Recent Posts:

I had the good fortune to attend a ship launching this last weekend. Gunderson LLC, located along the Willamette off Hwy 30, is well-known for manufacturing railcars, but they also manufacture marine barges. We drove to Gunderson to watch the launch of their new barge the “E.P. Paup”, a massive derrick platform that is destined for service in the Gulf of Mexico.

The E.P. Paup was ordered by Manson Construction, and once towed to the Gulf the deck will be outfitted with a 1,000 ton crane and a multi-story residence structure topped with a helipad. The derrick barge will then join the Manson fleet, for use in servicing oil platforms, or aiding in disaster recovery.

As is traditional at ship launches, several executives got to make speeches. This may not sound too exciting, but it was just a little heartwarming to hear about a partnership that had lasted for several years, and was successfully producing these amazing vessels. It was also more than a little heartwarming to realize that, at a time when so much heavy construction is being moved overseas, this was a case of two U.S. companies choosing to do their construction in the U.S., creating jobs in Portland when jobs are getting hard to find.

The launch was spectacular, and I’ll leave you with a video I shot of the whole thing, from the christening to seeing the barge in the water with a Portland Fireboat spraying red, white and blue jets into the air.

You can also see a set of still photos from the event in this flickr set.

If you are new to the Portland Metro area, you probably haven’t had to live through a Portland winter. However, even if you are a seasoned native, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on a few things to expect if it should snow, and how to deal with it once there’s snow on the ground.

Other drivers are the problem

Practice repeating the following: “Portland drivers don’t know how to drive in snow.” Make sure you use a derisive tone of voice. Throw in an off-hand comment about how they never closed school when you were a kid until you had to climb in through the second story window. Rest assured that anyone hearing you will know immediately that you are the exception to the rule, and that plowing through waist-high drifts in your Urban Assault Vehicle is the kind of thing you live for throughout the rest of the year. You might even want to get some cards printed up with your cell phone number on them to hand out, so that less-skilled winter drivers can call you up for a ride when they are too terrified to start their cars.
(more…)

The ugly planters on SW 5th Avenue, between Taylor and Salmon, are substantially less ugly now that they have been faced with marble. In fact, they look rather nice. I was just admiring them today when I noticed an odd series of metal plates sticking out between the marble panels:

At first I thought they were just spacers, to ensure the proper distance between panels. But after a few moments, I realized they were a permanent part of the planter. I’ve seen this sort of thing before, although not quite so dramatically executed.

I’m willing to bet those are skate deterrents. You see, a nice marble shelf like the ones on those planters is utterly irresistible to skateboarders, and after only a few months of grinds, noseslides, and railslides those nice new planters would look like they’d been through World War III.

I haven’t heard of any angry reactions yet, but I’m willing to predict they’ll be coming. I think most will be along the lines of “Skateboarding is Not a Crime!”, which is usually true, although damaging public property usually IS one.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that, even though they clutter up the clean lines of the planters, and will make it more difficult to sit there on a nice warm day, I’m glad the city is putting the deterrents in. It’s probably the only effective way to keep skateboarders off the damn things, and I have no desire to see all that expensive marble chewed up, nor do I wish to be dodging flying ‘boarders during my lunch hour.

Other opinions?

There’s a new rib joint in town, and it’s amazing.

Rib City can be found at 3655 S.W. Hall Boulevard in Beaverton. Although it looks like Rib City is a franchise, originating in Florida, the taste is pure down home barbecue.

Dinners are served with garlic toast, and your choice of any two sides selected from french fries, cole slaw, baked potato, corn on the cob, applesauce, baked beans, and sliced tomatoes. Entrees include chicken, ribs, turkey, and more, but ribs are the specialty of the house.

I ordered a rack of baby back ribs and sliced pork, with cole slaw and baked beans as sides. The meat was amazing: perfectly tender and with a sweet-smoky flavor that really hit the spot. While not as astoundingly good, the sides were perfectly adequate, particularly the beans. The garlic toast, usually tossed on as an afterthought, was crunchy and flavorful. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

The meat is wonderful as is, but Rib City has three sauces for splashing on at the table: Sweet, Tangy, and Spicy. The Sweet sauce is made with brown sugar and lays down a tasty sweet accent, while the Tangy sauce is more assertive with mustard and vinegar, and goes particularly well with pork. I didn’t get a chance to try the Spicy sauce, but I will next time.

Other highlights: The server had an electronic keypad hanging at her waist that let her enter orders via touchpad, swipe credit cards, and print out receipts right at the table. This saves time, saves paper, and can keep things moving smoothly. In addition, and this will win them a spot in the hearts of parents with small children, they have a kids’ play area stocked with toys.

Now that I’ve visited Rib City, I’m afraid I’m going to be hard-pressed to find a good reason to return to my usual BBQ joint.

Did you know that Art Alexakis of Everclear lives in Portland? You did? Well, did you know that Everclear released their new single “Jesus Was A Democrat” last August? Well, since I live under a rock, I didn’t hear it until today. But YOU can download the MP3 for free at the band’s website, or just listen to it here: