Anacortes Pub Trivia Review

Pub trivia has really become a popular thing, and I can't be more happy about it. I've been to 4 different trivia nights...in the past 4 nights*! Three of those were right here in (or near-ish) my home town. Not bad for a sleepy little burg. Anyway, in hopes of sharing my affinity (and local knowledge), I put together a list of the wheres, whens, and whys. If I'm missing one, let me know. Or if your town has an exceptional pub quiz, I might just have to plan a visit.

PlaceTime/DayProsCons
Mondays
Thursdays
8:00pm
$85 in gift certificates for prizes(!), great food, chill atmosphere, really nice hostPoorly attended*, sometimes formulaic/blah questions*
Tuesdays
9:00pm
Competitive while staying fun, great atmosphere*, reserved table for previous week's winner, good questions Crowded, crappy prizes*, annoyingly hard music round, late hour for us party poopers
Wednesdays
7:00pm
Super fun(!), super well written questions, respectable prizes, great group of folks who play, great funny host, timing/food makes for great combo with dinner20-minute drive from just about anywhere, occasional dance-off tie breaker*

Thursday October 11 2012File under: Anacortes

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Community Involvement 2012

By no means would I consider myself an active civic participant in my community. I vote, I'm vaguely aware of issues, and I'll occasionally knock on a door or two for a cause I support. But it is an area I often wish I did more, make my voice heard and initiate action on a local level.

It is with that in mind that I've been starting to dabble in community goings on. The first such excursion took me to the Citizen's Action Committee for Skagit Transit. I'm a frequent rider and constantly notice things I think could be improved upon. I feel my e-mails fall on deaf ears and face to face suggestions are harder to brush off. The experience was a good one, although I had to duck out of the meeting early. The group was appreciative of me coming and we had a valuable discussion of my idea. I felt heard and hopefully something will come of it.

Secondly, I've been agonizing over the amount of electricity consumed (and therefore money spent) on street lights quite a bit lately. The idea was reinforced by an episode of This American Life and spurred me to action. I contacted my local city councilman* and we talked about the idea. I'm planning on putting forth a proposal at the next city council meeting.

While neither thing really means much in the grand scheme of things, it feels good to start to understand how things do get done, where to start. Hopefully I will follow through on the ideas I have and see them become a reality. But even if not, I am trying and that matters (at least to me).
Tuesday March 13 2012File under: Anacortes

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Snow Day 2012

Not more than 48 hours after I was musing about how I would really love it if we had a good snowy winter storm, the powers that be obliged, and obliged with fervor. We here in Western Washington got (and, if reports are true, will continue to get) a good dumping, and I couldn't be happier.

Day 1 took me out for a nice walk in the woods in Bellingham. I covered many miles and smiled the whole way. I made it up to Whatcom Falls where snow in the woods was displayed straight out of a Robert Frost poem*.

Day 2 was an adventure in getting from Bellingham to Anacortes on the bus when, unexpectly, Island Transit was shut down. Big props to Skagit Transit* for being there and doing a great job! When the roads are bad, people need public transportation more than ever. (The above picture is taken at Skagit Station)

We were treated to even more snow for day 3, and despite the extra work, I'm as stoked as ever. I've got no place else to go, so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow*.

(As a side note, in looking back through the archive, I'm realizing that just about every winter, I have a snow post, which must say something about my relationship with snow. Anyway, with that thought in mind, here's my archival self-portait).
Wednesday January 18 2012File under: Anacortes, misc

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Daily Walking

There was a point in my life where I was trying to walk at least 3 miles a day. My main motivation wasn't health or non-dependence on fossil fueled vehicles* but instead down right entertainment. Walking is awesome. Walking on a daily basis is daily awesome!

Every now and again, I'm put in a place where a daily walk isn't just a hobby but a job requirement. I relish this prod to take back up the activity that I so often slip out of. With as much fun as I usually have, it reminds me that I need to make it a priority. I encourage you to do the same.

Touting the perks of a daily walk wasn't the impetus for this blog post. Instead, I got some neat pictures from my walks recently* that I thought would be fun to share. Enjoy! What a tree! and Sares Head panorama.
Tuesday December 13 2011File under: Anacortes

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Pumpkins to Potatoes and More

What a weekend! After what feels like non-stop weekends of festivals for the past month, this weekend I found myself checking out 3 more. First off, the Pumpkin Pitch in Burlington. I've been wanting to go to this for years but never thinking about it until Halloween which is too late. This year, however, I saw the sign while riding the bus* so made it happen. Basically, competitors build giant trebuchets and huck pumpkins. The winning team chucked one over 1500 feet!

From the pumpkins to potatoes, we headed to Mount Vernon to check out their harvest festival which was highlighted by a world record attempt for the largest potatoes au gratin. While the spectacle was fun and it was great to run into so many folks I knew, the potatoes were rather unsatisfying: undercooked, cold, and lacking any spices whatsoever. Luckily, a hop over to the Skagit coop for some bacon ice cream cleansed the palette.

