26 Jul
Another hike this weekend. This time, we hiked up to the Freemont Lookout. It is a short yet rewarding hike from the Sunrise Visitor Center. (Photos by Jon Brenner. Videos are my own.)
After a good session of sunset photography, we decided to goof it up.
Rainier is even more beautiful at night.
23 Jul
Last Saturday I managed to hike up to Camp Muir with a friend. The hike, while long and arduous, was well worth the effort. We got lucky and met some of my coworkers there who graciously provided meals for us. After eating a hearty meal, we glissaded down the mountain. Here are two videos that I took from the trip (using my iPhone 4):
30 Mar
As I wrote in my previous post, I have been using the Kindle application on my PC and iPhone. I was worried that reading books on a monitor or especially a phone screen would strain my eyes. But I quickly learned that my lifestyle does not allow me to read for more than 15~30 minutes at a time. When I can read in longer strides, usually in sprints of 1~2 hours at most, I read on my computer and the experience is no different than browsing the web or reading email. Yes, E-ink would be nice but I think I can live without it.
Which brings me to the iPad. At first, I was looking into buying an E-ink device and rejected the iPad solely on those grounds. But ironically, using the Kindle on the PC and iPhone has convinced me that I can do just fine reading on an LCD screen. Furthermore, when I was looking into buying a Kindle, I considered getting the Kindle DX since viewing PDFs is important to me. But the Kindle DX is currently priced at $489 and at that price I would rather get an iPad for $499. I also believe the iPad would be able to render PDF documents better than on the Kindle DX.
From a book purchasing and reading perspective, there are a couple more things I want on the iPad. Some of these might already be supported:
In general, I think that the iPad is a great device. I look forward to playing with one when I get the chance.
26 Feb
I am in the process of digitizing my media collection. Over the past year or so, I have been converting my music CDs and movie DVDs into digital format to keep on my computer. It is somewhat painstaking, but I think the conversion is well worth the effort. All of my converted media is well organized and immediately accessible.
To go a little bit further, I have also been moving data onto the cloud. For instance, I love that all of my contacts are synced to Exchange. I can update contacts on Outlook, the web, or on my iPhone and they’re all synced together. I also use the Facebook connection feature so that it copies down profile pictures and syncs them to my contacts.
Recently I recycled a significant collection of printed research papers that I have digital copies of and then uploaded them onto the cloud. I really like the idea of being able to access these papers, specs, and other documents from anywhere. It is also nice to reduce clutter in the house and the office.
So that got me into thinking that it is about time that I also digitized my book collection. While I do still have some sentimental attachment to written books, I think the benefits to having them available on the cloud far outweighs the cons.
So today I purchased my first ebook on Amazon. I do not yet own a Kindle, but the book is now available on my iPhone as well as my home and office computer. I love how all of my readers can sync and keep track of my last page read so that I can always pick up where I left off. I find it difficult to sit down and read books for hours these days so I have to get through them on shorter strides. The Kindle readers will help me get through books a lot more efficiently.
The usual complaints apply to reading ebooks, but whether the book reading experience is quite there or not, I think the switch is inevitable enough at this point that I would rather start purchasing books in ebook format. And so far, I am very happy with the experience. I look forward to the day when I have the majority of my media digitized and on the cloud so that I can only keep around the things that I really care about in physical form.
19 Feb
Here’s a great article on why employees are losing motivation that a coworker sent me. A good read :)
16 Feb
Jane and I spent the previous night preparing for a fund raising event. So we decided to take it easy on Valentine’s Day.
We shopped at Whole Foods to cook ourselves a nice meal and then spent some time relaxing together and enjoying the day. Then we had dinner at La Spiga. The day was not as flashy as I had originally planned, but I did have the time of my life.
Enjoying our own cooking.
Dinner at La Spiga. We were too full but the special menu was very good.
A box of chocolates that Jane made for me :) I'm one lucky bastard.
16 Feb
Windows Phone 7 Series has been announced and it looks a lot more exciting than I expected. The fact that Microsoft actually pulled off a reboot and also adopted the Zune HD UI paradigm is encouraging. I also like the minimum hardware requirements imposed on devices and restrictions on UI customization.
Integration with online web services as well as Microsoft’s own services such as Zune and XBox Live is also something that I was looking forward to. It would be cool to see apps or widget work across multiple devices such as Windows, Windows Phone, and the XBox. I’d like to see more on tight Windows Live integration as well.
I am looking forward to checking out Windows Phone 7 devices. Ever since I saw the Zune HD, I’ve been wanting a Windows Mobile device with a similar form factor. I’ll have to see what Apple has in store for iPhone 4G, but it looks more likely that I’ll be able to finally switch back to Windows Phone.
11 Feb
Lately I have had a lot of things to think about.
First of all, I’ve been thinking about my career. When I first joined Microsoft, I thought it would make sense to change teams every 2~3 years or so to diversify my experience. And I did just that when I joined the Health Solutions Group (HSG) after spending over two and a half years in Office. So the question is, now that I have worked with the HSG for about three years, do I change teams again?
