Ghostly building in downtown Bellingham

Scroll down for pictures of fire in 1976 Western Front.

Top floor burned in the 1970s and has remained vacant ever since. Bottom floor is a tavern. Can you guess which building this is?

Happy Halloween weekend.

Leaving my art class at WWSC (now WWU), I saw a massive column of smoke over downtown Bellingham. Running down the hill past my sister's house, I knocked on Judy's door. She came running also, toward the fire.
Continued below:

Western Front newspaper, November 1976.

Watching from across the street, we got there just as the roof was caving in and a fireball rose to the sky.

Then, Judy started walking back home and I wondered why she was leaving the drama. She said she just remembered leaving her front door wide open as she ran from the house. Went back to shut the door.

I stayed till smoke turned to hissing steam.

Now the embers long cooled, that place sits quietly as downtown Bellingham scurries around it. Few pay attention to those upper floors that are like a carcass left over from that violent event.

Bellingham fire department has a coffee table book of local fires with a picture of this fire also.

Happy belated Birthday Arpanet

Precursor to Internet, Oct 29 1969.

This was not Arpanet (probably) or me. From my early 1970s high school annual. A teletype at Pullman High School connected to the Washington State University computer that was across town. Notice the rotary dial for phone connection.

Back then, I thought computers were just for mathematicians.

Pictured is a math whiz who's name I forgot, but I think I remember he'd moved to Pullman from Orofino, Idaho.

My new TV

Yep, I got a TV. Haven't had one since the late 1980s when I needed a TV as a monitor for my Comadore 64 computer.

Might as well have one. It's "footprint" is small. With pocket TVs, and entire record collections fitting in an Ipod, one can be homeless and still have their "home entertainment system" in a backpack.

And the cost. Only $200, but this was on sale for $169. When I was a child in the mid 1960s, our first color TV was in the neighborhood of $400!

That was 1960s dollars. They've sure come down in price.

Back then, the whole house and yard was around $25,000, so the TV was a big chunk of the price of making a home.

Now days, houses are in the half million dollar neighborhood depending on where you live and products? They're so cheap they're practically throwaway by comparison.

Just think how many TVs a retailer must sell to pay the rent these days. It's insane.

Can't let the grass grow under your wheels.

Well, what about watching the TV, after all, that's what it's for. Is there anything to watch?

I'm not on cable. My computer is connected to DSL through the phone line.

In Bellingham, on air channels are limited.

There's channel 12 where I could watch COPS, if I wanted to. Also, it looks like Dr. Phil and some other things. There's KBCB; the shopping channel.

Two commercial Channels out of Vancouver BC as well. All in high resolution digital.

There's still some analog TV out of Vancouver as well. Canada hasn't totally converted yet. With a bit of snow (remember that stuff on a TV screen) I can get TV in Punjabi and TV in French.

The CBC is nice, but it's really snowy.

I'll have to plan a trip to Galbraith Mountain. It's our local mountain biker's paradise.

Why? Not for the trail rides, but a trip up the logging road just to see what more TV channels I can get out of Seattle and Vancouver. Channels from the top of Galbraith Mountain.

No, I don't plan to spend much time watching TV, but what the hell, it was way less than most people pay for one month's rent.

Top wages has been more of a problem than excessive profits

Good to read that the Obama Administration is starting to try and reign in executive pay at the banking organizations that are using bailout monies.

I also read (buried in an article on healthcare reform) another good idea.

Limit the amount of money for the salary of an executive that an insurance company can claim as a business expense on its corporate income taxes.

Yes, often the worse ripoff that corporations do is not profits. It's salaries for the top workers.

Rhetoric of the traditional left rails against corporate profits, but a more sophisticated analysis of this issue is due. In many cases, a corporation isn't making a profit. It's even going bankrupt, but still someone is making huge money. The money is bloated salaries to "workers." Not all the workers of course, just the top executives.

On the books of a corporation, executive salaries can be listed as business "expenses" rather than profits. I think in many cases the executive salaries can be treated as wages.

A tricky way to basically steal money. That's what so many corporate executives and real high paid professionals are best at. Weaseling their way into big money. Figuring out how to play the system to their personal advantage. Smooth sellers.

Even though I'm no expert on corporate finance, that's what it looks like to me. I'm glad to see at least some attempt to address the issue of overpaid executives.

