crlazlo2

2011-10-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a continuation of this blog. It's a "work in progress", and the link is: http://crlazlo3.blogspot.com/

2011-09-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

river ripples and knee glasses

2011-09-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

2011-09-19T10:26:00.000-07:00

10 minutes of waiting outside the bakery...

2011-09-17T10:03:00.000-07:00


wonderful colors of dusk...

2011-09-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Having the bike carrier now, I can get to some more interesting starting points in a very short time. Today I drove to one of my favorite walking spots, a dead-end off of S 143rd St (red star top photo), by a pedestrian/biking bridge (white star) just north of the Ft Dent Park. I then did a loop ride through Ft Dent, over the Grady way bridge to the Springbrook and Black Forest trails going back north just west of Oaksdale Ave, and back under the train tracks right by the first bridge. Only 22 minutes and a wonderful combination of paved and wooded trails...

still trying to figure out this new formatting with blogger.com...

2011-09-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

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Today was another beautiful day for riding...

2011-09-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

2011-09-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Solar Shadows

freeway reflections...

2011-09-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

weathered house

2011-09-04T11:46:00.001-07:00

Black Forest and Springbrook Trails in Renton...

2011-09-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

2011-08-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful bike ride with Pat and Lita this morning...rode from the bike tunnel on the west side of I-90, over the bridge and around Mercer Island, and back...

me and Bob on the sandbar...

2011-08-25T11:35:00.001-07:00

2011-08-25T11:33:00.001-07:00

early morning sun under the bridge...

further down the river, under the Freeway...

sandbar...

2011-08-23T11:20:00.001-07:00

shallows...

2011-08-23T11:19:00.001-07:00

you lookin at me?...

2011-08-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

2011-08-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

I like the colors more in the early morning hours. This was just before a little rain came through...

2011-08-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

Rode my bike for a few hours this morning. Went north along the river, zigzagged through Goergetown and under the 1st Ave S bridge, and ended up going along Marginal Way West towards the W Seattle bridge. Nice ride. Returning home, I rode up Des Moines Way and through the Boulevard Park area. I'm getting stronger as I ride more and more, spending more time in the higher gears.

LOOK

REFLECTIONS

2011-08-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

gas station sunrise...

This morning: a walk in Lincoln Park with Andrea and Brittany,

and then back for a bike ride along the G River, where I discovered that fishing season must have opened up...

2011-08-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

working out in the yard, not...

2011-08-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

I got out earlier this morning.
there were some nice greens...

I did a reverse trip, of the loop ride on the GR Trail south from the Community Center to just north of the Foster Golf Course, where I cut West and went through the island-like area. That's where they blocked it off to through traffic because of the one-way road under the freeway there, on the East side of the river (black dot). The white stripes you see here in the photo are train tracks, not a road. The road dead ends (I think) not far beyond where I cut back West.

I stopped by the park and beach opposite BECU to check on the Fish Hawk (yellow dot).

can't say "there wasn't a sole on the beach"

There were some nice reflections and colors under the Freeway bridge (green dots on the map):

The white specs were little bits of debris floating in the mostly still water.

celestial leaves...

2011-08-17T18:13:00.001-07:00

filling up, in outer space...

Seatac Airport

2011-08-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

This morning's bike ride: I rode to the airport, which is a gentle grade most of the way. I spent a lot of time slowly pedaling in gears 2 and 3, but the ride back home was coasting most of the way. Went up into the Airport LRT station and into the Terminal, and I took a little break by the rock fountain thing outside the south end.

koi and wood

2011-08-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

landing in the fog

2011-08-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

some photos from our mini road/ferry trip on Tuesday

2011-08-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

seaweed reflection portrait

photo by Andrea, when we had lunch

Dad, Jimmy and coffee...

2011-08-11T10:47:00.001-07:00

I decided to go North this morning, and I tried riding up our little hill for the first time. No problem. I've known that I can do it, but I've been wanting to get into good bicycle shape without injuries, so I've been cautious.
My plan was to go out by the north end of Seatac airport, and I decided to stop and say 'hi' to Dad and Jimmy. I'm embarassed to say that I had trouble finding their graves, and I had to go to the office and get a graves 'roadmap': up by the second tree, take a left by Freeman/Lindman and go up 8 or so rows. I realized one reason I missed them earlier was that their grave stones had weathered a little. The Japanese in me surfaced (I think I was a tatami mat maker in one of my previous lives...) I rode my bike back home, and returned later with some cleaning materials.

