Month: July 2007

Yesterday afternoon my mom called to tell us that we couldn’t really get in to the neighborhood because the swat SERT team was there.

huh?

Well, after an alleged car theft, alleged liquor store holdup, and alleged high speed chase, three teens abandoned an allegedly stolen car and allegedly hid in the bushes in our neighborhood. My mom discovred SERT officers in her back yard and decided she ought to check the news for details instead of going out to ask them what was going on. Outside the front of the house? An armored vehichle with a man sitting in a turret.

After the alleged 3 were caught, we were allowed back in to the neighborhood, though our street was roped off until around 8pm. The officers stationed outside our house joked with us, and my mom even got pictures of Ella with the two cops by their place as a momento.

Despite the 3rd event in as many weeks, we’re constantly told the neighborhood isn’t really this bad. We know it isn’t, and it’s been rather funny.

Michelle was surprised to find the garage door tagged last week. I was surprised too, since I’d just put out the garbage and hadn’t noticed it myself. The tag was rather unimaginative, and my guess is that it’s the work of some bored teenagers. Just a hunch.

We had to repaint the garage – which could have used it, but wasn’t on the short list of things to do. Before painting, the neighborhood association’s newsletter editors stopped by to chat and to take a picture, and they recognized the tag and weren’t worried.

All in all, I found the experience quite funny. You see, the person who tagged the garage made a typo. Instead of spraying “Our hood,” they sprayed “Are hood.” Its such a beautiful irony that I have to make fun of it on the internet.

Joe, John, Ben, my dad and I all rode in the Seattle to Portland bike ride this weekend. It was the first for all of us, and we all made it. The ride was a lot of fun, and followed a really enjoyable and scenic route along many backroads and on a few major highways as well.

There was a rather horrible hit and run accident on Sunday hich has drawn a lot of attention, and it has been interesting to read comments in many of the local papers along the route. Opinions of the ride, the riders, and cyclists, cars, and “the law” vary wildly.

The Longview Daily News has some rather hostile remarks predominantly from the area’s inhabitants, but also a fair share of nasty remarks from cyclists. I can understand the annoyance that these people must feel having to deal with the delays, litter, and arrogance of many riders, but most seem to have a very loose grasp of the law regarding bicycle travel, and a surprising amount of pain considering the rather limited duration of the nuisance.

Changing the route might not be a bad idea, but lowering the cap on the number of riders would be a great good will effort on the part of the club. The number of riders was absurd, even from the participant’s standpoint.

A dude I know from Bellingham just released an album with his friend and they’ve got it up for free. I’m really enjoying the tracks, and I think Michelle has been listening to it on my iPod a bit lately.

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My dad, Joe and I did our last big ride before STP today. It was only 55 miles, but we figured we ought to enjoy some of our day off. We rode out to Boring on the Springwater Corridor then back to Marine Drive via 282nd. It was a great ride with a few great moments.

The first was when a cottontail rabbit t-boned Joe’s front wheel. Just before SE Foster, a cottontail rabbit darted across the path less than a foot in front of us. I braked enough not to hit him, so he collided at full speed with the side of Joe’s wheel, bounced off and somersaulted, righted, and continued into the woods. It was hilarious, after the fact, but had the potential to be much messier and wreckier.

By the time we got back, it was a bit warm, and I was out of water. I’d left home without keys, wallet, or phone, so I got home to a locked house. After a brisk hose-bath, I sat on the porch and, well, just sort of sat waiting for Michelle to get home. I was trying to figure out how to call her without needlessly being in public in bike shorts when I came up with a MacGyver of an idea. I opened the telephone network interface (the customer opening) and patched a phone from the basement in using a spare outlet for parts. I won’t say how I knew what goes where, but thanks to the precursor to the internet, I know red = ring, green = tip. By looking at a splice in the basement, I learned the blue with white = red, and white with blue = green. Fun!