Well, sometimes it just happens. You stumble across someone and after a while you decide that "this is the one".
I guess that is what happened to my good friend Henrik last year. he went on a "photo outing" with Flickr, and as all serious photographers, he ended up at the bar afterwards. At the bar was another photographer, Denice. One thing led to another and now about a year later they are happily married!
I was honored to be the "Best Man" (should that really be capitalized when you are talking about yourself...?) and as such had the very important task of keeping track of Denice's ring, a beautiful custom made "thing". A "one of a kind", just like the recipient. I literally kept it (the ring) close to heart until it was time to hand it over.
The ceremony was a fun filled event held at the Swedish Club in Seattle, overlooking a sunny city with the Cascades as a wonderful backdrop! As "music" they had a great choir lead by Patrinell “Pat” Wright, a wonderful lady (and officiant of the wedding ceremony), that had had the "landsplåga" Sanjay Malakar as a protege.
For more on Denice and Henrik, see their site here!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Zave the Railroad!
Puget Sound is a growing region. Tons of people are moving in, or at least trying. At the same time, land is at a premium, and geographical "obstacles" are literally putting up road blocks to create a decent transportation system. Lakes, rivers, hills, mountains, and the ever present risk for Earthquakes, makes transportation a tough business to be in.
One of the most congested freeways in WA state is I-405, on the east side of Lake Washington, and it is currently undergoing lane additions. Not sure it will help, but it won't hurt (the traffic) either. Along I-405 is also found a fully functioning railroad, BurlingtonNorthernSantaFe (BNSF). BUT, apart from a few weekly freight cars, and an excursion train that takes people for a dinner ride up to the wineries in Woodinville, it is grossly underutilized. Hence, most of the time this little stretch of railroad lies idle while people sit in a neverending backup on the adjacent freeway.
The most obvious solution? Tear up the tracks and make a bike trail! At least that is what our King County Executive wants to do. Tear up the tracks, when it is historically proven that once those tracks are gone, the chance of them EVER being put back is extremely slim, to non-existant.
I love biking, but I think this asset can be of better public use than recreational biking (we already have a pretty good bike path in the same corridor, only along the lake).
This is a prime mass transit corridor, going through the downtown areas of Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland, Woodinville, and Snomhomish. All cities that are undergoing a mad growth at the moment. What better use could this rail corridor see than rail service?
Sound Transit are going to ask for some $16B-$20B (that is with 9 zeroes my friends, or $16,000,000,000 - $20,000,000,000) on the November Ballot for "transportation measures". A very ambitious package, but with any "real" results far out in the future (10-15 years at best). And this package totally bypasses this highly valuable and strategically placed rail corridor, a corridor where service could be started within the next few years for some ~$300M, a drop in the bucket compared to the "bigger" package.
Much can be written about this, but a very dedicated activist, Paul H, has started a group EastSide Rail Now and I have gotten engaged as well and tried to provide my 2 cents. Not that I agree with all objectives, but Paul's web site is very informative, his efforts should be applauded, and I urge you to take a look at the site.
One of the most congested freeways in WA state is I-405, on the east side of Lake Washington, and it is currently undergoing lane additions. Not sure it will help, but it won't hurt (the traffic) either. Along I-405 is also found a fully functioning railroad, BurlingtonNorthernSantaFe (BNSF). BUT, apart from a few weekly freight cars, and an excursion train that takes people for a dinner ride up to the wineries in Woodinville, it is grossly underutilized. Hence, most of the time this little stretch of railroad lies idle while people sit in a neverending backup on the adjacent freeway.
The most obvious solution? Tear up the tracks and make a bike trail! At least that is what our King County Executive wants to do. Tear up the tracks, when it is historically proven that once those tracks are gone, the chance of them EVER being put back is extremely slim, to non-existant.
I love biking, but I think this asset can be of better public use than recreational biking (we already have a pretty good bike path in the same corridor, only along the lake).
This is a prime mass transit corridor, going through the downtown areas of Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland, Woodinville, and Snomhomish. All cities that are undergoing a mad growth at the moment. What better use could this rail corridor see than rail service?
Sound Transit are going to ask for some $16B-$20B (that is with 9 zeroes my friends, or $16,000,000,000 - $20,000,000,000) on the November Ballot for "transportation measures". A very ambitious package, but with any "real" results far out in the future (10-15 years at best). And this package totally bypasses this highly valuable and strategically placed rail corridor, a corridor where service could be started within the next few years for some ~$300M, a drop in the bucket compared to the "bigger" package.
Much can be written about this, but a very dedicated activist, Paul H, has started a group EastSide Rail Now and I have gotten engaged as well and tried to provide my 2 cents. Not that I agree with all objectives, but Paul's web site is very informative, his efforts should be applauded, and I urge you to take a look at the site.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Immigrant Labor...
Sometimes even an exchange student has to do work as illustrated in these pictures.
Vacuuming the host parents cars is no fun exercise for a 17-year old that'd rather be "clubbing".
Vacuuming the host parents cars is no fun exercise for a 17-year old that'd rather be "clubbing".
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Time to do an update...
This blog starts to show its age, even though it in the cyber world is rather young. Layout, colors, and interface in general is in dire need of an update. If the will is there during the week, maybe we'll see some changes. 
In the meantime, you'll have to settle for some photos from a hike we did yesterday. Wet and chilly, but really perfect hiking weather. On the way back down, we even got some heavy snow, albeit very short lived.
Despite the ice cold water in the river, the dogs seem to love it and just stumble out in it. Out of the four that joined us on this hike, only the ailing ones showed some hesitation before putting paths in the water.
Before hitting town and heading home, we did a pit stop at the Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company, a little gem, totally out of the way. Good brews and lighter pub fare. The cheese and meet platter was probably one of the best I've had this side of the Atlantic.
In the meantime, you'll have to settle for some photos from a hike we did yesterday. Wet and chilly, but really perfect hiking weather. On the way back down, we even got some heavy snow, albeit very short lived.
Despite the ice cold water in the river, the dogs seem to love it and just stumble out in it. Out of the four that joined us on this hike, only the ailing ones showed some hesitation before putting paths in the water.
Before hitting town and heading home, we did a pit stop at the Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company, a little gem, totally out of the way. Good brews and lighter pub fare. The cheese and meet platter was probably one of the best I've had this side of the Atlantic.
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