Spitting Coffee through my nose

/ Matt Talley / 2 Comments

I made an application that grabs the latest news from NPR, CNN, and my three favorite comics and delivers it to my Outlook In-box first thing in the morning – I know, I’m a dork.  Anyway, one of the ‘toons made me roll with laughter and I spit my fine latte out of my nose.  About two years ago I was cycling through the fields of North Germany, along narrow country roads, with a friend and neighbor who just could not stay warm on the ride.  The cold wind was just cutting into him so he pulled off, grabbed a paper full of glossy adverts from the ground and started layering them flat inside his jersey.  I laughed and laughed at him all the way home and would snicker for months afterward when we would ride together.  I had completely forgotten about it until yesterday morning when the comic below opened up in my morning Geek-mail.  Coffee should never be spewed from the nose: it is both painful and messy.  My laughter/coffee fountain was also a source of delight for the other cube-dwelling Engi-nerds that surround me.

yahuda stuffing newspaper

Santa Claus-like body fat percentage

/ Matt Talley / 1 Comment

As far as my overall fitness lever:  I have never worked this hard to look this bad!  I REALLY miss being 19.  The days of drinking lots of beer, eating crap, still looking decent, and performing at an elite level are GONE.  I am officially almost old and I have outrageous cookie-handles/spare tire, my arms have shrunk, and my body fat percentage is bordering on Santa Claus level.  The months of inactivity after the most recent surgery and gorging myself on coffee (triple Grande one pump mocha with whip…), 1-liter wheat beers, donuts, more beer, cookies, and brownies did little to prepare me for the coming summer.  I have been doing yoga at home weekly, but want to find a local class/studio to visit for a weekly or bi-weekly session.  Yoga really adds to my climbing and as I have decided to focus on my core (keeps me from stressing robo-shoulder) and my agility, it compliments the abundant AB work – which is not going well since I am starting from scratch again.  All the work last summer and fall was for naught. I am slowly working back into my pre-cartwheel down the stairs groove.

The Bionic Shoulder is doing SO much better.  I still need the second surgery, but it can wait – no serious rush – and I can do 15 push-ups without it hurting.  I have been real careful not to stress it as I am going to need it in as good a shape as possible if I snag a slot on the Alpine Club of Iran Climber Exchange trip that I am hoping to be selected for.  I am climbing all right, but I have been hesitant to frequent the rock gym or bounder on plastic holds.  I have found that it is REALLY easy to over train and tear something on plastic.

I have logged about 90 running miles in the last 6 weeks, Nike+ has helped with that, but I have been neglecting my two-wheeled mistresses.  I may have ridden 120 miles in the last 7 weeks…  It is my new commute and the spring rainy season.  The ride home has a shitty hill at the end of the 15mile ride and I have to fight traffic some so that puts me off, but more than that, the sun has been shy of late.  I am by no means a fair weather cyclist, it is just that rain + traffic + cold + hill = me screwing off instead of riding.  I have already paid the entrance fee for the annual Seattle to Portland ride, so I have to cowboy-up and get a bunch more training and commute mile behind me.  Speaking of rides: I am also signed up for a Duathalon in June, a couple of 10k road races and a half Marathon this summer, all in an attempt to keep myself on target for the STP ride, the possibility of climbing in Iran and to keep my cookie handles in check.

Santacyclingsantarun

A Brush With the Far Side

/ Matt Talley

Small world – strange place…  So the other day I left a couple of messages on someone’s voice mail wanting some info about this or that.  The recording was one of those monotone/flat affect sort of messages that come standard with your phone and one that most people rush to change.  I thought it was odd considering the person I was trying to reach is one of those people who records cutsie messages with music in the background.  I got a call back the next day while working my garage/shop that went as follows:

Ring… Ring…

Me: Hello

Caller: Hi this is Gary Larson and you left a couple of messages on our phone the last few days looking for ______.

Me: Uhh, yeah, sorry I must have had the wrong num…, wait, uhh – Gary Larson – as in THE Gary Larson?!

Caller: Well, there are a number of THE Gary Larson’s, but yes…

Me: Ummm, oh….  Yeah sorry, I didn’t mean to bug you.  I will check the number and make sure to call the uhh right one from now on, sir.

Caller: Ok, great.  Have a good day, bye…

Me: …………..

Now, I am someone who has a comeback for everything.  As a child I was king of the ‘dozens (playground ‘Yo Mamma is so… ‘ matches) and I am almost never at a loss for words – sometimes to my own detriment…  I pride myself on my ability to deliver a polished opinion/thought/answer on command and under stress.  As one can tell from the transcript above, I failed miserably to seize the opportunity that serendipity dropped in my lap and tell an amazing artist how much I love his work and that at the very instant he called there was one of his comics in view, freshly pinned to the right of the shop door.  No, no, instead I sounded like I had just put down the 3’ bong and paused my video game in my parent’s basement before answering his call.  So much for my personal power of wit, self-control, verbal ability, and mental agility… dumbass…….

Comics for Cycling Geeks

/ Matt Talley

There is a special place in my heart for the daily comic strip.  I have a tool that feeds my three favorites to me in an e-mail each day so that I start my morning off with a little laughter.  One of my favorites, Yehuda Moon, is for bike geeks, but has been on hiatus for a couple of months. Rick Smith, the cartoonist behind the strip took some time off to recharge his batteries and I have missed my daily dose.

Yehuda is an old-school Luddite cyclist that commutes everywhere – in all types of weather, rides a heavy-weight steel framed steed, sports a wool sweater and cycling cap pulled low, is a militant cycling advocate, and owns a bike shop with a guy named Joe who loves carbon bikes, technology, and speed.  Joe serves Hardy to Yehuda’s Laurel.  I see a little of myself in Joe and a lot of me in Yehuda.  He pulls shenanigans that the evil inside me sing with glee – painting cycling lanes on main street in the middle of the night, relieving @sshat drivers of their keys, giving bike thieves a u-lock beat down, etc…

2008-03-11yehuda-red-light

On May 2nd, new panels will be available, but this week there have been a couple spin-off funnies available if you check at the main site.

2010-04-242010-04-262010-04-27

New Clutch for the Scooby

/ Matt Talley

Last week I had to have my clutch replaced on the Subaru at 24K.  I took it in to a yet-to–be-named dealership after it started slipping on the way home from work and was told that the clutch was gone and that they “might” cover it under warranty.  The typical OEM replacement cost is 1200-1500 bucks!  The first service guy I dealt with – not my usual representative – stated that “normally” the clutch is only covered by the 12month/12,000 mile portion of the warranty, that “abuse” lessens clutch life, and that he would have to get back to me with an estimate.  By abuse he meant launch starts and power shifting. The only racing I do is to Starbucks on the way to work, so the premature failure and his accusing demeanor pissed me off.

