Pandora February 11, 2009
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose.Tags: internet radio, pandora
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Props to my friend Eric Mattson – entrepreneur, market research guru and now surfer – for turning me on to Pandora Internet Radio. Just type in an artist or song, and the site builds you a free, streaming playlist of related music. You can also upgrade and pay for advanced features. Pretty darn cool.
24 random things about me February 10, 2009
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose, Family, Fishing, Friends, GS.add a comment
Copied from my FB page.
- I eat peanut butter almost every day and once bet a co-worker $50 I could eat a pint of Adams in one sitting. I would have done it if I hadn’t looked at the fat content and worried if my heart could take it.
- My oldest son, Jack is an amazing athlete and will be twice the soccer player I ever was.
- My youngest son, Noah, will invent something that will change history.
- My daughter, Lucy, will make me bald.
- I would fly fish every day if it would pay the mortgage.
- Dawn and I skied at White Pass for our second date. In the afternoon we hiked up a hill and threw snowballs at people going by and laughed until our sides hurt. I knew at that point she was the girl for me.
- My favorite TV show of all time is 60 minutes.
- There is nothing like the sight and sound of a ringneck pheasant exploding out of tall grass.
- I believe good people find each other.
- If money wasn’t an option, I’d have five bikes in my garage right now: silver ‘02 BMW GSA, ‘01 Ducati 996R, late-90’s Ducati Monster, ‘66 Ducati Mach 1 and an MV Agusta F4.
- My wife is the strongest person I will ever meet.
- When I was 12 I jumped off a 20+ foot cliff trying to catch a tree to impress my friends. I missed the trunk and caught my leg on the last branch. My head swung past a rock that probably would have killed me. I worry daily about the cliffs my kids will face.
- I wouldn’t be half the person I am today if I had not spent as much time with my grandmother as I did.
- I subscribe the theory that one can never have too many fly rods. Or shotguns.
- I have zero time/interest in watching sports on TV, so for years I’ve watched Sports Center highlights to keep up with my peers at the water cooler. Figure I’ve saved years of my life and they are none the wiser. The only exception to this is the World Cup.
- I can’t wait to get a dog.
- The anthems of my youth can be found in the lyrics of Minor Threat, The Cult and Public Enemy.
- I only wear shoes when I absolutely have to. Otherwise its flip flops.
- I love to cook, especially things that come with a chance to learn about another place, time or culture.
- I have been overserved in six of the top ten U.S. cities.
- You can find a picture of Tiger Woods and me in a 2-page Accenture ad in the January-February 2009 issue of the Economist.
- I once hauled a brand new surfboard all the way to Fiji and never put it in the water. There were no waves that week anywhere in the islands. Not even Cloudbreak.
- I love to win, learn from getting beat, and hate to lose.
- I’ve managed to catch crabs three times in the past three years. Dungeness, that is.
planned obsolescence January 8, 2009
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose.Tags: GE front load washing machine, obsolescence, washing machine stabilizer, WSXH208A
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Our three-year-old GE washing machine [WSXH208A] went kaput this week. Well, not totally. When I cracked the case I quickly saw both stabilizers had snapped. The stabilizers are built just like a shock on a car to hold the drum in place while it spins. Fortunately both were easy to get at so I figured an easy repair. Called two places trying to track down parts and both responded the same way:
“Yep, about three years, that’s when these things typically break.”
If Rancho can make a shock for a truck that lasts for nearly 100k miles, why the heck are companies like GE using parts that are pretty much “scheduled” to break just outside the warranty timeline? The answer, it turns out, came to me from a GE customer service rep today.
After installing the replacement shocks last night, I was still having a problem getting the drum to rotate, so I called the company today to talk to someone about troubleshooting. Turns out I can order parts directly from the company, but if you have any sort of technical or operational question, they will only help arrange a service call to your home via their network of local contractors. The rep said they had no staff and no knowledge base to respond to technical inquiries of any sort. So if you have a question about their product, you have to pay them for the answer. Planned obsolescence. Lovely business model. For them.
