Tax cuts for corporations creates jobs for machines

A good sound byte could be made from that piece of wisdom I heard in the sauna.

Tax breaks for corporations creates jobs for machines.

That kind of blows the philosophy of more employment from tax breaks.

As the future unfolds, employers often prefer automation. For instance, machines don't take health insurance.

Has Obama's health care plans brought an elephant? Republican logo by coincidence.

They say the animal designed by committee is an elephant. Health care reform has gone through many a committee mill of Washington DC lobbyists and the like. It may have come out an elephant in the form of the Republican mascot, the elephant. Republicans may take many seats in November.

Sad, because Obama's heart is in the right place.

Many folks deride Obama's plans calling it "Obama care." Even blaming Obama Care for another large hike in insurance premiums this year. Well, how can we blame Obama care? Seems like insurance premiums have been rising every year.

Yes, there may be some problems with health care reform's attempts to prevent insurance companies from knocking more costly sicker people off the insurance roles; thus passing higher costs of their care onto other policy holders. This may account for some of the rate hikes, but huge rate hikes happened in previous years anyway.

If Republicans succeed in repealing Obama Care, rates will continue to rise most likely. More will go without insurance. Maybe, by year 2014 (the year Obama's main plans would have gone into effect) less than half American workers will have health insurance. Private plans will be dropping people like flies.

This is partially because the post war baby boom is getting older.

The problem could get so bad that there will be more political capital to do something about it. Political favors may swing strongly in favor of Democrats again, in time for 2012.

As more and more folks go without, we will need something that Obama Care was planing toward 2014. Subsidized premiums for those who can't afford health insurance.

Sliding scale. Yes, tax the wealthy. Also we might even get single payer.

Maybe the subsidized premiums should have been loaded in on the front end of Obama Care, 2010 and 2011, rather than toward 2014. Then more people could be under the tent thus keeping healthier folks in the insurance pool. As premiums rise, many folks just drop insurance, usually leaving the insurance pool less healthy on average.

Rather than try to straight jacket insurance providers into not dropping sicker than average patients, the early years should have provided some of the subsidies to keep people in the insurance pools. Yes, tax the wealthy.

Those who are very sick among us often end up not being able to work anyway, so disability becomes the insurance provider.

Also, since the cost of health care is swamping us, we should all try to be more healthy. Watch what you eat, get moderate exercise. Folks in the industry, from corporate execs to the local providers must be more reasonable in expectation of their salaries and profits.

Elephants conjure up images of obesity.

If I could draw, here would be my cartoon idea

Health care reform package, strapped together with duct tape and things likely to fall off. The body of a horse drawn carriage.

Potholes ahead in the road; like Republican Congresses.

Destination for most of the goods, 2014.

As carriage passes sign saying "2014, 4 years away." Driver remarks, "I hope this holds together till then."

I still support the idea of health care reform, but see a lot of potential potholes. Glad they're trying to do something, as daunting a task as it may seem.

Scared to ride the bus?

Is this why it's hard to get so many people out of their cars? Folks are scared to ride the bus. Scared of the drivers, scared of being stranded, scared of the experience.

Really, it's not that bad.

This WTA bus was set up as a haunted bus near the transit terminal for Halloween.

Happy Halloween.

Lazy days

Riding my bike around town. Fall colors in Laural Park. Riding up to Lake Padden, around Western, along the waterfront. Shouldn't I be home accomplishing something on my computer? Responding to someone's though provoking "thread" on Facebook?

I vote yes on Washington State I-1098 since life can't be perfect

I'm for Washington State's I-1098; a tax on the wealthy. Some fear it might hurt business investment, but it's a trade off. If state government has to cut back, that hurts business also as state government and it's employees are a lot of the customers of business. We can't have it all.

Hurray for the miners in Chile being rescued

Wow, Google cars that can drive themselves

As much as I advocate alternative transportation and bicycling, driving might not be so bad in the future. Technology to the rescue. Here comes Google cars that can drive themselves.

Much safer than the horrible carnage of over 37,000 US highway deaths per year from today's vehicles. Most people take this death toll for granted. It's an appalling truth about today's cars, but maybe not tomorrow.