Lastly, after somehow missing the action for the last 5 or more years, I walked to downtown Anacortes to check out the Oyster Run, our town's annual motorcycle rally. In a word, it was big. So so so many motorcycles and people in black leather. While it was interesting to stroll through and see all the action, I can't say that I'm so excited that I'm looking forward to next year. But a party is a party and it was definitely good for the businesses of A-train.

All in all, a fun weekend. Who would have thought our little corner of the state could be so exciting!
Monday September 26 2011File under: Anacortes, events

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Picture Taking as a Reminder

Recently I've been reminded of how easy it is to take for granted the beauty of Fidalgo Island when I am surrounded by it daily. To those that aren't used to the verdant greens, wide views of the ocean, and occasional glimpses of towering mountains, this picturesque island that I call home is something new, something very beautiful. I was glad to have this reminder, esp. because I've been doing possibly one of the most beautiful hikes on the island everyday for the last 2 weeks, and sometimes even forgetting to look up to appreciate it all.

To force myself to look around and appreciate it all, I took my camera along while out on my daily dog walk. The above shot is the best, but this is one that I've been wanting to get for a while. I like how the color on this one turned out. Then, lastly, I had to do the old self portrait (mostly to document how out of control the old beard is getting).

Anyway, I submit this post to remind us* that we all live in beautiful places and sometimes we can forget that. So I encourage you to take a moment and look around and enjoy it.
Sunday January 30 2011File under: Anacortes, pics

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The Magic Chamber Comes to Anacortes

This will probably be of interest only to those readers in Anacortes (or with connections in Anacortes).

I'm happy to be helping my friend Joey Pipia put on his new show, The Magic Chamber, here in Anacortes. My main role is spreading the word, making sure everyone knows what an awesome show it is going to be. And you better believe it is going to be awesome! I've seen a number of Joey's acts, and they've all been funny, positive, and above all, really quite amazing. I fancy myself pretty adept at figuring out how they do that, but he's got me stumped on a lot of them.

The show is Feb 5. at 7pm at the Depot Arts Center in Anacortes. There are only 30 tickets available making it a perfect setup for those up-close tricks. But that also means that you should get your tickets early. Tickets are available at Watermark Books or online here.

So here's hoping it's a success; for the Anacortes events scene, for a great performer, and for all the audience. Spread the word, tell your friends, see the show!
Tuesday January 25 2011File under: Anacortes, events

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Forging a Trail

I spent today out on Guemes Island working on building a trail with Washington Trails Association and it was great!

Volunteering has been on my mind a lot recently, specifically about wanting to find an opportunity that fits with my skillz, time restraints, and values. While I haven't exactly been beating down doors, nothing was jumping out at me and feeling like a good fit. Luckily, this opportunity to be out in the woods, give back to my community, and help create something that I so often enjoy dropped in my lap (courtesy of my good friend Nora).

I was kind of hoping that we would get to be involved in the plotting of the trail through untouched wilderness, but that wasn't so much the case. Instead, we improved and put the finishing touches on the roughed-in trail that was already there. This consisted of trenching to properly drain water, clearing away organic matter to expose gravel (the preferred trail material), and carrying buckets of rocks to build a French drain to allow water and trail to cross.

All in all, it was a great experience. I learned a little about what it takes to construct (and fine tune) a new trail, got to be outside on a gorgeous NW winter day, felt good about giving a little something back, and will sleep wonderfully tonite being that all my muscles are pretty much done for. Oh*.
Sunday January 23 2011File under: Anacortes, misc

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Anasaurus (a.k.a. Dinocortes)

A group of merry pranksters livened up the new(-ish) roundabout coming into Anacortes for the Memorial Day weekend with dozens of plastic dinosaurs. While a casual observer might pass by without noticing them, plenty of people gawked and even took an extra pass 'round to see the herd in all their glory.

Without compromising any of my informants, I think I can safely say that the group of merrymakers responsible for what the media is calling Anasaurus is the same group that perpetrated the flamingoing of the weird psuedo-park at 18th and Commercial a couple months back.

I, for one, love their antics and can't wait to see more. Three cheers for random acts of public art*!!!!!
Wednesday June 2 2010File under: Anacortes

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Community Involvement

Community involvement is something that I like to have in my life. In the past, it has come in the form political canvasing, walking in the town parade, or pitching in on group building projects. This past couple of weeks, I had some new opportunities to get involved, both of which were great. Read on for reviews.

(I fancified this post by minimizing said reviews so as to fit within my word count per post goal. Click on each headline to get a full review)

   Climate Steward Panel Discussion on Alternative Transportation

   Classroom Presentation on Veggie Oil Fueled Car

Saturday November 21 2009File under: Anacortes, transportation

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