Subdivision, part 13

Just a few days after I received the "final" letter from DPD, I received more comments from the city.

Lo and behold, it was from Seattle City Light. That was quick. It wasn't really a comment, though, but a directive on where they want the easement for their power lines to go. Basically, it describes a swath of land on the south parcel directly under the existing power lines to the existing house.

If we accept this easement, it will mean we can't have a covered connection between the new house and the existing detached garage. There would have to be ten feet clear between them. According to City Light, it would be possible to get rid of the easement at some point in the future, but it would require City Council approval, which could take six months or longer.

The other option is to reroute the power supply to the existing house. The engineers at City Light are now working to give me a cost estimate for this. If it's cheap enough, we'll do it. If it's too high, we'll just learn to live with the powerlines going past the future house.

On Friday, I received another email with some comments from DPD Addressing, but those were just comments on making the access easement easier to see on the survey. Kinda picky, if you ask me.

The surveyor said he'd get the changes all done this week, stamped and notarized.

I guess I don't really have hope that rerouting the power will be a reasonable cost, or else I'd tell the surveyor to wait. I paced off the easement. I can make do with the existing power lines. It just won't be my perfect design.

Low Snow on a Hot Day

What's the best thing when you're overheating on a hike in the beating sun?

How about a snowfield?



When you turn the corner twenty feet from the snow, the temperature drops 40 degrees. Ahhhh...

Friday Treats

Donuts, cinnamon rolls, apple fritters, bear claws, croissants, and muffins. And you tell me I shouldn't eat any of them? Hm?

Why not?

Because they're bad for me?

Well, I suppose that's a good reason, but still . . . they look so tasty!

Fine. I won't eat any of them. But only because you told me not to.

Topic: World News

Do you know the difference between Tskhinvali and Tsvangirai?

No?

Yeah, neither would I, unless I had the news articles in front of me.

Photos from the Road

On our Highway 12 trip, we took a few extra photos and photos and photos. . .


There was a parade in Morton. Morton Loggers Jubilee. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, but we couldn't stick around for long.


Chainsaw carvers were selling their wares at the jubilee. A bit too expensive to tempt me. Off by a factor of ten or so.

Up at White Pass, we went for a hike south on the Pacific Crest Trail.


Flowers were blooming.


Mt Rainier was in clouds, but other views caught our gaze.


Would you like some watermelon?


While I drove, Chunlin took some photos of the cliffs upriver of Naches.


We camped near the Yakima River at an RV park.


The US 12 bridge across the Snake River, leaving the Tri-Cities behind. Chunlin likes taking this kind of photo, and I like that.


Just before you leave Washington, Highway 12 loses its US shield. Just a little goodbye reminder, I guess.


Up the hill from Lewiston, a viewpoint. The old highway can be glimpsed in the lower left. Much curvier than the new route. If I had known about it, I would have driven it. Next time.


After lunch in Colfax, Chunlin drove. I took photos.








After we crossed the Columbia River, I stopped taking photos. I took over the wheel at the rest area near Cle Elum, and then we returned home.

It's nice to go on a trip, but it's also nice to be home.

Except for the to-do list, that is.

Subdivision, part 12

Seattle DPD has granted conditional approval of our subdivision. The reviewer had a couple new corrections to the plans we submitted a week and a half ago, but apparently they're minor enough that we can progress to the final.

One of the changes is shrinking the new access easement so the existing fence beside the driveway won't have to be torn down and rebuilt six feet closer to the house. Sort of like the detached garage, existing conditions don't count for squat when you're doing a subdivision in Seattle.

The fence will still be inside the back neighbors' 20'-wide access easement, but since we're not doing anything with that particular easement, that condition can stay.

So now the surveyor makes their final plans per the requirements below:

• 3 complete rolled sets (not folded or creased); 1 set must be an original (No exceptions - the Recorder’s office will not accept all 3 sets as copies of an original and this will hold up your project)
• All 3 sets must be signed & notarized with Surveyor’s stamp and signature on all pages
• All finals to be recorded must measure EXACTLY 18” x 24” (otherwise we WILL reject them because the Assessor & Recorder’s office will not accept anything even slightly over these measurements and we aren’t able to cut them down for the customer as we do not have a paper cutter that size)
• Make sure that all of the pages in the set have the required 2” margin for recording and 1/2” margin on all other sides(again no exceptions, this is a recorder’s office requirement not DPD’s)
• Please do not date stamp finals or affix any labels to the documents
• The Recorder will not accept documents with any typeface smaller that 8 point, fuzzy print or faint linework

Got that?

Oh, and there's a minor issue of an extra $1100 fee for additional review time.

And Seattle City Light still hasn't looked at the drawings yet. This thing's not over, for sure.

