meet him somewhere and got a ride after he abandoned the car.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : What \'Seattle process\'? Big wheel turns up fast | Business | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaki

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:04:21 +0000

I'm pretty psyched about going to try this out. It seems like a beneficial project all around, not only for the citizens of Seattle and visitors, but also for the marine environment under the wheel. And for the family who built it, as well. It's nice to see a decades-old dream coming true.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Driver rams deputy\'s patrol car during traffic stop | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Spo

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 14:29:41 +0000

Well, I certainly hope the car was stolen, only because I hate to think that someone could be stupid enough to ram a cop car with their own vehicle before abandoning it.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Victim in Whatcom fire was under investigation | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, B

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:45:32 +0000

Well, that's an interesting twist in the case, to say the least. I feel badly for the woman's family, if she had any. If she really was the one who embezzled the money, I also feel bad for the business she ripped off, since they won't have the satisfaction of seeing her arrested, charged, convicted, and ordered to pay them back.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : 80-year-old woman drives car into bay near Poulsbo | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sport

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 23:19:04 +0000

This looks like a pretty serious driving mishap (unless she swerved out of the way of something like another car, or a kid, or someone on a bike, which the article doesn't mention). No offense to the elderly out there but if you are over 75 and you have a serious incident like this, and if there was no obvious reason such as swerving to avoid an obstacle, you should be required to retake the both the written and physical driver's license tests (as well as the eye exam), and should lose your license if you can't pass the same tests as younger drivers.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Ken Schram: We must punish drunk drivers before they kill | Ken Schram | Seattle News, Weather, Spor

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:28:51 +0000

It may be useless as far as prevention goes, but it means increased penalties if the person is caught, whether they were drunk that time or not (and usually their car will get towed away and they'll have to pay out the wazoo to get it out of impound).

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Judge upholds Ind. Facebook ban for sex offenders | Technology | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Brea

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:16:40 +0000

I totally agree with this. Perhaps some sex offenders are capable of reforming and "staying clean," in a manner of speaking. But the rest are not, and that is why the sex offender registry was set up in the first place, to identify those who had committed offenses and were likely to repeat them, and place restrictions on their behavior to help prevent recurrences of their crimes. And calling it a Facebook ban is kind of misleading because not only are the sites that are in question not actually named in the law, but Facebook's own policies forbid sex offenders from using the site. If you find a registered sex offender using Facebook, copy the web address of their sex offender registry page and their Facebook profile and go through the help section on Facebook to find instructions on reporting that person's page (you need proof such as their registry page or a news article link that names them and specifies that they are a registered sex offender).

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Ken Schram: We must punish drunk drivers before they kill | Ken Schram | Seattle News, Weather, Spor

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:10:58 +0000

I agree. And if you are convicted of multiple DUIs you should lose your driving privileges permanently, even if there was no motor vehicle accident involved.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Person shooting at fireworks container sets off huge explosion | Local & Regional | Seattle News, We

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:32:25 +0000

And this, folks, is why you should never be shooting at something when you aren't sure what it is or what is in it or behind it. I'm curious why a cargo container full of fireworks was just sitting around at an auto-wrecking yard. Unless it was for Independence Day and one of their trucks was going to tow it somewhere to set up as a fireworks stand which, while making sense (sort of), is still kind of weird.