FremontFair - Zummer ZolstiZe Parade

An annual event in Seattle that ranks among the top of "just has to be seen";
The annual SommerSolstice Parade, part of the FremontFair.

A few photos but nothing part of being there will make this event justice. And, despite what you might see in these photos, this is a great and fun event for the ENTIRE family!









































After all this, we hosted a screening of a new Swedish film "Hating Gothenburg" (Hata Göteborg) up at the Swedish Cultural Center (SCC). A low budget but pretty good movie about Swedish football hooligans. It'll likely never hit the VERY big screens, but check it out if you get a chance. Well worth seeing!

Alex haZ left

Alex's departure from SeaTac. Jan shed more than one tear!
"He grow so much during the year, it was like losing a son"...

High Zchool Graduation

Alex, our neighborhood exchange student from Ecuador, graduated from Juanita Senior High today (or at least he attended the ceremony - they are way too stingy towards the exchange students in my mind - did not even get a diploma...).

After only having seen one graduation in Minnesota back in 1985, I have to say that this one was a bore and a pretty unorganized, noisy "spectacle". But, on the other hand, Alex is now done and on his way to NY City and then home. He's happy!

It's been a fun year Alex, and do stay in touch. You're always welcome back!


Proud Student



With exchange program boss

Angie's HouZe is Gone!

A bit surprisingly, Angie's house was demolished this morning.
Of course w/o the normal "alert", and people who wanted stuff inside the house (eager to actually pay for it) was never given the chance. House was torn down and with it all the stuff. I guess normal developer "fare". They just don't want to bother.

















I could have taken a substantial amount of wood just as fire wood, but wasn't that eager either. The remains of the house have filled up 4 big trash haulers so far, and after being re-loaded in Woodinville, it will end up in a landfill outside Yakima. Sounds a bit inefficient since most of the material from the house could have been recycled (wood) into mulch and fill material.

After having taken a nice walk up to Nona's house and checking out her new chickens, day ended with a BBQ for Alex and his fellow exchance students out at Golden Gardens Park, to a cold but pretty sunset over Puget Sound and the Olymic Mountains. Nice ending to a sad day.

Angies HouZe...

Angie's house is coming down. Word has it that it'll happen tomorrow, Thursday.

Angie's been a staple in our neighborhood and lived here since the early 40ies when she hand her husband had the house built. Angie was more or less forced to move out last year due to her ailing health, but also to, dare we say it, greedy family members. They wanted the land, or rahter the money in the land.

It is the sole structure remaining from that time, but now its time has come, and it is really to no one's surprise (her house was literally a rats nest). Her lot is the largest one on the street, and it has a great view out over the lake. At the same time, the lot is not big enough (yeah!) to be sub-divided into smaller parcels. But it is a prime target for development and word has it that the house that will be erected there is about 5,500 sqf. THAT will be the largest in the neighborhood. Just hope that the design will be good, and not another monstrosity like the one up the street.

Wife had her eyes on a bunch of older wooden doors inside the house. Initially she just wanted to "take'em". We told her that was a really bad idea (=stealing) and that the doors were best left for the current owner/developer. But today she made contact with the developer and was able to buy the doors. The result?

1. Husband (=me) suddenly got his entire evening turned upside down in trying to remove doors, door hardware and door jambs in the darkened rooms + carring them down the street.
2. Doors galore are now littering our garage and there's really no space left - for anything.

Well, let's look at these doors in tomorrow's daylight and pick out one or two that we eventually will use, and let the other ones be sold to highest bidder on Craigslist!

Garden WorkZ - 1

Bamboo. Last year we planted Bamboo. Not my idea, wife wanted it. I though it was way too pricey for what we got, and I was for from sure if it'd ever survive up here.

But, low and behold, our bamboo is healthy and growing. The new stems have actually grown over 10' just since last weekend. That is more than a foot a day!

We've had some spreading of the bamboo as well, but not at all what we wanted. Likely due to the fact that the soil around the bamboo consists of crushed gravel, after our neighbors decided to erect a tall stone wall (it is really "fake" stone, i.e. concrete). When the wall was built we got a strip of gravel about two feet wide and over a foot deep on our side, a strip that is in all essence a waste land (it was previously a beautiful green area) since nothing really grows in it. Something needed to be done - since nice pointers to the "wall erectors" have sort of passed by w/o getting noticed.

During this beautiful Saturday I dug up about 3-4 wheel barrows of "gravel" and replaced it with good mulch/compost. Hope is of course that the bamboo will find it, and spread out closer towards and along the wall. Many people fear bamboo in their gardens due to its "spreading" capabilities. In our case, we have no problems if the bamboo takes over the entire NE corner of the lot. It'll cover the (ugly) stone wall, and provide a great nesting area for the songbirds we have around here.

Plus, it is just plain cool to see something that grow that fast!

The White Zuit - a teenagers white suite

Went over to our neighbors for a quick chat today. In the hallway I almost got a shock. Alex, the ("cool") Ecuadorian exchange student they've had for the past 9 months, met me in a suit! And not "any" suit! It was a white pinstriped concoction with a white vest and a black shirt. Something that could have come straight from the "GodFather". Very classy! He actually looked good, especially compared to the cut off camo pants and flip-flops he normally wears - even in the middle of the winter.

