This is just a test. I am writing this from a new iPhone.
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Test Post
Saturday, August 21st, 2010Woodinville Engine 33
Saturday, August 7th, 2010
My company held its annual picnic today. Since it was up north, I went up there early to find new fire apparatus to photograph. I found Woodinville’s new Engine 33 sitting in front of the station. This Pierce Arrow XT was delivered in July of 2009.
Shoreline Fire Dept. Engine 64
Saturday, July 31st, 2010
My wife had class again this morning. I dropped here off at her classroom in the Northgate area of Seattle and went off in search of fire apparatus to photograph. I found Engine 64 in Shoreline. It is a 2008 Pierce Arrow XT. Shoreline got three of these engines in 2008. They have 1500gpm pumps and 500gal water tanks.
Snohomish County FD 1 Ladder 11
Saturday, July 31st, 2010
Again, while waiting for my wife to finish her class in the Northgate area of Seattle, I drove around looking for fire apparatus to photograph. I found the new Ladder 11 in Snohomish County Fire District 1. This is a 2009 Spartan/Crimson 103′ Aerial. It has a 1500gpm pump and a 500gal water tank. It was delivered last fall and recently put into service.
A Day in Court
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010A very interesting letter appeared in our mailbox on 8 July. The return address was the City of Seattle Municipal Court. The envelope contained a subpoena to appear in court on 14 July 2010 to provide evidence on behalf of the City of Seattle in the matter of the motor vehicle collision I witnessed on 29 May 2010.
So, today I joined my wife on the bus ride to downtown Seattle. The day was crazy enough already but was about to get crazier. Just two stops from the bus tunnel, my wife’s friend had a medical emergency. I think she may have passed out once or twice. The bus stopped and 911 was called. SFD Aid 14 showed up quick and examined my wife’s friend. My wife stayed with her friend for the ambulance ride to the hospital and hung out with her while she was being examined at the hospital. I continued on to court as I was required to be there at 9:05am.
It was good that I was there at 9:05am as my case didn’t come up until almost 10:10am. It was quite entertaining watching the cases before the collision case. There was a lot of whining as people tried to make their cases.
Only two witnesses showed up on behalf of the City in the collision case. The defendant wasn’t even there. The defendant’s lawyer had the stereotypical lawyer look except for one thing. He didn’t have a briefcase or stack of file folders. Instead, he had an iPhone. He spent the morning looking everything up and reading off his phone.
I took the stand and stated what I saw on the 29th. The other witness did the same. The defendant’s lawyer and the judge sort of argued for about 5-10 min. In the end, the judge found for the City. I hope there is not an appeal
Kent Fire Department Ladder 74
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Kent Fire Department Ladder 74, originally uploaded by bbirmingham.
On a rare day without rain, I set out to find some Kent Fire Department apparatus to photograph. I know they have a couple of pumpers I haven’t photographed for the collection yet. While out and about, I found Ladder 74, a 2006 Pierce Quantum, parked in the sun in front of Fire Station 74.
I also found Engine 72 parked in front of Station 72 while the fire fighters were washing the floor of the apparatus bay.
Third SIFF film
Saturday, May 29th, 2010Today was the outing for our Third SIFF film viewing. We went to see “Life During Wartime” at the Uptown Cinemas. Our route to the cinema took us through the Seattle Center during the Annual Folklife Festival. We planned to get some dinner before the movie. This time, we went to Kidd Valley instead of Dick’s. I got the burger with exactly what I wanted on it.
After dinner, we had a couple hours to kill. We walked around a few blocks and browsed around a couple of book stores. After that, we found ourselves walking south on 1st Ave North. As we were turning right on Harrison St., in front of Key Arena, I saw a black Suburban making a left turn from 1st Ave onto Harrison. 1st Ave is a multiple lane one way street going northbound. The vehicle was turning left from a center lane. A silver Stratus came up quickly on the west lane of 1st Ave. The Suburban and the Stratus collided. The impact pushed the Stratus towards the sidewalk where I had just seen a bunch of people waiting to cross the street. Fortunately, the Stratus didn’t get on the sidewalk. It did come to rest after striking a parked car. The front end of the Stratus lifted the parked car off the ground a bit. Engine coolant began leaking from the Stratus. I called 911, as did many others there, and reported the collision. There were no apparent injuries. Two SPD cars showed up very quickly. Engine 2 of the SFD arrived shortly thereafter.
We waited around a bit and gave our statement to the police. That incident managed to kill about 20-30 more minutes. We walked around a few more blocks and went to the theater.
The movie was OK. It was thought provoking. I am not sure what to think yet.
Perrier’s Bounty
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010Today, we went to see our second SIFF movie, Perrier’s Bounty. It was showing at the Uptown Cinemas near Seattle Center. It was a good movie, a black comedy crime caper from Ireland.
After the movie, we decided to get a burger at Dick’s across the street. We had heard a lot about Dick’s burgers. It sounded like a very Seattle thing to do. We were not impressed. The burgers are made one way and one way only. There is no customization. While we were eating our burgers, I kept looking out the window at the Kidd Valley a block away wishing we had gone there instead.
Snohomish County Fire District 1 Engine 10
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
A month ago, Snohomish County Fire District 1 opened a new fire station on 156th just off Highway 99. The dedication and open house was today, 22 May 2010. I took this picture of Engine 10 prior to the event. I believe this engine, a 1996 Spartan/Darley was previously in service as Engine 11 and then more recently as Engine 22.
“A Little Help”
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010We got a couple of 6-ticket packages to the Seattle International Film Festival. We saw our first movie last night at 7pm at the Harvard Exit Theater in Seattle. The showing was the World Premier of “A Little Help” starring Jenna Fischer, Rob Benedict, Daniel Yelsky, and Chris O’Donnell. It was directed by Michael J. Weithorn. The film was a good mix of comedy and drama. It was well done. The Jenna Fischer, Rob Benedict, Daniel Yelsky, Michael J. Weithorn and the producers were in the audience. There was a Q&A session at the end of the screening.