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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Closed on Sundays
Posted in Books & Movies, Government
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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Posted in Business Beat, Home
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?
Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point, Pi
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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Posted in Sports
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.
Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point
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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Posted in Sports
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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Posted in Books & Movies
Frozen Solid
Fir and Ice
The weather has been clear and cold for the past week with lows in the twenties at night and highs barely above freezing during the day. Prior to the cold snap Western Washington endured more typical December weather—rain, followed by more rain. The photo shows the predictable result of leaving a wheelbarrow outside in the ready position for the duration. Nature filled it with water, which then froze all the way to the bottom. Previously I tossed in the fir branches while cleaning up at Treasure Island from the pre-Thanksgiving windstorm.
The forecast calls for higher temperatures and rain showers by the end of the week. Back to normal. Let it be so.
Posted in Weather
A New Personal Biking Record
In 2010 I rode my bike more miles than in any previous year since I began keeping track of my annual mileage in 1996. The final total was 2472 miles—170 more miles than the old mark of 2302 set in 2008. That’s not impressive if you are a serious cyclist like my nephew Eric, who trains for road races and entered (and finished!) the Hot 100 in Dallas last year. But for me averaging more than 200 miles per month was a major milestone.
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Posted in Biking
