As you may know, the Canadian dollar is currently worth more than the Greenback. Aside from having various macro-economic consequences such as depressing the nature resource sector and hurting Canadian exporters, it has a number of less obvious effects. Inventories are bought and paid for when the transaction is performed, which is usually well before the goods are sold. This is especially true for cars dealership, who rarely practice anything like just-in-time methods.
So now there is a situation where cars in Canada are vastly more expensive then they are in the US. And with NAFTA, you can fairly easily move them from one country to another. All of which leads me a call from my brother-in-law, who is looking for a new toy, a previous loved BMW Z3. With the currencies where they are, it makes a lot of sense for him to look down here, so he gives me a call to get my zip code (to find local cars).
What does all this have to do with Renton? Well, it got me thinking about Zip codes and cities, and how they don't always coincide. And it brought to mind a fact that I recently learned, which is that if your mailing address says Seattle, that doesn't mean you're actually in Seattle! It turns out that Renton is annexing a number of local areas, including a location called West Hill. My grandmother recently moved to that area, and has always thought it was in Seattle. Her mailing address didn't conflict with that, but it turns out that she is actually in unincorporated King County!
To sum up, Renton is likely growing quite a bit in the next little bit, and if you have a good condition Z3, fire me an email. And don't believe what an address tells you....
Erick
(really in Renton)
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Fishes in the river
One of nice things about living in Renton is being able to afford to live near the river. What river, why the Cedar river!
A little known fact... Seattle is one of the only major metro areas that doesn't need to treat it's water heavily. Read more Why is this? Because the city owns the watershed for a river, thus controlling the entire water cycle, from rain to sea (or sink). This river is none other than the Cedar, which is about 200 feet from my front door.
One of my hobbies is fishing, so when we moved in, I checked the Cedar to see what kind of fish I could catch. It turns out to be almost none, as the river is fished out. However, there is a reintroduction program....
So a few nights ago, I'm walking the dogs, and decide to walk over the river. Something caught my eye, and looking down, I saw half a dozen shapes in the water... salmon! It was a mystical night, with a nearly full moon, seeing the cycle of life working just below me... a few brave fishes, swimming upstream to spawn and die, and bring the river back to life.
And of course, allow me to catch them in the future. :)
A little known fact... Seattle is one of the only major metro areas that doesn't need to treat it's water heavily. Read more Why is this? Because the city owns the watershed for a river, thus controlling the entire water cycle, from rain to sea (or sink). This river is none other than the Cedar, which is about 200 feet from my front door.
One of my hobbies is fishing, so when we moved in, I checked the Cedar to see what kind of fish I could catch. It turns out to be almost none, as the river is fished out. However, there is a reintroduction program....
So a few nights ago, I'm walking the dogs, and decide to walk over the river. Something caught my eye, and looking down, I saw half a dozen shapes in the water... salmon! It was a mystical night, with a nearly full moon, seeing the cycle of life working just below me... a few brave fishes, swimming upstream to spawn and die, and bring the river back to life.
And of course, allow me to catch them in the future. :)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Hair and Art
I found where I'm going to be getting my hair cut from now on. It's this very cool little barber shop down the road from me. It's a combination Barber Shop and Gallery. It's run by a father and son team (I assume), and they share the shop with a number of cats and birds. It has a great laid back atmosphere, and they really care about doing a great job. The price is excellent, and the service outstanding. And they even have a barber pole out front - that is the sign of a good place!
The owner's art is very modern/abstract, and he has about 3 pieces up. I rather like them, but some people may not. Aside from that, he has a number of other great works on the wall - you can barely see the walls for the paintings!
The whole place is very comfortable - the kind of place that I love, and will be returning to. If you want a good haircut, go here. You won't regret it.
The owner's art is very modern/abstract, and he has about 3 pieces up. I rather like them, but some people may not. Aside from that, he has a number of other great works on the wall - you can barely see the walls for the paintings!