I went home and dug into my warranty and looked in the Subaru Forums online for similar premature failures.   Apparently, this short clutch life is an issue with the WRX that is well known and documented on the inter-webs. Additionally, my warranty categorically states that the clutch is a 3year/36K covered item.  I called the service rep the next morning to check on status and he continued with the “maybe” covered line so I faxed him a copy of my warranty on letterhead from the attorney we used for something last year with the section covering the clutch highlighted and 20+ pages of forum posts about the very same issue.  The service guy that I have dealt with for the one recall (minor tube replacement on the turbo) and all my oil changes called me right back, said he would be my point of contact from now on and told me that the car would be ready by noon and that ALL work would be 100% covered.  When I showed to pick up the car the first guy wouldn’t look at me and left the counter as soon as he could.  I get trying to save your company money, but being shady to do so is a sh!tty thing to do.

All that said, the dealership has been terrific every other time I have been there, so I am not ready to throw them under the bus just yet.  Currently, I have issue with that one employee and don’t think I should spew web-hate for the entire business because of one ass-monkey.  Also, even though the WRX is hard on clutches, it is not enough to make me want to get rid of mine or talk smack about it, but enough of an issue that I won’t let neophytes/relatives drive it. I still love and am thoroughly impressed with the car and the Subaru brand.

Change of Address

/ Matt Talley

My neighbors on both sides seem to be farming dandelions.  They have to be, as there is no other explanation of how every square inch of their yards are covered with the cancerous weed.  Is there some sort of market for them that I am oblivious to? I don’t think it would be too neighborly of me to mow their yards or spray gallons of Round Up or burn their grass from sidewalk to steps so that they can start over…  No, that might be seen as pushy/controlling/crazy and there might be some legal/state mental hospital sort of repercussions.  I am going to have to just keep weeding and patrolling Casa d’ Talley and let the neighbors cultivate what they will – even if it does eventually drive me insane.

I hate Dandelions – HATE!  Seeing one of the little bastards pop up in my yard is like finding a zit on prom night, a dent in a new car, or balls on your hot new girlfriend.  I take it is as a personal affront when one of their little flowers spring open within the boundary of my fence.  They don’t try to hide under the hedge or behind a rhododendron, oh no, the fvckers make sure to sprout right at the gate or next to the steps where they know it will affect me the most – sacrificing one of their brethren Taraxacum officinal in hope that I get so pissed that my blood pressure pops a vain and I keel over in the yard, my last sight being their spiky green leaves.  I know in my heart of hearts that when I pass from this earth there is a good chance that my own personal Hell will have be carpeted with them and there will be a significant populations of soul eating pigeons as well.

I am going to formally change my address to “The house with the red door marooned in a continent of dandelions, Seattle, WA, 98XXX.”  Fvcking weeds!

Weddings All Around

/ Matt Talley

Was there a memo that I missed – a possible tax incentive for people to get married in 2010?  Am I just getting to that age where all my friends are settling down to mow the lawn while holding a beer, shop for leisure suits, and go to bed by 9:00pm?  Something must be up: we have seven weddings to attend this year including our own formal ceremony for family/re-commitment thing.  It all started 10 days after Christmas with an elaborate affair (pictures published in a magazine and taxidermy mice as cake toppers…) in the Bay Area, then one for March in SoCal, one in Sedona in May that is scheduled in the middle of the week and is a 4 day event.  There is a small intimate ceremony in NorCal in June, someone (my wife is the keeper of names and schedules) is getting hitched in July, There is a “Do” the first part of August in Germany and we are having our own gathering at the end of August in Seattle.  That is a lot of flights, a lot of tie wearing, some serious gift coin, and lots of nights in hard, crappy hotel beds.  I feel like I have a part-time start-up as a wedding attendee.

A Great Wisconsin Beer – Who Whoulda Thunk It??

/ Matt Talley / 2 Comments

While at the grocery store this weekend, I found a bottle of Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company Sunset Wheat.  It had an odd label and it is brewed in Wisconsin of all places so I wasn’t expecting much – no slight meant against Wisconsin, it is just that one doesn’t say the  name and automatically thing ‘great beer.’  I have a co-worker from the Badger State and bought the beer solely so that I could have a sip, pronounce it crap, and make fun of him/his home state in a long witty e-mail diatribe.   I poured it into a chilled pint glass Sunday evening, sniffed, swirled, sniffed again, took a precautionary taste, and then said dirty words!  I hate it when I plan to be funny and am shot down in flames.  This beer was actually good – really good.  The color is perfect for a summer beer and there are hints of citrus and cherry on the tongue.  It formed a respectable head in the glass, it was crisp and subtly dry in the mouth and the aftertaste was light and refreshing.  Shock Top Wheat WISHES it was this good!

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company was founded and is still based in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.  It began beer production in 1867 and their beer is colloquially known as Leinies. The Sunset Wheat was introduced in 2006 and the next year they introduced Summer Shandy (wheat beer mixed with lemonade – also called an Alster Wasser or Radler in DE) as a seasonal brew – perfect on a hot summer day when you have to either go back to work of have plans that evening.  Leinenkugel also produces Leinenkugel’s Auburn Ale, Creamy Dark, Hefeweissen, Honey Weiss, their Original Pale Lager, and a 1888 recipe seasonal Bock.  Not a fan of the lager beer, but I am raring to try the Hefe, Shandy, and Honey Weiβ.

I am both very impressed by my find and somewhat sad:  I found a great beer that I will drink all summer long, BUT I don’t get to make snide, yet work appropriate remarks to the resident Cheesehead…   I will comfort my loss with multiple doses of Sunset Wheat and reapply as necessary.

The “Bavarian Herodotus”

/ Matt Talley

I sat down last night with a ½ liter glass of Schneider Brewery’s Aventinus Dopplebock – there was TV and snacks involved as well.  I can’t say enough good things about this beer.  It goes amazingly well with dinner (veg or carnivore style), it is a fine brew to enjoy after a stressful day, and is nice on a warn summer day curled up in the hammock mit mein frau und kleine welpe.

I actually found this premium brew the first time at 99Bottles in Federal way.  I have had regular weight Schneider Weiss on a number of occasions and our local pub serves it in a Schneider-branded Weissenglas, but somehow the Dopplebock escaped my attention while living in the cold Prussian north.  It is named for Johannes Aventinus (1477 –1534) who was a Bavarian historian and philologist. He wrote Annals of Bavaria, a valuable record of the early history of Germany and was/is called the “Bavarian Herodotus,”

Schneider is advertised as “Bavaria’s oldest wheat beer brewery” though what that truly means is not 100% clear – oldest family owned, oldest in one place, oldest just brewing wheat, oldest with a charter, ect…?  They do strictly follow the Reinheitsgebot – german beer purity law – and the current owner/brewer, Georg Schneider VI, is a direct father to son descendent of Georg Schneider I, who acquired the rights to boil wheat beer from King Ludwig II. in 1872.

