Sunday, January 26, 2014

Fun facts to throw around the Super Bowl

Last year’s Super Bowl kickoff. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The 2014 Super Bowl is a contest between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. Here’s some fun facts to share during the upcoming game.

Q1: How many times has the Super Bowl been played?

A: 47 times and the winning Super Bowl team with the smaller population won 44 percent of the time (21 times out of 47). Leading up to 1995, the team with the larger population won the prior 13 Super Bowls.

Thus, in 1995 the NFL instituted a salary cap to allow smaller market teams to be more competitive.

Source: Super Bowl History. Photo Au Kirk (Flickr: Super Bowl XLVII Kick Off) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.


49er’s Super Bowl Ring.
Q2: Based on the 2010 U.S. Census, which city has the larger population, Seattle or Denver?

A: Seattle.
Seattle boasts 608,660 residents. Denver comes in a close second with 600,158.

Source: U.S. Census Resident Population for Incorporated Places Over 50,000. Photo Owen Byrne, Flickr, [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.


Q3: In 2012, what was the percentage of Denver residents 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher?

A: In 2012, 44.7 percent of Denver residents 25 and older held a bachelor’s degree or higher and 86 percent had a high school diploma, not significantly different from the national percentage.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey


Colin Kaepernick, 2013.
Q4: What is the percentage of Denver residents five and older who speak a language other than English at home?

A: 26.3 percent of Denver residents five and older speak a language other than English at home which is slightly higher than the national average of 21 percent.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey. By Au Kirk [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.


Q5: What is the median household income for Denver?

A: $50,488, lower than the national median which is $51,371.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey.


Q6: What is the median home value of owner-occupied homes in Denver?

A: $251,200, higher than the national median which is $171,900.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey. Photo: Louis Vasquez, Denver. By Jeffrey Beall (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.


Q7: What is the average amount of time it takes Denver residents to get to work?

A: 24.6 minutes, and of that commute 68.6 percent of the city’s workers drive to work alone, 8.7 percent carpool and 7.2 percent take public transportation.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey


Seattle


View of downtown Seattle. Mt. Rainier appears barely visible through the haze to the right of the city.

Q8: In 2012, what was the percentage of Seattle residents 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher?

A: In 2012, 57.7 percent of Seattle residents 25 and older held a bachelor’s degree or higher and 93.6 percent held a high school diploma. The national figures were 29.1 percent and 86.4 percent, respectively.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey. Photo: Daniel Schwen [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.


Q9: What is the percentage of Seattle residents five and older who speak a language other than English at home?

A: 23 percent of Seattle residents five and older speak a language other than English at home, which is slightly higher than the national average of 21 percent, but less than Denver’s percentage which is 26 percent.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey.



Q5: What is the median household income for Seattle?

A: $64,473 (Denver’s is $50,488.)

Source: 2012 American Community Survey. Photo: Joe Mabel [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.


Q6: What is the median home value of owner-occupied homes in Seattle?

A: $415,800, higher than the national median which is $171,900, and higher than Denver’s which is $251,200.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey.


Q7: What is the average amount of time it takes Seattle residents to get to work?

A: 25.9 minutes (Denver’s commute was 24.6 minutes), and 49.2 percent of Seattle’s workers drive to work alone (in Denver it was 68.6 percent).

Seattle’s percentage of carpoolers is 8.5 percent, about the same as Denver’s which is 8.7 percent.

19.7 percent of Seattle employees take public transportation compared to 7.2 percent in Denver.

Source: 2012 American Community Survey. By ComputerGuy890100 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Enjoy the game!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Make music not furniture, nay, make musical furniture

Tor Clausen, inventor and creator of Musical Furnishings. Photo: Facebook.

There should be more music in the world, in fact, every room we inhabit should have access to music. Tor Clausen, a Seattle-ite by birth, took over a portion of an old sewing warehouse in Olympia to make music out of furniture, or make furniture out of music.

Wait.

He does both, his furniture provides music in a unique way – Clausen’s furnitre is the musical instrument.

He comes to the art of invention by way of heredity. His mother grew up in Copenhagen in an inventor’s studio which likely offered intriguing toys. In fact, Clausen’s website boasts, “Her family had the first patent for pinned name tags and sold them throughout Europe.” His father squeezed in years of woodworking experience after completing a degree in Economics and ran spectacular economy minded pursuits such as building the family’s Seattle home.

Tor Clausen himself is a product of a Washington State education. He holds a degree in Natural Sciences and Design from Evergreen State College and emerged to work in the field of graphic design, and kept the midnight oil burning by designing furniture on the side, or rather designing side furniture. Well, both.

End Table. Photo: musicalfurnishings.com
In 1995, Clausen built his first handcrafted piece of musical furniture and conquered the world of clever and harmonious, giving any room in the house the compliment of being very cool.

Tor Clausen’s musical furnishings – side tables, coffee tables, chests, benches, and the lovely backyard or porch swing – have been featured at shows, festivals, galleries and museums in Washington State, and around the world. According to his website, Clausen appears around the world as well, Hong Kong and California (which to many Washingtonian’s is a foreign country) promoting and speaking about his musical furniture creations.

