The big wall clock in Room 110 at the Kitsap County courthouse runs so slowly it seems to carefully weigh the evidence before clicking off each second. As the old joke goes, I spent a week there yesterday morning before learning that I would not be part of a district court jury that would hear whatever trial was to begin that day.
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Jury Wait
Posted in Government
Film Piracy Dilemma
What should you do when the theft of intellectual property affects you personally? In my case I bought a DVD online that I’m almost certain was recorded from a television broadcast and sold without a license. My dilemma is that I want to add the film to my small collection and cannot find it for sale anywhere else.
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A Real Car
Bremerton “barn find”
This week K’s brother Steve and I checked off an item that’s long been on our list of things to do—we went to see his former neighbor’s 1939 Buick (see photo). The car is remarkable not because it is in mint condition or lovingly restored. Instead like a lot of non-show cars that have been in the same family for decades, it is original, tired, not running, stored in a tight space, and very real.
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USS Long Beach (1959–2012)
USS Long Beach—hiding in plain sight
The USS Long Beach, the Navy’s first nuclear-powered surface ship, had been quietly moored in Bremerton, Washington, since being deactivated in 1994. Not any more. This week the big cruiser was towed away from its berth at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (see photo), ending any chance for an easy photo op.
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Posted in Friends & Family, Government, Other Local Places
Tagged Bremerton, USS Long Beach
Call It WalBucks
Now Open Bucks
Now that it’s open, it needs a name. Or at least a better name than “West Bremerton Starbucks.” That’s what a recent article in the Kitsap Sun called the latest store (see photo) to join the Starbucks empire.
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A Mossy Roof
A nurse roof?
Nurse logs are common in the rain forests of the Olympic Peninsula. However, until this week I had never noticed that two old cabins at NAD/Soroptomist Park in Bremerton have what could be considered nurse roofs (see photo). The roof in the picture won’t go through the complete nurse-log cycle, but it will be interesting to see how tall the Western Hemlocks that sprouted there get before it collapses or the building is torn down.
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The Swimming Raccoon
Why did the raccoon swim across Mud Bay? I can’t answer the riddle unless the reason is that the hunting is better on Rocky Point than Marine Drive or simply that the swimming raccoon I saw yesterday has a den on my side of Mud Bay. There’s no photo to accompany this post as it was almost dark and the cross-bay swimmer was out of range of the zoom on my inexpensive digital camera.
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Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point, Pi
Flag Day
Stars and Stripes at low tide
In honor of Flag Day I’m proudly flying Old Glory over Mud Bay today. From my deck I can see five other flags and one American flag-themed windsock. There’s a strong breeze on a cool overcast day leading to somewhat mixed results in the photo I took. My flag and the flags of my neighbors won’t be seen by many people, but they are just a small part of celebrations taking place everywhere across our great country. God bless America!
Posted in Home, Mud Bay & Rocky Point
In Case You Didn’t Know
Would a liquor sign send an unnecessary message?
Let’s be clear. The Liquor sign in the photo is a fake. Can you tell? :) Although I think the sign looks great, the QFC on Kitsap Way has not filled in the big gap on its storefront between the Deli and Seafood signs. I did it for them using Microsoft PhotoDraw just in time for the June 1st end to Washington’s 80-year monopoly on retail liquor sales. Beginning on Friday, QFC and many other retailers in the state will begin selling liquor as a result of the 59 percent yes vote on Initiative 1183 last November.
In QFC’s case a row of shelves in the wine shop will be cleared out and stocked with some of the more popular brands of spirits like Smirnoff vodka, Jack Daniel’s whiskey, and Tanqueray gin. By one count, liquor will be available at more than 50 stores in Kitsap County. Previously we had six state stores. Because consumers can expect to find the hard stuff for sale in so many places, QFC will probably cool it on adding a liquor sign. They did include a liquor insert in this week’s grocery circular. Prices shown are for cardholders of course.
Posted in Business Beat
Lexoma
Lexus: it starts with the badging.
A Lexoma (not trademarked…yet) would combine features from Toyota’s luxury brand (the Lexus) and its popular midsized pickup truck (the Tacoma). Although no one seems to be designing such a vehicle, I decided to get things rolling by rebadging my 1999 Tacoma’s front grille (see photo). The prototype, created in Microsoft PhotoDraw, looks promising, so I’m in the market for a surplus Lexus oval to upgrade my ride.
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