I've heard it said that one can "tighten every nut in a car, but if nothing is done about the nut behind the wheel the car is still not safe." Well, automated driving can do just that; eliminate nuts behind the wheel.

This could reduce traffic congestion as well since computers are likely to be better drivers than humans. Better at spacing cars on the freeway.

Technology might even solve our fossil fuel problems with clean energy. Might I say something like solar or nuclear power to charge the batteries in electric cars?

I know, some folks cringe when I say nuclear power.

American culture has trouble slowing down so it looks like this is our fate.

Bicycling still has it's advantages for those of us who like slower paced things. Traveling through landscapes at the pace of a bicycle is great for really seeing things; not to mention getting exercise.

It seems like most people don't want to slow down that often though. It's not something this culture does with ease.

For that reason, most Americans are in trouble unless technology can come to the rescue. Google cars may arrive just in time since the cars of today are crap.

For some trips, I'd even consider using a Google car if it was available. That's saying something for me.

Flowers on Cornwall. Sad days in Bellingham

In memory of the little girl who was run down in the crosswalk when a speeding car rear ended another car that was stopped causing that car to slide forward and hit her.

Several tragedies have happpened in Bellingham recently including the Western Student who was missing for over a week. His body was found under a dock yesterday.

No carrot left for reducing federal deficit

Carrot and stick is used to motivate. Carrot is positive, stick is negative. Must be lingo from horse and buggy days.

Today, the carrot has been removed as an incentive for curbing our federal debt. Carrot being low interest rates.

Back in the 1980s, we heard if we lowered the debt, there would be more money available for private borrowing, thus lowering interest rates. Well now, interest rates are about as low as they can get in spite of the high deficit. How can they get any lower? The carrot is removed.

The stick remains. The stick is financial panic if the government starts to default on its debt. The stick is theoretical, however. It's only a future scenario that is possible. Something theoretical is less apt to work as a motivator. No wonder we keep adding to the debt.

Closer at hand are the carrots created by spending. Military spending, veterans benefits, education, roads, health care, government spending in our economy and so forth. Also closer at hand is the stick if these things are cut back.

The theoretical stick of government defaulting on debt is farther into the future and not as evident. It's less of a motivator. It's like avoiding global warming as a motivator.

No taxes? How about running the government all on deficit spending?

How about no federal taxes? Just run all the government from deficit spending. Let the government go bankrupt or let the Federal Reserve just print the money that the government spends thus sending the value of our dollar down the tubes.

Use your imagination. How would this scenario play itself out?

Privatizing Social Security. Borrowing to save

It doesn't really make sense to borrow money from a bank in order to deposit money in a savings account, but this is what Bush's plan for privatizing Social Security would have done.

Glad it's now dead in the water, but other similar ideas are floating about.

Back before the crash of 2008, former President Bush came up with a plan to allow young people to pay slightly lower Social Security taxes in order to divert that money into private savings accounts for supplementing their Social Security when they reach retirement age.

Problem is, with less tax revenue coming in, Social Security would have to borrow money in order to continue paying out the same benefits for older people who are currently retired.

This situation of "borrow to save" would take place during a long period of transition until enough of us, who are currently at, or near, retirement age have died off.

After that, according to the Bush planners, there would be a panacea where private savings could play a larger role in people's retirement again. Kind of like the days before there was Social Security, only this time, it would be kind of a hybrid situation with some Social Security still intact. Bush apologists might call this a more "balanced" approach with private savings and government both playing a role.

Problem is, it's a long transition of robbing Peter to pay Paul until enough of the current generation of older folks dies off.

With smoke and mirrors, it might look like an improvement in America's dismal savings rate, but when money is being borrowed, even if just over a period of 20 years, or so, it cancels out what's being saved.

Increasing America's private savings rate is a good idea, but there are better ways to do this than the "borrow and pretend to save" plan for Social Security.

Why don't people just save more of their own money, aside from Social Security?

Before the crash of 2008, our environment for savings was abysmal. Interest rates from bank savings were (and still are) very low. Who would have wanted to save?

Saving isn't likely in a climate of low interest rates. That's the problem. Maybe interest rates are too low.

How did Americans save back then?

