SeattleCasbah.Com

Going (lighter)

Though I've already been on a few camping trips this year, this weekend's trip to Chelan will be my first true backpacking trip of the summer. Ever since the debacle of last year's Wonderland Trail attempt, my mind has been churning with ways to lighten up myself and my pack.

There are a few cost effective ways to do this - a heavier pack needs heavier shoes for support, but if you can reduce your pack weight, you won't need the support of a hiking boot. Also, its said (by someone, I don't know who) that 2lbs on your feet are the equivalent of 10lbs on your back - so my trail runners are in. Water, while very important, doesn't need to be packed in 2 liter increments when one is hiking along side the largest lake in Washington, so I'm taking a much smaller Platypus water bag and will use half-tablets of chlorine to save on water filter weight.

Although, one may question the wisdom of that especially in light of this weekend's weather forecast:

 

I'm pretty sure it'll be safe to leave the rain and cold weather gear behind.

I'm pretty happy with things right now - total pack weight with food, water, and camera is 22lbs. The pack (empty) weighs in at about 5lbs; hopefully I'll be able to work on that as the summer goes on. 

Finally - I'm taking my SPOT messenger. If I've figured it out correctly, you (mom, dad) can track my progress here.

Happy 4th of July!

Mailbox Peak

Jayson and I hit up Mailbox Peak on Sunday. My first time up, on paper it didn't look good (4,000 feet in 2.5 miles). I can tell you that it is as advertised.

Jayson summits through the fog.

Mailbox Peak is tucked away behind exit 34 on I-90, just a few miles away from the infinitely more popular Mt. Si trail. There's really not much about this trail that will surprise you. You walk a half mile on an old forest road and then spend the next 2.5 miles hiking straight up - 4,000 feet straight up. 

Eerily quiet in the forest.

There's not a single part of your lower body that won't be burning after only a half hour on this hike. Quads, gluts, hammies, ankles - you name it. Exposed roots and rocks demand your full attention and it isn't until you get to the very top that you finally get a break. Jayson and I made the top in 2 hours - good time, I'm told - but we were more excited about finally stopping. Its one of the longer 2 hours of my life. 

We feel like we look.

The views are wonderful, when you have them. Unfortunately for Jayson and I, we mainly had fog to contend with. A quick snack and rest for the legs, then the hardest part of the trail awaited - going down. 

A small break in the clouds.

A sign posted at the trail head warns you not to proceed if you aren't sure of your hiking shape. For good reason, as this is a hike that loves to punish. Going up, one wonders what lunacy possessed them to hike this. You promise yourself never again. Going down, you just worry about not getting your foot caught in a root or a rock, ending your day early. Still, sitting back at the parking lot at the end of the day - sun shining on your face, cold beer in hand - you can't help but feel like you accomplished something. 

Floxgloves and Berries. 

Mailbox Photos
Trail info

By popular demand...

Little did I know that when my renters sent me photos of a ruined bathroom wall, those photos would signal the beginning of my return to Seattle. Oh, it started simple enough - I'll just get a contractor to come over and fix those tiles. Well, that turned into a few revelations:

1. There's nothing between that tile and the plaster.
2. All three walls behind the tub are affected.
3. You have to pull the tub to get to the walls.
4. Your renters won't have a bathroom for a few weeks.
5. Why pay money to pull out ugly pink shit and then just put ugly pink shit back in?
6. Full bathroom remodel

So instead of moving out my renters and then just moving them back in...why not just move back myself? Sure, its a bit earlier than I had planned it, but the timing just seems right.

After weeks of behind the scenes maneuvering, I was able to secure a loan for the remodel. At the same time as the remodel will be an entire condo remodel, so my move back in will be almost like moving back into a new home. The reality is, its been 3 years and I ache to be back in Seattle.

The difference this time will be that I move back in with virtually no possessions and because of the months renting, no debt. Its square zero, really - the furniture I currently own consists of a mattress and a dresser. I got rid of (nearly) everything prior to my year of travel. There's no cheap apartment to move the hand-me-down furniture. In essence, I get to start all over again (and it starts with that ugly, putrid, evil, pink bathroom)! I can't wait.

After the traveling, being back working has had the unintended effect of zapping away at my inspiration to write and photograph. The realization that I'm moving back in and get to do it all over again, but with 10 years of accumulated knowledge is tremendously exciting. Its like the doing high school all over again knowing what I know now fantasy, but without the pimples and only-hot-because-I didn't know any better-girls. Stay tuned...

Captcha'd!

This sent a chill up my spine, as 1) I did not log into the site and 2) my cache was clear.

So either this is completely statistically random event OR a long haired child will soon crawl out of my TV set.

New HostelWitness Post

New Hostelwitness.com Post: How much will 3 months in Europe cost me?

Stop the press

With the Seattle PI closing its doors in a couple more weeks, we in Seattle are dealing with the possibility of becoming a one-paper town for the first time in many a year. We've been lucky to have two papers - as news media consolidates, its becoming harder and harder for even newspapers in one-paper towns to survive.