The beer itself is a murky brown with a ruby tint.  It pours smoothly and finishes with a fine thick foam head.  The taste is amazing: velvet smooth with hints of clove, banana, bread, cinnamon, vanilla, milk chocolate & cherry aromas present. Those Bavarian yeasts make my heart beat so…  It is like a proper dunkelweizen crossed with a beer float.

One pint is great! and it would be easy to have a second with the right buddy and I might be talked into a third, but with the high alcohol content I would need help home after #3.  Normally a beer with 8.2 abv doesn’t really spin my wheels, but you truly can’t taste the booze unless you are careless and let your glass get too warm.  I give this brew my heartiest recommendation.

Leavenworth Whistling Pig Review

/ Matt Talley

My Weiβ bier love affair leads me down odds paths now and again.  I look for new beers that may be worthy to consume, even better if they are somewhat local, to sample.  I picked up a Fish Brewing Leavenworth Whistling Pig Hefeweissen Alpine-style Wheat Ale at our local grocer and it looked promising:  Locally brewed, cool label (karabiner, bikers, mountains, climber, etc…) there was some sediment in the bottom, and the liquid in the bottle was the right amount of cloudy.

At dinner last night, my lovely personal beer-wench brought me a proper Weiβen glass and I poured a 12oz. sample.  At first I thought “Yeah…” as it had a really nice cloudy golden unfiltered appearance, and looked as if it was going to form a nice thick foamy head.  Nope, the head was thin and there were no real aromas that wafted from the glass.  The beer was pretty weak in taste as well: slightly doughy, almost NO fruit phenols and somewhat malty, like the brewer had decided to add a little IPA to the barrel. I was disappointed. It is an OK American Wheat, but definitely not “Alpine-style” or Bavarian.  I was hopeful seeing the unfiltered appearance, but was left wanting by the actual product.  Overall, not great, not terrible, definitely drinkable compared to a Bud Light, but not something that we will be stocking in the beer fridge downstairs.  I am going to try out their Dunkleweiβ this weekend and hope to have a better experience.

New Running Partner

/ Matt Talley

The Nike+ App came with my iPhone and I just started playing with it last week.  So far, it has been fairly accurate (after I calibrated the sensor on a local running track) and I have used it on road runs and on a recent trail/hill climb outing and so far the difference between the accelerometer and the GPS distance in minimal.  The Nike+ uses so little battery compared to the GPS function that I have tuned the location server off on the phone to conserve battery for important things like phone calls and work e-mail.

I love to run and I find that if I have a partner I get faster and faster until I finally plateau around the 7 minute mile mark for 5+ mile runs.  I think that I have the potential to be faster, but since I suffer from Multiple Activity Disorder, I don’t commit the time to train appropriately and I have never invested in a coach to help.  My lovely bride hates to run, so I do not have a live-in training companion and so far have not found a neighbor with a similar schedule that is a runner.  Nike+ is filling a gap.  It is giving me some positive feedback, documents distance and pace, and I can virtually race with people across the country on the inter-webs.  I have a couple of buddies in Missouri, Colorado, Germany, California, and Arkansas that run and am hoping to get them set up with Nike+ as well so that we can run as a “group” from time to time.

Thundercats Ho!!

/ Matt Talley / 2 Comments

Thundercats Lunch-Box

As I have previously mentioned, I have come to realize that I can be super nerdy.  My wife is guilty by association – sort of like the hot chick who drives the getaway car in a movie.  She has taken my lunch box to work a few times and all of the nerdy guys and wanna-be techies rave about her retro-coolness.  Since I would like to bask in the glow of my own Geek-light and want my damn lunch box back, I decided to help her with her slide rule-cred’.  I found a vintage Thundercats lunch box, her favorite ‘toon as a child, on eBay and bought it for her birthday.  Like a proper wife of mine, she took her birthday off from work (Not working on your own Birthday is the 17th Commandant) and that morning when she opened the gift, there was a sudden urge to go into the office JUST to show off her lunch box.

Yes….  I have brought her over to the Dark Side, where we have cookies and cold milk before bed, roll cool bicycles, research obscure historical fact for fun, and tote our mid-day sustenance as God intended – in a semi-rusty metal box with cool stuff embossed on the outside and painted in Turbo-Cool 1970’s colors.  My GGG little wife is graduating from moll/driver to co-conspirator.  It warms the heart!

“I just kept run-ning and run-ning…”

/ Matt Talley

I have been an avid runner since I was 14 and ran cross-country and middle distance track in high school.   After running at 4:00 each morning in the Army, I ran CC for my intramural college team (Fifth Year Freshman), coming in second once after an all night bender of cheap beer, video games, a mascot head, and ladies of questionable character/morality.

I just picked up a new pair of trail shoes and inserts after noticing my old pair had started to fall apart – my big toe sticking out when the side stitching blew was a dead give away.  The purchase has me in a reflective mood.  Running is for my soul, to keep the pounds that I would add from the constant cookie consumption at bay (I can tear through a box of Somoas/Do-Si-Dos faster than a fat kid at Summer Camp…), to have time to think through things, to enjoy trails, and to make me a better climber and cyclist.  I don’t enter every 5 or 10K that comes along as I am slow and lazy.  It has to be either a really cool event or be held in an amazing place for me to get up the initiative to actually participate.  I have run one Marathon, years ago – probably the last one I will ever do:  over trained, lost too much weight, had horrible shin splints, and was sick for two weeks afterward.  I will stick to 3-5 mile runs, 2-4 times a week and maybe throw in a 10-12 miler here and there to keep it interesting.

Running is the one constant activity I do that only costs me a pair of shoes every six months or so.  I can wear the kicks when not on a trail and just bumming around the yard or if out and about.  Cycling and climbing shoes are neither fashionable nor functional while out on the town.  I can run from home, on work trips, while visiting the in-laws, etc…  There is a lot of running done when the in-laws are in town…  I always plan to run on vacations, but find that my trail shoes are the one thing that doesn’t come out of my bag until I return home.  Running helps keep me sane.

World’s Greatest Employee!

/ Matt Talley

Someday, when I am “Tha Man” I want a shop full of employees EXACTLY like this woman:

work harder

She poured me some great coffee the other day, was smart, happy, flirted the right amount, pronounced words correctly when discussing 1950 Parisian fashion/lingerie (odd topic I know, another customer was some sort of antique clothes dealer), dealt with a shithead customer – not once losing her smile.  The tattoo should have told me all I needed to know.  If this woman applies for work in your office/shop/business/pub/store/whatever, hire her and give her more than she asks for.