You can check out the other paintings on the website. As an aside, it is one of those annoying websites with music, so be aware!
http://www.hairplusgallery.com/
The whole place is very comfortable - the kind of place that I love, and will be returning to. If you want a good haircut, go here. You won't regret it.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Water
One problem with Renton that I'm really having a hard time getting used to is the water. The water just isn't as good as it was in Bellevue, or in Seattle. The only place that I can think of with worse water is Mercer Island (that place was horrid).
The water here has way too much clorine taste. If it wasn't for my trusty water filter, I'd be forced to drink bottled water. Even ice cubes taste a bit tainted, which becomes obvious when my ice water warms up to room temperature. Letting it sit for a hour or so helps, but then you have ok tasting flat water.
All in all, it's a minor problem, but it's one that is bothersome. If you are in a similar situation, and you want a larger scale filter, say something that can work in a rented apartment, I would recommend checking out Aquasana, which I first used on Mercer Island. It's cost benefit split is quite nice, and it runs fairly fast.
http://www.aquasana.com/
Hopefully this is a temporary problem, and Renton's water will be improving in the near future. If not, I will need to keep buying filters, and finding out what is going on!
The water here has way too much clorine taste. If it wasn't for my trusty water filter, I'd be forced to drink bottled water. Even ice cubes taste a bit tainted, which becomes obvious when my ice water warms up to room temperature. Letting it sit for a hour or so helps, but then you have ok tasting flat water.
All in all, it's a minor problem, but it's one that is bothersome. If you are in a similar situation, and you want a larger scale filter, say something that can work in a rented apartment, I would recommend checking out Aquasana, which I first used on Mercer Island. It's cost benefit split is quite nice, and it runs fairly fast.
http://www.aquasana.com/
Hopefully this is a temporary problem, and Renton's water will be improving in the near future. If not, I will need to keep buying filters, and finding out what is going on!
La Hacienda - (Ameri) Mexican
One of the things that really sucks about moving is that you can't find anything for a little while. As a result, we've been eating out more than we usually would, as digging through boxes to find food just isn't fun after a long day of slinging code.
There is a pretty significant Hispanic population here, or least it seems given the population of the local churches (of which there are many). It would seem to follow that there are good Mexican restaurants... but that isn't the case! There are more Mexican joins in Overlake then down here. From this limited set of choices, we decided to try one out.
La Hacienda
811 S 3rd St
If I had to relate it to other local places, I would suggest a mix between Azteca and Jalisco. Not that there is anything wrong with that... plentiful chips, good meat, cheesy, huge margaritas, good stuff all! :)
Chips & Salsa
Average to good. Warm and a little soft... the salsa is good, and they have this chunky salsa, with a nice mix of herbs and spices. Zingy, and flavorful... lots of cilantro, onions, and perhaps basil. This was easily the best salsa I've had in ages. I'd highly recommend going for drinks, just to eat the salsa.
Crab burrito
Good, nice and crabby, with nice big pieces of crab, smothered in cheese, with a nice green sauce. Low-cal it is not, but good it is. If you're looking for a hint of crab, this isn't your dish. The cheese didn't overwhelm the crab, or vise versa.
Carnitas burrito
The carnitas wasn't crispy, but just good steak. The peppers and onion were good & plentiful. I prefer my carnitas on the crispy side, but still nothing to complain about.
Cadillac Margarita
(on the rocks with salt)
Good... nothing too special. Enough booze to give it a kick, and enough juice to make it drinkable (not that I mind pure booze, but not tequila)
There is a huge menu, so I'm looking forward to trying this place out again. It's a nice, fun place, nothing too healthy, nothing too greasy, just good solid Mexican food, American style. If you feel like Mexican, and don't want anything too risky or unique, and feel like a good atmosphere, check this place out.
Until next time...
Erick
There is a pretty significant Hispanic population here, or least it seems given the population of the local churches (of which there are many). It would seem to follow that there are good Mexican restaurants... but that isn't the case! There are more Mexican joins in Overlake then down here. From this limited set of choices, we decided to try one out.
