ClassAct Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Hi, folks. Mike here. I live in Ballard, northwest of Seattle and the furthest point from any freeway in Western Washington. Lifelong Seattle resident*, University of Washington '85, and University of Puget Sound '88. My wife and I renovated a 1908 Craftsman home, taking eleven years to do it because we didn't have the faintest idea of what we were doing. It's turned out okay, which for Seattle means there are no major leaks and the moss grows in only a few places on the roof. I've messed about with carpentry-type stuff throughout my life, though nothing approaching any real level of skill or talent. Our home has no basement or garage, no closet storage space; the closest thing to a shop is my father-in-law's place, which is forty-five minutes to an hour+ away depending on traffic. But that's a lot better than having nothing at all. I'm an avid sailboater, reader, and traveler; have owned saiboats twice and lived aboard once; maintained a fleet of charter sailboats; installed security and surveillance systems; help with amateur radio communications for the City of Seattle (one 8.5 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake coming up!); was in software development for 20 years; wrote a bunch of books about software; and now do freelance editing while staying home and maintaining the place. My beautiful bride works in downtown Seattle and puts up with my vagaries and fixations. She should get some kind of medal, I tell ya. Been reading voraciously about woodworking and will be taking a basic Handsaw class in October from Jim Tolpin's Port Townsend School of Woodworking. Eventually I'll get to where I can build that totally cool game table that Marc put together. Don't know how I'll get it home after building it at my father-in-law's, but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it. A special howdy to other Northwesterners here on the boards. You guys have paved the way for newbs like me and I hope to honor your trailblazing by keeping ears open and mouth shut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Welcome to the forums Mike! I'm just a little North of Bellingham.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Welcome to the forum Mike ! Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Welcome aboard, Mike. Excellent grammar. We need that. I envy your geographical location, moss and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Welcome Mike, from about 70 miles North. 3 hours ago, ClassAct said: I live in Ballard, northwest of Seattle I didn't realize that Ballard had finally seceded, need to pay more attention to the news!. The curriculum for ..http://www.ptwoodschool.org/ looks interesting. What courses are you going to take? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjk Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Welcome Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Welcome to the forums Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Welcome Mike. As a current software engineer, did you write about anything I'd wanna read today? ? Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassAct Posted July 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 In order: TIODS: Bellingham is beautiful. Have some friends who live in Hidden Valley. I used to commute to Bellingham from Seattle for work for about two years. Once I got to Marysville it was a relaxing, brain-free drive north. We were just up there for a day trip a month or so ago, just to hang around Fairhaven. I think Bellingham is an undiscovered gem. Eric: Lots to like up here, especially if you are of Scandinavian descent. I love the rain, personally, and love gray skies day after day rather than blazing sun. Keeps my skin soft and moist, dontchaknow. Just Bob: I'll be taking the Handsaw Essentials weekend course, and hopefully over the next year taking the other three, skipping the Design course at number five. Port Townsend is where I'd love to retire to (about fifteen years from now) so this will give my wife and I some familiarity with the area. I've been to Point Hudson marina many times by boat, been to the town only a few times otherwise. Joseph Thomas: All of my books are out of print, thanks to software's short shelf life. If you really want to read "The Unofficial Guide to Windows XP" or "Mastering Office 2003" you can probably find a copy at a used bookstore somewhere. Since my hardcore writing days I'm now primarily an editor or technical editor; currently I'm tech-editing a book on Azure security for Microsoft Press. It pays poorly, but makes up for it by being difficult to read. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 11 minutes ago, ClassAct said: Eric: Lots to like up here, especially if you are of Scandinavian descent. I love the rain, personally, and love gray skies day after day rather than blazing sun. Keeps my skin soft and moist, dontchaknow. Yep, I absolutely do know. I find the sun oppressive. I enjoy it for about a month at the beginning of summer, then I'm done and ready to go back to October in perpetuity. Octobers in Missouri are great. The only decent month we have. I feel like I'd get sick of rainy days eventually, but it always puts me in a good mood for some reason when I wake up to gray skies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klappco Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 Welcome from the better side of the state! I envy you going to the boat school for a class. I have listed after their classes for years. Ballard is such an interesting place . . . https://youtu.be/hGlDVmBLibg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassAct Posted July 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Klappco: Ya sure ya betcha! You ought to come over for the Syttende Mai celebration next year. We have a lutefisk-eating competition. It's not for sissies. East of the mountains isn't as bad as it's made out to be. Unless you're a WSU Cougar, in which case pthtbbtppt. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-MattK- Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 49 minutes ago, ClassAct said: "Mastering Office 2003" It's been all downhill since Excel 2003. welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klappco Posted July 18, 2016 Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 Welcome from the better side of the state! I envy you going to the boat school for a class. I have listed after their classes for years. Ballard is such an interesting place . . . https://youtu.be/hGlDVmBLibg Not the Cougs here. I'm a Fighting Missionary! My wife went to the farm school but I excuse that. Two of our kids went to Whitman, two went to UW, and one to Eastern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassAct Posted July 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2016 My wife is also a Whitman alum! Very small world indeed. Last I heard, Whitman was looking to change the mascot from the Fighting Missionary. Any news on the proposed replacements? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klappco Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 Nothing too much yet. The committee is working on it. Many of us sport alums (wrestling and baseball here) are not pleased. The tennis team folks are pushing some kind of "squirrels" name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted September 15, 2016 Report Share Posted September 15, 2016 On 7/15/2016 at 9:47 AM, ClassAct said: . My beautiful bride works in downtown Seattle and puts up with my vagaries and fixations. She should get some kind of medal, I tell ya. You have a vagarie??? Welcome to the forum. Send me some rain when you're done with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattF Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 I have looked at the Port Townsend school, but a little far for me. Have you taken a look at this school, its in Snohomish. http://www.pugetsoundwoodworking.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted September 20, 2016 Report Share Posted September 20, 2016 Hey Mike, wish I'd seen this thread back when you posted it. I'll probably meet you in person, I'm taking that same handsaw class in October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassAct Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Bon: Cool! It will be a pleasure. I'll be the tall dude with close-cropped blond/grey hair, goatee, glasses, and a befuddled expression. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted September 24, 2016 Report Share Posted September 24, 2016 Just heard. Sorry to hear of the tragedy that happened close to you guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.