Margin Notes: Will Power, Oil, Blog, Ferry

Will Power approached the start-finish line during a testing session in Toronto, Ontario on 16-July-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - It turns out that I took only one picture of the car that would win Honda Indy Toronto--Will Power's #12, sponsored by Verizon. (What was I thinking? The guy was the points leader!) It's been said many times, but Will Power has to be one of the all-time great race driver names, right up there with Lake Speed.

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The Indy race was a nice distraction from real news in the world, much of which centers on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Is anyone else amused by the fact that the local accent there makes the word "oil" sound a lot more like "Earl" to my ears? I'd hate to have that name and be living in that region right now; everyone would be watching for me, wanting to clean me up, and despairing that my peak had probably passed.

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I was questioning my own hearing at another point earlier this week, as a story on the radio started talking about "vets." As I pictured military veterans, it seemed to make no sense in the context of the story. Was I losing my hearing? No, the story was just talking about veterinarians.

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That story proved to be graphic enough that it almost needed censoring. One thing I learned in my recent travels is that if you are reading this, it's not in a public library. Libraries across the United States censor pretty much every low-traffic blog, including this one. Yet, high-traffic ones with sexual allusions and swearing (yes, I mean you Blatherwatch) are not censored. I'd love to figure out that algorithm. I think there's a real free-speech issue there--the little guys can't have their say to the whole public.

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One of the libraries that censors this blog is the one in Kennewick, Washington. The city of Kennewick had a moment of pride this week when Washington State Ferries announced that the third of the new 64-car Kwa-di Tabil class ferries will be named the "Kennewick." The second will be named "Salish" and the first, of course, now in sea trials, is the "Chetzemoka." Hopefully, this completes the class of boats which have been nicknamed "Tub Toys" and the next ferry to be built will be a more generally useful 144-car model.

Photos: Trip to the Pacific Northwest, Part I

A block of the town of Connell, Washington, which played an important role in family history, was observed on 15-June-2010.

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site begins coverage of a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Time spent in eastern Washington state from 12-June-2010 to 20-June-2010 included scenes traveling over the Cascade Mountains, the Harper family reunion, a tour of Connell, Washington, a visit to the railroad museum in Pasco, Washington, and a variety of scenes around the Tri-Cities.

Culture: Small Town Conversations

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON - The Tri-Cities are hardly a small town. The 2010 census will likely show the combined population of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland, Washington (for census purposes West Richland is also included) to be more than 250,000 people. Yet, in some ways, the traditional downtown areas still feel like the small towns they were not much more than a generation ago.

I don't find it the least bit odd that my grandmother gets into conversations pretty much no matter where we go in the Tri-Cities. After all, she's lived the vast majority of her adult life in Kennewick, so she should know a lot of people. Indeed, I've rarely gone to a grocery store or discount store with her without running into a distant family member, someone she used to volunteer with, or someone she used to see at high school sporting events.

On the other hand, there's basically no reason for me to end up in a conversation in the Tri-Cities, as I've only lived in the area briefly, and most of the people I worked with in that time have also moved away. Yet, seemingly whenever I headed to downtown Kennewick or Pasco, I ended up in a conversation. I've been asked about my computer, my camera, my shirt from California, and my handbag. I've met an information technology professional that grew up and works in Kennewick, a historian from Sacajawea State Park, and someone from western Benton County that just happened to be looking for honey at the Pasco Farmer's Market on Saturday.

Furthermore, each of these people was very willing to talk about the local businesses in the downtown areas that they trust. In downtown Kennewick, especially, there are a long string of specialist business that these locals I have met claim even to have lower prices than the chains out by Columbia Center. I haven't personally verified most of these claims, but I do remember visiting T&L Office Supply in Kennewick back in 2006, and not only were their prices competitive at that time, but the proprietor made a special order of something I wanted that I ultimately had my grandparents pick up much later. So, I can't contradict the claims, and I can back up at least one of them.

Those of us who live in Toronto should understand this concept--community isn't about the size of the local population, it's about what individuals carve out of it. Just like the neighborhoods of Toronto form their distinct communities and identities, so can the downtown areas of the Tri-Cities.

Heritage: Household Appliances

KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON - When someone has lived in a house for more than sixty years, they are bound to have retained some items that have since become historically significant. My grandmother has been living in the same house here basically since World War II. In the past, this blog has featured her toaster, which remains in daily use. On this trip, I encountered some additional items of similar vintage.


