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Wednesday/ long day on the road

Traffic is stopped on Interstate Highway I-5 south as I enter Seattle around 7.15 pm.   That is lake Union on the left with the Space Needle above it.

I thought I left Seattle with plenty of time at 9.30 am to make my 1.30 pm meeting, but I made it with almost no time to spare. The offices of our client’s company was very hard to find.  And since I had to be back in Seattle on Thursday morning, I did not stay in Vancouver afterwards, but just made an escape from the southbound Vancouver traffic to get back to the border. (Aw.  I would have loved to walked around the city and take some Vancouver pictures, but it will have to wait until my next visit).

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Tuesday/ trip to Vancouver

I am driving up to Vancouver on Wednesday morning for work.  The official Google estimate of the drive time is 2h 42m but we all know that life is not that predictable. There is traffic, and there is a border crossing between A and B on the map!  I could have flown, it’s a 50 min flight, and I could have taken the Amtrak train, but in the end it all comes out in the wash and it’s going to take 3 or 4 hrs to get there.  And the car will let me stop on the way and drive around in the city a little bit (Canada drives on the right side of the road the way we do in the States).

The proposed route from Seattle to Vancouver from Google Maps shows a drive time of 2 hours 42 mins.
Here is a world map from Wikipedia that shows countries in that drive on the RIGHT in RED, and those that drive on the LEFT in BLUE.

 

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Monday/ Volunteer Park Conservatory at 100

I finally got my car back on Monday: brand new radiator, water pump, timing belt and all.  Still, I walked to Volunteer Park by my house for a little exercise on Monday instead of driving to the gym.  The conservatory there is 100 years old, says the signs on the lamp posts there.

The lamp post signs signs are nicely done, and fits with the style of the Volunteer Park Conservatory.
Here is the Volunteer Park Conservatory. Confession : I have never been inside, actually. It has always been closed every time when I get there.
This is the little ‘pump house’ brick building by the reservoir in Volunteer Park. A very utilitarian building but still with some redeeming architecture elements.

 

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Sunday/ a foot bridge for those afoot

The Wilcox footbridge connects the Seattle Arboretum (botanical garden) with the Capitol Hill neighborhood.  It gets pedestrians across the busy Lake Washington Blvd. below.  Weather-wise : still no sign of rain here in Seattle after a very slight sprinkle a week ago.  The Cliff Mass Weather Blog states that the first rain-bearing Pacific front usually reaches us around the third week of August.

Here is a picture of the Wilcox footbridge from Sunday.  Not a spectacular work of architecture, but still nice enough.  P.S. The little stuffed doggie is not mine! A child must have dropped it, and then someone else must have put it on the ledge.
Here is the Seattle Arboretum. The Wilcox footbridge is toward the north.

 

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Saturday/ the Seattle Boat Show

So .. what floats your boat? Are you a sailing enthusiast? It’s very romantic (romantic as in roaming, and adventure). Or would you go for a luxury motor yacht?  To buy one outright will take a hefty chunk of money, and then a bite every time to fill up your floating home-on-the-water’s 2,500 gallon tank with diesel.  Here are just a few pictures to give a taste of what was going on.

This is the powder blue South Lake Union Streetcar arriving at West Lake station to pick us up and go to Lake Union where the Boat Show is. There is also a brown one, and there used to be a red one and a purple one as well. I’m not sure how many there are and if they are rotated in and out of service.
Here’s the map. The blue at the top is Lake Union, a much much smaller lake than Lake Washington which is a little further to the east and which separates the city of Seattle from the ‘east side’.
This stop is ‘sponsored’ by Umpqua Bank. There is also a station with the alternate name of Amazon.com, named for the Amazon’s headquarters close by.
This is a motorized boat .. I am not sure of the model and name, I just like the classic hull shape and windows on the deck.   Some of these boats have really really big diesel tanks, up to 2,500 gallons.   That would enable a range of over 2,000 nautical miles, but it would cost around $10,000 to fill up that tank.
The sign on the side of this 70′ McKinna 2012 model boat says it was a demo boat, and is now priced at $2.5 mil (retail $3.7 mil). It has 4 staterooms and 4 heads (bath rooms), and is loaded with custom options.

 

Pretty flags on a Tayana yacht’s mast. There must have been a dozen yacht manufacturers putting their yachts on display. The styling and fittings could get updated almost every year. So if you are looking at a ‘2008 Jeanneau deck salon 45’ it tells you the year, the manufacturer, the yacht’s style (deck salon means the deck is raised and has windows on the sides, letting more light in, a plus for the cloudy Northwest weather), and the yacht is 45 feet long.
A classic analog compasses, found on the rear of the yacht by the steering wheel. I am sure they will continue to be fitted on modern yachts as a back-up to all the navigation digital equipment.