C&P Coffee is where they will find me

/ Matt Talley

C&P on California Ave. is now my coffee shop. I have never had one before, just this or that shop that I would stop into IF I happened by.  Well, the courting is over and while some may rave about Tea for Two and Hotwire, I now have a one true coffee home.  When a certain Ex decides to put that hit out on me, I have a feeling that an overly muscular and black-suited gent with a thick accent will find me hunched over a book, in the faded high-backed chair, coffee in hand and ¾ eaten cookie on the table.

Not only does C&P serve great coffee, they are also purveyors of fine wine and good beer.  There is live music 3+ nights a week, Mexican Coke bottles sit snugly in their fridge, the Wi-Fi is free, their croissants are both flaky and buttery, and our badass dog is always welcome.  In the summer, one can sit outside on the large patio area that is raised above the sidewalk and has views of the Olympic Range and Puget Sound.  Who can say ‘NO’ to setting outside on a calm sunny PacNW day, enjoying a great cup of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie?  There is a sign on the door saying that C&P is a place reserved for “Service Animals Only” and apparently the fact that our puppy makes my wife so happy and is so damn cute, means he provides a service, so….

We stopped in today after a walk at the beach was aborted by a downpour and Peter (who is the “P” and his wife Cam is the “C” in the business name) poured us a great cup of Joe, BS’ed a bit, and hooked us up with a wonderful bread. He had an extra loaf because “…the local bakery guy has a thing for my wife…”

Mexican Coke is just better.

/ Matt Talley

My grandfather once said that only Philistines drink from an aluminum can.  He said this while trying to find the best location to mount a bottle opener on the dash of his new truck.  He REALLY liked RC Cola and Grape Nehi.  In support of his thesis, I have realized that great beer doesn’t come in cans and there is no finer soft drink than Coke sipped from a frosty cold bottle. Though not all coke, even when it comes in a glass bottle, is made equal. Most of what is found here in the US is made with high fructose corn syrup, but every now and they at a out of the way mom & pop shop one can find Coke in a bottle imported from Mexico that is made with pure cane sugar. There IS a difference! If you don’t believe me have your girlfriend/boyfriend/mom/life-partner/buddy or whoever set up a little blind taste test: you will be able to tell immediately which is sweetened with corn and which is sweetened with good old fashioned tooth-rotting sugar.

I am not the only one who has caught on to this: There are numerous websites devoted to finding the import and mapping locations where it can be had. There is a hugely popular Facebook page, and there have been articles run by the AP and the NY Times. Even Coca Cola in Atlanta is aware to the growing consumer base. Though according to a couple of reports, Coke in Atlanta gives it’s bottling partners a lot of leeway with the sweetener and they maintain that most people can’t tell the difference anyway. Wrong…

New Wheels for My 9-Speed Steed

/ Matt Talley

Friday was payday and you know what that means…  a 16oz yummy Starbucks coffee, paying the mortgage, lunch at a restaurant (not carried to work in my Marvel Super Heroes metal lunch box), and if there is a few bucks to spare, something small like a new chisel, a jersey, or a new climbing cam.  This was an exceptionally good Friday!!  Not only did I get my $55 REI year-end dividend (just enough for a blue Patagonia  pullover off the clearance rack), but I also found a super-sweet deal on a new set of wheels for my bike.

The set I am currently rolling have about 7K miles on them and they are real heavy.   While they will continue to work for commuting wheels for another 2,500 miles or so (15 months..?), they are not great for rides and races.  A fact that became painfully obvious last fall when 113 miles into a 104 mile charity ride, climbing up the correct mountain after some jokester swapped some route signs that led a group of us up the wrong mountain.  I was in my biggest gear sweating away, on the precipice of dry-heaving, watching the front wheel flex on each down stroke of the peddles – robbing me of substantial forward momentum.  I have been keeping my eyes open for replacements and after applying a store credit for a failed part, I picked up a set of Bontrager raceXlite Aero wheels for the whopping sum of $38.00.  It made me feel all funny in the lower abdominal region when I carried them out to the car and I felt a little paranoid, like I was doing something a little wrong and a touch naughty.

I spent an hour or so on Sunday in the garage cleaning and installing a 12-25 cassette, taping the rims, putting on my set of racing tires, and filling the tubes to 105 PSI.  I am going for a 50-mile timed road ride on Good Friday with them and I can hardly wait!

22nd Annual Seattle Old Bike Swap

/ Matt Talley

I will attend most any type of gathering with “bike” in the tittle.  Throw in “old”, “classic”, or “retro” and I will be there to see the doors open.  When my wife brought home a flyer for the 22nd Annual Seattle Old Bike Swap, with a drawing of a Penny-Farthing right at the top, it was decided then and there that Palm Sunday would go on with out me at our local center of worship since the meet was scheduled for 7:00AM till noon on that particular feast day.

I got there a little after 07:00 to quickly have my hopes for finding hi-wheel brethren and secret troves of Bone Shaker accouterments dashed.  There were a couple of 19th and early 20th century 2-wheelers, but the swap was mostly dedicated Schwinn Stingrays from the ’60s and ’70’s as well as classic BMX bikes from the ’80’s.  If only I would have kept that PK RIPPER with the Mag wheels and the tiny Uni seat…  Now, I wouldn’t say “NO” to a 1967 green Stingray 3-speed with a chrome spring bat holder if I just happened to be presented with one, but they just aren’t the thing that make my chest thump with longing and desire.

Anyhow, while there was some decent stuff here and there, most of the show was taken up by bike junk vendors and used-car salesman-esq “amateur” bike dealers who wanted a way too much for their wares.  I found a 1982 Raleigh Super Course Carlton frame (both the brand and bike model dear to my heart) that had a goodwill sticker still attached.   I thought about building it up with some spare parts as a Coffee Shop/Errand bike.  The incredibly obese vendor laying claim to it quoted me $250 for the pleasure of taking it home.  As it was MAYBE worth $40, I slowly put it back in the bed of his rusted El Camino and backed away form the obviously deranged former ward of the state.

The Fixie is Officially dead… Long live derailleurs!

/ Matt Talley

The fixed gear craze, like disco before it, is now dead – see link below.  I will observe a moment of silence at 7:00 PM this evening with beer in hand – pouring one out for all the hipster hommies who will need a new trend to follow.  I will then forever remove the 16t track cog from my flip-flop hub and place it lovingly on a lonesome nail in my garage.  Maybe my son won’t make a “ninja star” out of it and it will be there waiting, much like polyester and bell bottoms, for the day when it is once again socially acceptable.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/700C-Men-s-Mongoose-Cachet-Fixed-Speed-Bike/13398142

I will continue to spin my Single-Speed to and from the grocery store/coffee shop and will occasionally ride my one-geared beauty to work.  She has made me a better, stronger cyclist and I DO love to ride that bike.  I can’t and won’t give her up just because of the semi-share pedigree with the now passe wanna-be track bikes sold by the likes of Bentonville.