A pot in continuous use for at least sixty years sat on my grandmother's stove in Kennewick, Washington on 19-June-2010

The pot above certainly looks its age, no longer smooth in finish. Not long after my grandmother had moved into her present home in the 1940's, her parents-in-law visited. She made a roast, and the pot she used was so large--big enough for a turkey--that her mother-in-law noted that she needed a smaller one. The next time they visited, they brought the pot, which was not new at the time, meaning that it is entirely possible that it pre-dates World War II. It hasn't left the house since, and remains my grandmother's moderate-size workhorse pot to present day. Probably hundreds of meals have been cooked in it, the most recent chicken and dumplings.


An electric hair dryer from the immediate post-World War II era was noted with its original box in Kennewick, Washington on 19-June-2010

While I had certainly seen that pot before, I don't think I had ever seen a gem I
stumbled upon in the basement while looking for light bulbs. Sitting in what was apparently its original box, it was a Kenmore electric hair dryer. Purchased by my grandfather as a gift for my grandmother at Sears Roebeck, it was silver in color, streamline moderne in shape, and rested on its own silver base plate. While used for its intended purpose for many years, it had survived as a tool to help defrost the basement freezer periodically, stored between uses where I found it. While it still worked, it seemed unlikely to ever be used again, with so many more modern devices around to do the same tasks. I returned it to its place on the shelf.

I suspect the toaster and the pot will remain in the family indefinitely. The hair dryer might be in the East Benton County Historical Museum someday.

Transport: Relaxed Autos, but only Autos

KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON - Away from the largest urban areas, the western United States is dominated by the automobile. In most of the west, there is no alternative, no sidewalks, no bike lanes, certainly no public transit. The Tri-Cities are an exception of sorts in that Ben Franklin Transit is a reasonably usable system, with a balance of local and intercity routes with timed connections making it possible to make it from just about anywhere in Richland, Kennewick, or Pasco to anywhere else in an hour or less.

Yet, the traditional forms of "green" transporation are essentially unknown here. I have not seen a single bicyclist in four days here, even a recreational one. One would think that this would be the ideal season for bicycling in this climate, as the skies have been clear and the temperatures have not yet become oppressive; when I once lived here, I used a bicycle reasonably frequently.

Pedestrians don't seem to be allowed here. I only intend a small amount of irony in that statement. On at least four occasions, I have had an automobile completely ignore my presence in a sidewalk and just shoot through the interchange without even looking at me, sometimes even after the location where they would have hit me had I continued on my intended course. People obviously do not expect any pedestrians here, and feel they do not ever have the right-of-way.

Interactions between drivers, though, are actually more relaxed than I remember them here in the past. On multiple occasions, a car in front of me has failed to move for at least five seconds after receiving a green light. Nobody honked, nobody seemed to get upset, and eventually the driver would notice that they had a favorable signal and would move through the intersection.

This seems counter-intuitive, as the Tri-Cities have definitely grown since I lived here more than a decade ago, and one would expect that the mood would become more tense with more people. A possible theory is that part of the population growth has been amongst people from Mexico, and the laid-back nature of Mexico may be influencing driving habits here. Or, perhaps the roundabouts that have proliferated here on both city and state roads have forced people to figure out how to be polite to one another in vehicles.

In any event, some of that patience and politeness needs to be applied by drivers to people that do not happen to be in another vehicle.

Photos: Eastern Washington and Oregon

An irrigation ditch in Kennewick, Washington took on a bit of its normal appearance as the sun melted the latest snowfall on 1-January-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site features scenes from east of the Cascade Mountains. Highlights of time spent in eastern Washington and Oregon from 26-December-2009 to 7-January-2010 included a trip over Snoqualmie Pass, Kennewick, Washington under snow cover, a walking tour of Pendleton, Oregon, and aerial shots landing in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Margin Notes: Snow, Roundabouts, Media

The Ed Hendler ("Cable") Bridge between Kennewick and Pasco, Washington was observed as snow started to fall again on 31-December-2009

KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON - It may be winter, but I'm running into more snow than I really expected in my travels. Snow is not uncommon in the Tri-Cities, but I wasn't expecting to have to shovel the walk here three times in as many days. Rain has now washed the snow away (as would have been expected after the first snowfall), ending the winter wonderland but making everything a lot easier here, almost like a different world.

