Recent Stories with tag steve ballmer

We have Paul Swortz, from The SunBreak Flickr photo pool, to thank for this eye candy.

Let's begin with the week in technology: RealNetworks' CEO Rob Glaser stepped down suddenly; TechFlash owned the story, and has a "What they're saying" round-up.

Microsoft made the Google v. China news twice: The hackers exploited an Internet Explorer flaw and then Microsoft's Steve Ballmer said he "didn't get" what all the fuss was about. (In one sense, there's no arguing with that statement: there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about hackers tunneling in through IE.)

Zillow is third in real estate websites, and Redfin surged into the top 20, at 18. The "Baby Einstein" people are suing the UW researchers who noticed a distinct lack of Einsteins so far.

On the political front, Mayor McGinn announced he'll try to speed up the Alaskan Way seawall replacement, and the governor said (I'm paraphrasing): That's nice, dear, we're still building a tunnel. The City Council--who'd earlier announced publicly they didn't trust the Mayor--were miffed at not being properly notified. This is the same City Council who unanimously approved the "blank check" Viaduct replacement plan that leaves Seattle taxpayers on the hook for all cost overruns.

In transportation news, a bunch of people took off their pants and rode the light rail. You can still get a free ORCA card (until March 1) thanks to an extension. 330,000 cards have been handed out so far. The Seattle Times properly raps Sound Transit for making the elderly and disabled wait in long lines to get their ORCA card--Seattlest mentioned what a hassle it is last July.... (more)

"Swan on Lake Washington 1987" comes with a story from shawnmebo: "This swan was mean as hell. He had a bad habit of attacking people. People with dogs. Let's just say it didn't end well for him."

After a week of icy temperatures and steam fog, things meteorological are finally warming up...to snow. Cliff Mass says "not a lot" of snow is expected Sunday, but "enough to whiten the place." No matter how much we get, it should melt off when temperatures rise to the 40s next week. Still, to be on the safe side, now is a good time to start following Metro's crowd-sourced snow reports on Twitter.

You may not believe this--that's where FlightBlogger's video will come in handy--but Boeing has been taxi testing its 787 Dreamliner this morning. Here's a picture of the 787 moving under its own steam. Brakes look good.

Earlier in the week, Elliott Bay Book Company officially announced its move to Capitol Hill, with a spring opening planned. The Seattle Times took a sneak peek at the new digs. What'll be new: 85 parking spaces associated with the building, central heating, and--if they turn a profit--streaming videos of their author readings. There's also talk of a café "likely" run by Brasa's Tamara Murphy, which may create an indie café singularity in the Pike-Pine neighborhood.

In other local bidness news, Birgitta is having a going-outta-business sale this weekend, and Google informed us that our sponsor Central Cinema is one of Seattle's favorite places.

In the ghost-of-local-news-past category, there are questions about WaMu's seizure that just won't go away. The FDIC says Horizon Bank, Evergreen, and Rainier Pacific are all under-capitalized. Seattle Bubble also noted that Seattle's November foreclosures were up 45 percent from last year.... (more)

The stars were out for Metro League Tuesday

Before we get to the whys and wherefores of how the spittle of the 14th-richest man in America ended up on my right hand, let me make one thing clear. Underemployed though I am, I did not attend Tuesday's Lakeside/Rainier Beach game with the intention of sitting next to, and eventually shaking hands with, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

First of all, I did not even know Ballmer would be at the game. Only when I had found my seat and noticed a "Sam Ballmer" on the Lakeside roster did I suspect any impending Ballmerness. Furthermore, I did not sit next to Ballmer. He happened to sit next to me. And, to finally get to the expectoration you were expecting: If you sit next to Steve Ballmer at a Lakeside basketball, you are going to get a little wet. And possibly go a little deaf. The man is not shy with the yelling.

I'm okay with that, because Ballmer is the best kind of parent rooter: He encouraged Lakeside's overmatched players from tip to buzzer, all the way through a 47-point loss. He laid off the referees. And he even cheered the (very many) exciting plays by Rainier Beach.

His high-energy rooting style--at times, his non-stop nervous rocking shook the bleacher bench we were sharing--made me wish heartily that he'd managed to purchase the Sonics. A courtside Ballmer would make notoriously excitable Dallas owner Mark Cuban look phlegmatic.

So, yeah, a few minutes into the game, something moves Ballmer to shout "Boom" (his favorite exclamation), and I suddenly feel a drop of wetness on my hand. Oh. That's Ballmer spit. At halftime, I'd see a Microsoft employee friend of mine who'd come to his first Metro League Tuesday.

"I'm sitting next to your boss," I said.

"I saw that," he exclaimed.

"He spit on my hand!"

"You'd better not wash it."

And I never will. NEVER! I am buying protective gloves tomorrow. AND NO MOM I AM NOT COMING OUT OF MY ROOM!

One Ballmer moment before we move on to the other famous people who were at the game. Ballmer's son Sam had the best Lakeside play of the night. Receiving the ball on the right wing, young Ballmer created space with his off-hand, stepped back and swished a 12-foot jumper. Papa rose as the shot was in the air, and unleashed a thunderous "Boom!" as the ball slid through the net. It was cute--and lest you think I'm being overly sentimental, I said as much to my ex-girlfriend, who was sitting on the other side of me, and she nodded vigorously in agreement.

Also at the game: University of Washington basketball head coach Lorenzo Romar, taking up his preferred spot behind the baseline. Ballmer and Romar had a long talk at halftime. Meanwhile, chatting next to them were Seattle city councilmember Bruce Harrell, whose son is a backup guard for Lakeside, and Husky hoops legend and former NBAer Eldridge Recasner. It was a veritable who's who of Seattle!... (more)