Turns out it was Prom Night, and Alex was just about to leave with his friends for their great evening of the year. I guess it is the biggest night of the year for High School students in the U.S., and few knows what really takes place on "Prom night"...

Look at these pictures. Dapper!

Computer TroubleZ

About two years ago I did buy a new Dell desktop. Not really that fond of Dell, but price was definitely right and and it had all that I required. On top of that, it has never been a bad deal to get a three year full service warranty. Had after all used it to replace some hardware on wife's Dell PC.

This time a few ports started disappearing. Since I had some 200+ days left on warranty, and fearing hardware failure, I decdide to actually tackle Dell's (infamous) support. Called the number and got connected to "James" in Bombay (not Mumbay). We went through some basic trouble shooting and nothing helped. Agreed to a partial "roll" and we booted from original DVD (before ServicePack 2). As I feared, this did not go that smooth since files needed (included in SP2) were nowhere to be found on a pre-SP 2 disk. "James" promised to send me a new set of disks. This was a few days before Memorial Day so it was unlikely anything would arrive before the holiday. Nevertheless, I asked James to tag the package for "Saturday delivery".

The following day "James" called back to check on the status. It was sort of funny since he very well knew that we could do nothing before I had new disks in my hand. I still did not have a tracking number, but that really did not matter since it was a long weekend anyway (little did I know how effective Dell's process was, the package already waiting i Bellevue for me, about 24 hours after first call).

Since I've done a fair share of Windows installs over the years, I sort of decided to "screw" Dell and fix this myself, at least so I had some functionality until the disks would arrive. Managed to get everything up and running (except IE 7 but that was no major loss at this time) and had at least a machine that I could access the web with, and that would allow wife to reach the printer.

Weekend passes and Tuesday morning the disks arrive. 30 minutes later, "James" calls. Good timing! We continue with the re-roll process. All seem to be fine, and after about 30 minutes, I decided to let him go. Only to have Windows install "hang" at the same time as before.

The next day I talk to "Ashish". He's good, maybe even better than James. At least just as polite, but he might actually know this PC better. Or, at least it appears like that. Since I had the PC running over the weekend, I've taken all needed backups and is now almost eager for a complete re-install. Just to sort of start out fresh again (Windows accumulate a lot of "crud" over time and eventually it has an impact on performance).

So, we start from fresh. Same procedure. Install Windows and all seem to be fine. But when done this time, my SATA disks are only running in ATA mode, not SATA AHCI mode, which is preferred for better performance - AND the way they've been running from day one. When trying to boot in AHCI mode, the infamous MSFT "BSoD" (Blue Screen of Death) appears and booting stops.

I spend a few hours on-line reading about similar horror stories with Dell and AHCI, but no real (or simple) solutions. Just a lot of complaints, seem to be linked to problems with an Intel driver (iastore.sys).

Call back to Ashish again. After some research he claims that "this Dell does not support AHCI after a re-install, only from factory". Tell him politely that that is a bunch of crap. Ask him to look into this and come back with better info tomorrow. There are NO reasons why we - with good/correct SW driver - should not be able to get my machine in working order again.

Next day, same answer. And for the 101st time he thanks me the for my patience and just claims it is "ATA" mode I have to settle with, but will do some further checking for tomorrow. Since we're not up and running "as it should be", I decide to experiment a bit and low and behold, late in the evening manages to get the PC running. I"m happy, but will be even happier when I can tell Asish this tomorrow - especially since he claimed it was not feasable!

After the call to Dell support, just to tell them that "all is good" and "we've got AHCI", I proceed with updating the PC as per "all rules in the book". I start by creating a log where every action is logged, since I am eager to load achieve a Windows load that is as slim as possible. I have over the year been able to "trim down" Windows by shutting down not needed services, and preventing unneeded applications from loading. It has just never been done in a consistant, documented, manner so it has always been very hard to replicate. This time will be different!

After going trough Windows Update and loaidng some 90+ patches, actually very smoothly, PC is ready for loading applications and "tweaking". Before and after every install, I check both the startup applications via "msconfig.exe" and "Services" via the services console. Anything that looks suspicious is disabled, can always enble it later if needed.

Earlier I was running a bunch of "crap" after booting, but I am now down to only 4 applications in "startup" and not that many more services. Seems like every application is eager to load something that will make it work a little bit smoother, but at the price of overall performance. Among the applications that bring along a lot of "freeloaders" is Apple's iTunes/QuickTime with a bunch of extra small "helpers", really not needed unless you plan on synching with an iPod.

But maybe worst of them all is McAfee's Security Suite. A total of 15 "processes" is running in the background just for this. It is pretty excessive (although not as bad as Norton), but will stay with this for a while since the package is free from our ISP. ZoneAlarm or AVG are otherwise good alternatives since they run much "slimmer".

All in all, the PC is up and running, but it likely took about 10 hours on the phone with Dell - and at the end their help was more or less useless anyway. To give them credit, it could have been done faster, but I would then have ended up with a different (slower) machine than I bought from them, a route I was not willing to take, and they are getting a negative mark for trying to "force" that solution on me.