My multispeed, derailleur equipped, steeds are at this very moment spinning their wheels with glee.  No more dismissive looks and snide velo comments from the day-glow orange rimmed and narrow barred bikes locked up at East Street.  Yes, it is now their turn to snicker as my bike chain goes click, click, click – moving down the rear cassette, propelling my 9-speed racer ever faster away from soon to be re-purposed and repainted frames and into the reclaimed future of cycling.

Seattle City Council Contact Information

/ Matt Talley / 3 Comments

I had a little rant about my water bill and am currently concerned/interested in the conversation about Camp Long’s future plans.  In each case I advocated a letter to the Seattle City Council and thought I would share their contact information in case someone else had similar concerns or feel there is a need to have their voice heard in local government.  For best results, send each member a letter or e-mail separately.  Apparently, bulk mailings (e-mail or on paper) to all the members at the same time gets filtered into a junk mail file by their server and dropped in the paper recycler when it comes in via snail-mail.

Seattle Mayor:

Mike McGinn
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/

Mayor’s Office,
Seattle City Hall 7th floor
600 Fourth Avenue
P.O. Box 94749
Seattle, WA 98124-4749
(206) 684-4000

City Council Members:
http://www.cityofseattle.net/council/councilcontact.htm
Seattle City Council
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025

Richard Conlin, Council President
Position: 2
In office since: 1998
Current term: 2010-2013
Chair: Regional Development & Sustainability; and SR 520
Phone: (206) 684-8805
Email: richard.conlin@seattle.gov
Staff: Elaine Ko, Phyllis Shulman, and Rob Gala

Sally Bagshaw
Position: 4
In office since: 2010
Current term: 2010-2013
Chair: Parks & Seattle Center; and Waterfront Planning
Phone: (206) 684-8801
Email: sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov
Staff: Kathy Nyland, Philip Roewe, and Wendy Cho Ripp

Tim Burgess
Position: 7
In office since: 2008
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Public Safety & Education
Phone: (206) 684-8806
Email: tim.burgess@seattle.gov
Staff: Betsy Graef, Nate Van Duzer, and Rebekah Papé

Sally J. Clark
Position: 9
In office since: 2006
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Built Environment; and Waterfront Planning
Phone: (206) 684-8802
Email: sally.clark@seattle.gov
Staff: LaTonya Brown, David Yeaworth, and Dan Nolte

Jean Godden
Position: 1
In office since: 2004
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Finance & Budget; Budget; and Labor Policy
Phone: (206) 684-8807
Email: jean.godden@seattle.gov
Staff: Tom Van Bronkhorst, Monica Ghosh, and Dawn Wagner Todd

Bruce A. Harrell
Position: 3
In office since: 2008
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Energy, Technology & Civil Rights; and Law & Risk Management
Phone: (206) 684-8804
Email: bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
Staff: Vinh Tang, Jennifer L. Samuels, and Michael Jerrett

Nick Licata
Position: 6
In office since: 1998
Current term: 2010-2013
Chair: Housing, Human Services, Health, & Culture
Phone: (206) 684-8803
Email: nick.licata@seattle.gov
Staff: Newell Aldrich, Lisa Herbold, and Frank Video

Mike O’Brien
Position: 8
In office since: 2010
Current term: 2010-2013
Chair: Seattle Public Utilities & Neighborhoods
Phone: (206) 684-8800
Email: mike.obrien@seattle.gov
Staff: Esther Handy, Sierra Hansen, and Sahar Fathi

Tom Rasmussen
Position: 5
In office since: 2004
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Transportation; and Alaskan Way Viaduct & Seawall Replacement Project
Phone: (206) 684-8808
Email: tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov
Staff: Brian Hawksford, Ann Corbitt, and Maia Harris

Seattle Mayor:

Mike McGinn

http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/

Mayor’s Office,

Seattle City Hall 7th floor

600 Fourth Avenue

P.O. Box 94749

Seattle, WA 98124-4749

(206) 684-4000

Seattle City Hall is located downtown on Fourth Ave., between Cherry St. and James St.

City Council Members:

http://www.cityofseattle.net/council/councilcontact.htm

Seattle City Council
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025

Richard Conlin, Council President

Position: 2
In office since: 1998
Current term: 2010-2013
Chair: Regional Development & Sustainability; and SR 520

Phone: (206) 684-8805
Email: richard.conlin@seattle.gov
Staff: Elaine Ko, Phyllis Shulman, and Rob Gala

Sally Bagshaw

Position: 4
In office since: 2010
Current term: 2010-2013
Chair: Parks & Seattle Center; and Waterfront Planning

Phone: (206) 684-8801
Email: sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov
Staff: Kathy Nyland, Philip Roewe, and Wendy Cho Ripp

Tim Burgess

Position: 7
In office since: 2008
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Public Safety & Education

Phone: (206) 684-8806
Email: tim.burgess@seattle.gov
Staff: Betsy Graef, Nate Van Duzer, and Rebekah Papé

Sally J. Clark

Position: 9
In office since: 2006
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Built Environment; and Waterfront Planning

Phone: (206) 684-8802
Email: sally.clark@seattle.gov
Staff: LaTonya Brown, David Yeaworth, and Dan Nolte

Jean Godden

Position: 1
In office since: 2004
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Finance & Budget; Budget; and Labor Policy

Phone: (206) 684-8807
Email: jean.godden@seattle.gov
Staff: Tom Van Bronkhorst, Monica Ghosh, and Dawn Wagner Todd

Bruce A. Harrell

Position: 3
In office since: 2008
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Energy, Technology & Civil Rights; and Law & Risk Management

Phone: (206) 684-8804
Email: bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
Staff: Vinh Tang, Jennifer L. Samuels, and Michael Jerrett

Nick Licata

Position: 6
In office since: 1998
Current term: 2010-2013
Chair: Housing, Human Services, Health, & Culture

Phone: (206) 684-8803
Email: nick.licata@seattle.gov
Staff: Newell Aldrich, Lisa Herbold, and Frank Video

Mike O’Brien

Position: 8
In office since: 2010
Current term: 2010-2013
Chair: Seattle Public Utilities & Neighborhoods

Phone: (206) 684-8800
Email: mike.obrien@seattle.gov
Staff: Esther Handy, Sierra Hansen, and Sahar Fathi

Tom Rasmussen

Position: 5
In office since: 2004
Current term: 2008-2011
Chair: Transportation; and Alaskan Way Viaduct & Seawall Replacement Project

Phone: (206) 684-8808
Email: tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov
Staff: Brian Hawksford, Ann Corbitt, and Maia Harris

My iPhone is the SH!T

/ Matt Talley

If iPhone lovin’ is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!  I was SLOW to jump on the iPhone bus for all sorts of what, at the time, were goods reasons:  It was expensive, promised upgrades were just around the corner, and the data plan was an additional monthly expense that it pained me to even think about dolling out.  I am already hemorrhaging funds every month $40 at a time for phones, security systems, insurance, internet, cable, trash collection, etc…  I just didn’t need another expense.

