3-Way CFLs

Posted on September 15, 2009 | 1 comment

Regressing from a perfect shape?

Regressing from a perfect shape?


Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) can help reduce your electric bill. According to the Energy Star web site, CFLs need more energy when they are first turned on, but once the electricity starts moving, they use about 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs. They also last up to 10 times longer and can thus replay their higher initial cost several times over their lifetime. A single Energy Star-qualified CFL can save an estimated $30 in energy costs. So when the light bulb in the 3-way table lamp I use for reading burnt out last week, I decided to replace it with a 3-way CFL, assuming such products exist. They do, but my great idea went nowhere as the one I bought was expensive and wouldn’t fit in the lamp.
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Posted in Home

I’m So Busted

Posted on September 9, 2009 | 3 comments

I ran the traffic signal at Wheaton and Sylvan Ways in Bremerton the evening of August 31—more than a week ago. Yesterday the “Notice of Traffic Infraction” arrived in the mail, complete with inculpatory photos and instructions on how to pay (or fight) the $124 fine. In this day of instant communication like email and 24/7 cable news, it now takes longer to actually get a red-light ticket than when the officer used to hand it to you on the spot. The rest of the process is impressive in its moneymaking efficiency, although the amount of the fine and who shares in the cash raise some questions.
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Posted in Government

A Long-Distance Taste Test

Posted on September 6, 2009 | 1 comment

“It tastes like instant coffee. Good, but definitely instant coffee.” That was my sister’s verdict this morning on the Colombia blend of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew instant coffee (the company calls it “Soluble and Microground Coffee” that has a “Smooth, nutty flavor any place, any time”). I agreed with her although I was also thinking the slightly bitter and slightly burnt taste left no doubt it was definitely a Starbucks product. So how do you conduct a long-distance taste test?
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Posted in Friends & Family

A Perfect Sign for Labor Day

Posted on September 4, 2009 | 1 comment
An o not an e

An o not an e

This entry is part of my “sign” series, which features my favorite signs from local biking trips. You can also see great signs from the car, of course, but it’s a lot easier to stop for a photo if you are pedaling by. This particular one marks a vacation place on the Hood Canal as seen from the North Shore Road. When I told K about it, she gently pointed out that I was reading the sign incorrectly. The word moron wasn’t mentioned.

I still like the sign—although originally I thought the second word was “Leaf.” Obviously the second word is “Loaf,” to make the sign say “Let us Loaf,” a perfect name for a vacation place. However, “Lettuce Leaf” conveys a certain whimsy that appeals to me and, I assumed, the owners. I haven’t included a photo of the house, but their beach shack is painted the color of the popular salad vegetable. I should ride by the place on Monday (as American Labor takes a well-earned holiday) to make sure the owners are taking their sign to heart.

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No Painting Congressman Dicks into a Corner on Health Care

Posted on September 1, 2009 | Leave a comment

Last month I criticized Congressman Norm Dicks for not holding a town hall meeting on health care. Since then the congressman has changed his mind, and I applaud him for facing his constituents, although I think he was uncomfortable and not well prepared. But try as they might, attendees in the noisy crowd couldn’t paint the bulldog Dicks into a corner on any of HR 3200’s controversial sections.
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Posted in Current Events, Government

Have You Gone Overboard on News/Talk Radio?

Posted on August 29, 2009 | 2 comments

I have spent most of the summer on Treasure Island and have been keeping up with current events by listening to news/talk radio. That’s because the TV no longer works since we haven’t gone digital, we don’t take a newspaper, and there’s no computer. According to the Center for American Progress web site, I’m not alone when it comes to tuning in to news/talk radio. They estimate the weekly audience at 50 million, supporting 1700 commercial stations nationwide. Clearly the format is popular. Lately, however, I have been wondering if I and others have gone overboard in our allegiance to this mostly conservative medium. To answer that question, I devised a test.
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Posted in Current Events

Living Faith Choir

Posted on August 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

These kids are good

These kids are good


“They’ve only been together since Wednesday.” That’s what K. W., my nearby neighbor on Treasure Island, told me after the Living Faith Choir’s performance in her backyard yesterday in front of parents, friends, and curious islanders. In four days not only did they master eight songs, the group of about 20 teenagers also had a lot of fun on the island plus they survived a serious downpour one evening (the boys were camping in tents).

No question that the kids were talented musicians coming into this. They could all sing and several could play instruments—bass, keyboard, and drums. All appeared to be seasoned performers in front of an audience. But it’s late summer and they haven’t been together since the previous school year (at King’s School in Seattle). And some were new. Several of the songs took a lot of practice. There were a couple of duets and some other numbers where they acted and sang. I think they nailed the performance and are in mid-season form already.

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Congressman Dicks’s Rationale

Posted on August 17, 2009 | Leave a comment

Last week I blogged that none of my congressional representatives replied when I asked if they would be holding a town hall meeting this month on health care. Since then I have heard from my congressman, Norm Dicks (D-Wash.). I will let you decide if his rationale for taking a pass is pure genius or just a clever dodge. Either way, the congressman didn’t say whether he would hold a town hall meeting when the House does have a complete bill.

“Thus far legislative proposals have been developed by key House and Senate Committees yet no complete version has been presented to the full membership of either house for a vote. I had hoped to be able to meet with constituents at home during the month August to explain the House version of a reform bill and to seek input from 6th District constituents, but the reform package has yet to be completed. In lieu of a specific legislative proposal, I wanted to take this opportunity to re-state my priorities in this important legislative effort…”

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Posted in Government

Redress Not Address

Posted on August 14, 2009 | 1 comment

I thought it was a typo. Hard to believe there would be one in an email sent to thousands of Alaska Airlines Insider subscribers. There wasn’t. They didn’t mean address, although address would have made some sense given the context. They actually meant redress, one of my favorite words in the Bill of Rights, which, among other things, gives us the right to “petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
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Posted in Government, Travel

No Town Halls Near Here

Posted on August 12, 2009 | 2 comments

You cannot turn on talk show radio these days without hearing endless and repetitive opinions about the congressional town hall meetings on health care. Conservative hosts are framing the issue as one in which some members of Congress are refusing to listen to the public before passing a bill that literally affects life and death for all Americans. Liberal hosts point out that the status quo is unacceptable, a lot of misinformation is being spread, and the current bills need some work but are the best approach to comprehensive health-care reform. To get some first-hand information on these opposing views, I contacted my congressional representatives about attending a local town hall meeting.
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Posted in Current Events, Government