Okay, so I'm excited and enthused about this particular hike, and can't stop writing about it. This is absolutely the last post on the topic - until I go again!
I put the best shots from the hike, thirteen of them, together into an album.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 30, 2005
Summit Lake Hike Map
I recorded the Summit Lake hike on my GPS, and here's the map with my track highlighted. The photo from my previous post was taken from the point the furthest to the left on the map.
Summit Lake Reprised
Summit Lake. Yesterday, with the Ruggeri family, I made this hike that had been previously aborted because of snow. There's a summit above the lake that gives one of the most amazing views I've ever seen. This photo has Bear Mountain (on the left) and Mt. Rainier in the background.
I will almost certainly go on this hike again.
New Debate Blog
I've created a new blog for the purpose of debates amongst members of my family called Thrust & Parry. The initial debate has just started, in which Ian insists I am a fascist and I insist I am not. We're already a little bogged down in that Dad, our moderator, put forth the resolution and the definition of fascism and Ian doesn't agree with much of even that. If this is something you might find interesting, take a gander and perhaps subscribe.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Fixing Little Annoyances
It's amazing how good it can feel to fix some small thing that's been bugging you for a long time. I fixed two of them today, and I feel pretty darn good about it.
One is that my workstation at home has a noisy hard drive. Between the anti-virus and anti-spyware software on the machine, each looking to read or write from the disk every few seconds, the hard drive is ticking away constantly. In a small apartment, this ticking is very noticeable. For example, if I wanted to watch a movie, I'd have to put the computer into hibernation to keep from having it distract me. When the computer was on, the only way to mask it was to play music, which is not always practical. To fix it, I put the main box in the kitchen and ran the necessary cables over to my desk, which is fortunately not far away. Now there's just enough barrier between the ticking hard drive and the living/dining room that it's no longer noticeable.
The other little annoyance was that when I listen to music on my phone with headphones, something I do often when walking places, I didn't have a good way to carry the phone. The phone's holster doesn't have any cutouts for the headphone jack, so I would plug it in and put the phone in a pocket or upside down in the holster. Neither way is as comfortable or as securely held as when the phone's in the holster. Since the holster is leather, today I just cut a strategically placed hole in the bottom of the holster and the headphones now fit perfectly and I can listen to the music while the phone is securely in the holster.
Each of these fixes was just a few minutes of time and really easy to do. I need to strive to recognize easily corrected other annoyances in my life and fix them. The rewards are so great for such little effort.
One is that my workstation at home has a noisy hard drive. Between the anti-virus and anti-spyware software on the machine, each looking to read or write from the disk every few seconds, the hard drive is ticking away constantly. In a small apartment, this ticking is very noticeable. For example, if I wanted to watch a movie, I'd have to put the computer into hibernation to keep from having it distract me. When the computer was on, the only way to mask it was to play music, which is not always practical. To fix it, I put the main box in the kitchen and ran the necessary cables over to my desk, which is fortunately not far away. Now there's just enough barrier between the ticking hard drive and the living/dining room that it's no longer noticeable.
The other little annoyance was that when I listen to music on my phone with headphones, something I do often when walking places, I didn't have a good way to carry the phone. The phone's holster doesn't have any cutouts for the headphone jack, so I would plug it in and put the phone in a pocket or upside down in the holster. Neither way is as comfortable or as securely held as when the phone's in the holster. Since the holster is leather, today I just cut a strategically placed hole in the bottom of the holster and the headphones now fit perfectly and I can listen to the music while the phone is securely in the holster.
Each of these fixes was just a few minutes of time and really easy to do. I need to strive to recognize easily corrected other annoyances in my life and fix them. The rewards are so great for such little effort.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Work vs. Life
Work vs. Life
We talk about work/life balance at Microsoft quite a bit. This blog entry on Fast Company Now mentions how it's a European Union policy as well. I agree with the author that it means work and life are completely separate, a point of view that doesn't sit well with me.
Trying to use the Getting Things Done methodology promoted by David Allen, for example, is severely hampered by too many walls dividing work and life. Projects might be work projects, "life" projects, or span across both. Considering work and life to be two separate worlds also hampers ones ability to be effective in either as it creates a mental barrier to applying lessons learned and best practices from one to the other.
