Category: Random

The Holidays Approacheth

Carl Setzer

I find it sobering to realize one week from today is Thanksgiving. Which, for me, is when the “Holiday Season” begins.

I don’t opt to participate in Black Friday madness. I love REI’s Opt Outside campaign. Definitely the preferable choice. Either that, or, if the weather outside is frightful, then I’ll enjoy a book, movie, or a cafe.

For my family, the Tree Lighting in Edmonds kicks off the holiday season. Always the Saturday after Thanksgiving, it’s simply a charming, local family fun event. We’ve been going since my son was an infant. Santa arrives on a vintage fire-truck and lights the Christmas Tree in the middle of Centennial Plaza. Starting at 3:30 pm, hot cocoa will be served. The real fun starts at 4:00.

 

Santa will be available for photos at the tree lighting. And, around here, another standard “thing to do” is Santa photos at Alderwood Mall. It looks like they’ve already started. But, starting next week, expect lines. The closer to Christmas, the longer the line.

Bothell has a fun “Santa’s Workshop” at Country Village.

Santa and his fire truck will make their way to Mountlake Terrace on Friday, December 1st.

Just a few Edmonds/Lynnwood/Mountlake Terrace holiday activities to get your Noel on.

Me and My Neti Pot!

Carl Setzer

Last week was pretty awful for my allergies, with all of the smoke coming down to greater Seattle from BC. So, with a dollop of rain on Sunday, and the changing winds, our smoke has cleared and my allergies have been far less cranky. Well, for a few days.

Now, though, something has started blooming. I’ve noticed a nice fragrance, but then the burning itching starts in the ol’ nasal passages. That’s where my neti pot has become a dear friend.

The clearing granted by the flushing of all things nose-y has, for years, made my life better. Allergy meds have had their place, don’t get me wrong. I greatly appreciate where we’ve come in that regard. Remembering the old days, of the drugs that filled you with grogginess, or the ones that amped you up (once I think I actually was having heart palpitations. Even though they aren’t perfect, they’ve been wonderful, really improving my life.

That silly neti pot, though. It flushes out the worst irritants, doesn’t dope me up or amp me out. This little bit of ancient technology has been, well, life-changing. Seems silly, perhaps, but I’m quite grateful I discovered the thing.

Though I love tech, and high-tech solutions, there’s value in the simple, and ancient. Flushing out my poor nose with water; who would’ve thought that we be the most dramatic learning in my adult years…at least in regards to living with allergies.

Google, Music, Spotify and Being Behind Knowledge-Wise

Carl Setzer

So, my family watched quite a bit of YouTube. Everything from Rick Steves to vloggers to geek stuff. I’ve learned so much more about the extended Star Wars universe than I ever thought possible. I consider myself a great master of Jedi lore and wisdom, until YouTubers instilled great humility in me. 

Seemed a good idea to pony up for YouTube Red: I hate commercials. HATE! Clearly I failed to read my terms clearly enough as, just today I discovered that I had full access to Google music. So my Spotify account was a bit redundant. 

I spent today exploring it. Quite happy so far. I like the interface, and that it’s not a resource hog like Spotify. Plus I seem to have better access to artists like Peter Gabriel. Oh, they have podcasts in there (yeah, Spotify does, too) and my favorite podcast, Radio Free Burrito is in there, too. No sign of Design Matters with Debbie Millman, but I guess we can’t have everything. Hopefully we’ll get them in Google, too.

I’m leaning heavily towards dropping Spotify and getting a family plan for YouTube Red. I’ve not sure what my metrics are for making the shift. Music selection is a big one, and resource use. I’d like to see how they compare regarding artist compensation, too. 

Now here’s my weird Seattle connection. Years ago, one of the first streaming services was Real Networks, headquartered in downtown Seattle. I explored them for awhile before launching into iTunes and streaming radio. And evolution has evolved us, so, here we are. 

What are you using? I’d love to hear. Also, if you could give a “like”, share, it helps support the site. And follow us! We’d love to stay in touch. 

This Weekend: Camping at Camano Island State Park

Carl Setzer

Something my family has done with dear friends for several years: crabbing at Camano Island State Park. This year’s trip was a bit more eventual than planned (I’ll get to that in a minute), but otherwise nice as always.

The park is very scenic, with plenty of trails and pretty easy access to the boat launch.


I had to work Friday, so the rest of my family drove up and I, after work, took the bus up. While waiting for the bus, this news crew with KIRO was at my bustop.

Looks like they were reporting on this story: Officials release new clues in fatal Marysville hit-and-run

Anyway, I misjudged my bus-stop and had to hoof it about a mile to town to meet my ride.

Hardly the end of the world. At one point in my life the bus was a central part of my life. After I got out of the Navy, I made the deliberate choice to get rid of my car and bike, bus or walk everywhere I needed to go. On rare occasions, I would rent a car. I guess I was a few years early for Zipcar, but that would’ve been perfect. There are times I miss that life. If reading on the bus didn’t make me car-sick, I’d probably have never given up that world. I did listen to Wil Wheaton’s Radio Free Burrito and Design Matters podcasts on the ride, though.

