More Dancing Men

Posted on October 24, 2011 | 4 comments

That's me on the left.


What’s up with West Bremerton and dancing men? Along a 1.5-mile stretch of Kitsap Way/6th Street, there are four of the quirky inflatables. Statistically this is off the charts (I think). The local business district might be the state epicenter for deployed balloon advertising. In Great Minds Think Alike I showed a picture of the Jiffy Lube and Blockbuster Video entries. A better title might have been “Herd Instinct.” Did all four businesses hit on the dancing-man idea independently or is there a bit of copycat go-go going on here?

To correct the photo caption, that’s not really me on the roof of the Mid-Town Market. I do support free ATMs though. And free debit-card transactions (although Mid-Town probably doesn’t have them). Certainly both are worth dancing about. As for the Pep Boys figure, maybe he’s just happy because of his name.

4 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

A Reason to Vote Yes on Initiative 1183

Posted on October 23, 2011 | 2 comments

Initiative 1183, the most expensive initiative in Washington’s history, puts the state out of the liquor business. With so much money at stake and in a slow election season, citizens are being bombarded constantly by advertising from both sides, much of which either skirts the truth, makes little sense, or is guesswork as to what might happen if the initiative passes. Although I’m generally in favor of a smaller government footprint, I needed a better reason than simply eliminating what is obviously a nonessential service—one that Washington isn’t particularly good at—to vote for the initiative.
Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Government

Creepy Car

Posted on October 19, 2011 | 2 comments

Spider on board


Actually the vehicle is a truck (see photo), but calling it a creepy car makes a better title. The previous post was also about Halloween decorations, although the holiday is still almost two weeks away. Similar to Christmas, people in Bremerton like to get ready for Halloween early, using their homes, businesses, and, in this case, vehicles to display a creepy creativity. The truck’s owner gets my Halloween award for this week.

You can achieve a bit of notoriety by hauling around a giant arachnid that looks like it might leap out onto the hood of the car behind you. Even so, this big guy isn’t for me. If I looked into my garage one morning and saw one like it in the bed of my truck, I would slam the door and then freak out, hopefully in that order. I haul a lot of firewood and yard waste so spiders undoubtedly hitch a ride with me from time to time. But there aren’t any spiders in my truck right now. I just checked.

2 Comments

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged ,

North Shore Halloween Display

Posted on October 14, 2011 | 3 comments

Boo!


A Halloween display near Belfair State Park (see photo) has just about everything: ghosts, goblins, Jack ‘O Lanterns, witches, scarecrows, and a collection of stuffed raggedy harvest figures. The only things missing are a black cat and a skeleton or two. The strings of small red lights likely add a spooky touch at night although I don’t know that for sure. In case there are any malevolent spirits about, I took the picture during the relative safety of early afternoon.

Clearly the family who lives here likes to decorate their road frontage on Hood Canal’s North Shore Road. Last February in A Thousand Icicles I included a picture of the icicle tree they created in the same spot. They also go all out at Christmas with lights, snowmen, and hanging snowflakes. But the Halloween display, with its party atmosphere, might be the most impressive of the three.

3 Comments

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged ,

Winning the Early Game

Posted on October 9, 2011 | 2 comments

The Seattle Seahawks accomplished an unusual feat today. In beating the New York Giants 36-25 at the Meadowlands, they won a game played in the Eastern Time Zone. Even better it was the early game, starting at 10:00 AM on the West Coast. I don’t have a statistics staff to research how rare an East Coast win is for the Seahawks. Trust me, they don’t happen often and are worth a blog post.
Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Sports

Enjoying the Baseball Postseason

Posted on October 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

I spend hours watching the MLB playoffs and the World Series. October is the time of year when I’m just getting back into TV after a summer hiatus. The best part of the postseason so far—the Yankees have already been eliminated! That’s right, the rest of the month is going to be Yankee free.
Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Sports

Great Minds Think Alike

Posted on October 5, 2011 | 2 comments

Cheaper than paying minimum wage


What do the Jiffy Lube and Blockbuster Video franchise stores on Kitsap Way have in common? One similarity is that both are using an inflatable dancing man (see photo) in an attempt to attract customers. I have no idea if this advertising technique boosts sales although it did make me take notice. Plus it’s cheaper than posting a sign-waving minimum-wage employee out front like some mattress stores do and a bargain when compared to investing in a top-shelf LED message center.

There’s more information about these so-called dancing balloons at web sites like ArizonaBalloon.com, which also refers to them as wind dancers. Despite the latter name, the web site advises that they work a lot better indoors where wind and sun aren’t factors. That’s because the balloons can spend more time on the ground than dancing on a breezy day and the light spinnaker material they are made of doesn’t last long in strong sunlight. There’s a tradeoff though. If you want motorists on Kitsap Way to notice your business, they have to dance outdoors.

2 Comments

Posted in Business Beat

Tagged

Don’t Close This One

Posted on October 3, 2011 | Leave a comment

USPS 98312 - Note the dahlia garden


To help deal with a severe budget deficit, the USPS has proposed closing about 3700 post offices over the next year. None of Bremerton’s three branches are on the closure list. But if the list expands and the USPS cuts Bremerton back to two outlets, the gorgeous landscaping at the post office on National Avenue (see photo) should be a point in favor of keeping it open. I have never seen a post office with more curb appeal.
Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Government

Mud Bay Lighthouse

Posted on September 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

A tiny beacon


Just catching up on posts I missed this summer when I was away from my computer. While Mud Bay, or Dyes Inlet for that matter, doesn’t need a lighthouse, it has one now (see photo). I got it at the Allyn Days festival in July. I had some birthday money to spend and bought it on a whim. The lighthouse was made by a woodworker named Mike who runs a small business called Laughing Dolphin Keepsakes. The little light at the top is solar powered. The lighthouse doesn’t emit enough light to warn any kayakers who might get too close, but it does lend a nautical look to my deck.

Leave a comment

Posted in Home, Mud Bay & Rocky Point

Total Video Is Closing Soon

Posted on September 28, 2011 | 2 comments

A total loss for the neighborhood


I don’t rent DVDs during the summer so I was probably one of the last people to notice that Total Video on Kitsap Way is closing soon (see photo). The store stopped renting movies and games a few weeks ago and is in the last stage of selling off its stock of DVDs and VHS tapes. Everything that’s left is on sale for $2. Yesterday I picked out a couple of DVDs to zero out the small balance in my rental account.
Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Business Beat