Thackara says in his blog entry that it explains why so many people dislike or hate their work. I think it also explains why so many people, content at work, dislike or hate their lives.
We talk about work/life balance at Microsoft quite a bit. This blog entry on Fast Company Now mentions how it's a European Union policy as well. I agree with the author that it means work and life are completely separate, a point of view that doesn't sit well with me.
Trying to use the Getting Things Done methodology promoted by David Allen, for example, is severely hampered by too many walls dividing work and life. Projects might be work projects, "life" projects, or span across both. Considering work and life to be two separate worlds also hampers ones ability to be effective in either as it creates a mental barrier to applying lessons learned and best practices from one to the other.
Thackara says in his blog entry that it explains why so many people dislike or hate their work. I think it also explains why so many people, content at work, dislike or hate their lives.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Offices and Reward Structures
A contributing factor to my current discontent in my position at Microsoft is that I've been moved into a new office, doubled up with a coworker for the first time after being here two and a half years. Our team hasn't really been given enough office space to fit everyone, especially since we have quite a few temporary employees that are taking up offices that would normally be apportioned to full time employees.
There's also a Microsoft policy that offices are given out based on longevity with the company. It's the one thing here that doesn't seem to have anything to do with performance. An employee that's been here ten years and is now just skating by, in danger of being managed out of their team or out of the company, still gets a much better office than the employee that's been here three years and is producing fantastic results.
To me, that's just ridiculous. I'm guessing here, but it's probably a way to mask performance. As I look around, I see that the reward structure is largely invisible. If you pay attention, you can figure out some stuff, and let's face it, people know which of their coworkers are doing a great job. But people's levels aren't known, review scores aren't known, bonuses aren't known, and there are awards that are considered confidential where you may receive one but aren't supposed to tell anyone. In essence, differentiation is largely missing at Microsoft.
I've been reading Jack Welch's new book, Winning, and he has a section on differentiation. Differentiating between your strong performers (top 20%), your solid performing majority (middle 70%), and your poor performers (bottom 10%) is a policy Welch strongly endorses. It's something that makes a lot of sense to me. The underlying principle is that being open about performance rewards the best, encouraging them to stay the best. It also provides incentive for the middle 70% to at least consider trying harder, because they can see the potential rewards. For the bottom 10%, it lets them know they are in the wrong place and encourages them to seek alternatives.
I believe that on my team, I'm in the top 10%. I've certainly been trying to be. But the reward structure is a bit disappointing. Perhaps I'd do even more if the reward structure was commensurate with the effort and success, like it was in my consulting small business.
There's also a Microsoft policy that offices are given out based on longevity with the company. It's the one thing here that doesn't seem to have anything to do with performance. An employee that's been here ten years and is now just skating by, in danger of being managed out of their team or out of the company, still gets a much better office than the employee that's been here three years and is producing fantastic results.
To me, that's just ridiculous. I'm guessing here, but it's probably a way to mask performance. As I look around, I see that the reward structure is largely invisible. If you pay attention, you can figure out some stuff, and let's face it, people know which of their coworkers are doing a great job. But people's levels aren't known, review scores aren't known, bonuses aren't known, and there are awards that are considered confidential where you may receive one but aren't supposed to tell anyone. In essence, differentiation is largely missing at Microsoft.
I've been reading Jack Welch's new book, Winning, and he has a section on differentiation. Differentiating between your strong performers (top 20%), your solid performing majority (middle 70%), and your poor performers (bottom 10%) is a policy Welch strongly endorses. It's something that makes a lot of sense to me. The underlying principle is that being open about performance rewards the best, encouraging them to stay the best. It also provides incentive for the middle 70% to at least consider trying harder, because they can see the potential rewards. For the bottom 10%, it lets them know they are in the wrong place and encourages them to seek alternatives.
I believe that on my team, I'm in the top 10%. I've certainly been trying to be. But the reward structure is a bit disappointing. Perhaps I'd do even more if the reward structure was commensurate with the effort and success, like it was in my consulting small business.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Is Employment about Benefits?
Mark, a friend of mine, was lamenting at lunch the other day, "Oh, I really want to just write code - but they only let me do it a little." He's very good at his work, so they made him a development lead, and now he spends a lot of his time managing other developers.
