I lifted this entry’s title from the Home.Spice.Life blog. Her (or his) recent post about books read in 2011 was recognized in WordPress’s Freshly Pressed section, meaning it was judged to be among the best posts of the day. Congratulations! My list of books is different.
Continue reading
Monthly Archives: December 2011
10 Books I Read in 2011
Posted in Books & Movies
The Toll Road Bandito
Times have changed. With automated tolling beginning today on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, drivers now have to pay to cross Lake Washington on SR 520 unless they ignore the bill for the trip when it arrives in the mail (a bad long-term strategy) or make a late-night crossing. They can also go out of their way to cross the lake on the still untolled I-90 bridge or take an alternate route around it. None of these options would have been acceptable to a guy I knew years ago—the Toll Road Bandito.
Continue reading
Posted in Economy
King Tide on Mud Bay
Cat patrol at high tide
Posting a King Tide photo is becoming an annual event for the Mud Bay blog. This is my third. The picture was taken at the north end of Mud Bay a few minutes before this morning’s official high tide (7:45 AM, 13.6 feet). I don’t have a GPS so I can’t be more specific on location. The small bulkhead provides a rough yardstick for measuring the water’s height. It’s rare to see water on its land side.
To avoid any hint of plagiarism, I revised my original photo caption, which quite accurately said “It was a dark and stormy morning.” That’s the Mud Cat in the photo. Normally he likes to patrol on the top of the bulkhead but not this morning. For the record it was a dark and stormy morning.
King Tides are higher-than-normal tides that occur once or twice a year in the winter when the moon is at its closest point to the earth and the gravitational pulls of the sun and moon are acting together.
Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point
The Worst Day of Phishing
A time-honored adage says that the worst day of fishing is better than the best day at work. But judging from an email message I received recently, I’m wondering if its authors should have spent more time in the office polishing their lure before heading out to cast their phishing line.
Continue reading
Posted in Business Beat
2555
I doubt whether anyone is going to guess the significance of the number 2555 to me even if I provide a hint. For those inclined to try, rather than spilling the answer right off I have included it after the jump. The number isn’t my PIN or the balance in my savings account. It is the approximate distance between Bremerton and Youngstown, Ohio, but that would only be important if I were going there. However, “distance” or more specifically “miles” is a good hint.
Continue reading
Posted in Biking
Married to Comcast?
Because of a clever marketing ploy called the Triple Play (phone, cable TV, and high-speed Internet), Comcast and I have been going steady for years. Our relationship is based more on need than love. Comcast needs money from me each month and I’m hooked on the services she provides. While we didn’t get married this week, I committed to making us an item for at least a couple more years.
Continue reading
Posted in Business Beat, Economy
Mud Bay Blog 