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Yes, that’s us in Victoria Secret. I won’t tell why we were there. It was very legit. the sales professionals motioned to each other about what they would show us doubting pseudo-customers - men’s fragrances. I think the idea is just kooky enough that it could work - wearing VictoriaSecretScent for men.

I received a handy mailer from the Sound Transit folks about light rail expansion options. The good news is that there is consideration to expand across the lake and into Bellevue. This will be great for our region.

I was struck by the descriptions in the brochure, though. It starts with “How far do you want your buses and trains to go?” and presents three options called “bus/rail,” “medium rail”, and “maximized rail.” Okay, so which one are most people going to pick with that description. It also breaks down the cost in terms of annual dollars per year (between $75 and $125, up to a 0.5% increase in sales tax). Never mind that our sales taxes are already very high, and that it doesn’t mention that the sales tax will be in effect for 19 years (just 19? hmmm….).

On some level, I think Edward Tufte would protest at the presentation of the data. If you tell people they can have more, what will they ask for?

On the other hand, if you actually go to the Sound Transit Extension web site, a more balanced view of the information is presented, including a bunch of different ways to describe the costs. Could it be that the brochure writers got a little carried away?

I thought this was a great demonstration of different ways of presenting numbers to get the result you want. And I do want light rail across to Bellevue - more more more!