Month: March 2017

A blog post where I babble about a vision and such silliness

Carl Setzer
Seattle Skyline

I love Seattle. At one point, in my blogging career, I thought it grand to use the web, my accumulated knowledge, writing prowess and free-time to explore Seattle. As a writer, putting these explorations into text, editing them, and crafting something remotely readable seemed the best way to proceed. With my mind’s propensity towards wandering, and the recklessness of the use of my time, the effectiveness of that aspiration has been rather questionable at best.

As the site’s host was clamoring for their next payment, I wondered about this crazy project. What the hell am I doing? And why am I paying for it? Weighing many options: rebooting as a real estate site, just killing the whole thing….all kinds of options on the table, so to speak. At one point, my desk was an actual table, so I guess that’s apt. But now I’m much more high-class, with a desk from Goodwill, or ValueVillage, or one of their kin. But I digress.

So, the site’s still up (hope you noticed). Now I have something of a vision, of a plan for my quirky little homestead on the web (thinking of singing “home for the strange” to “Home, Home on the Range”). “Something” leaves a great deal to the imagination. Probably a good thing.

Upon the deepest reflection, and a few cups of coffee, and perhaps a deep lack of creativity, I return to the original notion: exploring Seattle…and more. Or do I mean “beyond”? Well, what do I mean?

Though my life intersects with Seattle extensively, I’ve lived far longer in the suburbs to the north. Also, a few other places in the “greater Northwest”. And, of course, my insider-outsider status. And, of courser, I like to  write. And, even more of coursing, this being the web and all, I should drop in imagery (photos, videos, drawings and all that sort of thing). Multi-modes of communication and all that. Better creation of a narrative. Ah, communication analysis and strategic language. Some of us love it, even it runs drier than the Scablands in August.

Choosing to dive back into Seattle’s history, and, by extension I guess, the Pacific Northwest’s, I opted to jump back into books. Growing up, Emmett Watson’s columns were a delight. His understanding of Seattle, having lived through key parts of it’s history (we really aren’t that old of a City), captivated me. He’s one of the first names that comes to mind when I think of Seattle, especially understanding it’s culture before the birth of the tech sector, before the glass, steel and scraping of skies. Before the Space Needle, Emmett lived in this city.

My favorite library had a copy of Watson’s book Emmett Watson: “My Life In Print”, a compendium of his columns (writing for the Seattle PI, Times and venerable Star). And off I return, hearing a voice I haven’t heard in years, perhaps decades). Already I’m seeing names I haven’t considered in ages: Fred Hutchinson, Weisfield, Bill Boeing, and Schoenfeld. Also reminded of many juxtapositions of Seattle then and now. For instance, once, the houseboating life was not one of glamour and elegance. Rather, the lifestyle of want and struggling to survive. It wasn’t “Sleepless in Seattle”, but rather “jobless and foodless in Seattle”. Again, I digress, yet promise to explore that further. This transition echoes in my family.

I love Seattle, I love this region: western Washington and the Pacific Northwest. From the skies mottled with infinite variations of grey, mists strung out, cotton-candy-like by fir-boughs, to the fascinating characters that have been birthed picking fir needles and pine sap from their hair, this is home. Thank God!

High density, population growth, economics and Seattle area development

Carl Setzer

Working in construction, I think about development a lot. Things like density, traffic, quality of life, and affordability. And my personal interests add concerns about bicycle friendliness, walk-ability, accessibility, with sustainability. 

The issue of density has come up a bit lately. 

We like our single family homes. Yet it’s not the most stable model. First, supply and demand. By building mostly SFRs, we hold down supply. Demand, in our region, isn’t stable or static, it’s growing. This dynamic will continue to drive prices up. Sure, expect other market forces to put downward pressure on prices, from time to time. But the upward pressure of demand will be there for the foreseeable future. People want/need to live here 

The best thing we can do for affordability is develop more multi-family homes. Condos and such. I’m not sure envisioning the Puget Sound basin like Tokyo is the design ascetic I’d shoot for, (nothing against Tokyo) but I’m not considering that. I’m just meditating on market forces. 

Consider things like air condos, a way to get the SFR experience with a bit more modest price tag. We compromise on yard, another suburban charm. We value yards, but we can’t have both yards and affordability. 