But one cannot stop wondering over Dell support. Horror stories abound, this time they spent a lot of time on my calls, sometimes having a 2nd call on the other line in parallel. Can it really be finacially wise (for Dell), considering that a three year support contract for a home PC does not cost more than a bit north of $100 (or about the same amount a corporate contract cost per month...)? Bottom line is probably though that many are willing to accept a Dell just because of their service. It is not always that good, but it is there and it is willing. And for the samll added cost, it is a piece of mind many see as priceless. My guess is that 90% of Dell's buyers have no idea of how to dig deeper into their machines. For them, Dell is a good choice.
At least as long as you can take "James", "Rob", "Adam", and "Steven" with a good sense of humor!

Bike Ride - 7 HillZ of Kirkland

Today was the 7 Hills of Kirkland. A slog up (and down) a number of the hills in the area. Most people do it on (very) expensive road bikes, but I decided again - maybe because it is the only bike I've got - to go for the mountain bike route.

It was cold in the morning, just north of 45F, but the forecast was for the sun to peak out in late morning. John, just back from a few days in Chicago, called early to ensure that we were still "on". After some quick snacks at home, I met john down at the start around 8.30AM.
As on all other events like this, the food/snacks are almost better before the race, and no different today. Munched on cookies, bagels, and all other types of bad stuff before taking off.

I had my trusted GPS in my bag and with some other "hardware" I was likely carrying a few pounds extra, on top of the already heavier mountain bike. Well, road bikes are for sissies anyway. Isn't it all about getting a good workout, and the more friction/rolling resistance, the better....?
It was said to be somewhere close to a thousand bikers, and I only saw five or so other "fat tire" riders. Small group of "hard core" bikers. Especially the guy with a soft tail and seated very low. He did OK on the uphills, against all conventional wisdom.

The ride was chilly on one of the first long downhills towards Kenmore, but soon it was actually a really nice day. Met up with wife and Jan at the intermediate "pit" stop, and got another load of unnecessary (but oh so good) food and snacks. The hated Winery Hill was taken in stride this year. No stopping and no jumping off the bike, but a bit disappointed since the bag piper on top of the hill must have had a flat since he was out of commission when we passed.

John (on a VERY nice road bike) was way too nice and waited for me after every serious downhill. We split up at 116th since he had decided to go for the longer loop up in the Eastern hills of Redmond.

Arrived back to Marina Park after a little more than 3 hours and 15 minutes. Think that was better than last year, and it also felt much better overall. Waited at Marina Park about an hour and a half, munching on cookies and coffee, until the others arrived (and managed to get annoyed at the boaters who still run "open pipes", just sitting idling down at the dock, is the off button so hard to find?).

All in all, felt great, with only a small amount of butt "itch" which follows any longer ride, but it faded quickly after a brew and a nice dip in the hot tub.

New Layout + PiZZa Time!

Long overdue, but I have finally picked a new layout for the blog. I hope you like it!

Good little task for a day like this. After having had a very dry and warm streak, we finally got some rain today and significantly colder temperatures. A nice break. It has almost been too warm to be inside in front of the PC.
But, sun and heat is supposed to be back tomorrow! Should be good for the "annual" bike ride, 7 Hills of Kirkland.

And just as this was typed, neighbors called and asked if we wanted to cross the lake the go to Jim&Cynthia's for pizza. Answer was given: "Sure"!

Jim has this great wood fired pizza oven in his backyard, and he manages to crank out the best pizzas in town. Well, let's correct that, the oven is not in his backyard, it is in his neighbors' yard, but they seem to get along just fine despite that little fact. John had prepped the dough and made the first batch of pizzas. Combined with a nice glass of red, a local brew, and a bunch of great friends, is there a better way to end a dreary Sunday afternoon. And despite what these pictures might tell you, it was NOT cold (I was in shorts and flip-flops)!
BTW, photos from a camera phone, quality so-so in these poor light conditions!

HouZe is about to come down...

One of our elderly neighbors, Angie, was sort of forced out of her house last June. She was simply getting too old to care for herself and the house, and was to be better off in a retirement home.

Her house sold quickly (possibly too quickly and at too low of a price) and we've been anticipating the demolition for some time. Well, now it seems like it is getting very close and we are trying to find a good time to bring Angie back here before the house is gone. Should be any day.
In the place of Angie's small shack, built in the 1940ies, will soon tower an other Kirkland "box", this one coming in at some 5,500 sqf. Hopefully the developer is not only going for size but also style. Sort of a tough combination when their only mission these days seem to be maximizing the square footage on any given lot - w/o any consideration to the surroundings (as demonstrated in a new house up the street, totally out of place).

While scuttling around her yard, we managed to dig up some flowers and transplanted them over to our yard. With a little bit of rain (tomorrow?), they should do OK in their new location - given the dogs do not run them over before they are rooted.