I suggested a couple ideas which seemed obvious to me. How about an individual contributor job, say in the Windows Shell team, where he could crank out code all day and they'd love him for it? The response, "The Shell team scares me..." didn't really make much sense to me. So I pointed out that we could leave Microsoft and start our own venture. Success in my consulting business would have been much easier with a great developer who wants nothing more than to write code on my staff. That one met with a concern about benefits - health care, vacation, and the like.
Adam was there, too, and asked, "So, Aaron, what benefits do you offer?"
My defensive, and perhaps flippant, answer was, "An opportunity to work with others that don't think about benefits first." After that, the conversation turned to how the best way to get ahead at Microsoft is to pick a team and "camp" there, effectively staying with that team as long as possible. I couldn't really get into the idea.
There's nothing wrong with how Adam's view or Mark's view. Those are safe views that will achieve almost guaranteed success in the long run. It probably won't be phenomenal success, but certainly comfortable success. I'm just more interested in phenomenal success even if it means phenomenal failures along the way. For me, employment isn't just about the benefits, at least in the traditional sense. Benefits include excitement, opportunity to learn and explore possibilities, and the chance to be the guy on the cover of Wired or Business 2.0.
I doubt the guys that started Kazaa and are now building up Skype ever asked up front about the benefits. I'd like to be like those guys, and I will be someday. I'm working toward it even now.
I suggested a couple ideas which seemed obvious to me. How about an individual contributor job, say in the Windows Shell team, where he could crank out code all day and they'd love him for it? The response, "The Shell team scares me..." didn't really make much sense to me. So I pointed out that we could leave Microsoft and start our own venture. Success in my consulting business would have been much easier with a great developer who wants nothing more than to write code on my staff. That one met with a concern about benefits - health care, vacation, and the like.
Adam was there, too, and asked, "So, Aaron, what benefits do you offer?"
My defensive, and perhaps flippant, answer was, "An opportunity to work with others that don't think about benefits first." After that, the conversation turned to how the best way to get ahead at Microsoft is to pick a team and "camp" there, effectively staying with that team as long as possible. I couldn't really get into the idea.
There's nothing wrong with how Adam's view or Mark's view. Those are safe views that will achieve almost guaranteed success in the long run. It probably won't be phenomenal success, but certainly comfortable success. I'm just more interested in phenomenal success even if it means phenomenal failures along the way. For me, employment isn't just about the benefits, at least in the traditional sense. Benefits include excitement, opportunity to learn and explore possibilities, and the chance to be the guy on the cover of Wired or Business 2.0.
I doubt the guys that started Kazaa and are now building up Skype ever asked up front about the benefits. I'd like to be like those guys, and I will be someday. I'm working toward it even now.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
What Effect, the Truth?
After reading my post about discussing other jobs with my manager, a reader asks, "If you don’t have a new job before review time, didn’t you just impact the number of goodies you’ll get?"
Perhaps I have. I'm okay with that. Any "goodies" that might be due to me from my current group are because of work I've already done. A decision to withhold them because I am thinking of leaving the team would simply indicate that I'd be making the right choice.
What bothers me about hanging around the group to receive a reward for great performance while doing work on things that are only mildly interesting is it's a lot like waiting. Also, not telling my manager what I'm thinking would be a lot like him not telling me important information. I've been very critical of that behavior in the past, so it would seem hypocritical of me to engage in exactly the same behavior. Transparency goes both ways.
Perhaps I have. I'm okay with that. Any "goodies" that might be due to me from my current group are because of work I've already done. A decision to withhold them because I am thinking of leaving the team would simply indicate that I'd be making the right choice.
What bothers me about hanging around the group to receive a reward for great performance while doing work on things that are only mildly interesting is it's a lot like waiting. Also, not telling my manager what I'm thinking would be a lot like him not telling me important information. I've been very critical of that behavior in the past, so it would seem hypocritical of me to engage in exactly the same behavior. Transparency goes both ways.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Matt & Daniel
One of the best steakhouses in Seattle is Daniel’s Broiler, but it’s expensive. I happen to like the burger at Matt’s Oyster Bar & Grill in Redmond, and it’s way cheaper. I ate at Matt’s recently, and my waiter’s name was Daniel. I asked him if he thought there was anyone named Matt that works at Daniel’s. As it turns out, there is and Daniel knows Matt, but Daniel said he had never thought about it before.