Market forces will drive us to the higher density models. Understanding market dynamics, it’s hard not to envision a line of high rises from Olympia to Everett… eventually. So, I would like us to be thoughtful about how we get there, since reactively following market dynamics does always go elegantly. 

My Connection With The Pacific Northwest

Carl Setzer

I was thinking about my ties to this region, and how that impacts my views on life. So, let’s see…

I’ve lived in:

  • Lynnwood (the vast majority of my life)
  • Edmonds
  • Bothell
  • Seattle (First Hill, Capital Hill, the International District and the U-District)
  • Des Moines/Seatac
  • Silverdale (Subbase Bangor)
  • Astoria
  • Idaho Falls

Also, I’ve spent significant amounts of time in:

  • Port Townsend
  • Yakima
  • Spokane

Though I was born in Rhode Island (a Navy hospital, to be clear), my ties here run deep.

  • My father and his mom were born in Seattle
  • His dad was born in Concrete
  • My birth mother was born in Yakima
  • Her parents were born in Walla Walla
  • Though my childhood was spent around the globe, Seattle/Edmonds were always “home”. It’s where my grandparents and cousins lived. It’s where we came “home” for Christmas. It’s where my parents always called “home”.
  • My parents met at the University of Washington.

So, my roots and ties run deep here. Yet I’m a bit more complex.

  • I was born in Newport, Rhode Island. And lived there twice.
  • A few years were spent in the Los Angeles area.
  • Started school in Chantilly, Virginia (hi Brookfield!).
  • Lived a few years in the Philippines, San Miguel and Subic Bay Naval Stations.

With deep ties and a long, personal history here mixed with global experiences, I have a unique perspective on the region’s culture. There are elements that are reflex to me, yet there were also things that I struggled to adapt to. Umbrellas, for one. I loved umbrellas, but they were (are?) a cultural faux-pas of magnificent proportions.

Makes for a unique perspective on this region I love. I constantly am exploring how my history, and my ancestry, affect who I am, and who I’m evolving into.

How do you think your background affects your outlook, viewpoints and perspectives?

Wacky weather and fitness 

Carl Setzer

The notion of micro-climates solidly describes Seattle area weather. Marysville, today, had the occasional flurry of snow, several moments of rain dumping hard, intermixed with moments of sun. Just a few miles east was pretty heavy snow. Wacky….

Our crappy weather impacts my activity levels. Getting outside and the requisite motivation became depleted when buckets of ice water G pelting down. Bleh!

Funny to see cars heavily laden with fresh snow next to cars that are, at the worst, very damp. Travelling a few miles any direction will see fantastic variations. My 20 mile commute, especially in winter, can see a number of different systems. I’ve traveled through sun, snow, rain and freezing fog on a single commute. 

Out unique geography helps craft convergence zones, which are the fundamental roots of our wacky weather patterns. We lack consistency throughout the region. It provides some charm to the area. 

Follow up thoughts on Travel Dreams

Carl Setzer

Yesterday’s post on my old Travel Dreams, and then a comment by JoanJet (probably not the rock star…) reminded me of another piece of this: it’s evolution.

JoanJet wrote about her plans to throw an iKamper (check out it’s Kickstarter campaign) on the top of her Navigator and hit the road. That’s very close to what I picture myself doing….eventually.

Looking at the iKamper campaign reminded me of this film by Zangs Films: Our Land – Traversing Oregon.  (They had a similar camper set up on their Landcruiser in the film). It reminds me of what’s great about the Pacific Northwest, our current policies around public lands and how important they are to maintain.

Anyway, check out the film. It’s worth your (just over) 15 minutes.

(*if you liked the film, check out the behind the scenes blog post from the folks at Zangs)

Reflecting on old travel dreams 

Carl Setzer2 Comments

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Dreams 

Ages ago

To drive a van 

Laden with camera gear 

Photographing delights 

What captured my eye 

Once I dreamt of driving across the country in a VW van. That iterated many times. Shifting to a drive from Alaska to South America, terminating at Cape Horn. It changed from VW to Chevy, thinking that Chevy parts would be easier to find. Then to motorcycles, perhaps BMWs, again thinking parts. Ensure styled motorcycles should endure the treacherous roads better. 

Sometimes it was a solo ride; others, a team effort worthy of a Long Way Round. I saw logistics and geopolitical issues with southern Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, amongst others. 

The vision never fully gelled. It was hard to get past the fears. 

Now I simply think about travelling the US. Van, cameras, website…who needs anything else?