Buying real estate. That was people's "savings." Thus fertile ground for the real estate bubble. People using property as their savings. Low interest rates encourage this. I even remember someone writing a book with the title "Spend Your Way to Wealth."

While I'll admit I haven't read the book, I have heard that one thing it stressed was the wealth-building potential of buying a home. That was, of course before 2008.

Problem with the low interest rate / real estate bubble is the fact that it seemed like buying a home was the only sound investment one could make. No "diversification of portfolio" when everything else is "in the tank," so to speak. With stocks dubious, money in the bank paying practically no interest, starting a business risky; people would say, "lets buy real estate."

The bubble situation also lead to unaffordable housing as prices kept rising. When folks start spending well over 1/3rd of income on rent or mortgage, what's left over for savings?

Now that the bubble has burst, bank savings rates have improved dramatically, but not because interest rates are higher.

Why are savings rates so much better?

It's because people are scared shit less. After the crash of 2008, rainy day funds and things like FDIC look pretty darn good. It's just about protecting the principle now.

To permanently improve savings rates, it looks like we need higher interest rates. Rather than trying a gimmick like privatizing Social Security, higher interest rates could do the trick.

Still, nothing is a panacea, higher interest rates could also threaten to slow the economy. We'd have to learn how to survive and even thrive in a slower economy. We'd have to learn how to distribute the jobs in better ways. Less people unemployed, but also less people working overtime.

A more laid back economy? If one could afford the cost of living, I think most would go for it in a heartbeat.

Pay the meter and set up a lawn instead of parking a car

Pay the parking meter, but do something more interesting with the space than park a car. How about a barbecue?

I visited this temporary park when it came to part of Holly Street in Bellingham. This happens in other cities as well. Bringing nature back to pavement is a clever idea, but AstroTurf or carpet might work better. I noticed the sod smelled like silage. Maybe because drainage isn't that good on pavement. Carpet would be easier to roll down as well.

I hear someone bought the sod after last year's Parking Day in Bellingham.

Consumer credit doesn't make much sense

Even though interest on savings in the bank extremely low, I just thought of a good reason for having a savings account. It can be for making purchases under, say $5,000. It's better to save up and buy something like a computer with cash, rather than use a credit card and pay that high interest rate.

If bank savings accounts can prevent people from having to use consumer credit for smaller purchases, that saves one a lot more money than just the measly interest rates they pay.

Consumer credit can be a costly way to go for small purchases, but debit cards, for convenience make sense. Debit cards backed with saving in the bank.

These days, even $1000 can be considered a small purchase compared to, for instance, a mortgage payment.

Getting a loan makes more sense for major purchases such as a house, or a new car (if one insists on driving a car), or in the case of a business, "plant and equipment."

But for small purchases, it seems much better to use savings and avoid credit card interest rates.

One World Trade Center under construction. Almost forgotten

Construction site Dec. 2009. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. See below.

Listening to BBC News about the Ground Zero area, I heard in passing, that Freedom Tower was being built.

Why haven't we heard much about this?

The term Ground Zero conjures up images of a bomb crater. Does mainstream media just focus on negative?

So I went to Google.

Yes, Freedom Tower is being built, but it's real name is One World Trade Center. Will be the tallest building in America at 1,776 Ft. Impressive. Projected completion in 2013.

More attention is being paid to the 13 story Park51 cultural center; that place which people mistakenly call a mosque, near by.

Well, Manhattan is characterized as a dense urban environment so there is going to be great diversity of things nearby. That's what density and US cities tend to be.

My guess is the Port Authority of New York, which owns the land under One World Trade Center, is making it the tallest US building, in part, to prove that fear of terrorism shouldn't dictate what's built there.

I say hurray for the new building.

Actually hurray for both buildings. The big building at One World Trade Center and the little one at Park51 a few blocks away. 13 stories is "little" by New York standards.

Rather than complaining about an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site in New York City where so many things are crammed together, one might think Americans would be more upset that we don't have the tallest building in the world. One World Trade Center will be the tallest in USA, but the world's tallest prize goes to Dubai, in United Arab Emirates. That's where the impressive Burj Khalifa resides. At 2,717 Ft., Burj Khalifa is the tallest structure on Earth. By the way, it's in a place where Islam is the main religion so I think that must raise a few eyebrows.

Oh well, look what petrodollars can build. It doesn't bother me as I can appreciate a great accomplishment, but I still have a fondness for my own country of USA.

In keeping with a WASP (white Anglo Saxon protestant) tradition of modesty, I'll point out that One World Trade Center will not even be the tallest structure in USA. Yes, it will be the tallest habitable building, but North Dakota, of all places, holds the tallest structure.

North Dakota? Where's that? People might ask.

KVLY TV mast. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

It's out there in the great plains between US states of Montana and Minnesota. That's where KVLY TV mast resides. 2,063 Ft. tall.

KVLY, is a Fargo TV station. Tower somewhere between Fargo and Grand Forks North Dakota. Said to be near a little place called Blanchard. Not where one might expect to find the tallest structure in USA. Its the second tallest tower in the world.

We do hear a lot of heated rhetoric these days, but America is still a good country. Part of its greatness is the diversity of its landscapes. From seemingly empty plains of North Dakota to the crowded streets of Manhattan where just about everything and everybody are in close proximity, America still offers a lot.

Easy solution to Ferndale teachers 6 minute request?

Add 6 more minutes to the student's lunch hour?

There must be more to this issue than meets my eye. Teachers in the Ferndale School District, north of Bellingham have postponed the first days of school by being on strike.

The issue - 6 more minutes of time to prepare for the day's lessons. At least according to a recent Bellingham Herald article, it looks like teachers are asking for a bit more time to prepare during the school day.

Seems like there's an easy solution to that problem which is in line with my shorter workweek philosophy. Couldn't they just give the kids a slightly longer recess and/or lunch break? How about letting school out 6 minutes early, or even just starting class 3 minutes later at the start of the day and ending class 3 minutes earlier at the end of the day?

Seems like the students wouldn't mind. No more money would have to be spent if this problem can be solved by just juggling the time differently within the school day.

I do realize that it may turn out to be more than just 6 minutes as some teachers are needed to supervise recess. Still, juggling time within the school day shouldn't be too hard.

"Quality time" for the kids versus just "quantity of time." While the kids play, a little more time for teachers to prepare for the classroom.

Of course I'm probably missing something. There may be state mandates that dictate down to the minute how much time kids must spend in class. Come on, things are getting a bit nit picky.

Maybe there's more to this issue than meets my eye. Today's Herald talked about differences over the health plan and some other issues as well. Money is tight.

An important upside from cutting government spending is no longer available

When interest rates were high, economists used to say that reducing the Federal deficit would lower interest rates and increase available capital for private lending so private enterprise could create more jobs.

Well, that mechanism no longer applies now that interest rates are at rock bottom in spite of record deficits.

The downside of cutting government spending still applies; reducing the size of government and it's employees as consumers in the market.

With less government spending, consumer demand drops since a lot of that demand is government purchases and the spending of public employees.

Does private enterprise have anything to fill the hole blown into consumer demand if government cuts back?

The old argument of lower interest rates no longer applies as far as I can tell. How can interest rates get lower?

What else is there to bolster consumer spending?

Maybe cutting government would have one long term benefit. When it brings a deeper recession, rampant deflation is also likely. Yes, deflation meaning prices coming down. Deflating the obese American economy, that is now on the life support of government spending. Deflating property values still farther, for instance.

This would be painful, but as things come crashing down, there might be an upside. If America was cheaper, our products and services would be less expensive on world markets.

Another way to cheapen America, without creating the social chaos that huge cuts in government would most likely bring, is to devalue the American dollar. Devalue the dollar by just printing more money.

If Federal Reserve prints lots of money to prop up government spending, a "soft landing" could possibly be engineered. A soft landing would basically be lower valued US dollars which would make imports to the US more expensive and exports from the US less expensive.

In the long run, maybe the US would be consuming less and producing more.

A leaner US indeed.

Better not to burn the Quran on 911 anniversary, or maybe burn all dogmas including the Bible

The pastor of that Florida Church who wants to burn copies of the Quran on the 9Th anniversary of 911 is acting out of anger. I can see maybe having a ceremonial burning of holy books and dogmas, including the Bible, but any burning would be an act of hostility. Sometimes one feels like burning holy books and dogmas since rigid interpretation of these things leads to so much war and hardship.