Friday, May 20, 2005
The Virtue of a Selfish Act
In a move that would meet with Ayn Rand's approval, I am looking to my own self interest in determining whether I'd be better off changing jobs. This action could cause my current organization to change for the better in an effort to retain me (and perhaps other top performers) from leaving. Or, after losing one or more valued employees, the organization will change in order to slow or halt "bad attrition." (Yes, Microsoft, like many companies, I'm sure, also thinks about "good attrition.")
So, by considering other potential employment and making my management aware of that fact and the reasons behind it, I am incidentally applying a force for positive change in the organization. My selfish act is virtuous in nature.
So, by considering other potential employment and making my management aware of that fact and the reasons behind it, I am incidentally applying a force for positive change in the organization. My selfish act is virtuous in nature.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
How to Play
Trevor has talked a couple of times with me about Jason Womack's blog. Jason works for the David Allen Company, creators of the Getting Things Done methodology. So, I subscribed.
Already, I have something new to talk about from it. Today I was explaining to my manager why I was going to start looking for another job (within Microsoft.) In part, it's because we're about to ship the exciting first version of our product, which is great, but due to budget constraints, the v1.1 of our product we plan to ship in September will have less features than expected. The features it will have will be only the most necessary, so the more exciting but less necessary features will be postponed to some indefinite later version. My enthusiasm for the working on the next version has therefore waned somewhat.
A recent entry in Jason's blog discusses how much more interesting it is to play to win than just play to play, in his example the difference between kicking a ball around and trying to score a goal when playing soccer. I think there's a parallel there. I don't want to just kick a ball around, putting in a few basic features to this product that while necessary are still just stuff we didn't quite get to in the first version. I want to try to score a goal with something groundbreaking. With the current plan, I just don't see it.
Already, I have something new to talk about from it. Today I was explaining to my manager why I was going to start looking for another job (within Microsoft.) In part, it's because we're about to ship the exciting first version of our product, which is great, but due to budget constraints, the v1.1 of our product we plan to ship in September will have less features than expected. The features it will have will be only the most necessary, so the more exciting but less necessary features will be postponed to some indefinite later version. My enthusiasm for the working on the next version has therefore waned somewhat.
A recent entry in Jason's blog discusses how much more interesting it is to play to win than just play to play, in his example the difference between kicking a ball around and trying to score a goal when playing soccer. I think there's a parallel there. I don't want to just kick a ball around, putting in a few basic features to this product that while necessary are still just stuff we didn't quite get to in the first version. I want to try to score a goal with something groundbreaking. With the current plan, I just don't see it.
What's with Ebert's Review?
If you think my last post was too close to spoiling the movie, you really won't want to read this:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050515/REVIEWS/50503002
What I can't understand is how Roger Ebert could give Revenge of the Sith 3.5 stars. I read through his review, and he doesn't really have much of anything good to say. "Weak dialogue, love story worse than Hallmark cards, flat acting, graphics not really used to their best effect, oh, what a great movie!" It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050515/REVIEWS/50503002
What I can't understand is how Roger Ebert could give Revenge of the Sith 3.5 stars. I read through his review, and he doesn't really have much of anything good to say. "Weak dialogue, love story worse than Hallmark cards, flat acting, graphics not really used to their best effect, oh, what a great movie!" It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Star Wars, Episode III
I went to the 12:01am showing with some friends, and just got home. I can't say as I was overly impressed.
Yoda and Mace Windu are pretty great characters, and R2D2 gets some extra screen time that is an interesting contrast from "his" presence in the other movies. There were some interesting fight scenes, both with light sabers and ship-to-ship combat. The backdrops of the various worlds are very well done.
Despite these high points, the rest is merely average. Padme, who seemed so strong in Episode II, was just kind of weepy and a mere cardboard cutout of her earlier self. Anakin's descent to the dark side wasn't even very interesting as he seemed just too easy a target for the Chancellor. In general, I just didn't find myself really caring about most of the characters, and since this installment had to end just right to make Episodes IV-VI follow, there really weren't even any surprises.
I'd seen "Crash" a couple weeks ago, and while of course a very different kind of movie, I felt way better about purchasing a ticket to that one compared to this. As they say, though, your mileage may vary.
