Tag: seattle

Oh, So Much Northwest Geek Delight This Weekend

Carl Setzer
Norwestcon Logo

Yeah, the Emerald City Comicon is done, but that’s not even close to all the geek delight the region has the offer. There are events throughout the year, and these two are (both) this weekend.

And there are still more. I’ve started a list of all the regions events, which I’ll keep updated as I learn more. Feel free to let me know of any that aren’t on here.

An additional note: I was just informed that the Bellingham Comicon is a go for October 24th. More details on their Facebook page and their website.

Underwater Homes and Such

Carl Setzer

Over the past few years I’ve heard so very much about “underwater homes”. When one owes more than the home is worth, the choices seen a bit stark. Short-Sales, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and other dire options were what got press, and agents talking. There was one option, though, that didn’t get mentioned: nothing. Keep pushing your mortgage and wait for the market to recover value.

The past several years have seen significant value growth. And Seattle has been central in that growth trend. We’ve gained back most, if not all, of the recession’s value erosion. Now, that’s not universal. There are areas in western Washington which haven’t gained that much. Seattle/Bellevue is the epicenter, which price increases dropping moving outwards.

Now, if you must move (job relocation, etc), you can’t afford your mortgage (adjustable rate resets, interest only terms off and principle comes due, etc), and you owe me than your home’s value, there are options. Don’t panic! But don’t seek one of these options if you simply are worried about home value. If you like where you live and it meets your needs, stay there. Prices will recover, and soon.

To Be A Seattleite

Carl Setzer

I consider myself a western Washingtonian, even though Mr. Ron Rudd might not.

“If you weren’t born in Seattle or the Northwest, you’ll never be one of us.”

Though born in Rhode Island, my parents were born in Washington, as were all my grandparents. My father and his mother were  born in Seattle. Next: my parents met at UW. And I was supposed to be born in Seattle, but my timetable was a bit off-kilter. The family was in Rhode Island as my father attended the War College. So, I guess if I must be disqualified from “one of us” status, I’ll accept the consequences of my father’s service with pride. 

Deeper: why do I consider this place “home”? Well, the biggest reason was that we always called it home. Flying out to Seattle was always “going home to visit grandma” (sorry grandpa, but it was always “to visit grandma”. 

Lastly, this is the place we moved when my dad decided to retire from the Navy. And where I’ve lived the vast majority of my life here. Lastlyiest lastly, there’s the simple fact I love it here. 

Please note: I’m hardly offended by Mr. Rudd. Actually, I find him quite witty, and the piece is quite clever. It did give me pause to consider, though. Which is worth a heap of oysters, shucked by hand along the Edmonds beach: my happy place.

Ah, the clouds are back!

Carl Setzer

Well, the clouds have rolled back in to the greater Puget Sound region. With them come less bitter temperatures. I appreciate that. The past week or so, with temperatures down in the 20s, has been deeply uncomfortable. Yes, I am aware that a good deal of the country would love to WARM UP to our lows. And I am content.

During the summer, there are times that I am uncomfortably warm while the rest of the country broils significantly hotter. Yes, I’m fine with my discomfort in the 80s while the rest of the country broils in the hundreds.

Seattlites have been labeled weather-wimps by most of my friends who live in other regions. Whether the discomforts above, or our disdain (terror?) of snow, we have a reputation. Personally, I’m fine with that. It’s delightful to live in a pleasant climate, rather than where simply surviving brutality is the goal.

I welcome the return of the clouds, and gentler weather. It’s not for everyone, but for me it’s home.

A Seattle Saturday

Carl Setzer

This past Saturday, I gave a friend a lift out to Mercer Island. On my return trip, I saw I-5 was backed up, so opted to take surface streets starting at James street. It was fun to see how my old neighborhoods have changed. There’s tons of construction going on downtown, and throughout Seattle. I was amazed at the changes along Roosevelt through the U-District. So many high-rises that weren’t there 5 years ago. And UW’s campus has had a great deal of change.

I expect that these are real signs of a changing economy; at least in micro/Seattle sense. The volume of construction decreased significantly the further north I went. Very little going on past Northgate.

Just a few random observations as I drifted northwards from downtown avoiding traffic coagulation.

Cafe thoughts

Carl Setzer

As I’m sitting in Lynnwood’s Cafe Ladro, enjoying the cafe vibe, memories are triggered. Thinking of my beloved B&O and bauhaus from the years I lived on Capitol Hill. The ambiance of an urban cafe is unique, and these two captured the emotion of that point of my life.

Now I find myself back in the suburbs that I’d reviled as a young man. Just a few meters from the house my parents settled in, where I consider myself “raised”. Coffee tastes similar, though my relationship to it has greatly changed. The grey skies and driving drizzle pull out similar ties to that time, yet they’re over strip malls not the lovely, gritty buildings of Seattle.

So, B&O moved, then went out of business. I heard bauhaus moved up the hill. Change. Change. Not just me, not just my locale, even the streets and institutions of my history evolve.

Or so I ruminate, listening coffee beans getting scooped. A sound hearkening to before my birth. Little pieces connecting all humanity over the ocean of time.

Road Healing Coming to I-5

Carl Setzer

Generally, the first response when seeing news like this: groans. Ugh, more roadwork! More snarls; slow, slow, slow! I try to think of the long-term with this stuff. Sometimes it works. But knowing that not doing this, not taking care of the preventive stuff only makes things worse. And, maybe, this will result in something better. A better, more wonderful life for us all. Well, one can dream…

New pavement preservation project begins on I-5 next week
A new pavement preservation project begins on I-5 in Seattle and Shoreline next week.
Beginning Aug. 11 contractor crews will start replacing more than 300 old, cracking and failing concrete panels that make up the I-5 roadway. The work is located between SR 104 at the King-Snohomish County line and Northeast 117th Street near Northgate. Crews will start in the southbound lanes and then work northbound. After the concrete panel work is done at the end of October, the crews are scheduled to start grinding the highway. The grinding will start no earlier than Nov. 1. The project will also add a new overhead electronic sign near Northeast 155th Street which will display travel times and messages. Durable, high visibility striping will be added in spring 2015. Thank you in advance for your patience as we begin this work that is so important to keeping commuters and freight moving on I-5.