[addtoany]

There are days when I wish our offices had a vending machine just so I could indulge in a single-serving packet of Cheez-Its now and again. Perhaps I should aim higher than a machine that spits out delicious salty snacks: A pot vending machine has popped up in Seattle, Kiro 7 News reports. Starting today, visitors–with a valid ID and medical authorization–to the Seattle Caregivers medical marijuana dispensary can select their pot product of choice from a touchscreen. Currently, there are only a few machines like this one locally, but “the manufacturer could see there being hundreds of them in the years to come.”

Despite Sunday’s crushing loss to the New England Patriots, fans welcomed Seahawks players back home in grand style. See all the photos from the homecoming here.

As if the loss wasn’t hard enough, we also had to sit through a commercial in which Budweiser mocked its recently acquired Elysian Brewing Co. Beer expert Kendall Jones of the Washington Beer Blog puts it into perspective: 

The commercial’s basic message was, “We make beer for people who don’t think and just drink.” Yes, as a person who actually thinks, it is hard not to feel attacked. But we shouldn’t be surprised; the folks at Budweiser are getting kind of desperate as they near the edge of their flat earth.

Here’s where Budweiser is running into a problem. There are fewer and fewer people who just want to drink and don’t want to think. Budweiser knows this.

What are us good-beer-drinking thinkers to do? Pity them. Almost. What did you think of the ad spot?

High praise of Seattle from…Portland? It’s true. Terry Richard of the Oregonian offerd a few plaudits for our rail transit, Crosscut reports. Among them: our first light rail line on a floating bridge and the rail stop for Husky Stadium. Thanks, Portland!

There’s a possibility for a new 50-story downtown tower that would dwarf the neighboring 30-story Escala, fictional home to Christian Grey of the steamy novel (and upcoming movie!) Fifty Shades of Grey. According to Curbed.com, the New York-based firm Douglaston Development is seeking to place a 50-story hotel, retail and residential building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Virginia Street.