 

Here’s what it’s all about ! .. navigating through the straits and islands, and taking time to explore the scenery and the coves and bays. (Picture is of a map fitted on the table on the inside of one of the yachts).
We’re done looking at the yachts (tall masts in the distance) and now we’re in the motorized yacht section.  I am actually on the top deck of a big boat, and there’s the Space Needle in the distance.
Here’s a little impromptu show of water acrobatics we ran into.  Best from what I could tell the jet ski’s powerful water pump is used to propel water into the orange tube with enough force so that Mr ‘Iron Man’ can control it and use it for defying gravity.

 

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Friday/ to Repair or to Replace?

My 1996 Toyota Camry (yes! I know it’s an old car) is in the shop for serious repairs : the radiator, water pump and timing belt all have to be replaced.  I decided to graph out the average annual capital cost from when I bought the car (in 1996, new), along with the average annual maintenance cost, all adjusted for inflation.  I left out insurance and gas costs but included tires and lubricants.  The bottom line : money-wise there is still no justification for replacing the car.  But there is a lot more such as confidence in the car’s reliability, the ‘image’ projected by driving a 17-year old car and missing out on the new technology and better fuel consumption of today’s cars.

Here’s a Toyota timing belt. The belt itself is not expensive ($40), but it takes a lot of workshop hours to get the old one out and the new one in.
Here’s my analysis of the Camry’s average annual costs in $US 2012. I took inflation to be 3% annually since 1996. Once the red part (maintenance) makes the average total costs go up-up-up, it’s time to replace. But even with expensive repairs, this will happen very gradually. It’s more a matter of losing the reliability of the vehicle, and other factors, that will drive the decision to replace the car.
Here is a self-portrait of me in April of 2000 (outside Denver, Colorado) when I made the trip up to Seattle from Houston with the car (about 2,500 miles one way, it took 4 days!).

 

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Thursday/ my tin cup souvenir

I am back in Seattle from my New York-Pittsburgh trip.  This little saki cup* made from 100% tin is a souvenir that I bought back. *I bought it in a Japanese book store in New York.  For some reason I just feel attracted to metal items that’s a 100% pure element (gold and silver coins fall in that category!).  And I know there are controversies around tin : the big tin mines in Indonesia have an appalling safety record, and there is a mine in Democratic Republic of Congo controlled by a renegade militia.

Here is the cup. It’s small : that’s a US quarter coin next to it. Tin is not easily oxidized in air but melts at the low temperature of around 232 °C (449.6 °F).
This picture is from my prized collection of all the elements, which I made by scanning pages from the 1962 edition of the Time-Life book ‘The Elements’ and cutting them up into single pictures, one of each element. Did you know that Brits call tin cans simply – ‘tins’?

 

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Hey! It’s my 1,000th Post!

(Wednesday evening). Here’s my little black rental ‘number’ that I motored around with from the airport to the hotel and to client meetings in the Pittsburgh area.  It’s a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta SE (2.5-liter five-cylinder engine puts out 170 hp, price around $US 19k).  It’s a very nice, very solidly built car with precise handling and sharp braking. It’s just smaller than the car size I’m used to with my Toyota Camry.  The smaller steering wheel bothered me a little as well.

P.S. Yes, it’s my 1,000th post! How about that?

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Tuesday/ the Steel Building and the Gulf Tower

It was a sombre day in the USA with the 11th anniversary of 9/11.  Here are three pictures of the same downtown Pittsburgh scene from my hotel room window Monday night and Tuesday.   The very tall building on the left that runs out of the picture is the headquarters of US Steel.  It has 64 floors and was completed in 1970.  Its outside is steel and it is called – quick, want to guess? – the Steel Building.  The Gulf Tower next to it with the colorfully lit top at night has 44 floors and was completed in 1930.

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Monday/ downtown Pittsburgh

Downtown Pittsburgh is at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River.  The city was founded in 1758 and named after British statesman William Pitt.   Pittsburgh no longer has its famous steel mills within the city limits but is now instead home to an economy based on healthcare, education, technology and financial services.  There are many theaters in the cultural district downtown, and I ran into stunning architecture and building adornments there on Sunday as well.

Downtown Pittsburgh is at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River.

