Seattle Musings

Seekers of substance: move along, move along… nothing to see here… (but come back soon!)

I’m a month into my Seattle Sabbatical, and in service to my goal of having no unblogged thoughts, I’d like to share some observations and experiences of my stay here thus far.

First of all, dislocation from one’s home and routine is lonesome at times. My hosts in Seattle are gracious and welcoming, but the truth of the matter is being away from home is isolating to an extent. It takes work to break out of that, and the lack of sunshine makes it hard to overcome inertia at times. I miss my wife, my dog, my friends, thursday night beer breaks, my workshop, and the easy to-and-fro of a collegial work environment that I’ve known for two decades.

But this is America, and when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Buying toys is a welcome diversion (pleasure isn’t happiness, but it is… well… pleasure!) My favorite so far is a video iPod and JBL Onstage II docking speakers. So, I’m ready to listen to all the neo-grunge alternative rock that I will, no doubt, be collecting in the vibrant music scene of Seattle (the assertion has been made to me that Seattle has more live music than any city in the US except New York).

The big surprise to me about my video iPod, however, is the video part. I got it for music and also for backup and sharing of my photographs, but I couldn't really imagine watching much on it.  I have not watched a television screen since I’ve been here, and I don’t miss it a bit. I don’t buy music on iTunes, and I’m even less likely to buy old episodes of Friends there (the Simpsons, on the other hand, might tempt me).  But I can imagine ripping a DVD and being able to watch it on a plane, and I’ve made my own iMovies from vacation trips.

My first discovery was that the iPod wouldn’t play the output of iMovie. Duh. Thanks Apple-of-the-plug-and-play idiom. But I stumbled onto iSquint, a freeware application that converts it, so I have my very own iMovie on my iPod. It is surprising how much of the feel comes through on the 320x240 pixel screen (and the sound is iPod-terrific of course). It made me an instant believer in the video iPod business model. And now, I can impose my home videos on perfect strangers!

The other purchase I will make, as soon as my friend Wes-the-bicycle-expert signs off on my choice, is a bicycle (waiting with bated breath at my keyboard, Wes!). In Seattle, bicycles assume the sort of totemic cultural valence reserved for crucifixes or sports franchises in other places.  You think I'm exaggerating?  The Cascade Bicycle Club's byline is "creating a better community through bicycling" and bicycle advocacy is a prominent part of local government here. This reverence is partly the result of the often-paralyzing traffic and the strong ethic of outdoorsiness that is pervasive in the area. One of the iSchool faculty, Terry Brooks, cycles to work every day it doesn’t snow… which rounds to every day: 6000 miles a year. Terry’s advice about bicycling in the rain: “Beginners try to stay dry – the veterans know better.”  My digs are literally a stone's throw from the Burke-Gilman bicycle trail, one of the prominent bike thoroughfares in the Seattle area.  So, commuting the 6 miles or so should be quite natural, and very pleasant, as the trail skirts the margins of Lake Washington.  But biking isn't the only good alternative to leaving one's car lonely in the drive.  More on that next time.