The lady in the office offered me a cup of coffee, and I accepted. Being a coffee snob, I didn't like it much, but I remembered two coffee memories about Dad and Jim:
Dad - Dad would stop in the kitchen sometimes, pour a cup of cold coffee that had been sitting in their coffee maker all day, and drink a cup before going to bed...the coffee snob in me quietly gasped inside the first time I saw him do this...

Jimmy - this is a hard one for me - the last time I saw Jim was when he came out to the airport with the folks to see me and Hak Mi off to Japan. It was a little busy with the awkwardness of the goodbyes, and Jim asked me "can I buy you a cup of coffee Chuck?" I didn't accept the offer, and to this day...(I took a little break here...) - to this day, I have always regretted saying "no, thanks Jim"...
Anyway, during of my cleaning I decided to pour a little coffee on Dad's gravestone, and then I remembered Jim's long ago offer...and I poured some coffee on his gravestone as well...

mini road trip

2011-08-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the Burien F Meyer deli right now, eating a late breakfast, drinking a Tully's Americano, and surfing the web with their free wi-fi. Wi, er why? you ask? I have my Cobalt next door (Bur. Chev.) for a look-see, as in a "diagnostics" once over. It's been dying on me, and with Nate beginning his driving lessons in Dec(?), I've got to get the Cobalt up to par. We also have to start thinking about a second car again. Whew!
Andie, Nate and I went on a mini-road trip yesterday. Really nice little excursion, where we did a little loop kind of thing: after dropping off Inday at 6am, Nate and I picked up Andie at her local Starbucks on Eastlake, and we headed to the Edmonds-Kingston ferry. We then drove down south to the Winslow ferry on Bainbridge Island, and back over to downtown Seattle. I got some super photos, which I hope to edit and post later today. We had a nice breakfast at the Steamliner Diner in Winslow, and we took some fun little detours en route - I'm not sure what the beach park's name was, somewhere around Stillaguamish?, but there was some wonderful lighting on the water with the early morning sun. And it was fun having our resident Oceanographer?-to-be pointing out the crabs, starfish, jelly fish even!...the tide was out and the dock was a long one. We just gazed down into the shallows and green seaweeds for the longest time, watching all kinds of goings on.

"When your ship comes in and sinks"

2011-08-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

by Danny Westneat, Seattle Times staff columnist:

"Five years ago, Claire Anderson was living in Miami, the owner of 13 condos and houses. Since, she lost them all in the housing meltdown and moved to a Ballard apartment. Her story may be extreme, but the question of how low we could go is looming large."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2015864173_danny10.html

a fine silvery stream

2011-08-10T07:27:00.001-07:00

from my Page-a-Day "Zen" calendar today:
"Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it."
Sheng-yen

2011-08-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

I should put my new "Cyclocomputer" on the bike. I don't know how many miles I put in this morning, but I ended up doing a RT to Kent. I cut over to the Interurban Trail at the south end of the Ft Dent/Southcenter area, and it ended up being a very nice ride.

the Blue Angels, from yesterday and the day before...

2011-08-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

on the West side...

on the East side...

oh-oh...

a few of the warm-up acts flying before the Blue Angels...

I also took some video, which I hope to upload in the next day or so.

2011-08-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

I saw the Osprey chick (across from BECU) standing on the edge of the nest this morning, maybe thinking about it's first flight? I don't know if it's flying already or not. Exciting...

from today's Doonesbury,

2011-08-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

by G.B. Trudeau:

Wise Blood

2011-08-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

Which one(s) of you bro(s) went with me to see John Juston's "Wise Blood" at the Pike Place Theater way back when? I remember that the film's Producer was there and he talked about the film afterwards. I especially remember him talking about a scene where an old man turns and throws a few punches at a guy in a gorilla suit... Huston having done some boxing as a young man, took a lot if time showing the old guy how he should punch. This character in a gorilla suit comes up behind an old couple on a park bench at night and startles them - the woman screams and runs off, but the old man turns and gives the creature a few good shots to the head...
I watched the film again yesterday, for the first time in decades. The DVD has some updated interviews, one with Brad Dourif who played Hazel Motes.

shopping

2011-08-05T17:57:00.001-07:00

"Want me to go shopping?" is an offer I used to avoid, before I got my bicycle. I road to Seafood City in Southcenter early this morning (they open at 8am) and I picked up some groceries. Functional, and so enjoyable too...

lines, shadows and colors...