Yoda and Mace Windu are pretty great characters, and R2D2 gets some extra screen time that is an interesting contrast from "his" presence in the other movies. There were some interesting fight scenes, both with light sabers and ship-to-ship combat. The backdrops of the various worlds are very well done.
Despite these high points, the rest is merely average. Padme, who seemed so strong in Episode II, was just kind of weepy and a mere cardboard cutout of her earlier self. Anakin's descent to the dark side wasn't even very interesting as he seemed just too easy a target for the Chancellor. In general, I just didn't find myself really caring about most of the characters, and since this installment had to end just right to make Episodes IV-VI follow, there really weren't even any surprises.
I'd seen "Crash" a couple weeks ago, and while of course a very different kind of movie, I felt way better about purchasing a ticket to that one compared to this. As they say, though, your mileage may vary.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
A Good Walk is Good
I've been feeling pretty low since the car accident. I still feel physically pained and there's an emotional element to it as well that's harder to isolate or understand. Tonight, though, I had an urge to just walk somewhere, so I did, and I think that's helped.
I went from my apartment to the Whole Foods and had some dinner there, as they have tables where you can eat the just purchased prepared hot foods. From there I walked to Cheesecake Factory and had some 6 carb cheesecake, which is surprisingly good - which is something I guess I should expect from a company owned by Overtons. Then I walked home, stopping to exchange a movie at Blockbuster and deposit a check at Wells Fargo.
When I got home, I checked the distances on Google maps and found that the total trip was around 3.5 miles. Not a bad bit of walking for an evening, although my hip joints are kind of sore, as they have been for the last five days or so. I think it was only in the last little bit, after the stop at the bank, when I really started feeling a tinge of "up." A little at a time, I guess.
I went from my apartment to the Whole Foods and had some dinner there, as they have tables where you can eat the just purchased prepared hot foods. From there I walked to Cheesecake Factory and had some 6 carb cheesecake, which is surprisingly good - which is something I guess I should expect from a company owned by Overtons. Then I walked home, stopping to exchange a movie at Blockbuster and deposit a check at Wells Fargo.
When I got home, I checked the distances on Google maps and found that the total trip was around 3.5 miles. Not a bad bit of walking for an evening, although my hip joints are kind of sore, as they have been for the last five days or so. I think it was only in the last little bit, after the stop at the bank, when I really started feeling a tinge of "up." A little at a time, I guess.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
More on the Accident
http://www.komotv.com/stories/36767.htm
Apparently, witnesses are saying I was at fault. That's not my recollection, but we shall see.
Apparently, witnesses are saying I was at fault. That's not my recollection, but we shall see.
Car Accident
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/223788_pedestrian11.html
I'm the Jeep driver, and I'm okay. My Jeep is totaled, though.
I'm the Jeep driver, and I'm okay. My Jeep is totaled, though.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
What, No Hike?
I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but by not hiking I set myself up for a lot of questions about where I went hiking. This past weekend, I did get exercise, but just not through hiking. I played squash with Richard on Saturday, then walked around in downtown Seattle with Trevor. Sunday, I swam a bunch of laps. Later on Sunday I went first to the Experience Music Project and then to a movie, Crash.
In between all of that, I did a bunch of work and cleaned my apartment, which needed a fair amount of work as I'd kind of let it go for a couple weeks. I finally broke down and bought a small vacuum cleaner, so I was able to vacuum the carpets for the first time since I moved in back in February. Up to now, I was kind of getting by with just picking up anything large enough to show.
So, no hiking, but a lot of stuff I had to get done. Next week, though, perhaps Lake Twenty-Two.
In between all of that, I did a bunch of work and cleaned my apartment, which needed a fair amount of work as I'd kind of let it go for a couple weeks. I finally broke down and bought a small vacuum cleaner, so I was able to vacuum the carpets for the first time since I moved in back in February. Up to now, I was kind of getting by with just picking up anything large enough to show.
So, no hiking, but a lot of stuff I had to get done. Next week, though, perhaps Lake Twenty-Two.
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Working Saturday
So, I'm off to work again this morning. This is the fourth weekend in a row that I've headed in to the office. The funny thing is, I don't actually have that much in the way of work to do. I'm going because our entire team was instructed to come in and sitting out would be less than supportive of the team.
