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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Two-Block Radius / Science This Guy Has Been Sitting Across the Street All Day

Posted by Grant Brissey on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 4:02 PM

And seems rather content doing so. In the past few hours, all we've seen him do is put on sunglasses, smoke a couple of cigarettes, and read some of the paper. But mostly he just sits there and looks strangely satisfied. Nancy asked him what he's doing, and he told her he's got a little device that "measures compounds" in the air, but he wouldn't say what compounds, or why he was doing this, or who he was doing it for. So Sloggers, what the hell is this guy up to?

Comments (26) RSS

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Waiting for Purr to open?

Posted by Bub on July 22, 2010 at 4:07 PM

For the record, I told Grant Brissey to go across the street and fart next to this guy to see if his fart compounds registered, but he wouldn't do it. GRANT IS UNFUN.

Posted by Megan Seling on July 22, 2010 at 4:08 PM

I can barely see that person sitting there. Also, don't really care.

Posted by Lily Fluffbottom on July 22, 2010 at 4:08 PM

There was an announcement recently - that building will be torn down and a big tall Weber/Thompson residential/retail block thingy put up. This fellow is prolly an environmental consultant hired to run tests for due diligence as part of planning the new tower over there. The property was car repair shop so there's probably fumes galore, and all kinds of stuff that seeped into the ground below. This fellow gets to sit and smoke while a little measuring thingy prolly in the back of that truck goes beep beep.

Posted by gloomy gus on July 22, 2010 at 4:09 PM

Based on Google first page and playing detective, he's obviously after your enzymes.

Posted by Joe Szilagyi

on July 22, 2010 at 4:10 PM

LOL @2. I was just about to type "Scanning for Stranger farts?" and decided to refresh.

Needs more Wienermobile.

Posted by rob!

on July 22, 2010 at 4:11 PM

There has been activity there the last few days and CHS has put up information about that building today so it seems 'strange things are afoot'. I believe he's a human guard dog since they are working on getting that building ready for development. Hang your flyers while you still can. Time is running out.

Posted by Brian Geoghagan on July 22, 2010 at 4:11 PM

@4 Prolly? Really?

Posted by tacomagirl on July 22, 2010 at 4:12 PM

Maybe he's a chemtrail guy.

Posted by Patrick McGrath on July 22, 2010 at 4:13 PM

he's just super pumped for block party.

Posted by 34x42 on July 22, 2010 at 4:14 PM

There it is! Something with "Sun" in the name, funny since it will block some of your morning sun in the office, not that anybody's in the Stranger office in the morning aside from woeful interns.

http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2010/0…

Posted by gloomy gus on July 22, 2010 at 4:16 PM

@4, don't you think it's odd that a guy measuring small quantities of chemicals in the air would be smoking next to the machine?

Posted by Fnarf

on July 22, 2010 at 4:25 PM

I don't know what he's doing, but between him and the no parking sign the owner of the white truck is gonna have a helluva time getting out of that garage.

Posted by lukeiscool on July 22, 2010 at 4:25 PM

@12, I don't think they'll be testing the samples for tobacco, but if they did, hoo BOY.

Posted by gloomy gus on July 22, 2010 at 4:34 PM

@ 8 - WTF?? LOL!!

kthxbai

Posted by merry on July 22, 2010 at 4:40 PM

12 Monkeys. He is from the future. Collecting Data. Leave him be. Our future is already written.

Posted by Ron Bennington on July 22, 2010 at 4:46 PM

I think he's from the FBI trying to find out if you guys are where the hybrid tech secrets are being leaked to the Chinese.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on July 22, 2010 at 4:49 PM

Measuring compounds in the air. I love it. Next time my GF asks me why I'm home so late, I'll tell her I was "measuring compounds in the air".

Posted by welcometothemurk22 on July 22, 2010 at 4:51 PM

He just bought a butt plug at the Crypt and he's trying it out.

Posted by Vince on July 22, 2010 at 5:06 PM

@14, cigarette smoke has something like 200 identified chemical compounds in it. Carbon monoxide, for starters.

Posted by Fnarf

on July 22, 2010 at 5:16 PM

@20, you bet. I don't know my gas chromatography from my fractional distillation, but given the presence of Mr. Puffy here this enviro testing (if such it was) would have used collection points or sorbents targeting stuff where ambient secondhand smoke wouldn't skew it: vapor intrusion, soil gases, mold, or what have you. The main thing you'd think would be of concern at this property would be PAHs, but cig smoke is full of that so unless there's some sort of thing that screens out fresh from vintage PAHs that would have to have been tested by someone not smoking.

I hope you don't believe I was honestly claiming to know what this fellow was doing, if tester he in fact was. If my comments doesn't reveal me as a layman and wild speculator I don't know what would.

Posted by gloomy gus on July 22, 2010 at 5:42 PM

@21, sorbents? PAH? Vapor intrusion? Good lord, you're winding me up, aren't you? You probably do this for a living. It's you in the photo, isn't it?

Posted by Fnarf

on July 22, 2010 at 6:02 PM

I am smoking cigarettes and typing in these comments on my clever phone, glancing up now and then to see if Grant will appear in the window just once more before I have to drive the family air-testing truck back to mom's house in Crown Hill, where it's again my turn to empty the ashtrays.

Posted by gloomy gus on July 22, 2010 at 6:27 PM