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When people say that eastern Washington state is a different world than western Washington, they are usually referring to the climate or the Perot-style politics of this side of the mountains. They could, however, be talking about transportation infrastructure. There are a lot more roundabouts in Kennewick than even in New England, and the biggest surprise to me was that two roundabouts have replaced a clover-leaf interchange at the junction between SR 240 and US 395, arguably the busiest location in Kennewick next to the Blue Bridge. Somehow, I have a hard time believing this is really an improvement, even at rush hour.

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Certainly not an improvement is the state of Tri-City Herald, the local paper here. Back in May, I blogged about the healthy state of the paper. By all accounts, it is still financially healthy and I have no complaints about the quality of its local coverage, but it's now a tiny paper. I've been here for two Sunday papers now, and I read both of them in less than twenty minutes, even taking time going through the employment ads. I guess that's better than no paper at all, but one almost has to buy a New York Times or go on-line to keep well-informed.

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Those who are well-informed probably pay little attention to my weekly pick of a quality radio program, but in compiling the year-end summary, I was surprised to find a four-way tie at four for number of picks in 2009 for CBC's The Sunday Edition, CBC's As It Happens, Wisconsin Public Radio's To The Best of Our Knowledge, and CBC's Age of Persuasion. That's right, a specialty show on advertising that ran for less than half the year tied for first place. The Age of Persuasion is back for another season, and the first show, on the impact of HIV on advertising, may well be the first pick of 2010. Check it out at 11:30 local time on Monday in Canada if you can; the audio file is not yet on the web site.

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A year-end feature that won't appear this year is my ranking of new popular music from the year. 2009 marked the year in which a combination of being inundated with programming podcasts and a lack of budget for purchasing new music led to complete neglect of popular music for the year. No wonder the music industry is reeling--I just don't have time for them anymore, even when unemployed!

Heritage: The Toaster That Never Stops

A 1940's era GE toaster was still in daily use in Kennewick, Washington on 11-May-2009

KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON - "They don't make them like they used to." Anyone who has watched an electronic (or electronically enhanced) product cease functioning just days after its warranty expired understands that sentence. Nothing in my life, though, stands as so symbolic of the truth of that statement than the toaster still used by my grandparents in this south-central Washington city.

I've lost track of how many toasters I've already owned in my relatively brief life. I seem to remember purchasing one for $20 at Sears in Cambridge, Massachusetts once--I'm pretty sure that one only lasted two years, since I didn't have it by the time of my last move in Somerville, Massachusetts in 2004. The current toaster I own must be at least the fourth I've purchased in the last twelve years, and considering that I purchased it nearly three years ago at Sears Canada, it's probably about ready to stop functioning.

Contrast that with the toaster I have had the pleasure of using at my grandparents' house since my arrival a few days ago. The chrome toaster was purchased not long after World War II--my grandfather isn't certain exactly when they bought it, but he's pretty sure they had it when their twins were born in 1948. So, it's clear that the toaster has been in operation for at least sixty years--as long as my paternal aunt and uncle have been alive.

Not only has it lasted an amazing length of time, but it works extremely efficiently. I haven't timed it, but it clearly makes toast in less time than any toaster I have ever owned. The process to clean it is reasonable, and I suppose its only flaw is that it is possible to burn toast if the operator sets the darkness control to too high of a setting. That's a pretty minor issue since it is easily avoided--nobody questions that my grandparents have received their money's worth out of this device.

If it ever stops working, there is agreement in the family that it needs to be preserved, with several volunteers to ensure it will have a new home. General Electric built a good product in the late 1940's, and we will keep it around to remind people that "they don't make them like they used to."

Margin Notes: Snow, Seattle, Ballard, Viaduct

Snow covered my grandparents' home in Kennewick, Washington on 2-January-2009

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON - No matter where I go, it seems to snow. After my arrival in Kennewick, Washington on New Year's Day, it snowed about an inch overnight to create a white landscape across the Tri-Cities on 2-January-2009. The sun came out by the afternoon, so the roads were passable and it was actually the most delightful winter environment I have encountered this season.

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The landscape outside might have been different, but very little has changed in the inside routines of my grandparents over the years. They still watch "The Price is Right" on television nearly every weekday morning. "New" host Drew Carey has been well-received by these long-time viewers; they don't seem to miss Bob Barker at all--and my grandfather still does a better job of estimating prices than most of the over-enthusiastic contestants.

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A Union Pacific SD9043MAC locomotive led three Canadian Pacific AC4400CW's on an empty grain train at Napavine, Washington on 1-January-2009

My first train of 2009 came enroute to Kennewick on New Year's Day. A southbound Union Pacific grain train was noted from I-5 near Centralia, so I requested a brief detour off the freeway to Napavine, Washington to see it crest the well-known Napavine Hill, resulting in the photograph seen above.