2011-08-04T19:44:00.001-07:00

2011-08-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

I saw this bright red light on our dining room floor when I was walking through this morning, the morning sun coming through our front door window. I got my camera and clicked a shot of the door, but by the time I turned to take a photo of the red spot, Sagwa had plopped down right in the middle...

2011-08-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

this morning: building on the hill sunrise

Update - the photo below right (same building) was in this Friday's Times, in an article about King County's juvenile jail and courtrooms moving there:

this afternoon: a different route, a different bend in the river,

and reflections...

2011-08-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

I went out riding again this afternoon. There were some 737 bodies on flatbeds along Airport Way, and I wanted to take some photos...

rough and smooth

2011-08-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

I'm still surprised by the rich colors on these gray overcast mornings...

and I like how the breezes create these different patches of smooth and textured waters...

Monster Road

2011-08-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm already creating this handy-dandy carrier thing in my mind, attached to my handle bars where I can put my camera, which would be tethered to my wrist...I'll be able to pull over, always thinking "safety first", and I can take a photo when I see something I like...

This morning, I rode UP over the bridge crossing I-5 where it goes over the railroad tracks and the Green River, just before it straightens out and heads up the Southcenter hill. I'm lying, about the riding up part. Unlike Pat, who rode up the bridge yesterday just for practice, I walked up and over using the sidewalk on the south side. I rationalized that there was too much traffic, but I'm also not in good enough shape yet. I'll get there...

It was a super nice ride today. Instead of going up to MLK Way like when you are heading towards Skyway or Renton, I turned south onto Beacon Coal Mine Rd, which turns into Monster Rd SW (yep, "Monster" Rd!), and on to...too many words. Suffice it to say - it was a beautiful ride... I'll just upload a few photos here:

I joined the Cedar Creek? Trail heading south towards Renton after I crossed the railroad tracks...

having a bike with a hybrid/mountain kind of tire, as opposed to the smaller 'road' tire, I can go off onto paths like the one below...if you look close, in the center of the photo:

I'm being surprised everyday how much territory I can cover now, compared to my walking routes. I was already on Grady Ave and there was the overpass by Bullwinkles? Entertainment place off of 405. So I went over the bridge and rejoined the GR Trail there, and headed back home.

bird update

2011-08-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

the "hawk" nest I've been watching over the past several years is actually the home to (from Wikipedia):
an "Osprey..., sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle..., a fish-eating bird of prey."

When we stopped to watch them yesterday, a real bird guy stopped and gave us a short bird lesson. What was really cool is that just after he said there was one chick in the nest (I've seen one of the adults feeding it a few times, but I hadn't seen the chick), the little (actually Big) guy stood up and started flapping it's wings, practicing for it's first flight from the nest. We were quietly cheering it on..."do it...do it..."

Kindle

2011-08-01T07:41:00.001-07:00

I have to make time to do more reading! There are so many of the "Free" book offerings from Amazon that I've downloaded to my Kindle that I have a whole darn Library on there! Many of these books are available for only 24 hours or so, and one shot deals, and many of them are really good! The auto-biography I just finished by Cybill Shepherd was very entertaining, especially with all of the different films and "stars" she crossed paths with during her career. Three of her earliest films are on my personal favorites list, along with the Directors and Actors...

fresh fruit and veggies

2011-08-01T07:04:00.001-07:00

for Mary:
I'm not comfortable with putting this on FB, because it could probably come across as bragging or whatever. Not so, but your comment (Mary) reminded me of one of my fondest memories/expectations...

Mary's post in FB this morning:
"I envy people that live right next to a fruit stand and can get fresh fruit and veggies when ever they walk out their door!!!!!!!!"

