August 2006

High heat, H20 and hungry hussies

High summer heat can easily push a garden past its prime as temperatures encourage plants to set seed and go dormant as a survival strategy. Keeping gardens going under those conditions requires copious amounts of water - something we are short of and has gotten expensive.

Looking to drought tolerant native and exotic plants will give you a break from high maintenance and dramatic water bills. When using exotics, be sure to inquire about their invasiveness. Not all exotics are bad guys.

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Rowers near victory
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Four Seattle men have been braving the wind, waves and rain of the Atlantic Ocean as they attempt to win the 3,100 nautical mile Shepard Ocean Fours Rowing Race from New York to England.

The team was less than 250 miles from the finish line at the maritime port of Falmouth, England, 300 miles west of London. The Seattle Team, OAR (Ocean Adventure Racing) Northwest is leading the race as of August 12. The team is led by Jordan Hanssen and his teammates are Greg Spooner, Brad Vickers and Dylan LeValley.

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Reflecting on the barista's grind

First, say something witty to distract the customer from thinking about her coffee budget.

Then the first order of business, post-exchange, is to steam the milk. When espresso shots sit, they bitter quickly. The aeration rate of espresso is faster than almost any known substance, even avocadoes.

Broenwynn fires up the steam wand to clean out all the residual milk goo. A quick blast of steam provides cheap entertainment for the customer as well. Enough smoke and mirrors (chrome plating of the espresso machine) and Broenwynn creates the effect of being in a funhouse.

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The long, lonely march to equality

Thanks to the Ballard News Tribune for your supportive editorial on marriage equality for same-sex couples ("What's love got to do with it?", August 2). After the devastating decision from our state supreme court, it's nice to read that some people understand that we deserve the same right to marry that our heterosexual neighbors have.

We have read the court's ruling and we are disgusted at the reasons the five members of the majority used against us.

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