Hey, Seattlest! I'd like to start a sex advice column, but there's a catch-22. I'm not a columnist yet, so no one's sent me any questions, but unless I answer questions I don't have a column. Can I just pick a question Dan Savage answered in "Savage Love" and answer it myself? If anyone asks, I'll claim I "solicited questions from friends." I read his column every week -- I must be a friend, right?......

We want to know where's the scariest place to live or hang out within Seattle city limits. (Sorry, Skyway and White Center. Check again after annexation.) Recent news stories have pushed several neighborhoods into contention: Rainier Beach: The Safeway parking lot is "plagued by thugs", disgruntled patrons firebomb a video store, and gangs patronize the library. Broadway: From Slog today: "Broadway has turned into a 1st Class GHETTO. Why is nothing being done about it?......

Because we're moving, Seattlest has the pleasure of changing our address and switching our services to our new place. And in an exciting development for consumers, it appears that companies like Qwest and Comcast aren't content to just let you move your existing service to a new place -- at least, not without presenting you with exciting new offers that they're sure will save you oodles of money. Case in point: We use Comcast for......

A friend of ours asked the other day: "So, if you were going to have pancakes for dinner, where would you go? How about for breakfast?" The one place we know of for pancakes is Ballard's Original Pancake House. We do love their Dutch babies. Unfortunately, they're breakfast only. What our friend really wants, though, are good, homemade-style buckwheat pancakes, just like she grew up with in Minnesota California. Her husband is practicing, but hasn't......

Since we don't play the quiz at Kate's Pub every week, we missed the memo: Teams should come dressed up in costume. (Kate herself made a fetching serving wench.) Last night our team was among the large minority in street clothes. Among the mighty impressive costumes was a Pulp Fiction duo: a woman dressed as Mrs. Mia Wallace, complete with a red hypodermic dot on her chest, and a guy dressed as Jules Winfield. A......

A reader asks: I gots a question for you, Mr. Seattlest. People at work are looking for a good Karaoke venue. You heard tell of any? Friends from work want to do it Weds. night. Looking for more "hip" than unhip; more top 40/seventies/big band than modern country, etc. Everyone knows there are lots in the Int'l District, but we're not looking for a William Hung outing, to laugh at furriners. We want to have......

Don't leave us hanging. What's James driving these days? A 2003 Passat GLS wagon. It's anthracite blue, with black leather seats and automatic transmission. How'd the acquisition go? About a week after we first talked to her, Janna of Auto Consultants Northwest called us, described the car, and asked if we wanted to try and buy it at a dealer's auction in California. We gave her the thumbs up, and ACNW got the car for......

Q: What's up with gas prices? They shot up after Katrina, then they went back down again, but now it's ridiculous! A: We know. According to AAA, the average price of gas in Seattle is $3.16/gallon. That's 40 cents/gallon more than a month ago. It's also 25 cents/gallon more than the current national average. Q: We pay more? A: Yup. Hawaii, California, Nevada, Washington, and New York (in that order) are the most expensive states......

Hey--so, are the Sonics really going to move? Team owner Howard Schultz says that if the city doesn't agree to renovate Key Arena, the team will leave after its current lease runs out in 2010. Wait, didn't the city renovate Key Arena already? Yeah, in 1995 they added more seats and a bunch of luxury suites to entice the Sonics to stay. So why do the Sonics want yet another renovation? Because, they say,......

Hey, Seattlest, this whole "Capitol Hill massacre" has really made me depressed, and I'd like to do something. Can I donate money to the survivors? Yes. Jesiah, one of the house residents, posted this on Northwest Tekno: if you are interested in donating to help pay for the expenses that have occured because of this, go to http://www.paypal.com and make your donation to 2112relief@gmail.com thank you so so very much in advance. all moneys go......

An email from a reader posed a relatively simple question: Where can I get a good waffle? Turns out said reader was from Houston, where they'd managed to find themselves a waffle sent straight from some whole-grain, nutty heaven, and they hadn't yet found themselves a suitable alternative here in the Northwest. So the call went out across Seattlest HQ, but rather than the expected torrent of praise for various Jet City waffles, the response......

Hey, Seattlest, what are you doing this weekend? Seth is coughing up a lung or two. Michael vB, filing from the Victrola cafe, is delighted for an excuse to spend even more time there tonight: Byron Schenkman, the virtuoso harpsichordist/pianist from Seattle Baroque Orchestra is celebrating Mozart's 250th Birthday by banging out some Mozart numbers on the upright from 8-10pm. Also the film Cache (Hidden) has opened at the Guild 45th and he'd sure like......

Q: Is the Monorail dead? A: Was Terry Schiavo? It depends on who you ask. The mayor and the city council both want the Monorail to die, and have done everything they can to kill it. The mayor cancelled an agreement that allowed the Monorail to build on city streets. The city council gracefully piled on, voting 9-0 to cancel the same agreement. But the Monorail board, in a Hail Mary effort that one local......

These questions were submitted by clairvoyant readers. Q: Did Seattlest James have a baby yesterday? A: Yes--he did! Well, his wife did. If he had had the baby, you would be hearing about it on "A Current Affair," not here. The baby is a girl. Q: Did James and his wife name the baby yet? A: No. But when they name her, you will hear it here first. (Unless they name her "Rita Katrina,"......

Dear Seattlest: A simple question. Why are the cranes orange? The short answer, according to the Port of Seattle: The cranes are orange...because they are orange. The long answer: There are 19 cranes in the harbor. The very special paint (withstands all the various elements that such cranes might encounter) lasts for 20 years. Therefore, the crew paints only one crane per year. Since the cranes are already orange--the most visible color available among......

I volunteered to dogsit this weekend, and I'd like to do more than just drop in and let the pooch out to pee. What are some good off-leash areas in and around Seattle? Seattlest applauds your impulse; there's nothing happier than a tired dog. The first thing to consider is how well you know the dog: Have you seen it interact with other dogs? Does it respond to your commands? It's flirting with disaster......

My daily downtown waterfront run takes me past the ticky-tack piers and the trolley garage into lovely Myrtle Edwards Park. Who was Myrtle Edwards and how can I thank her? Myrtle Edwards was a longtime Seattle City Councilwoman who served from 1955 until her tragic death in a car accident in 1969. She worked hard for Seattle parks--including heading up the acquisition of what would become Gas Works Park, thus transforming an industrial-waste eyesore into......