Saturday was also spent edging the yard, then weeding, pulling English Ivy (considered a noxious weed in this part of the country), mowing and doing just additional yard cleanup. This time of year, everything is growing so fast so it is sort of fun to see how well stuff likes the area. The bamboo we planted last year looked dismal for the first few months, but now it has really taken off. I've been following the spreading roots. They are called "Rhizome", which sounds more like some newly concocted pharmaceuticals, than some old growing roots. Many are afraid of these "Rhizomes", that they will take over the yard, but we've got a corner where we are just happy if the bamboo thrives. But, in my plight of watching these rhizomes, I sort of missed the fact that some of the stems in the groove have just shot up to heaven. They must have grown well over 7 feet in just the past week. Amazing! Another 7 feet and we'll be very happy.
These bamboo grooves are a perfect hiding place for birds and they are, fully grown, a great screen against prying eyes.
(pictures coming soon)

BritZ in town...

It's now been quite a few years since I've seen Alan, a good friend and colleague from the days in Texas. But today he passed town with his wife Rhonda and their young son, Austen, all on their way to spend a week up in Whistler (a very delayed honeymoon).

It was good to meet up, meet the family (last time you were VERY single) and catch up on general gossip. Settled outside London, where Starbucks is not just an addiction, but also a decease, Alan just had to try out "everything" Starbucks.

I was duly impressed of how you did "drag" Austen around the North American continent this time. Hopefully, he won't be blaming his father for taking him to the U.S. when he really can't remember much from the trip... (it happened to friends of mine who went to Disneyland way too early - and then never had the chance to go back later in life).

I know you finished with a great week in Whistler. Let's make sure we meet next before the Olympics!

Building Permit...

Today was FINALLY the application for a building permit handed in (and paid for) at City Hall.
Well, yes, this might be a year too late, but I think the final design looks great. There are just SOOO many options out there, so it is easy to just think of new stuff that would be "neat" to have, or new ideas based on houses you see out in the neighborhoods.
We are "modifying" our old early 60ies split-level rambler to look something more along a modern craftsman (an oxymoron?). The architect we've worked with has done a great job, albeit it has taken much longer time than anticipated. I guess the fruit of waiting and balancing ideas back and forth paid off though when submitting the package. It was deemed "really nice looking", "clean drawings", and maybe most important of all, it was given the "fast track" process which means that comments from the building department should be forthcoming in about two weeks.
In general, I think the City is pleased to see efforts trying to keep/retain older structures, upgrading them gently, instead of this constant quest to demolish perfectly good houses and then build an oversized house on a lot that was just cut in half.
In my view, there's so much more to quality of life then just the sheer appearance. Having some space/land around you, while still living in the city is as they say "priceless".

Never let your guard down...

...not even after a long walk in the park.

Phoebe took a long walk around the UoW campus today. After having studied the boats (and asking dad why THE boat is not out yet), taking a dip in Lake Washington, followed by some squirrel chasing, there was still time for some "look-out-and-guard" activity.

Wedding BellZ!

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!

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.

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".

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.

Got an e-mail from TexaZ last night - CanZer

Got an e-mail last night from Texas. It was from one of my former colleagues/co-workers and friends down there. I had not heard anything from him in a long time (apart from the regular Christmas cards), and not seen him since a quick dinner with him and his wife Cassy in early February of 2005.

Mail was brief, but it pointed to a web site, CaringBridge. I spent the next hour or so reading through it and all postings.

Turns out one of Cassy had been diagnosed with breast cancer, on both sides. Heartbreaking news to say the least!

I remember Cassy so well when in the spring (?) of 1995, I was one of many who interviewed her for a position as a consulting engineer for our climate control solution, "TeleCool". Since Lennart (our resident cooling guru) was in Sweden at this time, he did not get to have a say in the "hiring" and Cassy never got a chance to meet one of the guys she was to be working closely with. Cassy was subsequently hired on a consulting basis for one year, and it was not "that" long before one could notice that she and Lennart had an eye for more than just their respective climate control "skills". Long story short, in the spring of 2007, they were married in Sweden!

Well Cassy, assuming that you get some time to read this, we can only hope for your best. We know you're strong and that your sheer will get you through this ordeal. Not saying that it'll be a walk in the park, but we are confident that you'll pull through.

You have great friends in and around Texas, a wonderful family, and a good support network. Up here in the north, you know our thoughts are with you and your family. We hope for quick procedures (whatever they decide to do) and that followed by speedy recovery!

TV troubleZ

Just after Christmas, I got a request from one of our neighbors to help "lift out" their old CRT TV. He told me it was big and heavy, and more hands were needed than just those of son and wife. Even a cart had been specially built for the removal (very impressing) and although maybe not needed, it certainly did no harm. TV was rolled out into the garage and a day later, the "prime location" now sported a brand new 50" plasma TV.

Since the old TV did not have a home we ended up "taking over" the 37" CRT monster. This big honker would fit perfectly in the emerging media room downstairs, and finally my old Rauna speakers (concrete towers) would come to be used again.

