Potemkin, WA

If you are looking for an exercise in frustration, and would prefer that you spend as much time as possible stuck in a demolition derby-style death arena of idiots on the way to and back from it, come to sunny Seattle.  You'll have the pleasure of maximizing your experience now that DST has concluded. 

Once quitting time rolls around (apparently as early as 3PM for much of the city), every entitled ape with self righteousness in place of their sense of self preservation charge nose-up and eyes-averted into the narrow streets that were poorly designed to barely accommodate the population in the early 20th century.   The only difference with DST having ended is that it's pitch black out by the time everyone everyone has left their cells to begin walking, biking, and cargo cult driving into the streets with little to no regard for law, civility, or danger.

Spending 30 minutes to make a 2.5 mile drive is enough to make many people tap out, but if you're really big into self-loathing and/or masochism, try working on something that isn't some form of computer and attempting to find supplies anywhere in the city.  Metal stock?  Sure, so long at it's in the hobbyist rack at Home Depot or you put an order in on a website and don't need it within the next 24 hours.  Welding gas?  You can buy bottles during banker's hours, but trying to do a cylinder exchange or bottle refill at a store with the words "welding supply" in it's name will net you blank stares that are followed by someone talking to you like you're an idiot for expecting to get welding supplies at the welding supply store.

See, despite being a major port city with an incredible amount of construction underway, there is little in the way of industrial material or support for true "DIY" work that doesn't involve a paint roller or a goddamned Arduino.  Oh, and they started salting the damn roads when the temperature drops too close to 30°F (vs. several years ago when the city wouldn't salt due to concerns about what effect the  runoff would have on Puget Sound).

So that's it for my long-winded rant/thinly-veiled excuse for things taking forever with this project.  To the point of status updates: Gremlin floors are 90% there and waiting on shielding gas to finally be finished, which will require a drive to Auburn  in the morning.  Eagle's still doing it's thing, but was running into a little bit of trouble as fall progressed.  I'll have a separate post up here shortly that's focused on that situation. 

In closing: Go to hell, Seattle.  I hope I've finally left by the time your next tech bubble pops.