Don't Back Down

In Our World

  • How to Handle Terrorism

    So it seems that the British populace is returning to business as usual, refusing to be cowed by the terrorist actions on subway and bus lines. They are back to riding buses, back to the tube. Meanwhile, we Americans are continuing to be cowed, blockading this and allegedly…

  • Terrorism Around Us

    With this morning's announcement of explosions in the London subway system, you have to wonder about terrorism around us. I've long held that it's not about the act itself – just look at the word. It starts, for good reason, with terror. I've also believed, for about the…

  • Oops, Sorry

    Not only was this guy unlucky enough to have been beaten up and left for dead while on his winter sojourn to find work, but he was in a coma so long that animal control gave away his dogs. I don't blame animal control, and neither does he…

  • And Gnomedex Begins

    Chris is currently on stage here at Gnomedex. So far so good. The suspicion is that the WiFi won't last long – there are fifteen or so laptops just on the row where I'm sitting. Plenty of power, but I think the WiFi might just be overloaded, as…

  • Whidbey Island Adventure

    While we've nearly exhausted our tourist time, we did manage to fit in a nice day of driving by heading down the length of Whidbey Island, just North of Seattle. But on the way, we had to visit the Fremont Troll, since it was so close and we…

  • Victoria or Bust

    After so much Seattle, we decided that it was time to get out of town for a bit. So we hopped a Victoria Clipper Ferry to Victoria, BC. The trip was uneventful – boring even. A few years ago, I took the Coho Ferry from Port Angeles, and…

  • All About Seattle

    Today we left the car in the garage and head out on foot. Our first stop was to Ride the Ducks of Seattle. This ride in a WWII-vintage amphibious duck took about an hour and a half through downtown Seattle and then into the water in Lake Union…

  • How Much do Bootlegs Cost?

    So Warner Bros is releasing movie DVDs in China on the same day as the US movie arrives in theaters. The selling price of these DVDs? Just $2.75. Now I realize that the average Chinese resident makes a lot less than their US counterpart – about $1000 a…

  • More Relaxed Tourists

    After a couple of very fast-paced tourist days, we decided to tone things down a bit. To start things off, we slept in and had breakfast downstairs at a relaxed pace, instead of at the standard eat-and-run pace we had been keeping up previously. Then we headed out…

  • More on the Northwest

    We started off the day with an early trip to the Hiram M. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks. The day started off wonderfully, with a clear morning and a bit of warmth to it. We even managed to see a salmon on the fish ladder and a boat come through…