Although impressed by the new LCD/plasma TVs, I am not yet up for the purchase of a large LCD or Plasma model. The 1080p versions are still in the upper price ranges and 1080i or 720p is just an intermediary resolution, not giving THAT much more than what you get from a good CRT TV. It is sort of rushing out and buying an decent VW today, when you can get a great Audi for the same amount of money if you wait a year. Plus, this TV was free. What could be better? OK, maybe it is an American truck, but it still works. And it was free!

After having pulled in new coax and Ethernet cables, it was time to clean up the room. It had been sort of a dead storage type area for years, only being used "treadmilling", or for the occasional summer night when it was too hot to sleep upstairs. In this room has also for years been sitting idle my old TV from Texas and wife's smallish TV/VCR combo. Neither have been used since I won a Dell LCD TV during a promotion about two years ago.

One day while strolling through Costco, we met up with Bob, one of our elderly neighbors out scouting for a new TV. His had died just a few days earlier, and he was now looking to get a new set, although they really were all too pricey for him. Knowing that my old Texas TV was fully functional and likely never to be used again by us, I offered it to him. It would be better used in his house than just collecting dust in our basement. Wife was not really in agreement, but I thought it was a nice gesture, especially since he does not have cable, only "rabbit ears", giving him a limited selection of channels. Also knowing that he certainly could use his money better than spending it on a new TV, it was an easy decision.

"Texas TV" was picked by up Bob a few days later and yet another neighbor helped carrying (w/o a cart) the "obtained" monster TV onto its new stand. All was good. Great picture, and when hooked up to my amplifier, wonderful sound. Almost like being at the movies!

About a month later I was watching the news up in the living room on our old "big" TV, a 32" JVC model that I had bought from a former colleague when he suddenly decided to return to Sweden. It'd been a great champion and a welcome replacement when it took the spot where earlier my meager 20 incher (don't get the wrong ideas here, folks...) had been sitting. The following morning I was to take a peak at the news news but the TV had other ideas. It did not to power up, it was stone dead. Strange, it was working the night before. Maybe it was the curse for keeping the big TV and giving away the "Texas TV".

Of course I got to hear it from the wife as well. "I told you not to get rid of that old TV". My defense was of course that it was a good gesture and it ended up in a home that needed it more than ours. I was still bummed of having to have this (primary) TV repaired, knowing that it'd be at least $200 for someone to look at it and fix it. $200 that better could be used towards a new LCD/plasma down the road.

I sort of did nothing for a few weeks, but one night before calling a TV repair guy, I decided to google the JVC model number. Got a large number of hits, but one stood out. It was to a forum for repair of home electronics, a forum seemingly based in New Zealand. The site was Pechorin.

Upon a little bit of reading and searching, many had had problems with the very same JVC model we now had sitting, stone dead, in the living room. Turns out an electrolytic capacitor just ages prematurely and gives up. The capacitor was C926, a 1000uF 35V capacitor. According to other posters, one would be able to see it "bulging" when it was dead. Soldered it out and went over to RadioShack to pick up a new one. Price $1.73 including WA sales tax.

Upon inspection of the circuit board, one could clearly see that this C926 had been leaking. The circuit board looked "wet", significantly different compared to all other areas in this TV that were just covered with dust (amazing what amounts of dust that actually pile in a TV over the years).

After a bit of "dusting", it was time to solder C926 in position and test TV. After a few seconds of hesitation - long enough for me to utter "darn" - TV powered up like nothing ever had happened. A little cylindrical piece for less than two bucks fixed what certainly would have been a $200 repair job + the hassle of dragging this monster out to the car.

Bottom line, the web is a wonderful thing! It just takes some time to sort all the information and find the really good one.

Seattle Zuper Zonics

Well, it is official. The (new) owner, Clay Bennett (an Oklahoman on top of that...), like to see the taxpayers in Washington State pony up some $300M for a new arena for the Seattle SuperSonics. Folks, that is $300,000,000.00 if you write it out. He has even decided on the location, Renton, even though the owner of that parcel has different ideas (even though I firmly believe it is just a negotiation game) and like to build a mall and condo complex.

Mr. Bennett said in an interview with Seattle Times the other day that "(it) would likely be the most expensive arena in the country". $300M from the state, $100M from the City of Renton, and $100M from Bennett and his co-conspirators would indeed make this an expensive arena. Indeed.
I am not sure that is anything to be proud of, and I am sure it will not help him in getting "us" to fund his pipe dream. An "elaborate" arena, at "low" cost, that'd be something the he could sell! Now he instead is trying to sell a Lexus with a Ferrari price tag.

Mr. Bennett has even publicly said that he does not want the "tax" (funding) of the arena to go to a public vote, but instead hopes lawmakers will do "the right thing". I both hope and think that lawmakers will do the right thing. Lawmakers will send Mr. Bennett (and likely then also the team) all the way home to Oklahoma. He will not be missed!

Who really cares? Well, the people who want to see a professional basketball team in the Seattle area cares. I am not really one of them, but I do not mind a team if we have one. I might even enjoy a game now and then. I am however not ready to pony up big $$$ in some type of corporate welfare, even if it means just "extending" taxes we are already paying (these taxes could better be used for a new 520 bridge, a down town tunnel, new light rail, more marinas, you name it).

