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.]

Twilight at least.

On the drive home today there were high clouds, sweeping in, showing the high wind currents. What made them noteworthy was that I could not immediately recognize whether the clouds were the white or grey bands.

There is something invigorating about the return to ever so slightly longer days.

Last week there was a day when I almost turned out the porch light as I left for work. Not quite, but the thought crossed my mind. And we are supposed to be free from rain for at least the next few days. Cold, but not raining (snowing).

I have heard rumors of dumping snow in the midwest.
I have not confirmed whether these will be impacting relatives here and there.
If you are impacted, I hope you are well-provisioned.

We are well provisioned here, and the thought of dinner is starting to penetrate my thoughts.

Smile, ….
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile

Smile, originally written by Charlie Chaplin, John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons.
I knew it from Nat King Cole. We just heard it sung by a woman (on the Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio).

Apparently Chaplin wrote the tune for his film, Modern Times. I seem to remember seeing Modern Times at a theatre in downtown Ann Arbor, on Division or some nearby street (not the State or Michigan). It was a hot, hot summer day and Grandma R was visiting. We went to the theatre to have some fun and get out of the heat. I still vividly remember Charlie walking down the street with two wrenches in his hands, and a woman approaching from the other direction with nut-shaped buttons on her jacket. 

Smile, the days are getting longer.

This morning had a slow start – for me.
Started with a later than intended night – and not doing anything particularly inspiring either.

So, I finally got up – Carl was already well on his way and gone.
A bit of the newspaper and yogurt.

Then, somewhat inspired, OK really I just wanted to say I had done something this morning, I went and road the bike. Tried to Soduko and made it into a “Very Hard” puzzle. Think I have it figured now, but was getting too light-headed to think deeply, so I set it down for the last four minutes. A bit of stretching, but then the lure of coffee called.

But first – water and a nana. OK, stop by the computer to see if anything earth shattering has been sent my way. A blog comment – JOY – actually, they are fun to get, like a present you have no idea what it is until you open it up. (Maybe if I got a lot they would not hold the same feeling, so let’s just leave it at that.)

Another e-mail led me to fb, which I am on here and there. And low and behold, a link to the Tennessee Smokies site – for yet another video. Rey was actually on the still up front – so I must watch. I think these are fun. Not only do I get to see the boy, but it seems like they are a place that allows for some creativity. And most importantly, Rey is modeling some of Pooh’s handiwork.
I know it is hard work, and I think most minor league teams are marginal enterprises, so having a bit of fun can make the difference.

Off to coffee (coffee coming to me in truth – Carl is returning)
And this afternoon’s Harry Potter adventure. Maybe I should put in one of the movies to stoke the fire.

UPDATE: And so we went. It was an interesting exhibit, with props and costumes. When you enter they entertain the small group you enter with, with the selecting hat. After they have put a few folks into their proper group you walk to an area with several screens. They flash several scenes from the movies on a dozen screens. Then as the scenes end, the wall behind you has disappeared and the light from the front of the train filters into the room – and you are off into the exhibit. It really was a good start, very well done.

After the exhibit, we visited the Space Needle.

Jay+Carl

Last entry – I thought I just wrote it, but it was last weekend. And it is almost the weekend again.

A day at the beach - a great day

And it is almost February.

This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one, and I thought I had it off.
Baseball preview, Harry Potter (the exhibition), soccer dinner and one sad goodbye.

Picture from the King5TV Facebook page

I spent a good part of my day today at Weatherfest. This is an American Meteorological Society event. This year it is in Seattle. I was there with Wayne Drop. (No pictures yet – they are on another person’s camera) About 4 hours of fun and meeting and greeting kids and adults. I understand that the parents want a picture of their kid with Wayne Drop, but many, many adults do as well.

I am a handler. That means I linger in the background, and take a picture or two. Today one of the TV stations gave us a load of shopping bags to had out as well. We did cause more than 1 clot for people trying to get around. (Note that it was KIRO 7 with the bags, not the same as the picture above)

In addition to the area’s TV station’s weather folks, there were lots of national level people. The Weather Channel, Discovery, the Tornado chaser guides, NOAA, glider pilots, and some classroom based folks. Okemos High School had a booth.

In other words, a little educational bit today with a big fuzzy rain drop. And I am exhausted. [There were two other mascots there. One, and eagle, was from a school. The other was Doppler – the Seattle Storm mascot (WNBA). But Doppler cut the ribbon, and then cut out about a half hour later. Professional mascots just don’t have the passion.]

Yes, it was a day for another quick trip up and back.
A loner trip, but luckily the drive up was interesting, and the drive back ended just in time.

But first, yesterday I stumbled on another glimpse of the boy, this time with a speaking role.

I measure my trips to Canada by birds and bears. The bears (Smokies) were in great evidence for the first half of the trip. Probably 6 or 7, some with paying customers. Then the birds came into view.

I got to see the Snow Geese while passing through the Skagit Valley. Next there were Swans. And after we got out of the States the Bald Eagles made their entrance. I put the count at about a dozen today, but there were a few spectacular views. First I saw an eagle soaring low over the freeway in front, with one wingtip pointed down, and the other up – great profile. Then when I reached this spot, the eagle flew over, about 10 feet above the car, clutching nesting material in his (her?) talons.

And of course, there was the girl sighting. We had lunch at Aphrodite, an organic restaurant, specializing in pies. We have brunch, and then shared a piece of pie. Ashlan had a walk to get in (like mother, like daughter) before dark, so I took off. It is nicer to drive before dark as well – so better for me as well. On the way up I had about a 5 car wait. The way down was a bit longer wait, and I chose the slowest line. I took all of about 20 seconds to get out of the border police clutches, once I got to the head of the line. But I had been cleared by the dog prior to reaching the booth. And I guess I just don’t look menacing. I am not complaining – the last trip had an hour wait, and this was not even close.

It’s Friday night. Home from work, work out and a bit of TV.
Tonight’s offerings? Jeopardy, an Olympic memory film and onto a crime show.

It is interesting how the shows that I have watched have changed over the years.
Cartoons, variety shows, sit-coms, dramas, crime shows and now reality shows.

I either tend to like them or not want to give them (reality shows) the time of day. The ones I like are the Amazing Race, Survivor and WipeOut. I like the Amazing Race because it shows me places I have never been. Survivor started as a chance to chat with others around the water cooler.  I did not watch it for the first few years, but I do find it intriguing. WipeOut is not really a reality show. Most contestants get about 2 seconds of screen time, and you probably don’t really see their face. This is what my father would call a “guilty pleasure.” I watch it because it makes me laugh.

This sounds as though I watch TV all the time. Not quite true. I know this because I do not know the TV schedule by heart – like I did in high school. And I can go months without. Well at least weeks (still no TV at the cabin). Even after the digital age arrived with a vengeance, we live with an antenna. We only get cable when the World Cup is on.

Mostly TV is used to unwind from work. Unlike the past few days, which were a fury of things here and there, and everywhere, today I decided to just try to get two things done. Finish an incident report and get an annexation notice out the door. Mostly done. Oh and I have to contact somebody to destroy our old flag. Other duties as assigned.

I just realized how lame my life can be.