In Case You're Still Wondering...

Yeah, that scaffold is still out in front of the Castle at 2nd & Blanchard - still serving no purpose. It's been there doing nothing for over three months now. I dunno, are they thinking about bringing back public hangings for Founders' Days? Because this would be totally ideal for that.

In Case You're Wondering...

The Castle's mystery scaffold is still there. Witness:

They're not using it for anything. It just stands there...like scaffolds do - the non-collapsing kind at least. If anybody knows what the heck they're gonna do with it, let me know.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26, Part 4

Very, very, very nearly done. There's just a bit left at the bottom...

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26, Part 3

...More coming down. It looks like they'll be close to finished tomorrow.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26, Part 2

And it continues to come down...

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 26

Well, here we are, half a year later and look at this:

Ladies and germs, the scaffold is coming down! All work on the SH is done. It only took six months, but who's counting? Congratulations folks, you've got a spiffy-looking gray building now! Well, half of it is gray. Enjoy it!

I will update daily until the scaffold is gone.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 51

What's the deal? They said we were going to have this class 3 kill-storm, with wind and rain and assorted other stuff. That's why I went out yesterday in the gloomy morning to take these pictures of the McGuire and Security House. But today, it's quite nice; the sun is shining and the winds are calm. Where the hell's the stormy weather, people? I thought I'd be trapped in my apartment by foul weather like I was at the end of last week. That was some pretty blustery stuff. The last I heard, this storm was supposed to be worse than that. Yeah, I'm kind of looking forward to it. So I say bring it on, weather gods. Belltown can take it. None of our facades will fall onto poor, unsuspecting pedestrians this time. Of course, the burbs will be yelling for mercy when/if this storm hits. They always do. Excessive damage is the price they pay living in for verdant landscapes. We don't have such troubles here, with our intentional trees and plentiful concrete. Anyhow, I'm ready for this storm to show. Where is it? Anyhow, as you can see, the McGuire's scaffold still stands, blah, blah, blah.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 25

Lord, 25 weeks! What are they doing under that attractive sheet of plastic? I mean, they're one week away from having their stuff up for half a year. That's really quite a long time. And I've been documenting it the entire time. That just shows you how much free time I have. I'll tell you, though, I have been working the last two weeks. And it continues next week. I take notes for these volleyball people. Let me rephrase: I take meeting notes for these regional volleyball committees. They have meetings only so often, but it just so happens that they're getting together three weeks in a row. They're pretty serious about volleyball, but they need a ref, somebody to move them along. It's like when I play poker. I have to keep track of stuff because everybody else is so baked. I'm not, so I've gotta tell those poor stoners whose turn it is and what the bet is. Otherwise, hands last forever. That's the problem with the volleyball people, too - except nobody's baked. They need somebody to tell them they're at an impasse and that they should move on. I'm just the note-taker, so it's not my place. But last night, the meeting lasted three hours and could have gone much, much longer. Thank God they had wine. Anyhow, everybody's quite nice and passionate about volleyball. They just have problems agreeing on things. That's when somebody needs to step in and say, "Hey, since we can't agree and it's not vital that we do, let's move on." That didn't happen last night. None of this has anything to do with the Security House, but I just wanted to stress that my time isn't completely my own right now. Three hours a week is dedicated to writing down what volleyball people say.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 50

Still very much there. The dwarf army is still hard at work. And there's still no end in sight. I'm willing to bet real money that when I come back in June, it will be there - to welcome me back. Jeez, in the time the scaffold has been up, they could have torn down the McGuire and rebuilt it minus all the crappy defects. But that would probably be impractical. If it wasn't for the defects, it would have no personality at all. Anyhow, let's hope that today's pending windstorm doesn't blow any unfortunate dwarf from his perch on the McGuire's slopes.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 24

This is from a few days ago when it was springtime. Now it's winter again. Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting here writing music and suddenly noticed that I was shivering. That's usually a November/December thing. But no, April brings its own misfortunes. I'm told that it's the cruelest month. Well, I'm a believer. Today is supposed to be windy. I don't see it yet. But a windstorm in Belltown is always an exciting thing. It's nice to know that no matter how high the winds are, there is no way in hell you're gonna lose power. My folks up in Snohomish are a different story. Even in light winds, they lose electricity. But they have a generator handy that runs on propane. My dad says that he sometimes doesn't even notice when the generator kicks on. Of course, if the cable goes out, then it's a crisis. Anyhow, the Security House seems to be in the same state as last week with nothing going on and little else to talk about. Perhaps the winds will shred the attractive plastic shroud. I'm sure SH residents wouldn't mind that one bit.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 49

Here's also a new-ish way to look at the McGuire. I almost got hit by a car getting it. People driving on Wall St. are so unsympathetic to the Scaffold Watch. If they knew just how important this was to the community and indeed the entire city, they'd let me take care of business wherever I pleased. But alas, things are not that way. Not only has the Scaffold Watch become something of mockery of itself (and remember, it started off as mockery - wrap your brains around THAT, sweet people), but drivers don't like it when you stand in the middle of the street to take a picture. Life is funny that way - not funny ha-ha, but funny-tragic. So as you can see, the scaffold, she still stands, gleaming and defiant. The dwarf army was hard at work on the building's slopes. They're always working hard. It's part of their culture. That's why they will never finish the job. They love hard work so much that they won't allow it to end. Here is a prediction: after returning from my trip, both scaffolds will still be there. I am certain of this.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 23

Look, a new angle! It really shows off the attractive plastic that enshrouds the building and prevents those miserable old souls who live on that side from seeing their environs. Can you imagine being a shut-in and having your view obscured thusly? You wouldn't even know what season it was. Well, you could use a calendar, but I'm pretty sure that shut-ins don't buy those. Anyhow, you see that there is nothing new here (except the angle of the photo). There were no signs of life or activity when I passed by. That doesn't mean much. The workers could have been praying or napping or catching butterflies during my brief stop and then gone back to cutting lots of metal. I've said this before, but I expected this operation to be over long ago. So guys, what's the hold-up?