If there is a market here for a team, which I firmly believe there is, one will try to establish themselves here once the Sonics are gone. The existing arena (KeyArena for you out-of-towners) is a nice facility smack dab in downtown Seattle. It is also the "anchor" at the Seattle Center, together with the Space Needle. It is really conveniently located for the entire region! And, remarkably, it is not sold out during the current Sonics games. What gives? Maybe the game is not good enough (entertainment)?

Leaving that arena unutilized - which it likely would end up being if another mega arena was built in Renton - is not only bad public policy, it is bad economics. Heck, we have not even paid off the mid-90ies renovation (that was asked for by the basket ball team) of said arena.

Lawmakers; Do not bend over for some pressure from someone who wants a "garage" to park his pro sports team. It is no longer sports, it is (big) business. And like every business owner knows, you need to have a product to sell, a product that is attractive to the market, and buyers willing to pay a price, a price that is above your cost. If the Sonics "do not sell", well I guess then their product is simply not good enough for this (demanding) market, or too expensive! Funding them with tax dollars will not decrease the price.

World NewZ Today

Today the U.S. stopped. Does not really know why, but I guess it had to do with the sudden death of Anna Nicole Smith.
As tragic her passing is for her family and friends, a few questions has to be asked of the media frenzy around this "case";

1. Was this really "world news" (heck, there is "war" going on, people are dying in masses)?
2. Do people really care (or is this only tabloid news, feeding a starving American public)?
3. How many conspiracy theories will evolve over the next days (I'll help fuel a few)?

• Was this NASA's doing to divert attention from the mystery surrounding the behavior of Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak?
• Was she killed (by husband/relative/servant/helper)?
• Was it suicide?
• Is there more than we even can think of when it comes to who the real father of her newborn baby is?
• Was Daniel involved?

Will not waste too much electronic space here, but it is sort of fascinating that ALL news channels can divert ALL attention to this case, ALL day long (or rather, all afternoon long since the news broke after lunch).

Actually, for once Fox News Channel (not one of my favorites) today showed some class and was running a live interview with Clint Eastwood when everyone else had their focus on Florida and the ensuing ANS mystery. In this case it was even more honorable of Fox since Eastwood clearly did not seem to share any of the political views normally broadcast from Fox's headquarters. He instead spoke his mind in regards to the Iraq war, the president, actors speaking up agaist (the war), etc, etc. And, made it again clear that he has no intentions in running for (national) political office.
He is not only a good filmmaker/actor, but also a smart guy. He knows what he does best and sticks with it.

Seattle Boat Zhow

Today I did something I hadn't done in many years, I went to an indoor boat show.

When we were teenagers, Anders, Jan, Jonas, and myself, we used to go to the Gothenburg BoatShow every February. It was almost religion, a highlight in the dull and wet WestCoast winter. Since we were all sailors, we were checking out all the new gear - and there was lots - for our adventures on the race course in the spring. Jonas by the way was the one who most often used to win. I did beat him a few times, but he always had the upper hand when the season ended.

But, back to the Seattle Boat Show. A few reflections;

This is almost focused on power boats. Where are all the sailors?

Most (boat) sales guys are overweight smokers in their 50ies. Does not seem very eager to sell or even demo a boat. Sort of just want to "hang out" and look at the crowds (hopefully) that passes through their "objects". A few exceptions in the highest (most expensive boats) categories where staff was both professional, impeccably attired, and nice.
When visiting the "floating" part of the show down on Lake Union, the sales guys seemed more interested in getting out of the cold and into the bar at nearby Hooters - while there was still a crowd on the docks!

I've worked so many trade shows (telecom equipment/services) and you simply cannot afford NOT to be attentive to the people who actually have taken time out of their busy days (and paying for the privilidge) to visit and look at your products. Out of the most innocent trade show contacts, big business can spur. I can vouche for that!

Back to the boats;
The majority of boats at this show lacked "style", at least "Style" in a traditional sense. There was everything in any shape, as long as it lends itself to be classified as "party boat". Far too many bow riders in all sizes. A few of them actually looked more like landing crafts. Nothing that you'd take out in rough weather, or for a longer trip. I guess people are so tight on time they like hanging around in front of their houses, partying, burning gas - instead of experiencing the wonderful boating waters we are so lucky to have in the Pacific NorthWest.

And, the American boat manufacturers still have not figured out that a carpeted interior ON PLYWOOD is a bad thing in a boat, especially in an open boat. The plywood will eventually get wet, rot, and water will long before that have affected the (wooden) stringers. Why can't you build boats with a fiberglass interior and a snap-in carpet? Or better, fiberglass interior with nice teak trim, even on daily cruisers?

Now to the nice liners at this show;
The new Chris Crafts are a rare exception to the rule of general ugliness. Truly classic "road runners" with soft and gracious lines, new (and odd) colors, and they dare to actually use teak both for trim and utility. OK, these are not the lowest priced boats around, but they are among the few that actually deserve the term "boat". They even manage to stay away from the cheesy fake wood others have on their dashboards, and go for something more neutral instead. Way to go CC. To end it, a focus on Volvo drive packages proves that Chris Craft really are a quality builder. Clearly the best drive package out there today.















