Month: June 2014

Summer’s Coming: What To Do?

Carl Setzer

School breaks close upon me, causing me to wonder: what shall we do with this gift? Trails to bike and hike, beaches to gaze out from, museums, festivals…so very much to consider.

This year I plan to, well, plan better. Instead of, in September, wondering about all the stuff undone. I’m starting a list, but am not sure what shall end up on it just yet. Here’s where my brain is now:

The basics of a start. We’ll have fun enriching this list. Let me know your ideas.

A gorgeous weekend

Carl Setzer

With no major demands, this should be relatively relaxing. Starting out with some mountain biking at St. Edwards park in Kirkland, then not too sure what else. Probably more riding around Lynnwood…at least we can hope.

Of course, there are some chores (mainly laundry…yay), but that list is pretty tame, comparatively.

May you all find rest and rejuvenation this weekend.

Random Friday Thoughts

Carl Setzer

I adore this region and community. Perhaps I’m biased. My parents grew up here, so even while we lived all over the globe, Seattle was always titled “home”. Its funny, though, that my father’s greater family left Seattle in the 50s and my mom’s family lived in Yakima. So it was Seattle, in a greater sense. Pretty much the airport, I guess.

This area, though, has always felt like home. Laden with the positive and negative feelings of ” home”, its been complex. Both feeling smothering and liberating, if not at the same time, often one on the heels of the other. And there’s the financial challenges of this area’s expensive cost of living. Both delight and discomfort; yay!

Much of the positive feeling stems from the environment. Surrounded by mountains, right against Puget Sound, this area is unique geographically. Much of what I love is interconnected with that.

This region has tough problems to work through: affordability, maintaining the attractive lifestyle, transportation, just to mention the big ones. Yet the people here care. We have some human warmth issues, and a passive-aggressive core, but the central culture here really makes this region innovative and interesting. Together, we work through these challenges. And that’s what I love most.

So, go and do great things!

First Thoughts on the #SPU Shooting

Carl Setzer

How absolutely terrifying to see Seattle Pacific University (fyi, the school’s servers are getting hammered by the media attention) as the latest victim of a school shooting. The coverage can be followed via this Twitter feed. With the website not able to keep up, Twitter is a powerful tool to stay aware of what’s going on.

Why do we need to know? Depends on the “we”, really. If you’re a student, it should be obvious. And, of course, for those who live nearby (it’s a pretty densely packed part of Seattle). Other clear choices: parents, family, friends of students, staff and faculty. Then there’s the larger impact on the community (several major streets blocked, all that traffic rerouted, emergency vehicles moving across downtown, etc). Perhaps a goodly portion of the watchers are just gawking, staring at the latest painful horror. I lean towards a belief that people care about others, and want to feel some connection. In many ways, it seems that this is the one way to do something; some thing against the mindless, some action to resist the helplessness.

 
Seattle is an amazing community. I know we’ll rally around our neighbors and do what we can to heal. SPU, we stand with you.
 

Tracking Traffic : Thinking Ahead

Carl Setzer

When I was at Starbucks (in the Support Center in the SODO district of Seattle), I made it a point to monitor traffic “issues” (everything from construction to ball games) and developed a bit of fame for it. It was useful, though, as traffic down there was miserable (and I’m sure it’s not much better). In that spirit, I want to note that this week will be particularly fun for Seattle area folks. (Gory details on the DOT’s site)

  • Work on 520
  • Northbound I5 by Spokane Street
  • Northbound I5 by the Ship Canal
  • Southbound 99 from Denny to Spokane

My friends at the Washington Department of Transportation have some great ideas to help manage this, and the rest of summer’s construction season:

• Check the Seattle traffic page before hitting the road.

• Use travel alerts to get real-time information about blocking incidents.
• Download WSDOT’s mobile app.
• Follow @wsdot_traffic on Twitter.
• Call 5-1-1 for traffic updates.
• Check the What’s Happening Now page for updates.

Best of luck to you all. Stay ahead!