I'll be able to do that when we're living in our "island in the sky":
just go downstairs, and walk down the sidewalk to my favorite mini banana vendor, go into my local bakery for some mini loaves of bread that remind me of Japan (very different from the breads we baked at Gais!), a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in the little mini-mall at the base of our Condo, or the...so many wonderful choices no matter which direction my walk takes me...

2011-07-31T17:47:00.000-07:00

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2011-07-31T06:53:00.000-07:00

Lincoln Park, yesterday morning...

paddle boarder, and her dog...

morning sunlight, filtering through the tree tops

the plan

2011-07-29T15:17:00.001-07:00

the plan
Bellevue Arts Festival
major traffic jam(S)
shoudda listened to the voice in my head
-----"take your bicycle"
bail!! there's a way out!
Jazz on the car radio
back home and a hot bath
-----"ofuro": honorable Japanese bath
meditation
ok, let's start over...
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ps - maybe I'll try again tomorrow, but earlier, and I'm taking my bike...

loop ride

2011-07-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

I did a loop ride today, following the G River Trail south to South Ctr and up Southcenter Blvd to the LRT station, and then down 99 to our house. It was a nice change, just coasting downhill that last mile or two. With the small hills I usually have at the end of my ride, I'm usually panting by the time I open our front door...

I headed north from our house (blue dot), connected with the GR Trail after passing under the LRT tracks, and followed the meandering river back south to SCtr. I am still surprised when I see so many cars at the casinos just south of the golf course, at 8am! in the morning? To each his own I guess...

"Mr You-Have-More-important-things-to-do"

2011-07-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm stiff-arming "Mr You-Have-More-important-things-to-do", and I've got "Mr Procrastination" and his friend "Mr Why-Hurry?" helping me push...
My plan this morning was to just ride - no stops for picture taking - just ride, and come back home and get to work! I rounded a bend by the Community Ctr bridge, and was stopped in my tracks by the sunlight flickering off of the river shallows there. Oh well. I just now told myself "only an hour of look-see/photo-editing..." I'll see how that goes.
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"IT'S MY HABIT"

our "little brother" Jimmy, who we lost a long time ago, would say "it's my habit"
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beautiful weather!
although it's amazingly beautiful going walking (riding now) in weather like this, it still surprises me how so many people get out only when it's nice. I'm like the old mail person motto "neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night..."
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a little later...
I couldn't help myself...

sunlight flickering off of the river shallows

"ride and shoot"

2011-07-27T17:31:00.000-07:00

My first day of "ride and shoot". I got out before 7am and started my bicycle ride, but today, for the first time since I got the bike, I made a few stops for picture taking...

this would have been a good companion pair to the "trolling the grass" photos I took the other day...
though it would have been better if the tractor was stuck in a swamp...

one thing about getting a bike with a little larger tires is that I can go off the smooth roads sometimes...

this is looking across the river from Becu...

I rode around and over to the other side, down the path and onto the sandbars...

bird prints...

little bird

middle bird

big bird

sandbars...

miscellaneous...

hawk...

this is what happens sometimes when you just click "Autofix"...
sorta cool...

2011-07-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

China's Oprah
"Yang has benefited from China's economic rise, but she also sees its shortcomings.
'If you regard material success as the only goal in life, then you have so many [problems such as] fake food, poison food, fraud in construction of schools, which collapsed during the earthquake," she said. People in China have compared the effects of the earthquake in Sichuan with the recent tsunami in Japan. 'Look at their houses, even when they floated away in the flood, they didn't collapse.' "

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015711627_inpersonyang25.html

2011-07-25T07:14:00.001-07:00

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so many things I need to do today, and all I want to do is ride my bicycle...
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from today's "Sideline Chatter", Dwight Perry's column in the Seattle Times:

"What, Tiger Woods regret firing Steve Williams?
'The New Zealander is a master caddie,' pointed out comedian Argus Hamilton. 'Williams can look at a green 200 yards away and judge the wind, the slope and whether the blonde in the third row is wearing a wedding ring.' "
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2011-07-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

My bike ride with Pat and Lita was the highlight of the day today, but I also got a few photo ops...

lines

running

tide

father showing how it's done

coming out of the shallows

trolling the grass

Stop Go

textures and a green bottle

MISCELLANY

2011-07-22T07:02:00.003-07:00

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L.A.'s KNBC-TV cameras caught Andrew Bynum, the Lakers' $15 million-a-year center, parking his BMW across two handicapped spaces outside a Playa del Rey grocery store.