The outcry over the PI shutting down has primarily been over the loss of independent perspective and the role of the newspaper in everyday citizenry. As the "hard" news sources diminish (as opposed to local TV news), so will the public's knowledge in local affairs. The inference is that more bad will go unnoticed, more unjusts gone unpunished.

While I love the PI and would love to see them stay, my problem with this argument is that these are for-profit businesses. Its similar to the Sonics. When the Sonics left town, there was a great outcry over how Howard Schultz sold the city out - this was a Seattle institution, a cultural icon. In reality, its a business. The point is, as long as the PI and the Sonics are profit-making concerns, you can't treat them like they are vital public institutions.

This opinion piece from the Huffington Post caught my eye, where the author argues the solution for newspapers is to charge a fee per click (micro-payments). The problem with its thesis is obvious - there are too many free outlets out there. Your AP wire article isn't going to be paid for when I can just go to CNN for the same article. As for the columnists (such as one of my favorites, PI's Art Thiel), they've been replaced by an army of knowledgeable, ad-supported bloggers. People aren't going to pay for this content.

So in summary, you have a failing for-profit business in a zero profit business model. Not only that, but you claim to be a civic institution. So maybe the solution to saving the newspaper is that they make the true leap into becoming a civic institution and go non-profit? After all, in a two-paper town, you have some loyalties when it comes to which paper people like to take into the bathroom stall. Maybe those loyalties are strong enough to save your business?

That means not charging for content, but asking for donations and raising money. It is possible...look at the music industry. KEXP.org is a great example of a "civic" institution growing against all odds (i.e. vs. Itunes, Pandora, Virgin, etc). How do they stay alive? Because four times a year, they ask for donations. They raise money. And every year they grow and expand because their listeners love the product. The same can be said with NPR.

Would Hearst ever go non-profit to save their paper? Hell no. They are a business. But in the new business environment, as long as news owners are in it for the money, they won't make any money - if that makes sense.

Impossible is Nothing 2

It took 2 years, an episode of How I Met Your Mother, and Videogum to point me to this gem...so for those that haven't seen it yet, the worst best video resume ever.

Watch IvyGate: Worst Resume Ever in Funny Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

It doesn't always suck to work in Redmond...

 

A view of the mountains with Mt. Rainier in the background is a lot better than say, a parking lot in Tukwilla. There was bald eagle earlier in the day right over the valley.

We get so caught up sometimes in traffic and work that its easy to forget that we are living in one of the most beautiful regions on the planet.

When sleeping in is not worth $250. And when it is.

I would KILL right now to be able to sleep in past 8. Unfortunately, due to a weekend class that starts at the same time as my M-F job (9am), for the last 20 days I’ve been up, showered, caffeinated, and commuted in time for the daily 9am start. Its starting to wear on me a bit, I confess. Cleverly the certification test (if you must know, “Certification in Project Managezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”) is offered for free. The hook is that I can’t miss a single weekend course or be late, as attendance is collected after completion of class hour one. Miss one and I have to pay the test fee of $250.
 

At first I thought, no problem. By day 20, different story. It sucks. And I yes, I realize in the grand scheme of things I have a pretty good life. There are unemployed people who would kill for this. Starving kids in China. Whatever. The point is, it dawned on me that I’ve inadvertently associated a value for an hour of extra sleep. Now, normally if someone tells me that if I sleep in an hour late on a certain date, I’ll owe them $250, I would get up extra early just to insure that I don’t miss it. But does the value of currency depreciate once that time period is extended? I’m saying that at least for 42 days, $250 is $250. But if I had to pay someone $250 if I slept in late at any point in say, 90 days, would I just pony up the dough and be done with it? 180 days? 365?

There’s not only economy at work here, but some silly psychology as well. On my gym days, when I’m up by 6, I’ll go to bed a little earlier just so the next morning when I wake up at 7:30, I try to trick myself into saying “wow, I got an extra two hours of sleep today!  Technically, I did…though we all know that “sleeping in” doesn’t refer to the amount of total time slept, but rather long enough through the morning to eat lunch in one’s small clothes.

To put this in perspective, when I was traveling there was only ONE day out of a year when I had to wake up before 8am (OK, that wasn’t for perspective, that was just to brag).

 

Anyway, it got me thinking how much do I value other activities (or lack of activities)? Forget about things like reading a book or exercising, but what about the value of taking a piss in the morning? If you had to pay $250 if you took a piss before noon for a week, would could you do it? Two weeks? What about a $100 penalty if you cleaned dishes at any time in a 14 day period?

Where was I going with this? I don't know. Maybe that's the whole point? My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

Saturday, Feb 21 is currently pegged as my first sleep in day, thus wrapping up 42 continuous days of no sleeping in. There may be Tylenol PM involved.

Stains the Zombie Dog

 

(via Videogum)