My lovely wife got the iPhone bug after playing with her best friend’s for a weekend and badgered me about it for a while, but I stayed strong and resisted – even in the face of threats concerning sleeping on the couch.  Well, my employer recently signed a deal with AT&T that gave DEEP discounts which meant I could convert and pay the same amount, so I made the leap.  I am now in love, not the old tired version of love reserved for a cat, no, no this is new hot freaky girlfriend lust!  It is like my hand was incomplete until just now.  I feel like Schmeigel with that pesky golden band….  my precious…

In addition to the normal bells and whistles on the unit, I have loaded Peak.AR, NPR, a unit converter, Distant Suns, and Stanza e-book reader Apps to the home screen.  This thing is now a proper tool to help me navigated the complexities of always-on 21st century Engi-nerd professional life and is almost as handy as a three-armed man in a titty bar.  While I have researched what I have installed thus far thoroughly and I am not App crazy and I am not looking to install every semi-cool/useful App that I come across.  If I will only use it once a month, then it can stay at the App store.  I am currently deciding between iTrails and RunKeeper Pro for a running/cycling companion.

The only real issue I am currently experiencing is iPhone envy.  Laurel looks at me with daggers in her eyes when I pull it out of my pocket.  I am going to have to concede defeat and see that she gets one of her own if I want to keep peace in Casa D’ Talley.  So, in the end I get to spend the money I was trying so hard to save…

St. Paddy’s Day/Anniversary

/ Matt Talley

I can’t be the only man to notice that instead of just one anniversary he has to remember 3-5:  the day we met, our first date, the first weekend away, engagement, wedding, ect…  All this on top of birthdays, Valentines, Christmas, Easter and all those other occasions when your wife expects acknowledgment, a card, a gift or all three.   I see a conspiracy here…

It just so happens that I can never forget the day we met as it was St Patrick’s Day, which means one less chance for me to forget something and get in trouble.  I really like not getting in trouble at home.  My day was thus:

Alarm at 7:15
Shower and dressed by 7:45
Laurel made coffee J and cereal
Told each other “Happy Anniversary”
Smooched
Took truck to work
Listened to NPR on way to work
At my desk at 8:30
Pinched for not wearing green
Revised drawings
Submitted change orders
Refilled my coffee
Pinched again
Work on 3 quotes
Went to lunch
New battery for watch
Bought 2ga green ear plugs
Ate chicken strips
Called wife on break to say ‘love you’
Back to work and meetings
Revised another drawing
Had more coffee
Lots of e-mail
Had apple snack
Pinched again – they didn’t see the green plugs
Chased the assailant down/exacted revenge
Worked late
Got home at dusk
Went for a walk with Laurel and the puppy
Ended up at the pub
Had a pint with Laurel to celebrate anniversary
Puppy got into a fight
He won
Walked home
Realized I left debit card at pub and tab open
Went back to pub…
Downloaded a couple of iPhone Apps
Came home to home to happy and slightly tipsy wife
Turned in early
Cuddling
Up at 2:30am – puppy snoring like a grown man…

the new bike route home

/ Matt Talley

Today was my first commute home from work to the new house and the first commute since they cut on my shoulder. My wife dropped me and the 9-speed off this morning at the J-O-B and it was a scene out of a not so funny ’90s movie: me standing on the curb, backpack over flowing – slung over one shoulder, bike in one hand, lunch/coffee in the other, watching my ride pull away with a mixed expression of fear and excitement, knowing that I only had one way home – the pedals.

Now the sun was scheduled (per the interwebs last night) to shine for most of the day, but it seems that there was some sort of confusion with the powers that be and the time table was shifted to accommodate an interview with rain and a meeting of high winds. I got smirking weather reports every few minutes from co-workers who had access to the arrow-slit windows in our building (my position doesn’t warrant such perks) and who relished the anguished expression I gave when told how cold, wet, and dark it was becoming outside. A little after 4:30, the rain stopped and the sky turned from dark to light gray. I sucked it up, changed in my assigned mop & buffer pad-filled cleaning closet, and started my ride home. During my now 14.3 mile one-way commute there were a couple of route-finding challenges, some major potholes, sunshine, rain, sunshine with rain, a wicked headwind, tunes from the iPhone, and a monster hill. The shoulder felt OK and my quads are not as strong as the need to be, but they will come back in force by mid-summer. It took me an hour and twenty minutes to get home this time, but think that I can shorten it to an hour and ten on a normal day.

It felt extremely satisfying to get out and ride after work. I immediately rewarded myself upon arriving home with some Girl Scout Crack as you do when you have a cookie addiction.

Seattle Bike Show 2010

/ Matt Talley

Since I have this bicycle fetish, I rode my Single Speed to the 2010 Seattle Bike Show on Saturday and got to take a look at some great new bikes as well as some killer classic race bikes.  The show was on the small side – held in one of the cruise ship terminals, but there was maybe 500 Sq. feet of space on the mezzanine for a show of CLASSIC Jack Taylor and various other old track and racing bikes.  It made my heart pitter-patter.  Some of the steel steeds had derailleurs that only a machinist could dream up, there were oil headlights and canvas bags strapped on here and there, but my favorite jewel of a find on the classic bikes was what appeared to be the first cycling computer – a stopwatch strapped to the handle bar of a velodrome bike – VERY cool.  My Penny Farthing is SO getting one of these.  I have already started the CAD work on it and will try to sweet talk/bribe our machinist at work to hook me up.

Some of the new bikes were outstanding as well.  There was less of an aura of “the fixie” than I have seen at other shows, and more bikes geared toward commuting in the PacNW and work bikes.  I saw a couple of ideas that I am going to incorporate into my own shop and cycle fleet: single digit break levers for the Single Speed, a wall clock for the shop made from an old chainring, the aforementioned “cycling computer”, a crate and light for Laurels bike, etc…  There were also some unique wooden bikes.  They were gorgeous! and the engineering that went into them was impressive, but I am not ready to swap my steel or aluminum frames out just yet.