He posed by my bike,

but he arrived in this area by jet plane. Visiting from Ireland, he and his partner were looking for gay community, hiking groups or what ever in this area. My resource guide comes up on the net and there happened to be a hike that Saturday. The Gay Men's Hike that Carl organizes.

I was able to direct him to the hike by email and they had a great time. Weather was sunny, which is iffy in this area. They lucked out. The hike happened to be that weekend, and the weather cooperated.

He played Irish flute near an alpine lake by Mount Baker. The other hikers loved it.

I wasn't able to go as I work nights and can't get up in the early mornings for the hike. Next day, I did meet him at Front Runners (running/walking club) by Lake Padden. Some days, I can almost get up for that.

They were planning to fly back to Ireland on Tuesday, but there he was, sitting at Swan Cafe in the Co-op on Wednesday.

Turns out they miss read the ticket and the flight back was Thursday, not Tuesday.

An extra 2 days to enjoy the trip.

He wanted to walk along Bellingham Bay so I joined him. Brought my bike so I could ride back home after our walk. He was staying with friends in the Fairhaven area.

It was a leisurely stroll along the bay with lots of good conversation. That's where he posed by my bike.

Back home in Ireland he only works part of the year. Has the other part of the year off.

He has time to be with friends, go to faerie drumming circles and enjoy a quality of life.

From the glass milk bottle

Luxurious chocolate milk from Twin Brook Dairy near Lynden. Glass bottles returned to Food Co-op for deposit. It's addicting.

Whole milk, at least in the chocolate. Maybe Twin Brook should offer low fat in the chocolate like they do in the regular milk.

All that sugar and fat, but another addiction of mine can cancel out the first addiction... Dancing. Burn it off.

I like having addictions if they cancel each other out.

Some of the dancing costs a bit of money. I've found a studio on Cornwall Ave. that can be around $10 a session. Still it's quite a release. Moving to music around interesting people.

The instructor added to the last experience with a suite case of memories. Rocks of special meaning, a heart shaped burl from some tree. Healing and sharing. One can see people crying at times, but also dancing and laughing the next moment. More than just fitness. It's an experience, but it does cost a bit.

The milk costs something also. Still my addictions don't cost too much and they often cancel each other out.

Then there's also dancing at a place called the Purple Church.

Solar streetlights along bicycle path in Moscow, Idaho for blog action day

My post for Blog Action Day 09 topic of climate change.

Paradise Trail along Paradise Creek in Moscow, ID. and it was Paradise. My 09 bicycle tour was lots of fun. Feels good bicycling and staying healthy. 1,300 miles in 31 days.

Glad I get lots of time off work. Vacation is possibly the best thing about my job.

The technology of solar power and the less "rat race" form of travel. For protecting the earth, what more could one ask for.

Technology can help us reduce the carbon footprint. Years ago, I couldn't have brought a computer with me on my bicycle. Too heavy and bulky. Now there's several types of computers that can fit easy in the pannier.

Computer for WIFI stops. Brings more variety when all one can carry is what fits on a bike, or possibly a bike and trailer.

Microelectronics: Also makes it easier to live in a small dwelling year round. Who needs a big house or sprawling residential area.

Nice to be "child free" also. Percent of population raising family could diminish thus allowing a more livable world for the lower number of children. A world of less rat race where progress is measured in quality of life and technological advance rather than total amount of material consumption. A less obese world in many ways.

Are today's explorers nicer and more civil than yesterday's

Yesterday was Columbus Day, but many say Christopher Columbus exploited native peoples. Explorers of past were often plunderers after the gold, many were warriors, capitalists and empire builders.

Today's explorers could be a different lot. Astronomers, for instance.

Astronomers, quietly exploring the universe.

Some of them sitting in faculty offices at universities applying for time on research telescopes.

Image at right: I'm exploring around Penticton Radio Observatory during my 2009 bike tour.

Many of today's explorers are writing grant proposals, cooperating with scientists all over the world, dealing with NASA, learning how to navigate vast bureaucracies. Not necessarily planting their flag on the lands of native people's and claiming territory for Spain or Great Britain.

Some of them are helping students and patiently sitting through faculty meetings if they are at university settings.

Not seeking a lot of gold from Inca tribes even though some astronomers may have fairly high salaries.

Most of them are likely to be writing articles and attending conferences, not blazing trails with shotguns.

They often donate money to the United Way, their local NPR station and the food bank.

They spend time at libraries, think through puzzles, sit in front of computers.

At times they might even listen to harpsichord music.

Maybe today, they're a bit on the yuppie side, but explorers of today seem kinder and gentler than many of past centuries.

Die quickly. US Rep. Alan Grayson's comments were a good soundbyte.

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who said late last month that Republicans' health care plans amount to wanting sick people to die quickly, hit the nail on the head.

Of course Republican's would deny this, but fact of the matter is, large segments of the population can't afford serious illness without some kind of subsidy. It's an ugly truth that Republicans kind of sweep under the carpet.

No matter how we paint the pig be it insurance reform, single payer or whatever, serious illness is just too expensive for lower income people. Either the premiums for insurance to cover it are too high or the money just isn't there. Without some sort of "tax the rich" income transfer there's no coverage.

Maybe we should divide the problem of paying for healthcare into two parts. Serious illness and "low end" medical expense.

Private enterprise can cover low end medical things.

Here's where Republican style ideas of health insurance savings accounts might even work. I'm not a Republican, but for low end expense, savings isn't a bad idea. Savings means incentive for staying healthy and also using medical care wisely. It can pay for preventative care, checkups, less expensive prescriptions, minor things like broken arms; even dental care.

Major illness is too expensive. If someone has a catastrophic illness or a long term chronic illness the government usually ends up paying the tab anyway. Serious illnesses are often disabling anyway.

Serious illness basically all but kills the idea of being able to work for a living, let alone paying premiums.

Maybe the government should pay for serious illness and then allow a system of more private solutions to evolve for low end care. Savings accounts and less expensive insurance can cover minor things as well as preventative care.

Medical savings plans do have insurance for catastrophic illness, but even that can be costly. Really, the government should be the catastrophic plan.

Republicans have an aversion to any "tax the rich income transfer," but with major illness it's either that, or go ahead and push the so called "right to life" folks overboard. Advocate "dieing quickly" for folks with major illnesses that couldn't have afforded insurance.

I'm not a right to lifer, but the idea of pulling the plug is repugnant to me also.

Instead of repugnant, call it Republican.

The conflict between right to life and "no tax let the market decide" is glaring.

Hope this contradiction sinks the Republican Party.

Still, some "so called" Republican thinking has a bit of merit. Most healthy and reasonably employed people could still participate in things like affordable insurance and savings plans that would provide access to minor care, but also have incentive to use it sparingly.

If major illness hits, "plan B" has to be subsidy for lower income people.

Put single payer on the table

A friend of mine named Haggrid held this sign at a protest for health care reform. I held the camera.

Yes, single payer would reduce the morass of contradictory claim forms that have to be waded through. I hear maybe 20 percent of doctor staff is there just to deal with the forms.

There's always a side effect to any change, however. What will happen to all those form handlers? Could they be employed doing something else?


Some march signs reflected in windows of Bellingham Herald Building as marchers walked up Chestnut Street. Many signs said, "put single payer on the table." Yes, that would reduce much of the convoluted complexity of contradicting insurance forms that patients and doctors must wade through now.

I think single payer could be very good, but even if it doesn't happen, something needs to be done.

Travel on my 2009 bike tour in the Northwest vicariously

At Othello Tunnels near Hope, BC.

Trip included a short walk to Saturn.

The dream I had a while back

I dreamed that the tallest building in Bellingham had just been built. 30 stories or so, not like anything that's been on the drawing boards so far.

Finished just in time for a recession, but lower floors of condominiums had mostly sold anyway.

On the top floor were two spectacular conference rooms that rented out for big bucks. Weddings, stock broker parties. Folks wanting a spectacular view.

Business was slow so the skyrooms stayed empty most of the time, but the manager was into ecstatic dance. Fun and frolic, like a hippy dance. Also like exercise.

He was able to pull strings and allow ecstatic dance in one of the rooms for minimal cost. Just donation.

Dancing with the view as a backdrop. Playful hippy like dance. Full of energy. Sweaty. Some of the guys went shirtless revealing bodies of joy, light and play. Erotic in a mild sense.