2011-07-22T07:02:00.001-07:00

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The new normal for America's economy

2011-07-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

by Lance Dickie, Seattle Times editorial columnist

"Ruthless exposure of nearly a decade of faux prosperity has forced the country to see the reality ahead. Consumers will not and cannot spend the economy back to those artificial good, old days."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2015688935_lance22.html

2011-07-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

This the only photo I took this morning. I stopped at a bench along the river to eat an energy bar, and this tree was right in front of me. I liked the three vines curling around the bottom of the trunk.

2011-07-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

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technology...

Although I love a lot of the technological advances during these past few decades, it would be hard for me to lose good old newspapers. One example of technology I like is my Kindle. I have a gazillion books in my Kindle library, most of which were "free". I subscribe to a blog that focuses on Amazon's "free" book offerings, and other promotions to get people to read and buy more I guess. These same titles can end up back at their $9.99...prices the very next day. I think I've actually "purchased" a book on average only once every two months or so.

Back to newspapers, here are a few "keepers" from my morning ritual today:

amazing image

2011-07-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

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fun interview/web chat with Isaiah Thomas in this morning's Times...

two of my favorites:

Are you excited to play with Jimmer?
"Yes. He's like the Justin Bieber of basketball. Everywhere we go, people are crying over him. "

Which Pac-10/12 player talks the most smack?
"Man, me. I talk so much, but no one ever responds in the game, so it's like I'm talking to myself."

2011-07-21T08:30:00.001-07:00

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2011-07-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

If anyone is reading these entries, there will be fewer photos for awhile, and more bicycle talk. I am enjoying that thing so much that I jumped at the chance to do more errands down by Southcenter this morning. Instead of whining about "I don't want to drive to wherever...", I used the excuse of some grocery shopping, and off I went. "Grocery shopping at Southcenter?" you ask. Seafood City, down the hall from Penneys.
Being the primary driver in this household, I cannot say that I "enjoy" driving. Biking is a whole different creature. I try to stay on the established Trails as much as possible, but there are some impediments here and there. With the Howard Dam paranoia blocking off some of the G River Trail, some creativity is involved.

And some brazen defiance (ha ha). I guess the blue paint on this sign was an expression of that?

There are places where we can still walk, but biycling? No.

Where there's a will, there's a way. Eyes right...

2011-07-20T07:53:00.001-07:00

it's not infatuation

2011-07-19T13:18:00.001-07:00

I love my bicycle. I had some things to pick up at REI and Lowes this morning, down by Southcenter, and instead of driving, I biked the 8 miles RT (according to mapquest). Actually, with my meanderings on the G River Trail, etc, I probably logged a lot more, but it felt so darn good!
And using some numbers from fueleconomy.gov and mapquest, I think I saved $1.21 to boot, and that paid for one of my items.
I love my bicycle.

"ding"

2011-07-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

One accessory I got right out of the gate was a Bell. After being a "Walker" for several years, I became extremely cautious and aware of bicyclists over time. Around 80% of them do not abide by the following sign:

Of course I don't know what exactly happened last year when that old lady was killed by a bicyclist, but I would wager money that the bicyclist didn't give a warning, he/she was going too fast, and when the lady realized he was behind her, she stepped out - the wrong way, right into his path.
Even with me being as alert as I try to be, a few weeks ago I just sensed someone coming up behind me, and when I turned to look, he was only a few feet away. If I had reacted the way that old lady did, I could have ended up dead meat. He was cookin'!! Fortunately, I froze, like a deer in headlights, and he did a left-right-left squiggle with his bike not knowing what I was going to do, and there was no collision. This all happened in a split second.
Anyway, I do a "ding" with my little bell when I'm approaching someone from behind, and like I did as a "walker", some of them even say "Thank you"...

little fart car

2011-07-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Look at how this little fart parked. I had a difficult time finding a parking spot when I was waiting for Inday today, and I ended up hugging the back of a large Bakery truck. I took this photo from my driver's side window.
And with a nice little Smart car like that, what was he doing coming back from the free food line at the nearby church? Oh well...

