The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced a long-term goal to convert its ferry system, the world’s largest,* from antiquated diesel propulsion to an all-electric carbon-negative fleet by 2034. The announcement comes in the wake of a U.S. carmaker’s pending acquisition of Danish manufacturer Traekke-Benet A/S, dubbed “the Tesla of ferries” by the British…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck On Monday, February 10th on Wax Orchard, the road was still dark at 6:47 AM. Something had knocked over a big Murrey’s blue bin near 249th, plastic and metal recycling was blocking southbound lane. I steered around and my kid said, “If you ran over that, it might’ve popped a tire.”…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Once upon a time, cars all had identical headlights. From 1940 to 1984, there was a United States sealed beam standard. While the adage, “You can’t stop within the reach of your low beams, young fella,” was mostly still true, safety had improved. By 1978, lights could come in both rectangular…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Motor oil contains hydrocarbons, detergents, viscosity enhancing agents, and after being used in an engine, fine metal particles. It is not recommended for skin care. But if it sprays you in the face, it imparts a nice supple feel for a week or so. Running an errand in Seattle, my route…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Hard to believe at this remove, but blues music was once considered a fringe, largely forgotten art form. It was also commercially dead. Then the comedy duo of John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd formed “The Blues Brothers” in 1978, and their album “Briefcase Full of Blues” is credited with almost single-handedly…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Living on the Island means forgoing some healthcare options. We all knew that going in, and many older residents are so adversely impacted they have to move away. Recent surveys have listed healthcare access, particularly to urgent care, as a top concern. If you slice deep into your thumb, if your…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Earlier in 2024, Microsoft’s current leadership proposed a plan to reduce power consumption from multiple groups within the company in order to re-route its capacity to its US-based Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) servers. GPUs power AI. The plans feature shifting the “compute” for core services, for products like MS Office, to…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck “All creatures great and small,All things bright and beautiful;All things wise and wonderful,The Lord God made them all.” Sipping a second cup of coffee at around 10:00 a.m., the phone rang. The caller said, “So, your cow. She wrecked my truck.” Stronger words may have been used. Bottom line, our girl…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck It’s true that when you travelyou’re never free of Woody Allen.Every sidewalk artist knows himand four score more sketchable actorswho’ll ambush you from here to Thailandicons of the monoculture from which we come. Such harbingers. It reminds me how the prophetssaid the ends of earth express a single sum.Some foretell of…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck As with many great ideas, it started with a Ford Bronco and a keg of beer. On a Friday night before the Strawberry Festival, several earth-movers and excavators were gathered around a job site after knocking off work. They happened to be parked near an old peat bog pond west of town,…