Then, one day, the manager had a worried look on his face. Some big corporation had just booked the other conference room. At the last minute. Same night as our dance.

Would they resent having sweaty dancers as neighbors?

Would they say, "there goes the neighborhood?"

Would they demand their money back?

Who were they? A corporate dinner party? Bankers meeting? Stock brokers convention?

The dance went on, it was too late to cancel. Still we thought dancing days would be numbered if the rooms start getting booked.

Everything seemed as usual until the soundproof "flex-a-wall" between the two sky lounges started to slide open. It reveled who was really on the "corporate side."

A gay porn business.

Models, escorts. People paying big bucks alright. Paying to fondle and photograph nude models. It was business for sure.

The porn company didn't mind having ecstatic dance as neighbors, but I remember thinking that the ecstatic dancers looked sexier than the porn models on the more commercial side of the now combined spaces.

The unlike the dancers, the models were totally nude. Still they looked more artificial and less natural than the dancers.

Then I woke up.

Version one here. See version two also.

The suicide option health plan

There's private options, talk of a public option, how about a suicide option?

The suicide option health plan would most likely be private. It would be a lower cost insurance plan with a low lifetime benefits ceiling. For instance possibly $100,000 lifetime benefits cap. If bills added up to over $100,000 during one's lifetime, the plan would stop paying and dissolve.

A low lifetime ceiling would save money so the plan could offer more affordable premiums and still cover lower end medical expense. Deductibles and co pays could be figured into the plan also.

If no other source of money could be found after the plan dissolves, such as government assistance for instance, and major illness persists, a painless suicide would be recommended.

Laws would have to be changed so suicide could be an acceptable suggestion.

Sounds ridiculous?

Also sounds libertarian.

Just something to ponder? I'm not necessarily advocating this.

I prefer some sort of safety net where income can be transferred from the more wealthy to subsidize a better form of affordable health plan for those who can't afford market insurance rates.

Also, of course, healthy lifestyles and lower medical expenses across the entire population. Otherwise lots of people will have little choice beyond something like the suicide option.

Are we on our way toward some sort of suicide option without intentionally planning it if nothing is done to reform the current system?

Glad the Bush missile plan was dropped

Kudos to Obama for dropping plans to put missiles in Eastern Europe. Now our relations with Russia are improving. Better relations with Russia are more important, strategically, than the shield that those missiles would have provided. That shield of protection against rough missiles from Iran and other places can still be provided from ships at sea.

Meanwhile, better relations with Russia means the biggest country in the world (land area) is more likely to be "on our side," so to speak. Russia is still kind of a fledgling democracy. Not ideal, but better relations with US can help.

Russia could go the "other" way also. It could drift back toward a more dictatorial regime. Trade and communication can, hopefully, strengthen the hands of an open society within Russia.

Even though Russia isn't perfect, by any means, it's a work in progress, like every nation is.

We are still a work in progress.

Russia is, however, important. It's the biggest chunk on that "strategic game board" called Earth.

Maybe we shouldn't think of Earth as a strategic game board, but if that's the thinking we need, Russia is a prize piece.

We need that piece for oil and other reasons. That piece can strengthen our hand in dealing with Iran and other dictatorial states.

The west is still helping to finance the Iranian government; their nuclear ambitions, their military, and so forth. We're buying their oil.

Russia has oil also. Maybe we can buy more oil from Russia and have more leverage in our negotiations with Iran.

Our dependency on oil is a weakness in our strategies.

We could use our oil purchases as a powerful economic tool to push for better human rights in Iran. We can better use it to assist fledgling democratic movements within Iran and other places. If we do that, it helps to be able to boycott their oil, for a short time at least, if need be.

Whatcom County Farm Tour

Lots of healthy looking produce at Bellingham Farmer's Market which was also part of the Farm Tour on September 12.

After the rally for health care reform and then stopping by the market for a snack, I biked out to some county farms that were participating in the farm tour.

Only had time to visit Silver Springs Creamery and Bellwood Acres apple farm. They were near one another south of Lynden.

Many folks were driving to hit all the farms on the tour. Uses a bit of gas. I focused on two and arrived by bicycle.

Sampled ice cream and fresh milk. Tasted apple slices.

Weather was spectacular that day with Mount Baker shining.

Hope most of the people moving to Whatcom County like living in dense urban environments. That way, we can keep the sprawl contained and preserve farmland.

