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1

Discussion / DLC X: Travel

« on: April 30, 2015, 09:26:17 PM »

Arriving

Wednesday, July 29
9:08am - UA 1415 - Meeple
9:51am - UA 1950 - Soppy
2:05pm - DL 4806 - VSM
10:39pm - DL 64501 - Niu
10:56pm - JB 1475 - Jim +1

Thursday, July 30
10:00am - VA 67 - super
2:20pm - DL 2621 - CK

Returning

Sunday, August 2
9:40am - VA 84 - super
1:00pm - DL 2780 - Niu
1:05pm - DL 2621 - CK
11:59pm - JB 276 - Jim +1

Monday, August 3
8:04am - DL 4622 - VSM
6:50pm - AA 209 - Soppy

Tuesday, August 4
1:00pm - UA 1754 - Meeple

Blue = OAK. All others SFO.


FAQ

When should I get there?

The house will be open Wednesday, July 29 through Monday, August 3. If you arrive before or leave after, there are a few DLers in the area you can arrange to stay with (or hotel, obviously).

What time should I arrive/leave?

The biggest constraint is the BART timetable. The earliest trains leave at 4:20am and the latest trains drop off at ~1:20am, with even more limited times on Sundays. Give yourself at least an hour buffer on those times. BART is not renowned for being on time, though it's not terrible unless someone's committed suicide on the tracks or there's a riot in Oakland.

If absolutely necessary, I can drive. Accounting for traffic, it takes ~45-60 minutes to get to SFO, ~60-90 to get to SJC, and ~30 minutes to get to OAK. Less if it's the middle of the night, but I can't speed too much because cops set lots of speed traps around here.

What's the best airport to use?

You have three options: San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), or San Jose (SJC). Oakland is the closest, SF hosts the most international flights, and San Jose is often slightly cheaper than either. Both Oakland and SF have BART service directly to the house. San Jose requires additional transportation like a taxi to the train station or a ride from one of the South Bay DLers or the like.

I recommend Oakland and San Francisco, in that order.

How do I get to the house from the airport? And back again?

BART. Here's a map.

SJC is a whole 'nother animal. If you're flying into SJC, let me know so I can set something up for you.

From SFO
Follow the signs to the AirTrain/BART. Get on the AirTrain - Red Or Blue Line and get off at the BART stop.

Once you've gone through the fare gates and down the stairs, you are looking for Richmond (before 8pm) or Pittsburg/Bay Point. Pittsburg/Bay Point is probably the only  train leaving the airport. DO NOT take Fremont or Dublin/Pleasanton - they do not easily transfer to the right trains and you'll just end up backtracking.

Richmond train is direct! Just get off at El Cerrito Plaza. It'll take about an hour.

Pittsburg/Bay Point is not direct. You will need to listen for MacArthur station; it'll be after you go under the bay. You can also transfer at Balboa Park. Once there, you need to find a Richmond train. You may need to walk to another platform (down the stairs, across, up the stairs), but I believe Richmond is a timed transfer meaning it should be at the station and easy to find.

From OAK
Once you exit from baggage claim, you'll be able to walk across the traffic lanes and head up to the tower where you climb a bunch of stairs, walk over some platforms, yadda yadda. You'll need to buy a ticket before you get on anything. Pay your $8.95, ticket goes in and comes back out, get on the tram thingy. The "automated people mover" (their words) will take you from the airport to the BART. Do more fare gate things to get into the station proper.

Since it will dump you out at MacArthur, you should simply need to find a Richmond train.

Back to SFO/OAK

Going back to the airport is easy: Take a train going to SFO.

OAK you need whatever southbound train you can find (basically, just avoid the Richmond train). Get off at MacArthur and find your way back to the AirBART automated people mover which only goes to the airport so you can't possibly get lost.

What is BART?

Bay Area Rapid Transit. It's the local subway/train service connecting the East Bay and the Peninsula with San Francisco. It's extremely convenient. You'll probably only need it once or twice: trip to/from the airport and if you want to take a trip to SF. Note, because this can be confusing: if you have exact fare, the machine will not give you your ticket back once you've put it in the gate to exit. Just walk through the open gate.