I do have to give someone a plug:  I am apparently an idiot and left my camera on all night and I only noticed that the batteries were completely drained as I took my camera out of my bag to get a shot of an enormous 60+ tooth chainring.  I made a mad scramble for some AAs and struck out with the venue coordinator, the concierge, and at random booths.  I finally happened upon the Kenmore Camera photo booth.  I spoke with Dave Guinn and asked to buy any AAs that he had, even in a camera.  He didn’t have any models that used AA had he hadn’t brought any with him, but this guy picks up a display model and hands it to me to use, like I had known him for years.  I put my SM card in and was set to take pictures at the show (I will link a few below).  I left my battery-less camera with him – not that he asked me too, but I thought it would be a gesture of good faith, and walked around for a couple of hours snapping away.  With that kind of attitude, you can bet that I will be doing all my medium format and 35mm portrait film shopping with them and when it is time to upgrade my equipment; I will stop there first.  Again, Dave at Kenmore Camera really saved my day.

Archer on FX

/ Matt Talley

So…  I have cartoon issues.  I will still sit in front of the idiot-box and sped hours watching old Warner Bros. ‘toons, Dick Dastardly, Tom & Jerry, Tex Avery shorts, or Scooby Doo.  I also enjoy the new Batman from time to time and will stay up way too late from time to time watching Adult Swim.  I have found another animated feature worthy of my attention: Archer.  I laughed so hard last night that I got the hiccups.

The premise is that Sterling Archer is a suave super-spy working for a second rate NGO/spy agency where his mother happens to run the show.  Characters range from a Pam Greer/Pam Anderson/Jessica Rabbit spy named Lana, who happens flitter about in lingerie most of the time and is also Archer’s ex-girlfriend.  The HR lady who is the biggest gossip in the office, a slutty secretary with a choking fetish, a myriad group of heavily accented techies, lab coat wearers, fat bad guys, and almost-naked cartoon ladies.

Archer himself is selfish, a borderline sociopath, a misogynist, treats his co-workers like the help and the help like a mongrel dog in need of putting down.  The shit that comes out of his mouth is just so wrong, yet oh so right.  He has a ping-pong paddle fetish and absolutely no personal filter.  To say that the character is a bit of a prick is like saying the strippers sort of like cash.  The ‘toon is R-rated and not meant for the young-‘ins, but I look forward to every new episode.  The Season 1 finale is Thursday the 18th at 10:00 PST

the smell of fresh cut grass

/ Matt Talley

The smell of fresh clipped grass is one of those scents that transports you back in time to a summer making extra coin cutting the neighbors lawn or slaving away on your dad’s golf course green of a yard.  It can either bring a smile to one’s face or twist the mouth into an outward sign for an inner loathing.  I have a touch of the OCD when it comes to lawn care and have left every yard in every rental house I have ever lived in exponentially better shape than when I moved in.  Today, I got to cut the grass for the very first time in my very own new home.  It was magical for so many reasons:  My house, my yard, my grass – not a rental and not my parents.  The yard has so much potential to become a small, well-kept carpet of medium length green, shaded by a fruit tree, edged with flowers and lavender, and fenced with wrought-iron.  Edging and mowing our own little patch of Heaven made my dark little soul happy, well that and I got to spend some time murdering dandelions.  That weed has no place in my universe.  They are a hateful green grass-cancer that has to be pulled up by the root.  I even have an assortment of special tools that make their demise faster, easier, and thorough.

Along with the house came an electric lawn mower and I have been itching to give it a try all winter.  As I lived most of my lawn cutting years in the heat of the South where the grass is thick and the yards can be expansive, I am most familiar with 2 or 4-stroke, blue smoke belching push mowers.  They all seem to conch out either just as you start when you have a tiny patch left in the very middle.  Our yard now is small and the electric is the way to go!  It was quiet, light, height adjustment was a cinch, and I didn’t have to suck in exhaust fumes for an hour.  I also have an electric edger that I paid $5 for at a garage sale.  I used it once at our rental place and now here, so I think that it has now paid for its self.  I figure that every time I use it from this point on is just gravy.  I have a heavy-duty weed eater/trimmer that I picked up cheap and it ran for almost all of last summer, but it has a carburetor issue.  After experiencing the sweetness of electric yard maintenance, I will put $10 bucks into the gas unit and sell it, applying the funds to an electric model.

Sight-seeing and mountaineering in Iran – maybe

/ Matt Talley / 1 Comment

288px-Damavand_in_winter

I have applied to be a part of a delegation of climbers that will visit Iran this fall.  Yes, yes, I understand the current geo-political crisis swirling around that country right now.  I have seen the protest videos, heard the speeches from all sides, but I view this trip as an opportunity to see places and people that very few of my climbing peers have laid eyes on since 1979 and not as part of any sort of comment or political statement.  This will be a chance to connect with other climbers on a personal level and show that regardless of where one might be from, ALL climbers and mountaineers are part of a single tribe.

One of the planned ascents is Mt. Damavand, on the south edge of the largest inland body of water on earth.  The peak is both the tallest mountain in Iran and the highest Volcano in all of Asia.  I would like to be a part of that for so many reasons, both altruistic and selfish in nature.  I want to see the vast rolling poppy fields to the south and the Caspian Sea to the north from the summit of Damavand.  I wish to feel new stone in my hands and I hope to sleep under new stars.  I won’t know any details about making even the first cut for a month or so, but I have stepped up my training anyway.  Wish me luck.

Budweiser just doesn’t get it.

/ Matt Talley

The Anheuser Busch Companies have just released Bud Light Golden Wheat.  Really?!  Low calorie Wheat beer?  That is like telling the Pope that he has to give up funny hats.  It hurts my soul a little that it is possible that someone’s first taste of wheat beer will be this cloudy bath water.  The first time you kiss a girl, you want her to be a real girl not a cardboard cut out.  Your first car should have an engine and you shouldn’t have to use Flintstone-propulsion.  One’s first wheat should be glorious.  I recommend Franziskaner or Paulaner – you really can’t go wrong if there is a monk on the label.