Burning the flag is a possibility also. How about tossing in the flags of all nations?

Still, if all we end up with in the end is a pile of cinders, what have we accomplished?

Rajni Bakshi: The Bazaar

Rajni Bakshi: The Bazaar.

Very interesting book. Lecture broadcast Sept. 2.

Excerpt from KUOW web site.

Around the world, grassroots movements are resisting free market culture. And yet societies around the world have also rejected communism. What if there was a middle ground between the two?

Tonight we hear from a voice unknown in the United States, but lauded in India. Mumbai–based journalist and activist Rajni Bakshi won India's biggest literary prize, the 2009 Vodafone Crossword Book Award, for her book "Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom: For a Market Culture Beyond Greed and Fear."

Bakshi says the traditional bazaar is that middle ground between communism and free market capitalism. She argues that the traditional marketplace — where vendors and customers compete, collaborate, bargain and gossip — represents a more socially responsible culture of commerce. Whereas the free market separates our economic activity from our social and ethical selves, she says activity in a bazaar is as much about forming values and ideas as trading goods.

Bakshi happened to be in Seattle visiting her brother when she took some time to speak at the Elliot Bay Book Company on May 19, 2010.

My 2010 summer bike tour photos now on line

Looking at the forest through the trees across I-90 in Spokane Valley. What forest? That one's artificial.

2010 trip was another one around parts of Washington and Idaho. Then another trip to Vancouver, BC after getting back to Bellingham. Total of around 1,200 miles in 4 1/2 weeks.

At first I thought I was slowing down, putting on less miles per day than previous trips, but looking at the mileage, it's still a lot of miles. Not the 4,200 miles I did in 9 weeks of 1991 when I crossed USA by bike. That was 19 years ago. Maybe I am slowing down.

I'm I slowing down due to old age, or the digital age?

Good question.

Maybe a bit from "old age," but back in 91, I wasn't stopping so often to update my status on Facebook. No one knew what wifi was. In 1991 it was either 24, or 32 frames to a roll of film. Stopping to take pictures meant deciding if it was really worth one of the last 5 frames on a roll before getting to the next store and shelling out money for more film. Yes, those were the days.

Now I'm stopping every few feet to take a picture. Not really, but sometimes it seems like that.

In this 4 1/2 weeks, I took nearly 1,000 digital images.

Triple bottom line accounting for solar power

My brother in Medford has recently put solar collectors on his house. They did cost quite a bit and it would be a long time before that bill could be paid off just in terms of saving on his electric bill.

On the other hand, when friends come to visit, my guess is, the solar panels and the electronics behind them get shown off.

Other folks spend money collecting antiques, buying nice furniture, collecting artwork so they can have something unique to entertain with. Why not be the first person on your block to have solar power? It's a good thing to do.

Home values may have to drop till they are closer to where more working people can afford them

Recent figures on home sales are low. Economists are worried. Federal government may have run out of options for artificially stimulating the housing market. Prices may just have to fall to where more working people can afford to buy. People may have to opt for smaller places also. Eventually the market can find its equilibrium again and movement might pick up.

Meanwhile there are a lot of folks who spend more than 1/3rd of household income on rent or mortgage. Ideally, housing prices should be low enough so only 1/3rd of household income goes to housing. Then more money is freed for discretionary spending. More discretionary spending would help businesses such as restaurants.

If house values weren't so far out of line with wages, people might have more spending money for other things. Especially new folks now coming into the market.

Too bad for the folks who already bought on the high end of the market. Some of them can only get out of that trap through foreclosure process.

I'm glad my rent and my overhead has remained low. In many ways, I feel blessed. I don't have much space. I don't have many possessions either, but I have some maneuverability.

Lower overhead might be one of the things that it will take to get movement happening in the economy again.

Economy running out of stimulus options? Try embracing a slower economy

Worry about the national debt has made it harder to advocate increased federal spending to stimulate the economy, but without government lead does private enterprise tend to flounder?

There's no big initiative, or projects (that I can think of) coming out of the private sector. Little to capture people's imaginations and provide focus or purpose to economic activity. No overarching "larger than life" journey into the future?