The costs are based on station-to-station price points. The station closest to the house is El Cerrito Plaza, which is only a couple blocks away.

One-way ticket price (no discounts unless you want to buy $50 worth of fare):
SFO <-> El Cerrito Plaza: $9.45
OAK <-> El Cerrito Plaza*: $8.95
Downtown SF** <-> El Cerrito Plaza: $4.15

* OAK has two pay-gates. This is the total cost for both.
** Downtown SF is several stations that all cost the same. This gets you to Union Square, the Ferry Building/Pier 1, etc. You need a bus for the rest of the city.

Alternate transportation options for getting to where you want to go without a car or walking:

Buses. Ferries. Cabs. Lyft/Uber/Sidecar.

Buses
We are very close to a "highway" (just a particularly busy thoroughfare). The bus you most likely will want for local service is the 72 (or 72M, 72R). This'll get you from El Cerrito to Berkeley and Oakland. If you wanted to, but I very much do not recommend, you could also go up toward Richmond.

There is also a bus that will take you to San Francisco! Two buses, I guess. It will take just under an hour. You take the 72 to Oakland then get on the F.  Once you're in SF you'll probably need to the local SF transport to get to where you want to go, including Japantown.

Basically, if you want to do things in SF on the weekend, expect to be there most of the day.

Fares:
Local, $2.10/ride ($5/day if you ask for it when you pay)
Transbay, $4.20/ride

Ferry

Get to downtown Oakland (via BART or bus), walk down to the water, take a ferry. This'll also take a while.

Fare:
$6.40/trip
$1.50 short hop (Oakland to Alameda or Pier 1 to Pier 41)

Uber, Lyft, Sidecar
The most direct, point-to-point trip. Hire a car! Expect to pay ~$30-35 per car. They can usually take 3ish people. There's also an option for a more expensive but bigger car.

2

General Chat / SEGA games?

« on: November 24, 2014, 09:28:24 PM »

Since I work for SEGA, I get access to the employee discount at the end of the year. They've just posted ours, so I figured since I can buy up to 4 copies of any given game, I'd open it up to DLers if there's any interest.

I need to submit my order by this Wednesday, November 26 so sooner is better than later. We can figure out how the shipping/payment thingy works, but I'm generally able to ship how you'd like whether it's media mail or UPS Next Day. You just get to pay for it. <_<

PSV, PS3 & PS4
Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz PSV   $10.00
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd PSV   $20.00
Alien: Isolation PS4   $20.00
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection PS3   $10.00
Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing PS3   $10.00
Sonic Generations PS3 (GH)   $10.00
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed PS3   $10.00
Alien: Isolation PS3   $20.00
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd PS3   $20.00
 
DS & 3DS
Super Monkey Ball 3DS   $11.00
Sonic Generations 3DS   $11.00
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 3DS   $11.00
Sonic Lost World 3DS   $11.00
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal 3DS   $20.00
 
XBOX 360 & XB1
Alien: Isolation XB1   $20.00
Sonic Unleashed XB 360 (PH)   $10.00
Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection XB 360   $10.00
Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing XB 360   $10.00
Sonic Free Riders XB 360 Kinect   $10.00
Sonic Generations XB 360   $10.00
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed XB 360   $10.00
Alien: Isolation XB 360   $20.00

Wii and WiiU
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed WiiU   $10.00
Sonic Lost World WiiU   $10.00
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric WiiU   $20.00

PC
Total War: Rome II    $10

3

Discussion / DLC X: Back to the Bay

« on: September 30, 2014, 06:25:24 PM »

DLCon X: Bay Area, the Revenge of the Pacific Ocean, will be July 30 - August 2 in the San Francisco Bay Area-ish.

Other topics of interest:
DLC X - Travel
DLC X - Activities

Housing:

We’ll be staying at Redwood House in El Cerrito, 6506 Eureka Ave., easily accessible by BART (local train), bus, and car. (This is the same place we stayed at for DLC 5.) Lots of sleeping space, decent areas for gathering and playing games of the video and board variety, walking distance to groceries, video games, clothes, restaurants, and a short drive away from the bowling alley and similar delights. It’s a 20 minute train ride to San Francisco. Plus it has a grill that hopefully we can actually use this time!