A few years back the workshop moved south, so far south it now calls Portland, Oreg. home. But where apples get wet (the website about Washington State) won’t hold that against him. Especially after previewing his instruments in this YouTube video:



Browse Musical Furnishings Etsy Shop to discover current offerings, and should you find yourself in the Southwest Washington area, take a quick jaunt across the Interstate 5 Bridge to visit the tidy Musical Furnishings workshop along the Willamette River.


Musical Furnishings
425 SE 3rd Ave, #403
Portland OR 97214
503 805-7301
tor@musicalfurnishings.com


Sunday, January 19, 2014

Online resources to find jobs in Washington State

Helpful links for those living in Washington or moving to Washington looking for a job.

Search for jobs in Washington State. Search for jobs by region and city.

Sites may offer email alerts about job openings.

Locate Washington State job information and available services.

Find employment assistance, state and government jobs, and job sources for teens.

Puget Sound Job Listings

Everett Herald
Kitsap Sun
Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce
Seattle Times
Sound Publishing Newspaper Group
Tacoma News Tribune

Northwest Washington Job Listings

Bellingham Herald
Mt. Vernon - Skagit Valley Herald
Port Angeles - Peninsula Daily
Port Townsend - Leader
Stanwood/Camano News
The Vancouver (BC) Sun

Southwest Washington Job Listings

Aberdeen - The Daily World
Daily Astorian
Centralia Chronicle
Longview - Daily New
Olympia - The Olympian
Portland - The Oregonian
Vancouver, WA - The Columbian
 Craigslist, Vancouver WA
 Macs List, Southwest WA and PDX

Central Washington Job Listings

 Ellensburg - Daily Record
Moses Lake - Columbia Basin Herald
 Omak Okanogan County Chronicle
Walla Walla - Union Bulletin
 Wenatchee World
 Yakima Herald Republic

Eastern Washington Job Listings

Colville - Statesman Examiner
Lewiston (ID) Tribune
Moscow-Pullman Daily News
 Spokane - Spokesman Review
 Tri-City Herald

State of Washington job listing

 State of Washington Government jobs
 Career Builder
 Indeed.com Washington
 Monster jobs in Washington
 Worksource

Do you have another link to a Washington jobs site? Please email it to: whereapplesgetwet@gmail.com.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Event adapts shooting hoops and jumping rope for the blind

According to the American Heart Association, more than 2,200 Americans die each day of heart disease. That’s an average of one death every 39 seconds. Concurrently, 61 percent of America’s youth are inactive and in danger of developing significant health issues and shortened life spans due to inactivity.

To address the damaging affects of inactivity, the Washington State School for the Blind hosts its annual heart healthy awareness activity, “Jump, Shoot, Save,” a fundraiser for the American Heart Association a month from now on Thursday, February 13. This is a two part event, Jump Rope For Heart and Hoops for Heart. The program spurs elementary, middle and high school students to engage in a healthier lifestyle.

Some blind students and staff find it difficult to jump rope, shoot hoops, or cannot physically participate in these activities. So, Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB) adapted this rewarding program to meet the specific needs of the blind making it possible for all to exercise in a manner that addresses individual needs. The Kennedy Fitness Center, located on the northeast section of the campus, will be open for the exercise event from 7:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

WSSB classroom teachers are encouraged to lead their students in a short exercise routine prior to that day’s lesson or move the entire class to the fitness center for a workout. Those who participate in the Thursday event will log their minutes, and at the end of the day a celebrations with heart trivia, heart facts and an announcement of the school’s total minutes exercised is slated.

WSSB's focus is to also raise money for the American Heart Association. They ask  students to seek sponsors to underwrite their exercise efforts. WSSB provides envelopes to list  sponsors of each the participating student and to credit the amount each sponsor donates. The reverse side of the envelop lists prizes the students are eligible to win for their fundraising efforts. Additional rewards will be provided by the school and community businesses. Sponsorship is not required to participate.

The American Heart Association is a 501(c)(3) and donations may be tax deductible. Their tax identification number is available upon request, see contact information below.

All checks should be made out to the American Heart Association. For those who choose to donate online, the school asks that the student they hope to sponsor is alerted so the student can note the donation on their sponsorship envelope and be eligible for prizes. Online donations may be made at hoopswsa.kintera.org/jenniferbutcher or hoopswsa.kintera.org/wastateschoolfortheblind. The sponsor envelopes with all donations are due Monday, February 17.

In Washington, heart disease is the leading cause of death and stroke is number four. The American Heart Association has saved lives through astounding breakthroughs, including the heart-lung machine, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the pacemaker and lifesaving drugs. Financial donations help keep research cutting edge and Physical Education in Schools. Lives are continuing to be saved as great strides are made in the areas of cardiovascular research and preventive education.

For more information on WSSB activities contact:


Jennifer Butcher, teacher
Washington State School for the Blind
2214 E. 13th St.
Vancouver WA 98661-4120
360-696-6321 x 151
Jennifer.butcher@wssb.wa.gov