"Winter is like a snow man..."

2011-07-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

from the author Nathan, in the second grade:

2011-07-18T10:43:00.001-07:00

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"Taking the measure of a life", by Jerry Large of the Seattle Times:
"Someone shot and killed Tanaya Gilbert last week. The first question is: Why? No reason would be a good one, but surely something powerfully moved whoever held the gun."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrylarge/2015644214_jdl18.html

2011-07-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

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Owls
I like this photo, from this morning's Times:

"Raptor, wildlife center preps eight owls for release"
http://www.sequimgazette.com/news/article.exm/2011-07-14_raptor__wildlife_center_preps_eight_owls_for_release

2011-07-18T10:27:00.001-07:00

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Bunny
I just remembered taking a photo of this cute little guy back in June. It wasn't much larger than a big softball. He just froze, and I clicked away:

one jogger and five bunnies...

2011-07-16T09:41:00.001-07:00

The following was my FB entry just now: "I even like riding my bicycle in the rain! Got out early today, and encountered only one jogger and five bunnies...seriously. When I'm walking, I just stop and take pictures, but flying along on my bike, I have to be careful of the little critters..."

I'm going to look into some rain gear before Winter. Maybe even sooner. My jeans were soaked against my thighs before I was a third into my ride. I might have to consider some of those cute little bicycle shorts, even with my 'chicken legs'. I like riding right from my house, and being on the Green River Trail in less than 5 minutes! Today was a round-trip between here and the Ft Dent soccer fields. And I won't be limping around most of the day with my bad left heel. I'm giving in and going to a Podiatrist this week.

I haven't been taking many photos lately, but I got a few good photobook deals with Groupon recently, and I'm hoping to put something together asap.

"Seriousness is an accident of time."

2011-07-16T05:48:00.001-07:00

"It consists in putting too high a value on time. In eternity there is no time. Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke."
HERMANN HESSE

good read

2011-07-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'm being surprised by how much I'm enjoying "Cybill Disobedience", the autobiography of Cybill Shepard. Really good. I got it when it was one of the Kindle 'Free Book' offerings quite awhile back but held off reading it because I thought it wouldn't be any good. Definitely a good read for movie buffs.
cr

"5 roads to nowhere"

2011-07-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

I posted the Walking article (bottom of this post) on FB just now, and I'm adding the "5 roads to nowhere" here. It ties together two of my favorite things right now, time allowing... Good reads both.
riding and/or walking
"Outdoors writer Mike McQuaide (Special to The Seattle Times), fresh from penning a Mountaineers guidebook to Washington cycling routes, offers his five favorite roads to the middle of nowhere — suitable for riding or driving."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2015595986_nwwnowhere14.html

walking
"Rediscover the world while walking — around Alki, or anywhere...
Connie McDougall (Special to The Seattle Times) got hard-wired for walking during a stint on Spain's Camino de Santiago. She set out to find inspiration from an urban walk around the complete outer rim of the Alki Point peninsula."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2015602156_nwwalkiwalk14.html

2011-07-13T09:36:00.001-07:00

This morning's Seattle Times had several stories I liked/found interesting...

1. Advocate for disabled feted; she never let others sell her son short...
Margaret Lee Thompson, 66, one of the state's leading advocates for the rights of the developmentally disabled, stepped down last month after 21 years as parent coalition coordinator for The Arc of King County, a 75-year-old organization that promotes the rights of the developmentally disabled.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015590508_thompson13m.html

2. Culture, hard lessons drive GOP's anti-tax stand
The Republican Party's anti-tax stand is aided by a public with conflicting wishes. Voters generally oppose large deficits, higher taxes and cuts in programs that benefit them, a painless but impossible combination.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015589080_taxes13.html

3. Big pimpin' at Village Voice Media | Lynne Varner / Times editorial columnist
Village Voice Media's focus on the accuracy of a study about the number of sex-trafficking victims is a distraction from the fact that the company's personal and escort-services ads have created a profit center built on prostitution and sexual exploitation.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2015588895_lynne13.html

2011-07-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

One thing I've missed with my different morning routine is the photo editing when I return home. With my bicycling, I haven't been taking photos. I made myself stop and take some shots today, of the sand bars on the other side of the river. A little blah, but the lighting was nice.