La Hacienda
811 S 3rd St
If I had to relate it to other local places, I would suggest a mix between Azteca and Jalisco. Not that there is anything wrong with that... plentiful chips, good meat, cheesy, huge margaritas, good stuff all! :)
Chips & Salsa
Average to good. Warm and a little soft... the salsa is good, and they have this chunky salsa, with a nice mix of herbs and spices. Zingy, and flavorful... lots of cilantro, onions, and perhaps basil. This was easily the best salsa I've had in ages. I'd highly recommend going for drinks, just to eat the salsa.
Crab burrito
Good, nice and crabby, with nice big pieces of crab, smothered in cheese, with a nice green sauce. Low-cal it is not, but good it is. If you're looking for a hint of crab, this isn't your dish. The cheese didn't overwhelm the crab, or vise versa.
Carnitas burrito
The carnitas wasn't crispy, but just good steak. The peppers and onion were good & plentiful. I prefer my carnitas on the crispy side, but still nothing to complain about.
Cadillac Margarita
(on the rocks with salt)
Good... nothing too special. Enough booze to give it a kick, and enough juice to make it drinkable (not that I mind pure booze, but not tequila)
There is a huge menu, so I'm looking forward to trying this place out again. It's a nice, fun place, nothing too healthy, nothing too greasy, just good solid Mexican food, American style. If you feel like Mexican, and don't want anything too risky or unique, and feel like a good atmosphere, check this place out.
Until next time...
Erick
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Pho, Pho everywhere ...
One of the interesting things about Renton is huge number of Pho joints. It seems like Pho is the new Thai. It used to be that you couldn't swing a dead rat without hitting a Thai resturant, and Phad Thai was easier to find than a burger and fries (and better tasting!).
That is all changing... now, it's all Pho, all the time. Which is actually ok, as I love Pho. I remember my first experience, at Than Brothers (which is now a freaking chain!) on the Ave. A cream puff at the start of the meal... you have to love that!
That is all changing... now, it's all Pho, all the time. Which is actually ok, as I love Pho. I remember my first experience, at Than Brothers (which is now a freaking chain!) on the Ave. A cream puff at the start of the meal... you have to love that!
Welcome to Adventures in Renton
So what's this blog about?
I've lived in Seattle since moving from Alberta, Canada in 1994.
Let me clarify... I've lived Seattle, Lakewood, Merver Island and Bellevue. I started off living near Factoria, then moved into the U district, where my heart has always been. It's a great area, and always an adventure.I stayed there for years... sometimes bounding over to some other area for little bit -- but I always came back to the U district.
That is, until one year ago, when I accepted a job at Microsoft. I had no desire to take on the evil that is the Lake Washington bridges, so I moved to downtown Bellevue. That was ok, but a little too, well, too rich, too stuffy, too nice. If you know the U district, you know how different downtown Bellevue is. Also, you pay a lot for a little...
So my SO, N, and I decided to try a whole new direction... so we moved to downtown Renton!
And that is what this blog is about -- Renton. What I like, what I don't, good places to eat and drink, bad places for the same, etc. I'm looking forward to exploring the area, and I want to bring you along for the ride!
I've lived in Seattle since moving from Alberta, Canada in 1994.
Let me clarify... I've lived Seattle, Lakewood, Merver Island and Bellevue. I started off living near Factoria, then moved into the U district, where my heart has always been. It's a great area, and always an adventure.I stayed there for years... sometimes bounding over to some other area for little bit -- but I always came back to the U district.
That is, until one year ago, when I accepted a job at Microsoft. I had no desire to take on the evil that is the Lake Washington bridges, so I moved to downtown Bellevue. That was ok, but a little too, well, too rich, too stuffy, too nice. If you know the U district, you know how different downtown Bellevue is. Also, you pay a lot for a little...
So my SO, N, and I decided to try a whole new direction... so we moved to downtown Renton!
And that is what this blog is about -- Renton. What I like, what I don't, good places to eat and drink, bad places for the same, etc. I'm looking forward to exploring the area, and I want to bring you along for the ride!
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