An Explanation Of The Hanford Site, And It’s Legacy

Welcome to Hanford

If you’ve been in Washington for a significant amount of time, you’ll have heard of the Handford Nuclear Reservation. A key part of the Manhatten Project, having supplied plutonium for the Hiroshima bomb, amongst others, this site has a huge legacy. Besides the history of the weapons, there’s the ecological nightmare that’s been decades in cleaning, with decades more until it’s “safe”.

Simon Whistler gives a great, brief overview of the site’s history and legacy. I recommend checking it out. I have a personal history with eastern Washington, and with the Hanford Downwinders. I appreciate all efforts to bring light to this.

 

What I’m Reading, May 25, 2020

I spent my Memorial Day morning catching up on email and reading. The scope of “keeping up” overwhelms me at times. The only solution I found to not letting this stress me? Accepting the lack of a solution, and that I must choose my focus. So, most of the stuff that comes into my inbox gets deleted.

Here are a few things that caught my eye today:

That’s where I find myself this morning. How about you? Anything inspiring and insightful come into view for you?

Watch “TRUE HAWAII | By Sam Potter and Nainoa Langer | Beautiful Destinations” on YouTube

Hawaii is one of the places I could easily move to. I’ve been blessed with several trips to the islands. Most of my Hawaiian journeys have been on Oahu. Waikiki and Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, the North Shore and Hanauma Bay. I’ve also made it to Maui and the Big Island (Kona). I love these places! Especially the feeling in my soul when in contact with the land.

This YouTuber, Sam Potter, is from Hawaii. He’s creating a travel series that will be fascinating to watch: Beautiful Destinations. This is visually rich, which delights me deeply. Sam does a great job capturing the mood. I’m looking forward to the future of this show.

Some bucket list items

Here are a few things I want to experience, but haven’t yet. Just a quick list of stuff that rattled out of my mind. What’s on your list? What do you recommend I add?

  • Wander the San Juans: I’ve ridden the ferry through the islands, but haven’t set foot in any of them
  • Visit the petrified forest 
  • Visit Jimi Hendrix ‘s grave 
  • Visit Bruce Lee’s, too
  • A photo expedition on Rainier 
  • One on Baker, too
  • Cross country ski trips to Winthrop & Yellowstone 
  • Bike across the state, Seattle to Spokane. Well, maybe Grey’s Harbor to Spokane. That would literally be across the state 

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Also, please consider liking this post and giving Not Just Seattle a follow. 

Productivity In My Home Office

Today, as my son had a medical appointment, I opted to work from home. My office is quite well set up for such. Much better than many of the other places I’ve lived.

I’m rather fond of this space. It’s MY space. Decorated to my sensibilities, and with my momentos and such.

Yet I faced disappointment.

I’m often ambitious regarding what I want to do during a day. And when I’m home, free of distraction (relatively, at least), I think I can get monumental amounts of work done. It never works out that way. Now, I often get way more done that I would’ve in my office, at least in diving into projects deeply, and reviewing certain minutia. But my task lists tend to be ridiculous, which I think is facilitated by electronic to-do tools like Todoist. All I need to do is move the stuff I didn’t get done into another day. I am trying to be more thoughtful about what I’m attempting to accomplish on a given day. Giving thought to priority, to my goals, my objectives. So much of my career has been spent chasing after whatever goals have been dropped into my lap on a given day. I have needed to spend time focusing, which, though challenging, has been really fun, too.

And, someday, I’ll get a realistic idea of what I can actually do in a day. Someday….