Back to Bull Run

Portland has not only turned me into a beer snob, but as of late I've become a tap water snob as well. Last year, I ditched the nasty Brita pitcher that I never changed the filter in anyway. Now I just have a big pitcher of tap water, chilled in the fridge. The water here is so untreated, and in a good way. Hardly ever a hint of chlorine or saltiness, just straight up Bull Run water, fed mostly by gravity into my kitchen.
My recent trip to the NC Coast made me realize how special it is to have tap water that's so pristine. We purchased at least 20 gallons of bottled water just to drink in the beach house because the water was so nasty. I grew up with well water that smelled and tasted slightly of sulfur, but at least that was drinkable. Kinda like Pluto water...
Here in the Portland summer time, the water bureau fires up the pumps at the wellfield to supplement the supply through the crunch time, but due to the lower water demand this summer, we're back to 100% Bull Run water ahead of schedule. Pour yourself a big ol' glass and celebrate what's quite possibly the tastiest municipal water in the country.
And check out the water blog. Always a fun geeky read.

Ocular Penetration Restriction Act of 2007

I'm loving the Onion News Network.


Live From Congress: The Skull Fucking Bill Of 2007

Don't ask?


'Gays Too Precious To Risk In Combat,' Says General


The Gap's "Tiny Hands Collection"


Gap Unveils New 'For Kids By Kids' Clothing Line

A Soviet Poster a Day

I'm a sucker for Russian graphics. "A Soviet Poster a Day" is a new favorite site of mine.

Charlie Rose Archive

Over 4000 hours of Charlie Rose interviews with damn near everyone you can think of. I've got plans for the next three nights at least...
The "Music" section alone has 17 pages, from Bjork to Pinchas Zukerman. The "books" section has 1214 interviews! Holy shit that's a lot of Charlie Rose!
When I did my time as a board-op for a PBS station, Charlie Rose was the highlight of my evening. It was always the last hour of my shift of 8 hours of watching TV, and only doing anything other than watching TV about once every hour, when I had to spring into action for three minutes of station break. By 11, no one was in the building except me and a couple maintenance folks, I could put my feet up on the desk and watch Charlie Rose. Even if he's interviewing someone I've never heard of, I'm still compelled to watch. On OPB, its on at midnight, and at 1 pm, so I never really get to see it. This is one of the best video archives on the entire nets! And that's such a dignified baseball cap from the Charlie Rose shop.

Willamette Valley Outing

Today was to be spent helping friends move their stuff into storage while they're studying abroad for the year.

Due to an early Armoir injury on the stairs, I was excused from heavy lifting. For a little while, it looked like I had a ping pong ball trying to escape from my shin. Luckily some icepack action and morning beer made it all better. My official job was "wrapper of framed art." Being out of the moving game, it gave me plenty of time to take pictures of random shit as everyone else packed the truck. I hobbled along with everyone down the valley to the storage space and supervised, oh, and I took a lot of pictures...

The cutest beer label ever.

Breakin' the law!

Rad 80's signage.

Squirrel's
A Corvallis institution. They have an impressive beer selection, including a new brew for us, Calapooia ESB, from Albany. Great place. The Squirrelburger can't be beat.

Dude. Take it outside! Not cool...

Old World Deli & Oregon Trail Brewery has a little beer museum in the entryway. Check out the label on the neck of that Oly bottle. Its like something Dr. Bronner would scrawl, only it makes sense.

Thank you to whoever deciphered that before the label disintegrated to its current state. Even up close, it has deteriorated so much that its barely legible.

Some other bridges

I've returned from the Cape Fear Coast unscathed. It was an awesome long weekend on the other coast, in the ocean you can swim in without a wet suit. I gorged on E. Carolina barbecue, hush puppies, sweet tea and biscuits. I also got my pseudo Chicago style pizza at O'Hare, at least the best you can get in the airport. The Reggio's looked exactly like the stuff at Uno, which all looked a lot like the Wolfgang Puck pizzas. If I hadn't had so many gin & tonics the night before I would've had a Vienna beef dog too, but the gut just wasn't feeling it. Liz & Andy are hitched and on the way to Europe. Some pics will follow whenever I get them from other people as I didn't take the camera.
I requested today off work as a recovery day from yesterday's full day of traveling, which was an excellent idea. After almost a week in the stifling humidity of NC, today in Portland was beautiful, a great chance to amble around the hills in NW this afternoon and work out the Deep Vein Thromboses from 10 hours of sitting.

This street sign is quite non-standard. It has to be from after 1933, that's when the Sons of Norway lobbied to have "Hillside Drive's" name changed to "Leif Erikson Drive." The road often washed out due to the steep terrain, and was rebuilt during the depression as a make-work project and soon washed out again. It hasn't been a viable road for a very long time, but this old sign is still hangin' in there.

The view from the Thurman St. Bridge, Portland's oldest at just over 100. The little red arch is the new Sauvie Island bridge, waiting to be floated down the river and put in place. (Enlarge for a better look.)


The creaky underbelly of the bridge over Macleay Park.


Some awesome old-school barriers and a chain link fence separate traffic from the edge. Its still safer than the Sellwood...



Refreshing water for Man and Beast. I can't find the story on this thing, but I love it. Its just at the top of the Thurman St. Bridge.



This is the little known Alexandria Ave. Viaduct. Its tucked away in a low traffic area way up at the end of the road. It serves no purpose but to provide access to a city water tank and the Salvation Army home for girls.

Cascade Summer