I'm back from my trip which ended at Camp

Queer Camp was another destination along my summer bicycle loop.

Intense, with lots of workshops, dancing, gathering, mingling.

A weekend of gay community in the woods, at a retreat center.

Nice way to end my bicycle tour. People, all scrunched together in cabins, dining hall and so forth. Quite a change after being mostly alone on the road during previous weeks.

Rain was intense also. Seeing the forecast on line, I got an extra large tarp to put over my tent; rather than giving up on my tent and staying in one of the cabins. It stayed mostly dry.

Several carloads of folks from Bellingham came down for Camp. I got a ride back to Bellingham by car. First bike trip that I returned by car. On other trips, I've come back by train, bus or biked back. Our car qualified for the carpool lanes. It was a car full of stories and reflections from Camp.

Now I'm sorting my pictures and stories from both Camp and the rest of my bike tour before Camp.

Everything from the Pullman Lentil Festival to Queer Camp.

Stay tuned. It will take a few weeks to digest things.


Aprox. 3 minutes.

The impressive face of Mossy Rock Dam

Around 600 ft tall. I could just get part of it in this image. Another thing to see on my bicycle tour. Turning the flow of the Cowlitz River into Tacoma City Light. I passed by it on US Highway 12.

Plan to attend Queer Camp over Labor Day Weekend. A group of people from Seattle, Bellingham and other places that rent a conference center in the forest and have workshops, hikes, discussions, yoga, you name it over Labor Day weekend each year.

A few days after that, my current plan calls for taking the train back to Bellingham from Centralia. Heading back to work before too long.

Above Lake Tipsoo

Bicycled over Chinook Pass yesterday. Over 5,000 ft. Looking down on Lake Tipsoo in Mount Rainier National Park. One could also see some of the glaciers on the mountain, but the top was in clouds.

Now I'm back on west side of Cascades for a conference called Queer Camp and another week of vacation. More about the conference later. Also I plan to put more pictures and stories on the web in the next few months after some time for writing and editing.

Chocolate milk stop on my bicycle trip

After a beverage break at one convenience store in lower Yakima Valley, I come out to find my bike surrounded with 3 Yakima County sheriff cars. That store must have had good doughnuts also. Police cars taking a break. They pulled in after me for their rest stop.

By the way, Yakima Valley has great bike paths.

Bicycle and wind power, the Tri-Cities?

Now, in the Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick, Pasco. Lots of bike paths through these cities. In the parks, along the rivers, along the freeway.

What is thought of, by many, as the "atomic cities," have many sides. This is home of Hanford Nuclear Reservation, but rolling into Pasco, the horizon is filled with windmills. Wind power dominates the ridge tops.

Maybe not as much energy comes from those wind farms as pours out from The Columbia Nuclear Generating Station, formerly known as WPPS 2 (the only WPPS plant that got off the ground) and the only nuclear power plant in Washington and Oregon that is now operational as far as I know.

WPPS stood for Washington Public Power System which mostly went bankrupt in the 1980s. WPPS 2, now renamed Columbia Generating Station, is the one part of WPPS that's working and, so I read (on History Link dot 0rg), generating around 12% of the electricity supplied by BPA here in the Pacific Northwest. Figures for the year 2000. That is a fairly big chunk of our power.

Why did most of WPPS go belly up?

Many reasons, but I would suggest that natural gas is where the Northwest has turned to beef up it's power supplies as we outgrow our hydroelectric resouce. Natural gas has been fairly cheap and less worry than nuclear; so far at least.

Maybe now, with worry about fossil fuel and global warming, nuclear might look better as long as population and economic growth keep demanding more energy.

Still, wind farms are quite evident on the ridge tops as I biked into the Tri-Cities area.

Wind farms and bike paths seen today.

Government option

In Washtucna, I discovered the motel was gone, but the city park was still there. I took the "government option" of camping in the municipal park. The "private" motel was not an option even though I haven't had a shower in days. The park had camping and was free. Nice willow tree pictured above.

Coming into town, someone directed me to the park. When I said, "I guess the motel is gone" he said, "ya, we burned it down."

Turns out the former owner hadn't kept it up very well and it was full of bugs, spiders, whatever. Then they tried to remodel, add a restaurant or something, but ended up with the building collapsing as they must have removed the wrong supports. Eventually, the debris pile was burned.

