Best of 2013

Best of 2013, a set on Flickr.

2013 was a pretty interesting year. It wasn't transformational. In many ways it was yet another rerun. But in some very important ways I learned a lot about myself.
I also had my camera out more than usual, but published less. I'm trying to be more self-editing rather than just issuing a spray and pray approach.
I also got away more in 2013 than I have in most years: Mexico, trips along the left coast, day trips into the Cascades and ending the year with a great trip through the United Kingdom.
These were some of my favourites. Half taken with family and half taken on photo junkets with friends.
I hope you enjoy them. I know I had fun taking them.

Cle Elum - Oct 2013

Cle Elum 2013, a set on Flickr.

A couple weeks ago I took off with my pal M and we jumped up I-90 to Salmon La Sac Road to take some pics of what little Fall colour we could find.

While we didn't find that much fall colour it was one of the most beautiful Fall days in the mountains that you could possibly imagine. Almost 70F, dry trails, a picnic and some nice wine. What a perfect outing.

A New Voter Initiative for the State of Washington

I've been thinking of creating a voter initiative for the State of Washington.
I've thought this through and I think this will create employment, remove traffic deadlock and conserve gasoline. The macroeconomic cost savings will be enormous.
My father once quipped off-the-cuff (and claims to not remember it), "Brakes are for people with poor planning skills" when I asked him for some money to repair the front brakes in my 1986 Mercury Lynx (white, all vinyl interior, 5-spd, cassette deck AND air conditioning - stop ladies, I'm taken). Although his response was sardonic and showed what little regard he had for my life at that time he did have a really good point. It's an excellent point. It is a point I've been thinking about for the last 25 years.
The bugs clearly need to be worked out as I am not a lawyer, but the idea is this. If you apply your brakes on an Interstate Highway a government sniper will shoot you in the head. It's very simple. Touch your brakes, you forfeit your life and your car. I do assume that there will be savage congestion in the short term as the populace gets used to the idea and acclimates to the new rules of the road but there is no risk of repeat offenders. Congestion will be reduced significantly over the medium term as the citizenry complies and those that were unable to adapt are no longer on the road.
Unnecessary braking is extremely wasteful. Do you know why your car's city mileage rating is lower than its highway mileage rating? It's the gas that is used getting back up to speed. If you don't slow down there is no need to get back up to speed. Let's also not forget about all the asbestos we've been spinning into the air over-applying our brakes over the decades.
I think the cars recovered by this law, if in a good and safe condition, could be given to job seekers. I'm sure there are other uses as well. We'll sort it out. That's what committees are for.

If successful I will roll out my next idea.. the death penalty for left lane obstructors.

Henry lugging my lenses

Henry lugging my lenses, originally uploaded by seattleforge.

I took today off as there would be sweet F.A. to do. Our contractor was trying to get through a lot of work today, so I risked Henry hating me and took him outside.
It was hard to tell if it was going to be nice this morning but it was a lovely day. We had a pancake breakfast, hiked through the arboretum (I was testing out a new fisheye lens I was given as a gift), we played chess in a coffee shop, read our kindles, bought the stuff for Christmas dinner and then turned for home.
We are very close to having this project at an end. It will be great to have our house back and in better shape than before. But I will miss our contractor, Troy. He's an ace human being.

Cheers,

S.

Vancouver Skyline from the North Shore

Vancouver Skyline from the North Shore, originally uploaded by seattleforge.

On Thursday night I got a call from my pal James.
James grew up next door to me from the 7th grade through the end of high school. His Dad was a product of Windsor's toughest neighborhood, Drouillard Road and he worked the Ford foundry there. The foundry is the toughest job in Ford Motor. It is unbelievably hot, dirty and dangerous. There is a premium paid for working there but most of the guys working there are paying on a habit they still can't afford. It is a soul crushing, body killing grind that only a few people come out of whole. James' Dad Mike was a ridiculous tough, alcoholic mick with a gambling problem and he liked to take it out on the kids and his wife upon occasion. Rarely with his fists, but I don't know that the distinction matters.
James was at our house a lot. He is my brother's age. He and my brother were friends, but my brother isn't easy to be friends with. Pretty soon James was coming over just whenever he wanted to be out of his house, which was a lot. There was even a time when he had his drum kit set up in our garage when his Dad told him he was going to sell it. In high school it was not unusual to see James chatting my with my Mum at the kitchen table and doing his homework before heading home for dinner. I didn't realize it until a few years ago but there were a lot of kids in our house all the time and most of them were there because of my Mum.
After high school James got a job at Ford and I didn't pick up with him again until we linked up on Facebook. He had just moved to Vancouver. He had quit Ford and started college (sound engineering). Moving out of the cocoon of FoMoCo and Windsor James' world grew quite a lot. it was great getting reacquainted with him. It was great sharing reading lists. He was having a tough time though. Finances were tight. His house back in Windsor couldn't hold a renter and his renters were like rats vandalizing the place. He got through school only to see the entertainment biz in Vancouver get gutted by the Canadian dollar coming up to par with the USD. He's struggled to keep everything going.
He called to tell me that he had to move back to Windsor. The last set of renters completely vandalized his house before eviction. He didn't have the money to fix it to get it rented again and couldn't pay the mortgage and rent. He had a job lined up back home that would allow him to get things back on the rails again. He's hoping that this would only be a four month trip. He wants to get back to Vancouver as soon as possible. The people might be odd, the city is incredibly expensive, but the views are staggering, the air is clean and there is a vibrant economy (at least compared with Windsor). I told him to consider it a business trip. He liked the idea.
Friday I headed up to Vancouver (a trip I had been promising for months to make but didn't - for all sorts of reasons). I helped him a bit with the packing up and then we went on a tear. I haven't laughed that much in ages. It was a cure. It was sooo great getting time with someone who gets where I'm from and being able to joke, jab and parry. James is a great guy. I'm hoping he can get things on track.
Heh.. one thing off track. I hardly ever drink coffee anymore, but he gave me an espresso machine. James only drinks tea, but his brother re-gifted James one of his wedding presents last Christmas. I got it running this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll toast James with a cup of the black stuff.

Hmmm.. ever such a long time ago.

Oregon Road Trip 2011 (43 of 64), originally uploaded by seattleforge.

I have no been able to wake up this morning. Probably a mix of last night's sleeping pill and this morning's anti-allergy pill. YAWN!

I think I need to pack up my tent and spend a weekend sleeping outdoors before the good weather ends. It's too beautiful here to spend another weekend shuttling through traffic.

Sigh..

Yorkshire from RAW (3 of 20), originally uploaded by seattleforge.

I dropped Henry at camp today. He was still a bit under the weather and Jackie had a VERY hard time letting him go under the circumstances.
We stopped for a lovely dinner in La Conner at a gastropub that serves entirely locally sourced food. Delicious.
I'm restless though. No interest in going to work tomorrow. I'd rather be a scamp mooching bitter in Yorkshire.