Month: September 2015

Some #Geektastic Updates

Carl Setzer

You might have noticed I created an Events section of the site (if not, here it is). I’m slowly adding in my Geek Events to this really cool calendaring tool.

I discovered Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman’s cool project, Tested.com, while looking for video of Adam Savage’s No Face creation. I can’t remember where I’d heard about it, but I really wanted to see it. So, I didn’t find the No Face performance from 2011’s Comi-Con, but this is from 2012 and No Face is there at 2:54.

And this video below shows Adam and Norm discussing the creation of the costume.

Hiking Boulder Creek

Carl Setzer
Washington's Boulder Creek

We had a great hike yesterday up on Boulder River, just east of Oso. I have a terrible time calling it a river, but it’s nothing to minimize. Anyway, a good hike for families. We had two families with kids going from early elementary through middle school. Nobody had any problems, the kids had energy the entire hike. A few things to keep in mind. It is a popular hike. We got there in the late morning and were able to park pretty close to the trailhead. By the time we headed home in the early afternoon, people had  a bit of a hike before they started their hike. The trail got a bit crowded on our way out. We had a brief stop on the way out where we walked down to the riverside. I was a bit surprised at how many people were there. But, hey, it’s a lovely hike an easy drive from the greater Seattle area! There will be people.

We ended our day together stopping in Arlington at Whiskey Ridge Brewing. Hung out there chatting with Jack and Francine (the owners). Then we grabbed pizza from Pizza Factory for one kid, and the rest of us at from The Local Scoop. All in all, a pretty good day.

Lynnwood Folks: Take a trip in the transit time machine Saturday 9-5

Carl Setzer

Found this press release in my inbox just now, so I’m sharing it pretty much as-is. If you’re looking for something a little more unique in Lynnwood, here you go. It’s tomorrow, at Heritage Park from 11-3.

Transit Tour

Take a trip in the transit time machine

Visit the Heritage Park Open House for a trip through the past, present and future of transportation.

Lynnwood’s Heritage Park open house event continues this Saturday, September 5 from 11am – 3pm. Take a break from the parades and cookouts and join us for a ride on the Transit Time Machine for a view of transportation’s past, present, and future.

The Past: Explore Heritage Park’s restored Interurban Car 55 which provided commuter service from Everett to Seattle. History buffs will enjoy the historic buildings and museum exhibits showcasing Alderwood Manor and early Lynnwood.

The Present: Check out a Community Transit Double Tall Bus and lean about the variety of transportation options available today. Get info and ask questions about current routes, developments, and options for getting around Snohomish County.

The Future: Planners from Community Transit will be available to discuss the future of service — from the future Swift lines to expanded service and much more. There will also be information and displays on the upcoming Sound Transit Link Light Rail project that will connect Lynnwood to Seattle and beyond.

The park, located east of I-5 at the SE corner of Poplar Way and Alderwood Mall Parkway, is a cultural, heritage and visitor resource. The open house events offer a unique opportunity for park visitors to tour the various historical structures including Interurban Car 55 that have been preserved at the park.

Open House activities include:

  • Climb aboard a Community Transit Double Tall Bus and learn about the future of transportation in Snohomish County.
  • Tour guides, Jeanne and Gary Rogers, will entertain visitors with tales of Car 55, one of six Interurban trolleys that ran between Seattle and Everett from 1910 to 1939.  Jeanne grew up in a railroading family; her father, Walter Shannon, was an Interurban motorman.
  • Docents from the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association will be available to provide guided tours of the exhibits currently on display in the Superintendent’s Cottage and at the Wickers Building Museum.
  • Stop by the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau’s Visitor Information Center where you can walk through the historic Wickers Building Museum and view the City of Lynnwood Historic Timeline exhibit.
  • Visitors are invited to take a peek into their personal genealogical history at Humble House with the assistance of the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society.

School Supply Donation Drive:

The Snohomish County Tourism Bureau will be hosting a school supply donation drive at the Visitor Information Center in the Wickers Building. The donation drive will kick-off at the open house and continue through the month of August. Donated supplies will benefit the Sleep Country Foster Kids Program that provides much needed school supplies to foster kids in the local area. To donate, bring your new item to the Visitor Center sometime in the month of August. Donation items can include:

  • Paper: lined, copy, construction, spiral notebook, composition notebook, index cards
  • Pencils & Pens: blue, black, #2 pencils, colored pencils, erasers, pencil sharpener, pencil case, crayons, highlighters, dry-erase markers
  • Things you can never have too much of: tissues, sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer

Star Wars & Bumbershoot This Weekend

Carl Setzer
Bumbeershoot 2015

Well, several of my friends and I committed to venturing forth into Seattle to catch the EMP’s Star Wars And The Power Of Costume exhibit this weekend, as that ends at the end of the month and I’ve been itching to see it. Rocket scientist that I’m not, it hits me a few minutes ago that this is Labor Day Weekend, and we’ll be jumping into the full on Bumbershoot festival mayhem.  Part of me thinks it’s a bit of a mistake to jump into this madness, and pay the high-end parking fees. However, it’s really just the price we pay to live in a really popular area.

Star Wars and Bruce Lee

Carl Setzer1 Comment

There’ve been two local exhibits that have been compelling me: EMP’s Star Wars and the Power of Costume and Wing Luke’s Bruce Lee exhibit.  As a long time Star Wars fan, the EMP exhibit is deeply compelling. One of the things I enjoy about the series are the ways George Lucas connected with the mythological constructs of culture.

As a martial artist, Bruce Lee is something of an icon for me. The Wing Luke exhibit connects us to Lee’s history and evolution as a martial artist. That is particularly compelling to me.

Of course, I need to hit these fast. Next week, the Bruce Lee exhibit changes focus, and Star Wars ends it’s run at the EMP. Crunch time!