The house will be open July 29 through August 3. The cost per person depends on how many people stay at the house, but if 15 people stay it’s $215.

Driving:

Very limited, as much because I hate driving as because there really aren't many places that are easier to drive to than take a bus or train to. Nevertheless, I'll be looking for a couple people who want to help for the day or two we'll need to go off the bus paths.

It's possible to use local car-share services (Uber, Lyft, Sidecar) as well, though I'm not certain how well-served the area around the house is.

So... who's coming?

Here!

• LD & AndyRogue - house [paid]
• Grefter - house [paid]
• Dhyer - house [paid]
• Ciato & Neb & + Mage - house [paid]
• Gate - hotel [paid]
• CK - house [paid]
• Niu - house [paid]
• Meeple - house [paid]
• VSM - house [paid]
• Tal - hotel
• DragonKnight - house [paid]
• NotMiki + 1 - house [paid]
• super - house [paid]
• Tonfa - hotel
• Laggy - hotel
• Soppy - house [paid]
• Nitori - hotel

No =(

• Snow
• Carth
• Alex
• CT
• DJ
• Tide
• Nephrite
• Excal
• Eternalspirit
• OK
• Yakko

4

General Chat / Good Morning, 2014! #firstworldproblems edition

« on: January 03, 2014, 07:48:13 PM »

It's day 3 and no one has had anything to complain about yet? Shenanigans!

Work has experienced another round of layoffs. All the DLers' jobs were not directly affected, but it's still an uncomfortable sign of the instability this company is facing.

I'm still waiting to hear from my manager about the EU opportunity, but the EU has actual benefits like vacation time so they won't even be back until Monday. I'm also on tap for a job at Amazon and a job at Nintendo, but the holidays have put that on hold for the most part, too. I'm not sure how I'd rate my chances on any of these, but I'm starting to give up on my current job (which, if you'll recall, was only supposed to be some place I'd stay for ~1 year). Hoping something works out and I continue my trend of making 30-50% more when I do move on.

Christmas and New Year's were boring. My family canceled on me because my dad's job is in jeopardy and he's a workaholic that obviously needed to get a second job doing the thing he was doing before he took his first job. Obviously.

I am doing crafty/arty things. I'm not sure whether to sign up for another art class, mostly because the aforementioned job opportunities would all require moving away from the Bay Area.

Basically nothing has changed in the past 5 years. Next verse, same as the first.

EDIT: super would like to point out that I got fat. That has changed. Thanks, super, for pointing out my oversight.

5

RPGDL Discussion / Disquiet (Working Title) - Current Project Agenda

« on: June 04, 2012, 03:42:17 AM »

Week of July 13 Objectives
See below.

Next meeting: July 13, 7:30pm PDT / 10:30pm EDT / 03:30 GMT

NEB: Implement all current stats (including the Focus system and working Focus for PCs)
Nama: Conceptual level spread for rough ability sets, Concepts for episode 1 antagonists
Trance: Examining the state of Status Effects in the game currently (and explore additional options)
Tide: Explore possible Accessory effects
Andrew/Sopko: Produce vignettes for the 9 playable PCs
Ashley: Get the goddamned website up


Week of July 6 Objectives
1. Define Episode I characters and basic concepts
2. Discuss equipment/items
3. Finalize basic damage formulas

Next meeting: July 6, 7:30pm PDT / 10:30pm EDT / 03:30 GMT

1. Define Episode I characters and basic concepts

We have most of the characters and their number-agnostic balances complete. We still need to create PC #9 and finalize the skillset concepts for all characters making a PC appearance in Epsiode I.

2. Discuss equipment/items

Availability, scaling, variety, importance of variety, general expectations for what characters will be able to equip. Anything and everything items - this is a big one, so I don't doubt this will just be the start!

3. Finalize Basic Damage Formulas
(this post: http://www.rpgdl.com/forums/index.php/topic,6022.msg143258.html#msg143258 - please also read subsequent discussion)

We have some basic damage formulas up, but we need to finalize them to move on. Please review the thread linked above and be ready to discuss Friday night.