Also, I uploaded some photos from Bob's and my trip to the Museum of Flight last Thursday. I call them
a Nose for planes

2011-07-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying my new bike so much! I'm not taking as many photos right now, but I'm thinking my morning ritual will evolve into 'bike rides with photo op destinations'

this morning along Airport Way, on the way back from taking Inday into work, before my bike ride

the only time I stopped during my bicycling this morning:
some river patterns near the Communtity Center

playing with the color

2011-07-11T11:09:00.001-07:00

Chuckie LOVES his new bicycle!

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1083427_-1___

2011-07-09T11:53:00.001-07:00

The photo below shows one of my favorite times of the day. This is where I usually check my email, etc, and maybe read the paper before my morning walk (or bicycle ride now...) Notice the heater between the coffee table and the sofa? I optimistically turned down the thermostat on the fireplace last week. After all, it's already a week into July! right?
I like the sunlight coming in through the shutters, and the patterns created on the walls, the reflections on the coffee table, etc. Life is good.

back on the bicycle again...

2011-07-09T11:51:00.001-07:00

If huffing and puffing is any indication, bicycling can be a good form of exercise. I took my first bike ride in ions this morning, and it felt so damn good! I left right from my house (no car trip to a walking trail...), and I covered three of my walking options in one excursion. Having injured my left foot awhile back, I haven't been walking as much lately, and I've missed being out there a lot!
Riding along my favorite river trails today, I recalled my days in Ube Japan, Boulder Colorado, and Bellingham (after my beloved 'Grindybolts' died - my old Ford Econoline Van) - a bicycle was my primary mode of transportation...

2011-07-07T08:40:00.001-07:00

a few more shots from this past weekend...

2011-07-06T09:17:00.001-07:00

Busy busy the fast several days. A few random shots...

I like these variations on the fireworks, especially the last squiggly one:

2011-07-02T17:39:00.001-07:00

2011-07-02T07:17:00.001-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenang/5854234648/

2011-07-02T07:16:00.005-07:00

Looking at the group of three big buildings to the left, our condo is in the middle building. The "Edgecoaster" and "Skywalk" are on top of the Crown Regency Hotel, the tallest one, and they now have some zip lines going from the top of the hotel to the top of our Condo. If I wanted, I could walk out of our condo, take the skybridge to Club Ultima or over to the Hotel, go up to the top floor, and take a zip line back home.
The building on the right is actually on a different site further back. If you zoom in a little, you can make out the Club Ultima building, which is a smaller building just in front of Fuente Residences (about half the height). Club Ultima was the first building put up at that site, the one we visited originally, and where/when we decided to buy/reserve a condo. The tallest one, the CR Hotel, was the second one to be built.
I do miss Cebu...

2011-06-29T14:31:00.001-07:00

This morning's walk was sort of blah, but this Speed Limit sign for bicycles is interesting. It's completely hidden by the shrubbery

Speed Limit 15MPH

closeup of an old train bridge pillar, converted to Solar

Green on green

2011-06-27T10:47:00.001-07:00

here's looking at you

concrete vines

2011-06-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

a lot of lines and shadows today...

2011-06-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

I didn't get very far into my walk this morning, before my camera came out. The swirling patterns and ripples in the Green River made me do it, especially the shallows approaching the bridge...

2011-06-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

paddling into the bridge's shadow

moving along the shore on the other side

2011-06-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

from this morning
a gray day, but some nice colors...

2011-06-21T11:09:00.001-07:00

vines and shadows

leaf on blacktop

2011-06-20T11:08:00.001-07:00

Alki/Harbor Avenues...

2011-06-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

loading dock

Ballard Oil

alien

2011-06-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

leaf shadows

Green River Bridge

raindrop circles and bubbles

2011-06-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

looking at these leaves from the sun/shadow side, they can be sort of blah...

going around and looking back up towards the sun, you can see these wonderful colors and translucent patterns...

2011-06-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

2011-06-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

our Graduate, and her brother...
so very proud...

Nate, in the restaurant after the ceremony. I'm still playing with color. The somber look was only for the camera...