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New Chainsaw.

10/9/2010

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With 5-acres of densely wooded terrain.... I've been procrastinating about the inevitable purchase of a chainsaw.  Today.... I made my first chainsaw purchase.... and immediately got down to business.

Actually... I've been researching the market for several weeks.  In the end, there were just a few choices that seemed to stand-out among the mob.  Husqvarna, Makita, Echo, and Stihl.

With a slight push from Jaret... I settled on the Stihl.  "Settled" isn't the right word... as any review will tell you that the quality and performance of Stihl Saws is just a bump above the rest.  My purchase was the Stihl MS 290, a classic and a standard in the industry.  Within 45-minutes of said purchase, the first tree fell.

I will be the first to admit -- I am a terrible lumberjack -- but its A LOT of Big-Ball, Testosterone-Fueled, Wild-West FUN.  Yeah, Yeah.... every tree I tried to drop seemed to go in the opposite direction of where I intended.  But, rest assured - and knowing me, if you do - I will become obsessed with this particular skill until I can confidently call myself a "Pro".

Below are some still (stihl) shots of the new saw.  I will post some action photos in the very near future!!




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An Efficient State Agency?

3/23/2010

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Picture
I spent the morning at the King County Department of Development and Environmental Services.  Ugh... right?  Actually.... actually, I have to admit, this was probably the most pleasant experience I have ever had with a governmental agency.  I had already secured the idea of the DMV, State Records, County departments in my head.  This was something quite different.

Different is the key word here.  What this particular department has done is set themselves up in a collaborative environment to interact with the community.  Every day from 7:30am - 9:30am they have an open floor policy, whereby citizens can sign their name, their purpose, and then immediately start connecting with agents who have expertise in specific domains.

Let me clarify the situation with My example:  I showed-up at 8am with a bunch of questions surrounding, A:  Wetlands+Critical Area;  B:  Clearing+Development;  C:  Permitting;  D:  Septic+Well.

The lady at the counter tells me that she has paged 4 different individuals who specialize in my specific needs, each of which would meet with me.

First, I spoke to an Environmentalist who literally answered every question I could possibly manifest on the topic of wetlands, streams and critical zoning.

Second, I met with the Clearing and Development specialist who told me all of my limitations, exceptions, loop holes, and boundaries were.

Third, the permit lady was unfortunately not in the office, but quickly responded to my inquiries over the phone.

Fourth, the Septic and Water guru talked me through all the necessary steps I would need to take in order to qualify my water source and disposal.

I connected with 4 people today that completely satisfied all of my needs for this particular occasion.  That is so rare at the public level.... and I have to say I am totally impressed. 


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Fighting the Good Fight.

3/23/2010

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I've recently been looking at buying a home.  Correction:  I've recently been looking at buying a piece of property that could someday have a home on it.  Ultimately, I've been looking for plots of land that have some structure already established - like a cabin, beat-up house, barn, etc.  From there, I would do what was minimally needed to make said structure a primary residence (sleeping bag, if needs be - ok, not really) while I spend the next X-years building as-yet-unimagined dreamhouse.

1.  The Left one here is a funny situation where a "Major Sports Figure" went bankrupt and now has to split his 5-acre property in half.  2.5-acre plot... including the pool and the mobile home!

2.  The Middle one is an Estate Sale - 5-acre, heavily wooded, with an A-Frame on the property and a river runs through it.

3.  The Right one has already sold.  I put a bid out on it... but it went to someone else.  1.25-acre, with barn and log house.

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    dougan This snow is crazy.... one of the bigger NW dumps I've ever seen. http://t.co/3BO5tfQ 17 hours ago · reply

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    dougan Great comparison piece on the middle east by one of my favorite authors, Mary Doria Russel: http://goo.gl/KqMsH 2 days ago · reply

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