Marcel's Blog

For all the people out here who are trying to save the trees there are just as many in the lumber industry trying to chop them down. The trees apparently have had enough as they are starting to take matters into their own hands. A couple weeks ago a 100 feet tall evergreen tree fell down on I-90 killing 2 men in a pickup truck. Another 2 people were killed this week by falling trees during a freak storm that hit the Pacific Northwest with hurricane force winds. All year long we’ve been hearing crazy stories about trees falling on people’s houses, cars, and heads. It’s really amazing how much damage these huge evergreens cause in this region when they fall, yet people still love them and they really are amazing to look at.

It really has been a weird and wacky couple months in Seattle. First we broke the all-time Seattle record for the most rain in a month ending up at over 15 inches in November. Some of that rain caused severe flooding in low lying areas. Then right after Thanksgiving we saw snow for the first time since we moved to Seattle in January. We only got 4 inches of snow in Redmond and most other metro areas but it was enough to cripple the city for a couple days. It’s very hilly in Seattle and rarely gets below freezing so snow tends to turn into ice which makes driving nearly impossible. Since we don’t get much snow here there are very few resources like snow plows to deal with the problems. Abandoned cars littered the roads and trees once again fell all over the place from the weight of snow on tree branches.

This last storm was the real kicker though. It was the worst to hit the region since 1993. The wind gusted up to 69 MPH at SeaTac airport breaking a record for the biggest gusts ever recorded there. On the Pacific coast winds were near 100mph and well over that speed in the mountains. All over Western Washington and Oregon trees were falling left and right seemingly taking out their anger against the loggers on innocent bystanders. Along with houses and cars the trees were targeting the power lines causing over 1 million people in the Puget Sound area (Seattle/Tacoma metro region) to go without power during a cold spell where temps were hovering around freezing and not much better during the day. Our power was out for 30 hours, but we were lucky. Approximately 180,000 are still without power 5 days after the storm and some may not have the lights on until after Christmas! This storm really hit us on multiple levels; so far 12 people have died from various causes. There were fatal car accidents, a drowning in a basement, carbon monoxide poisoning from people trying to heat their home with BBQ’s or generators, an electrocution from a downed power line, a victim from a house fire started by candles, and more falling tree victims. You just never know where it’s going to come from out here. I’m fully expecting an Earthquake to hit, or one of the 5 WA volcanoes to erupt at any time; 4 of them have erupted in the last 250 years! For all those interested here’s a link to the storm story and another link to our local news website.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/296223_storm16.html
www.seattletimes.com

You are probably wondering what else we are doing out here besides weathering the storms, but before I get into that if I could just take up a paragraph of your time I’d like to blog about a subject that is near and dear to my heart. I believe all of this weird weather is more warning signs related to the problem of global warming. Most people think global warming is just higher temperatures, but it’s really much more than that. It affects nature, the weather, and environment in many different ways. Public awareness and general information on this issue seem to be extremely inadequate. I’ve really had to search out information on this topic that I’ve been interested in for quite some time and still feel I know very little. The more I learn the more concerned I am about what is happening. Basically it’s not a theory anymore, it’s scientifically proven that this is happening now and has been for quite some time. I could throw facts and figures at you but there are other people who could do that much better than I. What I can tell you is that this is probably biggest threat to the existence of mankind outside of getting hit by a giant asteroid. I try to avoid political topics as much as possible when blogging but I believe this subject transcends political lines. Global Warming is something that everyone should educate themselves on because it will take everyone to make a difference. Whether you are Republican or Democratic a good place to start is by watching the non-political documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore. If you can’t bring yourself to watch Al Gore (now on DVD) then do your own research on the internet, there are dozens of websites available with info. Just remember these are only starting points to raise awareness on global warming and what it’s all about, it is up to you to take the next step.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
http://www.climatesolutions.org/
http://www.climatecrisis.net/

I know everyone really wants to know what is going out here in the land of Geeks and Coffee so I’ve composed a top 10 list of the ups and downs of Seattle.

