By MATT ASHER

It's been a year since I left Seattle and my old home in Wallingford, and recently I've been getting homesick. But what could I do? My new home in Vermont is 3,000 miles away. What if I could wander around the city again, see the sights, check in on friends, even get stuck on I-5?

www.washington.edu/cambots

Seattle has dozens of full-time cameras that broadcast images onto the Internet. I began my virtual tour at the University of Washington, which hosts half-a-dozen live views of campus. The one in Red Square revealed it to be a quiet morning, with unusually clear skies; I could see Mt. Rainier poking above the horizon.

When I checked back later in the day I was rewarded with a reassuringly rainy view of campus. Some of the students even appeared to be carrying umbrellas. Freshmen.

www.thedaily.washington.edu/html/dailycam

Not far from Red Square, the editors of the UW Daily were milling about aimlessly, or so it appeared from the blurry black and white shot of their office. Before leaving campus, I checked the progress of the Mary Gates building. Looks like it still has a ways to go.

www.seattleinsider.com/partners/kirotv/Cam-Net/Cam-Main.htm

While exploring downtown, I visited the Space Needle, like any good tourist. I got there just in time to catch the late afternoon light over downtown and Lake Union. The view probably isn't as good as actually going up inside the giant mushroom, but then I saved a few bucks and a case of indigestion. The "Eye of the Needle" is hosted by KIRO News 7.

ferrycam.com/index.htm

Before venturing north on the expressways, I checked in on the ferries. The cars and trucks from Bainbridge Island were loading, so I got to see dramatic change from one shot to the next. Looked like a full load.

traffic.wsdot.wa.gov/nwflow/Seattle/

Traffic on I-5 seemed surprisingly light for a Friday afternoon. I checked in at several locations, including downtown, the I-90 bridge, and Lake City Way. Even the 520 looked reasonable. The Washington Department of Transportation provides over a dozen views of local traffic, as well as a dozen more throughout the state.

http://www.jessamyn.com/me/lookatme.html

No trip to Seattle would be complete without a visit to friend and Ballard resident Jessamyn West. As usual, she is looking ahead at her computer screen in a daze. It's not hard to imagine why the UW or Seatran would provide live shots on the Internet. But what does my friend get out of providing a window into her study?

"(It's) part messing around with technology and part of an even more in-depth approach to the get-to-know me deal that is my Web site," Jessamyn told me. "I also like the appeal of taking a look at it and knowing that whatever's there is going to be gone pretty darned soon - for better or for worse. There's some zen lesson in that, though I couldn't explain it any more than that."

Before leaving Scandia, I thought I'd visit the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, aka the Ballard Locks. But several links to the Locks failed.

http://cam.chica.net/

Jessamyn's not the only lady in town with a personal webcam, and hers is certainly not the most voyeuristic. I snuck a peek at "Nookie Cam", advertised as a "webcam from the bedroom of a Seattlite." Nothing salacious to report - only a black and white cat curled up on a green quilt. Awww. Further research reveals the cat's name: Spike.

http://www.slumberland.seattle.wa.us/wendiscreen.html

As if peeking into a stranger's bedroom wasn't invasive enough, a teacher at the Art Institute posts screen shots of her Mac every five minutes. When I stopped by, Wendi appeared to be in the midst of a game of Sim City.

http://www.slumberland.seattle.wa.us/wendicam.html

Wendi also has a camera pointed outside her window on a site called "Watch My Neighborhood." See if you can recognize this part of town.

http://www.bobw.com/bobwagnerdesig/livevide.html

Who knows what freelance designer Bob Wagner was doing with his computer. His site has a live view of the right side of his desk showing mostly a hairy arm and some tchotchkes. Wagner advises: "If you find this video extremely entertaining, please turn off your computer, take a brisk walk or a long nap and avoid operating heavy machinery."

http://www.glg.com/glgweb/html/webcams.html

Despite the lame, unchanging photos, Wagner's webcam is more amusing than dreadful. The same can't be said of Pike Place Market's cam. All you can see is the infamous sign and sky, making me wonder why they use a webcam; a single still photo would have achieved the same bland effect. The site provides a link to a Safeco Field cam.

http://www.seanet.com/~billr/birds/

Just before slipping out of the city, I popped by the BirdCam in Carkeek Park. When I arrived, two brightly colored birds were perched on the feeder. According to the Web site, "Carkeek Park supports a wide variety of bird species in its 223 acres of mixed deciduous and coniferous forest, streams, wetlands, and saltwater beach." This was a part of Seattle I'd never seen before. If you happen to be in town, you might want to check it out live.

Matt Asher, former publisher of the Seattle Scroll, is a freelance writer who has been travelling over the continent for the past year while doing research for a novel he is writing. Although he wrote this a year ago, all sites still link.