From Here to There to Over There and Back

It rained in Aberdeen. Morton had a parade. Mt Rainier remained elusive. Yakima has good, cheap Mexican food. Sleeping in a tent with the freeway across the river isn't as bad as it sounds. Highway construction is well underway in Walla Walla, but it barely affected us. Chunlin likes the smooth Palouse while I prefer the rocky roughness of Central Washington. Gasoline is cheaper in Idaho. Chunlin liked the Chinese food in Colfax. I didn't realize how much I appreciate some sunlight till we crossed Snoqualmie Pass back into the cloudbank. Home sweet home.

Caught Up

I finally caught up on posting photos. Just in time to take a trip this weekend!

Here's one from Goat Mountain, off the Mt. Baker Highway:

The view wasn't the greatest. . .

And here's one from Highway 11, on the way to that hike:

Chunlin took this one while I steered. No photoshopping tricks required.

Last weekend's hike had a bit better weather:


We went to Mt. Forgotten Meadows, on the Mountain Loop Highway. The trail goes up Perry Creek, in the shadow (literally) of Mt. Dickerman for most of the way. Actually, we were in the sun on the way back, but that's okay.

Yay! We made it!

It's difficult to keep your eyes open when you're standing on a snowfield in sunshine.

Up on top, we had a wonderful view north, all the way to Mt. Baker.

A camprobber swooped in. Chunlin fed it a tiny bit of carrot, then I chased it away with my camera.

More photos from these two trips on flickr, flickr, and flickr.

220 mph

220 miles per hour -- work hour, that is.

A month ago, I only got 200 miles per work hour, so things are looking better. Unfortunately, two years ago, it was around 400. I wonder what changed in that time?

How many miles per work hour do you get? Take your car's miles-per-gallon, multiply by your hourly wage (after taxes), and divide by how much you pay per gallon of gasoline.

(mi/gal)*($/hr)/($/gal)

I Couldn't Do That Again if I Tried

I just dropped my pen, tried to catch it, and ended up knocking it behind my compter under my desk.

It landed on the power strip and flipped the switch, cutting power to my computer and the printer beside my desk.

Whoops.

Paris Hilton for President!

She'd certainly be better than Obama (in just about every way), and perhaps better than McCain, too (mainly because she's not worried about tarnishing her reputation or upsetting the status quo).

From the AP:

Last week, McCain launched an ad comparing Democratic rival Barack Obama to Hilton and Britney Spears, suggesting Obama was no more than a celebrity candidate unready to lead the nation.

Hilton initially shied away from the debate over the ad and its effectiveness. But she responded Tuesday with a spoof on the comedy Web site Funny or Die.

"Hey America, I'm Paris Hilton and I'm a celebrity, too. Only I'm not from the olden days and I'm not promising change like that other guy. I'm just hot," Hilton said, speaking as she reclined in a pool chair in a revealing bathing suit and a pair of pumps. "But then that wrinkly, white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which I guess means I'm running for president. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude."

"I want America to know that I'm, like, totally ready to lead," she said.

She then discusses energy policy, and suggests a hybrid of McCain's offshore oil drilling plan and Obama's incentives for new energy technology.

"Energy crisis solved! I'll see you at the debates," she said.

Subdivision, part 11

We got the revised survey in the mail yesterday, so Chunlin submitted the package of corrections this morning.

The woman at the Plans Routing desk was not particularly helpful. Even though the DPD plans reviewer had told me we only need to submit two copies of the revisions (because only two reviewers required corrections), Plans Routing really wanted to have eight copies. They also seemed a bit unsure as to why anyone would be giving them a corrections response letter, two "No Protest Agreements" (one for each new parcel in case the city wants to widen the street), and the revised surveys.

But they took the package, anyway, and stuck it in a file cabinet. I called the DPD reviewer to let her know about it, in case Plans Routing never bothered to.

The DPD reviewer had ended up mailing me the "No Protest Agreement" because she couldn't get anyone to tell her when or if it would be put back online.

The agreement was worded strangely. We had to cross out some phrases dealing with corporations and agents that didn't really apply at all. I hope they accept it.

Through dealing with City Light about trying to get a submeter, I was given the phone number for the City Light plans reviewer. I called him today. He said that they don't look at anything until after DPD completely approves the subdivision. The two agencies need to get on the same page. I hope DPD doesn't wait forever for City Light to review the drawings while City Light waits for DPD to finalize the approval.

And, oh by the way, City Light doesn't allow submeters on single-family properties.

This Month's Photo of Chunlin

I know I haven't been posting as regularly as before, but I've been busy, see?

Dealing with the mortgage company, the electric company, the gas company, the city, the tenants' neighbors, the insurance company, the garage door company, the tool repair shop, the home improvement store, the surveyor, and, of course, planning future trips and sorting through photos. You know, the usual. (Photos from July 6 to July 10, including a lovely sunset walk at the Seattle waterfront, are now uploaded!)

But you are all here to see the photo of my wonderful wife that I get to look at for the rest of August, while I'm at the office. From the last day of our New Zealand vacation, here she is: