We wanted to start off the morning with some good news, but after twenty minutes of scanning headlines, we gave up. Nordstrom's 2008 fourth quarter sales were down 8.5 percent, which is significant, but the double-whammy is that crappy start to the New Year. For comparison as to how tight pocketbooks are getting, same store sales are down 11 percent compared to January 2007. We don't like that. Seattle fashion is already a little too thrift-store friendly for our tastes. more ›

Keeping with our three-day-old, all-bike-news, all-the-time theme, we see the Seattle P-I has a story about bike racks filling up all over Seattle. The city is installing 300 new bike racks per year (toward a goal of doubling availability by 2017), so if you want one, ask for one. The racks outside Liberty and Hopvine on 15th are often three bikes deep these fine summer days, and the racks outside Madison Market should come with a take-a-number dispenser. We put in a request a few months ago but must have been the only ones, because the block in front of Nordstrom downtown is still rack-free. You can actually buy some cycling-style clothing at Nordy's--guess they don't plan on you actually using it. more ›