 

I don’t have the names of these buildings!   I just loved the contrast of the old architecture (not sure what style this is .. Baroque?) brushing up against the sleek modern stone and steel building.
I will go and stay in the William Penn hotel just to be able to admire the canopy while I wait for my taxi to take me to the airport. (I stayed at the Marriott a few blocks away).
Check out the detail of the metal work on the canopy. Out of this world.
Colorful mural painting on an exposed brick wall.
Here I am on the Andy Warhol Bridge, also known as the Seventh Street Bridge looking at the city’s skyline. The bridge spans the Allegheny River. I am surrounded by the bridge’s custard color!
And this is the Rachel Carson Bridge, also known as the Ninth Street Bridge.
Canopy of the Renaissance Center in the cultural district.
Here’s a Heinz ketchup triceratops in the square at PNC World Headquarters : a tribute to Heinz Company that has had its headquarters in Pittsburgh for more than a century now.
There was also a mosaic mirror tile Stegosaurus.
Beautiful ironwork detail on a gate in a building downtown.
This ornate clock dates from 1898 and is on the corner of the Macy’s department store, declared a national landmark.
The First Presbyterian Church in downtown Pittsburgh.  Reminds one a little of Notre Dame, does it not?
A skateboarder came riding into my picture of the old downtown and its tall buildings. This is Fifth Ave.
Here’s where the triceratops and stegosaurus are. No, it’s not a Mormon temple! It’s the plaza inside the PNC Bank’s world headquarter buildings.

 

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Sunday/ to Pittsburgh

I have to be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, and it’s too far to make it to Seattle and back.   So I took a 1hr30 min flight out to Pittsburgh on a United Express jet (about 30 seats).

Here is a picture I snapped shortly after we took off from Newark International Airport. Check out the Freedom Tower, and lower Manhattan. The big island is Governor’s Island, with Ellis Island in front of it (below it), and then on the far right is Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty (just a green speck).
Here is where Pittsburgh is on the map — still in the Eastern Time Zone, and not too far from the Great Lakes and Canada.

 

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Saturday/ last day in New York City

I tried one more time to get into the 9/11 Memorial, but the only slots available were late Saturday afternoon, and I didn’t make it back there to go inside.  (At the base of the tower a group of 9/11 conspiracy theory believers were making their case. Man! Give it up).  Late morning in Manhattan there were gusty winds, with showers in the afternoon.  I learned on the news two tornadoes touched down at the edge of New York City! — but no serious injuries were reported.

Here’s a day-time view of the Freedom Tower (One World Trade Center), now at 105 stories, already making it the tallest building in Manhattan. The steel frame has topped out; the spire of glass and antenna still has to follow.
The main entrance of the New York Times building on 8th Avenue (52 floors). It’s fairly new : completed in 2007.
I had to go check out Grand Central Station’s main entrance (Park Ave and 42nd St). It was one of the pictures of New York City in my ViewMaster (disk with slide show pictures) many, many years ago !
The Chrysler Building is not far away, on Lexington Ave and 42nd St. It is an Art Deco style skyscraper, and is surrounded by several other very, very fine examples of art deco.
Art Deco on Lexington Ave – and no, this is not the iPhone Apple, it’s a different Apple.
The corner of the same building (I couldn’t get enough of the Art Deco). I am not sure if the silver metal cladding on the building on the left is old or new.
The Stars and the Stripes on a lamp post on 42 nd Street.
This is a food vendor on a street corner by Bryant Park.
This is about 8 pm on Saturday night after a downpour, looking south over the trees in Bryant Park at 42nd Ave. Yes, that is the Empire State building (on 34th Ave).
A closer look at the Empire State building’s top, this is from 36th st and 6th Ave.
This is close to Herald’s Square where Macy’s is, a designer studio from what I can tell. I am having trouble keeping the raindrops off my camera lens.
A night time shot of Grand Central Station’s facade. Shortly after this it started raining hard again, and I went back to the hotel.

 

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Friday/ Korea in New York

Our training is complete, three-hour exam and all (three essay type questions, and what a shock to write an exam in long-hand pen on paper!).  Here are some pictures from my Friday night walk-about.

This is an old entrance (still used) for Macy’s flagship store on Herald’s Square at 34th Ave. The first store (I believe it’s this one) opened in 1858, and the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade have been sponsored since 1924.  (Is this not a scene straight out of the recent Sherlock Holmes movies?).

 

The small Korea town with a dozen or more restaurants on 32nd Ave is called Sam Ship Iga.
As one could expect, lots of Korean people on the street in this area.  And no doubt one will find excellent Korean barbecue inside this restaurant on W 32nd Ave.
Another restaurant sign on 32nd St. Am I in Shanghai? In Korea? No, it is right here in New York City.
This is a few streets up from 32nd Ave, around 39th Ave. A young Chinese couple (I am assuming they are Chinese) is just leaving the Szechuan Gourmet restaurant.

 

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Thursday/ the New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is just over a century old and with 53 million items in inventory its size is second only to the Library of Congress.  One wonders how many of the books are available on-line .. it must be just a matter of time?

