The COVID-19 lockdown brought into sharp focus our intergenerational trauma – emotional and spiritual baggage habitually restrained in “normal” times. We dove deep into our Indigeneity. Our thoughts turned to our First Nations ancestors who endured countless pandemics inflicted on them by colonization, the federal government, and the military. Would we survive this novel coronavirus?…
Money. Hold-in-your-hand coins. Pull-out-of-your-wallet cash. Circles of metal that last decades, centuries and millennia … matter. Not only are coins “literally” matter, but they offer an experience, a record of human society, an imprint on our lives and tactile memories that no electricity-dependent, Virtual Reality method of accounting or digital currency can offer. A child,…
By Andy Valencia I built a nice device for a huge company (well, I did most of the system design and all of the software). It made lots of money, and – yay! – I was a rock star at my company. Sic transit gloria mundi. I measured its performance, and determined that it could,…
By Andy Valencia In the years we’ve lived on Vashon, I’ve read many an article on Vashon Island Fire and Rescue. All too often, I have finished the article befuddled and no more informed than when I started. As I join the club of people who have written about VIFR, I’m finding a newfound sympathy…
by Eva Deloach My Foundation, called Traditions, (est. 2003) is a 501(C)(3) that contributes to indigenous communities and individuals at the vanguard of the natural environment. Indigenous Elders and these communities protect the natural environment. Numbering more than 370 million individuals worldwide, these cultures have not lost their unique understanding of local environments and cosmic…
In this article I attempt to use terminology that depicts the reality that Japanese Americans suffered in the War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps during World War II, as opposed to the euphemisms employed at the time and often used to this day. For further information, please see the references at the end of this article….
By Andy Valencia When I was the manager of all software development at a fairly large startup, I made the worst management decision of my career. Two of my top technical leads came to me with a design tradeoff which they just could not settle between themselves. They each told me their position, and I…
Thank you for reading the first issue of the rebooted Vashon Loop. The learning curve has been huge, but the journey has been amazing. We are so grateful for the enthusiastic support we’ve received from this community. It’s an honor to serve you! We know these pages aren’t perfect, but they are pure Island. “Ferry”…
Welcome to the reboot of The Vashon Loop! We are honored to have you join us. The Loop has a 20+ year long history. Launched initially as The Ticket by Hamish Todd, Marie Browne and Troy Kindred took ownership in 2004, and The Ticket became The Vashon Loop. Steve Allen joined the team, and in…
You believe something which isn’t true. It’s the human condition, so you should get usedto it. I first ran into this in 2nd grade, when my teacher announced that porcupines flicked their tails to fire quills like missiles. I had just read a science book which refuted this old folk tale, and I corrected my…