Top Ten Ups
1. The entire region is beautiful and the geography is amazing with lots of mountains, water, islands, and coastline
2. Tons of culture in Seattle much like there is in New York which means good food and entertainment.
3. Lots of recreational activities to do like salmon fishing, skiing, kayaking, scuba diving, rock climbing, mountaineering, plus lots more
4. Every city seems to have a local market and locals prefer home grown stores to those corporate chains.
5. Vancouver is less than 3 hours north and Portland is about the same distance south, then Victoria BC can be reached in about four hours by car and ferry.
6. Its very green here, not only in color but in terms of being environmentally friendly and it’s also blue, as in a blue state with mostly democrats with whom I share many common views with.
7. There is a higher percentage of college educated people in Seattle than any other city in the U.S.
8. NO state tax and the minimum wage is 7.67, who says the Dems are always for tax increases
9. This is a hip touristy place, we’ve got Pikes place market, the Space needle and the EMP.
10. We’ve got music, here are a few groups from Seattle- Jimi Hendrix, Heart, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Sir mix-a-lot, and who could forget the Presidents of the United States of America? Ok so you forgot…
BONUS: You are never more than 1 block from some kind of coffee shop/stand, most likely a Starbucks

Top Ten Downs
1. The housing market is way over-inflated. You can buy a mansion in Texas cheaper than you can get a condo here
2. Seattleites seem to lack social skills and sometimes come off as standoffish, but once you get to know them they are just as friendly as anywhere else.
3. In addition to the above problem most people are totally wired on coffee causing citywide stress, exasperation, crazy drivers, fast talkers, etc
4. The traffic here is horrendous. Many surveys rank it in the top 5 worst in the country. To make matters worse the drivers are not courteous, the weather and other factors make it hard to see, the roads are screwy, and accidents are a daily occurance.
5. The infrastructure is not very good. No state tax means fewer funds for roads, public transport, and other things that are taken for granted in other places.
6. The job market is really good but most of the jobs require much higher qualifications than other places would, and for the same pay
7. You don’t see the sun in the winter. The overall rainfall is less than many other major cities but the cloudiness is what gets people down, thankfully the summers are mild and beautiful.
8. The combination of tall trees, hills, cloudy/rainy weather, and poor lighting makes things very dark and closed-in.
9. It seems like there is quite a bit of violent crime here compared to Denver and it’s usually some really strange set of circumstances.
10. We have Killer Trees, and if they don’t get you then there are always earthquakes, tsunamis, or volcanoes to finish the job

I could expand on each of those points but I think you get the general idea. Basically everyplace has its ups and downs, you just have to figure out what you can live with and without. If you are curious about comparing your place of residence to another then check out this website. It’s not the most up-to-date but does have tons of good info.
http://www.bestplaces.net

I’m actually quite surprised at the lack of news coverage and overall respect that Seattle gets nationwide. It’s almost like the city is an underdog, but at the same times it’s quietly becoming the New York of the west coast. I draw comparisons to New York because of all the unique neighborhoods and cultures found here. In addition Seattle is a major focus of a variety of industries ranging from technology to shipping. There are dozens of major companies headquartered here. Microsoft, REI, Eddie Bauer, Nordstroms, Starbucks, Seattles Best Coffee (obviously), Nintendo, T-Mobile (US), Costco, Safeco, Amazon, Expedia, and the list goes on and on. Most people probably don’t to realize the importance of this city and the roles it plays for the rest of the country. I guess you could say that about a lot of cities, but Seattle is very quiet about it all and the people here seem to like it that way.

I have a feeling that 2007 will be a special year. Charlotte and I hope all of you have all had a great year and have an even better one in 07. Merry Christmas and happy New Year everyone
-Marcel

This is one of my favorite pictures we took this year. It was shot this summer at night from our hotel room in Vancouver BC.