Here is the main entrance of the Library on 5th Ave, at its time of construction the largest marble structure in the United States. The building occupies two blocks between 40th and 42nd streets. Check out the two stone lions guarding the entrance.
This sign with a picture of a library lion is inside of the NYC PwC office building.
Here’s a Gray Line bus full of sight seers. The Book of Mormon musical advertised on the bus tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naïve and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share the Book of Mormon, one of their scriptures—which only one of them knows very well—but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are more worried about war, famine, poverty, and AIDS than about religion. [Details from Wikipedia]
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Wednesday/ midtown Manhattan

It was a long day at the office and we went out for dinner, so I did not have too much time for gallivanting around New York City and gawking at the buildings and the people !

It’s 7.30am and I’m sitting in the lobby waiting for my colleague to walk over to the PwC office. The rain gods smiled on us : dry while we walked over with a big downpour soon after that!
It is so easy to find one’s way with the phone’s GPS and maps. Just plug in the address you want to go to and presto! This is midtown Manhattan, the area directly below Central Park.
A little city park called Bryant Park is close to the hotel. This is a cityscape view from within the park.
This is Times Square, 42nd St and 7th Ave. Check out the New York Police Dept’s Tokyo-style police box right there on a strategic street corner.
There is a Hard Rock Cafe in the historic Paramount building, just off Times Square.
The police on horseback seem to be very popular tourist attractions !

 

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Tuesday/ arrival in NYC

It’s been a long day since I got up at 4.00 am Seattle time to make my 7.00 am flight.  We left Seattle a little late, and there was light rain in New York City when I arrived, but everything went according to plan.    I had dinner with a colleague and then we went for a short walk to Times Square.  We also went down to the World Trade Center site. The 9/11 Memorial had already closed, though.

This is the Airtrain shuttle that runs between the Newark Airport terminals. I am on my way to the Newark Airport train station to catch a train on the New Jersey Transit system to NYC Penn Station.
On the NJ Transit train on the way to NYC Penn Station with very old industrial age structures flashing by.
Here is the main schedule board inside Pennsylvania (Penn) station in New York City.
At the Marriott Residence Inn on 6th Avenue. ‘All pets much be checked in’ would be better, not? Fido cannot check himself in with a ‘woof!’.
The McDonalds by Times Square is right up there with all the other gaudy neon signs and displays.
The corner of 7th Ave and 42nd Street.
The tower at 1 World Trade Center has 3,000 construction workers on site everyday, says a sign there. It is expected to be completed in mid-2013.

 

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Monday/ planes and trains to New York City

I leave very early Tue morning to go to New York City to attend a training course set up by my firm (yes, the old dog can still learn a few new tricks).  I will arrive at Newark Liberty airport, and I need to get right into Manhattan.  I will take several trains to get there :  Newark Airtrain shuttle to the Newark Airport station, the New Jersey Transit to Penn Station in Manhattan, and then the New York subway train to get me to two blocks of the hotel.

The United Airlines website’s New York City picture.
The sprawling New Jersey Transit system. I start at Newark Airport station. And it’s good to know ahead of time there’s a Newark Penn Station and a New York Penn Station, and they are NOT the same!
Once in Manhattan, the New York subway will whisk me where I need to be (well, I make it sound easier than it is. Sometimes it takes a little time just to find out which exit to the street level to take!).

 

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Sunday/ the Japanese Garden

It was just too perfect a day not to go outside for a walk, and so I did.  I walked down from my house to the Japanese Garden, adjacent to a much larger park called the Washington Park Arboretum.  It’s no more than a mile or so.   The pictures are all from inside the Japanese Garden.

I walked from the blob to the square, not much more than a mile. There’s a steep embankment where the street goes by Japanese Garden, so I had to walk northwards by it and then backtrack to get there. On the way back I got ‘tired’ (codeword for lazy?) and caught the bus on 24th Ave to take me back up the hill to 16th Ave!

 

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Saturday/ Bumbershoot 2012

I always look for the posters for Seattle’s annual music and performing arts festival called ‘Bumbershoot*’.  This one was one a newspaper box on the street.
*Bumbershoot means umbrella! Bumber- (alteration of umbr- in umbrella) + -shoot (alteration of -chute in parachute).  First Known Use: circa 1896. [source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bumbershoot].

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Friday/ a blue moon is not blue ..

.. it is simply the second full moon in a calendar month, and they come by every two or three years.  So this Friday most of the world had a blue moon, but not everyone.  For earthlings that live in the far eastern parts of the globe such as New Zealand, the full moon came on Sept 1.  (Japan’s blue moon came in at 10.58pm on Friday night, so with an hour to spare).

I thought of the Blue Moon beer from Golden Colorado on Friday night (I have been at the brewery), and sure enough, here is a print ad that they ran. The Blue Moon is a Belgian style white beer.