Ok, so for the “eventful” part. It’s related to this lovely view of Saratoga Passage, on the west side of Camano Island.

For years, we’ve used some river kayaks to haul crab pots out and back. And I’ve been kayaking for years. However, on Saturday, while two of us were out for our second trip, the wind picked up quite abruptly. My boat swamped, and my crabpot pulled it over. The crabpot was lost as I wasn’t able to get the buoy line strung out. It was wrapped around my foot, but just slid down, scraping my leg up a bit, but otherwise nothing. I still had my glasses and hat on! But the water is quite cold, and so I was keeping aware of how much time I was in the water. I got my buddy’s kayak along side me, and he was able take control. I wasn’t able to drain the boat as the waves filled it up as quickly as I could right it. Fortunately, a wonderful boater came along side and pulled me out, and the remaining kayaker got a tow to shore from another boat. Interestingly, the sudden pick-up in the wind brought a lot of boaters in abruptly. Getting to the boat launch, and getting my wet body back on shore took a huge amount of time. But I met some really nice people, even though I scared the heck out of my family. But, after a shower and dinner, I was fine.

So, I have a few lessons learned. One, life jackets are crucial. As an arrogant teen, I didn’t wear them often. Lucky for me that I never had any incidents. And, let me be quite clear: that’s pure luck. But my time in the Navy drilled into me the importance of them. Wearing my life jacket ensured I floated up when I was dunked. And, as I researched later, that’s when people get in trouble. It’s NOT hypothermia, as I had thought until today. Rather, Cold Shock. Read more about Cold Shock here and here. Another thing the jacket does is give any rescuer something to pull you out with. I’d never thought about that. Lastly, years and years ago, while hiking in the regions forests, I became a fan of the buddy system. And that became deeply reinforced this weekend. Though I was in trouble, I wasn’t in serious danger.

We can’t plan for every possible freak element of life. However, with a little pre-planning and thoughtfulness, we can help make sure that any freak accident, squall or what-have-you, will be survivable. Those are my key lessons this weekend.

 

 

A Flicker On My Roof

Carl Setzer

There’s a very distinctive rattle that woodpeckers make. I find it pleasant for the most part. Except when coming from my roof in the early morning. 

Bearing no malice, and actually feeling rather amused, I grabbed a handful of fir cones. Several throws later, I finally communicated my desire for it to find a tree to peck upon. 

Hard to sleep with that racket. Plus, holes in my roofing are undesirable. 

An abandoned car at Snohomish County Park (Perrinville)

Carl Setzer

This beat up hulk of a car has been abandoned off Olympic View Drive at Snohomish County Park. I’m unsure how they decided this was a good idea. But I wish to expound on the likely outcomes of this decision. 

  1. The car has been ticketed 
  2. The city will track them down, and that will be paid. 
  3. The car will be towed
  4. The owners will get that bill…and the storage costs. 
  5. That, too, will be paid. By force if necessary. Civil judgements carry some weight and the possibility of wage garnishment. 

What could’ve been dealt with at a relatively low cost (wrecking yard…they had no problem towing it) or even free (all those vehicle donation programs) is going to end up costing a huge amount more. 

Short sided decision which will have long term negative repercussions. 

Sigh 

Technology Woes: Containing Them To The Computer

Carl Setzer

A challenge for the computer savvy amongst us: managing expectations.

An acquaintance was dealing with someone with a burned out motherboard, and they wanted to (maybe) just replace “a part” until their new computer arrived.

As some of you may know, a motherboard is pretty substantial piece of the computer. Not an easy swap…pretty much replacing the computer’s heart and lung’s.

So, when your friendly computer tech tries to gently explain such things, don’t get too grumpy. It’s just the nature of the beast, so to speak.

A Night With SteelMagic

Carl Setzer

Tonight I was lucky enough to hear the premier performance of Steel Magic Northwest. Started at my son’s school, it’s grown significantly. They’re now a full-fledged 501c3 nonprofit. It’s been a fun ride watching them grow. 

Steel Magic is an Edmond/Lynnwood based steel drum group. The music this evening was quite the blend of styles and composers. They covered Stevie Wonder and Tchaikovsky to original compositions by Gary, the director. 

I was quite impressed with their musical quality. A few performers have been with them the full life of this ensemble, but a good many started a few months ago. Their rhythmic and melodic quality were too notch. I’m glad they’re part of our community!

They’re working with Edmonds Seventh Day Adventist. This is where they performed last night. The mixed use room we were they played. was filled to its max. 

I suggest that you take time and check out their next performance. 

More details at http://www.steelmagicnorthwest.org

Thinking about mortality 

Carl Setzer

This weekend I helped out at a memorial service. This was sobering for me. A young woman, a few weeks younger than me. Technically, I guess, middle-aged.

Buried a friend’s teenaged son earlier this year. Other kids, one degree of sepration from me, lost to violence. An acquaintance, who’s son is my son’s age, has a massive heart attack. Some friends fighting cancer. Powerful reminders of how fragile we actually are. How tenuous is this thing, life? So terribly precious.

Guard it well, but don’t let it squander, buried in fear. Find that blend of a well lived life and a long, joyous one. For we all end up in the box.

Make these days count!