Sometimes it takes a war to give the economy focus. War is a deadly strategy, however.

A new frontier is another thing, instead of war, to provide focus. Expanding into space, for instance.

Are we ready to start colonizing space now that we are running out of frontier here on Earth? The economy does need to keep expanding, or does it?

Is expanding beyond Earth practical? Maybe, in the more distant future, but there's still a big disconnect between space colonization and our current situation. We struggling to find the first rung to that ladder.

New technology is another thing that can provide a frontier. For instance, a "technology" frontier seemed to benefit us during the Internet boom of the 1990s.

Is there anything like that on the horizon now?

Obama talks about building the green economy. A new frontier in green technology. That transition could provide a focus for the economy, but will it work? What is a green economy? Will the laws of physics allow us to get there or is most of it just a pipe dream?

How about just slowing down the economy? Seems like we're already accomplishing that; like it or not. Less consumption would be one route to a greener economy.

One way to reduce unemployment is to share the work with more people. Job sharing. Some folks might benefit from shorter work weeks while others could benefit from picking up those extra hours. Work a little less, but spread the wealth more evenly.

It seems like there's a lot of fluff in our economy. Fluff that creates jobs but is questionable as to it's desirability.

I think of new strip malls being built, but will they be leased after construction? Will the products and services be needed or will they just be more "rate race" and damage to the environment?

Would it be better if we could learn how to thrive in a slower economy?

I'm not against new technology and progress, but slowing down can be a virtue also.

Can we have both? Can we have new technology, but also a less harried life?

Less consumption of the environment is one benefit from a slower economy. Also more time. Personal time for individuals to enjoy friends and family. More time to figure out how to use some of the products we've already got. Less stress, less hurry and a higher quality of life. This could be seen as a step forward for civilization.

Yes, it seems important to feel that civilization is always stepping forward. Even if our economy slows down, we still need to benefit from a feeling that the future is brighter.

In the future, longer vacations; for instance. That can be seen as progress.

In slowing down, here is an important question.

Can people survive if more folks are working part time?

It would be good to have more time for things like vacation, but can one still pay the rent? Good question to ask since many folks have to pay well over one third of household income for housing. I hear one third is the percentage of household income recommended for housing.

What if income drops, but rent remains the same?

Housing could start eating up half or even two thirds of household income. It's already there for many folks.

People don't take kindly to cutting expenses if all the cuts must come from the discretionary spending side of household budget. Fixed expenses will need to take cuts also.

If we learn to live in a slower economy, we'll need to figure out how to reduce a lot of fixed expenses in household budgets. Health care expenses, mortgages, rents and various overheads we've inflated in our current economy.

Looks like property values will need to continue dropping since it's hard to maintain the current system when people's incomes drop. That could be a good thing in disguise.

We can create a better economy, but we have to keep thinking in new paradigms.

Yes, new technology, maybe even expanding into space, but also slowing down.

Can we have all these solutions at once? Are they contradictory?

I think it can be done. We can slow down a bit, but still have much of the innovations that keep modern life moving ahead. To do this, we may have to learn how to reduce some of our fixed living expenses, however.

I feel lucky that a lot of my fixed expenses are low. That's been a secret to keeping my life better than just survival even though my income is modest. Nice landlord, no car, for instance.

Wow, Vancouver, BC is quite a city to visit at the end of my summer bicycle vacation

See Vancouver picture set.

My take on so called ground zero mosque in New York City

Wouldn't it be nice if they could keep that 1850s vintage building and use it as the mosque/community center, rather than tearing it down and starting over.

Like the Buddhists do here in Bellingham. A Buddhist group resides in the old Scottish Rite Temple on State Street in Bellingham. The historic building gets a new use. The Buddhists adapt to the old building and the building is preserved.

I'm not against a mosque in that location, but it might be nice to recycle that old building. Then what do I know, I've never seen a picture of that building. I know they can't keep everything, but that's one idea.

From what I've heard, they have a lot more planned than could fit in that old building. A basketball court, 13 stories and so forth. Maybe they couldn't adapt the old building. I don't feel real strongly about it. I know we can't hold onto everything. There will always be new construction.