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 48

Well, lookee there! That tree is taller than the Space Needle. Gosh, that sure deflates my civic pride. However, it's not taller than the McGuire, which as usual was source of bustling activity this week. Every time I've walked by, the dwarf army has been making all kinds of noise. What does this mean? Well, if past performance is any indication, then nothing. They've made noise for the last year and the scaffold is still there. You know, if they focused the efforts of the entire army on just one thing a day, I bet they would have been done months ago. Instead, various dwarfs grind this over here and scrape that over there. The pace of work slows to a crawl. Of course, I don't understand the nature of the work at all, but I don't need to. I'm a blogger, and as such, my job is to criticize without understanding. Hooray for blogging!

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 22

We're back to Needle-bombing, sweet people! I took this picture a few days ago when it was gloomy. It serves as a nice contrast to today, which is bright and sunshiny. Yes, the scaffold is still up and there were no signs of any life when I walked by. Those poor old people, spending their golden years covered over with plastic. There oughta be a law. Hey, I think maybe there is. Anyhow, nothing has changed; work continues and the scaffold ain't going anywhere.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 47

When I walked by yesterday, there was activity aplenty. The dwarf army was swarming all over the building, making all kinds of noise with their small grinders and hammers and whatnot. All of this means nothing. This scaffold has been up for over a year (I started documenting it about two months after they built it) and most weeks, the dwarfs are all over it and such, but it will remain. Forever. The dwarf army needs something to do and the building is seriously flawed. It works out perfectly. Long after human beings have vanished from the face of the Earth, that scaffold will still be there.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 21

There's the SH again with the lovely blooming pear trees in the foreground. Soon they'll have boring old leaves and I'll change shots again. I know I say this week after week, but golly, I thought these guys would be done by now. There's no a lot of surface area involved. Sure, there might be something seriously wrong with the exterior, but I doubt it. I mean, the building's 30-some years old, right? Any profound design flaw would have presented itself long ago. No, I think these guys are just working slowly. They make a fair amount of noise, but that just so the world will know there are people beneath that attractive plastic sheet. Speaking of that, if I was a person who spent the last 21 weeks looking out my window and seeing an attractive plastic sheet, I'd be agitating for completion. Even the McGuire hasn't cut its tenants off from the outside world. You just have to look through a bunch of crap to get at said outside world. Those poor Security House old people don't have that luxury.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 46

Also no Space Needle with this photo. I wanted to get away from my two main angles, so I took this shot from 3rd Avenue. The Space Needle was directly in back of me, if you must know. Yes, there was a lot of activity here, too. But it's all sound and fury, signifying nothing. There were also poor players strutting and fretting their hour upon the stage. It really doesn't matter. The dwarf army can deafen the entire neighborhood with their toiling-noise, but the scaffold will remain. It will be there for next year's snows and the year after that's burning hail. It's never going away, because it's the only thing holding the McGuire together.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 20

Sorry, no Needle-bomb this week. I wanted to show the lovely pear trees. See them? They're the things that aren't the Security House. Once again, they were making a lot of noise sawing metal, but signs of progress are scant. Even if they took down that attractive sheet of plastic, I doubt whether there would be that much of a change from what was there before. Heck, I totally forget what it used to look like. I know that there were windows, but the rest of the structure escapes me. Since this scaffold is going to be up for a while, there's more time for me to forget even more about this building. I'm looking forward to it.

McGuire Scaffold-Watch! Week: ???? + 45

Lookee there! The light pole is taller than the Space Needle! Why isn't that the symbol of our precious city?? By the way, the McGuire's scaffold is still there. The dwarf army continues its loud working ways. They weren't as loud as the metal slicing brigade at the Security House, but you could still hear them blocks away. I compliment them on their efforts to make the McGuire less ugly and defective, but once the scaffold comes off - if it ever does - the building will merely be less defective. I don't remember too well what it looked like without that sheath of metal tubing around it, but I seem to recall that it was quite non-beautiful. All the dwarf-work will probably not change it in any significant way.

Security House Scaffold-Watch: Week 19

I know that this looks a lot like last week's photo, but it isn't. If I want to Needle-bomb the shot, I have just one angle - and this is it. So, new photo, same scaffold. La-dee-dah. The non-dwarfs were actually doing work while I was passing by. They were sawing metal, which always makes a lot of noise and creates many sparks. I'm sure it's somebody's version of "looking busy." I've figured out another reason why they should be done: their work area is so much smaller than the McGuire. They should have been done weeks ago. But no, they're almost at the five-month mark. Five months trying to beautify the Security House! Good luck with that one. But hey, take your time.