November 15, 2015 - Space Needle Solidarity

The French Tricolour flies at half staff atop the Space Needle as Seattle joins cities around the world in honoring the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris late Friday. The 25' x 35' flag was specially made after a rush order was placed from a local company on Saturday.  It was raised later that afternoon.

The Space Needle, a private corporation, receives requests from numerous organizations to fly different flags.  Aside from the US flag and the 12th Man flag, rarely have flags flown multiple times. The French Tricolour may be the first foreign standard to fly above Seattle's most recognizable landmark.

The French flag was adopted in 1794 and the color scheme has its origins in the colors worn by the Paris militia, red and blue, and the ancient color of France, white.

November 8, 2015 - Terminal 18 Cranes

Four of the ten ZPMC quayside cranes on the Port of Seattle's Terminal 18 intermodal yard on Harbor Island as seen from West Seattle.

Terminal 18 has four berths on its 4400 foot length in which container ships can anchor, load and unload cargo.  With a depth of 50 feet, there is plenty of draft for most of the world's container ships, many of whom are over a 1000 feet long.  The standard measurement for intermodal shipping is the TEU, or twenty foot equivalent.  It represents the cargo that can be stored in a 20 foot long shipping container.  Through Terminal 18, and the other port terminals, over 2 million containers are handled each year.  This is enough to rank Seattle's port as the 57th largest in the world.  The cranes in the foreground are 210 feet high, have a capacity of over 65 long tons and can delicately hoist loads at 600 feet per minute.

In the background can be seen Century Link and Safeco Fields and Harborview hospital and the south end of the downtown skyline.

Below, Queen Anne Hill, the Space Needle and the north end of downtown Seattle are visible across Elliott Bay as one looks down the West Seattle Bridge.