Layers. Lots of layers. That’s what I wore and that’s what covered the bed at night during the recent four-day period when I was without heat. And while I wouldn’t recommend turning off your furnace in late December in western Washington, it can be done as long as the weather cooperates.
Continue reading
A New Furnace
Cell Phones on Planes
I always read the latest articles on airline travel when I’m about to make a flight as I will be doing next week. Yesterday The Seattle Times ran an article on whether passengers should be allowed to use their cell phones during flights. The writer, Tom Belden of The Philadelphia Inquirer, admitted up front to stirring the pot but then did a good job summarizing the current situation (link to article at end of post). Several readers used the Comments feature to weigh in with their opinions. One summed up my feelings exactly.
Continue reading
How Cold Was It?
Belfair's Frozen Fountain
I don’t know the exact temperatures for Belfair last week but offer the photo, taken today, of the fountain in the QFC shopping center as evidence that the artic blast didn’t skip North Mason. The fountain itself is still running. The blue color in the ice may be caused by antifreeze in the system needed to keep the water in the pump and pipes from freezing.
Posted in Weather
Why I Want to Help Tiger
In everything I have read or seen about the Tiger Woods scandal, no pundit has addressed what I think is the most important question: Is there anything the average person can do to help Tiger? Of course to even begin to answer the question assumes the public would want to help Tiger, whose downfall seem to be self-inflicted. For purely personal reasons, I do. I would like to see him save his marriage and rejoin the PGA tour next year.
Continue reading
Posted in Current Events, Friends & Family
Thanks, Comcast
After all the waiting, you might have expected some sort of grand announcement, like email or a customer letter or a notice on the Comcast web site. Instead, self-discovery seems to be the main way Comcast customers in Bremerton will learn that the “coming soon” HD channels are actually here. In my case, I was checking the channel lineup in the Comcast Guide yesterday afternoon just before President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan and there they were: Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and about 15 others, all in high definition and all occupying a previously unused block of channels starting at about 650. 650! No wonder Comcast complains about bandwidth problems.
Posted in Business Beat
Buttermilk Bars
Buttermilk bars, preferably unfrosted, are my favorite type of donut. Unfortunately, not many bakeries make them. Locally, they are available, on a hit-or-miss basis, at Larry & Kristi’s Bakery in Manette. When I visit my dad and sister in Del Mar, CA, we always make a trip to the legendary V.G.’s in Encinitas, a great bakery and creator of some of the best buttermilk bars made anywhere. But if you can’t find them at a nearby bakery, you can make buttermilk bars at home. While they aren’t the same as the donut-style bars, they are devilishly good, and it’s worth passing on the recipe.
Continue reading
Posted in Friends & Family, Home
This One Probably Won’t Drift Away
Will a rising tide lift this log?
Okay, a lot of people wouldn’t mind having this problem. Living on Mud Bay I like to keep the shore in front of my house reasonably clear of logs, large branches, lumber, trash, dead fish, and other flotsam washed in by the tide. Most of the time all this means is waiting for a subsequent—and often higher—tide to carry the natural objects away. I clean up the man-made stuff, like plastic bottles and bags, right away. Last night, however, a log washed up (see photo) that doesn’t look like it is going anywhere soon.
It’s an ugly thing, about 14 feet long, barnacle covered and partially waterlogged. Whatever combination of wind, tide, and current brought it here also conspired to get my attention by depositing it directly in front of the kitchen window. Likely it has been drifting around Dyes Inlet for weeks seeking permanent rest on some beach like those huge gray sun-weathered driftlogs you see along the Washington coast. I wonder if other waterfront property owners have influenced its journey by dragging it back into the water from their beaches in a “pass it on, no return” scheme. I won’t do that, but if nature decides to intervene over the next few days, I won’t mind. Otherwise, this one is going to North Mason Fiber for recycling.
Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point
Why Write About the Belfair Bypass?
There’s an excellent letter in yesterday’s Kitsap Sun by first-term state representative Fred Finn (D-35th District) in which he urges that the Belfair Bypass be taken off the shelf (link at end of post). The idea of a bypass has been around since the 1980’s, and currently there is almost no local opposition. Nor is there much disagreement on when we need it: now. Yet budget woes have delayed the project until at least 2019. In the interim, it has little chance of competing successfully for funds against the state’s mega transportation projects. So I was curious why Rep. Finn wrote the letter. To find out why, I asked him.
Continue reading
Four of a Kind
The forecast is for symmetry
The five-day forecast (see screen capture) for Bremerton from today’s Seattle Times is symmetrical—a palindrone of predictions. My poker-playing dad would say it contains four of a kind, a pretty good hand. Last night the TV weather person went on and on about low pressure areas coming from BC followed by a weak high and then a cold front. To me, the forecast is fairly typical for this time of year in Bremerton, which averages 8.19 inches of rain in November. One good thing: rain keeps the Mudcat a little closer to home.
Blue Mailboxes
How many locations are there for blue mailboxes in your zip code? Officially known as USPS collection stations, these sturdy steel containers, bolted to the sidewalk, do yeoman duty collecting mail and seemingly used to be everywhere. There’s a link at the end of this post to a web site that will tell you how many are near you. Before you click it, take a guess. Hint: The number is probably less than you think.
Continue reading
Mud Bay Blog 