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This view of Seattle's sports stadiums was taken from the Alaskan Way Viaduct on 31-December-2008, just one of many scenes visible from the structure

Transportation matters of a different kind have been in the news in Seattle. Just when it appeared that the Alaskan Way Viaduct would be replaced by another viaduct or a revised surface street arrangement, suddenly the idea of a tunnel has risen again. The aging and earthquake-susceptible structure has been designated for replacement by the state for years pending the approval of a replacement plan by the City of Seattle. While the cut-and-cover tunnel rejected by voters remains off the table, now a new tunnel proposal has come forward. This one would route the tunnel approximately under First Avenue, potentially far enough inland to avoid at least some of the water table and sea wall issues that made shoreline tunnel so expensive. I have yet to hear a timetable on the disposition of this proposal.

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Amongst the stickers on this vehicle noted on 15th Ave West in Seattle on 31-December-2008 was one proclaiming "Free Ballard"

One of the reasons the route of the Alaskan Way Viaduct is so important is connecting Sea-Tac Airport and other destinations south of downtown to Seattle's northern neighborhoods, including Ballard. This bumper sticker was noted in the Interbay neighborhood of Seattle south of the one-time separate city of Ballard. The history of the "Free Ballard" movement is explained on the Archie McPhee web site and dates back to the 1907 annexation of Ballard by Seattle, but rather than being about seceding from Seattle, it's about maintaining a distinct, Scandinavian character to Ballard. In response to the "Free Ballard" movement, there is apparently a "Flee Ballard" movement as well, though I haven't seen its bumper stickers. A distinct Scandinavian character? The next thing we know, Greg Nickels may be declaring Ballard a "nation".

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Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels may be facing approval ratings rivaling that of George W. Bush as a result of his handling of the "Snowmaggedon" sequence of storms in December. Nickels had the audacity to give his efforts a "B" when most Seattle arterials were still covered with compact snow because of the city's decision to use little more than sand to make the streets passable. As shoppers stayed away from Seattle in favor of better-cleared suburbs, Nickels' popularity plummeted. He will likely face a serious challenge in 2009 elections. While he has yet to lower the "B" grade, the city has announced that it will use salt and other deicing techniques if the forecast is for more than four inches of snow in the future. The best headline of my stay in Seattle has come from the Seattle Times: "Licking Political Wounds, Nickels Revises Salt Policy."

Margin Notes: Change, Politics, Gas

The first home my grandparents rented in Kennewick, Washington still stands at 811 West Kennewick Avenue as seen on 27-November-2008

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON - Sometimes it's great to visit a place and find that little or nothing has changed. While there certainly has been suburban sprawl around the Tri-Cities of Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco, Washington, the core of Kennewick has not significantly changed since my last visit about six months ago. Some of the town has changed even less. My grandfather noted that the first house my grandparents had occupied in Kennewick--in 1942--was not only still standing at 811 West Kennewick Avenue, but looked essentially as it had more than 65 years ago. I had to take a walk and look at it myself. It was there, but not the highlight of walk--that would either be the Stonehedge replica or an effective gas station museum also found along Kennewick Avenue.


Interesting artwork resembling Stonehedge was found in a yard along Kennewick Avenue in Kennewick, Washington on 27-November-2008

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I didn't realize until watching "The Santa Clause" that the Northern Pacific Railway Museum mentioned yesterday has a certain poetic right to run a train to the North Pole--"NPR" could stand for "North Pole Railway" as well as "Northern Pacific Railway".

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An especially ironic aspect of the potential political crisis in Canada is that if a Liberal-NDP coalition does take power, it may well be led by Stéphane Dion--after all the attention paid to the fact that he would be only the second Liberal Party leader not to become Prime Minister. Perhaps we all wrote too soon. As of today, the Conservatives have backed off on their intention to end public financing of political parties, but the Liberals and the NDP still say they'll still proceed with a no confidence motion--it will be an interesting week before the votes may occur on 8-December.

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Gas prices were approaching their peak at Hollywood, California on 31-May-2008

Gas prices continue to decline; today I noted several Arco stations in Yakima, Washington selling unleaded for $1.75 per gallon; that's about C$0.60 per liter at today's exchange rates. It's hard to believe that in late May, the price was $4.19 per gallon in Hollywood, California.