Marty Smith

4 days ago | wweek.com | Marty Smith

Can I flush my dog’s feces down the toilet so it gets treated properly? Would anybody buy special dog toilet paper to pick it up? Isn’t sealing poop in plastic a little bit stupid? —Warm and SteamyIf your plan is to flush your dog’s poop down the toilet, Steamy, I would argue that sealing it in a plastic bag makes at least as much sense as shoving it in your jeans pocket until you get home, but it’s your call.

1 week ago | wweek.com | Marty Smith

Between the Interstate 5–Interstate 84 interchange and the Fremont Bridge, there are at least three unfinished freeway off-ramps that just end, dangling over the void. Was the Oregon Department of Transportation planning for off-ramps they couldn’t ultimately afford, or were the engineers just hoping to set Portland up as the scene of an epic Speed-inspired bus jump? —Jackie M. There are certain questions I get asked over and over again.

2 weeks ago | wweek.com | Marty Smith

I recently sampled a shot of McCormick’s, an extremely inexpensive whiskey. Frankly, it didn’t taste like whiskey at all; it was more like cheap vodka with some imitation butterscotch flavoring and maybe something to make it brown. Are there any rules about what you can and can’t sell under the name “whiskey”? —These Shots Are FiredI’m shocked that you think I—a pillar of the community whose temperance is rivaled only by his piety—would have any knowledge of such iniquities, Shots.

3 weeks ago | wweek.com | Marty Smith

A dog trainer recently told me a dog has roughly the intellect of a 2- to 2½-year-old child. But what does that mean? Are we talking about understanding language? Emotional intelligence? Object permanence? Is this just one of those bogus factoids people repeat because they heard it somewhere? —Brian GriffinDepends on your definition of “bogus,” Brian. The claim comes from Dr. Stanley Coren’s 1994 book The Intelligence of Dogs.

1 month ago | wweek.com | Marty Smith

While doing some repairs on the decaying cedar fence around my house, I saw a termite between the boards. If there’s one, I assume there are more. Should I be in full panic mode? I don’t want my house to get eaten because I did nothing. —House DutifulWe don’t hear much about termites in Portland these days, Dutiful.