--

Working on getting the site live -- sorry about the delay.
Week of June 23 Objectives
1. Acquire software
2. Confirm character concepts
3. Formally assign roles
4. Site "live" by 6/24

Next meeting: June 23, 7:30pm PDT / 10:30pm EDT / 03:30 GMT

1. Acquire Software

At the meeting, we decided to stick with RPGMaker VX. The people who don't have it, at least those who absolutely need it, will get a copy of the software this week.

If you need the software but are having a hard time financially, please send me a PM and I will see what we can do.

2. Confirm Character Concepts
(thread: http://www.rpgdl.com/forums/index.php/topic,6031.0.html)

We may or may not "solidify" this yet, but please do your best to get us to a place where we know enough about our characters to start agreeing on system concepts. Post your thoughts to the thread linked above; if you have a chat conversation, please copy/paste the relevant pieces to the that thread as well.

3. Formally Assign Roles

I have a preliminary list of who is involved in the project and what they'll be doing based on the people who joined in the initial project thread and have chatted in #RPGDLGame.

Please PM me with what you're doing for the game, or will be doing, by Friday, June 22. I very strongly believe that we will be more effective if we are conscious of our roles in the project. Andrew and I both agree that we want input from everywhere wherever possible, but there will be times when we will just need to assign a project to a person and let them handle it.

A simple "job title" will suffice, or you can send me a snippet of your role (eg., I'll be coding the battles; I'm drawing the characters; I'm writing dialog).

4. Site Launch

I have a domain and have been putting some basic pages in place. I'm trying to run the whole thing off of WordPress. I'm hoping to have the website configured and viewable/usable by Sunday this week. I will try to have a basic version live by this Saturday's meeting so we can talk about what needs to change, what you'd like to see there, etc.

June Objectives - Meeting 1

1. Complete system framework decisions
2. Complete plot skeleton
3. Schedule June dev meetings
4. Name the studio/set up the off-site compendium


1. Complete system framework decisions
(re: Currently Assumed System Information)

We need to identify any major mechanics not yet determined (post #1). This also requires identifying system limitations, such as maximum file size or maximum number of script arguments allowed in a single file.

2. Complete plot skeleton

Identify major plot elements for entire game. This means, simply, "Noemi leaves the University to find Mirek," "The party sails for the Throne of the First," not full details. Just need to know the points we're trying to hit.

Additionally, would like to flesh out what will become Episode One, assuming VX/A allows us to build the game the way we're trying to build it.

3. Schedule June dev meetings

For consistency, it would help to have a set meeting time for all of us to get together. It's very unlikely that we can get everyone together at the same time every week in June, but we probably already know our major obligations. I'd like for the whole team -- or as much of the whole team as is possible -- to get together at least once a week, with ad hoc side meetings as we go along.

The further we get in the project, the more likely we're also going to splinter into regular "department" meetings (ie, the scripters talk together, the writers talk together, etc.) with input from everyone. More on that later.

Please PM me (Lady Door)  by Tuesday, June 5 with any big known conflicts you have in June. If you have regular commitments -- like being in class from 1-2 on Tuesday, or working M-F 9-5 -- please also let me know.

4. Name the studio/set up the off-site compendium

To give this project the legitimacy it deserves, I will be buying a domain name for the project under a "studio name." In addition to consolidating all the knowns and keeping everyone up to date, this will serve as the "public" face of the project, such as it is. Please visit the Studio Name Topic to vote in the poll. I will buy a domain no later than Thursday, June 7, so vote soon!

6

RPGDL Discussion / Disquiet - A name for a studio?

« on: June 04, 2012, 03:10:32 AM »

Being all producer-y and stuff, I want to consolidate information in a single place. I've thought of Wikis, just using the boards, using IRC, or setting up a Wordpress, but ultimately I'd like to just consolidate it all on a single page that's specifically for this purpose. It's likely going to run on a Wordpress backbone, but that's neither here nor there until we have a domain set.

For that domain name, I think we need a "studio" name to go behind it. Andrew and I brainstormed a few options, and I wanted everyone's input. Didn't want to steal anything "RPGDL"-ish, and went from there.

I'd like if we could decide from the poll. If everyone feels really strongly for something else, though, let's talk!

So --

Votes plz?

