Bucking the Experts

Normally the Mud Bay blog refrains from predicting the outcome of sporting events. For starters, it is too easy to be proved wrong. Plus a prediction should be backed by a wager to carry any weight. Online gambling is illegal in Washington. So my prediction is caveated with the subjunctive. This post is about the way I would bet on the Super Bowl if I didn’t live in a nanny state.
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But Do They Belong to the Same Party?

Last week while reading The Truth About Cars web site I learned that Carl Levin, the long-time senator from Michigan, has a brother serving in Congress. That wasn’t the point of the post—it was about additional subsidies for electric vehicles proposed by U.S. Representative Sander Levin—yet it got me to wondering if there are any other siblings currently making the nation’s laws. There are, although not as many as in two previous Congresses.
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Closed on Sundays

January 30th was the last time the Port Orchard Library—or any Kitsap Regional Library branch—was open on Sunday. It was a downer day for me. Stopping by the funky old gray-and-blue building on the Port Orchard waterfront was part of my Sunday afternoon routine.
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No Wonder Mine Taste Different

Every so often I make tacos at home. No matter what preparation techniques I try, I cannot duplicate the taste of the ground beef used by Taco Belle in its crunchy tacos and taco salads. (Whether that’s a worthy goal is not the issue here.) A lawsuit filed recently against the fast food chain may explain why.
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King Tide Morning

High enough for you?


The Kitsap Sun said the last few days have seen the highest tides of the year, calling them “King Tides.” Further, it invited anyone so inclined to post tide photos on a flickr page to help the state Department of Ecology document them. Until this morning I wasn’t able to participate. The tides have reached maximum height well before sunrise, so it’s been too dark out to do much with my inexpensive digital camera. The photo included above was taken right at high tide (7:56 AM) and shows a 14.0-foot tide at the north end of Mud Bay. There was enough light for the Mud Cat to point out the water’s edge.

I’m a bit confused. In January 2010 I wrote a blog entry about perihelion tides, extreme high tides that occur when the earth is closest to the sun and the moon is also exerting maximum gravitational effect on the tidal range. For comparison the photo I posted last year shows water on the land side of the small bulkhead behind the Mud Cat. That high tide was listed as 13.8 feet. So are the tide charts incorrect or did something else like storm surge or heavy rain cause the higher water level?

When Tweets Aren’t Enough

Golf fans on the go who used to depend on tournament tweets to keep updated have a better option this year. They can catch PGA Tour events live on the radio. All they need to do is subscribe to SiriusXM satellite radio and tune to Channel 209, the PGA Tour Network.
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So Many Bowl Sponsors

Tonight the Oregon Ducks battle the Auburn Tigers in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game. The contest is the 35th and, as you might guess from the title, last game in a college football bowl schedule that began December 18th. So far I have seen parts of two bowls. Clearly I should have watched more games because my name recognition of the various bowl sponsors wouldn’t receive a passing grade.
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Mud Bay Deer

Last seen heading north


She came from the south end of Mud Bay daintily picking her way along the shore on a medium outgoing tide. By the time I grabbed the camera this morning, the doe had crossed to the small spit of land that forms the lagoon in front of my neighbor’s property (see photo). Clearly the cold water was of little concern.

As the photo caption says she was heading north, possibly to bed down in the woods at the end of Rocky Point or perhaps with the aim of continuing around the point to Phinney Bay. Or maybe she was just lost. The doe is the first deer I have seen on the shores of Mud Bay.

A Great Text Message

The message—8—was short, simple, and completely understandable given the context. That’s what former Seahawk Dave Wyman texted to talk-show host Dori Monson after attending Seahawks coach Pete Carroll’s news conference today. As Monson helpfully explained before passing it on during his radio show, “Dave is a man of few words.”
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Too Bad They Didn’t Make One with Bosch

Michael Connelly has published three novels about L.A. defense attorney Mickey Haller, whose office in the first book is the back of a Lincoln Town Car. A fourth Haller novel is due out this spring. Connelly’s novels also feature a far better-known character, veteran L.A. homicide detective Harry Bosch. Bosch has his own series and has also appeared in some of the Haller books. Although I don’t plan to read any more Bosch novels (more on that later), I would watch a Bosch movie.
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