Bud-Light-Golden-Wheat-6_pack

Bizarro Superman and my water bill

/ Matt Talley

Wtr_taxFor four months running we have had water bills over $100.  How can water be more expensive in Seattle, the land of continuous winter rain, than it is in Orange County, CA or in Phoenix, AZ‽‽  I can see where there might be a premium on rain boots or gutters, but water, really?  How much water can a two people that both work full time use?  I called up the City utility company  a couple of times, told them I checked for leaks in our system and was told that it was probably a “meter reading issue” and it would “straiten itself out” on the next scheduled read.  Nope.  I called again this week and was finally told that indeed Seattle residents pay higher rates than many dryer urban areas (i.e. the desert).  The utility worker I spoke with tried to end the conversation with “add to that the 10% surcharge…”  ‘What?  Hold on a minute, Surcharge for what?’ He then explained in a tired, well rehearsed and probably oft spoke speech that ‘the city illegally charged some past residents for something and the courts had ordered that current residents had to pay for the fines via this surcharge/TAX.’  All legal and court ordered…

I felt like a grizzly bear that someone was trying to explain Heaven to – I heard some words and funny sounds, but they meant nothing to me (that and I sort of wanted to tear someone’s arms off while biting them)…  My right eye started twitching from the pressure in my head caused by anger and outrage.  I ended the call with a courteous ‘thank you’ before my perverse sense of justice went pig-nuts wild and I unloaded on the poor public servant that probably has to pay the fee as well.  I then did a little research and this is what I found in the Seattle P-I archives:

City to OK water-bill surcharge

Fee will pay for court-ordered rebate checks

By KATHY MULADY
P-I REPORTER

The Seattle City Council is expected Tuesday to approve a surcharge on city water customers to help cover the cost of a $22 million court-ordered rebate to water customers.

The rebates are for fire hydrant costs that were wrongly charged to water customers. Fire hydrants are a basic city responsibility and have to be paid for from the general fund, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

Arthur Lane, a former Seattle city attorney who, together with Rud Okeson, filed about a half-dozen lawsuits against the city in recent years to protect the rights of ratepayers, called the council’s move “interesting.”

“It’s really ironic to say the least. I think that it is something we have to explore,” Lane said Friday.

Lane and Okeson won rebates for Seattle City Light customers several years ago in connection with the way streetlights were paid for. They have also challenged taxpayer spending for public art, and Seattle City Light reimbursements in connection with carbon footprints.

As a result of the latest court decision, anyone who was a Seattle Public Utilities water customer between March 2002 and December 2004 is due a refund under a court order issued in October. But current water customers will be the ones paying the bill.

Eligible water customers will get their full rebate in May or June. The surcharge and tax will be spread over 21 months.

By increasing the utility tax to cover the rebates, the city doesn’t have to spend money from the general fund, which covers most other city services.

The plan, proposed by Mayor Greg Nickels, comes at a sticky time. The city just approved a water rate increase in the fall, and council members aren’t anxious to add a new tax on top of it.

However, new revenue projections are expected in a few weeks, and it isn’t looking good. At least $25 million might have to be cut out of the general fund budget in the spring.

Six council members attending Friday’s Finance and Budget Committee meeting approved the plan to impose the surcharge. Councilman Bruce Harrell opposed the plan.

He said he wants the council to be more proactive in its approach to the budget and finding solutions.

“The easy thing would be to pass it on to the citizens. I suggest we slow it down and buy ourselves some strategic time,” said Harrell.

He suggested the council take more time to figure out how to pay the bill.

“I am trying to get them to protect the citizens in the tough economy,” Harrell said later.

More than $4 million of the lawsuit cost is for lawyer fees and interest that accrued while the city appealed the court decision.

Harrell said when the city was discussing water rate increases in the fall, the lawsuit and rebates didn’t come up.

To keep the surcharge amount slightly lower, Seattle Public Utilities will cut about $1.5 million from its budget, likely by freezing hiring in some positions and reducing some conservation and other programs temporarily.

“Calling this a rebate is not accurate,” City Council President Richard Conlin said. “The only party benefitting from this is the law firm that is going to get $4.2 million. “I have a hard time cutting $4 million out of the budget to pay these lawyer fees.”

Holy Crap!, what sort of Bizarro Superman-world was this solution thought up in?  “We, The City of Seattle, illegally billed water consumers and got caught, so we will let those same customers, pay for their own refund AND for the legal fees by “legally” taxing them…  Aside from the outrage I feel about this happening at all, I am more concerned right now about future issues that could be caused by this epic-FAIL.  The thing about surcharges, fees, taxes, and “rebates” is that once instated, they are never repealed without some serious grumbling and pitchfork waving.

Oh, the letter writing has begun!  I have started with a carefully worded note to each of the Seattle City Council members and one to our new mayor.  By itself this does little, but I will keep it up and do my dead-level best (I have always wanted to sit in during a city council meeting) to see that come Dec 31st 2010, this 10.2% of my water bill stays in my own pocket.  Just in case, I am getting the torches ready, riling up my fellow peasants, sharpening the stakes and laying plans to storm the castle.

Bringing light to the darkness

/ Matt Talley
It has begun… We have started the transformation of our yard from mossy dark over-grown warren to bright open space. There was a 40’ cedar growing into the garage and casting its pall on ¾ of the back yard. We had a guy come in and take it down 16” at a time a couple of Saturdays ago. He brought in a wood chipper and I spent the day cutting eighteen 2” to 8” trees/bushes down and feeding them into the chipper. Laurel and I planted our strawberry pots, and ½ of our kitchen herbs. I am pulling some stumps this week/weekend, planting our new Espalier apple tree and laying out the three raised garden beds – the Territorial Seed Company catalog and I have become the most intimate of friends.

I finished building stack-able ceder compost bins on Saturday (Laurel liked VERY much!) and my next major build is the planters. The raised beds will be enclosed with wall block. It took some soul searching as I REALLY wanted to do them in carefully joined wood, but cypress lumber in the Pacific North West is crazy-expensive. Redwood is almost as good as resisting rot, but to get true clear pieces that are untreated I have to special order them and for three 3X7X1.5 planting beds I would have $750 in wood. The block will last a LONG time and is a quarter of the cost of building in wood. After removing an old pond filled with used cat litter (??), the addition of a hot tub, some stone, and small green house will make my own small urban farm/park/orchard/retreat just about PERFECT.

Click on small image for large one you can read.
The front yard is a project for later this fall – just before my last shoulder surgery. We want to extend the yard to the sidewalk. Right now there is 8’ between the fence and walk were the property slopes down and the space goes to waste. We will also remove the chain link and install an iron fence, cut down the over grown rhododendrons, add a Belgium Fence Espalier, plant a Lapin cheery tree, add Provence, Lady and Spanish lavender at the fence and add azaleas (my daddy’s favorite) under the front windows.

Spring and summer projects for inside the house are vast in their breadth: new built-ins for the living room, a fireplace surround, a new heating system, addition of period appropriate kitchen cabinets, built-ins in the basement, Man Cave construction, rework of basement stairs, a new bathroom vanity and WC cabinet, rewiring of attic, attic subfloor and stairs, etc… etc… As you may deduce, we will not be traveling to any exotic locals this year. Vacations will be spent with children at home and putting sweat equity into Case Da Talley.