7

General Chat / Hosting for the DL

« on: August 30, 2011, 03:04:03 AM »

In light of Hal's decision to part ways with the DL, I know people have been talking about where to go. In order to organize the thoughts that have been voiced on chat, in IM, and wherever else you people talk, super suggested I open a thread.

So!

BlueHost.com is the current host, and it's also the host of my personal site. (Plus I have an affiliate link.) Can get full service from around $4-$6/mo.

I've also heard good things about HostGator.com.

Thoughts?

8

General Chat / C25K for DLers (run, run, run!)

« on: August 29, 2010, 02:50:18 AM »

Soooo... to sum up a series of "god I've gotten fat again" conversations I've had, super, Ciato and I agreed we'd try this running program I've enjoyed in the past. Not all of us are going to be running the program, but I sure am!

The program, for those who don't know: Couch to 5K. Go from no regular exercise to running a 5k (a little over 3 miles) in 9 weeks. More details here: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I'm planning on getting started on Wednesday, September 1, but I'm planning on repeating Week 1. I think we'll officially get started September 6. I will be posting my progress on this thread because I enjoy public humiliation need accountability.

So!

Who wants in?

^_^

9

Discussion / Personality Type - Myers-Briggs

« on: August 13, 2009, 05:44:44 PM »

I've always had a "thing" for personality tests and quizzes. My first livejournal had, in addition to pages of emo teenage whinging, hundreds of little quiz result widgets. If I were a book, I'd be Hamlet. My element is Water. I'd be the Bubonic Plague. Etc.

Eventually I came around to legitimately taking a personality sorter, and I found myself at the college career center taking the Myers-Briggs Personality Sorter. The test itself was suspiciously straight-forward and a little too much on the black-and-white/yes-or-no side of things, but reading the interpretations has been utterly fascinating. With most of these things, you can find pieces of yourself in just about every description. With this one, though... there's a definite sense of being more some than the others.

I don't know of any particularly good online tests for you to take if you don't already know this, but I do know the results are pretty consistent so long as the test maker used questions as close to the original (which you usually have to pay to take) as possible. My results, at least, have shown very little variance.

So....

I'm INFP, weak on the F.

What're y'all?

ETA: The Personality Page has some of my favorite interpretations.

10

General Chat / What's for dinner, DL?

« on: May 28, 2009, 06:28:02 AM »

As I'm FINALLY in an apartment with a proper kitchen, I'm looking to start cooking at home more often. I love cooking but I lack recipes and my inspiration tends to come from what's for sale at the farmer's market. I hoped some of the more culinary-minded DLers could contribute some of their favorite recipes or meals or pictures of food.

To be honest, I don't care what it is, if you made it yourself, whether you have a recipe, or pictures, or whatever. This thread is for FOOD, end story.

---

The reason I started this thread:



Salt & pepper roasted (free-range grain-fed) chicken; long grain & wild rice with carmelized carrots; organic butter-steamed green beans.

It was a simple meal, but it was pretty tasty.

-

I also made some strawberry muffins and raspberry scones, but neither were that impressive visually or otherwise. I just had some extra berries to get rid of before they turned.

I'll be making chicken "pot pie" sometime later this week. Anyone have any good recipes for raspberries? I have 2 quarts left and not enough jars to make jam.

11

General Chat / Reptiles: Andrew and LD's non-DL hobby

« on: January 16, 2009, 06:44:58 AM »

I was going to write a whole long story about where these guys came from and who they were, but I decided it was easier and less painful to just show them. So here you go: a bunch of reptiles. I apologize for the quality of the photos. My camera doesn't like the confusion of a busy background, and it decided to make the details of the tanks super sharp rather than the faces of the geckos. Alas. I'll set up a light box one of these days.

This first one is Greel, Andrew's first. He's a male reticulated gargoyle gecko, about 2 years old now.





This is Anonymous ("Nonny" for short). We bought her as an adult from someone in the area. She's about 3-4 years old (we're guessing), a female striped gargoyle gecko purchased as an eventual mate for Greel. She's ginormous, however, so Greel has some growing to do before he gets any action.





The next set are the Harem of Cresteds. They share a tank, because for some reason 3 or so females and 1 male get along quite nicely.