I have concluded that I would not. The problems that I am working on right now is very different from the problems that I worked on two or three years ago. And more importantly they’re very interesting and exciting problems. I also recognize that there’s a ton of potential in the health space. So I think that I can really develop myself further without growing complacent by staying in HSG.
Speaking of the problems that I am working on, I am thinking about ways to improve the care of ambulatory patients with chronic diseases. The problem is that people with diseases such as diabetes, CHF, CAD, etc. take up significant resources in hospitals. But with proper care management and preventive measures, there’s a lot of potential to reduce costs and also improve the overall quality of life of those patients. Hospitals are already starting to do that. But with software innovation, it is possible to proactively identify and triage patients with chronic diseases and enable case managers and the patients themselves to manage the conditions in a more automatic and systematic way. The more we can push patients away from acute care to guided disease management or self prevention, the better.
Aside from work, I have been reading a lot more. Typically I read a lot of novels toward the end of the year and then switch to non-fiction in the beginning of a new year. This year I started reading up on investing. Although I do not have much to share, I have made some non-trival changes to my (lack of) investment strategies. It took more work than I anticipated to implement the changes, but I feel good about making more informed decisions. I hope to be able to write about positive learnings from that venture.
I have also started planning trips with friends. After my trip to Turkey last year, I decided to travel at least once a year and I most certainly intend to make good on that commitment. There are a lot of places to go to, and organizing trips for any sizeable group of people is not an easy thing to do. But I think the headache is definitely worth it.
There’s a lot more that I think about, of course. But I must admit that all I really do is think about that special someone :)
21 Jan
Spring Hill is a trendy restaurant located in West Seattle’s Junction. The restaurant is getting a lot of attention from the press, so I made the long trip from the east side to West Seattle to check it out.
Unless you know where to look, Spring Hill is a little difficult to find. There is only a small, minimalist sign to look for that is easy to miss. However, the interior offers a lot more to look at. I know this is a subjective matter, but I think that Spring Hill has one of the best interiors in Seattle. The overall look and feel of the restaurant is simplistic, yet a lot of attention and care was given to every piece of furniture. In fact, I’m quite sure the booth seat that I sat on was custom designed and made for the restaurant. It is quite a trendy place – perfect to bring a date.
I also like the open kitchen. Everything is clean and orderly. And looking at the chefs and cooks work makes for good conversation topics. Next to the kitchen is a bar which looks quite nice but I haven’t tried it.
The service is, no doubt, very nice. You are greeted warmly and led to your seat. They check your coat and ease you in. Everything from ordering to receiving your food is done very professionally and there are no complaints there. We ordered several dishes and three servers brought them out and placed them on the table simultaneously. One of my friends ordered a dish late, and they were able to accommodate it without a hitch. I must note that they didn’t fill my water glass as frequently as I’d like, but nobody does. (It is a pet peeve of mine.)
On to the food. Overall, the presentation of the dishes is nice. As far as I can tell (as an untrained person), a lot of thinking went into the preparation of each dish. However, given the interior and presentation of food, I think the taste could’ve been better.
On one visit, I ordered their duck’s eggs benedict and my companion ordered a quiche. The portion was a lot larger than what I expected. I enjoyed my duck’s eggs benedict but it didn’t blow me away.
For dinner, the portion sizes are a lot smaller. I think my favorite dish was their crispy veal sweetbreads. It literally melts in your mouth. It’s a nicely portioned appetizer for several people.
I had high hopes for the 1/2 beef burger. However, I found the patty to be way too salty. It’s a shame, really. If they went easy on the salt it would have been the perfect burger.
I also found the beef steak hot & cold dish to be disappointing. I’ve taken a liking to raw meat (which is an acquired taste, I suppose). But the cold beef given to me was underwhelming. I kept thinking about the cheap raw meat dishes I can easily find in Korea.
The wood grilled boudin blanc sausage was pretty good. Although… it’s really just a piece of sausage. If I were to return to Spring Hill, I’m not quite sure what I would want to get next. Perhaps I would order the 1/2 burger again and ask if they can go easy on the salt (unless it’s prepped that way).
Given that I only had one dinner at Spring Hill, I am certainly willing to go back again to give them another chance. The service and interior is too good, in my opinion, to outright reject them. Perhaps they had a bad night but I just did not find their food very enticing. I’ll post an update when I get to try them out again.
9 Dec
I picked up and read Super Freakonomics on my flight to Korea. If you read and enjoyed Freakonomics, I think there’s a good chance you will like the sequel as well. I certainly did.
While reading through the book, I was delighted to find good coverage on Microsoft Amalaga in the chapter “Why Should Suicide Bombers Buy Life Insurance” and elsewhere. There was even mention on the implementation at the Mayo Clinic. If you haven’t read the book yet please check it out.