The dryer that we bought at the same time has also been nothing but a headache. The possibility of me buying future GE appliances = zero.
christmas treed December 7, 2008
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We picked up a permits from the ranger station in North Bend today and headed up to the area around Denny Creek to harvest trees with Uncle 
Beefer, Erin, Kate, Don and Becky. The open area was along FSR 5510. We drove up about 3 miles, just above where the snow line would be if there was any this year. I know this because the rain turned to hail and then to snowflakes the size of golf balls just as we parked. The wind howled and we all got soaked. Dawn paraded LuLu around in a puffy pink one-piece getup – complete with idot mittens – in the backpack. Once the trees were loaded up we piled into Don’s van for hot chocolate and ham sandwiches. Ho Ham Ho.
the boys, someday December 1, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose.Tags: justice, simian mobile disco
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I could see the boys doing this sort of thing someday. Just hope it’s not me who takes the fall…
Justice v. Simian Mobile Disco: We Are Your Friends
For Sale: 1961 98cc Ducati Bronco November 5, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose.Tags: Ducati Bronco, vintage Ducati
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Finally coming to terms with the fact that I just don’t have the time or energy to dive into the Bronco project. I listed her on Craigslist and Adventurerider.com this week and got a surprising number of responses – two local guys are coming to take a look and a guy from San Fran is calculating shipping charges. Update: SOLD!.
Trying hard not to be political October 17, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose.Tags: McCain tongue
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But what’s up with McCain’s tongue? Is this some sort of medical condition or something? It’s like a train wreck. Can’t… look… away.
Quote of the day September 26, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose.Tags: Katie Couric, Sarah Palin
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That’s why I say I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in . . . where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh — it’s got to be all about job creation too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade, we’ve got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, um, scary thing, but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.
Read: Four Seasons in Rome September 24, 2008
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Just finished reading Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. It’s a short story about a writer who moves from Boise to Rome with his wife and infant twin boys on a year-long fellowship. His style makes for a very fun read and the subject matter was very relevant to me: both on the challenges of managing life with babies and the simple fact that there could never be enough time to fully explore the history and culture of one of my all-time favorite cities. So compelling, I felt like I was there watching it all happen, hearing the people, feeling the weather and smelling the espresso. Unrelated to the book, I love the satellite view of the city via Google.
Thanks, Joe September 22, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose.Tags: Joe Pearson
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I just got an email from Dawn that said a childhood friend, Joe Pearson, passed away yesterday. Apparently he was on the treadmill at the gym and collapsed from a heart attack.
Joe is a year older than me. He and his brother, Jamie, grew up just down the street on 29th. They had a small house on the corner. Two trees in the front yard and a chain link fence around the back.
We played “cup ball” in the front yard, using various landmarks as bases. Travis usually joined us from the house next door. We played football in the back yard since there was more room. In the spirit of fun, we would try to strategically stick one another into one of the larger bushes, or the fence at either end. Jammed fingers, lots of swearing, sprained ankles, torn shirts, sometimes fists. Mom would make sure I included Liz on some occasions, which only upped the stress level trying to make sure she was fairly treated. Poor thing grew up on a block where the only other girls moved in after she was 10 or so. I can still hear mom calling us to come home for dinner at dusk, the fall air clouding my breath and starting to chill my fingers while the rest of me was dripping with sweat.
Joe’s house was one of the only on the block with functional air conditioning, so it was no surprise I spent a lot of time there during July and August. They also had HBO and MTV. The hottest chick in the world was on three times a day during “Stuck With You” by Huey Lewis and the News. In between we rocked out to Princes’ “Let’s Go Crazy” and ate tuna fish sandwiches on white bread.
Joe was built like a brick shithouse and tough as hell. I watched him beat the crap out a loudmouthed kid outside the gym after one of Troxel’s summertime football camp workouts. Years later I watched some guy snap Joe’s leg in a high school football game. He spent months on crutches, but continued to work out doing what he could to stay in shape.
We talked a lot about hunting deer and pheasants, though I only think we chased birds together a couple of times.
I tried looking both he and Jamie up on Facebook yesterday but didn’t find them, which makes today’s news even more surprising. I hadn’t spoken with him in maybe 20 years. Thanks for the memories, the football games, and all the air conditioned good times, Joe. You are already missed.