Atropos, the male crested gecko. He was purchased because of an insanely good deal on a trio (hence the Fates name scheme) of tailless cresteds. Best deal ever. (By the way -- crested geckos can never grow their tails back once they're lost.)





Clothos, female crested gecko. She's a little weaker than the others, definitely the omega of the pack.





Lachesis, female crested gecko. She's got gorgeous dalmation spots, a trait she has passed on successfully to her babies.





Cevynne was a late addition to the pack. She was called Cevynne ("seven") because -- and this is brilliant, guys -- she was the seventh (and latest) addition. She's about 4-5 years old, we think. You can't really tell in these pictures, but the whole reason we bought her is because she is a GORGEOUS dappled green and yellow when she's calm. Plus, unlike the others, she still has her tail. She's also the biggest and fattest and most mellow, the little dragon of the tank. (She's "my" gecko.)





This last one has nothing to do with geckos. He's a 5-foot 2006 Trans-Pecos Rat Snake, a gift to myself (with Andrew's help) to keep me company when I first moved up to Berkeley. He's extremely mellow and well-mannered and usually a pretty good eater as well. I didn't take him out of his tank tonight to take this photo because he's on the prowl, waiting for me to give him his weekly rat. Warm fingers are easily mistaken for food. :p






Here is what happens when geckos get confused and try to run away:



Don't worry. It was only about a 3 inch drop. :p Guess gecko toes don't stick as well to tree byproducts as they do to the trees themselves. Hah.

12

Discussion / Andy and LD invade Seattle!

« on: November 25, 2008, 04:15:36 AM »

Because Andrew and I spend our Tuesday and Wednesday evenings investing ridiculous amounts of time and money in the World of Warcraft TCG, we figured playing in tournaments would be a good additional use of both. When Andrew placed 2nd in the local qualifier, giving him an invite to the Realms tournament in Seattle, well, it was decided! Rather than stay in Berkeley and deal with Big Game fiascoes, we'd head up to Seattle the weekend of November 22-23 and play and check out Seattle, as neither of us had been.

Conveniently enough, Andrew knows someone from RP who had a room for us to crash in, and Yakumo also lives nearby! Score. People to see.

For SOME ungodly reason, flying to Seattle managed to be more expensive than renting a car and paying for gas both ways. Go figure, huh? And this was even before we both figured out that gas was down to $2/gallon instead of $3.50.

We skipped classes Thursday and Friday so that we could take the 12.5 (!) hour drive, get up there, rest, and spend a day relaxing with people before trying to play competitively. I ended up doing all of the driving mainly because I'm an idiot and I forgot to register Andrew as a driver. I paid for it by getting freaked out when I crossed the Oregon border, hit my first unfamiliar "this is a solid white line, DO NOT PASS!!" section of the road and then getting followed by a cop who flicked his lights at me at the height of my panic, and also getting stuck with over 10 hours of dark, boring interstate travel while Andrew played the DS or slept.

We left at 2:30pm after I ran around trying to get my JET application off in time and arrived in the university side of Seattle just after 3:15am. We instantly crashed.

The next day we met up with Yakko downtown at the Seattle Aquarium!

There were tide pools,

and stubborn octopi,

opportunities for up-skirt shots of hot young salmon,

and seals with some serious attitude!

After we finished wandering around the aquarium, which took us a good two to three hours because it's a really big and really cool aquarium, we hit up a fish place and had deliciously fried seafood and chips for lunch/dinner. On our way to the Pike Place Market, we saw a woman with a chicken. The chicken was quite contentedly just sitting there, and the woman was just walking down the street being mostly normal. In fact, it was hard to pick out that she was indeed sporting a chicken until a border collie walking by started freaking out and the chicken started clucking.

Then we hit the Pike Place Market and wandered around for another hour or so. Cool place! I should have bought some of their produce. The berries smelled HEAVENLY and I've never seen so much picture-quality food in person.

Go ahead and play "Where's Yakko?" with the image. I managed to confuse him by stopping to take a picture of the side of a building when we were walking to the really nifty INSIDE part. Yeah, who wants pictures of buildings? (Me.)

I also managed to pick up a ridiculously awesome magnet from a store inside. It sports Chuck Norris. Need I say more?

NEXT! The tournament and the Seattle Center.