Author Archives: William Calvin

About William Calvin

UW prof emeritus brains, human evolution, climate

Reflections from Graystone

Posted on July 8, 2022 by William Calvin

NW-facing windows at Skyline East are going to get lots of sunlight reflected into them on winter afternoons.

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The missing support at Graystone’s NE corner

Posted on July 1, 2022 by William Calvin

A curious omission. Any other guesses?

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Gun Buyback Is Far More Likely to Work

Posted on June 13, 2022 by William Calvin

Discouraged by the bipartisan proposal, I tried again. WHC Why are we so easily misled by gun solutions that would make some sense in other countries? But the US, having more guns than people, is special. And so, the bipartisan … Continue reading →

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Lessons for climate from the gun problem

Posted on June 2, 2022 by William Calvin

Excerpt from my book ms: Now let me briefly borrow a direct analogy to our climate reasoning. People often believe that the gun problem can be fixed by limiting gun sales. The gun problem, however, is not proportional to this … Continue reading →

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Those vertical wind gusts

Posted on May 18, 2022 by William Calvin

Did you miss out on being blown around by today’s horizontal wind gusts, as I was, trying to cross from Skyline East to Skyline West (my names, given how awkward OT and CT are)? When a wind gust encounters a … Continue reading →

Posted in In the Neighborhood, Photography | 1 Comment

The Skyline Mix of Left or Right

Posted on May 3, 2022 by William Calvin

Right-thinking vs left? There are reasons for why the right is underrepresented at our high-end retirement community, simply judging from our occupational groupings, usually determined in young adulthood and often biased by inherited traits, as twin studies have shown. Perhaps … Continue reading →

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Different Masking Rules for retirement communities?

Posted on April 29, 2022 by William Calvin

It seems our age group was less vulnerable to the delta variant last summer but is 2x more vulnerable to winter’s omicron variant. Variants will keep coming, as long as so many people resist vaccination and keep socially mixing. The … Continue reading →

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The 8th Ave ramp to the corner

Posted on April 15, 2022 by William Calvin
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707 Terry Towers now “Museum House”

Posted on April 8, 2022 by William Calvin

SEATTLE | Museum House (707 Terry Ave) | Two towers | 32 Stories | 330 ft | 100 m | Page 21 | SkyscraperCity Forum has many good photos and blog comments.

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Charging EVs in Skyline Garages

Posted on March 30, 2022 by William Calvin

Hello all, I made a YouTube video, about half the length of my talk, leaving out the Skyline-specific material. I will be giving a talk about recharging electric vehicles in Skyline garages in the Science-Technology lecture series on April 19th … Continue reading →

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Covid pandemic trend

Posted on March 18, 2022 by William Calvin

However, in UK, Hong Kong, and China, cases are soaring again.

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What direction does the wind blow? Up.

Posted on February 20, 2022 by William Calvin

When wind encounters a tall building, it goes up or around. (It would also go beneath, if it could.)

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The external elevator from 1 to 4

Posted on February 9, 2022 by William Calvin
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The Vending-machine parking garage in Skyline West

Posted on February 5, 2022 by William Calvin

Here is what you see on the West-B2 level:

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The southern skyline of Skyline

Posted on February 2, 2022 by William Calvin
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Sirens

Posted on December 24, 2021 by William Calvin

Not only are we surrounded by three major hospitals, but the Seattle Fire Department has established a fire station at Harborview for 5 Medic units (Aid units come up under I-5 from the International District station). SFD also dispatches Medic … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, In the Neighborhood, Safety | 1 Comment

Cascading climate consequences

Posted on December 2, 2021 by William Calvin

In describing climate consequences—the ones more serious than hotter summers—I feel as if I am describing top-down cascading failures. The classic example is the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, which in 2001 had collapsed, floor after floor, down to the … Continue reading →

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Raising the crane at Graystone (800 Columbia)

Posted on November 26, 2021 by William Calvin

This last weekend, likely on Saturday Sunday morning or later this week, weather permitting, they will be inserting two four more sections into the tower crane, raising the top by four eight stories. Most of the action can be seen … Continue reading →

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Autumn Leaves, Aloft

Posted on October 24, 2021 by William Calvin

Here is about what you would see from Skyline’s 26th floor Observation Deck, if you cared to brave the wind gusts. Those maple leaves rise more than 26 floors (about 300 feet) because the winds from the southwest run into … Continue reading →

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Skyline in the grand scheme of things

Posted on October 7, 2021 by William Calvin
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September Sunset

Posted on September 25, 2021 by William Calvin

At least two residents saw this sunset from the 26th floor deck tonight.

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Graystone’s problem column

Posted on August 29, 2021 by William Calvin
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Skyline West from Skyline East

Posted on August 27, 2021 by William Calvin
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800 Columbia AKA Graystone, reaching for the sky

Posted on August 27, 2021 by William Calvin
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Bartells, alas

Posted on August 11, 2021 by William Calvin

Aug. 11, 2021 at 6:00 am | Updated: Aug. 11, 2021 at 6:02 am Bartell customers face delays, staff shortages after Rite Aid takeover Paul Roberts Seattle Times business reporter For months after Bartell Drugs was bought by Rite Aid last October, many pharmacy customers … Continue reading →

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