The whole team's supposed to come in because our project schedule, while still looking pretty good, only allocates a certain amount of time for bug fixes and has a couple people that are lagging behind enough that we're having other people help them out. As such, coming in on the weekend helps ensure a product delivery that's on time even with a few unexpected last minute issues to address.
As a program manager, focused primarily on planning schedule and feature specifications, it makes sense that I'd be basically done for this version. I can empty my inbox and I can test the latest build of the application, and those are good things, but then, what'll I do on Monday? I guess I will start thinking hard about the next version!
The whole team's supposed to come in because our project schedule, while still looking pretty good, only allocates a certain amount of time for bug fixes and has a couple people that are lagging behind enough that we're having other people help them out. As such, coming in on the weekend helps ensure a product delivery that's on time even with a few unexpected last minute issues to address.
As a program manager, focused primarily on planning schedule and feature specifications, it makes sense that I'd be basically done for this version. I can empty my inbox and I can test the latest build of the application, and those are good things, but then, what'll I do on Monday? I guess I will start thinking hard about the next version!
Friday, May 06, 2005
The Queen in Yellow
I've noticed that I sometime give internal nicknames to people I see regularly, but don't know. Like "Big Dog Guy" for someone I always see walking a remarkably large dog.
Lately, though, it occurred to me that I have a kind of funny one. I've taken to thinking "The Queen in Yellow" as an internal nickname for the woman that lives directly across the hall from me. In part, it's a reference to the fact that every time I see her (which has been four or five times now) she's dressed entirely in yellow. In part, it's a reference to the King in Yellow, a book in the Cthulhu Mythos tradition.
I wonder what nicknames I might have.
Lately, though, it occurred to me that I have a kind of funny one. I've taken to thinking "The Queen in Yellow" as an internal nickname for the woman that lives directly across the hall from me. In part, it's a reference to the fact that every time I see her (which has been four or five times now) she's dressed entirely in yellow. In part, it's a reference to the King in Yellow, a book in the Cthulhu Mythos tradition.
I wonder what nicknames I might have.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Demo Day
Our team did a demo of our upcoming release today. I was the one running through the application while Michael, our PM lead, did the in-between talking. Unfortunately, due to a number of technical problems with getting our demo server set up, we didn't have the time to practice we had intended, so this demo was only the second time through the script and the first time via LiveMeeting.
The first ten minutes were just awful. I would start the registration process and the PowerPoint deck also in LiveMeeting would do some kind of timed transition and my screen would switch to that. Navigating back to the web page would reload it and I'd have to start over. Finally someone on the phone suggesting trying to share the desktop instead of embedding the web page in LiveMeeting. That worked much better, although I went through the whole registration process on the wrong site, so had to do it again.
After that, it went much better. The demo parts were pretty solid, with only one or two places where something unexpected happened. Our voiceover stuff was pretty weak, which is to be expected for having had almost no practice. I expect we'll do more demos and it'll get better.
All in all, I'm relieved it's over, although we had a pretty good reception to our work.
The first ten minutes were just awful. I would start the registration process and the PowerPoint deck also in LiveMeeting would do some kind of timed transition and my screen would switch to that. Navigating back to the web page would reload it and I'd have to start over. Finally someone on the phone suggesting trying to share the desktop instead of embedding the web page in LiveMeeting. That worked much better, although I went through the whole registration process on the wrong site, so had to do it again.
After that, it went much better. The demo parts were pretty solid, with only one or two places where something unexpected happened. Our voiceover stuff was pretty weak, which is to be expected for having had almost no practice. I expect we'll do more demos and it'll get better.
All in all, I'm relieved it's over, although we had a pretty good reception to our work.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Tiger Mountain
After working Saturday morning, then getting a bit frustrated with a server configuration task in the afternoon, I decided late in the day to go hiking, despite the time. Tiger Mountain, in the Central Cascades, is very close. It took me just over two hours to reach Summit #2, which is (by the path I took) almost exactly three miles and a 2381 foot climb to 2757 feet. This photo was taken from the top as the sun began to set. I went from there to the slightly lower Summit #3, then down a direct, steep path only maintained because a power line is buried there. The total trip was just over five miles and I was pretty darn beat at the end, but I'm glad I made it to the top because this sunset was worth it.
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