Now, the land has a new owner and I hear plans are to (maybe) build a new motel. Who knows when.

So, it was nice to find government option, the town park.

Much of that day, my radio was filled with health care debate as I biked along. I'm in favor of a government option there also.

The burden of shopping

I am not tempted to shop while on my bike trips. Where I'm I to put it all? Pass a lot of promotions on the road. This one by Pullman, WA. Evergreen area.

Now headed west into the country of the great Spokane Flood during ice ages. As the ice melted, a dam burst draining much of western Montana to a torrent over what is now part of Washington. Carved out the Channeled Scab Lands. Now it's a barren landscape of rock outcrops and sagebrush. Last night, I camped at Washtuckna, WA. which used to have The Wagon Wheel Cafe. It's now abandoned. Next major stop, the Tri Cities, home of a supermarket chain called Atomic Foods.

Lentil Festival in Pullman, WA.

Now in Pullman visiting my sisters where I grew up. Got here in time for the Lentil Parade down Main street. Not by plan, but co-incidence, I am here in time for the parade. They grow a lot of lentils in this area along with wheat, peas and so forth.

Lentils; just one more thing to have a parade about. Gilroy, CA. has the garlic festival. Well, in Pullman it's lentils.

Never heard of lentils? I've had them in salads and soups. Had a lentil salad in Palouse, just before getting to Pullman.

First time I heard of the festival was on the radio coming down from Spokane. Then someone at our table watching the parade remarked that she didn't know bicycles came with a radio; like some cars come with factory installed radio. It wasn't there when I bought the bicycle, but I add a lot of things with bungy cords as I tour.


Aprox. 1 minute.

Lush trees and grass at a park in Palouse

That was a few days ago as I biked through Palouse, WA.

Art under the bridge in Spokane, WA.

I should turn off my computer and head to bed so I can ride in the cool part of today. Bike trip continues to bring me new perspectives on everyday things.

Gardner Cave

Gardner Cave up in northeast Washington was quite a tour. My family took a trip there in 1966, or so. Still impressive today as I biked there in 2009.

Few people even know of its splendor.

I also visited Boundary Dam, not far from the cave. Could "knock them both off" within just a few miles.

Next day, the ride to Spokane. 96 miles. I didn't expect to have that long a day, but road construction took me to a different route so I missed the motels in north Spokane. Ended up downtown in good time anyway. Might as well stay downtown. Feel good and enjoy walking around this city. Lots of historic buildings.

My motel is built around a gay bar (Dempsey's Brass Rail). I could go, but I look road worn.

One more night in Spokane and then head for the Palouse area.

Radio telescope near Penticton, BC

Another sight on my bicycle trip. Being into astronomy, I am surprised I didn't know this observatory existed until now. Big radio telescopes in the Okanogan country, not far from Penticton, BC.

Some friends of mine, from Bellingham, were camping near Penticton as I passed through the area. Before they left Bellingham, they told me which campsite to find them at. I found their site and we connected. They took me, by car, to these radio telescopes. Here I am pictured by the large dish. There were several types of antennas at this observatory. Mapping various things in the universe.

CBC Radio talking about Kepler planet hunting mission while I bicycle contemplatively along Kettle Valley Trail in Okanogan Country of BC.


Aprox 3 minutes.

Long hill up west side into Manning Provincial Park

But beautiful. Now I am at a WIFI spot in Princeton, BC. My 2009 bicycle tour continues.

Time for summer bicycle travel again

Takes a long time to climb all the way to Artist's Point at end of Mount Baker Highway on a bicycle, but what a good excuse to spend more time in that great scenery. I had to drink in this beauty for over 5 hours since it took that long just to get to the top from Glacier, WA.

Then the best fish tacos I've ever had at Graham's in Glacier. This two day trip was a great precursor to more cycling planned before autumn. Stay tuned.

Along South Bay bike trail

I'm just getting from point A to Point B. On my bike, there is time to notice stuff like this.




Painted on the side of a building along Bellingham's South Bay Trail route. Near where the alley becomes the trail. I ride a different kind of bike however.

Update. This artwork is still along the trail, but on the side of a large apartment building. The art was preserved and given a new home almost where it was before. It's on the side of a new building.