Chris Craft aside, most others were "crafts" as in pleasure crafts (or landing crafts), though even the venerable Chris Craft had a line of bow riders (aptly called "Launch"). Hopefully, they will not be too long lived.















Apart from the Mega yachts, some looking unfortunately like floating fridges (just like the Bayliners in the 35-40 foot range), a few of the more utilitarian (=pricey) aluminum boats, and some really nice "Lobster style" boats (VERY pricey), the only thing that grabbed my attention was an offering from a local company in Kent, WA. Their C-Ranger R-25 seem to be a really nice cruiser. Small enough to be fairly economical (Yanmar diesel), but still with seagoing capabilities of a larger vessel, something that could easily be taken all the way up to Alaska and back. Sort of an SUV for the islands. Perfect home for two adults and a couple of dogs. The R-25 looked like it was a solidly built boat with a nice quality of workmanship and more than average use of teak. A minor, but needed, design change, is to lift the helm higher up. As it was now, it was for too deep down into the (very deep) cabin to be practical and even to "feel" good. From the outside, port side had a large window in the cabin, giving it a bit too much look like a house boat. The starboard side was much better with a split window. Should be an easy fix to mimic the nice design from "starboard" even to "port".
Loaded with two mountainbikes and a kayak at an overhead "roof rack", this vessel actually even looked like an SUV. Cool!



And, should not forget to mention the display of some classic James Bond Boats. Fun to see these props IRL. And they actually seem to work. Just too sad this part was sort of stuck in a corner of the show, or more correctly the parking garage. It certainly deserved a better spot and also some more glamour. Now it was just these 4 vessels, and a bucket to drop entry forms in.

Finanzial Izzues

Over the past few months, I've been through some good and some not so good events in the American financial system.

In the fall, I was to wire a substantial amount of money from a bank "down south" to another bank in WA state. I did call to inquire of how this could be done and got a form faxed to me. Filled in said form and then faxed it back to the bank. That was it. The money arrived the same afternoon. No further (security) checks. Not even a phone call to ensure that this was actually a valid transaction, ordered by the account holder. Wow, no security what-so-ever here.

Then, last week I got a mailing from one of my credit card providers. It was a new card. Did put it to the side for a few days, reflecting a bit that it was not that long ago I got a card from those guys, plus also knowing that my current card had still many month before it was getting close to expire.

Well, last night I did call in to activate the new card. In the process I notice that it is not only a new card, it is a NEW card - totally different card number from before. Weird!

Get a "customer care specialist" on the phone and ask him "what is going on". He tells me that one of the merchants that I've done business with has had a "security breach" and that they (card company) pro-actively were closing accounts and replacing them with new cards.

Another wow! That was actually sort of nice, but if they are sending out newer cards pro-actively, it must have been a significant "breach of security". I ask him "who is the problem merchant", only to get a "hu hu" to answer. He was told not to tell, and more likely did not know anyway. Since I insisted in knowing (not eager to do business with companies that sports lax security routines for on-line payments), I was recommended to call the "Security Department" next business day - which I did today.

It was like pulling teeth. They acknowledged that there was a problem and that they did take the unusual step in issuing new replacement cards. But they were not going to reveal the "trouble maker". "Company Policy, we just don't do that. We need to protect the merchant."

While I for sure do appreciate them being pro-active towards the consumer (=me), it would have been nice if they would have:
1) Clearly told me that I got a new card with a NEW number
2) Explained the reason why
3) Revealed the name of the troublesome merchant

But, none of this was addressed in the letter. A letter so generic it eneded up in the shredder. At least I got a new shiny card!

SteinKlinkerZ

Tonight was a "make-up" night for the SteinKlinkers. Last Wednesday we were supposed to have been at the Issaquah Brewhouse for our monthly meeting, but the weather quite literally threw a monkey wrench into those plans (gigantic back-up on I-90 and only fools were out driving).

Hence, the crowd for tonight was smaller, but Tom, Dale, Steve, and Eric still made it all the way out to this Eastern outpost. Food was good, the waitress was cute, and the beer was eclectic. I tried the Smokehouse Ale, which Steve described as having smoked salmon w/o the salmon. Personally I liked it, and it did remind me not a little about Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier out of Germany, but with more of a blonder color and a bit more of disguised "smoke". Judging from the faces of my fellow "Klinkers", their beers were of good "character" as well.
All in all, a good evening where everything from hashing to skiing was debated.

OK, it has happened again - iZe!

A couple of sample pictures from this past weekend, all taken with a Sony Ericsson W810i. Pretty amazing quality for a little candybar phone with a dirty lens!

The Pacific NorthWest, contradictory to is name and reputation, is neither cold or especially rainy. But, this past week has actually been cold here. Pretty constantly below freezing which is really rare. Add on top of that a little bit of precipitation and there's a recipie for disaster.

Being from a Nordic country, we are used to snow and slush/ice, but not to drivers trying to move forward, even when the road ahead is clogged with cars stuck, quite literally, not being able to move anywhere. That "need to get there at any price" is more of the problem than the ice. and, there's not much we can do about the ice than to wait. to wait for it to melt, or for "counter measures" (studded tires, road salt, chains).