One thing about the Buddhist group in Bellingham, it's "small scale." Religious groups that don't have major funding sources behind them usually adapt to already existing buildings. That can make the groups more small scale, accessible and adaptable.

I don't think there is a mosque in Bellingham, but there are groups that practice Islam and meet in other buildings.

Pullman Islamic Center. Image taken 1989. See text below.

Pullman, where grew up as a child does have an Islamic Center. It was built in the late 1970s or early 1980s, after I left Pullman. Serves a lot of WSU students.

The only thing bulldozed for that building was a hillside, as I remember.

Toward the end of a great vacation

Now in Winthrop, WA. Made it over Sherman, Wacounda and then Looploop Passes in the last 3 days. Now only North Cascades between me and west side of state.
Feeling good.

Skagit Valley here I come.

Just a few days to Bellingham, but I may head out again next week for a day or two in Vancouver before going back to work.

Nice to have long vacations each summer. Radio says stock market is dropping. Worry about trade deficit. Yes, America still does import lots of oil. Rather than worry, I'll continue on my bicycle tour. It's a nice sunny day. The Methow River is flowing beside me. The air feels good. Glad it isn't too hot for my climb up Washington Pass which will take most of the day. Beautiful scenery.

Bicycled over Sherman Pass today

A long steady climb from the Columbia River at Kettle Falls to 5,575 Ft. elevation at the top of the pass. Highest highway pass in Washington State by a few hundred feet and it isn't even in the Cascades. It's in the Kettle River Range.

North East Washington has mountain ranges all across it. Before getting to Bellingham, I still have Wauconda Summit to cross. Then either go over Louploup or go around it by way of Brewster. Then there is the North Cascades.

Slow going. It will take me several days. Sometimes I'm barely going walking speed, but it is an excuse to be out in some spectacular scenery. Also helps to have my radio tuned to NPR.

The Skagit Valley will look real good when I'm finally over all these mountains.

Now I am at a motel in Republic, WA. Spending a lot on motels, but easier than backtracking 3 miles over another hill I'd rather not repeat to get out to the nearest campground, not to mention setting up my tent. This motel has a hot tub.

Russian forest fires

I think "feedback loop." Climate change, drought, more fires then spewing more carbon dioxide into air speeding up global warming a bit. There's a lot of stored carbon in Russia's forests, now some of it going up in smoke. I don't think the sky is falling, but there are these kind of feedback loops that can effect predicted time tables for global warming. Scary.

The news says that some of that haze I am seeing on my bike trip through Spokane area is all the way from Russia, rather than just our own Washington State forest fire season. Lots of haze and orange sunsets.

So far this year, Washington State fire season has been mild, due in part to late season rains.

Passing through Spokane on my bike tour

Just rode the Spokane Carousel.

It was built in 1909 and more recently restored. Part of Riverfront Park which is a remnant of the 1974 Spokane World's Fair. It's a great park. The best post fair use of fair grounds I've seen.

Sometimes things like Olympics and fairs leave mostly a legacy of debt. Spokane's fair left a popular downtown park.

At the time of the fair, I remember many folks questioning whether Spokane should try and pull off a worlds fair. I was in high school down in Pullman at the time of the fair planning. If my memory is correct, I think a school levy failed in the early 1970s leading some to wonder what Spokane was doing attempting to host a costly fair. While it did seem funny at that time the outcome after the fair has been good. Riverfront Park could be the best post event outcome around. Better than an empty Olympic stadium.

Lumberjack sculpture in front of a school

This is in Saint Maries, Idaho as I pass through on my 2010 bicycle tour.

In Washington some of the school construction funds have come from timber dollars in a special budget. As forest lands have been taken out of production, some of the school construction money has had to come from other budgets.

That's Washington politics at least. I don't know about Idaho, but Saint Maries is sure a logging town.

Tomorrow, I hope to ride some miles on Trail of the Coeur D' Alenes. It's a great bike trail that I rode on in 2005. This time, I only plan to ride from around Harrison, ID. to I-90.

Clock missing from Bryan Hall Clock tower

Clock is temporarily removed as they refurbish Bryan Hall clock tower on the WSU campus.

I'm visiting family in Pullman where I grew up. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a time warp.