By Andy Valencia Vashon is awake and very, very interested in what the upcoming zoning changes for our Island will mean. One of our leading citizens helped the Vashon Loop highlight some important questions in our previous issue, and follows that with more commentary in this issue. Our Community Council has also spoken clearly to…
Vashon Health Care District Urgent Care is Live
One of the Loop’s editors spotted a distinctive car this afternoon: A DispatchHealth car We assumed it was to “show the flag” for VHCD’s upcoming urgent care solution. But when we ran into DispatchHealth’s people, we confirmed that they are on-island and ready to provide care. What can they do? Stitches. Assessments. Limited blood panels….
Rather Than Lose the Argument
By Andy Valencia Imagine you’re in an argument – you, your opponent, and some people listening. Your audience is nodding their heads when your opponent speaks; they’re expressionless when it’s your turn, and you’ve already used all of your best material. The honorable person will graciously acknowledge their defeat. What do the other kind of…
Using Evil to Win Arguments
By Andy Valencia In college, a friend of mine periodically ran a game called “Assassin.” None of the players knew each other, and all were paired up: one target, one assassin. You were “assassinated” with a chalk mark, and the target could defend with chalk-filled small cloth bags. The rules favored the target once they…
Goodspaceguy: A Perennial Candidate
By Andy Valencia f you’ve been a voter in Washington for more than a few years, you have seen a candidate calling himself “Goodspaceguy.” In fact, if you’ve lived here 10 years, or 20, or 30, or even 40 – you’ve been seeing him on your ballot. Since 1980, he’s run for public office 21…
Controlling Your Mind
By Andy Valencia What would you guess your political view is worth? What would it cost to change it? The 2020 election could have gone differently if just the right 100,000 voters had voted differently. Given that our federal government prints $1 trillion dollars every three months or so, you could easily justify spending $10…
Updates on Pecan Court Apple Cake
Alert reader M.D. noted that our apple cake recipe, lacking any oil, milk, or water, might end up being unusably dry. Happily, reader C.H.L. wrote in about the recipe; she had discovered that there’s an entire genre of oil-free cakes. Finally, M.T. noted that these were likely rooted in the Great Depression times, when one tried…
Hypernovelty
There’s a joke going around that, in 2004, you had to be a computer wizard to find what you wanted on the internet. In 2014, anybody could do it. In 2024, we’re back to only computer wizards finding what they want. What happened? My list of culprits would include click farms, search engine rigging, and…
Vashon Community Care Center
By Andy Valencia Way too many people are dying from their addictions. The latest United States annual report on drug overdose deaths puts the count above 111,000, but that is only a small portion of the misery present throughout our society. The federal budget allocates more than $42 billion dollars for drug programs. But how…
Apple Cake – From Pecan Court
By Andy Valencia This is a family dessert favorite, developed by my late mother, Denise Valencia. “Pecan Court” is the location of my childhood family home. Apple Cake – From Pecan Court