Last week the snow (or hail) started on Wednesday. Conditions in Kirkland were more like mayhem during the rush hour and into the late evening. We were out walking the dogs when it started snowing/hailing just around 4 PM. About an hour later we came upon Market Street (major north-south arterial) and chaos was the only would that would describe the situation. A neighbor of ours and myself ended up staying for about an hour and helping to push cars out of the way (some were left in the middle of the road), and a couple o days later, I could still see 6 of them still "parked" on the road. After that "heavy lifting" we went up to the local bar and sat inside with a brew (ESB) watching cars sliding down the hill. Live entertainment at its best!

Most of the area was shut down over the next days. We even got a little bit of ice on both the sea as well as Lake Washington - unheard of - but oh so beautiful! The mass of sliding cars was no problem, compared to the cancelled meeting for Steinklinkers. Our monthly brewery discovery/sampling group. Oh well, we would not have been able to get there in any case. Issaquah was just out of reach. Catch-up race is on for tomorrow.

Saturday afternoon dropped a tiny amount of snow. Perfect for making the already ice covered streets nicely "lubricated". It did not take long before a car went down in the drink (swamp/wetland) next to our house. Streets were again impassable for Sunday. It was all pretty fun!

But that does not in any way, shape, or form, match what did take place in Portland, OR, this morning. Take a look at this little clip. I've watched this clip so many times and I cannot do anything else than laugh! Yes, it is sort of said but on the other hand, the drivers could probably not do anything than laugh either. It was that slick. Enjoy!

Steve Zays; iPhone

Most people were sceptical to whether there would actually be a solid business case for an iPhone from Apple. But, those can probably take some time off. Steve Jobs today announced the "iPhone", or whatever it'll be called, at Macworld in SFO.

Personally, I never doubted the sound business case for an iPhone, Apple has the design capabilities to make it a stunning success, but I was not really sure if Apple would dare to go forward. Since it'll be an expensive piece of hardware (at least if seen as "just a phone"), people wanting it will have to pay up. And that is a good thing. Maybe this will be the beginning to an end of the endless "promotion" of phones from the carriers, when they as a result not only locks you in to a contract, but also locks the device, SIM lock, thereby in all practicality preventing you from using "your" phone elsewhere (=on another network).

GSM is such a powerful technology, and the ability to have a telephone for a specific usage situation; one for the weekday at the office (Smartphone), one for the night on the town (slim device), another one when hiking over the weekend (rugged device), by simply pulling out the SIM card and plugging it into a another device/phone has essentially gotten killed in the North American marketplace.

People seem to be happy in getting a phone for free, while they should very well know that there are no "free" phones. You pay for that little sucker via your monthly bill, and the sad thing there is currently no reward for you NOT taking that "free" phone.

I'd rather see a scenario where you actually pay the real price for your phone, but then it is also yours. You can take it to the next carrier (pending your other contractual oblogations of course), you can take it overseas, or you can donate it to your grandmother, or to a mother in Bangladesh that is setting up a "village phone" service. The device is yours and not locked/controlled by a carrier.

This somewhat reminds of when visiting Hong Kong. On EVERY BLOCK there was an electronics store with several hundreds of mobile phones you can simply choose from. cNet's blog "CRAVE" has a good story/summary of how it could work even in he United States as well. Carriers, give the consumers the choice and let the market forces work in our favor!

Me - and Steve Jobs - have spoken (even though iPhone only will be available from Cingular/at&t and likely with a firm service commitment - and hence a "SIM lock"). I've also heard rumors about devilish "traps" if Apple/Cingular find one of these phones unlocked.

And, at the end of the day we also heard of how Cingular anew will spend a couple of hundred millions on rebranding themselves back to AT&T, this time w/o the "Wireless". I guess there was not enough money to fully go back to their old name. All too bad since I really got fond of the Cingular name and its orange "blob". Much more desirable and "hip" than the old (or a new) AT&T logo. But, according to Cingular, I have never been a full-worthy "Cingular" subscriber since we are still on an AT&T Wireless rate plan with no intention of changing as long as its price/features can not be matched (by Cingular, now at&t). So, instead of being the last AT&T subscriber, I might actually be the first one...

Polar Bear PlungeZ

Most New Year's Days, one is too "relaxed" (aka sleeping) to be able to drag ones feet out of bed early in the morning. Be it for taking a plunge in the cold (relatively) waters of Lake Washington, there is just another reason for staying in.

Well, not so this year. Long before Christmas, I had at least launched the idea of "plunging" into the lake this morning that is otherwise more spent chilling out, eating, reading. It was of course not in a quest of bravery, but rather to get some other with me. Not so. I only managed to get the wife (+dogs) to leave the comfort of home and come down to the beach in downtown Kirkland.

Compared to taking a plunge in icecold waters in a wintry Sweden, today's plunge was really not much to talk about. But it was fun to see that many peoiple down there, gathered around a warm bonfire, a bonfire that would also burn a couple of holes through my BRAND NEW Moonstone fleece shirt.

In any case, not much to add. Let the pictures do the talking: