Speaking of daffodils, there’s actually a touching photo on the front page of this morning’s PI (which doesn’t seem to be on their web site) showing a black VW beetle, which is said to have belonged to one of the victims of last weekend’s shooting, covered with daffodils that friends have left behind. Knowing the media in this town, how long is it going to take for someone to publicly chastise people for picking daffodils out of the neighbors’ yards?

Put down the newspaper, shut off the TV, and go outside and enjoy your spring.

Then I realized that we are perched on the 5-year anniversary of the Nisqually earthquake, and it all came into focus. That was definitely a one-of-a-kind experience for native Northwesterners. For me, it was just a prelude for what was to come. I was working for a tech startup that was ready to tank, and that day would have been our last if the earthquake hadn’t interrupted the layoff proceedings.

Everyone was rather sobered (no pun intended) by the news of the previous night’s Mardi Gras riots in Pioneer Square. Although things were fairly quiet that morning on the top floor of a 2nd Avenue building, we were quite used to moving and shaking – large trucks often rumble down that street, rattling the windows, and our code jockeys on the floor below us were inclined to shake us up during their Nerf gun fights. But those usually happened in the afternoon when there was steam to blow.

Truth be told, by the time we realized it was an actual earthquake, it was already halfway over. But the real clue was the dust and paint that started to fall from the ceiling, and we got that rolling action that we knew couldn’t possibly have come from the guys downstairs.

Of course, we did exactly what one shouldn’t do during a tremor: we ran down the stairwell to the street. Fight or Flight doesn’t translate well in situations where your choices are Stand In A Doorway or OMGWTFRUN, especially when you’re not quite sure if this century-old building is going to stay upright. Though, I’m sure that’s a lack of experience in earthquakes speaking.

We went home, of course. We weren’t sure if our building was safe for us to return. I took a couple pictures as I walked up the Hill to Broadway. Construction workers had ceased their work near the Paramount, and were milling around on the street in their hardhats, waiting for possible aftershocks. (Clicking the photos will take you to a larger version.)

The facades of several of the older brick buildings just east of the freeway were lying in heaps of rubble on the sidewalk. I got home, and a glass vase had fallen off of its shelf, but that was the extent of the damage for me. I proceeded to round up all my friends for an “Aftershock Party.”

Our office building didn’t fall down, but we came in the next day to desks and computers covered with dust, and a bit of a cracked up ceiling. When we walked in (late, I might add), people were packing up their personal effects, and we were debriefed and given our severence checks. My life had just become a little more complicated than it had been the day before.

How was it for you?

February 28, 2001, 10:54 AM
Magnitude of 6.8
Depth of 52 km
Hypocenter 17.8 km NE of Olympia.

Links of interest:
· Nisqually Earthquake Clearinghouse
· King County Response
· Seattle Times Archive

They advertised this little deal before the game – which means if they didn’t score at all, the soup would be free. I’m sure we’d have been very happy to have to dig through the couch cushions for a quarter or two by Sunday evening.

The hostess of the Souper Bowl is currently downing some Turkish coffee. No carbo-loading or Gatorade here – just straight caffeine to prepare for cheering for touchdowns and summoning the rescue team when someone spills a beer on the living room rug.

We’ll report back later on…
Metrobloggers, back to you.

The Ould Triangle is a cute little Irish hideaway with an appropriate selection of beer on tap and a heated tent out back for the smokers. The performance space leaves something to be desired, though – they could rearrange a little to get that pool table out of the way, and set up a little stage lighting so the audience (and the camera) can see the band, and they’d have a better show and happier audience.

I’m personally lobbying for Klondike-5 to book a show somewhere for St. Patrick’s Day, because that would be as apropos as the night could get – just add green beer. A little birdie told me there are plans in the works, and I’ll keep you posted.

The copter pilots were trying to get familiar with the local geography in preparation for the opening ceremony of this Sunday’s NFC Championship game. [kiro7]

I’VE GOT PLAYOFF FEVER, BABY!

But enough about that. Which do you prefer: Black Hawk helicopters or Blue Angels buzzing downtown?

Sun data for Wednesday, December 21, 2005:

Sunrise 7:55 am
Sunset 4:20 pm

Sun data for Thursday, December 22, 2005:

Sunrise 7:55 am
Sunset 4:21 pm

Yes, it’s true, folks! We had one more moment of sunlight today than we did yesterday. If you had any doubts, you can now be assured: spring is just around the corner. (And I haven’t managed to get out on the slopes even once, yet.)

I forget that not everyone gets to enjoy/hate the fact that we get down to under eight and a half hours of sunlight per day – it seemed so normal to me until I spent a year in Arizona (where they don’t even use Daylight Saving Time). Now I appreciate these moments, even if they sometimes seem inconvenient.

Joyous Yule, everyone.

Some citizens are outraged, and some are wishing it had been taken a little further. What do you think: vandalism? creativity? funny or atrocious?

In the WINTER, for crying out loud! Just shameful…

I’ll confess, I’m from Eastern Washington, where a couple feet of snow isn’t really an issue. Our stoic answer to the winter white is to dress appropriately, and take that few extra minutes to defrost the car and scrape the windows in the morning. Oh, and also: slow down.

This doesn’t mean I don’t sympathize with the Seattleite plight on a snowy day. It’s certainly warranted! I’m aware that ice takes the upper hand on our steep hills and many-armed intersections. We don’t have enough road sanders or plows to ensure a morning commute for everyone, and if we did, sleds and snowboards would still be shooting down Denny and Queen Anne.

But don’t let it get you down. Slow down. Let your calls go to voicemail while you’re driving. Or take the bus. And when it gets as bad as all that, stay home and make a cup of cocoa, or join the snowboarders at Olive and Denny. Everything will be back to normal as soon as the sun rises to thaw things out. It’ll be gone as quick as it came. It always is…

(Allow me to pimp out my favorite weather website, AccuWeather, which is pretty accurate down to the hour.)

I’ll admit: my favorite is ‘The Great Muppet Caper.” But this one is the original, and it’s the first time we hear that old favorite, “The Rainbow Connection.” Later viewings have reinforced the fact that a lot of the humor in this kiddie-film is aimed at adults. Might be a fun way to end an evening this weekend. And in my very humble and geeky opinion, this one might even make a good date.