Renton, WA

Just a quick Friday Freebie for some of you. This weekend is a Starz Free Preview weekend on Directv. So spend a few minutes setting up your Tivo to record all those movies!

The much hyped big, er Venti, surprise at Starbucks for yesterday, April 8th, turned out to be free samples of coffee. I was unimpressed with this event, and I was unimpressed with the coffee. This does not stop me from buying overpriced coffee drinks, but it wasn’t the great marketing maneuver I was expecting. Starbucks has recently announced a focus on the basics, even closing their stores for training, purchased new improved equipment, and announced $1 coffee, presumably to retain those Dollar Menu customers.

McDonalds, however, is fighting the good fight. I just got an email for a free espresso drink from them, and their marketing plan appears to be mocking “snobbish” coffee. I think that is a good tact for them to take. They also included in the email a coupon for two hours of free wireless access from their restaurants which have a hotspot, to go along with the coffee. If you did not receive such an email, just leave me a comment or use the email link, and I can forward you a copy of my email.

Certainly, hanging out in Starbucks is a world away from hanging out in McDonalds. You do those things on completely different occasions. However, McDonalds has the advantage of a playland in some locations. For example, the Maple Valley location has both a playland and wireless hot spot. I’ve never tested this plan, but theoretically I could have coffee and free wireless Internet access for 2 hours while my kids play, all at no charge. I’ll have to add this to my mental list of free kids’ activities for spring break.

Our local government has two plans to help regulate our traffic, and thus improve traffic flow.

First, the HOT Lanes are being implemented this month on HWY 167 (aka The Valley Freeway) using the Good to Go transponders to pay your toll. If you are a carpool, you do not need to pay the toll, and can cover the transponder with aluminum. I’m honestly not sure how this honor system is supposed to accomplish anything. It seems like it will be harder to patrol than a simple carpool lane. And I can see why some have called it the “Lexus Lane”. But people who are carpools, or willing to pay the varying fee (up to $9) can ride in the HOT Lane on 169 when it opens April 26th.
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Happy April Fools Day, I guess. I’ve never been a fan of Aprils Fools day, or understood the concept of playing pranks, so I’m going to ignore that pseudo-holiday and point out something better. April is National Landscape Month
The month encompasses Earth Day on April 22 and the birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted on April 26, founder of the American landscape architecture profession.

For most of us, we can celebrate this month by dreaming of what we will do when spring actually arrives. However, The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) wants to use this month to train up the next generation of landscape architectures. Which is ok by me as long as they come work on my yard. And I use the term “yard” loosely. It’s more like “nature outside my house”.

Eddie George is a Heisman Trophy winner, former NFL Pro-Bowl running back, and landscape architecture firm principal. Isn’t that an interesting combination? He is helping promote landscape architecture careers to young people. ASLA chapters across the country will host activities throughout the month of April, highlighting what landscape architects do and the broad range of careers available in the field.

ASLA would like to point out that “a recent survey” shows that the average landscape architecture student receives three job interviews during their final semester at school, resulting in two job offers. The starting salary for graduates with undergraduate degrees is $40,080 and with graduate degrees is $44,600. The annual salary and bonus for all landscape architects averages nearly $90,000, with experienced landscape architects and firm owners earning much more.

To learn more about landscape architecture or to find local events in your area, visit http://www.asla.org.  Renton Technical College offers a landscape design class which I highly recommend.  Since most of us don’t do “landscape design” nearly as much as good old fashioned “gardening”, check out Susan’s Earthly Garden, also on 451press.net