Sound Check at the EMP
Sound Check at the EMP
Image
1
Carl Sagan
Sea Otter Basketball
Ajax the Octupus
Carl and Sagan in the Touch Pool
If you thought this post was about the noted astronomer, then you’ve been deceived. Carl is my brother-in-law and Sagan is his three-year-old charge. She is a delightful child and it was a pleasure to spend the day with her. Way-back in the Jurassic period BC (Before Children) we first experimented with the idea of child raising, by trying it out with other people’s kids. That seemed to work well enough, at least we learned a few things from our mistakes.
Fast forward to today. We’re pretty much out of the parenting biz now, but we’re looking on to grand parenting, some day. In the meantime, why not try out someone else’s child? It worked before, enter Sagan. Anne still routinely deals with preschoolers. I do not. I made a few mistakes with her. like when I tried to explain the phrase, “There was no fuzz on that decision.” I don’t think that I was able to adequately convey the concept to her. Meanwhile, Anne had her endlessly counting out the numbers of thermoplastic molded army men, rocket ships and skeletons.
I was able to wow her though. The best thing about a three year-old is that all my old gags are still new to her. I wowed her first with Siri, when it said. “Hello Mark.” Half-a-billion dollars ought to please even a three-year-old. I was trying to convince her that my iPhone was a computer and not just a phone. I think that greeting made my argument. I think that we cemented our friendship on the ride down to the aquarium. Anne noticed the waterfront, Marco Polo Hotel. One call of “Marco” is all it took. Soon me and the rest of the car were all calling out, “Marco”, “Polo”. In my humble opinion, I rocked the three-year-old set.
The sea otter was playing its own version of Calvin ball, which involved first sinking the basket and then floating the ball into it. In order to dunk the ball, the otter would first crawl into the basket. Octopus terminally mate, like when you’re done, you are really done. Salmon and mayflies are similar. Last Valentine’s day the aquarium let their two octopus conjoin, then they were released. Maybe, to just get rid of the bodies?
It was bright and sunny day in Seattle. It was awesome!
Sentinel of the Sea
The Swiftsure
The Swiftsure also-know-as Lightship Number 83 is located on Lake Union, at the Historical Ships Wharf, just outside of MOHAI (Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry). The Swiftsure is the oldest lightship in the US. It was built in 1904, eight years before the Titanic. Lightships were extremely seaworthy vessels that anchored offshore as floating lighthouses and guided ships in and out of safe harbor channels. When Lightship 83 was retired in 1960, it was marking Swiftsure Bank, on the approaches to Seattle.
I was invited onboard by one of the men working to restore it. According to him, it had already undergone two dry-dockings to restore its hull. It floats now without the aid of pumps. This is a good thing, because when the Coast Guard decommissioned her, they removed her propeller and capped all of her bilge plumbing. They didn’t want anyone joyriding about in what everyone else would take as an official lightship. With a million dollars already plowed into her, there is a lot more money needed to get her at least ship shaped enough to be the floating museum that is her eventual destiny. Her next door neighbor, the Virginia V is a fully restored working ship, but she cost $16M to retrofit.
They just haven’t raised anything like that kind of money for the Swiftsure. Right now all of the wooden deck planking is torn up. I walked about it on creaky old plywood. I asked my host when the restoration would be complete, at first he gave me a laundry list of things yet to be done. Then he capped that list by saying it depended on how fast the money came in. Finally, he said, “It’s a boat. It’s got a bow and a stern and no end.”
The Swiftsure – Under the Tarp
Women Crewing
Women Crewing
We watched The Big Lebowski on Sunday night. I’d already sampled it so heavily that I knew the general plotline and many of the best gags, but I’d never watched it all the way through. And certainly not with such a Dude devote as Carl. It was great! I would have never known the back story behind the oft-repeated line, “Shut up, Donny!” It was precipitated from the earlier Coen brother’s movie, Fargo. In that movie, the actor, Steve Buscemi, did way too much talking, in the humble opinion of both directors, both producers and both writers. That triple threat gives the Coen brothers almost godlike power that they will gleefully exercise, “Shut up, Donny!” Eerily the next morning, Carl started to get repeated phone calls from California. My refrain should have been, “Hey Dude, your phone is ringing.” So, what does the Dude have to do with women crewing? Well, they both happened on the same day. Only, the rowing occurred with way less swearing or so I hope.
Burke Totem
Totem Outside the Burke Museum at the University of Washington
Sunday was more laidback than Saturday. We walked through the U of W campus and stopped at the Burke Museum. It is a natural history museum and I can’t help but think that it was influential on Rey, what with his love of dinosaurs. Afterwards, we broke-fast at Le Fournil and then hiked back to Jay and Carl’s house. The sun came out for a while and it was nice.
Living Fossil
Image
Ginkgo Leaf Fossil