Raincharm’s Weblog

Carl’s job usually includes ferrying small children around.
This morning it had a bit of a diversion, to ferry a child’s parent to work.

They are a one-car family still, and the other parent had a need for the car today (later).
Since there is also a smallish child involved, with school schedules, the path of least resistance was to get a ride. So I tagged along, let my carpooler sleep late (if he chose to).

So I am here about 1-1/2 hours earlier than normal.
I used to be a frequent early joiner, but not so much lately.
More like about 15 minutes before the starting bell.
(Really, it is a bit hard to discern our working hours, as we have people start at 5:30, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30 and 8:00)

One of the bridges that connects the City of Seattle to the eastern suburbs is going to get tolls, starting this spring. This will be the second round of tolling for the bridge. It was tolled when it first opened, I think in the 60’s. It needs to be replaced now, and this is how they intend to raise the money, or at least part of it. The tolls are planned to be on a sliding scale, with the highest range starting at 7 AM (for the morning commute). So I am considering whether a 6-6:30 AM crossing would be better. My carpooler heartily disagrees, and doesn’t think that he would be able to make that switch. His choice would be to opt for the other, un-tolled bridge (I-90). I think the traffic on I-90 is going to go from OK to really bad, as other toll-dodgers make the switch. I think they should toll both bridges.

These tolls are going to be collected electronically. No toll booths. None.
If you get a transponder, it will pick up the signal, and debit your pre-paid account.
If you have a transponder, but no pre-paid, it will send you a bill (at a slightly higher rate).
If; you don’t have a transponder, it will take a picture of your plate, and send you a bill (at an even slightly higher rate – I think).
Out of state plate? No problem. They have agreements for data sharing with other states.

Last week I saw some folks on one of the overpasses with traffic type cameras mounted on tripods. I think they were testing the cameras for speed, legibility, etc. This morning I think I saw the cameras in action mounted on a sign bridge. I wasn’t driving, so I could look, and it was dark enough to see the lights associated with the cameras.

If I were to drive every work day, both ways, with a transponder, it would cost me $1800 per year. That’s an amount worth considering in your budget. But I am not likely to decide to change my job, just to avoid tolls. I may consider changing my schedule, or maybe just changing bridges.

I hope all of you were rooting for the Packers. – I DID!
For those that follow football, or at least the Super Bowls.
A few years ago the Seattle Seahawks made it to the Super Bowl.
They were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers won – on a touchdown that was not – clearly.

Hard feelings? Only once a year when it is Super Bowl time.
Other than that, not so close to the surface.

But I was rooting for Green Bay, all the way.
And best of all – the $5 I put into our little Super Bowl pool – won the final score!
A gain of $35. First time ever for me.

Joining the pool and following my numbers is one of the things that keeps me following the game until the end. In all of the years I have purchased my meager amount of numbers, I have never won. This year at the 3rd quarter I did not see how I was likely to come out on top this year. [The two point conversion was not foreseen, at least by me.]

OK – enough of that.
What is really going on is more filing and finding papers to shred.
And learning what a Billiken is.
And, now taxes.

A few days ago I noted that Carl got to go the beach for work. He went on a ferry boat ride the other day. No, their cheeks are not full of gummy bears, they are full of Jet’s hot air of an idea. [Jet does not like having his picture taken, but Carl has told him it is OK to make a face, as long as he looks up.]

On the boat to Bainbridge Island

This weekend is forecast to be overcast and wet. I looked at the hourly predictions and it was 60% chance of precipitation the entire day. So even though I slept in and missed 3 hours of non-rainy window, we decided to set out.

We had the post office destination in mind, carrying a package. So we also carried an umbrella – just in case it started dumping. Instead we were greeted with a mist. Not terribly unpleasant.

After the post office it started misting harder, but we still did not break out the umbrella. [I tend to not like using umbrellas too much, but we do have one or two around, just not used very frequently.] We passed by the zoo, on the fenced in side, and went through an infrequently used part of Green Lake (at least in the winter). Finally reached the lake path and continued around until we hit a commercial area.

Decided to have lunch out, and split a cinnamon roll (hot out of the oven), corned beef hash and apple-something sausages. And coffee. A rather mixed bag of food, but really good, and hot. We will have the vegetables for dinner to balance out the daily diet.

Finally on the homeward path. It may have been warmer but it felt colder to me. The damp clothes were probably a contributing factor.

Now it is time to get some house work done. Carl has done grocery shopping, some laundry and the dishes. I guess it is my turn.

As I drove to work this morning, I thought about the giant snow storm happening in the mid states, home to many friends and relatives. To you – stay safe, stay warm, and enjoy the winter.

What I was privileged to experience instead was listening to Charles Bradley and viewing

The Cascade mountains, silhouetted against the pastel palette of the sunrise.
As we moved east, the colors brightened.
The eagle, perched on the northern sculpture, more intent on fish than colors in the sky.
To the south The Mountain loomed, showing more detail as the sun reached its heights first.

[And closer to work, a corner that was once covered in trees, now a mess of stumps.]